Chasing Darkness: An Elvis Cole Novel (Elvis Cole Novels) Review

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Chasing Darkness: An Elvis Cole Novel (Elvis Cole Novels) ReviewSo I'm beginning to feel like all of the big names in pop thriller/crime fiction - Lee Childs, James Lee Burke, James Patterson, and now Robert Crais, are getting either bored or lazy, or have somehow managed to misplace the passion and fiery writing that placed them in their well deserved positions (well, except perhaps Patterson) on the big best seller lists. Yes, I'm a Robert Crais fan. The early Elvis Cole was smart, funny, and in your face - definitely an updated, more hip, and slightly more irreverent version of the venerable Raymond Chandler's Phillip Marlowe and today's answer to the hard boiled LA that Chandler invented. And Joe Pike? In Crais' prime, can you think of a supporting cast member more menacing - a more cleverly and intelligently rendered butt-kicker - the hands down candidate for the guy you'd least want to have on the other side of a street fight - or any kind of fight? Leaves me yearning for "LA Requiem", "The Monkey's Raincoat", or Crais' outstanding stand alone effort, "The Hostage".
To be fair, "Chasing Darkness" is by no means a bad read. In fact, it starts out with an intriguing "murder in a locked room-like" premise that is genuinely gripping, and definitely held my attention. And without the distraction and baggage of Cole's annoying girlfriend Lucy hanging around to mush up the action, I was getting ready to declare that "Crais is back" after what a thought were a couple of sub-par installments. But before long it starts feeling a bit tired with crooked cop conspiracy theories and all too familiar themes. And the intimidating Pike is relegated to a near cameo role, emerging with only enough adrenaline to help Elvis beat up some kids. At the end of the day, the enigma unravels too easily, and if you devote more than a few seconds to dissecting the mystery, you'll find a hole big enough for Cole's 'vette and Pike's Jeep to drive through - side-by-side.
When all is said and done, "Chasing Darkness" is mostly an entertaining ride, but essentially flat - a journeyman's effort that had that "got-to-do-this-to-meet-my contract" feel to it. The Crais aficionado - like me - will want to read it, but it is far from his best effort, and a sure sign that the talented Mr. Crais should take the hint from Dennis Lehane and William Lashner, and take some well deserved time off to recharge his classic crime-busting mojo. And should he take this hiatus, Crais fans take heart - their are plenty of great new writers - Huston, Swierczynski, Gischler, McKinty, Doolittle and more - to fill the gaps while the old guys like Crais and Child take a vacation to remember the kind of writing that got them to the top.Chasing Darkness: An Elvis Cole Novel (Elvis Cole Novels) Overview

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The Hard Way (Jack Reacher, No. 10) Review

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The Hard Way (Jack Reacher, No. 10) ReviewI'm a big Lee Child fan. As far as I'm concerned, the tight-lipped, human arsenal Jack Reacher is the most compelling figure in contemporary escapist thriller fiction. So when I tell you that "The Hard Way" is the best novel of its kind to hit the shelves in the last few years, I'll admit I'm biased.
This is the tenth in the Reacher series, and it may be the best. In "Hard Way", trouble finds Reacher innocently enough, sitting in a New York sidewalk caf' sipping an espresso. Events unwind, and soon our hero is locked-and-loaded in solving a kidnapping, thick as thieves with a team of mercenary thugs, contemporary soldiers of fortune with shady backgrounds led by former Special Forces colonel Edward Lane. Lee Child is at his best when spinning a good mystery for Reacher to solve, and nagging incongruities surrounding the kidnapping of Lane's wife and daughter provide the perfect backdrop for Child to practice his craft. "The Hard Way's" Reacher is a bit wiser, more mature, using more brain and less brawn. More Sherlock Holmes and less Rambo this time around. In fact, more than 300 pages have turned before Reacher actually hurts someone, but the Child layers the tension and drops hints masterfully, leading up to a climax that will have you sweating right through your Barcalounger. The author's patented lean and no-nonsense prose is in top form, but what makes Child so readable are the obscure little bits of knowledge and factoids tucked away in cracks and corners of the plot, adding enough depth and authenticity to give the larger-than-life Reacher credibility that sets him apart from the just plain silly superheroes of so many "thrillers" of the day.
So to wrap it up, "The Hard Way" is about as good as it gets - intelligent, clever, a .50 caliber pressure tank tale that twists and turns and jumps from Greenwich Village to Africa's west coast - of bad guys doing bad things and paying the price to an avenging angel in the form Jack Reacher. One word of warning: don't start reading this unless you've got some free hours ahead, for once started, "The Hard Way" is likely to trash plans for the weekend or keep you up way past bedtime. But the again, I'm biased.
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Bad Luck and Trouble (Jack Reacher, No. 11) Review

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Bad Luck and Trouble (Jack Reacher, No. 11) ReviewThere are many reasons to admire Jack Reacher, the taciturn hero of Lee Child's "Bad Luck and Trouble." He is a low-maintenance individual who travels with just his passport, ATM card, and toothbrush. He is incredibly strong and an expert in weaponry and hand-to-hand combat, and will go out of his way to protect the people he likes and respects. Reacher is also intelligent, intuitive, and creative; by thinking out of the box, he usually finds the answers to whatever questions are puzzling him.
In "Bad Luck and Trouble," Reacher has a reunion of sorts with three of his buddies from the army, Frances Neagley, Karla Dixon, and David O'Donnell. They reunite because of a tragic event: Calvin Franz, who worked with them years ago in the military police, was thrown out of a helicopter in the California desert after suffering unspeakable torture. The victim left behind a wife and little boy. Three other MPs from the same special investigations unit, Jorge Sanchez, Tony Swan, and Manuel Orozco, have disappeared, as well. Reacher and his remaining ex-colleagues band together to find out what happened to these men and why. He is also plotting revenge: "There are dead men walking, as of right now. You don't throw my friends out of helicopters and live to tell the tale." The slogan that Reacher and the others live by is: "You do not mess with the special investigators."
Lee Child's Reacher is a modern day cowboy, who generally travels alone from town to town, minding his own business. Yet, somehow, "bad luck and trouble" always manage to find him. This time, in a refreshing variation on Child's usual formula, Reacher takes his place as the commanding officer of a tightly knit and focused team, each member making his or her own invaluable contribution to the investigation. Neagley is smart and tough, and she has plenty of money to bankroll their operation. Dixon is a forensic accountant with a sharp mathematical mind, equal to Reacher's. O'Donnell is fast, powerful, and fearless. This formidable foursome is pitted against a group of ruthless adversaries who always seem to be one step ahead of them.
Child has created a cadre of well-drawn heroes, and the fast-paced action never flags. The terse, often dryly humorous dialogue is enormously entertaining. In addition, some nifty mental puzzles are thrown in to challenge the investigators' powers of deduction; brawn without brains just doesn't cut it in today's world. On the downside, the villains are one-dimensional and the finale is a bit too pat to be believed, even in a fantasy such as this. Still, this novel is great escapist fun; it will have wide audience appeal among long-time Reacher aficionados, and it will probably earn the author a host of new fans, as well.
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The Burning Soul Review

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The Burning Soul ReviewI love John Connelly's Charlie Parker and all his not so nice friends. He doesn't disappoint in the Burning Soul. Angel and Louis are back and even the Fulci twins. These books are not for everyone but if you want to read something just a little bit out of the ordinary then these books are for you. Graphic, yes, violent, yes, boring, never.The Burning Soul Overview

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Highway 61: A McKenzie Novel (Mac Mckenzie) Review

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Highway 61: A McKenzie Novel (Mac Mckenzie) ReviewRushmore McKenzie is sweet talked by his girlfriend's daughter, Erica, into helping her father, Jason Truhler, who is being blackmailed by persons unknown. Someone has photographs of Jason lying unconscious in bed; nearby, a young girl, with her throat slashed, lies in a spreading pool of blood. McKenzie travels on Highway 61 from the Twin Cities to the Chalet Motel in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where the girl was stabbed. Jason is an unscrupulous pedophile who can't be trusted and McKenzie soon finds himself ensnared in a complex web involving drug trafficking, arson and internet prostitution. At the center of this web is a nineteen-year-old prostitute who has information for which everyone is willing to kill in order to obtain.
David Housewright's "Highway 61" is a prime example of modern noir. It has big guns, big thugs, car chases, illegal drugs and hot, young prostitutes who McKenzie must protect. All the while McKenzie's inner voice keeps telling him not to get involved in Jason Truhler's sordid existence; unfortunately, his love for Jason's ex-wife, Nina Truhler, owner of a classy jazz bar, and her daughter, compels him to continue his investigation. "Highway 61" is a fast-paced pot boiler that really explodes towards the end when the body count escalates. McKenzie doesn't know who to trust when betrayal runs rampant as characters desperately try to save their own skins.
"Highway 61" is the first novel I've read in the best-selling McKenzie mystery series, and now Housewright has me for a new fan. Honestly, if not for my research, I wouldn't have known "Highway 61" was the series' eighth installment. Nor does it seem to contain any major plot spoilers that would ruin the enjoyment of reading previous ones. Also, this is the first mystery that I've read that is set in the Twin Cities, a densely populated, metropolitan region, located in east central Minnesota, composed chiefly of Minneapolis and St. Paul. During his investigation, McKenzie travels the mean streets, seeking assistance from a wide assortment of unusual characters ranging from a career arsonist to a wealthy governor to an evil billionaire to a Heidi Fleiss-like madam.
I admire McKenzie. He's a large, handsome, mature man with a wry sense of humor; he enjoys jazz, quotes Robert Burns poetry and has a favorite Arabian proverb that performs an active role in this novel: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Often caught in the middle of a skirmish, McKenzie pits bad villains against bad villains in order to survive. He genuinely feels sorrow for murder victims and wishes to avenge them. He truly loves Nina Truhler and her daughter Erica. A former police officer, McKenzie knows how to fight and shoot a weapon; the Beretta seems to be his weapon of choice. Also, he promised his dead father he'd take care of the ducks living on the manmade pond behind his home in Falcon Heights; worried about them, he keeps calling his DNR friend, asking him when they'll leave for the winter.
The wealthiest people aren't always the most intelligent. My favorite part of the novel is McKenzie's discovery of an internet prostitution website known as "My Very First Time." Legal prostitutes, dressed up like little girls, strike various lewd poses on the homepage. Considered a selective, exclusive club, men pay Roberta Weltzin huge fees to have sex with these young girls. This is subject matter that has been ripped from today's headlines. Rep. Anthony Weiner recently joined an ever-growing list of celebrities/politicians who've sent explicit, sexually suggestive material over the internet, which is an uncontrollable means of distributing information. Business conducted over the internet is not sacred; anyone can find out about it.
If you are craving an exciting, shoot-'em-up thrill ride, David Housewright's "Highway 61" is a must read. There are some intense action scenes involving car chases and parking lot shootouts. There are also some gruesome torture deaths but they are described ex post facto, after the fact. As I expressed earlier, "Highway 61" contains all the key ingredients of a great modern noir. This McKenzie mystery series is destined to continue for many years and garner a legion of followers. Fans of vicious noir may also want to read Steve Ulfelder's "Purgatory Chasm," Darryl Wimberley's "Devil's Slew" and Wallace Stroby's "Cold Shot to the Heart."Joseph B. Hoyos
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Darkness, My Old Friend: A Novel Review

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Darkness, My Old Friend: A Novel ReviewThis is a wonderful book about people changing their lives. It talks about how hard it is to make difficult changes in our lives-either good or bad. The story revolves about several people in flux:
*Jones Cooper- a retired cop who has to figure out what to do next with his life
*Willow Graves-a young teen-ager forced to move from New York City to the small town of Hollows after her parents divorce and quite unhappy about it
*Paula Carr-a mistreated housewife who must decide if living with her controlling husband is a good situation for her two young children and stepson
*Eloise- the town psychic who must decide if she should continue using her powers to help others or make a life for herself
*Michael Holt-wants to find out if his mother ran off and left him and his sister or if something evil has happened to her
When these characters meet and interact, all hell breaks loose. Willow sees Michael digging a grave, Eloise warns Jones about an alarming situation, Paula calls Jones for help and all of them discover moving forward, no matter how difficult, is a worthwhile goal.
The story is well written and told from the various characters viewpoints. This must be the new "in" thing as the last two books I've read, "Dreams of Joy" by Lisa See and "Innocent" by Scott Turow, have been written in this manner. It can be quite effective but it is starting to be overdone.
This is a quite a page turner and an entertaining read.
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The Gentlemen's Hour: A Novel Review

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The Gentlemen's Hour: A Novel ReviewI'm always on the hunt for a new mystery writer and Don Winslow is my latest find. Part of what I think of as the California noir set of writers (James Ellroy, Robert Crais, Charlie Huston, Seth Harwood, etc.) Winslow is probably my new favorite. This is the sequel to "The Dawn Patrol" and probably not the last Boone Daniels novel. Hope not, anyway. It, like many of his other books, is essentially about the dusk of the California Golden Age and the transition into a new California that is better in some ways and worse in others. The phrase that keeps popping up in my mind as I write this is "Surf Western," as this is novel is essentially "Shane" with surf bums, skinheads, lawyers and cops. Great descriptions, memorable characters that seem more than a little plausible, smooth dialogue and plenty of action. The one criticism I would make is that, at times, like any great story teller Mr. Winslow can meander and spend what some would call a little too much time on a tangent (this is especially true of another of his novels, "The Winter of Frankie Machine"). However, the tangents always relate to the story being told in some way and I often found myself wishing to know more about the tangent storyline! That's proof that Winslow is a strong, interesting story teller. If you haven't read "Dawn Patrol," check it out first as you will have a much better grasp of what Boone and the Dawn Patrol are and what they stand for. You'll also have a good grasp of Winslow's idea of the California Golden Age. Highly recommend anything by Winslow (except that "Bobby Z" movie; it's not terrible, but the book is 100% better).
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Vigilante (Shane Scully) Review

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Vigilante (Shane Scully) ReviewVigilante is the 11th novel in the Shane Scully series by Stephen J. Cannell, acclaimed and prolific TV and novel writer, who is recently deceased. I was notified by Goodreads that I had won an advance copy of this novel. But when I saw that it was #11 in the series, I quickly downloaded #1, The Tin Collectors (2001) to my Kindle so I could have a little insight into the main character. However, after finishing Vigilante, I don't feel that I missed anything at all by not having read most of the books in the series. Like most main characters in police procedurals these days, Shane Scully is a flawed character with a very big heart, which usually gets him into trouble. The series takes place in L.A., Cannell's hometown. Shane Scully's partner is Sumner Hitchens, who became a millionaire by selling murder cases to the movies, one of which was a smash hit. (A bit like Cannell himself, although to my knowledge, Cannell was never in law enforcement.)
Scully and Hitchens are posted to Homicide Special, an elite investigations unit and Scully gets a cell call about a murder that is too sensitive to talk about on the cell phone. He and Hitch go right to the scene, where they find Nixon Nash, a supposed police watchdog, from Vigilante-TV already set up with cameras rolling. (What's up with that?) Nash is a former Florida Marine Patrol officer who is forced to resign over an error in procedure on a very important case. He then becomes a lawyer and gets caught embezzling his own law firm. Nash spends 18 months in prison, writes a book while there, is released and he goes to Miami where he starts a local show called Vigilante TV, which is quickly syndicated. His M.O. is to ferret out police corruption and throw a big spotlight on police incompetence.
Lying dead inside the house is another big thorn in LAPD's side, Lita Mendez, a community activist whose self-appointed job it is to start civil actions and Internal Affairs complaints against the LAPD for supposed violations of gang members and other community persons rights. She had just moved into this house. LAPD is less than thrilled by her actions, Internal Affairs captain Stephanie Madrid has filed restraining orders against Mendez. Mendezes husband, Lester, an ex-cop who retired from a SIS unit which was shut down due to extreme violence becomes part of the mix. The prior tenant of the house has an argument with the victim over a ceiling fan left in the house. There's a mysterious garlic smell in the house, an unknown coffee cup outside in the bushes, an unsolved cold case whose vic might have been dating one of the persons of interest, a party on the H.M.S. Bounty, and a similar slash and burn scenario in Atlanta where Nash last set up his cameras. And Nash is feeding Scully and Hitch information about the case that may or may not be a set up. The brass want this cleared in a hurry.
It was a terriffic ride right down to a big "wow" on my part near the end. Even if I hadn't read book #1 prior to starting the advance copy, I wouldn't have needed any background. The novel stands by itself, although knowing some background obviously makes the characters even more interesting and developed.
I am definitely going to read the others in this series.
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The Affair: A Reacher Novel (Jack Reacher) Review

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The Affair: A Reacher Novel (Jack Reacher) ReviewIf you're a fan of the Jack Reacher series, you already know that Lee Child is currently the undisputed master of the unputdownable thriller. When it comes to narrative momentum and expertly wrought tension, his only rival is the late, great Dick Francis.
However, the last two Reachers - though good - left me a bit cold because I was getting tired of the "Reacher stumbles into small-town corruption" formula. Fortunately, THE AFFAIR flashes back to his army career, where he faces his true arch-nemesis, the military bureaucracy, and we learn why he decided to drop out and become a toothbrush-packing drifter. Even though the novel is mainly set in yet another bleak small town, I'm happy to report that Reacher is back to form. This latest adventure delivers the expected page-turning excitement, plus a few other bonuses:
* Both the beginning and the end are better than usual. Child tends to be too abrupt for my taste. Here he takes the time to set the scene at the Pentagon and ease past the climax in a very satisfying way.
* The love interest, the ex-marine sheriff Elizabeth Deveraux, is Child's most entertaining female character so far. She's not just there to be Reacher's girl. She has an extra dimension and is important to the story.
* The "midnight special" train that roars past Carter Crossing every night is an ingenious device Child uses to ratchet up the suspense, provide a menacing undercurrent, and structure the complicated action in a clear way. It's the most impressive example yet of Child's narrative skill. Plus, choo-choos are just plain cool.
A new reader to the series may find the staccato rhythm of the sentences a bit off-putting at first, and Reacher's tough-guy terseness here and there verging on self-parody. But they're essential ingredients in Child's hugely enjoyable, impressively consistent franchise. Overall, I rank THE AFFAIR with the best of the series, up there with PERSUADER, ONE SHOT, and THE ENEMY.
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