Samantha Kolesnik is very good at writing very bad things.
Suzy and her brother, Lim, live with their abusive mother in a town where the stars don’t shine at night. Once the abuse becomes too much to handle, the two siblings embark on a sordid cross-country murder spree beginning with their mom. As the murder tally rises, Suzy’s mental state spirals into irredeemable madness.
Samantha Kolesnik’s gritty new novella True Crime is not a book you read on the train or in the library. It’s a book you sneak a peek in during your work break, realize it’s #NSFW in the slightest, rush home and devour it in a few hours. (Then go to bed and wish you could forget it happened). Triggers abound. This book reminds me of a scab – the kind you pull back, knowing you should stop and look away, yet you keep tugging and squinting at the damn thing with one eye open. The abuse scenes between Suzy and her mother are graphic and unrelenting. The festering pus of incest and murder seeps from the text. From page one, you’re invested in Suzy and her fascination with true crime – as much as you know you should turn away, the writer makes sure you NEED to know what happens next. Brutal. It’s the kind of book you’re going to forget you read because it fucked with your head. You’re going to pick it up and read it again and wonder why you keep doing this to yourself. That’s when psychological thriller catapults you straight into horror-land. It’s all the gore that’s left out of our romance with sociopaths and serial killers. It’s a story best not to think about after you put it down, lest you feel slimy and dirty for reading it in the first place. THIS is EXACTLY how horror and real true crime should make us feel. If you’re easily offended or even remotely bothered by anything at all – this is probably not the book for you. If you love good writing and getting lost in a story world, no matter how dark, then pick this up now. True Crime is a book you might regret reading when you turn out the lights, but it’s not one you’ll be able to put down. The writing is so good I’m tempted to pick it up again.
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