Review by m1n -- The Dark Web Murders by Brian O'Hare

[m1n]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Dark Web Murders" by Brian O'Hare.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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In The Dark Web Murders, author Brian O’Hare pits Inspector Sheehan and his team against a narcissistic, ruthless, and devilishly intelligent serial killer. The killer has already stated in a blog post that: I AM NEMEIN. I AM EMOTIONALLY DETACHED FROM MY KILLINGS. I AM NOT, THEREFORE, A MURDERER. I AM AN INSTRUMENT OF NEMESIS, A PUNISHER. For any reader, I would suggest lock your doors and settle down for an exciting and terrifying read!

With this attitude of absolute lack of humanity towards their victims, the killer sends further posts detailing more of their gruesome, murderous attacks. It is clearly like a game to them and one they expect to win. The pursuit of the murderer is as twisted as they are. For Sheehan it means a lot of blind alleys and dead ends, while the murderer sends provocative taunts.The question of why a criminal would dare to publish their actions is puzzling. Except it has been seen before on the internet and often does end in an arrest. This is just one reason why the book works so well. The mind of a psychopath and their sickly self-interest is both their motivation and often their downfall.

Obviously, a psychopath is someone who sees no problem in their personal actions, however despicable they may be. And this murderer delights in finding humour in their murders. They also appear to enjoy seeing Sheehan and the police unable to catch them. Readers themselves will be caught between disgust, at the cruelty and arrogance of the murderer, and morbid curiosity at what will happen next.

O’Hare has used a good mix of the real world, with the murderer’s very real actions, and the online world where he publicises his heinous crimes. We also see this as a battle of wits between the murderer and Sheehan, and a battle of who will break first as the body count continues to rise.

Finally, it need not be said that this story involves extreme horror and violence. However, the cover and blurb should make that clear to any reader. Therefore, it should be said this is a very adult novel and only for readers who don’t mind the grisly and the horrific in their thrllers. Because underneath the violence this is a thriller. I found it very well written and nicely paced to keep the reader’s interest engaged throughout. Therefore, I rate this book as a 4 out of 4.

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The Dark Web Murders
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