Welcome to Denny's
Darker Matter
A site of noir-humoured fiction
Denny Darke is my darker, funnier alter ego — and he doesn’t play nice. These books blend crime, comedy, and chaos into gripping, hilarious thrillers set in the strange shadows of Nova Scotia and Mexico. Think serial killers with personality, detectives who bend the rules (or ignore them entirely), and enough twisted humour to make you snort in public.
Perfect for fans of Carl Hiaasen, Christopher Moore, Bella Mackie, Joseph Heller, or anyone who loves their books smart, savage, and stupidly funny.
Explore the madness. Meet your local serial killer. And enjoy the mayhem.
Denny can only blame his father, Denis/Denny, for passing the noir humour gene to him. Gary is thankful his dad brainwashed him with slapstick comedies like Monty Python and The Goodies and encouraged him to read books by Joseph Heller. Denny Darke is Gary’s pen name: Denny (dad’s first name) and Darke (grandma’s maiden name).
Despite Denny’s “non-education” at the Knoll School (read Gary Trew’s memoir, The Hate Game), he devoured books like Cancer Ward, First Circle, and The Gulag Archipelago. His dyslexia didn’t help him remember characters’ names like “Oleg Filimonovich Kostoglotov” and “Ivan Denisovich Shukhov”—never mind spelling the likes of “Bolshevik” or the author’s last name. However, Denny read books because he missed so much schooling, and The Atari 2600 or Nintendo Entertainment System hadn’t been invented and were more expensive than a library membership. So, he liked to be reminded that although life was often miserable and gloomy, at least he wasn’t living the dream in the Soviet Union.
Books help Denny to escape, appreciate, and dream. Fast forward—having worked as an investigator with abused and neglected children and youth, Gary has come to appreciate the ability to laugh despite the stresses and strains of life. He credits his long-suffering wife and his four crazy-assed daughters—a resilient bunch who inherited the ability to laugh through their own darkness. Denny is surprised that they have yet to disown him.
He may not have Prince Harry’s popularity, but Denny Darke has a similar accent and has met Harry’s dad and uncle. The truth is that HRH, the King (then a lowly Prince), muttered a few words to him on his passing out parade as a naval aviator. Harry’s brother, HRH Prince Edward, used Gary’s officer’s mess, or dining area, when on secondment during his brief service in the Royal Marines.