Review: Bloodman by Robert Pobi

• Paperback: 428 pages
• Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (May 15, 2012)
• ISBN-10: 1612182135
• Source: Wunderkind PR

Jake Cole is an FBI contractor who has returned to his home of Montauk, New York for the first time in two decades after his father, a renowned local artist, sets himself afire & jumps through a plate glass window. Jake has a unique talent: he is able to recreate three-dimensional crime scene models in his head, snapshots that are taken with his mind after only viewing the scene for a few moments.

Jake’s return coincides with a series of brutal murders in which victims are found devoid of their skin, murders that are remarkably similar to the manner in which his mother was killed thirty years previous. He is asked to join in the investigation by the local sheriff, Dan Hauser, who struggles to prepare his small community for the onslaught of a horrific hurricane in the midst of these murders.

Jake begins sifting through the chaos that is his father’s home and soon discovers hundreds of paintings that, alone, seem insignificant. It’s not long before he discovers they are clues left behind by his father, on the border of dementia, before he set himself afire. Together the paintings form an image of the killer, known as the Bloodman.  Jake must face his own personal demons while tracking down this incredibly ruthless and brutal killer before the hurricane hits, destroying what evidence they’ve obtained.

Pobi has created a truly complex character in Jake Cole. Jake left his home nearly thirty years ago, walking out on his alcoholic father, not daring to look back.  Riddled with his own demons of substance abuse, Jake has Dante’s entire Inferno tattooed upon his body. This is juxtaposed with an incredibly loving side as a husband and father.

Throughout the novel, Pobi reveals puzzle pieces, bread crumbs to lead the reader to the final and stunning conclusion. The thing is, the reader isn’t aware of these clues until reaching the conclusion. I found myself going back after I finished the book and stumbling across what should have been several “a ha!” moments but really didn’t come together until I saw the full picture.

Bloodman is a truly astounding and incredibly terrifying debut by author Robert Pobi. The terror isn’t in what he portrays within the pages of the novel, but the information that is alluded, what is left up to the reader to infer. A compelling and addictive dark thriller/horror, this book is one of the few that has been able to terrify me to this extent. While the acts the Bloodman performs are truly terrifying, the fact that these actions are completely plausible is what chilled me to the bone.

Admittedly, I had a lot of reservations when I accepted this novel for review consideration. My followers who know me well can infer what those reservations were, but ultimately I was completely stunned with how much this novel affected me. For nights after, I found myself going to sleep with the light on, checking on my boys throughout the night. For this reason, while I am completely enamored by this novel, I wouldn’t recommend it to those with a weak heart…or stomach. So, if you think you are up to the challenge, I wholeheartedly recommend this novel! As a matter of fact, O, The Oprah Magazine’s August issue, on stands now, named Bloodman one of their “Titles to pick up now” and called it a “Very suspenseful novel”! So…if you don’t listen to me, listen to Oprah!