I.B.P.A. Benjamin Franklin Writing Award, Gold Medal. M.I.P.A. Winner - Fiction, Mystery/Thriller. KillerNashville - Silver Falchion Award 2018 Finalist. Great Midwest Book Festival, First Runner Up. Does it take a monster to catch a monster? As a student, Francis Vincenti asked his mentor, former Chicago PD detective Thomas Aquinas Foster, if it took a monster to catch a monster. Foster, a man with a tortured soul and his own self-righteous brand of justice, didn't have an answer. Now a detective with a string of famous arrests under his belt,Vincenti is known as a cop with an uncanny insight into a killer's psyche. Until the Bricklayer of Albany Park. Obsessed with the brutal slayings, Vincenti studies the murderer and his victims, reconstructing the killings and burials by day and, at night, recreating the murders one by one in his nightmares. He knows the Bricklayer. But not well enough to stop him. Terry John Malik's The Bricklayer of Albany Park is the story of Chicago detective Frank Vincenti, charged with apprehending a uniquely disturbed serial killer. In his well-structured and well-written debut novel, Malik deftly paints an interesting, complex, true-to-life cast of characters. While in college, Vincenti learns from the best--retired Chicago detective Thomas Foster . . . When a serial killer--who the press nicknames The Bricklayer--comes onto the scene,Vincenti finds himself turning to Foster for help. With his sanity and marriage at risk, Vincenti lives and breathes a relentless pursuit of the killer to put the horrendous killings to an end. Alternating between two character points of views--Vincenti's and The Bricklayer's--the action builds in short snappy chapters populated by three-dimensional characters and artful, descriptive writing that makes for a compelling read. The evening's rain had turned the pavement from light grey to shiny black and brought with it a chill typical of a Chicago November night. Malik's skill in layering the elements of the story, dropping hints that deepen the reader's anticipation of what lies ahead, and embedding subliminal clues will keep readers spellbound throughout this book. Skillful changes in pacing also contribute to a dramatic effect that will keep readers on the edge of theirseats. There was no satisfaction in this kill, no muffled screaming, no wide-eyed look of terror in his eyes. No desperate pleas for mercy. I found this bookintriguing, memorable, and engaging. Malik's fluid writing style makes it flow well and a relatively easy read. I can recommend it to eighteen and olderreaders who love a good mystery and aren't faint of heart. WINDY CITY REVIEWS REVIEWED BYFLORENCE OSMUND "Though Anthony details the stalking of eachvictim, surprising little description is given to the actual deaths, leavingthe reader's imagination to fill in the blanks--a refreshing departure fromthose novels in which the author near-lovingly lingers on each drop of bloodand slash of the knife. As the storytakes an abrupt and unexpected twist, the revelation of the actual culprit willundoubtedly come as a shock. The author plays this moment to the hilt, in sucha way even those readers priding themselves on out-guessing the author, may beforced to comment, "I didn't see that coming!" In The Bricklayer of Albany Park , author Terry John Malik has written a disturbing, yet masterful tale of murder and how childhood traumamay affect even those determined to rise above it." NEW YORK JOURNAL OF BOOKS Malik lays down brick after brick of action, well-paced dialogue, and suspense, using the mortar of time and place to compel the reader on from scene to scene until the mystery is solved and the reader closes the novel satisfied with its troubling end. With alternating points of view, the chapters follow seamlessly and with variation to a finish with an effective change of style and perspective, one Malik prepared the reader to appreciate. After reading The Bricklayer of Albany Park , readers may well continue to wrestle with the ending not because the plot isn't resolved, but because they are fascinated by the psychology of the characters, the tangle of emotions, and the personal histories that played into committing the murders and solving them. This psychological thriller ends with a poignant, troubling, and satisfying solution to a mystery of the human mind and heart. LOIS BARLIANT Author, One Day's Tale Prior to November 2014, I had neverwritten a word of fiction, although some judges mistakenly claimed I did. So, how did I get here? Polite friends have called it an "odyssey." I call it, "well-timed accidents mixed with equal measures of luck,unintended consequences and serendipity." After having lived my entire life in Chicagoland, my wife and I moved to Sanibel Island in 2012. After a couple of years, I grew restless and anxious to meet more people on the island and participate in its varied cultural opportunities. But, which one? The