TOM PICCIRILLI - THE NIGHT CLASS (2000)

 

Synopsis/blurb...

The college winter break is over, and Caleb Prentiss faces yet another semester of higher education. Struggling with alcoholism and frustrated by his irrelevant classes, Cal seeks solace in the arms of his scholastic-conscious girlfriend and in somnambulistic conversation with a mystifying college radio DJ.

But Cal's ennui is shattered when he discovers evidence of a murder which occurred in his room over the Christmas recess. Obsessed with unearthing the particulars of this gruesome and haunting event, Cal wanders down the grotesque hallowed halls of a university gone mad.

Run-ins with the two hard-nosed campus security guards, relationship hurdles with both friends and lovers, and enigmatic signals from the Dean's icily eminent wife force Caleb to question his place in the bizarre night classes of higher education.

Even as he gets ever closer to the truth, Caleb is plagued by the supernatural occurrence known as stigmata: his hands bleed in imitation of the wounds of Christ whenever someone close to him dies.

And Cal's hands are bleeding a lot these days.

My third Audible outing with the late Tom Piccirilli in the merry month of May and this one was my only slightly disappointing read. The Night Class was sandwiched either side of two cracking novellas - You'd Better Watch Out and All You Despise. It was a bit of a surprise considering this one won a Bram Stoker Best Novel Award. 

I found the story a bit plodding and less than captivating. I liked the backdrop of the college and the main character, Cal was sympathetic. I enjoyed some of the incidents in the book and the relationship dynamics between Cal and a few of the minor characters in the book, but I did continually wonder while listening, what was the actual point of it all?

I don't think it was the crossover of genres from a crime like feel with an unexplained murder of a student, into horror/supernatural with stigmata that bumped me out of the book either. There's a kind of cult feel to the book, as the college freaks, including the hierarchy try and indoctrinate Cal into joining them. 

Decent writing, decent setting, interesting (for the most part) and developed characters, just not much else for me to get excited about. I've read far far worse in my time, and undoubtedly will do again. And it wasn't one that I ever considered giving up on as my ears never started bleeding. I just didn't vibe it. 

2.5 from 5

Read - (listened to) May, 2022

Published - 2000

Page count - 247 (6 hrs 33 mins)

Source - Audible purchase    

Format - Audible

CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE - A BIG BOY DID IT AND RAN AWAY (2001)

Synopsis/blurb...

Real Life™ blows. Just ask Raymond Ash. As a student, he and his friend Simon thought their futures would be paved with gold discs, gigs and groupies. Instead he's found himself in his thirties, a nervous new father and an even more nervous new English teacher, facing the fact that responsibility has no Escape key.

The last thing on Ray's troubled mind is a band reunion. For one thing, theirs wasn't exactly an amicable split; but a slightly larger obstacle is that Simon has been dead for three years. So when Ray glimpses him walking through Glasgow Airport, he assumes he's seeing things, until Real Life™ starts getting weirder and more violent than any computer game ...

My first time reading author Christopher Brookmyre in many years. I read his debut novel way back when, hoovered up some more of his books and then promptly forgot about them. Whilst I enjoyed A Big Boy, I'm probably not going to rush to read anything else by him soon.

Positives.... decent enough story once it gets going. There's kind of a dual timeline element to it as we go back into Ray Ash and Simon Darcourt's shared student days. We discover how much of a tool Simon is even back then, before the faked death and reinvention as a feared terrorist maestro. The narrative does flip forwards and backwards which is something I enjoyed.  

We spend most of the time in the present day as Ray and Simon reconnect. Ray wants to enjoy his family and the new addition, if only the baby will ever stop crying. Simon wants to enhance his Black Spirit reputation with another appalling atrocity this time on home soil. An accident, or possibly fate sets them on a collision course. Detective Angelique De Xavier, the third spoke in the wheel pulls out all the stops to try and foil the Black Spirit's cunning plan. Even if it means working with the initially kidnapped before escaping English teacher.

There's a lot of humour in the story as well. There's a classroom scene which involves Ray trying to engage with his sceptical students and it's one of the funniest few pages I've ever read. That's not a one-off, as Brookmyre frequently uses humour to create a connection for the reader with his characters.

I liked the main character and was keen to see how he got on dealing with situations that took him far out of his comfort zone. There's a loving relationship shared by Ray and his wife and an interesting dynamic between Ray and De Xavier. It contrasts nicely with Simon's character defects.... a superiority complex, a massive ego, an inability to forgive and forget even trivial sleights of long ago. Simon always has to believe he's the smartest person in the room and the centre of the universe. 

The ending was satisfying with just the hint of a question mark about the fate of one of the main characters. The frequent injections of wit kind of disarm any escalation of tension in the tale. Brookmyre opts for laughs as opposed to a kind of anxious doomsday thriller.  

Negatives... maybe it took just a little bit too long to set things in motion and at 500 plus pages it demands a level of commitment that I'm not used to giving. I thought I'd tackle the book in 25 page increments daily. By about page 125, I was upping the ante to 30-35, before polishing off the last 130 in a couple of days. Size isn't everything, as I keep telling my wife. 

Overall I really enjoyed it,

3.5 from 5

Read - June, 2022

Published - 2001

Page count - 512

Source - purchased copy

Format - Paperback 

LAWRENCE BLOCK - FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK (2013)

 

Synopsis/blurb...

"Funny You Should Ask was written during a month-long stay at a Rodanthe NC motel, on the Outer Banks. A long fishing pier extended into the Atlantic, and every day I fished from it, and every night I dined on what I'd hauled out of the water. I couldn't get anywhere on the book I was supposed to write, but I turned out a batch of short stories. "Funny You Should Ask" was one of them. "Sometimes They Bite" was another.

I sent them to my agent, who inquired of a mutual friend. Had he heard anything of me? Did he know how I was doing?

My friend hadn't, and wondered at the question.

"Well, I've been reading the stories he's been writing," my agent said, "and I get the feeling that maybe he's been alone too long."

I can't argue the point. But I've always liked the story. AHMM ran it some ten months after I wrote it, and Fred Dannay (who never met a title he didn't want to fix) changed this one to "A Pair of Recycled Jeans." Which wasn't terrible, but I'm as obdurate as Fred was, and when I had the chance I changed it back. It's been anthologized a bunch of times, and appears in my collection, "Sometimes They Bite," and my short fiction omnibus, "Enough Rope."

Enjoy!

Another short offering from Lawrence Block courtesy of a Kindle Unlimited subscription. I think I'll spend some time scouring what is available from him on the service over the next few months. Why? Well it's Lawrence bloody Block innit. That's why.

This particular story seemed familiar though a little bit elusive. The gist of it only coming back to me a fraction of a second after I'd read it. 99% certain this one was encountered before.

A man wonders where perfectly worn pairs of secondhand jeans are sourced from. They're too good to be thrown away. The store owner buys them in, in bulk but doesn't know his supplier's source. The cost/profit ratio intrigues our man and is a bit of a conundrum because they only sell for 6 bucks. Our curious traveller gets his answer before the end of the tale. Not that it will do him much good.

Not sure I'd want to share headspace with Mr B when he was conjuring up this one.

4 from 5

The story sells for a couple of quid (at time of writing) and while the author won't get rich if you buy it and you won't get poor either, it might be a better investment hoovering up his Enough Rope collection, or having a butcher's at this via Kindle Unlimited. 

Fun was had for a quarter of an hour while reading and at least an hour on and off subsequently, while shaking my head at Lawrence Block's imagination and skill. 

4 from 5

Read - June, 2022

Published - 2013

Page count - 15

Source  - Kindle Unlimited

Format - Kindle

CRAIG A. HART - SERENITY AVENGED (2017)

 

Synopsis/blurb...

A ruthless crime boss.

A mansion with a chilling secret.

A young man faced with the biggest decision of his life.

When his daughter goes into premature labor, Shelby Alexander leaves his northern hideaway for downstate. No sooner does he drive into town, than things go sour.

His ex-wife, Helen, faces deadly consequences after hard times force her to take desperate measures, setting off a dangerous chain of events.

Racing against time to save those he loves the most and avoid unspeakable tragedy, Shelby faces down an evil crime lord, trained killers, and one of the closest brushes with death yet.

The third book in the popular Shelby Alexander Thriller Series, Serenity Avenged takes readers on a breath-taking ride through a hail of bullets, close calls, and betrayal.

Craig A. Hart's Serenity series comprises eight books in total. Serenity Avenged is the third, following on from Serenity and Serenity Stalked and it's another enjoyable outing in the series.

Main character, Shelby Alexander travels to be close to his daughter, Leslie who is about to give birth to his first grandchild. It's an event he's looking forward to, less so being back in touch with ex-wife, Helen.

Helen is in the brown stuff. She's got a bit of a gambling problem and has borrowed money from a gangster, Darkmore which she is unable to pay back. Darkmore's nephew Jimmy has been tasked with collecting. Darkmore wants his money or a pound of flesh.

Helen is secretive about her problems (most gamblers are) and only after Shelby accidentally crosses paths with Jimmy, does the truth come out. Shelby, along with best friend, recently retired cop Mack take on Darkmore and his cohorts.

I quite liked the relationships in the book, especially how Shelby and Helen got past a difficult and acrimonius break-up. They both care for their daughter and choose to focus on the positive aspects of their shared history instead of the negatives. Young thug, Jimmy's relationship with his mobster uncle is also conflicted, especially as Darkmore had his father killed because he disappointed him. The more Jimmy finds out about his uncle, the less he fancies the world of crime.

A few of the events were a little bit sketched and a stretch for believability as opposed to portrayed realistically. Helen's issues with gambling aren't really explored in any depth other than she owes money. There's no real contrition on her part or examination of the evils of addiction and how she is going to address them. Similarly, Darkmore's torture chamber and capacity for violence was a little bit over the top. I'm fairly sure we could have still viewed him as ruthless and single-minded with a cruel streak without the butchery skills he delighted in displaying.

Other than those slight gripes I really liked this one. Story, conflict, characters, relationship dynamics, action, violent confrontation, humour, pace and outcome all plusses.

3.5 from 5

I'll defintely keep reading (listening) to this series. Hart has an engaging writing style which keeps me invested in what happens next. Theo Holland narrating is the cherry on the cake.
 

Read - (listened to) March, 2022

Published - 2017

Page count - 192 (4 hrs 2 mins)

Source - Audible purchase

Format - Audible

LAWRENCE BLOCK - SCENARIOS (2011)

Synopsis/blurb....

“Scenarios” was written for The Dark End of the Street, an anthology that explores the interface between crime and literary fiction. My friends S. J. Rozan and Jonathan Santlofer teamed up to edit the volume, and I was invited to participate, along with such writers as Laura Lippman, Stephen L. Carter, Madison Smartt Bell, Lee Child, Amy Hempel, Jonathan Lethem, Joyce Carol Oates, and Edmund White. Someone suggested "Scenarios" might be categorized as Post-Modern Noir. Since that phrase pairs two terms, each of which means different things to different people, I have to say I'm fine with it. My story is dark and erotic and violent—or is it?

Another short read in the merry month of May from legendary author Lawrence Block.

The story concerns a man with a knife in his pocket cruising bars for the perfect woman. Block has  a bit of fun with the reader offering possible directions events can take...... he uses the knife, maybe he doesn't, maybe the hard look from a female bartender seals her fate, maybe he gets slipped a mickey and his potential victim uses it on him when he comes to - all tied up, maybe he chickens out and has an encounter and the knife stays in his pocket until next time.

Interesting, fun, and another one of Block's many works, albeit a minor one scratched off the list.

A good time was had for 15 minutes or so. 

4 from 5

Read - May, 2022

Published - 2011

Page count - 17

Source - Kindle Unlimited

Format - Kindle

BILL CRIDER - CURSED TO DEATH (1988)

 

Synopsis/blurb...

In tiny Blacklin County, Texas, a curse is nothing more than a four-letter word hollered in a barroom or muttered in the heat. So Sheriff Dan Rhodes is more curious than concerned when he dutifully responds to a complaint of witchcraft.

When Dr. Samuel Martin, the local dentist - and unpopular landlord - claims he's been hexed by a tenant, Rhodes does his best to smooth things out between the distressed D.D.S. and the would-be witch. But in two shakes of a black cat's tail, the good doctor disappears...and his wife turns up bludgeoned to death.

For Rhodes, it means there's a bad moon rising over Blacklin County. And now he's got to do the voodoo he does best - asking pointed questions and extracting the painful truth from some tight-lipped suspects who also bite...

Cursed to Death is the third in Bill Crider's Sheriff Dan Rhodes series, after Too Late to Die and Shotgun Saturday Night. It was the first one I read (back in February) and I liked it. Because I read a lot and I'm getting old and my memory ain't what it once was and four months or so have passed since I lsitened to it, the details are getting a bit sketchy. I do remember I enjoyed it.

Decent characters - Dan Rhodes himself and the support cast of Deputy Ruth Grady and the jailhouse double act of Hack and Lawton. Likable - all of them - with some banter and mickey taking and pushing of buttons, usually with Rhodes as the punchline in the joke. Rhodes, as a Sheriff and in all the books I've read so far, a solver of murders is honest and diligent and very old school. Ask questions, get answers, then ask some more. He's not trigger happy and he isn't Superman when it comes to physicality, often coming off second best in the inevitable brawl he gets sucked into - usually a reluctant, uncooperative witness who doesn't fancy answering Rhodes' questions. He doesn't lack courage.

A small town Texan setting with an unusually high death rate! 

Plot - a missing person - a dentist, then a murder with the victim - the wife of the aforementioned missing person, and a few quirks in the tale with some eccentricities - events and character traits - passing off as normal in this rural Texan town. Rhodes does the investigating.

Pace - not laboured, but not 100 mph either. It's kind of appropriate for the story, with the odd diversion for a bit of backstory on Rhodes' history or a meal with the girlfriend, Ivy. The usual stuff that gives a bit of flesh to a book without detracting from the story being told.

Outcome - satisfying. Rhodes get his man/woman in the end and they all live happily ever after until book four in the series when we get to go around again.

I have seen a review which critices the series for being a bit formulaic which I can understand. I actually see that as a positive. I like comfort reading on occasions. There's a familiarity to the books with known characters behaving normally and predictably with the odd twist thrown in. My expectations ie entertainment/enjoyment/satisfaction are met. 

A solid, if unspectacular - 3.5 from 5    

Read - (listened to) February, 2022

Published - 1988

Page count - 162 (4 hrs 43 mins)

Source - Audible purchase

Format - Audible

FRANK SCALISE - A BAKER'S DIVORCE (2022)

 

Synopsis/blurb....

Cal Baker is a lifelong rocker who had a number one hit in 1979. Since then, he's managed to barely cling to a career by chasing every musical trend that looked promising. Along the way, he was married and divorced a dozen times. Now, he's sixty-two and his thirteenth wife informs him that she wants a divorce, threatening to make it a baker's dozen of divorces. On top of that, the timing couldn't be worse, as he has a new record coming out soon.

This news sends Cal on a quest to discover why this keeps happening to him. He reaches out to all of his ex-wives, searching for the answer that will help him save his marriage, so he won't have to get... A Baker's Divorce.

A Baker's Divorce is Frank Scalise's latest non-mystery-non-crime offering. Mr Scalise is probably better known as Frank Zafiro, author of 30 odd crime fiction novels, published both singly and collaboratively with the likes of Colin Conway, Eric Beetner and Lawrence Kelter, to name drop a few.

ABD concerns Cal Baker, an aging musician whose 13th wife has just imparted the bombshell news that she wants a divorce. Deja-vous really, as Cal has been down this path a time or two before. He's stunned, but probably shouldn't be.

The novel, which is very funny in places, has Cal seeking answers to the why his life and loves keep going sideways. It's interesting in seeing the portrayal of a character, so oblivious to his own shortcomings, failings and faults. On the surface Cal is the kind of guy you ought to hate. He's vain, self-centred, unaware of the needs of others in any kind of relationship with him, immune to criticism, as well as having a short temper and a tendency to overindulge with alcohol. He's a proper man-child. Not so much that he can't learn from his mistakes; it's more a - 'what mistake?' attitude, but he's really, really likable. I don't know how Scalise had him not coming off as a total douchebag, but he pulled it off. 

With wakeup call #13 on the horizon, Cal slowly starts listening instead of the just 'in one ear - out the other' kind of hearing he’s mastered over 40 plus years. A head can be extracted from an ass. Lessons can be learned. Bridges can be built, fences mended etc etc.

We re-visit all the old wives - the surviving ones at least, juggling them with interviews for the new album. We see Cal from the perspective of his wives, his manager, one of his semi-estranged children (the others are more permanently out of his life), and people that report on the industry. 

Musically, he's always been a step or two behind the trends, always chasing instead of blazing a trail. The author has fun at the expense of this has-been/almost never-was. He’s a figure of fun for most of the hipster DJs and journos that he encounters. There’s a sadness to it though in the dismissal of his talent and success (or relative lack of) and his longevity. There’s something uncomfortable in witnessing others triumphal with their belittling of Cal. 

As the novel progresses, Cal spends time with his teenage son, Kyle and tries to connect, imparting some fatherly advice, when he’s managed to skip the father role for 17 years. There’s a somewhat graphic and hilarious anecdote of a sexual encounter included. He’s sneaks a look at the ex-wives and manager Facebook group, where he is surprised to discover what the exes think of him and that maybe, just maybe the world does not revolve around Cal Baker.  

Overall, I really liked this one. I was entertained throughout, with a few giggles and some pause for self-reflection as well. Some of Cal’s failings, mistakes and the casual hurts inflicted invoked memories of times I’ve been less than thoughtful in how I’ve treated others in my life. A bit of naval gazing sometimes can be good for the soul.

Frank Zafiro writes a mean crime novel. Frank Scalise also writes a mean non-crime novel. 

4.5 from 5

A Village of Strangers and The Hardest Hit have been enjoyed before.  

Read - June, 2022

Published - 2022

Page count - 196

Source - review copy from author

Format - Kindle