Extreme Graphic Violence

July 2013, Manchester, UK. A murder investigation team, led by DCI Mark Gunn is assigned to probe into the brutal mutilations of four women found dead from various locations around the city centre. The evidence gathered from the scene of the crimes, and the extreme nature of the women's deaths indicate that the team are looking for a dangerous, deranged maniac. As the case unfolds, and the team finds itself buried deep within the seedy, sleazy underworld of the city, characteristics between the murders increase proportionally with the body count. The only thing that the team cannot find is motive.

BOUND by Andrew Lennon and Matt Hickman has extreme graphic violence, and I really wish this novella had come with a warning. I think some readers are going to struggle with the details, particularly in the first gruesome scene. This is not the first time I've read this type of story, but I feel too much emphasis is placed on the torture and not enough on the interactions between the investigative team. The dynamics seem severely off. The ending is abrupt and sloppy.

I've enjoyed Lennon's work in the past, but I've never heard of Hickman until I read this book, so I have no idea what the latter's writing style is usually like. However, this is definitely below Lennon's ability. I'm not sure if this is one author's influence over the other, or a poor collaboration between two authors, but this is not the quality writing I've come to expect from Andrew Lennon.

To be crystal clear, even if the violent scenes were less graphic or removed entirely, the crime drama aspect is not well-written. This is torture porn.

As always,
AstraDaemon