The Fame Thief (Junior Bender) by Timothy Hallinan

 Junior Bender, Review, Timothy Hallinan  Comments Off
Jun 122013
 
Burglar and PI for the crooks Junior Bender is back. This time he's hired by senior powerbroker Irwin Dressler to find out who lead the cops to raid a gangster party that resulted in the end of a young actress' carreer in the fifties. And then there's that spunky hitwoman who wants him to find her daughter.
As in the first two Bender novels there's a lot of laughs in these pages. Dressler is just a very funny character and Bender gets in some great wisecracks as does his daughter. The last few chapters stars some good action scenes, a lot of writers get in too much detail or too little in scenes like that, but Timothy gets it just right.
What makes this book so interesting to a lot of non-PI fans is the portrait drawn of fifties Hollywood and the wonderful Dorothy Lamarr, a strong woman in a time women weren't expected to be strong yet. There's a large part devoted to her past that take you back to those old days of Hollwyood that will make you nostalgic.
Funny, tragic, and even action-packed. A great read.

Yellow Medicine (Billy Lafitte) by Anthony Neil Smith

 Antony Neil Smith, Billy Lafitte, Review  Comments Off
Jun 122013
 
Wow, this Billy Lafitte character has some attitude. He's a Minnesota cop that takes bribes, drinks too much and blackmails girls into sleeping with him. He's got a soft spot for young rockabilly girl though (I totally fell in love with her as well) which makes him just a bit more of a nice guy.
He ends up helping a boyfriend of an old sexual conquest with some problems with drugdealers. Little did he know there's some terrorists involved, a situation that may cost Billy's life.
Lafitte is just way cool. He's a bastard, but you will love him. He gets away with all kinds of politically incorrect stuff that our darkest testosterone filled side would love to get away with as well. Very entertaining, grim but sometimes just as funny. And any book mentioning the Horrorpops just has to be good.

A Wanted Man (Jack Reacher) by Lee Child

 Jack Reacher, Lee Child, Review  Comments Off
Jun 052013
 

Jack Reacher hitches another ride... But why is that driver lying? And what's up with the woman in the backseat? Is she in danger? These questions lead into an action-packed finale that sees Reacher kill more enemies than ever before.
The first 400 pages are probably the least violent of the Reacher books and Lee Child does a great job turning up the suspense the first 200. He takes his time telling the story, switching from Reacher's viewpoint to FBI agent Sorenson (wow, in Child's world there are a lot of attractive, capable FBI women) until they meet and try to solve a murder linked to terrorism.
Reacher books are of course always cool. I love Jack and more than ever this one shows us what a cool character is. I really liked the pace of this story and thought this one stands out as one of the best in the series.

Epitaph for Emily (Jim Wolf) by Tim Wohlforth

 Jim Wolf, Review, Tim Wohlforth  Comments Off
May 302013
 
I've enjoyed Tim's work online for years now, I even did a split with him (which you can get for free here) featuring his PI Jim Wolf and my own Noah Milano.
I liked reading about Jim Wolf in this full length story. Jim sleeps with an attractive young girl that ends up murdered. Suspected of this murder he is forced to investigate in order to prove his innocense. If that isn't enough he's also visited by his mother who's in trouble with the mob and leads him to another mystery to be solved.
Jim Wolf is a classic PI with a few cool characteristics like the snake on his houseboat featured in a classic mystery which shows the best motives for murder can be found in the past.
If you like mysteries that take it easy (don't expect Mike Hammer pacing) and feature characters with deeper feelings and a plot with historical plot points this one is for you.

The Last Kind Word (Rush McKenzie) by David Housewright

 David Housewright, Review, Rush McKenzie  Comments Off
May 242013
 
A new Rushmore McKenzie novel always gets to the top of my TBR-list. Alwasy entertaining and easy to read it is the perfect series for fans of Spenser or earlier Elvis Cole novels. I wasn't disappointed by the latest entry in the series.
McKenzie is asked by the ATF to infiltrate a gang of smalltime and smalltime bank robbers so he can find out who is supplying them with assault rifles. Channeling his inner-Parker (from Richard Stark's great series) he plays a hardboiled criminal called Dyson. This role gives him the chance to really give in to his wild side which made for enjoyable reading. Luckily there's also a bit more about his relationship with his best friend's wife and his own girlfriend, bits I always enjoy.
David Housewright always manages to come up with original plots for his hero, by having his hero go undercover he was able to write a heist novel instead of a PI novel while still using all the great bits that compromised earlier novels of this series.

Dirty Work (Gulliver Dowd) by Reed Farrel Coleman

 Gulliver Dowd, Reed Farrel Coleman, Review  Comments Off
May 152013
 
I read this one in one sitting, and not just because it is a book in the Rapid Reads series, designed for fast and easy reading. I just loved the characters, the story and the writing style too much to put it down.
Main character Gulliver Dowd is a New York PI and a midget (ironic first name, right?). All good private eyes are outsiders, and Gulliver's size makes him just that. If you think he won't be able to take of himself because of the fact you're wrong, however. He shows himself to be just as tough as Spenser and tougher than Moe Prager!
Asked to track down the daughter of an old flame who seems to be his own daughter as well Gulliver clashes with a mobster that gives him the chance to strut his hardboiled stuff. It's all written in a nice crisp style which comes over a bit more pulpy than Reed's normal work.
I just loved Gulliver. Don't think his size is just a gimmick. It's integral in the way he does his work and I loved the fact his size was used to illustrate what a good manhunter he is, with his nose close to the ground.
Excellent stuff! We need more books like these. Fast-paced work, great for reluctant readers and just the stuff we need to get more PI fans! Looking forward to the second Dowd novel and hoping there will be many more!

Good Junk (Cliff St. James) by Ed Kovacs

 Cliff St. James, Ed Kovacs, Review  Comments Off
May 082013
 
Cliff St. James is back in action in post-Kathrina New Orleans and carrying a ton of guilt caused by the death of a sparring partner during a MMA fight. A good murder investigation is just the thing to pull him out of depression and his old friend Honey Baybee offers him just that. The murder victims are two gay lovers, employees of NASA’s nearby Michoud facility.
Cliff is one tough dude, all guns, knives, gadgets and martial arts. Enlisted as a special consultant to the cops Cliff is endangered several times by his new reluctance to use deadly force. Aside from that he's still struggling with his feelings for Honey.
The investigation draws in a lot of suspects and other people interested in the outcome, from spies to the FBI. In fact, this is more of a David Baldacci style thriller than your average PI novel. It is that direction that will make this book a good read for fans of Lee Child and Baldacci but might dissapoint fans of the more classic stuff.
I do think his consultant-role is a good way to make a detective be able to investigate a murder but still remain a bit of a lone wolf. Not sure how realistic it is the NOPD would contract someon like Cliff, though.

Onion Street (Moe Prager) by Reed Farrel Coleman

 Moe Prager, Reed Farrel Coleman, Review  Comments Off
Apr 242013
 
Reed Coleman has been a praised master of PI fiction for years now and his Moe Prager series has been a fan-favorite. This novel gives us the chance to see just how Moe became the determined, principled and tough investigator we know.
It is 1967, Moe is a student in New York. His girlfriend is beaten into a coma, prompting the young man to investigate. It turns out his friend, Bobby, is also in danger and soon Moe as well.
Facing gangsters, anarchists and the challenges of becoming a man Moe has a tough time in store for himself that explains how he became a cop and a PI later.
The story is exciting enough by itself, it's simply a good mystery story, but what makes it so great is the little pieces of foreshadowing of Prager's future and in fact some of the inventions that we take for granted right now. An interesting character study as well as a piece of good historical hardboiled fiction this one's recommended. Highly.

Dead And Not So Buried (Gideon Kincaid) by James L. Conway

 Gideon Kincaid, James L Conway, Review  Comments Off
Apr 242013
 
In this exciting action-packed story we follow PI and mystery writer Gideon Kincaid as he tries to find out who stole the bones of a dead Hollywood star. There's a very personal link to Gideon and the Gravesnatcher it turns out. We see the story unfold through the eyes of the villain (besides those of Gideon), a failed actor, who wants to get revenge on the people that ruined his carreer. This view especially gives a nice satirical edge to the story. James Conway has been a writer and producer and that shows, he servers up a great insider's view of Hollywood.
There's a lot of action scenes (explosions, car chases) that makes you feel this is a Shane Black movie or something. Aside from those scenes there's a lot of laughs inside the pages and the plot is very thriller-like. All these elements make this not only a good read for the hardcore PI fan but also for fans of thrillers by Deaver or Sanford.
I especially enjoyed the scenes between Gideon and his ex-wife and the ones with his lovely and witty  assistant. All in all, I'm looking forward to the second one in this series.

Shotgun Lullaby (Conway Sax) by Steve Ulfelder

 Conway Sax, Review, Steve Ulfelder  Comments Off
Apr 162013
 
Steve Ulfelder has delighted me with the first two books in the Conway Sax series and gets better which each novel. It is no surprise then this novel is one of my favorites this year, hell, the last five years.
Conway Sax fixes cars for a living when he's not troubleshooting for the AA group called the Barnburners. When he mentors a kid who has a close resemblance to his son Roy he gets involved a bit too personally. When a man seems to be mistaken for Gus is killed by a shotgun Sax investigates.
It turns out there are links to a dimunitive conman and a mobster, making this one dangerous case. In fact, Conway's family is endangered, making our protagonist surrender to his rage, the red mist that can make him a dangerous and violent man.
Sax does a few things that make him the dark anti-hero I love so much. He tries to do the right thing, but he's not the fighter Jack Reacher is, nor can he have a guy like Hawk do the darker stuff. He has to tread a dark path and fight to stay a good man.
Aside from the good mystery, the violent action scenes, vivid characters and very, very interesting Conway Sax this one has another big plus... Steve shows us how to write hardboiled prose, that is, he doesn't overdo the descriptions but doesn't go the route of the latest Robert B Parker novels, still giving us the deep thoughts of Sax in some poetic prose. The story excited AND moved me, especially the flashback to Sax' time with his son Roy.
Steve Ulfelder's best yet. And that says something.
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