KIN [Kindle Edition]

Kealan Patrick Burke (Author)

Book Description

A new novel by the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of THE TURTLE BOY.

On a scorching hot summer day in Elkwood, Alabama, Claire Lambert staggers naked, wounded, and half-blind away from the scene of an atrocity. She is the sole survivor of a nightmare that claimed her friends, and even as she prays for rescue, the killers -- a family of cannibalistic lunatics -- are closing in.

A soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder returns from Iraq to the news that his brother is among the murdered in Elkwood.

In snowbound Detroit, a waitress trapped in an abusive relationship gets an unexpected visit that will lead to bloodshed and send her back on the road to a past she has spent years trying to outrun.

And Claire, the only survivor of the Elkwood Massacre, haunted by her dead friends, dreams of vengeance... a dream which will be realized as grief and rage turn good people into cold-blooded murderers and force alliances among strangers.

It's time to return to Elkwood.

In the spirit of such iconic horror classics as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Deliverance, Kin begins at the end and studies the possible aftermath for the survivors of such traumas upon their return to the real world -- the guilt, the grief, the thirst for revenge -- and sets them on an unthinkable journey... back into the heart of darkness.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If you're a fan of Jack Ketchum, Richard Laymon, or movies like THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and DELIVERANCE, don't miss KIN.  Burke's novel not only re-imagines the classic slasher tropes, but it invents new ones. This is a modern classic, and I cannot recommend it highly enough." - FEARNET

"If you took the moral quandaries about revenge, justice and violence against evil from Dennis Lehane's Patrick Kenzie novels, spread it over the sprawling cast of a Stephen King thriller, and mixed it with the Southern Gothic grotesques of Eudora Welty, you might end up with something like Kealan Patrick Burke's new novel, KIN." - LITSTACK

"From the first chapter I found myself comparing KIN to the absolute best work of Jack Ketchum, James White Wrath, and Richard Laymon.  You might be thinking that I've listed an awful lot of great authors here and mentioned more than a few classics in this review and that there's no way this book could live up to that hype.  You'd be wrong. KIN is not only the best novel I've read all year, it is one of the most horrifying ones I've ever read.  I hope you give it a shot." - HORROR WORLD
 
"It's odd that an Irish transplant to the Northern US has written one of the best Southern Gothic novels in recent memory. I'll look forward to Burke's next work just as much as I hated to see this one end. I would highly recommend KIN to lovers of old fashioned horror fiction with a twist. If you're going to read just one noir cannibal revenge novel this year, KIN should fit the bill." - DARK DISCOVERIES
"THIS is serious horror fiction that has set a high standard for future stories in this subgenre. Don't miss it." - THE CROW'S CAW

From the Author

Excerpt from KIN:

-1-
 
Elkwood, Alabama
July 15th, 2004
 
 
Everything is dead.

Naked, bloodied and stunned, the sun high in the cloudless sky and scalding her sweat-slicked skin, Claire Lambert nevertheless managed to note that the stunted, bone-white tree in the field to her right was the same one she'd commented on a few days, months, or years earlier, though what she might have said about it was a mystery now. She stopped walking--if indeed she'd been walking at all, for the sensation thus far was one of being still, spine bent, the road moving like a granite-studded conveyor belt beneath her torn and filthy feet--and squinted at the gnarled trunk, which looked like an emaciated mother with an elaborate wind-wracked headdress, twisted limbs curled protectively around its womb, knees bent, feet splayed and poking out from beneath the hem of a skirt that had been washed and worn a few times too often.

It fascinated Claire, and though she swayed as if she might fall on legs that had many miles ago ceased registering as anything but independent creatures burdened with her weight, she couldn't look away. Fire licked with cold tongues at her groin; the blood in her hair hardened, and whatever vile substance now lay in a gelid, solidifying lump in the hole which had once contained her right eye, ticked as if someone had replaced it with a watch to measure the time she had left. But still she looked, still she stared, as the merciless sun turned her scalp pink and cooked the flesh on her back. Sweat, cooler in the scant shade beneath her breasts, fell like tears. At length, she twitched, and her legs shuffled her toward the barbed wire fence that separated the field from the road. Cotton whispered in the breeze as her stomach met the wire, the barbs pressing deep into the skin; she felt nothing but an involuntary shiver.

A startled bird exploded from the cotton with a cry that dragged her attention to its whickering form as it soared high, then lost itself in the blinding blanket of the sun. Claire lowered her head, licked dry, cracked lips with a sandpaper tongue and pushed again against the fence, unable to understand why her progress was being halted. Surely no one would begrudge her a conference with that tree, a taste of the maternal comfort she felt it might offer. Again she pushed, and again she was withheld. This time the barbs pierced her skin. Troubled, she took a half-step back, the black wire thrumming like a guitar string strummed by the breeze. A single drop of her blood welled from the iron tip of a barb and hung, suspended in time, refusing the sun, before it plummeted and colored crimson a finger of grass. Frowning, she looked slowly from the wire to the tree, as if the blame might lay with that withered woman, and tried to speak, to beg. A thin whistle was all that emerged from her parched throat--Help me--and she swallowed what felt like a handful of hot stones.

A sound.

She turned, reluctant to look away from the tree, but drawn by the only other noise she had heard thus far not immediately attributable to nature, or that soft voice inside her chanting incessantly and with tireless determination that everything was dead. A strand of her hair snagged on her lower lip, and stayed there, held in a fissure where the skin had split.

Raging white light thundered toward her. Of this she was only dimly aware, for between that light and where she stood swaying, was a man with no face or hands. No, that wasn't quite right. Daniel still had his hands, but they no longer had skin and looked impossibly dark and raw. This didn't concern her, for rarely had he held her anyway--a lapse in affection of which she had once upon a time hoped to disabuse him.

Why won't you hold my hand?

Because we're not kids anymore, babe.

But at the sight of that flayed skull, a tear, like the blood on the wire, defied the sun and spilled from her one good eye.

"We can hitch a ride," he told her, though his lips never moved. The raw ragged open wound of his face, topped by a nest of unruly brown hair, turned to nod at the glaring light behind him, which had grown closer still. The mirrored sun floated above shimmering metal, the wheels grinding up thick mustard-colored clouds.

She opened her mouth to respond, to tell her boyfriend that they really should wait for the others, but even had she possessed the voice to convey the words, a sudden bolt of dazzling pain tried to scissor her in half, forcing her to double over as she vomited into the dirt at her feet.

Everything is dead.

Her head swelled as she watched a dark red river flow from her mouth, turning dust to rust and spattering her ankles. The veins in her neck stuck out in thick cords, her ruined eye began to burn and throb, making it feel as if her brain was trying to force its way out of her, to distance itself farther from this confusing reality than she had thus far managed on her own.

Weakened, she dropped to her knees, felt the ground abrade the skin there. But there was no pain. Her flesh had become a thick heavy coat, and the many tears in the lining affected her not at all. Her palms slid into the dirt.

The sound of squealing might have been of old hinges in the doors of the earth opening to accept her; it might have been her own struggle to breathe against a torrent of vile regurgitated panic and grief, or it might have been the brakes on the car she'd seen coming because now a new voice, a strange voice, drifted down to her sunburned ears as a figure eclipsed the sun and a cool shadow was thrown like a blanket over her bare back.

"Jesus, Mary'n Joseph'n all the holy saints," it said. "What happened, Miss?"

It's them, she thought feebly. One of them come to take me back. To hurt me again. It was the same knowledge that had kept her going this far, the unmistakable feeling of being watched, stalked, hunted, meant to die but breathing still.

She shook her head to deny him. Opened her mouth to speak but only blood emerged, the river of sickness forcing her throat to swell. Still she tried to struggle, but when she raised her hands to protect herself, it happened only in her mind. Her limbs would not respond. The pair of dusty boots that had pressed into her field of vision moved away.

Good. Go. Leave me alone. You've done enough. Everything is dead. You killed them all.

"Christ, Pete, get me that 'ol dog blanket an' the flask. Move!"

At last the dizzying current ceased and she found strength enough to raise her head. The man was a wiry knot of shadow under a crooked hat, a scarecrow with a golden halo, trying to deceive her into thinking him salvation. Dread pounded at her chest, igniting further knots of pain that seemed to radiate from the core of her.

Another shadow sprouted from the man's shoulder, this one just as thin, but without a hat, just a fuzz of hair.

They're here to kill me.

"Oh God, lookit her eye."

"Shut your fool mouth, boy."

"What happ'ned to her? She ain't got no clothes on." The voice was filled with nervous excitement.

The hatless shadow was elbowed aside. The thin one flapped its arms until its chest became wings descending around Claire, swaddling her.

"Help me carry her."

She opened her mouth to moan at the sudden, terrible heat enveloping her and felt new warmth seep from between her legs. The dirt turned dark quickly.

"Pa she done wet hers--"

"Now."

Before the arms could press their wings even tighter around her, Claire took a series of quick, dry, painful swallows, then drew in a breath that sounded like nails on a blackboard, and screamed for Daniel. But even as that tortured, awful noise poured out of her, and though she was surrounded by shadows that were lifting her up and carrying her back to Hell, she knew for the first time in her life that she was well and truly alone, and that no help was coming now, or ever.


* * *

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 553 KB
• Print Length: 274 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1479110493
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006TMA9ZE
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,052 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes bad people and good people cross paths... April 14, 2012

By Kari J. Wolfe VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition

I've been hearing a lot of good things about Mr. Burke and his work, but this was the first time that I have read one of his novels.

His novel, The Turtle Boy, won a Bram Stoker Award in 2004 and you can get a copy of it for the Kindle for FREE by searching for it. After reading KIN, it is definitely going on my TBR shelf.

Burke's newest novel, KIN, has been described as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Deliverance."

It's the story of a girl who escapes from being kidnapped by a deranged family who tortured and brutally murdered the friends she had been traveling with.

It's the story of a young man who wakes up to the realization that all is not always right with the world, that there are bad people, and that sometimes those bad people and good people cross paths.

And it's the story of those bad people from their own perspective, where in their own world, they're doing what they think is right: they live by their own rules and there are consequences for stepping outside of them.

It didn't take me long to be drawn into the story and to that point of near obsession with what was going to happen next. But it wasn't the story of the surviving girl that got me going. Nor was it the story of the young black man who assists her in her desire for retribution.

It's the family themselves.

Hearing about Mama and her putrid room, her ginormous body riddled with fat and disease, Papa and his insistence that what they are doing, they are doing in the name of God and because God wills them to kill the nonbelievers.

That's where Burke really excelled in this story.... He brought me to care about one of the murderous family members and in doing so, he brings me into the family's clutches where I want to know more about who they are, why they are the way they are, and ultimately, they are who I want to understand and to hear about. Everything else in the book feels as though it is there to bring me to find out more about this family.

Kealan, I loved this story. It's one of the few books that have really caught my attention in the past few years. You know the books I mean -- the ones that crawl under your skin and sit in the back of your conscious mind while you're going about your day. The ones that make you pick the book back up because you know if you don't, you're going to be haunted by the characters and the story forever. I think this book is definitely one of those that -- even if you DO read to the end -- it's still going to stick with you for a very long time. Read more ›

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark and Disturbing Horror March 1, 2012

By Belinda Frisch

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Where most stories end, KIN picks up. A young girl named Claire is wandering--beaten, raped, and maimed--down a road in the kind of southern dead end town you'd never want to go to. Her three friends have been brutally murdered by a family of cannibalistic religious nuts known as the Merrills and they are hunting for Claire, the one that got away, even as she is rescued.

Claire's rescuers, a young boy named Pete and his Pa are introduced as well as a cast of supporting characters that include a well-intending old physician and the victims' families, most prominently Finch, one of their brothers who is an angry war veteran that had once dated Claire's sister.

Each character in KIN has their own run-ins with the Merrills, their own motivations for engaging with them, and their own reasons for not wanting to. The story deals with what happens when dysfunctional family dynamics and back woods justice meet the need for revenge.

I am a Kealan Patrick Burke fan. His descriptions are bar none and his flawed characters have a way of drawing me in. Having read Currency of Souls, I was curious to see what he cooked up with KIN and the tale did not disappoint. The writing was engaging, descriptive, and often disturbing. The story was evocative of the Last House on the Left, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and I dare say a bit of the Devil's Rejects.

Claire was by far my favorite character and it was her story that compelled me to keep reading even when part two of the book introduced Finch and a line of war-related commentary that had me a little ugh. Not my thing, it's purely preference, but the comments about the war feel, at times, like the author intruding on the characters and that's my only complaint....

Overall, KIN was suspenseful and written in Kealan's signature powerful prose. Many stories start with a group of kids taking a wrong turn. None that I've seen or read pick up in the emotional aftermath of their torture. The raw feeling and realism that follow Claire's recovery has you rooting for her until the very end. An excellent read and highly recommended. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting October 20, 2012

By Quentin R. Stewart, Jr.

Format:Paperback

I found the book Kin to be extremely fascinating and interesting. It is a novel full of interesting characters and situation. I found the use of telling the story through different people to keep the story moving interesting. Through this method the author is able to let the reader in on what each character is thinking about the various situations that are presented in the story. The story is full of violence that one family inflicts upon a young lady and how the crime and violence has been covered up and how innocents become entangled in the violence and in some cases eliminated.

I know that the kin that the book is named for is the family that commits the crimes. But I found myself looking at how the other families in the story are affected and how members of each react to their kin that are involved in what occurs in the story. These reactions are what make the novel interesting to me. How will people react in different situations? Do we attempt to hide what has happened or do we as a family or an individual try to face head on what has occurred.

A very interesting novel and a good addition to any library.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing! September 21, 2012

By Cynthia E

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I finished this e-book last night and...well, just W-O-W!

Okay, let me start off by saying I became familiar this author through his stories The Grief Frequency and The Turtle Boy. Now that I've read Kin, I am a fan for life--seriously! You wouldn't think that a story including cannibals would be very original because it's been done over and over (Ketchum's Off Season and Offspring ring a bell?), but Kin is like no other cannibalistic story I've ever read before.

There were quite a few unexpected twists in the story, many left me gaping at my Kindle and looking like a complete fool in front of my family. I don't know where Burke came up with some of the ideas in this book, but my goodness, he pushed the envelope with some of them.

The characterization in this novel was top-notch. These characters were so believable you would think they were plucked from real life and thrown into this book.

I really can't rave enough about how much I loved this book! So much that I will be purchasing the paperback version of Kin to go on my bookshelf.

*Book Hollow*

More About the Author

Born and raised in Dungarvan, Ireland, Kealan Patrick Burke is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of five novels (Master of the Moors, Currency of Souls, Kin, The Living, and Nemesis: The Death of Timmy Quinn), over a hundred short stories, three collections (Ravenous Ghosts, The Number 121 to Pennsylvania & Others, and Theater Macabre), and editor of four acclaimed anthologies (Taverns of the Dead, Quietly Now: A Tribute to Charles L. Grant, Brimstone Turnpike, and Tales from the Gorezone, proceeds from which were donated to children's charity PROTECT.)

Kealan has worked as a waiter, a drama teacher, a mapmaker, a security guard, an assembly-line worker at Apple Computers, a salesman (for a day), a bartender, landscape gardener, vocalist in a grunge band, and, most recently, a fraud investigator. He also played the male lead in Slime City Massacre, director Gregory Lamberson's sequel to his cult B-movie classic Slime City, alongside scream queens Debbie Rochon and Brooke Lewis.

When not writing, Kealan designs covers for print and digital books through his company Elderlemon Design. To date he has designed covers for books by Richard Laymon, Brian Keene, Scott Nicholson, Bentley Little, William Schoell, and Hugh Howey, to name a few.

In what little free time remains, Kealan is a voracious reader, movie buff, videogamer (Xbox), and road-trip enthusiast.