Review Round Up November 2011

ALREADY GONE by John Rector, Amazon Encore, ISBN 9781439276006
With THE COLD KISS, Rector made an immediate impact upon us here at Crime Scene Scotland. His taut, spare prose was refreshing and affecting, and the dark, twisted plot made us shiver with the kind of discomfort we really seek to find in the best crime fiction.
Now Rector returns with his third novel, ALREADY GONE, the story of a man who has turned his life around and left behind his old days on the streets to become a respected novelist and new college professor. His wife, an art dealer, has little idea of what he was once capable of but loves him all the same. In fact, things couldn’t be better Jake Reese.

Until the mugging.

Outside a bar, Reese is attacked and his wedding ring stolen. Not just the ring, in fact, but the finger on which it was placed. It’s a violent and disturbing act, but something about it makes Jake think there’s more going on than a simple robbery. That there’s something personal motivating the incident.

After this, the novel kicks into an impressively high gear as Jake wonders whether his own past has come back to haunt him. But the truth may be even more terrifying than Jake realises, and when his wife goes missing, Jake reverts to his old ways in order to find the men responsible for destroying his new life.

Of course, things are never what they appear and – like Deaver or Coben – Rector takes a great delight in twisting the reader’s expectations. Unlike most exponents of the twist-in-the-tail-novel, however, these unexpected revelations that smack the reader about the head are oddly truthful and full of an emotional honesty that really hits home. ALREADY GONE never sacrifices character for plot, or even the other way round. No, Rector’s too smart for any of that.

And while one or two twists might threaten to momentarily throw the novel off-balance (there’s a feeling they may be just a little too clever verging on the cute), Rector’s controlled and balanced sense of scale keeps ALREADY GONE believably tense and occasionally quite terrifying.

ALREADY GONE is simply one of the best character-led thrillers I’ve read in a long time. With its spare, brutal prose, it allows the reader space to read between the lines of the action and to truly immerse themselves in Rector’s dangerous, deceptive universe. No longer simply “one to watch”, John Rector is now firmly established as one of the finest of the new breed of thriller writers and one who deserves to find a large and devoted readership.

DOVE SEASON by Johnny Shaw, Amazon Encore, ISBN 9781935597643

Johnny Shaw’s debut novel makes an impression from the first page with a confident voice and a real sense of place. Reading the book was enough to make me feel dehydrated from the dry heat of rural California, near the Mexican border, so that my short soaked through with sweat even though all I was doing was sitting in a chair.

Atmosphere is king in Dove Season, and while Jimmy Veeder and the cast who revolve about him are the stars of the plot, it is Shaw’s evocation of place that stays with you long after you’ve finished the novel. And that is a great thing; I often feel like I’ve toured the world through the pages of crime novels and the ones that stay with me are the ones that give me a real sense of place. Johnny Shaw’s vision of life on both sides of the border is immediate, memorable and utterly compelling.

Which isn’t to say he shirks on other duties. While the novel appears to take its time – with our protagonist, Jimmy Veeder searching for a prostitute his dying father once knew – in setting up events, it soon becomes that this leisurely pace is essential, and by the midway point, where the gear suddenly shifts and the novel starts to descend into a terrifying freefall, you start to see how clever Shaw is. Plot is as much about the setup as it is about the resolution, and Shaw is a master at making his action unexpected while at the same time appearing natural and utterly inevitable.

This is a complex and quite brilliant novel that is both ambitious and surprisingly accomplished for a debut. Of course, some people may find the move from meandering and thoughtful caper to flat-out thriller territory a little jarring, but Shaw is smart enough to make that move seem inevitable and by the end of the book you’ll be sweating not just from that desert heart but from fear of what will happen next.

DOVE SEASON is a novel about fathers and sons, about life-changing decisions, about finding your own morality. The atmosphere is palpable and all-consuming, and the cast feel like old friends within moments of meeting them. If this is how Shaw starts out, then we at Crime Scene Scotland can’t wait to see what he does for an encore.

HELL AND GONE by Duane Swierczynski, Mulholland, ISBN 978-1444707588

Swierczynski is the master at making the ludicrous plausible. Frome nanobots (THE BLONDE) to time travelling aspirin (EXPIRATION DATE) he excels at taking insane plot points and making them feel real. Much of this is to do with his grounded and utterly convincing voice. More is to do with his ability to pace his novels at such a breakneck speed, you have no choice but to hang on and go for the ride.

The first in his Charlie Hardie trilogy, FUN AND GAMES continued this trend with ex-cop Hardie pitted against “the accident people”, a mysterious organisation who excelled in killing people and making it seem like an accident. Now, in HELL AND GONE, Charlie finds himself incarcerated in a seemingly impossible prison. He is told that he is to be the new warden, and that if he refuses his new duties then everyone in the prison – including the innocent guards that are now under his charge – will die. The prison is deep underground and no one has ever escaped or even attempted to. The inmates and guards alike are utterly cut off from the outside world.

HELL AND GONE is complex – moreso than it first appears – and this makes for a delicious game of twist and countertwist as Swierczynski plays with his readers. Its insane, its ludicrous and its incredibly good fun. Like the best kind of action movies, HELL AND GONE just asks you to accept its rules and have a blast. It’s a burst of adrenaline, and surprisingly smart for something so insane. Swierczynski may be making his own rules, but he sticks by them and refuses to cheat his characters or his readers. This is the kind of action thriller that doesn’t need to talk down to its audience.

Once again, as with FUN AND GAMES, the reader is left on the edge of their seat. But fret not, its only a few short months until the third instalment of the Hardie trilogy. And I’ll tell you this – we at Crime Scene Scotland can’t wait for it to hit our shelves!

NINE INCHES by Bateman 978-0755378647

(The Artist formerly known as “Colin”) Bateman’s long-awaited new Dan Starkey novel is finally here. NINE INCHES (and there’s a moment where that title just clicks – and it’s a pretty good gag too) finds the ex-investigative reporter turned owner of a “Boutique bespoke service for important people with difficult problems” or, as you and I would say, Private Investigator, tackling the case of a local radio personality whose son was kidnapped for four hours and returned unharmed with a note in his pocket.

It’s a case that’s going to turn Belfast on its head. Taking in The Troubles, Organised crime, the perils of life as a butcher and how best to negotiate with a fourteen year old troublemaker by taking away his false leg, it’s a Bateman novel through and through, with just enough of a serious undertone to make all the jokes matter.

If you love Bateman, you’re going to dig the hell out of Nine Inches. The plot is nicely absurd and the gags are often very, very funny. And more than once there are moments of real humanity amongst the caper-like plot.

But if I’m honest, I’m not so keen on Starkey as a character as I am on Bateman’s more recent creation, The Bookseller with No Name. Like The Bookseller, Starkey has a neat line of put downs and timely gags, but unlike The Bookseller he often comes across as overly self-centred and more than a little callous. But then I like my characters with a bit of humility, and its much the same problem as I have with Christopher Brookmyre whereby I prefer the novels without his ongoing character Jack Parlabane. In fact, Parlabane and Starkey have a great deal in common. They’re both stubborn, annoyingly confident, supremely arrogant men who happen to wind up on the right side whether they intend to or not. And that’s fun for a while, but both characters supreme confidence can get a little wearing after a while. The self-doubt of a character like The Bookseller is, for this reader, infinitely more endearing.

That said, I still got a big kick out of Nine Inches. It’s a fun caper novel with a few serious thoughts lurking beneath the great gags as Starkey exposes the self-destructive greed and pig-headed idiocy of those around him with some particularly good barbs pointed in the direction of the political sphere.

A Bateman novel is always good value, even without The Bookseller. He’s one of the kings of the caper and one of an elect few authors who can marry humour with a thriller format and come away with his dignity – and his obvious talent – intact. Nine Inches will only cement his reputation as one of the most consistently entertaining writers on the block.

CHOKE HOLD by Christa Faust

Hard Case Crime, ISBN 9780857682857, $7.99, $9.95

Faust has long been a favourite here at Crime Scene Scotland. From the sheer bravura of MONEY SHOT to the alterna-noir of HOODTOWN, she is one of the strongest, most convincing authors of the new noir breed. We’ve been waiting for CHOKE HOLD for a long time now, and figure we have to cut straight to the chase by saying this is one of the most thrilling, exciting and affecting noir novels you’re going to read all year.

At this year’s Bouchercon, Faust talked about how she can promote her books on two levels. There’s the “porn star gets two –fisted revenge on those who did her wrong” angle, and then there’s the more emotional body image, aging and dealing with loss side of the novels that appeal more to the emotional reader. As with MONEY SHOT, the book works on both levels, and quite brilliantly.

When we catch up with Angel Dare (last seen in MONEY SHOT), she’s in Witness Protection, working under the name Julie and seeing a court-appointed psychologist to talk about what happened to her. But with the psychologist more interested in Dare’s past in the porn industry and Dare’s own defences not allowing her to open up to anyone, never mind this nosy shrink, it’s a case of severely wasted time. And then a face from Dare’s past turns up, sending her on the run again. She meets an old acquaintance – Thick Vic – and his kid, Cody, an MMA* fighter on his way up. But there’s no time to get reacquainted as a shoot-out kills Vic and sends Dare on the run with his son.

From here, CHOKE HOLD doesn’t let up for a page. True to her pulp roots, Faust knows how to keep the narrative taut, but never at the expense of characterisation. For all the gunfights and two-fisted action, there’s an emotional honesty that lurks around the edges of the action. Dare may deny her feelings, but that doesn’t mean they’re entirely absent. More than once she betrays something of the woman she could have been to the reader, and those moments are truly affecting. On top of that, the supporting cast are brilliantly drawn, particularly the hugely empathetic Hank “The Hammer” Hammond, Cody’s trainer and maybe his only friend.
Dare is an intriguing character. More than simply an avenging angel, she is a truly human creation who tries to deny her own humanity to cope with the situations she finds herself in. She is one of the most engaging heroes to emerge from the crime scene in a long time, and honestly, we here at Crime Scene Scotland are hoping and praying for a third instalment.

Faust herself does a brilliant job at engaging the reader with worlds that may not be familiar to them. Her take on the adult entertainment industry is not always glamorous, but it is never as preachily downbeat as certain other writers might paint it. Dare’s attitude here makes all the difference. To Dare, the Industry is a job, and it comes with its good and its bad. Yeah, its got a lot of damaged people working in it, but what industry doesn’t? Coming out of the other end of the novel, the reader comes to realise that the world isn’t as black and white as they might have believed, whether in the world of organised sex or organised fights.

CHOKE HOLD is a sexy, dangerous and compelling novel from an author whose direct, spare prose burns itself into the brain. If you haven’t read Faust, you need to do yourself a favour a check her out right now.

*Mixed Martial Arts – for the uninitiated, it’s a bit like the new form of wrestling where, essentially, anything goes

Russel D McLean for crimescenescotland 24.09.11

Round up July 2011

We're still here, you know. Still reading the best crime books. We've made a decision recently that in order to keep the reviews going we need to do more round up reviews than one offs. This means shorter takes but hopefully more reviews. And while they may be briefer, rest assured they're still going to be well-thought out and solidly opinionated, just the way you've come to expect from Crime Scene Scotland.

Anyway here's what we've been reading lately:


BLACK FLOWERS By Steve Mosby Orion Books, 978-1409101116


Mosby’s complex thriller is as much about how storys and narratives run through our lives as it is about the mysterious connection a young writer’s father may have to a long cold case. Mosby uses fairy tale motifs ("This is not the story of a little girl who dissapears. This is the story of a little girl who comes back") to great effect in this unique and unsettling thriller, cementing his reputation as one of the most original high concept thriller writers working in the UK today.

It all threatens to get a little silly as the conspiracy becomes insanely personal, but Mosby pulls it back from the brink by presenting the reader with emotionally honest characters and a genuine intrigue that builds as the narrative progresses. And while the thriller aspects – and in particular those that verge close to a kind of horror motif – are very well done, its Mosby’s investment in character that really pulls us in. Very few writers can create such real characters as Mosby does in the thriller genre, and its this deftness of touch that places him leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the pack. It helps that he somehow makes even the most high of high concepts appear plausible.

If you haven’t read Mosby before, we advise you start now.

KILLER MOVE Michael Marshall Orion Books, 978-1409133247

As ever with Marshall, the book starts intriguingly with a man who starts to realise that the life he’s living is being manipulated by forces beyond his control. Bill Moore is an ordinary guy, a Florida Realtor, who has started to notice odd things happening in his life. Little business cards with the word MODIFIED start appearing in his workspace. Books he never order come by post. Emails he never sent are recieved by friends. And then the changes start getting bigger and more disturbing. And the worst part is, no one else seems to notice.

Marshall's prose is solid and engaging, and the intrigue and level of tension is slowly ratcheted with a kind of expert control. Its the kind of thing Marshall does with ease; taking the everyday and then twisting into something else. The trouble is that often Marshall's ideas are too big to appear plausible, and as KILLER MOVE races to its conclusion, its only in the last few chapters that the reader may feel the narrative beginning to implode.

As with THE INTRUDERS, there’s that twist of the knife that goes just a little too far. Unlike one of his closest counterparts in modern thriller writing, Steve Mosby, Marshall doesn’t present us with characters complex enought to pull us through the insanity of their situation. They seem more at the mercy of the plot than the plot is at the mercy of them. Ultimately this means that the motivation of the bad guys appears paper thin. Although perhaps that’s because one might need to have read Marshall’s famous Straw Men series first, as another reader has pointed out to us.

Of course, much of this can be down to personal taste, and if you can buy the increasingly insane twists and turns of the plot, this is a well written thriller with one hell of a great opening. How much you can take though depends entirely on your suspension of disbelief and whether you were a fan of the old Michael Douglas movie, THE GAME, which seems to have had more than a passing influence on Marshall’s narrative here (but its an influence and – thankfully – not a direct knock-off) or at least that's how I felt when I realised where events were heading to.

I feel much the same about KILLER MOVE as I did about THE INTRUDERS, which was a solid and intriguing premise rather blunted by an ending that felt rushed and out of left field. But Marshall is clearly a writer of talent and his attempts to inject something a little different into the crowded thriller field should be applauded, even if they tend to self destruct towards the end.

FUN AND GAMES Duane Swierczynski Mulholland Books, 978-1444707564

The first of a trilogy featuring Charlie Harper – ex Philly cop turned “house sitter” – finds our hero getting involved with a mysterious group of directors who arranged accidental deaths for a price. Madden Lane is a starlet with a past whose indiscretions have become inconvenient to the wrong people who now want her dead. But no one reckoned on Harper getting involved.

As always with Swierczynski (THE BLONDE), the action is ludicrous and yet rendered believable by the tight, uncompromising prose and the sheer, relentless pace. Where most thriller writers believe detailing guns for pages on end is a way to get the adrenaline pumping, Swierczynski jumps straight to the chase giving you only what you need to understand the action. And it works, it really does. The author isn’t apologising or explaining his story. He’s letting it stand on its own two feet, and this results in the kind of narrative that just sweeps you up and has you hanging on for dear life. Swierczynski is one of the few writers who can recreate the adrenaline rush of the best action thrillers on the page, and the only thing you can do as a reader is just surrender and go along for the ride. To keep you in the mood, each chapter is headed with quotes from action movies and film stars, which becomes a fun little game to see how the intent of these quotes is twisted to fit Swierczynski’s narrative.

Yes, it’s melodramatic, ludicrous and patently insane. But its sense of self belief is palpable that even a half-naked, one-eyed woman who arranges killings with cold efficiency seems absolutely plausible within Swierczynski’s world. Not to say that the novel isn’t smart. It is. FUN AND GAMES is sly, and fun and just one hell of a good time.

This is the first book of Swierczynski’s to be published in the UK. So if you haven’t read him yet, you no longer have an excuse. Go buy FUN AND GAMES. Right now. Or I’m giving the Accident People your name…


FIFTH VICTIM By Zoe Sharp Allison and Busby, 978-0749009328

For a long time I've been singing the praises of Zoe Sharp's Charlie Fox novels, citing not only her uniqueness in the male-dominated action thriller genre, but also the fact that her books feel absolutely real; there is no questioning the authenticity here.

As the Fox series has developed, another interesting wrinkle has been added - - Sharp gives a distinctly human quality to her protagonist. Charlie is not just another arse-kicking automaton, but a fully rounded human being who occasionally makes bad judgement calls. The last one, of course, wound up with her lover and fellow bodyguard Sean Meyer in a coma.

In FIFTH VICTIM, Charlie finds taking on an apparently simple gig to try and distract her from the reality of Sean's condition. But nothing is ever as simple as it seems and soon enough both Charlie's life and that of her principle are in danger. The plot twists and turns with a surprising ease, but its the final twists that provide a real kick to the heart and the head.

The perfect blend of thrills and emotional investment mean that Sharp's latest novel is her best yet. If you're not reading her, you really should start now.

Russel D Mclean for crimescenescotlandreviews.blogspot.com, 14/07/11

THE DEPUTY by Victor Gischler

THE DEPUTY by Victor Gischler Tyrus Books, 9781935562009 (pb) / 9781935562016 (hb)
Victor Gischler’s THE DEPUTY is one of those hick-town hardboiled books that always draw me in. Set in one of those small US towns with a population where everyone knows damn near everyone else and where the police are as local as they come, it’s the story of a newly minted Deputy who gets in over his head when he stumbles over a local conspiracy.

The Deputy in question is Toby Sawyer. He’s a directionless kind of guy who’s fallen into this line of work after his dreams of becoming a musician fell apart and he got stuck in his home town. Now he’s stuck doing shit work as the new deputy and running between the mother of his child and his younger, wilder lover. He’s not a bad guy as such, but he’s not the hero type.

And he’s certainly not a natural law enforcement. Left to guard the dead body of a local kid, he gets distracted and winds up losing the body. This is is just the start of a nightmare for Toby who soons finds himself in real trouble, struggling to keep his head above water.

Gischler’s previous novels run the gamut starting with Leonardesque novels of criminals and hit men (GUN MONKEY, SHOTGUN OPERA) before moving to apocalyptic SF (GO GO GIRLS OF THE APOCALYPSE) and frequent comic book work for Marvel Comics. So its nice to see him return to the genre where he started. If anything, as good notice as Gun Monkey and Shotgun Opera had on their release, The Deputy blows them right out of the water.

Gischler’s voice feels more confident and his evocation of small town life is wonderful, as he evokes both the boredom of being stuck in the place where everyone knows everyone else and the fear that something dark is hiding just beneath the surface of the community.

Sawyer is a perfect protagonist; an ordinary guy who finds himself in over his head. He’s no hero, per-se, although he may be forced to act like one, and its telling that when the book starts off he’s wearing his tin badge over a t-shirt. This guy is no law enforcement officer, Gischler’s telling us, he’s just some guy who found himself in this place with no plan and no idea. By the end of the book, of course, he’s something else entirely, and Gischler shows this evolution of character in a kind of subtle way, so that its only by the end of the book we realise what’s been happening and how Sawyer has been changed. It’s a great arc and like the best arcs you don’t realise what’s happening until the very last page; its organically handled.

But this is a Gischler novel, which means that while there my subtlety in craft, on the surface there’s some rip-roaring violence (in one particular case that made me wince, the word rip is horrifically appropriate) some damn fine jokes and a momentum that pulls the reader through until the last page.

Perhaps some of the elements of the plot – the small town corruption that Sawyer uncovers along with its major players are perhaps of little surprise to anyone familiar with the genre – are nothing new, but Gischler’s confident prose, gripping set-pieces and well-drawn characters more than make up for this.

The Deputy is a fast-paced, gripping small town hardboiled novel with a well-crafted protagonist and compelling action. Perfect for fans of Elmore Leonard, Patrick Quinlan or anyone who just loves a damn good crime novel.

Russel D McLean for crimescenescotlandreviews, 31/01/11

DR YES by Bateman

DR. YES By Bateman

Headline, £14.99, 9780755378609

MYSTERY MAN was one of those books that grabbed me from the opening page. Bateman’s Bookseller With No Name is a neurotic, paranoid, hypochondriac mess of a man who barely understands people and treats his customers with a barely restrained loathing for their obvious idiocy. He is every retailer on a bad day taken to extremes. And yet somehow, he is immensely empathetic in a very unsettling way. His rambling narration is frequently laugh out loud funny and peppered with the kind of geeky references that will add another dimension to fans of the genre (one could create a kind of drinking game out of it, but it might be a rather solo exercise unless there is an audio version available). But that first book seemed like a one off exercise, a beautifully executed and somewhat ludicrious joke that couldn’t possibly form the basis for a series.

Right?

Okay. Wrong.

DAY OF THE JACK RUSSELL followed swiftly and now we have the quite magnificent DR. YES, which continues in much the same vein as the first two novels with our bookselling hero trying to live out the life of his fictional heroes while steadfastly refusing to actually place himself in any real danger unless someone first shove him in the way of it. His relationship – “she’s not my girlfriend!” – with the now pregnant jewellery seller Alison is absolutely wonderful, although there is a suspicion that she is every bit as unhinged as he given that she seems to let him hang around her.

And the word unhinged could apply to almost every cast member with the possible exception of the long suffering DI Robinson who plays the straight man throughout the novels with a kind of weariness one suspects would come quickly dealing with the Mystery Man and his cohorts.

This time around, our nameless hero starts the ball rolling by chasing down an elusive and little-published writer who he sees passing the shop. Sensing the opportunity for some cash from first editions, our hero is as ever driven by his own inflated and childish id and winds up involved in a mystery that takes in a missing (presumed dead) wife, a charismatic plastic surgeon with great teeth and a too-sexy-to-be-true femme fatalle by the name of Pearl Knecklasse (cue a great discussion between Mystery Man and Alison over how that can’t possibly be a real name).

As ever with Bateman, the gags are spot on, the laconic narration is perfectly paced and the action is often inspired by its own twisted kind of logic. The Bookseller With No Name series continues to be effortless and sometimes inspired entertainment, even for those who won’t get all the in-jokes about various crime authors and genre clichés. Bateman continues to be one of those talented few who can write comic mysteries with apparent ease, and if you like your crime stories with a (darkly) comic edge, you need to go pick Dr Yes up right now. Preferably from the most neurotic, paranoid and hypochondriac bookseller you can find…

DON'T LOOK BACK by Laura Lippman

DON’T LOOK BACK by Laura Lippman

Avon Books – March, 2010, £6.99 978147560940

Laura Lippman impressed us here at Crime Scene Scotland when we stumbled upon THE POWER OF THREE, Lippman’s powerful novel set around a high school shooting. Since then, we have immersed ourselves in Lippman’s writing; an often gut-wrenching blend of crime fiction, literary stylings and pop fiction that deals with complex emotional issues amidst twisting and gripping plots. While she may be better known her Tess Monahan series, we have always had a weakness for her standalone novels, and so were excited when DON’T LOOK BACK* came through our mailbox.

Don’t Look Back tells two parallel narratives, starting in 1985 when Walter Bowman starts to uncover a darker side to himself, working his way to becoming a notorious serial killer. As we follow Walter’s transformation, the second narrative begins in the modern world as Eliza Benedict – the girl who escaped Bowman’s clutches and ultimately led to his capture – finds herself receiving letters from the man, who is finally facing the death sentence.

Lippman’s narrative is all about memory and recollection. As we follow both narratives, we discover the ways in which people remember events and places and how these can sometimes distort the reality and emotions connected to people. Eliza appears at first to be a very passive character, and as the narrative progresses we suddenly realise how different her appearance is from her internal personality, how there are forces driving her that even she may not be aware of.

The narrative itself is intriguing and provides that perfect mix between literary and thriller. You think you know what to expect, but Lippman pulls the rug out from under you creating a story that feels much more personal than one might expect. As it rolls towards its denoument, you find yourself emotionally conflicted and uncertain as to the truth of any given situation. By letting the modern and 1985 narratives run in tandem, Lippman illuminates the truth in patches until you suddenly realise that what you were looking at was not perhaps what you thought it was.

It should also be noted the Walter Bowman is one of the most believable serial killers to have been written about in modern fiction. Less a bogeyman and more a deeply troubled human being, his humanity is what makes him so terrifying. At his heart, he is a man driven by basic human needs who has gone off track somewhere and watching as he descends into a terrible place, convinced of his own motives, is a deeply chilling experience.

Don’t Look Back is an incredible, literary crime novel, one that should hopefully propel Lippman’s profile here in the UK. If you haven’t discovered Lippman yet, we urge you to pick up this book when its released and discover one of the most intelligent and skilled writers working in the crime genre today.

Russel D McLean for crimescenescotland, 28/01/11

*published in the US as I’D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE

Private Eyes From the Hardboiled Guys

INNOCENT MONSTER by Reed Farrel Coleman Tyrus Books, $24.95, ISBN 9781935562207
A DROP OF THE HARD STUFF by Lawrence Block , Mulholland Books, May 2011, ISBN 9780316127332

The Private Eye is one of those archetypal characters everybody believes they know and understand. We all have this image solidified by decades of cliché and ingrained ideas that tallies our image of the investigator. This makes it tough to come up with anything new to say when writing about such a character, but at least two novels I’ve read in the last few months have proved that the eye is far from washed up.

The first novel was Reed Farrel Coleman’s latest Moe Prager novel, INNOCENT MONSTER (Tyrus Books). Coleman is one of my favourite of the current breed of eye heroes, not least because his stories rob the genre of its melodrama and instead aim for a more realistic, but no less hard-hitting account of the life of the eye. The Prager series focuses on mistakes buried in the past, on how we plant the seeds for our own destruction many years before they take fruit and how we seldom even notice that we’ve done so. This latest novel finds Prager retired from the investigation business, pulled back in by his estranged daughter. It seems that Prager’s past is what pulls him into the investigation business every time, as if by solving another’s problem he can somehow atone for all that he has done wrong.

As Prager finds himself pulled into the search for a missing art prodigy, he finds he must deal with the guilt of others as well as his own lingering self-criticism and guilt over all the anguish he has brought others. The only real reason Moe pursues the case is to try and mend his relationship with his daughter. As the book progresses, Moe is duped, outsmarted and double crossed by nearly everyone, but the fact is that no one can hurt Prager as badly as he can hurt himself. He is a unique and wonderful character – utterly rounded and flawed in a convincingly conflicted way so few crime protagonists are. Moe is neither a crusader nor an agent of chaos. He is simply a human being with all that entails, and Innocent Monster serves to further our insight into the man he is and the man he has been.

But while character may be king, Coleman manages to serve a meaty plot with which to mirror Prager’s own internal drama. The search for Sashi Bluntstone – child art prodigy, now missing – serves as a way into a world where no one can tell the truth, where people wear masks to disguise their own sins and where decades-long pain has started to resurface. Any writer can knock at the art-loving middle/upper class set but Coleman does it in a way that feels strikingly real and utterly plausible. The fact that Coleman – like all good eyes – is an outsider to this world only serves to bring further illuminations to the truths he uncovers within this world.

Coleman only came to Crime Scene Scotland’s attention a few years ago, but he has rapidly become one of our favourite writers here, and Innocent Monster only serves to cement that reputation. This is crime writing at its smartest and it’s most emotionally honest. Innocent Monster is the kind of book that stays with you, and of course will leave you wanting to know what happens next, as it hints at what might be in store for Moe the next time we meet him.

A word of warning, of course. If you are new to Prager, perhaps you might want to start earlier in the series. The emotional impact of the series works at its best as a slow and gradual build up. While we at Crime Scene Scotland often claim that series books do not need to be read in order, the Prager books are of a select few that have maximum emotional impact when read in order. But trust us, you won’t be disappointed.

The second novel is the forthcoming A DROP OF THE HARD STUFF (Mulholland) from Lawrence Block, and it’s the latest in one of my favourite long running eye series featuring ex-alcoholic eye Matt Scudder. What makes A Drop of the Hard Stuff interesting is that it acts as a flashback piece, a look back at a gap in Scudder’s decades long career. Looking at the chronology of the Scudder character, it is clear that there is a long gap between his realisation that he is an Alcoholic and his recovery. During that period we learn little of Scudder’s life, and know only that he returned more sober if not necessarily wiser.

The last couple of Scudder books (the last being 2005’s ALL THE FLOWERS ARE DYING) had found Scudder in a kind of odd place as a character. With his past behind him and his sins coming to a head in EVERYBODY DIES, it seemed as though there was nowhere new to take Matt. He was still one of the finest written eyes on the block (no pun intended) but the fire seemed to have gone from his belly.

This is what makes A Drop of the Hard Stuff so interesting; it takes place at a time in Scudder’s life when the conflict between his old and new selves was at its height. It was a time when he could tip either way, when his future was uncertain. As a result this makes for an intriguing central conflict within the book and the real possibility that our hero may just slip up. The very personal aspect of Scudder’s investigation – as he investigates the death of a childhood friend who is also in the Twelve Step Program – adds fuel to the emotional fire of Scudder and provides a neat counterpoint to the exploration of Scudder himself.

In contrast to the Moe Prager novels, Scudder’s world is operatic in its intensity. His is a world of melodrama. Grittily convincing melodrama, but melodrama nonetheless. This is not a criticism. Scudder is the last of the original two-fisted PIs left out there. He is one of the last pure eyes left, and he shows us in this novel why they were so effective and why they belonged to a very particular time and place before the genre had to evolve. In the prologue and epilogue, we see Scudder as he is now and New York as it has become. He talks about aging, about change, and we realise how much things have changed even if it feels like we haven’t noticed. Block makes perfect use of the contrast between the world now and the world as it was when Scudder was trying to quit the drink. The New York of A Drop of the Hard Stuff is the New York that used to be, that was associated with sin, where every corner was a temptation to a man trying to stop drinking, to pull himself out of the sleaze. It stands in sharp relief to the newly gentrified Manhattan and reminds us just how much things have changed in the space of a few decades.

A Drop of the Hard Stuff is one of the best Scudder’s in a long time and it’s a reminder of the power the character has, why he has become part of the pantheon of great hardboiled investigators. Block claimed a few years back he was to quit writing. But even if it turned out to merely a rest, it’s clear that he and Scudder are not only back, but they’re firing on all cylinders.

Russel D McLean for crimescenescotland, 27/01/11

FOURTH DAY and KILLER INSTINCT by Zoe Sharp

FOURTH DAY, Alison and Busby, £19.99, 9780749008154 (HB)
KILLER INSTINCT, Busted Flush Press, $15, 9781935415138 (PB)

First time I met Charlotte “Charlie” Fox, she was bleeding out in a forest during the opening pages of the excellent thriller, Second Shot. By the end of that book, she had become one of my favourite thriller characters. There were several reasons for this. One was the fact that she spoke with such an authoritative voice on the world of close protection, and the second was the fact that she was a truly impressive protagonist and one of the most rounded women characters I had encountered in crime fiction.

So it was with great anticipation that I opened Zoe Sharp’s latest novel to feature Fox, Fourth Day (Allison and Busby).

The novel opens with Charlie in deep trouble. Something’s gone wrong, and she’s waiting for her captors to arrive. We’re picking up hints of trouble, and we know things are going to be bad, but what we can’t figure out is how or why Charlie got into this situation in the first place. And it’s a credit to author Sharp that she so skilfully makes us question everything we think we know in that brilliant opening sequence.

In Fourth Day Charlie and her team have been hired to pull a man out of a mysterious desert cult after he went undercover several years previously. But as the mission progresses, they come to realise that maybe the man they’re looking for has become one with the cult he was looking to expose, and they find themselves needing to discover how and why this could have happened. After all, Thomas Witney went in looking to prove the cult was responsible for the death of his son, and that’s not the kind of thing you can quickly or easily forgive.

But there’s more going on here than an intriguing plot, and where Sharp separates herself from so many thriller contemporaries is the sheer depth she gives to her protagonist. While the argument can – and should – be made that Charlie is a far more effective hero than many male characters in similar genres, she is also clearly defined, never once feeling like a male character in female clothing. Charlie is utterly convincing both in her profession and herself. Throughout the course of this book – and its hard not to talk in depth about some of the many hurdles Sharp throws in her character’s path, although to do so would take away much of the drama so expertly handled – Charlie faces decisions that Jack Reacher could never dream of and deals with them in a way that is at once heartbreaking and utterly in line with dangerously capable character Sharp has spent many novels defining.

Add to this a conclusion that’s going to leave the Fox Faithful (and even newcomers to the series) with their jaws dropped, and you have one of the most emotionally honest and yet adrenaline-pumping thrillers of the past few years.

Which makes it interesting to go back in time and re-read Charlie’s first appearance in the now re-issued Killer Instinct (Busted Flush Press)

Charlie’s first appearance is a long cry from her later stateside adventures (I believe she first crossed the Atlantic in First Drop), set in Northern England, with Charlie teaching self-defence to women and recovering from her dismissal from the armed forces after a horrific sexual assault at the hands of several fellow officers. The novel finds Charlie getting involved in bouncer work for a shady nightclub and crossing paths with a serial rapist and murderer.

The tone is removed a little from her later adventures, and there is a more “English” hint to Charlie’s voice here (perhaps those years spent in the States smoothed out the accent some) which makes it feel very different to the novels that were to come. But it’s a solid, very well written debut that shows a lot of promise which Sharp would later fulfil and possibly surpass. The urban English setting is nicely realised, and grimy enough to make the reader’s skin crawl on occasion, particularly Charlie’s work at the Adelphi Nightclub. And even so early in the series, the action is so well choreographed that you believe every bone crunching impact on the page.

Killer Instinct is a sharp, punchy read; a brutally confident start to a series that would continue to evolve in the best possible ways. Busted Flush Press are going to be reprinting the early Fox novels over the next year or so, and you’d be well advised to check them out and get acquainted with one of the most well-defined and convincing series protagonists I’ve encountered in a long time.

Russel D McLean for crimescenescotland, 04/08/10

2010 summer roundup

Yes, its been a hiatus for a while here at Crime Scene Scotland, but we're back with a heaping helping of reviews to let you know what we've been reading these last few months. We've selected and distilled some of our favourites to let you know what's been happening in the big, bad world of crime fiction during the first half of 2010.

JOHNNY PORNO by Charlie Stella, Stark House Books, 978-1933586298

Stella’s latest novel is a blazing, wonderful evocation of 1970’s America. Reminiscent of the works of George V Higgins – perhaps more so than any of Stella’s previous works – Johnny Porno is an authentic, captivating novel that retains Stella’s trademark emphasis on dialogue, married with a gritty style that feels very much of the period he’s writing about. This is a novel that could have been contemporaneous, given its feel and its style. And that is a huge compliment to Stella, who shows a real feel for the period without ever laying infodump on the audience or reminding constantly that this work is historical.

Johnny Porno focuses on John Albano, recently divorced, recently laid off, looking for a bit of extra cash to help support his kid. He finds the cash in transporting film reels for the mob, whose latest scam involves screenings of recently banned porno, Deep Throat. Of course, John’s in way over his head and before long, there’s a steaming pile of trouble landing on his doorstep.

Stella’s novel is intricately plotted, with a cast of fully realised characters and a sly humour that runs just beneath the surface but never undercuts the reality of his writing. Johnny Porno is Stella’s seventh novel, and its his most mature and most convincing yet. If you haven’t discovered Stella yet (and if you haven't, what's your excuse?) you need to start, now.

FLORIDA GOTHIC STORIES by Vicki Hendricks, Kitsune Books, 978-0981949536

Single author short story collections can often be a mixed bag, but Hendricks is a writer who has truly captured the form and writes with an ease and a grace that reminds you of the true power the short story can have over a reader.

Her stories, which run the gamut from the dream-like to the horrifyingly, convincingly real are told with such conviction that the reader sometimes finds themselves uncertain about their own reality. Her subjects are often bizarre and outlandish – witness the first story in the collection where the object of our narrators affections turns out to be a dolphin – but imbued with a recognisable and desperate humanity that speaks to the Gothic themes and psycho-sexual natures of much of her narrative. These are not freak shows for our amusement, but twisted and still recognisable reflections on humanity at its worst and its best.

Florida Gothic stories is an entrancing, incredible collection from a powerfully talented author. I came to Hendricks through her novels, but her short stories as evidenced here are every bit as powerful and unsettling as her longer works. Particular standouts include the dreamlike Stormy, Mon Amour, the sexually charged (even if the punchline seems perhaps a little telegraphed), ReBecca and the surreally unsettling Cold Blooded Lovers.

DRINK THE TEA by Thomas Kaufmann, St Martin's, 978-0312607302

Kaufmann’s debut PI novel is a contemporary DC-based mystery that feels, in its way, an homage to the classic PI model. Willis Gidney, while a product of the modern age, could have easily slotted into Matt Scudder’s world or been a contemporary of Archer. Hell, with his wisecracking narrative he could easily have stood side by side with Marlowe.

But his stomping ground is DC, and while he may have much in common with classic PI archetypes, one slowly starts to wonder how much of that is an act given Gidney’s chequered and intriguing past as a delinquent in the Capital. This tension between past and present provides a great deal of colour to the character, allowing him some depth and tension that might have been missing in the hands of a lesser writer.

In Drink the Tea, Gidney finds himself hired to find a jazz musicians daughter, but the case goes deeper than anyone ever expected. It’s a complex case, and one couldn’t ask for a better guide than Gidney, even if some of his wisecracking prose does seem laid on a little thick at times.

With a healthy respect for the past, and an eye on the future, Kaufmann’s debut is a strong, complex novel with a protagonist who is far more than the homage he at first appears to be. It’s the start of a promising series, and one worth your time checking out.

THE HOLY THIEF by William Ryan 978-0230742734

Set in Stalin’s Russia, William Ryan’s The Holy Thief is inevitably going to be compared to the block-busting Child 44. But Ryan’s solid, assured debut novel deserves to stand on its own; an intriguing mix of political and social upheaval wrapped around the construct of a serial-killer thriller. This second half, while well executed, is perhaps the least interesting, but provides a solid framework for Ryan’s well-researched exploration of Soviet Society in the 1930’s. It helps, too, that the protagonist - Captain Alexei Dimitrevich Korolev – is relatable, and a strong enough character to carry the novel.

With an evocative and authoritative tone, an intriguing background and a conflicted, intriguing central; character, The Holy Thief is a strong and evocative debut from an author who deserves your attention, even if you’re not usually swayed by historical thrillers.

THE WHISPERERS by John Connolly, John Murray, 978-0340993507

Here at Crime Scene Scotland, we’re huge fans of Connolly’s healthy mix of hardboiled and paranormal, and have been waiting for The Whisperers since the game-changing end of the last Parker novel, The Lovers.

With the return of The Collector, and a convincing descent into veteran combat stresses as Charlie finds himself involved with soldiers recently returned from the middle east conflicts, this is one of the most affecting and disturbing Parker novels yet. The real world issues are handled beautifully and respectfully, and the now-solid supernatural elements are handled with a rare grace and restraint that leaves the reader chilled and unsettled by the end of the narrative. Particularly because, as ever with Connolly, the moral ambiguities leave one wondering whether the real horrors aren’t more human in their genesis than one might like to believe. There may be evil in Parker’s universe, but it comes as much from humans as it does from those mysterious and often only glimpsed exterior forces.

It also helps that Connolly has command over his prose, with a strong, beautiful voice that has become stronger with each passing novel, now effortlessly demanding and deserving the reader’s attention.

Connolly is one of the most unique thriller writers currently working, and The Whisperers continues to cement his unique brand of literary supernatural thriller. Simply put, Connolly is an author you have to read, and The Whisperers shows him at his finest.

KILLER by Dave Zelsterman, Serpent's Tail, 9781846686443

Leonard March, a former hitman, is out of jail and working as a janitor. But a past like his never truly goes away, and one vitruous act brings up memories and connections from his old life.

Zelsterman, along with Jason Starr, is one of the most talented chroniclers of the sociopathic mind currently working. His characters – mobsters, crooked cops, psychopathic hitmen – are masters of self-delusion and often makers of their own downfall. This short, sharp blast of a novel continues Zeltserman’s fearless exploration of criminal psychopathy with a strong narrative, a unique voice and a willingness to present the reader with protagonists who may not be inspirational or necessarily sympathetic, but are endlessly complex, fascinating and terrifying.

DARK BLOOD by Stuart MacBride, HarperCollins, 978-0007244607

From a promising debut through to being one of the most fascinating, dependable and darkly amusing Scottish crime writers of the moment, MacBride continues to subvert the traditional British Procedural with his latest entry in the Logan McRae series which finds a controversial criminal moving to Aberdeen, our normally stoic DS finally cracking under the stresses of the job, and a complex web of criminal activity giving the staff at FHQ a headache the suze of the city itself.

One of the things that MacBride has done more and more as the series has expanded is given the Grampian Police Force a very ensemble feel, so that while McRae may be the reader’s constant, the supporting cast are always coming to the fore, providing their own spin on events and frequently (as in the case of the wonderfully foul-mouthed DI Steel) stealing the show.

The humour is salty, sometimes crude, but always funny and very real. In reaction to the horrors of their job, MacBride’s CID feel very real in their gallows and occasionally juvenile senses of humour. We can laugh along with their joking in the offices, but when we see them out on the field, we know that they take their jobs very seriously indeed, and MacBride lets us see the cracks and strains that occur between the banter and the horror with a sometimes unexpected subtlety that creeps up on the reader. I’ve heard some people state that comedy is close to tragedy, and with MacBride the two often cross over quite beautifully with the sobering effect of making you laugh one minute and lose your breath with empathy the next.

Dark Blood is a violent, sometimes crude, often darkly amusing procedural from a hugely talented thriller writer whose work improves with each novel, who is always looking for new ways to surprise his readership. If you haven’t discovered MacBride yet, we recommend you start right now.



CAPTURED by Neil Cross (pb edition, Aug 2010) 978-1847394132

I admit I wasn’t hugely taken with Cross’s previous novel, Burial. While well-written and intriguing, the prose felt a little too pared back, and some of the characters perhaps missing in motivation. Here, in Captured, Cross hits the ground with all cylinders firing as this lean, stark novel tells the tale of Kenny, a man with a brain tumour, trying to find a girl who showed him some kindness while he was at school and discovering that she has recently gone missing.

His attempts to locate her start as honourable and quickly descend into a nightmare, made all the more unnerving by the fact that we, the audience, are unsure how much of what we learn is due to Kenny’s tumour causing him to act or think unpredictably. It’s a tense ride, well-suited to Cross’s minimalist style, and raises questions about moral responsibility and culpability that have no easy answers. Captured is not always a comfortable read but it is fascinating, terrifying and gripping with a resolution that will haunt you for a long time to come.

Russel D McLean for crimescenescotland, 01/06/10

No ordinary crime...

We know we’ve been quiet for a while, but here is a collection of generally shorter reviews on recent novels that bend the crime genre. Most of these take elements from SF and play around with them in a crime/noir fashion, but the ones that grab our attention here at Crime Scene Scotland, tend to be the ones that do more than simply tell crime stories with Ray Guns. Presented here for your amusement are three of our favourite of the recent crop of genre-bending novels.

(we have excluded the excellent Pandaemonium by Christopher Brookmyre and the sublimely funny The Gates by John Connolly, on the basis that while these novels are brilliant and written by established crime writers, they do not really count as crime novels in any other sense – but trust me when I say that both these books come highly, highly reccomended)

FINCH by Jeff Vandermeer

Underland Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0980226010

A strange mix of hardboiled crime novel and fantasy/sf, Finch is one at first a murder mystery in a strange land that twists three quarters of the way through into a thriller of a very different type. But its credit to Vandermeer’s sheer skill as a writer that he holds the reader very well through this change in pace and tone, setting up a strange inevitability to the way in which his narrative twists and turns.

Set in the mysterious city of AmberGris, the plot follows a murder investigation as a local, human, cop investigates the bizarre murder of a human and a mysterious Gray Cap. In Vandermeer’s world, the Gray Caps dominate the city of AmberGris, ruling over humans, and this double murder is extremely unusual, probably linked – as detective Finch discovers – to rebel human groups whose wish is to overthrow the Gray Caps.

At first, Vandermeer’s staccato prose style can seem a little full on, a little too stylized. However, once you become adjusted to the rhythms, it is very clear that Vandermeer knows what he’s doing, and something in the prose adds to the alien air that permeates the entire novel.

Speaking of atmosphere, it is worth nothing that the world of Ambergris is rich and brilliantly realised. A grungy atmosphere lies heavy in the evocative and spare descriptions of this other world, and at times the reader can almost feel the slime of spores beneath their hands and experience the strange sensation of the organic technology that has replaced nearly every aspect of familiar human creation. It is clear that Vandermeer has created this world in a loving and intricate fashion, although at time for a reader who is virgin to this world, many of the references and history can seem a tad oblique and perhaps confusing to the reader as they try to figure the complex relationship shared between humans, gray-caps and the mysterious “partials”. There have, of course, been two previous novels set in the world of Ambergris, which may answer a few of the more ambiguous questions that readers have, and it is hard to escape the impression by the end of the novel that you have come in at the conclusion far larger than you have any hope of really understanding. That said, a little bit of guesswork and a sharp-minded reader should be able to figure out the basics and get on with losing themselves in the characters and the narrative.

What is particularly interesting with Finch is the fact that the crime/hardboiled elements work very well without tipping too far over the line into cliché. The temptation when mixing crime and SF is often to write a typical crime story with ray guns, but here Vandermeer ensures that the kind of crime and the ensuing investigation could not have worked in a typical and realist setting. This means that for every moment we think we know what is happening, something occurs to throw us off balance. The overarching conspiracy plot feels a little convoluted at times, but again this is perhaps more to do with how deeply the reader involves themselves with the world Vandermeer has created.

Finch is a class act. An intriguing blend of SF and hardboiled procedural, it succeeds through Vandermeer’s skill with narrative and his absolute belief in the world that he has created. Once you get used to Vandermeer’s world and his staccato prose style, you’ll find yourself rewarded with a story that goes beyond its simple opening premise and goes on to play with ideas that are much larger than you could ever expect. This is a story that could have been told in no other way; expands beyond its initial feeling of noir with fungal weaponry to become something far larger, stranger and more intriguing. And it does all of this while maintaining an emotional and very human core.

A genre-bending, intriguing, grimy and compelling novel, Finch is highly recommended.

ACTS OF DESTRUCTION by Mat Coward

Alia Mondo Press, 2009, ISBN 9780955868610

Better known for his gently amusing English mysteries featuring DI’s Packham and Mitchell, Coward’s latest novel represents something of a change in direction as he moves the action to London in the near future, where climate change and social upheaval has resulted in a society where horse-drawn transport is the norm, recycling is mandatory, wastefulness is illegal and food and fuel are tightly rationed.

A utopia?

Perhaps, but one that is formed from a series of disasters. And as we quickly discover, Coward is no fool, understanding that even in a society where people are – by necessity – more close knit and involved, there will still be those who attempt to subvert the law for their own ends. The North London Serious Crime Squad still have a full case load. Thefts from rooftop gardens, illegal preachers and now… two murders and a missing child.

Much of the novel plays as a commentary on our current society, and it would have been easy for Coward to play up the cynicism card here, tell us that unless we change our ways, we’re going to be screwed as a people. And for a while it seems as though his society – which harks back to a kind of 1950’s social construct – might be being placed as a possible replacement for the world we live in, now. But thankfully Coward also starts to show the cracks in this environmentally conscious Utopia, both through the attitudes of certain characters and the way in which the narrative resolves itself.

As ever, Coward’s writing is breezy and fast. He is a very British writer in many ways, capturing the very foibles of modern British – perhaps often more specifically English, I would have to say – society. The humour and the satire is gentle in its way, but incredibly effective, and belies the power of Coward’s political leanings which bubble just beneath the surface.

A thought provoking book which works on multiple levels, both as entertainment and commentary, Acts of Destruction is an undeniably British but very accessible novel that demonstrates Coward’s imaginative verve and breezy, extremely readable style.


HALFHEAD by Stuart B MacBride

Harpercollins, 2009, ISBN: 9780007298709


We’re long time fans of MacBride’s cheekily amusing, grotesquely black-comedy police procedurals here at Crime Scene Scotland, and the prospect of the man taking on the world of Science Fiction was something we have been looking forward to for a long time.

In HalfHead, MacBride concerns himself with a near-future Glasgow where the city is divided into two halves, with the underclasses living in cramped, high-rise conditions and occasionally being quelled by the police whizzing in and beating them about before leaving again to let the populace consider their lessons learnt. In this near future, violent offenders are dealt with though extreme surgery that lobotomises them and removes half of their face. These offenders are known as half head, and with their violent instincts (along with most of their personality) removed, they are used as menial workers and seen as little more than window dressing to the world. They move, unnoticed, unappreciated through society, unaware of the world around them in any real sense, existing in a kind of coma state.

Until one of them – one of the worst of them – wakes up.

MacBride’s vision of Scotland in the near future is most dystopian than anything I’ve read in a long time; working under the principle that while technology may change, people will not. As a result, the HalfHead is grimy, violent and often laugh out loud funny in the darkest possible sense. In short, if you’ve been digging his contemporary procedurals, you’ll get a real kick out of HalfHead.

One of the things that really stands out to me about HalfHead is the accessibility of it as a story. Having recently tried and failed to read Charles Stross’s Halting State, I was a bit wary about returning to a near future Scotland. But where Stross loses himself in extraneous details, MacBride simply assures us that this is how the world is and allows his story to unfold. There is no need to explain the inner workings of the Whompers and Thrummers; its enough to know that they are bloody big guns. And while there is clearly a backstory behind the new slums of Glasgow, MacBride merely posits their existence and shows us their effect on his characters, how they react to and talk about their world informs the reader far more simply than pages of clever exposition.

With HalfHead, MacBride shows us his power and his flexibility as an author. Its universe is an intriguing one that I hope we can return to (and certainly, the end of the book sets up some intriguing promises for the future), and I’m sure that fans of both SF and crime fiction will be clamouring to see more from the dystopian insanity of MacBride’s near future Glasgow. Until then, however, HalfHead stands alone blistering, hugely imaginative and smart entertainment with a twisted black sense of humour that would probably make future Glasgow’s most prolific serial killer, Dr Fiona Westfield, very proud indeed.

BURY ME DEEP by Megan Abbott

Simon and Schuster, 2009 ISBN 978-1416599098

Bury Me Deep, Megan Abbott's fourth novel, is a 1930's set tale of abandonment, lust and painfully human mistakes that hooked this reader right from the first page. The voice - a beautifully choreographed, stylised and compelling third person narration - sucks you right in. Abandoned by her husband - a disgraced doctor who has gone to find work down in Mexico - in Pheonix, Marion Seeley finds work at a nearby medical clinic. With no life outside of work to speak of, she soon becomes enamoured with co-worker, Louise, a woman whose life outside of the wards seems exciting and glamorous to her innocent and naive new friend. But Louside isn't the one she has to worry about. When the charming and forceful Joe Lanigan appears on the scene, Marion soon discovers the dark side to her new friends' seemingly exuberant lifestyle and before long she finds herself sucked into a series of terrible events she could never have imagined.

As Abbott mentions in her afterword to this novel, Bury Me Deep is inspired by one of LA's most publicised true crime tales of the 1930's, that of "the trunk murderess" Winnie Ruth Judd. It was an intriguing, and Abbott's fictional re-imagining of what could have led to such a tragic end is both inspired its sheer imaginative power and the ferocity of Abbott's research which evokes the social, physical and historical power of the period. As I have previously mentioned, Abbott's voice is spellbinding; her prose literally singing, pulling you in, making you believe every word you're reading. What is most impressive is the way that Abbott fools into believing the contemporary nature of her prose. The rhythm feels very much of the time, and yet maintains a modern sparseness and directness that means the book feels absolutely immediate to the reader. You are quite literally pulled back in time with Abbott, experiencing her 1930's noir world as though it were real, and the world you experience from day to day was the fiction.

One of the major driving themes behind the novel is the seduction of sin. Like a female Ellroy, Abbott revels in the allure of the underground party scene, and the transformation of Marion from an innocent and surprised outsider to a willing participant in some truly unsettling affairs is compelling and so utterly natural that the reader finds themselves as surprised as Marion at the changes that occur within her life. Its a compelling theme and one that Abbott makes her own, asking where the line blurs between our fascination with the wild lifestyle and our actual participation within it.

Bury Me Deep is an incredible period piece and a stunning noir novel that examines a moment of history we all thought we knew from a different and fascinating perspective. Abbott's pitch perfect storytelling pulls the reader into a dark and unsettling world, and her clear love of her source material combined with deep research shines through, resulting in a novel that is immersive, addictive and darkly beautiful.

Russel D McLean for crimescenescotland, 08/08/09

TOWER by Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman

Busted Flush Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1935415077

Tower is the real deal; a collaborative novel that feels absolutely cohesive. Two voices that tell one strong tale, fusing together to create a whole that grabs the reader by the neck and shakes them to make sure they’re paying close attention. Sure, it helps that individually, Bruen and Coleman are two of the best authors working the crime and noir beats today, but it takes more than two talented authors to create a successful collaboration. There has to be, somewhere, a common purpose and a clarity of intent that allows the reader to quit guessing at who wrote what or trying to spot the compromises and bargaining that was made between the authors and simply appreciate the book in the same they would one written by a single author.

Let’s put it this way – even if I didn’t know the works of both authors, I would still consider Tower to be a damn fine novel.

The central conceit – two narratives that run parallel – is not groundbreaking, but it feels that way, told with such confidence and assurance. Read one narrative, you’ve got a story with a beginning, a middle and an end, but the beauty of Tower is the fact that reading both narratives destroys your conceits and pre-conceptions; you spend the second half of the book trying to figure just how much you really knew in the first place.

And you want to know.

You have to know.

On the one side, you got Nicky, an Irish New Yorker with a hell of a temper and a habit of keeping bad company, and on the other you got Todd, maybe Nick’s best friend, and a guy with his own secrets and worries. Starting with a B&E that goes badly wrong, the two men sink deeper into troubles of their own making, soon finding themselves hip deep in bodies, mobsters and undercover cops. It’s a tale of friendship, loyalty and choices that, in certain scenes – and certain themes, as well – reminded this reviewer very much of Scorcese’s recent Boston crime melodrama, The Departed.

Tower’s construction is beautiful. In his introduction, Coleman talks about the early stages of the book and how the need for an epilogue and prologue really enhanced these two narratives, and he is spot on in his evaluation. I do not know precisely how they wrote these sections, but they both work beautifully, setting up the mood and cementing themes and ideas so that the novel feels solid. The connections between the two narratives are enhanced, and loose ends are perhaps not tied up, but certainly treated with respect, allowing the reader a sense of closure.

Both narratives are told in modifications – gentle ones – of the author’s own unique styles. And, yes, if you care about such things, you will know who wrote what narrative but its not something the authors have made a secret of. The result is a novel that truly flows. Had both participants stuck to their own styles rigidly, there would have been a complete disconnect. But for the world of difference that exists between Todd and Nick, there is also a sense of connection and continuity.

What we think we know of one character is changed utterly from another point of view. While the reader could be forgiven for thinking they know what’s happening when they read the first narrative, believing they’ve uncovered that major twist, the second narrative manages to twist our perceptions and ideas so that we view Nicky’s story in a whole new light. It’s a neat trick, and only two writers at the top of their game could have managed it.

Worth noting, too, is the fact that – as ever – publisher Busted Flush has packed the book to the brim with extras, including the aforementioned introduction by Coleman, interviews with both players and their editor (King of Scots Noir, Allan Guthrie). The extras are interesting for the insights they give into how the novel came about, and how each writer had to adapt to the book’s needs. Its fascinating material, and the kind of attention to detail that Busted Flush is becoming known for.

Ultimately, of course, the writing of the novel speaks for itself. Even without the benefit of supplementary material, Tower makes its presence known with a roar. The plot drags you along, and Nick and Todd are the best kind of protagonists. Like the book itself, they are compelling, complex and dangerously unpredictable.

Collaborations are nothing new in the world of literature, but Tower makes its mark in its compelling, two-tiered structure, its layered narrative and the way in which its author’s complement and enhance each other. If you love punchy, layered and stylish crime fiction, then believe me when I say that you’re going to adore Tower.

Russel D McLean for crimescenescotland, 08/08/09

THE TWELVE by Stuart Neville

Harvill-Secker, 2009, 978-1846552793, £12.99

In the last couple of years, it feels like all the best new crime fiction has been coming out of Ireland. A willingness to confront political and societal issues combined with a blistering array of voices means that Irish crime and thriller fiction is currently among the most exctiting work being created.

New and beloved voices here at Crime Scene have included Ken Bruen, Declan Hughes, Declan Burke, Brian McGilloway, Bateman, John Connolly and now we can add Stuart Neville to that list.

The Twelve of the title refers to twelve ghosts who have appeared to former paramilitary killer Gerry Fegan. These ghosts are those who were killed during his life throughout the troubles, and now they are demanding vengeance. Its not Gerry they want dead, however. They need him as their instrument. They want Gerry to seek out those who were responsible for their deaths. They will not kill the gun, but the people who pulled the trigger.

Searching for peace, Gerry cuts a bloody path through the hypocrisy of a new peace, causing not only personal but political chaos as he seeks to set these troubled souls to rest.

Its a brilliant premise, made even more chilling by Neville's refusal to utterly settle down on a concrete explanation for the ghosts. Like fellow Irish writer John Connolly, Neville shrouds the supernatural elements of the title with a terrifying ambiguity. Read this how you like; either Gerry is truly haunted, or he is shattered by his own experiences and the twelve are little more than a manifestation of his own self loathing.

As the book kicks into gear, Neville explodes the hypocrisy and terror of modern politics, giving us killers who have reinvented themselves as politicians and officials who are every bit as guilty as those they would condemn. His vision of Ireland has been shattered by its past, unable to lay any of its ghosts to rest making the Twelve as much a damning political novel as it is a straight forward thriller.

Neville is the kind of fierce new voice that the thriller genre cries out for. His prose is sharp and deadly, his characters never less than complex. And for all The Twelve could easily have been a simple drama of revenge, a kind of Death Wish with an Irish accent, it feels somehow deeper and any answers you think have been offered are tempered with further questions. This is a thinking man's thriller, as philosophical as it is visceral, and a novel I urge you to out and read. Right now.

Russel D McLean for crimescenescotland, 08/08/09

THE DISSASEMBLED MAN by Nate Flexer

New Pulp Press, 9780981557908

Nate Flexer's debut is a modern psycho noir in the tradition of Jim Thompson that is one of the first books to be published by New Pulp Press. It is the story of Frankie Avicious, a man whose life is on the skids, who finds himself listening to the advice of a mysterious travelling salesman and finally setting out to take from life what he rightfully believes to be his. From the very start, when we see Frankie at his job mercilessly killing cattle for his rich father in law, we know we're we're in for a gruesome and cold-hearted journey into the dark side of the American landscape.

As a manifesto for New Pulp Press, The Dissasembled Man is a fine example of the intent and attitude of this new small publisher. The novel is lean and mean - with the emphasis on mean - a true psycho-noir novel that leaves the reader to work out the truth behind events we can only see from the point of view of the protagonist. At Crime Scene Scotland, we have a weakness for unreliable narrators, and Frankie is one of the most unreliable you could hope for. There is a whole world going on just outside of his narrow vision and the reader has to figure out just how much of the world we are seeing through this man's eyes. The twist that comes maybe two thirds of the way through the book ups the stakes even more and those last few pages are a real mindbender. To say much more would be to spoil the ride, but this is the kind of book that you could find yourself arguing over how to interpret. And that's a damn good thing.

The only true problem with The Dissasembled Man comes from a few stumbles in the authorial voice. While Frankie is a decidedly unreliable narrator whose true nature comes to light through the unfolding of the narrative rather than through what he tells us, at times he seems to have these bursts of lyrical and near literary observations that come across unnatural given the set up of his general tone and demeanour. Whether these are meant to imply the gradual fracturing of his mind, or to hint the reader that all is not as it seems, I'm not sure. But they don't flow as naturally as one might expect, detracting from the burning pace of the narrative. Basically, whenever Frankie becomes too verbose for his own good, the spell is momentarily shattered and the reader is reminded that they are reading a novel.

But taken as a whole, The Dissasembled Man is a damn fine read; a brilliant and raw example of the Psycho Noir genre, and a move back to the point of view of the disenfranchised American heartland that seems to have been ignored lately by a great deal of crime fiction. Flexer's world is one of losers and drifters and grifters and hard luck cases who came into this world with bad luck and only accumulated more as they grew up. The spirit of Thompson hangs heavy over this novel which feels at once part of the old pulp movement and also timeless; the America described in this novel is near mythical in its refusal to tie itself down to a year or era more than "now". There are hints of incest and immorality that are simply part of the fabirc of the life, and you know that Flexer's world is a world of the damned. Is there hope? There is only the hope of hope, and that adds a vicious streak to the novel that some may find unpalatable, but which those who dig the whole psycho-noir genre - particularly the cold and amoral world of early Jason Starr - are going to clamour around. And perhaps that should serve as a warning, too. Like many of Starr's character, Avicious is often unpalatable and plain repulsive. He's not a guy you're going to warm to, but he's absolutely fascinating and unsettling; a bold choice of narrator and if you prefer your characters to be fascinating rather than sympathetic, Avicious is your man. And, like Frankie, the book itself is too mean to be sympathetic, too damn tough to be loved and too screwed to be forgiven, and yet those pages turn as you find yourtself descending into the literal hell of one man's mind. This is unforgiving stuff, about as far from commercial crime as you could get, and damn did we love it here at Crime Scene Scotland.

And then there's that ending... is it a metaphysical, allegorical or plain loony tunes twist? Hard to say without discussing it, but suffice to say its going to stay with you for a long time even if all you're trying to do is figure out the truth.

Despite a roughness around the edges - which perhaps also gives it its charm - The Dissasembled Man is an excellent psycho-noir; A fine start for New Pulp, and a bold and disturbing debut from Flexer, read this one at the risk of your own sanity.

Russel D McLean for Crime Scene Scotland, 1/07/09

GUTTED by Tony Black

Preface, June 2009, £16.99, ISBN 9781848090521

Gus Dury knows this much: he's a rager. His life is fuelled by anger, both impotent and justified, at personal aquaintances and those he's never met. His righteous fury has been curbed by harsh reality and his own limitations. In any other story he'd be heroic. Here, he's a man with no power trying his damndest to kick against all the wrongs he sees in the world.

And maybe this makes him a hero, too.

Tony Black's second novel (following from 2008's stunning Paying For It) finds Dury once again getting involved in events which others believe he has no business snooping around him. Driven by this rage and a self-destructive need to follow those he percieves as innocent into hell, Drury finds himself trying to save a dog and stumbling across a mutilated corpse. Its only the first step into a sinister world that will find Gus truly tested, physically, mentally and morally as he tries to maintain his own sense of justice in a world that constantly conspires to push him over the edge.

Gutted is fuelled by Dury's rage. At injustice both political and personal. Black's debut, Paying For It laid bare certain realities about the streets of modern Scotland, and now Gutted rips even further into our national psyche. Its exploration of class and corruption - two words that tear at the heart of our nation's politics, more-so than the smoke screen of "independence" that has become the popular image - exposes our inadequacies and shortcomings. And yet this is tempered by a deep love of our country and people. To truly love something, it seems, sometimes you have to acknowedlege the flaws inherent within it. And Black exposes our flaws, brings them out into the light so that we can see them. And we deal with them.

For all of this subtext, it is true that Black writes a terrific and furiously paced novel. Like the best of noir, the action is fast and yet never sacrifices the characters who drive it. Dury himself is a beautiful set of contradictions. His anger comes from love, and the revelations in this book about his marriage and why it was doomed to fail from the start are utterly heartbreaking and again motivated by that deep and driving rage at the ways in which people judge each other for actions that are, in the end, no one else's business.

What is more than incredible is that Black can make a character who - in a two second soundbite - might sound like someone we've seen before come across as engagingly fresh and convincingly alive. The alcoholic, crusading ex-journalist who only wants redemption even if he'll never find it? Dury is so much more than a soundbite, and that is where Black's true skills lie: he creates endlessly fascinating narratives and characters with hidden and unexpected layers.

Black is also a beautiful prose stylist. His voice comes roaring off the page, a scream of anger at the world. While Paying for It at times wore its influences on its sleeve, here Black is far more certain and sure of his own voice. We can still the influence on authors like Ken Bruen, but now Black's own voice shines through clearer, adapting his own tricks and ticks to great and mesmerising effect.

Black will make you rage like Dury at the world and he will break your heart just as easily. With Gutted, he continues to carve his own unique and dark portrait of modern Scotland. With a tour guide like Gus, you'll be taken beyond the tourist traps and tartan tat to the true torrid heart of modern Scotland.

If you haven't read Black, you're missing out on one of the best new voices to emerge from Scotland in the last few years. One of the best new voices to enter the genre, period. Miss out on this one and you will truly be Gutted.

Russel D McLean for crimescenescotland.com, 17/06/09

LOSER'S TOWN by Daniel Depp

Simon And Shuster, March 2009, 9781847374073

Ex-stuntman turned PI David Spandau knows the truth about tinsel-town, understands the egos and deceptions that make up the factory of dreams. So when he's asked to protect a new hot star who's got himself in a world of bother with local mobsters, he's under no illusions about the kind of trouble he's getting into.

But Hollywood is the kind of place that eats up your expectations and spits them out on the sidewalk. And while Spandau can deal with Hollywood, is he really ready to take on the mob?

Depp's debut is peppered with the kind of punchy dialogue you would expect from a screen writer and the kind of scarbarous attacks on the world of Holly-weird that comes from years of being an industry insider.

However, all this lifting off the lid of tinsel-town is nothing we haven't seen before. From insecure stars who want to be famous more than they want to be good at their craft to cynical agents who won't talk to anyone they don't know to be important to the criminals who want an "in" to the dream factory... Loser's Town reads like a laundry list of other books. Spandau himself could have walked right of an Elmore Leonard novel. He's got the right kind of background and the kind of shady heroism that Leonard's heroes do so well. And our mobster wanting a piece of the action, he's grand, but no Ray Barboni; nothing to lift him up and let him stay in our conscious. The background characters - from the self-involved agent to the young movie star who's psychologically unprepared for the stratospheric level of fame that he's been thrust into - are all interesting enough, but could easily have come direct from central casting.

All This Holly-weird stuff has been covered many times in films such as What Just Happened? and of course in novels such as Rob Long's Set Up, Joke, Set Up, Joke. or in a more direct parallel, Steven Bochco's novel, Death by Hollywood which shares many of this novel's pros and cons leaving the reader to wonder whether its something in the way that working in the movie and TV business that makes you see the world a certain way. And while there's no denying that Depp does a great job of setting up his world, he's really not giving us much that we haven't seen before.

Which is a great pity, because Depp's natural prose style and ability to create empathy with his characters, even those we have seen before is perfectly evident. Depp appears to be a talented writer but the sheer deja-vu of Loser's Town robs it of any real power.

Perhaps, of course, the familiarity of Depp's situations and characters is also part of the point; Hollywood is a town where the familiar masquerades as the innovative, where the people are so sheltered that they do not know anything beyond the world of La-La land.

Loser's Town is a fun read, but is unfortunately not a book that's really going to stay with you any length of time. Its a well written thriller that shows promise for Depp's future as a novelist, but to really grab our attention next time out he's going to need to give us something we haven't seen before.

Russel D McLean for Crime Scene Scotland, 19/04/09