BOOK REVIEW: STRANGE INK BY GARY KEMBLE

When washed-up reporter Harry Hendrick wakes up after a particularly boozed evening, and a very disturbing nightmare with a strange tattoo that he has no memory of getting he is rightly confused and a little concerned.  And who would blame him, it's happened to a lot of us.  However, this tattoo is no regular tattoo, and it turns out that it has a strange occult significance, and when even more tattoos start mysteriously appearing on his body after particularly vivid and disturbing nightmares, Harry must embark on a quest to find out why these tattoos are using him as their canvas.  

Strange Ink is a bold and ambitious novel, one part neo-noir novel, one part thriller and one part visceral ghost story that ditches the typical quiet, and suggestive tropes of the genre for a full-on blood-soaked and violent take on the haunted house/ haunted protagonist story.   Kemble deftly uses these three base genres to create a compelling story that intertwines, political corruption, at an urban level, crazed biker gangs, the horrors of war and the redemption Harry.  

Strange Ink's brilliantly brutal and nasty introduction sets the book up perfectly for what is to come.  The sense of overwhelming tension that this section has is mirrored throughout the book, in particular with regards to the sense of terror and loss of control that Harry feels whenever he suffers from a nightmare and another appearance of a new tattoo.  

Kemble's plotting and pace of the novel is spot on, Harry's investigation into the what is happening to him and how it links to a corrupt political powerhouse reads like some of the best political thrillers.  The use of explosive action sequences to break up the investigation is inspired.  The more action oriented scenes of the book are where Kemble's writing really shines, the fight scene in a local bar with the local biker gang is a highlight of the book.  Kemble's cinematic handling of the fight scene is glorious to the point where you can feel every punch and every broken glass to the face.         

This is one of those books where you could remove the supernatural element and still be left with an effective neo-noir tale.  That's not to say that they feel tacked on, Kemble weaves all the disparate elements of the novel into one cohesive story.  It may seem that the novel is losing its way with regards to delivering a satisfying and logical conclusion. However, everything comes together entirely in the finale of the book.  

Harry Hendrick may seem like a thousand other washed up reporters/detectives, and a lot of his character and personality is very familiar, but don't let that put you off, Kemble uses this well-worn character  very effectively in the realms of the narrative, and imbues him with just enough layers and quirks to keep him feeling more on the fresh side rather than just being a paper thin cypher.  If you look closely enough, you can see the nods and winks to the fictional reporters that have gone before, but a no point does it feel that you have seen him before.  

Strange Ink is a powerful novel that will leave an indelible mark on your soul much like that tattoo you got on holiday from a dirty back street tattoo parlour. 

Spine-chilling horror in the vein of Joe Hill. After moving into a new house, journalist Harry Hendrick wakes up with tattoos that aren't his...When washed-up journalist Harry Hendrick wakes one morning with a hangover and a strange symbol tattooed on his neck, he shrugs it off as a bad night out. But soon more tattoos appear: grisly, violent images which come accompanied by horrific nightmares so he begins to dig deeper. Harry's search leads him to a sinister disappearance, torment from beyond the grave, and a web of corruption and violence tangled with his own past. One way or another, he has to right the wrongs.

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