The rape and murder of a wealthy family spurs into motion a gritty and raw descent into the seedy underbelly of human nature.
BROKEN PLAYTHINGS kicks off with a daring opener. A local crime lord and his trusted lieutenant hire an aspiring criminal to plan and execute the murder of a wealthy family, the Grants. As the wife is raped and the husband murdered, the young criminal is sent to track down and “enjoy” the beautiful daughter. He is unable to do so and lets her escape, setting in motion this deeply dark thriller. As the horrific crime is investigated, a sex-addicted PI stumbles across a beautiful young girl about to jump to her death. The girl explains she barely escaped the murder of the Grants, her parents. The PI is driven to redeem himself and find justice for the girl and her murdered parents.
Author Brennon Noss has crafted a dark and seedy thriller. None of the characters in this sordid tale could be considered good. They are either living in darkness or skirting the edge, and most revel in it. Jake Adams, the PI, catches cheating spouses while thrilling in the voyeuristic aspects of filming. The most interesting character is the beautifully tragic Daphne, the transgendered daughter of the murdered Grants. Vaguely noir-ish, Noss grabs readers and drags them through the seedy underbelly of sexual deviants and criminals. The light that shines on these twisted characters keeps the reader’s attention as the thriller races to a compelling twist ending. It is not an easy read but it contains some fascinating insights and character studies.
Unfortunately, this novella is short but not sweet. Parts of the narrative are rushed and compressed, making for a bit of a disconnect. Grammar and spelling errors abound which compound the feeling of reading an unpolished manuscript, especially when character names are misspelled. This is a shame as the overall story is an intriguing insight into the dark nature of humanity, gender identity, and psychological underpinnings of those who struggle to find a place in a society that reviles them. Once properly edited and polished, BROKEN PLAYTHINGS could be a truly captivating, if disturbing, ride through the darker aspects of society and the human mind.
BROKEN PLAYTHINGS is an engaging and engrossing thriller in which readers are drawn into the muck to stare into a mirror held up to the darker side of humanity.
~ IndieReader.