What do you think?
Rate this book
Necessary Evil
paperback, vg++
468 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
6 people are currently reading
149 people want to read
About the author
Shaun Hutson
115 books536 followersBritish horror novelist, including horror and urban thriller novels.
His novella Slugs was made into a movie, although Hutson didn't like the movie. He also appeared in two horror movies himself.
Hutson is a Liverpool F.C. fan.
His novella Slugs was made into a movie, although Hutson didn't like the movie. He also appeared in two horror movies himself.
Hutson is a Liverpool F.C. fan.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 23, 2018
not his best
July 17, 2022
Actual rating 3.5
February 18, 2025
Intriguing!
April 13, 2009
Shaun Hutson’s recent novel “Necessary Evil” is a complete return to form for the ‘Godfather Of Gore’. Obviously highly influenced by the recent events of terrorist attacks, Hutson delivers a powerful and compelling novel. From the very beginning, the reader is thrown into the fast-paced action with copious blood spillage on every page.
The tale moves around the main character Matt Franklin, who’s career is that of a professional criminal. Hutson uses this to create a somewhat cliqued character who resembles a less lawful Sean Doyle (Renegades, White Ghost, Knife Edge, Hybrid). With action and plot twists pumped into each page, it’s very difficult to put the book down once you start reading it.
Being a Hutson fan for many, many years now, I can safely say that this is one of his best novels to date. He has kept the energy and passion to shock and repulse his readers, creating this crossover between a thriller and a horror novel.
Running for a total of 468 pages, “Necessary Evil” is one of the longest novels he has written so far. Still, he manages to keep the tension mounting from early on in the story until the final dramatic conclusion. The novel does include a big flaw at the end involving compressed CO2 which Hutson believes is apparently flammable! However, this does not in anyway detract from the story, but will give the reader a bit of a chuckle.
Well worth picking up, especially if you’ve enjoyed previous Hutson novels.
The tale moves around the main character Matt Franklin, who’s career is that of a professional criminal. Hutson uses this to create a somewhat cliqued character who resembles a less lawful Sean Doyle (Renegades, White Ghost, Knife Edge, Hybrid). With action and plot twists pumped into each page, it’s very difficult to put the book down once you start reading it.
Being a Hutson fan for many, many years now, I can safely say that this is one of his best novels to date. He has kept the energy and passion to shock and repulse his readers, creating this crossover between a thriller and a horror novel.
Running for a total of 468 pages, “Necessary Evil” is one of the longest novels he has written so far. Still, he manages to keep the tension mounting from early on in the story until the final dramatic conclusion. The novel does include a big flaw at the end involving compressed CO2 which Hutson believes is apparently flammable! However, this does not in anyway detract from the story, but will give the reader a bit of a chuckle.
Well worth picking up, especially if you’ve enjoyed previous Hutson novels.
August 19, 2013
Enjoyable and fast paced thriller, which could have earned a 4 star rating if it were not for a writing style that sometimes detracts from the reading of the story. Hutson has an unfortunate tendency to throw in unnecessary dialogue tags so that his characters snap, retort, insist, roar, chuckle, rasp, whisper, exclaim, murmur, repeat or say evenly (a favourite), wearily, quickly, defiantly... you get the idea. It's a shame because otherwise his style suits the genre pretty well. One thing I have to mention is the bizzare notion that fire extinguishers are flammable and can be used to create an explosion, mistakenly used by Hutson as a plot point. If you can put up with these faults, necessary Evil is an enjoyable and exciting thriller.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews