Also today, I’ll be talking a little about TERROR TALES OF CHAOS, in particular the hardback version, which I’ve finally seen this week and it’s a true thing of beauty. You’ll find that further on down as well. I’ve already mentioned THE LODGE once but keep your eye open for a little feature on that as well. In addition to all this, we’ve got some more Thrillers, Chillers to talk about. You’ll find those, as usual, right at the end of today’s column.
Before any of that, let’s revisit today’s exciting development, the October 31 publication of a new Heck novella...
Before any of that, let’s revisit today’s exciting development, the October 31 publication of a new Heck novella...
You’ve already seen the cover. Now, here’s the blurb ...
It doesn’t form an essential part of the overarching Heck story. It’s a one-off investigation/adventure, which I hope you’ll find both eerie and exciting in equal measure.
Chaos
Switching genres briefly, quite a few of us will be heading down to World Fantasy in Brighton this coming weekend. I’ve talked a bit about this in previous posts, but my big launch of this major festival is TERROR TALES OF CHAOS. It will be the 16th in the folk horror anthology series, though on this occasion it’s a bumper edition, both to celebrate the World Fantasy event and to honour Telos Books, the publisher’s 25th Anniversary.
If you want to know more about TERROR TALES OF CHAOS itself, just check out the previous post by scrolling down to the post before this one.
But, the main focus of today has to be the amazing work that Telos have done on the special hardback edition. Just check these pictures out. We haven’t done hardback editions of any of the previous TERROR TALES books, but as I say, this one is a bit special. So, yeah. Check … it … out.
And now, back to the world of …
My next published full-length novel will be THE LODGE from Thomas & Mercer (Amazon) and it will be a stand-alone thriller (not part of the Heck saga), but packed with all the usual intensities. It’s published on January 15, but for those eager to act now, you can pre-order by following the LINK.
Here’s the cover, which I absolutely love, and check out the blurb just below it. 
Works of dark literature that I have recently read, thoroughly enjoyed and heartily recommend (sometimes with a few lighter ones mixed in).
THE DICTATORS
Murder detectives don’t often call on the services of psychics.
Or they’re not supposed to.
When the so-called Edmonton Strangler starts to run up a scorecard of victims across North London, leading to riots in the streets and interference from politicians, even seasoned murder investigator, DS Mark ‘Heck’ Heckenburg is reaching the stage where he’ll consider almost anything.
It’s a ghastly scene. Strangulations so brutal they defy belief. Broken naked bodies left in backstreet dustbins. An assailant who comes and goes like a ghost.
Heck has never failed to crack a case, and neither has his ‘straight bat’ boss, DSU Gemma Piper. But when they are approached by a disturbed young woman who claims that spirits have revealed the killer’s identity to her, they are reluctant to play that game.
At least officially.
With nothing to lose, Heck enquires covertly into the so-called ‘intel’ … and is stunned by the rabbit hole of madness it leads him down into.
Are the spirits real?
And if so, exactly whose side are they on?
Okay, hope you guys found that sufficiently whistle-whetting. For those who follow the Heck books, I wasn’t expecting to put this one out in 2025. In fact, I initially wrote it as an intended present for all those who sign on to my all-new mailing list in 2026, but I got to thinking that, though I’m currently writing the next Heck novel, it will still be a few months off yet. So, why don’t I keep everyone warm with this new 20,000-word novella?
It doesn’t form an essential part of the overarching Heck story. It’s a one-off investigation/adventure, which I hope you’ll find both eerie and exciting in equal measure.
As I say, it will be out as an EBOOK ONLY, and you can pre-order it HERE for £2.49.
And now, it’s sheer ...
Switching genres briefly, quite a few of us will be heading down to World Fantasy in Brighton this coming weekend. I’ve talked a bit about this in previous posts, but my big launch of this major festival is TERROR TALES OF CHAOS. It will be the 16th in the folk horror anthology series, though on this occasion it’s a bumper edition, both to celebrate the World Fantasy event and to honour Telos Books, the publisher’s 25th Anniversary.
But, the main focus of today has to be the amazing work that Telos have done on the special hardback edition. Just check these pictures out. We haven’t done hardback editions of any of the previous TERROR TALES books, but as I say, this one is a bit special. So, yeah. Check … it … out.
And now, back to the world of …
Hardcase crime
My next published full-length novel will be THE LODGE from Thomas & Mercer (Amazon) and it will be a stand-alone thriller (not part of the Heck saga), but packed with all the usual intensities. It’s published on January 15, but for those eager to act now, you can pre-order by following the LINK.
Here’s the cover, which I absolutely love, and check out the blurb just below it.
It’s the perfect getaway. Until there’s no way out.
You have been dreaming of an unforgettable weekend escape, and Black Tarn Lodge seems to offer everything―a magnificent Gothic mansion with towering turrets nestled in the misty Lancashire hills.
Expecting elegant dinners, vintage wines and a screening of a legendary lost film in the private cinema, all seems perfect. Until night falls and a thick fog isolates you from the world. Your phones go missing. Guests start vanishing. And then you find the body.
Someone, it seems, fell from the roof. But you can’t help wondering if he was pushed. Totally cut off, you cannot leave or call for help. You don’t know these people. But you need to decide who you can trust soon. Because someone is going to be next―will it be you?
THRILLERS, CHILLERS, SHOCKERS AND KILLERS
Works of dark literature that I have recently read, thoroughly enjoyed and heartily recommend (sometimes with a few lighter ones mixed in).
THE DICTATORS
edited by Iain Dale (2024)
From murderous brutes to weird eccentrics, there’s never been a shortage of individuals who simply couldn’t rest until they were running everything (usually into the ground). Absorbing compendium of some of the world’s worst ever political leaders, courtesy of a distinguished range of scholars. Informative, insightful, occasionally eye-popping in terms of its grim detail, and often perturbing. Don’t be fooled: authoritarianism is NEVER the answer.
THE DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND by Craig Russell (2023)
A horror film so terrifying it is said to curse all those connected with it. A beautiful film star mysteriously murdered. A studio fixer charged with uncovering a nightmarish truth. Hollywood in the 1920s is lusciously evoked in this intoxicating Noir, which wallows in decadent glamour and yet smoulders with menace. Undertones of supernatural horror only add to the immersive mix. A dazzling but dangerous trip into Tinseltown’s dark past.
THE SEARCHERS
From murderous brutes to weird eccentrics, there’s never been a shortage of individuals who simply couldn’t rest until they were running everything (usually into the ground). Absorbing compendium of some of the world’s worst ever political leaders, courtesy of a distinguished range of scholars. Informative, insightful, occasionally eye-popping in terms of its grim detail, and often perturbing. Don’t be fooled: authoritarianism is NEVER the answer.
THE DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND by Craig Russell (2023)
A horror film so terrifying it is said to curse all those connected with it. A beautiful film star mysteriously murdered. A studio fixer charged with uncovering a nightmarish truth. Hollywood in the 1920s is lusciously evoked in this intoxicating Noir, which wallows in decadent glamour and yet smoulders with menace. Undertones of supernatural horror only add to the immersive mix. A dazzling but dangerous trip into Tinseltown’s dark past.
THE SEARCHERS
by Alan Le May (1954)
In 1860s Texas, an embittered Civil War vet and his adopted nephew search high and low for the niece abducted by Comanches. The novel everyone thinks they know because of the film, though it differs in many ways. Unflinching, unromantic portrayal of the West, with dust, grit, brutal shootouts, hard talk, and the ongoing, irreconcilable culture clash. At the same time a penetrating study of love, hatred and limitless revenge. A grim, quick, compelling read.
THE MEMORY OF BLOOD
In 1860s Texas, an embittered Civil War vet and his adopted nephew search high and low for the niece abducted by Comanches. The novel everyone thinks they know because of the film, though it differs in many ways. Unflinching, unromantic portrayal of the West, with dust, grit, brutal shootouts, hard talk, and the ongoing, irreconcilable culture clash. At the same time a penetrating study of love, hatred and limitless revenge. A grim, quick, compelling read.
THE MEMORY OF BLOOD
by Christopher Fowler (2012)
When a baby is thrown from a sixth-floor window, seemingly the victim of a life-size Mr Punch doll, elderly Peculiar Crime Unit detectives Bryant and May enter the world of puppet shows and Grand Guignol theatre. A locked room mystery par excellence, peppered with clues and layered with London esoterica, which gradually expands into a compelling conspiracy thriller. My only bemusement is that Bryant and May aren’t yet on the TV.
WITHERED HILL
When a baby is thrown from a sixth-floor window, seemingly the victim of a life-size Mr Punch doll, elderly Peculiar Crime Unit detectives Bryant and May enter the world of puppet shows and Grand Guignol theatre. A locked room mystery par excellence, peppered with clues and layered with London esoterica, which gradually expands into a compelling conspiracy thriller. My only bemusement is that Bryant and May aren’t yet on the TV.
WITHERED HILL
by David Barnett (2024)
When worldly Sophie finds her way to the idyllic village of Withered Hill, she soon learns that she’s to be held prisoner there, not so much by the polite and friendly villagers, as by the malign presence in the nearby forest. Full florid folk horror, filled from the start with eeriness but increasingly more terrifying, the author offering an original and hugely sophisticated twist on the ‘remote rural community’ trope. Walking in the Lancashire woods will never be the same again.
ROME by Ben Kane (2025)
Rome, 410 AD. The Western Empire enters its final days. But in a time of blood and turmoil, a young noblewoman employs guile, charm and ruthless defiance not just to survive, but to become an empress for the ages. Teenage Galla Placidia came to prominence in the midst of Western Rome’s chaotic decline, rebels and traitors abounding, barbarians on the rampage, cutthroats around every corner, and yet was clever and tenacious enough to stabilize Roman affairs and enrich Roman life for decades to come. Strong, likeable characters – the heroine supported mainly by a single nursemaid and a devoted but Conanesque bodyguard – convey the reader through a webwork of war, intrigue and betrayal, through multiple close shaves with death and constant ethical dilemmas as morality clashes with realpolitik, all of it neatly packaged in a typically fast, readable adventure from the age of epic fiction. Yet another dramatic passage from real history given Ben Kane’s trademark five-star gloss. But beware the assassin’s blade … simply reading this book feels dangerous.
THE KINGDOM OF THE WICKED by Anthony Burgess (1985)
After the crucifixion, Christ’s disciples face huge risks as they spread his word across a world that hates them. Meanwhile, the Roman emperors descend through various stages of madness, culminating in the malevolent tyrant, Nero. Irreverent, unromanticised portrayal of a key moment in history, the sceptical Burgess humanising all involved, adding wry humour to the brew, along with masses of torture and murder, as he interrogates the origins of the West. Controversial stuff, sumptuously written.
WOLF SIX by Alex Shaw (2025)
When a top Ukrainian agent interrupts a Chicago bank robbery, he sets off a whirlwind of explosive events concerning the Russian mob, the CIA and hitmen from across the globe. Shaw hammers the hi-octane pedal in this first instalment of his all new action series. Grenades detonate, hollow-tips rip home and lethal blows land everywhere as Ruslan Akulov, aka Wolf Six, deals with enemies on all sides. A breakneck romp through the murky world of spec ops killers, organised crime and international conspiracy. Guaranteed tense reading.
MURDERLAND: CRIME AND BLOODLUST IN THE TIME OF SERIAL KILLERS
When worldly Sophie finds her way to the idyllic village of Withered Hill, she soon learns that she’s to be held prisoner there, not so much by the polite and friendly villagers, as by the malign presence in the nearby forest. Full florid folk horror, filled from the start with eeriness but increasingly more terrifying, the author offering an original and hugely sophisticated twist on the ‘remote rural community’ trope. Walking in the Lancashire woods will never be the same again.
ROME by Ben Kane (2025)
Rome, 410 AD. The Western Empire enters its final days. But in a time of blood and turmoil, a young noblewoman employs guile, charm and ruthless defiance not just to survive, but to become an empress for the ages. Teenage Galla Placidia came to prominence in the midst of Western Rome’s chaotic decline, rebels and traitors abounding, barbarians on the rampage, cutthroats around every corner, and yet was clever and tenacious enough to stabilize Roman affairs and enrich Roman life for decades to come. Strong, likeable characters – the heroine supported mainly by a single nursemaid and a devoted but Conanesque bodyguard – convey the reader through a webwork of war, intrigue and betrayal, through multiple close shaves with death and constant ethical dilemmas as morality clashes with realpolitik, all of it neatly packaged in a typically fast, readable adventure from the age of epic fiction. Yet another dramatic passage from real history given Ben Kane’s trademark five-star gloss. But beware the assassin’s blade … simply reading this book feels dangerous.
THE KINGDOM OF THE WICKED by Anthony Burgess (1985)
After the crucifixion, Christ’s disciples face huge risks as they spread his word across a world that hates them. Meanwhile, the Roman emperors descend through various stages of madness, culminating in the malevolent tyrant, Nero. Irreverent, unromanticised portrayal of a key moment in history, the sceptical Burgess humanising all involved, adding wry humour to the brew, along with masses of torture and murder, as he interrogates the origins of the West. Controversial stuff, sumptuously written.
WOLF SIX by Alex Shaw (2025)
When a top Ukrainian agent interrupts a Chicago bank robbery, he sets off a whirlwind of explosive events concerning the Russian mob, the CIA and hitmen from across the globe. Shaw hammers the hi-octane pedal in this first instalment of his all new action series. Grenades detonate, hollow-tips rip home and lethal blows land everywhere as Ruslan Akulov, aka Wolf Six, deals with enemies on all sides. A breakneck romp through the murky world of spec ops killers, organised crime and international conspiracy. Guaranteed tense reading.
MURDERLAND: CRIME AND BLOODLUST IN THE TIME OF SERIAL KILLERS
by Caroline Fraser (2025)
During the 60s, 70s and 80s, the US lay in the grip of a serial murder pandemic, no region more so than the picturesque Pacific Northwest. It was an ongoing, inescapable nightmare, but the possible cause was a horror story in its own right. Caroline Fraser’s strongly worded contention, crammed with impressive stats, that lead and arsenic pollution, as well as ruining lives and the environment, created a terrifying crimewave. A tad uneven for me – other potential causes are ignored, and time is wasted with several personal introspections – but overall, it’s a vivid, compelling argument which bears serious consideration. Destined to be a True Crime classic, I feel (many industrialists under the lens, along with the killers!). Meticulously researched, angry in tone and though gruesome in parts, determinedly non-voyeuristic. A big, thick tome but a fast, absorbing read. High quality work.
NEPTUNE’S RECKONING
During the 60s, 70s and 80s, the US lay in the grip of a serial murder pandemic, no region more so than the picturesque Pacific Northwest. It was an ongoing, inescapable nightmare, but the possible cause was a horror story in its own right. Caroline Fraser’s strongly worded contention, crammed with impressive stats, that lead and arsenic pollution, as well as ruining lives and the environment, created a terrifying crimewave. A tad uneven for me – other potential causes are ignored, and time is wasted with several personal introspections – but overall, it’s a vivid, compelling argument which bears serious consideration. Destined to be a True Crime classic, I feel (many industrialists under the lens, along with the killers!). Meticulously researched, angry in tone and though gruesome in parts, determinedly non-voyeuristic. A big, thick tome but a fast, absorbing read. High quality work.
NEPTUNE’S RECKONING
by Robert J Stava (2020)
Historian, Will Vanek, has a personal interest in the discovery of the lost WW2 ship, Neptune’s Reckoning, so he’s eager to join the dive team. But the coast of Montauk, Long Island, is far from ordinary. Tales of monsters abound, and evil experiments, and even alien incursions. Which are true, or rather which aren’t? Enjoyable sci-fi horror romp drawing on rampant urban mythology. One or two extraneous characters, but lots of deep-sea scariness and seat-edge action. A vivid and highly visual ocean adventure.
FROM BELOW
Historian, Will Vanek, has a personal interest in the discovery of the lost WW2 ship, Neptune’s Reckoning, so he’s eager to join the dive team. But the coast of Montauk, Long Island, is far from ordinary. Tales of monsters abound, and evil experiments, and even alien incursions. Which are true, or rather which aren’t? Enjoyable sci-fi horror romp drawing on rampant urban mythology. One or two extraneous characters, but lots of deep-sea scariness and seat-edge action. A vivid and highly visual ocean adventure.
FROM BELOW
by Darcy Coates (2022)
An adventurous film crew dive the wreck of a legendary sunken cruise liner and encounter an unspeakable supernatural truth. The slow burn start soon gives way to utter, ongoing terror as the perfectly preserved ship becomes a deep-water labyrinth filled with appalling adversaries. Technically superb – this feels like a genuine, complex dive – but the writing standard elevates it to the highest level of mystery/horror. A must for all lovers of oceanic nightmares.
CURSE OF THE REAPER
An adventurous film crew dive the wreck of a legendary sunken cruise liner and encounter an unspeakable supernatural truth. The slow burn start soon gives way to utter, ongoing terror as the perfectly preserved ship becomes a deep-water labyrinth filled with appalling adversaries. Technically superb – this feels like a genuine, complex dive – but the writing standard elevates it to the highest level of mystery/horror. A must for all lovers of oceanic nightmares.
CURSE OF THE REAPER
by Brian McAuley (2022)
A one-time horror star slowly succumbs to the control of the screen killer he brought so scarily to life, but is it all in his mind? A distinctly grown-up take on the slasher subgenre, McAuley keeping one foot in each of the horror and thriller camps, spattering his tale with gore but at the same time taking a deep dive into the world of madness and obsession. An intense slice of Hollywood psychosis, superbly written and characterised.
A one-time horror star slowly succumbs to the control of the screen killer he brought so scarily to life, but is it all in his mind? A distinctly grown-up take on the slasher subgenre, McAuley keeping one foot in each of the horror and thriller camps, spattering his tale with gore but at the same time taking a deep dive into the world of madness and obsession. An intense slice of Hollywood psychosis, superbly written and characterised.
