XXXtreme Discretion

A psychopathic serial killer who finds his female victims on a hookup website meets brutal justice with the help of a ghostly boy in this paranormal thriller.

Dwight Barnes, 36, a psychopathic serial killer, likes to cruise the hookup website XXXtreme Discretion to find his victims. Using handles like Plussizedluver34 and Lovemlarge36, Barnes hunts targets on the heavy side, unable to stop until he finds a perfect size 12. His “dream girl” must also wear a yellow dress, which he will use to clothe his dead beloved, whose rotted corpse he French-kisses in a coffin in his basement. Unfortunately, the insecure women he meets online tend to lie about their weight. When Barnes, the wealthy owner of a New York–based accounting firm, discovers their dishonesty, it triggers outbursts of lust and violence that will leave some readers queasy. (A meat grinder and a hungry dog come in handy.) But screams are futile in the dungeon of Barnes’ remote hunting lodge in Pennsylvania. That is, until Monica Ross, a Roxbury, New Jersey, detective, sees that several missing women bear striking similarities. As she zeros in on Barnes, a ghostly boy appears in front of her car in a dark tunnel. As the boy lays in a coma in the hospital, his disembodied voice in the minds of key players will ultimately lead to the killer in a ghastly climax. Along the way, Infinito (The Secrets of Hallow, 2014, etc.) plunges readers elbow-deep into scenes of gore and torture. He also deftly “brings to life” the corpse, which, Son of Sam–like, directs the killer’s moves. Though well-paced, the novel’s tone sometimes wavers: “Raised by an abusive father who spent more time fucking him in the ass than teaching him about life, Dwight never thought he’d learn how to give his heart to another person.” Some readers will also shudder as children are maimed and murdered. In short, this page-turner is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Flashes of Psycho on a ride through the gruesome landscape of a corpse-obsessed serial killer, with  supernatural boy as hero.