If you want a genre bender title, then maybe--

Writer and college professor Justin Gustainis has a new paperback series which may dovetail in the hot popularity of the supernatural and fantasy (no vampires to my knowledge though). His titles feature supernatural investigator Quincey Morris and his partner white witch Libby Chastain. The first book is Black Magic Woman and I spied it in the new fiction book area of the library a few days ago.

Black Magic Woman tells of the investigative duo helping a family plagued by a curse which may date back to the Salem Witch Trials. They follow a trial through hazardous occult communities across the country--including San Francisco, New York and New Orleans--to resolve their case.

Although these works are a genre bender more as fantasy and thriller with all the action, Woman and the follow-up title (Evil Ways according to the author's website), I suspect it could have some strong appeal for those looking a bizarre sort of mystery.

Book Club discusses "The Blood Detective"

Last month the book club discussed the first novel by writer Dan Waddell,
The Blood Detective. In this novel, a surprising alliance is formed to solve a murder case between the two London police officials in charge and a local genealogist. Nigel Barnes is the family historian brought into the police case headed by Detective Chief Inspector Grant Foster and Detective Superintendent Heather Jenkins. And Barnes' sharp eye and familiarity with the subject matter--genealogy information--keep him around as a consultant (and employed) for the immediate future.

This is Waddell's first novel after working a journalist and writer of 10 nonfiction books. The concept for the Barnes character came to Waddell following his book adaptation of a popular BBC TV series about genealolgy called Who Do You Think You Are? That is shared with other information by Waddell in a queston and answer session in an audio interview which Waddell discusses The Blood Detective and more. Here's a photo of Waddell from Google.

The novel treated the reader to interesting surprises as Barnes and Foster both
have background issues which they'd rather keep quiet. And the killer does murder more than one with gruesome methods as a message to the police.

Our discussion targeted several issues:
* a clever title for a book about an amateur sleuth working in the genealogy field
* the detail involved in genealogy study and the appeal for Barnes
* Foster and Jenkin's dilemma when handling the murder case of vagrant
* Foster's quiet background situation of possibly assisting in the death
of his ill father (he is acquitted of wrongdoing in the novel and that
is a fair decision--ultimately)
* Barnes leaves a university job after an affair with a student (a situation much less sordid than it seems)
* the messages left by the murders and the surprising reason for the murders
* English slang (this is a London story)

We have a good discussion about the book and there was interest in reading the next book of the series Blood Atonement due next year.

Paretsky Visits Charlotte for Author Festival

Last Wednesday and Thursday, my library system hosted mystery novelist Sara Paretsky for back-to-back evening events and I was able to attend both.

It was the end of the library's "Novello: festival of reading" and I worked as a volunteer, ushering the first night and helping to man the wine bar on the second. The first night consisted of an author talk with questions from the audience and book signings. The second night was a clued-filled mystery program with food, drink and music--Chicago themed.

I enjoyed the events and was glad I had attended. And I was able to speak Ms. Paretsky the second evening. Looking fashionably stylish in her black hat, here's a pix of Ms. Paretsky with the volunteer I worked with when pouring drinks at the mystery-dinner event (a new professional in Charlotte, she said just call her by her nickname "Kiki").

Now, the first evening when she spoke (and I ushered), I jotted down a few notes while sitting in the back. They included the following:
* as a youngster, girl detective Nancy Drew didn't appeal to her (particularly with "no siblings and domestic responsibilities")
* she moved to New York City to become a writer at 23 but later moved to Chicago to work as a secretary ("Chicago became the city that shaped my voice and view of the world.")
* as a devoted reader of crime novels, she became determined to write a private eye novel but that was only a dream for her for a eight-year period (afterwards, "V.I. Warshawski" was created)
* Paretsky wanted to create a female private eye who didn't fit the role of the standard role of women in noir fiction (i.e. victim or temptress)
* writing a story set in Chicago was a hard sell years ago
* "Fiction gives us the heroes we wish we could be."

Paretsky's newest "V.I. Warshawski novel" is entitled Hardball and is in the editors hands after several drafts, she said. Her website has an excerpt.

And she posts to a blog supported by Chicago six other crime writers called "The Outfit." She also read from her most recent blog post in the author talk "What happens to the novel in the Age of Fragmentation?"

Best-selling author Tony Hillerman dies

When I heard Monday morning that writer Tony Hillerman had died, I thought that the mystery fiction world lost a favorite son. He was 83. And here's a recent pix of Hillerman from Google.

The prolific writer of the Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels left a stored collection of culture and creativity, most prominently with his long-running mystery series with Navajo police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. A quick check of my library system's catalog finds 64 Hillerman titles includes books on CD or tape, edited collections and a memoir Seldom Disappointed.

The Associated Press reported Hillerman developed an appreciation for Indian culture as a student in a school for Potawatomie Indian girls in Oklahoma. As an adult, he become a journalist, later a journalism instructor and began writing novels.

Leading a life that was varied and enriching, Hillerman has a unique life story as shared recently in the New York Times.

Hillerman's last book The Shape Shifter, from 2006, is summarized as being retired Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn's last case--an unsolved crime which troubles him and returns him to active police work.

Eye Catching Book Title--

When one of co-workers opened a box of new fiction books recently, I noticed a new paperback with Charleston (SC) in the title and I gave it a long glance. I really like Charleston. The full title of the book is The Charleston Ripper by Steve Brown and the cover includes the description: A modern-day Jack the Ripper stalks his victims in Old Charleston. The book's website (www.chicksprings.com) says the book features detective Susan Chase.

Looking this book over I found it has a very strong local connection with the publisher, Chick Springs Publishing, in Taylors, South Carolina. And, that writer Steve Brown has a sizable body of writings with "The Myrtle Beach Mysteries" (six books) and four others. The book's website says Brown writes historical fiction in addition to mysteries and claims he is "one of South Carolina's most versatile writers." I'll say this: I credit him with developing a series of titles in locations where you get crime and trouble instead of sand and suds.

Book Club discusses "The Genius"

In September, the book club discussed Jesse Kellerman's newest book The Genius. The son of writers Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, Jesse (the accompanying photo comes from Google) has released his third novel set in the fast-paced New York City contemporary art scene with its demanding artists and competitive lifestyle.
Art dealer Ethan Muller is a member of this environment and when a unique art piece (consisting of multiple drawings for a single design) set falls in his possession--he appears to have found gold. The artist is an older man named Victor Cracke but he is missing. After a search for the man, Ethan forges ahead and opens a show with the newly-found art. The attention-grabbing work is good for business but draws unexpected attention. It rises the curiosity of a retired police detective, Lee McGrath, who recognizes in the art the identities of actual murder victims from years earlier. So, then, how is the absent artist involved? Muller and McGrath began a tenuous relationship to investigate.

We liked the story and found the layered story entertaining. The novel bounces from present-day NYC to "Interlude" chapters beginning 1847 with a family tree story of immigrants setting in the city with ties to the present day. One unique story involves a deformed family member hidden from the public and one attendee remembered how visited a family with that situation (that person could be hear but was not seen).

The Ethan Muller and Lee McGrath team later switch to Muller and Samantha McGrath (Lee's DA daughter) as the investigation continues and a romantic begins. That was a troublesome aspect for some as that relationship seemed unlikely and forced (I didn't agree as the writer seemed to make it appear plausible--my take). While working with Samantha--Ethan does his own legwork though--he is able to use the *cover* of working with the DA when interviewing others.

Otherwise, Ethan does actually have a girl-friend, Marilyn, who is also in his field so that Ethan does have a messy personal life by his doing. Those actions and attitudes create conflict with results throughout the novel.

Victor Cracke is the other major player in this novel as the "genius" with artiistic talent. Is he a genius though? Ethan mulls over the concept of "genius" and the skill with which Victor created art. One attendee suggested however, Victor may have a medical disorder--autism--which guides his talents. At times during Victor's growth into adulthood, he is placed in institutionized settings for convenince, but not treatment.

A well-written book, most said they would recommend this title to others.

God bless you, Paul Newman

I enjoyed going to Paul Newman movies over the years (Slap Shot, Fort Apache the Bronx and The Verdict anyone?) and I was saddened to hear of his recent death. I still find it a little odd to see his pix on salad dressing bottles but he was blessed to have mulitple careers and ventures.

I do give him partial credit to directing me to mysteries as a genre when I discovered his version of writer Ross McDonald's private eye Lew Archer in the films Harper and years later The Drowning Pool. In the Newman movies, a character's name was changed to Harper--and I've read two different accounts why that is the case--and Harper is based on the novel, The Moving Target while The Drowning Pool is the same title of the book. As it happened, the movies lead me to reading the books and I enjoyed McDonald's strong narrative of the lone wolf California PI.

The two Harper movies are in the new Newman collection DVD set and the photo on the cover case (shown here) is from the first movie.

New Mysteries on the Shelves (6)

Fortunately, our library doesn't skimp on finding new mysteries--here are three more new ones.

First is Soul Patch: a Moe Prager mystery by Reed Farrel Coleman. This paperback features the New York private investigator, Prager, returning to his cop roots in Coney Island as he is drawn into a murder investigation and the recent death of a NYPD detective. Prager's assignment is additionally hampered by the mistrust between the police and him when delving into police criminal activity which occurred up to 30 years earlier. Prager also has his emotions further churned up as his marriage has troubles and his attention drifts to an attractive Latina detective. Coleman's new novel is 233 pages and the fourth of the "Prager mystery" series.

The next book is Roux Morgue by Claire M. Johnson, a second entry of the Mary Ryan series. Ryan, a San Francisco pastry chef, returns to her old alma mater to teach and lands in an annoying turf war between her original mentors and her contemporaries. That may not be so surprising but additional job pressures from the dean and two unexpected deaths of fellow faculty lead to a decidedly dicey environment. This story is on the cozy side too with a possible romance for Ryan and humor for the reader. The book is 223 pages.

Last is In the Night of the Heat: a Tennyson Hardwick novel, a new title with the writing collaboration of actor Blair Underwood with Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes. In this second Hollywood mystery with African-American private detective/actor Hardwick, he is requested to help a football star facing threats after his acquittal in a murder case. Preoccupied with a good, new TV job,Hardwick declines but events change so that he reverses his decision. The acting job suddenly appears and the football star suffers a sudden death from questionable suicide. Again, the offer comes to help--this time in the investigation of the football player's death from his family (with a sizable money offer)--and Hardwick agrees. The case jumps from location (the governor's mansion) to time period (the 1960s) with the detective facing dangers from the work and juicy dangers from a steamy background. The book is 447 pages.

Finally, actor Blair Underwood (currently in ABC-TV's Dirty Sexy Money) is a big draw for the book as he is on the book cover (unlike the first Tennyson Hardwick book) and the cover says "Blair Underwood presents... [book title]" (again, unlike the first book.) Interesting move, book editors.

Crime writer James Crumley dies

Browsing through the New York Times online Sunday, I found that writer James Crumley had died last week at age 68. According the news stories, Crumley was an influential crime novelist with his violent private eye novels set in the American West of Montana (Crumley's home state as an adult). Here's a somewhat recent photo of Crumley from Google.

A specialist in hard-boiled private detective fiction, Crumley is credited with moving the genre pass the Raymond Chandler era to its then present day of post-Vietnam stories. His best-known is The Last Good Kiss (a title that one fellow librarian remembers reading years ago) published in 1978.

That book features the dubious private eye C.W. Sughrue, "a former Vietnam War criminal and hard-drinking, cocaine-snorting womanizer." The other PI series Crumley started earlier featured Milton Chester "Milo" Milodragovitch, a multiple divorced man who's also (like Sughre) [a] "hard-drinking, cocaine-snorting womanizer."

In fact, I looked on the library shelves and found one book The Right Madness available by Crumley. The cover shows a man sitting quietly in a darken bar, lighting up a smoke--certainly a fitting image for Crumley's fictional world.

Although not a big-name seller with his books with stories that lose some logistics, Crumley has notable fans including writers George Pelecanos, Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly according to the Washington Post obituary.

Wall Street Fiction (fun stuff)--

If you are fearing the worse with all the new troublesome news stories coming out about Wall Street this week, then grab a fiction book about the financial world and see if things might be better. Wall Street Noir is another of the Akashic's noir anthology series of short mystery fiction. This one features (mostly) writers with financial backgrounds in 17 stories.

I was surprised to find this title but pleased with the creativity that is out there to focus on this American institution ripe with possible pitfalls. As written in Publishers Weekly these fictional stories find actions of "greed, volatility and desperation often lead to crime." Well, maybe this might let you focus on the troubles of others for a bit.

Wall Street is edited by the Shamus Award-winning author Peter Spiegelman.

Book Club discusses "Death of a Writer"

Last month, the book club discussed Michael Collins's Death of a Writer and after a delay, here's an abbreviated post of the book discussion. Collins is an Irish born writer and international ultra-distance runner--Death is his eighth and newest book. Here's a Googled pix of Collins.

This novel has a college setting when a severely-ill professor's hidden work is discovered and becomes a publishing sensation when promoted by a friendly graduate student and a rival writer. The professor's work documents the acts of a murder which, upon closer examination, appear to match the circumstances of a local unsolved murder. Is it remotely possible that the professor was involved in the actual murder? The book is largely split with the Professor Pendleton's story and the investigation by a cold case detective.

Our attitude about the book was *somewhat* mixed. Two of us somewhat liked the book. Two people didn't choose to finish it and the rest didn't care for the book. And one cleverly summarized the book was repetitive and pretentious (plus other term I forgot).

The mystery story was fine but the extra storyline with some characters led to sordid paths that appeared to just dead-end. In fact, none of the characters had a truly cheerful life although there was one--the graduate student, Adi--you would hope to see succeed.

The story of Pendleton and his hardships give the novel a good start but the longer it goes, the more it appears to drag on. As one asked if the novel had any humor (well, dark humor then as promised in the book jacket), we found very little in the story.

Ultimately, when asked if we could recommend the book to any one--none of us could say "yes."

Yestersday's News Become New Fiction Books (Hurricane Katrina)

With the recent Hurricane Gustav headlines, the three-year old Hurricane Katrina is back in the American consciousness. Since that time, of course, books about the tragedy have swept up in bookstores and libraries with its share of fiction books. Our library system has at least three adult titles in the mystery genre.

First is James Lee Burke's Tin Roof Blowdown from the long-running series with Iberia Parish Sheriff's Detective Dave Robicheaux. He travels to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to help restore civil order which includes dealing with violent and desperate lawbreakers roaming the streets.

I have a copy of this book at home (a Christmas gift).

Second, I noticed in our new book section months ago, First the Dead by Tim Downs. This book marks the third of the series with forensic entomologist Nick "Bug Man"Polchak, so nicknamed because he is an expert in using bugs to deduce the time and circumstances of death. A member of DMORT, the disaster mortuary operational response team, used by FEMA to assist with mass casualties, Polchak goes to New Orleans when Katrina hits. Some corpses, however, show signs of death before the storm and Polchak's investigation takes a much different turn. First the Dead is also under the Christian fiction genre.

Last is New Orleans Noir, a collection of 18 unpublished short stories edited by Julie Smith. This is the twelfth book of the recent city noir short story series with two sections for the pre-and post-Katrina entries. Well-known writers such as Laura Lippman contribute to this project along with those on the rise.

New Mysteries on the Shelves (5)

Looking at the new mysteries downstairs (with the newest fiction books) I ran across two titles with political themes but in very different places and times. And it is a presidential election year so if you can not get enough politics from the newspaper, TV, etc.--then there is more...

The first is Broken Heartland: a Mad Dog & Englishman mystery by J. M. Hayes. It is set in the present day U.S. midwest with a sheriff's election as the focus. Running for re-election, Sheriff English of Benteen County, Kansas, has a tough contest with a born-again Christian candidate using his family against him as a political issue. Matters nosedive for English, however, with a series of sensation events. First, a deputy crashes into a school bus of area teenagers with the Benteen teen choir during a vehicle chase. After the accident, the bus driver mysteriously vanishes. Meanwhile, Benteen would have to play catch-up with all those issues later as he investigates a shooting at a local school. This is the fourth novel of the "English mystery" series. The book is 229 pages.

The next book is a historical mystery set in Egypt after World War I. The Mark of the Pasha : a Mamur Zapt Mystery by Michael Pearce is the sixteenth of this long-running series. Gareth Cadwallader Owen (known as "Mamur Zapt" or head of the secret police) is busy confronting possible bomb threats in Egypt as relaid by his operatives. This police work also proceeds his big safety detail assignment of a visiting major European delegation to the capital. The book is 200 pages.

From the (U.S.) print to (Foreign) screens--

Following the good suggestion to read a Harlan Coben title years ago, the book club had Tell No One as its June selection for 2003. I recall at the time when we discussed the book, I had read that this 2001 novel was slated to make it to the big screen with a film adaptation sometime in the
future.

Well, now, the once-Chicago based story (I seem to remember the setting being in Chicago) is in France as produced in part by EuropaCorp, M6 Films and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing and Music Box Film. Starting with a limited release date on July 2nd, the film quietly crept in my movie-viewing area this weekend.

The plot is the same as I remember--here's the info from Yahoo! Movies (including the movie poster): Pediatrician Alexandre Beck still grieves the murder of his beloved wife, Margot, eight years earlier. When two bodies are found near the scene of the crime, the police reopen the case and Alex becomes a suspect again. The mystery deepens when Alex receives an anonymous e-mail with a link to a video clip that seems to suggest Margot is somehow still alive and a message to "Tell No One."

Good to see the film is finally out for the public to enjoy--it is the type to translate well as a good story from the novel to the movie screen. And the results had been be successful as the film has won 4 Cesar Awards (the national film award for France) including best actor and best director in 2007.

The French title is Ne le dis a personne. And double-checking Harlan Coben's website to read about the film, I see it will be available on DVD on October 15th.

New Mysteries on the Shelves (4)

I've missed promoting the new books recently on the blog but here it comes another posting with new mystery books--this time three paperbacks.

The first book is Murder, Mayhem and a Fine Man by Claudia Mair Burney. Listed under the African American fiction category in the library's system, it is the first of a new series and identified as "an Amanda Bell Brown mystery" on the book cover. Ms. Brown is a forensic psychologist who uses her professional expertise to investigate a mystery involving an underground cult with a pattern of abuse. Along the way, she meets a good-looking detective. This 291 page book is also under the Christian fiction genre.

A vastly different mystery setting from the present day is in 18th century England for the next book, The Crimson Cavalier by Mary Andrea Clarke. This book is named for a local highwayman--a colorful character--presumed of a London murder of magistrate. The Cavalier has an unlikely defender in gentlewoman, Miss Georgiana Grey and her associates in this cause. Attempting to find the likely murderer, Grey amasses a list of suspects and puts her own life in jeopardy. This 288 page book is the first of a new series.

The last book is Thugs and Kisses : an Odelia Grey mystery. This series features a plump and lively paralegal ameatur sleuth. In this outing, Odelia attends her 30-year high school reunion with a friendly homicide detective when--it's hard to imagine here--a person turns up dead. The decedent is a (deserving?) class bully who still is mercilessly cruel to Odelia. Despite it all, she starts an investigation and finds several individuals with reasons to kill the guy and Odelia has another challenge too as her boss vanishes. The book is 329 pages and is tagged as "chick lit fiction."

Good in small doses--

I just finished reading the new Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich and after a long break between books in the series found it a good read. The Stephanie Plum novel of the New Jersey bounty hunter has a breathless quality of piling action, upon twist, upon humor throughout. I do like the funny quips and the characters grew on me. And the murder mystery itself is decent as the story picks up steam.

Truth be told though, this is only the second book of the wildly, popular series that I've read--I did start with the first of the series One for the Money, at least. I haven't read the others and that is mainly due to looking at other works and writers.

Should I have jumped forward in this series and not read a few of the others? I guess so but with the frequency of this series--the first book was published in 1994--I don't feel that I've missed that much. So how should I gauge the other "Stephanie Plum" books? Well, I hear comments from people at work when the new titles are released and "word of mouth" lets me know to pay attention to the series but beware of repeat episodes (Stephanie's mishaps that is) in a long-running series.

Book club discusses "Person of Interest"

Back in June, the book club read and discussed Theresa Schwegel's Person of Interest for its monthly book selection. Schwegel is a 2005 Edgar award winner for her novel Officer Down and Person of Interest (from 2007) is her newest work. Here's a pix of Schwegel that also appears in back of the book.

This novel is twist on the standard crime novel of sorts in that it focuses nearly equally on the wife of police detective as much as the detective. Leslie McHugh is a detective's wife and mother of a nearly out-of-control teenage daughter. Feeling the pressures of life more, she does feel lonely while her husband, Craig is a dedicated uncover cop in a difficult assignment and nearly absent from home. Craig is currently trying to pose as an easy mark in a series of gambling games in the Chinese community of Chicago.

Alternating chapters in the book--I liked this technique--the story is told from Leslie and Craig's perspective of Craig's big case and related events.

As I recalled with those of us gathered, I preferred the book much more than others. A couple gave up on the book after reading for a while--with one wanting more of a mystery story and another not caring for the characters. And granted this book is not a standard mystery as such with a lot of time devoted to Leslie who is outside of Craig's work environment. However, she does begin to suspect him of adultery and begins an investigation, of sorts, on her own.

I guess I was OK with a hybrid novel of sorts. One attendee, though, found that tact a disappointment. I suspect I should have checked closer on the content of the book...

Some didn't care for a twist in the novel (a quite violent one) and found the victim's response unlikely. It also appeared to invite an sort of grand white knight ("male savior") situation as the resolution which left one person cold.

As the case in many novels, characters actions are a back breaker for following a novel's appeal and some questionable judgments with these characters were turn-offs.

Bad news on the book review beat--

I walked into the family room earlier this week to catch the news on the "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on PBS-TV and heard a discussion about book reviews. Listening closer, I found the participants were talking about the shrinking space for book review sections in today's newspapers.

One speaker lamented the situation and soberly discussed the cutback of book review sections in newspapers. Another guest had a different take and noted the benefit of blogs with book reviews which are available now.

Walking in the middle of the discussion, I asked myself, "OK, what's this all about?" Double checking the PBS website, I found that the Los Angeles Times had ceased its weekly stand alone book review section following this Sunday's issue. That led to the the discussion about the shrinking of the book section in papers nationwide. That would also include our local daily paper in town.

Yuck. We all benefit from a good and strong book review newspaper section in the newspapers--particularly for local talent. However, it is not that good blogs don't fill a great need too especially being somewhat interactive in nature.

Yet, you be a judge on the matter yourself and read more about it here if interested about the TV interviews.

Work or leisure...?

Lemme see, if you see a local novelist in your library what would you think: work or leisure? I mused over that thought when I recently saw two mystery writers at two different times in the library. One writer was in the check-out line whereas the other was heading down the stairs to the first floor.

Now a trip to the library for a writer may entail just the standard type of library visit as for most of us--that is books and reading. Reading the work of others has to inspire and to entertain the writer as much as anyone else. Of course, see what else good work is around.

Otherwise, a library trip might mean a research assignment for a writer. As helpful as the internet is for all, sometimes a book or reference book series is the ideal assistant.

Now, what was the case for the two I saw a few weeks ago? I don't know but I'm sure they're writing and reading as much as their day and schedule permits. I certainly believe they have *fun* jobs (most days).

It's in the walk--!

Well, I'm guessing it may be in the walk of many people but apparently there's a surer way to watch out for crime.

At the last book club I looked over and noticed a regular with the book entitled Crime Signals : how to spot a criminal before you become a victim by David Givens. I also noticed it was a new book so it caught my curiosity.

Personal safety is always a concern for anyone and noticing unsavory characters or behavior is just important to navigate in many settings. In fact, I'd like to think I venture around without much fear of others but too often I realize that's not quite the case.

A glance of the book's chapters include the topics of the tell-tale signs of a swindler, anticipating an assault and "reading the gang signs."

This book may be a good read for many but particularly aspirating mystery writers like my friend at the book club. She may have a really good non-fiction title to add to her usual mystery novels to read.