SKULL MEAT
Publisher: Dirty Books
Release Date: June 2017
Synopsis:
Hired by mobster Marie Andretti to ransack the office of morbidly obese local nightclub owner ‘Swollen’ Roland Smart, Paignton private investigator Joe Rey quickly finds himself plunged into a dangerous cat and mouse game – which leaves him fighting for his life. His quest for answers – and vengeance – sees him plunge headfirst into the queasy underbelly of the grubby little seaside town he calls home. Rey is a man with a dark past, and, it seems, very little future. Welcome to Paignton Noir.
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Reviews of Skull Meat:
Paul Heatley, author of An Eye For An Eye (Near To The Knuckle) and Fatboy (All Due Respect):
“I’ve been a big fan of Tom Leins’ prolific output of short stories for years now, and I’ve been waiting for him to put out something longer – Skull Meat does NOT disappoint. Dirty characters, a filthy setting, gratuitous violence and blacker than black humour, THIS is what I look for in noir fiction. Wonderfully, brazenly over the top Americanised British crime fiction. On every page you’re sure to find a line that will either make you laugh out loud, or it’ll turn your stomach – sometimes both!”
Marietta Miles, author of Route 12 (All Due Respect):
“Tom’s writing is kinetic and fast-paced, perfectly suited for the break-neck feeling of this novelette. Start reading a few lines and the next thing you know it’s well past the witching hour. Skull Meat delivers dirty, British crime at its best. Descriptive. Violent. Bloody. Grotesque. Wait until you meet ‘Swollen’ Roland. I loved it!”
Paul D. Brazill, author of Guns of Brixton (Caffeine Nights) and The Last Laugh (All Due Respect):
“Skull Meat is Brit Grit at its grittiest. Ultra-violent, foul-mouthed, atmospheric, hilarious and choc-full of great lines. I loved it!”
Gary Duncan, author of You’re Not Supposed To Cry (Vagabond Voices):
“Skull Meat is a blast — an eye-wateringly violent tale of mobsters, ex-cons and hopeless bottom-feeders. It’s grubby and unsettling, and it makes you laugh out loud at things you really shouldn’t be laughing at. It’s James Ellroy with the dial turned up. Brutal and brilliant. You have been warned.”
Matt Phillips, author of Bad Luck City (Near To The Knuckle) and Three Kinds of Fool (All Due Respect):
“Hell of a piece of noir. This is as down and dirty as it gets – a brutal look at the dark underbelly where good ol’ Joe does his life’s work. Gritty and surreal and hardscrabble. “The road to oblivion is paved with tiny crimes…” Oh, yes it is.”
Benedict J. Jones, author of The Devil’s Brew (Crime Wave Press):
“In Paignton everyone has a story, and none of them are good … a frenetic roller-coaster of violence and small town crimes … excellent Brit Grit fiction.”
Chris Rhatigan, author of Wake Up, Time To Die (Beat to a Pulp) / Publisher of All Due Respect:
“This is how it’s done. Leins has a voice and style suited for lowlife literature … The superb writing sets this short and brutal work apart from the crowd. Paignton is my kind of town and I’m looking forward to reading the next one.”
Tony Knighton, author of Three Hours Past Midnight (Crime Wave Press):
“Skull Meat is a wild ride – a man-on-a-mission tale that you can’t put down. I read this in one sitting. Mister Leins doesn’t go in for over long descriptions. Instead, he puts you right there with his protagonist with deft touches. This book is great fun. Get it!”
David S. Atkinson, author of Apocalypse All The Time (Literary Wanderlust):
“Leins brings all the grit and gore you could want in this one, as guttural as it comes, but not a bit is gratuitous. All of it is integral to describing the world, the characters, and the story. It’s a great place to visit, you just wouldn’t want to live there.”
Colman Keane @ Col’s Criminal Library:
“Years ago I spent a week on holiday in Paignton with the wife and kids. After reading this one I doubt we’ll be returning. Low life characters, grimy watering holes, seedy nightclubs and dingy brothels, a private investigator or two, a midget and a pornographer, teenage strippers and prostitutes, a beating, a stabbing and lots more. Joe Rey is on a case and plenty of blood is going to get spilled. Fantastic writing, brutal imagery, tremendous turns of phrase with an interesting story.”
“Skull Meat is the epitome of gritty crime fiction, reading his noir novella is like chewing on a mouthful of sand mixed with shards of sea shells … Set in southwestern England, Paignton along with Torquay and Brixham make up an area that is collectively known as the English Riviera, but Leins’ version of Paignton is a decrepit and more dangerous version of Poisonville in Hammett’s Red Harvest … Leins has created a world where Tarantino’s characters would not live past their first five minutes in town — brutal does not cover the violence that lives in the pages of Skull Meat. If you like your crime fiction filled with dive-bars, whore-houses, and vicious beatings then Leins’ Skull Meat will be the best 99¢ you will have ever spent.”
Adrian Shotbolt @ The Grim Reader:
“Skull Meat is dark, gritty, violent and really well-written. The characters are great, despite their limited time on the page and each one is given a memorable name … The violence is realistic and gritty, the dialogue even more so. I couldn’t put this story down.”
Jochem Vandersteen @ Sons of Spade:
“The prose is very fast and to the point, which I absolutely loved. The violence plays out in your mind very vividly without spending a huge amount of description – not an easy feat.”
Elgin Bleecker @ The Dark Time:
“The story is over-the-top harsh, brutal, violent, ugly, and yet amazingly readable. Leins’ writing is magnetic, you cannot tear your eyes away from it no matter how awful the scene. And all of his scenes are an assault.”
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