^{Photo by Rebecca Campbell}

The existence of books where humans are the real monsters comes in abundance, like tap water pouring out of a bathtub after someone forgot to turn off the faucet.

Count S.A. Olson, author of The Black Shadow Detective Agency series, has the first book, Black Shadow Detective Agency: Demon For Hire, available for readers. The world in Olson’s tale is not one full of sunshine and kittens. It’s a dark place where a demon is trying to bring justice to people who were wronged by monsters more evil than any demon—humans.

Strap yourselves in and join us as we scroll down and take a look at each other with the same theme of “humans are the real monsters.”

Stephen King’s The Bill Hodges Trilogy

Brady Hartfield, the monstrous antagonist in this series, is wholly human—or at least at first). A troubled young man named Brady charges through a job fair crowd. He evades the cops and avoids getting captured, then boasts to the retired detective who was unable to apprehend him in the manner of a classic serial killer.

This cat-and-mouse game starts with Mr. Mercedes and has several intriguing and bizarre twists. Brady is the kind of monster readers love to hate and desperately want to be vanquished. His obsession with suicide and his goal of persuading his victims to take their own lives, rather than killing them, gives the traditional serial killer archetype a much darker edge.

What makes things even sicker is how much Brady relishes after each successful suicide that he witnesses. He truly is a monster living inside a human skin.

Count S. A. Olson’s Book 1 of the Black Shadow Detective Agency Series

Black Shadow Detective Agency: Demon For Hire is a gritty tale that centers around a detective far from being the typical one we usually see. Sometimes, it takes a real monster to bring justice to the victims of supernatural crimes carried out by monstrous humans.

Three tales featuring Half-Daemon investigator Jason Black live up to his ill-reputed reputation of rescuing victims from monsters that aren’t too unlike you and me.

The Black Shadow Detective Agency Series is a collection of books where humans are the real monsters. Its setting is gritty, dark, and harsh. Readers are taken to shady back alleys, underground worlds, and introduced to humans with souls as black as the night. It’s one of the books about monstrous humans any readers should get their hands on.

Caroline Kepnes’ You

When it comes to truly evil people, there is Joe. One of the best characters in Kepnes’ incredibly unsettling story is the narrator, partly due to his brief moments of relatability.

Kepnes’ lead character has an unquestionable (and therefore very unsettling) likeability, unlike King’s Brady Hartsfield. He is a horrible person who has been slowly encroaching on Gwinevere’s life and stalking her. He even eliminates people close to Gwinevere—friends, lovers, family—which he deems “obstacles.”

Joe’s unnerving and accurate levity will certainly shake treaders to the core. Even though we don’t want him to be successful, his persona has an unmistakable charm and lighthearted humor.

Get These Books Where Humans Are the Real Monsters

We know that for some, themes such as these might come off as unsettling, and we understand that. Novels that hold stories like these aren’t always the type of tales one can easily swallow and digest. However, it is equally important that the monstrosities of other humans are brought to light via these novels so we may be aware of them in real life.

Buy a copy of Count S.A. Olson’s book, Black Shadow Detective Agency: Demon For Hire, by visiting his website at https://blackshadowdetectiveagency.com/shop. Check out our other articles as well, and get to know more about Olson’s book in our book feature of the Black Shadow Detective Agency!