I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Bodies of Work by Clay McLeod Chapman Published by Titan Books on April 7 2026
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 176
Format: Finished hardcover
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Full of gorgeous, disturbing imagery and ambitious in scope, Bodies of Work is a unsettling peek into the mind of a killer.
Clay McLeod Chapman always comes up with unique ideas, and in Bodies of Work, he’s taken the story of real life artist Henry Darger and built a fictional tale inspired by his life. He melds art, literature and war into a fever dream about a serial killer who is driven to create and kills young women as part of that creation. For the most part, this is a lush, evocative piece of writing with vivid imagery, but as a story, I’m not sure how successful it is. The author expects the reader to work a bit to put all the pieces together, and the fractured format is confusing at first. Ultimately, though, I was impressed with the way Chapman tied so many pieces of Winston’s terrible childhood into his art, as upsetting as it was.
Winston Kemper is mostly invisible. He works as a handyman at a church, lives by himself in an apartment above a garage, and only interacts with others when necessary. But Winston is keeping many secrets, including the fact that he’s killed five women and is about to kill again. Winston keeps the bodies in old steel drums in back of the church, and his kills, which he calls his “butterflies,” are tied into his life’s work: a wall-to-wall mural in his apartment made up of magazine clippings and feverish sketches. What Winston doesn’t know, but will soon find out, is that the dead women’s ghosts are tied to him and they are trying to find a way to end his rein of terror once and for all.
The story is narrated by the ghosts of Winston’s victims, a group of women who believe they have been reborn as butterflies and are fighting in a war to free child slaves. We see most of the action from their point of view, as they hover around Winston, knowing that a “sixth sister” will soon be joining them. The main chapters are interspersed with pages from what appears to be a book, and these fanciful sections describe a terrible, bloody war that takes place in the Nether Realm, obviously a place pulled from Winston’s imagination. This group of women serve as a Greek chorus, hovering above the action and recording their impressions, and I thought it was a clever way to tell the story.
We also dip into Winston’s childhood, which not surprisingly was full of trauma and heartache. Each of these events imprinted on young Winston’s psyche, turning him into a very disturbed man who is driven to bury that trauma in an epic piece of art. The dead women act as his muses, but in death they are transformed into something fantastical. McLeod uses recurring themes, like Winston’s mother’s seamstress sheers, that add a menacing element to the story. I loved the way some of these objects and memories carry through and build tension, and as much as I loathed Winston for what’s he’s done, I couldn’t help but sympathize with him because of his upbringing: living with two very disturbed parents who had no idea how to raise a happy, mentally healthy child.
Bodies of Work isn’t a straight forward narrative, though, so don’t go in expecting a traditional story. I find most of McLeod’s recent work to be like this, and I have to admit I miss his older books that focus more on plot than style. In the end, I appreciate what he’s done here, and I did love the emotional punch from both the plight of the dead women and Winston’s sad childhood, but these days I’m more interested in a Really Good Story™, and this didn’t quite scratch that itch.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Hmm, shame it’s a bit style over substance! Sounds like there are some interesting ideas, but…
Yes, there are some unique ideas!
The concept of the art and the women’s ghosts sounds really unique and chilling, but I’m not sure that the storytelling style would be for me.
It’s an unusual format, so probably not for everyone.
Great review, Tammy! I reallylike the idea of the story being narrated by the ghosts of Winston’s victims. But it seems like it didn’t quite work all the way through, which is too bad. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Stephanie! It was such a great idea, and I’m glad I read it.
I am sorry this one didn’t meet your expectations, I hope your next book will be more satisfying! But at least it wasn’t a complete loss! And it sounds like a unique book with an interesting concept!!
Thanks Susy! I really do love his writing, I just wanted a less confusing story.
The plot of this one sounds really good but I don’t know if it will work for me. It is a shorter book so if I see a copy at the library, I will probably grab it and give it a go.
A library copy is the way to go, I think.
I used to subscribe to and purchase fantasy/sci-fi magazines partially because that’s where I could sometimes see more experimental stuff but not have to stick with it for the full length of a book. Not sure if those are still good places for that. And at least this one is on the shorter side. I do like the general premise and ideas you mentioned, of the ghosts of the murdered sticking around in an interesting way and working against the killer.
I am glad this book was on the shorter side. And I feel like a lot of my complaints are personal, so other readers might love this.
Sorry to hear you didn’t get what you had wanted from the book. I do like the cover though.
The cover is very well done, and it really fits the story.
I have a feeling this one would stray too far into ‘weird’ territory for me personally based on everything that you’ve said. It sounds like it has some good ideas/elements but doesn’t quite manage to pull them off. I’m also not entirely sure how I feel about the ties to a real life artist in this case – using someone’s life to inspire a serial killer novel when they weren’t one (I had to check as my art knowledge is non existent) feels a bit strange to me.
I haven’t researched the artist at all, maybe he was a serial killer. But I know what you mean, it does feel a bit uncomfortable.
I am on the fence about this one, have been for awhile, and I think if I am looking for something that fits the “well that is weird and disturbing” itch, then this could be it. But only in that very specific mood!