Smartly plotted, with a dark and chilling narrative peppered with some sly and witty humour, The Knock-Knock Man deftly weaves police procedural with dark supernatural into an exceptional novel that will appeal to fans of both crime and horror.
The Knock-Knock Man by Russell Mardell
I was going to start this review with a knock-knock joke, but that would have been far too obvious, even for someone as silly as me. So, I hope you are all proud of me.
One of the best aspects of being in the reviewing game for as long as I have is witnessing authors’ successes and triumphs as they embark on their writing careers. Russell Mardell is one such author. I must have reviewed his debut novel, Bleeker Hill, during my transition from the old Blogger website to this domain, as I can’t find the full review of Bleeker Hill on this site—only a shortened version included in that year’s roundup of the best books.
However, one downside to reviewing for this long is that my time for reading purely for pleasure has quickly faded, which is likely why Mardell slipped from my radar. When his publicist contacted me to review his latest novel, The Knock-Knock Man, I jumped at the chance, even before reading the book’s synopsis.
After reading the synopsis, I knew this book was right up my alley.
The Knock-Knock Man combines two of my favorite genres: a disgraced cop and the perception of a supernatural threat that may or may not be real. As long as the reveal is handled with the proper care and respect for the reader, I am open to either outcome. Personally, I prefer a genuine supernatural threat. However, I won’t give any hints or reveal whether The Knock-Knock Man features a Scooby-Doo-style villain or a real boogeyman. That wouldn’t be fair to you, even if it complicates discussing this book a bit.
The Knock-Knock Man is centred around the disgraced police officer Ali Davenport;
After making a single poor decision while investigating the case of a missing boy, Ali and her partner find themselves at the center of a situation involving the Knock-Knock Man. As a result, they both lose their jobs as police officers after claiming to have seen a ghost. Despite her best efforts, Ali struggles to move on from this case, and after the death of her partner, Ernie, she is thrust back into the focus of the Knock-Knock Man.
Broken and washed-up police officers are common, much like the clichés that often appear in reviews. However, when they are portrayed effectively, they can create one of the most rewarding types of stories—regardless of whether the detective finds redemption by the end. In Ali Davenport, Mardell has crafted a well-rounded and fully developed character. Her struggles to adapt to life outside of the force, as well as the circumstances that led to her departure from the job and her beloved partner, are depicted with a keen and sympathetic perspective. The reader is drawn deeply into her quest for belief and the validation she desperately needs to move on and put the past behind her.
One of the strongest elements of her character is her down-to-earth personality;
Mardell manages her emotional struggles instead of letting them define her; they serve as a key element in her character development. This approach effectively creates a character with whom readers can easily relate. She feels like one of us, and her decisions throughout the novel resonate with what we might do in similar situations. The Knock-Knock Man would have suffered if Mardell had entirely adopted the persona of a hardboiled detective or a super cop, rushing recklessly into danger with fists flying.
Some of you may be eager to learn more about the plot, although discussing it in detail without revealing critical story points can be challenging. In simple terms, the plot follows a disgraced cop who is trying to uncover the truth behind her ex-partner’s death while a mysterious, possibly supernatural force seems intent on killing her, all linked to the case.
The Knock-Knock Man excels in Mardell’s ability to keep the truth about The Knock-Knock Man ambiguous right up to the point where he has to let the readers into the truth about the going on in the story.
Peppering the narrative with little tidbits about the who or what he is, Mardell has created an urban folk horror mythos worthy of being talked about next to Freddy and The Candyman. At times I was reminded of the Charlie Parker books and Phil Rickman’s excellent Merrily Watkins series of novels, both of which cover the same sort of shadow- borderland between the supernatural and the mundane world we live in. This is a well-used subgenre of fiction, with many unsatisfactory novels floating around, but as the old phrase tells us, the cream rises to the top, and The Knock-Knock Man is a rich, full-fat cream in this regard.
Smartly plotted, with a dark and chilling narrative peppered with some sly and witty humour, The Knock-Knock Man deftly weaves police procedural with dark supernatural into an exceptional novel that will appeal to fans of both crime and horror.
If you hear a knocking after you read this book, I’ll fully understand if you never want to look out of your window again. I sure as hell never will.
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Do you want two CDs?
Do you want two CDs who?
You want to CDs nuts?
Come on, do you think I would make it without doing that?
Further Reading, Russell Mardell, The Horror of My Life
The Knock-Knock Man by Russell Mardell
“Russell Mardell has fashioned a hugely original and totally terrifying folk horror noir from the rich ingredients of the Wiltshire countryside … a land where both Dennis and Ben Wheatley meet and fear of the supernatural is only matched by the evil that men do.” – Cathi Unsworth, author of Weirdo.
Who is The Knock-Knock Man? A ghost, a killer, or the figment of a frightened boy’s imagination?
It is a question that continues to haunt disgraced New Salstone police officer, Ali Davenport, fifteen months after the devastating case that changed the course of her life. Now, after the death of her former colleague, Ernie, Ali has returned home to face a past that won’t stay buried.
Found in the disused office building where he worked as night security, Ernie’s death has been ruled as a suicide. But not everyone is convinced. Wild stories are circulating about a supernatural presence in the building, an entity that might have attacked Ernie that fateful night. With the sale of the building about to go through, Ali is hired by its owner to work Ernie’s remaining night shifts and debunk the potentially damaging story. An easy enough job, if you don’t believe in ghosts. But then Ali meets Will, a teenage ghost hunter who claims to have evidence on film…
Forming an unlikely partnership, Ali and Will soon fall headlong into a mystery that takes them through New Salstone’s macabre history and into Ali’s own dark past. As the pieces of the puzzle come together, Ali is forced to face the question of The Knock-Knock Man one last time. But what Ali doesn’t know is The Knock-Knock Man has already been watching her for a very long time…
