Reviewing: Boneman's Daughters by Ted Dekker

One thing I love about Ted Dekker is that his works are unlike any others.  No one else can sculpt as twisting and frightening of a story about good evil like Dekker can.  BoneMan's Daughters was just as disturbing as I expected, and I've read it many times.

If you are faint of heart, do not read this book.

Summary-
They call him BoneMan, a serial killer who's abducted six young women.  He's the perfect father looking for the perfect daughter, and when his victim fails to meet his lofty expectations, he kills them by breaking their bones and leaving them to die.  Intelligence officer Ryan Evans, on the other hand, has lost all hope of ever being the perfect father.  His daughter and wife have written him out of their lives.  Everything changes when BoneMan takes Ryan's estranged daughter, Bethany, as his seventh victim.  Ryan goes after BoneMan on his own.  But the FBI sees it differently.  New evidence points to the suspicion that Ryan is BoneMan.  Now the hunger is the hunted, and in the end, only one father will stand.

What I Liked-
I adored Ryan's selfless passion for his daughter and his willingness to do absolutely anything to save her.  Ted Dekker apparently based Ryan's desperation on his own emotions when his daughter ran away with a boy whose manipulations and ill intentions left Dekker feeling helpless.  Read about it here, at Ted Dekker's website. 

I like the written profile of Alvin Finch, the cruel and calculating serial killer.  No one can so realistically write into a serial killer's mind like Ted Dekker.  Alvin Finch's vulnerability actually makes the reader relate to him, but his narcissism and horrible actions makes the reader hate him at the same time.  I love that character development.

What I Didn't Like-
Dekker includes a cuss word within the dialogue at one point, which disappointed me because of the fact that he's a Christian author.  I had always respected Dekker for abstaining from swearing while maintaining an attention-grabbing, realistic story.  The cuss word did seem unnecessary, overall.  Simply a shock factor.  The word was a--.

I assume that to an extent, Ryan Evans' devotion for Bethany was meant to reflect Christ's love for His children, seen in Ryan's self-sacrificing behavior.  However, Ryan was willing to hurt others, cuss, and steal in order to save his daughter, which doesn't seem like a very Christlike love.  Also, Ryan was originally portrayed as a distant, "bad" father, which God has never been and will never be.

I Recommend This Book For-
Definitely no one under the age of sixteen because of graphic murder scenes, violence, and mature theme.  Anyone who loves Ted Dekker's works, intense thrillers, and books about criminal investigation and serial killers should enjoy this book.

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BoneMan's Daughters can be quite disturbing at times.  It left me turning pages so quickly, I couldn't think of anything else until I had finished the read.  Ted Dekker can bring a reader to his knees with a pen and paper.

While there were some issues with the story, a clear message shines through: a father will sacrifice everything out of love for his daughter, and no amount of evil can get in the way of that.