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In 2018, I read my first book by Nick Kolokowski, Boise Longpig Hunting Club, which is pretty much everything you think it is from the title. In the two years and change since then, I’ve read five other books by Kolokowski—well, six now. That alone should be an indication of what I think about his stuff.
What’s Rattlesnake Rodeo About?
This is the sequel to Boise Longpig Hunting Club, taking up minutes after it. Spoilerly talk about BLHC—bounty hunter, Jake; his sister, Frankie (a gun smuggler); and ex-wife/fiancé, Janine (who has nothing to do with criminals); are kidnapped by a group of super-wealthy people, and set loose in an Idaho forest while they’re being hunted. Jake and Frankie are a lot more resourceful than anyone expected—and Janine has depth that no one expected—and they end up killing all the hunters.
We rejoin them in this book headed back to Boise. They have a number of emotions and thoughts running through their minds at this time—as they should—the most prominent of them is: how are we going to get away with this? There’s no way that they didn’t leave all sorts of DNA, fingerprints and other sorts of evidence behind that’ll make forensic techs happy. And there will be scores of techs, investigators, agents and what have you at the crime scene—very rich, very important people died up there and someone is going to have to pay for that. Oh, and Frankie wants fries. You work up an appetite fighting for your life.
Karen
They quickly learn about one person who not only has links to the Longpig Hunters, evidence about Jake and Frankie’s involvement, and a reputation to make people quake in their boots. Like Prince, Madonna, or Hawk (to bring it back to crime fiction), she’s known by one name: Karen.
Quick aside: I wonder if in early drafts, she was called something like Margo or Helen, but given, well, all of 2020, Kolakowski decided to go back and change it. Or did he have enough foresight months ago to go with that?
Back to the book: Karen offers them a deal, they do one incredibly horrible task for her, or she ruins the lives and reputations of Jake, Frankie, and Janine. They have no choice…they have to find an Option C.
Gunfights, treachery, and (obviously) rattlesnakes ensue.
Frankie and Her Troops
In almost every novel I’d normally read, Frankie and her employees would be the targets of the protagonist, not their ally. But I’ve gotta say, for a bunch of gun-running criminals, benefiting from the miseries of others (and being a means to innocents being killed at the hands of their customers), they’re a lot of fun. There’s a fun sense of camaraderie and some good banter among them. They’re a pretty effective squad, too. Kolakowski could write a pretty entertaining series featuring these guys. And not just because they’re led by a man who always wears a rubber gorilla mask.
Which is fitting, considering how cool their boss is. Spenser has Hawk, Kenzie and Gennaro have Bubba, Elvis Cole has Joe Pike, Walt Longmire has Henry Standing Bear, Joe Pickett has Nate Romanowski, Sunny Randall has Spike, and Jake has Frankie. The “not-bound by the same laws and ethics that the series protagonist is” so that the protagonist can keep his/her nose clean and still get the job done. They’ll cut the corners, they’ll take and make the shots that no one else will, they’ll be the ones to use lethal force when their friend just can’t bring themselves to do it—and they won’t feel guilt (at least not enough to interfere with their ability to get things done).
Frankie is, as far as I know, the only female lethal sidekick, in crime fiction. Through grit, determination, skill, and panache—Frankie is what ultimately keeps her brother and sister-in-law breathing. It’s just fun to see a female in this role, particularly one that fits. I could never see Sunny Randall go toe-to-toe with some of the dudes she needs to without Spike (or Jesse, or Richie, or Richie’s family)—but I can see Frankie (like Lori Anderson or Charlie Fox) do it without blinking.
The Setting
I’ve talked a little about this in the other book, but it’s fun for me to see the region I’ve lived my whole life in depicted so well in these pages. I enjoy anyone finding a way to bring a crime novel to life outside of Boston, NYC, New Jersey, Chicago, Miami or LA—Elmore Leonard, Jason Miller, Craig Johnson, C. J. Box, Darynda Jones, and G. M. Ford have/continue to do a good job of that, but there needs to be more*. Kolakowski brings my corner of the world into that fold (Jayne Faith did it in Urban Fantasy, and Wesley Chu set a Tao book near where the climax of this novel took place). It’s nice not having to use my imagination much when picturing a scene, at the same time—if I’d never been anywhere near this place, Kolakowski depicts it well enough that someone from Michigan, Mississippi, or New Mexico would have no problem seeing what he’s going for.
* I don’t pretend that’s an exhaustive list, still feel free to add others I should get to know.
So, what did I think about Rattlesnake Rodeo?
You could feel the dread coming off of Jake and Frankie as they thought about the police and (probably) feds coming for them after surviving the last novel, you could feel their hatred (for Karen) and revulsion for their task for her, and you could sense the chaos, smell the smoke, and taste the air from the big scenes at the end of the novel. There are significant portions of this novel you experience as much as you read. You’ve gotta love that.
There was one death that totally caught me unprepared and left me stunned. The violence felt a little more grounded than the genre demands, but Kolakowski knows when to loosen the reins and let things go a little over the top. Which is just fun.
At the same time, there’s a great sense of enjoyment to this novel—to the characters, what they do, and how they go about it. It’s the kind of action novel that gets your fists pumping as much as anything else.
Just the fact that the novel starts with the trio worried about all the evidence they left behind made this a winner—how many characters in novels worry about that sort of thing? Add in the characters—from the oddity of Monkey Man, to the implausibly competent Frankie, to the quiet strength of Janine, to the terror that is Karen—and the great balance of tones, and you’ll see why Kolakowski is my favorite US indie Crime Novelist.
I strongly recommend Rattlesnake Rodeo, whether or not you read BLHC first, it’s a fun ride.
Disclaimer: I received this eARC from the author in exchange for this post and my honest opinion, I appreciate the opportunity.
Wow. Andy Carpenter #22. That’s hard to believe. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I started reading these (I think back in the single digits). But all-in-all, it’s been a fun ride. How’s this one stack up?
What’s Silent Bite About?
When Andy and his family return from a holiday cruise (a novella describing that in more detail than we got here would quickly become a fan favorite, no doubt), he’s got a bunch of messages from Willie Miller. A friend, and former cellmate, of Willie’s has been arrested for murder. Both Willie and his friend, Tony Birch, want Andy to take the case and clear him. Andy wants nothing to do with a problematic looking case*, but Willie’s a friend—and Andy’s son, Ricky, has pointed out that Willie does stuff for Andy all the time. Also, Tony has a dog that’s miserable without him around.
* or any case, really.
The murder victim is one of the witnesses against Birch for the manslaughter charge that put him in prison with Willie years ago. At the trial, Tony threatened to kill him (and a few others) for turning on him, after years in a gang together. But upon his release from prison, years before this new murder, Tony had turned his life around—he owned and operated a fairly successful auto repair garage, and had no interest in criminal activity again. So why seek vengeance now?
And why be as utterly stupid with the murder weapon as the prosecution wants people to believe?
But then another witness against Tony in the original case turns up dead, and things start looking really bad for him. So it’s up to Andy and his team to save the day.
Zoey, the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
I really don’t have much to say about Zoey, Tony’s dog, but I’ve never heard of her breed before—and I don’t feel too bad about that Andy hadn’t seen one before. If your day could use a little lift, take a minute or two to scroll through some pictures online. Cute dogs.*
* That’s a tautology, I realize.
The New Associate
In most of his cases, Andy Carpenter utilizes an associate to do the ugly detailed work, filing motions, looking up pertinent case law, and so on, while Andy goes around visiting people, investigating, getting saved from certain peril by Marcus Clerk, and being snarky and clever in court. He started with Kevin Randall, who owned a laundromat and gave legal advice to those who couldn’t afford it. He eventually moved on and Hike Lynch moved in—largely, I think because Hike is a more entertaining character than Kevin. Well, Hike isn’t around for this one and he suggests Eddie Dowd step in.
Eddie used to play for the Giants, but a knee injury ended that career, so he went to law school. He speaks almost entirely in sports phrases (spike the ball, put me in, pitch in, and so on). It’s fairly ridiculous, but when done right, it’s pretty funny. He’s a nice change from the Eeyore-like character that Hike had been. I’m not sure if he’ll be back, or if Hike will return—I’ll be glad to see him if he is, even if it seems like the joke about his figures of speech will get old. I have faith in Rosenfelt. I’d have thought that Hike’s extreme pessimism or Kevin’s hypochondria would.
So, what did I think about Silent Bite?
I thought the identity of the killer was pretty obvious, but Rosenfelt’s execution of the reveal and of keeping Andy from seeing the solution all along sold me. I can’t be more descriptive of that because I don’t want to tip anything. It was a great conclusion to a really solid legal thriller, that comes with all the canine affection, snappy dialogue, some clever courtroom action, and a solid plot. Pretty much what the doctor ordered.
Once we got The K Team this year, with Muzzled as well, I didn’t figure we’d have a Holiday Andy Carpenter book. Then when I saw this was coming, I worried it wouldn’t live up to the other Holiday books in this series. I kept being wrong about this book—we got it and it wasn’t a let-down. Rosenfelt managed to give us three strong novels in 2020 (hey, look, 2020 didn’t wind up in a disaster on one front!)—that right there, folks, is a sign of a professional.
Whether you’re new to the world of this would-be retired criminal defense lawyer and are in the mood for a witty and sharp legal thriller, or if you’re familiar with Andy and his associates—this will entertain you. You’d do well to give this a shot.
Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.
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.
After teasing fans for years with kickstarting a project, Anton Strout is coming to Kickstarter next week with Claw & Order, “a collection of stories that tie into the worlds of my Simon Canderous and Spellmason Chronicles book series.”
Am a big fan of both series–and I cannot wait. Click here (or on the graphic above) to be taken to the pre-launce page so you get notified when it goes live. Day one backers get an exclusive Dept of Extraordinary Affairs badge pin—and the feeling of satisfaction that comes from supporting a heckuva writer.
If you don’t know who Strout is, or what his series are about. Head on over to https://www.theonceandfuturepodcast.com to check out his podcast, The Once and Future Podcast, or either series—The Simon Canderous Novels or The Spellmason Chronicles. You’ll be glad you did.
Just kick the start first.
A Sequel to The Dispatcher?
I think the last thing on my mind as I finished The Dispatcher was that there’d be a sequel. It seemed fairly stand-alone (but, I guess, I can see that the door was open). But now that I’ve heard this? It seems only natural that there’d be a follow-up to The Dispatcher and the door is open for more.
What’s Murder by Other Means About?
So, in this world 99.9% of the time, if you’re murdered, you come back to life in your home/somewhere you feel safe. If you die of natural causes, in an accident, from suicide—you stay dead. But if someone intends you harm and you die, you’re most likely safe. This started a few years before this book is set, and no one knows why.
But that doesn’t stop people from taking advantage of it. There’s a new industry, our protagonist/narrator is part of it, Dispatching. Licensed killers who shoot people when death is all but certain to give them another chance at life. In the time since The Dispatcher, it seems that some new and creative uses for them have become common. Most of them straddle the line between legal/illegal or moral/immoral.
Tony Valdez starts this book hurting for money, and takes one of those not technically illegal jobs. Soon after, people around him—loosely connected, but not really friends or colleagues—start dying from unnatural causes. Not murders, obviously, because they stay dead. But as the bodies start to accumulate, the police have to look at the one common denominator—Tony. Tony starts investigating himself—if only because he figures it’s going to be long before he’s one of the dead that doesn’t come back.
How was the Narration?
Quinto makes Tony come to life, and is able to humanize this licensed executioner enough that you don’t think of him as a killer for hire, you think of him a beleaguered private contractor on hard times. Quinto’s great at the rest of the job, too—I’d absolutely listen to more audiobooks he narrates.
So, what did I think about Murder by Other Means?
I was less than enthusiastic about The Dispatcher back in 2016—which I didn’t remember until I just glanced at my post. I’m not over the moon about this, but I enjoyed it, and hope there’s more to come (I’m not sure I want to wait four more years, however). If there is? I’m jumping on it eagerly.
It was clever, it is honest about the human condition and the ways we find to hurt and destroy (and comes up with a few that are custom-made for this no-murder reality), yet remains a very human, very real thriller. It’s a good way to spend a couple of hours.
I placed my hands on my hips and stared at the recently departed. It was true that he wasn’t a man I particularly liked, but fate had brought him in contact with me and now he was dead wand that made me partially responsible….
“Earth to Walt.” I turned and looked at her as she smiled. “So, you’re getting pissed, huh?” She stood beside me, toeing a tuft of grass. “There’s always a point where you start taking it personally. I like that part because that’s when shit starts happening, and I like it when shit starts happening.” She turned her face toward me, listening as I clenched my fists, like a cinch being tightened ion a saddle. “So, is shit about to start happening?”
“I believe so.”
What’s Next to Last Stand About?
An elderly resident at the Veterans’ Home of Wyoming (“The Sailor’s & Soldier’s Home of Wyoming”) dies of an apparent heart attack—which saddens, Walt, he liked Charley Lee Stillwater (and Cady loved the man). But what gets him coming back is the fact that among his possessions is a shoebox full of hundred dollar bills. Ten thousand of them, in fact. Where does a man like Charley Lee come up with that? And is there a clue among the surprising amount of books about art, art history, and General Custer in his room?
And the presence of a million dollars does cast a little doubt on the heart attack if only to be thorough. That’s a great motive to kill someone—or at least the beginning of one. Things develop from there as they tend to when Walt gets curious. He ends up involving art experts from all over the state (and even the world)—experts who may be more interesting than the art they’re discussing.
I want to spend more time at The Sailor’s & Soldier’s Home—I liked both the staff and the residents we spent time with. The souped-up motorized wheelchairs were great, and the people in them were even better. I just hope we don’t need another semi-suspicious death to get Walt back there.
The Custer material really serves as an excuse for Henry Standing Bear to sound off about Custer and the battle of Little Big Horn. I’d love to hear a few history lectures from Henry, the little bits we got here were enough to make me want more. Walt, Vic, and Henry (with an assist from Lucian) also give their (almost universally negative) opinions about all the movies made about the man and event. The Custer, Little Big Horn, and cinematic material alone is worth the effort to read this book.*
* Of course, with Johnson’s style, there’s not a lot of effort involved, so that may come across as faint praise.
Next to Last Stand in relation to the Rest of the Series
There’s a new staff member for the Absaroka Sheriff Department, and at least one member of the current staff is preparing to leave (how many is yet to be determined). Johnson either has big plans, or he’s writing himself into a corner where he’ll have to make some. I’m pretty curious about it either way.
But the bigger tie to the rest of the story is where this stands in relation to Depth of Winter. I enjoyed The Western Star, and thought the conclusion was a doozy. This led into Depth of Winter, which was good, but…wasn’t a Walt Longmire book. Land of Wolves focused on Walt’s recovery and was closer to what I expect in a Longmire book. Walt’s not back at 100%, physically or mentally. But he’s closer to it than he was in Land of Wolves, close enough that the book gets closer and closer to a typical Longmire read the further we get. Something about this case sparked whatever it was in Walt that he’d allowed to grow dormant since the last chapter of The Western Star.
It’s never really spelled out—it’s just obvious to those of us who’ve spent 16 books (plus the short stories) with the Sheriff. I’m not looking for the series to stagnate. I appreciate that every book in the series has a different feel than the others, and I don’t want that to change. I want Walt, Vic, Sancho, and the rest to develop. But there’s something about every non-Depth of Winter novel that remains quintessentially the same—I was more than a little worried that Johnson had left that behind in favor of the guy who took on a small army in Mexico. I’m glad to see I was probably worried about nothing.
The Return of an Old Friend
Lonnie Littlebird—Chief of the Cheyenne Nation and Tribal Elder—is back! It’s been too, too long since his smiling presence has graced this series. Um hmm, yes, it is so.
I’ve got nothing more to say about him, but as always, I perked up when I saw him. I just enjoy him (and am looking forward to hearing George Guidall’s narration of the audiobook, I like his Lonnie Littlebird).
Well, I guess I know what the Next Book is About?
There’s this subplot involving Henry Standing Bear, Tribal Police Chief Lolo Long (from As the Crow Flies, Dry Bones, and maybe a short story), Lolo’s niece, and Walt that looked like it was going to be a major part of this novel. And then it just…went away. I’m not talking about being unresolved, it was simply dropped with 150 pages to go.
Now that I stop and think for a minute, there was another subplot that didn’t get adequate resolution…maybe it’s setting the stage for something else, too?
I think Johnson’s too good to just drop stuff without a good reason (ditto for the editorial staff at Viking). I just can’t see the reasoning from here.
So, what did I think about Next to Last Stand?
“You do realize that being so conversant with wounds that you can estimate the amount of stitches needed to retain vital organs is not normal, right?”
I laughed. “What’s normal in this line of work anyway?”
“Good question.”
Abandoned storylines aside, I liked this so much. The world and characters we know and love have almost been absent—or at least not fully present—since 2016’s An Obvious Fact. But they’re all here, and it felt so good to be back. But even without that sense of relief, this was a fun book—had we got this book without the Mexico trip trilogy (for lack of a better name), I’d have enjoyed it as much. Clever mystery, great characters—both the guilty, the victims, and everyone else—with a conclusion that’s as entertaining as it is satisfying. I was in hog heaven.
Would this work as a jumping-on point to the series, or even to read as a stand-alone? Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Johnson’s strong on that point, you can jump on at almost any point and feel at home. You technically could read this as a stand-alone, but it’d be like eating just one Lays Potato Chip, I bet you cant. I’m already counting down the days until Walt Longmire #17, and there are too many of them.
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.
What’s Kitty’s Mix-Tape?
That’s an easy question: this is the second collection of short stories (previously published) set in the world of Kitty Norville, the werewolf turned talk radio star. We get a lot of stories featuring Kitty and/or her friends and allies (and one foe), and we get some stories that just happen to take place in the same reality even if they really don’t have any cross-over with the series.
There’s an introduction by Emma Bull that by itself would make a great review of this book (and maybe the series). Really, writing anything else after reading Bull seems superfluous.
Kitty & the Gang
I’m going to have a hard time keeping myself from talking too much about the stories featuring Kitty and her friends—Kitty and Ben going to her 10-year high school reunion was the perfect way to start off this book. Quick, fun, and a great way back into this world.
“It’s Still the Same Old Story,” could’ve fit into The Immortal Conquistador that I talked about a few months back—except it didn’t fit into the story arc of that one. But for those who wonder what Rick was up to in the early part of the twentieth century, this will give you a good idea. This is possibly my favorite thing focusing on Rick to date.
On the eve of their wedding in Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand Ben disappears off on his own for a while, Vaughn finally lets us know what he was up to at the time. I’d forgotten all about that until I read this story, but I remember wondering then (as I was supposed to) what he’d been up to—it’s nice to have that answered.
There was a dynamite story about Detective Jessi Harden of Denver PD investigating a murder with a supernatural angle that doesn’t involve any of the series regulars. This would be the basis of a great follow-up series if Vaughn was in the mood for something. Hardin tackling “woo woo” crimes (I think that’s what the New Orleans PD calls them in the Yellowrock books) would be compelling as all get out.
One more that I want to mention is called “Kitty Learns the Ropes.” In this story, Kitty meets a professional athlete who happens to be a werewolf. Does that give him an unfair advantage? Should he disclose his situation to the world? Can’t this guy who never asked to be supernatural just live is life?
I’m going on too long, so I’ll summarize a few other standouts: there’s a fun little story with Odysseus Grant, and some cute bits with Kitty and her pack dealing with the Super Blood Moon and the like, and a showdown with some Federal Agents.
Other Stories
There are some stories that aren’t about Kitty or her friends, too, but just take place in her universe. There are two that take place in Regency England, “The Island of Beasts” and “The Beaux Wilde.” I enjoyed them both, and it is interesting to see Vaughn try to put her werewolves in that world. I would eagerly read more stories or a novel about the characters in “The Beaux Wilde.”
There’s also a sequel to a story from her previous short story collection, Kitty’s Greatest Hits about a child of a selkie who grows up to be a Navy SEAL (what else could such a son be)? I liked that one, too, but it seemed to be missing a little something from the end. But I’m pretty sure it was supposed to feel that way.
The tale about Nazis attempting to use werewolves in the war didn’t do much for me—but I think that’s mostly a me thing. It was a good story, just not the sort of thing I think I’d seek out.
The Songs
Vaughn includes a list of songs that embody the various stories for her, which she did for the novels, too. I think if you consider this list as a track list for a mixtape, you’d end up with something that Rob Fleming (in any incarnation) would look upon with scorn. If you take them as pieces to go with the stories, it’s a lot of fun, and adds a nice little dimension to them.
I will admit that I didn’t listen to them as I read—I think it would work though. They’re also a good tool to use to ruminate on the stories a bit.
So, what did I think about Kitty’s Mix-Tape?
There wasn’t a dud in the bunch, which is rare for a short story compilation—sure, I liked the ones about Kitty and her friends best, because that’s what I came to the collection for. But I liked them all.
The back cover promises that this is “the final installment” of the series, but Vaugn talks about staying tuned because it’s great to have a pre-existing world to write stories in. If the blurb is right, I’m glad I got a little more time in this world, but I’m hoping that staying tuned will pay off.
This may not be a great introduction to the werewolf DJ named Kitty, but it might work as one just fine, it’s certainly a good tour of the world. But it’s definitely the kind of thing that Kitty’s readers should come for. It’s one of the best collections I’ve read this year—and maybe for a good chunk of last year, too. Give it a whirl.
Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Tachyon Publications via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.
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.
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