Eight Millon Books to Read

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane My rating: 5 of 5 stars 2020 re-read: I had never considered how much we grow as readers over time, but re-reading this has taught me that I definitely have. A part of it is not comparing this to the film version this time around and a part of it is that there were so many passages that made me swear or blaspheme as is my habit when I read a great passage. I likely did it more during this one than any I've read for a long time. There's a beautiful cynicism to this book that I think comes with age too and being the same age as the adult characters in this book let me soak in the prose even more. I don't think I need to spell out the plot as there can't be many who haven't either read or seen the film version. The characters are amazingly etched and this is a dream novel in that it manages the task of being an immense character novel while having a compelling mystery at its heart. This is probably going to lead to more Lehane re-reads ...

Scott Adlerberg is an author who I first read a couple of years ago and on finishing Spiders and Flies I felt I should share my reviews of all his works as he is definitely one of the most unique writers in the indie crime sphere. I've labelled him as part of the crime world, but his books go much further than that tag and it is really difficult to do his books justice in review as you don't want to impart with the wilder happenings in his books, but as well as crime, there is magical realism, historical fiction in terms of genre and a dreamy, lyrical quality to the writing. Without further ado, here are my reviews, starting with Spiders and Flies, my most recent read and going through my past Adlerberg reads. Spiders and Flies by Scott Adlerberg My rating: 5 of 5 stars 4.5 stars I've compared Adlerberg with Paul Auster before and the prologue here sent me to that place again as we get a dream-like sequence about the crime that Raven has committed sending him into hid...

Rock -N- Noirror: Horror and Noir from the Seedy Side of Rock -N- Roll by Hector Duarte Jr. My rating: 5 of 5 stars Ever been to a gig where the opener just steals the show? Wolfgang Porterhouse does so here with his punk rock From Dusk til Dawn style tale that contains visuals you need to read to believe. What follows isn't half bad either with Bodie Myers bringing a bewitched guitar riff and S.W. Lauden and Eric Beetner giving us band mates that are in way over their heads as disputes quickly turn deadly. Lauden gives us a flashier previously published at Out of the Gutter and Beetner presents "The Farewell Tour", where a dispute over drug money leads to the band's status rapidly ascending. "Blues Jam" by Todd Morr brings us a Demon looking to trade you for musical immortality, but can you pay the price of admission. A story that definitely earns the "noir-ror" badge. Hector Duarte Jr. "headlines" with "Gone Viral", a presc...

Something is Killing the Children, Volume One by James Tynion IV My rating: 4 of 5 stars The title kind of sums things up here! During a game of truth or dare, James makes up a story of a monster living in the woods and inevitably he and his pals venture in only to find that there is indeed a monster in the woods and it is hungry! James is the only survivor and is accused of killing his friends by his peers at school. There is one person who believes him in Erica, who is seemingly some kind of monster hunter/expert here to save the town of Archer's Peak with the death toll and number of missing children rising. This is an excellent volume one in that it tells a story while managing to set up plots and intrigue for the volumes to come. At this point, the story doesn't do anything to dazzle you, but sets up the characters and threads for the series. I really liked the relationship between Erica and James and their humourous interplay. The cover art for each issue is fantastic ...

Coldwater by Tom Pitts My rating: 4 of 5 stars Hopefully you've peaceful and civil neighbours during these tough times, unfortunately in Coldwater the new neighbours are a group of drug addicts content on raising hell. This is the scenario Gary and Linda Carson find themselves in and it only devolves from there. This is a fast paced and rollercoaster novel that takes the story much further and in a different direction than I imagined. It's a plot driven thrill ride that you won't want to miss with billionaires, blood and really bad intentions. I really want a Calper Dennings prequel novel with a salacious Hollywood based case now.

Rock and a Hard Place Issue 2 Winter/Spring 2020 by Jay Butkowski My rating: 4 of 5 stars Rock and a Hard Place is a short fiction 'zine that hones in on stories about characters at the end of their tether languishing at or as close to the bottom as seems possible. It ranges in genre type and even includes a couple of essays to boot. This is their second issue and I greatly enjoyed it. Paul Gadsby opens the collection with a story of a young DIY store employee finding out the one night stand he had eight months ago is going to result in a child. It's a clearly written and simple tale that proves very effective. My other favourites from this one include "Knees and Toes" by Jeremy Broyles, which is as prescient as ever, about a woman and her baby trying to get shopping during a dystopian time where the shop is mobbed outside and when eventually opened the shelves are ransacked. "The Lives of the Workers in the Cancer Factory" by Jacqueline Freimor imagines ...

I read Andrew Davie's debut novella "Pavement" earlier this year and whilst I only gave it four stars in my review, it's one of those books that I keep thinking about. I've since read some more of his work online, most notably his short story from last month's edition of All Due Respect's e-zine. In this, the first of my planned author spotlights, I have included my book review, stories links and thoughts on these and link to the writer's website itself for much more. Sort of a book review plus, if you will and something I wanted to try out. Pavement by Andrew Davie My rating: 4 of 5 stars Gropper and McGill are a PI duo with Gropper taking care of practical matters and McGill acting as the face of the business and being the one with the connections around town. They take on a case for Marvin, a motel receptionist, who has his cousin and other tricking out of one of the motel's rooms and at the nearby truck stop to catch a john who is beati...

Ritual by Steve Stred My rating: 4 of 5 stars I've been following Steve Stred's reviews for a while even though I'm far from a devout horror reader, but there is a certainly a community of readers and writers out there that are pointing me in the direction of stuff I think I'd be interested in. I went into this one with next to no knowledge and it was an eye-opening novella that's for sure. Brad is "The Chosen" for a church/cult and we meet him in the lead up to the ritual of the title as he performs odd jobs to get things ready and we are given a peak into his mudane life. From there things are anything but mundane and I'm happy that there is a sequel on the way to further this intirguing, if disturbing tale. View all my reviews COMMUNION by Steve Stred My rating: 5 of 5 stars Wow! This one picks up a week after the events of Ritual with Detective McKay looking into said ritual of the first book. He is visited by a woman with information ...

The Fury of Blacky Jaguar by Angel Luis Colón My rating: 5 of 5 stars Smash Bang Wallop! This is a no nonsense bloody novella featuring a gangly, pompadoured ex-IRA wildman as the lead character (the Blacky Jaguar of the title) who is introduced to us by way of beating and shooting a man in his search for someone named Polly. Special Agent Linda Chen has a past with Blacky both as a law enforcement officer and more with their past merely hinted at throughout the novella. There are smatterings of back story here, but the focus is on pulsating "holy shit" action and this more than delivers. I know from his podcast that Colon has moved onto other kinds of writing in recent times, but it would be great to see more of Blacky even counting the fact that there is a sequel already out there that I need to pick up. View all my reviews

The One That Got Away by Joe Clifford My rating: 5 of 5 stars "As bad as those three days and nights locked in the basement were, as frightened as she was, Alex could list fifty memories that had hurt as bad, had inflicted as much damage. But no one cared about those. They weren't as sensational. No one notices a life lost in the cracks. People can see physical injury. Busted arms and black eyes are tangible, quantitative. Emotional wounds are abstract, subjective. Broken bones heal. The other kind of pain lasts a lifetime." Alex Salerno was abducted when she was 17 and was rescued before she could suffer the fate of several other abducted girls from the area in which she lived. Twelve years later, she is contacted by a college reporter from a student paper and questioned about the disappearance of Kira Shanks from the same town, which occurred five years after Alex's abduction. The interview awakens something in Alex and she returns to Reine to face her demons and...