#Gothic Police Procedural

[trilogiesofterror]

The Ripper Lives: Jack the Ripper Series I - Psycho (5/10) is available exclusively on Amazon. The entire series is Free on Kindle Unlimited.

A STARTLING DISCOVERY POINTS TO GUILT ... BUT OF WHAT?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CRQ38QFY "The feeling lingered all the way to the landing, increasingly unkempt, slowly dialling up the mustiness of the odour. It wasn't blood - closer to dried salts, with a subtle edge of wax and pine. I glanced around and found my answer ... The entryway had been sealed, lined with what appeared to be some sort of gauze, mixed with adhesive glue and applied to the entire outer frame. It was stiff, now cracked and crumbling where Mcnaughten had forced his way in and QUICKLY BEEN MET WITH REGRET." In the dramatic mid-series finale, a shocking find incriminates a suspect. But clashing factions once again hinder the investigation, leaving many questions unanswered. "I went to the window and tore away some of the sheets of newspapers for light ... AND MY EYES FELL ON IT." Episode 5: PSYCHO As a serial killer runs free and the body count grows, Abberline and company race against a ticking timebomb. Working the beat between glory and disgrace, they close in on the Ripper while fending off aggressive competing forces.

Book Series Page: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR7Y98R6

[ghostdrinkssoup]

idk how controversial this is but I’m actually such a big fan of s3a. it’s the exact kind of phantasmagorical bullshit that makes me kick my feet and grin like a fool. the whole show goes haywire and completely abandons the generic structure of the police procedural, and it totally gets away with it because at this point the narrative has unravelled so much that the show can safely let go of whatever conformity it was barely hanging onto in s2b. and on a metafictional level the shift in external genre strangely parallels the progression of the two main characters: just as will and hannibal have changed each other, the show too has revealed its true nature

[mad-hatter-memes]

FunkyFrogBait Starters

A collection of dialogue prompts from the videos by FunkyFrogBait. Feel free to edit quotes as necessary.

TW: Swearing, threats, and suggestive references

"My fellow Caucasians astound us with their ingenuity yet again..."

"This is just an evil, evil thing to do with pasta..."

"No spaghetti for you, sir."

"I could be doing any number of things with my life, but I've chosen to share this moment with you...Don't you feel so special?"

"This feels very forbidden..."

"I don't know what this is but it's not fettucine!"

"I just scalded myself! That was uncomfortable..."

"To be clear...I would not feed this to a dog..."

"This esophagus is rated E for everything!"

"Aren't I a lucky little boy? Only 40% of these are broken!"

"Is this a complaint that I'm hearing? Spitters are quitters, [Name]."

"It's just you and me, [Name]. So...who's gonna union with you?"

"If there is a god, he has abandoned us for celestial milk and cigarettes."

"That looks like something that would leak out of an infected wound!"

"This looks like porridge was spilled on the floor of a gym locker room and left to ferment for forty days and forty nights!"

"Trying to boil Pringles to make mashed potatoes is like trying to send her flowers after she's already taken the kids."

"Hahahaha, that's really cute, how about you go fuck yourself?!"

"Being a dad seems pretty fun; All you have to do is sometimes remember their names and forget to pick them up from soccer practice. "

"Now, now, don't be hysterical, dear. This is a nearly painless procedure...For me anyways!"

"I have not been allowed around a glue gun since...The incident..."

"The caveman method usually works in my experience."

"Aw babe, your texture makes me wanna barf."

"Now the nice thing about turkey bacon is that you can eat it raw! I think..."

"This says it serves twenty four people...They haven't met me."

"Hello, Mr. [Last Name]. I'm here to pick up your daughter."

"Please don't call the police...I know this a weird use of my free time but it's technically not illegal."

"I'm about to give myself an accidental haircut..."

"Can I just call up a priest and have him waterboard me...?"

"Whoookay...This makes me want to join a nunnery."

"Who up praying with they rosary right now?"

"STOP FINGERING EVERYTHING! I AM A CHILD OF GOD!"

"Girl, what foundation is that?! Not a pore in sight!"

"[Name], honey. You're already slaying, you don't need to slay innocent civilians."

"Where did they find this child? The Victorian Era?!"

"ASAB: Assigned Sidekick at Birth. How unfortunate..."

"Who is giving these children access to deadly weapons?! Hello?!"

"The kids like thirteen. Just throw a Roblox gift card as hard as you can and run in the opposite direction."

"[Character Name] is dead, [Muse Name]! And you're worried about the fidelity of this game to it's source material?!"

"Paint a picture for us, [Name]! Don't hold back!"

"I would've bully the fuck outta this kid. And I did musical theater!"

"Where are people getting all this Tannerite?! I want some!"

"Is the cockroach infestation required or optional?"

"I'm being manipulated by a gothic aesthetic and common sense!"

"Yikes! Don't show that to your grandma!"

"That's my heart after the hot girl in my Com Sci class tells me that our star signs are incompatible!"

"I really wouldn't talk how other people look if your eyebrows can't agree on what timezone they're in."

"Is god really rockin' with you? Sinner..."

"Let me eat my oreos in peace goddamnit!"

"I'M GONNA START POWERWASHING THE CEILING!"

"You know what crybaby fumblefingers? At this point you owe me money. Hand over twenty, pretty boy!

"Why is she beckoning me ominously...?"

"That's because you've been selected for ritual sacrifice, [Name]. You know how they are this time of the month..."

"Do you have family, [Name]? Anyone you'd be particularly devastated to lose in a violent and sudden way?"

"You know what, [Name]? I'd probably punch you over a Hot Wheels too!"

"I see god's law not as a restriction...but a challenge!"

"I am deeply dissatisfied with my life choices and I am NOT afraid to make that your problem at five o' clock in the morning!"

"I hope one of your family members is in a car accident this week!"

"It's fucking terrible and I'm overcome by a desire to kill James Corden for some reason!"

"I'm sorry...Do you think mother earth is just lactating blue raspberry surprise, bitch?!"

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Common Fantasy Subgenres

The broad tent of fantasy literature has spawned many fantasy subgenres that range from mythical and gritty to modern and otherworldly. Understanding the different fantasy subgenres can help aspiring writers find their niche so that they can create a fantasy series that readers can enjoy for years to come.

Fantasy novels take on many forms, and the number of distinct fantasy subgenres seems to grow with each passing year. Here are 18 particularly important subgenres within the world of fantasy:

Dystopian fantasy: Sometimes grouped in with science fiction, speculative fiction, and literary fiction, dystopian fantasies imagine worlds gone wrong. The settings are at once familiar to contemporary audiences and also alarmingly worse than the present world. Jack Vance’s Dying Earth series is a pulpy example of this subgenre of fantasy fiction.

High fantasy: Sometimes called “epic fantasy,” high fantasy is set in a magical environment that has its own rules and physical laws. This subgenre’s plots and themes have a grand scale and typically center on a single, well-developed hero or a band of heroes, such as Frodo Baggins and his cohorts in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings or Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves in The Hobbit. George R.R. Martin combines high fantasy with elements of medieval fantasy and romance in his Song of Ice and Fire series (and the Game of Thrones television series based upon those books).

Low fantasy: Set in the real world, low fantasy includes unexpected magical elements that surprise ordinary characters, like the plastic figurines come to life in Lynne Reid Banks’s The Indian in the Cupboard.

Magical realism: While similar to low fantasy, magical realism characters accept fantastical elements like levitation and telekinesis as a normal part of their otherwise realistic world, as in Gabriel García Márquez’s magical realism classic One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Sword and sorcery: A subset of high fantasy, this subgenre focuses on sword-wielding heroes—such as the titular barbarian in Robert E. Howard’s Conan pulp fiction stories.

Urban fantasy: Urban fantasy is a genre of literature encompassing novels, novellas, and short stories in which fantastical characters and concepts are placed in a real world urban setting, often in the present day. Urban fantasy novels have devoted followings and they have spawned film and TV adaptations. Urban fantasy stories often draw from noir and gritty police procedurals. They also may incorporate fantastical elements and supernatural creatures. These could involve undead zombies, vampires, druids, demons, wizardry, witchcraft, and other such fantasy tropes. For example, The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.

Paranormal romance: This fantasy subgenre combines romantic themes with fantasy elements like vampires, werewolves, shifters, faeries, and zombie armies. Many contemporary fantasy series blur the line between urban fantasy stories, coming-of-age tales, and paranormal romances. Patricia Briggs and Jeaniene Frost are popular authors in this subgenre.

Dark fantasy: Combining elements of fantasy with the horror genre, dark fantasy’s aim is to unnerve and frighten readers. For example, consider the gargantuan, otherworldly monsters in H. P. Lovecraft’s universe. Gothic and Victorian dark fantasy tends to embrace a paranormal setting and supernatural elements, which can range from vampires to werewolves and beyond. Note that by no means is every paranormal fantasy a dark fantasy.

Grimdark fantasy: One step beyond dark fantasy, grimdark novels pry into the blackest depths of the human condition, often in the proverbial underbelly of an alternate world. The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark is a popular book within this subgenre.

Fables: Using personified animals and the supernatural, fables impart moral lessons, like the stories in Aesop’s Fables and Arabian Nights.

Fairy Tales: Intended for children, fairy tales and folk tales are typically set in distant magical worlds (with beginnings like “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”) where trolls, dragons, witches, and other supernatural characters are an accepted truth, as in the Brothers Grimm’s Grimms’ Fairy Tales.

Superhero fantasy: Unlike stories in which a hero acquires special abilities through scientific means, such as exposure to radiation, the protagonists’ powers in more fantastical superhero stories are supernatural. Many superhero stories are set in a low fantasy world—one that’s quite similar to our own world. Superheroes ranging from Wonder Woman to Thor bring fantasy elements to worlds that otherwise obey the known laws of science. Many superhero fantasy authors have worked in the comic book medium, from Stan Lee to Bob Kane. As such, superhero fiction in the fantasy genre is also known as comic fantasy or comic book fantasy.

Fantasy of manners: This subgenre, exemplified by fantasy books like Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake, combines supernatural world-building with the type of society-centric concerns one might encounter in a work by Edith Wharton or Noel Coward. Human drama and pettiness may outweigh magical powers in this subgenre of fantasy literature.

Crossworlds fantasy: Sometimes called portal fantasy, this subgenre involves characters transporting from a normal world to a magical one. This requires authors to engage in both magical world-building and grounded realistic world-building. Crossworlds fantasy stories often appeal to children, as seen in the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis and Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. These works also fit a category known as juvenile fantasy.

Steampunk fantasy: This highly specific subgenre combines the Victorian science and technology of the Industrial Revolution with contemporary takes on robots and machines. As such, steampunk fantasy is at once alternate history, science fantasy, and a modern fantasy—although the specifics vary with specific novels. Soulless by Gail Carriger is a particularly well-regarded steampunk fantasy novel.

Arthurian fantasy: These historical fantasy stories exist in a magical world of King Arthur, although Arthur himself is not always the main character. Due to their magical setting, Arthurian fantasy novels and short stories tend to feature mythic creatures like dragons, and many of their heroes are knights—which also makes them part of the heroic fantasy subgenre.

Sci-fi fantasy: These stories can be set in any variety of time periods—which means they can be a contemporary fantasy, a modern fantasy, a futuristic fantasy, or even historical fantasy—but they establish a new world where scientific advancements have changed the rules of engagement, while still incorporating magical elements. The Star Wars series and the various works of Isaac Asimov have helped set the bar for sci-fi fantasy.

Wuxia fantasy: This subgenre is rooted in classic Chinese literature. It involves elements of fantasy interspersed with martial arts. Jade City by Fonda Lee is an example of wuxia fantasy.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[vamprisms]

there was a sharp drop in the writing quality this season but the image of deb walking in on dexter mid-murder in a beautiful crumbling church is unparalleled. everyone else is in a police procedural but she is in a gothic horror story

[queenlua]

i very much enjoyed this five-part piece that starts off talking about Life and Trust, which apparently is the new immersive theater show by the Sleep No More people, and is apparently a Gilded Age-y roaring-20s-y retelling of the Faust legend

(sigh, once again i must seethe with jealously at the east coast's immersive theatre scene...)

& then it transitions to a deeper dive on various versions of the Faust tale, including a bunch of shit i knew nothing about (apparently it was originally a chapbook?? coulda SWORN the marlowe play came first)

random highlights i "hmmed" and/or "lol'd" and copypasta'd while reading

"If we accept the Christianized notion of a 'tragic flaw,' we would have to say that Faustus’s pride blinded him to the true nature of Christianity, leading him down his demonic path. If we think more in terms of Oedipus, who was attempting to do good things (e.g., avoiding murdering his father and marrying his mother, or looking out for his city) without realizing the trap he was in, the play becomes more interesting [. . .] From this perspective, the tragedy of this Tragical History is not that Faustus has chosen damnation but that he was, like Oedipus, born under the wrong circumstances. His mistake is to seek out pure disinterested knowledge in a world where it can only appear as demonic and can only lead to damnation. Marlowe may not have succeeded in crafting a cohesive play, but if my reading does not miss the mark, he did intuitively, and profoundly, grasp the potential of the Faust legend. The original Faust chapbook amounted to a salacious gossip rag laundered with a superficial moral lesson (“don’t sell your soul to the devil, kids!”). In Marlowe’s hands, it becomes an existential meditation on the deadlocks of a world where Christianity appears as a legacy that is at once 'paltry' and inescapable."

and

The main plot [of Goethe's Faust]—leaving aside various fanciful digressions and the entire interlude with Helen—reminds me of a scene from the classic HBO police procedural The Wire. After months of surveilling the cautious and methodical gang leader Stringer Bell (played by Idris Elba), an investigator has an epiphany: “He’s worse than a drug dealer, he’s a property developer.” The same could be said of the Faust of Part 2—he’s worse than a demon-summoner, he’s a property developer.

[aesa]

writeblr intro

𓆩⟡𓆪

hello, everyone! I'm njsa (she/her), a 22 year old university student from australia, currently studying a bachelor's degree in space science. I'm returning to writeblr with more inspiration and dedication to sharing my writing projects. A bit more about me can be found here. On this blog, I'll be posting anything to do with writing, including worldbuilding and inspo boards, as well as other writeblrs and writing projects! I won't be participating in tag games, so please don't tag me in them. Feel free to ask me questions, I'll try to respond as soon as I can. I would prefer it if only those who are 18+ follow my blog, as some of my works may contain mature themes. None of my posts will contain explicit content. All of my novels will be labelled as adult fiction.

about my writing

𓆩⟡𓆪

All of my writing projects (at this point in time) are contained within a single fictional universe, VESSEL. Majority of my works are high fantasy, with a dash of science fiction, (space) western and southern (australian) gothic. My goal is to publish my novels as serials. Eventually, I'd like to turn these into physical books once completed, though I'll aim to always have the serials available on my website (to be released) for free ✧

my writing projects

𓆩⟡𓆪

Vessel is the story that started it all - my magnum opus. This is a high fantasy series that expands across the galaxy. It is a progression fantasy with extensive worldbuilding, political intrigue, magic, other-world species and so much more. It is the origin and main focus of my writing; all of my other novels surround it. This epic follows Brynas, a girl born on Earth, and her path to becoming a legend known throughout the galaxy as she discovers her true calling. Inspirations and similar stories: game of thrones, cosmere, dune, star wars and heavy inspiration from retro-futuristic, space-surrealist aesthetics.

𓆩⟡𓆪

Snake Oil is a prequel story to the Vessel series, and the first novel I intend on publishing. It is set on Earth in the late 19th century and is an Australian gothic, mystery novel. At the moment, it contains three POVs. An elite academy in the Irish countryside discovers, once closure procedures commence, that three of their students have been missing for over a decade. Reinforcements are called to investigate. ~ A constable stationed in the Australian high country is tasked with transcribing police reports. People grow restless over the lack of action taken by law enforcement on the mysterious disappearances of fellow townsfolk. When a group of locals decide to take matters into their own hands, he volunteers. ~ Deep within the Australian mountain ranges is a village unknown to the outside world. A girl with peculiar abilities begins to question her faith when strange visions plague her mind, and the comforting security she felt as a child begins to unravel as she enters adulthood. Inspirations and similar stories: picnic at hanging rock, ethel cain (music), immaculate (movie), sour switchblade - elita (song).

𓆩⟡𓆪

Rogue Frontier is a story that runs alongside Vessel. It is a space western that is, at the moment, only an idea with a few scenes, though the main cast is well established. Genuinely only came up with this idea because I crave found family stories. A comedic space western that follows the adventures of a bounty crew that are begrudgingly forced to work together under an anonymous boss. Over time, they learn that the promise of riches isn't the only thing keeping the crew from falling apart. Inspirations and similar stories: guardians of the galaxy, cowboy bebop, wayfarers series, rogue one, oingo boingo's music (the entire dead man's party album) and 80's music in general.

If you'd like to be added to the tag list of any of these stories, let me know!

other blogs

𓆩⟡𓆪

I have a side blog dedicated to my writing projects, @vesselserial Here, you can read more information about VESSEL and keep up with my progress. I also have a general blog / studyblr @dunedreamr, where I'll be posting my progress in completing my bachelor's degree (and future career pathways) as well as other interests that I have, like books, movies e.t.c.

star divider made by saradika on tumblr (linked)

last updated: July 16, 2024

[batcows]

gotham is such a fucked up little changeling of a show. theoretically a gritty comic book origin story based police procedural, in reality an absurdist mafia murder mystery/political thriller. when does it take place? anywhere between 1960-1995. don't worry about it, shut up. the main character is the least interesting and almost completely irrelevant to the plot. i shit you not- he is Just Some Guy. the violence level is at the same time cartoonish and visceral. it crams in almost every major batfam comic event of the last 40 years into 5 seasons and does each one wrong because they were legally prohibited from saying the word 'batman' or any major DC superhero/villain names.

who is the target audience? that's the mystery. it's too campy for serious watchers and too complicated and violent for children. so who is for, you may ask? people who love comic books but hold nothing sacred. who desire the gothic noir aesthetic of the burton movies and the unhinged absurdity of the adam west tv show- ZERO COMPROMISES. and that, dear friends, is where i come in

[fatalism-and-villainy]

Further thoughts on season 3 -

Because season 3A is, of course, the show sloughing off the remains of its police procedural suit and letting its dreamlike gothic vibes-based surrealism run wild. It doesn’t have the same comforting, familiar scaffolding to contain the weirdness that the show previously had.

But also intriguing to me is the way the second half mines its uncanny qualities from its seeming return to normalcy. The Italy arc hinges on the characters being temporally fractured and unmoored from the surroundings that once defined them - and this is reflected in the structure and placement of “Aperitivo”, in which the characters are all, through their introductions, tethered to their pivotal moments of trauma.

But season 3B, oddly, doesn’t try to make the three year gap felt in that same way - the story simply breaks off at Hannibal’s capture, the stylization of the arc not applicable to the mundanity of his trial and incarceration - and then when we rejoin the characters, they’ve all been relocated and shunted into their proper positions for the Red Dragon adaptation to play out. The uncanny effect comes from how simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar everything feels - the return to a more “conventional” crime story, the anchoring of Fuller’s “remix” approach in a well-known and previously adapted larger plot line (much more straightforwardly so than the show’s adaptation of the novel Hannibal) with previously used lines and story elements retrodden, and the characters in similar places to where they were introduced to us. Will is married now, but once again pressed by Jack into consulting; Hannibal is in prison but still entertaining guests; Alana has Chilton’s former role. And yet there’s such an underlying sadness and loss to all of it - it feels insufficient and insubstantial, somehow. The passage of time is felt in just how much it isn’t dwelt on, like the characters have someone melted into these new and unsustainable approximations of their old roles.

And the editing, too, is so much artier than the previous seasons were, even in little cinematic details like the transitions from scene to scene. It’s as though the conventions of the plot are haunted by the strangeness of the first half of the season - as though there’s something far more bizarre and violent trying to burst out of the straitjacket of its plot, just like Dolarhyde’s violent side bursting free of him. And of course, it does, by the end, with Will’s transfer of his allegiance to Hannibal’s way of thinking.

I often think that the lack of flashback to time within the three year gap, and general effort to make that length of time feel weighty, feels like a curious excision. And I’d ideally have liked to see both halves of the season expanded into their own full seasons, because there’s so much more you can mine there than just suggestion. But I think the lacuna itself is a fascinating bit of fragmentation in its own right.

[cha0ticr0b0tic]

I just watched Manhunter – the 1986 Michael Mann adaptation of Thomas Harris’ infamous novel Red Dragon – and I have some THOUGHTS that I cooked up in the shower because this could not be more different from Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal, and that’s not a bad thing at all!

A little bit of context so I can explain where I’m coming from: back in late 2019 I was studying abroad in the UK and our professors took us to a Blake exhibition in London. As a writer, socialist, and avid horror fan, I was floored. I got really overwhelmed in there and spent the next couple days decompressing before I started digging into his work in earnest, as well as works revolving around his art. I bought a copy of Red Dragon not long after that trip and worked my way through it when I had free time. I also started working on a paper for class about Blake’s influence in my favorite movie, Blade Runner, which meant I was deep-diving into noir as well as this trippy artwork – lots of anticapitalist rhetoric, lots of body horror, lots of monsters. Sooooo many monsters. 

The pandemic hit, we all were sent home, and I watched a lot of crime shows – Twin Peaks, Mindhunter, and Hannibal were the main ones. I was really excited to get to the Red Dragon storyline in Season Three and I was not disappointed. By that point in the show, Hannibal had turned from a police procedural with supernatural undertones to a full blown queer Gothic romance. That also includes the Dolarhyde/Reba storyline, even if it didn’t last. 

Dolarhyde got a lot of attention in the show – more than I was expecting, honestly. Richard Armitage did SUCH a wonderful job portraying that character, it’s incredibly nuanced and sympathetic. Our first moments with Dolarhyde are where he’s working out, practicing his speech, and getting his infamous back tattoo of the Dragon. There is a lot of attention paid to his body, and his discomfort in his body. I’m half-joking, but the trans vibes are strong with this one: “Becoming” might as well be referring to transitioning, albeit into a giant monster (whatever floats your boat!). As an out-and-proud director making an out-and-proud show, it makes sense that Fuller is focusing on the queer elements of the Red Dragon – the coding was always there, but now he’s really bringing it front and center via Dolarhyde’s physicality/body language.

I was kind of surprised, then, that Dolarhyde was not as prominent in Manhunter. There was hardly any discussion of the Red Dragon artwork at all, which was also surprising – is it because it was too fantastical for a director who deals with grounded, gritty crime? Compared to the NBC show, this Red Dragon was kind of one-note, which was a shame. He’s the bad guy, after all. He’s the guy Will is supposed to catch. But then I remembered: Dolarhyde is this movie’s Waingro. He’s the destabilizing element. I’m not an expert in Michael Mann, but I know he’s very into the stability of the family unit (shout out to good dad Will Graham!) and Dolarhyde specifically targets stable families – this was already in the Harris novel, he didn’t have to make that up to fit his thematic interests. Dolarhyde only matters because he serves as a threat to our hero and his values.

This version of Will Graham is surprisingly grounded, privately tortured, and full of resolve and dedication. We see that he’s got a history with Hannibal – there are definitely some queer moments here (there are a surprising number of 80s love songs in the soundtrack, hmm wonder what that’s about), and it’s a bummer we don’t get much of Cox’s Lecter because he is delightfully funny. Still, I don’t see this Will succumbing to his inner darkness anytime soon; he’s got a very good relationship with his wife and son (Vincent Hanna, take notes.) He is very much a Michael Mann Protagonist, even if he comes from another writer’s mind. In contrast, Bryan Fuller’s Will comes across as a Gothic hero(ine) in that his sensitivities are always highlighted, he looks like he needs to be taken to the seaside for his health, and he can’t seem to shake his demons (Hannibal is, after all, difficult to avoid.)

In any case, both adaptations are valid and it’s kinda comparing apples to oranges. Manhunter leans way more noir, Fuller’s Hannibal is Gothic all the way. I am definitely going to be rewatching Manhunter to pick apart some of the queer coding & subtext hehe

[trilogiesofterror]

JACK THE RIPPER'S REIGN OF TERROR CONTINUES The world’s most elusive and terrifying serial killer returns in the 10-part serialized Victorian gothic murder mystery novel The Ripper Lives. Dripping with 19th-century atmosphere and intrigue, each thrilling, suspense-filled chapter ends with a shocking cliffhanger that compels the reader forward. The fear builds as the historical horror story unfolds, culminating in an explosive, mind-bending conclusion.

The Ripper Lives is a sequel to the true story that commences after the slayings of the Canonical Five. As a secretly appointed task force works to bring the butcher to justice under the radar of the newspapers, the unsuspecting public believes the threat has subsided. But while hiding in the shadows, the serial killer's compulsion to mutilate has grown exponentially stronger, and for Whitechapel, the harrowing nightmare of tension and terror has only just begun.

Book Series Page: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR7Y98R6

[justforbooks]

Best crime and thrillers of 2023

Given this year’s headlines, it’s unsurprising that our appetite for cosy crime continues unabated, with the latest title in Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series, The Last Devil to Die (Viking), topping the bestseller lists. Janice Hallett’s novels The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, which also features a group of amateur crime-solvers, and The Christmas Appeal (both Viper) have proved phenomenally popular, too.

Hallett’s books, which are constructed as dossiers – transcripts, emails, WhatsApp messages and the like – are part of a growing trend of experimentation with form, ranging from Cara Hunter’s intricate Murder in the Family (HarperCollins), which is structured around the making of a cold case documentary, to Gareth Rubin’s tête-bêche The Turnglass (Simon & Schuster). Books that hark back to the golden age of crime, such as Tom Mead’s splendidly tricksy locked-room mystery Death and the Conjuror (Head of Zeus), are also on the rise. The late Christopher Fowler, author of the wonderful Bryant & May detective series, who often lamented the sacrifice of inventiveness and fun on the altar of realism, would surely have approved. Word Monkey (Doubleday), published posthumously, is his funny and moving memoir of a life spent writing popular fiction.

Notable debuts include Callum McSorley’s Glaswegian gangland thriller Squeaky Clean (Pushkin Vertigo); Jo Callaghan’s In the Blink of an Eye (Simon & Schuster), a police procedural with an AI detective; Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy (Pushkin Vertigo), featuring queer punk nun investigator Sister Holiday; and the caustically funny Thirty Days of Darkness (Orenda) by Jenny Lund Madsen (translated from the Danish by Megan E Turney).

There have been welcome additions to series, including a third book, Case Sensitive (Zaffre), for AK Turner’s forensic investigator Cassie Raven, and a second, The Wheel of Doll (Pushkin Vertigo), for Jonathan Ames’s LA private eye Happy Doll, who is shaping up to be the perfect hardboiled 21st-century hero.

Other must-reads for fans of American crime fiction include Ozark Dogs (Headline) by Eli Cranor, a powerful story of feuding Arkansas families; SA Cosby’s Virginia-set police procedural All the Sinners Bleed (Headline); Megan Abbott’s nightmarish Beware the Woman (Virago); and Rebecca Makkai’s foray into very dark academia, I Have Some Questions for You (Fleet). There are shades of James Ellroy in Jordan Harper’s Hollywood-set tour de force Everybody Knows (Faber), while Raymond Chandler’s hero Philip Marlowe gets a timely do-over from Scottish crime doyenne Denise Mina in The Second Murderer (Harvill Secker).

As Mick Herron observed in his Slow Horses origin novel, The Secret Hours (Baskerville), there’s a long list of spy novelists who have been pegged as the heir to John le Carré. Herron must be in pole position for principal legatee, but it’s been a good year for espionage generally: standout novels include Matthew Richardson’s The Scarlet Papers (Michael Joseph), John Lawton’s Moscow Exile (Grove Press) and Harriet Crawley’s The Translator (Bitter Lemon).

Historical crime has also been well served. Highlights include Emma Flint’s excellent Other Women (Picador), based on a real 1924 murder case; Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s story of a fortune teller’s quest for identity in Georgian high society, The Square of Sevens (Mantle); and SG MacLean’s tale of Restoration revenge and retribution, The Winter List (Quercus). There are echoes of Chester Himes in Viper’s Dream (No Exit) by Jake Lamar, which begins in 1930s Harlem, while Palace of Shadows (Mantle) by Ray Celestin, set in the late 19th century, takes the true story of American weapons heiress Sarah Winchester’s San Jose mansion and transports it to Yorkshire, with chillingly gothic results.

The latest novel in Vaseem Khan’s postcolonial India series, Death of a Lesser God (Hodder), is also well worth the read, as are Deepti Kapoor’s present-day organised crime saga Age of Vice (Fleet) and Parini Shroff’s darkly antic feminist revenge drama The Bandit Queens (Atlantic).

While psychological thrillers are thinner on the ground than in previous years, the quality remains high, with Liz Nugent’s complex and heartbreaking tale of abuse, Strange Sally Diamond (Penguin Sandycove), and Sarah Hilary’s disturbing portrait of a family in freefall, Black Thorn (Macmillan), being two of the best.

Penguin Modern Classics has revived its crime series, complete with iconic green livery, with works by Georges Simenon, Dorothy B Hughes and Ross MacDonald. There have been reissues by other publishers, too – forgotten gems including Celia Fremlin’s 1959 holiday‑from-hell novel, Uncle Paul (Faber), and Richard Wright’s The Man Who Lived Underground (Vintage). Finished in 1942 but only now published in its entirety, the latter is an account of an innocent man who takes refuge from racist police officers in the sewers of Chicago – part allegorical, part brutally realistic and, unfortunately, wholly topical.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[itsmemateinnit]

Whitechapel series 4 press pack

Patrick Schweitzer - Producer

What can we expect from the new series of Whitechapel?

We entered into this series with the remit of making a very visual, very exciting gothic drama on the backdrop of a TV detective show. Caroline and Ben wrote the first and last story with Steve Pemberton writing the middle part, which meant that we had a really great range of stories to play with. Also I think the character arcs that have been introduced across all six episodes will really enrich the texture of the series. Jon East directed the last episodes of the last series and he set quite a high benchmark. His episodes were ‘edge of your seat’ material and so it’s been great fun keeping up that pace.

What about the individual stories in particular?

The first story touches on witchcraft. The second story is about a killer who’s flaying his victims and the final story is about human sacrifice and finding out why bodies are being found in sewers across London underneath Whitechapel.

What role do Buchan and the real historical crimes play in this series?

Buchan plays a big role again in this series. All the research Ben and Caroline do is from true crime events that are inspired by the past. The series has moved from copycat killings to using history as a route to understanding the current crimes. So Chandler is still delving into Buchan’s amazing mind to find out what could be the cause and what’s happened in the past that could indicate clues as to how to find the killer and what is going on in contemporary Whitechapel.

Do you need to be mindful of stories going too far or over the top?

Yes you do have to be mindful. I think because Whitechapel tends to be a world where people want to watch in a suspended reality, we don’t try to give massive reminders of contemporary life. Computers and mobile phones take a back seat, we don’t have huge amounts of car travelling scenes so you stay in this world where you’re able to enjoy the unexpected a little bit more. I think that’s always been a real strength of the show that we’re carrying on with this year. The way our characters interact as well, instead of it being a very contemporary police procedural show we get to play with those elements far more so hopefully everyone is going to enjoy that.

Does this series cover anything from previous episodes?

We don’t tend to touch on previous stories too much, so that each story can be fresh. If you’re a regular fan you may notice hints of previous situations that the characters have been through but we tend to take each episode as a fresh piece of drama. If you’ve never watched the series before you can pick up any of the stories and just enjoy it for what it is – I think that’s quite a strength and we try and stay focused on that. In terms of character development we’re very mindful that there needs to be a development in each character’s story but it’s not a main emphasis at all.

Will there be any famous guest stars in this series?

We don’t tend to go with big names for guests stars, I think partly because if a viewer is aware that at some point we’re going to introduce the killer you don’t want anyone to be too obvious and to stand out. We just want really good actors and people that will fit into the world of Whitechapel and we’re very free to use the best actors for the role.

Why was the area of Whitechapel chosen?

Ben and Caroline have created this ‘world’ of Whitechapel that I think is beyond the specific area of Whitechapel itself. Everything that happens has a darker leaning but

it does stem from the history of that part of the East End, which has had a slightly higher percentage of crime over time. I think what makes the series more interesting is that we want to go for the wackier events that might happen.

Are all of your locations in the East End or do you cheat?

Some of it is cheated, obviously if there is a good location in another part of London then we do tend to go for the best places. Using Hornsey Town Hall as our police station is a prime example. This building has been fantastic this series. It’s the same physical space as series one and three but we’ve re-done it. We’ve created a slightly different mortuary set and we have an inter faith prayer room. We’ve also created a few more corridors so that the journeys around the police station take a bit longer. It’s been a real blessing to have this building - it is listed so anything we do, any changes have to go through the council, but we’re very used to that.

Is all of your post production set up here too?

Yes, part of the joy of working in a building like this is that you can actually house your edit suites in the same space. Quite often on other projects I’ve worked on the edit is in Soho and the main sets out in Ealing so everything is quite separated. Here we have everything in one hub which means in the canteen you’ll have the editors sitting next to the DoP and actors. So it’s a great creative environment to be in where everyone feels very attached and involved in the project. Also for my job it means I can pop upstairs, have a look at where we’re at in the edit and then nip back downstairs and carry on prepping for the last block – so it makes life a lot easier and makes the process feel quite fluid.

Is it difficult to film in central London?

Luckily a lot of places that were needed in the script weren’t the most populated areas. To keep London as a successful filming city we really believe that you have to comply with the regulations. It’s only reasonable to ensure that film crews wrap by a certain time as it can be quite noisy and disruptive. I think with any restrictions, whether it’s monetary or time frame to shoot something, it makes sure everyone is on board with getting the best results.

[witch-of-snow-and-stars]

A Bookish Rant

So I've been getting back into audiobooks and reading books more generally lately (as opposed to fanfic/blog essays/articles) and specifically I've been reading horror, gothic romance, and mystery novels.

Now I tend to prefer supernatural/paranormal horror and creature horror, and mystery stories that aren't police procedural-type stories (more "nosy civilians getting into peoples' business" if you get my drift). Basically I like stories where "there's something weird going on and we need to figure out what it is" is the A plot and the B plot is something else.

The frustrating thing that I keep running into is the MCs being just... way too slow on the fact they're in a weird situation. I get nobody *knows* they're in a horror story but like??? If you're in a sprawling deathtrap of a haunted murder house and everyone around you is acting sketchy as hell, I'm going to need you to clock that and act accordingly! Even if we're taking the scenic deathtrap out of the equation, if you're alone with a bunch of people who are acting like there's bullshit afoot and you're a potential target- well you need to start taking precautions! Maybe it's just my preference for competent and levelheaded MCs showing, but I can only take so much hand waving away concerning things before I get too frustrated with a character to continue on with a story. By no means am I saying that a protagonist can't be out of their element or in over their head with a situation (honestly I tend to like that sort of story), but general awareness and having a good head on their shoulders does go a long way for me liking a story.

In an attempt to end on some positivity, here are some books I've enjoyed that I've listened to or read recently:

A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny. A very tonally conversational account of the month of October leading up to an eldritch event on Halloween, as told by a dog familiar named Scruff. Its an interesting blend of horror, fantasy, mystery, and comedy. For as much arcane shenaniganery that's going on, it's a quite easily digestible and enjoyable time. Dracula, Frakenstein, and his monster all show up and feature in the story. There's a werewolf that seems like a very chill dude. Sherlock Holmes is even in drag. Even though the story and MCs are very different, to me it has a very Bunnicula-but-for-adults type of energy to it and I love it for that

What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher. Yes I read the book out of series order, but I still had a good time! Alex Easton (ka/kan pronouns), is a transmasc/nonbinary veteran trying to take a restorative visit with friends to threw family hunting lodge after the stressful trip from the previous book... and promptly lands in a supernatural pseudo-murder mystery that needs to be solved before Alex and the new lodge attendant wind up dead. The whole cast is honestly a delight (Alex and the widow Botezatu in particular are both a lot of fun to me) and while I think the story isn't particularly horror-forward, there are some points that do get pretty freaky. It's also a very quick read (less than 200 pages) and I've enjoyed Kingfisher/Vernon's work before (I know of her work from The Twisted Ones, which is delightfully unsettling and occupies a beloved niche-genre of fairy horror). What Moves the Dead and What Feasts at Night feel like good horror books to bring for vacation, and I'd say they're an enjoyable time.

The Carrow Haunt by Darcy Coates. The best way of describing this book to me is if you made a mashup of The Haunting (the film) + 28 Days Haunted + and a locked-room murder mystery. I don't think hardcore horror fans would enjoy it, but if you want to dabble in paranormal horror and are part of the happy-endings-only crowd, I'd give it a shot I think you'd have a good time. My only complaint is that I wanted to know more about the Red Crows and how the house functioned metaphysically, but I'm an occult/magic nerd and this is a minor complaint (it didn't cause a plot hole or anything, I just like the ideas Coates was playing with abs wanted to hear more)

Anyway that was my rant and recommendations, if anyone has book recommendations I'd highly appreciate them💜

[ofhilltowne]

The Power of Three

So if anybody is interested, here's my rewrite of s1 of Charmed (2018) to slow the pace of that season way down, flesh out the main characters a lot more + pull from Puerto Rican culture/mythology, and give the Vera-Vaughns more agency in their own story.

(Also make it feel more like gothic police procedural tone of the original series' first season rather than the teen drama vibe The CW went with.)

Main changes:

Marisol's maiden name is Valdez, because I say so. Which makes her daughters' last names Vera Valdez and Vaughn Valdez, according to Puerto Rican naming conventions. (Not entirely sure where Josefina's last name of Reyes would fit in, because that would come from her paternal side of the family, and she's related to Marisol & her second cousins through the maternal line.)

Warlocks and male witches exist. I am forever salty that the reboot excluded male witches on principle and didn't even have warlocks who kill other witches to steal powers. Galvin could easily have been this show's introduction to male witches, but he was not.

Galvin and Macy are dating from the beginning. None of this back-and-forth crap that took up a good chunk of the first half of season 1.

I'm trying to draw as much from Puerto Rican brujería traditions as I can, possibly Santería specifically for Macy, but my online research is very limited and so there will be Wiccan practices mixed in here. My sincerest apologies. Though let's be honest, this show was even less accurate with its portrayal of Wicca than the original series was; at least the original tried in its first few seasons. And don't get me started on how this show portrayed Yoruba.

That being said, Galvin is 100% a male witch whose practice is based in Haitian Yoruba, from his maternal grandmother's side of the family. Dexter Vaughn was a male witch, too, fuck it. Why else would Marisol have told him she was a witch, but not Ray?

Harry Greenwood does NOT kidnap the girls to reveal their witch destines to them, and instead stays undercover far longer as the new Women's Studies professor.

[bramblewatchescharmed]

Love the gothic vibes of season 1 '98 Charmed. Love how whenever Andy and Darryl are onscreen it's like they came in from a police procedural, only their cases are supernatural in nature.

Absolutely baffling to me how the Charmed 2018 reboot literally had Mel's girlfriend at the start of the series be a murder cop (I think? all I remember is that Niko was definitely a cop and she was looking into Marisol's death), and yet it doesn't do this.