We're Not Dead Yet

I am reading a lot of escapism now in the wake of the new president. January devoured 40 books in mystery, romance, science fiction, fantasy, children's and much non fiction. Mysteries are great fun, especially by known authors. I have many favourites and always look for their new releases. A fan of Thomas Perry, I have recommended his stories since his debut Edgar award winning novel The Butcher's Boy (1982). Metzer's Dog followed and then I loved the Jane Whitefield series. I own most, have read them all, given several away multiple times. I have recommended several of his later mysteries on this blog. I am just delighted to report that his latest novel is fantastic. I read this immensely satisfying tale straight through.

Title: The Old Man by Thomas Perry
Publisher: Mysterious Press January 2017, 352 pp
Genre: mystery, thriller, espionage, suspense.          5 stars *****
Author: Thomas Perry (b 1947) has a phd in English literature (and as they often do, lists employment as laborer, fisherman, maintenance, weapons mechanic, university administrator and teacher. But then it gets interesting with writer, television producer and writer, including Simon and Simon. 21 Jump Street and Star Trek, the Next Generation.) He is an award winning author, having written 24 suspense novels, notably The Butcher's Boy (series), Metzer's Dog and the Jane Whitefield series. Recently he has been writing stand alone mysteries/thrillers, although with this novel, I am sincerely hoping he will start a new series.
Story line: This is a dark tale of a former army special ops, who has lived quietly in Vermont for many years, raised a family, while always on alert. And they did come for him. Not just the Libyans, but our own government, in an all too possible scenario. He stays one step ahead of them using his planning, discipline, intelligence and competence.
Dan Chase (aka Peter, Harry, Bill...don't get used to the name) is a very young "old" man (60 retired widower). 60 is the new 30? Actually I am just fine with that this birthday year!
I particularly liked Julian Carson a conflicted field officer and a great pair of trained dogs, Dave and Carol. I wanted more from the ending, and a few things didn't add up for me, especially the female character. But it was fast paced and clever with several unexpected twists. Given his hiding in plain sight, I expected to see Jane Whitefield too!
Perry has addictive writing, sharp, engaging, tight multi layered plot, with interesting characters.  I thought this book was a return to his previous stellar works, although all are worth reading.  I would love to see Dan/Bill become a series, would like to believe we have such individuals in the world. As well as have an older hero, whose maturity provides wisdom (and answers). This is great escape reading, perfect for your winter vacation; it also works to avoid winter cabin blues, with the rollercoaster ride providing adrenaline rushes.
Read on: if you like John LeCarre, Geoffrey Household, Jack Reacher or Jason Bourne
John Sandford's Virgil Flowers series
Quotes: The predicament he had created for himself when he was young had made him aware that life was precious.
Curiosity is a sign of a lively mind. That’s the only kind worth having.
Julian kept walking. He had warned his superior officers. He had told them a couple of times that the old man wasn’t just an old man, like somebody’s uncle.
He was old in the way a seven-foot rattlesnake was old.

Received as an ARC ebook from Netgalley, as well as purchased hardcover.

Sometimes you can't escape the claws

Sometimes you can't escape claws...
Title:  Escape Clause by John Sandford (Virgil Flowers, #9 )
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons 400 pp October 2016
Genre: mystery, thriller fiction,
5 stars
Author:
From Amazon author list: John Sandford is the pseudonym for the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist John Camp. He is the author of twenty-six Prey novels, most recently Extreme Prey; four Kidd novels; nine Virgil Flowers novels; three YA novels coauthored with his wife, Michele Cook; and three stand-alones, most recently Saturn Run.
Story line:
Virgil Flowers, my favourite investigator for the MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), is back for another roller coaster ride. We moved from dognapping to catnapping- with endangered tigers stolen from the Mn Zoo. Everyone else is involved in politics at the state fair (leftover from the last Davenport Prey book). Virgil gets the short straw as body counts rise, brutal attack occur and bombs go off.
I always looks for the references of either Davenport or Flowers depending on the book series, and this doesn't disappoint. I don't think of it as a spinoff either, Virgil feels more like a real MN cop: tough, smart, long haired (farmer), quirky Midwestern boy. Love the cultural t-shirt references. He does the legwork, finds the clues, thinks through the larger pictures and gets his sociopath, without a gun, if at all possible. The cat helped.
I read this in one sitting, relieved to be laughing more with Virgil's engaging antics and comments. Several of the Flowers books have been very dark indeed. The Midwest realism works on all levels, from the swimming hole to the immigrant factory to the traffic. Small town life contrasts seething political issues, with good commentary and further thought. This book will not disappoint.
Read on:
To the first Virgil Flowers Dark of the Moon, or the Prey Series.
If you like Lee Child (Jack Reacher), Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch) or David Baldacci (John Puller) series.
Quotes:
“You must be the famous Virgil fuckin’ Flowers.”
Virgil could feel his heart clogging up with grease as he finished the sandwich,
New Ulm was getting more like LA every single day, Virgil thought.
“Did you have a gun with you?” Davenport asked. “Yeah.” “You didn’t shoot it, did you?” “No.” “There’s the fuckin’ Flowers we all know and love,” Davenport said.
.....but they had the IQs of small rocks.
“It’s another one of your damn Twin Cities murders that you keep unloading on us,” the sheriff said. “If he’d dropped the refrigerator fifteen feet west, it’d technically be a Minnesota case, which it should be.” “You’re breaking my heart,” Virgil said.
“Why do your cases always wind up like this?” Duncan asked, running a hand through his hair. “Why can’t you have a straightforward missing-tigers case?”
....had physically frozen on a street corner. For nearly half an hour, he’d been unable to pick up a foot to move. Since it was St. Paul, nobody had noticed.
“I gotta think,” Virgil said. “I mean, I am thinking, but I’m not coming up with anything.”
“Beer, weed, and skinny-dipping,” Bill said. He sounded happy about it. “It is just sort of Minnesota in the summertime, isn’t it?”
“If it was anyone else, I wouldn’t believe it. With you, I think, ‘Yeah, probably,’ ” she said.

Received as an ARC ebook from Netgalley.

Chilling summer thriller

Title: Pop Goes the Weasel by MJ Arlidge
Publisher:  Berkley 426 pp (2014/2015)
Genre: mystery, thriller, Helen Grace, psychological thriller, series, serial killer
4.5 stars
Author:
Arlidge (b 1974) has spent 15 year's writing high drama, prime time crime series for ITV, British television. He recently started the Det Helen Grace series, now into 6 books. Pop goes the Weasel is the 2nd, and I confess I couldn't wait and read right through five, (Doll's House, Liar, Liar, Little Boy Blue) eagerly awaiting the publication this autumn of Hide and Seek. His writing is terse, spare  in these dark, fast paced, gritty thrillers. The character development improves with each novel and secondary characters play wider varied roles. I find these addictive, in a most unpleasant way. These are not cosy mysteries as realistic events happen that will cause nightmares. They are all psychological thrillers that provide fresh angles to some truly horrible serial killers and their gruesome crimes. Although I think the first book was the most original.
Story line:
In Pop goes the Weasel, as in all, Det Helen Grace is committed to her job, still largely dysfunctional in society, keeps secrets, remains respected but not liked in the Southhampton Force, and can be trusted to never quit.  These mysteries must be read in order for the personal history, character development and escalating tension. As it's a series, I know she will survive, but each book represents a challenge as to what happens next. There are great narrative twists. Read collectively they are a roller coaster! It's always a race against time to find the killer before there is a next victim. They are very fast paced, short chapters, with vivid descriptions of time and place. I will continue to read them to see Det Grace grapple with her life.
Read on:
Ruth Rendell, PDJames, Peter Robinson, John Connolly, Stuart McBride, Peter May
Watch Luther, Dexter, MI5, Broadchurch, The Tunnel
Quotes:
Opening line The fog crept in from the sea, suffocating the city.


Received as an ARC ebook from Netgalley.

Riveting musical thriller!

School buses have appeared, daylight lasts not quite as long and there's a night chill. That luxurious feeling of time, to sit on a beach to relax  and read is silently slipping away with summer. It only takes one book to keep that feeling, and there are so many to anticipate, being published this month.

Title: The Lost Concerto by Helaine Mario
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing July 2015, 443 p.
Genre: mystery, thriller, romantic suspense, political intrigue
4.5 stars
Author:
Helaine Mario grew up in NYC, graduated from Boston University and now resides in Washington DC and Sarasota FL. She published her first book Firebird in 2013, and it is now on my TBR pile. She founded (1998) the SunDial Foundation which contributes to more than thirty nonprofits in the DC area concerning women and children's issues.
A portion of the proceeds are donated to this foundation (inner city food banks, education, health, shelter, arts and economic development). Not only are you buying a great book, you are donating to a wonderful cause. Her extensive travel has contributed to her vivid descriptive prose.
Story Line:
I was looking for a large, complex compelling summer read, a la Discovery of Witches or Outlander and found it in The Lost Concerto. Hitchcock would have loved this book. Sumptuous locations (Paris, Brittany, Italy, Boston, Cape Cod, sanctuaries, concert halls, coastlines), lyrical prose, heartbreaking protagonists, gripping fast paced complex plots which are funny, poignant, powerful and evocative. It has it all. The lyrical writing involves all the senses as we are submerged in a web of intrigue which involves lost music, lost child, lost love, lost souls, and terrorists.
The story is told from several perspectives, providing you with a greater understanding of individual characters and overarching plot. Johnny O'Shea was an award winning investigative journalist. He died suspiciously in a boating accident while investigating the death of his wife's best friend Sofia and her son Tommy (Maggie's godson). Maggie O'Shea (48) is grieving for all of them, unable to play the piano which up has been her career, her solace and her soul. She is a smart, strong, sexy almost understated heroine struggling to move on with her life. A photograph  of Zach(ary) Law, pianist, her first love, father of her son, MIA 30 years ago sends her off to find answers with the help of a quiet, crusty military intelligence office. Michael Beckett (and his dog Shiloh) still recovering from wounds received in Afghanistan is recruited to protect Maggie from a truly evil villain. Read on!!
Haunting, passionate, drama
Stolen art, poignant music, deadly terrorism
Stunning imagery, high adventure, nuanced characters,
I love the literary and musical references and quotes. All relevant. And the puns, often on Maggie's tshirts: Musicians Duet Better. I reread this as, in haste to turn the pages, I know I missed some of the nuances. It was fantastic. The author's note at the end is insightful - plots straight from the news, places she has visited (now in my list), Maggie's classical music favorites, her own rescue dog. This novel was inspired by her son Sean,  a classical pianist.
Read On:
Helaine Mario Firebird (2013)
Stef Penny, Jennifer Lee Carroll, Diane Sutterfield, Lauren Belfer, Elizabeth Kostova, Kate Ross
Quotes:
You never know when you will be ambushed by grief.
The Steinway was deafeningly silent.
It was that magical moment just before the conductor strode onto the stage, when all things were possible.
The powerful notes of Zach's concerto flew toward them like bright sparks in the pulsing darkness. 
Full of pain. And passion.
And promise.

Read as an ARC from Netgalley. Thank you!

Chilling thriller

Title: A Song of Shadows by John Connolly (448 pp)

Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton Atria/Emily Bestler (Sept 29,2015)

Genre: mystery, thriller, suspense, supernatural, Maine

5 stars

Author:

Irish author John Connolly studied English in Trinity College, Dublin and journalism at Dublin City University, and began working as a freelance journalist for The Irish Times newspaper. He continues to interview authors, which are on his website, http://www.johnconnollybooks.com.

I will never forget reading the award winning (Shamus) first story, completely hooked by the first chapter. Every Dead Thing (1999), took five years to write. It introduced the anti-hero Charlie Parker, a former policeman hunting the killer of his wife and daughter. Dark Hollow (2000) The Killing Kind (2001) The White Road (2002) The Black Angel (2005). Charlie Parker has since appeared in five additional novels: The Unquiet, The Reapers (where he plays a secondary role to his associates, Louis and Angel), The Lovers, The Whisperers, and The Burning Soul, The Wrath of Angels (2013). A Song of Shadows is the 12th Parker novel.

Other works include: The Book of Lost Things, non-mystery novel, a stand-alone book - Bad Men (2004) and Nocturnes (many read of BBC Radio4), a collection of novellas and short stories Night Music, a second Nocturnes will be published this year. His YA books: The Gates (2009) launched the Samuel Johnson series, followed by Hell's Bells (UK)/The Infernals (US 2011) The Creeps (2013). He is also the co-editor, with Declan Burke, of Books to Die For, an anthology of essays from the world's top crime writers in response to the question, "Which book should all lovers of crime fiction read before they die?" This book won both the Agatha and the Anthony Awards for best nonfiction (2012/2013). 

Story Line:

This is one of the most impressive crime series, meticulous researched. The writing is superb, every page lyrical and well crafted. The characters are richly detailed, personal and anticipated. I want their stories, their histories, their interactions. You cannot start with this book. 

I read the British version seconds after overseas shipping arrived, exceedingly grateful a lovely friend knows my reading passion. I read the Netgalley e-version to savor the story again. I will perhaps never reread the previous novel (Wolf in Winter), having barely survived the first intense reading. The sequence of events is so much more poignant, traumatic, unexpected and unnerving when these books are read in order. I rejoice at this new installment as well as its future promise.

Charlie Parker is gradually recovering from the traumatic injuries sustained in his last case, but is now a man with a mission and a greater understanding of his role in the world. Parker investigates local murders that are connected to a WWII Nazi concentration camp in Lubko. Seven decades have passed but the crimes still haunt and tragically carry forward. I am delighted Louis and Angel still have his back. That his daughters are central to his being. That Parker exists in our world. Connolly is a highlight of my fictional year.

Read On:

Connolly recommends Ross Macdonald, James Lee Burke and Ed McBain as inspirational.

Quotes:

Opening line: Winter dead, spring dying, and summer waiting in the wings.

One tall and black, the other shorter and whiter, although Soames thought he might have been Latino, or part Latino, or parts lots of things, most of them problematical. (Security consultants, Louis and Angel)

You drive like you got Miss Daisy in the back, said Angel, as they made stately progress west. ....the internal combustion engine is wasted on you.

They (the townspeople) became strangely protective of him...perhaps it was something to do with his past: he was a man who had lost a wife and child, and had suffered grievous injury just for doing his job which, as far as anyone could tell, largely involved putting his mark on the kind of men and women without whom the world was a much better place.

What man offers in heroism on the field of battle, woman equals with unending perseverance and sacrifice (quoting one of Hitler's maxim)

...beyond (the reach of) any written law, any human justice. But that was not the only Justice.

Read as an ARC from Netgalley. Thank you!