Author: HCNewton Page 294 of 610

Down the TBR Hole (25 of 29+)

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On April 7, 2021

In Books, Down the TBR Hole, News/Misc.

Down the TBR Hole
Okay, I’ve pulled another batch of 50 off the list to start culling from (part of me was hoping it’d be 60, giving me a nice, round 300 as a total). These are all books that I added in the last 14 months, which I think should make me more inclined to want to read them all (unlike something from 8 years ago, my interests/tastes haven’t changed that much). But I cut the majority of this entry’s batch.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but it’s things like that which keep my interest in this project.

This meme was created by Lia @ Lost in a Story—but Jenna at Bookmark Your Thoughts is the one that exposed me to this, and as my Goodreads “Want To Read” shelf is scarily long, I had to do this.

The Rules are simple:

  1. Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf
  2. Order on ascending date added.
  3. Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books.
  4. Read the synopses of the books.
  5. Decide: keep it or should it go?
  6. Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week! (or whenever)

What distinguishes this series from the Mt. TBR section of my Month-end Retrospectives? Those are books I actually own while Goodreads contains my aspirational TBR (many of which will be Library reads). The Naming of the two is a bit confusing, but…what’re you going to do?

(Click on the cover for an official site or something with more info about the book)

Living by God's Promises Living by God’s Promises by Joel R. Beeke, James A. La Belle
Blurb: The authors “draw from stellar Puritan treatises on divine promises by Andrew Gray, Edward Leigh, and William Spurstowe, and offer them in contemporary language for today’s readers. [I]t will help you treasure the promises that God establishes in Christ and conveys in His covenant love to comfort you in sorrow and strengthen your faith.”
My Thoughts: Good idea for a book, the Table of Contents appeals to me. But I’ve been underwhelmed with the last few books I’ve picked up by Joel Beeke. Now, Beeke has been of tremendous help to me in the past, and it feels wrong to not want to read a book from him. But I think I’d better wait for something from him that I feel compelled to read, if that makes sense.
Verdict:
Thumbs Down
Red Noise Red Noise by John P.Murphy
Blurb: “Red Noise is the story of an asteroid miner who just wants to be left alone. But when she arrives at Station 35 to sell off her cargo, she finds the place a disaster area, run into the ground by competing gangs and crooked cops who are happy to cheat her out of every last credit too…It has sword fights and cheap booze and grenades and cranky old guys throwing insults and very few nuclear weapons.”
My Thoughts: A Western/Japanese Samurai movie set in space. How do you say no?
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White
Blurb: “A washed-up treasure hunter, a hotshot racer, and a deadly secret society…on a race against time to hunt down the greatest warship ever built. Some think the ship is lost forever, some think it’s been destroyed, and some think it’s only a legend, but one thing’s for certain: whoever finds it will hold the fate of the universe in their hands.”
My Thoughts: I don’t remember what podcast I heard someone talk about this book on. Nor do I remember who was talking about the book, or really what they said. What I do remember, very distinctly, is the impression that I had to read it. The description sounds like something I might like. If for no other reason than to maybe see what it was that I responded to from my first exposure, I need to get this.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Blurb: Prequel to The Hunger Games, you may have heard of it.
My Thoughts: I ordered this weeks (months?) before it came out, because I have a finely-honed instinct to do that with anything involving The Hunger Games. And it’s been sitting on my shelf since it arrived. I have absolutely no motivation to open it up. I think I’m done with Panem, I really don’t give a rip about Snow–I assumed I would (and I’m probably right) once I got a few chapters into it. I’m not saying I won’t get around to it one day, but for now, it’s gone.
Verdict:
Thumbs Down
The Wild The Wild by Owen Laukkanen
Blurb: “Dawn isn’t a bad person–she’s just made some bad choices: wrong guy, wrong friends, wrong everything. But she wasn’t expecting her parents to pay a boatload of money to ship her off to OUT OF THE WILD, a wilderness boot camp with a bunch of other messed up kids to learn important “life lessons.” It’s true that Dawn and the other cubs will learn a lot–but it’s not what any of them expect. Because what happens in the woods isn’t what their parents planned. Sometimes plans go very wrong. And this is one of those times.”
My Thoughts: If Owen Laukkanen it will be compelling, it will be tense, taught, and well-executed. But…nothing about this grabs me. Similar to his book about a disaster at sea (or something along those lines).
Verdict:
Thumbs Down
Your Perfect Year Your Perfect Year by Charlotte Lucas, Alison Layland (Translator)
Blurb: “For hyper-particular publishing heir Jonathan Grief, the day starts like any other—…all it takes to put a crimp in his routine is one small annoyance. Someone has left a leather-bound day planner with the handwritten title Your Perfect Year in his spot on his mountain bike at his fitness course! Determined to discover its owner, Jonathan opens the calendar to find that someone known only as “H.” has filled it in with suggestions, tasks, and affirmative actions for each day. The more he devotes himself to locating the elusive H., the deeper Jonathan is drawn into someone else’s rich and generous narrative—and into an attitude adjustment he desperately needs.”
My Thoughts: It feels very Fredrik Backman meets Dash & Lily. Or something like that. I saw this referenced somewhere last year and picked it up. Just need to get around to it.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
Burn Burn by Patrick Ness
Blurb: Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
My Thoughts: It’s Patrick Ness, so it’s going to be good. Also, there’s a dragon. But something about description leaves me apathetic. Convince me I’m wrong about this one, readers.
Verdict:
Thumbs Down
The Faith Machine The Faith Machine by Tone Milazzo
Blurb: The team goes “to Africa to retrieve the Faith Machine. Built by the Soviets to turn prayers into suffering, the psychotronic device fell into the hands of a demented warlord. Tragically, the mission fails and the madman slaughters hundreds of innocents while the machine burns…While spy agencies from around the world want retribution for the catastrophe in Africa. Park’s team outplays enemies left and right, while uncovering the true threat. There’s another Faith Machine, one destined to bring hell on earth.”
My Thoughts: This is another that I wish I could peg down what introduced me to the book. I can see the appeal–psychic Specical Agents. But the premise of this particular novel isn’t going to be something I enjoy.
Verdict:
Thumbs Down
Broken Genius Broken Genius by Drew Murray
Blurb: “In 2011, Will Parker, the young prodigy CEO of a big tech company makes a coding mistake that costs a college student her life. To assuage his guilt, Will pursues a career in the FBI Cyber Division. Now, Special Agent Will Parker is called to investigate a murder scene at a Comic-Con event in the Midwest, where the victim has ties to a radioactive quantum computer that Will was working on before he left his gig as CEO…Will discovers the victim was holding an auction for the computer on the Dark Web—and the bidding is still live.”
My Thoughts: I remember linking to a post by Murray last year about the use of tech in thrillers in a Saturday Miscellany. I liked what he had to say about that and want to see how he applies it.
Verdict:
Thumbs Up
The New One The New One: Painfully True Stories from a Reluctant Dad by Mike Birbiglia, J. Hope Stein
My Thoughts: There’s probably some pretty funny stuff in this collection of Birbiglia’s stories of parenting a young child mixed with his wife’s poems about the same events. But my gut tells me the balance of this book is going to be something I’m not satisfied with.
Verdict:
Thumbs Down

Books Removed in this Post: 6 / 10
Total Books Removed: 143 / 290

Anyone out there read any of these books? Did I make the right call with any of them?

(Image by moritz320 from Pixabay)

Drop the Mikes by Duncan MacMaster: The Scrawny, Geeky, Jessica Fletcher-esque Kirby Baxter find Trouble in a Caribbean Paradise

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On April 7, 2021

In Duncan MacMaster, Fiction, Kirby Baxter, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Drop the Mikes

Drop the Mikes

by Duncan MacMaster
Series: Kirby Baxter, #3

Paperback, 243 pg.
Fahrenheit Press, 2016

Read: March 29-30, 2021

“Mathilda, my wife, says that archaeology runs in your family.”

“My parents are archaeologists,” said Baxter with a nod. “They teach, and every summer they go to digs in Europe or the Middle East.”

“They’re pretty respected,” said West, “what do they think about their son the cartoonist, turned detective?”

“I don’t think they ever fully understood what I do,”said Baxter. “In fact, most days, I don’t fully understand what I do.”

A Little Bit about Kirby Baxter

Before I get into this book, let me give a quick run-down of the series. Kirby Baxter is a comic book artist/writer. A few years ago, he came into a lot of money and took some time for himself in Europe. Kirby has the kind of eye for observation and powers of deduction comparable to Shawn Spencer or Adrian Monk (you could include several incarnations of Holmes, etc., too—but Shawn and Monk are closer in tone to this series). While in Europe, he found himself in situations where he could use those gifts to help solve some crimes—this got him a bodyguard, valet, assistant, or whatever, named Gustav, and both of them were made official Interpol consultants.

His talent(?) for being in the general vicinity of crimes continued once he got back to the States and he’s ended up helping the police in various cities with murders and other crimes. He’s frequently helped in this by the aforementioned Gustav; his girlfriend, Molly; her gossip-blogger cousin, Shelly; and his friend and colorist, Mitch Mandelbaum.

What’s Drop the Mikes About?

As a thanks for a bit of deduction that saved a New York Hotel a lot of money and even more bad publicity, Kirby and his friends (Molly Mitch, Gustav and Gustav’s girlfriend, Miriam) were given the opportunity to spend two weeks in some villas at a resort that’s about to open on a Caribbean island. Sounds like a fun little getaway, right?

Kirby Baxter doesn’t get those anymore. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

At the same time they arrive on the island, so do many other people—these people are largely young, with a lot of money, and/or are social media “influencers.” They’re on the island of a big luxury music festival to help promote a new product from a company called HÿpStar. Except the festival didn’t have any musicians (their checks bounced), or food (same), or decent places for the attendees to stay (you probably have guessed why by now).*

* If you’re thinking, this sounds a lot like Fyre Festival, give yourself a pat on the back.

Before the situation can totally deteriorate with the festival, the right-hand man to the organizer is found murdered. So you have thousands of disgruntled festival-goers, all with a reason to be angry with the victim, with almost every one of them trying to get off the island as fast as possible. It’s a bit much for the small island police force—thankfully, there’s a renowned detective in the neighborhood.

So Kirby and his friends have their vacation cut short.

The Hÿp Festival

I think I was largely offline for whatever reason about the time the whole Fyre Festival thing happened, and I missed most of the early hubbub, and then when I started to become aware of it, I didn’t exert a whole lot of effort into it. I’ve picked up a thing or two in the years since then, but that’s about it. So while I’d like to say something about the way that MacMaster satirizes The Fyre Festival, but I can’t. Seems outlandish and crooked enough.

But I can say that some of the more outlandish characters are hilariously drawn—like the influencer who cannot help speaking in text-speak acronyms, like “Double-you-tee-eff” or “Ess-em-aitch.” I appreciated MacMaster not using the acronyms themselves but going the extra mile and spelling out the letters, it added just enough to make her ridiculously charming. Carting around a ceramic Buddha statue and calling it her “Good luck Gandhi” was borderline-too-much, but I found it amusing every time it came up, so I’m not going to criticize it.

Too Much Going On

The two earlier Kirby Baxter books had a lot going on—several characters, each with their own arcs intertwined with the others—and that’s repeated here as expected. But this time it felt like there were too many other characters and their arcs running around—it wasn’t confusing or anything (we’ve all seen that before, this isn’t one for that list), but to do an adequate job for each of those, MacMaster had to use Kirby less.

But also, his friends—his self-labeled Scooby Gang—are running around doing their own thing while he’s looking into the murder (some are acting independently to help, others are working along with him), and that ends up taking time away from Kirby getting to shine. Sure, (to refer to that other Scooby Gang) we all know Fred, Velma, and Daphne have to look for clues on their own—either paired up or on their own—but the viewers came to see Scooby and Shaggy (possibly Scrappy-Do, too) and the more time we spend with Fred and his ascot doing things the less we see Scooby and Shaggy and the less entertaining the episode is. The same applies here. Molly’s great doing her own thing. Ditto for Miriam—and even Mitch is pretty darn amusing and got to do things we don’t normally associate with him. I’m all in favor of it, but Kirby was off-screen too much of this book.

A Small Gift for Long-Time MacMaster Fans

Readers of MacMaster’s other series, the Jake Mooney books, might recognize this particular part of the Caribbean, as it was the setting for Hack (and if you don’t recognize it, that’s okay, a couple of characters will make sure you get the connection).

It’s one of those things that won’t bother you if you don’t get the references as you read, but if you do, you’ll appreciate the ties between the two.

Now, what are the odds we can get Jake and Kirby working the same mystery from different angles?

Baxter had long thought that the adventures that afflicted his life the last few years had immunized him from ever feeling shocked, or surprised. It was one of the very rare instances where he was very, very wrong.

So, what did I think about Drop the Mikes?

Drop the Mikes is 243 pages of pure enjoyment. It’s that simple. You have Kirby being geeky and almost supernaturally-clever self. You get Molly and Gustav doing their usual thing. Mitch gets to be repulsive yet endearing—and even a little heroic, and we get to meet Miranda, the librarian who could be an action star if she really wanted to.

Throw in a handful or two of whacky characters, the disaster of the Hÿp Festival, a couple of murders, financial hijinks, another couple of crimes that really have nothing to do with the Festival outside of location—and you just can’t stop turning the pages to see what MacMaster has left up his sleeve.

These books are like ice cream or pizza—even if the one you’re eating isn’t as good as others you’ve had, they’re still ice cream or pizza, and you’d rather be eating them than just about anything else. I strongly recommend this book—and the rest in the series, too—well, anything with Duncan MacMaster’s name on it. I can’t think of another book this year that I’ve had as much fun reading as this one. And I bet there won’t be many in the 7+ months yet to come.

4 Stars

Pub Day Repost: Animal Instinct by David Rosenfelt: The K Team Gets the Chance to Right an Old Wrong

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On April 6, 2021

In David Rosenfelt, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Animal Instinct

Animal Instinct

by David Rosenfelt
Series: The K Team, #2

eARC, 304 pg.
Minotaur Books, 2021

Read: March 22-23, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Animal Instinct About?

Every retired police officer or PI in fiction (maybe in real life, too, I don’t know), has at least one case, one incident, one moment that haunts them. If only they’d done X, if only they’d been able to solve Y, or stop Z from happening. Corey Douglas has one of those—a few years ago, he responded to a call about domestic violence. He was unable to make any arrests that night, or anything else–he was convinced that the woman had been abused, but she denied it.

Years later, this woman is murdered and Corey’s out to do the one thing he couldn’t do before—get justice for her. He keeps telling himself that he wants the killer arrested, but really, he wants to finally arrest the boyfriend for the murder. Laurie and Marcus, his partners in the private investigator business—as well as his dog, Simon Garfunkel, a retired K-9 officer, join him in this investigation that turns out to be far more than anyone expected. The team needs Laurie’s smarts and ability with people, Marcus’s mysterious abilities (and brute force), Simon Garfunkel’s teeth, and Corey’s determination—and more than a little luck—to get to the bottom of this.

Especially when more murders are committed.

Simon Garfunkel

The collective name for this group of investigators is The K Team, because of their K-9 member, right? So why doesn’t he get more to do? I realize he’s a dog. I’m not suggesting he join Sam in the hacking, or sit on stakeouts with Marcus (although I admit, I would pay good money for 10 pages or so of that). But Corey leaves him home a lot—yes, he retrieves him as quickly as possible and does what he can to spend time with him. But, I think he could do more.

When Simon Garfunkel is given a chance to do something—he’s great. And even when he’s just there for atmosphere, or as a conversational/narrative prop for Corey—he’s a handy addition. I just think we could get some more of him. Bernie Little brings Chet to many more places that Corey tries. Maybe that’s a function of Corey living in New Jersey and not the Southwest, and I think I could accept that as an explanation.

There’s a scene toward the beginning of the novel where Corey takes Simon to the beach for the first time—and like most dogs, Simon loves the water and the sand. It’s his enjoyment of the setting that gets Corey, who’s apathetic at best toward the beach, to embrace the beach. I couldn’t have enjoyed this scene more unless I was on the beach with them.

Corey’s Other Relationship

Of course, the reason that Corey’s at the beach for Simon to enjoy is his girlfriend, Dani. She’s one of the best things about this book.

We’re told in the last book that Corey’s not really had any serious relationships as an adult, he’s always looking for the reason to end things. He just doesn’t want to end things with Dani. Whether it’s because now that he’s retired, he has time in his life for things other than police work; he’s finally found “The One” (or a right one, depending on how you like to think of that); or he’s finally maturing—or any combination of the three. Corey’s letting himself grow, letting himself want things that he hasn’t before—even at his age.

I love a character like that—I want to read about them, they’re inherently interesting. And Rosenfelt is writing this just right—a little sappy and a little realistic.

It helps that Dani’s a pretty fun character—but we could learn a bit more about her. Still, I like the way Corey seems to be changing because of her influence, I like him more than I did when we first met him in the Andy Carpenter series.

My Concern…

This is about The K Team as a series as much as it is about this book specifically.

There’s just too much Andy Carpenter.

Sure, this is a spin-off from that series, and as Andy’s married to Laurie and they largely work out of the Carpenter house, he’s going to be around. I don’t mind, but he has his own series, and gets two books a year lately. Not only do we need more Simon Garfunkel, but we also need more Laurie and Marcus.

I like Andy Carpenter, I’ve read 22 novels about him (some more than once)—and I’m probably going to read at least two novels in that series this year. I thought Animal Instinct was a good way to use Andy, and I’m absolutely glad that I read this book. I just think for The K Team series to have any long-term success, they need to stand on their own feet more and not be propped up by Andy.

The Unexpected Highlight

I don’t know if you typically read Acknowledgments pages/sections. I tend to glance at them, but like many people, I don’t spend that much time with them. So let me draw your attention to the Acknowledgments for this novel—any David Rosenfelt novel, really. You simply must read them. They are the silliest, goofiest writing Rosenfelt ever does (and in some cases, that’s saying something) and never fail to make me smile.

So, what did I think about Animal Instinct?

So I have some long-term concerns with the series and a couple of things I wasn’t crazy about when it comes to Animal Instinct, but I don’t want those to overshadow the central point I have about this book: it’s good*. I had a lot of fun while reading it, and while I was satisfied with the ending, I wish it didn’t end when it did, because that meant it’d be a few months before I got to spend more time with any of the characters in this book.

* I’ve said it on this site before, I’ll say it again: It takes few words to praise something, it takes several to fully explain a concern, problem, or even mild annoyance. As such, they tend to overshadow the praise. I think that’s what is happening here. I don’t mean it to.

David Rosenfelt is one of the most reliably entertaining novelists in Crime Fiction today. Every time I sit down with one of his books, I know I’m in for a good read. Characters you want to spend time with. Animal Instinct is a solid story with some great twists—and well-executed reveals. Corey’s got a great narrative voice and his sense of humor (which isn’t quite the same as Andy Carpenter’s) permeates the book and livens up the text just enough when things are grimmest.

If you have no idea who Andy Carpenter, Corey Douglas, Simon Garfunkel, or the rest are? Don’t let that stop you from trying this, it absolutely works as a jumping-on point—both to this series and the books it’s spun off from. I’m in this series for the long haul, and I think you’ll want to be, too.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this opportunity and the fun read.

3.5 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—4/3/21

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On April 3, 2021

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

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 Library E-Book Bill Advancing in Maryland—am not sure this is the best way to address the issue (not sure it isn’t, either)
bullet Douglas Adams’ note to self reveals author found writing torture—Good piece about Adams, but an absolute garbage headline. Anyone who knows anything about Adams doesn’t need that revealed. Tantamount to headlines like, “George RR Martin Procrastinates,” “Don Winslow Has a Thing or Two to Say About the Drug Trade,” or “David Rosenfelt Features a Dog in his Next Book.”
bullet How Hank the Cowdog Made John R. Erickson the King of the Canine Canon: He wanted to become a serious literary novelist, like Faulkner or Hemingway. Fortunately for millions of Hank the Cowdog fans, he failed.—I never understood the appeal, but I know many who got it. Interesting feature about Erickson (who I did not realize was still publishing).
bullet Why are there so many book summary apps?—Something else I’ve never understood the appeal of (even if I drew the same conclusions as this post). Worth it for the last paragraph.
bullet Why Do So Many Novels Feature Golden Retrievers?
bullet To wait, or to buy. A look at the impact those who wait to buy and binge-read series can have on the book writing business.—Great post.
bullet So, You Want to Start a Book Blog…—FanFiAddict’s David W. has some good thoughts for people thinking of diving in
bullet The Expectations We Put On Ourselves as Book Bloggers—she wrote this so I didn’t have to. I’m not sure if it was just the encouragement I needed this week or if it served as the excuse I could use to produce so little 🙂

Lastly I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to josbees andrtslaywood who followed the blog this week.

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK XVIII., iv. – vii.

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On April 2, 2021

In Fiction, Fridays with The Foundling, General Fiction/Literature

Fridays with the Foundling
Tom Jones Original CoverWe’re in the last book, nearing the end of the novel and therefore ehhhhhh-verything is going to be revealed. And things at Mrs. Miller’s are busy for Squire Allworthy this day.

Square, who the reader may remember as the less-religious tutor for Tom and Blifil is dying, and has got real religion. Now has been driven to confess to everyone he can think of to clear his conscience and hopefully make things right.

As part of this effort, he sends a letter to Allworthy, in part, he states:

Believe me, my friend, this young man hath the noblest generosity of heart, the most perfect capacity for friendship, the highest integrity, and indeed every virtue which can ennoble a man. He hath some faults, but among them is not to be numbered the least want of duty or gratitude towards you. On the contrary, I am satisfied, when you dismissed him from your house, his heart bled for you more than for himself.

Allworthy also gets a letter from Thwackum, having heard of the murder accusation, who goes on and on about Tom’s villainy—and tries to get Allworthy’s support for a job. Allworthy’s a little shaken by this, but not that much.

But wait, there’s more.

We then discover that Allworthy’s lawyer, Dowling, was one of the men Nightingale talked to at the alehouse when he got the truth from Fellamar’s goons about the attempt to press him into the Navy via this trumped-up charge. Nightingale assumed Dowling was there, like he was, to gather information to help Tom. Allworthy is stunned by this news. Blifil explains it away—over the outspoken skepticism of Mrs. Miller.

Patridge stops by right then to update Mrs. Miller, but Allworthy corners him and

asked him many questions concerning Jones, as to his health, and other matters; to all which Partridge answered, without having the least regard to what was, but considered only what he would have things appear; for a strict adherence to truth was not among the articles of this honest fellow’s morality or his religion.

Allworthy then gets everyone to leave and speaks frankly with Partridge, accusing him of being Tom’s father. Partridge denies it, ” he was no more the father of Jones than of the Pope of Rome”. It’s at this point that Mrs. Waters shows up, and things get really interesting.

Also, it should be noted that by now, that anything that Mr. Square has said has quite been forgotten.

Partridge calls on Mrs. Waters to be a witness—if anyone can state definitively that he’s not the father, it has to be the mother, right? But, no. She flat out states that’s not the case (which will greatly relieve Tom, I’m sure)

I’m not really going to try to summarize what says:

“I am not his mother; nor would I now think myself so for the world….So far what I confest,” said she, “was true, that these hands conveyed the infant to your bed; conveyed it thither at the command of its mother; at her commands I afterwards owned it, and thought myself, by her generosity, nobly rewarded, both for my secrecy and my shame.” “Who could this woman be?” said Allworthy. “Indeed, I tremble to name her,” answered Mrs Waters. “By all this preparation I am to guess that she was a relation of mine,” cried he. “Indeed she was a near one.” At which words Allworthy started, and she continued—“You had a sister, sir.” “A sister!” repeated he, looking aghast.—“As there is truth in heaven,” cries she, “your sister was the mother of that child you found between your sheets.” “Can it be possible?” cries he, “Good heavens!” “Have patience, sir,” said Mrs Waters…all suspicions were afterwards laid asleep by the artful conduct of your sister, in pretending ill-will to the boy, and that any regard she shewed him was out of meer complacence to you.”

The hits keep coming. The reason she showed up wasn’t to drop that bomb on everyone, but this—she’s been approached by someone thinking she was Mrs. Fitzgerald. As such, she might be interested in someone coming along to give financial aid for the prosecution of Tom. Who was this less-than-scrupulous man?

Mr. Dowling, of course. Things are not looking good for him.

This section really goes with Fielding’s promise to not give us a whole lot of fancy writing or anything with flair anymore—just the events. That’s all we got. Nothing clever, just a lot of exposition. And a lot of things to chew on. I really miss the flavor of the previous 17 books, but if he’d kept that up, Fielding would’ve taken at least 7 or 8 chapters to give us as much exposition as he did in these four.

The Friday 56 for 4/2/21: Prodigal Storm by Kate Sheeran Swed

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On April 2, 2021

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

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice

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

from page 56 of:
Progigal Storm

Prodigal Storm by Kate Sheeran Swed

(yup–I’m finally finishing the trilogy!)

…the full blast of the mocking tone still hit him in the chest. As if he’d been the one to hurt her.

“I could kill you right now with my bare hands,” she continued. “Or a kitchen knife, or the Edinburgh I’ve got strapped to my hip. You’re already trusting me.”

An old quote about protestations and truthfulness floated into his mind, a passage his Laura would have appreciated.

A Few Quick Questions with…Robert Germaux

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On April 2, 2021

In A Few Quick Questions With..., Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Before I get to the questions, I have to say that I’m surprised that we haven’t done one of these before–I did post a Q&As with Germaux as part of tours for Hard Court and One by One, but those questions came from the tours. I’m glad I finally got the chance to ask these few questions.

We’re talking about Small Talk and the Daniel Hayes series today, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t plug the Jeremy Barnes books, too. Where did Jeremy come from, and what would readers want to know about him before they dive in?
Jeremy is my alter ego. As I often tell people, other than the fact that he’s younger, smarter, taller, stronger and has way more hair, you can hardly tell us apart. As for what readers should know before they dive into a Jeremy Barnes mystery, well, JB (a high school English teacher in a previous life) can quote Shakespeare as quickly and easily as he can land a mean left jab, has an irreverent sense of humor and a definite soft spot in his heart for life’s underdogs.

But before you gave us Jeremy, you published Small Talk and introduced us to Daniel Hayes and his team. What was the inspiration for that series and Hays in particular?
Actually, I wrote three books about Jeremy Barnes before I wrote Small Talk. I held off putting those three books on Amazon because my agent at the time had hopes of finding a traditional publisher for them. While he was doing his best in that ultimately unsuccessful endeavor, I came up with the idea of a serial killer novel. Since I couldn’t see a private detective hunting a serial killer as effectively as a police detective who had all the tools of a large urban police department at his disposal, I created my Daniel Hayes character.

Daniel’s not a lone-wolf detective like Bosch or Rebus, he comes with (and works within) a team. While being more realistic isn’t the typical choice for Detective Fiction—why did you make that choice? Talk about the team a bit.
I wanted Daniel to work with a small group of people with diverse backgrounds and talents, a team that could bounce ideas off each other as they searched for the killer. Writing their interactions allowed me to show my readers how the investigation progressed from one level to the next as they closed in on that killer. Each member of the team brings something different to the table. Ted has a long history in local law enforcement, Samantha’s a respected city cop with an FBI contact who helps them in their hunt for the killer, and Henry’s a young suburban cop with great instincts. Together, Daniel (a former pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates) and his team are a classic example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

Take a moment and compare the two series—what are the limitations and advantages to writing a lone PI and a Police Detective?
Interesting question, H.C. I’ve never really thought about these two series that way. I guess the advantage to writing my Jeremy Barnes books is that I’m able to focus solely on JB’s determination to solve the case, by whatever means necessary, whereas Daniel has to be aware of the legal constraints imposed upon him by the system within which he works. Both he and JB will ultimately get the job done. It’s just that they sometimes take different paths to get there. Again, great question.

Both of your series are based in Pittsburgh, a city that I honestly don’t think I’ve read novels set in before. Is that one of your reasons behind choosing it? What is it about the series that draws you—and why do you think it’s ignored in favor of LA, New York, Boston, Chicago, etc.?
The easiest answer to this question is that old adage: Write what you know. While I’ve been fortunate enough to visit many far-flung locales, from Tahiti to Paris to Rome, I’m a yinzer at heart, born and raised in Pittsburgh. I find the city’s wealth of diverse neighborhoods, from the Oakland area (home to both Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh) to the Hill District (site of many of August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle of award-winning plays) to be a treasure trove of fascinating people and places for my novels. The other cities you mentioned do, indeed, get more attention in terms of settings for books, probably because they all have that big city “panache,” but I think we’re seeing more and more books and, especially, movies being set in and around Pittsburgh.

In addition to your mysteries, you’ve put out some humor collections, and two “General Fiction” (for lack of a better term) novels. Are there genres you wouldn’t want to try? What is it about Mystery novels that brings you back to them?
I wouldn’t try to write anything in the horror or supernatural genres. Although I know they’re enormously popular, and I definitely acknowledge and applaud the writers who are successful in those literary categories, I’ve just never been bitten by that particular bug. As for my love of mysteries, it probably goes back to my childhood, when I couldn’t get enough of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. I devoured those books.
Let’s play “Online Bookstore Algorithm” (a game I’ve recently invented). What are 3-5 books whose readers may like Small Talk?
Any of the Spenser novels written by Robert B. Parker, along with Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole books and Harlen Coben’s Myron Bolitar mysteries.

What’s next for Robert Germaux, more Jeremy Barnes, Daniel Hayes, or do you have something else up your sleeve?
I just finished Grammar Sex 3, my third book of humorous essays (I like to call them my Grammar Sex Trilogy), so that will be out soon, along with Leaving the LAW and Speak Softly, two of the early Jeremy Barnes novels. And just recently, I finally figured out the plot for a sixth JB book, so I’ll be getting to work on that.

Thanks for your time and these answers, and I hope both the Jeremy Barns and Daniel Hays books have enough success that you can keep going with them!
Hey, H.C., this has been fun. Thanks!

GUEST POST: Why Do We Write? by Robert Germaux

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On April 2, 2021

In Fiction

Why Do We Write?

In 1855, the difficulty of writing was described by some long-forgotten wit who said that words came from an author “drop by drop.” Jump ahead to 1949, when Pulitzer Prize winning sportswriter Red Smith, when asked if writing a daily column was hard, replied, “Why, no. You simply sit down at the typewriter, open your veins, and bleed.”

There are numerous other versions of the “open your veins and bleed” school of writing that have been ascribed to many people, including Ernest Hemingway. Unfortunately, there is no real evidence that Hemingway ever actually said anything along those lines, so I guess I’m not going to be able to sneak a good Papa reference into this essay. Another time, perhaps.

Getting back to the topic du jour, why do so many writers describe their craft in such disparaging terms? Apparently, a lot of us love the finished product but maybe not so much the process of getting there. Dorothy Parker, a founding member of the famed Algonquin Round Table, evidently was speaking for a good many writers when she said, “I hate writing. I love having written.”

While researching this piece, I had no trouble finding quotes about writers who claim to hate writing, but the reverse was definitely more difficult. Certainly, you can find people who say they enjoy writing, but they appear to be a distinct minority. For every author who said he or she loved writing, I found at least five or six who fell into the “tortured writer” category, which I have to admit came as a surprise. I mean, I don’t know about you, but if I was voluntarily engaging in an activity that I believed could in any way be compared to torture, I’d put an end to my participation in that activity right quick.

So, again, why do we write? Personally, I didn’t begin writing until I’d retired after three decades of teaching high school English, and it wasn’t until a good many years (and a bunch of books) later that I felt comfortable telling people I was a writer, as opposed to a retired teacher. Why do I write? Well, I can assure you it’s not for the money. At this moment, I have nine books on Amazon: five mysteries, two love stories and two collections of humorous essays. My books sell for $2.99, which means that after Amazon dips its beak, my cut is a hefty $2.05 for every sale. So that 50th wedding anniversary cruise of the Mediterranean my wife and I were lucky enough to take just before the pandemic hit was courtesy of our teacher pensions and social security, not the man of the house’s book royalties.

I don’t hate writing. I wouldn’t keep doing it if I did (see previous reference: torture). Is writing hard for me sometimes? Of course, just as I’m sure it is for you. If I’m smack in the middle of one of my detective novels, do I enjoy waking up at 2:00 am and furiously scribbling down notes about scenes or dialogues I just found racing through my mind? Not really, but when I put those notes together the next day in another chapter of my book, it makes losing a bit of sleep the night before not so bad. If you’ve had similar experiences, you know what I mean. We just have to get those thoughts down. We just have to write.

To some degree, I think most writers are perfectionists, which explains Oscar Wilde’s quote about spending “all morning putting in a comma . . . and all afternoon taking it out.” Okay, that’s a little extreme, but you get the idea. My point here is that, as perfectionists, we like to be able to make sure that things work out the way we want them to, and creating our own little worlds is a great way to do just that.

One more note, this one maybe not so obvious. In fact, there’s a bit of irony involved. Writing is among the most solitary of professions, yet its end result is to link us to others (many others, we hope). That simple act of sitting down in front of your computer or laptop (or, in my case, at my kitchen table with a yellow legal pad and my Pilot Precise V5 extra fine point pen) allows us to make a connection with the rest of the world. And I think in the end, for me at least, that connection is both reason and reward for why I write.

I hope you’re in that minority of writers who not only have to write, but also actually like what you do. My experience has been that, unfortunately, most people don’t really enjoy their work. If you’re a writer, you’re already in a select group of people with skills that appear to be rapidly diminishing in our society. So take advantage of your talent. Have fun with it. Use it to form those connections with others. It may be frustrating at times (especially in the middle of the night when you turn on the light and awaken your ever-understanding and supportive spouse because you just figured out whodunit), but trust me, you’ll feel much better the next day, when you write that final chapter in your latest masterpiece.
 

About the Author

Robert Germaux is currently hard at work at that kitchen table, putting the finishing touches on Grammar Sex 3, his third book of humorous essays. At least, he hopes they’re humorous. You can find more information about Bob and his books at his Amazon Author Page.

Small Talk by Robert Germaux: A Fledgling Task Force on the Hunt for a Serial Killer on the Streets of Pittsburgh

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On April 2, 2021

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

So this is going to be Robert Germaux day here, apparently. I’ve got this post about Small Talk and Germaux was kind enough to give me a Guest Post and to do a Q&A with me, all of which is coming along shortly. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Small Talk

Small Talk

by Robert Germaux
Series: A Daniel Hays Mystery, Book 1

Kindle Edition, 266 pg.
2015

Read: March 24-25, 2021

What’s Small Talk About?

The area around Pittsburgh, we’re told early in this book, is made up of a vast number of local jurisdictions that are fiercely independent and don’t necessarily cooperate too well with each other—even when it comes to crimes being committed in various jurisdictions. After one recent crime spree took too much of a toll and had too little cooperation between various law enforcement agencies, a Special Assignment Squad answering directly to the Chief of Police is formed to deal with crimes of that type.

This team’s first real trial comes some weeks after its formation when a series of young women are being strangled. There’s no sexual assault, no robbery, simply a strangulation. There’s no connection—appearance, socio-economic status, profession, location—between the victims. If there’s anything not random about the selection of the victims, no one can see it.

Daniel Hays, the head of the SAS, is the lead investigator on the first murder before it’s officially a SAS matter. But it doesn’t take him long to assume that there will be another —probably many—after looking at the evidence, scene, and victim. Sadly, he’s proven correct fairly shortly. As more and more victims are found, it’s clear that the killer is getting more brazen, and the pressure—from within and from outside the SAS—increases.

The Killer’s Perspective

97 times out of one hundred, I’d rather not get the killer’s perspective (either told in first or third person) as well as the detective’s. I’m clearly in the minority, however, even judging solely on how frequently we’re given this setup.

Germaux handles this device as well as anyone could want. It does add a little to the novel and helps us understand the killer better than we would if we only had Daniel’s perspective. It also helped me to really dislike the character—you know, in case randomly killing women wasn’t enough. The guy is too impressed with himself, he’s a showoff and a blowhard with a penchant for monologuing (to himself or others). Some of that goes with the territory, obviously, but there’s something about him I liked even less than your typical budding serial killer.

For example, unless something is wrong with you, you’re charmed by Lecter in Silence of the Lambs—yes, he’s a deranged killer that needs to be kept away from people, but you can’t help but like the guy. Robert B. Parker gives us the killer’s POV in Crimson Joy, and all I wanted was for him to be stopped—I don’t know if I ever cared about him one way or the other. But this guy? I actively disliked him, in addition to wanting Hays and the team to get him off the streets.

Advantages/Disadvantages of Reading this Now

I almost never read books out of order anymore—I used to do it all the time, but now my default mode is: Start at Book 1 and move forward. But because it was for a book tour, I read the second Daniel Hays novel first. It was nice to see that gripes and questions I had while reflecting on One by One had been anticipated and dealt with in these pages.

The downside is that there are some things that didn’t hold as much suspense for me because I knew the status of various characters in the sequel. There was one scene that held absolutely no suspense for me, and I regretted that lack as I read it. Thankfully, Germaux still handled that scene in a way I didn’t expect him to, so while it came with the resolution I expected, the journey to it was a nice surprise.

So, what did I think about Small Talk?

Before I wrote this post, I read what I said about the sequel just to compare the two. Plot-specifics aside, I could have just re-used that post here.

Small Talk has an interesting and solid approach to the Serial Killer, some nice twists, and a good group of core characters.

Professionals who treat each other as professionals, with respect and camaraderie. It could be made slightly more interesting or challenging if there were a bit more friction in the team or spillover from Daniel’s personal life (for example). But that’s only marginally more interesting.

I do wish there was a greater sense of urgency to this. The SAS is driven to find the killer, but they’re not obsessive about it. They clock out at the end of the day, go home and bake, or go on a date, or something else. And as nice as those side stories were, and as realistic as it might be, it’s somewhat dissatisfying when it comes to drama.

Like with all of Germaux’s writing, there’s a pleasantness to reading this. No matter how dire things may be, the book is just a pleasant experience. It’s a fast, gratifying read with some fun moments and justice prevailing. It’s hard to go wrong with that.

I recommend this—like all of Germaux’s Crime Fiction—especially if you’re not in the mood for gritty depictions of police detectives going about their work. In my earlier post, I compared them to “blue sky” dramas like NCIS, Burn Notice, or White Collar, and the same is true here. And sometimes that’s just what the doctor ordered.

3.5 Stars

March 2021 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

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On April 1, 2021

In Books, Calendar Items, Currently Reading, News/Misc.

March is the best month of the year as far as books finished—28 titles, 6959+ pages (one was an Audible Original and I have no idea what the page count will be) for a 3.83 Star Average—including four 5-Star books. I’m clearly getting soft (and, yeah, they were some great books too). My writing—review-ish posts and otherwise—isn’t what I want it to be, but hope springs eternal. I really need to catch up. I have a couple of door-stopper novels on my shelf, I should probably break out one or two of them in April as a way of catching up on posts (if I only finish 12 books, I’ll have plenty of time to write them up), right?

In one of those little things that no one but me cares about: I’ve got too many things unfinished at the moment. I’ve got 4 “project” books (things I plan on spending months on), and then 3 others. I’d expected to finish two of those on 3/31, but, y’know, Life happened. Since I’ve started doing these month-end reports, I’ve never had this many in progress.

Anyway, here’s what happened here in March.
Books Read

What Abigail Did That Summer The Unkindest Tide Calculated Risks
3.5 Stars 4 Stars 3.5 Stars
Junkyard Bargain What the World Needs Now - Bees! The Vigilante Game
3 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
Paging Through History The Treadstone Resurrection The Rags of Time
2 1/2 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
Burying The Newspaper Man You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey Volume One: Family Matters
4 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars
Rejoice and Tremble Born in a Burial Gown Cursed
3 Stars 5 Stars 4 Stars
Circle of Enemies Volume Two:Eight is Enough The Christian’s True Identity
4 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 3.5 Stars
Wild Sign Bluebird, Bluebird Animal Instinct
4 Stars 5 Stars 3.5 Stars
Volume Three: Perfect Strangers Below Zero Small Talk
5 Stars 4 Stars Still Deciding
Dead in the Water The Wasteland War The Lightning Thief
4 Stars 3.5 Stars 3.5 Stars
Drop the Mikes
4 Stars

Still Reading

Tom Jones Original Cover The Wonderful Works of God Things Unseen
Grace and Glory (BoT Edition) The Great Sex Rescue The Particulars of Peter
No Country for Old Gnomes

Ratings

5 Stars 4 2 1/2 Stars 1
4 1/2 Stars 1 2 Stars 0
4 Stars 11 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 7 1 Star 0
3 Stars 4
Average = 3.83

TBR Pile
Mt TBR March 21

Breakdowns
“Traditionally” Published: 18
Self-/Independent Published: 9

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 0 (0%) 1 (2%)
Fantasy 1 (4%) 8 (12%)
General Fiction/ Literature 0 (0%) 1 (2%)
Horror 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Humor 1 (4%) 1 (2%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 11 (39%) 25 (38%)
Non-Fiction 2 (7%) 3 (5%)
Science Fiction 5 (18%) 10 (15%)
Steampunk 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Theology/ Christian Living 2 (7%) 6 (9%)
Urban Fantasy 6 (21%) 11 (17%)
Western 0 (0%) 0 (0%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Other Things I Wroteotherwriting
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th), I also wrote:

That’s that for me, how was your month?

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