Halloween Throwback: Broken Monsters

Is this what I told you was coming next? No! But it's a review of a book that is perfect for Halloween,  Lauren Beukes' Broken Monsters. Not to worry: the next post will feature my thoughts going into NaNoWriMo about both my own project, and the indie sci-fi book I am finishing up now. Not to, um, frighten anyone going into this adventure, but while it may be tempting to self-publish your oeuvre right after completion and a quick pass by a critique group, a little caution can be a good thing. That's all I'm going to say about that, for now.

Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Clayton Broome has spent years with people treating him as an outcast and dismissing him and his art, but now, he and his art are becoming something more; something too awesome for most to behold.

Detective Gabriella "Gabi" Versado is just barely able to hold things together on the job at Detroit PD while her attention-starved daughter, Layla, seems to keep finding new outlets for her frustrations.

Layla sees the dark side of high school life in a way that her mother will never understand, and the other adults at school don't seem to understand either. All she wants is to be a good friend to Cas, a girl who transferred to her charter school and changed her name under mysterious circumstances, and a good cat mommy to NyanCat.

Jonathan "Jonno" Haim came to Detroit to get a fresh start after a bad relationship but has serious doubts about how that can happen in a place that is rotting from the inside out.

Who knew that a string of horrific murders could be just the thing to bring all of these people together and get them closer to the acceptance, or at least, visibility, they thought they wanted?

Lauren Beukes relies a bit more heavily on clichés for her chapter titles than one might prefer, but Broken Monsters still has plenty of good turns of phrase that I found myself highlighting as I read. There's also tons of juicy and disgusting stuff in here to keep the most bloodthirsty horror fan happy. It's like a little burrito of serial killer story and supernatural horror wrapped in a commentary on objective reality and perception.

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