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joeleibovich's review
4.0
Take a dash of noir, a sprinkling of Mad Men, and stir in some David Lynch. A light but clever mystery.
thecommonswings's review
4.0
Not quite the equal of the other two books in the Bardin Omnibus, The Last of Philip Banter's greatest weakness is also the book's greatest strength: that is the heated, almost obsessive and downright strange way the book is written manages to be both slightly overwritten and baggily structured, but that hasty, first draft feeling also gives it the weird, obsessional tone that makes it so compelling. Last time I read this I hadn't been aware of my own mental health issues and although I am not anything like Philip Banter, I'm more aware of anxiety and depression and the inevitability of obsessive addiction (in my case comfort eating) than I was last time I read this. So I won't quite go as far as this is *triggering* but it did feel like a sort of unpleasant peak into a world not entirely unfamiliar to my own. It's also quite nice to see the hero of Percheron doing okay for himself, even if it is pretty much the closest this book gets to a happy ending for anyone. What a strange, bleak, uncomfortable book it is and I will never get over how forward thinking Bardin was with these novels. Astonishing
dutts_87's review
3.0
A fairly standard, pacey who-dunnit!
I like Bardin’s book’s. They’re fairly quick, fairly fun, have a good amount of twists and turns. They are enjoyable as you read them, but not wholly memorable once you’ve finished them. A little bit of reading filler, and eloquently crafted. I feel that the premise of Bardin’s books are often better than the end product though!
I like Bardin’s book’s. They’re fairly quick, fairly fun, have a good amount of twists and turns. They are enjoyable as you read them, but not wholly memorable once you’ve finished them. A little bit of reading filler, and eloquently crafted. I feel that the premise of Bardin’s books are often better than the end product though!
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