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Killer instinct

Yodo
Juan Hernández Luna

Ediciones B • 167 p.

Àlex Martín Escribà
Translation: Karen Vincent-Jones

 

“I think of crime as being natural and inherent. And possible and easy too”.

With this chilling premise Juan Hernández Luna introduces us to his protagonist, a serial killer who seems to have come out of nowhere. The publication of Killer Instinct adds to the reputation of one of the most interesting writers of noir thrillers in Mexico today, who has already brought us Tijuana Dream , Other Lips Perhaps and Tabaco for the Puma , this last book having won the Dashiell Hammett Prize for the best crime novel

Yodo tells the story of a most peculiar character. He is a brutal murderer who loves classical music, who shuns the daylight, who never says more than three sentences at a time and who keeps secrets hidden in his house- secrets concerning snails, worms, blood samples, and certain parts of his victims' bodies which keep him in a state of euphoria and high emotion.

His life is spend in the shadow of his mother, who is amassing her own fortune by telling the fortunes of the people in the neighbourhood, and who is able to guess the best-kept secrets of any family. As the loot piles up, and is swelled by the proceeds of various business affairs, Yodo's mother becomes the object of hatred and vengeance to such an extent that there are plans to rob her of her ever-increasing fortune. So he is forced to counter possible attacks at any price

The various characters who appear in the course of the novel become the protagonist's victims. Some of them are murdered and brutally dismembered, like Maricela, a young woman he had an affair with but decided to butcher after she betrayed him in an attempt to get at his mother's loot, or Doctor Orlando, buried beneath the ground. Because of his fear of discovery he decides to kill off all the animals in the city to stop them identifying the body.

As events unfold we begin to understand the behaviour of certain characters who become mired in corruption and who are never what they seem.

Set in a completely urban, malignant and marginal environment, Yodo is one of those books where everything is totally original. Firstly, its subtle and provocative style, particularly at the most crucial points in the narrative when it creates a chilling atmosphere and unforgettable characters. Secondly, for the masterly way it shows events unfolding, creating a story full of terrible happenings and glints of violence.