Will Lori use the opportunity to escape again? Not your average serial killer story, Mind Over Murder is the perfect serial killer read! Lori Powers escaped capture and fled to Europe in After the Evil. After five years on the run, Interpol finds Lori and returns her to the U.S. where homicide detective Jake Roberts and ex-FBI profiler Mika Scott accept custody of her. It's a bittersweet reunion for both law enforcement officers. Lori and Jake were lovers. For Mika, Lori was her worst nightmare. But Jake is being stalked by another serial killer––wealthy, genius Jared Hamilton. Jake breaks all of the rules and helps Lori escape from prison to assist in Hamilton’s capture, but does Lori know Jared and are the two killers conspiring to kill Jake and Mika?
There was a certain element of Hannibal Lector meets Sherlock feel to the interactions between characters; everyone wants something, and everyone thinks they are smarter than everyone else. It's amusing and attention holding, but also makes for extremely intense moments of literary brilliance. I think Stone does this best with Lori Powers, who is like an endless onion of unpredictability; every layer you peel back is a new adventure and challenge. Working one's way into the mind of a serial killer is a trying obstacle for many writers, but doing it so well, and doubling the stakes by shaping the plot around a second murderer showed ambition and chutzpah of a much more experienced author. I had a feeling this second book was going to stumble, as so many do, but Stone went above and beyond my expectations and pushed the boundaries of Jake in shocking ways.
