Talks – DaneCobain.com

Title: Our Doris

Author: Charles Heathcote

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 188

Rating: 4.5*/5

Charles Heathcote – Our Doris

I watch Charlie on YouTube, where he talks about the books he reads and the writing process. I do something much the same myself. I first started to get hooked on his content through his woolgathering monologues, where he sits in his car and talks about life.

If you find those videos entertaining, you’re going to love this. Our Doris is a beautifully put together indie release that nails everything from the cover and the layout to the contents inside of it. It has a very northern British sense of humour and reminds me of what Douglas Adams would sound like if he was from Wigan.

It’s a lot of fun, and probably the best indie book I’ve read this year so far. It’s also likely to make it into my top ten books of the quarter. I think you’re either going to love this one or just not going to get the humour, there’s no real middle ground. But it’s definitely worth a shot and I loved it.

Charles Heathcote

Click here to buy Our Doris.

Stevyn Colgan – A Murder to Die For | Review

Title: A Murder to Die For

Author: Stevyn Colgan

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 334

Rating: 5*/5

Stevyn Colgan – A Murder to Die For

I was super excited for this book because Mr. Colgan is a local writer and he’s even been a guest speaker at a writing workshop of mine. This release came out through Unbound, which is a pretty innovative new publisher, and so I pledged some cash to support the book in exchange for a pre-release copy, which is why I’m able to read this now and why you’ll have to wait.

Sucks to be you, ’cause this is a cracker. It’s basically a fun take on the classic cozy detective novel, and I love cozy detectives and have even written my own, which is due for release in 2018. But this takes that a step further, satirising detective novels while simultaneously being one. It gets super meta, and I liked that.

Basically, the book is about a murder that happens during a festival held each year in honour of fictitious crime writer Agnes Crabbe. Her fans flock to the small village of Nasely and dress up as her characters, attending talks and hobnobbing with the actors who play her characters on the TV adaptation. Unfortunately, in this particular year, a real-life murder takes place – and the subsequent investigation fills up the majority of the narrative. But I won’t talk about that because, you know, spoilers.

What’s great about this is that it gets the balance just right, making me laugh as a reader whilst simultaneously delivering a plot that kept me gripped until the end. In fact, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to both die-hard murder mystery fans and to people who only ever read “funny” books. Hell, I’d recommend it to anyone, but if Agatha Christie and the other Queens of Crime are your jam then this is sure to give you the warm fuzzies. But if it is your jam, don’t eat it. It might be poisoned.