Spelling the Month in Books: February

Faces of the Dead

Brad Parks made his fiction debut with this novel, the first in his series about investigative reporter Carter Ross (a series that has shown up in his stand-alone works, too). I don’t know how long it took me to get into this book/series, but I’d be willing to bet it was less than 50 pages. I just clicked with Ross right away—he had a nice style, and watching one of the last print reporters in fiction do his thing was a blast.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp

Rick Yancey was a discovery my eldest and I made about the same time (it’s possible it was the same trip to the Library), I was reading his Highly Effective Detective series, and my son went with this (and I soon followed). This high schooler and his guardian uncle set out to steal Excalibur (yes, that one) and things get stranger from there. Arthurian bad guys, demons, and all sorts of lesser evil types running around. It’s got a more fun, almost Percy Jackson-feel (they were released the same year, so it might have been something in the air) than Yancey’s other YA stuff. I only have very vague memories of the series, but they’re fond memories.

Big Trouble

Dave Barry’s first novel is hilarious. He’s grown as a novelist and his more recent work is much better, but this was funny. Which is really all you want in a Dave Barry book—the plot involved an advertising executive, a couple of hitmen, an embezzler, and a couple of high schoolers. Some odd event kicks off a chain reaction bringing all of these together in a comic crime disaster that could only happen in Florida.

Barry Sonnenfeld made a movie adaptation from this starring Time Allen, Rene Russo, Stanley Tucci, among others. It wasn’t Sonnenfeld’s best, but it was okay, as I recall.

Rizzo’s War

Lou Manfredo’s debut kicks off a gripping trilogy. Rizzo is an NYPD detective headed toward retirement, partnered with a rookie detective to show him the ropes. Unlike most police procedurals, the partners dealt with several cases at once—with (I think) one dominating their attention for most of the book—although it might have traded places with another case for the home stretch. I’m pretty sure I read this in 2009, so my memory is vague. Neither Rizzo nor his partner are super-cops, they’re just guys trying to get the job done in the best way they can and go home at the end of their shift. This one reeked of authenticity.

Underground

This is the third in Kat Richardson’s Greywalker series (finally, something that isn’t a first on this list!), and it’s a doozy. As I recall, Harper Blaine is basically Kinsey Millhone with ghosts and other supernatural whatnot, a PI who after a near-death experience can see the dead. Something is awakening a Native American monster in Seattle that’s eating people (a whole bunch of homeless people, I think)—and it’s up to Harper to stop it.

I never got around to reading the rest of the series, and I’ve often wondered why. Just thinking about it a little now has made question a few decisions I made.

The Accidental Sorcerer

K.E. Mills’s fantasy series about mages, rival nations, and government agents was told with a great combination of mirth and drama. I’ve been sitting here for a while trying to conjure up details about this book, and I really can’t. I had a blast reading this very strange book and the rest of the series, that much I remember.

The Rabbit Factory

Marshall Karp’s debut novel is another mix of comedy and drama—a pair of LA Homicide detectives investigate a murder at a place that is totally not Disneyland. There’s pressure from the amusement park as well as the police brass for them to find the killer—especially when other bodies are found in/around the park. The detectives have a fantastic rapport and friendship, the extended families (or maybe just one of them has family we spend time with) are a hoot, and the mystery was great. I read this three or four times pre-2010 and loved it every time.

Yesterday’s Hero

This is the second in Jonathan Wood’s series about a British police officer who’s brought into MI37—the service in charge of dealing with supernatural threats to the UK. This is a combo platter of Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, and Spy novel, told with a sharp sense of humor. Arthur Wallace is the protagonist, and the point of entry character into this strange world—but his team is made up of a fantastic ensemble of characters. This is another series I need to revisit.