"Drawing Blood"
(Penguin Books, Paperback, 1994, read: July 05)
"No one could understand the forces that rocked cartoonist Robert McGee's mind, allowing him to slaughter his wife and three-year-old son before hanging himself. Only five-year-old Trevor survived - silent witness to the bloodbath that destroyed his family.
Twenty years later, the same malignant love brought Trevor McGee back to Missing Mile. But this time he wasn't alone. Hiding from justice with fugitive computer hacker Zach Bosch, Trev opened the door to Birdland. Ready to face the demons. Ready to risk his life again ..."
Back to Missing Mile, where 'Lost Souls' took place. The place is the same but the characters changed. Its not about vampires but about obsession.
When Trevor's father killed his whole family he let Trevor live. The reason 'why' is bothering Trevor his whole life and 20 years after the murder he comes back to Missing Mile to get some answers. Unfortunately all participants are dead, only the house where it happened is still standing and inhabits many ghosts.
Zack, a young hacker from New Orleans, strands at Missing Mile around the same time - a fateful incident for both boys.
Poppy Z. Brite likes to explain everything that happens down to its tiniest detail. Be it the town, eating hallucinogenous mushrooms or sex with the boys. That may be a little bit more detail than one asked for but all in all the story is captivating, the characters are interesting and a bit crazy. In my opinion its the most 'accessible' of Ms. Brites novels (at least of those I've read so far).
[Dorothée Büttgen, November 05]
"Exquisite Corpse"
(Phoenix, Paperback, 1998, read: August 99)
"From the award winning author of Lost Souls, Drawing Blood and Swamp Foetus comes
a powerful insight into the lives and minds of two serial killers looking for love under cover of the
dark and steamy New Orleans night ..."
Andrew Compton, who's been in jail for the murder of 23 young men, comes to
New Orleans after his successful escape.
There he meets Jay Byrne, a local, who has already brutally murdered innumerable boys. First they choose
each other as their next victim. But then they discover their mutual passion for killing and fall in love.
Together they start to search for young tourists who don't find death easily..
To say it up front: this is a 'horror' novel and the story is sometimes terribly brutal. I admit that I
skipped a passage of around three pages because I knew what would happen but I didn't want to have the
exact pictures in my mind.
But the story is also fascinating. You don't get what you expect: there's no police-detective only one step
behind these men, the murders won't be solved and the murderers won't be convicted. But that's not the point.
To describe it without judgement: it's about two men with a common passion, discovering that there is much
more fun in doing it together. If you're ready for it, you're in for a brilliantly written horrortrip which
you won't forget so easily.
[Dorothée Büttgen, October 99]