A beauty pageant queen and Instagram model may be the last person you associate with Ted Bundy but Kanika Batra’s debut novel, Honeytrap tells the story of the reign of the infamous serial killer – but with a twist. Set in 1974 in Seattle, Washington, the thriller tells the story of not one but two killers who are terrorizing the community, leaving girls fearing for their lives and police running out of time to catch the killer.
Batra had always had a fascination with Bundy and spent five years researching Honeytrap, including spending time in the Pacific North West to research and harvest authentic firsthand knowledge of the subject and terrain. Her work is likened to Gillian Flynn, Stephen King and James Patterson and Honeytrap is a scintillating freshman novel as we hover at the 32ndanniversary (January 24th, 1989) of the notorious killers execution.
The author has many strings to her bow, acting, modelling, social media influencer, coloratura soprano operatic singer, Kanika splits her time between Sydney, Auckland and New York. Honeytrap is her debut published novel which launched in Australia at the end of 2020 and now available in the United States at Barnes and Noble. Her next book will focus on Jeffrey Epstein.
The book is a stroll of witty turns of personality and reflection. Kanika shared a few of excerpts of which you can explore further by owning Honeytrap. It is available at Barnes and Noble.
“I’ve always found that once you put a lot of effort into something, you don’t feel complete until you find a way to preserve it. Once you do it right, you don’t want to forget it. Some people like to keep photographs, but I like tangible mementos I can use to calm myself when the aching bore- dom rises, spreading malignantly from limb to limb, finger to finger, and toe to toe until it consumes me whole. I love a trophy almost as much as I love the hunt. I’m not an idiot. I know better than to cast suspicion on myself by striking too often.”
“When I return at nearly 5 AM, the body appears to be in the early stages of decomposition, hastened by the dewy summer weather. Alone, I struggle to strip him of his jeans and shirt. He weighs a lot more than I’d imagined, and I yank on the clothes with all my force to lift his lifeless body into a more comfortable position for me. It’s a terrible idea to leave clothes on a body. They trap fibers and hair, soil samples, and bloodstains. If the police had any idea what they were doing, they may be able to trace that information back to you.’
“The sun glitters on the water of Lake Sam, now far less crowded than it has been for most of the summer. People are too terrified to go back there, worried that their girlfriends and daughters and wives will disappear into the abyss with no trace of a scream or struggle. The boys and men are emboldened, walking around shirtless with no regard for their safety—only women need leashing, apparently.”
“I didn’t take heed of any of it. I knew there was nothing wrong with me. I knew I had an intellect she couldn’t un- derstand. She was never on my level, and she never will be, as is the case with most other people. I eventually lost my fascination with animals. I knew what they were going to do, how they were going to react. It wasn’t interesting anymore, and my mind wandered. I tried to control it, I did. I wanted to get into medicine, and I wouldn’t be able to do that if I werea deviant. I did all I could to stop myself, to not hurt humans.’
Kanika has also just made the final cut for Miss World Australia which will take place in July in Sydney and will also star in Malibu Crush, an Australian/American movie production released this summer.
