-
Patrick B. Simpson: Pierce
Truman Pierce may not be what people assume is the typical maintenance man. He’s young, in his mid-twenties, and loves jazz. Pierce finds the body of college instructor Danielle Hutchins in her classroom. Strangely, a business card is left on her body and the only thing on the card is a cross. He’s investigated by…
-
Jason Beech: Keep the Motor Running
Not a Love Triangle – Something Else Jason Beech presents us with three people: Karl Lankester, married with two children, a wife who’s just hanging on, and her badgering mother. Tempest Stanley, Karl’s neighbour. Sultry, sharp and embarrassed that she’s sunk so low to put up living with an abusive boyfriend. Czech Downes, Tempest’s boyfriend,…
-
Melissa Yi – Author & ER Physician
In the past I’ve reviewed three of her crime fiction books, The Dr. Hope Sze Medical Mystery series, by Melissa Yi. What you may not have noticed is that Yi is known in the medical world as Dr. Yuan-Innes, and she’s an Emergency Room doctor. This is one small attempt to honour a genuine humanitarian…
-
Melissa Scrivner Love: Lola
Gal next door Lola is one capable woman. Smart enough, that everyone believes her boyfriend Garcia heads the Crenshaw Six. She has the ruthless intelligence to lead from behind. The Six are a small gang who’ve carved out a niche in their South Central LA neighbourhood. They come up against forces darker than themselves when events…
-
J Kent Messum: Bait + Interview
Swim for life Six strangers, all addicts, all from Miami neighbourhoods best left unnamed. Stalked, drugged and kidnapped, they awake on a small, uninhabited island in the Florida Keys. They have one days food and water, and a note advising them to swim for their next fix. It’s waiting for them on another island…
-
David Achord: Wildcat
Right kind of PI Wrong kind of problems Thomas Ironcutter has big weight over his head. His wife committed suicide, the police department where he was a detective thinks he did it. He waits for the inevitable. He’s moved on as he can, there is little of the wounded detective in this book. He is pragmatic and…
-
Franklin Schneider & Jennifer Schneider: Black Hills
Town of Corruption Place of Despair Alice Riley is a disgraced Brooklyn journalist turned private investigator. She came to her new profession by searching for the truth behind a story. Instead, she found self-serving justification and unemployment. She’s in the South Dakota oil fracking town of Whitehurst to investigate the arrest of a former colleague’s…
-
The Power of the Dog: Don Winslow
Drug-trafficking & cartels: A resurgence Narcos on Netflix and the movie Sicario are two recently released projects Both brought me to finally read The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow. The book presents us with a labyrinthine world of corruption, greed and murder. DEA agent Art Keller is determined to bring Don Pedro Aviles,…