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Mangel #4
One Dead Hen
The town of Mangel has always been a rough place, but rough turns to nightmarish when headless corpses begin piling up. The police are desperate for a suspect, and Royston Blake, the former pub doorman-turned-recluse is prime for the taking. He’s hauled in for questioning, but to no avail: this is one crime Blake didn’t commit. Yet the interrogation is enough to shake up his paranoid world. He realizes that, instead of hiding from the ills of the world, he should be fighting them. So begins Blake’s quest to score the unlikeliest of jobs for a guy like him: becoming a copper in Mangel. Considering his violent past, everyone—cops, criminals, even his ex-girlfriend—tries to dissuade him. But Blake’s a tenacious bloke, and what better way to convince the naysayers of his crime-fighting skills than to catch the butcher plaguing his town? As per usual, nothing goes according to plan in Blake’s attempt to turn over a new leaf, leaving him to slog through plenty of blood and muck in the deliciously suspenseful fourth installment of Charlie Williams’s darkly comic series.
278 pages, Paperback
First published August 9, 2011
8 people are currently reading
283 people want to read
About the author
Charlie Williams
11 books52 followersAuthor of the Mangel series of DEADFOLK, FAGS AND LAGER (US edition BOOZE AND BURN), KING OF THE ROAD, ONE DEAD HEN and MADE OF STONE, all featuring nightclub doorman antihero Royston Blake. Plus standalone STAIRWAY TO HELL and novella GRAVEN IMAGE. English, scatalogical and dark.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 20, 2011
A serial killer is stalking the shadowy streets of Mangel. Who can stop this killer they call the Reaper? Who is man enough to track him down? Who could possibly take on this beast? What manner of man can contend with this fiend? Step forward Royston Blake Mangel needs your swede on the case. Mangel needs YOU!
One Dead Hen is the first novel I have read by Charlie Williams. I enjoyed the character of Royston Blake immensely. I found the telling of the story from his perspective to be both fun and entertaining. However, this single character perspective did become just a little bit wearing after a while. I enjoyed the added few snippets of journalistic articles at the end of some of the chapters. These helped to break up the story a little. I feel that maybe another perspective mixed into the plot on occasion would have made it a more engaging read.
That said there was ready wit and humour throughout. Unlike some reviewers of this story I did not find the language off putting. It was relevant and in character and added to the humour at times. The character of Blake has a very strong voice and is an interesting well rounded creation. I’m a big fan of Robert Rankin and found some parallels of his Brentford books in One Dead Hen. Overall a very enjoyable read and told in a fairly unique way. I will certainly be reading more by Charlie Williams I can tell that Blake will have me chuckling at every turn.
One Dead Hen is the first novel I have read by Charlie Williams. I enjoyed the character of Royston Blake immensely. I found the telling of the story from his perspective to be both fun and entertaining. However, this single character perspective did become just a little bit wearing after a while. I enjoyed the added few snippets of journalistic articles at the end of some of the chapters. These helped to break up the story a little. I feel that maybe another perspective mixed into the plot on occasion would have made it a more engaging read.
That said there was ready wit and humour throughout. Unlike some reviewers of this story I did not find the language off putting. It was relevant and in character and added to the humour at times. The character of Blake has a very strong voice and is an interesting well rounded creation. I’m a big fan of Robert Rankin and found some parallels of his Brentford books in One Dead Hen. Overall a very enjoyable read and told in a fairly unique way. I will certainly be reading more by Charlie Williams I can tell that Blake will have me chuckling at every turn.
January 8, 2013
Royston Blake is back and with him comes murder, mayhem and mystery. One Dead Hen (fourth in series) has a hint of supernatural and a whiff and the 'other' about the plot - which all adds to the fun as Royston gets caught up in a case of headless bodies. And it's not just headless corpses that turn up either!
In his own dark, oddly logical, violent and, of course, sweary way, Royston tries to solve the mystery and beat a few heads on the way.
Superb fun and deceptively good, clever writing. The author has a great ear for comic dialogue and the art of sly, hilarious running jokes.
In his own dark, oddly logical, violent and, of course, sweary way, Royston tries to solve the mystery and beat a few heads on the way.
Superb fun and deceptively good, clever writing. The author has a great ear for comic dialogue and the art of sly, hilarious running jokes.
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December 10, 2022After not finishing the first book (Deadfolk) - hated it - I haven't read any of the others.
October 17, 2013
Deadfolk #4 (or Mangel #4)
Our bloke, Royston Blake, has finally learned a lesson, one bought in blood; Don't Trust Anybody. He's been staying hidden in his house, coming out only for scran (food). But he goes out to get some, even though he doesn't have a job currently, which means he can't afford even the chicken at Doug the Shopkeeper's, so he puts it back.
On a walk, thinking about just how much of the world is 'shite', (downtown Mangel is the worst), he's approached by a 'bird' (woman) in distress, who asks for his help. He follows where she leads and sure enough, it's a trap. In an alley. With 2 guys waiting to mug him. Proving his paranoia.
So far (pg 54), there's no mention of Rache, nor her boy Roy, who Blake thought was his. Also, it's been a year (or so), since Book 3 in Blake's time, during which he's stopped smoking, is hardly drinking, (if at all) and has kept the aggression down to a minimum (probably as a result of the brain surgery [ a lobotomy?]. He's a very different Royston Blake... for one thing, he's reclusive to the max...
There's a big Mystery in the town of Mangel: girls' beheaded bodies are being found, but there are no heads around to be found. And there's a new copper. And old Mandy Munton (from Book 1) is back too, looking for deal ol' Blakey.
Who ends up in the thick of it, as usual. After all, there IS a prophecy, who most of the Old Guard think is Blake himself.
I've read how many people don't like first person narratives, especially when the Fourth Wall is breached. IMHO, Blakey's story would not be so enjoyable if he wasn't to tell it directly to the Reader. He's an Unreliable Narrator, with MANY illusions about himself, his world, even his memory of past events, recent, distant, or imaginary. It's VERY fun, AND funny, to watch him reinvent history!
"Sabbatical" becomes "Satannical" = very funny!!
KIll List - 3
Injury List - 20
Beheaded after seen with Blake - 3
Our bloke, Royston Blake, has finally learned a lesson, one bought in blood; Don't Trust Anybody. He's been staying hidden in his house, coming out only for scran (food). But he goes out to get some, even though he doesn't have a job currently, which means he can't afford even the chicken at Doug the Shopkeeper's, so he puts it back.
On a walk, thinking about just how much of the world is 'shite', (downtown Mangel is the worst), he's approached by a 'bird' (woman) in distress, who asks for his help. He follows where she leads and sure enough, it's a trap. In an alley. With 2 guys waiting to mug him. Proving his paranoia.
So far (pg 54), there's no mention of Rache, nor her boy Roy, who Blake thought was his. Also, it's been a year (or so), since Book 3 in Blake's time, during which he's stopped smoking, is hardly drinking, (if at all) and has kept the aggression down to a minimum (probably as a result of the brain surgery [ a lobotomy?]. He's a very different Royston Blake... for one thing, he's reclusive to the max...
There's a big Mystery in the town of Mangel: girls' beheaded bodies are being found, but there are no heads around to be found. And there's a new copper. And old Mandy Munton (from Book 1) is back too, looking for deal ol' Blakey.
Who ends up in the thick of it, as usual. After all, there IS a prophecy, who most of the Old Guard think is Blake himself.
I've read how many people don't like first person narratives, especially when the Fourth Wall is breached. IMHO, Blakey's story would not be so enjoyable if he wasn't to tell it directly to the Reader. He's an Unreliable Narrator, with MANY illusions about himself, his world, even his memory of past events, recent, distant, or imaginary. It's VERY fun, AND funny, to watch him reinvent history!
"Sabbatical" becomes "Satannical" = very funny!!
KIll List - 3
Injury List - 20
Beheaded after seen with Blake - 3
October 3, 2012
I’ve rated One Dead Hen as 3.5 stars.
The book’s bio definitely caught my attention. Having not read any of the previous books in this series, I was unsure of what to expect. One Dead Hen definitely took me by surprise, but in a good way. It took several pages for me to get into it since the heavy dialect of the main character was quite difficult to read at first, but once I got into the flow of the story I found myself hooked and really enjoyed it. I finished it in just a couple of days and even took it into work with me to read during my lunch break.
The book is both funny and hugely original. I love reading a story with interesting and well developed characters - which this story had - and Royston Blake is definitely unique. In all honesty, the main character of One Dead Hen should not be enjoyable to read and certainly not likeable, and yet somehow he is. This alone is perhaps testament to the brilliant writing of Charlie Williams.
To sum up, I thought this book was a cleverly written, witty and satirical read and well worth checking out. I've already recommended it to a number of my friends :)
The book’s bio definitely caught my attention. Having not read any of the previous books in this series, I was unsure of what to expect. One Dead Hen definitely took me by surprise, but in a good way. It took several pages for me to get into it since the heavy dialect of the main character was quite difficult to read at first, but once I got into the flow of the story I found myself hooked and really enjoyed it. I finished it in just a couple of days and even took it into work with me to read during my lunch break.
The book is both funny and hugely original. I love reading a story with interesting and well developed characters - which this story had - and Royston Blake is definitely unique. In all honesty, the main character of One Dead Hen should not be enjoyable to read and certainly not likeable, and yet somehow he is. This alone is perhaps testament to the brilliant writing of Charlie Williams.
To sum up, I thought this book was a cleverly written, witty and satirical read and well worth checking out. I've already recommended it to a number of my friends :)
March 15, 2016
I enjoyed this book, the first of Charlie Williams's that I have read. As other reviewers have said, not everyone will agree, but if you share its sense of humour as I did then it is a very amusing read.
The story is set in the grim fictional town of Mangel and narrated in a Midlands-ish dialect by the main protagonist, Royston Blake. Blake is stupid, deluded, bigoted, astonishingly foul-mouthed and very violent. The story is rather bleak, there are some pretty gross scenes and the whole thing sounds horrible, depressing and the sort of thing I would normally hate. However, Williams manages to create real humour from all this, and I found myself chuckling regularly and also smiling appreciatively at the genuine satire. I found the narrative voice extremely convincing in spite of its squalor and absurdity. Do be aware that the f- and c- words are very liberally used; I thought this entirely consistent with Blake's character and the effect was sometimes very funny, but if you're likely to find this offensive (and a good many people will) then don't read this book.
I thought this was well-written, amusing and quite satirically insightful, but it certainly won't be for everyone.
The story is set in the grim fictional town of Mangel and narrated in a Midlands-ish dialect by the main protagonist, Royston Blake. Blake is stupid, deluded, bigoted, astonishingly foul-mouthed and very violent. The story is rather bleak, there are some pretty gross scenes and the whole thing sounds horrible, depressing and the sort of thing I would normally hate. However, Williams manages to create real humour from all this, and I found myself chuckling regularly and also smiling appreciatively at the genuine satire. I found the narrative voice extremely convincing in spite of its squalor and absurdity. Do be aware that the f- and c- words are very liberally used; I thought this entirely consistent with Blake's character and the effect was sometimes very funny, but if you're likely to find this offensive (and a good many people will) then don't read this book.
I thought this was well-written, amusing and quite satirically insightful, but it certainly won't be for everyone.
March 10, 2012
This was a bookclub read - not something I'd usually pick up and perhaps there's a good reason for that because I didn't enjoy it at all (sorry Steve!)
The plot was infuriating, the main character's narration was irritating and crude to the point of disgusting for the majority of the book and the writing felt stiff and forced in places. Also, who was Blakey talking to? Every so often he'd break the fourth wall and talk as if he was writing to a recipient, which never got explained.
I couldn't see the reasoning for the local news articles interspersing the chapters, nor the "statements" from the police chief which were so far from real life - nobody speaks that way, especially in a professional capacity.
The plot didn't make sense, the ending was ridiculous in my opinion, urgh. Everything about this book completely rubbed me up the wrong way!
The plot was infuriating, the main character's narration was irritating and crude to the point of disgusting for the majority of the book and the writing felt stiff and forced in places. Also, who was Blakey talking to? Every so often he'd break the fourth wall and talk as if he was writing to a recipient, which never got explained.
I couldn't see the reasoning for the local news articles interspersing the chapters, nor the "statements" from the police chief which were so far from real life - nobody speaks that way, especially in a professional capacity.
The plot didn't make sense, the ending was ridiculous in my opinion, urgh. Everything about this book completely rubbed me up the wrong way!
June 23, 2011
I have not read the prior books in Charlie Williams' Royston Blake series and nothing in this book's blurb prepared me for the actual text. Had I read even the first page, I wouldn't have purchased this one. The narrative is written in the first person, from Royston Blake's point of view. The dialect for this character is incredibly heavy and difficult to read. His speech is that of someone bought up in the backwoods, who is uneducated and crude. The text is also heavy on slang words I had never heard before.
The blurb led me to believe that this book revolved around chasing down a serial killer. But that was secondary to Royston Blake's everyday oddities and his life of chasing down women. Between the heavy dialect and the meandering plot, I just could not get into this one at all.
The blurb led me to believe that this book revolved around chasing down a serial killer. But that was secondary to Royston Blake's everyday oddities and his life of chasing down women. Between the heavy dialect and the meandering plot, I just could not get into this one at all.
October 23, 2011
I won this through Goodreads' First Reads Program, and I'd like to start off by saying that I really enjoyed this. Maybe it was because of the fact that I was born in England and grew up around the accent, but I loved being able to actually read an accent. The main character, Royston Blake, is absolutely hilarious. I liked that I didn't really have to read any of the previous books to understand this. It was a really good, entertaining book!
July 21, 2013
I didn't like this one as much. I think hearing about how Royston was going to save the town by being a police officer just got repetitive. It was all he could talk and think about. I was a little confused by the ending as well. Interesting developments regarding some of our characters.
June 13, 2012
The worst book I have ever read. Don't bother.
July 23, 2012
suggested to me as being similar to Robert Rankin. It's not. No laughs at all, decent story but it was a well trodden path.
Not really a fan of the way the dialogue was written.
Not really a fan of the way the dialogue was written.
July 12, 2012
Great thoroughly enjoyed it, the best of the series about Royston Blake, Mangel's premier doorman. I really lost myself in this one, something I haven't done with a book in a while.
December 3, 2013
A bit difficult to get into because of the language used, but I enjoyed it once it got rolling. I didn't know it was part of a series so I'm interested in reading the others.
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January 15, 2014Author in attendance
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews