Clubbed to Death
Lynne Maxwell

In Clubbed to Death hapless Helen Hawthorne, on the run from her greedy deadbeat ex-husband, takes on yet another dead-end job, this time as a receptionist in the complaint department of an exclusive Ft. Lauderdale resort. Having served stints as bookstore clerk, telemarketer, motel maid, staffer at a pet boutique, and more, Helen knows what she's getting into--yet another thankless low-paying job at which her days will be numbered. As a former professional who once earned a six-figure salary, she doesn't suffer maltreatment gladly. She also doesn't tend to keep jobs that turn murderous, which, for Helen, is all of them. Helen shifts into sleuth mode when she stumbles upon yet another body, this time the remains of a universally disliked co-worker. Who had sufficient motive, opportunity and malevolence to perpetrate the crime? Helen and her boyfriend Phil leap into action to solve the mystery. This main plot, along with a humorous subplot involving Helen's brushes with, and avoidance of, her ex-husband, contribute to the pleasures of this delightful novel.

Viets cleverly characterizes the nature of "dead end" jobs in an amusing manner, accurately capturing the futility of the workplace for many--perhaps most--people, who cannot change jobs with alacrity.

The social commentary is leavened with humorous vignettes, an exaggerated plot line and an engaging narrative style. And Viets knows whereof she speaks; surprisingly, she has actually worked all of the jobs about which she writes.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

In Clubbed to Death hapless Helen Hawthorne, on the run from her greedy deadbeat ex-husband, takes on yet another dead-end job, this time as a receptionist in the complaint department of an exclusive Ft. Lauderdale resort. Having served stints as bookstore clerk, telemarketer, motel maid, staffer at a pet boutique, and more, Helen knows what she's getting into--yet another thankless low-paying job at which her days will be numbered. As a former professional who once earned a six-figure salary, she doesn't suffer maltreatment gladly. She also doesn't tend to keep jobs that turn murderous, which, for Helen, is all of them. Helen shifts into sleuth mode when she stumbles upon yet another body, this time the remains of a universally disliked co-worker. Who had sufficient motive, opportunity and malevolence to perpetrate the crime? Helen and her boyfriend Phil leap into action to solve the mystery. This main plot, along with a humorous subplot involving Helen's brushes with, and avoidance of, her ex-husband, contribute to the pleasures of this delightful novel.

Viets cleverly characterizes the nature of "dead end" jobs in an amusing manner, accurately capturing the futility of the workplace for many--perhaps most--people, who cannot change jobs with alacrity.

The social commentary is leavened with humorous vignettes, an exaggerated plot line and an engaging narrative style. And Viets knows whereof she speaks; surprisingly, she has actually worked all of the jobs about which she writes.

Death of a Cozy Writer
Lynne Maxwell

Winner of the Malice Domestic Grant and the Romance Writers of America's 2006 Stiletto Award, G.M. Malliet comes to the mystery scene with impressive credentials. Death of a Cozy Writer, the first novel in the St. Just series, fully lives up to the promise of its author's burgeoning reputation. Polished prose and a sophisticated, engaging plot propel this novel set in Britain (familiar territory for Malliet who attended both Oxford and Cambridge).

Death of a Cozy Writer portrays a severely dysfunctional family governed by its nasty patriarch, the extraordinarily successful writer, Sir Adrian Beauclerk-Fisk. Sir Adrian uses his ever-shifting will as a means of dominating his avaricious adult children. When the favored oldest son is murdered, fear and suspicion pervade the household where the family has gathered to receive the news of Sir Adrian's marriage. Less shocking is the subsequent death of Sir Adrian himself, since he engendered no affection from his family. When Detective St. Just takes on the case, he confronts a conundrum: Who most hated the deceased?

Malliet excels at casting red herrings to suggest reasons why any of the characters might have wished to dispatch Sir Adrian. When the artfully concealed truth is finally revealed, however, it will be a surprise to a less than fully-attentive reader. Malliet's skillful debut demonstrates the sophistication one would expect of a much more established writer. I'm looking forward to her next genre-bender, Death and the Lit Chick.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

Winner of the Malice Domestic Grant and the Romance Writers of America's 2006 Stiletto Award, G.M. Malliet comes to the mystery scene with impressive credentials. Death of a Cozy Writer, the first novel in the St. Just series, fully lives up to the promise of its author's burgeoning reputation. Polished prose and a sophisticated, engaging plot propel this novel set in Britain (familiar territory for Malliet who attended both Oxford and Cambridge).

Death of a Cozy Writer portrays a severely dysfunctional family governed by its nasty patriarch, the extraordinarily successful writer, Sir Adrian Beauclerk-Fisk. Sir Adrian uses his ever-shifting will as a means of dominating his avaricious adult children. When the favored oldest son is murdered, fear and suspicion pervade the household where the family has gathered to receive the news of Sir Adrian's marriage. Less shocking is the subsequent death of Sir Adrian himself, since he engendered no affection from his family. When Detective St. Just takes on the case, he confronts a conundrum: Who most hated the deceased?

Malliet excels at casting red herrings to suggest reasons why any of the characters might have wished to dispatch Sir Adrian. When the artfully concealed truth is finally revealed, however, it will be a surprise to a less than fully-attentive reader. Malliet's skillful debut demonstrates the sophistication one would expect of a much more established writer. I'm looking forward to her next genre-bender, Death and the Lit Chick.

Drink to Yesterday & a Toast to Tomorrow
Charles L.P. Silet

Manning Coles was the pen name of Francis Oke Manning (1891-1959) and Cyril Henry Coles (1899-1965) who wrote some two dozen spy novels from 1940 to 1963, featuring Thomas Elphinstone Hambleton, a modern-language teacher turned British secret agent. Manning was a munitions worker during World War I and Coles, who enlisted as a teenager, was transferred to intelligence, and served during the Great War behind German lines as the youngest member of Britain's Foreign Intelligence Office, later MI6.

In the first of the Tommy Hambleton series, Drink to Yesterday, the hero plays a secondary role to Bill Saunders, one of Tommy's pre-war pupils. Bill is drafted (as Coles was) into the intelligence service because of his language proficiency, and is sent deep behind enemy lines. Saunders undertakes a series of daring exploits to sabotage the German war effort, including helping to disrupt a germ warfare plan and destroying a dirigible fleet destined to bomb London. All the while Tommy acts as backup for the daring Saunders. Bill escapes to England just ahead of the enemy at the novel's conclusion, but Tommy is reported missing and presumed dead.

A Toast to Tomorrow begins in the early 1930s during Hitler's first years in power. Tommy, who survives his presumed drowning in book one, is in hospital and suffering from amnesia. Recovered in body, if not mind, he gradually works his way up in the Nazi hierarchy to become Chief of Police and a member of Hitler's inner circle. As he gradually regains his memory, he realizes he is in a unique position to serve British intelligence once again--only this time from within the enemy's government. Tommy re-establishes contact with his old comrades in London through a radio play he has written that contains secret information in Morse code. As with Drink to Yesterday the narrative follows Tommy's life within the heart of enemy country, and explores the psychological tensions experienced by someone who is living a lie and always in danger of exposure and the threat of death.

This second book of the series brings together some of the same cast from the first, and it explores many of the same themes and events of the time that would go on to shape the Second World War.

The Manning Coles spy thrillers occupy a formative place in the development of the espionage novel. Coles stressed the day-to-day lives of spies, the need for secrecy even from loved ones, and the awful requirements of betrayal and death each spy must be willing to execute. His novels have an edge missing from much inter-war spy fiction before him, and his style paved the way for the sort of atmosphere that would later inform the work of John le Carr? and others. A Drink to Yesterday and A Toast to Tomorrow still read well for both their period flavor and their ripping good plots.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

Manning Coles was the pen name of Francis Oke Manning (1891-1959) and Cyril Henry Coles (1899-1965) who wrote some two dozen spy novels from 1940 to 1963, featuring Thomas Elphinstone Hambleton, a modern-language teacher turned British secret agent. Manning was a munitions worker during World War I and Coles, who enlisted as a teenager, was transferred to intelligence, and served during the Great War behind German lines as the youngest member of Britain's Foreign Intelligence Office, later MI6.

In the first of the Tommy Hambleton series, Drink to Yesterday, the hero plays a secondary role to Bill Saunders, one of Tommy's pre-war pupils. Bill is drafted (as Coles was) into the intelligence service because of his language proficiency, and is sent deep behind enemy lines. Saunders undertakes a series of daring exploits to sabotage the German war effort, including helping to disrupt a germ warfare plan and destroying a dirigible fleet destined to bomb London. All the while Tommy acts as backup for the daring Saunders. Bill escapes to England just ahead of the enemy at the novel's conclusion, but Tommy is reported missing and presumed dead.

A Toast to Tomorrow begins in the early 1930s during Hitler's first years in power. Tommy, who survives his presumed drowning in book one, is in hospital and suffering from amnesia. Recovered in body, if not mind, he gradually works his way up in the Nazi hierarchy to become Chief of Police and a member of Hitler's inner circle. As he gradually regains his memory, he realizes he is in a unique position to serve British intelligence once again--only this time from within the enemy's government. Tommy re-establishes contact with his old comrades in London through a radio play he has written that contains secret information in Morse code. As with Drink to Yesterday the narrative follows Tommy's life within the heart of enemy country, and explores the psychological tensions experienced by someone who is living a lie and always in danger of exposure and the threat of death.

This second book of the series brings together some of the same cast from the first, and it explores many of the same themes and events of the time that would go on to shape the Second World War.

The Manning Coles spy thrillers occupy a formative place in the development of the espionage novel. Coles stressed the day-to-day lives of spies, the need for secrecy even from loved ones, and the awful requirements of betrayal and death each spy must be willing to execute. His novels have an edge missing from much inter-war spy fiction before him, and his style paved the way for the sort of atmosphere that would later inform the work of John le Carr? and others. A Drink to Yesterday and A Toast to Tomorrow still read well for both their period flavor and their ripping good plots.

Empire of Lies
Hank Wagner

Although he has much to regret about his reckless youth, middle-aged Jason Harrow has certainly turned his life around, finding joy and satisfaction in his marriage, family, religion and work. Indeed, he's feeling a bit self-satisfied, almost smug about things, until the day he receives a call from an ex-girlfriend, reviving his worst fears about a past he bitterly regrets. Mere days after receiving that call, Harrow finds himself in a nightmare scenario that challenges his ingenuity, intelligence, and ultimately, his sanity.

Weighing in on the author's earlier novel, True Crime, Stephen King called Andrew Klavan "The most original American novelist of crime and suspense since Cornell Woolrich." Empire of Lies bears that statement out, as, evoking Woolrich, Klavan constructs a mind-boggling maze of conspiracy and paranoia. Like the stunned protagonist of a Hitchcock thriller, Harrow's world is turned upside down, to the point where he wonders, if he, like his deceased mother, is losing his mind.

Klavan, whose blogs indicate he sees the world in much the same way as his extremely conservative, headstrong, but likable protagonist, does an artful job of bringing the reader along, plunging both his audience and his hero into a world gone mad, while skillfully building towards an explosive and surprising crescendo.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

Although he has much to regret about his reckless youth, middle-aged Jason Harrow has certainly turned his life around, finding joy and satisfaction in his marriage, family, religion and work. Indeed, he's feeling a bit self-satisfied, almost smug about things, until the day he receives a call from an ex-girlfriend, reviving his worst fears about a past he bitterly regrets. Mere days after receiving that call, Harrow finds himself in a nightmare scenario that challenges his ingenuity, intelligence, and ultimately, his sanity.

Weighing in on the author's earlier novel, True Crime, Stephen King called Andrew Klavan "The most original American novelist of crime and suspense since Cornell Woolrich." Empire of Lies bears that statement out, as, evoking Woolrich, Klavan constructs a mind-boggling maze of conspiracy and paranoia. Like the stunned protagonist of a Hitchcock thriller, Harrow's world is turned upside down, to the point where he wonders, if he, like his deceased mother, is losing his mind.

Klavan, whose blogs indicate he sees the world in much the same way as his extremely conservative, headstrong, but likable protagonist, does an artful job of bringing the reader along, plunging both his audience and his hero into a world gone mad, while skillfully building towards an explosive and surprising crescendo.

Every Secret Crime
Barbara Fister

Author Doug Cummings knows his way around a newsroom, and so does his hero, Reno McCarthy, a sharp and energetic television journalist. When a teenager in an upscale Chicago suburb is shot dead in his own home, McCarthy smells a story. The more the police try to keep him away from it, the more determined he becomes. Though his aggressiveness as a reporter gets him in trouble with his bosses and the police, it's in his nature to keep digging, especially since he suspects the county's corrupt boss is involved.

The story itself is complex, with an undercurrent of emotion as McCarthy avoids dealing with the serious illness of a former friend. Unfortunately, despite plenty of action, the pacing is inconsistent, and the plot overly tangled at times. At well over 400 pages, some trimming and tightening would have made it a more compelling vehicle for its hero, whose authentic, tough-guy reporter voice is the real strength of Cummings'story.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

Author Doug Cummings knows his way around a newsroom, and so does his hero, Reno McCarthy, a sharp and energetic television journalist. When a teenager in an upscale Chicago suburb is shot dead in his own home, McCarthy smells a story. The more the police try to keep him away from it, the more determined he becomes. Though his aggressiveness as a reporter gets him in trouble with his bosses and the police, it's in his nature to keep digging, especially since he suspects the county's corrupt boss is involved.

The story itself is complex, with an undercurrent of emotion as McCarthy avoids dealing with the serious illness of a former friend. Unfortunately, despite plenty of action, the pacing is inconsistent, and the plot overly tangled at times. At well over 400 pages, some trimming and tightening would have made it a more compelling vehicle for its hero, whose authentic, tough-guy reporter voice is the real strength of Cummings'story.

Expert in Murder
Joseph Scarpato Jr.

In a highly entertaining blend of fact and fiction, first-time mystery novelist Nicola Upson introduces Josephine Tey in a mystery that takes place in 1934 London. The story revolves around a play called Richard of Bordeaux, which the real Josephine Tey wrote and which had a very successful West End run that year.

In this fictionalized account, Tey befriends a young girl on a London-bound train who plans to meet her lover, a stagehand at the theater. The first murder occurs shortly after the train arrives, and odd but obvious clues lead to a connection with the play and with the author herself. Detective Inspector Archie Penrose, a friend of Tey's, takes on the case and soon fears that her safety may also be in jeopardy.

When a second death occurs at the theater, and similar strange clues are left behind, Penrose realizes that the killer is on a mission that may involve more deaths if the case isn't solved quickly.

During her research Upson interviewed Sir John Gielgud who was the leading man in the real Richard of Bordeaux, a role which catapulted him into stardom. This debut mystery is written in a straightforward and assured style, similar to Tey's own.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

In a highly entertaining blend of fact and fiction, first-time mystery novelist Nicola Upson introduces Josephine Tey in a mystery that takes place in 1934 London. The story revolves around a play called Richard of Bordeaux, which the real Josephine Tey wrote and which had a very successful West End run that year.

In this fictionalized account, Tey befriends a young girl on a London-bound train who plans to meet her lover, a stagehand at the theater. The first murder occurs shortly after the train arrives, and odd but obvious clues lead to a connection with the play and with the author herself. Detective Inspector Archie Penrose, a friend of Tey's, takes on the case and soon fears that her safety may also be in jeopardy.

When a second death occurs at the theater, and similar strange clues are left behind, Penrose realizes that the killer is on a mission that may involve more deaths if the case isn't solved quickly.

During her research Upson interviewed Sir John Gielgud who was the leading man in the real Richard of Bordeaux, a role which catapulted him into stardom. This debut mystery is written in a straightforward and assured style, similar to Tey's own.

Fever
Kevin Burton Smith

Writers of any successful ongoing series eventually face a tough decision: freeze-dry your character and risk boring long-time readers, or let your hero age and grow and risk alienating those same readers. It's no easy call, and there are pitfalls either way. Authors as diverse as Rex Stout, Conan Doyle and Robert Parker all opted for the former; Pronzini, with his acclaimed Nameless series of private eye novels, has opted for the latter and has so far navigated with confidence the fine line between ho-hum familiarity and in-your-face novelty for the sake of novelty.

Long gone is the lone wolf San Francisco PI with his struggling one-man agency and his collection of musty old detective pulps. Nameless now has a name (disappointingly it's just "Bill"), and not one, but two partners: young, sassy Tamara, who manages the desk and yearns for more field work, and Jake Runyon, his chief op, whose tenacity and dedication Nameless admits is "something else again." Bill's also got a wife and a child, although the domestic catastrophes are turned down a notch this time, leaving more room for the good stuff.

And it's very good stuff indeed. Once again, Pronzini has alternated Nameless' classically hardboiled first-person narration (his gambling diatribe could've come right out of a John D. MacDonald novel) with third person point of view, as he follows the parallel adventures, both personal and professional, of his associates. The central case is a wandering wife job, tracking down a woman with a nasty gambling jones. With all three detectives sharing leads, though, the woman is quickly tracked down and returned home--only to promptly disappear again, leaving blood on the kitchen floor and her unpleasant husband as the prime suspect in her murder. Pronzini deftly weaves all these disparate threads into a taut, knotty rope of a plot, eventually bringing it all home in a thematically and narratively satisfying but heartbreaking conclusion.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

Writers of any successful ongoing series eventually face a tough decision: freeze-dry your character and risk boring long-time readers, or let your hero age and grow and risk alienating those same readers. It's no easy call, and there are pitfalls either way. Authors as diverse as Rex Stout, Conan Doyle and Robert Parker all opted for the former; Pronzini, with his acclaimed Nameless series of private eye novels, has opted for the latter and has so far navigated with confidence the fine line between ho-hum familiarity and in-your-face novelty for the sake of novelty.

Long gone is the lone wolf San Francisco PI with his struggling one-man agency and his collection of musty old detective pulps. Nameless now has a name (disappointingly it's just "Bill"), and not one, but two partners: young, sassy Tamara, who manages the desk and yearns for more field work, and Jake Runyon, his chief op, whose tenacity and dedication Nameless admits is "something else again." Bill's also got a wife and a child, although the domestic catastrophes are turned down a notch this time, leaving more room for the good stuff.

And it's very good stuff indeed. Once again, Pronzini has alternated Nameless' classically hardboiled first-person narration (his gambling diatribe could've come right out of a John D. MacDonald novel) with third person point of view, as he follows the parallel adventures, both personal and professional, of his associates. The central case is a wandering wife job, tracking down a woman with a nasty gambling jones. With all three detectives sharing leads, though, the woman is quickly tracked down and returned home--only to promptly disappear again, leaving blood on the kitchen floor and her unpleasant husband as the prime suspect in her murder. Pronzini deftly weaves all these disparate threads into a taut, knotty rope of a plot, eventually bringing it all home in a thematically and narratively satisfying but heartbreaking conclusion.

Fisherman's Bend
Sue Emmons

Jane Bunker, a relocated Miami homicide detective, is back for a second Maine seafaring mystery after her well-regarded debut in Slipknot (2007). After returning to the tiny coastal town of Green Haven where she was born but which she left as a child, Jane discovers her new home is anything but the quiet backwater she expected.

Jane, who is in her 40s, is now working as a marine insurance investigator as well as a deputy sheriff of Knox County. On her way to investigate a report of vandalism aboard a research ship, she discovers an abandoned lobster boat, running in aimless circles in the harbor with its captain missing. The question quickly becomes whether the lobsterman fell from his craft or committed suicide. Jane finds herself aboard the research ship as acoustic imaging equipment is pressed into use in an effort to locate the body on the ocean floor. Find one, they do. Just one problem--it is not that of the missing fisherman. Instead, it is an unidentified man smeared in red paint, with a bait iron thrust into his chest. Edge of the seat suspense builds as Jane pursues the case along the rugged Maine coast while dodging a series of dangerous mishaps.

Jane Bunker is an engaging protagonist, both tough and quirky. She is a welcome addition to the ranks of female sleuths who are no damsels in distress, but who offer readers intelligent heroines and plots to match. The titles of Greenlaw's books in this series are based on the names of fisherman's knots, and readers will want to stay topside for her next seagoing adventure.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

Jane Bunker, a relocated Miami homicide detective, is back for a second Maine seafaring mystery after her well-regarded debut in Slipknot (2007). After returning to the tiny coastal town of Green Haven where she was born but which she left as a child, Jane discovers her new home is anything but the quiet backwater she expected.

Jane, who is in her 40s, is now working as a marine insurance investigator as well as a deputy sheriff of Knox County. On her way to investigate a report of vandalism aboard a research ship, she discovers an abandoned lobster boat, running in aimless circles in the harbor with its captain missing. The question quickly becomes whether the lobsterman fell from his craft or committed suicide. Jane finds herself aboard the research ship as acoustic imaging equipment is pressed into use in an effort to locate the body on the ocean floor. Find one, they do. Just one problem--it is not that of the missing fisherman. Instead, it is an unidentified man smeared in red paint, with a bait iron thrust into his chest. Edge of the seat suspense builds as Jane pursues the case along the rugged Maine coast while dodging a series of dangerous mishaps.

Jane Bunker is an engaging protagonist, both tough and quirky. She is a welcome addition to the ranks of female sleuths who are no damsels in distress, but who offer readers intelligent heroines and plots to match. The titles of Greenlaw's books in this series are based on the names of fisherman's knots, and readers will want to stay topside for her next seagoing adventure.

Fixation
Jackie Houchin

Brian Hanson is a Vietnam vet who struggles with violent impulses and reoccurring nightmares from his days in the service. He's also a trained therapist who tries to help his troubled patients work through their problems. Sometimes he succeeds at both.

But when his would-be girlfriend, FBI Agent Louise Parker spirals into depression after leading a disastrous raid that leaves a fellow officer dead, a psycho killer on the loose, and herself under intense investigation, Brian finds his counseling skills are not enough.

When stalkers begin targeting her in a string of increasingly malicious attacks, Brian's old urges for violence surface; and while Louise attempts an unofficial investigation, Brian seeks help from a different sort of friend. Their searches take them to an old military museum and into the dark "Shanghai" tunnels beneath Portland.

The escalating violence and tension in Fixation will have readers' hearts pounding even though at times Schorr seems to insert violence for the sake of violence. Aficionados of martial arts will enjoy the combat play, but the creepy underground tunnel scenes are not for the squeamish or the claustrophobic. Readers might be put off by Schorr's protagonist, who at times seems to need as much counseling as his patients, and the author's occasional soap box style. But for intricate plotting, suspenseful thrills, and an honest ending, give him top marks.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

Brian Hanson is a Vietnam vet who struggles with violent impulses and reoccurring nightmares from his days in the service. He's also a trained therapist who tries to help his troubled patients work through their problems. Sometimes he succeeds at both.

But when his would-be girlfriend, FBI Agent Louise Parker spirals into depression after leading a disastrous raid that leaves a fellow officer dead, a psycho killer on the loose, and herself under intense investigation, Brian finds his counseling skills are not enough.

When stalkers begin targeting her in a string of increasingly malicious attacks, Brian's old urges for violence surface; and while Louise attempts an unofficial investigation, Brian seeks help from a different sort of friend. Their searches take them to an old military museum and into the dark "Shanghai" tunnels beneath Portland.

The escalating violence and tension in Fixation will have readers' hearts pounding even though at times Schorr seems to insert violence for the sake of violence. Aficionados of martial arts will enjoy the combat play, but the creepy underground tunnel scenes are not for the squeamish or the claustrophobic. Readers might be put off by Schorr's protagonist, who at times seems to need as much counseling as his patients, and the author's occasional soap box style. But for intricate plotting, suspenseful thrills, and an honest ending, give him top marks.

Frames
Charles L.P. Silet

Frames is a movie-lovers mystery featuring film archivist/sleuth Valentino who tracks down missing or wayward copies of silent movies for the UCLA film preservation program. It all begins when Valentino, who is looking for a new place to live, foolishly buys a rundown movie palace with connections to what he calls the "lost ancient civilization of Hollywood." His life is immensely complicated when he accidentally opens a secret Prohibition-era liquor vault in the basement wherein lies a skeleton and some lost film cans of an Eric von Stroheim masterpiece.

The LAPD is called in and he meets forensic expert Harriet Johansen, but in order to keep the fragile film from being impounded as evidence, Valentino and crew must solve the murder themselves. Along with his quirky boss Dr. Broadhead, smart and resourceful law student Fanta, and Harriet, he begins a quest for the holy grail of lost films: the complete eight to ten-hour version of Eric von Stroheim's epic Greed.

Loren Estleman is a veteran crime writer of over 60 novels so he knows how to craft a story with both humor and suspense. Frames is the first of a projected new series. Let's hope it continues: this is a delightful read.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

Frames is a movie-lovers mystery featuring film archivist/sleuth Valentino who tracks down missing or wayward copies of silent movies for the UCLA film preservation program. It all begins when Valentino, who is looking for a new place to live, foolishly buys a rundown movie palace with connections to what he calls the "lost ancient civilization of Hollywood." His life is immensely complicated when he accidentally opens a secret Prohibition-era liquor vault in the basement wherein lies a skeleton and some lost film cans of an Eric von Stroheim masterpiece.

The LAPD is called in and he meets forensic expert Harriet Johansen, but in order to keep the fragile film from being impounded as evidence, Valentino and crew must solve the murder themselves. Along with his quirky boss Dr. Broadhead, smart and resourceful law student Fanta, and Harriet, he begins a quest for the holy grail of lost films: the complete eight to ten-hour version of Eric von Stroheim's epic Greed.

Loren Estleman is a veteran crime writer of over 60 novels so he knows how to craft a story with both humor and suspense. Frames is the first of a projected new series. Let's hope it continues: this is a delightful read.

Hit and Run
Kevin Burton Smith

If there's a Nobel Prize for the Sweetest Novel About an Assassin, this one gets my vote.

Yeah. "Sweet." Because that's exactly what the latest in Block's Keller series is.After years of flying here and there, dispassionately dispatching assorted souls to meet their maker, the affable hit man reckons it's time to retire. Visions of a life of leisure, nested in his NYC apartment watching his large-screen TV and working on his beloved stamp collection dancing in his head, he informs Dot, his business partner and one true friend, that his upcoming assignment, a nothing-special hit in Des Moines, will be his last. Why not, Dot figures? Thanks to some shrewd investments, they both have enough to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.

But Keller never gets to complete his last job and instead finds himself the subject of a nation-wide manhunt, framed for the assassination of the popular Obama-like governor of Ohio.

Reduced to the money he has on hand, with Dot missing and presumed dead, and the law closing in, the chameleon-like killer has no choice but to take it on the run, doing so in spectacular fashion, reinventing himself as he goes, revealing often surprising resources. To reveal more would be unfair, but suffice to say that fans both old and new will be delighted--and yes, even charmed--by the unexpected twists and turns, both domestic and homicidal, that Keller's quixotic quest takes. Like I said, sweet.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

If there's a Nobel Prize for the Sweetest Novel About an Assassin, this one gets my vote.

Yeah. "Sweet." Because that's exactly what the latest in Block's Keller series is.After years of flying here and there, dispassionately dispatching assorted souls to meet their maker, the affable hit man reckons it's time to retire. Visions of a life of leisure, nested in his NYC apartment watching his large-screen TV and working on his beloved stamp collection dancing in his head, he informs Dot, his business partner and one true friend, that his upcoming assignment, a nothing-special hit in Des Moines, will be his last. Why not, Dot figures? Thanks to some shrewd investments, they both have enough to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.

But Keller never gets to complete his last job and instead finds himself the subject of a nation-wide manhunt, framed for the assassination of the popular Obama-like governor of Ohio.

Reduced to the money he has on hand, with Dot missing and presumed dead, and the law closing in, the chameleon-like killer has no choice but to take it on the run, doing so in spectacular fashion, reinventing himself as he goes, revealing often surprising resources. To reveal more would be unfair, but suffice to say that fans both old and new will be delighted--and yes, even charmed--by the unexpected twists and turns, both domestic and homicidal, that Keller's quixotic quest takes. Like I said, sweet.

Hungry Ghosts
Sue Reider

Stuntwoman Darcy Lott returns to her native San Francisco as an assistant to Zen teacher Leo Garston. A family friend, who bears an uncanny resemblance to her missing brother Michael, has donated a teaching space to the new school. Darcy encounters her childhood friend, Tia Dru, at the zendo's opening reception, but the next day, Tia's body is found in Leo's room and Darcy must investigate to save her teacher.

Darcy is not thrilled to be home. After more than 20 years, she is still obsessed with Michael's disappearance, and resents her older siblings for their apparent indifference. Slowly however, Darcy gains insight into how her family sees her, and begins to view her brothers and sisters as adults. Through learning some of her family's hidden secrets, she learns much about herself.

The entire novel and each of the characters are multi-layered. Each individual embodying contradictions that make him or her realistic--and his or her reactions unpredictable. This leads to some surprising twists and turns.

Dunlap does not waste words and the very succinct quality of her writing is such that any detail can become important. The action is fast-paced, and the sometimes almost abrupt style adds to the emotional intensity of the story. Initially, I wasn't sure whether I liked this, but soon found it very gripping as Hungry Ghost's multiple plot lines are eventually brought together into a seamless, stunning conclusion.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

Stuntwoman Darcy Lott returns to her native San Francisco as an assistant to Zen teacher Leo Garston. A family friend, who bears an uncanny resemblance to her missing brother Michael, has donated a teaching space to the new school. Darcy encounters her childhood friend, Tia Dru, at the zendo's opening reception, but the next day, Tia's body is found in Leo's room and Darcy must investigate to save her teacher.

Darcy is not thrilled to be home. After more than 20 years, she is still obsessed with Michael's disappearance, and resents her older siblings for their apparent indifference. Slowly however, Darcy gains insight into how her family sees her, and begins to view her brothers and sisters as adults. Through learning some of her family's hidden secrets, she learns much about herself.

The entire novel and each of the characters are multi-layered. Each individual embodying contradictions that make him or her realistic--and his or her reactions unpredictable. This leads to some surprising twists and turns.

Dunlap does not waste words and the very succinct quality of her writing is such that any detail can become important. The action is fast-paced, and the sometimes almost abrupt style adds to the emotional intensity of the story. Initially, I wasn't sure whether I liked this, but soon found it very gripping as Hungry Ghost's multiple plot lines are eventually brought together into a seamless, stunning conclusion.

I Shall Not Want
Joseph Scarpato Jr.

Someone is murdering migrant Latino farm workers in upstate New York, and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne isn't sure whether it's the work of a Latino gang that runs the drug trade in the area, a local family of violent rednecks, or a serial killer. When another body is discovered and the news media begins to sensationalize the story, he and his crew turn up the heat.

With the unsolicited assistance of his feisty on-again-off-again love interest, Episcopalian Reverend Clare Fergusson, and a new female police recruit, Hadley Knox, his investigation moves into high gear when another migrant worker goes missing. As new clues are developed, the case becomes even more confusing and Clare herself becomes a target.

This is the sixth of the increasingly-popular Fergusson/Van Alstyne novels. The hard-to-categorize series is a police procedural whodunit with strong romantic overtones and an amateur sleuth on the side. However you classify it, Spencer-Fleming makes it work with strong plotting and powerful writing, particularly in the action scenes.

Spencer-Fleming's work has won numerous awards in the mystery field, including the Agatha, Anthony, Barry, Dilys, Macavity and Nero. Although there are a number of references to previous entries in this series, you don't have to have read all, or any, to enjoy this latest novel.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

Someone is murdering migrant Latino farm workers in upstate New York, and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne isn't sure whether it's the work of a Latino gang that runs the drug trade in the area, a local family of violent rednecks, or a serial killer. When another body is discovered and the news media begins to sensationalize the story, he and his crew turn up the heat.

With the unsolicited assistance of his feisty on-again-off-again love interest, Episcopalian Reverend Clare Fergusson, and a new female police recruit, Hadley Knox, his investigation moves into high gear when another migrant worker goes missing. As new clues are developed, the case becomes even more confusing and Clare herself becomes a target.

This is the sixth of the increasingly-popular Fergusson/Van Alstyne novels. The hard-to-categorize series is a police procedural whodunit with strong romantic overtones and an amateur sleuth on the side. However you classify it, Spencer-Fleming makes it work with strong plotting and powerful writing, particularly in the action scenes.

Spencer-Fleming's work has won numerous awards in the mystery field, including the Agatha, Anthony, Barry, Dilys, Macavity and Nero. Although there are a number of references to previous entries in this series, you don't have to have read all, or any, to enjoy this latest novel.

In the Heat
Hank Wagner

In this well-crafted debut, Vasquez creates an intriguing amateur detective in the form of aging boxer Miles Young, who, as this novel begins, has just lost what might have been the last fight of his career. This makes him all the more vulnerable when he's approached by Isabelle Gilmore, one of his native Belize's most prominent (and notorious) citizens. Isabelle wants Miles to find her daughter Rian, who has run way with her ne'er do well boyfriend Joel and absconded with a substantial amount of her mother's funds in the process. She promises to pay Young handsomely for his efforts, and throws in the prospect of a bout with a major contender in three weeks time as a sweetener. Miles agrees, but soon comes to regret his decision, as he begins to divine Gilmore's hidden motives--secrets that put him directly in harm's way.

Vasquez writes with great verve and assurance, bringing his protagonist and the island of Belize to vivid life, slowly raising the stakes page by page, chapter by chapter, skillfully cutting back and forth between an intriguing cast of colorful characters and locales. Although the publicity materials accurately compare Vasquez to writers like Dennis Lehane and James W. Hall, comparisons to Ernest Hemingway seem more apt, especially when it comes to his depiction of the solid, stolid Young, who soldiers on in his quest against steadily mounting odds. Although a bit pig-headed, Miles Young is a winning, flawed by heroic leading man who will quickly earn readers' admiration.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

In this well-crafted debut, Vasquez creates an intriguing amateur detective in the form of aging boxer Miles Young, who, as this novel begins, has just lost what might have been the last fight of his career. This makes him all the more vulnerable when he's approached by Isabelle Gilmore, one of his native Belize's most prominent (and notorious) citizens. Isabelle wants Miles to find her daughter Rian, who has run way with her ne'er do well boyfriend Joel and absconded with a substantial amount of her mother's funds in the process. She promises to pay Young handsomely for his efforts, and throws in the prospect of a bout with a major contender in three weeks time as a sweetener. Miles agrees, but soon comes to regret his decision, as he begins to divine Gilmore's hidden motives--secrets that put him directly in harm's way.

Vasquez writes with great verve and assurance, bringing his protagonist and the island of Belize to vivid life, slowly raising the stakes page by page, chapter by chapter, skillfully cutting back and forth between an intriguing cast of colorful characters and locales. Although the publicity materials accurately compare Vasquez to writers like Dennis Lehane and James W. Hall, comparisons to Ernest Hemingway seem more apt, especially when it comes to his depiction of the solid, stolid Young, who soldiers on in his quest against steadily mounting odds. Although a bit pig-headed, Miles Young is a winning, flawed by heroic leading man who will quickly earn readers' admiration.

In the Wind
Verna Suit

PI Anni Koskinen was a Chicago cop until she testified against a fellow officer and became a pariah on the force. When a local priest asks her to help church worker Rosa Saenz, a '70s radical who's been hiding for 30 years, Anni again risks trouble to do the right thing--and she's not even certain what the right thing is. The evidence against Rosa is flimsy but she is accused of killing an FBI agent who was the father of Anni's friend and mentor Jim Tilquist.

Anni came up hard, abandoned first by her mother and then by her colleagues and Fister writes thoughtfully from Anni's perspective about the oppressed: Native Americans, easily intimidated new immigrants, people struggling with mental illness, and homeless derelicts written off by society. Fister is particularly effective in her portrayals of Anni's autistic brother Martin and the Tilquists' bi-polar daughter Sophie.

In The Wind is a tough, engrossing story where the good guys can be the bad guys, and political passions from the Vietnam War and erosions of civil rights under the Patriot Act come together with enough moral ambiguity to blur lines. All in all, it makes one glad to know the underground is still alive.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

PI Anni Koskinen was a Chicago cop until she testified against a fellow officer and became a pariah on the force. When a local priest asks her to help church worker Rosa Saenz, a '70s radical who's been hiding for 30 years, Anni again risks trouble to do the right thing--and she's not even certain what the right thing is. The evidence against Rosa is flimsy but she is accused of killing an FBI agent who was the father of Anni's friend and mentor Jim Tilquist.

Anni came up hard, abandoned first by her mother and then by her colleagues and Fister writes thoughtfully from Anni's perspective about the oppressed: Native Americans, easily intimidated new immigrants, people struggling with mental illness, and homeless derelicts written off by society. Fister is particularly effective in her portrayals of Anni's autistic brother Martin and the Tilquists' bi-polar daughter Sophie.

In The Wind is a tough, engrossing story where the good guys can be the bad guys, and political passions from the Vietnam War and erosions of civil rights under the Patriot Act come together with enough moral ambiguity to blur lines. All in all, it makes one glad to know the underground is still alive.

Island of Lost Girls
Barbara Fister

McMahon proves her extraordinary talent is no fluke in a strong follow-up to her original and imaginative debut, Promise Not to Tell. When Rhonda Farr stops at a gas station on her way to interview for a job she doesn't want, she watches as a six-foot-tall white rabbit beckons to a small girl sitting in a nearby car. The girl smiles and climbs out to take his paw. It's not until they're out of sight that Rhonda realizes she's witnessed an abduction. Nobody knows who the man in the rabbit suit could be. And the little girl vanishes completely--just like Rhonda's best friend, Lizzy, who disappeared when they were children.

Residents of Rhonda's small New England community throw themselves into the search, and she becomes obsessed with the vanished child, feeling instinctively there's a connection with her own past and her close circle of friends, a circle that was broken when Lizzy vanished.

McMahon's genius is in the lyrical depiction of childhood relationships and the imaginative landscape they inhabit. The story weaves between past and present, with vividly realized scenes set in the past where characters, as children, acted out a performance of Peter Pan in a forest clearing, poised at the threshold between Neverland and adulthood. However, in this version of the story, it's not the boys who are lost. Though there are none of the supernatural elements of McMahon's first novel, she shows again that she has a rare gift for plumbing the emotional depths of childhood friendships. Even without ghosts, the Island of Lost Girls is haunting.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

McMahon proves her extraordinary talent is no fluke in a strong follow-up to her original and imaginative debut, Promise Not to Tell. When Rhonda Farr stops at a gas station on her way to interview for a job she doesn't want, she watches as a six-foot-tall white rabbit beckons to a small girl sitting in a nearby car. The girl smiles and climbs out to take his paw. It's not until they're out of sight that Rhonda realizes she's witnessed an abduction. Nobody knows who the man in the rabbit suit could be. And the little girl vanishes completely--just like Rhonda's best friend, Lizzy, who disappeared when they were children.

Residents of Rhonda's small New England community throw themselves into the search, and she becomes obsessed with the vanished child, feeling instinctively there's a connection with her own past and her close circle of friends, a circle that was broken when Lizzy vanished.

McMahon's genius is in the lyrical depiction of childhood relationships and the imaginative landscape they inhabit. The story weaves between past and present, with vividly realized scenes set in the past where characters, as children, acted out a performance of Peter Pan in a forest clearing, poised at the threshold between Neverland and adulthood. However, in this version of the story, it's not the boys who are lost. Though there are none of the supernatural elements of McMahon's first novel, she shows again that she has a rare gift for plumbing the emotional depths of childhood friendships. Even without ghosts, the Island of Lost Girls is haunting.

Mighty Old Bones
Lynne Maxwell

Mighty Old Bones is the second Thistle and Twigg mystery, following last year's eponymous Thistle and Twigg. Lest you think that Saums has written a mystery with a "green" theme, let me assure you that this is not the case. In fact, Thistle and Twigg are the surnames of two unlikely friends, Jane Thistle and Phoebe Twigg. Jane Thistle is a reserved Brit who has landed in Tullulah, Alabama, after a globe-trotting life as the wife of a Colonel, now deceased. In addition to being an amateur archeologist, Jane is also a skilled markswoman. Most incongruous of all, though, she is also a former spy.

Retired librarian Phoebe Twigg, on the other hand, is a lifelong resident of Tullulah. Although she's a confirmed homebody, the exuberant Phoebe has a late-blooming yen for adventure. When she and Jane become friends during an investigation, Phoebe's life takes a turn for the exciting as she encounters bodies and assists in solving murders. Under Jane's tutelage, she even develops a passion for guns. When Jane and Phoebe stumble upon "mighty old bones" buried on Jane's property, the action begins as outsiders vie for access to what might be a valuable archaeological find.

Add to all this a supernatural element, since Jane can see and take counsel from ghosts, and you have the makings of a unique mystery. Jane and Phoebe alternate chapters, recounting the book's events from their own perspectives. All told, then, Mighty Old Bones is a mighty interesting novel.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:02:23

Mighty Old Bones is the second Thistle and Twigg mystery, following last year's eponymous Thistle and Twigg. Lest you think that Saums has written a mystery with a "green" theme, let me assure you that this is not the case. In fact, Thistle and Twigg are the surnames of two unlikely friends, Jane Thistle and Phoebe Twigg. Jane Thistle is a reserved Brit who has landed in Tullulah, Alabama, after a globe-trotting life as the wife of a Colonel, now deceased. In addition to being an amateur archeologist, Jane is also a skilled markswoman. Most incongruous of all, though, she is also a former spy.

Retired librarian Phoebe Twigg, on the other hand, is a lifelong resident of Tullulah. Although she's a confirmed homebody, the exuberant Phoebe has a late-blooming yen for adventure. When she and Jane become friends during an investigation, Phoebe's life takes a turn for the exciting as she encounters bodies and assists in solving murders. Under Jane's tutelage, she even develops a passion for guns. When Jane and Phoebe stumble upon "mighty old bones" buried on Jane's property, the action begins as outsiders vie for access to what might be a valuable archaeological find.

Add to all this a supernatural element, since Jane can see and take counsel from ghosts, and you have the makings of a unique mystery. Jane and Phoebe alternate chapters, recounting the book's events from their own perspectives. All told, then, Mighty Old Bones is a mighty interesting novel.

Murder at the Bad Girl's Bar and Grill
Lynne Maxwell

Shaye Areheart Books, June 2008, $23.00This book isn't for everyone, but if you're a fan of zany postmodern fiction, you'll love N.M. Kelby's wildly imaginative plot and narrative style. In fact, not since Thomas Pynchon have I encountered such manically humorous storytelling. Take, for instance, the aptly named Brian Wilson, a security guard in the fictional Florida town Laguna Key. When, within the opening pages, Wilson hears vultures hissing as they feed on carrion, he investigates and finds himself in the thick of the vulture feast: "...Wilson flinched and the other birds began, again, their hissing. Spat at him. Bits of undigested flesh covered his shirt, turned the cool morning air acid...And so Wilson did the only thing that a man in his position could do. He sang 'Surfer Girl.'" And this is just the first example of Kelby's twisted genius, combining the macabre with the incongruous.

In truth, it's hard to tell what this book is about, but that's part of the fun. My best guess is that it unravels Brian Wilson's quixotic quest to solve several murders occurring in the vicinity of the Bad Girl's Bar and Grill.

In addition to Brian Wilson, it features wacky characters such as Danni, owner of the bar and former "Queen of Scream," having starred in a handful of dreadful horror movies. Then there's Buddy, a Barry Manilow imitator who ends up being murdered. And Buddy has a shih-tzu named Mandy. I won't even enumerate the increasingly bizarre cast of characters. Suffice it to say, they fully live up to the standards Kelby sets from the beginning.

All told, Murder at the Bad Girl's Bar and Grill defies description, even as it demands experience. To see for yourself, belly up to the bar and check out this psychedelic whirl of a mystery.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:07:34

Shaye Areheart Books, June 2008, $23.00This book isn't for everyone, but if you're a fan of zany postmodern fiction, you'll love N.M. Kelby's wildly imaginative plot and narrative style. In fact, not since Thomas Pynchon have I encountered such manically humorous storytelling. Take, for instance, the aptly named Brian Wilson, a security guard in the fictional Florida town Laguna Key. When, within the opening pages, Wilson hears vultures hissing as they feed on carrion, he investigates and finds himself in the thick of the vulture feast: "...Wilson flinched and the other birds began, again, their hissing. Spat at him. Bits of undigested flesh covered his shirt, turned the cool morning air acid...And so Wilson did the only thing that a man in his position could do. He sang 'Surfer Girl.'" And this is just the first example of Kelby's twisted genius, combining the macabre with the incongruous.

In truth, it's hard to tell what this book is about, but that's part of the fun. My best guess is that it unravels Brian Wilson's quixotic quest to solve several murders occurring in the vicinity of the Bad Girl's Bar and Grill.

In addition to Brian Wilson, it features wacky characters such as Danni, owner of the bar and former "Queen of Scream," having starred in a handful of dreadful horror movies. Then there's Buddy, a Barry Manilow imitator who ends up being murdered. And Buddy has a shih-tzu named Mandy. I won't even enumerate the increasingly bizarre cast of characters. Suffice it to say, they fully live up to the standards Kelby sets from the beginning.

All told, Murder at the Bad Girl's Bar and Grill defies description, even as it demands experience. To see for yourself, belly up to the bar and check out this psychedelic whirl of a mystery.

Murder at the Hotel Cinema
Helen Francini

At the grand opening of Los Angeles' five-star Hotel Cinema, a young movie star plunges to her death in the hotel pool. Stab wounds on her body prove that this death was no drowning accident. With the press and paparazzi at his doorstep, Trevor Lambert, the Canadian-born general manager, has to save the reputation of the hotel and prevent any other guests from being murdered. On top of everything, Trevor is also coming to terms with the airplane accident that killed the woman he wanted to marry.

Murder at the Hotel Cinema brings together a host of hilarious Tinseltown caricatures: a grieving actor boyfriend, a dragon of a personal assistant, and a police detective with dreams of stardom. Chief among the Hotel Cinema's equally eccentric staff are hotel owner Tony Cavalli, a star-struck Italian-American gangster who insists on staffing his property with a seemingly endless supply of gum-chewing relatives from Brooklyn, a celebrity-phobic sales manager, two front desk clerks who insist on addressing their manager as "Treva," and a dedicated chief engineer who may or may not have something shady in his past.

Author Craig, an ex-general manager himself, delivers in this comedic summer mystery. Take Murder at the Hotel Cinema with you on vacation for a rainy day, and you may not even notice when it rains.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:07:34

At the grand opening of Los Angeles' five-star Hotel Cinema, a young movie star plunges to her death in the hotel pool. Stab wounds on her body prove that this death was no drowning accident. With the press and paparazzi at his doorstep, Trevor Lambert, the Canadian-born general manager, has to save the reputation of the hotel and prevent any other guests from being murdered. On top of everything, Trevor is also coming to terms with the airplane accident that killed the woman he wanted to marry.

Murder at the Hotel Cinema brings together a host of hilarious Tinseltown caricatures: a grieving actor boyfriend, a dragon of a personal assistant, and a police detective with dreams of stardom. Chief among the Hotel Cinema's equally eccentric staff are hotel owner Tony Cavalli, a star-struck Italian-American gangster who insists on staffing his property with a seemingly endless supply of gum-chewing relatives from Brooklyn, a celebrity-phobic sales manager, two front desk clerks who insist on addressing their manager as "Treva," and a dedicated chief engineer who may or may not have something shady in his past.

Author Craig, an ex-general manager himself, delivers in this comedic summer mystery. Take Murder at the Hotel Cinema with you on vacation for a rainy day, and you may not even notice when it rains.

Not in the Flesh
Dianne Day

The versatile and prolific Ruth Rendell gives us Chief Inspector Wexford in top form in this, his 21st mystery. This time he is drawn away from home territory in Kingsmarkham to the nearby village of Flagford, where a truffle-hunting dog has sniffed out human bones in Old Grimble's Field. The bones, it seems, have been there for the 11 years since Old Grimble died and left the place to his stepson, an unpleasant heir who wanted to tear down the cottage and build four houses--until the eccentric, mostly elderly neighbors stopped him. A murder is presumed, but who was it, and who did it? Wexford turns the investigation over to the well-honed team of police officers readers have come to know.

The point is not so much the horror of the crime, but a fascination with characters and milieu, especially the impact of the 21st century on the village. Reginald Wexford is an unusual police protagonist: he has few discernible bad habits, likes his work, and loves his wife. Readers, particularly we who have grown older along with Wexford, may be amused by his Sergeant Hannah's chiding of certain out-of-date attitudes, but Wexford tries. In a subplot concerning genital mutilation of Somali emigrant girls, he tries very hard indeed. He also prods his team to a successful conclusion of the main crime with characteristic laidback, yet relentless style. This is, as ever, a most enjoyable read.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:07:34

The versatile and prolific Ruth Rendell gives us Chief Inspector Wexford in top form in this, his 21st mystery. This time he is drawn away from home territory in Kingsmarkham to the nearby village of Flagford, where a truffle-hunting dog has sniffed out human bones in Old Grimble's Field. The bones, it seems, have been there for the 11 years since Old Grimble died and left the place to his stepson, an unpleasant heir who wanted to tear down the cottage and build four houses--until the eccentric, mostly elderly neighbors stopped him. A murder is presumed, but who was it, and who did it? Wexford turns the investigation over to the well-honed team of police officers readers have come to know.

The point is not so much the horror of the crime, but a fascination with characters and milieu, especially the impact of the 21st century on the village. Reginald Wexford is an unusual police protagonist: he has few discernible bad habits, likes his work, and loves his wife. Readers, particularly we who have grown older along with Wexford, may be amused by his Sergeant Hannah's chiding of certain out-of-date attitudes, but Wexford tries. In a subplot concerning genital mutilation of Somali emigrant girls, he tries very hard indeed. He also prods his team to a successful conclusion of the main crime with characteristic laidback, yet relentless style. This is, as ever, a most enjoyable read.

Nothing to Lose
Verna Suit

As itinerant ex-marine MP Jack Reacher travels the country, he passes through Hope, Colorado, and on a whim detours to Hope's neighboring town, Despair. Where Hope is pretty and welcoming, Despair is dowdy, gloomy, and throws strangers out of town. But the people of Despair make a grave mistake when they throw out Jack Reacher. He's "a large stranger with nothing to lose," and hates turning back. Soon Reacher is investigating the huge metal recycling plant that dominates the town, and the town boss who owns Despair and all its residents.

Nothing to Lose is Child's 12th Jack Reacher thriller and will be warmly welcomed by Reacher's many fans. Physically Reacher's in his usual fine form, "a spectacular mesomorph" always ready for action and always in control. He is refreshingly unfettered. He makes his own rules and never hesitates to do whatever's necessary. Fortunately for the world and righteous readers, he's morally on the side of good. When an unexplained military guard unit stationed nearby suggests that Despair's sinister forces have something shady to do with the Iraq War, Reacher is there to put the world back on the right path. The excitement in Nothing to Lose never lets up. Bones will break and worse before he's done, but with Reacher on the case we know things will turn out fine.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:07:34

As itinerant ex-marine MP Jack Reacher travels the country, he passes through Hope, Colorado, and on a whim detours to Hope's neighboring town, Despair. Where Hope is pretty and welcoming, Despair is dowdy, gloomy, and throws strangers out of town. But the people of Despair make a grave mistake when they throw out Jack Reacher. He's "a large stranger with nothing to lose," and hates turning back. Soon Reacher is investigating the huge metal recycling plant that dominates the town, and the town boss who owns Despair and all its residents.

Nothing to Lose is Child's 12th Jack Reacher thriller and will be warmly welcomed by Reacher's many fans. Physically Reacher's in his usual fine form, "a spectacular mesomorph" always ready for action and always in control. He is refreshingly unfettered. He makes his own rules and never hesitates to do whatever's necessary. Fortunately for the world and righteous readers, he's morally on the side of good. When an unexplained military guard unit stationed nearby suggests that Despair's sinister forces have something shady to do with the Iraq War, Reacher is there to put the world back on the right path. The excitement in Nothing to Lose never lets up. Bones will break and worse before he's done, but with Reacher on the case we know things will turn out fine.

Politics Noir: Dark Tales From
Kevin Burton Smith

Wouldn't you know it? I'd just wrapped up my column on the PI genre and politics when this one comes winging in over the transom, fangs bared. The corridors of power, it turns out, are even nastier than Chandler's fabled mean streets in Gary Phillips' fierce new collection of politically-charged hardboiled and noir tales.

This book is about as in your face as it gets, an unapologetic no-holds-barred slice of venom aimed at the powers that be and the corruption and ideological treachery and unbounded ambition that is.

To be sure, a lot of these relentlessly black-hearted stories have nothing to do with the current administration per se, and editor Phillips' attempts at a fair and balanced tone in his introduction are admirable--if not always completely convincing. The actual stories (including the big guy's own "Swift Boats for Jesus") make it pretty clear which side of the line most of these writers are coming from--and are all the more powerful for it. Contributors include Mike Davis, Darrell James, John Shannon (whose "The Legend of Bayboy and the Mexican Surfer" offers a tantalizing suggestion of what his next Jack Liffey novel may entail), Robert Greer, Twist Phelan, Ken Wishnia, Pete Hautman and Sujata Massey, and there isn't a dud in the bunch. I mean, even Nixon and J. Edgar come back to haunt us.

This is primo stuff, angry and pissed off, its bleak cynicism and impotent despair perhaps best summed up by a character in Ken Bruen's heartbreaking contribution, "Dead Right": "Call it politics. I call it shite." I call the entire collection an essential read. Try to get it done before November.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:07:34

Wouldn't you know it? I'd just wrapped up my column on the PI genre and politics when this one comes winging in over the transom, fangs bared. The corridors of power, it turns out, are even nastier than Chandler's fabled mean streets in Gary Phillips' fierce new collection of politically-charged hardboiled and noir tales.

This book is about as in your face as it gets, an unapologetic no-holds-barred slice of venom aimed at the powers that be and the corruption and ideological treachery and unbounded ambition that is.

To be sure, a lot of these relentlessly black-hearted stories have nothing to do with the current administration per se, and editor Phillips' attempts at a fair and balanced tone in his introduction are admirable--if not always completely convincing. The actual stories (including the big guy's own "Swift Boats for Jesus") make it pretty clear which side of the line most of these writers are coming from--and are all the more powerful for it. Contributors include Mike Davis, Darrell James, John Shannon (whose "The Legend of Bayboy and the Mexican Surfer" offers a tantalizing suggestion of what his next Jack Liffey novel may entail), Robert Greer, Twist Phelan, Ken Wishnia, Pete Hautman and Sujata Massey, and there isn't a dud in the bunch. I mean, even Nixon and J. Edgar come back to haunt us.

This is primo stuff, angry and pissed off, its bleak cynicism and impotent despair perhaps best summed up by a character in Ken Bruen's heartbreaking contribution, "Dead Right": "Call it politics. I call it shite." I call the entire collection an essential read. Try to get it done before November.

Quiver
Dianne Day

This first novel by Peter Leonard, son of Elmore, will make you believe there must surely be an inheritable writing gene. Quiver is an irresistible, fast read.

Owen was a racecar driver until he died in a hunting accident at his family's vacation lodge on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Kate is his widow, the sort of feisty woman who might marry such a risk-taking man. Luke, their son, is 16, and the tragedy of his young life is that it was he who shot his father with a hunting bow, mistaking dad for a deer. Jack is an ex-con, an old boyfriend of Kate's; he once helped her out of a very tight spot in Guatemala and she's retained a soft spot for him. Now out of jail and pursuing the widowed Kate, Jack is in turn pursued by a dumb and disgusting bad-ass, Teddy, and girlfriend Celeste, and DeJuan, a black guy with brains and class, who just happens to be a contract killer. When Luke runs away from school and heads for the lodge to face down his guilt, Kate follows him, and the rest follow her. Leonard builds suspense to an unbearable degree before the resolution, in which the bravery of mother and son shines.

The joy of reading Quiver is primarily in its easy-flowing dialogue, and Peter Leonard has a style all his own. His success should be assured.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:07:34

This first novel by Peter Leonard, son of Elmore, will make you believe there must surely be an inheritable writing gene. Quiver is an irresistible, fast read.

Owen was a racecar driver until he died in a hunting accident at his family's vacation lodge on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Kate is his widow, the sort of feisty woman who might marry such a risk-taking man. Luke, their son, is 16, and the tragedy of his young life is that it was he who shot his father with a hunting bow, mistaking dad for a deer. Jack is an ex-con, an old boyfriend of Kate's; he once helped her out of a very tight spot in Guatemala and she's retained a soft spot for him. Now out of jail and pursuing the widowed Kate, Jack is in turn pursued by a dumb and disgusting bad-ass, Teddy, and girlfriend Celeste, and DeJuan, a black guy with brains and class, who just happens to be a contract killer. When Luke runs away from school and heads for the lodge to face down his guilt, Kate follows him, and the rest follow her. Leonard builds suspense to an unbearable degree before the resolution, in which the bravery of mother and son shines.

The joy of reading Quiver is primarily in its easy-flowing dialogue, and Peter Leonard has a style all his own. His success should be assured.

Real World
Betty Webb

When a disturbed teen nicknamed "Worm," murders his mother and escapes into the Japanese countryside, the teens in his suburban Tokyo neighborhood elevate him to hero status. Among the young girls keeping secret contact with Worm via cell phone are the compassionate but inexperienced Ninna Hori; her friend Kirarin, a morally inert rebel-without-a-cause who has been toying with the idea of killing her own father; Yuzan, a closeted lesbian who sees Worm's outsider status as a reflection of her own; and Terauchi, the only teen in the group who seems aware that helping an unrepentant killer escape justice might be dangerous.

Told in turn by Worm and each of the girls, Real World is a discomfiting exploration of the adolescent mind, a hormone-ridden world where values shift daily and morality takes a back seat to a new cell phone. Teenagers are another country, author Kirino tells us, a country that has declared war on our own.

Kirino, a master of Japanese feminist noir, and author of 16 other novels, including the Edgar-nominated Out, has won six premiere Japanese literary awards, including the top Mystery Writers of Japan Award. Her subtle yet scathing prose in Real World has been well-served by translator Philip Gabriel, who has wondrously managed the daunting task of morphing Japanese slang into American teen-speak.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:07:34

When a disturbed teen nicknamed "Worm," murders his mother and escapes into the Japanese countryside, the teens in his suburban Tokyo neighborhood elevate him to hero status. Among the young girls keeping secret contact with Worm via cell phone are the compassionate but inexperienced Ninna Hori; her friend Kirarin, a morally inert rebel-without-a-cause who has been toying with the idea of killing her own father; Yuzan, a closeted lesbian who sees Worm's outsider status as a reflection of her own; and Terauchi, the only teen in the group who seems aware that helping an unrepentant killer escape justice might be dangerous.

Told in turn by Worm and each of the girls, Real World is a discomfiting exploration of the adolescent mind, a hormone-ridden world where values shift daily and morality takes a back seat to a new cell phone. Teenagers are another country, author Kirino tells us, a country that has declared war on our own.

Kirino, a master of Japanese feminist noir, and author of 16 other novels, including the Edgar-nominated Out, has won six premiere Japanese literary awards, including the top Mystery Writers of Japan Award. Her subtle yet scathing prose in Real World has been well-served by translator Philip Gabriel, who has wondrously managed the daunting task of morphing Japanese slang into American teen-speak.

Red Sky in Morning
Beverly J. DeWeese

Drawing on his father's wartime adventures, Patrick Culhane, a pen name used by Max Allan Collins, cooks up a wartime mystery infused with racial tension. Mix four white Naval Reserve, college-educated officers with an all-black crew. Add a salty commander who hates both blacks and college boys, and throw in an edict from the President of the United States that the military shall be integrated. Stir it all together and you've got trouble, right here in San Francisco's Port Chicago. If that weren't enough, the crew's ship itself is literally a powder keg, an ammunitions craft where the smallest mistake can explode in their faces.

Ensign Peter Maxwell, a na?ve son of Iowa, loves two things, his wife Kay and music--all kinds of music. And it is music that helps Maxwell establish a tentative racial harmony with his shipmates. But the murder of the ship's second in command renews tensions and Maxwell enlists the aid of a former Chicago police detective turned seaman. Together they follow clues that coalesce during a historical naval battle scene: Zeros dive from the skies, guns rattle, and Maxwell uncovers a not-so-unexpected murderer.

Culhane/Collins touches upon the little discussed racial aspect of World War II service. And once again, as in many of Collins' writings, a historic event plays a pivotal role: the 1944 Port Chicago Naval Explosion. Drawing upon an era of patriotic zeal, the author depicts men joining against a common enemy. Good overcomes evil on several levels, but readers should be warned that the book bristles with racial epithets, nicknames and prejudices.

Super User
2010-04-25 16:07:34

Drawing on his father's wartime adventures, Patrick Culhane, a pen name used by Max Allan Collins, cooks up a wartime mystery infused with racial tension. Mix four white Naval Reserve, college-educated officers with an all-black crew. Add a salty commander who hates both blacks and college boys, and throw in an edict from the President of the United States that the military shall be integrated. Stir it all together and you've got trouble, right here in San Francisco's Port Chicago. If that weren't enough, the crew's ship itself is literally a powder keg, an ammunitions craft where the smallest mistake can explode in their faces.

Ensign Peter Maxwell, a na?ve son of Iowa, loves two things, his wife Kay and music--all kinds of music. And it is music that helps Maxwell establish a tentative racial harmony with his shipmates. But the murder of the ship's second in command renews tensions and Maxwell enlists the aid of a former Chicago police detective turned seaman. Together they follow clues that coalesce during a historical naval battle scene: Zeros dive from the skies, guns rattle, and Maxwell uncovers a not-so-unexpected murderer.

Culhane/Collins touches upon the little discussed racial aspect of World War II service. And once again, as in many of Collins' writings, a historic event plays a pivotal role: the 1944 Port Chicago Naval Explosion. Drawing upon an era of patriotic zeal, the author depicts men joining against a common enemy. Good overcomes evil on several levels, but readers should be warned that the book bristles with racial epithets, nicknames and prejudices.