LARRY BEINHART - THE DEAL GOES DOWN (2022)

 

Synopsis/blurb….

A legendary, Edgar-Award winning writer returns, and so does his legendary detective, with a gripping thriller about marital discord, contract killing, off-piste skiing and the deep state...

Ex-private eye Tony Casella lives in the Catskill mountains, a lonely old tough guy whose body can no longer do what it once did.  His wife and son are dead; his daughter barely talks to him; his bank is in the process of foreclosing on his home.

But a chance encounter with a rich young woman on a train changes everything. He is hired to take care of her superrich, sexual predator husband. That job leads to others and he joins a small start-up whose mission is to save women from abusive marriages. Provided their spouses are in the top 0.01%. It's a luxury service destined to make great profits. 

Tony’s problems seem to be over, but are they? An old, angry associate is determined to get his cut of Tony’s earnings, murky government agents start to tail him, and when he is sent to the Austrian alps to kill a Russian oligarch and rescue his American wife, all hell breaks loose…

Packed with action The Deal Goes Down is an unforgettable portrait of a Lion in Winter who still has a few tricks up his sleeve, from a writer garlanded with awards and critical acclaim and whose novel American Hero was made into the classic film, Wag the Dog.

This was my first time trying author Larry Beinhart’s work, but after this cracking outing with ex-PI Tony Casella it’s definitely not going to be my last.

The Deal Goes Down put ticks in all the boxes for me - character, story, pace, setting and outcome. Not being overly long was also a plus.

Our main character is a 70 year old widowed ex-PI. He's just about to lose his house to the bank. On his way back from a friend's funeral a woman approaches him on a train, asking him to kill her husband for money. The money sounds appealing, but the thought of dealing with an amateur and then spending his remaining days behind bars, less so.

Casella though is interested and we're off and running. And I was hooked.

Casella is clever, but not irritatingly so and he's sympathetic. I was rooting for him throughout. He has a cunning and intelligence and hard earned experience of controlling people and managing situations but at times here he's still caught off guard. He doesn't suffer fools gladly.

The story develops from a possible involvement in a murder for hire scheme, an ongoing business arrangement/partnership, an accidental death that enhances Casella's credibility while also leaving him open to blackmail and possibly worse, as he's suspects he is being followed by persons unknown.

I really liked the premise of the story and the twists and turns the author injected into the narrative. I liked the inclusion of real life figures and events into the tale and I enjoyed the wit and humour the author produced. I loved the fact that author Larry Beinhart was an acquaintance of Casella's and played a minor part in proceedings. I liked the minor conflict between Casella and his suitors, as they try and manipulate him over his payment.

Money, banks, amateur plotters, marital discontent, ambitions, plans, tension, conflict, humour, death, a shakedown, a trip overseas and a lot more besides.

Very, very satisfying. I'll be checking out Tony Casella's previous adventures.

5 from 5

Read – August, 2022

Published – 2022

Page count – 288

Source – review copy from publisher, Melville House

Format – Paperback 

LAWRENCE BLOCK - HUNTING BUFFALO WITH BENT NAILS (2019)

Synopsis/blurb….

While he is probably best known as a novelist and short-story writer, Lawrence Block has produced a rich trove of nonfiction over the course of a sixty-year career. His instructional books for writers are leaders in the field, and his self-described pedestrian memoir, Step By Step, has found a loyal audience in the running and racewalking community.

Over the years, Block has written extensively for magazines and periodicals. Generally Speaking collects his philatelic columns from Linn’s Stamp News, while his extensive observations of crime fiction, along with personal glimpses of some of its foremost practitioners, have won wide acclaim in book form as The Crime of Our Lives.

Hunting Buffalo With Bent Nails is what he’s got left over.

The title piece, originally published in American Heritage, recounts the ongoing adventure Block and his wife undertook, criss-crossing the United States and parts of Canada in their quixotic and exotic quest to find every “village, hamlet, and wide place in the road named Buffalo.” Other travel tales share space with a remembrance of his mother, odes to New York, a disquisition on pen names and book tours, and, well, no end of bent nails not worth straightening. Where else will you find “Raymond Chandler and the Brasher Doubloon,” an assessment of that compelling writer from a numismatic standpoint? Where else can you read about Block’s collection of old subway cars?

A fantastic collection of bits and pieces from favourite author, Lawrence Block. Essays and recollections of family, travelling at home and abroad, memories of other authors, friendships and some of their books, plenty of bits and bobs on New York and his long association with the city and some book introductions that he has penned over the years.

More for my own amusement than anyone's elses. The book comprises:

FOREWARD

ABRIDGE THIS .... an essay on some of his books which have been transcribed for audio and why he regrets having allowed some to be truncated. Not any more they won't be.

ALL MY BEST EYES ARE PRIVATE .... real ones he's met and imaginary ie Matt Scudder

ALONE TOO LONG .... some short story origins and the solitude he experienced when they were conceived

APOCALYPSE IN A SMALL TOWN ... a 1948 trip with his father, his novel Small Town, 9/11 in New York

BACK IN THE DAY WITH DVR ... Dave Van Ronk, a singer, a musician, a reminiscence of a 45 year friendship, memories - present and fading, a lamented passing

THE BALLAD OF THE POUND ... a poem, hmm quickly moving on

THE BUMPY ROAD TO INSPIRATION ... a travel essay, Egypt, China, camels, Bangkok, Myanmar

CHEERS FOR THE MUCH-MALIGNED MOTEL ... no fixed abode, motel hopping and some handy hints for travellers

COLLECTING OLD SUBWAY CARS ... NYC subway, anecdotes, scenes in his books, comparisons with other cities, crime,

DONALD E. WESTLAKE ... a 40 year friendship, the variety of his work, a lost book and more

EAST SIDE, WEST SIDE ... Larry Ritter, boxing, baseball

FOLLOW THE SERENDIPITY ROAD ... travelling on Buffalo hunts, corn places, wax museums, Seven-Up cans, a clay factory, a local court

GAMBLERS, SWINDLERS, KILLERS AND THIEVES ... an intro to an anthology of the same name

GETTING BUSTED ... a recounting of an incident as a young man down Mexico way

GREENWICH VILLAGE THROUGH THE YEARS ... the neighbourhood, Block's memories of it, the attitude, the changes over time, Bernie Rhodenbarr

HAM FOR BREAKFAST ... another intro this time to Jewish Noir 2

"Here's every Jewish holiday in three sentences:

(1) "They tried to kill us."

(2) "We survived."

(3) "Let's eat."

HOW TO BE A WRITER WITHOUT WRITING ANYTHING ... ego and avarice rule, get paid without putting in the hard yards. I never knew V.C. Andrews had written 78 novels after her death. Ditto (but change the numbers) Robert B. Parker, Robert Ludlum, Rex Stout, Mickey Spillane etc etc. 

I do like the fact that Block seems unwilling to consider loaning out Scudder or Bernie to A. N. Other author. 

Or curate an anthology and get a band of author friends and associates to chip in. see Collectibles, In Sunlight or in Shadow, At Home in the Dark etc etc 

HOW WE'VE CHANGED ... the erosion of regionalism and the rise of the chain/franchise in the US

HUNTING BUFFALO ... late 80s and road tripS with wife Lynne tracking down Buffalos on the map..... 3 counties, 18 towns, plus Springs, Gaps, Valleys, Creeks, a list of 76 different locales follows

INTRODUCING MANHATTAN: A DARK DUET .... another introductory essay - actually two essays

LISTOWEL, A SPECIAL PLACE ... a bit of a lament for a place that has changed since his visits in the 70s

THE MAGIC OF MINNEAPOLIS ... a Bouchercon speech and a terrible magician

THE MEAN STREETS OF GOTHAM ... New York by any other name and a village in Nottinghamshire where they used to keep goats apparently - make of that what you will Batman.

NO SLINGS, NO ARROWS ... "You can't make a Hamlet without breaking legs."

A PEN NAME? REALLY? AFTER ALL ... pseudonyms, erotica novels, adventure novels

A RARE AND RADIANT MOTHER ... probably the most personal piece in the whole book. He talks about his father, mostly his mother and his sister. I think it's the most I ever read about Block the person as opposed to snippets on Block the writer.

RAYMOND CHANDLER AND THE BRASHER DOUBLOON .... a piece about a Chandler and a coin which features in one of his books. Block used to have an interest in coins himself. Interesting but it hasn't made me want to pick the book up.

TRAVEL BY NUMBER ... collecting countries and a unique club devoted to the same.

THE WHOLE WORD IS LISTENING ... a short essay

WRITING MY NAME .... signing books, new, old, repetition, repetition, repetition

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Entertaining, never less than interesting, great narration and a wonderful accompaniment to numerous commutes and exercise runs. Did I love all the pieces? Probably not, but that's just fine.

Superb narration from Peter Berkrot. At times it felt like I had great company in the car with me, regaling me with interesting anecdotes and memories. It was also a bit of a change from my usual reading, which was an added bonus. 

4.5 stars from 5

Read – (listened to) March, 2022

Published – 2019

Page count – 258 (8 hrs 36 mins)

Source – review copy from author

Format - Audible 

MARC OLDEN - THEY'VE KILLED ANNA (1977)

 

Synopsis/blurb...

When his source is murdered, Harker knows he's on the right track

Finally, Harker has a break in the nuclear story. There is a vast conspiracy inside the government to keep the dangers of nuclear energy from the public, and now he has a source on the inside. Anna Alexander, an employee at a nuclear firm, has documents that will blow the industry wide open - if she can make it to her rendezvous with Harker alive. Her employers are poisoning her with plutonium, and when she calls Harker, she is nearly dead from radiation sickness. By the time he makes it to Nevada, she's gone.

The car wreck looks like an accident, but the papers she was bringing him are nowhere to be found. They killed Anna to keep her from talking to the press - so just imagine what they'll do to the reporter.

Another enjoyable Harker novel from Marc Olden, the third from a series of four. Again, we have Harker risking life and limb to hold truth to power. This time his target is the nuclear power industry. It’s another exciting late 70s novel with a sympathetic and now familiar investigative journalist as the main focus of the book.

Harker has a contact who is prepared to expose shortcomings in the operation of the nuclear facility where she works. Safety failings, near misses, cover-ups, training deficiencies, general slackness and corner cutting. All of which are potentially catastrophic for the general public in the locality of the plant as well as detrimental, if not lethal to the well-being of the employees. Anna Alexander is scared. Not only can she reveal details, but she also thinks her employer has been poisoning her with plutonium. They’re determined to have her silenced one way or another. 

A fatal RTA results in the death of Anna before she got the chance to dish the dirt. The story that follows has Harker and his adversaries in a race to find Anna’s missing notebook, as well as Harker trying to connect with disgruntled former and present employees while fully aware that the powerful people, he is up against have him under surveillance and are prepared to stop at nothing to shut the story down. Nuclear power = electricity = big bucks. And woe betide anything that stands in the way of corporate greed or profits. 

Harker connects with witnesses who know right from wrong and have a conscience. There’s also a few with less scruples that took on the Judas role before a confessional with Harker. Self interest can often be a powerful motivator. 

I like the premise of the little man, uncovering wrong-doing and exposing it. There’s a real one man against the machine vibe here which makes for a compelling story. During his enquiries, Harker enjoys some fine hospitality with the ex-mercenary who is responsible for plant security and it’s kind of ironic that they can actually enjoy each other’s company while at the same time seek to thwart the other’s ambitions. 

I’ve enjoyed The Harker File and Dead and Paid For. They’ve Killed Anna was another 4 star read. Roll on the series finale Kill the Reporter.  Narc from another Olden series has also been enjoyed. 
 

Read - June, 2022

Published - 1977 

Page count - 152

Source - Kindle Unlimited

Format - Kindle

JON MESSMANN - A PROMISE FOR DEATH (1975)

 

Synopsis/blurb…

The explosive sixth and final novel in the classic Revenger series...back in print for the first time in nearly fifty years.

The Don of the New York underworld, embroiled in a mob war and worried about the safety of his family, offers Ben Martin the inside information he needs to take out all of the rival crime families in the city. In return, the Don vows to quit the mob, leaving the city virtually free of organized crime, granting Martin his long-sought, and seemingly impossible, victory in his one-man war against the Mafia. Martin knows he's making a deal with the Devil. In the end, when the Don is the only mobster left standing, unopposed and more powerful than ever, will he really walk away? Or will he have Martin killed instead? It's a deadly risk Martin is willing to take for the chance to truly end his very personal war...and leave the bloodshed behind.

This new edition includes an Afterword by Joe Kenney, founder of the Glorious Trash blog.

BOOM – 6 and out! First off, hats off to Lee Goldberg and Brash Books for republishing Jon Messmann and bringing his books to a new audience.

Here we have....

an attack on an innocent, some vigilante revenge, a cunning plan, a meeting, an uneasy alliance, a kidnapping, a rescue, Martin doing what Martin does best, some romance, and a final twist.

Enjoyed the book, loved the series. I enjoyed the action, the planning, the plotting, the scheming, the execution, the love trysts, the whole shooting match.

I liked the main character, his stoicism, his unwavering belief in right and wrong and his principles, even if they aren't srandards that most mortals can live up to. Messmann offers more than just a beat 'em, shoot 'em kind of prose. There's some depth to his characters and the dilemnas that they face - usually poor choices leading to highly expected consequences - at least from Martin's perspective, or innocent victims as collateral damage in the schemes of ruthless men.

I look forward to trying more from Jon Messmann in the future. 

4 stars from 5

Read – June, 2022

Published – 1975

Page count – 166

Source – Kindle Unlimited

Format - Kindle

JOHN GODEY - NEVER PUT OFF TILL TOMORROW WHAT YOU CAN KILL TODAY (1970)

 

Synopsis/blurb....

Jack Albany (from A Thrill A Minute) is back in a small part on the big stage when he is mistakenly involved in a right-wing takeover of a large TV institution. Humorous and suspenseful, Jack must navigate a role he never learned to play.

About the Author: John Godey is the author of many crime and mystery novels, including Nella, The Snake, The Talisman and the international best seller, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, was released as a film of the same name, starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta

Second and last in author John Godey's Jack Albany series, after A Thrill a Minute.

There are a lot of similarities between the two books, with Albany again a victim of mistaken identity and thrust in the middle of a plot, this time to take over a TV network and broadcast a manifesto live to the country, denouncing pretty much everyone in the US and worldwide as Commie b*stards!

Again, Albany is quick with the one-liners as he beds in with the gang, all the while looking for an escape route that will see him survive when the odds are stacked against him. Here he has an ally on the inside, the buxom German Helga who provides physical comfort and a bit more besides.

In essence it almost the same book as the first, with a similar plot line and Albany using his acting skills to dupe his fellow gang members and the arch villain running the scheme. Not much tension, a few wry chuckles, but nothing that ever required stitches applied to my side. 

Albany is quite good company. He has a high opinion of his own acting abilities and he falls in love easily. He's not especially brave.

Overall an ok read, though I'm glad there was never a third in the series.

I look forward to trying something a bit harder hitting from the author.

3 from 5  

Read - June, 2022

Published - 1970

Page count - 153

Source - Kindle Unlimited

Format - Kindle

MARC OLDEN - DEAD AND PAID FOR (1976)

Synopsis/blurb....

To protect the families of missing veterans, Harker could go missing himself....

The US Army is out of Vietnam, but not all of its boys made it home. Thousands remain unaccounted for, and as the years go on, their families hold out hope that somewhere in the jungle, their boys survive. Harker, an investigative reporter, has uncovered a sickening scheme designed to prey on that misguided hope. A group of con men is going to the homes of missing soldiers, telling families that their GI is trapped in a secret Vietnamese prison, and can return home for a small ransom. When the family forks over the money, they disappear. Harker has exposed the con, and now he wants to punish those responsible.

The mastermind is an unscrupulous security contractor named D. Z. Vale, who backs up his despicable scheme with a private army and an unlimited cache of ammunition. Harker has his typewriter, and it's the only weapon he'll need.

Another enjoyable encounter with Marc Olden and his investigative reporter Hawthorne Albert Harker – just Harker please. 

Olden penned four books featuring his reporter and this one is the second after The Harker File.  

We have a Vietnam backdrop with a gang of enterprising criminals targeting a dementia suffering businessman and grieving father in a $500k sting operation. The money can help facilitate the release of the man’s son, held in a secret Vietnamese POW camp and forgotten by the US authorities, now that the conflict is officially over. The man’s other son is an ambitious politician and needs the half a million to launch a political campaign. He ropes in Harker to expose the con men and save his ambitions.

An investigation ensues in the face of some strong-arm tactics from the gang. Harker suspects they were involved in a previous scheme involving trafficking women to Saigon for the pleasure of some high-ranking politicians and military men. The powerful contacts have endured the collapse of that scheme with a patsy paid to take the fall. Harker at no little risk to his own safety digs deep and tries to derail the plan.

Harker as a main character is a grower. I think I liked him a bit more than first time around. He believes in exposing wrong-doing and is on the side of the little person. He’s not a physical presence in either of the books, though does sometimes bluff a reluctant witness with mild threats of intimidation. He values his life, but if it’s a case of back down or run a risk to get the story, the story wins every time. He has an ex-wife his remains friendly with. She’s a high-class escort and Harker still seeks comfort and respite with her, despite them divorcing a year or two back. 

Dead and Paid For is another cracker of a quick read. Author Marc Olden doesn’t hang about and gets the tale told in less than 200 pages, without ever seeming to rush things. I’m happy to be finally catching up with his work albeit over forty years late.

4 stars from 5

The Harker File and Narc has been enjoyed before.

Read - June, 2022

Published - 1976

Page count - 186

Source - Kindle Unlimited

Format - Kindle

ED GORMAN - SHOWDOWN (aka GUN TRUTH) (2003)

 

Synopsis/blurb....

A Spur Award-winning Author

Tom Prine figured that a stint as deputy in a backwash town like Claybank would give him a nice rest. Until, in the space of just a few days, arson, kidnapping and murder turn Claybank into a dangerous place Prine no longer recognizes. A lot of old secrets are being revealed and at their core is a single nagging question - is anybody in town who they pretend to be? Prine doesn't have long to find the answer . . .

The past 18 months or so I’ve been working my way through some of the late Ed Gorman’s body of work. Showdown (previously published as Gun Truth) was my first time with one of his Western novels.

I liked it without wanting to immediately cast everything else aside just to concentrate on more of the same from him. 

We have a somewhat naive young deputy as the lead character. Deputy Tom Prine is a bit discontented with life. He has a girl and a job but is ambitious for more…. more money, a big house, a better woman, and some respect around town. His head has been turned by a rich lady, Cassie Neville who lives with cock of the walk, her brother, Mr Bigshot himself Richard Neville. Neville has the massive house, the influence, the contacts and the money. He’s also a bit of a tool. He talks down to people and he’s full of his own self-importance.

Prine gets wind of a plot to kidnap Cassie and thinks as he has identified the culprit prior to the snatch, and most likely where she will be held. He can let it happen, act the hero, snag the inevitable reward on offer from her brother and impress the lady. All goes well until rescue time and he realises Cassie has instigated the whole thing to escape the clutches of her domineering brother.   

Things go pear-shaped thereafter. Cassie is killed by her two kidnappers. Her brother is furious and together with Prine the pair go on a manhunt, Prine dragging his guilty conscience with him. Things aren’t quite what they seem though.

I had a good time with the book. The main character was good company, if not a little bit green. When he concentrated on tracking the two killers he was capable and efficient. There’s some friction between Neville and him, as they argue over the fate of Cassie’s murderers. There are a few twists, turns and bumps along the way to decent outcome.

I liked the time spent in the 1880s. I liked the setting of the small towns, the countryside, the bars, the hotels and the railways. I liked crossing paths with unscrupulous villains both dedicated outlaws as well as corrupt lawmen on the make.     

Overall 4 stars from 5

  

Previously enjoyed by Gorman....

Harlot's Moon (1997) Hawk Moon (1995) Cast in Dark Waters (2002) Murder in the Wings (1986) 
Blood Moon (1994) Nightmare Child (1990) Murder on the Aisle (1987) 

Read - (listened to) June, 2022

Published - 2003

Page count - 283 (5 hrs 51 mins)

Source - Audible purchase

Format - Audible