GONE LIKE A GOLDFISH by Anonymous

 5 GOLD stars

On Amazon (universal link)

On Goodreads

Blurb from Amazon

Alcoholic novelist Jim Hardwick-Callahan intends to kill himself at the end of one last sex-filled vacation to Japan with his ex-girlfriend, but a death in the family interrupts his plans. As the tragedies pile up and his life falls apart, his teenage twins begin to self-destruct. This anonymously written book is about loss and obsession. It is sad, vulgar, disturbing, and funny.

My Review

Excellent stuff, I loved it.

Jim Hardwick-Callahan deploys hedonism to mask his disappointment with himself, his guilt and pain, and because he really likes sex and drugs.  The temporary buzzes of alcohol, psychedelics, weed, recreational and kinky sex do a good job of masking the emptiness that calls out to him now and again. 

I stayed awake to finish it last night when I needed to sleep, because I was totally absorbed.  Then of course I lay awake thinking about it.  It's that sort of book.  This is a terrific writer, unusually so.  The book was produced in a very short time - this is mentioned in the author's note at the back, which you should definitely read - so I was surprised at how tight it was, such a great structure, spot-on dialogue and detailed labyrinths of inner thought that were sometimes so sad, other times droll, or breezy, or a mixture of all three.  The novel is perfectly paced, with never a wasted word.

Megan, with whom he is in love, is the main female character in that her actress name will appear second in the titles after that of Jim's when they make the film.  She's clever, creative and elusive, and has way too many issues for one person.  Just Jim's type.  

BTW, in case this marks your point of departure.  The Megan bits often contain lots of bad language and sex, some of it quite graphic.  Normally, I would choose not to read that, but I made an exception. It fits the book ... hard to explain.  If Jim had talked/thought/acted in a more delicate way it wouldn't have been Jim, it would have been a far less arresting character.  In other words, none of it is remotely gratuitous.  And it's often funny.

The book features scenes about Jim's father, Pete - I loved reading about him, and Jim's strange brother Cray.  Jim's twins Amanda and Todd are essentially sound kids but are both screwed up in the way only teenagers can be.  Enter ex-wife Pam.  Jim's relationship with her is subtly amusing.  Kind of tired.  The areas of friction are still there, but they've gone limp.  

Then there are the other women, comprising past, present and promising hook-ups.  

As Jim's world starts getting smaller, he becomes trapped in his own head...

Amongst all the grimly entertaining chaos are many threads of introspection, anger, loss and heartbreak laid bare.  A small amount of words that can illustrate the emotion so starkly; at one point I stopped reading in admiration.  'Boy can this guy write' moments were off the charts.  I expect I shall read it again before too long.

It's a snip at 77p, or free on Kindle Unlimited.

PLUMAS DE MUERTE: Tequila Journals and Dreams by Phil Motel @philmotel

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads
On BookBub 

How I discovered this book: Already a fan.

In a Nutshell:  Non-fiction: memoir, journal entries and poems.

The Blurb: 
Life in a long-stay motel, overseen by the on-site muscle: 'if this was a movie, he'd be played by Steve Buscemi'. Twelve-hour shifts at a mundane job alongside a host of strange characters with their own struggle to make it to the end of the day. Anecdotes from journals of adventures past: wannabe musicians, ill-fated relationships and the bottom of a bottle.

Musings on life, death, dreams, and the frustrations of the writing process: the journal entries were written while during the creation of the author's debut novel, Rum Hijack.

Dream Diary
The second part of Plumas de Muerte is as it says: a small collection of dreams: what goes on while we are asleep?

A raw ride that makes no attempt to gloss over the darker side of the author's life at the time, while acting as a cautionary tale about the nightmare of substance abuse - and the final road of alcoholism/addiction.


My review:
The 'Tequila Journals', the first part of this book, makes up 80% of the whole.  There are two main settings: an unnamed place of work, and the motel in which the diarist lives.  Doesn't sound very thrilling?  It is.  PM is one of those scribes who has the knack of making an after-work beer in a fast food establishment or wrangles over his room rent with the seedy 'Steve Buscemi' as riveting as any 'fast-paced' action thriller. I once noted that memoir writer Val Poore managed to bring tears to my eyes in a short chapter about the lighting of oil lamps.  This was similar; it's not the subject matter, but the innate talent of the writer.  

When I got nearer to the end I felt that, although maybe not meant as such, it does make up an actual story.  We see how PM's frustration with his working life and writing increases, how he becomes jaded with (and fails to chase up) possible romantic opportunities, how his depression about events from the past deepens, his drinking becomes more and more out of hand, until happiness visits his life once more, only to be ripped away—and sends his life spiralling completely out of control.  At the end, I turned over the page and thought, 'What, no more?  But what happens next?'.  I'm hoping he will write the next 'chapter' at some point.

One of my favourite sections in the Tequila Journals was a look back at a crazy, chaotic time spent in Colorado, which reminded me of a Kerouac novel, though there's nothing pretentious, plagiarised or 'wannabe' about PM's writing style; it's unique, and appears to be the sort of effortless that tells me he doesn't realise how good he is.  Throughout, every character is perfectly captured in just a couple of lines of dialogue.

The dream diary at the end: I am one of those who dislikes dream sequences in films or books, and suppresses yawns when people go into detail about a dream they had, but I liked these; they were well put together, not rambling, and the style and structure varied.  Also, having read the book, I could see what was behind some of them—some aspects of loss, isolation and anger.

I've read the novel, Rum Hijack, that PM was writing at the time these journal entries were made, and I loved it, but in a way I like some aspects of this collection even more.  Includes some relevant artwork and photos.  Highly, highly recommended.

STILL YOU SLEEP by Kate Vane @K8Vane

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In A Nutshell: A redundant crime reporter and a news blogger aim to solve the mystery surrounding the suspicious death of a young woman.

I chose this book from the review team list because I'd read another book, Brand New Friend, by this author and was most impressed by her characterisation.  Although this is a crime novel - not my usual choice - it concentrates on those involved in the situation (families, friends), and the journalists looking into it, which is why I enjoyed it much more than I might have done had it been a police procedural.

Vikki Smith is a young woman with a learning disability who is found dead from a drug overdose.  The police write it off as an accident but online journalist Tilda Green and redundant crime reporter Freddie Stone believe foul play to be afoot; Freddie knows the family and Tilda scours social media on a daily basis, discovering much that makes her suspicious.

The story is very 'real life', warts-and-all, and one aspect that I liked is how current it is, both sociologically and in the way in which Tilda delves into every intricacy of social media, though I did wonder if it would go over the heads of people who don't know exactly how Twitter works, on quite a complicated level.  I'm a Twitter addict, though, so I really appreciated how well the author understood its idiosyncrasies.

The characterisation, dialogue and the logistics of the plot deserve a round of applause, though I felt there were one or two many storylines and character points of view.  Social media strategies, dysfunctional families, social prejudice, drug dealers and abuse, alcoholism, two-faced politicians, unrequited love, alt-right versus liberal politics; every scenario is written most convincingly, but I'd sometimes get to the beginning of a new chapter from yet another POV and think, 'Hang on a minute, who's Simon?', and have to look back to remind myself.  The addition of so many plot threads and characters actually dilutes the evidence of her strengths; Ms Vane is a highly competent and readable writer. Less could be so much more, but this is really the only complaint I have about this book.

Still You Sleep flows along so well, wrapping all storylines together at the end, is entertaining, real, so relevant to today's world, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who appreciates well-drawn characters by a writer who has a sharp understanding of topical issues - or who simply enjoys working out mysteries. 

KAI by Michelle Abbott

3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: It was submitted to Rosie Amber's Review Team, of which I am a member. Kai is a 'new adult' romance... not exactly my genre, but the blurb appealed to me.   

This story is nicely written, flows well and is very readable; I like the author's writing style.  The book starts with Lily, who works in a supermarket, discovering that her wages have not been paid into her bank.  The calamity is well written, drawing the reader into Lily's world straight away, though I had an issue with this part: although it would leave her with no food for four days, she rejects the offer of a loan from her manager and chooses to spend her last seventy pounds on paying her electricity bill.  Who can go four whole days with no food?

We then meet Kai, dope dealer with a heart of gold, who is very appealing; I can see that he's a great hero for a book aimed at a young adult age group.  Lily then meets her neighbour, Jackie, who is smoking a joint; it's medicinal, for her MS.  I had another slight issue with this, too.  Lily automatically assumes that Jackie is a 'drug addict', because she's smoking weed.  I would have thought that, as she has been an art student, she'd have a slightly more worldly attitude towards such things, unless art students have become a lot more clean living since my day!

I thought some of the issues raised were well done, such as Jackie's son refusing to go to school, and I liked Kai's bond with his mother and how he wanted to do whatever it took to make a better life for them.  The private, inner conflicts faced by Kai and Lily were nicely written, though I did wish the two characters' 'voices' had been more clearly defined; they both used the same speech patterns and language, had the same tempo and mood.  The book was not as edgy as I expected from the blurb, but I expect that is because it is written within the confines of that which is suitable for the target market, and who, I imagine, will like it very much.

SQUALL by Sean Costello @SeanCostello51

3 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book:  Amazon browse.  Attracted by the title (I love anything about disaster in terrible weather).  Liked the blurb, and it was free.  It's a short book, only 178 pages on Kindle.

The blurb:
Bush pilot and family man Tom Stokes is about to face the worst day of his life. On a clear winter morning, he sets out to do some repairs on a remote hunt camp, leaving his five-year-old son and very pregnant wife snug in their beds.

On the return trip, a squall forces him into an emergency landing and he winds up—quite literally—in the lap of petty criminal Dale Knight. Dale, now a fugitive from the law—and worse, from a merciless drug lord who just happens to be his brother—draws Tom into a web of mayhem and treachery that puts not only his life at risk, but the lives of his wife, son . . . and unborn child.

I quite enjoyed this.  It alternates from various points of view all the way through, which I liked, the pace is fast, the dialogue good, the characters clear and well-defined.  It didn't quite hit the spot, though; it was a nearly-but-not-quite for me as far as the storytelling itself was concerned.  There's a bit of sloppy proofreading (words like 'defuse' that should be 'diffuse') that wouldn't have bothered me if I'd really loved it.  

The story is good, and mostly well thought out, with some nicely psychopathic killers, a ruthless slapper, a likeable junkie, and, of course, the 'goodies' ~ Tom and his family.  There are some dodgy plot points, though, such as why Tom would have gone out in a flimsy plane to repair a building (that could have waited) when a severe storm was on its way, especially when it was his and his beloved son's birthday and his wife was about to give birth.  Then the whole reason why the aforementioned killers find his house - he left his wallet in the plane after it crashed into the house in which Dale was taking a bath.  Seemed completely out of character for someone so conscientious, especially considering that his license was in it, and he knew Dale was being hunted by dangerous people.  

It's like a less compelling Blake Crouch novel.  I'd try something else by this author, though.

TRUST ME by Earl Javorsky

4.5 out of 5 stars

Murder/thriller set in LA

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

Reviewed by me as a member of Rosie Amber's Review Team

Trust Me is a well written and cleverly plotted crime/murder thriller set in and around Los Angeles.  The main character is Jeff Fenner, a heavy drinker and jaded coke/LSD dealer whose life is imploding as his addictions wear him out, and one piece of bad luck follows another.  Running alongside is the story of deeply troubled Holly, who gets involved with SOL, the 'Save Our Life' organisation that purports to solve problems of addiction and psychological blocks by way of finding one's 'inner child'.  At an SOL meeting she meets the mysterious Art Bradley. 

Ron, a journalist, befriends Jeff; he is helping his cop mate Joe to solve a series of suicides-that-might-be-murders.  Soon, the links to all storylines become clear—and there's a great twist at the beginning of Chapter 27, at 44%; didn't expect that at all, even though I had my suspicions... 

I loved the character of Jeff, and Ron was another favourite; Art Bradley was scarily sinister from the off.  Aside from the highly readable story, I liked the way that this book was amusingly scathing about New Age self-help psychobabble, and the comments about the unreliability of the field of mental health, and how doctors and psychiatrists dish out one medication to counteract the side effects of another, and then another, and another.   

I haven't got anything negative to say about this novel; it held my interest throughout, ends well, and isn't predictable.  For me, it just missed the spark that sends a book into the '5*, I loved it' zone, but that's only personal taste; it's jolly good, I'd recommend it, and I'd definitely read more by this author.

 

ANY MAN JOE by Robert Leigh

5 GOLD stars

Vigilante/crime drama/thriller

Currently unpublished


Reviewed by me as part of Rosie Amber's Review Team

Excellent, excellent - I thoroughly enjoyed this!

Joe is a quiet living young man who lives on a rough council estate in London, just minding his own business - until he becomes unwillingly mixed up in the world of the estate's drug dealers.  Pretty soon, he finds himself in handcuffs... that's all I will say about the plot, or I'll spoil it.

Robert Leigh has done it again, the same as he did in Kill Line - he's made me like and root for a mass murderer.  No, I'm not weird - read it, and you'll understand!  I still feel sad thinking about him.

Parts of this book reminded me of that televisual piece of excellence, The Wire - if you liked that, you'll love this.  Of course, this is South London, not Baltimore, but I imagine the drug dealing hierarchy runs much the same.  The story is told in alternating points of view, between Joe and DI Edwards, the officer originally in charge of the case.  It highlights police corruption and social problems, too - all very real.

The book is SO well structured, which is one of the elements that makes it work so well, with the story unravelling gradually, as we move from hospital to police custody to flashbacks back on the estate.  The dialogue and the characterisations of the dealers, the junkie who befriends Joe, the blinkered cops, are spot on.  The action is cleverly executed, too, making me able to visualise clearly what was happening - this is a hard thing to do, I've read so many that don't work.  The suspense is superbly suspenseful (!), as is the build up of Joe's frustrated outbursts.  A classy writer, this!

This is the second novel in Leigh's Retribution Trilogy - I can't wait to read the third.   It's a complete stand alone, the stories are not connected in any way, so you don't have to read Kill Line first (though it's so good, I would if I were you!!!).

KILL LINE by Robert Leigh reviewed HERE

FROM LIME STREET TO YIRGACHEFFE by Robert Leigh reviewed HERE

THE PRODIGAL by Nicky Black

5 out of 5 stars

Gritty crime drama

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

About half way through this book I discovered that Nicky Black is actually a combination of two friends called Nicky and Julie ~ Julie originally wrote this as a screenplay for Granada TV, though it was never shown, and then she passed it to Nicky to turn it into a novel.  Shame it never became a TV series, it would have been terrific!

Nicky might have been given a readymade, extremely good plot to work with, but the writing of this novel is surely down to her own skill - in the wrong hands it could have been flat, clichéd, the characters ghastly stereotypes, the action tired, etc etc.  The Prodigal is none of those things - it's excellent, I enjoyed every page and didn't skip read once!

London cop Lee Jamieson returns home to Newcastle, and becomes mixed up with Nicola Kelly, wife of local hoodlum Micky.  The story is told through the eyes of Lee and Nicola.  Lee also gets to know Louise, his teenage daughter who is the result of his own teenage relationship with her mother, Debbie.  Valley Park, the council estate around which the novel centres, is fictional, but I am sure it's a well drawn representation of those that exist.

Lee escaped life within the underclass of society after his own family tragedies; there is one particularly emotive passage when he looks into the eyes of Nicola's troubled young brother, Mark, and sees what he might have become had he stayed there.

One of the reasons this novel was of interest to me is that I moved up to live in this area (nowhere like Valley Park, thank goodness!) about six years ago, so I recognised not only the landmarks but also the language; I've always been amused by the sound of teenage girls referring to each other as 'man'!  I liked the way the story outlined the differences between the north and south of England that really do exist, and the futility of the regeneration projects in poor areas - as Nicola so rightly points out, it's not the houses or estates that are the problem, but the people who live in them.

The plot's great - I love a bit of gangster conspiracy, and it all fits together nicely, with the twists not being too obvious and nothing unfeasible taking place.  Any negatives?  Only one - throughout the book there is a fair amount of 'head-hopping', ie, the point of view changing suddenly; I'd think, hang on, I thought I was reading through Lee's eyes, but suddenly I'm seeing it through those of Debbie.  This isn't too obtrusive, though, and it probably wouldn't bother most people.

The Prodigal is realistic without being over the top, perfectly paced and held my interest throughout - loved it!

ULTRA VIOLENCE by Mark Barry

4.5 out of 5 stars

Violent drama, football hooliganism

On Amazon UK HERE 
On Amazon.com HERE

The blurb:
Forty. Receding pate. Dental problems. Failing marriage. Delinquent son. Psycho boss parachuted in to cut the big earners.
A few lost marbles.
It hadn't always been like this.
He used to be a Face. A Player. A Terrace Celebrity. Now he’s just another faceless nobody on the brink of despair in a world he no longer recognises.
Yet, one freezing winter’s day, a chance meeting with a face from the old days at Notts County changes everything.
Especially when there’s an intriguing proposition on the table. One he may find difficult to refuse. 

I know nothing about and have zero interest in football, and the culture of organised football hooliganism fascinates me only in a horrified sort of way, but having recently read Mark Barry's fabulous Once Upon A Time In The City of Criminals I wanted to know more, so I chose to read this, his most successful book to date.

Something I've noticed after reading a book I've loved is that I can't always remember if it was written in the first or third person.  This is, I think, because the characters have come alive to the extent that I've been able to see inside their heads, whether their tale has been told in their own words or not.  Ultra Violence, however, has set a new standard.  It's written in the SECOND person, yet I still felt I knew the unnamed main character as well as if he'd told the story himself, or if I'd had it narrated to me.  Yes, that's right, a whole novel written in the second person, and it works so well.  A curious and clever choice and yet another indication of the talent of Mr Barry, who is fast becoming my favourite 'indie' of all those I've read.

Ultra Violence is depressing, it's sad, it made me feel fed up about how different things were in my own youth, it tells of the unsavoury, the prejudiced, the lacking in culture, the unwashed underclass of society (the Bullys!) and those who've wrecked their own lives, but I couldn't put it down.  The story alternates between the past and the present all the way through, until they meet at the end, a structure I always find effective.  Fabulous ending, too.  I love a great ending. I gather in the new edition there are two alternatives, but, alas, I had the old one on my Kindle.

Oh, and I still think the main character is a closet homosexual, by the way.  So closet he couldn't admit it to himself, perhaps.  Don't know if anyone else agrees with me.  From about fifty per cent in I was waiting for the Big Reveal....


ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE CITY OF CRIMINALS by Mark Barry reviewed HERE 

CARLA by Mark Barry reviewed HERE

THE NIGHT PORTER by Mark Barry reviewed HERE 

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE CITY OF CRIMINALS by Mark Barry

5 GOLD STARS

Violent drama

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

This book is of the type for which the 'indie' or self published world was made - fearless, quality writing that would probably never get taken on by a traditional publisher or larger independent press, because it fits into no established genre and would perhaps not appeal to the mass market, but for style and talent can rival the best and leave half of them standing.  This is the sort of novel that reaches cult status; maybe in five years' time people will be saying, "What, you haven't read City of Criminals?  Where have you been?"

I read it over a period of a couple of days and would have finished it sooner if I'd been able to.  It's terrific.

In brief:  Terry Valentine is an ex-con, a part-time crackhead, a ex-football hooligan, and a small-time crook with a chip on his shoulder about the middle classes and control of the populace by the rich.  Rapidly going to seed, he gets an emotional kick in the pants when he takes on the job of driver to young lesbian prostitute Chloe, and falls in love with her.  Once he gets into his head that she needs saving from her major client (who happens to be in love with her, too) and the gangsters who control her, all thoughts of a reconciliation with his one time love, sexy dope fiend Marge, go out of his head.

At first I worried that the free flowing writing style of narrative interspersed with Terry's inner dialogue, together with the lack of speech marks in conversation, might get on my nerves or even seem a little contrived, but it doesn't - it really works, more so as the book goes on, and is perfect for this story.  Mark Barry knows what he's doing.  The dark and dangerous underclass of brutal criminals, football hooligans, drug users and gamblers is obviously one he understands so well, too.  One thing I loved was the way in which the language of the world between the pages is not explained by some patronising glossary at the back of the book; if you're not sure exactly what is meant by a phrase or word on its first outing you soon pick it up, or if you don't it doesn't really matter. 

Barry has written before about a man with a serious dark side who falls hopelessly in love with and thinks he can save a woman half his age (in Carla), but this is an entirely different sort of novel, and by far his best of the ones I've read, I think.  What struck me most was that in the first half of the book Terry Valentine just seems like a bit of a sad case, but as the story moves on to violent confrontation you start to understand the mind of the type of man for whom only a fairly constant supply of class As (and large amounts of black market prescription medication) can replace the thrill of the brawl.  Although his feelings for Chloe are the basis for the whole story, it's about so much more. 

You'll like this book if you appreciate brilliant, sparky writing that doesn't nod to convention, if you have any interest at all in the football violence of the 1980s and gangsters in general, if the 'c' word and decidely unromantic sexual reference doesn't make you wince (actually, I found the sexual depiction in this book a lot less cringe-making than the would-be sexy bits added to many otherwise not otherwise erotically orientated novels these days.  It's real, it's not written to titillate; not an arched body or ecstatic moan to be seen). You'll like it if you're not put off by the mention of blood, and if you enjoy reading sharp, edgy, contemporary drama by a novelist who knows his stuff and isn't afraid to use it.

I couldn't put it down, abandoning my own work-in-progress in order to finish it.  It's fab, it really is.

CARLA by Mark Barry reviewed HERE

THE NIGHT PORTER by Mark Barry reviewed HERE

ULTRA VIOLENCE by Mark Barry reviewed HERE

THIN WIRE by Christine Lewry

3.5 out of 5 stars

Non Fiction, Family, Addiction

Originally posted on Amazon HERE on 27 February 2013

It's hard to review a book such as this; the purpose of a review is not to discuss the subject matter, but the way it is written - in other words, it is not for the reviewer to weigh up the rights and wrongs of the situation or to lay blame, but to look at the structure of the story itself.

I did enjoy reading the book, getting out my Kindle on bus journeys, doing that "can I just finish this chapter?" thing when Him Indoors wanted to watch a film - an indication that it's pretty well written; if it wasn't, I would have stopped reading it. It certainly kept my interest; that's partly because I find tales of descent into drug and alcohol use quite absorbing, I don't know why. I liked the 'warts and all' way that the addicts' homes and lives were depicted - there was certainly no glamourising of the drug lifestyle! If this book has done anything it will have shown any youngsters who know nothing of these things what it is really like - and for that I applaud it.

I've said that it would be wrong for a reviewer to give an opinion on the situation, though in a story of this type it is hard not to; I will say that my sympathies changed over the course of the book, not necessarily just between the two main characters. One of the reasons I've given it 3 stars rather than 4 is that I felt there were some omissions, and I wondered if these were to save us from the whole story; for instance, when Amber was packed off to the Canaries for a week, in one paragraph she was getting into the bath on her first night, and in the next she was home again, with no gap in between ... maybe nothing happened, I don't know! Also, I would have liked to have known about what happened to people like Dave, and Jason. I was waiting to find out how Dave fared once he was back 'on the street' - and I never did.

Although it was the viewpoints of two people, it seemed to be written all by the same person; the 'voice' was the same, it just said different things. I know it's actually by the mother, so to give two different voices must have been difficult; it's not like writing fiction. The other thing I was not keen on was the way Amber kept referring to being 'clean', even though she was still using other substances.

Aside from those aspects of it, I'd say that if you're interested in this sort of story then yes, I'd definitely recommend reading it. I expect the lists of suggestions at the end of the book from both mother and daughter are very helpful to any person in this situation, too.