Category: Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller Page 129 of 153

It infuriates me that I haven’t written anything on these books — Ceepak and Boyle (and, probably, Grabenstein) deserve better. But…here’s something, at least.

The points I’ve had all along are still here — I like Grabenstein’s voice and tone. I like the subtle character growth. Ceepak is a super-hero. Danny, on the other hand, is the real star of this series (no matter what it’s called) — we’re watching him grow in to a real cop, into a man. Yes, he’s trying to model himself off Ceepak, but he’s the focus, he’s our entry into this world and Ceepak’s mission.

The biggest problem with this series is that I just can’t bring myself to listen to enough Bruce Springsteen to appreciate all the references. I’ve tried. Really I have.

Rolling Thunder

by Chris Grabenstein
Series:John Ceepak Mystery, #6

Hardcover, 304 pg.
Pegasus, 2010
Read: November 24 – 25, 2014

Not much worse than a prominent citizen dying on the initial run of the new Roller Coaster that was supposed to guarantee one of the best tourist seasons in recent years for Sea Haven. The resulting investigation is as filled with the typical twists and turns, heroics from Ceepak and good tries from Danny.

Not that Danny doesn’t get his chance to shine — and brightly, I should add.

I liked this one, not as much as I wanted to, but spending time with good friends in NJ is always a treat.

I’ll take a moment to say that I’m not crazy about the whole arc about Ceepak’s father. Initially, I liked it — but now? I don’t know — maybe they’re just spending too much time with it without resolving anything, but I’m done with it. There’s another arc kicked off here that works much better (particularly as it’s a subtle kick-off here, that grows into prominence).
3.5 Stars

Fun House

by Chris Grabenstein
Series:John Ceepak Mystery, #7

Hardcover, 336 pg.
Pegasus, 2012
Read: February 25, 2015

A competitive version of The Jersey Shore comes to Sea Haven, and with it comes chaos, attention, and gobs of money. Oh, and because this is Sea Haven — murder.

We’re treated to a nice bit of social satire/cultural commentary along with our usual Ceepak/Boyle antics. Sure, it’s at the admittedly easy targets of The Jersey Shore/”Reality TV” in general. Still, it was fun, like this little bit about the host of just before a commercial break:

…teases Chip, because they like to do that a lot on these shows: hint that something good is coming. In fact, they do more hinting and teasing than actual entertaining.

I’ve had the same thought (not as well-articulated) more than once and appreciated someone else saying the same thing.

I also liked that the book starts with drunk and disorderly charge and then an investigation into anabolic steroids. Not every book (especially those set in small towns) has to be about murder or serial killers, right?

Overall, one of the weaker entries — but the TV commentary and Danny’s personal story made up for it.
0 Stars

Free Fall

by Chris Grabenstein
Series:John Ceepak Mystery, #8

Hardcover, 352 pg.
Pegasus, 2013
Read: March 11 – 12, 2015

Sure, there are draw backs to having a mystery series in a smaller town – at some point the crime rate gets ridiculously high, for example. On the other hand, when at least one of your characters has known half of the victims/suspects/witnesses all their lives, you can save a lot of time getting to know them finding narrative hooks, emotional ties, etc. That helps a lot here.

There’s something to this murder — this victim that doesn’t seem like the typical Ceepak/Boyle case. Same with the motive, really. I really liked the characters, the murder, the way this pushed our protagonists in different ways. If this wasn’t the best mystery — the best book in the series, it’s the best in a long time. Hope it’s a sign of things to come.
4 Stars

Buried Secrets by Joseph Finder

By HCNewton

On May 14, 2015

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

Buried Secrets

by Joseph Finder
Series: Nick Heller, #2

Hardcover, 386 pg.
St. Martin’s Press, 2011
Read: April 13, 2015

Private Spy, Private Investigator, Private Vengeance-Taker, whatever you want to call him, Nick Heller one of the best — he’s tough, he’s resourceful, troubled kids like him and he quotes The Punisher. Who doesn’t love that?

Heller’s relocated himself, his computer wiz, and his nephew to Boston since we saw him last, setting up shop marketing his peculiar trade. True to form, he’s pretty picky about who he accepts as a client, but there is one who he can’t turn away. Marshall Marcus, the richest man in Boston, was a lifeline for Heller’s mother after his father’s prison sentence was handed down. Now he needs a lifeline — actually, his 17 year old daughter does. She’s been kidnapped and will be executed if her father doesn’t give the men responsible exactly what they want.

The kidnapping itself, and the way Alexa is being held captive aren’t that novel — most readers who’ve watched a police procedural or two in the last few years will have seen one or two scenarios like it. But Finder does make it distinctive by making the man holding her into a particularly sick and evil man. Thankfully, we don’t spend so much time with Dragomir that the reader sympathizes with him, or starts to like him (à la Dr. Lecter). What he’s doing to Alexa is just wrong — as is pretty much everything that has led up to this point in his life.

Nick’s not just up against this twisted man — and those behind him — he also has to contend with a client who continually lies to him, an FBI official that seems to be blocking his efforts, and more than one person who isn’t who they say they are. Thankfully, he has Dorothy, his old military friends, international intelligence contacts, and a different FBI agent backing him.

There’s less action (as defined by explosions, gunplay, fights, etc.) than in Vanished, but it’s more suspenseful. In Vanished, it wasn’t until the closing pages that you had any idea what was happening with the victim — but here, there’s never any doubt about what’s going on with her, and what’s going to happen to her if Nick doesn’t put the pieces together. Soon. Which isn’t to say it’s all-thriller-all-the-time, there’s moments where Nick and the reader catch their breath. Even a couple moments of levity (Nick’s narrative voice helps a lot on that front) — his observation, “Veganism is apparently the paramilitary wing of vegetarianism” helped set the tone. Dorothy’s eventual use of the word “Pepsi” to close a chapter made me chuckle audibly (you’ll get it when you read this).

I should probably add that this book includes one of the grosser character deaths I’ve read in the last couple of years. Didn’t bother me much, he had it coming.

We get to see a bit more of Nick’s life and backstory this time. He’s a better-rounded character now. It’d have been easy to see him as a workaholic who had no contact with anyone outside of work and his nephew before. But that’s clearly not the case now. There’s not much more to him — but there used to be, and getting that glimpse helps you care a bit.

It’s taught, it’s a page turner, it’s a “I can always sleep later” kind of read. Man, oh man, I hope Finder has at least one other Heller adventure up his sleeve.
4 Stars

Another Man’s Moccasins by Craig Johnson

By HCNewton

On May 13, 2015

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

Another Man’s Moccasins

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #4

Hardcover, 290 pg.
Viking Adult, 2008
Read: May 11 – 12, 2015

“Do you think I’m a racist?”
[Ruby] smiled and then covered it with a hand. “You?”
“Me.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets.
She tipped her head up and considered me, and I felt like I should be wearing a lead vest. “You mean because of your experiences in the war?”
“Yep.”
“No.”
It was a strong response, and one that didn’t leave a lot of room for further discussion. I glanced at her unyielding eyes and shrugged, turning to look back as Virgil’s arm moved and he looked at the two of us. “Just wondering.”
“You do have one prejudice though.” I looked back at her again from under the brim of my hat. “You don’t care about the living as much as you do the dead.”

There’s a lot to that observation. It’s what makes Walt Longmire, like Harry Bosch, such a good investigator — and a character that readers want to spend more and more time with. They have friends, family — even loved ones. But the dead — murder victims or those they’ve lost over their lives — those seem to carry the weight of their attention and care. Could make an iffy friend, a frustrating spouse — but (as Arthur Fancy once said of a certain Polish detective) “If a member of my family was murdered, I’d want [him] to catch the case.”

The dead in this particular book take two forms — first and foremost is the young Vietnamese girl dumped off the side of the road and almost baled with hay. It’s the kind of thing that Walt — and similar lawmen dread — “There you stand by some numbered roadway with a victim, no ID, no crime scene, no suspects, nothing.” This woman’s ancestry does help her stick out in Absaroka County, and it doesn’t take Walt too long before he’s able to find a thread to pull. But he has no idea what’s on the other end of that thread, and it takes a lot of work to find it.

Walt Longmire books aren’t just about what’s going on in Absaroka County, Wyoming — at least not in the physical realm. There’s something going on in the spiritual, spectral, or some other realm — typically tied in with Cheyenne thought. This time there are spirits of a different kind, the ghosts that haunt each of us — the ones we bring along with us all the time. In particular, the ghosts of Walt’s past, specifically his time in Vietnam as a Marine Investigator. The narrative cuts back and forth between the present day investigation and one that young Walt Longmire is involved with as a Marine Inspector in Vietnam in the days immediately preceding the Tet Offensive. The Marine we meet isn’t the Sheriff we know — he doesn’t have the experience or authority — but the essence of the man is there, he just needs a little refining.

Additionally, Walt, Cady and Vic are dealing with the various forms of fallout from Kindness Goes Unpunished, with various levels of success. It’s not that Walt necessarily cares more for the dead — recent or decades old — it’s just that their needs seem far more immediate, and probably more importantly, Walt knows what to do to help them. With the living? He has far less idea what he should do.

You take those three plotlines, mix them together with a giant homeless Crow Indian and you’ve got yourself one compelling read.

This had a slightly different feel than Kindness Goes Unpunished — which is good, I don’t want to read the same novel over and over. Where Kindness was light and fun (when not harrowing and deadly), this was sober, thoughtful. Walt’s not sure what to do on various fronts of his personal life, he’s remembering a lot of things he could’ve done better in Vietnam and trying not to make mistakes with the case in front of him.

This is the fourth installment in this series, and you know pretty much what you’re going to get at this point when you pick one up. Which is exactly what this delivers. A straight-forward, thoughtful mystery novel with a protagonist who matches that description. A good choice for fans of Connelly, Crais, or Parker that don’t mind urban sprawl being replaced by ghost towns.

—–

3.5 Stars

Thicker Than Water by G.M. Ford

By HCNewton

On May 8, 2015

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

Thicker than Water

by G. M. Ford
Series:Leo Waterman, #7

Kindle Edition, 264 pg.
Thomas & Mercer, 2012
Read: April 29 – 30, 2015
So, I stumbled onto this series in ’06, I think — and read them in a pretty quick succession. I don’t have crystal clear memory of them, but I remembered Waterman, the lovely (and smart) Rebecca, the homeless people that he uses to help, his wit — and a scene or two from books 1-5. I remember book 6, The Deader the Better pretty well — I really remember how much I wanted to go on to to the next one, and how frustrated I felt when I discovered there was no book 7. How could Ford leave us hanging like that? Just when I was really getting to like the guy (see also: Koryta’s Lincoln Perry; Levine’s Solomon vs. Lord; Lehane’s Kenzie and Gennaro).

So imagine my delight when I stumbled onto a new Leo Waterman (even if I found it a few years late). It took me very little time to get back into things — Ford quickly reminded me of the details I’d forgotten while plunging Waterman (and the reader) into the thick of things.

I’d forgotten how quotable Ford can be. This description of a lifelong, um, acquaintance and current gun dealer probably beats the competition in this book (by a hair):

Junior Bailey couldn’t have been more than a couple of Oreos short of three hundred pounds. A corpulent corpuscle in a hideous purple suit, he looked like a Cuban headwaiter who had been held hostage in a doughnut shop. Except for the rosebud lips, he bore little or no resemblance to his father.

How can you not like a book with lines like that? 1. It’s funny, 2. You have a clear picture of this guy in your head, 3. Given the phrasing, you’re pretty sure just what the narrator thinks of ol’ Junior Bailey. This kind of writing keeps me turning pages — I almost don’t care about plot or character. Almost.

But despite the years, Ford hasn’t lost a step with these characters — Leo is still Leo. Yes, aged, and clearly affected by Rebecca’s moving on. But still the same man — and when called upon to come to her aid, he dives right in. The folks at the bar are still as fun (and tragic) and silly as remembered.

And the case? Rebecca’s gone missing, her bad choice of husband is, too — and no one seems to care other than her mother. Granted, she thinks Leo would’ve been a worse choice for Rebecca, but she knows that if anyone will look for Rebecca it’d be Leo. There’s some brutal action, some good twists and turns to the tale, a few criminals that are requisitely evil and demented, and more than enough chuckles before reaching a very satisfying conclusion. I’m so glad to see that Ford’s at work on another in this series.

And I truly wish I could say more about the biggest laugh, but it’d take too long and it’d ruin it for you, so I’ll just conclude with this:

That last chapter? Reader, I lol-ed.

—–

4 Stars

The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man by W. Bruce Cameron

By HCNewton

On May 7, 2015

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

The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man

by W. Bruce Cameron
Series: Ruddy McCann, #1

Hardcover, 319 pg.
Forge Books, 2014
Read: May 6, 2015
Disgraced college football star, ex-con, turned hometown shame and repo man, Ruddy McCann suddenly finds himself hearing voices — well, a voice, one that claims to be a local Realtor who disappeared 8 years earlier. Ruddy eventually convinces himself that he’s not going crazy, there’s actually a ghost living inside his brain, one who used to be Alan Lottner. Alan was murdered by someone he vaguely recognizes and a complete stranger, for reasons unknown to him. He also doesn’t know why he’s in Ruddy’s mind. There are a couple of things he does know: Ruddy needs to take better care of himself and his home; and that Ruddy can help him figure out what happened to him, and why.

While working on this quest, Ruddy works on some repo jobs, tries to help a friend out of a jam, and attempts to help keep his sister’s bar afloat — oh, and he’s met this great gal that he can’t stop thinking about. The fact that she’s Alan’s daughter just complicates things.

Cameron doesn’t bother explaining much about how Alan and his host were linked, why it took so long for Alan to become aware, or anything like that. It doesn’t even pretend to. And that’s okay, it works, somehow — even though I wouldn’t generally stand for that kind of thing.

I didn’t find this as funny as most people seem to — I found bits amusing, I thought the characters were drawn with a comedic brush, but that Cameron played it straight — rarely going for jokes or laughs, but finding the humor in these people just living — a more grounded, and genuine kind of humor. The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man is a pretty solid suspense story, with a side of romance, a few people looking for a second chance (maybe a bit of redemption), a loyal dog, and some silly characters. This one hit the spot.

—–

3.5 Stars

Goodbye Ginny Madison by Dave Gehrke

By HCNewton

On May 6, 2015

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

Goodbye Ginny Madison

by Dave Gehrke
Kindle Edition, 300 pg.
Amazon Digital Services, 2014
Read: May 1 – 5, 2015
This just didn’t work for me. It was cute enough, I guess — and the solution was pretty clever (although I saw the heart of it very early on). But at the end of the day, it just wasn’t well-written. I’m getting ahead of myself a bit.

Here’s the gist of the book, from the Publisher’s Description:
Greg Monroe writes romance novels under the nom de plume Ginny Madison. That’s what he’s “gotta do”. What he wants to do is write mysteries; hard-boiled mysteries with bite. But his publisher tells him his mysteries lack originality, his plots are simplistic and his characters… well, they just aren’t real.

Complicating matters, Greg’s live-in Uncle George brings home an attractive new housekeeper. Hattie Fulton is intelligent, capable, resourceful and not who she pretends to be.

But before Greg can uncover the truth behind the attractive Hattie Fulton, Uncle George becomes the main suspect in a real murder mystery. Suddenly thrust into the role of a real detective, Greg digs into the mystery hoping to prove his uncle’s innocence while at the same time struggling to meet his next publishing deadline. And surprisingly, Greg’s fictional plots suddenly become edge-of-the seat compelling and his characters take on a life of their own. If you discount the strong resemblance to both Hattie and Greg and the sparks that are flying between them.

Now all Greg has to do in order to clear his uncle, finish the best mystery novel he’s ever written and win over his housekeeper is uncover the real murderer, without revealing to everyone that he’s really a romance writer pretending to be a mystery writer.Sounds like a straight-to-DVD Rom Com, doesn’t it?

Greg, simply put, is a chauvinist. Mystery novels are “real ‘guy’s’ books” and no guy should come anywhere near a romance novel. He’s doing well enough writing full-time under a nom de plume to afford a nice house for himself and his uncle, which can’t be easy. Yet, somehow, someone who thinks, “I mean what the hell does a guy know about romance? Beer, sports, guns. That’s guy stuff. Romance; female stuff” can write well enough for a female audience to support himself, despite a lousy work ethic. I guess it’s the Melvin Udall-phenomenon. He’s really pathetic, professionally and personally — if not for his uncle, it’d be easy to see him holed-up in his house forever.

Uncle George is a fire-cracker of a guy, pushing Greg into the world by any means necessary. Beyond his healthy nest-egg, poker buddies and bookie, he has a pretty full life on his own — think Stephanie Plum’s Grandma Mazur, but more together and grounded.

Hattie? Hattie’s a fantasy come to life — a knockout who can drive, shoot, take down bad guys with a couple of martial arts and cook. Did I mention she was hot?

And these are the well-drawn characters. The murder suspects are stock characters, as are the mobsters that Greg runs into. The police detectives are worse.

I really don’t want this to turn in to a litany of complaints, because I’ve really covered the major ones already, but I do have a few more, that I’ll just list without too much expansion:

The samples of Greg’s writing are, like almost every fictional example of someone’s fiction, are over-written. More adjectives and adverbs than any published author would use, lousy dialogue, unnatural vocabulary choices. This tendency occasionally spills over into the narrative, too.
Gehrke seems incapable of writing out the words “Lieutenant” and “Sergeant.” Sorry, man, but only using abbreviations? That’s just lazy.
Along the same line — this thing is just riddled with typos. Most are forgivable/easy to ignore. But there are some that are just nasty. If Gehrke got “losing”/”lose” right once, it slipped by me. Sure, it seems minor — but if you have to re-read the sentence because the wrong word (i.e., “loosing”/”loose”) was used, it takes you out of the moment.
Greg, George and Hattie spend so, so, so much time bantering about their choice of words in conversation it gets annoying. If he used that joke maybe one-third (or less) as often as he did, it could be amusing. But he just goes to that well too often, and it’s off-putting.

The murder mystery itself was well done. The steps that Greg and the rest went through to solve it were pretty rambling and chaotic — but they were supposed to be. The tone was generally right — except when he wrote the same joke 15 times.

Cute enough, like I said, and pretty amusing. It’s the literary equivalent of the straight-to-DVD Rom Com I mentioned earlier. Goodbye Ginny Madison is entertaining enough to justify the time — just entertaining enough. Still, if you’re looking for novel about a rookie detective on his first murder case, check out Jim Cliff’sThe Shoulders of Giants.

—–

2 1/2 Stars

Atlanta Burns by Chuck Wendig

By HCNewton

On April 29, 2015

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

I’ve got a bet with myself involving how many words I can get into this thing without mentioning a certain UPN/CW show about a teenage P. I. I don’t have high hopes of winning.

Atlanta Burns

by Chuck Wendig
Series:Atlanta Burns, #1-2

Kindle Edition, 381 pg.
Skyscape , 2015
Read: March 20 – 23, 2015

Morning— well, late morning— well, let’s just call it “noon”— arrives, and Atlanta awakens in a dreary, bleary-eyed sweat. Her spirits lift a little— not a full, bounding leap, but like a balloon whose helium hasn’t gone all the way out— when she realizes that this is the first day of summer vacation.

Sleep is evasive, ducking and feinting, slippery like a pig slathered in its own grease. The day was hot, but somehow the night seems hotter . The air thick and stuffy like she’s a piece of French toast puffing up and sweating on the griddle . Summer’s not even here yet, but the season has sent an early preview.

No matter what you think of Ms. Burns and her (mis?)adventures, getting lines like that is half the fun. This is my second book by Wendig and the one thing I can say for certain is that this man has a way with prose that really, really like.

Thankfully, this time, I like his protagonist and the stories that she’s finding herself in.

Atlanta’s in a new-ish school in a new-ish town, and is hating it. She’s already got herself a (deserved) reputation for reckless violence, which comes in handy when she comes across some bullies attacking a Hispanic kid. She disrupts things for them, earning herself a couple of new enemies and a friend she doesn’t want. Before she knows it, Atlanta’s got a new reputation — as someone who bullies the bullies, who can get your revenge for you.

Atlanta’s a mess — dealing with PTSD (or something akin to it), her relationship with her mother’s in shambles, isn’t good with people — especially those in authority, mixes up non-prescribed pharmecuticals and caffeine in a way that can’t lead to long-term phscial or mental health. Probably not in the short-term, either, come to think of it. She makes mistakes — big ones, potentially lethal ones. She may be a contemporary Sally Kimball — but she’s nowhere near as perfect as Sally (or her partner). It wouldn’t have shocked me if she was killed in all of her nosing around. (it would’ve fit the tone of the book, too).

Some of the characters here are very well drawn, some aren’t. The English teacher who takes an interest in her is like every English teacher you’ve read/seen on TV who takes an interest in a troubled kid. Her nerdy friends, or her drug/gun dealer, on the other hand, are sharply and fully drawn. Ditto for the bullies, criminals and low-lifes she comes into contact with. I’m torn about Atlanta’s mother, I’m not sure what to think of her as a character, really. She’s largely extraneous to the plot, but when she’s around, it counts.

The violence seems real. It’s messy, sloppy, not a series of precision moves/shots/etc. like you’d get from…well, about everyone else. It hurts. It takes people down and takes time to recover. Nowhere near as entertaining (at least not in the same way) as Reacher talking about how much force is required to break bone X, or Vinnie Morris making the impossible shot, or Elvis Cole delivering a precision kick to the face. Instead, what we get is visceral, bloody, and wrong. Sort of what violence is supposed to be.

This is one of those books where you quickly learn to stop thinking, “it’s not going to get worse than this.” It does, and soon. And then it does it again. Which isn’t to say that there aren’t victories — some are minor, some are Pyrrhic, but they’re there. There’s even a little joy. The ending is satisfying, while leaving the door open for more. Atlanta has more in common with Frank Castle than Flavia de Luce, more Lisbeth Salander than Veronica Mars, more Beatrix Kiddo than Kinsey Milhone, but there’s a little of all of them in her. I look forward to more from her.

—–

3.5 Stars

The Tomb by F. Paul Wilson

By HCNewton

On April 23, 2015

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

The Tomb

by F. Paul Wilson
Series: Repairman Jack, #1

Paperback, 426 pg.
Tor, 2004 (Revised ed.)
Read: April 16 – 21, 2015
After the success of my last try following up FaceOff, I figured I might as well try another. Glad I did, although this wasn’t as entertaining as Vanished.

Jack (insert random last name) is a Fixer. You name it, some sort of sticky situation that the authorities can’t handle, Jack will take care of it. He gets two calls at the beginning of this book. One is from the love of his life — her ex-husband’s (very wealthy) aunt has vanished without a trace, the police have nothing (and don’t seem to care). Missing persons aren’t really his thing, but for the chance to see Gia again? He’ll go for it. The other phone call was from an Indian representative to the UN, a family heirloom was taken from his ailing mother during a mugging and he wants it back. This is exactly his thing, and so he takes on two jobs at once.

Because none of us are new to this, I can say the obvious: neither of these jobs are going to end up being what anyone expects and that the two are linked in a way that Jack could never guess. Oh, and seeing Gia again isn’t going to go well.

There was a very — shall we say, frustrating? — portion of the novel (that went on far too long) where the reader knows or strongly suspects everything that Jack needs to know — everything (yes, there’s a revelation or two that add some color lately, but make no material difference). And this shows up pretty early on in The Tomb, I know it all and Jack knows nothing — he doesn’t even know what he doesn’t know. I can take that for a little while, but this went on far too long.

It takes a while to build, but there’s enough going on to keep it interesting. There’s plenty of history and backstory is woven in — and you get to meet the most entertaining gun dealer I think I’ve ever read. The supporting characters alone justify sticking with this until the action slips into gear.

There’s an element of this novel that touches on the supernatural. Not enough (if you ask me) to call this an Urban Fantasy. Maybe this is a Thriller with UF tendencies? I don’t know what to call it. But if you like Suspense/Thriller novels and don’t mind a sprinkle of something like magic — give this a shot. Good characters, solid story, fine action sequences, enough resolution to call it a “The End,” and enough left unresolved that you want to come back for more. As frustrating as it was, it kept me turning the pages, and (eventually) There’s a daunting list of titles following this one, but one that I think I’ll keep plowing through if the quality keeps up.

—–

3 Stars

Dark Digital Sky by Carac Allison

By HCNewton

On April 17, 2015

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

So . . . here’s where I talk about what a jerk I can be. Last September, I get this email from a pretty friendly author asking me if I’d like a copy of his book in exchange for a review. I said what I always say when offered a free book, “yes, please,” (or words to that effect). I read and enjoyed it — we exchanged a couple messages about the book, he answered a question or two. And then because: 1. it was a little more difficult than I’d think and, 2. I got distracted, I never got around to reviewing it. I noticed this yesterday, while looking for something else and felt horrible — which is the way I should feel, over half a year late with this. Can’t do much to make it up to Allison other than put this up now and promise to buy the next book as soon as it’s possible.

Dark Digital Sky

by Carac Allison
Series: Dark Pantheon, #1

Kindle Edition, 302 pg.
Crime Planet Press, 2014
Read: October 02 – 03, 2014

“Your real name is Chaucer?”
“My father was an English Professor. I’m not. Call me Chalk.”

In a genre where the names Marlowe and Spenser cast such huge shadows, of course it’s time for a Chaucer. Better yet? He hates the name.

Allison frequently begins chapters with a lengthy info-dump about something — a mini-essay from Chalk’s perspective. Sometimes the info-dumps these work, other times they’re pretty jarring. The information about say, medical insurance, prior to meeting the analyst for Blue Shield? That one worked for me. The listing of Chalk’s tattoos? Eh, not so much.

This starts off with a new client with a very 21st century kind of case, but still proceeds like something out of Chandler. The further that Chalk gets into it, the stranger and twistier it gets. But in the background, we keep learning about a spree of atypical robberies. The way that the various threads start to integrate is something I didn’t expect. And once integrated? The whole thing gets even more unexpected.

The action of the novel belongs to the present — to Chalk’s case, the drug crimes — but the heart, the grounding of the character? That belongs to the flashbacks, the doomed marriage, the child he doesn’t get to see, the hunt for a serial killer that no one else believes exists. The more outrageous parts of his character, the outlandish abilities, activities — that’s the fun, that’s the fantasy. The book as a whole is a great mix of the two.

Chalk is damaged, an outsider, an underdog in classic noir-style (see also: his name). At the same time — he’s very successful and impossibly gifted, something out of a science fiction novel, really. Giving this sort of a cyberpunk feel — but instead of being set 15 minutes in the future (which is how I see all cyberpunk), Dark Digital Sky is a cyberpunk novel set 15 minutes ago.

I’m not convinced these elements work on their own — but even if they do, this is definitely a “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” kind of thing, somehow this all works. I’ve never read anything like this before — which is probably good, because most people would make a wreck of it. Not Allison, this is a strong vision told with a sure voice. Can’t wait for more.

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Note: I was provided a copy of this by the author, who seems like a pretty cool guy — which made the fact that I really enjoyed even better. I like it when pretty cool people write pretty cool stuff.

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4 Stars

Vanished by Joseph Finder

By HCNewton

On April 9, 2015

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

Vanished

by Joseph Finder
Series: Nick Heller, #1

Hardcover, 384 pg.
St. Martin’s Press, 2009
Read: April 7 – 8, 2015

I lost sleep over this one. Literally. I had to force myself to put this thing down so I could get a little shut-eye. Which wasn’t easy. After about 70 pages or so, I realized two things very clearly: I was hooked on this book and was going to have to get the next one in the series very soon. Neither feeling went away.

Last year, when I read FaceOff, the Jack Reacher/Nick Heller story was probably my favorite, so when I found myself wandering the library last week, with every thing on my “to get list” unavailable, I figured I’d finally give a full-length Heller story a try. Clearly, one of the better moves I’ve made.

Nick Heller is former Army Special Ops, turned corporate espionage hotshot. His estranged brother, Roger, is abducted (at best) leaving an injured wife behind. His nephew, Gabe, freaks out and calls his uncle for help, not willing to trust the police. So Nick, with “a very particular set of skills,” starts looking for his brother.

Heller’s similar to Reacher, but has more of a cerebral approach to things. I’m not sure that’s necessarily fair, maybe it’s that he takes a less direct approach to Reacher’s bull in a china shop approach. That’s not quite it, either. There’s something similar, yet very distinctive about their approaches. It’s more than just the fact that Heller has money and resources (and friends and family . . . ), while Reacher has a fresh set of clothes, a new toothbrush and whatever weapon he can take off a foe. Heller definitely has a better sense of humor — and a cell phone, maybe that’s it.

Heller definitely has to work — suffers some real investigative setbacks, is flat-out wrong on several fronts, blunders a bit, and has to go through some real emotional hardship. Making him human enough to really engage the reader (in a way that Reacher never can — not that I want to keep comparing the two).

Well paced, intelligent, some cool spycraft, some good fight scenes and a lot less gunplay than you’d expect — this is a thriller well worth your time.

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4 1/2 Stars