Wow, what a bizarre tale this book, which contains 2 connected novellas, tells! I think the title of the first one will give you a hint - The Brotherhood of Mutilation. It tells the story of Kline, who recently left the police force after a criminal forced him to chop off his own hand, which he then "self cauterized" it and proceeded to shoot the villain with his left hand. This makes him a bit of a legend in the brotherhood, so they call him, reluctantly, in to investigate a murder.

But is it really a murder? And what does the Brotherhood really want with him? And although it seems like he can checkout whenever he wants, but can he actually leave?

The Brotherhood story ends with a cliffhanger and then begins the slightly longer story, Last Days. This describes his escape attempts, Pauls, and oh so very much violence. And it ends in a, well, orgasm of violence, with Kline carrying around a severed head, using it as a kind of talisman against the Brotherhood. Yowza!

At first, I didn't think I would get very far into this book. But the more I read, the morbid fascination of just where these stories was leading me kept me glued to the pages. For the first time in a while, I stayed up late reading, as I would say just one more chapter. There's not much of a mystery, but it certainly is, as one blurb writer calls it, "a darker shade of noir". There may be a few too many escapes, but in the end, that's kind of what the story is about. Kline begins to think of himself as unkillable and you can see why.

I really enjoyed this after all. I am not sure what it was trying to say, but it sure was an interesting way to say it. Stay far far away if you are at all squeamish, as there are plenty of gruesome scenes. But there are also lots of morbid dark humor and Kline never really figures everything out, so I suppose if I didn't either, it should be expected.