Showing posts with label Minnesota. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Minnesota. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 08, 2022
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Monday, February 25, 2019
Aubrey Hamilton Reviews: Broken Ice by Matt Goldman
Broken
Ice by Matt Goldman (Forge Books, 2018) is the
second book about Nils Shapiro, a former police officer who has joined forces
with former police colleague Anders Ellegaard to establish a private detective
agency in Minneapolis. Anders brings business sense and marketing know-how to
the partnership, and Nils contributes investigative skills and acute intuition.
They are both fully realized characters; of the two, I liked Anders more. He is
at a loss sometimes as to the moral ambiguity of the situations to which their
work leads him. Nils, on the other hand, isn’t especially troubled by such
considerations.
Two teenage girls are missing from the area and
Nils is retained to find one of them, Linnea Engstrom. The two girls aren’t particular
friends but the connection between the two events is unmistakable. While
interviewing Linnea’s parents, the other girl is found dead in the St. Paul
caves. Feeling increasing pressure to find Linnea quickly, Nils and Anders go
to the scene to learn whatever they can that might apply to their search. Standing
outside the cave entrance talking to the police, Nils is hit in the shoulder by
an arrow. Not just any arrow, but one meant for big game hunting, with lethal
razorlike edges. The medical examiner was leaving the cave as he fell and took
prompt action to keep him from bleeding to death.
Nils arranges to leave the hospital with a
full-time nurse, whom he escapes as soon as possible to continue his
investigation, which takes him to a small town near the Canadian border known
as the Hockey Capital of the World. Playoff season is in full swing and many of
Linnea’s friends are there. Two more people connected to Linnea turn up
gruesomely dead, and Nils is constantly on the look-out for the archer to come
back to finish him off while he conducts interviews and visits Linnea’s known hangouts.
New information about halfway through suggests
a different motive for Linnea’s disappearance than earlier assumed and leads
Nils into Canada with an interesting pair of travelling companions. The
supporting cast of characters in this book is one of its strong points.
This new series is a pleasant addition to the
catalog of fictitious private investigators in general and to the Minnesota
collection in particular. (Why is Minnesota so saturated with crime fiction? We
don’t hear anything about private investigators in Idaho.) I noticed three or
four jarring typos in the book. “Grilled leaks” instead of leeks and “Char road shotgun” instead of rode for instance. Someone used spellcheck instead of an actual
proofreader. I expect better from a prominent publisher like Forge.
·
Hardcover: 336 pages
·
Publisher: Forge Books
(June 12, 2018)
·
Language: English
·
ISBN-10: 0765391317
·
ISBN-13: 978-0765391315
Aubrey
Hamilton ©2019
Aubrey
Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and
reads mysteries at night.
Saturday, December 08, 2018
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Iron Lake: William Kent Krueger
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Iron Lake: William Kent Krueger: Iron Lake is William Kent Krueger's first novel, starring Cork O'Connor, the former sheriff of Aurora, Minnesota, ousted in a recen...
Wednesday, November 09, 2016
Guest Post: Carl Brookins on Change and Legacy
If you have not read
books by Carl Brookins you have no idea what good stuff you are missing. I have
been a huge fan of his for years now. Please welcome Carl to the blog today as
he has a few thoughts about the inevitability of change and legacy…
Currently, the novel
I’m promoting is titled The Inside Passage. It’s a sailing
adventure that relates the story of one man’s transformation from a
conservative, strait-laced hard-working businessman who always followed the
rules, to a more self-sufficient, flexible individual who seeks justice through
any fair means, while necessarily pushing the boundaries a bit. It’s a story of
evolution and change.
Change will occur in
January with the swearing in of a new president. In 1973 after my family moved
back to the Twin Cities, we found a lovely piece of property on the bluffs of
the upper St. Croix when the widow of a local farmer sold and moved her young
family to a more hospitable location. We build a crude cabin and had an
occasional garden. As the years passed a replacement for the crude cabin was
necessary. We mounted a project involving a group of friends and erected a
geodesic dome after a design by Buckminster Fuller and supplied as a pre-cut
package by a local company. Time passed and we acquired a gas-fired
refrigerator, a propane range and built a sleeping loft. Long rope swings from
mature oaks allowed the growing gaggle of children to swing excitedly out and
back over the brush and snow-clogged ravine.
The passing of the
years saw the farmer who leased the open fields for crops and pasture go into
retirement and the land went fallow. We continued to host rural weekend camping
parties for scores of colleagues and friends, roasting whole hogs, sides of
beef and birds over open pit fires built of the downed oak trees from our
little preserve. Friends brought beloved pets to bury in remote areas of our
forest grove and we skied the narrow deer trails, hauled water and firewood on
toboggans by snowshoe and marveled at the solitude and even the random
snowmobile tracks of trespassing neighbors. A few hunters helped keep the wild
life in check.
With the departure of
our tenant farmer, we decided to re-forest the open fields. We acquired
thousands of white pine and red oak seedlings and over yet another weekend of
partying, with help from the DNR and a local farmer who supplied a tractor, we
consumed great quantities of beer, ate steaks and hamburgers and with many
friends, planted sweeping groves of trees, trees which have now grown to forest-sized
maturity visible from space, trees that are re-enriching the land to what it
once was after the glaciers receded.
Now, years have passed
and we grow older and less able to tramp through the underbrush and up the
steep bluffs. We have decided to sell the land, a place I visit only
occasionally now, yet one filled with fine and rich memories of children
growing, of family outings, tenting and tussling with sleeping bags and cooking
gear, of carpentry, and hide and seek. I recognize the flowers that blossomed
and enriched our lives, even for only a single season. I hear from the hunters
who ranged across the open fields and accept their thanks and recognition for
the good memories are what remain.
The land will soon
belong to the state and become a part of one of Minnesota’s fine state parks
which abut our property on two sides. We hope the state will remove the little
detritus left which reveals the occupancy of those who benefited from that
land, and we will see nature continue to reclaim its rightful own.
Yesterday we received
the expected certified letter signifying that the state will exercise its
option to purchase the property in question and our names will be inscribed on
the title abstract as former owners. Fences and signs will appear and we will
become subject to the state park rules like all citizens of the state.
Another milestone has
passed, another family change carefully executed. It is the passage of time,
the rotation of the stars, the inner adjustments of life, inevitable and
inexorable. Although I now rarely visit this land, this anchor to windward, I
will miss its presence, the sure knowledge it was there to be enjoyed, when it
is gone.
Carl Brookins ©2016
Before he became a mystery writer and reviewer, Carl Brookins was
a counselor and faculty member at Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul,
Minnesota. Brookins and his wife are avid recreational sailors. He is a member
of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and Private Eye Writers of
America. He can frequently be found touring bookstores and libraries with his
companions-in-crime, The Minnesota Crime Wave.
He writes the sailing adventure series featuring Michael Tanner and Mary Whitney. The third novel is Old Silver. His new private investigator series features Sean NMI Sean, a short P.I. The first is titled The Case of the Greedy Lawyers. Brookins received a liberal arts degree from the University of Minnesota and studied for a MA in Communications at Michigan State University.
@carlbrookins
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Review: "Gathering Prey: A Novel" by John Sandford
The latest in a long series from
author John Sandford, Gathering Prey opens with Skye and
Henry befriending Letty, the adopted daughter of Lucas and Weather Davenport.
Letty knows very quickly that Skye and Henry are part of a group known as
“Travelers” and spends some time with them learning about how they move around
the country. Their lifestyle is far away from Letty’s life as a student at
Stanford.
During the course of a fast food
meal Henry and Skye tell her about someone they know as “Pilot” and his band of
disciples. As Skye explains it becomes clear that Pilot is basically head of a
small cult whose members will do anything for him. The man they know as Pilot
preaches his own brand of end
of the world of end of the world fanaticism known
as “The Fall.” Skye believes he and his people will kill and have done so
though Henry just thinks the dude is cool as well as a bit odd. The man has
movie connections and Henry very much would like to be in the movies.
Weeks pass into summer, Letty is
back home in Minnesota, and Henry disappears. Skye is alone, scared, and calls
Letty for help. Letty arranges for Skye to get to Minnesota. She also talks to
her dad, Lucas Davenport, about the situation. Lucas works for the Minnesota Bureau
of Criminal Apprehension and is very good at his job when left alone to do his job.
The politics of the job is increasingly interfering with his primary job of
catching killers. Lucas believes the bosses are supposed to deal with the media
and the flack of the cases when necessary while leaving him free to do his job
of getting the bad folks off the streets. Increasingly it is becoming apparent to
Lucas that containing costs and covering one’s backside is taking over in favor
of getting the job done. He has enough going on without Letty bringing him
something that most likely is nothing more than Letty being played by scammers for
money.
Though he should be working a couple
of other things, he agrees to meet Skye and listen to what she has to say. That
meeting changes everything because there is enough there to get him interested
enough to make a couple of calls. Those calls lead to other nuggets of
information worth pursuing. That daisy chain of connections gets strong and
stronger and before long, Lucas is far from home and Minnesota as he chases a
crazed idiot and his followers bent on escaping at all costs.
The latest in the long running
series is a good one though not nearly at the level of earlier books in the
series. Family has been a major theme in many of these novels and such is the
case here in Gathering Prey where Letty takes a major role. A role that could
be further expanded depending on how the author decides to take things as a
result of the turning point ending of the book.
At the same time, the book is predictable
in that from the first few pages readers once again know who the bad guys are.
That is quickly confirmed as the point of view switches to follow them again
and again throughout the book as they do the bad things you would expect from deranged
whack jobs. As they escalate their violence and the manhunt comes closer to
them, it becomes more and more clear that this is a thriller style novel
featuring shallow deranged whack job characters, plenty of action, and not the
mystery we used to see in this series. The read quickly becomes all about the case
with the good guys in hot pursuit all across the countryside of the upper Midwest
and bad guys doing very bad things. Everyone has guns as do the numerous
civilians who become heavily involved towards the end of the book.
This is not to say that Gathering
Prey is not a good book. It is. One just has to read it for what it is
and not what one wants it to be as expressed in many of the negative reviews.
One has to understand that this series, especially over the last several books,
has changed to a thriller series. Gone are the complex mysteries of the earlier
books in the series. Gathering Prey is billed as the 25th
book of the series and things have changed over time. Expecting the exact same
kind of book the reader got in book five, book ten, etc. is foolhardy and shows
a lack of understanding regarding how series change over time.
Those who can’t get enough of Virgil
Flowers will also be thrilled to know he has a presence in this book.
Gathering Prey, while certainly not the best in the series, is one that is
good.
Gathering Prey: A Novel
John Sandford
Thorndike Press (Gale Cengage)
May 2015
ISBN# 978-1-4104-7725-5
Large Print Hardback (also available
in hardback, audio, and e-book)
533 Pages
$35.99
Material
was picked up at the Haggard Branch of the Plano Public Library System to read
and review.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2015
Monday, December 15, 2014
Review: "Deadline: A Virgil Flowers Novel" by John Sandford
It begins with missing dogs. The latest victim was Windy
Butterfield who had two black labs stolen right out of his kennel. Butterfield
knew a guy who knew Virgil and was willing to call him at three in the morning.
By the next day Virgil Flowers is on the road to Trippton, Minnesota to see
what is what.
Lucas Davenport has more than enough on his plate with the
Black Hole Case (see Field
Of Prey) so Virgil’s allowed even more freedom to poke around. That
means he is still in the area when things that would get a higher priority
investigation wise begin to happen. Like
a murder. Like an arson. As other events take precedence the theft of dozens
and dozens of dogs of all types becomes a secondary storyline while Virgil
works a case where folks are being killed and more.
The eighth book in the Virgil Flowers series that began
with Dark
of the Moon is another good one. As usual, the language can be a bit
much for some readers and there is plenty of sexual innuendo as Virgil works
cases in multiple storylines. Readers are cautioned that if Field
Of Prey has not been read it -should
be read before this book as there are numerous direct references to it and
several of them are detailed enough to be considered spoilers.
Beyond that, if you have read this series before you know
what you are getting into and Deadline: A Virgil Flowers Novel is
another good one. While it does not break new ground in the character, it does deliver
exactly what one would expect from this very enjoyable series. If not familiar,
make sure you read the earlier ones starting with Dark of the Moon so that you
get the often dark humor at work in this series.
Deadline: A
Virgil Flowers Novel
John
Sandford
G.P. Putnam’s
Sons (Penguin Group USA)
ISBN# 978-0-399-16237-4
Hardback (also available in e-book and audio formats)
401 Pages
$27.95
Material
supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R.
Tipple ©2014
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Review: "Windigo Island: A Novel" by William Kent Krueger
As legend has it there is a vengeful
spirit named Michi Peshu, or Windigo. That terrible creature will
call your name before it satiates its hunger for human flesh by first
ripping your heart from your chest and then consuming it and the rest
of your body. It is said to dwell in Lake Superior and the
surrounding area, but to prefer Windigo Island over the surrounding
area. It is that small island where late one night the body of a
local Indian girl, Carrie Verga, arrives to terrorize three boys who
were on the island because of a middle of the night dare.
Carrie Verga was a young runaway are
many of the girls of the local tribes. She took off with a young girl
by the name of Mariah Arceneaux. She is distant family to Cork
O'Connor's friends Rainy and Henry Meloux. As is Daniel English who
has brought word of what happened and is requesting help. While the
girls vanished over a year ago, the discovery of Carrie's body has
spurred her mother who has significant health and other issues to
turn to Daniel Silva for help. They need Cork O'Connor's help in
locating Mariah and bringing her back home. He is reluctant as there
is so little to go on and after recent events he does not want to
start poking around in a new case. Jenny clearly wants to help and
because of that Cork agrees to check a few things out and see if
anything can be discovered.
What follows is a very complicated tale
full of spirituality and nuance featuring complicated characters and
a complex far reaching plot. Broken into three distinct sections, the
point of view shifts from Cork O'Connor to Jenny and then back to
Cork O'Connor. A distinct point of the middle section in the
consideration by Jenny of how her father has changed over the years
and when or even if the taking of a life is justified. One gets the
sense that the author might be considering a spin off type series
featuring Jenny. If so, such a series could prove very interesting as
there is much material to work with her back story as well as by way
of what happens in this novel.
Windigo Island: A Novel
is another good one from William Kent Krueger. Once again he pays
tribute to the land and its people while also delivering a mighty
good mystery.
Windigo Island: A Novel
William Kent Krueger
Atria Books (Simon and Schuster)
2014
ISBN# 978-1-4767-423-5
345 Pages
$24.99
Material supplied by the good folks of
the Plano Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple (c) 2014
Tuesday, July 08, 2014
Review: "Field Of Prey" by John Sandford
When a person vanishes and the
body never turns up the usual assumption by law enforcement is that the person
took off for a better life somewhere else. This is especially true if the
missing person is female, young, and living in a place with limited opportunity.
If it wasn't for a young couple by the name of Layton Carlson, Jr., and his
girlfriend, Ginger, who needed somewhere private to park for a long anticipated
romantic encounter the bodies in the cistern on the long abandoned farm might
never have been found.
But, thanks to the horrendous smell and the fact that Layton thinks something bad happened out there and won’t let it go they are finally found. Layton has a best friend who has an older brother that is a deputy for Goodhue County and together the two of them make the grisly discovery. Despite the fact that the body count in the cistern quickly climbs above a dozen Lucas Davenport of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in St. Paul, Minnesota is slow to get involved. The case is going to be a long grind and therefore will be run by another member of the BCA, Bob Shaffer, as Lucas dealing with a more pressing problem involving the Bryan case.
While he may look at the
crime scene at the cistern and the reports, his focus is on Bryan. He had been
running an investment company that, as a few others in recent years were,
happened to be nothing more than a giant Ponzi scheme. Out on bail with an
ankle monitor that suddenly went dead, his expensive convertible parked near a well-known
river falls with a driver’s seat full of blood, Bryan has vanished. Some believe
with no sign of his body that he is alive and well overseas. Others believe he
is very much dead and a victim of his criminality. Either way he has to be
found and that will take precedence for several weeks and a good chunk of the
novel.
Field of Prey continues
the tradition of a number of recent novels in this series from John Sandford
where readers know from the beginning most of the details of the identities of the
killers. Character development is nonexistent as most of these characters are
very familiar to series readers and were fully fleshed out long ago. The
exception is Davenport's young daughter Letty who remains wise far beyond her
years and who takes an active role in the case at crime scenes as well as staff
meetings. So much so one wonders if a possible spinoff series featuring her as she
embarks on a career in law enforcement is an idea being entertained by the
author.
The chase remains the thing
and that is true in the two primary cases as well as the secondary cases that
make up Field of Prey. As always violence and language are present in
this book in large and graphic amounts as well as in the series so those who prefer the violence
offstage and the language to be absent of curse words and respectful of others are
again advised to look elsewhere for their reading material. The book delivers
another good read in the long running series.
Field of Prey
John Sandford
Thorndike Press (Gale Cengage
Learning)
May 2014
ISBN# 978-1--4104-6668-6
Large Print Hardback (Hardback,
e-book, and audio versions available)
535 Pages
$35.00
Material supplied by the good
folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Review: "Destroyer Angel: An Anna Pigeon Novel" by Nevada Barr
It was supposed to be a
simple and relaxing float trip for National Park Service Ranger Anna Pigeon and
friends. Heath Jarod and her daughter, Elizabeth, will be along as will Leah
and her daughter, Katie. Both the girls are teens and have little in common. The
Fox River in Northern Minnesota is the destination. The trip is to serves as a much
needed break for Anna as well as a way to test various methods and equipment for
paraplegics to access the wildness. For Heath the trip is another step in
trying to get her life back after the fall that broke her back.
Too much group togetherness causes
Anna to go off to the river by herself for a little personal time at the end of
a very long day. That loner instinct may ultimately save all their lives when a
group of four men arrive in camp. They are not here to enjoy the beauty of the
north woods or the companionship of their fellow travelers. They are there on a
kidnapping for ransom mission and have very specific targets in mind--- Leah
and Katie. The men may be much more at home in the city, but they have a plan,
weapons, and plenty of cruelty and find the women without weapons and with no
cell service no way to reach the outside.
What follow is a sort of Die Hard type scenario as Anna uses the
element of surprise to begin to turn the odds in the captives. As the stress
for all ratchets up and the unforgiving environment takes a toll it becomes
questionable who will survive this rolling north woods confrontation.
The 19th book in the series that
began with Track of the Cat is a good one. While there is plenty of action
and mystery involved, human psychology is the primary component of the book.
Delving into the mind of Anna as well as the other characters to showcase how
things are being dealt with as various events occur occupy large sections of
the book. Despite that happening, the overall pace the story remains constant steadily
pulling readers along to the ultimate final violent confrontation. The book contains
the briefest of mentions of earlier events making it possible to read as a
stand-alone if you are new to the series.
Destroyer Angel: An Anna Pigeon
Novel
Nevada Barr
Minotaur Books (St. Martin’s
Publishing Group)
2014
ISBN# 978-0-312-61458-4
Hardback (also available as an
e-book and audio)
350 Pages
$26.95
Material supplied by the good folks of the
Plano Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Review: "Tamarack County" by William Kent Krueger
Weather is often a major factor in this series and
it certainly is in Tamarack County. As the latest in the series from author
William Kent Kruger opens it is ten days before Christmas. Snow and cold have
descended on the area surround Aurora, Minnesota. But, it wasn’t the snow and
cold that killed the elderly Evelyn Carter, wife of a local judge.
Private Investigator Cork O’Connor won’t know for
hours that she is dead and he won’t be the only one cloaked in ignorance of the
crime. It will be many days before her body is recovered. As Cork and others set out in a search party
to find the missing Evelyn Carter they have no idea what the future holds in
this very complicated case that will lead to the decapitation murder of a
family dog and much more.
The latest in the series is another good one
featuring Cork’s complicated family and many other interesting characters. As
in other books recently of this series, the focus shifts from character to character
as they consider the themes of happiness, faith, and acceptance of others while
dealing with the an increasing set of problems that hit close to home. The
harsh weather conditions of Minnesota in late December is just as much a
character as the characters themselves in this complicated mystery read. For this reader Tamarack County was a
much improved read over recent ones in the series and a read that was very
good.
Tamarack
County
William
Kent Krueger
Simon
and Schuster
August
2013
ISBN#
978-1-4516-4575-0
Hardback
(also available in e-book and audio formats)
315
Pages
$24.99
Material was supplied by the good folks of the Plano
Texas Public Library System and specifically the hard working and much
appreciated staff of the Haggard Branch.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2013
Review: "Tamarack County" by William Kent Krueger
Weather is often a major factor in this series and
it certainly is in Tamarack County. As the latest in the series from author
William Kent Kruger opens it is ten days before Christmas. Snow and cold have
descended on the area surround Aurora, Minnesota. But, it wasn’t the snow and
cold that killed the elderly Evelyn Carter, wife of a local judge.
Private Investigator Cork O’Connor won’t know for
hours that she is dead and he won’t be the only one cloaked in ignorance of the
crime. It will be many days before her body is recovered. As Cork and others set out in a search party
to find the missing Evelyn Carter they have no idea what the future holds in
this very complicated case that will lead to the decapitation murder of a
family dog and much more.
The latest in the series is another good one
featuring Cork’s complicated family and many other interesting characters. As
in other books recently of this series, the focus shifts from character to character
as they consider the themes of happiness, faith, and acceptance of others while
dealing with the an increasing set of problems that hit close to home. The
harsh weather conditions of Minnesota in late December is just as much a
character as the characters themselves in this complicated mystery read. For this reader Tamarack County was a
much improved read over recent ones in the series and a read that was very
good.
Tamarack
County
William
Kent Krueger
Simon
and Schuster
August
2013
ISBN#
978-1-4516-4575-0
Hardback
(also available in e-book and audio formats)
315
Pages
$24.99
Material was supplied by the good folks of the Plano
Texas Public Library System and specifically the hard working and much
appreciated staff of the Haggard Branch.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2013
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Review: "Storm Front: A Virgil Flowers Novel" by John Sandford
Virgil Flowers is on a case about fake antique
lumber when his boss Lucas Davenport calls him with another assignment. An Israeli
investigator is on the way and needs to talk to a professor who lives in the
area. In addition to being a professor the man, Elijah Jones, is also a
Lutheran minister. The investigator wants to talk to the professor who
apparently stole an important artifact from a dig in Israel and smuggled it
back home.
The investigator, Yael Aronov, isn’t telling Virgil
everything she knows and Virgil knows it. He also quickly figures out that far
more is going on than what he has been told or what Lucas led him to believe. It
isn’t the first time Virgil has had to work two cases at the same time and he
does it again here with both the lumber situation and the missing artifact.
At least the lumber does not involve Mossad, Hezbollah,
and even worse---Texans.
Co-written with his partner, Michele Cook, the
latest novel in this series from John Sandford is what one expects in a book
featuring Virgil Flowers. His investigative actions are sometimes unorthodox;
he will have a vigorous sexual fling with at least one character as well as the
occasional fantasy about at least one other female, and the will be plenty of
action and use of occasionally graphic language. Storm Front: A Virgil Flowers
Novel is a fast, fun read that is not meant to be taken seriously or
break new ground in terms of character development. The multiple storylines
featuring fraud and deceit at home and abroad gradually weave together to a
satisfactory and rather surprising conclusion. It’s another good, if not spectacular,
read in the series which can be read as a stand alone or as part of the overall
series.
Storm Front: A Virgil Flowers Novel
John
Sandford
G.
P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin Group, USA)
October
8, 2013
ISBN#
978-0-399-15930-5
Hardback
(also available in e-book and audio book)
384
Pages
$27.95
I received an ARC of this title due to my participation in
the “LibraryThing Early Reviewers” group for my use in an objective review. As
such, my above review appeared there first last Saturday before appearing here
on the blog.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Review: "Silken Prey: A Novel" by John Sandford
Politics is seen by many as
a life and death situation. In the latest in the Lucas Davenport series from
author John Sandford, Silken Prey: A Novel, it is
literally true as a political operative by the name of Tubbs is dead. Tubbs
occasionally was a fixer, sometimes a bagman, and sometimes he did dirty tricks
projects. Now he is missing and presumed dead by Lucas Davenport.
Not that Lucas knows about
Tubbs initially when gets the call from Governor Henderson. Nine days out from
the election and the Republican candidate for Senator has had his campaign torpedoed
by allegations of kiddy porn. Porter Smalls was winning until disgusting images
on his computer at his campaign office were accidentally found by a young
campaign staffer. Lucas doesn't care for politics and doesn't care that Porter
Smalls is now in huge trouble. But, the Governor does and wants Lucas to
investigate the situation.
Elmer Henderson, a Democrat,
is the Minnesota Governor and in four years just might be a legitimate Vice
Presidential candidate. He has good reasons to want to see conservative
republican Porter Smalls go down in flames. But, the governor is absolutely
sure Smalls isn’t into kiddie porn. He wants Lucas to investigate. Not only
because it is the right thing to do and Smalls was quite possibly framed. If he
was framed this is taking things way too far and everyone, no matter their
party, is at risk. Once this sort of thing happens, you never come back from it,
and media never fixes things after they destroy you.
“’You’re saying
the media is dangerous, immoral, and anti-democratic?
“Well…yes,” Henderson said. “They don't
recognize it in themselves, but they're basically criminals. In the classic
sense of that word.’” (Page 16)
While readers know early on
how the storylines connect together (as we usually do in the recent books of
the series) it takes Lucas and others a bit longer to start to put the pieces
together. A secondary storyline involving the actions of a computer hacker and
his wife who still has the itch to steal competes for equal attention with the
primary storylines by the end of this enjoyable 400 plus page novel.
While the novel does not
chart new ground for Lucas and the other characters one does not expect anything
new in that regard this deep in the series. Everyone is locked into who they
are---both professionally and personally. No one is about to have a midlife
crisis, dump everything for a fancy sports car, and hit the open road. These characters
are firmly established and, as such, change is going to have to come from
outside of them.
Politics has often been a major
component of the Prey series and clearly is a huge element in Silken Prey which is the 23rd novel in the series going back to Rules
of Prey. While again in this novel Lucas claims to not care about
politics and has virtually zero interest in the subject, much of what he does
in pursuit of suspects has definite political motives to it. He makes deals
with everyone about what he will say and do in the investigation and expects others
to wheel and deal with him. As in previous books, Lucas is once again working
all the angles to ensure that the guilty parties are caught in this solidly
good read. It is a dangerous minefield to pursue the guilty when they are rich
and powerful. That time is coming when the politics will take Lucas down as
Rose Marie warns:
“’A lot of
people in the Department of Public Safety and over at the BCA don't like this
kind of thing, the political stuff. And you've been doing a lot of it. When I'm
not here to protect you, when Elmer's not here...”
“Ah, it’s
all right, Rose Marie,” Lucas Said. “I’ve been fired before. Stop worrying
about it.’” (Page 21)
Silken Prey: A Novel
John Sandford
G.P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin Group)
May 2013
ISBN# 978-0-399-15931-2
Hardback (also available as e-book
and audio book)
$27.95
416 Pages
Material supplied by the good folks
of the Plano, Texas Public Library System. If you are in the area and would
like more information about Plano libraries go here.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Review: "The Minnesota Crime Wave Presents: Fifteen Tales of Murder, Mayhem, and Malice from a land of Minnesota Nice"
After a brief introduction to the anthology written
by Pete Hautman, The Minnesota Crime Wave Presents: Fifteen Tales of Murder, Mayhem and
Malice from the land of Minnesota Nice opens with “This Old House” by
Marilyn Victor. Esther spends her days in a nursing home while Justine spends
her days deep in bitterness. When she visits Esther in the home their meetings
are of the past, family secrets, and debts to be paid in this mystery where
sibling rivalry follows to the grave.
“The Dark Under the Bed” by Richard A. Thompson
tells the ultimately harrowing tale of a patient at VA Hospital trying to
survive. Odysseus G. Boosalis, known as
“Oddie” to all, is firmly convinced, for good reason, that sleeping under the
bed is the only way to prevent them from making him disappear during the
night. Something that has happened to
others and it has to be stopped.
As everyone should intuitively know, it is a bad
thing when the getaway car won’t start. Sappo and Dwayne figure that out pretty
fast in “Desperados” by Michael Allan Mallory. Getting away on foot with the
money is going to be way harder than either one ever thought.
Being allergic to certain things means eating
something can kill you in a manner of minutes. It does in “Death by Potato
Salad” by Jess Lourey. How it happens is just a small part of this entertaining
tale featuring Mrs. Berns, a church related weekend retreat, and her quest for
some male companionship.
Poetry makes an appearance by way of two poems by
Mary Logue. “Murder” considers the reverberations for survivors of murder while
“Crossing” talks about writing and the ultimate journey we all face.
It took the creep fifteen years to come up with his
extortion plot for past misdeeds. Now Margo and Jan have hatched a plan to deal
with the problem in “An Age Old Solution” by Lori L. Lake. Both of them properly acting old is just one
of the problems they will face in this tale.
William Kent Krueger comes next with his dark and compelling
tale “Woman in Ice”. Otto Krakauer did the only thing he could think of when he
found the woman encased in ice. He drug with his mule the block of ice
containing the woman to the village. He went right through and didn’t stop
until he got to the church. Fortunately, the priest has ideas on what to do as
well as how to take care of his people.
”A Turn of
the Card” by David Housewright features Mr. G. and his quest for truth. He
isn’t happy that others, including his wife, think he is having an affair. He
isn’t and having one is the last thing on his mind. But, they can’t know the
truth as what he is doing could easily get him killed.
Maren Nielsen is convinced her sister’s ex-husband
had a role in her sudden death. Harper
is dead and Marin plans to prove he did it in “Overstuffed” by Ellen Hart. Even
from beyond the grave Harper is still there for her.
The play is the thing in “The Butler Didn’t” by
Elizabeth Gunn. The butler, or more correctly, the guy playing the role of the butler
in the play “The Importance of Being Earnest” is dead and he certainly didn’t
commit suicide. That makes everyone in the small production company a suspect
where, because they are actors and actresses, being convincingly deceitful is
an art form.
Howard T. Crandall is very particular and obsessed
with routines in all aspects of his life. The fact that his sub shop is out of
honey oat rolls on a Friday is just one sign things are going badly in “Iced”
by Lois Greiman. Another one is that his boss wants to see him after lunch.
Adeline fears the dreaded mother-in-law visit in “Minnesota
Iced” by Pat Dennis. It isn’t just a simple visit. Apparently four time divorcee
Dorothy Nordskov wants to move in for the winter months. Not just the rest of
this winter, but for all winters to come. Something has to be done.
Finally a personal character favorite of mine, Sean
No-Middle-Initial Sean, the diminutive detective makes an appearance. In “The
Horse He Rode In On” by Carl Brookins the detective investigates the death of
Mr. Tom Springfield. The councilmember rode out alone only to ride back in hours
later dead and on a different horse.
Kate and Anna were friends since kindergarten when
Kate rescued Anna from a bully. The years have passed in “Stone Arch Bridge” by
Judith Yates Borger and now Kate has to rescue her again. One way or another
she intends to do because Anna clearly needs help.
The disturbing “Blue-Eyed Mary” by Joel Arnold
concludes the anthology. A long ago pregnancy, an adopted baby, and other family
secrets are just some of the elements in this twisting and good tale.
Featuring 14 stories and two poems the fifteen
authors here all work with the concept of Minnesota residents seen as being
nice in a variety of ways. While the tales are nicely done the actions of the
characters involved are rarely nice. Humor and romance are also often in short
supply in this book where getting even or solving an ongoing potential problem
is the order of the day.
As many characters in these stories find out, they are
not the only one planning deceit and treachery. Agendas and motives abound in The
Minnesota Crime Wave Presents: Fifteen Tales of Murder, Mayhem, and Malice from
the land of Minnesota Nice resulting in very good short story reading
with often dark overtones.
The
Minnesota Crime Wave Presents: Fifteen Tales of Murder, Mayhem, and Malice from
the land of Minnesota Nice
Minnesota
Crime Wave
Nodin
Press
October
2012
ISBN#
978-1-935666-43-1
Paperback
176
Pages
$16.00
Material
supplied by author Carl Brookins in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2013
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