Abra-Cadaver (2012)

"Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but he's come home and he's pissed" - Dr. Sam Norton

Back when he was 12 Tommy Marsh lived in Denver Mills and had a group of friends he was inseparable from, Peter Joffre, Russell Dixon, Lee McEwan, and Alison Chambers. On his twelve birthday, June 1989, Tommy and friends were set to be entertained by The Captivating Cosmo X - Master of the Unknown, a local children's magician. Tommy and friends sneaked a look in the back of Cosmo's van and find a guillotine, which naturally they have to inspect more closely. Lee had a lucky escape from the engine of death as it appears to be malfunctioning. The kids didn't report the guillotine problem to the adults and are left feeling guilty when Cosmo's assistant, and wife, has her head severed by the contraption. Arnold Trotter aka Cosmo was arrested and found guilty during a trial that had been rigged by local businessman Adrian Todd, whose daughter Mary was the victim of the infernal machine. Trotter didn't escape direct retribution from Todd, and endured a hellish couple of days and nights being tortured in a secluded part of the prison he was sent to. His mind shattered Arnold Trotter was eventually sent to Blackwater Heights private hospital and consigned to the annals of history.

In the present, June 2013, Tommy Marsh is returning to Denver Mills to finalise the details of his recently deceased father's estate. Naturally he gets together with his friends to talk over old times and naturally a fire has broken out at Blackwater Heights with at least one prisoner unaccounted for. Arnold Trotter has escaped and is also returning to Denver Mills, but Arnold only has one thing on his mind, revenge against those who wronged him. Tommy March is about to experience a blast from the past and learn a lot of secrets Denver Mills has kept down the years, but will he survive a return performance from The Captivating Cosmo X - Master of the Unknown!

In a previous review of a Matt Drabble book, the collection After Darkness Falls Volume One I pointed out Drabble is a decent Writer with a very Brit sensibility, that extends to his long fiction as well judging from the prose delivered in Abra-Cadaver. What's more impressive is the novel is well paced, there's no dropping off in intensity as things heat up, it has engaging characters, and it shows an Author able to tackle the longer form without losing his beat. Matt Drabble is on in this novel and presents a narrative that does need the book length to be adequately explored.

At its dark heart Abra-Cadaver is a slasher tale that sticks to the requirements of that particular sub-genre, which is kind of cool as who doesn't like to dine out on a slasher once in a while. You know deranged killer, ingenious murders, last person standing, oh yes there will be blood. Surprisingly the Brits are quite happy to wallow in this particular Yank horror obsession, and arguably the Brits can call it their own with the great Agatha Christie laying the foundations of slasher dictum through the unfortunately titled Ten Little Niggers (1939). So Matt Drabble is pretty much keeping the literary fires burning in this his entry in the sub-genre. Let's break it down and shake it all around.

Firstly we have an interesting psychopath on the loose with a full arsenal of sharp objects at his disposal. Where Drabble gets the character right is in giving him a back story that just screams out revenge, adding almost supernatural elements to the character, and having him cut down the cast in interesting ways. If the entire world's a stage Drabble's character plans to paint that stage blood red and festoon it with all manner of viscera. Arnold Trotter is a great invention, the character is sort of sympathetic, has a whole mob of Roos loose in the top paddock, and goes about his business in inventive fashion. Drabble throws some clues into the novel along the way that alert readers will pick up on, there's a major twist in the tale coming towards the end of the novel that I'm not about to divulge. Suffice it to say that fans of Friday the 13th, Halloween et al are going to have the time of their lives with Abra-Cadaver. Please note I'm talking the original movies here not the half arsed sequels.

Naturally we have to have a list of possible victims, else there wouldn't be much point having a psychopath on the loose really. Matt Drabble creates an interesting array of primary characters, who naturally get picked off one and one, but also does that particularly English thing of introducing secondary characters only to have them die almost immediately. As any good Game of Thrones fan will tell you, don't get too invested in the characters, there is going to be a high casualty rate. Drabble writes excellent characters, with defining traits etc, he then torpedos their ship and strafes the lifeboats. So yeah, highly engaging characters going down at a rapid rate as the novel progresses, and yes some deaths are well past warranted.

Which of course brings us to a few people who make it through the novel, our "final characters" if you will. Matt Drabble hasn't been lured in by the "final girl" syndrome as a lot of Writers and movie makers seem to be, he goes with a final couple of people, which you are going to guess very quickly. There's no red herrings thrown in the mix, who you want to survive does, though that's not to say there aren't deaths you were hoping weren't going to happen. Anyway, Drabble has not one but two final confrontations, the second comes in a surprise twist I didn't see coming. Each confrontation is infinitely rewarding, and Drabble to his credit has left room for a sequel. Hands up who wants that novel written!

Throughout the novel, and its one thing I do keep note of, there are no scenes thrown in to pad out the page count, the length is necessary to tell the tale. Equally importantly, there are no unnecessary characters added just for local flavour or to have that one additional body littering up the village. I was also well past rocking to the mystery being unfolded page by page and the revelations our major characters go through as they learn the facts weren't what they thought them to be.

So I had a lot of fun with Abra-Cadaver, been a while since I've swam in the slasher waters and got to say the water was fine. Matt Drabble has written a solid thriller that would translate marvellously well to the screen. If after a read that will keep you hooked to the page, then this novel is that read, full recommendation.

You can check out what Matt Drabble is up to right here. Follow the site links for options on purchasing a copy of Abra-Cadaver through Amazon.