I
am sorry to say that the initial release of Paul Heatley’s An Eye for an Eye,
came and went and it was never on my radar. Sometimes the sheer volume of books
being released means even great books go unnoticed and this book is a great
example of why it’s important to visit the websites of the independent presses
you like just to see what may have slipped past you. I recently visited Near to
the Knuckle’s website and I am pleased to say this great read came to my
attention. This is a shotgun blast of a novella and it has put Heatley on my
radar in a big way.
Heatley
has penned a dark, brooding, atmospheric slice of violent noir. Everything
about this novella is done right; from the attention to the setting which helps
set the bleak mood the story emanates, to the well fleshed out characters that
come to life and breath the air of believability into the story. Heatley hits
every high note, but does it with a poet’s touch. His characters, which were
originally introduced in the short story The Straightener, are well fleshed
out. Graeme, not the toughest thug on the street, is his main character.
Graeme’s strength is his morality that comes through in a real-world manner; he
doesn’t believe he is a moral man, but he knows his morality stands above the
other thugs who reside in the same world as him. He displays a touch of
compassion, without being pushover.
Graeme
gets the call when the daughter of top mobster, Neil Doyle, loses an eye in an
accident. Doyle, a man who makes anyone pay for making him look weak, will move
heaven and earth to make the guilty party pay and he puts Graeme on the case.
Graeme teams up with Tony, a non-affiliated man whom he knows he can trust. By
looking outside the mob circle for a right hand man, Graeme lets us know that
he is not a man on a leash, instead he is a free thinking man who balances the
need to get the job done, with the knowledge that a job needs to be done right
to be completed.
This
novella is a brutally violent masterpiece. From dismemberments, heads concaved
in from forceful hammer strikes, to men being comatosed though violent means, it
has something for every noir and hardboiled fiction lover. This book screams to
be read and recognized for the many strengths it possesses, and Paul Heatley
deserves to be recognized for his ability to strip a novella down to its barest
elements and have every one of them add a vital piece to a kickass story. There
is nothing extraneous in this story, yet nothing is missing; indeed a hard
balance to accomplish.
While
this novella stands on its own, be smart and head over to http://www.close2thebone.co.uk/wp/?cat=135 and read The Straightener before you dig into
this one. While you are there, check out all of the other great things Near to
the Knuckle has put out recently. I for one will be seeking out quite a few of
their older titles and you will be reading all about them in the future.
Highly
Recommended.
