Monster

I picked a novel by Steve Jackson titled “Monster” to read a few days back. It’s about a serial killer who brutalizes victims who reminds him of his abusive mother by beating, raping and finally killing them. The first one he rapes with a hammer and beat badly but was struck with a stroke of conscience when he wanted to kill her. He lets her out of the car but changes his mind just as she gets out. He draws his gun to shoot but realizing that they were in a neighbourhood where he would be heard and caught, he lets her go. She later testifies against him and he is sent to jail for fifteen years. When he is let out, he vows that nobody would ever find the bodies of his victims talk more of allowing them to testify against him. Usually, when reading this type of novels, I usually anticipate guessing who the serial killer is and most times getting it right. This novel proved to be a bit annoying because right from the beginning, the author already states who the killer is. Pissed off, I was wondering what the suspense was going to be then. What was there to hold my attention if I already knew who the serial killer was? Surprisingly, it was still interesting and the events had this feeling of reality to them; of being something that could really happen. Applauding the author’s imagination and ability to still hold my attention, I kept reading. The author also has this annoying (at least that was what I thought then) habit of giving specific dates of events and alluding to some events that would happen in the future and how the present would play a role in it. The most perplexing thing was that when I got to the middle of the novel, there were pictures of the suspect and people he had killed. What was this author doing? That was when it struck me! OMG! I didn’t want to believe it so I turned to the back of the book and there I found it! This story was not fictional, it was real! The rapes, beating, gruesome deaths were all real. It was not all thought up to entertain but these people had suffered, their families had suffered, the  small towns where it had happened had also suffered as they lost their trusting innocence where they could go to bed without locking their doors. They had had go get guns to give them a little sense of security. This serial killer had no remorse whatsoever and it was always the victim’s fault. The families needed closure but how would they get it without their children’s bodies? This novel brings to light the amazing number of missing people every year who are never found, cases that go unsolved. I have not finished reading the book, I was overwhelmed at the fact that it was real, I had to take a break to write this. You all should get a copy.