Isabel's Skin by Peter Benson

Isabel's Skin by Peter Benson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 250

Publisher - Alma Books

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

David Morris lives the quiet life of a book-valuer for a London auction house, travelling every day by omnibus to his office in the Strand. When he is asked to make a trip to rural Somerset to value the library of the recently deceased Lord Buff-Orpington, the sense of trepidation he feels as he heads into the country is confirmed the moment he reaches his destination, the dark and impoverished village of Ashbrittle. These feelings turn to dread when he meets the enigmatic Professor Richard Hunt and catches a glimpse of a screaming woman he keeps prisoner in his house.



My Review

Such a strange book and not what I was expecting at all! David works at an auction house and values books, based in London we see him head to Somerset. Valuing the books of a recently deceased Lord he knows there are likely treasures in the library. The journey there is difficult, the people he meets strange, there are rules for the house and out walking about. It is pitched as a slick gothic tale/murder mystery, I was expecting ghosts or something weird and dodgy within the house. A chance meeting flings everything to pot and David finds himself caught up in the most strangest/dangerous path that throws everything in his neat and ordered wee life into whack.

Even now I have finished the book I don't really know what to think of it, it took a completely different turn to where I thought it was going to go. It is indeed a strange tale, it has murder, mystery and I did feel a bit spooky vibes in the journey to and arrival at Lord Buff-Orpington's place. I loved the book scenes, I know I know pure geek sentence but his delight at finding old books/treasures & I just love browsing folks books let alone a collection like that!

David goes on a bit of a journey, personal growth maybe is the way to describe it, he arrives at the house as a person set in his way with a wee routine/decent job. By the time he leaves he is caught up in a whirlwind of chaos that leads to a complete change in his chain of thought & actions having ripples and effect on his life journey and who he is.

I have no idea what category I would put this book into, it is so strange and random, weird yet dare I say enjoyable, I don't really know the word. I kept wanting to read to see how it panned out, I felt for one of the characters, one I wanted to punch and the others I didn't have much of an evocative response at all. 3/5 for me this time, I have never read him before but would be interesting in trying something else of his. He certainly creates visual that stay with you, I am still picturing Isabel's skin & I think had the book been thicker I would have enjoyed it more. Interesting for sure!

View all my reviews

Nothing Is Strange by Mike Russell

Nothing Is Strange by Mike Russell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - less than 1 hour

Pages - 146

Publisher - StrangeBooks

Blurb from Goodreads


20 mind-expanding short stories.
Inspiring, liberating, otherworldly, magical, surreal, bizarre, funny, disturbing, unique... all of these words have been used to describe the stories of Mike Russell so put on your top hat, open your third eye and enjoy: Nothing Is Strange



My Review

I could have read this in twenty minutes, but for the fact pretty much after each story I sat and pondered what I had just read. Bizarre, different, strange to say the least, certainly thought provoking. After reading them I wondered did the author have other levels to the stories to provoke thought, or was I reading the stories of someone under the influence? You know sometimes when you read, say Irvine Welsh or the like and you just think what did I just read there and even go over it again? Kind of like that.

Sometimes with short stories I will try and do a wee bit of commentary on each, however they are so short and few pages, not to mention bizarre I don't feel I can here. Some definitely highlight morality I would say, how choices and actions have consequences that we then must live with. Some are just bat crazy and even after going over them twice I genuinely don't know what to say or think about them. There is small content of sex, love, relationships, a wee bit of swearing and a whole mixed bag of crazy, you can dip in and out of the book as the stories are so short. I have never read this author before but I would read him again, would be interesting to see a novel and longer narration rather than just short sharp bites from him. If you like a book that is a bit trippy, mind bending and throws you a wee bit then this is absolutely the book for you, 3/5 for me this time.

View all my reviews