First published back in March of 2000, US author Barry Hoffman’s novel ‘Born Bad’ offered up a gritty psychological serial killer thriller laced with dark and twisted undertones.
The novel was first published through Cemetery Dance as a limited edition signed and hand-numbered hardback, limited to just 500 copies along with a further 26 lettered and traycased copies.
The novel was later followed up with a limited edition chapbook titled ‘Interloper’ (2012) which was released through the ‘Splatterpunk Zine’ and offered up a brand new prequel to the story.
The death of nineteen-year-old Sharon Ingster seemed like an open and shut case. An apparent suicide, with the young student plunging to her death from the fourth story floor at the university halls.
Four weeks later and another freshman – Monique Dysart – takes her own life. With this additional suspected suicide, it soon emerges there’d actually been another student fatality just weeks before Ingster’s death. Three suicides in the space of just a handful of weeks was exceptionally troubling.
For homicide detective Ariel Dampier a few things with the suicides didn’t add up. She’d been one of the first on the scene of Ingster’s death and already had her doubts. It was more than a gut feeling. She’d run into her ex-husband, Lucius Jackson, in his capacity as the campus cop, and he’d added fuel to her concerns. He seemed to know the students well. Knew their problems. What he said about the girls suggested there was something else behind this. Something more than the simple narrative of a suicide cluster.
With the third death raising more questions, Ariel was finally given the go ahead to start investigating the matter. An investigation that would see her digging through the past. Connecting the pieces of a puzzle. Eventually revealing a picture of cold, calculated, psychotic sadism.
For behind these students’ deaths, is a psychopath getting kicks from the thrill of destroying lives. A twisted and evil mind, who handpicks her victims to taunt, break, and ultimately destroy. Setting a chain of events into motion, to get off on the eventual downfall of her victims.
The further Ariel Dampier digs, the greater this terrifying trail of destruction becomes. The killer has been lurking unobserved in the shadows for too long. Ariel must bring this evil to an end, before any others fall victim. Including those who are closest to her…
This really is a dark one! In essence it’s a psychological horror/thriller which sees a psychopath coercing vulnerable people to their death. But there’s much more than just this cold and calculated sadism behind this. Hoffman reaches deep into the human psyche, to expose the want and desire for the thrill of control over another, to the point of the victim’s destruction.
This is all told through the narrative of a gritty thriller, with our protagonist – Ariel Dampier – attempting to uncover the truth behind the murders. As such, much of the novel is given over to a cat-and-mouse style investigatory chase, with the killer perpetually hidden just out of sight.
However, the breadcrumb trails that Ariel follows aren’t singular. Hoffman throws us off-guard with a number of carefully established twists, which near derail Ariel’s investigations entirely. There’s absolutely no predicting the course in which the story takes, even until the very last page is turned.
We also don’t just see this unfold from the singular perspective of Ariel. Instead, Hoffman puts us behind the eyes of the killer, along with Ariel’s ex-husband, as well as the fifteen-year-old live-in runaway – Chanda – who Ariel’s been looking after for the last six-weeks.
Which draws me onto one of the strongest elements of the novel: the characterisation. This carefully crafted characterisation pulls you into the tale so fucking effectively. Honestly, the sheer depth of the characters, their individual backstories, and how they all connect and interact with each other is incredible. It invests you in their lives. Has you rooting for them with every ounce of your being.
There’s also a deep complexity to these characters. More than just who they are, but rather how they’ve tried to overcome their own personal demons. Faced challenges with race, pride and discrimination. Through this there’s a constant social commentary embedded within much of the narrative. A societal element that’s echoes through the characters’ perceptions and intricate backstories.
Furthermore, the story projects an almost feminist stance. An exposure to the realties of our modern world, for which Hoffman not-so-much empowers women but rather shows the bare truth of their strength and resilience.
Race also comes into the equation. Indeed, our protagonist is a bi-racial woman, appearing white from the outside, but with a black heritage and upbringing. A complexity even for herself, as she battles with her own identity and acceptance.
The psychology within the novel definitely needs a final mention. The use of spiders as symbolism for our antagonist is as terrifying as it is compulsive reading.
“She needed a shower, before the spider came. Before she laid her eggs. Laid eggs to hatch in her womb.”
Oh yes, this novel is packed to the rafters with the nightmares of a deeply troubled mind. There’s a story behind every nightmare. A psychological pathway leading us to each murder. Like dominos falling, Hoffman exposes the bitter consequences from setting up a chain reaction destined for tragedy. There’s a reason for everything, even for someone being born bad.
The novel runs for a total of 404 pages.
© DLS Reviews
