Graham Norton's novels. Forget Scandi-Noir...try Mammy-Noir

 

Both "Holding" (2016) and "A Keeper" (2018) are both delightful reads.
Graham Norton is known as BBC top TV host, actor (2 episodes of "Father Ted"), The Telegraph's agony aunt, author of two autobiographies and a non-fiction book on 20th century gay icons. I did not expect the complexities of the characters, the poignancy of the situations or the intricately structured plots spanning several decades.
Both books capture Irish village life - numerous visits to the local pub, nattering in the general store and countless cups of tea being offered. Norton's love of West Cork comes through in "A Keeper" as well as his love of dogs. There is a touching bit midway through about a loyal dog's reaction to the death of his owner: "...how Dora the collie had continued to sleep on one of his old jumpers till death claimed her too..."
Love, disappointment, loss, secrets, motherhood and new challenges are recurring themes. Things get pretty dark in both novels and Norton knows how to build a cracking climax.

"The Secret History of Las Vegas" by Chris Abani - review

Conjoined twins, serial killing, secret psychological testing, Las Vegas's outcasts ("the Downwinders" - those affected by decades of atomic testing in and under the Nevada desert), the life of an exotic prostitute (Asia), life in 1980's Soweto, the torturing and death carried out by secret police in Apartheid South Africa and an ongoing murder investigation - this novel covers a lot of ground in its 317 pages.

The characters are complicated and contradictory: Dr Sunil Singh, a South African psychologist with a dark past (no pun intended), now working in Las Vegas on a secret and highly unethical project for the military and world-weary but dogged detective Salazar who is investigating the murders of Las Vegas's homeless. All these elements are intricately linked in this strange, haunting book.
The chapters describing the sideshow in the middle of the desert (The Carnival of Lost Souls) could have been expanded. The chapters containing Sunil's back story in South Africa were harrowing but essential to understand why he is being hunted by the mysterious, Eskia.
If you are looking for the usual serial killer thriller, this is not it.

"The Disappeared" C. J. Box - Joe Pickett #18 - A great winter-read

"Things almost got Western", remarks game warden, Joe Pickett, early in the book.
And they certainly do. Furnaces, fish-slapping, massive wind turbine projects, snow mobiles, cougars (the human kind), five star ranch resorts are in the mix this time. Nate Romanowski is back with a new form of interrogation (trout-slapping). It beats ripping off ears - used in earlier 'chats' with the local miscreants.
Concluding with a call from former-Governor Rulon, there is bound to be Joe Pickett #19.

Set in the middle of a bleak Wyoming (U.S.'s least populated state) winter, the reader is advised to snuggle up by an open fire with your favourite tipple.

"Marlborough Man" a thriller by Alan Carter - Kiwi-noir?

The joke title is wasted on millennials but this is a great read. You get two thrillers in one here - Sergeant Nick Chester hiding out from a vicious northern England criminal gang and his hunt for a child killer in the Marlborough Sound area of New Zealand.
Alan Carter (a Western Australian author - though he hails from northern England) might be better known for his Cato Kwong thrillers.
Carter perfectly captures the dry New Zealand wit. There are strong female characters - Vanessa, Nick's sagacious wife and Constable Latifa Rapata his wily, wise-cracking partner. The author seems to have a grasp of some of Maori culture, humour and sensibilities.
The South Island setting is atmospheric and integral to the plot.

"The Shadow District" A Reykjavik Wartime Mystery by Arnaldur Indridason

Book 1 published 2017

You know what to expect with an Indridason thriller. Recurring themes are: secrets, guilt, loneliness, social class, old age, the past meeting the present, folklore and the power of the Icelandic landscape.

This new series introduces the 1940's detective, Flovent, part of the city's fledgling C.I.D. and Thorson, a liaison officer for the occupying U.S. forces and the Icelandic police.
Flovent has a fascinating backstory comprising an abusive father, dodgy seances and a spell in Edinburgh studying criminology. Thorson is a loner and closet homosexual with a passionate sense of  honour and justice. Flovent seems to be an ongoing character. I do hope we return to Thorson in later books. This character is as rich as the aging detective Erlendur (from previous novels).

"The Shadow District" is cleverly structured. Present day (retired) detective Konrad investigates an old crime - a young woman is found strangled in 1944 (prior to Iceland's independence).
Past melds with present as both Thorson and Konrad carry out parallel investigations 70 years apart. A simple murder in a shady part of Reykjavik escalates into a tangled tale of rape, sexual mores, misfits, superstition, political intrigue and family secrets.

"Trigger Mortis" (2015) A James Bond tribute by Anthony Horowitz

Better known for teenage fiction "Stormbreaker" series, Horowitz has tried to stay true to the Ian Fleming books with his 2015 stand alone novel. 
It is 1957. Bond having just polished off Goldfinger and Oddjob, returns to London for a bit of R+R with, you guessed it, Pussy Galore. But things don't go as planned.
Horowitz takes some excepts from an unfinished Ian Fleming television script about Grand Prix racing and then moves the action from a Swiss castle to east coast U.S. The rocket launch sabotage plot pays homage to "Dr No". This time it's a Korean millionaire/psychopath/super villain (nicknamed Jason Sin). His backstory is just as interesting.
SMERSH rears its ugly head. Bond's new female companion/ally is the feisty Jeopardy Lane (also possessing a cool back story). Attention to 1950's detail - locales, social mores, transport, food, alcohol - is a delightful pastiche to Fleming.

NB.
"Solo" by William Boyd (2013) is also a cracking read and probably the best written of the James Bond spinoffs. Faithful to Ian Fleming's James Bond, it is less spectacular but more believable.

"Hypothermia" and "Strange Shores" by Arnaldur Indridason. Two books that must be read together

Subzero temperatures, Arctic storms, frozen fjords - great poolside reading on a sweltering afternoon.

This time Erlendur investigates suicide, sex and seances. Another cold case (sorry) that stirs up memories of his 8 year old brother's death in the snowstorm. Like a recurring nightmare, he returns to the ordeal and its aftermath. He relives painful memories of childhood summers in the East Fjords.
I defy the reader not to be moved by the final chapter.

"I'm interested in stories about ordeals in the wilderness" intones the obsessed Inspector Erlendur in the follow up book, "Strange Shores". This novel should be read in conjunction with "Hypothermia" as you find out more details about Erlendur's obsession and subsequent guilt about his brother's tragedy.
"Strange Shores" is all about guilt, graves and grief. The haunted Erlendur returns to his birthplace, Bakkasel, to discover how a young woman, Matthildur, disappeared in the late 1940's. I love the way this 'lone wolf" finds other similar characters in his investigations (the fox hunter, Boas; Matthildur's sister, Hrund and the tormented Ezra).
The latter section of "Strange Shores" includes a gristly Edgar Allan Poe-like tale. The last few chapters will knock your socks off.
I am now a convert to this guy's writing. Goodbye, Jo Nesbo.

"Reykjavik Nights" by Arnaldur Indridason - Inspector Erlendur prequel

Iceland is cool. Very.
Perhaps it's because I've just watched "Trapped", the brilliant TV drama. Perhaps it's because Iceland is so different from Australia. Twenty years ago the only thing I knew about Iceland was it was the home of Bjork and the setting for Jules Verne's "Journey to the Centre of the Earth".
Anyway, I digress....

This is a prequel to the Inspector Erlendur crime novels set in Iceland. Reykjavik in the seventies, Erlendur is a young traffic officer investigating (on his own, of course) the death of a homeless man, Hannibal.
The young man is fascinated by lost souls and disappearances from Iceland's past.
Erlendur is a cold fish who prefers his own company (as seen by his patchy relationship with his girlfriend, Halldora). The novel explores loss and loneliness through the capital's homeless underclass.
There are some powerful scenes. One, on his last call out of the night, is a harrowing depiction of domestic violence. The other is Hannibal's back story, a car accident forcing him into a "Sophie's Choice" situation.
The dialogue is clunky at times, but this might be due to the English translation.
I enjoyed the leisurely pace and now will jump wholeheartedly into the Inspector Erlendur series.

The following is the order of English translations of this crime series. A few novels have not been translated into English so far.

"Tainted Blood", 2004 (first published as "Jar City")
"Silence of the Grave", 2005
"Voices", 2006
"The Draining Lake", 2007
"Arctic Chill", 2008
"Hypothermia", 2009
"Outrage", 2011 (centring around Erlendur's female colleague, the rational, caring Elinborg)
"Black Skies", 2012 (main character is his other colleague, arrogant, young gun, Sigurour Oli)
"Strange Shores," 2013 (while the action in "Black Skies" centres around Reykjavik, at the same time, Erlendur has taken leave to return to his eastern childhood home)
Reykjavik Nights, 2014, the aforementioned prequel, set in the 70's
"Into Oblivion", 2016  (recently translated, a follow-up to Reykjavik Nights, set in 1979, featuring Erlendur's mentor, Marion Brien)

"Harbour" by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Lindqvist's 2008 novel is part nautical ghost story, part little-girl-lost, part love story, part wtf!
Water, water everywhere. Don't mess with the sea. Like is far from idyllic on the fictional island of Domaro.
It's nutty but a great read nonetheless.  Like Stephen King (who Lindqvist has been compared to), he writes perceptively about young teens (his debut novel was "Let the Right One In"). The author is at his best when he writes about teenagers and this time there are several key back stories involving kids. I prefer his biting "Little Star" to "Harbour".
It's a bit of a mishmash. You have elements of "The Birds", "The Wicker Man", some cursed village from a 60's Hammer movie, a Swedish Houdini and sci-fi (e.g. Spiritus, the water-controlling larva who lives in a matchbox and requires a daily gob of saliva from its owner).
The three main characters (the octogenarian lovebirds, Simon and Anna-Greta and their tortured grandson, Anders) are beautifully drawn. Best bits are the stories from the island's murky past, a ripping yarn about Simon the escapologist and flashbacks to Anders' 1980's teenage years with lots of musical references (from The Smiths to Frankie goes to Hollywood).

"The Silkworm" by Robert Galbraith (J.K.Rowling) 2014

"The Cuckoo's Calling" was a ripper detective yarn. Beautifully structured, atmospheric London descriptions and wonderfully complex characters. Cormoran Strike continues to outthink Scotland Yard, this time the setting is the bitchy, self-obsessed world of publishing (as compared to the bitchy, self-obsessed world of supermodels, in the first book).
A particularly gruesome murder, more background details on loony ex-girlfriend Charlotte and further unresolved sexual tension between Strike and loyal offsider, Robin are some the delights of this novel.
Looking forward to the third in the Strike series.

Jo Nesbo's "The Son" 2014 novel The sins of the father...

Not in the Harry Hole series, this stand alone novel is just as dark and shares many of the Oslo locations. Jo Nesbo explores the nature of morality and obsession in its two central characters: Simon Kefas (wily old school detective with a gambling addiction) and Sonny Loftus (escaped prisoner/heroin addict/avenging angel).
The reader is taken from Oslo's underbelly (the homeless, the addicts) to corruption in high places. Some nifty detective work (especially the red toothbrush DNA puzzler), a plucky young detective (Kari Abel), a nasty master criminal (The Twin) and three interrelated love stories make this a satisfying read.
How can you not like it, what with Sonny's Depeche Mode references throughout the book?

C.J. Box "Stone Cold" A good Winter read for cityslickers

This is the 14th Joe Pickett novel. No 15, "Shots Fired" comes out in July, 2014. This is check-your-brains- in-at-the-Library-desk stuff, just relish a good read. Think Jack Reacher meets Bear Grylls.
Pickett, the Wyoming game warden/trouble shooter for the Governor, has a savvy wife, three dissimilar teenage daughters, the mother-in-law from Hell and a loyal Labrador, Daisy. Nate Romanowski, family friend, falconer and part-time assassin, is an intriguing character.
The author lives in Wyoming and clearly loves its wild, remote and desolate landscape. I knew nothing about Wyoming apart from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" featured Devil's Tower National Park. Mr Box has made me open up Google Earth and explore this spectacular scenery.
Curl up in front of the fire with a whisky and enjoy.


G.P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin 372 pages

Stephen King "Mr Mercedes" His first crime/detective novel?

Stephen King has written three very different novels in the past 18 months - the nostalgic "Joyland", "The Shining" sequel to "Doctor Sleep" and now this, "Mr Mercedes", his first detective novel. The dedication is to James M Cain.
You sometimes think you are reading a Dean Koontz crime/thriller - the psycho killer, the quirky dissimilar characters, misfits, a middle-aged love story. But King's black humour and wry observations are aplenty. The reader as always, is in good hands.
The overweight, retired detective, Bill Hodges, is a fine creation. There are two quick references to vintage King (creepy "Pennywise" and a haunted Plymouth). No Maine locales in this novel, King chooses the Midwest for this yarn. The race against time finale (think "Black Sunday") meant I read into the early hours to finish the book.
A light weight, engrossing read. Recommended.
Scribner 448 pages

Stephen King's "Joyland" book review

There is a lot to like in this retro tale of summer, spooks, 70's young love, and amusement park life. Stephen King again proves he is a master story teller. His characters are sympathetic and richly drawn. We have "Madame Fortuna"/Rozzie Gold from Brookyn, the carny mentalist; Mrs Shoplaw, the worldly landlady; Erin, the feisty coed;  Mr Easterbrook, nonagenarian owner of the park and Mike Ross, the dying child with "the sight" and yummy mummy/sharpshooter, Annie Ross. Our hero is college student, Devin Jones, who dreams of being an author much like Mr King. Devin takes a summer job in a B grade amusement park (think Jesse Eisenberg in the marvellous "Adventureland" flick from 2009, though this park is on the North Carolina coast ).  One of Jones's jobs is to "wear the fur" (dress up as the park's mascot, a giant dog). Is this a nostalgic nod to Scooby Doo (and those "meddling kids" investigating spooky carryings-on in fun parks)?
Okay, I might be pushing my luck with that one.

Amusement park/sideshow alley settings tap a rich vein for mystery, horror and the macabre (e.g. books like "Nightmare Alley", "Something Wicked This Way Comes", Koontz's "The Funhouse", films like "Freaks" and "The Seven Faces of Dr Lao").
I enjoyed the amusement park lingo used by the staff and the behind-the-scenes descriptions of the amusement park. This novel has a lot of heart, chills are secondary. A quick pleasurable read, celebrating Americana gothic and pulp fiction.
Hard Case Crime books, 2013, 283 pages
Note the retro, lurid cover.

Stephen King "Doctor Sleep" A return to form?

Don't you love a page-turner? This is a return to form for Stephen King, as good as his horror classics from the seventies. You don't need to have read "The Shining" to appreciate this sequel, though.
Danny Torrance, the little boy with the shining, is now in his thirties, battling alcoholism as well as his psychic powers. King's own experiences with alcoholism makes this novel stronger and more pertinent than other recent efforts. He explores near family ties, death and the plight of the elderly (obviously close to King's heart). The hospice scenes are extremely well handled. The final chapters show King in a more compassionate and contemplative vein. It was over 35 years since he wrote "The Shining".
Abra, the feisty 13 year old with mega-shining is a likeable and well drawn character. The travelling vampires (masquerading as retirees/grey nomads) who feed on children for their life force is amusing as well as terrifying.
Some of the most disturbing passages are derived from sordid real life (e.g. the soiled diaper toddler crying "Canny"). Rose, the head of the vampire clan, is a worthy adversary for Dan and Abra.
Stephen King writes: "Watch out for those Winnebagos and Bounders. You never know who might be inside. Or what."
A great curl-up-by-the-openfire book.

486 pages, hard cover, Hodder & Stoughton.

Lawrence Block novels - good 'airport' reads

If you want to kill time at an airport (rather than "Angry Birds") or in the air, Lawrence Block's Keller books are good fun. The contract killer who is also a hard core philatelist tickled my funny bone. Dot, his dry-as-a-chip booking agent is a great character. The books include a travelogue of US places as well as fascinating historical details - courtesy of our (anti)hero's stamp obsession.
He may be the Enid Blyton of NYC crime novels but a good read is a good read. Check your brain in at the library desk and enjoy...

"Los Angeles" A novel by Peter Moore Smith, 2005, review

Sometimes it good to just grab a book off the library shelf and take a punt. This was worth it. A strange little book about a reclusive albino, Angel, son of a powerful movie producer, who meets then loses "Angela", a stripper who lives next door.  Angel relies on mind altering mediation, bourbon and TV dinners. He is obsessed by physics (especially the nature of light and the concept of alternative worlds). He has "Blade Runner" constantly playing in his rathole West Hollywood apartment. It's a love story of sorts, a quest (Angel searches for his lover all the way to Rio). It's a portrait of the movie capital as well as a LA noir in some respects. The characters are well drawn, the back stories of Angel's Hollywood mogul family fascinating, the portrayal of mental instability is vivid and unflinching.
As I was reading this weird but engrossing tale, I wondered whether the author was going to 'drop the ball' in the later chapters. He doesn't. The resolution was slightly hokey but satisfying.
If you like a book that combines LA noir, mental instability and quantum physics - this one is for you.

340 pages, published by Hutchinson, 2005

Trivia: The author is Julianne Moore's brother.

"Tabloid City" a novel by Pete Hamill, 2011, review

If you like stories about gutsy reporters working frantically through the night in bustling newsrooms, this one is for you. Add to the mix: socialites, artists, fraudsters, bloggers, a seasoned NYPD detective, a disabled Iraq vet with a rifle, a compassionate Mexican immigrant and an Islamic extremist plotting a massacre. These isolated characters are gradually linked over a 24 hour period. Love, loneliness, art, family and the demise of print journalism are the interwoven themes.
Hamill vividly paints the wintry New York scenes, particularly the downtown area around Chelsea, Soho and West Village.
You can see Mr Hamill has a rich background in the newspaper business as he reflects fondly on the 'old school' journalists and editors.
It's a quick read at 278 pages.
Recommended, particularly if you love New York.

"The Ship" by Stefan Mani - Good read? How did I get on to John Carpenter?

Opening a new book by a new author (to me, anyway) is like exploring a new land. I know that sounds a bit of a wank but books are a great escape and a great way to travel in the mind. I saw on last night's TV news a volunteer program called "Footpath Library" where each night a van drops off a range of books free to the homeless in central Sydney. The rationale being so these people, living on the street, can escape into a good book. But I digress.
I grabbed "The Ship" from my local library. The blurb said the author, Stefan Mani, was "the Icelandic Stephen King". That sealed the deal. Scandi-noir is all the rage and Stephen King used to be my go-to author for spooky thrillers. The first 70 pages introduces the characters through cleverly interwoven incidents in Reykjavik. Then it moves on board the huge freighter, bound for South America. You know there is something evil afoot.
In the movies, having characters stuck in one place, whether it's an Arctic research station, like "The Thing", or a besieged police station in "Assault on Precinct 13" or a interplanetary vessel, like "Dark Star" or later "Alien") is a juicy suspense setup.
Stefan Mani writes a very 'cinematic' novel. He dips his lid to Stephen King with a quick reference to "Christine", comparing the book with the movie). Anyway, I'm only a quarter of way through, but things are chugging along nicely. Hope I'm not disappointed by such a flashy start. The stormy descriptions onboard are so vivid, it may cause the reader to feel a bit seasick.
I just realized all the movies I just mentioned (except "Alien") were directed by John Carpenter. Hope he buys the movie rights to "The Ship".
UPDATE
Finished book. Perplexed by the ending, but definitely kept my interest. Icelandic writers do bleak very well.

"Mr Shivers" by Robert Jackson Bennett, review

The first half really grabbed me. The premise is a doozy, Depression-era hobos on a quest for an evil entity. Think "The Grapes of Wrath" meets Homer's Odyssey. The Coen brother's movie with George Clooney "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" has already blended these two themes.  The Dust bowl setting is powerful. The hobo code sketches at the start of each chapter was nifty idea.
The language gets a bit self-indulgent (shit, I'm writing a mere blog, I'm no expert), but it's a debut novel, so you cut the guy some slack.
Bennett packs in some atmospheric and wildly cinematic scenes -  the fight in the train car, the night time carnival with the teenage fortune teller (very 40's film noir), the deserted town, the (Grimm's fairy tale) cottage in the middle of the forest where three prophetesses dwell (think Macbeth's three crones or mythical Stygian Witches). Connelly (the man on a quest) reminds me of Stephen King's Roland character, 'the Gunslinger' from "The Dark Tower".
The conclusion was a bit of a metaphysical mishmash, some would say cop-out but I'd still like to try Bennett's later novels. This young author (from hipster mecca, Austin TX) has something, though.