Chelsea G. Summers

Bitter, sinfully sweet, and dripping with both blood and the kind of intrigue that can only be spawned from grizzly murder—A Certain Hunger is one of a kind.

Chelsea G. Summers has crafted a tale so dark and lovely that from the very first page the reader will find there is no escape, no lifeboat preservers to be found as they follow renowned food critic and imprisoned cannibal Dorothy Daniels on the re-telling of her life's story.

Something that makes Dorothy so unforgettable is the harsh, show more blunt language she uses throughout the novel. She doesn't once shy away from the brutality of her crimes, or from the inherent messiness that comes with the evisceration of one's life. Pun intended. She's cold and calculated, looking at the people around her as prey; as toys to be used for sex or sustenance or both. At its core, A Certain Hunger explores what happens when a woman goes to any lengths to sate herself...burned bridges (or corpses) be damned.

It can almost be guaranteed that Dorothy is a serial killer without equal to any other that prospective readers may have previously encountered between pages. Charming and vicious in equal measure, Dorothy lavishes both her victims and the reader with just enough praise and disdain that neither can stop themselves from coming back for more. show less

"𝘈 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘹 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 show more 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦."

While this review may be safe, this book is not for the faint of heart...or stomach. Dorothy freely admits that she is a female psychopath. While she may not have known the terminology at the time, she has been since she was twelve years old. She lies in the very first chapter, possibly establishing an unreliable narrative. Her antisocial, narcissistic empathetic, fearless behavior is disguised as a frank, daring, feminist perspective and I've caught more than a few sympathetic reviewers. But that's the trick of a true psychopath isn't it? Intentional or not, Dorothy seduces readers with her wit, intelligence and seemingly logical justifications for the horrific acts that she commits.

From the beginning, author Chelsea Summers cleverly and beautifully inserts food-based analogies to what would otherwise be the most unappealing or foul aspects of violence, animal slaughter or organ harvesting. One could certainly argue that this gives the reader a kind of feel-good complacency. Oh that's not blood, that's the delicious sauce of a warm cherry cobbler. As we journey through Dorothy's life story, we're savoring every comforting aroma and texture. Each act becomes a reflection of Dorothy's head space and evolution of an unapologetic killer. Chelsea Summers has really outdone herself here. It will disgust you, delight you, and you'll find yourself reading passages over and over. I've already added "An Excellent Host" to my wishlist! show less

The story of Dorothy, a psychopath who indulges in her lack of empathy. Coming from a moderately wealthy family and left an inheritance, Dorothy becomes an exceptionally well-traveled, well-read food critic. She knows the best restaurants and enjoys cooking, describing the both the exotic and traditional dishes she eats, especially in Italy, her adopted second home.
She also relishes finding new lovers, especially if her research on the person turns up something Dorothy can use as leverage in show more the future. That she can destroy them is always in the back of her mind. As she matures, Dorothy's pleasure in the forbidden includes murder and cannibalism.

It would be too easy to say that Dorothy is a monster and her story is one of vulgar brutality, but that would ignore the times when she discusses the beauty of Italy and the care that goes into the cuisine, or the magazine trade of the 90s, the art of Ivan Albright, how Kosher meat is processed and how the USDA works. All these asides of a page or two combine to show how intelligent and curious Dorothy is about the world. The brutality is mixed with her version of sensuousness, which can be gross, but Summers is a superb writer who has created a fascinating character. show less

"Despite their numbers, brutal women catch us by surprise. We expect random acts of violence from men. Men are the people who brought us the golden hits of war, genocide, rape, drones, and football. We do not expect murder, pain, and sadism from women, but we are co-opted idiots. Our unshakeable belief in women's essential goodness is a wondrous, drooling thing. Despite all evidence to the contrary, we act as starry-eyed as Margarete Keane paintings about the eternal sunshine of the spotless show more female mind. It's as if none of us ever had mothers who ever acted cruelly, and we all did. Some more than others."

The mark of a good writer is if they can make you believe a falsehood. And I don't mean a typical conspiracy or the way propaganda can. Rather, a good writer hones the truth in fiction, so even when you're reading about a nymphomaniac cannibal, you can recognize a common humanity. Dorothy is not a real person, but as the above quote begs us to realize, she's not that far off, either.

The prose here is nothing short of mesmerizing. Thick and steeped in dark humor and loaded with probing questions. It's nothing short of a master's work, and even when the plot became about as dark as an unlit alley, Summers's writing lit the way. I never wanted anything more than to keep reading. show less