Tag: 4 Stars Page 65 of 88

The Innocents by Ace Atkins

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On August 3, 2016

In Ace Atkins, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Quinn Colson

The InnocentsThe Innocents

by Ace Atkins
Series: Quinn Colson, #6

Hardcover, 367 pg.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2016

Read: July 25 – 26, 2016

“I never met this girl or knew her family,” [Ophelia] said. “But, holy shit, this is a horror among horrors. I try to not focus on Old Testament stuff. But . . . I hope there’s some revenge out there somewhere. I don’t know if there’s another way to make it right.”

“You can’t make shit like this right,” Quinn said.

But before we get to the horror, we get one of the funniest openings that Tibbehah County has given us — a meth-head steals a shotgun and a four-wheeler, and is apprehended by the acting Sheriff, Lillie Virgil(!!), in a very effective, but not that orthodox a manner. And then, of course, after Atkins gets you chuckling he introduces you to the murder victim. It’s not unheard of in a crime novel, but we spent a decent amount of time getting to know her before she died in one the worst ways I remember reading. Reading as many Detective/Crime/etc novels as I do, I’ve read some evil ways to kill some one, and some really sick things — see Val McDermid, Thomas Harris, Stieg Larsson –but this ranks up there with the worst. And it felt real, like something that could happen down the road, not the victim of diseased mind like the psychos those listed above write about. In fact, Ophelia Bundren, the coroner (who, incidentally has some of the best lines in the book — and not just what was quoted above) spoke for just about everyone in the county there (including some of the least-upstanding members of the community who will echo her). It’s a good thing that Tibbehah County has their most capable law enforcement officer in forever at the helm (and she hires a certain former Sheriff as temporary help).

It took no time at all to know how did it (or at least who was largely responsible) — actually, pretty sure I’d identified the perpetrator and the motive before the killing — but that didn’t stop this from being one of Atkins’ most compelling crime stories.

Along with all that, there are plenty of other goings on . . .

Lillie Virgil is acting as Sheriff, and isn’t dealing well with the politics. She deals well with the policing, but that’s it — between being a woman, having almost no people skills and not backing down when people want her to, things aren’t going too well for her. Which is a shame, still, it’s nice to see her in the spotlight.

Johnny Stagg’s in federal prison, and learning just who his friends are. Not surprisingly, there are fewer than he’s used to. Someone else has taken over the Booby Trap, given it a better name (finally!) and a make over. All in all, it’s a better class of strip club and the owner appears slightly less despicable.

Jason Colson has a new pipe dream and he looks to be sucking Quinn into helping out — honestly, my patience with this character is pretty low — I think the only person in the world who likes him less is Quinn’s mother, Jason’s ex. He’s not as destructive a force as the storm that just about wiped out the town a couple of years ago, but it’s a close race.

And things with Anna Lee are in a pivotal spot. That’s enough about that.

Quinn’s still in that same period of decision after losing the election a year or so ago — the man needs a little direction in his life and hopefully he gets it soon.

The power of small-town High School football, convenient racism, small town crime, Real World Evil, friendship, and personal history — as usual, Atkins brings it all and delivers it with skill, charm and aplomb. I thoroughly enjoyed this trip to Mississippi and look forward to my next trip there.

—–

4 Stars

Pub Day Repost: Guilty Minds by Joseph Finder

By

On July 18, 2016

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

Guilty MindsGuilty Minds

by Joseph Finder
Series: Nick Heller, #3eARC, 400 pg.
Dutton, 2016
Read: June 1-2, 2016

The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones:
– Julius Caesar, Act 3, scene ii

Everyone’s favorite private spy, Nick Heller, is back. This Jack Reacher with a budget gets hired to head off a scandal that may threaten the career of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He’s not hired by the Justice, of course, but by a powerful friend. Washington, D.C. being Washington, D. C. not only does the Justice have powerful friends, he has powerful enemies. Heller assumes that they’re behind the scandal breaking on the gossip website, and sets his sites on not only stopping them but exposing them.

There’s more going on than even someone with Heller’s instincts expect — what seems like a pretty routine case (with high stakes) turns into something with life or death stakes. Not shocking, it’s why we read these things.

I love the way that Heller’s mind works — watching him prepare (even quickly) to break into an apartment, or take out a group of kidnappers is one of the highlights of these books. What’s even better is that his hacker can’t do everything. His buddies/colleagues make blunders. What’s more, Heller makes mistakes — errors in judgement, letting personal biases get in the way, bad assumptions. Sure, Heller’s super-human (it’s why we read him), but he’s not perfect. It’s his reaction to the mistakes, his recalculations, his new plans that separate Heller from a lot of these characters who are a little more perfect.

There’s a twist or two, people who aren’t what they seem (in good and bad ways for Heller), and some solid fight scenes (with and without weapons). Pretty much just what you want in a thriller. I’m not sure that I’m crazy about the resolution or the epilogue, but I don’t mind them and honestly I can’t think of a better way for things to play out (and before that, I had just that one complaint). So, I guess a great 380 or so pages, followed by a decent 20.

It took less than a page or two (hard to tell on my screen) to remember what I liked about the style of this series, Heller’s voice, and his crew (although this book relied less on his regular supporting cast than the previous two). If I quoted every snappy line from the first chapter, you’d stop reading this post as tl;dr (and the publisher would come after me) — and things got better from there. Great internal dialogue. Finder writes lean prose without an inch of fat, but it’s not dry, not lacking anything — it’s full of personality and intelligence. There was one thread that seemed pretty important that Finder just abandoned, which is odd for him. Still, anytime you get an action hero quipping about coffee, I’m going to pay attention.

I had coffee. I took one sip and put it down. It tasted like something brewed by someone who disapproved of coffee.

I appreciated the observation about airport/tarmac security, and just with that Heller had spent more time with that. Maybe in the fourth book?

Smooth prose, good action, well-paced, and just a fun story. A real pleasure to read from beginning to end.

I received this book from Net Galley in return for the above thoughts. Thanks to Net Galley and Dutton for the good read. As it was an ARC, there’s a chance that the quotation above might not be in the published version, I’ll try to confirm as soon as I can next month.

—–

4 Stars

Pub Day Repost: The Asset by Shane Kuhn

By

On July 12, 2016

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

The AssetThe Asset

by Shane Kuhn
ARC, 258 pg.
Simon & Schuster, 2016
Read: June 16 – 19, 2016

Like most of his business trips, the only sights he’d be taking in were those of Duty Free, Wok n’ Roll, Dunkin’ Donuts, and all the other apostrophic, postapocalyptic airport landmarks he vagabonded past countless times a year.

People often made envious remarks about his business travel, not realizing that the homogeneous scenery endemic to virtually every airport in the United States made on susceptible to what Kennedy half-jokingly called “Terminal Illness”–a chronic frequent traveler disease brought on by extreme isolation, fatigue-induced delirium, fast-food malnutrition, excessive consumption of bottom-shelf booze, and diminished social equilibrium. He likened it to extended space travel, but with inferior cuisine.

Unlike, say, Ryan Bingham, Kenney has a noble reason for spending so much time in airports. He flies all over the world — particularly the U.S. — training airport security officers (namely, the TSA). Sure, the TSA has their own training program, but airports will bring him in as a consultant to help beef things up. Thanks to a tragic loss years ago, Kennedy is one of the most invested security experts in the world — he’s more committed to airplane safety than most governments. To say he’s driven is quite the understatement.

At the moment, there’s a security bulletin going around with a warning of an immanent terrorist threat. A few people in the CIA, FBI, NSA, TSA are taking it seriously, but most figure it’s just another in a long line of boys who cried, “wolf.” Kennedy, of course, takes it more seriously than anyone, and is pretty frustrated that he’s so alone in this.

So when he’s approached by representatives of the intelligence community and given the opportunity to do something to stop this threat — not just consult, but act — he jumps in with both feet. And immediately finds himself in way above his head.

Kennedy and the team he joins are racing against the clock — not sure when someone might strike, and really only pretty sure that they will. But if the threats reported are anything close to reality, if this attack goes off, it’ll be worse than anything in history.

Kuhn’s an experienced thriller writer and he knows how to keep things tense and the plot moving. From the outset we know that the attack will take place 64 days from the time we first meet Kennedy. Each time you get to a new chapter and read, “Day X,” you feel the tension ratcheting up (like Lee Child’s 61 Hours in reverse). Kuhn keeps you turning pages as quickly as you can while ignoring the clock and the alarm that’s sure to go off in a couple of hours.

Because of the kind of book it is you that know that certain characters are going to turn out to be something they don’t seem to be, or that events aren’t going to be what they seem to be. But Kuhn pulls most of them off so that it’s unexpected — for example, a plot development that I spent 100 pages for took my by surprise when it actually happened. There is some violence here, but for the genre, it’s pretty tame — it’s not sanitized, it’s not toned-down — it’s just utilized when needed, nothing to excess.

Most of the characters were pretty much what you expect in a book like this — but that’s fine, those are why we read books like this. I don’t need every character to break the mold, I like certain types to be good examples of those types, and Kuhn has many of those running throughout these pages. If Nuri isn’t one of the best/most entertaining examples of she-nerd that you’ve come across lately, I’ll eat my hat. There are a couple of characters that aren’t from the typical thriller cast lists (see the musician, Love) are even better.

I don’t want to compare this too often to Kuhn’s John Lago books, but I have to a little. Those books are marked for their voice, their satire, their off-kilter protagonists. This protagonist is exactly what you expect he is, and is pretty typical for the genre, and the voice is pretty straight. But every now and then you get a little of Kuhn’s voice (always appropriate to character and the work, don’t get me wrong). Like when Kennedy and his team are trying to guess when and where the terrorists will attack, and we get the line, “Terrorists are basically psychotic public relations whores.” Followed by “The choice of 9/11 was basically branding, a tongue-in-cheek play on our emergency number, which makes the date more memorable.” A little snarky and astute, the kind of talk you get around a conference table while brainstorming. The analysis of holidays during this exchange made me laugh.

Basically, he knocked it out of the park. Even some of the twists I guess that we’re shocked when they were revealed nail-biting right up to the end. The Asset is a heck of a stand-alone thriller. If the publisher decides for more adventures of Kennedy, I’m in. I think I like Kuhn’s series better than this kind of thing, but man, this one hit the sweet spot. I hope it brings him a lot of success.

I received this book from a drawing on the author’s website. Mega-Thanks to Shane Kuhn and Simon & Schuster for the good read. As it was an ARC, there’s a chance that the quotations above might not be in the published version, I’ll try to confirm as soon as I can in a couple of weeks.

—–

4 Stars

The Asset by Shane Kuhn

By

On July 5, 2016

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

The AssetThe Asset

by Shane Kuhn

ARC, 258 pg.
Simon & Schuster, 2016

Read: June 16 – 19, 2016

Like most of his business trips, the only sights he’d be taking in were those of Duty Free, Wok n’ Roll, Dunkin’ Donuts, and all the other apostrophic, postapocalyptic airport landmarks he vagabonded past countless times a year.

People often made envious remarks about his business travel, not realizing that the homogeneous scenery endemic to virtually every airport in the United States made on susceptible to what Kennedy half-jokingly called “Terminal Illness”–a chronic frequent traveler disease brought on by extreme isolation, fatigue-induced delirium, fast-food malnutrition, excessive consumption of bottom-shelf booze, and diminished social equilibrium. He likened it to extended space travel, but with inferior cuisine.

Unlike, say, Ryan Bingham, Kenney has a noble reason for spending so much time in airports. He flies all over the world — particularly the U.S. — training airport security officers (namely, the TSA). Sure, the TSA has their own training program, but airports will bring him in as a consultant to help beef things up. Thanks to a tragic loss years ago, Kennedy is one of the most invested security experts in the world — he’s more committed to airplane safety than most governments. To say he’s driven is quite the understatement.

At the moment, there’s a security bulletin going around with a warning of an immanent terrorist threat. A few people in the CIA, FBI, NSA, TSA are taking it seriously, but most figure it’s just another in a long line of boys who cried, “wolf.” Kennedy, of course, takes it more seriously than anyone, and is pretty frustrated that he’s so alone in this.

So when he’s approached by representatives of the intelligence community and given the opportunity to do something to stop this threat — not just consult, but act — he jumps in with both feet. And immediately finds himself in way above his head.

Kennedy and the team he joins are racing against the clock — not sure when someone might strike, and really only pretty sure that they will. But if the threats reported are anything close to reality, if this attack goes off, it’ll be worse than anything in history.

Kuhn’s an experienced thriller writer and he knows how to keep things tense and the plot moving. From the outset we know that the attack will take place 64 days from the time we first meet Kennedy. Each time you get to a new chapter and read, “Day X,” you feel the tension ratcheting up (like Lee Child’s 61 Hours in reverse). Kuhn keeps you turning pages as quickly as you can while ignoring the clock and the alarm that’s sure to go off in a couple of hours.

Because of the kind of book it is you that know that certain characters are going to turn out to be something they don’t seem to be, or that events aren’t going to be what they seem to be. But Kuhn pulls most of them off so that it’s unexpected — for example, a plot development that I spent 100 pages for took my by surprise when it actually happened. There is some violence here, but for the genre, it’s pretty tame — it’s not sanitized, it’s not toned-down — it’s just utilized when needed, nothing to excess.

Most of the characters were pretty much what you expect in a book like this — but that’s fine, those are why we read books like this. I don’t need every character to break the mold, I like certain types to be good examples of those types, and Kuhn has many of those running throughout these pages. If Nuri isn’t one of the best/most entertaining examples of she-nerd that you’ve come across lately, I’ll eat my hat. There are a couple of characters that aren’t from the typical thriller cast lists (see the musician, Love) are even better.

I don’t want to compare this too often to Kuhn’s John Lago books, but I have to a little. Those books are marked for their voice, their satire, their off-kilter protagonists. This protagonist is exactly what you expect he is, and is pretty typical for the genre, and the voice is pretty straight. But every now and then you get a little of Kuhn’s voice (always appropriate to character and the work, don’t get me wrong). Like when Kennedy and his team are trying to guess when and where the terrorists will attack, and we get the line, “Terrorists are basically psychotic public relations whores.” Followed by “The choice of 9/11 was basically branding, a tongue-in-cheek play on our emergency number, which makes the date more memorable.” A little snarky and astute, the kind of talk you get around a conference table while brainstorming. The analysis of holidays during this exchange made me laugh.

Basically, he knocked it out of the park. Even some of the twists I guess that we’re shocked when they were revealed nail-biting right up to the end. The Asset is a heck of a stand-alone thriller. If the publisher decides for more adventures of Kennedy, I’m in. I think I like Kuhn’s series better than this kind of thing, but man, this one hit the sweet spot. I hope it brings him a lot of success.

I received this book from a drawing on the author’s website. Mega-Thanks to Shane Kuhn and Simon & Schuster for the good read. As it was an ARC, there’s a chance that the quotations above might not be in the published version, I’ll try to confirm as soon as I can in a couple of weeks.

—–

4 Stars

Let There Be Linda by Rich Leder

By

On June 28, 2016

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

Let There Be LindaLet There Be Linda

by Rich Leder

Kindle Edition, 377 pg.
Laugh Riot Press, 2016

Read: June 13 – 15, 2016


Let There Be Linda is hard to describe briefly — it’s like Eoin Colfer’s Daniel McEvoy books with a touch of magic, Elmore Leonard trying to write like Neil Gaiman, or is it Gaiman trying to write like Leonard? Leder says he’s inspired by Monty Python here — I think he’s close, but it’s more A Fish Called Wanda than Python (at least the way it comes out, maybe not in his mind).

The first few paragraphs are likely enough to make you rethink picking up the book (not because of Leder’s craft, but the subject matter). It took a force of will for me not to move on to one of the other 20 or so books on my TBR. Thankfully — oh, so thankfully — it took very little time after that for me to get over it. Within a few pages, Leder had won me over. Also thankfully, the antics of the character in the opening paragraphs were really toned down when he appeared in the future (when not toned down, he was at least behind closed doors).

Danny and Mike Miller are brothers, as close as Cain and Abel. Danny’s the attractive, lecherous, irresponsible, talent agent, who is always on the verge of success (even moreso, when he can’t get to the track or a phone to call a bookie). Mike’s his opposite, married, overweight, ultra-responsible, and an accountant enjoying success — and on the verge of a lot more. The one thing they have in common is that they’re devoted to their mother — Mike feels he has to be (and probably has some real affection for her), and Danny needs a place to live. On her deathbed, their mother makes Mike swear that he’ll watch out for Danny. She’s had a vision and something horrible is going to happen after her death, and she wants the two of them get through it together. Which is good, because both of them are going to need all the help they can get.

This horrible thing — or series of horrible things — will involve a very small pawnbroker/loan shark and his very large companion; a drug-addicted dentist, his plastic-surgery addicted wife, and their sometimes dead dog; a detective who wants to be a stand-up comedian; there’s a guy who thinks he’s a zombie, a couple of sometimes dead mothers, and a few other odd characters.

Oh yeah, and the girl who can bring dead things back to life.

Most of these characters owe the diminutive loan shark more money than they’ll be able to repay in years, more of them are being investigated by the Comic Cop, some of them are looking to Danny to make them money, and the dentist to care for their teeth — and . . . honestly, tracing out the interconnectedness of all these characters and plotlines would require one of those giant corkboards and colored strings that used to be on every TV detective show. But stranger. And Funnier.

Oh, yeah, and dead fish, dogs and people stop being dead.

This is strange, bloody, a little violent, and impossible to explain in a way that does it justice. You just have to read the silly thing. It’s one of the most unpredictable novels I’ve read in ages. It ties up all the important things, and doesn’t leave anything unresolved. But Leder doesn’t bother to answer everything — you’ll spend a few days trying to suss a few things out. I enjoy it when authors do that — but only on the unessential (but interesting) points. It helps the experience last longer.

I’ve spent a week trying to figure out what to say about this one, and I’m not satisfied with what I came up with. I liked the book, I recommend it — it’s amusing; there’s heart to it; there are characters that are unique, yet familiar; a world that you’ve not come across before — and a strange sort of crime story. It’s just the right mix of black comedy and criminal activity and family. If this is what all of Leder’s books are like, I need to read more of them.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I just wish it’d made more sense.

—–

4 Stars

Hexed (Audiobook) by Kevin Hearne, Luke Daniels

By

On June 24, 2016

In Audiobook, Dogs, Iron Druid Chronicles, Kevin Hearne

HexedHexed (Audiobook)

by Kevin Hearne, Luke Daniels (Narrator)
Series: The Iron Druid Chronicles, #2

Unabridged Audiobook, 8 hours and 52 minutes
Brilliance Audio, 2011

Read: June 21 – 22, 2016

This takes place just 3 weeks after Hounded and the dust is still settling. The target on Atticus is bigger than before — funny what a reputation as a god-killer will do to a guy, from attacks to pleas for help, more people than ever want to know where he is.

Last time, I summed up the book with this:

Atticus finds himself in even more trouble–this time there’s a very nasty coven that wants to come in and take over the Tempe area–and their first step will be eliminating all other magic practitioners.

So our hero has to suck up his prejudice against witches and team up with the very same group that threatened him last time out to defend the home turf and maybe even clean up some long unfinished business.

which pretty much holds up.

The couple of additions I’d make are that I loved Coyote, and had totally forgotten that he appeared so early in the series. I miss Mr. Semerdjian — and while I understand why Hearne took the steps he did to prevent us from getting the nosy neighbor in every book, I sort of regret it after getting reacquainted with the character. Another thing that I’d forgotten about, but really enjoyed (probably more than I should’ve) is the scene where Atticus has to go all Three Stooges with the policemen and his camouflaging of his sword, some baseball bats and himself. Seriously funny, while juvenile, stuff.

Speaking of funny, it’s dangerous to listen to these at work — there were at least two times that Oberon’s commentary made me laugh out loud. Thankfully, none of the people who work next to me were at their desks either time, or I’d have gotten a few looks. Just a warning to anyone thinking of it — you may look silly.

Luke Daniels delivers again — he’s so good at this that I’m thinking of shopping for something by him just to hear him read. The only complaint I have is that his Mr. Semerdjian sounds too much like a high-pitched Oberon. Which is just weird, and probably not something that either character would enjoy. Daniels’ Coyote, and the speech patterns Atticus adopts while talking with him are fantastic.

A great edition of a solid sequel.

—–

4 Stars

Yes, Please (Audiobook) by Amy Poehler

By

On June 24, 2016

In (Auto)Biography, Audiobook

Yes PleaseYes, Please

by Amy Poehler (Writer, Narrator),
with Carol Burnett, Seth Meyers, Mike Schur, Eileen Poehler, William Poehler, Patrick Stewart, Kathleen Turner

Unabridged Audiobook, 7 hrs and 31 mins
HarperAudio, 2014

Read: May 19 – 20, 2016


Amy Poehler’s memoir-ish, Yes Please has been on my “get around to it” to it list for quite a while, but I never seemed to until I started this whole audiobook at work experiment. I picked such a good one to start with, I’m actually glad I didn’t read it first.

Poehler interweaves comedy bits with the story of her life and career, starting with her early experiences in comedy and childhood friends, moving onto her start in improv and then on to SNL and Parks and Rec. Even when she’s being serious, she can’t help but be funny — while talking about her divorce, death, Haitian orphans, etc. you want that. She talks a lot about her two sons and sounds like a loving and devoted mother (if a bit twisted).

In addition to this, she talks a good deal about how to deal with the inner voice telling young(er) women (and, I assume, older) that they’re not perfect, that their physical appearance needs to be different or they’re not that worthwhile. As I listened to this, I wanted to play it for my daughter. When she talked about sex and drugs (not that much on the former, but enough), I lost a bit of that desire, but I still might.

It’s not just Poehler’s authorial voice that makes this work so well — it’s her actual voice, too. Poehler saying these wise words, confessing the details, sharing the stories herself, and not just some hired gun (as capable as they might be) elevates the project. Bringing in Patrick Stewart to read silly poems, Kathleen Turner to do the occasional line, her parents, Meyers to reminisce, Schur to read a list of alternate candidates for Leslie Knope’s name and talk about Parks and Recreation in general — were great moves, and a blast to listen to. I’m curious what those sections are like if you just read them, but probably not enough to go try. The last chapter is a recording of a live reading she did, the audience reaction and her playing to them added just the right touch.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but don’t read the book. Listen to the audio. It’s just that good. Heartfelt, funny, and inspirational (and did I mention funny?) — it’s everything you want from Amy Poehler (shy of another season of Parks and Rec).

—–

4 Stars

The Highwayman by Craig Johnson

By

On June 9, 2016

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

The Highwayman The Highwayman

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #11.5

Hardcover, 190 pg.
Viking, 2016

Read: June 7 -8, 2016

We’re taught to work independently, but nothing strikes you quite like a 10-78 [Officer Needs Assistance], the urgency to reach a fellow officer in need. It’s instinctual to individuals who are trained to respond and risk their lives for each other and complete strangers.”

Having been in Wyoming Law Enforcement for so long, he knows pretty much every officer in the state. One such person is Rosey Wayman, a Highway patrolman who’s having some problems. She’s taken a new assignment, a jurisdiction once patrolled by a (literally) legendary officer. Since then, well, strange things have been happening. Walt and Henry (as a favor to her and her C.O.) have dropped by to act as sort of independent witnesses — basically to determine if her imagination is getting the best of her, or if there are strange things underfoot.

One of the best parts of this series is the way that Johnson writes about things that can’t be readily and easily explained (generally) without spelling things out for the reader. Yes, a character may be having a psychological problem, a physical problem, or there might be a spiritual dimension to what they experience — maybe all of the above — but what Johnson won’t do is tell you what happened. Henry, Walt, Ruby, Lucian or any number of others just might express their thoughts/opinions/beliefs, but the author won’t.

Which means that when Johnson tells a ghost story? You’re in for a good one. One where you have no idea if the ghost in question is a manifestation of someone’s (or multiple someones’) subconscious.

I will admit I was confused when I saw this was advertised as a novella. The last Longmire novel, Dry Bones was 306 pages long, and this was listed at 200 (190 is my count). How did that qualify as a novella (which is a fairly slippery term, anyway)? And then I picked up a copy. This one measured at 5.3″ x 7.4″ (Dry Bones was 6.2″ x 9.2″). Which explained everything. Reading it made it clear that it wasn’t a novel — one story, no personal drama, no ongoing story/character arcs — just Walt, Henry and Rosey on a ghost hunt.

Lean prose, great characters, a setting that means more than just the place where the action takes place (and is described thusly) — everything you want in a Longmire story.

One other thing that I have to mention — the elderly Arapaho sha-woman that Henry introduces Walt to is a real hoot. Her teasing/harassment of Walt was a needed dash of fun in this book, I can only hope that Johnson finds an excuse to use her again.

If this was a novel, it’d be 3-3 ½ stars, but since it’s supposed to be a novella, I’ll give it a 4. Just what the doctor ordered to tide you over until the next full book.

—–

4 Stars

The Ghost Rebellion by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

By

On June 8, 2016

In Steampunk

The Ghost RebellionThe Ghost Rebellion

by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris
Series: Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, #5

eARC/Kindle Edition/Trade Paperback, 268 pg.
Imagine That! Studios, 2016

Read: June 3 – 7, 2016

A little house cleaning first. For the 4 of you who read that bit, you’ll notice the part where I describe what format I read is a little more crowded than usual. When I was sent the eARC, I asked when they’d like me to post this, and was told somewhere around the 10th to be close to the release date, so I glanced at it, but didn’t start reading. Then the Kickstarter copy of the ebook came out before I could start it, and then the (very nice!) paperback arrived in time for me to read the last 80 pages or so. So, yeah, it’s not my normal M.O.

But who cares about that, really? Let’s get on with the book…

“Well then,” Wellington began, “the House of Usher is apparently supplying rebels with inferior, supernatural technology, India is on the brink of war with Mother England, all while a madman possessing the ability to turn ordinary people into ten feet monsters is on the loose.”

Eliza bobbed her head, her lips bent in a smirk. “Just another day at the Ministry.”

“Shall I go put the kettle on?”

“Please.”

Just in case you thought things were going to settle down for the Ministry following the events around the Diamond Jubilee, well, forget it. The Agency is recruiting and training new members, reassigning others, and sending their experienced agents all over to help get things back under control
The somewhat unlikely pairing of Agent Bruce Campbell (and seriously, what a great character/tribute) and Brandon Hill is turning out to be a great combination (even if Hill spent too much time with Kellogg and his kooky health theories last time he was in the States). The two go off to Russia in search of an artifact needed by the Ministry, and find themselves in the middle of something big. Potentially very big. Thankfully, there’s plenty of vodka on hand to help.

Things aren’t going swimmingly for the House of Usher and Jeckyll at the moment, either — there’s some internal shakeups/restructuring with the House which should prove to be important for the Ministry. And Jeckyll’s, well, he’s not taking the loss of his royal patient (and everything else that happened in the last book) too well.

Sophia del Morte, of course, makes her presence known as only she can. When she’s not trying to kill Books and Braun, she’s really one of their most reliable allies. This time she has a vital piece of intelligence or two, that’ll not only impact this book, but (I wager) the next. Also, she brings all the right sorts of weapons to every occasion . . .

Meanwhile, while the Ministry rebuilds, Agents Books and Braun are off trying to take care of Jekyll’s remaining and scattered associates. This brings them to India, where they encounter an old friend, an old acquaintance and some ghosts — literal and figurative. Before they know it, they find themselves in the middle of struggles between the British army and assorted groups of Indian rebels wanting to be rid of said Army (and the rest of the government). The links between Jeckyll and this conflict are surprising, and may put a strain on our protagonists’ relationships with various entities.

One thing that isn’t strained, is the relationship between Books and Braun — their young love is still going strong, and is a pleasure to read. Well, okay, there’s one little strain — Wellington Books himself. We’ve seen hints — signs — of what Usher and his father had done to Wellington, but now we see more than just signs — we see almost the full-fledged results of what they did. These results are both frightening and astonishing (which is pretty much what Eliza and Wellington felt).

I bet I’ve somehow neglected to talk about the chapter titles in any of the previous novels — shame on me. And if I have mentioned them, they need to be mentioned again. They’re easily something overlooked as one reads — because, really, who cares? — these are not to be missed. Witty, understated and full of Steampunk sensibilities. I don’t know if I’ve ever wondered about this before with any book, but I do wonder how much time they spend crafting these. My guess is that it’s harder than it looks.

I enjoyed the new characters (Bruce’s new pal in particular), and getting to see a couple of old ones in new ways. And it’s always fun to see Eliza, Wellington, Bruce, Brandon and Sophia. I just had such a good time with this. In many ways, this book was just setting the table for the next, and final, installment in the series. But the character development, revelations, and overall entertainment value of the book kept this from just being a way to move pieces around. There was real excitement, good character moments (even from an Usher member or two), and a whole lotta fun, with an ending that leaves you really wanting the next installment.. I really can’t wait to see what the authors have in store for us next — it’ll be great.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC copy from the authors in exchange for an honest review. Also, I backed the Kickstarter for this book. Also, I liked every other book in this series, so I wasn’t exactly an objective reader going in. Not that I ever am.

—–

4 Stars

Guilty Minds by Joseph Finder

By

On June 7, 2016

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

Guilty MindsGuilty Minds

by Joseph Finder
Series: Nick Heller, #3

eARC, 400 pg.
Dutton, 2016

Read: June 1-2, 2016

The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones:
               – Julius Caesar, Act 3, scene ii

Everyone’s favorite private spy, Nick Heller, is back. This Jack Reacher with a budget gets hired to head off a scandal that may threaten the career of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He’s not hired by the Justice, of course, but by a powerful friend. Washington, D.C. being Washington, D. C. not only does the Justice have powerful friends, he has powerful enemies. Heller assumes that they’re behind the scandal breaking on the gossip website, and sets his sites on not only stopping them but exposing them.

There’s more going on than even someone with Heller’s instincts expect — what seems like a pretty routine case (with high stakes) turns into something with life or death stakes. Not shocking, it’s why we read these things.

I love the way that Heller’s mind works — watching him prepare (even quickly) to break into an apartment, or take out a group of kidnappers is one of the highlights of these books. What’s even better is that his hacker can’t do everything. His buddies/colleagues make blunders. What’s more, Heller makes mistakes — errors in judgement, letting personal biases get in the way, bad assumptions. Sure, Heller’s super-human (it’s why we read him), but he’s not perfect. It’s his reaction to the mistakes, his recalculations, his new plans that separate Heller from a lot of these characters who are a little more perfect.

There’s a twist or two, people who aren’t what they seem (in good and bad ways for Heller), and some solid fight scenes (with and without weapons). Pretty much just what you want in a thriller. I’m not sure that I’m crazy about the resolution or the epilogue, but I don’t mind them and honestly I can’t think of a better way for things to play out (and before that, I had just that one complaint). So, I guess a great 380 or so pages, followed by a decent 20.

It took less than a page or two (hard to tell on my screen) to remember what I liked about the style of this series, Heller’s voice, and his crew (although this book relied less on his regular supporting cast than the previous two). If I quoted every snappy line from the first chapter, you’d stop reading this post as tl;dr (and the publisher would come after me) — and things got better from there. Great internal dialogue. Finder writes lean prose without an inch of fat, but it’s not dry, not lacking anything — it’s full of personality and intelligence. There was one thread that seemed pretty important that Finder just abandoned, which is odd for him. Still, anytime you get an action hero quipping about coffee, I’m going to pay attention.

I had coffee. I took one sip and put it down. It tasted like something brewed by someone who disapproved of coffee.

I appreciated the observation about airport/tarmac security, and just with that Heller had spent more time with that. Maybe in the fourth book?

Smooth prose, good action, well-paced, and just a fun story. A real pleasure to read from beginning to end.

I received this book from Net Galley in return for the above thoughts. Thanks to Net Galley and Dutton for the good read. As it was an ARC, there’s a chance that the quotation above might not be in the published version, I’ll try to confirm as soon as I can next month.

—–

4 Stars

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