Random
"Random’ reminded me of Patricia Highsmith’s style..."
Synopsis:
There is a serial killer going around Glasgow who has been named The Cutter. Nobody knows who will be next as every victim is different, their deaths brought about by a different MO every time. It isn't until The Cutter dispatches a key member of the Glasgow criminal underground that events really start kicking off.
Soon, due to misunderstanding and misdirection, people are being killed in revenge and gangland warfare is imminent. Amongst all this, The Cutter who has his own plan to play out must avoid being caught by a very annoyed gangland mobster out for blood. Especially when he finds himself in very close proximity to said mobster.
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Review:
Random' is an unusual novel written from the perspective of the killer. There isn't anything unusual in that - it has been done many times before - it was just that there was a strange and yet attractive quirkiness to the story, possibly due to the writing that made me want to read on further. This novel is not littered with particularly nice characters and you don't really warm to any of them, even the narrator – not even when you find out the whole reason why he is committing these 'random' killings. However, that said, something inexplicable made me want to continue to turn those pages. 'Random' reminded me of Patricia Highsmith's style, people you didn't find loveable and yet you had to watch as they spiralled further down in to the darkest depths none of us could ever imagine ourselves in. It is the same with why people slow down when there has been a car accident on the motorways… it is that fascination and repulsion that makes us look. The same here with 'Random' - I just couldn't avert my eyes! There isn't much in the way of dialogue as most of it is the thoughts of the killer – but definitely a very good first novel that promises much darkness in the future.