Review: A grown up psychological thriller
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 27, 2013
In many ways 'Joe Cafe' is a simple story. We learn almost from the beginning that the villain of the piece is a character called Chet. Chet arrives in town and goes to Joe Cafe - and yes the misspelling is deliberate - for a meal. Something upsets him and he murders four people in very horrible ways. Of the four deaths only one is clean and what might be called merciful.And then there is a second crime, unrelated to the first except in so far as Chet is the perpetrator. This crime is the abduction of a professional dancer from a strip club.  Given Chet's apparent lack of remorse for any of the deaths he has caused the fact that he keeps Sara, the dancer, alive would be strange but for the fact that we already know that he has issues with beautiful women and possibly sex in general.It was about this point that I started realising that the real protagonist in this psychological thriller was Chet himself. So who is Chet? My first thought was that he was a psychopath and the trail of dead bodies in his past would seem to confirm that guess yet there is something not quite right about that easy definition. The Ted Bundy's of the world are characterised by superficial charm, intelligence and an almost complete lack of empathy. For anyone. Chet does not quite fit this description. Yes, he kills without thought. Yes, he seems to need to kill. And yet, and yet... there is something so broken about him. Is he a pure psychopath or is he something more human, a psychopath 'made' by circumstance? And can such a rogue ever love?Joe Cafe is dark, yet shining through that darkness is the beauty of the prose, and a gossamer thread of hope that will keep you thinking about the story long after you have finished reading it.If you are looking for a comfortable, formulaic murder mystery then 'Joe Cafe' is not for you. However if you want to look inside the head of a rogue and travel the seedier paths of life for a short while then 'Joe Cafe' will leave you breathless. I enjoyed it immensely and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in what makes us all tick.