99 Ways To Die Mysterious Book Report No. 380 by John Dwaine McKenna After the end of World War II in 1945, China was in total disarray; weakened for decades by the lack of a functioning central government, the vast areas controlled by individual warlords, and devastated by years of savage mistreatment by the occupation of Imperial Japanese armed forces in the 1920s, ‘30, and ‘40s. After WWII the
Charlie 316 by Colin Conway & Frank Zafrino Down & Out Books, PB, $18.95, 398 pages, ISBN 978-1-948235-68-6 Charlie 316, by Colin Conway & Frank Zafrino, is an electrifying and propulsive police procedural that takes place in Spokane, Washington . . . out near the Idaho state line. It combines elements of race, heroism, crime, treachery, violence and murder into a tale that you just can’t stop reading because
Seven Ways to Get Rid of Harry by Jen Conley Down & Out Books, PB, $15.95, 230 pages, ISBN 978-1-948235-93-8 Don’t let the title fool ya, Seven Ways to Get Rid of Harry, by Jen Conley is real crime fiction. It’s also YA, Young Adult, fiction which can be enjoyed by all of us Boomers and Gen Xer’s who’ve forgotten what it was like to be in our early
Swann’s Down by Charles Salzberg Down & Out Books, PB, $17.95, 300 pages, ISBN 978-1-64396-011-1 In the newly-released fifth adventure of tough guy and skip tracer Henry Swann: Swann’s Down, by Charles Salzberg, the New York City based PI is hired by Goldblatt, his offbeat, cheapskate and difficult partner, to locate a missing psychic who’s swindled his ex-wife, Rachel, out of a boatload of money. Reluctantly, Swann agrees—not because
Lives Laid Away by Stephen Mack Jones SOHO Crime, $26.95, 296 pages, ISBN 978-1-61695-959-3 Just about a year ago, an outstanding young wordsmith published his debut novel, August Snow, to great critical acclaim and a fistful of prestigious literary awards. The author’s name is Stephen Mack Jones, and his writing style has been favorably compared to that of the legendary Raymond Chandler . . . a resemblance the MBR
The Good Lie by Tom Rosenstiel ECCO/ Harper Collins, $27.99, 354 pages, ISBN 978-0-06-247539-8 The Good Lie, by Tom Rosenstiel, is an electrifying, dark and twisted thriller that could only have been conceived and written by someone who’s intimately familiar with the contentious and Machiavellian deus ex machina that operates behind the scenes in Washington, D.C.. And, what makes it so alarming is that it’s so authentically real. It
Ambush by Barbara Nickless Thomas & Mercer, PB, $15.95, 350 pages, ISBN 978-1503901513 Ambush, the third—and latest—in the Sydney Rose Parnell thriller series by Barbara Nickless, takes off on page one like a Marine FA-18 Super Hornet under full military power from the flight deck of the U.S.S. George H.W. Bush, and never lets the reader down. The novel opens in Denver, where a Regional Transportation District, or RTD,
Wolf Pack by C.J. Box Putnam/Penguin/Random House, $27.00, 370 pages, ISBN 978-0-525-53819-6 Unlike most of the rest of our squared-off western states that’re all of a sudden filling up with folks fleeing from overcrowded, overtaxed and overregulated places to the east and west of them, Wyoming is still windswept, wide-open and mostly rural. It has some of the most spectacular scenery and most magnificent wild game and fish anywhere
Trigger by David Swinson Mulholland/Little, Brown and Company, $27.50, 340 pages, ISBN 978-0-316-26425-9 Frank Marr is “a good cop with a bad habit,” who operates as a PI in the down and dirty underbelly of our nation’s capitol, Washington, D.C. Forced into early retirement from the Metro DC Police Force, he ekes out a living as a Private Eye when he’s not busy knocking over one of the stash
The Border by Don Winslow William Morrow/Harper Collins, $28.99, 720 pages, ISBN 978-0-06-26648-8 No matter what side of the political and social rift you’re on, we can all agree that our southern border—the invisible line—which designates the United States of America from the United Mexican States, is one of the most contentious places on planet earth. As such, it abounds with tales of human tragedy, hope, criminality, heroism, death,