Killing It

People have used the insanity plea in defence of some heinous crimes. Was it months of planning that made you act or next door’s Labrador? When buying a property, it may be a clever idea to heed the warning of the stranger who tells you not to listen the voice when it appears. The last owner went on a killing spree, but why should that bother you? You have some cheap rent in a popular area of Manhattan. What better place to open a comedy store than this? It is not like standup comedians are known for their short fuses or characters flaws, is it? 

Jeff never dreamed of being a standup comedian, but he did dream of facilitating their art. After years of saving, he managed to purchase the location for his club ‘The Square.’ The rent came cheap for a reason as the last owner went on a killing spree, but history is not going to repeat itself, is it? For decades it never did, but now Jeff is tired, and the club is not making money anymore. The comedians are irritating him, and his girlfriend won’t stop bugging him. Finally, he hears a voice that makes it seem so simple, “kill them all.”  

Comedy is often the tears of a clown, and this is especially true of standups. If you are a fan of the artform and have read around it, you will soon stumble upon sad tales of abuse and addiction. Not all comedians are like this, but there are enough issues in Mike Bockoven’s Killing It to make a tale. It is not the funny people that you need to be weary of in the book, but Jeff the owner and then maybe not even him. Although Jeff hears the voice most prominently, there is an inner voice in all the characters’ heads. 

Killing is part crime story, part horror. I was interested in the balance between the voice and the criminality. Is there actually anything to listen to or has Jeff just had a phycological break? As the book progresses it starts to become clearer that there may be more to the walls of ‘The Square’ than just bricks and mortar, but for the initial half or so, it feels like as much as a phycological crime thriller, as a horror. 

The terror comes in the form of the violent acts, they are extreme. Despite connotations of otherworldly things, the suffering is mete out by humans. If you like body horror and extreme imagery, there are moments in the book for you, but for me the strongest part of the book was the characters. There is an ensemble of mostly comedians in the book, and they are all given their moment to shine. The chapters act like a curse that is passed around the cast. One closes and the new chapter focuses on a different character again. You get more insight into their motives but also get the feeling that something bad may happen to them. No character is safe. 

The structure of the book is also one of its strengths, it works like a typical standup night set from compere, to first, second and third act. Each section of the book is introduced with some of the comedy that the oblivious victims gave to the audience hours before all hell broke loose. 

Killing is a darkly humorous novel that is perfectly in keeping with its setting and characters. It is not a pure crime novel, but a genre bending mix of horror and crime. It leans more into the horror genre and fans of that element of the book will appreciate it more, pure crime fans may find the supposed supernatural elements hard to swallow. I found the whole book a disturbing read, but one that was page turning and structured in a fascinating way.