The Resident by David Jackson

Thomas Brogan is a serial killer. He’s killed his parents. He’s killed a tonne of other people. Not only does he kill them, but he tortures and mutilates them, he makes them suffer. With the police arriving at the home of his current victims, Thomas flees, assaulting a police officer and bounding over fences to escape into the night. Covered in blood, he wanders the streets, the police closing in. He happens upon an abandoned house on the corner of a terrace. He breaks in, discovers it has an attic, and that he can get into the attics of three of the adjoining properties. He starts to spy on the residents and toy with their lives.

I read a lot of crime fiction, and many of the books that I read have complex and labyrinthine plots. There's nothing wrong with that and when carried off with aplomb they can be astounding reads. But occasionally, you come across a book with a really simple, yet brilliant, storyline. This is one such book. A serial killer hiding in the loft, spying, and toying with the residents.

The characterisation in The resident is pitch-perfect. The author brings to life all the characters, and like Thomas Harris with Hannibal Lector, he even has you sympathising with Brogan, his serial murderer. But whereas Harris performed that trick by imbuing Lector with some memorable traits - his intelligence, his knowledge of fine art and wine - Jackson does this by humanising Brogan. 

Yes, he humanises a monster who tortures and murders his victims. He does this by giving us just enough backstory, and giving him just enough empathy for the people that he comes across (such as Elsie, an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s who confuses him for her son) that we see past what he has done, and what he is doing, to the damaged psyche below. 

The Resident is a deliciously creepy read. This is a book that had me turning the pages. Cliché though it might be, it was unputdownable. It’s such a simple concept, that somebody might be spying on you from your own attic. Most people rarely go up there, for why would you? It’s that dark space with cobwebs and spiders where you store old junk. In fact, even I checked the eaves after reading this (and I have an attic conversion, so, on the whole, there’s nowhere for a serial killer to hide).

I’m a writer myself working on my own novel and this book got in the way of my writing (damn you David Jackson!). 

I really can’t recommend this enough, so far it’s my book of 2020. 

So get yourself a copy. Just be sure to check the attic after reading.

5 out of 5 stars

The F*ck It List By John Niven

Frank Brill is the retired editor of a small-town newspaper. It’s 2026 USA and President Donald J Trump has enjoyed two full terms in office. Now he's retired and playing golf, while his daughter, Ivanka, is President. The Trump years have changed the US immeasurably. It’s become a coarser, uglier, country. A place characterised by rampant nationalism and chauvinism. And Frank has suffered from this ugliness. His wife and son were slain in one of the increasingly commonplace mass shootings, which in a country over which the NRA holds sway, is a blight that will be never be tackled. His daughter’s death can be traced directly, albeit inadvertently, to a policy decision of Donal J Trump. 

Brill is no saint. He’s a man who's been married three times, each time cheating on, and trading in, his wife for a younger model. Only his last wife did he not discard, though he might have in time, instead, she dying alongside his son. So he’s a man wracked by guilt and remorse for his own failings and anger for those of others. 

When Frank is diagnosed with terminal cancer and given just months to live, he has one last roll of the dice. But whereas other people have a bucket list, Frank has a F*ck It list. This started as just ramblings, self-therapy to explore his anger. But slowly it’s coalesced into something far more concrete and he’s looked into how it would be achieved. In short, Frank has a list of people who he wishes to kill before his time has come to an end. Some of these are personal: people who’ve hurt friends and loved ones directly; others are more abstract: people who’ve hurt the country, and those he knows and loves one step removed.

I’m not giving much away in telling readers of this review that the person topping the list is Donald J Trump himself. While this isn’t explicitly spelled out in the publicity for this title, it’s implicitly hinted at. Fictionalised assassination attempts are nothing new, there have been numerous fictionalised accounts of the assassination of Hitler, and that of JFK, (the former take the form of what-if scenarios, while the latter posit a conspiracy rather than Lee Harvey Oswald). While fictionalised wish-fulfillment is rarer (to an extent Hitler assassination novels fit this category, though they tend to be more World War 2 alternative histories), it’s still not uncommon. For example, in 2014 Hillary Mantell said in an interview that she fantasised about murdering Margaret Thatcher in 1983 and wrote a short story about it. While my favourite book of 2019 was Kill Redacted by Anthony Good, which fictionalises the murder of a former Prime Minister, and while the individual isn’t named, it’s quite clearly supposed to be Tony Blair. 

The Fuck It List fits squarely into the wish-fulfillment category. The author, John Niven, makes no bones as to where his sympathies lie, and reading this novel you develop empathy for Frank Brill and what he is trying to do. All of which is quite problematic. To be clear, I have no liking for Trump and consider the current White House incumbent to be protofascist. I liked Frank, and reading this book you can’t help but cheer him on. And obviously, this is just a novel. But imagine if someone had written a novel fantasising about the assassination of Barack Obama? Or Hillary Clinton (not so far-fetched, seeing as the baying crowds chanted for her to be locked up). Would we be so sanguine then?

Of course, I loved Kill Redacted, that was my book of 2019, and as mentioned that fantasised about the assassination of Blair (though again, he was never named). I think the point is that this needs to be done carefully, and while The Fuck it List is a great book and brilliantly written, I did feel that Niven imbued it with just a little too much enthusiasm. In both Kill Redacted and The Fuck It List the protagonists are deeply flawed people, but in the latter, you can ignore this more. Frank Brill is a sh*t, but the novel moves at a clip to its denouement and he’s likeable despite his flaws. The protagonist of Kill Redacted, on the other hand, is a far more brittle and alienating figure. Thus, the reader of that novel is forced to confront what the protagonist is planning to do and its consequences.

The Fuck It List is a great book, as was Niven’s debut Kill Your Friends. Niven rights challenging and controversial stories and this is a novel that fits well in his canon of work. This is a very entertaining novel, but it’s not one without its flaws.

4 out of 5 stars

The Treatment by Michael Nath

Eldine Matthews, a black teenager, is stabbed to death at a bus stop by a racist gang. Twenty years later, his killers appear to be above the law and beyond prosecution. But the crime is not forgotten, certainly not by a cynical former reporter, Carl Hyatt, and a cast of oddballs who all coalesce around a desire to see justice.

This is a novel that is firmly inspired by true events. The Eldine Matthews murder is obviously inspired by that of Stephen Lawrence, the perpetrators and their ability to thumb their noses at the judicial system, inspired by the killers of Stephen. The plot also mirrors true events and the author has clearly done his research. In the novel, police corruption, gangsterism, and the killer’s relationship with organised crime figures who are able to bribe police, plays a large part in their ability to evade being called to account. There is much evidence that this is how Stephen’s killers were able to usurp the system.  

As someone with a huge interest in the Stephen Lawrence case, police corruption and organised crime, and someone who’s extensively read around the subject of the Lawrence murder and the corruption that plagued London’s Metropolitan Police in the 1990’s, I really wanted to enjoy this book. But I’m afraid that for all The Treatment’s brilliance - and there is brilliance here: beautiful writing, intriguing characterisation - this novel is just a little too rambling. Personally, I felt that there were a few too many digressions and the plot needed to be a little tighter. 

As I say, this is a book that I really wanted to love. I really enjoy novels like this - James Elroy’s reimagining of the Kennedy Assassination in his American Underworld trilogy, David Peace’s books on the Yorkshire Ripper & Miner’s strike (and a quote from Peace praising the novel appears on the front cover) - books that look back at an important and controversial event and through the prism of fiction reveal the dirty truths, the corruption, the venality, and the injustice. This book does all of that, but my personal thoughts are that it would have been more effective if it had been a bit more focused.

3 out of 5 stars 

Power play by Tony Kent

A Pan Am flight explodes over the Atlantic, killing all on board. Amongst the hundreds of victims is Dale Victor, maverick candidate for the Presidency of the United States, and a man who just might have won. When a Syrian immigrant and airport baggage handler runs into a police station claiming to have committed the atrocity, it all looks like an open and shut case. But Dale Victor spoke at a press conference just a little before catching his flight home, whereby he claimed to know the truth about the stellar Afghan war record of the incumbent, President Knowles, and people now wonder what he might have known.

Tony Kent’s novels feature a strong cast, but first amongst equals is Joe Dempsey, a former special forces man now working for the UN's (fictional) spy agency, and Michael Devlin, London barrister with a dark past. Both featured strongly in the author’s debut, Killer Intent, Michael Devlin took centre stage in the sequel, Marked for Death, but Joe Dempsey is back centre stage in this, the third outing. That’s because unlike the second in the series, Marked for Death, Power Play returns to the author’s roots established by his debut, in the genre of conspiracy thriller stretched across a global stage.

In many ways, Power Play takes up where Killer Intent left off. The president is the same (he appeared to be the target of assassination in the debut), indeed Dempsey is conflicted by the possibility that President Knowles might be behind the downing of the Pan Am flight having always admired the man. His and Michael’s concerns are further heightened by the realisation that those trying to silence their investigation are members of the US Secret Service, the body of men and women whose task it is to protect the President. But are they rogue operators, or do they have Knowles’ sanction? 

As with Killer Intent, Power Play is a sweeping conspiracy thriller that is remarkably prescient in the current world. The US has elected war veterans before - most famously in President Dwight Eisenhower - and while there have been none in recent years, the military remains held in almost sacred esteem. Then there’s Dale Victor, the maverick candidate. While not based on Trump particularly (Victor only appears at the beginning of the novel, but he’s clearly more articulate than the current POTUS, and less clownish) it is a fact that one of the key planks of both the criticism and praise Trump has received has been his perceived independence. Critics claim that he has no anchor within the institutions of good governance, while supporters say he is not owned by vested interests. And this perception regardless of whether or not it's accurate (and in fact, Trump has as many ties to vested interests as any candidate) has led to the conspiracy theory of the Deep State, that the very vested interests that Trump has supposedly eschewed, are out to bring his administration down.

This is the plank on which the plot of Power Play rests, a what-if scenario where the author ponders how established interests - the rich and powerful elite families that have funded and sponsored politicians on either side of the aisle - would react to a truly independent character with the potential to win the White House. It’s an interesting thought experiment and one that prepares the ground for a gripping and thought-provoking page-turner.

As with Tony Kent’s previous novels, this is a five-star read, a brilliant third outing.  I know the author has started work on book four, and I wait patiently (well, impatiently actually) for its arrival.

5 out of 5 stars

Marked for Death by Tony Kent

When a retired Lord Chief Justice is murdered and crucified, barrister Michael Devlin and his fiancé, ITN journalist Sarah Truman, are drawn to investigate. Leading the police investigation is DCI Joelle Levy, and the three are soon liaising. When both a retired solicitor and a barrister friend of Michael’s suffer identical fates, it becomes apparent that there’s a killer on the loose with a very particular hatred for certain members of the legal profession.

Having read the author’s debut, I was already planning on reading his second book. But when I attended a talk the author gave at the Capital Crime literary festival, I had an inkling that Marked for Death was going to be something special. The author, Tony Kent, is a criminal law barrister himself, and he told us that the murderer in Marked for Death is based on a real-life criminal, somebody who’s known to be one of the most dangerous people currently residing in the prison estate (this is something he also hints at in the acknowledgments at the back of the book).

While the author does not name the real-life offender or give any particular details of his actual crimes, he does give the strong impression (both during his talk at Capital Crime and in the acknowledgments at the back of the book) that the man is more than capable of committing the fictional crimes in Marked For Death. This imbues the tale with more than a little frisson. Needless to say, this piqued my interest even more and elevated the novel up my (burgeoning and constantly growing) tbr pile.

There are many things that make a good crime thriller, but if you’re like me and enjoy your fiction pitch dark and noir, then a good villain is a key ingredient. The criminal in Marked for Death is a benchmark in the sinister. Perhaps it’s because I knew him to be based on a real offender, his crimes based (loosely) on a real case, that I found him so compelling. It’s also helped by the fact that the author writes violence brilliantly, and there’s one scene, which lasts just a few pages, that is a masterclass in writing an action sequence.

Marked for Death moves away from the global conspiracy thriller genre that characterised his first book (and characterises Power Play, his third) and is set squarely in the UK and its legal system - though I should point out that this isn’t a courtroom saga, although there are some courtroom scenes within its pages. There are a number of subplots, such as a young man accused of murder, that run alongside the main plot and which perhaps introduce characters that might reappear in a future volume. As such, the barrister Michael Devlin is the main character here, while Joe Dempsey only features briefly.

I have to say that having read all three of Tony Kent’s books, Marked for Death is my favourite. All of them are very good, all of them I’ve awarded five stars, but if I could I would award a sixth or seventh star to this book. There’s something about it which just shines a little brighter, and while I have enjoyed immensely his conspiracy fiction, Marked for Death just stood out a little more for me.

5 out of 5 stars

Killer Intent by Tony Kent

When the US president comes to London and addresses a large, open-air crowd, a shot rings out, misses, killing one of the other dignitaries instead. The gunman is arrested, Joe Dempsey, of the fictional Department of Domestic Security, interceding.  Things quickly don’t add up and Dempsey, the gunman’s lawyers - solicitor, Daniel Lawrence, and barrister, Michael Devlin - and CNN journalist, Sarah Truman, all investigate having each pulled on a thread. These investigations all eventually converge in a complicated plot that takes in terrorism and Ulster’s dark history, threatening to expose a secret in Michael Devlin’s past as it does so. 

Plotwise this is a labyrinthine tale with twists and turns galore and political intrigue at every level. Character-wise, the author creates four compelling personalities, each of which could hold a story on their own. It’s clear that Michael Devlin, with his complex back story, and Joe Dempsey, his special forces operative, are going to be the mainstay however and these two get the most focus.

It’s often said of a thriller that its storyline could be ripped straight from the news pages. Normally, this implies that the plot is set against the backdrop of real-world events, such as the so-called War on Terror. The plot of Killer Intent is not so easy to categorise, being the conspiracy thriller that it is, but when considering the strange times in which we live it does have the feel of the authentic. When one looks across the Atlantic, at a President accused by some of being a Russian asset, of blackmailing the Ukrainian government to dig dirt on his political opponents; when one looks at claims that disinformation from many quarters influenced the Brexit vote; then conspiracies, real or imagined, seem much more likely.

As a former current affairs journalist, I tend to dismiss conspiracy theories. Having covered government and international affairs professionally, it's obvious to me that incompetence and f**** up are far more commonplace. But conspiracy fiction is brilliant fun and deeply compelling. Personally, I think that Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy, and was likely a lone gunman, but I consume alternative history fiction - from James Ellroy’s Underworld USA trilogy, through Lou Berney’s November Road, and Tim Baker’s Fever City, to Oliver Stone’s JFK - with voraciousness. Killer Intent fits firmly into this mold. While set in the current day and not a historical counterfactual, it’s a rip-roaring conspiracy thriller and an absolutely brilliant read.

5 out of 5 stars  

Black River by Will Dean

Black River is Will Dean’s third novel and once again we’re with journalist Tuva Moodyson. She’s off the booze and living down in Malmo having got a big break on a big-city paper.  But when Tammy, her best friend in the back-of-beyond town of Gavrik, goes missing, Tuva quickly returns to help find her. 

At first, the police don’t take Tammy’s disappearance seriously, and it is left to Tuva and her friends to investigate. Tuva is upset by this, suspecting that it is in part at least due to racism, Tammy being of Thai descent. When a second woman, Lisa, also goes missing, and her family and the police swing into action, this is confirmed to Tuva who resents the fact that the disappearance of this white woman is what got the police to act. Tuva is keen to find both women and uses her position as a journalist to push the police and uncover leads.  

Will Dean’s novels have gained a lot of success and no small part of that is down to his quirky characters. The novels are set around the town of Gavrik, situated in the middle of the Swedish wilds, and many of his characters are some of the strangest oddballs to grace fiction. For example, in his brilliant debut, Dark Pines, we were introduced to the wood-carving sisters, two women who carve trolls out of wood and use real human toenails and hair to decorate them.

Dark Pines was an absolutely brilliant debut. Dean’s second novel, Red Snow, was also good, a 5 star read, but despite the fact that I awarded it top billing I felt it was lacking something compared to the original. And that was the characters. Red Snow was a great novel, but there was no one to rival the wood-carving sisters and others that populated the original. 

With Black River, Dean rivals his first novel. We have a snake obsessive who is also weirdly fanatical about genetics and pure bloodlines, known as The Breeder; two cousins (or are they cousins? many people wonder) who sell shipping container conversions for housing. Then there are other characters who appeared in the first two books and who have been fleshed out, such as the creepy Freddy, who works in a shoe shop and is obsessed with feet. Once again in this title, Dean has established himself as the king of quirky and odd characters.

At the end of this novel, it’s revealed that the local paper (for which Tuva worked in the first two titles) is branching out to cover a nearby, even more, isolated town. Tuva is offered a new job, which no doubt she’s bound to accept, and I for one am looking forward to seeing just what oddballs she encounters on her new beat.

5 out of 5 stars