Things aren’t going well in Motor City. Unemployment is rife. Foreclosures dot the suburbs. Police won’t stop shooting black kids. And on top of everything, a murderer has started creating bizarre human-animal hybrid corpses.
This novel is composed of several at-first-unrelated narratives which are (of course) gradually woven together. It’s clear who the murderer is from very early in the piece. What’s less clear is whether he’s a garden-variety psychopath, is affected by some recent illness (a brain tumour is suggested), or is a conduit for more supernatural forces. The most enjoyable narratives are those of the lead detective on the case, Gabriella Versado, and her daughter, Layla, because it’s there that most of the action happens. Another narrative revolves around TK, a rehabilitated criminal who volunteers at his local church helping the homeless and unemployed, but also scavenges through foreclosed homes and businesses looking for anything of value. I’m not sure I got to know TK very well, but I did like that he wasn’t a mere bottom-feeder, but rather a more nuanced down-and-outer. On the other hand we have Jonno, a wannabe journalist running from a failed relationship, who represents opportunism at its least palatable and most parasitical.
Despite its aspirations in the direction of Stephen King, this novel suffers a little from overly self-conscious prose. It’s most noticeable at the beginning; once the main plot hits its stride, the action is fast-paced enough that the writing for the most part takes a back seat. There are some nicely-observed parent-teen vignettes that hit their mark and don’t linger, which I appreciated. On the other hand, there’s an occasional false note that sticks out far enough to be distracting for a moment or so.
Prose aside, there’s a strong theme of misogyny in this novel which I thought was explored in interesting ways. It’s a novel that is strongly rooted in the period in which it was written (by which I mean 2014), and Layla’s narrative in particular looks at the harassment and stalking of young girls online, as well as the disproportionate ways in which teen girls are targeted online over behaviour that goes unremarked-on in boys. It’s also during those sections that the parent-child relationships are at their most interesting.
The ending is difficult to talk about – not just because of spoilers, but because it’s not completely clear what actually happened. I’m a big fan of this in a horror context, but if you like a definitive conclusion, this is not the book for you. Overall, a satisfying and genre-defying read that skates through a blend of Detroit noir/police procedural/fantasy horror, without seeming to be bothered what you might think it should be.