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Deadhead
For Nick Ryan, private detective, life is all work and no play; his family has left him, and he's been given six months to live. When his daughter is kidnapped by a gang responsible for a series of murders, he begins an obsessive hunt for her and will not stop. Time is running out for both of them.
326 pages, Paperback
First published March 3, 1994
7 people are currently reading
473 people want to read
About the author
Shaun Hutson
113 books534 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
June 26, 2023
In this book women are always fussing with their hair, they just can’t stop
She sat down, running a hand through her hair (p29)
Marie ran a hand through her hair and sat down (p32)
She sat down on the edge of the bed and ran a hand through her hair (p38)
Maria swept her long hair away from her neck (p45)
She puffed on a cigarette and pushed her blonde hair away from her face (p55)
The footsteps receded and Stephanie ran a hand through her hair (p128)
Suzi Gray pushed a hand through her hair (p246)
[It’s suspicious that no woman seems to have pushed her hand through her hair for 120 pages – I think I may have missed a couple as the hair fussing is not abandoned…]
She brushed the hair away from her face, re-adjusting her Ray-Bans (p291)
She took a comb from her handbag and began running it through her hair (p293) (moving on to combs from hands, an interesting technological development)
Occasionally a man starts up fussing too
He ran a hand through his hair (p76)
Finlay ran a hand through his hair (p173)
And one of the villains has a ponytail which he constantly pulls from his neck to which sweat is perpetually sticking it, I forgot to mark those as I read, but I think that gets about ten mentions.
Shaun Hutson has a couple of other verbal tics :
The girl was particularly attractive (p4)
Smiling at a particularly attractive receptionist (p19)
Glancing at a particularly gorgeous young woman (p89)
And there are many scenes in heavy London traffic when drivers get annoyed and start “banging their hooters”.
And there are moments of breathtakingly corny writing that made me run my hands through my hair :
Now he was being forced to face the most potent opponent ever. Death itself.
It took him only seconds to realise it was his sister.
“Let’s get out of here,” he shouted, and he and his two companions bolted for the door.
How I got suckered into reading this tosh was that I really like a booktuber called Criminolly and yes, he’s a great lover of what he cheerfully calls trash and pulp, and, you know, what was I expecting, but Shaun Hutson is one of his top favourites and silly me I was hoping for something better than this daft snuff-film tough guy kidnap plot with its Reservoir Dogs ending.
She sat down, running a hand through her hair (p29)
Marie ran a hand through her hair and sat down (p32)
She sat down on the edge of the bed and ran a hand through her hair (p38)
Maria swept her long hair away from her neck (p45)
She puffed on a cigarette and pushed her blonde hair away from her face (p55)
The footsteps receded and Stephanie ran a hand through her hair (p128)
Suzi Gray pushed a hand through her hair (p246)
[It’s suspicious that no woman seems to have pushed her hand through her hair for 120 pages – I think I may have missed a couple as the hair fussing is not abandoned…]
She brushed the hair away from her face, re-adjusting her Ray-Bans (p291)
She took a comb from her handbag and began running it through her hair (p293) (moving on to combs from hands, an interesting technological development)
Occasionally a man starts up fussing too
He ran a hand through his hair (p76)
Finlay ran a hand through his hair (p173)
And one of the villains has a ponytail which he constantly pulls from his neck to which sweat is perpetually sticking it, I forgot to mark those as I read, but I think that gets about ten mentions.
Shaun Hutson has a couple of other verbal tics :
The girl was particularly attractive (p4)
Smiling at a particularly attractive receptionist (p19)
Glancing at a particularly gorgeous young woman (p89)
And there are many scenes in heavy London traffic when drivers get annoyed and start “banging their hooters”.
And there are moments of breathtakingly corny writing that made me run my hands through my hair :
Now he was being forced to face the most potent opponent ever. Death itself.
It took him only seconds to realise it was his sister.
“Let’s get out of here,” he shouted, and he and his two companions bolted for the door.
How I got suckered into reading this tosh was that I really like a booktuber called Criminolly and yes, he’s a great lover of what he cheerfully calls trash and pulp, and, you know, what was I expecting, but Shaun Hutson is one of his top favourites and silly me I was hoping for something better than this daft snuff-film tough guy kidnap plot with its Reservoir Dogs ending.
September 17, 2022
While Hutson is largely known for his over the top splatterpunk, he did venture into crime thrillers on occasion as with Deadhead. Our main protagonist here, Nick Ryan, is a former cop now private investigator in London and business is booming. Deadhead takes a while for all the pieces to fall into place as Hutson rotates POVs to a host of at first unrelated characters and events. There seems to be a killer wandering the streets, preying upon homeless teenagers, and we visit some of them. A crime boss ('businessman') doing his sordid thing; we first meet him when he is buying some explicit porno vids from the producers (and main actors). Nick's wife enters the scene, along with her new hubbie, some property developer, and Nick's daughter. We also have an Irish guy in London looking for his sister, who ran away to London when she was 16 or so.
Little by little, the story begins to connect the dots and brings it all together. Hutson does give us a few rather gory scenes, and some very explicit sex (no surprises here), but all in all, this is a well crafted thriller rather than a horror novel. In fact, it is one of the best written novels by Huston I have read, and highlights the seedy side of London quite well. Nick is pretty much an asshole workaholic, which is why his wife left in the first place, and the other characters shine even given that most are nasty pieces of work. Good stuff if you are in the mood for a gritty thriller. 3.5 stars!!
Little by little, the story begins to connect the dots and brings it all together. Hutson does give us a few rather gory scenes, and some very explicit sex (no surprises here), but all in all, this is a well crafted thriller rather than a horror novel. In fact, it is one of the best written novels by Huston I have read, and highlights the seedy side of London quite well. Nick is pretty much an asshole workaholic, which is why his wife left in the first place, and the other characters shine even given that most are nasty pieces of work. Good stuff if you are in the mood for a gritty thriller. 3.5 stars!!
Want to read
October 18, 2017This copy is signed by the author Shaun Hutson.
February 23, 2022
In the liminal space between crime thriller and full-on horror there usually exist stories packed with grit, ugliness, and mean-spiritedness as we explore the underbelly of society, and the atrocities that happen in its midst.
Shaun Hutson’s Deadhead is one of such stories, not quite in the nihilistic grime and procedural despair of Derek Raymond, but never going for the full-on horrific dread of David J. Schow or Ramsey Campbell either. Instead, things feel taught, somewhat restrained except for glimpses of true tasteless extremity that were frankly shocking in their daringness, and the detective work, although boilerplate in many ways, feels gripping and masterfully (and simplistically) told.
What fully elevated this to the realm of four stars for me was the ending. The last 80 or so pages were some of the most explosive, tense, and gory I’ve read in a good while. You can tell Hutson’s true glee lies in describing violent set pieces, but rather than just being fully unbridled debauchery, the weight of the violence is amplified because throughout the story he creates sympathetic, everyday tragic characters you grow to care for. Absolutely recommended for lovers of gritty horror and thrillers, if only to witness the unhinged heights (or depths) Hutson can really take a story to.
Shaun Hutson’s Deadhead is one of such stories, not quite in the nihilistic grime and procedural despair of Derek Raymond, but never going for the full-on horrific dread of David J. Schow or Ramsey Campbell either. Instead, things feel taught, somewhat restrained except for glimpses of true tasteless extremity that were frankly shocking in their daringness, and the detective work, although boilerplate in many ways, feels gripping and masterfully (and simplistically) told.
What fully elevated this to the realm of four stars for me was the ending. The last 80 or so pages were some of the most explosive, tense, and gory I’ve read in a good while. You can tell Hutson’s true glee lies in describing violent set pieces, but rather than just being fully unbridled debauchery, the weight of the violence is amplified because throughout the story he creates sympathetic, everyday tragic characters you grow to care for. Absolutely recommended for lovers of gritty horror and thrillers, if only to witness the unhinged heights (or depths) Hutson can really take a story to.
December 29, 2022
Deadhead is a gritty urban crime thriller nearing on horror. It follows Nick Ryan an ex cop and private investigator whos daughter is kidnapped by a group of serial killers who target teen run aways and lure them into making pornos.
The start of the book introduces us to alot of characters and every chapter someone new was getting introduced so was a little hard to follow at the beginning however it does come full circle by the end and all the pieces fall into place.
Hutson is known for his splatterpunk horror novels and this also borders on that in its descriptions of violence, gore and sex. This is an underworld of despicable characters and is graphic in nature. What I love about Hutson is his simplistic prose and short chapters which made the book fly by.
This is not one for your normal thriller reader but fans of Hutsons horror work will enjoy it even if it ended kinda suddenly for me.
The start of the book introduces us to alot of characters and every chapter someone new was getting introduced so was a little hard to follow at the beginning however it does come full circle by the end and all the pieces fall into place.
Hutson is known for his splatterpunk horror novels and this also borders on that in its descriptions of violence, gore and sex. This is an underworld of despicable characters and is graphic in nature. What I love about Hutson is his simplistic prose and short chapters which made the book fly by.
This is not one for your normal thriller reader but fans of Hutsons horror work will enjoy it even if it ended kinda suddenly for me.
April 20, 2017
Homeless kids are being slaughtered but cancer ridden PI Nick Ryan doesn't care - until his daughter falls into the hands of the killers, a duo of snuff auteurs whose sickness knows no bounds. And it does get pretty damn sick in places - the people are as decrepit as the slum housing they slink in. Blood and guts and sex and little hope - but you expect bleak in Hutson's world. The only real surprise was that there was no supernatural element at all; not a problem, but I took it for granted and was wondering when it would materialize. Not one of his best, but enjoyable nonetheless and told with customary gusto.
March 1, 2022
After watching a Interview from the author on YouTube, he mentioned this novel and how it was banded in a specific bookshop in the UK. I was intrigued, so I picked it up. This isn't horror. This is a crime/ thriller novel, with some horrific scenes.
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Focuses on the audit film industry, graphic violence, child abuse and endangerment, and drug use.
This focuses on our main character Nick Ryan, a private detective, that is dedicated to his job and takes no crap from anyone. A group of criminals are filming and selling porn videos across Europe. When one of there colleagues expresses his desire to move on, they kidnap his adopted daughter, who is Nick's daughter and makes a video with her. They have to rescue her before it's to late. Along the way we come across several characters, such as a escort and a man trying to find his sister. This is a fast paced novel, but it does include details scenes of sexual activity, including a infant.
This novel kept me reading and wanting to know what would happen next. The writing is brilliant, the plot keeps you wanting more and the characters are believable. BUT, it does focus on elements where people might be offended. I recommend this, but only if your not easily offended.
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Focuses on the audit film industry, graphic violence, child abuse and endangerment, and drug use.
This focuses on our main character Nick Ryan, a private detective, that is dedicated to his job and takes no crap from anyone. A group of criminals are filming and selling porn videos across Europe. When one of there colleagues expresses his desire to move on, they kidnap his adopted daughter, who is Nick's daughter and makes a video with her. They have to rescue her before it's to late. Along the way we come across several characters, such as a escort and a man trying to find his sister. This is a fast paced novel, but it does include details scenes of sexual activity, including a infant.
This novel kept me reading and wanting to know what would happen next. The writing is brilliant, the plot keeps you wanting more and the characters are believable. BUT, it does focus on elements where people might be offended. I recommend this, but only if your not easily offended.
November 9, 2024
This book was banned in the UK due to disturbing content which involved snuff films and minors. A revenge story revolving around a terminally ill man and his sister. But overall it just wasn’t that good.
January 26, 2014
I am reviewing the urban thriller Deadhead by Shaun Hutson which is an excellent novel which I bought from a car boot sale. This book along with a lot of Hutson's work is a bit of a shocker but it did keep my interest throughout the novel. The plot is Nick Ryan who is a bit of a down in his luck private detective in the Clapham Common area of London has a drink problem and later in the book gets diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. There are runaway youngsters being kidnapped and gruesomely murdered and when the killer kidnaps Nick's daughter who has gone on the game and demands a ransom of £1 million and for the police to be kept out of it the killer has bitten off more than he can chew. Suddenly Nick has nothing to lose and goes all out to find the killer or killers as it turns out to be as there are 2 of them working together. His daughter has turned to prostitution to fuel her drug habit and been mistaken for a homeless person and the killer has thought he has an opportunity to make money. Nick has only just done a case involving a husband and wife where he had to track the wife and prove she was having an affair and he wasn't very sympathetic when the husband was reluctant to go through with a divorce. I think nobody else does these kinds of books as well as Hutson and it does have a reasonably happy ending. Somebody once said to me he writes sick books but he does do it very well. Apparently once he read a book which was poorly written and thought he could do a better job of writing than that which led to him becoming an author. He also never writes at weekends and of course is an English author. I think he deserves a wider readership and this book was written in 1993 so is quite old but if like me you see it somewhere for sale is well worth buying.
April 18, 2009
This is actually, believe it or not, but a really well written Hutson novel. He's taken on a completly different style than his usual 'chuck in a load of blood & gore' method. The plot's actually a really good one and Hutson actually managed to produce some suspense and characterisation! Obviously, we're still not on award winning standards yet, but I'd say that this novel is definetly worth a read by all fans of horror, even if you haven't liked any of Hutson's other work. The plot goes something like this:
A sickening series of murders in London have left 5 homeless kids mutilated, and the capital is in shock. Nick Ryan, private detective, has seen the reports, but it's not his problem. No one's paying him to find the killers. He doesn't care. In fact, since his wife and daughter left him, he hasn't cared about a lot, least of all himself. Suddenly there's another victim. She's not homeless and so far she's not dead. But when Ryan sees the videotape of his own daughter and her masked, male captors, he begins a desperate, obsessive hunt for her and he will not stop.
There is one rather explosive, graphic scene in the book which is definetly not suitable for youngsters, but all in all, this novel isn't the gorefest splatter horror novel we've come to expect from our Mr. Hutson. And I must say that it is a refreshing change. Enjoy!
A sickening series of murders in London have left 5 homeless kids mutilated, and the capital is in shock. Nick Ryan, private detective, has seen the reports, but it's not his problem. No one's paying him to find the killers. He doesn't care. In fact, since his wife and daughter left him, he hasn't cared about a lot, least of all himself. Suddenly there's another victim. She's not homeless and so far she's not dead. But when Ryan sees the videotape of his own daughter and her masked, male captors, he begins a desperate, obsessive hunt for her and he will not stop.
There is one rather explosive, graphic scene in the book which is definetly not suitable for youngsters, but all in all, this novel isn't the gorefest splatter horror novel we've come to expect from our Mr. Hutson. And I must say that it is a refreshing change. Enjoy!
May 21, 2025
I saw Deadhead by Shaun Hutson (1992) listed in a number of Best Horror lists recently for this Halloween season 2024...so I thought I'd give it a read. The good...I found the book to be a page turner, I read it straight through in a couple of days. So, I guess in that respect I enjoyed it and got my moneys-worth. The bad...too many characters, the book had a by-the-numbers feel to it, and the 'disturbing' portions had a pasted in feel to them. Plus the ending could have been handled a little cleverer than the blood-fest used as the conclusion. I also thought the book was not a true horror tale but more of a crime-fiction detective novel...Anyways, I enjoyed it and you might too! Give it a go sometime if you're so inclined...3.0 outta 5.0...-My next horror read for October 2024 is Off Season by Jack Ketchum...
September 25, 2024
Typical gore and nastiness from Hutson, this may be even more ridiculous throughout the final chapters than most of his stuff, but it also deserves some kudos for being yet another work of fiction that has Hutson diving in to murky waters that few others would even want to get close to.
May 27, 2024
I’ve come a long way through Shaun Hutson’s writing career before coming across a novel that I thought may have actually encouraged me to read more of his work had I not been the kind of person who would impulsively buy a job lot cheaply and then be unable to leave them unread. But roughly a decade into his writing career, on his sixteenth novel and having moved a little away from straight horror into dark crime thrillers, he finally produced “Deadhead”, which is the best thing of his I’ve read.
At the opening of the novel, Private Detective Nick Ryan is vaguely aware of a series of murders involving homeless people in London, but is too busy to pay much attention to them. He’s also too busy to spend much time with his daughter, which was what ended his marriage some years before and doesn’t have time to pause and see the doctor about the sharp pains he’s recently started getting in his chest. But when his daughter goes missing and her step-father approaches him for help, bringing a video showing she is being sexually abused, Ryan has time for nothing else.
“Deadhead” has a very dark plot, involving kidnap, murder and hard-porn videos. There are lost girls and boys, some of who struggle with life on the streets and turn to drugs, prostitution and worse just to survive. But where there are vulnerable people, there will be those who will take advantage of them in all sorts of horrible ways, whether for money or for power and they won’t stop. Sometimes, they will use these same methods to show power over those they have business with and they are not beyond using rape and murder as tools.
Hutson has always been good at writing dark plots, but he frequently seems to lose focus with the result that there are multiple plots, many of which go nowhere. In “Deadhead”, there are several strands, but they are all linked and they all come together towards the end in a way that makes sense. There is no dropping of sub-plots for no reason and everything and everyone are linked somehow, bringing everything together into what is an ending that may not be entirely realistic, but which makes far more sense than is usual for Hutson.
In the midst of this, Hutson’s writing style of short chapters and simple language really helps the pace along. This isn’t a story that needs much of a hand in that way, as it’s quick moving anyway, but this is also a very readable novel, despite the distasteful actions and plots at many points There is a bit towards the end where Hutson describes the course of bullets and knives as they rend flesh with a level of detail that is unnecessary for the plot or the pace of the novel. This is something he has done throughout his career, but it feels more of an anachronism here because of how good the rest of the novel has been.
“Deadhead” is a very dark thriller, which may appeal more to horror fans than those of crime thrillers, as Hutson has often leaned into that genre and this has some unpleasant aspects. That said, it is misleading in many ways, as whilst Hutson has written quite a few crime thrillers alongside horror novels, this is in no way indicative of his work, as it’s far better than his usual. This is a very good dark crime thriller by anyone’s standards, but given Hutson’s frequently repetitive language use and his usual lack of focus, it’s remarkably good by his.
At the opening of the novel, Private Detective Nick Ryan is vaguely aware of a series of murders involving homeless people in London, but is too busy to pay much attention to them. He’s also too busy to spend much time with his daughter, which was what ended his marriage some years before and doesn’t have time to pause and see the doctor about the sharp pains he’s recently started getting in his chest. But when his daughter goes missing and her step-father approaches him for help, bringing a video showing she is being sexually abused, Ryan has time for nothing else.
“Deadhead” has a very dark plot, involving kidnap, murder and hard-porn videos. There are lost girls and boys, some of who struggle with life on the streets and turn to drugs, prostitution and worse just to survive. But where there are vulnerable people, there will be those who will take advantage of them in all sorts of horrible ways, whether for money or for power and they won’t stop. Sometimes, they will use these same methods to show power over those they have business with and they are not beyond using rape and murder as tools.
Hutson has always been good at writing dark plots, but he frequently seems to lose focus with the result that there are multiple plots, many of which go nowhere. In “Deadhead”, there are several strands, but they are all linked and they all come together towards the end in a way that makes sense. There is no dropping of sub-plots for no reason and everything and everyone are linked somehow, bringing everything together into what is an ending that may not be entirely realistic, but which makes far more sense than is usual for Hutson.
In the midst of this, Hutson’s writing style of short chapters and simple language really helps the pace along. This isn’t a story that needs much of a hand in that way, as it’s quick moving anyway, but this is also a very readable novel, despite the distasteful actions and plots at many points There is a bit towards the end where Hutson describes the course of bullets and knives as they rend flesh with a level of detail that is unnecessary for the plot or the pace of the novel. This is something he has done throughout his career, but it feels more of an anachronism here because of how good the rest of the novel has been.
“Deadhead” is a very dark thriller, which may appeal more to horror fans than those of crime thrillers, as Hutson has often leaned into that genre and this has some unpleasant aspects. That said, it is misleading in many ways, as whilst Hutson has written quite a few crime thrillers alongside horror novels, this is in no way indicative of his work, as it’s far better than his usual. This is a very good dark crime thriller by anyone’s standards, but given Hutson’s frequently repetitive language use and his usual lack of focus, it’s remarkably good by his.
June 12, 2025
Woof, the content in this book is so extremely unpleasant I have a hard time rating it.
Confident writing style. Excellently paced plot with great action scenes. Believable, interesting characters and relationships.
Extremely disturbing and graphic story—perhaps unnecessarily so.
YET there is something viscerally satisfying about these villains receiving their due, and the details of their crimes really reinforce that sense of justice. Leading up the end, the tension ratchets up as we await the retribution our hero will exact upon our enemies.
And YET the human garbage, whose evil actions against children the author has deigned it fit to describe in detail, are dispatched shockingly quickly in the final scene of the book.
Only one secondary character—a trafficker whose evil actions, relative to those of the main bad guys, appear somewhat more tame—is treated to the sort of street justice which feels implicit to the book's inner logic.
So the book feels as if it's dangling a payoff it never delivers.
Ultimately, I think I'd be better off having not read this book. The subject is just that horrible.
Confident writing style. Excellently paced plot with great action scenes. Believable, interesting characters and relationships.
Extremely disturbing and graphic story—perhaps unnecessarily so.
YET there is something viscerally satisfying about these villains receiving their due, and the details of their crimes really reinforce that sense of justice. Leading up the end, the tension ratchets up as we await the retribution our hero will exact upon our enemies.
And YET the human garbage, whose evil actions against children the author has deigned it fit to describe in detail, are dispatched shockingly quickly in the final scene of the book.
Only one secondary character—a trafficker whose evil actions, relative to those of the main bad guys, appear somewhat more tame—is treated to the sort of street justice which feels implicit to the book's inner logic.
So the book feels as if it's dangling a payoff it never delivers.
Ultimately, I think I'd be better off having not read this book. The subject is just that horrible.
November 7, 2025
For Nick Ryan, private detective, life is all work and no play; his family has left him, and he's been given six months to live. When his daughter is kidnapped by a gang responsible for a series of murders, he begins an obsessive hunt for her and will not stop. Time is running out for both of them.
To the best of my knowledge, I’ve only ever read “The Slugs” by Hutson (sometime in the late 80s) and always viewed him as a bit of a hack but, for some reason, decided to give him another go when I happened to see the blurb for this. It’s a LOT darker than I expected, but all the better for it - sleazy, gritty, unpleasant, it does exactly what it’s supposed to do. I would disagree with the cover quote about the pacing - it takes a long time to get going and there are some odd chapter breaks but once the story properly kicks in, it’s brutal. Not for everyone - even my stomach lurched when a baddie opens a box to reveal a baby - but if you like your horror on the real (nowadays, you’d probably call this a very dark crime thriller) and brutal side, this should be right up your street. I’d recommend it.
To the best of my knowledge, I’ve only ever read “The Slugs” by Hutson (sometime in the late 80s) and always viewed him as a bit of a hack but, for some reason, decided to give him another go when I happened to see the blurb for this. It’s a LOT darker than I expected, but all the better for it - sleazy, gritty, unpleasant, it does exactly what it’s supposed to do. I would disagree with the cover quote about the pacing - it takes a long time to get going and there are some odd chapter breaks but once the story properly kicks in, it’s brutal. Not for everyone - even my stomach lurched when a baddie opens a box to reveal a baby - but if you like your horror on the real (nowadays, you’d probably call this a very dark crime thriller) and brutal side, this should be right up your street. I’d recommend it.
November 23, 2022
Even though I own a few of his books I'd never read one, until I started this. Glad I did. This is one of those books they call A Thrilling Page Turner.
A sickening series of murders in London have left five homeless kids mutilated and the city is in shock. Private Detective Nick Ryan, a former police officer, has seen the reports but it's not his problem. Nobody is paying him to find the killer so he doesn't care, in fact, since his wife and daughter left him he hasn't cared about much, least of all himself but suddenly there's another victim. She's not homeless and so far she's not dead but when Nick sees a videotape of his own daughter being abused by her male captors he begins a desperate, obsessive hunt for her and he will stop at nothing. Time is running out for both of them.
A sickening series of murders in London have left five homeless kids mutilated and the city is in shock. Private Detective Nick Ryan, a former police officer, has seen the reports but it's not his problem. Nobody is paying him to find the killer so he doesn't care, in fact, since his wife and daughter left him he hasn't cared about much, least of all himself but suddenly there's another victim. She's not homeless and so far she's not dead but when Nick sees a videotape of his own daughter being abused by her male captors he begins a desperate, obsessive hunt for her and he will stop at nothing. Time is running out for both of them.
November 2, 2025
I’d give it zero if I could. This book made me angry. I’ve read Slugs by Hutson and thought it was vaguely entertaining but appallingly written. This retained the appalling writing while adding explicit scenes of child sex abuse involving babies. I stopped at page 150 and threw it in the trash. It’s cheap, trashy, and that’s not a compliment. Hutson needs to have a good hard look in the mirror after writing shit like this.
October 24, 2024
A good read. Hutson can deliver a story. That said I didnt realise that some of the content could be so graphic and troubling. However it is in the context of gangland London and adds to the narrative. Nick Ryan plays a troubled PI and his tale is harrowing yet has humility. Not for the fainthearted and certainly some harrowing elements but kept me reading through to the end.
September 28, 2025
I don't know how much I enjoyed this one. It started off alright and the setting was interesting but the middle and ending felt very lackluster and unsatisfying. It is was very horrible and upsetting like I expected but it did go off the rails a little bit.
August 7, 2017
Fast paced read, didn't expect that ending, but what an ending it was! Loved it!
February 8, 2020
Was an OK read. But don't think that I would pick it up again.
February 11, 2020
Half horror, half thriller, but neither thrilling nor scary.
January 22, 2021
I’ll thought I enjoy most of his books . This book was miss .Main character was asshole . So hard to root for him . Not my cup of tea
September 23, 2023
Sick and couple scenes sickening to read. Couldnt put it down though brilliant book
June 21, 2024
One of the best, from one of the best.
This is my fave read from Shaun Huston, and one i will remember. What an ending!!!!!
This is my fave read from Shaun Huston, and one i will remember. What an ending!!!!!
July 7, 2025
I'm a horror fan. Not a sadist.
Want to read
October 11, 2016this book is interesting and exiting.
September 7, 2024
First time reading Shaun Hutson. It won't be my last.
I enjoyed this book, I loved Hutson's narrative voice - straight talking, edgy no-nonsense pros.
My local library recently acquire a range of Shaun Hutson books, placing them in the horror section. I was immediately drawn to the cover art.
I chose Deadhead, though reading the blurb it seemed like crime fiction rather than horror. Reading this book has changed my perspective of what 'horror' can be...
There is subject matter in this story that made me very uncomfortable. Hutson pushes ethical and moral boundries to the very edge, to breaking point. There were many times where I thought he'd cross that line and if he did, the book was going in the bin. Yet, Hutson's genius is to make you feel so uncomfortable while hooking you in and wanting to keep going. Is horrow blood, guts and jump scares, or is it taking you yo a very dark and uncomfortable place, questioning your own sense of deceny by choosing to read such a subject matter?
Although I enjoyed this book, that's not to say it wasn't without issue. The blurb is misleading. It says that the protagonists daughter has been kidnapped, assuminh this would happen early and drive the plot. Whilst the kidnapping does happen, it doesn't take place until about 55% of the booked.
Whilst I did enjoy Hutson's narrative voice, he keeps switching from close third person to omniscirent mid paragraph. I think the idea here was to build suspense by cluing the reader into something the character didn't know, but it was somewhat tedious. I'm surprised the editor signed off on this...
I also found the end was rushed, with little resolution for the characters.
But overall, I did enjoy this book and looking forward to my next Shaun Hutson novel.
I enjoyed this book, I loved Hutson's narrative voice - straight talking, edgy no-nonsense pros.
My local library recently acquire a range of Shaun Hutson books, placing them in the horror section. I was immediately drawn to the cover art.
I chose Deadhead, though reading the blurb it seemed like crime fiction rather than horror. Reading this book has changed my perspective of what 'horror' can be...
There is subject matter in this story that made me very uncomfortable. Hutson pushes ethical and moral boundries to the very edge, to breaking point. There were many times where I thought he'd cross that line and if he did, the book was going in the bin. Yet, Hutson's genius is to make you feel so uncomfortable while hooking you in and wanting to keep going. Is horrow blood, guts and jump scares, or is it taking you yo a very dark and uncomfortable place, questioning your own sense of deceny by choosing to read such a subject matter?
Although I enjoyed this book, that's not to say it wasn't without issue. The blurb is misleading. It says that the protagonists daughter has been kidnapped, assuminh this would happen early and drive the plot. Whilst the kidnapping does happen, it doesn't take place until about 55% of the booked.
Whilst I did enjoy Hutson's narrative voice, he keeps switching from close third person to omniscirent mid paragraph. I think the idea here was to build suspense by cluing the reader into something the character didn't know, but it was somewhat tedious. I'm surprised the editor signed off on this...
I also found the end was rushed, with little resolution for the characters.
But overall, I did enjoy this book and looking forward to my next Shaun Hutson novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 13, 2019
This review first appeared on scifiandscary.com
‘Deadhead’, like many of Shaun Hutson’s later books, inhabits that murky world between crime and horror fiction. His early work was unashamedly horror, and often horror of an over the top and quite silly variety. Killer slugs, undead babies and zombie hitmen all feature in novels packed with disgustingly detailed gore and wrapped in lurid covers. As he matured as a writer, he dropped the supernatural elements and his books became even darker. They’re horrific tales of people doing horrible things to each other. Unquestionably still horror, but more akin to something like ‘The Girl Next Door’ than anything Stephen King might pen.
‘Deadhead’ is very much that kind of book. It’s a stark, disturbing thriller about a private eye with terminal cancer searching for his young daughter who has been kidnapped by gangsters with a side-line in child pornography and snuff movies. If that description has put you off, then I strongly recommend not reading this book. It pulls no punches and there is one scene in particular which I’m surprised made it into print.
The question I ask myself, when a writer presents something that appalling on the page, is whether the book is good enough to justify it. I’m not as big a fan of ‘The Girl Next Door’ as some, but I think there is enough emotional weight in the story that the atrocities that Jack Ketchum describes don’t feel gratuitous. Hutson isn’t as good a writer as Ketchum, and as a result he doesn’t quite manage to make the grade. ‘Deadhead’ is shocking in a way that screams “look at me” rather than trying to make the reader think about the nature of evil.
Putting all of that aside (if it is possible to), ‘Deadhead’ is a decent thriller. The first half is a bit slow, with too much time taken on the build up; but the second is taut gripping. Hutson’s characters aren’t exactly deep, but at least you know which ones to root for. Of course, his defining characteristic as a writer is the attention he pays to violence. Hutson doesn’t tell you that someone got shot in the head, he tells you where the bullet entered their skull and where it exited. With an anatomical precision that any medical student would be proud of, he also gleefully describes exactly what it destroyed on its way through. ‘Deadhead’ is actually a lot less violent than a lot of his books, but when it is violent, it makes everyone else look tame, even Ketchum.
So, would I recommend it? Probably not, but if you’re a Hutson fan and you haven’t read it, you won’t be disappointed.
‘Deadhead’, like many of Shaun Hutson’s later books, inhabits that murky world between crime and horror fiction. His early work was unashamedly horror, and often horror of an over the top and quite silly variety. Killer slugs, undead babies and zombie hitmen all feature in novels packed with disgustingly detailed gore and wrapped in lurid covers. As he matured as a writer, he dropped the supernatural elements and his books became even darker. They’re horrific tales of people doing horrible things to each other. Unquestionably still horror, but more akin to something like ‘The Girl Next Door’ than anything Stephen King might pen.
‘Deadhead’ is very much that kind of book. It’s a stark, disturbing thriller about a private eye with terminal cancer searching for his young daughter who has been kidnapped by gangsters with a side-line in child pornography and snuff movies. If that description has put you off, then I strongly recommend not reading this book. It pulls no punches and there is one scene in particular which I’m surprised made it into print.
The question I ask myself, when a writer presents something that appalling on the page, is whether the book is good enough to justify it. I’m not as big a fan of ‘The Girl Next Door’ as some, but I think there is enough emotional weight in the story that the atrocities that Jack Ketchum describes don’t feel gratuitous. Hutson isn’t as good a writer as Ketchum, and as a result he doesn’t quite manage to make the grade. ‘Deadhead’ is shocking in a way that screams “look at me” rather than trying to make the reader think about the nature of evil.
Putting all of that aside (if it is possible to), ‘Deadhead’ is a decent thriller. The first half is a bit slow, with too much time taken on the build up; but the second is taut gripping. Hutson’s characters aren’t exactly deep, but at least you know which ones to root for. Of course, his defining characteristic as a writer is the attention he pays to violence. Hutson doesn’t tell you that someone got shot in the head, he tells you where the bullet entered their skull and where it exited. With an anatomical precision that any medical student would be proud of, he also gleefully describes exactly what it destroyed on its way through. ‘Deadhead’ is actually a lot less violent than a lot of his books, but when it is violent, it makes everyone else look tame, even Ketchum.
So, would I recommend it? Probably not, but if you’re a Hutson fan and you haven’t read it, you won’t be disappointed.
February 28, 2025
4.5 stars rounded down.
Propulsive and gritty, this is page-turning pulp at its finest. Gory, exploitive, and well plotted there are no frills to be found within miles of the prose. A fatally sick private investigator, an underground web of rich capitalist scumbags doing terrible things to people, and buckets of of B-movie violence. Lots of criticism is leveled at Hutson's writing. This is undeserved. He is engaging with true genre work here, there is no literary pretense. The only real criticism I have comes from some pacing issues. The beginning patiently takes its time setting everything up and the back half of the book is a complete steamroller. Though it's a fun time, it's a bit unbalanced. This is not for everyone. But, it certainly is for me.
Read on paperback and archive.org.
Propulsive and gritty, this is page-turning pulp at its finest. Gory, exploitive, and well plotted there are no frills to be found within miles of the prose. A fatally sick private investigator, an underground web of rich capitalist scumbags doing terrible things to people, and buckets of of B-movie violence. Lots of criticism is leveled at Hutson's writing. This is undeserved. He is engaging with true genre work here, there is no literary pretense. The only real criticism I have comes from some pacing issues. The beginning patiently takes its time setting everything up and the back half of the book is a complete steamroller. Though it's a fun time, it's a bit unbalanced. This is not for everyone. But, it certainly is for me.
Read on paperback and archive.org.
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