Category: G-L Page 15 of 17

Series G-F

U is for Undertow – Sue Grafton

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On December 19, 2013

In Authors, Fiction, Kinsey Millhone, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Sue Grafton

U is for Undertow (Kinsey Millhone, #21)U is for Undertow

by Sue Grafton
Series: Kinsey Millhone, #21

Hardcover, 416 pg.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2009

Grafton again goes for a multi-perspective, bouncing back and forth between Kinsey’s present and the case’s past approach to this book. It weaved an interesting arc, once you put all the pieces together. I see why she’s using it, I appreciate the skill, but it’s a trick she’s relying on too often, I fear. It’s starting to dull the effectiveness.

This wasn’t a typical case for Kinsey — other than the cold-case nature of it, which she seems to do a lot of lately. A missing persons case this time, brought to her by — never mind, it’d take to long to explain, you’re better off hearing it from the client.

Typically, in a PI/mystery novel, you get hardened criminals, seemingly destined for it since birth — sadists, psychopaths, just generally mean people, that sort of thing. But really, crimes are probably just as often perpetrated by the stupid, the bored, the desperate — it’s good to have reminders of that. It’s also entertaining, because it’s the last people you’d think to look for, so when someone like that pops up in a book, it’s refreshing.

I did really appreciate the self-aware flash of insight Kinsey has while listening to someone unloading a well rehearsed recital of family sins against her. Kinsey sees what she must sound like to others when she does so. Not often that someone as self-assured as she is has such a moment of clarity, and it’s nice to see that Kinsey’s capable of it.

Even better is that this insight led to a very promising leap forward in the ongoing story about Kinsey’s estranged family.

Oh, as an added bonus…there’s some pretty helpful writing advice tucked away in here.

Another worthy entry in this long-running series, not much else to say, really.

—–

4 Stars

Concourse by S. J. Rozan

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On December 10, 2013

In Authors, Fiction, Lydia Chin & Bill Smith, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, S. J. Rozan

Concourse (Lydia Chin & Bill Smith #2)Concourse

by S.J. Rozan
Series: Lydia Chin & Bill Smith, #2

Hardcover, 280 pg.
Minotaur Books, 1996

I was pretty enthused to grab the second book in the Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series — Lydia’s voice and character was so strong, and her interaction with her sometimes partner Bill was not your usual P.I. partner/friend/sounding board fare. You add in the strong possibility of another case in/around Chinatown? This really had the look of a series I could sink my teeth into.

And almost immediately, that all came to a crashing halt. The voice wasn’t quite right, the interactions the first person narrator had with the other character didn’t fit Lydia — ohhhh, it dawns on me — Concourse is from Bill’s point of view. Huh. Whaddayaknow?

After the initial confusion and mental gear-shifting, I settled in for a good read. This is a gloomier, darker read than China Trade. Bill doesn’t have the same fight, the same ambition that Lydia does — and a whole different set of demons to deal with. Some of which we see here: Bill’s called in to help a former mentor/father figure with problem that’s resulted in the death of another member Bill’s surrogate family. He takes an undercover role in the investigation and calls in Lydia to uncover what she can about the parties involved from the outside.

What follows is a twisted path down real estate, NYC politics, revenge, the dark side of charity, the way the elderly are treated, and a touch of redemption. There’s a few punches thrown, some gun play, a lot of booze. Your basic ingredients for what this is — a solid PI novel.

The thing that’s kept me thinking is the Lydia/Bill relationship/dynamic. It felt a little different this time, coming from Bill’s perspective. But the core was the same. It was pretty clear in China Trade that Bill’s feelings for Lydia go beyond the flirtation she’s determined to see them as, but it was still nice to see that fully — he’s serious about her, but is willing to wait for her to come around. However playful it seemed for her, it’s not for him (again, I was pretty sure of that last time). It makes his flirtation a little less enjoyable, a little more sad.

In the end, I have a better perspective of the two of them as characters, a fuller picture. After years of seeing Elvis Cole and Joe Pike in the Elvis Cole series, Robert Crais really only gives us the same looks at the same characters in the books told from Pike’s perspective (this is nothing negative about Crais, it’s only a thought I had now, and in a moment of leisure I might come back to and further develop). So for Rozan to pull this off is quite an accomplishment.

I don’t know who will be telling the tale in the next book — I’ll hopefully figure it out a bit more quickly — and I don’t care, either way, I’m looking forward to it.

—–

3 Stars

T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton

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On December 5, 2013

In Fiction, Kinsey Millhone, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Sue Grafton

T is for Trespass
T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton
Series: Kinsey Millhone, #20

Hardcover, 374 pg.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2007

First thing I noted about this was, “This Prologue’s a bit heavy handed and overly dramatic . . . who knows? Maybe it’ll be justified.” I still think it was a bit too much — but on the whole, it was justified.

This was a slow burn of a novel. Sure, the reader is introduced to the villain, Solana Rojas, right off the bat (thanks to third person narration focusing on her in chapters interspersed with Kinsey’s narration), but Kinsey isn’t even hired for anything regarding her until roughly 100 pages in. The whole setup for this book is so unlike Grafton. I liked this, and it bugged me at the same time. Mostly the former, though, I’m all for Grafton stretching herself.

There was a time where Rojas had the upper hand over Kinsey, and while we know in the end that Kinsey will win out, Grafton sure could’ve made things look a little more dire for Santa Teresa’s hero. It was just a little too easy for Kinsey to convince others what was going on. In the end, that didn’t make this less satisfying.

Grafton’s never been a slouch, but in these last few books she’s really upped her game — this is the best thing she’s done. Her characters are better drawn, the plot’s more intricate, Rojas was probably a little more evil than anyone that Kinsey’s crossed paths with before. This is definitely the creepiest, most disturbing Grafton novel — haven’t read much in the last couple of years that’s as unnerving, really, when I stopped to think of it. Not as gory or violent as many in the genre (nowhere near that), but when you look at the trail of destruction that Rojas has left before she’s stopped — she’s unsettling in a way that your typical fictional serial killer isn’t.

—–

4 1/2 Stars

The Affair by Lee Child

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On November 19, 2013

In Fiction, Jack Reacher, Lee Child, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Uncategorized

The Affair
The Affair

by Lee Child
Series: Jack Reacher, #16

Hardcover, 405 pg.
Delacorte Press, 2011

“You want me to impersonate a civilian?” [Reacher said]

“It’s not that hard. we’re all members of the same species, more our less. You’ll figure it out.”

Thus begins the sixteenth Jack Reacher novel. Taking place in 1997, he’s still an MP, and is being sent undercover into a small town near an army base, while another investigator is being sent into the base it self to investigate a murder possibly tied to base personnel.

His undercover disguise looks pretty much like the post-discharge Jack Reacher we know — no job, good pair of boots, a toothbrush and one shirt. He wanders into town, finds an ally or two and gets to work.

It takes very little time for Reacher to find himself at odds with some locals (I didn’t think this storyline was all that satisfying, but it gave Reacher a chance to bash in a few heads). Not that he’s ever short of ego, but he seems cockier than I’m used to — I’m assuming that comes from the inherent authority of an MP as opposed to a loan wanderer. Regardless, it was a kick to read his encounters, with this extended family:

He said, “Is there a reason I don’t get out of this truck and kick your butt?”

I said, “Two hundred and six reasons.”

He said, “What?”

“That’s how many bones you got in your body. I could break them all before you put a glove on me.”

Which got his buddy going. Hist instinct was to stick up for his friend and face down a challenge. He leaned further out his own window and said, “You think?”

I said, “Often all day long. It’s a good habit to have.”

The local county sheriff is a former Marine MP, and it takes her no time at all to suss out Reacher’s purpose and to recruit him to help her investigation into this — and related — murders. Yes, her — that particular plotline is self-evident (although this is a bit . . . more explicit than Child’s norm).

There’s little suspense in this — 1. It takes place before Killing Floor, so you know Reacher’s not killed, 2. how seriously worried are you ever that Reacher will survive? Sure, you wonder what will happen to those around him — what the collateral damage is going to be, but that’s about it. Nevertheless — the final hundred pages or so of this is an edge of your seat ride. Which is par for the course for Child, doesn’t make it any less fun.

Beyond the murder investigation — or more properly, around it — are politics (federal, local and military), discussion of the role (and shape) of the military, the future of the U. S. Army (contrasted with some other branches). In the end, the identity of the murder is pretty obvious — but the twisty path that Reacher and the others travel to find it, what obstacles they overcome, and the fallout — that’s what makes this a very satisfying read.

—–

4 1/2 Stars

The Black Box by Michael Connelly

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On November 15, 2013

In Fiction, Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Black Box
The Black Box

by Michael Connelly
Series: Harry Bosch, #18

Paperback, 480 pg.
Grand Central Publishing, 2013

There are few mystery series as satisfying as the Harry Bosch novels (those who’ve read the last couple of “Saturday Miscellany” posts have probably noticed my geeking out about the Bosch pilot for Amazon). Whenever a new paperback comes out, I grab it as soon as I can, and post a “Go Away, I’m Reading” sign*. I can’t get enough of this guy.

A while back, Connelly moved Harry to the Open-Unsolved Unit, which was a very smart move that’s paid off in variety of cases and gives an extra edge to Harry’s cases — he’s always been obsessive about giving resolution to the victim’s families and loved ones, but now it’s also about justice delayed, about being able to start getting past years — decades even — of pain.

Harry’s got a personal connection to the cold case he’s focusing on this time — during the riots that broke out after the Rodney King verdict, Harry and his partner were called out on a series of homicides. One in particular was a white woman in an alley, shot execution-style. Before being forced to go to the next victim, they were only able to spend about half an hour looking over the crime scene and finding practically no evidence that wasn’t contaminated. As with many other homicides over those few days, this one remained unsolved. But for the 20th anniversary of the riots, all these cases are being looked at again, in hopes of garnering some good PR for the LAPD.

Naturally, the only case that Harry (or pretty much anyone else) finds the most traction on involves a white woman — and Harry starts being pressured by his lieutenant and some even higher to hold off on the investigation for a few months. Naturally, Harry doesn’t take well to that and does what he can to solve this case once and for all. There’s a lot of luck involved in Harry uncovering what he needs here — but that’s the beauty of routine and thorough investigative work — you end up creating your own luck.

Meanwhile, Harry has to deal with a politically-motivated Professional Standards Bureau (Internal Affairs) investigation into a perfectly legitimate activity. The good news for Harry is that the investigator assigned to the case is as driven and thorough as he is. The bad news is that means she’ll be a persistent interference in his life until she uncovers the truth — and that’s the last thing Harry can tolerate.

Of course, there’s a good storyline featuring Harry’s daughter, Maddie. He’s still new to the “Dad” scene, and makes more mistakes with her than he can tolerate — it’s tough enough being a father to a teenage girl, but when the girl is dropped on you because her mother was murdered and you have to be a parent for the first time? You’ve already got 2 strikes on you. As almost superhuman as he is as a cop, as a father? Harry’s very human. It’s good to see.

And if he’s human as a father, as a romantic interest? You have to feel sorry for Hannah Stone, his current main squeeze. Harry’s practically inept. Still, it’s a good storyline, and I’m glad to see that Harry hasn’t blow it (yet) with Hannah.

If you’ve never read Connelly before — the guy can make a trip to a food truck to grab some tacos into a thriller. So he has no problem making a 20 year-old unsolved murder into an edge-of-your-seat experience. You don’t need to have read the previous 15 books in this series to appreciate this one — jump in, the water’s more than fine.

—–

*Not literally, but my kids can attest that my expression conveys that message effectively.

—–

4 Stars

S is for Silence by Sue Grafton

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On November 12, 2013

In Authors, Fiction, Kinsey Millhone, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Sue Grafton

S is for Silence
S is for Silence

by Sue Grafton
Series: Kinsey Millhone, #19

Hardcover, 374 pg.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2005

Grafton’s clearly stretching her craft in these last few books, which is commendable — and, on the whole, pretty successful. Like in Q is for Quarry, Kinsey’s working a cold case, this time she’s not even sure if it’s a missing person or a murder that she’s been hired for.

There’s an interesting pattern to these chapters — one or two in Kinsey’s present, and then a chapter from the Point of View of one of the people that knew the subject of her investigation a couple of decades before. Not only is this a stylistic leap for Grafton, it’s pretty interesting for her to be giving the reader that much more insight into the characters. But overall, I wasn’t crazy about seeing how every one’s a liar, before or after they talk to Kinsey. I’d rather watch Kinsey discover the lie, or see that they’re lying, rather than we readers knowing that and Kinsey being lost.

As we move along, we are given a more complex look at our victim than Grafton’s usually able to provide. We get to know her better and better each time we’re given a look at the past. We see how various people saw her through their perspectives and end up caring a lot more about her when we learn what happened to her than we normally would.

I’m not convinced that the case itself was that interesting, but the way that Grafton told it was very interesting and raised the level of the book. Making this satisfying in a way that Kinsey stories usually aren’t.

Grafton essentially ignores the ongoing family and romance stories she’s been pursuing lately — a nice break, but hopefully she returns to them soon — as much growth as the books have displayed lately, it’d be nice if Kinsey could catch up.

Grafton took a chance this time, and it paid off. Hope she keeps stretching herself as eh move on towards Z.

—–

3.5 Stars

Where There’s a Will by Aaron Elkins

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On October 26, 2013

In Aaron Elkins, Fiction, Gideon Oliver, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Where There's a Will
Where There’s a Will

by Aaron Elkins
Hardcover, 288 pg.
Berkley Hardcover, 2005

Spending time with an Aaron Elkins book is like spending time with old friends. Without meaning to I’d taken a few years off from reading the Oliver books, and then picked one up a couple of years ago and it was just like picking up a friend from high school like no time had passed. I had the same experience with this one it was a pleasant reunion with my old buddies Gideon, Julie and John.

A minor quibble to get out of the way before I get into this: I’m sorry, you really can’t be naming a main character Hedwig in 2005. What I see when I read that name isn’t the oddly large vegetarian, spiritual therapist (or whatever she calls herself); I see a white owl, delivering mail for a bespectacled wizard with a distinctive scar.

As usual, Gideon Oliver, the forensic anthropologist, is on a vacation with his old friend John Lau, the FBI agent and runs into a set of bones that needs to be examined. John and Julie, Gideon’s wife, are quick to joke about this tendency. This time, they’re on a ranch that John worked at in college and the plane that one of the ranch’s owners had disappeared in ten years previously is discovered. Gideon’s volunteered to help identify the remains in the plane — and things go sideways from there.

Gideon only has a foot and a mandible to work with this time (and later, some photographs of another body), so he doesn’t get to strut his stuff as much as he frequently does. Still, the amount of information he’s able to pull from this sample is astounding. Even if these books were dull, I’d pick them up frequently just to read these parts. But Elkins is fun to read — he has a breezy, comfortable style — which his main characters share. They have fun doing what they do, and it’s infectious, before long you can’t help having fun with them.

As enjoying as Elkins is to read, its easy to forget how dark he can go when it’s called for — usually when Gideon (and sometimes John) have been poking around in an old, old case and someone gets nervous about it and starts picking off incriminating people. I’m not saying he reaches a James Patterson-esque level of the description of a murder, it’s definitely briefer than him, but compared to the rest of the book, it’s dark.

I’d guessed at part of the big reveal at the end of the novel early on, but Gideon talked me out of it — quite convincingly (and honestly — Elkins doesn’t cheat like a lot of mystery writers do). I get frustrated at myself when that happens, but I’m consistently entertained by it, too. So that’s a plus in my book.

A good read, it’s a series you can really jump into at any point, with very clever mysteries — give it a shot. Hopefully I keep my resolution this time and get back together with my brainy pal Gideon real soon.

—–

3.5 Stars

R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton

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On October 8, 2013

In Fiction, Kinsey Millhone, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Sue Grafton

R is for Ricochet
R is for Ricochet

by Sue Grafton
Series: Kinsey Millhone, #18
Hardcover, 352 pg.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2004

So here we are at the 18th Kinsey Millhone mystery, and as is the case with a lot of these books, this is a really mixed bag. However, this time, it’s the non-case work that’s the most interesting (pretty sure that’s a first for me). There were some moments to the main story, but on the whole I found it dissatisfying.

Kinsey’s hired by the father of Reba Lafferty, a soon-to-be-paroled woman, to pick her up from the prison and accompany her for the first few days, help her get established on the outside — he’s too old and frail to do this himself, and there’s no other family to call upon. It doesn’t take long before she’s teetering on the verge of parole violations and seeking revenge on those from her old life that wronged her before and/or during her incarceration. Kinsey spends the book trying to minimize the damage and help out various law enforcement agencies who have an interest in Reba’s targets.

On the whole, I found this story to be wholly predictable and I couldn’t understand why Kinsey was allowing this woman to pull her around by her nose. Maybe it’s because Reba becomes the closest thing she’s had to a female friend since her days with an office in the insurance agency building. Regardless, there’s no excuse for someone with Kinsey’s experience to act like she does here.

There’s one character involved with Reba’s family that primarily serves as a giant red herring — mostly for the reader — I don’t remember Grafton doing that before. Sure, Kinsey’s investigated a dead end or two from time to time, but I don’t recall Grafton misleading the reader like this before. This was a totally useless character and source of conflict that went nowhere.

It isn’t the first time that it’s occurred to me during this series, but the back of my mind screamed about it this time: this book, especially the last 100 pages or so, would be radically different if it were set in the last decade or so rather than in the mid-80s. You put cell phones and email in the hands of Rachel, Kinsey and various law enforcement officers and this book just doesn’t play out like it does. So often this series has plot developments hinge on Kinsey returning to her home or office to check messages or make a call — or her not knowing something because she couldn’t do that. I understand Grafton keeping everything to that era, but man, it’d be fun to see Kinsey work a case now.

As I said, the part of the book that worked best for me was the personal-life stories, but I find it difficult to talk about them without getting very spoiler-y, so I’ll keep this to bullet points.

  • As interesting as I find the saga of Kinsey’s reconnecting with her mother’s family, I was glad to get a break from it in this book — Q is for Quarry had a lot of movement on that front, and it was good to let that settle a bit more.
  • I trust Grafton has an end game in mind on the Henry’s love life, particularly where his brothers are involved, I just hope we see what it is soon. I was utterly unimpressed (as I think we were supposed to be) with the behavior of William and Lewis here, not that Henry came off much better
  • I’m not sure what I think about the whole Chaney-romance thing. Sure, the seeds were planted a while ago, but things seemed almost too good here. Still, nice to see Kinsey happy/content/on the verge of it — and not deluded like she was with Dietz or the married cop; or self-destructive like she was with her exes.

Not my favorite in the series, but there’s enough here to keep me going. Eh, at this point I’m in through Z is for Z___, who am I trying to kid?

—–

3 Stars

Worth Dying For by Lee Child

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On September 24, 2013

In Fiction, Jack Reacher, Lee Child, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Worth Dying For
Worth Dying For by Lee Child
Series: Jack Reacher, #15

At the end of a harrying week, there’s not much better than settling down to read about Jack Reacher kicking whatever, taking names, and meting out justice.

The last couple of novels have been a little more on the cerebral side for Reacher (not that they haven’t had plenty of violence), which is fine — Reacher’s more than just brawn, he’s got a brain. But by page 43 of this book when the first fight (well, the first real) starts you can tell this us going to be a lot different than the last couple of books, there’s going to be a good deal of violence, and the reader’s blood is going to be pumping a lot. And wow, is there a lot of fighting going on — I haven’t kept notes or anything, but I don’t remember as much hand-to-hand fighting in a Reacher book in ages — if ever. Well-exectued by both Child and Reacher, I should add.

There is a misunderstanding involving one representative of the for parties that Reacher is up against here. The kind of misunderstanding that would make classic sit-com fodder, but here serves to ratchet up the paranoia and mutual suspicions between the parties. I had a lot of fun watching how one chance encounter and a million to one happening unravels something that really could’ve taken Reacher down, particularly in his weakened condition.

That weakened condition is one of the best things about this book — there’s a strong link between Worth Dying For and 61 Hours, the strongest since Tripwire and Running Blind — 11 books back — and, from what I’ve learned from a couple of TV interviews, this link continues in his latest, Never Go Back (further incentive, not that I need it, to catch up with this series). His body is still recovering from the trauma endured, and his mind is set on the officer who’s taken his old position. I really appreciated that, it’s good to see that these aren’t just random adventures, but there’s some continuity at work here, even if the novels are completely stand-alone in nature.

The villains at the center of this mess are probably the vilest that Child has yet cooked up — and that’s saying something. Once everything about their criminal activities is revealed, you’re more than ready for Reacher to do his thing. Which he — naturally — does with aplomb and efficiency.

Take your blood pressure meds, get in your comfy chair and kick back for a heck of a read.

—–

4 Stars

Robert B. Parker’s Damned if You Do by Michael Brandman

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On September 19, 2013

In Fiction, Jesse Stone, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert B. Parker

Robert B. Parker's Damned if You Do
Robert B. Parker’s Damned if You Do by Michael Brandman
Series: Jesse Stone, #12

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

At least half of one of those stars is due to loyalty to the fine men and woman (pretty sure there’s just one) of the Paradise Police Department.

Brandman knows Stone. He knows Suitcase (though you’d have a hard time proving it based on the evidence here) and Molly. He has a decent handle on the city, and the supporting characters.

What he doesn’t know is how to write a mystery. Or a police procedural. Possibly not a novel — maybe he should stick to scripts.

There are two cases that Jesse’s working on in this book — one he stumbles onto when helping a friend, he develops a hunch about conditions in a local retirement home. He talks to two citizens about it — both of whom serve mostly as exposition dumps and confirm his hunch. Jesse proceeds to harass and bully his way through bringing the retirement home in line. There’s no challenge for him here, there’s no struggle, there’s no effort, really. It does allow Brandman a chance to talk about some real problems, cite some statistics about a social ill and move on.

There’s a murder mystery also — he detects a little here. Mostly he susses out one clue, and the rest is delivered to him by Gino Fish and Vinnie Morris. Always nice for a small town cop to have a mobster and a shooter to call on for answers.

If this took me any time at all to read, I’d probably be more upset. The Stone novels for years were the best things that Parker produced. Towards the end, there was a resurgence in the quality of the Spenser novels which seemed to result in lesser Stone novels. But we’d still occasionally get one worth reading. Brandman has consistently fallen far short of even Parker’s worst. It’s really sad to see such a good franchise ruined like this.

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