Oliver Clarke's Blog: Little Slices of Nasty, page 2

The CriminOlly Plain Dealer #12

This was the week where the channel hit 40,000 subscribers. This is a number far far higher than I ever expected to reach. If you’re reading this you’re likely one of the 40,000, so that you for your support. Honestly, I still don’t really understand why people watch me. I’ve spent my life on the sidelines, so to be (in some small way at least) at the centre of things still feels strange.

Unrelated to that (although I suppose I could use it as an excuse). I took the plunge this week and bought a new camera, which I hope will give me a lot more flexibility in filming and speed up the end to end process. We’ll see if it actually does that, but it’s very nice anway (albeit VERY complicated).

I’ve watched a couple of videos this week talking about gendered reading and asking if there are a dearth of new male authors being published. I think that might be the case in one genre (fantasy) but it’s certainly not a phenomenon I’ve noticed more widely. Let me know what you think, though!

Cheerio!

Books I’ve Read This WeekBlood Standard by Laird Barron

My first Laird Barron, but it won’t be my last. This was a dark thriller with the kind of determined, unstoppable, but broken hero I love. Isaiah Coleridge is an enforcer for the mob in Alaska who falls out of favour and ends up semi-exiled to rural New York State. There he gets involved in the search for a missing local girl.
It’s a classic mystery set up and Coleridge is a great lead, as capable with his fists as he is with his brain. There’s a wildness to him that always feels only just contained and he takes just as much brutality as he dishes out.
The book’s depiction of America is similar. A wild place where violence (either natural or man made) is never far away.
It’s a great read, gripping, action packed, dark and at times very funny. There’s a richness and thoughtfulness to the prose which you don’t always get in books like this and it makes for a memorable read.
The plot is what keeps you reading but it’s that constant undertone of wildness and brutality that really leaves an impression. Think Jack Reacher by way of Cormac McCarthy.

Rumpole of the Bailey by John Mortimer

This was my first taste of Rumpole in written form, although I definitely watched at least a few episodes of the TV adaptation back in the 80s. He’s the narrator of these stories, a London barrister reflecting back in his career and some of the legal cases he was involved in. There’s a great deal of humour here and a wry dissection of British life and justice. Add to that some very memorable and well drawn characters and you have an enjoyable collection that was fun to spend time with.

Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder by Mark Morris

A very enjoyable novelisation of an above average Doctor Who episode. This one has the Doctor and Donna on an abandoned spaceship at the edge of the universe. There’s a solid central mystery, a race against time element and some very creepy monsters. Mark Morris does a good job of adapting the story – he captures the Who vibe and characters perfectly and the narrative has real tension. One scene in particular improved upon the episode in my opinion, taking something that was at least in part played for laughs on screen and making it much creepier.

The Witnesses Are Gone by Joel Lane

This is a hard book to review. It’s beautifully written, thoughtful and very creepy. Narratively, it’s deceptively sprawling for such a short work, covering the ground of a much larger book. It goes everywhere and nowhere, which might be a problem if the other elements of the books weren’t so well done.
The story is simple and very similar to Theodore Roszak’s much longer ‘Flicker’. The lead character watches an obscure, unsettling film and then spends the rest of the book trying to find out more about its director. ‘All the Witnesses Are Gone’ is much more unsettling. There’s something in Lane’s writing that really gets under your skin and I suspect it’s a book that will linger with me longer than I’d like it to.

This week’s videos

The CriminOlly Plain Dealer #11

You may (or may not!) notice slight changes in my videos in the week ahead. I’ve started editing them in Final Cut Pro (moving from iMovie), which gives me a lot more flexibility, but also has a bit of a learning curve as I figure out how on earth to do things that had become second nature to me in iMovie.
Perhaps that extra cognitive load is why I’ve had a very easy reading week, focusing on a series of quick, enjoyable, undemanding reads. It’s been fun! The ‘Sweet Valley High’ books noted below were read as a buddy read with MJ from the excellent YouTube channel ‘Reading this Life’ – I recommend taking a look at her content if you’re not already a fan – HERE

Many of these books were read as old (in one case very old) mass market paperbacks, my absolute favourite form of book. The problem with them is, though, that it can be difficult to source decent cover images for things like this, so apologies for the pics below.

This was also the week where, after 17 years as a user, I quit Twitter. Someone in the YouTube comments suggested I was getting a bit political, my response was that it was Twitter that was getting a bit political. You can now find me on Bluesky, which seems an altogether nicer place than the hellscape Musk has created.

Bluesky

Hope you’ve had similarly entertaining bookish weeks,

Cheerio!

Books I’ve Read This WeekThe Galactic Riddle by Clark Darlton

Perry Rhodan is a hugely successful German sci fi series that has been running since the 1960s. Published in a magazine style format there are now over 3000 instalments. In the 1970s a few of the books were translated into English and published in both the UK and the US. I remember seeing them in bookshops as a kid and being fascinated by them.
Fast forward 40 years and I’ve finally read one. Book 8 (in the English translation at least, I’m not sure if the original German numbering is the same) was a fun, silly space opera. Perry Rhodan is the captain of a team, mostly made of people with various telepathic ability, roaming the galaxy Star Trek style and investigating weird science stuff. In this one it’s a missing planet. There’s loads of implausible explanations for things, ray guns and a positronic brain. Great, pulpy stuff. I will be reading more.

The Sailcloth Shroud by Charles Williams

A very entertaining, fast-paced nautical mystery from the 1960s. The plot is particularly twisty and fun, involving two deaths amongst the three man crew of a small boat that’s just sailed into port. The trials the surviving crew member goes through as he tries to work out exactly what has happened and save himself from current perils are endlessly engaging.

Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener by MC Beaton

My favourite Agatha Raisin mystery yet, with a gardening competition in the village that brings out the best/worst (delete as applicable) in Agatha. Of course there’s a murder and the ensuing investigation is particularly enjoyable. There’s also the continuation of the ongoing romantic sub-plot which is almost as much fun.

Charmed: Haunted by Desire by Cameron Dokey

Not as enjoyable as the other ‘Charmed’ novelisation I’ve read (which adapts the first episode), but this was still an entertaining quick read. Two of the sister fall for the same guy (naturally he’s a wrong ‘un) whilst the third investigates a historic murder at a university which has left some ghosts behind. All very silly, but diverting enough.

Sweet Valley High 104: Love and Death in London by Kate William

I was delighted by just how much fun this, my first Sweet Valley High, book was. A dizzy mix of crime, horror and romance, all told with breathless energy. This first entry in the ‘Horror in London’ trilogy, sees the Californian twins travel to the UK to work as interns in a newspaper. Immediately there’s a murder, as well as an almost overwhelming number of references to ‘An American Werewolf in London’, a missing princess and lots and lots of boys.
No one element ever overwhelms the others. The horror is silly, the mystery obvious and the romance never more than fleeting, but the balance between the three is delicious. It’s all ridiculous, but the cliched characters and plot twists are so much fun it’s impossible to dislike it.
And OMG is the cliffhanger ending shocking!

Sweet Valley High 105: A Date with a Werewolf by Kate William

Book two in the Horror in London trilogy definitely feels like a middle book. The plot progression slows down quite a lot, with the twins investigating the central murders but not really making much progress until near the end. We also get the advancing of Jessica’s romantic storyline and a lot of boy related angst for Elizabeth. A lot of the narrative grunt work goes into wrapping up (quite satisfyingly it must be said) the sub plots that were introduced in book one for the supporting characters. Hopefully this clears the deck for a more horror/mystery focussed finale.
Also worth noting is the way the author goes out of her way to correct errors in the first book in this one (“cookies, or no sorry I mean biscuits of course lol”). It’s weird but kind of amusing.

Sweet Valley High 106: Beware the Wolfman by Kate William

The final book in the ‘Horror in London’ trilogy is an absolute barnstormer. Family intrigue, murder, revenge, romance. It has it all! There’s also a defly handled dual investigation which really ramps up the tension in the second half. Yes, the denouement is obvious, but getting there is a huge amount of fun.

This week’s videos

The CriminOlly Plain Dealer #10

This week saw me starting my Read What You Own challenge, where I’ll aim to get through 100 books I already own before I buy anything new. It’ll be the fourth year that I’ve done this challenge, and its always been something that I’ve found easier and more enjoyable than it sounds (excluding my poor decision earlier this year to do a second 100 books immediately after finishing the first!).

We increasingly live in a world that encourages excessive consumption, or at least excessive purchasing. Modern capitalism relies on it, but I don’t think that Jeff Bezos really cares what we do with all the things we buy from him. Books are definitely the place where I allow myself the most excess, so taking a while to pause on acquisition and be thankful for what I already have always feels like a positive thing to do.

Cheerio!

Books I’ve Read This WeekThe Sin of the Fathers by Tony Hernandez

I read a lot of independently published horror, and much of it is very good. It’s been some time though since I’ve read an indie novel that was quite as enjoyable and well polished as this one.
It follows a group of young latino men, initially in the 1980s, whose lives are shaken up by a crime they’re involved in. The book then shifts to the 1990s, and examines the ripples of that crime on their families.
There’s a strong supernatural element, with an otherworldly villain that I absolutely loved, but it’s the believable depiction of time and place that really makes this book work. Books set in the recent past can feel cloyingly nostalgic, but this one just felt honest. The characters have a solidity, their struggles are tangible and their motivations credible, even when the reader knows they’re misguided.
Add to that an enjoyable plot-line that gradually ramps up the mystery, tension and terror and you have a very enjoyable book. At times it’s reminiscent of the great crime writer Donald Goines, or books like ‘The Only Good Indians’ or ‘Ghost Story’, but it still manages to be very much its own thing. Recommended.

‘The Sins of the Fathers’ will be published next year and has a Kickstarter campaign launching soon.

The Sentinel by Jeffrey Konvitz

Silly, but grotesquely entertaining entry in the late 60s/early 70s religious horror boom. It feels a little like Rosemary’s Baby at times, with a young woman facing weird events (and neighbours) in a NY brownstone. Like Rosemary’s Baby the Hollywood adaptation was helmed by a European bad boy director. The fact that Rosemary got Roman Polanski and The Sentinel got Michael Winner tells you all you need to know about the relative quality of the source material.

The Executioner 25: Colorado Kill-zone by Don Pendleton

Book 25 in the Executioner series is an above average entry. Think Die Hard in a ski resort and you have a sense of the plot, with Mack Bolan going up against an army that includes both mercenaries and the Mafia. It’s taut, violent and really enjoyable, with a storyline that delivers in terms of the scale of the conspiracy Bolan is up against. Great stuff.

Rebel Moon Part One – A Child of Fire by V Castro

Reading this took me back to my teens when I read an absolute tonne of movie novelisations. What’s interesting about ‘Rebel Moon’ is that it’s a novelisation of a new movie. There’s been a wave recently of book versions of classic (and not so classic) 80s horror movies, but adaptations of newer films are pretty rare.
What we get here then is something that feels very like the novelisations of the 70s, 80s and 90s. A decently crafted but not overwhelmingly good prose version of the film screenplay. V Castro (whose work is always decent value for money) does a good job. The challenge she has is that the movie wasn’t that great in the first place and the strengths it had were mostly its bombastic visuals. Without those the story is a silly, derivative futuristic fantasy adventure. It’s a fun diversion, but nothing more than that.

Doctor Who: Space Babies by Alison Rumfitt

This was just what I needed this week to restore my faith in humanity a little. A silly yet meaningful, hopeful, joyous SF adventure by trans author with a queer black lead, a feisty young woman sidekick and pro choice storyline.
The fact that’s it’s based on an episode of a TV show jointly made by the BBC and Disney, two of the largest, most respected entertainment organisations in the world, is a sign that compassion and inclusivity still have a chance.
Alison Rumfitt does a great job of bringing the episode to life on the page. It’s funny, fun and perfectly paced and she captures Ruby and the Doctor perfectly. In fact in some ways I preferred it to the TV episode – the babies are less weird and annoying in prose form.

This Week’s Videos

The CriminOlly Plain Dealer #9

I’m not sure what happened, but just discovered I didn’t actually post this last week!

It’s been an expensive week. I’ve been waiting for a while for Apple to announce the latest generation of MacBook Pros, which they finally did this week. I’ve taken the plunge and ordered one, the first really significant expense I’ve had since starting the channel. Since the early days I’ve been editing on a 2020 MacBook Air and that is already starting to struggle quite often. As the channel continues to grow there are a few more ambitious things I’d like to do video-wise, and the Air definitely couldn’t cope with those. Hopefully the new machine will prove to be a worthwhile investment.

Book-wise I finally finished ‘Shogun’ (review below). It’s taken me the whole month, but the effort was worth it.

Outside of books, I’ve been listening to this Spotify playlist, which is great for reading to.

I also checked out this short indie horror film on YouTube, which had an enjoyable EC Comics feel to its plotting.

Cheerio!

Books I’ve Read This WeekThe Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker

Clive Barker’s 1986 novella, which he filmed the following year as ‘Hellraiser’ is a masterclass in taught, tight and very dark storytelling. He packs an enormous amount into a very slim volume. There’s a rich seam of untold backstory for both the main characters and the monstrous Cenobites which the reader ends up putting together in their own minds. The inventively grotesque horror is great, but the real star of the show is the web of human relationships at the heart of the book which drives all the characters’ actions. This was a reread for me, I knew it was good but I’d forgotten quite how good.

The Bone Key by Sarah Monette

Reading a solid collection of short stories from an author I haven’t read before is always a joy. This one was really fun – well written, inventive and creepy. All follow the adventures of Kyle Murchison Booth, a young man who works in a museum. He’s an expert in mysterious books and (naturally) gets involved in investigating supernatural goings on. There’s a range of creepy things for him to go up against in a series of elegantly told tales that recall the classic style of Lovecraft. It was the quality of the writing that impressed me most about this collection, it has a beguiling richness that makes you want more.

Shogun by James Clavell

There is an awful lot that Shogun does right. It’s got some great characters, a wonderful sense of time and place, thrilling action set pieces and some enjoyable turns to the plot. Its length is, I guess, part of the point of it. It’s a book you sink into ad become absorbed by.
But at over 1100 pages it’s just too long. That same sense of immersion could have been achieved with 100 pages less, or 200, or even 3 or 400. For everything I loved about it I did find myself hating it at times because it just took so much time to get through.
Still, it’s definitely an achievement to be proud of, for author James Clavell as well as any readers who conquer it, the kind of influential popular fiction that I always admire.

This week’s videos

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The CriminOlly Plain Dealer #8

This week I tackled Grady Hendrix’ latest, ‘Witchcraft for Wayward Girls’. It’s not out until January, so I won’t be posting my full review until then, but I did enjoy it a lot. It’s far from perfect, but it does some things extraordinarily well.

Last weekend I attend the Fatal Shore crime fiction event which was running locally to me. It was a really great day, a number of different panels with a host of crime writers (many new to me) talking about their craft and the genre. Fascinating stuff and I managed to leave with only 1 book, which took enormous willpower.

Cheerio!

Books I’ve Read This WeekWhat We Talk About When We Talk About Crime by Jennifer Fleetwood

A very engagingly written short book on the way crime is discussed in modern society. It examines a number of high profile cases, mostly ones from the UK, that illustrates various aspects of this. Myra Hindley, Prince Andrew and Shamima Begum may seem like strange bedfellows, but there is something to learn from each of their brushes with the legal system.
The central argument is that personal testimony is hugely important in helping us understand crime, but that it always needs to be considered carefully. Jennifer Fleetwood lays this out clearly and effectively, with a very accessible writing style that persuades rather than bludgeons the reader. The book often feels like a conversation with a smart and informed friend, rather than an academic text. Recommended.

Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet by MC Beaton

Book 2 in the Agatha Raisin series is just as much cosy fun as the first. This time around Agatha is investigating the death of a dishy vet. It’s silly and a bit dated at times but still diverting and entertaining reading.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

Did this book need to be nearly 500 pages long? No, it did not.
Is it a bit messy at times? Yes, it is, and the horror/supernatural elements don’t always feel perfectly integrated with the rest of the book.
BUT DAMN IS IT AN EMOTIONAL RIDE. Despite its flaws I really kind of loved it. And it made me cry, FFS.
Full review on the channel nearer release date.

This week’s videos

The CriminOlly Plain Dealer #7

A really mixed reading week for me, with 3 books that disappointed. Not represented here, but I am A really mixed reading week for me, with 3 books that disappointed. Not represented here, but I am continuing to listen to the hugely long audiobook of ‘Shogun’ by James Clavell which is keeping me entertained.

This is also the week that Amazon finally announced a colour eink Kindle. It feels like they’ve done the bare minimum they had to, even after I told them exactly what they should do (see below). I am interested to see how the device compares to the competition in reviews though.

Cheerio!

Books I’ve Read This WeekSmall G: A Summer Idyll by Patricia Highsmith

My least favourite Highsmith so far. I just really failed to connect with the characters and story. So much so that I really have nothing to say about. I didn’t aggressively dislike it, it just really left no impression at all on me.

Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture: Folklore Studies by Mikage Sawamura

The concept is decent (a university professor and a student who can detect when people are lying) investigate urban legends and local folklore, but I found this light novel failed to really engage me. There are really 3 separate stories here. The first introduces the characters. The second (my favourite) is a standard “case”. The third explores the professor’s identity a bit more and takes things in what I thought was an unnecessary direction. Some of the ideas are enjoyably creepy and the two main characters are fun, but overall this was a miss for me.

Occult Detective Magazine Mythos Special 2

I always have a good time with ‘Occult Detective Magazine’ and this second ‘Mythos Special’ was no exception. Collecting a bunch of enjoyable horror stories that range from the downright creepy to enjoyable pulp adventures to the wonderfully humorous, it’s an issue that will amuse and delight fans of the occult detective genre. These Mythos Specials focus on stories that draw inspiration from established works – in this case Lovecraft and The King in Yellow are well represented.

In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan

In the Blink of an Eye has a lot going for it. A topical concept (AI – in this case an old school detective partnered with an AI as part of a pilot scheme), decent characters and an easy reading prose style.
It definitely kept me turning the pages. It’s amusing and moving at times, as well as being suspenseful. Unfortunately it fails on 2 of the things that really matter. It’s not a terribly good mystery novel, with a load of huge coincidences and solution no one could deduce. And it doesn’t have anything interesting to say about AI either.

This week’s videos

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The CriminOlly Plain Dealer #6

Week two of Occult Detective October ended up featuring a couple of books which I’m not sure fit in the sub-genre. Both Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris and Jekyll and Hyde: Consulting Detectives by Tim Major feature detectives who are in some way supernatural, rather than truly monstrous villains. Jules de Grandin righted that balance though, with some very enjoyable (if ridiculous) supernatural foes.

I had the pleasure this week of chatting to Mike from the channel Mike’s Book Reviews on his Talk About Nothing series. I’m always super nervous about doing live streams (or anything that isn’t just me talking to my phone), but I think it went well. I certainly enjoyed the experience.

Cheerio!

Books I’ve Read This WeekJekyll and Hyde: Consulting Detectives by Tim Major

This book has a fantastic concept – Jekyll and Hyde as a pair of detectives – but ends up being less fun that it might have been. The mystery is decent enough and the female lead (Jekyll’s ex-fiancée) is great, but I felt more could have been made of the mismatched duo. Trash-loving me wanted something exuberantly silly, and this isn’t that. What it does, it does well though, so I think this is a case of the reader and book not matching, rather than the book being bad.

Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

A solidly enjoyable romantic suspense novel that gets the balance between those two things just right (for my tastes anyway). The suspense is definitely the priority here and the story is enjoyably gripping, with a psychic investigator unravelling a complex mystery in a small Ozarks town. Heroine Harper is an interesting central character, but it’s the twisting plot that’s the star and Charlaine Harris does a good job of keeping you guessing. The romance was decent too!

The Adventures of Jules de Grandin by Seabury Quinn

An enjoyable collection of very pulpy stories featuring the occult detective Jules de Grandin, who is kind of like a ghostbusting Poirot. They’re often silly, sometimes salacious, and definitely have the feel of stories from another decade that were bashed out quickly to make a buck. None of that makes them less fun though, and the sheer variety of foes de Gradin and narrator/sidekick Trowbridge go up against means each story is fresh.

The Flesh Eaters by LA Morse

An interesting, historical horror novel based on the maybe true legend of Sawney Bean, a 16th century Scotsman who led a cannabalistic clan of 45 comprised of his children and inbred grandchildren. The clan live in a huge cave and prey on nearby travellers who they kill and then butcher for food.
If that premise makes you think that the book is going to be rough going, you’d not be wrong. It’s excessively grim at times, like ‘The Girl Next Door’ level grim. It never lingers too long on its unpleasant goings on, but it doesn’t flinch from them either. There’s a matter of factness to the prose style that somehow diminishes the horror. It’s only when you stop and reflect back on what you’ve just read that you start to feel a bit nauseous.
It makes for compelling, gruesome reading, but the absence of a central character to root for means there isn’t a huge amount of tension. It’s more a rinse and repeat of scenes of the clan hunting their human victims, with the plot (such as it is) concerning the growth and evolution of the family.
Definitely interesting reading if you’re a fan of dark and disturbing books, but not a classic.

This week’s videos

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The CriminOlly Plain Dealer #5

We made it to October, beloved month of horror fans everywhere. Personally, I’m not a fan as I hate the wind and rain, but at least it gives me an excuse to stay in and read. Of course in 2024 (and indeed 2023), October is also ‘Occult Detective’ October, so I’ll be enjoying some spooky reads from the intersection of my two favourite genres. There’s at least one reviewed below, albeit not one that devotees of Occult Detectives are likely to list in any top 10s. I enjoyed it though!

Cheerio!

Books I’ve Read This WeekThe Road by Cormac McCarthy and Manu Larcenet

This graphic novel adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel is visually stunning, with stark monochrome artwork that does a great job of immersing the reader in the brutal world of the story. If you don’t know that story, it’s simple but deep. A man and his son struggling to both survive and cling onto their humanity.
Beyond capturing that supremely bleak atmosphere , this adaptation also does a great job of hitting the emotional high (or more often low) points of the story. It’s heartrendingly moving at times.
Where things don’t work quite so well is in the pacing. The source novel isn’t long, but McCarthy’s prose has a quality that really immerses you in the world and the story. The artwork here manages to do that to an extent, but the slim plot and the minimal dialogue means that it all moves a bit too quickly. I found the speed with which I read a it sapped at least some of the power from the tale, although there is at least one repeated image which I think will stay stuck in my brain for some time.

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by MC Beaton

This wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but it was exactly what I needed on a lazy Sunday. The Agatha Raisin of the title is a successfully businesswoman who, in her 50s, sells her firm and retires to the Cotswolds. When a well to do local man dies, apparently poisoned by a quiche Agatha has entered in a competition he was judging, she adopts the role of amateur sleuth.
The part I wasn’t expecting was that Agatha is kind of a bitch at times, certainly no well meaning Jessica Fletcher. That actually makes her more believable and likeable as a character and it brings some enjoyably catty humour to the story. The plot itself is low stakes and enjoyable. It’s not going to go down in the annals of crime as one of the great mysteries, but it was pleasant to read and kept me turning the pages. Throw in the humour and a hint of romance and you have an ideal Sunday read.

The Skull Mantra by Eliot Pattison

A very enjoyable mystery with a fascinating setting. It takes place in China in the 90s and features a former detective who’s been imprisoned by the authorities investigating a mysterious death. Full of twists, intrigue and rich with colour it manages to be bitter a compelling thriller and an interesting study of a time and place I know little about.

Charmed: The Power of Three by Eliza Willard

Does this count as Occult Detective fiction? I say yes, and I loved it. It’s a super quick but enjoyable read. This is, I think, the adaptation of the first episode of the show and has the three sisters leaning about their powers and going up against a witch-killing warlock. Fun and kind of charming in how happily silly it is.

This week’s videos

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The CriminOlly Plain Dealer #4

This was a nice varied reading week for me, 5 books read and no two alike. Wrapping up the Ripley series by Patricia Highsmith felt satisfying but also somewhat bittersweet. I’ve really loved the read through I’ve been doing of her work and to have nearly exhausted it seems like it might leave a bit of a void in my reading.

Aside from that the week had a double dose of horror, some 60s humour and one of the best fight scenes I’ve read for ages.

Cheerio!

Books I’ve Read This WeekRipley Under Water by Patricia Highsmith

A really thoroughly enjoyable end to Highsmith’s Ripley series, with Tom Ripley being haunted by a couple who are digging into his past. At times with feels like a greatest hits, with Ripley’s past crimes discussed and dissected. And throughout it all you get the kind of wonderful tension that time and again Highsmith was able to conjuring out of simple uncertainty.
Gripping, darkly amusing stuff.

Experimental Film by Gemma Files

This is one of those books I’ve been aware of for a few years but had never gotten round to reading. At least in part that’s because (inexplicably) it’s not published in the UK. It sits in one of my favourite horror sub genres, cursed films, but there are so many different elements at play here it’s hard to classify neatly.
The book follows a film critic digging into the history of some weird old footage that’s been used in an avant garde short film. There’s a historical mystery, creepy folk horror, a load of interesting film theory, moving sections on the main character’s relationship with her child, and a gripping plot to pull you through it all. The blending of real movie history and imagined films reminded me a little of ‘Flicker’ by Theodore Roszak. I didn’t love it as much as that book, but it definitely succeeds far better as a compelling piece of horror fiction.

Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway

A genuinely gripping and enjoyable mystery with a great sci fi twist. I love speculative fiction books that build themselves around one simple central concept. ‘Titanium Noir’ does that brilliantly, and then throws a noirish mystery into the mix as well. There’s intrigue, secrets, family rivalry and a couple of great fight scenes all presented in a credible and fascinating world.

And to My Nephew Albert I Leave the Island What I Won Off Fatty Hagan in a Poker Game by David Forrest

This late 60s comic novel predates the M*A*S*H movie and TV show but not the novel that inspired them. I don’t know if that was an influence, but ‘And To My Nephew Albert…’ definitely has a similar mix of slightly saucy, booze-fuelled hijinks and political satire. In this case the story is about a young man who inherits a remote island and then finds it occupied by both US and Soviet troops. It’s VERY dated at times, but still an entertaining read – comical and intriguing with a great ending.
David Forrest was the pseudonym of a pair of writers (David Eliades and Robert Forrest-Webb) who also wrote ‘The Great Dinosaur Robbery’ which was filmed by Disney as ‘One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing’.

Elemental Forces by Mark Morris (editor)

A very enjoyable and admirably varied horror anthology, expertly pulled together by editor Mark Morris. The lack of a central theme beyond modern horror means there are all sorts of stories here. That variety means that if a story doesn’t hit the mark (and the vast majority do) then you’re only a few pages away from something different.

This week’s videos

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The CriminOlly Plain Dealer #3

Are you a budding author? I’m pulling together a second anthology of trashy fiction! Submissions close at the end of this year and you can find full details here: https://criminolly.com/trash-tales-submissions-guidelines/

This has been one of the slowest reading weeks I’ve had for a while. Work (and some things outside of work) have taken a bit of a toll on my ability to find the time to read and the mental space to concentrate when I do. What I have managed to read I’ve really enjoyed though! Especially Mark Hodder’s ‘A Dark and Subtle Light’ which was a blast.

I’ve been thinking a bit this week about one of my favourite bookish topics, the harm that book snobbery can do. The thoughts on that were triggered by a couple of videos on YouTube which I’ll link below. My simple take is that seeing people read makes me happy and I don’t much care what they’re actually reading. That train of thought led me to pondering the different sources of book recommendations available to us, and how they all have their flaws as well as their positive aspects. Video upcoming on that!

Cheerio!

Books I’ve Read This WeekA Dark and Subtle Light by Mark Hodder

This was a supremely enjoyable adventure. A kind of alternative history fantasy that sees an immortal Niccolo Machiavelli leading a team of heroes to infiltrate a fascist commune in 19th century Europe. If that isn’t enough, the presence of brain altering alien mind worms as well as proto-Nazis adds to the fun.
It’s all somewhat bonkers in an infectiously entertaining way. Da Vinci makes an appearance (on the side of the heroes), as does Nietzsche (for the villains). There’s a kickass female warrior, some great action, nicely handled humour and a fevered pulpy inventiveness to it all that I found completely addictive. The bad guys are utterly despicable, making the twists and turns of the book even more compelling. It has a satisfying vintage feel to it, the page turning excitement of a 70s thriller, but also manages to feel current.
The fact that Mark Hodder weaves a lot of historical reality into his fantastical tale is impressive and makes for an even more satisfying tale.
This was the first book I’ve read by him. I’m very confident it won’t be the last.

The Executioner 24: Canadian Crisis by Don Pendleton

Mack Bolan in Canada fighting the Mafia with a French Canadian agent in tow. All the action you’d expect, but this time with occasional references to Quebecois separatists. Fun.

Harvest Blood by AW James

This was a fun horror novella with a neat central concept and the vibe of a low budget 80s horror movie. Every year on Halloween, one of the children of the small town where the book is set disappears. This year the sheriff is determined it won’t happen again.
The book is super fast paced and mixes a bunch of different styles of horror effectively. Whilst there’s nothing groundbreaking here, I’m often not in the mood for groundbreaking. What I am pretty much always in the mood for is something a little bit creepy and a lot of fun. ‘Harvest Blood’ delivered.

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