Review: The Victoria Vanishes

It seems my luck has run out. After a highly improbable run of exemplary books, I finally returned to earth with a decidedly mundane selection. Christopher Fowler’s The Victoria Vanishes is a pedestrian exercise in crime fiction that tends to focus more on the drama inside the “Peculiar Crimes Unit” than it does the actual case it purports to solve. The thing is – once Fowler gets around to the actual meat of the book, his story is a rather good one. A killer is on the loose, and he is dispatching his victims in crowded pubs. He is targeting lonely, middle aged women, and administering death at the end of a syringe. If not for the good work of the pathologist, the very existence of a crime would have gone unnoticed. A check of other deaths reveals the work of a serial killer, and our heroes are on the case.   Read more

Review: Death With Interruptions

It seems I have been blessed of late. I have happened upon one of those most improbable streaks in which every book I have picked up has been worthwhile. I have just read one of the strangest and thoroughly entertaining novels I have come across in a long, long time. Death with Interruptions is the first work of Jose’ Saramago that I have had the pleasure to read, but I assure you it will not be the last. Perhaps I have an unrecognized, latent affinity for novels produced in Latin countries. It could be that only the very best are being translated into english. Whatever the reason, as this is the second Latin writer to hit it square out of the park,  they are batting one thousand with this reviewer. This book addresses, in a narrative style, a situation that makes one question the nature of death, life, society at large and our place in it. Without being obvious or profane, the author leads us to question our basic moral assumptions. But outside of the lofty ramifications of this read, it is first and foremost a most engaging and entertaining story. Read more

Review: Exit Music

I know I am going to love a book that starts with “The girl screamed once, only once…”. Ian Rankin uses this line to great effect as he sets the scene for a brutal murder in the first chapter of this hard-boiled who-done-it, Exit Music. In classic style, we tag along with Detective Inspector John Rebus and his loyal partner, Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke, as they begin a new investigation from the beginning; the blood is still warm and the crime scene is fresh. What first appears as a mugging gone horribly bad is quickly complicated when the identity of the victim is learned. He is a Russian poet who is highly critical of his motherland and the changes occurring there. In an era when Russian reporters and dissidents seem to have a higher mortality rate than a front line soldier, the victim’s connections suddenly open the doors to international intrigue and political implications. When a second murder is discovered, the victim being a material witness in the case, the heat is turned up, and it brings all the creeps out of the woodwork. Read more

Review: Moriarty

The Professor is back! And he is not happy. After years spent in AmericaAmerica reviews developing his enterprises there, he has returned to LondonLondon reviews to find that his “family” has not been tending to business. A usurper, the bankrupt minor aristocrat called Idle Jack, or “Mad Jack” Idell, has made serious inroads into the Professors sprawling empire, and worse yet, he has been aided by a traitor from the inside. It’s not a good situation for the Professor, and definitely not good for those who work for the man; who values loyalty, efficiency, and ruthlessness above all else. The Professor in this story is, of course, Professor James Moriarty – the enigmatic arch-villain of the acclaimed Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleSir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World reviews. In this novel John Gardner, an accomplished writer in his own right, takes up one of the great literary mysteries, and sheds light on the man who was the adversary of the iconic Baker Street detective. The book shines best when it is developing Moriarty’s character, while at the same time giving us an unflinching look at the criminal underbelly of Victorian London.  Read more

Review: Mind Scrambler

I think I have found a new crime fighting hero. Chris Grabenstein’s new John Ceepak novel, Mind Scrambler, the fifth in the series, rocked my world. The story revolves around two Sea Haven detectives who are on administrative leave  in Atlantic City. While there, Danny Boyle, Ceepak’s partner and the voice of the narrative, runs into a ex-girlfriend and makes an appointment to meet her. It is a rendezvous she will never make. Danny’s old flame is currently the nanny for a family of performing Magicians currently headlining at a major casino. She is found, after the show, in what appears to be an S&M sex scene gone bad, the victim of over-zealous asphyxiophilia.(GoogleGoogle it or ask your teenager.) With the Atlantic City PD overwhelmed with crime, and the potential media storm and bad publicity, Bolye and Ceepak are deputized to help with the case. As the clues mount, along with the bodies, it becomes crystal clear there is a lot going on behind the scenes, and uncovering the secrets this family of prestidigitators want to keep will not be easy. Read more

Review: Red April

Have you ever tried a new food and the taste that assaults your senses is strong, vibrant, and oh, so exotic? You spend the first few bites trying to determine if you even like it or not. But in a very short time you find that your mouth simply cannot be without the flavor. On a few rare occasions, a book will be that way for me. It’s the literary equivalent of my first experience with an Indian restaurant, or, in this case, authentic Spanish cuisine. Santiago Roncagliolo offers up a wonderful new taste experience with his debut novel, Red April. Read more

Review: The Alchemyst The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

Fatherhood has its challenges. I was in the middle of reading a book that I planned to review for this site. My oldest daughter asked me if I would like to read the one she had just finished, as it was the best book ever, and I would really, really like it. Being distracted, I said, “Sure, honey, when I am done with this one.” I figured she would forget about it as soon as I did, which was pretty much immediately. So when I reached for a new tome from the prodigious pile I have in front of me, the caterwauling took me completely by surprise! It seemed as though she not only remembered, but that she was serious! Imagine my surprise!! So being a dutiful and loving Daddy, I acquiesced, albeit grudgingly. And I am so glad I did. I was introduced to a Gem hiding in the gravel pit of youth literature. Read more

Review: The Sign

A dazzling phenomenon in the form of a giant glowing orb appears over a disintegrating ice shelf in Antarctica! A Catholic Priest, missing for a year, turns up in one of Christendom’s oldest sites, living in a cave and literally talking to god! And it’s all captured live in the 24 hour news cycle, with non-stop coverage and worldwide distribution. Thus begins the rousing thrill ride, titled The Sign. The latest effort from Raymond Khoury mixes technology and the apostolic, Black OpsBlack Ops reviews with the transcendent, and cutting edge science with religious fervor. Revealed through the eyes of Gracie Logan (the rapidly-rising, tough and aggressive, television news reporter), and Matt Sherwood (the rough-edged, hard-hitting, bad-boy-with-a-past), is a plot of earth-shattering magnitude. Global in its scope and ambition, Khoury envisions a scenario that could alter the world community for centuries–or bring an apocalypse tomorrow. Read more

Review: A Vengeful Longing

Porfiry Petrovich has a new assistant, and a fresh murder to investigate.  The crime scene evidence indicates it’s a perfect starter case for his new charge.  The facts are clear, the suspects limited, and within the hour a perp is in custody.  By all appearances it’s an easy first lesson for our budding magistrate.  That is, until a second murder occurs.  While seemingly unconnected at first blush, they share a singular detail.  Perhaps only a coincidence, it is significant enough to Porfiry to warrant closer examination, triggering a journey into shocking revelations, slumbering resentments, and hidden relationships. The suspects are many, the secrets are manifold, and there is always the danger of professional humiliation, or worse yet, political retaliation. Read more