Deadfolk [Paperback]

Charlie Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

Royston Blake is the head doorman of Hoppers Wine Bar & Bistro. He drives a Capri 2.8i and can walk down the street in Mangel knowing folks respect him. But now there’s a rumor out that Blake’s lost his bottle. Even Sal’s heard the rumour. What’s more, the Muntons are after him and the thought of ending up in the back of their Meat Wagon is almost too much to bear . . . Murder, mayhem and a chainsaw called Susan intertwine in this astonishing debut which marks the appearance of a funny and brutal new voice in British crime fiction.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A Q&A with Charlie Williams

Question: Can you sum up Deadfolk in no more than 25 words?

Charlie Williams: A small-town bouncer’s courage is questioned, undermining his self-image as a local big-shot. Taking some bad advice, he sets about trying to prove himself. Things don't work out.

Q: Can you sum up your "hero" Royston Blake in a couple of sentences?

CW: A violent, ignorant thug with delusions of grandeur. But can we blame him, considering his environment?  

Q: What was your motivation for writing your Royston Blake series?

CW: I had tried writing several novels set in the world I lived in, but none of those really caught fire. Then I started writing something new, and the main character’s voice came out stronger and more clearly than anything I had written. He seemed to be inspired by a few guys I used to know as a teenager, whose whole view of life revolved around a misplaced concept of what it is to be a man. Along with his voice came the setting--a hellish exaggeration of my home town (Worcester, U.K.) which insisted on being called Mangel. When the story started taking shape, I wanted it to be the British equivalent of one of those small town American noir novels by guys like Jim Thompson. Whether or not it turned out like that, who cares? It got the damn thing done.  

Q: There is a lot of "bad" language in Deadfolk and the other books in the series. Do you think this limits the readership?

CW: I hope not. Royston Blake swears a lot, as do many people around him. But he is not really aware of it--he uses swear words like punctuation, to fill gaps and give rhythm to his sentences. This is just the way his voice came to me, and I didn't want to tinker with it. We all think these words, Royston Blake just says them aloud. For him, there is very little divide between his thoughts and his speech. And his actions.  

Q: You write crime fiction from the criminal perspective. What is it about this that interests you?

CW: I have tried having a policeman or some sort of investigator as the hero, but those characters always turn bad on me and reveal themselves as worse than the guys they are chasing. I'm not sure if I can explain this obsession with "differently moralled" protagonists. Maybe it's because I can always see both sides of an argument, and it tends to be the accused/perpetrator/transgressor who has the more flexible outlook on things. Cops and other seekers of justice are always dogmatic. I guess I like dogmatic characters too, but only so I can show how absurd they are.  

Q: What do you think is the key is to getting humour right in crime fiction?

CW: I don't try to make things funny. I never look for a joke and never think "three pages without a laugh--I'm losing it!" But these moments just suggest themselves as I am writing, and I grab them and shine them up. I think a lot of writers shut themselves off from that side. Many crime writers seem to think their work has to be grim and 100% serious--"we are dealing with REAL HUMAN TRAGEDIES here, folks. It's NOT FUNNY." I say it is funny. Remember at school, when the teacher was talking about something of the utmost gravity, and you caught that look from your classmate? You have to laugh, don't you? You know you shouldn't--that it's the most inappropriate thing to do--but that only makes it funnier. It makes it the funniest thing in the world.  

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--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

'Dripping with pitch black comedy and panache... this is compelling and highly enjoyable, albeit not for the squeamish' -- The Third Alternative, 2004

‘Charlie Williams has come up trumps... just enjoy the ride’ -- Guardian, 2004

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852428511
• ISBN-13: 978-1852428518
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,467,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Worcester (UK) in 1971, Charlie Williams has written six books that have been published in five languages. Most belong in the crime category but there is often overlap with horror, sf and just plain weird, and no real game-plan to fit into any genre at all.

The first three - DEADFOLK, BOOZE AND BURN* and KING OF THE ROAD - are a trilogy set in Mangel, the provincial town from hell, narrated by nightclub doorman Royston Blake. Each was written so it could be read independently of the others or in any order.

STAIRWAY TO HELL is about a pub singer who finds out his body hosts the transmigrated soul of David Bowie, courtesy of some 70s voodoo by Jimmy Page. Although fiction, the story was based around true events. Go to charliewilliams.net and check the Stairway to Hell page for more on that.

2011 sees GRAVEN IMAGE (a novella about a brothel bouncer with a debt to pay) and ONE DEAD HEN (a fourth Mangel book, making it a tetralogy... but trilogy sounds better).

All of the books have received great reviews, some of which you can read here on Amazon. But steer clear if you hate swearing or love political correctness.

* original UK title: FAGS AND LAGER

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warped, Menacing, Hilarious, September 28, 2004

By 

Doug F - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadfolk (Paperback)

Deadfolk stars Royston Blake -- a guy you would not enjoy bumping into down a dark alley but you will love on the page. He is a pub doorman with troubles, and his attempts at getting past them lead to one crime after another. All he wants is to be a respected pillar of the community. He has the physical stature but lacks self-awareness, and winds up getting and giving nothing but grief.

The book is populated with characters that you can almost smell -- even before they wind up dead and rotting. The setting -- the town of "Mangel" -- is English backwater by way of the Twilight Zone, and the ripe language reflects that. But really it's not that far removed from midwest or Tex vernacular. There were some words I just did not know but I kind of rode the context -- you're not going to miss any big plot points over them. Also the local argot gets you more involved in the surroundings. When you look at this place you can see how someone like Royston Blake can happen. You kind of feel for him.

I recommend Deadfolk to anyone who favors originality, knows how to laugh, and doesn't baulk at some nastiness. This is a book that reads well and is SO different from the usual fare. Royston Blake is a real piece of work.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars give us a fag and neck a lager, March 31, 2011

By 

xkydivr (GA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Deadfolk (Paperback)

(What's this?)

The dialect is so thick in this book that I thought at first maybe it hadn't been translated into English. If you stick with it you will be able to interpret the words according to content.

Blake is a doorman/bouncer for a local pub. When he doesn't stand up to one of the Munster brothers the rumor spreads that he has lost his bottle/courage. When he sets out to restore his reputation everything starts going downhill. Murders, disappearing bodies, betrayal by his mates. Had to laugh at the attempts at disguise and his weird code of ethics...never hit a bird(woman).

If you laughed at the wood-chipper scene in the movie "Fargo" you will find this book hilarious. This is not your usual thriller/mystery but good for a change of pace.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Your 'English Cosy' Mystery..., March 31, 2011

By 

James Ellsworth (Caldwell, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deadfolk (Paperback)

(What's this?)

...or even a raffish 'Lovejoy.' Charlie Williams is a major writing talent poised to make an American debut with this novel from his 'Mangel' quartet (if that is the last in the series.) This series has attracted European attention and translation (heaven knows how the translation works since the narrative relies on English slang words.) 'R' or 'X-rated' for violence, sadism, sex and language, 'Deadfolk' is nevertheless a compulsive read and an incisive look into a world of dysfunctional masculinity, where strength, survivalist self-reliance, macho image and sexual gratification count for far too much. No normal person would want to live anywhere near the series' antihero, Royston Blake. Granted, Blake does not have an easy set of circumstances to deal with: he may be psychotic and a sociopath, he only has brute force with which to make his way in the world and he was born into a dark environment of such gravitational force that few could escape from it...and he has tried.

The entire work is narrated in a low-class industrial English slang that is heavy with synonyms for sex equipment and for sexual stereotypes for men who 'have lost it.' Royston Blake has 'lost his bottle' (courage) in this work and his lot in life is to fight to get it back. The major mystery of the book is what/who really killed his wife, Beth, and the events dance back and forth to answer that question with a murky sort of reality that pervades the whole story. Many Williams fans see dark humor in many of the scenes: I can almost see it but my vision is not strong that way and I am more apt to see the tragic side of these scenes. Dare I say that this work is a 'beach read?' It is a page-turner that I would not want to undertake just prior to bed time.