Kin by Kealan Patrick Burke

On a scorching hot summer day in Elkwood, Alabama, Claire Lambert staggers naked, wounded, and half-blind away from the scene of an atrocity. She is the sole survivor of a nightmare that claimed her friends, and even as she prays for rescue, the killers — a family of cannibalistic lunatics — are closing in.

A soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder returns from Iraq to the news that his brother is among the murdered in Elkwood.

In snowbound Detroit, a waitress trapped in an abusive relationship gets an unexpected visit that will lead to bloodshed and send her back on the road to a past she has spent years trying to outrun.

And Claire, the only survivor of the Elkwood Massacre, haunted by her dead friends, dreams of vengeance… a dream which will be realized as grief and rage turn good people into cold-blooded murderers and force alliances among strangers.

It’s time to return to Elkwood.

In the spirit of such iconic horror classics as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Deliverance, Kin begins at the end and studies the possible aftermath for the survivors of such traumas upon their return to the real world — the guilt, the grief, the thirst for revenge — and sets them on an unthinkable journey… back into the heart of darkness.

Overall Rating

3/5

Spooky Rating

4/5

Quick Take

Kin by Kealan Patrick Burke is an original take on the hillbilly cannibal subgenre of horror. Taking place after the massacre, we follow the final girl as she faces the aftermath of the death of her friends and seeks revenge on the clan who tortured her. While it has a fascinating premise, unfortunately, it fell short.

Tell Me More

Hillbilly cannibal horror is my all-time FAVORITE subgenre, so I snapped up Kin as soon as I discovered it existed. I loved the premise of the story taking place essentially after the massacre, with a big focus on the final girl and her finding revenge. How ingenious! Unfortunately, even though I hate to admit this, the story fell short.

First off, there were way too many points of view. Not only do we have the perspective of the final girl, but we also have the perspective of the two men who find her and get her help, the doctor who helps her, one of the sons of the clan, the father of the clan, the mother of the clan’s brother, the brother of one of the boys who dies in the massacre, this man’s friend from when he was in the military, the mother of one of the men who find the final girl, and the final girl’s sister. I may even be missing a few. It was just too much! Keeping up with all of the characters was exhausting, and some of them I genuinely did not care about. By having so many points of view, there was not enough time to really dive into the hillbilly family, and it was their storyline that I was most interested in. The multiple perspectives also created way too many storylines that could have each been their own novel. 

While there were very disturbing scenes involving the clan and their family dynamic that I thoroughly enjoyed, I just found that I wanted so much more. For some readers, the amount of gore and disturbing content may be enough, but I just expect more when it comes to hillbilly cannibal horror. I want relentless horror that doesn’t let up.

That being said, there were some scenes that will stay with me for a long time, and I liked seeing the aftermath of the massacre and how it impacted the final girl. It was heartbreaking and heavy in the best possible way. The storyline was so original and well worth the read. But I do have to mention that there were a lot of typos and a huge overuse of the word “asunder,” which really took away from my reading experience. The ending also wrapped up too well for a horror novel. I prefer my horror novel endings to be bleaker and to not have a “happily ever after”. 

Overall, Kin is a unique edition to the hillbilly cannibal genre, and I know that many readers will find it very enjoyable. It had a lot of great merits, I guess that I just wanted more.