Jackals by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Jackals by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (The Big Click)

I have recently discovered a fondness for Noir Fiction. Possibly, I always liked it, but I never gave it a name. There is a place just one twist away from mainstream - for me this includes the absurd, slipstream, a hint of paranormal, and of course noir. This new penchant led me to The Big Click, tor.com and Apex Magazine so keep tuned for more of the surreal but plenty of other stuff too.

We are a few paragraphs into Jackals before we learn Lila and Gregory are cousins, whether by accident or design I had already felt an intimacy and assumed a much closer relationship, so we now have a strong hint of incest. The relationship between Gregory and the unseen Herschler feels equally dark. And then there's the job the squeamish Gregory has been assigned - his part in the road-kill project.

The narrative is compelling and I was drawn through to the end via some unexpected turns. Graphic descriptions feed all our senses throughout however, I found the end waned a little. I would have enjoyed a more solid conclusion. Wendy Booth - Portrait Artist