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Paignton Noir #9
Boneyard Dogs
"If I can't find her within seven days, she's probably dead."
If you are desperate enough to hire Paignton private investigator Joe Rey, things have already gone from bad to worse – and a happy ending is highly unlikely.
Hired to track down the missing teenage daughter of a demented local lounge singer, Rey’s investigation spirals bloodily out of control, and he finds himself surrounded by the ruined corpses of dead people traffickers. The police are determined to pin the murders on the hapless PI, but as his search unfolds it becomes apparent that the culprit may actually be a man he knows all too well…
BONEYARD DOGS is the blistering sequel to the cult classic MEAT BUBBLES & OTHER STORIES.
If you are desperate enough to hire Paignton private investigator Joe Rey, things have already gone from bad to worse – and a happy ending is highly unlikely.
Hired to track down the missing teenage daughter of a demented local lounge singer, Rey’s investigation spirals bloodily out of control, and he finds himself surrounded by the ruined corpses of dead people traffickers. The police are determined to pin the murders on the hapless PI, but as his search unfolds it becomes apparent that the culprit may actually be a man he knows all too well…
BONEYARD DOGS is the blistering sequel to the cult classic MEAT BUBBLES & OTHER STORIES.
116 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 26, 2019
3 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Tom Leins
30 books14 followersAuthor of the Paignton Noir series and the wrestling noir collection The Good Book: Fairy Tales For Hard Men.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 31, 2020
Hallucinatory mayhem & butchery flavored with hints of pederasty. Reads like Bob Dylan’s liner notes for HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED as reimagined by Willie S. Burroughs.
Not nearly as fun as I just made it sound.
Just the same, this Flash Fictioneer is a modestly— scratch that— this is a very gifted gent and an entertaining writer.
In short dots & dashes.
Like per instance:
My head is thudding like a transvestite disco.
Or:
She retrieves a Carling glass from underneath the bar. Even from this distance it looks filthy. She rubs it against her crop-top. The word ‘Garry’ is inked across her pale belly in enormous letters.
Today is not going to be a good day.
Mindless fun.
Great lyrics with a solid beat.
Not nearly as fun as I just made it sound.
Just the same, this Flash Fictioneer is a modestly— scratch that— this is a very gifted gent and an entertaining writer.
In short dots & dashes.
Like per instance:
My head is thudding like a transvestite disco.
Or:
She retrieves a Carling glass from underneath the bar. Even from this distance it looks filthy. She rubs it against her crop-top. The word ‘Garry’ is inked across her pale belly in enormous letters.
Today is not going to be a good day.
Mindless fun.
Great lyrics with a solid beat.
September 13, 2019
This vicious uncompromising detective thriller has just enough humour and satirical bite to balance out the almost unremitting horror of the plot. Leins' usual protagonist Joe Rey is hired by a barely sane lounge singer to find his missing daughter, at the same time he is hired by other villains to do some heavy work. This leads Rey into the scuzzy hell of Leins' Paignton - a nightmare of grim bars, grimy clubs, and abandoned properties turned into sex clubs. It's brutal stuff but classily done. Highly recommended.
June 1, 2020
"Over the years I've tracked down all manner of deviants and wrongfully discharged mental patients for persuasive third parties. On occasion I've done unpleasant things to people in exchange for money. At the end of the day, I'm pretty good at finding the kind of people who really don't want to be found."
Another trip to Tom Leins Paignton means needing to be ready for some appalling sights, sounds and specifically smells as Leins is wont to work the imagination of your olfactory nerve with lots of odours and stenches described within. Joe is asked to search for a teenage girl who has gone missing in Paignton while he does a job for Malcolm Chung, a multi-faceted crime boss.
As is the norm, this is a quick, bloody, action-filled and hilarious hardboiled ride on the underbelly of the underbelly. Again, the fingerprints of the Red Riding trilogy are firmly imprinted on the plot, which keeps you guessing and suspicious of everyone. I liked the addition of Joe's mate, Carl, to this volume and hope we see more of him and his unhinged ways.
One criticism would be that this one ends on a rather abrupt note almost mid-scene, but it is almost what you'd call the writing equivalent of a Rocky-esque freeze frame with Joe ready to lunge once more into action.
Reading through the Joe Rey series you can visibly see Leins growing in confidence as he adds a bit more to the environs of Joe and you start to see something bigger at play that the series is leading up to. I still have a few more to catch up on, so I'm sure I'll be seeing and smelling more of Paignton and Joe soon.
Another trip to Tom Leins Paignton means needing to be ready for some appalling sights, sounds and specifically smells as Leins is wont to work the imagination of your olfactory nerve with lots of odours and stenches described within. Joe is asked to search for a teenage girl who has gone missing in Paignton while he does a job for Malcolm Chung, a multi-faceted crime boss.
As is the norm, this is a quick, bloody, action-filled and hilarious hardboiled ride on the underbelly of the underbelly. Again, the fingerprints of the Red Riding trilogy are firmly imprinted on the plot, which keeps you guessing and suspicious of everyone. I liked the addition of Joe's mate, Carl, to this volume and hope we see more of him and his unhinged ways.
One criticism would be that this one ends on a rather abrupt note almost mid-scene, but it is almost what you'd call the writing equivalent of a Rocky-esque freeze frame with Joe ready to lunge once more into action.
Reading through the Joe Rey series you can visibly see Leins growing in confidence as he adds a bit more to the environs of Joe and you start to see something bigger at play that the series is leading up to. I still have a few more to catch up on, so I'm sure I'll be seeing and smelling more of Paignton and Joe soon.
June 13, 2019
A mesmerizing invitation into the seamy, violent world of PI Rey who is no prim amateur but a hardened, scar-gouged and much-cheated professional who operates on the shady side of law and order. As he should, given the law in Paignton.
Leins' dialogue is fast-paced and credible in a novella-length fiction that digs deep into the sleazy enterprises of a clutch of gangsters of various ethnic origins, all of them intent on coming out on top, whatever the human cost. One way or another, these larger-than-life villains and losers suck Rey into their plans, often without his consent and with disastrous--frequently lethal--fallout.
A reader who revels in no-holds-barred crime fiction will be delighted by the variety of brutality and misery these characters throw up in their wake, but Leins' cold and steady focus on human trafficking, especially that of children, makes this, in addition, an eye-opening novel for those who have willingly sheltered themselves from the harsh reality of imposed degradation and exploitation.
Leins' dialogue is fast-paced and credible in a novella-length fiction that digs deep into the sleazy enterprises of a clutch of gangsters of various ethnic origins, all of them intent on coming out on top, whatever the human cost. One way or another, these larger-than-life villains and losers suck Rey into their plans, often without his consent and with disastrous--frequently lethal--fallout.
A reader who revels in no-holds-barred crime fiction will be delighted by the variety of brutality and misery these characters throw up in their wake, but Leins' cold and steady focus on human trafficking, especially that of children, makes this, in addition, an eye-opening novel for those who have willingly sheltered themselves from the harsh reality of imposed degradation and exploitation.
April 19, 2022
The same worry strikes me every time I’m halfway through one of Tom Leins’ books; ‘what the hell am I going to read next?’
Because everything else feels extremely formal and mannered after a trip to Paignton. Other authors don’t finish their sentences with a pickaxe handle to the side of the head, or so gleefully bounce your face off the regret-stained formica tabletop of life’s misery.
And I can’t just follow it up with another from the Paignton Noir series either, partly because I’ll burn through them too quickly when I need them to last.
But mostly because I don’t think my soul could take it.
So I think I’ll read a Derek Raymond again, or a Ted Lewis. They’re the ferrymen between Leins’ world, and the world of the living.
And while it’ll be good to get home safe, I know I’ll be back. Really f*#king soon.
Because everything else feels extremely formal and mannered after a trip to Paignton. Other authors don’t finish their sentences with a pickaxe handle to the side of the head, or so gleefully bounce your face off the regret-stained formica tabletop of life’s misery.
And I can’t just follow it up with another from the Paignton Noir series either, partly because I’ll burn through them too quickly when I need them to last.
But mostly because I don’t think my soul could take it.
So I think I’ll read a Derek Raymond again, or a Ted Lewis. They’re the ferrymen between Leins’ world, and the world of the living.
And while it’ll be good to get home safe, I know I’ll be back. Really f*#king soon.
June 8, 2021
Noir like a shot of Meth
This book has everything you could ask for. Joe Reyes is hired to find a missing teenage girl related to crime family. From their it is down the rabbit hole with an anti-hero following the case from graphic violence, dirty cops, gangsters, sex trafficking, back alleys, dive bars, perverts and murder. This book is a roller coaster ride through the world of noir at its finest.
This book has everything you could ask for. Joe Reyes is hired to find a missing teenage girl related to crime family. From their it is down the rabbit hole with an anti-hero following the case from graphic violence, dirty cops, gangsters, sex trafficking, back alleys, dive bars, perverts and murder. This book is a roller coaster ride through the world of noir at its finest.
January 22, 2021
A gritty crime thriller that will hold your attention hostage.
December 13, 2021
Brutal, breathtaking, hilarious, sad. What else do you need? Leins is an amazing writer who's built his own niche.
August 1, 2019
A no-holds-barred crime thriller about an seasoned private investigator who has been knocked around the gauntlet of life a few times too many. He takes no shit and does everything to get the job done. Despite his callous attitude, which is a necessity if you want to survive in this underbelly of a town, you know he's one of the good guys.
Tom Leins does well with making the reader really feel the grit and grime of Paignton and the cretins that reside within.
Well done.
Tom Leins does well with making the reader really feel the grit and grime of Paignton and the cretins that reside within.
Well done.
July 31, 2019
Can't get enough Tom Leins. As usual, this book is littered with characters who inhabit the darkest and dirtiest corners of the world. Tom Leins' work isn't always a comfortable read but that's the attraction. If you want to read about the scum of the earth and the people that walk the fine line between policing them and being them, this is for you.
June 24, 2019
"Boneyard Dogs" is gritty, sensual, and engaging. Tom is great at bringing all his characters to life. And you'll never believe the ending! You have to read this book. You won't be able to put it down.
November 15, 2019
Flash Fiction at its finest. Boneyard Dogs grips the reader in a world of guts and grime that's nearly impossible to break free from. Tom Leins' voice and form are magnificently lethal as he carves out a cavity in fiction not to be forgotten.
August 28, 2019
See my full review on The Haunted Pen's website at https://bit.ly/2ZmJlhP
October 23, 2019
Yes.
What sort of twisted mess has Joe Rey fallen into now? This one was a furious howl from the depths. I await more.
What sort of twisted mess has Joe Rey fallen into now? This one was a furious howl from the depths. I await more.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews