BIG GUNS

STEVE ISRAEL

Big Guns by Steve Israel is big fun. Mr. Israel writes what he knows. Politics, money, deals, back-room brawls and promises, most of which are bought and paid for with taxpayer money

Here we find a novice southern congressperson in search of popularity and political currency. What better way than to legislate your way to fame by requiring that all Americans be armed? As you wend your way through this extremely funny and topical satire you cry as much as you laugh. Because Big Guns is dead on perfect. The characters are comical and believable, and the pot they stir is reflective of today’s Washington. Along the way we meet the star of the show, a vivacious and pretty D.C. lobbyist, whose only desire is to increase her income and her reputation, by any means necessary. Throw in a leftist mayor from the Gold Coast of New York and her agenda and you end up with a tremendously funny, cogent, and marvelous read. You win my vote, Mr. Israel.

THE REAL MICHAEL SWANN

BRYAN REARDON

The Real Michael Swann is as good as I had hoped, and better. The premise is this: A bomb has been detonated in Midtown Manhattan. Who is responsible? And why. Is it terrorist from abroad, or domestic terrorists? The writer takes us into the heart and mind of the terrorist and his family. At first, Ms. Swann is incredulous. She cannot believe that her husband has committed this unspeakable act. True – their marriage is a bit rocky, and he has lost his job. But would that make Michael Swann throw away everything and kill hundreds? We follow along as the terrorist tries to explain to himself that he has done and why. How could he do what he did? These and other questions are answered in this fast paced, thrilling, and captivating novel.

PIRATA

PATRICK HASBURGH

Pirata by Patrick Hasburgh is a wild, crazy, fun, and refreshing beach/family novel.
Nick Lutz was a family-oriented person, selling cars in Southern California. That changed when he was hijacked while demonstrating a Chevy to a potential customer/car hijacker. Something happens, and Nick leaves his family and lands in a small Mexican beach village. Here he struggles to find a new life and to figure out what happened to his old one. Along the way he meets friends, girlfriends, thieves, and two kids who make him rethink what he is doing.

Throw in descriptive surf scenes, drugs and cartels and you have a fine book written by an equally gifted author. Surf’s up – buy Pirata and enjoy the wave.

CUT YOU DOWN

SAM WIEBE

Cut You Down is the second entry into what is an enjoyable and entertaining novel staring Vancouver, B.C. P.I. David Wakeland. Based in Western Canada, Cut You Down not only is a first-class story but also offers views of Vancouver, a city not familiar to many.

Wakeland specializes in finding missing persons. Here, he is hired to find Tabitha Sorenson, a college student who may have misappropriated university funds. This seems especially straightforward until it is not. Mix in a shady client who wants to find Tabitha, a mob connection related to another case, a dirty cop, and you have a compulsory P.I. novel of the best kind. And do make sure that you read Invisible Dead the initial Wakeland novel, as well as Last of The Independents, a tremendous stand alone.

ALL THE BEAUTIFUL LIES

PETER SWANSON

All The Beautiful Lies by Peter Swanson is a beautifully written mystery that smacks of Patricia Highsmith and Alfred Hitchcock. The twists and turns are unpredictable, tantalizing, and unbearable. All The Beautiful Lies is a siren that compels you to read and finish in one sitting.

Harry Ackerson is a run of the mill college student who has just graduated. When his father dies unexpectedly, he rushes back to small-town Maine to reunite with his stepmother. Something does not ring quite true. Why is his stepmother so cloying? How did his father die? In addition, what is happening at the rare bookstore that his father ran with his part-time employee? Superficially, all is well, but is it? You MUST read this outstanding novel. It is great.

TWISTED PREY

JOHN SANDFORD

John Sanford always writes an enthralling and unique story. Twisted Prey is no exception. For those of us who have followed Lucas Davenport since his first outing, reading another installment is like hanging out with a friend who happens to be a police officer. In this instance Lucas is not working for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the B.C.A. but for the U.S. Marshall Service.

He is on the track of a doer who has attempted to assassinate a U.S. Senator. What happens next is why the book is entitled what it is. The reader is taken through a maze of twists and turns, meeting various bad dudes who are selling weapons off the books, plotting killings, robbery, and fraud on a massive scale. All of this is thrown at Lucas as he tries to decipher what is going on and who is responsible for the attempted killing.

My advice is to buy Twisted Prey as soon as it is available. If you have never
read Sanford, read his entire back list of Prey novels, and then hit the equally entertaining Virgil Flowers books. You will have a wonderful time.

BY HIS OWN HAND

NEAL GRIFFIN

By His Own Hand is the third compelling entry of the Det. Tia Suarez Newberg, WI series. The book is a great stand alone and is also fantastic for all who have followed Det. Suarez since the inception of the series.

Det. Suarez is an investigator on a small police force in a small town that has big city crime. Here she comes across an apparent suicide. All signs at the scene indicate death by shotgun administered by the victim. The story unfolds rapidly as we encounter players both within and ancillary to the department and the investigation. The action is realistic and well depicted by a practiced procedural writer. The Newburg series is a helluva lot of fun. It reads quickly, as you are propelled into the confusing, twisty, and realistic investigation.

THE DOLLAR-A-YEAR DETECTIVE

WILLIAM WELLS

William Wells is a guy I love to read. He authors an involving story full of cool police procedural jargon. He also includes enough humor to remind me of Paul Levine, SV Date, and even the king of the Florida caper, Carl Hiaasen.

The Dollar-A-Year Detective starts with a couple taking a romantic sail of the coast of Florida. A minute later, they are dead from two head shots from an unknown assailant.

Jack Starkey, our protagonist, is a retired Chicago homicide detective living on his houseboat and running his bar. Occasionally he is asked to look at a case and lend a hand to the locals. That is exactly what he does in The Dollar-A-Year Detective. We meet your typical scummy politicians and others who populate that weird place called Florida. Why the victims are murdered and by whom is what this entertaining book is about. Throw in a great police sense of humor, memorable characters, and terrific scenery. You then have a must read P.I. novel that will keep you up all night, laughing and wondering what happened. And keep in mind the author’s initial entry, Detective Fiction. Worth the read.

WRECKED

JOE IDE

I review a lot of mysteries and thrillers. Many are mediocre and only a few standout, especially from first time writers. Joe Ide has written excellent mysteries, IQ and Righteous. Both are captivating. Wrecked is the third of the IQ series. Isaiah Quintabe, IQ for short is a Long Beach, California based P.I. He earned his rep by solving cases both small and big.

In Wrecked, Isaiah is asked to find a missing person, the mother of his putative girlfriend. The action starts from page one, and never stops until the novel concludes. I will not reveal much of the plot. Only those humans are capable of horrendous behavior, especially during war. Pictures, videos, and blackmail, all fragrant ingredients in Wrecked, the third entry into what should be a terrific series.

THE BIG GAMBLE

MIKE FARICY

Mike Faricy’s The Big Gamble is a sure-fire winner in the long-established and winning Dev Haskell Private Investigator series. Faricy writes with a sure and confident hand emblematic of Hiaasen, Sanford, and other luminaries writing in the P.I and mystery field.

The Big Gamble is populated with crooks, gangsters, attractive women, police officers, office mates, and one heroic dog. Dev is asked to investigate the apparent suicide of a woman he knew in high school. At first, it looks like any other suicide and the police classify it as such and close the case. But Dev sees inconsistencies that lead him to dig deep into the Minnesota winter and find out why a happy and outgoing young woman would take her life.

The Big Gamble is another winner in this long-running series that readers will hope continues until Dev is too old to pursue criminals and love.

BAD TO THE BONE

MIKE FARICY

Bad to the Bone is the 29th in author Mike Faricy's reliable and consistently entertaining Dev Haskell Private Investigator series. Bad to the Bone features all familiar characters that we have grown to like, if not love. The story plays out against a seemingly straightforward homicide that Dev is investigating on behalf of the accused's mother. Dev also investigates a suspicious recycling company with no equipment or employees. Amusing dialog with Louie, his office mate, various women, and Dev's loyal dog and companion Morton complete a fun filled P.I. novel that will leave fans new and old chomping for more.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE!

MIKE FARICY

Surprise, Surprise! by talented and entertaining author Mike Faricy again delivers the goods in spades. His loveable and less-than-perfect characters abound as the story unfolds as only Faricy can compose. Dev Haskell, our favorite private investigator, is summoned by his non-paying, dangerous client and criminal Tubby Gustafson to escort Tubby's daughter around town. Meanwhile, Dev picks up an attractive yet unpredictable female who claims her husband is cheating on her. Dev gladly takes on this seductive client but finds no wrongdoing. Matters heat up in both cases while Dev consults with Louie, his long-time office partner, and Mort, his ever-present pork rind eating Labrador retriever.

Surprise, Surprise! is Number 31 in this long-running, entertaining, and well-put-together series. Read every one of them. There is no better way to spend your time.

THE PLOT

JEAN HANFF KORELITZ

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz is a strikingly excellent novel that combines the best of literary fiction and commercial readability. With the publication of The Plot, Jean Hanff Korelitz has captured a willing audience that is always on the lookout for a fantastic story told in a gripping and unpredictable manner. The Plot centers on a failed writer who happens to come across a manuscript shown to him by a student. The undeveloped story has potential but remains stillborn until the failed writer decides to resurrect his career. What happens next is the stuff of one of the best novels of this or any other year. Fiction is a window to our souls. And the Plot rips open our skin and delivers a red-hot flame that burns until the reader is left gasping for air.

MATTERS OF DOUBT

WARREN C. EASLEY

Matters of Doubt by Warren C. Easley is the first of an eight-book series. It features a straight-ahead, honest, and determined attorney, Cal Claxton living in rural Oregon. Cal's client is a young man whose mother has been murdered. This egregious offense motivated Cal to do what he can to bring the killer to answer for his crime. Taking up the cause of his client offends Cal’s friends and some of his associates. But no matter what, Cal is obligated to collect the evidence and solve the murder. And along the way, we become familiar with Cal's personality and work habits. We also gain a picture of Portland, Oregon, and its problems typical of a large city in the United States. Matters of Doubt is a stand-alone winner and serves as an outstanding springboard for the author's future work.

THE BURNING

JONATHAN AND JESSE KELLERMAN

The Burning by John and his son Jesse Kellerman is another entertaining and thoughtful mystery involving more than just a who done it? The novel begins when Clay Edison, a deputy coroner for Berkeley, California, is called to a homicide of a wealthy victim. All is on the up and up until Clay finds his brother's old car in the victim's garage. Very strange because why would Clay's brother Luke, an ex-con, have a connection to the victim? Nobody hears from Luke, and Clay launches his search, hoping to reestablish his relationship. Clay discovers that somebody may have been following Luke, making Clay more determined to solve this mystery.

The Burning is mystery and suspense at its best.

WHERE THEY WAIT

SCOTT CARSON

Scott Carson, A.K.A. Michael Koryta, is a multi-talented author who knows how to scare the h**l out of you. With the ubiquity of apps, why not have one that will improve your mental state and outlook? That is what happens in Where They Wait. Nick Bishop decides to test an app that promises big rewards, increased sleep, and a perfect perspective. What he encounters is far more than what he bargained. Truths about his life and past emerge in ways unbeknownst and frightening. Where They Wait offers a fresh take on what disturbs us the most—our lives and regrets.

CHARLESTON NOIR

TOM TURNER

Charleston Noir by Tom Turner is an outstanding and entertaining mystery/procedural. The pages turn rapidly, leaving the reader wanting more adventures with Homicide cops Nick Janzek and Delvin Rhett.

History is a good teacher, and the perp in Charleston Noir is an exemplary student. Bodies abound from the get-go, and the determined investigators have difficulty making sense of the crimes, not to mention shedding light on possible motives. The story unfolds logically, inviting the reader to observe the detectives at their best and worst. Charleston Noir is a great read and part of Turner's ever-expanding list of titles.

SAVANNAH ROADKILL

TOM TURNER

Tom Turner’s Savannah Roadkill exceeds the high standards set with his first Savannah mystery, The Savannah Madam, based in and around Savannah, Georgia. The intrigue commences quickly as the father of a murdered professional tennis player hires Jackie and Ryder Farrell, private investigators, to find the perpetrators. The story develops rapidly and promptly becomes more intriguing than a straightforward homicide. Drug dealing, revenge, jealousy, and ambition are on stage as the plot comes into and out of focus. Turner keeps the pages turning as the reader attempts to solve the case before the action comes to a stop.

Turner is a pleasure to read. Fans will be thrilled to discover his lengthy backlist featuring Detective Charlie Crawford in the long-running Palm Beach series and a telling and contemporary stand-alone soon to come.

PALM BEACH PIRANHA

TOM TURNER

Palm Beach Piranha the prolific and talented Tom Turner, is another captivating, amusing, and eminently enjoyable procedural staring former N.Y.P.D. Detective Charlie Crawford and his partner, Mort Ott. And, of course, the supporting cast of various girlfriends and bosses in the Palm Beach Police department. The story unfolds as Charlie's ex-wife is found D.O.A. Recently marital problems point to the husband, but this guy is one intelligent and slimy perp. Making matters worse is that he is a doctor with money and excuses that make it difficult for Charlie to make a solid case. Ott and Charlie pursue the ex-husband to New York and back to Florida but come up with nothing.

Meanwhile, an older wealthy billionaire is being held ransom until he transfers 20 million dollars to a pair of stupid but entertaining low-lives. Charlie and Ott track them down to Puerto Rico and other islands before making their bust.

Palm Beach Piranha is another successful example of escapism at its best. Turner is a master and deserves the large readership that makes him an author to watch and follow.

THE FIELDS

ERIN YOUNG

The Fields by newcomer Erin Young is outstanding from the first page until last. The action is detailed and sometimes graphic, encouraging readers to remember Thomas Harris and The Silence of the Lambs.

The Fields takes place in the American Midwest, evoking images of millions of acres of farmland populated by never-ending corn stalks. It is here where newly promoted investigator Sgt. Riley Fisher of the Black Hawk County Sheriff's office starts her day. Farmers discover a body while using a drown. When Sgt. Fisher inspects the scene she finds that the victim was a friend many years ago. Bodies pile up as quickly as clues as Fisher attempts to untangle a frightening and logic-defying series of homicides.

The author plans on a series with Sgt. Fisher as the star attraction. Readers will hope that the author can write as quickly as they can read.