Kevin’s Corner
This latest novel in the series finds Joe Pickett reassigned from Saddlestring to Jackson Hole, Wyoming on temporary assignment. Jackson Hole, home of the Teton District, is the marquee district in the state of Wyoming and as such, the political playground of the rich and famous as well as any environmental group. While intrigued with the challenge of running such a high profile district, Joe Pickett never wanted to get the job because of the death of his good friend Will Jensen.
However, that is exactly what happened and the fact that he apparently died by suicide is unbelievable to Joe. The man he knew never would have done such a thing. As he begins work in the district, he begins to understand some of the intense pressure Will was under first hand. While some questions are quickly answered, those answers as well as an unrelated string of events, lead Joe to dig into the case. Powerful interests are at work and as Joe digs into not only Will’s suicide but various matters he was working on, decisions are made that put Joe into peril as well as his family back home in Saddlestring.
As in earlier novels in the series, this fifth novel in the series reflects the author’s clear love for the outdoors as well as his disdain for various groups that use the environment for their own selected purpose. Environmentalists, politicians, and land developers come up for equal contempt as Joe tries to balance out everyone’s needs in regards to the best use of the land. The marital strife between Joe and his wife, which first surfaced a couple of novels ago continues and is made worse by the forced separation. However, overriding it all is the storyline of Will Jensen’s death, which remains a strong intriguing presence that runs the gamut of the book and is not lost among the side stories.
Which is why, novel after novel, this author remains worth reading. Consistently, C. J. Box shows the average person what the Game Wardens have to face in our modern use it all up today society and how difficult their job is to protect the wilderness that some of us got to see in our youth. At the same time, each novel has at its core, an intriguing mystery that just as easily could have happened at the center of the urban jungle. With all the story elements any reader could want, this author provides quality enjoyable novels and this one is no exception.
I strongly suggest that they should be read in order. From the beginning, they are titled, “Open Season,” “Savage Run,” “Winterkill,” “Trophy Hunt” and his latest, “Out Of Range.”
Out Of Range
By C. J. Box
www.cjbox.net
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
www.penguin.com
2005
ISBN # 0-399-15291-1
Hardback
308 Pages
More next time and as always feel free to drop me a note here or at Kevin_tipple@att.net with your comments, observations, and suggestions.
Thanks for reading!
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Bearing burdens in "Crusader's Cross"
Kevin’s Corner
“The wind smelled of humus, lichen, the musky odor of pecan husks broken under the shoe, a sunshower on the fields across the bayou. But any poetry that might have been contained in that moment was lost when I stared into Honoria’s face, convinced that human insanity was as close to our fingertips as the act of rubbing fog off a windowpane.
Honoria’s eyes remained fixed on mine, expectant, somehow trusting, the redness of her mouth and the mole next to it as inviting as a poisonous flower.” (Crusader’s Cross, Page 66)
The inherent evil whether born or created by enviroment in some and righting past wrongs as best as one can have always been strong themes in the Dave Robicheaux series of novels. That certainly is true in this latest effort, which leads readers back in time to 1958 before returning to the present.
Years ago, Dave and his brother Jimmie met a young woman named Ida Durbin in Galveston, Texas. Jimmie quickly fell in love with her not knowing much about her including the fact that she was a prostitute. Once he found out, he made plans to get her away from her pimp and out of the life. Unfortunately, that didn’t work and she vanished without a trace moments before Jimmie was supposed to meet her. Jimmie has always carried a torch for her, convinced she survived whatever happened and may have even had a country music career.
In the present, Dave is called to the hospital to talk to Troy Bordelon. Troy has been asking for Dave for some reason possible because they knew each other years ago. Troy always was bullying scum and Dave has no idea why he would want to talk to him about anything. Troy tells him that his Uncle was one of the cops who took a woman away (presumably Ida) years ago and he doesn’t know if she is dead or not. Dave tries to get more information but Troy is unable to talk. He also gets little information about of two Sheriff’s deputies who lurk outside the hospital and want to know what Troy told Dave. The cops are dirty and with the sudden death of Troy during the night, the answers are going to be harder to find.
For Dave, he doesn’t know if she is alive or dead or what happened so long ago. He also can’t explain why if she is alive, she never contacted Jimmie. Dave goes back home to New Iberia, Louisiana but with so many questions about what happened and guilt over the fact that they didn’t do more at the time, he isn’t about to leave things alone. Before long, he is back on the local police force so that his questions have some authority behind them. Once again, as he investigates he begins dealing with another wealthy family that seems rotten at the core while at the same time dealing with his continuing grief over the death of his wife and his own alcoholic demons. Throw in a serial killer who starts dropping bodies in the area as possible a message to Dave, the usual hard nosed antics of Clete Purcell, the usual media circus and a new love interest for Dave, along with a few other story ingredients, and the result is another dark and brooding crime laden mystery that is good to the final word.
As always, author James Lee Burke, turns a phrase well and brings the beauty as well as the pain fully alive for the reader. Told primarily through Dave’s viewpoint, the read moves forward slowly in terms of time and the long back story as well as the crimes depicted in the here and now. Through it all, there is a certain melancholy feel to the work as Dave while dealing with everything going on in his life, comments frequently about the passing of years, the aging process, life spans and death, and such. More so that in the earlier novels in the series and this time it is like Dave believes that his life has pretty much passed him by.
This reader was left with a sense that this novel, beyond being another good one, could easily be the final novel of the series. One hopes not and hopefully there will be many more. If it is the final one, he ends the series on a high note and in one book, hits on all the story themes that have made up in the entire series. By doing so, the work certainly stands as a shining example of an author’s body of work as well as the work of a familiar beloved character.
Crusader’s Cross: A Dave Robicheaux Novel
By James lee Burke
Simon & Schuster
www.simonsays.com
2005
ISBN # 0-7432-7719-8
Hardback
325 Pages
More next time and as always feel free to drop me a note here or at Kevin_tipple@att.net with your comments, observations, and suggestions.
Thanks for reading!
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
“The wind smelled of humus, lichen, the musky odor of pecan husks broken under the shoe, a sunshower on the fields across the bayou. But any poetry that might have been contained in that moment was lost when I stared into Honoria’s face, convinced that human insanity was as close to our fingertips as the act of rubbing fog off a windowpane.
Honoria’s eyes remained fixed on mine, expectant, somehow trusting, the redness of her mouth and the mole next to it as inviting as a poisonous flower.” (Crusader’s Cross, Page 66)
The inherent evil whether born or created by enviroment in some and righting past wrongs as best as one can have always been strong themes in the Dave Robicheaux series of novels. That certainly is true in this latest effort, which leads readers back in time to 1958 before returning to the present.
Years ago, Dave and his brother Jimmie met a young woman named Ida Durbin in Galveston, Texas. Jimmie quickly fell in love with her not knowing much about her including the fact that she was a prostitute. Once he found out, he made plans to get her away from her pimp and out of the life. Unfortunately, that didn’t work and she vanished without a trace moments before Jimmie was supposed to meet her. Jimmie has always carried a torch for her, convinced she survived whatever happened and may have even had a country music career.
In the present, Dave is called to the hospital to talk to Troy Bordelon. Troy has been asking for Dave for some reason possible because they knew each other years ago. Troy always was bullying scum and Dave has no idea why he would want to talk to him about anything. Troy tells him that his Uncle was one of the cops who took a woman away (presumably Ida) years ago and he doesn’t know if she is dead or not. Dave tries to get more information but Troy is unable to talk. He also gets little information about of two Sheriff’s deputies who lurk outside the hospital and want to know what Troy told Dave. The cops are dirty and with the sudden death of Troy during the night, the answers are going to be harder to find.
For Dave, he doesn’t know if she is alive or dead or what happened so long ago. He also can’t explain why if she is alive, she never contacted Jimmie. Dave goes back home to New Iberia, Louisiana but with so many questions about what happened and guilt over the fact that they didn’t do more at the time, he isn’t about to leave things alone. Before long, he is back on the local police force so that his questions have some authority behind them. Once again, as he investigates he begins dealing with another wealthy family that seems rotten at the core while at the same time dealing with his continuing grief over the death of his wife and his own alcoholic demons. Throw in a serial killer who starts dropping bodies in the area as possible a message to Dave, the usual hard nosed antics of Clete Purcell, the usual media circus and a new love interest for Dave, along with a few other story ingredients, and the result is another dark and brooding crime laden mystery that is good to the final word.
As always, author James Lee Burke, turns a phrase well and brings the beauty as well as the pain fully alive for the reader. Told primarily through Dave’s viewpoint, the read moves forward slowly in terms of time and the long back story as well as the crimes depicted in the here and now. Through it all, there is a certain melancholy feel to the work as Dave while dealing with everything going on in his life, comments frequently about the passing of years, the aging process, life spans and death, and such. More so that in the earlier novels in the series and this time it is like Dave believes that his life has pretty much passed him by.
This reader was left with a sense that this novel, beyond being another good one, could easily be the final novel of the series. One hopes not and hopefully there will be many more. If it is the final one, he ends the series on a high note and in one book, hits on all the story themes that have made up in the entire series. By doing so, the work certainly stands as a shining example of an author’s body of work as well as the work of a familiar beloved character.
Crusader’s Cross: A Dave Robicheaux Novel
By James lee Burke
Simon & Schuster
www.simonsays.com
2005
ISBN # 0-7432-7719-8
Hardback
325 Pages
More next time and as always feel free to drop me a note here or at Kevin_tipple@att.net with your comments, observations, and suggestions.
Thanks for reading!
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
Monday, August 22, 2005
Death, Treats, And Books--Who Could Ask For More?
Kevin’s Corner
In this soon to be released mystery, Hannah Evans has more than enough to do in the small east Texas town of Destiny. Not only does she have to get her bookstore, Death Warmed Over Mystery Books, open and running, she has her energetic six-year-old daughter Emma to raise. She also is in love with Will, Sheriff of Van Zandt County and their romance is intensifying rapidly.
If that wasn’t enough, thanks to her recent success saving her sister from jail as well as uncovering the real murderer, she is about to be pulled into another case. Recently widowed, Beatrice Payton believes her life is in danger due to her recent inheritance due to the death of her husband. She thinks that someone is out to kill her for the money and has a few suspects to consider. But, is someone really out to get her, or is she just a lonely old lady, or is something else going on that no one suspects just yet.
All those questions and more are answered in this very enjoyable read, which is a sequel to the 2003 release of “Death Warmed Over.” While it is a sequel, this novel can easily be read as a stand alone should you prefer as there are very brief explanations of the back story events depicted in the first novel. Rich in character development and setting, this East Texas cozy mystery moves slowly forward as Hannah works her way through the case along the way dealing with sibling rivalry, issues with her daughter and her own parents, small town life, and the joys and terrors of plain old everyday life in a small town. With frequent humorous comments, Hannah brings a joy to every page for the reader and showcases the fact that the simpler country style of life isn’t always what it seems. Rockwall, Texas author Cindy Daniel has once again brought Destiny, Texas alive and ya’ll better stop by soon.
A Family Affair
By Cindy Daniel
Quiet Storm Publishing
http://www.quietstormpublishing.com/
2005
ISBN # 0-9770070-57
Large Trade Paperback
More next time and as always feel free to drop me a note here or at Kevin_tipple@att.net with your comments, observations, and suggestions.
Thanks for reading!
In this soon to be released mystery, Hannah Evans has more than enough to do in the small east Texas town of Destiny. Not only does she have to get her bookstore, Death Warmed Over Mystery Books, open and running, she has her energetic six-year-old daughter Emma to raise. She also is in love with Will, Sheriff of Van Zandt County and their romance is intensifying rapidly.
If that wasn’t enough, thanks to her recent success saving her sister from jail as well as uncovering the real murderer, she is about to be pulled into another case. Recently widowed, Beatrice Payton believes her life is in danger due to her recent inheritance due to the death of her husband. She thinks that someone is out to kill her for the money and has a few suspects to consider. But, is someone really out to get her, or is she just a lonely old lady, or is something else going on that no one suspects just yet.
All those questions and more are answered in this very enjoyable read, which is a sequel to the 2003 release of “Death Warmed Over.” While it is a sequel, this novel can easily be read as a stand alone should you prefer as there are very brief explanations of the back story events depicted in the first novel. Rich in character development and setting, this East Texas cozy mystery moves slowly forward as Hannah works her way through the case along the way dealing with sibling rivalry, issues with her daughter and her own parents, small town life, and the joys and terrors of plain old everyday life in a small town. With frequent humorous comments, Hannah brings a joy to every page for the reader and showcases the fact that the simpler country style of life isn’t always what it seems. Rockwall, Texas author Cindy Daniel has once again brought Destiny, Texas alive and ya’ll better stop by soon.
A Family Affair
By Cindy Daniel
Quiet Storm Publishing
http://www.quietstormpublishing.com/
2005
ISBN # 0-9770070-57
Large Trade Paperback
More next time and as always feel free to drop me a note here or at Kevin_tipple@att.net with your comments, observations, and suggestions.
Thanks for reading!
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Journalistic Ethics in "Final Copy"
Kevin’s Corner
The year is 1991 and news reporter Addy McNeil is having a hard time of it. Not only is she battling prescription substance abuse and nightly panic attacks, she is dealing with the rippling aftereffects on her and her parents of her brother’s recent death. Recently demoted at the newspaper, her bosses now want her to use her relationship from 14 years ago to gain personal access to a murder suspect.
Kit Korbanics, business partner of Francis Marquesson, is suspected of throwing Marquesson over a balcony of the Harbor Inn Hotel to his death. The fact that Addy dated him in college has given her a chance to resurrect her struggling journalism career by doing an in depth profile on Kit. But in reaching out to Kit to do her assigned piece, painful old memories and feelings surface. Against a backdrop of venture capitalism, bioengineering and the beginnings of the synthetic cocaine problem, Addy struggles to investigate Kit and once again practice journalistic objectivity.
Featuring a sympathetic main character, this novel slowly moves forward in cozy style and tantalizes the reader with clues and misdirection. Much like her second novel “Confidential Source” (reviewed below) Addy deals with the same issues of substance abuse, inability to sleep, and drawing the line between her life as a reporter and her personal life. While the heroines are differently named, readers will recognize the many commonalities between the two.
Well written, no doubt due to the author’s wide experiences in journalism, this read provides a tantalizing glimpse into the harsh realities of the modern newspaper newsroom. At the same time, it provides a good mystery as well as giving the reader a reason to read bylines in the morning paper just a little differently.
Final Copy
By Jan Brogan
The Larcom Press
www.larcompress.com
2001
ISBN # 0-9678199-4-6
Hardback
317 Pages
More next time and as always feel free to drop me a note here or at Kevin_tipple@att.net with your comments, observations, and suggestions.
Thanks for reading!
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
The year is 1991 and news reporter Addy McNeil is having a hard time of it. Not only is she battling prescription substance abuse and nightly panic attacks, she is dealing with the rippling aftereffects on her and her parents of her brother’s recent death. Recently demoted at the newspaper, her bosses now want her to use her relationship from 14 years ago to gain personal access to a murder suspect.
Kit Korbanics, business partner of Francis Marquesson, is suspected of throwing Marquesson over a balcony of the Harbor Inn Hotel to his death. The fact that Addy dated him in college has given her a chance to resurrect her struggling journalism career by doing an in depth profile on Kit. But in reaching out to Kit to do her assigned piece, painful old memories and feelings surface. Against a backdrop of venture capitalism, bioengineering and the beginnings of the synthetic cocaine problem, Addy struggles to investigate Kit and once again practice journalistic objectivity.
Featuring a sympathetic main character, this novel slowly moves forward in cozy style and tantalizes the reader with clues and misdirection. Much like her second novel “Confidential Source” (reviewed below) Addy deals with the same issues of substance abuse, inability to sleep, and drawing the line between her life as a reporter and her personal life. While the heroines are differently named, readers will recognize the many commonalities between the two.
Well written, no doubt due to the author’s wide experiences in journalism, this read provides a tantalizing glimpse into the harsh realities of the modern newspaper newsroom. At the same time, it provides a good mystery as well as giving the reader a reason to read bylines in the morning paper just a little differently.
Final Copy
By Jan Brogan
The Larcom Press
www.larcompress.com
2001
ISBN # 0-9678199-4-6
Hardback
317 Pages
More next time and as always feel free to drop me a note here or at Kevin_tipple@att.net with your comments, observations, and suggestions.
Thanks for reading!
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
Saturday, August 13, 2005
"Barrington. Stone Barrington."
Kevin’s Corner
As many of the Stone Barrington series novels do, this one begins at Elaine’s; a restaurant Stone dines at frequently in New York City. Stone has dropped by to have a drink having eaten dinner elsewhere as had Dino and Elaine wasn’t thrilled that they were occupying Stone’s usual table on a busy night. Bill Eggers, managing partner of Woodman & Weld arrives bringing Stone a new client. Stone handles the cases and problems that would be best not handled directly by employees of Woodman & Weld, so the fact Bill Eggers has brought in another isn’t a surprise as Stone thinks he knows what to expect. Instead, the new client, who won’t say why he needs Stone having asked for him specifically, is a stereotypical Texan from head to toe named Billy Bob Barnstormer. Stone takes an instant dislike to him but can’t say no to Bill Eggers who has made it plain Stone is to handle Barnstormer.
Stone also can’t say no when Dino helpfully suggests that Stone put up Barnstormer in his house for a few days. Eggers thinks it is a grate idea so with that decided Stone and Barnstormer head out into the cold night to go to Stone’s home. Things quickly take a strange turn minutes later when someone opens fire shooting at Barnstormer and only hitting the window of his limousine. Barnstormer is ready to fire back, whipping out an old fashioned Colt Single Action Army six-shooter which Stone quickly takes away from him citing New York’s well known gun laws. Those shots and Stone’s subsequent confiscation of Barnstormer’s gun mark the beginning of a client-attorney relationship that gets stranger and stranger with Stone in more and more trouble as the pages go by.
This novel is typical Stone Barrington and as such, poses little surprise for the reader. Slightly more complex than most in this long running series, it features the studly Stone Barrington as his graphic bedroom best. Between the attentions of a beautiful Untied Sates Attorney and his old flame Arrington, Stone has his hands full with the ladies in his life. Unfortunately, he isn’t quite so adept in dealing with Billy Bob Barnstormer, a dead hooker found in his home that results in a murder investigation, and secrets from his past.
If you have read recent books in the series than you know exactly what you are getting. If you haven’t, this novel is a cut above recent efforts on the series except for a final twist that many readers no doubt surmised books ago. Despite that anticlimactic moment, the novel is pretty good and will serve readers well on their favorite beach as the summer winds down.
Two Dollar Bill
By Stuart Woods
www.stuartwoods.com
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
www.penguin.com
2005
ISBN # 0-399-15251-2
Hardback
298 Pages
More next time and as always feel free to drop me a note here or at Kevin_tipple@att.net with your comments, observations, and suggestions.
Thanks for reading!
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
As many of the Stone Barrington series novels do, this one begins at Elaine’s; a restaurant Stone dines at frequently in New York City. Stone has dropped by to have a drink having eaten dinner elsewhere as had Dino and Elaine wasn’t thrilled that they were occupying Stone’s usual table on a busy night. Bill Eggers, managing partner of Woodman & Weld arrives bringing Stone a new client. Stone handles the cases and problems that would be best not handled directly by employees of Woodman & Weld, so the fact Bill Eggers has brought in another isn’t a surprise as Stone thinks he knows what to expect. Instead, the new client, who won’t say why he needs Stone having asked for him specifically, is a stereotypical Texan from head to toe named Billy Bob Barnstormer. Stone takes an instant dislike to him but can’t say no to Bill Eggers who has made it plain Stone is to handle Barnstormer.
Stone also can’t say no when Dino helpfully suggests that Stone put up Barnstormer in his house for a few days. Eggers thinks it is a grate idea so with that decided Stone and Barnstormer head out into the cold night to go to Stone’s home. Things quickly take a strange turn minutes later when someone opens fire shooting at Barnstormer and only hitting the window of his limousine. Barnstormer is ready to fire back, whipping out an old fashioned Colt Single Action Army six-shooter which Stone quickly takes away from him citing New York’s well known gun laws. Those shots and Stone’s subsequent confiscation of Barnstormer’s gun mark the beginning of a client-attorney relationship that gets stranger and stranger with Stone in more and more trouble as the pages go by.
This novel is typical Stone Barrington and as such, poses little surprise for the reader. Slightly more complex than most in this long running series, it features the studly Stone Barrington as his graphic bedroom best. Between the attentions of a beautiful Untied Sates Attorney and his old flame Arrington, Stone has his hands full with the ladies in his life. Unfortunately, he isn’t quite so adept in dealing with Billy Bob Barnstormer, a dead hooker found in his home that results in a murder investigation, and secrets from his past.
If you have read recent books in the series than you know exactly what you are getting. If you haven’t, this novel is a cut above recent efforts on the series except for a final twist that many readers no doubt surmised books ago. Despite that anticlimactic moment, the novel is pretty good and will serve readers well on their favorite beach as the summer winds down.
Two Dollar Bill
By Stuart Woods
www.stuartwoods.com
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
www.penguin.com
2005
ISBN # 0-399-15251-2
Hardback
298 Pages
More next time and as always feel free to drop me a note here or at Kevin_tipple@att.net with your comments, observations, and suggestions.
Thanks for reading!
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Orr and Obsession in "Tribeca Blues"
Kevin’s Corner
“Tribeca Blues” picks up approximately a year after events depicted in “A Well-Known Secret” with the shocking death of Leo, owner of Tilt and Terry Orr’s good friend. He was like a father to Diddio and in a way, was to Orr as well. While both Diddio and Orr knew Leo was not the picture of good health, far from it actually, his death is a shock and a heavy blow and another in the tragic series that has befallen the small group of friends. Also shocking were his last requests that they find hidden in his things.
Diddio is to get Tilt and is to make of it what he will. Orr is to keep an eye on Diddio which is something he would have done anyway and isn’t a surprise. What is surprising is that Leo wants Orr to find Loretta Jones, Leo’s evil ex-wife and make her pay for what she did to Leo years ago. He wants justice from the grave and Orr isn’t going to turn this request down. He begins with good intentions but soon is sidetracked by an opportunity to catch the madman he hold responsible for killing his wife and young son.
Emotionally complex, this novel somewhat completes a story arc that was begun in the first novel. Obsession has been a strong theme throughout the previous two books but not nearly at the level in this book. Obsession and the past along with Orr’s raw emotions are ramped up to a higher level that in the previous books but yet do not rise to the level that would drown the reader.
While there are heavy periods of intense emotional angst and introspection, the main storyline of bringing Loretta Jones to justice is always present. Often that storyline is slowed to a near standstill while Orr searches for his own personal justice but his search and Leo’s last request are deeply intertwined. This sets up a final fifty pages or so when everything clicks into place and the reader is whipped along in an intense climax. Considering the overall story arcs, it isn’t surprising that this novel is aimed squarely at the ongoing internal emotions and psychic struggle of Orr. As such, it also becomes a character study of one man and where his responsibility and well as guilt lie.
This third book in the series is another excellent book. I strongly recommend reading the two previous books so that the power of this book is not diminished. It is simply very good stuff and a real treat.
Tribeca Blues
By Jim Fusilli
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
www.penguin.com
2003
ISBN # 0-399-15088-9
Hardback
273 Pages
More next time and as always feel free to drop me a note here or at Kevin_tipple@att.net with your comments, observations, and suggestions.
Thanks for reading!
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
“Tribeca Blues” picks up approximately a year after events depicted in “A Well-Known Secret” with the shocking death of Leo, owner of Tilt and Terry Orr’s good friend. He was like a father to Diddio and in a way, was to Orr as well. While both Diddio and Orr knew Leo was not the picture of good health, far from it actually, his death is a shock and a heavy blow and another in the tragic series that has befallen the small group of friends. Also shocking were his last requests that they find hidden in his things.
Diddio is to get Tilt and is to make of it what he will. Orr is to keep an eye on Diddio which is something he would have done anyway and isn’t a surprise. What is surprising is that Leo wants Orr to find Loretta Jones, Leo’s evil ex-wife and make her pay for what she did to Leo years ago. He wants justice from the grave and Orr isn’t going to turn this request down. He begins with good intentions but soon is sidetracked by an opportunity to catch the madman he hold responsible for killing his wife and young son.
Emotionally complex, this novel somewhat completes a story arc that was begun in the first novel. Obsession has been a strong theme throughout the previous two books but not nearly at the level in this book. Obsession and the past along with Orr’s raw emotions are ramped up to a higher level that in the previous books but yet do not rise to the level that would drown the reader.
While there are heavy periods of intense emotional angst and introspection, the main storyline of bringing Loretta Jones to justice is always present. Often that storyline is slowed to a near standstill while Orr searches for his own personal justice but his search and Leo’s last request are deeply intertwined. This sets up a final fifty pages or so when everything clicks into place and the reader is whipped along in an intense climax. Considering the overall story arcs, it isn’t surprising that this novel is aimed squarely at the ongoing internal emotions and psychic struggle of Orr. As such, it also becomes a character study of one man and where his responsibility and well as guilt lie.
This third book in the series is another excellent book. I strongly recommend reading the two previous books so that the power of this book is not diminished. It is simply very good stuff and a real treat.
Tribeca Blues
By Jim Fusilli
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
www.penguin.com
2003
ISBN # 0-399-15088-9
Hardback
273 Pages
More next time and as always feel free to drop me a note here or at Kevin_tipple@att.net with your comments, observations, and suggestions.
Thanks for reading!
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
Feeling Lucky, Mr. Smith?
Kevin’s Corner
In this fifth novel of the series, Tony Valentine is still dealing with the temptation of Lucy Price, his own son Gerry and his mistakes, as well as catching cons and cheaters through his company, GriftSense. It is because of his company and the fact that Tony is the best that his old friend, Bill Higgins, director of the Nevada Gaming Control Board flies out to Florida to make a personal pitch for help. Higgins knows a recent winner, Ricky Smith, had to have cheated but he doesn’t know how and the fact that Ricky is a media sensation doesn’t help matters.
After escaping a burning hotel by jumping several stories into a swimming pool, Ricky Smith, named Mr. Lucky by the media, walked across the street and into the Mint. Once inside the casino he couldn’t stop winning. He took the casino for more than 200 thousand at Blackjack, 250 thousand at Roulette, and another 300 thousand at craps. He then moved on to playing poker with the legendary Tex “All In” Snyder and whipped him for a nice chunk of change. Higgins knows Mr. Lucy had to have cheated, somehow, and wants Tony to prove it.
They make a deal and soon Tony and his son, Gerry, are working the case from opposite angles. Tony heads for the hometown of Slippery Rock, North Carolina where Ricky is from while Gerry is supposed to go to Gulfport, Mississippi and see Tex Snyder. Before long, each has dug up far more than they bargained for. Throw in the Dixie Mafia, violent small town crooks, and some rather annoyed cops, and this read becomes another roller coaster ride in the series and another treat from James Swain.
Just like the series as a whole, this novel is an up and down ride where suspects are many as are the motivations and misdirection is common. Character development is limited and consists mainly of Gerry’s ongoing battle to resist the demons within and turn his life around thanks to the heavy influence of his wife Yolanda and new baby. He is desperately trying to redeem himself and be the kind of man his father is and that his family needs while at the same time resisting the ever present lure of easy cash in the form of one scheme or another. His eternal struggle and guilt over it mirrors Tony’s own struggle with guilt over the role he played in Lucy’s recent lapse in judgment and resulting arrest.
As always, those themes are secondary to the main mystery storyline and detailed explanations of various cheating scams. Like other novels in this series, the author’s book is a primer on how to spot cheating on both sides of the table and is often laugh out loud funny as various scenarios are explained.
Then there is the fact that this read is simply just plain old good fun. Danger exists but unlike real life, one knows with a shadow of a doubt it all will turn out right in the end. Sometimes it just doesn’t get better than that.
Mr. Lucky
By James Swain
www.jimswain.com
Ballentine Books
www.ballantinebooks.com
2005
ISBN # 0-345-47544-5
Hardback
354 Pages
More next time and as always feel free to drop me a note here or at Kevin_tipple@att.net with your comments, observations, and suggestions.
Thanks for reading!
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
In this fifth novel of the series, Tony Valentine is still dealing with the temptation of Lucy Price, his own son Gerry and his mistakes, as well as catching cons and cheaters through his company, GriftSense. It is because of his company and the fact that Tony is the best that his old friend, Bill Higgins, director of the Nevada Gaming Control Board flies out to Florida to make a personal pitch for help. Higgins knows a recent winner, Ricky Smith, had to have cheated but he doesn’t know how and the fact that Ricky is a media sensation doesn’t help matters.
After escaping a burning hotel by jumping several stories into a swimming pool, Ricky Smith, named Mr. Lucky by the media, walked across the street and into the Mint. Once inside the casino he couldn’t stop winning. He took the casino for more than 200 thousand at Blackjack, 250 thousand at Roulette, and another 300 thousand at craps. He then moved on to playing poker with the legendary Tex “All In” Snyder and whipped him for a nice chunk of change. Higgins knows Mr. Lucy had to have cheated, somehow, and wants Tony to prove it.
They make a deal and soon Tony and his son, Gerry, are working the case from opposite angles. Tony heads for the hometown of Slippery Rock, North Carolina where Ricky is from while Gerry is supposed to go to Gulfport, Mississippi and see Tex Snyder. Before long, each has dug up far more than they bargained for. Throw in the Dixie Mafia, violent small town crooks, and some rather annoyed cops, and this read becomes another roller coaster ride in the series and another treat from James Swain.
Just like the series as a whole, this novel is an up and down ride where suspects are many as are the motivations and misdirection is common. Character development is limited and consists mainly of Gerry’s ongoing battle to resist the demons within and turn his life around thanks to the heavy influence of his wife Yolanda and new baby. He is desperately trying to redeem himself and be the kind of man his father is and that his family needs while at the same time resisting the ever present lure of easy cash in the form of one scheme or another. His eternal struggle and guilt over it mirrors Tony’s own struggle with guilt over the role he played in Lucy’s recent lapse in judgment and resulting arrest.
As always, those themes are secondary to the main mystery storyline and detailed explanations of various cheating scams. Like other novels in this series, the author’s book is a primer on how to spot cheating on both sides of the table and is often laugh out loud funny as various scenarios are explained.
Then there is the fact that this read is simply just plain old good fun. Danger exists but unlike real life, one knows with a shadow of a doubt it all will turn out right in the end. Sometimes it just doesn’t get better than that.
Mr. Lucky
By James Swain
www.jimswain.com
Ballentine Books
www.ballantinebooks.com
2005
ISBN # 0-345-47544-5
Hardback
354 Pages
More next time and as always feel free to drop me a note here or at Kevin_tipple@att.net with your comments, observations, and suggestions.
Thanks for reading!
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
Thursday, August 04, 2005
A Well-Known Secret
Kevin’s Corner
Picking up two years after events depicted in “Closing Time” (reviewed below) very little has changed for Terry Orr. He still misses his wife and young son and he still isn’t writing. He is still doing some private investigator work in the hopes of learning the skills necessary to take down the madman responsible for the pain he and Bella feel.
When his housekeeper asks him to talk to a friend of hers in need, the least he can do is talk to her. The friend’s name is Dorotea Salgado and she wants her daughter Sonia Salgado found. One wouldn’t think it would be too hard to find her since Sonia only recently got out of prison after serving a thirty-year prison sentence for the murder of a diamond merchant in the course of a robbery. The murder was particularly brutal and Terry wonders from the beginning how a physically small high school student could have done it. He wonders that and a lot more when he finds Sonia dead days later. The case quickly becomes something he can’t give up and before long this obsession, like his others, puts him crosswise with everyone around him.
This second novel of the series does not suffer the usual fatal flaws most second novels do. The writing remains top notch as the author continues to expand Orr’s world and further nuance the cast of recurring characters. Bella continues to appear smarter than her years to the reader and yet, at other times, there is an endearing child like quality to her known by many parents of the young teenager set. Also realistic is Terry’s continuing pain over the loss of his wife and young child as well as his first real tentative steps in returning to the world around him instead of just living day to day. Overriding everything is another complicated and well done mystery where almost everyone has a hidden agenda quite possible worth killing for.
A Well-Known Secret
By Jim Fusilli
www.jimfusilli.com
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
www.penguinputnam.com
2002
ISBN # 0-399-14931-7
Hardback
274 Pages
More next time and as always feel free to drop me a note here or at Kevin_tipple@att.net with your comments, observations, and suggestions.
Thanks for reading!
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
Picking up two years after events depicted in “Closing Time” (reviewed below) very little has changed for Terry Orr. He still misses his wife and young son and he still isn’t writing. He is still doing some private investigator work in the hopes of learning the skills necessary to take down the madman responsible for the pain he and Bella feel.
When his housekeeper asks him to talk to a friend of hers in need, the least he can do is talk to her. The friend’s name is Dorotea Salgado and she wants her daughter Sonia Salgado found. One wouldn’t think it would be too hard to find her since Sonia only recently got out of prison after serving a thirty-year prison sentence for the murder of a diamond merchant in the course of a robbery. The murder was particularly brutal and Terry wonders from the beginning how a physically small high school student could have done it. He wonders that and a lot more when he finds Sonia dead days later. The case quickly becomes something he can’t give up and before long this obsession, like his others, puts him crosswise with everyone around him.
This second novel of the series does not suffer the usual fatal flaws most second novels do. The writing remains top notch as the author continues to expand Orr’s world and further nuance the cast of recurring characters. Bella continues to appear smarter than her years to the reader and yet, at other times, there is an endearing child like quality to her known by many parents of the young teenager set. Also realistic is Terry’s continuing pain over the loss of his wife and young child as well as his first real tentative steps in returning to the world around him instead of just living day to day. Overriding everything is another complicated and well done mystery where almost everyone has a hidden agenda quite possible worth killing for.
A Well-Known Secret
By Jim Fusilli
www.jimfusilli.com
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
www.penguinputnam.com
2002
ISBN # 0-399-14931-7
Hardback
274 Pages
More next time and as always feel free to drop me a note here or at Kevin_tipple@att.net with your comments, observations, and suggestions.
Thanks for reading!
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
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