One Man's Opinion: THE HORSE by WILLY VLAUTIN

 

If you've followed my book thoughts over the years, you'll know that Willy Vlautin is among my absolute favourites. His stories have turned me inside out and he has the power to squeeze a tidal wave of emotion from only a few words and observations. 

Like I've done with his last few novels, I left this to one side until a time that I either felt I needed it or at a point when I was beginning a story of my own in the hope that something might rub off on me. And here I am, recently finished the last page and wondering what to make of it all.

The reviews have been tremendous and there's a hatful of quotes on the book in the promotion and online. It's also been lauded by lots of authors I like and respect, so it's clearly a work of significant merit. The thing is, I'm not quite in line with those folk. It's true that I enjoyed many things here and that there were spells where I was totally involved, yet I don't think I got as much from it or was as compelled to keep reading when compared to any of his others. 

I wonder if my response to the novel relates to the structure. The Horse tells the life story of Al Ward, visiting sections of his time on Earth while he frets about the horse he has found near his home, a beast that appears to be on its last legs and, not unlike Al himself, seems to have given up on living. Some of the episodes are long and detailed, other are fleeting. There's definitely a sense that everyone has an extraordinary journey in life and a that there's a need for all of us to understand that a life lived will involve struggle somewhere along the way. The characters Al recalls experience difficulties with drink, drugs, self-doubt, money, love, depression, the law and general misfortune. Many are creative people and their drive to become successful or to manage to get by doing what they love sometimes keeps them going and sometimes trips them into their inevitable demise. 

Al is clearly a nice guy. Everyone thinks so. There's something special about him. Perhaps it's the natural tendency to give others the time of day that does it, or the sadness that comes across in the songs he writes, but he's good to hang around with as a friend, in a band or as a reader. 

What I wasn't so sure of was the melodramatic element of the story. There were times when I felt I was being set up for a fall. I don't mind that so much and it happens to me frequenlty, but not so much in Vlautin's work. 

And the ending is something worthy of discussion, though that's problematic in that I don't want to spoil things for anyone. I know that there were many readers out there who were absolutely gutted by the denoument of the wonderful Don't Skip Out On Me and that it took me a while to recover after I read that one. The Horse has a very different vibe to it, a finale that I wasn't expecting and found oddly unsatisfying. Maybe it's just me. 

Overall, I'd definitely recommend you read this. More importantly, if you're new to Willy Vlautin, you should absolutely give it a go. It is, in fact, a very good place to start. The poetic prose and emotional turbulence will make you want to take other journeys with him and (in my opinion) if you do, you'll only find greener pastures. 

 

One Man's Opinion: ALICE IN JEOPARDY by ED McBAIN

 'There is nothing like early retirement to make a person feel dead.'

After 35 years of teaching, I finally stepped away from the profession at the end of October. It's an odd feeling and I'm still coming to terms with new routines and all of the empty space, but I suspect all will be well.

Which means I'm now full-time writer. How amazing. I have a couple of novellas, written in collaboration that I've very excited about, on the back burner, and I'm about to crack on with a caper that should be fun to put together. 

As for the teaching, it was a lifetime and trying to distill anything worthwhile in terms of reflection is nigh on impossible. Though I won't miss the stress, I miss the children and my colleagues. What I can say is that I may not have been the best at what I did, but I did my best with the skills I had and always put the families first. I've never exploited anyone or tried to profit from others and that feels good.

But it's going to take some time, which explains the quote from the book at the head of this review. 

Alice In Jeopardy is a whole lot of fun. As it was published in 2005, it's among McBain's last books and if it was his final effort, it's a hell of a way for him to sign out. 

In terms of my 87th Precinct reads, I've only just reached the 1980s, so this has a much more contemporary feel to it. It reminded me a little of Linwood Barclay, extreme events happening to unassuming people, the jeopardy constantly being ramped up.

Alice has two children. Together, they're putting the pieces of their life back together following the death of their husband/father. 

While working hard trying to sell property in order to pay the bills, Alice gets a call from an unknown lady telling her that her children have been kidnapped and that the only way she'll see them again is if she pays up the $250K ransom. 

Under instruction not to call the police, Alice contacts a loyal friend, but things are complicated when the childminder does her job and informs the law. 

What follows is an action-packed web of intrigue. 

The cops set up a wire tap. The feds are sniffing close. Alice's brother-in-law considers muscling in and finding an angle that will allow him to cut a wedge from the ransom cake. There's a car accident and a broken ankle to deal with, the invasion of the press and the unwelcome attention of a widower who seems to want to help. 

All in all, the pot is so full that stirring it any more would end in disaster for all involved.

I loved it. Even though I nailed some of the key points a while before revelation, it didn't matter one bit. The compexity of it all meant I never stopped striving to get to the next chapter and the denouement.

In the circumstances, the dedication feels touching:

I'm sorry, but she's the love of my life, you know. So this, too, is dedicated to my wife, Dragica.

The full 10 out of 10. 

 

One Man's Opinion: KINDS OF LOVE, KINDS OF DEATH by TUCKER COE

 

There's a foreword to this one by Donald E Westlake explaining his choice of author name for this series and a little about how he wanted Mich Tobin to be an original investigator. It sounded promising. 

And the first chapter is excellent. With little to do since being kicked off the force, Tobin is building a wall. As he digs the foundations, he sees how much his work resembles a grave and digs faster to change its size. There's something about building a wall for no clear reason that is fascinating (think Paul Auster's The Music Of Chance). His efforts are interrupted by a visit from a representative of a local gangster who would like to offer Tobin a job. Tobin isn't interested. I was hooked. 

Then came chapter two. It's all back story and, as is often the case, was totally unecessary to me. The hook slipped from my mouth and I wriggled free. 

I didn't really get caught again. It's only 200 pages long and I rattled through it at a fair rate, yet it was never very satisfying. The set up is overly complicated and Tobin's justification for working for the mob isn't strong enough for me. It's also difficult to see why such a powerful criminal organisation  would turn to a washed up cop who's taken to digging walls. 

There are plenty of characters to meet during a series of interviews and Tobin's faith in his abilities to judge a person from the merest glance is almost a super power. Some of these are engaging. Few of them lead us toward the killer Tobin is searching for. 

A few exciting and unexpected incidents are thrown in to thicken the plot and help to shore things up, but it never really increases the temperature. 

It's not terrible, but lacks the quips and darkness of lots of PI novels and never really grips. Perhaps the addition of some seriously compromising situations for Tobin might have helped. More than anything, this highlights the fact that detective fiction isn't easy to write. 

So, Kinds Of Love, Kinds Of Death is the first in the series. Unless I stumble across a copy of a later addition in a charity shop or library, it'll be my last. It's biggest use to me, a reminder that it's about time I reread some early Paul Auster. The New York Trilogy would be perfectly apt. 

One Man's Opinion: CALYPSO by ED McBAIN

 

On his way home from a successful Calypso gig, George Chadderton is shot. His fine clothes offer no protection and he dies on the spot. His manager, dressed far less impressively, is more fortunate and escapes with some serious wounds. 

Shortly afterwards Clara Hawkins, a local sex worker, is also gunned down and the weapon is the same. Of course, there's a link between the murders, but it takes a while to find out what it is. 

It's pissing down with rain and the cops aren't in good spirits. They take the misery of the weather out on each other and on those whom they're interviewing. 

As Carella and Meyer dig into the investigation, they become intrigued by a night that happened seven years earlier when George's brother disappeared from the face of the earth. As they dig deeper, the ever-decreasing circles lead them to a very dark truth. 

I was travelling when I read this and got through it in a day. It was an excellent companion on the journey and kept me gripped most of the way through. What is noticeable about this one is that it's ramped up the score on the sexometer in relation to the 87th books, which often flirt with the erotic, exotic and perverse. This time, the sex is on another level, in part due to the nature of those involved in the case. Our killer is particulalrly unbalanced and George's wife offers Carella more than just a helping hand. 

There's a big shift in the book at about half way through. It comes as something of a jolt and took me a while to regain my footing. I've been trying to work out if there might have been another way (a better one) to add the change of direction, but haven't come up with anything yet (and who am I to question the master in his thinking?). 

Overall, very satisfying and has more of a standalone feel to it than the books in the series up to this point. 

 

One Man's Opinion: WILD TOWN by JIM THOMPSON

 

Bugs McKenna finds himself in the Wild Town in question, getting himself into trouble from the off. Again. He's fresh out of prison and can't seem to fathom why all of his decisions are terrible. He's clearly very handsome and has a certain alure. His mind is dull and his temper quick. 

With the help of the man who arrested him, he ends up with a job working nights as hotel security in a place owned by the richest man in town, a wheelchair-bound oil tycoon. The hotel is populated by an array of odd characters who each have a part to play a part in the tale that unfolds. 

Bugs gets himself into trouble when he's involved in the death of the house accountant who falls out of the window. Thing is, blackmail letters suggest that there was someone in the room who witnessed what happened and is now turning the screw. Bugs's guilt and obesssion overwhelms him, though Crime and Punishment this really isn't, and he's on an accelerating spiral of decline from that point on. 

Along the way he has several enounters with attractive women and manages to sleep with (and satisfy) them all. His love for the fiancee of the local law is all-encapsulating, and is all the more unrealistic for its intensity. 

The plot is engaging and there's plenty to like. I had no more idea of what was really going on than poor old Bugs, whose thought processes we get snarled up in and whose mistakes are underlined when the author jumps in with pointers to swirl up the tension. 

Something about the characters and the narration style don't quite work for me. It's populated by caracatures and out-of-place comments, feeling like a pastiche of B-movies that was put together in a rush. 

That's not to say there's nothing to like. Bugs is easy to get along with and there are some cracking set pieces and quips. 

This one's good, if a little dated and scattergun. Close, but no cigar.  

THE PEARL by JOHN STEINBECK

A little different from my previous experiences of Steinbeck, The Pearl offers a warning about human greed and a reminder of the power that the few hold over the many. In some ways, I think this universal story is something I was heading for with Fever, though it goes without saying that Steinbeck hits the message home with more power than I could ever muster.

Where it differs from the bulk of what I've read before is in its depth. There isn't the same sense of character or depth of reaction. Right from the beginning, there's a sense of parable or fable. The lesson's clear early doors and there's only one way this is heading. It's not going to be pretty. 

Kino is a pearl diver like most of the community he lives in. There's a history and a tradition in his work and he has a simple and fulfilling life. Though the economics of poverty stands against him, he grinds out the day-to-day with his wife and child as the tides come in and out. There's a pride in what he does and where he comes from and such a person is difficult to disrespect. 

Two things happen to Kino that will change his life. The first, his son is bitten by a scorpion. The second, he finds the most beautiful pearl of all time. 

In spite of the anticipated reaction of the local doctor, the baby hangs in there. It's only after news of the pear's discovery has traveled around the island that the doctor steps off his pedestal and deigns to offer treatment. This series of interactions arrives as a barrage of gut punches for the reader. 

Just as everything goes right, everything starts to go wrong. The world of finance closes in against him, he loses trust in everyone and is eventually brought down to the level of the exploiting classes when he loses the plot and attacks his wife for warning him that the pearl will only bring them bad luck. 

It's a raw and tough tale that somehow feels like it's going through the numbers, yet while on the journey of Kino and his family there is genuine tension created. As I read, it was as if the darkness was slowly closing in until finally there was no light remaining. 

A short work that may not be a keeper, but is one I'm not likely to forget in a hurry.

 

NOBODY RUNS FOREVER by RICHARD STARK

 

Nobody Runs Forever is a meaty read. It's full of tension and complication and the many strands weave together into an engrossing pattern with ease. 

I was so involved in it that I barely had time to dwell on the niggle that this is yet another job that Parker would have run a mile from in the past. There are so many wobbly pillars holding up the operation that the alarm bells were ringning mighty loud. There's the fragile confidence of the ex-con with access to the targetted bank information; his lover, wife of the bank owner, who is prone to lose her calm and act upon impulse; the bounty hunter after information about a recently disappeared criminal not long since dispatched by one of Parker's associates; the partner of the bounty hunter who just won't let go; the sister of the ex-con who wants to protect her brother at all costs; the doctor who allows his office to be used by the crew to hatch the robbery who needs the heist to come off as much as any of them; and a beautiful and wayward cop who is right on Parker's tail. 

It's a mess with all those loose ends, yet the plan is too well-formed to walk away from and from the mire of the build-up, the heist emerges. 

The layers of the story are handled brilliantly and the Parker's team have some of the best one-liners anywhere. There's no waste in terms of plot development or within the prose and every nail is hit right on the head. 

Stark really ramps up the tension in the aftermath of the robbery and when I read the final page, I'm pretty sure my jaw must have dropped and I was unsure of anything for a few minutes afterwards. It's such a brilliant ending that I urge you to pick up this one and give it a go. 

An excellent novel. 

One Man's Opinion: THE DEATH OF BUNNY MUNRO by NICK CAVE

The Death of Bunny Munro. 

Well, well, well.

I've been reflecting on this one for a few days and my main thought is that there's no way this would have been published with a biggie if it had been written by a lowly noir indie writer. That's no reflection on the quality of the prose and the poetic turns of phrase which are both excellent, but is more down to the content and the perversities of the protagonist. Bunny Munro is the kind or lowlife scum you're likely to bump into over at All Due Respect boooks, or Shotgun Honey or others of the darker indie presses out there, the kind of publishers who do it for love and likely make a loss rather than a profit on most of their ventures. It made me a little sad to be reminded, once again, that so many great writers out there don't possess the calling card of fame or celebrity to get through the front doors, past security and into the head offices. 

And none of that is Nick Cave's fault. All he has to do is create what is in his mind, work on it and produce things that the rest of us can enjoy.

Bunny Munro is a salesman. Mostly he has sex on the brain, but he also has sex on the bed, in hotel rooms, in restaurant bathrooms, with the lifeless and by himself. When this addiction is weaved within a pattern of alcoholism, it's innevitable that he hits the skids. For Bunny, his decline is almost entirely of his own making- rather than respond to his wife's needs, he leaves her hanging and when he returns home, he finds his son, Bunny Junior, is motherless. 

Bunny is now screwed in a very different way. He takes his son on the road as he travels from door to door peddling his wares. Sometimes he sells, sometimes he shags, sometimes he gets the crap beaten out of him. Before long, he's faced with his comeuppance, a new kind of hell that feels well-deserved (it's unusual for me not to have sympathy for an addict, but Bunny is an extremely unlovable rogue).

I didn't find this one easy. Some of the sexploits and being inside the head of such a mind made me feel unclean. I might have ducked out early if it hadn't been for the sense of exploration, the occasional miracle of phrasing, the cuirousity, the humour and the barbed tenderness of the father/son relationship and the originality of the whole piece.

I'm so glad I stuck with it as there's so much treasure to find. 

Can I recommend it? 

Within limited circles.

Will I be watching the TV adaptation?

Highly bloody unlikely.   

 

One Man's Opinion: FIREBREAK by RICHARD STARK

Just a mention before the review that the first three books in my Southsiders series are currently free on Amazon for Kindle over the next few days. They were first published by Blasted Heath, something I'm hugely proud of, and it was a collection of books that I loved writing. 

Now to Richard Stark.

I know I've been jumping around the Parker books without sense or direction, moving from Deadly Edge (published in 1971) to Firebreak (published in 2001). In some ways it's a big leap, but in others, not so much. In Deadly Edge, Parker's home is violated with lethal consequences for the invaders. Firebreak sees an assassination attempt down by the lakeside house by a professional hit man, as well the boobytrapping of Parker's home. In some ways, this link between the books made the leap satisfactory. It also highlighted in others, the lack of change in Parker over the years. Thirty years on from the last book and I didn't get any sense of physical or mental alteration. That took a little getting over, after all I'm used to characters like Rebus or Maigret ageing in natural time (perhaps it's different for the bad guys). It's a little bit like Parker has been dropped into a world where the internet exists and [of course] doesn't blink at the change. 

A bigger difference, for me, is the depth of the novel. I'm not the only one making jumps; Stark changes the viewpoint in this one several times, to the point of it jarring on occasion. There also feels like a lot more going on and with the increased number of facets comes further layers of jeopardy. 

Condensed version: Parker is invited onto an art heist aimed at stealing paintings that have been unseen for many years. Interrupting the plans are the attempts on Parker's life that need sorting tout suite. Complications come in the form of a police investigation, paroles, a less than stable team of crooks and a need for revenge. It's a lot to hold on to, but when Stark puts it all into the blender and presses the button, the resulting soup is tasty and full-blooded and, at times, absolutely intense. 

Less stripped down that earlier works, Firebreak manages to satisfy nonetheless. It's a great thriller and had me glued to it most of the time. 

Fun. 

One Man's Opinion: GIOVANNI'S ROOM by JAMES BALDWIN

 

When I heard that the BBC had produced Giovanni's Room for radio, I was straight over there. Though I was excited, I was also a little hesitant on the grounds that not all voices and performances work for me. Fortunately, it was clear from the beginning that the narrator on this one understood exactly how to play it(congratulations Kyle Soller) .  

David is a young American living in 1950s Paris. Very early on, we're introduced to the sense of tragedy as we discover David's former lover, Giovanni, is about to face the guillotine. What we don't find out as we set off is just what a beautifully sad and intense journey we're embarking upon. 

While David's fiance, Hella, is traveling in Spain, he meets Giovanni in a gay bar that carries the seedy atmosphere of an illicit underground club. Their chemistry is instant and it's not long before their love is consummated and their obsession with each other complete. Unfortunately for David, he's struggling with feelings of guilt and is in denial of his  sexuality, for even in the heights of lust and passion he is reluctant to accept that he is gay.   

Upon Hella's return, the love triangle inevitably collapses, leaving David spinning in a whirl of confused emotions and desire that doesn't compute with his cold, calculating rational self.

What I enjoyed most about the read was the depth and intensity of emotion. Baldwin, with simple clarity, creates sparks and ignite them into full-force furnaces with apparent ease. The experiences and torture endured by the three central protagonists brought a lump to the throat on more than one occasion. It's powerful stuff, the lust, confusion and heartbreak palpable. Add to that the sense of people and place and the issues raised and this short novel stacks up into a mighty creation. 

Incidentally, the last use of the guillotine in France was in 1977, which seems awfully late to be chopping off heads.   

Fresh, strong, relevant and important, this is a marvel whether you read it or give the BBC production a try. 

One Man's Opinion: THE NAMING OF THE DEAD by IAN RANKIN

 

Before leaving for my summer hols, my son and I watched the new incarnation of Rebus courtesy of the BBC. What an excellent production it is, with a great story arc and fabulous performances all round. Given the quality of the series, I couldn't resist picking up a couple of the books to read in the sunshine and the first of those was The Naming Of The Dead. 

It may not seem to be the obvious place for a revisit, but the time period is significant for me as it reflects events that I remember well, namely the Make Poverty History march and the gig at Murrayfield, closed by James Brown in a way that didn't appear to reflect the spirit of the movement in any way, yet was musically safisfying. 

Anyway, there's a serial killer on the loose and an MP dies in mysterious circumstances up at the castle. 

On the edge of the city, protestors are gathering to voice their disatisfaction with the leaders of the G8 and police from around Britain have been called upon to preserve the state. The place is chaos and there's politics wherever you look- the summit itself, Westmister, local council, internal policing and a mixture of crowd control styles. 

The key to the novel, as per, is Rebus himself. He's approaching retirement and struggling with some of the loose ends (namely Ger Cafferty). He goes at these cases full of cynicism and guile, unable to accept the limitations of his bosses and those secret services who have an uncanny knack of showing up in various guises. Also very satisfying here is the development of his relationship with Siobhan, even at this late stage, and her own grown as a human and a detective is brilliant to watch. 

There's no doubt about the compelling nature of the story. It's very difficult to finish a chapter and to resist carrying on and the 500 plus pages fly by. The epilogue is hugely rewarding and was as unexpected this time around as with my first exposure- it's definitaly a stand-up-and-punch-the-air kind of ending.

On the very slight downside, there's has to be an element of disbelief suspension. Coincidences abound to the point where things come to the brink of breaking apart, but the suspense of the cases and the periferal action is always strong enough to keep it on track. 

Lots of fun and a pleasing holiday read. 

And a note on the BBC series. We came back home to watch the final couple of episodes and were utterly gripped once again, until the end of the final episode that is. There are so many threads left hanging and so many questions unanswered that we both felt a little cheated. No doubt the follow-up series will bring it all together, but it fell flat for us when we realised there wasn't a next episode to help us out. 

One Man's Opinion: LAST SUMMER IN THE CITY by GIANFRANCO CALLIGARICH

 

So, I recommended that my eldest read Long Time No See and she suggested I gave Last Summer In The City a try. What a great swap it proved to be, both of us coming out as happy readers. 

Leo Gazzara leaves his Milan home to find a new life in Rome. It's quite a leap. The world of his family is a simple one, full of the noble grit of a working-class household under which the shadow cast by his father serving in WW2 looms large. Rome, on the other hand, is ruled by a frivolous class steeped in glamour and success. They have high opinions while really they're floundering out there in the shallows.  

For Leo the transition should be easy, his good looks, charm and intellect perfectly suited to help him rise through the ranks and remain in high society. Problem is, he can't see the value in anything. He holds the world in disdain, looking down on the paltry falseness of many of his ilk. The only places he really finds solace are in the bars of the city or in the bottom of the bottles he consumes. 

He's a fairly cold protagonist, for whom opportunities trip over themselves to land at his feet, yet he's incapable of picking them up for long, overcome each time by a sense that everything is pointless. 

His relationships are interesting. There's the actor whom he manages to respect, the love interests that he is able to take or leave and his best friend, a Bukowski-like creative who sponges off his wife to pay for the booze he soaks his insides in. In each case, Leo appears to be ambivalent and yet entirely in need of support and affirmation.

There are lots of occasions where I felt a strong urge to reach inside the pages and give Leo a good shake, maybe slap his face and show him how good he has it, but that's not the kind of thing you can do in a book and I imagine the fiction is all the stronger with him being left to his own devices. 

Last Summer has a dark underbelly with moments of humour and insight. Calligarich has a wonderful way with words and his turn of phrase often hits mouth-opening quality. As the ending swallows you up, everything that has been before makes total sense and I reckon a reread to get the best out of it might be in order. 

Glad that I took this one on, a reminder that you have to shake things up every once in a while to find or revisit a perspective. Excellent stuff.     

One Man's Opinion: LONG TIME NO SEE by ED McBAIN

 

Long Time No See is a real treat and, much as I normally appreciate the shorter reads, this 87th is a substantial novel and is all the better for it- imagine getting two scoops of your favourite ice cream instead of the usual thrifty single.

It's freezing cold. The streets are quiet. A blind Vietnam vet and his guide dog are returning home when the dog is put to sleep with chloroform and its owner has his throat slit. 

The man's wife is blind, too. She's also very soon dead. 

There's a third blind victim and a further attack later in the story that almost goes under the radar. 

Whoever it is that's carrying out these crimes is one sick individual. 

There are many layers to this one. There are the family backgrounds, a military history, connections to sex workers, friction between detectives and there's concern about what will happen to a dog who refuses to take food from anyone other than his dead owner. 

I was so convinced by the constant tension of this one that I recommended it to my eldest daughter who doesn't normally look at crime fiction. She absolutely loved it. 

A great read for fans of the 87th and anyone who fancies giving detective fiction a try.  

 

One Man's Opinion: DEADLY EDGE by RICHARD STARK

The first of my holiday reads was a brilliant choice. 

Another Parker novel, Deadly Edge had a very different feel to my previous one. 

It opens mid-heist, the target the cash takings of a huge gig where the music provides the soundtrack to the crime. As always, the plan is detailed and almost every angle has been considered, but the way things unfold, it becomes a little more personal.

Parker retreats from the hit to the stash in his new home, a place bought by his partner Claire who had to find a property that ticked Parker's list of demands. It's a lovely getaway on the edge of a lake and, as it's off season, things are relatively quiet.

It soon becomes clear that someone's after the gang who ripped off the venue and that whoever it is has a mean streak wide enough to murder the members as they catch up with them, leaving a bloody trail in their wake. 

Almost as soon as Parker's comfortable in his new home, he has to leave. Following clues and cars, he finally tracks down the two drug-fuelled lunatics back at the lake as they hold Claire hostage.

The result is never in doubt (of course it isn't), though the amount of carnage and damage likely to be created during the demoument is impossible to predict as Stark ramps up the pace. 

Excellent stuff, indeed, making me think that if Stark were an Olympic competitor, he'd be involved in something high octane with masses of adrenaline, nail-biting climaxes and streamlined perfection. I'm thinking Taekwondo or the 50m freestyle or artistic dancing 

A deadly edge, indeed and an extremely sharp one.  

One Man's Opinion: THE SCORE by RICHARD STARK

If I kill, it's because I don't have any choice.

You mean self-defence.

Wrong. I mean it's the only way to get what I want.

The last book I passed on thoughts about was Cold In July. Here we are, the 6th, I'm wrapped up in my extra hoody whilst having to blow on my fingers to keep them loose. Seriously. 

And we have a new government. I wouldn't normally comment on such things, but a Labour led House of Commons has been such a rare thing in my adult life; after so many past disappointments, this shift needs celebrating. Apart from the rise of the ugliness represented by the Reform party, I'm overjoyed with the result. Just for now there is hope. Sure, it's likely to be a long haul and there will be difficult days and months, but for the first time in an age, change for the better seems possible. Go Keir. 

The book I was reading on the day of the election was The Score by Richard Stark. Perhaps it was a lucky charm. It's a Parker novel, so the quality of the writing barely requires mention- hardboiled, always to the point and as tough as the protagonist. 

I really enjoyed it, though I share some of Parker's own reservations about the escapade. The plan comes from an unknown entity. It involves taking down an entire town. There's only one exit, there's a barracks in the way and it's likely they'll require a small army to carry out the heist. If that weren't bad enough, there's a tail following Parker to the first meeting, which means there's something fishy about the whole package. 

In the end, Parker can't resist. Perhaps that says something of his character, though I'd have expected him to walk away as soon as his senses began to twitch. 

The operation itself is a treat. The twist is not unexpected, but the way it plays out maintains the energy and tension. 

A well told story, then, with the wonderful whiplash turns of phrase and crackling dialogue, just not my favourite in the series is all. 

One Man's Opinion: COLD IN JULY by JOE R LANSDALE

 

I've read and loved the Hap and Leonard books and branched out from there to read Cold In July, a crime novel with a pretty cool twist and a fair pace to it. 

Richard Dane is woken in the middle of the night to disturb a burglar. The burglar takes a shot at Dane and Dane fires back. Only one of the bullets hits the target, and the burglar drops to the ground. 

The police clear Dane from any respobsibility and it looks like life might return to normal once the sofa is changed and the wall's been painted, only the victim's father has just got out of prison and he's not the sort to take the murder of his son lightly. 

The twist, or the first of them, occurs fairly early on and I wouldn't want to continue with any plot description to preserve the surprise for you. What I can say is that a Private Investigator is introduced and that in order to resolve things there are going to be further revelations, scenes of violent action and deepending tensions.

I enjoyed this one well enough, but with a few reservations. There were niggles for me about Dane's actions early on and some of his decisions seemed unlikely. And there's the first-person narrative that doesn't quite bring the depths of the narrator all the way to the surface in the way such a perspective can take. 

Overall, a solid and entertaining novel that offers plenty of thrills and spills, but doesn't pack the emotional punch that I get when following Hap and Leonard.   

One Man's Opinion: SO LONG AS YOU BOTH SHALL LIVE by ED McBAIN

Having just completed the excellent Deadly Honeymoon by Lawrence Block, the fact that I followed up with So Long As You Both Shall Live by Ed McBain suggests an element of design. Truth be told, the McBain was simply the next in the series, so having decided to dip back into the 87th Precinct, back-to-back honeymoon stories became inevitable.

Working your way through a series, no matter how slowly, has its benefits. Character histories, memories of previous plots and the sense of place all allow for smooth running and familiarity. In this case, it also helped glue me to the page until the climax was reached. I'll try and explain. 

Bert Kling marries a model. The party after the ceremony is attended by police and those connected to the modeling industry. Also in attendance is a photographer who is quite besoted by Kling's new bride. Bert and Augusta remove themselves from the attention and retire to their hotel. There's a brief underlining of their love for each other before Bert takes a shower. When he comes out he finds Augusta has gone. He goes through the logical steps of finding her, but when he finds evidence of the use of chloroform, it's clear that Augusta has been taken against her will. 

You can imagine what follows. The 87th will do anything to help Kling out. They round up their snitches, upturn every available stone and look in every dark corner, all to no avail.

So here's the thing. In many a book, it might be clear what's about to happen. The most likely outcome is that the cops will find their suspect and free the wife after a suitable amount of detection and tension. With Kling and McBain, we know that this is in no way a given. Kling has already lost one fiancee, murdered in as a casual bystander in a bookstore (at least I think it was a bookstore- any necessary correction gratefully received) and we know that bad things can happen to anyone as the series progresses. That in itself creates a level of tension that a standalone by another author might not be able to manage in quite such a simple way.  

It's also useful to undersand what Fat Ollie Weeks stands for. Having managed to get precisely nowhere with the investigation, Carella can't refuse Weeks's offer of help on this one. The fact that he's a racist bigot who uses a strong arm more he should is marginally trumped by the fact that he is capable of thorough detective work and loves the legwork more than most. As a reader, it's easy to hate the guy, but it's also possible to be rooting for him 100% given that Kling's world and Augusta's life depend upon it. 

Suffice to say that the conclusion is gripping and the race to the end a real sprint. I'll keep my feelings about what happened to myself and recommend that you read it to find out. 

So Long As You Both Shall Live is a treat. Along with Deadly Honeymoon, it's a book that is an excellent example of what can be done in a short space of time when the quality of the writing is so high. I'd hold these up as excellent examples for those learning to write crime fiction and those who already do. Top notch. 

One Man's Opinion: DEADLY HONEYMOON by LAWRENCE BLOCK

"We have three weeks. I think we can find them and kill them in three weeks 

"Three weeks is plenty of time," she said. 

It's not the ideal start to Dave and Jill's honeymoon. At their lodge, they witness the murder of a man they've only just met. When the killers are done, they notice that Jill's an attractive woman Within minutes she can no longer claim to be saving herself for the wedding night. 

There must be many ways to respond to such a situation. Dave and Jill, without discussing the issue, arrive at the same conclusion- they must find their attackers and kill them in the time they have left for their vacation.

Problem they have is that they have no information on the murder victim other than his name. What follows is the journey of them moving ever-closer to finding the identities of the men they seek. They rent a motel room in New York, seek information in newspapers and from the connections they locate. Slowly, but surely, they piece together the situation. Along the way, they become wrapped up with gangsters and fiends, finding courage and determination from their need for revenge and unleashing the brutal strength rooted in their anger. 

Deadly Honeymoon is an absolute cracker. A simple concept that's totally engaging from the off and lean as a cyclist on the Tour de France. It has the thrill of a detective story and the lush pleasures of a page turner. 

One Man's Opinion: ALL THE SINNERS BLEED by SA COSBY

 

'"How do you deal with having all that in your head?" Carla asked. 

Titus put on his sunglasses. 

"I try not do dream," he said as he walked into the house.'

One of the things that can separate a wonderful read from just a good one is the quality of the ingredients. In All The Sinners Bleed, Cosby has gathered only elements of the finest grade and then only those that are absolutely necessary. Not only that, he adds each at precisely the right time and at the perfect temperature to produce a work that is served to us as a feast.

Titus Crown is at the heart of everything. An ex-FBI agent and now the first black sherrif in an overtly racist county, he's got his work cut out for him from the start when a popular white teacher is killed by a young black shooter in the high school. The shooter is killed by two of Crown's cops and when the dust begins to settle, a rift tears through the community and the weight of racist history bears down on Crown as he goes about solving the case.

What makes the plot so rich and thick is Crown's determination to do the right thing in the eyes of the law regardless of anything else. In order to do so, he meets conflicting attitudes all the way. There are the white supremacists fervently defending their beliefs and the civil rights movement who are ready to meet fire with fire. We have a town buried deep in religious passions that Crown has come to despise. The big cheese in town wants a quick resolution to the murder and is ready to pull the rug from under Crown's feet. His own officers need investigating because of the shooting and there are rumours that one of his colleagues is on the take. He's torn between realtionships with two women, one who is good for stability and another that offers excitement and danger. His own past haunts him constantly and there's pressure put upon him to surrender his case to those who may have the resources to bring the case to conclusion. And the depraved killer that the Crown exposes taunts him with new bodies, obscene murders and menacing threats that become increasingly dark as the story progresses. In short, the whole world seems to be working against Crown even, at times,Crown himself. 

It's a brilliant story. Cosby zooms in on personal elements and back out into the broader aspects of detection with genuine ease whilst always maintaining focus, rounding chapters with cliffhangers and gut punches born of simple turns of phrase that always hit the spot. It really is one of those reads that you just don't want to put down.

Loved this, as did the International Thriller Writers who very recenlty awarded it the Best Hardcover Novel prize. Definitely well-deserved. 

     

BISHOP RIDER LIVES

 

Have a thirst for blood? Retribution? Violence and mayhem? 

Come drink from this cup.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW 

Blood-soaked and torso-based, Bishop Rider became THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT STOP. His singular mission, his only goal, a type of carnage most would turn from. The men who destroy Rider’s family, the type of monsters they are, resulting in a decades-long war with Rider vowing to not only burn them, but anyone like them. All things end, however, and Bishop Rider, he proves no exception, succumbing to the cancer that would eventually end him.

But life, it sometimes finds a way.

The fifteen stories in this anthology both brand new tales and written by some of the biggest names working in crime fiction and horror today. Each tale pulled from between the pages of A Better Kind of Hate, The Big Machine Eats, All of Them To Burn, Brand New Dark, and Old Man Rider.

Come for the rage, stay for the dismemberment. See how a dead man makes them burn.

Critical Acclaim for Bishop Rider Lives:

“A tour of force. Oil up the wood chipper and put on a rubber apron, because Bishop Rider Lives. In the capable hands of some of the best crime writers working today, the stories in this lean anthology are brutal and cathartic, but remain altogether human. What else can I say? Every writer kills in this book.” —Johnny Shaw, author of Big Maria and The Southland

“Bishop Rider Lives elevates violence to an art-form: every knife is a paintbrush, every clawhammer a sculptor's chisel. These stories will stay with you long after the last scumbag hangs from his own viscera. Yet amid all the carnage, you may feel these tales tugging at your heartstrings…” —C.W. Blackwell, author of Hard Mountain Clay

“From bad bar keeps getting blown away, to heartbroken moms filling a hole in their heart with the heart of another, to the gruesome slaughter of a wealthy monster—it’s all here and more. Bishop Rider Lives is both addictive and chock full of talent whose tales will leave readers ripping through pages and never wanting Bishop Rider’s brand of justice to stop. Five stars.” —Shannon Kirk, international bestselling author of Method 15/33

“Bloody, vengeful, revelatory. Some of today's best crime and horror writers sharpen their power and writing tools and spill blood on the page in righteous tribute to the fiction world’s most justice-focused figure, Bishop Rider. This is an incredible collection of stories not to be missed.” —Curtis Ippolito, author of Burying the Newspaper Man

“Bishop Rider Lives: An Anthology of Retribution brings together some of the best crime writers from the genre for this fantastic and brutal collection of stories exploring vigilante justice and bloody, heart-pounding, kinetic action sequences. A must read. I finished and wanted more!” —Lee Matthew Goldberg, Anthony and Lefty Award-nominated author of The Mentor and The Great Gimmelmans

“In Bishop Rider Lives, an all-star cast of crime writers come together to paint the town bloody red. But for all the satisfying gore and payback, the power is in the small moments, the snippets of bystanders and victims’ lives impacted and bettered by our favorite avenging angels. The mission doesn’t simply continue, it flourishes and strains to new emotional highs.” —James Queally, award-winning journalist and critically acclaimed author of the Russell Avery novels

One Man's Opinion: MOCKINGBIRD by WALTER TEVIS

 

.

The fruit is still sitting there. I want it to mean something, but it doesn't.

A couple of weeks ago, I visited my eldest daughter in Utrecht. She took me to an Aldi supermarket there. We filled our shopping bags and, before leaving, stood in a circle next to a payment machine. The invisible scanner totalled up all the items we'd bought and charged us appropriately. I checked the receipt to make sure and it was spot on. To a man of my age and time, this should be mind-blowing, though I'm so used to all the amazing technologies of the world that it was only a minor thrill. 

I wonder what mind-bending technology got Walter Tevis imagining the future. Whatever it was, I'm extremely grateful for its existence. 

Mockingbird tells the story of a possible outcome. Given the challenges that we face with the rapid grown in AI, perhaps this is a book everyone should be reading. It would certainly give them a pause for thought. A moment to take a breath and try and work out what kind of world we might want to aim towards. Surely that would be a sensible thing to do. 

Then again, this is only a work of fiction. 

"The first models of thought buses...broadcast music or pleasant thoughts into the heads of their passengers. Some of the night runs would send out erotic thoughts."

"Why don't they do that anymore? The equipment broke down?"

"No," he said. "As I told you...they don't break down. What happened was that nobody would get off the buses."   

Bentley is different to most of what is left of the human population. He has learned to read, something that doesn't go unnoticed by the Make Nine robot, Spofforth, the most perfect machine ever created who rules New York and maybe the rest of the planet. Spofforth hires Bentley to interpret the captions of ancient silent movies, a job that suits Bentley down to the ground. 

Unfortunately, the curiosity in human history that being literate kindles add to his levels of dissatisfaction and confusion about the nature of life. To find head space he visits the zoo. After a number of trips, it becomes clear that the setup is fake. The animals are always on the move and entertaining and there are always three children there eating ice creams. These children also happen to be the only children Bentley has ever seen.  

There also a beautiful woman living in the reptile house and it turns out she's real. She's also unusual in that she's given up taking the drugs that are freely on offer and prefers, instead, to experience life as an outcast. 

It's not long before Bentley is teaching Mary Lou to interpret text. She's far brighter than he is and picks it up quickly. When they later move in together and discover an ancient library, they have a new landscape to explore, one that takes them away from the isolated individuals who now form the population, the monotony of existence and the regular group suicides that occur on a regularly around the city. 

As their relationship grows, Spofforth is a constant observer. The human echoes in his machine mind create a desire in him that, as leader of all things, is easy for him to satisfy. 

The novel is told through the three central characters, mainly in journal form. This allows a real exploration of the thoughts of the protagonists as well as generating a driving plot that's always engaging. 

Mockingbird has really got me thinking about what lies ahead. Most of all, it has really shown me that there's no way I can visualise the distant future and what it might bring. In place of my own imagination, this novel has taken over. A world where humans are in deep decline and are on the brink of extinction, that's not a hugely unique vision. A place where robots have taken over, do all the thinking, producing and legislating, that's not so farfetched either. What I haven't really pictured before is a planet where the humans have failed and, because they have been unable to maintain any symbiotic relationship with people, so have the robots.

There are so many facets to Mockingbird and it's such a big story that I don't feel I can do it justice. It's the kind of book that it would be great to talk about in a bar or on a walk or in a book group. Other than the elements of the opening where I was slightly put off by the information and explanations, I was totally absorbed. 

Among many other things, it's a reminder of the wonder of reading. The way pages can sometimes be mirrors to gaze into; the link it gives us with other minds; he connections to places and histories that we would never ordinarily get to visit; and the range of emotions it can evoke without leaving the comfort of our homes. 

Three days now I've been sitting on this thought bus. I'm delighted that I finally reached my destination, but now have a thirst for travel and want to hop right back on. 

Ding Ding, next stop All The Sinners Bleed by SA Cosby    

"Why are you all so...so pleasant?" I said. 

"We all are," the bus said. "All thought buses are pleasant. We were all programmed with Kind Feelings and we like our work.'

"That's better programming than people get," I thought with some vehemence. 

"Yes," the bus said. "Yes it is." 

One Man's Opinion: THE MAHE CIRCLE by GEORGES SIMENON

 

'That man there, I'll tell you what it is about him. He's tired of being in his skin!'

Dr Mahe takes a holiday with his family on Porquerolles. The charm of the island and a mundane order of its residents are so removed from his own existence, that he finds them oddly captivating. 

His obsession with the place grows when he is called to help a dying woman who lives in poverty in the locality. While attending, he becomes captivated by the woman's eldest daughter, a young thing in a red dress. 

Said obession grows out of all proportion and worsens on each return to the island. As he becomes increasingly accepted as part of the fabric of the community, his psyche unravels, crumbling as his unhealthy relationships with the women in his life rot away his insides. 

I didn't find this a pleasurable read. The subject matter isn't easy to digest and it's not easy watching such a cold and unbalanced human being dissolve before your eyes. 

All a bit too bleak and harrowing for my taste these days and perhaps overblown and overwritten in some ways. The journey of the decline isn't one I'd wish upon others, but if you go in knowing it's not going to be easy, perhaps you be able to ride those glistening waves better than I (or Mahe) managed. 

The Mahe Circle