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Disturbed Girl Trilogy #2
A Disturbed Girl Implodes by James Howell
Former journalist Hannah Harker is on the run after committing an atrocity which has stunned the world.A beautiful but fragile Brazilian aid worker uncovers a hideous experiment being carried out by a sinister pharmaceutical company.A young gangster struggling for survival on the streets of Tokyo is preparing to risk everything to find a cure for his mother’s psychosis.The paths of these three strangers will converge in an extraordinary orgy of violence, vodka and sex and together they will come face to face with the dark heart of pure evil.
Paperback
First published May 18, 2012
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About the author
James Howell
9 books30 followersJames Howell (born 1978) is a former journalist and author of the Disturbed Girl series of novels.
His experiences while working on a local newspaper in Essex, England, and on national newspapers in London, inspired the adventures of anti-hero Hannah Harker in the novels.
Howell’s debut novel, A Disturbed Girl's Guide to Curing Boredom, follows the story of local reporter Harker as she gradually grows insane in her quest to find excitement at all costs.
Published by Amygdala Press in June 2011, the debut is a "harrowing, savage and sexual exploration of a broken mind" and has attracted nearly 50,000 fans on the official Facebook page. In January 2013 it was named 7th in Really TV's top 10 must-read erotic novels of all time.
The sequel, A Disturbed Girl Implodes, continues Hannah's demented adventures and was published by Amygdala Press in May 2012.
The final part of the trilogy, A Disturbed Girl’s Redemption, was published in autumn 2013.
In late 2012, London-based electronic music artist Mush No Candy collaborated with Howell to produce a unique soundtrack to accompany the novels, which was the subject of a BBC radio programme.
Howell recently launched "Disturbed Girl Productions" to develop screenplays into short films. The debut presentation is "Amber's Haunt", which was released in 2015.
In another example of Disturbed Girl's multi-media appeal, leading Dutch photographer Look J Boden has recently created a unique portfolio of portraits depicting Hannah Harker in various scenes from the novel A Disturbed Girl’s Guide to Curing Boredom.
Back at the keyboard, Howell is currently working on an anthology of short stories called "Guinea Pigs".
Aside from writing, Howell is a keen diver, amateur sailor, abysmal skier and occasional romantic. He has travelled extensively in the pursuit of fortune and glory, with extended periods in South America, India and Asia, but finds himself always returning home to the shores of Southend-on-Sea in the UK.
He would like the track Avril 14th by Aphex Twin to be played at his funeral.
His experiences while working on a local newspaper in Essex, England, and on national newspapers in London, inspired the adventures of anti-hero Hannah Harker in the novels.
Howell’s debut novel, A Disturbed Girl's Guide to Curing Boredom, follows the story of local reporter Harker as she gradually grows insane in her quest to find excitement at all costs.
Published by Amygdala Press in June 2011, the debut is a "harrowing, savage and sexual exploration of a broken mind" and has attracted nearly 50,000 fans on the official Facebook page. In January 2013 it was named 7th in Really TV's top 10 must-read erotic novels of all time.
The sequel, A Disturbed Girl Implodes, continues Hannah's demented adventures and was published by Amygdala Press in May 2012.
The final part of the trilogy, A Disturbed Girl’s Redemption, was published in autumn 2013.
In late 2012, London-based electronic music artist Mush No Candy collaborated with Howell to produce a unique soundtrack to accompany the novels, which was the subject of a BBC radio programme.
Howell recently launched "Disturbed Girl Productions" to develop screenplays into short films. The debut presentation is "Amber's Haunt", which was released in 2015.
In another example of Disturbed Girl's multi-media appeal, leading Dutch photographer Look J Boden has recently created a unique portfolio of portraits depicting Hannah Harker in various scenes from the novel A Disturbed Girl’s Guide to Curing Boredom.
Back at the keyboard, Howell is currently working on an anthology of short stories called "Guinea Pigs".
Aside from writing, Howell is a keen diver, amateur sailor, abysmal skier and occasional romantic. He has travelled extensively in the pursuit of fortune and glory, with extended periods in South America, India and Asia, but finds himself always returning home to the shores of Southend-on-Sea in the UK.
He would like the track Avril 14th by Aphex Twin to be played at his funeral.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 20, 2012
I'm not sure who has imploded here, heroine Hannah Harker or author James Howell. Harker's adventures in A Disturbed Girl's Guide to Curing Boredom veered into almost surreal implausibility - but were fun for all that. The ending left her nowhere to go, so to continue her story Howell has had to cook up a plot so outlandish that it makes Austin Powers seem sedate. It's a struggle to shoehorn Hannah into a plot that really belongs in the 60s, and it leaves little room for the satirical interpretation that rescued the first book.
So, having achieved a murder rate slightly short of Osama bin Laden and Genghis Khan but well ahead of such lightweights as Harold Shipman and Son of Sam, Harker finds herself blackmailed into becoming an assassin for a deranged eugenicist. Howell's imagination is working overtime - he really does come up with some bizarre ideas and even the publisher describes the book as "deranged" - and it's refreshing to read a novelist who shows not the slightest sentimentality about his characters.
Also on the positive side, Howell treats Hannah's sexuality without sensationalism, while the sex scenes - less numerous than in the first book - are graphic without being lurid. What lets the story down most is the flatly mechanical prose. Descriptions read like travel journalism, cluttered with unnecessary facts, and dialogue often reads like the opinion page in a newspaper. Meanwhile Harker's sociopathic indifference to the people she kills really needed more subtle investigation than simply having her musing on her past.
Amygdala is a very small publisher. A bigger outfit could probably have devoted the resources needed to tighten this novel up and give it more depth. It's an easy enough read - I rattled through both books in a week - but I felt the writing lacked sophistication. The story is frankly overblown, but it's memorable, and that deranged excess is exactly what appeals to some readers.
So, having achieved a murder rate slightly short of Osama bin Laden and Genghis Khan but well ahead of such lightweights as Harold Shipman and Son of Sam, Harker finds herself blackmailed into becoming an assassin for a deranged eugenicist. Howell's imagination is working overtime - he really does come up with some bizarre ideas and even the publisher describes the book as "deranged" - and it's refreshing to read a novelist who shows not the slightest sentimentality about his characters.
Also on the positive side, Howell treats Hannah's sexuality without sensationalism, while the sex scenes - less numerous than in the first book - are graphic without being lurid. What lets the story down most is the flatly mechanical prose. Descriptions read like travel journalism, cluttered with unnecessary facts, and dialogue often reads like the opinion page in a newspaper. Meanwhile Harker's sociopathic indifference to the people she kills really needed more subtle investigation than simply having her musing on her past.
Amygdala is a very small publisher. A bigger outfit could probably have devoted the resources needed to tighten this novel up and give it more depth. It's an easy enough read - I rattled through both books in a week - but I felt the writing lacked sophistication. The story is frankly overblown, but it's memorable, and that deranged excess is exactly what appeals to some readers.
August 6, 2013
A slightly slower start than the first book in the series but it isn't long before Howell's best work is back in play with a frighteningly brilliant plot. One that is perhaps -despite the beginning- even better than the first book.
He writes murders, sex and violence with such disturbing realism at times, I wonder for his own sanity.
His psychotic, sociopathic protagonist is perhaps the best female character I have ever read. You should hate her, but you cannot help but love her and all her actions.
A plot that is so dark, so twisted and so exciting that at times I actually forgot I wasn't living in Hannah's world.
Spectacular is the only word I can think of.
He writes murders, sex and violence with such disturbing realism at times, I wonder for his own sanity.
His psychotic, sociopathic protagonist is perhaps the best female character I have ever read. You should hate her, but you cannot help but love her and all her actions.
A plot that is so dark, so twisted and so exciting that at times I actually forgot I wasn't living in Hannah's world.
Spectacular is the only word I can think of.
December 5, 2022
Very good book a very interesting story I would read it again
September 12, 2013
The first book in this series is grounded in reality until the final chapters, but with the sequel James Howell takes things to another level.
Initially I was a bit sceptical about this change of direction, but once I accepted it and settled in for the ride I absolutely loved it. Hannah Harker is back on devastating form, Howell introduces two intriguing side plots and the villains are so diabolical that you are constantly preparing for the worst.
The sex and violence are more graphic than in the first book, and some scenes are genuinely disturbing, but it is all written in context and you feel that Howell is making some important observations amid the chaos.
What I like most about this book, and A Disturbed Girl’s Guide to Curing Boredom, is that you really have no idea what’s coming next. None of the characters are safe, Hannah is capable of doing anything, twists and turns abound, and you are kept guessing right up until the very end.
Initially I was a bit sceptical about this change of direction, but once I accepted it and settled in for the ride I absolutely loved it. Hannah Harker is back on devastating form, Howell introduces two intriguing side plots and the villains are so diabolical that you are constantly preparing for the worst.
The sex and violence are more graphic than in the first book, and some scenes are genuinely disturbing, but it is all written in context and you feel that Howell is making some important observations amid the chaos.
What I like most about this book, and A Disturbed Girl’s Guide to Curing Boredom, is that you really have no idea what’s coming next. None of the characters are safe, Hannah is capable of doing anything, twists and turns abound, and you are kept guessing right up until the very end.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews