Last night we went through to Edinburgh to the theatre to see an adaptation of James Hogg's 1824 novel THE PRIVATE MEMOIRS AND CONFESSIONS OF A JUSTIFIED SINNER which is all about a man who is raised by his ultra-pious mother and her ...ahem...'spiritual adviser' - the Reverend Wringhim - to believe that he is one of 'the elect' and, as such, that he is predestined for salvation - no matter what he does. Egged on by a mysterious stranger called Gil-Martin - who can change his appearance at will - he tests out the idea that "a justified person can do no wrong." An excellent tale of good and evil, and a wonderful production.
Alexander McCall Smith supports a new tea with an original short story in each pack. And Mma Ramotswe relaxes with one of my favourites - rooibos tea.
Three days left to listen to Christopher Brookmyre on BBC Radio Scotland.
TV for Tuesday has a one-off mockumentary drama, set in the exciting world of darts, co-written and directed by Irvine Welsh. And, talking of Irvine Welsh, he will be appearing in Australia at Adelaide Writers' Week from February 28th 2010.
Jason Pinter blogs at The Huffington Post on the state of the crime novel. Mentions of Scottish authors, plus several of the wonderful Busted Flush Press.
And Philip Kerr hates the Olymic Games (bottom of article).
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Friday, 6 November 2009
maXcrime; or... How Lucky Am I?
I've received a catalogue for Maxim Jakubowski's new crime imprint maXcrime (of which I am very, very chuffed and excited to be a part). It looks wonderful, so I hope you will allow me a little bit of glee and self-indulgence as I post about it. You can click on each of the pages for a bigger version.
First of all, Maxim on the new imprint: "As well as being wonderfully good reads and page turners, the books we are publishing in 2010 also provide a fascinating glimpse into the sheer diversity of crime and mystery writing today. Here you will find gritty London family sagas, hardboiled serial killer tales, dark and violent comedy, erotic thrillers, gothic Hitchcockian mysteries from Italy, historical enigmas going back to Nazi Germany, sinister conspiracies, fast and slick female private eyes from Down Under and old ladies that give conmen a bad name." Woohoo! That's me, that last one :o) Maxim also says "
Amongst our first class team we have Australia's leading crime writer and also in all likelihood the most glamorous author in the business (that one's not me by the way), the legendary film director of Get Carter with his debut novel, one of the UK's best horror writers with his first visit to the crime genre, and leading Italian, Canadian, American, Scottish and English authors."
In March 2010 is Tara Moss with HIT - "She's streetwise, stunning, and hoping to leave her troubled past behind her." Woman's Day magazine called it "A thriller packed with sex, suspense and suspicion. Hold on tight!"Also in March 2010 WATCHING THE WHEELS COME OFF by Mike Hodges who directed Get Carter, Croupier and I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, amongst others. I'm really looking forward to this one - it's described as "a delicious dark slice of black crime comedy" and is a day in the
life of a failed conman when everything goes from bad to worse.In April 2010, another one I'm really looking forward to - Mark Timlin's GUNS OF BRIXTON. Apart from the fact that it's got the same title as one of my favourite songs by The Clash, how can I resist this: "Once upon a time is south London, three young men without a future decided to invent their own. The Sixties are starting to swing and Jimmy, John and Billy want it all: the clothes, the pills, the music and the women. Through drugs, protection and armed
robbery, they start building their crime empire, everything they've always dreamed about is within their grasp. But then Billy changes sides and becomes a cop..."And the other one for April is this OLD DOGS. Am I lucky or what?
For May, two excellent looking ones. THE GIRL WITH THE CRYSTAL EYES by Barbara Baraldi "an unforgettable gothic journey through the dark streets of Bologna." A serial killer novel with a femme fatale. And what a gorgeous cover that is.
The second one for May is HITLER'S ANGEL by Kris Rusch. It's about a young American doctoral student who visits Munich in 1972 to research her dissertation. But the police detective she is interviewing insists on discussing the supposed 1931 suicide of Geli Raubal, the teenage niece and alleged lover of Adolf Hitler. Through a series of flashbacks, the detective tells the tale of his investigation, which is hindered by forces outside the police right from the start.
And, for the future, a dark crime novel by horror writer Conrad Williams, called BLONDE ON A STICK - "a gritty, hardboiled and memorable book", I WAS WAITING FOR YOU - the "harrowing story of a writer in search of a missing daughter" by Maxim Jakubowski, and THE WOMEN'S CLUB - a sinister urban thriller by Canadians Michael Crawley and Laurie Clayton.
Wonderful stuff. I'm sort of excited to bursting...
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Link Miscellany While Drinking a Dirty Martini
So please excuse any typos...
Craig Sisterson interviews Liam McIlvanney in New Zealand's Weekend Herald.
Tony Black on his excellent Gus Dury series in the Inverness Courier.
This looks fascinating - a joint forensic science and crime fiction event in Edinburgh on 18th November talking about how genetic science is used by contemporary crime writers.
A case of true crime from the Scottish Highlands, with a foreword by Val McDermid.
More of Alexander McCall Smith's 44 SCOTLAND STREET in The Scotsman.
Bookhugger interviews Aly Monroe amongst others.
Rob Kitchin reviews Philip Kerr's IF THE DEAD RISE NOT. As does The Telegraph.
Craig Sisterson interviews Liam McIlvanney in New Zealand's Weekend Herald.
Tony Black on his excellent Gus Dury series in the Inverness Courier.
This looks fascinating - a joint forensic science and crime fiction event in Edinburgh on 18th November talking about how genetic science is used by contemporary crime writers.
A case of true crime from the Scottish Highlands, with a foreword by Val McDermid.
More of Alexander McCall Smith's 44 SCOTLAND STREET in The Scotsman.
Bookhugger interviews Aly Monroe amongst others.
Rob Kitchin reviews Philip Kerr's IF THE DEAD RISE NOT. As does The Telegraph.
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Shattered: Every Crime Has A Victim
SHATTERED: EVERY CRIME HAS A VICTIM
Published: 2009
Publisher : Polygon
This is an anthology of crime stories focusing on the victims of crime rather than the perpetrators or the detectives. All the writers donated their royalties to Victim Support Scotland – an organisation set up to provide emotional support, practical help and information to victims of crime, as well as raising the profile of victims and witnesses in the public, parliamentary and criminal justice arenas.
Ian Rankin says in his introduction to the collection “...Crime writers want to tell the truth about the world we all live in. Reading a book may be a form of escapism, but that doesn’t mean readers want to be wrapped in cotton wool, and writers have responded by tackling serious subject matter and asking big moral questions...But crime writers must also pay attention to the victims in all these stories. They can’t just be cardboard cut-outs from central casting. We have to put flesh and blood on them and explore their inner lives, showing their hopes as well as their lives, giving them life as well as death.”
This is an excellent collection – several of the stories are very touching, because they are written from the point of view of the victim and every writer has given a lot of thought to the impact of crime. A couple of the writers have had the same idea but treated it in a different way, others have done something totally unique. love short story collections because they introduce me to writers I have never read, and give me a little bit extra from authors I enjoy. Here is a mini summary of the stories, and of my reactions to each of them:
DADDY’S GIRL – KAREN CAMPBELL
A mother struggles to explain to her little girl who her father is. This was a really touching story that brought a lump to my throat. Karen Campbell is fast becoming one of my favourite writers, and this story was one of the best in the collection.
RUN, RABBIT, RUN – RAY BANKS
A man sets out to get his revenge on a young smackhead who has wronged him. Ray Banks – another favourite of mine - always writes the most brilliant short stories and this one is no exception.
BYE, BYE, BABY – ALLAN GUTHRIE
A woman is distraught when her son goes missing. A thoroughly chilling, yet moving story from yet another of my favourite authors. These first three stories were stand outs for me.
THE BEST SMALL COUNTRY IN THE WORLD – LOUISE WELSH
A young Polish man arrives in Glasgow and finds that the grass may not always be greener. Some excellent characterisations in this one.
ONE GOOD TURN – LIN ANDERSON
A young man lets a girl have the last spot on the night bus. A very sad, vivid story.
WITH TENDER VIOLENCE – STUART MACBRIDE
A man is arrested for beating his wife. Powerful, moving, unexpected. Another favourite.
THE ROAD TAKEN – GILLIAN GALBRAITH
A woman finds it difficult to love her son, but keeps the secret of his birth from him. Similar in theme to Karen Campbell’s story, but treated in a completely different way.
VOICES THROUGH THE WALL – ALEX GRAY
A woman whose child turns out bad is also a victim of his crimes. A really interesting take.
OUT OF THE FLESH – CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE
Restorative justice – a man tells a would-be thief he used to be just like him. An odd story. My least favourite in the collection (although I love Brookmyre’s full length fiction).
ZAPRUDER - G J MOFFAT
A man whose wife has been killed has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Well-written and interesting, but it didn’t grab me as much as some of the others.
Published: 2009
Publisher : Polygon
This is an anthology of crime stories focusing on the victims of crime rather than the perpetrators or the detectives. All the writers donated their royalties to Victim Support Scotland – an organisation set up to provide emotional support, practical help and information to victims of crime, as well as raising the profile of victims and witnesses in the public, parliamentary and criminal justice arenas.
Ian Rankin says in his introduction to the collection “...Crime writers want to tell the truth about the world we all live in. Reading a book may be a form of escapism, but that doesn’t mean readers want to be wrapped in cotton wool, and writers have responded by tackling serious subject matter and asking big moral questions...But crime writers must also pay attention to the victims in all these stories. They can’t just be cardboard cut-outs from central casting. We have to put flesh and blood on them and explore their inner lives, showing their hopes as well as their lives, giving them life as well as death.”
This is an excellent collection – several of the stories are very touching, because they are written from the point of view of the victim and every writer has given a lot of thought to the impact of crime. A couple of the writers have had the same idea but treated it in a different way, others have done something totally unique. love short story collections because they introduce me to writers I have never read, and give me a little bit extra from authors I enjoy. Here is a mini summary of the stories, and of my reactions to each of them:
DADDY’S GIRL – KAREN CAMPBELL
A mother struggles to explain to her little girl who her father is. This was a really touching story that brought a lump to my throat. Karen Campbell is fast becoming one of my favourite writers, and this story was one of the best in the collection.
RUN, RABBIT, RUN – RAY BANKS
A man sets out to get his revenge on a young smackhead who has wronged him. Ray Banks – another favourite of mine - always writes the most brilliant short stories and this one is no exception.
BYE, BYE, BABY – ALLAN GUTHRIE
A woman is distraught when her son goes missing. A thoroughly chilling, yet moving story from yet another of my favourite authors. These first three stories were stand outs for me.
THE BEST SMALL COUNTRY IN THE WORLD – LOUISE WELSH
A young Polish man arrives in Glasgow and finds that the grass may not always be greener. Some excellent characterisations in this one.
ONE GOOD TURN – LIN ANDERSON
A young man lets a girl have the last spot on the night bus. A very sad, vivid story.
WITH TENDER VIOLENCE – STUART MACBRIDE
A man is arrested for beating his wife. Powerful, moving, unexpected. Another favourite.
THE ROAD TAKEN – GILLIAN GALBRAITH
A woman finds it difficult to love her son, but keeps the secret of his birth from him. Similar in theme to Karen Campbell’s story, but treated in a completely different way.
VOICES THROUGH THE WALL – ALEX GRAY
A woman whose child turns out bad is also a victim of his crimes. A really interesting take.
OUT OF THE FLESH – CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE
Restorative justice – a man tells a would-be thief he used to be just like him. An odd story. My least favourite in the collection (although I love Brookmyre’s full length fiction).
ZAPRUDER - G J MOFFAT
A man whose wife has been killed has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Well-written and interesting, but it didn’t grab me as much as some of the others.
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
It's All About Ian Rankin (Except For The Bits That Aren't)
As Philip Kerr wins the CWA's Historical Dagger award, Rob Kitchin reviews IF THE DEAD RISE NOT, and Norm from Crimescraps with a very interesting post reviewing the reviewers on the same book.
The Canadian Chronicle Herald reviews Ian Rankin's THE COMPLAINTS. And, talking of Mr Rankin, read the transcript of a chat with him at Toronto's IFOA. And the Malaysian Insider on Rebus and Fox. Closer to home, a report on Ian's appearance at the Biggar Little Festival.
And, talking of the Toronto International Festival of Authors, he's not a crime writer, but here's a Q&A with Alan Bissett, author of the brilliant THE INCREDIBLE ADAM SPARK. And one with Martin McIntyre who, when asked what it is in Scotland's water that means there are such a lot of crime fiction writers coming out of Scotland says "A darkness."
I just received a copy of this today. Stories from some great Scottish writers (Lin Anderson, Ray Banks, Christopher Brookmyre, Karen Campbell, Gillian Galbraith, Alex Gray, Allan Guthrie, Stuart MacBride, G J Moffat, Louise Welsh, with an introduction by Ian Rankin) and all proceeds to Victim Support Scotland. Looks good.
The Canadian Chronicle Herald reviews Ian Rankin's THE COMPLAINTS. And, talking of Mr Rankin, read the transcript of a chat with him at Toronto's IFOA. And the Malaysian Insider on Rebus and Fox. Closer to home, a report on Ian's appearance at the Biggar Little Festival.
And, talking of the Toronto International Festival of Authors, he's not a crime writer, but here's a Q&A with Alan Bissett, author of the brilliant THE INCREDIBLE ADAM SPARK. And one with Martin McIntyre who, when asked what it is in Scotland's water that means there are such a lot of crime fiction writers coming out of Scotland says "A darkness."
I just received a copy of this today. Stories from some great Scottish writers (Lin Anderson, Ray Banks, Christopher Brookmyre, Karen Campbell, Gillian Galbraith, Alex Gray, Allan Guthrie, Stuart MacBride, G J Moffat, Louise Welsh, with an introduction by Ian Rankin) and all proceeds to Victim Support Scotland. Looks good.
Monday, 2 November 2009
What I Read In October
What a stellar reading month. Some excellent books by old favourites, and a couple of wonderful new finds. One of them was directly because of the author's appearance on a panel at Bouchercon, so for those people who say it's not worth going to conventions, well, this author has gained a new reader who will dash out and buy everything he writes. OK, so it's only me, but...
TOWER - Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman
Published: 2009
Setting: New York
Protagonist: Nick and Todd
Series?: Standalone
First Lines: 'Griffin coughed blood into my face when I made to slip the chains under his shoulders.'
Nick and Todd grew up together in Brooklyn and their friendship survives to adulthood, where they ease into a life of crime, becoming low level hired hands for Boyle - a nasty piece of work who quotes from the bible. Nick is left stunned when Todd kills someone during a burglary. From there, bonds are tested, things spiral downhill and out of control. The first half of the book is told, by Bruen, from Nick's point of view, and you think you have a clear picture of events - until you read the second half of the book, written by Coleman and told from Todd's point of view. Heart-breaking and stomach-churning, this is an amazing book - a beautifully written book full of brutal lyricism and hardboiled poetry, an unforgettable look at friendship, loyalty, fate, honesty and belief. I loved it, and the ending made me burst into tears on public transport. Consider yourself warned. Two of the best writers writing today.
EMPTY EVER AFTER - Reed Farrel Coleman
Published: 2008
Setting: New York
Protagonist: Moe Prager
Series?: 5th
First Lines: 'We walked through the cemetery, Mr Roth's arm looped through mine. The cane in his left hand tapped out a mournful meter on the ice slicked gravel paths that wound their way through endless rows of gravestones. The crunch and scrape of our footfalls were swallowed up and forgotten as easily as the heartbeats and breaths of all the dead, ever.'
This is the fifth in the Moe Prager series. I didn't think the series could get any better after the fourth one, but it has. And it feels like the end of an arc that takes in the past and present, looking back at Moe's past cases, tying up some loose ends, resolving the unresolved, yet raising more questions. PI Moe Prager investigates a grave-robbing that is very close to home, when the grave of his brother in law is desecrated, setting off a chain of events that has Moe investigating all of his past cases and rethinking the decisions he has made over the years. Coleman shows that life is never a straight line, that things can never be neatly tied up with little bows, and that the past really can come back to haunt you. EMPTY EVER AFTER is all about the ghosts of the past and how some of those ghosts never go away - especially the ones that are the keepers of secrets. Winner of the Shamus Award, and no bloody wonder. Brilliant stuff.
CALUMET CITY - Charlie Newton
Published: 2008
Setting: Chicago
Protagonist: Patti Black
Series?: Standalone/1st
First Lines: 'There's this place in Chinatown. Off Wentworth Avenue in the 25th Ward, where the four-story walkups lean out over the street. Buildings not yet leveled by urban renewal, mattress fires, or debts to the wrong politicians. The kind of neighbourhood that scares people who look too close.'
Charlie Newton's debut novel CALUMET CITY is 400 pages long, but reading it feels like reading a novel half that length. I stayed up late at night, I missed my stop on the bus, I took a few extra minutes in my lunch hour at work. It's a thrills and spills novel that never lets up. Patti Black is a much decorated Chicago police officer who has packed her past away in a sealed box and stuck it in the back of the cupboard where it sits gathering dust - unseen, unopened, but definitely not forgotten. Unfortunately, several apparently unlinked cases threaten to open the box and let the screaming demons out. A superb debut novel that grips you by the throat and refuses to let go. A wonderfully original voice, Patti Black is an excellent character - prickly and tough but also vulnerable and warm. She's a survivor, and survival has made her strong - but it's also come at a price and has taken away as much as it has added. Being in Patti's nightmares is really not a comfortable place to be, and the gradually revealed story of her past is skilfully, intensely and chillingly done. The depiction of Chicago is excellent and all aspects of the city are really brought to life. This is not a happy book and Charlie Newton piles grit and darkness on both his protagonist and his readers. I'm really looking forward to his next.
GO WITH ME - Castle Freeman Jr
Published: 2008
Setting: A small town in rural Vermont
Protagonist: Various
Series?: Standalone
First Lines: 'Midsummer: The long days begin in bright, rising mist and never end. Their hours stretch, they stretch. They stretch to hold everything you can shove into them; they'll take whatever you've got. Action, no action, good ideas, bad ideas, talk, love, trouble, every kind of lie - they'll hold them all.'
When the sheriff of a small Vermont town finds Lillian sitting in her car outside the police station, she tells him that a man called Blackway is stalking her, and he's killed her cat. Everyone knows Blackway, but no-one can do anything about him - including the sheriff. He tells her to go out to the mill, to ask Whizzer where she can find Scotty. Scotty will be able to help her. Only Scotty's not there. So Whizzer sends her off with two extremely unlikely knights in...well, definitely not shining armour. The rest of the story is the tale of the trio looking for Blackway, interspersed with Whizzer and his layabout pals, telling tall tales about the town, and Blackway, wondering whether the girl will come through, and going off into all sorts of digressions. A wonderfully quirky cast of characters. The dialogue is wonderfully alive and witty. Funny yet dark, the book put me in mind of a softer version of Daniel Woodrell crossed with the tales of King Arthur's knights.
WILD WIVES - Charles Willeford
Published: 1956
Setting: San Francisco
Protagonist: PI Jacob Blake
Series?: Standalone
First Lines: 'The rain hit hard at my window. It slowed down to a whisper, then hit hard again.
WILD WIVES is a gutsy novella featuring amoral private eye Jake Blake who takes on a case involving a hot dame who's more than a tad insane. She says that the two thugs shadowing her have been hired by her father to follow her everywhere except the bathroom. Blake is totally unlikeable, the case is suitably scuzzy from the start and the novella is full of sex and sleaze. It should come with the warning "Wash hands after reading." Willeford is a master of dragging hard-boiled through the dirt and this one is no exception. I loved it.
THE CORPSE MOVED UPSTAIRS - Frank Gruber
Published: 1941
Setting: New York
Protagonist: Johnny Fletcher and Sam Cragg
Series?: 7th
First Lines: 'Johnny Fletcher had the key in his hand, but it wasn't necessary to put it in the lock, for the door was slightly ajar.'
Johnny Fletcher and Sam Cragg are dodgy characters, book-salesmen, occasional PIs. Johnny is the quick-thinking, smooth talking charmer; Sam is the big lug who acts as the muscle in the partnership. Johnny and Sam always have an eye out for the main chance - there's always a scheme on the go, always a body or two, and invariably a hot dame. Their main way of earning income is for Sam to show off his strength while Johnny hawks a book called 'Every Man A Samson' which apparently tells you how to be as strong as Sam. In THE CORPSE MOVED UPSTAIRS, Johnny and Sam come back to their regular flophouse in New York, their books in a trunk, waiting for their next scam. Unfortunately, somebody thinks their trunk is the ideal place to dump a dead body. Wisecracks, good fun, a fast-paced plot and some endearing and entertaining characters. If you like Richard S Prather's Shell Scott series, you'd like this, I think.
TOWER - Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman
Published: 2009
Setting: New York
Protagonist: Nick and Todd
Series?: Standalone
First Lines: 'Griffin coughed blood into my face when I made to slip the chains under his shoulders.'
Nick and Todd grew up together in Brooklyn and their friendship survives to adulthood, where they ease into a life of crime, becoming low level hired hands for Boyle - a nasty piece of work who quotes from the bible. Nick is left stunned when Todd kills someone during a burglary. From there, bonds are tested, things spiral downhill and out of control. The first half of the book is told, by Bruen, from Nick's point of view, and you think you have a clear picture of events - until you read the second half of the book, written by Coleman and told from Todd's point of view. Heart-breaking and stomach-churning, this is an amazing book - a beautifully written book full of brutal lyricism and hardboiled poetry, an unforgettable look at friendship, loyalty, fate, honesty and belief. I loved it, and the ending made me burst into tears on public transport. Consider yourself warned. Two of the best writers writing today.
EMPTY EVER AFTER - Reed Farrel Coleman
Published: 2008
Setting: New York
Protagonist: Moe Prager
Series?: 5th
First Lines: 'We walked through the cemetery, Mr Roth's arm looped through mine. The cane in his left hand tapped out a mournful meter on the ice slicked gravel paths that wound their way through endless rows of gravestones. The crunch and scrape of our footfalls were swallowed up and forgotten as easily as the heartbeats and breaths of all the dead, ever.'
This is the fifth in the Moe Prager series. I didn't think the series could get any better after the fourth one, but it has. And it feels like the end of an arc that takes in the past and present, looking back at Moe's past cases, tying up some loose ends, resolving the unresolved, yet raising more questions. PI Moe Prager investigates a grave-robbing that is very close to home, when the grave of his brother in law is desecrated, setting off a chain of events that has Moe investigating all of his past cases and rethinking the decisions he has made over the years. Coleman shows that life is never a straight line, that things can never be neatly tied up with little bows, and that the past really can come back to haunt you. EMPTY EVER AFTER is all about the ghosts of the past and how some of those ghosts never go away - especially the ones that are the keepers of secrets. Winner of the Shamus Award, and no bloody wonder. Brilliant stuff.
CALUMET CITY - Charlie Newton
Published: 2008
Setting: Chicago
Protagonist: Patti Black
Series?: Standalone/1st
First Lines: 'There's this place in Chinatown. Off Wentworth Avenue in the 25th Ward, where the four-story walkups lean out over the street. Buildings not yet leveled by urban renewal, mattress fires, or debts to the wrong politicians. The kind of neighbourhood that scares people who look too close.'
Charlie Newton's debut novel CALUMET CITY is 400 pages long, but reading it feels like reading a novel half that length. I stayed up late at night, I missed my stop on the bus, I took a few extra minutes in my lunch hour at work. It's a thrills and spills novel that never lets up. Patti Black is a much decorated Chicago police officer who has packed her past away in a sealed box and stuck it in the back of the cupboard where it sits gathering dust - unseen, unopened, but definitely not forgotten. Unfortunately, several apparently unlinked cases threaten to open the box and let the screaming demons out. A superb debut novel that grips you by the throat and refuses to let go. A wonderfully original voice, Patti Black is an excellent character - prickly and tough but also vulnerable and warm. She's a survivor, and survival has made her strong - but it's also come at a price and has taken away as much as it has added. Being in Patti's nightmares is really not a comfortable place to be, and the gradually revealed story of her past is skilfully, intensely and chillingly done. The depiction of Chicago is excellent and all aspects of the city are really brought to life. This is not a happy book and Charlie Newton piles grit and darkness on both his protagonist and his readers. I'm really looking forward to his next.
GO WITH ME - Castle Freeman Jr
Published: 2008
Setting: A small town in rural Vermont
Protagonist: Various
Series?: Standalone
First Lines: 'Midsummer: The long days begin in bright, rising mist and never end. Their hours stretch, they stretch. They stretch to hold everything you can shove into them; they'll take whatever you've got. Action, no action, good ideas, bad ideas, talk, love, trouble, every kind of lie - they'll hold them all.'
When the sheriff of a small Vermont town finds Lillian sitting in her car outside the police station, she tells him that a man called Blackway is stalking her, and he's killed her cat. Everyone knows Blackway, but no-one can do anything about him - including the sheriff. He tells her to go out to the mill, to ask Whizzer where she can find Scotty. Scotty will be able to help her. Only Scotty's not there. So Whizzer sends her off with two extremely unlikely knights in...well, definitely not shining armour. The rest of the story is the tale of the trio looking for Blackway, interspersed with Whizzer and his layabout pals, telling tall tales about the town, and Blackway, wondering whether the girl will come through, and going off into all sorts of digressions. A wonderfully quirky cast of characters. The dialogue is wonderfully alive and witty. Funny yet dark, the book put me in mind of a softer version of Daniel Woodrell crossed with the tales of King Arthur's knights.
WILD WIVES - Charles Willeford
Published: 1956
Setting: San Francisco
Protagonist: PI Jacob Blake
Series?: Standalone
First Lines: 'The rain hit hard at my window. It slowed down to a whisper, then hit hard again.
WILD WIVES is a gutsy novella featuring amoral private eye Jake Blake who takes on a case involving a hot dame who's more than a tad insane. She says that the two thugs shadowing her have been hired by her father to follow her everywhere except the bathroom. Blake is totally unlikeable, the case is suitably scuzzy from the start and the novella is full of sex and sleaze. It should come with the warning "Wash hands after reading." Willeford is a master of dragging hard-boiled through the dirt and this one is no exception. I loved it.
THE CORPSE MOVED UPSTAIRS - Frank Gruber
Published: 1941
Setting: New York
Protagonist: Johnny Fletcher and Sam Cragg
Series?: 7th
First Lines: 'Johnny Fletcher had the key in his hand, but it wasn't necessary to put it in the lock, for the door was slightly ajar.'
Johnny Fletcher and Sam Cragg are dodgy characters, book-salesmen, occasional PIs. Johnny is the quick-thinking, smooth talking charmer; Sam is the big lug who acts as the muscle in the partnership. Johnny and Sam always have an eye out for the main chance - there's always a scheme on the go, always a body or two, and invariably a hot dame. Their main way of earning income is for Sam to show off his strength while Johnny hawks a book called 'Every Man A Samson' which apparently tells you how to be as strong as Sam. In THE CORPSE MOVED UPSTAIRS, Johnny and Sam come back to their regular flophouse in New York, their books in a trunk, waiting for their next scam. Unfortunately, somebody thinks their trunk is the ideal place to dump a dead body. Wisecracks, good fun, a fast-paced plot and some endearing and entertaining characters. If you like Richard S Prather's Shell Scott series, you'd like this, I think.
Sunday, 1 November 2009
Short and Scary Sunday Summary
Short because I am only just home from my Halloween weekend away. Scary because of the obvious, as promised to Bobbie.First of all, a report from Toronto's IFOA, and Ian Rankin talks about THE COMPLAINTS. And Denise Mina reads from STILL MIDNIGHT.
Read the first chapter of Helen Fitzgerald's BLOODY WOMEN here. Based on this, I can't wait to read the rest.
Falcata Times reviews Christopher Brookmyre's PANDAEMONIUM.
The wonderful Mystery Readers Journal interviews Val McDermid. And in other Val news, the American Book Center Blog reviews FEVER OF THE BONE and Fife Today interviews her about books, beer, wine and football.
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