In The Blackhouse by Peter May, the setting is the remote, windy, and rainswept Hebrides islands off Scotland’s western coast. The murder is gruesome and mimics a recent killing in Edinburgh being investigated by police detective Fin McLeod. Fin’s young son has just...
#reviews category
Book Review: A Death in the Family by Michael Stanley
Sep 12, 2016 | #reviews
A DEATH IN THE FAMILY by Michael Stanley is a deeply authentic visit to Botswana, hosted by Detective David “Kubu” Bengu of the country’s Criminal Investigation Division. The novel stands alone but if you like international culture wrapped up in a mystery, I recommend...
Book Review: Jihadi Apprentice by Bruns & Olson
Jun 24, 2016 | #reviews
I write mysteries and thrillers and love to read them, too. In this book review, I look at JIHADI APPRENTICE by David Bruns and J.R. Olson, a very modern thriller with an insider’s ring of authenticity. With a compelling scenario and characters at cross purposes,...
Book Review: Bangkok Rules
Jul 15, 2015 | #reviews
Carl Engel is hardly the typical hero of a mystery series but he's the main character in BANGKOK RULES by Harlan Wolff. The mostly drunk Brit has been in Bangkok for 30 years, surviving as a fixer who plays both sides of every local intrigue. He is well known to both...
Book Review: Weapons of Mass Deception
Jul 14, 2015 | #reviews
Like spy and military thrillers? Books based on current events? Polished prose? Great plots? WEAPONS OF MASS DECEPTION is for you. WEAPONS is a high caliber thriller, using a very plausible Iraq War scenario as its core: Saddam’s sons move the country’s nuclear...
Book Review: The Ragman Murders
Jul 13, 2015 | #reviews
Based on a true family story, THE RAGMAN MURDERS is clearly a labor of love. The novel tells the story of two immigrant families, the Amatos and the Tassones, and the circumstances that bring them into conflict within Hartford CT’s teeming immigrant neighborhoods in...
Book Review: Devoted to Death by Andrew Chesnut
Jul 12, 2015 | #reviews
If you want to understand Mexican culture, DEVOTED TO DEATH must be in your personal library. It is a detailed examination of Santa Muerte, Mexico’s most famous folk saint. Santa Muerte is regarded as the personification of death; a active deity with amazing powers. I...
Book Review: The Orphan Uprising
Feb 7, 2015 | #reviews
The Orphan Uprising is the riveting last book in the Orphan Trilogy by the father-and-son writing duo of Lance and James Morcan from New Zealand. I hear they are making a movie based on the books and if so, it ought to be a blockbuster. The first two books, The Ninth...
Book Review: Smokescreen, a thriller
Jan 31, 2015 | #reviews
Smokescreen by Khaled Talib is a thriller for today’s audience. It’s got a politically driven plot based on current events, an everyman hero, and enough double-dealing and deranged killers to keep the reader flipping pages and skipping meals. What makes Smokescreen...
Book Review: Top Secret Twenty One
Jan 24, 2015 | #reviews
The Stephanie Plum books are like Pringle’s potato chips—I can’t eat just one despite the fact I know they’ll be full of empty calories. Maybe it’s the salt. Whatever. Pass the can. Top Secret Twenty One is the latest in the Stephanie Plum bounty hunter series by...
Book Review: The Witch of Napoli
Jan 17, 2015 | #reviews
The Witch of Napoli by Michael Schmicker is an unexpected trip to 1890’s Italy, when Garibaldi’s unification of the country was still tenuous and Italy’s city-states retained their strong regional rivalries and flavors. At the same time, the study of the occult was...
Book Review: Hotel Pastis by Peter Mayle
Sep 11, 2014 | #reviews
Up for a trip to southern France, where mirth, mayhem, and Champagne rule? C'est vraiment drole! Translation: keep reading. I not only write mysteries but I love reading them, too. My favorites are the ones that take me to new places and this week it's a trip to...
Book Review: The Coroner’s Lunch by Colin Cotterill
Aug 14, 2014 | #reviews
Not only do I write a mystery series, but I read them, too. My favorite mysteries are the ones that take me to new places. This week's book review is of THE CORONER's LUNCH by Colin Cotterill. Following the advice of a fellow book clubber, I downloaded it and was...
Book Review: A Common Evil by Billy Ray Chitwood
Aug 7, 2014 | #reviews
Not only do I write mysteries but I love reading them, too, especially the ones that take me to new places. This week's book review is of A COMMON EVIL by Billy Ray Chitwood, a gem I discovered via Twitter. There aren't many mysteries set in Mexico but Chitwood's...
Book Review: The Garden of Dead Dreams
Jul 24, 2014 | #reviews
Etta Lawrence has staked everything on a year at a prestigious writing academy in the rainy Oregon woods. But truth be told, she’s an indifferent writer. She’s also distracted by her roommate’s distraught behavior and has a crush on the academy’s cook, a Texan named...