The Collector is an unsettling psychological thriller.

I did not read Rattle, the first book in Fiona Cummins' Bone Collector series, but this book worked well as a standalone. I didn't feel lost as Cummins did a wonderful job filling in any necessary back story. Undoubtedly, readers who have read the first book would fare better as this storyline involved many of the same characters and referenced the events from the first book.

Brian Howley (The Bone Collector) a.k.a Mr. Silver is definitely a twisted, deranged killer. After having his collection taken from him when he caught and subsequently making his escape from the police Mr. Silver is now on the run and looking to start a new collection. Yet for all his morbid plans I spent much of this book waiting for him to actually behave like a deranged killer. He spent much of the book formulating plans and making preparation for the "grooming" of an heir to his collection. Unfortunately, I found this a bit lackluster and at times even boring.

Enter Saul, an intelligent teenage boy with a horrible home life and some secrets of his own. He looks like the perfect target for Mr. Silver. I have to say I truly enjoyed Saul's complex character. He has his own demons to face daily and Cummins did an amazing job of showing us his inner turmoil. He was well developed and by far my favorite character. His push and pull with Mr. Silver was a driving force of the plot and definitely what kept me reading to the end. I wanted to know what he would do. I had to find out what would become of Saul.

This wasn't a bad read by any means. I think I personally just anticipated something a bit more bone chillingly thrilling and sinister so it was a bit of a let down in that sense. I am happy to have been introduced to Saul's character and was left harboring hope that we might see him in future books.

Thank you to Fiona Cummins, Kensington Books, Pinnacle and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an arc of this book.