Category: Fiction Page 127 of 341

The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King: Don’t Make Him Angry. You Won’t Like Him When He’s Angry

By HCNewton

On April 14, 2021

In Book Tour, Fiction, Urban Fantasy

The Lore of Prometheus

by Graham Austin-King

Kindle Edition, 287 pg.
Fallen Leaf Press, 2018

Read: April 9-12, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s The Lore of Prometheus About?

Not that long ago John Carver was in Kabul as part of a Special Reconnaissance Regiment squad. As is too often is the case, a mission went awry and Carver watched his comrades die in front of him—he alone survived due to circumstances he could not explain.

As the book opens, he’s in London and isn’t dealing with his PTSD in any constructive or healthy way. Again, as is too often the case, he’s trying to numb himself with alcohol, gambling, and other self-destructive acts. Like taking out a significant short-term loan from a loan shark. The loan needs to be repaid soon, and there’s no way that Carver can do that.

He may be self-destructive, but there are limits. So he cashes in a favor and gets a job for a private security firm. His first assignment is to return to Kabul and train a government official’s security team. The last place he wants to go is where he’s known as “The Miracle of Kabul.” But it’s that or meeting a very painful end in London.

Carver doesn’t want to think of the incident—and will put in the effort to distance himself from it. But there’s a group more determined to find out exactly what happened. They’re well-funded, organized, and single-minded. They want to be able to explain people like Carver and the abilities they seem to have—and will take extreme measures to find that explanation and hopefully replicate those abilities.

Reality Check

The early chapters have Carver in London and then in Kabul. Those chapters have a gritty realism that I’m not used to in Urban Fantasy. In terms of setting, atmosphere, and characters—it’s like they stepped off the pages of a top-notch military thriller. More than once I had to ask myself, “We’re getting to the fantasy elements, right? Did I forget the blurb—this is fantasy, isn’t it?”

And sure, at a certain point, there’s no question—this is a Fantasy novel. But up until that right turn into Fantasy, Austin-King could’ve turned left and given us a perfectly serviceable (possibly very good) thriller full of true-to-life details.

You don’t see that very often and I wish I did.

Embracing the Ambiguity

I took several Creative Writing courses and workshops in college, in the decades since I’ve forgotten almost everything that my instructors or fellow students said about my workshopped pieces. But some of those comments I’ll carry until I’ve run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. One of those concerned a supernatural event in one of my stories, a student (who was 50x the writer I was) argued that I should leave it ambiguous as to what happened, let the audience decide what the nature of the event was—it would be more effective. I saw his point about that scene, but the story hinged on that being a supernatural event—the rest was meaningless if that scene had a naturalistic explanation.

That came to mind as I was thinking about part of what Carver experiences. To keep it as vague as possible, we know that he can do certain things and that other characters can do other inexplicable things. But there are some things that could be an expression of his PTSD or could be paranormal in origin. It is far more effective, like the man in my workshop would say, that we don’t know what’s going on there. The scenes in question are very different depending on how you interpret those experiences. And I’ve enjoyed debating the interpretation with myself, I imagine I’m not alone.

Along those same lines, there are a couple of explanations given for the rest of what Carver (and just about everyone else) experiences—magic or “fringe” science thing worthy of Walter Bishop (and the door is open to other explanations, too, I think). Not only does Austin-King not give us an answer, he really doesn’t even explore the idea, debate the issue, or anything. It’s almost as if the text doesn’t care—it certainly doesn’t matter for what we need to know. That’s the way to do it.

I’m certainly not saying that McGuire, Hearne, Butcher et. al are wrong to say “magic” or that those like Jackson Ford who have a more science-y take on it are making a misstep—like me, their stories depend on a certain take on the idea. The Lore of Prometheus on the other hand shines in the lack of certainty.

Why I Almost DNFed This

There was a significant portion of this book that focused on people other than Carver and those in his immediate sphere of influence.

The theory embraced by those who are trying to understand his abilities is that those abilities are first and most easily manifested at emotional extremes, at the point of exhaustion where the subject’s mental barriers are most likely at their weakest. We’ve all seen things like this in various guises. To get the subjects to that point, they’re isolated, caged, only given the barest essential food and drink—essentially tortured.

And there’s a lot of that depicted. And not only did I not enjoy those portions of the novel, they just about drove me to stop reading. If I’d bought the book or checked it out of the library, I probably would have. But I’d agreed to this post, and that only comes through reading the book.

The first several chapters were fine, the last few chapters were better than fine. But I’m just not sure about that large middle section. Act II, if you will*. Was Act III worth working through that? I’ve had at least five answers to that in mind as I wrote this post. I think I’m going to leave the question unanswered. Some readers will think Act III pays off well enough to justify the second act. Others will absolutely disagree. Others will think I’m over-reacting and Act II isn’t that bad.

* I’m not entirely certain that this fits the three-act structure, but let’s use that for the sake of argument, okay?

As for me? It surely might have been worth pushing through. But I just don’t know.

So, what did I think about The Lore of Prometheus?

Well, I’m just not sure.

Can I see where a lot of people would like the novel and Austin-King’s writing? Absolutely. I’ve talked about some of the reasons for that above. Can I see where people wouldn’t enjoy the novel? Absolutely. But I’ve spent most of a week trying to decide what I think of the novel and I’m not sure. I’m probably going to spend a few more days wrestling with that. Maybe the fact that I’m spending this much time on the question rather than just shrugging it off and moving on says more than a definitive answer reached immediately after finishing.

It’s an interesting premise, well-executed, with compelling characters, gripping action, and a very satisfying ending. I’m sure of that. I’m confident most readers will see that. I’m just not sure what I think about the novel as a whole. If you find this intriguing, you should give it a chance.

I received this book from the BBNYA tours organized by the @The_WriteReads tours team, and thank them for the opportunity. As always, all opinions are my own.

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors.

If you are an author and wish to learn more about the 2021 BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website (https://www.bbnya.com/) or our Twitter account, @BBNYA_Official. If you would like to sign-up and enter your book, you can find the BBNYA 2021 AUTHOR SIGN UP FORM HERE. Please make sure to carefully read our terms and conditions before entering.

If you are a book blogger or reviewer, you can apply to be part of BBNYA 2021 by filling out this form (also remember to read the terms and conditions before signing up)!

BBNYA is brought to you in association with the Folio Society (If you love beautiful books you NEED to check out their website!) And the book blogger support group TheWriteReads.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King

By HCNewton

On April 14, 2021

In Book Tour, Fiction, Urban Fantasy

I’m very pleased today to welcome The Blog Tour for the winner of the inaugural Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award. The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King. This Tour Stop consists in this little spotlight post and then my take on the novel coming along in a bit. Let’s start by learning a little about this novel, okay?

Book Details:

Book Title: The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King
Publisher: Fallen Leaf Press
Release date: December 9, 2018
Format: Ebook/Paperback/Audiobook
Length: 320 pages

Book Blurb:

John Carver has three rules: Don’t drink in the daytime, don’t gamble when the luck has gone, and don’t talk to the dead people who come to visit.

It has been almost five years since the incident in Kabul. Since the magic stirred within him and the stories began. Fleeing the army, running from the whispers, the guilt, and the fear he was losing his mind, Carver fell into addiction, dragging himself through life one day at a time.

Desperation has pulled him back to Afghanistan, back to the heat, the dust, and the truth he worked so hard to avoid. But there are others, obsessed with power and forbidden magics, who will stop at nothing to learn the truth of his gifts. Abducted and chained, Carver must break more than his own rules if he is to harness this power and survive

About the Author:

Graham Austin-King was born in the south of England and weaned on broken swords and half-forgotten spells.

A shortage of these forced him to consume fantasy novels at an ever-increasing rate, turning to computers and tabletop gaming between meals.

He experimented with writing at the beginning of an education that meandered through journalism, international relations, and law. To this day he is committed to never allowing those first efforts to reach public eyes.

After spending a decade in Canada learning what ‘cold’ really means, and being horrified by poutine, he settled once again in the UK with a seemingly endless horde of children.

To date he is the author of five novels, drawing on a foundation of literary influences ranging from David Eddings to Clive Barker.

Website ~ Twitter

I received this book from the BBNYA tours organized by the @The_WriteReads tours team, and thank them for the opportunity. As always, all opinions are my own.

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors.

If you are an author and wish to learn more about the 2021 BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website (https://www.bbnya.com/) or our Twitter account, @BBNYA_Official. If you would like to sign-up and enter your book, you can find the BBNYA 2021 AUTHOR SIGN UP FORM HERE. Please make sure to carefully read our terms and conditions before entering.

If you are a book blogger or reviewer, you can apply to be part of BBNYA 2021 by filling out this form (also remember to read the terms and conditions before signing up)!

BBNYA is brought to you in association with the Folio Society (If you love beautiful books you NEED to check out their website!) And the book blogger support group TheWriteReads.

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK XVIII., viii. – xi.

By HCNewton

On April 9, 2021

In Fiction, Fridays with The Foundling, General Fiction/Literature

Fridays with the Foundling
Last week we learned everything except who killed JR and what is the Colonel’s secret blend of herbs and spices. This week we see what happens after the beans are spilled (and learn a thing or two in addition).

Mrs. Waters has one more bit of commendation for Tom, telling Allworthy:

…it was then I accidentally met with Mr Jones, who rescued me from the hands of a villain. Indeed, he is the worthiest of men. No young gentleman of his age is, I believe, freer from vice, and few have the twentieth part of his virtues; nay, whatever vices he hath had, I am firmly persuaded he hath now taken a resolution to abandon them.

The attorney, Mr. Downey comes along at this point and Allwrothy gets him to spill the beans—why did he approach Mrs. Waters, who put him up to that, who put him up to getting the support of witnesses for the prosecution. He even gets Downey to admit that he knew Tom was Allworthy’s nephew, he’d told Blifil and had given Blifil a letter from his mother to Allworthy about it. Not surprisingly, Blifil neglected to pass along the messages. Which pretty much seals both of their fates in Allworthy’s eyes.

Western pops in, beside himself about this letter he’s found from Tom to Sophia—the most recent one. He wants these shenanigans finished and has locked her up again. Allworthy talks him down from that, promising to go talk to Sophia that day.

Mrs. Miller’s worried about what horrible things Mrs. Waters told Allworthy, and tries to defend Tom. Instead, Allworthy tells her what he’s been learning, closing with

O! Mrs Miller, you have a thousand times heard me call the young man to whom you are so faithful a friend, my son. Little did I then think he was indeed related to me at all.—Your friend, madam, is my nephew; he is the brother of that wicked viper which I have so long nourished in my bosom….Indeed, Mrs Miller, I am convinced that he hath been wronged, and that I have been abused; abused by one whom you too justly suspected of being a villain. He is, in truth, the worst of villains.

As he leaves to go talk to Sophia, Allworthy says something to his younger nephew about the letter from his mother, leaving “Blifil in a situation to be envied only by a man who is just going to be hanged.” While on the road, Allworthy reads the letter from Jones to Sophia, starts to understand what Tom feels about her, and gets choked up by some of what he reads about himself from Tom’s hand.

When he talks to Sophia, he spends a lot of time showing her that he’s on her side when it comes to Blifil.

I heartily congratulate you on your prudent foresight, since by so justifiable a resistance you have avoided misery indeed!

The scales are truly fallen from his eyes.

If I had married Mr Blifil—” “Pardon my interrupting you, madam,” answered Allworthy, “but I cannot bear the supposition.—Believe me, Miss Western, I rejoice from my heart, I rejoice in your escape.—I have discovered the wretch for whom you have suffered all this cruel violence from your father to be a villain.” “How, sir!” cries Sophia—“you must believe this surprizes me.”—“It hath surprized me, madam,” answered Allworthy, “and so it will the world.

This is so fun to watch Allwrothy catch up with the reader and narrator on this front.

Allworthy then goes on to try to convince Sophia to give Tom another chance—and tells her everything he learned about him that day. Sophia remains unmoved, however. I mean really unmoved.

At present there is not a man upon earth whom I would more resolutely reject than Mr Jones; nor would the addresses of Mr Blifil himself be less agreeable to me.

Things look dire for the two of them.

Squire Western, on the other hand, has a complete change of heart regarding Tom. He’s 100% Team Tom now.

After Allworthy gets back to Mrs. Miller’s, he sees that Tom is, too, and they meet again.

It is impossible to conceive a more tender or moving scene than the meeting between the uncle and nephew (for Mrs Waters, as the reader may well suppose, had at her last visit discovered to him the secret of his birth). The first agonies of joy which were felt on both sides are indeed beyond my power to describe: I shall not therefore attempt it.

A lot of flowery language flows between the two as they apologize to each other and take all the responsibility and blame for their recent problems on themselves.

Mrs. Miller tells Tom how she tried to explain things to Sophia who would not listen. Western comes in, assures Tom he’s very supportive of him now, all is good between the two of them.

The conversation which now ensued was pleasant enough; and with which, had it happened earlier in our history, we would have entertained our reader; but as we have now leisure only to attend to what is very material, it shall suffice to say that matters being entirely adjusted as to the afternoon visit Mr Western again returned home.

If that’s not enough, we get to learn the details of Tom’s release. Fitzgerald realizes that he was completely in the wrong about Tom and seeks to make amends, and gets Lord Fellamar on board, he wants to make things up to Tom, too!

Things continue to not go well for Tom’s younger brother:

…a message was brought from Mr Blifil, desiring to know if his uncle was at leisure that he might wait upon him. Allworthy started and turned pale, and then in a more passionate tone than I believe he had ever used before, bid the servant tell Blifil he knew him not. “Consider, dear sir,” cries Jones, in a trembling voice. “I have considered,” answered Allworthy, “and you yourself shall carry my message to the villain. No one can carry him the sentence of his own ruin so properly as the man whose ruin he hath so villanously contrived.” “Pardon me, dear sir,” said Jones; “a moment’s reflection will, I am sure, convince you of the contrary. What might perhaps be but justice from another tongue, would from mine be insult; and to whom?—my own brother and your nephew. Nor did he use me so barbarously—indeed, that would have been more inexcusable than anything he hath done.

Tom not only melts his Uncle’s heart with these words but lives up to them.

He goes to see his brother who is despondent—not that he’s treated Allworthy and Tom so poorly, but that it’s all falling apart. Tom encourages him that he’ll try to work things out with Allworthy, but in the meantime, Blifil needs to get his act together and take this like a man. Tom promises to treat him as a brother and to try to let bygones be bygones.

That’s a lot of stuff for four chapters of this book—and I didn’t get as detailed as I was tempted to. It doesn’t have the style (outside of a sentence or two scattered throughout) as the rest of the novel, but man, it’s fun to read now that everything is coming to light.

Next week, we finish the novel. I’m not sure how I’m going to be able to wrap things up, but I have a pretty good idea how Fielding will. Guess we’ll see.

Cross Her Heart by Melinda Leigh: A Fast, Addictive Introduction to a New Series

By HCNewton

On April 9, 2021

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

Cross Her Heart

by Melinda Leigh
Series: Bree Taggert, #1

Hardcover, 319 pg.
Montlake, 2020

Read: April 5-6, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Cross Her Heart About?

Bree Taggert is a homicide detective in Philadelphia. She’s successful enough, has a great partner, and is able to generally keep her personal demons in their place.

And she has more demons than most—her abusive father killed her mother and then himself with Bree and her two siblings nearby. She was raised by a demanding aunt while her brother and sister were raised by their grandparents, who couldn’t handle their older sibling.

Then Bree’s sister, Erin, is murdered. Erin’s estranged husband, Justin, is the prime suspect and is missing. Erin’s body was discovered by Matt, Justing’s friend. Before a shooting left him unable to work, he’d been a detective and a K-9 officer for the local sheriff’s office. He’s not in law enforcement anymore, but he still has the experience—his knowledge of Justin and his experience tell him that Justin’s innocent. He just needs to prove it.

Recent events have left the department without a sheriff, and while the Chief Deputy seems to be a good cop, he’s not much of an investigator—recognizing this, he’s willing to work with Erin and Matt, assuming they share information with him. He knows he won’t stop them from looking into things, so he might as well profit from it.

Bree wants someone to pay for the murder, so does Matt, but he wants his friend to be safe, too. The question is—will both of them be able to achieve their goals?

Fastest Way to Make Me a Fan…

…is to include a dog. More and more I find myself a sucker for a strong canine presence, and Leigh delivers one here. On top of an already compelling read, that’s just icing on the cake.

As I said, Matt was a K-9 officer before his shooting. His dog, Brody, left the department with him. Brody’s a steady presence throughout the novel—Matt has to leave him home (or with Erin’s niece) frequently, but he’s still around, helping. Matt’s sister runs a rescue shelter, too, and so there are plenty of dogs around.

They’re all depicted as helpful—both for in the hunt for Justin and the killer, but also in helping Erin’s kids cope with their mother’s death and some of the other things going on around them. This is done in just the way I’d like to read it.

The Pilot Episode

Even if I didn’t know that there were three books in this series already (and, I assume, more on the way), I’d have known more Bree Taggert books were intended to follow this. The title/subtitle might as well have been “The Pilot Episode.” Sure, the emphasis of this novel is finding the murderer and possibly clearing Erin’s estranged husband, but it’s also about setting up the series.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, really. I’m just describing things.

Story beat after story beat you could just feel “oh, this is happening to establish this character/idea/etc. so we can revisit it later/in every book” or “this is going to play out for a while” or “this is how this relationship is going to be set up.” It eliminates a bit of suspense from the book, but just a bit. And there’s always the chance the reader’s wrong about thinking something/someone is safe.

Fool Me Once

Early on—partially due to the pilot-y nature of the book, partially due to the way Leigh started the book, partially due to hubris—I was convinced I knew all the major plot points, how they’d be resolved, how the reveals would happen, who the killer was, what the ramifications of various events would be and what new status quo would be set up for the series.

And for most of the book, I was either right or I gathered more evidence for my ideas. The key word is “most.” I’m not going to say exactly when Leigh started proving me wrong, but it was somewhere in the last quarter of the book. Boy howdy, was I wrong. At least about the two or three most significant storylines—overall, I think I’d give myself a B for predictions. But the things I was wrong about? I was very, very wrong about them.

I love that. She didn’t cheat—everything was right there for the reader to pick up and interpret the clues as they should be interpreted, but Leigh did it in such a way that you’d think I’d never read a mystery novel before.

So, she got me this time-I’ll watch for her next time.

So, what did I think about Cross Her Heart?

So, if I was so confident I knew what was going to happen, why did I keep reading? Because something about the way Leigh wrote this kept me from stopping. I can’t point to any one thing (or handful), but this book got its hooks in me and wouldn’t let go. I’d planned on reading a chapter or three just to dip my toes in the water one night—and ended up reading just shy of 100 pages! I gave serious consideration to just bailing on sleep until I finished, too.

While a good hook, an original idea/take on an idea, or a type of character no one’s thought of before are great to get you into a book. It’s the execution of an idea that keeps you reading (and coming back for more). And Cross Her Heart is well-executed. I’d like to be able to point out one or three things she’s doing that makes it work so well, but I can’t. She’s got some sort of alchemy going on here, and I just couldn’t stop reading.

I like this world that she’s established, and see a lot of promise for this kind of series with these characters and this setting*. I’m in for at least the next two books—give this a shot and I think you’ll be sticking around for more too.

* I didn’t have time or space to get into the way that Leigh weaves the personal and family stories into the mystery, but I really appreciated that too, and think it’ll be a strength of future books. Hopefully, I can address it more fully soon.

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.

Drop the Mikes by Duncan MacMaster: The Scrawny, Geeky, Jessica Fletcher-esque Kirby Baxter find Trouble in a Caribbean Paradise

By HCNewton

On April 7, 2021

In Duncan MacMaster, Fiction, Kirby Baxter, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Drop the Mikes

by Duncan MacMaster
Series: Kirby Baxter, #3

Paperback, 243 pg.
Fahrenheit Press, 2016

Read: March 29-30, 2021

“Mathilda, my wife, says that archaeology runs in your family.”

“My parents are archaeologists,” said Baxter with a nod. “They teach, and every summer they go to digs in Europe or the Middle East.”

“They’re pretty respected,” said West, “what do they think about their son the cartoonist, turned detective?”

“I don’t think they ever fully understood what I do,”said Baxter. “In fact, most days, I don’t fully understand what I do.”

A Little Bit about Kirby Baxter

Before I get into this book, let me give a quick run-down of the series. Kirby Baxter is a comic book artist/writer. A few years ago, he came into a lot of money and took some time for himself in Europe. Kirby has the kind of eye for observation and powers of deduction comparable to Shawn Spencer or Adrian Monk (you could include several incarnations of Holmes, etc., too—but Shawn and Monk are closer in tone to this series). While in Europe, he found himself in situations where he could use those gifts to help solve some crimes—this got him a bodyguard, valet, assistant, or whatever, named Gustav, and both of them were made official Interpol consultants.

His talent(?) for being in the general vicinity of crimes continued once he got back to the States and he’s ended up helping the police in various cities with murders and other crimes. He’s frequently helped in this by the aforementioned Gustav; his girlfriend, Molly; her gossip-blogger cousin, Shelly; and his friend and colorist, Mitch Mandelbaum.

What’s Drop the Mikes About?

As a thanks for a bit of deduction that saved a New York Hotel a lot of money and even more bad publicity, Kirby and his friends (Molly Mitch, Gustav and Gustav’s girlfriend, Miriam) were given the opportunity to spend two weeks in some villas at a resort that’s about to open on a Caribbean island. Sounds like a fun little getaway, right?

Kirby Baxter doesn’t get those anymore. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

At the same time they arrive on the island, so do many other people—these people are largely young, with a lot of money, and/or are social media “influencers.” They’re on the island of a big luxury music festival to help promote a new product from a company called HÿpStar. Except the festival didn’t have any musicians (their checks bounced), or food (same), or decent places for the attendees to stay (you probably have guessed why by now).*

* If you’re thinking, this sounds a lot like Fyre Festival, give yourself a pat on the back.

Before the situation can totally deteriorate with the festival, the right-hand man to the organizer is found murdered. So you have thousands of disgruntled festival-goers, all with a reason to be angry with the victim, with almost every one of them trying to get off the island as fast as possible. It’s a bit much for the small island police force—thankfully, there’s a renowned detective in the neighborhood.

So Kirby and his friends have their vacation cut short.

The Hÿp Festival

I think I was largely offline for whatever reason about the time the whole Fyre Festival thing happened, and I missed most of the early hubbub, and then when I started to become aware of it, I didn’t exert a whole lot of effort into it. I’ve picked up a thing or two in the years since then, but that’s about it. So while I’d like to say something about the way that MacMaster satirizes The Fyre Festival, but I can’t. Seems outlandish and crooked enough.

But I can say that some of the more outlandish characters are hilariously drawn—like the influencer who cannot help speaking in text-speak acronyms, like “Double-you-tee-eff” or “Ess-em-aitch.” I appreciated MacMaster not using the acronyms themselves but going the extra mile and spelling out the letters, it added just enough to make her ridiculously charming. Carting around a ceramic Buddha statue and calling it her “Good luck Gandhi” was borderline-too-much, but I found it amusing every time it came up, so I’m not going to criticize it.

Too Much Going On

The two earlier Kirby Baxter books had a lot going on—several characters, each with their own arcs intertwined with the others—and that’s repeated here as expected. But this time it felt like there were too many other characters and their arcs running around—it wasn’t confusing or anything (we’ve all seen that before, this isn’t one for that list), but to do an adequate job for each of those, MacMaster had to use Kirby less.

But also, his friends—his self-labeled Scooby Gang—are running around doing their own thing while he’s looking into the murder (some are acting independently to help, others are working along with him), and that ends up taking time away from Kirby getting to shine. Sure, (to refer to that other Scooby Gang) we all know Fred, Velma, and Daphne have to look for clues on their own—either paired up or on their own—but the viewers came to see Scooby and Shaggy (possibly Scrappy-Do, too) and the more time we spend with Fred and his ascot doing things the less we see Scooby and Shaggy and the less entertaining the episode is. The same applies here. Molly’s great doing her own thing. Ditto for Miriam—and even Mitch is pretty darn amusing and got to do things we don’t normally associate with him. I’m all in favor of it, but Kirby was off-screen too much of this book.

A Small Gift for Long-Time MacMaster Fans

Readers of MacMaster’s other series, the Jake Mooney books, might recognize this particular part of the Caribbean, as it was the setting for Hack (and if you don’t recognize it, that’s okay, a couple of characters will make sure you get the connection).

It’s one of those things that won’t bother you if you don’t get the references as you read, but if you do, you’ll appreciate the ties between the two.

Now, what are the odds we can get Jake and Kirby working the same mystery from different angles?

Baxter had long thought that the adventures that afflicted his life the last few years had immunized him from ever feeling shocked, or surprised. It was one of the very rare instances where he was very, very wrong.

So, what did I think about Drop the Mikes?

Drop the Mikes is 243 pages of pure enjoyment. It’s that simple. You have Kirby being geeky and almost supernaturally-clever self. You get Molly and Gustav doing their usual thing. Mitch gets to be repulsive yet endearing—and even a little heroic, and we get to meet Miranda, the librarian who could be an action star if she really wanted to.

Throw in a handful or two of whacky characters, the disaster of the Hÿp Festival, a couple of murders, financial hijinks, another couple of crimes that really have nothing to do with the Festival outside of location—and you just can’t stop turning the pages to see what MacMaster has left up his sleeve.

These books are like ice cream or pizza—even if the one you’re eating isn’t as good as others you’ve had, they’re still ice cream or pizza, and you’d rather be eating them than just about anything else. I strongly recommend this book—and the rest in the series, too—well, anything with Duncan MacMaster’s name on it. I can’t think of another book this year that I’ve had as much fun reading as this one. And I bet there won’t be many in the 7+ months yet to come.

4 Stars

Pub Day Repost: Animal Instinct by David Rosenfelt: The K Team Gets the Chance to Right an Old Wrong

By HCNewton

On April 6, 2021

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

Animal Instinct

by David Rosenfelt
Series: The K Team, #2

eARC, 304 pg.
Minotaur Books, 2021

Read: March 22-23, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Animal Instinct About?

Every retired police officer or PI in fiction (maybe in real life, too, I don’t know), has at least one case, one incident, one moment that haunts them. If only they’d done X, if only they’d been able to solve Y, or stop Z from happening. Corey Douglas has one of those—a few years ago, he responded to a call about domestic violence. He was unable to make any arrests that night, or anything else–he was convinced that the woman had been abused, but she denied it.

Years later, this woman is murdered and Corey’s out to do the one thing he couldn’t do before—get justice for her. He keeps telling himself that he wants the killer arrested, but really, he wants to finally arrest the boyfriend for the murder. Laurie and Marcus, his partners in the private investigator business—as well as his dog, Simon Garfunkel, a retired K-9 officer, join him in this investigation that turns out to be far more than anyone expected. The team needs Laurie’s smarts and ability with people, Marcus’s mysterious abilities (and brute force), Simon Garfunkel’s teeth, and Corey’s determination—and more than a little luck—to get to the bottom of this.

Especially when more murders are committed.

Simon Garfunkel

The collective name for this group of investigators is The K Team, because of their K-9 member, right? So why doesn’t he get more to do? I realize he’s a dog. I’m not suggesting he join Sam in the hacking, or sit on stakeouts with Marcus (although I admit, I would pay good money for 10 pages or so of that). But Corey leaves him home a lot—yes, he retrieves him as quickly as possible and does what he can to spend time with him. But, I think he could do more.

When Simon Garfunkel is given a chance to do something—he’s great. And even when he’s just there for atmosphere, or as a conversational/narrative prop for Corey—he’s a handy addition. I just think we could get some more of him. Bernie Little brings Chet to many more places that Corey tries. Maybe that’s a function of Corey living in New Jersey and not the Southwest, and I think I could accept that as an explanation.

There’s a scene toward the beginning of the novel where Corey takes Simon to the beach for the first time—and like most dogs, Simon loves the water and the sand. It’s his enjoyment of the setting that gets Corey, who’s apathetic at best toward the beach, to embrace the beach. I couldn’t have enjoyed this scene more unless I was on the beach with them.

Corey’s Other Relationship

Of course, the reason that Corey’s at the beach for Simon to enjoy is his girlfriend, Dani. She’s one of the best things about this book.

We’re told in the last book that Corey’s not really had any serious relationships as an adult, he’s always looking for the reason to end things. He just doesn’t want to end things with Dani. Whether it’s because now that he’s retired, he has time in his life for things other than police work; he’s finally found “The One” (or a right one, depending on how you like to think of that); or he’s finally maturing—or any combination of the three. Corey’s letting himself grow, letting himself want things that he hasn’t before—even at his age.

I love a character like that—I want to read about them, they’re inherently interesting. And Rosenfelt is writing this just right—a little sappy and a little realistic.

It helps that Dani’s a pretty fun character—but we could learn a bit more about her. Still, I like the way Corey seems to be changing because of her influence, I like him more than I did when we first met him in the Andy Carpenter series.

My Concern…

This is about The K Team as a series as much as it is about this book specifically.

There’s just too much Andy Carpenter.

Sure, this is a spin-off from that series, and as Andy’s married to Laurie and they largely work out of the Carpenter house, he’s going to be around. I don’t mind, but he has his own series, and gets two books a year lately. Not only do we need more Simon Garfunkel, but we also need more Laurie and Marcus.

I like Andy Carpenter, I’ve read 22 novels about him (some more than once)—and I’m probably going to read at least two novels in that series this year. I thought Animal Instinct was a good way to use Andy, and I’m absolutely glad that I read this book. I just think for The K Team series to have any long-term success, they need to stand on their own feet more and not be propped up by Andy.

The Unexpected Highlight

I don’t know if you typically read Acknowledgments pages/sections. I tend to glance at them, but like many people, I don’t spend that much time with them. So let me draw your attention to the Acknowledgments for this novel—any David Rosenfelt novel, really. You simply must read them. They are the silliest, goofiest writing Rosenfelt ever does (and in some cases, that’s saying something) and never fail to make me smile.

So, what did I think about Animal Instinct?

So I have some long-term concerns with the series and a couple of things I wasn’t crazy about when it comes to Animal Instinct, but I don’t want those to overshadow the central point I have about this book: it’s good*. I had a lot of fun while reading it, and while I was satisfied with the ending, I wish it didn’t end when it did, because that meant it’d be a few months before I got to spend more time with any of the characters in this book.

* I’ve said it on this site before, I’ll say it again: It takes few words to praise something, it takes several to fully explain a concern, problem, or even mild annoyance. As such, they tend to overshadow the praise. I think that’s what is happening here. I don’t mean it to.

David Rosenfelt is one of the most reliably entertaining novelists in Crime Fiction today. Every time I sit down with one of his books, I know I’m in for a good read. Characters you want to spend time with. Animal Instinct is a solid story with some great twists—and well-executed reveals. Corey’s got a great narrative voice and his sense of humor (which isn’t quite the same as Andy Carpenter’s) permeates the book and livens up the text just enough when things are grimmest.

If you have no idea who Andy Carpenter, Corey Douglas, Simon Garfunkel, or the rest are? Don’t let that stop you from trying this, it absolutely works as a jumping-on point—both to this series and the books it’s spun off from. I’m in this series for the long haul, and I think you’ll want to be, too.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this opportunity and the fun read.

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.

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK XVIII., iv. – vii.

By HCNewton

On April 2, 2021

In Fiction, Fridays with The Foundling, General Fiction/Literature

Fridays with the Foundling
We’re in the last book, nearing the end of the novel and therefore ehhhhhh-verything is going to be revealed. And things at Mrs. Miller’s are busy for Squire Allworthy this day.

Square, who the reader may remember as the less-religious tutor for Tom and Blifil is dying, and has got real religion. Now has been driven to confess to everyone he can think of to clear his conscience and hopefully make things right.

As part of this effort, he sends a letter to Allworthy, in part, he states:

Believe me, my friend, this young man hath the noblest generosity of heart, the most perfect capacity for friendship, the highest integrity, and indeed every virtue which can ennoble a man. He hath some faults, but among them is not to be numbered the least want of duty or gratitude towards you. On the contrary, I am satisfied, when you dismissed him from your house, his heart bled for you more than for himself.

Allworthy also gets a letter from Thwackum, having heard of the murder accusation, who goes on and on about Tom’s villainy—and tries to get Allworthy’s support for a job. Allworthy’s a little shaken by this, but not that much.

But wait, there’s more.

We then discover that Allworthy’s lawyer, Dowling, was one of the men Nightingale talked to at the alehouse when he got the truth from Fellamar’s goons about the attempt to press him into the Navy via this trumped-up charge. Nightingale assumed Dowling was there, like he was, to gather information to help Tom. Allworthy is stunned by this news. Blifil explains it away—over the outspoken skepticism of Mrs. Miller.

Patridge stops by right then to update Mrs. Miller, but Allworthy corners him and

asked him many questions concerning Jones, as to his health, and other matters; to all which Partridge answered, without having the least regard to what was, but considered only what he would have things appear; for a strict adherence to truth was not among the articles of this honest fellow’s morality or his religion.

Allworthy then gets everyone to leave and speaks frankly with Partridge, accusing him of being Tom’s father. Partridge denies it, ” he was no more the father of Jones than of the Pope of Rome”. It’s at this point that Mrs. Waters shows up, and things get really interesting.

Also, it should be noted that by now, that anything that Mr. Square has said has quite been forgotten.

Partridge calls on Mrs. Waters to be a witness—if anyone can state definitively that he’s not the father, it has to be the mother, right? But, no. She flat out states that’s not the case (which will greatly relieve Tom, I’m sure)

I’m not really going to try to summarize what says:

“I am not his mother; nor would I now think myself so for the world….So far what I confest,” said she, “was true, that these hands conveyed the infant to your bed; conveyed it thither at the command of its mother; at her commands I afterwards owned it, and thought myself, by her generosity, nobly rewarded, both for my secrecy and my shame.” “Who could this woman be?” said Allworthy. “Indeed, I tremble to name her,” answered Mrs Waters. “By all this preparation I am to guess that she was a relation of mine,” cried he. “Indeed she was a near one.” At which words Allworthy started, and she continued—“You had a sister, sir.” “A sister!” repeated he, looking aghast.—“As there is truth in heaven,” cries she, “your sister was the mother of that child you found between your sheets.” “Can it be possible?” cries he, “Good heavens!” “Have patience, sir,” said Mrs Waters…all suspicions were afterwards laid asleep by the artful conduct of your sister, in pretending ill-will to the boy, and that any regard she shewed him was out of meer complacence to you.”

The hits keep coming. The reason she showed up wasn’t to drop that bomb on everyone, but this—she’s been approached by someone thinking she was Mrs. Fitzgerald. As such, she might be interested in someone coming along to give financial aid for the prosecution of Tom. Who was this less-than-scrupulous man?

Mr. Dowling, of course. Things are not looking good for him.

This section really goes with Fielding’s promise to not give us a whole lot of fancy writing or anything with flair anymore—just the events. That’s all we got. Nothing clever, just a lot of exposition. And a lot of things to chew on. I really miss the flavor of the previous 17 books, but if he’d kept that up, Fielding would’ve taken at least 7 or 8 chapters to give us as much exposition as he did in these four.

A Few Quick Questions with…Robert Germaux

By HCNewton

On April 2, 2021

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

Before I get to the questions, I have to say that I’m surprised that we haven’t done one of these before–I did post a Q&As with Germaux as part of tours for Hard Court and One by One, but those questions came from the tours. I’m glad I finally got the chance to ask these few questions.

We’re talking about Small Talk and the Daniel Hayes series today, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t plug the Jeremy Barnes books, too. Where did Jeremy come from, and what would readers want to know about him before they dive in?
Jeremy is my alter ego. As I often tell people, other than the fact that he’s younger, smarter, taller, stronger and has way more hair, you can hardly tell us apart. As for what readers should know before they dive into a Jeremy Barnes mystery, well, JB (a high school English teacher in a previous life) can quote Shakespeare as quickly and easily as he can land a mean left jab, has an irreverent sense of humor and a definite soft spot in his heart for life’s underdogs.

But before you gave us Jeremy, you published Small Talk and introduced us to Daniel Hayes and his team. What was the inspiration for that series and Hays in particular?
Actually, I wrote three books about Jeremy Barnes before I wrote Small Talk. I held off putting those three books on Amazon because my agent at the time had hopes of finding a traditional publisher for them. While he was doing his best in that ultimately unsuccessful endeavor, I came up with the idea of a serial killer novel. Since I couldn’t see a private detective hunting a serial killer as effectively as a police detective who had all the tools of a large urban police department at his disposal, I created my Daniel Hayes character.

Daniel’s not a lone-wolf detective like Bosch or Rebus, he comes with (and works within) a team. While being more realistic isn’t the typical choice for Detective Fiction—why did you make that choice? Talk about the team a bit.
I wanted Daniel to work with a small group of people with diverse backgrounds and talents, a team that could bounce ideas off each other as they searched for the killer. Writing their interactions allowed me to show my readers how the investigation progressed from one level to the next as they closed in on that killer. Each member of the team brings something different to the table. Ted has a long history in local law enforcement, Samantha’s a respected city cop with an FBI contact who helps them in their hunt for the killer, and Henry’s a young suburban cop with great instincts. Together, Daniel (a former pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates) and his team are a classic example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

Take a moment and compare the two series—what are the limitations and advantages to writing a lone PI and a Police Detective?
Interesting question, H.C. I’ve never really thought about these two series that way. I guess the advantage to writing my Jeremy Barnes books is that I’m able to focus solely on JB’s determination to solve the case, by whatever means necessary, whereas Daniel has to be aware of the legal constraints imposed upon him by the system within which he works. Both he and JB will ultimately get the job done. It’s just that they sometimes take different paths to get there. Again, great question.

Both of your series are based in Pittsburgh, a city that I honestly don’t think I’ve read novels set in before. Is that one of your reasons behind choosing it? What is it about the series that draws you—and why do you think it’s ignored in favor of LA, New York, Boston, Chicago, etc.?
The easiest answer to this question is that old adage: Write what you know. While I’ve been fortunate enough to visit many far-flung locales, from Tahiti to Paris to Rome, I’m a yinzer at heart, born and raised in Pittsburgh. I find the city’s wealth of diverse neighborhoods, from the Oakland area (home to both Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh) to the Hill District (site of many of August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle of award-winning plays) to be a treasure trove of fascinating people and places for my novels. The other cities you mentioned do, indeed, get more attention in terms of settings for books, probably because they all have that big city “panache,” but I think we’re seeing more and more books and, especially, movies being set in and around Pittsburgh.

In addition to your mysteries, you’ve put out some humor collections, and two “General Fiction” (for lack of a better term) novels. Are there genres you wouldn’t want to try? What is it about Mystery novels that brings you back to them?
I wouldn’t try to write anything in the horror or supernatural genres. Although I know they’re enormously popular, and I definitely acknowledge and applaud the writers who are successful in those literary categories, I’ve just never been bitten by that particular bug. As for my love of mysteries, it probably goes back to my childhood, when I couldn’t get enough of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. I devoured those books.
Let’s play “Online Bookstore Algorithm” (a game I’ve recently invented). What are 3-5 books whose readers may like Small Talk?
Any of the Spenser novels written by Robert B. Parker, along with Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole books and Harlen Coben’s Myron Bolitar mysteries.

What’s next for Robert Germaux, more Jeremy Barnes, Daniel Hayes, or do you have something else up your sleeve?
I just finished Grammar Sex 3, my third book of humorous essays (I like to call them my Grammar Sex Trilogy), so that will be out soon, along with Leaving the LAW and Speak Softly, two of the early Jeremy Barnes novels. And just recently, I finally figured out the plot for a sixth JB book, so I’ll be getting to work on that.

Thanks for your time and these answers, and I hope both the Jeremy Barns and Daniel Hays books have enough success that you can keep going with them!
Hey, H.C., this has been fun. Thanks!

GUEST POST: Why Do We Write? by Robert Germaux

By HCNewton

On April 2, 2021

In Fiction

Why Do We Write?

In 1855, the difficulty of writing was described by some long-forgotten wit who said that words came from an author “drop by drop.” Jump ahead to 1949, when Pulitzer Prize winning sportswriter Red Smith, when asked if writing a daily column was hard, replied, “Why, no. You simply sit down at the typewriter, open your veins, and bleed.”

There are numerous other versions of the “open your veins and bleed” school of writing that have been ascribed to many people, including Ernest Hemingway. Unfortunately, there is no real evidence that Hemingway ever actually said anything along those lines, so I guess I’m not going to be able to sneak a good Papa reference into this essay. Another time, perhaps.

Getting back to the topic du jour, why do so many writers describe their craft in such disparaging terms? Apparently, a lot of us love the finished product but maybe not so much the process of getting there. Dorothy Parker, a founding member of the famed Algonquin Round Table, evidently was speaking for a good many writers when she said, “I hate writing. I love having written.”

While researching this piece, I had no trouble finding quotes about writers who claim to hate writing, but the reverse was definitely more difficult. Certainly, you can find people who say they enjoy writing, but they appear to be a distinct minority. For every author who said he or she loved writing, I found at least five or six who fell into the “tortured writer” category, which I have to admit came as a surprise. I mean, I don’t know about you, but if I was voluntarily engaging in an activity that I believed could in any way be compared to torture, I’d put an end to my participation in that activity right quick.

So, again, why do we write? Personally, I didn’t begin writing until I’d retired after three decades of teaching high school English, and it wasn’t until a good many years (and a bunch of books) later that I felt comfortable telling people I was a writer, as opposed to a retired teacher. Why do I write? Well, I can assure you it’s not for the money. At this moment, I have nine books on Amazon: five mysteries, two love stories and two collections of humorous essays. My books sell for $2.99, which means that after Amazon dips its beak, my cut is a hefty $2.05 for every sale. So that 50^th wedding anniversary cruise of the Mediterranean my wife and I were lucky enough to take just before the pandemic hit was courtesy of our teacher pensions and social security, not the man of the house’s book royalties.

I don’t hate writing. I wouldn’t keep doing it if I did (see previous reference: torture). Is writing hard for me sometimes? Of course, just as I’m sure it is for you. If I’m smack in the middle of one of my detective novels, do I enjoy waking up at 2:00 am and furiously scribbling down notes about scenes or dialogues I just found racing through my mind? Not really, but when I put those notes together the next day in another chapter of my book, it makes losing a bit of sleep the night before not so bad. If you’ve had similar experiences, you know what I mean. We just have to get those thoughts down. We just have to write.

To some degree, I think most writers are perfectionists, which explains Oscar Wilde’s quote about spending “all morning putting in a comma . . . and all afternoon taking it out.” Okay, that’s a little extreme, but you get the idea. My point here is that, as perfectionists, we like to be able to make sure that things work out the way we want them to, and creating our own little worlds is a great way to do just that.

One more note, this one maybe not so obvious. In fact, there’s a bit of irony involved. Writing is among the most solitary of professions, yet its end result is to link us to others (many others, we hope). That simple act of sitting down in front of your computer or laptop (or, in my case, at my kitchen table with a yellow legal pad and my Pilot Precise V5 extra fine point pen) allows us to make a connection with the rest of the world. And I think in the end, for me at least, that connection is both reason and reward for why I write.

I hope you’re in that minority of writers who not only have to write, but also actually like what you do. My experience has been that, unfortunately, most people don’t really enjoy their work. If you’re a writer, you’re already in a select group of people with skills that appear to be rapidly diminishing in our society. So take advantage of your talent. Have fun with it. Use it to form those connections with others. It may be frustrating at times (especially in the middle of the night when you turn on the light and awaken your ever-understanding and supportive spouse because you just figured out whodunit), but trust me, you’ll feel much better the next day, when you write that final chapter in your latest masterpiece.

About the Author

Robert Germaux is currently hard at work at that kitchen table, putting the finishing touches on Grammar Sex 3, his third book of humorous essays. At least, he hopes they’re humorous. You can find more information about Bob and his books at his Amazon Author Page.

Small Talk by Robert Germaux: A Fledgling Task Force on the Hunt for a Serial Killer on the Streets of Pittsburgh

By HCNewton

On April 2, 2021

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

So this is going to be Robert Germaux day here, apparently. I’ve got this post about Small Talk and Germaux was kind enough to give me a Guest Post and to do a Q&A with me, all of which is coming along shortly. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Small Talk

by Robert Germaux
Series: A Daniel Hays Mystery, Book 1

Kindle Edition, 266 pg.
2015

Read: March 24-25, 2021

What’s Small Talk About?

The area around Pittsburgh, we’re told early in this book, is made up of a vast number of local jurisdictions that are fiercely independent and don’t necessarily cooperate too well with each other—even when it comes to crimes being committed in various jurisdictions. After one recent crime spree took too much of a toll and had too little cooperation between various law enforcement agencies, a Special Assignment Squad answering directly to the Chief of Police is formed to deal with crimes of that type.

This team’s first real trial comes some weeks after its formation when a series of young women are being strangled. There’s no sexual assault, no robbery, simply a strangulation. There’s no connection—appearance, socio-economic status, profession, location—between the victims. If there’s anything not random about the selection of the victims, no one can see it.

Daniel Hays, the head of the SAS, is the lead investigator on the first murder before it’s officially a SAS matter. But it doesn’t take him long to assume that there will be another —probably many—after looking at the evidence, scene, and victim. Sadly, he’s proven correct fairly shortly. As more and more victims are found, it’s clear that the killer is getting more brazen, and the pressure—from within and from outside the SAS—increases.

The Killer’s Perspective

97 times out of one hundred, I’d rather not get the killer’s perspective (either told in first or third person) as well as the detective’s. I’m clearly in the minority, however, even judging solely on how frequently we’re given this setup.

Germaux handles this device as well as anyone could want. It does add a little to the novel and helps us understand the killer better than we would if we only had Daniel’s perspective. It also helped me to really dislike the character—you know, in case randomly killing women wasn’t enough. The guy is too impressed with himself, he’s a showoff and a blowhard with a penchant for monologuing (to himself or others). Some of that goes with the territory, obviously, but there’s something about him I liked even less than your typical budding serial killer.

For example, unless something is wrong with you, you’re charmed by Lecter in Silence of the Lambs—yes, he’s a deranged killer that needs to be kept away from people, but you can’t help but like the guy. Robert B. Parker gives us the killer’s POV in Crimson Joy, and all I wanted was for him to be stopped—I don’t know if I ever cared about him one way or the other. But this guy? I actively disliked him, in addition to wanting Hays and the team to get him off the streets.

Advantages/Disadvantages of Reading this Now

I almost never read books out of order anymore—I used to do it all the time, but now my default mode is: Start at Book 1 and move forward. But because it was for a book tour, I read the second Daniel Hays novel first. It was nice to see that gripes and questions I had while reflecting on One by One had been anticipated and dealt with in these pages.

The downside is that there are some things that didn’t hold as much suspense for me because I knew the status of various characters in the sequel. There was one scene that held absolutely no suspense for me, and I regretted that lack as I read it. Thankfully, Germaux still handled that scene in a way I didn’t expect him to, so while it came with the resolution I expected, the journey to it was a nice surprise.

So, what did I think about Small Talk?

Before I wrote this post, I read what I said about the sequel just to compare the two. Plot-specifics aside, I could have just re-used that post here.

Small Talk has an interesting and solid approach to the Serial Killer, some nice twists, and a good group of core characters.

Professionals who treat each other as professionals, with respect and camaraderie. It could be made slightly more interesting or challenging if there were a bit more friction in the team or spillover from Daniel’s personal life (for example). But that’s only marginally more interesting.

I do wish there was a greater sense of urgency to this. The SAS is driven to find the killer, but they’re not obsessive about it. They clock out at the end of the day, go home and bake, or go on a date, or something else. And as nice as those side stories were, and as realistic as it might be, it’s somewhat dissatisfying when it comes to drama.

Like with all of Germaux’s writing, there’s a pleasantness to reading this. No matter how dire things may be, the book is just a pleasant experience. It’s a fast, gratifying read with some fun moments and justice prevailing. It’s hard to go wrong with that.

I recommend this—like all of Germaux’s Crime Fiction—especially if you’re not in the mood for gritty depictions of police detectives going about their work. In my earlier post, I compared them to “blue sky” dramas like NCIS, Burn Notice, or White Collar, and the same is true here. And sometimes that’s just what the doctor ordered.

3.5 Stars