The Equation of Murder

“The Equation of Murder” by J.L.Seed isn’t exactly a book one can recommend and yet its one that surprised me. Written by a friend of a friend, I received this as a Christmas present and blinked a few times, mostly because it’s not truly the type of book I usually read. In fact, I don’t read many crime books or thrillers but when I say I read anything and everything, it’s true. It’s just not a genre I read very often. I had said I found the plot of the book intriguing but I wasn’t sure it was something I would choose to read. When it came all wrapped in pretty paper I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. I wouldn’t say I felt obligated to read it for as I’ve just said, I found the story intriguing. I also found it disturbing for this is the story of one Charlie Scanlon who decides to commit murder. His mission is to kill exactly eight women and the reader has to commit to taking this physical and emotional journey with him.

However, here I found myself having to set aside a few preconceived prejudices that I usually accuse others of having. There’s a horror story on my website where I place the reader in the mind of a killer…or do I? Like Charlie’s story, not all is quite as it seems but this book takes the story farther than I felt comfortable with. What would I gain from looking into the mind of a serial killer? The idea is distasteful but as a storyteller myself, I understand that stories have a way of playing with you. I also had to remember that to write such a story doesn’t make you a disturbed individual, just as a horror writer sleeps well at night confident there is nothing under the bed, and a romance writer does not have to be a nymphomaniac. I would give the book a chance, and owing to the fact it was a gift, I set it high in my to-be-read pile than I otherwise might have. I picked it up a couple of days ago and sped through it.

Disturbing it most definitely is. It’s also comical in a grotesque way. You really have to have a dark sense of humour to see it, but the comical undertones are there. The psychological aspect is fascinating as is the mystery of Charlie’s motivation. Even as this becomes slowly apparent, the ending was never clear in my mind. Would he be caught? Would he commit suicide? Did I care what happened to him? Ultimately, I didn’t care. He had killed for his own selfish reasons. However, this darkly comical twisting tale of caution for us all to be careful what we wish for was worth my time. The warps and weaves of Charlie’s mind were alarming, yet well written, carefully portrayed, and entertaining with a specific destination in mind. The only problem I foresee is what kind of book this author will write next.