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criminolly's reviews
2415 reviews
Death Strike by Dick Stivers
2.5
A sub-par men’s adventure novel. I’m not sure if this one carried on from the book before it, but it definitely felt like it. There’s a reasonable amount of action, but not enough peril (surprisingly, given that one of Able Team is being held captive by a terror group throughout).
Osgood As Dead by Cooper S. Beckett
4.0
The 4th of the Spectral Inspector books by Cooper S Beckett is just as enjoyable and wild a ride as the first three. It starts where the third book left off and so I won’t say too much about the plot for fear of spoiling the end of that book. And in fact the plot isn’t really the point of these books, although the stories and pacing are always good. They’re much more about the characters (heroine Prudence Osgood in particular) and the vibe. That vibe is hard to describe - a mix of very creepy horror and cosy queer found family drama that feels like it shouldn’t necessarily work and yet does.
The horror comes from a beguiling mix of cosmic weirdness and a fascination with unsettling half forgotten pop culture oddities. It works well, and the fact that you come to care so much about Osgood and her team of ghostbusters only helps ramp up the tension. There’s also a great ongoing story in these books, about Osgood’s battles against evil, which borders on the grandiose but manages to be compelling and fun. She is so different from the typical horror adventure protagonist that it’s impossible not to root for her wholeheartedly.
I think that’s the thing that makes these books as enjoyable as they are. They’re proudly different, with the author’s obsessions and opinions in full view in a way that doesn’t always happen in traditionally published works. It results in a different kind of horror, and I’m definitely down for it.
The horror comes from a beguiling mix of cosmic weirdness and a fascination with unsettling half forgotten pop culture oddities. It works well, and the fact that you come to care so much about Osgood and her team of ghostbusters only helps ramp up the tension. There’s also a great ongoing story in these books, about Osgood’s battles against evil, which borders on the grandiose but manages to be compelling and fun. She is so different from the typical horror adventure protagonist that it’s impossible not to root for her wholeheartedly.
I think that’s the thing that makes these books as enjoyable as they are. They’re proudly different, with the author’s obsessions and opinions in full view in a way that doesn’t always happen in traditionally published works. It results in a different kind of horror, and I’m definitely down for it.
Monster Blood by R.L. Stine
3.0
Definitely not my favourite Goosebumps book, but still an entertaining way to spend a couple of hours. This one has a weird goo that multiplies itself as well as making other things (including the main character’s dog) bigger. It’s as silly and cheesy as you’d expect a Goosebumps book to be, with a fair number of twists, but it doesn’t match the gleeful inventive fun of the best of the series.
Chasers by Mariah Darling, Eve Harms
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved ‘Transmuted’ by Eve Harms, a very weird and effective horror novella that mixed horror themes with insight into the trans experience. When the author offered me an ARC of her new novella, co-written with Mariah Darling, I was delighted to accept it.
‘Chasers’ has a lot of the strengths of ‘Transmuted’ - it’s gripping and its horror content made it very accessible, but it also discusses (interestingly and effectively) what it’s like to be a trans woman. The story follows Lenora, a trans musician who moves into a new apartment in a building that feels threatening from the start. She finds a peephole in the wall that reveals some very strange goings on in the flat next door. Things go from bad to worse (in a good way, this is a horror story after all) and the book does a great job of tapping into the paranoia of city living.
It’s a book that is deeply unsettling at times, but hard to look away from. Partly that’s because it’s a gripping piece of suspense fiction, but it’s also because the description of trans existence is so heartfelt. It’s moving, appalling, extreme and always readable.
I felt the pace faltered a bit at the halfway point, but the final third more than makes up for that.
‘Chasers’ has a lot of the strengths of ‘Transmuted’ - it’s gripping and its horror content made it very accessible, but it also discusses (interestingly and effectively) what it’s like to be a trans woman. The story follows Lenora, a trans musician who moves into a new apartment in a building that feels threatening from the start. She finds a peephole in the wall that reveals some very strange goings on in the flat next door. Things go from bad to worse (in a good way, this is a horror story after all) and the book does a great job of tapping into the paranoia of city living.
It’s a book that is deeply unsettling at times, but hard to look away from. Partly that’s because it’s a gripping piece of suspense fiction, but it’s also because the description of trans existence is so heartfelt. It’s moving, appalling, extreme and always readable.
I felt the pace faltered a bit at the halfway point, but the final third more than makes up for that.
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
4.0
‘The Reformatory’ tells the story of a young black boy, Robert, in 1950s Florida who’s sent to a correctional school populated by both ghosts and brutal human overseers.
There is a lot that is genuinely great about the book. It has a wonderful sense of place, vivid and engaging characters, some brilliantly horrible ideas and many really powerful scenes. And yet I didn’t love it quite as much as I expected to, sometimes that happens with a book and it’s hard to put your finger on why. I think in this case it’s that despite the enormous peril the characters (especially Robert) endure, the book never quite had me all the way to the edge of my seat. I wanted to know how things turned out, and I certainly came to really care for the characters, but never felt that gnawing uncomfortable hunger that the very best suspense novels inflict on their readers.
That may be a personal thing, and I certainly thought this was a very good book overall. Moving, gripping and thoughtful, it just didn’t torture me quite enough.
There is a lot that is genuinely great about the book. It has a wonderful sense of place, vivid and engaging characters, some brilliantly horrible ideas and many really powerful scenes. And yet I didn’t love it quite as much as I expected to, sometimes that happens with a book and it’s hard to put your finger on why. I think in this case it’s that despite the enormous peril the characters (especially Robert) endure, the book never quite had me all the way to the edge of my seat. I wanted to know how things turned out, and I certainly came to really care for the characters, but never felt that gnawing uncomfortable hunger that the very best suspense novels inflict on their readers.
That may be a personal thing, and I certainly thought this was a very good book overall. Moving, gripping and thoughtful, it just didn’t torture me quite enough.
Immortal Pleasures by V. Castro
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
V Castro’s reworking and expansion of one of her early books (‘The Erotic Modern Life of Maninalli the Vampire’) is fast-paced, very spicy and a lot of trashy fun. It features a sexy female vampire on a mission, an enjoyably detailed historical back story and a lot of sex. A lot.
There’s a brilliant energy to V Castro’s writing in everything I’ve read by her, you can tell when you’re reading her work that she had a good time writing it and that she wants the reader to have a good time too. I don’t think this is her best book, but it’s definitely an entertaining read.
There’s a brilliant energy to V Castro’s writing in everything I’ve read by her, you can tell when you’re reading her work that she had a good time writing it and that she wants the reader to have a good time too. I don’t think this is her best book, but it’s definitely an entertaining read.
The Sentries by Ed McBain
4.0
This is an early-ish standalone from Ed McBain that feels quite different from his 87th Precinct series. Published in 1965 (along with 2 87th novels) it's much more of a thriller than a mystery. At 300 pages it's also long for a McBain book. It doesn't feel long though, it moves at a good clip from page 1 and the broad cast of characters serves the story well. McBain had become used to juggling a lot of voices in the detectives and patrolmen of his police procedurals, and he uses those skills here.
The setting is a small Florida key that gets invaded by a militia group with a grander plan in mind, one that gradually becomes clearer as the plot progresses. The action focuses on both the militia and the local inhabitants, especially the harbourmaster, as they start to fight back. It's tense stuff, with many boating scenes that no doubt draw on McBain's experiences in the Navy.
Certainly not my favourite of his books, but it's well done, gripping and enjoyably different from the work he's best known for.
The setting is a small Florida key that gets invaded by a militia group with a grander plan in mind, one that gradually becomes clearer as the plot progresses. The action focuses on both the militia and the local inhabitants, especially the harbourmaster, as they start to fight back. It's tense stuff, with many boating scenes that no doubt draw on McBain's experiences in the Navy.
Certainly not my favourite of his books, but it's well done, gripping and enjoyably different from the work he's best known for.
The Comeback by Abby Gaines
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Despite knowing nothing about NASCAR beyond what I can remember from watching ‘Days of Thunder’ years ago, I keep coming back (sorry) to these Harlequin NASCAR romances. They’re light and fun and really well crafted. This one was no exception, with a sweet co-worker romance between a gruff driver trying to make a return to the sport and the determined PR consultant assigned to work with him.
The romance is the highlight - a nice slow burn with a decent level of tension. The setting works well too, with a large cast of supporting characters (there are loads of books in the series that all knit together, even though they can be enjoyed individually). There’s sibling rivalry, career/romance conflicts and some fun racing action. The book also plays entertainingly with gender roles, with the driver entered into a Bachelor contest and judged on his looks for large parts of the book.
The whole thing feels like a Sunday afternoon TV movie, but one you’d quite happily watch on a rainy day.
The romance is the highlight - a nice slow burn with a decent level of tension. The setting works well too, with a large cast of supporting characters (there are loads of books in the series that all knit together, even though they can be enjoyed individually). There’s sibling rivalry, career/romance conflicts and some fun racing action. The book also plays entertainingly with gender roles, with the driver entered into a Bachelor contest and judged on his looks for large parts of the book.
The whole thing feels like a Sunday afternoon TV movie, but one you’d quite happily watch on a rainy day.