Last Rites

by Shaun Hutson

A compelling blend of visceral horror and thriller set in a boarding school where all is not as it seems ...

Genres: Horror, Fiction

338 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

British horror novelist, including horror and urban thriller novels.

His novella Slugs was made into a movie, although Hutson didn't like the movie. He also appeared in two horror movies himself.

Hutson is a Liverpool F.C. fan.

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trashy, easy-to-read horror. This was a quick read with easy to digest chapters, and very fast-paced.

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of the time I see Shaun Hutson as comfort reading, especially when I'm in the mood for a gruesome horror. And by comfort reading I mean knowing the author you're reading, like slipping on an old pair of slippers. I know how Hutson writes, I know what to expect and I know that I will be pulled into the story from the get go.

Last Rites didn't disappoint regarding these aspects. In fact, the first chapter jumped in with both feet when we are introduced to the main character, Peter Mason, who is being beaten to near death by a gang of youths. It's brutal, violent and full of swearing. It's not for the faint hearted. But I'm used to Hutson and this is the 'norm' and most of the time it doesn't bother me.

I like Hutson's writing. It's not the most beautiful prose you will ever read but it has a realness about it that sucks me into the character's lives, they become real. They always have a lot of baggage, history and depth. They are well rounded. That's another thing I enjoy about his books, he makes his characters totally believable.

However, although Last Rites succeeded on many levels, unfortunately it also failed. In the beginning, getting to know the characters and their back story was interesting, especially with Peter Mason. I enjoyed that with each chapter it focused on a different character. Unfortunately this went on for far too long and you didn't actually get to the meat of the story until at least two thirds of the way in. Then everything was rushed, which made the actions of Mason less believable and before I knew it, it was the end of the book.

Verdict:

There were a couple of surprises at the end I didn't see coming, which prevented the book from being a 4/10. But to be honest this wasn't really Hutson's best work so it ended up being a 5 (view rating system on my blog).

[Balthazarinblue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost DNF'd this yesterday because the animal mutilation was too much but I kept reading and honestly, it was a page turner. Trashy, grotesque, featuring far too many foot fetishy gangbangs for my taste, and kind of ridiculous, but a page turner all the same. It's like a Goosebumps book but for adults.

[Jeff Jellets · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally ... a really good paperback horror novel!

Just when I had about given-up hope of finding some really good paperback horror, Shaun Hutson’s Last Rites comes to my rescue -- a creepy little surprise with a sharp plot, razor-like twists and turns a plenty, and some pretty wicked bits of dialogue. After barely surviving a nasty beating by some of his ne’er-do-well students, English schoolmaster Peter Mason retreats to a new job at an elite boarding school – where his predecessor mysteriously disappeared and a grisly collection of corpses is already starting to pile-up.

The set-up may be a horror trope – and isn’t that what we want when we grab this type of book? – but the real test is how far the author can run with something we’ve seen before, turning the trope toward a new (and unsettling) direction. Fortunately, Hutson is up to the task and the story has both sense and depth. Of course, it also has the requisite level of gore for a genre book (but nowhere near the drenching of blood I remember from Hutson’s first book Slugs) and quite a bit of graphic sex (that – credit where credit due – has a pretty hefty charge of eroticism). But the real strength of this book is its plot and style. There are a bushel of literal ‘GASP OUT LOUD’ plot twists and the dialogue, for example, between teacher Mason and his preppy, over-sexed, and obnoxious debutante students is – yikes! – sharp as a straight razor and trippy with uncomfortable electricity. Those scenes alone are well worth the price of admission!

Admittedly, the book does start out a little slow -- it takes a long time for Mason to make it to his prep school -- but ultimately, the payoff is worth the set-up (so stick with it). More importantly, the increasing fervor of the plot is like a runaway train picking up speed and the last third of the novel kept me up to the wee hours, turning pages to a pretty frightful finale. Perhaps the only real mar is a few dangling plot threads, but hardly enough to spoil this one.

As a horror fan, Dark Rites is a damn good scare.

[David Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reviewing the novel Last Rites by Shaun Hutson which is an excellent horror story that I bought from a car boot sale. This story kicks off with a headmaster being savagely attacked by 5 lads 2 of whom he thinks he put on detention but can't identify them positively. He's lucky to be alive and has horrendous injuries and is in a coma for 6 days. The school he worked at was a typical inner city one in London. He starts having panic attacks as a result of the attack and can't face going back. Somehow he gets a job as a teacher at a private school in Buckinghamshire. His ex wife is supportive but their relationship broke up soon after the death of his daughter. I think his wife felt he didn't understand her grief. Anyway at the school he finds he gets on rather well perhaps too well with the sexy PE teacher. He has gone from the frying pan into the fire. A sect of monks in times past are meant to have discovered the secret of alchemy and had to make human sacrifices to satisfy their master. There is rumoured to be buried treasure and the monks were killed by the local people in revenge for what they had done. There is a problem lad in one of his classes who has a kind of clique of friends around him they seem to know too much about this teacher. Also a girl has been drugged and gang raped and the video has been posted on several porn sites. She has subsequently committed suicide and her father is after retribution. The problem lad is expelled but the father wants some answers from him. There is a shock ending which is quite common in Hutson stories and horror novels. This book would make a great film and keeps you guessing until the end. I really enjoyed this book.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book for the most part, but I have to say I was a little dissapointed by the ending. Although it did keep me gripped right the way through, therefore well worth a read. Not the best idea for a weak stomached person as it's quite gruesome and graphic in parts.

[Jennie Smith]

Oh dear, it started off good but the ending was very rushed and I was left wondering what happened. This needed at least another 100 pages to develop and finish in a satisfying way, I'd like to read Shaun's first draft to see if it was just the editing that spoilt it.

[Adrian Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ultimately disappointing although the journey was interesting

[keira massie · Rating 5 out of 5]

(SPOILERS INCLUDED, DON'T WANT TO HIDE).

"The bones in his nose splintered like glass."

Oh my goodness. First of all, let me tell you that this line most certainly GRABBED my attention and the entirety of the chapter, albeit a short one, definitely kept it. My only fear in this world is the breaking of my bones, and, this first chapter just sent me into a state of utter shock; every description of the impact made upon the main character felt like it was also an impact made upon me. With each sentence I read, I could feel my skin tingle and my whole body tense up. Please bear in mind that the chapter is four pages long. Four A5 pages. Now that's powerful stuff, considering I was okay with the book's contents after this point (&, trust me, it only gets worse and worse).

Next, I would like to focus on a short review on the back of the book:

"This book will shock you. And so it should...Not for the squeamish but this is powerful stuff."

Everything about this book is summarised into three sentences right there. There are no other words to describe the book, the plotline, or the events. Let me just pick this review apart because there truly is a lot to say:

'This book will shock you.' Oh yes, it definitely will. At first, reading this book felt like I was reading a lot of just... 'horrific for the sake of being horrific' things together, stringing them one after the other. In the beginning, each chapter was just an extremely short story; with short descriptions followed by death in a grisly way. Some even seemed hopeful and then all hope was lost in the next chapter in which the character is mentioned. I've read a few books that just throw gruesome things out there for the sake of it and this was beginning to feel like one of those books, but let me tell you, it certainly wasn't. I would usually put a book that I think isn't worth my while down, but I think what saved this book was the shortness of its chapters and the speed of development of the plot. I just couldn't put it down! I needed to know what happened next countless times! Everything in this book does come together in this book, so if you have the same thoughts as me about grisly things being there for the sake of grisly things being there, just stick it out til the end. You won't regret a thing, just allow yourself to be shocked, I promise you it will all be worth it.

'Not for the squeamish.' NOT. FOR. THE. SQUEAMISH!!! Such a simple sentence, but somehow the most powerful there is. Please, please, please listen to this warning! If you are a truly squeamish or even sensitive person, then I would steer clear of the whole thing. Flayed cats, hanging slaughtered sheep, slaughtered horses, speak of multiple suicides, the death of a child, etc. Now that I think about it, 'not for the squeamish' is just the biggest understatement, maybe of all time. As I said before, I don't get even the slightest bit bothered about anything of that nature...but now that I've laid it all out in front of me, I can see why it wouldn't be the most appealing thing.

'This is powerful stuff.' As I stated before, when reading the first chapter, it really was powerful stuff. That's not to say the rest wasn't equally as powerful; maybe not powerful in the sense that anyone would imagine, but powerful all the same. I'm not sure if the topics dealing with cults and things of that nature are slight jabs at the people who take religion a little too seriously for their own good, but I'd like to imagine that it is; you take it as you will though.

That being said, on face value, this truly is an amazing and fun little story and you can tell that Hutson poured his soul into it and had so much fun with it. Such a good read, would 100% reccomend to those who are not sensitive or squeamish.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reminded me of an adult goosebumps book! The chapters are very short with cliffhangers which isn't always necessary as sometimes it would have just needed a new paragraph!
I agree with other reviews that it's pretty up and down as to what is going on and then the end just seems far too rushed. I also felt the ending twist was completely implausible, were they involved in Mason's injuries at the start? Does the daughter appear at the same age as when she has died or have years passed and she had to give birth again? Is she a new body or the original that had to be dug up and was amazingly healed? It's just ridiculous. I was willing to suspend my disbelief regarding the monster you never see but apparently stinks and sounds like an asthmatic old man BUT do not make me read the whole book to then throw a cheap twist in that doesn't make sense.
My boyfriend enjoyed skim reading the sex scenes which is why it gets two stars not one.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is about a school teacher named Peter Mason almost beaten too death by some pupils. He goes to the country side to a private school to have an easier life than in London. Do things really change there? Hutson comes up with a nice background story of Ley Lines, a druidic cult, some alchemists and a cult trying to bring back the dead or deadly sick. Some elements perfectly click some rather not. At parts the story is a bit too crude for my liking. The sex passages are quite spicy and explicit. Overall not one of his best but definitely readable. He could have made more with the alchemists and the treasure inside. Somehow the plot wasn't fully convincing to me. It was a bit long winded at parts. The ending was strong and creepy. How do those change who come from the dead? Recommended for Hutson fans

[LAURA JONES · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a very macarbe creepy read but one which will keep you hooked. i like the way there are small chapters each seemingly unconnected but each ending on a cliffhanger which keeps you waiting until he gets back to telling you the rest of the tale about this incident. the main character in the story peter mason has been brutally assaulted at the school he taught in london and by taking a post in a country school far away he thinks he can start a new life and be safer. but can he? i find this book hooked me in and was very haunting there were aspects that turned my stomach but i kept on reading it took me a while to decide the ending and there are still one or two questions about it if anyone has read it and would answer my questions please get in touch!

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been reading Mr Hutson's work since I was a teenager and most of his works are very good He is a master in this genre.
Last Rites falls in-between its not a bad book its not a good book its just well ok.
It ticks all the right boxes creepy, gore, Violence, moody, the story is ok all the characters are well fleshed out and the writing is of a high standard.
It even finishes that if Hutson wanted to return to this story he has left it open for a sequel which would be an interesting read.
The ending left me a little cold and felt a little rushed the ride was good but just let it self down in the end.

Worth your time and money (Just).

[Louisa Heaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was enjoying this, as I've enjoyed lots of Shaun Hutson novels, but then I got to the end and ... (spoiler) the hero, Mason, didn't survive. The bad guys won. The thing, the guardian was never fully explained, or shown and though that can work wonderfully in a horror novel, allowing the reader to fill in the blanks, I was disappointed. Almost as if the author got bored and suddenly decided to end the story. Latham was disposed of too easily, too.

I would have given it five stars, except for the ending that really let me down.

[Shaki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly couldn’t wait to finish this book, gave up close to the end. There was no real story line, random people killing themselves for no reason and nothing adding up. Was at least hoping for some depth into it but it honestly became so repetitive. If I could I wouldn’t have even bothered reading nevermind buying it

[Rob Damon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Wicker Man - downgraded with porn thrown in to help sales.

[DixyDelario · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the best Shaun Hutson's I've read so far. Absolutely captivating with all the gore and violence one comes to expect from Hutson. As usual I was not disappointed.

[John Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weirdly horny late period Hutson banger

[Julian Lorr · Rating 3 out of 5]

The review from BookChickCity said it all, save perhaps for the fact that I would say three stars instead of two. Hutson is the comfort of the familiar, and has the same sort of feel as Stephen King but in a very different way. I took this book away on holiday with me, deep within a natural forest, and it was a welcome friend. It isn't earth shattering, but it is reliable.

[Christopher Dodds · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a great book, with some enjoyable character's and an unexpected twist at the end.

[Krishnendu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is absolutely a thriller...I was really not expecting that end...I loved the twist even though some part disgust me.

[Tammi · Rating 4 out of 5]

bruh