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May 01, 2015emerge rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I think this will be a fairly polarizing book. You'll either be fascinated by it or rue the time you'll never get back. I fall into the former category & I don't want to know what that says about me as this is the story of a psychopathic serial killer. There's enough in the publisher's blurb on other sites to give you the outline. What was impressive to me was the prose, how well written this is particularly for a first novel. And how easily we're manipulated by the killer (we never do learn his name) as he narrates his story in a chatty, conversational voice. His actions are horrific but as he begins to interact with other people in "normal" ways, we catch a glimpse of who he might have been...an intelligent, likeable man with a charming self deprecating sense of humour. I liked this guy (except for, you know, his hobbies). Quite a feat. It's not for the faint hearted. But neither is it riddled with gratuitous descriptions of gory scenes & has no sexual content. The author allows us to use our imagination to fill in some blanks, knowing that can be way scarier than anything he could put on the page. It's a short, fast paced read that you'll want to finish if only to see how it all shakes out.