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Love & Bullets: Megabomb Edition by Nick Kolakowski: A Supersized Fast, Fun, and Bullet-Ridden Adventure

By HCNewton

On November 23, 2021

In Fiction, Love & Bullets Hookups, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Nick Kolakowski

I somehow unpublished this last night—so here’s a fresh copy…

Be sure to check out the Q&A with the author

Love & Bullets: Megabomb Edition

by Nick Kolakowski
Series: Love & Bullets

eARC, 300 pg.
Shotgun Honey, 2021

Read: November 8-12, 2021

A Little Background

Regular readers of this blog should recognize the name Nick Kolakowski, a couple of years ago I talked about a trilogy of novellas he wrote: A Brutal Bunch of Heartbroken Saps, Slaughterhouse Blues, and Main Bad Guy. Next week, these novellas, along with some additional material to tie them together and add a little something extra, are being published as one novel (you can read a bit about the circumstances behind that in the Q&A we did).

What’s Love & Bullets About?

Bill’s a con artist, a hustler with a hint of tech-savvy (and the sense to employ someone savvier) who has gotten comfortable doing small-time work for the Rockaway Mob. An encounter with a similar grifter delivers a swift, spiritual kick to the head that alters his reality and he decides to get out of the business and retire somewhere far away. After he helps himself to a sizeable amount of money from the Mob.

Unsure of his girlfriend’s intentions or loyalty, he doesn’t tell her or bring her along. This is an understandable move, but also a bad move, because she’s an assassin for the Rockaway Mob and one of the few that is sent after him. Fiona’s in a forgiving mood when she catches up to him (probably helped by the fact that she’s fairly incapacitated at the time and can listen to him). The two of them extricate Bill from some trouble that he stumbled into in Oklahoma on the way to the southern border, take care of a couple of other Rockaway employees, and head to Central America for a quieter life.

Which absolutely doesn’t work for long—they find themselves indebted to another criminal organization and the Rockaway Mob isn’t done with them, either. So we get to travel with them as they narrowly escape death in Nicaragua, slip away from a garotte (or worse) in Havana, and get into a much more hazardous situation or five back in New York.

The Rockaway Mob

Every named character, with one exception, in this book is a criminal (the overwhelming majority of unnamed characters, too). So you really can’t say something about “bad guys”*—it’s protagonists and antagonists, and maybe an ally or two.

* Difficult, but not impossible, the third novella was called Main Bad Guy, after all—although there are a couple of candidates for that title.

The main antagonists for Bill and Fiona are the Rockaway Mob. The Rockaway Mob is a wholly modern take on organized crime. There’s no family history, no tie to an ethnic/national origin overseas, nothing that Scorsese or Coppola would make a movie about. Instead, they’re a conglomeration of shady businessmen (and an academic) who started working together and then turned things up to 11.

A handful of hitmen are brought in by the Rockaway Mob to take care of Bill (and, later, Fiona)—some are more colorful than others (and at least three of them could make great main antagonists in any number of PI/Police Procedural novels). But all of them pale to the academic who finds himself leading the Mob (at least as far as we see), he goes by The Dean.

He’s an annoying, pretentious, fastidious man with the kind of vocabulary that people notice. Nothing about him suggests criminal—of any variety, much less an organized crime head. But when you see him with his temper flaring, when he’s pushed to the limit? Well, there’s a beast under all that civilization…I could easily read more about The Dean at the drop of a hat.

The New Material

Not unlike Boyd Crowder when they decided to turn Justified into a series, someone who was killed in the original story has their fate changed in the new material. Also like Boyd Crowder, keeping them alive and running around made the whole thing a lot more interesting.

It’s a little tricky to describe, without spoiling something for new—or old—readers. But I had a suspicion about who survived—and was very happy when I discovered I was right. I’d really started to enjoy the character when they’d been killed, and getting to see them in action some more was a real treat.

It’s hard to describe the new arc for that character—it’s not really a redemption arc (although it’s adjacent to one). It gets to show them in a slightly different light than we saw originally, but the effects from the events surrounding their initial appearance definitely leave their toll on their psyche, if not their health.

I loved the new material—I wouldn’t have minded a little more, but I didn’t need it to be satisfied. It fit perfectly into this world but was so unlike the original material that it felt even fresher than it was. Definitely worth reading the new edition just for it (but really, the whole thing in one package is justification enough)

Reading the Megabomb Version

It’s been years since I read the original trilogy—January of 2019—so my memory for the details is a little hazy. Sure, most of it came back right away—but I will admit to checking with my hard copies of the originals to see if I’d forgotten something if was new or not a couple of times.

But without the pressure of wondering what was going to happen to Bill and Fiona, I was able to soak in some of the other details that I’d just glanced at before. This was as rewarding as I’d hoped—particularly with the second novella’s material, I didn’t initially rate it as highly as the other parts and I think that was a mistake.

The important thing to take away from the rereading process (at least for me) is that it totally holds up to a re-read.

So, what did I think about Love & Bullets?

I struggled the first time around, and I’m struggling now to capture the feel of this book. When I wrote about, Main Bad Guy, I said, “This is the literary equivalent of a Martin McDonagh film (when he’s in a more playful mood)—or, if that doesn’t work for you, think Fargo meets Tarantino, but not as long-winded.” Which isn’t bad (and I’d forgotten I mentioned McDonagh, which is really apt)—this time I’m going to add that it has a Shane Black, but more violent, feel. Maybe if you average the two comments—and throw in what I said about the first novella “think Edgar Wright action scenes, but more lethal.”

Even as the 300-page Megabomb it is now, this is a fast-moving thrill ride. It’s funny. It has occasional moments of sweetness (very transient). The story and characters are visceral—you can see the action, you can practically hear Bill’s quips and feel Fiona’s patience evaporating at them (while she does love him for them). It will get a much-beloved (or much-disparaged) band’s music stuck in your head during one fight scene. Really, it covers almost all the senses—and given where they spend a lot of time, you’ll be glad it leaves the other two out.

Has Kolakowski written novels/stories that are technically better? Probably. Has he written something with greater entertainment value? Nope. Love & Bullets is just a blast from the opening lines through to the final image. Be sure you don’t miss it.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the novel from the author in exchange for this post and my honest opinion, and I thank him for that, but it did not affect my opinion of this work.

4 1/2 Stars

Top 5 Tuesday – Top 5 books I haven’t read yet in 2021

By HCNewton

On November 23, 2021

In Books, News/Misc.

Yes, I’m posting two separate Top X Lists today—just the way it worked out. I haven’t done either a Top 5 Tuesday or a Top Ten Tuesday in a long time, but today’s prompt from both sounded fun…so, why not?)

This week’s topic is, “What are some of the books you wanted to read this year, but just haven’t quite gotten to yet? And tell us if you think you’ll be able to cram them into your December TBR!!” There are many more than five that qualify for this list, but I think these are the five that are bugging me the most that I haven’t read yet. When 2022 starts, at least four will likely still be on this list (don’t ask me which four, though).

	Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames There is no good reason at all that I haven’t read this yet. None. Even if it’s not as good as Kings of the Wyld, it’s still probably better than a lot of what I have read this year—and sure to be a lot of fun regardless.
	Return of the Paladin by Layton Green I really liked the first three books in The Blackwood Saga (and am pretty sure I pre-ordered this fourth book), but a full 2+ years later, haven’t managed to get around to this (nor, the fifth and final book). Shame on me.
	AMORALMAN: A True Story and Other Lies by Derek DelGaudio Sure, it’s not going to live up to the film version, but there’s enough different material (just based on the length of the book), that it’s going to give me something to chew on. No reason for me to have not at least started it.
	The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, translated by Flora Thomson-DeVeaux The age of this book is probably what’s keeping me from it, it’s been a long time since I read something new to me that’s from pre-20th Century. I’m feeling intimidated, as good as it looks. I just need to get over it.
	The Border by Don Winslow The Power of the Dog and The Cartel both blew me away, and I anticipated diving into The Border as soon as I could. But the size and likely emotional weight of it has kept me from even opening it. I need to get over that.

A Few Quick Questions with…Nick Kolakowski (2021 edition)

By HCNewton

On November 22, 2021

In A Few Quick Questions With..., Fiction, Love & Bullets Hookups, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Nick Kolakowski

I’ve given up trying to come up with titles for these, this is the fifth Q&A I’ve done with Nick Kolakowski. I’m going to revert to tracking them with years. The focus this time is on Love & Bullets: Megabomb Edition, that I’ll post about sometime today–you’re going to want to get your hands on it’s a lot of fun. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the Q&A:

You address this in the Introduction to Love and Bullets: Megabomb Edition, but can you give a thumbnail version of the choice to combine the novellas into a novel?
I never intended to combine them—at least at first. But Suhrkamp Verlag, which is a pretty sizable German publisher, approached Down & Out Books and Shotgun Honey about doing a combined, translated edition. That hefty book proved a solid success in Europe when it came out in 2020, which inevitably led to thoughts of doing a combined, English edition over here.

I think most writers, when given the opportunity to tweak their work, will take it. In fact, they might take the opportunity a bit too far. I started out envisioning some minor alterations—akin to what we did with the German edition, mostly to clean up some timelines—and ended up steering hard into a full-on rewrite. And that, I found, was pretty good for the soul.

To create this version, you include, “a change in a major character’s fate that ripples throughout the narrative.” I was pleased once I saw who that character was, and I really enjoyed the new material (and it felt seamless). Was that a choice that leapt immediately to mind when you started thinking about this version, or was there a little bit of struggle to decide what kind of new material to put in this edition?
Yes! Bringing that character back was the first thing I wanted to do. His voice had always poured out so effortlessly, and I came to regret killing him off as quickly as I did. Plus, taking him on a cross-country journey, then setting him up for a bit of third-act revenge, nicely added to the overall page-count—I wanted to give a lot of new material to anyone who’d read the novellas before, and was potentially wondering what they might get out of picking up the combined edition.

Knowing how things ended up allowed me to focus a bit more on details of the book—I wasn’t racing to see what happened next. One of the things I wished I’d paid more attention to the first time was the descriptions of the artwork in the gallery in Slaughterhouse Blues. Your descriptions of them function really well as either a satire of contemporary art or a positive depiction of it (depending on the inclination of the reader, I suspect). Were any of those works inspired by actual works you’ve seen? Or did you just sit down and have fun with the idea?
Like so many of the things I write about, all that art was pulled from real life. In New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood, there used to be a string of warehouses near the West Side Highway that housed small galleries, and those galleries were filled with new art on what felt like a monthly basis (most of those galleries have been replaced by ultra-expensive condos, which is the way of NYC, I guess). When I was younger and broke, it was fun to grab a group of friends and head down there and drink free wine and view whatever was on display and selling for an absurd amount of money. Some of the art was quite good, and some of it was dreck so memorable it stayed in my head for years, just waiting to be translated into fiction.

I love a lot of modern art but it’s stunning what will sell for the cost of a new Tesla. I seriously suspect that money laundering is involved. Or very expensive favors between friends. It’s something I’d love to write about someday but haven’t quite come up with the time to invest in it.

I could come up with three or four questions about every supporting character in this book, but neither of us has that kind of time, so let’s focus on The Dean. He’s a both a comic figure (in mannerisms, vocabulary, etc.) and a violent criminal that should not be underestimated. How hard is that balance to strike (although, for this novel, it’s par for the course, so maybe no harder than any other). Where did The Dean come from?
I felt like too many books featured criminals who’d been born into the lifestyle. You read lots of thrillers with assassins who’d been taught the killing arts since birth, and/or were raised in a family or culture where criminality was as natural as breathing. I’d always wanted to construct a villain who was almost a criminal against their better instincts, someone who saw it as a way to make good money but who found it so stressful he basically woke up on the trembling edge of a coronary every day of his life.

With The Dean, having as a comic foil was also key. But as I wrote the novellas, I began to realize that his stress was also what made him dangerous—he prided himself on his rationality, but once his blood pressure skyrocketed past a certain point, he lost all control. When I was deep in the rewriting, I thought about extending his arc a bit, maybe giving him a bit more explicit backstory; but with villains, sometimes less is truly more.

Let’s play “Online Bookstore Algorithm” (a game I made up for these Q&As). What are 3-5 books whose readers may like Love and Bullets?
Definitely Winslow’s Savages, which is a masterpiece of splattery, slapstick violence that also has real consequences. I feel like people who loved Anthony Bourdain’s snarkiness in Kitchen Confidential and Medium Raw would get into the tone of this one. Anyone who liked Frank Miller’s Sin City series would probably dig the action.

As usual, I’ve got to ask, what’s coming down the pike? Are you far enough into your next book to talk about it?
Right now I’m working on a novel-length sequel to “Love & Bullets,” which is set in Manhattan during a hurricane. I’m about a quarter of the way through writing it, and that’ll primarily be aimed at the European market. After that, I want to write a culinary-themed noir, but I’m still very much in research mode—I’ve been reading a lot of Anthony Bourdain and Bill Bufford, but also Kem Nunn’s Tapping the Source, which is a big inspiration for it. We’ll see how that goes.

Thanks for your time—and thanks for this fresh look at Bill and Fiona! I hope this version of their story finds a lot of new readers.
I do, too!

My Theology: Return from a Distant Country by Alister McGrath

By HCNewton

On November 21, 2021

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

My Theology:
Return from a Distant Country

by Alister McGrath
Series: My Theology

eARC, 96 pg.
Darton, Longman & Todd, 2021

Read: November 14, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Return from a Distant Country About?

In this brief work, McGrath starts off with a brief spiritual biography—sketching out his early life and interests and then what brought him to faith while a student at Oxford.

He then gives a brief definition of theology and how he sees himself as a theologian, and how he’s demonstrating both in his own work. He then sketches out four main themes in his own work and theology—historical theology, the relation between natural sciences and theology, Christian Apologetics, and theological education—both a look at his and then how he tries to educate others.

The My Theology Series

The publisher’s website (Darton, Longman & Todd) describes this series as: “The world’s leading Christian thinkers explain some of the principal tenets of their theological beliefs.” The US Publisher (Fortress Press) helpfully adds “in concise, pocket-sized books” to that description. It looks to be sixteen projected volumes published from September 2021-March 2022 (in the UK), this volume will be published in the U.S. in January, and I would expect the rest to follow a similar schedule.

I think that’s an interesting, and potentially fascinating, idea. I don’t recognize the overwhelming majority of names, which I guess indicates how far my finger is from the pulse of the world’s leading Christian thinkers. I’m a little curious as to who these people are, which might lead me to read some more of these books.

So, what did I think about Return from a Distant Country?

I’ve started reading “intellectual biographies” in the last few years, and I guess this is pretty much a (mini) intellectual autobiography, which isn’t the way I’m used to reading. As such it was an interesting exercise. There was a time when I’d frequently read McGrath’s work, but it’s been a long time since I did—not that I didn’t appreciate it, I just had other priorities. It was nice to touch base with him after all this time. Seeing how he views his work within these four themes–and what he thinks about them–helps the reader understand him as a thinker, theologian, and (I’d imagine) person better than you did before.

I enjoyed this work, and think I got something out of it but it wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. Too much of McGrath’s description of his work makes it seem like Christianity is a largely—maybe even almost exclusively—a cognitive matter—all about thinking the right things to the exclusion of feeling, belief, and action. That’s a tendency for those in the neighborhood of conservative evangelicalism—particularly those with some connection to Reformed theology. I personally would’ve appreciated it if McGrath had made it clear that wasn’t his intention or belief. But that’s a more of a me thing than a substantive criticism.

I wouldn’t say that this book gave me new insight into Christian theology or any of the themes he addressed. But I got a better insight into who McGrath is and what I should expect as I read his other work—which, for a series called “My Theology” makes a lot of sense.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Darton Longman Todd via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

3 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Saturday Miscellany—11/20/21

By HCNewton

On November 20, 2021

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

We start off with some grim stuff this week, and then transition into what feels more hodgepodge-y and eclectic than usual. Which is pretty cool. I like it when this list feels as scattered as my mind at rest. If only because it feels like it raises the chances of you (yes, you) finding something you’d like to read…

Hope you all had a good week!

Odds n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet Librarians, Educators Warn of ‘Organized’ Book Banning Efforts—(is it really an organized effort, or are people just lazily copying what they see on social media? Both?)
bullet ‘We’re Preparing For a Long Battle.’ Librarians Grapple With Conservatives’ Latest Efforts to Ban Books—you know, in case the PW piece wasn’t depressing enough.
bullet Lawmakers Expand Inquiry into Library E-book Market
bullet Spotify’s latest purchase is about becoming the place you listen to everything: Why it bought an audiobook company
bullet How the MFA swallowed literature: On the total world-domination of workshopped fiction
bullet The Strange History of the Worst Sentence in English Literature—About Bulwer-Lytton’s famous opening
bullet Speaking of sentences…Simplicity or style: what makes a sentence a masterpiece?
bullet I used to spend hours arranging my books until I realised it was a colossal waste of time and changed my ways—sure, she sounds reasonable, but…what?
bullet The 12 Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books That You, an Adult, Should Absolutely Read—there’s some good stuff on this list, but that headline makes my blood boil. Haven’t we grown past the idea that SF/F isn’t for adults yet?
bullet Getting It Wrong: How Thomas Perry Learned to Live With His Books’ Errors—this was a lot of fun
bullet The Fantastical Food of Fantasy Fiction—I’m pretty sure this is a re-run, but I don’t care. It’s worth a re-read.
bullet The tortuous literary puzzle Cain’s Jawbone has been solved for the first time since 1934—this book was recommended to me a few months back, frankly I think it’d drive me insane. Hats off to the latest victor.
bullet The #R3COMM3ND3D2021 series over at Damp Pebbles offered up another good looking batch of recommendations this week (including one that may have made my list if I’d read it by the time I wrote mine). Check out the contributions from:
bullet BookBlogger Els Ebraert
bullet BookBlogger Joanne
bullet BookBlogger Jo B
bullet BookBlogger Emily Quinn
bullet BookBlogger Yvonne – Me and My Books
bullet Emma Kuyateh – Primary Teacher Bookshelf
bullet Blogger, Reviewer, and Crime Fiction Commentator Ayo Onatade
bullet Balancing Reading For Your Blog and Other Hobbies—Am tempted to ask, “What is this Earth thing you call, ‘Balance’?”
bullet Why my reads are no longer 5 stars?—I get this…I’m not there, but I get this.

This Week's New Releases That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Dead Mercy by Noelle Holten—the latest gripping read in the the DC Maggie Jamieson series is out now. It can be read alone, too. I enthused about it recently
bullet The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffman—Fahrenheit Press steps away from their particular brand of noir to put out a new edition of the holiday classic. I love that cover.

The Friday 56 for 11/19/21: Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan

By HCNewton

On November 19, 2021

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it

from Page 56 of:
Daughter of the Deep

Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan

The world is quiet except for the slosh of waves against the hull and my captor’s ragged breathing in my ear. It must be hard work pulling me along, using me as a human shield while swimming backward toward his pontoon. I hope he drowns.

Above us, Gem says grimly, “I’ve got the shot, sir.”

I don’t think he meant for us to hear this comment, but voices carry at sea. The idea of him firing makes my stomach twist. With the ocean swells, and the movements of the ship and my captor, it would be a tough shot even for Gem. Besides, I assume my captor still has his little hypodermic needle somewhere at hand. I hope he sticks himself with it.

“Stand down, Mr. Twain,” Hewett orders.

Really? I think. That’s all you’ve got, Hewett?

“That’s right,” my captor mocks, “stand down, Mr. Twain.”

Book Blogger Hop: Website for Tracking Books?

By HCNewton

On November 19, 2021

In Book Blogger Hop, Books, News/Misc.

Book Blogger Hop

This prompt was submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver’s Reviews:

Do you use Goodreads as the main website to keep track of what you have read? If not, please share what you use?

A main website? Sure, it’s the first website I used for tracking–and has stayed as my primary since then. I also use LibraryThing and StoryGraph, but I haven’t invested the time to really get into those. I should probably put a little more effort into them. Maybe if I got a follower or two there…

Wink Trust Me GIFfrom Wink GIFs

But my actual primary tracking is a Google Docs spreadsheet (because I’m too cheap to pay for Excel, and I like being able to access it anywhere, so I don’t use LibreOffice’s version). I used to use one of my own devising, but for the last two years, I’ve used the Ultimate Book Blogger / Reader Spreadsheet Template from Reader Voracious, which is much nicer than anything I’ve cooked up (and I don’t even use all the features).

What about you?

PUB DAY REPOST: Dead Mercy by Noelle Holten: An Apt Title for A Grim Thriller

By HCNewton

On November 19, 2021

In DC Maggie Jamieson, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Noelle Holten

Dead Mercy

by Noelle Holten
Series: DC Maggie Jamieson, #5

eARC, 416 pg.
One More Chapter, 2021

Read: October 4-5, 2021

What’s Dead Mercy About?

The closing chapter of Dead Secret set this up (as Holten is so good about doing): a business has gone up in fire and a body has been found inside—possibly the body of someone Maggie’s worked with in Probation. From the start, this case has its hooks in Maggie.

It’s soon decided that the body was the source of the fire—and before the victim had been set ablaze, he’d been restrained and had teeth pulled. The killer had wanted to punish him, not just kill him.

Soon another victim is discovered—and the team has to race to find a connection so they can prevent anyone else from suffering this fate.

When the link is finally discovered, it suggests potential new victims as well as several suspects. It also shines a bright light on a striking failure of the criminal justice system.

Bethany and Kat

Back when I talked about Book 3, Dead Perfect, I wrote that they were overworking PC Bethany Lambert, “Miscellaneous errands, thankless tasks, things requiring technological expertise, and more fall to her. I lost track of how many things Maggie threw her way to do—on top of her own assignments. I have multiple notes about how they’re working this woman to death.” They’ve yet to let up on her—however, it’s talked about both as the way she likes to work and as something other people are concerned about. This is efficiently done—the characters around her get to be observant and sympathetic, and they can continue to throw too much work at her so Holten doesn’t have to create 2-3 more characters to keep the stories moving at that pace.

Dead Perfect was also where DC Kat Everett was added to the team—she’s better integrated into the action over the last couple of books now and I really enjoy her. I’m ready to read a spin-off series focusing on her now, either in her same assignment or transferred somewhere. Her brashness would make for a fun protagonist (not that Maggie isn’t brash, but hers is a side-effect of her impetuousness).

A Refreshing Approach

With most police procedurals you get the maverick, lone-wolf detective—maybe with a couple of people they trust. Or (particularly with UK-based procedurals), you get a focus on a detective squad. With the Maggie Jamieson books, we get a good look at her squad, probation services, and other social services.

Not just as a drop-in for a convenient bit of information, either. But characters that matter, there’s interconnectedness between the groups and it’s good to see the flow of information (formally, informally, unauthorized) informing the investigations. I like seeing that approach, and I like to think it reflects reality far more than any lone-wolf thumbing their nose at regulations.

Although, the pathologist still seeming to hold a grudge over one of her staff being (justifiably) questioned a while back seems to be petty. Which, so it’s not all super-professional and mutually helpful.

Let’s Hope This Is Fiction

Not every author spends too much time on the motivation behind the killings, but an author that gives a believable motivation separates their work from the pack. This is another of those areas that Holten excels in.

Yes, this is a work of fiction. Yes, things are heightened. But when you read this, there’s going to be a voice in the back of your head saying, “I could see that happening.”

Not only that, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re going to be a little conflicted about the crimes. Odds are, you’re not going to be hoping that Maggie and her team fail, or that the killer (killers?) gets away with it. Buuuut…once you understand the motive pushing the killer(s), you may not feel that bad about what happens to the victims.

So, what did I think about Dead Mercy?

Holten’s got this down now—the characters and world are well established, as are the relationships in them. Despite the relatively brief chronology between books 1-5, there’s been some decent character growth on several points, too. So a new Maggie Jamieson thriller is a chance to spend some time catching up with new acquaintances while getting to go for a pretty intense ride as those acquaintances try to stop a brutal killer.

Okay, maybe that’s not the ideal way to catch up and check in on anyone, but it’s a pretty exciting read.

Crime Reads had that piece a couple of weeks ago discussing “all crime is cyber crime,” which was ringing in my ears as I read this. This very visceral series of murders is evidence to support that thesis—cyber-policing wasn’t enough to stop the series, either, but it played its part. Holten’s always been good at balancing the computer-work and the boots-on-the-ground policing but might have outdone herself here.

The accent does fall on the physical world, of course, given the nature of the crimes. If your stomach doesn’t church a little at the description of the murders (likely both as they’re happening and as the pathologist breaks them down), you’re made of pretty stern stuff. Thankfully, Holten’s narration doesn’t ever seem to relish in the disturbing details as too many do.

Basically, this is a top-notch thriller with a lot for the reader to chew on as they’re burning through the pages.

It does appear that this is going to be the last Maggie Jamieson book–at least for a while. I’m hoping it’s just a break, and we get back to Maggie and the rest of the Major and Organised Crime Department soon. If not? These five books are a great set and I (again) strongly recommend them to you.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from HarperCollins UK via NetGalley in exchange for this post — thanks to both for this.

4 Stars

All Together Now by Matthew Norman: Robbie Malcolm’s Living Wake

By HCNewton

On November 18, 2021

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Matthew Norman

All Together Now

by Matthew Norman

Hardcover, 272 pg.
Ballantine Books, 2021

Read: July 28-30, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

The thing about old friends: they’re really more like siblings.

You can be pissed at your siblings. They can betray you in untold ways, hurt, offend, and infuriate you. You can briefly hate them to their damaged cores. But they’ll always be your brother or your sister, right? Whether you like it or not.

What’s All Together Now About?

It bugs me when this happens, but every attempt I’ve made at this part ended up convoluted, inadvertently snarky, or like a watered-down version of the publisher’s description. (which, I should add, is why this is so belated) So, let me just borrow theirs:

At just thirty-five, reclusive billionaire Robbie Malcolm is a renowned financial prognosticator, a celebrated philanthropist, and a mathematical genius. Also, he’s dying, which is a fact he’s carefully concealing from the world.

As he takes stock, Robbie realizes that his wealth means nothing if he can’t help the people who matter most. So he invites his oldest friends—Blair, Cat, and Wade—to their beloved Fenwick Island on the coast of Delaware to share his secret and to reveal plans for each of them that he believes will change their lives forever.

However, Robbie isn’t the only one with secrets. The bonds the friends formed as teenagers still exist, but adulthood has brought a whole new set of complications, like unrequited loves, marriages on the brink, and so much unfulfilled potential. Robbie’s plans may look good on paper, but are they any match for the utter disaster that is real life?

As everything comes to light over a wild weekend full of surprises, Robbie learns there are still some things money can’t buy, and a group of friends who thought their best years were behind them realize just how much they have to look forward to.

I’d considered spending time talking about the four primary characters, their circumstances, the pluses and minuses of the characters and plot, and so on—the stuff I typically talk about. But that’s really best experienced for yourself, you need to let the novel introduce them, or it’d ruin the whole thing. With this book, it’s not about spoiling the plot, it’s about spoiling the characters, and I don’t want to do that.

So, what did I think about All Together Now?

There’s a lot of funny and/or thoughtful material about writing, maturing, parenting and whatnot. There’s some great stuff—pro and con*—about The Beatles. But the heart of this novel is friendship—especially the kind that starts pre-adulthood and follows you all your life in one form or another. And when the focus is on friendship—the ups and downs, the betrayals (intentional or inadvertent), the forgiveness, the loyalty, the love—it’s great.

* Yes, con. Some people just want to watch the world burn.

When the focus is on the other stuff? It’s pretty good.

Overall, this felt like a fun daydream of a novel—what if I had a mega-rich friend who wanted to help me fix my life (whether I wanted them to or not)? But I wanted something more out of Norman, I expected something meatier, something more substantial—neither of those adjectives are adequate, but it felt like something was missing.

I enjoyed it and appreciated it, but not as much as I felt like I should. And then I read the penultimate chapter. I distinctly remember sitting in my car before work, trying to finish the book and hitting that chapter—and being on the verge of tears for most of it (maybe teetering over the edge). Slyly, sneakily, Norman had wormed these characters into my heart—whatever I thought I was missing was there without me noticing.

And then I had to go into work, leaving the last chapter for 8 hours and a commute home later. Then again, when I read the final chapter (which is sort of an epilogue), there I was again—on the verge. Had my timing been better and I’d read the two chapters together, I’d have been a real mess.

A fun, breezy read with an emotional ending—Norman delivered just what the premise promised. You’ll wish you had these people as friends, and you’ll be glad for the time you had with them.

4 Stars

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Opening Lines—Love & Bullets: Megabomb Edition by Nick Kolakowski

By HCNewton

On November 18, 2021

In Blog Series, Currently Reading, Fiction, Love & Bullets Hookups, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc., Nick Kolakowski, Opening Lines, Quotations

Head & Shoulders used to tell us that, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” That’s true for wearing dark shirts, and it’s especially true for books. Sometimes the characters will hook the reader, sometimes the premise, sometimes it’s just knowing the author—but nothing beats a great opening for getting a reader to commit. This is one of the better openings I’ve read recently (it’s technically a reworking of a work I’ve previously used for one of these, it’s just as good the second time). Would it make you commit? How can you not?

Listen.

At some point, a poor sap will look at you and say, “This is the worst day of my life.”

But as long as you have breath in your lungs to say those words, you’re not having your worst day. You haven’t even hit rock bottom, much less started to dig. You can still come back from a car wreck, or that terrifying shadow on your lung X-ray, or finding your wife in bed with the well-hung quarterback from the local high school. Sometimes all you need to solve your supposedly world-ending problems is time and care, or some cash, or a shovel and a couple of garbage bags.

If you see me coming, on the other hand, I guarantee you’re having your worst day. Not to mention your last.

Let me show you how bad it can get. How deep the hole goes. And the next time your idiot friend says something about worst days, as the two of you stand there watching his house burn down with his pets and one-of-a-kind porn collection inside, you can tell him this story. It might even shut him up.

Let me tell you about Bill, my last client.

from Love & Bullets: Megabomb Edition by Nick Kolakowski