NANCI RATHBUN - CASH KILLS (2014)

Synopsis/blurb.....

A double murder. A mysterious inheritance. One PI is about to follow the money all the way into a den of thieves…

After surviving a bullet, Angelina Bonaparte was certain she could handle any case that came her way. But when her next client walks through the door with an unexplainable seven-figure inheritance after the death of her parents, the private investigator wonders if she's in over her head. After all, when she visits her client's family attorney, Angelina discovers yet another bloody crime scene.

With the help of her new flame, Angelina follows the clues into an underworld of war-plundered artifacts, stolen treasures, and deadly consequences. As their last lead grows colder, the PI must catch the killer before an endless cycle of murderous greed gets her client killed.

Cash Kills is the second book in the suspenseful Angelina Bonaparte Mysteries series. If you like hard-as-painted-nails female detectives, historical mysteries, and twists and turns you won’t see coming, then you’ll love Nanci Rathbun’s loaded crime thriller.

A new-to-me author with Nanci Rathbun and only my second time with a female PI after enjoying Susan Grafton's Kinsey Millhone in A for Alibi a few years ago.

Unfortunately I found it a difficult book to read, probably as much due to personal circumstances as to any failure of the author to captivate and engage me. Reading it straddled a difficult time period of leaving an old home after 25 years and moving to a new one. Physical and mental fatigue as well as demands on my time left little in the tank to enjoy my usual leisurely pursuits of reading and to a lesser extent blogging. Whatever book I happened to be reading would undoubtedly have been a distraction and irritation.

Plus points - I enjoyed the set-up and the premise of the case. A bereft daughter is struggling to come to terms with the death of her parents and also the fact that having lived their lives so frugally they manage to leave her a million dollar inheritance. Angelina Bonaparte, our PI and lead character has to discover the provenance of the cash, before her client, Adriana can decide whether to accept it or not.

As a character, I enjoyed Bonaparte's instincts and abilities and her interactions with her friends, family and cop boyfriend. Said boyfriend also has an interest in the case, as Adriana's parents were murdered - execution-style. A second murder, soon after Angelina takes the case raises the stakes.

The unfolding of the mystery, the uncovering of facts and establishing the motive for the crime and the introduction of secondary characters to also shed light and become part of the hunt for the murderer and provide security for Angelina and her client, as they became endangered, the closer to the truth they got was logical and well reasoned. The events which set the whole scenario in motion were of interest and provided pause for thought. Without giving too much away; a horrific event in recent European history, the conflict in the Balkans is the backdrop to our book.

Irritating elements - the author's insistence on talking us through our 50-something PI's daily outfits including her choice of lingerie, pretty much each and every time the sun rose. I get that the character has spunk and a certain feistiness and has got over the divorce from the cheating husband and is proud of her status as an independent woman with a career, grown-up kids and grandchildren, and new found beau. I don't really need to picture her wearing a thong because it's date night.

Secondly, the secondment of gay best friend Bobby into the investigation and a willingness to have him as a PI trainee, I wasn't especially convinced by. A minor annoyance in the scheme of things, I suppose. I quite liked Bobby as a minor character, and his support with Angelica's client, Adriana was crucial, but I wasn't sold on his sudden career ambitions.

Pace - I'm undecided on really - mainly due to my own reading issues. At times it felt like I was swimming through treacle, but again, more me than the book I think. I'd willingly try a second book by Rathbun before determining whether I would continue reading her in the future.

Overall 3 from 5

Nanci Rathbun has two other Bonaparte books to her name. Truth Kills is the first in the series and Honor Kills which was published at the beginning of May is the third.

Her Facebook page is here. She's on Twitter - @NanciRathbun 

Read in April/May 2018
Published - 2014
Page count - 261
Source - review copy from author
Format - Kindle

2 BY DANIEL WOODRELL

A couple from Daniel Woodrell this week and a pair from his Rene Shade trilogy. The Ones You Do concludes the series.



Woodrell has written ten books in total with The Maid's Version his last published novel in 2013. It's about time he had something new out, I reckon.

There's no author website, but here's a link to an interview with The Independent he gave in 2006.

I've read a few from him, probably these two included, though so long ago they probably don't count. The last time I kind of crossed paths with his work was watching the film Winter's Bone starring Jennifer Lawrence which was based on his 2006 novel.



Under The bright Lights (1986)

Jewel Cobb had come to St.Bruno to climb on the big city gravy train. His cousin Duncan set little Jewel up to do the killing. The boy was hillbilly raw but country rough, and pleasingly expendable.

It seemed a simple enough case for the authorities. Too bad the dead man was a prominent black city council man. But for the police detective Rene Shade it all looked too neat. Shade takes on city hall as he follows a twisting trail through the sleazy streets of the Cajun quarter into the murky swamps and bayous that ring the city. It is a trail that leads to corruption and yet more murder.








Muscle For The Wing (1988)

The first thing Emil Jaddick shoved through the country-club door was double barreled and loaded. The First thing he said to the poker players inside was - "Do I have your attention? We're robbin' you assholes ... any objections?" That's how Jadick came to St.Bruno. He had a killing crew of fellow ex-con wingmen and a sweet and red-hot sex machine named Wanda to help him do his down and dirty work. He had big plans and no pity. Only one thing could stop him - a cop who played by the same rules as Jadick ... None!

PAUL D. BRAZILL - LAST YEAR'S MAN - COVER REVEAL

Nothing brightens the day up quite as much as hearing there's a new PDB book on the horizon!

Last Year’s Man by Paul D. Brazill will by published by All Due Respect on 22 June 2018.

A troubled, ageing hit man leaves London and returns to his hometown in the north east of England hoping for peace. But the ghosts of his past return to haunt him. Last Year’s Man is a violent and blackly comic slice of Brit Grit noir.

“Brazill offers a series of amusing episodes filled with breezy banter in this offbeat slice of British noir.”- Publishers Weekly.

"Brazill is brilliant, a unique voice which stands out from the crowd" - Keith Nixon, author of the Solomon Gray books.

“It’s all here, everything you’ve come to expect from a Paul D. Brazill caper—the fast pace, the witty banter, the grim humour and the classic tunes—except this time he’s REALLY outdone himself. Unlike the lament in the song the title takes its name from, Paul’s best years are surely still ahead of him.” — Paul Heatley, author of Fatboy.

“Paul D. Brazill is the Crown Prince of Noir. That’s my opinion, granted, but I stand by it. For those who require proof, just pick up his latest novel, Last Year’s Man, and it will be clear why I make that statement. All hail the crown prince!” — Les Edgerton, author of The Rapist, The Bitch, Just Like That and others.

Paul D. Brazill’s books include A Case of Noir, Guns of Brixton, The Last Laugh, and Kill Me Quick! He was born in England and lives in Poland. His writing has been translated into Italian, Finnish, Polish, German and Slovene. He has had writing published in various magazines and anthologies, including The Mammoth Books of Best British Crime.

Catch him here.....

Website      https://pauldbrazill.com/
Facebook   https://www.facebook.com/pauldavidbrazill/posts/1632531796845331
Twitter       https://twitter.com/PaulDBrazill

Previously on the blog.....

PAUL D. BRAZILL - A CASE OF NOIR (2014)

PAUL D. BRAZILL - BIG CITY BLUES (2017)

AUGUST 2017 - 31 DAYS, 31 SHORTS!

PAUL D. BRAZILL - TOO MANY CROOKS (2017)

PAUL D. BRAZILL - THE LAST LAUGH (2016)

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH PAUL D. BRAZILL

AUGUST 2016 - 31 DAYS, 31 SHORTS

PAUL D. BRAZILL - KILL ME QUICK (2015)

PAUL D. BRAZILL - GUNS OF BRIXTON (2013/2014)

PAUL D. BRAZILL - 13 SHOTS OF NOIR

2 BY LES EDGERTON - PART 2

A couple from Les Edgerton this week.

I featured a couple of his books a few years ago and in the intervening years never got around to reading them - more fool me, I reckon - 2 BY LES EDGERTON

From his blog, Edgerton says about himself.....

To introduce myself, I'm a full-time writer with eighteen books in print and I teach creative writing on the university level, through private coaching of writers, and on various on-line venues. I write in a variety of forms: novels, short stories, nonfiction books, screenplays and the subjects I choose to write about are just as varied, including sports, literary fiction, thrillers, black comedy and the craft of writing. I'm married to Mary and we have a son, Mike. I have two daughters--Britney and Sienna--from a previous marriage. I immigrated to Ft. Wayne, IN from the U.S.A. and it's where I still live today. Doing my best to learn the language and adjust to the culture. I have a checkered past, having spent two-plus years incarcerated at Pendleton Reformatory back in the sixties for burglary. I'm all cleaned up now and you can invite me into your home and don't have to count the silverware when I leave. Graduated from Indiana University with a B.A. in General Studies (Honors of Distinction); obtained an MFA in Writing from Vermont College. 

Les Edgerton's The Bitch was read and enjoyed a few years ago - review here

Other LE titles that sit on the stacks are The Rapist, Just Like That, The Death of Tarpons, Monday's Meal, The Genuine Imitation Plastic Kidnapping, The Perfect Crime, Gumbo Ya Ya

Les Edgerton has his blog here.


Bomb (2016)

When criminal genius Charles "Reader" Kincaid accidentally alerts a retired cop to the impending commission of the perfect crime, the crime becomes a lot less perfect.

The plan is to wire a prominent banker with a remote control bomb and thereby capture untold millions from a dangerous drug czar. Or is the plan something else? The plot thickens as hidden family connections come to light and who is betraying who - and why - becomes a matter of life and death for perpetrators and victims alike.

With wry wit and first-hand knowledge of the underworld, author Les Edgerton unleashes a cast of quirky characters and dark ambitions that collide in a tale nothing short of explosive.

Raves about Les Edgerton and BOMB:

"Les Edgerton has swiftly become my favorite crime writer. Original voice, uncompromising attitude and a pure hardboiled style leap him to the front ranks of my reading list. He will become legendary."

- Joe R. Lansdale, Paradise Sky, The Bottoms, Edge of Dark Water, The Thicket, the Hap and Leonard series, the books behind the TV series of the same name, and many others

"Les Edgerton is the new High King of Noir."

- Ken Bruen, The Emerald Lie, The Guards, Pimp and many others

"Edgerton commits the perfect crime story."

- Dietrich Kalteis, Triggerfish, The Deadbeat Club and Ride the Lightning

* Bomb I've since realised is a sexy re-issue of an earlier book The Perfect Crime. Oh well...

Lagniappe (2017)

Twenty years after the publication of his first short story collection, Monday’s Meal, Les Edgerton delivers the goods once again in this collection of harrowing tales of outlaws, ex-cons, frightened men and women, rap-partners throwing back tall boys and taller tales, children forced to become killers, stabbings and shootings, bad asses and sad asses…a wide-ranging collection of distinct and memorable characters who will exhibit a kind of wisdom not obtainable from the halls of academia. This is not a gathering of people contemplating their navels but real people facing the consequences of their actions…and it ain’t often pretty.

“Reading Les Edgerton’s stories is like listening to those old World War II broadcasts from the London blitz, with the reporter crouching under a restaurant table, microphone in hand, while the bombs drop on the city and the ceiling caves in. Edgerton reports on the world and the news is not good. There’s a kind of wacky wisdom in these bulletins from the underside of life; the stories are full of people you hope never move in next door, for whom ordinary life is an impossible dream. This is good fiction; Edgerton writes lean and nasty prose.” —Dr. Francois Camoin, Director, Graduate School of English, University of Utah and author of Benbow and Paradise, Like Love, But Not Exactly, Deadly Virtues, The End of the World Is Los Angeles and Why Men Are Afraid of Women

APRIL 2018 - READING LIST AND PICK OF THE MONTH

Numbers-wise  - only 6 reads completed (two of them were short, one of the two uber-short ) - April was a fairly disappointing reading month, but there was a lot going on with a house move undertaken after 25 years in our last gaff. I expect the repercussions of the move will still be felt during May as we get settled and the unpacking, dump runs, furniture assembly slowly winds down. Probably to be replaced by gardening and decorating!

One stand out book and pick of the month- Cormac O'Keeffe's Black Water - a FIVE STAR Dublin debut!

The full list was.....


Glenn McGoldrick - Red Marks (2017) (4.5)

McDroll - Feeling It (2013) (4)

Robert Parker - Crook's Hollow (2018) (4.5)

Various - Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime (2018) (4)

Patricia Skalka - Death Rides the Ferry (2018) (4.5)

Cormac O'Keeffe - Black Water (2018) (5)


More trivia for my own amusement though feel free to scroll through and cure your insomnia!

3 x 4.5 STAR READS...... Glenn McGoldrick, Patricia Skalka and Robert Parker. Parker has been enjoyed before. Prior to April I was a Skalka and McGoldrick virgin. More from Glenn McGoldrick awaits me.

2 x 4 STAR READS.....  both short stories collections. One self published by Scottish writer McDroll and the other an anthology by AN INSECURE WRITER'S WRITER SUPPORT GROUP published by Freedom Fox Press

5 reads from 5 different authors,

4 of the 5 were new-to-me authors, plus none of the writers featured in the anthology had been read before

Gender analysis -  2 male authors, 3 females - the anthology comprised of 10 female authors and one male - progress of sorts for me.

I believe of the 5 authors I read, 2 are English, 1 hail from the US, 1 is Scottish and 1 is Irish


All 6 of the reads were fiction - 3 novels and the rest short stories - a collection, an anthology and a stand-alone.

All of the books were published in this decade ....4 from 2018, 1 from 2017, 1 from 2013 -  a familiar cry - whatever happened to me reading older books?


Two of the reads were pre-owned. The other four came from Edelweiss (1), publishers (2), and 1 from a publicist.

Favourite cover? Patricia Skalka - Death Rides the Ferry

Second favourite – Glenn McGoldrick and Red Marks

My reads were this long 14 - 68 - 210 - 202 - 208 - 320

Total page count = 1022 (2909 in March)....... a near 1900 page decrease

4 were Kindle reads, and 2 were paperbacks.

1 < 50,
1 between 51 < 100,
0 between 101 < 200,
3 between 201 < 300,
1 between 301 < 400,
0  > 400 pages

Cormac O'Keeffe with Black Water was the longest read at 320 pages.

Glenn McGoldrick's Red Marks was the shortest at 14 pages long

PATRICIA SKALKA - DEATH RIDES THE FERRY (2018)

Synopsis/blurb.....

It’s a sparkling August day on Washington Island and the resonant notes of early classical music float on the breeze toward the sailboats and ferries that ply the waters of Death’s Door strait. After a forty-year absence, the Viola da Gamba Music Festival has returned to the picturesque isle on the tip of Wisconsin’s Door County peninsula. Sheriff Dave Cubiak enjoys a rare day off as tourists and a documentary film crew hover around the musicians.

The jubilant mood sours when an unidentified passenger is found dead on a ferry. Longtime residents recall with dismay the disastrous festival decades earlier, when another woman died and a valuable sixteenth-century instrument—the fabled yellow viol—vanished, never to be found. 

Cubiak follows a trail of murder, kidnapping, and false identity that leads back to the calamitous night of the twin tragedies. With the lives of those he holds most dear in peril, the sheriff pursues a ruthless killer into the stormy northern reaches of Lake Michigan.

Not an author or series I was familiar with before spotting this one on Edelweiss review site and taking a punt on it. And without it ever threatening to become a contender for best book ever it was an enjoyable few hours spent in the company of Patricia Skalka's writing and lead character Dave Cubiak.

A two-fold, twin-timeline mystery with the death of an initially unidentified woman on a Washington Island ferry connected to the disappearance of a priceless musical instrument forty years previously. I enjoyed the investigation and the slow uncovering of events and facts and possibilities which eventually drew Cubiak closer to the culprit, though not before another fatality.

History, secrets, music, a small town setting, a festival, an island, water, a ferry - lots to like and appreciate and in truth a bit of a change of pace and style of narrative from a lot of my regular reading.

There's a fantastic and impassioned speech by one of the characters in regards to his love of music which resonated with me, given my son's passion for music and his striving to make a career for himself in this field......

"Music is important in more ways than I can explain. It lifts us up from the mundane. It sustains us in time of sorrow. People can appreciate a good painting or a beautiful statue but they can't re-create it. Not like they can music. They might not be able to play an instrument well or at all, but everyone can hum a tune. Music is the only art form you can take with you wherever you go, no matter who you are."

Towards the end, as the raison d'etre and the murderer becomes apparent there's a ramping up of tension, with Cubiak and his partner (romantic) in danger, before a satisfying finale.

Dave Cubiak is interesting as a character. He's a widower with a past and in some respects reminded me of Terry Shames lead man Samuel Craddock. One slight difference is Cubiak's capacity for new love and all the complications that might bring, whereas Craddock's remains faithful to his late wife's memory, with a new woman unthinkable. The personal detail adds depth to the character and flesh to the mystery and in many respects is essential in presenting a three dimensional book as opposed to 2D cardboard cut-outs. That this is achieved in a tad over two hundred pages is admirable.

Other plusses - setting - Door County, Wiconsin. Pace - less than pedal to metal, much more than pedestrian. Ticks in every box.

Death Rides the Ferry is Skalka's fourth Dave Cubiak mystery. Death Stalks Door County opens the series, which continues with Death at Gills Rock and Death In Cold Water. If time and money was infinite, I'd happily revisit the earlier books in the series.

Patricia Skalka has her website here.
She's on Twitter - @PatriciaSkalka

Overall 4.5 from 5

Read in April, 2018
Published in 2018 (May 8th - AM UK AM US AM CANADA)
Page count - 208
Source - Edelweiss review site, courtesy of publisher - University of Wisconsin Press 
Format - Kindle

VARIOUS - TICK TOCK: A STITCH IN CRIME (2018)

Synopsis/blurb....

The clock is ticking...

Can a dead child’s cross-stitch pendant find a missing nun? Is revenge possible in just 48 minutes? Can a killer be stopped before the rescuers are engulfed by a city ablaze? Who killed what the tide brought in? Can a soliloquizing gumshoe stay out of jail?

Exploring the facets of time, eleven authors delve into mysteries and crimes that linger in both dark corners and plain sight. Featuring the talents of Gwen Gardner, Rebecca M. Douglass, Tara Tyler, S. R. Betler, C.D. Gallant-King, Jemi Fraser, J. R. Ferguson, Yolanda Renée, C. Lee McKenzie, Christine Clemetson, and Mary Aalgaard.

Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these eleven tales will take you on a thrilling ride into jeopardy and secrecy. Trail along, find the clues, and stay out of danger. Time is wasting...

A collection of short stories which I worked my way through at a pace of one a day. None of the authors were familiar to me.

A Stitch in Crime by Gwen Gardner ....... enjoyable enough, cross stitching and hauntings, a sweet shop with a disturbed spirit and a connection to an orphanage and a kindly old nun.

Gussy Saint and the Case of the Missing Coed by C.D. Gallant-King ..... an ex-boxer PI and a dame with a family grudge

The Tide Waits by Rebecca M. Douglass ...... a barkeeper crosses proverbial swords with the Lord of the Manor, time and tide wait for no man

The Little Girl in the Bayou by J. R. Ferguson Cypress .... a child in jeopardy, an indifferent police force and a man whose conscience won't let it go. Harsh, unforgiving, brutal but a story with a heart.

Like the Tree by Yolanda Renée .... a messy end to an unhappy marriage, the merry widow gets her happy ever after - cleverly plotted - possibly my favourite in the collection

Reset by Tara Tyler ..... a bit of time travel to right a wrong.

Three O’Clock Execution by Samantha Betler (S. R. Betler) ..... death row answers - but no stay of execution

Center Lane by Christine Clemetson ..... corporate fraud, a patsy, a dirty cop, payback - all slightly confusing if I'm honest

One More Minute by Mary Aalgaard ...... domestic strife and an unforeseen end to a couple of relationships, taut and tense storytelling

Heartless by C. Lee McKenzie.... a mad abductor and murderer and a rescue during the great Chicago Fire of 1871

Until Release by Jemi Fraser ...... a count down to a killer's release and the welcoming party waiting to greet him. Thoughtful and tense, a great finish to the collection.

Like any collection there were a few stories with outcomes that give pause for thought and a couple that kind of passed me by. All of them have a time theme in the backdrop, some so subtly presented you almost wouldn't know it was there. In others the ticking of the clock was more imperative.

Enjoyable overall.

4 from 5

Read in April, 2018
Published - 2018
Page count - 202
Source - review copy from Dancing Lemur Press
Format - Kindle