YOU'RE GONE

In Morton’s new thriller, a self-proclaimed “exceptional” murderer, who’s on break from his profession following the death of his spouse, decides it’s time to get back to work.

The story begins eight months after British serial killer Arthur Norman’s wife of 12 years, Melissa, died. When his wife was alive, Arthur killed almost 100 people—all deserving of death, he explains. Although Melissa didn’t take part in the killings, she understood what her husband was up to. She was “a razor-sharp lawyer,” Arthur’s narration notes. “She’d put many a dark soul away, and when she couldn’t, she helped her husband get rid of the rest.” Now an obscenely rich 35-year-old widower (“Melissa left me a lot, like, a lot, a lot”), Arthur feels adrift, not up to doing anything—even committing murder. To work up his appetite for killing, he targets Jarrod Walker, a neighborhood cat-killer. Jarrod dismembers felines in his house, and Arthur decides to do the same to him. Midway through his murderous mission, Jarrod’s girlfriend comes home and starts screaming; Arthur has barely finished subduing her before his best friend Abdul calls, offering a dinner invitation. Arthur then juggles a double murder and dinner plans, turning a grisly scene somewhat comic; indeed, a dark sense of humor permeates the book. At another point, Arthur has sex with Ophelia Christos, one of Melissa’s former clients. With Ophelia, Arthur feels peace, not his usual “white-hot, violent rage”; then he learns something about Melissa’s death that storms through him “like a tornado.” One can easily make comparisons between Arthur and infamous serial killer Ted Bundy; the character also resembles the title figure of the Showtime series Dexter in key ways. Aside from a section showcasing Arthur’s excessive self-pity at the beginning, the book has good pacing, and its worthy ending leaves open the possibility of a sequel. The book even almost succeeds in generating a feeling of pity for Arthur, thanks to his sweet memories of his late wife, and his sense of humor effectively lightens the load of his foul moods and gruesome activities.

A bloody good tale of grief and murder.