When army veteran Dane aka Johnny Danetello is released from prison after a two-year stint, surviving attempts on his life after being held responsibl...moreWhen army veteran Dane aka Johnny Danetello is released from prison after a two-year stint, surviving attempts on his life after being held responsible for the death of a mob bosses daughter, he knows his life will be a fight to survive when he returns to his old stomping grounds, a section of Brooklyn known as Headstone City. Upon release, the mob turns up the heat, trying to take Dane out at every turn. Taking a job with a limo company, Dane drives the neighborhood, living with his grandmother while he tries to figure out how to bring the confrontation to a conclusion. The Brooklyn mob is falling apart at the seams and their attempts on his life are futile. Dane was close to the mafia family before the death of the daughter and now his former best friend Vinny has become his arch enemy. But he and Vinny are linked in more ways than one - as young men they were involved in a serious car crash that left them both with head trauma, and a glimpse into the unknown. Dane is now able to perceive the ghosts and spirits that surround him, while Vinny experiences himself in three different parallel realities. This touch of the supernatural adds a slight element of horror to the book, and psychological drama to the narrative. As the clock ticks down and Dane moves toward the final confrontation, the plot quickens to a feverish and unexpected conclusion. This thriller combines the traditional crime novel with elements of supernatural horror. Tom Piccirilli melds these elements deftly and uses the supernatural scenes to further define parts of Dane's complex character. This was a very well done story, and the descriptions of Brooklyn were particularly evocative, with the claustrophobic neighborhood setting intensifying the feeling of the narrative.(less)
Musician and philosopher Matt Lavelle collects his posts for various blogs over the past couple of years in this very interesting and insightful book....moreMusician and philosopher Matt Lavelle collects his posts for various blogs over the past couple of years in this very interesting and insightful book. Alternately funny, sad and thoughtful, Lavelle runs the gamut of emotions as he describes in vivid detail living a day to day life navigating the New York City transit system. Using the transport as a model, his discusses life and the madness that can sometimes ensue living in New York City. He also describes his life as a working musician, trying to scrape by playing avant-garde jazz while working at Tower Records and the Sam Ash music store. After describing studying with the great saxophonist Ornette Coleman, the final section of the book contains heartfelt and thoughtful tributes to musicians who have influenced him, like Eric Dolphy, Clifford Brown and Paul Gonsalves. Lavelle writes in an engaging "from the heart" style, taking liberties with grammar and syntax like an expressionist he develops his own unique and engaging style of storytelling. His observations are thoughtful and validate his attentive intimate knowledge of New York City's life and music.(less)
When Grey's parents were killed in an automobile accident on an icy road, he is placed in an abusive foster home where he becomes close to his new "...moreWhen Grey's parents were killed in an automobile accident on an icy road, he is placed in an abusive foster home where he becomes close to his new "siblings," Pax and Ellie. When the tables are finally turned and Pax nearly beats the abusive foster father to death, the three agree to stay close as they enter the adult world. Pax and Grey stay in contact: Pax is a career soldier, while Grey gets booted from the military and drifts from job to job. One night, after years of silence, Grey finds his foster sister curled in an alleyway with a knife in her ribs. Keeping her fron death's door, Grey learns that she is a junkie on the run who quickly disappears again and launches Grey's cross-country quest to try and save her. Grey's capacity for violence is foreshadowed by the women he meets in his journey west, where each one offers money and sex in return for Grey killing their husband. When he meets up with an actress on the west coast he finally has the entre he needs, discovering that Ellie had been making low-grade pornographic films to feed her habit, starring with her beau who was billed as "Harvey Wallbanger and His Twelve-Inch Wonder of the World." With leads from pornographic film agents to gentlemen's clubs turning up empty, Grey races back to New York to finally confront what has happened to his foster sister and to learn her final secrets. Tom Piccirilli is a master of the noir style of writing, keeping the prose lean and focused while at the same time communicating a great deal of information about the characters and their circumstances. Grey, like all of Picirilli's great characters is a lost and lonely soul looking for one final chance at redemption before the world swallows him whole in its great chaotic maw.(less)
It has been nearly a year since Charlie Parker's wife and daughter were murdered, a killing he avenged at the end of the first novel in this series, E...moreIt has been nearly a year since Charlie Parker's wife and daughter were murdered, a killing he avenged at the end of the first novel in this series, Every Dead Thing. Moving to his ancestral home in Maine, Parker gets a private investigator's license almost as an afterthought, spending most of his time fixing up his grandfather's old house and trying to heal his wounds. When he offers to speak to a husband overdue on child support on behalf of the struggling wife, he unwittingly comes into the crosshairs of the Boston mafia, who has recently been stung to the tune of two million dollars. Add to this the awakening of a long dormant serial killer and the fact that the daughter of his former best friend has gone missing nearby adds to Charlie Parker's troubles. The second book in the Parker series is a big one with Connolly juggling several plot-lines at once and doing a good job of it. Parker is trying to stay off the radar of the mafia, while looking for a deadbeat Dad the mafia is also chasing - and who also may be the illegitimate son of the newly awakened serial killer! The fact that this book reads well and is not nearly as contrived as I have described it is a testament to Connolly's skill as a writer and storyteller. Charlie Parker and his friends Angel and Louis continue to evolve as multi-dimensional characters, and the small amount of supernatural suspense woven into the story is done well and deftly adds an extra sense of atmospheric texture to a fine story.(less)
Jenks and Hale are two regular working guys that live side by side, they're not great friends, but not enemies either. But when the recession comes, t...moreJenks and Hale are two regular working guys that live side by side, they're not great friends, but not enemies either. But when the recession comes, they suffer the same fate. Losing their jobs, having their houses foreclosed upon and having their wives leave them foce them to leave the outer boroughs and sleep in cars, homeless shelters and parks in Manhattan. When Jenks learns that Hale has killed himself at an asylum after being found near-dead next to the body of a young girl, Jenks makes it his mission to find out what happened. Moving from the asylum to Central Park shantytowns and homeless shelters where the cries of the lost rattle his very bones, Jenks puts the pieces together one by one and comes to a conclusion. One that must be paid for in blood... This novella really strikes to the bone of what has been happening during the recession as banks and lawyers run roughshod over working class people who are just trying to get by. Piccirilli writes with tough sympathy about the two characters, coming on like a modern day Steinbeck as the characters navigate the dark side of the American dream.(less)
Many books and articles have been written about the music scene of the 1960's and then the punk scene of the late 1970's, but in music history, the mi...moreMany books and articles have been written about the music scene of the 1960's and then the punk scene of the late 1970's, but in music history, the mid-1970's have been something of a lost era, snubbed by critics as a time of vapid pop and pretentious progressive rock and jazz fusion. Will Hermes looks to set the record straight by focusing on the vibrant music scene in New York City during the years 1973-1977. Taking a wide angle view from rock to jazz, salsa and disco, Hermes shows that in New York City at least, the prevailing notion of an unproductive stretch of musical history is far from the truth. He follows the development of the jazz loft scene, a DIY culture where pioneers like Sam Rivers and Rashied Ali took control of their own destinies by opening their own music spaces in lofts and began to attract the finest improvisers from around the country. In fact, Hermes ends the formal narrative recounting a David Murray/Lester Bowie gig. The beginnings of the DJ and underground rap culture are examined in detail, developing into the club scene that would become disco. Using these genres along with the growing popularity of Latin salsa, Hermes uses them as a lens to view the socio-economic culture of New York City. Rock and roll and especially the birth pangs of what would become the punk scene are examined in detail. Following the likes of Patti Smith, The Ramones, The Talking Heads and burgeoning mega-star Bruce Springsteen, he is able to look at the different dynamics of how bands and musical personalities form and either prosper or flounder. Hermes writes knowingly about the avant-classical scene as well, following the likes of Phillip Glass and Steve Reich as they develop ever more progressive and large scale works. This was a very well written and extensively researched book (with a full bibliography for those looking to read more on a particular topic.) Hermes is able to spin stories so well that even aspects of the musical culture that I wasn't interested in like disco were interesting, if not for the music, than the way they wove themselves into the musical tapestry of the city. This is a very highly recommended book that is must reading for music fans or NYC scenesters. (less)
When NYPD detective Charlie Parker comes home from a night of binge drinking to find his wife and child murdered and skinned by a sadistic serial kill...moreWhen NYPD detective Charlie Parker comes home from a night of binge drinking to find his wife and child murdered and skinned by a sadistic serial killer, his life is turned upside down. Leaving the police force and bottle behind, he takes on some under the table private eye work, but his real mission is to track down the killer. When a lead in the case takes Parker to the swamps of Louisiana, he is accompanied by his lethal friends Angel and Louis and the brilliant criminal psychologist Rachel. While in the bayous, the sadistic murders continue and Parker is also trapped in a gang war between two rival factions who may unwittingly have information about the identity of the killer. Like all books in this excellent series, there is a light touch of the supernatural in this story, with Parker sensing the spirits of his wife and daughter, and being contacted in a dream by one of the murder victims. But don't let that scare away fans of straight ahead crime fiction, as most of the book centers on a frantic chase between Parker and friends, the local police and the FBI to find the killer. This is the opening book in the continuously excellent Charlie Parker series. Elements of extremely graphic violence make this a melding of crime and horror fiction with a hard-boiled veneer of the great private eye stories.(less)
A man called Cryer once had another name, another family and another life. Arriving home after scarfing some forbidden cheeseburgers in a parking lot,...moreA man called Cryer once had another name, another family and another life. Arriving home after scarfing some forbidden cheeseburgers in a parking lot, the man Cryer was discovers his daughter murdered and eviscerated on the living room floor, running to look for his wife he finds her near death as the killer tries to vault through the window. Returning to finish the job, he drives a knife right into the middle of the forehead of the man who used to be Cryer. Diagnosed with partial amnesia, Cryer can't remember his name or former occupation and has only fleeting memories of his murdered wife and child. After being shuffled through several hospitals and institutions, he finally re-gains the ability to speak, and then only one thought consumes him: revenge. Sifting through the wreckage of his former life, looking for clues from former acquaintances and neighbors, Cryer slowly re-builds a sense of who he was and what he lost, leading up the the climactic scene with his family's killer. This short "niorella" as Piccirilli calls them is a haunting meditation on love and loss. Taking the often used plot of an amnesiac looking for answers, he turns it around, showing the indifference of the health care and law enforcement system, which makes him a real noir anti-hero, a man in a situation beyond his control, looking for answers in a cruel and deceitful world.(less)
Moses Mcguire is at the end of his rope. An ex-marine scarred by a peacekeeping tour of Lebanon and a convict scarred by a prison sentence, he wakes u...moreMoses Mcguire is at the end of his rope. An ex-marine scarred by a peacekeeping tour of Lebanon and a convict scarred by a prison sentence, he wakes up each day with a gun in his hand, wondering if he can muster up the courage to end the pain once and for all. Moses works as a bouncer at a seedy Los Angeles strip club, mind-numbing work where he is only kept sane by talking to Kelly, the shy waitress who is too bashful to take off her clothes and dance for the lonely, haunted men who patronize the club. One morning Moses receives a strange phone call from Kelly cryptically mumbling about her sister and that things are not all as they seem. When Moses arrives at her apartment, he finds that she has been tortured and murdered. After a brief time as a suspect in the killing, Moses is cleared and sets out to find the elusive sister and answer the question of why this seemingly harmless girl was murdered. Moses has to navigate a witches brew of mafia, cops and feds, before he can rescue the sister and make the final showdown with the killers. This was a well done story, Moses McGuire is a very compelling character, and the action and suspense is rocket fueled throughout. There are a few implausible scenes, but hey, it's pulp fiction, right? Stallings wears his influences on his sleeve: Andrew Vachss, Charlie Huston, Joe R. Lansdale, but since these are some of my favorite storytellers it made the tale all the more enjoyable for me. Definitely recommended for fans of hard-boiled noir fiction that unflinchingly examines the seedier side of the American dream.(less)
Innerviews: Music Without Borders by Anil Prasad is a book of interviews with a diverse selection of musicians. What makes the book so interesting is ...moreInnerviews: Music Without Borders by Anil Prasad is a book of interviews with a diverse selection of musicians. What makes the book so interesting is that Prasad is a very intuitive interviewer, one that is able to go beyond superficial questions and get his subject to open up not only about music, but about life, spirituality and the state of the world. Prasad is particularly interested in “fusion” musicians, not necessarily jazz fusion, although several interview subjects could fall into that broad category. His focus is musicians that look beyond genre or as Duke Ellington would say, beyond category, musicians that can fuse various elements of sound from different cultures or areas into something new and unique. From prog rock stalwarts like Bill Bruford and Jon Anderson to musicians like the the producer and bassist Bill Laswell and the Israeli/American singer Noa, Prasad is looking for musicians who cross borders, or ignore them entirely. His interviewing style makes even musicians who normally wouldn’t interest you seem compelling.(less)
Pearce is just out of prison after doing a ten year stint for murdering the drug dealer responsible for the heroin overdose of his sister. Moving in w...morePearce is just out of prison after doing a ten year stint for murdering the drug dealer responsible for the heroin overdose of his sister. Moving in with his mother and trying to stay on the straight and narrow, he meets a woman, falls in love and borrows money from the local mob boss to buy her a huge wedding ring. She immediately dumps him, taking the ring and leaving him a big debt to the boss that he must pay by becoming an enforcer and collector. Meanwhile a most unusual gang prepares for a post office robbery: a sadistic woman, her schizophrenic former husband and the group's ringleader steal a significant amount of money. But in the process, the schizophrenic robber kills Pearce's mother, a clerk at the post office. Now things get really wild: Pearce and a bumbling private investigator are after the thieves, the PI for the money and Pearce for revenge. The schizophrenic robber begins flipping between two different personalities, neither is sure that they are responsible for. They all meet for a climatic showdown with the money and revenge at stake. This was a really well done crime novel, with Guthrie creating compelling characters and setting them in motion on a wild ride. He writes about the mentally ill character quite thoughtfully, with each persona denying they committed crimes and stole money, it adds another dimension to a fascinating story.(less)
This dark noir takes the classic plot of the man at the wrong place at the wrong time caught up in a crime that is not of his own making. Alan Slater ...moreThis dark noir takes the classic plot of the man at the wrong place at the wrong time caught up in a crime that is not of his own making. Alan Slater is a salesman for a home remodeling company. He's doing alright despite juggling a loveless marriage, a young mistress and a drinking problem. But when he hooks up with down on his luck fellow salesman and compulsive gambler Les Beale, things turn from bad to worse. As Beale loses more and more and his debt grows bigger and bigger, Slater unwittingly becomes drawn into a murder coverup and a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the police, the criminals who want Slater to pay the debt and his own wife and mistress. Banks who just finished the extraordinary Cal Innes series, develops another anti-hero, although someone who is much more difficult to root for. Slater is a right proper bastard, willing to lie, cheat and steal to get what he wants. This book has echoes of the work David Goodis or other noir writers of the past, this time on the rain drenched streets of Manchester with disaster around every corner.(less)
Joe R. Lansdale's "Hap and Leonard" series is one of the finest in contemporary crime fiction, with equal parts bawdy humor and sudden viole...moreJoe R. Lansdale's "Hap and Leonard" series is one of the finest in contemporary crime fiction, with equal parts bawdy humor and sudden violence propelling the stories along. Set in east Texas, Hap, a white, straight former hippie and Leonard, a black, gay military veteran make an unlikely buddy combo, but as this series has borne out, opposites attract and these characters have made for some wonderful stories. In this novella, Leonard is involved in a bar fight which he wins brutally and easily. In the aftermath, one of the assailants is so impressed that he hires Leonard with Hap in tow to rescue his brother from an armed gang he has taken up with. After getting the brother out, things go pear shaped and Hap's girlfriend is taken hostage. After Hap and Leonard abort a bank robbery the gang had planned, they head for the final violent showdown. This novella has all the hallmarks of the classic Hap & Leonard stories, the bravado, the salacious humor and of course the violence as our knights in tarnished armor promise the kill the kidnappers and "shit on their graves." Also included is a poignant Hap solo story from when he was growing up. A story of bullying gone wrong, this makes for a thoughtful object lesson in the nature of cruelty.(less)
An un-named sorcerer and his demonic companion "Self" travel modern America hobo-style, fighting evil both human and supernatural in this co...moreAn un-named sorcerer and his demonic companion "Self" travel modern America hobo-style, fighting evil both human and supernatural in this collection of linked short stories. Like most of Piccrilli's great characters, the sorcerer carries a lot of baggage: the death of his beloved, and his parents, and his knowledge of the supernatural and his spell-casting power that sets him apart from the rest of society. His "familiar" Self is a great character too, part faithful companion, part rival, the two complement each other like the most unusual crime-fighting duo you have ever encountered. Their adventures include preserving the lives of children in a Hopi village after a demonic invasion and battling modern day sadistic witch hunters that are killing and torturing in the name of the divine. The stories are harrowing, haunting works of horror, but are often punctuated by Piccrilli's trademark wry humor. Fans of modern dark fantasy like American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and the Charlie Parker series of John Connolly will find a lot to enjoy here.(less)
A sibling rivalry of the highest order drives this stark and depressing tale of murder and deceit. Two brothers: one wealthy with all the trappings of...moreA sibling rivalry of the highest order drives this stark and depressing tale of murder and deceit. Two brothers: one wealthy with all the trappings of success - the house, the car, the wife/kids, etc. is throwing it all away with booze, drugs and sexual liaisons. The other brother, haunted by the early death of his beloved wife lives an honest existence in a trailer park on the outskirts of town. When he sees evidence that his wealthy brother had killed a man during one of his alcohol and drug induced blackouts, he begins his own investigation into his brother's dark world and develops a shocking retaliation. This is about as grim as Tom Piccrilli can get, a novella filled with loss, mourning and tragedy. The brothers family ties and shared baggage ties them together at the hip, but their differences with be exploited at a shattering conclusion. Despite the depressing nature of this novella, it remains compelling as the dynamic between the brother and their crimes drives the narrative forward. Hatred, passion, seething rage and un-requited love fuel this all to possible story.(less)
Egged on by one of my favorite authors, Ken Bruen, to take a break from the world of young adult literature and enter the world of adult crime fiction...moreEgged on by one of my favorite authors, Ken Bruen, to take a break from the world of young adult literature and enter the world of adult crime fiction, the author of the popular Artemis Fowl series of teen adventures turns to the seedy underbelly of New Jersey for this darkly funny tale of mobsters, murder and redemption. Daniel McEvoy mustered out of the Irish army after a couple of peacekeeping tours of Lebanon under his belt and is looking for a fresh start. Emigrating to America he finds the only jobs he can get are as bouncers at nightclubs, ending up at a sleazy New Jersey strip club. When one one of his favorite hostesses is harassed and then murdered, and his best friend is kidnapped, McEvoy is unwittingly plunged into his toughest mission since his military days. On the run from the mob, listening to a ghost of his missing friend and caught between two bloodthirsty cops, it will take all of Daniel's skills just to survive. This was a well written and frequently quite funny book: think Donald Westlake crossed with Alan Guthrie. Quite a bit of violence, so the squeamish might want to let this one pass by. But for fans of hard-boiled crime fiction with a touch of mordant humor, this is definitely a book to look out for.(less)
Chase and his partner are well known poets and performance artists in New York City. But part of what drives their work is what haunts them, as they a...moreChase and his partner are well known poets and performance artists in New York City. But part of what drives their work is what haunts them, as they are both clinical schizophrenics, subject to delusion and paranoia, but which also infuses their work with edgy passion. They met at a psychiatric facility that Chase was sentenced to after being party to the hit and run death of a young girl while intoxicated and hallucinating. The girl's father also goes away to prison, because he had kidnapped the girl and severely beaten the mother. He vows to kill Chase upon his release from prison. The story follows Chase with flashbacks to his time in the sadistic mental health facility, his affair with a nurse who may or may not be a figment of his imagination and his development in the precarious crucible of the New York arts scene. The story picks up speed and edginess until Chase and the man who vowed to kill him meet for the final time, literally in a dark alley. This was a fascinating story, given the illness of the protagonist the reader is always kept on edge about what is true or illusion, real or false hope. Piccrilli writes about mental illness with a great deal of compassion and dignity, completely avoiding the tropes and cliches that could make the story stumble. A fast paced crime story, with tinges of haunting loss and madness, this is a truly fine achievement.(less)
A handyman at an old historic New York City apartment is also a struggling writer, with several books but few royalties to claim. Meanwhile, his forme...moreA handyman at an old historic New York City apartment is also a struggling writer, with several books but few royalties to claim. Meanwhile, his former best friend, turned best-selling rival lives in the penthouse suite surrounded all the trappings of success including a beautiful wife for whom the handyman secretly holds a torch. Then things start to get a little strange: a showman and his trained monkey move in as a remnant who claimed to invent aluminum foil is murdered by an ice pick through the frontal lobe. The handyman sees the ghosts of his dead father and the beautiful wife goes missing… This was another very good short novella, that combines aspects of love and loss, murder and the supernatural with a sprinkling of dry humor. (less)
When a nameless young man witnesses his mother being murdered on Christmas Day by his crooked cop father, he vows one day to have revenge. While the f...moreWhen a nameless young man witnesses his mother being murdered on Christmas Day by his crooked cop father, he vows one day to have revenge. While the father serves his jail term the boy grows into a man, first running small time jobs for the Brooklyn mob before becoming the most feared hit man in the city. Juggling his responsibilities as a professional killer, a "torpedo" in mob-speak, and a family man with twins, he ruthlessly overthrows the mob boss setting up the final showdown between him and his father… on Christmas Eve. This story or "noirella" as Piccrilli calls it was a blast to read from start to finish. Sticking close to his most successful themes like violence tempered or enraged by family, he has crafted a great story that stands with his finest work. As an unrepentant Scrooge and holiday hater, this is one holiday story I can unflinchingly recommend.(less)
Caleb is in the last year at university, struggling with his thesis, his girlfriend and a drinking problem. When he returns to school after winter bre...moreCaleb is in the last year at university, struggling with his thesis, his girlfriend and a drinking problem. When he returns to school after winter break, he discovers that a female student had been murdered in his room, and that the evidence had been shoddily covered up. After a run in with his bullying Ethics professor, he retreats to a storage room under the university library where the dead girl's belongings are being stored. He he works on his thesis, and attempts to make sense of this mysterious woman's death and his own sister's suicide. When he is invited to a party at the house of the university's dean he begins to unravel a complex web of murder, sex and betrayal. This is an early book from Piccrilli, one of my favorite writers, a melancholy coming of age tale, with overtones of horror, crime and the supernatural. He would return to the school setting later in the excellent Shadow Season, but this book drifts on heavy dialogue and exposition, despite having some fascinating characters like the narcoleptic psychic Fuggy Fred, and Caleb's friend Melissa Lea. The story ends abruptly and hanging in midair, frustrating yet occasionally fascinating work from a writer of immense talent.(less)
Comedian and commentator Bill Maher takes snippets from the commentaries from his HBO program and adds them to short vignettes about life in the moder...moreComedian and commentator Bill Maher takes snippets from the commentaries from his HBO program and adds them to short vignettes about life in the modern United States and comes up with a very funny and occasionally thought provoking book. In the New Rules segment at the end of each television program, he adds humorous editorials on popular culture and American politics, and many of the more recent ones are included here. The order is alphabetical by topic rather than chronological by date, which can make things seem a little jumbled at times, but the book is more about satire than serious scholarship, so its no big deal. Maher skewers politicians from both sides of the political spectrum and also takes swipes at big business and fatcats of all stripes. While his pro-drug, anti-war statements may turn off people, his scathing wit is often laugh-out-loud funny, and should make this short book appealing to people who don't take themselves too seriously.(less)
The venerable fantasy series Discworld has many sub-plots among its nearly forty books, but my favorite involve the city watch commander Sam Vimes and...moreThe venerable fantasy series Discworld has many sub-plots among its nearly forty books, but my favorite involve the city watch commander Sam Vimes and his ever present search for law and order. Asked to finally take a vacation on his wife's country estate, Vimes is bored stiff in the sticks, and soon begins to sniff around in search of wrongs to right. He doesn't have to look far. After the local blacksmith Vimes quarreled with goes missing and he is nearly arrested by the clueless local constabulary, Vimes is heralded by local goblin leaders looking for "just ice," justice that is for a goblin woman found murdered and eviscerated while others were shipped off to slavery in the dead of night. Vimes attacks the crime with his usual vigor, making for a very entertaining story. As with much of Pratchett's work, the story is rife with thinly veiled social commentary, about the nature of good and evil, rich and poor and especially about the outcasts of society and how they are often mistreated. He can be a little preachy at times, with characters getting long grandstanding speeches, but the world and the memorable characters that he has created over the course of thirty plus years of storytelling win the day with a very entertaining book for fantasy fans, and open minded fans of police procedural that don't mind the satirical fantasy setting.(less)
Former adult film star turned vigilante Angel Dare is hiding out working in a small greasy spoon diner in Yuma, Arizona, after being busted out of the...moreFormer adult film star turned vigilante Angel Dare is hiding out working in a small greasy spoon diner in Yuma, Arizona, after being busted out of the witness protection program by the very gangsters she tried to put away in the previous novel, Money Shot. When she has a chance encounter with a former lover and his estranged son, in the diner. Before they have a chance to get properly reacquainted, killers burst into the room with a hail of gunfire. Angel’s ex-beau takes a mortal hit and makes a deathbed request that she keep his eighteen year old son, a budding Mixed Martial Arts star safe at all costs. After barely escaping the attack, the move to the son Cody’s friend’s house, the punch-drunk fighter Hank. Together the three scour the American Southwest and Mexico, trying to shake the gangsters once and for all and and trying to get Cody his big chance at becoming a championship fighter in Las Vegas. This is a short and very powerful noir story, where the protagonist, Angel, is drawn into a series of events beyond her control that spiral out of control into chaos and death. In Angel Dare, author Christa Faust has created a truly compelling character, haunted by a troubled past, but hell-bent on being a survivor and nobody’s victim. Faust weaves elements of paranoia and dark violence into the narrative recalling pulp masters like David Goodis and Philip K. Dick, in the plot where nothing is what it seems and the well-drawn characters are desperate to stay one step ahead of danger.(less)
Buck Carlsbad is a private investigator, traveling the country taking jobs and pulling marks. Sounds pretty innocuous, right? Until you learn that Buc...moreBuck Carlsbad is a private investigator, traveling the country taking jobs and pulling marks. Sounds pretty innocuous, right? Until you learn that Buck has a special gift, and that pulling marks means capturing wayward ghosts and poltergeists. Buck is scarred by thoughts a desolate stretch of Nevada where the ghosts of several notorious killers lie and where his parents themselves were killed. He tried to go there once before and was nearly killed himself by what lies in wait there. When he learns of plans to build a high-speed rail line that will connect Los Angeles and Las Vegas, traveling right through the paranormal "triangle" in the desert, and he receives a mysterious invitation to ride the inaugural journey, he knows that there is trouble brewing. As Buck rides the high-speed train and the ghosts come out of the woodwork, he's in a life or death struggle, where everything is on the line. This book is an interesting horror-thriller, and it moves seamlessly despite being a collaboration between three different writers. There is a considerable amount of graphic violence on par with some movies (the writers wrote the screenplays for the Saw franchise if that gives you any idea) but if you are a fan of supernatural horror, you should definitely check this one out.(less)
Lee Child's most recent Jack Reacher thriller sends his famous character back in time to where he developed many of the quirks that made the other boo...moreLee Child's most recent Jack Reacher thriller sends his famous character back in time to where he developed many of the quirks that made the other books in the series so enjoyable. This novel is set in 1997, and Reacher is still an Army MP with the rank of major. The Army is changing, downsizing in the interlude between the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the War on Terror. Three murders of beautiful women have occurred in a small town in Mississippi, which is located near an important and politically connected Army base. The Army sends an investigator to check out the base which is locked down during the investigation, while Reacher is slipped into the town through the back door to conduct an unofficial investigation of the town. Reacher joins forces with the (naturally) beautiful female sheriff, an ex-Marine who sees through his cover story immediately. Looking for either a civilian or military killer, Reacher conducts his own type of investigation uncovering a massive conspiracy that goes all the way to the top. This book works pretty well, and Reacher remains a compelling character, and to see him in transition between the military and civilian worlds is quite interesting. Child writes at a brisk pace that keeps things moving along well even when the characters are waiting for something to happen. With the sheriff being repeatedly described as a beautiful woman, it is inevitable that she would get together and the sex scenes do grow a little gratuitous after a while. But it is a small quibble in another fine entry in a very popular series.(less)
Madison Spencer is the chubby, precocious daughter of a pair of wildly narcissistic movie stars condemned to Hell for "overdosing on marijuana."...moreMadison Spencer is the chubby, precocious daughter of a pair of wildly narcissistic movie stars condemned to Hell for "overdosing on marijuana." In this wicked satire of Christian mythology, adult greed and teen drama, Madison finds out that Hell is often like the infamous teenage movie The Breakfast Club, as she joins forces with teen stereotypes: the jock, the stoner, the diva, in order to make her way through the afterlife. Starting every chapter with a snarky jab at the teen fiction nugget "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret," Madison describes her time in Hell, working in the Satanic call center where calls are placed to the living during the dinner hour asking inane questions about consumer products. Madison also recounts her brief life with her super wealthy and self-absorbed parents, a brutal send-up of the celebrity worship culture we live in in America today. As Madison travels through hell, she meets historical figures of the past, from the expected like Adolf Hitler to the unusual like Charles Darwin. Slowly Madison begins to change, and the obsequious and servile child grows more brazen and literally discovers her true self... in Hell. This was a pretty well done satire, and one of Palahniuk's more successful books (he tends to be wildly great or spectacularly awful.) The narrative is a little choppy and underdeveloped at times (possibly over-edited do to the subject matter?) but he makes his characters convincing and believable, and the satire and in-jokes are quite amusing. While certainly not for the Christian Conservative crowd, any open minded reader looking for a sharply worded satire should enjoy this book.(less)
James Lee Burke returns to the saga of small town sheriff Hackberry Holland and the windswept plains of southwest Texas in this evocative and beautifu...moreJames Lee Burke returns to the saga of small town sheriff Hackberry Holland and the windswept plains of southwest Texas in this evocative and beautifully written work of crime fiction. A man is tortured to death in the desert while the person he was chained to escapes. Wanted by the law, terrorists and criminals this man runs into the desert where he hooks up with Holland's nemesis, the psychopathic killer "Preacher" Jack Collins. Meanwhile, an enigmatic woman is helping Mexican workers cross the border as part of a modern-day underground railroad while being harassed by a xenophobic pretend reverend and other criminal elements. Burke weaves these seemingly diverse threads into a coherent story that slowly comes together for a dramatic showdown at the hideout of an international criminal. Mortal enemies Holland and Collins must make an uneasy compromise to take on a common enemy. This is another excellent story from James Lee Burke, who seems incapable of writing a bad novel. All of his classic attributes are here: a morally torn hero who despises war and violence despite being a decorated war veteran and quick draw sheriff. The development of fellow characters is fascinating as well, with the sociopath Collins drawn between acts of unbridled mayhem and the thoughts and memories that continually torture him from the inside. Burke makes beautiful observations about the folly and stupidity of warfare, and the fallible nature of human beings in this excellent story.(less)
Private detective Charlie Parker is retained by a local attorney in Pastor's Bay, Maine to look into the affairs of a man named Randall Haight, who ma...morePrivate detective Charlie Parker is retained by a local attorney in Pastor's Bay, Maine to look into the affairs of a man named Randall Haight, who many years ago was complicit in the rape and murder of a young woman. Another young Maine woman has disappeared and Haight is worried this his past will be exposed and he will fall under suspicion despite an alibi. But as Parker digs deeper and deeper into the small town's facade, he finds that things aren't as cut and dried as they seem. The missing girl is the niece of a Boston Mafia don, and the internecine warfare between mob factions brings the FBI into the picture. Parker has to weave through a thicket of secret messages, lost and changed identities and violence to find out the truth about the man who calls himself Haight and hopefully find a missing girl in the process. Charlie Parker remains a compelling character, a man who is (literally) haunted by his past, and that makes his interaction with Randal Haight and his supernatural experiences all the more interesting. The narrative does seem a little bit scattered at times, with the point of view switching between Parker, Haight and the mobsters. But just as things seem to be spinning out of control, Connolly pulls everything to together in a powerful ending. Like the rest of this series, this novel is crime fiction with just a touch of the supernatural or paranormal. This shouldn't deter hard core mystery or crime fiction readers from checking out this excellent series, as Connolly writes exceedingly well and Charlie Parker is as great a lone-wolf character as James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux or Ken Bruen's Jack Taylor.(less)
Boone Daniels is the archetypal California surf-bum, whose laid back personal hides a powerful intellect. He is a former cop turned private investigat...moreBoone Daniels is the archetypal California surf-bum, whose laid back personal hides a powerful intellect. He is a former cop turned private investigator, who quickly gets involved in some cases that alienate him from longtime friends. First comes a matrimonial case where a rich friend of Daniels asks him to follow his wife, suspecting infidelity. Then comes another case that haunts him, a fellow surfer and man of great humility and dignity in addition to being a friend of Daniels is killed by a gang member outside a bar. Daniels, in desperate need of cash, it hired on by the defense team, and slowly begins to unravel how the two cases revolve around "Chinatown" type land fraud. Alienating his friends in the surfing community and the police force, Daniels joins with an unlikely group of allies to crack a case that is much larger than it seems. This is another excellent Winslow adventure, a sequel to The Dawn Patrol (although reading that book first is not necessary.) Daniels is a very appealing character, someone we really we really want to root for to win against all odds. Winslow's snarky humor ties it all together, he is a riot to read and uses short chapters and snappy dialogue to excellent effect.(less)
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