On the Whateverth Day of Christmas...

Mes Amis

Let me implore you, as ever, to be kind to retailers this Christmas. Take it from one who knows: they are working their little buttocks off to try and keep things as smooth as they can. So smile at them. Thank them. And please, please don't shout at them.

In other news, I have been writing about noir for The Rap Sheet's Forgotten Books Derek Raymond Christmas Special. When they asked me for my thoughts on Raymond's writing, I was eager to please. But when they handed me my assignment I realised it was on one of the few Raymonds I haven't read. Which gave me the perfect excuse to immerse myself in the deadly British noir of WHERE THE DEAD LIVE, which is not to be confused with Will Self's novel which nicked the title even though Self had never actually read anything of Raymond's when he did the swiping.

In other news, THE GOOD SON sees a resurgence in the UK after Mary Doll* herself - Scots actress, comedienne and all around entertainer, Elaine C Smith - mentioned the book alongside the works of Stieg Laarson, Michael Connelly and Denise Mina in her favourite reads of the year column for The Glasgow Herald. Sadly The Herald's online presence is woeful, so I can't link to that. But clearly Ms Smith is a woman of taste... even if she did once advertise semi-skimmed milk**:


But its still go in the US, too, with Mystery Scene weighing in on the novel (let's skip to the end):

The Good Son moves through the Scottish and English underworld in an atmosphere of delicious gloom. A deadly face-off in a cemetery on a dark and stormy night is a fitting climax to this most noir mystery.

Mystery Scene, we love you.

Anyway, I have a day job to return to and deadlines to meet. So if I don't speak to you before, mes amis, let me say this:

Have a fantastic Christmas (or whichever holiday you choose to celebrate)
And a brilliant new year.

Au revoir, et bon noel.

Russel

*Probably the role for which she is best known; that of the wife of Rab C Nesbit in Scotland's finest and darkest sitcom.
**the devil's milk. Yes, I'm a traditionalist: if I'm drinking milk, gimme the full fat**
***Yes, go on, insert your own jokes about your tubby and bearded hero right here.