Totally love the fact that GJ does NOT apologise for
being an English author and uses all the correct spellings!
He is the master of short, sharp stories and excels at
it in this set. Each of the stories are based around residents in a block of
flats, GJ cleverly links them all but you can read each one individually, but I
challenge you just to read one and not be drawn into finishing the entire set.
GJ has pulled a master stroke in managing to link
every single story to each other, places, times, people, relevant news items.
Really enjoyed all the prologue “chats”
The
Insomniac:
Oh dear, poor obese Trevor
is so tired keeping up with demand in his chip shop that he makes a fatal
error, and then his efforts to make good don’t go as planned.
GJ manages to do the
inner dialogue perfectly giving a great “view” of the British chippy on a Friday night
with all its bawdy customers and informs us of how Trevor feels about life, family,
love and everything really!
Then his desire for late night
french fries (chips) occurs, add in a little slip and an incident involving some cling film,
mix in some mud and finally a twig!
I did not know whether to
laugh or cry at the ending, it was so beautifully thought out and executed,
this author just blows me away.
The
Taxidermist:
Fred has a disturbingly
disgusting desire to start practising on his neighbours cats. Thankfully they
decide to not be cooperative.
I despise all animal
cruelty, even in fictional stories, it was fairly obvious where this story was
going but as I follow this author on FB I note that he too is an animal lover
and trusted him with my emotions. I was not disappointed, although the story
made me feel glad in one way it still irked my heart.
The horror is slow and
painful to endure and made me squirm but ultimately it was the gore that made
me cheer.
The
Butcher:
GJ does cliché and stereo
type so well its wonderfully kitsch!
Anton the Russian has
been up to naughty things and tension is high in the preparation room but when
Anton is given a promotion he refuses all bloody hell reigns down, how do you say
no to a drug baron?
GJ does well to make you
like what should be an unlikable man, then feel his pain at his demise, in
a rather unique fashion.
The
Florist:
Elena is just trying to
make her orchids grow, when it all goes a bit wrong.
GJ pays such attention to
detail I could not help but be drawn into the story. The way he interconnects
the characters is charmed, having learnt about Jimmy in The Insomniac and the “sister”
we now meet her in all her weird glory.
Elena and her son Jimmy
have been busy installing a watering system but she has added a special
fertilising ingredient she found in the Sky High shop.
As she gets a good
dousing of the newly enhanced misting spray strangeness ensures – riveting reading
all the way to the crescendo.
The
Lovers:
Nalin and Isaac seem to
have a perfect life until something random happens to change things for them.
Having already met the
characters I felt like I slipped into their lives unwatched and with the
brilliantly researched and factual back history of Nalin’s life I was engrossed,
and sad at the world’s history.
During some amazingly
erotic love making something awful (and funny) happens and I was left heartbroken
at the ending.
The
Animal Lover:
Gertrude can’t fit out
her apartment door but her animals keep her company.
Whilst I love animals the
description of the smell in her flat and what the various animals did was
enough to make me gag! Over all her cruelty was far worse than Fred the Taxidermists.
The ever so accurate portrayal of obesity was both sickening and fascinating.
As Gertrude teeters on
the edge of a heart attack on her trek around her flat to find her inhaler I
found myself breath holding and waiting for the inevitable. Her final demise was very slap stick in what
appears to be GJ signature way of killing people off, most amusing.
The
Agoraphobic:
Gordon is the building
manager with a nice money making side-line involving hidden cameras, so all the
goings on are being watched, recorded and broadcast.
It is in fact his best
night ever with all his regularly voyeurs logging on to watch the mayhem going
on in the building, and the revolting Gordon is just watching it all with £
signs dancing in his eyes.
It was a brilliant way to
catch up on what was happening in each flat from another perspective, the time
line alone was magnificent in its perfection. In a few sentences GJ summed up
the night of horror.
When he gets a knock on
the door the person on the other side is not who he expected.
The
Foreigner:
GJ launches from one dead
body to another, and does it with superb style.
Samira is a covert spy
and assassin, but she also has a complex and sad past, however now is the time she
must make a quick escape as Gordon’s little internet business has alerted
authorities to her.
GJ could easily write
thrillers as he clearly has all the knowledge and skill to lead readers down a
dark path of intrigue then set them on fire with the truth.
Another amazing little
snippet of the bigger story, another sad ending but with that little hint of a
giggle.
The
Geek:
Poor schoolboy Benedict
is often bullied and left alone by his hard working (and playing) mother, but
he has been working hard on his school project and he has a dream.
I loved the way GJ interjects
all these little comments that just speed you make to other scenes, this would
make a brilliant Tarantino style film.
In the epilogue GJ really
rounded up the horror and giggles, tying up every loose end and giving an
incredible to ride to his readers.
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