LAWRENCE BLOCK - TANNER'S VIRGIN (1968)

Synopsis/blurb.....

Presenting Evan Tanner - the first series character created by Lawrence Block, best-selling author of A Walk Among the Tombstones.

Ever since a shred of shrapnel did a number on his brain's sleep center, Even Tanner has been awake 24/7. This gives him more time than your average underachiever. Time to learn the world's languages (he's fluent in Basque, but has trouble with Chinese). Time to embrace the world's lost causes and irredentist movements (The Flat Earth Society, the League for the Restoration of Cilician Armenia, the Society of the Left Hand). Time to write term papers theses for students with more money than knowledge. And, most important, time to do his dreaming while he's wide awake. 

Phaedra Harrow, nee Deborah Horowitz, is an occasional companion of Tanner's, albeit a determined virgin. She goes off on a bargain-priced world tour - and Tanner later learns that the tour's a bargain for a reason: the London-based wanker-in-chief accepts only unattached female travelers, takes them halfway around the world to Afghanistan, and cheerfully sells them into white slavery. Next thing you know Tanner's on his way to pre-Taliban Kabul, where, you won't be surprised to learn, many interesting things happen. And that's just the beginning... 

Tanner's Virgin was originally published as Here Comes a Hero, the title supplied by some ninny at Fawcett. What were they thinking? Anyway, here it is, back again in all its glory...

Six down two to go and another Evan Tanner adventure enjoyed. This one back in late sixties Afghanistan, after a stop-off in London for some sleuthing on the trail of a young American virgin. After being sold into slavery, she's retained her youthfulness but not much more.

I wonder whether Block had some sort of crystal ball beside his typewriter back in the day, as we have a few pesky Russians plotting and poking there noses into the country about ten years ahead of schedule. Fair to say they don't actually vibe the legendary American spy, Evan Tanner's presence in their theatre of operations.

Dating, virginity, frustration, family worries, a London investigation, a violent death and on the run again, a boat trip, Russians, man overboard, France, Kabul, Russians again, a proposed revolution, slavery, a road trip, a few near misses, a rescue, a virgin turned nymphomaniac and a bit more besides.

Another fun outing. I do find it interesting that he knocked six of these Tanner books off in a remarkably short period of time, 1966-68 and they are all extremely entertaining and readable and prescient in respects of nationalism, ethnicity, identity, culture, borders, boundaries, tension, conflict, uprisings and a fluctuating political landscape. I kind of wonder what Tanner would make of a 2020 map of Europe, compared to 50 years ago.

4 from 5  


Previously enjoyed - The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep, The Canceled Czech, Tanner's Twelve Swingers, The Scoreless Thai and Tanner's Tiger. Two more to go. (One now actually)

Read - (listened to) July, 2020
Published - 1968
Page count - 206 (5 hrs 14 mins)
Source - Audible purchase after down load code received from David, one of LB's assistants
Format - Audible

MICHAEL Z. LEWIN - UNDERDOG (1993)

Synopsis/blurb......

Jan Moro is a small businessman. Very small. He dines behind restaurants and showers when he can. Jan Moro is in point of fact, homeless ... and on the run from Billy Cigar, a likely type who has made his mark murdering people in South America. How did Billy ever notice Moro? Why are the Indianapolis cops looking for Jan? It all started with a big man being mean to a small dog ... then Moro got one of his great ideas. Now he has become the world's first homeless P.I. and if he can't figure out what makes Billy Cigar burn and how to give the Law what they want ... he won't get out of this concrete jungle alive!

'... a hilarious tale' - Publishers Weekly

'... as witty as Robert B Parker' - Washington Post

A book which had high hopes for, but which disappointed me. I just couldn't get into it really until it was about half done, by which time I was kind of annoyed with it. It was just, stop start stop start and I couldn't get a feel for any real cadence or rhythm to the plot or story. Maybe it was me, maybe it was the book, but it dragged.

The focus is on Jan Moro, a man who views himself differently to how the world sees him. Moro is homeless and has grand ideas. A difficult childhood, a dead mother, a father in prison and he gets by as best he can. He has schemes and dreams; some friends and a hundred stash points for his possessions all around the town. Never too far away from whenever they might be needed, depending on the season on the streets. He eats from the back of restaurants, but he always tries to keep himself clean and presentable.

Moro stumbles on a shady operation at a deserted warehouse....... dogs - breeding or fighting, or breeding to fight, he doesn't know but he manages to interest the cops and get acquainted with nightclub owner and hoodlum Billy Cigar. There's a chance to earn some steady cash, but not without risk to his digits, or worse. The cops want to bring Billy down, Billy wants to save the dogs to keep his wife happy and have Moro take out the guy running the operation and Moro's piggy in the middle.

The second half went better than the first, probably after my wife duct taped me to the chair and removed the distraction of the laptop, and it was okay. It kind of livened up a bit and Moro eventually shows some teeth.

I quite liked the supporting character of Pete and how his relationship with Moro changed over time. Pete revealing himself to not be who we think he is. I liked the care Moro had for his absent friend Rosie and .... and that's about it. Give me a Robert B. Parker book any day.

Would have been a bang average read, if the author hadn't insisted on inserting a joke every few pages in the guise of a story or anecdote which was inveigled into the conversations of people. More of them missed than hit, though I did have the odd wry smile.

2.5 from 5

I have something else by Lewin on the pile, one I'm not obviously rushing straight towards, but I hope to read it one day and enjoy it a bit better than this.

Read - July, 2020
Published - 1993
Page count - 256
Source - purchased copy
Format - paperback

LAWRENCE BLOCK - SPEAKING OF LUST (2001)

Synopsis/blurb.....

Four old friends; a policeman, a soldier, a doctor and a priest, play cards and trade stories about sex. Mystery Writers' Grand Master Lawrence Block is the first American writer in this acclaimed series of novellas. The Daily Telegraph recently proclaimed him one of the fifty greatest crime writers of all time. Find out why in this spicy brew of lust, deception, double crosses, perversion, sexual violence and forbidden desire.

A pocket-sized paperback and a one sitting read from Lawrence Block with some fireside tales of lust, accompanied by flatulence!

A priest recounts a tale of a married couple.
A policeman recalls the fate of his jealous partner.
A soldier talks of a military man who got his thrills through taking life.
A doctor talks of a rapist and his victim.

Interesting tales, all of them each with a twist...... sex, revenge, infidelity, incest, arson, war, siblings, prison, camping, death and a helluva lot more, all laced with a splash of humour and a sprinkling of excitement.

A cracking little book.

4,5 from 5

Read - June, 2020
Published - 2001
Page count - 120
Source - owned copy
Format - paperback

AMY METZ - MURDER & MAYHEM IN GOOSE PIMPLE JUNCTION (2012)

Synopsis/blurb....

When Tess Tremaine starts a new life in the colorful town of Goose Pimple Junction, curiosity leads her to look into a seventy-five-year-old murder. Suddenly she’s learning the foreign language of southern speak, resisting her attraction to local celebrity Jackson Wright, and dealing with more mayhem than she can handle.

A bank robbery, murder, and family tragedy from the 1930s are pieces of the mystery that Tess attempts to solve. As she gets close to the truth, she encounters danger, mystery, a lot of southern charm, and a new temptation for which she’s not sure she’s ready. 

A bit of a departure from my usual reading fare and one undertaken to plug a gap in a reading challenge over on Goodreads. I needed a book authored by an Amy and this one was accessible on Audible with a download code.

It's a cosy mystery firmly set in the deep south and Goose Pimple Junction, Tennessee. Tess Tremaine relocates to the small town, after her recent divorce and soon acquires some unwanted attention of the romantic type from the local celebrity author and more worryingly a stalker type threat which escalates.... from poison notes, to a broken window, to a mugging and purse snatch and much worse before the end of the book. Why is someone hassling Tess?

The answer lies in an old town mystery of murder and robbery, of history and secrets with reputations at risk if events of the past get re-examined and resolved. As Tess digs into the town's skeletons, the narrative flip flops between the thirties and present day.

I think I struggled with the rationale that the sins of a long dead predecessor would adversely affect people's opinions and attitudes in the present day. Maybe I don't quite vibe some small town mentalities.

It wasn't the worst book I've ever encountered. Tess, herself is likable, as is her suitor, Jackson. They work closely together to solve the mystery while becoming ever closer romantically. There is a profusion of small town eccentrics and southern sayings and its a bit quirky.

I wasn't ever thrilled or excited by the book, but I was interested enough in seeing who did what and why, even though I wasn't overly convinced by their motives.

An okay listen, but not a series I'd consider continuing.

3 from 5

Read - (listened to) July, 2020
Published - 2012
Page count - 253 (11 hrs 7 mins)
Source - Audible purchase
Format - Audible

SCOTCH RUTHERFORD (ed.) - SWITCHBLADE #1 (2017)

Synopsis/blurb....

Cutting edge suspense under extreme tension. 
Quick & dirty flash fiction and sharp & deadly crime fiction at your fingertips; featuring a motley crew of 13 usual suspects, and new blood. 
This is it: the first cut of Switchblade. 
No-limit crime culture springs to life at the hands of Paul D. Brazill, Preston Lang, Liam Sweeny, Steve Liskow, Jim Wilsky, Larry Kelter, William Dylan Powell, Susan Cornford, Travis Richardson, Jack Bates, Tom Leins, Fred Zackel, and Scotch Rutherford.

A decent collection of short and longer stories curated by Scotch Rutherford, including some favourite authors - Preston Lang, Tom Leins and Paul D. Brazill, as well as stories from other names I'm familiar with and who have a presence in my library, but who I haven't read much from yet.

Contents
Message from the editor
FLASH
Paul D. Brazill - Getting Away With It
Jim J. Wilsky - Gut Wrenching
Fred Zachel - Re-Election
Scotch Rutherford - Primed
Susan Cornford - Urban Legend #223
FICTION
Tom Leins - The Stooge
Liam Sweeny - Rats
Steve Liskow - That's Alright Mama
Lawrence Kelter - Taste For Danger
William Dylan Powell - The Apex Predator
Preston Lang - North Creek Brown
Travis Richardson - Stranger in a Bar
Jack Bates - Killing Time so I Can Dig Myself a Deeper Grave
AUTHOR BIOS and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I enjoyed most of the stories, though surprisingly the one which disappointed me was one which I was looking forward to the most - Preston Lang. I just didn't vibe it.

I really liked.....

Liam Sweeny's Rats..... an act of duty carried out in the memory of a friendship.

Powell's The Apex Predator... a police diver, a discovery and a life-changing event, and luck running out.

Kelter's Taste For Danger .... a boat trip and some bloody revenge

Liskow - That's Alright Mama.... guitar lessons with a difference

Susan Cornford's flash piece Urban Legend #223 ... the shortest piece in the book, but one of the biggest kickers.

Not that my reading is especially gender balanced, but in reading future editions of the magazine/book I'd like to see a few more female contributors. (Or is that political correctness?)


4 from 5

Switchblade: Stiletto Heeled (ed. Lisa Douglass) - funny enough a female only edition has been enjoyed before.

Read - June, 2020
Published - 2017
Page count - 112
Source - purchased copy
Format - paperback

WES MARKIN - THE SILENCE OF SEVERANCE (2019)

Synopsis/blurb....

Your wedding day should be the most unforgettable day of your life. And this is one wedding that will never be forgotten.

When a police officer’s wedding day ends in brutality and chaos, DCI Michael Yorke is pulled away from his own wedding and into the bloodiest chain of events Wiltshire has ever seen.

As a heatwave tightens its grip on Salisbury, Yorke and his team face a race against time to find the most sinister and intelligent adversary they have ever faced. Christian Severance. But as the team chase Severance into the shadows of a dark past, Yorke’s own history starts to drag itself into the present. 

Can they stop Christian Severance before he achieves the unthinkable? And will Yorke survive the revelations that claw at him from the darkness?

Four and out for me I'm afraid. I just can't be bothered with this type of stuff..... madness, murder, mutilation, mayhem = boredom, balderdash, bollocks (total) and brain turning to mush.

Plusses - ok the writing's not bad, there's an over-riding story arc concerning the main detective Michael Yorke, someone I feel like I've gotten to know a bit better over the course of a few books. I don't dislike him, I don't especially like him - indifference at best I suppose. He's a decent copper, he leads his team well, he inspires loyalty, most of the time and he gets results.

Pace is ok, the tension ramps up and there's an increasing urgency towards the climax of the book.

Minuses.... I really can't be arsed with serial killers. I don't doubt they exist but I'm unconvinced that they have all somehow gravitated to Salisbury in Wiltshire. I'd far rather read about an accidental murder, a by-product of a mugging gone wrong or a botched robbery or a love triangle.... anything but the cunning plan where murder follows murder, follows pointless murder, and all because little Johnny wet the bed and used to get locked in a cupboard as a boy, after doing so. Not here actually, but you get my drift.

Wes Markin has his fans and good luck to him and them. May they be very happy together, but deal me out.

Not the worst book ever, just one that bored me silly and which I couldn't wait to end. I had it on Audible so it did kind of help the work day go a bit quicker. And there's a bit of me that perversely needed to hear where it was all going to end up, the further the novel descended into farce and grotesque. I don't know if there's a yardstick for these types of books where if five people got murdered in the last one, the book might be twice as thrilling if you have ten die this time around? I didn't keep score though.

A Lesson in Crime, One Last Prayer For the Rays, The Repenting Serpent have all been previously enjoyed or endured - take your pick.

Read - (listened to) July, 2020
Published - 2019
Page count - 314 (7 hrs 35 mins)
Source - Audible purchase
Source - Audible
 

DAVID CRAIG (aka BILL JAMES) - THE SQUEEZE (1974)

Synopsis/blurb...

'Listen Forman, if you don't go through with it ... no police, no switches of van ... I reckon I'll kill you'

When security tycoon Robert Forman's daughter and mistress are kidnapped, it's the first move in a big robbery that needs every angle covered.

The kidnappers want co-operation instead of cash.

The snag is Jim 'Bottle' Naboth - a policeman who found booze the fastest way out of the force - because Forman's mistress is Naboth's wife ...

On his own and dying for a drink, 'Bottle' Naboth's making his come-back - the hardest way there is...

A bit of 70s Brit Grit crime fiction from celebrated Harpur and Iles series author, Bill James, albeit one that was put out pseudonymously. In all James has had nearly 20 novels published as David Craig.  The Squeeze was not the original title of the book. It was first published as Whose Little Girl Are You? Warner Brothers turned it into a film, released in 1977 starring Stacy Keach, David Hemmings and Freddie Starr. I have a copy of the DVD which I tracked down, but haven't watched it yet.

Like a lot of books from the time, it's short and to the point while still offering enough in the way of character development. The main focus is Jim Naboth, an ex-cop with a drinking problem and two young boys to look after. His wife Jill has deserted him. You kind of wonder about what woman would desert her binge-drinking husband and leave the two kids behind, but actually there's method in her madness. Her rationale - take the boys, he drinks himself to death. Leave the boys, he doesn't. He gets his head out of his jacksie and puts the bottle away, or at least turns to it less often.

Naboth does exactly that and rediscovers a sense of purpose ..... foil the kidnappers, save the wife and rescue his love rival's daughter, Christine at the same time.

I enjoyed it without being blown away. Decent story, interesting characters and motivations. I liked the uneasy alliance which developed between Naboth and Forman, as Naboth manages to assert himself a bit more forcibly as the book progresses. I liked the chemistry between Jill and her boyfriend's daughter, something which develops during their captivity.

I liked the idea that the kidnap itself wasn't for money, but as a means of exerting pressure on Forman to allow his security firm's vans to be robbed. It's a bit of a twist on the banker's family held hostage at home trope, while the banker empties the vault for the bad guys.`

Decent action, decent resolution - glad to have finally read it after sitting it on the TBR pile for a fair few years.

4 from 5

Read - June, 2020
Published - 1974
Page count - 144
Source - owned copy
Format - paperback

*I also have a copy of the book published under it's original title