The Kult / Shaun Jeffrey

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Mystery

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: YES Paper: YES
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Shaun Jeffrey attributes his attraction to “the dark side” to growing up in a house in a cemetery. He has had numerous short stories published in many different venues, with a collection of shorts, Voyeurs of Death, along with two other novels available for your e-reader. For more, visit Jeffrey’s blog.

Description:

“People are predictable. That’s what makes them easy to kill.”

Pushed into assisting with a copycat killing, police detective Prosper Snow finds himself trapped by his colleagues on one side, and the serial killer who takes exception to their copying on the other.

A movie based on The Kult has been filmed by Gharial Productions, with release pending.

Appraisal:

The premise, that the protagonist Prosper Snow gets pushed into helping with a copycat killing, seems hard to believe when reading it in the description. However, the author sets this up in such a way that buying into the premise isn’t as difficult as you might expect. What follows from that decision is a horrific nightmare. A murder mystery that at times reads like a police procedural and is spiced with more than a touch of horror, The Kult isn’t your typical book.

What was most intriguing about The Kult was having several characters who are simultaneously the good guy and the bad guy. Prosper is the good guy, since he is leading the murder investigation, but also the bad guy, for his role in the copycat murder. His accomplices are murderers, yet they’re sympathetic for the same reason Prosper is, and we don’t want them to be caught. Prosper’s partner on the police force is a good guy (or gal, if you prefer), however, we’re rooting against her truly solving all the crimes. Somehow, Jeffrey finds his way to a satisfactory resolution, with a surprise twist you’ll never predict.

FYI:

The author uses spelling conventions and slang from his native country, the UK.

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of typos.

Rating: **** Four stars