Scan barcode
A review by spestock
Merciless by Bryan Smith
3.0
I received this book in my Night Worms subscription box, and it was one of the first splatterpunk books I've read. I can't say that this would be a genre I would be particularly interested in going forward, but I'm glad I got over my initial "yuck I don't like this" feeling.
Lindsey and Grant are newlyweds who have decided to murder someone on their honeymoon. Lindsey has dreams of being known as one of the all-time greats, up there with Bundy, Kemper, Dahmer. There's a great deal of irony in this, considering that she immediately screws up the plan, kidnapping, like, the first guy she and Grant come across. That underscoring of how inept they both are, how they let their own stupid grudges and arguments distract them, provided a nice counterpoint to the ever-rising atmosphere of terror and dread.
I like true crime. I listen to podcasts, watch the shows, read the books. I was immediately reminded of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. The story of Paul and Karla, if written in a narrative format, wouldn't be that dissimilar to the first half of Merciless. So while it's easy to flinch away, to not want to actually look at how horrible this sort of thing is, the truth is, it happens. There are real people out there just like this, who get off on causing misery, who enjoy hurting others. And it feels, perhaps, a little disingenuous to consume true crime as entertainment but think myself as somehow above reading about the actual nitty-gritty of the crimes themselves, no holds barred, nothing held back.
Anyway, this book made me think about the media I consume, and what that says about me. It reminded me that it's easy to forget about the absolute, incredible pain and terror that victims of monsters like Grant and Lindsey go through. I can't necessarily say that I enjoyed reading Merciless, but I'm glad I did.
Lindsey and Grant are newlyweds who have decided to murder someone on their honeymoon. Lindsey has dreams of being known as one of the all-time greats, up there with Bundy, Kemper, Dahmer. There's a great deal of irony in this, considering that she immediately screws up the plan, kidnapping, like, the first guy she and Grant come across. That underscoring of how inept they both are, how they let their own stupid grudges and arguments distract them, provided a nice counterpoint to the ever-rising atmosphere of terror and dread.
I like true crime. I listen to podcasts, watch the shows, read the books. I was immediately reminded of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. The story of Paul and Karla, if written in a narrative format, wouldn't be that dissimilar to the first half of Merciless. So while it's easy to flinch away, to not want to actually look at how horrible this sort of thing is, the truth is, it happens. There are real people out there just like this, who get off on causing misery, who enjoy hurting others. And it feels, perhaps, a little disingenuous to consume true crime as entertainment but think myself as somehow above reading about the actual nitty-gritty of the crimes themselves, no holds barred, nothing held back.
Anyway, this book made me think about the media I consume, and what that says about me. It reminded me that it's easy to forget about the absolute, incredible pain and terror that victims of monsters like Grant and Lindsey go through. I can't necessarily say that I enjoyed reading Merciless, but I'm glad I did.