Category: Book Reviews - A.B.PATTERSON

Book Review - "A Dangerous Man" by J. L. Engel

21/9/2025

This superb and powerful novel is utterly relentless in its brutal and thrilling action from start to finish: one of those reads that literally has your adrenalin pumping.  I loved every moment reading it and was again stunned by the quality of storytelling by an indie author who I hadn’t read before.
Mr Engel confronts the reality of organized crime and police-cum-government corruption without fear or restraint, and I know from my own experience he does so in a way that would make the Establishment squirm with severe discomfort: they can’t handle the truth, to borrow a great line.
This is a classic tale of vengeance, with our protagonist, Ghost, having lost everyone he loved and cared about.  And he is a consummate expert in the arts of violence and killing.  Not that you’re going to feel sorry for anyone he deals with and dispatches from this world, because they all deserve their fates.  There’s a deeply visceral enjoyment as the reader as you witness the scum being eradicated, and the scenes are not for the faint-hearted.  But, damn, they are so well written.
Being ex-law enforcement myself, I thoroughly enjoyed, albeit with a twinge of bitter experience, the depiction of decent cops versus corrupt cops.  Mr Engel has that subject nailed to a fine point, and his ability to paint the harsh ethical realities is one of the highlights of his writing.  He also vividly depicts the nature of power, predators and prey in human society.  This is a tale with suffering and tragedy underpinning everything and the blunt reality of this is starkly presented.
Aside from master storytelling, Mr Engel can sure as hell draw memorable characters as well.  I was on team empathy with the main man, Ghost, from the start, and then with his reluctant detective sidekick, McCrary.  The Russian mob boss, and his son, are perfectly drawn as the ruthless, narcissistic monsters they are, and so typical of organized crime.  But the real treat in terms of unforgettable characterization were the psychopathic twin contract killers.  As despicable and horrifying as they were, the brilliance of their depiction left me with a fascination for them, although one that required a bottle of sanitizer afterwards.
Mr Engel, you are a hell of writer and you epitomize the value of indie writing that transcends the routine and bland offerings of mainstream publishing these days.  I look forward to a lot more of your fine work.

Cheers,
ABP

Book Review - "A Good Rush of Blood" by Matt Phillips

14/4/2025

I could easily rename this novel A Delicious Deluge of Noir, since it hits every high note of the genre. Or should that be low note, given the tone? As I got into the gripping storyline, and it is flawless storytelling, I was captured by both the atmosphere evoked by Mr Phillips’s biting prose and the wonderfully drawn characters. I’ll certainly never again casually think of Palm Springs as some cookie-cutter retirement village, that’s for sure! The main protagonist, Creeley, is a female toughened by her background, richly detailed and woven in, and by the environs she inhabits. She’s every bit as flawed and troubled as a memorable noir protagonist should be. And you really want to back her from the get-go. However, survival is never a given for this lady, as she mixes it with a cast of dissolute and depraved characters, including a perfectly portrayed corrupt cop, a staple of the genre. The odds are so not in Creeley’s favour. You’ll just have to read this to see how it pans out for her. This was my first taste of long-form fiction from Mr Phillips and I loved it. I will be back for more. Superb noir writing!
Cheers, ABP

Book Review - "I Cum in Peace" by Brian G. Berry

23/3/2025

This novella was simply so much fun! One look at the title and you know it’s going to be. It’s classic pulp writing expertly blending a glorious mishmash of sci-fi, horror, and crime. The action rolls fast and non-stop, and there’s plenty of lascivious sex, always good to read. The alien has a libido bigger than Texas, and the title announces the lusty intentions. No spoilers, but there’s a very dark side to this randy alien. Fun, fun, fun! Exactly what good pulp should be. And one gets the distinct feel that Berry had a whole lot of fun writing it. This was my first taste of Berry’s work and based on my sheer enjoyment I’ve bought a couple more. We need more tributes to great pulp like this. And this is another superb example of the raw and honest writing that indie authors produce, free from the censorship of trad-publishing houses. Love your work, Mr Berry.
Cheers, ABP

Book Review - "Death Cult" by Janelle Schiecke

23/3/2025

With my recent forays into horror writing courtesy of meeting some great indie authors online, I happened upon this novella by Ms Schiecke. It’s well written, well plotted, and boiling with action. For a novella, its cast of characters is impressive, with truly all sorts in the mix. Schiecke does an excellent job at evoking one of those middle of nowhere backwaters with its collection of strange freakish people, to put it mildly. The townsfolk are ominous enough, but soon we meet the titular death cult. Then the horror truly starts. And into the fray come our unsuspecting naïve protagonists, the proverbial lambs. And the torrents of blood start. Schiecke’s tight, descriptive prose is uncensored indie writing at its best, and it had me seeing the scenes clearly in my mind, as if watching the screen. I’ll be seeking out more of her work. Thank you, Ms Schiecke, you have added no end to my new-found enjoyment in reading horror.
Cheers, ABP

Book Review - "A Hot Dose of Hell" by Steve Stark

16/3/2025

My first reaction when I finished Mr Stark’s stunning debut novel was that I needed a 6-star rating option, ’cos 5 simply ain’t enough!  Alas, 5 stars it will have to be.
I truly love the indie author scene – it’s a gift that keeps giving as one discovers more and more superb writing, with wonderful and talented authors delivering honest and freely expressed stories, away from the woke and censorious editors at the major publishing houses.
Horror is not my normal reading genre, although of late my forays into the indie author scene have brought me a wider range of reading, and that is a great thing.
I can’t give enough praise to this book.  It’s a hell of a storyline with non-stop action.  In the climactic scene, I was almost as out of breath as the protagonists, although thankfully I wasn’t fighting off drug-addled zombies.  Stark’s descriptive abilities on the page are outstanding, be it characters, action, or places.  The rundown British seaside town, Scarmouth, is perfectly drawn, reminding me of a couple I have seen over the years.  If you enjoy some gore and violence, this novel takes them to a whole new level.  At the same time, there’s no shortage of rich characterisation, and Stark’s obvious compassion for those people who have ended up trodden into the gutter by life is a warm and human aspect to the story.  Many of the characters we can feel something for, as flawed as they are, and there are some despicable ones, too.  Then there are the touches of Establishment and/or corporate manipulation of society, compounding everyone’s misery.  A novel for our times, indeed.  And as if that’s not enough to feed our reading hunger, then there’s the satirical humour.  Stark’s utter demolition of the virtue-signalling, woke, bourgeois middle-class is simply divine to read and laugh out loud at times.  No spoilers, but boy, do they get what they deserve!  There were humorous moments when I was reminded of Tom Sharpe, one of the greatest British comedic authors and a favourite of mine when it comes to satire.  And at risk of this putting me in a depraved light (wouldn’t be the first time!), the scene with one of Scarmouth’s monster seagulls being beaten by one of the main henchmen had me splitting my sides with laughter.
This book is an amazing achievement and, given it’s Stark’s first novel, I can only salivate at what’s to come.  Bravo, Mr Stark, and please keep writing, because, as for the end of any great performance, the crowd is on its feet shouting ENCORE!
Cheers, ABP

Book Review - "Namaste Mart Confidential" by Andrew Miller

10/3/2025

Namaste Mart Confidential

Andrew Miller

I’ve previously savoured several shorter pieces of Andrew Miller’s fiction, so I was eager to get hold of his debut novel, knowing what he was capable of on the page.
And Namaste Mart Confidential surpassed expectations.  This is damned fine writing.
The cover blurb calls it a “wild ride” and that is no understatement.  Miller has a wonderfully fertile imagination and we end up with this fantastically fun cast of characters, from the two protagonists, Adam and Richie, who moonlight as unlicenced PIs from their jobs at the Mart, to gangsters, cops, celebrities and their shallow sycophants, religious freaks, and a missing lingerie shop girl.  Some of the cast are likeable, some are certainly not, but all are believable and the interplays between them are finely crafted.
It's got the solid storyline of a good mystery, but it’s so much more.  At times it feels like a classic farce, with wonderful humour, but also truly biting satire of modern L.A. society, and not just L.A. for that matter.  Miller’s satirical skewering of the cult of celebrity and of the religious cults, to name two of the main targets, is simply delicious to read.
Namaste Mart Confidential will make a superb black comedy on the screen, and that day can’t come fast enough.  Meantime, take a read of this riotous romp.  Thank you, Mr Miller, and bring on your next gem.

Cheers, ABP

Book Review - "Lost Causes" by Richard Nichols

9/3/2025

I love a good international thriller, having grown up devouring Ian Fleming and Frederick Forsyth, amongst others. Well, now I can add Richard Nichols to the top of that glorious list. I loved this debut novel. For me, it has it all to make it an awesome spy thriller.
Our main man, John Buchan (love the tip of the hat, there!), is an excellently crafted character, with his backstory and motivations established by interspersed flashbacks. We end up with a protagonist who is human, believable, and one we can get right behind. He’s an utterly no-nonsense action man, and the bad guys can lay awake at night in fear, at least until it’s time to die! In keeping with the very best of the spy thriller genre, Nichols lays out a superb plot with intrigue and twists, and there is action pumping relentlessly from start to finish. We have the international locations, we have the guns and the hardware, and we have the smouldering hot femme fatale – all boxes ticked. Nichols delivers the tough male hero, à la Fleming, and he demonstrates the careful research, à la Forsyth. What he gives us on top, and refreshingly so in amongst the mediocrity of much modern genre fiction, is a main character who openly and unapologetically both laments the loss of more honest and more satisfying times and lambasts the wimps and woke brigades who have become the scourge of our modern world. John Buchan’s clear nostalgia for the pre-woke age, those golden days, resonates for many of us. Bravo, Mr Nichols, and please, please, please give us more!
Cheers, ABP

Book Review - "Muscle" by John Davies

24/2/2025

Muscle
John Davies

This novella was an absolute blast!  I loved it.  As you’d expect for a short novella, the storyline is not complex, but you can revel in the characters and the descriptions in this narrative.  It’s an unashamed action escapade and is raw and brutal in its depiction of violence.  As well as the great yarn, in a deft display of social commentary Davies starkly evokes both the gratuitous violence indulged in by some toxic men alongside the survival-justified violence resorted to by other men.
I was drawn to the main character immediately, a hard man used to surviving with his fists, a necessary skill in his world.  But his struggles with his emotions and his relationship add a very different dimension, and I reckon Davies has delved into the male psyche with insight and compassion.  And he’s done so with honesty.  He won’t be winning any fans in the prissy, woke brigades, but I’m taking an educated guess that he won’t lose sleep over that.  There are plenty of us who want to read books with balls, and Davies delivers.  No spoilers from me, ever, but I did not see the end coming.
I think this is his debut offering and what a hell of a start.  As one hopes for with indie authors, Davies gives us a truly authentic voice with a no-holds barred approach with his tight, sharp prose.  I will be waiting for more.  Take a bow, Mr Davies!
Cheers, ABP

Book Review - "Dark Bloom" by Molly Macabre

24/2/2025

Dark Bloom
Molly Macabre

I do like the occasional post-apocalyptic yarn in amongst my more usual reading fare, although this was my first foray into that sub-genre which included zombies.  Macabre’s book came highly recommended from other indie authors I know, so I grabbed myself a copy.  And I was delighted that I took the leap.
In keeping with the best of the post-apocalyptic stories, Macabre does a great job at painting a picture of human nature reduced to its basest desires, selfish desperation being the driving force in most cases.
Her two main characters, coming together through brutal circumstances early in the tale, are well-drawn with loads of insight into their back stories, replete with abuse and loss, and the emotions and motivations that drive them forward.  These are two seriously damaged souls whose previous experiences, ironically, make them better able to survive the ravaged world they are left in.  I found myself drawn to both of them, barracking for them as the story moved along.
This is Macabre’s debut novel and, in my opinion, she is off to a solid start.  Another worthy new addition to the ranks of indie authors.  Well done, Ms Macabre.  I’ll be back for more from you.  Even if there are zombies! LOL.
Cheers, ABP

Book Review - "Sledge vs. The Labyrinth", by Nick Horvath

23/2/2025

Sledge vs. The Labyrinth

Nick Horvath

What a gloriously brutal adventure ride I found with this this novel.  The action is full on and non-stop, and did I mention brutal?  Prepare for a serious adrenalin overdose.  This is indie writing at its best, and Horvath’s authentic voice and superb, tight prose style are welcome additions to the growing ranks of fine indie authors.  It is so refreshing.  None of that vanilla mainstream publishing house tripe between these covers, and no pandering to the woeful woke brigades.
Underlying Horvath’s excellent writing, the plot is carefully woven with the main man, Sledge, trawling through the sewers of the dark web, as he is drawn into a nightmare labyrinth.  It’s certainly a story for our times.  In the tradition of the best action heroes, Sledge is as hard as nails, but driven by an ethical centre and we get insights to his emotions.  He is a flawed hero character perfectly drawn.  He’s the sort of guy I’d love to have a beer with, but I would not want to get on his wrong side, not ever.  Read the book to see what happens to those who do.
I loved this book from start to finish, and for a debut novel it is simply sensational.  I will be joining the growing legion of fans eagerly awaiting Horvath’s next instalment.  Bravo, Mr Horvath, keep up the great work.  And a hearty welcome to the indie author scene, great to have you on board, brother!

Cheers, ABP

Book Review - "Scratching the Flint" by Vern Smith

27/6/2023

Time to get back into some book reviews and here's a hell of a place to start! This is a truly superb crime read from a Canadian indie author I've recently discovered.
This cornucopia of corruption and conflicted characters Canadian-style paints a gritty and uncomfortable picture of Toronto and its underbelly, but it would be equally accurate of any Western metropolis. Smith lays bare the insidious and layered hypocrisy of respectable officialdom, and society more broadly, with graphic realism, bursts of humour, and a refreshingly complete absence of any polite façade. What a sweet departure from the sanitized, timid, and vanilla volumes of mediocrity that permeate so much modern fiction. Smith conjures up a cast of memorable characters, all flawed and many despicable, but all drawn with vivid detail and humanness to deftly expose the brutal, seedy nature and cost of organized crime and corruption. As in life, everyone’s in the mix, hand-in-hand waiting for the payoffs: politicians, police, lawyers, journalists, and criminals. And the police personalities and dialogue are bang on, amongst the very best I’ve read from an author who hasn’t actually served in law enforcement. Bravo, Mr Smith, for a hell of a ride.
Cheers,
ABP

Book Review - "All Things Violent" by Nikki Dolson.

17/3/2019

I've been sampling the crime and noir offerings published by Fahrenheit Press, and All Things Violent by Nikki Dolson is one of a bunch of Fahrenheit titles I bought late last year.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novella from Dolson, whose female protagonist, Laura Park, goes through a brutal journey into a career as a hired killer. I do love a really tough female protagonist (thinking writers like Christa Faust) and Dolson delivers a very fine tough character. Naturally, the disappointments Laura faces from men become a driving force for her, but there is a well-balanced mixture of emotions played out here. For me, this adds to the dark realism of the narrative. Dolson's prose is crisp and direct, and she makes great use of sensory images, especially taste and smell. The first person narrative does much to strengthen the impression of Laura and, given this is a story about her, nothing is lost by using her POV alone. We get all we need of the other characters from their actions and the dialogue. I certainly found myself urging Laura on, and I'd be keen to read any follow on stories.
A good, solid piece of noir. I recommend it, and I'll be coming back for more of Dolson's work.
Cheers,
ABP

Book Review - "10-33 Assist PC" - superb police realism from Canadian ex-detective Desmond P. Ryan

12/3/2019

I always love reading crime fiction from those fellow ex-cops from my Cops Writing Crime project - The Squad, as I've named us.
My normal crime reading is down the hard-boiled and noir avenues (and all those glorious gutters of depravity!), but I do love police procedurals from fellow ex-cops (at least all the ones I've read so far). Having walked those streets in those boots, there's something that reaches out viscerally, I find. And so I do occasionally venture from one variety of mean streets to another - a bit of variety in my genre sex life!

I actually read this debut novel from Canadian author Desmond P. Ryan at the end of last year, but I'm a tad behind in my book reviews. Apologies.
Ryan is a former long-serving Toronto detective, and his debut novel, 10-33 Assist PC, is a superb police procedural just basting in the realism that one hopes to get from ex-cops writing crime fiction.
All of the brush strokes of police life are here, as we follow the protagonist, Det. Mike O'Shea, through the underbelly of Toronto, doing his best to take down a prostitution ring of enslaved girls. We have the police partner with the annoying habits, the glimpses of family life and its second place to "the job" (my Aussie slang, there), the obsession with getting a result, the conflict with those cops not equally sharing the passion, the internal police politics and petty rivalries and oneupmanship, the ensuing clusterfucks (if you thought police departments were well-oiled machines, they're usually not, and Ryan nails this aspect), and the tragic end results.
Never any spoilers from me on the story - if you love police procedurals, then I strongly recommend you read it.
Ryan's realism evoked many memories for me, and I've been out of the cops for 20 years now. But so much came rushing back, especially as I worked vice, and this is the litmus test for me when I'm looking for realism in crime writing about police work. If those memories come flooding back (some of them unwelcome, I have to say), then I know the author has done a very fine job.
Take a bow, Mr Ryan, you're off to a flying start as a crime author.
And I've just gone online this afternoon to buy your next. Looking forward to the epilogue to this novel, and the next novel.
Cheers,
ABP
P.S. You can check out the Cops Writing Crime here - The Squad.

Book Review - "Breaking Glass" - a masterful dose of noir.

20/2/2019

I’m happy to shout from the rooftops that I love Alec Cizak’s work, and this latest masterpiece of hard-boiled noir is incontrovertible proof that he is at the top of his game.
We met the female protagonist, Chelsea Farmer, in the excellent Down on the Street, where you could be forgiven for thinking young Chelsea had had it pretty much as bad as it gets – used, abused, and exploited by every man in her life, and derided by other women.  But, of course, life can always get worse – the best noir thrives on downfall and tragedy. Without giving anything away, by the time we meet Chelsea again in this novel, she’s tumbled down the tunnel from sexual exploitation to chronic drug addiction.  Sadly this is so often the trajectory from what I’ve seen in my professional life.  And Chelsea is hanging out with the bottom rung – anarchically violent robberies paying for all the drugs.  She’s in her version of Hell.
But Chelsea’s got innate verve and courage hiding in the haze of opiates.  She grabs for some higher rungs, or what the righteous types in society (namely the power Establishment) dictate as the ladder.  The façades of modern society are laid bare by Cizak in his true manner: caustic, penetrating, and brutally honest, but with palpable empathy for the genuine human beings out there, as flawed as they (we) all are.  It’s the “American Nightmare” in Cizak’s words.  All the sacred cows of societal hypocrisy and the Establishment’s “respectable values” are rounded up, slaughtered, and then barbecued.  How’s this for a great quote: “Surrounded by mansions, by people who’d landed in the good dimension, the one where they had enough useless shit around them to convince them their lives had meaning.”  And as for the political zeitgeist, Cizak captures the crisis of western liberal democracy perfectly: “Every four years the same two parties ran miserable, rotten candidates, and people wasted their time going to the polls to pretend they had any say in who ran the country.”  He’s talking about the USA, but, hell, sounds to me just like Australia as well.  And, no doubt, most of our comparable countries. A tragedy in itself.
Cizak’s writing is the perfect weaving of story with social commentary, and he deserves a place amongst the great writers of socially incisive fiction. Aside from riotously entertaining storylines and richly drawn characters, Cizak’s work makes you read and think, then re-read and think a whole lot more.  Not to mention the regular punches in the guts.  I cannot recommend Breaking Glass highly enough.  And when you’ve savoured it, go back for his other works.  I’ve done that and read them all, for now.  I’m just quietly willing Mr Cizak on with his next project – but I’m a patient man, especially when something is so worth the wait.
Cheers,
ABP

Book Review - "Sydney Noir"

18/2/2019

I've read some of the other "(Insert city) Noir" series over the last few years, so was keen to see the very recent offering from my own city (current home, at least), especially being a writer of hard-boiled and noir crime myself.
So, this is an eclectic collection - some well-known names on the crime writing scene here, others I'd never heard of, in the crime genre anyway. Overall, the writing is good quality and the book is an entertaining read. Being a local here in Sydney, many of the stories definitely conjure up the local scene and feel pretty well. I enjoyed all the stories, without exception, although some resonated more with me than others. My stand outs are those by Mark Dapin and Leigh Redhead. There are certainly some beautifully drawn characters in various of the tales, and there are some lovely twists, as one would hope for from a "noir" label.
My only reservation is one of personal taste - I like my noir reading to be gut-punchingly dark and with little regard for sensitivities. I like controversy, discomfort, and brutal rawness. For me, this collection erred towards the tamer side of noir - I didn't come across pages which leapt out and smacked me in the face, unlike the hard-core noir I'm used to reading from Americans (and some Brits). This is very much a personal opinion, but I tend to find Australian fiction these days does seem to be preoccupied with not causing offence or upset. I guess that may be the result of this country's obsession with political correctness. And that's something which, in my view, is incompatible with the harder side of noir.
However, that said, if you're happy with your noir on the tamer side, then you'll probably find this a 5-star read. The storytelling is solid, after all.
Cheers,
ABP