We’ve all been there, when just one more food close-up, one more ‘LOL’ or one more post of ‘I’m so fat’ to get the ‘no you’re not’ responses would push you over the edge. There will always a friend posting their latest holiday selfies in the sun as you stand at the bus stop in the rain. This is the world of social media.
The bane of Dave’s social media life is his best friend’s girlfriend, she fills up his time line with constant updates on her day-to-day life and cries for attention. So he kills her.
The first time she accused him of trying to poison her with peanuts, she was completely wrong. But as she screams and shouts her accusations he can already see her future Facebook post. The cry for attention that would slander his name and leave her friends cooing over her. He couldn’t bear it and when he walked to the bar to replace her drink with a new one, he finely grinds some nuts and sprinkles them in her new glass. Job done.
Once safely back at home he ponders on how easy it was, at what a high it had given him but that bubble is soon burst when he receives an anonymous email. Someone saw, someone knows he killed her and they want him to do it again.
Haterz by James Goss is violent, funny, smart and satirical. Goss taps into our love/hate relationship with social media, lulling us into a false sense of security with LOL cats and then turns Dave into the most likeable serial killer since Dexter. Given free range to exact his revenge on trolls and flamers, his most gruesome attack is conducted on a ‘gamergate’ style troll who threatens to rape his female friend with a broken bottle. It’s sad that these online threats are so common now that they’ve made it into popular fiction but Goss definitely gives you food for thought on the subject. You cannot help but question your own morals as you cheer on a fictional serial killer but that’s what James Goss has done. With wit, style and fun he attacks some serious issues head on and seems to have great fun doing it, probably as much fun as I had reading it.
Buy your copy of Haterz from Amazon here.