REVIEW : Flesh House

Book : Flesh House
Author: Stuart Macbride
Price:Rs 250
Pages:480
Publisher :Harper Collins

When much ink has been spilled and reams written eugolising an author and his writings,it makes me wary. The truth, however is that Stuart Macbride is better with each book he has authored. I read the novel in three hours flat while waiting for a dentist's appointment and it certainly helped those dreaded hours melt away.
Like all his other books, Macbride has stuck to the formula of penning down dark funny stories and Flesh House is no different. Surprisingly, in this novel too, he has managed to sustain powerful eyeball glue. It's taught narrative,gut churning incident,strong characterization, are all shot through with savagely dark humor. He makes sure he hooks you from the first page and never lets you go.

The story is written ostensibly within the framework of a particular genre. The grisly tale starts off with a brisk pace when an offshore container turns up at Aberdeen Harbour full of human flesh. The incident kicks off the largest manhunt in the granite city's history. The city is besieged by a cannibalistic killer,who dismembers corpses and has the habit of selling the flesh it in a food chain. Not surprisingly, considerable pressure is brought upon the police, including DS Logan McCrae, to solve the grisly crimes committed by "The Flesher." Little is know about him except that he wears a Margaret Thatcher mask,who is cunning as a fox and frighteningly deadly,and may not be the person who was convicted of crime some twenty years ago. But the story takes another twist when members of the original investigation start to dissapear, McRae realizes the case might not be clear cut as everyone thinks.

This an edge -of -your seat page turner is riveting and gruesome. I'm not sure how much of it I missed since it seems to be one of a series, and I'm not up to date. However, I enjoyed the way the plot developed and unfolded in a fairly realistic manner. With a rampaging and seemingly invincible serial killer, Flesh House is nearly as much thriller as mystery. The pages turn rapidly, the characters are engaging (though often human enough to be unlikable), the writing is sometimes witty and sometimes gritty, the police are often unheroic, and the good guys don't always win. The Scottish setting is enjoyable. It is so compelling, that you need to take a break in the reading to absorb all the action. The story is violent and bloody,some of the crimes are vicious and the author doesn't hold back on the details. But there is a plenty of dark humor,and a warmth to the portrayal of the police officers which lightens an otherwise grim tale. There are instances where he grabs the reader by the throat.
While I liked the writing style, the various plot lines never really connected. I mostly enjoyed it, but found the ending a little anti-climactic after everything building up to it.
The book is a must read for those who's got a penchant for blood,gore and the macabre. Read it for the surge of adrenaline.