Catacombs of Terror!: A Novel

by Stanley Donwood

Overview

"A barn-burning, page-turner from the depths of the secret worlds of hellish evil..." --Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Catacombs of Terror! is a noir crime thriller set in Bath, England, in which private investigator Martin Valpolicella receives a tip that he will soon be framed for a future murder--that of his former lover--one that is set to take place in the catacombs buried beneath the city. Can he save the girl, and himself? A drug-fueled escapade takes place in the seedy subterranean of the countryside better known for hot springs and Jane Austen.

Donwood has penned a breakneck tale that weaves through secret societies, underground tunnels, and a surreal cast of characters where nothing is as it seems except looming danger!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440596704
Publisher:	Gallery Books
Publication date:	09/02/2016
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	880 KB

About the Author

Stanley Donwood is the nom de plume of a popular English graphic designer, artist, and writer. He is best known for his association with the British band Radiohead. He designed album cover art and posters for the band since 1994. He is the author of Catacombs of Terror!.

Editorial Reviews

★ 07/25/2016
Back in print after more than a decade, this irresistible mash-up of noir and gothic horror from Donwood (Household Worms) defines the term “cult classic.” Bath, England, is no criminal hotbed, and the genteel tourist town offers few paying gigs for dissolute PI Martin Valpolicella. Then the detective receives a message warning him that he will be framed for murder. His informant gives him a cryptic tip: he should investigate the archeological dig in the center of town. Valpolicella sneaks into the site and discovers a deep hole leading into a complex maze of tunnels. Later in a pub, a man named Stonehenge tells the detective about the dark secret beneath the town, where the “folks who really run things,” a group known as AFFA, have occupied the ruins of an earlier pre-Roman city. The only way for Valpolicella to clear his name and save an innocent victim’s life is to take a primal, hallucinatory journey down into the underworld. Oh, and the catacombs are guarded by flesh-eating pigs, of course. This is a wild, shambolic ride, but its central idea—of a dark world just underneath our own—is as noir as it gets. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Wonderfully wacky fiction.... Donwood is a nimble and impish writer, taking his story to the edge of absurdity...but never letting it slip away completely. There's an element of real danger here, lurking beneath the wordplay and quirky dialogue, and there's also a rather touching—if wickedly convoluted—love story. Just a whole lot of fun." —Booklist

"This irresistible mash-up of noir and gothic horror from Donwood (Household Worms) defines the term 'cult classic.' This is a wild, shambolic ride, but its central idea—of a dark world just underneath our own—is as noir as it gets." —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

From the Publisher