Dead Man Upright

Factory Series #5

by Derek Raymond

Never before available in the U.S., the final episode in the Factory Series is another unrelenting investigation with the nameless detective into the black soul of Thatcher’s England.The fifth and final book in the author’s acclaimed Factory Series was published just after Derek Raymond’s death, and so didn’t get the kind of adulatory attention the previous four titles in the series got. The book has been unavailable for so long that many of Derek Raymond’s rabid fans aren’t even aware there is a fifth book.But Dead Man Upright may be the most psychologically probing book in the series. Unlike the others, it’s not so much an investigation into the identity of a killer, but a chase to catch him before he kills again. Meanwhile, the series’ hero—the nameless Sargent from the “Unexplained Deaths” department—is facing more obstacles in the department, due to severe budget cutbacks, than he’s ever faced before.However, this time, the Sargent knows the identity of the next victim of the serial killer in question. But even the Sargent’s brutally blunt way of speaking can’t convince the besotted victim, and he’s got to convince a colleague to go against orders and join him in the attempt to catch the killer... before it’s too late.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Crime, Noir, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Detective, Mystery Thriller

224 pages, Hardcover

First published December 9, 1993

About the author

Aka Robin Cook.

Pen name for Robert William Arthur Cook. Born into privilege, Raymond attended Eton before completing his National Service. Raymond moved to France in the 50's before eventually returning to London in the 60's. His first book, 'Crust on its Uppers,' released in 1962 under his real name, was well-received but brought few sales. Moving through Italy he abandoned writing before returning to London. In 1984 he released the first of the Factory Series, 'He Died With His Eyes Open' under the name Derek Raymond. Following 'The Devil's Home On Leave' and 'How The Dead Live' he released his major work 'I Was Dora Suarez' in 1990. His memoirs were released as 'The Hidden Files'.

Reviews

[Still · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Killer:
“Yes, now I’ve got the power, each truth is a portion of flesh to be enjoyed; each rule is a bone to be broken. Gnawed. I’m like a starving man. But you mustn’t cough over what you enjoy. You mustn’t choke on it.”


The Doctor:
“It’s hunger”


The Killer:
“It’s the hunger to be.”


The Doctor:
“Food.”


The Killer:
What’s the matter with you? I don’t feed any the less heartily because I talk to my food while I eat it. The more you need food the more intelligently you should treat it, except you can’t have intelligent food. No. That’s not right, I haven’t put that right. What I mean is, you can’t have your food running about screaming on the plate – it’s logic that you have to kill it first. Then you can talk to it…”

Well, well… that charming exchange occurs in the last 20 something pages of the final entry in The Factory series of novels by Derek Raymond.

This is a ghoulish horror novel parading around in the masquerade of a classic British hard-boiled crime/police procedural as imagined by a late 20th century Edgar Allan Poe.

Although not quite up to the higher literary standards of the previous four entries – it actually becomes quite dry and repetitive after the apprehension of this novel’s maniac around about page 150- it is still better than any potential reader deserves.

The author brings back many of the series’ secondary characters for a round of final bows and the unnamed Detective Sergeant is more “Sergeant Joe Friday” and a whole lot less “Lew Archer”.
What I mean by the above is that this novel is more “just the facts” and less cerebral and ruminative.

Most critics consider this a lesser work by an outstanding genre writer. I can’t argue with that.
It’s a mandatory read, though -
especially if you intend to read the entire series in sequence.

I was afraid. I knew, I had often been told, that fear evaporated when you faced it, and I just hoped the people who had told me that were right.
The way I live you always think you’ve considered death from every possible angle, but when your number crops up it always turns out that you never have.

(Pages 144-145)

It was dark when we reached Firth’s place. The vanishing years groped its way across North London, smearing the pavements with patches of freezing damp that reminded me of our daily crime scenes, of people who had trailed their broken heads into the corner of a wall and died there.

(Page 40)

It wasn’t a room that anyone with positive aims in life would put up with for long.
The greasy red carpet was worn through to the threads and I looked down at it thinking that at least blood wouldn’t show when someone cut his throat over it.
The wallpaper was the shade of green that only said hello to people looking for a place to kill themselves; in fact it was the ideal surroundings for your end to introduce itself to you in the mirror set into the junk city wardrobe; I expected my doppelganger to walk through it any moment with the message that this was it.
The night closed in with the darkness mankind had coming to it…
(Pages 40-41)

My father said that the hardest thing in life was the first thing – to think of yourself. But he said it was worth it, and now I believed I knew what he meant all right – that if you didn’t understand people, you didn’t exist. I was paid to catch people who didn’t exist; the people whose shoulders I tapped left only the dead behind them.
(Page 145)

[Nigeyb · Rating 2 out of 5]

The five books in Derek Raymond's Factory series are...

1. He Died With His Eyes Open (1984)
2. The Devil's Home on Leave (1985)
3. How the Dead Live (1986)
4. I Was Dora Suarez (1990)
5. Dead Man Upright (1993)

The Factory novels, nominal police procedurals are narrated by an unnamed protagonist, a Detective Sergeant (DS) at London's Metropolitan Police Department of Unexplained Deaths, also known as A14. A14 handles the lowlife murders, and which are in stark contrast to the headline-grabbing homicides handled by the prestigious Serious Crimes Division aka Scotland Yard.

The familiar themes continue here: the nameless DS narrator is still on a collision course with authority in all its myriad forms; he's still continues his hate/hate relationship with Bowman his nemesis and alter-ego; and he's still a loner.

The final case is another unflinching look at a psychopath, only this time the DS is trying to stop the killer from dispatching his latest victim.

The opening two chapters are the book’s best as Derek Raymond introduces the reader to the latest killer and then reacquaints the reader with the DS. These chapters are beautifully well written and set the plot up perfectly. Sadly the book goes steadily downhill from these lofty peaks.

Long time readers know the DS is always clear that psychopaths are the most boring people on the planet. Here, as if to prove the point, Derek Raymond devotes the last quarter of the book - once the murderer is behind bars - to interviews with the killer. Long, rambling and dull monologues that do indeed adequately demonstrate that a psycho is a crushing bore. There are insights, and the idea of psychological profiling was emerging at the book was written, but it feels an uninspired way to finish this patchy series.

I’m glad I’ve read the Factory novels but can only reservedly recommend them. Derek Raymond’s writing can soar, most notably in "He Died With His Eyes Open" (Factory 1), but all too often, and for whatever reason, he does not sustain it.

2/5

Click here to read my review of "He Died With His Eyes Open" (Factory 1) (1976)

Click here to read my review of "The Devil's Home on Leave" (Factory 2) (1985)

Click here to read my review of "How the Dead Live" (Factory 3) (1986)

Click here to read my review of "I Was Dora Suarez" (Factory 4) (1990)

Click here to read my review of "Dead Man Upright" (Factory 5) (1990)

Click here to read a discussion thread about Derek Raymond

[Nancy Oakes]

Like a 3.4 or so.

http://www.crimesegments.com/2018/05/...

Actually, to be very honest, this was my least favorite book in the series of five; but it's still pretty damn good and downright frightening, since most of the darkness of this book comes directly out of the mind of a psychopath.

[Kamakana · Rating 5 out of 5]

050117: this is last and possibly best of raymond's 'unexplained deaths' novels, in which it is not the crimes, not the detection, not even the fear of what is coming- it is the long, post-arrest, police/psychologist exploration of the perpetrator, which allows the reader full horror of a psychopath's mind and acts, in hope that by understanding we might catch serial killers early...

[Antonella Imperiali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dalla serie: "Vedere il male dal punto di vista del male."
Raymond lo fa, alla grande.

"La mia esperienza delle donne, della bellezza, è troppo intensa per essere fatta direttamente: devo dissezionare e assorbire. Per fare quello che devo, la bellezza deve essere inerte."

Una zingara, dopo aver dato un'occhiata alla mano di Ronald, la mollò subito dicendo:
- Tu hai qualcosa di storto.

Basta il sospetto nei confronti di un vicino un po' strano, un via vai di donne che man mano scompaiono, un elenco di nomi e identità tutte riconducibili ad un unico soggetto. La fonte potrebbe anche non essere così attendibile, ma tutto ciò induce il sergente senza nome della sezione A14 della Factory a darle credito; comincia quindi ad indagare, o meglio a scavare.
Ne viene fuori un quadro sinistro, terribile e angosciante in cui l'orrore è in primissimo piano. Una discesa all'inferno, esplorando i meandri dell'abisso della mente umana per scoprire, una volta di più, che il male è quello con la "M" maiuscola. È pazzia, è follia mascherata da normalità.

"L'inferno apre le porte al pubblico"
"L'inferno è un museo! La stanza degli orrori è sterilizzata! Le prove sono esposte in ordine, come reperti sotto formalina, ripulite dal sangue e dalla putrefazione. Non sto facendo alcuna confessione: sono la guida e il curatore del museo."

Benvenuti all'Inferno!

📚 Biblioteca

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read. Not quite as world weary as the others in the series, it goes into the emerging technique of psychological profiling of serial killers that was introduced in the late 80s/early 90s. The killer is caught about 3/4s of the way through, and the rest of the book centres on the interviews conducted by the police psychiatrist. You get the impression that the unnamed detective sergeant is on the verge of calming the rage that has driven him through the other cases, now that he has this new tool in solving and potentially preventing the unexplained deaths his unit investigates. A good ending to the series.

[wally · Rating 3 out of 5]

five twenty-two ay em, christmas morning, the 25th of december 2017, finished, good read, i liked it, three stars, kindle, library loaner and the first from raymond for me. an interesting read...looks at a serial killer, some p.o.v. through the killer's eyes...some through the eyes of detectives active and inactive...don't know if there is anything new here, any insights or not...can't say that the story goes beyond that tread by dostoyevsky...beyond the psychological implications of his crime and punishment...although i'd hazard the attempt is made...given the telling through the eyes of the killer, the q and a that completes the story. all in all, a good read.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5) This one is far from my favorite in the series. The assailant is a Jack the Ripper type and I've never been a fan of gruesome murders centered around the bloodied bodies of women. There's also too much "getting in the mind of a serial killer", another genre I don't enjoy (this was a lot more fun when the detective got into the "mind" of the person who's death he was investigating in book one of the series He Died With His Eyes Open.). But make no mistake, it's always fun to see the nameless detective in action, giving the middle finger to the powers of the world in a way we wish we all could. A decent Factory book is better than 95% of the other crime novels I read.

[Toglietemi tutto, ma non i miei libri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recensione: http://chelibroleggere.blogspot.com/2...
Un modo diverso e inusuale di scrivere thriller, un killer che istruisce i poliziotti
sulle compulsioni che lo animano e lo spingono a commettere atti terribili.
Tutto questo contribuisce a rendere questo libro un agglomerato di pagine intriganti, tetre ed elettrizzanti.
Una lettura breve ma coinvolgente, un thriller, un noir, un testo che va oltre la semplice caccia al cattivo.

[Luca Lesi · Rating 3 out of 5]

In sottofondo avevano messo una canzone, Just like a butterfly does, che mi ricordava tempi migliori.

Non ci sono stati lavori minori di Derek Raymond, né sono esistiti autori noir europei in grado si scandagliare come lui il lato oscuro della psiche umana.
“Il museo dell’inferno”, quinto romanzo della serie Factory (che nel gergo popolare londinese definisce la polizia, mentre qui si riferisce al distretto di Poland Street, dove opera la sezione Delitti Irrisolti) targata Derek Raymond, è un bagno poco rilassante in una vasca colma di sangue, un’esplorazione delle oscurità della mente omicida , una lucida e gelida analisi del male dalla quale è difficile uscirne “puliti”. Perché dietro la patina di insania, a ben guardare, c’è una normalità che non è tanto lontana dalla nostra, un quotidiano con nubi e ombre che ci sono familiari. Vittime, carnefici e cacciatori di mostri si muovono tutti sullo stesso palcoscenico, interpreti di una sceneggiatura dominata da morte e desolazione.
Ronald Jidney dà forma alle sue teorie estetiche martoriando e uccidendo con dedizione totale le sue vittime, scomponendo e ricomponendo i loro corpi come un artista fa con la materia, per affermarsi contro quella vita che l’ha maltrattato, nella certezza che "l’unico modo di scampare all’inferno, è diventarlo".
E pensai anche che, a furia di essere dappertutto e in nessun luogo, in qualche modo si finiva per vedere tutto. Sembra stupido dirlo, ma penso che se esiste la reincarnazione, sto scontando una pena molto pesante facendo questo tipo di lavoro, sapendo che continuerò a farlo, e soffrendo quello che ho sofferto nella mia vita privata.
Il Sergente della A14, sezione Omicidi Irrisolti, questa volta si trova proiettato in un’indagine quasi per caso: un ex collega insospettito dal comportamento di un vicino di poche parole, una serie di donne apparentemente scomparse, un’identità celata sotto nomi differenti. Uno stuolo di esistenze, avvolte da una patina di normalità quotidiana così densa da poter diventare il miglior nascondiglio per l’orrore. Emergono a poco a poco i particolari di un quadro terribile e angosciante, del quale fino all’ultimo nessuno sembra rendersi conto.
L’ultimo terzo di Il museo dell’inferno è in buona parte incentrato sui deliri di Jidney, il serial killer che è stato catturato. Diari, lettere, stremanti interrogatori, registrazioni, addirittura una seduta di ipnosi. A un certo punto Stevenson, il pratico collega dell’innominato sergente-detective, non si trattiene e sbotta: “Che mucchio di stronzate”. ( “What a load of crap” , in originale). E Stevenson ribatte, come a difesa di Raymond: “L’inferno ne è pieno”.
Che dire in conclusione leggere Il museo dell’inferno è quasi una necessità, un po’ come chiudere un cerchio quando si sa che è tutto finito e non ci sarà mai più un seguito.

[g · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't realize that this was the fifth and last book of The Factory series. It is a grim, gruesome book but so hard to put down. I'll be circling back to the first four books for more of the same.

[Philip Girvan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quality episode of the Factory Series filled with pointed critiques at sloppy police work, murderous and stupid police officers, neoliberalism/Thatcherism, and, above all, unthinking, unfeeling bureaucracy. On page 95, the nameless Detective Sergeant reckons:

“I've come to believe that what we need is a republic. People need to be run by people who like them, not boxed into a game they can't win by people who can't lose it. We need a head of state who's been on the run. An interior minister who's had the two o'clock knock and done solitary. A minister of agriculture who's seen a spade fired in anger and done twenty years on the land. A health minister who's had his life saved through swift transportation to a well-staffed, properly equipped hospital. An interior minister dedicated to dismantling the state with its futile bureaucratic waste and saving real money.”

The book begins with a serial killer’s POV rather than the usual protagonist, the nameless Detective Sergeant. It’s discombobulating to say the least but the reader is soon reunited with the nameless Detective Sergeant and his dogged approach. With the aid of a turfed ex-colleague, former Detective Sergeant Firth, he’s soon on the trail of the serial killer who narrated the opening chapter. There are twist and turns but this book’s emphasis is the psychological rather than procedural via the inner workings of the serial killer’s mind in the opening chapter, the desperation of his final victim through much of the book’s middle sections, and the prominence of Dr Argyle Jones, the psychiatrist from the Home Office.

We meet Dr Jones in Chapter 6 as he delivering his latest in a series of lectures, as the nameless Detective Sergeant puts it, “designed to involve us in an embryonic new programme based on the American FBI procedure at NCAVC, the National Centre fo: the Analysis of Violent Crime, which had in turn developed VICAP (the Violent Crime Apprehension Pro gramme), a sophisticated computer programme for the profiling and identification of serial killers, the fastest-growing type of killer with us now” (56).

Derek Raymond really, imo, hit new heights in the sections with Dr Jones. I’ve admired Raymond’s black humour, his visceral descriptive powers and his plotting but the slowburn takedown of Dr Jones and his programme is next level. The nameless Detective Sergeant had been skeptical of Dr Jones, who is also tasked with checking in on the mental wellbeing of nameless Detective Sergeant and his colleagues, but he’s interested in catching killers and preventing crimes and if there’s a science to it, great. He’s not going to let bias close any doors. Indeed, he admits, also on page 56, being “fascinated with the experiment and watched with close attention the progress of these brand new ideas which were working so well in the States through the archaic structures of the Home Office”.

However, it’s old-fashioned gumshoe instincts, instigated by Detective Sergeant Firth whom Scotland Yard in its wisdom felt it necessary to sack, and the nameless Detective Sergeant’s above-mentioned doggedness and loose adherence to procedure and process and nab the serial killer.

The last quarter of the book is divided into a series of interviews, led by Dr Jones but involving the nameless (and, in these interviews, silent) Detective Sergeant and two other investigators (who chime in occasionally), that are determined to get into the serial killer’s head, better understand his motivations and build a systematic approach to catching serial killers. Really some of the best, and certainly the most subtle, writing I’ve read by Derek Raymond. Here’s one such passage:

Jones: "You are proud of yourself then, of your instinct, your prowess, your stature.'

Jidney: 'Of course I am. I am a very affirmative person. By the way, I should like to add a remark concerning some quite wrong opinions I have heard regarding killers of my type. Firstly, they are not stupid. I myself am of above average intelligence; I am certainly capable of appreciating the difference between profit and loss and of running a business, as you know. Secondly, they are political. I would assert that there is no such thing as a socialist killer because, short of death, concepts such as equality, let alone liberty or fraternity, do not exist for the believer in the inevitable. Therefore every serial killer is a fascist. In other words, fascism is not a belief; it is a course of action natural to the wild beast, rooted in primitive nature, which the killer too not only accepts but welcomes.'

Jones (to us): 'Who was that Frenchman who wrote “tous les criminels sont des jésuites?"? (185)

Excellent - in a couple of sections, it’s terribly graphic and violent but, overall, the strongest writing I’ve read from Derek Raymond.

[Laith · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reaching career heights and changing publishers thanks to Dora Suarez, Raymond published a final Factory novel just before he died in 1994. This book was totally forgotten about in the aftermath of a career and series climax like Dora. I'm not exactly sure how publishing worked in the 90s, but without Raymond around to beat his own drum, this book sort of just disappeared in the tumult. It wasn't only a limited UK-only release that made this forgettable either, Dora Suarez was the apex of the series, a concentration of all that came before and distilled into one perfect story; this book was following a closer.

When compared to the shocking depravity and literary brilliance of its predecessor, this book does indeed fall flat. I think that Raymond felt the chapter close when he published Dora, knew that the formula needed to change lest he retread the same old ideas. Indeed, Dead Man Upright is a significant shake up to the theme and structure of the series, doing away with the detectives' connection to the victims and instead choosing to focus on the mind of the killer. Raymond already did something similar with an examination of the killer's mentality/banality in The Devil's Home on Leave. But this is a question of degrees, and Raymond gives this entry over, in its totality, to the killer's mindset.

Ronald Jidney is the killer this time around, and in classic Raymond fashion he's every inch a dead-eyed mediocre psychopath. Jidney fancies himself an artist, a killer who has mastered the art of mimicking the mundane, all the while ensnaring women in his trap. The nameless detective is put onto the case by a tip from an officer fired for alcoholism who lives next to Jidney. The case progresses from simple suspicion about an old playboy, to a full on murder investigation as the detective realizes what he's dealing with.

There are a lot of small comments I can make at this point about how this is different from the rest of the series: The detective's colleagues aren't made out to be completely obstructive/useless, there's the introduction/discussion of a number of police reforms that were contemporaneous, there's an effort to discuss the fallout of police work. The plotting is weak to boot, but it hasn't exactly been strong to this point either, the draw to reading Raymond is his worldview. By comparison to the first few novels, it's clear that Raymond's world has opened up quite a fair bit, but at the end of the day it's still Raymond and London is still corrupt and decaying.

What has really changed is the emphasis on the killer. Where before, we would have extensive references to the victims through literary devices like tapes or diaries, Raymond gives us nearly 50 pages of Jidney's monologue. It's filtered obviously, mainly delivered through interrogation and prison correspondence, but it's a striking departure from standard procedure. In fact, there's a double dose as the confessions and later correspondences are directly commented on by the detective and a visiting lecturer, characterizing the killer through their eyes. I've always enjoyed Raymond's outlook on this subject, his killers are less the inhuman super beings that physiological horror loves to make them, and entirely strange and deluded little men.

That said, I did not like this substitution of victim for killer, it robs this story of nearly all its pathos. It's to the point where some of Jidney's victims are presented as complicit in their own deaths, his earlier victims colored entirely through his pysche/fantasies. Raymond gives too much of the narrative over to the killer. We are here to ogle and jape, to be confounded and repulsed at the depravity. To let the killer explain himself isn't just base voyeurism, it's boring! No amount of pyscotic rambling is going to humanize a serial killer! While there's still a glimmer of hope present in all the doom and gloom, it's much less poignant this time around. I get why this one is a bit of an obscurity.

[Bill Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third book I've read from Raymond and I do feel I have to be in the right mood for him. This time I definitely was and it is was a quick read. Starting with what is now a standard prologue trope of the serial killer committing his latest murder, it soon plunges into the first person narrative from the unnamed detective sergeant. There is a short passage of detection in the middle, but we know who the killer is very early. Thereafter it is catching him. Raymond is graphic and gruesome, this isn't classic English detective fiction and not for the faint hearted. However, he writes with economy and pace and so pages turn quickly. The element that makes this different is the profiling of serial killers and attempts to understand their motivation. I'll not spoil the roll out of the narrative, but Raymond is trying to get to the metaphysical nature of a serial killer. I'm not convinced, but I enjoyed the ride.

[Alan Korolenko · Rating 3 out of 5]

The unnamed Detective Sergeant discovers what turns out to be one of the most deadly serial killers in British history. His immediate task is to prevent an impending death and bring in the killer. The book moves along until the last third where Raymond attempts to analyze this serial killer to understand all serial killers. It is rambling, incoherent and, well, crazy but fails to grip the reader. Still Raymond manages in a short final chapter to end the book and the Factory series with a gut twisting desire to save our children from the monsters in this world. These five extraordinary crime novels stand alone in their stark brutality and dark world view. They are essential reading for hard boiled crime fans if the ultra violence can be tolerated.

[Seán Rafferty · Rating 3 out of 5]

For two thirds of the book we are back in the grim world of the unnamed detective and Thatcher's Britain. Less existential than previous novels we are still plunged into the dark, wonderful world of Derek Raymond.
In a neat twist the killer's next intended victim is infatuated with him and refuses to believe that he could be dangerous. Interactions with associates of the suspect and the general public are as combative and droll as ever. The dialogue is terse and pitch perfect. The investigation is compelling. The suspect is confronted and the air goes out of the novel.
The final third is a disappointing pretentious examination of a serial killer's psychology. It is not a bad novel but it is a disappointment after the preceding books in the series.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

It feels like this novel was getting ready to continue on with the unnamed detective's investigations at its conclusion, but it's the final of the series and I have to admit to being a bit relieved to be done with them. They're all quite good and yet they're so despairing and so bleak and so brutal that they don't do much for your mood.

[David Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the series (sadly the last). Not for the faint-hearted, there's some pretty graphic content but, it's all part of the realism of the piece. The final part of the book brings the bad guy very much inti the realms of reality. Making it all the more scary that these people do exist in the real world.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

The psychology gets a little overwhelming in the last quarter, but the narrator's attitude and activity still carry the story well. Too much villain, overall.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Factory series is almost universally revered, but only books one and four are great. Of the remaining three, this one is the worst.

[Wheeler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last 1/3 really drags as it’s mostly monologue and the plot is played out. Never any mention of consequences for Bowman, or lack thereof. Feels like loose ends were left hanging.

[Guy Salvidge · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this, the final Factory novel, in a single day, straight after the first in the series, and the differences are stark. Whereas most of this series is characterised by short, punchy scenes, Dead Man Upright waffles for the first half. True, things do get going somewhat in the second half, especially in the lead-up to the murderer's capture, but then things fall completely apart toward the end. Completed shortly before the author's death and perhaps never revised very much at all, Dead Man Upright is a book lacking in control. In this regard it reminded me of the late novel of Derek Raymond's namesake, Raymond Chandler, in his final completed novel Playback. There and here, the characters have the same names but the old vigour and control is gone. By far the least impressive of the Factory novels, this.

[Michael Flick · Rating 1 out of 5]

This, the 5th book (of 5) in Derek Raymond’s “Factory Series,” is its anticlimax. Gone is any connection between the victim and the nameless Detective Sergeant (which characterized the other books) and much of any attempt at plot—the case just falls into his hands. The last quarter of the book is essentially the murderer’s monologue, which is a boring ego. That’s what Raymond teaches: Murder is boring. Psychosis is boring. Evil is boring.

Looking back over the whole series, it’s a dud. You could read the last two books for the depravity, but that wouldn’t be worth the effort. There are better—and less boring—ways to spend your reading time.

[GlenK · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, the fifth and last of Derek Raymond’s Factory Series, has been long unavailable in the US. It is a cleverly plotted procedural that finds police - almost by accident - uncovering a very methodical and very long practicing serial killer. Along with the killer is discovered the identity of his intended next victim, a person the police desperately want to protect. As might be expected, this book is exceedingly bleak and brutal, with some passages being especially hard to take. Interestingly (or oddly), the plot ends about 50 pages before the book does with the remainder consisting mostly of police interviews with the killer.

[Hex75 · Rating 3 out of 5]

forse aver letto "il mio nome era dora suarez" poco tempo fa lascia su questo libro un'ombra troppo pesante: difficile che questo romanzo possa raggiungere quel vertice, e nonostante questo l'ho divorato sperando di ritrovarci le stesse atmosfere e la stessa potenza. ovviamente non le ho trovate, ma il romanzo resta comunque valido, degno di esser letto se si è fan di raymond; però va anche detto che la lunga confessione del serial killer è sfiancante, che forse si sarebbe dovuta fermare con la lettera o magari con quel simpatico gioco che è l'uso di uno studio su un pittore per analizzare il carattere dell'assassino: la lettura ne avrebbe guadagnato tantissimo.

[John Benschoter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started with a bang. The first 130 pages or so were really well written, well plotted, etc. Then, Raymond seemed to forget what a noir is supposed to be. He even has the murderer say at one point that it's useless to try to understand the mind of a killer, but then proceeds to spend 50+ pages doing just that, and not in an interesting way. I had heard so much about the Factory Series, made the mistake of picking up the last first. I'll probably try He Died With His Eyes Open, but if it doesn't wow me, I'm done.

[Roybot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read all five of Raymond's "nameless detective" books, I found this to be the weakest entry. The book starts off strong enough, but really should have ended far earlier than it did. The final section, dealing with the antagonist's mental state, isn't nearly as interesting and was difficult to slog through.

[Carlos Lavín · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually love the way Raymond delves into the personality of his killers and his victims, but having the last 30% of the book dedicated to the killer talking about why he kills and a psychiatrist trying to make sense of it was overdoing it. Like, really really overdoing it.

Bit of a weak ending for the series. Maybe if the book had ended 60 pages before.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final book in the 'Factory' series. The first 2/3rds of the book were good, almost along the lines of 'Rear Window', but then it just stepped off a cliff with the author producing a treatise on the supposed mind and mentality of a serial killer. A rather unsatisfying end to the series.

[Hermien · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too cruel and harsh.