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Special X #1
Headhunter Reimagined
IT BEGAN WITH HORROR. THEN IT GOT WORSE.
There were still traces of extraordinary beauty in the woman's brutally violated body--but there was no way of knowing how beautiful she had been.
Her head was missing.
She was the first--but there were more to come.
Many more.
A killer was loose and no woman was safe...a killer who eluded even renowned Detective Robert DeClercq as he and the police combed the lower depths of the sexual underground on two continents...a killer whose lust for women, whethery they were "bad" or "good," went beyond even twisted sex and hideous death.
There were still traces of extraordinary beauty in the woman's brutally violated body--but there was no way of knowing how beautiful she had been.
Her head was missing.
She was the first--but there were more to come.
Many more.
A killer was loose and no woman was safe...a killer who eluded even renowned Detective Robert DeClercq as he and the police combed the lower depths of the sexual underground on two continents...a killer whose lust for women, whethery they were "bad" or "good," went beyond even twisted sex and hideous death.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
120 people are currently reading
3669 people want to read
About the author
Michael Slade
31 books271 followersSlade on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MountieNoir
Slade on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MountieNoir
Criminal lawyer MICHAEL SLADE has acted in over one hundred murder cases. His specialty is the law of insanity. He argued the last death penalty case in Canada’s highest court.
Backed by his forensic experience, Slade’s Special X and Wyatt Rook thrillers fuse the genres of police and legal procedure, whodunit and impossible crime, suspense, history, and horror.
Slade was guest of honor at both the Bloody Words crime convention and the World Horror Convention. As Time Out puts it, “A thin line separates crime and horror, and in Michael Slade’s thrillers, the demarcation vanishes altogether.”
Slade was guest speaker at the international Police Leadership Conference and several RCMP regimental dinners. As Reader’s Digest puts it, “The Slade books have developed a strong following among police officers because of their strict adherence to proper police procedure.”
For the stories behind his plots, visit Slade’s Morgue at www.specialx.net.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
April 10, 2017
A rec altogether as a great BR with a wonderful GR friend, Craig. If you want to exterminate the effects of smut and read a gripping macabre story - head straight to “Headhunter” :) That’s what Craig told me and it was 100 % true, I got what I bargained for :) Thanks, Craig ;)
“Headhunter” is listed as horror and I can see why. It's a complex detective story, which includes cruel killing, graphic violence, a mouthful of emotional violence against kids, voodoo practice, cruel serial killer with a sneak peak into psychology, perverted sexuality, a glimpse to the history of cannibalism, even drug trade, all is woven into a tight and entertaining story. At first I had doubts that I could read it, but as I went further, I felt that the story can’t let me go. I needed to know how it ended and that the monster got what’s deserved.
Characters. When I read action books, I’m mostly into villains and Mr.Slade created a REALLY great one in this book. Troubled by the extraordinary past, family ties, this killer is a dream for a detective fan. I got interesting sneak peaks into the killer’s mind, watched the psychological forming of the picture and it was done so neatly, without the identity being revealed till the very last pages.
Of course every great villain needs a rival, and to my joy there were a couple of masterminds as powerful and complex as the killer, who managed to solve the great mystery. One of them is Inspector Robert DeClerq. Flanked by demons who haunt him from the past and being a mastermind, he was one of the characters I liked to follow. He made a great team and combined the well developed police work of that time with the inspiring experience of his predecessors.
Narrative. Interesting characters, gut-wrenching murder scenes, detailed forensic and surveillance science, revealing sneak peaks into the past, gripping details of city life, macabre voodoo practice, drugs and the sensation of graphic violence, omg, that is overwhelming. It may feel not realistic, but dang it, this world is cruel and Mr. Slade bloody well knows how to present it in his book :)
Diving into it at first I felt mind-blown and horrified a bit, then after a load of cruelty, twisted psychology of the killer and deceiving turns, I felt a bit worn-off. It wasn’t bad and I wasn’t disinterested, I just felt that violence doesn’t surprise me so much, so some scenes hadn’t had such effect what it was intended to have. I think that report alike, third person narrative helped and spoiled things there. It helped to lessen the horrors, so I could read quite freely and enjoy the detective part of the story, but it kept me away from falling into characters, at least for the biggest part of the story. Also I didn’t like how Mr. Slade left one piece hanging in the air
The most interesting part of “Headhunter” is the ending, omg, it literally blew my mind. Mr. Slade is a masterful teaser. I was tempted to go back to earlier pages to see how the hell did he entwine it! There is enough of treats in “Headhunter” to satisfy or horrify almost anyone :) I’ll continue my playdate with Mr. Slade for sure.
“Headhunter” is listed as horror and I can see why. It's a complex detective story, which includes cruel killing, graphic violence, a mouthful of emotional violence against kids, voodoo practice, cruel serial killer with a sneak peak into psychology, perverted sexuality, a glimpse to the history of cannibalism, even drug trade, all is woven into a tight and entertaining story. At first I had doubts that I could read it, but as I went further, I felt that the story can’t let me go. I needed to know how it ended and that the monster got what’s deserved.
Characters. When I read action books, I’m mostly into villains and Mr.Slade created a REALLY great one in this book. Troubled by the extraordinary past, family ties, this killer is a dream for a detective fan. I got interesting sneak peaks into the killer’s mind, watched the psychological forming of the picture and it was done so neatly, without the identity being revealed till the very last pages.
Of course every great villain needs a rival, and to my joy there were a couple of masterminds as powerful and complex as the killer, who managed to solve the great mystery. One of them is Inspector Robert DeClerq. Flanked by demons who haunt him from the past and being a mastermind, he was one of the characters I liked to follow. He made a great team and combined the well developed police work of that time with the inspiring experience of his predecessors.
Narrative. Interesting characters, gut-wrenching murder scenes, detailed forensic and surveillance science, revealing sneak peaks into the past, gripping details of city life, macabre voodoo practice, drugs and the sensation of graphic violence, omg, that is overwhelming. It may feel not realistic, but dang it, this world is cruel and Mr. Slade bloody well knows how to present it in his book :)
Diving into it at first I felt mind-blown and horrified a bit, then after a load of cruelty, twisted psychology of the killer and deceiving turns, I felt a bit worn-off. It wasn’t bad and I wasn’t disinterested, I just felt that violence doesn’t surprise me so much, so some scenes hadn’t had such effect what it was intended to have. I think that report alike, third person narrative helped and spoiled things there. It helped to lessen the horrors, so I could read quite freely and enjoy the detective part of the story, but it kept me away from falling into characters, at least for the biggest part of the story. Also I didn’t like how Mr. Slade left one piece hanging in the air
The most interesting part of “Headhunter” is the ending, omg, it literally blew my mind. Mr. Slade is a masterful teaser. I was tempted to go back to earlier pages to see how the hell did he entwine it! There is enough of treats in “Headhunter” to satisfy or horrify almost anyone :) I’ll continue my playdate with Mr. Slade for sure.
January 17, 2018
Let me start by thanking the very charming purple haired lady who gifted me this book. I’ve had it on my TBR for quite a while but couldn’t get my hands on it and then this fair maiden stepped forward. Thank you so much, Orient. This review (for better or worse), is dedicated to you. ^_^
“Do you see what I mean?” “Yes,” Rodale said, nodding. “The skull is missing.”
A murderer is on the loose. A murderer who is hunting heads. And the killer is not slowing down. They leave no clue behind. The authorities are stumped.
The killer needs to be stopped and brought to justice. In the time of their dire need, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), turn to their best, who happens to be retired. They look to Robert DeClercq to hunt down the Headhunter. He takes charge and creates a special task force to bring down the notorious killer.
"The task assigned to this squad is not an easy one," he began. "It would appear, from what we know at the moment, that the object of this manhunt is a random killer—an assassin in the purest sense who kills for the love of killing"
So begins the game of hide and seek.
Take the author’s hand and descend into the underbelly of the city and witness the dark side. Walk with him through the alleys filled with the grotesque.
When I set out to read this book, I didn’t know what to expect apart from a thriller, but as I dived in, in my mind the image of the author changed and it could be best described in his own words.
“That they were dealing with a maniac was all that was certain.”
This is a brutal book and not just because of the graphic setting. The narrative is one that is not easy on the readers. It is hard to keep up with. The author is not here to please you. He is here to see if you can keep up with what he has dished out and what he has dished out, is anything but easy to keep down.
When I was starting the book, I was asked if I could stomach all the grotesque in this book (yes, I am looking at you Orient). I could. I guess my tolerance for brutality is a little on the higher side but this is not to say the book lacks anywhere. It is a ruthless book that pulls no punches.
The book follows multiple timelines and events which come together to form one picture towards the end. However to say that it is seamless or that everything coalesces perfectly would be lying. There are a few things that are left hanging out, much like the flesh that dangles off from the jagged cuts made on the severed heads.
This world has an ugly side to it and Mr. Slade is not afraid to show it to you. He paints a very realistic picture and left me thinking. You ask what?
So make sure you are ready when you pick it up and I can promise you a great thrill!
“Do you see what I mean?” “Yes,” Rodale said, nodding. “The skull is missing.”
A murderer is on the loose. A murderer who is hunting heads. And the killer is not slowing down. They leave no clue behind. The authorities are stumped.
The killer needs to be stopped and brought to justice. In the time of their dire need, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), turn to their best, who happens to be retired. They look to Robert DeClercq to hunt down the Headhunter. He takes charge and creates a special task force to bring down the notorious killer.
"The task assigned to this squad is not an easy one," he began. "It would appear, from what we know at the moment, that the object of this manhunt is a random killer—an assassin in the purest sense who kills for the love of killing"
So begins the game of hide and seek.
Take the author’s hand and descend into the underbelly of the city and witness the dark side. Walk with him through the alleys filled with the grotesque.
"In this city—in any city—the real garbage ain't what we take outta the cans. It's some of the people that fill 'em."Take a peek at what the human mind is capable of and how the actions of one ripple out through the ones that follow. See a world where all the sins exist. Drugs, Prostitution, Murder, Voodoo, Smuggling, Sexual & Emotional abuse, Psychosis, Neuroses and much more.
When I set out to read this book, I didn’t know what to expect apart from a thriller, but as I dived in, in my mind the image of the author changed and it could be best described in his own words.
“That they were dealing with a maniac was all that was certain.”
This is a brutal book and not just because of the graphic setting. The narrative is one that is not easy on the readers. It is hard to keep up with. The author is not here to please you. He is here to see if you can keep up with what he has dished out and what he has dished out, is anything but easy to keep down.
When I was starting the book, I was asked if I could stomach all the grotesque in this book (yes, I am looking at you Orient). I could. I guess my tolerance for brutality is a little on the higher side but this is not to say the book lacks anywhere. It is a ruthless book that pulls no punches.
The book follows multiple timelines and events which come together to form one picture towards the end. However to say that it is seamless or that everything coalesces perfectly would be lying. There are a few things that are left hanging out, much like the flesh that dangles off from the jagged cuts made on the severed heads.
This world has an ugly side to it and Mr. Slade is not afraid to show it to you. He paints a very realistic picture and left me thinking. You ask what?
“I was just thinking how life affects the very young. And how those young grow up to become an effect on life.”The writing is good and keeps you on the edge. It never really lets up and keeps pushing. The author keeps the killer hidden right up till the very end which is a great thing. It makes for a terrific read. I loved this book. It was very deeply engaging, it kept my nose to the pages and had me guessing and grasping at straws. I couldn’t stop reading despite wanting to. The writing, by design, is somewhat confusing. This is not your Sunday morning relaxing read. This will tense you up, make you gag and cringe. This is not an easy book and definitely not for someone who can’t stomach mutilation and many other atrocities.
So make sure you are ready when you pick it up and I can promise you a great thrill!
June 1, 2018
I actually read the original book published in 1984 titled Headhunter. I can't seem to find it on Goodreads...Did it go out of print?
Anyhow Headhunter is a cracking and scary tale. If one likes a cat and mouse chase involving a Canadian Mounted Murder Dectective and a serial killer this book is a blast! 🐯👍
Anyhow Headhunter is a cracking and scary tale. If one likes a cat and mouse chase involving a Canadian Mounted Murder Dectective and a serial killer this book is a blast! 🐯👍
February 13, 2019
Before Jo NESBØ there was blood curdling horror to match early King.
If enjoying good nightmare like Sev7en or Jeepers Creepers this for you this villain makes Saw look like Andy Pandy without Loopy Lue.
If enjoying good nightmare like Sev7en or Jeepers Creepers this for you this villain makes Saw look like Andy Pandy without Loopy Lue.
September 7, 2024
2.5 ⭐'s
Was given this one to read by a friend and now we're not friends anymore! It wasnt what I was expecting. Not the best written book, was quite slow paced and dragged a bit. About halfway through I was praying for it to be over so I could start reading something else.
It did have some good parts, usually involving murder of some kind. So not a complete waste of time. But knowing there's four more books in this series, one I'll definitely not be continuing.
Was given this one to read by a friend and now we're not friends anymore! It wasnt what I was expecting. Not the best written book, was quite slow paced and dragged a bit. About halfway through I was praying for it to be over so I could start reading something else.
It did have some good parts, usually involving murder of some kind. So not a complete waste of time. But knowing there's four more books in this series, one I'll definitely not be continuing.
April 22, 2018
I’ve been looking forward to reading this story for a long time, but it ended up being a mini mountain I had to climb.
Let’s start with the good things first:
The storyline was really, really good. I doubt very much whether anybody can figure out who the killer is until the very end, unless it is a blind, lucky guess.
It’s also obvious that a lot of research was done and, even though this is the “reimagined” version, it still impressed me as a story of the early 1980’s.
And that ending is PERFECT for this story!
I do have some criticism, though, but I need to explain something about myself so you can judge whether we may feel similar about this story. When it comes to books, I have this little OCD thing where I have to read EVERY single word of the story. If I encounter a word I don’t know, I HAVE to look it up before I can go on with the story. If something doesn’t make sense, I HAVE to reread it until I can figure out what the writer is trying to tell me. If any of these things can’t be resolved, I either lose interest in the story or it drives me crazy for weeks.
In other words, I can’t simply skip a sentence, paragraph or (heaven forbid) a page in a book. I am also not the fastest reader in the world.
Having said that, I’ve mentioned that this story was well-researched – it was obvious that this author knew a lot of shit about a lot of shit. Unfortunately, he also wrote a lot of shit about a lot of shit I wasn’t really interested in, and that hindered my progression in the story. So much so, that I thought about abandoning it at least three times in the two weeks it took me to get through it.
The only thing that kept me going, according to the reviews I’ve read, was the knowledge that the book had a hell of an ending. And the pay-off was great.
So, to be fair about it, I absolutely loved the destination, but the journey to get there was a bit rough. Please don’t get me wrong, this guy is a good author, but it could have been shorter in my opinion.
Let’s start with the good things first:
The storyline was really, really good. I doubt very much whether anybody can figure out who the killer is until the very end, unless it is a blind, lucky guess.
It’s also obvious that a lot of research was done and, even though this is the “reimagined” version, it still impressed me as a story of the early 1980’s.
And that ending is PERFECT for this story!
I do have some criticism, though, but I need to explain something about myself so you can judge whether we may feel similar about this story. When it comes to books, I have this little OCD thing where I have to read EVERY single word of the story. If I encounter a word I don’t know, I HAVE to look it up before I can go on with the story. If something doesn’t make sense, I HAVE to reread it until I can figure out what the writer is trying to tell me. If any of these things can’t be resolved, I either lose interest in the story or it drives me crazy for weeks.
In other words, I can’t simply skip a sentence, paragraph or (heaven forbid) a page in a book. I am also not the fastest reader in the world.
Having said that, I’ve mentioned that this story was well-researched – it was obvious that this author knew a lot of shit about a lot of shit. Unfortunately, he also wrote a lot of shit about a lot of shit I wasn’t really interested in, and that hindered my progression in the story. So much so, that I thought about abandoning it at least three times in the two weeks it took me to get through it.
The only thing that kept me going, according to the reviews I’ve read, was the knowledge that the book had a hell of an ending. And the pay-off was great.
So, to be fair about it, I absolutely loved the destination, but the journey to get there was a bit rough. Please don’t get me wrong, this guy is a good author, but it could have been shorter in my opinion.
October 15, 2021
I actually read the original 'Headhunter', not the edited 'Headhunter Reimagined' version. Not sure what the author changed, but from what I understand the basic story is the same, with some added research. In the beginning it seemed there were so many characters it was hard to keep track of them all. As I read more I began to appreciate the writer's voice and writing style. Some of the book borders on the macabre, parts are certainly gruesome and I don't recommend this for the faint of heart. The writer includes quite a bit of psychological material, as well as information on voodoo and shrunken heads. The author is a criminal defense attorney and does a great job of capturing the seedy side of life in Vancouver.
I'm still not sure I liked the ending, but it certainly made me think back through all the events and characters of the book. Much to digest--the writer keeps you guessing who the killer is. Many unexpected events, some of the writing reminds me of what HP Lovecraft would have done if he had written crime fiction. I have the second book in this series, and will probably read this soon (Ghoul). At some point I'll probably read the 'Reimagined' version to see what's different. If you're interested in a different twist on crime fiction, and don't mind a little gore give this a try.
My personal bizarre twist is that the day I finished this book on a short vacation to a marina hotel, while my wife and I were taking a stroll around the marina, I spotted what appeared to be a human skeleton partially in the water on the marina embankment. Fortunately, it turned out to be a Halloween decoration that had blown off of one of the boats in the windstorm of the night before. It was pretty convincing though!
I'm still not sure I liked the ending, but it certainly made me think back through all the events and characters of the book. Much to digest--the writer keeps you guessing who the killer is. Many unexpected events, some of the writing reminds me of what HP Lovecraft would have done if he had written crime fiction. I have the second book in this series, and will probably read this soon (Ghoul). At some point I'll probably read the 'Reimagined' version to see what's different. If you're interested in a different twist on crime fiction, and don't mind a little gore give this a try.
My personal bizarre twist is that the day I finished this book on a short vacation to a marina hotel, while my wife and I were taking a stroll around the marina, I spotted what appeared to be a human skeleton partially in the water on the marina embankment. Fortunately, it turned out to be a Halloween decoration that had blown off of one of the boats in the windstorm of the night before. It was pretty convincing though!
November 15, 2016
I read Headhunter many, many years ago. I loved it and was a little afraid to read this 'Reimagined' version.
I shouldn't have been.
This is Headhunter amped up and fleshed out. Slade goes deeply into the psyches and histories of the individual players in the tale, giving us a more intimate look into what makes them tick. And in some cases, what makes them just so evil.
This is fast, bloody, violent, and epic. It really is Headhunter as it should be.
If you haven't read Headhunter before, after reading this, you'll want to go on to read the rest of Slade's books. And if you have, be prepared to love it even more than the original.
A perfectly devious thriller!
* ARC provided by Net Galley
I shouldn't have been.
This is Headhunter amped up and fleshed out. Slade goes deeply into the psyches and histories of the individual players in the tale, giving us a more intimate look into what makes them tick. And in some cases, what makes them just so evil.
This is fast, bloody, violent, and epic. It really is Headhunter as it should be.
If you haven't read Headhunter before, after reading this, you'll want to go on to read the rest of Slade's books. And if you have, be prepared to love it even more than the original.
A perfectly devious thriller!
* ARC provided by Net Galley
July 29, 2015
This was a very entertaining and even unique mystery/procedural/crime/slasher type deal. The odd way it bounces back and forth between horror and police procedural stuff totally gripped me. One on hand this is a totally trashy and gory horror exploitation film in novel form, but on the other it's a very serious and in-depth look at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the way they handle their shit. It seems like Slade (who is apparently actually a nom de plume for several people) couldn't decide exactly what his book was gonna be and for some that's gonna be a fatal flaw but I occasionally enjoy a relatively schizophrenic experience and it just consistently worked for me. It also passes the Did This Freak Me Out test that I rigorously apply to all of the crime/horror books I read with flying colors...some seriously mind-burningly harsh stuff goes on in these pages, so weirdos like myself that enjoy this kind of thing are encouraged to seek it out.
You may have noticed earlier that I mentioned the RCMP...that's right, this takes place in Vancouver and all of the good guys are fucking Mounties! If you are an asshole American like myself, when you think mountie you think of the goofy-ass old cartoon character Dudley Doo-Right, who was surpassed in competence by even his donkey (To any of my Goodreads friends who may be Canadian: I'm sorry. I'm just being honest. Literally no one mentions Mounties in America except in the Doo-Right context.) Thankfully Slade has done a great job of educating me on the RCMP--it's a super long running institution that has handled some extremely sketchy shit in extremely sketchy settings. Slade includes a lot of Canadian crime history in the book, and while America obviously has my Canadian brothers and sisters beat in the whole "horrible and unnecessary violence" department there's some very interesting cases mentioned in here, like the one concerning Albert Johnson, the Mad Trapper. A very interesting setting across the board, and not just because of the novelty. I've never been to Canada, but going by the book it's pretty fucking cold and foresty up there, with lots of uninhabited areas--the perfect setting for a horrible series of murders.
I should probably talk about those murders a bit...they're pretty ugly ones, even in a long and sordid history of Human Kill Human; the decapitated bodies of women are found in several areas that are seemingly unrelated but are all in and around the metropolitan Vancouver area. I don't really wanna harp on specific plot details and the fucking grisliness of the cases but this shit is appalling and had me utterly committed to finding out whodunit by the first few pages. A lot of this book has to do with the psychology of the killer and we examine it in detail, which is unpleasantly fascinating to say the least. As I said before, all the victims are women and Slade did some very intriguing examinations of why these kinds of men are gripped by such a fervent misogyny that they do this kind of horrible shit. As someone who will eternally be confounded/disturbed/disgusted by the long-running, horribly prolific Maquiladora murders in Ciudad Juarez I was very interested to read someone who has been so deeply involved in the subject (one or more personalities of the Slade-thing was a lawyer dealing with murder cases.) Yeah...if you haven't figured it out by now this is a oft-and-profoundly disturbing book, but it should be. I can't even really describe it as even fun...I was more compelled by grim, obsessive curiosity to keep reading than any sense of "This book is a blast!"
The characters were forgettable, but that was okay given the heavy focus on crime details, plot and setting. There's a decently-sized team of cops working the Headhunter case but the main dude is Robert DeClercq. He's interesting because he's a genius and is into classical music and has skeletons in his closet and blah blah blah, but he's also genuinely and relatably flawed. The rest were bleh. I forgot all of their names already, to be honest. There was one macho cop that was constantly irritating me and inducing mental eyerolls, but I think he might have been part and parcel with the whole misogyny theme so that's forgivable. I will say that there's at least one character in here whose role in the story you will NEVER forget.
I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. Coming across this book on Goodreads for the first time and seeing the remarkably tasteless cover of the hardcover edition (not the one I'm reviewing) left me interested but expecting something much dumber than this. Don't get me wrong--like I mentioned before, there's plenty of ham-handed dialogue, dated cultural references and stiff writing that gives this book the 80s-horror-film feeling but it's outweighed by the deadly serious themes and content. It's an uncomfortable recommendation to give, though--this series seems to be pretty niche-y and probably won't appeal to a lot of people. Some of those that are more comfortable with Doyle and Christie-type murder mysteries (which I like too) will not be into this profoundly graphic and occasionally bizarre book. Like, my parents love murder mystery stuff as written by the likes of Tony Hillerman and the...the fucking lady that has all the books with "the cat" in the title or whatever it is, but I wouldn't hand my mom this book and tell her to check it out. She probably worries enough already.
You may have noticed earlier that I mentioned the RCMP...that's right, this takes place in Vancouver and all of the good guys are fucking Mounties! If you are an asshole American like myself, when you think mountie you think of the goofy-ass old cartoon character Dudley Doo-Right, who was surpassed in competence by even his donkey (To any of my Goodreads friends who may be Canadian: I'm sorry. I'm just being honest. Literally no one mentions Mounties in America except in the Doo-Right context.) Thankfully Slade has done a great job of educating me on the RCMP--it's a super long running institution that has handled some extremely sketchy shit in extremely sketchy settings. Slade includes a lot of Canadian crime history in the book, and while America obviously has my Canadian brothers and sisters beat in the whole "horrible and unnecessary violence" department there's some very interesting cases mentioned in here, like the one concerning Albert Johnson, the Mad Trapper. A very interesting setting across the board, and not just because of the novelty. I've never been to Canada, but going by the book it's pretty fucking cold and foresty up there, with lots of uninhabited areas--the perfect setting for a horrible series of murders.
I should probably talk about those murders a bit...they're pretty ugly ones, even in a long and sordid history of Human Kill Human; the decapitated bodies of women are found in several areas that are seemingly unrelated but are all in and around the metropolitan Vancouver area. I don't really wanna harp on specific plot details and the fucking grisliness of the cases but this shit is appalling and had me utterly committed to finding out whodunit by the first few pages. A lot of this book has to do with the psychology of the killer and we examine it in detail, which is unpleasantly fascinating to say the least. As I said before, all the victims are women and Slade did some very intriguing examinations of why these kinds of men are gripped by such a fervent misogyny that they do this kind of horrible shit. As someone who will eternally be confounded/disturbed/disgusted by the long-running, horribly prolific Maquiladora murders in Ciudad Juarez I was very interested to read someone who has been so deeply involved in the subject (one or more personalities of the Slade-thing was a lawyer dealing with murder cases.) Yeah...if you haven't figured it out by now this is a oft-and-profoundly disturbing book, but it should be. I can't even really describe it as even fun...I was more compelled by grim, obsessive curiosity to keep reading than any sense of "This book is a blast!"
The characters were forgettable, but that was okay given the heavy focus on crime details, plot and setting. There's a decently-sized team of cops working the Headhunter case but the main dude is Robert DeClercq. He's interesting because he's a genius and is into classical music and has skeletons in his closet and blah blah blah, but he's also genuinely and relatably flawed. The rest were bleh. I forgot all of their names already, to be honest. There was one macho cop that was constantly irritating me and inducing mental eyerolls, but I think he might have been part and parcel with the whole misogyny theme so that's forgivable. I will say that there's at least one character in here whose role in the story you will NEVER forget.
I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. Coming across this book on Goodreads for the first time and seeing the remarkably tasteless cover of the hardcover edition (not the one I'm reviewing) left me interested but expecting something much dumber than this. Don't get me wrong--like I mentioned before, there's plenty of ham-handed dialogue, dated cultural references and stiff writing that gives this book the 80s-horror-film feeling but it's outweighed by the deadly serious themes and content. It's an uncomfortable recommendation to give, though--this series seems to be pretty niche-y and probably won't appeal to a lot of people. Some of those that are more comfortable with Doyle and Christie-type murder mysteries (which I like too) will not be into this profoundly graphic and occasionally bizarre book. Like, my parents love murder mystery stuff as written by the likes of Tony Hillerman and the...the fucking lady that has all the books with "the cat" in the title or whatever it is, but I wouldn't hand my mom this book and tell her to check it out. She probably worries enough already.
March 2, 2016
This book not only has a riveting narrative set in Canada but is the only book I have ever read where I was clueless who the murderer was till the end. What makes it so cleverly written is that Michael Slade realizes the assumptions his readers make to figure out who the killer is and then uses them to mislead the reader and hide the killer by using the readers own assumptions. He takes your typical whodunnit and turns all the methods we use to deduce the end on their ear; making an extremely satisfying read for any suspense/thriller fan.
February 9, 2019
If you like The Silence of the Lambs or Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy you might like this. It straddles the line between horror and thriller so if you're a fan of either, or both, then I recommend it! There are a lot of moving parts, lots of detail, many characters and different time periods, excellently put together to create a compelling story.
The story is pretty dense and does go off on a bunch of tangents but it was well written and thoroughly absorbing. It is a slow build as we follow different characters over different time periods but it's well worth it to see it all come together at the end. I had heard that the ending was shocking; it didn't quite have that effect on me because I figured out who the killer was, but I still thought it was a great story with a satisfying ending. I definitely want to read more in this series!
The story is pretty dense and does go off on a bunch of tangents but it was well written and thoroughly absorbing. It is a slow build as we follow different characters over different time periods but it's well worth it to see it all come together at the end. I had heard that the ending was shocking; it didn't quite have that effect on me because I figured out who the killer was, but I still thought it was a great story with a satisfying ending. I definitely want to read more in this series!
April 24, 2017
Sladism is an acquired taste. In my case, I acquired it back in 1995 when I stumbled across a copy of 'Ripper' at the library. I read it, loved it, and promptly forgot the title and who wrote it because I was in high school and had a billion other things to worry about.
Fast forward a few years, working at a bookstore, and I find a copy of 'Ripper' again. And then I realize, hey, there are more books written by this guy! So I set about scoring as many as I could, and decided to read them in order.
Here's the thing though: Slade books are awesome, but damn are they some of the densest thrillers you will ever read. Plowing through a Slade novel is like eating a gallon of delicious, zero-calorie pudding: slow going, but the rewards are well worth the effort. You will feel your head turn around, your brain wonder why it's upside down, your stomach clench at some truly wrenching scenes of brutal sexual violence. Even though Headhunter was penned in the 80s, and the technology described in the book is now woefully outdated, the story itself is not. Slade works because he (all right, "they"...he's a pseudonym for multiple authors working in conjunction--happy now, you pedants?) and his style were so ahead of the times.
Headhunter, the first book, is no exception. You get police procedural wrapped in a thriller and tied with a history lesson. Anywhere else, anybody else, and I'd dismiss this as boring. But you can't with Slade: stuff that seems devoid of merit or not worth considering always winds up being the clue that puts you, the reader, ahead of the rest of his characters, but only so long as you're paying attention.
You don't have to read Slade like a traditional Whodunnit. If mysteries aren't your thing, that's just fine. The resolution will smack you in the face and leave you wondering how the hell you were supposed to see that coming. Then you go back and start reading again and realize the little hints that were dropped, the turns of phrases you missed, the red herrings scattered around that you picked up on at the expense of the real clues. Hell, Slade flat out tells the reader, by way of a lecture to his fellow officers of the RCMP by main character Robert DeClercq, not to discount anything and not to read more into a situation than is absolutely necessary. Don't make assumptions based on incomplete information.
But we're all human, so we do it anyway, and then we get gut-punched by a conclusion that seems to come out of nowhere, and then double-gut-punched when DeClercq, far from figuring out the true story, actually forgets his own advice and comes to a completely incorrect conclusion about what actually happened and who was responsible. Slade's protagonists are far from superhuman or perfect, and their flaws will come back to haunt them again and again over the rest of the Special X series.
That's all I'll say about Headhunter. No spoilers. No coy nudges or winks to try and put you on the right track. No talk about how I beat Slade at his own game and figured out who was responsible--because I didn't. I had a few pieces of the puzzle worked out (and, in fact, going through it a second time I am utterly floored at one of the clues Slade drops which damn near gives away the whole game halfway through the book, the significance of which I failed to pick up on), but I wasn't anywhere close to solving the mystery before the final page.
Loved it, loved it, loved it. Now it's time to move on to Ghoul.
Fast forward a few years, working at a bookstore, and I find a copy of 'Ripper' again. And then I realize, hey, there are more books written by this guy! So I set about scoring as many as I could, and decided to read them in order.
Here's the thing though: Slade books are awesome, but damn are they some of the densest thrillers you will ever read. Plowing through a Slade novel is like eating a gallon of delicious, zero-calorie pudding: slow going, but the rewards are well worth the effort. You will feel your head turn around, your brain wonder why it's upside down, your stomach clench at some truly wrenching scenes of brutal sexual violence. Even though Headhunter was penned in the 80s, and the technology described in the book is now woefully outdated, the story itself is not. Slade works because he (all right, "they"...he's a pseudonym for multiple authors working in conjunction--happy now, you pedants?) and his style were so ahead of the times.
Headhunter, the first book, is no exception. You get police procedural wrapped in a thriller and tied with a history lesson. Anywhere else, anybody else, and I'd dismiss this as boring. But you can't with Slade: stuff that seems devoid of merit or not worth considering always winds up being the clue that puts you, the reader, ahead of the rest of his characters, but only so long as you're paying attention.
You don't have to read Slade like a traditional Whodunnit. If mysteries aren't your thing, that's just fine. The resolution will smack you in the face and leave you wondering how the hell you were supposed to see that coming. Then you go back and start reading again and realize the little hints that were dropped, the turns of phrases you missed, the red herrings scattered around that you picked up on at the expense of the real clues. Hell, Slade flat out tells the reader, by way of a lecture to his fellow officers of the RCMP by main character Robert DeClercq, not to discount anything and not to read more into a situation than is absolutely necessary. Don't make assumptions based on incomplete information.
But we're all human, so we do it anyway, and then we get gut-punched by a conclusion that seems to come out of nowhere, and then double-gut-punched when DeClercq, far from figuring out the true story, actually forgets his own advice and comes to a completely incorrect conclusion about what actually happened and who was responsible. Slade's protagonists are far from superhuman or perfect, and their flaws will come back to haunt them again and again over the rest of the Special X series.
That's all I'll say about Headhunter. No spoilers. No coy nudges or winks to try and put you on the right track. No talk about how I beat Slade at his own game and figured out who was responsible--because I didn't. I had a few pieces of the puzzle worked out (and, in fact, going through it a second time I am utterly floored at one of the clues Slade drops which damn near gives away the whole game halfway through the book, the significance of which I failed to pick up on), but I wasn't anywhere close to solving the mystery before the final page.
Loved it, loved it, loved it. Now it's time to move on to Ghoul.
February 7, 2008
Michael Slade is a ghostname for two Vancouver lawyers who specialize in the criminally insane.
Small wonder.
When I finished this novel in the wee hours, I was awake for an hour thinking back through the story. This novel hit me like a bag of bricks. It's mercilessly brutal, and not for the faint of heart.
Although it is a novel of psychological suspense, it's typically found in the horror section of most book stores.
It's a great read, and if I were pressed to say anything negative about it, it would be that it was just a tad over-researched. No matter. It's a must read. Don't miss this!
Small wonder.
When I finished this novel in the wee hours, I was awake for an hour thinking back through the story. This novel hit me like a bag of bricks. It's mercilessly brutal, and not for the faint of heart.
Although it is a novel of psychological suspense, it's typically found in the horror section of most book stores.
It's a great read, and if I were pressed to say anything negative about it, it would be that it was just a tad over-researched. No matter. It's a must read. Don't miss this!
January 24, 2008
I read Headhunter the other day and had mixed feelings.
They are as follows:
I wanted a read that was gritty and set in current day.
The fact that the antagonist (bad guy) was a serial killer was a plus! Go for the gusto
I like books where the protagonist (good guy) investigates the crime methodically, finding minute clues and with a team, puts it all together to create the whole picture.
I like the process.
I like it when the killer starts to get desperate and it gets personal.
I like the suspense of an intelligent criminal but an even more intelligent or just plain dogged investigator that gets his er...man.
I mean after all, vicious murder, random mayhem, cannibalism, ritual killing and rape are all important....but we all want a happy ending right? Okay more on that later
I digress.
In the Headhunter, the story takes place in Canada and starts out with a scene from back in the days of cowboys and Indians; well actually of one Canadian Mounty and one native North American, then a series of dreams. Whose dreams? Well apparently this antique Canadian. After several pages, one wonders if he's the main character and the book is set in the 1800's. You do a quick check of the back flap to see if there was a mistake. Noooo its a modern crime book. So, back to the snowy wilds. This Mounty gets his man, and off to civilzation he goes after dispatching forthwith the young warrior. (in a rather vicious manner, but it seems theres some bad blood between them...eh)
Well.. thankfully we're brought back to modern times and the attacks begin. The victims? Women. The method of killing? Brutal stab to the throat while raping, then once they're dead and done twitching, the killer takes off their head. (even a nun...yes my friends, even a nun isn't safe...eeeuuuwww appreciative shudders)
Just then we have another flash to another place....an inspector mulling the implecations,
then FLASH to another scene of an undercover cop,
then FLASH to another scene set in the deep south.
See, this book is put together in pieces that (the reader hopes) will come together and meld to make sense at the end. All too often throughout this book I didn't know who the good guy was, the one you as a reader follow along on their shoulder. Now I can handle not knowing who the antagonist is fine...but I DO like to know who the good guys are, know what I mean? The reader likes to know who to root for even if we're led down the garden path and blindsided at the end (Agatha Christie was a master at this), there is still that need to identify with at least one person or we're left feeling a bit lost.
What I liked about Headhunter:
Good writing in the sense that technically there were no flaws. Suspension of disbelief? Nada problemo
The dialog was great, it changed from character to character seamlessly
The scenes described beautifully; you could smell, feel alot of this book.
Great graphic scenes of brutality--come on we all like to experience in some vicarious way the dark and scary world of murderers, criminals, sickos and perverts
What I didn't like about this book:
Too many scene hoppings at the beginning. The author started with too many characters in too many different places. It felt disjointed.
Red herrings that led nowhere, waaaayy too many of these plus the last minute red herring. Dont waste my time unless its worth it. The fact that there were multiple writers contributed to this.
The good guy falls apart. And almost right away for a reason built into the story, but not part of it. Where's my good guy? He's blubbering and dead drunk. uh..
Bad guy is revealed on the last sentence of the book. Pulease.
All of the above, plus I dont like multiple writers. Its internally messy and you feel it rather than read it. Michael Slade is actually three writers and in other Slade books the writers change. The only constant is Jay Clark.
Will I read another? Maybe.
They are as follows:
I wanted a read that was gritty and set in current day.
The fact that the antagonist (bad guy) was a serial killer was a plus! Go for the gusto
I like books where the protagonist (good guy) investigates the crime methodically, finding minute clues and with a team, puts it all together to create the whole picture.
I like the process.
I like it when the killer starts to get desperate and it gets personal.
I like the suspense of an intelligent criminal but an even more intelligent or just plain dogged investigator that gets his er...man.
I mean after all, vicious murder, random mayhem, cannibalism, ritual killing and rape are all important....but we all want a happy ending right? Okay more on that later
I digress.
In the Headhunter, the story takes place in Canada and starts out with a scene from back in the days of cowboys and Indians; well actually of one Canadian Mounty and one native North American, then a series of dreams. Whose dreams? Well apparently this antique Canadian. After several pages, one wonders if he's the main character and the book is set in the 1800's. You do a quick check of the back flap to see if there was a mistake. Noooo its a modern crime book. So, back to the snowy wilds. This Mounty gets his man, and off to civilzation he goes after dispatching forthwith the young warrior. (in a rather vicious manner, but it seems theres some bad blood between them...eh)
Well.. thankfully we're brought back to modern times and the attacks begin. The victims? Women. The method of killing? Brutal stab to the throat while raping, then once they're dead and done twitching, the killer takes off their head. (even a nun...yes my friends, even a nun isn't safe...eeeuuuwww appreciative shudders)
Just then we have another flash to another place....an inspector mulling the implecations,
then FLASH to another scene of an undercover cop,
then FLASH to another scene set in the deep south.
See, this book is put together in pieces that (the reader hopes) will come together and meld to make sense at the end. All too often throughout this book I didn't know who the good guy was, the one you as a reader follow along on their shoulder. Now I can handle not knowing who the antagonist is fine...but I DO like to know who the good guys are, know what I mean? The reader likes to know who to root for even if we're led down the garden path and blindsided at the end (Agatha Christie was a master at this), there is still that need to identify with at least one person or we're left feeling a bit lost.
What I liked about Headhunter:
Good writing in the sense that technically there were no flaws. Suspension of disbelief? Nada problemo
The dialog was great, it changed from character to character seamlessly
The scenes described beautifully; you could smell, feel alot of this book.
Great graphic scenes of brutality--come on we all like to experience in some vicarious way the dark and scary world of murderers, criminals, sickos and perverts
What I didn't like about this book:
Too many scene hoppings at the beginning. The author started with too many characters in too many different places. It felt disjointed.
Red herrings that led nowhere, waaaayy too many of these plus the last minute red herring. Dont waste my time unless its worth it. The fact that there were multiple writers contributed to this.
The good guy falls apart. And almost right away for a reason built into the story, but not part of it. Where's my good guy? He's blubbering and dead drunk. uh..
Bad guy is revealed on the last sentence of the book. Pulease.
All of the above, plus I dont like multiple writers. Its internally messy and you feel it rather than read it. Michael Slade is actually three writers and in other Slade books the writers change. The only constant is Jay Clark.
Will I read another? Maybe.
November 4, 2021
This is my third time reading this book. Headhunter Reimagined is an "updated" version of the original Headhunter novel written almost 40 years ago. That original novel I've read twice and now I've read this version. Same novel...with some changes apparently. I'll be honest, I didn't notice anything that stood out as different but it's been nearly a decade since I'd last read the original Headhunter. For those who don't know, Headhunter is the first bo0k written by Michael Slade. Slade was originally a pseudonym for 3 different Canadian lawyers who specialized in criminal insanity. It's considered book one in the Special X series which consists of a team of Royal Canadian Mounted Police who seem to specialize in hunting down psychotic serial killers. I personally love this series. It's got it all...horror, mystery, suspense...and Slade is a genius when it comes to shocking you with the "whodunit" reveal in the final pages of his novels. Slade also spends a lot of time researching his novels. Sometimes he'll go on for pages and pages sharing facts and historic details that pertain to the story. I can see this being a turnoff for some...but not for me. Word of warning...this series is not for those with a weak stomach. The killer in any Slade is going to be brutal...question is can you figure out who the killer is before the big reveal?
June 9, 2023
This is one of my all time favorites. It is incredibly sick and twisted... ya gotta love it! It works as a horror novel, psychological thriller, police procedural and a darn good mystery all wrapped up in one book. I loved reading about the killer's childhood and teen years in the flashback sections, as disturbing as they were. The author does a nice job of misdirection. I thought I had the book figured, but when the killer was revealed, I was totally wrong. There are some unforgettable paasages in this book that create images that just stay with you. Awesome book!
April 13, 2013
The ending of this book is by far the most terrifying and disturbing scene I have ever read. Do not give this book to your granny as a Xmas present(or there again!). I read this book 20 years ago and it still comes back to haunt me. Disturbing but great.
November 30, 2016
I would like to thank Netgalley and Trident Media Group for a review copy of Headhunter Reimagined, a reworking of the novel Headhunter, originally published in 1984.
There is a serial killer on the loose in Vancouver killing black haired women and stealing their heads. When it becomes obvious that he is not about to stop the Mounties draft in former Superintendent Robert Declerq to lead the hunt. Declerq is suffering from PTSD and has his own demons but is determined to find The Headhunter, using a mixture of psychology and hard graft, even in the face of mounting criticism from the press.
I have not read the original version of this novel so I had no preconceptions or much idea of how the plot would develop when I started reading. I very much enjoyed the police hunt for the perpetrator and the way the novel picked several key team members and followed their part in the investigation and I thought the twist at the end was outstanding. The narrative, however, gets bogged down in unnecessary extranities and this detracts from the momentum. There is some very interesting information on local native tribal beliefs and history and voodoo but it is overly detailed for a crime novel.
The novel, apart from the main plot, switches between the last days of Wilfred Blake in 1897, the original "always gets his man" Mountie which add little to the plot, events in 1961 New Orleans which are initially puzzling but turn out to be the start of the killer's story and Declerq's flashbacks and nightmares which are extremely repetitive - once would have got the point across, their frequency hints at padding.
Despite these quibbles Headhunter is a good read which portrays the cop mentality realistically with its rough humour, rampant misogyny (it's the 80s) and dedication to the job.
There is a serial killer on the loose in Vancouver killing black haired women and stealing their heads. When it becomes obvious that he is not about to stop the Mounties draft in former Superintendent Robert Declerq to lead the hunt. Declerq is suffering from PTSD and has his own demons but is determined to find The Headhunter, using a mixture of psychology and hard graft, even in the face of mounting criticism from the press.
I have not read the original version of this novel so I had no preconceptions or much idea of how the plot would develop when I started reading. I very much enjoyed the police hunt for the perpetrator and the way the novel picked several key team members and followed their part in the investigation and I thought the twist at the end was outstanding. The narrative, however, gets bogged down in unnecessary extranities and this detracts from the momentum. There is some very interesting information on local native tribal beliefs and history and voodoo but it is overly detailed for a crime novel.
The novel, apart from the main plot, switches between the last days of Wilfred Blake in 1897, the original "always gets his man" Mountie which add little to the plot, events in 1961 New Orleans which are initially puzzling but turn out to be the start of the killer's story and Declerq's flashbacks and nightmares which are extremely repetitive - once would have got the point across, their frequency hints at padding.
Despite these quibbles Headhunter is a good read which portrays the cop mentality realistically with its rough humour, rampant misogyny (it's the 80s) and dedication to the job.
November 10, 2023
I read the original published headhunter years ago. I remember liking it.
I don't remember a lot of it but I remember thinking this wasn't true horror.
Comes off as a detective thriller piece. Great detective thriller actually. Lots of violence and sexuality though. Very gory.
I have it on my growing list of "reread " . So hopefully I can reread this in near future and edit my review to make it more detailed.
REREAD- 11/10/23. Finally had a chance after 20 plus years to dive back into this. What a ride. Way better than I remember.
This is a perfect blend of History, horror, police procedural and psychological thriller. At first, I didn't know what the scenes from 1897 Canada, 1950's New Orleans and 1970s Amazon had to do with the main storyline in 1982 Vancouver....and you don't find out why until the last 5 pages of the book.
The author was a lawyer in Canada for years and worked on over 100 murder cases. His knowledge of the RCMP ( Mounties) and Canadian history was very thorough and well researched, and I loved it. We also get some history on New Orleans, Voodoo, head shrinking, various real life Canadian and American Serial killers, weapons etc etc etc LOL.
The actual killer reveal was NUTS. I didn't see that coming. That part ties into the 1897 flashback. Also the nickname Declerq calls the person ties it to the macabre scenes of the New Orleans Flashback with the torture chamber and Suzanna. You get glimpses of potential killers throughout the book. A lot of the main players all have some psychological issues or past trauma going on that make them set up for being a red herring.
The Kills itself were brutal. great description when it comes to the bodies, the decapitations etc. Truly horrific. and then the epilogue showing the actual tool used that belonged to the killer. Great .... what a great ending.
I don't remember a lot of it but I remember thinking this wasn't true horror.
Comes off as a detective thriller piece. Great detective thriller actually. Lots of violence and sexuality though. Very gory.
I have it on my growing list of "reread " . So hopefully I can reread this in near future and edit my review to make it more detailed.
REREAD- 11/10/23. Finally had a chance after 20 plus years to dive back into this. What a ride. Way better than I remember.
This is a perfect blend of History, horror, police procedural and psychological thriller. At first, I didn't know what the scenes from 1897 Canada, 1950's New Orleans and 1970s Amazon had to do with the main storyline in 1982 Vancouver....and you don't find out why until the last 5 pages of the book.
The author was a lawyer in Canada for years and worked on over 100 murder cases. His knowledge of the RCMP ( Mounties) and Canadian history was very thorough and well researched, and I loved it. We also get some history on New Orleans, Voodoo, head shrinking, various real life Canadian and American Serial killers, weapons etc etc etc LOL.
The actual killer reveal was NUTS. I didn't see that coming. That part ties into the 1897 flashback. Also the nickname Declerq calls the person ties it to the macabre scenes of the New Orleans Flashback with the torture chamber and Suzanna. You get glimpses of potential killers throughout the book. A lot of the main players all have some psychological issues or past trauma going on that make them set up for being a red herring.
The Kills itself were brutal. great description when it comes to the bodies, the decapitations etc. Truly horrific. and then the epilogue showing the actual tool used that belonged to the killer. Great .... what a great ending.
May 23, 2017
A serial killer is on the loose and he's taking the heads of beautiful, dark-haired women. DeClercq is on the case and he has his own set of psychological problems. Part historical fiction, part psychological thriller, part police procedural and all horror, Michael Slade throws a lot at you and then gives you the reach around without buying you dinner first. He touches on voodoo, sexual perversion and cannibalism to name a few and brings you gut wrenching, graphic scenes that may not be suitable for everyone (done right, I love it!). Getting past that, you have an extremely (if not overly) researched book with tons of knowledge re abnormal psychology and Canadian police procedures. He builds each character in a way that you become involved with them all - whether you like them or not. His writing is lyrical and just when you feel you have an inkling of what is going on, he blind sides you. This is a man who leaves bread crumbs for you to follow but you inevitably turn the wrong way for him to tackle you from behind. While the books jumps around between time frames and various POVs, it all comes together... and when it does, you'll get that chill that runs through your body because it's unexpected and will leave you with a sense of unease. An acquired taste for sure, but highly recommended. I'll need to give this a thorough, one sit, reread to see if I can pick up on more nuances that I may have missed but I am thrilled to have found another horror author to love.
Also, check out the author's bio on his website - it's also quite a fascinating read: https://www.specialx.net/specialxdotn...
Also, check out the author's bio on his website - it's also quite a fascinating read: https://www.specialx.net/specialxdotn...
May 17, 2020
While in essence this is a police procedural, the serial killer the Vancouver PD is after is definitely ghoulish to say the least. Women start turning up murdered, and missing their head (hence the title, as that is what the press has deemed the murderer). The main story focuses on the police work, but there are several flash backs to other times and places (New Orleans, Ecuador, etc.) that illustrate the madness on the killer's formative years. Yet, it is only in the last few pages that the killer is unmasked, and it had me spinning when it came. Slade's first novel has some rough spots as might be expected, but over all stays cohesive to the plot. We are treated with a look at Vancouver's seedy underbelly along the way, and this novel has several substories that are interesting; I guess that is what comes when you mix Voodoo, drug smuggling, murder and postitution.
November 26, 2019
Headhunter Reimagined (Special X book 1). As always no spoilers.
I first came across Michael Slade about 1988 when I picked up a copy of the original Headhunter in a second hand book shop in Perranporth, Cornwall. It had me hooked from page one. Over the following almost thirty years I have read Headhunter four times and ALL of the other Special X thrillers and I've enjoyed every one of them.
So you can imagine my absolute delight to find (purely by accident) that not only had Slade adapted a few Special X thrillers to eBook but had also reimagined Headhunter and was adapting it to a TV series.
Headhunter Reimagined is the same story as Headhunter (published in 1984) but it has been fleshed out with more background, more details to the plot and more information about the characters.
It is about a killer stalking black haired women in various parts of Vancouver, Canada and cutting off their heads, it is about the Special X section of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police attempts to capture the psychotic killer. The ending has such an amazing twist that if you are reading it for the first time, you will not see it coming.
Michael Slade is the pseudonym for a group of Canadian lawyers who specialize in criminal insanity, so they know and understand what they write about in their psycho thrillers.
So, if you love books with psychotic killers and a brilliant twist that you won't see coming, then this is the book for you. I cannot recommend either the 1984 Headhunter or the 2016 Headhunter reimagined enough, if you've read the original version then read the reimagined version, I promise you won't be disappointed. Five stars isn't enough for this book in my mind, I would give it a hundred if I could.
I first came across Michael Slade about 1988 when I picked up a copy of the original Headhunter in a second hand book shop in Perranporth, Cornwall. It had me hooked from page one. Over the following almost thirty years I have read Headhunter four times and ALL of the other Special X thrillers and I've enjoyed every one of them.
So you can imagine my absolute delight to find (purely by accident) that not only had Slade adapted a few Special X thrillers to eBook but had also reimagined Headhunter and was adapting it to a TV series.
Headhunter Reimagined is the same story as Headhunter (published in 1984) but it has been fleshed out with more background, more details to the plot and more information about the characters.
It is about a killer stalking black haired women in various parts of Vancouver, Canada and cutting off their heads, it is about the Special X section of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police attempts to capture the psychotic killer. The ending has such an amazing twist that if you are reading it for the first time, you will not see it coming.
Michael Slade is the pseudonym for a group of Canadian lawyers who specialize in criminal insanity, so they know and understand what they write about in their psycho thrillers.
So, if you love books with psychotic killers and a brilliant twist that you won't see coming, then this is the book for you. I cannot recommend either the 1984 Headhunter or the 2016 Headhunter reimagined enough, if you've read the original version then read the reimagined version, I promise you won't be disappointed. Five stars isn't enough for this book in my mind, I would give it a hundred if I could.
February 16, 2017
This is the sort of book that once you finish reading you want to go back and re-read certain parts to see what clues you missed the first time. There are a multitude of characters throughout the story with dark pasts and deep psychological problems. You are kept guessing as to the identity of the "Head Hunter" as you switch between possible suspects from chapter to chapter.
The story jumps between people, perspectives, places and timeframes. By the end it all comes together with a shock. The twist at the end was completely unexpected and leaves you with a sense of dread.
If you enjoy gore, mystery, suspense and psychological thrillers then you will enjoy this well written book.
The story jumps between people, perspectives, places and timeframes. By the end it all comes together with a shock. The twist at the end was completely unexpected and leaves you with a sense of dread.
If you enjoy gore, mystery, suspense and psychological thrillers then you will enjoy this well written book.
October 18, 2023
2.5 stars. Did NOT see that ending coming, but police procedurals really aren't my thing, so I didn't find it all that much fun to slog through all those details. But if you're into that genre, it's definitely worth checking out! And this is probably one of the only police procedurals to make it into Papaerbacks from Hell, so yeah, it's got that kind of vibe going for it too.
January 4, 2011
Sick , twisted, brutal ... I couldn't put it down!
January 13, 2025
Outside of reading X number of books for the year, I never really participated in reading challenges that required you to read certain sub categories within the genre. I'd start them, then fall off because some of the categories never interested me. Last year was the first year I was determined to get through an entire challenge. One of the categories was "Slasher," and preferring to read creature features, eco horror, and tales that include monsters or other supernatural creatures, I turned to Google to direct me to popular slasher fiction. One of the titles that came up was Michael Slade's Headhunter. I was familiar with the author's name, but had never read anything by him, and since the story idea appealed to me, I decided this would be the one.
In addition to being a slasher, Headhunter is also classified as a police procedural, another genre I'm not well versed in, so this was going to be a few firsts for me. The story is about a serial killer preying on women in Canada, raping and beheading the victims, then taunting the police by sending them photos of the women's heads on stakes. Along the way, there are detours to New Orleans (past and present), as well as trips through time, to the point where I felt at times like the book was was a jumbled mess, scattered all over the place and there was no way the dots were going to connect. That's one of the challenges I like about this particular genre (I have read some, just not a lot): trying to piece together the clues to try to figure out who the killer is. However, this turned out not to be that kind of book. For me, the dots never connected, and by the time I got to the end, I felt it came out of left field. Here, the cops are celebrating because the finally got their man, but the reader is left scratching his/her head because the pieces don't fit unless you hammer them into place with a sledgehammer. You begin to feel like maybe you missed something, you go back to check only to realize you didn't miss anything because it just isn't there. Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed the book, but it was just frustrating not being able to follow the trail of bread crumbs, because there wasn't any to follow.
I also wish the reader was a witness to more of the killings (yes, I'm a gore hound) and not brought in after the fact. Towards the end, we're allowed to see through the eyes of the killer, so why not earlier? And I know this isn't the type of book where you become attached to the characters and want to see them survive until the end, but at least make some of the characters likable. I don't think any of the characters are truly likable. We're supposed to see DeClercq as a somewhat sympathetic character, a retired cop pulled out of retirement for one more case who suffers from PTSD after his wife and daughter were both killed years ago, but his stellar reputation quickly becomes tarnished when you witness him popping pills to get through the day. And any character you begin to warm up to and start thinking, Well, this one seems like a nice person, is quickly dispatched.
After all this, you might think I didn't like the book, and you'd be wrong. The journey is an enjoyable one; it's the destination that leaves a lot to be desired, which is why what started out looking like a 5-star read ended up being a 4-star read.
In addition to being a slasher, Headhunter is also classified as a police procedural, another genre I'm not well versed in, so this was going to be a few firsts for me. The story is about a serial killer preying on women in Canada, raping and beheading the victims, then taunting the police by sending them photos of the women's heads on stakes. Along the way, there are detours to New Orleans (past and present), as well as trips through time, to the point where I felt at times like the book was was a jumbled mess, scattered all over the place and there was no way the dots were going to connect. That's one of the challenges I like about this particular genre (I have read some, just not a lot): trying to piece together the clues to try to figure out who the killer is. However, this turned out not to be that kind of book. For me, the dots never connected, and by the time I got to the end, I felt it came out of left field. Here, the cops are celebrating because the finally got their man, but the reader is left scratching his/her head because the pieces don't fit unless you hammer them into place with a sledgehammer. You begin to feel like maybe you missed something, you go back to check only to realize you didn't miss anything because it just isn't there. Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed the book, but it was just frustrating not being able to follow the trail of bread crumbs, because there wasn't any to follow.
I also wish the reader was a witness to more of the killings (yes, I'm a gore hound) and not brought in after the fact. Towards the end, we're allowed to see through the eyes of the killer, so why not earlier? And I know this isn't the type of book where you become attached to the characters and want to see them survive until the end, but at least make some of the characters likable. I don't think any of the characters are truly likable. We're supposed to see DeClercq as a somewhat sympathetic character, a retired cop pulled out of retirement for one more case who suffers from PTSD after his wife and daughter were both killed years ago, but his stellar reputation quickly becomes tarnished when you witness him popping pills to get through the day. And any character you begin to warm up to and start thinking, Well, this one seems like a nice person, is quickly dispatched.
After all this, you might think I didn't like the book, and you'd be wrong. The journey is an enjoyable one; it's the destination that leaves a lot to be desired, which is why what started out looking like a 5-star read ended up being a 4-star read.
April 13, 2020
A good old gory thriller with several surprising twists that keeps you engaged until the last sentence literally. However the Russian edition in "Мастера остросюжетной мистики" series by "Кэдмэн/Сигма" publishing house containing the translation by Vadim Erlikhman (under the pen-name В.Вадимов) is a total disaster. It’s impossible to describe the main flaw of the translator without a spoiler, so I just repeat my warning: please, avoid this translator!
Неплохой олдскульный триллер с неожиданными поворотами сюжета, держит тебя бодрячком до самого последнего предложения. Здесь только одна проблема - это русское издание в серии "Мастера остросюжетной мистики" издательства "Кэдмэн/Сигма" в переводе Вадим Эрлихман (здесь под псевдонимом В.Вадимов). Главную ошибку перевода без серьезного спойла рассказать невозможно, если не хотите зря потерять время, не читайте эту и другие книги с этим переводчиком!
Неплохой олдскульный триллер с неожиданными поворотами сюжета, держит тебя бодрячком до самого последнего предложения. Здесь только одна проблема - это русское издание в серии "Мастера остросюжетной мистики" издательства "Кэдмэн/Сигма" в переводе Вадим Эрлихман (здесь под псевдонимом В.Вадимов). Главную ошибку перевода без серьезного спойла рассказать невозможно, если не хотите зря потерять время, не читайте эту и другие книги с этим переводчиком!
October 16, 2025
Featured in Paperbacks From Hell. Unfortunately the cover (which isn’t great anyway) was the best thing about this book. Way too long. 350 pages of the 420 were about police procedurals. In fact, part 1 & 2 make up only the last 70 pages of the book. Way too many characters. Written almost like a diary with hourly events. Very little horrific stuff. And the manhunt is never really in doubt until it decides to just change tact randomly. Then in the final 40 pages people just start getting killed in ridiculous shootouts. Hard to express how boring this was.
August 8, 2021
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I read ‘Headhunter’, the first of Canadian author Michael Slade’s Special X series, decades ago as a teenager and really liked it. Returning to it years later I didn’t find it quite as good as I’d expected, but still had fun with it. It’s an appropriate book to review here, as Slade is a McBain fan. The master is noted in the acknowledgements and there are a couple of references to the 87th Precinct within the book, with a character recommending to one of the cops that he gives them a try.
Slade is described in the bio as a pseudonym used by a group of partners in a law firm. His Twitter presence today suggests he is just one person now, so not sure if the writing partnership dissolved at some point.
The book details an investigation by an elite team of Mounties into a series of sex murders where the female victims are decapitated. It’s a kind of hybrid of police procedural and out and out horror, with the original marketing of the books definitely leaning more towards the latter. The horror is pretty brilliantly done. It’s extremely graphic and quite shocking at times, with a tonne of perverse sex thrown in for good measure. That may account for my fond memories of the book from my teenage years.
What works less well is the plotting. At 470 pages it’s way too long and the storytelling is muddy and confusing at times, darting all over the place. McBain’s influence is clear in some of the prose and the flashes of humour through the book, but unfortunately not in tightness of the writing. I’m not sure if the issues may in part be down to the fact that it was written by a team, but it could definitely have used a better editor to trim it down.
For all that though, when it’s good it is very good. The action and horror scenes crackle and it’s so imaginatively disgusting that it gets a thumbs up from me. I’ve been gradually picking up the later books in the series, so expect to see more reviews here soon.
I read ‘Headhunter’, the first of Canadian author Michael Slade’s Special X series, decades ago as a teenager and really liked it. Returning to it years later I didn’t find it quite as good as I’d expected, but still had fun with it. It’s an appropriate book to review here, as Slade is a McBain fan. The master is noted in the acknowledgements and there are a couple of references to the 87th Precinct within the book, with a character recommending to one of the cops that he gives them a try.
Slade is described in the bio as a pseudonym used by a group of partners in a law firm. His Twitter presence today suggests he is just one person now, so not sure if the writing partnership dissolved at some point.
The book details an investigation by an elite team of Mounties into a series of sex murders where the female victims are decapitated. It’s a kind of hybrid of police procedural and out and out horror, with the original marketing of the books definitely leaning more towards the latter. The horror is pretty brilliantly done. It’s extremely graphic and quite shocking at times, with a tonne of perverse sex thrown in for good measure. That may account for my fond memories of the book from my teenage years.
What works less well is the plotting. At 470 pages it’s way too long and the storytelling is muddy and confusing at times, darting all over the place. McBain’s influence is clear in some of the prose and the flashes of humour through the book, but unfortunately not in tightness of the writing. I’m not sure if the issues may in part be down to the fact that it was written by a team, but it could definitely have used a better editor to trim it down.
For all that though, when it’s good it is very good. The action and horror scenes crackle and it’s so imaginatively disgusting that it gets a thumbs up from me. I’ve been gradually picking up the later books in the series, so expect to see more reviews here soon.
February 27, 2023
Disclaimer: This review is of the 2018 book. I've never read another book by M. Slade, nor have I read this book in its original 1984 version. So, if this book relied on other titles or an "it's a Slade thing" for its success, I got no help with it. Further, when I write a review, I consider it as statements of RFD (Reason For Decision). If I'm going to give a book 1 star, I better have a convincing reason. My writing will have a very strong tone, even though I will always respect any person who has the motivation, fortitude, and bravery to create content for others to judge. Plus, M. Slade has had a successful career and made his living with books like these. Just 'cause I don't like the book will not take any of that away.
The problem I had with the book was definitely the protagonist, Robert DeClercq. Everything I ended up knowing about him came from the third chapter, "Floater," that started on page 23. The introduction there told me all I would really ever know. The important reveal at that time is that he had a horrifying trauma in his past that was linked to a serial killer case he worked earlier in his career as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. And further, that he's got a type of second sight that is supposed to give him special access to information that will help solve crimes.
The most complicated thing we learn about DeClerq is that he lied to the therapist that he went to as a way to recover from his trauma. Sooooo...she couldn't really help him - and I guess couldn't tell he was lying. Then, he married the therapist. Bad basis for a relationship. Complete violation of professional and medical ethics by his therapist-turned-wife. And a big angst pie for him to continue to chew on.
Wait. That all sounds pretty interesting, right? And it should be. But, it's not. Because we never really get anything more that what we got in chapter 3. He was sad about his past, anxious about his marriage, and really good at seeing things. Always. All the time. From start to finish. And that's all he ever was for me: at list of traits that never changed. My imagination never sparked from the descriptions so that he felt like a fleshed out, full person. What I read didn't give me much of a sense of the redeeming qualities of his personality. Maybe I was just so turned off by the whole lies-therapist-wife thing that I tuned him out. As a contrast, the description of the second victim was vivid and gripping. She was more real in her few paragraphs than DeClerq was to me through the entire novel.
In opposition to the blandness of DeClerq, I got more interesting descriptions of the supporting cast. In fact, I recall more about them - including those who spent most of their time in dialogue with DeClerq - than I do of DeClerq. These people were given clarity, making them easy to distinguish from each other. They were individual and fairly engaging. They did most of the investigative work, and the story was better when they were the focus. Notable were the lone woman in the Special X team, Katherine Spann, and criminologist Joseph Avacomovitch.
The present mystery in the timeline was gruesome, but we got a pretty non-revelatory procedural investigation. When part of the point of the mystery was that there was virtually no evidence left by the perpetrator, there won't be much to find. This is SHOULD be counteracted by the nearly supernatural pseudohallucination of the protagonist, but from what I could tell, the only thing that we got from the this power was...a more detailed description of crime scenes...which still didn't give us any evidence BECAUSE there wasn't any to be found. There's an attempt to create a profile of the killer, but we don't get enough information prior to the person's apprehension to see if that profile was right.
The best parts of the book were the flashback chapters. The most memorable and horrifying part of the novel was a vignette set in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. These historical bits were violent and at times disturbing. But, all fit the theme of the book suggested in the title, and all were intriguing. The way they ended up tying together had the potential to be a strong set up for the present mystery. Head hunting was in all of it, but there was nothing to explain that the relationship was more than nominal or coincidental. Though the reader could eventually tie the past together, it remained disconnected to the main timeline until the twist ending.
Unfortunately, the twist could not work because if you squinted hard you could only see one (perhaps) clue that was THOUGHT in a single sentence during the present timeline. Though the twist could be critiqued for playing on outdated, even prejudicial presumptions, I still might have been persuaded to like it. But, there was no joy to be found in either the discovery of the answer nor satisfaction in an ending that the story had earned for itself. The surprise of this ending came because there was virtually no way to find any evidence that it could be true.
There were three specific problems with the main storyline near the end of the novel. If you don't want spoilers, skip the *** starred section. Explanations are provided there.
In the end, the promising historical backstory wasn't adequately tied to the twist ending. The reveal of the killer was surprising but not satisfying as a result. The interesting supporting cast was not enough to make up for the shallow and wooden main character. The horror of the present day murders and the historical flashbacks didn't exactly scare me. My feeling was that a promising plot concept and structure was inadequately executed.
*** Spoilers. Beware. First, the attempted suicide of the DeClerq didn't work for me at all. I never found any relationship to him, and my black little heart just didn't care. And, to be honest, by that time I wasn't paying enough attention to him to remember if he even survived. It was not convincing to me that unpredictable death of another victim would trigger him to end his life. Second, the change of narrative voice for one chapter was off-putting and jarring to the overall novel. It really didn't have a justification that I could find, and I didn't understand why the omniscient third narrator couldn't have done just as well for the duration. Though there were previously a few inclusions of mixed media, the narrative voice change didn't work. Finally, the death of DeClerq's wife, Genevieve, was pointless in my view. Having the killer target her is cliche today, even if it might not have been when the first version of this story was published. And the whole point of doing this as a trigger for DeClerq, perhaps as a reason for suicide, wouldn't matter. It happened AFTER his attempt and could not be a reliving of his original trauma. ***
The problem I had with the book was definitely the protagonist, Robert DeClercq. Everything I ended up knowing about him came from the third chapter, "Floater," that started on page 23. The introduction there told me all I would really ever know. The important reveal at that time is that he had a horrifying trauma in his past that was linked to a serial killer case he worked earlier in his career as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. And further, that he's got a type of second sight that is supposed to give him special access to information that will help solve crimes.
The most complicated thing we learn about DeClerq is that he lied to the therapist that he went to as a way to recover from his trauma. Sooooo...she couldn't really help him - and I guess couldn't tell he was lying. Then, he married the therapist. Bad basis for a relationship. Complete violation of professional and medical ethics by his therapist-turned-wife. And a big angst pie for him to continue to chew on.
Wait. That all sounds pretty interesting, right? And it should be. But, it's not. Because we never really get anything more that what we got in chapter 3. He was sad about his past, anxious about his marriage, and really good at seeing things. Always. All the time. From start to finish. And that's all he ever was for me: at list of traits that never changed. My imagination never sparked from the descriptions so that he felt like a fleshed out, full person. What I read didn't give me much of a sense of the redeeming qualities of his personality. Maybe I was just so turned off by the whole lies-therapist-wife thing that I tuned him out. As a contrast, the description of the second victim was vivid and gripping. She was more real in her few paragraphs than DeClerq was to me through the entire novel.
In opposition to the blandness of DeClerq, I got more interesting descriptions of the supporting cast. In fact, I recall more about them - including those who spent most of their time in dialogue with DeClerq - than I do of DeClerq. These people were given clarity, making them easy to distinguish from each other. They were individual and fairly engaging. They did most of the investigative work, and the story was better when they were the focus. Notable were the lone woman in the Special X team, Katherine Spann, and criminologist Joseph Avacomovitch.
The present mystery in the timeline was gruesome, but we got a pretty non-revelatory procedural investigation. When part of the point of the mystery was that there was virtually no evidence left by the perpetrator, there won't be much to find. This is SHOULD be counteracted by the nearly supernatural pseudohallucination of the protagonist, but from what I could tell, the only thing that we got from the this power was...a more detailed description of crime scenes...which still didn't give us any evidence BECAUSE there wasn't any to be found. There's an attempt to create a profile of the killer, but we don't get enough information prior to the person's apprehension to see if that profile was right.
The best parts of the book were the flashback chapters. The most memorable and horrifying part of the novel was a vignette set in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. These historical bits were violent and at times disturbing. But, all fit the theme of the book suggested in the title, and all were intriguing. The way they ended up tying together had the potential to be a strong set up for the present mystery. Head hunting was in all of it, but there was nothing to explain that the relationship was more than nominal or coincidental. Though the reader could eventually tie the past together, it remained disconnected to the main timeline until the twist ending.
Unfortunately, the twist could not work because if you squinted hard you could only see one (perhaps) clue that was THOUGHT in a single sentence during the present timeline. Though the twist could be critiqued for playing on outdated, even prejudicial presumptions, I still might have been persuaded to like it. But, there was no joy to be found in either the discovery of the answer nor satisfaction in an ending that the story had earned for itself. The surprise of this ending came because there was virtually no way to find any evidence that it could be true.
There were three specific problems with the main storyline near the end of the novel. If you don't want spoilers, skip the *** starred section. Explanations are provided there.
In the end, the promising historical backstory wasn't adequately tied to the twist ending. The reveal of the killer was surprising but not satisfying as a result. The interesting supporting cast was not enough to make up for the shallow and wooden main character. The horror of the present day murders and the historical flashbacks didn't exactly scare me. My feeling was that a promising plot concept and structure was inadequately executed.
*** Spoilers. Beware. First, the attempted suicide of the DeClerq didn't work for me at all. I never found any relationship to him, and my black little heart just didn't care. And, to be honest, by that time I wasn't paying enough attention to him to remember if he even survived. It was not convincing to me that unpredictable death of another victim would trigger him to end his life. Second, the change of narrative voice for one chapter was off-putting and jarring to the overall novel. It really didn't have a justification that I could find, and I didn't understand why the omniscient third narrator couldn't have done just as well for the duration. Though there were previously a few inclusions of mixed media, the narrative voice change didn't work. Finally, the death of DeClerq's wife, Genevieve, was pointless in my view. Having the killer target her is cliche today, even if it might not have been when the first version of this story was published. And the whole point of doing this as a trigger for DeClerq, perhaps as a reason for suicide, wouldn't matter. It happened AFTER his attempt and could not be a reliving of his original trauma. ***
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