Random by Craig Robertson

Author: Craig Robertson

First Published: N/A (ARC)

Pages: 329 pgs 

From the Jacket: A serial killer known as The Cutter has Glasgow in his grip. His modus operandi changes with every victim and the police are utterly baffled. But when he attacks a member of the criminal underworld, The Cutter suddenly finds himself on the run from a group hellbent on bloody retribution. With his carefully laid plans falling apart, he decides to take action – with terrifying consequences…

I remember being pretty excited to be reading this book. For one thing, it was my first complimentary book that came in my mailbox (courtesy of Book Chick City and Simon & Schuster UK for signing up for the Thriller & Suspense Challenge), and for another thing, the first 100 pages were so riveting (see Teaser Tuesday # 1), it practically had me gripping the edge of my seat with my free hand.

The story starts off with the killer having dinner in a restaurant with an unidentified lady. Upon making payment for the dinner at the desk, he reaches his hand into the bowl full of business cards and pulls out a name… Jonathan Carr. Salter, Fyfe and Bryce Solicitors. 1042 Bath Street….the killer’s first victim, maimed with a carjack swung to the back of his neck and died from suffocation with his mouth sealed shut by a duct tape and his nostrils squeezed tight with a few drops of super glue. The killer later cuts off the victim’s finger as a souvenir - an absolutely gruesome and heartless murderer. After another carefully planned murder, the killer strikes again, only to discover that he had killed a person connected to the Glasgow Mafia. It was from this point onwards that I started to lose the plot. I thought that the introduction of the underground criminals into the storyline was boring and unnecessary. Although from the jacket it sounded like the killing of one of the Mafia’s men was a major hindrance to the murderer’s killing spree, it really didn’t do much to enhance the action, and was to the contrary quite dull and idealistic in parts.

What’s interesting about this book though is that the entire story is written from the killer’s perspective which gives the reader an insight into the dark and twisted mind of a psychotic serial killer. I also appreciated the research done into ensuring that the murders were believable – some of them were truly ingenious. I could also relate to one of the potential victims (scarily enough), who was selected by the murderer from Facebook! Yup, it’s definitely possible, especially made so when you read about it in Random.