Night Bait

by P. Straker

A police decoy tries to trap a psychotic murderer, who electrocutes his victims

Genres: Horror

381 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1982

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally was able to get a copy of Edward Lee's first novel, and it is sleazy, and one of the best.

[Mikepottz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very early edward lee book with Zebra. The sidewalk came alive with hookers, adult book stores, peep shows, flashing neon lights, arses shaking, tits showing, eye candy, cash aplenty, sleazy sin. A killer on the loose, no stabbings, mutilations, organs sliced open out of the stomach, the killers MO was electrocution. The tabloids called him the electrocutionist. He liked notoriety of being compared to some of the sickest, deadliest serial killers. He kept telling himself he was sane. Loving the hunt for women, even with the extra police interference it excited him. He would stuff a tennis in their mouth, then in a soapy bath which conducts more electricity he wound send a titanic surge of energy, the girls bodies would shake, convulse, dead, then he would bugger them. Girls after girls would not be safe.

[oddo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Words l8r

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the infamous first novel of Edward Lee, one that he has warned anyone against hunting down and reading. I didn't listen.

Nightbait is certainly a first novel. It is overwritten and drags at times. It will not appeal to strict fans of extreme horror. Nightbait is a police procedural about the hunt for a serial killer, and the heroine is a former prostitute recruited under the table by the police to act as bait for the killer.

Caveats and excuses aside, the writing style is recognizable as Edward Lee, though in an early form. I love Mr. Lee's writing and so I enjoyed Nightbait quite a bit, especially since my expectations had been lowered so drastically by the author. If you go in knowing what you are getting in to and don't expect Header, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

[Danny Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edward Lee is a writer I truly admire, his contribution to horror literature is immense and unique. His first couple of novels were written under the pseudonym 'Philip Straker', these books have been out of print for a very long time because Edward Lee doesn't like them, claiming them to be poorly written and problematic. I've been curious about these however and recently I managed to grab a copy of his first novel 'Night Bait' and immediately knew I had to dive into it.

Hookers are being murdered but nobody cares about them, they are easily forgotten. But when a congressman's daughter is killed as well, it isn't long before chaos ensues and the public screams for justice. The police are being held back however when one of their own is murdered in a decoy operation. The Electrocutionist is spreading fear throughout the city and it seems it's up to Vickie, an ex-hooker to bring him to justice.

While I understand why Edward Lee didn't like his debut novel, which in some ways I 100% agree with him on, I actually thought this novel was fantastic. It's a heavy crime-oriented novel with terrific moments of tension, plenty of violent horror, and an interesting cast of characters. For a debut novel, it's pretty well-written with a fine grasp on world-building and atmosphere, however, it does struggle with it being written in a time when homosexuality was a really controversial topic and unfortunately, it pops up here in a negative way. It's obvious to me, that Edward Lee doesn't believe in any of the characters' beliefs, especially nowadays. But it hasn't aged well and does make the characters we're meant to sympathize with a little problematic.

I really liked how Edward Lee delved into the cruel world of prostitution, pimps, etc, and showed how ugly it is. It exposes how we as a society are complicit in the terrible things that happen to them and how our reaction to their lives is both disgusting and immoral. I felt for Vickie and her story was incredibly engaging. Unfortunately, some of the problematic issues of the time this novel was written during, do let her character down a little. But if you manage to put that aside she's a likable protagonist.

Overall: It's a solid story and not a bad debut novel. I think if Edward Lee ever decided to go back and re-write this one, it could truly be something exceptional. 9/10

[Stu Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edward Lee's take on a police procedural. 3.5* rounded up to 4*

An ex-prostitute named Vickie teams up with Chet, an undercover cop, to take down a notorious serial killer on the loose in D.C.

Not a bad book at all. Very tame in comparison to his other work, but this was good for a change.
Considering it was written in the early '80s, it holds up pretty well.
Also quite a long read for an Edward Lee Novel. It still has Lee's extreme flair in parts, just toned down a lot.

I enjoyed it! Recommended for an easy read.

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

Full of errors and not what I was expected. Also very dated in that it is both racist and homophobic at times. I could say more, but I feel that is warning enough.