The Art of Violence Mysterious Book Report No. 432 by John Dwaine McKenna I was intrigued by Dennis Lehane’s blurb on the cover: “S.J. Rozan can write sentences that make my jaw literally drop.” So I purchased a copy of her newest Lydia Chin/Bill Smith novel entitled, The Art of Violence, (Pegasus Crime, $25.95, 275 pages, ISBN 978-1-64313-531-1), and read the first sentence: “Shifting colors on a monster billboard
Divine Justice Mysterious Book Report No. 431 by John Dwaine McKenna A group of right wing criminal fanatics, inspired by a crazed evangelist named Heinz Dieter, who’s convinced that the end of days are about to commence, and all of them under the control of an utterly ruthless sociopathic killer named Rocco Robano. . . are dynamiting ATM machines all over Cape Town, South Africa in order to finance
Old Anger Mysterious Book Report No. 430 by John Dwaine McKenna Although this novel was released in late 2020, it’s still as timely as tonight’s news. That’s because it’s about racism and how it’s felt from both black and white perspectives. Old Anger, (Brash Books, PB, $18.99, 277 pages, ISBN 978-1-7343480-7-1) by Phillip Thompson, takes place in present day rural Mississippi and features a white, small town sheriff named
Anthem Mysterious Book Report No. 471 by John Dwaine McKenna Anthem, (Grand Central Publishing, $29.00, 448 pages, ISBN 978-1-5387-1151-4), by award-winning writer and TV producer Noah Hawley, is going to be one of the most talked about books of the new year. The novel is thought-provoking, controversial, compelling and dystopian, beginning with it’s opening sentence: “The summer our children began to kill themselves was the hottest on record.” And
John Dwaine McKenna’s Mysterious Book Report 2020 Best Books of the Year The year 2020 has been unusual to say the least. We’ve gone from a world class economy to a world class pandemic and thrown in a contested presidential election for good measure. These are indeed interesting times, and one of the best ways to cope is by reading good books and escaping into literature. With our warmest
John Le Carré For those of you who may not have seen the news, one of the brightest literary lights of the twentieth century passed away on Saturday Dec 12, 2020. He was born David Cornwell, but the world knew him as John le Carré. He was 89. His works include The Spy Who Came in From The Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and The Russia House, all
Germania Mysterious Book Report No. 429 by John Dwaine McKenna In author Harald Gilbers searing new novel of Nazi Berlin entitled, Germania, (Thomas Dunn Books, $28.99, 352 pages, ISBN 978-1-250-24693-6), The German public is beginning to question Nazi propaganda about the war effort, the so-called “Final Solution” is in full swing, and a diabolical serial killer is on the loose, slaughtering courtesan women, then ritualistically posing their bodies in
Interview With The Author: Thomas Perry by John Dwaine McKenna We’re talking with Edgar award-winning writer—and Mysterious Book Report favorite—Thomas Perry, whose crime fiction has been entertaining us for some four decades. His work is always outstanding, erudite and compelling, as well as exciting and well-plotted. So with thanks for taking time to speak to our audience today, here’s our first question: When do you write? When I started
Eddie’s Boy Mysterious Book Report No. 428 by John Dwaine McKenna It takes a rare and awesome talent to be able to invert the forces of good and evil—to make a stone cold serial killer into a good guy—but that’s exactly what master wordsmith and Edgar Award-winning author Thomas Perry has done in his newest, and best in our opinion, of the four installments of his Butcher’s Boy series,
Interview With The Author: Vito Racanelli by John Dwaine McKenna Today’s guest is a newsman, foreign correspondent and bureau chief turned thriller writer named Vito Rancanelli, whose new novel, The Man in Milan, is reviewed in Mysterious Book Report No. 422. His insights reflect his vast work experience and a continental point-of-view that will present our fans and MBR readers with a refreshing new perspective on the writer’s