FREE Book--- "Hell Up In Houston" by Garnett Elliott

Start your Saturday with Hell Up In Houston by Garnett Elliott. This is the second book of his The Drifter Detective series and a mighty good one. My review is here on a book well worth your time.


Amazon Synopsis:

"Houston has been called "a sprawling city of astronauts and cowboys, in the middle of a swamp." And now Jack Laramie, rural-wandering PI, is headed up that way after his faithless Desoto blows its radiator. Jack's got a bit of a past with the city, in the form of a Cajun PI named Lameaux--a guy who mixes his "investigations" with organized vice. So Jack decides to lay low, holing up in a swanky downtown hotel called the Fulton. It's a splurge after sleeping in an old horse trailer night after night, but Jack figures he deserves a break. Until the Fulton's grizzled house detective shows up with a proposition ...

Jack's way out of his league this time around, and when he discovers a blackmailing scheme involving a famous industrialist, he finds himself bumping gun-barrels with the Federal Government. Survival's going to require throwing the PI code out the window. And some quick thinking.

Join Cash Laramie's hardluck grandson in this second installment of The Drifter Detective series, "Hell Up in Houston." At around 15K words, it won't take too long--just remember to bring your Colt."

Review: "The Girls of Bunker Pines: The Drifter Detective Series" by Garnett Elliott

It began with The Drifter Detective and continued on with Hell Up In Houston and now traveling private investigator Jack Laramie is back in The Girls of Bunker Pines. It is 1956 in Kilgore, Texas as a hail storm pulls Jack Laramie from an intense dream of his B-17 being shot down over Germany during the war. While he is back home and has pretty much adjusted to civilian life by wandering across Texas in his Desoto hitched to a horse trailer while working as a private investigator, the nightmares of war persist from time to time. His normal solution of downing a couple of shots won’t work this night as he is on a surveillance job outside a traveling church revival led by pastor Dalton Byrnes.

He may have fallen asleep, but it is clear that nothing much is going on.  The pastor may be a lot of things, but he isn’t having sex with his client’s wife. Though she does seem very interested even if the attention is not reciprocated. While one case seems to be drawing to a close, Jack’s being there has led him to meeting Joe Crewes. One look at Joe and Jack knows he sees a fellow veteran with his own demons.  Joe Crewes served in Korea and has a very complicated case for Jack Laramie if he is interested.

What follows is a complicated tale set in 1956 interspersed with Jack’s memories of flying in a B-17, being shot down over Germany, and the aftermath. Those flashback sections are intense and are skillfully woven into the main storyline of a client who may or may not be helped by Jack. The Girls of Bunker Pines: The Drifter Detective Series is another solidly good read that works on all levels all the way to the end. While it would obviously be best to read the series in order, one could read this as a standalone before going back and picking up the other installments of so desired. Author Garnett Elliott puts you in the moment with Jack and does not let go till the very end.

The Girls of Bunker Pines: The Drifter Detective Series

Garnett Elliott

Beat To A Pulp

http://www.beattoapulp.com/

ISBN#  978-0991203949

February 2014

E-Book (also available in print)

104 pages

$1.19

Material supplied by the publisher in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014

Senior News Column--February 2014

For several years now I have been writing a monthly book review column for the Senior News newspaper. The Senior News is aimed for the 50 and over readership with news relevant to seniors regarding various issues, humor pieces, and my review column among other things. The newspaper is a giveaway at doctor offices, stores, etc. and can be received by mail via a paid subscription. There are multiple editions across the state of Texas and therefore there is some fluctuation in content in each edition.

My column every month focuses on books of interest to the Texas audience. Therefore the books selected for the column, fiction or non-fiction, are written by Texas residents, feature Texans in some way, or would have some other connection to the Texas based readership. At least two books are covered each month in the short space I am given.

Below is/was my February 2014 column …

Bead Bugs: Cute, Creepy, and Quirky Projects to Make with Beads, Wire, and Fun Found Objects

Amy Kopperude

Creative Publishing International

ISBN# 978-1-58923-732-2

Paperback (also available as an e-book)

128 Pages

Bead Bugs by Amy Kopperude isn't so much about making a fashion statement or creating a style as it is about doing something different and fun. The 128 page book contains 23 projects. Each project has detailed instructions, plenty of close up color pictures, and ideas that strongly encourage personal creativity. While the skill levels needed to fashion something close to what is depicted will vary, they all are fun and very creative.

This colorful book also includes a section on tools and resources, and plenty of information so that you can make something truly unique. “Bead Bugs” will show you how to use beads as well as found objects in your home in clever ways while unleashing a lot of fun and creativity.

Hell Up In Houston: A Jack Laramie Beat

Garnett Elliott

Beat To A Pulp

ASIN: B00F565UP4

Kindle E-Book

Approximately 57 Pages (includes author bio and ads for other books)

Private Detective, Jack Laramie, is back in another gritty fast moving tale that is also very good. First seen in The Drifter Detective Jack makes his money by drifting from city to city across Texas doing work as a private detective while living out of the horse trailer he tows with his Desoto. The grandson of legendary US Marshal Cash Laramie is headed to Galveston to deal with a client as Hell Up in Houston opens. That mission is temporarily stopped thanks to mechanical problems with the old Desoto requiring him to stay for at least a few nights at “The Fulton” in Houston. In 1946 The Fulton is one of the few places with air conditioning and that may be the only point in its favor.

The house detective, Frank Grogan, wants Jack to do some work for him and will pay. Considering the repair bill for the Desoto, Jack doesn't really have a choice. Frank said the work should be easy. Too bad Frank lied.

This latest installment in the series is another good one. Reminiscent of the hard boiled pulp of yesteryear, Jack Laramie is a man's man who gets his hands and boots dirty while fighting the good fight. As in the preceding book, the read here has plenty of action, deceitful characters, and a twisting storyline to keep readers very entertained. You certainly don't have to read the very good The Drifter Detective before reading Hell Up in Houston but, I highly recommend doing so. You won’t regret it.

Kevin R Tipple ©2014

Rough Edges: The Girls of Bunker Pines - Garnett Elliott

 Read this last week while at the hospital with Sandi and have not yet written my review. Suffice it to say for now that it is a good one. So is the review....

Rough Edges: The Girls of Bunker Pines - Garnett Elliott: THE GIRLS OF BUNKER PINES is the third adventure of Jack Laramie, the Drifter Detective, in what has become one of my favorite current pr...

Review: "Hell Up In Houston: A Jack Laramie Beat" by Garnett Elliott

Private Detective, Jack Laramie, is back in another gritty fast moving tale that is also very good. First seen in The Drifter Detective Jack makes his money by drifting from city to city across Texas doing work as a private detective while living out of the horse trailer he tows with his Desoto. Having wrapped up the current case after discovering the real truth of the matter the grandson of legendary US Marshal Cash Laramie is headed to Galveston to deal with a client as Hell Up in Houston opens. That mission is temporarily stopped thanks to mechanical problems with the old Desoto requiring him to stay for at least a few nights at “The Fulton” in Houston.

Jack had no desire to be back in Houston as the last time he was in Houston things did not go well. He also didn’t want to stay at “The Fulton” either. However, it is clear the Desoto is going to be at the garage awhile, the horse trailer is miles back on the side of the road awaiting its own tow truck pickup, and he really has no choice. “The Fulton” has a bit of a less than stellar reputation as well, but Jack doesn't care as the place has air conditioning. In 1946 Houston, Texas as now air conditioning is all that truly matters.

He also soon learns the place also has a house detective by the name of Frank Grogan. Frank wants him to do some work for him and will pay him a decent amount of money for a few days of work. Considering the repair bill for the Desoto, Jack doesn't really have a choice. Besides, Frank said the work should be easy. If Jack keeps his head down and goes about his business quietly with no one wiser that he is in town everything should be easy.

Frank lied.

This latest installment in the series is another good one. Reminiscent of the hard boiled pulp of yesteryear, Jack Laramie is a man's man who gets his hands and boots dirty which fighting the good fight. As in the preceding book, the read here has plenty of action, deceitful characters, and a twisting storyline to keep readers very entertained. You certainly don't have to read the very good The Drifter Detective before reading Hell Up in Houston but, I recommend doing so. You won’t regret it.

Hell Up In Houston: A Jack Laramie Beat

Garnett Elliott

Beat To A Pulp

http://www.beattoapulp.com

September 2013

ASIN: B00F565UP4

Kindle E-Book

Approximately 57 Pages (includes author bio and ads for other books)

$1.09

Material supplied by David Cranmer in exchange for my objective review.

If you have not read my review of The Drifter Detective you can read it here.

Kevin R Tipple ©2013