Joe’s Comments (group member since Nov 27, 2018)

Joe’s comments from the Point Blank group.

A discussion of Spy fiction and the novels that are noir-crime-fiction...

Dennis L Mcguire wrote: "Joe wrote: "Dennis L Mcguire wrote: "I just finished the three-book series of Thomas Kyd novels by Timothy Harris - all very good. I've been reading and planning to read mysteries from the 1980s. S..."

Hi Dennis, Glad you liked The Chatham School Affair...always dicey when recommending books! :-) I thought it wasa great book, one of the best I've read this year...I like Thomas H. Cook...a lot...he's a very solid writer. I've read five or six of his now and plan on reading them all...up next for me is Cook's The Crime of Julian Wells which I'm going to read only because it's offered for $2.99 at Kindle...looks really good too. Blood Innocents is Cook's first novel, a police procedural following an old Detective as he investigates a murder(s) in NYC...describes NYC very well...a little rushed at the end but it is a first novel...a solid, quick read...-drop by and post a review or observations on any book, anytime you'd like! Thanks again for reading Chatham, Joe

Geoff wrote: "books2read.com/u/4XaVpN

Hi all. My book is actually, finally out.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

If anyone felt like buying it, that would be awesome. It's real cheap (at least for a ..."

Hey Geoff, I left a review at the PB FB page on Oct 16...Burning Crow was excellent, Great job! Are you going to write a second book?

Hi Girard, Thanks so much for the reply and input...sounds like we're on the same page concerning the L.A. Quartet...I felt both Dahlia & Confidential had it all except plot structure which broke down in both at the 3/4 point...BUT...The Big Nowhere...To me that book is a classic and up there with Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald, top tier...Ellroy lives here in Denver (last I knew) and for about two years running he sponsored a once a month Film noir night at the local Alamo Movie Theater (in Littleton) where he played a film or two, finish off with some discussion, crack-a-few-jokes, then hit the bar and joke some more (although he never drank)...a very small, informal group, I even took my teenage daughters along...lots of fun. He sponsored a film-noir festival here but I don't think it pulled in a big crowd (at least when I attended), then This Storm was published and I think he ended film-noir night! -Thanks again , please submit a review anytime you'd like...its fun to see what others are reading! (I typed this on my phone, probably lots of typos...)

L.A. Confidential (1990)... ....One of the few books where I saw the film, actually a number of times, before reading the novel. Another oddity, I have read nearly all of James Ellroy's books before L.A. Confidential, although this is his most popular book... Just the way things worked out for this reader...Book three of the L.A. Quartet, I found L.A. Confidential to be a mixed bag and a let down after Ellroy's previous book, a masterpiece of noir-crime-fiction, The Big Nowhere. Through 400 pgs., or 80%, of L.A. Confidential, the book has it all...Solid plot, strong characters, seedy L.A. atmosphere, lot's of suspense...then, around page 400, the book goes off the rails. The writing gets inexplicably confusing with suddenly new characters introduced, mindless sneaking around by character Jack V., a lot of standing around by the rest of the cast with again mindless yelling & screaming going on...I was scratching my head wondering if it was the same book -? Then, I'll admit, in the final 20 pgs the book does come together with a sensible, somewhat satisfactory ending...but even there I had an issue on how it was delivered (through newspaper articles)....Sooooo, this book, being "the legendary L.A. Confidential” and coming right after the fantastic, The Big Nowhere, I expected a little better...3 outa 5 Stars....oh well, can't win them all...Besides, Mr. James Ellroy, who many believe is he best crime-fiction writer over the last forty years, has given us three classics, The Big Nowhere, American Tabloid, and My Dark Places: An L.A. Crime Memoir...plus, many other near classics like the hilarious Bloods A Rover (LOL..."Hi! We're Archie Bell and the Drells from Houston, Texas"...so flipping funny!) and the recent Perfidia & This Storm...L.A. Confidential not living up to it's reputation for this reader is no big deal...who knows, I may be just blowing smoke and you might love L.A. Confidential...I hope you do! :-) Looking forward to White Jazz, #4 of the L.A. Quartet! -A side note...I've met James Ellroy three times at film-noir get togethers...he's a Good Dude! He gives all attendees his time, will sign any of his books, and I noticed he just loves to stand around with a group of guys shooting the breeze about crime, crime-fiction, films, etc...he becomes one of the gang quickly (so do I, he-he!)...James Ellroy, good people!

Here's a few recent reviews I put up at My Books and in-turn pasted here....I welcome any comments...what have you read lately?

Pop. 1280 (1964) by Jim Thompson...I like absurdity, and Pop. 1280 is as absurd as they come...a twisted, sadistic sheriff runs his town in a slow, peaceful, nonchalant fashion so no one connects to his evil selfish ways...actually he's quite brilliant, gets what he wants (especially women), when he wants...on top of the absurdity it's very tongue-in-cheek, but...that doesn't allow the racist theme through-out the novel...I enjoyed the read, it's true noir and a classic of the genre...but it's not for everyone, soooooo, I'm not sure I can recommend it, either you'll love it (and 'get-it')...or not...4 stars outta 5!

Black Top Wasteland (2020) by S.A. Cosby...just finished Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby...this is an Excellent noir-crime-fiction...I highly recommend. First, it's rural noir...lot's of action, cars, cars, cars and gritty violence...it's a well told story (plot centers around a heist), solid prose but nothing fancy, and strong realized characters (the lead character, Beauregard, is very cool)...this is probably the best crime-fiction I've read this year (tied with The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H. Cook)...4.5 outa 5.0
Coal Black: The Stories (2020)...Enjoyed reading this collection of East Kentucky rural noir...settings and characters were top notch...up to date stories with modern drugs of choice, that being oxy & fentynal....yet plot lines and troubles old as the hills with just a pinch of superstition & mysticism thrown in..the final three stories were outstanding and introduced two cool characters, sheriff curly Knott, an aging Vietnam vet law man who is a country version of Harry Bosch, featured in two stories, and, Cilia, star of the final story who is a near professional thief who finds her way out of trouble but is troubled by past relationships, so, she goes it alone. Yeah, I liked both characters very much, they could both be turned into lead characters in novel length books...the only take away is a few loose endings in a number of the stories. You could say they leave you in suspense but I would have liked to see more firm conclusions...other than that Coal Black: The Stories is really good rural noir...I recommend! 4 outta 5 stars!

Dennis L Mcguire wrote: "I just finished the three-book series of Thomas Kyd novels by Timothy Harris - all very good. I've been reading and planning to read mysteries from the 1980s. Some authors include Stephen Greenleaf..."
Hey Dennis, Thomas H. Cook is a solid crime-fiction author who started in the 1980 with his first novel Blood Innocents, a NYC murder mystery that's a pretty good start. His 1996 book The Chatham School Affair is excellent. Cook is still writing away today publishing a book yearly, check him out....-Charles Willeford is great....I've got The Shark-Infested Custard sitting in my pile...my favorite Willeford is The Pick-Up...he quite often throws in some comedy but in that book it's very intense...-I'll check out Tim Harris and the other authors! Thanks for posting!

Thought we could use a fresh "What we're reading right now #2" topic folder...We had 110 "Comments" and reviews of crime-fiction novels last time around...always fun to see others recommendations...! -I was going to put up a few mini-reviews in the next couple of days...see ya then...

Rural Noir...Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke....Point Blank Eps 48 & 49...-here's the review I put up at GoodReads > My Books...

Bluebird, Bluebird (Highway 59, #1) (2017) by Attica Locke was a good, enjoyable crime-fiction read. Darren Mathews, a black Texas Ranger is a great lead character....tough and committed, but complex due to family issues and an attraction to the bottle...I liked him a lot and look forward to reading his further adventures. Attica Locke is a good writer and excels with her prose....she's a true word-smith. The plot line is strong but nothing original...you could change the names & locations and this book would stack up with any Michael Connelly novel. Some of the action could have used a little more clarity, especially the scene out back of the "ice-house". There were a couple of items that had me scratching my head, one was the Fed character Greg constantly reminding Darren he gave him the opening lead on the case (this went nowhere)...and a few of the bad guys were pretty thin (Wally, Keith, etc). The conclusion was nicely sewed-up and even had enough wind to leave you in suspense for the book #2. There's been a lot of positive press about Bluebird, Bluebird...I don't think it quite holds up to all the praise, BUT, it's still a good read and I'll be looking forward next novel with Texas Ranger Darren Mathews! 3.5 stars! ****Note: Two months later and Bluebird, Bluebird has stuck with me...as such I'm going bump my score up to 4.0...

Simon wrote: "I am currently reading Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell. Surprised at how it spends as much time on building atmosphere and the protagonist's incredibly dysfunctiona..."

Joe
Faceless Killers was an early Five Round Burst of Justin & Kurt's...i posted about Faceless Killers 9/17/1018 at P.B...i liked it but i agree the atmosphere build up was both overt, the woe is me of the middle-aged lead detective, and covert, the weather to set mood...and yeah, i remember a take down at an immigration camp that was Hollyweed BIG....-Ha! I recommended F.K. to a Friend on FB, a girl i went to high school with many moons ago...she came back and said it was "Boring!" LOL I haven't heard from her since! Boy did I luck out! :-)

Similar to their crime-fiction journey around the world last year, on Ep. 46, Justin & Kurt travel to the Hawaii to check out the home grown crime-fiction-noir on the Islands...lot's & lot's of cool info on this podcast including a review of For A Song by Rodney Morales, and,
Bolohead Road and The Tattoo, both by Chris McKinney
Repo-Shark by Cody Goodfellow (weird stuff...think Norman Spinrad's The Void Captains Tale)
Kona Winds by Scott Kikkawa
The House Without a Key (Charlie Chan)
and non-fiction Sea People by Christiana Thompson and Last Atoll by Pamela Friarson (I'll leave a few words about this one in a week or so)....yeah, there's a lot to learn about Hawaiian noir on Justin & Kurt's Ep. 46....check it out...leave some discussion if you want...

Simon wrote: "Maigret Has Scruples by Georges Simenon (1958) and A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. (1887) I also feel that Virtual Light by William Gibson sho..."

Virtual Light sounds like a good one...I haven't read any Gibson since the Neoromancer trilogy back in the cyber-punk days (the last millennium)...V.L. is now on my list...thanks...

Kurt wrote: "I’ve been late to check in on this one. I finished it, but I didn’t find this first book in the series as engaging as the 2nd book. I’m not sure exactly why. Setting up characters? The character of..."
yeah, i also found the character Guy to be flat...what the whole book needed was a complete edit by the publisher...there is lapses and unneeded fluff in EMT, which could be expected in a first time novel. So I don't blame the author,...i put up a review on pg three over on Currently Reading discussion...

Saturday evening, 5/30/2020....I'm watching the George Floyd protests/riots, focusing on L.A. over the last hour...Mean while, here's the last five crime fiction books I've read...I got long-winded, sorry:

1. A Ticket To Hell (1959) by Harry Whittington...Harry Whittington was part of the 2nd wave of noir/pulp writers along with Davis Goodis, Day Keene and other authors from mainly the '50's. Whittington wrote an incredible 170 novels...he's known as the master of 'plot'. A Ticket to Hell is considered one of his best...and it does move along at a whip-neck pace...I'd say 80% of the book takes place inside a car screaming down the New Mexico highways and back roads. The main character is Ric, a former convict searching for the kidnapped baby of the judge that sentenced him to prison years before...so it's kind of a story of redemption along with a lot of action...and cars, cars, cars! The only drawbacks to A Ticket to Hell is it's very schmaltzy....very lovely-dovely...it contrasts with the action too much...and for a 128 pages it's a lonnnng read...it reads more like 228 pages. -There is a long (20 pages) Introduction written by Whittington himself that is very interesting...it talks quite a bit about the art/craft of pulp-fiction writing. -A Ticket to Hell is a good book and I feel like I should score it higher than 3.0 stars...but there you go...a solid, strong 3.0 stars out of 5.0!
2. The Hunter > Point Blank (1962) by Richard Stark (Donald Westlake), I read the first novel to feature Parker, many years ago...but, I remembered the story mostly from the Lee Marvin film...so my reread was fresh. Over the last two years I have read Parker in The Outfit, which I thought was pretty good, but not great, and Slayground, which I thought was cartoon-ish. But, I've got to say Point Blank is one of the best noir > crime fiction > pulp fiction I've ever read. It's Excellent! Well written with a solid, simple plot-line, merciless...and introduces one of the top crime fiction characters of all time. Parker. I could go on, let's just say I highly recommend! -Only slight take-away....the body count gets extremely high! But, this is crime fiction after all! 5 Stars for this genre classic...
3. Easy Motion Tourist (2016) by Leye Adenle...Easy Motion Tourist (2016) by Leye Adenle is a first novel by the author. It's not a bad book it just could have been better. What EMT needs is a firm edit! One-third of the book could have been removed and you would have never missed it...being a 1st novel I blame this lack of editing on the publisher not the author. The plot line starts off strong...In Lagos, Guy, a white man from London gets pegged by the police out of a crowd at the scene a murdered prostitute...and Guy's path of noir begins...he gets saved from the cops by local, but worldly & well-to-do Amalaka who is fighting for the rights of female street-walkers. Guy & Amalaka become a crime-fighting duo! -Now, I thought the character Guy was rather one-dimensional & weak...he's the lone, wimpy white guy...Amalaka is OK...I wish there was more description of the setting of Lagos, it could have been any city...some of the prose was cartoon-ish...I read this on Kindle and the story-line was strong until 60% then things went hay-wire...too many new characters suddenly introduced...the story-line lost it's way...ya-da ya-da...I must admit the book pulled it together for the ending...and there's a nice little twist thrown in...but over-all I thought EMT was just OK. I hope his editor does a better job on the next book...2 outta 5 stars!

4. Guilty Bystander (1947) by Wade Miller...The Guilty Bystander by Wade Miller (Robert Wade and Bill Miller), published in 1947, introduces San Diego down & out detective Max Thursday in a series of seven books. This first book finds Thursday approached by his ex-wife to find their kidnapped son...The book overall is well written with plenty of action...Thursday receives his share of lumps, and gives it right back...there is some serious tough-guy stuff going on. The only issues I had with the book is there's too many characters, and some of them are introduced near the end of the book...other words, it could have used some editing. I liked The Guilty Bystander enough where I would read another in the series hoping it improves because this book was not far from being really good...3 outta 5 stars...

5. The Avenging Angel (1983) by Rex Burns...A week ago I watched Death Wish (1974) starring Charles Bronson. After watching I viewed a few Bronson trailers and I came upon a film called Messenger of Death (1988)...and it rang a bell. After doing some research I found it was the Hollywood feature of the book The Avenging Angel (1983) by Rex Burns...which I had on the shelf in my basement. Not only did I have this book starring Denver Homicide Detective Gabe Wager, I have the entire eleven book series! I couldn't remember Angel since I had read it back in the '80's, soooooo, I decided to give it a re-read and prep me for the Bronson movie. First, Rex Burns is an excellent writer, the Gabe Wager series leans toward police procedure similar to Bosch, but Gabe Wager came first. Burns prose is excellent (read the final long paragraph in the book) he's right there with Michael Connelly, maybe even a little better, just a notch below Ross Macdonald. His characters are strong and believable, especially Wager, a tough cop who's main conflict is putting work over relationships. Burns plotting & story telling is strong (he won an Edgar for The Alvarez Journal)...the only issue I have with Burns writing is story endings could be a little stronger, sometimes you can predict 'who done it' rather early...The Avenging Angel (1983) is a really good, tight mystery that takes a look at Mormon Fundamentalists gone-outa- whack. The case takes Wager throughout downtown Denver, to Pueblo, and a good portion of the book takes place in a fictitious town in sw Colorado. Travel also includes back country 4-wheelin' to the Utah border....Wager is at odds with all, including his girl-friend Jo, his partner Max, his boss, and on...nobody is a happy-camper in Angel. There is a fair amount of violence and a heck of a shoot-out near the end. I'm going to give The Avenging Angel (1983) by Rex Burns 4 outta 5 Strong Stars. Next I'm going to watch the Bronson film Messenger of Death (1988) (it got horrible reviews) and I may re-read the whole Gabe Wager series in order. -One note...after the Gabe Wager series author Rex Burns took a decade off...he has recently published two new books...check 'em out...

Justin wrote: "All I'm reading is Hawaiian Noir -- one after the other!

For the next two episodes, we are focusing on two books:

1. For A Song by Rodney Morales
2. Yakudoshi: Age of Calamity Chris McKinney

Che..."

I'm a 100 pgs into For A Song...it's good, straight ahead and a fairly easy read, which I'm glad because it's 500+ pgs...the Hawaii setting and the PI are great...

Jack wrote: "Jack from Texas. Author BEYOND BLOOD A Detective Cliff Husto Thriller (and other novels), avid reader, doxie lover, fitness fanatic, husband, father, and decent cook."

Hello Jack, Beyond Blood looks really good and got strong reviews at Amazon...it's now on my list! My 'to read' pile is pretty high. I should get to reading your book in a month or two...thanks for the tip, Joe

Justin wrote: "I like Robert Parker's Spenser stories all right, but I agree, Joe, they aren't top shelf crime fiction. I do like how the character react to/engage with the turbulent 1970s though."

oh yeah. mortal stakes definitely hung with the '70's...spenser took a few walks through-out the book and would describe the clothing people were wearing...starting with...ba-da-bing...ye old bell-bottoms!

Five most recent crime-fiction I've read:

1. Wake Up to Murder (1952) by Day Keene...Wake Up to Murder by Day Keene I found to be just OK...it doesn't come anywhere close to his Sleep With The Devil which is one of my noir faves...2 stars
2. Country Dark (2018) by Chris Offutt...Country Dark was a good crime fiction read...takes place in country Kentucky from 1955 to 1970....entertaining with enough action to move it along...but nothing great...it is a fairly short novel so reading it won't take much time or effort, so, I recommend it...3 stars...side note: IDK why but I was expecting a whole different novel after reading the advert blurb...I thought it was going to be in the realm of Winter Bone by Daniel Woodrell...oh well...
3. Boldt (1976) by Ted Lewis...Just OK...Ted Lewis wrote Get Carter...I bought Boldt then was told it's Lewis's weakest book...High points: the main plot is pretty good, Boldt is a hard nosed detective whose brother, a politician, is coming to town and is marked for assassination...OK, not a bad idea...but the story-line veers off a number of times into ultra-violence & kinky sex, plus a stop at a wild gay bar -??? But, I must say that every-time the story gets off track it returns...and the ending is pretty good...but, yeah, over-all just Ok, I would only recommend reading it if you are a Ted Lewis completest...2 stars...side note: very racist!
4. The Expendable Man (1963) by Dorthy Hughes...The Expendable Man (1963) is pretty good...a modern day mystery taking place in Phoenix, AZ...where the desert & heat are almost a character itself...almost a sociological tale as much as a mystery...similar to In A Lonely Place, the climatic point of the ending happens in a flash, which for a 246 page book is a little bit of a head-scratch-er, but not a biggie...otherwise well written and the reading flows well...4 stars.
5. Mortal Stakes (1975) by Robert Parker...I read a few Spenser's years ago and found them to be OK and mildly entertaining. Recently I've run across a number articles highlighting Robert Parker and his body of work...all with praise. In particular Paperback Warrior gave a highly favorable to the 3rd Spenser book, Mortal Stakes (1975), saying "Mortal Stakes was a riveting, explosive chapter in this long-running series. Highly recommended." Sooooo, I bit the hook and read Mortal Stakes...and I found Parker's writing to be just like it was years ago...just OK and mildly entertaining. There's a lot to recommend...a plot centering around a pitcher of the Boston Red Socks who might be throwing games...some goofy characters including sarcastic Spenser...a breakout of intense violence for the series...but I just find his prose to be well below the standard set by Chandler & Macdonald. I would recommend Mortal Stakes to be read on a long flight maybe from the States to Europe...an easy to read crime-fiction you can complete in a matter of hours...2 stars

I just bought Easy Motion Tourist...looking forward to reading it...will start in a week after Point Blank and Ticket To Hell by Harry Whittington...

Excellent podcast on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick...I really enjoyed it. Great fun to dive into some sci-fi...

Just a couple of items that might have slid by....
1. The setting is post World War Terminus or WWT...despite the Rand Corporations predictions, WWT pretty much destroyed Earth...the Rand Corporation along with all eligible moved away to a ”colony world”. -The Rand Corporation is a real entity...during the '50's & '60's Rand conducted research in the military science of nuclear war...
2. Lot's of Infernal Devices in Androids....TV was a big part of the setting, quite often in the background...also was the 'mood organ', which kept a chemical balance of the brain for whatever emotion was called for...the two handled 'empathy box' to whisk one away to Mercerism...and the 'Voight-Kampff Empathy Test' eye-scanner. Here's three interesting links that talk about the VK test & eye-scanner. One link about a guy who built a replica, another an interview worth reading...AND third, The Voight-Kampff Test is clearly inspired by Alan Turing’s famous Turing Test......
http://goldenarmor.com/voightkampff/
http://nautil.us/blog/the-science-beh...
https://lugreer.wordpress.com/essays/...
3. Did you notice in Chapter 3 Rick Deckard hits off a can of Siddons Snuff, as he does a number of times throughout the book...and each time things turn a little manic, as if the settings aren't real or not -? Example, he takes a pinch, and the next moment he's manically calling all the animal shops in town! Is Siddons Snuff Rick Deckard's drug of choice?
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick is a sci-fi classic, masterpiece, and I love this book...the film Blade Runner is really good too...BUT...in the PKD catalog I'd only rate it in the, maybe, 5th to 10th spot, way, way after Ubik, Martian Timeslip, topper-most The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, and others....soooo...I give it the strongest 4.0 possible!