Sharp Practice

by John Farris

“In thirty years of study I’ve come to accept the fact that history is neither instructive nor predictive.”

A cereal murderer is on the hunt, slicing attractive young girls in a timetable roughly coinciding with the full moon. As we’re getting to know our cast of characters, mostly higher class elites, we not only get early warning of the killer, but we’re privy to his thought processes. Or so it would seem.

The book is part mystery, horror, and crime novel, with strong psychological elements. It’s very well-written and has some good suspense, but it characters are perhaps too educated, too rich, or just too crazy to properly identify with. And considering the nature of the story, that’s mostly a good thing. It does, however, leave a scary, paranoid story a bit less impactful than it might otherwise have been.

With its mystery and its unhinged murderer, Sharp Practice is a decidedly good book of psychological horror, and it utilizes a refined literary style not often found in genre fiction.

Oxey paused there, rubbed his sore eyes, sank back to practice the black art of thinking.

3 (3+)