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The Vinyl Detective #6
Attack and Decay
The Vinyl Detective plunges into the world of death metal in his sixth adventure. Expect laughs, LPs, cats and the return of fan favourites, Nevada, Tinkler, Stinky Stanmer and more.
The Vinyl Detective goes Scandi noir in his sixth adventure. Disfigured corpse. Check. Grotesque snowman. Check. Headless animals. Check. But in fact the killer is taking their cue not from Scandi noir fiction but another popular Scandinavian export – death metal.
The Vinyl Detective goes Scandi noir in his sixth adventure. Disfigured corpse. Check. Grotesque snowman. Check. Headless animals. Check. But in fact the killer is taking their cue not from Scandi noir fiction but another popular Scandinavian export – death metal.
480 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 17, 2022
53 people are currently reading
326 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
June 24, 2022
Another entertaining entry into the Vinyl Detective series that is mostly as fun as the previous novels and even improves on some issues. Why just 3 stars then you ask? Well, this is mostly due to two (to me) glaring problems.
As I am a huge metal fan and death metal is one of my favourite subgenres, I was as excited about the newest Vinyl Detective adventure's premise as I was scared that Andrew Cartmel would blow it. And I'm afraid I have to say that at least regarding the death metal part, he pretty much blew it. It seems like the author didn't do a lot of research and browsed a few Wikipedia articles at best before he decided to just make stuff up. For example, the infamous church burnings in the early 90s didn't happen in Sweden but in Norway and death metal is not the same as black metal. For the record the Vinyl Detective is after, Cartmel even invents a new genre called demonic metal that is supposed to be so satanic, even the church felt the need to take action and bought all the records in question. I mean, with a little bit of research the author would probably have found enough inspiration from creepy occurances, countless satanic metal albums and questionable characters without having to make up such nonsense.
I admit I didn't expect an accurate depiction of the Scandinavian extreme metal scene, but I was still somewhat disappointed in this very obvious lack of interest and research done by the author. Thus, it's probably a good thing that once the gang gets to Sweden, the plot has actually very little to do with death metal, black metal or any form of metal, but rather focusses on Scandi noir paperbacks and the usual shenanigans the gang gets up to, like...you know...being coffee snobs, delving for treasure in second hand shops and getting themselves involved in a murder case. And you wouldn't believe it, even the police is around this time.
Anyway, the second big gripe I have with Attack and Decay is, once again, Jordan Tinkler. The guy who started out as a likable idiot in the first novel has now become so annoying that it is just too much to actually be funny. I don't get how anyone would want to be friends with this guy, he is rude, lazy, unreliable and utterly selfish.
If he is asked to do something specific, as easy as it might be, he does exactly the opposite. He is also a massive creep and he has the sense of humour of an adolescent boy who has just heard his first dirty joke and now has to repeat it over and over and over again. In short, Tinkler is a dick!
Why would anyone want to take this dude on a free trip to Sweden? He has literally no redeeming features to speak of. And why does he, despite being rude, lazy, utterly unfunny and slightly overweight, still keep getting involved with good looking younger women? Nice younger women who seem to like him for his character! I don't get where Cartmel is going with this, is this supposed to be some nerdy wish fullfilment fantasy?
Anyway, he gets very slightly less annoying later on and despite my harsh criticism, this is still an enjoyable and very fun Vinyl Detective novel that has most of the same strenghts (and weaknesses) as the previous novels. If you don't care about death metal anyway and don't get too annoyed with Tinkler, this even might very well be the best novel in the series for you.
As I am a huge metal fan and death metal is one of my favourite subgenres, I was as excited about the newest Vinyl Detective adventure's premise as I was scared that Andrew Cartmel would blow it. And I'm afraid I have to say that at least regarding the death metal part, he pretty much blew it. It seems like the author didn't do a lot of research and browsed a few Wikipedia articles at best before he decided to just make stuff up. For example, the infamous church burnings in the early 90s didn't happen in Sweden but in Norway and death metal is not the same as black metal. For the record the Vinyl Detective is after, Cartmel even invents a new genre called demonic metal that is supposed to be so satanic, even the church felt the need to take action and bought all the records in question. I mean, with a little bit of research the author would probably have found enough inspiration from creepy occurances, countless satanic metal albums and questionable characters without having to make up such nonsense.
I admit I didn't expect an accurate depiction of the Scandinavian extreme metal scene, but I was still somewhat disappointed in this very obvious lack of interest and research done by the author. Thus, it's probably a good thing that once the gang gets to Sweden, the plot has actually very little to do with death metal, black metal or any form of metal, but rather focusses on Scandi noir paperbacks and the usual shenanigans the gang gets up to, like...you know...being coffee snobs, delving for treasure in second hand shops and getting themselves involved in a murder case. And you wouldn't believe it, even the police is around this time.
Anyway, the second big gripe I have with Attack and Decay is, once again, Jordan Tinkler. The guy who started out as a likable idiot in the first novel has now become so annoying that it is just too much to actually be funny. I don't get how anyone would want to be friends with this guy, he is rude, lazy, unreliable and utterly selfish.
If he is asked to do something specific, as easy as it might be, he does exactly the opposite. He is also a massive creep and he has the sense of humour of an adolescent boy who has just heard his first dirty joke and now has to repeat it over and over and over again. In short, Tinkler is a dick!
Why would anyone want to take this dude on a free trip to Sweden? He has literally no redeeming features to speak of. And why does he, despite being rude, lazy, utterly unfunny and slightly overweight, still keep getting involved with good looking younger women? Nice younger women who seem to like him for his character! I don't get where Cartmel is going with this, is this supposed to be some nerdy wish fullfilment fantasy?
Anyway, he gets very slightly less annoying later on and despite my harsh criticism, this is still an enjoyable and very fun Vinyl Detective novel that has most of the same strenghts (and weaknesses) as the previous novels. If you don't care about death metal anyway and don't get too annoyed with Tinkler, this even might very well be the best novel in the series for you.
June 15, 2022
The Vinyl Detective returns & it's another fun filled adventure full of widly entertaining & eccentric characters, both old & new. This time our hero heads to Sweden where he just has to listen to a rare LP & authenticate it. Simple ? Well, not exactly....
You cannot help smiling as the Detective, Nevada, Agatha & Tinkler discover an ageing heavy metal band, a pizza restaurant with its own stripper & a crazy demonic crow. As if that isn't enough it's not long before there's a murder, & another murder, & another....well, you get the idea.
Andrew Cartmel's previous Vinyl Detective novels were a delight from start to finish & Attack and Decay is no exception. On of the best feel good reads of this (or indeed any) year!
You cannot help smiling as the Detective, Nevada, Agatha & Tinkler discover an ageing heavy metal band, a pizza restaurant with its own stripper & a crazy demonic crow. As if that isn't enough it's not long before there's a murder, & another murder, & another....well, you get the idea.
Andrew Cartmel's previous Vinyl Detective novels were a delight from start to finish & Attack and Decay is no exception. On of the best feel good reads of this (or indeed any) year!
May 31, 2022
This is the sixth book in the Vinyl Detective series by Andrew Cartmel. The series is one of my favourite comfort reads. The stories stick - essentially - to a similar structure. The nameless Vinyl Detective - a fact this book actually draws attention to - is hired to buy or track down a rare album. It turns out that said album triggers a series of murders. The Vinyl Detective solves the mystery, usually at great risk to his own life.
He is supported by a gang of friends and a lover. The lover is Nevada, an American woman with a peculiar set of skills. Then there's Agatha, who is a black cab driver. There's his annoying friend Tinkler, who role in stories is mainly to be something of an annoying arsehole and a - occasionally - a target for villains. Stinky Stammer also normally appears. Stinky is a DJ/documentary maker who leeches off the Vinyl Detective for ideas. No one likes Stinky. No one. And there are two cats - Fanny and Turk.
In this book we find our heroes heading to Sweden to collect a rare death metal classic from a man called Magnus. It all seems so simple but then the murders start.
Like all good detective stories there are red herrings and hidden motives. In the Vinyl Detective series the Vinyl Detective and friends are often attacked themselves. Escaping by the skin of their teeth. The change of location is fun. The local characters are interesting. There's also a crow. And a corpse faced motherfucker.
Cartmel's writes well and I always find myself unable to put the books down until I've finished. The familiarity of the pieces of the story is never a detriment to my enjoyment. Indeed, it might be a key part of it. I once described these books as James Bond with carrier bags and I stick to that. The books make the nerd the hero. In this case our hero is a record collector. I think Cartmel also uses these books to sneak in album recommendations, but that's alright by me.
My only (mild) criticism of this book is there's a little too much Tinkler. He's fine in small does but he is genuinely annoying in this book. He's meant to be annoying but I'm not sure you want him so annoying that the reader starts to find him highly unlikeable. Oh, and talking of Tinkler he is part of one of the most Chekovian of Chekov's guns I've read. As soon as it appeared I knew. But no spoilers.
These are all fun books to read and it was nice to have a new one to read. I look forward to the next one. And, again, I'll call for a Nevada prequal series if the publishers are listening.
He is supported by a gang of friends and a lover. The lover is Nevada, an American woman with a peculiar set of skills. Then there's Agatha, who is a black cab driver. There's his annoying friend Tinkler, who role in stories is mainly to be something of an annoying arsehole and a - occasionally - a target for villains. Stinky Stammer also normally appears. Stinky is a DJ/documentary maker who leeches off the Vinyl Detective for ideas. No one likes Stinky. No one. And there are two cats - Fanny and Turk.
In this book we find our heroes heading to Sweden to collect a rare death metal classic from a man called Magnus. It all seems so simple but then the murders start.
Like all good detective stories there are red herrings and hidden motives. In the Vinyl Detective series the Vinyl Detective and friends are often attacked themselves. Escaping by the skin of their teeth. The change of location is fun. The local characters are interesting. There's also a crow. And a corpse faced motherfucker.
Cartmel's writes well and I always find myself unable to put the books down until I've finished. The familiarity of the pieces of the story is never a detriment to my enjoyment. Indeed, it might be a key part of it. I once described these books as James Bond with carrier bags and I stick to that. The books make the nerd the hero. In this case our hero is a record collector. I think Cartmel also uses these books to sneak in album recommendations, but that's alright by me.
My only (mild) criticism of this book is there's a little too much Tinkler. He's fine in small does but he is genuinely annoying in this book. He's meant to be annoying but I'm not sure you want him so annoying that the reader starts to find him highly unlikeable. Oh, and talking of Tinkler he is part of one of the most Chekovian of Chekov's guns I've read. As soon as it appeared I knew. But no spoilers.
These are all fun books to read and it was nice to have a new one to read. I look forward to the next one. And, again, I'll call for a Nevada prequal series if the publishers are listening.
May 29, 2022
Having read all the other books in the series, I was really looking forward to reading this new one. However, I have to say I found it disappointing.
There was a lot of repetitive phrases throughout which grated on me, some of the dialogue was just plain annoying and it just felt a bit rushed to me. On top of that, there were lots of typos throughout the book which made me think it was all a bit lazy.
I’m sure other folks will enjoy it, which is totally fine, but as a fan of all the previous adventures I felt shortchanged.
There was a lot of repetitive phrases throughout which grated on me, some of the dialogue was just plain annoying and it just felt a bit rushed to me. On top of that, there were lots of typos throughout the book which made me think it was all a bit lazy.
I’m sure other folks will enjoy it, which is totally fine, but as a fan of all the previous adventures I felt shortchanged.
March 25, 2023
I simply adore this series. I discovered it about three years ago back in 2020 and simply devoured the first books. I enjoy the humor and the chemistry between the cast of regular characters. Each book is like going to visit some good friends.
As a music fan, I also enjoy the reoccuring aspects related to records, bands and such. As a hobby collector of various things, I relate to the collector mentalities of many of the crew as well. If the genre of hip/cool Brit mysteries were what I was into writing, Cartmel's books would be an inspirational template for me.
As with other books in the series, this latest one takes a little time to get into the mystery zone. It starts with plenty of set-up for location and new characters, but Cartmel's easy-going narrative style and touches of witty dialogue make it move along in an entertaining way. Once the action hits, it hits hard and fast with plenty of turns until coming to a satisfying conclusion.
As a music fan, I also enjoy the reoccuring aspects related to records, bands and such. As a hobby collector of various things, I relate to the collector mentalities of many of the crew as well. If the genre of hip/cool Brit mysteries were what I was into writing, Cartmel's books would be an inspirational template for me.
As with other books in the series, this latest one takes a little time to get into the mystery zone. It starts with plenty of set-up for location and new characters, but Cartmel's easy-going narrative style and touches of witty dialogue make it move along in an entertaining way. Once the action hits, it hits hard and fast with plenty of turns until coming to a satisfying conclusion.
May 27, 2022
I could have done without the digs at self-published authors (some of us are quite good), but this is a lot of fun. These characters breaking into Scandi-noir is a great conceit.
May 18, 2022
Fun and inventive
Wonderful how many adventures can be produced from the vinyl detective setup. This is a particularly fun one.
I felt Tinkler was taking over at times; he is a great character but can overwhelm.
Wonderful how many adventures can be produced from the vinyl detective setup. This is a particularly fun one.
I felt Tinkler was taking over at times; he is a great character but can overwhelm.
May 30, 2022
Sadly, music plays little part in this latest instalment, merely serving as an excuse to roll out lame goth/rock cliches.
The book could also do with a good edit as the story doesn’t really start until chapter 16 (almost half way through).
Their trip to Sweden involves copious swearing (for no apparent reason), numerous references to Scandi Noir books, and lots of smug jokes about sex workers and lesbians.
It’s unsubtle, disjointed and a huge disappointment after all the previous clever, witty adventures.
In addition, the narrator hams it up even more than usual, over-enunciating and speaking really slowly (slightly less annoying at x1.15).
And again, Persephone is NOT pronounced Percy-phone. Sigh.
The book could also do with a good edit as the story doesn’t really start until chapter 16 (almost half way through).
Their trip to Sweden involves copious swearing (for no apparent reason), numerous references to Scandi Noir books, and lots of smug jokes about sex workers and lesbians.
It’s unsubtle, disjointed and a huge disappointment after all the previous clever, witty adventures.
In addition, the narrator hams it up even more than usual, over-enunciating and speaking really slowly (slightly less annoying at x1.15).
And again, Persephone is NOT pronounced Percy-phone. Sigh.
August 5, 2022
The Vinyl Detective is getting worn out. The plot seemed to be familiar or at least filled with elements previously used in the series. The first two hundred pages are slow paced and there's quite a bit of fluff and filler packed around the real action.
June 8, 2022
Overall, a really good read - inventive and funny. I found the start a bit baggy and the set up a little slow, but it improved as I went through.
August 24, 2022
I'm going to have to pause reading the Two Towers, to read this first !
Andrew has written an fun, well written entertaining series of detective novels based around Music/bands/collectable vinyl records centred around a music "nerd" (especially Jazz) and his unfeasibly hot girlfriend (and a pair of cats).
Andrew's writes fast paced, humours detective stories in this series, based around records or musicians, In this one, our Vinyl Detective is tasked to act as an intermediary and acquire a rare record from a Swedish seller having done the appropriate due diligence. Naturally things go a bit wrong, a few mishaps and a series of murders later and our hero accidentally solves the mystery and we're back to London. It's a fun ride, with all the usual gang plus a couple of new characters and a well described swedish locals.
My quibbles. I think the geography of the Swedish location could have been better explained (a simplified map would have helped). The introduction of a new Character who recommends the Swedish adventure needed a little more work to be convincing (but thats not really that critical). I think Ida could have promised to come to London and more could have been made of the heavy metal ABBA.
Its another great entry in the series, well worth reading along with the previous ones. Indeed, I may reread the whole lot from scratch in the near future. I don't really have any ranking of my favourites, so whilst I wouldn't say this was my favourite, if it was my least I favourite I really didnt notice it.
Additional comments from my second read:
On the back of rereading the entire séries back to back. I'm actually enjoying this book more than i did first time round. I had completely forgotten about a character introduced in the last book, which explains why the opening section bothered me a bit. It still does (the creepy comptroller élément isnt required for the story, although I think its there because Andrew wanted to use the audio-effect, which is very well observered.
The Tingler has a running thème of being in either short transitent relationships or in unrequited love situations, so the Ida élément is turent form. I still think it this needs a refresh.
Andrew has written an fun, well written entertaining series of detective novels based around Music/bands/collectable vinyl records centred around a music "nerd" (especially Jazz) and his unfeasibly hot girlfriend (and a pair of cats).
Andrew's writes fast paced, humours detective stories in this series, based around records or musicians, In this one, our Vinyl Detective is tasked to act as an intermediary and acquire a rare record from a Swedish seller having done the appropriate due diligence. Naturally things go a bit wrong, a few mishaps and a series of murders later and our hero accidentally solves the mystery and we're back to London. It's a fun ride, with all the usual gang plus a couple of new characters and a well described swedish locals.
My quibbles. I think the geography of the Swedish location could have been better explained (a simplified map would have helped). The introduction of a new Character who recommends the Swedish adventure needed a little more work to be convincing (but thats not really that critical). I think Ida could have promised to come to London and more could have been made of the heavy metal ABBA.
Its another great entry in the series, well worth reading along with the previous ones. Indeed, I may reread the whole lot from scratch in the near future. I don't really have any ranking of my favourites, so whilst I wouldn't say this was my favourite, if it was my least I favourite I really didnt notice it.
Additional comments from my second read:
On the back of rereading the entire séries back to back. I'm actually enjoying this book more than i did first time round. I had completely forgotten about a character introduced in the last book, which explains why the opening section bothered me a bit. It still does (the creepy comptroller élément isnt required for the story, although I think its there because Andrew wanted to use the audio-effect, which is very well observered.
The Tingler has a running thème of being in either short transitent relationships or in unrequited love situations, so the Ida élément is turent form. I still think it this needs a refresh.
June 30, 2022
A slight disappointment in the series. It meandered for many chapters and I found the core characters have developed a very unlikeable smugness.
Once it got going I did enjoy it though.
Spoiler alert - something huge is deposited somewhere very early in the book and it’s bloody obvious why it is where it is. Suggests it was a last-minute way to end the climactic scene and was retroactively included.
Feels as though the writer has lost his love for the series.
Once it got going I did enjoy it though.
Spoiler alert - something huge is deposited somewhere very early in the book and it’s bloody obvious why it is where it is. Suggests it was a last-minute way to end the climactic scene and was retroactively included.
Feels as though the writer has lost his love for the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2023
I broke an unwritten rule of mine of rarely reading the same author back to back. I wish I hadn’t now.
I am a massive fan of this series and I think I gave all the other books five stars.
This one alas was disappointing. It felt a bit rushed. It takes almost half book to get going to be honest.
Other observations - it a lot (and a mean a lot) more sweary than the previous books. I am not against bad language, but it’s a departure from previous books.
Tinkler has now become annoying rather than funnily annoying. His jokes were always based around sex. More so than the other books. Again, a departure from before.
The plot item with his suitcase was absolutely obvious from the outset.
Their ability to over come near death or finding corpses is now stretching believability a bit too far.
I did enjoy it as I love the characters, but I am hoping this is one of the books that proves form is temporary but class is permanent.
I am a massive fan of this series and I think I gave all the other books five stars.
This one alas was disappointing. It felt a bit rushed. It takes almost half book to get going to be honest.
Other observations - it a lot (and a mean a lot) more sweary than the previous books. I am not against bad language, but it’s a departure from previous books.
Tinkler has now become annoying rather than funnily annoying. His jokes were always based around sex. More so than the other books. Again, a departure from before.
The plot item with his suitcase was absolutely obvious from the outset.
Their ability to over come near death or finding corpses is now stretching believability a bit too far.
I did enjoy it as I love the characters, but I am hoping this is one of the books that proves form is temporary but class is permanent.
March 1, 2023
Best one of the series so far I reckon.
May 3, 2023
I have absolutely loved this series but was disappointed in this latest work. It seemed forced and contrived. I just couldn't warm to it.
August 12, 2022
The Vinyl Detective enters the dark world of Scandinavian demonic metal and his hearing may never be the same again. But that’s the least of his and the gang’s problems as someone starts using the tracks on the album they’re hunting down as a murder ideas list and the dead bodies start mounting up.
Another enjoyable romp with the Vinyl Detective and gang, my proper rating is 3.5 stars. This book didn’t quite hit the spot for me, and I don’t know why.
Another enjoyable romp with the Vinyl Detective and gang, my proper rating is 3.5 stars. This book didn’t quite hit the spot for me, and I don’t know why.
June 24, 2022
Closer to 4 stars, this latest installment in a favorite series ended up with a bang, but felt a wee bit slow in the middle. Thus the not-quite-4-stars. Still, a very entertaining series, and this one didn't disappoint.
June 12, 2023
Not quite as good as the last 3 books in the series but still good fun, smatterings of vinyl talk, the Scandi heavy metal scene, serial vinyl killers and a fun plot to unravel. All six of these books have been huge fun to read.
May 30, 2022
This took too long to get going, too much of it feels like a holiday diary when I wanted murder and mayhem.
November 6, 2023
The sixth book in The Vinyl Detective series. Fun and entertaining.
September 5, 2022
Enjoyable romp with winning characters.
August 3, 2022
This was not what I was expecting
It felt like an older brexit loving person wrote it. Tropes that were not funny were used, it felt like a dated stereotype using book.
IE: I find disconcerting how the MMC mentions his surprise of foreigners speaking spotless English, he does this at least 5 times.
🚩🚩🚩
Maybe this is my last Vinyl Detective
It felt like an older brexit loving person wrote it. Tropes that were not funny were used, it felt like a dated stereotype using book.
IE: I find disconcerting how the MMC mentions his surprise of foreigners speaking spotless English, he does this at least 5 times.
🚩🚩🚩
Maybe this is my last Vinyl Detective
June 1, 2022
A slight disappointment for me. I’ve loved this series but this one was below par. It took an absolute age to get going and then wasn’t that thrilling. To be honest, too much dialogue that wasn’t as clever or funny as it thought it was. By moving the characters to Sweden I thought at least we won’t have to hear about the bloody cats but the author was still obsessed with them and who was looking after them!! Hopefully book 7 will be a return to form.
October 6, 2022
The Vinyl Detective and his crew journey to Sweden where they become embroiled in solving the mystery of a Scandinavian Extreme Metal music related serial killer. The series’ obligatory vinyl McGuffin being the band’s rare Magnum Opus album.
Trollhättan Vandtårn AKA Ida’s Tower, “The water tower was a beautiful old building, cylinder of cream brick gleaming in the morning light.”.
My dead pixels copy was a hefty 480 pages. It had a 2022 UK copyright.
Andrew Cartmel is a British novelist, and graphic novel author. He is the author of more than ten novels, including his The Vinyl Detective series. This is the sixth book in that series. The last book of his I read was Low Action (The Vinyl Detective #5) (my review).
Being familiar with the Vinyl Detective series is strongly recommended for reading this book.
I was recently reminded of the Vinyl Detective series after reading a Washington Post article on quality vinyl records. The article was very close to the protagonist’s exposition. I picked-up this, the latest book, to see where the series was going. In particular, I was interested in the hinted Scandi-noir flavor of the story.
The original book in that series Written in Dead Wax (The Vinyl Detective, #1) was a moderately amusing, British, hipster, murder mystery with audiophile world building. However, as the series got long, the author had gotten stuck in a groove. There’s always a vinyl record to look for. There’s always a band involved in murder. The police either never get involved in the murder(s) or were not effective. There's lots of cat-loving. The Scooby-Doo inspired Vinyl Detective team swings into action, providing a cook's tour of London and nearby counties. They solve the murder. And, there is always a public confession at the end.
Well, nothing has changed. This is the same story, only in Sweden.
There was a single POV; the protagonist's. That the hipster, Vinyl Detective, protagonist continues to be unnamed somehow continues to be a source of amusement to me. It’s about the only series plot element I find consistently amusing.
The Vinyl Detective team was unchanged: Nevada ‘Action Girl’ and the Vinyl detective’s love interest, ‘Stoner’, narcist, Tinkler desperate for love and lusting for Clean Head, and Clean Head the female London cabbie ‘Driver’. In this book, Tinkler’s cluelessness and his obvious liability to the team continued to wear thin on me. This was despite him finally ‘hooking-up’ in the story, although not with Clean Head. You don’t stay friends with someone who so reliably almost gets you and himself killed in every book. He should have been shot for his cluelessness, and almost was. Clean Head remained too cool for school, although the slightest bit of jealousy over Tinkler’s good fortune might have been seen? Also the complete reprobate, Stinky Stanmer made his obligatory appearance to capitalize on the Vinyl Detective’s success.
The Swedes were a bit stereotypical from a Brit’s perspective. The men were dour, and the women were all charming and terribly capable. However, the perp’s motive felt missing to me. They also were not that hard to find.
Prose was OK. Dialog was heavy on the badinage was a bit better than descriptive prose. The jocular humor didn’t always connect. For example the sexual innuendo, such as the phallic inference of Ida’s tower almost always missed. The protagonist’s sesquipedalian schtick which was tiresome after the third book; has been taken-up by his GF Nevada in this book. Words that sent me to the dictionary included: mythopoeic, embonpoint and pyroclastic. I know many folks are fond of cats. However, the Vinyl Detective and Nevada’s cat fetish was boring and takes-up too many words. It’s just too cutesy, but not in a good way.
All the books in the series use a vinyl recording as a McGuffin. In this book instead of scouring metro-London for the album, The Vinyl Detective goes to Sweden as a rare album buyer’s agent. In this case, it’s a Swedish, demonic, death metal album (Attack and Decay) by The Storm Dream Troopers. The record disappeared with the band in the 1990’s when banned by the Swedish church. The album’s band was described as, “a sort of death metal ABBA” There were no Swedish death metal bands in the ‘90’s that in anyway meet that description. (Usually, I can identify the author’s inspiration for the band.) However, I thought the change of venue to Trollhättan, Sweden to be a nice change from metro-London. Although, the author later in the Acknowledgments admits that Lidköping, Sweden was the actual location.
As per usual, the story had a single, linear plotting and things were neatly tied-up at the end. The somewhat Engineered Public Confession at the end has become the author’s trademark. There has to be another way to end these stories?
Cartmel’s books always almost wins my trifecta for success for, sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll. The rock ‘n roll is never an issue. I find the musicology to always be interesting. Although, I’ve never been a fan of the book's metal orientation. Except for Tinkler being a pot head and the Vinyl Detective and Nevada being wine snobs, there are never any serious substance abuse issues. Sex rarely rears its ugly head. Although, Tinkler hooks up with a tower dwelling, PhD candidate, Swedish, stripper named Ida, and wears a smile through most of the story.
I’m ambivalent about this series. It's total fluff. It’s also familiar fluff. The narrative reminds me of my own misspent, hipster, youth. Although, nobody has ever tried to murder me. When the stories are based in the UK, I know the Vinyl Detective’s turf. (I’m familiar with Putney (SW15) and environs.) I’ve also been to Sweden. Some of the Vinyl Detective’s observations were spot on. I’ve liked reading about the music, even if the bands are thinly veiled versions of the real thing. I’m also a bit of an audioholic like the protagonist too. However, Cartmel is going to have to mix-it-up, if he wants this series to have legs. It’s getting boring.
Trollhättan Vandtårn AKA Ida’s Tower, “The water tower was a beautiful old building, cylinder of cream brick gleaming in the morning light.”.
My dead pixels copy was a hefty 480 pages. It had a 2022 UK copyright.
Andrew Cartmel is a British novelist, and graphic novel author. He is the author of more than ten novels, including his The Vinyl Detective series. This is the sixth book in that series. The last book of his I read was Low Action (The Vinyl Detective #5) (my review).
Being familiar with the Vinyl Detective series is strongly recommended for reading this book.
I was recently reminded of the Vinyl Detective series after reading a Washington Post article on quality vinyl records. The article was very close to the protagonist’s exposition. I picked-up this, the latest book, to see where the series was going. In particular, I was interested in the hinted Scandi-noir flavor of the story.
The original book in that series Written in Dead Wax (The Vinyl Detective, #1) was a moderately amusing, British, hipster, murder mystery with audiophile world building. However, as the series got long, the author had gotten stuck in a groove. There’s always a vinyl record to look for. There’s always a band involved in murder. The police either never get involved in the murder(s) or were not effective. There's lots of cat-loving. The Scooby-Doo inspired Vinyl Detective team swings into action, providing a cook's tour of London and nearby counties. They solve the murder. And, there is always a public confession at the end.
Well, nothing has changed. This is the same story, only in Sweden.
There was a single POV; the protagonist's. That the hipster, Vinyl Detective, protagonist continues to be unnamed somehow continues to be a source of amusement to me. It’s about the only series plot element I find consistently amusing.
The Vinyl Detective team was unchanged: Nevada ‘Action Girl’ and the Vinyl detective’s love interest, ‘Stoner’, narcist, Tinkler desperate for love and lusting for Clean Head, and Clean Head the female London cabbie ‘Driver’. In this book, Tinkler’s cluelessness and his obvious liability to the team continued to wear thin on me. This was despite him finally ‘hooking-up’ in the story, although not with Clean Head. You don’t stay friends with someone who so reliably almost gets you and himself killed in every book. He should have been shot for his cluelessness, and almost was. Clean Head remained too cool for school, although the slightest bit of jealousy over Tinkler’s good fortune might have been seen? Also the complete reprobate, Stinky Stanmer made his obligatory appearance to capitalize on the Vinyl Detective’s success.
The Swedes were a bit stereotypical from a Brit’s perspective. The men were dour, and the women were all charming and terribly capable. However, the perp’s motive felt missing to me. They also were not that hard to find.
Prose was OK. Dialog was heavy on the badinage was a bit better than descriptive prose. The jocular humor didn’t always connect. For example the sexual innuendo, such as the phallic inference of Ida’s tower almost always missed. The protagonist’s sesquipedalian schtick which was tiresome after the third book; has been taken-up by his GF Nevada in this book. Words that sent me to the dictionary included: mythopoeic, embonpoint and pyroclastic. I know many folks are fond of cats. However, the Vinyl Detective and Nevada’s cat fetish was boring and takes-up too many words. It’s just too cutesy, but not in a good way.
All the books in the series use a vinyl recording as a McGuffin. In this book instead of scouring metro-London for the album, The Vinyl Detective goes to Sweden as a rare album buyer’s agent. In this case, it’s a Swedish, demonic, death metal album (Attack and Decay) by The Storm Dream Troopers. The record disappeared with the band in the 1990’s when banned by the Swedish church. The album’s band was described as, “a sort of death metal ABBA” There were no Swedish death metal bands in the ‘90’s that in anyway meet that description. (Usually, I can identify the author’s inspiration for the band.) However, I thought the change of venue to Trollhättan, Sweden to be a nice change from metro-London. Although, the author later in the Acknowledgments admits that Lidköping, Sweden was the actual location.
As per usual, the story had a single, linear plotting and things were neatly tied-up at the end. The somewhat Engineered Public Confession at the end has become the author’s trademark. There has to be another way to end these stories?
Cartmel’s books always almost wins my trifecta for success for, sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll. The rock ‘n roll is never an issue. I find the musicology to always be interesting. Although, I’ve never been a fan of the book's metal orientation. Except for Tinkler being a pot head and the Vinyl Detective and Nevada being wine snobs, there are never any serious substance abuse issues. Sex rarely rears its ugly head. Although, Tinkler hooks up with a tower dwelling, PhD candidate, Swedish, stripper named Ida, and wears a smile through most of the story.
I’m ambivalent about this series. It's total fluff. It’s also familiar fluff. The narrative reminds me of my own misspent, hipster, youth. Although, nobody has ever tried to murder me. When the stories are based in the UK, I know the Vinyl Detective’s turf. (I’m familiar with Putney (SW15) and environs.) I’ve also been to Sweden. Some of the Vinyl Detective’s observations were spot on. I’ve liked reading about the music, even if the bands are thinly veiled versions of the real thing. I’m also a bit of an audioholic like the protagonist too. However, Cartmel is going to have to mix-it-up, if he wants this series to have legs. It’s getting boring.
February 26, 2023
This series was not that fantastic when it started and it becomes worse and worse with each book. Unfunny, unoriginal and meandering. Cartmel tries to make fun of a self published hack in this pile of horse souvenirs, obviously he never tried to wrestle through his own disaster. I stopped in the middle and tried to donate it to the Oxfam bookshop, but they blatantly refused.
August 18, 2022
I’m going to 5 stars this time. I’ve enjoyed all the instalments in this excellent series, but have found slight quibbles with each of them. This one was no different, to be honest, but Attack and Decay did deliver on all the best aspects of the five books that come before it, giving me more of the characters I enjoyed from the earlier books, some interesting new ones, and a very satisfying setting in the form of Sweden (no all of it, just the one town).
The central mystery too is satisfying, leaning into those Scandi noir tropes and affectations in an enjoyable way. There are a couple of red herrings, and I found the start slow. Soooooo much chat about cats… I find it a real turn off, in no small part because it serves no purpose in the story (that I can see), and I felt the opening meandered, but still, I resisted the urge to skip past the feline whimsy, and things picked up once the “band” reached Scandinavia.
There are just too many fine strands rich with nerdery running through the story not to forgive aspects that were not to my personal taste. One such cheer-out-loud moment was the discourse on SF/crime writer crossover, and the mention of my favourite author, such was my unbridled joy at the name drop that I won’t spoil it for any nerds of a similar stripe that might read this.
The reference to The Magnificent Seven confused me, and doesn’t seem to pan out given that the songs in question have a very different and more obvious theme running through them (again, plot spoilers avoided). And then there’s a key “twist” (literally) at a critical moment late in the story which failed to convince me. The chance of Nevada forgetting about a key piece of equipment seems to me vanishingly small, given how competent and capable she is.
So, okay, maybe 4½ stars, but this is an excellent murder mystery, peppered with zingers and bon mots. Definitely recommended for murder mystery fans.
The central mystery too is satisfying, leaning into those Scandi noir tropes and affectations in an enjoyable way. There are a couple of red herrings, and I found the start slow. Soooooo much chat about cats… I find it a real turn off, in no small part because it serves no purpose in the story (that I can see), and I felt the opening meandered, but still, I resisted the urge to skip past the feline whimsy, and things picked up once the “band” reached Scandinavia.
There are just too many fine strands rich with nerdery running through the story not to forgive aspects that were not to my personal taste. One such cheer-out-loud moment was the discourse on SF/crime writer crossover, and the mention of my favourite author, such was my unbridled joy at the name drop that I won’t spoil it for any nerds of a similar stripe that might read this.
The reference to The Magnificent Seven confused me, and doesn’t seem to pan out given that the songs in question have a very different and more obvious theme running through them (again, plot spoilers avoided). And then there’s a key “twist” (literally) at a critical moment late in the story which failed to convince me. The chance of Nevada forgetting about a key piece of equipment seems to me vanishingly small, given how competent and capable she is.
So, okay, maybe 4½ stars, but this is an excellent murder mystery, peppered with zingers and bon mots. Definitely recommended for murder mystery fans.
November 24, 2022
The Vinyl Detective is asked to negotiate and collect a record by a reformed Demonic Metal band the Storm Dread Troopers, the ABBA of death metal, from a contact in Sweden. Not really our hero’s cup of tea (he’s a jazz collector and a coffee connoisseur) but girlfriend Nevada sees it as a both a payday and a way of wangling a cheeky little holiday into the bargain. One bout of determined negotiation sees them, with Tinkler and ‘Clean Head’ in tow, on a road trip to Sweden, except they fly, into a whole heap of trouble. The band congregates on the hotel in which they are staying, bodies start piling up and of course Stinky Stanmer turns up once again looking to steal our hero’s ideas. It seems the murders are following the tracks on their most famous album.
An overseas trip helps to freshen the series up and provides a few nods to the Scandi-Noir genre. The whole gang are there doing their usual stuff, but this time added to mix we have, a crow with a distinctive beak, a ‘corpse-faced mother fucker’, a pizza restaurant stripper and a band who are a bigger motley crew than Mötley Crüe. Expect laughs aplenty from great jokes, asides, word play and ludicrous situations. Of course, there are deaths, gruesome murders but suffused with silliness and some cartoon like violence.
This is one of my favourite series and one that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Genuinely funny and original. Perhaps a little formulaic but like Ronseal ‘it does what it says on the tin’, the reader knows they’ll discover something about music and recording along with murder and mayhem, and plenty of belly laughs. If Murder She Wrote could run to 264 episodes there’s no reason why the Vinyl Detective shouldn’t get a few more outings. Great escapist fun that may well get you trawling the secondhand and charity shops.
An overseas trip helps to freshen the series up and provides a few nods to the Scandi-Noir genre. The whole gang are there doing their usual stuff, but this time added to mix we have, a crow with a distinctive beak, a ‘corpse-faced mother fucker’, a pizza restaurant stripper and a band who are a bigger motley crew than Mötley Crüe. Expect laughs aplenty from great jokes, asides, word play and ludicrous situations. Of course, there are deaths, gruesome murders but suffused with silliness and some cartoon like violence.
This is one of my favourite series and one that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Genuinely funny and original. Perhaps a little formulaic but like Ronseal ‘it does what it says on the tin’, the reader knows they’ll discover something about music and recording along with murder and mayhem, and plenty of belly laughs. If Murder She Wrote could run to 264 episodes there’s no reason why the Vinyl Detective shouldn’t get a few more outings. Great escapist fun that may well get you trawling the secondhand and charity shops.
May 30, 2025
Might have been best if I'd read book #1 of this series, but figured that by #6 characters would be developed and I'd pick things up.
That didn't quite work out. Attack & Delay has a cast of dozens. Well, lots at least. A Dramatis Personae might have made tracking them easier.
As-it-is, that wasn't the problem that provoked the two-stars. Rather, they were;
* The plot positively crawls along, with an alarmingly lack of pace. Chapters finish with nothing advanced, no new insights, leaving me, the reader, with the idea it was just 'filler'.
* The dialogue is often...well, I can't think of a term to describe it. It's like a call-and-answer. Someone says something, and the character they are talking-to repeats it back as a question. Useful as an occasional mechanism for realism, but it is so overused I became very conscious of it. It became a tad tiring
* I guessed the villain. Not because of clues in the plot deliberately left by the author, but because of that problem I sometimes see with detective/crime novels whereby one particular character is introduced, and then never referred-to again or rarely employed, for the rest of the book. That happened here, so the final 'revelation', wasn't.
I'll stop there.
That didn't quite work out. Attack & Delay has a cast of dozens. Well, lots at least. A Dramatis Personae might have made tracking them easier.
As-it-is, that wasn't the problem that provoked the two-stars. Rather, they were;
* The plot positively crawls along, with an alarmingly lack of pace. Chapters finish with nothing advanced, no new insights, leaving me, the reader, with the idea it was just 'filler'.
* The dialogue is often...well, I can't think of a term to describe it. It's like a call-and-answer. Someone says something, and the character they are talking-to repeats it back as a question. Useful as an occasional mechanism for realism, but it is so overused I became very conscious of it. It became a tad tiring
* I guessed the villain. Not because of clues in the plot deliberately left by the author, but because of that problem I sometimes see with detective/crime novels whereby one particular character is introduced, and then never referred-to again or rarely employed, for the rest of the book. That happened here, so the final 'revelation', wasn't.
I'll stop there.
July 3, 2022
In this 6th novel, the nameless Vinyl Detective and his cohort - Nevada, Agatha aka Clean Head, and the increasingly annoying Tinkler – are hired to travel to Sweden to acquire a valuable death metal record, Attack and Decay, by the Storm Dream Troopers. This novel moves rather slowly for the first half, but introduces an assortment of offbeat characters and gets the crew involved in a number of weird situations. But at the halfway point, the murders begin and the Detective quickly figures out that the murders are carried out using ideas from each song on the record. As usual, the group finds themselves in danger, being shot at then almost burned alive. The book was very enjoyable, but only earned 4 stars because of the slow beginning and the resorting to the “least likely suspect” solution to the crimes. The Storm Dream Troopers themselves end up being only peripherally involved, except for capitalizing on the notoriety of the crimes. Tinkler gets his heart broken again, but the group all return safely home with their job accomplished and the mystery solved.
July 13, 2022
Since book 5 came out I've occasionally glanced at Goodreads hoping to see if there would be a book 6 and was ecstatic when it finally showed up with a release date just before my trip to Crete. Needless to say I was excited for another outting with the vinyl detective and co., and confident it would be once more a fun, banterous and easy read for by the pool. I was spot on. The humour and dialogue in this series is so tightly scripted, it's a pleasure to read. The variation in musical theme and setting keeps things fresh each time and it was all in all another great time to be had. Reading some other reviews I'd be tempted to drop my rating to 3* as critically it's not his best work, but I tend to read these in the same way I watch the Jurassic world movies; low expectations. I'm just there for a good time, not ground breaking cinema. It's fun and you can turn your brain off for a bit and hopefully have a chuckle along the way. If Mr Cartmel could let me know when book 7 is due out I'll get another beach holiday booked to accompany it.
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