Denise

Words lose their meaning when you repeat them. So do bodies, even in all their variations. Dead is dead. It's only the hows and whys that vary.

Back when I snagged this book from NetGalley I borrowed Lauren Beukes' previous book, The Shining Girls, to get a feel for her writing style. I was not a big fan of The Shining Girls and I worried that I might not like Broken Monsters. There was no need for me to worry because Broken Monsters was quite the experience.

This book changes point-of-view between a few main characters; mostly Detective Gabriella Versado (Gabi) and her daughter Layla, Thomas Michael Keen (TK), and Jonno. Gabi is investigating a murder in which the body that is found is half boy and half deer. TK is a homeless man looking to move on from his past and to help out other homeless people in need. Jonno is a journalist that moves to Detroit to get away from the event in his past that left his life in a downward spiral.

For the most part I liked all of the main characters (I am leaving out one person that the point-of-view changes to because I don't really want to spoil anything for other readers). There were times that certain characters really did annoy me, like Layla's friend Cassandra or Jonno, but then I would read backstory about them and it would really help explain why they were acting the way they were acting. I do have to say that I may be able to sympathize with Jonno but some of the things that he did at the end really ticked me off.

This is a horror book and as such it could get gruesome at times. Sometimes I would try reading this book while eating and I would not recommend doing that. Some of the bodies that were found in this book were sickening but also fascinating in a really weird way. At times I was a bit confused as to what was committing all these murders. If you read this you'll know why I say 'what' and not 'who.'

The first half of this book seemed to go slowly for me. Not only did it cover the main storyline of the gruesome bodies but also side plots around each character's daily lives or back story. I found that the whole side plot involving Layla and Cassandra and their quest to expose an online predator was a bit unnecessary and just made the book longer than it needed to be. The second half of the book seemed to have a faster pace than the first half and the events at the end might just have you weirded-out, confused, and on the edge of your seat all at the same time. Ultimately I was satisfied with how the story was resolved and where each character ended up.

I would definitely recommend this book if you are a fan of horror books or if you are new to the genre and looking to try it. This book pleasantly surprised me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the galley.