Tortured by Matt Shaw

This is the story of Dee and Ryan, and their two children Claire and Jen. Falling on hard times, they find themselves having to move to a new house. Making friends with the people next door, they learn there is a serial killer on the loose, torturing and dismembering his victims. When Ryan's work colleague goes missing things come to a head, and Mike, their neighbour, suggests they break into their other neighbour because he seems a bit weird. It is a decision Ryan will come to regret for the rest of his life...

This one is another of Matt's extreme novels. Starting each chapter with thoughts from the serial killer, this explores the idea of who is a bigger monster, the torturer or the vigilante bent on destroying him. As usual the pace belted along, making me quite unable to put it down. Some parts were definitely not for the faint hearted or squeamish, and I found myself cringing in parts. The characters were solid, and once again there was a nice unexpected twist at the end. I also like the fact that Matt has taken a leaf out of Stephen King's book and planted 'Easter Eggs' throughout the story. Nice to bump into characters from other stories.