The CriminOlly Plain Dealer #4

This was a nice varied reading week for me, 5 books read and no two alike. Wrapping up the Ripley series by Patricia Highsmith felt satisfying but also somewhat bittersweet. I’ve really loved the read through I’ve been doing of her work and to have nearly exhausted it seems like it might leave a bit of a void in my reading.

Aside from that the week had a double dose of horror, some 60s humour and one of the best fight scenes I’ve read for ages.

Cheerio!

Books I’ve Read This Week

Ripley Under Water by Patricia Highsmith

A really thoroughly enjoyable end to Highsmith’s Ripley series, with Tom Ripley being haunted by a couple who are digging into his past. At times with feels like a greatest hits, with Ripley’s past crimes discussed and dissected. And throughout it all you get the kind of wonderful tension that time and again Highsmith was able to conjuring out of simple uncertainty.
Gripping, darkly amusing stuff.

Experimental Film by Gemma Files

This is one of those books I’ve been aware of for a few years but had never gotten round to reading. At least in part that’s because (inexplicably) it’s not published in the UK. It sits in one of my favourite horror sub genres, cursed films, but there are so many different elements at play here it’s hard to classify neatly.
The book follows a film critic digging into the history of some weird old footage that’s been used in an avant garde short film. There’s a historical mystery, creepy folk horror, a load of interesting film theory, moving sections on the main character’s relationship with her child, and a gripping plot to pull you through it all. The blending of real movie history and imagined films reminded me a little of ‘Flicker’ by Theodore Roszak. I didn’t love it as much as that book, but it definitely succeeds far better as a compelling piece of horror fiction.

Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway

A genuinely gripping and enjoyable mystery with a great sci fi twist. I love speculative fiction books that build themselves around one simple central concept. ‘Titanium Noir’ does that brilliantly, and then throws a noirish mystery into the mix as well. There’s intrigue, secrets, family rivalry and a couple of great fight scenes all presented in a credible and fascinating world.

And to My Nephew Albert I Leave the Island What I Won Off Fatty Hagan in a Poker Game by David Forrest

This late 60s comic novel predates the M*A*S*H movie and TV show but not the novel that inspired them. I don’t know if that was an influence, but ‘And To My Nephew Albert…’ definitely has a similar mix of slightly saucy, booze-fuelled hijinks and political satire. In this case the story is about a young man who inherits a remote island and then finds it occupied by both US and Soviet troops. It’s VERY dated at times, but still an entertaining read – comical and intriguing with a great ending.
David Forrest was the pseudonym of a pair of writers (David Eliades and Robert Forrest-Webb) who also wrote ‘The Great Dinosaur Robbery’ which was filmed by Disney as ‘One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing’.

Elemental Forces by Mark Morris (editor)

A very enjoyable and admirably varied horror anthology, expertly pulled together by editor Mark Morris. The lack of a central theme beyond modern horror means there are all sorts of stories here. That variety means that if a story doesn’t hit the mark (and the vast majority do) then you’re only a few pages away from something different.