Tag: 3 1/2 Stars Page 39 of 41

Attack the Geek by Michael R. Underwood

By

On May 28, 2015

In Authors, Fiction, Michael R. Underwood, P-U, Urban Fantasy

Attack the GeekAttack the Geek

by Michael R. Underwood
Series: , #2.5

eBook
Pocket Star, 2014

Read: May 22 – 23, 2015 Unlike the first two installments of this series, which I grabbed as soon as I could, I put off reading this — mostly it’s because it was a .5. On the whole, I’ve not really found much to get excited about in the point-whatevers. But I had an opening in my schedule and needed something I could read on my phone.

Man, I should’ve read this sooner.

It’s a typical Saturday night at Grognard’s Grog and Games — “V: TES tournament, half-priced Jaeger, and Grognard getting morose.” Ree’s got her hands full serving the crowd, which happens to include our friends Eastwood and Drake. This is pretty handy because while things are still going strong, the bar falls under a pretty serious attack. They’re able to hold it off for a bit, but before long, it becomes a night-long siege. It was only missing a few Uruk-Hai (or a reference to them) to be a veritable Helm’s Deep. There’s a bit more than just the siege, but I’ve gotta leave a little to you to find out for yourself.

On the one hand this is pretty much just one long-knockdown fight. But there’s more going on — and not just because it’s really a series of fights with strategic retreats to regroup, refresh, heal and strategize. But there’s more than that — Ree seems a lot more certain in her abilities, confident and capable (although she should really have learned to carry spare batteries for her phone by now). There is a little character development, a little push toward the next novel, but mostly this is action. Which does make the small character moments shine a bit brighter — you expect them in a full-fledged novel, and while Underwood usually does these moments right, here they stand out more. Most importantly, the voice is there — Underwood’s eye for action, Ree’s snark, and the 17 pop culture references per inch of text are fully present.

Because the action is limited to the events of one night, a lot of the things that would be minuses for me, actually work. For example, Ree hits the same note of lament over her romantic situation too often for a book that takes place over a couple of weeks — but over a night? Yeah, we’ve all been there. A couple of Grognard’s patrons don’t act in ways that would work/wouldn’t be suspicious over the long hall — but in the midst of a battle? Sure, absolutely.

Unlike a lot of .5 works, I don’t know if this one can be skipped in your voyage from Ree Reyes #2 to Ree Reyes #3. Even if it turns out that you can (won’t know until #3 releases — which I won’t wait to read), you shouldn’t. Grab something to drink and/or snack on and watch Ree and the gang open up a few cans of whoop-ass.

—–

3.5 Stars

Another Man’s Moccasins by Craig Johnson

By

On May 13, 2015

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

Another Man’s MoccasinsAnother Man’s Moccasins

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—–

3.5 Stars

The Younger Gods by Michael R. Underwood

By

On May 12, 2015

In Authors, Fiction, Michael R. Underwood, P-U, Urban Fantasy

yyyyyeeeeesh, almost, but not quite 6 months late. What is wrong with me? Let’s see if I can remember enough to make this work:

The Younger GodsThe Younger Gods

by Michael R. Underwood
Series:The Younger Gods, #1


ebook, 280 pg.
Pocket Star, 2014
Read: November 20 – 22, 2014

Are you quite sure you don’t want to even try to seek cover?” I asked.
“Cover is what stands between me and stabbing things,” [Carter] said by way of response.
Let it not be said to my resident assistant that I constrained my roommate. He was his own man. Even if that man was insane at times.

One of Michael R. Underwood’s most impressive traits is his versatility. We’ve got the fun Urban Fantasy adventures of Ree Reyes, the strange superheroes of Audec-Hal, and now, this darker UF about a cult’s white sheep trying to stop the apocalypse.

Jacob Greene — of those Greenes (apparently) — has come to New York to attend university — and get away from his family and their demon-worshiping apocalyptic cultish practices that will usher in The End of the World as We Know It. He’s had enough of all of it, and is trying to get beyond their teachings, their practices, their . . . murderous ways. It’s more difficult than he expects, especially when his sister comes to town in order to usher in Doomsday.

Jacob finds himself surrounded with a motley crew of allies — mostly in the mold of the-enemy-of-my-enemy — trying to keep his sister from accomplishing her Ultimate To-Do list. Let me tell you, this particular UF version of NYC is full of quite the assortment of magical cultures/subcultures. The rules governing them, the way they interact with each other are one of the strengths of this novel — a nice little bit of world-building that was revealed, not dumped on the reader.

Jacob, understandably, spends a good deal of the book sorting out his identity in light of his family — as well as his feelings for/about them. There are no easy answers waiting for him. It’s here, not his running away from his family, not his attempts to stop his sister, that Jacob finds that bit of humanity that he’s been missing.

Was it still love if the people that loved you were monsters? Did their actions taint everything they did, or was there some humanity in the family? Had they ever really loved one another, or was it a mask, a role that each Greene has played to further the goals of the Bold and awaken the unborn? There was a film, some film, that matched this feeling. I’d heard someone talk about it in class.

Jacob’s ending gambit had me groaning, “Underwood’s not going to do that, is he?” Turns out 1. He did; and 2. It totally worked. I couldn’t believe it. I was expecting a cheesy car wreck, but he nailed it. Note to self: don’t doubt Michael R. Underwood again.

My biggest gripe was Jacob’s language. He starts off with the most formal, stilted dialogue this side of an Austen novel; slang was a foreign language he was trying to adopt. By the end of the novel, however, a lot of that was gone. Now, it’s possible, I just got used to his language — but I don’t think so. Mostly, it was his use of slang that improved dramatically. Now, if it had happened slower — over a book or two, I wouldn’t have noticed — or, more likely, I’d have given Underwood props for it. But . . .this book covers events of a few days, far too quickly for Jacob to pull that off. Still, as far as gripes go . . . that’s pretty small.

It’s not Underwood’s best — but it’s a good start, and I can eventually see me saying something different about the series as a whole. Great magic system, a situation I’ve never encountered in any of the UF I’ve read, a solid group of characters to build from — I can honestly say that I have almost no idea what’s up next for Jacob Greene et al. But I’m looking forward to finding out.

—–

3.5 Stars

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

By

On May 7, 2015

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

The Midnight Plan of the Repo ManThe Midnight Plan of the Repo Man

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

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

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

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

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

—–

3.5 Stars

Atlanta Burns by Chuck Wendig

By

On April 29, 2015

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

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

Atlanta BurnsAtlanta Burns

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—–

3.5 Stars

Kindness Goes Unpunished by Craig Johnson

By

On April 2, 2015

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

Kindness Goes UnpunishedKindness Goes Unpunished

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #3

Paperback, 336 pg.
Penguin Books, 2014
Read: April 1, 2015
3.5 Stars
I hate covers that are just images for TV/movie adaptations, don’t you? Blame my local library for this one.

It’s a sure sign that I need to spend more time reading Johnson than watching the show based on this series in that I’m consistently surprised at how funny these books are. Sure Henry Standing Bear’s dry wit is there, Vic is brash and inappropriate — amusing enough — but the narration, Walt himself? I chuckled a lot.

So, Walt and Henry (and Dog!) are off to the City of Brotherly Love to visit Walt’s daughter, Cady, meet her boyfriend, and for Henry to do something at a museum (just an excuse to see Cady). Oh, and conveniently enough, to meet Vic’s family (three police officers, one former police officer, and one attractive mother). After arriving in town, Walt doesn’t even get to see Cady before she’s brutally attacked and hospitalized.

Naturally, Walt stumbles upon the one person in Philadelphia who’s more knowledgeable and interested in Indians than Henry. It’s that interest (obsession?) and his connection to Walt that makes Walt the best man to track down the man who put Cady in the hospital (and other assorted nefarious acts). That’s a level of coincidence that you just buy — like Gideon Oliver vacationing somewhere that a set of bones surprisingly shows up; Nero Wolfe needing information from someone who’s a sucker for orchids; or that every falsely accused murderers that Andy Carpenter stumbles upon happen to own a cute dog.

There’s enough twists, turns — and one seeming unnecessary but entertaining diversion (that turns out to be not so ancillary) — to satisfy any mystery reader. Even out of water, this fish can swim. There’s some very interesting things that go on in the character’s personal lives that should make things interesting down the road (and that I can’t talk about while remaining spoiler free) — enough to make this more than a tale of a father’s vengeance.

The first chapter (only one in Wyoming) is great — Walt totally failing to connect with an elementary school classroom, a fun and prototypical Absaroka County shootout, and other things that make up a typical day for Sheriff Longmire on the eve of his trip.

I’ve enjoyed each of these Longmire books — but I’ve taken a really casual approach to them, I think one a year so far is my rate. Kindness Goes Unpunished has convinced me that has to end, I’m pretty sure I’ll catch up with Johnson before the year is up.

—–

3.5 Stars

Dorothy Parker Drank Here by Ellen Meister

By

On March 25, 2015

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Dorothy Parker Drank HereDorothy Parker Drank Here

by Ellen Meister

Hardcover, 336 pg.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2015
Read: March 9 – 10, 2015
Meister’s previous novel, Farewell, Dorothy Parker, was an enjoyable though fairly predictable but well-executed tale with characters I appreciated. While I intended to track down more by Meister, I hadn’t yet. One thing I didn’t expect was to see a sequel — there was really nothing in the it to make me think one was forthcoming — or necessary. So I didn’t read this with any great sense of anticipation, mostly just hoping that it wouldn’t be worse than Farewell.

Well, it wasn’t worse — it was actually better.

Ted Shriver is a — was a — literary star. A novelist of a stature and fame that every MFA student dreams of — until plagiarism scandal a few decades ago ruined that career and turned him into a recluse. He’s currently residing in the Algonquin Hotel, which is where the same hotel that the ghost of Dorothy Parker is spending as much of eternity as she can. Enter Norah Wolfe, a young producer about to be out of a job when the talk show she works for is going to be canceled. She’s got this crazy idea, though — if she can get her hero, Shriver, to come on the show and be interviewed for the first time since the scandal, she just might be able to keep the show on the air. And a certain ghost decides to join the cause, as soon as she convinces Norah that she’s really there.

I know, outlandish, right? An appearance by a novelist is going to save a TV show —puh-leez. (the ghost tied to a guest book is completely believable by comparison).

I do think (but haven’t compared the two in order to examine), that this time, Dorothy Parker isn’t as much fun — either in antics or dialogue. But she’s more flawed, more regretful over the past, more self-reliant, lonelier. — basically, she’s a more well-rounded character reflecting a lot of the less snarky, less quotable Parker. Shriver was believable (and a self-pitying jerk), I think the story could’ve used more time with him as an active character, not just the person everyone is reacting to (even when he’s nowhere to be seen). Norah is our Point of View character — she’s likable, driven, damaged (in a pretty obvious way), and it’s not long before you’re wanting things to work out for her. There are a few other notable characters — and a few that are little more than one dimension, but on the whole you are left with the impression that they could easily be more than that.

I did wonder at the lack of any mention of the events of the previous novel or its protagonist, even in passing. Which means you can read these independently of each other, or in whatever order you wish.

This wasn’t a perfect novel — there was one subplot that was largely unnecessary and a little annoying (but in the end, Meister used it effectively, but she could’ve found another way to achieve the same ends). Other than that, compared to its predecessor, I thought the characters were more complex, the emotional stakes were richer, and the book was about more than just the pretty straight-forward plot. A pleasant read, give it a shot.

—–

3.5 Stars

Low Midnight by Carrie Vaughn

By

On January 13, 2015

In Carrie Vaughn, Fiction, Kitty Norville

Low MidnightLow Midnight

by Carrie Vaughn
Carrie Vaughn
Series: Kitty Norville, #13

Mass Market Paperback, 309 pg.
Tor Books, 2015
Read: January 7 – 8, 2015
Ahh, the fans (some of them, anyway) get what they’ve been wanting — a novel featuring everyone’s favorite retired monster hunter (and the deceased Victorian witch who’s living inside his brain). The thing Vaughn did that makes this stand out is that unlike most authors, rather than give Cormac some side story, she gives his solo adventure a central place in the overall storyline — what happens here will play a big part in what happens in future Kitty novels.

This is honestly not at all what I expected from a Cormac novel. I expected more violence — not necessarily a blood bath, but more guns, more offensive magic — and less discussion of meadows. But he’s grown — moreover, he’s doing what he can to live as a law-abiding ex-con (especially one with Ben looking over his shoulder all the time). So no guns. Brains over brawn, which seems to be stranger for Cormac than it is for readers.

The plot was meager, honestly. The story was mostly just an excuse to see Cormac in his element — get to know him better, get a fuller picture of his past and to watch the way that he and Amelia work together. And as such, the novel succeeded. As a story about Cormac and Amelia investigating a century-old death by magic, it was tolerable.

The strongest part of the book was their relationship, the way they’ve learned to work — and exist — together. There’s genuine affection between the two — a little mistrust (which makes sense, given their unusual situation), but genuine affection. Given how we’re introduced to Cormac, that’s pretty serious growth.

At the end of the day, this was a nice diversion — a good way to get a different look at things, to see the people who aren’t Kitty engaged in her crusade, and to get to know these characters better. I’d probably enjoy another book focused on Cormac and Amelia, but I’m looking forward to getting back to Kitty’s POV.

—–

3.5 Stars

Broadchurch: A Novel by Erin Kelly (based on the story by Chris Chibnall)

By

On December 30, 2014

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

Broadchurch: A NovelBroadchurch: A Novel

by Erin Kelly

Hardcover, 448 pg.
Minotaur Books, 2014
Read: December 25 – 26, 2014It’s difficult for me to get the proper perspective on this one. I’ve watched the series this novel is based on multiple times, I watched all of the FOX adaptation, Gracepoint, I’ve thought and talked about the events surrounding the death of Danny Latimer (or Solano) more than people should. Which makes me either the ideal reader for this, or the worst. I’m not sure. Honestly, when this book came out, I was intrigued, but not that compelled to give it a shot until I read that hints for the second series would be included.

I’ve got a few ideas what those hints might be, but really, there’s not much here that wasn’t on the screen (which is as it should be). Still, it was a good use of time, I thought.

The advantage of Kelly’s novel over the series is in the details, the little things she can point out that the viewer might miss, or that the camera couldn’t show. We see the Ellie’s blowup about Hardy’s ubiquitous lists building up. There’s breathing room for small, quiet moments like those early on between Rev. Coates and Danny’s grandmother. You can tell there’s a relationship between them in the show, but we get to see some of it here, which is nice.

Kelly nails — absolutely nails — the relationships between the characters, in all the nuances, all the humanity these characters were imbued with. The loves, the friendship, the banter, the . . . distrust, the antipathy, the suspicion . .. all of it.

The biggest things the novel has going for it is that we get a get a better sense of the effect this death has on the community. We’re told that it is in the show, but here we’re told, but we also see it in ways beyond Becca’s inn being too vacant.

Kelly does make a few tweaks — notably when things happen, honestly, the timeline makes a bit more sense to me — and is definitely clearer, we get a much better sense how long things go along. One change is that Chloe (the sister) isn’t in school when she takes off and goes to hang out with her boyfriend (it seemed to early for her to be in school, but a good way to demonstrate her trying to get back to normal life). Anyway, the changes she made were small — almost unnoticeable — and entirely forgivable (when they weren’t improvements).

Kelly gives almost no physical descriptions of anything or anyone. I wouldn’t know what Rev. Paul Coates looked like if I didn’t know what Arthur Darvill looked like. You get a tidbit or two about Hardy’s height, Tom Miller and Danny Latimer’s hair (and Joe Miller and Nige Carter’s lack of it), Becca Fisher’s looks. But on the whole, there’s practically no physical description of the characters. Which is fairly annoying — especially for those who read the book while skipping the series, I’d think.

At the end of the day, this is a gripping story about the first murder in a small town’s living memory and what happens to everyone it touches. There’s hope, there’s despair (lots of it), there’s love, there’s . . . eh, I said it before, I’ll just say it again: humanity.

Watch it, read it — do both. This is a heckuva story.

—–

3.5 Stars

Reread Project: Sunset Express by Robert Crais

By

On September 17, 2014

In Authors, Blog Series, Elvis Cole/Joe Pike, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Reread Project, Robert Crais

Sunset Express (Elvis Cole, #6)Sunset Express by Robert Crais
Series: Elvis Cole, #6

Hardcover, 288 pg.
Hyperion, 1996
Read: September 10, 2014


There are two stories being told by Crais in this book — yes, interwoven and interdependent — but two stories. The fun one involves Lucy Chenier coming out to LA for work and to see Elvis. She brings along her son to make it a little family vacation. When Elvis gets the news, he becomes a different person than we’ve seen before — or at least a more intense version of something we saw in Voodoo River, but that’s about it. He’s a lovestruck fool — very clearly — and Crais does a great job of portraying him that way. Yes, the World’s Greatest Detective can, of course, get his mind focused on work when necessary, but off the clock, he’s a grinning victim of Cupid. The two of them together are cute, charming, and can’t help but want to see them together a lot more.

The story focusing on Elvis’ professional life isn’t nearly as fun, heartwarming or cute. But Elvis gets to be snarky and ironic, and do the typical Elvis things (investigate, make jokes people don’t get, and even use his fists and gun a little). Jonathan Green — high-profile attorney in the F. Lee Bailey, Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran, etc. mold — and his team of associates (and a camera crew), hire Elvis to help with the defense in the trial of Teddy Martin. Teddy Martin’s a celebrity restaurateur accused of the brutal murder of his wife — a pretty open and shut case, it seems. But Green’s people are getting tips like crazy and they need additional investigators to comb through them. One of the more promising tips involves allegations of one of the detectives in the case planting evidence in previous cases. Elvis agrees to investigate Det. Angela Rossi and track down other tips, but insists he’ll report the truth, not what will necessarily help the case — Green agrees to this, insisting that’s all he wants. Elvis gets to work and finds some quick results. But it’s not too long before he sees a stark discontinuity between what he finds ot about Rossi and other tips and how that information is being used by the defense.

Sunset Express is hindered by having one of those plots that people who read (or watch) a lot of detective novels will realize is problematic in a way the characters can’t. Everything in Elvis’ case moves along too smoothly. Now, in Lullaby Town and Voodoo River, for example, his investigation goes pretty smoothly, but you can tell that the plot complications are going to come from what happens as a result of his work. Here, you can tell there’s something wrong with the answers he’s finding. Yet, Elvis doesn’t have our perspective, he can’t tell he’s getting yanked around. It’s frustrating, just sitting around waiting for things to dawn on him so he can catch up to us.

As frustrating (please note I didn’t say it wasn’t compelling) as that storyline is, the relationship material with Elvis and Lucy (and, with Ben to a lesser degree) is great. The whole book could’ve been built around that (and arguably was) and I’d have been happy. It’s good to see that the two have kept their long-distance relationship going. She’s clearly good for him (and, I think, him for her) — even if the reader can’t tell that for certain, all you have to do is watch how Joe reacts to her.

It wouldn’t be an Elvis Cole book without some good natured humor at Joe’s expense, for example:

I called Joe Pike to tell him that we were once more employed. His answering machine picked up on the first ring and beeped. He used to have a one-word message that just said, “Speak,” but I guess he felt it was long-winded. Now, there was just the beep. When I asked him how people were supposed to know who they had gotten or what to do, he’d said, “Intelligence test.” That Pike is something, isn’t he?

For a good chunk of this novel, it looks like Joe is going to be relegated to baby-sitting Ben. Now, granted, he seems to enjoy Ben and there are few people your kid is going to be safer with, but what a waste of our friend with the Aviator Glasses-fixation.

Of course, Rossi knows Joe. They used to work together back when Joe was on the force, and as of this point in the series, she is the member of the LAPD that doesn’t hate Joe. For more reasons than that, Joe respects her (although that can’t hurt), so when things start to go off the rails for her, Joe insists that his partner step up and clear her name. Joe’s not much help on the investigation front, but in the gun packing (and more), fast driving, and personal intensity departments? He’s aces.

Other little treats in this box of Cracker Jacks? The return of Ray Depente — I’d completely forgotten he came back in this one, and it was so nice to see him. He’s a lot of fun in his couple of scenes. And, Eddie Ditko is back, unpleasant and omniscient as ever.

As Free Fall featured Elvis’ reaction to/stance/meditation on L.A.’s racial divide and police corruption, this gives us his take on the manipulation of the legal system (and a healthy amount of support for the police — particularly in light of Free Fall). Elvis has understood the difference between the legal system and justice, and has worked outside (if not at odds with) the system before in the pursuit of justice. But this time, he was seeking justice — thought he’d helped various people find it — only to find his work, his self, his name used as a tool to twist the system into preventing justice being carried out. His ultimate solution to this problem is very effective, and would likely be far more effective today than it was 18(!!) years ago. Well done, Mr. Cole.

A strong satisfying read, with two storylines well worth reading, Sunset Express is a solid entry to this series, and the first step away from the Elvis Cole of the first stage of the series and into the next (see previous entry for my discussion of this). Sunset and Indigo Slam are the bridge between these stages, but properly belong to the first. Even ignoring my little theory of the stages/eras in the series, this is a strong and well-deserved follow-up to Voodoo River, our heroes are back in L.A., as are the criminals and Elvis lady friend. It’s enough to get another verse out of Randy Newman.

—–

3.5 Stars

—–

Drawing by Kirsty Stewart, chameleonkirsty on deviantART, used with permission.

Page 39 of 41

Previous

Next

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén