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celtic67's review
4.0
This was Graig's debut. I enjoyed it, though I have spoken to people who have said the first person narrative grated with them. The police are not as up front in other books but it was good to see through the eyes of a killer.
festivefun's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
4.0
A surprisingly easy read from a debut author. Told in first person narrative from the killer's point of view it was a refreshing change from the police investigations common to the crime genre. Some parts even manage to be amusing, especially to those of us that curse over Royal Mail's Thick Book Tax! The book is set in Glasgow and there is some slang but most of it is pretty common and if you can understand a Scot you should be OK.
kcfromaustcrime's review
5.0
One of the things that I really like about reading review books is that I constantly find absolutes in my reading tastes aren't. Ask me about serial killer books before reading RANDOM and I would have categorically stated been there, over it. Add being inside the serial killer's head for the entire of the book and I'd have put my hand on my heart and said it's all too tedious. Then I read RANDOM and found myself really hooked on the internal monologue of a serial killer.
Based in Glasgow, RANDOM, on one level is your typical serial killer book. Unconnected victim's, strange signature from the killer, police are baffled. This time the killer isn't using a signature methodology, and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme nor reason to the killings. Whilst there is a police investigation and DS Rachel Narey is struggling against pressure from police hierarchy and the shenanigans that go on at that level when the media are finally alerted (by our killer) to the connections, this isn't really a story of the pursuit of a killer. Where RANDOM starts to vary is that our serial killer in this book is undoubtedly vicious and driven and quite quite odd - but he's also flawed and not mad, and strangely not totally bad. He's also made a big mistake with the selection of one of his victims which makes his life very very complicated and the police pursuit the least of his problems. Told from the point of view of the killer, his true identity is slowly revealed, as are the methods he is using to select his victims, the way that he kills his victims, and even more slowly, his reasons.
RANDOM really was a book that I simply wasn't expecting, especially after reading the blurb with that slow sinking feeling. But being a review book, you have to press on and I am really really glad I did. It seems a very odd thing to be saying about a serial killer book, but I enjoyed this book. RANDOM is undoubtedly manipulative, the reader is pulled into this killer's mind and into his life in a way that was subtle and clever. Balancing the way that this man selects his victims, the way that he is so ruthless in his decisions on who to kill and who not to, against a home life that is not your typical abusive, weird family relationship, but something more touching, sad, heart-breaking; and I did find myself in a really odd place - feeling sympathy for a serial killer.
There's a final twist in the tail of this book which on one level I knew was probably coming, but I didn't quite expect the way it played out. And it was affecting, and challenging and sad and right and wrong all at the same time. RANDOM was a real reading revelation for me. Flagged as a thriller it is a pacy, tense and disturbing book. It's also a reflective, moving and quite emotional book. Perhaps if you're a reader who holds their preference for no more serial killers under any circumstances closer to their core than I do, this might not be the book for you. For me, it was one of those books that took all my reading assumptions, pitched them out a window and ran over them with a bus just to make sure they were well dead and buried.
Based in Glasgow, RANDOM, on one level is your typical serial killer book. Unconnected victim's, strange signature from the killer, police are baffled. This time the killer isn't using a signature methodology, and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme nor reason to the killings. Whilst there is a police investigation and DS Rachel Narey is struggling against pressure from police hierarchy and the shenanigans that go on at that level when the media are finally alerted (by our killer) to the connections, this isn't really a story of the pursuit of a killer. Where RANDOM starts to vary is that our serial killer in this book is undoubtedly vicious and driven and quite quite odd - but he's also flawed and not mad, and strangely not totally bad. He's also made a big mistake with the selection of one of his victims which makes his life very very complicated and the police pursuit the least of his problems. Told from the point of view of the killer, his true identity is slowly revealed, as are the methods he is using to select his victims, the way that he kills his victims, and even more slowly, his reasons.
RANDOM really was a book that I simply wasn't expecting, especially after reading the blurb with that slow sinking feeling. But being a review book, you have to press on and I am really really glad I did. It seems a very odd thing to be saying about a serial killer book, but I enjoyed this book. RANDOM is undoubtedly manipulative, the reader is pulled into this killer's mind and into his life in a way that was subtle and clever. Balancing the way that this man selects his victims, the way that he is so ruthless in his decisions on who to kill and who not to, against a home life that is not your typical abusive, weird family relationship, but something more touching, sad, heart-breaking; and I did find myself in a really odd place - feeling sympathy for a serial killer.
There's a final twist in the tail of this book which on one level I knew was probably coming, but I didn't quite expect the way it played out. And it was affecting, and challenging and sad and right and wrong all at the same time. RANDOM was a real reading revelation for me. Flagged as a thriller it is a pacy, tense and disturbing book. It's also a reflective, moving and quite emotional book. Perhaps if you're a reader who holds their preference for no more serial killers under any circumstances closer to their core than I do, this might not be the book for you. For me, it was one of those books that took all my reading assumptions, pitched them out a window and ran over them with a bus just to make sure they were well dead and buried.
mattlaw290's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
grackback's review against another edition
3.0
A powerful ending to a story which had me captivated the whole time I was reading. My only criticism is that I didn't enjoy the dialogue but found the rest of the writing style (minus a few editing errors) to be intriguing. Being able to relate to a serial killer is always an interesting plot point to enable you to empathise and reflect on your own moral stand points and what you would do in similar situations.
xvicesx's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing book indeed. It was an interesting insight into a killer's mind and it nicely reflected the depths that there are to thought. To think that the entire book was said just from the killer's point of view and yet it encompassed the surrounding attitudes, the thoughts, the reactions of others so well... it's simply impressive.
I do agree with the other reviewers in that some of the murders were rather gruesome but that little bit of grotesque was needed to make the scenes so much more realistic.
Random is indeed a book that will keep you on the edge, with an ending that I doubt anyone could have seen coming. Brilliant work.
I do agree with the other reviewers in that some of the murders were rather gruesome but that little bit of grotesque was needed to make the scenes so much more realistic.
Random is indeed a book that will keep you on the edge, with an ending that I doubt anyone could have seen coming. Brilliant work.
balthazarlawson's review against another edition
1.0
I didn't like this at all. First person narrative of a serial killer. We are suppose to feel something for him but I just hated him. I thought he was totally self centered and wish the ending was the beginning.
No recommendation from me. Thankfully it was free.
No recommendation from me. Thankfully it was free.
proudlocks's review
4.0
Dark, haunting, genius.
Love a good serial killer thriller. Twisted but to the point. Enjoyed that it was set so close to home too, felt quite at home with the Scottish dialect.
Love a good serial killer thriller. Twisted but to the point. Enjoyed that it was set so close to home too, felt quite at home with the Scottish dialect.
kirkw1972's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this book up at my office book swap purely based on the premise that it's written and from the perspective of the serial killer. The only reason we know details of the police and how well they are doing in the quest to capture a criminal is by the newspaper & TV reports The Cutter sees himself. And I have to call him by his nickname because at no point do I think his real full name is revealed. I caught his surname somewhere but if the first name was said I missed it.
I enjoyed the premise I think it worked quite well. It does make it difficult to get any really feel for secondary characters which was basically everyone besides Cutter. Very much a loner, especially after the death of his daughter I don't think the character talks to anyone except the odd perfunctory chats with his distant wife and as little small talk as possible with passengers sitting in the back of his taxi cab.
The back of the cab serves to drive the plot forward as besides the newspapers this is where he learns how the case is proceeding, gossip about the victims and so on. The downside is that we are expected to believe that in the sections which involve Glasgow gangsters that they regularly take his cab without recognising him (to say more would spoil the plot) at key points later in the book and that they have such loose tongues. Cutter knows far too much about the inner workings of the gang leader and how he goes about his business. This is the one bit of the book I found hard to deal with. It's just not possible to get that level of information.
Going back to reasons for picking this book. The second reason was the nature of the crimes. Each one is chosen at random using different (random) ways to kill - picking from a phone book, the 50th person to walk past him, the last person to get off the bus. Each killing is different; some are obvious, some are designed like accidents. All are to confuse the police while the real masterplan is carried out. I loved the twist at the end - the big reveal of why he kills and what drove him to it. Again to reveal why gives away too many spoilers.
All in all I really enjoyed this book, it made a nice change from formulaic crime dramas with depressed cops. A change of pace must read
I enjoyed the premise I think it worked quite well. It does make it difficult to get any really feel for secondary characters which was basically everyone besides Cutter. Very much a loner, especially after the death of his daughter I don't think the character talks to anyone except the odd perfunctory chats with his distant wife and as little small talk as possible with passengers sitting in the back of his taxi cab.
The back of the cab serves to drive the plot forward as besides the newspapers this is where he learns how the case is proceeding, gossip about the victims and so on. The downside is that we are expected to believe that in the sections which involve Glasgow gangsters that they regularly take his cab without recognising him (to say more would spoil the plot) at key points later in the book and that they have such loose tongues. Cutter knows far too much about the inner workings of the gang leader and how he goes about his business. This is the one bit of the book I found hard to deal with. It's just not possible to get that level of information.
Going back to reasons for picking this book. The second reason was the nature of the crimes. Each one is chosen at random using different (random) ways to kill - picking from a phone book, the 50th person to walk past him, the last person to get off the bus. Each killing is different; some are obvious, some are designed like accidents. All are to confuse the police while the real masterplan is carried out. I loved the twist at the end - the big reveal of why he kills and what drove him to it. Again to reveal why gives away too many spoilers.
All in all I really enjoyed this book, it made a nice change from formulaic crime dramas with depressed cops. A change of pace must read