I won this book from "First Reads" but put off reading it because I got caught up with other things. I didn't think I could handle it under all the other stress. Truthfully I was kinda shocked when I found out I won it because I forgot I had entered myself.
I love serial killer stories, but I have to be a little mentally prepared when I read them. This one was told in the first person, which made it a little harder to handle. Honestly, I think personally it was the sexual aspect of it that was harder for me to handle than the gore. Overall I found it interesting to see what it was like in the mind of man as he becomes a serial killer. ( )

I have mixed feelings about this book. As other reviewers have mentioned, it does seem a bit hastily edited, and that can be distracting. The author's somewhat obsessive use of the past-perfect tense was distracting, as it felt as though every other word was "had". Once I got over the 'hads' and settled into the novel, I quickly got caught up in Duncan's story. Only to be ripped out when the narration changes from the first person, memoir style to a third person omniscient narrator. Okay, well, I rolled with that, though I would have preferred Sudhir's chapters to be told in first person as well. Then, later on, mid-chapter the narration changes--chapter to chapter I could handle, but mid-chapter. It was like being on a roller coaster. The jerky narration and hasty editing aside, the story itself is compelling. I would not classify this as horror, necessarily, it is more psychological thriller--think, Dexter meets Hostel. I am always fascinated by the dark side of human nature and it was compelling to see Duncan's degradation as he moved further and further along with his "craft". Overall, the novel is a valiant effort, I'm interested in seeing the author's style mature as he continues to write more books. ( )

"In order to be a successful serial killer, one must understand how to deal with the normal daily functions of life and project the pretense of normalcy. Normal being defined as the acceptable practices that are allowed in standard society." This is going to sound crazy, this book was fun to read! You know I love my serial killers and Duncan was quite lovable. Yes, he murders and quite gruesomely but he is also a funny guy. Quite a decent chap too if you can look past the fact that he gets his jollies out of killing people. He is a middle aged man whose marriage fell apart, his life took a turn for the worse but aside from all that, he loves his children and is a fabulous daddy to them. Take about oxymoron's! You can't help cringing one moment and feeling sorry for him the next.You can read the full review on my blog ( )

Duncan's Diary: Birth of a Serial Killer- by Christopher Payne

So I was VERY excited to read this book! I mean, with my background in forensic psychology, I was excited to see how this author could capture the transformation of a budding serial killer and the book sounded cool. Well, Payne did a good a good job in the beginning, but other than redundant gore and sex...not that it offended me in any way, but just bored me...I found the book hard to read because it seemed so repetitive and predictable. The main character Duncan, was a smooth operator, like most serial killers, and did an excellent job of eluding friends and family. I was also disappointed that it wasn't in “diary” format”. The author did a good job doing his research on serial killers, but the book wasn't that exciting. Although, it did teach a valuable lesson on internet dating! ( )

First let me say this book is not for everyone. I myself enjoyed it. I was given a lot of warning that the book is very graphic, that is very true, I did not loose sleep over it tough. I actually found myself laughing at parts of it.
A lot of times throughout the book I didn't want to put it down, I just had to know what was going to happen next. Sure some parts weren't as exciting, but when something did happen it made up for everything and was totally worth it.

If you want sick twisted good read then this is the book for you! ( )