Customer Reviews

Body Count

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is another book I've read recently that reads just like a movie. It reminded me of SAW. Although the story is different, it has the same level of violence and tension, with a typical movie style ending. This is a long way from the Shaun Hutson novels I remember reading (Slugs, Spawn,) but it worked well and I wasn't disappointed.

We are introduced to Detective Inspector Joe Chapman, who's typically flawed with an unhappy marriage, an affair with a work colleague under his belt and a runaway daughter who can't deal with her dysfunctional family. All he needs to complete the stereotype is to be an alcoholic, but fortunately Hutson refrains from the conventional. However, I think that because of these flaws the character is actually quite likeable and believable.
The plot is a good one (which I wont go into as it will give too much away). It is a slow burner but it eventually kicks into high gear when Chapman becomes the hunted rather than the hunter.

This is a very violent book with a significant amount of bad language. Some of it made me wince, and the rape scene was pretty horrific, but it embedded itself well in the story and didn't feel out of place, although it did make for uncomfortable reading. However, it's suppposed to make you feel like that; it is Shaun Hutson after all.

Verdict:

This is a phychological horror which is full of brutality and bloodshed. It is well executed and I would definitely read more from this author. However, I would only recommend it to like minded people who enjoy horror and can deal with, or are used to, reading books of this nature.

I've not read any of Shaun Hutson's books for a long while but this one caught my eye - and I'm glad it did.
It is the story of a bunch of detectives and their search for the maker of what could be snuff movies. It seems someone is having people hunted and killed for 'entertainment' but the officers have nothing to go on - until the DI leading the case becomes the target.
The book reads like something similar to the Saw movies or a pretty gruesome video game. Some of the scenes were slightly disturbing but horror isn't meant to be nice. At times it was slightly predictable but that doesn't stop it being an enjoyable, pedal to the metal read.
Maybe not for the faint hearted but if you've got the stomach for it you're in for a good time

Body Count by Shaughhhhouen Hutson is my second reading
experience with the author and it was a much better one. I
disliked Compulsion and remember very little of it now and, while
I do not think that Body Count is a remarkable book by any means,
I know that I will remember it for a long time. I think I would
have given it four stars instead of three if I hadn't read a
couple similar books already. Single White Psychopath Seeks Same
by Jeff Strand and The Manhattan Hunt Club by John Saul are the
two and the latter especially is very close to this since it also
is about criminals being hunted and killed once they are released
from or on their way to prison. This was a fun, quick read and so packed with
violence that, after a while, it stopped being as interesting. I
got the impression that a few of the things that happened in the
book were very convenient coincidences to make the book more
interesting or effective. My complaint with this is that I
noticed and it made the story seem forced at times. Again
though, this is a book full of fun for horror fans and it does
contain a few interesting new forms of it that I haven't come
across, such as the scene with the nail gun near the end of the
book. This is also one of those books where the protagonist can
take a questionable amount of damage and continue fighting but
that didn't really get to me. Again, I think most horror fans
would enjoy this book, flaws and all, but I just can't see it
making a major impression on most people.

I liked this book alot because it reminded me of the PS2 game "Manhunt". In fact, it was eerily similar and one cant help to wonder if the game was his inspiration for this book. Petty Criminals are disappearing off the streets and reappearing in snuff movies where they are being hunted by masked men with chains, knives, machetes, axes and guns. It seems to be for pure sport but you find out there is a lot more to it.

There is a sub-plot where the detective of the story is looking for his missing daughter and the two plots collide when the detective becomes the next victim of the said snuff movies. It was action-packed and fast paced and bloody and violent. I thoroughly enjoyed it.