Weekly newsletter 8th September 2024
This has been an enjoyably varied reading week for me. Five books read and no two of them alike. I think I sometimes fall into patterns with my reading where I read a string of similar books. I suppose that’s one of the dangers of taking part in themed monthly reading events, and also of trying to keep on top of at least some of the latest crime and horror releases. Anyway, it’s been refreshing to have a week with so much variety, and I particularly enjoyed reading some poetry for a change. I always say I don’t like it, but then usually find that I do.
Cheerio!
Books I’ve read this week
Nightmares and Geezenstacks by Fredric Brown
A deliriously inventive and enjoyable collection of short stories first published in the 1960s. When I say short, I mean short, some of them are less than a page. And yet Fredric Brown manages to pack something satisfying into every single one. An idea, a twist and often a chuckle or two. There’s a range of genres here – SF, crime, horror and a kind of bawdy shaggy dog story, and they’re all fun, even if sometimes the fun comes from being creeped out, or having your imagination stretched rather than from a belly laugh. Be warned though, not all the stories have dated well.
Jack Carter’s Law by Ted Lewis
Although written later, this is a prequel to the excellent ‘Jack’s Return Home’ (filmed as ‘Get Carter’). I have to admit, I much preferred the other book, which has a much more interesting and emotionally involving plot. ‘Jack Carter’s Law’ has Carter in London involved in gangland shenanigans. It’s definitely action-packed, but I found it hard to get too involved with the story.
The vibrant, under-represented northern setting of ‘Jack’s Return Home’ helps to make it, especially given Jack’s fish out of water status in his once familiar environment. By contrast, the London of ‘Jack Carter’s Law’ is so familiar from countless British gangster movies that it feels like a cliche.
That said, the prose is often great – a distinctly British style of hardboiled writing. I’ll definitely read more Lewis, but my second outing with him was not as enjoyable as the first.
Sherlock Holmes: Zombies Over London
Stephen Mertz’s Sherlock might not be the most faithful version of Conan-Doyle’s detective, he feels more like James Bond at times, but this is still a wonderfully enjoyable adventure. It’s fast-paced, funny and inventive. What it lacks in logical deduction it makes up for in sheer entertainment value. It has zombies, airships, Einstein, great set piece action sequences and an enormous sense of fun. Mertz has been writing this kind of thing for decades and it shows, he never puts a foot wrong and turns in a book that will leave you grinning ear to ear.
Headhunters by Luis Paredes
‘Headhunters’ has a lot going for it. It’s inventive, fun, funny and moving. The book has a great found family unit at its heart, and they’re a delight to read. With hero Edgar, the ghost of his grandfather and his best friend and her aunt up against a bunch of demons. The fact that the demons have a family dynamic of their own also makes things fun. There’s action, magic and thrills throughout and the characters (human and demon) really shine.
The challenge I had with the book is that it’s not really my kind of thing. At its heart it’s a well crafted dark fantasy tale that would suit a young audience well. As an older reader I found a lot to enjoy here, but didn’t really connect with the book as much as I’d have liked to.
So maybe not a perfect choice for me, but if you’re a dark fantasy fan you may well love it.
Permanent Verb by Gareth Howells
I don’t feel like I’m critically equipped to assess poetry, so this review will be brief. Not every poem in this collection worked for me as a reader, but when they did, they really did. I suspect that’s always the case with poetry collections, especially with ones where some of the work is clearly very personal. The result was a collections that I loved at times and liked at others.
CriminOlly 
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