James Cooper (1) (1969–)

What could be greater praise for a book than to say that this is probably one of the finest novels ever available on the kindle and it's thanks to darkfuse that Dark Father was published earlier this year....and what a cracking story it is.

There are three threads running; we have Jimmy Hopewell part time gangster and professional wife beater, one day Kate has had enough and escapes the the torture with her son Billy. Then there is Frank and the wife he loves Cindy with their adorable son show more Jake. In a medical facility/asylum lives Mack a deeply disturbed patient under the auspices of attending Physicians Doctor Kincaid and Doctor Faber. To delve deeper into the storyline would spoil the surprises that await the reader, all three stories have a thread that will become surprisingly clear as the novel concludes.

The novel in some ways is a mixture of crime and horror, Jimmy Hopewell's lost (removed!) eye and his increasing ability to visualize the future adds a touch of humour to a somewhat monstrous character. "Jimmy stood there, his hair hanging across his brow, his face all but destroyed. His left eye was a black hole, rimmed with attenuated tissue and dried pulp. There was a large bruise down the left side of his face. His stubble was dark with blood." However it is through Frank that we understand the real meaning of loss and what one sad demented individual will do to recapture the past. There is a wonderful sad and descriptive passage that illustrates the beautiful writing style of Mr Cooper and the deteriorating mind of Frank.....

"He swiped the brush across Cindy's lips, creating the perfect smile, and then stood back to admire his work. He frowned; the effect hadn't been adequately captured. He primed the brush with a fresh slug of paint, and then slapped it across her mouth again, even as Cindy was moaning, trying desperately to compress her lips. Frank took another step back and smiled, satisfied with his work, He repeated the whole procedure on the boy, taking more care this time, almost dabbing on the paint for fear of unnerving his darling Jakey, which would be inexcusable. He applied the emulsion with a kind of detached wonder, granting them both cosmetic smiles that stretched halfway around their face; not a disfiguring scar, but an extension of their elation. Unequivocal proof of their love.....He dipped the brush into the tin and drew an irregular line of red paint across his own mouth. "God, I love you" he said. His family sat across from him, unmoving, wearing smiles as wet and wide as a slashed throat.!

When I was 94% complete I still could not see how the author was going to complete this wonderful story and show the connection of the various threads to the reader...but I need not have worried in the hands of an expert the conclusion is crafted to perfection. If you enjoy dark fiction of the highest quality, with a touch of crime, a dash of humour and a great dollop of emotional heartbreak then I implore you to read this amazing story....I can't recommend highly enough....so what are you waiting for:)) show less

I want to start of by saying that as a general rule, I tend to stay away from horror genre, unless the premise of the story is just too intriguing to pass up. Having never been a fan of Stephen King novels and the like, I was surprised to discover that I really enjoyed the stories in Cooper's short story collection.

The book's forward, written by Christopher Fowler, calls this a revival of British horror writing. The 12 stories are all tales of madness and dysfunction, manifested in some form show more or another. The story 'Albion' had a slight Twilight Zone feel to it that appealed to me and I found the stories 'There's Something Wrong with Pappy', 'The Family Face' and 'Because Your Blood is Darker Than Mine' great stories of suspense and shock.

I did not like 'We Are the Pigs' - to graphic for my tastes - even though it had an interesting premise of sections of the story be interspersed with dialogue between the two fictitious writers that were composing the story. Nothing like reading two writers bickering over descriptive prose for what has the appearance of shaping up to be a slasher story!

'The Hack'- the story of a writer's obsessive round the clock typing having a profound effect on his neighbor - was more of a creepy surreal tale than one of horror and probably my favorite story in the collection.

In summary, great stories to curl up with on a wet, stormy night. show less

I hate this star rating system. I'd give this book a 3.5, just to be clear. But the rating really isn't what's important, it's what I babble on about in this little box. Right? Good.

Do you like horror? Short fiction? Short horror fiction written so that the stories seep into your brain, remaining there long after you close the book to give you another chill when you least expect it, without the use of unnecessary gore and other such amateur tactics? (yep, that's a horrible sentence) If the show more answer to that is yes, then this is the book for you. Cooper's writing style is relaxed, easy to read, which makes each story effortless to slip into. The first story is my favorite, because it still lingers with me, but they're all worth reading, IMO.

In other words, I recommend Beautiful Red. show less

READ IN ENGLISH

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

I received a free copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

It had been some time since I last read a mystery like this book. It starts with three different story lines, and it took me a while to connect the dots (in my defence, the author has withheld some important information till the end of the book), but I was curious and thinking how the stories were connected.

The stories show more are all twisted in their own way. A mother and a child, pursued by their now one-eyed but enraged husband/father. A father, desperate to keep his 'happy' family together. A man, who sees his daddy in everyone he meets. It's definitely not 'feel good'.

However, it's a very decent suspense novel. It kept me interested throughout the story. It was nice to read. Some characters felt a bit flat, but it didn't really bother me. I'll definitely keep James Cooper's name in mind when searching for a book to read. show less