HELL TO PAY By Shaun Hutson – Reviewed

This book from 2004, follows a similar pattern to Hutson’s other “horror’ thrillers of the time such as White Ghost.  Around this time, Huston seems to leave the supernatural horror of his previous books behind and head into this new “thriller” territory. Normally there would still be plenty of violence and disturbing gruesome descriptions (that Hutson’s known for) to up the ante on the usual thrillers out there.

Hell to Pay follows the same principles, including the various plot-lines intersecting towards the end for a climactic showdown.

Nikki Reed is in trouble, big trouble. Her and her husband owe the local gangster twenty thousand pounds, most of it spent down the bookies and gambled away, the rest spent on Playstation 2s and similar unrequired accessories. They have until the end of the week to find the money, or they’re likely to be killed by the loan shark, who is already threatening them with violence.

Roma Todd is having an affair. Her husband is virtually estranged, spending all of his time at work and providing little in the way of parental support for their ill daughter Kirsten.

Detective Inspector Fielding is called to another murder. A young boy found washed up by a lake. The third child to be killed. Is it a serial killer they are looking for or a paedophile? Or both? With few clues to follow the police are searching for any lead they can get.

So these three plot lines will eventually intersect, but the climatic action denouement that you would expect ultimately fails to be realised. There is a slight twist, but not enough to satisfy.

One of the great things about Hutson’s novels is the pop-culture references, but reading a book that’s eight years old mean searching through the annals of history. That’s not Hutson’s fault obviously, the fact the book has been lying on my shelf for eight years though is down to the dissatisfied feeling I had after reading White Ghost. That is Hutson’s fault.

Ultimately Hutson is a decent writer who has moved away from what he was good at, writing horror novels, to have a go at the more lucrative thriller market where he does not excel. Nowadays Gary McMahon does urban horror with a much better grasp of the intricacies of modern youth culture, and a better handle on violence and atmosphere.

To write off Hutson as a has-been based on a book written eight years ago is far too harsh. Some of his novels, those that I grew up with such as Nemesis, Death Day, and Relics, are classic British horror. I need to read a more recent Hutson novel to make a more informed decision, and because of his former skill he can’t be written off after a couple of decent, if not impressive, horror thrillers. Decision pending…

DEADHEAD By Shaun Hutson – Reviewed

DEADHEAD By Shaun Hutson

Shaun Hutson is bloody marvellous. He writes brutal, nasty, horror fiction that makes you squirm. Since he started out in the mid-nineties Hutson has continued to ply his trade, producing in-your-face horror of the shock and gore variety. He’s the Jack Ketchum of the UK.

In Deadhead Hutson gives us Nick Ryan, former policeman and now Private Investigator, whose daughter, Kelly, is kidnapped by snuff-film makers who are blackmailing Kelly’s step-father. The backdrop is a series of brutal murders of homeless children.

Hutson sets the story in London, and gives us realistic details of a pre-cleanup Soho of depravity and pervery. His typical cast of characters, gangland bosses, dodgy property developers, and a dysfunctional family dragged into the hotpot of murder and sexual violence, are all present and correct.

Hutson provides his realistic setting for the horrific outbursts of violence, giving us brutal and gory details, so you can almost feel every piece of flesh flying at you after a shotgun blast to face. The sexual violence is uninhibited and really makes some scenes uncomfortable.

Huston is beyond any kind of limits most writers would set for themselves or their readers, and that’s where Hutson’s true power lies. Nothing is beyond his imagination, no matter how nasty, how wrong or how disgusting it is.

Deadhead is classic Hutson, like a raw wound you can’t help but play with!