Sepultura by Guy Portman Review

The Necropolis Series: Book #2

Sepultura by Guy Portman is a dark comedy thriller about a sociopathic serial killer.

Dyson Devereux is head of Burials and Cemeteries at Paleham Council and is a very busy man. He is charming, arrogant, anti-social, suave, sophisticated, multi-lingual and a serial killer. He has contempt for his colleagues and is only interested in his 3-year-old son (who he desperately wants to learn Latin).

He would be coping well if not for other people in his life; friends, ex-girlfriends and co-workers. Underneath his cool exterior is a sociopath that is about to crack. Already a suspect is the disappearance of other people, more are about to be added the list.

Overall, I found Sepultura hard to review. I couldn’t help liking the character of Dyson Devereux, I thought his disdain for others and looking for perfection was very well written (and his contempt for others was portrayed brilliantly). But for me there wasn’t enough story, I thought there was too much filler in the book – words written to increase word count?

The story that was one of a narcissistic sociopath that feels superior to everybody else was intriguing and had some dark humour that made the story readable and in a way enjoyable (at no point did I want to put the book down and stop reading).

The murder scenes were great, although if you are squeamish may be a bit much (excessive stabbing, dismemberment etc.).

Some of the accents (East London) that were portrayed made some of the characters hard work to read and the translation of Italian to English and back again were, for me, unnecessary and added nothing to the story.

That said, I did enjoy Sepultura, I just think the story of the murders and the ending could have been expanded a bit (for me, it ended too abruptly with not much conclusion – maybe this will be the basis for the next book?).

I would have to rate this book as 3 out of 5 stars. It was good in places and not boring. The character of Dyson is excellent, and I would like to read more of this character. While for me, it wasn’t exciting enough, with its dark humour, grisly murders and the great character of Dyson I would recommend giving Sepultura a read.

Rating: 3/5

RRP: £6.99 (paperback) / £2.99 (Kindle)

For more information, visit guyportman.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.

DISCLOSURE: I was provided with a free copy of this book for the purposes of writing a honest and impartial review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This review uses an affiliate link which I may receive a small commission from if you purchase through the link.