I’m sharing another instalment of my Mini Review Mondays, the most recent of which was last week. In case you haven’t seen any of my previous posts, I do ‘mini’ reviews of books that I’ve previously read and am now ready to share my full thoughts about.
First up, I’d like to talk about Greedy by Callie Kazumi. Thank you to Century for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Ed is in trouble with the yakuza. He’s gambled away all his money and his family is at risk. But just as he’s about to lose everything, he receives an offer he can’t refuse.
A reclusive billionaire is looking for a private chef. The only catch: she has some. . . unusual tastes.
As he prepares delicious dishes – fresh crab salad with a panko crumb, lamb shank dripping in red wine juice, sweet, fluffy soufflé pancakes – he realizes that each meal is a test, a challenge to satisfy an insatiable appetite.
Caught up in a world more sinister than he could ever have imagined, Ed finds himself entangled in another debt.
As the stakes grow, he must make a choice.
Will he stay hungry? Or will he be greedy?
Publication Date: 5th February
CW: death, murder, violence, gore, blood, beating
My Thoughts:
Greedy leaves you hungry for more of Kazumi’s work. It is an incisive and incredible mesh of horror and thriller that is an irresistible experience.
Kazumi’s writing is razor-sharp and pulls Ed deeper and deeper into a dark web that he cannot see his way out of. It is evocative and eerie with an atmosphere that pushes down on you. I loved how hunger is explored as a theme, particularly through the pursuit of ambition and as a status symbol. It speaks to the tastes of the elite and the constant search for something different from the norm, something to break the boredom and mundanity. As you may expect, there is plenty of decadent description of food throughout and some of the creations sound delectable, but there is a strange undercurrent throughout. Ed is in this position out of desperation and therefore you have a thrum of tension from the start. He is reliant on this to provide for his family and thereby ensure his sense of self stays intact. Kazumi explores the fragility of masculinity and its impact on self-image, heightened by Ed stepping into this world he is not familiar with once more. All of this builds to a truly exquisite ending, the perfect digestif to this tale if you will.
This continues a subgenre of horror that I have been interested in seeing over the past few years, but with a different slant that makes it stand out. There are all sorts of factors that come into play here – a cultural alienation, power plays, class and the insurmountable appetities we each possess. Hunger is a driving force in society, be that for sustenance and survival or for other pursuits. Ed is no stranger to hunger, caught up somewhat in a web of his own weaving. He is a family man that loves his wife and child very much and yet he would risk them all for just another spin. You can understand and empathise with him as someone caught in the vice of his addiction and Kazumi adds new glimpses into his character as the pages move. Nothing here is quite as it seems and he is not immune from that.
Greedy is a sensory riot, perfectly matching the sumptuous culinary feasts stored within its pages, gradually spiralling into rot and disaster.
Next up, I’d like to talk about A Bad, Bad Place by Frances Crawford. Thank you to Transworld for giving out proofs at Harrogate Crime Festival.
Glasgow, 1979.
Twelve-year-old Janey won’t take her dog, Sid Vicious, for a walk. Not anymore. It’s Sid’s fault she found the murdered woman.
Janey claims she can’t remember what she saw at the abandoned railway, but the police think she’s hiding something. And they’re not the only ones interested.
Fear and rumour rip through the tight-knit community of Possilpark. Janey and her nana, Maggie, are dragged into the hunt for a murderer. And Maggie’s struggle to keep her beloved granddaughter safe becomes ever more desperate.
Because Janey’s memories can’t stay hidden forever.
And neither can the killer…
Publication Date: 12th February
CW: death, murder, violence, rape, stalking, arson, classism, gangs, PTSD, grief
My Thoughts:
A Bad, Bad Place is not a book you’re going to want to miss. It is wonderfully atmospheric, packed full of three-dimensional characters that steal a sliver of your heart and brilliant twists.
Crawford completely transports you to 1979 Glasgow. The sights, the smells and the specific language are all brought vividly to life. It feels lived in and believable with the backdrop almost becoming another character in the book. The community is polarised and insular, keeping their own secrets and the culture of silence is pervasive. Janey is caught in the crosshairs of it and the community must reckon with what happens next. Janey is such an arresting protagonist with a fantastic voice and a perceptive nature beyond her years. She is driven to find the truth, as much as that day haunts her. Around here is a wonderful and complicated cast of characters who Crawford sketches skillfully. Every one of them has depth and layers to them, which are slowly uncovered as the pages continue to flow.
As I was reading, I was reminded of the runaway hit and personal favourite The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey. Both writers truly shine in the exquisite characterisation on display and use the backdrop of violence to explore a coming of age narrative. That being said the violence is still palpable and bloody, with the impact being felt on the characters long after the final page. A Bad, Bad Place is particularly interested in the question of the ideal victim and the influence of power and social factors in the pursuit of truth and justice. Nothing here is clear cut, everything dwells in the murky gray in-between. This makes the story all the richer as you understand these characters’ motivations and decisions informing their behaviour, but Crawford ensures it still has consequences.
A Bad, Bad Place is fantastically told with a layered sense of characterisation and setting that you cannot pull yourself away from. I loved the blend of reckoning with your past and delving into the murky secrets of the present. This is easily one to watch and an author you want to say you rooted for from the start.
Finally, I’d like to delve into He’s The Devil by Tobi Coventry. Thank you to 4th Estate for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Simon has always been a good boy. He’s invariably employee of the month at the seasonal small plates restaurant where he works, he neurotically tidies his home, he keeps on top of repairs on behalf of his twenty-something, permanently-abroad landlord and tries to do right by everyone. But when his best and only friend, Josh, moves out of their shared flat, Simon is lonelier than ever – until in moves a new flatmate, the strange (and strangely sexy) Massimo.
But Massimo’s brought something with him. Odd sounds emerge from Massimo’s room, smells of earth and meat drift through the corridor and Simon’s nights fill with disturbing and tantalising dreams. Massimo is awakening something in Simon, something wild and exciting and horrifying that could be the end of him – or maybe a new beginning. But whatever’s in Massimo, whatever’s in the flat, isn’t finished. It wants more …
Publication Date: 12th February
CW: death, murder, violence, gore, injury, blood, obsession, manipulation
My Thoughts:
He’s The Devil is an excellent debut horror novel, leaning on the more literary side in its prose and character driven nature. It explores human connection and the lengths you may go to in order to feel as though you belong.
I was sold immediately on the concept. We’ve all experienced nightmarish scenarios with shared living and Coventry is turning up the dial to ten on them. It’s an interesting spin on the classic trope, especially in a world where we have had to confront isolation and its ramifications within very recent memory. There is an unease that runs through every page, even as you are momentarily distracted with the desires and disgusts of Simon. It is a book with a darkly humorous tone at times but more wry smile than belly laugh. Coventry’s prose oozes onto the page and leaves an oily feeling on your skin.
This is a type of horror I really enjoy – the squelchy stuff that makes you feel squeamish. It is icky and uncomfortable with an ever-present undercurrent of menace. This is combined with an introspective deep dive into our central protagonist, Simon. He is a complex figure and his narration is fragmented and flawed, showing interesting sides to him at times that may be unexpected. The sexual aspects are not gratuitous, in fact they serve to highlight his state of being and his conflicts. All he really wants is someone to love him and to be free. He is desperately lonely and that influences him to be pretty unlikeable at times, with an obsessive nature that makes you question the reality of what you’re reading. You can understand that desire for human connection and how it completely controls his behaviour.
The book meditates a lot on loneliness and the slowly corrosive poison of this on a person. London is a wonderful place but can be very isolating, especially when you are combating yourself like Simon is. There is that stark contrast between constantly being surrounded by people and yet never really connecting with any of them. Coventry is fascinated with the horror of that mundanity and combining this with the more traditionally hair-raising aspects makes for quite a spectacular tale.
He’s The Devil takes toxic housemates to a whole new level. It was a creeping nightmarish hellscape mixed with intimate characterisation and writing that sank into your skin.
A Short Book Lover 