Matt Chokes Back The Tears (review)

Choke Back The Tears

Mark Richards (@MRichardsWrites)

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@cleric20)

“His had round my throat. Standing over me. Black, heavy shoes, dripping with water. ‘Say goodbye, Brady. Time to stamp on your f*&king face… ”

Here we are then - an all expenses paid trip to Whitby via Mark Richards’s new crime thriller - full title: Choke Back the Tears : A Yorkshire Coast Crime Thriller (Michael Brady Book 4) . I haven’t read books 1-3 but found that this was an enjoyable who/why dunnit which follows the investigation into the brutal murder of a retired couple.

DI Brady has been described as the ‘Yorkshire Rebus’ but he isn’t much of an action hero, a dodgy hamstring sees him limping about by the end. I’m not sure he’s the sort of chap I’d really wanna hang out with either but his is earnest in his quest to find out wha happened and bring the perp to justice. He’s only got a small team - police forces not having huge budgets these days I guess? and that rings true. The team are meticulous though and the dragnet slowly closes on who could be the murderers in a believable style - even if the showdown on a fishing boat isn’t the sort of stuff that will get Hollywood calling.

I liked how a lot of the book deals with Brady’s internal thoughts - in a kind of Manhunter way he mulls over the evidence aided by the plucky young Frankie who he has a fatherly regard for. Speaking of being a father, Brady has Ash his daughter to help prop him up - his being a widower, although he does have a faithful dog Archie for company too.

All in all Choke Back The Tears is a decent crime-em-up that will suit fans of the genre, and if you like it the good news is that there are 3 more you can go back and grab.

Not sure what this visual is getting at - but if you're a crime fan you might crack it...

Here’s the official blurb:

Michael Brady looked at Sandra Garrity’s face. Grey skin. Bloodshot eyes open. Blue lips, her

tongue protruding.

“Did you watch your husband die, Sandra? Or did he watch you die?”

“Brilliant. Brady is fast becoming the Yorkshire Rebus.”

Billy and Sandra were childhood sweethearts.

Writing their names on a lovelock. Fastening it to the end of Whitby pier. Throwing the key into the sea.

A lifetime together. A happy retirement in a peaceful hamlet on the North Yorkshire Moors.

Until the day they were brutally murdered.

“Whoever did this – he didn’t do it quickly. And he enjoyed it…”

Billy was a fisherman, making a living in the cold, cruel North Sea. One night his boat went down.

Two crewmen drowned. Billy survived.

Are the families looking for revenge? It’s the obvious conclusion.

But why have they waited so long?

Why have they killed Billy and Sandra?

And why kill them in such a barbaric way? “This isn’t a murder, Mike. It’s an execution. A

medieval execution.”

Choke Back the Tears is the fourth book in the Michael Brady series.

Kershaw’s away, Brady’s in charge. The bucks stops on his desk. But at least Frankie Thomson is

back to help him. For now…

There are no clues. No motives. It’s a perfect crime scene.

All Brady has is his experience and his intuition. And his small team is getting smaller by the day…

Meanwhile, he’s battling problems in his personal life. His daughter Ash wants to know the truth

about her mother’s death. Brady can’t put off telling her any longer.

He’s having doubts about everything. Even the memory of his dead wife.

Choke Back the Tears is the most personal Brady book yet.

He has to find the killer.

He has to keep his team together.

And he owes his daughter an explanation.

Michael Brady needs a friend.

But he doesn’t have one…

The Michael Brady books are perfect for fans of J D Kirk, Jason Dalgleish, David Gatward, T G

Reid etc…

Out of a potential 5 - you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö1/2

(3.5 - an effective crime tale with added Whitby sea spray!)

Get your copy of Choke Back The Tears here:

https://is.gd/VJBK4O

This review is part of the book blog tour for the title...

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Matt shelters from a CHROME SKY: The Three Devils (review)

CHROME SKY #1 The Three Devils

Steven Mcccumaskey (@EVCComicsBooks)

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

“What they had done had ignited something inside her and this was too much. Too great a sin, even for the Three Devils Gang.”

The future is going to be rough, I’m talking Mad Max crossed with Westworld kinda rough. Under the unrelenting Chrome Sy on a desolate planet, very bad things are happening. What would happen if an outlaw bounty hunter suddenly developed a conscience after leaving a young boy crippled in a robbery? 

Would this sword-wielding force of nature turn on the others of the gang, who have been only happy to steal her share of the loot and disappear into the gun-metal dunes of the great iron desert?

CHROME SKY: The Three Devils tells this ‘what if’ and it does it with considerable style. Steven ‘Metal Bastard Adventures’ Muccumaskey who writes and illustrates this tome. The art is dark and has a dangerous feel to it, being mostly black, grey, white and red. The characters are nicely created and look real mean in a silhouette. The action crackles with a whiplash energy that leaves you wanting more – as all good comics do.

I’ll be excited to see where this series goes next after this solid start!

The official blurb reads: A mythic cyberpunk western that fuses illustrated prose with dynamic comic book storytelling, Envision Comics presents... CHROME SKY. 

I had the chance to ask Steven some questions - read on if you dare to find out more about this creative force...

Matt: If scientists ever managed to create a giant mecha version of you – who or what would be your nemesis?

Steven: Rain - all that rust would cause no end of problems.

Matt: What is the most disturbing fictional scene you’ve ever read or watched in a book/film of any genre?

Steven: From Game of Thrones - Stannis Baratheon burning his daughter Shireen alive is something I could happily never watch again. Mine you, I could say the same about the end of the final season.

Matt: If you were hired to throw a parade of any scale or theme through the centre of London what type of parade would it be?

Steven: A thrash metal-themed parade that was essentially a massive moving metal festival through the streets. 🤘

Matt: You’re in a strange town with £100,000 that you have to spend in a single evening – talk me through what you get up to…

Steven: If this town is as strange as I think it is, I'll run for hills with that loot before someone tries to steal it and leave me for dead.

Matt: Who inspires you most (can be living or dead)?

Steven: Creatively - Cormac McCarthy.  My favourite writer for sure. Also, TV painter Bob Ross from the show The Joy of Painting - I love that guy! 

Matt: There’s a masked assailant with a gun to your head, who is most likely to be under the mask?

Steven: Probably my best friend putting me through the whole ordeal as a prank.

Matt: What is the meaning of life?

Steven: To do what you want to do, not what you think you're supposed to do. This isn't a rehearsal.

Matt: What was the best gift you’ve ever been given?

Steven: My wife put some of my comic art on a canvas once as a surprise birthday gift, which totally made me feel like a proper artist! 😆

Matt: If you could have a sidekick robot – what would it be able to do for you?

Steven: Impersonate me so convincingly that I would essentially have a secret clone my disposal.

Matt: What would you like written on your tombstone?

Steven: 'I'm too old for this shit.'

Out of a potential 5 - you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öööö

(4 - Reap the cyber-whirlwind!! )

Get your copy of CHROME SKY: The Three Devils

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Matt finds International Treasure - thanks to The Utopia Strong (review)

 International Treasure

The Utopia Strong - Steve Davis, Kavus Torabi & Michael J York (@StrongUtopia) 

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

I had the immense pleasure of bumping into six-time world champion snooker legend Steve Davis at the launch of the equally legendary Bryan Talbot’s new graphic novel of Luther Arkwright.

We got to talking and it transpires that Steve has a band – The Utopia Strong – and they have a funky new ambient album ‘International Treasure’ so I said I’d take a listen… As a fan of music by The Orb, College, Tangerine Dream and Vangelis – International Treasure ticks a lot of those boxes…

Steve (centre) and the excellent sci-fi genius Adrian Tchaikovsky 

First track Trident Of Fire comes pre-packed with menace and darkness like the fuse of a mind-altering musical bomb from which you cannot escape, but before you know what’s happening you’re in a good place.

Then it’s cyberpunk a go go with Persephone Sleeps that would make a great chill-out for Neo and crew’s Matrix downtime. Shepherdess starts slow and swirls an ambient mist around and through your brain canals before cow bells and the buzz of drones change the tempo. 

There is a fun mix of tracks here that make quality listening for anyone looking to escape this uncertain post-Brexit world and find digital solace from the storm of everyday life. Speaking of storms the track Disaster 2 has a delicious rainfall opening that evokes being cosy and warm – possibly with a good glass of whisky in hand – while the elements do their thing outside. Then it morphs into bagpipes and more…

It's this eclectic curation of fascinating mashed-up sounds that makes International Treasure an album worthy of gracing anyone’s digital library and/or streaming choice. When the title track hits, it comes bringing the gifts of feeling like the probable anxiety experienced by astronauts as they spin through the void. The final track Castalia is an upbeat tune that wouldn’t have been out of place at a Moby all-nighter show. 

There might not be a remix trance version of Snooker Loopy but otherwise, this is a fantastic trip to take and shows that Steve and crew are a musical force to be reckoned with!

Out of a potential 5 - you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööööö

(5 - An ambient delight - plugging directly into your mind recommended)

Get your copy of INTERNATIONAL TREASURE

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Matt takes a Red Rocket (review) to the frontal lobe

Red Rocket (18)

Dir. Sean Baker

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@cleric20)

“Let’s give it a couple of days, and see how it goes…”

“Yeah. Whatever you’re comfortable with. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I’m here to help. And, look, before long, it’ll be like we’re still married.”

“WE ARE STILL MARRIED.”

I fell hard for Sean Baker’s last film The Florida Project (my ‘film of the year’ review) and so it was with high expectations I went into Red Rocket… Fuelled by the powerhouse of an incredible charismatic turn by actor, rapper, comedian and one-time porn performer Simon Rex, who has a ball as washed-up adult movie actor ‘Mikey Saber’. The plot sees Mikey’s sexy film business in LA where he ‘stars’ in high-brow franchises like ‘The Fast and Fury Ass’ – he takes the Paul Walker role (but whose untimely death put a stop to his involvement!?).

Beaten up and broke, we get to follow Mikey as he returns to his estranged wife’s home in Texas - his plan is to beg his former leading porn lady Lexi (Bree Elrod), but finds her still incredibly pissed off with him at first but she eventually relents and gives him a chance. Mikey, to his credit, does pay the rent and performs his “marital” bedroom duties with aplomb as it is after all his main skillset.

'could it be love?"

Red Rocket is another tour-of-duty by Baker who takes us on a safari through the lives of these dirt-poor, uneducated and pretty hopeless rust-belt underclasses. These are folks who you want to root for but who continually make terrible decisions that lead to destructive outcomes that you’ll want to weep for them. With legit work hard to come by Mikey starts dealing weed - to workmen who visit a local doughnut shop - where he immediately falls for the young ‘Strawberry’ (a fantastic Suzanna Son).

He is convinced she is a potential natural at the adult film game and his ticket back to the triple-X big time. And she looks up to him for the dubious honour of having won a porn ‘Oscar’ for ‘best oral’ - although full disclosure - he had to share it with ten other men who were also ‘serviced’ by the same woman.  

'life is good...'

The tragic tale is set against the backdrop of Clinton vs Trump Presidential Campaign and there is much you could read into the tale about how little macro world events resonate with these people. This vivid, real-feeling and moderately budgeted stylish fable is as heartbreaking as it is amusing. There is horror in a multi-vehicle pileup which impacts the lives of Mikey in more than just an allegory of his car crash of a life.

If there’s any justice in the world Mikey should be a cinematic cult icon of the future, his fast-talking hustler predator stare and easy-winning charm is incredibly watchable. The climax leaves you breathless and broken in equal measure - what future for the star-crossed lovers Mikey and Strawberry?? 

Out of a potential 5, you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööööö

(5 - Stunning underbelly adult thrills...)

Awesomeness ööööö – Joy and pain, love and other hardships

Laughs ööö – Wry fun but not a comedy

Horror ööö – Real life can and will very likely break you

Spiritual Enlightenment ööö - God doesn't feature here

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Matt enjoys the fishy goings on FROM THE DEEP (Review)

 

FROM THE DEEP

Kateri Stanley (@sal_writes)

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@cleric20)

“Ian breathes out, water races into his lungs like a tidal wave, suffocating him. He remembers seaweed circling his head and a pair of large, piercing eyes glaring back before the darkness finally engulfs him.”

Not everything that comes from the sea means us well… Meet Julian Finch, a widower and fisherman, when he learns that the bodies of two colleagues have washed up on the beach of Drake Cove it begins a mystery that will change more than just his life.

The controversial tradition called "The Culling" - the annual slaughter of pilot whales for consumption is an act that divides the nation. Might it be enough to drive an extreme animal rights group - the Fighters Against Animal Cruelty (FAAC) - to murder? These animal ‘lovers’ have form for harassing the small fishing town for many years, smashing up their boats and sending vicious hate mail but murder?

Things get spicy when a viral video is uploaded by the FAAC of Julian killing a pregnant whale - it causes uproar online and makes Julian the victim of hate crime. In order to avoid further life-threatening attacks, Julian and his daughter take refuge in the home of Frank Blothio: ex-fisherman turned writer and political activist who does not have the best history with the animal rights movement, or Drake Cove as a whole.

As Julian integrates into the Blothio way of life, he discovers heinous secrets and disturbing truths lurking beneath the skin of his hometown that will change his life forever. 

This is the tale that brings contemporary new life to the sea-based mythos and doesn’t flinch from depictions of violence, sexual scenes (including one to rival The Lighthouse) and much f*#king bad language.

Stanley writes with an eager energy that drags you along even if the plot is a bit muddled. This wouldn’t normally be a book I’d seek out but it came to my attention as it’s published by the same publisher as my Complete Darkness and I’m glad I gave it a go.

From The Deep is an engagingly fishy romp that delivers a fun time for readers who enjoy a mix of fantasy and real-world mash-up.

Out of a potential 5 - you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öööö

(4 - a worthy addition to the aquatic fantasy world)

Buy your copy of FROM THE DEEP here

I had the pleasure of putting some questions to Kat - here's what she said:

Matt: If scientists ever managed to create a giant mecha version of you – who or what would be your nemesis?

Kat: Something underwater like a shark or something snake-like, not a fan of them. Or something radioactive. 

Matt: What is the most disturbing fictional scene you’ve ever read or watched in a book/film of any genre?

Kat: There was a scene from a novel called Still Missing by Chevy Stevens that made me feel physically sick. Annie, a real estate agent is kidnapped from an open house event by a deeply disturbed man who she nicknames as The Freak. It’s a heavy novel and the scene depicts the kidnapper forcing her to eat food when she’s too frightened to do so. It’s was very upsetting and I had to have a break from reading. 

Matt: If you were hired to throw a parade of any scale or theme through the centre of London what type of parade would it be?

Kat:  Appreciation of the arts. Writing. Film. Literature. Theatre. Dance. Music. Painting and so much more. That would be pretty great. I can imagine a huge crowd turning up for that. 

Matt: You’re in a strange town with £100,000 that you have to spend in a single evening – talk me through what you get up to…

Kat: Rent out a HUGE cinema with the boyfriend and my family. There would be reclining chairs, we could have as much junk food and drink as we like and watch as many movies and TV shows as we like. 

Matt: Who inspires you most (can be living or dead)?

Kat:  Everything does. The people around me. Good and bad experiences. Music. Movies. Tv shows. Documentaries. And some of my characters are pretty awesome inspiring people too. 

Matt: There’s a masked assailant with a gun to your head, who is most likely to be under the mask?

Kat: Probably a robber or if magic existed, a character of mine who is majorly pissed at their development or what happened to them. 

Matt: What is the meaning of life? 

Kat: I was so tempted to launch into my Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy knowledge and say 42…

Matt: What was the best gift you’ve ever been given?

Kat: I have a wonderful family, lovely friends and a gorgeous boyfriend. That’s a pretty good gift. 

Matt: If you could have a sidekick robot – what would it be able to do for you?

Kat: Whenever I do long-distance walking, if I get tired. My robot can carry me up a huge hill while I get my breath back. That’d be nice. 

Matt: What would you like written on your tombstone?

Kat: I haven’t thought about my death yet. Nothing cheesy or predictable. 

Matt: Any final words you like to add...

Kat: If you’re into thrillers and modern-day issues such as whaling and climate change, check out my novel, From the Deep. Certain scenes in the novel are loosely based on the real-life events of the Grindarap, a cultural practice from the Faroe Islands where pilot whales are slaughtered and the documented cases of Japanese ships and fishermen killing whales and dolphins for food and pharmaceuticals. 

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Matt's Highway to the Danger Zone: Top Gun Maverick (review)

Top Gun Maverick (12a)

Dir. Joseph Kosinski 

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@cleric20)

“The end is inevitable Maverick. Your kind is heading to  extinction.” 

“Maybe so, sir, but not today.”

Here we are then, 36 years after the incredible, epoch defining adrenaline overload Tony Scott delivered in Top Gun - we finally have a sequel and its name is ‘Maverick’. 

Could this possibly be anywhere near as good?

Well, great balls of fire… Top Gun Maverick buzzes the tower and actually surpasses its predecessor, this is pretty much the perfect follow up and boy does Cruise bring his thunder.  There is loving homage and actual footage borrowed from the 1986 original interlaced throughout - it’s not overdone but it amps up the nostalgia without using it as a crutch.

'feeling the need for speed again!'

It is a complete joy to rejoin Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell (Tom ‘doesn’t seem to age’ Cruise) as he grapples with his guilt for  the death of his former co-pilot ‘Goose’ (Anthony Edwards). Things get spicy when Goose’s son Bradley (Miles Teller) – callsign ‘Rooster’ signs up to be part of Mav’s special group of pilots training for a secret mission. 

Grumpy old gun Rear Admiral Chester Cain (Ed Harris) commissions Maverick to train a team of young guns for a literally under-the-radar black ops mission. Cue hot-headed, overly confident pilot antics as cocky wannabe Hangman (Glen Powell), girl power Phoenix (Monica Barbaro), quiet geek ‘BOB’ (Lewis Pullman) – and your ‘not just token’ Payback (Jay Ellis) plus Fanboy (Danny Ramirez). But the beating heart of the film is the Maverick / Rooster’s understandable clash. 

What about the love interest tho? Is Kelly McGillis back? Alas no, she passed and handed on the smooching duties to one of my all time fav actresses Jennifer ‘The Hot Spot’ Connelly who plays the Admiral’s daughter Penny Benjamin and she n Tom make the cutest middle age couple you’ll ever see… And speaking of sweet - the bromance between Tom and Val Kilmer’s Admiral Iceman is a real heart-in-mouth moment too.

'this bogey's all over me'

The callback to the uber homoerotic volleyball scene is reworked into a beach football game which bonds the team even better than playing dogfights…Which brings me to the awe-inspiring fighter jet action - Ooooooo baby these are incredible and deserve to be witnessed on the biggest screen possible.

Top Gun Maverick has crashed straight into my all time favourite list and is just a full-speed cinematic treat!!  

Out of a potential 5 - you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööööö

(5 - Exceptional entertainment, fully recommended)

Awesomeness ööööö – Pulse racing, high calibre thrills a go go)

Laughs ööö – Plenty to make you smile

Horror öö – Some aerial violence, obviously 

Spiritual Enlightenment öööö - never never leave your wingman

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Matt hangs with Ten Low (review) and Stark Holborn

 

Ten Low

Stark Holborn (@starkholborn)

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

“Don’t know what you did to get put away for that long. But if it was done during the war, you’re not special.We all did bad things. The difference is you lost.”

Here’s something refreshing and cool - a kind of ‘Firefly meets Dune’ packing an excellent female-led cast who get to face some pretty harsh odds if any of them are going to survive. Ten Low is our main protagonist - she’s an ex-army medic, an ex-convict, and an incredible shot - now eking out a living at the universe's edge. 

Holborn writes with flair and punch, she brings her breathlessly fun western gunslinging action from her Triggernometry shorts (which if you haven’t read you really should - check my BFS review here: BRIT FANTASY) and amps it up with a brilliantly believable sci-fi universe. The galaxy of Ten Low is a war-torn dangerous place, so when Ten finds a child weapon from the army that beat her, she must decide whether to try and save her or exact revenge…

This is highly recommended reading for fans of The Mandalorian or anyone who likes Star Wars but is looking for something a bit nastier. It cracks along at a page-turning pace and plays fast and loose with your emotions, all in all, Ten Low is a great character worth spending some time with - let’s hope there is more to come!

Out of a potential 5 - you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öööö1/2

(4.5 - High-class sci-fi that will thrill ya!)

Buy your copy of Ten Low here

I got to ask Stark some q’s - so read on to find out more…

 

Matt: If scientists ever managed to create a giant mecha version of you – who or what would be your nemesis?

Stark: The giant mecha sock that has managed to work itself off my enormous heel and is now wedged somewhere in the middle of my mechaboot

Matt: What is the most disturbing fictional scene you’ve ever read or watched in a book / film of any genre?

Stark: Disturbing as in so bizarre that I couldn't put it down is probably Aliya Whiteley's The Beauty. Can't pick a particular scene because there are, err, several. Film-wise, I saw the scene from Akira – where Tetsuo mutates into a giant mass of flesh – out of context when I was probably too young... I had absolutely no idea what was happening but it left a powerful impression.

Matt: If you were hired to throw a parade of any scale or theme through the centre of London what type of parade would it be?

Stark: Probably the parade from Paprika. It's so mesmerizingly creepy.

Matt: There’s a masked assailant with a gun to your head, who is most likely to be under the mask?

Stark: Probably my own coprorealized doubts?

Matt: What is the meaning of life?

Stark: Right now? Coffee.

Matt: What was the best gift you’ve ever been given?

Stark: A taxidermy squirrel dressed in a nun's habit. Or a vintage Olivetti typewriter.

Matt: If you could have a sidekick robot – what would it be able to do for you?

Stark: I'd like to think it could go off and get into scrapes and have Alexandre Dumas-esque adventures which I would then relay to the general public in increasingly sensational installments

Matt: What would you like written on your tombstone?

Stark:  \blacksquare

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