Comment

Dec 19, 2014gendeg rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Detroit is an iconic setting for this sort of story. With such a backdrop, Beukes goes big with her dark themes. Her characters are vivid and luminous in their personal anguish, and at times I thought their personal demons were actually where the true horror of this story lies. Is this book scary? What is fear but a manipulation of our expectations, heightened anticipation. As I read, I didn't really have that sensation, though. What I did experience was something more quietly unsettling. Sure there are a few nail-biting moments centered around Layla, as she circles ever closer to the killer (will the killer be drawn to her?). But otherwise, the gritty social satire threaded throughout the book elbows out the horror for me. Ultimately, the narrative drive in Broken Monsters isn't about finding out who is doing the deranged killings—we're introduced to the serial killer early on—but why. Beukes explores the psychological basis for this depravity through the cracks of society.