Tag: Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller Page 15 of 62

2023 Favorite Crime Fiction
Finally, we’re at the end of my 2023 wrap-up. Thanks for sticking with me for so long! (assuming you have). I read 90 books I put in the category of “Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller” last year (and there are a couple of multi-genre novels that could beef that number up a bit), 30% of my reading last year. So I have to consider it apart from everything else when I put together my Favorites Lists, or just about everything else would get ignored. Even if I went with a Top 20 instead of a Favorite 10, maybe 2-3 books from the previous lists would’ve made it along with all of these.

I couldn’t whittle this list down further than 12. But since a couple of my lists last week were under 10, I figure that I’ve got a slot or two to spare. Once again, I’ll note that I limit my lists to things I read for the first time. Yes, there are some names on here that have been on a couple of these lately. And it wouldn’t surprise me to see some of these new names show up from time to time in the years to come.

(in alphabetical order by author)

The Last Dance

by Mark Billingham

I really wish I had a post up about this book to pilfer from here. Detective Miller comes back to work after the murder of his wife to investigate a pair of murders. There’s no clear—rather, easily discoverable—connection between the two deaths other than proximity and coincidence. Neither explanation is good enough for the police. Miller has to adjust to a new partner, who really doesn’t understand (or appreciate) his eccentricities, his sense of humor, or undisguised antagonism toward their boss. The only thing more appealing to the twisty, multi-layered, mystery in this novel is Miller himself. His sense of humor, his questionable grasp of reality, and his unconventional approach to this (and presumably other) investigations are going to win several fans. This is the first Billingham novel I’ve read (after years of meaning to try), it will not be the last.

4 1/2 Stars

The Bitter Past

by Bruce Borgos

My original post
A great mix of Cold War espionage and modern-day Police Procedural, with a Western twist. Borgos assembled a cast of characters that leap off the page, I felt like I’d been reading about Porter Beck and his deputies for years within just a chapter or two. There’s blood, intrigue, nuclear fall-out, wit, humor, a grisly opening, and a dramatic conclusion—and a whole lot of other stuff along the way. I don’t know if Borgos can do something just like this novel book again, but as long as Porter Beck and his team are around for whatever’s next, I want to see it.

4 1/2 Stars

All the Sinners Bleed

by S. A. Cosby

My original post
As the first black Sheriff of Charon County, Virginia, Titus Crown has a lot on his plate. He has to watch his every step to keep the political and social leaders of the small community from removing him from office while holding off demands from the local social activists to turn the tables on behalf of the over-policed minorities and give the white community a taste of that treatment. It’s not going well for him—one horrible day finds Titus investigating a terrible crime and uncovering something that nightmares are made of—serial killers working undetected in Charon County for years. Can Titus stop the killing while keeping Charon County from tearing itself apart?

Sparse, but rich, prose that further disproves the notion that genre can’t be the home of good writing. Cosby tackles hard issues—but really doesn’t try to solve them—he merely puts them on display for readers to acknowledge and wrestle with. It’s also just a cracking thriller that could be read as shallowly as you want and would keep you white-knuckled and racing to the final confrontation. Cosby’s one of the best in action now, and this solidifies that reputation.

5 Stars

Ozark Dogs

by Eli Cranor

My original post
Like the above, this can be read as a white-knuckle thriller, but it’s more. This is a revenge story, with almost no one involved really understanding what the instigating event really was or meant (this doesn’t stop anyone seeking vengeance, naturally). This is a book about consequences, the sins of the past being visited on the present, and about the price of devotion (to a person, idea, etc.). It’ll knock you out.

5 Stars

Fearless

by M.W. Craven

My original post
Craven’s new series, featuring a U.S. Marshall who is incapable of feeling fear, is off to a dynamite start. This book just worked on every level—Koenig is a fertile character, well-designed to carry a series for quite a while. His assets are perfect for a Reacher/Peter Ash-type character. His flaws keep him from being invincible, and provide plenty of ways for him to be his own greatest adversary. His quirks (e.g., fixation on chocolate milkshakes, absorption of odd bits of trivia) round him out nicely. The reason he’s off the grid is better than being a Luddite/technophobe. Can he grow—and can the reader grow in their understanding of him? Sure. He can also believably regress and find develop new hindrances and weaknesses to work through or overcome. The action scenes were almost impossibly good.

5 Stars

Magpie Murders

by Anthony Horowitz, narrated by Samantha Bond, Allan Corduner

The death of a hugely best-selling author sends his editor on a hunt for the missing final pages to his final book. Alternatively, if she can figure out who the killer in the book was, they can at least salvage the book. But while she’s at it, she starts to think the author was murdered and maybe she can figure that out, too. A fictional murder and a real life one, that’s a pretty big task for an amatuer sleuth. What a fantastic book! The concept was great, the hook was gripping, the execution was dynamite, the narration was spot-on, the….the…ugh. I’m just listing superlatives at this point. Which is pretty much why I haven’t finished my post about it (despite starting 11 months ago)—words fail me. Just loved this.

5 Stars

Blackwater Falls

by Ausma Zehanat Khan

My original post
A probable racially and religiously motivated murder threatens to push heightened tensions over the edge between immigrant communities and local law enforcement. Enter the Community Response Unit—to hold the police accountable (if necessary), diffuse the situation (if at all possible), and get the answers everyone wants. Khan balances the social, personal, and investigative aspects of this novel with the skill of a seasoned professional. This is a great procedural in the way it embraces the defining traits and pushes them in new ways, it’s a great character study, a good commentary on several issues facing the country—and it’s a pretty solid mystery, too (can’t forget that).

4 1/2 Stars

The Last Devil to Die

by Richard Osman

My original post
Anyone who’s read me over the last couple of years had to expect that Osman would show up in this list—and here he is. The latest in the Thursday Murder Club series demonstrates all of the strengths of the previous novels at the same time—the humor, the heart, the cleverness of the characters, a twisty investigation, and humanity at its worst and best.

5 Stars

Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge

by Spencer Quinn

My original post
I’m a huge fan of Quinn’s long-running series, but every time he steps away for a stand-alone, I find myself increasingly impressed with him. This is an implausible, but great story about an elderly woman who is duped by a Bail Scam, losing almost everything. But she has enough money—and more than enough nerve and moxie to fly to Romania to try and find the scammers and get her money back. It’s a revenge fantasy that many people will have had, taken on by a relatable character that you can’t help but root for. There’s plenty of heart to go around, and it’ll just leave you feeling good (as long as you don’t put it down while she’s being ripped off).

4 1/2 Stars

Scratching the Flint

by Vern Smith

My original post
This is a gritty novel exploring the “the lowest common denominators of policing.” Our protagonists are detectives who seem intent on making their cases, on making arrests. But when push comes to shove, I’m not entirely convinced it’s about enforcing the law all the time with them—it’s getting a win, coming out on top over some of them. Taking place in early 2001, this book evokes the feel of the time—the sentiments toward reform in policing as well as in the treatment of women and minorities are clearly of their time (they’re also pretty relevant today, but we’d discuss them a little differently). This is a visceral, powerhouse read that will stay with you.

4 1/2 Stars

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

by Jesse Q. Sutanto

My original post
I need to think about this book a little to wash away the feeling of revisiting the last one off of me. There’s just so much to commend about this book—and so little to quibble with—that I still get excited about it months later. Vera Wong, the proprietor of a little-visited tea shop finds a dead man on her floor one day. Desperate for a change of pace, she decides that she’ll “help” the police with their investigation—eventually starting her own. How hard can it be? She’s watched plenty of procedurals, is smart, and (unlike Sherlock Holmes) is a suspicious Chinese mother. The murderer doesn’t stand a chance.

But then she turns her lead suspects into a found family of sorts. You don’t want any of these suspects to be guilty because the victim was a horrible guy and you want the suspects to become your new best friends. There’s a lot of sunshine and rainbows throughout this book, offsetting the murder, other crimes, loneliness, and despair. The murder mystery at the core of the novel is clever enough and worth the time—but this found family and the growth prompted in each member of it (including Vera) is what will make you a fan of it.

4 1/2 Stars

The Winter of Frankie Machine

by Don Winslow

This is typical Winslow—stylish, winning, clever, and frequently violent. Frankie Machine is a retired hitman who finds himself as the target for a new generation of hitmen over something that happened years before. Frankie Machianno has to put his businesses on hold and return to his old life to keep his family safe—and to keep himself alive—while finding out exactly why someone wants him dead and convincing them (using whatever necessary means) to leave them all alone once and for all. It’s such a strong, fast-moving, ride that the pages melt away while you read.

4 1/2 Stars

My Favorite Audiobooks of 2023

By HCNewton

On January 4, 2024

In Audiobook, News/Misc.

My Favorite Audiobooks of 2023
How do I keep this from being just a rehash of my other year-end lists? By focusing on the audiobook experience over the content. What was it like to listen to it? How engaging was it, how did the narrator do? Was it a good match in terms of tone, content, and performance? All of these books are/were good—but the audiobooks are a bit better because of the narrator and the rest of the people involved in the production.

I’m very annoyed at how few of these I wrote about (if only because it means I had to think more about this post than I wanted to).

(in alphabetical order by author)

The Book That No One Wanted to Read

by Richard Ayoade
Narrated by Richard Ayoade, Jarvis Cocker, Lydia Fox

My original post The narration was great—Ayoade and Cocker were fantastic, Fox was probably as good, but didn’t get the best lines, so her work doesn’t stand out as much in my memory (although my original post suggests I forgot something great). This is one of those multi-narrator audiobooks where all the narrators are equally good—capturing the spirit and tone of the text and bringing it to life. This is a sweet little story “written by a book” about a lonely book in a large library. It’s goofy and strange, the humor is occasionally dry, it’s imaginative, it’s affirming and encouraging, it wraps you in a blanket of fun and makes you feel good.

4 1/2 Stars

Bookshops & Bonedust

by Travis Baldree

Of course, audiobook narrator-turned-author Baldree puts together a really strong audiobook. How could he do anything else? This is a sweet and (mostly) cozy little read taking place many years before Baldree’s breakout Legends & Lattes and sets the stage for Viv’s choices when she decides to retire from the mercenary biz. Here at the beginning of her career, she’s laid up for a few months in a small little town where she makes some friends, learns a lot, discovers that she can appreciate reading (when given the right book), and faces of against a deadly foe. It’s a very pleasant experience that will leave you wanting more like it.

4 Stars

Give the People What They Want and Other Stories of Sharp Wit, Cunning Women, and Wild Magic

by Alex Bledsoe, Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, with Alex Bledsoe and Gabrielle de Cuir

This collection of short stories and a novella is just a great time. You start with short pieces in two of my favorite series, an interesting sample of another series, a couple of other things, and then a Zombie story that I really got into (no, really). Rudnicki did his usual bang-up job, de Cuir didn’t get enough to do (but was good with what little she had) and it’s always nice to hear from the author. I don’t know if it’ll work for people who aren’t fans of a series by Bledsoe, but it just might convince the listener to try one or two of them (and I’d heartily encourage that, too).

4 Stars

Brokedown Prophets

by S.A. Cosby and a full cast too long to list here

Cosby is a name you should expect to see again before I finish with this look back at ’23 (and likely at least once more this year). The performances that bring the Audible Original to life are fantastic. This is a dark tale of hope, desperation, and the opportunity to make a new life for yourself. It’s also violent, bloody, and likely to end poorly for all involved. The Russian assassin is one of my favorite characters of the year—it’d be easy to have made him a joke, but the performer and Crosby won’t let you write him off like that.

4 Stars

The Third Eye

by Felicia Day, and a full cast including Sean Astin, Felicia Day, Neil Gaiman, LilyPichu, London Hughes, and Wil Wheaton (and many others)

This was simply gobs of fun. Gaiman is just fantastic (no surprise there, I realize), Day plays the adorkable card like only she can, although Astin’s vampire comes close. Wheaton can play a jackwagon like nobody’s business, and…okay, I’m going to go on too long here (I really should’ve written a full post on this by now so I could’ve). You’ve got fun ‘n games with The Chosen One trope, satire and celebration of Urban Fantasy tropes and themes, some good action, and strong friendships. And a cheerful, optimistic feel that makes you just want more time in this world—even if there’s no story to be told (it’s even better during these almost 7 hours, though, because there is one).

4 Stars

Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English

by Valerie Fridland, Narrated by Valerie Fridland, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Keylor Leigh, Andrew Eiden, Christopher Ryan Grant, Ellen Archer, Eileen Stevens, and Nicky Endres

I’m a sucker for entertaining books about language, grammar, etc. Fridland’s apologetic for “Bad” English drives my inner prescriptivist, up the wall—but she joins the growing number of writers who are sealing up that prescriptivit’s coffin. How good is this book? Her chapter (or maybe it was a section of a chapter) on “Um” and “Uh” was fascinating. If she can pull that rabbit out of a hat, imagine how good she can be when she talks about the use/overuse of “like,” the history of “Dude,” or the figurative use of “literally”—and so much more. I spent most of the time listening to this book just geeking out in a way that made me regret not becoming a sociolinguist myself.

4 Stars

The Camera Man

by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson (Narrator)

It’s not surprising to see a Grainger/Jackson pairing on this list—they’re behind what is probably my favorite audiobook series (I refuse to read a book in this series as long as Jackson is recording them). The Camera Man shows that the idea of DC Smith, PI has legs. The first book about him as a PI was very much a “Can he adjust to not being a police detective to help out a friend?” This is “Can DC act as a PI?” And the answer is a resounding Yes! There’s good material with Jo and the Diver siblings. But most of the joy just comes from Smith digging into the case. Just like the old days, but different. Loved it.

4 Stars

Nasty, Brutish, and Short:
Adventures in Philosophy with My Kids

by Scott Hershovitz

My original post
This was a great listen—Hershovitz is the kind of lecturer you want to pay attention to (or so imagine based on this). This book succeeded on multiple fronts: it was frequently amusing, if not downright funny; it was educational; it was insightful (even when I disagreed with what he did with the insights); it was thoughtful; it offered (largely by example, not being didactic) good parental advice; and kept this particular listener fully engaged throughout. Just what you want from an audiobook.

3.5 Stars

Magpie Murders

by Anthony Horowitz, narrated by Samantha Bond, Allan Corduner

This book has been on my to-read list for a long time, but I kept not finding time for it. I finally gave up on going with the paper version and picked up the audio from the library. What a fantastic book! The concept was great, the hook was gripping, the execution was dynamite, the narration was spot-on, the….the…ugh. I’m just listing superlatives at this point. Which is pretty much why I haven’t finished my post about it (despite starting 11 months ago)—words fail me. Just loved this.

5 Stars

The Only Truly Dead

by Rob Parker, Warren Brown (Narrator)

My original post
So Warren Brown is just a fantastic narrator and fits the material perfectly—one of the best matches of voice and text I can remember. Parker’s text was everything I could’ve hoped for—everything he’s been building up over the previous two books gets paid off in a dramatic and compelling fashion. It’s a mix of hope and darkness, and a reminder that both have lasting effects.

4 Stars

The Mayors of New York by S.J. Rozan: Let Your Honesty Shine…

By HCNewton

On December 29, 2023

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

The Mayors of New York

by S. J. Rozan

DETAILS:
Series: Lydia Chin & Bill Smith, #15
Publisher: Pegasus Crime
Publication Date: December 5, 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length: 280 pg.
Read Date: December 21-25, 2023

What’s The Mayors of New York About?

New York’s first female mayor has a problem. A few months after taking office, her fifteen-year-old son has run away. It’s not the first time, but it’s the first time since she’s been elected. She’s in the middle of high-stakes negotiations with a police union, so Mayor McCann doesn’t feel like she can turn to them without taking some PR hits/weakening in the negotiations.

So, she has her aide hire Bill Smith (who brings along Lydia, of course). It’s not easy tracking down one of the most recognizable teens in the city without letting anyone know you’re doing that—and it almost seems like the “without letting anyone know” part might overrule the “finding the teen” part of the job.

Now, Lydia’s trying to decide if she takes on a case of her own at the same time. Readers know long before they do that these cases will end up intertwined—otherwise, why would Rozan bring it up? And once Bill and Lydia cotton on to that, a hunt for a runaway takes on a whole new layer. Possibly several layers.

The Characters

Nah, I’m not going to talk about Bill and Lydia today—I honestly don’t know if I have anything else to say about them outside how they’re probably my favorite partnership in Crime Fiction (Robin/Cormoran—learn from these two. They trust each other and communicate frankly. Your lives will be the better for it, and the books will be shorter, too. Everyone wins.).

I want to talk about Mark McCann a little bit. At first, he’s just the target. He’s little more than a MacGuffin to get the plot moving. Then we start to learn a little about him and he becomes an actual character—one I want to learn more about. Then we get to meet him, and I like him a lot. And then Mark goes ahead and does some clever and stupid (read: dangerous) things and I want to see more of him.

The wanting to see more of him goes for everyone who’s alive and not under indictment of some sort at the end of the book—the McCann’s household staff, the people who help Mark along the way (and then help Bill and Lydia), and so on. I know it’s not really Rozan’s style, but if we could run across them in future books for a chapter or so just to spend more time with them, I’d really enjoy that. These all have a little more life to them than your typical witnesses, bystanders, and so on in PI Fiction. I particularly appreciated the way they all want some sort of Mayoral favor shown to their neighborhoods/communities and the way that Lydia takes notes to pass them along. A very nice—and real—note.

I feel like I should spend a few paragraphs on the most interesting character in this novel—Aubrey “Bree” Hamilton, the mayor’s aide who hires Bill to look for Mark. She and Bill dated years ago, and it’s clear from Bill’s First-Person Narration that the chip on his shoulder regarding this particular cheating %#&@ has is still pretty deep, no matter what degree of happiness he’s found elsewhere. It’s not just the way she cheated on him—Bill has no sympathy for her former PR clients (lawyers, largely) or the politicians she now works for, assuming everything they do or say is calculated for their benefit. He trusts Bree less than her bosses—and we see that throughout—but something about a 15-year-old boy who keeps running away from home speaks to Bill, so he has to investigate.

I got off target there, but I thought I’d explain Bill taking the case when he can’t stand anyone involved. Bree is a perfectly designed character—the reader can see how she’s good at her job, calculating, smart, and generally three steps ahead of anyone (aside from our protagonists occasionally). It’s impossible to tell how much she believes a lot of what she says, or if she’s saying it out of duty. And then there’s what she says to yank Bill’s chain a little bit. Bill (and therefore his narration) is so jaded against her that it’s hard for us to know how much of our negative reaction to her is justified and how much it is seeing her through Bill’s eyes. A great move by Rozan.

So, what did I think about The Mayors of New York?

The pace is fast without being breakneck. The dialogue is sharp and witty. Bill’s narration has never been more hard-boiled (his contempt for the client/client’s intermediary helps). The characters jump off the page. It’s what you want in a PI novel.

Early on, I had inklings about what was behind everything (and I’m pretty sure Rozan intended readers to). As the plot moved forward and we received more and more confirmation about those inklings, it made me uncomfortable and a little queasy. Why couldn’t I have been wrong? Why couldn’t these have been red herrings? Thanks to some skillful storytelling you don’t get bogged down in the wrongness of everything that’s afoot—it’s there and it colors everything, but your focus becomes on the characters dealing with it all, the reveals to other characters and the nail-biting way this story is resolved.

Yes, I think Rozan could’ve just as easily and skillfully let the characters and readers wallow in the muck of the crimes behind everything—but it would’ve changed the tenor of the book so much that the early chapters would feel out of place, and we probably wouldn’t have found some resolution that’s as satisfying.

Also, just because some things weren’t red herrings, don’t think that Rozan doesn’t toss enough of them at the reader to keep you wondering.

Rozan has been on a hot streak since Paper Son, and The Mayors of New York shows no signs of her slowing down anytime soon. And I am more than okay with that. If you’ve never indulged in this series before—this would work as a jumping-on point. Almost any of them would, really. The trick is to jump on somewhere for some of the best that PI fiction has to offer. A touch of the classic American PI added to a hefty helping of the 21st century. The Mayors of New York is one I heartily recommend to all.

4 1/2 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, the opinions expressed are my own.
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Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor: The Sins of the Fathers…

By HCNewton

On December 28, 2023

In C-E, Eli Cranor, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

I’ve been trying to write about this book since April. I know I’m not going to do this justice, and so I keep procrastinating. But with 2 posting days left this year…I can push it off no longer.

Ozark Dogs

by Eli Cranor

DETAILS:
Publisher: Soho Crime
Publication Date: April 4, 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length: 290 pgs.
Read Date: April 12-13, 2023

What’s Ozark Dogs About?

One of the bigger hurdles for me in completing this post was figuring out what to put here, I toyed with:

It’s by Eli Cranor, which means it’s going to have a Southern Noir sensibility, is probably going to have something to do with family, and is going to be excellent. That’s all you really need to know.

I still stand by that, but figure you need more, I just wasn’t sure what to say. I’ve finally given up and am just going to paste what Soho Crime has on their website (which, frankly, gives away more than I would’ve).

After his son is convicted of capital murder, Vietnam War veteran Jeremiah Fitzjurls takes over the care of his granddaughter, Joanna, raising her with as much warmth as can be found in an Ozark junkyard outfitted to be an armory. He teaches her how to shoot and fight, but there is not enough training in the world to protect her when the dreaded Ledfords, notorious meth dealers and fanatical white supremacists, come to collect on Joanna as payment for a long-overdue blood debt.

Headed by rancorous patriarch Bunn and smooth-talking, erudite Evail, the Ledfords have never forgotten what the Fitzjurls family did to them, and they will not be satisfied until they have taken an eye for an eye. As they seek revenge, and as Jeremiah desperately searches for his granddaughter, their narratives collide in this immersive story about family and how far some will go to honor, defend—or in some cases, destroy it.

Consequences

Don’t get me wrong—there’s plenty of crime, tension, drama, and all the rest in the novel’s “today.” But in a very real sense the novel isn’t about any of that. It’s about what happened almost two decades before this that set the families on their courses and what the outcomes of those courses are.

This is a book about ramifications, consequences, pigeons coming home to roost—however you want to put it. When you read about those earlier events a part of you is going to ask, “Why didn’t Cranor write about that?” Most—or at least many—authors would’ve, and then some would’ve added something like this as a sequel. Or maybe as Part II in a longer novel.

Cranor’s not about that, though. His focus is on what those events do to the present. How they’ve shaped the lives of those in the present (primarily without their knowledge or understanding), and how the sins of the fathers can be visited on their sons and daughters.

The Author’s Note

Frequent/Regular readers will know that I almost never mention this kind of thing when I talk about a novel. Do read this one after you finish reading about the Fitzjurls, the Ledfords, and the rest.

Unless I miss my guess, you’ll agree with every syllable.

So, what did I think about Ozark Dogs?

This, like Cranor’s first novel, would be really easy to over-hype, so I’m going to try to be restrained here.

The prose is so sharp, so…on point. You can tell every syllable was considered, if you read portions of this aloud (or, I’m sure, listen to the audiobook) you will feel the work that went into it—although it’s so smooth and flowing that it comes across as effortless. You see exactly what Cranor intends you to see, probably feel what he intended, and understand the motivations (even the ones that disgust you) of these people in precisely the way he planned.

The dialogue is so well done that you might find yourself sounding a bit like someone from Arkansas for a day or two after you finish.

These characters—it’s hard to think of them as characters, really, they’re people. People you can imagine seeing on the news or in a documentary about all this. It won’t be the most flattering documentary about anyone, I should add. I think every single one of them crosses a line—more likely many lines—that they’ve known their whole life they wouldn’t cross, at least have resolved they wouldn’t cross again years ago. But they do, sometimes with regrets, sometimes with eagerness. And your heart breaks for them, even for some of them that you hope horrible things happen to by the end of the book. Fully developed, fully realized, very human (read: fallible and flawed) characters on every page.

Earlier I said this book is about consequences, and that’s stuck with me for months. But it’s also about devotion—sometimes devotion that borders on obsession. Devotion to a cause, devotion to an idea, devotion to yourself, or (the most dangerous?) devotion to a person (or group of people). There’s a straight line between every character and what they’re devoted to and those consequences.

But if you don’t want to think about books like that—and you’re just looking for a great read? Ozark Dogs fulfills that, too. It’s a full-throttle, action-packed, revenge-driven, thrill ride with great fight scenes, enough blood and guts to satisfy the reader looking for that, and some twists and reveals that’ll stun you.

Cranor gives us another thriller that you can give to an anti-genre snob, who’ll appreciate it as much as people who only read Crime Fiction/Thrillers will. If you haven’t read him yet, do yourself a favor and get this (and Don’t Know Tough) now and start waiting for his July release while you’re at it.

5 Stars

Blood Betrayal by Ausma Zehanat Khan: A Pair of Potential Hate Crimes are Almost Too Much for the Communities and the Investigators

By HCNewton

On December 21, 2023

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

Blood Betrayal

by Ausma Zehanat Khan

DETAILS:
Series: Blackwater Falls, #2
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: November 07, 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length: 293 pg.
Read Date: December 8-12, 2023

What’s Blood Betrayal About?

On one night, there were two police shootings in the Denver area. One is the shooting of a possible innocent bystander/possible fleeing suspect in a drug raid. The other is the shooting of a vandal by an officer who (claims? he) mistook a can of spray paint for a gun.

Both of the officers were white, and the men who died were young minorities. Both cases will call for the Community Response team to investigate, neither case will be easy for them (and not just because their limited resources will be stretched by simultaneous investigations of a charged nature).

So let’s deal with these in the order we learn about them…

Case 1

Harry Cooper isn’t a fantastic cop—nor is he a bad one. He’s a solid, middle-of-the-road officer, and has been one for years—and now is near retirement. He’s never used his weapon before, but while pursuing some vandals on foot, he fires a warning shot in the air. Then he’s sure he sees a weapon in the hand of the vandal facing him. So he shoots to kill.

It seems like a tragic mistake, but as he’s part of Sheriff Grant’s force, Lt. Seif seizes the opportunity to do a thorough investigation—to ensure that’s all it was, and to maybe get more intel to help his case against Grant.

A number of things start to not add up—mostly around the “vandal.” He’s not one. He’s an art student who isn’t even from Blackwater Falls. He’s taking part in a legitimate street art contest, for one, not someone tagging random private property. Secondly, Seif thinks the physical evidence may point to something bigger. But he’s just not sure what. He wants Inaya Rahman to lead the charge on this.

Case 2

But Inaya has other concerns. She left Chicago after being assaulted by a number of fellow officers, we learned last time. So when one of those officers shows up on her family’s doorstep, she’s disturbed (to understate it). John Broda has come to her for help—his son is a patrol officer in Denver assigned to help a drug raid on a marijuana dispensary that was known to sell harder drugs, too. In the midst of it, a potential suspect was shot. Officer Kelly Broday was arrested for murder, without saying he shot Mateo Ruiz, he is saying he’s responsible for his death.

John Broda wants her to investigate and clear Kell, and in return, John will give Inaya the evidence he needs to close her last case from her days in Chicago.

She starts to look into things in exchange for the evidence, but she’s soon convinced that Kell was set up—possibly by a gang within the Denver Police. But she can’t figure out if someone wanted Ruiz dead (or why), or if it all has to do with the officer. Or is it both?

Meanwhile, the communities both young men belonged to start to organize and protest—particularly the Hispanic neighborhood Ruiz was from—and the Police Department isn’t responding calmly. Time is of the essence for this investigation.

Everything Else

Which is just a pithy way of saying “Everyone’s Personal Lives and the FBI’s Investigation into the Blackwater Falls Sheriff.” We learn more about every member of the Community Response team (and the civil rights attorney they ally with), and whatever arcs we saw or got hints of in the first book progress nicely (well, at least for the reader—I’m making no promises about how the characters feel).

Those aren’t the important parts of these books, but the more we get invested in these characters, the more compelling we’re going to find how the cases impact them and their lives. As a plus, they’re all really interesting characters so the arcs make for good reading.

As far as the FBI Investigation goes? Well…it’s still a thing. I’m not sure how much more I can say.

So, what did I think about Blood Betrayal?

It’d be easy to write this series off as some sort of “woke” thing where a racially diverse group of police investigators find hate crimes everywhere. Especially when white cops kill black and Latino men. That would be a grave error, however. Khan writes complex stories that cannot be reduced to a simple, one-line explanation, never mind a label or two.

In Blackwater Falls we got one murder that led to the uncovering of a web of more crime and corruption. Here we have two murders that end up being about so much more—both cases are about as complex as the one from Blackwater Falls, but the way that Khan weaves the two stories together (if only because the investigators are the same) makes this an even more complex novel. We get two great crime stories for the price of one. Yes, I think one of the cases was easier for the reader to figure out—possibly too easy. But the way that the clues, motives, and solution were revealed more than made up for that. And the other case? You’re never going to guess the solution until Khan shows it all.

But better than that is the way Khan shows (again) how crimes like this can impact entire communities, and the tensions that result and build up (possibly spill over) between those communities and the police rings so true that you could believe it happening today.

But Khan’s not just good at the big, social commentary—the impact that these killings have on the families is obviously bigger than anyone wants to imagine. And, as she did in the previous novel, Khan shows the grief, confusion, anger, and the other emotions that strike a family at this time with sensitivity and keen observation. Over the last few years, I’ve started noticing this part of a police procedural, and I really appreciate it when the author does it well. Khan’s one of the best around in this aspect.

Throw in some strong writing and great characters to all this? You’ve got yourself a winner. One of the best sequels that I read this year. You’d be doing yourself a favor if you grabbed the two books in this series up and doing so soon.

4 Stars

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman: The Joy Love Brings, and the Price We Pay

By HCNewton

On December 14, 2023

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, The Thursday Murder Club

I know I’ve been disorganized this year, but how did it take me so long to finish this? (I did start it the day after I closed it). Oh well, here it is anyway.

The Last Devil to Die

by Richard Osman

DETAILS:
Series: The Thursday Murder Club, #4
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Publication Date: September 19, 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length: 422 pg.
Read Date: September 28-29, 2023

… it might be nice for the Thursday Murder Club to have a new project that moved at a gentler pace than usual. Something a bit less murdery would be quite a novelty.

What’s The Last Devil to Die About?

What a nice thought—and for a minute, it looked possible.* But no reader expected it to continue, and it doesn’t. In fact, the murder strikes pretty close to home—a character the reader had met recently, but who had strong ties to Stephen and Elizabeth. Which, of course, is how the Thursday Murder Club gets involved. Since the reader does know him, though, we’re invested from the get-go.

* And I’d absolutely read that.

The Club encounters art forgery, a different group of drug smugglers, and some people who make others they’ve faced down seem downright cuddly. (not all of them, obviously, these retirees have faced off with some scary people) The path they have to follow to find the killer—and the object their friend died over—is probably the twistiest they’ve gone down yet.

Yes, there is the “less murdery” case as well—a fellow resident of Coopers Chase is getting fleeced by an online romantic interest, but he can’t see it. So the Club takes it upon themselves to expose the fraud to protect him before he’s totally broke (and maybe get a little of the money back).

Loss, Grief, and Death

Life continues, whatever you do. It’s a bulldozer like that.

This series has always featured death—not just murder. Given the age and health of the protagonists—and the community they live in—it’s a constant presence. But not just death, going on, grieving, learning to cope with the absence of a loved one—and maybe not learning.

We’ve watched Joyce, for example, grieving for her husband from Day 1. Everyone since that time has lost people that were important to them, talked about losing others, and so on. It’s one of the dominant themes of this series.

In The Last Devil to Die, dominant seems to be an understatement. Osman doesn’t let you get away from it—not in a mawkish, maudlin, or over-the-top manner. It’s just there, it’s what the characters are facing and dealing with in a variety of ways (even some of the bad guys!). It doesn’t leave you (too?) despondent, however. There’s hope, there’s life, there’s a tomorrow for the living. It is a bulldozer.

I’ve always been impressed with the way that Osman treats these subjects, he’s at his best in this installment.

So, all in all, I ’ve had a lovely Boxing Day, and am going to fall asleep in front of a Judi Dench film. All that’s missing is Gerry working his way through a tin of Quality Street and leaving the wrappers in the tin. Irritating at the time, but I’d give everything I own to have him back. Gerry liked the Strawberry Delights and Orange Crémes, and I liked the Toffee Pennies, and if you want to know the recipe for a happy marriage it is that.

So, what did I think about The Last Devil to Die?

That’s the thing about Coopers Chase. You’d imagine it was quiet and sedate, like a village pond on a summer’s day. But in truth it never stops moving, it’s always in motion. And that motion Is aging, and death, and love, and grief, and final snatched moments and opportunities grasped. The urgency of old age. There’s nothing that makes you feel more alive than the certainty of death.

This summer, when I did the Mid-Year Freak Out Book Tag, I said that while no book had made me cry this year, I figured something would by the end of the year. I didn’t think it would be a cozy mystery that did it. Almost twice.

But I was laughing—or at least chuckling—within a couple of pages both times. And it didn’t feel like emotional whiplash or like he was undercutting the seriousness of what elicited the tears or almost tears. Osman was just honestly portraying these characters in all their aspects which brings laughter and tears.

I’ve talked a lot about this book’s “downer” parts. Let me assure you that the comedy is great—watching Ron try to understand his son making Cameos, for example. Other things with Ron, too, actually. I’m having trouble coming up with examples—well, Joyce is a reliable source of humor, obviously. Everyone is, as you know if you’ve read one of these books (and if you haven’t, but are reading this post…there’s your homework, go pick up the first one and thank me later). I’m having trouble coming up with other specific examples that I can use in this post, sadly. But they’re there, I assure you.

As always, the characters are Osman’s strong suit. Our regulars are in fine form, as are the some returning characters (including some I was pleasantly surprised to see), and the new characters are great additions to the cast (however temporary some of them might be). They all practically jump off the page fully formed and it’s hard to ask for more.

The online fraud story goes pretty much like you expect it to—this isn’t a Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge kind of thing. But it was very satisfying. The murder mystery, which is theoretically why people pick this book up, on the other hand…I have mixed feelings about it. But I can’t explain that reaction. Osman knows how to construct a mystery, the red herrings are perfect, the suspects are wonderfully designed, and the reveals and wrap-up were done almost perfectly. I can’t think of a single problem with it. But the entire time I was reading it, something just didn’t click.

I want to stress that this is my only issue with the book—sadly, it’s the A story. Maybe it’s the fact that it didn’t feel like it always. Maybe it’s because everything else in the novel was so good and so emotionally strong, that the mystery couldn’t compete. Maybe the book was just too crowded with storylines and this one didn’t have as much time to develop as it needed? It’s also (very likely) just me. I also thought it was pretty easy to guess the killer’s identity—but the motive and the reveal were so well done that I didn’t care. Also, the herrings were red enough that I doubted my guess more than once.

That ineffable quibble aside, this is the best book in the series thus far. I couldn’t put it down—from the “are you kidding me?” beginning through the emotional body-blows over the course of the book, up to the strong conclusion, and all points in between, Osman kept me guessing, kept me invested, and kept me wondering how he could be so good at this.

I don’t need to tell fans to get this (they’ve probably all read it by now), but I can encourage new readers to catch up.

5 Stars

Opening Lines: The Last Dance by Mark Billingham

By HCNewton

On December 8, 2023

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc., Opening Lines, Quotations

We all know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover (yet, publishing companies spend big bucks on cover design/art and we all do judge them that way). But, the opening sentence(s)/paragraph(s) are fair game. So, when I stumble on a good opening (or remember one and pull it off the shelves), I like to throw it up here. This one characterizes so much of this book–good, solid detective/procedural kind of writing, served up with a perfectly off-kilter line that doesn’t belong there, but improves the whole thing so much that it actually has to be there.

from The Last Dance by Mark Billingham:

The coloured lights from more than a million lamps seem to dance above the town’s main street and their reflections shimmer on the surface of the black sea just beyond. On the street itself, a thousand neon signs dazzle and buzz and the slow-moving traffic has become a pulsating necklace of red and white beads. To the casual observer, gazing down from the top of the Tower perhaps, or from a penthouse apartment in one of the expensive blocks that have sprung up in recent years, this might be Las Vegas.

If that casual observer really squinted.

And had never been to Las Vegas.

Opening Lines Logo

The Secret by Lee Child and Andrew Child: Time for Me to Slip out the Back (away from) Jack

By HCNewton

On December 6, 2023

In Fiction, Jack Reacher, Lee Child, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Secret

by Lee Child, Andrew Child (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: Jack Reacher, #28
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: October 24, 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length: 292 pg.
Read Date: December 2-4, 2023

What’s The Secret About?

It’s 1992 and Capt. Jack Reacher has been assigned to a task force organized by the Secretary of Defense. He’s the U.S. Army Representative, and there’s someone from the CIA, the FBI, and the Treasury Department. They’ve been brought together to investigate a series of possible murders of scientists from around the country—although there’s the possibility they’re freak accidents or suicides, too.

In the 60s these men were part of a secret project that was abandoned after an accident caused some civilian deaths. But now it appears that someone has found their names and is working their way down a list. Can Reacher and the task force find the killer in time? What’s the purpose of killing them now?

So, what did I think about The Secret?

If this were a thriller about any other character and had someone else’s name on the cover, I might have said it was enjoyable enough.

But it’s about Jack Reacher and Lee Child’s name is on the cover (even if it’s pretty well established that Andrew is doing most of the writing), so there are certain standards that have to be met. The Secret falls far short of them.

I could go on a prolonged screed listing my problems with the book—but I’m going to skip it. Those problems range from minor (there’s no way that a 1992 version—or a 2023 version—of Reacher is going to say “pearl clutching”) to major (there’s no reason for the big multiple attackers vs. Reacher fight in the middle other than it’s been a hundred pages since Reacher’s done anything violent, and that time was pretty quick and undramatic). I’d also say I was disappointed by the use of the rest of the task force, which was subpar at best, the big reveal at the end was lazy, and the concluding chapters were a letdown from the mediocre pages before it.

But for me, it boils down to this—that guy walking around in a uniform wasn’t Jack Reacher. He was a decent Generic Thriller hero who could possibly develop into a character worthy of a series. And that’s a fatal flaw.

The Secret wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t good, either. Reacher deserves better from his creator—and from anyone hired to carry on the character, and he’s not getting it. I’ve tried (and some of my readers have told me I shouldn’t) to give this new arrangement time to develop into something worthwhile, but I think my experiment is over. I’m going to move on to other thriller series now—I may check in with what the Child brothers are doing in a couple of years, but if I’m going to keep a positive regard for Jack Reacher, I’m going to have to focus on my memories (and whatever Alan Ritchson is doing on the show).

2 1/2 Stars

Up on the Woof Top by Spencer Quinn: I Have No Humbugs to Give

By HCNewton

On December 1, 2023

In Chet and Bernie, Dogs, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Spencer Quinn

Up on the Woof Top

by Spencer Quinn

DETAILS:
Series: Chet and Bernie, #14
Publisher: Forge
Publication Date: October 17, 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length: 307 pg.
Read Date: November 15-17, 2023

What’s Up on the Woof Top About?

Bernie accompanies his elderly neighbors to a book signing for Dame Ariadne Carlisle, the author of a series of Christmas-themed mysteries. This, as one has to assume, is interrupted by some canine-induced chaos. However, it wasn’t Chet that got out of hand this time. Nevertheless, Chet and his human partner do grab the attention of Carlisle.

She ends up offering the duo a job they can’t turn down. She owns quite the little compound up in the mountains. It’s called Kringle Ranch and has buildings with names like Cratchit House. Carlisle knows her brand and has fully embraced it. As part of this brand, she owns a group of nine reindeer—her favorite, Rudy, has gone missing. For a sizeable payday, successful or not, she wants Bernie (or probably his friend with the superior sense of smell) to find Rudy and bring him back home.

Once they get to the Ranch, Bernie learns that Carlisle is suffering a career-risking case of writer’s block—which is ascribed to Rudy’s absence, but it could be the pressure that book 100 is too much for her. Or a combination of things. But it’s this block that Bernie really focuses on.

Or he tries to, anyway. Shortly after they arrive, the duo finds Carlisle’s personal assistant at the bottom of a gorge, barely alive. It turns out that Carlisle’s one, true love was also found at the bottom of that gorge, murdered, before she started writing. Bernie assumes that there’s a link between the two and plunges into the unsolved murder case as a way of finding the attempted murderer.

A Holiday Sampler

Along the way, we get the occasional excerpt from Carlisle’s Trudi Termaine series—which is interesting enough and does help you understand the character. But…I’ve gotta say, I hope Quinn doesn’t go the Seanan McGuire/A. Deborah Baker route and put out books under her name, I don’t know that I could deal with an entire novel’s worth of it.

(of course I would inevitably try it)

The Holiday Content

Unlike the previous holiday-themed installment, It’s a Wonderful Woof, where I said that it “would be very easy to forget that this is a Christmas/Holiday Themed novel,” it is impossible to forget that about this book. I mean, for crying out loud, Bernie is hired to search for a reindeer named Rudolph.

Christmas just flat-out permeates Up on the Woof Top. Thankfully, not in a cheesy way, or one that should offend anyone, or put off Scrooges. It’s part of the setting, it’s part of every plotline*, and the holiday is discussed frequently.

* I should probably qualify that with a “nearly,” but I can’t think of an exception off the top of my head.

None of this makes this one of those novels/stories that you can only read during the holiday season—like The Nutcracker or A Christmas Carol. Whenever you get to it during the year, it’ll be fine—but you won’t forget for a second what time of year it takes place in. (which makes it different from almost every single other book in the series, which could take place anytime)

Continuing Arcs

Sure, it wasn’t the biggest series-changing moment, but Chet getting out to…ahem…become a father was so subtle that you could be forgiven for missing it. And many of the series’ bigger moments (both for individual novels or overall) are underplayed—thanks in part to Chet not understanding them at the time or his unreliable narration.

That is not the case in this book. Not even close. Bernie does some things here that are going to change the books, his work, Chet’s life, and more in ways that readers can only guess at for now. (Quinn might only be guessing at for now, too)—and they make up the B-story, frequently distracting Bernie and the reader from murders, attempted murders, sleigh-pulling mammals, aging friends (new and old), and so on.

Here’s a fairly non-spoilery way to talk about how big and unusual Bernie’s actions in this novel are—he goes to his regular pawn shop not to hock or buy-back the watch. He goes there to just buy something. It threw me almost as much as it did the owners of the pawn shop.

So, what did I think about Up on the Woof Top?

“You did us proud. You’re the brains of the outfit, no doubt about it.”

Me the brains? That had to be one of Bernie’s jokes. He can be very funny at times. If I were the brains how could the Little Detective Agency be so successful, except for the finances part? Still, it was nice to hear. If only I knew exactly what I’d done I could do it again, and then hear Bernie say “You did us proud,” once more. Or even more than once! But you can’t have everything, which kind of makes sense, because who could possibly carry everything? You could have it, but you couldn’t go anywhere. What would be the point of that?”

I had a blast with this—there’s a subplot or scene or two that I wondered about. But they were either eventually justified or were fun enough that I didn’t care. The rest was just a ball of holiday-flavored Chet-goodness.

I never understood Bernie’s approach to the search for Rudy, I will admit. It really felt like he was just taking a vacation and occasionally remembered he had a chore to do. But that job was just an excuse to put him in this setting so he could look into this murder/attempted murder and associated shenanigans—that was clear from the jump (well, not what he was really going to be doing there, but that a case other-than the Rudy-hunt was in the wings)—so I didn’t worry about it too much. Also, the payoff to that particular gig was dealt with well enough by Quinn, that any quibbles just didn’t matter.

The novel is largely Bernie and Chet getting to play in the snow while doing what they do best while encountering a few characters that the reader will want to get to know better (a former Sheriff and a current deputy for starters). There’s a child that will steal your heart as he does Chet’s. And then there’s the setup for the series change that I mentioned above. Up on the Woof Top delivers plenty of fun from page 1 to 307.

Naturally, we get some healthy doses of what a friend calls Chet the Jet wisdom and other real heartwarming moments (see above quotation) that will flip in a moment to welcome silliness. There’s also a conversation about the lifespan of dogs that hit me right in “all the feels” after my dog’s recent death (it would’ve done it anyway, but the hit landed a bit harder). To be clear: I absolutely loved that moment and would’ve given the book 3 stars just because of it had I been annoyed by the rest of it.

Fans of this series will be very happy to unwrap this gift—and it should win a new reader over as well. If either of those two labels applies to you, I heartily recommend this novel to you.

4 Stars

Ostler by Susan Grossey: An Unconventional Sleuth Kicks Off an Equally Unconventional Career

By HCNewton

On November 29, 2023

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

Ostler

by Susan Grossey

DETAILS:
Series: Cambridge Hardiman Mysteries, #1
Publication Date: August 21, 2023
Format: eARC
Length:274 pg.
Read Date: October 8, 2023

A Vocabulary Lesson and The Title

Let’s start with the word “Ostler”—what is that? It’s apparently a variant of hostler (which doesn’t help me at all), someone who tends to horses at an inn. Words like “archaic” show up when you look and various dictionaries.

Now, I have to wonder—why entitle your novel with an archaic term that many people aren’t going to be familiar with? There’s a certain charm to using a term like that with a historical mystery. Also, maybe the term is a bit more familiar to readers in the U.K. Still, it seems risky to me. Who’s going to be drawn to that?

Sure, Grossey knows her audience—so it’s probably a smart move. Also, for Grossey fans, they’re going to be drawn to her name rather than the book’s.

Let’s move along to the more important things:

What’s Ostler About?

Our titular Ostler is Gregory Hardiman, a veteran of the war against Napoleon and other things—he has some sort of obvious facial injury, and more than a few memories he’d rather not have. He didn’t return home when his time was up, but took up residence in Cambridge and started working as an Ostler. He has a way with horses that garners him (and the inn he works for) a great reputation.

He’s also a reader—a big one. He’s constantly trying to educate himself—he carries a notebook of words he’s trying to learn with him and is frequently updating it. This, as much as his injury, seems to mark him as an oddity, and endears him to some characters as much as it will the reader.

Anyway, a coworker is found killed and his widow wants answers. Too many people (particularly the officials) write his death off, but neither his widow or Hardiman are convinced. Haridman finds himself assuring her that he’ll get to the bottom of it. On the one hand, she’s desperate for answers, so she’ll take the help of anyone who takes her seriously. But I’m not sure why either of them think he’s the right man for the job.

Naturally, as this is the first of a series, he clearly is, but Hardiman doesn’t strike me as the best candidate at the beginning. He starts by looking into the brother of the dead man—he’s familiar with the outskirts of the law, and just seems shifty.

This leads Hardiman to some dealings with Clement College and officials there—he uncovers some shady dealings and earns the trust of the faculty. While continuing to look into the murder, he ends up taking on another investigation for the College.

Hardiman—and an interesting hodgepodge of allies—uncovers a lot more than he expected to. Including some dangerous men who aren’t intimidated by an ex-soldier.

As Historical Fiction

So, what I know about this time period in England—particularly about the way colleges functioned, life in Cambridge and its environs, and so on would fit on the back of a postage stamp. With room for a florid signature left over. So Grossey could’ve made everything up out of whole cloth and I’d buy it—worldbuilding worthy of Rothfuss, Martin, or Jemisin.

But I’m certain* that’s not what happened here. Grossey paints a detailed picture of life in the time, a robust set of characters from a variety of socio-economic classes and professions. It reeks of authenticity. I want to read whatever books come next in the series just so I learn more. I jokingly told Grossey that I felt like I should ask her for a reading list to understand the time/setting—and she volunteered to provide such a list, but I think I’m just going to let her spoon-feed me things as I spend more time with Hardiman.

* 98.7% certain, anyway. I feel like I should leave a little room for cynicism.

So, what did I think about Ostler?

This succeeds on multiple fronts—as a mystery, as a piece of historical fiction, as a showcase for a unique (and potentially fascinating, time will tell) protagonist, and as a series start. I don’t know that this book has it all (few do), but it certainly has enough to heartily recommend.

The story is compelling, the pacing isn’t quite what you’d want in a contemporary Crime Novel, but it fits for the time—which isn’t to suggest it lags at all. You really do want to spend more time with most of these characters again (including most of them on the wrong side of the law)—few more so than Hardiman. The circumstances in his life undergo a significant change by the end of this book, and I’m eager to see how he adapts to them (his life seems to be a series of adaptations already, he’ll do fine).

As a slice of early 19th-century life, I found it most intriguing, and I wager most who at least dabble in historical fiction will as well. As with her Sam Plank series, Grossey is able to bring things to life in a way that gets even the uninformed 21st-century reader to see things and to immerse yourself in the period.

Give this one a shot—at least one thing in this book will appeal to you, probably several.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of this book by the author in exchange for this post and my honest opinion.

3.5 Stars