Tattoo: A Beautiful Sin

by Kenny Sills

Deep within the Manistee National Forest, in the weeks leading up to Halloween, tattooed villagers in Walkerville, Michigan are falling victim to a giant mad man, dressed as a surgeon who extracts their tattoos, before brutally murdering them and leaving their bodies - or body parts - to be found later in and around the village. Beautiful classical music plays while a giant mad man, dressed as a surgeon, cuts and rips tattoos from his helpless victims, who are tied down naked to a cold, steel autopsy table. All they can do is scream. Walkerville's Sheriff Kerry calls on Captain Parker of the Grand Rapids Homicide Department to help him and his three deputies on these strange and macabre cases. With each murder, the trusting villagers become more and more suspicious and accusatory towards each other. Fingers point and fists fly as Sheriff Kerry and Captain Parker try to work together on the strange cases in their unique small town, and employ big city ways to try and find a serial killer hiding in the village. While listening, you will also hear the classical pieces that the surgeon is playing as you get to them in the audiobook. It is a truly unique experience for the senses!

Audible Audio

First published March 24, 2012

Reviews

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have met Kenny at many comiccons and have finally checked out his novel. I like it. We follow a serial killer who collects tattoos. Its fast paced and a quick read. Be prepared its strongly graphic as Kenny spares no image once the scalpel comes into play.

[Sage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it twice. Amazing twist! I thought I knew what was coming. I was wrong!

[Teresa Leombruno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great from beginning to end

A real page turner. Very descriptive.
The characters were so believable and the way the horror was described was truly terrifying.

[Julie Sorum · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 ⭐️

[Cass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going into this book was a little slow but I definitely got into it and the ending was perfect I’m ready for the next book!

[Shannon Yarbrough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kenny Sills' book, Tattoo, is not your average and ordinary mystery or crime thriller. It has all the elements of such: a small quiet town, colorful inhabitants, a police force with nothing much going on, Oh!, and a deranged serial killer who is killing folks and removing their tattoos for keepsakes.

But Tattoo doesn't follow the usual protocol of such mysteries. There aren't white knuckled surprises and clues revealed at the end of each chapter. Instead, there are long stomach churning descriptions of the work of the killer himself, bordering on grotesque horror that only Stephen King would dare write. There also isn't a long laundry list of suspects to keep you guessing at who is guilty, which makes the conclusion an even bigger surprise.

Sills excels at characterization. He builds the perfect small town of characters and locales that any reader would warm up to in any plot setting. He outlines a dark and sinister killer to keep you up at night. The young dashing Captain who comes to town to solve the murders even has a love interest with a local waitress, giving the book a soft touch of romance.

I usually prefer a mystery with a bit more opportunity to guess at who the bad guy is, and with more wrenches and cliff hangers thrown into the investigation, but the graphic detail and bizarre characters had this book bordering on the Coen brother's 1996 movie "Fargo" - wood chipper and all - which kept me reading to the very end!

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading Tattoo-A Beautiful Sin and truly could not stop from the very beginning. If you like mystery and suspense with some twist and turns you'll love reading this. A few parts would be eye closers if you were watching in a movie. The ending will blow you away!