Golgotha

Necropolis Series #3

by Guy Portman

You can’t keep a good sociopath down.

Dyson Devereux is languishing in prison awaiting trial for murder. Languishing wouldn’t be so bad were it not for the irksome inmates, crowded conditions and distinct lack of haute cuisine.

Only Alegra, his sometime paramour and frequent visitor, shares his desire to see him released. The problem is, she wants Dyson freed so they can start a new life together. But all Dyson desires is to get back home to his treasured mementos.

As judgement day draws ever closer, can Dyson keep up appearances long enough to win his freedom? And at what cost? For hell hath no fury like a sociopath scorned.

Golgotha is a funny, fast-paced crime comedy novel, boasting a sardonic and sinister sociopath at its helm.

“Deeply dark and irresistibly funny. If you like dark humour, you’ll love watching Dyson unravel” — Sandra Seymour, Author

“Sociopathic comedy at its best” — Adam Riley, Comedian

“A potent blend of black comedy and crime” — Reviewer

If you like dark humour and crime you'll love Golgotha.

“A potent blend of black comedy and crime” — Reviewer

Ever wondered what goes on in the mind of a sociopath? Meet Dyson Devereux, Britain’s answer to Patrick Bateman.

As well as being a very British satire, this darkly humorous crime novel will appeal to fans of psychological and serial killer fiction.

'A devilishly wry read' - Goodreads Reviewer

'Tauted as the British Psycho as in the alternative to Mr. Bateman and the comparison works. Very similar moral deprivation as the action driver. Glib, twisted, darkly humorous.' - Goodreads Reviewer

195 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 3, 2019

About the author

As far back as anyone can remember Guy has been an introverted creature, with an insatiable appetite for knowledge, and a sardonic sense of humour.

Throughout a childhood in London spent watching cold war propaganda gems such as He Man, an adolescence confined in various institutions, and a career that has encompassed stints in academic research and the sports industry, Guy has been a keen if somewhat cynical social observer.

Humour of the sardonic variety is a recurring theme in Guy’s writing. His first novel, 'Charles Middleworth', is an insightful tale of the unexpected. Like the author, the protagonist in 'The Necropolis Series' is a darkly humorous individual – though, unlike the author, he is a sociopath.

Guy is a dedicated blogger and an avid reader. Reviews of the books he has read can be found in the review section of his blog.

Click on my website link below and get 'Mangetout' for FREE.

These shocking and suspenseful stories are a must read.

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm very pleased to be the first person to review this book, because I've all good things to say about it. No walls can hold a good (or in this case not so good) man down. Certainly no walls of Italian justice system making. And so after navigating the legal quagmire and tediously intricate bureaucracy for about 17 months, Dyson Devereux is back on the streets. Wasting no time, he makes his way back to England and picks up more or less where he left off. Working in the funeral industry, raising a young son and…offing anyone who gets in his way. The title is dramatic enough to hint at the fact that it may not works out all that well for him, but his adventures or technically misadventures are nevertheless morbidly entertaining. So yeah, look at me, a person who normally stays away from series, reading a serial. And, finding out, that actually this isn’t a sequel, but book three. Somehow I went into book two without ever checking out Necropolis. Now I need to track that one down too, read them uncharacteristically out of order and all because Dyson Devereux is such a fun bastard. Sartorially immaculate polyglot, punctilious pedant, smug killing machine with a highly singular moral compass…he’s just entirely too much fun to read about. At first, thought maybe it was a one off, maybe he’d get too tiresome for more than one book, but no…Dyson manages. I’d say he gets away with it like he does with murder, but that wouldn’t be entirely accurate for murder is a messy business and because for Dyson it’s always so personal, the aftermath, however elaborate, is never all that simple. Technically, the man is a serial killer, his body count qualifies him easily, but he doesn’t have a type or kills for pleasure, for him it’s more…janitorial, as it were. People get in his way, people offend (whether with their noise pollution or political correctness) and Dyson eliminates, swiftly and efficiently, much like his namesake cleaning apparatus. It’s almost a decorum thing, if everyone just behaved…well, they’d live longer. At least, around Dyson. But no, it’s one thing after another. Old flames, coworkers, neighbors…life is messy and Dyson can never just relax, it seems. Tauted as the British Psycho as in the alternative to Mr. Bateman and the comparison works. Very similar moral deprivation as the action driver. Glib, twisted, darkly humorous. Thoroughly entertaining. And, as highly unusual as it is to admit for a standalone connoisseur, leaves you wanting more. Recommended. But do read them in order, properly, with this being book three. Thanks Netgalley.

[Susan Hampson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I do have to admit that I am coming into this series pretty late, in fact, this is my first book of the three that have been released but I was unaware of this until I had finished reading. The story is told my Dyson Devereux, a truly fascinating man, psychopath and giver and taker of life depending on if he can tolerate the people that cross his path any given day. Believe me, it doesn't take a lot and me coming in on book three would have been enough cause for me to disappear!
Dyson is a charmer be it with the ladies or judge and jury and so after being up on trial for murder, which of course he committed, he walks away with a smile and no conviction from the Italian court. Alegra, the Italian beauty that has stood by him during the 17 months remand before the trial is brushed aside as he returns to England and his prized possessions that spark any real emotion in him.
Dyson returns to the work he loves, working with the dead and all the new technology that is available for him to dispose of all the irritating people that cross his path. This is a dark and devilish read of black comedy as people that don't see his point succumb to a fate worse than just dying, dying at the hands of Dyson.
I have to admit that he tries to give people a chance but of course, if they don't see Dyson's way of thinking then they don't live to see anything. I do admire his inventiveness, there are some real gems in here. Every character remains memorable from this story. A brilliant unpredictable end. Extremely entertaining and highly recommended.

[Lauren Sapala · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of transgressive fiction. I’ve read all the old-school classics and most of the modern-day hits, and I can tell you with solid conviction that transgressive fiction is not a genre that is easily done well. There’s a reason that only a handful of titles stand the test of time—because transgressive fiction is probably one of the most difficult genres to work in for an author.

Guy Portman has somehow managed to not only hit it out of the park with his transgressive fiction series starring serial killer, Dyson Devereaux, but he also reels the reader in so smoothly, so effortlessly, that you find yourself actually CHEERING ON Dyson as he ruthlessly goes about exterminating the most annoying people in his life. Whether it’s the insufferable co-worker that everyone in the office wishes would just die anyway, or the completely repulsive neighbour with no respect for boundaries or personal space, you know Dyson is going to come in and deal out just desserts, and so you don’t even feel that guilty as you find yourself laughing during the scenes where he’s graphically dismembering and disposing of the corpses.

This is also one of the author’s most brilliant skills—making you laugh at the same time he’s making you cringe. Literally, the two will happen in the very same second as you’re reading. It’s amazing. The only other author who has been able to provoke this response in me is Jean Genet, and for me, comparing anyone to Jean Genet is HIGH praise. I believe Guy Portman’s work is comparable.

The comedy/cringle angle aside, the thing I really loved most about Golgotha (and the two previous books in the series, Necropolis and Sepultura) is Dyson. Yes, he’s a serial killer. But he’s also this totally suave and debonair James Bond-type of guy who is super picky about his extra hot lattes with soya milk and his designer ties with the lilac flower print. He’s probably one of my favorite characters ever, and definitely the most likeable serial killer ever. He even beats Dexter, in my book, and I loved that show.

I highly recommend Golgotha to anyone who loves transgressive fiction, crime fiction, dark and weird fiction, Chuck Palahniuk’s more boundary-pushing work (like Haunted), or the gory/funny scenes in something like Bret Easton Ellis’s Glamorama. In fact, I would really urge people to read all three books in the series, Necropolis, Sepultura, and Golgotha—they are all extremely well written and worth the time.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t help but continuously compare Dyson Devereux with Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, they have similar broken personalities and until this book Dyson came across as being in more control than Bateman, but as Golgotha unfolds this control starts to fall away from Dyson at the pace of an avalanche.

Golgotha starts with Dyson adapting to life in prison… he is not a fan it turns out but he manages to keep his urges under control. Once he is released and back in England, life is very different to what he has been used to, no job, no home, a son, but at least his box of mementos are safe. It doesn’t take long before people start annoying him and he has to deal with them. I’m not sure if it is all these changes in his life but he seems to be more unhinged than normal, as soon as he completes his first kill you get a sense of an ending, not having his routine means he is having to adapt constantly and there is no way he can keep up. It was interesting watching as the pace picks up and Dyson seems unaware of how wrong it has gone, he is dealing with one situation after another and acts almost childlike in how unfair everything is. We are witnessing the unravelling of a mind that we hadn’t realised was as fragile as it is.

The ending of the book was very fitting, a proper Hollywood conclusion to this series of books, nothing is left unanswered. Fantastic writing as always from Portman, gruesome, violent and loads of fun.

Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2024...

[Ashlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book for free for my honest review. Golgotha is a really good book. The second I began to read the book I was hooked. My only issue when I first started reading it was the writing style. It took me a little bit to get passed that and I soon came to realize the unique writing style fit perfectly for the story.
Since Golgotha is about a serial killer you can only imagine all the gore in this book. Some parts were disturbing, but that is to be expected of a book in this genre.
The main character was very realistic.
He had a thought process that I would believe most serial killers would have. He was very full of himself and thought he could get away with anything using his charm. He had many of the personality characteristics of serial killers we have heard about such as charm, seemed to be a good guy on the outside, may have seemed harmless to people who didn't know him, lived alone, etc...
I really enjoyed this book and the ending made me want to know more such as, did authorities find Dyson in time to save him and pin all the murders on him? Did authorities find Dyson and save him just in time and he pinned all the murders on the Albanian? Or did Dyson truly die in the end like the ending hints at?
Honestly, I like that the author left the ending open like that. It leaves the ending to our imaginations or it gives him room to write another book if he felt the need to continue this series.
Guy Portman really did his homework to produce this well written, wonderfully disturbing book. It really makes one wonder if Guy Portman is not insane himself or if he just is a really brilliant writer and knows exactly how to get inside the head of his main character?

[Buttercupp77 · Rating 5 out of 5]

It pains me to have to award this - the third novel in the series - 5 stars because I am so repelled by the narrator. On the other hand, my intense loathing for the character is a clear sign that the author has done his job well in creating a memorable and comprehensive character that evokes an emotional response.

This series remains a very character-driven story. The setting is really secondary to Dyson and his relationships with others: his sense of superiority, his approach to interactions as transactions (if he believes he can benefit) or nuisances (if he doesn't see a gain to himself), his dehumanizing of his victims (I think this was the most obvious of his "tells" - there is a point where he reveals to the reader that he will kill in his use of pronouns), his dismissal or ignorance of the emotional connections of others, and so on.

Most, if not all, of the events in the novel are firmly driven by Dyson's psychological condition. Owing to his psychopathy, he does not even recognise how he is missing out in life (which is very true to life - my understanding is that treatment options are currently extremely limited as, generally, psychopaths are incapable of recognising that they have a problem and thus are resistant to treatment), which, in addition him being abhorrent, makes him both sad and pitiful.

I cannot think of one redeeming characteristic for this character. If anything, I suppose it is that he has not (yet) seriously considered murdering his son?

I had some thoughts about context - how, perhaps, gaining an understanding of how Dyson is perceived by his colleagues, exes, "friends," and so on, might help me see something redeemable in Dyson, but upon further reflection, I am in agreement with the author's choice to only feature Dyson's voice. It may have helped me feel more comfortable with Dyson had I seen that others perceive him in a different light, but my belief is that the author set out to let readers into the mind of a psychopath, and that goal would have been cluttered by an excess of perspectives. As it is, the novel reads as very clean, with very few excessive or unimportant elements.

I cannot, in good conscience, say that I enjoyed this book. I think this was the textbook definition of hate-reading. But, I couldn't put the novel down, nor could I look away from what was clearly going to be a disaster for anyone in Dyson's life. There is a hypnotic quality to the prose that kept me engaged in Dyson's antics, even as I wasn't sure I wanted to know what happened. It is certainly a unique reading experience.

I am definitely interested in reading more from this author.

I received and ARC through the author.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a free copy of this book via Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review.
I also didn't read the other the previous books because I hadn't realised it was part of a series.

What I liked:
- The idea of the book, I love stories that make you love characters you would normally hate
- The pacing was great, there was only a short period towards the end that was a little hard to get through
- The ending was completely unexpected but not unwelcome
- I had no problem following along even though I hadn't read the other books

What I didn't like:
- Dyson's way of talking felt really out of place most of the time. I know this is part of his character, it just bugged me a little bit

[H Petty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic book in the Dyson Devereux series. The story starts with Dyson languishing in an Italian prison, awaiting trial following his shenanigans in Sepultura. Once released, Dyson returns to the UK, but he just cannot stop dealing with those who irk him in his usual way. However, his past starts to catch up with him, and his usual meticulous planning goes awry.

Can Dyson get his life back in order before it's all too late?

As usual, this is very descriptive and definitely not for the squeamish.

[Samantha Wynd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having received a chance to read and review this book through Voracious Readers, I was slightly unsure what to expect at the beginning. However I soon found myself unable to put the novel down as I waited to discover who would cause Dyson to unravel to the point of no return and what extremes he would go to prevent being found out. Although I didn't find the book as comic as some reviews suggested I definitely found it a different and enjoyable read

[Sean Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A typical, yet fitting end to our beloved evildoer. I’m not sure how else the story could have ended, but I have enjoyed the whole trilogy enormously.

[Karen L Dubots · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story line is good once you can figure out if the main character is in the present t or thinking in his head. It also has a twisted ending leaving alot of strings hanging loose.

[Jacquie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book at all. Extremely hard to get into and just didn’t hold my attention. I received a complimentary copy of this book through Voracious Readers Only.

[Justin Sarginson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A blistering end to the trilogy. I hate to say it, but I was genuinely sad to read the final page. I really hope that this isn’t the end as the main character is actually too endearing to lose forever.
This books picks up where the second finished and runs off at a searing pace, packed full of dark humour and wonderfully crafted characters. The plot is tight and lean and thrills and pleasures throughout.

[Sam Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received a complimentary copy of this novel by the author in exchange for an honest review.
What another brilliant chapter in the complex life of the sociopath Dyson Devereux. Although this is the third outing for our hero ( I somehow missed the second novel ) each story is a stand alone novel.
Dyson is an arrogant, pompous, sarcastic, but somehow charismatic SOB, who is a absolutely fabulous character.
This story starts with Dyson incarcerated in an Italian jail for murder. After he is released he returns back to England, his family and his treasured mementos, leaving behind his extremely jealous and wealthy Italian paramour. When he returns home he becomes employed in a funeral parlour which comes in very handy when dealing with the aftermath of his “hobby”. Life as always with Dyson, gets very complicated very quickly and he has many problems to sort out in his own special way.
A witty dark comedy that will have you laughing out loud at his exploits.

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic! I received my copy from voracious readers for my review.

[Carol Brannen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting insight into the narcissistic mindset of a sociopathic murderer. While initially unlikable, you find yourself rooting for Dyson in the end, and can even understand some of his choices of victims! I received a complimentary copy of this through voraciousreadersonly.com and would recommend it to fans of the Dexter books.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following his unsavoury antics in Necropolis (1) and Sepultura (2) Dyson Devereux has been sampling the hospitality of the Italian authorities.

Having had time to ponder the ‘injustice’ of his incarceration only appears to have reinforced his unnaturally high standards. He still insists the ‘x’ in his surname is silenced, which is pretty much the same result for any irritant that inadvertently awakens his critically discerning dark side.

I’m weirdly (and disturbingly!) impressed by how flawlessly Dyson can flatline through the theatrics of performing for social situations, despite the general public causing unfortunate ripples on the surface of his otherwise calmly controlled waters.

Dyson and death go hand in hand, both professionally and personally. Considering his acquaintances fall into two categories: tolerable, or his next victim, orchestrating their demise is often an effective solution to his problems.

So, exactly how will he escape scrutiny for his actions this time? Well, that would be telling, but I certainly wasn’t expecting THAT ending!

A devilishly wry read which sees the cogs deep inside Mr Dyson Devereux’s warped mind slipping their well-oiled gears.

(I received a digital copy of this title courtesy of the author, with my thanks, which it was my pleasure to voluntarily read and review.)

[Sarah McConnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's a bit of a slow burner but a good read. The main character is believable, interesting and quirky! Guy's writing style is easy to read. He is quite discriptive and that helps bring the book alive. Really enjoyed this book!