REVIEW: Nigel Bird’s ‘Dirty Old Town (And Other Stories)’

From the opening story ‘Drinkin Wine’ Nigel Bird’s collection of stories grabs the bull by the horns.

His use of dialogue and pacing is exemplary and his characters live and breathe smut and crime.

Nigel Bird bird writes with an assured narrative voice that never bores or relents from its insistence on making the characters live and that is the sign of a great storyteller.

He maintains this throughout and the concluding story ‘Silver Street’ is both concise and brilliant.

Here is a sample from the opening story.

Any writer who writes tight narrative like this deserves to be read:

‘It was a red carpet all right. Furry and stained with wine. Wouldn’t have done a thing for me if it hadn’t been for the silver stud. Way it rattled against her teeth made me tighten my thighs.’

He knows what he’s doing and he knows how to deliver it.

I found this collection enjoyable and sharp.

Nigel Bird is edgy and has great tone in his stories.

The last story has the lines which encapsulate his ability to create a neat scar on the edge of velvet:

‘The tip took without problem. If it hadn’t been for the thickness of the scarring, nobody would have noticed anything was amiss.’

He writes with a tight control on his phrasing and characterisation, he is an immensely readable immensely enjoyable writer.

This is crime writing at its best.

It is entertaining and unpretentious.

Nigel Bird brings in menace seamlessly.

Read this collection, it is a crime not to do so.

Nigel Bird, author of ‘Dirty Old Town (And Other Stories)’ available at Amazon on Kindle here.