Nigel Bird's Blog, page 32

One Man's Opinion: APRIL SKIES by IAN AYRIS

'Ronnie Swordfish getting killed has got me radar bangin through the roof, like all them eyes I see in the shadows, everywhere I go, they're all opened up at once - all at the same time.'

Abide With Me is a special book by a special writer. That was released way back in 2012. It excited the hell out of me when I read it, so when I sat down with the sequel I was a little nervous.
April Skies  (US) continues the story of John Sissons. There’s a big jump in time from when he was last on the page and there’s been a lot of water under the bridge. The still waters, mind, are ever-present and they run about as deep as is possible within a human being. John remains loyal in all the right places. His family and friends are his moons and he’s happiest when they’re orbiting close by. His dead father is still the brightest star in his sky.
John’s working the markets with his stepdad. Adapting to life out of jail. Keen to live a normal life, yet desperate to avoid being ground down by the routines and obligations he sees everywhere. Unfortunately, he’s haunted by ghosts from his colourful past. Those from his future become more threatening every day. As the story progresses and Ronnie Swordfish is killed in prison, the past and future bleed into each other until they’re duelling at screaming pitch. As John prepares for the inevitable backlash caused by Swordfish’s demise, the fabric of everything he holds dear begins to crumble. The foundations of his family, friends, budding romances, factory work and his beloved West Ham United all wobble as he slowly unravels. John’s need to hold it all together is what provides the tension and drama because we know he’s never going to be able to manage.  
As the story comes together and John’s fears materialise, the tension is palpable. It’s real edge-of-the-seat stuff. I couldn’t bear it at times, yet equally couldn’t look away. The whole piece is utterly compelling and ultimately rather beautiful.
The cover says a lot about April Skies. It shows a factory billowing out smoke underneath a claret sky. It’s a sunset of sorts. Holds that point between the dark and the light in the way Ian Ayris does with his prose. It’s told in the first person and this allows a real intimacy with a narrator who is open and frank about everything. You won’t read many better central characters and you won’t often feel this close to a protagonist, I reckon.  
You really don’t need to have read the first book in the series to enjoy this second. Ayris makes gentle references to Abide With Me all the way through. They speak for themselves and offer enough of background for the uninitiated to keep them straight. As for my nerves in relation to the sequel, I should have known better. I loved Abide With Me, but I think April Skies is even better.  A gently caveat. There’s a lot of swearing in this book. It adds a level authenticity and layers of character to the story. If you don’t like profanity, this one’s not for you. I only mention this because I hope this novel will gather the plaudits and loving reviews it deserves and I wouldn’t want those raves to be tarnished by folk who couldn’t see beyond the language to what really matters. To me it’s just part of the purity of the work. 

One Man's Opinion: RUN FOR THE MONEY by ERIC BEETNER

Here’s what the blurb says:Standing between Bo and Slick and $642,000 from the bank job:Prison. A hurricane. A horny cop. A naked priest. An angry cab driver. Two wanna-be criminals. A speeding train. A hot soldering iron. A peeping tom. A fed-up girl. A gun dealer. A homeless lady. An empty shotgun. A girlfriend with other plans. One pissed-off mom. Two pissed-off drug dealers. A bitchy landlord. And 48 crazy hours.When this is all over, they’ll either be rich, in prison or dead.Which is a really great summary of Run For The Money (US).
Slick and Bo are being taken away to prison when a hurricane intervenes in their favour. There’s an accident and the opportunity to escape presents itself like an act of divine intervention.
 There are no loyalties between the criminal pair. Slick leaves his friend for dead and sets off on the journey to collect the cash he’s got stashed back home.
Also waiting back home is his girlfriend Emma. Emma Lives in a bizarre lodging house where the owner and her son pay close attention to everything that’s going on. Emma can’t wait to get to the new life a whole heap of cash can offer her. What lies between her and the money is a handsome cop who is watching her every move so that he can snare Slick when he gets home. Emma and cop become tangled in a steamy affair that takes both pairs of eyes off the ball, but at least this may be the start of a beautiful friendship that might lead to a happy ending.
Bo manages to save himself. He’s also heading for the money and has high hopes for a new life.
As you might imagine, the journeys of the central characters aren’t straightforward. They get into tight spots wherever they turn. Each new episode is packed with drama and tension. As soon as one problem is solved, another stares them in the face. There are desperate acts and explosive scenes from start to finish. It’s action-packed, fun and addictive. The pace is break-neck and the humour dark. Beetner does a great job of filling his characters with life and uses his limitless imagination to turn the screws.
This one definitely gives the reader a run for their money. As for the people in the book, they get to sprint with a limp all the way to a finish line of razor wire where they’ll find a fiery and unexpected conclusion.

Excellent entertainment.   

One Man's Opinion: THE SLAUGHTER MAN by TONY PARSONS

I started reading April Skies (US) by Ian Ayris yesterday.  It’s the follow up to the incredible Abide With Me. Published by Caffeine Nights, it’s available for pre-order just now and will get its full release tomorrow. So far it’s delicious and I’m so glad to be lost in a world created by Ayris again. The voices be creates are really stunning and very original. Check it out.
I also noticed that the second book in my Southsiders series is also up for pre-order and is due for release this Friday. It’s published by Blasted Heath and it’s called Southsiders: Jailhouse Rock.  It’s currently available at for £1.59 here in the UK ($2.99 in the US). I don’t know what the pricing plans are, but from experience I’d say that the price is likely to rise in the near future. If you started the journey with Jesse Garon, I hope you’ll tag along for the next episode in his life.
And so to TheSlaughter Man (US)by Tony Parsons.  It’s the second in the DC Max Wolfe series.
I read the first, The Murder Bag, and wrote quite a long review for that one. In some ways, I feel I could duplicate that and could save myself some effort.
The Slaughter Man opens with the brutal and sinister murder of a wealthy family. It’s very dark and immediately engaging. The incident throws up several points of interest: the weapon used by the killer is a cattle stunner used in the slaughter house; the youngest of the children is not among the dead and his whereabouts are unknown; the family are wrapped in immense wealth, happiness and minor celebrity. These elements lead to an interesting case with lots of twists and turns.
Max Wolfe is an engaging character. I do rather like his approach and his attitude. He and his team delve into the world of the rich, a community of travellers and a world of prostitution and sex slavery. The contrast between each area is of interest and put together well.
Where the book falls down for me, just like in the opening novel in the series, is in the jarring extras that distract from the pace of the story. It may well be that for many readers this hasn’t been an issue. For me, it’s a major flaw. Once I was aware of it, each occurrence had me vexed. There are countless explanations of the roles within the police force and their procedures. Each acronym is explained in more detail than is necessary. There are many examples of research clogging up the development of the drama – the research is there for all to see and it would be more appropriate in a London guide book than in this novel. The visits to the Black Museum feel tired now that they’re so frequent (and provide more of the research chunks that cause obstruction). There are also a few too many coincidences in this world for my liking.
My feeling is that there’s a really good book hiding in here. That the series could go on to be something special if a talented and experienced editor were put onto the job. The reason I think this is that there was enough in the character for me to return for book two and I did find the investigation to be compelling and very entertaining. There are also some very nicely handled resolutions that are emotional and also satisfying.
It’s rare for me to have such mixed feelings about a story and I’d be interested to hear if these thoughts resonate with you.
My overriding reaction is that I’m glad I’ve been on the journey so far and that I’m unlikely to follow Max into his next investigation unless I see some reviews that persuade me otherwise.

Good, but definitely not great. 

One Man's Opinion: ROUTE 12 by MARIETTA MILES

“She buttons the top tab to her coat and when she slides her hand into her pocket, she feels soft paper underneath her fingertips. She had never been the kind of girl to get notes. A note is acceptance, and invitation to a life less lonesome. Notes are soft pencil marks, expectations, and friendship. She is surprised. Excited. She pulls out the paper and nearly rips it open.”
 Route 12 (US) is an unflinching novella that’s full of beautiful writing and excruciating pain. Three souls with broken pasts are brought together and become tangled up in webs of darkness. Percy is sent to a boys’ home/prison when his mother is sent to jail; Theresa has also lost her mother, in this case to suicide; and Cheryl has been left crippled by polio.
When Percy leaves the brutality he has grown up with in his institution, he’s full of anger and bile. The only way he can express himself is through sexual violence and hate. He descends upon Belle Gap where Theresa and Cheryl are surviving the knocks of teenage life and of growing up in impoverished circumstances. As the trio come together, it’s clear that terrible things are on their way.
Miles does a wonderful job of focusing in upon detail and creating mood. The sense of impending horror is strong and the way the strands of the tale are brought to life there are no soft landings. At some points I found the material so tough that I struggled to continue. This wasn’t because of poor writing. In fact it was just the opposite. The quality, rawness and honesty were precisely the reasons I found it so difficult. It’s a compelling read that will challenge more than a few. Read this on days when you’re either feeling strong or when you need a fix of something different from the norm.
The second novella brings together a cast of misfits to weave a sinister plot set in North Carolina. Pastor Friend is there to look after his flock. He has a particular way with young pregnant women who feel the shame of an era pressing down on them. He’s not what he seems, however, and his sick mind is capable of the most hideous of manipulations.  

Harrowing and challenging throughout, this is a heavy slice of noir that isn’t always easy to digest. Go dig in.      

Ian Ayris: INSIDE OUT

In my first novel – Abide with Me – four years ago, not all of the characters made it through. Not having planned the book in any way, some of the characters that left its pages surprised me as much as it did them. It was just the way it was.             But not all fell by the wayside. Some did make it through.             I received a comment a few days ago from the brilliant American writer, Josh Stallings, telling me how much he was looking forward to reading the advance copy of April Skies – the eventual sequel to Abide with Me - I sent him. Josh said:I can't wait. I'm finishing up Lou Berney's second book, and then I get to check in on my old friends. See where they have taken And out of it came April Skies.
April Skies is currently available for pre-order here (or here if you're in the US). 

One Man's Opinion: TOUGH GUYS by MATT PHILLIPS

In Tough Guys (US), Matt Phillips delivers a really interesting collection of short stories and flash pieces that I recommend you go and check out.
There’s a good deal of variety, which means every beginning brings the excitement of the new and unexpected. The stories also have a lot in common – tight writing, great voice, strong dialogue when required, interesting settings and the careful handling of an idea.
The tough guys in question all have their own histories. Some have been born to brutality and some have had it thrust upon them. As they play their hands, there are winners and losers among them. Some of them even come into contact with some tough gals along the way. Take Sandy from the diner, for example. Or the six-year old girl from my own personal favourite of this excellent bunch, No Sé.  
Phillips plays around with the colourful palette of his talent with great skill. He uses it to deliver a punch, to create the poetic and to provoke thought. Best of all, he uses it to tell tales that deserve to be savoured.
Phillips has also written the excellent Redbone, which I heartily recommend, and the tasty looking Bad Luck City, which I very much look forward to diving into in the very near future.
Super work. 

One Man's Opinion: THE WHISTLING SANDS by MATH BIRD

Before the main event, a couple of bits and pieces.
First off, there’s a new Donald Ray Pollock due for release in July. It’s called The HeavenlyTable and you can take a look at it here and pre-order if you’re so inclined. That’s great news. I’ll be ordering in hardback because I want it on my shelves rather than on my kindle. I can recommend it already and, beyond the title, I haven't read a word. Can’t wait.
I’d also like to point out that my latest, The Shallows (US), is at the release price (99p/99c) for the last day. Thanks to all those who’ve taken the time to spread the news, buy copies or pass on their feedback as reviews or messages. All the little things mean a lot. I’m very grateful.
And so to The Whistling Sands (US).   
The cover of this very tight novella is perfect. It shows a man disintegrating as he stands looking out to sea. It’s a match for the book because that’s what happens within. Ex-boxer and prison inmate Ned Flynn is slowly falling apart, as is his resolve to sort out his life.
At the opening, Flynn returns home and decides that he should make space and time to look after his fragile mother. In order to help him do that, he needs cash. To go straight, he takes a job from a local gangster who wants Flynn to bring his estranged wife, Nia, back.
 From this point on, nothing is simple.
Flynn falls for Nia. In no time at all he’s obsessed. She provides him with the soothing calm and the desire that distract him from his other woes.   
The problem is that Nia’s history seems troubled. Her most recent partner is dead and she he has set up a shrine within the house for him. Folk in the village are deeply suspicious of her and don’t mind spreading poisonous gossip. She owes money all over the place and has turned the heads of all the men around. The message that this lady is not to be trusted comes from all directions, yet Flynn is in too deep to care. As you might imagine, things get very messy.
Flynn falls foul of the locals. He also fails to resist bouts of drinking that he knows will accelerate his downfall.  His mind begins to unravel and he becomes tangled in a web of his own making. He’s even seeing the ghost of Nia’s ex and is haunted by the uncertainty this creates.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It’s a substantial read. The femme fatale has all the required attributes just as Flynn has all the requisite weakness.   They have a great chemistry and it’s clear that their lives together are going to lead to an explosion. The wait for that explosion is tense and unsettling and the twists and turns along the way are well-paced and gripping.
The setting in this book is also well created. The woodland and coast provide an open and beautiful landscape, yet Bird manages to twist this into a claustrophobic space that adds hugely to the dark mood.  

A super tale that fits the noir mould like a large hand fits a small glove.   

One Man's Opinion: OF MICE AND MEN by JOHN STEINBECK

“Books ain’t no good. A guy needs somebody – to be near him.”
I’m not a great one for re-reading books. When it comes to weighing up visiting a place I’ve already been or visiting somewhere fresh, it’s the new pastures that usually win out. Maybe that’s a balance I need to adjust, however. Going back to this Steinbeck was a wonderful experience that was just as full and emotional as it was around thirty-odd years ago. In some ways it was richer because of the miles I’ve collected on my clock simply by hanging around. I’m not really sure, for example, that I fully understood the idea of Curley’s ‘glove fulla vaseline’ and his need for a soft hand at my first visit.
I came back to Of Mice And Men (US) after enjoying Blaze by Stephen King. The jump from one to the next was the obvious path to take and I decided to follow the signs.
Of Mice And Men is so well known that I’m not sure I can add anything to the weight of opinion and thought that already surrounds it. A couple of migrant workers, George and Lennie, stumble into the book to take rest down by a pool frequented by tramps. Lennie’s a gentle giant on the surface, but he’s also prone to losing control. George is his companion, a worldly-wise and weary soul who keeps everything straight and makes sure Lennie can survive in a cruel and difficult world. They go to work on a ranch and it becomes immediately clear that there are going to be problems between the boss and the incomers, if for no other reason than that’s the way the power within the economics works.     
What unfolds is one of the juiciest and most perfect tales I can imagine being told. Better still, it’s all contained within around a hundred pages - for a lazy reader like me, that’s a blessing. The fact that such a huge piece is done in such a small space is a testament to the quality of the writing and the concept. There’s nothing there that doesn’t need to be and that’s a real strength.
This book had me from the start. The seeds of menace and doubt are sewn in the first few pages. The sense of foreboding grows with each passage. As the tension builds, the feeling of warmth and love of the central pair grows. The tension notches up because the more you want everything to turn out right, the less likely it seems that there can be any positive outcome. Ordinarily, that might be considered to be a spoiler. Not so here because Steinbeck keeps telling you what’s coming. He marks the way at every step and this makes the prospect of the end increasingly unbearable. It was so effective in my reading that I almost couldn’t finish. The impending heartbreak was as much as I could bear. I did make it to the final page, however, and the power of the finale is stunning no matter how inevitable it has become. I was drained when I closed the book. Sad as hell and totally satisfied.
It struck me that Steinbeck really does cultivate the story. He starts things small and builds them up. Take the theme of Lennie’s love of softness. First come the mice and then we grow to pups, girls and then to Curley’s wife. They’re all part of the same desire; it’s just that the manifestations simply lead to different consequences.
The book’s jam-packed with aspects of being human. There’s love, obsession, corruption, injustice, friendship, loyalty, history and hope. I don’t want anything else from a book that this, for what else could there be? Total noir!
For me, I hope this is a lesson learned. Those books I loved many years ago, they still need attention and it’s about time I gave them some.  

A joy.
Post Script - Of Mice And Men has 35 one star reviews on Amazon UK. Having gathered a few of them for my own work, I find this immensely reassuring.  

Dancing With Myself: MICHAEL E ROSE interviews MICHAEL E ROSE

Michael, the first question has to be why would a thriller writer with three solid successes under his belt and a growing reputation decide to switch to satire?
Well, it’s not just any old satire. It’s a satire about Interpol, so it’s still very much in the world of police and crime fighting and deception and double-crosses. So I guess it’s not all that far removed from the sort of world where my Frank Delaney character operates in the thrillers, really. And remember that because this is a satire about Interpol, just the name, the very word Interpol, breathes intrigue and mystery.
Sure, but why satire? Why not write a thriller about Interpol, involving Interpol agents?
In fact I referred a fair bit to Interpol in my last thriller and had a couple of Interpol characters in that one, The Tsunami File, so I could see clearly the potential for stories and characters drawn from Interpol. But to answer your question…. because I worked at Interpol myself, and was so immersed in that organisation, I just thought that in a number of ways the best way to tell the Interpol story was through satire. After my experiences there I wanted to give a sense of the craziness of it all, the intensity of the way that place works, and all major police organizations, really, the way they do crucially important work but get caught up too in personalities and politics and ambition and, not to put too fine a point on it, straight-out human craziness.
So this could have been a satire about, what, the FBI or the NYPD or Scotland Yard, just as easily?
Exactly. Yes. It just happens that I worked at Interpol after I left journalism, that’s what I knew for a while and I wanted to have some fun with it. The thrillers are what I want to do, of course, they’re my main interest as a writer, and there’s a fourth one in the series underway, but as a breather I wanted to explore the absurd side of police work and, really, of any big organization, police or otherwise.
Even so, you’re saying all the really hilarious, wild, absurd stuff in Interpol Confidential (US, CAN) is based on real events, real people?
Well, any writer, whether a satirist or a thriller writer or a writer in any genre, bases his or her stories on experiences and situations and characters they have encountered along the way. But we build on those and mould them and change them to suit the story we want to tell. And if it’s a humorous story, then of course you can go even further and really pump it up.
Some of it is really off the wall. You can’t have made all this up.
It’s stuff that anyone who’s worked in a bureaucracy can tell you about, and maybe more, I’d say, anyone who has worked in a big police bureaucracy. And, yes, some characters display some of the traits of people I’ve met or worked with, and not just at Interpol. In newsrooms when I worked as a journalist. In universities, when I was teaching. There are strange, idiosyncratic, flawed, amusing people, and therefore potential fictional characters, everywhere for the taking.
But the character of the Interpol Secretary General, for example. Who inspired that guy?  There are some people saying he is very, very like the disgraced former head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Really ambitious, flawed, a schemer, a philanderer. And from a French bureaucracy background.  Sounds an awful lot like your Didier Herriot-Dupont character, right down to the double-barreled last name.
I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Mr Strauss-Kahn. I wouldn’t have the faintest idea what you're talking about.
Come on!
I couldn’t possibly comment. “Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental”. That’s what it says at the front of my book.
That’s what they all say. So, is Interpol a serious organization, despite the fun you’re poking at it? You worked there…
Look, these days, in an increasingly interconnected world, especially in the world of police and intelligence and security work, you absolutely need an organization like Interpol. Absolutely. And there are some exceptionally good police officers working at that headquarters building in France, really fine police from all over the world doing important work. But is everyone like that? Are there no problems and failures and mix-ups and messes? Are there no strange or inept people in there? Of course that’s impossible. Just as it’s impossible in any big organization, police or not police. It always gets down to people, and people screw up, they get themselves into trouble, they try to hide their mistakes, and all this is a wonderful source for satire.
I learned a lot about Interpol through the book. Was that your aim too? To tell your readers more about this mysterious organization?
Yes, indeed. I hope people will finish the book feeling they’ve had a peek inside the place. It’s just that taking a peek inside any police organization, even any local police station, will have its funny side. So I tell at least a part of the Interpol story, but I do it through humour and a lot of made-up stuff. I had a lot of fun writing it, I really let myself go. I hope people will have fun reading it.
A make-believe Interpol, then.
If Interpol didn’t exist, someone would have to invent it. Didn’t someone say that once?
I think that was about God. If God didn’t exist…
Oh, right. Got it.
And now you’ve had some fun, it’s back to writing thrillers.
Yes, absolutely. My Frank Delaney character is itching to get back in the game.
 Michael E. Rose is a Canadian author, journalist and broadcaster. He is also the former Chief of Communications for Interpol at the agency’s global headquarters in Lyon, France. His usual genre is spy thrillers, with the Frank Delaney series winning new readers year after year. The first thriller in that series, The Mazovia Legacy, won critical acclaim and was shortlisted in the prestigious Arthur Ellis Awards for Best First Novel. The second volume, The Burma Effect, drew similar attention. The third, The Tsunami File, was shortlisted in the Arthur Ellis Awards for Best Crime
Novel of 2009.

The Shallows: A Goodreads Giveaway

 

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          The Shallows
     
     
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