Review: The Collioure Coincidence

Lily, 5 months ago

The Collioure Coincidence
The Glennison Darkisle Cases, #6
by Mark N Drake

Jack and Josine may have come through the events of the Grainger Case, but it continues to cast a long shadow over them both, fracturing their friendship and tantalising Jack with an unlikely coincidence. What links the small French artists’ colony of Collioure with events on Darkisle? What is the connection with the mysterious King in Yellow? And does any of this have any bearing on an upcoming archaeological dig on Darkisle?

The sixth book of the Glennison Darkisle Series sees Jack fighting to save his relationship with Josine as he sinks ever-deeper into a world of paranoia, magic and ancient, terrifying gods. And while the clues point to the South of France, eventually, it seems, all roads lead to Darkisle for Jack.

In ‘The Collioure Coincidence’, the web of intrigue and cosmic horror becomes more tangled still as Jack learns about the King in Yellow and the whispered involvement of an ancient god called Cthulhu. And then there’s the matter of Little Megan and Her Brothers, the isolated stone circle high on a Darkisle hillside with a sinister reputation…

5 out of 5

This was another amazing occult noir horror in The Glennison Darkisle Cases series. Note before I dive into my review, this can be read as a standalone, but you’d be missing a lot of character development and backstory by not starting at the beginning of the series! This was a nice break from Darkisle, of sorts. We get to travel to France, and look into an art-based mystery that still manages to tie into the dark and mysterious place that Jack is all too familiar with. Drake does a great job bringing both setting and characters to life, and filling the reader in on any pertinent information. The story itself has plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing, and the pacing is perfect. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the story and lose track of time. Definitely recommend if you’re a fan of pulp horror, private detective mysteries that walk on the dark side, or just looking to try something new!

Amazon | Goodreads

Hi! Thanks for dropping by. I’m a new British author of Lovecraftian Horror fiction. Pleased to meet you!

I suppose you could say I’ve come to writing by an indirect route. I originally trained as a physicist before doing defence research for the RAF. After a few years of blowing things up, I changed career and went into Higher Education management. I took some time out to be a management consultant for a while before returning to Higher Education in a new role. And, finally, I found the time to start writing properly.

I’ve always harboured a dream to be a writer, but study, role playing games, rugby league and career always conspired to distract me. But at last, after a number of false starts and failed attempts (boy, I hope my early sci-fi efforts never see the light of day…) I am now in a place where I can bottle up a few decades of ideas and get them down on the page.

For the moment, I’m developing my fictional location of Darkisle, an overlooked island in the Irish Sea. It’s a place that outsiders generally avoid, where the locals mutter darkly in their own language and where ancient cosmic horror is never far below the surface. If you like Lovecraftian fiction, I really think you will enjoy my take on it as you explore 1920s Darkisle with me.

Originally from Derbyshire, I now live in County Durham with my family. When not working, I can usually be found in my shed, perusing my collections of Lovecraft and Iain (M) Banks books while trying out ideas for new stories and/or games.