Category: Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller Page 128 of 154

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

By

On August 4, 2015

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

Luckiest Girl Alive Luckiest Girl Alive

by Jessica Knoll

Hardcover, 338 pg.

Simon & Schuster, 2015

Read: July 27 – 31, 2015
There has been so much buzz about this book the last couple of months, it might as well be inhabited by bees. There’s been a couple of times this summer that half of my Twitter feed seems obsessed with it — it’s really only one or two people, but they really like posting reviews about it. I get the love for it — I don’t share it (at least to the extent that so many seem to) — but I can see where some would go ga-ga over it.

For me, not since Mark Watney from last year’s The Martian has a book depended so much on a narrator’s voice for me. This thing rises and falls with what you think of Ani FaNelli. If she doesn’t turn you off in the first 10 pages (odds are, I know the exact line), you’ll enjoy the ride.

The book opens on Ani and her fiancé working on their wedding gift registry, but it’s pretty much unlike every such trip you’ve seen/read. I’m pretty sure I emitted an audible chuckle or two. The fiancé is not really a cad, not really a bore, more of a guy who would be a jerk, or a really good guy if he just put a little effort into things in either direction, but can’t seem to bother to care. Ani is driven, emotionally-complex, with a dark sense of humor, there’s a subtext straight from the start that says some nasty stuff has happened to her, and it’s shaped the way she relates to life — it should be said that this subtext isn’t all that “sub.”

As we march towards the wedding day, we start to look back at how Ani’s (then TifAni’s) high school life made her into who she is today — her trials, her trauma, her friends, and everything else. As we get further along in each story, we gain more understanding of why she does what she does. I’m not all that certain I liked Ani as a person, but as a character? Oh, yeah. She’s a damaged mess of various disorders, doing her best to keep things together and progressing (it’s clear that she’s earned every one of those disorders). In the end, Ani just wants acceptance, love (for who she is, not what someone wants her to be), and a little public vindication. It’s just harder for her to find that because of who she is.

It’s hard to argue with desires like that — particularly from someone who’s gone through what she’s gone through. I’ve seen more than one review who talked about not being able to connect to Ani, and while I enjoyed her voice, I’m not sure I could either. What I could connect with was her goals, her desires. So my emotional investment came from wondering what kind of success she’d find.

Ani had a plan — one overarching plan since high school — she developed it, let it evolve, but by and large her plan was everything to her, a religion. I don’t think you could say it was a great plan, but it seems plausible. More than that, it was Ani’s and she liked it. But — somewhere in these pages, a little of that character growth thing happens — plus a handy accident occurs — that necessitates change in her plan. It’s impossible to say if that growth would’ve without the accident, or without the growth if she’d been able to take advantage of the accident. Either way, it’s how you handle a change in your circumstance and plans that reveals the most about you, right? The payoff here was satisfying.

The book promises a lot of twists — and there are several — but most of them I could see coming. That didn’t matter, Knoll teases them just long enough, and then brings them to light just at the right time for them to be fully effective. The ones I didn’t see coming, on the other hand? They were just as effective, and oh, so wonderful.

Thanks to the cover copy and promotions, this is being compared to Gone Girl — some people like the comparison, some don’t. I’m not going to make that comparison (mostly because I haven’t read the other). But for cryin’ out loud — don’t base you opinion of this book on that comparison. That’s not Knoll’s comparison, it belongs to someone at Simon & Schuster’s marketing department (and valid or not, that bit of cover copy paid off for the company).

Give this 10-30 pages. If you’re curious about what happened to Ani, if you like her voice, if you want to if she succeeds in her goals, keep going. If you don’t? Drop it and grab something else.

—–

4 Stars

Scents and Sensibility by Spencer Quinn

By

On July 31, 2015

In Authors, Chet and Bernie, Dogs, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Spencer Quinn

Scents and SensibilityScents and Sensibility

by Spencer Quinn
Series: Chet and Bernie, #8

Hardcover, 305 pg.

Atria Books, 2015

Read: July 16 – 17, 2015Bernie Little is back from his cross-country adventures, not much worse for wear, probably with a little coin in his pocket (knowing Bernie. He gets home to find one of his elderly neighbors in the hospital and her husband being investigated by some overreaching environmental authority. Which gets Bernie’s protective instincts engaged. Oh, yeah, and there’s a hole in Bernie’s wall where a safe used to be. That’s in the mix, too — but it takes a back seat to the Parsons’ plight.

It seems that the Parsons’ son was recently released from prison, making the timing of Mr. Parson’s troubles (and the missing safe), a little suspicious. Bernie starts investigating the son — which leads into looking at the crime that put him away in the first place. Which leads Bernie to cross paths with an old rival. An old rival who may have had something to do with the fact that Bernie is no longer employed by the Phoenix Police Department.

The past and present mingle with the personal and professional for Bernie as the case gets more complicated and dangerous. Which makes this a pretty decent detective novel — then throw in our loyal narrator, Chet with his uniquely irrepressible voice and perspective. That’s a thick layer of icing on a pretty good cake.

Which I guess makes the presence of a young dog who looks and smells like Chet (he’s the source of the latter observation) a nice fondant?

I think the illustration is getting away from me, so I’d better move on.

There are a few certainties in crime fiction, in every novel: a vehicle operated by Stephanie Plum will explode; Nero Wolfe will have beer; Harry Bosch will listen to jazz; and Chet will be separated from Bernie. Sometimes, this annoys me because it seems so forced, but this time it snuck up on me so naturally that I was three or four paragraphs into it before I realized it had happened. There’s some other Ce and Bernie mainstays here: Bernie says something he regrets to Suzie; Bernie’s ex seems to go out of her way to misunderstand Bernie, Chet is spoiled and eats like a goat. Really, it has all the elements of this series, Quinn just uses them better than usual here.

A compelling story, the characters back in their stride, and we learn a little bit more about Bernie — if that’s all this had, I’d jumping with excitement. But when you add those last few paragraphs? Forget it — this is the best thing Quinn’s done since introducing us to this pair.

—–

4 1/2 Stars

Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson

By

On July 30, 2015

In Craig Johnson, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Walt Longmire

Junkyard DogsJunkyard Dogs

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #6

Hardcover, 306 pg.

Viking Adult, 2010

Read: July 25, 2015This one opens with probably the funniest incidents in the series, I don’t want to spoil it, just trust me. Actually, there’s quite a few things in the opening chapters of this book to chuckle at or with.

But it wouldn’t be much of a mystery novel if it stayed that way. And so one chuckle-worthy happening is used by Walt to try to help one of his deputies. And then another string of comic events and characters ends with a corpse or two turning up. Which pretty much stops the laughter. It’s really a shame, I liked one of the people who died — and the family of one of the others. (Which isn’t to say that it’s not a shame when it happens to characters I don’t like)

The mystery was a little easier to solve than I really like, but these books aren’t really so much about the whodunit as they are about what happens with Walt and co. while they figure it out. On that front, this was pretty entertaining.

Seeds were planted for something involving Henry’s brother. Well, seeds have been planted already — I guess I should say that the previously planted seeds about Henry’s brother got a decent watering. However you want to look at it — something’s brewing on that front, and it’s not going to be pretty when it’s done. I hope the same isn’t the case with the impending nuptials.

As usual, with a book that takes in a part of the country like Absaroka County, WY, you have to worry about the number of murders and the risk posed to everyday residents of it. But at least they’ve got a lawman on their side who’ll make sure that those who disturb that corner of the woods pay for it. And not to sound too callous, but as long as these books keep being that entertaining, I can live with the hit to the census.

—–

3.5 Stars

Murder Boy by Bryon Quertermous

By

On July 15, 2015

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

Murder BoyMurder Boy

by Bryon Quertermous
Series: Dominick Price, #1

Kindle Edition, 256 pg.

Polis Books, 2015

Read: July 11 – 14, 2015File this one under “There’s no accounting for taste.” And by that, I mean mine. By all accounts, this is one that should’ve appealed to me. The premise promises something like The Wonder Boys meets Fargo and Koryta’s endorsement (among others) makes it seem like that promise is fulfilled.

But nope. Just didn’t do anything for me at all. Didn’t find it funny. Didn’t buy any of the characters. I wanted the protagonist/narrator to get smacked around and dumped in the trunk of the car for everything after chapter 4 (and I wouldn’t have been incredibly concerned with the state of his health while in the trunk). Really, nothing about it (apart from the premise) appealed to me.

Quertermous mingles in some thoughts (maybe insights?) about narrative — both what we read and what we construct for ourselves. There’s actually a lot of metanarrative fodder for thought sprinkled throughout. And if I liked this book — even a little — I think I’d have found it insightful and entertaining. But as things were, it just came across as pretentious and annoying.

I might — might — give this another shot when the sequel comes out. Or I just might try the sequel, to see if it was my mood, the kind of books I’m reading at the moment, or something else that shows my problem with the book was internal. But right now? Just humbug.

—–

1 Star

Stay by Victor Gischler

By

On July 9, 2015

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

StayStay

by Victor Gischler


Hardcover, 295 pg.
Thomas Dunne Books, 2015
Read: July 4, 2015
I must say that it sort of bugs me that everything I read about this book mentions the deal with CBS for the rights — I’m happy for Gischler, but that doesn’t make me want to read it more (or less). Still, Stay can at times seem like a really thorough pitch for a movie deal.

Beyond that — I was a little disappointed. Gischler takes so many suspense novel mainstays — the special ops guy with a troubled past forced into violence to protect his family, the paranoid old service buddy who’s an expert hacker and willing to drop everything to help his pal, the foreign mobsters who will stop at nothing . . . yada yada yada. There was virtually nothing new here. Now just because you have so many genre tropes, doesn’t mean the book has to be hacky (I’m not saying this was, but you could see hacky from the front porch) — take Finder’s Nick Heller books. Almost entirely the same tropes, but Finder pulls it off. Gischler doesn’t.

The dialogue was mediocre, the characters were thin, the sex was a touch too detailed, the violence was about right (maybe a less detailed than expected a few times). One thing I don’t need is the same narrator justifying the use of a head-butt twice in the same novel — and almost in identical terms.

Ultimately, I wanted more. More surprise, more details, more originality to the characters, more depth to David and Amy (and heck, the bad guys as well). There wasn’t enough grit, enough horror, enough….anything. I guess you could say that I think this was a good start — but not a good final draft. Entertaining enough to keep me turning the page. But could’ve been so much more.

—–

2 1/2 Stars

Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond

By

On July 3, 2015

In Comics, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, YA/MG/Children's Books

Lois Lane FalloutLois Lane: Fallout

by Gwenda Bond
Series: Lois Lane, #1

Hardcover, 303 pg.

Switch Press, 2015

Read: June 27, 2015I’d love to be able to talk about this book as a YA adventure tale on its own. But I can’t. It’s Lois Lane, fer cryin’ out loud. Lois the intrepid, fiery, determined journalist. Not the ditz, not the comic relief, not the damsel in distress (except for the distress she finds herself in because she plunged into danger, not as a victim). Sure, she’s sixteen and a rookie when it comes to reporting things — but she’s gotta start somewhere.

Not only is this Lois Lane, but it’s teenaged Lois. So you have to think about this in terms of Smallville, well I have to, anyway. Bond’s Lois isn’t Smallville‘s — she’s closer to Chloe Sullivan (just with less tech savvy). Actually, if we’re talking WB shows, Bond’s Lois is Veronica Mars without the cool dad. But she’s not just smart and tenacious. She also gets people — she may have no social skills (or not enough of them), but she can read a person. Early on, Lois sees what’s going on with the other girl in the news staff pining after one of the guys. There were other examples, but putting that one where it was — and the way Lois saw it — makes you believe her “reads” of other people.

After spending her life bouncing around the world, from base to base, and seeing the negative effect it’s having on his daughter. General Lane gets himself a permanent assignment to Metropolis (the exact nature of which isn’t clear — but what teenager cares that much about what their parent does?). Lois is going to put down roots here, too, and not get in trouble at school — a resolution that doesn’t last through first period. But, this draws Perry White’s attention as he visits the school, and he invites her to join a new student news project. From there, Lois and her new colleagues uncover a story that involves a strange mix of cyberbullying, VR gaming, and group psychology.

Sure, the story she uncovers is about outlandish, a little hopefully) hard for us to believe. But, hey, this is a book based on comics. So yeah, outlandish works. It also allows Bond to make some subtle (maybe overly subtle) remarks about group-think, the dangers of our online society, and so on.

The use of Gen. Lane, Lucy, Perry White and the Daily Planet were inventive, but were consistent with the source material. Which was both a relief, and a key for the book working as well as it did.

Her friends aren’t that developed — but there’s enough of them to be more than cardboard cutouts of high school stereotypes. I look forward to learning more about them all — I think Maddie’s the most entertaining and interesting, but I’d gladly see more of the others as well. Which goes for East Metropolis High as a whole, really. I hope in future installments that Lois can find someone other than the school secretary to dupe to accomplish her ends.

She doesn’t do much with him, but I enjoyed Bond’s treatment of Lois’ online friend, SmallvilleGuy. Someone she met online after posting about seeing something inexplicable in the middle of Kansas. Bond doesn’t try to hide from the reader who this guy is, or play games with us — the nickname is a dead giveaway. Still, it would’ve been easy for Bond to pretend for a couple of books that this stranger was someone new to the canon. Instead, she plays it straight — sure, she has some fun because we all know a whole lot more than Lois does about this guy, and what their future will hold. But she doesn’t do it at the expense of either character.

Fallout was engaging, fun, and an inventive contemporary take on a timeless character. Recommended for comic book types who don’t mind a different look at canon and/or people who like CW dramas.

—–

3.5 Stars

Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich

By

On June 30, 2015

In Authors, Fiction, Janet Evanovich, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Stephanie Plum

Top Secret Twenty-OneTop Secret Twenty-One

by Janet Evanovich
Series: Stephanie Plum, #21

Mass Market Paperback, 326 pg.

Bantam, 2015

Read: June 27, 2015

What to say, what to say . . . I mean seriously, these are like 80’s sitcoms at this point. A big reset to the status quo at the end of the novel, most of the jokes are variations on previous novels. Which makes it hard to talk about them. Let’s break this one down quickly:

  • The Good: Vinnie didn’t appear. Joyce Barnhardt only appeared as an allusion. The pacing was a bit different, I thought. Stephanie’s main target was taken care of pretty early, freeing her up to help Ranger.
  • The Bad: The main target for Stephanie was so close to the guy in Takedown Twenty that I briefly wondered if I’d already read this one.
  • The Surprising: The other big case for this book — Ranger’s case, was a lot more serious (grading on a Plum curve here) than we’re used to. Involving a bit more peril than one expects. Grandma was used well, and Evanovich showed a little restraint with her and her antics.
  • The Funny: There was the standard amount of general amusement. But, and this is important, (at least until Evanovich figures it out and drives it into the ground), Bob + Ranger = Comedy Gold. Who knew? I actually laughed out loud. That whole scene lifted this from a 2-2.5 star rating to a three. It’s been a long time since I actually laughed at one of these.

On the whole, once I settled into it, I enjoyed myself. I’m glad I read it — would I prefer that Evnovich reintroduce a real sense of serialization, let things progress with one of the two romantic leads, let Stephanie get better at her job, introducing real stakes would also improve the humor. Otherwise, this remains fairly reliable, decent, disposable reading material.

—–

3 Stars

The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson

By

On June 24, 2015

In Authors, Craig Johnson, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Walt Longmire

The Dark HorseThe Dark Horse

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #5

Hardcover, 318 pg.
Viking Adult, 2009

Read: June 22 – 23, 2015

. . . we walked into the middle of the rutted and powdery two-track that stretched to the horizon; the only other road curled off to the right and disappeared into the distance as well.

I thought about how we tilled and cultivated the land, planted trees on it, fenced it, built houses on it, and did everything we could to hold off the eternity of distance–anything to give the landscape some sort of human scale. No matter what we did to try and form the West, however, the West inevitably formed us instead.

One thing I particularly appreciate about the Longmire books is the effort that Johnson puts into making them distinct from each other — one of the hazards of mystery series is that books can blend in with each other, but that’s not the case (so far) with these. There are two distinct features to this book — 1. Narratively: Walt tries (and kind of succeeds) to go undercover to investigate a murder in a nearby county; 2. Mechanically: the narration keeps jumping back and forth from “the present,” where Walt’s been investigating for a couple of weeks, and then to the point a few weeks earlier where Walt starts to becoming involved in the investigation.

I guess it’s also noteworthy that there’s really no Indian spirituality to speak of — practically no Henry, for that matter (although he makes his presence felt when he’s around).

Anyway, a Sheriff of a neighboring county gets Walt to hold a prisoner for trial for him — a woman who confessed to murdering her louse of a husband. Repeatedly confessed, no less. Given the confession (and some other evidence), he can’t investigate things further — as much as he thinks it might be needed. Still, he knows ol’ Walt won’t worry about the politics or difficulties involved if he sniffs something rotten in Wyoming. Walt falls into the not-so-cleverly-lain trap and starts finding the problems with the confession. Which leads to him assuming the identity of an insurance investigator and doing a little investigating.

He’s almost comically bad at it, but he’s enough of a stranger that it doesn’t matter — he can just be Walt, talking history, drinking beer and nosing around. Add in some horses, some fisticuffs, a spunky kid and a little gunplay — and you’ve got yourself a solid mystery novel.

One of the episodes of the show Longmire was loosely based on this novel, but by “loosely” I mean there are horses, a fire, Walt, and a married couple. That’s pretty much it. So, those who’ve seen the episode can feel free to read the book without any fear of knowing whodunit (and vice versa).

There’s a little movement on the character development front — people recovering from wounds, some other recurring characters moving in the background, and some development on various romantic fronts, too. The serialized component isn’t a major factor in this series, but it’s there — mostly downplayed this time, but still, present. Oh, the election that’s been lurking in the background for forever? Taken care of so quickly, your head’ll spin — what the results mean for things going forward, time will tell. I think I like that approach to it — just blink and you’ll miss it.

Yet again, Johnson delivers a great read — and Sheriff Longmire and Absaroka County prove they can be just as interesting as Det. Bosch and L.A., Spenser and Boston, or Det. Hatcher and NYC.

—–

3.5 Stars

I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest (Kali Ciesemier, Illustrator)

By

On June 12, 2015

In Authors, Blog Series, Cherie Priest, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Opening Lines, P-U, YA/MG/Children's Books

I Am Princess X I Am Princess X

by Cherie Priest, Kali Ciesemier, Illustrator

Hardcover, 227 pg.
Arthur A. Levine Books, 2015

Read: June 4, 2015

This book starts off just like the book description tells you — it’s practically an outline of the first 40 pages. Somehow, even if all they were doing was fulfilling the book jacket copy, the opening chapters sucked me in more and more with each detail until the last sentence on page 35. That line was just creepy. At that point, I put my finger in the book to save the page, called to my daughter (who’d showed minor interest on the book) and told her that unless Priest screwed things up, she had to read this (and seriously , what were the odds of Priest doing that?).

Years after the death of her best friend, Libby, May starts to see drawings around town of something the two had created together (and no one else knew about). How is that possible? She does everything she can to find out, but that doesn’t tell her anything other than that there’s a (pretty popular) webcomic out there starring their creation. There’s a self-proclaimed computer guru (Patrick — he prefers Trick, though) living a few floors below her dad that May hires/cons into going the extra technological mile for her. Their investigation doesn’t remain online, and before long the two are running all over Seattle. They dance between employer/employee; condescending college-aged twerp/younger, slightly naive teen; pals throughout in a way that seems organic and real. It’s probably the most realistic thing in the book after the death of Libby. While I’m talking about them — the hijinks the pair get into in the cemetery result in either the funniest or the grossest line of dialog I’ve read this year. Possibly both.

This isn’t the kind of comic/prose hybrid that Jeff Kinney, James Patterson, Stephen Pastis, etc. are doing — Priest uses the comic pages (taken from the fictional webcomic) to further the plot, to help us see what May and Trick are reading/seeing. Rather than trying to describe (and likely not succeeding all that often) a series of panels and the artwork, we just get them. Shorter, sweeter, to the point. A great merger of the two media. Ciesemier’s art is spot-on, I could easily read a webcomic she draws.

This is a YA novel with no love triangle, no romantic love period — that’s practically enough of a sales pitch for me right there. Friendship — that’s the emotional core driving this. The old friendship between Libby and May, that death hasn’t changed too much; the budding friendship between May and Trick, and another one that’s in spoiler territory. Nowhere along the lines is there even a whiff of anything else between these characters. What a breath of fresh air! There’s some actual parenting (not perfect, but humans trying) along the line, too — a couple of pretty good dads — something else I don’t see a lot in YA. So yay there, too.

It’s an implausible story grounded in three real characters (May, Trick and May’s dad) — and a couple of others that could have been as grounded if we’d gotten a few more pages from them. For the story this is trying to tell? That’s just enough to carry it.

We see the villain enough to find him threatening and somewhat believable, learn enough about him to support that, but not enough that we can develop any sympathy for him — he’s mostly shadow, which frequently feels like under-writing or a cheat by the author. But here it felt like a device to underline the threat he poses.

This is pure escapist adventure reading — no muss, no fuss, no frills. The story matches the medium of a webcomic pretty well. Sure, it could’ve been a deeper, more reflective novel — or even a slightly more realistic one. But it doesn’t need to be. Have I rated better written/constructed novels lower than this? Oh yeah. But this novel was exactly everything it promised to be, everything it needed to be. This grabbed me from the start and didn’t let go until it was done.

As an added bonus for people like me, I’m pretty sure there’s a tip o’ the hat to Robert B. Parker in these pages. That just brought a smile to my face.

—–

—–

4 1/2 Stars

Paw and Order by Spencer Quinn

By

On June 12, 2015

In Authors, Dogs, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, P-U

Paw and OrderPaw and Order

by Spencer Quinn
Series: Chet and Bernie, #7

Hardcover, 304 pg.
Atria Books, and 2014
Read: June 7, 2015
On their way home from their adventures in Louisiana, Bernie decides to take a detour through Washington, D. C. to see if he can repair some of the damage done to his relationship with Suzie Sanchez.

I’m not spoiling much to say that Bernie’s romantic gestures and intentions are still only slightly better than his financial moves — making this both the most interesting (and frustrating) part of the book.

Shortly after their arrival, Suzie brings Chet along to help with a story, and they end up finding the body of a friend/source of Suzie’s. Making things more complicated, Bernie’s implicated in the shooting. Despite not being on familiar turf, the trio dives into the investigation and the murky international political waters surrounding the capitol.

If you ask me, the solution to the mystery is a bit too easily found. And, thanks to Chet’s comprehension of human beings (and lack of exposure to all the evidence), I felt like I had to fill in more blanks than I’m used to with the series. You may differ, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. But even if I didn’t like the destination, taking the trip with Chet’s narration was as pleasant as usual.

We get a bit more detail about Bernie’s military past than we did before — building nicely on The Sound and the Furry, and obviously, there’s movement on the relationship front. Which, for this series, is plenty of character development. Chet remains Chet — not sure what character growth would look like with him, nor that I’d want to see it, anyway. Oh, wait — there’s a new trick that Bernie does with him.

Honestly, this was probably the least of the series — I’m not sure if Quinn was over-reaching, or just didn’t have enough to flesh this out. He seems enough of a pro that I have trouble believing either. I’m not going to take the time to make the case (either way), because I don’t think it’s worth it. There was enough to enjoy here, and while there were plenty of negatives, I don’t think they outweighed what was enjoyable. Just hoping for a good rebound with the upcoming Scents and Sensibility.

—–

3 Stars

Page 128 of 154

Previous

Next

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén