Retail Price: $17.95 plus S&H

The Killing Zone; Evils Playground

THE KILLING ZONE: Evil’s Playground  
Nelson O. Ottenhausen 
Review by Natalija Nogulich

List Price: $17.95

6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm)
Black & White on White paper
262 pages

Patriot Media, Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-0979164217
ISBN-10: 0979164214
BISAC: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General

THE KILLING ZONE: Evil's Playground, A manic serial-killer epic about murder, police investigations and forensic pathology (CSI) with a little romance thrown in. Police Detective Daniel Patrick O'Malley is called out to investigate the death of a young woman in what appears to be an apparent suicide, but he soon discovers she is a victim in a series of bizarre murders. While trying to decide how to bring the deranged serial killer to justice, Lt. O'Malley must deal with the intervention of a powerful politician whose daughter is a victim of the killer, as well as investigate the attempted murder of his best friend and police captain supervisor. He also struggles to cope with emotions concerning two different women in his life.

The purpose of any book is to get you to turn the page.  From the first kill in Ottenhausen’s The Killing Zone, the author hooks us into a journey with twists and turns and unpredictable unfoldings.  What starts out as a dramatic homicide that literally crashes into an upscale Hotel dining room, becomes a maddening sequence of crimes, strangely linked together by the six degrees of separation that seem to dangle humanity by a strand of silk.

Lt. O’Malley, a cross between a rugged Gary Cooper and a somewhat more ragged Russel Crowe, bangs heads with the hot shot Medical Examiner who happens to be his ex-wife, as they each sift through the not so random clues that lead them to the most unlikely killer.  Ottenhausen’s authentically chilling accounts of the murders, artfully executed by an elusive killer, keep the reader demanding answers that don’t come until the author deems the moment right.

Add to this perfect recipe for a thriller, the urban politics of a corrupt investigation of a politician’s daughter’s death, and an untimely attempt upon the life of O’Malley’s good pal and superior, and a good man still wrestling with his issues with women he happens to love, and you’ve got a compelling book that won’t find it’s way to the nightstand till you finish.  Nelson Ottenhausen’s clean, clipped prose makes the story the star of the show, as it should be when it’s as good as this one.  Be prepared to be caught unprepared for this read.  

It would make a terrific thriller movie, it’s that good.

Ms Nogulich is a renowned actress of stage and screen appearing in many Broadway plays, over 30 films and dozens of television shows, most notably her starring role as Admiral Nechayev in Star Trek-The Next Generation.  She is also a produced screenwriter and accomplished novelist.  Her soon to be published novel is titled One Woman’s War, a story of revenge in the wake of the recent Balkan wars.  Visit her web site at; www.natalijanogulich.com.

About the author: Nelson O. Ottenhausen is a retired Army officer living in Gulf Breeze, Florida and the author of four other novels than The Killing Zone: Evil’s Playground.   His published novels are The Sin Slayer (2010), Jugs & Bottles (2009), The Blue Heron, (2005), Civil War II, (2004) and a book of poetry and short stories, Flowers, Love & Other Things (2005).   His poem Out of Sane is published in an anthology of poetry, Mind Mutations (2005).   A short story, A Fish Story, is published in Chicken Soup for the Fisherman’s Soul (2004).   His books are available for purchase at www.booksbynelson.com, and www.patriotmediainc.com.  

Contact Nelson at Nelson@patriotmediainc.com.