Taboo in Four Colors

My Dark Library #4

by Tim McGregor

New York City, 1972 – Comic book artist, Wally Carson, has been illustrating the stories of a reclusive writer named Salazar without ever having met the man in person. When Salazar suddenly misses his deadlines, Carson is sent to find out what’s happened to the company’s best-selling writer.

Carson meets resistance from the writer’s wife, but when he insists, he is shocked to find Salazar in a catatonic state. When other artists at the company want to collaborate with the elusive Salazar, Carson realizes he will have to make Salazar disappear—piece by piece, if necessary.

Don’t read with the lights on…this is My Dark Library.

My Dark Library is a collection of novellas curated by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann to represent her favorite themes, tropes, and subgenres in horror fiction today.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Novella, Noir, Adult

143 pages, Paperback

First published November 22, 2022

About the author

Tim McGregor is an author living in Toronto with his wife and children. And a ghost. A really spiteful ghost.

Reviews

[Catherine McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this novella so much! Tim McGregor is one of those authors whose prose flows as smooth as silk. Nothing jars, you just pick up his work and ease your way from beginning to end. Yes, there are moments that steal your breath, moments you read over and over to relish the beauty of his phrasing. There are also moments that make your heart race with anticipation, yet nothing ever detracts from the flow.
I would slot this novella into the horror genre but label it horror-noir. The comic book office setting and MCs voice, as well as the general feel are the reason I say this.
As usual, McGregor’s characters are fully-fleshed and utterly believable. He makes you feel their pain as well as their pleasure, and always manages to immerse you in their settings without being overly descriptive. That’s talent right there! The romance elements were beautifully done, and the fact that Katja was older than Carson added to it. She wrapped him around her finger and then some.
The tension builds gradually, and just when I thought I’d guessed the outcome it delivered a blow that proved me wrong.
I want to avoid spoilers, so I’ll just give a general nod to some of my absolute favorite parts. Firstly the scene with the crows. Here the horror was visceral and very striking. (Keep a look out for the pillowcase scene and you’ll know what I mean.) Another favorite of mine was the horrific but tender scene that talks about how personal an artist’s hands are. I can’t say any more about this without spoilers, but it really made me pause and reflect. In fact, it left me quite emotional.
Now, I’m not the kind of reader who likes being given everything on a plate. I prefer my endings to leave me with a few questions so that I can imagine my own outcomes and deliberate over the characters’ future for longer. If a book crosses all the T's and dots all the I's it prevents me thinking about it long term. On that front, this one worked beautifully as far as I’m concerned.
All in all a class act, as always! Don’t miss it!

[Ross Jeffery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taboo in Four Colours is a triumph of a book and showcases perfectly the unmistakable talent of McGregor as a raconteur and master of suspense and horror.

This story read as if I were sitting in a room, a whiskey in hand, listening to a dear friend regale me with a story; you can’t put a price in how comforting that is, when a book is not a chore, when the worlds just comfort the reader. Reading this book conjured the same feeling I get when I settle down to a Stephen King book - and for me there’s nothing better than that feeling.

McGregor put me at ease, comforted me, thrilled me, scared me and enraptured me all the way through. There is horror here, but there is also love, obsession, lies, deceit, mistakes and a thrilling plot - and McGregor makes us feel each and every emotion to its fullest, with sumptuous prose and clean, precise storytelling.

I’m also a huge comic book fan (probably geek is a better word for it) and the sections which are sprinkled throughout this tale really work and also listening to the ideas that McGregor conjures as comic books - I think he’s got enough material in this one to write some books from his comic ideas or a short story collection which catalogues them all - he should, he must… because I’d bloody well read them all!

A great book… and I highly recommend it!

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing up the foreword. I'll post it here soon.

[Horror DNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harkening back to days of old, Tim McGregor’s Taboo in Four Colors brings us to 1972 New York in the comic industry. Wally Carson works as an illustrator, bringing to life the stories of a writer named Salazar, who’s never failed to deliver a story. And then he does, prompting Wally to try to track Salazar down. Discovering Salazar’s beautiful wife Katja, Wally is drawn into a grim underworld of obsession where he is willing to do anything to preserve his career and his standing in Katja’s eyes.

You can read Zach's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Kiera ☠ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me longer to finish than it should have seeing as it’s just about 140 pages. The trouble is I didn’t find myself wanting to really pick it back up. It’s not that it’s a bad novella, because it’s not. It’s just that I found it to be dull, especially in comparing it to other books by McGregor. ‘Taboo in Four Colours’ is classic McGregor prose in that it’s quite melancholy and slow paced. A slow burn with well developed characters that you become invested in. Overall, I think the story here is strong if you go into it expecting a slow burn and if you aren’t looking for much actual horror.

The horror in these pages is not traditional as you might expect but rather in the horror humans will wrap themselves into for someone else. How an infatuation with a new lover will have to crossing lines and boundaries you’d never consider. Overall, I appreciate what this novella is, I just feel like it could have been more. I felt like Tim would circle back to the first chapter by the end but that doesn’t really happen so I was a tad disappointed. If you’re looking for a slow burn novella about two people involved in a sticky situation then I would still recommend this read. Just don’t anticipate any traditional horror scares.

[Paul Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a world where indie comic publishers are becoming obsolete and horror comics are shunned, Salazar, a mysterious reclusive comic writer, might be the only thing keeping Capitol Comics out of the gutter.
New York City, 1972, Carson is a comic book artist who is Salazar’s exclusive pencil and inker. All is not what it seems when writer and artist meet for the first time. Spirits become agitated in this supernatural noir thriller that is both haunting and evocative.
Will Carson and the writer keep their secrets hidden or will their muse be discovered and bring Capitol Comics crashing down?
This book gets into some graphic scenes and I really hope Tim had to do lots of research and didn’t know some of this from first hand experience.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this novella to read for review and I’m SO happy I got it. I LOVED it. It kept my attention the entire time and was so dark and mysterious. I loved the setting of it. I’m not a comic book reader and know nothing of that world but this made me want to read one. I love the relationship between Carson and Katja. It’s a very forbidden love story as well. I didn’t see that ending coming and was surprised and pleased with it. I can’t wait for people to read this. It’s a dark and twisted page turner that you won’t be able to put down.

[Tobin Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really beginning to believe that Tim McGregor is both one of Canadian horror's best kept secrets, and that he's completely incapable of writing anything less that stunning, insightful, wonderful work.

The set-up for this is brilliant, with the team of Salazar and Carson writing and illustrating EC-style horror stories for a struggling comic book company, but when the mysterious Salazar is suddenly behind with the scripts, Carson goes to meet him for the first time, to see what's wrong...

...and what follows is what an EC-style horror story would look like if it was written by a master author instead of a team that had to bang out the story in a couple of weeks. It holds all the salacious details—death and gore and sex and nefarious secrets and dangerous lovers—that the comics were famous for, but McGregor plays it straight, taking the time to embue his two leads with humanity and intrigue.

Along the way, we get the bonuses of a fair amount of factual comic book history, and some summaries of the stories Salazar and Carson work on, that are perfect pastiches of the horror comics of the early Seventies.

This book grabbed me and kept me hooked right to the final page...as every damn McGregor book has.

He's absolutely fantastic, and he should be read by every horror fan.

One final bonus...and the resemblance is far too close to be accidental, so I'm going to say it was both intentional and brilliant to cast Tim McGregor as the unfortunate body on the cover of this book.

Well done.

[Brian Bowyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal!

Loved this one! Great writing, believable characters, and a thrilling plot. I'm looking forward to reading more of McGregor's work. Highly recommended!

[Richard Bankey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great horror short story. Looking forward to reading more from this author. 4.5 🌟

[Horror Bookworm Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horror Bookworm Reviews
Taboo In Four Colors by Tim McGregor
https://horrorbookwormreviews.com/

New York City 1972. Wally Carson is employed by Capital Comics as a pencil & ink illustrator, specifically within the competitive genre of horror comics. Wally’s collaboration with writer Hector Salazar is a match made in comic book heaven. When the long distance correspondence stops, Wally is sent to investigate the missing creator of scary stories. What he finds is a haunting habitat of horrific secret anomalies.

Author Tim McGregor captures the essence of those spooky comics of yesteryear with dialogue, drafting tables, bullpens and annoying editor-in-chiefs. Scripts, penciling and inks all become intricate elements to this weird story of insane reality. It’s a story of strangers romantic ailments becoming a gruesome burden of taboo love.

Taboo In Four Colors is appropriately the fourth book in the My Dark Library collection. Packing a pulp style of storytelling with lurid fiction built around suspicion and peculiarities, McGregor writes an intimate, authentic and unguarded manner of pillow talk all the while keeping one finger on the pulse of a multi-layered crime noir.

Follow the blood-trail of rotting corpses as well as human carnage. If you loved those classic E.C. Comics of days gone by and refused to follow the regulations of the Cosmic Code Authority, you will dig this entertaining publication of dark fiction. Welcome to the spookshow baby! A five star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Horror Bookworm Recommendation.

[Syn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taboo in Four Colors has a reminiscence of those old films where the damsel in distress would walk into the detective’s office. Then the detective would say, "in all the private dick offices in the world, why'd she have to walk into mine?" But the damsel in this book doesn't seem fazed by the distress in her world and has a calm and collected view of it, aloof, sexy, and nonchalant.

This book definitely gave me pulp and noir vibes, but in four colors. NYC 1972, the comic book biz. Wally Carson works for Capitol Comics and has a strange relationship with one of their star writers Hector Salazar. Let's not forget to mention that Salazar is a recluse and no one has seen him in years. But he turns in his work in a timely manner and no one has cared up until the point when he fails to turn in his work. Since Carson has corresponded with him for several years, his boss decides for him that he needs to go see what is going on with Salazar.

Carson reluctantly goes to the writer's home and is pulled into a weird and uncomfortable situation. At first Salazar's wife won't let Carson see him and after some persistance she relents. When he learns the truth about what is going on with Salazar it puts him on a path that he can't seem to veer from.

Dark and disturbing, quirky characters that have a strange charm, a situation that spirals down a drain, with dark omens whispering in the ether. The comic book stories within the story are a nice element too. I devoured this novella in two sittings and it would have been one if I hadn't had adulting to do.

[Danielle (Danni) Vinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I'm a comic book nerd so the story is right up my proverbial alley. Carson and "Salazar" are compelling characters--one needy and insecure, the other strong and confident. Their relationship is sad, tempestuous, and disturbing. I loved the use of slapstick style humour, and the darkness of corvids. I thought the story was going one way but it went somewhere else, and I'm all about an ambiguous ending. Loved this one. Thank you, @mother.horror

[Joe Ortlieb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good different read. A slow burn that was enjoyable.

[Mother Suspiria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a ghoulish, calamitous caper of doomed desire, and Tim McGregor takes the story from mundane to macabre with artful glee and efficiency. Affectionate nods to the pulpy EC comics of old enhance this fun, creepy novella. It's an elegantly concise, riveting tale. The fourth tale in the My Dark Library series is as good and unique as the first three. Recommended!

[Austrian Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tim’s work is a thing of beauty, I have to say. I fell in love with his predominantly readable voice in “Hearts, strange and dreadful”, and was further ensnared by both “Lure”, and "Wasps in the ice cream", all 5-star reads, so when Mother Horror sent out the call for ARC reviewers, I jumped at the chance. You really can’t go wrong with Tim, no matter the topic or genre. Case in point, the horror noir novel “Taboo in four colors”.

Prepare to fall in love again with rot.

Tim does phenomenal work here, his descriptions of the decay of a body are breathtaking. The smells, the purification, the whole nasty mess that we become is gloriously center stage in this wonderful study of the lengths people go to in the name of new love. Not only does he captivate you with the very real (feeling) budding of a relationship under duress, he manages to do it beautifully framed against body horror, and adds the threat of paranormal horror to boot. I couldn’t look away, he had from the brilliant false start (which had me thinking – “Tim? What the hell?” – quickly followed by “Aha. Of course. You sly dog, you.” I don’t want to spoil it – but this is wonderfully planned.

The characters are sublime, totally rounded, and believable. I loved all of them. Every single one came fully formed to the party. From the office hot girl to the editor-in-chief to the policeman who interrupts a nefarious act, I believed in all of them. The ending is reminiscent of Shawshank redemption, of course, Trogir replacing Zihuatanejo, with Wally replacing Andy Dufresne, but that’s probably me feeling happy for both of those characters, and wishing them a happy ending.

I couldn’t read this fast enough, and I will read it again, it is a mark of Tim’s work that I do not wish to leave the worlds he creates, and find myself at home wherever that may be.

Absolute money’s worth. Superb, Tim. You had me from the first page.

5 out of 5 ⭐ ‘s. My thanks to Mother Horror and My Dark Library for the ARC.

[Scott Cumming · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tim McGregor is a new author to me, but I more than trust the process when it comes to Mother Horror picking out a curated collection of horror novellas especially when she has a keen eye for noir tinged tales of terror.

Carson is tasked with finding out what the deal with reclusive writer Hector Salazar as his latest script hasn't arrived at Capitol Comics and as their highest selling writer they need him in order to hang in there against the big boys who've turned their hands to writing in the genre Capitol excel in - horror. Carson does the art for Salazar's scripts and it is thought he knows him better than anyone at Capitol, but who he eventually meets cannot be imagined or known about by his employers.

The voice and characters are so rich in this novella. There is no wasted energy or words. There's the fun of being a comic book fan and seeing how the sausage was made especially in a low level house just trying to get by. It truly feels like Carson is speaking just to you and it's one of those books that would be so easy to read in one fell swoop (y'know, for someone without young children, a dog and an interest in the World Cup).

I'm going to need to catch up on the other couple of My Dark Library titles after reading this one, but it is essential reading as it manages to touch upon several genres while never being defined by them bringing a fully realised world into the short duration it sits with you.

[Kerry]

Tim McGregor’s novella, Taboo in Four Colors, tells the story of a comic book artist named Carson during the early 1970’s. He works for a smaller press, and he is the only person allowed to illustrate the work of the reclusive horror writer Hector Salazar. When Salazar uncharacteristically misses a deadline, Carson’s editor insists Carson figure out what happened. The young man pounds on the door of Salazar’s apartment on Geranium Blvd, but he discovers a Gothic-worthy secret.

Tim McGregor’s storytelling is almost conversational. The horrifying events build upon one another, marching to an inevitability. I loved the references to early horror comics and the troubles with the comic codes in America. Elements of paranoia, superstition - or is it a haunting? - and a budding romance flesh out this grisly adventure set in New York City. You have a damsel in distress, a gent who thinks he has the answer to the problem, and a lot of really cool crows. I’ll never think of kitty litter quite the same after reading this. Fans of pulp publications, take note!

This is the fourth in the My Dark Library collection curated by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann. I will have to seek out the earlier editions when I have the discretionary cash!

[Steph Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

TABOO IN FOUR COLORS is glorious. It's so much more than a horror novella. It's a Hitchcock sort of story with almost a Russian CRIME AND PUNISHMENT vibe. It's unpredictable and there doesn't seem to be an out. I loved Katja's character, and how McGregor weaved romance in the midst of these high stakes.

At some point, I paused reading to evaluate that even though what the characters felt they needed to do to get out of their situation was SO weird, it absolutely made sense to me as the reader. I'm nodding along, as if it's just some every day problem to figure out, no different than "I'm out of Ziploc bags, I guess I'll have to wrap my sandwich in cling wrap." Except it's not a sandwich, and it's a problem that no cling wrap can solve.

I love stories that have this quality of pulling me in so deeply that the crazy chaos becomes believable to the extent that I don't even notice how like-minded I've become with the characters.

If you like noir films, suspense, relatable characters, and a dash of WTF, you'll love TABOO IN FOUR COLORS.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

1970s NYC. A comic book artist illustrates two horror stories from a reclusive author he's never actually met in person. When the latest script hasn't shown up, his editor sends him off to talk to the author, find out what's going on.

What's going on is A LOT.

I don't know that I've ever read a horror-noir, but dang if it didn't work here. Add in the sleaze of old NYC (I've seen that Netflix doc about the guy who killed someone in a hotel, I know what it was like back then) and the yuck and ick and blerf just drips off the page. Spoiler alert: other things drip as well, don't read while eating. (Unless you like to take such warnings as a challenge.)

Katja is such a well-written, dynamic character. I could hear her dialogue perfectly. Carson, on the other hand, was a bit more tepid. Also, maybe, a little dumb.

[Rowan Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just phenomenal. Going in, I knew McGregor did historical settings well and did question how he would do in a relatively modern setting. But nope. Still 100% all gas no brakes and just as enthralling.

I really enjoyed the noir atmosphere in this book and its hard for me not to give any spoilers, but I'm pretty sure this novella hits the entire spectrum of emotions. I'll never look at crows the same way and there are some very graphic scenes that might make some readers squirm. A compelling story line that ties up nicely, the novella should be read next to a cozy fireplace with your favorite hard liquor.

[Erica Robyn Metcalf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taboo in Four Colors by Tim McGregor is a tale of comic books, hidden love, and doing whatever needs to be done to keep secrets safe.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll keep saying it; the way that Tim’s writing style hooks readers right in is incredible. These characters are some that I (yet again) felt protective of immediately. As the story went on, I kept hoping for the best and for them to both get what they want.

The focus on real-world horror mixed with a bit of spookiness is totally captivating.

This is such an amazing tale. I would recommend it to fans of horror. I blew right through this one! Tim’s work is just unputdownable.

Check out my full review here:
https://www.ericarobynreads.com/taboo...

[David Thirteen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taboo in Four Colors is a love letter to a bygone era of comic books before they became dominated by superheroes and still had space for a multitude of genres. The protagonist is an artist mainly working on the dark, creepy tales of a reclusive writer. When the writer goes missing and the artist seeks him out, his life becomes a penny-dreadful romance laden with moments of the macabre, told with a hard noir edge. Ironically, this novella might have the happiest ending of any McGregor story I’ve read.

[Sarah Huntington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I normally fall into a Tim McGregor book within the first few lines. This one took me a longer, maybe a whole chapter or so but I'm glad I stuck with it. I ended up enjoying this a lot and it's definitely worth reading. If the author decided to write about a solitary balloon wandering the earth aimlessly, no doubt I'd end up buying it and liking it. It's all about the writing for me, and this author is exceptional.

[Aaron Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tim McGregor is so underrated.
I loved this one. It's got that vintage vibe, and flows so much better than most of today's horror.
Wally is an artist in the comic book industry. When the writer of his comics fails to meet his normal deadline, Wally is given the secret address and told to find out what's going on.
From that point (and it's early in the story) I was not able to put the book away.
Short enough to read in one or two sittings, you can't go wrong with this one.

[Laura B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had horror elements in it. It was about people who created horror comics. But the story itself… the earlier part was intriguing, with a red herring about the direction the story would move in regarding Hector. But then… it kind of turned into a romance tale with angst, with a big serving of stupid people making stupid decisions, overestimating themselves, oversimplifying reality, making stupid mistakes, and then paying for said mistakes. Um… I don’t know about this one.

[Jimmy Ellercamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super easy to read and colourful. The thing I love the most about Tim's work is that it always starts off smooth and innocuous, and then eventually just twists and turns and suddenly, your stomach just drops. This book is just like that. What is once very chill and interesting turns super dark and messed up, and you're left asking, in the best way, "how the hell did we get here?"

[Jose Villanueva · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun, easy, read. It pulls you in and doesn’t let you go. The noir vibes, the call backs now and again to classic horror, the imagery of 70’s New York; it all just worked. Really loved this, along with all the other novellas in “my dark library.”

[Geoff Parrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tim McGregor has invented astral projection! Opening this book you become a ghost in another world, hovering over the characters, watching the story unfold. I felt as if I were in the room with Carson. Brilliantly descriptive storytelling.

[Josh Buyarski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This grabbed me right away! The comic book artist and the reclusive writer!
Then of course once they have to meet all things go sideways.
There were two chapters that we written like comic book panels, not formats but how I saw them in my head, that really stuck out!