ELKA RAY - KILLER COIN (2020)

 

Synopsis/blurb....

A wealthy socialite goes missing… a battered body is found in her abandoned cabin…

At the center of it all lies the witty and down-to-earth divorce lawyer, Toby Wong. How did she manage to get wrapped up in all of this…again?

All Toby wanted was to settle into island life and start working on her own love story—torn between the wealthy and charismatic Josh Barton, and the adorable and dependable detective Colin Destin.

But Toby’s romantic prospects take the back burner when her mom’s best friend, Daphne Dane, disappears. Toby soon discovers that Daphne’s latest boyfriend is both an alleged conman and the cheating husband of her newest client. Could he be behind Daphne’s disappearance? What about Daphne’s children, vying for their aging mother’s money?

When a dead body is uncovered that entwines both Colin and Josh with the Dane family drama, Toby begins to realize her own life may be in danger.

Equal parts cozy mystery and romantic suspense, the second novel in Elka Ray's Vancouver Island mystery series will keep you up late with a twisty tale of rivalry, love, money, and murder.

An okay murder mystery from author Elka Ray with Killer Coin. It's the second in her series featuring lawyer, Toby Wong after the first Divorce is Murder. In truth having enjoyed Saigon Dark from Ray previously, I was slightly disappointed by this one.

There's a murder and a missing woman and all sorts of family intrigue in this one, with a rich woman's grown-up children jostling for influence and money from their mother Daphne. They might not be the only ones, as new boyfriend, Stephen may be trying to fleece her as well. Not for long though, as he winds up dead, obviously murdered and Daphne goes missing. 

Toby gets involved, as her eccentric mother is a good friend of the family. The case itself and the way it unfolds is interesting enough. The murder victim could plausibly have been killed by either of the kids, one of their spouses, Daphne herself, Daphne's housekeeper or the dead boyfriend's angry Russian wife, by coincidence a client of Toby's and one who is initially seeking a divorce, before her husband gets all brown bread.

Large parts of the book, and this is where I found myself irritated, are given over to Toby's indecision regarding her love life. She has a sort of relationship with Josh, a former childhood sweetheart. He's rich, good looking and a bit self-centred. She's also seeing a police detective, Colin who is more down to earth and supportive, and a much nicer guy. Toby is seeing both, hedging her bets, unable to make a choice. I think it's difficult to read about relationships that are clouded by uncertainty when from afar the choice seems bleeding obvious and from a personal point of view, teenage angst-ridden years apart, I've been blessed by certainty when it comes to matters of the heart. 

The relationship dilemna is also clouded by discovering the corpse with one of the contenders and having it investigated, somewhat awkwardly by the other, alongside his sexy new partner. The presence of the gorgeous new detective adds a bit of tension to the book, with Toby becoming irrationally jealous and increasingly insecure.

After some twists and a few turns, additional incidents - physical attacks, a poisoning, a trip or two to the hospital, we get a resolution to the murder mystery, one which was a bit of a surprise, but which also made sense and we get a decision regarding Toby's love life.

Overall, it was ok, but not amazing. Maybe I'm being overly critical. I did like the Vancouver Island setting. There are some references to incidents in the earlier series book, but I think this one can be enjoyed on its own.

3 from 5

Read - November, 2020

Published - 2020

Page count - 276

Source - review copy courtesy of publisher Seventh Street books and Edelweiss - Above the Treeline

Format - ePUB read on laptop

BEN HOBSON - SNAKE ISLAND (2019)

 

Synopsis/blurb....

For fans of Cormac McCarthy, Phillip Meyer, Fargo, and Justified, a gritty rural noir thriller about family, drugs, and the legacy of violence.

In an isolated town on the coast of southern Australia, Vernon Moore and his wife, Penelope, live in retirement, haunted by an unspeakable act of violence that sent their son, Caleb, to serve time in prison and has driven the couple apart. Ashamed, they refuse to talk about him or visit, but when a close friend warns Vernon that Caleb has been savagely beaten, he has no choice but to act to protect their only child.

 

The perpetrator of the beating is a local thug from a crime family whose patriarch holds sway over the town, with the police in his pay. Everyone knows they trade in drugs. When Vernon maneuvers to negotiate a deal with the father, he makes a critical error. His mistake unleashes a cycle of violence that escalates to engulf the whole town, taking lives with it, revealing what has been hiding in plain sight in this picturesque rural community and threatening to overtake his son.

Told from shifting perspectives at a sprint, in language that sometimes approaches the simple profundity of parable, this gritty debut was hailed on its Australian publication as “a darkly illuminating thriller that soars across genre constraints . . . [and] engages with pressing contemporary issues while exploring timeless questions. Hobson writes as if his life depends on it” (The Australian).

Snake Island is one I've been wanting to read for a while, ever since it popped up on my radar at some point last year. Luckily enough it appeared on both Net Galley and Edelweiss - Above the Treeline early reviewer sites. In my excitement I got access to it via both mediums. Fair to say it didn't disappoint.

Small town, isolated Australian setting, a fractured family, a compromised police chief in thrall to the local criminal element who grow and harvest Mary Jane, a beat down in the local prison, and the subsequent violent fall out with some big city dealers coming to town and making waves. 

It's a busy book with lots happening and one event providing, the impetus and stimulus for everything that follows ..... desperation, guilt, poor choices and the opportunity for many of the cast of characters to reflect on their complicity and errant behaviour, even if they mostly lack the will to change it.

From the get-go I was sucked into this one. It's an unsettling tale of domestic strife, which then escalates and affects the wider community. The Moore's are still struggling to cope individually with the shock of their son's past violence towards his wife. Caleb is in an open prison and since his trial and incarceration has been ignored and all but disowned by his parents, Vernon and Penelope. It almost seems as if the decision to cut ties with their son have been arrived at separately, as there is little meaningful communication between the pair as a couple. 

I liked the portrayal of the family, even as my sympathies rested with Vernon and the lack of empathy his wife displayed towards him, seeming to offer him up as an object of ridicule to her friends. Vernon decides to protect his son, a victim of one of the drug dealing Cahill's fists and feet, whilst ensconced in the seeming safety of the local prison. The Cahill's reputation and domination of the locals extends to the prison authorities and the local police chief, though on this occasion, it is Brendan one of the sons, acting unilaterally.

The Cahill's themselves have an intriguing dynamic - Ernie, the dominating father ruling the roost, with his wife and two sons, Brendan and Sidney. Brendan is a chip off the old block, while Sidney the weaker of the two siblings, longs to escape the ties of his family and the local area and make a fresh life for himself with his young family. 

Vernon attempts to reason with Ernie, father to father for Brendan to lay off Caleb. A reasonable request, but when have the Cahills ever listened to reason? What follows is incendiary.

Great setting, great characters, fantastic story, intriguingly presented with different characters offering their voice in alternating chapters. All topped off by a brilliant finale. I look forward to seeing what Ben Hobson dishes up next.

5 from 5

Read - November, 2020

Published - 2019

Page count - 226

Source - review copy Net Gallay and Edelweiss - Above the Treeline

Format - ePUB read on laptop

2 BY GREG LEVIN

 A couple from the TBR pile and untried-as-yet author Greg Levin.

Levin has three published novels, these two and Sick to Death. I think I'm going to enjoy these.

Author contact info...  

Website - GregLevin.com

Facebook - Greg Levin Author Page

Twitter - @greg_levin

The Exit Man (2014)

Suicide should come with a warning label: "Do not try this alone." If you truly need out and want the job done right, consider using an outside expert. Like Eli.

Eli Edelmann never intended on taking over his father's party supply store. Nor did he ever intend on making a living through mercy killing. But life doesn't always go according to plan.

After granting the desperate request of a terminally ill family friend, Eli discovers euthanasia is his true calling ... and soon finds there's quite the market for it. But how long can he keep his daring "exit" operation going before the police catch on? And what's he going to do about his volatile new girlfriend, who may or may not be a serial killer?

In Wolves' Clothing (2017)

Zero Slade is not a bad guy—he merely plays one when saving children’s lives.

During his seven years on a team fighting child sex trafficking, Zero’s become quite good at schmoozing with pimps, getting handcuffed by cops and pretending not to care about the Lost Girls he liberates. But the dangerous sting operations are starting to take their toll on his marriage and sanity. His affinity for prescription painkillers isn’t exactly helping matters.

When the youngest girl the team has ever rescued gets abducted from a safe house in Cambodia, Zero decides to risk everything to find her. His only shot is to go rogue—and sink deeper into the bowels of the trafficking world than he’s ever sunk.

It’s the biggest mission of his life. Trouble is, it’s almost certain death.

TOM PICCIRILLI - LOSS (2010)

 

Synopsis/blurb.....

Employing the unique, darkly humorous, and powerful noir voice that is his trademark, Piccirilli demonstrates why he's become a must-read author for admirers of both crime and horror fiction.

Loss concerns a failed writer working as a handyman in an old Manhattan apartment building with a strange history and numerous oddball tenants, not all of whom may be what they seem. The penthouse is owned by a bestselling novelist and his wife, the nameless narrator's longtime unrequited love, who soon goes missing. Is she dead or somehow trapped within the endless corridors of a lair full of twisted memories and half-forgotten ambitions? This is a haunting noir-ghost story fusion that not only spotlights the fear of missing out on one's greatest hopes and romantic dreams, but also features such memorable characters as Mojo the talking monkey and the corpse of the real inventor of aluminum foil.

Another Audible offering with a short novella from recent favourite, Tom Piccirilli. Loss, while enjoyable upto a point, didn't really work out for me as well as the others.

We have an interesting main character and narrator, name escapes me. He's a published author. He still struggles with his writing. He's been remarkably unsuccessful commercially. He resides in the basement of an old building in New York. He's the janitor/repairman and he looks out for his eccentric residents.  

Among the residents, we have a man with a talking monkey; a man who falsely claimed to invent aluminium tinfoil; a severely disabled and incomplete man - courtesy of a stunt years ago where he lay for a day in a bath of toxic waste; and our narrator's childhood and adolescent best friend and his attractive wife.

There's a schism between this friend and our man. In fact they're now former friends. Janitor man's former friend is everything our man isn't....... a fellow novelist, successful, celebrated, famous, rich and he has the woman our man covets. The unspoken competition between the two has spoiled their relationship and now there is only awkwardness.

We see JM interact with the residents of the building, including the wife of his rival, but not the rival himself (until the end of the book) which is all very interesting and entertaining. 

We have an attack (resulting in death and murder), an attack which reminded me of an incident in another Piccirilli book, a conversation with a dying man, a police investigation, a missing woman, a murder solved and a confrontation and an ending which I didn't really vibe. Some reviewers have alluded to a sort of supernatural-ghosty outcome but I didn't interpret that myself. I was just kind of scratching my bonce in puzzlement.

Great writing, interesting setting, interesting characters and dynamics, a bit of incident, it all just felt a bit flat towards the end.  

3.5 from 5

The Last Deep Breath, The Nobody, Sorrow's Crown  and The Dead Past have been enjoyed recently.

Read - (listened to) November, 2020

Published - 2010

Page count - 46 (1 hr 32 mins)

Source - Audible purchase

Format - Audible

ROBIN MERRILL - INTRODUCING GERTRUDE, GUMSHOE (2016)

 

Synopsis/blurb....

WARNING: Gertrude can be a bit of a crank!

She shoots from the hip, is unburdened by tact, and likes things done her way. Yet, the people who know her adore her. 

It's a mystery.

Speaking of which, Gertrude never set out to be a sleuth. She was just minding her own business among her many, many collections (including her cat collection), when her neighbor went missing. With no one else around to help, Gertrude stepped in to solve the case--and found out she's got quite a knack for snooping.

You will love Gertrude, because she's laugh-out-loud, outlandishly funny. 

Another day, another new-to-me author, and a cozy mystery to boot complete with old lady with a walker, a sharp tongue and a plethora of cats.

Gertrude while searching for one of her cats, stumbles across a couple of frightened children, alone in a trailer. Their mum went off to work and never came back. Gertrude promises to help them and after searching the woman's trailer for some inkling as to where she went discovers some dirty polaroids featuring some prominent men around town. Allied with some regular cash deposits into a bank account, Gertrude surmises that the kid's mum is doing more than just waitressing at the local strip joint.

Gertrude after visiting one of the men in the photos place of work, find the corpse of the missing women. Disgruntled at being made to feel foolish by the local cops, she decides to uncover the murderer, as the police - so blatantly incompetent - will surely fail. A new amateur investigator is born.

Initially I found it quite hard to warm to the main character, but as the book wasn't too long, and I'd started listening to it at work anyway, I persisted and by the end without wishing she was my grandmother, I had thawed somewhat towards her. She's cranky, cantakerous, obstinate, feisty and pretty fearless. She watches every penny, she doesn't have a lot, she coupon clips and here she gets the job done. Along the way, Gertrude recruits a reluctant neighbour with wheels and some ready cash to assist her investigation. They make quite a double act. 

Far from the best book ever written and read, but enough there to keep me interested in the outcome. The dialogue is a bit corny in places, I can't recall any profanities and there's no graphic violence or major incidents. A few visits to a strip club to interview the dancers and staff are as risque as it gets. Good clean fun with an ok murder mystery at it's heart.

3 from 5 

At some point I'll revisit the series, but I'm in no particular rush to get to the next one. 

Read - (listened to) November, 2020

Published - 2016

Page count - 190 pages (3 hrs 46 mins)

Source - Audible purchase

Format - Audible

IRVING WALLACE - THE FAN CLUB (1974)

 

Synopsis/blurb....

Imagine you are obsessed with a beautiful, famous actress. You know everything about her – at least, you know everything that the press, the tabloids, and the world knows about her. You think she is humble and nice and tired of living the Hollywood life. Better yet, you think she would fall for someone like you – a regular guy with a regular life. Now imagine that you told three other guys what you thought, and they all agreed – and you actually abducted this woman.

You are now in the head of the protagonist of Irving Wallace's thriller – The Fan Club. This is not a novel for the squeamish. After the abduction, things do not go as planned. At least three of the men involved force themselves on their captive. Each has his own problems, his own psychosis – his own reasons. Each is crazy in a different way, and their prisoner? She's not so sane herself.

The sexual situations in this novel show their roots in the cultural revolution of the 1970s. They are crude, rough, difficult to take. There are no punches pulled. The characters, while difficult to empathize with, are very believable. This novel is more a horror thriller than mainstream, but it has the power and authenticity readers have come to expect from Irving Wallace, one of the most popular and talented voices in American Literature.

When I was growing up, I saw a copy of this in my parent's bedroom and was instantly drawn to the book...... surprise, curiosity, excitement - loads of different emotions flicking through my adolescent brain and nether regions.

It seemed so out of character for my parents. I don't think my dad ever read a red-top newspaper in his life, let alone a top shelf men's magazine. I always wondered where it came from. It wasn't something my dad would read and my mum was never much of a reader and still isn't. An unwanted hand-me-on from a friend? My teenage self, I'm not ashamed to admit was drawn towards it, like a moth to a flame and I must have read much of it, probably most intent on seeking out the racy parts. 

Forty five years on, it was surprising how much of the book remained quite familiar to me. 

Four guys, all strangers to each other are drinking in a bar, when the world's biggest sex symbol actress, Sharon Fields appears on the TV and instantly they start offering suggestions about what they could do for her and do to her. Typical bar room sleazeballs offering up crude remarks on an unattainable woman. 

Only one of them, the dreamer has held this women close to his heart and in his head, totally obsessed, uber obsessed, seen every film – more than once, read every interview – cut out and kept, got every still photo of her – plastered on his walls, and he has a plan to give the lady what he wants, what they want and according to one or two well remembered interviews, what she wants. 

We have… Adam Malone – a part-time writer and obsessed dreamer; Kyle Shively – a hard as nails, ill-mannered, Vietnam veteran and frustrated mechanic; Howard Yost – a fat, long past it former athlete and footballer, now married with two teenage kids and working as an insurance salesman and finally Leo Brunner – a married, mild-mannered, timid accountant. The four form the fan club and we're off and running.

All four, as the novel progresses we learn are deficient in some way or other - as if contemplating and committing kidnap for sex games doesn't mark their cards ......... arrogant, brash, boastful, entitled, divorced from reality, frustrated, angry, envious, psychopathic, sociopathic, self-centred, deceitful and more.  

Irving from the initial bar scene leads us through ..... the plans for kidnap, surveillance, plotting, the deed itself and uncomfortably for the victim (and the reader) terrorisation of the actress, physical and emotional assault, followed by multiple forced rapes. The fan club have gone off script, led into action by the cruel, sadistic mechanic, the dominant one of our gang of four. Our out of touch dreamer's plans are in tatters. Sharon Fields, a helpless captive, with resistance futile, and her coerced cooperation may need the full use of her acting skills to keep her alive.

There are fascinating elements at play in the novel, many of which make it a difficult read in places..... a helpless victim at the mercy of multiple sexual predators. Is it exploitative to describe the rapes in detail? Further on as Sharon offers her physical consent to her captors, it's still rape we're privy to. We have a victim surrendering in order to survive. The enounters are again described in detail, but we have the added bonus of the victim's perspective on her participation and her motivation to tease details out regarding the identity of her kidnappers and rapists and clues to her secret location. These clues she tries to signal to the outside world, by use of one of her proxys. She plants seeds and germs of ideas in their heads individually and she manipulates them collectively to work towards her own goals of survival, freedom and revenge. Sharon's physical submission to her assailants, masks her inner steel and determination, with Irving's portrayal eventually showing her to be stronger, more intelligent, more imaginative than her initial conquerors.

Overall, I'm conflicted as to whether it's too exploitative, or whether it is pitch perfect with it's eventual outcome - for which there is a further twist and one which I'm again not entirely comfortable with.

In summary, its fast, gripping, compulsive, a page turner, exciting, interesting, topical and thought provoking. 

4 from 5

Read - (listened to) November, 2020

Published - 1974

Page count - 502 (21 hrs 17 mins)

Source - Audible purchase

Format - Audible   

TOM PICCIRILLI - THE LAST DEEP BREATH (2010)

 

Synopsis/blurb....

The Last Deep Breath follows Grey, a drifter on the search for his foster sister, who showed up for the first time in ten years with a knife in her side, then vanished without a trace.

Grey winds up in Los Angeles dealing with manipulative actresses and scummy agents, hoping to find some clue as to what happened to her after she dropped out of a porn career he didn't know about.

Another strident, urgent piece of dark fiction from the late Tom Piccirilli.

Three foster kids, tight but abused. A backlash, consequences, three lives shattered, three different directions, the passage of time, a fleeting reconnection, and no happy ending.

My kind of book, plenty of heart, plenty of heartbreak, disappointment, failure, regrets, poor choices, poor outcomes and some memorable characters set against a fascinating backdrop of the adult movie business.

The more I read from Tom Piccirilli, the more I like, the more I regret the untimely death of someone who passed too soon. I guess I can enjoy the body of work he left us. 

4.5 from 5

Tom Piccirilli's work has been enjoyed a lot over the last couple of months..... The Dead Past, Sorrow's Crown and The Nobody

Read - (listened to) October, 2020

Published - 2010

Page count - 124 (1 hr 53 mins)

Source - Audible purchase

Format - Audible