Thirteen Hours

Post-Apartheid South Africa has undergone many traumatic changes.  But for homicide detective Benny Griessel, nothing much changes except for the murder victims, the politics, unsettled race relations and his own personal problems.  Benny is saddled with “mentoring” newly promoted black, or “colored,” detectives.  Of course, he is the only experienced white.

The plot involves two murders and a kidnapping, each a potential PR disaster for the SA government.  It is up to Benny and his untested troops to save a captive American girl who witnessed the murder of her fellow tourist.  Meanwhile, a well-known music executive is found shot in his home with his pistol lying at his feet, his alcoholic wife asleep in a chair.

Deon Meyer has written six novels and Thirteen Hours is probably the best (not taking anything away from its predecessors).  It is taut, moving and deeply memorable, and is highly recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, August 2011.

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Dead Man’s Grip
Peter James
Macmillan, May 2011
ISBN: 978-0-230-74724-1
Trade Paperback
Released in the US by Minotaur Books, November 2011
ISBN 978-0-312-64283-9
Hardcover

This is the seventh in the Roy Grace series, detailed police procedurals that take place in the Brighton area of Great Britain.  The tightly written plots carry the reader from page to page wondering what comes next.  And the nearly overwhelming [in a good way, to be sure!] detail keeps the reader from guessing the next step.

This novel begins with the gruesome death of a young man, who defies his mother, the daughter of a mafia don in New York City, to study at a Brighton university and live with his English girlfriend.  One day, on the way to school, riding his bike on the wrong side of the road, he is narrowly missed by a car driven by Carly Chase [who swerves onto the sidewalk to avoid him], but is hit by a tailgating white van [which leaves the scene], then rolls under a truck’s wheels and is killed.

The plot stems from this incident, with the mother hiring a hit man to torture and murder the three drivers.  When two of them are found dead, it behooves Carly to attempt to protect herself and her young son.  And thereby hangs a tale, a rather detailed description of the killer’s movements, and the efforts of Detective Superintendent Roy Grace and the entire Sussex police force to capture him.

By all means get a copy and read it!  Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, August 2011.

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Sixkill
Robert B. Parker
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, May 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-15726-4
Hardcover

To quote some of the immortal words of the Bard, “I come to praise” Robert B. Parker, and, of course, the work that he has left behind obviously will “long live after him.”  In this, the last, Spenser novel, he once again provides an outstanding example of his talent and creativity.

Spenser is enlisted by his sometime buddy, police captain Quirk, to investigate the death of a young woman, who died after apparently having sex with a repulsive movie star in his hotel room.  The obvious conclusion is that the man is responsible for her death, but Quirk is not so sure and asks Spenser to find out what happened.  And Spenser goes about the task in his usual manner, this time accompanied by a brand new character (Hawk is in Asia), a “wasted” Cree Indian who Spenser takes under his wing to rehabilitate and train.

Enough has been written about Parker, his unparalleled ability to write sharp and amusing dialog, create funny barbs and unusual stories.  So such comments are really unnecessary here.  All one can say is, Mr. Parker, we’ll miss you.

Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, August 2011.

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Kiss Her Goodbye
Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, May 2011
ISBN: 978-0-15-101460-6
Hardcover

When Mickey Spillane died, he left behind a treasure trove of manuscripts, plot notes, rough outlines, character notes and drafts of final chapters.  He told his wife to give everything to Max Allan Collins who “would know what to do.”  And this Collins has done, three times so far [with a fourth due out in October].  In this novel, he combined two partial manuscripts and shaped and expanded them from an unfinished version that was a false start.

In this entry, the death of his mentor, officially termed a suicide, brings Hammer back to New York City from Key West, where he has been recuperating for a year after a shootout in which he killed a Mafia don’s son.  He returns to the Big Apple with a jaundiced eye, denigrating everything he sees and hears, determined to return to Florida quickly following the funeral.  Instead, of course, he becomes enmeshed in investigating the death, which he believes to be a murder, as well as four others, and committing the usual bloody mayhem of his own.

It is pure Spillane, and Collins as usual has performed a service to those who ate up the millions of copies of Mike Hammer novels sold in the 1960s and ‘70s by keeping the flame alive.  How much is Spillane, and how much is Collins, is really not important.  The book is vintage Spillane, and is a tribute to both authors.  Recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, August 2011.

]]> http://www.cncbooks.com/blog/2012/05/16/book-reviews-thirteen-hours-by-deon-meyer-dead-mans-grip-by-peter-james-sixkill-by-robert-b-parker-and-kiss-her-goodbye-by-mickey-spillane-and-max-allan-collins/feed/ 0 http://www.cncbooks.com/blog/2012/05/15/the-talking-heads/ http://www.cncbooks.com/blog/2012/05/15/the-talking-heads/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 04:01:12 +0000 Lelia http://www.cncbooks.com/blog/?p=10725 Jeanne Matthews was born and raised in Georgia, where owning a gun is required by law in certain places and “he needed killing” is a valid legal defense to homicide.  Jeanne’s debut novel, Bones of Contention, published in June, 2010 by Poisoned Pen Press, features a conniving Georgia clan plopped down in the wilds of Northern Australia where death adders, assassin spiders, man-eating crocs, Aboriginal myths, and murder abound.  Jeanne currently resides in Renton, Washington with her husband, Sidney DeLong, who is a law professor, and their West Highland terrier.  Her second novel, Bet Your Bones, is available at bookstores everywhere and the third, Bonereapers, will be released in June 2012.

www.jeannematthews.com

I collect heads – millinery heads, that is.  The headhunting bug bit many years ago when I saw a papier maché head in a shop window on the rue St. Germain in Paris.  She wore a pink-feathered chapeau dipped rakishly across one eye, a defiant pout, and a safety pin with a price tag for the hat stabbed through her nose.  The hat didn’t move me, but I had to have the head.  I’ve been a headhunter ever since.

The word “millinery” derives from the city of Milan, whose milliners made ribbons and gloves and straws.  In the Middle Ages, the church decreed that a woman’s hair must be covered, but it didn’t prescribe how to cover it or offer any style suggestions.  Veils, kerchiefs, hoods, caps, wimples – they conveyed a political or a religious message and were used either to hide the face or enhance it.   But the art of millinery, the design and exaltation of the hat, didn’t begin until the Eighteenth Century.

With the advent of millinery, a lady’s hat became a statement of attitude and status.  The more elaborate the hat, the higher her status and the more refined her taste.  For over two hundred years in England and the tonier parts of the U.S., it was considered a faux pas for a woman to leave home without a hat.  Hats have always reflected the zeitgeist of the era – the politics as well as the social conventions.

I attended a luncheon in April to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.  It was a swank affair.  Dressing a la steerage would have been frowned upon.  I therefore pinned a large flower to a broad-brimmed hat, borrowed a vintage Edwardian “walking suit,” and entered into upper-class society, circa 1912.  Wow!  The period costumes were dazzling and the hats – piled high with flowers, feathers, bows, and murderous looking hat pins the size of daggers – knocked my eyes out.  The ladies who sailed first class on the Titanic reflected the high tide of the hat era, if you’ll pardon the unhappy metaphor.

When women began to enter the work force in World War II, hats began to decline in popularity, but they have always held a special place in the world of fashion.  They are still de rigueur at royal weddings, at the Kentucky Derby and the races at Ascot, and who can forget the hat Aretha wore to President Obama’s inauguration?  A number of celebrities, including Lady Gaga, have taken to wearing fascinators – those chichi, anything-goes headpieces clipped into the hair.  Most retailers display their hats on bland Styrofoam or fiberglass mannequin heads.  But there was a time when the head that modeled the hat had as much personality as the hat, itself.  The artisans who crafted these display busts gave each face a unique expression – hauteur, shyness, pensiveness, flirtiness.  I have a gallery of them on the mantle above my fireplace.

Anique came from a shop in New Orleans.  She wears a rather stern expression, as if she doesn’t quite approve of what she sees going on in my living room.  Her neighbor Fleur is a Parisienne.  With a cloche tilted across one eye and a mischievous moue, she looks as if she might be strolling among the café tables in Pigalle, singing for her supper as the young Edith Piaf once did.  I found Rosa in San Francisco, although I suspect that she emigrated from Brittany.  Her expression is wistful, almost prayerful, as if she feels homesick for her native land.  Sometimes when I’m stuck for how to portray a particular character in one of my books, I consult my private line-up of heads.  In Bonereapers, my most recent Dinah Pelerin mystery, there is an enigmatic Norwegian woman with a secret past.  Married to a powerful American senator with presidential ambitions, she, too, is homesick – for her youth, for her husband’s love, for all things lost and irretrievable.  As I was spinning her life, I asked Rosa for hints.

And she answered.  Not out loud.  Not explicitly.  But she spoke to me nevertheless.  Milliner’s heads may not be as evocative as fine sculptures or paintings, but they communicate.  They imply the feeling.  And if I need additional inspiration, I can always add a hat.

Scrafitto

Welcome to sunny, idyllic Quepos, Costa Rica! The beach is full of tanned bodies, the Pacific Ocean beckons, the mountain scenery includes an active volcano. Just beware of scorpions, caiman, and…murder. In his debut mystery, Scarborough brings blood and violence to paradise. The burden to find the killer falls upon one man who just wants to leave his past behind, but when have you ever seen THAT happen?

Ex-homicide investigator Mitch Sharp is happy doing landscape and tourism photography. He has a few friends and a new love interest. But when someone starts attacking women, slashing bodies and spattering blood, Mitch is slowly drawn in to investigate. His obstacles: a lackadaisical police chief, a gung-ho hotel contractor worried about tourism, his own struggle with anger management, and, most important, no leads. Aided by a group of artist friends, Mitch starts gathering evidence. The attacks escalate to murder and his friends are, one one one, falling victim. Mitch must rely on his skills as a photographer and a former investigator to find the killer.

When an author knows the subject matter, in this particular story, photography/art, the book is that much more interesting. This has a little bit of everything. A foreign locale, scenery, a little romance, unique characters, plus, the all important murder mystery. The descriptions spark the imagination and the action brings you to the brink of tension. Scraffito is a fine first effort by a an author worth keeping your eye on.

Reviewed by Stephen L. Brayton, March 2012.
Author of Night Shadows and Beta.

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who won copies of Shades of Murder by Lauren Carr

and to Barbara, winner of Murder in Devon by Maggi Andersen!!!

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In the world of Isn’t This Just the Coolest Thing? comes news of three Girl Scout badges in criminal investigation I wish I could have earned when I was in Scouting oh so many years ago, the Detective, Special Agent and Truth Seeker badges—

http://tinyurl.com/6o6x77k

Now, don’t you wish you could get one of these?

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Lizzie Borden took an Ax

And gave her mother forty whacks

When she had seen what she had done

She gave her father forty-one.

Lizzie Borden—she’s one of those notorious folks we just can’t forget about and true crime lovers salivate over any new morsel of information about her alleged crimes. Since I’m one of those true crime fans, I can tell you I was enthralled to hear that her lawyer’s journals had been discovered and that they apparently shed some light on Lizzie’s relationship with her father, Andrew, who may not have been as mean-spirited as he was portrayed during her trial. The journals haven’t been fully studied yet, pending preservation, but I hope somebody will write a book about them before too many years go by.

http://tinyurl.com/7fvhlg7

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Are you a fan of the Armand Gamache mystery series by Louise Penny? Here’s a cool audio clip of Trick of the Light

(turn on your audio volume thingie)—

TrickOfTheLight_webclip.mp3

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To see some really nifty (and sometimes weird) bookshelves, check this out—

http://tinyurl.com/7jra77d

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RIP, Maurice Sendak

June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012

Elizabeth Zelvin is a New York psychotherapist, a three-time Agatha Award nominee, and author of the mystery series featuring recovering alcoholic Bruce Kohler, starting with Death Will Get You Sober. The third book, Death Will Extend Your Vacation, is just out, and “Death Will Tank Your Fish” was a 2011 Derringer Award nominee for Best Short Story. Liz has also just released a CD of original songs, “Outrageous Older Woman”. Her author website is www.elizabethzelvin.com and her music website, www.lizzelvin.com. Liz blogs on Poe’s Deadly Daughters and SleuthSayers.

Mystery writers, in fact, fiction writers in general, are often exhorted both to “write what you know” and “write what you’re passionate about.” A case could probably be made for Charles Dickens as the progenitor or at least forerunner of today’s writers who have something to say about social issues and weave it into their work. These can be divided into those who write passionately about social issues of the past, like Anne Perry in her two Victorian series, and those who take on current social issues, like Betty Webb, whose Desert Wives exposed present-day polygamy as child abuse and welfare fraud and became a factor in the enactment of new legislation in Arizona.

What I feel passionate about is not getting preachy, but saying what I have to say in a way that engages readers and arouses their sympathies. This can be a challenge. The temptation to explain and exhort (known to writers as “an information dump” and “telling instead of showing”) can be strong. But (as I say to my clients from dysfunctional families in my other hat as a shrink) that doesn’t work. Dys-functional. Doesn’t work.

What works is creating characters real enough to make the reader care and let them, not me as the author, explain only enough to serve the story and express their personalities.

As a therapist and former alcohol treatment program director, I’ve worked for many years with clients who suffer from alcoholism, drug addiction, codependency, and other compulsive disorders and dysfunctional relationship patterns. In my series about recovering alcoholic Bruce Kohler, which started with Death Will Get You Sober, I wanted to write “what I know” not about professional treatment or drunks simply not drinking, but the transformational process of recovery that takes place when people turn their lives around in Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs. In two books and four short stories, I think I succeeded in doing that.

In my new mystery, Death Will Extend Your Vacation, I tackle an issue that may challenge readers even more than what I’ve said so far about alcoholism and addictive relationships, and not because it’s irrelevant to most of us, but because it’s an area in which our whole society suffers from denial. Sobriety and even alcoholism are cool and sexy, destructive relationships fascinating. But eating disorders? Obesity? Yeah, yeah, we know it’s a national health problem. But a 2010 article on cnbc.com said the diet industry costs almost $60 billion in a slow year (dysfunctional: doesn’t work), while jokes about and widespread contempt of fat people are still going strong, as far as I can tell.

In Death Will Extend Your Vacation, Bruce and his friends, world-class codependent Barbara and computer genius Jimmy, take shares in a clean and sober group house in the Hamptons, where they start the summer by finding the body of a housemate on the beach.

There’s a lot of cooking and eating in a group house, especially one where drinking is not an option, and I’ve kind of let the problem creep up on the reader. We’re used to food being lovingly portrayed in mysteries. We love to hear about Nero Wolfe’s gourmet meals, Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti’s wife’s Venetian home cooking, and Kerry Greenwood’s Corinna Chapman’s bakery. But by the time one of my readers’ favorite characters ends up on the floor in tears with chocolate in her hair, I hope I’ll have you hooked enough to feel her pain even as you laugh.

Save Me

Bullying, and shining a spotlight thereon, is heralded as the reason this novel was written, but it plays such a minor role in the story that one wonders why it is even raised, except perhaps for the widespread publicity attendant to the subject.  It does occupy, along with much extraneous and superfluous background, about the first half of the book.  It is not until this reader got past that point that a modicum of interest arose.

The plot is a mishmash of twisted lines.  It begins with a fire in a newly opened elementary school, in which three persons are killed and two young children injured, one of whom is the young victim of the bullying, the eight-year-old daughter of Rose McKenna.  Rose, serving as a lunch mom, saves two girls (one of them the bully), ushering them toward an exit, and returns through the fire to save her daughter, who is locked in the bathroom, emerging initially as a “hero,” but then criticized when it is learned that the bully was injured in the fire (how?  It seems she returned to get something she had left behind) and Rose is accused of ignoring her in favor of her own daughter.

Faced with civil and criminal charges, Rose undertakes to discover the reason for the fire (officially attributed to accidental causes) when she suspects foul play.  This leads to further action, somewhat beyond belief.  The novel is carefully constructed and well-written, but somehow doesn’t fulfill its purpose, since, essentially, it is a murder mystery, but so overloaded with superfluous subplot that it becomes burdensome to read.  The author usually writes legal thrillers which I have found to be so much better, and I for one hope she returns to that milieu.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, July 2011.

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Drawing Conclusions
Donna Leon
Atlantic Monthly Press, April 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8021-1979-7
Hardcover

Unlike previous novels in the series, this mystery lacks many instances of the refined palate enjoyed by Commissario Guido Brunetti’s life.  There is some, but not much, of his charming home life.  Instead in this, the 20th entry in the series, we have a deep study of the man and his ethics drawn into a mystery he informally investigates.

It all begins when a retired school teacher is found dead of an apparent heart attack by a neighbor who calls the police, and Brunetti and his assistant respond.  The medical examiner rules it a natural death, but the detective is disturbed by bruises on the woman’s body, so he continues unofficially to look into the circumstances of the death.  This leads to a philosophical judgment on his part, quite unlike the stickler for the law that he usually is.

Each book in the series is an enjoyable read, and this one certainly is no exception.  The descriptions of Venice, its buildings and churches, continue to warm the heart of one who fell in love with the city years ago (and is about to renew the friendship in September). Let’s hope we can continue to recommend the series well into the future.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, July 2011.

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Red on Red
Edward Conlon
Spiegel & Grau, April 2011
ISBN: 978-0-385-51917-5
Hardcover

Having first turned his hand to a memoir of life in the NYPD, Blue Blood, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Non-fiction, the author, a working cop and detective, has now turned his efforts to fiction.  In this novel, it seems there is plenty of real life fact to go along with the fabricated story about two NYPD detectives.

Nick Meehan transfers into an upper Manhattan precinct from a miserable post in the Bronx under the auspices of Internal Affairs, ostensibly to get the goods on another detective, Esposito, as being “bent.”  Unexpectedly, the two are partnered and develop a close relationship, and Nick is torn by his own self-doubts and unstable personal life.  It soon appears that “Espo” is sort of a genius, conjuring up various scenarios to close cases as well as to help Nick’s love life.

The novel is full of detail on how a detective squad works, solving crimes and interacting with each other, written, obviously, by one who knows whereof he writes.  It is amusing at time, sad at others, but throughout, rings with authenticity and emotion, and is recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, August 2011.

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The Redbreast
Jo Nesbo
Harper, September 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-206842-2
Mass Market Paperback

During World War II, Norway was occupied by the Nazi army, and the head of the government lent his name to the English language synonymous with traitor—Quisling.  About 400 Norwegian youths volunteered to fight with the Germans on the Eastern front against the Russians.  Most of them did not survive the war. But those that did and returned to Norway were branded traitors and sentenced to years in prison.

It is against this challenging backdrop that the author has created a superb mystery novel equal to the best of the Scandinavian writers. He introduces Harry Hole, an irreverent, alcoholic detective on a par with Harry Bosch and his contemporaries.  The story moves from events during the war to present times and back and forth.  A series of murders takes place in Oslo, and little by little Harry follows the leads subtly provided, ignoring the powers that be who tell him to ignore his intuition and “be a good boy.”

The roots of the story are gleaned from the author’s own background—his father served in the Leningrad siege and his mother in the resistance. The novel was first published in Norway in 1997 and won the Glass Key Award for best Nordic crime novel and later voted the best Norwegian crime novel ever written.  It is the author’s second book [his third has just been released in hardcover] and we look forward to many more. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, August 2011.

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Favorite Sons
Robin Yocum
Arcade Publishing, June 2011
ISBN: 978-1-61145-004-0
Hardcover

Sometimes a first novel is born from an author’s prior background, reflecting authenticity and deep understanding.  Such is the case in this debut novel with a plot more complicated but more meaningful than a simple plot summary can convey.  In its utter simplicity, the novel traces the ramifications of a decision taken by four 15-year-old boys, 30 years after the fact.

The book centers on Hutch Van Buren who seems a shoo-in to be elected Ohio’s next Attorney General, leading in the polls by about 18 percentage points.  Until, that is, it comes to the surface that he and three friends covered up the murder of a retarded youth, allowing a pedophile to be convicted of the crime.  After his release from prison, the convict threatens to expose Hutch unless he quashes another charge of molestation.

The novel delves deeply into the psychological impact on Hutch, and looks into various other issues, including corruption, bribery, and the criminal mind.  It tests the limits of friendship, and weighs heavily in on the question of whether truth and justice should prevail.  This is a worthy book, especially so coming from a first-time novelist, and we hope there is another forthcoming.  Recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, August 2011.

]]> http://www.cncbooks.com/blog/2012/05/10/book-reviews-save-me-by-lisa-scottoline-drawing-conclusions-by-donna-leon-red-on-red-by-edward-conlon-the-redbreast-by-jo-nesbo-and-favorite-sons-by-robin-yocum/feed/ 0 http://www.cncbooks.com/blog/2012/05/09/book-review-the-rook-by-daniel-omalley/ http://www.cncbooks.com/blog/2012/05/09/book-review-the-rook-by-daniel-omalley/#comments Wed, 09 May 2012 12:00:38 +0000 Lelia http://www.cncbooks.com/blog/?p=10397 The Rook
Daniel O’Malley
Little, Brown and Company, January 2012
ISBN 978-0-316-09879-3
Hardcover

Publisher’s description—

“The body you are wearing used to be mine.” So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.

She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own.

In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.

To my way of thinking, a little cross-pollination between mystery and the supernatural is a very good thing in the world of fiction and, in the last few years, this subgenre has come into its own. Throw in a little humor—or a lot—and some good oldfashioned spy stuff and you’ve got the makings of a terrific story. I mean, come on, just picture a paranormal version of MI-5 where each agent is a little more odd than the next and where the protagonist has absolutely no clue who she is or what she’s doing there. What’s not to like? It’s a bit Dr. Who-ish and Australian author Daniel O’Malley has done everything just right in this gotta-love-it debut.

This is not your ordinary amnesia plot because Myfanwy (rhymes with Tiffany) Thomas has all the tools she needs to keep her complete lack of memory a secret unto herself. The original Myfanwy knew this was going to happen and wrote a series of letters to the reconstituted Myfanwy to explain things and give her the details she needs to live her new life, including her high-level position as a Rook within Checquy. This secret London agency exists to deal with all the evilminded supernaturals who want to do some serious mischief in the UK and Checquy’s operatives are every bit as weird as their opponents.

What really sets this apart from other novels of its kind is the intelligence and bravery of a young woman who has essentially just been born and must make critical decisions and learn about herself and her surroundings without having the luxury of time or outside assistance. In a word, Myfanwy is a kickbutt heroine who decides not to feel sorry for herself  and just gets on with it. No feeling sorry for herself (well, maybe a little) and no running away from the unknown (although some of the folks she runs into are more than a little unsettling, like the smelly room-sized mound of flesh that absorbs humans).

And why do people wear latex gloves when they’re around her? More importantly, who is determined to kill her and why? Myfanwy will need all the detective skills she can muster up if she wants to survive and, of course, you know she will because she is, after all, our heroine. How she outlasts the current bad guys is the journey I hated to have end because I was having so much fun.

It’s a pleasure to read a book as well-written as this one and to have it be a totally entertaining story is the icing on the cake. The Rook is a complete delight, full of unexpected twists and turns and remarkable creativity, and I’m looking forward with great anticipation to Myfanwy’s next adventures. Daniel O’Malley is going on my shortlist of authors I just have to follow.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, May 2012.

Kathleen Delaney, author of And Murder for Dessert and other books, retired from real estate to pursue writing full time. Her long time love of small towns sent her looking through the Carolina’s for a new place to settle, Gaffney. Limestone College, a delightful historic district, and a great library immediately drew her in. She lives in a wonderful 100 year old house, with a wrap around front porch, where she and her dog, Laney, can while away a summer afternoon, and a big office, lined with bookcases, where she can spend her days writing. And, as always, reading.

Our beloved Shepard, Shea, died right before Thanksgiving of last year. Laney, my Italian Greyhound, and I miss her a lot. I thought about getting another dog, but for various reasons decided to wait. So, we decided to get a cat. Actually, Laney didn’t express a very strong opinion, but I knew she was lonely. As long as it didn’t whack her, she’d probably like the company.

I have a friend who does animal rescue. I told her that we wanted to rescue a cat. I wanted to save one who was due to be executed and to let me know. I was in Chicago right before Christmas and I got a text from her saying she’d found a cat who not only needed a home but who needed mine.  She’d drop the cat off and she and Laney could become friends while I was gone.

The night I returned a very excited small dog and an immense and very blasé white and tan cat greeted me. She looked as if someone had blown her up with helium. She also  was missing a tail. However, if she needed a home–.

Her name was Petunia. She had made herself at home, staking out a place on my bed at night and for naps during the day, commandeering the red wing back chair while I watched TV in the evenings, and the top of the cedar chest that’s under the window in my office while I worked. She loved the backyard and lay in her favorite spot under the tree, surveying the birds and squirrels, for hours on end. And, she didn’t whack Laney. Looked like she was staying.

One day I noticed a small pile on my dining room floor. That pile belonged in the cat box. I wasn’t sure what to do, but cleaned it up, scrubbed the wood with stuff I hoped wouldn’t leave a stain, recleaned an absolutely clean cat box, and hoped we wouldn’t have a repeat performance. We did. I tried everything but the cat still wanted to use the dining room. Her preference soon expanded to my living room rug. I still tried.  Locked her in the laundry room with a clean cat box, and wouldn’t let her in the rest of the house for a few days.  When I knew she was using the box exclusively, I let her rejoin us. All was well for a couple of days, and then it started over. I did this a couple of times, but soon I’d had enough. I called the woman who had to give up the cat and said come and get her. She had made her decision. I had now made mine.

The cat went to another home and the same performance played out. She is now living in a barn out in the country somewhere, muttering cat curses under her breath, wondering what happened to her nice warm beds. She is reaping the consequences of her own actions.

I doubt strongly that she realizes that. I’ve noticed that dogs, cats, horses and small children are not very good at realizing their actions have consequences. Most of them can be taught. Not all.

That got me to thinking about consequences. Everything we do has a consequence. If we don’t pay the house payment on time the bank gets downright testy. If we don’t brush our teeth, the next trip to the dentist is not pleasant. If we eat every candy bar or piece of pie that tempts us, well, we know about that consequence.  When our children get old enough to be a danger to themselves and the world at large, we start to teach them about consequences. Pulling the plant off the table onto the rug causes Mommy to be upset; not turning in your homework causes Mommy to give you long lectures, not cleaning your room after Mommy has told you twelve times causes Mommy’s face to turn red. After awhile they begin to catch on.

What does that have to do with writing? Quite a lot. Stories are about consequences. All stories. Really.

You’re thinking the last book you read, or wrote, wasn’t about that at all. It was a drama, a mystery, a thriller. It was about this man who was an accountant who loved to go to the races. He never bet, just loved the horses. Until, one day he was so sure. He’d watched this horse since he was a two year old, watched him mature, start to win, and today was his day. He knew it. So, he bet ten dollars. The horse won. The next time he won again and again, until the day the man bet money he’d borrowed from his firm. A sure thing. He’d put the borrowed money back and with what he’d win today and what he had won before, he’d quit. The horse lost. Consequently, he couldn’t put the money back. His office partner noticed his panic and got suspicious. Consequently, he investigated and discovered money missing. Consequently, he went to his friend and told him he had to give himself up, and consequently got himself killed. And the man who bet on the horse? A close encounter with his local law enforcement is, consequently, in his near future.

Consequences. Life and stories are all about them.

I wonder if the cat has figured that out yet.

Dangerous Women & Desperate Men

The introduction to this book gives you a lot of  information about the author, his writing and some of his experiences that have helped develop background for his books.

“Blood Red Rings” is the story of Frank Harper, a police officer as well as a family man.  Harper is tired of his job, tired of dealing with his problems at home and ready to end his evening.   His thoughts go back over the years and the good times in his life as he cruises his beat.  However, the evening ends in a very tragic way.  A story that will stay with the reader long after the last page.

“Lightning Rider” is the story of Jessie Scout who is employed as the driver of an armored car.  Jesse along with her crew members, Gask and Perez, haul a lot of money from the Las Vegas casinos.  The last drive that she made to pick up money is one that will not soon be forgotten by Jessie, her crew members, or readers of this story.

“Three Bullets to Queensland” takes Ike Decker on a chase for the suspect in a deadly armored car hit.  One where Paco Sanchez got away with all the cash.  A great story with a twisted ending.

“As Long As We Both Shall Live” is a short story written in the form of a statement in court and is very effective as well as shocking.

Mofina also adds exerpts of several of his novels as well as some background on the books and where he got his ideas.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, August 2011.

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Vintage Connor: The Blonde in the Lotus Elite
Robert Baty
R. J. Buckley Publishing, June 2011
ISBN No. 978-0981965475
Trade Paperback

Ray Connor is a former police officer living in Oakland, California and dealing in vintage cars.  He drives an Alfa Romeo and is an expert in classic cars.  He is the person to look to if you are a collector wanting to buy a classic car.

When a cab pulls up and Evie steps out, he is immediately drawn back into the past.  Evie is a woman that Connor was in love with twenty years ago and he has never gotten over the fact that she walked out on him.  Now she is back in his life and seeking his help.  Evie’s daughter Janey is dead.  Connor didn’t even know that Evie had a daughter and now he is to investigate her death.  Janey’s death has been ruled a suicide but Evie refuses to believe that her daughter would kill herself.

Janey died in Monterey so that is where Connor begins.  Connor calls on his ex-partner Vince Hendrix for assistance in tracking down some information.  When Connor begins his investigation, he finds that Janey’s death is looking more like murder than suicide.   It not only appears that there has been a big cover-up in the facts surrounding Janey’s death,  Connor also begins to feel that Evie may be covering up some facts about the case – facts that he needs to know.

Connor’s investigation takes him into dangerous territory and there are some close calls before he actually uncovers the truth.  Connor is never sure that Evie will even be around when he finally breaks the case.

Robert Baty has written an exciting mystery novel that I hope will just be the first one in a series of Connor stories.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, August 2011.

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The Herring In the Library
L. C. Tyler
Felony & Mayhem Press, 2011
ISBN No. 978-1934609767
Trade Paperback

Ethelred Tressider is a mystery writer although not first rate.  His agent, Elsie Thirkettle, is visiting Ethelred and while occupying their time with a game of Clue (Cludeo) Elsie is attempting to get Ethelred busy on his next book.  The game that occupies their time is one that they will soon be playing with a real life mystery.

Ethelred reminds Elsie that they are soon due at the estate of Sir Robert and Lady Muntham of Muntham Court for dinner.  Sir Robert is an old friend of Ethelred’s who was known in earlier days as Shagger.  Although Elsie was not a bit excited about having to dress up to meet the hosts she certainly wasn’t about to be left at home.

The dinner party turns into a disaster when Sir Robert is found dead in the locked library.  Lady Muntham prevails upon Ethelred to act as detective and locate the murderer.  Elsie does not have a lot of faith in Ethelred’s detective talents and proceeds to uncover her own clues.

The story is told in turns from the point of view of Ethelred and from Elsie’s point of view.  Both views are quite different.

A very entertaining story and the third in the Elsie and Ethelred series.  If you enjoy this book, you are sure to enjoy The Herring Seller’s Apprentice and Ten Little Herrings.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, August 2011.

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Under the Dog Star
Sandra Parshall
Poisoned Pen Press, September 2011
ISBN No. 978-1590588802
Trade Paperback

Family pets are disappearing in Mason County and veterinarian Rachel Goddard is stumped as to why the dogs are missing and attempting to devise some method to locate the dogs.  Rachel has moved in with Tom Bridger, Mason County Sheriff’s Deputy.  Rachel and Tom are rapidly adapting to the new living arrangement.  Tom worries that Rachel is spending too much time worrying about the missing dogs. Notices have been posted every place and he is sure the mystery will be solved before long.

Tom has another dog-related problem to occupy his mind.  There is a pack of feral dogs running around killing livestock.  Rachel is determined to help Tom and the local animal authorities capture the dogs and be able to get the dogs to a point where they would once again be the faithful dog of a family in need of a pet.  The feral pack is believed to have been brought about by the fact that people who have lost their jobs and their homes have taken to dumping their pets in Mason County in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.  The pack had been formed by the group of dogs just struggling for survival.

Suddenly the case of the lost pets and the feral dogs take a back seat to a gruesome murder.  Dr. Gordon Hall, head of Tri-County General Hospital is found dead on his property.   When Tom arrives on the scene, he finds Dr. Hall’s body along the edge of the woods near his house.  Dr. Hall’s throat had been ripped open by a savage animal.

Dr Hall’s wife Vicky is in very bad health.  Vicky is in advanced kidney failure.    The Hall’s have one natural son, Ethan, and three adopted children.   As the investigation proceeds, it appears that Dr. Hall was not a very popular person in the community and the Hall family was far from a close-knit family.

As Tom proceeds with the murder investigation as well as trying to capture the feral dog pack, Rachel is determined to save the lives of the pack of dogs.  The investigation brings out hints of a dog-fighting ring in the community that further complicates the situation.

Rachel’s feeling that all is not well with the younger members of the Hall family makes her determined to get to the bottom of the problem with the children as well as the ongoing problem with the feral dogs, the missing pets and a killer dog.

Dog lovers will shudder at some of the details of the search for the feral dogs and the attempts to find and shut down the dog-fighting group but the author has done a great job of handling touchy subjects.  This is a great addition to the Rachel Goddard series.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, August 2011.

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