Category: Fiction Page 303 of 341

The Intern’s Handbook by Shane Kuhn

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On June 12, 2014

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

The Intern's Handbook: A ThrillerThe Intern’s Handbook: A Thriller

by Shane Kuhn
Series: John Lago Thriller, #1


Hardcover, 276 pg.
Simon & Schuster, 2014
Read: May 5 – 7, 2014

“Interns are invisible. You can tell executives your name a hundred times and they will never remember it because they have no respect for someone at the bottom of the barrel, working for free. The irony is that they will heap important duties on you with total abandon. The more of these duties you voluntarily accept, the more you will get, simultaneously acquiring TRUST AND ACCESS. Ultimately, your target will trust you with his life and that is when you will take it.

So says John Lago, in his unofficial handbook for employees at Human Resources, Inc. — a false front for an organization of hitmen. He Handbook is part memoir, part confessional, part how-to, part the reflections of a professional

Along with nice tidbits like this, we get to see John’s last assignment for HRI — he’s sent in as an intern at a prestigious law firm to identify a shady partner and eliminate him. Having reached the ripe-old age of 25, retirement is looming (hard to believe someone in their late 20s is an intern anywhere), and he’s determined to go out on top. But for the first time in his illustrious career — things don’t go well for John. And when that starts to happen, it goes bad fast and in several different ways.

Bad for John, good for us — because watching him try to navigate out of trouble, while maintaining his cover is a blast. John’s a real professional, and whatever misgivings are starting to creep into his subconscious, his instincts are sound. Alice — initially, a fellow intern and competitor, and eventually, more — isn’t exactly what she seems, but is a fun character no matter what angle on the character we’re seeing. The head of HRI, Bob, is exactly the kind of shady, manipulative scoundrel you’d expect the executive behind an army of paid assassins to be.

By page 3, I’d written in my notes “smart, funny, sharp — if he keeps this up, I’ll be happy.” He did keep it up, and did better, there was an unexpected genuine heart in this book (particularly the last couple of chapters). The voice was fitting (and great) — as a fan of movies like Grosse Pointe Blank and The Whole Nine Yards, John’s less-than-charitable musings on pop culture depictions of his field were quite amusing and had the ring of truth. The action scenes were well-written, you could see everything (usually from the edge of your seat). Recommended.

—–

4 Stars

Marked Man by William Lashner

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On June 11, 2014

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

Marked Man (Victor Carl, #6)Marked Man

by William Lashner

Hardcover, 421 pg.
William Morrow & Company, 2006
Read: June 6 – 10, 2014

I picked this one up on the recommendation of a reader. Normally, I don’t like to step into a series 6 books in, but every now and then I throw caution to the wind.

So Victor Carl is a criminal lawyer of some repute, but most of it not that positive, he has some serious relationship issues, a father in poor health, and an odd taste in clients. He’s got an investigator (whose name escapes me, and I’ve already returned the book) who seems awfully good at his job, has a strange speech pattern, and disappears completely and inexplicably half-way through the book. He’s got a partner in his law firm going though some sort of existential crisis that I’d probably only understand if I’d read the previous books.

Carl’s got a headache of a case at the beginning of the novel — an elderly Greek woman is on her deathbed (I only mention her ethnicity because she can’t seem to go more than a sentence without bringing it up) and she wants to say goodbye to her son, a fugitive. Carl’s job is to arrange with the authorities for that meeting to occur. It doesn’t take long for Carl to find out that it’s not just the authorities looking for the client, his former associates are as well. In the midst of that, speaking of headaches, Carl wakes up one morning, can’t remember much about the night before — other than there was a lot of alcohol, a blonde, and more alcohol involved — with a woman’s name tattooed on his chest. He just has no idea whose name that is.

Believe it or not — that’s not all there is to this book. A whole lot of plot lines — many of which overlap in very odd ways — Carl’s got to save his own skin, save his client’s, get his client to see his mother, find out who belongs to that name (and how it got on him), help his partner with a case and her crisis….aaand a few other things. On the whole, Lashner keeps things moving enough to keep you turning pages, yet doesn’t let the multiple storylines confuse the reader.

Each character here is something else — all individual, all worth more time than we end up spending with them. More than anything, his characters impressed me. Whether it’s the agoraphobic pervert, the taxi driver with a shady past, the lawyer with a dark secret, the stripper trapped by a childhood tragedy — they’re all real, they’re all human, they’re all fully formed. Really strong stuff there.

I wasn’t wowed by this book, but I was engaged and entertained. Victor’s not as fun as Andy Carpenter, nor his style and case up to the standards of Mickey Haller — but he’s no slouch. I’m probably sold enough to track down book one and dip my toe into this stream at least one more time.

—–

3 Stars

Hot Lead, Cold Iron by Ari Marmell

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On June 10, 2014

In Fiction

Hot Lead, Cold IronHot Lead, Cold Iron

by Ari Marmell

Trade Paperback, 311 pg.
Titan Books, 2014
Read: May 19 – 27, 2014

This is the way to start a series, I mean, wow. Mick Oberon is a P.I. in the rough and tumble days of late-Prohibition-era Chicago. He mixes with the mob, political figures,and other assorted low-lifes, while eking out a living — just enough to afford milk, rent and the cheap suits he wears. He can take a beating like nobody’s business, and packs a wand rather than rather than a gun. Oh yeah, and he’s fae.

I’ve got a mental checklist that I use to evaluate a new (to me) Urban Fantasy: 1. Is there a strong voice? 2. Do I like the characters/world? 3. Is the magic system interesting? (you can replace vampire/werewolf/etc. system where applicable)

Hot Lead, Cold Iron passes this test easily. Oberon’s smart, snarky — a little disdainful of humanity (but it’s not like you can really disagree with him). This Chicago is right out of The Untouchables, and when you add in the supernatural to the world (plus the Seelie/Unseelie Courts) — this world is a riot. There is so much raw material here that Marmell is set for several books. The magic system? I don’t have it all worked out after just one book, but what I’ve seen, I’ve liked. Oberson plays with luck — he takes good luck from people and uses it to power his own, he magnifies people’s bad luck to cause mishaps/mayhem, and so on. No big fireballs, or dramatic spells, just little bits of luck here and there going his way. I think that’s pretty nifty — especially the way it’s working out so far.

I’ve enjoyed Marmell’s prose in the past, and this is no different, even as it doesn’t feel like his other books. The novel is filled with great lines that are the epitome of hard-boiled P.I.s like Phillip Marlowe or Dixon Hill such as, “clad in shirt and trousers creased sharp enough to trim hedges.” Or this description of the fae world:

The colors. . . They’re intense, impossible, almost painful; entities unto themselves, rather’n mere traits of other objects. They’re stark, standing out against each other, the richest greens, the sharpest reds, the deepest browns, the brightest yellows. you could try to capture ’em in a painting, but nobody’d buy it: too fake-looking. There’s no gradation, nothing muted; the dark and light emeralds of a leaf don’t blend into each other, but sit side-by-side with clear demarcation — as if no one color here would ever lower itself to blend with another.

I hope future books spend more time in the fae world (and there’s every indication that they will), it’s slightly bent/twisted hyper-reality was truly imaginative, and unlike anyone else’s take on it. The fae camera, for example, was sort of a mix of something you’d find in a store on Diagon Alley and in Bedrock. I realize that analogy probably makes no sense — read the book and it will.

Good action, good plot, strong protagonist, strange world and intriguing magic system — everything a series’ first novel needs. Bring on the next!

—–

4 1/2 Stars

Dusted Off: The Falling Machine by Andrew P. Mayer

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On June 9, 2014

In Fiction, Steampunk

The Falling Machine (The Society of Steam, #1)The Falling Machine

by Andrew P. Mayer

Paperback, 284 pg.
Pyr, 2011
Read: Jul. 11-14, 2012>

This was an utterly okay book. I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it, and I certainly didn’t hate it, I felt a general “eh, whatever” towards it.

I do think the take on the status of women in 1880’s New York was a bit too heavy handed–most other steampunk authors can show strong women dealing with a less feminist age without sounding like they’re harping on it to the point you just don’t care anymore (see: Ballantine, Philippa/Morris, Tee, Cherie Priest, Steven Harper, Kady Cross for a few examples).

The Super-Hero story reminded me a lot of the one told in the superior After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn (as did many of the heroes).

Most of the characters were flat, the resolution was rushed and unfulfilling, the cliffhanger was more of a “they just stopped telling the story” than a “what will happen next?”

(okay, after reading what I just wrote, maybe it was less than okay…hmmm….)

—–

2 Stars

Dusted Off: The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings

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On June 9, 2014

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

The DescendantsThe Descendants

by Kaui Hart Hemmings

ebook, 247 pg.
Random House, 2007
July 14-15, 2012

I really should’ve read this before the movie…for the first 100 pages or so, I heard Clooney’s voice in my head narrating this. I did eventually get over it, and even before that, it stopped distracting me.

This is a tragic tale of a man losing his comatose wife while realizing he’d lost her months (at least) before the accident that left her in that state. About him finally becoming the father he should be to two very messed up daughters (tho’ one’s far worse off than the other, and it’s not the one he thought was worse).

It’s a story told with warmth, sadness (not moroseness–thankfully), touches of humor, and humanity. I laughed, I got misty, I got warm fuzzies. Really, really great book.

—–

4 Stars

No Colder Place by S. J. Rozan

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On June 6, 2014

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

No Colder Place (Lydia Chin & Bill Smith #4)No Colder Place

by S.J. Rozan
Series: Lydia Chin & Bill Smith, #4

Hardcover, 288 pg.
St. Martin’s Press, 1997
Read: June 5, 2014

Rozan was able to tap into her day job here and use her knowledge of architecture, construction — particularly the idiosyncratic way that construction is done in NYC. Bill, and the tune/atmosphere Rozan uses for his books, is able to be pensive, reflective, and almost poetic in thinking about the act of building. Lydia wouldn’t be able to do that. This type of thing is a real advantage to switching POV characters the way Rozan does.

The series feels different when Bill is at the center, and I found myself liking it more this time than last. I feel bad for him as far as Lydia is concerned. When the novel is told from her perspective, there’s something quixotic about his pursuit of her, and you can give a sympathetic chuckle when he tries. But from his point-of-view, it’s just sad.

There is just so much unsaid about Bill. The retreat to the cabin. His piano playing. Why he won’t move on from Lydia. Rozan’s walking a fine line between having an enigmatic character and just withholding information. I do want to see and learn more about him, but I’m not feeling cheated (for now).

Anyway, I should focus on the case in this book. Again we have Bill going undercover (also again, thanks to someone from his murky past) — with Lydia providing backup and support. This time on a construction site plagued by robberies, a disappearance — and perhaps a little bookmaking or drug dealing. Naturally, it doesn’t take long for things to get ugly and far messier than he’d expected. It’s deftly told with the right amount of twists, turns, and danger. Plus interesting and compelling sporting characters, and not your everyday detective novel crimes.

Come to think about it, that’s one of the best parts of this series — the crimes they are hired to investigate are not your typical mystery novel fare. Yeah, things eventually return to the mainstays (murder, blackmail, etc), but they start in interesting places.

No Colder Place is worthy entry to this series, and I’m ready for the next one.

—–

3.5 Stars

The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu

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On June 5, 2014

In Authors, Fiction, Science Fiction, Wesley Chu

The Lives of Tao (Tao, #1)The Lives of Tao

by Wesley Chu
Series: Tao Trilogy, #1


Paperback, 460 pg.
Angry Robot, 2014
Read: May 29 – June 4, 2014

Last spring, it seemed that every writer I follow on Twitter was gushing about this book, but it really didn’t seem like my kind of thing. But last week, I saw it on the new book library shelf and decided to give it a shot. So glad I did. In case you haven’t seen it, the back cover blurb is:

When out-of-shape IT technician Roen woke up and started hearing voices in his head, he naturally assumed he was losing it. He wasn’t. He now has a passenger in his brain – an ancient alien life-form called Tao, whose race crash-landed on Earth before the first fish crawled out of the oceans. Now split into two opposing factions – the peace-loving, but under-represented Prophus, and the savage, powerful Genjix – the aliens have been in a state of civil war for centuries. Both sides are searching for a way off-planet, and the Genjix will sacrifice the entire human race, if that’s what it takes. Meanwhile, Roen is having to train to be the ultimate secret agent. Like that’s going to end up well…

Roen’s obviously not your typical hero, or even your atypical hero. But he’s a good guy that you eventually like (as difficult as that can be to imagine when we first encounter him). Which is good, because he’s our entry point in to this world, and an entry point that you can’t stand doesn’t make for fun reading. As he gets to understand his place in this new reality he’s been exposed to, as he begins to understand how these aliens have changed world history — we get to, too.

This doesn’t seem like Chu’s first book, he writes with panache, skill and confidence. His action scenes feel authentic, his world is intricate and believable, and he tells his story in a compelling manner that keeps you turning pages.

There’s some real heart here amongst the SF action. Often in SF, particularly the more high-concept SF, characters can be 1- or 2-dimensional. Not here, the most minor of characters seem real, seem like someone you could bump into at the water cooler, public transportation or a government office. You get to like them as people, not just as representatives of Prophus or Genjix — and that’s key. People with convictions, aspirations and relate-able motivations. As long as Chu keeps that up, this series will be one to stick with.

While I liked the banter, the back-and-forth between Roen and Tao, Roen and the others — but I didn’t find the book as hilarious as so many others have. I just see it as a good suspense novel (with a wicked twist) featuring some snarky characters. And that’s good enough to enjoy this and to bring me back for more.

—–

4 Stars

Kill Fee by Owen Laukkanen

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On June 5, 2014

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

Kill Fee (Stevens & Windermere, #3)Kill Fee

by Owen Laukkanen

Hardcover, 400 pg.
Putnam Adult, 2014
Series: Stevens & Windermere, #3
Read: June 4, 2014

Like I indicated back when I reviewed Criminal Enterprises, the biggest trick for Laukkanen is coming up with some reason to get his FBI Agent and his State Police Officer together to work on a case. Once that’s dealt with, we’re off to the races and anything goes. This time, our two heroes are hanging out with each other and witness the crime together. Simple and effective way to get them working together. Easy as pie.

This time they’re on the trail of a hit man who killed a billionaire right in front of them. But he’s not your typical hitman, there was something about his face — his eyes — that set him apart from others. His shooting (and subsequent kills) gets Stevens and Windermere hopping all over the country again on his trail.

Once again, we have a criminal in the midst of a very successful crime spree, which goes haywire about the same time as Stevens and Windermere start investigating. Not because of them — although they make it worse — but because of the heart. Sure, that’s a recurring plot point in this series — but that’s not a complaint, or a weakness, really. Because it makes sense, it seems real, there’s million different ways to use that plot point — and because Laukkanen pulls it off so well. So it comes across as a common bond amongst the people that he depicts, not a laziness.

There’s heightened emotional stakes between partners on the law side, too, as the Stevens and Windermere deal with the nature of their relationship (I really, really liked the way they dealt with this). Things are intense for Stevens on the home front, too — between his wife’s discontent with the new direction his career is taking and his daughter still dealing with the aftermath of her ordeal in Criminal Enterprises, he has more than enough to deal with even without a multi-state killing spree.

As is becoming commonplace in this series — a great plot, good pacing, a twisted criminal (truly despicable), good characterization. Everything moved well, things clicked just as it should. Laukkanen is becoming as dependable and reliable as Kirk Stevens, and as bold as Carla Windermere. I’m already getting impatient waiting for the next.

—–

3.5 Stars

Robert B. Parker’s Cheap Shot by Ace Atkins

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On June 4, 2014

In Ace Atkins, Authors, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert B. Parker, Spenser

Robert B. Parker's Cheap ShotRobert B. Parker’s Cheap Shot

by Ace Ace Atkins
Series: Spenser, #42

Hardcover, 320 pg.
Putnam Adult, 2014
Read: May 12 – 14, 2014

For 25 years or so, I’ve been a huge Robert B. Parker fan. Read everything I could get my hands on by him — mostly multiple times, even when the quality started to drop out and you could never tell which Parker you were going to get — the one that was close to his former greatness, or the guy who showed up, got his scheduled time in on the book and moved on with life. Even at his worst, there was always something to enjoy in his work — even if it was only a snippet of dialogue or a line or two of description.

As I’ve said before, when Dr. Parker died at his keyboard and they called in this Ace Atkins guy (had never heard of him), I was happy but cautious. Would he be able to pull it off? Would he sound like Parker without doing a cheap rip off? But I liked what Atkins did. So much that I waited a year to review Lullaby, and I haven’t reviewed Wonderland yet (spoiler alert: loved it. Always wanted a Henry-centric novel) — I just didn’t want to geek out and just go fanboy all over them — I wanted to reflect on them some before discussing them (I’m choosing to ignore what I thought about Silent Night: A Spenser Holiday Novel for now). But with Cheap Shot, I’m throwing caution to the wind, and will just talk about it now. And yeah, I’m all Fanboy.

On the one hand, this is not Atkins’ best Spenser. But it’s the one that feels like Parker more than the rest (make of that what you will). The banter, the poking around and stirring things up until you get a break, the fisticuffs, the donuts, the gun fight, the needling of underworld players, and so on — he captures Parker’s voice and pacing better here than he’d managed before (yet doesn’t come across as pastiche). Spenser’s sniffing around the big money and big boys (and a few men) in sports, which serve as a good place for Spenser to reflect how men are to act. Parker did this Mortal Stakes and Playmates (and to lesser extents elsewhere — like Early Autumn), and Atkins is able to do that here (arguably he does so with a subtlety that Parker didn’t achieve).

Kinjo Heywood’s a fun character — slightly more grounded than Mortal Stakes‘ Marty Rabb, far more mature and grounded than Playmates‘ Dwayne Woodcock. One advantage Heywood has is his son, Akira (who’s plenty of fun on his own) — he has someone to provide a good example to, and he strives to. Heywood also seems to have thought ore about life and how one should live it. Marty seemed to think only about Linda (his wife) and baseball, Dwayne was all about his girlfriend (Chantel) and basketball, too — but with less self-examination, it’s just that’s all he had the chance to think about (although Chantel would see that changed, and his horizons broadened if she had anything to say about it). Heywood’s got a kid, he’s been through a divorce, and is fully aware of his place in the limelight (including social media) and his own shortcomings. This alone saves the book from being a reworking of Parker.

I should add that Sixkill has a lot of perspective here (with the assistance of Atkins’ own background in football) — he was close to Heywood’s level, and if he’d made one or two better choices, he would’ve been at this level. He has a better idea what’s going on in Heywood’s mind than Spenser and his brief stint in the boxing world would.

The book begins with Spenser doing bodyguard duty — and as always (Stardust, Looking For Rachel Wallace, A Savage Place, Rough Weather) things don’t go well. You’d think people’d stop hiring him for this kind of work. Spenser turns to investigating — and unearthing lie after lie from his client — while getting Hawk and Sixkill to pitch in on the bodyguard front.

In addition to the main characters, Hawk, Susan, Sixkill, Tony Marcus, and so on; Atkins continues to show a command and familiarity with the impressive gallery of supporting characters in the Spenser-verse (although my gut tells me we’ll never see Atkins’ Spenser crossing paths with anyone from Paradise, Mass.). And the new characters fit into the ‘verse just fine, nothing that Parker wouldn’t have created. One character who started off the novel being opposed to Spenser’s hiring and further involvement with the case came around pretty quickly — and really without warning. I’m not sure that change was warranted by the text (and even if warranted, it was really easy for this guy to come around to Spenser’s side.)

Not only did Atkins give us a good story this time, he appeared to be planting and/or watering seeds for future books at the same time — something Parker never bothered with, but I’m glad to see (if only because it indicates Atkins plans on sticking around).

This one’s getting 5 Stars from me. May not be the best book (or one of the best) that I’ll read this year — but it made me happy, made me want to read more in this series (both prior to and post- this one), made me want to read the next non-Spenser Atkins novel more. And that’s good enough for me.

Next time, Mr. Atkins? Paul. We need to see Paul again. Please?

—–

5 Stars

Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

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On June 3, 2014

In Authors, Fiction, Mercy Thompson, Patricia Briggs, Urban Fantasy

Night Broken (Mercy Thompson, #8)Night Broken

by Patricia Briggs
Series: Mercy Thompson, #8


Hardcover, 341 pg.
Ace Hardcover, 2014
Read: March 19 – 20, 2014

Yay! Mercy’s back! She’s back and she’s facing off with her most potentially destructive foe . . . Adam’s ex. Oh, sure, there’s some sort of Gray Lord threatening her, a supernatural super-baddie that Mercy and her pals have never heard of, and an escaped felon who has powers a lot like Mercy . But the big danger comes from Christy.

This wasn’t a “big” novel in any real sense — seeds were planted/characters were introduced tha will be important, and I wouldn’t want to say that nothing significant happens. But, no epochal shifts, no game changers here — just straightforward case of bad guy comes to town, and Mercy et al. stop it. And along the way the final confrontation with the bad guy, we get to spend sometime with the Tri-Cities pack, as well as see some of the fallout from the last couple of books in this or the Alpha-Omega series. And that’s fine. Not every book needs to be an even, some just need to have a fun story, and maybe even move the chess pieces around a bit.

Initially, the villain of the piece looks fairly disappointing, just some stalker jerk making life difficult of Christy. But it soon becomes clear that there’s more to this guy, and it doesn’t take long to see that he’s one bad customer — creepy, dangerous, and powerful in a way I don’t think I’ve seen before. All in all, a worthy competitor for Mercy and the pack.

As always, the interplay between Mercy and the various members of the pack — or just between the pack without regard to Mercy — is fascinating. At once familial, yet competitive, not necessarily all that affectionate, yet more loyal than a troop of Marines.
The more the Jesse/Mercy relationship develops, the more I like to see it — particularly here, where much of the book can be seen as mother v. step-mother, watching Jesse maturely navigating those treacherous waters was quite satisfying.

My main (only?) quibble with the book was the way that Adam was depicted. He was continually utterly clueless about the way that Christy’s actions would/did affect Mercy. A lot of that, to be fair to the guy, can be attributed to how much he’s moved on from Christy and how devoted he is to Mercy — he doesn’t even see his ex as a potential threat. But, 1. Adam’s smarter than that and 2. given how territorial werewolves are in Briggs’ universe (and as seen in this book), it’s almost impossible to believe that he wouldn’t pick up on the territorial incursions Christy’s making.

Not the best thing that Briggs has written in this series, but not the worst. It had a good story, it was good to spend time with these characters, and I enjoyed the introduction of the new forces at play. A fun way to spend a few hours. Just about everything you could ask for.

—–

4 1/2 Stars

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