Cuold do better - see me, 10 Nov 2008
Mostly I give Christopher Brookmyre's books four or five stars. True I tend not to like books with gratuitous violence of foul language, but he is normally so inventive that I forgive such transgressions. Not so with A snowball in hell! Brookmyre seems always determined to push at the boundaries of acceptability, and I have no problems with that. In this latest book however he doesn't push acceptability; he kicks it out of sight. He takes his hero Angelique de Xavia through an improbable series of events with which she is impotent to cope unless she has guidance her lover Zal!
It could have been a hugely enjoyable romp! It could have been his usual skilful mix of the absurd! It is neither, it misses most of the tests which have previously set Brookmyre apart form mere thriller writers. All this being said, I enjoyed the book, but only give it three stars "As was always stated on my school report "could do better".


Entertaining and inventive cartoon nastiness, 13 Oct 2008
It's always worth buying the latest Brookmyre to see what bit of inventive nastiness he's come up with this time. Where some other authors would make all this mayhem stomach turning and unpleasant, Brookmyre somehow manages to get away with it because it comes across as cartoon violence; sort of "Reservoir Dogs" where the dogs in question are Huckleberry Hound and Deputy Dawg.

There were some excellent plot twists and it's definitely a page-turner, but I didn't like this as much as his previous book (Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks), perhaps because the underlying theme there (the inability of people to discount bogus ideas) was stronger than the theme here (the celebrity of non-celebrities; yes, we'd all probably like to dream up some unpleasant fates to visit on participants in Big Brother, or indeed on Endemol executives). So four stars rather than five; if you are familiar with Brookmyre's novels, then you'll probably buy it anyway, but might not make a lot of sense to you if you haven't read a couple of previous pieces of his work where the characters here were previously introduced.

Mr Spanks revenge, 01 Oct 2008
This is the second book I have read of CB's and was not dissapointed. I do however have to concede I enjoyed his last book Unsinkable Rubber Ducks more. It's difficult to say why, because both are really well crafted books that keep the reader engaged. I just felt that this didnt quite hit the bullseye regarding any real humour and its slightly convoluted plotline.Having said all that I would really recommend anyone to read a Brookmyre novel.

Not so much Dubh Ardrain as Down a Drain, 23 Sep 2008
This book reads as if it's been written over a period of time with large spaces between each bout of writing. It draws strongly on The Sacred Art of Stealing and shares some of the same characters, however the plot is not nearly as strong as TSAoS. The mini set pieces within the main story don't 'hang' together properly or form a cohesive whole. Brookmyre seems to seek to shock the reader with lots of (senseless) killing and little actual storyline. As with a lot of Brookmyre's work, the story appears to serve as a platform for the author's own political rants. This may fill the pages, but hardly makes it into a page turner. If you liked TSAoS don't think this will be a suitable sequel, it's not a patch.

Massively entertaining, 18 Sep 2008
A hard boiled heroine, a sensitive intelligent hero, a black hearted villain with a passion for indie pop, vicious satire of contemporary media culture, exuberant wit, sufficient plot twists to turn one cross-eyed.

Nope, I can't find anything not to like. A thoroughly recommended and entertaining raead

Cuold do better - see me, 10 Nov 2008
Mostly I give Christopher Brookmyre's books four or five stars. True I tend not to like books with gratuitous violence of foul language, but he is normally so inventive that I forgive such transgressions. Not so with A snowball in hell! Brookmyre seems always determined to push at the boundaries of acceptability, and I have no problems with that. In this latest book however he doesn't push acceptability; he kicks it out of sight. He takes his hero Angelique de Xavia through an improbable series of events with which she is impotent to cope unless she has guidance her lover Zal!
It could have been a hugely enjoyable romp! It could have been his usual skilful mix of the absurd! It is neither, it misses most of the tests which have previously set Brookmyre apart form mere thriller writers. All this being said, I enjoyed the book, but only give it three stars "As was always stated on my school report "could do better".


Entertaining and inventive cartoon nastiness, 13 Oct 2008
It's always worth buying the latest Brookmyre to see what bit of inventive nastiness he's come up with this time. Where some other authors would make all this mayhem stomach turning and unpleasant, Brookmyre somehow manages to get away with it because it comes across as cartoon violence; sort of "Reservoir Dogs" where the dogs in question are Huckleberry Hound and Deputy Dawg.

There were some excellent plot twists and it's definitely a page-turner, but I didn't like this as much as his previous book (Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks), perhaps because the underlying theme there (the inability of people to discount bogus ideas) was stronger than the theme here (the celebrity of non-celebrities; yes, we'd all probably like to dream up some unpleasant fates to visit on participants in Big Brother, or indeed on Endemol executives). So four stars rather than five; if you are familiar with Brookmyre's novels, then you'll probably buy it anyway, but might not make a lot of sense to you if you haven't read a couple of previous pieces of his work where the characters here were previously introduced.

Mr Spanks revenge, 01 Oct 2008
This is the second book I have read of CB's and was not dissapointed. I do however have to concede I enjoyed his last book Unsinkable Rubber Ducks more. It's difficult to say why, because both are really well crafted books that keep the reader engaged. I just felt that this didnt quite hit the bullseye regarding any real humour and its slightly convoluted plotline.Having said all that I would really recommend anyone to read a Brookmyre novel.

Not so much Dubh Ardrain as Down a Drain, 23 Sep 2008
This book reads as if it's been written over a period of time with large spaces between each bout of writing. It draws strongly on The Sacred Art of Stealing and shares some of the same characters, however the plot is not nearly as strong as TSAoS. The mini set pieces within the main story don't 'hang' together properly or form a cohesive whole. Brookmyre seems to seek to shock the reader with lots of (senseless) killing and little actual storyline. As with a lot of Brookmyre's work, the story appears to serve as a platform for the author's own political rants. This may fill the pages, but hardly makes it into a page turner. If you liked TSAoS don't think this will be a suitable sequel, it's not a patch.

Massively entertaining, 18 Sep 2008
A hard boiled heroine, a sensitive intelligent hero, a black hearted villain with a passion for indie pop, vicious satire of contemporary media culture, exuberant wit, sufficient plot twists to turn one cross-eyed.

Nope, I can't find anything not to like. A thoroughly recommended and entertaining raead

Hard Landing (Dan Sheperd Mysteries), 06 Nov 2008
The Dan Shepherd series are rivetting and hard to put down. 'Spider' is an interesting and complex character but reassuringly tough - a bit like a UK version of Jack Reacher from the Lee Child books, but not such a loner. I have enjoyed everyone of the Dan Shepherd books and strongly recommend them - the fact that I have bought them all is testament to Stephen Leather being a great author

Spider Does Porridge, 25 Aug 2008
I have just read Hard Landing for the 2nd time with a gap of about 3 years. I have a talent for developing amnesia when it comes to reading and therefore I could really only remember the basic plotline. I was once again captivated by the tension the author creates in this thriller and found myself holding my breath as the action hotted up. I think the introduction of Spider's family and his interaction with his son humanises a character I have previously described as "superhuman" (my review of Dead Men).This was our first meeting with Spider and to date he has not disappointed.

Great intro to Spider, 06 Oct 2007
This is the first of Leathers books to feature Dan Shepherd, and it is a cracker! Carpenter is a drug dealer on remand in a high security prison but managing to kill off witneses so his case won't go to trial. Carpenter has a huge span of control both in and out of the nick. Enter Spider, undercover to make sure Carpenter gets convicted. This is a great and tense game of chess with Carpenter having a strong network and Spider always under the risk of being found as a cop in jail. Great story, but could have been edited down 100 pages, nevertheless.

Standard Prison story with a cracking end, 22 Mar 2007
Leather has written some amazing books and this for anyone else would be a good book but not quite as amazing as his early ones. The story starts off with Dan Shepherd being arrested and put in prison to get information on a really nasty drug runner who has killed off most of anyone who can finger him. The scenes are pretty graphic and the action as far as it can get in a prison is pretty hard and fast. The ending makes a huge extra point to the book.

Not bad.

New literary Tough Guy hits the ground running, 14 Feb 2007
HARD LANDING was the first in the Stephen Leather's series of thrillers starring Dan "Spider" Shepherd, an ex-SAS trooper now assigned to an elite Metropolitan police unit tabbed for deep undercover operations when the usual enforcement methods can't nab the bad guys. Dan's nickname came to be while on an SAS survival training mission and he won a bet on who could eat the most disgusting thing. One normally doesn't see "tarantula" on the menu even in the greasiest curry house.

HARD LANDING was followed by SOFT TARGET and COLD KILL, all three of which I've unintentionally read in reverse order. I'd recommend reading the first book first since, if nothing else, the series is a character development exercise for the protagonist.

Here, Spider is tossed into one of Her Majesty's maximum security prisons after establishing his cover as an armed desperado on an airport warehouse hold-up gone bad. Dan's mission is to nail big-time drug trafficker Gerald Carpenter, currently in the same lock-up awaiting trial. Carpenter is somehow communicating with the outside and masterminding the quashing of evidence and killing of witnesses that would otherwise convict him. Fearing Gerald will ultimately go free, Shepherd's job is to identify the leak and thus ensure Carpenter's conviction.

Spider's job prevents him from having a normal home life with his wife Sue and son Liam, a fact that causes the inevitable friction with the former and neglect of the latter and which is exacerbated by a tragedy that occurs while Dan is behind bars. I previously mentioned in my review of SOFT TARGET (dated 11/4/06 and entitled "A whopping cell phone bill, no doubt") that the author perhaps dwelled too much on Spider's spotty relationship with his son, which caused me to knock off a star from that otherwise splendid tale. With Shepherd, I'm looking for hard-boiled action not agonized soul-searching. (My other favorite fictional Tough Guy, Lee Child's Jack Reacher, never ever moons about engaging in self-castigating guilt trips.) I gave COLD KILL five stars (dated 6/29 06 and entitled "How hardball do we play it?") because it maximized the action and minimized the hand-wringing, and I'm giving HARD LANDING a full allocation of points for the same reason.

Until commencing with the Dan Shepherd series, Leather had pretty much eschewed an ongoing hero beyond a couple of books. With Spider, Stephen has struck gold, and I'm eagerly awaiting the fourth installment, HOT BLOOD.

Cuold do better - see me, 10 Nov 2008
Mostly I give Christopher Brookmyre's books four or five stars. True I tend not to like books with gratuitous violence of foul language, but he is normally so inventive that I forgive such transgressions. Not so with A snowball in hell! Brookmyre seems always determined to push at the boundaries of acceptability, and I have no problems with that. In this latest book however he doesn't push acceptability; he kicks it out of sight. He takes his hero Angelique de Xavia through an improbable series of events with which she is impotent to cope unless she has guidance her lover Zal!
It could have been a hugely enjoyable romp! It could have been his usual skilful mix of the absurd! It is neither, it misses most of the tests which have previously set Brookmyre apart form mere thriller writers. All this being said, I enjoyed the book, but only give it three stars "As was always stated on my school report "could do better".


Entertaining and inventive cartoon nastiness, 13 Oct 2008
It's always worth buying the latest Brookmyre to see what bit of inventive nastiness he's come up with this time. Where some other authors would make all this mayhem stomach turning and unpleasant, Brookmyre somehow manages to get away with it because it comes across as cartoon violence; sort of "Reservoir Dogs" where the dogs in question are Huckleberry Hound and Deputy Dawg.

There were some excellent plot twists and it's definitely a page-turner, but I didn't like this as much as his previous book (Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks), perhaps because the underlying theme there (the inability of people to discount bogus ideas) was stronger than the theme here (the celebrity of non-celebrities; yes, we'd all probably like to dream up some unpleasant fates to visit on participants in Big Brother, or indeed on Endemol executives). So four stars rather than five; if you are familiar with Brookmyre's novels, then you'll probably buy it anyway, but might not make a lot of sense to you if you haven't read a couple of previous pieces of his work where the characters here were previously introduced.

Mr Spanks revenge, 01 Oct 2008
This is the second book I have read of CB's and was not dissapointed. I do however have to concede I enjoyed his last book Unsinkable Rubber Ducks more. It's difficult to say why, because both are really well crafted books that keep the reader engaged. I just felt that this didnt quite hit the bullseye regarding any real humour and its slightly convoluted plotline.Having said all that I would really recommend anyone to read a Brookmyre novel.

Not so much Dubh Ardrain as Down a Drain, 23 Sep 2008
This book reads as if it's been written over a period of time with large spaces between each bout of writing. It draws strongly on The Sacred Art of Stealing and shares some of the same characters, however the plot is not nearly as strong as TSAoS. The mini set pieces within the main story don't 'hang' together properly or form a cohesive whole. Brookmyre seems to seek to shock the reader with lots of (senseless) killing and little actual storyline. As with a lot of Brookmyre's work, the story appears to serve as a platform for the author's own political rants. This may fill the pages, but hardly makes it into a page turner. If you liked TSAoS don't think this will be a suitable sequel, it's not a patch.

Massively entertaining, 18 Sep 2008
A hard boiled heroine, a sensitive intelligent hero, a black hearted villain with a passion for indie pop, vicious satire of contemporary media culture, exuberant wit, sufficient plot twists to turn one cross-eyed.

Nope, I can't find anything not to like. A thoroughly recommended and entertaining raead

Hard Landing (Dan Sheperd Mysteries), 06 Nov 2008
The Dan Shepherd series are rivetting and hard to put down. 'Spider' is an interesting and complex character but reassuringly tough - a bit like a UK version of Jack Reacher from the Lee Child books, but not such a loner. I have enjoyed everyone of the Dan Shepherd books and strongly recommend them - the fact that I have bought them all is testament to Stephen Leather being a great author

Spider Does Porridge, 25 Aug 2008
I have just read Hard Landing for the 2nd time with a gap of about 3 years. I have a talent for developing amnesia when it comes to reading and therefore I could really only remember the basic plotline. I was once again captivated by the tension the author creates in this thriller and found myself holding my breath as the action hotted up. I think the introduction of Spider's family and his interaction with his son humanises a character I have previously described as "superhuman" (my review of Dead Men).This was our first meeting with Spider and to date he has not disappointed.

Great intro to Spider, 06 Oct 2007
This is the first of Leathers books to feature Dan Shepherd, and it is a cracker! Carpenter is a drug dealer on remand in a high security prison but managing to kill off witneses so his case won't go to trial. Carpenter has a huge span of control both in and out of the nick. Enter Spider, undercover to make sure Carpenter gets convicted. This is a great and tense game of chess with Carpenter having a strong network and Spider always under the risk of being found as a cop in jail. Great story, but could have been edited down 100 pages, nevertheless.

Standard Prison story with a cracking end, 22 Mar 2007
Leather has written some amazing books and this for anyone else would be a good book but not quite as amazing as his early ones. The story starts off with Dan Shepherd being arrested and put in prison to get information on a really nasty drug runner who has killed off most of anyone who can finger him. The scenes are pretty graphic and the action as far as it can get in a prison is pretty hard and fast. The ending makes a huge extra point to the book.

Not bad.

New literary Tough Guy hits the ground running, 14 Feb 2007
HARD LANDING was the first in the Stephen Leather's series of thrillers starring Dan "Spider" Shepherd, an ex-SAS trooper now assigned to an elite Metropolitan police unit tabbed for deep undercover operations when the usual enforcement methods can't nab the bad guys. Dan's nickname came to be while on an SAS survival training mission and he won a bet on who could eat the most disgusting thing. One normally doesn't see "tarantula" on the menu even in the greasiest curry house.

HARD LANDING was followed by SOFT TARGET and COLD KILL, all three of which I've unintentionally read in reverse order. I'd recommend reading the first book first since, if nothing else, the series is a character development exercise for the protagonist.

Here, Spider is tossed into one of Her Majesty's maximum security prisons after establishing his cover as an armed desperado on an airport warehouse hold-up gone bad. Dan's mission is to nail big-time drug trafficker Gerald Carpenter, currently in the same lock-up awaiting trial. Carpenter is somehow communicating with the outside and masterminding the quashing of evidence and killing of witnesses that would otherwise convict him. Fearing Gerald will ultimately go free, Shepherd's job is to identify the leak and thus ensure Carpenter's conviction.

Spider's job prevents him from having a normal home life with his wife Sue and son Liam, a fact that causes the inevitable friction with the former and neglect of the latter and which is exacerbated by a tragedy that occurs while Dan is behind bars. I previously mentioned in my review of SOFT TARGET (dated 11/4/06 and entitled "A whopping cell phone bill, no doubt") that the author perhaps dwelled too much on Spider's spotty relationship with his son, which caused me to knock off a star from that otherwise splendid tale. With Shepherd, I'm looking for hard-boiled action not agonized soul-searching. (My other favorite fictional Tough Guy, Lee Child's Jack Reacher, never ever moons about engaging in self-castigating guilt trips.) I gave COLD KILL five stars (dated 6/29 06 and entitled "How hardball do we play it?") because it maximized the action and minimized the hand-wringing, and I'm giving HARD LANDING a full allocation of points for the same reason.

Until commencing with the Dan Shepherd series, Leather had pretty much eschewed an ongoing hero beyond a couple of books. With Spider, Stephen has struck gold, and I'm eagerly awaiting the fourth installment, HOT BLOOD.



Criminal, 02 Aug 2008
One of the worst books intended for adults I have ever read. I assume (as it is emblazoned on the cover) it was trying to hitch a ride on the Life On Mars gravy train but it ends up shunted ignominiously into the sidings.

The writing is just plain bad (can someone explain a split infinitive to the author?), it's full of anachronisms like English people giving each other high-fives in 1976 and the plot takes a LONG time getting nowhere. The fact that EVERY character has to have a nickname (and a following paragraph explaining how they got it) gave me unpleasant Eighties flashbacks of the equally execrable London's Burning tv series. All of this could be forgiven if the book wasn't also so dishonest - some of these "hilarious" incidents have preservation orders, they're so old (the urban myth about the voluntary German interpreter in the courtroom, the mortician who switches heads on a corpse).

I picked it up in Asda, which seems somehow appropriate. A really tawdry experience.

More of the same, 27 Jul 2008
Foxtrot Oscar is equally as good but not better than Horse's Arse.It has the same blend of violence and humour.The central story of a turkish gangster teaming up with the park royal mafia is padded out with a few anecdotal tales of Handsteads finest.I'm starting to get a real feel for some of the characters and I'm really looking forward part three in the series.

'Foxtrot Oscar' is absolutely 'Foxtrot Echo' !, 15 Jul 2008
I finished this book after two days and having enjoyed Horses Arse immensly I was in no way disappointed with the sequel.Charlie has developed the various characters and Foxtrot Oscar expertly continues the story of policing Hatfield (sorry, Handstead) in the late 70's. As I have said previously, the characters are entirely believable and I have no doubt that is because they actually existed. (I certainly know who 'Alfie' is!) Foxtrot Oscar is an excellent read and although absolutely hilarious in parts this is countered by a darkness and intensity that sends a shiver down the spine. Policing was like that,Police bars were like Charlie describes and the apprehension felt by officers prior to a busy night shift on a hot,sticky night is more than adequately captured within Charlie's words. Buy and read this book and like me you will be looking forward to December when the third book in the serise, Bravo Jubilee is published. Thanks Charlie,you have done it again!

Brilliant Title too by the way, 06 Jul 2008
The title is a poignant introduction to the style of the book, mimicking the behaviour and skulduggery of the Handstead police force. The characters make this book, and my favourite scene has to be the introduction to Alfie. Like others, this book had me laughing out loud. I borrowed this copy and thus have read it before Horses Arse, which I am now looking forward to.

I gave it a 4 and not a 5 for the simple reason that there isn't one compelling plotline, and a few too many characters. There are many sub plots and stories, all of which are good mind, but I like to have one bigger plot encompassing these more. Also there are a lot of characters and I found myself getting confused in who was who at times.

Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it wholeheartedly as a crime caper with a difference.



SPOT ON!, 09 Jun 2008
AS A RETIRED SOUTH WALES COPPER I PICKED UP HA THINKING IT TO BE ANOTHER BORING 'LIFE IN THE DAY' ETC. HOW WRONG I WAS. WHILST I DID NOT ENCOUNTER EVERY SITUATION OR CHARACTER IN THE BOOK, I CAN CERTAINLY IDENTIFY WITH A GREAT MANY! READ THE BOOK IN A FEW DAYS THEN STARTED ON FOXTROT OSCAR. AGAIN ANOTHER BRILLIANTLY FUNNY READ. ONLY ANOTHER OFFICER WILL REALISE HOW CLOSE TO THE TRUTH CHARLIE IS......WELL DONE. NUMBER THREE PLEASE ASAP!!

Cuold do better - see me, 10 Nov 2008
Mostly I give Christopher Brookmyre's books four or five stars. True I tend not to like books with gratuitous violence of foul language, but he is normally so inventive that I forgive such transgressions. Not so with A snowball in hell! Brookmyre seems always determined to push at the boundaries of acceptability, and I have no problems with that. In this latest book however he doesn't push acceptability; he kicks it out of sight. He takes his hero Angelique de Xavia through an improbable series of events with which she is impotent to cope unless she has guidance her lover Zal!
It could have been a hugely enjoyable romp! It could have been his usual skilful mix of the absurd! It is neither, it misses most of the tests which have previously set Brookmyre apart form mere thriller writers. All this being said, I enjoyed the book, but only give it three stars "As was always stated on my school report "could do better".


Entertaining and inventive cartoon nastiness, 13 Oct 2008
It's always worth buying the latest Brookmyre to see what bit of inventive nastiness he's come up with this time. Where some other authors would make all this mayhem stomach turning and unpleasant, Brookmyre somehow manages to get away with it because it comes across as cartoon violence; sort of "Reservoir Dogs" where the dogs in question are Huckleberry Hound and Deputy Dawg.

There were some excellent plot twists and it's definitely a page-turner, but I didn't like this as much as his previous book (Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks), perhaps because the underlying theme there (the inability of people to discount bogus ideas) was stronger than the theme here (the celebrity of non-celebrities; yes, we'd all probably like to dream up some unpleasant fates to visit on participants in Big Brother, or indeed on Endemol executives). So four stars rather than five; if you are familiar with Brookmyre's novels, then you'll probably buy it anyway, but might not make a lot of sense to you if you haven't read a couple of previous pieces of his work where the characters here were previously introduced.

Mr Spanks revenge, 01 Oct 2008
This is the second book I have read of CB's and was not dissapointed. I do however have to concede I enjoyed his last book Unsinkable Rubber Ducks more. It's difficult to say why, because both are really well crafted books that keep the reader engaged. I just felt that this didnt quite hit the bullseye regarding any real humour and its slightly convoluted plotline.Having said all that I would really recommend anyone to read a Brookmyre novel.

Not so much Dubh Ardrain as Down a Drain, 23 Sep 2008
This book reads as if it's been written over a period of time with large spaces between each bout of writing. It draws strongly on The Sacred Art of Stealing and shares some of the same characters, however the plot is not nearly as strong as TSAoS. The mini set pieces within the main story don't 'hang' together properly or form a cohesive whole. Brookmyre seems to seek to shock the reader with lots of (senseless) killing and little actual storyline. As with a lot of Brookmyre's work, the story appears to serve as a platform for the author's own political rants. This may fill the pages, but hardly makes it into a page turner. If you liked TSAoS don't think this will be a suitable sequel, it's not a patch.

Massively entertaining, 18 Sep 2008
A hard boiled heroine, a sensitive intelligent hero, a black hearted villain with a passion for indie pop, vicious satire of contemporary media culture, exuberant wit, sufficient plot twists to turn one cross-eyed.

Nope, I can't find anything not to like. A thoroughly recommended and entertaining raead

Hard Landing (Dan Sheperd Mysteries), 06 Nov 2008
The Dan Shepherd series are rivetting and hard to put down. 'Spider' is an interesting and complex character but reassuringly tough - a bit like a UK version of Jack Reacher from the Lee Child books, but not such a loner. I have enjoyed everyone of the Dan Shepherd books and strongly recommend them - the fact that I have bought them all is testament to Stephen Leather being a great author

Spider Does Porridge, 25 Aug 2008
I have just read Hard Landing for the 2nd time with a gap of about 3 years. I have a talent for developing amnesia when it comes to reading and therefore I could really only remember the basic plotline. I was once again captivated by the tension the author creates in this thriller and found myself holding my breath as the action hotted up. I think the introduction of Spider's family and his interaction with his son humanises a character I have previously described as "superhuman" (my review of Dead Men).This was our first meeting with Spider and to date he has not disappointed.

Great intro to Spider, 06 Oct 2007
This is the first of Leathers books to feature Dan Shepherd, and it is a cracker! Carpenter is a drug dealer on remand in a high security prison but managing to kill off witneses so his case won't go to trial. Carpenter has a huge span of control both in and out of the nick. Enter Spider, undercover to make sure Carpenter gets convicted. This is a great and tense game of chess with Carpenter having a strong network and Spider always under the risk of being found as a cop in jail. Great story, but could have been edited down 100 pages, nevertheless.

Standard Prison story with a cracking end, 22 Mar 2007
Leather has written some amazing books and this for anyone else would be a good book but not quite as amazing as his early ones. The story starts off with Dan Shepherd being arrested and put in prison to get information on a really nasty drug runner who has killed off most of anyone who can finger him. The scenes are pretty graphic and the action as far as it can get in a prison is pretty hard and fast. The ending makes a huge extra point to the book.

Not bad.

New literary Tough Guy hits the ground running, 14 Feb 2007
HARD LANDING was the first in the Stephen Leather's series of thrillers starring Dan "Spider" Shepherd, an ex-SAS trooper now assigned to an elite Metropolitan police unit tabbed for deep undercover operations when the usual enforcement methods can't nab the bad guys. Dan's nickname came to be while on an SAS survival training mission and he won a bet on who could eat the most disgusting thing. One normally doesn't see "tarantula" on the menu even in the greasiest curry house.

HARD LANDING was followed by SOFT TARGET and COLD KILL, all three of which I've unintentionally read in reverse order. I'd recommend reading the first book first since, if nothing else, the series is a character development exercise for the protagonist.

Here, Spider is tossed into one of Her Majesty's maximum security prisons after establishing his cover as an armed desperado on an airport warehouse hold-up gone bad. Dan's mission is to nail big-time drug trafficker Gerald Carpenter, currently in the same lock-up awaiting trial. Carpenter is somehow communicating with the outside and masterminding the quashing of evidence and killing of witnesses that would otherwise convict him. Fearing Gerald will ultimately go free, Shepherd's job is to identify the leak and thus ensure Carpenter's conviction.

Spider's job prevents him from having a normal home life with his wife Sue and son Liam, a fact that causes the inevitable friction with the former and neglect of the latter and which is exacerbated by a tragedy that occurs while Dan is behind bars. I previously mentioned in my review of SOFT TARGET (dated 11/4/06 and entitled "A whopping cell phone bill, no doubt") that the author perhaps dwelled too much on Spider's spotty relationship with his son, which caused me to knock off a star from that otherwise splendid tale. With Shepherd, I'm looking for hard-boiled action not agonized soul-searching. (My other favorite fictional Tough Guy, Lee Child's Jack Reacher, never ever moons about engaging in self-castigating guilt trips.) I gave COLD KILL five stars (dated 6/29 06 and entitled "How hardball do we play it?") because it maximized the action and minimized the hand-wringing, and I'm giving HARD LANDING a full allocation of points for the same reason.

Until commencing with the Dan Shepherd series, Leather had pretty much eschewed an ongoing hero beyond a couple of books. With Spider, Stephen has struck gold, and I'm eagerly awaiting the fourth installment, HOT BLOOD.



Criminal, 02 Aug 2008
One of the worst books intended for adults I have ever read. I assume (as it is emblazoned on the cover) it was trying to hitch a ride on the Life On Mars gravy train but it ends up shunted ignominiously into the sidings.

The writing is just plain bad (can someone explain a split infinitive to the author?), it's full of anachronisms like English people giving each other high-fives in 1976 and the plot takes a LONG time getting nowhere. The fact that EVERY character has to have a nickname (and a following paragraph explaining how they got it) gave me unpleasant Eighties flashbacks of the equally execrable London's Burning tv series. All of this could be forgiven if the book wasn't also so dishonest - some of these "hilarious" incidents have preservation orders, they're so old (the urban myth about the voluntary German interpreter in the courtroom, the mortician who switches heads on a corpse).

I picked it up in Asda, which seems somehow appropriate. A really tawdry experience.

More of the same, 27 Jul 2008
Foxtrot Oscar is equally as good but not better than Horse's Arse.It has the same blend of violence and humour.The central story of a turkish gangster teaming up with the park royal mafia is padded out with a few anecdotal tales of Handsteads finest.I'm starting to get a real feel for some of the characters and I'm really looking forward part three in the series.

'Foxtrot Oscar' is absolutely 'Foxtrot Echo' !, 15 Jul 2008
I finished this book after two days and having enjoyed Horses Arse immensly I was in no way disappointed with the sequel.Charlie has developed the various characters and Foxtrot Oscar expertly continues the story of policing Hatfield (sorry, Handstead) in the late 70's. As I have said previously, the characters are entirely believable and I have no doubt that is because they actually existed. (I certainly know who 'Alfie' is!) Foxtrot Oscar is an excellent read and although absolutely hilarious in parts this is countered by a darkness and intensity that sends a shiver down the spine. Policing was like that,Police bars were like Charlie describes and the apprehension felt by officers prior to a busy night shift on a hot,sticky night is more than adequately captured within Charlie's words. Buy and read this book and like me you will be looking forward to December when the third book in the serise, Bravo Jubilee is published. Thanks Charlie,you have done it again!

Brilliant Title too by the way, 06 Jul 2008
The title is a poignant introduction to the style of the book, mimicking the behaviour and skulduggery of the Handstead police force. The characters make this book, and my favourite scene has to be the introduction to Alfie. Like others, this book had me laughing out loud. I borrowed this copy and thus have read it before Horses Arse, which I am now looking forward to.

I gave it a 4 and not a 5 for the simple reason that there isn't one compelling plotline, and a few too many characters. There are many sub plots and stories, all of which are good mind, but I like to have one bigger plot encompassing these more. Also there are a lot of characters and I found myself getting confused in who was who at times.

Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it wholeheartedly as a crime caper with a difference.



SPOT ON!, 09 Jun 2008
AS A RETIRED SOUTH WALES COPPER I PICKED UP HA THINKING IT TO BE ANOTHER BORING 'LIFE IN THE DAY' ETC. HOW WRONG I WAS. WHILST I DID NOT ENCOUNTER EVERY SITUATION OR CHARACTER IN THE BOOK, I CAN CERTAINLY IDENTIFY WITH A GREAT MANY! READ THE BOOK IN A FEW DAYS THEN STARTED ON FOXTROT OSCAR. AGAIN ANOTHER BRILLIANTLY FUNNY READ. ONLY ANOTHER OFFICER WILL REALISE HOW CLOSE TO THE TRUTH CHARLIE IS......WELL DONE. NUMBER THREE PLEASE ASAP!!

Brilliant series, Frank Miller is great!, 23 Apr 2008
Once again Frank Miller knocks it out of the park in this, the 3rd Sin City installment.
This is a welcome return for some characters, namely Dwight from Dame to Kill for, and the girls from Old Town, and the evil Manute (big, creepy guy that he is!) Dwight is out to put a stop to Jacky-Boy's drunken violence, but he gets whole lot more than he bargained for, when the voluptous Gail steps in. Theres some rough justice, Old Town style, and a fantastic showcase for deadly little Miho and some suprisingly funny use of shruiken! Then things get a whole lot worse, with the discovery of the "Atom Bomb," turns out Jacky-boy was kinda important! Another great crime noir from Miller, with all the amazing characteristics you expect from Sin City. The black and white art is sharp as ever and perfectly captures the mood. The shadows are just brilliant, so effective! Throw in some talking heads, rogue IRA mercs, hot babes, betrayal and the evil mafia. Passionate and thrilling! Theres a cracking gallery section at the back and some colour plates at the front. A must for any sane graphic novel fan!

Not the best so far, but certainly enough for a good time, 02 Jul 2001
The first thing you should realize before you order "The Big Fat Kill" is that it's really a big pro if you read the original Sin City story, and a MUST to read "A Dame to Kill For" prior to this one. See, the main character in this book is Dwight, a man who tries to stay as anonymous as possible because elseways his criminal past may catch up with him. This past that he's hiding from is the story from "A Dame to Kill For", so you should really get that first. It makes it a lot easier to understand a lot of why Dwight's acting the way he is. There's also some conversation about Marv, the main character from the original story. But Marv is not a major factor in this book so reading the original story is really only a pro, not a must.

About the story: Oneday a girl named Shelley is being harassed in her own home by a guy named Jack, her drunk ex-boyfriend, and his friends. Dwight, who is living with Shelley 'convinces' them to leave and decides to follow them to make sure he doesn't do any more damage. Only Jack turns out to be so dumb to drive into Old Town, a place where the hookers are the law because of the pact they made with the police ('they stay off the police's back, the police stays off their backs'). Jack and his friends wind up dead, upon which they find out Jack is really a cop while examing the body. This will clearly lead to war between the cops and Old Town, leaving it a free warzone for the mob, IF the cops ever find out about Jack. Dwight thinks to have the solution to get rid of the bodies and goes on his way. But things turn out to be not that easy. What follows is an interesting story with several different parties of power and interests, violence, a lot of backstabbing, loyalty and finally an interesting plot-twist.

In all honesty I think the original "Sin City", "A Dame to Kill For" and especially "That Yellow Bastard" are better books than this one, so if you haven't read all of those yet I think you'd rather read those first. With that I'm NOT saying this is a bad book because it isn't. In my opinion it's actually a very good tale which keeps interesting to the very end because of the different directions the story takes all the time. It's also carried by Frank Millers trademark (by now) art. This is really suitable for the story, it being a dark grimmy 'mad-cop' story, and of no less quality than you're used to if you've been a Sin City reader longer. I just don't think it's THE best Sin City story out there. Get the other ones I named first, than get this one and have yourself a good time with it.

Not Miller's best work but a worthy read., 11 Apr 2001
Pretty much a-typical for Miller. Obviously it's going to contain beautiful, noir, artwork and excellent story telling but it simply does have the edge offered by such titles as Dark Night Returns and A Dame to Kill For. The Big Fat Kill focuses on the activities of the old town so if your interest lies here in particular then this is the one for you

Cuold do better - see me, 10 Nov 2008
Mostly I give Christopher Brookmyre's books four or five stars. True I tend not to like books with gratuitous violence of foul language, but he is normally so inventive that I forgive such transgressions. Not so with A snowball in hell! Brookmyre seems always determined to push at the boundaries of acceptability, and I have no problems with that. In this latest book however he doesn't push acceptability; he kicks it out of sight. He takes his hero Angelique de Xavia through an improbable series of events with which she is impotent to cope unless she has guidance her lover Zal!
It could have been a hugely enjoyable romp! It could have been his usual skilful mix of the absurd! It is neither, it misses most of the tests which have previously set Brookmyre apart form mere thriller writers. All this being said, I enjoyed the book, but only give it three stars "As was always stated on my school report "could do better".


Entertaining and inventive cartoon nastiness, 13 Oct 2008
It's always worth buying the latest Brookmyre to see what bit of inventive nastiness he's come up with this time. Where some other authors would make all this mayhem stomach turning and unpleasant, Brookmyre somehow manages to get away with it because it comes across as cartoon violence; sort of "Reservoir Dogs" where the dogs in question are Huckleberry Hound and Deputy Dawg.

There were some excellent plot twists and it's definitely a page-turner, but I didn't like this as much as his previous book (Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks), perhaps because the underlying theme there (the inability of people to discount bogus ideas) was stronger than the theme here (the celebrity of non-celebrities; yes, we'd all probably like to dream up some unpleasant fates to visit on participants in Big Brother, or indeed on Endemol executives). So four stars rather than five; if you are familiar with Brookmyre's novels, then you'll probably buy it anyway, but might not make a lot of sense to you if you haven't read a couple of previous pieces of his work where the characters here were previously introduced.

Mr Spanks revenge, 01 Oct 2008
This is the second book I have read of CB's and was not dissapointed. I do however have to concede I enjoyed his last book Unsinkable Rubber Ducks more. It's difficult to say why, because both are really well crafted books that keep the reader engaged. I just felt that this didnt quite hit the bullseye regarding any real humour and its slightly convoluted plotline.Having said all that I would really recommend anyone to read a Brookmyre novel.

Not so much Dubh Ardrain as Down a Drain, 23 Sep 2008
This book reads as if it's been written over a period of time with large spaces between each bout of writing. It draws strongly on The Sacred Art of Stealing and shares some of the same characters, however the plot is not nearly as strong as TSAoS. The mini set pieces within the main story don't 'hang' together properly or form a cohesive whole. Brookmyre seems to seek to shock the reader with lots of (senseless) killing and little actual storyline. As with a lot of Brookmyre's work, the story appears to serve as a platform for the author's own political rants. This may fill the pages, but hardly makes it into a page turner. If you liked TSAoS don't think this will be a suitable sequel, it's not a patch.

Massively entertaining, 18 Sep 2008
A hard boiled heroine, a sensitive intelligent hero, a black hearted villain with a passion for indie pop, vicious satire of contemporary media culture, exuberant wit, sufficient plot twists to turn one cross-eyed.

Nope, I can't find anything not to like. A thoroughly recommended and entertaining raead

Hard Landing (Dan Sheperd Mysteries), 06 Nov 2008
The Dan Shepherd series are rivetting and hard to put down. 'Spider' is an interesting and complex character but reassuringly tough - a bit like a UK version of Jack Reacher from the Lee Child books, but not such a loner. I have enjoyed everyone of the Dan Shepherd books and strongly recommend them - the fact that I have bought them all is testament to Stephen Leather being a great author

Spider Does Porridge, 25 Aug 2008
I have just read Hard Landing for the 2nd time with a gap of about 3 years. I have a talent for developing amnesia when it comes to reading and therefore I could really only remember the basic plotline. I was once again captivated by the tension the author creates in this thriller and found myself holding my breath as the action hotted up. I think the introduction of Spider's family and his interaction with his son humanises a character I have previously described as "superhuman" (my review of Dead Men).This was our first meeting with Spider and to date he has not disappointed.

Great intro to Spider, 06 Oct 2007
This is the first of Leathers books to feature Dan Shepherd, and it is a cracker! Carpenter is a drug dealer on remand in a high security prison but managing to kill off witneses so his case won't go to trial. Carpenter has a huge span of control both in and out of the nick. Enter Spider, undercover to make sure Carpenter gets convicted. This is a great and tense game of chess with Carpenter having a strong network and Spider always under the risk of being found as a cop in jail. Great story, but could have been edited down 100 pages, nevertheless.

Standard Prison story with a cracking end, 22 Mar 2007
Leather has written some amazing books and this for anyone else would be a good book but not quite as amazing as his early ones. The story starts off with Dan Shepherd being arrested and put in prison to get information on a really nasty drug runner who has killed off most of anyone who can finger him. The scenes are pretty graphic and the action as far as it can get in a prison is pretty hard and fast. The ending makes a huge extra point to the book.

Not bad.

New literary Tough Guy hits the ground running, 14 Feb 2007
HARD LANDING was the first in the Stephen Leather's series of thrillers starring Dan "Spider" Shepherd, an ex-SAS trooper now assigned to an elite Metropolitan police unit tabbed for deep undercover operations when the usual enforcement methods can't nab the bad guys. Dan's nickname came to be while on an SAS survival training mission and he won a bet on who could eat the most disgusting thing. One normally doesn't see "tarantula" on the menu even in the greasiest curry house.

HARD LANDING was followed by SOFT TARGET and COLD KILL, all three of which I've unintentionally read in reverse order. I'd recommend reading the first book first since, if nothing else, the series is a character development exercise for the protagonist.

Here, Spider is tossed into one of Her Majesty's maximum security prisons after establishing his cover as an armed desperado on an airport warehouse hold-up gone bad. Dan's mission is to nail big-time drug trafficker Gerald Carpenter, currently in the same lock-up awaiting trial. Carpenter is somehow communicating with the outside and masterminding the quashing of evidence and killing of witnesses that would otherwise convict him. Fearing Gerald will ultimately go free, Shepherd's job is to identify the leak and thus ensure Carpenter's conviction.

Spider's job prevents him from having a normal home life with his wife Sue and son Liam, a fact that causes the inevitable friction with the former and neglect of the latter and which is exacerbated by a tragedy that occurs while Dan is behind bars. I previously mentioned in my review of SOFT TARGET (dated 11/4/06 and entitled "A whopping cell phone bill, no doubt") that the author perhaps dwelled too much on Spider's spotty relationship with his son, which caused me to knock off a star from that otherwise splendid tale. With Shepherd, I'm looking for hard-boiled action not agonized soul-searching. (My other favorite fictional Tough Guy, Lee Child's Jack Reacher, never ever moons about engaging in self-castigating guilt trips.) I gave COLD KILL five stars (dated 6/29 06 and entitled "How hardball do we play it?") because it maximized the action and minimized the hand-wringing, and I'm giving HARD LANDING a full allocation of points for the same reason.

Until commencing with the Dan Shepherd series, Leather had pretty much eschewed an ongoing hero beyond a couple of books. With Spider, Stephen has struck gold, and I'm eagerly awaiting the fourth installment, HOT BLOOD.



Criminal, 02 Aug 2008
One of the worst books intended for adults I have ever read. I assume (as it is emblazoned on the cover) it was trying to hitch a ride on the Life On Mars gravy train but it ends up shunted ignominiously into the sidings.

The writing is just plain bad (can someone explain a split infinitive to the author?), it's full of anachronisms like English people giving each other high-fives in 1976 and the plot takes a LONG time getting nowhere. The fact that EVERY character has to have a nickname (and a following paragraph explaining how they got it) gave me unpleasant Eighties flashbacks of the equally execrable London's Burning tv series. All of this could be forgiven if the book wasn't also so dishonest - some of these "hilarious" incidents have preservation orders, they're so old (the urban myth about the voluntary German interpreter in the courtroom, the mortician who switches heads on a corpse).

I picked it up in Asda, which seems somehow appropriate. A really tawdry experience.

More of the same, 27 Jul 2008
Foxtrot Oscar is equally as good but not better than Horse's Arse.It has the same blend of violence and humour.The central story of a turkish gangster teaming up with the park royal mafia is padded out with a few anecdotal tales of Handsteads finest.I'm starting to get a real feel for some of the characters and I'm really looking forward part three in the series.

'Foxtrot Oscar' is absolutely 'Foxtrot Echo' !, 15 Jul 2008
I finished this book after two days and having enjoyed Horses Arse immensly I was in no way disappointed with the sequel.Charlie has developed the various characters and Foxtrot Oscar expertly continues the story of policing Hatfield (sorry, Handstead) in the late 70's. As I have said previously, the characters are entirely believable and I have no doubt that is because they actually existed. (I certainly know who 'Alfie' is!) Foxtrot Oscar is an excellent read and although absolutely hilarious in parts this is countered by a darkness and intensity that sends a shiver down the spine. Policing was like that,Police bars were like Charlie describes and the apprehension felt by officers prior to a busy night shift on a hot,sticky night is more than adequately captured within Charlie's words. Buy and read this book and like me you will be looking forward to December when the third book in the serise, Bravo Jubilee is published. Thanks Charlie,you have done it again!

Brilliant Title too by the way, 06 Jul 2008
The title is a poignant introduction to the style of the book, mimicking the behaviour and skulduggery of the Handstead police force. The characters make this book, and my favourite scene has to be the introduction to Alfie. Like others, this book had me laughing out loud. I borrowed this copy and thus have read it before Horses Arse, which I am now looking forward to.

I gave it a 4 and not a 5 for the simple reason that there isn't one compelling plotline, and a few too many characters. There are many sub plots and stories, all of which are good mind, but I like to have one bigger plot encompassing these more. Also there are a lot of characters and I found myself getting confused in who was who at times.

Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it wholeheartedly as a crime caper with a difference.



SPOT ON!, 09 Jun 2008
AS A RETIRED SOUTH WALES COPPER I PICKED UP HA THINKING IT TO BE ANOTHER BORING 'LIFE IN THE DAY' ETC. HOW WRONG I WAS. WHILST I DID NOT ENCOUNTER EVERY SITUATION OR CHARACTER IN THE BOOK, I CAN CERTAINLY IDENTIFY WITH A GREAT MANY! READ THE BOOK IN A FEW DAYS THEN STARTED ON FOXTROT OSCAR. AGAIN ANOTHER BRILLIANTLY FUNNY READ. ONLY ANOTHER OFFICER WILL REALISE HOW CLOSE TO THE TRUTH CHARLIE IS......WELL DONE. NUMBER THREE PLEASE ASAP!!

Brilliant series, Frank Miller is great!, 23 Apr 2008
Once again Frank Miller knocks it out of the park in this, the 3rd Sin City installment.
This is a welcome return for some characters, namely Dwight from Dame to Kill for, and the girls from Old Town, and the evil Manute (big, creepy guy that he is!) Dwight is out to put a stop to Jacky-Boy's drunken violence, but he gets whole lot more than he bargained for, when the voluptous Gail steps in. Theres some rough justice, Old Town style, and a fantastic showcase for deadly little Miho and some suprisingly funny use of shruiken! Then things get a whole lot worse, with the discovery of the "Atom Bomb," turns out Jacky-boy was kinda important! Another great crime noir from Miller, with all the amazing characteristics you expect from Sin City. The black and white art is sharp as ever and perfectly captures the mood. The shadows are just brilliant, so effective! Throw in some talking heads, rogue IRA mercs, hot babes, betrayal and the evil mafia. Passionate and thrilling! Theres a cracking gallery section at the back and some colour plates at the front. A must for any sane graphic novel fan!

Not the best so far, but certainly enough for a good time, 02 Jul 2001
The first thing you should realize before you order "The Big Fat Kill" is that it's really a big pro if you read the original Sin City story, and a MUST to read "A Dame to Kill For" prior to this one. See, the main character in this book is Dwight, a man who tries to stay as anonymous as possible because elseways his criminal past may catch up with him. This past that he's hiding from is the story from "A Dame to Kill For", so you should really get that first. It makes it a lot easier to understand a lot of why Dwight's acting the way he is. There's also some conversation about Marv, the main character from the original story. But Marv is not a major factor in this book so reading the original story is really only a pro, not a must.

About the story: Oneday a girl named Shelley is being harassed in her own home by a guy named Jack, her drunk ex-boyfriend, and his friends. Dwight, who is living with Shelley 'convinces' them to leave and decides to follow them to make sure he doesn't do any more damage. Only Jack turns out to be so dumb to drive into Old Town, a place where the hookers are the law because of the pact they made with the police ('they stay off the police's back, the police stays off their backs'). Jack and his friends wind up dead, upon which they find out Jack is really a cop while examing the body. This will clearly lead to war between the cops and Old Town, leaving it a free warzone for the mob, IF the cops ever find out about Jack. Dwight thinks to have the solution to get rid of the bodies and goes on his way. But things turn out to be not that easy. What follows is an interesting story with several different parties of power and interests, violence, a lot of backstabbing, loyalty and finally an interesting plot-twist.

In all honesty I think the original "Sin City", "A Dame to Kill For" and especially "That Yellow Bastard" are better books than this one, so if you haven't read all of those yet I think you'd rather read those first. With that I'm NOT saying this is a bad book because it isn't. In my opinion it's actually a very good tale which keeps interesting to the very end because of the different directions the story takes all the time. It's also carried by Frank Millers trademark (by now) art. This is really suitable for the story, it being a dark grimmy 'mad-cop' story, and of no less quality than you're used to if you've been a Sin City reader longer. I just don't think it's THE best Sin City story out there. Get the other ones I named first, than get this one and have yourself a good time with it.

Not Miller's best work but a worthy read., 11 Apr 2001
Pretty much a-typical for Miller. Obviously it's going to contain beautiful, noir, artwork and excellent story telling but it simply does have the edge offered by such titles as Dark Night Returns and A Dame to Kill For. The Big Fat Kill focuses on the activities of the old town so if your interest lies here in particular then this is the one for you

A great stand alone story too! , 13 Sep 2008
Having loved the film, it was only a matter of time before I delved into the graphic form of frank miller's sin city. I started with that yellow bastard, knowing the plot for the first book (The hard goodbye) inside out. Although this is in fact book 4 it is still a great place to start, the story which I wont go into detail about doesn't really connect with the other books in the series in any major way, so this is great as a stand alone novel too!

I was a big miller fan long before reading sin city, the dark knight returns being masterfully writen and 300 just blowing me away entirely. That yellow bastard though, for me topped them all. Miller's artwork is amazing, striking out from every page. The story, although no war & peace runs along at break neck speeds and the only down side I found was that I read it all too quickly and was disappointed to finish it, thankfully sin city is a series.

If you're new to sin city entirely then I would advise you read this first before watching the film, bruce willis is good as hartigan the main character in the film but I don't think he was the best choice and reading the book I get a completely different feel for the hartigan character to that portrayed on screen.


One of the best in the series...., 23 Apr 2008
That Yellow Bastard is the fourth installment of Sin City, the noir epic of Frank Miller.

An absolute classic this one, with one of the nastiest villains ever, Junior! This is pure, gritty crime noir. Its got all the right features - corrupt cops, crooked politicians, a dame to be saved and a tough, noble cop called Hartigan. He's one hour from retirement, but it all goes horribly wrong as he refuses to let a senators son get away with murder and child rape, and shoots the guy to pieces in the process. Hartigan is framed for everything, but won't talk, so he can save skinny little Nancy Callahan. He serves his time, takes the beatings and cruelties, until.....a parcel arrives for him in jail that changes everything...He swallows his pride and gets his parole, and goes after Nancy, one of the most stunning looking girls in comics! The chase in on! The pacing is fantastic and urgent, and the use of a single colour, yellow, really picks out that character and his sick, evil essence! Some pages are almost eniterly black, really emphasising the oppresive nature of the moment, its bleakness. The violence is harsh and unrelenting. A gripping and dramatic read. "I took his weapons away...Both of them." Immortal lines from a genius creation!! Read it now!

Thrill a minute, 06 Feb 2007
What can I say - brilliant.

I chose to review this one and not the others as

a) people who read the series will suspect review the first one only, and
b) this is is my favourite of them all (personally)

Buy all of these books, 1-7, they are all truly great stories. Some people have knocked the graphical style of these books - to me, they are one of the high points - they has a superb style all of their own. Millers dialogue, jokes, slang and story are all superb - great film noir, and add in his sound effects (SPAK! HEFF!) and he really has made this series unique Miller.

Finally, I'm not a fan of comparisons with films - usually graphic novels are changed dramatically (often for the worse) in the movies. Sin City is different. I thought it was a cracking film and is incredibly faithful to the books (although in differing order). Therefore, for once I can say, if you liked the film you'll love the book, as opposed to if you hated the film dont be put off by the book.

Cinematic, thrill a minute series.

Miller writes his way into the comic-book hall of fame, 16 Feb 2001
Frank Miller is one of the greatest writers of comic book literature to date. With a tone that can be likened to Raymond Chandler in a bad mood, Miller's style is lean and very mean. His characters are extreme yet believable, the situations are dramatic but have their feet stuck in reality. And thats ust the writing. The artwork? Breathtaking and so complimentary to Miller's words that it is scarey. We see colour introdced to the frames - a simple splash of yellow that signifies the crooked villain of the story. Genius. Not the first time he has used the technique but still brilliant. The plot revolvs around one of Miller's usual hard-nuts with a heart. The villain this time is his opposite rather than equal. Enough from me. Buy the book.

Not The Best......., 19 Jul 2000
That Yellow Bastard....does exactly what it says on the cover. That is, he's yellow, and my, what a bastard he is! In typical Sin City stylee, this is a tale of revenge and redemption. The main character, Hartigan is every bit as lovable as Marv, and the other regulars, but the story does not twist and turn as the previous episodes do. It all seems like a very long-winded way of telling a short, but heart rendering story of what is basically boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy goes crazy-ape-bonkers and kills everyone. This has already been done by the solo Miller in the eponymous debut and 'The Big Fat Kill'. Still this series has got legs, and if anyone can keep it going it is King Frank.

Cuold do better - see me, 10 Nov 2008
Mostly I give Christopher Brookmyre's books four or five stars. True I tend not to like books with gratuitous violence of foul language, but he is normally so inventive that I forgive such transgressions. Not so with A snowball in hell! Brookmyre seems always determined to push at the boundaries of acceptability, and I have no problems with that. In this latest book however he doesn't push acceptability; he kicks it out of sight. He takes his hero Angelique de Xavia through an improbable series of events with which she is impotent to cope unless she has guidance her lover Zal!
It could have been a hugely enjoyable romp! It could have been his usual skilful mix of the absurd! It is neither, it misses most of the tests which have previously set Brookmyre apart form mere thriller writers. All this being said, I enjoyed the book, but only give it three stars "As was always stated on my school report "could do better".


Entertaining and inventive cartoon nastiness, 13 Oct 2008
It's always worth buying the latest Brookmyre to see what bit of inventive nastiness he's come up with this time. Where some other authors would make all this mayhem stomach turning and unpleasant, Brookmyre somehow manages to get away with it because it comes across as cartoon violence; sort of "Reservoir Dogs" where the dogs in question are Huckleberry Hound and Deputy Dawg.

There were some excellent plot twists and it's definitely a page-turner, but I didn't like this as much as his previous book (Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks), perhaps because the underlying theme there (the inability of people to discount bogus ideas) was stronger than the theme here (the celebrity of non-celebrities; yes, we'd all probably like to dream up some unpleasant fates to visit on participants in Big Brother, or indeed on Endemol executives). So four stars rather than five; if you are familiar with Brookmyre's novels, then you'll probably buy it anyway, but might not make a lot of sense to you if you haven't read a couple of previous pieces of his work where the characters here were previously introduced.

Mr Spanks revenge, 01 Oct 2008
This is the second book I have read of CB's and was not dissapointed. I do however have to concede I enjoyed his last book Unsinkable Rubber Ducks more. It's difficult to say why, because both are really well crafted books that keep the reader engaged. I just felt that this didnt quite hit the bullseye regarding any real humour and its slightly convoluted plotline.Having said all that I would really recommend anyone to read a Brookmyre novel.

Not so much Dubh Ardrain as Down a Drain, 23 Sep 2008
This book reads as if it's been written over a period of time with large spaces between each bout of writing. It draws strongly on The Sacred Art of Stealing and shares some of the same characters, however the plot is not nearly as strong as TSAoS. The mini set pieces within the main story don't 'hang' together properly or form a cohesive whole. Brookmyre seems to seek to shock the reader with lots of (senseless) killing and little actual storyline. As with a lot of Brookmyre's work, the story appears to serve as a platform for the author's own political rants. This may fill the pages, but hardly makes it into a page turner. If you liked TSAoS don't think this will be a suitable sequel, it's not a patch.

Massively entertaining, 18 Sep 2008
A hard boiled heroine, a sensitive intelligent hero, a black hearted villain with a passion for indie pop, vicious satire of contemporary media culture, exuberant wit, sufficient plot twists to turn one cross-eyed.

Nope, I can't find anything not to like. A thoroughly recommended and entertaining raead

Hard Landing (Dan Sheperd Mysteries), 06 Nov 2008
The Dan Shepherd series are rivetting and hard to put down. 'Spider' is an interesting and complex character but reassuringly tough - a bit like a UK version of Jack Reacher from the Lee Child books, but not such a loner. I have enjoyed everyone of the Dan Shepherd books and strongly recommend them - the fact that I have bought them all is testament to Stephen Leather being a great author

Spider Does Porridge, 25 Aug 2008
I have just read Hard Landing for the 2nd time with a gap of about 3 years. I have a talent for developing amnesia when it comes to reading and therefore I could really only remember the basic plotline. I was once again captivated by the tension the author creates in this thriller and found myself holding my breath as the action hotted up. I think the introduction of Spider's family and his interaction with his son humanises a character I have previously described as "superhuman" (my review of Dead Men).This was our first meeting with Spider and to date he has not disappointed.

Great intro to Spider, 06 Oct 2007
This is the first of Leathers books to feature Dan Shepherd, and it is a cracker! Carpenter is a drug dealer on remand in a high security prison but managing to kill off witneses so his case won't go to trial. Carpenter has a huge span of control both in and out of the nick. Enter Spider, undercover to make sure Carpenter gets convicted. This is a great and tense game of chess with Carpenter having a strong network and Spider always under the risk of being found as a cop in jail. Great story, but could have been edited down 100 pages, nevertheless.

Standard Prison story with a cracking end, 22 Mar 2007
Leather has written some amazing books and this for anyone else would be a good book but not quite as amazing as his early ones. The story starts off with Dan Shepherd being arrested and put in prison to get information on a really nasty drug runner who has killed off most of anyone who can finger him. The scenes are pretty graphic and the action as far as it can get in a prison is pretty hard and fast. The ending makes a huge extra point to the book.

Not bad.

New literary Tough Guy hits the ground running, 14 Feb 2007
HARD LANDING was the first in the Stephen Leather's series of thrillers starring Dan "Spider" Shepherd, an ex-SAS trooper now assigned to an elite Metropolitan police unit tabbed for deep undercover operations when the usual enforcement methods can't nab the bad guys. Dan's nickname came to be while on an SAS survival training mission and he won a bet on who could eat the most disgusting thing. One normally doesn't see "tarantula" on the menu even in the greasiest curry house.

HARD LANDING was followed by SOFT TARGET and COLD KILL, all three of which I've unintentionally read in reverse order. I'd recommend reading the first book first since, if nothing else, the series is a character development exercise for the protagonist.

Here, Spider is tossed into one of Her Majesty's maximum security prisons after establishing his cover as an armed desperado on an airport warehouse hold-up gone bad. Dan's mission is to nail big-time drug trafficker Gerald Carpenter, currently in the same lock-up awaiting trial. Carpenter is somehow communicating with the outside and masterminding the quashing of evidence and killing of witnesses that would otherwise convict him. Fearing Gerald will ultimately go free, Shepherd's job is to identify the leak and thus ensure Carpenter's conviction.

Spider's job prevents him from having a normal home life with his wife Sue and son Liam, a fact that causes the inevitable friction with the former and neglect of the latter and which is exacerbated by a tragedy that occurs while Dan is behind bars. I previously mentioned in my review of SOFT TARGET (dated 11/4/06 and entitled "A whopping cell phone bill, no doubt") that the author perhaps dwelled too much on Spider's spotty relationship with his son, which caused me to knock off a star from that otherwise splendid tale. With Shepherd, I'm looking for hard-boiled action not agonized soul-searching. (My other favorite fictional Tough Guy, Lee Child's Jack Reacher, never ever moons about engaging in self-castigating guilt trips.) I gave COLD KILL five stars (dated 6/29 06 and entitled "How hardball do we play it?") because it maximized the action and minimized the hand-wringing, and I'm giving HARD LANDING a full allocation of points for the same reason.

Until commencing with the Dan Shepherd series, Leather had pretty much eschewed an ongoing hero beyond a couple of books. With Spider, Stephen has struck gold, and I'm eagerly awaiting the fourth installment, HOT BLOOD.



Criminal, 02 Aug 2008
One of the worst books intended for adults I have ever read. I assume (as it is emblazoned on the cover) it was trying to hitch a ride on the Life On Mars gravy train but it ends up shunted ignominiously into the sidings.

The writing is just plain bad (can someone explain a split infinitive to the author?), it's full of anachronisms like English people giving each other high-fives in 1976 and the plot takes a LONG time getting nowhere. The fact that EVERY character has to have a nickname (and a following paragraph explaining how they got it) gave me unpleasant Eighties flashbacks of the equally execrable London's Burning tv series. All of this could be forgiven if the book wasn't also so dishonest - some of these "hilarious" incidents have preservation orders, they're so old (the urban myth about the voluntary German interpreter in the courtroom, the mortician who switches heads on a corpse).

I picked it up in Asda, which seems somehow appropriate. A really tawdry experience.

More of the same, 27 Jul 2008
Foxtrot Oscar is equally as good but not better than Horse's Arse.It has the same blend of violence and humour.The central story of a turkish gangster teaming up with the park royal mafia is padded out with a few anecdotal tales of Handsteads finest.I'm starting to get a real feel for some of the characters and I'm really looking forward part three in the series.

'Foxtrot Oscar' is absolutely 'Foxtrot Echo' !, 15 Jul 2008
I finished this book after two days and having enjoyed Horses Arse immensly I was in no way disappointed with the sequel.Charlie has developed the various characters and Foxtrot Oscar expertly continues the story of policing Hatfield (sorry, Handstead) in the late 70's. As I have said previously, the characters are entirely believable and I have no doubt that is because they actually existed. (I certainly know who 'Alfie' is!) Foxtrot Oscar is an excellent read and although absolutely hilarious in parts this is countered by a darkness and intensity that sends a shiver down the spine. Policing was like that,Police bars were like Charlie describes and the apprehension felt by officers prior to a busy night shift on a hot,sticky night is more than adequately captured within Charlie's words. Buy and read this book and like me you will be looking forward to December when the third book in the serise, Bravo Jubilee is published. Thanks Charlie,you have done it again!

Brilliant Title too by the way, 06 Jul 2008
The title is a poignant introduction to the style of the book, mimicking the behaviour and skulduggery of the Handstead police force. The characters make this book, and my favourite scene has to be the introduction to Alfie. Like others, this book had me laughing out loud. I borrowed this copy and thus have read it before Horses Arse, which I am now looking forward to.

I gave it a 4 and not a 5 for the simple reason that there isn't one compelling plotline, and a few too many characters. There are many sub plots and stories, all of which are good mind, but I like to have one bigger plot encompassing these more. Also there are a lot of characters and I found myself getting confused in who was who at times.

Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it wholeheartedly as a crime caper with a difference.



SPOT ON!, 09 Jun 2008
AS A RETIRED SOUTH WALES COPPER I PICKED UP HA THINKING IT TO BE ANOTHER BORING 'LIFE IN THE DAY' ETC. HOW WRONG I WAS. WHILST I DID NOT ENCOUNTER EVERY SITUATION OR CHARACTER IN THE BOOK, I CAN CERTAINLY IDENTIFY WITH A GREAT MANY! READ THE BOOK IN A FEW DAYS THEN STARTED ON FOXTROT OSCAR. AGAIN ANOTHER BRILLIANTLY FUNNY READ. ONLY ANOTHER OFFICER WILL REALISE HOW CLOSE TO THE TRUTH CHARLIE IS......WELL DONE. NUMBER THREE PLEASE ASAP!!

Brilliant series, Frank Miller is great!, 23 Apr 2008
Once again Frank Miller knocks it out of the park in this, the 3rd Sin City installment.
This is a welcome return for some characters, namely Dwight from Dame to Kill for, and the girls from Old Town, and the evil Manute (big, creepy guy that he is!) Dwight is out to put a stop to Jacky-Boy's drunken violence, but he gets whole lot more than he bargained for, when the voluptous Gail steps in. Theres some rough justice, Old Town style, and a fantastic showcase for deadly little Miho and some suprisingly funny use of shruiken! Then things get a whole lot worse, with the discovery of the "Atom Bomb," turns out Jacky-boy was kinda important! Another great crime noir from Miller, with all the amazing characteristics you expect from Sin City. The black and white art is sharp as ever and perfectly captures the mood. The shadows are just brilliant, so effective! Throw in some talking heads, rogue IRA mercs, hot babes, betrayal and the evil mafia. Passionate and thrilling! Theres a cracking gallery section at the back and some colour plates at the front. A must for any sane graphic novel fan!

Not the best so far, but certainly enough for a good time, 02 Jul 2001
The first thing you should realize before you order "The Big Fat Kill" is that it's really a big pro if you read the original Sin City story, and a MUST to read "A Dame to Kill For" prior to this one. See, the main character in this book is Dwight, a man who tries to stay as anonymous as possible because elseways his criminal past may catch up with him. This past that he's hiding from is the story from "A Dame to Kill For", so you should really get that first. It makes it a lot easier to understand a lot of why Dwight's acting the way he is. There's also some conversation about Marv, the main character from the original story. But Marv is not a major factor in this book so reading the original story is really only a pro, not a must.

About the story: Oneday a girl named Shelley is being harassed in her own home by a guy named Jack, her drunk ex-boyfriend, and his friends. Dwight, who is living with Shelley 'convinces' them to leave and decides to follow them to make sure he doesn't do any more damage. Only Jack turns out to be so dumb to drive into Old Town, a place where the hookers are the law because of the pact they made with the police ('they stay off the police's back, the police stays off their backs'). Jack and his friends wind up dead, upon which they find out Jack is really a cop while examing the body. This will clearly lead to war between the cops and Old Town, leaving it a free warzone for the mob, IF the cops ever find out about Jack. Dwight thinks to have the solution to get rid of the bodies and goes on his way. But things turn out to be not that easy. What follows is an interesting story with several different parties of power and interests, violence, a lot of backstabbing, loyalty and finally an interesting plot-twist.

In all honesty I think the original "Sin City", "A Dame to Kill For" and especially "That Yellow Bastard" are better books than this one, so if you haven't read all of those yet I think you'd rather read those first. With that I'm NOT saying this is a bad book because it isn't. In my opinion it's actually a very good tale which keeps interesting to the very end because of the different directions the story takes all the time. It's also carried by Frank Millers trademark (by now) art. This is really suitable for the story, it being a dark grimmy 'mad-cop' story, and of no less quality than you're used to if you've been a Sin City reader longer. I just don't think it's THE best Sin City story out there. Get the other ones I named first, than get this one and have yourself a good time with it.

Not Miller's best work but a worthy read., 11 Apr 2001
Pretty much a-typical for Miller. Obviously it's going to contain beautiful, noir, artwork and excellent story telling but it simply does have the edge offered by such titles as Dark Night Returns and A Dame to Kill For. The Big Fat Kill focuses on the activities of the old town so if your interest lies here in particular then this is the one for you

A great stand alone story too! , 13 Sep 2008
Having loved the film, it was only a matter of time before I delved into the graphic form of frank miller's sin city. I started with that yellow bastard, knowing the plot for the first book (The hard goodbye) inside out. Although this is in fact book 4 it is still a great place to start, the story which I wont go into detail about doesn't really connect with the other books in the series in any major way, so this is great as a stand alone novel too!

I was a big miller fan long before reading sin city, the dark knight returns being masterfully writen and 300 just blowing me away entirely. That yellow bastard though, for me topped them all. Miller's artwork is amazing, striking out from every page. The story, although no war & peace runs along at break neck speeds and the only down side I found was that I read it all too quickly and was disappointed to finish it, thankfully sin city is a series.

If you're new to sin city entirely then I would advise you read this first before watching the film, bruce willis is good as hartigan the main character in the film but I don't think he was the best choice and reading the book I get a completely different feel for the hartigan character to that portrayed on screen.


One of the best in the series...., 23 Apr 2008
That Yellow Bastard is the fourth installment of Sin City, the noir epic of Frank Miller.

An absolute classic this one, with one of the nastiest villains ever, Junior! This is pure, gritty crime noir. Its got all the right features - corrupt cops, crooked politicians, a dame to be saved and a tough, noble cop called Hartigan. He's one hour from retirement, but it all goes horribly wrong as he refuses to let a senators son get away with murder and child rape, and shoots the guy to pieces in the process. Hartigan is framed for everything, but won't talk, so he can save skinny little Nancy Callahan. He serves his time, takes the beatings and cruelties, until.....a parcel arrives for him in jail that changes everything...He swallows his pride and gets his parole, and goes after Nancy, one of the most stunning looking girls in comics! The chase in on! The pacing is fantastic and urgent, and the use of a single colour, yellow, really picks out that character and his sick, evil essence! Some pages are almost eniterly black, really emphasising the oppresive nature of the moment, its bleakness. The violence is harsh and unrelenting. A gripping and dramatic read. "I took his weapons away...Both of them." Immortal lines from a genius creation!! Read it now!

Thrill a minute, 06 Feb 2007
What can I say - brilliant.

I chose to review this one and not the others as

a) people who read the series will suspect review the first one only, and
b) this is is my favourite of them all (personally)

Buy all of these books, 1-7, they are all truly great stories. Some people have knocked the graphical style of these books - to me, they are one of the high points - they has a superb style all of their own. Millers dialogue, jokes, slang and story are all superb - great film noir, and add in his sound effects (SPAK! HEFF!) and he really has made this series unique Miller.

Finally, I'm not a fan of comparisons with films - usually graphic novels are changed dramatically (often for the worse) in the movies. Sin City is different. I thought it was a cracking film and is incredibly faithful to the books (although in differing order). Therefore, for once I can say, if you liked the film you'll love the book, as opposed to if you hated the film dont be put off by the book.

Cinematic, thrill a minute series.

Miller writes his way into the comic-book hall of fame, 16 Feb 2001
Frank Miller is one of the greatest writers of comic book literature to date. With a tone that can be likened to Raymond Chandler in a bad mood, Miller's style is lean and very mean. His characters are extreme yet believable, the situations are dramatic but have their feet stuck in reality. And thats ust the writing. The artwork? Breathtaking and so complimentary to Miller's words that it is scarey. We see colour introdced to the frames - a simple splash of yellow that signifies the crooked villain of the story. Genius. Not the first time he has used the technique but still brilliant. The plot revolvs around one of Miller's usual hard-nuts with a heart. The villain this time is his opposite rather than equal. Enough from me. Buy the book.

Not The Best......., 19 Jul 2000
That Yellow Bastard....does exactly what it says on the cover. That is, he's yellow, and my, what a bastard he is! In typical Sin City stylee, this is a tale of revenge and redemption. The main character, Hartigan is every bit as lovable as Marv, and the other regulars, but the story does not twist and turn as the previous episodes do. It all seems like a very long-winded way of telling a short, but heart rendering story of what is basically boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy goes crazy-ape-bonkers and kills everyone. This has already been done by the solo Miller in the eponymous debut and 'The Big Fat Kill'. Still this series has got legs, and if anyone can keep it going it is King Frank.

Dwight and Miho in a "Sin City" tale of revenge, 09 Aug 2005
When I started reading "Family Values," Book 5 of Frank Miller's "Sin City" series, I found myself wondering why Dwight keeps getting to be the narrator-protagonist of the comic noir stories. Then I remembered that Marv and Hartigan are both dead, so it means it is either Dwight or somebody new and Miller will have to get to the latter sooner or later. But for the third time in the first five books, once again Dwight is the man.

Dwight shows up at Poppa's Olympian Palace, an old fashioned diner (you know the type; it looks like you could put it on wheels and hitch it to a train as a cheap dinner car) driving a VW Beetle (hey, it is a German car, so what is your complaint? Besides, you can always trade up). The place is riddled with bullets and whatever happened there Dwight is interested, and since deadly little Miho is backing him up we have to think it has something to do with the girls of Old Town. The problem is that nobody is talking about why what happened at Poppa's happened and it takes a while and a couple of versions of the tale to figure out the meaning of the key detail Miller keeps working into the art. You are not going to be able to figure out what is going on until it is all laid out for you, but that is not necessarily a bad thing (as opposed to telegraphing the ending). I also like a red herring, especially when it walks on four legs.

It seems like every killing in Sin City is revenge for a previous killing, which just means there is another killing in Sin City that needs to be revenged and the cycle goes on and on and on. But there is a moral to this particular story and as Dwight notes it is a great big wide world out there and there's all kinds of families in it. Apparently they all play by the same rules, it is just that some are a lot better at it, especially when it comes to covering their tracks. The best part of this story is the way Dwight has to unravel the truth, moving from one source to the next to find out another layer of the truth so that he and Miho know exactly who has to pay for what happened (and we finally get to find out what really happened).

"Family Values" is a relative short "Sin City" tale, coming it at 126 black & white pages and I think picking pink as the color on the cover to go along with the drawing of Miho in the snow might be a made choice (besides red and yellow, do any colors really make sense in Miller's "Sin City"). Miller does some nice things with the snow in Book 5 that are interesting, but reducing Miho to a ghostly figure of pure white takes a little getting used to (especially if you want to start unpacking the symbolic value of doing so in contrast to the shadows and dirt of Sin City in general). It is a rather simple and ordinary tale by "Sin City" standards, but that still makes it above average if you are looking at the overall genre of graphic novels.

The Short Pink One, 20 Jul 2005
Another awesome sin city installment. Admittidly not with the same raw, cut graphics of the first few but still beautiful & signature Miller. As this was the shortest of the books i've read from the series it does leave you wanting but for the price it is a cracking read - dark, blunt and full of that amazing circling dialogue that Miller fans have seen in not only Sin City but his Batman aswell. Incidentally, had some serious deja vous moments with some of the compositions of Miho and Miller's Caroline Kelly (Robin From Dark Knight Returns & Strikes Again) and there is a hint of Vinnie in Lex Luthor aswell. Basically if you were a fan of the above titles or the series in general this won't let you down but i would be tempted to invest in another aswell to keep you busy as it is short and pacey. For the those daring to enter Sin City for the first time this is a great piece but i'd hit the Yellow Bastard or A Dame to Kill For first- this one is a good accompeniament to save for a cookie break or a rainy day.
Keep it casual
r

Wow, 29 Oct 2003
I first read this when i was about 10 and have only found a copy now that i had the wonderful idea of amazon and it is as good as i originally thought it was. The plot is fantastic and miho was and still is the best assassin i have ever read or seen in anything, full marks go to the author

Welcome To Blood Spattered Sin City, 05 Jan 2001
Another yarn of violent payback on the mean streets of Sin City. A man with a debt to pay is looking for answers regarding the murder of a city official called Bruno. Bruno has a shadowy past, and his killers haven't managed to cover their tracks.....

Business as usual in Sin City - the breathtaking use of black and white imagery successfully conveys the mean streets and low lifes, whilst the violence is suitably grotesque and over the top. The bitter black comedic plot should grab anyone who is a fan of of Chandler, Leonard or Ellroy.

Not top notch when compared to The Big Fat Kill or the original Sin City but still worth taking a look at for lovers of crime or if you wonder what Miller got up to after Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

priests and whores and nobody left to blame, 04 Sep 1998
if frank miller could find a motive for any of his characters besides evil priests and evil women, he could write a story that competed with unillustrated fiction. I appreciate all the progress he has made in the comic book and graphic novel realm but I'm waiting for the next step. He has become formulaic in his character's motives and so the storylines have become simple revenge stories. Though revenge stories are typical of the 'film noir' style he has developed, they remain typical. I am really looking forward to Miller's breaking out of the trend in which he has stuck himself.

Among aficionados of crime fiction, the name of George Pelecanos is revered. And the fact that he is not particularly known to the general public -- who spend their money on far less accomplished authors -- only adds to the lustre of his reputation among those who have discovered him. If you are wondering why this is the case, pick up The Night Gardener, and the chances good that you will see the appeal of this highly accomplished author.

Stephen King has called Pelecanos 'perhaps the greatest living American crime writer', and one of the reasons for this praise may be the total verisimilitude of his writing: this is crime fiction that makes most entries in the fields seem glossy and insubstantial. The plot here involves unsolved crimes and a killer who has never been brought to justice. In 1985, a ruthless individual was kidnapping teenagers, killing them and dumping their mutilated bodies in public parks. 20 years have passed, and detectives Gus Ramone and Dan Holiday -- who worked on the original case -- have taken different career trajectories: Gus has made Detective Sergeant, while Dan has lost his job over a series of irregularities. But then a boy is found murdered in a public park, and both men find themselves seeking closure on a dark case from their pasts. All the things that distinguish Pelecanos' best writing -- flinty characterisation, solid plotting and a marked social concern -- are present here. If you haven't already, it's time to join the legions of Pelecanos admirers. --Barry Forshaw.

Cuold do better - see me, 10 Nov 2008
Mostly I give Christopher Brookmyre's books four or five stars. True I tend not to like books with gratuitous violence of foul language, but he is normally so inventive that I forgive such transgressions. Not so with A snowball in hell! Brookmyre seems always determined to push at the boundaries of acceptability, and I have no problems with that. In this latest book however he doesn't push acceptability; he kicks it out of sight. He takes his hero Angelique de Xavia through an improbable series of events with which she is impotent to cope unless she has guidance her lover Zal!
It could have been a hugely enjoyable romp! It could have been his usual skilful mix of the absurd! It is neither, it misses most of the tests which have previously set Brookmyre apart form mere thriller writers. All this being said, I enjoyed the book, but only give it three stars "As was always stated on my school report "could do better".


Entertaining and inventive cartoon nastiness, 13 Oct 2008
It's always worth buying the latest Brookmyre to see what bit of inventive nastiness he's come up with this time. Where some other authors would make all this mayhem stomach turning and unpleasant, Brookmyre somehow manages to get away with it because it comes across as cartoon violence; sort of "Reservoir Dogs" where the dogs in question are Huckleberry Hound and Deputy Dawg.

There were some excellent plot twists and it's defin