Mark Stevens's Blog, page 3

“The Secret History of the Rape Kit – A True Crime Story” by Pagan Kennedy

I guarantee you have no idea where this book is going or, perhaps, what it’s about. You hear “rape kit” and think you know what’s involved? I doubt it. Unless you’re a rape victim—or a doctor a nurse who administers … Continue reading →

Philip Kerr, “The Pale Criminal”

The second entry in Philip Kerr’s Berlin Noir trilogy, The Pale Criminal is set in 1938. It’s been two years since the first story, March Violets, and ex-cop turned detective Bernie Gunther has taken another ex-police officer, the eyepatch-wearing Bruno … Continue reading →

Zak Podmore, “Life After Deadpool”

My review of “Life After Deadpool – Lake Powell’s Last Days and the Rebirth of the Colorado River” by Zak Podmore (for Rocky Mountain Reader).

James Sallis, “Ghost of a Flea”

Note: Book (and series) spoilers ahead. ++ A moth beat against the glass. A man looks back on his life. The man’s son, at the very end of Ghost of a Flea and also the very end of these six … Continue reading →

David Freed, “Deep Fury”

Before anything else, the audio version of Deep Fury is one of the best performances I’ve ever absorbed. Ray Porter’s reading is engaging and pitch-perfect for the tasty snark and the variety of characters David Freed brings to the page. … Continue reading →

Nick Kolakowski, “Where The Bones Lie”

The basic formula, truly, never gets old. Investigator, client, murder. Oh, and California never gets old, either. Not really. The key is pumping life and character into your main players. Attitude, backstory, all of that. And Nick Kolakowski brings plenty … Continue reading →

Philip Kerr, “March Violets”

“Kottbusser Tor was the kind of area that had worn about as well as a music-hall poster, and Admiralstrasse, Number 43 was the kind of place where the rats wore ear-plugs and the cockroaches had nasty coughs.” “Her hair was … Continue reading →

Jane Hulse, “Prisoner of Wallabout Bay”

Prisoner of Wallabout Bay oozes energy and atmosphere from the get-go. Young Sarah Barrett, her younger brother Benjamin, and her mother live in a “cramped, leaky” attic in New York City. It’s 1776. We don’t know exactly what happened right … Continue reading →

Barbara Nickless, “The Drowning Game”

After a taut four-book series about a railroad cop turned homicide detective (Sydney Parnell) and another brainy, dynamite trilogy about a Chicago semiotician (Dr. Evan Wilding), Barbara Nickless brings us a gripping spy thriller with Singapore as the nexus for … Continue reading →

Hampton Sides, “The Wide Wide Sea”

I’m not a member of the James Cook Society or a James Cook scholar. All I knew before starting The Wide Wide Sea was your basic stuff of high school history and not much more. From what I gather, there … Continue reading →