3.99

In Satterlie’s thriller, a young man struggles to understand his vivid dreams, which seem to coincide with a recent string of serial murders.

Twenty-year-old Mike Holdrum has long struggled with urges to say or do socially inappropriate things. He has some symptoms that are akin to those of Asperger’s syndrome, and he diagnoses himself with a slight variation, calling it “Ass-Burgers.” He has daydreams of meting out violent revenge against people whom he believes deserve it, such as bullies. One day, he has a particularly graphic daydream during a lecture at the local North Carolina university where he’s taking courses. In the vision, he brutally stabs someone to death. Then a homicide victim turns up in an abandoned warehouse, killed in the very same way he envisioned—at the time that he envisioned it. Mike, who also works part-time at a newspaper, looks for a way to secretly test his DNA against the killer’s, which cops found at the crime scene. Meanwhile, additional killings occur, each resembling one of Mike’s daydreams. It’s soon clear that he has some sort of connection to these victims; one is a person whom he researched for his job, and another was someone he knew personally. Why do the dreams feel so real? Is it possible he has some kind of link to the murderer? As unanswered questions pile up, he tries to identify the culprit on his own, which could prove to be an exceedingly dangerous task.

Satterlie’s dark tale is told from Mike’s first-person perspective, and his narration is refreshingly honest; he openly and frequently discusses various hurdles in his life, including the increasing difficulty of controlling his urges. However, it’s not only about his hardships, nor is it about his solitude; he’s had romantic relationships in the past, for instance, and the story provides an opportunity for a new one. He also regularly cooks for his best friend and neighbor, who goes by the nickname “Terd,” and has no problem confiding in him—even if it’s about inexplicable dreams of murder. His offbeat perspective results in some impressive descriptive passages, whether he’s experiencing a hyper-realistic dream, making cod fillets that he simmers in milk and butter, or preparing dumplings in a very specific way to give them their preferred chewiness. Along with rich character development, the novel has an edginess from the outset, which rarely lets up. Satterlie never makes it easy to decipher what’s happening with Mike’s dreams, or who the killer may be. He also gives his protagonist a somber backstory: He lost his father a year ago and his mother just six months later, leaving him with a “modest inheritance.” His relationship with his mom is effectively revealed as emotionally and verbally abusive, as she was convinced that her “bad son” was a mere troublemaker and not affected by a disorder. Despite all the narrative intricacies, the final act and ultimate resolution are surprisingly uncomplicated, offering just enough clarification to make sense and still leave readers with an open ending.

A grim but compelling mystery with an engaging main character.