Category: Books-Fiction

Vermilion Drift – William Kent Krueger

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It’s been a busy day at the College of William and Mary a nice luncheon on the grounds near the Wren Building and the President’s House and then a rout of Villanova that turned into a nail biter that ended ok as W&M won 31-24!

So there was not a lot of time for music, but I did finish Book 35 last night William Kent Krueger’s latest Vermilion Drift. The Cork O’Connor is one of my favorite series. The books all ways have much more than just a mystery in them as Krueger explores the complexities of life through Cork O’Connor.

The Story

The story opens with Cork being hired by Max Cavanaugh the owner of  Vermilion One a mine that the government is considering as a nuclear waste deposit site, hiring Cork to find his missing sister Lauren. Cork has also been called in by the mine officials to investigate  threats against the owners of the mine. Soon forty year old bodies are found in the Vermilion Drift (horizontal mine shafts)and they lead back to The Vanishings that occurred on the reservation forty years ago and the solution to the murders leads Cork to explore his past!

My Thoughts

Vermilion Drift is the tenth book in this series and while it may not be necessary to read all the books in order you may want to read Heaven’s Keep book 9 before this one to know what’s gone on in Cork’s life . But like all the books the characters and the stories are both great and I hope that Krueger keeps the series alive!

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Virgin Heat – Lawrence Shames

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ok so I picked out some new names and listened to a couple of tracks from several albums but never got to listen that much to any of them. A slow connecting computer coupled with a good Phillies game and finishing Book 34 Virgin Heat kept me busy tonight!

The artist that I started to listen to included: Mark Scott LaMountain and the Blue Thunder Band and their album Guitars, Gun and Southern Women,

J.J Grey and Mofro’s album Georgia Warhorse, Jay Gaunt a blues harp player whose new album is on the Roots Music Blues Chart but Rhapsody only has some earlier albums and the one I was ready to listen to was Blown Away. Th

e last thing that I previewed today was Charlie Musselwhite’s new album The Well which sounded pretty good. So I will listen to these albums tomorrow and we’ll celebrate Blues Wednesday on Thursday!

But tonight belonged to those Phils and Roy Oswalt as they extended their lead over my daughter’s team those Atlanta Braves.

Book 34 Virgin Heat. This is the first book I’ve read by Lawrence Shames and it won’t be the last! Set in Key West the book tells the tale of Angie Amaro who for years has pined for her lost love Sal Martucci. The reason she pines is that Sal is now living as Ziggy Maxx in Key West after ratting Angie’s father a mob member Paul Amaro and sending him to prison.

After Angie’s Uncle Louie visits Key West and returns with a video in which Angie recognizes Sal, she sets off for Florida to find her lover. Soon Uncle Louie takes off to find Angie and a good tale is told in the style of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen.

Ann Helmuth of the Orlando Sentinel calls it The Birdcage meets the Godfather and that’s appropriate for this often funny and touching book, full of good characters and wit! I enjoyed it and will certainly be on the look out for more Shames and there appears to be seven other books set in Key West!

Book 33 – Me of Little Faith

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Book 33 for the year is a collection Lewis Black’s thought about religion Me of Little Faith. The book is hilarious and at times makes me laugh out loud as Black takes on all religions including his own!  I’ve said before that Black is one comedian who consistently cracks me up and I can watch the same concert performance over and over and laugh all the time “If it wasn’t for that horse. I wouldn’t have spent that year in college”.  John Stewart and George Carlin’s praises on the back of the book cover are so true!

“Lewis Black is the only person I know who can actually yell in print” – Jon Stewart. (Whenever you read those statement in all  caps throughout the book you can hear him yell!)

Whenever I’m asked, “Who makes you laugh” or “Who would you pay to see?” I don’t hesitate for a moment. Lewis Black! Period. He’s got it all: brains, balls and chops.” – George Carlin

Book 34 is a book off the Mount to Be Read Laurence Shames Virgin Heat. Time for a quick easy fun read – a lot like Elmore Leonard or Carl Hiassen! Going quickly so far!

Book 32 – The Codex

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So last night I didn’t do whole lot of music listening rather I was caught up in the jungles of southern Honduras finishing Douglas Preston’s latest solo book (Preston being one-half of the writing team of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child) The Codex. Some once asked why read fiction well aside from being exciting and mysterious it also takes me places I’ll never go and then sometimes teaches me about the culture.  This book takes you to the jungles of Honduras and a lost Mayan city.

The story revolves around the family of Max Broadbent, an Indiana Jones type Tomb raider whose life has been spent collecting rare artifacts legally and illegally. The story opens when his three sons, Phillip a professor at an east coast college, Tom a veterinarian in Utah and Vernon, a hippie living in a commune in California with “The Teacher” are called to their family home.  When the sons arrive they find the house a shambles and all the artifacts gone having been packed up and taken somewhere. They find a tape from their father which opens with “Greeting from the Dead” and tells them that he has taken his stuff and had himself buried somewhere in the world with their inheritance and because he really thinks they are failures and never worked for anything, if they want the inheritance they have to find it. One of his treasures is a Mayan Codex containing thousands of pages listing all the medicinal uses of the jungle plants. Soon others are interested in The Codex because of the money making potential and historic significance. The rest of the story is the quest to find their father and maybe themselves in the process! The action and suspense on the quest are good and I liked the characters. I read this morning that Tom Broadbent had appeared in Tyrannosaur Canyon Preston’s previous solo novel and that he has future plans for the character.

All in all it was a good read and maybe will make me read some of the other Preston and Child books that are on my Mount to Be Read!

Peter Abrahams – End of Story

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Book 31 for 2010 is End of Story by Peter Abrahams. This is the second book I’ve read by Abrahams the other Oblivion I read in 2007 so you can see he is not really a favorite author, but I did enjoy this book and will probably pick up his newer stuff.

The main character in the novel is Ivy Seidel a would be author with a MFA and a stack of rejection letters from The New Yorker. Ivy takes over a part time job teaching writing in a prison in upstate New York. When Vance Harrow enters her group she is impressed by his writing ability and soon begins to look into his background. She finds that he is serving time for a robbery at an Indian Casino near his home town. Ivy is convinced that he is innocent and is taking the fall to protect his wife. Overall the pages flew by.  I liked the characters although  some of the actions in the story seemed to stretch reality a little much. The last hundred pages were really good and overall I liked the book.  I  will be on the lookout for his other books – maybe at the fall sale at the County Library!

End of Story-Peter Abraham

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Book 31 for 2010 is End of Story by Peter Abrahams. This is the second book I’ve read by Abrahams the other Oblivion I read in 2007 so you can see he is not really a favorite author, but I did enjoy this book and will probably pick up his newer stuff.

The main character in the novel is Ivy Seidel a would be author with a MFA and a stack of rejection letters from The New Yorker. Ivy takes over a part time job teaching writing in a prison in upstate New York. When Vance Harrow enters her group she is impressed by his writing ability and soon begins to look into his background. She finds that he is serving time for a robbery at an Indian Casino near his home town. Ivy is convinced that he is innocent and is taking the fall to protect his wife. Overall the pages flew by.  I liked the characters although  some of the actions in the story seemed to stretch reality a little much. The last hundred pages were really good and overall I liked the book.  I  will be on the lookout for his other books – maybe at the fall sale at the County Library!

The Rook – Steven James

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Another Author to Revisit

The Rook

Last night I had a sports doubleheader — first the Eagles–Chiefs game, then the Phillies game all the way to the top of the tenth inning. Somewhere in between, I also managed to finish Book #30 for the year: The Rook by Steven James.

The Rook is the second book in James’ Patrick Bowers series. Patrick is a special consultant to the FBI who uses geospatial investigation — analyzing the where and when of crimes alongside motives — to track down serial offenders.

In this installment, Patrick and his colleague Lien-hua Jiang are called to San Diego to investigate a series of arsons. Patrick brings along his stepdaughter Tessa, still grieving the loss of her mother and navigating a sometimes rocky relationship with Patrick.

Meanwhile, other story threads emerge:

  • Creighton Melice – a violent criminal out on bail, relocated to San Diego by a mysterious figure named Shade so he can continue his deadly obsession.

  • Victor Drake – a billionaire defense contractor being pressured by the government to hand over a classified prototype.

  • A bizarre homeless man’s suicide — just blocks from a fire scene — pulls Patrick and Lien-hua deeper into a tangled investigation.

The case soon weaves together Melice, Drake and his Sherrod Aquarium, the elusive Shade, the prototype device, and even Sebastian Taylor from the first book. At the same time, Patrick is juggling his feelings for Lien-hua and his responsibilities to Tessa.

James delivers what I’ve come to expect from him — tight plotting, sharp suspense, and characters with enough depth to keep me invested. Patrick, Tessa, Lien-hua, and Ralph make a strong ensemble, and the balance between high-stakes action and personal subplots works well.

I gave The Rook 4 out of 5 stars, maybe even a 5. James keeps the pages turning right up to the last line.

“Once again, James has given us a rip-snorting thriller with a beating heart, a calculating cat-and-mouse game of chess, and a satisfying ending.” – Eric Wilson, New York Times bestselling author

Postscript Update

When I first wrote this, I said I was going to read The Knight, the next book in the Patrick Bowers series. Well… I never did. In fact, I haven’t picked up another in the series since The Rook. Like some other series I’ve drifted away from, it might be time to circle back.

In the meantime, Steven James has launched a new series featuring Travis Brock, a high-level Pentagon redactor with an eidetic memory. The premise sounds right up my alley — maybe I’ll start there and see if it pulls me back into his earlier work.

The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke (Dave Robicheaux #18)

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The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke

 

So it’s been almost a month since the last book! A lot has happened including Peter’s wedding, Nick’s accident, Elizabeth’s return to college. And through it all I have been in the world of Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcell in Book The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke. Hum, it does not usually take me this long to read a Burke novel but there was just something about this book so that I really couldn’t get into it and I don’t know what it was. The characters are still good Dave and Clete and Alafair. The low-lifes and criminals are still there.

About The Glass Rainbow

In this one Dave and Clete are investigating the murder of nine women in the Jefferson Davis Parish including one who doesn’t fit in with the others an honor student and all around good girl. Alafair is dating a man Kermit Abelard who Dave does not approve of and even likes his house guest (and other lover ex-con Robert Weingart even less. Soon both stories intersect along with an investigation of Clete’s!

Final Thoughts

Overall the book moved more quickly over the last 100 ages or so and became a page turner at that point. But like always even though I wasn’t enthralled with the book the writing and sense of place that Burke creates were still there putting him well ahead of the crowd in my opinion and I will look forward to his next book which is a Hackberry Holland book (Rain Gods) I think!

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,

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!