I read a lot of amazing writers in my early years as a horror reader. Many are special to me, but few equal Chet Williamson. Chet was always so damned good. I'd be hard-pressed to come up with another horror writer whose work walked such a fine line between literary and just plain entertaining. Each book, every story, is a precise work of art. And who else could have filled out Robert Bloch's shoes so perfectly with a Psycho sequel?
My only complaint about Chet is that he hasn't been prolific enough for my liking. His last novel was digital only, and being a book reader I have been denied the pleasure of it.
A few weeks ago I was doing some Amazon searches. Hoping against hope for a new John Farris, an upcoming Bill Pronzini suspense novel, maybe a Douglas E. Winter collection. I typed in Chet Williamson. Lo and behold, a new book was coming soon. Not just by Chet, but a collaboration between Chet and his longtime wife Laurie. Did I preorder it?
What do you think?
My copy arrived from Amazon on publication day, and I wasted no time in starting Murders Old and New.
I liked the story from the start. The reader is introduced to Livy Crowe, a feisty and humorous woman who owns a nostalgia shop. Livy finds some old pictures that belonged to her late father. Very disturbing pictures of a hanged man. This discovery sparks her imagination and she begins to speculate about it.
At the same time there are some sudden deaths at the retirement community where Livy's mother resides. Though it seems impossible that the two situations are related, Livy begins to see, or possibly imagine, sinister connections.
While I liked Livy and the story, some parts grated at me. Some of her thoughts in the first person narrative are a bit too precious and I inwardly cringed a few times. Then when Livy's Mom talks about a woman down the hall, she refers to her as "that Jewish lady". Livy silently chastises her for using race and religion as a distinguishing mark. Fair enough, but four pages later Livy brings up Jan Peerce, "the great Jewish tenor of the 40's and 50's". A little thing, maybe, but it bugged me.
The first half of Murders Old and New almost felt like an old lady cozy, but things turned pretty dark by the end. It's a tight novel, around two hundred pages, and I stayed up way too late on a work night finishing up the last quarter of it. I simply could not put it down.
A few piffles aside, I really liked Murders Old and New. Livy is an excellent, extremely well-drawn character, and the tenacity she shows in the story is admirable.
The authors' note at the end of the book promises an upcoming title from Laurie and Chet Williamson called A Step Across. I hope it too features the Livy Crowe character. I will be buying it whether it does or does not.
My only complaint about Chet is that he hasn't been prolific enough for my liking. His last novel was digital only, and being a book reader I have been denied the pleasure of it.
A few weeks ago I was doing some Amazon searches. Hoping against hope for a new John Farris, an upcoming Bill Pronzini suspense novel, maybe a Douglas E. Winter collection. I typed in Chet Williamson. Lo and behold, a new book was coming soon. Not just by Chet, but a collaboration between Chet and his longtime wife Laurie. Did I preorder it?
What do you think?
My copy arrived from Amazon on publication day, and I wasted no time in starting Murders Old and New.
I liked the story from the start. The reader is introduced to Livy Crowe, a feisty and humorous woman who owns a nostalgia shop. Livy finds some old pictures that belonged to her late father. Very disturbing pictures of a hanged man. This discovery sparks her imagination and she begins to speculate about it.
At the same time there are some sudden deaths at the retirement community where Livy's mother resides. Though it seems impossible that the two situations are related, Livy begins to see, or possibly imagine, sinister connections.
While I liked Livy and the story, some parts grated at me. Some of her thoughts in the first person narrative are a bit too precious and I inwardly cringed a few times. Then when Livy's Mom talks about a woman down the hall, she refers to her as "that Jewish lady". Livy silently chastises her for using race and religion as a distinguishing mark. Fair enough, but four pages later Livy brings up Jan Peerce, "the great Jewish tenor of the 40's and 50's". A little thing, maybe, but it bugged me.
The first half of Murders Old and New almost felt like an old lady cozy, but things turned pretty dark by the end. It's a tight novel, around two hundred pages, and I stayed up way too late on a work night finishing up the last quarter of it. I simply could not put it down.
A few piffles aside, I really liked Murders Old and New. Livy is an excellent, extremely well-drawn character, and the tenacity she shows in the story is admirable.
The authors' note at the end of the book promises an upcoming title from Laurie and Chet Williamson called A Step Across. I hope it too features the Livy Crowe character. I will be buying it whether it does or does not.
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