SNATCH by Gregory McDonald

SNATCH Gregory McDonald (www.gregorymcdonald.com) Hard Case Crime (www.hardcasecrime.com) £7.99 Two eight-year-old boys from very different backgrounds. Two sets of less-than-competent kidnappers. In the hands of Gregory McDonald, almost anything could happen. Like many people of my generation, my first exposure to the work of Gregory McDonald was the wonderful 1985 film Fletch, in which Chevy […]

GUEST POST: On Locations by CONRAD WILLIAMS

Name: CONRAD WILLIAMS Author of: DUST AND DESIRE (2015) SONATA OF THE DEAD (2016) HELL IS EMPTY (2016) On the web: conradwilliams.wordpress.com On Twitter: @salavaria When I teach creative writing at university (I’ve had a few gigs over the years at Manchester Metropolitan, Edge Hill and, in the new year, I’ll be at […]

GUEST POST: The Problems With Time Travel by MARK MORRIS

Name: Mark Morris Author of: THE WOLVES OF LONDON (2014) THE SOCIETY OF BLOOD (2015) THE WRAITHS OF WAR (2016) On the web: http://www.markmorrisfiction.com On Twitter: @MarkMorris10 I’ve been a big fan of Doctor Who ever since I was terrified by the Yeti, the Ice Warriors and the Cybermen when I was four, […]

DUST AND DESIRE by Conrad Williams

DUST AND DESIRE (A Joel Sorrell Novel) Conrad Williams (conradwilliams.wordpress.com) Titan Books (titanbooks.com) £7.99 London-based private investigator Joel Sorrell has gotten himself entangled in a most bizarre missing person case. Hired to look into the disappearance of his client’s brother, Sorrell begins to believe that he may be on a wild goose chase, especially when […]

A Newbury & Hobbes 100-Word Short Story by George Mann

THE EXECUTIONER’S HEART: A NEWBURY AND HOBBES INVESTIGATION George Mann (georgemann.wordpress.com) Titan Books (titanbooks.com) £7.99 Released: 12th July 2013 To celebrate the release of George Mann’s latest Newbury and Hobbes novel, The Executioner’s Heart, this coming Friday, 12th July, I’m very pleased to offer you a 100-word short story that George has kindly allowed us […]

JOYLAND by Stephen King

JOYLAND Stephen King (www.stephenking.com) Titan Books / Hard Case Crime (titanbooks.com / http://www.hardcasecrime.com) £7.99 The safety bars came down with a clank, and a few girls tuned up with preparatory screams. Clearing their vocal chords for dark-ride arias to come, you might say. There was a jerk, and we rode into Horror House. Summer, 1973. […]

Hospital Reading Round-up, or: A Letter of Apology

Dear Reader, I hope you will forgive this break from the usual straightforward literary(?) criticism for this personal note to explain the relative quiet at Reader Dad of late, and to apologise to authors, publishers, publicists and potential readers for the lack of reviews written and published on the site since mid-February. Anyone who follows […]

SEAL TEAM 666 by Weston Ochse

SEAL TEAM 666 Weston Ochse (weston-ochse.blogspot.co.uk) Titan Books (titanbooks.com) £7.99 Four weeks from completion, Jack Walker is pulled from his Navy SEAL training on Coronado Island, and assigned to SEAL Team 666. Highly classified and known to only a few key people, the five-man team which specialises in operations against supernatural threats has just lost […]

THE AYLESFORD SKULL by James P. Blaylock

THE AYLESFORD SKULL James P. Blaylock (www.jamespblaylock.com) Titan Books (titanbooks.com) £7.99 A girl is murdered in a cemetery in the quiet English town of Aylesford. She is found beside an open grave from which the skull appears to have been taken. The culprit is none other than Dr. Ignacio Narbondo; the Aylesford Skull – and […]

The 2012 Round-Up

It’s that time of the year again when the “best of the year” lists start to appear. Not wanting to be left out, and because I had some fun with it last year, I’ve decided to do another round-up, and remind everyone what my top ten (or so) books of 2012 are. THE ROUND-UP By […]