Capsule book reviews in 255 characters or fewer. Ish. A reading diary (1st Jan 2019 onwards) by Eamonn Griffin.
An armoured car job goes awry; Parker hides out in an out-of-season funfair. The fourth and final volume in this series of adaptations maintains the high series standard. Sleek, visual and retro, and effortlessly lean. Comes with an additional short story, The Seventh.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
Parker is talked into an audacious series of heists across the same town on the same night. The blend as before in this third excellent adaptation: sleek modernist visuals, terse dialogue, brutal action. A fourth volume – Slayground – soon followed.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A criminal hits back at an organised crime syndicate, via a series of heists. As with its predecessor, this is a smart, dark adaptation of its source material, splendidly capturing the original while being strong enough to remain impressive in its own right. Recommended.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
Former Hull PI Joe Geraghty finds unwanted trouble in Amsterdam. A sharp stand-alone short story – and a precursor for a new Geraghty novel in 2020 – that works as a fine entry point to the series and its author’s work. The first of Fahrenheit Press’s Fahrenzine imprint of lo-fi zine-style limited edition noir chapbooks, designated #FHZ001. A series to watch.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A monograph on the Stanley Kubrick adaptation of the Stephen King novel. And a good one too; a smart, detailed and perceptive commentary on the movie, its production and reception. Academic but accessible, and even-handed in its analysis of the continuing significance of the movie as a popular culture touchstone. Recommended.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
New York 1962: a left-for-dead heist operator seeks revenge and the money he’s owed. Fantastic graphic novel adaptation of the Stark/Donald E Westlake thriller. Cooke’s swift dark style and his monochrome renderings capture the prose well, giving the tale a brutal cinematic sweep. Recommended.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
Ruminations on, among other things, owning two holiday homes. Similar in its approach to that of its follow-up Medallion Status, Hodgman discusses the advantages and the minor pitfalls of almost being a celebrity, rural v city life, and the odd responsibilities of homeownership. Deft, pleasant, amusing, melancholic as ever.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A graphic novel adaptation of Block’s fifth Matthew Scudder mystery. And a splendid thing it is too, distilling the book expertly, and conveying it in great noir imagery. Here’s hoping other Scudder books get the same treatment from this team. Recommended (as is the source novel series).
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A smart, clear, and diligent monograph on the Jonathan Demme-directed adaptation of the Thomas Harris novel. Straightforward and effective, this short book covers the movie and its source material, as well as the wider impact of Lecter in print and film, as well as in genre. Recommended.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A monograph on the 2005 Neil Marshall-directed horror film. Leaning on Freud for much of its insight, this is an academic but nevertheless readable text on the movie, making clear its associations and being careful to site it in both the director’s wider work as well as in a cycle of mid-00s underground-fixated flicks.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
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