Lesa's Book Critiques: Paranoia by James Patterson & James O. Born

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Paranoia by James Patterson & James O. Born

In Reference To Murder: Author R&R with Emilya Naymark

 In Reference To Murder: Author R&R with Emilya Naymark

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Death Money by Henry Chang

Henry Chang is a native New Yorker, a published poet, and author of five police procedurals set in the Chinatown section of New York City featuring Detective Jack Yu. The fourth one is called Death Money (Soho Crime, 2014). It’s a smoothly flowing and realistic homicide investigation immersed in the side of Chinatown that tourists do not see.

The body of a young Asian man is found in the semi-frozen Harlem River. The autopsy reveals a single lethal stab wound, ruling out the possibility of accident or suicide as cause of death. With no identification and only a couple of annotated receipts and a photo, Yu doesn’t have much to kickstart his investigation. Needing a name above all else, he searches for anyone in Chinatown who might have known the victim. His childhood friend Billy, the owner of a tofu shop, helps Yu gain entrance to a neighborhood association to ask questions. Yu gets another kind of help from Ah Por, an elderly Chinese lady who knew his family years ago. Ah Por is something of a psychic, although Yu calls it yellow witchcraft. She holds the receipts and the photo and gives Yu snippets of information about the dead man, such as he came from the North and was always moving. Just what Yu is supposed to make of that isn’t clear but he keeps her comments in mind as he talks to potential informants.

Yu methodically traces the identity of the victim and then links the victim to his friends and ultimately to his killer through careful and logical legwork. This book is a highly competent procedural with a striking sense of place. How Asian natives keep their traditions while adapting to a new country is intrinsic to the story line. The community associations, formed to help new immigrants and to give a sense of belonging to the neighborhood, are portrayed as key to the lives of Chinatown residents. The snippets about the tiny shops run by hardworking Asians eking out an existence is illuminating and sad. The presence of organized crime is always felt if not always visible.

The competition between police precincts and the incidental racism that Yu encounters add to the depth of the narrative. Recommended as much for the well-done procedural as for the compelling and informative setting.

Starred review from Library Journal.

 

·         Publisher: ‎ Soho Crime; First Edition (April 15, 2014)

·         Language: ‎ English

·         Hardcover: ‎ 224 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎ 9781616953515

·         ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1616953515

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2022

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

Crime Watch: Review: OVER MY DEAD BODY by Dave Warner

Crime Watch: Review: OVER MY DEAD BODY: OVER MY DEAD BODY by Dave Warner (Fremantle Press, 2020) Reviewed by Karen Chisholm Cryogenicist Dr Georgette Watson has mastered the art of...

Sandra Ruttan Reviews: One Small Sacrifice by Hilary Davidson

One Small Sacrifice, by Hilary Davidson, offers an intimate look at PTSD and how it affects a person. War photographer Alex Traynor is haunted by things he's seen and experienced, and Davidson uses her insights and skill as a writer to take you right inside his reality. You feel as though you're about to jump through your skin yourself when a car backfires or a slamming door reminds him of the sounds from the war zones he may have physically left, but can't quite exorcise from his mind.

When his fiance goes missing, he becomes the prime suspect. The thing is, he was the prime suspect in the death of a young woman--a friend of his--who plummeted from the roof of his building a year earlier. Detective Sheryn Sterling is determined to get Alex this time for the crime she is convinced he committed.

There are other questions that need to be answered, however. The father of the woman who died at Alex's building has been convinced of Alex's guilt and is dead set on getting revenge.

Turns out that Alex's long-time friend may have some unsavory motives as well, and as Alex tries to stay in control while being pursued as the prime suspect it seems like he's the only one really concerned about finding the truth and saving his fiance.

There's a lot to like in this story; the exploration of PTSD is exceptional and I found Alex to be understandable and sympathetic. This is, perhaps in part, the reason why I found the character of Sheryn Sterling frustrating.

Initially, I really liked Sheryn. I had a good impression of her family and life ... right until she got a new case involving Alex Traynor. Sheryn had been irresponsible enough in the past to convince the father of the woman who'd died a year before that Alex was responsible, and she has blinders on from the first time she hears Alex's name. She is convinced of his guilt, and at this point became, for me, both a common trope and a source of discomfort. As a POC in the story, I felt uncomfortable with the fact that Sheryn so quickly became unlikable and irrational. And she's largely unchecked at work. Perhaps that was exacerbated by her former partner recently retiring and working with a new partner who doesn't know her and is new to the NYPD as well.

I felt uncomfortable enough to have a conversation with POC I know; I was encouraged to abandon the manuscript. Ultimately, I didn't, because I was interested in Alex's character and the central mystery enough to want to see it through and get resolution.

Without giving spoilers, I will say that I was glad I stuck with the book. It doesn't completely mitigate my misgivings about this particular character. I had the impression of someone who was far more level headed than Sheryn was for much of the book, and as the primary POC in the story it didn't sit well with me. I think we're in an era now where we have to carefully consider the portrayal of race. It might have been more palatable if Sheryn had been trying harder to fight her own prejudices and preconceived ideas. The simple reality is, part of the reason she was so convinced of his guilt (his past and something that happened in a war zone) was so explainable that I'd like to think that a good cop interested in the truth would have realized that at the time, and actually pursued the truth, instead of pursuing the information that they could push into the mold of their theory so that they could charge someone they liked for a crime. That's my opinion; your mileage may vary. Sheryn did grow over the course of the book.

Sandra Ruttan ©2019

Sandra Ruttan is the submissions editor for Bronzeville Bee (www.bronzevillebee.com/) and Bronzeville Books (http://www.bronzevillebooks.com/writers/) 

Review: Down The River Unto The Sea by Walter Mosley

Joe King Oliver has been out of prison for 10 years as Down The River Unto The Sea by Walter Mosley begins. A disgraced NYPD detective, these days he runs a small private investigative agency consisting of himself and his wise beyond her years teenage daughter. He does so from small office on the second floor of a building on Montague Street. Progress, as some would define it, is coming to the neighborhood which means rents are going up and the old places are being replaced increasingly by fancy condos, shops and, the like for above the pay grade of those who walk these streets and built the neighborhood. While Oliver got a sweet deal on the place and is fine for now the way he got it is just a small part of the hellish backstory his life was a decade ago. 

The fact that he never did what he was accused of didn’t matter because the frame was so good. He should have been killed. He wasn’t and yet the person he was died in prison. What happened to him is a case that will never be resolved. That is until he gets a letter that changes everything.

At the same time, he gets another case that also involves crooked NYPD officers. Two of them were gunned down several years ago. A man wounded in the shootout with officer is headed for the death penalty despite the efforts of well-known attorney Stuart Brown. It had looked like Brown was doing everything to prove his client known as “A Free Man” innocent of the murder. That is until the lawyer backed off, a witness disappeared, and more. A person involved in the case wants Joe’s help in proving A Free Man’s case.

Doing so might also be a way in for his own case.

What follows is an incredible read as Joe Oliver deals with repercussions from his past, the legacy of family, and the criminality of the moment. Author Walter Mosley, has a style in this read, as do the works of James Lee Burke, where the storytelling carries incredible impact with just a few words and at the same time paints a world rich in color and nuance. The two cases and a few other tangentially related matters slowly converge in one giant maelstrom that threatens to ensnare everything Joe Oliver has worked for these past years.

The read is intense, emotional, and powerfully good. A read that is so layered this review barely touches the surface. Down The River Unto The Sea: A Novel by Walter Mosley was my first experience with this author and it certainly won’t be my last. Highly recommended.  This is one of those books you just have to read. Period.

Down The River Unto The Sea: A Novel
Walter Mosley
http://www.waltermosely.com
Mulholland Books (Little, Brown and Company)
http://www.mulhollandbooks.com
2018
ISBN# 978-0-316-43998-5
LARGE PRINT Hardback (also available in regular print hardback, audio, and eBook formats)
440 Pages
$29.00

Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library and specifically the wonderful staff of the Lochwood Branch. While both Scott and I miss our old stomping ground at the Haggard Branch up in Plano, the people of the Lochwood Branch have been very good to both of us.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2018

Guest Reviewer John Stickney Reviews Coney Island Avenue by J.L. Abramo

Having recently reviewed The Last Collar by Lawrence Kelter and Frank Zafiro as well as The Origins of Benjamin Hackett by Gerald M. O'Connor, John is back today with another review.

Coney Island Avenue by J.L. Abramo   Down & Out Books

An excellent read, worthy of comparison to Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series.

“My sister’s boy is popping the question.”

“What question is that, why the eggplant is always greasy?”

“He bought a ring for his girlfriend.”

“Jesus, Augie, what kind of uncle are you.  Couldn’t you talk him out of it?”

“You’re a hopeless cynic, Tommy.  I haven’t met her, but my sister says she seems like a nice girl.”

“They all seem like nice girls, and then they grow up and become their mothers.

Shamus Award winning author J.L. Abramo’s new release, Coney Island Avenue (Down & Out Books), continues the story of the New York Police Department’s Detective Squad in the 61st Precinct, Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y., a squad first visited by Abramo in his acclaimed novel Gravesend.  Set in the dog days of August, the new novel opens with a multiple homicide, that of the young man and woman referred to above.  Their execution is perpetrated by two guys.  The first, dressed in a gray business suit, looked good enough that he could pass for a banker.  The second, is a big ape in a blue jogging suit, or as his not a banker partner notes, a “goombah outfit,” the appropriate dress for a mob enforcer known as Paulie Bonebreaker. As the Detectives of the 61st begin investigating, more bodies turn up, the crime itself is not all that simple.  While that investigation evolves, additional crimes and cases are dropped on the squad.  Abramo keeps the story moving in real time, clever dialogue and small rapid fire paragraphs jump us between the various plot lines.  The squad is a mix of veterans and squad newbies.  Their personal stories, their families or the lack thereof is woven into the narrative.  A total of 58 characters appear in the book, from bakers to mob bosses, from Russian criminals to corrupt building contractors, the police and the detectives, through Abramo’s skill we get a sense of each.  The story and the members of the 61st Squad are life-like, compelling and believable.  As a police procedural, the investigation and procedures followed are spot on, it compares favorably to the best of Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series.   Abramo is an accomplished writer, his West Coast set series about PI Jake Diamond, revived and also available from Down & Out Books is award winning.  But Abramo grew up in the Gravesend area of Brooklyn, NY.  He knows the streets, the neighborhoods and its people.  And he knows police, as this bit from two uniform officers talking while on stationary surveillance…

“I don’t know about you, but I could eat a horse,” he said.

“Pinto or Appaloosa?”

I hope J.L. Abramo is working on other novels involving the 61st Precinct, Gravesend and Coney Island Avenue are both excellent reads. I cannot wait for the next in this brilliant series.

I am grateful to Down & Out Books and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read Coney Island Avenue.

John Stickney ©2017

John Stickney is a writer formerly from Cleveland, Ohio now residing in North Carolina.  His fiction has appeared in Thuglit, Demolition, Needle, among others.

Review: "Red Mountain: A Detective DiPino Thriller" by David Thayer

The four member team sent to Rhinebeck, New York, had one target and one mission objective. The Durres Syndicate wants Walt Bergman dead and they want his records. As the commander of the NYPD Intelligence Division he knows where the bodies are buried on and off the force. He knows the identity of confidential informants, undercover police officers, and more. The information he has is priceless. Among other things he is involved in, Walt Burgman is trying to use one very bad man, Edon Calcani, to get an even worse guy by the name of Josef Brint and permanently stop a weapon selling operation. The plan is to take them both down and anyone else around with no help from the FBI or The Joint Terrorism Task Force.  That was his plan when the plumbers he called about a leak showed up at his door.

It was late in the evening when Detective Mickey Reidel got the call in Queens. Walt Bergman is dead, things are hitting the proverbial fan at every level in the NYPD, and the brass is very hopeful the death is a suicide. Mickey is being put on the case with the expectation that he can be counted on to understand the situation and do what he is told. They should have known better as Mickey, like everyone in this book, has his own complicated agenda. The brass can wish all they want, but, it takes Mickey a matter of minutes to clearly see that Bergman’s death was anything but a suicide.  After all, who lies down on the floor and then shoots himself?

Shifting through the point of view of Mickey, his former partner, DiPino, cartel big shots, and numerous other characters, readers are taken through a wild ride that primarily covers an intense 48 hours as scores and grudges start getting settled. Bodies fall, allegiances shift, agendas collide, and Mickey and Dipino in mostly separate storylines struggle to stay alive in the ensuring chaos and carnage.

Self-published by the author, the book is an enjoyable thriller despite the occasional typo. The cast of characters is large with the read shifting constantly through the various characters. Everyone in the book has an agenda with most driven by political expediency to save their own careers, jobs, lives, etc. Character depth is rather limited, as is the case with most thrillers, and tends to be of the stock character type. The exceptions are Mickey and to a lesser extent Dipinio who are fleshed out a bit more than the other characters with backstory, motivations, etc. Despite the tag line of A Detective DiPino Thriller the majority of the book is aimed squarely at Detective Mickey Reidel with DiPino playing a distant secondary role.

As one expects in a book billed as a thriller, the focus is on the action and moving the multiple storylines forward at an intense pace. Such is the case here in Red Mountain: A Detective DiPino Thriller where the action is often fast and furious. It soon becomes clear to readers that when the book slows down for personal reflection internally with a character or a revealing moment between characters somebody is sure to suddenly and unexpectedly die as the author’s solution to keep things going is to always kill another character. Despite the occasional typo and the author's tendency to occasion over write with lines such as “his dinner of scrambled eggs and Irish whiskey orbited through his digestive tract like an obnoxious tourist in midtown” the resulting read is a pleasant diversion.

Red Mountain: A Detective DiPino Thriller

David Thayer

David Thayer Consulting

September 2012

ISBN# 978-1-4675-3589-2

E-Book (estimated print length  213 pages)

$5.99

Material was picked up during the author’s advertised free read promotion for my use in regards to an objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2013