- Strange Ink.
- Gary Kemble.
- 400 pages.
- Horror / Supernatural Thriller / Fiction.
- My Rating: It’s OK Book Review.
Book Blurb.
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.
Book Review.
I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Harry Hendrick is a reporter working for the Chermside Chronicle, a local weekly newspaper in Brisbane, Australia. When he was studying journalism at university Harry found a story involving corruption and the local land developers that would have been huge and that would have seen him upon graduation working for one of the large and respected newspapers. It would have been ‘the‘ story that made Harry. Unfortunately, the story was debunked, testimonials recanted and documents deemed falsified, Harry made enemies and before it had even started his journalistic career took a massive nosedive and has failed to recover. That’s why now in his mid-thirties when others have gone on to bigger and better things Harry is still reporting on local fluff pieces at the local weekly newspaper as out of university it was the only job that he could get and he’s stayed there ever since.
Harry has recently broken up with Bec, his girlfriend after six years together and has moved into a new house. One of his friends, Dave is getting married and on the buck’s night (stag party) the group get up to all of the usual stuff, boozing, partying, strip clubs and the following morning with a massive hangover Harry wakes up with remnants of a nightmare where he is being buried needling his brain and with a mysterious symbol tattooed on the back of his neck.
Harry has no recollection of getting the tattoo, he was drunk but surely he’d remember getting a tattoo?! Photographs taken on the bucks night reveal nothing and his investigations into how he got the tattoo are also a dead-end with the local tattoo parlour denying any knowledge of tattooing Harry. Best to chalk it up to a stupid mistake made by being absolutely wasted and move on with life.
But then Harry has another nightmare, sweating, waking in fright, wondering where he is and with pain radiating from his body and, again, this nightmare is accompanied by another grisly new tattoo. What’s more, the tattoo depicts a scene from the nightmare, drowning bodies of refugees in a churning sea.
A few days later and yet another nightmare and another new tattoo for Harry. It’s not the same nightmare, again, it’s different and with each new nightmare and tattoo, they are becoming more vivid. Harry can recollect more and they seem to be someone else’s memories rather than a by-product of his own mental state. This time the nightmare transported Harry to war-torn Afghanistan as a soldier where he witnessed a heinous atrocity in a poppy field and he awakens with red poppies and skulls tattooed on him.
There’s a scratching noise under Harry’s house, his car battery keeps dying, he takes up running (which is not a Harry trait) and he is having thoughts that are not his own and all these elements add to the unease that Harry feels.
Ultimately, Harry begins to realise that with each new nightmare and the resulting horrific new tattoo that accompanies it that a tragic story is being pieced together. A tragic story that is being told through the ink, through the images that the tattoos depict upon his skin and it is up to Harry to uncover the truth behind the tattoos and what happened to the person that they originally belonged to.
At the same time as Harry is dealing with the fallout from the mysteriously appearing tattoos the election to crown Australia’s next Prime Minister is going on with a renowned war veteran the hot favourite to win by a landslide. Harry is also continuing to report for the local newspaper and one of the stories that he is currently reporting on involves saving and preserving the local water tower instead of letting yet another landmark fall, fade to memory to make way for yet another modern new development.
Biker gangs, drugs, corruption, greed, the horrors of war, the water tower, politics and the presidential candidate all have a part to play in the dark narrative. As Harry digs deeper the story strands that at first appear to be disparate pieces all come together. Once together they form a dangerous whole and build to a gripping culmination of the story told by Kemble.
The cover to Strange Ink is absolutely killer, the book features tattoos and the story sounded like it would dwell deep in the darkness. Those are things that should have made the book a ‘must-read‘ for me. Sadly, it wasn’t and I found Strange Ink to be rather hit-or-miss. It was a good 150-200 pages before I started to actually enjoy the book. Honestly, at one point, I was sceptical as to whether or not I’d even finish reading it and I considered giving up as I just wasn’t connecting with the book (both the character of Harry who I initially found unlikeable and the story) but I powered through. Now, after finishing, I’m glad that I persevered as after my initial apprehension Strange Ink turned into a creepy, dark and worthwhile read.
I think partly that I went into Strange Ink expecting something different to what I got. I expected full-blown horror and whilst there are the mysteriously appearing tattoos, old protection magic and possession with spirits from beyond the grave out for vengeance the book for most of its length is very low on outright scares and is far more in the vein of a thriller than horror. It’s perhaps best to dub Strange Ink as a supernatural thriller but a thriller nonetheless and not horror.
Strange Ink is a promising debut by Kemble with an intriguing story but, for me, it was definitely a book of two halves. I really struggled with the first half but along the way, as the tattoos and the resulting nightmares became more prominent and as the full story became clearer Strange Ink grew on me (as did Harry) and I enjoyed the fast-paced and tension-filled second half far more than I did the first half of the book.
Purchase Strange Ink.
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It’s a bummer this was only okay, because as you said, the cover and concept sound killer. I’m curious what you didn’t like about the MC though? I don’t always mind an unlikeable MC. I do hate when my expectations and reality don’t match up though.
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They do! Sadly it wasn’t!😢 First book I’ve not really enjoyed in a long time. It is a strange feeling.😂
Oh, that’s a tough one Sarah!🙄 I’m not really sure to be honest, he grew on me but there wasn’t anything major about him that I didn’t like, it was just how he came across and his attitude and it was more of a general dislike than anything specific.
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That sucks. I like unlikeable MCs who are unlikeable because of a specific reason, like “sarcastic jerk” or “prickly old man” (like most Clint Eastwood characters, lol) or there’s my favorite “psychotic traumatized 12 year old” (Jorg Ancrath). 😂
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Ah, bless! I loved Jorg as a character!😂
Yeah, me too. Sorry I can’t be more help as there was nothing in particular, I just didn’t like him. Ya know, in real life, some people just annoy you and get on your nerves and there’s nothing really wrong with them just something that grates on you and makes you dislike them.
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Yup- I get that. Hope your next read is better!
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So do I, so do I.😂😜
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And I don’t think I’ve seen you rate anything as “okay” in the five or so months I’ve been following you- so that’s saying something!
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It’s because I am good at picking up what I think I’ll enjoy and generally do. Hoping it’s not the start of a bad run of books.😂
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Man! It’s such a bummer when the first half is a bit of a slog. Thanks for the heads up! I am OBSESSED with the cover!!
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Likewise! The cover is killer!👌 A bit of a slog indeed though I am in the minority and everyone else seems to love the book.
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Love this review, Drew! Very well balanced, honest but respectful. I’m still on the fence about reading this one 🤔
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Thanks, if you read it I hope you enjoy it more than me.👍📚 From other reviews on amazon and Goodreads when I posted mine other people seemed to and I’m in the minority.😂
Of course, gotta be respectful!
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Did you go looking for likeminded people? Cos that’s what I do when I’m in the minority, I start a frantic search for reviews that say yeah it was OK maybe a bit meh instead of those that go on about how bloody brilliant it was 😂
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Lol but no, not this time. There was only about six reviews on amazon when I posted mine so I read them to see if others agreed with me. They didn’t mention the same issues as me so I’m guessing they didn’t.😂
I do like to try and find other reviews that had the same/similar issues to me when I’m in the minority though, so, ya know, I know it’s not just me that thinks the way about the book.😂
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Yes that! Somehow I always think it’s me and it’s a huge relief to find even the one kindred spirit who feels the same 😂 If I read this one and think it’s a bit meh you’ll be the first to know 😂
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Great review! I have this on my TBR too and I’ll be sure to adjust my expectations going in!
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Thanks.😀📚 I hope you enjoy it better than I did. I seem to be in the minority and everyone else seems to really like the book.
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Great review!
I was quite intrigued by this one myself, for obvious reasons but I am glad I didn’t make myself request the review copy- I think I also would have been disappointed by the horror aspect and the too current social events – e.g. Afghanistan and so on- these themes just do not fit into my cup of tea at the moment… But I am sure, the book will have its intended audience! It sounds like there’s plenty happening anyway…
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Thanks.👍📚
Yeah, I’m sure it’s intended audience will love it, I didn’t. It’s by no means a bad book but just didn’t hit the mark for me.
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Brilliant review! Sorry to hear it wasn’t all you hoped. This one sounds like not my cuppa, and the cover didn’t quite work for me. Not that I dislike tattoos. I have fuve! 🤣. I also have poor vision, so it may just be me. It’s that the resolution seems off, fuzzed, and it’d be better crisper.
Ramble over… Time to sleep.
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