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kcfromaustcrime's review
5.0
A brutal novel full of horrible people doing horrible things, leaving themselves no obvious path forward or out, CRIMECHURCH isn't going to be to everyone's taste. So dark, so populated by downtrodden, desperate people I'm not even sure you could call this noir - there's something breathtaking, relentless, unapologetic about the pace here that kind of doesn't feel noirish - it just, well, feels desperate.
The title is obviously a reference to Christchurch, and it's more than a bit startling for a non-New Zealand reader to think that a city renowned for its beauty (and natural hazards) has a dark, violent, drug-addled, psychopathic side to it - which is quite possibly very naive on the part of this reader. There is, although, an ending to this novel that will undoubtedly surprise readers who are finding themselves dragged down to a level that they aren't comfortable knowing exists. Especially as everything leading up to the ending is so imbued with hopelessness, and violence - there's buckets of graphic, gut-wrenching violence here that read with such believable authority that this reader was tempted to lock all the doors and never venture out the front gate again - after all if this stuff is going on in Christchurch....
Surprisingly, there are moment of humour dotted through the hopelessness, and there is a sense of community forming - not a good one sure, but there is something going on here, and there is that ending that doesn't quite come out of left field if you're really paying attention, that didn't work, and then, with even more reflection, made perfect sense.
CRIMECHURCH isn't comfort reading, and it's certainly not easy reading, combining viewpoints from the awful, to just sad, and then there's those tiny touches of hope. It's a wild wild wild ride, and this reader found it utterly fascinating despite the confrontation, brutality, and dysfunction.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/crimechurch-michael-botur
The title is obviously a reference to Christchurch, and it's more than a bit startling for a non-New Zealand reader to think that a city renowned for its beauty (and natural hazards) has a dark, violent, drug-addled, psychopathic side to it - which is quite possibly very naive on the part of this reader. There is, although, an ending to this novel that will undoubtedly surprise readers who are finding themselves dragged down to a level that they aren't comfortable knowing exists. Especially as everything leading up to the ending is so imbued with hopelessness, and violence - there's buckets of graphic, gut-wrenching violence here that read with such believable authority that this reader was tempted to lock all the doors and never venture out the front gate again - after all if this stuff is going on in Christchurch....
Surprisingly, there are moment of humour dotted through the hopelessness, and there is a sense of community forming - not a good one sure, but there is something going on here, and there is that ending that doesn't quite come out of left field if you're really paying attention, that didn't work, and then, with even more reflection, made perfect sense.
CRIMECHURCH isn't comfort reading, and it's certainly not easy reading, combining viewpoints from the awful, to just sad, and then there's those tiny touches of hope. It's a wild wild wild ride, and this reader found it utterly fascinating despite the confrontation, brutality, and dysfunction.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/crimechurch-michael-botur
magentabyfive's review
4.0
The author of the book reached out asking for an honest review of this book. So, just know that this isn’t my usual area to read in.
I also feel like my soul is dirty and needs a wash.
Oddly enough, I think the character I was most oddly fascinated by was Marty and his first chapter. Mostly because it felt the grittiest, and realistic. I’ve been reading a lot of books about mobs that glorify it in one way or another, so reading about the spiral of how horrid that is crime and drugs was a bit of a refresher.
Though reading about Marty also felt like reading about those dirtbags who think they’re so intellectual because they can quote some books and listen to rebel bands. They talk big, but they do nothing. You read the book and just watch him spiral and spiral into himself, the only good thing about him seems to be Mono, but then he uses her as an excuse to steal and do more horrible things and you realize she’s just another crutch.
Then the other characters start appearing, all connected to each other in various ways. Knowing each other, meeting in their lives, and disappearing just as quickly. I can’t figure out if Jade thought the way he did because of mental illness, or because he took too many drugs, or maybe his mother was on drugs when she had him and then it was just exasperated through his life.
This is where my knowledge ends. I can’t tell if Jade, his sister, and Chong are cartoonish in their over-exaggeration, or if there really are people who act that over the top and think like that not just for show but think like it in their own mind.
The story does flow together rather nicely, though, from its bleak beginning, I was rather surprised by its ending, to be honest. The Kindle edition had a few formatting errors, but that could be Kindle being its weird self as it was paragraphs that got cut off mid-sentence to make new paragraphs.
Overall, it was a fun, if bleak, disgusting look into a drug, violence-infested world that did a great job of making these people the horrible monsters they were instead of glorifying them the way other books tend to. If you want something truly real and harsh, read this.
I also feel like my soul is dirty and needs a wash.
Oddly enough, I think the character I was most oddly fascinated by was Marty and his first chapter. Mostly because it felt the grittiest, and realistic. I’ve been reading a lot of books about mobs that glorify it in one way or another, so reading about the spiral of how horrid that is crime and drugs was a bit of a refresher.
Though reading about Marty also felt like reading about those dirtbags who think they’re so intellectual because they can quote some books and listen to rebel bands. They talk big, but they do nothing. You read the book and just watch him spiral and spiral into himself, the only good thing about him seems to be Mono, but then he uses her as an excuse to steal and do more horrible things and you realize she’s just another crutch.
Then the other characters start appearing, all connected to each other in various ways. Knowing each other, meeting in their lives, and disappearing just as quickly. I can’t figure out if Jade thought the way he did because of mental illness, or because he took too many drugs, or maybe his mother was on drugs when she had him and then it was just exasperated through his life.
This is where my knowledge ends. I can’t tell if Jade, his sister, and Chong are cartoonish in their over-exaggeration, or if there really are people who act that over the top and think like that not just for show but think like it in their own mind.
The story does flow together rather nicely, though, from its bleak beginning, I was rather surprised by its ending, to be honest. The Kindle edition had a few formatting errors, but that could be Kindle being its weird self as it was paragraphs that got cut off mid-sentence to make new paragraphs.
Overall, it was a fun, if bleak, disgusting look into a drug, violence-infested world that did a great job of making these people the horrible monsters they were instead of glorifying them the way other books tend to. If you want something truly real and harsh, read this.
dani8inad's review
5.0
Loved this selection of stories written from the perspective of many characters. I was even lucky to hear some of the book read by the author himself.
I could feel how relatable and real these characters were and I found that all of their stories had quite a big impact on how I felt as I read the book. I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read more work by this author.
I could feel how relatable and real these characters were and I found that all of their stories had quite a big impact on how I felt as I read the book. I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read more work by this author.
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