Re: RARA-AVIS: UK noir

From: Al Guthrie ( allanguthrie@ukonline.co.uk)
Date: 24 Jul 2002


----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Martin" < cptpipes@hotmail.com>

> Al: Thanks for the summaries of UK noir you've read this month. I've had a
> nagging sense of guilt sense July 1 for not diving in to this topic more.
> Your summary is a good kick in the pants to check some of these authors
out.
> The Derek Raymond and John Williams titles just went to the top of the TBR
> pile.

I rarely read books in sequence, but I know that many of you do. In case you're one of those, Chris, you might like to know that CARDIFF DEAD forms the central part of a loose Cardiff trilogy, the first being FIVE PUBS, TWO BARS & A NIGHTCLUB (which, I have on good authority, is funnier). The final part, due out next summer, will be called THE PRINCE OF WALES and is darker, being the story of Bobby, the lesbian pimp from CARDIFF DEAD.

I've almost finished I WAS DORA SUAREZ. The plot's straightfoward: Dora, a prostitute, is hacked to death by an axe-wielding psycho. She leaves a notebook behind. The detective of Unexplained Deaths tries to catch the killer. But the book opens with a prolonged, detailed re-enactment of the murder. Harrowing stuff. As the story unravels, it explores some increasingly squalid material. I've run out of superlatives for Derek Raymond. But then, I've got a strong stomach.

Al

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