Every Cloak Rolled In Blood Mysterious Book Report No. 490 by John Dwaine McKenna Every Cloak Rolled In Blood, (Simon & Schuster, $27.00, 288 pages ISBN 978-1-9821-9659-2), by Mystery Writers of America Grand Master James Lee Burke, is his 50th novel and most unique ever . . . it’s autobiographical in nature, a heart-wrenching lament in honor of his daughter Pamala, who, in August 2020, died unexpectedly while still
Don’t Know Tough Mysterious Book Report No. 489 by John Dwaine McKenna Don’t Know Tough, (Soho Crime, $24.95, 336 pages, ISBN 978-1-64129-345-7), by Eli Cranor, is the apex of Southern Noir. Placed in Denton, Arkansas, it’s hard-boiled, gut-wrenching, poignant, gritty, emotional, brutal, savage, raw, and stunningly authentic. It’s a novel you’ll never forget, and it’s hard to believe that it’s Mr. Cranor’s debut. He speaks with authority and his
Child Zero Mysterious Book Report No. 488 by John Dwaine McKenna Child Zero, (Mulholland, $28.00, 352 pages, ISBN 978-0-316-29512-3), by Chris Holm, is one scary-assed novel. Written by a real scientist, it predicts an all-too-possible future where—due to global warming—an ancient virus is released into the atmosphere from the thawing Arctic permafrost. It mutates in combination with ever-present bacterium to create a virulent strain of viruses which are impervious
Breathless Mysterious Book Report No. 487 by John Dwaine McKenna The Himalayan Mountains of central Asia are known as “the roof of the world,” for that is where all of the tallest mountains on Earth are located. Higher than the Andes of South America or the Alps of Europe, the Himalayas are the mightiest of their kind, and, as such, they’re an irresistible challenge to a certain type of
The Berlin Exchange Mysterious Book Report No. 486 by John Dwaine McKenna What happens to a traitorous American, a scientist who spied for the Soviet Union and gave up our atomic bomb secrets, when he’s released after ten years in a British prison in the U.K., swapped for a busload of political prisoners and sent to East Germany? That’s the opening premise of The Berlin Exchange, (Scribner, $28.00, 320
The Echo Man Mysterious Book Report No. 485 by John Dwaine McKenna The Echo Man, (Crooked Lane, $26.99, 326 pages, ISBN 978-1-64385-991-0), the debut of author Sam Holland, is fascinating, frightening and utterly compelling reading . . . but you’d better be able to handle a lot of gore if you decide to give it a go . . . because it’s about serial killers. Real ones. And their
Woman On Fire Mysterious Book Report No. 484 by John Dwaine McKenna Stolen art and strong women are the central themes of Lisa Barr’s exciting new thriller that rockets back and forth between now and here, then and there, Europe and the U.S. of A . . . . while at the same time educating, entertaining and fascinating her readers with a thriller about the wholesale pillaging of Europe’s
The Heights Mysterious Book Report No. 483 by John Dwaine McKenna The Heights, (Atria, PB, $17.00, 416 pages, ISBN 978-1-9821-7412-5), by internationally acclaimed and best-selling British author Louise Candlish, puts the reader right into the mind of a controlling, obsessed, and grieving woman named Ellen Saint . . . whose only son, nineteen year-old Lucas, was killed in an automobile accident. The car was being driven by his best
Undermoney Mysterious Book Report No. 482 by John Dwaine McKenna Undermoney, (Scribner, $30.00, 484 pages, ISBN 978-1-9821-5602-2), by Jay Newman, is a complex, fascinating and frightening novel of politics, warped patriotism, ambition and ultra amounts of wealth and money by a writer who is infinitely familiar with the subject because he’s spent 45 years swimming among the sharks of high finance, hedge funds and edgy government officials. The word
Interview With The Author: Reavis Wortham by John Dwaine McKenna With the help of his nice publicist, Mandy Chahal, we were fortunate to have the following Q & A with Mr. Wortham. What follows is one of the most interesting, comprehensive and down-to-earth interviews we’ve ever done. Pay attention . . . this is a master wordsmith sharing his knowledge and techniques with all of us. It’s better