About swivel
[Ever since Wool series of books, one author he continues to mention in interviews is Dave Cullen, the author of Columbine. Hugh first wrote this review for crimecritics.com, a site we tried to start but later dissolved after Hugh started his writing career and I couldn’t juggle site duties between two sites. I later imported his excellent review of Columbine over here to dreamindemon.com in March 20, 2009. Still hard to believe that was four years ago. After reading a recent Huffington Post article in which Hugh mentions Dave Cullen, this book and the glowing review he wrote for it, I figured I would bump the review so you can read it and check out Columbine yourself, a book I think readers of this site will find very eye-opening. – Morbid]
Ten years have passed since the tragic event that has become synonymous with school shootings. Columbine was once a word that simply denoted a high school, a football team or a state flower.…
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Melody Grace McCartney does not know who she is. Well, to be more precise: she does not know who she would have been. When Melody was six, she and her parents witnessed something they shouldn’t have. An act of mafioso brutality. Talked into testifying, her parents went into the Witness Protection Program, taking Melody with them. And ruining any chance she had of living a normal life. Also gone is any possibility of an extraordinary existence. The assassination of her parents underscores a threat so severe that Melody must not stand out. Unable to attach to others, to excel in any way, or even to enjoy the banal existences lamented by her peers, Melody finds herself writhing in an unnatural state of forced mediocrity.…
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I. Hate. Vampires. Present tense. But I might be softening up a bit thanks to my new hero, Mario Acevedo. The shame is that I used to really like vampires. I thought they were much more cool back when they were less cool. Back when their existence was considered tragic. A curse that offset the thrill of immortality. Then they became a clique of badass goths. Now the trend seems to be progressing through this phase and into emo erotica. Pardon the pun, but what the undead really needs is a bit of new life breathed into them. Someone should come along and re-think vampire lore from the ground-up. Actually, an author has already done this. Meet the hero I mentioned above, Mario Acevedo.…
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Allow me to begin with a warning: Eden Log is a dark film. And by “dark,” I mean dim. And by “dim,” I don’t mean unintelligent. I mean, you better not be watching this film on an old-school LCD or with any ambient light in the room. The best way to view this flick is by unbolting your plasma from the wall and crawling under a blanket with it. But wait! Is there anything in this film worth seeing? What in the world is this French film even about? It’s a tough question, because Eden Log defies categorization. Director Franck Vestiel didn’t create a horror film, because there’s nothing scary about it. The creatures that inhabit the film’s dismal underworld are always kept at bay. Often, this is done with the clever use of saran wrap, a foil on violence not matched since M. Night Shamalamalahayha introduced space-faring aliens that were flummoxed by doorknobs. Other times, the creatures are just annoying, screeching backdrop. They run past our protagonist harmlessly. Or Eden Log Guards traverse a gangway on a different level–more far-off non-threats.…
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Continuing to highlight some novels based on true crimes, I am reposting a review of Douglas Preston and Mario Spez’s novel, The Monster of Florence. The novel details what happens when Preston and Spezi try to identify the serial killer known as The Monster of Florence. They think the have found their man, when Preston is asked to leave the country and Spezi is thrown in Italy’s Capanne prison, accused of being the Monster of Florence himself. I thought this would be a good second choice for this new column, especially since United Artists will produce a film version of the novel that Tom Cruise will produce and possibly star in.…
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Valentine’s day. Friday the 13th. I know which one of these scares me more. So many couples fall apart as this horrid holiday approaches. Muzzammil Hassan took this quite literally. Due to a threatened divorce from Aasiya, Muzzammil lost his head a bit, and then made sure his wife lost hers all the fucking way.…
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–I had this great English teacher in college. Worshiped the guy. I was a physics major and yet, every semester I was trying to shoe-horn every one of this guy’s classes in as electives. I was a sophomore physics major sitting in 400-level English classes with a small circle of other students that could actually spell. Literally a small circle. These were those tiny classes that sometimes don’t get taught because not enough students think the subject is important and the ones that do think they are so important they have to face each other instead of the teacher. I was just there because I worshiped the wrinkled-old man who was teaching the class and who was probably gay for me in a less-abstract way than I was gay for him.…
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About a year ago DreaminDemon.com, began using the name of the alleged criminal in the title of every blog post. Since then it has become standard practice at many other true-crime blogs, a mimicry that provides no shortage of flattery. Unfortunately for James Renner, no names of the assuredly guilty can grace the titles of his chapters. In The Serial Killer’s Apprentice he usually has to settle for the somber and sad inclusion of only the names of victims.…
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Daniel Suarez’s startling first novel, Daemon, lands on store shelves this Thursday, January 8th. If you have read my review of Daemon, you’ll recall that we gave it 6 stars out of 5, which brought our site down for a few days (perhaps an early sign of the Daemon’s awakening?). The fact that Daniel took time out of his busy schedule to answer some of our questions also makes me nervous. I have a bad feeling that you, the reader, are about to be infected with a neurological meme-based virus encoded to trigger your genetic predisposition for peer pressure.…
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In the Woods comes with a ton of expectations. With an Edgar award, a Macavity Award, an Irish Book Award, and the Strand’s award for best first novel, I cracked this book open prepared to be blown away. You would think a let-down was imminent, but instead I was up way past my bedtime two nights in a row, desperate to finish the novel but dreading not having any more to read. Good news on both fronts: the end was satisfying, a sequel was released this summer, and Tana’s publicist informs me that she is hard at work on a third. Not only was I satisfied, I get to go back for more!…
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Dead or Alive is McGarrity’s 12th Kevin Kerney novel. Fans of his series probably know exactly what to expect and will pick up this book on day one, but it was my first encounter with the author and his characters, so this review is for people who might be interested in getting on board. Before I discuss Dead or Alive, I have to say how much I love McGarrity’s website. I wish every author had a resource like this. For each book (Tularosa, for instance), he has provided a synopsis, reviews, and even interactive maps. Locations used in the books are laid out relative to one another and the locales are hyperlinked to other resources. The same meticulous touch that is evident in McGarrity’s writing of Dead or Alive pervades his site. It is an attention to detail that may be a mixed blessing, unfortunately.…
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If there was an award for scariest dedication, Chelsea Cain wouldn’t have any competition. Her national bestseller, Heartsick, starts off with: “For Marc Mohan, who loved me even after he read this book”. I had to pause before I started the first chapter. What in the hell was I getting myself into? A pickle, that’s what. I have a bit of a problem here. I am giving this book our highest marks and I am about to lavish some serious praise on it, but I am by no means recommending this book to everyone. If anyone passed by and bought this book because they saw my five stars, and now you are back to determine what in the world I was thinking, all I can say is: I didn’t tell you so. Because you didn’t listen.…
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I am a fast walker. Olympic fast. It isn’t something I am even aware of until a laggard points it out to me. A laggard–or a trio of muggers. The first time I was mugged I was in London. Forging ahead of my leisurely-paced family, threading through a British crowd that tended to pass me on the incorrect side, I bumped into a chap, which sent me into oncoming pedestrian traffic where I was nearly bowled over by a man twice my size. The next thing I know, the very large man is holding me by the cuff, nearly lifting me off the ground and yelling with an accent too thick to comprehend.…
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Interred With Their Bones sure had a lot stacked against it. Having come off an incredible streak of three delightful novels, the last of which was easily my favorite read of the year, it was time for a deviation to the mean. As I began Carrell’s novel, I thought that this would be it. A nice 3-star review to settle my average and set me up for the next read. I was using this book as a rebound and I wasn’t ashamed of it. I am now. My plan would have worked, but the subject matter of Interred With Their Bones is just too dear to my heart. Not to unfairly compare, but Carrell’s tale is The Da Vinci Code with Shakespeare taking the place of Da Vinci. It is a shame that Dan Brown did it first, because Carrell does it better.…
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Daniel Suarez’s Daemon is an amazing story. And I’m not talking about the actual plot; for that, the word “Amazing” would not suffice. No, I am referring to the incredible series of events which are leading up to its publication and release on January 8th. After writing Daemon back in 2004, Suarez faced the uphill battle common to many first-time authors. Unable to find a buyer, yet confident of the quality of his work, he decided to self-publish. Using print-on-demand, Suarez pumped out a few dozen copies a month, at the time sporting the pseudonym of Leinad Zeraus, his real name spelled backwards. Eventually the book achieved an underground and vocal following. A tipping point of sorts was reached, and the right people began promoting the book in whatever way they could, people like Craig, of Craigslist fame and Rick Klau, at Feedburner (now owned by Google). This network helped boost sales until the bright folks at Dutton publishing realized that a phenomenal author was going ignored.…
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Syzygy. The alignment of three heavenly bodies. That’s what this is for me. Comic books, Noir Murder Mysteries, Secularization. In my review of Double Indemnity I hinted at an upcoming Noir event that I would be following with interest. And here it is. Marvel is doing for Noir what they lately did for zombies, recasting their iconic characters in a new world for a new audience. And if the first offering is any indication, this is going to be a smash hit.…
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Despite the sad fact that the species is dwindling, India is still known as the “Land of the Tiger”. Rarer still is the White Tiger, Panthera tigris, the albino tiger. The White Tiger has become legendary around the world, captivating zoo-goers, wowing Vegas magic audiences, and even serving as the ultimate gift to heads of state. With long ties to India, the White Tiger remains symbolic of that countries’ uniqueness, power, grace, and stature. With his Man-Booker prize winning book, White Tiger, Aravind Adiga takes a cynical look at his native land and helps to demolish such hubris-filled symbolism. His is a nasty, satirical, gloomy vision of the land worshiped by those who long for an overthrow of American hegemony.…
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I picked up Down River in my local bookstore’s Regional section. Hart lives a few hours from my current home, and an hour or so from where I grew up on my father’s farm, in North Carolina. Just about every murder I have ever attempted to solve has taken place in one of three locals: New York City, Los Angeles, or Miami. How refreshing, then, to read about Charlotte, NC as the “Big City”, and most events taking place on a farm in a small town very much like the one I grew up in (and not so very far away).…
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I hope this isn’t going to be my routine (see my Manhunt review), but I feel like I need to rant a bit before I discuss the latest graphic novel by Brian Azzarello. Without a bit of perspective on my love/hate relationship with DC comics, there is no way that you, the reader, can appreciate my enthusiasm for Batman’s new direction. The problem with Batman is that he has been too popular for too long. This has created a mess of his universe, as thousands of different creative minds have taken turns molding his personality, behaviors, and environment. Couple this will the urge to continually top themselves, and the greatest detective mind in the comic universe has been transformed to a meta-human superhero of cosmic significance.…
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Just when I had my feelings for ol’ Abe Lincoln sorted out, James Swanson comes along with Manhunt and scrambles them up again. Of course, this is precisely what Booth’s assassination did for most of a nation: took an extremely controversial President and turned him into the saintly martyr that he remains today. How fucking “meta” is that? An author, through a re-telling of events, takes the reader through the same complex swings of emotion that the contemporaries of the story endured?…
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