Short Take: “Go Down Hard,” Ali Seay

Rating: 4 out of 5

Ali Seay’s thriller novella Go Down Hard introduces us to Jack and Meg. Each is a serial killer. Each lives out in the middle of nowhere. Each has their own reason for killing–for Jack it was environmental, for Meg it was traumatic. Then, one day, they discover that they’re neighbors, and that they have something in common. They’re cautious about each other. Their guard is up. But they’re both having trouble deciding: sleep together? Try to kill each other? Or one and then the other?

My only negative with this book is that I think it needs to be a bit longer. There’s too little build-up between Meg and Jack having their serial killer meet-cute, and then finally deciding what they want from each other. I’d have liked that to be drawn out just a little more. (And I rarely say that–I like action-filled stories.) I would have also liked a little information about how and why Meg is moving out into the middle of nowhere.

I liked the characters. Meg is a whiskey-swilling (probably borderline alcoholic), snarky woman who kills men who prey on women. Jack is a serial killer who gets off on hearing people scream (specifically women). Meg likes to pick people up on dating apps. The only other (modern-day) characters (there are some flashbacks) are one of Meg’s targets, and a young woman who has the hots for Jack. This is a very narrowly-focused story.

Of course no matter what they decide, you know they’ll have to end up at odds at some point. And that portion of the book totally delivers!

Content Note: There’s a rape scene in here. And of course there’s gore.

“I’m a killer, not a pervert,” he said.