Review: Carnage by Maxime Chattam

Carnage by Maxime Chattam, tr. Isabel Reid and Emily Boyce (102 pages, March 2012, Gallic Books, ISBN: 1906040419)

CARNAGE is a novella length detective story set in New York City by French author Maxime Chattam. The prologue describes the mass-shooting by a student of his fellow pupils at East Harlem Academy.

Enter, Lamar Gallineo, a giant of a man, an African-American who has risen to the rank of Lieutenant. He is called to the scene at the Academy where the shooting has now ceased and the perpetrator, believed dead by suicide. A witness is found who saw the boy kill himself. The tragic case is closed.

However the following week another mass-shooting occurs at a school, outside of Gallineo's jurisdiction this time and then a third, all the shooters are dead. What is going on? Then a link appears between the guns used at the crimes and a deeper evil is revealed. Gallineo uses a combination of intuition and going through files and paperwork to reveal the cause of these shocking events.

Being a short book, there isn't much room for character development but I would love to see more of Gallineo and his diminutive partner Doris in a full-length novel. The author plays fair with the reader, the clues are there to be spotted though there is still room for a twist. Good use is made of the New York setting and wintry weather. Overall, a quick read with intriguing main characters and a good puzzle but with occasionally unpleasant descriptions, especially in the prologue.

Win a copy of Carnage (UK only) closes 31 March 2012.

Next on Montalbano, the Inspector's Croquettes

The next and eighth episode of Inspector Montalbano, at 9pm on 31 March, Montalbano's Croquettes, is one of the two episodes previously shown on BBC4 and is not based on one of the books but rather a short story,The arancini di Montalbano, not (yet) available in English.

As the small town of Vigata prepares for its New Year celebrations, local police inspector Salvo Montalbano is reluctantly making arrangements to travel to Paris with his girlfriend. What he would much rather do, however, is accept a dinner invitation by his cleaner Adelina, who has promised to cook rice croquettes.

A wealthy husband and wife are found dead in what appears to be a car accident, but quickly turns into a murder investigation. And as the circumstances surrounding the death of the couple grow more and more mysterious, clues point to the involvement of Adelina's son Pasquale.

Flashbang Writing Contest

The Flashbang writing competition is now open. Just write a story in 150 words or less and you could win two tickets to CrimeFest in May.

Here's some information from the official website:

Flashbang is a new crime writing contest, sponsored by CrimeFest, who are providing the first prize of two weekend passes, as well as the second prize of DVD boxed sets of The Killing (plus its new novelisation). Hersilia Press is sponsoring the third prize: four of their Italian crime books. Comma Press is kindly providing five copies of MO: Crimes of Practice to runners up.

As well as terrific prizes, Flashbang is free to enter and gives eight lucky writers the chance to be published on websites read by crime buffs the world over. Deadline is midnight BST Sunday 15 April.

For more information on the rules and prizes go here and the judges (who include some familiar faces) reveal what they are looking for.

New Reviews: Dickinson, Horst, Jungstedt, Mark, Meade, Regan, Rickman

Win Carnage by Maxim Chattam (UK only). Closes 31st March.

Here are this week's reviews:

Terry Halligan reviews the paperback release of the tenth in David Dickinson's pre WW1 series Death in a Scarlet Coat;

Last week I reviewed Dregs by Jorn Lier Horst, tr. Anne Bruce, an intriguing police-procedural set in a small Norwegian town;

Maxine Clarke reviews the just published Dark Angel by Mari Jungstedt, tr. Tiina Nunnally, the sixth in this Gotland based series, and a very good entry;

Geoff Jones reviews David Mark's debut, The Dark Winter set in Hull which introduces DS McAvoy;

Amanda Gillies reviews Glenn Meade's The Second Messiah which is about the danger of finding a new Dead Sea Scroll;

Lizzie Hayes reviews the first in Linda Regan's new series, Brotherhood of Blades which revolves around the inhabitants of a rundown housing estate

and Susan White reviews the paperback release of Phil Rickman's The Prayer of the Night Shepherd.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here and new titles by Elizabeth Darrell, Luke Delaney, P C/Paul Doherty, Elanor Dymott, Howard Linskey, Keith McCarthy, Brian McGilloway, Steve Mosby, Philip Sington, Sally Spencer and M J Trow have been added to these pages this week.

Stieg Larsson: The Expo Files

The Expo Files is a collection of some of Stieg Larsson's essays and articles, edited by Daniel Poohl, translated by Laurie Thompson and with an introduction by Tariq Ali. It's published next week by MacLehose Press:

Official Blurb: Now almost exclusively known as the author of the best-selling Trilogy, as a professional journalist Stieg Larsson was an untiring crusader for democracy and equality. As a reporter and editor-in-chief on the journal Expo he researched the extreme right both in Sweden and at an international level. Collected here for the first time are essays and articles on right-wing extremism and racism, on violence against women and women's rights, on homophobia and honour killings. Included also is an account written for Vagabond magazine of his travels aboard the Trans-Siberian Express from Moscow to Beijing.

His most important writings - perceptive, learned and committed texts - illustrate the breadth of his journalistic and political activities in connection with matters that were closest to his heart, and to which he devoted his life.

Despite death threats and financial difficulties, Larsson never ceased to fight for and write about his most firmly held principles; it was his commitment to these which gave his best-selling novels their explosive force.

Event News: Chipping Norton Literary Festival

The first Chipping Norton Literary Festival takes place between 20-22 April 2012.

Browse the full programme and buy tickets from the website and follow them on twitter: @ChipLitFest.


For crime fans, the main events are on the Sunday:

Crime Writers' Forum - Plot the Perfect Murder

What makes the perfect murder? A fictional one, at least? Come and find out in this session with four of the UK’s most celebrated crime-writers, Mark Billingham, Sophie Hannah, Dan Waddell and S J Bolton.

Chaired by Peter Guttridge

10am, Sunday 22nd April 2012 £12.50 The Theatre, Chipping Norton


An Audience with Colin Dexter

Colin Dexter is the creator of the world’s most famous detectives: the Oxford-based Morse and his side-kick Lewis. Learn about the life behind the fiction, in this fascinating interview.

Interviewed by Peter Guttridge.

12pm, Sunday 22nd April 2012 £12.50 The Theatre Chipping Norton


Jasper Fforde - Publishing Unconventional Novels

Jasper Fforde explains how Jane Eyre can share a novel with Time Travel and Werewolves, and why he believes genre is the measles of the Book world.

2pm, Sunday 21st April 2012 The Chequers Inn £7.50


Crime Writing Workshop with Helen Black

You’ve written a crime story. How do you add suspense? What exactly is pace? How do you turn your idea into a page-turning bestseller? Find out in this hands-on workshop with crime-writer Helen Black

3pm, Sunday 22nd April 2012 £7.50 Jaffé & Neale, Chipping Norton

Review: Dregs by Jørn Lier Horst

Dregs by Jørn Lier Horst, tr. Anne Bruce (310 pages, August 2011, Sandstone Press Ltd, ISBN: 1905207670)

DREGS is the sixth in the Chief Inspector William Wisting series set in the small coastal Norwegian town of Stavern, and the first to be translated into English.

The book opens with the discovery of a left foot washed up by the tide. What is strange is that it is the second left foot to have appeared in recent days. An extensive search has not turned up any right feet. There have been only four people reported missing in the last few months: three old men and one young woman. The men all disappeared within a week of each other and the woman a few days afterwards. No trace of them or reason for their absence has ever been determined. Wisting decides to reinvestigate the disappearances as a key witness was overlooked first time around but then she also disappears.

Meanwhile, Wisting's journalist daughter is back in the area researching a new article on what affect prison has had on criminals and her interview subjects begin to overlap with her father's.

Still more feet keep turning up and then a very large clue is also washed up which allows Wisting to steadily crack this very puzzling mystery.

At the core of DREGS is a very well thought-out plot, which keeps the reader and police baffled until the very end. The widowed Wisting is a steady, thoughtful detective with a wry outlook on life who is ably supported by a small team. I do hope that more of this series is translated as, based on DREGS, it is well worth seeking out.

Publishing Deal - Luke Delaney

News of a publishing deal for a former Met police officer, in today's Bookseller:

HarperCollins has signed a three-book crime thriller series written by debut author and former Metropolitan police detective Luke Delaney.

HC will publish the first novel, Senseless, which features DI Sean Corrigan on the case of an unusually vicious murderer, in early 2013.

[HC] said: ..."Luke Delaney has not only written a fabulously gripping and accomplished crime debut, but he also brings a fascinating authenticity to the genre which gives him a genuinely stand-out position in the market."

Inspector Montalbano at Sea

The next and seventh episode of Inspector Montalbano, at 9pm on 24 March, The Sense of Touch, is a new episode and is not based on one of the books but rather a short story, from a collection (Montalbano's Oranges?) not (yet) available in English.

The seemingly accidental death of a blind man leads Montalbano to an island off the coast of Siciliy. Here the Inspector discovers that both the murder victim and a local fisherman had each deposited huge sums of money in their respective bank accounts. Following the mysterious demise of a second man, who was also blind, the investigation begins to focus on the operations of a charitable foundation which increasingly looks not so charitable after all.

New Reviews: Campbell, Crawford, Easter, Mackenzie, Nesbo, Spurrier, Taylor

Win Carnage by Maxim Chattam (UK only).

Here are this week's reviews:

Amanda Gillies reviews the paperback release of Karen Campbell's Proof of Life, the fourth in this esteemed series;

Terry Halligan goes globe-trotting in Dean Crawford's Covenant;

Rich Westwood reviews Patrick Easter's second in his historical-naval-crime series, The River of Fire;

Maxine Clarke reviews South African author Jassy Mackenzie's first Jade de Jong thriller, Random Violence;

Earlier this week, I reviewed Jo Nesbo's Phantom, tr. Don Bartlett;

Lynn Harvey reviews Simon Spurrier's A Serpent Uncoiled

and Susan White reviews D J Taylor's 1930s set Secondhand Daylight.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here and new titles by Alex Churton, Dick (Felix) Francis, Anton Gill, Susan Hill, Caro Ramsay, Felix Riley, Barbara Vine and Tim Weaver have been added to these pages this week.

Spooky House - Copycat Covers

The one on the left is a teenage/YA title and on the right a German edition of a Mark Billingham crime novel.

Review: Phantom by Jo Nesbo

I thought I'd post my review straight into the blog so people can comment on it if they so wish. Phantom is published today in the UK.


Phantom by Jo Nesbo, tr Don Bartlett (March 2012, Harvill Secker, ISBN: 1846555213)

"My name's Harry and I come from Hong Kong. Where is she?"

The man arched an eyebrow. "The Harry?"

"Since it has been one of Norway's least trendy names for the last fifty years, we can probably assume it is."

After the serial killer books, THE SNOWMAN and THE LEOPARD, with their gruesome scenes of murder, comes PHANTOM a quieter book which returns to the more mundane but still devastating world of drugs. Oslo, in Harry Hole's world at least, has the most drug-deaths in a capital city in all of Europe. A new drug, less fatal but more addictive and pricey than heroin has swept over Oslo: "violin". One of the youngsters caught up in its strings is Oleg, to whom Harry was a father figure when Harry was with Rakel, Oleg's mother and the love of Harry's life.

The arrest of Oleg for the murder of Gusto, Oleg's best friend and partner in crime, is what brings Harry back from a three-year exile in Hong Kong. Harry has cleaned-up - off the booze and drugs - and looks well. Though he is no longer a policeman, it doesn't stop him setting out to discover who did kill Gusto. Harry has to unravel the current drug-scene to find out who the lads were working for, the so-called Phantom. A man whom no-one has seen, who's said to haunt Oslo at night. His investigation reveals police and local-government corruption and becomes increasingly more dangerous, with an escalation in the methods used to try and kill him and Harry's previously good health deteriorates in parallel.

Running alongside Harry's actions is a narrative told by the dying Gusto to the father he never knew and so the reader is privy to more information than Harry but is equally ignorant of who did shoot Gusto. This is probably the weakest part of PHANTOM as Gusto seems to live for quite a long time after his shooting, to tell his lengthy tale.

Whereas THE LEOPARD was about Harry being a son, PHANTOM has Harry in the role of father and he will do anything for Oleg and Rakel and gets help where he can. He even ropes in Oleg's upright solicitor for a bit of illegal grave-digging...

Familiar faces from THE LEOPARD reappear in the shape of fellow police officers Bellman and his sidekick "Beavis", and Beate Lonn provides forensic support to her old friend.

Though PHANTOM is quite a sombre read, set as it is against a backdrop of so many damaged young people and greedy criminals, it is not without Harry's trademark wit. The plotting is incredibly thorough, you know that anything that gets mentioned will have a use later and yet there are still clues that can be overlooked, such as a one line reference to a man which proves significant later, and there is a fantastic set-piece when Harry confronts the Phantom in his lair. Due to the compelling nature of Harry's character and life, PHANTOM is difficult to put down, though the last couple of chapters are, emotionally, quite difficult to read.

I've been a big fan of Harry Hole since reading THE REDBREAST in 2007 (and there is a circular link to that book in PHANTOM). PHANTOM deliberately leaves some significant loose ends and I really don't know where Harry's going to go from here, but I'll be there.

Here are Jo Nesbo's books in order.

Film News: Reykjavik - Rotterdam & Contraband

Two versions of the same premise are now available to UK viewers. The original Icelandic film from 2008, Reykjavik - Rotterdam, has just come out on R2 DVD and the US remake, Contraband opens in cinemas this week. Interstingly the star of the former is the director of the latter, Baltasar Kormákur,

An Icelandic crime thriller with the gloss stripped away - leaving a bleak, sad and despairing narrative - director Oskar Jonasson's Reykjavik-Rotterdam hones in on a down-and-outer at the very end of his rope. For Kristofer (Baltasar Kormakur) life has been little more than a never ending series of failures and disappointments. Among other things, he made the colossal mistake of smuggling alcohol during his tenure as a shipworker - a little stunt that promptly landed him behind bars. Now, following release, he struggles to pull his life together while working as a security guard and continually attempts to support his family. Then the opportunity arises for Kristofer to do one final tour on a freighter running from Reykjavik, Iceland, to Rotterdam, Holland. Kristofer initially embraces the opportunity to work with his old friends once again - little foreseeing the malestorm of crime into which this move will plunge him.

vs


Chris Farraday long ago abandoned his life of crime, but after his brother-in-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), botches a drug deal for his ruthless boss, Tim Briggs, Chris is forced back into doing what he does best-running contraband-to settle Andy's debt. Chris is a legendary smuggler and quickly assembles a crew with the help of his best friend, Sebastian, to head to Panama and return with millions in counterfeit bills.

Things quickly fall apart and with only hours to reach the cash, Chris must use his rusty skills to successfully navigate a treacherous criminal network of brutal drug lords, cops and hit men before his wife, Kate, and sons become their target.

Inspector Montalbano steps away from the canon

The next and sixth episode of Inspector Montalbano, at 9pm on 17 March, The Artist's Touch, is a new episode and is the first one not to based on one of the books.

Goldsmith Alberto Larussa appears to have committed suicide by turning his wheelchair into an electric chair. But Inspector Montalbano discovers that the dead man's will, which leaves everything to his brother Giacomo, was forged. Giacomo is arrested, but he maintains that he did not kill Alberto. Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector Mimi' Augello is working on the case of a mysteriously-murdered electrician.

TV News: Endeavour & Lewis to return

The Radio Times is reporting that ITV have commissioned four two-hour episodes of Endeavour and a new series of Lewis will be shown in May:

Shaun Evans will return to the role of Endeavour Morse for four 120-minute episodes, to be filmed on location in Oxford later this year. Joining him will be Roger Allam as senior partner Inspector Fred Thursday and James Bradshaw as Dr Max Debryn, while John Thaw's daughter will make further guest appearances.

The new series will be produced by Dan McCulloch and executive produced by Mammoth Screen’s joint managing directors, Michele Buck and Damien Timmer.

“We’re delighted to be making a series of Endeavour and have been overwhelmed by the reaction to the first film,” said McCulloch. “Russell Lewis has some bold plans to further enrich the mythology of Morse, introducing some significant new characters, and re-establishing some old favourites, all of whom are destined to have a massive impact on the future inspector's life.”

Novelist Colin Dextor, whose first Morse story Last Bus to Woodstock was published in 1975, will act as consultant for the series.

Michele Buck and Damien Timmer also oversee Lewis in conjunction with ITV Studios and the broadcaster also reports that new episodes of the drama are set to air in May.

Four x 120-minute films have been produced with Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox in the lead roles of Inspector Robbie Lewis and DS James Hathaway with Clare Holman also returns as Dr Laura Hobson and Rebecca Front as Chief Superintendent Innocent.

Good as Dead - Cover & Title Opinions

This week's selection for "cover opinions" is the US and UK covers and titles for Mark Billingham's Good as Dead which is being published in the US as The Demands in June 2012.

So what are your thoughts on the US (LHS) and UK (RHS) covers and titles? Which would entice you to pick the book up if you were not familiar with the books of Mark Billingham? One has a quote from Lee Child, the other from the Daily Mail.

If you have read it, how well do the covers/titles match the story?

Read the Euro Crime review by Geoff of Good as Dead.

New Reviews: Bilal, Brandreth, Carter, de Giovanni, McGowan, Smith

Win Carnage by Maxim Chattam (UK only).

Here are this week's reviews, with two set in Italy, two with missing children themes, plus non Euro settings including Cairo, Russia and the USA:

Lynn Harvey strongly recommends Parker Bilal's The Golden Scales, which introduces Makana, a Sudanese exile who's fetched up in Cairo, now working as a PI;

There are more literary capers from Gyles Brandreth in his Oscar Wilde and the Vatican Murders, out in paperback this week, and reviewed here by Terry Halligan;

Michelle Peckham suspends disbelief and rather enjoys Philip Carter's globe-trotting Altar of Bones now out in paperback;

Maxine Clarke reviews one of an increasing number of titles from Italian authors being translated into English, with Maurizio de Giovanni's I Will Have Vengeance, tr. Anne Milano Appel the first in the Commissario Ricciardi series;

Lizzie Hayes reviews Claire McGowan's debut novel, The Fall set in London and calls it "an amazing first book"

and Susan White reviews Anna Smith's second Rosie Gilmour book, To Tell the Truth which she found slightly uncomfortable reading due to its similarity to the 'Maddy' case.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here and new titles by Janet Laurence, James Runcie, Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Anne Zouroudi have been added to these pages this week.

Book News: Janet Laurence

It's been around ten years since Janet Laurence's last (fiction) book was published but I'm pleased to see that she has a new series beginning with Deadly Inheritance, which is published on 29 April by The History Press.

Official synopsis: American Ursula Grandison accompanies Belle Seldon to visit her sister, Helen, Countess of Mountstanton, commissioned by their father, multi-millionaire Chauncey Seldon, to discover what is wrong with Helen's marriage and what has happened to her dowry. At decaying stately Mountstanton House, Ursula finds the Earl is a cold fish, the Dowager Countess of Mounstanton the mother-in-law from hell, and Helen has not forgiven her for stealing her great love. Ursula discovers the drowned body of Polly, the nursemaid, thought to have deserted the household. Neither the Earl's brother, Colonel Charles Stanhope, nor Ursula believes Polly's death was an accident. Investigating against the Earl's wishes, they uncover a tangle of deception reaching into the past that threatens the reputation of the house of Mountstanton. After another death, Ursula fights to reveal the truth, to save Belle from dreadful scandal, and to fulfil Mr Seldon's commission, with a final shocking denouement.

Inspector Montalbano's back on track

The next and fifth episode of Inspector Montalbano, at 9pm on 10 March, is a repeat of: Excursion to Tindari, which was first shown on BBC4 in 2008, and is based on the fifth book in Camilleri's series.

A young Don Juan is found murdered in front of his apartment building and an elderly couple are reported missing after an excursion to the ancient site of Tindari. Inspector Montalbano tries to solve these two seemingly unrelated cases amid the daily complications of life at Vigata police station. But when he discovers that the couple and the murdered young man lived in the same building, his investigation stumbles onto Sicily's brutal 'New Mafia' and leads him down a path more twisted and far-reaching than any he has ever been down before.

Film News: Carancho

Just released in the UK is the Argentinian film Carancho (Vulture):

Trapero's sixth feature is a knife-edge thriller set in the murky legal quagmire of accident insurance scams. Sosa (Ricardo Darín) is an unlicensed lawyer who chases down road accident victims, representing them against insurance companies, but knowing that his clients will receive only a fraction of the financial reward. When he meets Luján (Martina Gusman), a paramedic, he sees in her hope of a new life. But to escape, he must cross his ruthless boss.


UK Trailer




For some splendid Argentinian crime fiction, I recommend Ernesto Mallo's Needle in a Haystack and Sweet Money and Claudia Pineiro's less crime, more satire Thursday Night Widows.