B.D. Lawrence's Blog, page 11
November 28, 2022
Book Review of Lost Light by Michael Connelly
As all Harry Bosch books are, this one is strong on justice. There is an undercurrent of vengeance running through it that isn’t obvious until toward the end. I didn’t pick up on any redemption. Regrets and guilt, yes, but not true redemption. This is number nine in the Harry Bosch series. Dated, as it was released in 2003. And I read the paperback, third one this year.
This was a good book. Well written. I did not put it all together too far ahead of time. I like Harry Bosch as a character. I kept picturing Titus Welliver while reading it, thanks to the Prime series. It was also interesting to see how different the timeline is from the series.
With all that said, I do want to rag on the testimonials printed on the covers of the book. Front cover the USA Today said, “Will take your breath away.” It didn’t. Not much happens for the first one-hundred and fifty pages. The first half is interesting, just not thrilling. At no point did I find myself gasping for air. The back cover has a quote from the Chicago Sun Times saying, “The book against which every other title in the series – and those yet to come – will be measured.” No. I’ve read three Bosch books that I can remember, and this would rank third in that list, with Black Echo ranking first.
This book starts right after Bosch has retired from the LAPD. He has his private investigator license, but no real clients. He becomes his own client with a case that has haunted him since he had been briefly assigned to it several years ago, but it was taken away by robbery / homicide and never solved. He can’t get an image of the dead woman out of his mind and feels obligated to open the cold case and pursue it.
There is a variety of characters and situations. The murder of the woman is tied to a robbery of $2 million from a movie set. As Bosch starts the investigation, he meets heavy resistance from the FBI. Layers upon layers are peeled away as Bosch tries to find the murderer and stay out of prison.
I don’t want to ruin the surprise at the end, which has nothing to do with the case, but let’s just say his family situation is very different than the Prime series. It’s interesting how the series decided to move some things around. If you haven’t seen the series, you can email me, and I’ll be happy to explain.
This book has plenty of profanity of all varieties. No on-page sex. Bosch is still hung up on his ex-wife, so that’s the love interest. She’s still alive in the novel, unlike the series where she is killed while Bosch is still a cop. There is violence, but it’s not over-the-top.
Overall, a good read. Typical Bosch from what I’ve read. Interesting settings and situations. Connelly writes well. I’ll put this one just behind Win.
The Letter Keeper by Charles MartinRight Behind You by Lisa GardnerMoonlight Awakens by John Matthew WalkerWin by Harlen CobenLost Light by Michael ConnellyMurder Board by Brian SheaAnna: A Cliff Ford Mystery by Terry TolerThe Man Burned by Winter by Pete ZachariasBorn to Die by Lisa JacksonThe Tapestry Bag by Isabella MuirThe Mechanic by Tom FowlerInto the Flames by Liz BradfordYou Are Invited by Sarah A DenzilGirl, Alone by Blake PierceOne Night in Sedona by Carrie Latimer.Coffin Cove by Jackie ElliottCommission earned
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November 25, 2022
Movie Review of Bullet Train
This entertaining, though violent movie is all about vengeance. Whether justice is served I’ll leave to the viewer. There are definitely moments of poetic justice. The main character, who goes by the code name Ladybug, played by Brad Pitt, is trying to find balance in his life, so maybe I’ll give a tiny nod to redemption. However, at the end, Ladybug seems to lean toward giving up any idea of shedding violence from his life.
As for category of movie, think Pulp Fiction, though not nearly as good, Kill Bill, maybe even a little John Wick, though not that violent. I immediately thought cheap rip off of Pulp Fiction during the first two scenes, but I admit the movie grew on me and there were some laugh out loud moments. Since I was watching it on an airplane, though, I didn’t laugh out loud.
The movie is mostly set on a bullet train (hence the title) in Japan. Ladybug is given the simple assignment of retrieving a briefcase, then get off the train. However, Ladybug’s life is plagued by an odd and humorous type of bad luck. Thus, the simple assignment turns into a complex kill or be killed life and death all-out war with four other assassins, whose assignments intersect.
As for actors, Brad Pitt, I feel, gives a terrific performance. His handler, whom we only hear a voice of until the very end, is played by Sandra Bullock. There’s also a tiny cameo by Ryan Reynolds (not even a credit for the cameo), but otherwise, I was not overly familiar with the other actors. The acting is over the top but needed to be to match the storyline. One actor of note is the man who plays the assassin known as Wolf. His real name (stage name, I assume) is Bad Bunny.
The movie is non-stop action, comedy, irony, and like I said poetic justice. There are numerous twists as far as who is really who and who hired them. As mentioned above, the move grew on me. The longer I watched, the better it became.
It’s rated R for language with copious profanity, and for violence. Only one barely visible sex scene happening in the distance. As I mentioned early on, if you like movies like Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, and John Wick, you’ll enjoy this movie. Stick with it through the first thirty minutes. I promise, it gets better, and the ending is worth the wait.

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November 14, 2022
Short Story – Trapped
“Trapped” is an experimental short story. I’ve always been fascinated by dialog. When I started writing, I read a lot of Ed McBain and Elmore Leonard, both whom I feel write amazing dialog. McBain, for example, has long stretches of dialog between multiple characters with no tags and yet it’s apparent who is talking, even when there are three or more characters in the conversation. And Leonard’s characters all have unique ways of speaking that not only set them apart but gives insight into the character.
This got me thinking about what dialog can convey. Can it show emotion? Can it describe without being stilted? With no tags or description can a reader know who is talking? Can the reader come to know the character only by what that character says?
I decided to try writing a short story that was dialog only. But rather than a conversation between two people, I decided I’d do an interview. Only, I would write the dialog of the interviewee without the questions from the interviewer. The reader would not see the questions. They’d have to infer the questions from the answers. Also, there would be no physical description. Would the dialog convey sense of place and time? Finally, no characterization, so would the dialog tell anything about the characters?
This story is an interview of two characters. One is the criminal, and one is the detective who caught that criminal. Who is the reporter? Pretend it’s you. You’re asking the questions and this story is the answers. What questions? That’s for you to infer.
I hope you enjoy “Trapped” and I hope you’ll drop some comments and feedback on whether this experiment worked. Did the story accomplish any of the above? Let me know what you think.
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November 12, 2022
Book Review of The Tapestry Bag by Isabella Muir
This English cozy, amateur sleuth mystery features justice, redemption, and a little bit of revenge. It’s the first in the Sussex crime series featuring a young librarian named Janie Juke. Her friend Zara has disappeared, and Janie doesn’t feel the police are taking the case seriously. So, Janie goes looking for her friend.
The story features a good mystery. It’s set in what I believe is a fictional town called Tamarisk Bay in England in 1969. References to things happening in America and around the world center the book historically and add to the ambience.
Janie Juke is a librarian in a bookmobile. She’s young and married. About halfway through the book she finds out she’s pregnant. Her friend Zara has her life torn apart when Joel, her boyfriend, is killed in a hit and run accident while jogging. Zara shuts down. Janie takes her friend to live with her and husband, Greg. But after a year, Zara disappears without a word. Greg tries to convince Janie to let it go, but instead Janie spends the next several months looking for Zara.
Each chapter is opened with a quote from an Agatha Christie novel called The Mysterious Affair at Styles, featuring Hercule Poirot. Each quote is a foreshadowing of the chapter to come. For me, this feature neither added to nor distracted from the story. It’s significant in another way, as the novel is the handbook Janie uses for her detective work. She constantly wonders how Poirot would handle a situation.
Unfortunately, I didn’t like Janie Juke. She came across as rude, selfish, and bullheaded. Janie was especially rude to people she needed information from but wasn’t getting it. She hides what she’s doing from her husband, who is upset every time he realizes she won’t let go of Zara’s disappearance. Neither one in the relationship tries very hard to see the other’s point of view. Greg doesn’t try to understand or support Janie’s obsession and Janie doesn’t try to bring Greg into it in a way he might be of help. Granted, some of these traits help her solve the case, but that wasn’t enough to endear her to me.
The writing flows well. Few notable typos. No egregious technical issues. The book is clean. No profanity, no violence, and no sex. A true cozy. And I wanted to keep reading to find out why Zara had disappeared. The ending surprised me, so a good job not telegraphing it too early.
I put this at number 9 due to the good mystery and good writing.
The Letter Keeper by Charles MartinRight Behind You by Lisa GardnerMoonlight Awakens by John Matthew WalkerWin by Harlen CobenMurder Board by Brian SheaAnna: A Cliff Ford Mystery by Terry TolerThe Man Burned by Winter by Pete ZachariasBorn to Die by Lisa JacksonThe Tapestry Bag by Isabella MuirThe Mechanic by Tom FowlerInto the Flames by Liz BradfordYou Are Invited by Sarah A DenzilGirl, Alone by Blake PierceOne Night in Sedona by Carrie Latimer.Coffin Cove by Jackie ElliottCommission earned
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November 6, 2022
Television Series Review of Bosch Legacy: Season 1
Being a cop show it’s all about justice. This first season also features a billionaire who seeks redemption as he’s dying. And there’s an undercurrent of revenge featuring Honey Chandler. The first season is several months after Harry Bosch retires from the LAPD, as seen in the last episode of Bosch season 8. He has his private detective license and is pursuing cases for clients as well as unsolved cases from his time as a LAPD homicide detective. However, in season one, the story lines do not get into any of these. Hints are dropped that some of these may come later.
This first season focuses on three main story lines. First, is Harry’s daughter, Maddie, still played by Madison Lintz. Maddie has graduated from the police academy and is a “Boot” – what they call rookies. We see Maddie grow as a police officer by making mistakes, learning from them, and having some wins. The show does a great job of presenting Maddie with some moral dilemmas. For example, she feels for victims and forms attachments, but her senior partner tries to steer her away from these. The show does a good job of showing the struggles a new police officer must go through.
Second, is Harry Bosch and his private detective work. Titus Welliver still plays Bosch. The predominant case throughout the season is one in which he’s hired by billionaire Whitney Vance, played by William Devane, to find his son. The son was the result of an illicit affair with a woman much below his social status. Vance is dying and feels guilt, wanting to make amends and possibly have an heir to pass his substantial wealth onto. This doesn’t sit well with the corporation that Vance owns a large share of, as it’s the current heir. Bosch battles wealthy men intent on keeping the money as he tries to find an heir for Whitney Vance.
The third main story line revolves around Honey Chandler, again played by Mimi Rogers. She is now working for another law firm, so we get a couple of those cases. On the side she is trying to get back at Carl Rogers, who plagues her nightmares. If you haven’t seen Bosch, in season eight, Honey Chandler was shot, and Maddie was shot at. Both her and Bosch believe that Carl Rogers is behind the shooting, as well as another murder. Chandler cannot let it go. She wants revenge, almost to the point of enacting it herself. She enlists Bosch to work with her to nail Rogers. This season spends a lot of time on Rogers and his attachment to the Russian mob.
Both my wife and I enjoyed this series. Good action. Good mystery. The acting is well done, and the characters are deep. J. Edgar even makes a cameo appearance. As Bosch is now a private detective, we have one common trope and that is the hacker dude. In this case, Maurice “Mo” Bassi is played by Stephan A. Chang. He bails Bosch out of many situations and supplies the PI with plenty of hi-tech gadgets.
There is the same level of profanity as Bosch. But no on-screen sex and only one very brief glimpse of nudity. It is on freevee, which is free because there are commercials. If you like hardboiled private eyes and/or police procedurals, this series is worth watching. Season one ends with a major cliffhanger, so we’re looking forward to season two. If you’ve seen it or when you watch it, leave a comment, and let me know what you thought.
Watch Bosch:Legacy season 1 on freevee
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October 29, 2022
Movie Review of Blacklight
A much better movie than Liam Neeson’s last one I reviewed, Marksman. This one had plenty of justice and a good dose of redemption. Nice to see a story where someone changes their life around. Neeson is a tough guy, but not quite back to the character he played in Taken.
Travis Block, played by Neeson, is an off the books fixer for the FBI, reporting to the director. He “saves lost souls” as the director describes his job. Don’t get excited. Nothing Christian about this movie. The second scene shows Block rescuing an undercover female agent who was outed as she infiltrated a white supremist group. He’s also responsible for bringing in undercover agents who have gone off the rails.
The movie starts with an up-and-coming politician getting killed. A reporter, Mira Jones, played by Emily Raver-Lampman (from The Umbrella Academy – Allison) thinks there’s more to the death than an accident. Don’t worry, not a spoiler, as the audience knows the killing was not an accident. One point against the movie. Might have been more powerful to leave the politician’s death a mystery. By the way, the politician, Sophia Flores, bears an uncanny resemblance to AOC. This death becomes the lynchpin the story revolves around.
Block’s next big job is bringing in an agent who has gone rogue. This agent tries several times to contact Mira Jones and tell her about things going on in the FBI that don’t sit well with him. There’s a great chase scene where Dusty Crane, the rogue agent, steals a garbage truck and is chased by Block in his Charger. Another actor of note is Aidan Quinn, who plays the FBI director. For those Elementary fans, he was the lieutenant that worked with Holmes and Watson. Loved that show.
This one has good suspense, a bit of a mystery, plenty of action. The ending, though, came a little too easy for me. It seemed they wanted to wrap the movie up and so didn’t put many twists and turns at the end. I kept expecting a shoe to drop, but it never did. Other than that, I enjoyed the film and was happy to see Liam Neeson back to being a tough guy.
The movie is rated PG-13. No sex. The violence is television cop show violence. You know, someone gets shot and there’s a little blood, but not much else. The profanity is scattered. It doesn’t get in the way. Worth the watch. It’s on Amazon Prime if you have that.

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October 20, 2022
Book Review of Born To Die by Lisa Jackson
This one is heavy on justice, with some twisted vengeance, and maybe even some redemption in love. It’s also a little dated. Published in 2011, I actually read the paper copy of this book.
It’s a good suspense. Dr. Kacey Lambert is disturbed because women that look uncannily like her keep dying in accidents. But are they accidents? The divorced, childless doctor has returned to her hometown of Grizzly Falls, Montana because in Seattle she was attacked and nearly killed. She’s trying to leave that memory and her broken marriage behind her and start anew. Not really interested in love again, she meets cowboy Trace O’Halleran His wife, who also resembles Dr. Lambert, left him and their son. The strange deaths bring these two together.
This book has a couple interesting features that make it unique. It’s number three in the Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli series. But the two Grizzly Falls Sheriff office detectives play minor parts in this book. The main characters are Dr. Lambert and Trace O’Halleran. This story also gives us many chapters from the killer’s point of view. Of course, the reader doesn’t know who the killer is. I am not a fan of this technique. I’m sure there are many who like it, but for me, it’s a cheap way to try to heighten suspense and really didn’t add anything.
The book is at least a hundred pages too long (473 total). I read that Lisa Jackson has published over seventy-five novels when this one came out. Seems her publisher thinks her novels don’t need editing. They do. This one could easily have shed those hundred pages and been even more fast-paced and suspenseful. Ms. Jackson likes to describe scenes to infinite detail. I prefer description that is character revealing or plot foreshadowing. This book takes place in winter, and we are reminded constantly of this. Ms. Jackson has some wordiness a good editor could have pared down. Like using thought tags within the point of view. Not needed. We know who is thinking. We don’t need to be told.
There was a gaff in the end of the book during the climax scene. A rifle becomes a shotgun, then becomes a rifle, then has shells, then cartridges, then shells again. A shotgun is not a rifle. And rifles don’t shoot shells. And finally, the killer is described as mentally ill. I’m not a fan of calling serial killers mentally ill. They are psychopaths. Evil exists and serial killers are incarnations of evil. Mentally ill are generally not organized well enough to be this cunning and careful. This killer’s motive may be twisted but lumping him in with those who are truly ill isn’t fair to them or to the reader.
Despite the problems I found (comes from writing myself) the book is a good read and kept me interested. I definitely wanted to find out who the killer was and why he was killing. And other than wordiness, the writing was good.
This book has profanity scattered throughout. Most curse words are used. One on page sex scene. Not graphic, though. There is violence but it’s not gratuitous.
I’ll put this one at number eight for books I’ve read this year.
The Letter Keeper by Charles MartinRight Behind You by Lisa GardnerMoonlight Awakens by John Matthew WalkerWin by Harlen CobenMurder Board by Brian SheaAnna: A Cliff Ford Mystery by Terry TolerThe Man Burned by Winter by Pete ZachariasBorn to Die by Lisa JacksonThe Mechanic by Tom FowlerInto the Flames by Liz BradfordYou Are Invited by Sarah A DenzilGirl, Alone by Blake PierceOne Night in Sedona by Carrie Latimer.Coffin Cove by Jackie ElliottCommission earned
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October 6, 2022
Guest Blog Post – Redemption
I did a guest blog for the website Hope Beyond Circumstances. The blog highlights my main character in Killer Redemption, Lyle Hardgrave, a contract killer. Can someone like him find redemption?
Leave a comment after you read it.
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September 23, 2022
Book Review of The Mechanic by Tom Fowler
John Tyler is a former army Special Forces and warrant two officer who alternated between fixing Hummers and tanks and doing missions. Now, all he wants to do is be a classic car mechanic. For me, this book was Reacher meets Bosch. It is all about vigilante justice. There is vengeance as Tyler’s foe is his ex-commander who he helped put in prison. Not much redemption in this first of the series.
The similarity to Reacher is obvious, ex-military vigilante. Where it’s significantly different is that Tyler wants to settle down, wants to have a normal life in the Baltimore area. But like the Reacher books trouble finds him. And as Tyler’s dad tells him, being a killer is who he is. Where does the Bosch similarity come in? Age for one. Tyler is fifty. And he has a daughter. Divorced from his wife who is in prison, Tyler’s raising his now college-age daughter himself. And Lexi wants to help out and does in some significant ways. And obviously, having a daughter or anyone that attached to him, proves a liability as well.
The writing isn’t Pulitzer level writing, but the story keeps moving. The body count is high. Until the end there’s little involvement by the cops and even then, police procedure is pretty much ignored, and Tyler is allowed to get away with a lot of killing. The main bad guy we get a good look into, but the other bad guys are basically cardboard cut outs of military gone bad thugs. Not a big deal for me, as I don’t need a lot of back story on someone whose going to be planted under anyway, but if you’re heavy into characterization, you’ll get it with Tyler, Lexi, and a couple supporting cast members, but not everyone.
Not a lot of mystery, either. Predictable, but enough suspense to have kept me interested. The book ends with a potential romantic interest. Other than that, no loose ends, so next book will probably be new trouble finding Tyler.
The violence is not over the top nor overly graphic. There is some profanity, but again, it’s not over the top. One small on page sex scene that’s fairly muted.
Overall, an okay read. Short enough, fast paced enough, that I kept reading. If you’re into the ex-military turned vigilante sub-genre, then you’ll probably enjoy this one.
As for ranking, it sits at number eight. Not necessarily better written or better story than Into the Flames, but more my type of read.
Book Ranking for 2022The Letter Keeper by Charles MartinRight Behind You by Lisa GardnerMoonlight Awakens by John Matthew WalkerWin by Harlen CobenMurder Board by Brian SheaAnna: A Cliff Ford Mystery by Terry TolerThe Man Burned by Winter by Pete ZachariasThe Mechanic by Tom FowlerInto the Flames by Liz BradfordYou Are Invited by Sarah A DenzilGirl, Alone by Blake PierceOne Night in Sedona by Carrie Latimer.Coffin Cove by Jackie Elliott
Commission earned
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Review of The Mechanic by Tom Fowler
The Mechanic by Tom Fowler
John Tyler is a former army Special Forces and warrant two officer who alternated between fixing Hummers and tanks and doing missions. Now, all he wants to do is be a classic car mechanic. For me, this book was Reacher meets Bosch. It is all about vigilante justice. There is vengeance as Tyler’s foe is his ex-commander who he helped put in prison. Not much redemption in this first of the series.
The similarity to Reacher is obvious, ex-military vigilante. Where it’s significantly different is that Tyler wants to settle down, wants to have a normal life in the Baltimore area. But like the Reacher books trouble finds him. And as Tyler’s dad tells him, being a killer is who he is. Where does the Bosch similarity come in? Age for one. Tyler is fifty. And he has a daughter. Divorced from his wife who is in prison, Tyler’s raising his now college-age daughter himself. And Lexi wants to help out and does in some significant ways. And obviously, having a daughter or anyone that attached to him, proves a liability as well.
The writing isn’t Pulitzer level writing, but the story keeps moving. The body count is high. Until the end there’s little involvement by the cops and even then, police procedure is pretty much ignored, and Tyler is allowed to get away with a lot of killing. The main bad guy we get a good look into, but the other bad guys are basically cardboard cut outs of military gone bad thugs. Not a big deal for me, as I don’t need a lot of back story on someone whose going to be planted under anyway, but if you’re heavy into characterization, you’ll get it with Tyler, Lexi, and a couple supporting cast members, but not everyone.
Not a lot of mystery, either. Predictable, but enough suspense to have kept me interested. The book ends with a potential romantic interest. Other than that, no loose ends, so next book will probably be new trouble finding Tyler.
The violence is not over the top nor overly graphic. There is some profanity, but again, it’s not over the top. One small on page sex scene that’s fairly muted.
Overall, an okay read. Short enough, fast paced enough, that I kept reading. If you’re into the ex-military turned vigilante sub-genre, then you’ll probably enjoy this one.
As for ranking, it sits at number eight. Not necessarily better written or better story than Into the Flames, but more my type of read.
The Letter Keeper by Charles MartinRight Behind You by Lisa GardnerMoonlight Awakens by John Matthew WalkerWin by Harlen CobenMurder Board by Brian SheaAnna: A Cliff Ford Mystery by Terry TolerThe Man Burned by Winter by Pete ZachariasThe Mechanic by Tom FowlerInto the Flames by Liz BradfordYou Are Invited by Sarah A DenzilGirl, Alone by Blake PierceOne Night in Sedona by Carrie Latimer.Coffin Cove by Jackie ElliottCommission earned
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