This one was tough. Raised by a Killer, by Sea Caummisar, is a set of 10 books, so it took me a lot longer to read. But it was also a tough one to read due to the abuse that little Deicide endured.
The first book starts at age 4. Yes, she was only 4 when we first learn about her father abusing her. But we soon learn that it’s so much worse than that. He uses his daughter to lure women, whom he rapes and tortures before turning them into food. Yes, they’re cannibals.
And as the books progress, with different ages of Deicide, you learn that her father is teaching her all about the ways of luring, killing, cooking, and eating. He uses her dog as a consequence for her actions, abusing him, too. You learn about how it’s important not to eat the brain because it made his father very ill. You learn about her mom and her uncle, her father’s brother.
Her life as a teenager, living as a ‘dancer’ was not all it was cracked up to be, but she was trying to make it on her own. She even met a really good guy, Ace, who took such great care of her. There was a cult and so many bad people in her life. But I found myself not just rooting for her to have a good life but also rooting for her Pops, even though he caused her so much pain and grief.
I was often conflicted because some of the people in her life were obviously not good for her, but I wanted her to be happy and just have a normal life. And it did become that for a short time. Until it wasn’t.
I did not see her death coming, though it shouldn’t surprise me based on how she lived her life. Still, kudos to the author because I was shocked. I just always assume she’d pull through. She always had before.
This book as a whole was also surprising. I assumed that Raised by a Killer would be about a child who grew up with a serial killer parent, a father, I guessed. That part I got right. What I didn’t think about was how that child would grow up to also kill (and eat!) people!
All in all, this was a good book, but it’s definitely not for everyone. So much death, child abuse, rape, torture, and gore. But if you’re into that stuff, this book and this author are for you!