Book review: Dark horror story from king of Belfast noir is gutwrenching

Stuart Neville ticks all the horror boxes in 'Blood Like Mine' — a terrible tale that has no neat ending

Author Stuart Neville has been described by the Guardian as 'the king of Belfast noir'.

• Blood Like Mine 
• Stuart Neville
• Simon & Schuster, £14.99 

When 12-year-old Monica Carter, nicknamed Moonflower, emits rumbling sounds from her stomach, something awful has to happen. 

Moonflower gets ravenously hungry and it’s not the kind of hunger that can be satisfied with a burger. 

Rather, it calls for murdering a human being (animals can sate the hunger for a short while) by cutting his/ her throat to imbibe their blood. 

The spinal cord has to be cut too to ensure that the victim is really dead.

Described by the Guardian as “the king of Belfast noir,” author Stuart Neville, best known for crime thrillers, has written a truly gruesome novel in the horror genre. It involves an attempt by an FBI agent, Marc Donner, to catch the woman perpetrating the crimes. 

The killings (Rebecca Carter says, late in the novel, that she has slain 10 people over a year) are necessary in order that Rebecca’s daughter, Moonflower can live. 

And Rebecca doesn’t kill indiscriminately. Rather, she targets paedophiles by setting up meetings online, sometimes using her daughter as bait, only for the predators to be faced with a fearsome woman whose sole mission in life seems to be to keep raven-haired Moonflower (with the deathly pale face) alive.

As Rebecca sees it, it isn’t Moonflower’s fault that she has a terrible animalistic greed. She was infected with her peculiar bloodlust.

The pair (Moonflower’s father never took any responsibility for his daughter) travel in a van, with the narrative kicking off in Denver. 

The word ‘vampire’ is never used in this novel but Moonflower, who shuns sunlight and who can’t be photographed as her image always comes out as a blurry pool of light, is otherworldly in a demonic sense. 

It seems she came back from the dead and in this horror-laden novel, she communes with dogs and coyotes. It’s no fun being Moonflower. And heaven help anyone that gets in her way when she is starving. 

Moonflower can call on amazing strength and a singular fighting spirit when the need arises.

Her mother professes love for her blighted daughter and says she gave up her life (a burgeoning career in hospitality and a relationship with a good man) so that Moonflower can live. 

But really, it’s existence for the sake of it. And both mother and daughter admit that sometimes they would rather be dead.

Marc has been on the trail of Rebecca for a couple of years and is determined to thwart her.

“My job is to put these bastards away, not some goddamn crazy with a hunting knife.” But his colleagues don’t share his enthusiasm for the case of a serial killer targeting sex abusers.

As Marc’s colleague and friend, Sarah McGrath says, ever since his marriage broke up, he has been trying to fill a hole chasing the killers.

On Christmas Eve, Marc, who is planning to spend the festive holiday with his ex-wife and two daughters in an effort to broker peace, receives an alert. Rebecca has been spotted on CCTV in an attempted theft at a petrol station. 

While Sarah says the local bureau in Arizona is on the case, Marc insists on getting involved. He is your stereotypical investigating cop. Off alcohol for a year, his personal life is a mess, but he lives for the thrill of his job, tempered with a strong sense of justice.

The horror genre is meant to scare and shock readers. It can also repulse its audience. Stuart Neville ticks all the horror boxes in this terrible tale that has no neat ending.

The denouement instils a sense of dread. You have been warned.

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