What to read after The Skull?

Carlyle Alexander, a forensic artist suffering from psychosis, falls in love with the image of a young woman who was a victim to a serial killer. Through reconstructing the visage on a skull that was recovered, Carlyle falls in love with the victim who he believes he shares a unique and supernatural bond. Carlyle vows to avenge his beloved by pursuing the perpetrator and bestowing ‘justice’ when the Florida Justice System of Zephyrhills fails to make their case against him. As one maniac pursues another the question of what happens when two separate psychoses collide, each believing that the other is the villain in their own delusion. With both believing that they were called to kill for a higher purpose, they relentlessly hunt one another to try and complete the mission their delirium had set forth.

As Carlyle’s mental state deteriorates, the former artist battles his own manic episodes and insurmountable personal demons, leading the reader to both empathize yet detest his decisions. While the serial killer continues to prey upon women in the area, Carlyle befriends many young women connected to the case who will inevitably be twisted into his ‘accomplices,’ who aid him in his tireless pursuit to avenge his beloved with the ultimate goal of returning her to life, demonstrating the extent to which his mental state had depreciated.

The story delves into topics such as feminism, matriarchal religions, aesthetics, drug use, cults, necrophilia, and untreated mental illness. The Skull, the first book in the trilogy, seemingly concludes with the serial killer being slain and Carlyle apparently having committed suicide. The format of the book is a letter by Carlyle which acts as his manifesto, diary, confession, and ultimately his suicide letter addressed to the major detective on the case of the serial killer who becomes increasingly more suspicious of Carlyle, even believing that he is the serial killer himself.