mystery

Dec 30 2010

Crashed by Timothy Hallinan

As regular readers know, I’m a big fan of Timothy Hallinan‘s Poke Rafferty series.  So I was intrigued when I heard about Crashed a new e-book series. I was interested to see Hallinan work with a different lead character (Junior Bender) and different setting (Los Angeles).

Here is the official blurb:

Crashed, the first book in the new series from the author of the Simeon Grist Mysteries and the Poke Rafferty Bangkok Thrillers, introduces Junior Bender, a top-of-the-line burglar who also works as a private eye – for crooks. When a crook gets ripped off by a crook, Junior is the guy who gets hired. In his first outing, Crashed, Junior finds himself on the wrong side of his own already paper-thin moral code, being forced to prevent sabotage against a multi-million dollar porn film starring exactly the kind of person he’d normally want to protect.

At the age of 23, Thistle Downing is broke, strung-out, semi-suicidal, and on the verge of obscurity. But between the ages of eight and fifteen, she was the biggest television star in the world, a brilliant natural comedian until her talent slowly began to desert her. Now desperate, she’s facing the ultimate humiliation . . . and she’s so wasted she doesn’t even know that someone’s been trying to kill her. And in between her and all that, there’s no one – except Junior.

Crashed turned out to be a fun fast paced mystery with the typical Hallinan humor and style. A lead character who while outside the law and normal cultural mores has his own strong sense of right and wrong – and a fierce determination to go his own way.

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By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 1 • Tags: , , , , ,

Dec 28 2010

Looking for the King by David Downing

The concept used in Looking for the King is an interesting one for a novel. Calling itself “An Inklings Novel” the story intertwines a romance of sorts, a mystery/adventure and a series of conversations with and between the main characters and the famous literary group which included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien.

Basic plot:

It is 1940, and American Tom McCord, a 23-year-old aspiring doctoral candidate, is in England researching the historical evidence for the legendary King Arthur. There he meets perky and intuitive Laura Hartman, a fellow American staying with her aunt in Oxford, and the two of them team up for an even more ambitious and dangerous quest.

Aided by the Inklings-that illustrious circle of scholars and writers made famous by its two most prolific members, C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien-Tom and Laura begin to suspect that the fabled Spear of Destiny, the lance that pierced the side of Christ on the cross, is hidden somewhere in England.

There are basically three threads: the relationship of the two main characters Tom and Laura; the mystery surrounding Laura’s dreams and the Spear of Destiny; and the intellectual/spiritual conversations with the Inklings and its impact on Tom’s worldview.

While the unique structure, and the underlying mystery, had the potential for an entertaining story I found the combination fell flat. There was no sense of danger, no suspense or surprises, just conversation and a plodding plot. Those with a strong interest in Lewis, Tolkien or the Inklings might enjoy the book just for those aspects but it wasn’t enough for me.

More below.

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By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 1 • Tags: , , , , , , ,

Dec 20 2010

In the Mail: Bitter Legacy

Bitter Legacy (Matt Royal Mysteries) by H. Terrell Griffin

Booklist Review

Griffin’s Matt Royal novels may be the closest approximation we have today to John D. MacDonald in his pulp-fiction prime. Griffin’s characters are as stark as a man in a trench coat under a street light. They all have backstories that give them depth, and they possess that lovable quality of players in radio-era dramas with which MacDonald infused the characters in his Travis McGee series. In Griffin’s latest, the slightly over-the-top action, also characteristic of MacDonald, begins when Royal’s friend is gunned down in broad daylight by a sniper. The assassin, however, is really stalking Royal, who soon enough must contend with Glock-wielding fisherman and a particularly nasty biker gang. All this takes place in or near Sarasota, Florida, MacDonald’s adopted home town. Griffin captures the mood and tone of the McGee novels nicely, as the amiable Royal dispatches his adversaries with ?lan, eager to resume his casually hedonistic lifestyle. Good fun.

By Kevin Holtsberry • In The Mail • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

Dec 6 2010

In the Mail: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff by Don Bruns

Publishers Weekly

Roommates Skip Moore and James Lessor of More or Less Investigations receive PI licenses from the Florida Department of Agriculture (“Don’t ask why…. This is Florida. They just do things a little differently here”) in Bruns’s diverting if predictable fourth mystery to feature the bumbling sleuths (after 2009′s Stuff to Spy For). When Moe Bradley, owner of the Moe Show carnival, hires James to be his new marketing director, he also asks them to find out who’s been sabotaging the rides. A faulty safety bar on one ride has resulted in a 32-year-old woman being thrown to her death. After Kevin Cross, who knows too much about the carny for his own good, turns up shot to death in his trailer, the action, leavened with plenty of laid-back dialogue, picks up steam and concludes on a cool cliffhanger. Skip’s girlfriend, Emily, and their PI pal, Jody Stacy, who supplies the pair with spy toys, add to the fun.

By Kevin Holtsberry • In The Mail • 0 • Tags: , , ,

Dec 2 2010

In the Mail: My Fear Lady

My Fear Lady: A Joe LaFlam Mystery by Rick Dewhurst

Christian gumshoe Joe LaFlam is wallowing in an existential crisis when the stunning Sissy Smith slinks into his office with a plea for help. Her man Jake Dano has been lured away by another woman and led into the bowels of Spelunkers Global, a secret society bent on world domination with whom Joe previously tangled in the first of the LaFlam mystery series, Bye Bye Bertie. Joe is eager to take the case, knowing that exposing the scum will solidify his professional reputation and reinforce his earthly purpose. He goes undercover underground, where, entrenched as one of them, earthly temptations abound. My Fear Lady, with its intricate plot and insightful humor, is a unique addition to the detective genre, offering readers an absorbing glimpse into the heart of a committed Christian detective.

By Kevin Holtsberry • In The Mail • 1 • Tags: , , ,

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