Saturday, March 25, 2023

Book Review: Attack and Decay (The Vinyl Detective #6)


It starts with a perfectly normal evening in, except for the corpse-faced gentleman dressed all in black, with a crow on his shoulder, staring into the house, of course. And the visit from Owyn Wynter, head of Whyte Ravyn Records, who needs the Detective’s unique skills.

So begins an all-expenses-paid trip to Trollesko, Sweden for the Detective, Nevada, Tinkler and Agatha to track down a copy of the debut album from demonic metal legends, Storm Dream Troopers. Condemned by the church and banned on release, Attack and Decay is a legendary record.

But their trip to the homelands of Nordic noir is quickly thrust into a world of intrigue as the Detective closes in on the deal, the band unexpectedly converge on the peaceful town, and worse, their trip somehow coincides with a visit from Stinky Stanmer. Soon the bodies start piling up, and the Vinyl Detective is the only one who can solve the case.

Attack and Decay, the sixth book in Andrew Cartmel's Vinyl Detective series was released in June of 2022 from Titan Books.

I simply adore this series. I discovered it about three years ago back in 2020 and simply devoured the first books. I enjoy the humor and the chemistry between the cast of regular characters. Each book is like going to visit some good friends.

As a music fan, I also enjoy the reoccuring aspects related to records, bands and such. As a hobby collector of various things, I relate to the collector mentalities of many of the crew as well. If the genre of hip/cool Brit mysteries were what I was into writing, Cartmel's books would be an inspirational template for me.

As with other books in the series, this latest one takes a little time to get into the mystery zone. It starts with plenty of set-up for location and new characters, but Cartmel's easy-going narrative style and touches of witty dialogue make it move along in an entertaining way. Once the action hits, it hits hard and fast with plenty of turns until coming to a satisfying conclusion.

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