In Loco Parentis by Nigel Bird

Life has awkward disjointed moments. One moment you're doing fine, walking along and then suddenly something hits you between the eyes. A surprise, a bolt out of the blue and always, ALWAYS when you least expect it. Those moments, the pivotal points where things go from being ok to a disaster are the best way I can describe the events in this novel.

Joe works as a teacher and whilst we'd hope that he would be a well adjusted person that's not the case. Life has conspired against him. Perhaps it was the loss of his parents? He's trying to work through things in therapy but it seems hopeless. His affair with a married woman isn't helping matters. His lost love up in Preston is another added complication. Joe's life is out of control and his decisions are rash, careless and even dangerous.

Nigel Bird puts power in his words and, to use a cliche, we watch as Joe's life spirals out of control. I found this a gripping read and if I'm honest I can't exactly put my finger on why. It flows, it's well written. There are moments of happiness, of sex and joy but these are brief glimpses. At times Bird's writing is terrifically descriptive and it captures your imagination easily. A dark story that will not be to the tastes of all but if you have any interest in human relationships and the darkness that lies just behind the everyday minutiae then you'll enjoy this novel.

Genre: Crime
Format: E-Book
Rating : 4/5

A Taste of Old Revenge by B.R. Stateham

Frank Morales and Turner Hahn are a couple of hard working homicide detectives. Morales, the family man, is a big ugly lug of a man with a keen intellect and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Turner Hahn is a single man with an uncanny resemblance to Clark Gable and a love of muscle cars. Wealthy beyond the means of most detectives Turner doesn't need to work but without his job he'd go stir crazy. The story is largely told from Turner's perspective.

What Stateham offers with this novel is a good old fashioned detective yarn. His characters are interesting and he adds to them as the book develops. He describes the snow bound city excellently and I had no trouble picturing this freezing setting.

The author spins a convoluted tale which follows our two detectives on several cases. Are the cases connected? Who is constantly tailing our heroes? Can the FBI, who just happen to be in town, be trusted? These are questions that will be answered within the book. This story looks at old secrets and ancient grudges and what happens when money and power are abused. A tale that goes back to the Second World War.

Stateham's fiction is solid, realistic and totally without pretention or author's ego. He pays attention to detail at all times without making the book hard going. A thoroughly enjoyable read that like one of Dewey's chillis, left me hungry for more.

Genre: Crime / Police Procedural
Published By: Untreed Reads Publishing
Format: E-Book Novel
Rating: 5 / 5

World War Z by Max Brooks

If you want a zombie book with a difference then World War Z is the one to go for. It's a tough book to review because it is so unconventional. There are no characters to get comfortable with and no plot line to speak off. What you have is a series of interviews detailing the zombie invasion. Sounds boring doesn't it? At page one I thought it was going to be hard book to get through. I was wrong. The brilliance of World War Z is sheer scope of the author’s research. He's looked at the idea of a zombie war from every conceivable aspect. His interviews cover social, religious, political, family, celebrity and any aspect you can imagine. There are interviews with astronauts, submarine commanders, blind Japanese warriors, soldiers, mercenaries, spooks and politicians. Brooks has covered all the bases. The accounts are well written and engaging on every level. An intelligent concept that was cleverly executed within one of the most fanciful areas of modern fiction. A great and very different read.

Genre:  Horror/Zombie

Publisher:  Gerald Duckworth

Format:  All Formats

Rating:  5/5

One Day In The Life of Jason Dean by Ian Ayris

As I read One Day In The Life of Jason Dean my sense of unease increased. Something was wrong with this character. By degrees the story unfolded and insights into the world of Jason Dean grew. Yes, he's a gangster’s henchman but it was more than that. I had to find out what the mystery was.

As those dark moments unfolded there lay the brilliance of the writing of Ian Ayris. I'm already a fan of his work but Jason Dean is something special. There's swearing and the odd obvious gangster reference but there's breaking down of barriers too. Gangsters coming to blows following a disagreement about Shostakovich and Nietzsche? I was marvelling at sheer surreal nature of this scene and chuckling a bit for good measure.

Strip away the violence and the swearing and you are left with a sad tale of a lost soul. A melancholy story about human nature, grief and loss more than a gangster story.  Ayris once again proving that the respect of his peers is well placed. A cracking read!

Genre:  Crime
Publisher:  Byker Books
Format:  E-Book Novella
Rating:  5/5

City of Heretics by Heath Lowrance

Heath Lowrance's The bastard Hand is one of my favourite reads of the year. My worries that City of Heretics might not live up to it were very quickly allayed. Lowrance again chooses to use religion as a central binding theme running throughout the story. When Crowe is released from prison he has some vague plans to get even with those who have hung him out to dry. Never much of a planner he soon find that events seek him out and carry him along in their destructive and bloody wake.

As with The Bastard Hand Lowrance weaves in supernatural elements and Crowe finds his dreams haunted by a Ghost Cat. A feline harbinger of doom perhaps? An attempted hit gone wrong, and an attempt to exact revenge for his gangster boss, soon has Crowe investigating a string of ritual murders. Crowe finds himself on the trail of The Church of Christ The Fisher. The Church has a terrible secret but will Crowe be able to cope with the deadly backlash that comes his way?

Lowrance brings us a tough guy who is a man of few words in Crowe. The action is thick and fast. Lowrance's imagination carries you along with a very cleverly woven tale that takes some very unexpected twists and turns. The violence is frequent and graphic and if that isn't your thing then this book is not for you.

The author’s story telling ability is of a high standard and this is most definitely a page turner. Lowrance leaves room for more tales with the character of Crowe and I can't wait to read anything that follows this. Lowrance’s fiction seems to delight in blending genres and you never quite know what will happen. If you like dark fiction with a supernatural twist then City of Heretics will appeal. Highly recommended.

Genre:  Crime & Supernatural
Publisher:  Snubnose Press
Format:  E-book
Rating: 5/5

18 Days by Allen Miles

18 Days is a brave piece of writing. Allen Miles tackles some very dark subject that would decimate any family at what should be a happy time. This novella asks such questions as: How would we cope if the worst happened? What if you gave in to your weaknesses and revelled in your grief?

The author’s concise observations and darkly descriptive prose make the novella more than the sum of its parts. A dark journey exploring human nature and perhaps also the human condition. They say the devil is in the detail and it is the small things that will affect you when reading this novella. Your coffee will go cold. You’ll forget your bacon sandwich as Miles draws you into the heart of darkness. The only question is what awaits at the end. Redemption or oblivion? A five star read because I simply could not put this down until that question was answered.

Genre:  Literary Fiction
Publisher:  Byker Books
Format:  E-Book
Rating:  5/5

The Wind Through The Keyhole by Stephen King

Fans of the Dark Tower series will enjoy this novel. Essentially three stories in one we see Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake and, of course, Oy the Billy Bumbler journeying the path of the beam towards Calla Bryn Sturgis. This sets it somewhere between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Call in the series. An approaching deadly storm called a Starkblast forces them to take shelter. Whilst sheltering Roland recounts a tale of old which is actually two tales in one.

If you, like me, have ached for more in King's epic Mid World setting of the Gunslinger series then you'll not be disappointed. There is more about the mysterious force known simply as ka. More blending of the futuristic and the ancient. King brings his mythologies to life and even the language gets inside your head. The dialogue of Mid World is an integral part of the allure of this series. We see a young Roland on his first task as a gunslinger. King crams so much into this novel that it can't possibly work, can it? Yes it can for he is the master of his art and for that we say thankee sai.

Genre:  Futuristic Western / Fantasy
Publisher:  Hodder
Format:  All Formats
Rating:  5/5