Of Flesh and Blood

The crimes of the Cajun Cannibal—a ghoulish serial killer who feasts on his murder victims—are the gruesome centerpiece of Lavin and Burke’s mixed-bag debut thriller. The story is told, 10 years after the Cannibal’s killing spree, through the medical journal publications of forensic psychiatrist Vincent Blackburn, whose cousin, Henri Elton Judice, a game warden in the Acadiana region of Louisiana, is believed to have committed the crimes. Between 2008 and 2009, Henri’s involvement in the investigation of eight local murders led to suspicion that he himself may have been the perpetrator—a verdict widely accepted after he appeared to take his life at one of the crime scenes. Though the case seems closed, Vincent’s discovery of similar cannibalistic crimes committed years after Henri’s presumed suicide suggest the killer is still at large and that Cajun legends of the supernatural Rougarou—a “half man, half blood-hungry beast” that prowls the swamps—may not be mere superstition. The clinical dispassion of Vincent’s forensic reports makes for a dry beginning before the authors ramp up the supernatural melodrama in the second half, driving Vincent to near hysteria as he investigates numerous red herrings and improbable coincidences in his quest to uncover the truth. Though chock-full of surprises, this doesn’t stick the landing. (June)