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CWC 2015 Arthur Ellis Shortlist
Best First Novel and Unhanged Arthur always peak my interest While travelling the CWC (Crime Writers of Canada) released its shortlist for the 2015 Arthur Ellis Awards given for “excellence in Canadian crime writing.” We have to wait until May 28th to find out the winners so here is the list so you can cross-fingers…
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Those Who Wish Me Dead
Two killers, a forest fire and electrical storm, it’s enough to keep you busy They have pale blue eyes and pale blonde hair, one shoulder length, one military cut. They are the Blackwell brothers and they are as cold as they look. They want 14-year old Jace Wilson dead because he witnessed them…
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The Barkeep: Drink in
Perfect mixology for a sipping libation Justin Chase keeps his life simple. He owns few possessions and practices Zen philosophy. He’s also a very popular bartender. No flash, no drama he mixes a quality potion and when he tires of the wood he stands behind he moves on to another bar. His regulars follow. Several…
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The Dead Room: Dead On!
A multi-layered plot full of unfolding revelations You know those thrillers that speed you along with incomplete characters like cotton candy, sweet but kind of empty? This isn’t one of those. It’s a thriller with characters of depth and a book that keeps you turning pages damn quickly. Teddy Mack has no interest in the practice…
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Peggy Blair: Magic
Let me talk to you about Peggy Blair, or rather her first book The Beggar’s Opera (Midnight in Havana in the UK.) Blair has set up a premise that would seem difficult to pull off. She does. And not just pull off; she eases us into the premise with an ‘of course’ familiarity that expects…
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Florida Roadkill: Off the walker in the 27th state
If the Cohen brothers were to write a book this would be the one. Fortunately we have Tim Dorsey making his mark with the printed word. Florida Roadkill is violent, extreme, and funny as hell. It has a cast of characters as long as some parolee’s rap sheets, and enough stories to fill another book.…
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Reading Rick Mofina
Just finished Rick Mofina’s Vengeance Road which is the first book of the Jack Gannon series. While loathe to admit that I wasn’t familiar with Mofina’s work, I immediately felt I had to do something about that. I was not disappointed. Briefly: Reporter Jack Gannon was a Pulitzer Prize nominee while at the Buffalo Sentinel…
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Dark Places
Libby Day is not a likeable character; she is prickly, aggressive, hostile. The sole witness to the murder of her family when she was seven-years-old, she has carved out an uncertain, clouded life. Her mother and two sisters were killed by her 15-year-old brother Ben and Libby never questioned her childhood testimony until she was…
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Roland March Series
In November, I made a brief mention of the eBook Back on Murder the first of the Roland March series by J. Mark Bertrand. Now well into the second book of the series, Pattern of Wounds, what I said then, still stands – this is a very good writer. Roland March is a homicide detective…
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Defending Jacob
This story by William Landay is about a family on a journey of discovery about themselves and each other when their 14-year old son is accused of the murder of his classmate. On the day their son is charged, Andy Barber advises his wife of a secret of which he is deeply ashamed – a…
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The Gods of Gotham
By Lyndsay Faye It’s New York City in 1845 and there is an invasion taking place. Irish Catholics abound and the Protestant masses are grouping to defend against the threat of papacy. Sound familiar? Well substitute the words Muslim for Catholic and you can see that everything old is new again. But I digress. It…
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Jane Casey
Ever read a book where the principal character is a rookie detective in the first few chapters, by the middle of the book an undiscovered genius and by the end has attained the wisdom and influence of someone who has been on the job for 15-years? Be ready for the refreshing Det. Maeve Kerrigan, who…