Ken Bruen's "The Dramatist" is his fourth novel in the Jack Taylor series. Jack, a former Garda, is off the booze, the pills, illegal drugs, and working on giving up cigarettes. One reason: his former drug dealer is in prison so he no longer has a source.
His life begins to get complicated again, though,when his former drug dealer asks him to visit him in prison and offers to pay him to discover who killed his younger sister, a university student. Reluctantly, Jack agrees and his investigation leads him to the similar death of another young woman.
In the meantime, he had coffee with a woman he still cares deeply for and discovered her husband had beat her. She didn't want him to take any action but, when she told her husband she'd met with Jack, her husband sought him out and beat him senseless. Five days in the hospital and a permanent limp later and Jack is back at work on his investigation but not before he has a run in with the Pikemen (a vigilante group that includes Garda) and they want him to join him.
Life is never easy for Jack and one investigation always seems to get sidetracked by other events. When he finally discovers who is behind the murders of the young women and why, he confronts his suspect who he has learned has a third victim in mind -- a murder Jack intends to prevent at any cost.
I don't find Bruen's books "riveting" and I sometimes have difficulty wading through his poetry and references to other books and music because that distracts me from the story but I always finish them and I always enjoy the mysteries and story plot twists. This one ends with a shocking twist that I'm glad I didn't miss. pazt
Monday, September 26, 2016
Sunday, September 18, 2016
"The Color Of Magic"
"The Color Of Magic (2 Part DVD) runs 197 minutes and is based on a Terry Pratchett book. I'm not sure I could read one of his books but I love the DVD's I've watched. Pratchett wrote kind of "off the wall" or very strange stuff but when a movie brings one of his books to life, I love it!
Although my spouse and I have watched this one before some time ago, he checked it out from the library and we had a post-dinner, all evening viewing to see it in one session. (We did stop for ice cream between the 2 parts!). If you're looking for something light and don't mind a little quirkiness, check this out! pazt
Although my spouse and I have watched this one before some time ago, he checked it out from the library and we had a post-dinner, all evening viewing to see it in one session. (We did stop for ice cream between the 2 parts!). If you're looking for something light and don't mind a little quirkiness, check this out! pazt
Saturday, September 17, 2016
"Stone Cold"
"Stone Cold" by Robert B. Parker is his 4th Jesse Stone novel. Jesse is Chief of Police in the small town of Paradise, Massachusetts but his police background was in California. He left California after his drinking (and continued love for his ex-wife) became an issue. Paradise may not be the big city but it has its share of crime and having a police chief who is adept at solving crimes has its benefits.
Leaving California did not solve his ex-wife problems, though, because she has followed him to Massachusetts. She may not live in Paradise but is close enough to be a constant reminder of how much he still loves her.
"Stone Cold" has Jesse solving two cases - one is fairly easy but the murders of random people with no seeming ties or motives by two serial killers working together has the town on edge and the lack of clues has Stone stymied. He and his department call on state resources for help and eventually Jesse thinks he has identified suspects but has no way to prove they are the killers -- until they appear to target him! Great police work by Jesse, the state, and his department finally help him to an arrest but not before tragedy strikes the Paradise police department.
The "easy" case involves a young high school girl who is gang raped by three male students who blackmail her into silence with the threat of showing pictures around that they took of their crime. The girl's mother doesn't want the case pursued because she doesn't want her daughter's name to come out but, working with the young woman and her father, Jesse is able to identify and arrest the assailants thanks to a wise woman in his department and "Suitcase" Simpson.
Jesse Stone cases may tend to be gruesome but the caring of Chief Stone shows through when he is working a case and the glimpses into his personal life struggles make him very real. I look forward to the next book in the series, "Sea Change." pazt
Leaving California did not solve his ex-wife problems, though, because she has followed him to Massachusetts. She may not live in Paradise but is close enough to be a constant reminder of how much he still loves her.
"Stone Cold" has Jesse solving two cases - one is fairly easy but the murders of random people with no seeming ties or motives by two serial killers working together has the town on edge and the lack of clues has Stone stymied. He and his department call on state resources for help and eventually Jesse thinks he has identified suspects but has no way to prove they are the killers -- until they appear to target him! Great police work by Jesse, the state, and his department finally help him to an arrest but not before tragedy strikes the Paradise police department.
The "easy" case involves a young high school girl who is gang raped by three male students who blackmail her into silence with the threat of showing pictures around that they took of their crime. The girl's mother doesn't want the case pursued because she doesn't want her daughter's name to come out but, working with the young woman and her father, Jesse is able to identify and arrest the assailants thanks to a wise woman in his department and "Suitcase" Simpson.
Jesse Stone cases may tend to be gruesome but the caring of Chief Stone shows through when he is working a case and the glimpses into his personal life struggles make him very real. I look forward to the next book in the series, "Sea Change." pazt
Thursday, September 8, 2016
"The Other Woman"
"The Other Woman" Hank Phillippi Ryan immediately caught and held my attention. Ryan is an investigative reporter in Boston and has won 27 Emmys and 10 Edward R. Murrow awards for her reporting. She's also the bestselling author of four mystery novels and has won the Agatha,Anthony, and Macavity awards. She serves on the national board of directors of Mystery Writers of America as well as Sisters In Crime. You can visit her on the Web at www.hankphillippiryan.com.
Ryan's heroine in "The Other Woman" is a disgraced TV reporter, Jane Ryland, Jane has found a job on a local newspaper and has been assigned the task of finding out why a current candidate's wife is not making public appearances.
In the meantime Detective Jake Brogan who she'd love to be romantically involved with (and he reciprocates the feeling but it would complicate both their jobs) is investigating a series of murders of women found by bridges in Boston. The media thinks there is a serial "bridge" killer on the loose but Brogan doesn't think the murders are connected but how to prove that to his boss and the media?!
As the two work their investigations separately, information begins to throw them together making them both wonder what is going on?! When a woman who was Jane's unnamed source in a story that cost her the TV reporter job, becomes one of the murder victims, Brogan begins to worry for Jane's safety. I stayed up till 2 a.m. to finish the book and I'm ready for her next one! pazt
Ryan's heroine in "The Other Woman" is a disgraced TV reporter, Jane Ryland, Jane has found a job on a local newspaper and has been assigned the task of finding out why a current candidate's wife is not making public appearances.
In the meantime Detective Jake Brogan who she'd love to be romantically involved with (and he reciprocates the feeling but it would complicate both their jobs) is investigating a series of murders of women found by bridges in Boston. The media thinks there is a serial "bridge" killer on the loose but Brogan doesn't think the murders are connected but how to prove that to his boss and the media?!
As the two work their investigations separately, information begins to throw them together making them both wonder what is going on?! When a woman who was Jane's unnamed source in a story that cost her the TV reporter job, becomes one of the murder victims, Brogan begins to worry for Jane's safety. I stayed up till 2 a.m. to finish the book and I'm ready for her next one! pazt
Monday, August 15, 2016
"Arabesk"
"Arabesk" by Barbara Nadel is her third Inspector Ikmen mystery. Although Ikmen is home on sick leave and his protege, the newly promoted Inspector Suleyman, is in charge of current cases, Ikmen cannot stay idle and manages to insinuate himself into a very complex murder that Suleyman is charged with solving. Who killed the young wife of a male singing star and where is their baby daughter? Was the star's mistress (an aging singing star herself) involved or is some other sinister force at work? What is this Arabesk music that so enthralls the working class?
The case is complex and full of twists and turns and insights into Turkey. If you like a good mystery with a little historical fiction thrown in, this is the book for you. I'm ready for the 4th book in the series! pazt.
The case is complex and full of twists and turns and insights into Turkey. If you like a good mystery with a little historical fiction thrown in, this is the book for you. I'm ready for the 4th book in the series! pazt.
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
"The Girl On The Train"
"The Girl On The Train" by Paula Hawkins is her first thriller after fifteen years as a journalist. I believe she has found her calling and I hope she already has a new novel in the works!
This is the story of two couples who live on the same street and the connections between them and Rachel. Rachel rides the commuter train every morning and every evening from the room she rents in the suburbs. She loves to look out the window at the homes along the way but there is one particular street that interests her and she gives her own names to one particular couple that her observations from the train make her deduce that they are very much in love.
When the female half of that couple goes missing, Rachel decides she must go to the police with her observations because she believes she's seen things from the train that might have a bearing on the disappearance.
However, as an alcoholic, Rachel doesn't make a very reliable witness and she tends to have blackouts that cause lapses in her memory. Her ex-husband and his new wife don't paint a very pretty picture of her behavior either so who is really going to believe her?
Hawkins writes a tale that uncovers the layers in her characters lives and bares their secrets. What everyone thought they knew to be true may only be part of the truth. Like the layers of an onion all must be peeled away to uncover the real truth in all their lives. pazt
This is the story of two couples who live on the same street and the connections between them and Rachel. Rachel rides the commuter train every morning and every evening from the room she rents in the suburbs. She loves to look out the window at the homes along the way but there is one particular street that interests her and she gives her own names to one particular couple that her observations from the train make her deduce that they are very much in love.
When the female half of that couple goes missing, Rachel decides she must go to the police with her observations because she believes she's seen things from the train that might have a bearing on the disappearance.
However, as an alcoholic, Rachel doesn't make a very reliable witness and she tends to have blackouts that cause lapses in her memory. Her ex-husband and his new wife don't paint a very pretty picture of her behavior either so who is really going to believe her?
Hawkins writes a tale that uncovers the layers in her characters lives and bares their secrets. What everyone thought they knew to be true may only be part of the truth. Like the layers of an onion all must be peeled away to uncover the real truth in all their lives. pazt
Friday, July 1, 2016
"The Round House"
"The Round House" by Louise Erdrich is a novel that was recommended to me by a friend but it has taken me a while to read it. A recent short vacation was the perfect time to give this National Book Award Finalist my full attention.
"The Round House" is mainly the story of Joe Coutts, a 14-year-old member of the Ojibwe tribe. His father is a tribal judge who married late in life and Joe is his only child. Joe's mother is a tribal enrollment specialist charged with keeping enrollment (and some secrets) confidential.
Their idyllic life is shattered when Joe's mother arrives home in a traumatized state and it takes some time to unravel details of her rape and attempted murder. Joe's father and authorities begin searching for the truth and the guilty party while his mother remains traumatized and mostly uncommunicative in her bedroom after a period of surgery and recovery in the hospital.
Although Joe's father takes him into his confidence at times, Joe decides on his own to find the person responsible for basically taking his mother away from him. His father continues to warn him to stay out of it as he is putting himself in danger.
Although this is the story of rape and justice, it's also the story of Joe's coming of age with his friends and how this family tragedy and other events that summer shape his life. It's also the story of the lengths a young boy will go to in order to restore his family and bring his mother "home."
In the afterword, Erdrich discusses how "this book is set in 1988, but the tangle of laws that hinder prosecution of rape cases on many reservations still exists. 'Maze of Injustice,' a 2009 report by Amnesty International" includes statistics.....86% of sexual assaults on Native women are by non-Native men. When President Barack Obama signed the Tribal Law and Order Act into law, he called the situation "an assault on our national conscience."
Although the subject matter is not the most pleasant, Erdrich tells the story in a way that makes it very readable as well as informative. The characters became so real to me that I believed I might encounter them in real life -- a sign of good story telling, I believe! I will be reading more of her work. pazt
"The Round House" is mainly the story of Joe Coutts, a 14-year-old member of the Ojibwe tribe. His father is a tribal judge who married late in life and Joe is his only child. Joe's mother is a tribal enrollment specialist charged with keeping enrollment (and some secrets) confidential.
Their idyllic life is shattered when Joe's mother arrives home in a traumatized state and it takes some time to unravel details of her rape and attempted murder. Joe's father and authorities begin searching for the truth and the guilty party while his mother remains traumatized and mostly uncommunicative in her bedroom after a period of surgery and recovery in the hospital.
Although Joe's father takes him into his confidence at times, Joe decides on his own to find the person responsible for basically taking his mother away from him. His father continues to warn him to stay out of it as he is putting himself in danger.
Although this is the story of rape and justice, it's also the story of Joe's coming of age with his friends and how this family tragedy and other events that summer shape his life. It's also the story of the lengths a young boy will go to in order to restore his family and bring his mother "home."
In the afterword, Erdrich discusses how "this book is set in 1988, but the tangle of laws that hinder prosecution of rape cases on many reservations still exists. 'Maze of Injustice,' a 2009 report by Amnesty International" includes statistics.....86% of sexual assaults on Native women are by non-Native men. When President Barack Obama signed the Tribal Law and Order Act into law, he called the situation "an assault on our national conscience."
Although the subject matter is not the most pleasant, Erdrich tells the story in a way that makes it very readable as well as informative. The characters became so real to me that I believed I might encounter them in real life -- a sign of good story telling, I believe! I will be reading more of her work. pazt
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