Tag: 4 Stars Page 26 of 83

Dog Eat Dog

by David Rosenfelt
Series: Andy Carpenter, #23

eARC, 304 pg.
Minotaur Books, 2021

Read: June 24, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Dog Eat Dog About?

Coming home from a walk, Andy and Laurie see a man abusing his dog across the street. Before they can intervene someone else jumps in to defend the dog (and it’s probably good for the abuser that it happens before Laurie can get her hands on him). Both the man who protected the dog and the man who attacked it are arrested—but the way the defender reacts, Andy’s sure it’s about more than just the assault.

It turns out that this man, Matthew Jantzen, had used one of those online genetic tracing sites to try to find out if his father had left other kids when he died (Jantzen is pretty sure he did). This allows him to track down a half-sister and to put his DNA in a place where law enforcement can see it and compare that DNA to what was found at the scene of a murder. Jantzen knew it was coming (the police had visited his sister about the time of the murder a few years ago), but had hoped to avoid having to deal with it.

Andy just can’t figure out why someone who was wanted by the police would expose himself the way Jantzen did when he protected the pug. So he has to learn more about Jantzen. Then he finds himself going to the town in Maine where the killing took place to help secure legal counsel on Jantzen’s behalf. One thing leads to another, and Andy ends up in court defending Jantzen.

Little by little, Andy’s team comes to join him in Maine, investigating the things the police were supposed to take care of. They find themselves looking into a mess of drugs, racist militias, and hard-to-explain DNA evidence.

How Did Rosenfelt Make It This Long?

Given the number of Dog-themed and Dog-Pun-Filled titles in this series, how has he not used Dog Eat Dog until book 23? Even if you subtract the holiday-themed titles, it’s still nineteen novels without using it. You have to admire the restraint he’s shown up to now.

Stranger in a Strange Land

Unless I’m forgetting something, this is the second time that Andy’s taken on an out-of-state client (the last time was in 2007’s Dead Center, the fifth book in the series). When he arrives in Maine he learns three things quickly: the people are friends and welcoming, the lobster rolls in Maine are a wonderful thing; just about everyone is convinced Jantzen did it, no matter what the big-shot New York lawyer says (he seems incapable of convincing anyone he’s from New Jersey).

Andy has to employ a local lawyer for the purposes of the trial and hires a criminal defense attorney Charlie Tilton. Tilton has no desire whatsoever to take on Jantzen’s case himself—but is perfectly content to take Andy’s money to help out. He ends up taking on the role of Eddie Dowd, Kevin Randall, or Hike Lynch—he does the paperwork, legal research, and so on while Andy investigates, annoys the judge, and needles the prosecution. Charlie’s pretty normal compared to the rest, maybe a little more mercenary than the others, but that’s about it. It was a refreshing change (but I’m ready to see Eddie Dowd again).

It’s nice seeing Andy in a new setting, unable to rely on his media and police contacts, etc.

So, what did I think about Dog Eat Dog?

This is the second David Rosenfelt book I’ve read in 2021—there’s one more to go (The holiday-themed novel). How he’s able to write three solidly entertaining, frequently humourous, complex mystery novels in a year is mind-boggling. Once again, I thought I knew where Rosenfelt was going with the case and was ready for it—and then Rosenfelt pulled a rabbit out of his hat and I was caught unprepared a couple of times to see where he went.

I loved some of the recurring jokes in this-both those exclusive to this novel and some that are ongoing over the years.

There are series out there that ebb and flow in terms of quality—I don’t think these books have done that—truly impressive at the 23rd book. You know what you’re going to get when you crack open a David Rosenfelt book—and I’m so glad he continues to deliver.

Solid courtroom action, some good out-of-court detection, plenty of fun with characters old and new—particularly with Andy’s narration. These can be read as stand-alones or as part of a series. Either way you go—you’ll be happy you tried this.

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

4 Stars

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

Till Morning is Nigh by Rob Parker: It’s Not Quite the Employee Party in Nakatomi Plaza, But It’s Close

By HCNewton

On June 28, 2021

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

Till Morning is Nigh

by Rob Parker
Series: Ben Braken, #4

Kindle Edition, 267 pg.
Lume Books, 2019

Read: June 21, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

I’ve never been at a large crime scene before, moreover I’ve usually been part of their creation and have high- tailed it before the flashing lights showed up. Consequently, this is interesting. It’s a hub of activity, of urgency, of constant footsteps and the cold crackle of static.

I take a moment, and feel it.

What’s Till Morning is Nigh About?

So Ben’s got a day job (under an assumed name) working with the National Crime Agency. He’s doing some data entry work, some number crunching—and theoretically, he’s around to impart some of his special knowledge when needed.

The NCA is focused on a sudden upsurge in the drug trade in Manchester (which had experienced a good drop in criminal activity after the last time Ben was in town). So they’ve sent in an Undercover Officer. When we start this novel, that officer is dead—in a particularly vicious killing, almost performative. Ben accompanies some of his colleagues to the Crime Scene (his first out-of-the-office work), which leads to some more time out of the office—and eventually, fieldwork.

If you’ve read any of the Ben Bracken works, you have a pretty good idea what follows his being given a Field Work assignment. If you haven’t read any of these—let’s just say there are many bullets, probably some explosions, some hand-to-hand combat, and a decent number of people who end up bloody and beaten (very possibly Ben).

DCI Okpara, Maasai Warrior

There are a lot of new characters introduced in this book—and I”m not just talking suspects/targets for Ben, but allies, colleagues, etc. But DCI Okpara stands out—I’m not going to describe him much, because that’s the kind of thing that ruins the effect of meeting him in the novel. And really, who needs more than “DCI” and “Maasai Warrior” referring to the same character to not want to know more?

There’s just something special about this guy—he’s the second character this year that I’d love to see as the subject of a spin-off series. I know I’d buy at least the first three installments.

Back to His Roots

Circumstances have brought Ben back to Manchester where we first met him. I’m a little troubled about some of the details on that front, I realize as I write this, but that’s neither here nor there.

He’s back because he recognizes one of the main suspects for the killing–someone he met in A Wanted Man, other experiences he had in that novel pave the way for him to be a very effective presence for the NCA for the case. Bringing him back to the beginning at this point works well, both in terms of story and character.

I Didn’t See That Coming

Jack Reacher, Zeb Carter, Orphan X, Peter Ash–and all the other lone gunman/vigilante/hero types you can think of along these lines—have a few things in common beyond their uncanny fighting abilities and high body counts. One of those is lack of a day job—but Ben breaks the mold a little here. As I said, he has a job as a consultant for the National Crime Agency. No running around three steps ahead of the law for Ben, he is the law. Or at least consults for it.

The other relates to thing these characters have in common relates to a personal life—and wow, you’re not going to believe what’s going on for Ben there.

Approaching the Political

Ben gets a little political in response to some of what he’s forced to listen to over the course of this novel, but not much—and it’s not that preachy. But Ben does end up spending time around a group dedicated to getting Britain “back” to a purer state (read: white), which was a little hard to read*. It frequently reminded me of a UK version of Ace Atkins’ Tibbehah County.

* Just to be clear, it’s ard to read because Parker does a good job portraying that kind of bigot, not that he or Ben are bigots.

Of course, this group had a plan to take over the UK government as a means to get that pure UK. Over the last 2 years, I’ve read more books where a militant and powerful group wants to take over the British government and clean up society. This is the first one that seemed plausible—the one that might actually work in the real world. And that’s terrifying.

So, what did I think about Till Morning is Nigh?

There is indeed more than a few things that are extremely horrible about the way that the man has been quite clearly executed, but too many times I have witnessed human life reduced to nothing but tissue and pulp, the romance of the miracle of life lain exposed for what it really is. Each time I have seen someone split asunder, their contents revealed, what comes out of the person is always the same as the last. Blood and organs arranged artfully on bone. No myth, no mysticism. We are made of soft material that splits and spills, nothing more.

This. This novel right here is the payoff to the potential I saw in Ben Bracken back in A Wanted Man—I liked it, and the novels that followed, but I didn’t think they were everything the character could be. This is exactly the kind of thing I thought Ben could be, and probably a little more. Sure, Parker’s more than capable of writing a better thriller, and there’s room for Ben to grown and/or develop—I’m not saying this is the definitive Rob Parker/Ben Bracken. I’m just saying that this surpasses everything that’s come before.

I’m curious about what happens to those behind the death of the UC officer in general—but don’t foresee Parker spending time on that in the future. I’m very curious about the fallout from this on Manchester and the NCA team Ben’s associated with—assuming Parker decides to let us see that. But mostly, I can’t wait to see what comes next for Ben, in terms of story and quality. Thankfully, the next book of the series is out and I can jump into that in a day or so.*

* Also, I have to—I have a Book Tour spot for the next book on July 1. But I probably would’ve jumped in this week anyway.

Can you jump on at this point? Yeah, you could. I do think it’s worth it to get a running start with the earlier books in the series, but it’s not a deal-breaker either way. The main takeaway from this post should be that if you want to see a Thriller writer doing just about everything right and seeming to have a lot of fun with it while he’s at it—grab Till Morning is Nigh.

4 Stars

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

Death in Adam, Life in Christ: The Doctrine of Imputation by J. V. Fesko: Careful Words on an Important Topic

By HCNewton

On June 27, 2021

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Death in Adam, Life in Christ:
The Doctrine of Imputation

by J. V. Fesko
Series: Reformed Exegetical and Doctrinal Studies

Paperback, 280 pg.
Mentor, 2016

Read: May 23-June 21, 2021

What’s Death in Adam, Life in Christ About?

The Back of the Book:

The doctrine of imputation is the ground in which salvation is rooted. It centers around the three great ‘assignments’ of the Bible:

Adam’s original sin assigned to mankind

The sins of God’s people assigned to Chrsit

And Christ’s righteousness assigned to all of His people.
This doctrine is often seen as superfluous or splitting hairs, and yet, without it, redemption automatically becomes reliant on our own works and assurance of salvation is suddenly not so sure.J. V. Fesko eloquently and systematically works through this doctrine, looking at its long history in the church, its exegetical foundation, and its dogmatic formulation. In exploring imputed guilt from the First Adam alongside the imputed righteousness from the Second, this volume offers a helpfully well-rounded explanation of the doctrine.

Fesko starts out by sketching the doctrine and how he’s going to approach the argument. He then discusses the history of the doctrine, how the Church has discussed this from the Early Church through to the present—this takes about half the book. Then we get two carefully structured chapters looking at Imputation in the Old and New Testaments. He wraps things up with a long chapter that brings all the data together to lay out a doctrine of Imputation that reflects the exegesis and honors the best of the history.

So, what did I think about Death in Adam, Life in Christ?

I’d been wanting to try the R.E.D.S. series for a while, but hadn’t taken the leap. When Jonathan Landry Cruse cited this in The Christian’s True Identity, I figured this was the way in. This volume speaks well for the series.

If J. V. Fesko convinces you to embrace his position on something it won’t be through soaring rhetoric, emotional ploys, or charm and wit—it’ll be because he’s right. I’m not saying that Fesko drains all the life and verve out of important and interesting topics; but if you said it, I wouldn’t argue. It’s dry, it’s careful, it’s painstaking. It’s also very good.

These are important ideas, difficult topics, and they should be talked about as if they are. This is what Fesko does.

The historical overview was helpful and informative. The exegetical chapters were great. The doctrinal chapter and conclusion? Gold. It’ll take work and perseverance, but if you want to understand this vital doctrine, I can’t think of a better way.

4 Stars

A Good Kill by John McMahon: Crimes New and Old Rock a Small City

By HCNewton

On June 17, 2021

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

A Good Kill

by John McMahon
Series: Detective P.T. Marsh, #3

eARC, 384 pg.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2021

Read: June 11-14, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s A Good Kill About?

We open P.T. Marsh and his partner, Remy, on the grounds of a high school where an active shooter has taken some hostages. The two of them are able to bring things to a swift resolution, gaining them praise as heroes. The question stops being “who could do this” and changes into a “why did someone do this.”

Due to the staff size for this small city and that there are other crimes that need investigating, P.T. and Remy have to look into a double homicide while the other partners continue to follow up on the shooter. It’s this crime that provides most of what P.T. and Renee to go down a rabbit hole of corruption—one that might tie into the killing of his wife and son a few years back. Even if it doesn’t—it certainly ties into several deaths, drug use/sales, and other crimes.

A Word About the School Shooting

As we talked about in the Q&A yesterday, mass shootings in general—but specifically school shootings—are about as controversial as anything in American culture today. As they should be, I think I can say without getting into it. And some readers might be put off of the book because of that, this would be a mistake. First, because as McMahon said, “the subject is not entered into divisively or politically.”

Secondly, while the book starts with the school shooting—it’s not what the book is about. It’s the instigating event. It casts a shadow over everything that happens in the days following it for P.T. and the rest of Mason Falls. You can’t get away from it for long (but there are a few pages every now and then that might draw your attention away from it).

It reminded me of the Ian Rankin novel A Question of Blood, where Rebus is called to come help a friend look into a school shooting, and it turns out to be about a lot more than that. The two books approach the subject differently and go in different directions with it. But that doesn’t stop the reader from thinking about them at the same time.

Wait—You Can Do This In a Procedural?

P.T. and his partner Remy get along—they spend time with each other outside of work. Yes, they disagree on some things, but there’s a mutual affection and respect. In fact, that carries through the department—detectives and uniformed officers, every detective, even the Chief and everyone else—they look out for each other, support and help each other.* There’s no petty jealousies coloring things, no rivalry, no behind-the-scenes machinations. I cannot think of another police procedural like that, what a refreshing change.

* Okay, the Force Investigation Unit detective has something against P.T.

Now, there are politicians at various levels and federal agents from a couple of agencies—so I’m not suggesting it’s all rainbows and unicorns. In fact, things get pretty nasty on these other points. So it’s not like P.T. has nothing to worry about or put up with.

Jumping On At This Point

This is a tricky one to jump into the series with—McMahon says that he treated the three books as a series, and so jumping on with the third book brings some challenges. And no matter how well he blends in the details about what happened in the first two books, readers like me are going to miss something. But McMahon does a great job in giving you enough information from the first two books that you can jump in and get almost all the weight of the first two books on P.T. and the rest. I knew I missed out on some of the nuances, but I had no problem following things or caring about the way he wraps up this trilogy within a series.

I’m not convinced I could go back and read the first two at this point, I should add. But you never know…

Purvis!

Purvis is an eight-year-old bulldog, who had been P.T.’s son’s pet but is now P.T.’s. Not only is he good for comic relief. P.T. bounces a lot of ideas off of Purvis, who is just the listener P.T. needs. It was a really good depiction of a man and his pet, and you all know I’m a sucker for that kind of thing, and Purvis is off to a commanding lead in my “Favorite Pets of 2021” race.

There’s another dog, who seems like an adorable handful, in this book, and in P.T.’s life now. He seems like he could be a fun cast member—but the star of the K-9 action is Purvis. Still, I hope I get to see both of them again soon.

So, what did I think about A Good Kill?

There’s very little about this book that didn’t work for me—great characters; solid, twisty story; some strong action scenes; and believable criminals around at every stage. There’s more than your daily minimum requirement of fictional emotions—P.T. and Remy are put through the wringer, and you feel it at every step of the way. Which just makes the ending of the book so much more meaningful, even to people who hadn’t read the two previous books. You name it, McMahon provides it in one way or another.

All of this just makes this Crime Fiction reader all sorts of happy.

Grab this one, or the first in the trilogy, The Good Detective. You won’t regret it.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from PENGUIN GROUP Putnam via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this, and to Wiley Saichek and Saichek Publicity for bringing it to my attention.

4 Stars

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

Meat is Murder by Chris McDonald: Adam and Colin Look into an Activist’s Death

By HCNewton

On June 15, 2021

In Book Tour, Chris McDonald, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, The Stonebridge Mysteries

Meat is Murder Tour Banner

Meat is Murder

by Chris McDonald
Series: The Stonebridge Mysteries, #3

eBook, 142 pg.
Red Dog Press, 2021

Read: June 10, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Meat is Murder About?

Really, as with most of the investigation, he didn’t know what he was doing here. He was hoping that something would appear at his feet, or become luminous like in a video game, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen, so he got busy.

The amateurest of amateur detectives are back for another investigation. This time, it appears that a man died in setting fire to an abattoir in an act of protest. Hours earlier, he’d been part of a group that had chained itself to the front gates, interfering with a tour that a prospective buyer had intended to make. After that had been broken up by the police, the story goes, Tyler Love had come back to make a bigger and hotter statement and things had gotten away from him.

The police are done with the matter and have moved on. Tyler’s mom, on the other hand, wants some reassurance. So she convinces Adam to look into his death for her.

Speaking Ill…

‘Like I say, I don’t want to speak ill of the dead. All I’ll say is that he wasn’t well liked.’

‘By who?’

‘By most of the group…’

Tyler was not a good guy. In fact, outside of his mother, it’s difficult to find anyone who has a good thing to say about him. I’m enjoying the way that McDonald finds victims that the reader can have almost no sympathy for. None of these are hardened criminals, they aren’t the dregs of society, but they’re just…jerks. People that no reader is going to want to spend time with, generally fresh off of doing something no reader wants to associate themselves with.

So why do we care who killed them? Why do we care why they died? Because of these two yutzes who until recently were only good for playing FIFA and binging Netflix. They’re who make this series work, who make these stories interesting—the stories are good enough, but it’s McDonald’s work with these characters that brings readers back.

Incremental Growth

The feeling of pride he’d had at solving those cases had spurred him on to do something with his life. That something had turned out to be a garden maintenance business. It had started small; just him, his car, a lawnmower and a rickety trailer he’d managed to salvage from the dump.

Now, here he was, unloading tools from a van with his name and company logo on the side.

That point about “until recently” is the key—yeah, they still binge Sherlock, etc. They probably spend too much time playing FIFA even in this novella. But they’re stumbling into maturity.

Adam’s business is growing, and his relationship with his mother is much better than it was in the first novella. Colin’s still doing well at his job—and is even able to use his position to their advantage in this investigation—he’s again the one putting his health and well-being on the line while Adam’s off trying to learn something through questioning.

So, what did I think about Meat is Murder?

‘I don’t think I could handle any more excitement,’ Adam said.

‘I don’t think Stonebridge has any more to throw at us.’

‘You say that, but…

I continue to really enjoy this series—it’s a highlight of 2021 for me. And Meat is Murder is a great example of it.

Despite what Colin predicts—Stonebridge has more to throw at them. This is the most dangerous case these two have yet taken on, but that doesn’t stop it from being a little silly, a little fun, and very enjoyable.

It’s a quick, clever, and fun read that’ll keep you turning pages and make you regret that it’s over quite so soon. You should grab this one—and the other two if you haven’t yet—and join me in eagerly awaiting the next.

4 Stars

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

My thanks to Red Dog Press for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including a copy of the novella) provided.

Million Dollar Demon by Kim Harrison: Cincy’s New Boss Vampire has Rachel on the Ropes

By HCNewton

On June 14, 2021

In Fiction, Kim Harrison, The Hollows (Rachel Morgan), Urban Fantasy

Million Dollar Demon

by Kim Harrison
Series: The Hollows, #15

eARC, 464 pg.
Ace, 2021

Read: June 3-7, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Million Dollar Demon About?

It hasn’t been all that long for Rachel Morgan, but for her readers, it’s been ten books (and 14 years) since Cincinnati’s Master Vampire was killed. When this book opens, Constance, the new Master Vampire is days away from arriving to take over.

But she’s already exerting her influence to make things difficult for non-Vampire Interlanders in the city. From bogus evictions, trumped-up charges, intimidation, and just about everything else you can think of. There’s a certain common denominator among many of these targets—they’re tied in some way to Rachel. In more than a few cases, Rachel herself is clearly the target.

The message delivered is very clear—it’s time for Rachel to get out of town. Otherwise, Constance is going to make Rachel’s life miserable—and she’ll also target Rachel’s friends and families, their friends and families, and anyone that looks like might be sympathetic.

One of Rachel’s demon friends mentions an idea—it hasn’t been used recently but there is an old demon office called the subrosa—essentially the demon equivalent of the Master Vampire (there are nuances that I need to let you read for yourselves). Rachel initially blows off the suggestion to take up that mantle and from that position she can take on Constance, save some innocents and perhaps the city. But she keeps circling back to that idea, and her allies keep trying to talk her into it.

As a quick aside—Jane Yellowrock has a tendency to do things like this, too (I just finished revisiting Raven Cursed and the two reminded me of each other). It might not be a bad idea when someone mentions you taking up a title/position that you’ve never heard of to ask a few questions before you think about assuming the title.

Add in the ongoing drama with Trent and the Elves, the Elves fluctuating power structure, the changing relations between Elves and Demons, the Demons internal problems, Rachel’s problems with the Demons (and Al in particular), and…well, all the stuff that we all thought were pretty well settled until last year’s American Demon showed us we were wrong. Basically, there’s a lot going on.

Constance

The idea that the ruling Vampires named Constance as the City’s Master is pretty troubling. She is, to put it simply, bat guano crazy. I don’t remember a lot about her predecessor, Piscary, but I remember he was nasty and cruel. But Constance is a monster. She’s the kind of character that UF heroes are supposed to be focused on taking down, I wish Rachel had been quicker to step up (although I do understand her reasoning). I’ve been reading Urban Fantasy for about sixteen years, and I’ve seen a lot of nasty vampires (and other creatures), and Constance has got to be in the running for the worst.

But I’ve got to tell you, by the end of this book, I was convinced that her #2, Pike, is likely the vampire that’s the real threat. I’m wondering what you think.

So, what did I think about Million Dollar Demon?

I liked it. I had a lot of fun in these pages. And for a series as long-in-the-tooth as this one is, that’s saying something.

I didn’t get as thorough in this post as usually do and/or intended to. I had a few more notes that I wanted to cover, and I actually deleted 5 paragraphs from this because it just ended up being too vague to be of use—or all that interesting. Almost everything that I really wanted to chew on falls under what I’d call a spoiler.

Because there is a lot going on here—after shaking up the status quo in American Demon Harrison establishes—or at least starts to—a new status quo. She’s ignored Vampires for quite a while, and that’s over (and we shouldn’t expect that werewolves won’t stay out of the spotlight, either). I’m not convinced she’s pushing Elves or Demons to the back burner any time soon, but they’re going to have company on the front. How she’s going to keep all these balls in the air at the same time? I have no idea, but it’s going to be fun to watch.

Million Dollar Demon was exciting, there was plenty of drama, a lot of good action, and some important character growth—and as I said, it was fun. At the end of the day, that’s all I ask for.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

4 Stars

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

Creature Feature (Audiobook) by Steven Paul Leiva, Seamus Dever, and Juliana Dever ★ ★ ★ ★ A 1950s Monster Movie Comes to Life in a 1960s Midwest Town

By HCNewton

On June 10, 2021

In Audiobook, Fiction

Creature Feature

by Steven Paul Leiva, Narrated by Seamus Dever and Juliana Dever

Unabridged Audiobook, 4 hrs. 23 min.
2021

Read: June 8, 2021

What’s Creature Feature About?

It’s the early 1960s and Kathy Anderson has put her aspirations of Broadway stardom on hold in favor of a steady paycheck for a few years. She’s spent those years as Vivacia, the Vampire Woman—Chicago’s version of Vampira/Elvira, Mistress of the Dark—hosting monster movies on a local television station. But she’s had enough of that, it’s time to get back to being a serious actress. She quits and plans to head to New York and get back to the career she dreamed of.

But first, she heads home to Placidville. She plans on spending some time with her parents and the people she grew up around. When she arrives, her parents are acting a bit strange—actually, everyone (literally everyone) in town is acting strange. And everyone from her parents, to her parents’ friends, to random people she meets on the street, to the town’s hunky new mayor are major Vivacia fans. It’s almost too much for Kathy—but what puts her over the edge is her best friend’s dorky brother who keeps showing up to insist that something is wrong, and only he can help her see it.

The next thing that Kathy knows, she’s in the middle of something reminiscent of one of the movies from Vivacia’s House of Horrors, struggling to survive and hopefully saving the world as we know it.

Judging by the official description, that’s really all that I feel free to say—I had a few other notes along those lines, but…I don’t want to give anything else away. That’s enough of the setup, though, to pique your interest, I think. The tone is a tricky one—the threat is real, Kathy is in serious trouble—but the whole thing is told in a comedic tone. You’re supposed to find it silly while you’re hoping that Kathy susses out what’s going on, you chuckle when she’s running for her life.

The Audiobook Experience

As this post is part of the Audiobook tour, I should focus on that for a little bit. Which is great—because this is a great match of material and medium. I’d have no problem believing that this was written as an audiobook exclusively, it’s perfectly fitting.

A lot of that is due to Seamus Dever’s narration. He hits the tone just right—he’s close to going over-the-top without ever slipping into parody. It’s clearly funny material, but he plays it straight. Still, he sounds like he’s having fun—and it’s hard not to join in. And Juliana Dever nails the character of Kathy (and her alter ego).

At the same time, the approach to this audiobook still feels odd. Seamus handles almost all the voice duties—narration and every character’s dialogue that isn’t Kathy/Vivacia. Juliana handles only Kathy/Vivacia’s dialogue (and announces the chapters). I haven’t come across this way of dividing the duties before and it struck me as odd. But—after the first couple of minutes I got used to it, and it works.

I’m not sure that the special effects added much to the experience—maybe even detracted from it. In particular, the reverb/echo effect added to Juliana’s voice when she was reading Kathy’s thoughts, just got on my nerves. It’s only done a few times and doesn’t hurt things much, but it was distracting.

So, what did I think about Creature Feature?

I think maybe the easiest way to think about this is as a short novel written by Ed Wood. But where Wood would be earnest and sincere in telling this story, Leiva is going for laughs. It’s a Classic B-Movie Monster story but told in a way where the goofiness is intentional and designed for laughs, not as a scare that misses its mark.

The characters are probably a bit more fleshed out than the genre requires, the setting is great, the execution is really well done—both with the text, but especially in audio production. I think if I’d read the print version, I’d be handing out 3 Stars for this, but the Devers took this to another level.

In the end, either version is going to keep you entertained for a few hours and make you curious about other things that Leiva has written. Give this one a shot folks, I think you’ll be glad you did.

4 Stars

My thanks to Let’s Talk Promotions and Psst…Promotions for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including a copy of the audiobook) they provided.

Runaway Train by Lee Matthew Goldberg: It’s Just Easier than Dealing with the Pain

By HCNewton

On June 4, 2021

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, YA/MG/Children's Books

Runaway Train

by Lee Matthew Goldberg
Series: Runaway Train, #1

eARC, 296 pg.
Wise Wolf Books, 2021

Read: May 31-June 1, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Runaway Train About?

Following the shocking death of her sister at 17 (from a brain aneurysm), sixteen-year-old Nico is spiraling out of control. Never the best student, and far more interested in being everything her high-achieving, popular sister wasn’t, Nico’s focus is on getting high, listening to as much grunge as she can, and fantasizing about meeting Kurt Cobain (who would fall for her, leave Courtney, and the rest would be history).

When things at home—which haven’t been good for a long time—take a turn for the worse, Nico is at the end of her rope and doesn’t know what to do. Her best friends talk her into leaving home and hitting the road, to go cross things off her bucket list before her own aneurysm cuts her life tragically short. Although they’d decided to run away together, Winter and Jeremy leave her in the lurch—Winter tells her that she needs this trip to hit rock bottom so she can pick up the pieces left by Kristen’s death (although I think this is largely a lie, and Winter just doesn’t have the courage to go through with it, but this sure sounds good).

So she packs up her teal blue Hyundai Excel with some essentials, a lot of batteries, her Walkman, and her father’s gas card and takes a trip up the California coast on the way up to Seattle, to see what the grunge scene is “really like,” cross some things off that bucket list, and hopefully get the chance to tell Cobain what his songs have meant to her.

Here’s where I get some egg on my face—I know Goldberg’s primarily a thriller writer, and assumed* that this would be one, too. That shortly after Nico left L.A. something would happen and this would become a thriller, with Nico doing all she could to stay alive and/or evade the police while on the run from something/someone/multiple someones. But no, that’s it. It’s the story of a girl living in her Hyundai trying to put the pieces of herself together.

* and you know what happens when you assume…

90s Referencepalooza

The first sentence of the book includes the date October 31, 1993. But then, as if Goldberg isn’t sure that his readers will understand that he means it, he hits you over and over and over with references to the early 1990s. There are over a dozen references in the first 3% of the book. And there are multiple stretches of the book that are like it. They eventually taper off, but it takes a while before Goldberg seems to think that he’s established the setting.

Now I enjoyed almost every one of the references and thought they really grounded things. But it also felt like overkill. Like he didn’t trust his audience to remember that these events took place in 1993 and 1994. Although it’s just as likely, maybe more likely, that Goldberg was having so much fun with them that he didn’t want to cut any of the references. And I get that, I really do. But I think it might have carried more punch if he’d been a little less effusive with them.

Embracing the Ambiguity, Pt. 2

A couple of months back, I wrote about a book that included elements that could be supernatural or they could be an expression of the protagonist’s PTSD. I mentioned at the time how that writer leaving it up to the reader to decide was a great idea, how it’s more effective that we don’t really know which it is.

And here I’m repeating myself—there’s something that happens to Nico several times in the book that could be a product of her subconscious or could be a supernatural event. I initially ascribed it to a psychological phenomenon—trauma, or grief, or something. I think it’s written so that you think it’s a physiological thing. But at some point, I joked to myself, “Unless, of course, it is a ghost.” And then I couldn’t talk myself out of the joke—it really, really could be a ghost. Or it could be a manifestation of Nico’s subconscious. I could defend either position from the text, I think. And I really liked that.

So, what did I think about Runaway Train?

I really got swept up in this story and with Nico’s journey. How does your heart not go out to a girl in that much pain? A dead sister, parents who aren’t dealing well with her, friends (more important to you than family at this stage of life) basically shoving her out the door on her own. and a strong sense of your own impending death? She doesn’t just hit rock bottom, she ultimately throws herself at it. But also, there’s an element of envy for the reader—you wanted to have the guts/folly to do something like Nico does at that age, and even now (however much older you are than her), you’d like to have the ability to do that.

Put those two elements together? How do you not have a warm spot in your heart for this book?

Yes, it’s clearly fiction. Yes, it’s heightened and only semi-plausible—both the high points and the low. But…it feels real. I can absolutely believe that I could sit down with Nico or Evan (since he’s from this area) today over a cup of coffee and hear them tell me about this time in their life.

I was more than a little surprised to see that there’s going to be a sequel to this. Typically, coming-of-age novels are one-and-done. But I’m on board—I want to see what the next chapter is for Nico. I can’t imagine all her problems were worked through in this book, and as much progress as she made (and looks to continue making), there’s no way that the work is done and I’m looking forward to seeing her continue it.

I absolutely recommend this to you—like its central character and her musical idol, Runaway Train is occasionally a mess, but there’s a heart to it. There’s an ineffable quality that’s going to make you want to pay attention to it and see how it can shine.

Disclaimer: I received this novel from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

4 Stars

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

The Art of Violence by S. J. Rozan: Bill Smith is Hired to Prove His Client IS a Murderer

By HCNewton

On April 26, 2021

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

The Art of Violence

by S. J. Rozan
Series: Lydia Chin & Bill Smith, #13

Hardcover, 275 pg.
Pegasus Crime, 2020

Read: April 7-8, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

… he said, “Aren’t you going to tell me I’m not the serial killer type?”

“I don’t know that.”

“I guess in some weird way that’s a compliment.”

“It’s not. Why did you come here, Sam? Anyone else, I might think he was trying to impress me, but not you.”

“I’m not the type?” A sly smile.

“I hope you didn’t come for help leaving town, laying low, something like that. If you killed those women, you know I’m going to have to turn you in.”

“Good luck.”

“I have the guns,” I reminded him.

“You won’t need them but they won’t help. I already tried it.”

“Tried what?”

“Turning myself in. The detective told me to get lost. She said I wasn’t the type.

What’s The Art of Violence About?

Five years ago, Sam Tabor was sentenced to prison following a homicide. Bill Smith worked for Sam’s lawyer during the case, and was convinced Sam should’ve been put in a treatment center instead of prison—but Sam refused.

Now that he’s been “discovered” as an important artist, several agents and arts worked to get him released from prison. That happened a few weeks ago, and now two women have been killed. Sam’s convinced that he’s the killer, although he doesn’t remember killing these women—or even encountering them. He hires BIll to prove that he did commit the murders, so he can be sent back to prison for life where he can’t hurt anyone. Bill’s skeptical (as is the investigating detective) about Sam’s guilt, but takes the case so he can make sure Sam’s treated right and that his fears are investigated correctly.

So instead of looking for evidence to exonerate Sam, Bill’s looking for things to implicate him (technically, Bill’s still looking for ways to exonerate him, too). This is a very strange reason to hire a PI, and I loved this premise.

PI/Client Relations

Most people in Sam’s life treat him as two things—a murderer with psychological issues and an artistic genius (with shades of a cash cow). His brother and sister-in-law see him as a burden/obligation as well as a murderer with psychological issues. The police are looking for an excuse to lock him up again, hopefully for forever this time.

Bill Smith (and later, Lydia), on the other hand, treats him as a person. He doesn’t dance around Sam’s past, but Bill has always figured he’d paid a dearer price for that than warranted. He doesn’t want Sam to be railroaded by a vengeful detective or his own guilt. He certainly has no ideas about taking advantage of Sam’s wealth, status, or fame. He simply wants to find out what happened to these women.

In this light, Bill reminded me of Elvis Cole with Peter Alan Nelsen and Spenser with the various sports stars he’s worked for or Jill Joyce. They’re clients first and foremost, people who deserve to be treated right—and being celebrities is so far down the list of things they care about, that it almost doesn’t matter. Bill stands in good company there, and something about that way of dealing with a VIP has always appealed to me.

The Role of Art

Lydia and Bill find themselves involved in a crime involving the art world yet again, I can’t think of another detective that spends as much time in this world as these two. Typically, novels focusing on artists, galleries, and so on don’t do much for me. But the way this pair brushes up against this world, not only do I not mind, I find it appealing. I can see why Rozan or other authors find this world appealing.

One of Sam’s few friends in this particular case is a photographer. As hard as it is to give the flavor or an impression of a painting in prose, it seems more difficult to capture a photograph (aside from saying “it was a photo of X”), and Rozan doesn’t spend a lot of time describing individual photographs but she does a great job on the subject and tone of them, instead. I’m pretty glad that there were no pictures included I’m not sure I could’ve taken it (the novel’s title gives a hint about the direction of the photos). A picture may be worth a thousand words, but Rozan doesn’t need that many to get the reader to have the reaction she needs.

By now, it was half past eight. Traffic choked the streets, and pedestrians wove complex patterns on the sidewalks. All traces of last night’s mist had burned away under the April sun. The slanting whiteness of the light, the thin freshness of the day, dazzled me.

Lydia’s suggested any number of times that I consider changing my ways, getting up earlier, taking this in more often. She thinks it’s laziness and old habs that keep me from it. But she’s wrong. This unsullied light, this bright vision, they’re beautiful, but they’re false. They paint over the truth. They promise something they can’t deliver. It’s not until the day gets older, wearier, that it stops making the effort to lie.

The Subtle Slow Burn

Rozan says so little about the non-P. I. relationship between Bill and Lydia, and yet says so much. It’s been clear how Bill has felt about Lydia since the first book in the series, but it’s been a little harder to read Lydia. And Rozan hasn’t been as forthcoming as other mystery novelists when it comes to that sort of thing—and by other, I mean “every other one I can think of.” The Lydia/Bill romance arc is definitely a “less is more” kind of thing. Which is pretty much how Lydia would prefer it, I think.

I’d really prefer that she was less circumspect about it, but I really appreciate her approach to it. Which seems like a contradiction, but it’s not. If I were calling the shots, we’d get a lot more detail about what’s going on between them—and how long that’s been the case. That said, the way that Rozan plays with the audience’s desires/expectations, and instead just gives the reader hints, winks, and nudges work so well. Not just because it is so clearly what Lydia would like and leaves it all to the reader to piece things together. Yet, there have been developments in the relationship and we learn a lot about it (at least by Ronzan’s standards) in this book.

Yet again, the angel on my right shoulder told me to call Grimaldi, and the guy on the other side said I’d get more accomplished on my own. The right-side guy wanted to know if this was about getting things accomplished, or if it was personal. The left-side guy told him to guess.

So, what did I think about The Art of Violence?

The fact that this is the thirteenth book in the series that I’ve read, you probably have a pretty good idea of what I was thinking going in—I fully expected to like this one and I did.

First off, it’s from Bill’s perspective this time, and those usually feel a little different, and we get different details reported than we would have were the shoe on the other foot. I always enjoy the bouncing back and forth between the two narrators. Particularly if the police are involved, Bill has a strange relationship with the police, and it’s always good to see.

There’s a good puzzle to chew on here*, while watching Bill make a nuisance of himself with the people in Sam’s life who are convinced they’re far too good to deal with a P.I. Lydia’s around to smooth things over a bit, but not enough. It’s a dynamic I don’t imagine I’ll get tired of seeing. The (too few) scenes where it’s just Bill and Lydia talking to each other, are again, the highlight of the novel—I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again I don’t care what these two are talking about I’ll gladly read it. The Art of Violence would make a good jumping-on point to this series (almost all of them would be, come to think of it).

* Okay, I pegged the guilty party pretty early on, but not all the whys and hows involved. This is about the journey Bill and Lydia take to get the answers, more than it is the puzzle. Either way, the book scored pretty high on those).

These are characters you like to see in action, with a client who’s more interesting than most of those in a P.I. novel. you get a couple of good surprises out of Lydia’s mom, too. There’s really a lot to commend this book, as is to be expected from this series. You should give it a try.

4 Stars

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

Blood Trail (Audiobook) by C. J. Box, David Chandler: Who Hunts the Hunters?

By HCNewton

On April 22, 2021

In Audiobook, C. J. Box, Fiction, Joe Pickett, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Blood Trail

by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator)
Series: Joe Pickett, #8

Unabridged Audiobook, 9 hrs, 5 mins.
Recorded Books, 2008

Read: February 10-12, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Blood Trail About?

Since Governor Rulon re-hired Joe Pickett and made him sort of a Game Warden-at-Large, his life has improved—he and Marybeth have their own home, no longer living in State housing, or at his father-in-law’s. Nor is he really as subject to the whims of Randy Pope, his director. But there’s a price to be paid for this: he’s pretty much at Rulon’s beck and call.

This time, thankfully, he’s called to his former territory—a hunter has been found dead. It’s the beginning of Elk Season, so it’s not that surprising. But…this isn’t your typical dead hunter. This man has been shot and field dressed like an elk. Joe’s garnered a reputation for stumbling into a solution for things like this, and Rulon needs that quickly—people are getting antsy about the killings and pressure is mounting to cancel Elk Season (which would have horrible consequences on Wyoming’s economy). Joe’s been named to a task force with the FBI, and the local sheriff. Not only are they out to preserve hunting season, but they also need to head off a mounting anti-hunting protest movement that is taking advantage of this situation.

Randy Pope decides that this is important enough that he comes to supervise Joe personally—and takes an oddly active and proactive role in fieldwork (which no one has ever accused him of being fit for). I don’t know about anyone else who reads this series, but there isn’t a time that Randy Pope has been around when I haven’t wanted Joe to punch him in the nose (or Marybeth, or Sheridan even), and that’s taken to the nth degree for most of this book.

So not only does Joe have to find a killer (not really his job, ubt he seems good at it) for political and social reasons, he has to put up with antagonism from local law enforcement who resent his role, get micromanaged by an officious twerp who is even less suited for this than he is, and he ends up having to deal with two individuals from his past that he’d rather expected never to have to deal with again over the course of the investigation. I’m not going to identify these people, but neither Joe or Marybeth are prepared to have them in their lives again, frankly, I wasn’t ready either.

We Should Talk About Nate

I get into a spoiler in a vague way here. Feel free to skip to the next header.

For various and sundry spoilery reasons, Joe decides that he needs Nate Romanowski’s tracking help. Now, Nate’s been in FBI custody for a few months, ever since the FBI double-crossed Joe at the end of Free Fire. Given the urgent nature of things, Rulon is able to finagle a release into Joe’s custody.

And then Nate ditches Joe for days. Joe, the good friend, covers for him (he’s also covering for himself and his own ability to maintain custody). Sure, he ultimately comes back and pitches in. But it’s pretty clear he didn’t need that much time to do his thing—I get that Nate has his own way of working and that Nate isn’t that terribly concerned with people who aren’t him (what does he care if someone’s killing hunters?)—but he should care about his friend and the deal that got him out of custody, right?

I lost a lot of sympathy for Nate here. And a good deal for Joe, too, later in the book when it comes to Nate.

A Low-Stakes Antagonist

Now that Joe lives in town, in a normal house with a yard and no need to consult a government budget officer for upkeep on his home, it falls to Joe to take care of things. He has a neighbor now (I forget his name, one of the hazards of audiobooks is that I can’t look it up easily). This man is retired and is far too concerned with his own yard and upkeep, and carries that over to Joe’s.

We don’t spend a lot of time with him, but it’s easy to see that he’s a burr in Joe’s side—a constant problem, a constant annoyance. Sure, Joe’s off working for the governor and trying to stop a killer, but surely he could take the time to mow his lawn, like a decent citizen.

This book needed a little lightness, and this crank delivers it.

A Word About the Narration

At this point, I really don’t know what to say about David Chandler, he’s great at this.

However, ,I have one thing to say. For most of the book, I assumed the killer was one of two people. And despite the fact that we get the killer’s POV frequently, it was still pretty unclear which one of the two it was (assuming I was right). Until about halfway through in one scene, Chandler makes 1 choice when he reads one line. And we “hear” the character in a voice Chandler would use for that character, not just the generic Killer’s POV voice he’d been using throughout. And then I knew exactly who it was.

I understand why he made that choice. But, man. It ruined things a little bit for me.

So, what did I think about Blood Trail?

This was, hands down, my favorite entry in the series. The tension, the huge character events, the motive for the crime, and the way it ended…I can’t explain all my reasoning without ruining the novel.

But man…this is the standard I’ll be judging books in this series by. Is it going to be that impactful for new readers? No, but it would work as a jumping-on point if you’re not in the mood to read the seven previous books.

Blood Trail is a great entry in this solid series, with entries like this, it’s easy to see why it’s lasted for twenty-one (so far) books. Check it out.

4 Stars

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