JAKE HINKSON - THE LONG DROP (2012)

Synopsis/blurb ...

None. 

A short story that was published in the BEAT to a PULP: Superhero anthology back in 2012.  

What makes a superhero? Someone with special powers ... Ordinary people doing good deeds ... Anyone with sophisticated technological gadgets and incredible agility? Superheroes can spring up from the most unexpected people in the most unusual places, and BEAT to a PULP: Superhero has gathered some of the best hardboiled and noir crime stories with a superhero bend. Billy Mitchell, the six-year-old "Red Avenger" in Kevin Burton Smith's tale, has an innocence and a special something that draws us to want to don a mask and tie a towel around our necks. Steve Weddle dissects the reality of a world in which super-powered "others" walk in the midst of normal people who tend to quote only parts of the Bible. And James Reasoner's story is set in a time not usually associated with superheroes -- the American Revolution -- yet Patrick Mainwaring finds the classic essence of a superhero. Other top contributors include Jake Hinkson, Garnett Elliott, Liam Jose, Sandra Seamans, Jerry Bloomfield, Thomas Pluck, Keith Rawson, Court Merrigan, Benoit Lelievre, and Chad Eagleton. If you like the work of Frank Miller or the recent Dark Knight films directed by Christopher Nolan, then you'll enjoy the grit of these thirteen tales in BEAT to a PULP: Superhero.

Don't know where I originally located this story to read, probably from the website listed below.

I've enjoyed Jake Hinkson's work before, probably not as much of it as I would have liked to have read, but that's a familiar theme for most of the authors whose work I cross paths with and admire. Hell on Church Street was enjoyed back in 2013, Saint Homicide in 2014 and The Big Ugly in 2020.

Apparently this story was a re-read, as I enjoyed it as part of my short story a day month back in August 2018. Funny but I don't remember reading it before.

Enjoyable, interesting, entertaining, a decent set-up and a satisfying pay-off.

Top marks for imagination, character, and a mystery element, with a puzzle created and solved in the space of a 20 minute read. I think I like reading about Superheros more than I enjoy seeing them on the big screen. At least we get where we are going a lot quicker.

Dry County, The Deepening Shade and The Posthumous Man still sit on the TBR pile.

Overall 4 stars from 5

It's a shame that the anthology that this one appeared in no longer seems to be readily available. Oh well, I'm not hurting for books.

Read - January, 2023

Published - 2012

Page count - 17

Source - Beat to a Pulp website

Format - PDF

JOHN GRANT - THE CITY IN THESE PAGES (2008)

 

Synopsis/blurb ...

City Hall is on Lewis-and-Clark Street, so it was the 14th Precinct that got the call, and very soon the 14th Precinct, in the persons of Detective Sergeants Moto and Pincus, was on the spot, bending down and looking into the car at the condom-shrouded figure of Ratty Scarlatti but not touching anything because the m.o. and the scene-of-crime crew hadn't gotten here yet, being stuck in the traffic jam on Eighth thanks to the burst sewer there...

It might seem like just another case for the gallant boys of the 14th but, as the days progress and Moto (look, just don't make any jokes about his name, okay?) and Pincus delve deeper, the body count rises inexorably, with each murder reaching a new height of ludicrous surrealism – if not downright impossibility. It seems there's an avenger on the loose in the enigmatic city.

Yet is the unknown perpetrator truly seeking vengeance? Is the motive instead to patch up this version of reality in the least implausible fashion possible before its inhabitants begin to suspect there's something fundamentally awry? Or are there operators moving at an even deeper level than reality? 

An homage to Ed McBain's 87th Precinct with a really enjoyable mystery which kind of wanders into other world territory before returning to familiar ground.

I enjoyed the story, the absurdity of the murders, the interactions between the two main detectives and the police hierarchy, Detective Pincus and his family and also the support CSI with the chemistry between her and Moto. I liked the respect between Pincus and Moto underlined by Moto'swithheld knowledge regarding Pincus's wife's background.

Great fun overall. Really entertaining. A cracking read for an hour or two. 

My one regret is that I didn't read it while friend of the blog, John Grant was alive. Bless him. I miss his reviews, his emails and his visits to this page.

4 from 5

Read - January, 2022

Published - 2008

Page count - 91

Source - copy received from author

Format - PDF

DELEON DEMICOLI - LES CANNIBALES (2017)

 

Synopsis/blurb ...

During a robbery, Blinky sees police activity down the street. His crew assumes cops have the art gallery surrounded, unaware of their true presence, which is responding to a car accident that has left one man dead. The thieves shoot at responding officers and take hostages. When Detective Reynolds arrives on the scene, he identifies the dead man involved in the car accident. This becomes his main lead to hunt down the thieves' true identities and work out a peaceful resolution before S.W.A.T moves in.

Each thief has a story explaining why he chose to take the job. Inky is a con artist repaying an old debt, Blinky is a stuntman in need of quick cash, Pinky is an enforcer that's looking to move up in the ranks and Clyde is a sociopath / art aficionado that loves to steal. When S.W.A.T teams get the "go-ahead" to overtake the gallery, it's dog-eat-dog as the gunmen plan their escape.

Enjoyable. Good not great, slightly confusing with the number of characters I had to keep tabs on, not helped by three of them being called Inky, Pinky and Blinky. I don't know why the fourth member of the gang was called Clyde, the author might as well have gone all in and called him Winky IMO.

We have an art heist which goes wrong, due to an unforeseen accident on the street outside - which involves another gang up to no good. Our bandits never really get back on track after that .... confusion, chaos, mayhem, violence, death, a falling out among thieves, conflict, danger, cops, a SWAT team, a rushed investigation, some backstory and tangetial details and an outcome which I liked.

More to like than not. Plenty of short, snappy scenes most of which were confrontational. Decent writing and with the constant, fast-moving action and incident I was never bored.

3.5 stars from 5 

Read - January, 2023

Published - 2017

Page count - 140

Source - purchased copy

Format - Paperback

MATTHEW DUNN - COUNTERSPY (2014)

Synopsis/blurb ...

MI6 agent Will Cochrane is living in Washington, D.C. when a dangerous terrorist, codenamed Trapper, escapes from a top secret CIA military base.  Trapper comes after Will—saying he is the one who killed his leader—but Will knows there has to be more to this story. Will gets close enough to shut the man down, but when he does, that act opens the door to yet another, much more dangerous surprise . . .

A 50-50 book. Half of it is a novella which introduces the reader to Will Cochrane (though it's not the first Cochrane story Dunn has penned) and gives his history and back story as an agent. Half of it is a 50-odd page preview for Dark Spies, a full length novel in the series - number 4 of 7.

I think I actually preferred the preview section to the novella which kind of ends a little bit abruptly for me, without a real conclusion in this Trapper-Cochrane confrontation. 

There's action, character development, a story with conflict, power, control, manipulation, history and an ending which didn't really satisfy and left more questions than answers. Cochrane's lovey-doveyness with his agent babysitter seemed a bit unlikely and not especially convincing. Conclusion apart, I enjoyed the other elements with a decent set-up and hook to draw me in. Maybe one of the later books in the Cochrane series brings things with Trapper to a proper conclusion. 

The first few chapters of Dark Spies kind of hooked me and has me wanting to see what happens next. Cochrane disobeys orders to save a CIA agent and finds himself on the outside of his organisation and a  hunted man. Without actively seeking out the book (the 2023 resolution to rein in the book buying is holding firm on day two), I'll keep an eye out for it should I cross paths with it in the wild. 

The Spycatcher - the first in the Will Cochrane series - is in the collection somewhere (tub 58), maybe I'll dust it off as I'm currently on a bit of an espionage/spy reading spree. 

3 stars from 5

Read - January, 2023

Published - 2014

Page count - 118

Source - purchased copy

Format - Kindle

LEN DEIGHTON - THE IPCRESS FILE (1962)

Synopsis/blurb....

When a number of scientists mysteriously disappear in Berlin, what seems to be a straightforward case rapidly becomes a journey to the heart of a dark and deadly conspiracy. It is a conspiracy that takes Len Deighton's working-class hero on a journey that will test him to the limits of his ingenuity and resolve, and call on him to prove himself as a spy at the very top of his game.

'A STONE COLD, COLD WAR CLASSIC' - THE GUARDIAN

A book I mostly enjoyed but not as much as I had hoped to. The plot was a bit of a mess IMO, and what started out as an interesting premise, kind of fell by the wayside and morphed into something else.

I liked the unnamed protagonist and hero at the centre of the story. I enjoyed his interactions with his fellow British agents and support team. There's a wry humour in some of the exchanges with Alice and Jean. The salary of a British intelligence agent obviously isn't that great and our man is constantly trying to secure backpay and outstanding expenses from his boss.

There is plenty of action along the way here, at home and abroad with lots of danger for our man and like most espionage tales there's a question mark over people's true motives and trustworthiness which kept me (and our man) guessing.

Everything ties up at the end and makes sense, but I guess I must have missed something that The Guardian spotted. Enjoyable, but not up with the very best of Cold War fiction. Not that it has put me off hopefully reading more from this series in 2023.

At some point I also hope to watch the film version with Michael Caine and the recent TV adaptation. Maybe they will prove a tad more satisfying. 

3 stars from 5

Declarations Of War is my only previous encounter with Deighton's work, back in 2012. My only memory relating to that was it was a bit of a drag.

Read - December, 2022

Published - 1962

Page count - 368

Source - owned copy

Format - Paperback

THOMAS PERRY - THE BOOK OF THE LION (2015)

Synopsis/blurb ....

When Professor Dominic Hallkyn receives an anonymous phone call late one night from a voice claiming to possess a priceless Chaucerian manuscript presumed lost forever, he doesn't know how to react. Such a find could irrevocably alter the history of literature, as well as his career, and yet, he can't know if the caller is legitimate or merely a student playing a prank.

Hallkyn soon finds himself on a mad dash through the twisting streets of Boston, scrambling to meet the caller's demands. In a struggle for this unique historic artifact, Hallkyn must risk his life to save a work that may be doomed to disappear from history... this time for good.

An enjoyable one-sitting read from Thomas Perry, an author I would like to read more from. But then there's probably a couple of hundred or more that I could say the same thing about.

We have a long short story set in the world of books. This one is part of a long series of book related stories by talented authors mostly commissioned by Otto Penzler (I think). 

The story is about half of the 96 pages, the rest is a preview chapter for Perry's The Boyfriend - a book I've read and enjoyed before - and a reminder of other books in the 30 plus long Death Sentences series.

Medieval literature, Chaucer, a lost work, the world of academia, a sense of responsibility, culture, friendship, money, a wanting and a needing, vulnerability, an understanding of human psychology, a tease, a ransom, and a Boston recovery mission. An outcome - successful or not? Read it yourself and find out.

Enjoyable, satisfying and entertaining. Decent character development for a shortish piece and I'm a fan of book themed stories. A decent reminder of an author I like, but who I kind of neglect to read.

4 from 5  

Perry's The Butcher's Boy, Metzger's Dog, The Boyfriend and The Burglar have been read and mostly enjoyed previously. 

Read - December, 2022

Published - 2015

Page coumt - 96

Source  - Kindle Unlimited

Format - Kindle

RON McMILLAN - DON'T THINK TWICE (2022)

 

Synopsis/blurb ...

Ever since 1971, when he arrived in Glasgow as an eleven-year-old fresh off the plane from India, Rabinder (call me Rab) Singh has struggled to fit in.

When we join him in 1993, Rab is a plain-clothes Detective Sergeant in Glasgow. And he still doesn’t fit in, not least since his estranged Scottish wife is an Inspector in the same station. After he throws a punch at superior officer Ken Malloy, Rab barely avoids being sacked. Instead, he is posted to the small coastal town of Dunoon.

He leaves behind a workplace shamed by its failure to solve the disappearance of fourteen-year-old Ashna Gupta. Ashna’s and Rab’s parents were friends. Four years after she went missing, and on the day Rab is exiled to Dunoon, the case features on BBC’s Crimewatch.

Calls come in that implicate Rab’s father Baldeep, who died of a heart attack shortly after Ashna went missing. Rab’s mother Ruby, who guards Baldeep’s memory ferociously, interferes with the investigation, and Rab is warned that if he gets involved, he will lose his job.

Meanwhile, in Dunoon Rab faces the disappearance of teenager Zoe McCusker in a case that quickly has the media drawing parallels with the Ashna disappearance. Soon, Rab becomes a suspect in both investigations.

Zoe remains missing, the Dunoon station is barely functional, and the Ashna investigation continues to be led by Detective Inspector Ken Malloy, who is desperate to settle scores with Rab, who is barred from both investigations.

Thirty years ago, not many Scots were ready for a man in a turban turning their lives inside out, but Rab won’t let that stop him being a good detective. His career and the family name depend upon it.

In that order. Never mind what his mother says.

Lots to like with this one. A 90s setting, Glasgow, and an intriguing clash of cultures with a likable Scots-Indian detective in temporary exile from work and his marriage, looking into the case of a missing teenager on his new patch - Dunoon, while developments break in a high profile, four year unsolved other missing person case back in Glasgow - with the added twist of the missing girl, being the daughter of Rab Singh's parent's friends. 

I enjoyed this one. I really liked the main character. We get to see Singh, both as a detective and a father and errant husband. A one night stand has see difficulties arise in Singh's marriage. His wife is also a ranking police officer and despite the hurt Rab has caused her, they still care for each other. She runs the risk of harming both their careers by sharing developments in the Glaswegian missing teenager case, as a new lead casts suspicion on Rab's dead father. Rab is warned to leave well alone, but obviously can't.

I enjoyed how the two cases unfolded, with the author skillfully blending both story elements into the narrative. It's quite a busy book .... football, family, mistakes and regrets, teenage rebellion, father-daughter tensions, an absent mother, Indian culture, expectations and suffocation, the importance of community and appearances, the role of the matriarch, racism, work tensions, small town gossips, police investigations, the pressure of the press, competition, point scoring, conflict and loyalty.

There's a decent pace to the book. Nothing is rushed but we don't hang about getting to where we are headed. There's lots of humour in the conversations and situations, which adds to the enjoyment of the tale. Interesting characters and relationship dynamics - personal and professional and sometimes both at the same time.

The ending tied up nicely and there's a resolution to both cases, which mostly satisfied. If I had a criticism of the book, maybe the outcome was just a little bit too neat and gift-wrapped.

Overall - really really good. This could be the start of a cracking series. 

4 stars from 5

Author Ron McMilan's work has been enjoyed before - Bangkok Belle - back in 2017.

Read - December, 2022

Published - 2022

Page count - 184

Source - review copy from author

Format - ePUB read on laptop