Category: K-O Page 3 of 19

DETAILS:
Series: Love & Bullets, #4
Publisher: Shotgun Honey Books
Publication Date: August 26, 2022
Format: eARC
Length: 234
Read Date: August 1, 2022

What’s Hell of a Mess About?

Well, isn’t that a tricky question? There is too much. Let me sum up. There are multiple people who start off intending to commit one crime and end up doing something entirely different.

Fiona’s been hired to steal something, and it’s a timely thing (and she’s not deterred by much), so despite an impending hurricane, she goes for it. Sure, the Inside Man tries to wave her off, but, again—she’s not deterred by much. Which is a shame—she should’ve paid attention to either the weather or the Inside Man. She ends up with a price on her head and multiple people around the city.

While she’s busy, Bill’s trying to prep for the storm in the home they’re squatting in when some police break in looking for the man who lives there. One thing leads to another, and they kidnap Bill, believing he can lead them to the millions his former employer had hidden away.

Thankfully. that assassin they thought Fiona killed at the end of A Brutal Bunch of Heartbroken Saps survived—readers knew that, but Fiona and Bill didn’t. Not only did he live, but he’s been keeping tabs on them. He’s been trying to live a different—less lethal—life and he has a chance to help them. Will he be enough?

(I have no idea if the above makes any sense—trying to cram it into three brief paragraphs doesn’t do the plot any favors. In the non-condensed version, it works. Trust me.)

The Unnamed Assassin

Up to the point where it looked like Fiona killed him (maybe a little sooner), I thought that the hitman who was sent after Bill in the first book was the protagonist. His is the only first-person perspective we get through the series—almost like he’s relaying what he knows and hears about this crazy couple while he’s dealing with his own problems like they’re a diversion for him.

His personal arc is very different from theirs—they claim to be trying to get out and live a straight life, if only they get one more decent score to set them up. The unnamed assassin is going a different path, he’s still a violent criminal, but like Jules Winnfield, he’s looking for something more. There are lines he won’t cross anymore (he seems to be making those rules up on the fly, but at least he has them.

As you can probably tell, I find it difficult to articulate his development and role in the series—but using him (sparingly, on the whole) and his arc throughout in juxtaposition to Fiona and Bill adds a layer to these books that few authors would have utilized, but make the whole thing better.

Be sure to check out my Q&A with Kolakowski (posting later today) for more about him.

Unanswered Questions

The thing that really kicks off the Fiona storyline is her stumbling across something she wasn’t expecting while discovering the thing she came to steal wasn’t there. Her discovery of the other nefarious action—and the way she prevented it from being completed*—is what starts the manhunt for her, more than the attempted heist. If she’d just walked away, I think it’s likely no one would’ve come after her.

* It is so tricky to discuss this obliquely.

Then when it comes time for Fiona to go save Bill, that storyline is dropped. Which is actually fine and good, because ultimately what it’s replaced by is more interesting. But in the back of my mind couldn’t stop asking—and, a week later, still can’t—what happened? What led up to Fiona’s discovery? What happened after she and the unnamed killer ran off to rescue Bill?

Typically, leaving these threads hanging would annoy me enough that I’d downgrade a novel over it—but Kolakowski pulls it off. If you’re going to abandon a plotline, this is the way to do it.

That said, I’d pony up twice the typical Shotgun Honey novella price today to get Love & Bullets #5 if it picks up right after this to tell the rest of that story. Maybe thrice.

So, what did I think about Hell of a Mess?

The previous three installments were novellas, but this is a novel, clocking in at 50-100 pages longer than the rest. And it didn’t feel like it at all. It was the same adrenaline-fueled, not-quite-frenzied pace and was over before I was ready for it to be. My daily schedule kept this from being a one-sitting read, but I think I could’ve done it in one sitting without realizing it.

This is pulpy fun. There’s action, there’s heart, there’s comedy (some subtle, some absolutely not), there’s a lot of violence, and you can’t forget the bunch of heartbroken saps that are at the center of things. They’re crooks and killers that really seem like decent people when you stack them up next to the nastier crooks and killers they can’t stop encountering. In the middle of all that chaos (and you can’t forget the chaos of the storm), there’s hope, forgiveness, and love. And who can’t use a little of that?

I don’t know if Kolakowski is going to come back to these characters in the future—I’d be content with what he’s given already, but I also know that I’d jump on any future installments, too. I encourage you to do the same.

4 1/2 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, the opinions expressed are my own.

Whispers in the Dark by Chris McDonald: Is DI Piper a Match for this Cunning Killer?

By HCNewton

On July 22, 2022

In Chris McDonald/Frost, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Whispers in the Dark

by Chris McDonald

DETAILS:
Series: DI Erika Piper, #2
Publisher: Red Dog Press
Publication Date: November 14, 2020
Format: eBook
Length: 311 pg.
Read Date: July 20, 2022

What’s Whispers in the Dark About?

DI Piper is pulled away from her partner Liam’s wedding reception to take over at the scene of a murder. A good friend of her DCI is one of the victims. DCI Clive Burston and a drug dealer have been shot and killed. The way it looks, if a gun had been recovered at the scene, she’d have concluded that Burston shot the dealer and then himself. But clearly, that can’t be the case.

Then another pair of bodies shows up—it also consists of a member of the same gang as the dealer and someone who has no connection to him—or crime at all.

Just what is going on? And how is she supposed to stop it?

DI Erika Piper

Piper’s still dealing with the trauma—physically and psychologically—from the events prior to A Wash of Black—and she’s picked up a little more on the psychological side. But she’s clearly in a better place than she was when we met her. There’s a confidence to her that wasn’t there in the last book—you can see it in both her interactions with her colleagues and the way she goes about the investigation. She’s not trying to prove that she’s ready to work anymore.

She still has work to do—no doubt about that—but she’s on the right path, and it’s nice to see McDonald showing that. It’s some subtle work and well done.

Now, how the events of this novel will set her up for whatever book 3 throws at her, I don’t know. I’m looking forward to seeing how she deals with it.

So, what did I think about Whispers in the Dark?

McDonald gives Erika and Liam some strong moments—individually and together—outside the case, and I was taken aback by how invested I was in these characters before the halfway point of their second book! There were some sweet moments, and a couple that got me a little misty (for both “positive” and “negative” reasons)—I was impressed at how efficiently he was at some of those, just two or three sentences that hit the emotions just right. And then there’s the scene that made me say things about McDonald that I should probably apologize to him for.

If he’s that good with the subplots, of course he’s going to nail the main story. This is a classic mystery—the killer, the motive, how the detective figures it out, how the killer comes into contact with the victims—it’s all tried and true, and McDonald delivers it well. But how the killer does it? I don’t think I’ve seen that before (eh, maybe something like it—but not as effectively portrayed). It’s a very clever take on this story. The personal stories and the way Piper and the others go through the investigation—the ups, downs, and the unexpected—that’s what separates these books from the rest.

It occurs to me, that if you removed the names and the personal subplots, and just told me the plot of this novel, I’d think you were describing one of Noelle Holten’s DC Maggie Jamieson. The twisty sort of mix of technology, motive, and execution behind the crimes fits in Maggie’s world as well as in Erika’s. Fans of one should definitely check out the other—although A Wash of Black wouldn’t have worked as well as a Maggie Jamieson book, so I’m not saying the two series are in lockstep—just that two of my recent favorites have some overlap.

Top-notch writing—there’s a couple of scenes that are so well described I feel like I was in the room with them—a great mystery, and some characters that’ll become favorites. Get your hands on this series, reader.

4 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.

A Wash of Black by Chris McDonald: This is How a Series Should Start

By HCNewton

On June 27, 2022

In Chris McDonald/Frost, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

A Wash of Black

by Chris McDonald

DETAILS:
Series: DI Erika Piper, #1
Publisher: Red Dog Press
Publication Date: January 27, 2020
Format: Kindle Edition
Length: 218 pg.
Read Date: June 17-18, 2022

What’s A Wash of Black About?

A year ago, DI Erika Piper was assaulted in the course of her duties, she survived, but it was close. It’s her first day back to work, and it’s a doozy.

A famous actress has been murdered and her body was essentially left on display. It’s a recreation of a very famous scene from a movie she starred in—the same way her character was killed. Well, almost. The film version departed from the novel it was adapted from on a couple of points—this crime scene is loyal to the book. The publicity around this case is going to be huge—as will be the pressure to solve this quickly.

Is this a personal grudge against the actress disguised to throw off the police? Is this a crazed fan paying a gruesome tribute to the actress/movie/novel? Is this someone working off some other twisted purpose hiding it beneath the spectacle?

This killer isn’t satisfied with one murder—and soon it appears the killer has Piper herself in their sights.

DI Erika Piper

Piper arrives in this book nearly fully-formed, sure, there’s room for development and growth in the books to come—but as a character, she’s fully fleshed out. She has a past (that we get a glimpse of), well-established relationships with fellow detectives, her superiors, crime scene investigators, coroner, and so on—as well as a full personal life.

Frequently we get these layers a little at a time with a series like this, and only after a few books, do we get to see the character’s entire world (or at least a good deal of it). McDonald doesn’t go that route, we could be reading the 4th or 8th book in the series, not the first. I don’t mind taking the former route with a character—and I understand why authors might make that choice—but I love it when an author successfully pulls off what McDonald did here.

She might be physically ready to come back to work, but she’s not fully ready on the psychological front (it’d be easy to argue she never will be). I don’t think she came back too soon, but she has some work to do on that front, and it was great to see a character actually do that work rather than the typical “detective does just enough to get the shrink to sign off on their return to duty.”

I particularly enjoyed the relationship Piper has with DS Liam Sutton. They work so well together, and their interactions and rituals bring this part of her world to life. I’m hoping to see more of that in the books to come.

A Mistake or a Red-Herring?

I don’t know about you, but I frequently find myself talking back to books when characters are making mistakes. Boy howdy, did I mutter at Piper a lot about one thing. There’s a witness that I (based on my extensive training and experience as a reader of procedurals) figure should’ve been talked to right away. And Piper and the other detectives ignore them.

Now, was this an oversight on McDonald’s part? Should Piper have tracked this person down? Is this a red herring designed to trip up readers like me?

I’m going to assume it’s the latter—although it could also be a sign that Piper’s a little rusty. Either way, it drove me nuts.

So, what did I think about A Wash of Black?

I had such a great time with A Wash of Black. It hit the spot just right—well-executed and satisfying. It’s not reinventing the wheel, there’s nothing revolutionary about it. It’s a solid, confident police procedural that delivers all the twists and complexity that the genre demands—with a good cast of characters, an engaging protagonist, and a compelling killer. You don’t need to be flashy or to subvert conventions or anything when you get everything as right as this one does.

I said it above, but it bears repeating—there’s no indication that this is the first in the series—or a debut for the novelist. McDonald approaches this with the assurance of an established writer. It shouldn’t need to be said, but just to be safe, I will—this is not the same kind of book as his Stonebridge Mysteries, and it takes no time at all to see that. Don’t go looking for anything cozy here.

I’m eager to come back for the second, Whispers in the Dark, in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I heartily recommend this to you.

4 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.

Constance Verity Destroys the Universe by A. Lee Martinez: Saying Good-Bye to this Hero

By HCNewton

On April 13, 2022

In A. Lee Martinez, Constance Verity, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Constance Verity Destroys the Universe

by A. Lee Martinez

DETAILS:
Series: Constance Verity, #3
Publisher: Gallery / Saga Press
Publication Date: March 7, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 290 pg    
Read Date: April 6-8, 2022

She pushed a chair into a corner of the room not visible from the street and sat. There was a feel to her life. Danger didn’t usually feel this dangerous. Danger was just background noise. But this was a lot of people trying to kill her. More than normal.

What’s Constance Verity Destroys the Universe About?

This book starts off with Constance Verity doing something almost unbelievable for her—normal things. She attends a dinner party to celebrate her best friend’s/sidekick’s upcoming wedding, she spends a day hanging out with her fiancé at a park and museum—sure, there’s a duel with an alien in there, as well as dealing with an international crisis, etc. But for Connie, that’s pretty sedate.

Then things stop happening—no death rays, mad scientists, pan-dimensional threats—not even a kitten stuck in a tree. It’s unnerving to all who know her well. On the plus side, Tia and Hiro’s wedding should go off without an interruption, right? And it does—the reception, however…

When things start happening again, there’s a distressing trend—people from all over the universe and time show up because they’ve been told that Constance Verity is going to destroy the universe, and they’re going to stop her. The assassins are plentiful enough that Connie’s getting nervous—so she does what she can to keep her loved ones safe and then sets out to see why people are saying she’s going to destroy the universe. All she’s ever done is save it, why would she change?

A Plethora of Ideas

Connie had a problem with Nebraska. And that problem was that it was too close to Kansas.

Kansas, where dark gods waited to rise from their forgotten tombs and bring about the extinction of mankind.

Kansas, where all time travel led to a black void where a pale, wizened figure would greet you, playing a banjo and singing endless choruses of “Achy Breaky Heart.”

Kansas, where Connie had come the closest to death on more than one occasion.

Kansas, her kryptonite.

In a sentence or two—or five brief paragraphs in the above quotation—Martinez is able to tell a whole story—or at least hint at one. Most of these little stories could be fodder for a novella or a novel, but in this trilogy, they’re given anywhere from a sentence fragment to a page. And then he moves on to something else so the plot can be advanced.

Every A. Lee Martinez novel has a surfeit of ideas that come flying at you, that’s nothing new. But I think in these Constance Verity novels that he’s outdone himself. Martinez treats these all as throw-away remarks, with no real investment of time on the reader’s part. But it has to be the kind of thing that would drive your average novelist to exhaustion just trying to come up with them all.

You get just a taste of a fantastic adventure or death-defying feat that Connie’s pulled off (frequently with Tia at her side) in these. You add enough of these together and you really start to see all the things that Constance has done and you understand how much is riding on her successes and how she’s become a legendary figure throughout the universe.

Sorry, Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus*

It probably says something about the way my brain works that my favorite writing on Free Will vs. Determinism comes from Science Fiction—particularly those prone to a comedic tone. Okay, it says a lot about me, but that’s for another time.

Constance Verity Destroys the Universe plays with those ideas a lot—even knowing (after being told repeatedly from reliable sources) that she’s going to destroy the Universe, Connie refuses to believe it and flat out says she won’t. This idea is treated with derision by some (rightly) and supported and echoed by others (also, rightly). The mostly retired demigoddess of destiny that has moved into Connie’s apartment building cannot muster up the desire to weigh in on this, and of anyone, you’d think she’d have a lot to say about it.

I’m not saying that I think Martinez has penned a well-developed treatise on the idea in the middle of this SF/Fantasy Action novel—I’m just saying he has a lot of fun playing with the idea and that anyone who enjoys that sort of thing will find the Free Will vs. Determinism discussion a tasty side dish to accompany the SF/Fantasy entree.

* Okay, not really sorry.

So, what did I think about Constance Verity Destroys the Universe?

“I don’t have a lot of other leads, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that when in doubt, point myself toward the nearest adventure and let it work itself out.”

I hate that this volume is the end of the road for this trilogy—but I’m not sure what else he could accomplish in this world. When the series started, Connie was an adventurer/savior-of-the-universe wanting a normal life and being unable to; and we wrap up things up with her finding her own brand of normal, which she’ll be able to enjoy if she survives the assassination attempts and doesn’t destroy the universe. That’s a pretty decent arc.

I think I like the arc that her side-kick/best friend Tia goes on a smidge better, but that might be because Tia’s a bit more relatable to those of us not burdened with cosmic destiny. Either way, it’s a good run.

The ending of this is perfect on several levels—exactly how a novel (or a series) like this should end.

Could you read this apart from the other two novels? Yeah, I suppose. But I don’t think it’d be a great stand-alone, but you could get away with it. Why you’d want to, I don’t know—the first two books in the series are a blast.

On Twitter and his blog, Martinez will insist that he doesn’t write humor or comedy, that he’s not that satirical. I’m not so sure, but let’s take him at his word. His SF/Fantasy adventures (this one and all his others) are so funny that you can see why people would make that mistake. But when you ignore the humor, you get a very satisfying SF/Fantasy story that takes tropes and themes you’re very familiar with and presents them to you in a way that makes you see them with fresh eyes and frequently makes you re-evaluate the trope/theme to come at it with a new appreciation. If you happen to chuckle along the way, consider that a bonus.

Obviously, I recommend Constance Verity Destroys the Universe to you—and everything else Martinez has penned. Thank me later (if you remember to).

4 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.

REPOSTING JUST ‘CUZ: Constance Verity Saves the World by A. Lee Martinez: Connie Verity is trying to have it all — a personal life while saving the world on a regular basis

By HCNewton

On April 12, 2022

In A. Lee Martinez, Constance Verity, Fiction, Science Fiction

Like I said earlier, I’m not having any success with my post about the third book in this series. So I’m reposting what I said about the previous two books to 1: To Have something to post today, and B. To hopefully use this as a way to get my brain in gear.

Constance Verity Saves the World

by A. Lee Martinez
Series: Constance Verity, #2

Trade Paperback, 385 pg.
Saga Press , 2018<br/
Read: August 18 – 20, 2018

“It’s a problem I have. When you’re ten years old and dangling from a cliff while rabid hyenas circle below, you learn to be stubborn. You can’t quit, because quitting isn’t an option. You dig your fingernails and pray that root doesn’t come loose. And if it does, you plan how best to fend off hyenas when all you have is a Pez dispenser and a priceless diamond in your pocket. I fight. It’s what I do. It’s how I survive. When people turn and run, I go forward. It’s kept me alive so far, but it’s skewed how I look at things.

“Somebody tells me I can’t do something, I want to do it more. Want isn’t a strong enough word. I need to do it. Give me that big red button labeled DO NOT PUSH in bright neon letters, and I’ll push it every time.”

Having fought for the ability to have a normal life in The Last Adventure of Constance Verity Connie’s out to try to have one. Which is harder than saving the world a few times a week. She’s still saving the world regularly, as well as having all sorts of adventures. She’s trying to settle down with her boyfriend Byron the accountant, while relying on her best friend/sidekick Tia some more (all the while, Tia is trying to strengthen her relationship with her ninja-thief boyfriend, Hiro). There are evil geniuses, aliens, robots, and vampires living in her condo — all of them behaving themselves, thank you very much.

One of the activities that takes most of Connie’s time right now is trying to help out an old friend cleanup the supercriminal organization that he’s in charge of now that his mother has apparently died. There’s a lot of rogue agents, assassins and experiments that need cleaning up if the organization is going to be come a legitimate force for good — or at least not a force for evil and chaos in the world. Connie’s tempted to spend more time doing that than she should, to the detriment of her relationship with Byron. Thankfully, Tia’s there to help keep her priorities in order. Hopefully, that’ll be enough.

You ever find yourself eating something — say, some cake — and you’re not sure if it’s too rich, if the frosting is too sweet? And then you realize how stupid you sound? Wondering if the cake is too good? Well, that’s the experience I had with this (and, I’m pretty sure with the previous Constance Verity book) — where there too many quips? Too many (seemingly) random ideas, aliens, evil masterminds, robots, henchmen of a variety of stripes, strange occurrences? What a stupid thing to ask. Yeah, there’s a lot going on, but it actually doesn’t get to the overload status. It may come close, but it stays on the right side. It’s like asking if there are too many animated personages in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, if there are too many Easter Eggs in whatever your Super-Hero movie of choice is. No, there’s not — there’s a lot of good things that are fun. Shut up and enjoy.

Really, that’s the worst thing I can say about the book — occasionally, there are too many fun things happening. The pacing is great, the characters are rich, lively, and well-developed (including many of those only around for a page or so), you’ll laugh, you’ll be moved, you might even have a thought provoked. It’s just a charming book set in a delightful world.

Do not make the mistake of thinking this is a romp, just a free-wheeling ball of fun, snark and self-referential humor. It’s an A. Lee Martinez book, so yeah, there’s a lot of that — but laying underneath that is a good story, some interesting ideas about relationships, about trust, about fate. A whole lot of other things, too, I’m sure, but let’s stick with those. Too many people will read this, focus on the “fun” stuff and will miss the very thoughtful portions — it’s Martinez’ strength and weakness that it’s so easy to do with his works. There’s nothing wrong with a silly adventure story, and there’s nothing wrong with a book that’s about something. But when you have a novel that’s both — you should pay attention to both.

I knew Martinez could write a series if he wanted to — I had no idea what it was going to look like when he did. I’m glad I got the chance to find out. Constance Verity Saves the World is equal to its predecessor in every way that it doesn’t outdo The Last Adventure of Constance Verity — which is no mean feat. It’s fun, the characters are better defined and have grown some, and there’s never a dull moment. Constance Verity, the caretaker of the universe, the Legendary Snurkab, possibly the only woman with more titles than Daenerys Targaryen, is a character you need to get to know. Her sidekick Tia is, too. I cannot wait to see what the two of them do next.

—–

4 Stars

REPOSTING JUST ‘CUZ: The Last Adventure of Constance Verity by A. Lee Martinez

By HCNewton

On April 12, 2022

In A. Lee Martinez, Constance Verity, Fiction, Science Fiction

I’ve spent a couple of hours trying to say something about the third book in this trilogy, but haven’t come up with more than “this is good.” So I’m going to repost this (and then what I said about Book 2 later on) while I go back to the drawing board.

The Last Adventure of Constance Verity

by A. Lee Martinez
Series: Constance Verity, #1

Hardcover, 384 pg.
Saga Press, 2016

Read: September 8 -12, 2016

“I didn’t think you believed in jinxes,” said Tia.

Connie didn’t.

But she wasn’t so sure that jinxes didn’t believe in her, and they’d had a long, long time to build a grudge.

I go in to a Martinez book assuming I’ll like it, this one took less time than usual for me to know I liked it. Lines like that are just part of why.

Thanks to a gift from a fairy godmother, since she was 7, Constance Verity has been saving the world as she goes on unbelievable adventure after unbelievable adventure — she travels the galaxy, time, alternate realities and all over (and under) the Earth. She’s run into demons, aliens, wizards, killer robots, mad scientists and many more threats — and overcome them all. A couple of decades later, she’s starting to think that she’s missing out on something despite all the excitement. She’s missing out on being ordinary.

Haven’t you saved the world on multiple occasions?”

“That’s what people tell me, but I’m beginning to think that the world isn’t as fragile as all that. The universe got along just fine for billions of years without me. I don’t think it needs me to save it. I think it all works out about the same in the end. Sometimes, I like to think of myself with a dead-end job that I dislike, a husband who is letting himself go, and some ungrateful kids I take to soccer practice. It sounds dreary, but at least it would be my life.”

Connie doesn’t stop to consider if she’s really cut out for ordinary, but if anyone can rise to the challenge of normality, it’s Constance Verity.

So she and her ~~sidekick~~ best-friend, Tia, head out to get that normal life for her. Step 1: Kill her fairly godmother.

I really don’t know what to say about the book beyond this without getting into more details than I ought. I guess I could say a few things about character. Connie is a great character, for someone who’s lived a superhuman life, she’s really human. Tia is incredible — wise, funny, caring, a real good friend. The relationship between the two is almost perfect.

This is a typical Martinez — a strange combination of loony and thoughtful. You can laugh and then be struck by a profound thought within a couple of pages. This is a fun adventure (a handful, really), and a bit of a commentary on heroes, villains, tropes and themes in SF stories (particularly the pulp-ier variety).

This is the first installment in a series — which is something Martinez hasn’t done before — I have no clue how he’ll pull this off, the book ends like I’d expect a Martinez stand-alone to end, so I have no idea how he’s going to follow this up. But I cannot wait to see.

—–

4 Stars

Payback Is Forever by Nick Kolakowski: There’s a lot of opportunity in doom.

By HCNewton

On April 4, 2022

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

Payback Is Forever

by Nick Kolakowski

DETAILS:
Publisher: Shotgun Honey Books
Publication Date: March 24, 2022
Format: Kindle Edition
Length: 170 pg.
Read Date: March 29-30, 2022

What’s Payback Is Forever About?

Miller’s a thief, a fairly successful one. This comes in handy because he’s not as successful when it comes to gambling. He needs to pay a debt, so he takes a job with a couple of strangers. They betray him, the job goes wrong, and Miller (and the cash) escape without his partners. They don’t know his name or home base, so he figures he’s safe for a little bit.

He’s soon contacted by a figure from his past, Rick Redfield:

“I’ve entered into an arrangement with some… men of violence, shall we say. Which means I need the services of the most violent man I know. Which is you.”

“I’m no bodyguard.”

“No. You’re capable of terrible acts, and that’s the necessary thing here. Besides, bodyguards ask too many questions.”

With the promise of a large payday on the horizon, Miller’s in—and soon finds himself involved with some Nazis who escaped from Germany in the waning days of the war, Nazi hunters, and a few more dead bodies than Miller was prepared to deal with.

Supporting Cast

Miller and most of the characters that he deals with are of a fairly typical sort—you’ll recognize the types easily. They’re interestingly-drawn and well-used, but they’re types.

Then there’s Jill Reilly—she’s Miller’s love interest and is a secretary in the Medical Examiner’s office. Given the proper circumstances, she’d probably make a pretty good Examiner herself—but between the education, she’d need, and the rampant chauvinism in the office, that’s probably not going to happen. Reilly feels like she’s got one foot in the Girl Friday type, but with a rebellious streak that keeps the other foot out of the type.

The other character that stands out as not fitting into a typical mold is Scott, Redfield’s friend who acts as a liaison to the outside world when Redfield needs to stay out of the light. He’s a timid, uncertain man—who needs to use a ventriloquist’s dummy, Colonel Longshanks, to communicate those things that are too much for Scott to handle. Miller has no patience for either of them—but can force himself to work with Scott. The Colonel on the other hand…

There was a moment where I wondered if Scott/Colonel Longshanks would over-take Monkey Man as my favorite strange Kolakowski character. He didn’t, but that he was in the running says something about the character development in this short novel.

The Hidden Agenda

If what I’ve described seems pretty straight-forward, it is. If anyone’s read Kolakowski before, that’s not how he rolls. Right?

There is something else afoot here. I don’t know that it added much (if anything), but it didn’t hurt anything either. Maybe if I was in a different mood when I read this I’d have a more positive take on the “something else,” but right now, I can take it or leave it.

The material with Miller, the Nazis, Nazi Hunters is enough to focus on and keep you entertained. If you happen to get the rest of it, that’s gravy.

So, what did I think about Payback Is Forever?

This feels like the kind of pulpy thrillers from the 1960s and 70s I’ve read—just in a post-WWII setting with a dash of Nathanael West thrown in. It’s a surprisingly effective combination, and I’d have read another 200 pages of it without blinking. Although I do think this lean, mean, streamlined approach is far more effective.

Miller’s absolutely the kind of character you want in this setting—his morality is stuck in the gray—it’s a pretty dark gray, but he’s not a full-on villain. And he’s thinking about reforming, at least a little.

There were two scenes—or parts of scenes—that make this more than a quick, fun read. There’s a visual in the last big gunfight that’s so ridiculous, so comical, in the middle of a big action scene that makes you want a film version immediately (but it may be better in your imagination).

Before that there’s another scene that I can’t describe—you start it assuming X might happen, and yet when X does happen you still sit up and pay attention because you can’t believe that Kolakowski actually did that. And then over the next 3 or 4 paragraphs, the shocking scene becomes something so unexpected that you have to read it a couple of times to make sure you read it right. Cackling while you read it every time makes the comprehension a little difficult.

A solid, stylish thriller with Kolakowski’s style and sense of character is exactly what I needed to read last week, and Payback is Forever delivered. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.

4 Stars

The Friday 56 for 3/25/22: Payback is Forever by Nick Kolakowski

By HCNewton

On March 25, 2022

In Currently Reading, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc., Nick Kolakowski, Quotations, The Friday 56

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve done one of these (a streak of books with hard-to-quote or oddly-dull-to-quote 56s), but you can always count on Kolakowski to be quote-worthy.

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:
Payback is Forever

Payback is Forever by Nick Kolakowski

Creak-creak-creak-creak.

Miller pictured a lightning bolt shooting from the top of his head, through the ceiling, and incinerating the old man in his irritating chair. Like something a Greek God would do to a peasant who was preventing him from mating with a beautiful swan. Wasn’t that how the legend went? He was a little drunk.

Jill laughed. “You have to admit, it’s sort of funny.”

“Sure, unless I’m trying to sleep.”

Spelunking Through Hell by Seanan McGuire: It’s Always the Last Place You Look, Right?

By HCNewton

On March 17, 2022

In InCryptid, Seanan McGuire, Urban Fantasy

Spelunking Through Hell:
A Visitor’s Guide to the Underworld

by Seanan McGuire

DETAILS:
Series: InCryptid, #11
Publisher: DAW
Publication Date: February 28, 2022
Format: Trade Paperback
Length: 267
Read Date: March 14, 2022

If Thomas is there, if he’s still alive and waiting for me to find him, I can’t make him wait because I’m finally stopping to worry about my own neck. My neck doesn’t matter. My neck made a lot of choices, and none of them said ‘hey, it would be fun to survive a long, long time.’

What’s Spelunking Through Hell About?

Alice Price—grandmother to the primary protagonists of this series—has spent the last fifty years jumping from one dimensional reality to another, seeking her husband who has been taken from her as part of the deal he made with the crossroads. Alice has sacrificed just about everything—her health, almost every waking moment, her children’s childhoods, and her relationship with them, for starters.

Now, given some information Annie was given as she defeated the crossroads recently, Alice knows that the clock is running out, she’s going to have to take some risky and dramatic moves in a last-ditch effort to bring her husband home. Assuming she can find him, that he’s still alive, and interested in coming home, that is.

Alice calls in markers, gets help from several allies, and takes some big—possibly fatal—risks to follow her last theory about where to look.

Hopefully, it’s worth it.

Quo Vadimus

The first five books in the series, while interconnected, felt very stand-aloneish. Then we got Annie trilogy—which started out as something in the same vein, but then shifted into something else, something else that ended up informing this book—and then we had the pretty intense duology about Sarah. Now we have this one, which feels stand-aloneish again, but is also the consummation of things that go back to the beginning.

That’s how the series struck me as I read it, anyway—although between what McGuire has said and a little bit of thinking I’ve done in the last day or so, maybe it’s not the best way to think of things—easier to say from this vantage point. At any rate, this book sure feels like a turning point in the InCryptid series.

So where does the series go from here? Well, it can go back to the whole Covenant of St. George vs. the Prices (and all Cryptids in North America) conflict. Maybe touching base with things in Australia, along the way? It’d be nice if we saw Alex and Shelby again. Maybe there’s more fallout from Annie’s Crossroads takedown or Sarah’s adventures to deal with, too. Or something that seems out-of-nowhere but that McGuire’s been planting seeds for since at least the second book—I put nothing past her.

I realize it’s silly to speculate, but when a book is where a series has been heading for a while, it invites theories about where the series might be going next. Knowing McGuire, the answers are somewhere online already, but I’m going to wait until Book 12 to see.

So, what did I think about Spelunking Through Hell?

The last couple of books just didn’t do as much for me as the earlier books in the series did, I was so glad to get back to the previous levels here (sorry, Sarah!). There’s just so much to commend about this book, and so little to complain about. There was at least one point in the book that was a “Eureka!” moment for me—I couldn’t believe McGuire had tied X into this book. Thirty seconds or so after I got that surprise, I realized I should’ve been expecting it. I’m glad I hadn’t taken the time to think about things so that I would expect it, it’s more fun to get the Eureka.

Alice shares the same quippy attitude as her grandchildren, the same stubborn streak and aptitude for violence—which isn’t that surprising, really, where did I think the kids got it? Still, as has been the case for the other four narrators in the series, while there’s a family resemblance, there are individual distinctives so that you don’t confuse her with the previous narrators.

Inside the crunchy candy shell of quips, magic, trans-dimensional travel, and people fighting for their survival, there’s a chewy center of a very sweet love story. I have no problem with the crunch shell, but like with a Tootsie Pop, the center is what makes it all worth it. The dénouement may be better, however—I know I didn’t get through it with dry eyes.

This is not the book to jump into this series with. Yeah, I’ve said it feels like a stand-alone, which seems like it’d serve as a jumping-on point, but it’s really not. Go back at least to Magic for Nothing, but you’d be best served going back to Discount Armageddon. Just know that when you start (and you really should if you haven’t yet) at one of those points, you’re in for a heckuva ride when you get to this book.

4 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.

All At Sea by Chris McDonald: Adam and Colin on a Cruise with an Inevitable Bother

By HCNewton

On February 18, 2022

In Chris McDonald/Frost, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

All At Sea

by Chris McDonald

DETAILS:
Series: The Stonebridge Mysteries, #6
Publisher: Red Dog Press
Publication Date: February 17, 2022
Format: eBook
Length: 96 pages
Read Date: February 17, 2022

Why Would They Say This?

It’s been 6 months since Christmas and Adam and Colin haven’t had the opportunity to show up the police since then. They even think about their crime-solving in the past tense.

Still, when circumstances put the two of them on a cruise to Italy before Adam’s wedding, his fiancé makes him promise to stay out of trouble. Adam says it’s his goal on a couple of occasions. It’s said so often that I could hear Toby Ziegler shouting:

Toby: You want to tempt the wrath of whatever from high atop the thing?
Sam: No.
Toby: Then go outside, turn around three times, and spit. What the hell is the matter with you?

Of course, Adam and Colin don’t have a fictional White House Communications Chief yelling at them and trouble finds them.

The Trouble

On their first night onboard, the duo attends a dinner for first-class passengers where they meet some of their fellow travelers, including an art dealer; a B-List film star (maybe a C-lister); an eccentric elderly woman traveling with a classic painting; and a young man in his early 20s who may not be as well-off as he seems.

Late that night, Colin finds the woman after she’d been attacked in her room and her painting had been stolen. Colin’s always been the more considerate of the pair, but given his profession, he seems more driven to help this victim. He promises they’ll find the painting and he spends the rest of the cruise concerned about her well-being.

Adam’s a little torn between looking for the thief and keeping his promise to Helena and staying out of trouble—naturally, curiosity (and the realization that they really have nothing better to do with their time on the ship) wins out and Adam gets in way over his head with the search for the painting. The fairly dynamic duo’s hunt takes them all over the luxury ship as well as to the streets of Barcelona and Lisbon, new territory for them, but in the end, their tenacity and cleverness help them as always.*

* Their habit of accusing almost every suspect until something sticks doesn’t hurt either.

A Theft? That’s What They’re Investigating?

Easy now, don’t worry. There is a murder, it just shows up far later in the book than we’re used to.

I was actually enjoying the lack of a corpse and was hoping we’d get all the way through a novella without one. If only for the sheer novelty. But once the body was discovered, I enjoyed what it meant for the plot—and it just felt strange to read a Stonebridge Mystery where everyone was alive.

So, what did I think about All At Sea?

I was excited to get the email yesterday morning with the link to my pre-order, so I could dive into this (no pun intended, but hey, I’ll take it). Any day spent with Adam and Colin is a good one in my book and this entry in The Stonebridge Mysteries did not disappoint.

At 96 pages, there’s not a lot to be said about All At Sea, beyond recommending it. This novella contained a couple of my favorite sentences by McDonald, some great characters in the suspect pool, and the most dangerous moment this series has had yet.

Would this work as a jumping-on point? Yeah, it’d work. I think you’re better served by starting from #1, especially as these are so short that it wouldn’t take much effort to catch up. But if you’re not up for that, you’ll get into the groove just fine from here. I’ll warn you—once you start with these, you won’t stop. Adam and Colin are addictive.

4 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.

My thanks to Red Dog Press for the invitation to participate in this reveal and the materials they provided.