I'm Getting To It

My biggest problem is that there are too many good authors right now. Back when I worked at The Mystery Company, Jim Huang’s bookshop, I had the naïve goal of reading a book by every author who came in for an event. That ended up being several events a month, often with multiple authors per night. Sometimes that worked out well for me like when Michael Koryta asked me for a good passage he should read from. It also worked out poorly when I tried to compliment a writer for a book she didn’t write.

With mystery writers, if you discover a great find it’s not just a 300-page investment. Chances are they are going to have a new book in 12 months, then another 12 months after that. Some of them are nuts and have multiple a year. The more authors who came into the store, the more I started to read. I subscribed to enough modern writers to keep me busy for the whole year. It was a struggle to keep up.

I say “struggle” which is silly. Oh the horrors of having too many good books to read. The only problem is now there is a gap in mystery education. I’m reading so many modern novels that I am behind on most of the classics.

I entered the genre early with young adult series like the Sammy Keyes books and The Boxcar Children. As great as they were, crimes involving stolen candy didn’t feel like high enough stakes for me. In elementary school I started reading Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie—much to my 5^th grade teacher’s dismay when I was showing classmates passages from And Then There Were None.

Most of my family were passing around mystery novels to each other which allowed me to branch out more in addition to pillaging the library whenever possible. I read the complete works of so many brilliant authors, but I still have significant gaps. I’m becoming a bit embarrassed.

I recently finished Donald Westlake’s The Hot Rock, which was absolutely hilarious. It was one of the few books that consistently made me laugh aloud. Yet when I went to BoucherCon and talked about it, most people were put off it has taken me so long to read a Dortmunder novel.

So let’s just get this out of the way and ruin any reputation I had as a mystery fan. I have never read a single book by Margery Allingham, Robert Crais, Elizabeth George, Reginald Hill, Tony Hillerman, Val McDermid, John D. McDonald, Sara Paretsky, Dorothy Sayers, Mickey Spillane, and Ross Thomas.

Confessions are supposed to make you feel better. That didn’t. That’s why I’m trying to switch it up with every novel I read. When there is a sense of history with the genre, there can be greater appreciation. Reading the influences that inspired my favorites creates a richer experience. But mostly it’s just so I can stop hearing, “What do you mean you haven’t read Busman’s Honeymoon?”

First published in Pomp and Circumstantial Evidence in October

Book Review: Buffalo West Wing

Having a cozy set in the White House is an incredibly difficult task. Mixing the fun and lighter nature of the mystery juxtaposed with one of the most powerful and important places on the planet could lead to a clash in tone. With her fourth book in the series, Julie Hyzy continues to masterfully balance the two while maintaining intelligence and respect to both fields.

At the beginning of her latest entry, the White House is in the middle of transitioning for the new President. Ollie Paras is worried about whether or not the new First Family will leave her as Head Chef. Nothing is ever so easy for Ollie because a hostage crisis and poisoned chicken puts everybody on alert. Hyzy continues to shine with a series full of delightful characters as well as a really strong plot.

Hyzy does a good job about having the environment evolve as Ollie’s professional and romantic life continues to be in flux. While it is very unlikely Ollie will ever be completely separated from the White House, there are believable questions on what will happen to her next. The series also doesn’t stray away from examining how many times Ollie will be involved in a major political threats, but this plot remains organic and exciting. This is another strong edition of one of the most consistent series in the genre today.

Book Review: Kismet

Private eyes make great fish out of water characters because they already have to be the one separate from their society in order to expose the immoral. This is exemplified with Jakob Arjouni’s detective: Kemal Kayankaya, a Turkish immigrant living in Germany. Through racism, he feels isolated in Frankfurt even before he turns his attention to stopping the organized crime force known as the Army of Reason.

Kayankaya first encounters them when a local businessman asks for his help because the Army is forcing him to pay a regular payment for his “safety.” One gunfight later, things become more complicated. The investigation is very satisfying, but it’s usually Kayankaya that hurts the pacing of the book. Arjouni tends to have Kayankaya give lengthy mental sidebars in the middle of conversations and plot.

However, Kayankaya is usually very entertaining especially when telling jokes or interacting with his partner, Slibulsky, about his lack of a personal life. The larger examination of prejudice in Germany is interesting, but sometimes the distance feels that something was lost in translation. Kismet is actually the fourth Kayankaya book, but this is the first one published in English. Melville House shall publish the other three in intervals in 2011.

Book Review: Horns

Of all of the books I’ve read in the past few months, this one has really stuck with me the most. It begins with an allusion to Kafka’s The Metamorphous with Ig Perrish awaking to discover two horns protruding from his head. Then things really get crazy. The horns have the ability to make everyone around him reveal their deepest, darkest secrets, which usually have to do with their opinion of Ig. Everybody still thinks that he murdered and raped his long-term girlfriend, Merrin.

Joe Hill astounded me with his debut book, Heart Shaped Box, a few years ago. That was a ghost story that was actually scary in its own disturbed way. His second book now raises the bar and has established himself as one of my favorite writers working today. He’s very dark with an entertaining edge to him. It is mandatory for every review to mention he is the son of Stephen King, but right now he’s more exciting than his father and that is not a dig against King. Under the Dome was a great new addition from King but Horns…Horns is wonderfully disturbing.

Book Review: The Unnamed

When Joshua Ferris’s first book came out, Then They Came to the End, everybody went ga-ga for it. I wasn’t a big fan, but it made me curious for his next book. He had a particular style and keen use of observation. His second book, The Unnamed, I think is a much stronger follow up.

Tim Farnsworth is a lawyer who has the mysterious illness that has him start walking. He walks into the woods and abandons everything. It doesn’t matter what he’s doing or what he’s wearing. It’s a weird premise but Ferris takes it completely serious and shows the heartache involved. His family is constantly worried about him, especially his wife.

There are some lacking portions in the middle of the book, but the end is a very satisfying conclusion. It all works because the couple is incredibly realized and sympathetic.

Book Review: Alone

If you follow this blog or know me at all, this will be the most boring review for you. I read Loren Estleman’s latest book, Alone, and I loved it. Of course I loved it! This is the second novel about Valentino, the “film detective” who works for UCLA to find lost films. At a costume party he meets a wealthy man who has the famous short that has Greta Garbo’s first on screen appearance. As most mysteries go, a dead body must appear. This time it’s the tycoon’s assistant.

The mystery is well done, as expected from Estleman, but what really shines are the Garbo love and the character advancements. Throughout the book, various characters bring up her movies and the Swedish beauty in general. She truly was one of a kind. It’s hard to find such on screen elegance like that anymore, even when she’s in a comedy like Ninotchka. In Alone, there’s a nifty subplot that debates one of the big questions surrounding Garbo. Like I mentioned earlier, a pleasant surprise was seeing the characters evolve in an interesting format. At this point I can come to expect good stuff featuring Valentino and his girl Harriet. However what I really thought shined brightly was the plotline involving Broadbent, the older film historian who is searching for a proper drive.

I know this book just came out a month ago, but I already want the next entry. I wish this was a famous series and I can go to a bookstore and find the next twenty in the series waiting to be devoured.

Book Review: What the Dog Saw

Like the rest of the country, I really became addicted to Malcolm Gladwell’s books. His pop sociology angle was fun and slick. It worked very well in his book lengths works, but he has finally stumbled in my mind with his shorter writings. What the Dog Saw is a collection of 19 articles he wrote for The New Yorker. The topics are the kind of things that I love from Gladwell: “Are Smart People Overrated?”; “What the Inventor of the Birth Control Pill Didn’t Know About Women’s Health.”; “What Do Job Interviews Really Tell Us?”

Look I probably accidently sold you on this book. The problem with these articles is that the spark is gone. Is it really Gladwell’s fault though? He wrote these articles for The New Yorker, not the general public. These articles are so dull and lifeless that I assume they fit right in with the magazine. No, I do not read The New Yorker. I’ve been told that magazine is for smart people. I only pretend to be smart, so I am not interested. Gladwell is still a talented writer, but I’m just going to stick with his full-length work.

Book Review: Shades of Grey

Whenever people ask me my favorite author, Jasper Fforde always springs to mind. His Thursday Next series is hilarious and imaginative and I’m even a fan of his Nursery Crime books. So when he has a new book out, it’s a big deal for me. Shades of Grey is the start of a radically new series. It’s so new that I still have difficulty describing it.

Okay so in the future, it’s really oppressive. Something has happened and colors are all goofy. Or people’s perceptions of colors are off, I’m still a bit unsure. Basically there’s a new class system dependent on the percentage of a certain color you can see. Those who can only see purple are higher ranked than those who can only see red and so on. Eddie Russet, who can see red very well, is content just going with the flow. Not questioning why they stopped making spoons or why the number 73 is outlawed. Until he meets a feisty Grey named Jane.

I’m usually not a fan of dystopian futures, but this one is definitely one I haven’t seen before. Fforde proves his imagination can kick my imagination’s ass every day of the week. Despite occasionally being confused about the world, I became surprisingly invested in the central characters. This really seems to be an evolution in Fforde’s character design. The back of the book says this will be a trilogy and it’s clear Fforde is being patient with the plotting. I predict this will end up being a really interesting set.

Book Review: Long Lost

I’m no sports guy, but I love Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar series. This is how he started he career writing about a smartass sports agent who has to solve crimes for his clients. After a handful of those Coben went onto stand-alone thrillers after the huge success of Tell No One. It has only been recently that Coben has been returning to Myron. Yet it doesn’t feel the same as it once was.

You can always count on Coben to be a strong plotter. He knows how to have a lot of fun twists scattered throughout and the pacing is always quick. In Long Lost Myron gets a call from a former lover asking him to meet her immediately in Paris. Unable to not help someone in need, Myron and his best friend Win cross an ocean and get caught up in an murder investigation. The whole story is compelling, but I was so disappointed the all of the humor painfully fell flat. The sarcastic jabs didn’t stick and there is a vaudeville like act involving the word Mee that became embarrassing after awhile. Myron and Win are still characters I want to revisit, but I hope Coben can find the same spark he had back in Deal Breaker and The Final Detail.

Book Review: The Guinea Pig Diaries

Yes it’s true! I do occasionally read books that aren’t about mysteries or movies. I do have a little bit of range. I’m a sucker for lists or marathon projects. Thus, I’m a big fan of A.J. Jacobs. I don’t remember how I found Jacobs’ first book, The Know-It-All, where he decided to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. That book ended up being really funny and an interesting view on knowledge. I just recently found out he has two follow up books: The Year of Living Biblically and The Guinea Pig Diaries.

The first title is pretty self-explanatory; Jacobs spent an entire year attempting to follow every law in the Old and New Testament. The latter title is more of a grab bag. Instead of one long endeavor, Jacobs takes on mini-projects that change his day-to-day behavior. The experiments are always entertaining especially when he tries to be brutally honest or pose as a celebrity. Jacobs is a naturally funny guy and all of his books are constantly entertaining. These are some of the easiest books to recommend.

Book Review: Pictures at a Revolution

I am a complete sucker for film history. The way movies are made are sometimes more epic than the movies themselves. A perfect example for that are the stories surrounding the movies in this book. Mark Harris examines the five movies that were nominated for Best Picture in 1968: The Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde, In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and Doctor Doolittle. Yes, I know. One of these is not like the other. Harris addresses this and even Doctor Doolittle plays a part in how these films really changed Hollywood forever.

This is the end of the Hays’s Code and a lot of key players in Hollywood were turning to French filmmakers for inspiration. The influence of Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard spurred more unconventional storytelling and approaches to hot-topic issues. The whole process is riveting. Sure there are the amusing anecdotes of how Rex Harrison acted on the set of Doolittle, but I was really interested in stories like how Dustin Hoffman seemed like such a gamble at first. Such a thing seems preposterous now, but there were major doubts against him. Ultimately this book is a must for film fans especially if you want to see what set the way for 70s cinema.

Book Review: The Angel's Game

The Shadow of the Wind became one of the most beloved books of last decade and it really came out of nowhere. I found out about it because Stephen King and Jim Huang raved endlessly about it. Sure enough everyone who read it agreed with them, including myself. Wind was written by Carlos Ruiz Zafón and he’s a popular Spanish author, which means it takes a little time to get an English translation. Well now his second book is out is finally out and…

I really like it. Zafón writes in such an addicting majestic style. Even though it takes over a hundred pages to really get the plot going, I’m with it for every page. The Angel’s Game is about a writer named David Martín living in Barcelona during the 1920s. He writes fun genre fiction for a living, but is approached by a mysterious French editor for a new project. I won’t ruin what the project is, but it’s intriguing to say the least. Much like Wind, Game is surrounded by a true love for books. The effect is intoxicating and it’s what spurred me to read this epic in wonderfully large chunks. The ending is not perfect, but it didn’t come close to discourage me into anticipating the next entry into the world Zafón created.

Upcoming Book Reviews

It seems like this blog is just about my random ramblings about movie, but I also ramble about books too! I've been a bit behind with some of my book reviews, but within the next few days you'll have a bunch pop up. For the past year I've been writing reviews for books that were released during 2009. After this upcoming set I'm going to be switching to only writing reviews for books I've read that came out during 2010.

The books I review are just the ones I naturally come across. However, I'm always interested in recommendations. If you have one just put it as a comment and I'll take a look at it.

As always, thanks you so much for reading. Next up will be The Angels' Game...

Book Review: Quarry in the Middle

There is cool and there is awesome. Don Draper is cool; Clint Eastwood is awesome. Frank Sinatra is cool; Sean Connery is awesome. Do you understand now? Good. Max Allan Collins’ “Quarry” is very awesome. The character has been around since the 70s in one capacity or another, but recently Hard Case Crime, one of the coolest publishers ever, has been printing original novels featuring the notorious hitman. After 2006’s The First Quarry and 2008’s The Last Quarry, it is only right to now have Quarry in the Middle. As you can imagine this takes place in the middle of the Quarry timeline.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, Quarry is the alias of a very smart assassin. At this point, he is no longer working for The Broker and wants revenge. So he finds further hitmen, discovers who their targets are and offers the target his services to kill their hitman. Like I said, he’s awesome. There are plenty of worthy hitman series to read like the wonderful John Rain series by Barry Eisler. What makes this one so special? It’s because of Quarry, himself. The first person narrative is witty and fun. The plotting is fast pace and exciting, as is custom with Collins. I hope I am not spoiled by these recent additions to the series and have to wait a few decades for another adventure.

Book Review: The Rattlesnake Season

I admit it. I’m not too familiar with westerns. Aside from a few choice Elmore Leonards, I really haven’t read any. I’m sorry! I’m willing to become more educated after reading the fine novel The Rattlesnake Season by Larry D. Sweazy. This is the type of book that further proves that genre literature ought to be respected more. Just like “literary” fiction, the best genre fiction tends to have its focus on its characters. Season is no exception as it introduces Josiah Wolfe, a resurrected Texas Ranger in the 1870s.

In its haunting prologue, Wolfe loses his wife during the birth of his son. Years pass and the son is older. In order to provide for his smaller family, he rejoins the Rangers. His first assignment is to bring the criminal Charlie Langdon back to Austin (That’s my name!) to be hung. The task is anything but simple and that is one of the reasons this is such a compelling read. There’s a real sense of place and time that never feels over-explained, which tends to happen in lesser historical novels. It’s a very strong debut and I can’t wait to see more in the series.

EARLY Review: Juliet, Naked

“Naked” is a powerful word. I have read three different books with that word in the title and each time I received a reaction from people around me. “You’re reading The Naked Typist? Pervert.” (Why am I called the pervert and not Parnell Hall?) “Haha! Austin’s reading Naked! Get it? Get it?” (Yes. I get it.) Now with this book it’s a whole dialog:

Dude: What are you reading?

Austin: Juliet, Naked.

Dude: Yeah, you are!

Of course in this sense of the word, “naked” refers to the musical definition. Yet in the context of the book, the naked element still gathers a powerful reaction. Tucker Crowe is a musician with a small cult following. He was big in the 80s, but mysteriously hasn’t released any music for over twenty years. Then out-of-the-blue an acoustic version of his most popular album Juliet is released entitled Juliet Naked. Duncan is among the cult of Crowe, yet he’s more of an obsessed fanboy. He completely gushes over the new album and immediately rushes to the Internet to spread his opinions. (Loser.) His long-term girlfriend, Annie, has been growing tired of being the second love in Duncan’s life and doesn’t see what the big deal is about the new album.

Nick Hornby has always been an author who has created a realistic feel for older twenty-somethings. He’s almost a John Hughes for an older British crowd. He returns to more of his themes seen in High Fidelity but in a fresh way. His creations of Duncan, Annie, and Tucker were so strong that I wasn’t bothered the novel wasn’t too heavy on plot. I was satisfied in all of their actions and reactions, especially the book’s finale. I don’t want to say this is a return to form for Hornby because I don’t think he ever went astray. Let’s just say this: Not since his early work, have I enjoyed one of his novels so much.

Juliet, Naked comes out on September 29^th.

Book Review: The Accidental Billionaires

No one quite understood it, but the eruption of popularity of Facebook is something that can’t be denied. It seemed to be the right thing at the right time, but most importantly for the right people. It has since evolved beyond just a networking site for college students into one of the most popular websites on the Internet. But where did it begin?

The simple answer is Harvard. The complicated answer is The Accidental Billionaires. Unfortunately it’s not complicated enough. Billionaires tells the remarkable story of the rise of Mark Zuckerberg, a shy computer genius. After creating an accidentally popular Harvard version of a “Hot or Not” site, he begins work on thefacebook.com. As the subtitle suggests, there is a lot of betrayal on the rise to the top. Yet I felt I wasn’t getting the full story. I never really understood Zuckerberg at times and that could partially be because he refused to be interviewed for the book.

Too often the book just feels overwritten as Mezrich attempts to create a scene, which distracts from the core storyline. Although before it was on bookshelves, Billionaires was on the fast track into being made into a movie. David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Zodiac) is going to direct an Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, Charlie Wilson’s War) screenplay. Hopefully they provide the proper reworking to this book, because at its heart it really is one hell of a story.

This review is “for” Larry D. Sweazy. Check out his first novel, The Rattlesnake Season, on October 6^th.

Book Review: The Girl Who Played With Fire

Stieg Larsson really captivated the whole world with his first novel The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It wasn’t because Larsson had sadly died and people were curious. It was because the book really was fantastic. So good, in fact, it was nominated for three Anthony Awards. (Yes I shall plug those whenever I can. Even if the context doesn’t call for it.)

So this book had a lot of pressure on it. This is the second of three completed manuscripts Larsson turned in before dying and everyone was wondering if it was to live up to the first one. To sum it up, it did. In this entry we really dive deeper into who Salander really is. In Dragon Tattoo, Salander was a computer genius and a very anti-social woman. She teamed up with journalist named Mikael Blomkvist to solve an old crime. Now she is the major suspect in two murders at Blomkvist’s newspaper. Blomkvist is the only one who believes she’s innocent and what follows is a search for her and the truth.

The writing in this book is so articulate and powerful that it’s impossible to tell that this was translated from Swedish. Although the book could probably be trimmed a little bit, I’m such a fan of the writing I didn’t really mind. What really excels in this entry is the character study of Salander. So much so that the actual mystery pales in comparison. It didn’t seem to have the powerful themes the last book gave, but this was still a very excellent entry. I’m anticipating the final entry but it’s going to be depressing to read because I could read about these characters for many more years.

Book Review: Missing Mark

Julie Kramer was one of the fresh new authors that emerged last year. I wasn’t alone in thinking this for her first novel, Stalking Susan, was nominated for the Shamus, Barry, and (most importantly?) the Anthony. Kramer continues her new series with Missing Mark.

The series follows Riley Spartz, a TV reporter located in Minneapolis. It’s sweeps time again and Spartz is looking for a big story. She thinks she finds something interesting when she finds an ad in the paper saying “Wedding Dress For Sale: Never Worn.” It turns out the husband-to-be, Mark, vanished before the wedding and hasn’t been seen since. One would even suggest he went…missing! Spartz wants to follow up on the story for she believes that Mark didn’t just get cold feet. Yet her producers think a search for a missing fish would get higher ratings.

Once again, Kramer creates a very fun world that gives you intelligent insight into the television news world with clever twisting plots. I already see this series becoming very popular.

Book Review: The Way Home

It’s no secret that I adore the TV show The Wire, of which Pelecanos was one of the writers for. I think it’s a true masterpiece of the medium and my favorite season was the fourth when they focused on the inner city kids and how they were treated in the public school system. Many critics agreed with me, but I know I liked it because it was an issue I was more involved with than say politics or unions. That is one of the reasons I responded so well to The Way Home because Pelecanos once again focuses on teenagers.

The book opens with Chris Flynn having to go to juvenile prison. How Pelecanos handles Chris’s reactions to this situation and his fathers are so compelling that I was practically hypnotized by them. I am always critical about modern portrays of teenagers, but Pelecanos succeeds here for he captures the conceived invincibility and egos. For I should know: I’m obviously invincible. Yes, the book eventually uses a plot device that is a bit tired but the strength of the writing and the characters surpassed that and made this one of the most memorable books of the year so far.