The Book With No Name by Anonymous

Sometimes you read a book that would make a fantastic film, and in this case I wondered whether The Book With No Name had actually been written with a film adaptation in mind all along.

The setting is Santa Mondega, a small town where all strangers are viewed with extreme suspicion, and life revolves around a couple of rough lowlife bars - mainly the Tapioca, which is run by the cowardly Sanchez. Totally reminded me of the bar in From Dusk Till Dawn, or the one in El Mariachi. Five years ago, the Tapioca was the scene of a brutal mass murder, reputed to have been carried out by the mysterious Bourbon Kid, and of which Sanchez was the only survivor (thanks to his habit of cowering behind the bar whenever trouble crops up).

Now, all the signs indicate that the Bourbon Kid may be back in town. Strangers are arriving and asking questions, and there's going to be an eclipse soon. And everyone seems to be VERY interested in a blue stone called the Eye of the Moon. There are Peto and Kyle, the Habal monks who have been sent on a quest to retrieve the stone, and then there's paranormal detective Jensen, who's been assigned to Santa Mondega to investigate some particularly gruesome murders, that may or may not be linked to the Bourbon Kid.

The book abounds with bounty hunters, murderers, thieves, and a beautiful woman or two, and is written in a deadpan way that reminded me of Lemony Snicket (if anyone has a theory on the author, please share!). And finally, of course, there is the Book With No Name. Anyone who reads the book (and they've all checked it out of the Santa Mondega public library from a particularly nasty librarian called Ulrika) is found dead soon after.

This is a real page-turner, with plenty of colourful characters to keep you entertained, and plenty of questions to be answered. On the day of the Lunar Eclipse, everyone in town is in fancy dress, which leads to some very amusing scenes, and it is this mixture of humour and violence and a good mystery plot that kept me reading. Oh, and so far I haven't died yet.