Void Beyond the Walls

By Relvin Gonzalez
Birthmark Publishing, ©2024
ASIN: B0CRS6S5H7
Kindle Version, file size 5237 KB

Void Beyond the Walls is exactly what it claims to be: a literary serial killer novel. I’ve read a number of thrillers and edgy, dark fiction, but I had not encountered this combination of style and genre in a novel before and looked forward to reading it.

This book is, at its heart, the story of one man’s life, and his compulsion to kill. Yet it is told entirely through the eyes of the serial killer, Dean Turner, and the FBI agent who is after him, James Cole. Most murder mysteries I’ve read in the past gave glimpses into the killer’s mind. But Author Relvin Gonzalez tells the bulk of the tale through the eyes of the man committing these atrocities, which seemed uncommon. In like fashion, the usual main murder mystery POV of the detective is relegated by Gonzales to a secondary role in “Void.” In this, too, the book stood out from others in the genre.

Both Turner and Cole are fully developed. Both are broken and relatable in their own ways. Gonzalez weaves a masterful tapestry of each.

Revelations of the conditions in Turner’s childhood made it easy to empathize with his reasons for his first kill. But the author doesn’t stop there. Over the course of the story, he gives the reader deeper and broader glimpses into Turner’s ongoing motivations. Only a few of his kills are enacted to protect his freedom. Most are carried out for other, more layered reasons that make perfect sense to his twisted mind. Readers might (as I did) see why, given his background, Turner would come to those conclusions and make the decisions to kill those individuals.

Cole also has issues from childhood following him into his adult years–not like Turner’s, by any means, but a history that constrains his abilities, raises nearly crippling self-doubt, and pushes him to yearn for acceptance as a strong, assertive person. Again, the revelations of his story make him understandable. Relatable. Even if we ourselves are not like Cole, we know someone who is. His obsession with exposing Turner is what keeps him going and, at the same time, is the ultimate cause of his failure.

While I have read and enjoyed a few literary novels written with heavy florid prose, I never found them to be easy reading. Void is just the same. The subject matter’s thick darkness, alone, made reading the book a challenge. The fluidity of scene description, coupled with indirect conveyance of the sequence of events, made the book an even harder read. In numerous scenes, I had trouble following what had happened, who had done it, and why. A few of those instances were followed by a clue that helped me understand what I’d missed, but in many others I was left guessing. It may just have been my reading experience, given that literary fiction is not my usual choice of style.

I can see, though, how this prose style might have been a deliberate choice used to convey the murkiness in the minds of both his characters; it would follow, especially in Turner, since he is twisted in many ways. Cole, too, seemed likely to think in indirect, stream-of-consciousness ways, given his anxiety. Still, I wondered whether such a choice would lose its purpose as it loses its readers. I managed to stay with it, but I would not read it again, even if for no other reason than the prose style.

For whatever reason, I expected a satisfying, if not happy, ending; I was disappointed in that. Even so, I was captivated throughout (until nearly the end) by Turner’s mind, his motivations, the unveiling of who he was as a human being. That said, as the book progressed toward its climax and conclusion, I found it increasingly disturbing and had trouble finishing it. I have no regrets over having read Void. I suggest that though it was listed as science fiction, the book might be more aptly grouped with the horror-thriller genre. Its deeply unsettling tale is one I won’t soon forget.

If you love horror or dark thriller fiction, this should be on your TBR list.