This book, in my opinion, is a very good example of a serial killer,and his ironic demise. The book begins with an example of serial killing,where a powerful, influential man is killed by an assassin. The book,after the killing, follows the killer to an unusual place-a concert hall. There it is found that the killer is internationally famous concert pianistJohn Mikali. This man, Mikali, has been tormented by death and pain all of his life.
His family has been based through a stout naval history, as his father, andrelatives past have all been commanders and captains of great naval ships. The one break in the chain was his Grandfather and him, John, who is aconcert pianist. John is clever but physcotic, because his hobby, asgruesome as it may seem, is killing. It began one day when his nanny waskilled.
It seemed she was killed by a hit and run driver. John, who lovedhis nanny so much, decided to get revenge, and revenge he did. He killedthe man who had been driving the car. The book starts out, as said, with a killing and then by revealing thekiller. Then the book goes into a story of the life of the man Mikali.
His mother and father had been killed at sea, and the only people he hadleft were his nanny and his aunt. The book gives an accurate description ofhis life and times before his incredible hobby. After the book describes Mikali’s background, which itself is filledwith death, the book goes into the current life of Mikali and how he got towhere he is. Mikali discovered his great talent in music at a very earlyage.
His grand-father, who is the only blood relative he has left, iscommitted to his grand-son. He gives his son the best schooling in theform of music he loves the most: the Piano. The book after it has dealt with the past then goes into the present. Using this method, it resembles a time line:MIKALI’S DEEP PAST——–RECENT PAST———PRESENT TIMEAfter the recent past, in which Mikali has killed over 30 well knownand influential people all around the globe.
He uses his influential pianoconnections to travel all around the globe. He then makes the fatal mistakesomeone else did to him by doing it to someone else, with even more powerthan him. Mikali’s most loved relative was killed by a hit and rundriver-and then one day Mikali kills the daughter of a retired SAS Soldier,Asa Morgan. Morgan is a trained and skilled killer himself. It is ironic in the fact that after Morgan’s daughter is killed, hegoes on a rampage, like Mikali after his aunt is killed. Mikali took outhis rage on the entire globe-and Morgan took UT out on Mikali and everyoneassociated with him.
Morgan, after learning his daughter is dead, throwsall rules of the military system out the window and goes after Mikali. Although Morgan doesn’t know who killed his daughter, he does know thatthe initial murder at the beginning of the book is related to his owndaughter’s murder. Mikali has gained a world- wide reputation as abrilliant pianist-and his alter ego as a fearless and skilled killer. Revenge plays its part in this book, after Mikali having taken his outon the whole world, and Morgan wanting to get his daughter back. Morgan,after tracking down Mikali through skillful deduction, (he examines all themurders and pieces together that Mikali was in the city giving some kind ofmusical performance) kills Mikali in the only place that can be deemed fitto kill Mikali in-A music hall.
The book is very real in the aspect of serial killers. It portrays anexcellent example of a person who kills in succession with an intricateplan. The killer, Mikali, kills all of his victims simply and with a plan. Also, Mikali kills many people.
That’s a common trait with serial killers. As with Charles Manson, Mikali killed his victims without remorse or pity. He wiped them clear off the face of the earth without a second thoughtbecause he thought it would have an affect on the earth. Mikali’s plan wasthat if someone did something bad to him, then they should be dead. Mikalikilled a man who had been leading the group who financed a politicaluprising in his native Greece.
And he also killed a man because he thoughtthe man was bad to the human race.The real clue that undid Mikali was one of when he killed a man, hemade the mistake of killing him when he was in the same building as Mikali.Mikali had been staying in a hotel with the same man, and he killed him-andthe police were baffled because no trace of the killer had been found.Using this, Asa Morgan carefully deducted that Mikali was responsible forhis daughter’s death.Mikali’s killing is likened to Manson’s in the fact that it was justone piece in a huge master plan-Manson’s for a new earth while Mikali’sjust one piece in a huge puzzle of revenge.
