Category: Books-Fiction

Dance of Death – Preston & Child

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Dance of Death – Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Book 6 of Pendergast Series Books 2 of Diogenes

 

So I am not sick that often so when I am I really hate it!! The last two days have been spent nursing a bad cold. Yesterday I flt like I had been run over by a Mack Truck, Today I was better and the damage was done  by a pesky little Mini-Cooper which I believe just keeps circling the block and running me over just about the time that I think that I have this thing knocked!!

The only good thing about yesterday was that I finished Book 21 of 2015 Dance of Death by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Dance of Death is Book # 6 of t  the Aloysius Pendergast series and the second book to feature his twisted  sibling Diogenes. Dance of Death, along with The Book of Death and Cemetery Dance. I thought were the books in the trilogy that features Diogenes Pendergrast. Aloysus’ evil sibling.. Not!! In actuality, while Dance of Death is Book 6 and The Book of Death is Book 7, Cemetery Dance is Book 9!!

About Dance of Death

It didn’t take long  while I was reading Dance of Death to realize that it was the second book in the sub-series, but by the time I did figure it out, I was engrossed enough in the book that I just kept reading!! Actually Book 5 of the Pendergast series and Book 1 of the Diogenes series, Brimstone is also on my TBR pile. Needless to say it is one of the books that I plan to read in May. In fact I am already on page 74!! Dance of Death is only the third book in the Pendergast series that began with Relic which is the first Preston & Child book that I have read. I read it back in 1997 ,when it was only two years old!!  The last one I read was Still Life with Crows (Book 4). Both books were great!

Other Books I’ve read By Preston and Child

But while I have not kept up with the Pendergast series, through the years, I have read other works by these authors. One of the books is Book 1 of the Gideon Crew series Gideon’s Sword, which they co-authored. The other three books that I read were all from Douglas Preston two novels Mount Dragon and The Codex and one nonfiction work The Monster Florence which chronicles Preston’s real life adventures with a serial killer in Italy, which even resulted in his arrest!! (Note to self- there are no Lincoln Child books on your Goodreads bookshelf, get cracking!)

The inside flap of Dance of Death describes the book perfectly

Two Brothers,
One a top FBI agent,
the other a brilliant,
twisted criminal

An  undying hatred
between them,

Now, a perfect crime.

And the
ultimate challenge:
stop me if you can….

Bottom line:

Dance of Death is certainly a four star plus book (out of five)  for me. Aloysius Pendergast is certainly one of the most original and well-drawn characters in the mystery genre! Why I have let these books sit on my TBR pile for so long is beyond me!! I think I say that every time I read one of these books! Let’s see there are 14 books in the series. I have read 3 of the books that leaves 11 unread. At the rate of one book a month, I should be almost a year catching up on the series!, at which time, I’m sure there will be a new book or two!

Links for Further Explorations of Preston & Child

The Official Website of Preston & Child
Facebook
Amazon: Preston & Child<
Amazon: Lincoln Child
Goodreads: Douglas Preston 

April 2015 Reads and Reading Challenges Update!

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Update: April 2015 Reads and Reading Challenges 

 

It’s time to update my reading for the month of April and to look forward to next months reads. To say that as far as reading goes April was a good month is a vast understatement. It was an exceptional reading month, as I finished SEVEN books! That brings my total of 2015 up to  19! Way, way above the average over the last several years!! Now all I have to do is keep it going!!

Here are the books that I read in April 2015 – The big three are The Chessmen, Dreamless and Endangered. While the other were good these three were great!! I haven’t posted my review yet of C J Box’s Endangered but it will be coming soon!!

Books Read in April 2015
Title Challenge Source
When Gods Die – C.S. Harris Historical Fiction Library
The Chessmen – Peter May Cloak & Dagger Library
On Writing– Stephen King 2015 Nonfiction TBR Pile
Dreamless – Jorgen Brekke Cloak & Dagger Library
Island of the Sequined Love Nun – Moore Humor TBR Pile
The President’s War Nonfiction Library
Endangered – C J Box Cloak & Dagger Library

 

Here’s where I stand on my various Reading Challenges. Obviously, I am doing pretty damn well with three out of 5 of the challenges above 33% after the first third of the year and the other two not that far behind! Later today I will post my projected reads for May 2015!! I think I have them picked out, but maybe I may tweak the list a little.

 

Reading Challenge From TBR Pile Buy/Library Total Goal %complete
2015 Nonfiction Reading Challenge 0 3 3 11 27%
2015 Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge 4 7 11 23 48%
2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 1 1 2 5 40%
2015 Science Fiction/Fantasy Challenge 2 1 3 12 25%
Totals 7 12 19 51 37%
Currently Reading Challenge From Page Total %complete
n
What Then Must We Do-Gar Alperowitz Nonfiction Library 113 156 72%
Bowl of Heaven – Benford and Niven Science Fiction Library 128 412 31%
A Delicate Truth – John Le Carre Cloak & Dagger Library 4 310 1%
Dance of Death – Preston & Child Cloak & Dagger TBR Pile 0 451 0%
The Technologists – Matthew Pearl Historical Fiction TBR Pile 0 476 0%

Island of the Sequined Love Nun – Christopher Moore

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Island of the Sequined Love Nun – Christopher Moore – Book 17 of 2015

 

So the question of the night is: Who is Your Favorite Author of humorous books?? Janet Evanovich? Carl Hiaasen? Terry Pratchett? Douglas Adams? Tim Dorsey?? Dave Barry??  The question arises because one of  my goals for April was to read a book on happiness or a funny book. I chose to read a funny book and one book that fit that description that was on my TBR pile was Island of the Sequined Love Nun by Christopher Moore.

The first book that I read by Christopher Moore was Coyote Blue, which I read way back in 1994 (Good gosh – 21 years ago)since then I have read most of his books. with Lamb being on of my all-time favorite books. i will say that I have had a hard time getting into his last three books Fools. The Serpent of Venice and Sacre Bleu. I guess I wasn’t in the right mood when I tried to start both Fools and Sacre Bleu. Anyway when I picked up Island of the Sequined Love Nun at the fall library book sale,  I knew it was one that I would enjoy. And who wouldn’t, it has everything you could want in a book. There’s the hapless protagonist Tucker Case who destroys his boss’s pink plane during a drunken airborne romp with a prostitute which causes Tucker to hurriedly leaves the US to protect his hide. He ends up flying shady missions for a doctor on the island of  Alualu in Micronesia, Other things to love in Island of the Sequined Love Nun include: the doctor’s wife aka the Sky Priestess, the natives of the Island the Shark people, including an ostracized cannibal, a cross-dressing navigator and of course your proverbial talking fruit bat!!  And I love them all!!

Bottom Line: Island of the Sequined Love Nun is a fun ride and definitely a four plus star book for me. In the words of the aforementioned Mr Hiaasen th book is……

“So delightfully warped and funny that no sane person could have written it”

Yes. Mr Moore is one warped,  twisted and very funny author whose work I love!! So Check it out…..as for me I think that I need to give those last three books a second chance and oh yeah I also haven’t read – Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings. What;’s that I hear was it Tim Dorsey’s Torpedo Juice calling me from my TBR pile. …..”Read Me Next…..Read Me Next”   Decisions, decisions.!! Ok so who is your favorite humorous author????

Dreamless – Jorgen Brekke

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Dreamless (Book 2 – Odd Singsaker Series)

 

Dreamless is the second book  from Norwegian author Jorgen Brekke and it’s a good one. The setting of the book is Trondheim Norway and the main character of the series is Chief Inspector Odd Singsaker. The book follows up where book one Where Monsters Dwell left off. Odd is still recovering and ,dealing with the effects of his brain tumor. He is now married to former American police officer Felicia Stone. All of the characters are still dealing with the aftershocks of the prior murder investigation, only to be immersed in an even more bizarre investigation, The new investigation starts when a young woman is found murdered,  her larynx has been removed and a music box stuffed in its place!!  The music box is playing a beautiful lullaby that no one has ever heard!

When the killer snatches another victim this one a teenage girl with a beautiful voice, Odd and his force know that they must find the girl quickly or she will meet the same fate as the first victim. But the question is why?? What is the ultimate objective of the killer? Is it murder for murder’s sake or does he want something more from these women something that revolves around the lullaby and its history??

The history of the lullaby is told in a series of flashbacks side by side with the modern story. That story involves the solving of another murder that of a young troubadour from Sweden who is found dead in Trondheim in 1767! The troubadour is the composer of the lullaby whose claim to fame is that it sends any listener into a long and blissful sleep. The mystery of the troubadour’s grisly murder must be solved by the Chief of Police Nils Bayer. Bayer not only fights to discover the murderer but also his addiction to alcohol!

Bottom Line: Dreamless is a great read and I can’t wait until I can get my hands on the next adventure of Odd Singsaker. See while Odd was tracking down the killer he was also having person problems stemming from his actions in book one of the series, and at the end of  Dreamless things were not resolved between Odd and Felicia! We need to know!!

I enjoy the way Brekke has blended current events with history in both books. The characters Odd and all his friends and co-workers are great and the mysteries are intricately plotted and the action fast paced with the final resolutions of both story lines finishing on the final pages, leaving you gasping and ready  for more!! Fans of Jo Nesbo, and Karin Fossum will love this one!

Links for Further Explorations

Website: MacMillan: Odd Singsaker
Amazon: Jorgen Brekke Page
Dreamless
Goodreads:Jorgen Brekke
Facebook

Book 16 for 2015 – 10 on a goal of 23 for the Cloak & Dagger  Reading Challenge!

 

Reading Challenge Status Update – April 9, 2015

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2015 Reading Challenges Update and Projected April Reads

 

So we are almost a third of the way through April and I guess it’s time to update my Reading Challenges status and update the list of books I hope to finish this month!!! First yesterday I finished book 15 for 2015 Woo Hoo! To put this minor accomplishment in perspective I finished book 15 in 2014 on August 17th! I actually believe that having a plan and the reading challenges have helped me keep up this great pace!! (and not working full-time help just a wee little bit!)

Book 15 for the year was On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft  by Stephen King. The book was a Christmas gift from my wife along with two other books on writing.  On Writing Well by William Zinsser and The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. Do you think she’s trying to tell me something??? Anyway, the book was good and although it was written or those writing fiction, I did pick up some tips. I will be writing a more detailed review tomorrow. The book counts towards my 2015 Nonfiction Reading Challenge bringing the total in that challenge to 2 on a goal of 11.

Earlier in the week I finished The Chessmen by Peter May, that book goes in the 2015 Cloak and Dagger reading challenge bringing the total in that challenge to 9 on a goal of 23!  .

I am still reading The President’s War and I WILL finish that book this month! Or maybe not. because I have some other really interesting books piled up for April ….. here are my proposed reads…..

What Then Must We Do = 2015 Nonfiction Reading Challenge

2015 Nonfiction Reading Challenge

I saw this book the other day when I discovered The Next System.com. Both out political and economic systems are not working well so maybe it;s time to start looking for a new system that can create a sustainable future for all.

 

Dreamless

.2015 Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge

Book 2 in the Odd Singsaker series. Set in Norway Odd is again chasing a murderer. The killer’s first victim had her larynx cut out and replaced by a music box, that plays a lullaby that no one has ever heard before!!

Island of the Squined Love Nun

 

2015 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

A while back I wrote I want to increase my happiness level by reading something funny. Well, it was between this on or the Tim Dorsey book on my TBR pile. This one wins!! Maybe Dorsey will win next month!!!

Bowl of Heaven

2015 Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Challenge

Okay I like hard science fiction and these are two of the best at the sub-genre. When I read the following I knew I had to read this book……

“What would you expect when two of the all-time greatest hard science fiction writers collaborate on a novel? Nothing less than this masterful, mind-expanding book. I am in awe.” – Robert J, Sawyer, author of Triggers

Switching back and forth between this book and the Christopher Moore book – going from the sublime to the ridiculous and  back don’t you think?? Should be fun!! Anyone care to join me??

Here’s my updated chart……

Reading Challenge From TBR Pile Buy/Library Total Goal %complete
2015 Nonfiction Reading Challenge 0 2 2 11 18%
2015 Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge 4 5 9 23 39%
2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 1 1 2 5 40%
2015 Science Fiction/Fantasy Challenge 1 1 2 12 17%
Totals 6 9 15 51 29%
Currently Reading Challenge From Page Total %complete
The President’s War Nonfiction Library 154 316 49%
What Then Must We Do-Gar Alperowitz Nonfiction Library 0 156 0%
Bowl of Heaven – Benford and Niven Science Fiction Library 0 412 0%
Dreamless – Jorgen Brekke Cloak & Dagger Library 44 308 14%
Island of the Squined Love Nun – Christopher Moore Fiction TBR Pile 24 325 7%

The Chessmen – Peter May

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The Chessmen Book # 3 in the Award-winning Lewis Trilogy from Peter May

 

The Chessmen – Book #3 in the Award-winning Lewis Trilogy from Peter May

The Chessmen is the third and final book in Peter May’s outstanding Lewis Trilogy. The series follows ex-Detective Inspector Fin MacLeod as he returns to his home on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.

Through May’s vivid writing, the reader is swept into that rugged landscape and given a true sense of the people who live there.

In this final installment, Fin has left his old life behind and is temporarily living with his childhood love, Marsaili. He’s working as head of security for Red River Estates, where his first assignment brings him face-to-face with his childhood friend John Angus Macaskill — “Whistler” — a poacher who lives on the estate lands.

One night, while pursuing Whistler across the hills, they are forced to shelter in a cave. The next morning they discover that a loch has drained overnight, revealing the wreckage of a small aircraft. It turns out to be the long-missing plane of their friend Roddy MacKenzie, who vanished seventeen years earlier. Inside is a decomposed body — a man who didn’t die in a crash, but was murdered. Finding out who killed Roddy, and why, will upend the lives of Fin’s closest friends.

May tells Roddy’s story, and that of his band Amran, through flashbacks that weave into Fin’s own life. These glimpses show how their college band rose to fame, with Fin helping as a roadie and his friend Donald as manager — a tale that ended in tragedy with Roddy’s disappearance.

I love books that take me to places I’ll never visit, and May certainly does that with this trilogy.

From The Scotsman:

“Vivid descriptions of the barren landscapes and cruel weather are a poignant backdrop for a melancholy tale.”

From The Daily Record:

“Steeped in atmosphere and set in a location that permeates the story like a falling mist, The Chessmen takes the reader on an enticing reel, forwards, backwards, side to side, every step leading to a breathtaking climax.”

The Lewis Chessmen
The Lewis Chessmen in the British Museum

The title The Chessmen refers to the Lewis Chessmen, a group of 12th-century chess pieces discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis. Carved from walrus ivory, they are among the few surviving medieval chess sets.

Bottom Line:

The Chessmen, and the trilogy as a whole, are five-star reads for me. I love Fin MacLeod and his circle of friends, and I’ll miss them. May creates a “sense of place” like few writers can, and his characters feel incredibly real. I rarely reread books, but this series may be an exception — I can see myself returning to the Hebrides with Fin again and again.

The Lewis Trilogy wasn’t my first encounter with Peter May. Years ago, I read The Firemaker, the first book in his China Thriller series featuring Li Yan and Margaret Campbell. I may have to revisit that series, or perhaps dive deeper into the Enzo Files to get my next Peter May fix.

From The New York Times:

“Peter May is a writer I’d follow to the ends of the earth.”

Book 14 of 2015 – Book 9 of the Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge

✅ Tightened your summary without losing your personal touch.

When Gods Die (Sebastian St Cyr) – C.S.Harris

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When Gods Die – Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery Series – Book #2

 

I often joke that if I was ever on Jeopardy and the Final Jeopardy category was English Royalty I should just be prepared to be a loser!! When it comes to that category, in the infamous words of Sgt Schultz of Hogan’s Heroes fame, “I know NOOOTTTHHHHING!” But I do know a bit more after reading When Gods Die by C.S. Harris.

When Gods Die is the second historical murder mystery featuring Sebastian St Cyr, Viscount Devlin. Set in Brighton and London in June of 1811, Sebastian is charged with the task of solving the murder of the beautiful Guinevere Anglessey. The young Marchioness of Anglessey was found dead in the arms of George IV, Prince of Wales and from early in 1811 Prince Regent of Great Britain. She had been stabbed with a dagger from the family’s collection, The dagger once belonged to Bonnie Prince Charlie. The quest to find the killer becomes personal for Sebastian, when he discovers that Guinevere was wearing a necklace that belonged to his mother and vanished with her on the day she was lost at sea!! In addition to solving the murder Sebastian is also is thrust into the middle of a plot to overthrow the monarchy!! Needless to say the Viscount Devlin has a lot on his plate. Helping him out are his lover actress Kat Boleyn and his new servant reformed pickpocket Tom.

This is the first book that I have read from C.S Harris and one of the few historical novels I have read in recent memory and I can tell you it will not be my last! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was a real page-turner and I love both Sebastian and Kat!!

Bottom Line: When Gods Die was a 4 to 5 star book for me I really, really liked it! The plot was well-developed and kept me guessing who the killer was until the very end of the book. I will be going back and reading book one of the series What Angels Fear.I need to know what happened in that story when Sebastian was accused of the murder!!

Book 13 of 2015 and Book 2 on a goal of 5 in my Historical Fiction Challenge!

Safari – Parnell Hall Stanley Hastings (Book #19)

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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

Author’s Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

Parnel Hall - author of Stanley Hastings and Puzzle Lady novels

About Parnell Hall

If you like a little humor in your books….

You might enjoy these authors:

Tim Dorsey
Janet Evanovich
Christopher Moore

Whether you’re solving crosswords with Cora or running from the mob with Stephanie Plum, these authors prove that a good mystery is always better with a side of laughter.

Hard Rain – Barry Eisler (John Rain # 2)

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Hard Rain – Barry Eisler – Book 9 for 2015

 

It’s been a while since I visited Japan and the world of assassin John Rain. In fact it’s been so long that I have forgotten most of what happened in Rain Fall, Book 1 of the Barry Eisler series, when I started Hard Rain Book 2 in the series. What I didn’t forget was that the half-American, half Japanese Rain was a killer and a good one. What he is particularly good at is making his hits look like the victim died of  “natural causes” I also remembered that he has rules, no children, no one else is involved except rain and his client, and the victim has to be a principal, someone of importance!

When Hard Rain opens John Rain has left his Tokyo home for Osaka and is considering getting out of the business. But a former nemesis from the Japanese FBI, Tatsu doesn’t want him to retire, in fact, Tatsu has a job for him. The hit is on an assassin at large, who unlike Rain has no rules and kills indiscriminately.  Before Rain will take the job though, he goes to Tokyo to determine how difficult the hit will be. When Rain arrives in Tokyo he meets with his friend, a hacker, named Harry. Harry has a new girlfriend that seems way out of Harry’s league and that doesn’t sit well with Rain. Rain’s first assumption is that someone is setting Harry up, as he investigates he discovers Harry is also being followed,,,,,, soon Rain is sucked back into the world of violent criminals, and US government officials. The hit may be the most difficult  that Rain had ever faced and the deadliest!!!

John Rain is one of those characters that I would never like in real life, but hey, when he is going up against the Japanese underworld, and shifty CIA agents I’m going to root for the guy! He’s loyal to his few friends and he knows his job, as does Barry Eisler. Eisler does a great job of making Tokyo come alive and the descriptions of Japanese culture, the fights and surveillance tactics were great. The one thing that did bother me  was that Rain dispatched more people than I thought necessary, Not that they didn’t need it!

Bottom Line: Hard Rain is a solid four stars (really liked it). I like John Rain and will continue to read the series, which is now up to book 8. I book 6 Requiem for an Assassin is on my TBR shelves but I do think I will try to read the books in order! I  also hope I can shorten the time between visits with Mr. Rain!

Feb1995 Reads- Novels from Bill Pronzini, Frank McConnell and Vince Kohler

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Originally posted Feb 2015 updated Nov 2025

 

Tonight I started thinking about books that I’ve read, and decided to look at my Goodreads Bookshelf to see what books I finished in February of 1995, 20 years ago,yeah right!  

Books Read in February 1995

  • February 4 – Liar’s Poker – Harry Garnish #4 – Frank McConnell
  • February 21 –  Banjo Boy Eldon Larkin #3 – Vince Kohler
  • February 25 I Shackles a Nameless Detective # Bill Pronzini.

Shackles – Nameless Detective #16 – Bill Pronzini

Of the three Shackles was my probably my favorite. While I don’t remember all of the details I do remember that it was a great read! In fact the book was nominated for an Anthony Award for Best Novel (It lost to Thomas Harris; Silence of the Lambs, tough competition!

About Shackles from Goodreads…..

Who is the slightly overweight, Italian-American private investigator who never reveals his name? He is the “Nameless Detective”. This time the San Francisco Bay area’s hottest sleuth finds himself the victim of a ruthless, fiendish, and unknown enemy’s revenge.

That revenge involved shackling Nameless in a remote mountain cabin!! I just remember that it was a page turner that i finished in 4 days!

Bill Pronzini;s Nameless detective series was a staple of my reading in the 90s. Quicksilver, the 11th book in the series was the first Nameless Detective book I read. I read it in 1990, by the year 2000, I had read 11 more.books including:

Here are the Nameless Detective books I read through the ’90s and early 2000s. For the full series and more recent updates, visit my Bill Pronzini author page.

Deadfall (Nameless Detective, #15)
Jackpot (Nameless Detective, #17)
Hoodwink (Nameless Detective, #7)
Breakdown (Nameless Detective, #18)
Quarry (Nameless Detective, #19)
Epitaphs (Nameless Detective, #20)
Demons (Nameless Detective, #21)
Shackles (Nameless Detective, #16)
Sentinels (Nameless Detective, #23)
Boobytrap (Nameless Detective, #25)
Illusions (Nameless Detective, #24)

In the 2000s I read two more Nameless novels Crazybone (Nameless Detective, #26) and Nightcrawlers (Nameless Detective, #30). As I look over the Nameless Series at Goodreads, I see that June 23rd is the anticipated release date for book number 39 in the series Vixen!

Maybe I can get back into reading the series again by then…..I just found the book Mourners (the book that follows Nightcrawlers on my TBR bookshelf

  I guess I should start there, or maybe I should start with Book 1 The Snatch!! What do you think??

2025 Update: Since writing the original post, I did go back to the Nameless series. I finally read Mourners (#27), which follows Nightcrawlers, and just this month I finished Savages (#31). I’m working on a new post about Savages now — I’ll link it here once it’s live. But I still haven’t read Snatched!

Frank McConnell – Liar’s Poker – Harry Garnish #4

The  Frank McConnell book that I read Liar’s Poker was the 4th and final book in the Harry Garnish series. The series featured Sister Bridget O’Toole, a nun who inherited her father’s investigative agency, and Henry Garnish, her chain-smoking, hard-drinking, salty-mouthed assistant and they were great, really funny, as well as, exciting.

I always wished that McConnell had written more, for years if I was at the library and was looking for a good book I’d remember these books, and go and look to see if there was anything new.. Just tonight I found out why there were no more books,. Mr McConnell died in 1999. You can read more about Frank McConnell here. Seems like he was a terrific teacher and writer!

Vince Kohler – Banjo Boy (Eldon Larkin #3)

Finally, Banjo Boy by Vince Kohler….Banjo Boy was the third book in Vince Kohler’s series featuring Eldon Larkin.

From Mystery File:

Vince Kohler wrote four books, Rainy North Woods (1990), Rising Dog (1992), Banjo Boy (1994), and Raven’s Widow (1997). All four featured journalist Eldon Larkin who worked as reporter/photographer for the South Coast Sun, the local newspaper for small town Port Jerome, Oregon. Educated, he reads French classic literature in the original language, but proving how useful his education is, Eldon is a loser when it comes to the important things in life — women, cars, and career. He left Berkeley California and an ex-wife behind, and now dreams of the big story that will get him a job with a big city newspaper. Continue Reading

I have read three out of the four Eldon Larkin books with Raven’s Widow being the one I missed, maybe I should go back and read it!! like the other two series I remember enjoying the series.

Anyway, if you pick up any of the books by Bill Pronzini, Frank McConnell or Vince Kohler, I don’t think you’d be disappointed!! So check them out!!