I Want My Mummy

 When I needed a Mummy book for part of a GoodReads challenge, my mind immediately went to Stoker's The Jewel of Seven Stars, but then I was like, "Curses, foiled again," because I read that last year. For some reasons, mummies aren't big in horror fiction. On the screen, yes, but on the printed page... Well, the pickings are slim. And thus the search began. Eventually, I stumbled across Ragman by JG Faherty, and two things sold me on this book. Besides the fact that it was about mummies, the deciding factor was that it took place in NYC. As a native New Yorker, I'm a sucker for anything that takes place in and around the Big Apple.

The book opens in Egypt, 1888, where we witness a group of men descecrating the ruins of a temple and killing one of the priests, allowing them to get away with artifacts stolen from the premises. As always happens among friends when money is in the picture, there's treachery, and one man ends up taking the fall for all of them.

Jump to present day, New York City, where we witness the awakening of Ahmes the Second, High Priest of Sokar, risen from the dead to carry out a blood oath. One year later, someone is killing homeless people, literally sucking the lives right out of them. Elsewhere in the city, someone is killing of some of society's elite gentlemen, literally ripping them apart. Tom Reardon, a retired/disgraced detective now working security detail, answers a cry for help against his better judgement. After all, he's not a cop anymore, but a deeply rooted sense of duty has him springing into action. It almost costs him his life. Later, at the precinct, after giving his statement, he comes face to face with his old partner, Daniel Reese. There's history between the two, some good, some bad, and it's the bad that overshadows their reunion. Reese is responsible for investigating the Ragman murders, the death of the elite gentlemen, one of whom will turn out to be Reardon's employer. As a result, the two former friends are forced to work together to try to find out who is behind the killings before anyone else dies. They don't do a very good job of it, not at first, but what can you expect when two men firmly rooted in reality are forced to confront the supernatural. It isn't until they become targets themselves that they begin to accept the fact that what they are dealing with isn't exactly human. And how do the brutal murders tie in to the string of homeless murders?

Ragman isn't an out-and-out horror novel, but a combination of who-dunnit and Friday the 13th, part mystery/part slasher fiction that's heavy on the supernatural. It's well paced and the characters are likeable enough. Reardon comes across as an Everyman, far from perfect, able to make mistakes and accept the consequences of his actions, which makes him more relateable. Reese, on the other hand, is an extreme character, in that he reacts more emotionally to things than Reardon, and as a result, tends to harbor grudges that border on the irrational. As a result, it takes a while to warm up to Reese as a character. There are times, I must admit, where I kind of wished Reese had fallen victim to the Ragman so I don't have to deal with the whiny, angsty emotions he's struggling with. But by the end, you're rooting for the pair like they were Batman and Robin.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its share of issues. I tend to visualize while I read. What I mean by that is the scene unfolds like a movie screen in my mind. As a result, there were a few details in the beginning that threw me as not being possible (yeah, I know we're dealing with a supernatural slasher, so nothing is actually possible), but these were details rooted in reality, minor details that made me go, "Huh?" And then there were the eye-roll moments, which, for me, is when one of the characters took a tour of the Other Side. I had the same problem with the movie Insidious. I thought it was great---until the characters ventured over to the other side. That's where it lost me. Thankfully, though, in Ragman, this is a mercifully short visit before we're thrust back to the "reality" of Faherty's world.

If you're a fan of mysteries, slashers, or supernatural thrillers, this is one I would definitely recommend. 4/5 stars

It's Always the Quiet Ones

Jasper Bark's Quiet Places is another book I stumbled upon while looking for a "Q" title for a reading challenge. Well, that's not entirely true. I'd seen it mentioned occasionally in the various Facebook groups I belong to, but it never crossed my mind until I saw it among the Amazon listings. I also needed a Cosmic Horror read for another challenge, so I figured it's a way to kill two birds with one stone.

Quiet Places is Sally's story. It tells of her life before before and after her move to Dunballan, and what befell her lover, David, once they were settled. To the outsider, Dunballan seems rather idyllic -- and isolated town tucked away deep in the woods that rarely, if ever, gets any visitors. So how did a young woman from London end up in such a secluded, out-of-the-way place? It seems it's her boyfriend's ancestral home. And when his uncle passes away and leaves the entire estate to him, it's his familial duty to take up residence. This is a big change for Sally, in more ways than one. Even though she and David have been together for a number of years, they have never cohabitated. And you get the impression she's a city girl at heart. So her life is about to enter a period of great upheaval, as she agrees to make the move with David.

Almost from the start, Sally realizes there's something not quite right about Dunballan. For one thing, David, who often experiences periods of emotional distance, becomes even more withdrawn. Then there's the way the townsfolk huddle together whenever Sally's around, whispering secrets Sally isn't privy to as they eye here with... Sympathy? Suspicion? She is, afterall, an outsider. Then there's the mysterious beast that seems to be stalking David. Not menacingly. Almost as if it's keeping an eye on him, making sure he stays where he belongs. In Dunballan. And finally there's the whisperings coming from the hedgerows. Whisper that seduce Sally, and promise that if she does what it asks, she'll get her David back.

Little by little, Sally uncovers the secrets of Dunballan, but will she learn everything she needs to know in time to save David?

With Quiet Places, Jasper Bark has created a riveting tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat, reading late into the night. But it's not because you care about the characters (personally, I didn't find any of the characters particularly likable), but because you, as the reader, want to know the town's secrets. If you've read enough folk horror, what happens between the covers of the book probably doesn't come as much of a surprise, but if you're relatively new to the sub-genre, then you're in for a bit of a treat. And if you're good at putting the pieces together, you'll be able to figure out what's going on within the town before Sally does, and you'll be sitting there hoping she comes to the same conclusions you've already arrived at.

All in all, I enjoyed Quiet Places, and I would recommend it, even though I do have one MAJOR gripe -- and that's that there's no big surprise at the end. Bark gives away the ending at the very beginning, so no matter what happens during the course of the story, you already know the outcome. The only reason you keep reading is to see how and why this is the outcome. To create a sense of mystery and not spoil the ending, I think it would have been better had the author started with the news of David's inheritance; this way, we're with Sally from the very beginning, rather than starting it the way he does. You don't even get the impression that this is the hook to keep readers reading, in that it lacks the excitement you would be looking for with a hook.

Bargain Basement Read

I stumbled across this one while browsing through the horror titles on Amazon, looking for something that started with a "P" for a reading challenge. The premise sounded interesting -- three novellas written by three authors based on the same writing prompt. I thought it would be interesting to see where each author ran with the bone they were given. Well, rather than give a blanket review of the work in general, I'll tackle each novella in turn.

The first novella in the collection is "The Survivor" by Chisto Healy. I knew from the first few pages that this was going to be a slog. First off, and this is just a personal opinion, the character names don't fit the characters or their professions. Paulie Paisano and Sal "Guido" Corelli sound like they should be gangsters, so when you find out they're a pair of cops, you're like, "Huh?" Everything about them is un-coplike, and they come across as low-budget Keystone Cops. The author doesn't appear to have any knowledge of police procedures, and the dialogue is laughably juvenile. Likewise, the interactions between Paulie and his wife. The whole thing is awkwardly written, and I mean that in a bad way, as if the author was uncomfortable writing the scene, not that the characters themselves were uncomfortable. Then there's the obvious lack of editing. It's the little things that make me want to grab a red pen and re-edit the piece -- things like allowing the use ground when it's obvious floor is meant. It's things like that that really pull me out of the story. The character is sitting on the ground of the shower; I find that jarring enough because I'm suddenly picturing an outdoor shower.

And, unfortunately, that's as far as I got. It's rare for me to not finish a book that I start, but when you have a collection like this, the publisher would traditionally start off with the strongest work and end with a strong piece, and if "The Survivor" is the strongest story, then I can only imagine what the others are like. So slash this one off your shopping list and keep looking.