Review: James Lee Burke's Private Cathedral

For older guys who have soaked their brains in alcohol for decades, been shot, beaten, blown up, kicked in the heads, and tortured, detectives Clete and Robicheaux are in fighting shape. Not only that, but Robicheaux must have a closet full of Viagra because, for an old, depressed, fried guy, he has no trouble getting on with gangsters' wives and girlfriends. When will Clete and Robicheaux ever learn? How have they lived this long?

Why am I writing about a James Lee Burke novel, A Private Cathedral, when I normally cover horror? Because every once in awhile, Burke's books feature ghosts, demons, dead Confederates, and figures that may or may not be of the imagination. Sometimes the denizens of the night are in Robicheaux's mind, but everybody seems to be seeing the Medieval lizard-man who rides a sea-going galleon rowed by the damned. Who is this torturer from the past and is the Louisiana mob in the hands of the devil?

It takes two frayed, soused, haunted, depressed detectives to take on the demon.

One of the things I've always liked about Burke's books is that they describe the wet, the humid, the rotting and the beauty of the swamps and bayous in such a way that you feel like you are there. I've lived in the deep South (I know, I know, I've lived a lot of places) and there is something spooky and supernatural about it. Burke is good at bringing out the reasons the deep South feels cursed As William Faulkner said, "The past isn't dead, it isn't even past."  Burke's Louisiana books, including Private Cathedral, are full of the atmosphere that the past isn't past.

Review: Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse.

I was walking my dog in a park once when I saw three or four crows throwing a black rag around, taking turns picking it up and tossing it.  Bear with me because this has something to do with Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse. Getting closer, I saw that it wasn't a rag, but was a black kitten.  I chased them off, and caught the kitten , which wasn't easy since my dog was with me.

The crows had pulled the kitten's chin off. I took her home, named her Voodoo, had her for many years, but she never grew back her knobby little pudge-ball of a chin.

So, when you get to the crow attacks in Black Sun, believe it because those beastly things will pull your chin off in a heartbeat. Or pluck your eyeball out. Ugh.

I've read Ms. Roanhorse's books, Trail of Lightning and Storm of Locusts and enjoyed them very much. I used to live across the San Juan River from the Navajo Reservation and that area means a lot to me. At first I was a little sad that Black Sun wasn't in the Southwest like her other books. . And, although I like strong women characters, there was a woman sea captain and women sea captains seem to be a thing now. Gosh, I think I've read four books with women ship's captains in the past twelve months.

Although I got off to a slow start because I thought it was yet another fantasy with a woman captain, after a bit I really got into the story, and cared about the characters. The crow boy's childhood was almost too painful to read. Everybody inflicted physical and mental pain on him.. He grew up to be extremely gentle and a vicious killing machine. This is where the crows come in. You do not want to get on the wrong side of a killer with crows. There is a reason they're called a "murder" of crows. They will rip your chin and other body parts off before you can get a broom to swat them. Being gutted by a crow. Geez, what a way to go.

I even grew to like the woman sea captain, even though the seas are swarming with female captains now.

Read this if you like strong women, murderous women, a murderous crow boy, and murderous crows of all sizes, some humongous.  And keep your face mask on. You never know when a crow might go for your chin.

Thanks to Netgalley and Saga press for this ARC of Black Sun.

Review: The Awkward Black Man by Walter Mosely

I normally review only horror, but Netgalley and Atlantic Grove were kind enough to send me a digital copy of Walter Mosely's short story collection, The Awkward Black Man. I hadn't read Mosely before and I am greatly impressed by his sensitive, unique, and soul-searching stories.

But, since I do review horror, I'll stick to three interesting stories where Mosley strides into the speculative.  In one, Cut Cut Cut, a little, wizened Black man, who happens to be a mad scientist with an underground lab, attempts to create a demi-god race. Unfortunately, the bodies stack up in his attempts.

In Haunted, a man who wrote 1000 short stories without ever having one published, grows to hate the editor who rejected hundreds of his stories, that after he dies his hate stays on as a ghost.

Another story involves the transmigration of souls. In The Sin of Dreams, a huckster rap promoter becomes the unlikely head of a bio-firm that can transfer the souls of dying billionaires into younger bodies.

All of the stories are worth a read. They are fresh, original, and Mosley comes up with thoughts and questions that I haven't seen in other writing.

Want to write a short story?

I've had some luck getting short stories published and winning a few contests. Want to try your hand at writing a short story? The best selling author of Rodham tells you how in this New York Times article..
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/at-home/coronavirus-fiction-writing.html?searchResultPosition=2

Have you written a short story? Join the author live on the NYTs and you might get a chance to read your story on air. All the details are here:

Curtis Sittenfeld is the author of the novel “Rodham” and the story collection “You Think It, I’ll Say It” and the guest editor of the 2020 “Best American Short Stories” anthology. Join Ms. Sittenfeld on Thursday, August 6 at 6 p.m. Eastern for a conversation about writing. Share successes and tips and get help overcoming roadblocks. Send your first sentence to athome@nytimes.com with the subject line “My Short Story” and it may be read live. Visit timesevents.nytimes.com for event details

Purrfect Face Mask for a Horror Writer

 My friend demonstrates the proper way to wear a face mask, although he thinks he is at little risk for catching the coronavirus.

        Sophie approves of this face mask, though she thinks Siamese cats would be prettier.


We know we need to wear face masks, but they'd be more fun if they said something about our personalities. Since I've had minor (very minor) success at horror writing, I thought black cats would be the right touch without terrifying children and causing them to run away.

I bought these familiars (with stars and crescent moons on their foreheads) from the etsy shop Birchtreetextileart. She makes all of these herself and they're comfortable and a nice quality. The cost is $8.85 and shipping is free.

Since masks should reflect our personalities, the next mask I buy from Birchtreetextileart will be covered with BATS!

Review of Greyfriars Reformatory

I sat up all night reading this. Is there any more to say? I'll say something else. Dilemmas, death, adventure, fight scenes, evil parents, evil building, evil boyfriends, everything is gray, gray, gray, and there is a butterfly. What more could you want in a ghost story?

Written by Frazer Lee and brought to you by those fine, fierce folks at Flame Tree Press.

Whatever you do, stay away from crime so you don't end up in Greyfriars Reformatory. 

Review: For He Can Creep

For He Can Creep is a charming and magical story where a group of cats defeat the devil. Loosely based on a real poet who had only his cat for company in an 18th century lunatic asylum. A perfect story for cat lovers.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

So, is this horror? Cats are fighting the devil to save the soul of their poet. Comedy, too. The devil's wig plays havoc on it's own. A really wonderful story. 99 cents on kindle. Fantastic cover art.

Review: You Are Invited

Picture Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House set in the internet age of influencers and online tip jars. Set in the ruins of a nunnery in the mountains of Romania, You Are Invited does homage to the classic that came before it. A lonely young woman who was made insecure by a emotionally sadistic mother. Strangers who come together in an remote ruin where odd and unexplainable things happen. Is it mental illness or do evil spirits exist? All of this was found in The Haunting of Hill House.

Ms. Denzil, the author takes the bones of the classic and then makes them her own. Once Cath, the protagonist, arrives at the nunnery, a new fright happens on almost every page.  Wolves that may or may not be supernatural prowl the grounds. A dark shape that may or may not be benign stalks Cath. The other members of the party may be your friends or they may be lying and playing tricks. Cath was damaged by her mother but is trying to find a way out, different than the damaged young woman in Hill House that ended up staying the only way she knew how.

The taxi ride to the nunnery seemed a little long, but once she got there the story was a real page turner. I read the book all through the night and the sun was coming up when I finished it. I enjoyed it and hope to read more books by Ms. Denzil in the future.  Thanks to Netgalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.