Friday, February 22, 2019
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Murder in Her Stocking: A Granny Reid Mystery by G...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Murder in Her Stocking: A Granny Reid Mystery by G...: Reviewed by Kristin Savannah Reid and her six siblings were raised right by their Southern granny. Granny Reid didn’t take any...
FFB Review: GOD SAVE THE MARK (1967) by Donald E. Westlake Reviewed by Barry Ergang
Just over seven years
ago this review by Barry Ergang first appeared on the blog as part of FFB.
Seemed like a good time to again draw your attention to it. Especially these days when
humor is in short supply. For this final Friday of February 2019 make sure you
head over to Todd’s blog for
more reading suggestions.
GOD SAVE THE MARK
(1967) by Donald E. Westlake
Reviewed by Barry
Ergang
 |
| Hardback |
Fred Fitch is a con artist's wet dream. He seems to radiate
an aura of gullibility that any and every grifter can see or sense: "Con
men take one look at me, streamline their pitches, and soon go gaily off to
steak dinners while poor Fred Fitch sits at home and once again dines on gnawed
fingernail." It has been this way for him since his childhood in Montana
Now thirty-one and living in an apartment in New York City
As it turns out, however, Goodkind is legitimate, and so is
Fred's inheritance. He calls his mother and learns that he really did have an
Uncle Matthew Grierson, a man who was the black sheep of the family. Jack
Reilly tells him that Uncle Matt was a con artist who was known by the monicker
Matt "Short Sheet" Gray. After the irony of the situation leaves Fred
a little hysterical, Reilly voices concern about what will become of the money
if Fred actually gets possession of it because he's afraid it won't remain in
his possession for long.
 |
| Mass Market Paperback |
Then he tells Fred that although Uncle Matt had cancer, it
wasn't what killed him. A blunt instrument did.
Things begin to happen rapidly and wildly after that, as
Fred encounters an array of offbeat characters, among them lovely Karen Smith,
who accosts him in the street and asks him to kiss her; Gertie Divine, the Body
Secular, a stripper who was Uncle Matt's nurse and companion; Grant and
Wilkins, the other two tenants in Fred's building; Homicide cops Steve and
Ralph, who come across like comic vaudevillians but who, Gertie says, aren't
candidates for sainthood; the elusive Professor Kilroy, Uncle's Matt's former
partner; Dr. Osbertson, who goes to a wacky extreme to avoid talking to Fred; Gus
Ricovic, who's always willing to trade information for cash; the menacing Coppo
brothers, whose father Uncle Matt swindled during the years he lived in Brazil;
and former senator Earl Dunbar, who began the Citizens Against Crime
Organization.
Fred may be gullible, but he's not stupid. He realizes that
he's suddenly become Mr. Sought-After now that he has money. When someone trails
and then takes some potshots at him, and after he discovers another murder
victim, he questions whether he can trust anyone, even the police, as he tries
to decide what to do with the money, how to avoid being murdered himself, and how
to determine who is behind all of the chaos.
Written relatively early in a long and illustrious career, God
Save the Mark is a fine example
of why Donald E. Westlake is generally acknowledged as the all-time-greatest
writer of comical crime stories. A well-plotted tale, its situations develop primarily
from its delightful cast of
idiosyncratic characters. I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy a brief
and breezy page-turner that will keep them smiling and sometimes chuckling
aloud.
Barry Ergang ©2012, 2019
Formerly the Managing Editor of Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine
and First Senior Editor of Mysterical-E,
winner of the Short
Mystery Fiction Society’s Derringer Award for the best flash fiction story
of 2006, his written work has appeared in numerous publications, print and
electronic. For links to material available online, and fiction available for
e-readers, see Barry’s webpages.
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Crime Review Update: New issue of Crime Review
We
feature new 20 reviews in each issue of Crime Review (www.crimereview.co.uk),
together with a top industry interview. This time it’s author Paul Hardisty in
the Countdown hot seat:
We’re on
Twitter at:
Crime
Review: @CrimeReviewUK
Linda
Wilson: @CrimeReviewer
Sharon
Wheeler: @lartonmedia
This
week’s reviews are:
RIVERS OF
LONDON: WATER WEED by Andrew Cartmel and Ben Aaronovitch,
reviewed
by Linda Wilson
Drug
dealing on the River Thames takes on an added dimension when a pair of
river
goddesses get involved.
THE STONE
CIRCLE by Elly Griffiths, reviewed by Sharon Wheeler
Archaeologist
Dr Ruth Galloway and DCI Harry Nelson encounter some unwelcome echoes from the
past when bones are discovered on an ancient Norfolk site.
THE
WANDERER by Michael Ridpath, reviewed by Ewa Sherman
Magnus
Jonson is an American Icelander newly returned to the Reykjavik police force.
He’s called to investigate the murder of a young Italian tourist found at a
sacred church in northern Iceland.
MAIGRET
AND THE GOOD PEOPLE OF MONTPARNASSE by George Simenon, reviewed by Arnold
Taylor
René
Josselin is a retired businessman living a comfortable life and generally
regarded as a good man. It comes as a great shock when he is found one evening
shot dead in his armchair.
BLACK
LILY by Philippa Stockley, reviewed by John Cleal
Two
strong women, one black, one white, fight to survive amid the depravity,
prejudice and constraints of Jacobean London.
BAIT,
GRIST & SECURITY by Mike Hodges, reviewed by Chris Roberts
Three
novellas combined in a single volume give a very penetrating examination of the
worlds of book writers, the cinema, and personal improvement courses.
SMOKING
KILLS by Antoine Laurain, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor
Fabrice
Valentine’s new relationship with cigarettes is about to make him a killer.
HOW IT
HAPPENED by Michael Koryta, reviewed by Linda Wilson
FBI agent
Rob Barrett is brought in to help interview a woman who has confessed to being
involved with the disappearance and murder of a woman and her boyfriend.
Everyone else thinks she’s an attention-seeking liar, but Barrett believes her
– and stakes his career on his judgment.
FATAL
INHERITANCE by Rachel Rhys, reviewed by Arnold Taylor
Eve
Forrester feels herself ensnared in a loveless marriage. She sees no way out of
it and is resigned to living in a gloomy house, with no friends to brighten her
existence. A letter from a firm of solicitors brings unexpected changes.
OVERKILL
by Vanda Symon, reviewed by Ewa Sherman
Sam
Shepard, the only policewoman in the small rural town of Mataura, New Zealand,
investigates the death of a young mother. Apparent suicide was in fact a
murder, and the victim was married to Sam’s ex-boyfriend. Sam finds herself the
main suspect and suspended from duty but decides to find the killer anyway and
clear her name.
UNDER THE
ICE by Rachael Blok, reviewed by John Cleal
A girl’s
body is found in a frozen lake. As the police investigation struggles,
neighbours in a close-knit community turn against each other – and a young
mother’s strange visions may hold the key.
THE
FRENCH GIRL by Lexie Elliott, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor
When they
find a girl’s body ten years after she disappeared, Kate Channing’s memories
and friendships unravel in a dark place.
THE JANUS
RUN by Douglas Skelton, reviewed by Chris Roberts
Coleman
Lang awakes to find his girlfriend dead on the bed next to him. When autopsy
results show she has been murdered, the police like him for the crime.
A LETHAL
FROST by Danny Miller, reviewed by Linda Wilson
When a
local bookmaker is shot in the head and seriously injured, Denton copper DI
Jack Frost is under pressure from his boss to find the culprit as well as
having to pacify his landlords by tracking down an escaped parrot.
RUSSIAN
ROULETTE by Sara Sheridan, reviewed by John Cleal
Upper-class
debt collector and amateur detective Mirabelle Bevan becomes involved with a
brutal murder and must cut through an iron curtain of call girls and high
stakes gambling to find the truth.
BABY’S
FIRST FELONY by John Straley, reviewed by Chris Roberts
Criminal
defence investigator Cecil Younger’s favour for a client gets him into bad
trouble. And when his daughter is kidnapped, he has to take extraordinary
measures.
A CLEAN
CANVAS by Elizabeth Mundy, reviewed by Linda Wilson
When a
valuable painting goes missing from a London gallery, suspicion falls on Lena’s
cousin Sarika, but Lena is determined to clear her name and find the real
culprit.
GUNMETAL
GRAY by Mark Greaney, reviewed by John Cleal
Court
Gentry is back with the CIA and his first mission is to find a defecting
Chinese cyber-expert and bring him or his knowledge back to the US.
DIRTY
JOHN AND OTHER TRUE STORIES OF OUTLAWS AND OUTSIDERS by Christopher Goffard,
reviewed by Chris Roberts
Fifteen
true stories from a Los Angeles Times staff writer sympathetically exploring
the lives of people whose experience has been touched by crime or stress.
THAT’S
NOT WHAT HAPPENED by Kody Keplinger, reviewed by Linda Wilson
Three
years ago, a massacre at Virgil County High School left six traumatised teens
struggling to make sense of what happened. Now survivor Lee Bauer wants the
truth to be told. But the truth is not always welcomed with open arms.
Best
wishes
Sharon
Gravetapping: "A Real Nice Guy" by William F. Nolan
Gravetapping: "A Real Nice Guy" by William F. Nolan: His name was Jimmie Prescott and he is thirty-one years of age. Five foot ten. Slight build. He’s a loner. A sniper. A killer. The s...
SleuthSayers: Interview: Crime Fiction Writer and Retired Police...
SleuthSayers: Interview: Crime Fiction Writer and Retired Police...: by Brian Thornton I first met Frank Zafiro way back in 2007 at the Left Coast Crime Convention here in Seattle. Although we're both Sp...
Review: A Time To Scatter Stones: A Mathew Scudder Novella by Lawrence Block
It is late September as A Time To Scatter Stones: A Mathew Scudder
Novella begins Elaine and Scudder enjoying a nice evening walk home
after an evening out with friends. A subject almost came up while they were
there and then Elaine thought better of it and the moment passed. Now it is
coming up again as they head towards home.
That moment passed because Elaine thought better about talking
about her past. A past that includes her years as a prostitute. She has started
attending a support group of sorts for those who were once prostitutes and got
out as well as those in the life now and looking to get out. In short, think of
it as AA for prostitutes and that pretty much covers it. A fellow member, Ellen
Lipscomb, is being sponsored by Ellaine and she has a problem.
A former client thinks that now that Ellen Lipscomb is not
seeing other men, she is his exclusive property. Ellen wants Scudder’s help in
getting rid of the guy as she does not want him around. She certainly never
wants to see him again and didn’t want to see him the night he barged into her
home. But, she was scared. He’s big, confident, and it was easier to play
it safe and let him have again what he had before than try to stop it.
She moved afterwards, hid for a while, and then got into a new
place. That did not work as he has found her again. She doesn’t know his real
name or anything about him so she can’t go to the cops. Not to mention the fact
that she feels the cops would never take her seriously because of her past line
of work. Despite the fact she is scared of him, she does not realize just how
much danger she is possibly in from this guy.
She needs Scudder’s help more than she knows and he knows how limited
his help can be at this age.
For
Scudder, his old contacts on the police force are dead or moved to a warmer
climate. The cops he knows now pretty much know nothing about him and therefore
won’t take anything he says seriously. Any other help might have gotten back in
the day is nonexistent now. Then there is the fact that he is an old man with a
troublesome knee so the physical angle of dealing with the problem is out. The
old dog is still plenty capable though and is on the case in A Time
To Scatter Stones: A Mathew Scudder Novella.
It goes without saying that this book is a solidly good read and
part of a great series. This novella unspools at a leisurely pace with musings
about life, passion, addictions, and other topics as they come up. These
musings usually take the form of interesting conversations between Scudder and
Elaine. There is also a touch of erotic here that is fairly tame and yet will
offend some readers. In short, much is going on here beyond the core mystery
problem. While those other things tend to slow down the overall pace, they also
bring nuance and depth to A Time To Scatter Stones: A Mathew Scudder
Novella.
A good
read and one well worth your time.
A Time To Scatter Stones: A Mathew Scudder Novella
Lawrence Block
LB Productions
Subterranean Press (Print)
January 2019
Digital ARC (Hardback, eBook, and audio also available)
I was privileged
to receive a digital ARC of this book a number of weeks ago with no expectations
of a review. My copy also included an introduction to the upcoming anthology, At
Home in the Dark.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2019
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
UTD Today
If you are on Facebook and follow either Scott or myself, you already saw this picture. If you have not, this was from this afternoon while we were out on the Patio for a bit. Some of the giant wall murla is visible on the left side of the picture.
Only days left to win books and more from KRL
Only days left to win a
copy of "Bones Behind the Wheel" by E.j. Copperman
And to win a copy of
"The Lost Traveller" by Sheila Connolly
Also to win a copy of
"Do No Harm" by Dawn Eastman and while there check out an interesting
interview with Dawn
And to win an ebook copy
of "Killer Eyeshadow and a Cold Expresso" by Traci Andrighetti and
while there check out a fun guest post by Traci about the series
And to win a copy of
"Murder Likes it Hot" by Tracy Weber
Also to win a copy of
"Murder at the Palace" by Margaret Dumas published by Henery Press
Happy reading,
Lorie
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Naipaul, Levison, Braithwaite, Tisdale,...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Naipaul, Levison, Braithwaite, Tisdale,...: Reported by Jeanne Nevermore opened with a review of Half a Life by V.S. Naipaul. Willie Chandran is the son of a Brahmin...
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 27 Fabulous Writing Conferences in March 2019
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 27 Fabulous Writing Conferences in March 2019: Spring is right around the corner! And writers are thawing out! There are some excellent opportunities to network, pitch your work, and ...
Jeanne Reviews: Murder on Memory Lake by J.D. Griffo
Jeanne
of the BPL is back
today with another treadmill books Guest Post. Yea! This one came out last
summer and the next one in the series drops on March 26, 2019.
Murder
on Memory Lake by J.D. Griffo
 |
| Large Print Paperback |
Alberta Scaglione is a feisty Italian grandmother
whose life has had its share of hard knocks.
Then, a miracle: her spinster
aunt dies and leaves her a fortune and a lovely house overlooking a lake. Alberta moves in and is enjoying the good
life—until she finds a body in the lake. And it’s not just any body—it belongs to Lucy
Agnostino, who tormented Alberta all through school and who, given a choice,
would probably have wanted to be murdered on Alberta’s lake just for spite.
But was it murder or an accidental drowning? Alberta
is convinced it was the latter, because Lucy is dressed in a navy blue suit, a
color she wouldn’t –well, be caught dead in.
I was quite taken with the book at the start. It is very funny, and I liked the idea of a
multigenerational cozy. Alberta’s
granddaughter, Jinx is a young reporter with a local paper who wants to get to
know her grandmother. Alberta and her
daughter, Jinx’s mother, became estranged years ago and Jinx grew up far from the
rest of the family. The investigative
quartet is rounded out with Alberta’s sister, Helen, a former nun with little
patience for foolishness, and Joyce, a sister in law who retired from
investment banking with a lot of money and a yen to become a painter.
The book is very Italian, with multiple characters
spouting Italian proverbs, much Italian food, quite a bit of Italian
attitude. It was a refreshing change
from the everyman sort of cozies I’ve been reading, where the stories are often
set in Anytown, USA. One running gag has
Jinx trying to update the family’s traditional and beloved dishes with healthy
alternatives, with little success. After
tasting a risotto made with couscous, Aunt Helen says it “tastes like the
Eucharist without any of the hope.” (Later, Helen complains about what Jinx is
wearing to a funeral home. Alberta says
that God must like fancy, because to look at some of the priests’ robes it’s as
if Liberace was leading mass. “If only
Jesus could just pack a house like Liberace used to do,” replies Helen.)
It was also a lot of fun to have mostly older main
characters who are lively, interesting, and determined. They also drink a lot of flavored vodka.
I’ll admit to a little bit of disappointment after
the opening pages. I was looking forward
to a strong contrast between a young woman and an older one, but at times I
found Alberta behaving more like the stereotypical young cozy heroine than the
older, savvier lady she seemed at first. That role is taken over by Helen, who
may be my favorite character. Joyce is
no slouch, either. I laughed a lot while reading this.
My only other nitpick was that at times the author
worked too hard to come up with synonyms for “said.” People comment, lecture, question, theorize,
state, disclose, translate—well, you get the idea. It wasn’t all through the
book, just a few passages.
If you like cozies, this is a very promising new
series. I’m certainly looking forward to the next in the Ferrara Family Mysteries, Murder
in Tranquility Park.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Review: Death of a Rainmaker: A Dust Bowl Mystery by Laurie Loewenstein
Death
of A Rainmaker: A Dust Bowl Mystery by Laurie Loewenstein begins in early
August in the 1930s. The Dust Bowl is centered in Oklahoma where farmers are
literally losing their land in every breath and gust of wind. The soil is being
stripped away as is the livelihoods of the farmers and everyone who relies on
them in the small community Vermillion, Oklahoma. The small county seat of
Jackson County is a desperate place full of desperate people which is why they
have paid a lot of money to a stranger who claims he can and will make it rain.
After 240 days without rain the locals are gathering out in a dry
and baked field a little ways outside of town to see Roland Combs at work.
Based on his experiences during the recent war years, he is going to fire TNT
up into the skies. He promises that the explosions will bring rain. Despite the
firing of twenty mortars into the cloudless heavens triggering numerous
concussive blasts, no rain appears to wash away the new grit and dirt that coats
all who were out gathered to see the Rainmaker at work. Though the first
evening nothing happens, Roland Combs promises to keep blasting the skies every
evening for the next three weeks to make it rain.
That was his plan. It didn’t happen because before the next night
fell he was very much dead. He did not drown in a flood. Instead, somebody whacked
him over the head and took the opportunity of a massive dust storm to make sure
the deed was done and to get away.
With
the Rainmaker dead, Sheriff Temple Walker has yet another problem. Not only is
he up for reelection, but many people are suffering foreclosure and Sheriff
Walker has to be at hand to enforce the peace at such events. He hates having
to do that, but the law gives him no choice. While he is only doing his job and
a few do understand that, the idea that he is helping the bank take their
property does not sit well with anyone. Then there is the ongoing grief that he
and his wife, Etha, feel over the loss of their young son.
For Etha the sight of a young teenager, Carmine DiNapoli, who looks
so much like her son, Jack, is almost unbearable. If he had lived, he would
look much like Carmine does. Carmine is arrested for murder she can’t believe
it. Having spent some time around him, Etha knows in her heart he did not do it
and sets about trying to prove his innocence. Doing so first causes a strain on
the marriage and then begins to spread outwards as she stirs up additional dark
secrets and makes Walker’s election a more distant possibility.
The truth sets some free and condemns others in this highly
atmospheric mystery. Death of a Rainmaker: A Dust Bowl Mystery
is complex in terms of multiple mysteries and deeply nuanced in terms of
characters and setting. It quickly pulls the reader deeply into the story that
also does a little history teaching along the way. Even for this reader who
rarely reads a historical mystery, Death of a Rainmaker: A Dust Bowl Mystery by
Laurie Loewenstein is very good. I am eagerly waiting the next installment of
the series and that can’t be published soon enough.
While
I rarely read historical mysteries, I enjoyed this one and put a library hold
on it simply because Lesa Holstine reviewed it. That review from last October
can be read here.
Lesa’s interview with the author, also from last October, can be read here.
You should read both pieces and follow her blog if you are not already doing
so.
Death of a Rainmaker: A Dust Bowl Mystery
Laurie
Loewenstein
Kaylie
Jones Books
October
2018
ISBN#978-1-61775-679-5
Hardback
(also available in audio and digital formats)
320
Pages
$37.95
Material supplied by the good folks of
the Dallas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2019
Monday, February 18, 2019
FROM DUNDEE'S DESK: Noteworthy Reads: THE DOCTOR'S WIFE by Michael Ava...
FROM DUNDEE'S DESK: Noteworthy Reads: THE DOCTOR'S WIFE by Michael Ava...: In my reading lifetime, I'm sure I have read well over a thousand books. Maybe close to two thousand. Hell, counting comic books and ...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Superman: Red Son by Mark Millar
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Do Some Damage: Please welcome guest contributor Beau Johnson.In l...
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TEXAS BOOK LOVER: Monday Roundup: Texas Literary Calendar February 1...
TEXAS BOOK LOVER: Monday Roundup: Texas Literary Calendar February 1...: Bookish goings-on in Texas for the week of February 18-24, 2019: Special Events: 4th Annual World Languages and Literatures Internation...
Aubrey Hamilton Reviews: Nighttown by Timothy Hallinan
Nighttown by Timothy
Hallinan (Soho Crime, 2018) is the latest in the adventures of Junior Bender,
an enchanting burglar in Los Angeles. He would truly like not to be on the
wrong side of the law but theft is so much more lucrative, not to mention fun,
than a regular job. What is he to do?
In this particular caper he’s offered a ridiculously large sum
of money to steal an old doll from an empty house that is due to be razed any
day. The offer comes from a badly disguised woman in an orange wig in a
McDonald’s who goes to the trouble of hiring three child actors to pose as her
children for the short trip into the restaurant. He knows something is deeply
wrong with the set-up. Normally he would run, not walk, away from it, but he is
desperate to raise enough money to kidnap his girlfriend’s son from her
controlling ex-husband. Good help doesn’t come cheap.
He takes extra care to case the empty house and learns that
someone else has been hired to steal the doll or whatever is hidden in it. The
second burglar ends up dead; knowing it could have just as easily been him,
Junior is more motivated than ever to learn the identity of the originator of
the strange request and why he or she is interested enough in the doll to pay
so much for it.
As usual in this series, the characters teeter on the fine line
between droll and terrifying. In Junior’s line of work he encounters a lot of
folks most of us would not run into, nor would we want to. The last occupant of
the empty house, the Marfan sufferer who keeps stuffed cats in her house, the
aging and ill crime boss who finds new zest in life after he takes out one of
his competitors, hair-raising but sad, every one of them. I wanted to laugh at
them but I was too afraid of them to do so. I particularly liked the hitwoman
Junior hires to protect his ex-wife and daughter after he receives death
threats. The part where the hitwoman joins the ex-wife, the daughter, and her
friends for a sleepover complete with a rousing game of charades is as delightful
as it is unexpected.
Not surprisingly, Publishers
Weekly gave this book a starred review. If you are not acquainted with
Junior, this is a good place to begin.
·
Hardcover: 384 pages
·
Publisher: Soho Crime
(November 6, 2018)
·
Language: English
·
ISBN-10: 1616957484
·
ISBN-13: 978-1616957483
Aubrey
Hamilton ©2019
Aubrey
Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and
reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Strange Case of Harriet Hall (1936) by Moray D...
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Strange Case of Harriet Hall (1936) by Moray D...: Katherine M. Renoir is the author of twenty-nine detective novels, published as by " Moray Dalton ," which Curt Evans describe...
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