Broken Monsters

It’s been a while since I’ve read a book I loved as much as Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes. I got my copy at the mass of humanity that was BookCon. 

The story follows several seemingly disconnected people, and involves a serial killer in Detroit. I mean, it sounds a little interesting, but something violent happening in Detroit? Not exactly a shocker. However, the first victim is a boy who has been cut in half and fused with half a deer. (That isn’t a spoiler; it happens in the first 2 pages – and on the cover in some instances.)

It’s hard to explain. This book wasn’t great because of the plot or because of the characters … maybe it was because of the way it was written. Reading made me jealous at best. Maybe I’m not supposed to compare myself to other writers, but I kept looking for something, some trick that made what she’d done possible … but every time I tried to read objectively, I kept getting sucked into the story until the words melted into pictures in my head. Damn you, Lauren Beukes. I love you so much.