MATT PHILLIPS - BAD LUCK CITY (2016)

Synopsis/blurb....

"A must-read...a throwback pulp novella that rings with authenticity." -- Out of the Gutter

Sim Palmer is bored as hell...Journalism for a Vegas tabloid is less exciting than expected. One phone call from a local gangster changes that; Sim soon finds himself battling against the criminal underworld. He's about to discover a family history best left buried.

Matt Phillips brings you an exciting and fast-paced novella. The first in a series of Knuckle Cracking Novellas brought to you by Near To The Knuckle.

A great start to September's reading with Matt Phillips' Las Vegas set Bad Luck City.

We have a jaded journalist treading water in his job and approached by a stranger who asks him to look for a mysterious girl who is missing. One thing follows another and Sim Palmer gets sucked into a world of violence, pain and artistic perversion with a bar girl and young delinquent for company, while crossing paths with a violent pimp-cum-fixer plus cohorts and a rather strange casino boss.

I really liked the setting, the set-up and the settlement to our fast-paced outing. There's a strong sense of place, a strong feel for family and memories and identity, a bit of a good versus evil tale with a quest for answers and subsequently if not exactly justice, a desire for some form of retribution.

128 pages long - perfect length and a quick speedy read that entertained and didn't disappoint.

Matt Phillips has been enjoyed before with his novella Redbone. Accidental Outlaws, Three Kinds of Fool and his latest Know Me From Smoke still sit on the pile.

4 from 5

Read in September, 2018
Published - 2016
Page count - 128
Source - purchased copy
Format - kindle
 

AUGUST 2018 - READING LIST AND PICK OF THE MONTH

August's reading was a bit less than the previous month and I failed to hit double digit figures for reading, which is my usual goal.

I did manage to read a raft of short stories in the month - AUGUST 2018 - 31 DAYS, 31 SHORTS!

Nine books read in the month though probably only four would pass as full length novels with the same again as novellas and one short story.

No 5 STAR read in the month, though four ran close. On the basis that it is the one I'd pick up first for a re-read Martin Stanley's Fighting Talk is my pick of the month.

The three other 4.5 STAR reads were Les Edgerton's The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnapping, Of Blondes and Bullets by Michael Young and Glen McGoldrick's short story Dead Flies

The full nine were....

Les Edgerton - The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnapping (2014) (4.5)

Michael Young - Of Blondes and Bullets (2015) (4.5)

Glenn McGoldrick - Dead Flies (2017) (4.5)

Henry G. Sheppard - Haematemesis (2016) (4)

Steve Shadow - Sin-ema (2012) (3)

Chris Thomas - The Edge of Sanity (2018) (4)

Robert Parker - Morte Point (2018) (4)

Douglas Schofield - Killing Pace (2017) (3)

Martin Stanley - Fighting Talk (2018) (4.5)

More trivia for my own amusement ....


3 of the 9 were 4 STAR reads and very enjoyable - Robert Parker's Morte Point, Henry G. Sheppard's amusing non-fiction account of battling illness Haematemesis and Chris Thomas's The Edge of Sanity

2 - 3 STAR reads - Steve Shadow's pornographic Sin-ema and Douglas Schofield's thriller Killing Pace

9 reads from 9 different authors,

4 of the 9 were new-to-me authors, Michael Young, Douglas Schofield, Steve Shadow and Henry G. Sheppard. I have more to read on the pile from Steve Shadow

Les Edgerton, Robert Parker, Chris Thomas, Glenn McGoldrick and Martin Stanley have all been enjoyed before with more from Les Edgerton and Martin Stanley sitting on the TBR pile.

Gender analysis -  9 male authors, ZERO female - OOPS - shocking but no big surprise. Deja-vous - I keep deferring my all female reading month.

Of the 9 authors read, 4 are English, 3 hail from the US, 1 now sadly passed was from Australia and 1 unknown - possibly English!

8 of the 9 of the reads were fiction - 4 novels - 3 novellas, 1 short story and one non-fiction biographical account of illness and a medical journey - Henry G. Sheppard - Haematemesis

All of the books were published in this decade ....3 from 2018, 2 from 2017, 1 from 2016, 1 from 2015, 1 from 2014 and 1 from 2012.
That's 2 months running I don't think I've left this decade. I've definitely lost the knack of reading older books.

Settings -  an Australian hospital, 70s Chicago, New Orleans, Teesside, Devon, Florida and Italy, more North East England, London and some other random spots which I can't be arsed to look up

5 of the 9 reads were pre-owned. Of the other 4 - 2 came from the author, with a duplicate copy from the publisher, another 1 was received from a publisher via Net Galley and 1 came from a publicist. Chris Thomas and Robert Parker were read as part of author blog tours.

Favourite cover? Robert Parker - Morte Point

Second favourite cover - Michael Young - Of Blondes and Bullets

My reads were this long  270 - 81 - 14 - 73 - 118 - 302 - 266 - 276 - 111

Total page count = 1511 (2966 in July ) ....... an 1455 page drop off

5 were Kindle reads, and 2 were paperbacks, 1 was a hardback and 1 was an EPub file read on my laptop


1 < 50,
2 between 51 < 100,
2 between 101 < 200,
3 between 201 < 300,
1 between 301 < 400,
0  > 400 pages

Chris Thomas - The Edge of Sanity was the longest read at 302 pages

Glenn McGoldrick and Dead Flies was the shortest at 14 pages long.

MARTIN STANLEY - FIGHTING TALK (2018)

Synopsis/blurb.....

Eric Stanton is used to getting the dirty end of the stick. So, he’s not entirely convinced when his loan-shark boss tells him he's got an easy job for him to do. His boss assures him it’s the kind of task that requires “somebody with a light touch”. All Eric needs to do is visit his boss’ favourite client and ask why she’s fallen behind with her payments.

Easy, right?

Wrong.

All it takes is one visit to send the Stanton brothers on a crazy journey through derelict buildings filled with junkies and drug dealers, rough pubs, and abandoned farms, as they attempt to right some wrongs and bring down a dog-fighting syndicate. It all starts with a bit of fighting talk, but it’s going to end with blood and broken bones. 

Fighting Talk combines fast-paced storytelling with snappy banter, wild and brutal action, and some very nasty villains to create a funny, ferocious crime thriller that will keep you glued to the page.


From the author of The Glasgow Grin and The Curious Case of The Missing Moolah, comes the brand-new thriller, Fighting Talk – featuring the Stanton brothers in their grittiest adventure yet. 

It would be a crime to miss it.

WARNING: CONTAINS VERY STRONG LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE THROUGHOUT. NOT FOR THE EASILY OFFENDED OR THOSE OF A SENSITIVE DISPOSITION.

ALL AUTHOR PROCEEDS FROM THIS PUBLICATION WILL BE GOING TO ALZHEIMER’S SOCIETY.

My third time with author Martin Stanley and his likeable rogue brothers, the Stanton's and we have another series of fisticuffs and beat downs as the pair led by Eric, take down a dog fighting ring and extract a bit of financial compensation for themselves at the same time. For a few fleeting moments, we also wonder if Eric is destined for some love and romance as he reveals a formerly well-concealed sensitive side. Katie McDonagh could be the one to tame Eric, an errand for Piper, Eric's money-lending boss has the two crossing paths and sets us on the way for another bloody adventure.

The warning at the bottom of the blurb is well-placed. It's the kind of book, you will absolutely love with larger than life characters, irreverent humour, graphic violence and a gritty heart or it will leave you cold. I'm firmly in camp A.

When I read, I want to be entertained. I want empathetic characters, I want a dash of humour and most of all a believable story with a bit of action and a resolution. I don't necessarily want flowery prose and high art. It's my belief that shady characters operating outside of the law, are more interesting than straight Joes and the Stantons fit the bill nicely. A decent setting also works wonders and while I doubt I'll be taking any holidays on the Costa del Teesside, I do like a visit in my reading.

Literature it ain't but does exactly what is described on the tin. Enjoyable, violent, fast and furious. What more do I need?

4.5 from 5

Martin Stanley's other Stanton offerings The Curious Case of the Missing Moolah and Get Santa have been enjoyed. Another five sit on the pile!

Read in August, 2018
Published  - 2018
Page count - 111
Source  - purchased copy
Format - kindle

2 BY ICEBERG SLIM aka ROBERT BECK

A couple this week from 60s and 70s Chicago and Iceberg Slim aka Robert Beck.

Iceberg Slim is not an author I have read in the recent past, but I dimly recall reading his semi-autobiographical novel Pimp many, many years ago. So long ago it probably doesn't count.

Beck has about 8 or 9 books to his name, a few of them published posthumously after his death in 1992.

There's an interesting 2015 essay in the New Yorker which provides a bit of insight into his life and works and influences - The Fires That Forged Iceberg Slim.


Trick Baby (1967)

This is the gritty truth, the life of a hustler in South Side Chicago, where the only characters are those who con and those who get conned.

Trick Baby tells the story of White Folks, a blue-eyed, light-haired con artist whose pale skin allows him to pass in the streets as a white man. Folks is tormented early in life, rejected by other children and branded a "trick baby", a child conceived between a hooker and her trick. Refusing to abandon his life in the ghetto and a chance at revenge, Folks is taken under the wing of an older mentor, Blue. What happens next is unbelievable.

Only Slim could bring us the story of a hustler forced to learn the game and rise to the top. It's Slim's story, and he tells it the only way he knows how: in the language of the streets.


Death Wish (1977)

This is the story of Chicago's ruthless and tireless Mafia. The intensely real characters - the brutal overlords, their faithful lackeys, and their vengeful enemies - all collide in acts of loyalty, lust, greed, and death.

Power hungry Don Jimmy Collucci is out to become the kingpin of Chicago's "Honored Society." His rise to the top can only be thwarted by one man - a man fueled by revenge who is hell-bent on bringing Collucci's infamous organization down: the "Black Warrior," Jessie Taylor. When ambitions collide, guns are drawn and blood is spilled. This gritty crime fiction tale is the original Mafia story.

AUGUST 2018 - FILMS + TV (+ THEATRE)

August's viewing was a mixed bag - a couple of films (not great), continued viewing of a couple of TV series - both still in progress (very enjoyable) and a couple of trips to the theatre (excellent).

The Handmaid's Tale (Season 2) (2018)

Another few episodes watched - three maybe four, maybe four or five to go, if we don't finish in September we'll give up I reckon. All I have to do is get three people in the room at the same time.

Excellent, gripping, scary, a few more harrowing and disturbing events. It is starting to feel like the world's longest pregnancy now.

From Wikipedia...,

The Handmaid's Tale is an American dystopian drama web television series created by Bruce Miller, based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. It was ordered by the streaming service Hulu as a straight-to-series order of 10 episodes, for which production began in late 2016. The plot features a dystopian future following a Second American Civil War wherein a totalitarian society subjects fertile women, called "Handmaids", into child-bearing servitude.

The first three episodes of the series premiered on April 26, 2017; the subsequent seven episodes aired on a weekly basis every Wednesday. In May 2017, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on April 25, 2018.

The Handmaid's Tale has received widespread critical acclaim and its first season won eight Primetime Emmy Awards from thirteen nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, becoming the first series on a streaming service to win an Emmy for Outstanding Series.It also won Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series – Drama and Best Actress for Elisabeth Moss.

In May 2018, Hulu announced that the series had been renewed for a third season.

Moana (2016)

If this was fifteen years ago and watched at the cinema, undoubtedly I would have snoozed through this, which is probably the best way to watch it. I doubt I'm the target audience. Dwayne Johnson features. We have a minority tribe and a female heroine, all very PC.

From IMDB...

In Ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by the Demigod Maui reaches Moana's island, she answers the Ocean's call to seek out the Demigod to set things right.

The Boy (2016)

Another film my children took great delight in forcing me to watch. I'm of a nervous jumpy disposition so anything slightly horror has me twitching and fidgety. This was no exception. The Boy of the title is a creepy doll which needs baby sitting, while the parents go away for a break. More disturbing and uncomfortable than out and out frightening, it improves towards the end when all is suddenly explained. I didn't know any of the cast. Not one I'll rush to watch again or recommend. Better than Moana though.

From IMDB

An American nanny is shocked that her new English family's boy is actually a life-sized doll. After she violates a list of strict rules, disturbing events make her believe that the doll is really alive.

The Sinner Season 1 (2017)

Another one I seem to have been watching forever. A couple more episodes watched and two or three to go. Jessica Biel and Bill Pullman are superb, My daughter, who has seen it all, keeps saying wait for the reveal. Well we haven't got there yet. It's confusing but compelling. I don't know why this confused woman did what she did yet.

From Google.....

Young mother Cora Tannetti is overcome by an inexplicable fit of rage that leads her to commit a startling -- and very public -- act of violence, with no explanation as to why she did it. When Detective Harry Ambrose begins his investigation and grows obsessed with uncovering Cora's hidden motive, the two work together to try to get deep into her psyche to learn about the violent secrets that are hidden in her past. The eight-episode thriller -- which tries to uncover the "why" instead of the "who" or "what" -- stars Jessica Biel, who also serves as an executive producer, and Bill Pullman in the lead roles.

The League of Gentlemen Live Again! 2018

A live show watched in Edinburgh with my wife at the end of the month. Very funny, familiar characters from the TV show and film, a bit of audience participation - glad it wasn't me hauled up on stage. Definitely cult viewing and an acquired taste as the humour is off the wall and a bit perverse and skewed. Not something you would drag your mum off to see. My wife and I loved it as did the rest of the crowd. Better tickets and a seat a bit closer to the front of the house would have enhanced the enjoyment, but it was a last minute decision to try and get tickets and options were limited.


From Wikipedia....

The League of Gentlemen is a British comedy television series that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The show is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in Northern England, originally based on Alston, Cumbria and follows the lives of bizarre characters, most of whom are played by three of the show's four writers—Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith—who, along with Jeremy Dyson, formed the League of Gentlemen comedy troupe in 1995. The series originally aired for three series from 1999 until 2002 followed by a film in 2005. A three-part revival mini-series was broadcast in December 2017 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the group's first appearance on BBC Radio 4.

Kinky Boots 

A birthday trip for my wife to London's West End which was enjoyed with our two daughters. Not that I get to the theatre very often, but it was amazing and the best live show I've seen in many years. We enjoyed the film a couple of years ago, but this was better. All based around a true story of a Northampton shoe factory close to going out of business and re-inventing themselves as suppliers to the transgender market with - wait for it - kinky boots!

I do like Cyndi Lauper's music - True Colors, Time After Time, Girls Just Want to Have Fun etc etc and it was great to hear some new material from her. She hasn't lost her touch at all.

From the musical's website.....

Since winning the 2016 Olivier Award for Best New Musical, Kinky Boots is the winner of every major Best Musical award and is the hottest show in town!

With songs by Grammy® and Tony® winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper, this fabulous musical celebration is about the friendships we discover, and the belief that you can change the world when you change your mind.

Kinky Boots takes you from the factory floor to the glamorous catwalks of Milan. Charlie Price, played by Oliver Tompsett (Wicked, We Will Rock You), is struggling to live up to his father’s expectations and continue the family business of Price & Son. With the shoe factory’s future hanging in the balance, help arrives in the unlikely but spectacular form of Lola, played by Simon-Anthony Rhoden, a fabulous performer in need of some sturdy new stilettos.

AUGUST 2018 - 31 DAYS, 31 SHORTS!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

The last couple of years, for no other reason than my own amusement, I've devoted a bit of time each August to reading a short story each day. This year was no different and as usual I cheated a bit on the timings. A couple of days - nothing, a few days two or three - more down to a bit of forgetfulness and a break at the end of the month with no laptop available to read on - doubling-up a few days before to compensate.

There are some great online short stories sites out there - Shotgun Honey, Near to the Knuckle, Tough, Retreats From Oblivion, Out of the Gutter Online and a whole stack of others.

It's a great way of getting a vibe for an author's writing without committing to longer works and dipping your hand into your pocket. 

This year's 31 were.......

1st - Ron Earl Phillips - Shiner - Ron Earl Phillips.com

2nd - Rob White - Kettle Blowing Can be a Bitch - Near to the Knuckle

3rd - Warren Moore - Frankie - Retreats From Oblivion The Journal of Noircon

4th - Richard Godwin - The Final Countdown 1 ... China White in Mashpee - Pulp Metal Magazine

5th - Paul D. Brazill - The Final Countdown 2 ... Because the Night - Pulp Metal Magazine

6th - Leo W. Banks - The Education of Dovey Coles - LeoWBanks.com


7th - Allan Leverone - Piscataqua River - Near to the Knuckle

8th - Lisa Ciarfella - Karmic Catastrophe - Out of the Gutter online

9th - Mark SaFranko - Luck - Retreats From Oblivion The Journal of Noircon

10th - Paul Heatley - The Stripper - Horror, Sleaze and Trash

11th - Paul Heatley - Tongues - CommuterLit.com

12th - Rex Bolt - Fault Line (no link) - RexBolt.com


13th - Keith Newton - Out of the Frying Pan…? - CommuterLit.com 

14th - Tom Leins - Venus in Fake Furs - Retreats From Oblivion The Journal of Noircon

15th - Graham Wynd - These Toys are for Tough Boys - Retreats From Oblivion The Journal of Noircon

16th - Margot Kinberg - Roadside Assistance - Confessions of a Mystery Novelist 

17th - Rob McClure Smith - Masonry - Tough

18th - Margot Kinberg - Joy Ride - Confessions of a Mystery Novelist

19th - Tia Ja'nae - Once Upon A Time in Chicago -Tough


20th - Alan Orloff - Two Few Heroes - Shotgun Honey

21st - Henry Brock - Somewhere, New Mexico - Shotgun Honey

22nd - Joe Prosit - Thin Lions - Dead Guns Press

23rd - DJ Tyrer - A Flower for Estrith - Near to the Knuckle

24th - JB Stevens - A Good Man - Out of the Gutter online

25th - Tom Leins - Ventilator Blues - Shotgun Honey

26th - Aidan Thorn - Unsafe Load - Shotgun Honey

27th - Bradford Keen - Pencil Pusher - Shotgun Honey

28th - Jake Hinkson - The Long Drop - Beat to a Pulp

29th - Kevin J. Garvey - The Cabin - Near to the Knuckle

30th - P.T. Corwin - Where Katie Hid - Near to the Knuckle

31st - Eric Beetner - Where the Long Road Ends - Shotgun Honey







Previous years reading......

AUGUST 2017 - 31 DAYS, 31 SHORTS!

AUGUST 2016 - 31 DAYS, 31 SHORTS

2 BY MICK HERRON

A couple from Mick Herron this week.

I love Herron's Slough House - Jackson Lamb series, but he's written a lot more than that - three standalone novels and four with PI Zoe Boehm.

From what I've read from Herron so far Slough House stuff only, he's the kind of writer who could entertain me with his shopping list.

The Marylebone Drop (2018), 

The List (2015)

Dead Lions (2013)

Slow Horses (2010)




Smoke and Whispers (2009)

When a body is hauled from the River Tyne, Sarah Tucker heads to Newcastle for a closer look. She identifies the dead woman as private detective Zoë Boehm, but putting a name to the corpse only raises further questions. Did Zoë kill herself, or did one of her old cases come back to haunt her? Why was she wearing a jacket a murderer had stolen years before? And what's brought Sarah's sparring partner, Gerard Inchon, to the same broken down hotel? Coincidence is an excuse that soon looks pretty unconvincing. Sarah can't leave until she's found the answers to her questions, however dangerous they might turn out to be.







Nobody Walks (2015)

Tom Bettany is working at a meat processing plant in France when he gets a voicemail telling him that his estranged 26-year-old son is dead.

Liam Bettany fell from his London balcony, where he was smoking dope. Now, for the first time since he cut all ties years ago, Bettany returns home, to find out the truth about his son's death.

But more than a few people are interested to hear Bettany is back in town. He might have thought he'd left it all behind when he first skipped town, but nobody really just walks away.