Home » Posts tagged "serial killer fiction" (Page 3)

Book Review: Seeing Evil (Cycle of Evil #1) by Jason Parent

cover art for Seeing Evil by Jason Parent

Seeing Evil (Cycle of Evil #1) by Jason Parent

Red Adept Publishing, 2015

ISBN-13 : 978-1940215495

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

Human monsters are the worst, so a father who has been abusing his daughter for years and is also a serial killer responsible for his wife’s death has to be one of the sickest incarnations of evil possible. The amount of sheer, utterly realistic terror in Seeing Evil by Jason Parent quickly builds up an intensity that begins in the first pages of the book and doesn’t end until the final scene.

 

The main character in this novel of pain, suffering, and derangement is Michaek, a boy who discovers that if he has even the briefest physical contact with a person who is about to encounter evil, he will actually be transported into that very future nightmare scenario and must watch it unfold. Michael’s first supernatural experience occurs as a result of a school bullying incident, but he is forced to continue having these revelations, up close and personal, when he learns the secrets of another student, the serial killer’s daughter, and becomes involved in a race against time to save her from a terrible fate.

 

The plot and characters are riveting. With just the right details and compelling psychological profiles, the anxiety-filled daily life of traumatized individuals is closely examined. The manner in which the threat of constant danger, the reality of physical and psychological abuse, and the ceaseless sense of impending doom plays out in the victims’ lives is insightfully articulated and seamlessly connected to the dramatic police investigation. That part of the story is also engrossing because it makes clear how evil can go unchecked for far too long when the diabolical power of a killer successfully paralyzes ordinary people with fear. It also calls attention to the role of the “intuitives” who work on real criminal cases and how much it might be possible for these people to “see” as well as how the nature of their work affects them.

 

Unfortunately, we live in a world in which children are bullied, abused, and murdered.  Seeing Evil is about more than observing that evil; it is about hearing it, feeling it, and, most of all, about getting close enough to touch it. Parent makes this possible with a gripping narrative that provides that most potent of page  turners, the dread of what might come next.  Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Nova Hadley

 

 

Posted on April 25, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw

cover art for Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw

Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw

uClan Publishing, 2021

ISBN-13 : 978-1912979479

Available: Paperback (pre-order, April 1, 2021) ( Amazon.co.uk )

 

It’s 1995, and seventeen-year-old Mina is spending her summer visiting her older sister Libby, who moved from their home in England to New Orleans to attend college, and works in a movie-themed haunted house, owned by Thandie, who immediately hires Mina to work there for the summer. Libby has a girlfriend, Della (this relationship is wonderful), and two roommates, Jared (who also works at the haunted house) and Lucas, an artist. Despite a difficult relationship with Libby, Mina finds herself accepted into this group of older friends, who tour her around New Orleans, sharing its gruesome stories and history as well as its vibrant (and sometimes bizarre) current atmosphere. Marie Laveau, vampires, serial killers, fortune tellers, and more, fascinate Mina as she explores the city.  Shortly after she arrives, though, she discovers a co-worker murdered in the haunted house, one of several girls killed in ways described in stories from New Orleans’ past, by someone who may be a copycat of the serial killers John and Wayne Carter (or a vampire, or both, because this is New Orleans). As the friends investigate the murders, Jared and Mina quickly become romantically involved. Soon, however, events leave teenage Mina alone to navigate the city and save whoever she can.

Cons of this book: I wasn’t thrilled to see a seventeen-year-old girl romantically involved with a college-aged boy, although I appreciated that Mina at least had agency in her relationship with Jared.. I also didn’t think it was great that a high school girl was spending time in a bar, although given the setup of the story I don’t think it was unrealistic. However, as the police are significantly involved with Mina, Libby, and their friends, I had trouble believing that they would allow a minor with no adult supervision to wander New Orleans.

Having visited New Orleans, what I love most about this book is the way it brings New Orleans to life. It’s a love letter to the city, not just a setting but almost a character. Mina’s love of horror, which not only includes her own favorite movies, books, and enthusiasms, but holds her family together, from her mother’s Laurell K. Hamilton books to her sister’s job in a haunted house, is also a beautiful thing to see and I think there are many, many girls who will relate to her and have a blast joining her on this rollercoaster ride of horror, crime, romance, friendship, and betrayal.  Recommended.

Contains: Murder, torture, sexual situations, blood-drinking.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

Posted on March 18, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga (Jasper Dent, #1)

cover for I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga  (  Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com )

Little, Brown, Books for Young Readers, 2013

ISBN-13: 9780316125833

Available:  Hardvover, paperback, mass market paperback, Kindle edition, audio CD

Jasper is the 17 year old son of notorious serial killer Billy Dent. The trauma of being raised by Billy teaching him the skills, knowledge, and thought processes necessary to become a successful serial killer has left him with significant holes in his memory, causing him anxiety over what he might have done in the past and may do in the future. His longterm best friend Howie and girfriend Connie are his greatest supporters, but Jasper constantly second-guesses himself over whether their relationships with him are really solid or are just the results of manipulation.

In addition to the anxiety Jasper feels about himself, he also is drawn to use his knowledge when a murder occurs in his town that appears to be a copycat of his dad’s first discovered kill.  Despite being discouraged by the police from interfering with the investigation, Jasper involves himself. While they initially object, when it becomes clear that the killer is a copycat, he becomes a resource for the investigation. Unfortunately this makes some of the people around him targets, including friends and teachers.  Jasper struggles to deal with his impulses and relationships and the effect trauma has had on him and the people around him. How unreliable is he, really? Is he, deep down, a serial killer? Will he become a killer by the end of the book?

For the most part, I was able to get past the completely unrealistic setup of the book (as compromised as social services may be, I have difficulty believing Jasper would be left with his grandmother, who obviously has dementia, or that Howie’s overprotective parents would allow him anywhere near Jasper, for instance) because this was a magnetic, compulsive read that left my hands shaking and heart racing, and a real tribute to friendship and the trust and protectiveness friends can feel for each other (something not often seen in depictions of boys’ friendships).  This is not an easy read; there is no way to climb inside the mind of a serial killer (or even a fictional character describing what climbing into the mind of a fictional serial killer is like) or a severely traumatized teen without being at least a little shaken up. But it’s a compelling, disturbing, and original tale that will appeal particularly to boys. I Hunt Killers is the first in a trilogy, so teens who get hooked don’t have to wait for another hit.  Highly recommended.

Contains: Mutilation, torture, body horror, murder, gore, animal cruelty, discussions of rape.

 

Posted on July 22, 2020 by , Reply
First « 12345 » Last