Paperback by MIRA, £7.99
In this, his first full-length novel, author Graeme Cameron pit himself into the mind of a serial killer, who traps young women and later kills (and sometimes eats) them.
The book is written from the killers’ perspective and it is a credit to Mr Cameron’s writing style that we actually sympathise with his character.
What’s more, we never learn his name nor are we given a description of him, the reason being that he is outwardly completely normal.
As the author himself says.
“He’s someone who sat behind you on the bus, or brushed up against you in the supermarket while you were choosing a flavor of ice cream. He wouldn’t be able to hide in plain sight like that if I told you what he looked like.”
We are guided through the process by which he selects his victims and how he disposes of them once he has killed them.
But then, one of his victims forms a bond with him, and even helps him thwart the police when they question him.
But, and here’s where the killer becomes the object of our empathy, what happens when he starts to fall in love with his intended prey?
Reading this book isn’t easy as it flits from passage to passage a bit and can get a little confusing, but stick with it as there is a fully fleshed-out plot with suspense and humour going hand in hand.
And in the end, we are left with the feeling that in some ways, the killer himself is as much a victim as his prey.