Saturday 12 March 2016

FEBRUARY 2016 - ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY...SOME OF AT LEAST...

Book 6 in the Sam Archer series from Tom Barber. Amazon FREEBIE early in February and it was on my wish-list so why not. I've not tried this series yet, but have maybe 5 of them.

BOOM! 1st of February an e-mail from Goodreads tells me I've won a copy in a giveaway. The 11th Hap and Leonard novel. All I have to do now is read (with a bit of re-reading thrown in) the preceding 10 then I can tackle this one!

Last of the 13 titles in 13 months from Number 13 Press. Cheers to Chris at the publisher from this one!
Newly released by Near to the Knuckle - copy forwarded by Chris at Number 13 Press. I've read and enjoyed Matt Phillips' work before - Redbone rocked!

Amazon Freebie in the month, Lawrence Block offering 5 FREEBIES IN 5 DAYS! What a generous man!

One of the aforementioned freebies. Mr Block as John Warren Wells titillates with some erotica-soft porn.!

Pushkin Press - copy from the publisher!

An Amazon freebie during the month of February - short story collection edited by Alex Shaw and Maynard Sims


Net Galley book from Mulholland Books

Back in the 1980s, Wes Raney was an ambitious New York City Narcotics Detective with a growing drug habit of his own. While working undercover on a high-risk case, he made decisions that ultimately cost him not only his career, but also his family. Disgraced, Raney fled-but history is finally catching up with him.

Now in his early forties, Raney has been living in exile, the sole homicide investigator covering a two-hundred-mile stretch of desert in New Mexico. His solitude is his salvation-but it ends when a brutal drug deal gone wrong results in a triple murder. Staged in a locked underground bunker, the crime reawakens Raney's haunted and violent past.

From the vast, unforgiving landscape of the American west to the mean streets of New York, The Exiled is at once a riveting murder mystery and a brilliant portrait of a man on the run from himself, an unforgettable thriller that is "impossible to put down" (Frank Bill).

First spending of the year - 99p from a charity shop!
In 2001, Paul Bacon was a typical young guy in New York: overeducated, liberal, hip, a little aimless. But when 9/11 came, he was galvanized into action. Feeling that he had to do something to help his fellow man, he raced to Ground Zero, where he stood around for several days before finally realizing that he had no skills that were of any use in a crisis. So he applied to the fire department-and was summarily rejected; he was too old, they said, and he couldn't do any pull-ups. So he decided to take what was available to him: He joined the NYPD.

Bad Cop is Bacon's hilarious and thoughtful memoir of his three years among New York's Finest. Beginning with his tenure in the police academy (where he's mostly interested in pursuing the lovely cadet Clarabel - until he finds a surprising new love in the form of his service .357), it follows him through a reluctant apprenticeship and out onto the streets, where the sensitive former graphic designer is transformed into a rough-and-tumble Harlem beat cop. Brimming with great set pieces and amazing characters, this is both a love letter and a send-up of the squad that keeps New York safe - sometimes.

Another Net Galley book - well I do love Lansdale and Hap and Leonard!
Short stories and novellas collected. Hopefully the TV series will show up in the UK at some point in time!

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I did get a few more bits and bobs in the month, publishers and authors, a few short story downloads, another purchased book for 99p at the same charity shop as Bad Cop. I subsequently found I already had a copy of the other book! Oh well, can't expect to remember all 5000....

8 comments:

  1. You've got some interesting titles there, Col. And I couldn't help noticing some Lawrence Block slipping in there among the rest... I have to say I like that title Honky Tonk Samurai. It's certainly attention-getting.

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    1. Margot, what kind of month would it be without something new from Block? The Lansdale is a great title. I'm hoping the new TV series featuring his double act airs in the UK!

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  2. Col, I'm still reading "After the First Death" and I'd be interested to know what you think of it. I'm curious about Joe R. Lansdale's novels.

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    1. Not yet got close to starting that one, I'm afraid. Lansdale I've read and enjoyed on and off for nearly 20 years, starting with some of his horror novels.

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  3. I suppose that's a modest haul for you! I'm no better, I think I got a lot in this month - all essential of course - but I might need a new embargo...

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    1. Fairly modest compared to last year, so at least that's progress of sorts!

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  4. I bought no books in February and acquired no books via any other avenue either. Every time I look at my shelve of unread books, I am appalled, how will I read them all?

    After reading more about Hap and Leonard I am beginning to think that they are too something for me...too hard-boiled? Noir? Violent? but I will try at least one book anyway.

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    1. I really admire your self-restraint. Some books arrived involuntary, but I suppose I still wasn't as disciplined as I ought to be, if I'm intending to read all my own books!

      Maybe Hap/Leonard might be a bit more me than you, but if you can give him a try at least you'll know once and for all.

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