Primal Scream

Special X #6

by Michael Slade

Decades ago, Inspector Robert DeClercq suffered a tragedy when his young daughter was kidnapped and killed after he was unable to save her. Only now, with a young girl named Katt in his life, can he put his demons to rest. Until DeClercq's Special X Team receives a shrunken head, heralding the return of the Headhunter -- a psychopath who left a trail of headless bodies in his wake eleven years earlier -- or is it a copycat killer? While the team seeks the answer, Katt is kidnapped, luring DeClercq away from his comrades into a deadly web of revenge!

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Mystery, Crime, Canada

429 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published August 1, 1998

About the author

Slade on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MountieNoir

Slade on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MountieNoir

Criminal lawyer MICHAEL SLADE has acted in over one hundred murder cases. His specialty is the law of insanity. He argued the last death penalty case in Canada’s highest court.

Backed by his forensic experience, Slade’s Special X and Wyatt Rook thrillers fuse the genres of police and legal procedure, whodunit and impossible crime, suspense, history, and horror.

Slade was guest of honor at both the Bloody Words crime convention and the World Horror Convention. As Time Out puts it, “A thin line separates crime and horror, and in Michael Slade’s thrillers, the demarcation vanishes altogether.”

Slade was guest speaker at the international Police Leadership Conference and several RCMP regimental dinners. As Reader’s Digest puts it, “The Slade books have developed a strong following among police officers because of their strict adherence to proper police procedure.”

For the stories behind his plots, visit Slade’s Morgue at www.specialx.net.

Reviews

[Orient · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guess who's back?

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the sixth in Michael Slade's series of novels dealing with the exploits of Special X, a division of the Vancouver RCMP.

This book follows the standard faire of any of these books, with over the top sex, violence and the criminally insane.

However, unlike its predecessors this book is full of excellent plot twists and unexpected surprises.

By this time in "his" career, Michael Slade has fully developed his writting skills and this book shows it.

I would still recommend that anyone wishing to read Michael Slade begins with the books in their chronological order (Headhunter (of which Primal Scream is a direct sequel of), Ghoul, Cutthroat, Ripper, Evil Eye and then Primal Scream). I suggest this as the characters carry through these books and without the previous knowledge of them and their histories, as provided by the earlier novels, the book may become muddled and hard to fully appreciate.

I can hardly wait to read the rest of this series, as this book was most excellent.

[Jeff French · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this book 3.5 stars. I love the research Slade puts into all of his novels. I always learn new things when reading his books. I enjoy his characters and it's fun to follow them from book to book. Headhunter is one of my favourite all time books and it's great to see a return of the killer from that novel. My biggest problem with this book is how the two central stories play out. One involves the serial killer and the other involves the standoff between the Gitxsan "terrorists" and the RCMP and even a third we don't realize exists until the end. For me the more fascinating story is with the serial killer. When this story is resolved, there are still approximately 100 pages left in the book. While the remainder of the book is still enjoyable, it feels a little anticlimactic. It would have been nice to have the stories resolved at almost the same time. This would have made the book more interesting and upped the suspense level.

[Terry Cornell · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite of the series so far. RCMP history, how dog sled teams work, psychology, and serial killer(s)? I didn't have a clue where this was heading by the end. It took me longer than usual to read through this. I think partly that is due to the series being so dark and violent that I had to divert to lighter subject matter. I do have the next book in the series, 'Burnt Bones', but I think I'll take a break with reading that isn't so disturbing.

[Reuben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, incredibly visceral experience. Full of sex, gore, violence, like a good slasher novel should be. Slade has definately mastered the art of showing rather than telling. Gave it a three because this book is definitely not for everyone. But if you like your thrillers greasy, this one is for you.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bit too graphic and bloody but still worth the read. The emphasis here is on criminal psychology and brutal behavior. DeClerc is the only decent character in this dark novel but he is also a target. The issue is becoming clear to those of who read these novels, the well of original ideas is running dry.

[Darby · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 6th book in Slade's Special X series and its a direct sequel to the first book, Headhunter.
I was very excited to learn we were heading back to the cliffhanger of the first book. I kept reading on in book #s 2-5 and saw Spann's name and kept thinking "when is she going to get hers?".

I thought this was probably 3rd best in the series so far behind said Headhunter and the second book Ghoul. There is still the quintessential Slade here... full of research. Tons of history on Canadian wilderness, native American tribes, wolves and pack hunters and sled races, RCMP history and so on.

There are 3 antagonists in this one. We should all know who the first main one is from Headhunter. The OG headhunter changed their MO slightly due to another, second, baddie behind the curtains pulling some psychological strings. Now the killer is head-chopping men instead of women, filling in for mommy and going after daddy.

The 3rd baddie, dubbed the Decapitator, is linked to an old Native American school run by White church groups and patrolled by a RCMP. Bad things happened to native American kids back then and 1 child grew up looking for revenge on white and the RCMP, in general. Great twist at the end with this one as well as the great twist showing who was pulling Spann's strings.

Poor Robert. I hope he gets the future date with Gil.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read the first five novels long ago, I had not yet read this one. I kept remembering parts of the other novels and knew part of what was happening in this one... but there were so many red herrings and cross contaminated stories that it was hard to keep track. The characters are all so real, and the conglomerate that is Slade does such a good job of drawing you in. The grisly parts are visceral. The history parts educational. The story parts engrossing. Read the grizzly attack again, it's hard not to feel the beast's breath in your own face!

[Jeff P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t get the attraction of twist endings. Slade filled this book with a sickeningly demented story, diligently researched and meticulously detailed. He managed to tie together the history and cultures of Native Americans with psychosexual serial killers and wrapped it up in a police procedural/whodunit that moved at blistering pace, then wasted it all on a Scooby Doo ending.

I originally picked this book out of the Slade library after I came across a mention of the grizzly attack it contained, and that description did not disappoint.

[allother · Rating 1 out of 5]

I stopped reading this book at page 45. I thought I wasn't being fair, so I continued to page 110. I stopped for good. Not a Good Read. The characters are weak and not clearly defined. The author jumps all over the place - past, present, in his head, Paris, Montreal Vancouver and New Orleans. My head was spinning.

[Craig "NEEDS MORE DAMN TIME TO READ !!!!" · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Headhunter returns....or does, ah, no spoilers haha. Good story, nice to see Headhunter back but the case is resolved, sort of, halfway through the book so the feast is just reasonable fare, nice tie up at the end though!

[Jenn]

Wow. Too many confusing characters who seem to not be tied into the plot at all. 64 pages in and I give up.

[Brian Sammons · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sequel to Slade's phenomenal first book, Headhunter. Sadly, this one falls way short of the original in every way and was thoroughly made of 'meh'. An OK read at best.