Capsule book reviews in 255 characters or fewer. Ish. A reading diary (1st Jan 2019 onwards) by Eamonn Griffin.
A corrupt cop-turned-PI seeks a murderer while scouring 1950s Hollywood for sleaze for the scandal sheets. While it teeters on the edge of parody Ellroyism at times, this is nevertheless swaggering stuff if you go with it. A minor work in the canon, perhaps, but fans will come away pleased.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A veteran lawman recounts a story from forty years earlier, of cultists, a lost child, and regret. This second stand-alone story (anthologising issues 7-12) introduces a horror element: as before, it’s all very capably done if a little on the nose. Nevertheless, if you like tall but bittersweet cop stories and tales told in diners over pie, you’ll be right at home.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
Three aging gangsters are made to face up to their pasts. Straightforward but effective crime/horror hybrid. No real surprises, but instead the feeling of a solid job well-executed. And sometimes, that’s just the ticket. Issues 1-5 collected here.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A cartoonist and former forger gets drawn back into crime by a femme fatale. Another high-quality yarn of dark deeds on the wrong side of midnight; another man in over his head and head over heels at the same time. Series fans won’t be disappointed, and there’s much to relish for those new to the BrubakerPhillipsVerse.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A young San Francisco private eye’s missing persons case turns out to be more complex than it originally appears. This fresh paperback collection of a four-part comic from 1999 preserves a smart contemporary noir-ish story that doesn’t overstay its welcome and which pleasingly plays around with genre and location-specific tropes. Well worth your time.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A man returns to Texas after the killing of his brother: trouble ensues. Decent if ever-so-slightly overwritten Lone Star State neo-noir (anthologising issues 1-6). Wears its influences (No Country For Old Men, Taylor Sheridan screenplays etc) on its sleeve, so there’s no real surprises, even if it’s all capably done, and makes Volume Two a worthwhile prospect.
My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
Jacob is tasked with chaperoning a cantankerous comics veteran at a convention: matters soon spiral. Excellent and slightly meta stand-alone story with links to the wider Criminal universe. Plenty to relish, not least in its playing with comic book industry legends, noir tropes, and the flipside of niche fame and success.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
Three linked stories: a boxer, a bar worker, a gang lord’s son. Polyperspective genre thrills, plus something of a meditation on the codes and conventions of noir fiction. Plenty to enjoy here, as Brubaker and Phillips continue to both abide by and challenge the limitations and interstices of the genre. Recommended.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A young woman with secrets, fresh to rehab, finds love and with it, a reason to abscond. Smart, melancholic story of crime, addiction, inevitability, and trust. Billed as a Criminal novella, this stand-alone graphic story comes at noir from an unusual – though fitting – angle. Recommended.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A man absconds from military service to seek revenge for his younger brother’s death. Issues 6-10 of Criminal are collected here, offering a second punchy (literally and figuratively) noir tale of violence, robbery, sex, and inevitability. Consistently great, and pleasantly uncompromising in its focus on genre thrills and character. Recommended.
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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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