A Time For Monsters is an incredibly dark and depraved story of a woman’s path to rid the world of abusive men by violent means. Gareth Worthington kicks off the narrative without wasting any time as readers are introduced to the main character, Reyna Blackburn, who in the first chapter is coolly admiring her handiwork of murdering an abusive husband at a crime scene. The grim introduction sets the darkly sinister vibe of the thriller. Soon enough, a weary detective is put on the hunt for Reyna who is known as The King Klubb Killer for bludgeoning the victims with a Kubb piece. What would have been a simple obstacle for Reyna to avoid turns personal when she learns about the detective’s dark past, setting her on a collision course from which she may not escape as unscathed as she had planned.
Worthington masterfully paces the story to smoothly explore both the past and the present for Reyna without losing momentum. It took me less than 12 hours to finish the book. A highly laudable component of the narrative is Worthington’s unfiltered exposition of the inexplicable torment that feels horrifyingly grounded in the current world with regards to domestic abuse. This insight helps with understanding the necessity of Reyna’s motivations and actions, giving you a front row seat into the mind of a killer. The flashbacks are just as essential for the nerve-wracking twists and turns as the author slowly unravels the entire plan that Reyna had concocted before setting on her path for retribution, never revealing enough to give away the full picture prematurely. The result is a highly satisfying albeit saddening resolution.
Nordic crime thrillers have a flair for the noir theme where characters are deeply flawed and broken which adds to the unpredictability of what the characters might do. The cloudy and chilly setting of Oslo is perfect for a narrative as grim as A Time For Monsters. I didn’t know what to expect going in, but I can definitely testify that this is a bonafide unique serial killer story, one where you root more for the killer than the cops for a change. A must-read, hands down!
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