Tag: Dave McKenna

Book Review: Dave McKenna’s Death Wish

It was back in March last year when I last mentioned Devizes author Dave McKenna, reviewing his debut, The Killer & The Catalyst. He’s returned with another breakneck thriller novelette, Death Wish…

As a writer myself I can be particularly critical of books when reviewing; apologies in advance, though I’ve nothing bad to say about this particular outing! That I’m aware of the struggles of self-publishing levels out the criteria somewhat; it’s a labour of love which deserves praise for being this alone.  

The Killer & The Catalyst is a gripping read, using a technical and difficult multiple point-of-view narrative, which, doubled with flashbacks can muddle the reader’s continuity. While Death Wish builds the suspense using similar flashbacks it rolls along a more convenient single timeline, making it easier to digest. Dave describes it to me as “more linear,” and it’s a major factor to why I was much more deeply engrossed in this one than the first.

No Charles Bronson in this, but the characters in Death Wish are equally better defined and rounded than The Killer & The Catalyst, you identify with them, especially in their differences, and their conversations flow well with biting reality. These coupled meant it had me hooked, and I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

Death Wish concerns a group of ex-school friends at a reunion, but as well as the natural passing of time, a terrible accident towards the end of their school years and the pact they made to keep schtum about it has caused division in their relationships.

An ex-officer on a case which resulted from said incident, returns half-heartedly under request of the police chief. But as the friends are individually picked off by an unknown serial killer in the most gruesome manner, it’s a whodunnit which will make you question each and every character.

I found myself suspecting various ones, and swapping my conclusions throughout, though I didn’t see the truth coming, as the plot thickened and the twist revealed reasoning; the very fashion of what a good mystery should do. Dave knows precisely what buttons to press to keep you wondering, and for this much if not more, can craft an exceptionally gripping read.

It’s fast-paced pulp fiction, written loosely with contemporary plain English, which again invites casual readers into its forum. Yet in the safe hands of Dave McKenna, it thrills and engages you, and if I dislike the cliche term “page-turner” it best describes the action! 

Here it is on Amazon, and I believe you can pick up a copy in Devizes Books in a week or two, the faithful towards local authors bookstore. I suggest you do, then hold onto your seat, it’s a rollercoaster read. 

I love reading, dammit, but not enough local authors approach us for a review. This isn’t the Amazon marketplace, mate, I don’t bite! Well, not hard. Send use your efforts, for I know it can be a harsh and often lonely world out there for authors; group hug!

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Killers, Catalysts and Devizes Author Dave McKenna’s New Novelette

On impulse I speculated, just short of a quarter way through this book and at the conjunction the format of the narrative is sussed, that if the author, Devizes’ Dave McKenna, has a favourite Quentin Tarantino film it might be my favourite too, the lesser acclaimed Jackie Brown. Not for its plagiarism of blaxploitation nor usage of derogatory slangs, rather for the multiple point-of-view conclusion, because The Killer & The Catalyst follows this formula throughout, and this is what makes it engaging….

This and breakneck volatility, conspiracy inducing, disloyal and sadistic action from nearly every character and the intense velocity it’s all delivered with. Coincidently, Dave cites Tarantino as an influence at the back matter, alongside Harlan Coben and Stephen King. Some of the book’s settings are drawn from actual features and places in Devizes. Most commonly the now closed and speculated as haunted Roundway psychiatric hospital, and an alley besides it in which Dave elucidates his inspiration for the story’s events set there were developed from a real incident at the location. It’s with these eerie settings, familiar if you’re local, I find understanding for citing King as an influence, especially to begin with; it feels like a horror, yet while the book has an unnerving ambience, a crime thriller might better pigeonhole it.

It’s causally written in a loose style with nothing academic about it, making it simple to digest, as if the narrator is on equal level to the characters, as if rambling the yarn to his mate in the pub. Breathes a sense of reality into it; the characters talk like you and I, therefore you identity, why not the narrator too? I like this relaxed and contemporary approach, particularly suits the plot and macho target audience; lads need to read more, and if that’s the case, this might be the book for them. Hyper popcorn-munching movie violence fashion this is.

Apostrophes are used instead of speech marks. This, and the abbreviation of okay to ‘OK’ out of speech makes the grammar police inside me cringe, to be honest. Such usages and the out of speech line, “That was a piece of piss,” implies this is hardly Dickens quality! But I’m willing to overlook and ignore these niggly criticisms for this book, because Dave McKenna can weave a story, dammit. He can evoke an appropriate mood within his readers, twist it, and he can suspend you on the edge of your seat. That makes him an author, not an ability to whisk long and misunderstood words (like wot I do to make me sound more intelligent than I is!)

Identifying the protagonist from the antagonist is questionable, when this periodic method of returning to the same opening scene with each point-of-view occurs, and that’s genius and a narrative difficult to construct. It conveys everything is not as it might seem from the angle of each individual and engages you into understanding the bigger picture. That is what makes The Killer & The Catalyst an absorbing and worthwhile read.

With the current state of the literature industry being it’s who you are rather than how good you can write, I wouldn’t imagine finding this on a supermarket shelf alongside ghost-written celebrity autobiographies. This is an example proving the asset of self-publishing, that which a mainstream publisher wouldn’t touch, doesn’t mean a person hasn’t got an exceptional story to tell and the ability in which to write it, it simply means it’s not commercially viable.

People merely need to be brave and take a lucky dip on a rising author, rather than accept what Waterstones throw at them. The Killer & The Catalyst is the good example of this, should you wish to be held in suspense and driven to question which characters were right and which were wrong, not forgoing indulging in some nasty scenes of violence to boot!

You can get The Killer & The Catalyst as paperback or Kindle on Amazon, or pop into Devizes Books for this page-turner, and you’ll look forward to reading future yarns of Dave McKenna, of that I’m certain.

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