Supernatural

REFLECTION OF EVIL by Bridgette Powell is a book flagged as Forensic Science united with Spirituality in a spine chilling murder mystery novel. So right up front I should just say I wasn't particularly convinced. I'm not a fan of this type of cross-over, not being a welded-on fan of the supernatural or metaphysical. Having said that, because I'm a reader and can therefore be a somewhat tricky prospect, I number amongst my favourite books a few that fall exactly into this category. So, long story short, I'll now have a go at this sort of thing, whereas once upon a time I would have been stepping away at a rapid pace.

The book starts out with the prologue, the opening paragraph of which is:

"With a gentle tug, the silk scarf covering her eyes fell away.  Her beaming smile froze clown like as she took in his malevolent expression.  Then she heard the humming emanating from the box at his feet. Innate fear paralysed her senses as she watched him reach down and unhinge the catch, releasing the myriad of frenzied and buzzing insects from captivity. The swarming mass burst forth in a dense, pulsating cloud."

The story centres around a number of characters that the reader meets very quickly. A psychotic killer with a low boredom threshold, Forensic pathologist Tahilia Baxter who has psychic visions, and Detective Brodie Halligan who, along with stopping a killer, is also trying to deal with a growing attraction to Baxter.

Despite my concerns, the supernatural element of the story is actually pretty well handled. Presented in a matter of fact, low-key manner it isn't too much of a stretch for a reader to accept. There's nothing overtly fantastical going on, and as the story unfolds, many of the visions that Baxter experiences become increasingly disturbing as they become increasingly obscure. Surprisingly the potential clash of Science and Spirituality wasn't quite as glaring as you'd think it could be. This is assisted by some good characters who are approachable and believable.

This is, however, another psychotic serial killer story, and whilst, in itself, not a bad plot it is yet another psychotic serial killer story and the supernatural element is about the only twist in what is, nowadays, a particularly heavily trodden path. There was also the rather odd inclusion of acronyms (or explanations of acronyms) which is probably something that other readers simply won't notice - but for some reason it clanged and yanked me firmly out of the story every time I came across one. I honestly don't remember another novel in which, for example, Sudden Infant Death (SIDS) and Personal Assistant (PA) was quite styled that way. But a more serious problem is that at 433 pages this is a hefty tome and whilst there is no denying the author has a way with words, there were passages that got bogged down. There seemed to be enough opportunities throughout to pare down and tighten up both the storytelling and the descriptive elements, contributing to both the tension build, and the readability as at points it did feel a little padded / overblown.

To be fair though, debut novels often suffer from "more is not enough" syndrome, and my overdosing on mad, bad serial killers should have nothing to do with whether or not this is a novel that readers with a liking for a touch of the supernatural should take a look at. Set in Perth and surrounds, REFLECTION OF EVIL might be just the thing for readers looking for something a little bit different, or those who really enjoy genre cross-over like this.

Susan Hill is probably best known to Crime Fiction fans for her Chatto and Windus series, but THE SMALL HAND is a ghost story with mysterious overtones which would  appeal to anyone who is looking for something which is just simply beautifully written.

A short (and sumptuously packaged) book, THE SMALL HAND is the story of antiquarian bookseller Adam Snow as he takes a wrong-turning one day and stumbles across the derelict old White House deep in rural England.  Curiosity draws him towards the house, and the unmistakable sensation of a small hand creeping into his own attracts and intrigues, rather than scares or creeps him out.

Drawn strangely to this house, Snow does a little research, discovering that the owner's grandson drowned there many years before, and as he discovers more, he finds that his initial reaction to this small presence becomes more disturbed.  Snow starts to experience haunting dreams and panic attacks as the small hand insinuates itself more and more into his life.

It's hard to come away from THE SMALL HAND without an overwhelming feeling of sadness, a palpable melancholy.  There is a sense of aloneness about Adam Snow that is mirrored by the presence he encounters in that house.  For just the shortest time it almost seems that this is simply two lonely entities that have somehow come together.  But there is a gentle building of a real sense of menace in this book, not fed particularly by any mystery, more by an increasing understanding that the past has moved into the present and bought with it a profound sense of inevitability.  Saying that these two - the real man and the supernatural presence - are drawn together for a reason isn't really a spoiler as it's obvious very early on.  The reason is not that hard to narrow down for a reader looking for a "solution", but what is considerably harder for the reader to come to grips with is the nature of damage and revenge, and the way that the past has been waiting for the present.

The sheer beauty of this compact, beautiful little book is very much the sense of emotion that weaves it's way out of the story and into the reader's conscious.  The themes of revenge, retribution, regret and that overwhelming sadness stayed with this reader for a long time after I closed THE SMALL HAND.

There are a lot of reasons why I move heaven and earth to get hold of a Philip McLaren book when I hear there's a new one in the offing.  Firstly, as yo

Okay, so before we go too much further SO COLD THE RIVER came with a media release that flagged it as, amongst other things an "explosive thriller" and "supernatural horror".  Not exactly a recipe for my perfect book.  Having said that, there have been plenty of reading examples in my recent past that make me aware that my "recipe" is a very fluid thing.

Eric Shaw is down and out.  A disgraced movie maker, separated from his wife, he's in Chicago making "life portraits" for people on video - think weddings, parties, and funerals.  During one of these funerals, Shaw is approached by Alyssa who wants him to make a documentary of the life of her father-in-law Campbell Bradford.  The family knows very little about the billionaire head of the family, except that his hometown is West Baden in Indiana.  Alyssa also hands over a very old bottle of Pluto Water which Campbell has held onto for many years, tying him to not just that small town, but a large part of its own history.  This small, mysterious, smelly, murky water bottle is the key to Shaw going to West Baden and somewhere a whole lot stranger.

The language used in SO COLD THE RIVER was quite beautiful in places, the basic bones of story intriguing.  An elderly, private man and what happened to him, and this small town over all those years.  The author is also doing something that I really like with dialogue: it's crisp, pointed, realistic.  There's also the sense of pace and suspense that you want from a first class thriller.  They come with an extremely hefty dose of the supernatural, the paranormal.  It is absolutely intrinsic to the way that the story unfolds and is told.  Undoubtedly Michael Koryta is a very good writer, as I stayed with this book even as I found this increasingly alternative reality more and more unconvincing.

Unfortunately, the supernatural elements were simply laid on so thick that suspension of my disbelief would have required engineering greater than the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge.  I'm also not sure I understand the inclusion of horror in the definitions, as there didn't seem to be many of the standard elements I expect with that genre - so if you're normally nervous of that, there's not a lot that should concern you about that.  

Undoubtedly this is a book for readers with a higher tolerance for the supernatural elements being a core component of the story.  Perhaps that's the difference between SO COLD IS THE RIVER and other books that I've read and enjoyed recently.  The supernatural in SO COLD IS THE RIVER is an intrinsic part of the way that this story unfolds - there's no getting around it, there's no balancing of a fantasy and reality.  To be fair there's no attempt, no pretence, an overt declaration that this fantastical series of events is the point of the book.  Because of that it's most likely a book for people who really like fantasy, the fantastical.. the supernatural.  It's likely to also be a book for dedicated fans of Michael Koryta's writing.  For the rest of us, well I've not had the pleasure of reading any of Kortya's "straight" crime fiction but I'm going to have to rectify that.

u can probably pick from the synopsis above, there's a very dry, understated wit in McLaren's story-telling style.  He's also writing about his own people, in a way that's both affectionate and exasperated.  He's also frequently very very pointed about the difficulties Aboriginal people in Australia face on a daily basis.

What McLaren is doing in MURDER IN UTOPIA is really interesting.  He runs a parallel story of a young Aboriginal girl in Australia, against a disgraced New York doctor both of whom collide in Utopia.  McLaren hastens to add this is not a book about the real Utopia - rather it's a fictional setting for his book, stating "I found the irony irresistible: imagine naming a place Utopia, a place so impoverished, so desolate."

The narrative moves forward bringing Jack Nugent to outback Australia and a community in need of medical services, as well as a community struggling against so many issues - alcohol, violence, neglect, poor housing, tensions with authorities.  All of these are told from both points of view - from the American, doctor, outsider with alcohol problems of his own, and from people within the community.  A ritual killing becomes a catalyst for people to adjust their views and for the depth of the problems in the community to be dragged into the daylight.

The structure of this book really works well, and whilst it is obvious that there is a lot of opinions and observations of reality being voiced within the narrative, fair enough.  In fact it's a privilege to read a fictional story addressing real-life issues in an Aboriginal voice, and the occasional stridency or maybe sledge-hammer adjustment of plot to make a point seemed perfectly reasonable in the circumstances.

Not a book for readers looking just for "pure entertainment" MURDER IN UTOPIA is a book for readers that want to learn something about issues we should be more aware of, written by somebody who obviously knows.