Showing posts with label The Artie Crimes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Artie Crimes. Show all posts

Friday, July 13, 2012

FFB Review: "Sara's Search" by Jan Christensen

Having reviewed the latest in The Artie Crimes series by Texas author Jan Christensen yesterday, it seemed only fitting that I run my 2004 review of her novel Sara’s Search today as part of Friday’s Forgotten Books hosted by Patti Abbott. For the complete list of the reads later today as well as plenty of other good stuff every day of the week, check out http://pattinase.blogspot.com/  While there, be sure to read about PULP INK 2 and the great stories in it. 


For the past two years and against the strong wishes of her adoptive Mother, Sarah has been searching for her biological father. With her biological Mother dead, her biological father is the only one to have answers to questions that she has and so far she has been unable to find him. That is, until she stumbles across his dead body in a stairwell outside a party she had attended.

In a strange twist of irony and fate, her father was the drunken man who seemed to be staring at her all evening as he followed her from room to room in the spacious penthouse home of her good friend Belinda. Sara hadn't wanted to talk to the man but his gaze followed her everywhere she went. She had no idea why he was following her as she tried her best to avoid him as well as a few of the other more unappealing party guests. His death, at the hands of a murderer, ended any chance for reconciliation and explanations.

Faced with the prospect of never knowing her father while he was alive, Sarah begins to poke at his past through the people he knew. In so doing, she begins to antagonize his family, which is secure in the belief that she could not want anything else but a share of his inheritance. Sarah wants and needs something far more important than money and as she digs, she begins to uncover clues that put her on the trail of her father's killer.

At the same time, beset by problems at work, Sarah is also confronted with the progressive illness of her good friend, Belinda. What began as a possible a case of the flu has steadily worsened with symptoms that baffle her doctor husband as well as others in the medical community. While a possible killer disease is ravaging her good friend, Sara's life is being ravaged by a killer bent on stopping her snooping once and for all.

If you have read Jan Christensen's short stories then you know what to expect. Interesting characters, strong storyline, and tight writing are hallmarks of her work. The same is true here in this very enjoyable debut novel and hopefully just the first novel of many to come.


 

Sara's Search
Jan Christensen
http://www.janchristensen.com
E-book
$2.99

Long ago I first got this book as an ARC from a publisher that is no longer around.  The book was re-released last April as an e-book by the author.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2004, 2012

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Short Story Review: "Artie And The Green Eyed Woman: The Artie Crimes" by Jan Christensen


Another in the series from “The Artie Crimes” by Jan Christensen finds Artie yet again attempting to slip into the night with the jewelry he just lifted from a jewelry store. A quiet getaway on foot down a dark alley is foiled when he bumps into a woman who has been waiting for him in the shadows. She has a gun and a job for him. She wants him to pick the lock of a door across the alley.

When a woman points a gun at you there really isn’t much choice. Artie picks the lock and is about to be safely on his way according to the woman. Unfortunately for Artie, a sudden serious complication will mean the green-eyed woman is going to need more help. A lot more help.

Texas author Jan Christensen has written another complex and occasionally amusing tale of Artie, the jewel thief, and his wife, Josie.  Who is the green-eyed woman and what is she really after are just two of many questions in this very good short story published by Untreed Reads. By now, one has a good sense of the main character and his wife, so the focus is the complications. They come at a steady pace in a story where nothing is as simple as it first appears.

This is the third short story to feature the likeable jewel thief Artie. If you have not read the first one “Artie And The Long-Legged Woman” you really should. While you are at it, you should also read the author’s novel, Sara’s Search, which came out years ago. Very good stuff and I highly recommend it as I did years ago when I read it.


Artie And The Green Eyed Woman: The Artie Crimes
Jan Christensen
Untreed Reads
May 2012
E-book
$0.99

Material supplied by the author for my objective review.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2012