CAIN'S BLOOD

A former Black Ops soldier with a troubled history is called in after a deranged geneticist creates multiple clones of famous serial killers and then releases them into the world.

When a group of six teens commit several ghastly murders while escaping from a facility for troubled boys attached to DSTI, a biotech company with ties to the military, Shawn Castillo is called in. It’s his first assignment after entering the civilian world following a long career of nasty covert work in the Middle East. Castillo soon learns that the kids are more than just troubled: They’re all perfect genetic clones of notorious serial killers. Sensing that the staff at the facility isn’t telling him the whole story, Castillo enters the home of Dr. Gregory Jacobson, the founder of DSTI who is also missing, where he discovers evidence of sadistic experiments being performed on the boys, and other boys, by foster parents selected and paid by DSTI, seemingly to help turn the boys into killers, just like their genetic predecessors. In the house, he also finds Jeffrey, Jacobson’s adopted son, a bright, quiet young man who happens to be a clone of Jeffrey Dahmer. Knowing that Jeffery will likely be “neutralized” if DSTI finds him, Castillo reluctantly brings the boy with him as he sets out to find the escaped clones and bring their inevitable murder spree to an end.  But Castillo soon realizes that his boss may have ulterior motives, most likely trying to keep a secret involving a place called SharDhara, where apparently something unspeakably terrible happened, so Castillo has to set everything right before he himself becomes a liability. With a majority of the horrific acts depicted in gory detail, including thrill murder, rape, torture, necrophilia, etc., committed by and upon teens and young children, this book isn’t for every horror fan. The prose is clean and competent, but the dialogue is awkward. The characters, especially Castillo, are paper thin, but readers looking for a sadistic thrill will hardly notice. 

Mostly suited for horror fans with an interest in real-life serial killers and with exceptionally strong stomachs.