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Double Exposure
1948 Portvieux City. A scandal photographer shoots a brutally murdered woman through his lens.
But only he can see her.
As the Photographer uncovers the truth about the invisible woman, he delves into the seedy city, where a missing artist leaves a legacy of lust, and the border between dreams and reality slowly dissolves like a negative in acid.
But only he can see her.
As the Photographer uncovers the truth about the invisible woman, he delves into the seedy city, where a missing artist leaves a legacy of lust, and the border between dreams and reality slowly dissolves like a negative in acid.
- GenresCrime
Kindle Edition
First published June 5, 2015
2 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Kat Clay
7 books61 followersKat Clay is an Australian author of fiction, reviews, and tabletop roleplaying games.
She is the author of two bestselling Call of Cthulhu games, The Hammersmith Haunting and The Well of All Fear. The latter won the silver ENNIE for Best Community Content and was nominated for Best Adventure – Short Form at the 2024 Awards.
Her fiction has been published in Interzone, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Midnight Echo, Translunar Travelers Lounge, Aurealis, SQ Mag, and Crimson Streets. In 2018, Kat’s short story ‘Lady Loveday Investigates‘ won three prizes at the national Scarlet Stiletto Awards, including the Kerry Greenwood Prize for Best Malice Domestic.
In 2017, she was longlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger award for her unpublished novel, Victorianoir. Her novella, Double Exposure, was released in 2015 with Crime Factory and was longlisted for the Davitt Award for Australian women’s crime fiction.
In addition to her creative writing, Kat’s essays and criticism have been published in The Guardian, Interzone, The Victorian Writer, Literary Traveler, Travel Weekly, Matador Network, and Weird Fiction Review. She was a contributor to the Locus winning and Hugo nominated Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical Science Fiction, 1950 to 1985, with her essay on Judith Merrill.
She is the author of two bestselling Call of Cthulhu games, The Hammersmith Haunting and The Well of All Fear. The latter won the silver ENNIE for Best Community Content and was nominated for Best Adventure – Short Form at the 2024 Awards.
Her fiction has been published in Interzone, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Midnight Echo, Translunar Travelers Lounge, Aurealis, SQ Mag, and Crimson Streets. In 2018, Kat’s short story ‘Lady Loveday Investigates‘ won three prizes at the national Scarlet Stiletto Awards, including the Kerry Greenwood Prize for Best Malice Domestic.
In 2017, she was longlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger award for her unpublished novel, Victorianoir. Her novella, Double Exposure, was released in 2015 with Crime Factory and was longlisted for the Davitt Award for Australian women’s crime fiction.
In addition to her creative writing, Kat’s essays and criticism have been published in The Guardian, Interzone, The Victorian Writer, Literary Traveler, Travel Weekly, Matador Network, and Weird Fiction Review. She was a contributor to the Locus winning and Hugo nominated Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical Science Fiction, 1950 to 1985, with her essay on Judith Merrill.
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 15, 2015
The Crime Factory have developed a reputation for publishing wonderful examples of modern noir fiction set in different locations and times. DOUBLE EXPOSURE is, however, a very different animal indeed, combining a past time frame (1948) with a dark and very atmospheric sense of place, and a hefty dose of the paranormal. Which obviously isn't going to be for all readers, but for those that are interested in something different and very well done, then DOUBLE EXPOSURE is well worth reading time.
The Photographer, never named, is centre of all of the action in this taut little novel. A desire for more artistic pursuits is well and truly beaten down by a stint as an army photographer in World War II so he now works for a local scandal rag - becoming a paparazzi styled snapper of celebrities, officials behaving badly, and crime scenes. It's his first assignment on a crime scene that sees him beating the cops to a boarding house in which a woman has been reported brutally murdered. Where he discovers a room positively soaked in fresh blood, and a body which he can only see through the view finder of his camera, and later in the developed negative. He's equal parts confused, and oddly somehow almost accepting of this weird phenomena.
Needless to say, there's not much that ruffles The Photographer. Not the corpse that only he can see, although the fact that there's something reminiscent about her pose does give him a slight twitch, always in the back of his mind. Even meeting the beautiful daughter of the wealthy family that controls Portvieux doesn't faze him too much although Loretta's dangerous, her brother James, just acquitted of the murder of three henchmen, is dangerous, and upsetting anyone in the Marne family is dangerous. Yet The Photographer agrees to meet Loretta after he takes her picture on the day her brother is released, because despite their shared interest in photography there's more to this woman than meets his eye - even in the view finder. A second room drenched in blood, a second victim only visible in the same manner, and The Photographer starts to wonder about possible connections between the people around him, his photographs and these mysterious, staged and very brutal deaths.
Dark and beautifully paced, DOUBLE EXPOSURE is a fascinating combination of noir styling with paranormal elements that work in a seamless manner. Whilst ensuring that many noir conventions are incorporated - the violence, the doubting internal voice, the femme fatale, the dark places, and the nastiest of human motivation - the inclusion of the paranormal elements and the weirdness of the disappearing corpses doesn't jar, it actually seems to fit. The resolution has aspects that are flat out spooky, combined with all too human nastiness, and there's always the question of what happens to The Photographer and Loretta.
Cleverly constructed, and particularly for this non-enthusiast for the paranormal, unexpectedly believable, DOUBLE EXPOSURE is written with considerable aplomb and style.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
The Photographer, never named, is centre of all of the action in this taut little novel. A desire for more artistic pursuits is well and truly beaten down by a stint as an army photographer in World War II so he now works for a local scandal rag - becoming a paparazzi styled snapper of celebrities, officials behaving badly, and crime scenes. It's his first assignment on a crime scene that sees him beating the cops to a boarding house in which a woman has been reported brutally murdered. Where he discovers a room positively soaked in fresh blood, and a body which he can only see through the view finder of his camera, and later in the developed negative. He's equal parts confused, and oddly somehow almost accepting of this weird phenomena.
Needless to say, there's not much that ruffles The Photographer. Not the corpse that only he can see, although the fact that there's something reminiscent about her pose does give him a slight twitch, always in the back of his mind. Even meeting the beautiful daughter of the wealthy family that controls Portvieux doesn't faze him too much although Loretta's dangerous, her brother James, just acquitted of the murder of three henchmen, is dangerous, and upsetting anyone in the Marne family is dangerous. Yet The Photographer agrees to meet Loretta after he takes her picture on the day her brother is released, because despite their shared interest in photography there's more to this woman than meets his eye - even in the view finder. A second room drenched in blood, a second victim only visible in the same manner, and The Photographer starts to wonder about possible connections between the people around him, his photographs and these mysterious, staged and very brutal deaths.
Dark and beautifully paced, DOUBLE EXPOSURE is a fascinating combination of noir styling with paranormal elements that work in a seamless manner. Whilst ensuring that many noir conventions are incorporated - the violence, the doubting internal voice, the femme fatale, the dark places, and the nastiest of human motivation - the inclusion of the paranormal elements and the weirdness of the disappearing corpses doesn't jar, it actually seems to fit. The resolution has aspects that are flat out spooky, combined with all too human nastiness, and there's always the question of what happens to The Photographer and Loretta.
Cleverly constructed, and particularly for this non-enthusiast for the paranormal, unexpectedly believable, DOUBLE EXPOSURE is written with considerable aplomb and style.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
June 9, 2015
Crime is not usually something I would read, but the supernatural element in this book drew me in and I found myself thoroughly enjoying the Photographer's journey through this gritty, noir tale.
March 5, 2016
Enjoyed it. Some nice noir elements, as well as some "weird".
October 2, 2020
3.5 stars. Competent noir thriller, but the supernatural aspect didn't quite work for me. The venture into the alternate reality felt a bit rushed and out of focus.
February 8, 2020
Perfect sunday afternoon read! Noir-y crime with strong visuals, a slight supernatural twist and an interesting twist on the traditional gumshoe or reporter protagonist.
February 15, 2016
As I read DOUBLE EXPOSURE, I could see the whole story playing out in my mind, in glorious, grainy black and white. Clay does a brilliant job of introducing a supernatural twist to this gritty noir mystery, bringing fresh and exciting ideas to a well-loved (but well-worn) genre.
Best enjoyed while sitting by a rain-streaked window, with the mellow tunes of Miles Davis playing softly in the background.
Best enjoyed while sitting by a rain-streaked window, with the mellow tunes of Miles Davis playing softly in the background.
June 9, 2016
Great read! A real page-turner. Very noir!
June 9, 2016
Such an excellent book! Highly recommend.
August 12, 2019
Great novella! Gritty noir/weird well told story with an original compelling plot. Read it in one sitting, couldn’t put it down. Wonderful stuff!
April 1, 2017
A little overheated to begin with (lots of alluring alliteration), it soon settles down into a nice noir pastiche. It has a nice period feel, and the weird photography elements are interesting.
A quick and fun read.
A quick and fun read.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews