Published October 7, 2025 by Titan Books
Richard Kadrey has never been an author I would describe as predictable. His books tend to involve strange people doing questionable things, an unhealthy amount of violence, and at least a few moments where I find myself thinking, What the hell did I just read? And that's exactly what I got with The Flesh King.
This is the second book in the Discreet Eliminators series, following The Pale House Devil, and Ford, Neuland, and Tilda are back. This time, they're hunting a killer who has been leaving a particularly nasty trail of mutilated bodies behind him.
I really like these three characters. They're such an odd little group, and I enjoy the way Kadrey throws them together and lets their personalities bounce off each other. They're all dangerous in their own ways, but they also have a weird sort of loyalty to one another that makes them fun to follow.
The investigation gets increasingly bizarre as the story goes along. Kadrey is very good at taking something that starts out looking like a fairly straightforward murder investigation and turning it into something much stranger. There is plenty of blood and gore, naturally, but it's the strange supernatural elements that kept me interested.
My only real complaint is the length. This novella is tiny. The fast pace works for the story, but I would have liked more. More character development, more of the mythology, more time to explore the weirdness that Kadrey has created. I basically finished it and thought, Wait. That's it?
Still, I enjoyed it. If you liked The Pale House Devil, you'll want to keep going with this series. It's dark, strange, bloody, and has the kind of twisted sense of humor I've come to expect from Kadrey. His books can be violent and bizarre without taking themselves too seriously, and The Flesh King is no exception.