JULY FILMS AND TV

Not too many films watched in the month, as I got back into my reading, plus we watched a fair bit of the Commonwealth Games on TV.

We did see Forrest Gump, which was enjoyable. I saw it years ago, when I had a bit of a downer on Tom Hanks. My daughters wanted to watch it and I probably got a lot more out of it second time around if I'm honest. I have the book by Winston Groom, which I haven't yet read.









We watched one of my daughter's DVD's - The Vow with Channing Tatum. Not something I would have chosen to watch myself, but I stayed awake during it, so it couldn't have been that bad. Apparently it's based on a true stroy.I have seen him before in Dear John - another one of my daughter's favourites. He's alright, but I can't see him picking up an Oscar anytime soon. Good luck to him though.

One of the funniest things on British TV in the past year or two has been Mrs Brown's Boys, a situation comedy starring Brendan O'Carroll and most of his family. The TV series was developed from previous works of O'Carroll which were aired on radio and a series of books. I read the first book The Mammy a few years ago and didn't enjoy it as much as the TV show. In short the series concerns an Irish mother who has brought up her children single-handedly. Coarse, rude, bawdy and incredibly funny - along with Brooklyn Nine-Nine it's the go-to-show that we rely upon for laughs in our household.



Four of the Keane's hopped off to MK to see the film offering from O'Connell and his gang - Mrs Brown D'Movie. Well worth the admission fee and we had a blast. Probably slightly less funny than the weekly half-hour episodes that screen on the TV, but a good night out.

Others in the month - Snow White and The Huntsman, which starred Kristen Stewart. I believe this is the film that led to her troubles with Twilight man Robert Pattinson. I was enjoying it before I dozed off halfway through. More of a reflection on me than the film, I was a bit peeved with myself.







We also managed to watch the second half of Neds, a dark, violent and brutal Scottish film from Peter Mullen, set in Glasgow in the 70's and focussing on the city's gang culture.

JULY 2014 READING LIST AND PICK OF THE MONTH

Book of the month!

BOOM!

My most productive and probably most enjoyable month's reading of the year, coming directly after my worst since records began. The wise among you reading last month's round-up, said don't fret and you were right - so thanks.

14 books read in the month - 12 were new to me with only McBain and Elaine Ash aka Anonymous-9 being read previously.

5 of the 14 were females, which is all good. (13 from 56 - 23% - a definite increase on last year)

I read 1 book from each of the following decades - the 30's, 40's, 60's, 70's and 90's, all the rest have been published either this year or in the past couple. I will have a few slots to cross off my Vintage reads bingo cards when I get around to it.

All authors are either UK or US plotting by nationality, so I guess I will have a couple of authors who will tick a box or two on my US State Reading Challenge when I update.

I reckon The Bone Church can be counted as an Espionage book.

Nothing to qualify for Scottish or Down Under reads.

1 ticked off on the TBR Mountain Challenge - Shock Corridor.

7 of those read weigh in at under 100 pages, which if I'm totally honest only number a couple of them at over 50 pages long. Do I care? Not really, just pleased to have located my mojo - it's been a while.

Nothing sucked - though Red Gardenias was the least enjoyable. It did have a couple of redeeming qualities though.

2 - 5 Star reads in the month. Matthew McBride and Joel Townsley Rogers.

Book of the month - The Red Right Hand, by virtue of the fact I'm still thinking about it on and off a week or more after reading.

Full list of July's books follows,

The runner up!

  
Michael Avallone - Shock Corridor (3)

Linda Grant - I Murdered My Library (4)

Victoria Dougherty - The Bone Church (4)

Lori Rader-Day - The Black Hour (4)

Anonymous-9 - Just So You Know I'm Not Dead (4)

Ed McBain - Driving Lessons (3)

Matthew McBride - A Swollen Red Sun (5)

Joel Townsley Rogers - The Red Right Hand (5)

John Lutz - The Truth Of The Matter (4)

John Dolan - Jim Fosse's Expense Claim (4)

Jonathan Latimer - Red Gardenias (3)

Verge Le Noir - Black Pills And Red Bullets (4)

Keith Nixon - Dream Land (4)

Eva Hudson - The Last Ride (4)

EVA HUDSON - THE LAST RIDE

Synopsis/blurb….

Product Description

A hard boiled suspense thriller quick read from a prize winning British crime fiction writer.

Taxi driver, Dave Morrison, has been driving round London all day, picking up random fares, praying they will distract him from the terrible event he has to confront tomorrow morning.

When he finally parks up for the night and is approached by two men in an unlit backstreet, his prayers are answered. Unfortunately for Dave, their brand of distraction could prove fatal.

In a frightening case of mistaken identity, Dave finds himself caught up in the middle of gang wars, an innocent victim in the seedy world of drugs and crime.

A violent short story in the noir crime tradition, The Last Ride will leave you feeling disturbed and decidedly grateful that what happens to Dave could never happen to you.

Or could it?

Praise for The Last Ride

"A good, short, easy read with credible characters and graphic narrative"

"A very well told short story. The character is fleshed well in the few short clicks of this tale"

"Pleasantly surprised at the depth a character can have in a few short pages"

Praise for Eva Hudson

"A brilliantly-paced thriller... Perfectly balanced between character and plot. Very gripping and suspenseful" - Sophie Hannah

"It immediately draws you in... there's suspense right from the beginning" - Penny Smith

"Great dialogue" - Mark Billingham

Surprise, surprise, I’m padding my July reading figures with another short piece. This time it’s an Eva Hudson story acquired as a freebie on Amazon UK.

London, taxis, drugs, a beating and revenge. 20-odd pages, job done.

Gritty and satisfying and enough there to warrant me reading more from the author in future. A couple of her longer offerings are waiting on the pile already.

Eva Hudson’s website is here.

4 from 5

Acquired free on Amazon UK kindle  

2 BY DAVE WARNER

A few months ago, after having read an intriguing blog post by Andrew Nette regarding City of Light – Dave Warner’s debut novel. I got in contact with the author himself by e-mail and bought these two bad boys from him.

I think Dave has written about 6 novels crime fiction novels in total, but exercising admirable restraint I thought I would see how I go with these first.

An Aussie Elmore-Leonard-cum-Carl Hiaasen-cum-James Ellroy seems right up my street.

Warner has more than one string to his bow. He’s been involved in the music scene, first with a punk band called Pus and subsequently in a band From The Suburbs, both of them unfamiliar to me, but I’m going to try and see what I can find on the net. In addition he’s penned successful screenplays – Garage Days and Cut, which features everyone’s favourite little Australian – Kylie Minogue.

From The Suburbs - 1978 You Tube

Don’t you just hate, multi-talented people? Err, not really.    

Dave Warner’s website is here.

EXXXPRESSO

Just out of the big house, Rick is a good natured ex-crim with a plan to franchise a chain of cafés based on a prison theme. To finance his dream, he borrows from a low-life drug dealer and full-time paranoid, Guthrie. But moments before he is due to pay off his debt to Guthrie, his estranged wife cleans out his bank account.

Rick finds himself running from bad trouble into worse. In the richest square mile of dirt in the world, a state-of-the-art cappucino machine is about to determine the fate of six triple-crossing desperates. Dave's novel is Elmore Leonard on no-doze – a foot-to-the-floor twisting tale of cheapskates chasing high stakes, lust and dust, in action so rapid it makes jai alai look like snow melting.

REVIEW OF EXXXPRESSO

At last, a touch of Carl Hiaasen's crazy brilliance in Australia, from former ''Suburban Boy'' Warner. Reformed crim Rick Boski plans to serve coffee instead of time, but to open a cafe featuring the sublime Milano espresso machine (eight cups at once, plus playing Arrivederci Roma) he needs funds.

He turns to a loan shark, drug lord and general sleaze, Guthrie, but the deal soon turns sour with complications including a former wife, several witless thugs, two mobile phones and a plastic bag of cash. On the road to Kalgoorlie, Rick and a bunch of hapless characters ride out a ridiculously convoluted plot that finally gives new meaning to death by espresso.

Wild, mad, thoroughly improbable, and I couldn't put it down - hopefully it'll also become a film, as was originally intended. Musos turned novelists should normally be regarded with caution, but Warner sparks with energy. Maybe it's the caffeine.

– Debra Adelaide

BIG BAD BLOOD

Sydney 1965. The Beatles are on every radio, and Detective Ray Shearer's on the take. Shearer acts as muscle for Kings Cross businessman George Shaloub. George has problems. He wants to knock down some terraces in the Cross to build a business centre, but heiress and local newspaper publisher Jenny Wilson is running a high-profile campaign against him. Then one of his prostitutes is found murdered – a copycat killing of an horrific rape and murder six years earlier. This is just the beginning of the nightmare: the underworld of cops and crims, arson, drugs and a maelstrom of violence and deceit; of long-hidden secrets that will drive Shearer into a labyrinth of shame, guilt and hate. Only by confronting his own dark secrets can he succeed.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

My intention for Big Bad Blood was to write a big, complex, muscular crime novel that reflected how I felt about Sydney - a big, muscular city with glitz on the surface and blood beneath. I found in James Elroy's language the perfect style for what I wanted. Originally, I conceived of this book as being about sets of brothers and this is still a major part of the fabric.

KEITH NIXON - DREAM LAND

Synopsis/blurb…..

DREAM LAND, Konstantin’s first 48 hours in Margate. Neither will be the same again. 

From the author of best-selling THE FIX, comes an introduction to Konstantin Boryakov, the enigmatic tramp who claims to be ex-KGB and in hiding. A man with a dark past and a darker future. 

Konstantin has just arrived in the UK, Margate to be specific, having escaped persecution by the authorities in his own country. The second he steps out of a car he gets into trouble, targeted by local villain Dave the Rave. But Dave chose the wrong man to pick a fight with… 

Another new to me author and another shortish blast of some UK grit. We have an interesting setting – Margate, a coastal town; tired and past it’s sell by date. Interesting for me personally, as my wife and her family used to spend their summer holidays there during the late 60’s and 70’s. I went with her for a break there in the 80’s – nostalgia rules, ok; and the year before last as well for a night. We won’t be returning – sad really.

Konstantin is a bit of a mystery. Intriguing and capable, but as yet Nixon only gives us snippets about the Russian with a troubled history. In his fiery dealings with some local dead-beats, Konstantin proves himself more than able to handle the low-life scum and he exhibits a kind heart to boot. What exactly is going on with his daughter? Hopefully I will find out in future installments.

Definitely a character I’m going to get better acquainted with in the future. Nixon has a few more novellas featuring the Russian that precede his full-length novel The Fix.

Plastic Fantastic and Fat Gary are next up before The Fix. How could anyone pass up the chance to read something titled Fat Gary?    

All of his stuff is readily available over on Amazon – well worth a look in my opinion.

4 from 5

Keith Nixon’s website/blog is here.

Bought on Amazon UK recently 

VERGE LE NOIR - BLACK PILLS & RED BULLETS

Synopsis/blurb………

Product Description

In KISSES FROM OCALA we meet Rhonda an unforgettable stripper who loves Renoir, Kandinsky, Dali and money.

In WOLFENHAUS we meet a reclusive industrialist with dark dreams and even darker secrets.

RED ROOSTER tells the journey of a writer who went looking for a forgotten bluesman, from New Orleans to New York.

In the title story BLACK PILLS & RED BULLETS we meet Kenichi Isaka a Yakuza who went too far when he practiced the art of Kimbaku-bi a Japanese style of bondage on the wrong girl.

A couple of Canadian yuppies in Cuba looking into the skin trade get a little more than they bargain for in the story: MATANZAS.

THE OLD UGLY deals with the little journey of a legendary gun. From birth to death.

What happened at the Seattle Aquarium after dark? Is where modern lovers meet and greet as told in the story titled: HARD RAIN.

What’s the dooms day survivalist up to? What are his intentions with the daughter of ex-mayor Hobbs? Find out in the story: BURN BABY, BURN.

What happens when an old goomba decides to clean up his act? Meet Mario Mortillaro in the story: THEY SHOOT HORSES, is he really turning a new leaf?

Welcome to the snap and crackle prose that comprises this collection of ten unforgettable short stories.

Fraught with spatters of : Danger, mystery and violence. If you like escapism which hankers back to a time when reading pulp-ish fare made one feel like an amoral tight rope walker. Then this one's for you!

About the Author

Verge Le Noir. A voracious reader and a slight misanthrope. Decided to start writing on discovering the works of a man from Detroit by the name of Elmore Leonard; something call Rock and Roll; cool flix, and the female of the species. Not in that particular order - if you can believe it. Black Pills & Red Bullets is his first entry in the world of indie books- expect more. In search of some sanity, dive bars and a killer story. He roams around New York City.

Another short story diversion for me this month. Downloaded relatively cheaply on Amazon UK a few months ago and I feel like I got my money’s worth. Reading back through the brief descriptions above, I wouldn’t say all 10 are seared into the memory banks, but enough of them have me wanting to look out for more from Verge in the future.

RED ROOSTER and BURN BABY BURN are the 2 stand-outs for me.

Great author name - I hope it's real, great cover, great stories – most of. Enjoyable.

You can find him on Twitter @VergeLeNoir

4 from 5

Amazon UK purchase.

JONATHAN LATIMER - RED GARDENIAS

Synopsis/blurb….

Bill Crane’s fifth and final mystery finds him teamed up once again with his old ally Doc Williams and the boss’s niece, Ann Fortune. Ann poses as Crane’s wife in their investigation of a murder and death threats to the family of an industrial magnate. On the way to cracking the case in his own inimitable way, Crane learns the secret of the gardenia perfume, the lipstick marks on the dead man’s face, the crimson cat, the three shelves and the hairpin! Latimer’s deft blending of suspense and humour is never better revealed than in Red Gardenias, which has been described as “Masterful….the proper proportion of dry vermouth to produce a fine martini, all without bruising the gin!”

Rich over at Past Offences has put up a monthly challenge for readers who wish to participate. The challenge is to post about something read or watched for a particular year. Our year in question for July was 1939.

Having been unable to locate a couple of candidates that lurk somewhere in the library – books by Eric Ambler and James Hadley Chase, I selected this one by Latimer on the basis that it was cheap and also because I already have Solomon’s Vineyard by the same author. If I already own one of his, another must be good, surely?

If I was comparing it to a drink, my particular analogy would be with a three day old pint of milk, left out on the doorstep in full glare of the blazing sun. Ok ….slight exaggeration then, more akin to a pint of beer that was poured out yesterday then forgotten about. It still does a job of sorts, but it’s not the best thing you’ll ever drink in your life.

I found Red Gardenias a bit dated. We have some uncomfortable racial references or slurs and some male chauvinism from Crane, when referring to Ann. I think I have less difficulty reading racist and misogynistic remarks in current fiction and interpreting the intent of an author and am better placed to attach a likeability-dislikeability quotient to a character, as a result, than I am when reading books 75 years old. Is Crane a racist, or is Latimer, or is neither and it’s just a reflection of the general attitudes of the time when the book was written?

That aside, we have Crane, Fortune and Williams trying to uncover a murderer, whose efforts have for the most part been successfully passed off as accidents. The duo or trio for the most part operate independently of each other. Our victims belong to a wealthy family and for a bit of the novel I was trying to remember who was who to whom….brother, son, cousin, wife, ex-wife, dead, or nearly dead.

Along the way, we were supplied with a range of likely suspects. I discovered that Bill Crane has a fondness for alcohol, which his pretend wife, Ann frowned upon. (He also partakes of laudanum – something I have heard of previously, but never really knew what it was – an opium preparation apparently.) In certain exchanges they did come across as a married couple, albeit one with issues in their relationship. I think an attraction was bubbling along under the surface, one which Ann was doing her best to suppress. I could imagine wedding bells had there been a 6^th in the series.

In the end it all pulled together and was resolved satisfactorily.

I’ll score it a 3 from 5 as it wasn’t too bad overall. The main difficulty I have is finding myself overly sympathetic to troubles that befall rich people, I’m obviously too in touch with my inner-Marxist.

I’ll still read Solomon’s Vineyard at some point. The fact that it was banned or suppressed in the US for over 40 years piques my curiosity. I shan’t be reading more Bill Crane books though.

I bought my copy recently on Amazon.    

PS, I can't recall the crimson cat or the three shelves mentioned in the blurb. I must pay closer attention in future!