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THE HORROR FICTION REVIEW: NOVEMBER, 2012 Blood Related - Review

Absolutely chuffed to have a great review for Blood Related up alongside the likes of some literary heroes of mine like Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, James A Moore, and Wrath James White.  

THE HORROR FICTION REVIEW: NOVEMBER, 2012 Reviews: NOVEMBER, 2012 REVIEWS


BLOOD RELATED by William Cook (2012 Black Bed Sheet Books / 323 pp / tp and eBook)

Caleb and Charlie Cunningham are twin brothers who each inherited a serial killer pathology.  Their father was a suspected serial killer and their mother was insane, a drunk, and possibly an accomplice.  After Charlie goes to prison and their father commits suicide, the full truth of the Cunningham’s legacy begins to present itself and Caleb’s turns his bloody fantasies into reality.

BLOOD RELATED is told primarily from the point of view of Caleb in the form of journal entries given to a forensic psychiatrist who handled Charlie’s case.  There are also news stories and police reports to support Caleb’s claims about his family.  The story is graphic and the brothers are violent and relentless, although at times I found myself wanting to like Caleb.  The characters are well-developed and tremendously disturbed.  William Cook has written a frightening story that poses the question “is it nature or nurture that determines the birth of a serial killer?”  The only issue I had with the book was that at times I was confused as to the time line of events.  Other than that, I highly recommend BLOOD RELATED, unless you are a bit on the squeamish side.  I would definitely categorize the book as extreme horror.

-Colleen Wanglund

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