Mark Cain has given us without a doubt one of the more original and humorous book collections available today with his Circles in Hell series, starting with the bestseller, Hell’s Super.
In it, we are introduced for the first time to Steve, hell’s superintendent, its handyman, who has fallen in love with a saint come to ease the suffering of the damned, all while trying to solve the mystery of the sabotaged escalator which leads from the bowels of hell to the pearly gates themselves.
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English Decadence
“The Ghosts of Eden Park” by Karen Abbott – The First King of Bootleggers
Karen Abbott has certainly found her niche in exploring the rich history the United States of America has to offer, and with The Ghosts of Eden Park she continues her journey by exploring the life of George Remus.
Somewhat overshadowed by Al Capone’s efforts, Remus was actually the first “King of the Bootleggers” in America during the earliest days of the prohibition, and his life ended up being far stranger than fiction.
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McGarry Stateside Series (Book 2)
“Curious Toys” by Elizabeth Hand – The Killer Under the Carnival’s Shadow
Elizabeth Hand knows it takes a bit more than the usual these days to stand out from the literary crowd, and in her novel Curious Toys she strives to accomplish this task.
Taking us back to 1915, we follow a young fourteen-year-old daughter of a carnival fortune-teller who bands together with an iconic artist to track down and unmask a serial killer nobody seems to know about.
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McGarry Stateside Series (Book 1)
“Do the Birds Still Sing in Hell?” by Horace Greasley – Escaping for Love
Joseph Horace Greasley is one of countless veterans from the Second World War who haven’t let their experience and memories go to waste, writing his autobiography shortly before his passing titled Do the Birds Still Sing in Hell?.
In this book, the brunt of the focus is placed on his time spent as a prisoner of war in a German camp, and his hundreds of successful attempts to sneak out and meet with his love interest, and then back in with anything to help his comrades.
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Mystery, Chicago 1915
“Jerusalem” by Alan Moore – Holy City of English Decadence
Alan Moore may have established his reputation largely through timeless comic books such as Watchmen, but he has also proven himself to be a novelist with no equal, namely through his 2016 work titled Jersualem.
In it, we are taken on an exploration of the madness, brilliancy, decay and degeneracy which has seeped over the years into the town of Northampton in the United Kingdom, taking a close look at the lives of its denizens, forgotten to the rest of the world.
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Autobiography, History
“I Have Sinned” by Caimh McDonnell – A Priest Marked for Death
Caimh McDonnell is certainly one of those authors intent on making his characters work for all they’re worth, and in I Have Sinned he sends out his former detective Bunny McGarry into yet another adventure in the second McGarry Stateside series entry.
This time around, McGarry is forced to keep a grumpy priest alive while being targeted by assassins, all while pledging to avoid the three things he knows best: alcohol, swearing and violence.
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SciFi, Dystopian, Apocalypse
“Disaster Inc” by Caimh McDonnell – The Accidental Confidant
Caimh McDonnell has introduced the world to Bunny McGarry in The Dublin Trilogy, and in his new series titled McGarry Stateside, he brings the hero to the United States of America.
The first novel, titled Disaster Inc, takes us to Manhattan where Bunny accidentally finds himself having to protect Amy Daniels, a woman who heard the confession of a hedge fund manager and is now targeted for assassination because of it.
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Explore
“Wanderers” by Chuck Wendig – The Sleepwalking Saviours
Chuck Wendig was never one to let a good and original idea go to waste, and in his novel Wanderers he presents a truly unique idea, something which happens less and less often in this world.
In essence, it tells the story of an ever-growing flock of sleepwalkers journeying across America, their friends and family protecting them along the way, and the society around them which begins to collapse, some even seeking their deaths.
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“The Night Fire” by Michael Connelly – The Investigator’s Flame
Michael Connelly may have traveled a long road with Harry Bosch, but he found a way to breathe a new life into him, partnering him up with detective Renee Ballard.
In the second book in their series, titled The Night Fire, the duo sets out to solve a case which haunted Harry’s mentor for over twenty years until his death, the unsolved murder of a troubled young man.
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“Dark Sacred Night” by Michael Connelly – Fifteen Years of Darkness
Michael Connelly is rightfully known as a true modern master of murder mysteries and detective fiction, the Harry Bosch series being his most famous creation.
In Dark Night, he brings together Bosch and detective Renee Ballard to create a new series which sees his characters working together. In their first outing, the try and put to rest an old unsolved case, the murder of a runaway in Hollywood, the 15-year-old Daisy Clayton.
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Explore more…
“Janis” by Holly George-Warren – God Save the Queen of Rock & Roll
Holly George-Warren is an authority like few others when it comes to the storied yet short history of Rock & Roll, having dedicated a large portion of her life to studying the phenomenon. As such, who better than to write a profoundly-researched and intimate biography of Janis Joplin, the Queen of Rock & Roll?
In Janis, George-Warren aims to show the legend not only as a counterculture icon filled with suffering, but also as a passionate artist and perfectionist musician who was, in the end, human like the rest of us.
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“Where the Light Enters” by Sara Donati – The Shield of the Doctors Savard
Sara Donati may have truly started something remarkable with her Gilded Hour Series, presenting a portrayal of late 19th-century Manhattan from some unique perspectives.
In the second novel in the series, titled Where the Light Enters, Donati pursues the story of Sophie and Anna Savard, two cousins who are also doctors. This time around, as they are still trying to find a place for themselves in this world, they are also called upon by the police as consultants for a couple of curious cases which suggest a killer might be on the prowl.
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“The Grand Dark” by Richard Kadrey – Celebrating the Shadow of Euphoria
Richard Kadrey is one of the most unique and original authors out there, with nearly every single one of his stories being incomparable to anything else in the realm of literature.
One of his latest novels, The Grand Dark, bears once again testimony to his incredible abilities as an author, telling a rather complex story revolving around the city of Lower Proszawa, blinded by extreme hedonism and euphoria from winning the great war, despite a darkness looming ahead. In the middle of it, a drug-addled bike messenger from the slums has an ambitious dream he will stop at nothing to realize.
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“The Gilded Hour” by Sara Donati – Defiance in a Changing World
Sara Donati, the pen name used by Rosina Lippi, has authored quite a few remarkable historical novels, and out of them all none attracted the same kind of attention as The Gilded Hour, the first book in the series bearing the same name.
We begin our journey through 1883 New York as we follow the lives of two female doctors, both struggling in their own ways with the realities of the times, doing their best to bring whatever goodness they can to a suffering world.
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“Permanent Record” by Edward Snowden – The Electric Eye of Freedom
Edward Snowden is a name which comes up time and time again in news articles all around the world, but the truth is most people aren’t familiar with the importance of his whistleblowing below the surface level.
In September 2019 he published his first work as an author: Permanent Record. Autobiographical in its nature, Snowden details in his book how he helped to build the United States’ mass surveillance system, and how he came to be on the other side of the hill, trying to take it down.
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“Her Silent Cry” by Lisa Regan – Carousel of Sorrow
Lisa Regan has earned much of her renown through the exceptional Detective Josie Quinn series, and the heroine returns to do what she does best in Her Silent Cry.
This time around, the case revolves around a young girl, Lucy, who seems to have disappeared into thin air while riding the carousel at Denton city park. It doesn’t take long for a note from the kidnapper to be found in Lucy’s backpack… and soon after, her babysitter’s lifeless body.
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