CRIME FICTION - VARIATIONS ON A THEME

I don't always want to read about murders and serial killers and the police in my daily dose of crime reading.....grifters, scammers, ex-cons, hitmen, bank robbers, burglars, pickpockets, pimps, strippers, whores, bouncers, bartenders, waitresses, loan sharks, bookies, hustlers, drug addicts, gamblers, delinquents and chancers often provide me with a lot more entertainment. 

A few favourite authors and books below….(ok they probably feature murders and cops, but I know what I mean, even if I can’t articulate it too well.)

Tom Kakonis – Timothy Waverly character – Michigan Roll, Double Down, Criss Cross

Kakonis wrote 3 or 4 novels in the late eighties/early nineties about a college professor-ex-con-professional gambler - Waverly. I know I read and loved the first and at least one more in the series. Unfortunately the problem with older books is that when you hunt for blurbs (inaccurate or otherwise) to try and spread the word and entice fellow readers to give him a try, they’re a bit sparse and thin on the ground.

The best I can come up with is the following for Michigan Roll ………... harsh story about killers and gamblers in a deadly game of chance. Timothy Waverley is a professor turned gambler just out of prison. Helping a woman called Midnight means taking on two sadistic killers called Gleep and Shadow. Doesn’t actually inspire you to rush out and buy a copy does it?

A lot of authors I like aren’t especially well known. Kakonis never attained more than mid-list status with his publisher. After a few books he was dropped and subsequently penned a couple more novels which were released under a pseudonym of Adam Barrow – Flawless and Blind Spot. I have read and enjoyed one of these.  His publisher didn’t promote the books and they bombed, despite receiving some acclaim.

There’s a discussion concerning Kakonis on the RARA-AVIS site. Kakonis himself corresponded with the host and you can feel his disillusionment with writing and publishing…… Anyway (and to wind down this melancholy tale), after that debacle all of my proposals and sample chapter ideas were summarily rejected, as was the fate of a novel written in silence and desperation and completed in the summer of 1997. By then I guess I felt that the game was no longer worth the candle, in the words of the old saw. Of course, when I see a message like yours (forwarded to me by a nephew, by the way) I'm almost tempted to get back into the fray one more time, and I do thank you for the kind words on my earlier novels. I'm particularly pleased that there's at least one other person out there who enjoyed CRISS CROSS, which I believe, on reflection, may be the best work I've done."

Whilst I haven’t yet read everything he’s written and he’s not had a new book out in 15 plus years, I’m still saddened by the fact he’s no longer writing and getting published.

Anthony Bourdain – Celebrity Chef, TV personality and author – Gone Bamboo, Bobby Gold, Bone in the Throat

My first taste of Bourdain was his Bobby Gold series of stories which are loosely connected and form a short novel maybe 130 pages long. I’ve read it a few times and it never fails to impress, entertain and touch me. He doesn’t only have a deft hand in the kitchen. Gone Bamboo is somewhat longer, but just as satisfying.

Bobby Gold…….Gold is security chief at a mob-run New York nightclub by night, and reluctant bone breaker and enforcer for Eddie - his college roommate and friend - by day. Emerging from an upstate prison with an imposing physique and a reputation for skilled brutalitiy, he is a lonely child in a hulking body.

Gone Bamboo……Henry and his wife, Frances, live an idyllic life as two of the Caribbean's most charming ex-pats (and professional assassins). But when Donnie, a powerful capo, is relocated to the island the scene is set for an Elmore Leonard-style mix of low life and high comedy.

Steven Bochco – Death by Hollywood

Bochco is a Hollywood writer and producer, with notable hits to his name……..Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blues to mention a couple. He has also turned his hand to writing with just one novel penned, which kind of annoys me. It was so good, I wanted more from him.

Death by Hollywood……….One evening, spying on his Hollywood Hills neighbours through his $4,000 electronic telescope, Bobby witnesses a beautiful woman making love to a handsome Latin actor called Ramon. As their pillow talk turns ugly, Bobby watches in horror as the woman appears to bludgeon her lover to death with his own acting trophy. Instead of rushing to the cops, Bobby decides to find out more about the events that led up to the crime, and to use the material for his next movie

screenplay. However, when he sneaks into the actor's apartment, the discovery he makes changes his life forever. Empowered by his secret knowledge, Bobby is able to seduce the beautiful woman, while forging a unique friendship with Detective Dennis Farentino, the cop in charge of the investigation. Before long Bobby has dragged the detective, his wife, his lover, and his agent into a Hollywood fun-house hall of mirrors, where only the most manipulative player will survive.

Norman Green – Sick Like That, Shooting Dr. Jack, Dead Cat Bounce plus others

Can you tag an author as one of your favourites even if you’ve only read 1 book from about 6 that’s he’s written? You can in my world. I read Shooting Dr. Jack maybe 5 or 6 years ago and loved it. Loved it so much I promptly acquired a copy of everything else he’d ever written. (Unsurprisingly!)

So why haven't I read more from him? I'm kind of putting them off, because part of my reading enjoyment, somewhat perversely stems from the anticipation of reading something, almost as much as devouring the prose themselves. I can pick these up and scan the back cover and maybe read the first page or two and then put it back down to be enjoyed at a later date. Once I have cracked the spine and started reading it, the anticipation and surprise element disappears! Well I never said I wasn't a bit weird did I?  

Shooting Dr. Jack…………… It takes considerable skill to craft a gripping novel approaching 300 pages in which nothing much happens during the first 150. Fortunately for the readers of Norman Green's first book, Shooting Dr. Jack, Green's got the knack, in spades. His characters aren't drawn, they're acid-etched. His landscape, seamlessly rendered, is a gray, emotionless void:

Fall through the cracks of a better and kinder world, and you find yourself on Troutman Street. Dreams of a new world die in her sweatshops, cars and trucks die in her chop shops and junkyards, children die in her vacant lots, shooting one another for the right to sell crack on the two or three big intersections, junkies die wherever they happen to be when they shoot up--hallways, alleys, parking lots.

Tommy Rosselli, a.k.a. Fat Tommy, a.k.a. Tommy Bagadonuts, is a relatively brilliant entrepreneur who, while largely operating beyond the law, nonetheless owns a good and honest heart. Stoney, Tommy's brutal partner in a shady Brooklyn junkyard, is a smoldering alcoholic struggling to bring his body, soul, wife, and kids into some approximation of normalcy. And 18-year-old Eddie Tuco, an illiterate "Nuyorican" who works for Tommy and Stoney, faces temptation, redemption, and loss as a result.

Tommy and Stoney need to find out who left two dead teenagers in the junkyard, who killed their accountant, who ambushed Tommy in his apartment, who's been shadowing their employees, and why. Tuco does too, but he's got some demons to wrestle and scores to settle on his own. Rounding out this vision of desperation are the eponymous Dr. Jack--the name of both a drug and its dealer, which affect their users as Dr. Kevorkian affects his patients--and the junkyard's blighted Troutman Street landscape itself.

Not a mystery in the truest sense and not a thriller by most standards, Shooting Dr. Jack is both of those things and more. It's intelligent, it grabs like a vice in due course, and its dialogue and narrative resonate with urban grit and truth. --Michael Hudson

Dead Cat Bounce…..Stoney gave up drinking, but it couldn't save his marriage. Leaving the big house in New Jersey to his wife and kids, he's living in the City-still working the profitable, if not 100 percent legal, angles with his partner, "Fat Tommy Bagadonuts." Then, out of the blue, Stoney's teenage daughter shows up with a problem: an unwanted admirer who needs to be cooled down . . . or eliminated.

But the secrets Marisa's been keeping from her father-like her night job as an exotic dancer-can't compare with those being guarded by the mysterious and violent man who's stalking her: a dangerous enigma with no past and a made-up name. He does, however, have lots of money-which makes him a very tempting mark for Stoney, Tommy, and their young streetwise "apprentice," Tuco. But people who look too closely into this guy's history have a habit of turning up dead.

Sick Like That……….PI Marty Stiles was shot and paralyzed and is now in rehab, trying to decide whether to fight to recover. Meanwhile, his agency is being run by two women: the street-smart and savvy Alessandra Martillo, who's the muscle, and Sarah Waters, a naïve, single mom, new to the job but who

This follow-up to The Last Gig features a tough and edgy, one-of-a-kind heroine - an entirely fresh take on the hardboiled women private investigators who dominate so many crime fiction classics.

quickly becomes the brains. Though the two women grew up only a few miles from each other in Brooklyn, it might as well have been worlds apart. Now they're partners, and for all their differences, are committed to their joint venture. When Sarah's deadbeat ex-husband gets into trouble, Al would rather let him suffer, but she agrees to help Sarah figure out where he is and why another man has ended up dead.

A few other favourites in no particular order…….Charlie Stella, Lou Berney, Joseph Koenig, Eugene Izzi, Gerald Petievich

PASCAL GARNIER - THE FRONT SEAT PASSENGER

Synopsis/blurb......

Fabien and Sylvie both knew their marriage wasn't working. But when Sylvie is involved in a fatal car accident, Fabien is stunned to discover she had a lover who died with her. Harbouring thoughts of revenge, he tracks down the lover's widow, Martine, and begins stalking her. Fabien is desperate to get Martine on her own. And that won't happen until he deals with her protective best friend, Madeleine...

Another new to me author and one who is sadly no longer with us. French author Garnier died in March 2010. Gallic Books have so far published 5 of Garnier’s short slices of French noir, with a sixth The Islanders due out in November of this year. Thanks to Jose - The Game's Afoot  (The Panda Theory review) and Sarah at Crimepieces (The Front Seat Passenger review) for bringing Garnier to my attention.

There’s a lot to like with this book. It’s short – always a plus in my reading world, dark and a little bit disturbing. I was reminded of a Stephen King book and film at one point when Garnier turned the plot on its head. I won’t name check the book because it may reveal a bit too much about things and I wouldn’t want to go spoiling things for anyone.

We have an interesting main character, Fabien. Someone who I was rooting for without ever actually liking him. He’s a bit too passive and lethargic to actually feel any great sympathy for him. He has a strange, uncomfortable relationship with his father and only one good friend in his life.

We have a couple of strong females, Madeleine and Sylvie. Neither are particularly likeable and warming, though they’re perhaps a lot more interesting because of this. No family with the demise of Sylvie’s husband and only each other, until Fabien unwittingly engineers an introduction.  

Great set-up, great twist, touches of humour and dispassionate violence. Odd characters, with their own secrets and hang-ups and foibles.

Verdict – quirky and unlike anything I have read for a while.   

                        

5 from 5.

Always one to impulsively stockpile books ahead of sampling an author,

How’s the Pain, The A26, Moon in a Dead Eye and The Panda Theory are all waiting for me. I don't think I will be regretting my pre-emptive purchasing!   

   

Grateful thanks to Emily at Gallic for my copy of this. Their website is here. 

2 BY T. JEFFERSON PARKER

I first read Parker back in the late 80's, enjoying his first couple of books Laguna Heat and Little Saigon. I kind of dipped in and out of him over the past 15 years or so, with him falling off my radar for a while. Both these books were kept in the library for a future re-read and I hope I get around to them someday.

He has penned about 10 standalone books, in addition to a series of three featuring Merci Rayborn an Orange County detective (haven't read these ones) and six books so far in the Charlie Hood series.





Parker is a pretty good writer from memory - a fact borne out by a couple of Edgar wins an further nominations for Egdar, Anthony and Macavity Awards, all of them in the best novel category.

LA Outlaws is the first and The Jaguar is the fifth in the series. Obviously books 2,3 and 4 are around somewhere. For those kindred spirits and impulsive souls the full series is as follows:

Charlie Hood
1. L.A. Outlaws (2008)
2. The Renegades (2009)
3. Iron River (2009)
4. The Border Lords (2011)
5. The Jaguar (2012)
6. The Famous and the Dead (2013)

Rush out and buy now!

LA Outlaws

Los Angeles is gripped by the exploding celebrity of Allison Murietta, her real identity unknown, a modern-day Jesse James with the compulsion to steal beautiful things, the vanity to invite the media along, and the conscience to donate much of her bounty to charity. Nobody ever gets hurt--until a job ends with ten gangsters lying dead and a half- million dollars worth of glittering diamonds missing.


Rookie Deputy Charlie Hood discovers the bodies, and he prevents an eyewitness--a schoolteacher named Suzanne Jones--from leaving the scene in her Corvette. Drawn to a mysterious charisma that has him off-balance from the beginning, Hood begins an intense affair with Suzanne. As the media frenzy surrounding Allison's exploits swells to a fever pitch and the Southland's most notorious killer sets out after her, a glimmer of recognition blooms in Hood, forcing him to choose between a deeply held sense of honor and a passion that threatens to consume him completely. With a stone-cold killer locked in relentless pursuit, Suzanne and Hood continue their desperate dance around the secrets that brought them together, unsure whether each new dawn may signal the day their lies catch up with them.


The Jaguar

Erin McKenna, a beautiful songwriter married to a crooked Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, is kidnapped by Benjamin Armenta, the ruthless leader of the powerful Gulf Cartel. But his demands turn out to be as unusual as the crumbling castle in which Erin is kept. She is ordered to compose a unique narcocoriddo, a modern-day folk ballad of the kind that have recorded the exploits of the drug dealers, gunrunners, and outlaws who have highlighted Mexican history for generations. Under threat of death, Armenta orders Erin to tell his life story - in music - and write 'the greatest narcocorrido of all time.' Allowed to wander the dark hallways of the castle retreat with only a guitar and a mysterious old priest to keep her company, Erin must produce the most beautiful song that these men have ever heard. As the mesmerizing music and lyrics of Erin's song cascade from the jungle hideout, they serve as a siren song to the two men who love Erin: her outlaw husband, Bradley Smith, and the lawman Charlie Hood - two men who together have the power to rescue her. Here, amid the ancient beauty and haunted landscape of the Yucatecan lowlands, the long-simmering rivalry between these men will be brought closer to its explosive finale. T. Jefferson Parker, who is widely hailed as his generation's most accomplished and talented crime novelist, delivers a crime thriller that dramatically redefines the landscape of the cartel wars as an epic clash of good and evil.

APRIL ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY.........SOME OF AT LEAST

I don't think I have been so bad this month regarding acquisitions though it has been a month that has seen more in than read and out - so the library continues to grow.

Getting boring now and everyone has heard it all before, but I'm going to make a concerted effort to cease adding come May!

All new to me authors with the exception of having previously read Mike Resnick's first Eli Paxton mystery a month or two ago - this is his 3rd. I have read a couple of Todd Robinson's short stories before on-line at Thug-Lit.  The Bingham is the second in the series, the first is unread.

Favourite covers - Volt and Beams Falling and Old School - they kind of give off a Reservoir Dogs vibe.

Least interesting - probably Spying on Strange Men, though it does set you a hook.

Some of what came in......

Charity shop buy 

From publisher.

Blogged about by Mr Brazill

Treat from my wife for being a good boy!

Short stories from American South

Reviewed by Prashant.

Treat from wife

Aussie Crime

Aussie crime

Intriguing title

Aussie female crime

Aussie female crime

From publisher

Debut from editor of Thug-Lit

APRIL 2014 READING LIST AND PICK OF THE MONTH

April as far as reading numbers has gone has been dire - 6 books in total!  I haven't had a month in the the past 3 years plus, when I started re-recording things with as skinny a figure as that. Factor in DeLee's book being 55 pages only and I'm definitely struggling with my reading.

This year I have completed 32 books with a page count of 7584 
January     8 (2045)
February   9 (1769
March       9 (2424)
April         6 (1346)

This time last year - the figures were somewhat better - 58 books - 15914 pages.
January    15 (4433)
February  13 (3994)
March      16 (3940)
April         14 (3547)

Some bugger has nicked my bloody mojo and I want it back! Now please! 

Looking at the reading stat.s for the year though, they made off with it whilst I was seeing in the New Year! Any hints for getting back on track anyone?

Factors which have effected my reading  - trees and football definitely.

Trees - we had a 40 foot section of tree from a neighbour's garden come down in a storm and flatten my garden shed, wiping out some of my tools as well. I had arguments - ok discussions then, with his and my insurance company and the upshot was. It was my problem and my policy didn't cover me for removal. I got a quote for removal and the figure given had me thinking that the guy possibly was looking to retire a day or two after doing the job. I think the Dick Turpin fancy dress costume he was wearing when he showed up to quote the job, should have perhaps tipped me off as to what was coming.

Anyway, I have with the assistance of the rest of the Keane team managed to remove it, gradually slowly and painstakingly from the fence and shed. Which then left me the task of cutting it up into bite-sized chunks to enable me to get it around the front of our property for disposal over the next 6 months via the council and my green bin. Whilst I wasn't really in the mood for this, I have subsequently spent a few weekends judiciously pruning other trees, this time - my trees in my garden. My shed was covered plus the tools, but despite agreeing a figure before Easter I still haven't received anything yet.

I'm still narked that the insurers have basically told me to jog-on and someone's else's tree coming down hits me in my wallet and eats up most of my recent free time. I ought to let it go, but this one is gonna bug me for a good while yet!  (Never let it be said that I'm one to hold onto a grudge, but I've only just gotten over the fact that one of my sisters cried when she was told she had a baby brother - namely ME - all those years ago. Apparently she was after a rabbit.)

Football - whilst I stopped going a few years ago, apart from the odd match with my youngest daughter, it still retains an importance in my life. I did a post regarding the joys and pitfalls of being a Luton fan. But as we approached the climax of the season and an impending promotion back to the football league, I kind of found myself distracted whenever Luton or one of our close rivals played.....working out various permutations and scenarios. At least we got the job done in the month and I can enjoy some reading without the distraction of anxiously looking out for each match and staring monotonously at a laptop screen following game scores on a football website.

Lifestyle, age and tiredness - possibly. 

Face it I'm an old git and my eyes aren't as great as they used to be. They reckon as you get older, apparently you need less sleep. Never one to go with the flow, I have obviously bucked the trend and decided I need more not less. If I'm not tucked up in bed by about 10.15 latest, I'm a proper grump. Conversely though I do rise early - before 5am most mornings and not an awful lot later at weekends.

I have been out walking 2 to 3 miles distance, 3 or 4 times a week, with the odd time doing it as a run. Since my working role has evolved to sitting at a desk on a PC, eating donuts and drinking coffee, I'm far less active than I ever was previously. Hence my weight has crept upwards in the past 10 years or so to an all time high. An old joke, but early February I had more Chins than a Chinese phone book.

Efforts are being taken to address this - successfully so far, with over a stone and a half off in the past two months. If the consequences of addressing this means I have 3 or 4 less hours a week reading-time, so be it. If I'm lighter and a bit more active in general then at some point I should see an increase in my energy levels, which will then translate back to needing less sleep and having more reading time - so WIN/WIN eventually.

Anyway to those who have read thus far and stuck with me - back to those books!

From a quality perspective the standard was great with 3 x 5 stars competing for my book of the month.
Steinhauer got April off to a flyer with The Cairo Effect, which I didn't think would be bettered. Freedman's Doheny book almost equalled it, but still merited a top score. Then McKinty comes along and nails me with one that ripped off the pages.

Book of the month - McKinty I reckon just pinches it. Partly swayed, by the fact that he once sent me a couple of his books, so he's a nice bloke,  plus he's Irish and the other fellah isn't. (Irish that is.)

April's pick of the month - The Cold Cold Ground - Adrian McKinty  


Extra analysis, which shouldn't take long - no Scottish reads, no American State reads, 1 Espionage, nothing Vintage, nothing off the TBR pile, 1 female - cheers Moira for setting that one up, nothing Australian or New Zealand.

Female tally is 6 from 32, so just below my 20% target, which should be easily rectified.

3 of the authors were new to me.

1 book disappointed, 1 book was okay - enjoyable but not really my thing - Araminta Hall's Dot and the short DeLee book was good/great in parts.

April's reads below in detail.

Olen Steinhauer - The Cairo Affair (5)

David Delee - Cop Shot (4)

Araminta Hall - Dot (3)

J.F. Freedman - Turn Left at Doheny (5)

A.J. Riccio -  Only the Strong Survive (2)

Adrian McKinty - The Cold Cold Ground (5)


Looking forward to May - it can only get better!

APRIL FILMS AND TV

Mr Memory, I'm not. I'm fairly sure I watched more than I can remember here, but if I don't make a note of it then it's lost to me, until some random moment in the future when I will see something that sparks some recollection. The only think I can think that kind of stops beating myself up over these frustrating lapses, are that if I can't remember something then that would indicate it couldn't have been that memorable in the first place.

There's a lot of part watched films I've enjoyed and suffered through in April for a variety of reasons.
Several of the Harry Potter's were repeated on and around Easter and despite seeing them more than once in the past, they are guaranteed entertainment for the family. Don't those kids look young?





With my head distracted by Luton's efforts achieve promotion back to the Football League and the uncertainty that surrounded it....... the closer it came to reality, the further away the finishing line seemed...I sort of dipped in and out of them. Happy days we got there in the end and at the season's climax had actually clinched the title by a massive 19 points over Cambridge. We played a lot better, once the pressure was off. Roll on next season.

The same could be said for The Forbidden Kingdom - a martial arts flick with Jackie Chan and Jet Li and one of the Rush Hour flicks with Chris Tucker and Mr Chan again. It might have been number 3, but it was the one where some of the flick is set in Paris.















George Clooney's The Descendants was also on TV recently. Fortunately I didn't take the head out of a book long enough to be bored comatose by this. When I did pay attention, my thoughts were - what a load of crap!

Went to watch The Tailor of Panama with Pierce Brosnan and Geoffrey Rush - a film based on a John Le Carre novel and found that my secondhand DVD was actually a Region 1 disc so we couldn't play it. That's a whole pound wasted and I'm fairly sure the person who sold it to me is still sniggering. I was looking forward to this as I do like a bit of espionage and intrigue and having recently enjoyed Rush's performance in The Book Thief was keen to see more of him. TTOP also has Jamie Lee Curtis and a young Daniel Radcliffe.



Put on What's Eating Gilbert Grape instead and started but never finished that. My son went to the pub half way through and we went to bed. Hopefully we get back to it in May. The film is 20 years old but it does surpriseme how fresh faced and young both Johnny Depp and Leonardo De Caprio both look. John C Reilly also figures.





Two films I can claim to have seen start to finish, both of which I have seen before were Taken and the cunningly titles sequel Taken 2. These are my youngest daughter's favourite films and she would have us watching them every week if we let her. Liam Neeson is pretty terrific in both films as he takes on a whole bunch of Albanian crooks. By the end of the second, I was kind of wondering whether there were any surviving Albanian males between the ages of 25 and 60 left on the planet, as he does seem to hasten the passage to the after-life for a considerable number of them.




Watched a bit of Criminal Minds Season 9 - youngest daughter's favourite show and if we aren't sitting through another re-run of Taken she will be happy for us to re-watch old episodes of this while staying up to date on the current series. I don't mind it to be honest. I quite like Matthew Gray Gubler.

Matthew Gray Gubler

We watched some NCIS which may have been repeats. I never used to like this as I didn't especially warm to Mark Harmon as Gibbs the team leader. A bit too good looking for his own good in my opinion, but I have slowly come around to enjoying  this one. I do like the dynamic between the team and it's a decent way to spend the best part of an hour at least one evening a week. We did try NCIS Los Angeles with LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell but it wasn't a hit in our house.

The Original!

Not as good as the original.

Fargo

We taped the first episode of Fargo which aired a week or two ago. My mate Keishon doesn't rate it, but I'm keen to give it a go. Stars Martin Freeman of The Office and Sherlock fame. I'm recording the series so I'll get to it at some point.

Mark Addy

Lastly we got a Game of Thrones box set during March and have watched a couple of episodes of season one so far. Interesting, there's a lot of intrigue, double dealing and sex so far. My son pretty much tells me to expect more of the same as he has seen the first three series online and is currently watching the fourth. Sean Bean stars plus the fat dude from behind the meat counter in Trollied.