Book Review
Title: Psycho (Psycho Book 1) by Robert Bloch
Genre: Classic, Horror
Rating: 4 Stars
I was under the impression that Psycho was a standalone novel like its movie adaptation so I was pleasantly surprised to learn it was a series. I just finished the Hellraiser series which was a classic series that I adored so I was eager to get into Psycho since I love the Hitchcock movie. We are introduced to Norman Bates who is still lived with his mother at 40, he is a meek and mild mannered man who has no ambition or drive and is your classic Mamma’s boy as his mother like to tell him and together they are running the Bates Motel. However, we are quickly drawn away from Norman to meet Mary Crane. Mary is a 27 year old working endlessly after caring for her mother and younger sister Lila when one day her boss asks her to deposit $40,000 in the bank and Mary makes the rash decision to steal it in order to pay her lover Sam’s debt so they can get married and be together. After fleeing Mary ends up at the Bates Motel on her way to Sam’s after she makes a wrong turn, after spending the evening with Norman and getting to know him Mary is secure in her decision to steal the money and takes a shower. This is where the infamous shower scene occurs and Mary dies less than a quarter of the way through the novel and I was already hooked and I can’t wait to see how the novel differs from the movie and I might make a book vs movie post about Psycho in the future.
Norman in my opinion seems to be suffering from both D.I.D. as he experiences blackouts in which things happen that he isn’t aware of and schizophrenia because he sees her mother as if she was alive but anyone familiar with this story knows she has been dead for a long time. After “Mother” kills Mary, Norman disposes of her body and car along with the money he didn’t know was there but we aren’t even halfway yet so I am excited to see where the book goes and if it is different from the movie adaptation in any way. Lila, Mary’s sister eventually begins looking for her sister when she has been missing for a week and she decides to go to Sam’s as he and Mary are together but she hasn’t been there. Shortly after arriving at Sam’s a private investigator confronts them also looking for Mary as he has been hired to track down the large amount of money that Mary stole. At first Sam and Lila don’t believe Mary would do that but it eventually begins to make sense for Sam. Arbogast begins looking into the local area as Lila wants to contact the police but Arbogast wants to hold off because it would be worse for everyone involved if it goes to court. He eventually makes the connection with the Bates Motel and goes to speak with Norman. He puts a lot of pressure on Norman who begins messing up his story and there is the added complication of Arbogast wanting to speak to Mother. Norman allows this but isn’t surprised when Mother also kills Arbogast, he again disposes of the body but decides it is time to lock Mother in the cellar as she can’t be trusted around others.
After Arbogast disappears Lila demands they get the Sheriff involved and Sam agrees and they are given a strange story about Mary heading to Chicago and Arbogast leaving to track her down there but it makes no sense to Lila or Sam. Knowing they aren’t going to get any help from the police they decide to head down to the motel themselves, checking in as a married couple. After finding Mary’s earring in the bathroom where she was murdered, Lila heads to get the Sheriff while Sam distracts Norman but Norman is one step ahead of them and attacks Sam. Sam wakes with the Sheriff there and assumes that everything is good but when the Sheriff explains that Lila didn’t come for him they panic especially when the screams begin. Lila has been investigating the house and has come across the body of Mother before she is attacked by Norman dressed as his mother but he is quickly restrained by the Sheriff. We learn that Norman has been suffering from a mental break after his mother announced her intention to remarry causing him to murder his mother and her lover. After being in hospital for a while, he returns to the motel but his guilt over killing his mother causes him to assume her personality as well as digging up her body to do unspeakable things to. Due to his mental state there won’t be a trial for the deaths of Mary and Arbogast but he will be committed to a hospital once more while Sam and Lila try and move on with their lives. While the book and movie are very similar the ending of the movie has more of an ambiguous tone over who is actually in control of Norman’s body where as in the book it is confirmed that Mother has now assumed control of Norman entirely and I am excited to read the rest of the series.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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