Mack Captures Crime

Pop. 1280 by Jim Thompson

2012-02-11T12:26:00.000-05:00

Kindle edition, published by Mulholland Books, 2011.
Mulholland now has 9 of Jim Thompson's available as e-books and they intend to make 25 of Thompson't 29 books available in this format.
Pop. 1280 was originally published in 1964. The top cover is from the Mulholland Books edition. The one below is from the my well-worn 1990 Vintage/Black Lizard edition.

I relied on Robert Polito's Savage Art: A Biography of Jim Thompson for background for this post.

Psychotics, criminals, people you really don't want to take an interest in you, Jim Thompson (1906-1977) captured them all in his stories. You don't read Jim Thompson expecting a happy ending. What you get is existential nihilism. The man could write noir and his impact is still felt. There is a nod to Pop. 1280 in James Sallis' Cypress Grove (read closely, you might miss it). Gloria Denton in Megan Abbott's Queenpin has the same noir genes as Thompson's Lilly Dillon in The Grifters. There is even a band named Pop. 1280 (think apocalyptic punk).

Pop. 1280 is the first person narrative of Nick Corey, the high sheriff of Potts County in an unnamed Western state in the early 1900s. Most of the action takes place in and around Pottsville, the county seat, with a population of 1,280 souls—down to 1,273 by the end.

For the first 6 chapters we see Nick as a harmless, lazy, spineless, aww shucks oaf who gets by with a joke, a slap on the back, and not making a fuss. Nick says he figures he has it made "...as long as I minded my own business and didn't arrest no one unless I just couldn't get out of it and they didn't amount to nothin'." The tone is light, even humorous.

Nick is also a man with prodigious appetites. A typical meal might be "...half a dozen pork chops and a few fried eggs and a pan of hot biscuits with grits and gravy." He never describes himself but the reader can't help but imagine Nick as a big if not obese man.

His other appetite is women.

"I'll tell you something about me. I'll tell you for true. That's one thing I never had no shortage of. I was hardly out of my shift—just a barefooted kid with my first pair of boughten britches—when the gals started flinging it at me. And the older I got, the more of 'em there were."

Despite, or perhaps because of this, Nick ends up blackmailed into marrying Myra, a horrible woman who brought her half-witted peeping tom "brother" Lennie to the marriage with her. This doesn't stop Nick from having an intimate relationship with Rose Hauck, a woman married to the town drunk and neer-do-well, Tom Hauck. And he'd really like to get back together with Amy, the woman he was going to marry until Myra came along.

When the story opens, Nick has problems —"And yet I was worried. I had so many troubles that I was worried plumb sick." His immediate problem is the disrespect he gets from two pimps in town but he is also worried about the coming election and, of course, his women problems. He's off to see Ken Lacey, the sheriff a couple of counties down the river, who has given him "valuable" advice in the past. Ken is a condescending bully but Nick is at his toadying best when he asks Ken how to handle the pimps.

Nick's approach to problem solving is covered in a dark but often humorous way and it is a treat to see how Thompson moves the story along.

Thompson's first major success was The Killer Inside Me, a dark, violent, misogynistic first person narrative. His last was Pop. 1280. They have similarities but I think Thompson found his finest expression in Pop. 1280. It might be close to the perfect noir story.

Lou Ford (The Killer Inside Me) and Nick Corey both represent Thompson's love/hate relationship with his own father. "Big Jim" Thompson was a successful lawman in the Oklahoma territory. He was a big man who, like Lou Ford and Nick Corey, presented a good old boy front to the world. He was also crooked, fleeing to Mexico after being caught embezzling jail funds. Despite his down home, country boy manner, Thompson had a first rate mind. One of his favorite tricks was to play along with someone treating him like an ignorant redneck then hit them with learned expositions on medicine, history, and philosophy. Both Lou Ford and Nick Corey have a sharp intelligence that they are careful to hide. As Nick says "who wants a smart sheriff?". These two stories show Thompson's contempt for his father. Polito points out that the title, Pop. 1280, is probably a sly reference to his "Pop" Thompson.

Pop. 1280 is beautifully and subtly constructed. The reader sees Nick drop a word here, nudge someone there to bring his plans together. Often something Nick says or thinks doesn't register until later in the story. I've read Pop. 1280 many times and I still managed to find something new as I prepared this post.

Nick Corey is psychotic but where Lou Ford is cruel and sadistic, Nick is a manipulator. He believes he has a messianic mission to fulfill and knows he needs to arrange his environment to continue his mission. His mission – "to punish the heck out of people for bein' people. To coax 'em into revealin' theirselves , an' then kick the crap out of 'em." There is some violence but nothing approaching the scale of The Killer Inside Me.

Pop. 1280 is also a savage attack on corruption, racism, mistreatment of children, and the treatment of the working man. At one point, Nick neatly skewers a detective from a fictional agency clearly meant to represent the Pinkerton's. About the railway strike of 1886,

"Now, by golly, that really took nerve," I said. "Them railroad workers throwin' chunks of coal at you an' splashin' you with water, and you fellas without nothin' to defend yourself with except shotguns an' automatic rifles! Yes sir, god-dang it, I really got to hand it to you!"

Nick is most vulnerable and sympathetic when talks about his own childhood and the abuses against children and women. Thompson does something you might not think possible, that maybe one of his psychotics isn't all bad, that maybe soes do some good. As long as you don't become part of his plan, that is.

Pop. 1280 is my favorite Jim Thompson novel. It's one I read at least once a year with the same enjoyment as the first time I encountered it and I highly recommend it.

Film adaptation:
Bertrand Tavernier took Pop. 1280 and set it in colonial French West Africa in the 1930s. He called it Coup de Torchon (Clean Slate). It is an excellent adaptation and faithful to the main story line. Tavernier's commentary on noir is a reason to purchase the DVD.

Bad Girl by Michele Jaffe

2012-02-03T15:36:00.000-05:00

Kindle edition, 2004. Ballentine Books, sold by Random House Digital, Inc.

Crime fiction is my preferred genre and I'm drawn to the hardboiled and noir styles. But I look at all genre fiction, including romance, because the way the genres can be blended to appeal to multiple audiences is interesting. For example, Nora Roberts (writing as J.D. Robb), a noted romance author, has created the Eve Dallas/In Death... series which mixes the science fiction, romance, and police procedural crime fiction genres. A blending of genres can be tagged as a crossover story. And this brings me to why I read Bad Girl. I had to drive a 16 ft. rental truck from Florida to Virginia recently and among the podcasts loaded on my iPod was the DBSA Romance Fiction Podcast, put together by Sarah of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and Jane of Dear Author. Sarah and Jane episodes on ebooks and publishing— a topic that interests me as a reader and as a librarian— which is what drew me to the podcast. DBSA is smart, insightful, and funny and I dropped Sarah and Jane a note to tell them I enjoyed their work. I mentioned my preference for crime fiction and jokingly suggested that I was going to read Tool Belt Defender. Jane seriously responded that Michelle Jaffe's Bad Girl would be a better crossover for me to start with.

This isn't so much a review as the reaction of a hard core crime fiction reader to a romance/crime fiction crossover novel and what I perceive as the romance tropes found in the story. Romance readers should feel free to correct me where I miss the point. I've deliberately avoided reading anything that could affect my perceptions.

A couple of things upfront about this post. First, I enjoyed the book. Jaffe writes an entertaining story and is excellent plot, characters, and details. I'll probably never be a serious reader of romance but it can be a fun detour. Second, I have two warnings. Jaffe violates a great taboo for many readers — harm and implied harm to children. The harm is described after the event but is still difficult to absorb. She has two explicit sex scenes, one short and icky, one extended and racy. If harm to children and any suggestion of sex bothers you then this book might not be for you. Third, there may be spoilers ahead. I'm not going to identify the big bad but anything else is a fair target.

Plot Summary:
Chicago "Windy" Thomas and her daughter Cate move to Las Vegas where Windy has been recruited to head the criminalistics department. She will be joined soon by her fiancé Bill. Six weeks into the job, Ash Laughton, the head of the Violent Crimes Task Force, asks her to take a look at a murder scene to see if she has any insights. The murder is particularly hideous with a mother and three young children the victims. From the level of violence Ash feels that this isn't the first time the murderer has killed and it won't be the last. Ash's fears are borne out and he and Windy are launched into a high pressure race to find a pattern, a motive, the killer.

THE CRIME FICTION APPEAL
Jaffe emphasizes the investigation over the romance which appealed to me. Windy has a solid background having worked in the FBI's crime lab for six years and was a sheriff for three. I give the author top marks for the criminalistics part of the story. She plays it straight without tossing in a lot of shiny forensic toys. When asked if she had seen CSI: "Had she ever. Windy dreamed of equipment like the stuff they showed." Windy is shown to have first rate analytical and observational skills and confidence and pride in her abilities.

I always like learning something new and here I learned about leuco crystal violet. All readers of police procedurals and forensic stories and watchers of Dexter know about using luminol to detect blood. After looking at the crime scene photos — like Sherlock Holmes and the dog barking in the night — Windy is drawn to what she doesn't see — the kitchen in this case. Recognizing the limitations of luminal in that location, she elects to use LCV. Jaffe gives an excellent description of Windy and her technician working the kitchen. This scene is used effectively to show "new kid" Windy winning over the grizzled veteran. I also learned about electrostatic lifting to find evidence in carpet.

The murders are horrible and disturbing to think about. Some readers might think they verge on torture porn but Jaffe is no more extreme than many crime fiction writers and better at it than many.

I do have a couple of minor nit picks. What kind of organization does she work for where she has been on the job for six weeks and hasn't met all the people who work for her AND she has to be asked to look over crime scene photos? I would have thought one of her first tasks would have been to get to know the abilities and limitations of her crime scene technicians. And why didn't she already know that this gruesome murder had occurred?

Worse is something that might have crime fic readers poised to hurl book at wall. Windy was recruited for the job but presumably she had at least one interview. Which makes it inexplicable that she could take the job while promising fiancé Bill that she wouldn't work crime scenes and she wouldn't work nights and weekends. We are supposed to accept that Los Vegas would hire a first rate criminalist but not expect her to take an active part in investigations. Now I understand that this is a necessary plot device to build tension between Windy and Bill but the crime fiction reader in me made an obscene exclamation when this came up.

And this leads me to ...

THE ROMANCE
I said earlier that Windy is highly competent at her job. She worked for the FBI. After her husband died in a wind surfing accident she left the FBI to become an acting sheriff where she was so good that the government officials didn't bother to look for a replacement. But she is trying to Bury Her True Nature which leads to Emotional Conflict. She is proud of her abilities but she also thinks she should be the perfect mother from a 50s tv show —bake cookies, go to soccer games, be the good wife to Bill. There is some good Angsting going on. I give Jaffe credit for giving Windy a background that explains her insecurities. Her parents left Chile to escape the brutal Pinochet regime. They tried to pass on to Windy what they consider important survival skills from their life in Chile: be safe, be a good girl, don't be noticed. There were times when I wished that Eve Dallas would drop in from the In Death series and give her a boot in the ass to straighten her out.

Adding to her conflict is Bill, the Emotionally Stifling Fiancé. Bill is Mr. Safe, Mr. Bland, Mr. Unimaginative. The moment Windy thinks to herself "Bill always knew exactly where everything he wanted was" I know he wouldn't last. He isn't abusive but he wants to shelter Windy. He says "Babe, I love you so much. I just want to take care of you. Protect you." Gah! I wonder if romance readers are wondering at this point why she hasn't kicked him to the curb and recognized that she really needs the Roguish Yet Sensitive Ash.

Upon meeting Windy, Ash is Immediately Smitten. Up to to then, his only relationships had been with married women in cheap motels. Ash is also unusual in that he is independently wealthy having sold a software package that he knocked off for fun for $30 million. So he doesn't have to work and can afford a complicated and fast sports care. I wonder if Jaffe is giving a nod to John Sanford's Lucas Davenport who is also a cop who sold a computer game for a bundle and drives a Porsche? After meeting Windy, Ash is more likely to go home, strip to his underwear, and paint. He won't admit it but he Longs for a Family.

We've all recognized that Windy is very attracted to Ash and eventually comes to the Realization That He Is The One which leads to a Can We Still be Friends scene with Bill where he reveals his True Nature (I think he could have become abusive). At this point Windy has what I can only describe as a Gloriously Liberating Breakthrough. She hops in the shower, puts on her fancy underwear (Bill preferred plain white cotton), dons her leathers, jumps on her Ducati motorcycle for the first time in years, and roars off to have wild monkey sex (Sarah used this expression in one of the podcasts). This is wonderfully over-the-top and a definite You Go Girl moment.

In case you haven't put it together, the bolded words are what I think might be romance tropes. Let me know if I'm wrong or missed any.

I'm not good at the "if you liked..." type of recommendation and don't do it often. But as a crime fiction reader, I would say that if you like J.D. Robb's books then this might have appeal. I happen to like those books myself. I think there is enough romance to appeal to readers of contemporary romance. And people who read the big name crime authors whose books occupy several shelves might also like it.

Hurt Machine by Reed Farrel Coleman

2011-12-21T04:34:00.000-05:00

Hurt Machine
by Reed Farrel Coleman
Tyrus Books, 2011

Reed's website.

Hurt Machine is being offered as a FREE eBook download from 12/20 - 12/24 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Other eBook sellers.

Two reactions on reading The Hurt Machine: Wow, I'm glad I read this book; and Why did I wait this long to start the series?

First sentence: Death, not time, is probably the only lasting remedy for hurt and even that's just an educated guess.

Hurt Machine is an excellent hardboiled detective novel and one of my favorite reads of 2011. Normally I am fanatic about reading a series in order but I was offered a review copy of this seventh Moe Prager story. I've had the series in mind for a while and decided to chance starting at the end; I have no regrets. Coleman gives a new reader enough information that references to past events are not an obstacle to following the story. In fact, they make me want to start at the beginning to see how Moe gets to this point.

The Story
Moe Prager is under a lot of stress. His has been diagnosed with stomach cancer and this clouds the joy of his daughter's upcoming wedding. Moe doesn't want anyone to know until after the wedding and this includes Pam with whom has has a serious relationship.

Into this mix comes his ex-wife Carmella Melendez who he hasn't seen for 10 years. Carmella tells him that her estranged sister, Alta Consecos, was murdered, stabbed to death outside a night club. The police are not making progress finding the murderer and Carmella asks Moe to look into it. Moe hasn't been an active detective in years —he doesn't know where he put his license—but he can't say no to Carmella though it adds another level of stress since Pam isn't very happy about it. The case promises to be interesting as Alta was on suspension from her job as an EMS technician after she and her partner let a man die without rendering aid.

Review
Moe comes from the same line of hardboiled detective as Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe—pretend you know more than you do, poke around, piss people off, see what happens. And like the classic hardboiled detective, Moe makes pithy, humorous, and sometimes somber observations. If you read the comments sections on the Internet web sites you will appreciate Moe's thinking about hate mail: "...it occurred to me that people with hearts so full of hate must have no room in their brains for spelling or syntax."

With Moe not knowing exactly what he is looking for, he tries to find connections, figure out which events are related, who are the players. I can't say much about Moe's investigations without delivering spoilers but I will say that the author is a master at setting up situations that come to a head later in the story. I had several "OK this makes sense now but I didn't see it coming" moments.

There is a lot going on in the story and these other elements — Moe's health, his daughter's wedding, his relationship with his ex-wife, his current relationship with Pam —add layers and complications to the investigation. They are not a distraction though, they make Moe human, someone the reader can relate to.

What I didn't expect from Hurt Machine was the unexpected emotional response I have toward Moe. He and I are about the same age. With a cancerous tumor in his stomach, Moe can't help but think of life, death, things he's done in the past, what he will leave behind:

When you reach a certain stage in life, you do a lot of wondering about the people who've passed in and out of it. Soon enough, I realized, I'd be someone's absent friend. You add alcohol to thoughts like that and you get tears.

and

Time to think is life's Petri dish. It's the medium in which a random twinge of anxiety morphs into debilitating self-doubt, where a passing regret grows into paralytic guilt.

The way Coleman overlays the story with Moe's reflections adds a dimension to the story that sets it apart. Moe's thoughts can be brutally honest but the author doesn't let them turn maudlin or morbid. Rather, he has found a way to sum up the life of his character, a character in which he has a lot of emotional investment. I read somewhere that this is the last Moe Prager book. If so, the author has delivered a satisfying conclusion and one that is going to send this reader back to the beginning.

What to do when you can't get a book in paper or Kindle

2011-10-24T19:17:00.003-04:00

I wondered what it would be like to read an ebook that I couldn't put on my Kindle. To find out, I purchased an ebook from kalahari.net which required that I use either a app on my Mac or android device, a Droid2 in my case. I give a description of this first experience on my other blog, Africa Screams.

Short Fiction by Roger Smith

2011-10-06T14:40:00.001-04:00

Photo by Dieter Losskarn from the author's web site

We know South African author Roger Smith from his crime thriller novels but I take a look at two of his short stories on my other blog, Africa Screams. Roger proves to be as adept writing short stories as he is with the novel.

African crime fiction in the news

2011-08-21T09:38:00.002-04:00

If you subscribe to both of my blogs I apologize that you got this post twice. Posting here I hope will reach readers who hadn't thought about African crime fiction.

Cary Darling, writing for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, looks at the changing face of African crime fiction in his article "African crime writers are gaining attention outside the continent."

He starts off

We sure have come a long way since Out of Africa and The Flame Trees of Thika.

In the second decade of the 21st century, some of the most compelling contemporary crime-fiction novels are either set in or coming from Africa. Much as Scandinavia became associated with the genre a few years back -- thanks in large part to Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy -- Africa may become a new capital of literary crime.

Later he points out in reference to Alexander McCall Smith's Botswana books "...this new wave is often far less soft-centered and more hard-boiled, less nice and more noir."

Cary approaches the topic by profiling two authors —South Africa's Roger Smith and Mukoma Wa Ngugi who was born and lives in the US but raised in Kenya. Mukoma Wa Ngugi I wasn't familiar with but after reading about him in Cary's article I have his book Nairobi Heat on pre-order. Taking an African-American detective from an "extremely white town" to Nairobi, Kenya has wonderful possibilities to explore cultural attitudes, differences.

Roger Smith, as anyone who reads my blog knows, is one of my favorite authors and the one that got my interest in African crime fiction going. Though I've been corresponding with Roger for several years, Cary's interview gave me several new insights. For example, I hadn't known how Roger's books are received in South Africa. Cary also points out how Roger had to turn to electronic publication to make his latest book, Dust Devils, available to US readers, perhaps because publishers are looking for safe and commercial books.

Please read the entire article at African crime writers are gaining attention outside the continent.

In Memoriam Margaret E. Lundy

2011-08-17T23:04:00.000-04:00

My mother, Margaret E. Lundy (née Hudson), 1929–2011, passed away at 0230 on July 30 in a Port Charlotte, FL nursing home of complications from stroke, breast cancer, and the poignantly described condition of failure to thrive.

I have a longer tribute on Africa Screams.

Forthcoming Books: Absolute Zero by Declan Burke

2011-07-23T14:22:00.001-04:00

I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Dec but he is high on the list of people I'd most like to sink a pint with. And I've read and enjoyed his books: The Big O, Crime Always Pays, Eightball Boogie (all available from the Amazons).

The Big O and Crime Always Pays are screwball noir, a term I first heard from the man himself. Eightball Boogie is as nice a piece of hardboiled writing as you are likely to encounter. All of his books are characterized by sharp writing, clever plots, characters you are interested in, and dark humour. Reviewers have compared him to Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiaasen, and Donald Westlake to which I say amen brothers and sisters.

Declan blogs about crime fiction at Crime Always Pays, one of the best crime fiction sites in the blogosphere. I've been introduced to many good authors in his posts not to mention the insights I've gained on the genre.

Which brings us to Absolute Zero Cool, his latest, published by Liberties Press. It will be launched in The Gutter Bookshop, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 on Wednesday 10 August by John Connolly. So get over there if you are within train, bus, driving, walking, bicycling, or dogcart distance.

Declan says Absolute Zero Cool will be out as an e-pub which I hope means it makes it to my side of the pond soon.

Here is a description of the story:

Absolute Zero Cool is a post-modern take on the crime thriller genre. Adrift in the half-life limbo of an unpublished novel, hospital porter Billy needs to up the stakes. Euthanasia simply isn’t shocking anymore; would blowing up his hospital be enough to see Billy published, or be damned? What follows is a gripping tale that subverts the crime genre’s grand tradition of liberal sadism, a novel that both excites and disturbs in equal measure. Absolute Zero Cool is not only an example of Irish crime writing at its best; it is an innovative, self-reflexive piece that turns every convention of crime fiction on its head. Declan Burke’s latest book is an imaginative story that explores the human mind’s ability to both create and destroy, with equally devastating effects.

And take a look at what is being said about it already and who is saying it.:

“ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL is unlike anything else you’ll read this year … Laugh-out-loud funny … This is writing at its dazzling, cleverest zenith. Think John Fowles, via Paul Auster and Rolling Stone … a feat of extraordinary alchemy.” – Ken Bruen, author of AMERICAN SKIN

“Stop waiting for Godot – he’s here. Declan Burke takes the existential dilemma of characters writing themselves and turns it on its ear, and then some. He gives it body and soul … an Irish soul.” - Reed Farrel Coleman, author of EMPTY EVER AFTER

“Declan Burke has broken the mould with ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL, which is actually very cool indeed. Funny, inventive and hugely entertaining crime fiction - I guarantee you’ll love it.” - Melissa Hill, author of SOMETHING FROM TIFFANY’S
“If you want to find something new and challenging, comic crime fiction is now the place to go … Declan Burke [is] at the vanguard of a new wave of young writers kicking against the clichés and producing ambitious, challenging, genre-bending works.” - Colin Bateman, author of NINE INCHES

“ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL is a surreal rollercoaster of a read, full of the blackest humour, and yet poignant. An outrageously funny novel ... The joy is in the writing itself, all sparky dialogue and wry observation, so smooth that when it cuts, it’s like finding razor blades in honey.” - Deborah Lawrenson, author of THE LANTERN

“Burke has written a deep, lyrical and moving crime novel … an intoxicating and exciting novel of which the master himself, Flann O’Brien, would be proud.” - Adrian McKinty, author of FIFTY GRAND

Live Wire by Harlan Coben

2011-07-03T10:50:00.000-04:00

Dutton, 2011. 978-0-525-95206-0. 375 pages.
I received this book as a review copy.

Myron Bolitar is the principal partner of MB Reps representing athletes, actors, and writers. Suzze Trevantino, a former tennis star and one of Myron's first clients, has a problem and she turns to him. She is pregnant and someone has posted on facebook that the child is not her husband's. Suzze fears that the suspicion will kill her marriage to the rock legend Lex, who Myron also represents. Myron agrees to help and with the assistance of his partner, Esperanza Diaz, Windsor Horne Lockwood III, his silent partner/investor(?) begins an investigation that will drop into his dark past and put him into physical, personal danger, and threaten his career.

I was aware of Harlan Coben's books but had shied away because of the sports theme. I have low sports awareness and when confronted by sports enthusiasts I generally tell people that I follow cricket because there is a very slim chance in the U.S. that I'll have to explain. I took the review copy because Coben is a popular author, a friend of mine at the public library likes him, and I was curious. This is an example of why a reader should be careful not to allow preconceptions to get in the way of a good read; I thoroughly enjoyed the book and plan to go back to the beginning of the series.

As a person who is compulsive about reading a series in order, how do I feel about starting with the latest book in the series? Pretty good. Obviously there is much backstory about the characters I don't know but I didn't feel confused. The plot hold up well on its own and Coben's skill at presenting his characters engaged me without having had to grow up with them.

Though Myron's profession is agent to the stars, Live Wire is essentially a straight-up detective story on the edge of hardboiled. Myron certainly has the wisecracking part down and, like a true hardboiled detective, he is going to crack-wise even if it means it will get him beaten up. He also made me laugh quite a few times. Also like the classic hardboiled detective, he skirts the law, if not outright breaks it, and assists in some extra-legal justice. The plot, like many detective stories, starts out simple but gets complicated the deeper Myron investigates and the more new details of the character's lives emerge. Finally, Myron does have his personal conflicts and demons. Here an incident from his past involving family surfaces forcing Myron to examine his feelings and motivations and look for redemption.

I enjoyed the set of core characters Coben created. Myron Bolitar, basketball star turned sports agent after he blew out his knee. Esperanza Diaz, beautiful, a former wrestler, and ex-bisexual party girl who is Myron's business partner and now married with a son. Windsor Horne Lockwood III (Win), very rich and very dangerous despite his somewhat effete appearance. People who misjudge Win regret it, often from a hospital bed. Big Cyndi, receptionist at MB Reps, six-five, former wrestler, with an interesting fashion sense and a smile that makes children screen. Think Janet Evanovich's Lula but more extreme. Coben has a lot of fun with Big Cyndi.

The ending left me stunned in that Live Wire could could serve as the end of the series. I haven't read any interviews with the author so I can't say for sure but it doesn't feel like the end. Still, I'm intensely interested how Coben resolves the issues left at the conclusion.

Live Wire is an excellent read and I recommend it to people who enjoy a good detective story.

The Summoner by Layton Green

2011-07-02T13:00:00.000-04:00

My review of Layton Green's thriller, The Summoner, is posted on my AfricaScreams blog.

The Summoner is set in present day Zimbabwe and follows the efforts of Dominic Grey from the diplomatic security unit of the U.S. Embassy to find out what happened to a retired diplomat who disappeared during a religious ceremony. He is aided by Nya Mashumba from the Zim government and a professor of religious phenomenology, Viktor Radic. It is a good read made all the more pleasurable by the cultural, academic, and geographical details the author works in.

Dust Devils by Roger Smith

2011-06-09T14:44:00.000-04:00

Roger has just released his latest book, Dust Devils, as an ebook for the Kindle and Nook. I'm calling it his best book so far. Read my full write-up on my AfricaScreams blog.

Kindle version of Dust Devils from Amazon
Nook version of Dust Devils from B&N
YouTube video trailer for Dust Devils

Currently Reading: Dust Devils by Roger Smith

2011-04-16T12:55:00.001-04:00

UPDATE: I added the cover for the German edition of Dust Devils. The German title, Staubige Hölle, translates to Dusty Hell, which is pretty descriptive of the book. I like the simplicity of the AK47 on the German cover but the UK version tries to convey something about the location and characters. I can't say I prefer one over the other.

I am currently reading a pre-ARC version of Roger's third book, Dust Devils. No details until closer to publication, sorry. But, from someone who read Mixed Blood and Wake Up Dead twice, I call this is Roger's best work. Readers of his previous books will find Roger's distinct combination of lean, sharp, and hard-edged prose, fast pacing, action, and violence but he has also moved his writing in a new direction, placed it in a different context.

Dust Devils will have a major spring release in Germany (May) where Roger has been well received. Serpent's Tail will publish it in the U.K. in September. Roger assures me that Dust Devils will be available to readers in the U.S. More details to follow.

Dust Devils is available for pre-order from amazon.co.uk, amazon.de, and bookdepository.com.

Films: Thunder Road

2011-04-06T19:38:00.000-04:00

Let me tell the story, I can tell it all;
About the mountain boy who ran illegal alcohol.
His daddy made the whiskey, son, he drove the load;
When his engine roared, they called the highway "Thunder Road".
--The Ballad of Thunder Road, co-written by Robert Mitchum in 1957 with music by Jack Marshall

Personal Note: I'm pretty far from country but I had a feeling of familiarity watching Thunder Road. Here is why:

My parents grew up in Southwest Virginia. My maternal grandparents moved out of the city and across the mountain into the country. To get to the valley where they lived you first had to cross a mountain with so many twists and hairpin turns that my father usually had to stop at least once for me to throw up. Later I discovered that a bag of pork rinds on the way up settled my stomach. Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me now either.

A couple miles down the road was a genuine country store, the real thing and not some manufactured nostalgia impostor.

They lived in a log house (squared logs chinked something like cement) and cooking was with a coal stove. Water was gravity fed from a nearby spring. Getting to my grandparent's house required careful driving to keep from leaving the oil pan on the rocky, narrow road. There were times when we had to leave our car down at the state road and get to the house in my grandfather's old dodge pickup truck.

During one visit, my father walking on the road and caught a ride. The driver reached under the seat and pulled out a mason jar of clear liquid and offered him a drink. "Skull buster" was the way my father described it with a rueful shake of the his head.

My grandfather tried his hand at making whiskey. He earned a visit from the revenuers who busted up his still. Besides the annoyance of having his still destroyed, he was insulted when they told him that his product wasn't very good.

Another time day a spotter plane observed smoke coming up near the stream behind the house and called it in. Several cars of law enforcement agents soon arrived. Imagine the reaction of armed law enforcement officers when, instead of a still, they found my grandmother making soap in a large black kettle near the creek. My brother related this story during show and tell in elementary school, to my mother's horror.

Thunder Road synopsis: Lucas (Luke) Doolin is back home in Tennessee after a stint in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He resumes his job of transporting the moonshine his daddy makes, driving high powered automobiles fitted with tanks holding several hundred gallons of illegal alcohol.

Luke and the other moonshiners have problems, one old and one new. Their traditional enemy, agents of the Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco, have a new hot shot in charge and he's leading a task force dedicated to eliminating the production of moonshine and to catching Luke. The new enemy is Carl Kogan, a Memphis gangster who wants to control the production and distribution of illegal alcohol. Where the federal agents chase the transporters, Kogan's crew ambush and kill them.

Unwilling to submit to Kogan and with the revenuers finding and destroying their stills, the moonshiners decide to stop production but Luke is bound to make one last run. It turns personal when he finds that Kogan is tricking his younger brother into making a run for him.

Review/Analysis: Thunder Road was filmed around Asheville, NC but set in Tennessee in 1954.

The picture of Mitchum on the poster doesn't have much to do with the movie. He never held a revolver, and an automatic only once. And he certainly didn't have that hunted expression on his face.

Is Thunder Road hillbilly noir as it has been described? Other than being in black and white, dealing with illegal activities, and coming out at the end of the classic film noir period, it would be a real stretch to call it noir. It is a solid classic B movie well deserving the cult status it gained in the southeast. Robert Mitchum's version of The Ballad of Thunder Road, not used in the film, was on Billboard's Hot 100 for a total of 21 weeks. The film has been a steady money-maker.

It starts and ends with a dedication to the agents of the Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco. This is amusing since the audience's sympathies are with the mountain folk even if they are engaged in illegal activity. Read the full lyrics to the ballad, they are written about a hero:

Roarin' out Harlen revvin' up his mill
He shot the gap at Cumberland and screamed by Maynordsville

It's hard not to see fighter planes and calvary charges when you hear the song.

Luke's girlfriend, Francine, a Memphis nightclub singer, wants Luke to settle down. Luke where he came from:

[they believed] ...what a man did on his land was his business.

They came here, fought for this country. Scratched up those hills with plows or skinny little mules. The did it to guarantee the basic right of free men. They just figured that whiskey making was one of them.

I suppose I knew that what he [Luke's daddy] was doing was contrary to someone's law but my granddaddy had done it before him and his daddy before him and so on back to Ireland.

Mitchum plays Luke with his trademark sleepy-eyed indifference, not showing much reaction but the way he carries himself brings a real power to the role. And the film gives some depth to Luke, he isn't just a hillbilly who likes to drive fast. He talks about how the government fetched his country soul out of the valley and sent him off to war. Now

My head is full of so many things. I've been across an ocean, met all the pretty people. I know how to read an expensive restaurant menu. I know what a mobile is.

One of these days I got to fall.

You could call him a tragic figure. He's been changed, he knows that he is probably doomed, but he has to play it out until the end. One of the other moonshiners sums him up saying "he's got a machine gunner's outlook and death doesn't phase him much."

Luke also talks movingly about growing up trailing his daddy up to the still on winter's morning:

I don't remember anything dark or shameful.

I just recollect the dogwood and laurels with little tugs of ice on the ends that snap off clean when you brush by them.

I remember the clear ice on the end of laurels myself.

The driving scenes are well done by the standards of the time. They use rear projection when they show the drivers so the scenery behind the car is flat. The exterior driving shots are still excellent. I read that the production company bought the cars from actual moonshiners who used the money to upgrade. While I never had a fascination with fast cars, I still feel the excitement listening to the deep rumble of the engines.

Thunder Road holds up very well 43 years later. If you are from that part of the South you know why it is still a favorite. If you are not, well, give it a watch and let me know what you think.

Thunder Road shows a little of Appalachian culture so I'm closing with my grandmother's recipe for cornbread. It isn't fancy but it is a recipe that was cooked in a coal stove in a log cabin. My mother got the recipe by measuring the "pinch of this" and the "dash of that" as my grandmother assembled the ingredients The shortening was most likely lard. I use an 8 inch iron skillet that belonged to my paternal grandmother and is well over a hundred years old.
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk (or 4 tablespoons powdered buttermilk in 1 cup water. I put the buttermilk powder in with the other dry ingredients.)
1 egg
1 tablespoon shortening

Combine dry ingredients.
Combine milk (or water) and egg and add to dry ingredients just before putting in the oven.
Heat oven to 450. Put shortening in frying pan and the pan in the oven as it heats so that it melts. I put it in the oven when the temperature is around 350 so it is good an hot and you get a crust on the bottom.. Remove the frying pan and swirl the melted shortening around to coat the bottom and side of frying pan. Cook corn bread for about 20 minutes.

About.coms page on Southern cornbread says that "Northern cornbread use significant amounts of sugar and flour, while Southern cornbreads use very little or none at all." I haven't been able to verify this but I think the small amount of flour in this recipe is because flour was more expensive when my grandmother was learning to cook.

Wake Up Dead by Roger Smith

2011-04-02T19:44:00.000-04:00

Picador, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-312-68048-0. 290 pages.

My review of Roger Smith's South African crime thriller, Wake Up Dead, is now on my Africa Screams blog. This is Roger's second novel and it returns to the hell of Cape Flats. I've included links to background information that will help you understand the world that Roger writes about.

The Mall, S. L. Grey

2011-02-06T16:06:00.000-05:00

I just published my review of S.L. Grey's The Mall on my Africa Screams blog. It's horror, not crime, but I thought I would cross-reference it in case readers of this blog also enjoy good horror. It is a satisfying and intelligent contribution to the genre and a very clever satire of consumerism. I hope to see more from the author.

Out by Natsuo Kirino

2011-01-23T04:54:00.000-05:00

Out is not a recent book. It was published in Japan in 1997 and in English in 2003. This Vintage International edition came out January 2005.

If someone asked me for a one or two word description to help them decide if Out was a book for them, I would call it feminist noir. A staff member at The Mysterious Bookshop recommended it as excellent noir which the reason I purchased it since I was unfamiliar with the author. I wasn't disappointed.

The setup is simple: physically abused by her husband, Yayoi Yamamoto snaps and strangles him. Panicked, she calls Masako Katori, a co-worker on the boxed lunch assembly line where they both work the night shift. Masako decides they need to dispose of the body and gets two other co-workers, Yoshie Azuma and Kuniko Jonouchi to assist with getting rid of the body while Yayoi builds her alibi. They accomplish the task in a way that is notable for its grisliness and the matter of fact way the women approach it. The improvised plan looks like it could succeed but the extramarital actions of the murdered man and the personalities and habits of the four women make exposure more and more likely. The story takes a turn in the middle that establishes it as solidly noir but also edges it toward thriller.

The women of Out are treated as objects, sometimes valuable objects, but objects nonetheless. Anna, a secondary character who works in a hostess club run by Satake who becomes the nemesis of the four women, come to this awakening with the realization that

Maybe it was the same with men: they wanted women the same way she'd wanted the poodle, and she meant no more to Satake then the dog did to her.

Masako, Yoshie, Kuniko, and Yayoi are victims of men and the rigid society in which they live. They all want out of their current existence. They are treated with indifference or neglect or abandonment or violence in one form or another. They are doing jobs nobody else is willing to do. Masako compares herself to a washing machine run without putting the laundry:

Disolved in a whirlpool, drained, rinsed, and spun dry—it was precisely what they had done to her. A pointless spin cycle, she thought, laughing out loud.

The one act of female solidarity, disposing of the body, doesn't last long, leaving them as much alone at the end as in the beginning.

For me, the strength of Out is in the way the characters are developed, all the characters and not only the four women at the core of the story. The author progressively pulls away layers revealing the person underneath. No one is particularly likable. It is possible to empathize with and come to understand and perhaps relate to these characters but there are none that I liked. The only character that goes through the story as an (mostly) innocent observer is Roberto Kazuo Miyamori, half Brazilian and half Japanese, who works in the same factory as the four women. Alienated from the culture of his Japanese father, Kazu, lonely and desperate to connect with another person, becomes pathetically obsessed with Masako.

I'm still not sure about the ending. Is it positive? Is there hope? If anyone who reads this review has also read the book, please leave a comment with your thoughts on the last 18 pages.

Out is well plotted with excellent character development. I recommended it to readers who can handle noir mixed with some grisly ingredients. The translation by Stephen Snyder reads smoothly with no awkwardness.

The Bar on the Seine by Georges Simenon

2011-01-22T18:05:00.000-05:00

The Bar on the Seine was originally published in 1931. This Penguin edition, translated by David Watson, came out in 2003.

My reading in early works of crime fiction is woefully inadequate which prompted me to buy some of Georges Simenon's novels about the French police detective Inspector Maigret. This is the first I've read in the series which has 75 novels and 28 short stories published between 1931 and 1972. The Bar on the Seine (originally titled La Guinguette à deux sous) is one of the earlier in the series (no. 11) by this prolific author. Based on the strength of this book, this is a series which I will dip into when I need a quick, interesting, and pleasant read.

In The Bar on the Seine, Maigret visits a condemned man on the eve of his execution. The man, Lenoir, tells Maigret that there are others who should also be awaiting the guillotine and describes a murder he observed when sixteen. True to the code of honor among thieves, he won't give Maigret the name of the murderer but does tell him the name of the bar the man frequents, La Guinguette à deux sous.

Maigret takes a stab at checking out the story but can't find the bar and puts it to the side as he prepares to go on holiday. By chance, while trying on a new bowler hat, Maigret overhears another shopper mention that he will be part of a skit held at La Guinguette à deux sous. Holiday notwithstanding, Maigret follows the man to a rendezvous with his mistress then to his home where he collects his family and they drive off along the banks of the Seine. The man, Basso, and his family are among those who have abandoned the heat of Paris in the summer. When the family unloads at a villa, Maigret goes to a nearby inn.
He enters to check things out but, in an amusing turn, finds himself pulled into a party of friends who have been vacationing together at the same place for years. Though Maigret is a stranger, he is immediately plied with Pernod and made a participant in the evening entertainment. Now Maigret has to find out who committed murder six years ago.

Maigret follows police investigative procedures but his strength is in observing people. Here he applies his keene mind is sussing out the character of the holiday goers, their relationships and interactions. He even develops a friendship of sorts, with James with whom, back in Paris, he consumes a staggering amount of Pernod.

The story moves at a leisurely, though never plodding, pace as Maigret tries to narrow his list of suspects and balance his desire to join his wife on holiday with his policeman's duty.

If this book is an indication, the Maigret stories hold up well after 70+ years and I recommend them as non-violent and character driven. If you enjoy other books written around the same time, such as Agatha Christie, I'd say that the Maigret stories are a must read.

Tooth and Nailed, Sarah Lotz

2011-01-08T10:18:00.000-05:00

My review of Sarah Lotz's Tooth and Nailed is up on my other blog, AfricaScreams. This is her second novel featuring Cape Town lawyer George Allan and his dog and constant companion, Exhibit A. Exhibit A is also the title of the first George Allan novel.

Whiteout Volume Two: Melt by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber

2010-12-14T23:28:00.000-05:00

OK, I feel more than a little guilty including a second graphic novel in the Antarctica category of the 2010 Global Reading Challenge. As I said in the last post, Whiteout Volume One, I was desperate to find mystery/crime/thrillers set on this continent.

U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko is back in what I think is the stronger of the two Whiteout stories. It is also much stronger as an action thriller. In fact, I would put it in the James Bond class.

The story opens with a brief history of human activity on Antartica and The Antarctic Treaty that declared that the continent was to be used for peaceful purposes only and anything of a military nature is forbidden.

An unknown group has blown up the Russian research station of Tayshetskaya and killed the scientists. Tayshetskaya was the name of a Stalinist gulag which is an interesting name to choose for an Antartica base. Carrie, on vacation and enjoying the warmth and greenery around her, is bribed into investigating what happened at Tayshetskaya. She is the most experienced lawman handy and is offered a transfer off the Ice if she cooperates. Carrie has been in Antartica for five years and accepts.

On arriving in Tayshetskaya, Carrie stumbles upon evidence that the base was an arms depot that included nukes. Accompanied by a Russian investigator named Aleks, she takes off cross country to intercept the commandos responsible for blowing up Tayshetskaya and recovering the nukes.

As with Whiteout Vol. One, the illustrations are black and white which works well with most of the action taking place on the ice. It is fast paced, suspenseful, with snappy dialog and good action sequences. Oh, and some hot igloo sex along the way. Lieber does a terrific job conveying the stark desolation of the interior of Antarctica.

Does Carrie get off the Ice? I'll just say that Rucka leaves the story open for another volume.

Whiteout Volume One by Greg Rucka & Steve Lieber

2010-12-14T22:15:00.001-05:00

With time running out to complete the 2010 Global Reading Challenge and desperation setting in, I am turning to the graphic novel to meet the Antarctica component of the challenge.

I was happy to find that the writer/illustrator team of Rucka and Lieber had created two graphic novels with U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko exiled to McMurdo Station (Mactown) for a past transgression that could have put her in jail for a long time. Antartica might not be that bad. Carrie is also the only law and the only one authorized to carry a weapon on the continent.

As this action thriller opens, Carrie and the station doctor are looking at a body, frozen to the ice, the face obliterated. Five men were in the party, this is the only body. Who is he, where are the others, and why is the body surrounded by core sample holes. As Carrie launches her investigation, other people die and Carrie is attacked, several times. Something happened out on the ice that person or persons unknown do not want revealed.

Whiteout was nominated for several awards -- "Best Writer","Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team" and "Best Limited Series,Eisner Awards, and in 2000 it was nominated for the "Best Graphic Album" Eisner Award (Wikipedia). The 2009 movie, on the other hand, was panned. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 7% approval.

I thought the McGuffin -- what was found on the ice -- was implausible and the weakest part of the story. Despite that weakness (my perception), which only shows up at the end, it deserved all the award nominations. Rucka's lean writing and Lieber's stark illustrations blended to make an exciting read.

I do not read many graphic novels and am selective what I choose to purchase. What I admire about a good graphic novel, like Whiteout, is the ability to convey so much in so little space. Several panels in a graphic novel can represent a page or more of written text. The eye has to take in the illustrations, the words, and the way the words are lettered. The reader has to supply the description for what the eye sees in the illustration. The illustrator has to create a scene that matches what a writer is trying to describe, The letterer has to convey the emotion of the words. It is a remarkable collaborative achievement to create a good graphic novel.

Highly recommended IF you like graphic novels AND you like action thrillers.

The House Without a Key, Earl Derr Biggers

2010-12-12T04:37:00.014-05:00

The House Without a Key, published in 1925, is the first novel by Biggers to feature Charlie Chan. I read the Kindle version.

I am interested in Yunte Hoang's book Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and his Rendevous with American History but thought I should read some of the stories first. I was surprised to learn that Biggers only wrote six novels with Charlie Chan. My ignorance is forgivable when you find out that there have been over four dozen Charlie Chan movies (Wikipedia) which might lead one to conclude that there are more books..

Though now billed as a Charlie Chan novel, note that he isn't mentioned on the dust jacket of the 1925 edition (right). Chan doesn't show up until nearly a quarter of the way through the story. Ah, but when he does ...

John Quincy Winterslip, of the Boston Winterslips, is on his way to Honolulu to retrieve his Aunt Minerva. The family back east fear that she has fallen under the sway of the semi-barbaric tropics which isn't at all proper. And proper certainly describes young John Quincy, a banker. Minerva is staying with her cousin, Dan Winterslip, the black sheep of the family. He has the "gypsy strain" which is even more cause for concern.

The story is about the temptations of John Quincy as he makes his way from Boston, to San Francisco, to Hawaii. The temptations begin in San Francisco when a relative offers him a position suggesting that it would be good for him to loosen up a bit. Later, he meets a beautiful and free-spirited young woman on the ferry. Her playful mocking prompts him to toss his silk top hat into the bay. A foreshadowing?

With John Quincy on the ship to Hawaii is his second cousin Barbara, Don Winterslips daughter and only child, and Don's lawyer, Harry Jennison. Barbara and Harry appear to be very close though Jennison is stiff and standoffish to Barbara's playfulness.

The ship arrives too late to disembark the passengers and they have one more night aboard ship. In the early morning hours before they pull into port, Dan is murdered by a knife to the chest.

Minerva decides that a Winterslip must participate in the investigation and nominates John Quincy though he is initially opposed. Oddly, the police do not have a problem with a civilian involved in the investigation. Enter Charlie Chan, "very fat ...His cheeks were as chubby as a baby's, his skin ivory tinted, his black hair close-cropped, his amber eyes slanting." He is also the best detective on the force. John Quincy finds himself attached to Chan, a circumstance Chan embraces.

The story now becomes more of a detective procedural with the collection and analysis of evidence, seeking to identify links between Dan and suspects. When John Quincy discovers that the daughter of the chief suspect is the same young woman he met on the ferry in San Francisco he finds his feelings in conflict with the case.

Throughout it all, John Qunicy continues to be seduced by the Hawaiian lifestyle. From the lush descriptions that pepper the story, Biggers must have loved Hawaii. Several characters express sorrow at the changes they see happening around them (remember this is 1925) believing that 80s, before Hawaii was annexed by the U.S., were the best times to be in Hawaii. What would they think to see Honolulu today? Someone remarks:

I knew Honolulu in the glamourous days of its isolation, and I've watched it fade into an eighth carbon copy of Babbittville, U.S.A.

Charlie Chan was a late addition to the story. Biggers added him after reading about Chang Apana and Lee Fook tow Honolulu chinese-American detectives. As a type, he has had mixed reception. Some see him as perpetuating stereotypes with hi bad grammer and subservient behavior. Others note that he is portrayed positively compared to other depictions of Chinese at the time. (Wikipedia). He might seem overly obsequious but he doesn't brook any nonsense. To Minerva he says:

Humbly asking pardon to mention it, I detect in your eyes slight flame of hostility. Quench it, if you will be so kind. Friendly cooperation are essential between us."

I don't entirely agree about the charge of bad grammer. Chan does have elaborate and ornate speech patterns but in the story we learn that he perfects his English reading poetry. I also wouldn't put it past him to put on a show to disarm people he is questioning.

As far as Chan's methods, he has a little of The Great Detective:

Begging most humble pardon, he said, that are wrong attitude completely. Detective business made up of unsignificant trifles. One after other our clues go burst in our countenance. Wise to pursue matter of Mr. Saladine.

But more like Father Brown Chan also says:

Finger-prints and other mechanics good in books, in real life not so much so. My experience tell me to think deep about human people. Human passions. Back of murder what, always? Hate, revenge, need to make silent the slain one. Greed for money, maybe. Study human people at all times.

The House Without a Key is a fun, uncomplicated, witty read. You should be able to figure out who did it and who will end up with whom easily but I don't think a complicated mystery was the aim. Biggers writes lovingly about Hawaii enjoys poking fun at starchy uptight Easterners, but not maliciously. John Quincy reads a comment left in a guest book that might be a valuable clue with an amusing reaction:

"in Hawaii all things are perfect , none more so than the hospitality I have enjoyed in this house ..."

John Quincy turned away, shocked. No wonder that page had been ripped out! Evidently Mr. Gleason had not enjoyed the privilege of studying A. S. Hill's book on the principles of rhetoric. How could one thing be more perfect than another.

I look forward to reading the next book, The Chinese Parrot, when Chan has the main role. Unfortunately, it isn't available on the Kindle so it is off to Book Depository or Abe Books or Alibris I go.

TBR Growth Spurt

2010-10-19T20:32:00.005-04:00

So I wanted to get to the class room early Monday to make sure it was set up for a student group presentation (Miss Marple in the movies, 4:50 From Paddington) and the English department was setting up for a book sale. $12 poorer I walked away with this stack but could have spent more. I did have to haul them across campus and thus was punished for my extravagance. I got all the Rankins but there were a few more Leonards. If the sale is still going on tomorrow...well, I do have a bit more cash available.

Box 21 by Anders Röslund & Borge Hellström

2010-10-18T11:24:00.001-04:00

Picador, ISBN: 978-0-312-65534-1, ISBN10: 0-312-65534-2010.
Category: Scandinavian crime thriller.
Series: Second of five novels featuring Det. Superintendent Ewert Grens and Det. Sven Sundkvist.
Authors website:
Roslund & Hellstrom.
My rating: 5/5.

Box 21 arrived Friday from Picador. I was deep into The Blood of an Englishman by James McClure and I almost put it on the TBR stack but decided to give it a quick look to get a feel for the story, style, characters. The "I'll just the read first couple of pages" extended to 25 then 50 then a day later I finished it.

Two stories run through Box 21. The main plot deals with the sex trade and human trafficking in Sweden. Lydia and Alena were lured to Sweden from Lithuania with the promise of high wages. Three years later the police find them living as sex slaves in Stockholm. Lydia has been badly beaten and is sent to hospital. Alena slips away in the confusion. Detective Superintendent Ewert Grens and his assistant Sven Sundkvist are called to investigate.

The parallel story is personal for Grens. Jochum Lang, career criminal and hitman, is getting out of prison after two years. The authorities have been unable to nail Lang on any major crime that would put him away for a long time. Years ago Lang was responsible for an accident that left Grens' lover brain damaged and in a nursing home. Gren is determined to nail him whatever the cost.

As a crime thriller, Box 21 is engrossing but it isn't an easy read. The descriptions of the sexual exploitation and degradation of Lydia and Alena are brutal and horrific. The National Police Board in Sweden estimates that between 400 to 600 women are forced to work in the sex industry each year according to a 2007 article in Sweden SE (Sweden battles human trafficking by Kajsa Claude). What happens to Lydia and Alena is not exaggerated. The National Police Board in Sweden estimates that between 400 to 600 women are forced to work in the sex industry each year according to a 2007 article in Sweden SE (Sweden battles human trafficking by Kajsa Claude)

Box 21 is as dark and bleak as any crime story I've ever read. It reminds you that life doesn't have nice tidy endings where good is rewarded and evil punished. At the end, I felt sad, sad for two women victims of sex slavery seeking justice and sad for the lapses in character of the two detectives. I don't say this to put anyone off from reading Box 21. It is well written with a believable plot and some characters that you will despise and others you feel for. It takes turns I didn't expect and did not end as I thought it would. And the authors weave the parallel stories smoothly. It is so good that I need to get the first, The Beast, to see where Grens and Sundkvist came from and the next three to see where they go.
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Book Store Hat Trick

2010-08-20T04:00:00.002-04:00

We were in New York City earlier this week and I visited three of my favorite bookstores -- The Strand Book Store, Partners & Crime, and The Mysterious Bookshop. The Strand and Partners & Crime are about 15 minutes apart (walking). The Mysterious Bookshop is only one subway stop away meaning you can hit all three without much effort.

As I browsed, I noticed that I had Kindle availability in mind when assessing whether or not to purchase an item. I put one book back because there is a Kindle edition only to discover later that it isn't available to U.S. Kindle users. As a criterion, this has its limitations.

The Strand
The crime and thriller section is small but I grabbed several desirable titles.

Nunn, Malla -- A Beautiful Place to Die and Let the Dead Lie. South Africa. I grabbed these for my Africa shelf. Malla's Emmanuel Cooper books are set in South Africa shortly after apartheid went into effect.

Upfield, Arthur W. -- Man of Two Tribes. Australia. Upfield's Napoleon Bonaparte books are difficult to find much less in hardback.

Partners & Crime
This is a wonderful book store, nicely organized for browsing, with a friendly and knowledgeable staff.

Harvey, John -- Rough Treatment. Britain.This is the second in the Detective Inspector Resnick series. I already had the first, Lonely Hearts, and like to have more than one in hand before I start a series.

Izzo, Jean-Claude -- Total Chaos. France. Translated. This was an impulse buy and recommended by the staff. It is set in Marseilles. The cover says it is book one in the Marseilles Trilogy. Hardboiled.

Kirino, Natsuo -- Out. Japan. Translated. I haven't read any Japanese novels and this came highly recommended by the staff and another shopper

Raymond, Derek (real name Robin Cook) -- He Died with His Eyes Open, The Devil's Home on Leave, and How the Dead Live. Britain. These are the first three books in Raymond's Factory series narrated in first person by an unnamed detective in the Department of Unexplained Deaths. Raymond is one of the earliest British writers of hardboiled/noir stories. I read the fourth book, I Was Dora Suarez, first, I knew I had to have them for my British hardboiled section.

Simenon, Georges -- The Yellow Dog. Belgium. Translated. I've never read any Inspector Maigret stories and thought it is high time I did.

The Mysterious Bookshop
It helps to know what you are looking for when visiting this store since the shelves must tower at least twenty feet above the floor. Not conducive to scanning. The legendary Otto Penzler is the owner. The entire back wall is devoted to Sherlockiana which caused me no end of pain because of what I couldn't buy.

Baring-Gould, William S. -- Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: The Life of The World's First Consulting Detective. This is a "biography" of Sherlock Holmes incorporating the authenticated facts about the life of the Great Detective.

Dahlinger, S.E. and Leslie S. Klinger -- Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle & The Bookman. US. The Bookman was an illustrated literary journal published between 1895 and 1933. I have access to the originals but this volume collects everything about Doyle and Holmes. I became interested in The Bookman when I learned that they advanced the theory that Doyle might not have written The Hound of the Baskervilles. It is an interesting look at how Doyle and his creations were viewed through articles, commentaries, parodies, pastiches, and letters.

Daly, Carroll John -- The Snarl of the Beast. US. Daly may be the first author to use the term hardboiled (1927). The story is OK and I picked it up for historical reasons since the history of the hardboiled detective interests me.

McClure, James -- The Gooseberry Fool. South Africa. This is the third of McClure's Kramer and Zondi stories set in apartheid South Africa. Soho Press is reintroducing the series but I couldn't wait.

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Interview: Gary M. Dobbs, Part 3, The Wrap Up - Gary Talks About Ebooks, Social Media & Book Promotion, Acting

2010-07-16T07:50:00.002-04:00

Part 1 of the interview.
Part 2 of the interview.
A Policeman's Lot is reviewed here.

This concludes my interview with Gary and I would like to thank him for making my first blog interview such a pleasant experience. His openness is much appreciated and it let us see the man behind the books.

10) A Policeman's Lot was published in ebook format. What do you think about ebooks and their effect on publishing.

Gary - I think that eBooks will change the way we read. And I also see that as the market stabilises they provide a great way to bring long out of print mid-range fiction back into print. More and more libraries over here in the UK are starting to offer eBooks and even the Luddites out there are having to admit that there is a great sea change coming. I'm pleased that A Policeman's Lot can be read on so many different devices - it looks great on an iPhone for instance. And although it is still early days for the medium I think it is about to explode into the mainstream and sooner rather than later.

11) I learned about A Policeman's Lot through your blog, The Tainted Archive. You are also on Facebook and Twitter. Do you think that social media is changing how books are publicized and the author's role in publicity? If so, how do the demands to promote your books affect your writing?

Gary - These days I do believe the author's own publicity is paramount and social networking and blogs are a great way of doing this. Of course The Tainted Archive exists largely to publicise my own books but if I simply wrote about my own stuff readers would turn away, which is why I try and make the Archive into an interesting online magazine that people will want to read and keep reading. I put a lot of work into maintaining the site - themed weekends, special initiative etc and posting whatever news I think will interest my readers. I enjoy the Archive and am proud of its standing in the blogosphere. I will, of course, continue to push my own books but others too. And as for the demand of the Archive affecting my writing - I think it does but in a good way. I look at the Archive as a work in progress and I sometimes rush posts to get them out there, not worrying too much about the odd mistake. A blog does not have to be perfectly grammatical - it's a great way though to develop discipline. For instance today I've just returned from twelve hours on set and I intend to place up a few posts later and that's besides the other work I have to do - I guess I'm a workaholic and am never happier than when grafting. Something that me and Frank Parade have in common.

11) I can't leave this interview without asking about your acting. I'm a bit of a Whovian and am envious that you were in the presence of the Doctor, Martha Jones, the Darleks, and you had your photo taken in the Tardis! Tell us about you as a performer.

Gary - I've always been interested in acting and any kind of performing - I've done a good amount of stand up comedy and that led to appearing as an extra in TV and film in order to raise some extra cash which is always handy. And I'm always going for any auditions I hear about - often I'm just a bit of the background but sometimes I get the odd line or a piece of action. Doctor Who was great - this was the two part Daleks in Manhattan episode with David Tennant as the timelord. Can't praise him enough - in terms of performance or as a person. It was also great facing off against the iconic monsters. Torchwood was a bizarre experience - I actually did three episodes of that series and enjoyed every minute of it, well apart from filming in the freezing cold and rain all night. The SF/Fantasy shows are great fun to work on but it is hard work, long days and much discomfort.

12). Is there anything you would like to tell us about yourself, personal or how you go about writing?

Gary - I grew up in the seventies and had no schooling to talk about - everything I learned I learned form reading. Incidentally my mother taught me to read, I think the school gave up on me. And ever since I started reading I have also been writing, it's something I have to do. I was a solitary child and lived much of my life within my imagination - it's not something I can switch off. I write simply because I have to write. And besides the fact that I write at all is quite remarkable given that my teachers were morons and too busy trying to ram algebra down my throat instead of encouraging creative growth.