The Perfect Son: A Novel by Lauren North

The Perfect Son: A Novel.  Lauren North. Penguin Publishing Group.  August 2019; pb, 368 pp.; ISBN #: 9781984803849.

How far will grief take over the mind and heart of its victim?  Tessa Clarke has just lost her husband in a tragic airplane accident.  Now at the beginning of this story, she wakes up in the hospital with a knife wound in her stomach and the realization that her son Jamie is missing.  The plot goes back to months before Jamie’s birthday and his disappearance.  Many have reached out to Tess in her grief but she remains totally incommunicado.  The only person to approach her is her late husband’s brother, Ian, who claims that he loaned Mark a huge amount of money that he needs repaid now.  Tessa is the Executrix of her husband’s will but hasn’t given any thought to a will or the future.

All of a sudden, Tessa finds some temporary relief in a visit from Shelly, a grief counselor, who herself lost a child and has been through this grief process.  She knows exactly what Tessa is thinking and feeling, and that is some small comfort as Tessa struggles to keep her head together for her son.  Jamie however has reverted to his former shy nature and fear of anything out of the normal occurrences of everyday.  He, however, also enjoys Sherry’s visits.

The story plays out and the reader discovers a mystery lurking that she cannot handle even though once it does play out forces her to wake up to how her grief is destroying her life and perhaps even forcing the loss of her son.  But that truth takes a while to evolve as it does.

Lauren North is a psychologist who knows the mind and hearts of her characters.  Thing tie up a bit pat by the end but it’s satisfactory to the reader who has been taking sides with the characters since this nightmare began.  Nicely crafted, Lauren North – a mysterious, touching and sincere read!

Slaughtered: A Jack Slaughter Thriller by K. A. Lugo

Slaughtered: A Jack Slaughter Thriller. K. A. Lugo. Tirgearr Publishing. November 2018. 223 pp. ASIN: B07JLMPX4.

In the flash of a moment, Jack Slaughter lost his wife, daughter and favorite pet.  The latter were brutally murdered and to this day Jack has no idea what happened to his wife.  The impact of these losses was more devastating than anyone could imagine.  He left his work as a Detective and is now operating a Private Investigation practice.  Now a man named Carl Boyd requests his assistance to find his wife Bonnie who has also disappeared.  Jack’s internal response to this request is gut-wrenching.  During the same week, a young woman is found murdered and found in a local lake area.  Jack’s best buddy, Ray, stops Jack from making a stupid mistake, attaching Ray’s partner Travers at the scene of that crime.  Jack can’t figure out the reason for Detective Travers’ animosity.

This opening scene leads to a discovery beyond horrendous – a series of deaths by evisceration – bodies that have inhumanly been sliced apart.  K. A. Lugo ha gone ultra-dark on this central part of a multi-layered plot.  Still the depiction of over a dozen bodies is so haunting that one keeps flipping the pages to find out what will happen, wondering if the perpetrator will somehow almost miraculously solve this unspeakable crime!

These stories have a soft side as the author adds that compassionate, human element that doesn’t just see each victim as a number but as a person with connections to place, time and other people. 

Jack is sharp but what he misses is amply provided by his partner Ray.  A parish priest is the listening, caring individual who is objective enough to speak truth to Jack in the presence of unspeakable grief.  But beware!  The four parts of this plot will not be resolved as the reader expects.  It’s only when Ray’s wife disappears that the action ramps up and all the clues to discover the serial killer, Butch, begin to unite! 

K. A. Lugo writes romance novels under another name but here demonstrates how competently and deftly she pens a crime thriller!  This is a must read that this reviewer highly recommends!!!

Perfume - The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind

Perfume - The Story of a Murderer. Patrick Suskind. Vintage Press. February 2001. 255 pages. ISBN #: 9780671749606.

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born in late 19th Century France to parents who is rejected by his parents and all who would otherwise want a little baby to nourish and cherish. The few who do encounter him as a baby note that he smells "evil," like an abomination, whatever that means; it turns out he literally has no smell to him, unlike other sweet babies. But Grenouille survives the rejection of a woman, priest and others to discover that his total way of appreciating the world is through the unique sense of smell that HE has. For he can recognize any object or person by smell, and this is what feeds his soul and sets his identity - that is until the day he encounters a wholly new intoxicating smell. What he will do upon reaching the source of that lovely odor will shock the reader to the core of his or her mind and heart!

Grenouille is now a changed man and seeks to create perfumes that will entrance other as he has been enraptured. But how he will do it is both mesmerizing and shocking, again and again. For creating the perfect perfume makes him even more of a misogynist than previously and his hate will lead to numerous victims as he seeks to rid the world of malodorous men, women, and children.

This is not your average horror or serial killer story. For the author depicts this psychotic individual with such neutrality and writes in such a literate style that the reader is compelled to keep rapidly turning the pages until the last shocking event! The story also gives a nice historical touch to the story, depicting the poverty, wealth, degradation and depravity of the times in a France that may be post-Revolution but is none the better for the overwhelming changes.

One word only perfectly describes this novel - amazing!