The introduction of a tough and determined private investigator is always welcome in my book and when they come with the complicated background that LThe introduction of a tough and determined private investigator is always welcome in my book and when they come with the complicated background that Lou Alcott has it’s even more intriguing. Sherryl Clark has not only produced an interesting main character but also has her running a couple of highly topical investigations.
Lou Alcott is a Melbourne-based private investigator who has just taken up her new role with PMI. She previously worked as a police officer but became disillusioned with the job. She also has an interesting family situation, one that could either be very useful or extremely dangerous in her job.
Her grandfather is one of Melbourne’s most notorious figures in organised crime while her father, whom she despises, is a high-ranking cop. Definitely not your run of the mill family unit.
She’s assigned a case where a young woman has disappeared. The husband tells her his wife, Diane, left without a word. Diane’s parents aren’t convinced and have hired the company to look for her, for her to be brought back to the family home.
The second case also revolves around an at-risk woman. In this case, Melinda has requested a security check on her home. She has recently moved to Melbourne from Sydney, fleeing an abusive relationship. She wants to ensure the security measures she’s installed in the home are enough to keep her safe should her ex-husband track her down.
Lou meets with Melinda one time to conduct the check and organises a second meeting as a follow-up but when it comes time to meet Melinda has disappeared.
Her investigation takes her into the murky world of the online dating scene. With the help of the company’s tech expert who has a little experience with the various sites, she sets about tracking down where Melinda might have gone and who she might have met.
Just to give her life a little more edge, Lou’s grandfather’s criminal past is starting to catch up with him. Someone’s trying to kill him and, by association, Lou’s life is in danger too. Just getting out and doing her job means taking her life into her hands which kinda ramps the tension up a tad.
This is a story that is extremely relevant to the mood in Australia today, particularly in the fight against violence on women by men. Lou Alcott’s character personifies the frustration with the police and the laws that hamper meaningful change. She’s a strong and capable character, prepared to put her body on the line if the situation calls for it.
The story moves along at a solid pace and the investigative work is solid and believable. The crimes discussed, domestic violence along with the use (and misuse) of online dating sites, will speak to many people in today’s society who have been touched by these issues. They’re handled with appropriate consideration to the victims while also pointing out the difficulties in policing them.
Woman, Missing is a terrific introduction to a new Australian private investigator with significant points of difference that sets it apart from anything that’s come before. Lou Alcott (plus family) is definitely a protagonist worth following and I’m looking forward to meeting her again in further cases.
My thanks to Harlequin Australia HQ and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC that has allowed me to read, enjoy and review this book. ...more
The 24th book in the Dave Robicheaux series is once again filled with the atmospheric beauty of Southern Louisiana that, in turn, is filled with brutaThe 24th book in the Dave Robicheaux series is once again filled with the atmospheric beauty of Southern Louisiana that, in turn, is filled with brutal low-lifes and fed with great food. But this one is told from the perspective of Dave’s best friend and erstwhile sidekick Cletus Purcel.
From the low-key start of Clete walking out one day to find his Eldorado being torn apart by three local hoods. It had just come back from a local car wash and they were supposedly looking for drugs that had been stashed somewhere in the car. He embarks on a personal odyssey to clean up his part of Louisiana.
The idea of a new lethal drug being introduced into his neck of the woods doesn’t sit well with Clete, so stopping the three would-be drug runners becomes front of mind for the Vietnam veteran turned private investigator.
Along the way he rescues Chen, a heroin addict who has fallen under the control of another evil so-and-so. And then a woman named Clara Bow drops in wanting to hire him to help her escape from her abusive husband.
It’s a full plate for Clete who routinely suffers little setbacks from the PTSD carried over from his days in Vietnam. The most notable of these are the visits he gets from Joan of Arc, who seems to materialize at the direst of moments to take a hand in saving his life. Dave helps, by the way.
The high points stem from the easygoing friendship between Clete and Dave as they stoically take every adversary head on and with full force. These moments of repartee are usually accompanied by some classic Cajun or Creole dishes and are set in the most vividly described locations that essentially plonks you down in the middle with them. Great action and (usually) violence ensues.
Where it gets a bit difficult is the inner turmoil that Clete battles with inside his own mind. He’s constantly trying to work out what’s real and what’s drug, alcohol or imagination fueled. Sometimes there’s no explanation about real and imaginary with many long rambling accounts that lead nowhere and are related apropos of nothing relevant. I found these pieces difficult to follow and tended to start skimming my way over them for fear of getting interminably bogged down.
But the moments of deep thinking, drug-infused rambling nonsense aside, time spent with Dave and Clete in Southern Louisiana is good time as far as I’m concerned. With Dave and Clete around to greet people with “What’s the haps” there will always be knights errant around to stick up for the weak and vulnerable and they do it with a certain style.
My thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for supplying a copy of this digital ARC to allow me to read, enjoy and write this review....more
Melbourne-based private investigator Edwina (Ted) Bristol is back, still accompanied by her ever- faithful miniature schnauzer Miss Marple. She remainMelbourne-based private investigator Edwina (Ted) Bristol is back, still accompanied by her ever- faithful miniature schnauzer Miss Marple. She remains set on her path to success thanks to a strong family network, attendance at her weekly role-playing battles and an inexhaustible internal engine.
She's a busy PI with a couple of jobs on the go. The first finds her attempting to find the identity of a stalker who has been leaving disturbing messages at her clients house. But she has a couple of difficulties to overcome when it comes to the case. First, her client's not really sure who the stalker is and can't really come up with any suspects. Second, Ted's kind of falling for her client's ex-husband, has been for some time but she daren't mention it to either her client or Spike, the object of her growing affection.
Also taking up her time is her sister Bob's expanding florist business. She has just purchased the shop next door and is set to combine the two into one large store. The previous owner, Cicely, had to sell to recoup money lost when her husband, Duncan, disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach. Yes, very Harold Holt of him.
One of the admirable traits that Ted boasts is her confidence in her interpretation of facts she unearths. This can turn out to be both a good and bad thing. So it's inevitable that we're taken through a succession of moments where an important piece of information is discovered and an immediate conclusion is drawn. Sometimes the conclusion is correct, sometimes it's not. We're on a bit of a roller-coaster here.
To add to the turmoil taking place in Ted's life, what with two cases occupying her time and her sister - a woman who has a notoriously poor record in choosing boyfriends - has just begun a new relationship, is the potential romance she may or may not have going with Spike. Whether or not she's about to find love is on an absolute tightrope and comes with a whole raft of further complications that also depend on her sleuthing capabilities.
The fact is, this is an endlessly entertaining detective mystery caper that's spiced with plenty of family interaction, manifesting as confrontations.
One of the cool little idiosyncrasies of the series is the Bristol first names. The female characters all have male nicknames (Ted, Bob, Chuck etc) while the men in the family have gender neutral names (Kerry, Robin, Kym, Leslie, Cal). I like that, it's one of those things that made me pause and think, okay someone's amusing themselves here, aren't they.
A Dance With Murder is a bright and breezy second book in the Ted Bristol series. Yes she has her flaws but she's totally relatable and extremely capable. The uncertain nature of her detecting skills merely adds to the intrigue of her cases and there are plenty of dangerous moments to get the heart racing.
My thanks to Pantera Press via NetGalley for the digital ARC which allowed me to read, enjoy and review this book....more
I Am Already Dead is the second book to feature private investigator Lee Southern. The book picks up from where True West left off and, it turns out, I Am Already Dead is the second book to feature private investigator Lee Southern. The book picks up from where True West left off and, it turns out, that not only is Lee very young but he’s street smart and has a definite presence about him. The background behind how and why he’s the man he is today is explained in the rugged True West which took place when he was a raw 17 year old.
Southern is backed/mentored by the soon to retire PI, Frank Swann (Line of Sight, etc. I’d recommend these books to anyone who enjoys gritty hardboiled Aussie crime fiction). While he depends on him to put in a good word for him when picking up jobs, he’s virtually independent of the former hard man of Perth.
Southern is hired to investigate the extortion of a local businessman by a syndicate who hold explicit photos of his young daughter. The photos were taken as part of a previous abduction and chasing down the low-lifes who now hold copies of them drags him and us into the sordid world of paedophilia.
Now, Lee Southern is an extremely interesting character who boasts a number of strings to his bow. When he’s not doing his private investigator gig he also works as a bouncer at a reasonably seedy nightclub. But it’s the care and attention to detail he gives to restoring classic cars in his spare time and coaching boxing for disadvantaged kids at a local gym that gives us a significant peek at his true nature.
It’s the businessman’s fixer who makes contact with Southern each time a new person of interest is identified. They meet, he gets a file, they move on. In the file are details of a man who has a copy of the photo. Southern’s job is to retrieve the photo without the subject becoming aware.
It’s only when a couple of warning shots are fired across Lee’s bow that his seemingly simple job becomes a little more complicated. Shots are fired over his head from a high-powered rifle and then his car is blown up. Lee thought he was conducting a well-conceived mission and had covered his tracks perfectly. It appears things weren’t as well covered up as he first thought.
I Am Dead Already is a tough, no-nonsense crime novel that benefits from two very important factors that ensure it’s a winner. A smart, pragmatic lead character who comes up with thoughtful ways of approaching difficult problems and a brisk, always evolving plot that never gets caught up in meaningless faff that might otherwise distract.
I’m sure I’m not the only one but I couldn’t help but be reminded of Peter Temple’s Jack Irish. The painstaking hours of work Southern puts into his classic car finishing is very reminiscent of Irish working in the cabinetmakers. In both cases the hours spent are used to mull over problems in the case and speak to their approach to investigating a case too.
This is a dark and edgy West Aussie thriller that reinforces David Whish-Wilson’s grip on the modern hardboiled crime novel. There is a richness to the setting descriptions and a delightful spareness to the dialogue which crackles with intensity. It all unfolds without a beat being missed while still delivering a helluva scintillating ending. ...more
A complex plot and a smattering of well timed twists ensure that The Zebra-Striped Hearse sits as one of the stronger entries in the Lew Archer seriesA complex plot and a smattering of well timed twists ensure that The Zebra-Striped Hearse sits as one of the stronger entries in the Lew Archer series. Once again the private detective has the job of measuring the moral fiber of a young man with the aim of protecting a young lady from a potentially dangerous friendship.
The case begins as a seemingly innocuous one but, as so often happens, becomes increasingly complex as more characters are drawn in by Archer’s questioning. On top of that, the body count connected to the case begins to grow.
Archer’s task is to investigate the background of a young artist who’s engaged to Harriett Blackwell, daughter of Colonel Blackwell, the client. Blackwell is your classic rich blowhard who’s overly protective of his daughter and suspicious of any man who shows an interest in her.
Archer starts his investigation and it’s not long before he figures out the man, named Burke Damis, is really Quincy Ralph Simpson and he’s not only on the Missing Persons list but it was his wife who reported him missing. As it turns out, the man is more than just missing. He’s dead - stabbed with an ice pick. And what’s more, he’s not the man Archer knows as Burke Damis.
A quick trip down to Mexico helps Archer with some background on Damis as well as allowing him to meet and talk to Harriett’s mother. Then it’s back up to California again and into the citrus belt where the body has been found.
What follows is an increasingly complicated web of deceit that is gradually unraveled by Archer’s persistence. As is often the case, he takes the heavy handed approach when confronting his various witnesses, suspects and potential allies. On occasion the approach yields results but, by and large, it merely results in clumsy parry and thrust exchanges that seems to provide him with little in the way of progress.
What the story is blessed with is a stunning array of plot twists to ensure that there’s little chance of guessing where the investigation is going to take us next. I was pretty sure, a few times, I knew the identity of the murderer and their motives, only to find I was seriously off in my reasoning. Fortunately, Archer’s on hand to provide the clear and level thinking and is also prepared to share his thoughts with us and confront those who need confronting with some straight talking.
This is another example why Ross Macdonald’s Archer series remains one of the most highly thought of classic PI series. The Zebra-Striped Hearse is packed with all of the action, sharp dialogue and clever plotting necessary to remind us what a hardboiled detective story should be all about....more
Odyssey’s End is the tenth book in the Rick Cahill series, a solid private investigator series that continues to provide a raw, gritty toughness tingeOdyssey’s End is the tenth book in the Rick Cahill series, a solid private investigator series that continues to provide a raw, gritty toughness tinged with deeper emotional issues. Over the journey Cahill has been through the wringer and is now suffering from CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), a condition that will eventually kill him. The clock is absolutely ticking.
Cahill is hired by Peter Stone, a one-time adversary but more lately a friend of convenience, to track down his daughter, Angela Albright. Stone has his issues. He’s been locked away in Witness Protection, he has cancer and also requires a kidney transplant, but is more concerned that Russian Mob kingpin Sergei Volkov is about to get early release from prison. Volkov’s impending release means huge trouble for both Stone and Cahill, not to mention their families.
Taking the case definitely went against Cahill’s better judgement. After all, he doesn’t particularly like Stone and he certainly doesn’t trust him. But when he was offered $50,000 for the job, his thoughts immediately turned to his daughter Krista and what that type of money could do to secure her future was too much to pass up.
Speaking of which, Cahill’s thoughts tended to turn towards both Krista, his 2 year old daughter, and his wife Leah, from whom he is now separated. It’s his job as a private investigator that’s driven the wedge between them and the fact that, just being around him, is proving extremely dangerous. He’s supposedly going to choose between his job and his family, but something (such as $50,000 pay days) always seems to come up.
The problem is, by taking the case he has once again put himself in the firing line of some bad guys. And these guys aren’t just bad guys, they’re brutally uncompromising and won’t think twice about taking out your whole family if you stand in their way bad.
Unlike earlier books in the series, I found this to be extremely slow moving for a significant portion of the book. There is a lot of time where Cahill is sitting around in his motel room or in his car contemplating: the sorry state of his life; the fact that Volkov is out of prison and the danger that poses; his wish to see his daughter more often.
Consequently, there’s an overwhelming sense of drifting rather than investigating going on. And even when he comes up with a breakthrough piece of information that gives him a bead on finding Angela, it’s incredibly tenuous, so much so I’d call it an unbelievable reach. The danger, which is implied very early on, tends to be forgotten amidst all of the brooding until the all-action finale.
Apart from the ponderous nature of the story, there are upsides and they largely fall at the feet of Rick Cahill who is a singularly sympathetic character. His intentions are pure even if his methods are anything but. He’s carrying all kinds of handicaps, physical and mental, yet he continues to forge on, determined to right wrongs and play the part of the knight in shining armour.
For me, this didn’t quite have the same zing that the earlier Rick Cahill books provided. He feels beaten down and almost defeated. But I’m a fan of the series and am interested to see whether he bounces back from the events that Matt Coyle has put him through. Time will tell.
My thanks to publishers Oceanview Publishing via Netgalley for the digital ARC of this book that allowed me to read and enjoy Odyssey’s End. ...more
A slow burn mystery that gradually builds with intrigue and intensity, Or Else starts with a guilty secret that threatens to rip a young man’s quiet lA slow burn mystery that gradually builds with intrigue and intensity, Or Else starts with a guilty secret that threatens to rip a young man’s quiet life apart. This is an amateur investigator mystery that becomes deeply emotional and driven by the strong need to know how a stable family’s life can be ripped completely apart.
Andy Drake is a novelist who has returned to the neighbourhood he grew up in to care for his father who is slipping deeper into dementia. He reconnects with Rachel, the girl he went to school with who is now a wife and mother of two, and the reconnection develops into a secret love affair.
The love affair comes to a sudden halt when Andy finds a note stuck in his front door that is succinct in its message:
“I know about you and Rachel. You will stop seeing her. Don’t ruin her or her family’s life. Do as I say or else.”
The note not only puts a full-stop on the affair but also brings his writing to a complete stop. He needs to find out who knows and who else have they told. He’s still agonising over this conundrum when another blow hits: Rachel’s husband is dead and Rachel and the two boys have gone missing. And so a mystery writer finds out the difference between writing about a fictional mystery and being involved in one for real.
Andy is sure that Rachel and her boys have been abducted and feels that not enough is being done to find her. Based on that, he decides he’d conduct his own investigation and this, not surprisingly, leads to all kinds of mayhem as he stumbles into one dangerous situation after another.
Apart from crossing paths with an unknown assailant, he finds a particular piece of evidence that leads him to ring a phone number that could very well be a front for a dangerous underworld figure. Threatening this type of character is never a smart idea, particularly when you’re not really sure what you’re doing and have nothing to back you up should retribution be sent your way.
At no time does it feel as though things are in control. Andy’s flying by the seat of his pants and doesn’t really understand the danger he may be putting his father and sister in. On top of that, he also has to deal with a rarely there older brother who appears to think his job is to denigrate and belittle his brother and sister.
To expand on that last point a little bit more, the characters portrayed throughout the story were clearly defined and nicely developed. They helped to ensure we were left in no doubt exactly where Andy’s life was currently sitting at and the depth of emotion that was involved in many of the decisions he made. It felt as though we were invited into the midst of the entire neighbourhood.
This is a well-organised mystery that came together to reveal a few well disguised surprises. The slow and careful start was nicely offset by a more powerfully charged ending....more
The 5th book in the Myron Bolitar series is a bit of a departure from the usual breezy hi-jinks featuring the sports agent. Up until now the series prThe 5th book in the Myron Bolitar series is a bit of a departure from the usual breezy hi-jinks featuring the sports agent. Up until now the series provided one type of mystery or another that required Myron to call on his powers of deductive reasoning along with Win Horne Lockwood to provide muscle and Esperanza Diaz for a combination of witty rejoinders and solid detective work. But One False Move finds things turning a little more serious and a whole lot more emotional.
It begins with a seemingly low-key proposition for Myron - take on the sports agent work of repping women’s basketball sensation Brenda Slaughter. Myron, of course, being a sports agent and a former NBA basketballer has no problem taking on the job.
But then, there are caveats to the job. Brenda’s father Horace, once a good friend of Myron’s, has recently gone missing and it’s possible that she may also be in danger. Myron’s not a bodyguard but he does have certain skills that will help to ensure she’ll be ready to take the court on opening day.
It appears that there’s danger from many sides when it comes to keeping Brenda safe with threats coming from mobsters, a familial connection to one of the richest families in New Jersey and mixing it with the odd dangerous borderline psychopath. The danger is really ramped up in this outing and all of Myron’s quips and good humour is tested in what turns out to be quite a harrowing experience.
What starts out initially as a missing person case (Brenda’s father) becomes an even deeper mystery going back 20 years to when her mother suddenly walked out of her life. Brenda’s still harbouring great resentment towards her mother for the abandonment which has been brought to the surface by contact that suggests her mother wants to see her again.
Myron starts investigating, doing a pretty good job at following obscure clues, causing a bit of a disturbance and drawing the attention of the aforementioned rich and powerful family, mobsters and psychos. This of course draws in the need to include Win and the fun and games really starts to ramp up. Every scene that includes Win Lockwood adds a whole new dimension and you just know the entertainment factor is about to be raised.
There is a definite change in atmosphere in this book compared to the more breezy earlier books in the series with some extremely emotional moments for Myron to navigate. He’s always been prepared to push the buttons of just about anyone he meets but this is the first time that things don’t go the way he plans. He often arms himself with the moral high ground and comes out on top, but that’s not quite the way things appear to go here.
Some seismic moments in Myron’s personal life take place in the course of One False Move and it appears this entry in the series could be a bit of a turning point. It’s certainly an emotion charged story that left me curious to see which direction things are taken in the future. ...more
Myron Bolitar is a sports agent who acts very much like a private detective and in this, the 4th book in the series we’re taken onto the golf course aMyron Bolitar is a sports agent who acts very much like a private detective and in this, the 4th book in the series we’re taken onto the golf course and into the middle of the US Open. The series is a favourite of mine, and Back Spin works for me mixing sharp moments of humorous exchanges with more dramatic and emotive moments that gives you pause for deeper thought. At the heart is a complex mystery that will leave a trail of death and heartbreak.
A redemption story is in the process of unfolding. Jack Coldren is playing out a redemption story at the US Open, taking a huge lead after 2 rounds at the course where he dramatically lost many years before.
Although he’s a sports agent with no interest in golf, Myron is there to help the Coldrens because their son has been kidnapped. The usual threats about not involving the police has led to involving a sports agent instead.
This turns out to be quite the complicated little mystery with numerous possibilities flagged along the way…you know, either the son has staged the whole thing to get attention or, someone with a grudge is doing it to stop Jack from winning the US Open or, Jack’s wife has staged it to better her own career and a few other possibilities.
Regular sidekick/dangerous enigma Windsor Horne Lockwood III, aka Win, is a part of this caper because Jack Coldren is his cousin. But Win has an intense dislike for Jack and steadfastly refuses to provide Myron with any help. Initially I was disappointed by the fact that Win was there but not there in the way he was in the first 3 books.
What we miss out on in terms of creative ways in which Win provides help is more than made up for by the deep background we finally get regarding Win’s past. In the course of solving the kidnapping case, Myron uncovers many details about Win’s early years and the result is the nearest we’ve ever come to seeing Win appear almost human.
The bottom line is that Myron manages to dig extremely deeply into the case, makes a few enemies, uncovers a skeleton or two, lands a major contract as a sports agent, finds out a lot more about Win than he could ever imagined and, oh yeah, solves the thing. But not without some sobering events that put a bit of a dampener on the usual lighthearted banter and witticisms.
Although I would have preferred to see more involvement by Win in this story, it was somewhat offset by the larger part played by Myron’s business partner and friend Esperanza Diaz. She plays the solid sounding board to Myron’s cavalier nature and, through her, gets a good chunk of investigative type work done. A worthy trade-off and a character to look forward to seeing more of in the future books....more
Mickey Gibson is a former detective who now works for a global investigation company tracking down and retrieving stolen money. Now a single mother wiMickey Gibson is a former detective who now works for a global investigation company tracking down and retrieving stolen money. Now a single mother with 2 young children she does the vast majority of her work remotely from home. It’s a job she enjoys, she’s good at it and it allows her to bring in a good income while still spending time with her children.
After one successful job that earned the company a significant payday, she receives a call from the office from a woman named Arlene Robinson. There’s a new job assigned to Mickey, this time one out in the field. She’s to inventory the home of an illegal arms dealer who has cheated ProEye’s clients out of many millions and then disappeared.
In the process of conducting her inventory she finds a hidden room and, inside the room, also finds a dead body. After the police are called out, she finds out that there’s actually no person named Arlene Robinson working at ProEye. Whoever it was who called her had set her up for reasons, as yet, unknown.
It’s at this point that I had a major problem with Simply Lies. Given absolutely no reason to take on the investigation, an investigation presented to her by someone who refuses to reveal her real name, Mickey risks her job, the safety of her children and her own safety to try to find out who might have killed the man she found. There was simply no reason for her to get involved. And even when she became frustrated by the lack of information from Arlene (who later called herself Clarisse), she carried on.
Putting that aside, Simply Lies features a pair of strong female characters who have each overcome difficult circumstances, exhibited remarkable deductive reasoning skills and unpicked a particularly convoluted mystery. Although their relationship begins with suspicion, irritation and mistrust, their relationship develops slowly as they make progress in their quest to identify the killer. Things move quickly with a reasonably complicated plot explained in a coherent way that ensures we’re taken along for the ride without much confusion.
When I allowed myself to get over the fact that Mickey shouldn’t have been involved in the first place, I appreciated that this is an engaging thriller with some quality twists. Much of the early interaction between Mickey and Clarisse is via phone calls and was largely adversarial in nature. The detective work was approached logically and took us on a convoluted path into inevitable dangerous territory and an exciting finish. ...more
Leavin' Trunk Blues is Ace Atkins' second book in his Nick Travers series following on from Crossroad Blues. Once again we are immersed in blues musicLeavin' Trunk Blues is Ace Atkins' second book in his Nick Travers series following on from Crossroad Blues. Once again we are immersed in blues music lore, legend and attitude as we are taken to nightclubs, are fed lines from blues numbers and left to appreciate the depth of emotion that goes into the blues. At the same time, there are some pretty tense and violent moments as Travers investigates an old murder.
Nick Travers is a blues historian living in New Orleans who works at Tulane University while compiling the research necessary to write his biography of Eddie Jones, better known as Guitar Slim. As part of his all-encompassing interest in the blues he has been sending letters to Ruby Walker, a former blues singer, requesting an interview with her. Ruby is currently in prison and has so far served a 40 year sentence for the murder of her lover and manager, Billy Lyons. She has agreed to speak to Nick and this prompts him to leave New Orleans and head to Chicago. After talking to Ruby and later, when interviewing more old-time blues players around Chicago, Nick gets the impression that there is a strong possibility that she is innocent and has spent the last 40 years paying for a crime she didn't commit.
Nick begins tracking down the old blues artists around Chicago in a bid to find out what they remembered about the night Billy Lyons died. His presence and his line of questioning don't go unnoticed however and it's not long before Stagger Lee gets to hear of him. Stagger Lee is the ruler of Chicago's South Side projects, ruling through terror and an abundance of crack. He is ably assisted by a couple of prostitutes, Annie and Fannie, who are as deadly as they are alluring, a fact that is demonstrated to us a number of times. When Stagger Lee decides he wants Travers stopped, it's these two he sends to do the dirty work.
The story turns into a tense hunter/stalker scenario, with Travers playing the part of both the hunter and the hunted. While he hunts for information, contacting famous musicians and forgotten recording artists, he is unknowingly being stalked by a couple of killers with an impressive track record. Backing them up is the frighteningly imposing figure of Stagger Lee who, like his namesake of legend, is also a man to be feared.
I found that the actual identity of the murderer really becomes of secondary importance as the story progresses, particularly because it is made perfectly obvious who it is so very early on. Instead, it's the tension built into Travers' search that really dragged me in. The reason behind why Billy Lyons was killed dominates our attention too and is the source of a number of surprises along the way.
There are a lot of characters used throughout the book and they ranged from the crazy, off-beat Annie and Fannie who never really progressed beyond the role of killers who wanted to escape the life they led, to the wonderfully captured irreverence of Dirty Jimmy. Jimmy had the demeanor one would expect of an ex-musician who has already seen it all and the harp-blowing little man livened up every scene in which he was included. As for Nick Travers, he is a fine character with the tough background as an ex-NFL footballer with the New Orleans Saints offset by the music geek enthusiasm he displays when he meets the odd blues legend. He comes with just the right mix of strength and vulnerability.
Leavin' Trunk Blues is a dark, moody story that showcases Chicago's rich history of blues music while providing an enthralling thriller. With the lure of more Nick Travers mysteries to come, I'm sure to be diving into the blues scene courtesy of Ace Atkins in the future. ...more
Although In La-La Land We Trust is written in the ‘80s and set in the ‘80s, the book, its language, the slang and the misogynistic attitudes give the Although In La-La Land We Trust is written in the ‘80s and set in the ‘80s, the book, its language, the slang and the misogynistic attitudes give the impression of a decades earlier time period. There is the distinctive feeling that we’ve landed in the middle of a 1950s noir classic.
“Sleeping too long with nightmares that refuse to escape in a scream wracks the bones and dries out the juices of the body. When Whistler slid out of the bed stenciled with the sweaty shape of a mummy three thousand years old, it was five o’clock in the morning. The air was already hot and tasted of brass. He turned on the television set. The commentator said, in the hollow voice of early morning, that it had been very hot and humid the day before, and the city could expect more of the same. There might be a chance of a cooling rain if everybody prayed.”
Somehow, a bodiless head discovered in New Orleans and a headless body in Los Angeles are connected. And they have some kind of connection to the sordid porn industry in both cities. It just takes a series of unfortunate mistakes and an observant private investigator to make the connections and take us on a journey through a quagmire of immorality and debauchery for financial gain.
Whistler is a night prowler who also does a bit of work on the side as a type of private investigator. It’s around 2am and he’s sitting in a cafe on the corner of Hollywood and Vine when he happens to witness a car accident involving a BMW, driven by a television star and a beat up station wagon that also happens to contain a headless corpse. He becomes involved when he provides the drunken TV star with some valuable advice on how to beat the drunk driving rap. Part of his assistance came in the form of driving his date, a beautiful aspiring actress, to her home to keep her out of any trouble.
When it becomes obvious there’s been a cover-up to protect the actor, Whistler tries to follow up on the welfare of the aspiring actress, only to find she has suddenly left town. Fearing something more than just an innocent desire to take an unscheduled holiday has overcome her, he takes a trip to New Orleans in an effort to try to track her down.
But Hollywood has a dark and dingy side to it and there are some powerful men running the show who also happen to be ruthless sleazes. When there’s money to be made and embarrassing secrets to be kept, absolutely nothing’s off the table when it comes to keeping meddlers quiet. No matter whether he operates in New Orleans or back in Los Angeles, Whistler finds himself up against some ruthless operators.
There’s no getting around it, In La-La Land We Trust covers some of the more sordid, gruesome sides of what might be referred to as the “entertainment industry” as it’s possible to get. Forced pornography, child pornography and snuff films only begins the depths of depravity plumbed from New Orleans to Los Angeles.
This is not a crime novel for everybody. There are scenes involving excessive violence and plenty of inferred sexual references meant to shock. It’s a dark comedy with humorous moments and situations scattered through the course of the story that become slightly farcical in nature, somewhat reminiscent of Elmore Leonard or even Donald Westlake. I appreciated the sharp dialogue that seemed to capture the nature of the characters perfectly. The line between good and evil is succinctly drawn and the story progresses steadily with few surprises as to the fate of the bad guys.
In La-La Land We Trust was a finalist for the 1987 Shamus Award for Best PI Novel, the year in which The Staked Goat by Jeremiah Healy was the winner....more
A Routine Infidelity is the debut novel by Australian author Elizabeth Coleman. Featuring newly minted PI Edwina (Ted) Bristol, this pacy crime caper A Routine Infidelity is the debut novel by Australian author Elizabeth Coleman. Featuring newly minted PI Edwina (Ted) Bristol, this pacy crime caper blends a perfect mix of borderline craziness, light-hearted banter and serious detective work while also managing to throw in a darker, more guilt-ridden past once you get to know Ted a little better.
At first glance, it appears that we’re in for a fairly standard PI story. Ted Bristol is the principal, and sole, employee of Edwina Bristol Investigations (EBI). She’s a self-proclaimed kick-arse PI who, despite her diminutive size can hold her own when it comes to facing people down. She’s just starting out and is in the building phase of her business as a civil investigator with much of her work consisting of surveillance of possible insurance scams, cheating spouses and serving papers.
But it becomes apparent that there are a few aspects of Ted that sets her apart from her peers. The first is her sidekick, Miss Marple, a miniature schnauzer with a rather diffident attitude. The second is her weekly recreational activity of participating in Swordcraft, a medieval battle game that takes place every Saturday night (she’s a warrior elf). Throw in the fact that she has 7 older brothers and one older sister, she works next door to a maybe-psychic, she’s enjoying a friends-with-benefits relationship with Joel because she has commitment issues and she still can’t speak to her father 30 years after watching her mother drown. Yep, a lot is going on.
While working on what appears to be a reasonably straightforward case to confirm that a husband is cheating on his wife, Ted believes she’s stumbled across a much bigger corporate fraud scam. Sensing this to be the big break that EBI needs to attract future clients, she works it hard and walks straight into danger. And that’s where things really start to get interesting.
I really enjoyed A Routine Infidelity, firstly because of the slightly offbeat humour dotted throughout as well as the rapid-fire action. But mainly for the multi-dimensional subplots that continually added a freshness to the storyline. The traditional private eye work was a good start, but then the hint of the mystical gave it a solid woo-woo feel, the overly large family provides boundless potential for antagonistic showdowns and finally, the hint of a budding romance or two.
Just when it seemed this would be a purely plot-driven mystery we are taken to a darker place to find that Ted is hiding a guilt-ridden past. An exploration of what took place 30 years ago and its effects on her now, plus the impact it had on older sister Bob provides much needed character development.
This is clearly the first book in a series with a tantalising case in the offing providing an appetite whetting ending. I’ll be looking forward to the next case taken on by Edwina Bristol Investigations.
With thanks to NetGalley and Pantera Press for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review....more
The 4th book in the Carl Wilcox series. Set in a small town in South Dakota in the 1930s, Wilcox is an ex-con who has a bit of a knack for investigatiThe 4th book in the Carl Wilcox series. Set in a small town in South Dakota in the 1930s, Wilcox is an ex-con who has a bit of a knack for investigating and gets enough work to keep himself reasonably busy.
Trixie Cook is “Bernie Cook’s sexy wife” and she’s being held at the local police station under suspicion of murdering her husband. She calls Carl to get him to bring her a lawyer to clear up the misunderstanding that’s prompted the incarceration. (So inconvenient and embarrassing). Now, Bernie Cook was anything but a saint and had his fingers in all sorts of sordid pies, enough to have pissed off just about anybody he dealt with.
Although everything points towards Trixie, Carl’s prepared to do the hard yards to see whether she may have actually been innocent. The arrival in town of Rita, Trixie’s younger sister, helps her case no end and he begins to pick away at the seams. Carl simply has to work out whether someone else was wronged badly enough to have killed Bernie or did he, in fact, push Trixie just that little bit too far.
This is a straightforward investigative mystery told in a linear fashion as Wilcox sets about interviewing all of the friends and acquaintances of Bernie Cook and his wife. A poker game on the night he died throws up a few leads to follow. Of particular interest is a newcomer to town who somehow wangled his way into the game.
A further anomaly is the presence of a couple of gangster-types looking for some missing jewelry. Their search is anything but subtle and clearly involves Bernie in some way.
While the investigation never really reaches any great heights, it moves along at a steady pace and develops quickly enough to hold my interest. Carl is an interesting character with a willingness to put his body on the line in order to get results. The dialogue felt authentic for the times borrowing from the tough, succinct speech patterns that were common in the detective stories from the pulps at that time.
The Naked Liar was a finalist for the 1986 Shamus Award for Best PI Novel and it stacks up well as a hard-boiled Depression-era detective story....more
A Visible Darkness is the second book in the Max Freeman thriller series after the Edgar Award winning The Blue Edge of Midnight. Once again we’re thrA Visible Darkness is the second book in the Max Freeman thriller series after the Edgar Award winning The Blue Edge of Midnight. Once again we’re thrust into the dark realm of murder for profit and become reacquainted with the lone wolf PI who’d prefer to remain hidden away on his stilt house in the Everglades.
Freeman is winkled out of his hidey-hole by friend and attorney Billy Manchester who needs someone to investigate a series of deaths. They’re all old women who have died from what appears to be natural causes. But they also carry sizable life insurance policies that had been resold.
The thing is, we know who the killer is and we know there are a number of aspects about him that will make him very difficult to detect and bring to heel. This is a case that immediately poses problems, feels particularly dangerous and is going to require some fancy footwork on the part of the investigator. Some don’t like knowing who the antagonist is but, being more of a thriller than a mystery, I thought it added to the suspense of the story.
This is everything I like about private investigator stories. A PI who prefers to work alone, but is also accomplished at enlisting support from local police when necessary, a plot that moves forward steadily with just enough blind alleys to keep you guessing and an underlying criminal who’s not immediately obvious.
Max Freeman has a past, but it’s not something that completely suffocates you in the present. You get a sense that he’s faced some bad situations, but rather than cripple him with indecision, it’s helped him to be assured and confident. Just what you want in a decent protagonist.
The book was a finalist for the 2004 Shamus Award for Best PI Novel and provided a well structured narrative combined with well-defined primary characters that are gradually becoming more fully fleshed out. It has definitely invited me to continue on with the later books of the series (the series is 7 books strong at the time of writing)....more
Set in San Francisco in the 1940s, the boxing world is laid bare in all its glory through the eyes of sportswriter Billy Nicholls. He’s known as Mr BoSet in San Francisco in the 1940s, the boxing world is laid bare in all its glory through the eyes of sportswriter Billy Nicholls. He’s known as Mr Boxing and, through his popular column, he has the inside running on all the juicy tidbits to be found about the sport.
Things take a turn for the dramatic when he walks into heavyweight Hack Escalante’s dressing room one evening to find himself facing the disturbing scene of Hack’s manager lying dead on the floor. According to Hack he had flown into a furious rage and lashed out at the man who cracked his skull on a table as he fell to the floor.
Billy makes a spur of the moment decision to cover up the crime. He organises Hack to help him to bundle up the body to dispose of it.
Not surprisingly, this moment of madness sets off a chain reaction that leads to a slow moving downward spiral. A failing marriage, a sordid affair, a second untimely death and a police detective on the trail all threaten to overwhelm Billy who responds by turning amateur sleuth.
For a terse crime novel set amid the rough and tumble post-war boxing world the characters are deeply fleshed out. Where necessary a full history is recounted to put each new character’s place in the story into context. Real world boxers are mixed in with fictional pugilists along with managers, trainers and a variety of other hangers-on. They’re all included to provide a full, well-rounded San Franciscan boxing community that was just starting to blossom. As with all sports that produce a buck or two, criminals looking for the opportunity to graft and cheat can also be found.
This is a thoughtfully conceived noir crime novel that captures the stark tones of the era in which it’s set. Sharp, snappy dialogue keeps confrontations brief but filled with meaning and help to set the place and time. The first moment we meet the protagonist, we witness him committing a crime. From that moment on, there’s little doubt he is going to attempt to cover up that crime. For that reason we’re looking at an anti-hero here, but he’s an anti-hero who is easy to admire.
The book won the 2003 Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel and would be right up the alley of those who love the classic era hardboiled crime novels. ...more
The Wrong Kind of Blood is the first book in the Ed Loy series, a private detective crime novel set in Ireland. It paints a grim picture of the struggThe Wrong Kind of Blood is the first book in the Ed Loy series, a private detective crime novel set in Ireland. It paints a grim picture of the struggling lower class who are looking to simply survive from one day to the next in a crime-filled neighbourhood.
Ed Loy has returned home to Ireland after 20 years living and working in Los Angeles. He has come home to bury his mother but has walked into a lot of the problems that he left to escape from all those years ago. Although he’s not licenced to practise in Ireland, he picks up a job of looking for the husband of a former school friend.
He’s motivated by a sense of owing something to the past friends and family he left behind when he left for America. But his investigation causes him to cross paths with the local gangsters who have a long enough memory to ensure he is firmly in their sights. The place has changed and not necessarily for the better, in fact, it’s very much for the worse.
Unfortunately for me, I felt this dragged in too many places and I found myself skimming at best as I struggled through tangential phases that had little to do with the main plot. Loy covers quite a lot of ground in his investigation, but the ground he covers tends not to progress the investigation in any meaningful way. He questions people, he creeps around in the dark and cops the odd beating from gangsters evening up old scores.
This is a noir crime story (and normally I’m on board with the atmosphere and themes that noir crime usually espouses) that features a dogged and determined detective. But along the way the story seemed to lose momentum and it became difficult to work out where we were going or how we were going to get there. In the end it just felt like it became an overly confused jumble of past sins mixed with attempted redemption. Didn’t quite work for me....more
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