★★★★✩

In Normal, we follow the day to day life of a man who is seemingly ordinary to outsiders, yet following the story through his own eyes, we see how far from normal he really is. This man, you see, is a serial killer, and a good one at that.

“The truth is I hurt people. It’s what I do. It’s all I do. It’s all I’ve ever done. I’m not… normal.”

 I’m going to tread lightly around explaining the outline of this book, as I really dont want to spoil anything for all of you potential readers because you’re seriously in for a treat if you read this. Throughout the full book, we read events from the point of view of a nameless, ageless, faceless man who has acquired the skills to lure girls into a false sense of security before locking them in his basement and playing games with them. He’s also a mastermind when it comes to keeping both his captives and his true personality concealed.

Everything changes when this nameless man comes across a girl in the supermarket, and suddenly nothing matters any more but her. He likes this girl, and wants her as partner rather than a victim. Suddenly, killing no longer matters to him. There’s just one thing standing between them: a girl called Erica, who is currently locked up in a cage in his basement…

“I know exactly when it all started to go wrong for me. It was April 5 at 19:23:17, and it started with a pair of eyes.”

I like the fact that our serial killer is kept hidden from us as a reader. The fact that we don’t know whether he is old or young, whether he’s handsome or not, whether he dresses smart or keeps it casual, simply reinforces the fact that this man could be anyone who is seemlingly normal to you, making him even more disconcerting.

From the start of the book, the reader is thrown into the crazy world of this serial killer, and there is gore straight from the start, so naturally, I was hooked. Cameron did a magnificent job of creating a character I should have loathed, and moulding him into someone I actually loved, empathised with, and became fully invested in, despite being alongside him as he kills and dismembers people.  You will fall into this killers bizarre world and never want to leave.

The way Cameron injects humour throughout a book which should quite morbid is done brilliantly, and he allows the reader to really step into a realistic serial killers mind. (Is there something you need to tell us Graeme…?). He has also done a fabulous job creating the superb character that is Erica. She’s intriguing, fiesty, and definitely unusual, but I shan’t divulge any more about her… You’ll just have to grab yourself a copy of this book ASAP!

This book had a firm hold of me through each and every chapter, and blew me away towards the end. It was action packed, fast paced, unpredictable, and surprisingly moving. I recommend you find yourself a copy of this book and settle down with this man who is in tune with abnormality, and you will love him for it. I dare you to read it and not enjoy being inside this serial killers messed up mind… This is one guy you really will want to get away with murder.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.