Grendel Wept

by C. P. Serret

Juliet died for love… only twice.

“Fusing archeology with mystery, Serret creates an enticing read featuring cagey characters and quick-paced action”.
—The Booklife Prize

“The ultimate impact is nothing short of sensational”.
—D. Donovan, Sr Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

Defrocked archaeologist Dr Julian Corbin searches dead and forgotten things for signs of the unspeakable Other. Alien dreams and waking visions of lost civilisations haunt him while a serial killer leaves a trail of grisly murals in his footsteps.

Amid his surreality, love seems an impossible dream. But Maaike, a young Egyptologist, is too determined to ignore. She harbours her own mysteries and holds the keys to secrets just out of reach.

As the death toll grows, Julian doesn’t know if he is hunted or led, sleeping or awake, innocent or stained with blood…

222 pages, Paperback

Published October 3, 2023

About the author

C.P. Serret has an expansive background in the arts and technology and resides in the Southwest.

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its a rare but great occasion when you find something that is as much like nothing else as is possible. Sure, all fiction carries influences (and in this case I suspect Arthur Phillip's The Egyptologist may be lurking in the background) but this was one of those stand-out works of genrebending weird-exploration that you don't get very often. It must be read to be properly experienced.

[Ricardo Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grendel Wept was quite a journey — I read it in a single sitting. I really enjoyed the detective undertone, which brought back memories of Dan Brown’s novels (though it’s been a while since I read those). Still, the story is wonderfully bizarre — perhaps one of the strangest pieces of weird fiction I’ve ever read — yet written with striking elegance and sophistication.

The author’s use of social media slang adds a layer of realism you rarely find elsewhere. Grendel Wept is an emotional rollercoaster, and, as happened to me, you’ll probably jump to conclusions that slowly fall apart as the truth comes to light.

My copy is the grey hardcover edition from Tempest & Gayle.