Paul D. Brazill’s Top 5 Reads of 2013
Joining us today, is top writer and top bloke Paul D. Brazill. One of the most respected writers and critics around, and my partner in crime anthologies, Paul shares his top 5 reads of the year below…
Top 5 – Paul D. Brazill
The Rapist blends Camus and Jim Thompson in an existential crime novel that is as dark and intoxicating as strong Irish coffee. Les Edgerton pulls us into the corkscrew mind of Truman Ferris Pinter, a twisted man with skewed perception of the world, as his life spirals toward oblivion, like dirty dishwater down a plughole.
One Lost Summer – Richard Godwin
During a long hot summer, Rex Allen moves into a new home and starts to spy on his neighbour. Richard Godwin’s masterful One Lost Summer is a sweltering, intense noir. A claustrophobic, psychological study of obsession and loss, with echoes of Simenon, Highsmith and Hitchcock’s Vertigo.
‘His father’s son’ by Tony Black is cleverly told from two distinct POV’s, that of Joey- an ex-pat Irishman living in Australia- and his young son Marti. Joey has taken his family to Australia to escape a painful past back in Ireland but when his troubled wife Shauna runs off with Marti, Joey is forced to confront some unwelcome and uncomfortable truths as he fights to get his family back. Tony Black’s first non-crime fiction novel is just as gripping and tightly written as his previous books and packs a powerful emotional punch.
Spying On Strange Men- Carole Morin
With the help of Elvis the night porter, Vivien Lash is spying on her Creepy Neighbour who may or may not have killed his wife – who may or may not actually be his wife anyway. Mind you, Vivienne Lash may or may not be her real name but the name she’s using for an art exhibition called Spying On Strange Men. Of course, Vivien herself may or may not be being spied on by a famous film director, who she may or may not be in love with. What’s for sure, however, is that she is intent on killing her cheating husband.
Carole Morin’s smashing Spying on Strange Men is a death black comedy skewered with wickedly funny lines and slivered with sharp observations about deception, self-deception, voyeurism, paranoia, sex, murder, art, life, love, loneliness and loss. And merkins.
Salazar is Seth Lynch’s debut novel but it feels like the work of a much more experienced writer. Part historical detective story and part character study reminiscent of Maugham’s The Razor’s Edge, Salazar is richly cinematic and completely enthralling with a great sense of time and place, as well as a great deal of wry humour. One of the best novels I’ve read all year.
Paul D. Brazill was born in England and lives in Poland. He is an International Thriller Writers Inc. member whose writing has been translated into Italian, Polish and Slovene. He has had bits and bobs of short fiction published in various magazines and anthologies, including The Mammoth Books Of Best British Crime 8 and 10, alongside the likes of Ian Rankin, Neil Gaiman and Lee Child. He has edited a few anthologies, True Brit Grit– with Luca Veste – and is the author of Guns Of Brixton,The Kelly Affair, Gumshoe and 13 Shots Of Noir. His blog is here - http://pauldbrazill.wordpress.com/
