Synopses & Reviews
From the #1, award-winning Flemish crime writer, an atmospheric, genre-busting crime novel about a cop who comes back from the dead to track down the same serial killer who shot him.
A serial killer is on the loose in Ostend, Belgium. Nicknamed The Stuffer, the mysterious killer fills his victims full of sand and poses them as public art installations—and the once idyllic beach town is in a panic. The fact that Rafael Styx is on the case is no comfort. The corrupt, middle-aged cop has a bum hip, a bad marriage, and ties to the Belgian underworld, but no leads. And if he wants to catch the killer before hes replaced by the young, ambitious, and flamboyant new cop, Detective Delacroix, hell have to take matters into his own hands.
When a chance encounter puts him face to face with The Stuffer, Rafaels life is cut short by a gun to the chest. But the afterlife has only just begun: Styx wakes up a zombie. Gradually he realizes his unique position. Not only is his body in decay, now that he exists between life and death, he can enter a “different” Ostend, of the Belle Époque in all its grandeur. There he meets the surrealist painter, Paul Delvaux, who gives Styx his first clue about the killer.
With a fresh lead and a fresh start, the dirty cop decides to change his ways, catch The Stuffer, and restore his honor. But as his new hunger for human flesh impedes his progress, hell need his old rival, Detective Delacroix to help him out. Only one thing is for sure, even death cant stop Styx from catching his own murderer.
Complex and compelling, full of suspense, action, and black humor, Styx is an exciting thriller with an intriguing protagonist and evocative setting.
Review
"Styx is a taut detective story with dash of Surrealism. Imagine Dashiell Hammett sending Sam Spade into a dark, off-kilter world of artists, zombies, and serial killers."—Richard Kadrey, Author of the Sandman Slim Series
Review
“An atmospheric, noir-tinged tale about a stubborn cop who just won't quit, even if he is dead."—Kirkus
About the Author
Bavo Dhooge (born in Ghent, Belgium, 1973) is a film director and a prolific writer. One of the most acclaimed crime novelists in Belgium, he has won the Shadow Prize, the Diamond Bullet, and the Hercule Poirot Prize.