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slightlyjynxed's review against another edition
4.0
Bentley Little is my go to for over-the-top, what-the-hell-did-I-just-read horror. I have read just about every book in his line-up and love his ability to go from mundane to surreal in no time flat. That said, this one is unique in his repertoire and for every moment that I really liked it, there were just as many where it just fell flat.
The crime scenes and contraptions are brilliant and the killings are more than enough to give you goosebumps, but the desire to stay out of the realm of the supernatural make the leaps of logic silly and non-sensical. The gore is right where you expect it to be, but I found myself not particularly caring if the characters lived or died. The dialogue is bad and the backstory entirely unbelievable. I could have forgiven the failings if there had been a tight twist ending, but instead... nothing.
It just flips back and forth between brilliant and boring that I am pretty sure I ended up with whiplash by the time the last page was turned. If you like Little, give it a shot; if you haven't ever read him before, give another story a try first.
The crime scenes and contraptions are brilliant and the killings are more than enough to give you goosebumps, but the desire to stay out of the realm of the supernatural make the leaps of logic silly and non-sensical. The gore is right where you expect it to be, but I found myself not particularly caring if the characters lived or died. The dialogue is bad and the backstory entirely unbelievable. I could have forgiven the failings if there had been a tight twist ending, but instead... nothing.
It just flips back and forth between brilliant and boring that I am pretty sure I ended up with whiplash by the time the last page was turned. If you like Little, give it a shot; if you haven't ever read him before, give another story a try first.
faustian_bargain's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
johnlynchbooks's review against another edition
2.0
This is my third book in my reading of all of Bentley Little’s titles. This one was ok. There are parts of it I enjoyed, parts of it that had me scratching my head. This is very much a detective thriller, versus the standard Bentley Little supernatural horror. It’s just missing that “something” extra. The whole time I was reading this, I couldn’t help but think that the book is very “ok” but feels phoned in. After doing some digging on what little interviews there are with Bentley Little, come to find out that is because he was contractually obligated to do another book for the publisher of his previous book, the mailman, but they told him they didn’t want a horror novel, horror was no longer in. So he sent them this heartless, paint by the numbers book. It’s written well enough, the story is ok, and that’s about the most I can say. I wouldn’t say don’t read this one, fans of detective stories might like it, but if you’re hear for a Bentley Little novel, this isn’t it.
couchnest's review against another edition
4.0
Typical Bentley Little horror. Not the best I've ready by him (The Association is my favorite). Still, I enjoy reading new books by Little every year around this time... puts me in the halloween/fall mood.
ktharp89's review against another edition
2.0
Some parts were so well written so I thought this would be a 4 star read. The end was just too simple. It was also really uncomfortable reading some language that might have been ok 30 years ago when this was written. I'll still try more books by this author but it wasn't my favorite.
bratus913's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
couchnest's review against another edition
4.0
Typical Bentley Little horror. Not the best I've ready by him (The Association is my favorite). Still, I enjoy reading new books by Little every year around this time... puts me in the halloween/fall mood.
lolainslacks88's review against another edition
2.0
This is my second Bentley Little novel, following "The Revelation." I found that one a slog to get through and SPOILER ALERT the idea of demon babies inane and not frightening.
At first, "Death Instinct" was a breath of fresh air. More grounded in reality, more twisted, more believable characterizations...
And then it jumped the shark. Of all the possibilities for the murderer, THIS was not the one I hoped for.
Spoilers yet again: So now we've upgraded from demon babies to an "idiot savant" child with a talent in murder. I rolled my eyes throughout the rest of the book from the point this was revealed.
I also just stopped caring because it was beyond my suspension of disbelief even in the world Little created here. I guess I'd prefer he go full ham.
So back to the demon babies it is.
At first, "Death Instinct" was a breath of fresh air. More grounded in reality, more twisted, more believable characterizations...
And then it jumped the shark. Of all the possibilities for the murderer, THIS was not the one I hoped for.
Spoilers yet again: So now we've upgraded from demon babies to an "idiot savant" child with a talent in murder. I rolled my eyes throughout the rest of the book from the point this was revealed.
I also just stopped caring because it was beyond my suspension of disbelief even in the world Little created here. I guess I'd prefer he go full ham.
So back to the demon babies it is.
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