Synopsis/blurb......
Love is a Grift by Graham Wynd
Cover and layout by S.L. Johnson Images
Sex, Death and Crime: The essentials of Noir.
How does obsession begin? For one hit man it starts with a target he just can’t kill. She leads him on a deadly spree across Europe. With every step he’s in deeper. Each crime binds them together like a vow and only death can part them. But will it be his… or hers?
Love is a Grift and the other stories in this collection offer a fresh take on a classic genre, that begins with obsession and most often ends with death.
LOVE IS A GRIFT One woman, four cities - and a string of bodies in her wake.
1. GALWAY—The Salt House
2. BRUXELLES—À la Mort Subite
3. HELSINKI—Ravintola Saari
4. DUNDEE—The Tay Bridge Bar
OTHER TALES OF DESPERATION
PSYCHO MOTORCYCLE DOLLS (1966)
BONNIE & CLYDE
THE TENDER TRAP
DON’T CALL ME DARLING
SMALLBANY
TOY MONKEY
HAM ON HEELS
BONKERS IN PHOENIX
MESQUITE
LIFE JUST BOUNCES
MASQUERADE
INEVITABLE
BROKEN BICYCLES
THE CABAL
THE OVEN
BLOODY COLLAGE
THESE TOYS ARE FOR TOUGH BOYS
SOMEWHERE IN SLOVENIA
REPETITION
COPPED IT
SPIRITS IN THE NIGHT
DO ANYTHING YOU WANNA DO
I’VE TOLD EVERY LITTLE STAR
REBELLIOUS JUKEBOX
30 VERSIONS OF ‘WARM LEATHERETTE’
A novella and an interesting collection of short stories which kept me entertained on and off for a month or so, as I worked my way through the set.
Sex, drugs, drink, music, crime, robberies, guns, bikers, kidnap, witches, family feuds, take-downs, consequences, trailers and diners, fake friends, dead boyfriends and a swimming lesson, real friends and a false alarm, nasty neighbours, a werewolf PI in the background, a good deed and an oven clean, and lots more.
Pick of the bunch is the main event - a bit of a road trip around Europe in the company of a beautiful, scheming, psychotic woman - one whose always in control, manipulating and bending others to her will.
Act 1 - Galway - an ageing husband needs rid of, the cuckolded boyfriend with dreams and plans for the pair of them enlisted and disposed of once the deed is done. Never trust a Galway girl.
Act 2 - Brussels and a hitman on her trail, seduction and a U-turn, a fixer fixed and a new partner in tow.
Act 3 - Helsinki - a business meeting, a sauna, another death... not quite sure I understood the motivation for this one, but hey ho
Lots to like and enjoy. I couldn't say I loved every tale, but most of them worked for me.
I do like tales of criminals and outlaws and grifters and there are plenty here to occupy me. There's also the ordinary Joe - here mostly Jane - tales where an incident or accident occurs usually with devastating consequences.
4 from 5
Graham Wynd has been enjoyed before - Satan's Sorority, Extricate and Smallbany
Read - June, 2019
Published - 2019
Page count - 256
Source - review copy from publisher Fox Spirit Books - thanks!
Format - PDF
Sounds like an enjoyable group of stories, Col. And I'm with you: I like those stories of everyday people who get caught in things that get out of control. It sounds as though the stories fit together well, too, and that's great.
ReplyDeleteMargot, I did enjoy this collection. Too many stories to get into in detail, but they kept me entertained across the course of the month I took to read this.
DeleteMr Wynd thanks you!
ReplyDeleteTell him, he's very welcome! :-)
DeleteGolly! Some of those stories must be really quite short to get so many of them into 256pp!
ReplyDeleteShorty shorts in several instances.
DeleteI do like that cover. Sounds worth a try.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great cover. I wouldn't put you off reading this one.
DeleteGreat cover and some intriguing-sounding stories....
ReplyDeleteWell worth a look IMHO.
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