Underground Airlines by Ben H. Winters Mulholland Books/Little Brown, $26.00, 322 pages, ISBN 978-0-316-26124-1 Wow! The bad news is; it’s the last week of October and time for the last installment of our second annual MBR Freak Fest. But the good news is; we’ve saved the best for last . . . and it’s timely, as well as controversial and thought provoking given what’s been in the news of
Bull Mountain by Brian Panowich Putnam/Penguin Random House, $26.95, 290 pages, ISBN 978-0-399-17396-7 This week’s author had a metric ton of A-list crime fiction writers heaping praise on his debut novel when it first appeared in the fall of last year. The likes of C.J. Box, John Connolly, James Ellroy and others were all highly complimentary of his work in their endorsements . . . and rightfully so, for
Spoils of Victory by John A. Connell Berkley/Penguin Random House, $27.00, 372 pages, ISBN 978-0-425-28156-7 Late last year an authentic, entertaining, and exciting new detective series hit the bookstores and became an instant success. Part crime fiction, part historical fiction and part military fiction, the novel featured a U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) named Mason Collins. He’s a Criminal Investigations Division (CID) Officer in Occupied Germany just after
Forty Thieves by Thomas Perry Mysterious Press, $26.00, 356 pages, ISBN 978-0-8021-2452-4 Start reading any type of great fiction, and you’ll soon realize that it’s based upon conflict . . . because conflict creates drama . . . and drama is what captures, then holds, our attention and keeps us reading. Why? Because we humans are innately curious—we have to see what happens next. In order to create conflict,
The White Van by Patrick Hoffman Atlantic Monthly Press/Grove Atlantic, Inc., $24.00, 240 pages, ISBN 978-0-8021-2304-6 We’ve all been guilty, at some time or another, of staying at the party just a wee bit too long, or succumbing to the exhortations of one of our Good Time Charlie pals, to Awwwgoahead, one more won’t killya . . . and awakened the next day feeling like hammered doggie doo-doo. But
The Killing Kind by Chris Holm Mulholland Books/ Hatchette, $26.00, 306 pages, ISBN 978-0-316-25953-8 Every now and then, in the process of doing the Mysterious Book Reports, I run across a work that’s so well written and the author’s concept is so original that I become an instant fan. This week’s novel is one of them. It’s been published to rave reviews by the likes of Stuart Neville, Megan
Palace of Treason by Jason Matthews Scribner/Simon & Shuster, $26.99, 468 pages, ISBN 978-1-4767-9374-0 Is there any doubt amongst well-informed people, that the tectonic plates of government spheres of influence are being shifted these days in ways we couldn’t even imagine as little as twenty-five years ago? Would you have thought for example, back in 1990 when the Soviet Union was collapsing and the U.S. led coalition was busy
The Devil’s Detective by Simon Kurt Unsworth Doubleday/Random House, $25.95, 358 pages, ISBN 978-0-091956-51-6 We’re continuing with our Freak-Fest of weird reads in observance of Halloween, and you’d better brace yourself . . . because this one’s gonna be a wild ride. So far this month, we’ve covered fallen angels and a shattered New York City where the survivors zonk out, choosing to escape reality in an alternate World
The Cartel by Don Winslow Alfred A. Knopf, Random House/Penguin, $27.95, 617 pages, ISBN 978-1-101-87499-8 PART TWO: The Cartel, by Don Winslow has been published to rave reviews by the likes of: Lee Child-Sensationally good, Harlen Coben-Absolute must-read, Michael Connelly-First rate thriller, James Ellroy-Stunningly plotted . . . to which I’m going to add my own humble accolades. The Cartel is a big, hefty novel that will give the
The Swimmer by Joakim Zander Harper Collins, $27.99, 417 pages, ISBN 978-0-06-233724-5 International thrillers—good old spy yarns—have long been favorites of many readers around the world. Personally, I never tire of them. It seems however, that all the great espionage writers have passed . . . novelists like John Gardner, Ian Fleming, Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, Steig Larsson, Graham Green and Eric Ambler have all left us and perennial