Author: ekkarn

Hey Cisco, Hey Pancho – Sidekicks in Crime Fiction

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So my daughter’s Freshman seminar class at William and Mary this fall was Arthur Conan Doyle fiction. One of the books that they used in the course was titled Read On… Crime Fiction Reading Lists For Every Taste. The reading list that appears in the title of this post is appropriate for the book I just finished and the one that I’m currently reading. Both authors Robert Crais and James Lee Burke appear on the list which is as follows:

Neon Rain – James Lee Burke – this is the second Burke book I read Burke’s Cisco is Dave Robicheaux and Pancho is Clete Purcel. From the book:

Burke’s books are filled with dangerous, violent men and Clete Purcel is one of them” …… In Neon Rain, Robicheaux finds himself in deep trouble when he refuses to give up on an investigation that has links to the Mob, Latin American drug lords and the Nicaraguan Contras. It’s a good thing Clete Purcel has his back.”

L.A. Requiem – Robert Crais – Crais’ lead character is Elvis Cole and his sidekick Joe Pike. In this book the story focuses on Joe Pike. Pike is accused of murder and Elvis sets out to prove that Joe is innocence.

A Study in Scarlet – A.C. Doyle – Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson probably the most famous crime fiction duo!

Black Betty –  Walter Mosley – “Easy” Rawlins and “Mouse” Alexander have an uneasy partnership. “There are times when Mouse is as likely to shoot easy as to assist him, but he has also stepped in to save Easy’s life.”*

Double Deuce – Robert B. Parker  – Spenser and Hawk another famous duo made more popular by the TV series. “Hawk a former Mob enforcer, is a frequent companion of Spenser. Hawk is cool, tough, and can be extremely scary when needed all excellent assets in a sidekick”*

Wicked Break – Jeff Shelby – Noah Braddock and Carter Hamm surfer bodies. Noah is an occasional PI and when he need muscle Carter Hamm is there to back him up. I’ve never read these books but they sound good and will have to check them out!

Black Orchids – Rex Stout – Nero Wolfe who does not leave his apartment  needs someone to do the footwork Archie Goodwin serves that purpose! This is another series I have not read but should!!

I’m sure there are more but this is a good list to start with if you like this type of book!

Quotes taken from Read On…Crime Fistion Reading Lists for Every Taste, Barry Trtt, Libraries Unlimited, Westport, Connecticut, London, pp 30-32,

The First Rule – Robert Crais

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The First Rule Robert Crais

The First Rule is the second book by Robert Crais that features Joe Pike as the lead character, The First Rule. Crais usual lead character is Pike’s partner and the self proclaimed “World’s Greatest Detective” Elvis Cole.

There are eleven books in the Elvis Cole series in that series Joe Pike typically plays a supporting role. Pike is an ex-LAPD officer with a shady military past as a mercenary and it’s usually his job to appear mysteriously and save the day and he does it well!

The Story

In The First Rule one of Joe’s men in his military adventures Frank Meyer is killed and his family a wife and two sons are executed during a home invasion. Of course Joe sets out to find and take out the leader of the thieves. The leader turns out to be Michael Darko a member of the Serbian crime network in Los Angeles and the trails leads to more than a single home invasion ring! Along the way Joe is helped out by Elvis and another former member of his group Jon Stone.

My Thoughts

As in all the Crais’ books the characters are good both Elvis and Joe Pike are favorites. Th storyline is good and the action fast paced and the pages fly by! So check out Robert Crais! I think that you can pick up the series at any point, I still haven’t read all the books. The first book  in the series The Monkey’s Raincoat is on my Mount to Be Read!

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Broken – Karin Slaughter – Will Trent and Faith Mitchell In Grant County

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Broken - Karin Slaughter

Broken by Karin Slaughter is the seventh book in the Grant County series. It is also Book #2 in the Georgia Series which features Will Trent and Faith Mitchell. The Georgia Series combines Slaughter’s two series – the Grant County Series with the Atlanta series and together Slaughter’s book list is notable and great!

Broken opens with Sara Linton returning to her home town for Thanksgiving and she is quickly immersed in a mystery

The Story…. from her website:

When the body of a young woman is discovered deep beneath the icy waters of Lake Grant, a note left under a rock by the shore points to suicide. But within minutes, it becomes clear that this is no suicide. It’s a brutal, cold-blooded murder. All too soon former Grant County medical examiner Sara Linton – home for Thanksgiving after a long absence — finds herself unwittingly drawn into the case. The chief suspect is desperate to see her but when she arrives at the local police station she is met with a horrifying sight — he lies dead in his cell, the words ‘Not me’ scrawled across the walls. Something about his confession doesn’t add up and deeply suspicious of the detective in charge, Lena Adams, Sara immediately calls the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Shortly afterwards, Special Agent Will Trent is brought in from his vacation to investigate. But he is immediately confronted with a wall of silence. Grant County is a close-knit community with loyalties and ties that run deep. And the only person who can tell the truth about what really happened is dead.

Final Thoughts

Like all her books the story flies by as you can’t wait to find out what happens, but to me the real beauty lies in the characters that populate her books. These characters are real and face real problems and as you read the books you really feel for the characters as they deal with their disabilities and the consequences of their past actions and shared history.

Karin has a quirky sense of humor and writes a very funny newsletter and is great on Facebook. She is always having contests. The latest contest was  making cupcakes with a murderous theme. The winners are displayed on her website.

While the books can be read out of order. It’s my opinion that it is best to start at the beginning! So check out her work!

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About Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter (born January 6, 1971) is an American crime writer. She has written 25 novels, which have sold more than 40 million copies and have been published in 120 countries. Her first novel, Blindsighted (2001), was published in 27 language and made the Crime Writers’ Association’s Dagger Award shortlist for “Best Thriller Debut” of 2001. Wikipedia

Visit the Karin Slaughter Page

Prince of Fire – Daniel Silva

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So like I said I didn’t put down the Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva yesterday until I finished what is Book 26 of 2010. Obviously like all of Silva’s books this one was a real page turner for me! But I think that in this book more than any of his books Silva based the storyline on the history of the Arab-Isreali conflict and why both sides fight as hard as they do! The enemy that Gabriel Allon faces is Khaled al -Khalifa who is the grandson of  Asad al-Khalifa.  Asad al-Khalifa  fought the Israeli’s and Gabriel’s mentor and boss. Ari Shamron in 1948 . While Gabriel assassinated Khaled’s father Sabri al-Khalifa for the later’s involvement in the attack on the 1972 Israeli Olympic Team. Both the Sheikh and Sabri were fighting for their Palestinian homeland and their home a village called Beit Sayeed (a fictional village created by Silva) that was wiped out under the Tochnit Dalet which was the real name for the plan to remove the hostile Arab population from centers from lands allocated for the new state of Israel. The characters of Asad and Khaled were based on a photograph of a young boy on the lap of Yasir Arafat at the funeral of his father in 1979. The father was terrorist Ali Hassan Salameh the mastermind of the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre.

Anyway this book was great and really showed the humanity on both sides of the struggle and maybe for the first time Gabriel questioned the actions of his country. The book is highly recommended and while the book is part of a series that is best read from the beginning I think you could read the book by itself and still enjoy it!

Finally, I went to Borders Saturday night and used the gift card my son Peter gave me for Father’s Day to buy Karin Slaughter’s new book Broken. It’s great to be back in Grant County and the world of Sara Litton, Lena Adams, Will Trent and all the other great characters of this wonderful series! I’m already about a 1/3 of the way through the book and can’t wait to get back to it!

Daniel Silva – Prince of Fire

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The only two good things about this past week were that the weather broke on Tuesday night and the oppressive heat from Monday and Tuesday was gone and I had a chance to read a little during our first break in the morning and at lunch. Oh and once when the rig was broken down for about an hour yesterday. What I had taken with me to read was Daniel Silva‘s Prince of Fire. Prince of Fire is the fifth book in the Gabriel Allon series. This is one of those series that I usually am behind on and while I’m reading a book in it I realize how much I like the series and then forget about it and move on to something else, duh! But I really do love the series and the characters including Gabriel Allon, who is an art restorer and Israeli agent. The stories are very fast moving and usually have a little history  thrown in as is the case in Prince of Fire. Gabriel’s hatred of his Arab enemies has been fueled by the loss of his son and virtually his wife, who is in a catatonic state, from a car bomb in Vienna. Anyway in Prince of Fire Gabriel is chasing the son of a past enemy who Gabriel assassinated, who has directed several terrorist attacks including the bombng of the Israeli embassy in Rome.  But the question is really who is chasing who! I’m about 2/3 of the way through and probably won’t be able to put it down today until I finish!

Oh and it looks like I will be another book behind as his new book comes out July 20th in hardcover The Rembrandt Affair!

Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva

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The only two good things about this past week were that the weather broke on Tuesday night and the oppressive heat from Monday and Tuesday was gone and I had a chance to read a little during our first break in the morning and at lunch. Oh and once when the rig was broken down for about an hour yesterday.

What I had taken with me to read was Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva. Prince of Fire is the fifth book in the Gabriel Allon series. This is one of those series that I usually am behind on and while I’m reading a book in it I realize how much I like the series and then forget about it and move on to something else, duh! But I really do love the series and the characters including Gabriel Allon, who is an art restorer and Israeli agent.

The stories are very fast moving and usually have a little history  thrown in as is the case in Prince of Fire. Gabriel’s hatred of his Arab enemies has been fueled by the loss of his son and virtually his wife, who is in a catatonic state, from a car bomb in Vienna. Anyway in Prince of Fire Gabriel is chasing the son of a past enemy who Gabriel assassinated, who has directed several terrorist attacks including the bombng of the Israeli embassy in Rome.  But the question is really who is chasing who! I’m about 2/3 of the way through and probably won’t be able to put it down today until I finish!

Oh and it looks like I will be another book behind as his new book comes out July 20th in hardcover The Rembrandt Affair!

Never Look Away – Linwood Barclay

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Never Look Away - Linwood Barclay

 

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

.Never Look Away centers around reporter David Harwood. Harwood 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 stand-alones 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

What Other Authors Say ABout Linwood Barclay’s Books

 

“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!

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Wikipdianks

Linwood Barclay

About Linwood Barclay

Linwood Barclay continues to be a prolific author, releasing new, critically acclaimed thrillers annually. Known for his high-octane plots and relatable characters, his recent work has solidified his status as a master of contemporary suspense.

Visit the Linwood Barclay Page

If you like standalone Mystery/Thrillers…….

Here are three Authors whose books might enjoy:

Charlie Donlea
Charlie Donlea
Michael Koryta/Scott Carson
Riley Sager
Riley Sager
  • Charlie Donlea — tightly plotted thrillers often built around cold cases, missing persons, and strong female leads, with twists that keep coming
  • Michael Koryta / Scott Carson — blends crime, suspense, and sometimes the supernatural, with a darker tone and strong atmosphere
  • Riley Sager — modern psychological thrillers with big twists, often centered on isolated settings and unreliable pasts

Baja Florida – Bob Morris

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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!

Bite Me – A Love Story – Christopher Moore

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‘kayso, my new word from Abby Normal – so begins Book 22 for the year Bite Me by Christopher Moore.  In the words of Abby Normal:

The city of San Francisco is being stalked by a huge shaved vampyre cat named Chet, and only I, Abby Normal, emergency backup mistress of the Greater Bay Area night, and my manga-haired love monkey, Foo Dog, stand between the ravenous monster and a bloody massacre of the general public.

Like You Suck this book is a riot as Abby Normal, Foo Dog and their gay friend Jared are confronted with a vampire cat invasion of San Francisco. While vampires Tommy Flood and the Countess Jody are encased in bronze in the Love Lair and the cops Riveria and Cavuto are wondering what’s happening. Soon Tommy and the Countess are accidentally freed and the well you have to read it and roll on the floor with laughter like me!

In the words of Carl Hiaasen

“Christopher Moore is a very sick man, in the very best sense of the word.”

From the Harper Collins website

The undead rise again in Bite Me, the third book in New York Times bestselling author Christopher Moore’s wonderfully twisted vampire saga. Joining his farcical gems Bloodsucking Fiends and You Suck, Moore’s latest in continuing story of young, urban, nosferatu style love, is no Twilight—but rather a tsunami of the irresistible outrageousness that has earned him the appellation, “Stephen King with a whoopee cushion and a double-espresso imagination” from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and inspired Denver’s Rocky Mountain News to declare him, “the 21st century’s best satirist.

Everything that I have read by Moore is very funny! Check him out!

The Coil by Gayle Lynds

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As a result of my computer that I usually work on is not working properly (what else is new!), so I can’t get on line to write, I have spent most of the last two nights reading and finishing book 21 for the year The Coil by Gayle Lynds. This is the first novel that I’ve read by Lynds whose books are well respected and have won numerous awards. From her website:

Her first Gayle Lynds novel MASQUERADE, was a New York Times bestseller and a People magazine “Page-Turner of the Week.” Publishers Weekly, the bible of the industry, recently compiled a list of the best espionage fiction. At the top were works by le Carre, Ludlum, Frederick Forsyth, and Graham Greene. MASQUERADE was number eight, following Ken Follett’s classic The Eye of the Needle, which Gayle loves.

Other of her novels have been prize winners. THE LAST SPYMASTER won Best Novel from both the American Authors Association and the Military Writers Society of America. THE COIL won Best Contemporary Novel from Affaire de Coeur. MOSAIC was Thriller of the Year at Romantic Times. MESMERIZED was a Daphne du Maurier Award finalist. About her work reviewers have written: “superb,” Chicago Tribune; “immensely satisfying,” Wall Street Journal; “a potent storyteller,” Denver Post; “teeth-grinding suspense,” Publishers Weekly; “roller-coaster thrills,” Los Angeles Times; “terrific,” Cosmopolitan magazine; and “authentic,” Chicago Sun-Times.

The Coil revolves around Liz Sansborough again from Gayle’s website:

Liz Sansborough thought she had left her past behind forever. A former CIA field operative as well as the daughter of perhaps the most notorious Cold War assassin — the man known to the world only as the Carnivore — Liz is now a university professor in Southern California, specializing in the psychology of violence. Then her dead father’s legacy sweeps back to overtake her.

Someone, somewhere, is claiming to possess the Carnivore’s secret files and is using information from them to blackmail prominent world figures to promote some clandestine agenda. Files that Liz swore her father never kept. When Liz’s cousin is kidnapped, the only ransom they’ll accept is the assassin’s records, and if Liz is to save her cousin, she must somehow resurrect her old tradecraft skills and, in a desperate hunt across two continents, locate the files and uncover a dark and dangerous conspiracy linked to a shadowy group known only as the Coil.

I enjoyed the book and the characters. I thought the first half of the book was a little confusing until you got to know all of the players. Since both sides appeared to be after or controling Liz’s attempts to find the files, you didn’t know whose side sone of the chasers were on!  But once things were better established the book moved quickly and
I finished the second half on two nights! Now I have to go back and read The Masquerade which was the story of Liz and her father “The Carnivore” an assassin who killed for good reasons. (kinda like Dexter) And I know I will read more of her books!

POST UPDATE: Sadly I have moved away from Ludlum, Fynn type of thrillers and have not any more of Lynds work. Mistake on my part which I will try to rectify so stay tuned!