His Favourite Graves by Paul Cleave

 

When a teen goes missing the local sheriff quickly realises the school janitor is responsible. Tracking the janitor down proves to be fairly straight forward but what to do next is the problem. Sheriff Cohen has family and money problems; the reward offered for catching the janitor is substantial but he isn't eligible to collect it because of his job. Torn between doing the right thing and finding a way of getting his hands on the reward, Sheriff Cohen sets in motion a series of unbelievable events.

I've read two previous books by Paul Cleave, The Quiet People and The Pain Tourist, both distinctly different. The author's latest offering, His Favourite Graves, is completely different again but the tone is probably more akin to The Pain Tourist.

His Favourite Graves has got to be one of the twistiest books I've read in a very long time. From the opening page, you are right into the action. Teenager Lucas Connor has been stuffed into a school locker by bullies and everyone has gone home. When the school janitor finds him you can sense Lucas's relief. Things quickly take a turn for the worse though when the janitor kidnaps him and takes him out to an abandoned sawmill.

It turns out the janitor is a serial killer and has plans to abuse Lucas before killing him. The writing is very skillful, it's obvious what is going to happen but the descriptions aren't graphic. This style, along with the fast pace of the story, keeps you on the edge of your seat, full of anxiety but never repulsed by overly graphic descriptions.

Lucas is able to put up a fight and survive until he is rescued by the local sheriff. Unfortunately, the janitor escapes into the forest. This then gives the sheriff the idea of capturing the janitor and somehow claiming the reward. At this point I expected a story about the cat-and-mouse manhunt between the sheriff and the janitor, I certainly didn't expect what came next. There are so many twists and turns, your head is left reeling with each new revelation. It was completely impossible to predict what turn the story would take next. 

As I progressed through the book I was flooded with widely different emotions. One moment there was empathy for a character, then shock, disbelief and even revulsion. The theme of bullying in school and on social media certainly isn't new but the descriptions are distressing and show the degree to which some people suffer.

This is one of those books where you just have to read it for yourself, any more of a description will spoil the twists and turns of this roller-coaster of a read.