Title: Diaries of a Serial Killer
Author: Sheng Sun
Publisher: Xlibris
ISBN: 1796010138
Pages: 566
Genre: Thriller
Reviewed by: Aaron Washington

Read Book Review

The story Diaries of a Serial Killer sounds chilling even before you read the first account. Sebastian is a cold-blooded murderer who finds it satisfying to kill women who look like his mother. He writes how he started, and how he had to break up with his girlfriend. Sebastian draws sketches of the women he has killed to show that he has completed his task. The book starts on a bloodcurdling but fascinating note as the reader is taken inside the mind of this disturbed individual who loves taking the lives of women. It is eerie that the serial killer says he does not hate women but enjoys the act of killing them. Everything from the plot to the characters in the book, to the events and bizarre deaths, will make your hair stand. Author Sheng Sun wrote a good – but creepy – book which will leave every reader terrified but thrilled.

The first account in the book is documented on Monday 10 December 2012 at 10:00 am to Margareta Burström. Reading about Sebastian’s activities had me hold my breath several times. Sheng Sun has a way of keeping the reader engrossed, as my heart kept racing when I read Sebastian’s plan. I let out a big sigh when Sebastian failed to kill the three women from the clinic. I was sure that the three would be the killer’s victims. Lucky for them they did not resemble his mother. The sudden turn of this story added more thrill in the book. The author threw in a few plot twists, leaving me in suspense as I did not know the killer’s next plan. The whole episode was gripping.

Reading about the murders Sebastian committed was not fun, but getting to know the thoughts he had before killing the women made an interesting story. Sebastian was a villain in his own story as all he brought were losses. Ellinor’s death was among the deaths that pained me the most. I, however, have to appreciate Margareta and the role she played in Sebastian’s life. She had a huge impact on the boy’s life. Even with serial killing as the main theme, the book was not dull at all. Outside the evil man was a man who was loved by some friends and family. His strange habit may have been caused by the trauma he went through during some stages in his life. Sebastian did not know his father as the boy’s troubles could be linked to his complicated family. Sheng Sun virtually takes us to Östersund, Sweden through Sebastian. I enjoyed reading about life in the Swedish city. Sebastian is a great narrator and did a good job by having the narrations be in the first person, as it gave the reader the impression of knowing Sebastian beyond his words.

Diaries of a Serial Killer is an interesting book which will have you hooked once you sit down to read it. The author captured every scene perfectly and made the story appear real in every sense; the conversations the main character had with himself were insane. Sebastian’s story highlights the cons of dysfunctional families, the role of psychiatry and why femicide is a serious subject.