JANET ROGER - SHAMUS DUST (2019)

Synopsis/blurb......

Two candles flaring at a Christmas crib. A nurse who steps inside a church to light them. A gunshot emptied in a man’s head in the creaking stillness before dawn, that the nurse says she didn’t hear. It’s 1947 in the snowbound, war-scarred City of London, where Pandora’s Box just got opened in the ruins, City Police has a vice killing on its hands, and a spooked councilor hires a shamus to help spare his blushes. Like the Buddha says, everything is connected. So it all can be explained. But that’s a little cryptic when you happen to be the shamus, and you’re standing over a corpse.

An enjoyable if not at times difficult read for me. I had the misfortune to time the reading of this book with a house move for an elderly mother-in-law and all that that entailed...... solicitors, estate agents, a chain, utility companies, removal men, emails, phone calls and lots more besides. Allied with some year end work pressures and faced with a small type set (37 lines to a page) and old jaded eyes and my December reading plans were doomed before the start.

Once I got into things properly I really liked the book. Clever, complex, dense and it demands that you pay attention - something I'm not always renowned for.

London, post-war, a murdered man and throughout the course of the book a few more victims, and an American investigator, Newman hired to look into the death - and bound by a sense of duty - the subsequent ones.

Property, planning, city development, delays, photographs, diaries, Roman ruins, illicit and at the time illegal liaisons, a police department looking for some easy answers and a patsy, a gangster, lawyers, architects and academics, husbands, siblings, war heroes, affairs, surveillance, domestic violence, the river, a medical examiner with a conscience, an attempted cover-up, money, power, blackmail, kidnap, and after a merry, frenetic dance an outcome.

Some of the detail in Roger's writing is superb and you really get a feel for a London of 70 years ago. Bars, restaurants, clubs, lodgings, barber shops, taxis, hospitals - all seem authentic and you have to wonder that it wasn't written in the time it takes place.

I liked the connections and motivations that were revealed once Newman tied everything up for us. I was kind of reminded of some of the labyrinth like plotting of some of James Ellroy's American Quartet books. Seemingly innocuous meetings and conversations and casual connections later found to contain important detail in respect of the outcome. I think I kind of gave up early on trying to second guess the author and where we were going. I just took my time and enjoyed the ride.

4 from 5

Read - January, 2020
Published - 2019
Page count - 376
Source - review copy from Matador - an imprint of Troubador Publishing courtesy of the author.
Format - paperback

ATTICA LOCKE - HEAVEN, MY HOME (2019)

Synopsis/blurb.....

In this "captivating" crime novel (People), Texas Ranger Darren Mathews is on the hunt for a missing boy -- but it's the boy's family of white supremacists who are his real target.

9-year-old Levi King knew he should have left for home sooner; now he's alone in the darkness of vast Caddo Lake, in a boat whose motor just died. A sudden noise distracts him - and all goes dark.

Darren Mathews is trying to emerge from another kind of darkness; after the events of his previous investigation, his marriage is in a precarious state of re-building, and his career and reputation lie in the hands of his mother, who's never exactly had his best interests at heart. Now she holds the key to his freedom, and she's not above a little maternal blackmail to press her advantage.

An unlikely possibility of rescue arrives in the form of a case down Highway 59, in a small lakeside town where the local economy thrives on nostalgia for ante-bellum Texas - and some of the era's racial attitudes still thrive as well. Levi's disappearance has links to Darren's last case, and to a wealthy businesswoman, the boy's grandmother, who seems more concerned about the fate of her business than that of her grandson.

Darren has to battle centuries-old suspicions and prejudices, as well as threats that have been reignited in the current political climate, as he races to find the boy, and to save himself.

Heaven, My Home is the second Darren Mathews book from Attica Locke after Bluebird, Bluebird. I've enjoyed both books without feeling the need to backtrack on the author's earlier works, of which there are a few. (Three)

Here Mathews is forced into an investigation into the disappearance of a boy; the boy's father (incarcerated) and step-father have links to white supremacist groups. Mathews with a potentially career ending event and investigation from an incident in the first book hanging over him, sees the opportunity to solve the crime and manipulate the outcome to save himself. Whether he can also save his marriage is debatable.

Race, politics, a missing child, tension and conflict in a community, FBI involvement, a strained friendship, a more strained marriage, lies, hate, land, history, decline, influence, family, the water, Aryan Brotherhood, an investigation..... and lots more besides.

I quite like Darren has a character. He has his flaws, he might be guilty of some rash decision making and mistakes and he's in a difficult predicament. His heart is in the right place. He's more on point here and less beholden to alcohol as a crutch and he's hopeful he can save the boy when everyone else seems to have given up on him. That he might be able to manipulate events to relieve some pressure on him is understandable.

Race is very important here and plays a big part in the aims of the FBI, with events foreshadowed by the impending Trump administration taking office.

I liked the history element Locke introduces to the narrative, which helps sustain the story. I enjoyed the setting of the book and the tensions and conflict surrounded race added layers to a missing child case. The outcome and the speed at which we came upon it all worked for me.

There is still the over-riding story ARC concerning Darren and his career and marriage still to be resolved, but I didn't feel manipulated by the author into issuing a BOLO for the next book in the series. That said I'll probably want to read it at some point although I'm unaware of a third book coming down the pike.

4 from 5

Thoughts on Bluebird, Bluebird here.

Read - January, 2020
Published - 2019
Page count - 308
Source - initially a Net Galley book, but borrowed from Leighton Buzzard library to read
Format - hardback

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET: L IS FOR...... LE CRIME, LEONARD, LOS ANGELES

Week 12 and the L's have it.........

L is for .....

Le Crime by Peter Steiner.

Steiner is a novelist and cartoonist and this novel from 2003 is the first in his Louis Morgon series, of which I have a few. I suppose I ought to read them sometime

Peter Steiner - Le Crime (2003)

A cross between The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and A Year in Provence, this ingenious thriller gets stunning raves from one and all:

"A beautiful crime novel."
---Thomas Perry, New York Times bestselling author of Nightlife

"Le Crime est superbe."
---Jim Fusilli, author of Hard, Hard City

Former State Department expert Louis Morgon finds a murdered body on the doorstep of his charming little house in France, and he and the local gendarme team up to solve the murder. Thriller and mystery lovers: Bon appetit!

This book was first published by St. Martin's Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books as A French Country Murder.

L is for.......

Leonard - old man and favourite Elmore or son Peter?

I'd be here until next month if I start on Elmore. Peter it is.

Quiver is his unread debut from 2008.
I have enjoyed a couple from him though. Voices of the Dead (2012) and Back from the Dead (2013)

Peter Leonard - Quiver (2008)

One of the most riveting and powerful new voices in crime fiction, Peter Leonard delivers a razor-sharp debut thriller.

Kate McCall's husband has been killed by her son, Luke, in a tragic bow-hunting accident. While Kate struggles with her son's surly guilt, her first love, Jack, an ex-con, reappears, along with a crew of his former "colleagues." While Jack must convince his partners in crime that he really did lose the heist money, his appearance sets into motion a series of events culminating in a life-and-death confrontation with a gang of killers.

Leonard displays remarkable maturity for a first-time novelist in both the plotting of the story and the language of his protagonists. The twists and turns of a love affair, an unrequited crush, and a kidnapping/extortion plot complement a tightly drawn, intimate cast of memorably quick and dim-witted characters.

Quiver marks the breakthrough of a new force in thriller writing---an explosive and unforgettable debut.

L is for......

Los Angeles.

I do like crime fiction set in the US and I've enjoyed a fair few  books set in Los Angeles.... most notably the Harry Bosch series from Michael Connelly and Robert Crais with his Elvis Cole books. Plenty more besides........... James Ellroy, Walter Mosley, T. Jefferson Parker etc etc

I'll pick a couple of slightly less well known authors


P.G. Sturges and The Shortcut Man - it's the first in his four book series featuring Dick Henry.

P.G.Sturges - The Shortcut Man (2011)

A smart and entertaining crime series debut set in the underbelly of Los Angeles, with a cast of characters that runs the gamut from saints to sinners. In the City of Angels, not everyone plays by the rules. When people need a problem fixed fast, and discreetly, they call Dick Henry. Henry is known as a "shortcut man," someone who believes that the shortest answer to many problems may not always be legal. As he cuts through the red tape for his clients, who range from an elderly woman ripped off by shady contractors to a landlord with a tenant many months behind on the rent, Henry always gets the job done, no matter what the cost. In Shortcut Man, Henry spends his days hunting down slimy con men and his nights seducing Lynette, an intoxicating, long-legged vixen. But when Henry gets an assignment from porn producer Artie Benjamin, his life suddenly becomes much more complicated. Now Henry must complete the job, avoid being killed, and somehow figure out what to do with Lynette. Filled with dark comedy, whip-smart writing, and a memorable cast of characters, Shortcut Man evokes Chandler and Hammett - hard-boiled crime at its best - and is an exciting beginning to a crackling new series.


Philip Reed and some car noir! Bird Dog from 1997, was followed by Low Rider in 1998.

I did enjoy one from him a few years ago - Off and Running (2015)

Philip Reed Bird Dog (1997)

Bird Dog In his explosive debut, Philip Reed suggests the best of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen as he guides you on a lethal joyride you won't forget. Harold Dodge is pushing fifty, going gray, and carrying a few extra pounds. He's a good man. But in LA, good men some-times have to do bad things. Harold lives for women and cars...he just never figured on dying for them.



Previous Alphabet entries.....

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - A IS FOR.... AX, ABBOTT, ABERDEEN

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - B IS FOR ....... BOSTON, BIRD, BONES

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - C IS FOR.........CAPE TOWN, CONFIDENCE MEN, CROSS

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - D IS FOR ....... DETROIT, DISHER, DEAD

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - E IS FOR ....... EDINBURGH, EXCESS, ELLIS

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - F IS FOR ....... FLORIDA, FRANCIS, FLOATERS

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - G IS FOR ....... GALWAY, GUNS, GRAFTON

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - H IS FOR ....... HAMBURG, HAMMETT, HIDDEN RIVER

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - I IS FOR ....... ICE, ICELAND, IZZO

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - J IS FOR ....... JAPAN, JACK CARTER. JELLO SALAD

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - K IS FOR ....... KING, KOREA, KEEPER

2 BY R.C. BRIDGESTOCK

A couple from an untried author double act - R.C. Bridgestock

Bridgestock the author is a husband and wife team - Robert and Carol.
And I've ignored their books for a long time.


Payback is the start of a new series.
Poetic Justice is their 9th Jack Dylan book, but is a prequel which is an ideal place for me to start with their books.

I think what drew me to their books is the connection to Happy Valley which I caught up with last year on TV. They served as consultants to the makers of the programme which is testament to their credentials.

They also seem like lovely people on my limited interactions with them on social media.

Their author website is here.
Catch them on Twitter - @RCBridgestock

Poetic Justice (2019)

'A multi-faceted page turner. The perfect way to meet Jack Dylan.' Alison Bruce, author of I Did It For Us

From the husband and wife team who are the storyline consultants to TV's Happy Valleyand Scott & Bailey, comes the brand new book in the D.I. Jack Dylan series, which takes the reader back to where it all began...

When Detective Jack Dylan heads home after a residential course, he has no idea that an extraordinary succession of events is about to turn his life upside down. A vicious, unprovoked attack is just the start. Soon his wife is dead and his step-daughter - dangerously depressed - is being expelled from university for drug use. And at work, two teenagers have gone missing.

An ordinary man might break under the strain, but Dylan is no ordinary man. He knows that his survival depends on him carrying on regardless, burying himself in his work.

He is determined to pursue the criminal elements behind the events - both personal and professional - whether his superiors like it or not. And, as his family disintegrates around him, a newcomer to the admin department, Jennifer Jones, seems to offer some sort of salvation.

Life may have changed, but nothing will stand in the way of Dylan's quest for justice.


Payback (2019)

The brand new series from the storyline consultants to TV's Happy Valley and Scott & Bailey and author of the DI Jack Dylan novels.

Charley Mann left Yorkshire for the Met and a fast-track career - but now she's back, she's in charge and the area's first young, female DI. Her hometown, the Yorkshire countryside, and her old friends all seem unchanged, but appearances can be deceptive. When a brutal murder is discovered, Charley is forced to question everything, and the interest of her ex - reporter Danny Ray - doesn't make it easier.

LAWRENCE BLOCK - STEP BY STEP: A PEDESTRIAN MEMOIR (2009)

Synopsis/blurb......

From the revered New York Times bestselling author comes a touching, insightful, and humorous memoir of an unlikely race walker and world traveller

Before Lawrence Block was the author of bestselling novels featuring unforgettable characters such as the hit man Keller, private investigator Matthew Scudder, burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, and time traveller Evan Tanner, he was a walker.

As a child, he walked home from school (mostly because he couldn't ride a bike). As a college student, he walked until he was able to buy his first car (a deep blue 1950 Chevrolet coupe named Pamela, after the Samuel Richardson novel). As an adult, he ran marathons until he discovered what would become a lifelong obsession--never mind if some people didn't think it was a real sport--race walking.

By that time Block had already spent plenty of time walking through the city of New York. But race walking ended up taking him all over the country, from New Orleans to Anchorage, from marathons in the punishing heat to marathons in the pouring rain. And along the way, as he began to pen the books that would make him a household name among suspense fans all over the world, he found that in life, as in writing, you just need to take one step after the other.

Through the lens of his adventures while walking--in twenty-four-hour races, on a pilgrimage through Spain, and just about everywhere you can imagine--Lawrence Block shares his heartwarming personal story about life's trials and tribulations, discomforts and successes, which truly lets readers walk a mile in the master of mystery's shoes.

A bit of non-fiction from Lawrence Block as he recounts his journey from an overweight, exercise free smoker and drinker into a hardened race walker competing in marathons and 24 hour races over a twenty five year period. There's confirmation of a long suspected illness which Mr Block has successfully combated for many years. I say long suspected, maybe I read about it somewhere but forgot the source. Block's honesty and openness is admired.

Along the way we visit a variety of locales and accompany Mr Block and his wife through a vast number of races in numerous states as well as a mammoth trek through Spain as they conduct a pilgrimage. Enjoyable anecdotes abound throughout, though sometimes the recollection of race times and PB improvements that are recounted get a bit tedious. I can understand the need to record times and dates and keep a log as I've done that myself periodically as I've fallen in and out of love with exercise.

I enjoyed the mindset and resolve that Block applied to his training and some of his endurance races. I've tried to do some running myself on and off throughout the years in an effort to retain fitness and control my weight and I can testify to the little voices in your head that tell you ..... to stop, to quit, to give up, it doesn't matter, do it the next time, etc etc. It takes a strong will to shut them out and ignore them. Block's mental strength and determination to persist in the face of the niggling head voice and very often strong physical pain during many races is really inspirational.

I think, as again I'm on another cycle of attempting to regain fitness and drop a few pounds, another positive to draw from the book is the affirmation that exercise can be a good tool for improved mental well-being. I know this but I forget it. Initially the exercise is hard and uncomfortable and painful and exhausting, but eventually there comes a point when you feel better after a run than you did at the beginning of it. It also helps clear my head when I run at the start of a day.

Overall - enjoyable and a welcome reminder to get my head down and get on with enjoying some regular exercise. Improved physical and mental health beckons.

4 from 5

Read (listened to) - January, 2020
Published - 2009
Page count - 365 (12 hrs, 49 mins)
Source - free Audible review copy received from one of the author's assistants. I do have a previously purchased hardback in my collection.
Format - Audible

THE BEHRG - ONE STAR (2019)

Synopsis/blurb.....

Every action has a consequence. But when Li posts a one-star review of a novel on her book blog, the results are far more frightening than she could ever have imagined. Not every story was meant to have a happy ending.

ONE STAR is a previously unpublished horror short story, being released in The Behrg's upcoming short story collection--"The Passengers You Cannot See." It is the author's love letter to book bloggers and reviewers, and thus is being offered as a free download to any book reviewer in part to thank all those who have been a part of the author's journey. And if you haven't yet been a part, there's no better time than now to jump in that car and ride along. Oh, the vistas you will see.

For more free fiction, including the critically acclaimed story "The Lines," and the first book in THE CREATION SERIES, join Behrg's newsletter at TheBehrg.com for infrequent updates and a first look at upcoming releases. Your dopamine levels will thank you.

A short story that can currently be picked up for free over on Amazon and one that would have passed me by if not for catching a couple of posts from some friends over on Goodreads.

Of interest in it's subject matter of blogging and book reviews and the fall out from the consequences of a harsh one star review. Topical in respect of fake news and media manipulation, albeit on a much smaller level.

Also gives me pause for thought when I think of the casual disregard for the feelings of others with internet trolls and the tendency to be cruel rather than kind, derisive and mocking instead of supportive.

Not especially "horror" genre content. I enjoyed the story and where the author took us. There's a decent build-up and pay-off

4 from 5

Read - January, 2020
Published - 2019
Page count - 17
Source - purchased copy (albeit FREE)
Format - kindle

BLAIR DENHOLM - BOYD AND SARGE: NYPD LAW AND DISORDER (2019)

Synopsis/blurb.....

These two cops will have you roaring with laughter

Officer Boyd and the Sarge are the dumbest cops around. DO NOT call them in an emergency
Incompetent yet lovable, hapless Boyd and long-suffering Sarge have become a huge hit online.

Their legion of loyal fans eagerly await daily episodes full of ridiculous humor.

Find out why Twitter goes crazy every day over their antics.

˃˃˃ Readers can't get enough Boyd and Sarge
"Boyd and Sarge are the busiest pair of comic-cops in the world. Not only are they fighting crime on the streets, but also battling their personal demons, and verbally fencing with each other to hilarious effect. Sarge spares no punches, but Boyd bounces right back up with the most outrageous explanations. The misadventures of Boyd and Sarge generate a laugh a minute - each tweet-sized piece is a brilliant, tongue-firmly-in-cheek commentary that uses the pun to dazzle and delight"

"Sarge and Boyd are a great way to start your morning off with laughter"If you're a fan of The Far Side by Gary Larson, there's a good chance you'll love Boyd and Sarge"

"There are times when his humor is subtle, when it catches the reader a beat after the piece is read. Other times, it is in your face, and one is rolling on the floor in belly laughs"

"I first discovered Boyd and Sarge on Twitter when I stared following the author. Every day, I began looking forward to these Twitter-sized bites of cleverly crafted play-on-words that brimmed with slapstick comedic timing.

So imagine my delight when I jokingly suggested to the author that he should compile all his Boyd and Sarge tweets into a book, and he replied that he had!

This book makes a brilliant gift for the granddad, dad, uncle or adult brother in your life - or anyone who enjoys the bumbling antics of a PG15+ Laurel and Hardy or Mr Bean.

Boyd and Sarge are two unforgettable characters who never fail to bring about a belly laugh with their antics."

˃˃˃ Packed with puns, dad jokes, black humor and fantastic illustrations, everyone will love Boyd and the Sarge
If you're a fan of The Far Side by Gary Larson, there's a good chance you'll love Boyd and Sarge.

Scroll up and grab your copy today.

Best book ever?

No, but enjoyable enough and one that raised a few smiles, a few chuckles and a few groans at the corniness of some of the puns and punchlines. A few of the jokes were telegraphed or more likely had been heard before - Christmas Cracker or the Knock Knock type of thing. I probably managed to avoid an out and out belly laugh and an accompanying roll around on the floor, but each time I put the book down - I think I read it in three short bursts - I was in a better mood than when I'd picked it up. There's a lot to be said for that.

Plenty of little encounters between our two cops, each episode coming in at a length that would please Twitter. I think they all were tweets at one stage.

Cop encounters, stupidity, criminals, judges, wives, girlfriends, partners, driving...... a smorgasbord of characters and scenarios.

There some smart cartoons as well depicting our hapless double act which I liked.

Blair Denholm's Sold was a fantastic read for me - a crime novel with liberal doses of black humour. I have to say I preferred that more.

3 from 5

Read - January, 2020
Published - 2019
Page count - 122
Source - review copy from author
Format - PDF