By the Light: A Novel of Serial Homicide

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I wanted to take a break from series reading, and randomly picked this book out. I thought perhaps it may be bad writing At first I found myself tremendously annoyed at this. Serial killers are intelligent beings.

And then finally, I saw through my own fog of stupidity. Our hero Dougie is definitely less than stellar when it comes to the intellect department. Since we see the story only through his perception everyone is somewhat colored in his stupidity and sexism, lots of that for this character! From that light bulb moment the novel took an immediate turn for the hilarious to me. A seemingly miraculous series of events allow Dougie to come out on top, not because of anything he did or understood, but sheer luck and the bumbling of others.

As I finished the last page and closed the book I had a huge grin on my face at the absurdity of the entire thing, and every character in between. Dougie is a completely unlikable character, but I certainly enjoyed his tale. Overall I was pleasantly pleased with this book, and applaud its clever presentation and development.

View all 3 comments. When our unlikely hero stumbles into the path of a serial killer, he has no choice but to defend himself - and ends up killing the killer. Shocked by his own strength, he then goes through the dead man's wallet and finds the damndest thing: What begins with passing curiosity soon becomes uncontrollable obsession, forcing our hero to fly to Chicago to join the party. From the moment he steps into G When our unlikely hero stumbles into the path of a serial killer, he has no choice but to defend himself - and ends up killing the killer. From the moment he steps into Grillers and meets eighteen "skillers" - serial killers, to the uninitiated - his life is never the same.

The Serial Killers Club. With the monikers of old Hollywood stars masking the skillers' identities, their ranks include "William Holden," "Tallulah Bankhead," "Richard Burton," and before long, "Douglas Fairbanks Jr. But "Dougie" has no intention of wasting innocent victims.

Instead, with a government agent on his tail, he devises a perfect plan to knock off the members of the club one by one. But what will happen when they notice their numbers dropping? Dougie doesn't have an MO and he's not a bloodthirsty killer. In other words, a killer. OK, for starters, I kind of feel like the "Killers" in the title should have an apostrophe. But it is one of those situations that can go either way, so I won't belabour the point.

That said, I kind of enjoyed this book's premise more than I enjoyed the book itself. I think this was largely due to the unlikeability of the main character. Dougie is precisely the sort of unknowingly sexist jackass that is so intolerable to me. He's one of those guys who is honestly so oblivious and delusional that he thinks he's god's gift to women, and cannot take a hint. If the woman he's just randomly hit on blows him off or ignores him, she either didn't hear him, or she's just shy, and he will not just leave it alone and move on.

He needs to continue the "conversation. Heck, even the "fuck off" is probably just the woman playing hard to get. He's one of those guys, and personally, I find such guys utterly infuriating, all the more so because I don't fell that they're worth even that much of an emotional response, but they piss me off anyway.

All of which makes it extremely difficult for me to like, relate to, or care about what happens to him, short of a vague hope that he'll just go die in a fire. No one else was particularly likable either. Oh, and to Mr. When a woman you know to be a serial killer, whose MO is to sleep with men and then burn their bits off, tells you explicitly that she feels like a spider, and compelled to do this, you should consider very carefully which of your heads you'll let respond when she comes on to you. You should also really not feel flattered, since she's told you that the men she chooses to sleep with and kill are invariably men she basically finds repulsive.

Just a friendly word of advice. On the good side of things, there were some twists that I didn't predict, and I guess I must have been at least somewhat into it, because I chewed through it pretty quick. Again on the negative, though, Mr. Povey has placed himself among the ranks of the uninformed who insist on spreading the misconception that schizophrenia is the same thing as multiple personality disorder. Way to go, dumbass. Anyway, so this is clearly not going to be the most intellectual of my book reviews, but then, it wasn't the most intellectual book I've read, either.

It's unfortunate, because I did have high hopes for it. Not intellectually, per se, but I did hope it would be better than it was. If you like delusional, arrogant, sexist jackasses, though, then is this the book for you!

Jul 01, Shadow Girl rated it really liked it. After accidentally killing, and assuming the identity of local serial killer 'Grandson of Barney', the narrator follows a personal ad in 'his' wallet and finds himself in a room with 18 other serial killers. It's a club, a place for killers to share stories, and make sure that nobody is targeting the same person. It's happened before - awkward!

When you're surrounded by every notorious serial killer from the surrounding areas, each one looking at you expectantly, waiting to hear your story Everyone in the club goes by an alias. They choose their names from classic stars, eg. Dougie falls into his roll headfirst, and the club becomes his life. He's finally found a place where he belongs, among friends. The trouble is, Dougie isn't a real killer. Other members have started to notice that there haven't been any new Grandson of Barney victims since he joined them - 'Why is that, Dougie? If this isn't enough of a problem, the mysterious stranger who has been following him around reveals himself as the lead agent on the Grandson of Barney case, and he's got plans of his own.

Now - the fun can really begin! The Serial Killers Club is fun, darkly humorous, and it kept the 'whodunit' muscle in my brain working overtime. Apr 11, Israel Calzadilla rated it liked it. Una historia muy buena pero muy mal escrita. It's an intriguing concept -- a social club of serial killers who hold weekly meetings to compare gruesome stories of their latest kills. Then one of them decides to knock off the other members. It's told tongue in cheek, and for the first few chapters this was a sort of fun read in a sick sort of way.

But on and on it went, with the description of one awful murder after another, one victim was thrown alive into a vat of boiling oil , and, believe it or not, it became BORING. I finished it bec It's an intriguing concept -- a social club of serial killers who hold weekly meetings to compare gruesome stories of their latest kills. I finished it because I was the passenger on a two day car trip and had to entertain myself somehow.

Otherwise, I think I'd have quit by the third murder. A man who is somewhat of a loner learns of a secret club in which serial killers periodically meet to compare notes, etc. Craving some excitement, he successfully infiltrates the group posing as a serial killer only to find the members are themselves being killed off one by one. The plot is his attempt to solve the murders before he becomes a victim himself. I found this book to be fairly creative, and I really enjoyed the ride the author took me on.

Sep 15, Lindsey Lang rated it liked it. Mar 01, Estelle rated it it was ok Shelves: It's a nice book with an original idea, some funny characters, but very predictable and quite forgettable. I loved this book; it was hilarious and I adored our idiot, unreliable narrator Dougie. To summarize the plot: Our lonely protagonist yet to be named , is attacked by a serial killer--and wins. Bored, he decides to go through the dead man's pockets who he recognizes as the killer "Grandson of Barney" and finds an invitation to an event. Think I loved this book; it was hilarious and I adored our idiot, unreliable narrator Dougie.

Thinking it was a fanclub, and being desperate, our narrator goes to the invite--to find out it was a club for serial killers. Using his dumb luck, he manages to convince them he is in fact the killer G. With dumb luck, of course. Dougie isn't the brightest bulb in the pack, and when Agent Kennet "That's Kenneth without the 'T'" Wade shows up demanding he take out the rest of the club or fry on the electric chair--Dougie finds himself between a rock and a hard place.

I think more than I enjoyed feeling sorry for Dougie, was his relationships with the other club members. As the book goes along you start to realize just how good Dougie is at lying to himself at how the other serial killers see him. You get to see him develop from a good natured fool, to someone bitter and hurt as he finds out his 'friends' aren't really his friends.

The narrative itself moves along in the same fashion--the more bitter and aware Douglas becomes, the more tense and less-humerous the story becomes.

Category:Non-fiction books about serial killers

By the end of the book, the fun, laughable serial killers show their true colors and start showing off what true, homicidal lunatics they all are. The serial killers are a fun bunch in themselves though, each with their own problems and neurosis. It's fun seeing them talk and be normal around a dinner table as they share their exploits.

They seem so normal at the start of the book--almost to the point that you can't take them seriously. A guy who talks to his invisible mother, a guy who kills people with pitchforks, a woman who tattoos people to death, etc. They're exaggerated versions of the killers that usually populate the thriller genre, and how ridiculous they all are is just highlighted when you stick them all in a room together--up until the end that is, when the more realistic ones start to show off. My favorite character though, had to be Agent Wade.

He had the most development out of the characters, and what starts out as an exasperated FBI Agent dealing with an idiot I'm hard on Dougie, but he really is an adorable sort of stupid , to an unhinged, manic version of a man himself whose behavior is often more unsettling than that of the killers. The tension and control between him and Douglas that develops as the story goes is intense.

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If I had any complaint, it'd be the twist at the ending. The book spends most of the novel setting up this obvious conclusion--and then snatches it away at the last minute to go "Ha ha, fooled you. The tension, the stakes, and how downright unsettling this one character became by the end just felt right. Even if it was easy to figure out, it fit and having that expectation taken for the final 'reveal' at the end left me flat with the story and just a tad disappointed.

Aside from that, I enjoyed the entire novel immensely. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys the thriller genre as a good laugh that makes fun of itself with dark humor, and a light read. What a great dark comedy! I definitely laughed out loud in several parts. I just really enjoyed this funny book. The ending concluded rather unexpectedly, too!

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The characters and narrative point-of-view were unique and entertaining. The majority of the book took place in Chicago, too, which always makes for a wonderful setting! And for a book from the early nineties, I must admit that it felt new and fresh. After finishing it, I immediately looked around on the Internet to see if there Hahahaha! Still, for anyone who enjoys macabre humour, I think they would have a pleasurable time settling down with this quick read.

Jan 11, Dan Hughes rated it liked it. This book is pure literary popcorn, but I really enjoyed the humour behind the unreliable narrator and his complete obliviousness to how others see him. Although The SerialKillers club is a lot This book is pure literary popcorn, but I really enjoyed the humour behind the unreliable narrator and his complete obliviousness to how others see him.

Although The SerialKillers club is a lot more cartoony in nature. Never-the-less the book rattles along fairly easily without causing too much offence. Not exactly the most memorable book in the world, but good enough to while away a couple of idle hours on the train. Jan 21, Mahan rated it it was amazing. Sep 10, William Thomas rated it liked it. Jul 27, Anthony rated it liked it. I'm not sure what I was expecting when picked up this book. Some mix between Dexter and a Harris novel. Which is pretty much what I found.

It wasn't the best book that I've ever read, but it passed the page test and I enjoyed the conclusion. The thing to keep in mind is that the 1st person narrator is NOT reliable. Once you realize that, the book is funnier and deeper. Jul 21, Sapz Whereinsoever rated it really liked it.

I've read it about 4 times.. This was an interesting read. I liked the concept of the book but at sometimes I felt it was predictable. Aug 31, Ren Rabbit rated it it was amazing Shelves: This review contains spoilers, proceed at your own risk, thank you. This book was recommended to me by my boss. Since she described it as "hilarious" I was skeptical at first, can serial killers ever be amusing in any way?

The answer is YES! They can in this tongue-in-cheek story by Jeff Povey. This book was extremely interesting.

It highlighted some of the main aspects of serial killers. I wish it would've covered some more, lesser known ones. Nonetheless, it was a good read for me, especially since I'm studying criminal psychology.

I recommend it for anyone who'd like to get more in depth into killers! There are no indexes or chapter guides to look up specific killers. Instead it has sections A through Z that list places and things. One would think that the individual killers would be listed under the respective letters such as Ted Bundy in the T section or in the B's under Bundy,Ted.

This book rather lists for example in section "A" Alligators and then gives a couple paragraphs about which killer and how they were utilized in the crimes.. While there are a killers that have their own sections dedicated under the respective letters, it doesn't really matter because they are already discussed under dozens of different A-Z listings in this book.

This book does have good information and fun facts, but the format doesn't allow for reasearch of individual killers. For the average reader, this is good to read a couple chapters at a time over several weeks, and you can skip around to different chapters and go back to others later. I will give this three stars as it has some good info and light hearted dark humor. It is different than the first one. But then, giving you a bigger picture.

One person found this helpful. I bought this book hoping to get detailed, in depth information about many of the more famous serial killers as well as information on the different types of killer's profiles. I bought the wrong book. After reading this book cover to cover, however, I can say I was entertained and did learn some interesting facts. The book never really gets that in-depth in to WHY these people comit the crimes they comitted. It is also a little too light-hearted in places in dealing with a distasteful topic.

I would have preferred a much more respectful approach to the topic. This book IS entertaining as a light read on an airplane or something like that, but there are other books on this subject that would be vastly more interesting to the discerning reader looking to learn something about serial killers. This book is a good read, it's well written and presented with lots of information about a heap of different serial killers. Unfortunately it does become VERY repeatative after a while and you do feel like your reading the same thing over and over again, but it was written to be like that.

I was dissapointed to find that there was very little information about a notorious serial killer from the 's named Gilles de Rais. I'm guessing that's because the authors might not have found enough information about him. Harold Schechter and David Everitt are great authors who have researched and written quite a lot about murderers, serials killers etc. Within the first 2 days of owning this book I had finished it, I couldn't put it down. It was a fascinating read and I recommend to anyone with a keen eye for true crime books to pick this one up, I promise it wont disapoint you.

I love these books! If you like any true crime then you'll love this. Very interesting to say the least. See all reviews. Most recent customer reviews. Published 2 months ago. Published 3 months ago. Published 7 months ago. Published 11 months ago. Published 1 year ago. Published on September 6, Customers who bought this item also bought. Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. Serial Killers Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. This is the Last Coloring Book on the Left: There's a problem loading this menu right now. Get fast, free shipping with Amazon Prime. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations.

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