Category: Fiction Page 100 of 341

DETAILS:
Series: The Retired Detectives Club, #1
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication Date: February 28, 2022
Format: Kindle Edition
Length: 319 pg.
Read Date: March 16-18, 2022

Moira takes one last look towards the park and feels a pang of . . . something. She remembers how it felt when she saw the body, and how she switched from retired lady of leisure, Moira Flynn, back into her old, original skin. It’d felt like she was on autopilot– confident, professional, and knowing exactly what to do and what to say– and it had felt good. So good. Like she was useful again. Like there was a point to her. Like she still had purpose.

What’s Death in the Sunshine About?

Moira retired as a DCI doing undercover work, moved into a retirement community in Florida, adopted three dogs, and started on the next stage of her life—and tried to put everything that happened before retirement behind her. That was her goal, she was done with all that. Until early one morning when she finds a murdered woman floating in the swimming pool.

A neighbor and acquaintance—and leader of the community watch—comes upon the crime scene after the police arrive, sees Moira, and brings her back to his house to find out what’s going on. His wife was a CSI officer back in the UK, and Philip was also a DCI—he and Moira never crossed paths in England, just once she moved in. Philips’s friend, Rick, is a retired DEA agent and is also involved in the community watch.

Philip and Rick see this murder as an opportunity to get back into their old lives and bring some peace of mind to their neighbors—there’d been a string of burglaries recently, and now a murder, in their supposedly incredibly safe and secure community. They take it upon themselves to drag Moira and Lizzie into their impromptu investigation into the murder.

The police have no interest in, or patience with, what these four are discovering. They’ve got a quick and easy theory and solution in mind and are pursuing that—no matter how off-base they might be.

In addition to this murder (and possibly the string of burglaries that have gotten more than a few residents on edge), there are other mysteries bubbling under the surface—some involving the retired detectives, and others around their new home. We’re not going to get a resolution to them all in this book, maybe the sequel. Broadribb gives us just enough to get really invested in them without the reader feeling cheated that we didn’t get a resolution while making sure we’re coming back to see if we get to uncover the answer.

Un-likeable Leads

I’m not one who thinks you need to like all the protagonists in a book as people—but it helps if you like them as fictional characters. Death in the Sunshine gives a prime example of how it’s not necessary to like all the protagonists for a book to work.

I’m going to withhold the names, but I only liked two of these four as people—but all four made compelling characters. One of those I didn’t like, I might end up liking, once I decide how much I can trust them. But the fourth just rubbed me the wrong way all the time.

I can’t believe how many times I grumbled about Character X in my notes. I understood a lot of what made X act in the ways that made me dislike them so much, but that doesn’t excuse the choices they make throughout—that could have easily put the kibosh on their whole investigation.

Is it possible that Broadribb will change my mind about X in the next book? Absolutely. But I kind of hope she doesn’t, as long as I can keep liking the other two.

Pet Peeve

It’s been a bit since I’ve grumbled about this, but if a UK-based writer is going to write American characters, they really should get an American Beta reader to focus solely on making sure they sound like people who grew up and live here. I assume the experience for me is similar to someone from London listening to Dick Van Dyke’s Mary Poppins accent.

Now, I will say that it’s not that bad in this book, it’d take me only a little browsing through my archives to find worse offenders. But I expect a bit more out of Broadribb. She did make a wise move, I think, by having three of her four leads be from the UK, though.

So, what did I think about Death in the Sunshine?

Is that what this investigation is about? Is he trying to rekindle his old life? He misses it bad; misses it like a piece of him was amputated on the day he retired. If he’s honest about it he misses it as much, and maybe even a bit more, than he does his own children.

You start this thing having read the description, and you think this is going to be The Thursday Murder Club with different accents and a less amatuer-ish feel. This assumption lasts maybe two chapters before crashing headlong into the sharp rocks of reality.

It’s a wholly different setup, wholly different tone, with wholly different kinds of characters, and a wholly different relationship to the local police. This is a grittier kind of feel, with characters that feel like they could’ve stepped from the pages of other series right into this one.

Broadribb does a pretty good job of balancing the point-of-view characters, but I thought we could’ve gotten a little more of Rick, the ex-DEA agent, but that might just be me. Some of the supporting characters were a lot of fun, too—hopefully, they’re around in the sequel(s).

I particularly enjoyed the way Broadribb had these four reflect on what got them into investigating this case, and what it brought back for them. I’m years away from having to think about what life’ll be like when I leave the workforce, but there’s something about their reactions that spoke to me.

Strong characters and settings that we don’t see a lot of in Crime/Detective Fiction, some voices/perspectives that we could use more of, neck-deep in a case that should satisfy most genre fans. Now that Broadribb has established this world and characters, I’m expecting things to get better from here (and they’re pretty good where they are).

Jump on board this train while you can, readers.

3.5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: These Walls Were Never Really There by Bryan Blears

By HCNewton

On March 21, 2022

In Book Tour, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

I’m very pleased to welcome The Write Reads Blog Tour for by Bryan Blears to the blog today. I couldn’t fit this into my schedule on time, sadly, but you should absolutely check out some of the posts about it at https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours to see why you should give it a read. But before you go there, let’s learn a little about this book, shall we?

Book Details:

Book Title: These Walls Were Never Really There by Bryan Blears
Publisher: 2qt Limited
Release date: April 1, 2022
Format: Paperback/Ebook
Length: 286 pages

About the Book:

Based on the author’s own experiences of leaving home and traveling across Europe on less than a pound a day, These Walls Were Never Really There is a compelling true story described by publishing editors as ‘immersive and moving’ and ‘a potential prizewinner in the making’.

Initially set in the heart of Manchester’s homeless community, These Walls follows twenty-year-old Cameron, who is propelled on a physical and spiritual journey which will take him far from the life he once knew.

A surprising story about mental health, friendship, and redemption, this compelling debut will take you on a journey across Europe and beyond, as Cameron and his traveling companion Jacob navigate perilous border crossings, packs of wolves, and the harsh realities of life on the road.

Set against the backdrop of the emerging Arab Spring, Cameron and Jacob will have their friendship pushed to its limits as they find themselves trapped thousands of miles away from home…

Book Links:

Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads

About the Author:

Bryan Blears is an author of contemporary literary fiction from Salford, Manchester. He has written for the Huffington Post, the New Statesman, and the Philosophical Society of England, among others.

Focusing on social issues, mental health, and overcoming personal adversity, his fiction has been compared to George Orwell, Sylvia Plath, and Donna Tartt. His debut novel, These Walls Were Never Really There, has been described by critics as an ‘immersive and moving true story’ and ‘a fantastic talent, and a potential prizewinner in the making.’

Author Links:

Website ~ Twitter

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

Drown Her Sorrows by Melinda Leigh: Another Satisfying Entry in this Series

By HCNewton

On March 18, 2022

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

Drown Her Sorrows

by Melinda Leigh

DETAILS:
Series: Bree Taggert, #3
Publisher: Montlake
Publication Date: March 15, 2021
Format: Hardcover
Length: 304 pg.
Read Date: March 15, 2022

What’s Drown Her Sorrows About?

A new deputy investigates a report about an abandoned vehicle and calls Bree for backup, the owner left her home three days earlier after a fight with her husband and hasn’t been seen since. He’s been waiting for her to cool down and hasn’t been worried about her—it’s not the first time this has happened. But given the state of her vehicle, the deputy and Bree fear the worst and begin searching the area. They soon discover the body of a woman who looks like she jumped off a bridge into the river—they presume it’s the missing woman, but can’t be sure because of the body’s condition.

Once it’s determined that the woman has been murdered—Bree and her investigator, Matt, get to work—was she killed by her husband? Was it her sister—driven by repeated disagreements on how to deal with their mother’s medical bills? Was it her temperamental boss with the shifty-looking business practices?

Throw in her continued adjustment to a domestic life and helping her niece and nephew process their grief, learning how to be the top banana in a Sheriff’s Department (including having to work with deputies that aren’t interested in doing things by the book; the beginning of a secretive romantic relationship with Matt who happens to work for the department as a consultant)—and you’ve got yourself a novel.

Chief Deputy Todd Harvey

Something that struck me in the last book, but jumped out to me here, and bugged me throughout—Leigh isn’t doing right by at least one of her supporting characters—Chief Deputy Todd Harvey. We’re told that Todd was one of the non-corrupt members of the department under the previous sheriff; he tried to do right by Matt during his troubles, and he’s been super supportive and helpful to Bree. He knows the area—and the politics—and yet he’s basically Detectives Ryan and Esposito—he’s around to deliver exposition, deliver timely information, get warrants, etc. That’s all.

There’s a pretty similar dynamic to Bree/Matt in the Walt Longmire books with Sheriff Longmire and his undersheriff, Moretti—those two are at the forefront of the cases, doing most of the work that the reader sees with other members of the department playing supporting roles. But even there, Saizarbitoria, Double Tuff, or even the new hire whose name escapes me at the moment, get to do more than deliver exposition or do behind-the-scenes work. If they appear in a book, there’s something that they bring to the story beyond delivering messages or warrants.

Ol’ Todd deserves better. Let him sit around and participate in the brainstorming. Let him handle an interrogation, or find the missing evidence, etc. Just give him any kind of storyline. Bree’s old partner, now housemate, serves a similar role on the homefront—and Leigh started to give her a story in this one, so I know it’s possible.

Series Timeline

We’re told that this book starts roughly four months after the murder of Bree’s sister. That doesn’t seem like enough time.

It may be about the right time frame for Bree’s niece, and you could argue that it’s about right for her older nephew. They’re still adjusting, still grieving, still trying to figure out how to behave in school, etc. But you mean to tell me that in four months, Bree’s closed two major cases (with one more underway), settled into her new job, started a (secret) romantic relationship, hired some new deputies, and is getting the runaround from elected officials about her budget? I just don’t buy it. That’s not enough time.

Another way to look at it is: you’re telling me the spate of murders in the last four months doesn’t have them throwing money at her to crack down on the crime stats?

Does this really affect me or my enjoyment of the book? Not really, but every time they bring it up I have to stop and think about it for a minute before shrugging and moving along. It’d be great if that part wasn’t necessary.

So, what did I think about Drown Her Sorrows?

This is another engrossing and entertaining read from Melinda Leigh. Once you get the setup for the novel, the pages just melt away. I always finish these faster than I expect to and am surprised when they end.

There’s something effortless in the prose and engaging about the characters and stories. Sure, I have quibbles and questions about some of Leigh’s choices after I put the book down. But while I’m reading (other than the Todd stuff), they don’t register with me, and I’m just wanting to find out what happens next and if I was right about the killer’s identity. The reveals are satisfying, the twists are well-delivered, and the herrings are just the right shade of red to keep you guessing.

These are fast and fun books, you should check them out. So far, these work as stand-alones or entries in a series, so you’re probably safe to jump in at any point.

3 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

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

By HCNewton

On March 17, 2022

In InCryptid, Seanan McGuire, Urban Fantasy

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

by Seanan McGuire

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

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

What’s Spelunking Through Hell About?

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

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

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

Hopefully, it’s worth it.

Quo Vadimus

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

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

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

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

So, what did I think about Spelunking Through Hell?

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

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

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

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

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Madam Tulip and the Rainbow’s End by David Ahern: Derry and Bruce on the Hunt for Treasures Not Associated with Leprechauns

By HCNewton

On March 16, 2022

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

Madam Tulip and the Rainbow’s End

by David Ahern

DETAILS:
Series: Madam Tulip, #5
Publisher: Malin Press
Publication Date: March 1, 2022
Format: eARC
Length: 274 pgs.
Read Date: March 5-8, 2022

Yeah, okay, the post title is pretty lame. It’s the best I can come up with. Let’s move past that, okay?

What’s Madam Tulip and the Rainbow’s End About?

Thanks to a series of events that probably rings true for many struggling actors, Derry and Bruce find themselves stranded by the touring company they’d been a part of without funds and a pretty hefty hotel/bar tab. One thing leads to another, and Derry finds herself suiting up as Madam Tulip to do some fortune-telling at a charity event to work off this debt.

She’s happy to do that for a few reasons—it seems that Derry’s trying to cut back on her Tulip work, and really only does it for charities anymore. This time, she can do it for her own benefit and a charity, so she’s okay with that.

As she’s wont to do, as Madam Tulip she befriends a couple of women—one local, and one fellow American (who turns out to employ the local woman). Both women have recently had family members die, and are still grieving. The local woman comes to Madam Tulip for confirmation of her suspicion that her brother was murdered—which Tulip gave her without realizing it. The other woman’s father was supposed to leave her a large amount of money, but didn’t—her focus isn’t on the money as much as it is on understanding what happened (which makes it so much easier to like her).

Having confirmation of her brother’s murder, Mary Jo sets out to prove it and find the murderer—Derry’s friend, Bruce, is going to prove more useful than his psychic bestie on this front and is happy to try. Being able to look at things more objectively, Derry’s able to suggest a thing or two to Lena that might help her find the closure she needs.

Given the nature of a cozy mystery novel, obviously, it won’t be long until Derry finds herself more caught up in the efforts of both women to get the answers they seek—and a little more peril than any three of them expected.*

* Although by this point, Derry should know better—even without any psychic abilities..

Derry’s Gift

Derry’s abilities that stem from being the daughter of a seventh son of a seventh son have gotten her into (and out of) plenty of trouble in the past few books—but they’re never enough by themselves. Derry’s got to figure things out and take advantage of the information she gains—and frequently needs an assist from Bruce for those things that those abilities can’t cover.

This time out, she doesn’t get to take advantage of that gift too much—there are a couple of tarot readings that help her friends (and maybe some of the other readings she does in between those, but we don’t see them). But that’s pretty much it—the rest comes from Derry putting on her metaphorical deerstalker and sussing things out for herself (talking things over with Bruce helps, too).

I think I like it better this way—Derry’s never used her psychic (or whatever) capabilities as a crutch to get to the bottom of things. But the further she gets from that, the better for me.

(although, I can’t imagine I’d complain too loudly if Book 6 or 7 has Derry acting more like Jean Grey/Professor X than Jessica Fletcher)

Jacko Off-the-Grid

You can’t have a Madam Tulip novel without Derry’s father, Jacko, turning up to make things interesting. This time, fresh off a new variety of financial woes (for him, anyway), he decides to rent out his home and go live on an isolated island for a while—to reconnect with his art and avoid the distractions of technology and the city.

Neither Derry nor her mother have a lot of faith that this is going to work too well. But Derry wants to give him the chance and refuses when her mother tries to enlist her to stop him.

In the end, Jacko’s storyline brushes up against Derry’s in a few places, but in more of a “what a small world” kind of way. The two barely interact with each other, and Jacko’s never part of the main action. This is a good use of the character, who is prone to taking over the books (in an entertaining way, but a bit too dominant). Here he gets to go full-on with his antics without impacting the main story—that’s perfect.

So, what did I think about Madam Tulip and the Rainbow’s End?

At this point, getting a Madam Tulip book is a chance to spend time with some friends—with all the warmth, comfort, and pleasantness that comparison brings to mind. Ahern’s got his world and characters down pat now, and the novel moves like clockwork.

This isn’t the same old-same old by any means, however. As he mentioned in our Q&A about this book, Derry not only has to solve a crime this time but there’s a puzzle, too.

Madam Tulip and the Rainbow’s End gives you everything you want in a cozy mystery—good characters, a grin or two, a clever mystery or two, a well-constructed story, and a diverting read for a couple of hours. As expected from this series/author, I’m glad to recommend it to you.

I know Madam Tulip #6 is on the way, and I’m looking forward to it—and hopefully, several more before people in Ireland figure out that they need to stop inviting the fortune teller to their events if they want things to go smoothly (especially nefarious things).

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from the author in exchange for this post. I thank him for that, but the opinions expressed are mine.

4 Stars

Yet A Few More Quick Questions with . . . David Ahern

By HCNewton

On March 16, 2022

In A Few Quick Questions With..., Fiction, Madam Tulip, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The fifth Madam Tulip—Madam Tulip and the Rainbow’s End—book came out two weeks ago, and I’ve somehow conned the author, David Ahern, to come back for his third Q&A with me. I’ll try to get my post about the book up in a couple of hours, but until then, enjoy Ahern’s As to my Qs. And maybe go check out his website and the books if you haven’t yet.

Madam Tulip’s back for her fifth adventure, you’ve said all along that this was intended as a series—did you see it going this long originally? Have the characters/mysteries developed the way you initially imagined, or have they taken on directions you didn’t expect?
I did envisage five books, but only if I could make each as good or better than the last. I’ll be honest, I hadn’t a clue how the characters would develop. They’ve gone their own way, and I just tag along. They’re wandering into book #6 just now.

On the craft side of writing—looking back over these five books (plus whatever drafts you have in progress), can you see the difference in your own writing? Would you say you’re a better writer now, or (as I’ve heard others say) are you finding new and exciting mistakes to make?
If I wasn’t learning something with every book, I’d quit. Writing by numbers, never trying anything new, would make writing too boring for me. On the other hand, getting out of the comfort zone is risky. With ‘the Rainbow’s End,’ I thought more than once I might not be able to pull off what I was trying to do. The story has both a mystery and a puzzle running in parallel. Neither should weaken the other, and they have to synch neatly at the end. Technically a tall order, but I knew if it worked it would be a great read. And when you do pull off a craft challenge and everything clicks, you know it, and that’s satisfying.

While the MadamTulip books aren’t really “humor” per se, there’s a lot of comic moments throughout them. One of the things I’ve been thinking about lately is how authors strike the balance between comedy and the serious matters being depicted in their stories. How do you approach this idea? Also, is that something that’s there from the first draft onwards? Or is that something you address in one of your re-writes? On a related note: when you read for pleasure, what do you gravitate toward—the comedic or the serious/dark?
On the technical side, mixing humor and serious material does have to be managed carefully, but it’s more instinctive with me than thought through. I never have to redraft for taste reasons, only for pace. Good mysteries are very moral books and crime isn’t funny. Folly is where the comedy lives, and that’s ok.

I’ve always loved comic writing. Thurber, Wodehouse, our own Flann O’Brien, Douglas Adams – I adore them. Most of my reading these days is non-fiction, especially history, and almost all of my TV work when I used to produce documentaries was on subjects that don’t leave much room for cheer. Humor is a great relief from all of that. I’ve pretty well given up reading dark fiction, especially anything with graphic violence. Having said that, I’m reading Alexander Pope’s translation of Homer’s Illiad right now, and the thing is one long catalogue of brilliantly described homicides. I should stop reading it but I can’t. That boy Homer has talent and may have a future.

Not only do you have to come up with new settings and mysteries for Derry to stumble into for each book, you have to come up with a storyline for her father, Jacko. Which idea is harder to plan: his escapades or Derry’s? The first time we did a Q&A, you said your grandfather inspired Jacko—are you still drawing on your memories of him?
Derry’s adventures are by far the most demanding, because they’re both mystery and thriller. Jacko’s scrapes seem to arrive of their own accord, though I do like them to share something of the same drivers as the main story. In ‘the Rainbow’s End,’ everybody is chasing some dream, and Jacko is no exception.

Yes, my old granda is still in my thoughts. He had the wonderful quality of relishing life with an infectious enthusiasm. He always had a plan, usually none too practical. My mother lately reminded me that when he left the Irish Army (he was a sergeant several times), he spent his gratuity payout on a piano he could hardly play and a stuffed alligator that cluttered up the hallway for years. I guess he just liked the idea at the time.

We’ve also talked about Bruce before—Derry’s ex-Navy SEAL friend who she can pal around with, and who provides the physical prowess she occasionally has to have to stay alive. He’s such a great character, have you considered a novel/short story focused on him alone?
To be honest, I haven’t thought of a way to do that. Although the Tulip stories are unlikely in the way all amateur sleuth stories are, I keep them psychologically very realistic. Bruce uses his acting vocation to help cope with the more troubling things from his history in the service. That works for him, and no big deal is made about it. But if he were the main character, keeping him realistic without veering into the darker side would be impossible and not the Bruce we know now. In the life he has in the Tulip stories, he’s just himself. There’s something charmingly unreflective about him that in a main character could veer into a cartoon.

What’s next for David Ahern, author?
Another Madam Tulip. She’s not finished with me yet.

That sounds like a win for me! Thanks for your time—and thanks for Madam Tulip and the Rainbow’s End and I hope you have plenty of success with it.
Thanks, H.C. A pleasure talking to you as always.

Lives Laid Away by Stephen Mack Jones: An Action-Packed, Dark Sequel

By HCNewton

On March 15, 2022

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

Lives Laid Away

by Stephen Mack Jones

DETAILS:
Series: August Snow, #2
Publisher: Soho Crime
Publication Date: January 7, 2019
Format: Paperback
Length: 296
Read Date: March 9-10, 2022

What’s Lives Laid Away About?

While August Snow is considering how to help out his neighbors in the middle of an ICE crackdown/intimidation campaign, his friend from the coroner’s office brings him a case he can’t get out of his mind. A young, unidentified, Hispanic woman was tortured, raped, killed, and dumped while dressed as Marie Antoinette. The police can’t get anywhere with the case and are ready to move on. Falconi can’t do that. So he comes to August for help.

Snow’s not able to get the photos he’s been shown out of his mind, either. So he starts looking into it—knowing the right people to ask, he’s able to identify the woman within a day. This gets him looking in the right direction for answers—sadly, that direction is full of organized crime, disorganized crime, human trafficking, and corrupt government officials.

August gets backup in both his brushes with ICE and the murder case from new and unexpected allies. There’s a lot going on in Detroit (and in his own past) that August had been previously unaware of, and he’s likely going to wish he’d stayed in the dark before all is said and done here.

Tomás

We met Tomás Gutierrez, August’s godfather, in the previous book and he provided some of the backup August required then. In this book, he’s basically August’s partner.

He fills the fairly typical modern detective sidekick role (Hawk, Joe Pike, Bubba Rogowski, Nate Romanowski, Nick Petrie’s Lewis, etc.)—a little meaner, a little less bound by conscience, a little more prone to violence, has a better personal weapons stash, and so on. The big twist here is that he’s so much older than August. I don’t know if we’re told his age anywhere, but he’s no spring chicken—He’s his godfather, was good friends with his parents, he has a grandchild. And while his age is mentioned every now and then, he seems too spry to be really believable in this role.

This might be because of the subjects of the book—his wife is being threatened, the dead woman was known to his wife, etc.—and in the next book, he won’t be as involved in whatever is happening. If that’s the case? I have no problem with it—but if he keeps acting as a partner, it’s going to have to be addressed.

I like the character of Tomás and how Jones has been using him so far, I just don’t know if he’s a viable long-term option.

What is it About Places Like This?

Back in 2019, I posted about M. W. Craven’s Black Summer, and discussed how Craven’s description of a seedy pub made me feel like I was there. I had a flashback to that moment when Jones described the biker bar Taffy’s on the Lake here. It was so crystal clear and detailed that I felt like I was there. I don’t know if it’s me, and the one or two nasty bars that I’ve been in have stuck with me so much that when Craven or Jones describes one that I’m taken there, or if they’re just so good that I’d feel the same way without personal experience.

I’m going to credit them with this, not just for the sake of my mental health. For example, in August Snow, Jones did a similar job with a small Mexican restaurant. In that case, his writing made me want to feel like I was there.

He’s so good at describing places in a way that brings in all of your senses (there are other examples I could cite, but this one paralleled so nicely with Black Summer), that without ever stepping foot in Detroit (or the state of Michigan) that I can really get a strong feel for the settings.

So, what did I think about Lives Laid Away?

Is this as good as August Snow? I don’t think so. But that says more about how good it was than about the quality of Lives Laid Away. This was intense and exciting. You’re kept on the edge of your seat while being given things to think about.

At the same time, while August Snow had enough action to satisfy any thriller reader, Jones stepped up the violence this time. I don’t know if this is the direction of the series in general, or if something about these circumstances brought it out in August, but wow. I can think of Jack Reacher/Peter Ash novels that contain less violence and action—I wouldn’t have expected that given the first novel. This is not a criticism, I’m just putting that out there for potential readers—it really worked for me (although I’m not sure I needed all the “enhanced interrogation” scenes).

Along those lines, I’m not sure I really realized how ominous, “I gotta see a guy about a thing,” could sound.

This isn’t just a novel about a vigilante ex-cop on a crusade—it is that, but it’s more—it’s also about a city dealing with contemporary pressures, contemporary issues, and a troubled (to be nice about) past. What is Detroit becoming? How is it treating the people who live there? How should it be? These questions loom large while August is trying to figure out who killed these women and why. Lives Laid Away is a solid, action-filled thriller with a social conscience and heart. This is not a combination that you see that much, but I wish we’d see more of.

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Under the Bridge by Jack Byrne

By HCNewton

On March 15, 2022

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

I’m very pleased and excited today to welcome The Write Reads Blog Tour for Under the Bridge by Jack Byrne. The problem is, I was supposed to do this on March 9th (I apparently put it in my calendar as May 9th). Even if I’d gotten the date right, I couldn’t fit this into my schedule on time, sadly, but you should absolutely check out some of the posts about it at https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours to see why you should find room for it. But before you go, let’s learn a little about this book, shall we?

Book Details:

Book Title: Under the Bridge by Jack Byrne
Series: The Liverpool Mysteries
Publisher: Northodox Press
Release date: February 18, 2021
Format: Paperback/Ebook
Length: 360 pages

Book Blurb:

2004 – The discovery of a skeleton in the Liverpool docklands unearths long buried secrets. Reporter, Anne McCarthy, is keen to prove herself and dives into the case with abandon where she finds Michael, an old Irish caretaker who knows far more than he’s letting on and may have a connection to the body.

Meanwhile, Vinny Doyle, is starting a postgrad degree, researching Liverpool’s immigrant history and a burgeoning Scouse identity. But Vinny has been neglecting his own family history and stranger Michael might know about his father’s disappearance in the 70s.

1955 – Escaping violence in Ireland and fresh off the boat, Michael falls in with Wicklow boys Jack Power and Paddy Doyle, who smuggle contraband through the docks putting them at odds with unions while they rally the dock workers against the rackets and the strikebreakers. A story of corruption, secret police, and sectarianism slowly unravels. But will the truth out?

As the conflict heightens, Michael questions the life sprawling out ahead of him. In the present, Anne races to solve the mystery, but is she prepared for what she’ll find?

Book Links:

Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads

About the Author:

I was born and raised in Speke Liverpool, (Paul McCartney lived in the street behind us for a while) although my parents first lived ‘Under The Bridge’ in Garston, and all my family goes back to Wicklow in Ireland.

The Liverpool Mystery Series will be four novels. Under The Bridge is the first. I am writing Fire Next time now, and The Wicklow Boys will follow next year. You can find The One Road prequel a collection of short stories on Amazon.

Author Links:

Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson: A Hilarious Fantasy Filled with Adventure and Shenanigans. Definitely Shenanigans.

By HCNewton

On March 14, 2022

In Fantasy, Fiction, Humor

The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True

by Sean Gibson

DETAILS:
Publisher: The Parliament House
Publication Date: December 10, 2020
Format: Kindle Edition
Length: 358 pg.
Read Date: March 10-12, 2022

I am, if not the most well-known bard in Erithea (yet), arguably the most talented, and unarguably the cleverest. I also wouldn’t quibble if you suggested that I’m the most beautiful, but that’s just because I’m very agreeable (and beautiful)…

Decades ago, I was sworn to secrecy regarding the true story of the great and terrible “Dragonia,” but recent developments have released me from that promise, and so I can finally tell the tale.

What’s The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True About?

This is that true story about Dragonia, told alongside the “official” account so the reader can see how the details were adjusted and tweaked to create the story everyone knows.

The town (or village, depending on who you ask) of Skendrick is being terrorized by a dragon—crops are being ruined, trade is disrupted, and the town is about to fall apart. Desperate, they put out a call for adventurers to come and kill the dragon. But they get no takers—so they go to Plan B. The villagers (or townspeople) pool their meager resources to hire a bard. This bard is to compose a song to make the attempt to kill the dragon sound appealing enough—and its treasure (which may or may not actually exist) enticing enough—to get a band of adventurers to come.

This is where Heloise comes in. She takes the gig and soon gets a new and yet unaccomplished band of adventurers to take up the call to action. I don’t want to get into describing the group, you want to meet them in the book.

They encounter difficulties from without and within; nasty, malodorous geography; orcs and other creatures; and, well, the dragon.

Heloise the Bard

“You’re not half as funny as you think you are, as I suspect you have a very high opinion of yourself.”

“My opinion of myself is in direct proportion to my amazingness,” I said sweetly.

The half-elf, Heloise the Bard is our narrator—as you can tell from the quotations above, she has a fairly high opinion of herself and her abilities. She’s also rather impressed with her hair and certain other physical attributes. Probably her greatest skill is self-promotion.

She decides to accompany the adventurers, to chronicle their journey and the outcome of their clash with the dragon. Her wit and quick thinking prove valuable to their effort and her particular set of skills make all the difference.

She is a hoot. It’d be easy for Heloise to be an annoying, over-the-top character, but somehow Gibson keeps her as an entertaining, over-the-top character. I’ve been trying to come up with a character to compare her to, and I’m failing. Maybe she’s the Fantasy version of Evanovich’s Lula, except Heloise has the skills that Lula thinks she has. Maybe she’s the equivalent of High Fidelity‘s Barry. Somewhere in the Venn Diagram featuring Fantasy, Lula, and Barry, I guess.

She appears in a couple of other books by Gibson, and I’m eager to spend some more time with her.

The Humor

The section could easily be merged with the previous one because the humor displayed in the book is primarily Heloise’s. The jokes are pretty much non-stop—even in the middle of fight scenes, or when death is nigh. The danger is still present, and the combat (and so on) is as deadly as it would be in another book—it’s just surrounded by laughs.

It didn’t take me long before I’d highlighted too many lines to quote—not that it stopped me from going on. My notes on this one are ridiculous. I kept chuckling throughout the reading. I probably would’ve finished the book in 2/3 the time, if reacting to the jokes didn’t make me stop reading for a moment.

If you’ve read The Tales of Pell, you’ve got a good idea for the pace of the jokes—and tone of the book, too.

There’s slapstick, there’s scatological humor, a great Meatloaf (the singer) line, some fantastic bursts of alliteration for the sake of a laugh, some general silliness, clever dialogue, and…honestly, I’m having a hard time thinking of a kind of humor that’s not in there. There’s a running gag (that I’ve alluded to) throughout about whether Skendrick is a town or a village—I can’t tell you how often it’s brought up. And the joke works every time—I should’ve gotten sick of it, and I never did. I don’t know how Gibson pulled that off, but that alone is the mark of a fantastic humor writer.

In addition to The Tales of Pell, if you’ve enjoyed Christopher Healy, Dave Barry, K.R.R. Lockhaven, Peter David, Scott Meyer, Joe Zieja, Jim C. Hines’ Jig the Goblin series, or John Scalzi—you’re going to dig the humor here. And if you dig the humor, you’re going to really enjoy the book. It’s that simple.

So, what did I think about The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True?

You know by this point that one of my main goals in telling this story is to show that the adventuring life isn’t all it’s thought to be. It’s mostly boring, frustrating, dangerous (though not excitingly dangerous), smelly (dear gods, so smelly), and not particularly lucrative. Occasionally, however, it’s exactly how the songs make it sound, and in those moments, it’s easy to see why people—even smart, capable people like Nadi—would devote their lives to doing something so irrational. Let the record show that entering a dragon’s lair for the first time is one of those moments, and it’s fair to say that each member of our intrepid band experienced more than a frisson of excitement as we crept across that threshold.

I think it’s pretty clear that I had a blast with this book, but I should probably make that explicit. I had a blast reading this book.

I think I should not that this is not a book to read if you’re in a “find out what happened and get to the end of the story” frame of mind. This is a “enjoy the trip, not the destination”/”stop and smell the roses” kind of book. The destination/what happens is fully satisfying, but the getting-there is so much better.

In addition to the jokes and the dragon, there is a running commentary on what “the adventuring life” is like outside of the glamorous or exciting bits. A lot of fantasy novels will show bits of it, but not enough of them do—and most don’t do it this way. For example, The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True contains more description of various odors than every 99% of the fantasy novels I’ve read by a significant factor. If this were a scratch and sniff book…well, I can’t imagine anyone would stock it—you just don’t want that in your warehouse/store. Sure, it’s silly talking about realism in a book featuring orcs, halflings, elves, etc.—but this factor does ground the book and give it a seriousness (for lack of a better term) that makes this more than a collection of jokes.

This is the funniest book I’ve read in 2022, and I can’t imagine it’ll face much competition. It’s got it all, go get your hands on it.

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

The Friday 56 for 3/11/22: The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson

By HCNewton

On March 11, 2022

In Currently Reading, Fantasy, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it

from Page 56 of:
The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True

The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson

If this were a performance and I were describing Borden, I’d probably call it tranquil and idyllic, but those are really just polite ways of saying boring and filled with lazy people, and since I don’t need to be polite here, I’ll say this: Borden is a boring place full of lazy, and frequently chauvinistic, people….

Suffice it to say, Borden’s not exactly a star-making destination for bards on the rise, but it does consistently offer gigs with solid pay, so if I’m in the region, I make it a point to stop over for a night or two. Around the time the people of Skendrick were so desperately seeking assistance with their little dragon problem, I was in the middle of a two-night stint at Big Bob’s, the nicest tavern in Borden, which is a little bit like saying it’s the least drunk sailor in a dockside bar. Still, the disappointingly regular-sized Robert, the proprietor and namesake of the establishment, didn’t ogle me, paid performers well, and at least had a decent selection of ales, so it was my preferred stop when I was in Borden.