Depths and Venom is a work of fiction in the psychological thriller, suspense, and contemporary horror sub-genres, and was penned by author C. R. Defuoco. This chilling and mysterious work is intended for mature reading audiences owing to descriptions and themes which some readers may find deeply disturbing. We follow the exploits of Perry Roniami, a cut-throat businessman who loses much of his memory after surgery on his heart. This acts as a catalyst for a journey through Perry’s broken and traumatized mind, during which he meets another man who becomes a terrifying figure of torment for him. This results in a grisly psychological horror work from cover to cover.

Author C. R. Defuoco has crafted a well thought out and highly effective work of psychological thrills, suspense, and internal mystery, and one which is certainly not for faint-hearted readers. I admired the fact that the work could contain so much horror and terror without being excessively graphic or cliched, instead turning our viewpoint inward and often having protagonist Perry be the cause of his own destruction. This portrayal is achieved with an excellent sense of timing and detail in the narrative, which shows the author’s confidence in handling point of view and the presentation of speech and thought. Another highlight of the work is the arrangement of the plot, which delivers an asynchronous timeline that gives readers essential knowledge to piece the mystery together. Overall, I would certainly recommend Depths and Venom to fans of dark and realistic works that focus firmly on the horrors of our own making.

In Depths and Venom by C. R. Defuoco, we meet Perry Roniami, who in turn introduces us to his nemesis, Sullivan (Van) Salvori. It’s a first-person narrative in Perry’s voice. Retired business mogul at 57, Perry has just had serious heart surgery and has forgotten key elements of his life which he slowly reimagines as this tale develops. Perry falls into a category of unreliable narrators that include the duke in Browning’s Last Duchess and the narrator in Poe’s Cask of Amontillado. That is, the narrator reveals many distasteful traits about himself without intending to, which elicits a combination of literary irony and backhanded humor. Perry wanders around New York City (the best parts of the book) while trying to come to terms with his tremendously vile past. In his meanderings, we learn his philosophic views about evil, growing up, business success, romance, and the disintegrating state of the world. He has views on just about everything which erupt out of his own personal misery as well as from the suffering unleashed upon him a la Van.

I take Defuoco’s book as a dark comedy told by a brilliantly created first-person narrator who is flawed not only by the character negatives he unconsciously reveals about himself but also by the unending grammatical irregularities in his own telling of the tale—much as we chuckle at Huck Finn’s struggle with the English language. Perry’s speech is all too exaggerated and technically mangled to be taken at face value, and I even laughed aloud at times at the horrible picture Perry unknowingly paints of himself. He sees himself as superior to everyone but he is as mercenary and egotistical as one can be. And murderous, too. Only the extent of his suffering toward the end elicited a note of pity from me. And Perry knows everything from the intricacies of heart surgery to the complexities of international commerce. Defuoco’s character creation is a true tour de force. Thus, I didn’t know how to respond to the tortures Van Salvori applies in his maniacal mission to punish Perry for the latter’s dreadful misdeeds as they are excruciatingly laid bare. The book left me in a quandary of uncertainty, with many enigmas to decipher from the reading experience. So, if you are up for an intellectual challenge, and a dark one indeed, this book is for you.