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Oli Jacobs – Filmic Cuts: Sunshine and Lollipops | Review

Title: Filmic Cuts: Sunshine and Lollipops

Author: Oli Jacobs

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 172

Rating: 4/5

I’ve been on an Oli Jacobs hype of late, working my way through as much of his back catalogue as I can track down. He’s a local author (we both live in High Wycombe, and he even has a book out called Strange Days in High Wycombe), and he’s also an indie, so it’s nice to show some support.

I’m not going to pretend that this book is faultless. The layout is a little weird with no justification, spacing between paragraphs and no page numbers, and there are also occasional grammar mistakes including one memorable “their” versus “there” error. But as long as you can get past that, you’re in for a good time.

The stories were great, and each one of them was memorable, which I find is a rarity for a collection of short stories. Jacobs makes for a great short story writer.

Click here to buy Filmic Cuts: Sunshine and Lollipops.

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.