We made it to October, beloved month of horror fans everywhere. Personally, I’m not a fan as I hate the wind and rain, but at least it gives me an excuse to stay in and read. Of course in 2024 (and indeed 2023), October is also ‘Occult Detective’ October, so I’ll be enjoying some spooky reads from the intersection of my two favourite genres. There’s at least one reviewed below, albeit not one that devotees of Occult Detectives are likely to list in any top 10s. I enjoyed it though!
Cheerio!
Books I’ve Read This Week
The Road by Cormac McCarthy and Manu Larcenet
This graphic novel adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel is visually stunning, with stark monochrome artwork that does a great job of immersing the reader in the brutal world of the story. If you don’t know that story, it’s simple but deep. A man and his son struggling to both survive and cling onto their humanity.
Beyond capturing that supremely bleak atmosphere , this adaptation also does a great job of hitting the emotional high (or more often low) points of the story. It’s heartrendingly moving at times.
Where things don’t work quite so well is in the pacing. The source novel isn’t long, but McCarthy’s prose has a quality that really immerses you in the world and the story. The artwork here manages to do that to an extent, but the slim plot and the minimal dialogue means that it all moves a bit too quickly. I found the speed with which I read a it sapped at least some of the power from the tale, although there is at least one repeated image which I think will stay stuck in my brain for some time.
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by MC Beaton
This wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but it was exactly what I needed on a lazy Sunday. The Agatha Raisin of the title is a successfully businesswoman who, in her 50s, sells her firm and retires to the Cotswolds. When a well to do local man dies, apparently poisoned by a quiche Agatha has entered in a competition he was judging, she adopts the role of amateur sleuth.
The part I wasn’t expecting was that Agatha is kind of a bitch at times, certainly no well meaning Jessica Fletcher. That actually makes her more believable and likeable as a character and it brings some enjoyably catty humour to the story. The plot itself is low stakes and enjoyable. It’s not going to go down in the annals of crime as one of the great mysteries, but it was pleasant to read and kept me turning the pages. Throw in the humour and a hint of romance and you have an ideal Sunday read.
The Skull Mantra by Eliot Pattison
A very enjoyable mystery with a fascinating setting. It takes place in China in the 90s and features a former detective who’s been imprisoned by the authorities investigating a mysterious death. Full of twists, intrigue and rich with colour it manages to be bitter a compelling thriller and an interesting study of a time and place I know little about.
Charmed: The Power of Three by Eliza Willard
Does this count as Occult Detective fiction? I say yes, and I loved it. It’s a super quick but enjoyable read. This is, I think, the adaptation of the first episode of the show and has the three sisters leaning about their powers and going up against a witch-killing warlock. Fun and kind of charming in how happily silly it is.
This week’s videos
Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
CriminOlly 
Leave a comment