This is one of those "male cop protects female crime victim and ends up falling for her" type novels. What's fresh to me about Die for Me is the villain. Michael O’Rourke is a psychopath who enjoys torturing women and stabbing them in the heart. He always leaves them with a rose, which earned him the nickname "Valentine Killer". He's mostly referred to as Valentine.
When the Valentine Killer met Katelynn Crenshaw, he fell in love with her (in his own way). Their relationship was quite happy, until Katelynn witnesses a dreadful scene. This makes Valentine go into hiding and Katelynn is placed in Witness Protection. Thanks to the help of U.S. Marshall Anthony Ross, Katelynn moves to New Orleans. She changes her name to Katherine Cole. In three years, Katherine only makes a couple of close friends. She became warier about getting close to other people.
Just when Katherine thought her life was back in order, the Valentine Killer resurfaces. At first, the authorities think they’re dealing with a copycat. They’re doubtful that Valentine would have come to New Orleans all the way from Boston. Katherine learns that her old fiancé is at large once again. This time, she decides to stop running away and confront Valentine. Katherine goes straight to the police, offering her help to catch the killer.
Detective Dane Black is at first suspicious of Katherine. He wonders how she knows so much about the killings. Thinking that Katherine could be useful, the police captain asks Dane to keep her around. Ross was about to uproot Katherine and build a new life for her elsewhere. Against his advice, she resolves to stay. Detective Black, who slowly grows to care for Katherine, decides to protect her. He also accepts the task of stopping one of the most notorious serial killers in the country.
As I read the book and learned more about Valentine, I couldn't help but feel that he's quite like the Joker. Such an agent of chaos, always two steps ahead of everyone else. Unlike the Joker, who wants to watch the world burn, Valentine secretly hopes for the chance at a better life. That's what Katherine inspires in him. No one is able to guess why Valentine cares so much for her, when he’s killed several other lookalike women. Valentine is one of the most interesting villains in a book that I’ve come across.
Apart from the suspense, there are a couple of unexpected twists within the book. Even after reading Die for Me for the second time in over a year, I was still surprised. I’d forgotten one of those twists, so it was almost like reading the book for the first time again. The reader also gets to spend plenty of time inside Valentine’s head. He’s not, however, the only danger threatening Katherine. Will Dane Black be able to protect her, or will they both die trying to capture Valentine?
This is a great novel about the dark sides within us and the notion that it's our choices that make us good or bad. A few of the main characters had a rough childhood, and they each turned out differently. This occurrence intrigues the Valentine Killer in particular. It intrigued me as well. I enjoyed reading (and re-reading) Die for Me. If you like compelling mysteries with carefully woven plots, you don’t want to overlook this one.
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