A review by martinroberts
The Venus Complex by Barbie Wilde
3.0
I read an article recently by author John Skipp entitled 'Why killing the sh*t out of interesting people is clearly the way to go'. With The Venus Complex Barbie Wilde has neatly inverted this idea in that her serial killer, Michael Friday is an interesting person killing the sh*t out of people.
Michael's story is told in the form of a personal journal, with entries running the gauntlet from his sick and twisted sexual fantasies, to his accounts of graphic murders and razor sharp social commentary, with an underlying streak of very dark humour.
What made this truly disturbing to me personally was how easily I found myself agreeing with many of the comments Michael recounts in his journal. Without spoiling it too much for the potential reader there was one 'chapter' where Michael declares his love for a colleague that instantly transported me back to my teenage years when love was this magical yet intense emotional force. Barbie captures this state of mind perfectly, and rightly deserves the full five star review. Truth be told, I have deduct one star so that the author may strive to reach even greater heights in subsequent publications.
I don't really need to point out the sheer volume of books dedicated to the subject of serial killers, What I do wish to do is state that Barbie's début novel stands head and shoulders - decapitated or not - above most titles in this sub-genre.
Not to be missed if you are a fan of pitch black crime / horror novels.
Michael's story is told in the form of a personal journal, with entries running the gauntlet from his sick and twisted sexual fantasies, to his accounts of graphic murders and razor sharp social commentary, with an underlying streak of very dark humour.
What made this truly disturbing to me personally was how easily I found myself agreeing with many of the comments Michael recounts in his journal. Without spoiling it too much for the potential reader there was one 'chapter' where Michael declares his love for a colleague that instantly transported me back to my teenage years when love was this magical yet intense emotional force. Barbie captures this state of mind perfectly, and rightly deserves the full five star review. Truth be told, I have deduct one star so that the author may strive to reach even greater heights in subsequent publications.
I don't really need to point out the sheer volume of books dedicated to the subject of serial killers, What I do wish to do is state that Barbie's début novel stands head and shoulders - decapitated or not - above most titles in this sub-genre.
Not to be missed if you are a fan of pitch black crime / horror novels.