Crime Writers Association

Should you wish to spend your leisure time in the company of people who spend much  of their waking hours dreaming up new and ingenious ways in which people might do away with each other, and speculating about the motives which might drive them to do so, then this link may be of interest ;

http://www.thecwa.co.uk/events.php

Something for Sextonians

Somewhat belatedly ; here`s a little something that may be of interest to admirers of the excellent Mr Blake ;

Steve Holland - `Sexton Blake Annual 1928, posted 23 Aug 2012 at http://bearalleybooks.blogspot.com .

Blood and Gore at Prices You Can Afford

Another month is upon us and now seems a good time to look at our more recently acquired dollops of crime and punishment.

At 5191 we have Alexander McGregor`s The Law Killers, a collection of true crime stories from |Dundee. Journalist-turned-author Alexander turns his hand to both fiction and fact, as anyone familiar with his novel Lawless can confirm. Most true crime collections with a local/regional slant  have a relatively limited market, particularly when they are published by a small, independent publisher. A shame really, as they`re often very good.  The Law Killers was the exception that proved the rule as it was a great success, probably the result of Mr McG`s  appearances on TV crime documentaries.

 Linda Regan is an actress and author  (www.lindareganonline.co.uk) who has the good fortune to be published by the Chesterfield-based Creme de la Crime publishing house. Copies of her book Behind You can be found at  2959 and 5194 in our listings.

These are only a couple of the crime titles we have in stock at present, chosen partly because they are relatively recent acquisitions and partly because they are inexpensive, given the current economic climate.

Whether you`re looking for collectable crime or have a liking for bloodshed at bargain basement prices, just remember, Hoonaloon`s our name and crime is our game !" *

All the Best,

Nick and Ann-Marie
Hoonaloon Books

* As are history, mythology, antiquarian fiction and much else, but whilst writing this I went into `50s b-movie mode and felt I should "be like an alligator and make it snappy".

Hoonaloon Books July 2012

Just a quick note to tell you that the current Hoonaloon Books newsletter is now online and can be found at http://hoonaloon.blogspot.com.

And don`t forget that the prices of all the books we are offering for sale via ABE books have been reduced by 25%. The offer ends on 27 July 2012.


Respect the Book !

Undershaw Preservation Trust

I`ll be returning to the world of Sexton Blake very soon but in the meantime I`d like to give a shameless plug to the Undershaw Preservation Trust.

The UPT is a body devoted to preserving Sir Arthur Conan Doyle`s former home Undershaw (Hindhead, Surrey) and hopefully to finding a new purpose for this sadly-neglected building, possibly as some sort of Doyle/Holmes museum.

There`s no real need for any further explanation from me, as the Trust is well able to speak for itself.

To learn more, visit these sites ;

www.saveundershaw.com

http://undershawhelp.blogspot.co.uk

The UPT also has volunteer representatives in the USA. One of these is Jacquelynn Morris, who can be contacted at either of these sites ; 

www.watsonstinbox.org

www.scintillation.org

Despite some initial successes, it`s by no means certain the group will prevail in the longer term, so it`s important the campaign does not begin to lose momentum at this stage.

Hoonaloon Books Sale July 2012

Bargain hunters amongst you may wish to know that the latest Hoonaloon Books sale is already underway and runs from 1 July 2012 - 27 July 2012.

During the sale, all the items we have for sale via ABE - around 4,000 titles -  are discounted by 25%. The discount has already been applied so all you have to do is make your choices and place your order.

The delights we have on offer are many and varied, so why not enter the metaphorical portals of the Hoonaloon online emporium and examine the many treasures to be found therein ?

Zenith Lives ! Review Part One

Stuart Douglas and others - Zenith Lives - Obverse Books - 2012

As explained previously, this is not a Sexton Blake book as such, but a collection of contemporary short stories featuring the character of Monsieur Zenith (Zenith the Albino), one of Blake`s pre-war adversaries.

The enigmatic Zenith was created by writer Anthony Skene but in these stories he lives again
 even though his creator is long since under the ground.

I`ve decided to review each story individually. As this may be a touch time-consuming, and knowing that people tend to have a short attention span I`ve decided to post the review in instalments. This posting contains my review of the first two stories in the collection, and my thoughts on the rest will follow in due course.


Mark Hodder - The Blood of our Land

The Blood of our Land is an absolute gem (as the plot concerns itself with a group of precious stones that have a particular significance, I should stress that the pun is entirely unintentional !). In the earlier parts particularly the writer creates almost an illusion of realism in the way character`s movements are observed ( "He reached into his velvet jacket and pulled out a flat platinum case, took from it a small hand-rolled cigarette, then produced a box of matches and struck one.") and this is very effective.

Towards the end we are in serious `big showdown` territory. Something more restrained might have been at least as effective, but let`s not quibble. The ingenious plot twists and  the quality of the writing make this an excellent tale.


Paul Magrs - All the Many Rooms

This is not really my bag of chips but I gave it my best shot. There seems to be more than a hint of a William Burroughs influence here. That style of writing can be strangely evocative  ("I arrived late, not because I was keen to seem fashionable or blase, but because I was tied up with some important papers and shapes of things, blurred as more snow fell in tireless shifts"), it can be intriguing ("I nodded to the doorman, snug in his den behind the window, and scurried up secret stairs"). It is certainly not predictable.  Mr M introduces some welcome touches of humour (the guest list at a party includes "Ziggy and Alvin Stardust") . Against that, the reader is dropped into an unfamilar literary landscape with no signposts or explanations and as the piece goes on the danger is that the reader will too readily dismiss it as an intellectual`s game, a riddle with no solution other than that the reader provides for themselves. It`s not for everybody but those who like it will love it.

On a purely personal note, and it makes no sense at all really, for me this piece brought back memories of working away from home in younger days, and of a workmate who unfortunately died not so long ago. I think it was "blurred as more snow fell in tireless shifts" and "I nodded to the doorman, snug in his den behind the window." . Funny the way a few words can reverberate in a way the author can never have anticipated or intended.

As I`ve explained above, these are only the first two stories in the colection, and I`ll be reviewing the others in the very near future.