by Alister Davison
Hard Bitten is the latest Nailbiters collection from horror author Paul Kane. Fans will know they’re in for a treat, but this time it’s something different to what we’re used to; this group of nine short stories and an audio script are tales of crime and psychological terror, some of which tie into the author’s thriller novels written under the name PL Kane. Others possess a small sense of the supernatural that Kane does so well.
The stories presented here will run readers through highs and lows of emotions, thanks to the characters that Kane has created; protagonists make plausible decisions, while villains have believable motivations, all driving their plots. We’re in good hands here – manipulated, of course, for Kane’s usual deft twists are still very much in evidence – and although the usual tropes of the genre are necessarily adhered to, they’re used to create satisfying scenes and surprising conclusions; there’s nothing cosy about Kane’s crimes.
The detectives featured are an achievement, while his Sherlock Holmes feels like it came from the pen of Conan Doyle himself. The duo involved in the Golden Sands mystery stood out from the crowd, and if ever a pair of literary cops could take the TV world by storm, it’s these two who made that story arguably the best of a superb bunch. This, along with the others, shows Kane’s versatility as a writer and had this reviewer reading long into the night. All in all, fantastic stuff from a fertile and unique imagination.
