https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Everyone-John-Robbins-ebook/dp/B0CSC3F7Y3
This horror-comedy is careful not to exploit the cruelty of its dicey theme, favouring consistent light wit over crash-bang punchlines.
The word count is economical in this adventure of key protagonist Humphrey Hardly, himself a masterclass in writing the outsider. The tortured soul is deftly contrasted in public settings and interactions, but author Robbins gives Humphrey no pass in showing his culpability with vulnerability. The character performs brutal acts yet for the most its meandering pondering and uncertain tangents and doubts creating an undue sympathy, and centrally, a desire for him to succeed in his villain’s journey. Unsettling.
In a cast of wrong ‘uns there’s a danger-addict unprepared for normalising Humphrey, given she is his normal; a duo of sharp on menace and high on comedy enforcers; a looming big mob boss; a cluster of feral children, and a mouthy pub bore. Humphrey’s parents round out the cast and offer (shaky) grounding. The characters run the story with a common familiarity leaving me wondering if the author isn’t on real crime reporting here. Plenty of absurdity too. From home-life domestic to highway criminal, this here’s a mad journey.
Having honed his craft over decades of short stories, Robbins gives us a high-powered novella. It’s great to join him as he stretches his legs with longer-form prose. I’m left excited for the next thing.