The killer in this book - who calls himself Michael - claims to be the REAL creature that inspired three of the best known literary monsters in history: Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'; Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Mr. Hyde'; and Bram Stoker's 'Dracula.'
We meet Michael at New York's 'Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center', where he's being held for evaluation after ripping the ears off a pedestrian.
Dr. Lily Dominick is assigned to Michael's case, and - though she's used to dealing with the criminally insane - Lily is especially creeped out by Michael.
The psychiatrist is even more disturbed when Michael makes a series of bizarre claims. He says that he's not human; he's over 200 years old; he knew Lily's mother, Alison.....and he's Lily's father. Moreover, Michael claims he knows the details of Alison's gory death, which occurred when Lily was just six-years-old.
When Lily thinks about her childhood, she recalls living in an isolated Alaskan cabin with her mother - who made bad-tasting soup from the local flora; sang made-up songs; and taught Lily to shoot guns and protect herself.
The psychiatrist also has nightmarish memories of her mother being torn apart by a vicious creature - which the police said was a bear.
In Lily's mind, however, her mother was killed by a monster, after which little Lily was carried off by a white horse before being found on the road by a trucker.
Lily thinks Michael is a deluded psychotic who Googled her, found out a few things, and wants to inveigle himself into her life. Lily's opinion is reinforced when Michael breaks out of the psychiatric facility, kills someone with Lily's kitchen knife, and threatens to frame her for the crime.
To get 'unframed' Lily has to follow Michael on a wild journey that begins in an abandoned, gothic
mansion in Hungary.
Michael sends Lily on a journey across Europe - to see specific people and places - so she'll learn the 'real truth' about him. To this end, Michael shows up periodically - and leaves Lily pages from his old journals. In these diary entries, Michael claims he was created from a re-animated corpse; sucks human blood for sustenance; and was acquainted with - and inspired - the aforementioned horror writers.
Michael also leaves a string of dead bodies in his wake, including a man Lily picked up in a hotel bar. Michael's violence and bloodsucking - aided by 'pop-on' steel teeth and steel claws - is described in graphic detail.
Meanwhile, Lily is being followed by a killer in a black cloak and other members of a secret cabal.
She's also getting phone calls from an unknown man who supposedly wants to help her. So, as Lily hurries from one country to another, a trail of stalkers follow in her wake.
Eventually, things play out in a very dramatic fashion, and Lily learns the truth about her mother and her childhood.
It bothers me that Lily trots off to Europe alone, without telling a living soul, and blithely strolls into dangerous situations all by herself.
This kind of behavior is a cliché in B horror films, and doesn't ring true in the movies....or in this book. Lily is also oddly physically/sexually attracted to Michael, which is beyond revolting - but barely acceptable in a horror story (I guess. LOL)
Chillers aren't my usual genre, but I enjoyed the book, which is a well-written page turner with unexpected turns.
I'd recommend the book to readers who enjoy horror-mystery stories.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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