A couple from Chris Rhatigan this week – one a collection of short stories and the other a 120-odd page long novel/novella (what’s the difference?)
Both of these are published by All Due Respect books, as well as two further goodies from
Rhatigan – Race to the Bottom and The Kind of Friends Who Murder Each Other
From his website……
I’ve been involved in
the crime fiction world as an editor, publisher, and writer for almost a
decade.
Chris Rhatigan's website is here
His website is more concerned with his editing services than him blowing his own trumpet about his own work.
I've probably read a couple of his short stories around the internet, but none of his own longer pieces or collections. Time to break my duck I reckon.
Wake Up, Time to Die
(2014)
Delusions of grandeur. Furby with an assault rifle. More
convenience store robberies than ten seasons of Cops. This is Wake Up, Time to
Die. Sometimes funny, sometimes disturbing, and always filled with bad coffee
and cheap cigarettes, these stories highlight the weird crime side of Chris
Rhatigan's repertoire.
“Rhatigan is an
expert at sketching out incidents that feel real, but are steeped in irony and
dark humor.”
~Heath Lowrance - author
of The Bastard Hand and City of Heretics
“Wake Up, Time To Die
is noir cut with Novocain; sharp as a junkie’s needle, yet hazy as the morning
after. Reality is a fatal disease and this stepped-on high is your cure.
Medicate now.”
~Chris Leek - author of Smoke ’Em if You Got ’Em
Squeeze (2016)
Scumbag newspaper reporter Lionel Kaspar aimlessly wanders
from one scam to the next. Trying to claw his way to anywhere, Kaspar
fabricates news stories and blackmails a local bureaucrat. What little success
Kaspar stumbles upon he wastes betting on sports and drinking. But when Greg
Hulas, his competitor, starts investigating him, Kaspar becomes desperate to
maintain his position.
With Wikipedia's help I now know quite a bit more about the history of the novel/novella, because once the query was raised I had to find out :)
ReplyDeleteI think I once knew, but the knowledge has long departed my empty vessel of a brain. I'll check it out also.
DeleteI always think it's interesting to try different kinds (short story, novella, etc.) of an author's work, Col. It gives a really useful perspective on the author.
ReplyDeleteMargot agreed, and not too much time invested if eventually it turns out not to be one's cuppa!
DeleteSounds too dark and gritty for me, but when you read and review them I will be able to tell more.
ReplyDeleteFair enough, Tracy. I might try something by him in the next month or two.
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