Last Days by Brian Evenson

 

 Last Days

By Brian Evenson

Mystery, Horror

                        If you are looking for Last Days by Adam Nevill, this is the wrong page. 

This left my wrists and arms tingling whenever I read it. A depressed detective, and recent amputee, is kidnapped by an amputation cult to solve a murder. It is a cult noir murder mystery bound in Shakespeare. Brian Evenson writes well, and makes my limbs feel pains from nerves I’ve never dreamt to feel.

The foreword by Peter Straub describes this book as being an initial noir mystery set on the backdrop of an amputation-driven cult that later expands into a Shakespearean styled bloodbath as the protagonist goes and wreaks a terrible vengeance to ensure his survival. The story features a detective named Kline, who on his last assignment lost his right hand, shot his attacker, self-cauterized his stump, and fled the scene with a bag of money. Kline is pessimistic and still mentally recuperating from this incident when his flat is kicked down and he is kidnapped by two voluntary amputees, who I will be referring to as Puck and Gaus (these are not their actual names, but I have misplaced my copy of the book and can't find their names online), to be brought to the Brotherhood of Mutilation. Upon arriving at the cult's compound, Klein is tasked to solve the murder of the cult's leader. During this time Klein finds that strangely no one is willing to tell him anything at all regarding the murder, let him see the body, offer alibis, or answer his questions regarding the crime as a whole. This is due to numerous reasons which I cannot uncover (can't spoil the fun now, can I?)  

The book is well-written in terms of mystery and touches on aspects of theology, humanity, and hierarchy.  A great deal of philosophy and religion is discussed in the book surrounding the ideas of religious hierarchy and interpretation. One repeated question asked throughout the book is "What makes the purpose of a person", and whether Klein as an individual has control over the situation, or if he is a literal and metaphysical tool for something greater. The book addresses the notion of Klein as both an divine instrument who is being guided by a theological force beyond, and as simply a misfortunate man brought out of his depth by other people. We see Klein expand as a character in his journey through a partially religious lens and the question is brought up if he has any free will in all of this; if his actions are preordained by a higher power; is his free will, or lack of it, being forced by a religious power, or only a religious institution lead by very mortal men.

The mystery of the book is good. It is reasonably foreshadowed, has enjoyable dialogue between characters, and Klein is reasonable in his deduction of clues as the book progresses.

There is a fair amount of body horror within the book, and while reading I noticed that my hands, wrists, and forearms would begin tingling whenever I read for too long, especially around certain scenes and descriptions. As the book surrounds an amputation cult, it should be said you should not read this if you are overtly squeamish.

The book does have some humorous and wholesome moments, surprisingly. Puck and Gaus serve as a comedic duo who follow the main character around and offer him genuine compassion and companionship during the story; they serve as a stark contrast to the rest of the secretive cult, and are blatantly clear with Klein when they can.

If you liked the Wickerman, of a man stumbling into a place completely separate from his mainstream ideas of culture and religion, trying to solve a mystery, then this book would be for you. I hold this book quite highly, and even reread it recently to see if it was as good as I remembered in previous years.