Category: Books-Fiction

Need a Laugh Grab A Christopher Moore Book!

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So there are several authors who make me laugh out load as I read. One of them is Janet Evanovich, others include Terry Prachett, Douglas Adams and Christopher Moore

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Checking back on my Goodreads Bookshelf, I see that the first Moore book I read was Coyote Blue which I read in 1994. Then I kinda forgot about him and didn’t get around to reading Practical Demonkeeping until 2002 since then I’ve read about half of the books he’s written.(Note to self go back and read more Christopher Moore)

I haven’t read more because I usually am busy with mysteries, but when I need a good laugh I turn to Christopher Moore!  My favorite is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal which is hysterical! A Dirty Job where Charlie Asher inherits a new job as DEATH comes in second, but it’s a close second!

Here’s a quote about A Dirty Job:

“To keep a straight face while reading this book, one would have to be dead already and in the final stages of rigor mortis.” Rocky Mountain News

Here’s some quotes from the back of Bite Me

“Everything I’ve come to expect from Christopher  Moore. It’s wildly funny, it’s touching, it’s unexpected. I think his imagination grew up next to Area 51 ” Charlaine Harris author ofr the Sookie Stackhouse novels

” Few things get the blood moving like a Christopher Moore tale about vampires.. Moore makes this trip a joy, filled with absurd characters who allow people in the dark laugh and see the light” Plain Dealer Cleveland.

So if you need a good laugh and enjoy as the Denver Post says ” the joke a minute comedy of The Marx Brothers, the Three Stooges, and the old screwball comedies of the 30’s and 40s with a touch of Buffy the Vampire Slayer then You Suck and Bite Me are books you’ll love along with all of Moore’s other work! So check him out!

Christopher Moore Books Read

TitleYear PublishedDate Read
Noir20182022/10/27
Secondhand Souls (Grim Reaper, #2)20152015/11/09
Island of the Sequined Love Nun19972015/04/20
Bite Me (A Love Story, #3)20102010/06/15
You Suck (A Love Story, #2)20072007/03/23
A Dirty Job (Grim Reaper, #1)20062006/03/04
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal20022005/08/25
The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove (Pine Cove, #2)19992002/02/26
Coyote Blue19931994/05/20
Practical Demonkeeping (Pine Cove, #1)19921994/05/10

Favorite Series – The Body Farm Books

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So I am currently reading The Bone Thief by Jefferson Bass. This is the fifth book in The Body Farm series and I have enjoyed everyone of them. Let’s play the if then game. If you like Kathy Reich’s books and the TV show Bones, then you will like the Body Farm Books. The Body Farm is the Forensics Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee where they study decomposition of the human body. The Body Farm was founded in 1970  by one-half of the writing team Jefferson Bass, Dr. Bill Bass. What others say about the Body Farm and the novels:

“Nearly everything known about the science of human decomposition comes from one place—forensic anthropologist William Bass’ Body Farm.”
— CNN.com

There is a patch of ground in Tennessee dedicated to the science of death, where human remains lie exposed to be studied for their secrets. The real-life scientist who founded the “Body Farm” has broken cold cases and revolutionized forensics . . . and now he spins an astonishing tale inspired by his own experiences.

In the Body Farm books the fictional Bill Bass – Bill Brockton and his graduate assistant Miranda Lovelady have been faced with a variety of cases to solve two of which involved women that Brockton had relationships with! With a great cast of characters which include Brockton and Miranda along with defense attorney Burton  “Grease” DeVreiss, Medical Examiner Eddie Garcia, fingerprint guru Art Bohanan and other’s  coupled with unmatched forensic detail (who knows more about the body farm’s work than the founder!) this series has become a real favorite of mine!

I just started The Bone Thief and the story opens when Brockton and Miranda are called to exhume a body to get DNA for a paternity test. When they open the coffin they find that both of the arms have been surgically removed and the story sets off from there!!

This is a series that in my opinion should be read from the beginning because each case has added to the development of Dr. Bill Brockton’s character and well they’re just all good reads!! So check them out!

1. Carved in Bone

2. Flesh and Bone

3. The Devil’s Bones

4. Bones of Betrayal

Book 17 – The Narrows – Michael Connelly

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Ok so the last book I read Nowhere to Run by C.J.Box was the 10th book in the Joe Pickett series and now book number 17 The Narrows by Michael Connelly also the 10th book in the series featuring  Harry Bosch only difference is that I have read all the books in the Pickett series and this is my first Harry Bosch book! I had started The Concrete Blonde book # 3 years ago and for one reason or another couldn’t get into it so I never tried to read another Connelly book (the series is now up to 14). What was I thinking! I enjoyed this book, liked both the writing style and Bosch’s character and will certainly read more, having picked up several last week at the library book sale.

The book starts with Harry Bosch, asked by the widow of his former friend Terry McCaleb to investigate what she feels is the murder of her husband. McCaleb’s heart medicine (he had had a heart transplant -the storyline of the book and movie Blood Work)  had been switch with shark cartilage pills leading to a heart attack.

Meanwhile, FBI agent Rachael Walling receives a call that she has dreaded for eight years! Eight years earlier she had been involved in the chase to track done a serial killer known as The Poet, who turned out to be her former mentor at the FBI Robert Backus. The Poet is back and operating in the Las Vegas area. Harry’s investigation into McCaleb’s death quickly puts him on to the trail of The Poet and soon Bosch and Walling must join forces to catch Backus!

Like I said I enjoyed this book and the final pages flew by and I am certainly going to read more Bosch novels. I have a lot of catching up to do!!

My bookshelf at Goodreads.com now holds 796 books – 4 more to 800!! Next up the new Body Farm book by Jefferson Bass The Bone Thief another favorite series featuring Bill Brockton and the Body Farm at the University of Tennessee and while I root for Bill Brockton, this Florida Gator can’t root for the Volunteers!

Book 16 – Nowhere to Run – C.J. Box

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Nowhere to Run is my 16th read of the year and the 10th book in Box’s Joe Pickett series, which keeps getting better and better. This books opens with Joe in his last week of temporary assignment in Baggs Wyoming. The assignment has lasted a year and Joe will be returning to his wife and family soon. But Joe goes into the mountains to investigate some strange happenings, which include camp lootings, tents being slashed, and an elk butchered before the shooters can even collect it! There was also the case of a female Olympic class runner going for a run into the woods and never coming back! On the hunt Joe runs into two twin brothers Caleb and Canish Grimm, who appear to be the men who butchered the Elk! When Joe asks for their fishing license and gives them a citation for hunting without a license their wrath is taken out on himand he barely escapes the mountain alive, but not before he potentially sees the Olympic runner……and the rest of the book revolves around finding out who the Grim Brothers are and was that really the lost runner!

Like all Box’s books the characters are great from Joe to his wife Marybeth, Marybeth’s golddigging mother Missy. the kids Sheridan, Lucy and April to Nate Romanowski and the Brothers Grim! Coupled with the characters is Box’s great descriptive writing about the beauty of the mountains that form the setting of the story!

The pages in this book flew by and overall it was a very enjoyable read! The series can probably be read out of order because the story stands on its’ own but to get the full effect you need to know Joe and his past! So get busy because you have nine books to go to catch up but it will be worth the trip!

Roger Smith – Mixed Blood

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So this is the fourth country visited in my quest to read twelve books sent in different countries. So far I have read books set in Canada, Russia, and Australia and now Mixed Blood by Roger Smith set in South Africa, by far the least favorite place to visit of the four!  Book 13 of the year is a gritty book filled with murder, drugs, crooked cops, poverty and despair! The story opens with Jack Burn his wife Susan and son Matt on the run in South Africa after Jack becomes involved in a bank robbery which goes bad leaving a policeman dead. One night two black gangstas climb into their rented home.  To save his family, Jack kills the two men and his life goes downhill from there.

The book is a real page turner and the characters including Benny Mongrel a harden each con working as a watchman in a neighboring house under construction who witnesses the thieves going into the Burn house, Rudi “Gatsby” Barnard the crooked cop who rules by killing and Disaster Rondi, the good cop are a full well developed characters. Like I said the book is gritty and not for the faint of heart with lots of references to drugs, abuse and prostitution. I found that there weren’t a lot of good guys in the book to cheer for, but that did little to detract from the overall effect of the book.

Overall, I liked the book  four stars out of five and will look for more by the author.  But I will stay away from South Africa at least the Cape Flats!

Parnell Hall – You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled (Puzzle Lady #8) Book 11 of 2010

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You Have the Right to Remian Puzzled 2 Book No. 11 for 2010 is the 8th book in the Puzzle Lady series by Parnell Hall, You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled. Now I read my first book in the other series by Parnell Hall featuring Stanley Hastings in 1991 and have loved that series. I read the my first Puzzle Lady book,  Book 1 A Clue for the Puzzle Lady of the series in 2000. Why I’ve waited ten years to read another I don’t know! Maybe it’s like being an Mets fan and not being able to root for the Yankees or the Giants and the Jets anyway to hell with that, I loved this book!

I really enjoyed the character of the Puzzle Lady and the book is written with the same sharp wit that Hall displays in the Hastings series.  The writing will never be confused with great literature, but who needs that when they can enjoy a good mystery and get a lot of laughs too!!  So it’s Tolstoy or Evanovich or Dickens or Hall. I’ll take Hall and Evanovich every time!! So go grab a Puzzle Lady book and enjoy!

Forgotten Books – November Man

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📚 Journal Flashback: Forgotten Books – Bill Granger’s November Man

The Infant of Prague - November Man

I’ve seen other bloggers post about Forgotten Books, and I’ve done my share of Forgotten Music—so here’s a dive into a forgotten book series that still sticks with me: Bill Granger’s November Man.

I started keeping a book journal in 1987, jotting down the dates I finished each book along with a few thoughts and star ratings. Looking back, I noticed that in both March 1988 and March 1989, I read one book from this series each year—and both left a strong impression.

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📖 March 1988 – The Infant of Prague

Rating: ★★★☆☆

This was book #8 in the series. My journal says:

“Devereaux tries to bring a defector out of Czechoslovakia. The story kept moving and the ending was satisfying. Better than the previous one I read (*Hemingway’s Notebook*).”

📚 Amazon synopsis here

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📖 March 1989 – Henry McGee is Not Dead

Henry Magee is Not Dead

Journal comments:

“Henry McGee is an agent who crossed over in Alaska. There’s a complex plot to destroy R Section, a bomb on the pipeline, and Devereaux and Denisov (Soviet defector) are in the middle of it. The writing was occasionally difficult, but overall a good read.”

📚 Amazon/PW synopsis here

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🕵️ Why I Loved the Series

These were some of the best spy novels I read back in the day—always exciting, with a fascinating lead character in Devereaux. The books had an edge, a Cold War atmosphere, and a different tone from your typical spy thrillers.

More on Bill Granger at Fantastic Fiction

Looking back, the November Man books definitely laid the groundwork for my later love of authors like Brad Thor, Vince Flynn, and Alex Berenson.

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📚 Forgotten Book Tip

If you ever see a copy of a Bill Granger novel at a library sale or used bookstore—grab it! You won’t be disappointed.

Favorite Series -Joe Pickett

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C.J.Box’s Joe Pickett series has been a favorite of mine since I read Savage Run (Book #2) in 2004. I quickly went back and read book #1 Open Season (which won an Edgar Award for Best First Novel) and have continued from there. From the beginning, I have loved the characters of Joe Pickett and his family. Joe Pickett is a game warden originally living in Twelve Sleep, Wyoming and now Saddlestring. Joe is a kinda’ normal guy living a normal life and correcting the wrongs that he encounters and there have been enough to fill ten books. From his website:

the New York Times once wrote, “…Box introduced us to his unlikely hero, a game warden named Joe Pickett, a decent man who lives paycheck to paycheck and who is deeply fond of his wife and his three daughters. Pickett isn’t especially remarkable except for his honesty and for a quality that Harold Bloom attributes to Shakespeare — the ability to think everything through for himself.”  and Joe Pickett has been compared to Gary Cooper by both reviewers and the actor’s only daughter for his quiet, but determined, approach.

Joe moves through life with the help of his beloved wife, Marybeth and his daughters Sheridan and Lucy and helped by his right hand man Nate Romanowski, falconer and man of the land who often appears at just the right time to help Joe. Joe’s life is of-times complicated by his mother-in-law Missy (with several last names due to her penchant for moving up the social ladder through divorce). All of the novels are great Box really creates a great “sense of place” in his novels muc  like James Lee Burke, so that even though I’ve never visited Wyoming, I’ve been there many times thanks to Box. Box says this about his books and particularly about  Trophy Hunt

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My novels include environmental issues that are integral to the modern West.Trophy Hunt is no different. The boom in coal bed methane development in the Rocky Mountains has literally transformed the terrain – and the economy– in ways both good and bad. I was researching the issue for background when something entirely unrelated happened: the discovery of dozens of mutilated cattle in Montana. Remembering the stories of cattle mutilations from my youth, I contacted the lead reporter covering the story and she supplied me with clippings, reports, and extremely disturbing photos. The details of the deaths were eerily similar: no obvious cause of death; faces and genitals surgically removed; no tire tracks, footprints, or evidence near the bodies; and, strangest of all, the bodies were untouched by natural predators. I knew as I leafed through the documents that Joe Pickett would have a new case – one that would test his sense of reality.

While many of the stories stand on there own, I do think that this is a series that deserves to be read in order. So much of the character development and ancillary story lines develop from book to book that if you haven’t read the other books you’ll not get the full effect of the book. If you don’t like to read series books, you can still experience Box’s writing  talent by reading his two standalone novels, the Edgar Award winning Blue Heaven or Three Weeks to Say Goodbye both excellent reads. I can’t wait for the April 6th release of Pickett’s next adventure chronicled in Nowhere to Run. As for you who have never read any you got lots of readin’ to do, but it will be worth the effort!

Book 9 -2010 – Redemption Street

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While I am still working my way through The Midnight House I finished book 9 of 2010 Reed Farrel Coleman‘s Redemption Street. Redemption Street is the second book in Coleman’s Moe Prager series and my first read of this series. Prager is a retired New York City police officer, now running a wine shop with his brother. The story opens when a vagrant Arthur Rosen  comes into the shop and wants Prager to find his sister Karen, only problem is that his sister died in a fire in the Catskills sixteen years prior, with two other girls and sixteen other guests. Rosen, his sister and the other girls all went to the same high school as Prager, with one of the girls being a major crush of Prager’s.  Rosen is convinced his sister is still alive. Prager brushes him off as a crazy and when he goes to apologize a few days later, Rosen finds him, shortly after he has committed suicide and Prager’s name written in blood on his wall. So Prager sets out to set things right and find out what really happened the night of the fire.

I really enjoyed Coleman’s writing and Moe Prager’s wise-cracking attitude. Most of the story takes place in the Catskill town of Old Rotterdam and Coleman captures the “”sense of the town” and the last gasps of the Catskills after the demise of the Borscht Belt. The story line was interesting and the characters all believable. Overall a definite  4 out 0f 5. and I will go back and find Walking the Perfect Square the first book in the series and then catch up with the three books that follow.