LoveClub

Levente
Lakatos
Genre: 
Suspense-Thriller

There is a serial killer and sexual predator on the streets in Budapest, Hungary.  Lili is an aspiring journalist, and when one of her friends falls victim to the gruesome criminal, she is determined to help uncover the truth. Meanwhile, her love life is rough and complicated, not to mention that her sexual proclivities (wanting what she possibly shouldn't) are always on her mind.  

 

Dr. David Lengyel is a controversial criminal psychologist within the police department and has valuable insight into the twisted mind of the killer. Within the online world of the LoveClub, where people play a role and anything goes, she must wade through sadistic fantasy and all manner of sexual predilection to find the truth.

 

This was an intense and multilayered story, told mostly from Lili's point of view.  The major focus is on the younger generations and how they utilize the internet.  Just because it is impersonal doesn't mean it's not real.  This is also not an easy book to read, not only due to the subject matter but because of the very rough translation from Hungarian to English....a lot of intent and inflection seems to have been lost.  The plot itself is engaging, although Dr. Lengyel's character is vastly under explored...it would have been nice to get more into his character and see what makes him tick. The reader is often thrust into the mind of the killer via his journal entries, and his bloody exploits escalate to horrific heights, which are often hard to read about. It is a violently erotic story lacking in much romance and focusing on hidden sexual desires.

 

Nicole Duke