Friday, February 21, 2020
Beneath the Stains of Time: Diplomatic Death (1961) by Charles Forsyte
Beneath the Stains of Time: Diplomatic Death (1961) by Charles Forsyte: Gordon Philo was a British diplomat and magic aficionado with a background in the secret intelligence services who, reportedly , was &quo...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens -- Short Stories
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens -- Short Stories: This February I have been reading short stories for Short Story February , as suggested by Rick Robinson at Tip the Wink . I did this once b...
Bouchercon 2021: New Orleans
I already have folks pushing the idea that I show up at Bouchercon 2021. At least with it in New Orleans, there is the possibility of a road trip to go to it. Their website has the details.
FFB Review: Tilt A Whirl: The John Ceepak Mysteries Book 1 by Chris Grabenstein
I first told you about this book back long ago in 2009. I told you again about Tilt A Whirl: The John Ceepak Mysteries Book 1 by Chris Grabenstein in 2016. Earlier this week, Aubrey Hamilton told everyone her perspective about one of my favorite series. It seemed like that was a sign that I should mention again this read where mystery, humor, and more are at work. For the rest of the reading suggestions for this date, check out Todd Mason’s Sweet Freedom blog.
Sea Haven, New Jersey is an eighteen mile long barrier island consisting of motels, beach houses, bait shops, etc. For twenty-four year old Danny Boyle it is home and he works part time as an unarmed summer cop who helps with the influx of tourists in the muggy summer months. He just never expected to work a murder scene.
But, that is exactly what quickly happens because Danny also serves as the driver for John Ceepak. Ceepak used to be a military policeman, spent time in Iraq, and has been forced to deal with some really bad guys on more than one occasion. War is hell and Ceepak has lived it and has the memories. Ceepak is the man you want to follow into battle and is the man you want on your side. He lives by “The Code” that few these days can understand let alone follow.
The blonde girl, about thirteen years old, wearing a blood soaked dress and screaming as she comes up an avenue towards The Pancake Palace early one morning is a reminder that few live by Ceepak’s code. She is Ashley Hart, the daughter of Reginald and Betty Hall Heart. Betty Hall used to be on the local TV as the bubbly weather person. Reginald Hart was a businessman and real estate developer who did some rather unorthodox things and was very wealthy. Now, he is very dead having been gunned down on the Tilt-A-Whirl ride while sitting next to his daughter. The fact that the ride at the Sunnyside Play Land wasn’t even open yet this Saturday morning isn’t going to matter to the media or scared tourists. The fact that a crazed killer is wandering around the area is a chamber of commerce disaster and Chief Cosgrove wants it solved fast. He puts Ceepak and by extension his driver, Boyle, on the case. Murder is just the start of a twisting tale that ultimately leads to a horrifying conclusion.
Told at a fast pace, this is a read that quickly pulls the reader into the quirks of location and character. Both elements quickly come to life for the reader as back story is skillfully woven into dialogue and the occasional flashback. In a departure from most mysteries, the story is told in the first person from the Danny Boyle’s perspective while the real protagonist is Ceepak. This allows readers to get deeper into the Ceepak character because he is being observed while also getting a good idea of Danny’s character. It also works with the other characters that are never cardboard cutouts and instead are usually realistic and sometimes a bit quirky.
As some have noted, the cover does not remotely do justice to the book. Hot pink in background the cover prominently features a rollercoaster and not the ride depicted in the book. Though, there is a rollercoaster ride at the mythical Sunnyside Play Land so there is a vague link. While the design created by Michael Fusco seems very wrong, it does bring glances and inquires from folks when the book is out in public. More than one neighbor came over to see what I was working on now because they had spotted the cover as I sat reading on my apartment porch. Sometimes they came over at the most inopportune times.
The bottom line here is this is a book that fires on all cylinders and takes the reader on a very good ride. Sometimes funny, sometimes dark, this is a novel that quickly becomes riveting and one of the best I have read in a very long time. Start of a series, this is a very good one and a book you simply have to read.
Book provided by the author in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2009, 2016, 2020
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Nameless Detective: "The Hills of Homicide" (1...
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Nameless Detective: "The Hills of Homicide" (1...: Louis L'Amour was a consummate story-teller with close to a hundred novels and numerous short story collections to his name, primari...
A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: A BRIDE FOR LUKE IS RELEASED!
A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: A BRIDE FOR LUKE IS RELEASED!: Today is the day A BRIDE FOR LUKE , Proxy Bride Series Book 36, is released for your reading pleasure. Beta reports on this book were ver...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Overstory, Longevity Paradox, Wild Swan...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Overstory, Longevity Paradox, Wild Swan...: Reported by Laura Nevermore read a wide variety of books this week; some were enjoyed, some were not. The first was The Overs...
MAKE MINE MYSTERY: Truth In Advertising - At Least, Sort Of by Janis Patterson
MAKE MINE MYSTERY: Truth In Advertising - At Least, Sort Of: by Janis Patterson Most of you know that I grew up in my parents’ advertising agency from the age of nine on, starting as a stripper (...
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Martin Clunes Islands of America DVD
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Martin Clunes Islands of America DVD: Reviewed by Jeanne I enjoy a number of British TV series including Doc Martin , about an irascible physician with an aversion...
Review: Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg
Los
Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Eve Ronin did not make working
homicide by putting her years in and working her way up the ranks. She did it
the old fashioned way by taking advantage of her sudden celebrity status. That
happened at a very good time for her as the Sheriff needed to exploit her for
some good press for the department.
Despised
by many, Eve Ronin is now the youngest homicide detective in the department’s
history. She is acutely aware of how other sees her as well as her own lack of
knowledge. She is determined to learn as fast as possible and not fail. Easier
said than done, because the odds are stacked
against her.
The slights come in many ways and that may include the fact that she has been paired with the soon to be retired Duncan Pavone. Detective Pavone is literally counting the days--163 when the book begins--to his retirement though it is clear to her that he cared at one time about doing the job. He has a lot to teach her and the first lessons of her crash course soon arrive by way of a crime scene straight out of a horror movie nightmare.
The slights come in many ways and that may include the fact that she has been paired with the soon to be retired Duncan Pavone. Detective Pavone is literally counting the days--163 when the book begins--to his retirement though it is clear to her that he cared at one time about doing the job. He has a lot to teach her and the first lessons of her crash course soon arrive by way of a crime scene straight out of a horror movie nightmare.
While the
outside ranch home deep in Topanga Canyon just looks old and neglected, the inside
is splattered with blood on nearly every surface. Tanya Kenworth is not to be
found in the house, nor are her two kids, Caitlin and Troy. The kids are ten
and eleven. From the scene inside the home, Detective Pavone and Ronin are
pretty sure they are dead and dismembered. Where they are and who is responsible
is the focus of Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg.
This is a
fast moving read that reminds one of the Ballard series by Michael Connelly.
It is therefore not surprising that he provides a blurb that is splashed across
the bottom of the front jacket of the book. For those well versed in police
procedurals or crime fiction in general, there are times that the book comes
across a bit simplistic, such as explaining the construction and use of “flash
bangs.” There is a certain made for television style to the read and one can
easily see how it could be done for Amazon streaming at some point in the
coming months.
At the
same time, despite the obvious clichés and what not, Lost Hills, is a fun and
fast moving read that keeps the reader fully engaged. It spins a complex tale
rapidly and throws enough misdirection at the reader that some of the clichés
do not bother as much as they would in the hands of a less talented writer. The
result is that Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg is worth your time.
The next
book in the series, Bone Canyon, is currently scheduled to be released January 5,
2021.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4cxHfhd
My reading copy came from my childhood haunt, the Audelia
Road Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2020
Monday, February 17, 2020
TEXAS BOOK LOVER: Monday Roundup: Texas Literary Calendar Feb. 17-23...
TEXAS BOOK LOVER: Monday Roundup: Texas Literary Calendar Feb. 17-23...: Bookish goings-on in Texas for the week of February 17-23, 2020, compiled exclusively for Lone Star Literary Life by Texas Book Lover. ...
Aubrey Hamilton Reviews: Tilt-a-Whirl by Chris Grabenstein
Chris Grabenstein is a wildly talented guy.
After attending the University of Tennessee, he moved to New York City where he
performed with improvisational comedy ensembles for several years. His next
career move was to write advertising copy for James Patterson. After that he
began publishing fiction in earnest. He’s published more than 40 children’s
books. He has won many awards, including the 2006 Anthony Award for Best First
Novel for his debut mystery featuring Iraqi war veteran John Ceepak. It’s
been seven years since the latest and quite possibly last title in this
eight-book series was published, and it may be time for those who overlooked it
to give these books another look.
In Tilt-a-Whirl (Carroll & Graf, 2005) we
meet former MP John Ceepak, just back from a horrific tour of duty in the
Middle East. He joins the Sea Haven police force for the summer to give himself
a break. Sea Haven, New Jersey, is on a barrier island swarming with tourists
and vacationers during the summer. What ordinarily is a small quiet town is
overrun by sun-seeking humanity then. Ceepak is an Eagle Scout and committed to
upright behavior. He will not lie, cheat or steal, nor tolerate anyone who
does. He makes a profound impression upon Danny Boyle, the 24-year-old naïve narrator
of the book, who joins the police force to augment the staff needed to handle
the summer crowds.
Ceepak and Boyle are leaving a breakfast diner
early one morning when a 12-year-old girl covered with blood comes running down
the street. She tells them her father has been killed in the nearby amusement
park. Ceepak rushes to the scene, while Boyle takes the girl to an unopened
store to question her and get her out of the potential view of the shooter.
Ceepak discovers the body of the local land development czar, whose business
tactics left something to be desired. His enemies were legion, so the cast of
suspects is substantial. Instead of taking a break from violence, Ceepak’s
police experience make him a natural lead investigator of the homicide that is
followed by a kidnapping.
Fresh characters, original setting, complex
plot. Recommended to mystery readers who overlooked this series earlier or who
are looking for something new to read. Booklist starred review.
·
Hardcover: 304 pages
·
Publisher: Carroll &
Graf; 1st edition (August 31, 2005)
·
Language: English
·
ISBN-10: 0786715847
·
ISBN-13: 978-0786715848
Aubrey Hamilton ©2020
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It
projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Three Tiers of Fantasy (1947) by Norman Berrow...
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Three Tiers of Fantasy (1947) by Norman Berrow...: Norman Berrow was, like Fergus Hume and Arthur W. Upfield , a British-born Antipodean mystery novelist whose parents settled down in Ng...
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