Author: EKK

Renaissance Granddad’s Favorite Books of the 70s!

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An AARP Post leads to a list of My Favorite Books from the 1970s!

 

This morning my wife said “you’re old. please join AARP so we can at least derive some benefits from you ancientness!” Actually, she didn’t say that, but she did ask me to join AARP so that we can hopefully get a discount on our Ancestry.com renewal! While I was on the site registering and paying the whole $16.00 a year membership this post Readers’ Picks: 10 Books Boomers Love caught my attention.These are the books that the readers picked:

10 The World According to Garp – John Irving
9. The Joy of Sex – Edited by Alex Comfort
8. The Color Purple – Alice Walker
7. Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut
6. Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
5 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
4. In Cold Blood – Truman Capote
3 Roots – Alex Haley
2. Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
1 Catcher in the Rye – J.D Salinger

While the above list is a terrific list, it is not my reading list! I have only read two of the books on the list – Catch-22 and Slaughterhouse Five. So I thought that I put together a list of my favorite books that were published and read mostly during my high school and college years.

Renaissance Granddad’s Favorite Reads from the 1970s – as best he can remember!

 

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Several of the authors among those shown could have had two or more books on the list. John Fowles’  The Collector and The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Alexander Solzhenitsyn‘s The First Circle., Tom Tryon’s The Other and Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5, could have all been on the list!

The late high school years along with the college’s year set the tone for the life that follows. Is there a better music than the music of your generation, at least there isn’t for the music of mine! And the books you read lay a foundation for future reading as well help guide you along  your life’s path. The works of Herman Hesse helped me discover and accept the duality of nature, Catch-22 and August 1914 taught me about the absurdities and the horrors of war, and Stephen King and Tom Tryon taught me to be afraid of the dark – very afraid! The Day of the Jackal and The Eye of the Needle ignited a love of political thrillers,Watership Down and All Creatures Great and Small enhanced my love of animals.

Then there is Death at an Early Age, Reading the story of Jonathan Kozol‘s first year as a teacher in a very poor Boston school, was upsetting. When I read the book and I felt so sorry for those poor children, the saddest thing may be that in many schools throughout America things haven’t changed all that much, especially in the inner city schools. Anyway reading Death at an Early Age led me to an Education degree from the University of Georgia. Unfortunately, the twists and turns of my life resulted in that degree going unused! But I hope that my love of learning and reading has been passed on to my children and they will in turn pass it on to their children. And maybe my daughter Elizabeth, who is in her final year of her Masters program in Educational Psychology at the University of Delaware, will do what I didn’t and help some of those in need children!

So there is the list of some of my favorite books of the 1970s. It was a fun exercise and I think many of those books should be visited again!  How many of my books have you other boomers read?? What were some of your favorites from that era??

An Am Walk with Oliver and the Music of Eldad Tarmu!

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Eldad Tarmu – Vibraphone – Born August 26, 1960 in California

 

Today we are babysitting our grandson, Oliver and so far so good. He has been in a good mood, ate his breakfast and we just went for a long walk at the end of which he fell asleep!!

This morning, I decided that I was going to listen to some music when we went on our walk and for the soundtrack I thought about making it some jazz, possibly someone new whose birthday is today!!

Many times when I review the jazz birthdays I look for musicians who play an instrument that I love and today the instrument that was prevalent was the vibraphone with three musician’s sharing today as the day of their birth. The first was Eldad Tarmu, then Patricia Franceschy and finally Peter Appleyard. I chose to listen to Eldad Tarmu

. When I went to Spotify to check out Eldad’s music the first album that popped up was Songs for the Queen of Bohemia. Okay. I said to myself, I  have listened to this album before and liked it. When I went to Eldad’s website I immediately remembered the picture of him. I thought maybe I have previously written a post about him, so I searched my posts and with no results!

I guess he is one of the many musicians, I have listened to and never written about! So let’s do it now…..

About Eldad Tarmu

from his website biography……

Eldad Tarmu

Eldad Tarmu was born in Los Angeles, California, (August 26, 1960) where he started studying drums and percussion. After graduating from Tel Aviv University in Israel, he returned to the US and started touring and holding jazz clinics with various jazz ensembles, mainly in Europe and Asia.

In 2005 he got his Master’s degree in Afro-Latin Music, from California State University Los Angeles. The same year he was appointed Head of the Jazz Department at “Richard Oschanitzky” Jazz School of Tibiscus University in Timisoara, Romania, following a fruitful collaboration with Romanian bassist and violinist Johnny Bota, one of the school founders.

In 2009 he relocated to the US again, in order to continue his education at Stony Brook University, where he got a second Master’s degree, in Classical Composition. He is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Performance from the same school, degree pursued under the guidance of Ray Anderson.

He is a professor of World Music Studies, Intro to Music and African-American Music at Hudson County Community College in Jersey City. He has recently developed a Latin American Music Studies course for the College. He has also been teaching summer music classes (MUS101, MUS308) at SUNY Stony Brook Manhattan, as well as MUS568 Jazz Combo and MUS309 Music After 1900, as a teaching assistant at Stony Brook University. Read More

About Songs for the Queen of Bohemia

Songs for the Queen of Bohemia was recorded by the Eldad Tarmu Jazz Chamber Ensemble. Here’s some information about the Ensemble….From Sonicbids

The Eldad Tarmu Chamber Ensemble began as a septet formed in 2006 in Timisoara, Romania, where the band leader, American vibraphonist and composer Eldad Tarmu, taught Jazz Studies for four years.

The initial members of the septet were Romanian bass player Johnny Bota, Israeli drummer Yoni Halevy and Tabac String Quartet. In September 2006, after their first tour, they recorded Tarmu’s compositions under the album name Songs for the Queen of Bohemia, which was released in March 2007 in Romania and in June 2009 in the US.
This rare formation, comprised of vibraphone, bass and drums in the rhythm section, augmented by a string quartet (two violins, viola and cello), create the ideal palette for the musical styles blended in Tarmu’s compositions. Middle-Eastern melodies and grooves mix with jazz and classical harmonies to make a distinctive cutting edge world jazz chamber sound. Read More

Final Thoughts

Songs for the Queen of Bohemia was the perfect album for a leisurely stroller walk around the streets of the Billingsport section of Paulsboro this morning. I enjoyed both Oliver and Eldad on the walk. So Happy Birthday Eldad – Hope you have a great day!

Links for the Further Explorations of the Music of Eldad Tarmu…..

Website
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Wikipedia.

Here is the Eldad Tarmu Jazz Ensemble performing the Improvisation parts and ending of “Traveling Alone”. Composition: Eldad Tarmu John Lenis – bass, Michael Winnicki – drums

 

Safari – Parnell Hall

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Safari - Parnell Hall

Safari – Parnell Hall – Stanley Hastings Series (Book #19)

Safari (Book #19) is the first Stanley Hastings mystery set outside the United States. Most of the series takes place in New York City, where Stanley works as a private investigator for negligence attorney Richard Rosenberg, much to the annoyance of NYPD Sergeant MacAullif. The only other book set away from New York was appropriately titled Cozy, in which Stanley and Alice vacation at a bed and breakfast in New England.

The Story

In Safari, Stanley and his wife Alice are finally on the trip she’s dreamed about forever — a safari in Zambia. Stanley, of course, is less enthusiastic. They book with Clemson Safaris, a budget outfit led by the gung-ho great white hunter Clemson. The tour offers up-close encounters with elephants, lions, hyenas, and other wild animals. But soon, a spotter working for Clemson is found dead — supposedly from a falling fruit from the sausage tree. Then a tourist dies in her sleep. Both deaths are soon determined to be murder, and Stanley is called upon to solve the case… though as usual, he doesn’t have a clue!

What Makes It Work

Parnell Hall’s strength has always been dialogue — witty, funny, and full of wordplay. Marilyn Stasio of the New York Times Book Review noted:

“The Stanley Hastings mysteries depend on subversively sly wordplay. In the violent verbal world he inhabits, Stanley would be happy just to win an argument.”

The San Diego Union wrote:

“A light-hearted romp, drolly told, and made pleasant by its deprecating, much put-upon and wholly charming hero.”

And when reviewing Stakeout, Booklist observed:

“Stanley, who seems to have more in common with Barney Fife than Sam Spade, is actually a pretty fair detective, and, more important, his narration is witty, self-deprecating, and observant. The plot is logical in a convoluted sort of way, and the resolution is satisfying. Stakeout continues the Hastings tradition of murder with a wink and a smile.”

Bottom Line

Safari was a three-star book for me. I enjoyed it, but I don’t think it was one of Hall’s very best. Still, it’s a cozy, light, quick, fun mystery — and fans of Janet Evanovich and other humorous authors will definitely enjoy it

Book-Ed’s Planned February Reads

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February Reads

 

Yes, I know that February doesn’t start until Sunday, but I thought I’d get a jump on things, because anything that I’m reading now won’t be finished until February anyway! So here are my February Reads….

Revelation SpaceRevelation Space– Alastair Reynolds

This book is the only book that I didn’t complete from my planned January reads!!  I am actually about half-way through it, so I guess that’s too bad. It’s a fairly long book that is kinds hard to follow at times, but I am enjoying it!!

 

Th Promise of a Pencil - 2015 Nonfiction Reading ChallengeThe Promise of a Pencil – Adam Braun

I chose this book as part of my Non-Fiction challenge. It is actually a great story  about how an idea from one ordinary person can have a real impact on our world! Hopefully, I can put some of Adam’s ideas into practice!

 

Throne of GlassThrone of Glass – Sarah J. Maas

I don’t think I’ve ever read a current Young Adult novel, so I thought I’d try one and see what all the fuss is about! So far so good, I also have Crown of Midnight checked out of the library in case I really like the adventures of the kick-ass assassin Celeana Sardothien!  Counts toward my unknown Science and Fantasy Challenge!

 

Good OmensGood Omens – Terry Pratchett Neil Gaiman

I really didn’t plan on reading this book, but I spotted it on one of my TBR shelves, started it and already I’m laughing my head off! This one counts toward my TBR Reading Challenge and the unknown Science and Fantasy Challenge!

 

 

TemplarTemplar – P.C.. Doherty

From Goodreads: The Templars exploded onto the public conciousness with Dan Brown‘s THE DA VINCI CODE, now journey with Paul Doherty to 1095 and experience the founding of the Templar Order in all its epic and brutal detail. 1095 and crusading fervour has swept Europe. Christ’s fief of Jerusalem has been seized by the Infidels. The Frankish Knights of the West are to march east to liberate the Holy City.

I picked up this book yesterday at the library to go to read as part of my Historical Fiction Challenge. The rating at Goodreads is only three stars and I see lots of 1s in the reviews, so we’ll see!

You can check out my progress on my reading challenge update page. Overall, January was a good month! I finished 4 out of the 5 books I planned to read and I’m halfway through the 5th one! I have also started 3 out of the above February reads!! Not Bad!!

A Year of Discovery from William G Tapply to James Lee Burke – 1990

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Dead Winter - William G Tapply

I started to keep track of the books that I read  in 1988. I kept record of them in   A Book Lover’s Journal  and wrote short blurbs about the books.

Here is a list of the 54 books that I read in 1990. That’s the most books read of any year, since I’ve   kept records!

 

Dead Winter – William G Tapply and the Start of a Beautiful Friendship

Reviewing the list, I see that it was the year I discovered William G Tapply’s Brady Coyne. After reading  Dead Winter, the eighth book in the series, which was released in 1989, I quickly went back and read the prior seven books!

Tapply wrote 20 more Brady Coyne novels of which I’ve read 16.  Books #21 Shadow of Death and #25 One-Way Ticket are on my to be read bookshelves!

Maybe it’s time to rediscover this great series!

Mongo Frederickson another Series Becomes a Favorite

In 1990 the second most read  series was the Mongo Mystery series from George C Chesbro. I read four books from this series. From Goodreads….

Dr. Robert Frederickson, or “Mongo” to his friends. He’s a former circus tumbler, black belt in karate, doctor of Criminology, and professor at a New York City university. And he’s quite an unusual fellow as well, not only because he’s a private investigator but also because he’s a dwarf…

The stories and the characters in this are terrific! Chesbro wrote 13 Mongo books of which I’ve read 12.  The first seven books are probably my favorites. Here’s a link to a great synopsis of the work of George C Chesbro. Check it out and Chesbro’s work at Dangerousdwarf.com you won’t be disappointed!!

The Complete List of Books Read in 1990

Of course 1990’s reads also included some books by  other favorites like James Lee Burke, Loren Estleman, Bill Pronzini, Tony Hillerman  and Stuart Kaminsky. Here’s the complete list!

TitleAuthor
The Cold Smell of Sacred Stone (A Mongo Mystery, #6)George C. Chesbro
Dark Side (Loren Swift Mystery)Doug Hornig
The Cat’s MeowRobert Wright Campbell
Saturday Night DeadR.D. Rosen
Murder on the HudsonDon Flynn
Perfect EndWilliam Marshall
Extenuating CircumstancesJonathan Valin
Nibbled to Death by DucksRobert Wright Campbell
The Man Who Met the Train (Carl Wilcox, #7)Harold Adams
An Affair of Sorcerers (A Mongo Mystery, #3)George C. Chesbro
PeeperLoren D. Estleman
Dead WinterWilliam G. Tapply
The Language of Cannibals (A Mongo Mystery, #8)George C. Chesbro
The Man Who Walked Like a Bear (Porfiry Rostnikov, #6)Stuart M. Kaminsky
Follow the Sharks (Brady Coyne, #3)William G. Tapply
You Bet Your Life (Toby Peters, #3)Stuart M. Kaminsky
Out of NowhereWilliam Marshall
Coyote Waits (Navajo Mysteries, #10)Tony Hillerman
The Marine Corpse (Brady Coyne, #4)William G. Tapply
Death at Charity’s Point (Brady Coyne, #1)William G. Tapply
Gone to EarthRick Boyer
Quicksilver (Nameless Detective, #11)Bill Pronzini
A Void in Hearts (Brady Coyne, #7)William G. Tapply
Deadfall (Nameless Detective, #15)Bill Pronzini
Murder Among FriendsFrank McConnell
The Vulgar Boatman (Brady Coyne, #6)William G. Tapply
The Frog KingFrank McConnell
Wall of Glass (Joshua Croft, #1)Walter Satterthwait
A Ticket to the Boneyard (Matthew Scudder, #8)Lawrence Block
Blood LakeFrank McConnell
Icy Clutches (Gideon Oliver, #6)Aaron Elkins
Dead Meat (Brady Coyne, #5)William G. Tapply
Jackpot (Nameless Detective, #17)Bill Pronzini
At Ease with the Dead (Joshua Croft, #2)Walter Satterthwait
Sweet Women Lie (Amos Walker Mystery #10)Loren D. Estleman
The Neon Rain (Dave Robicheaux, #1)James Lee Burke
Shadow of a Broken Man (A Mongo Mystery, #1)George C. Chesbro
Client PrivilegeWilliam G. Tapply
Black Cherry Blues (Dave Robicheaux, #3)James Lee Burke

Amanda Kyle Williams – The Stranger You Seek and it’s off to book two!

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The Stranger You Seek - Amanda Kyle Williams

Originally Published in Nov 2014 REvised and Updated Feb 2026

So last week I wrote that I was struggling through The Stranger You Seek the first of the Keye Street novels from Amanda Kyle Williams. Tonight I went to the library to get book 2 in the series Stranger in the Room!

It’s easy to explain the reason , stealing and editing a line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail “It Got Better!!

I guess that it took a while for the story to grab me, but once it did it didn’t let go until the last twist and turn in the plot!

About The Stranger You Seek – Keye Street #1

The protagonist of the book is Keye Street, an ex-FBI profiler who was a rising star in the agency, until her alcohol addiction brought her career crashing down.

Now Keye is a working PI in Atlanta chasing down bail jumpers, catching adulterers, serving subpoenas, that is until her best friend Atlanta Police Detective Aaron Rauser calls her to help him out on a grisly murder case.

The case’s profile quickly  rises soon turning into a hunt, for the “Wishbone” killer. As the killer taunts Rauser and Street, the hunt turns personal, with Keye and Rauser in the killer’s crosshairs.

My Minor Problems Are Overcome

Now, back to the problems that I see as minor and were overcome  by the storyline.  Elizabeth B. in her review at Goodreads didn’t see it that way though… she wrote……

… The main character was just the most annoying narrator ever. It was as if every problem a person could have was built in by the author. Flawed is one thing but you pretty easily degenerate into Mary Sue-ish and that’s exactly what happened here. Freakish name? Check. Bad family history? Check. Discrimination from childhood? Check. Drugs and/or alcohol abuse? Check. But I’m a survivor and will overcome everything all by my lonesome? Check.  Read More At Goodreads

I really didn’t think it was that bad and by the end of the book, I liked Keye and Rauser, and saw them as a team that I could root for!

Final Thoughts

Bottom line: A strong twisting ending made the book a good read and a series that I will follow at least into the next book Stranger in the Room. so Check it Out!

Grade: B – over the first half of the book, A for the last so I guess that’s a B+!!

Post 2026 Additions

Soon after reading The Stranger You Seek I read book # 2 in the series The Stranger in the Room -. You can check out that post here

Recognition for Amanda Kyle Williams

Both The Stranger You Seek] and The Stranger in the Room have appeared on annual best-of lists. Publishers Weekly called The Stranger You Seek “an explosive, unpredictable, and psychologically complex thriller that turns crime fiction clichés inside out.” Her novels have been translated into nine languages.

In 1992 The Providence File was nominated for Best Mystery at the 4th Annual Lambda Literary Awards.[

In 2012 The Stranger You Seek was shortlisted for the Townsend Prize for Fiction.[ The following year, the book was shortlisted for the Private Eye Writers of America’s Shamus Award

Amanda Kyle Williams Book Series

Keye Street/Stranger series

  • The Stranger You Seek (2011)
  • Stranger in the Room (2012)
  • Don’t Talk to Strangers (2014)

Madison McGuire series

  • Club Twelve (1990)
  • The Providence File (1991)
  • A Singular Spy (1992)
  • The Spy in Question (1993)

Tragically Amanda Kyle Williams shortly after finishing Don’t Talk to Strangers in 2014 she was diagnosed with cancer. She passed away in 2018.

When I finished Stranger in the Room I had conversation with Amanda either on Facebook through a comment she left on my blog. I told her get on the stick and finish that third book – Her comment was short and sweet – Aye Aye Sir! I feel badly that I didn’t know she had died until a few years after she passed. When I went to look if she had written any new books.

Maybe it’s time to find those Madison McGuire books.

American Forces Begin “Operation Hastings” in Vietnam -July 15,1966 – Music from Phil Ochs!

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imageOn July 15th of 1966,  US forces began “Operation Hastings” an operation to drive North Vietnamese forces from the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam. From Wikipedia….

Operation Hastings was an American military operation in the Vietnam War. The operation was a qualified success in that it pushed the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces back across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). As the NVA clearly did not feel constrained by the Operation Hastings was an American military operation in the Vietnam War. The operation was a qualified success in that it pushed the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces back across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). As the NVA clearly did not feel constrained by the “demilitarized” nature of the DMZ, US military leadership ordered a steady build-up of U.S. Marines near the DMZ from 1966 to 1968.

Read More

I was 15 in 1966 and on the cusp of caring about what was happening in Vietnam, but over the next few years, as I approached draft age, my concern would obviously, grow. Eventually, I ended up on the side that thought the war was wrong, and wanted to bring our troops home.

When I think about this period of my life, the musician who comes to mind is Country Joe McDonald….”and it’s 1, 2, 3 What are we fighting for….”  No really, it’s Phil Ochs and the song that comes to mind and really sums up for me,  why we were destined to fail in Vietnam, and with a change in colors Iraq, is “White Boots Marching in a Yellow Land”….

PS – You know just because we were against the war, it doesn’t mean we were not for the men who fought the war. What everyone wanted more than anything was for those men to come home and no more to be sent there to die in what had become a senseless war. There’s  a scene in the classic show Taxi .

When Tony angrily confronts Jim with the bitter accusation that he fought in Vietnam so that burnouts like him could stay home and get loaded at protest rallies, the philosophical Ignatowski can only stammer a heartfelt, and utterly sincere, “Thank you.” Read More

and while I did not get loaded at Protest Rallies I also say – Thank You!

Evening thoughts : “Navajo Rug” – Grandson Oliver and his Great-Grandparents Clarke!

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So I just finished a four mile run, when actually maybe a one mile jog to almost fast walk, I hate the hot weather! Anyway, after I  was finished, I collapsed in my chair here in front of the computer and almost fell asleep, I did manage to get up and take a shower. As I was getting out of the shower I was trying to think of what to eat, something maybe quick and light and  decided on a fried egg sandwich. That  means two eggs on toast….., which in turn leads my mind to “Well, it’s two eggs up on whiskey toast……” and Jerry Jeff ….

Yesterday,  we went to Surf City for the traditional July 4th potluck picnic with my wife’s mother’s side of the family. It had been canceled from July 4th, because of the weather.  This was the first time in many years, that most of my children could attend, well, all could have attended on Friday, unfortunately my oldest son Nick couldn’t make it on Saturday because of his work schedule. But the young man that everyone wanted to meet Oliver,could make it, and he didn’t disappoint. My wife took a series of pictures of Oliver with her Uncle James Browne. Thinking about it, Jim is really the only one of our aunts and uncles except for Kathy’s Uncle Roy, who lives in California. So here is Oliver with his grand Uncle……

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Yes, Oliver flirted with several of the women, but he was entranced by only one thing……. the iPhone…..

 

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That’s his Dad holding Oliver, as he stares happily at my iPhone!!

As I was looking for these pictures that my wife had posted on my Facebook page, I came across these pictures of my daughter Elizabeth and my wife’s mother (and Jim’s sister) I knew there was a strong resemblance between the two but I didn’t realize, how strong it was……..

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One of the biggest  – hell “I only wish thats” of my life – was that my children would have been able to know my wife’s parents, Bob and Ruth Clarke, who were two wonderful people, that could have had a very positive impact on my family! I know that their spirit has actually been passed on to our kids, by my wife, but still, it would have been nice, if they could have done it themselves!

My wife’s mother Ruth Browne Clarke died at the age of 48 in 1981 from breast cancer, and her father Robert Nelson Clarke died of a heart attack in 1993 at the age of 60. Damn!

 

Never Look Away -(Book 24 of 2010) – Linwood Barclay

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 Never Look Away – Linwood Barclay (Book 24 of 2010)

 

Ok, so I really did like Linwood Barclay‘s Zack Walker series but once again if he keeps writing books like book number 24 for 2010  Never Look Away I guess I’ll have to forgive him.

The start of the book which centers around reporter David Harwood who has his life turned upside down and inside out after first his son is abducted at a theme park only to be quickly found and then his wife goes missing!

From that point Harwood’s life is shattered and as the story unfolds all signs put toward David as his wife’s murderer. I loved the characters and the plot and overall the pages just flew by and I had to keep reading!

 

Like I said I started reading Barclay’s Zack Walker series and have read all of his standalones which include Too Close to Home which was awarded first place in the Best Novel category of the Arthur Ellis Awards, the top prize in Canada for crime fiction, Fear the Worst, and No Tine for Goodbye all of which were great!

So if you like great writing and exciting interesting stories were a normal guy is thrust into extraordinary thrilling situations try Linwood Barclay! From the back cover of Never Look Away

“If you like Harlan Coben, you’ll love Linwood Barclay” – Peter Robinson author of All the Colors of Darkness

“Fear the Worst holds the reader in a tight grip as good and evil match wits and wiles. Barclay pushes the edge of suspense to the edge and beyond” – Steve Berry the author of The Paris Vendetta

About No Time for Goodbye equally applicable to Never Look Away

“You won’t get up until you’ve turned the last page” – Michael Connelly

I certainly can say that’s what I did tonight and then I fell asleep (a late four mile run may have had something to do with the sleep part) which is why this post is so late and Twang Tuesday will be reported tomorrow!

 

Book 23 – Baja Florida

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Baja Florida by Bob Morris is the fifth book in the Zack Chastain series and is Book 23 for 2010. This series is always a fun quick read filled with interesting characters including Zack, former Gator, former Dolphin (well at least I can partially root for him), Zack’s wife Barbara and daughter Shula, and his right hand man Taino Shaman Boggy. Zack’s previous adventures have been chronicled in books with titles like Bahamarama, JamaciaMeDead, and Bermuda Schwartz! Some how most of what Zack does always turns out wrong!

In this installment, Jack’s longtime friend Mickey Ryser, who is dying  pays Zack a visit and asks him to find his daughter Jen, who Mickey has not seen for twenty years and bring her to his island in the Bahama’s. Jen is a recent graduate of the College of Charleston and has set out on a cruise to the Caribbean with friends, only now she can’t be found and it appears that the detective that Mickey has hired is not doing well at finding her, hence the visit and request to Zack. So Zack and Boggy set off to find Jen and bring her to Mickey. Pretty easy huh, well not in Zack’s world!

Like all the books was a short 242 pages and relatively quick read but is a good fast paced story that keeps your interest, with good characters who have developed nicely over the series. There was more Boggy in this book than the last and that’ a good thing!

This is a series that while the characters have developed over the course of the series, I really don’t think that you have to necessarily read the books in order to enjoy them. So pick up the one nearest you, dive in and enjoy!