Review: "GAME FACE" by Mark Troy

Texas author Mark Troy brings together in this collection titled GAME FACE eight short stories featuring his signature character Val Lyon. A tough talking wise cracking private investigator that brooks no interference when there is a case to be solved. This former military brat calls Hawaii home.  Along with plenty of the sights, sounds, and history of the islands, readers get strong well written stories featuring complex cases and the always present search for justice.

After a forward that explains some of the history behind the character, the book opens with “Teed Off.”  Glenn Floeck owns a line of golf shops under the name “Teed Off.”  He plans to expand his company to the islands. That means he and his bodyguard, Frodo Baggins, need a car and a driver. Val Lyon can provide both along with plenty of attitude and investigative skills. By working undercover and getting close to him she can get the answers she needs. The answers will come one way or another in this very good story.

Val Lyon is an athlete so there is a sports angle to every story in some way.  In “Home Wreckers” star Julie Storm is dead and Coach Sherri Costello, head coach of the Tropical Storm, wants her help.  The players of the women’s Professional Basketball League are not supposed to be dead. But, Julie Storm is very dead and the team, as well as Val Lyon, is in huge trouble.

Next up is “Kill Leader” when Val Lyon has to protect Paula Evangelista from a killer. Paula is something else when she is playing beach volleyball and seemingly scoring at will. She scores off the beach too with a clothing line, a generous sponsor, and work as a model. For somebody, all that is too much and he or she wants her dead.

Val Lyon is at Memorial Arena on the campus of U. C. Santa Christa and back on the court she once played far too many games to count in “The Big Dance With Death.”  Head coach of the female basketball team, Carol Onofrido, needs her help and Val is more than ready to help.  Even if it means the legendary Val Lyon has to go undercover as an assistant coach to stop what appears at first to be stalking while the team works to stay in the tournament.

“Wahine O Ka Hoe” opens with a tragedy in the sea surrounding the island of Oahu. Something went wrong aboard the canoe and now fellow teammate Nani is dead. The medical examiner thinks it was an accident caused by a rogue wave.  Was it?  Did someone take advantage of the chaos at sea to kill one of the “Women of The Paddle” or was it an accident?

Readers go from the sea to the air in “Drop Dead Zone.”  A constant need in Val Lyon’s life is her need for adrenaline. Because of that, she is onboard a Cessna airplane preparing to make a parachute jump as this story opens. All the hard work of learning how to skydive is about to pay off as she and three others leave the safety of the airplane and begin their fall to earth. Not everyone lands via parachute. Was it an accident or was it murder? 

Somebody is swiping the sperm from award winning bulls and owner Doyle Gillispie wants it stopped in “Horns.”  He doesn’t know who is the stealing his championship bull sperm, but he knows it is happening and makes it very clear he wants Val Lyon to stop it. The last thing Val wants is this case or this client.  But, you do what you have to do when you need to make the car payment.  The championship bulls Gillispie owns and his possible suspect will be at the upcoming rodeo in Maui and so too will be private investigator Val Lyon.

The bites on the surf board Alana Nichols was using indicate a serious shark attack in “Ripper.”  There is blood on the remnants of the surf board, most likely blood from Alana Nichols, but there is no body. Terry, Alana’s mother, is convinced she is alive and not a victim of a shark attack.  She has questions, such as what happened to Alana’s computer, and wants Val’s help in finding her daughter.

After eight very good stories, the book closes with Chapter One of the novel Pilikia Is My Business.  Pilikia means “trouble” in Hawaiian and public defender Brian Magruder has quite the job for her.  I have reviewed the novel before and it is a good one without question.

Val Lyon is an interesting character and one can see how she changes through the years in these previously published stories. Now available as a collection of the single short stories, GAME FACE not only brings them together, it also includes the cover art work from each single. A nice touch that works well in the collection.  Filled with plenty of action, interesting cases, and difficult situations this book is a solidly good read. The book also serves to what the reader appetite for the novel Pilikia Is My Business.

One hopes there will be many more Val Lyon stories as well as a novel or two in the future.

GAME FACE

Mark Troy

http://hawaiian-eye.blogspot.com/

Ilium Books

http://www.marktroy.net

2011

ISBN 978-0-9848081-1-3

E-Book (Print also available)
190 Pages
$2.99

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

Kevin R. Tipple © 2012

Short Story Review: "Drop Dead Zone" by Mark Troy

Hawaii based private detective Val Lyon has been and done a lot of things in her life. One thing that links them all together is her need for adrenaline.  Because of that, she is onboard a Cessna airplane preparing to make a parachute jump as this short story opens.

It is her first jump and she is plenty scared. Onboard the small aircraft with her is a cameraman named Justin, and two others, Art and Lori. While both are training instructors and in a romantic relationship, Art has been her instructor from the start. All that hard work is about to pay off as the four leave the safety of the airplane and begin their fall to earth. Not everyone lands via parachute. Suspicions are soon raised by some and with Val on that fatal flight; she has a very personal reason to investigate.  

Nominated for a Derringer Award by the Short Mystery Fiction Society, this story was Val Lyon’s first published story according to the author note at the end. Originally published by Mystery Buff Magazine in 1998, it has recently been released again by Ilium Books. When it was made available for free for a limited time earlier this month, I took the opportunity to pick it up. 

I wasn’t disappointed. Drop Dead Zone  is a good one.

As I noted earlier in the month when I reviewed another Val Lyon short story titled TEED OFF, Mark Troy and I became friends a number of years ago through a local writers group. He has been a huge help to me from a writing angle with my own work as well as personally. This story was published long before I joined the local group. Furthermore, I had never seen it before it appeared free making it available for me to read and review.

I have been writing stories and reviewing since 1998 and that means I have made quite a few friends along the way. I’m not stripping the work of friends from my TBR pile. But, I can and will tell you, the reader, of these relationships when they exist so you can decide whether or not to consider that sort of thing when you read my reviews.

Drop Dead Zone

Mark Troy

http://www.marktroy.net/  

http://hawaiian-eye.blogspot.com/

Kindle e-book

August 2011

Kevin R. Tipple © 2011

Friday's Forgotten Books-- "Pilikia Is My Business" by Mark Troy

For this edition of Friday's Forgotten Books, I have selected "Pilikia Is My Business" written by Mark Troy. I selected this one for this week, not only because it is a very good book written by a very talented author who always tells a good story, but because the book will be coming out soon from a new publisher. Hopefully, by way of a new publisher, the book will do better a second time around.

Written by 2002 Shamus Award Nominee Mark Troy, this fast paced and suspenseful novel revolves around Hawaii based private investigator Val Lyon. An ex cop, ex-con, and former pro basketball player, Val Lyon doesn’t tolerate idiots and has little patience for those who don’t do the right thing. Her latest case brings her to the office of Brian Magruder who used to work in the Honolulu Public Defender’s Office before going out on his own.

Part of the wealthy and politically connected Magruder family, Brian is a bit of a black sheep of the family as he has gone his own way. Among his many clients is Jean Pfeifer whose case has turned into a media firestorm. Jean claims that her ex-husband, Jason “Jock” Pfeifer abused their son, Nathan. Jean has stopped the visitations and has hidden their son in an effort to protect him from further abuse from his father. She faces contempt charges and jail time unless she brings Nathan back out of hiding and lets him see his dad. Something she isn’t going to do.

This strikes a chord with the media and the viewing public causing a media firestorm with Jean and her attorney at the center of things. Numerous groups get involved making Jean and by extension Nathan part of their agendas. That also ratchets up further the media scrutiny. Brian Magruder initially just wants Val to be part of the security team, and to protect Jean at a public rally the next day. With emotions running high on all sides, something is sure to go bade and it does. Soon, a simple body guard job morphs into a case involving death threat, blackmail, extortion and a missing child as well as the beginnings of a romance between Val and Brian Magruder.

While occasionally reminiscent of the Stephenie Plum type character because Val is also a woman with a sarcastic wit, Val is a much better character. Not only does she have a deeper and more complex background, she also learns from what happens and takes precautions as opposed to Stephanie who makes the same fundamental mistakes in book after book after book. Val is an evolving character over the course of the novel and one that builds quickly on experience.

That fact, coupled with a steady pace, plenty of twists and turns, and characters that come alive for the reader, it is no wonder this book was a Shamus Nominee. simply put, Pilikia Is My Business is a very good one.

Pilikia is My Business

Mark Troy

http://hawaiian-eye.blogspot.com/

LTD Books

2001

ISBN# 1-55316-533-0

Trade Paperback

245 Pages

Material provided by the author in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2009, 2010