SleuthSayers: Sorry, just not a good fit by Chris Knopf

SleuthSayers: Sorry, just not a good fit.: No writer likes rejection. That’s because no human being likes being rejected. But writers are often more eloquent in their anger and desp...

SleuthSayers: Crime Conn '22 by Steve Liskow

SleuthSayers: Crime Conn '22: Last Saturday, I attended a writing conference for the first time in much too long. The in-person attendance was sparse, but many people cho...

Aubrey Hamilton Reviews: Dead Anyway by Chris Knopf

Dead Anyway by Chris Knopf (The Permanent Press, 2012) is the first book about Arthur Cathcart, a mathematics whiz who earns his living conducting mostly market research but nearly any kind of research his clients might want. His wife Florencia owns a successful insurance company. They are happily married and well off. All is right in Arthur’s world, until the day a man shows up in their living room, holding a gun on Florencia until she completes the answers to five questions written on a piece of paper. When she takes too long, he shoots Arthur in the leg and then threatens to shoot him again. After Florencia scribbles the answers down, the goon shoots her in the head and then shoots Arthur.

While Florencia died instantly, the bullet took a more indirect path through Arthur’s skull and he survives after months-long coma. He convinces his doctor sister to write a death certificate for him, since his ability to identify the murderer places him in continued jeopardy. Then he cashes out his retirement funds with his sister’s help and buys a collection of vintage guitars that he plans to sell one at a time as a source of nontraceable cash. Arthur is going off the grid to find his wife’s killer.

Arthur displays an impressive talent in hacking computer systems and more knowledge than I would have expected from a research nerd in dealing with underworld thugs, all while coming to terms with his own changed physical abilities.

Reviewers loved this book. It received starred reviews from the big four: Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, and Library Journal. It was one of Publishers Weekly Top Twelve Mystery/Thrillers of 2012 and on the list of Kirkus Best Fiction of 2012. It also received the 2013 Nero Award. I can see why: it is an original and entertaining story. Highly recommended.

·         Hardcover: 248 pages

·         Publisher: The Permanent Press (September 15, 2012)

·         Language: English

·         ISBN-10: 1579622836

·         ISBN-13: 978-1579622831

Aubrey Hamilton ©2019

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Books By Mail

I have not done a post like this in quite some time. I might not have done it now if my Verizon e-mail did not keep going out. There have been repeated problems the last six weeks or so. Whether or not it has anything to do with their sale of their interest in this area to some outfit called Frontier I have no idea. But, it is annoying.

Anyway, in no particular order, here are the books I have gotten in the last few days by way of the mail....

Big time thanks to all involved for shipping the reads my way.

Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: Cop Job -- Chris Knopf

 Another in my huge print TBR pile.......

Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: Cop Job -- Chris Knopf: Chris Knopf has devoted his recent books to a couple of other series sleuths, but former corporate troubleshooter and current cabinetmaker S...

FFB: "The Last Refuge" By Chris Knopf

Friday means Friday’s Forgotten Books hosted here by Patti Abbott. While Patti declared today a celebration of Shirley Jackson, the boys (Patrick and Barry) and I didn’t have anything for that. While looking for something else, I came across this and was reminded just how much I had enjoyed this book years ago. It is the opening book of a series I have not managed to keep up with over the years. A problem that seems to be happening more and more due to time and health issues here. 

The Last Refuge by Chris Knopf is my offering for today…..

Sam Acquillo is a man living a very modest life in his deceased parent’s small cottage in the Oak Point area of Southampton, Long Island. The view from his small home is mainly of the Little Peconic Bay which is perfect for long stretches of contemplative drinking. He lives there year around, drives his Dad’s 67 Pontiac Grand Prix when he needs to go somewhere and basically just hangs out with Eddie his dog. Divorced, he has cut himself off from all human contact as much as possible and for the most part lives as a recluse.

Like his father, he has continued to help out his cantankerous neighbor, Regina Broadhurst. Like Sam, she is a bitter pill to swallow and he doesn’t really know why he helps her out when she needs it from time to time other than she expects it and it is a family tradition. Upon finding her body, he offers to those in charge his help in settling her estate and finding what may be left of her family. In so doing, his assistance begins to grate, not that he cares a bit, as questions arise not only regarding the nature of her death but also regarding her estate. Sam really doesn’t care that he is annoying unknown parties who might choose to finally eliminate him and his questions to solve their mounting problems.

With a cast of memorable characters and a burned out hero, the result is a very good read. Much like the muscle car Sam drives; this novel rumbles along on all cylinders and flattens anything that gets in its way. The characters involved are complex and in no way stereotypical and the tale itself, like those involved, is very complex and twisting. Then there is the fact that we, as readers, have just scratched the surface of Sam Acquillo. A man who does not know himself and readily admits it. It should be a real treat to watch him as he tries to figure things out and one wonders if he will have to gut another house to do so. 

The Last Refuge
By Chris Knopf
The Permanent Press
2005
ISBN #1-57962-118-X
Hardback
287 Pages

Material came my way via the Plano Public Library System after a recommendation by my parents. They both were avid readers--my Mom still is-- and especially enjoyed mysteries.


Kevin R. Tipple © 2007, 2014