Primal Scream [Paperback]

Michael Slade (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1998

Decades ago, Inspector Robert DeClercq suffered a tragedy when his young daughter was kidnapped and killed after he was unable to save her. Only now, with a young girl named Katt in his life, can he put his demons to rest. Until DeClercq's Special X Team receives a shrunken head, heralding the return of the Headhunter -- a psychopath who left a trail of headless bodies in his wake eleven years earlier -- or is it a copycat killer? While the team seeks the answer, Katt is kidnapped, luring DeClercq away from his comrades into a deadly web of revenge!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a novel filled with the atmosphere of movies like Seven or the clearly implied X-Files, Slade (Evil Eye) returns with his Special X Team of Royal Canadian Mounted Police to put down a Native American uprising and solve a series of grisly murders near the Indian encampment. Detective Robert DeClercq is in charge and soon shrunken heads are arriving addressed to him, reminiscent of the Headhunter case. Though Slade boasts a cornucopia of possibly interesting characters (and not a few duds), it is difficult to follow any particular thread because of the large playing field. The plot, while gruesome and detailed?especially from the killer's p.o.v.?proves tedious as Slade stops to consider Vancouver history and Mountie procedure.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Signet (August 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451195663
• ISBN-13: 978-0451195661
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #420,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not his best, but worth the read, October 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Primal Scream (Paperback)

A committed Slade fan, I've been a bit disappointed in his last 2. Not quite up to their best, Ripper or Ghoul (my favorite) in terms of depth and pervisity of plot, but well above the average for the genre. I did miss the lack of a teaser or loose threads at the end. I, tho, wouldn't mind putting DeClercq on the back burner and doing more with Zinc or Craven, who were both shortchanged in this one. I must agree with other reviewers that Katt is overdone somewhat obnoxious. The research, as usual, is fascinating and near impeccable. One slip, which surprised me given their normal standards: The AR-15 is the civilian version of the M-16. It is NOT fully automatic. In fact, neither is the M-16 anymore; it fires 3-round bursts. No one's perfect.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Canadian Thomas Harris, August 3, 2004

By 

Kevin Killian (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Primal Scream (Paperback)

Once you've started one of Slade's books, you might give it up if you're not inured to violence and suspense, but otherwise he really keeps you wanting more. Once you've read MANHUNTER you'll want to find out more about LeCLERCQ and his obsession with killers of the past and present. PRIMAL SCREAM completes his voyage into the past, with the violent death of his own daughter a throbbing memory inside his brain compelling him to lead an investigation into a possible copy cat killer. There's even a young girl called KATT, as if to hint at a COPY KATT!!

Is Slade even a real person? I wonder if it isn't the pseudonym behind which a variety or people can make their feelings known on the topic of serial killing. One thing this putative syndicate could do to raise the standard of their books is to get some more imaginative titles. For example, HEADHUNTER and PRIMAL SCREAM. There must be dozens of books and movies already with those names. PRIMAL SCREAM is a psychoanalutical movement, for goodness sakes. The way Slade writes you'd think it was a heavy metal band.

Canada must be proud that for a country with not very many people (compared to the US) Slade has populated it with mad maniacs and determined grim-jawed cops in pursuit. And plenty of victims whose blood is rich with riboflavin.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars So intelligent it's frightening!, August 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Primal Scream (Paperback)

As a very loyal fan of Michael Slade (the pen name of two writers), I anxiously awaited this book. I have read all the others and was hooked from the very beginning. The writing is always smart and challenging, never insulting anyone's intelligence. It is gory (for fan's of horror), but we are always given a very clear portrait and glimpse into the mind of the killer/s. We also are treated to Canadian and Mountie/police/crime history (which I never believed I'd have any interest in (a testament to the engaging writing)! Primal Scream dips back into a case which constituted a previous novel, Headhunter (not at all necessary to have read any of the previous books to understand this one). This is my favorite Michael Slade book, and I will be eagerly awaiting the next one. The only problem I had with it was with the character Katt, who in the beginning is painted as a precocious teen. She is however, an annoying character in this otherwise intense and smart novel. Her little quips, poems and remarks make you want to vomit and roll your eyes (not necessarily in that order). Thankfully though, we only have to suffer through her at the beginning. At the end, her character becomes more serious and intelligent and real. This book is one in which the energy never dies down. From the very beginning throughout until the last page, we are interested, absorbed, entertained and educated.