To say that Silence of the Lambs changed the game would be an understatement. The classic thriller was back, updated to the 80’s and harder than ever. Totally reminiscent of Night of the Hunter or Cape Fear. The late 80’s early 90’s thriller all had the Silence of the Lambs name drop on the cover or back blurb. It was almost as dependable as the Steven King blurb on an 80’s horror. The popularity of the horror paperback genre in the 80’s was huge, so the thriller was labeled “psychological horror,” a more appropriate title but not as fun or classic as thriller, which is what I’ll be calling it.
This was Bill Eidson’s first published novel, and he is still alive and kicking. His last book was, The Mayday in 2005. He has a freelance author website, and you can hire him to write your business speech. Makes me wish I had some business speeches to give.
The book starts right in with serial killer mania. Our big bad wolf, Guy, is tormenting a man before taking on his persona to go out and bag some ladies. This isn’t torture killing. He wants his male victims dead so he can pretend to be them but not in a realistic sense. Like, he’s not showing up to their jobs. He dawns wigs and makeup and the recently deceased’s clothes to hit the town. This gives him confidence to approach ladies. If a lady puts him down at all or even if he believes they are insulting him, it’s good night to them also. Guy is loony! Obviously. It’s not over the top though. Subtle madness boiling below the skin. It’s written well and creates crazy tension. There were many nights where I found myself completely enveloped in the story and had a hard time putting it down. That doesn’t happen too often for me.
As Guy moves on to the central plot, we find that he chooses his victims by answering roommate ads. He only picks the most handsome, confident and all-around winners. No fat guys. Finally, a win for the fatties. Bad news for Joe Cool diving coach, Rod though as he needs a new roommate to help save money. Rod has a super babe girlfriend named Bette who has a newly single roommate herself named, Lori. It’s not looking good for the trio when Rod meets Guy and invites him to rent the room in his apartment.
From then we get flashbacks of Guy as a teenager. His older brother is the cocky cool guy. His mom constantly ignores him or puts him down. His dad is an ineffectual side character who barely speaks. He has no friends. Brother constantly picks on him and embarrasses him in public.
One day the teacher announces a school play of Cyrano De Bergerac. Guy reads the part and finds he’s a new man when someone else is writing the script. He gains confidence. Stands up for himself when it matters and it even looks like he might loose his virginity. Unfortunately, Guy gets too nervous, and things aren’t coming up for him, if you know what I mean. The girl absolutely berates him. Destroys him. And thus begins the train off the tracks.
The story goes back and forth between adult Guy and teenager Guy. Both are equally intense. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t say much more about the plot. As far as the reasoning behind his killing…I guess now it’s kind of cliché, mentally abusive home life, impotence, loner etc. As someone who believes we’re pretty much born how we are with external forces only playing a minor part in how we come out, I was pleasantly surprised that the things that happen to Guy in his youth aren’t primarily the focus on why he starts killing. Though certain unfortunate incidents happen, it’s nothing that is completely traumatic, which I took to mean, the killing was inside him all along, waiting dormant until his true nature could come out.
When Guy loses his cool it’s complete violence. He’s awkward as all get out but can usually keep it under the surface in a social setting. Have you ever been around someone who seems completely normal and then something slips out, something weird, like an over the top reaction and it makes you instantly uncomfortable. That’s how this whole book is. You actually feel uncomfortable reading it.
This book was amazing. One of my favorite reads so far this year. Anyone who is a fan of the serial killer thriller should definitely pick this up if you see it. I’m sure you can find it used for a couple bucks. Maybe even a dollar. The author has copies in ebook format also.
Zebra 1990
Review by Nick Anderson
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