I usually do not real scary, gory books, but since it was free, thought I would try it. Got hooked from the beginning. Excellent, fast paced, kept you interest. Great page turner. Don't know why some people didn't like. The characters had depth. Could follow what was going on. Some books, you are lost for a while trying to figure out who was who. There were several hero's in the story and who knows if there is Red-ops out there. Scary to think there are. Love to read J.A. Konrath books. Thanks for the great book.

If there is a redeeming value - it is that the book is short. It was horribly distrubing. This book caused me to cringe, even skimming as to not read the gruesome, vivid details. As many other reviews state - not all free books are worth the download.

I was attracted to this title solely because of the method of writing the authors employed. I was further intrigued by the story of dueling serial killers met on the road but sadly the promise of these two unique ideas utterly fail to be realized in this very short story. The plot runs so predictably after the initial introduction of the characters it could have been plucked from any 90's screamer film chosen randomly from your local blockbuster and the prose, while not completely wretched, seems underdeveloped and rushed. To top it off the authors spend almost as many words patting themselves on the back and shamelessly promoting their other works as they use on the entire story. The end result of which, for me, was a complete disregard of anything published by either author. In short, free is too high a price for this junior high level collaboration and I'd appreciate a refund on the minutes of my life I wasted hoping and waiting it would get better.

I stumbled through about 40% of this thing. By then I was so disappointed I gave up and removed it from my Kindle. If I had had a hard copy, I would have burned it.

It has no plot, only a disgusting idea. The characters are mere shadow outlines and there is no development whatsoever.

The descriptions of torture and murder are not even imaginative or particularly descriptive but rather pathetic and crude. It may be similar to how drunken or drugged out teens might describe to each other a particularly offensive urban legend while they are huddling around a flashlight in an old, abandoned house at midnight.

Well, if you like that sort of thing...

Concerning the price, it's not worth it.

I have now attempted to read two different works from this author and have come to the conclusion that he apparently fancies himself as some sort of Marquis de Sade for the modern age. The only difference is that the Marquis had some flair for the dramatic and a sick sort of sense of humor. The author of this novella only thinks that he does.
Not only did the authors not bother with trying to concoct a plausible or even interesting storyline, but they also decided to forgo proofreading as well. You would think that with two of them they would have double the chance of catching simple spelling errors, but I guess they were both too busy trying to come up with even more repugnant and eye-rolling ways to kill people. An obvious example of this is when in a discussion about dogs Donaldson advises his victim to steer clear of "long-haired breads". Indeed!
Another thing that amazed me was that there were two people writing this travesty and yet neither of them thought to research even the most rudimentary basics of crime scene investigation. If they had even just watched a couple episodes of Forensic Files on CourTV they would have realized that the things they claim will make it "impossible" to solve a murder are laughable at best.
I realize that the authors are probably trying to be humorous when they write this stuff (I hope) and I guess are trying to accomplish that end with all the ridiculously poorly thought out violence, but it does nothing for me and I'm not some old prude. I mean, I find Texas Chainsaw Massacre and American Psycho pretty funny and the video games I play are gratuitously violent, but trying to think up the most vulgar ways to kill someone just for vulgarity's sake is just boring and stupid.
Oh, and peach pits are neither sweet nor springy...
The only way that this thing earned that one star is that the authors didn't quite have the audacity to try to charge people for it.

I almost didn't download this because of all the awful "reviews" and passed it by for weeks. I'm glad that I finally took a chance - nothing to lose but a little time. I do admit that the gory imagery at the first was more than I could take, but the rest of the book wasn't that graphic, or I couldn't have continued. I read this short story in one sitting and I thought it was well-written and certainly a warning to all (does anyone really hitch or pick up these days?) and the 2 main characters got what they deserved. Well done, Jack and Blake!

As others have said, I am in no way a prude and as a horror movie fanatic I consider myself to have a fairly strong stomach. After reading this book I was ready to toss the remnants of my dinner into the toilet due to the repulsion I felt from one scene in particular from this "story". If I could have rated this book lower than one star I would have. The plot could have been a great one had it been fully fleshed out and the characters truly brought to life, however since that did not come to fruition, the end result is a book full of random graphic and sadistic violence. I am truly glad this book was free on my Kindle...honestly I feel as though the authors should have paid me for reading this stomach turning trash. If I had actually bought a paper copy of this book it would currently be lining the bottom of my guinea pig cage.

There's a reason this is a freebie. Having the ability to string sentences together and come up with some cheap shock does not equate with talent. This book is a waste of time.

I downloaded this book for free and the only thing I'm thankful for is that I didn't pay good money for it. After this novel I will make sure that I never pick up anything from these to authors again.

Okay, there is no character development, but that's not the point. Makes me want to check out the authors work (at normal prices, of course)which is really the point. Fun concept!

What a unique perspective on the hunter and the prey. Great though slightly predictable ending. I have read a lot of the reviews and for all the people who had a problem: Didn't you read the decription? What did you expect, a cutsey bedtime story?

I was seduced into downloading it because it was free. I started to read it but did not get very far and deleted it from my Kindle.

Amazon should not offer this book to the world - even for free - without explicit warning as to the shocking, disgusting, sick, psycho, sadistic content.

Somebody should have used some intelligence and discretion. What if a child or some mentally ill person downloaded it and decided to act out on its content?

AMAZON, SHAME ON YOU!!!!

I got this book for free on Kindle, and I feel I overpaid. I enjoy true crime reading. This was just horror fiction- the image of a young man's eyelids being sliced away with swiss army scissors was gratuitiously nasty. This "book" is three chapters of horrifying filth, followed by self-congratulatory remarks by the cretins who wrote it. Seriously- skip this book.

to call this garbage doesn't come close to describing this piece of trash. is amazon that desparate to add to it's list of available titles on kindle ? why amazon would promote a piece of junk like this makes no sense at all. even for free this is a total rip-off.

Reminded me of the old "Tales of the Unexpected" series. Disturbing, yes, but I would'nt say graphic. Thankyou Messers Kilborn & Crouch for offering this for free.

This book was really good. If I am going to read a thriller with gore, I want it in a small dose. I just couldn't put this book down until I was done!

I admit, I downloaded this because it was free. I was a little taken aback by the graphic descriptions in the first chapter but kept reading. When I realized that the two characters were about to be in the same car I couldn't stop reading. I needed to find out who would come out on top. Not normally something I'd read, but it kept my attention.

I read the first two killing/hacking, chopping then deleted it.
I took a bath I felt so dirty.
This was free but I am not happy with Amazon and I will take no more freebees

This book was seriously foul. After just a bit into the story the tone switched from just annoying and being unsure of what was going to happen to completely offensive and vulgar.

This is an interesting short-story, but it falls WAY short of living up to the hype the authors are trying to create. I found myself genuinely bored through most of it. There's very little attention to detail, no attempt to give any sort of depth to the characters at all, and not an ounce of character development.

If you're looking for a good "slasher" book, this is not the book for you, as there is not much in the way of gory detail. If you're looking for a psychological thriller, this is not the book for you, as the characters might as well be cardboard cut-outs.

Fortunately, though, it's free, so I didn't have to pay $9.99 to discover that the writers put no effort into the story whatsoever. What a pity, as the premise was a fascinating one; it would have been nice if they had made at least a token attempt to make the book a good one.

I wouldn't exactly call this a book. It was a short story of 3 chapters long. The authors were very descriptive with the violence in the story. The book gets it's title because it's about serial killers, so if you don't like violent stories or can't stomach deaths, then don't read this book. Otherwise it was interesting to read. The graphic nature of the story surprised me. It was not the kind of book that I would normally read, but it was definitely a page-turner. It's a very quick read, but worth checking out (especially while it's still free from Kindle/Amazon).

Great horror fiction allows the reader to get inside the mind of the perpetrator and live there, a little. It involves empathy, or a mystery, or something /interesting/ to offset the gore.

While horror is not my usual genre, I can appreciate it when it's well done.

This is not great horror fiction. This was not well done. This was like horror porn - it skipped all the character development and psychology and went straight through to the worst, most unimaginative descriptions of violent acts I have ever read.

There was no motivation for the woman - why she became a serial killer or what she hoped to accomplish with her crimes was never explained/explored. At least with the man it was clear - he was after the sexual gratification. The only thing the woman said to explain herself was that she wanted to make her victims look "beautiful."

Um... ok.

It wasn't worth the time it took to read it. I won't be downloading any more "free" Kindle books.

I'm learning to use my Kindle and downloaded this piece of junk. I felt gross and sick after reading it.

I like the thought of two sick-o serial killers doing the world a favor by killing each other, but I sure wish I hadn't read this book.

I'll certainly be more careful about what gets downloaded to my Kindle in the future.

Big disappointment. Good thing there was not a charge for this book. If this is what the "free" books are, I won't be downloading any more. Definitely got what I paid for this book.

Yes, I agree with some of the other reviews, if you don't like gross and gore, avoid this book. I personally enjoyed it.
Yes it was gory, yes it was simple, but sometimes thats just a perfect little read. This was. I quite enjoyed it.

As you can tell by the reviews, few are on the fence about Serial. They love it or hate it. I loved it. I loved the pace, the plot, the dialogue, the action. Just a great, gruesome story.

This story works great as a novella...it left me wanting more without feeling short-changed. I'm now very interested in reading more collaborative fiction and hope these two collaborate again.

And it's free for Kindle. What a marketing tool! Give away something that will attract a large audience, weed out those who find your style distasteful, and motivate the readers like me to add each author's books to the library.

I am an English teacher who actually likes well written horror. I'm a big Poe fan, and I actually thought the first Saw movie was brilliant. (Only the first!) This had nothing to say about itself except a high gross-out, deviancy quotient. It's just a loser of a novella, and I am very glad I didn't pay a dime for it. Skip this in favor of something, anything, else.

I usually never write a review for anything but rely on other people's opinions for my own choices. Since I liked it so much I needed to give my opinion! I will first say it is a quick read. Second-I th0ught it was clever and well written. I throughly enjoyed it all. I turned the pages quickly and at the end found myself wanting more. If you are someone that does not enjoy a good thriller to put some scare into you-don't bother but if you do-READ THIS SHORtT BOOK!

I downloaded this since it was a free Kindle book. Usually these are interesting reads. This was really a surprise, not at all what I was expecting....really good, very twisted. A must read if you dare.

Certainly this is not literature. You'll find no Hemingways, Stokers, or Mailers here. And yes, this book has absolutely no redeeming significance whatsoever. But that doesn't leave it without some value: A quick read, it can be read in one sitting. It can be downloaded free on Kindle. It is a book not for prudes (a great deal of value!)
Not as violent or descriptive as some have described it to be, I found myself on the couch with a cup of coffee, a danish, two cats in the yard, and a very enjoyable hour or so.
If your more purulent recreational tastes lean toward the quirky then give this a try. What have you got to lose? Like I said, "Its Free."

SerialI wish I had sampled this book first! It is so full of blood and gore that I could not read it...and now it is in my archives FOREVER. I enjoy a good mystery, an exciting thriller and look forward to the story that makes me shiver, but this one is just too, too disturbing. As another reviewer so wisely points out, just because it's free doesn't mean you should "buy" it.

I liked the book. The frist chapter was a little creepy, okay a lot!!
But I couldn't put it down! I loved the ending!!!!!

I downloaded this "book" (more of a long-winded grotesque essay) because it was free on Kindle. I couldn't even finish it, and I'm embarrassed to tell people I even tried to get through it! It's the only Kindle book I've ever completely deleted from my library. The contents of this story are gruesome, disturbing, disgusting and revolting. The world these authors entertain in their heads is sickening, and definitely NOT entertaining!! Please think twice before considering this download.

Same as everyone else I downloaded this because it was free. I think Donaldson and Lucy could have been build up a lot more even though the story was so short. They made this short sound so sick and twisted... Where? I didn't feel that at all. If you are going to try and present a sick and demented story I think it needs to be sick and demented. More gore would have done well in this story.

I think if I would have paid for this, I would have been pissed off once I finished reading.

Maybe I will try something else from one of these guys to see if I just don't like them writing together...

Will see....

Im really glad that these authors are really progressive in using the Kindle as a platform to get their material out there, but its really not good.

While the subject was scary, the way the authors put the story together was very unique. It was like a game we played as children, one person writing part of the story and handing off to the next to continue the story. This was a technique as unique as the story "Romancing the Stone". Loved it, couldn't put it down -- yet, sick in a demented way.

The story was ok. But there was zero development. I finished reading it in less than 20 minutes and felt more like I had read a book jacket than a book.

It may be unfair of me, but the only reason I didn't give this 5 stars was the casual inclusion of sex and drug references. Maybe I should have expected it due to the genre, but would have been happy to have my kids read it had that been eliminated.

Besides what has already been said about the content, the tone, and the genre (all of which are forewarned), I was really intrigued by the collaborative style. The way the authors came together on this work, seemingly with the sole purpose of marketing their other work, was sheer genius. The marketing plan, the execution, and the way it was assembled - it all works. I read the whole ebook in one sitting the same day I downloaded it.

Besides the 3 chapter story, I most enjoyed the "interview" between the 2 authors. It's quirky, shows their personality, and actually gives a lot of insight into the story. I am a big fan of 'peeks behind the scenes', and always watch the 'making of...' section on the DVD. This was just like that, and I loved it.

Free download, easy decision...Now I have a new author I have begun to explore.

If you enjoy gratuitous violence, this short story is for you. Not worth your time, unless you are into violence for the sake of violence.

Journey through 2 TOTALLY CRAZY MANIACAL minds...

I LOVED this story (short story)...

Extraordinarily told by EXPERT writers -- Donaldson (a killer who preys upon hitch hikers) and Lucy (a hitch hiker who preys upon drivers) meet unexpectedly with a TOTALLY unexpected ending!!!

VERY WELL written -- and EVILLY delicious!!!

This packs a whole lot of disturbing images into a 15-minute read. It's a free download right now, so there's really nothing to lose. Just don't read it right before bed or you could have trouble sleeping - like watching Se7en at midnight.

This was an interesting read.However it seems to end just as it starts to get really interesting.
Wish it would of been longer.

I really liked this and I very rarely read fiction. It was a quick read but very clever. I only wish it would have been stretched out longer. Otherwise a nailbiter I couldnt put down

While I have never left a review for a book before, I have to say, I felt absolutely compelled to share my dissatisfaction with "Serial." To be fair, I should preface this by stating that I have read Jack Kilborn's "Afraid" and found that read far, FAR superior to the juvenile afterthought of a paragraph that "Serial" is. First off, Amazon should pay me for having sat through the 15 minutes it took me to read this poorly written, sophomorically conceived poser of a novella. It absolutely SUCKS. Not only is the plot looser than a rapper's blue jeans -- nothing about this little (and I do mean little) story is the least bit scary, frightening, or disturbing beyond the fact that I wasted 15 minutes to read it. Sorry Kilborn, I know you like to tell us how scary your books are and how we should turn back if we don't think we can take it -- but SERIOUSLY? Are you kidding? Perhaps you and your co-writer are, as the two co-lead characters in this pathetic attempt at a novella: way more interesting when not dragging on into oblivion together, like prisoners of your own stupid attempt at entertainment. Next time you write, would you please give us all something WORTH reading?!

As the review title says, this innovative short story was entertaining and very (VERY) gruesome. I liked it a lot, and recommend it, especially at the price of, um, zero. That being said, the ending snuck up abruptly, and I found it unsatisfying. I've heard it said that "to criticize is to presuppose an alternative" (thanks NEP)... perhaps a short, one or two paragraph epilogue? Maybe a depiction of emergency services finding the bodies along with an intriguing twist of words at the end? Or, maybe that's just so much Blah Blah. It was free. I enjoyed it.

Of course I loved it - what's not to love about murderous hitch-hiker meets demented murderer of hitch-hikers? My only complaint - too short. Hope you two collaborate again.

The idea behind this short story is innovative and I applaud the authors for the concept. What happens when two serial killers face off against each other and each believes they have the upper hand? The story is told in three parts:

First, we are told part of the story from the perspective of Donaldson. Very little is explained about his motivation to kill, but it doesn't seem necessary and, in fact, may add to the fear inspired by the character. Killing without explanation or apparent motivation other than the thrill.

Second, we follow the story of Lucy. I didn't find this story nearly as interesting as Donaldson's. Also, the method and description of the murders seems to lack the punch of Donaldson's. It also seems overly elaborate and lacks credibility.

Third, we see Donaldson and Lucy meet. The most entertaining aspect of the story is the interaction between the two killers, as each is trying to outmaneuver the other until both realize the other is not such an easy mark.

Then it ends abruptly. While I am not sure that the story could extend much beyond the length we are given here, I felt that the story ends far too abruptly. I clicked the next page and was stunned that the story ended in the fashion it did.

Overall, it was an entertaining and quick read, but I was ultimately let down by the final confrontation between the two killers.

Perhaps of minor note was a couple of formatting issues and typos. Also, black background pictures didn't present well on my Kindle DX.

All that being said, I will gladly pick up books from either author (just finished Whiskey Sour from JA Konrath (aka Jack Kilborn) and recommend it).

After the first few sentences of the second chapter, there was no doubt about what was going to happen. So, as other reviewers have said, "no plot." But it was very high on the revulsion factor.

The price was right, but it was not worth the download time. Sorry there was no zero star rating.

This short story about 2 serial killers is both shocking and horrific in a good way. This quick read examines why no one should hitch or pick up hitchers. Two authors contributed to this grizzly tell. Jack Kilborn's character is Donaldson - he likes to rape, maim, kill, and then burn the evidence. Blake Crouch's character is Lucy - she likes to drug and kill her victims. One chapter is dedicated to introducing each serial killer. Then the 2 authors shared chapter 3 & the worked together to battle of wills. Overall is a quick, disturbing tell that is well-worth the read. I have forwarded it on to several people who agreed with my recommendation.

A Horror Fiction Short Story

Crazy ride, crazy driver.


3.5 out of 5