The Rundown
“Here are the rules. Method: you can’t use a gun. You can’t use explosives. You can’t use poison. It has to be up close and personal. You don’t have to worry about leaving evidence; that will be taken care of. Victim: no one suicidal. No one over the age of 65. No one with a terminal illness. Choose your method. Choose your victim.”
Kill Someone by Luke Smitherd is aptly named. This part horror, part suspense thriller, does not waste any time jettisoning you into a wild ride of a story. The book opens with a sleepy Chris Summer, our protagonist, answering the door to two men in suits, the man in white and the man in black. This being an early Saturday morning at his parents’ house in England, Chris is taken aback, but he can’t even begin to imagine what horrors these two men will thrust upon his life. The man in white politely informs him that if Chris does not let him in and hear what he has to say, someone will die. The stunned Chris does what any of us would do and lets these strangers in. The man in white goes on to show Chris video of five kidnapped women, The MacArthur Quintuplets, who are famous humanitarians. Calmly, the man in white tells Chris that if he does not agree to kill someone in their allotted time period these girls will die in slow, horrific fashion. It’s up to him, the man in white explains. He can easily say no, or he can be a hero.
The author does an excellent job of going through Chris’s emotions during his decision-making process as well as after he decides to try to save these girl’s lives. As an ordinary Joe, it’s very easy to sympathize and put yourself in Chris’s shoes. Could you murder someone to save five other people? What would you do if faced with the same situation? It’s a spot on premise that delivers a fast, page-turning read. And as cringeworthy as it is to think about those poor kidnapped girls, the author does a good job of continuing to help us see that not all decisions are black and white. There are many shades of gray in people. Very few of us deserve the kind of fate Chris has been tasked with doling out.
The Recommendation
If you like psychological horror and books that make you think as well as scare you, this book is for you. The author is a true professional and this reader can tell that he knows his craft, his pacing and character development. The book never lags. The characters live and breathe and feel very intense emotions that draw you in and make you sympathize. The internal monologue is handled deftly as well, without bogging down the reader in Chris’s agonizing decisions, but giving us enough to allow us to experience this with Chris. It’s a great read and would please anyone who can stomach some violence and uncomfortable situations.
The Rating
4.5 Stars (out of 5): Highly recommended. This book is a great read. It can hold its own against any traditionally published novel in its genre, and surpasses many.
The Pros & Cons
Pros: Believable, Characterization, Emotional, Page Turner, PlotCons: Extreme Violence
