THE SECOND GIRL

DAVID SWINSON

I just finished The Second Girl by David Swinson. I am depressed because the second installment of this outstanding and absorbing P.I. novel is not due until the summer of 2017. Think Pelecanos, David Simon’s The Wire, and Homicide, Life On the Street, illustrious and legendary police procedurals whether on television or in book form.

Our hero is a drug addicted former Washington D.C. narcotics detective. The only thing he likes more than Valium, cocaine, and liquor is solving crimes that the cops cannot solve. He does not have to have probable cause to stop somebody, which means that he can do whatever he feels is necessary to find a resolution to the crime. Our P.I. is hired to find a missing girl. Is she a runaway or a kidnapping victim? Who took her and why? You must buy this book on June seventh. Then block out a day or two to travel the dirty, dangerous, and unpredictable streets that surround our nation’s capital. I assure you that you will never feel the same about gangs, kids, and crime.

BRIGHTON

MICHAEL HARVEY

I am going to quote Stephen King,“Brighton is the f**king bomb.” I started this outstanding and superb novel yesterday and finished it this afternoon. Brighton reminds me of Dennis Lehane at his best, and that is the highest praise that I can offer. Every page offers subtleties and inferences that ask the reader to keep on reading. And believe me, the rewards are absolutely worth the effort.

Brighton has it all. Crime, criminals, drugs, scumbags, inveterate gamblers, cops, lawyers, and reporters. This recipe for trouble starts in Boston in the 1970s. Families and friends doing what they must to survive. So, what if people are shot, strangled, drowned, and stabbed. All part of the fabric of America. The beauty is how the writer seams together all the events and characters to make Brighton one of the most intriguing, fascinating, and time monopolizing novels that I have had the privilege of reading.

THE SAMARITAN

MASON CROSS

I was unfamiliar with the author Mason Cross when I read this book. The Samaritan is simply a great piece of writing. Think of Lee Child and Jack Reacher. Once you have done that then you will know what to expect from this wonderful book. This is a book that begs you to keep on reading until the very end. Every character is well drawn and after a few pages you are immersed in a world replete with violence, mystery, crime, punishment, and revenge. This is a place that you will love to inhabit and be loath to leave.

No comment on the plot or denouement. Buy this today. I promise that you will get your money’s worth. And when you have finished this buy the first Mason Cross book, The Killing Season.

THE KILLING SEASON

MASON CROSS

This thriller captures your attention from the first few pages. When a book starts with, “the first thing you should know about me is that my name is not Carter Blake” you know it is going to be a fun and exciting novel. Mason Cross captures your attention and says to you, block out the next couple of days because you are not doing anything else except reading The Killing Season. And believe me, you will do just that. I am always looking for the next Lee Child and Jack Reacher and I have found them. Carter Blake is a man for all reasons, especially if you must find somebody. In The Killing Season he is hired by the F.B.I. to find an escaped serial killer. The only problem is that this guy has been trained to kill by the best, the United States Marines. Think of the movie, American Sniper, and how well the soldier was taught to kill. Now imagine the same caliber serial killer loose in the Midwest of the United States. Here is the premise of The Killing Season, a truly absorbing, exciting, and entertaining book written by Mason Cross.

WINTERLONG

MASON CROSS

I said this once before and it bears repeating: Mason Cross and his protagonist Carter Blake give Lee Child and Jack Reacher a run for their money. Winterlong is a tremendously suspenseful, engaging, and entertaining thriller. Carter Blake is our hero. And just like Jack Reacher he is immensely entertaining resourceful and engaging. In this the third installment of the Carter Blake series he is on the run trying to escape from his former employers, a shady deep cover operations group called Winterlong. I don't want to give away anymore intricacies of the plot. This is an utmost entertaining and absorbing novel. I read this book in about three days, postponing other reviews that I had been working on. Buy every single one of the three Carter Blake thrillers, they are simply outstanding.

DON’T LOOK FOR ME

MASON CROSS

Make no mistake, I am a huge Mason Cross fan. Every novel he writes is exciting and involving. Don’t Look For me is no exception. This time out, Carter Blake, formerly of the shadow laced government-sponsored agency, Winterlong, receives an email asking him to find somebody he knew six years ago. With very little to go on, we accompany Carter as he crosses America, looking for his target.
During this great novel, Carter meets and battles a hit-man type, dirty cops, and a do-gooder who does not know what she is in for. Is the person Carter is looking for a criminal or just somebody who has reasons of their own to disappear? And why are so many people interested in finding the missing person?
All of that and much more await the reader of this wonderful suspense novel written by Mason Cross. If you are smart you will read Don’t Look For Me, and then buy the first three entries in this well-written and engrossing thriller series.

DR. KNOX

PETER SPEIGELMAN

This is one helluva enjoyable read. Peter Spiegelman knows how to write an intriguing, absorbing, and colorful novel. Dr. Adam Knox is not like any doctor you know. He lives in downtown Los Angeles amongst the pimps, dealers, whores, and homeless. He patches them together and hopes for the best. To pay his bills he makes house calls on those who pay cash because they are too notorious or famous to go to a hospital or conventional clinic.

We find Dr. Knox rescuing and treating an abandoned child after doing the same for child’s presumptive mother. People are looking for the kid and his mom. And not people like you and me. What ensues is dangerous, exciting, horrible, and terrific.

Pick up Dr. Knox. I promise that you will experience a fascinating look at people who you do not run into during your everyday life.

ESCAPE CLAUSE

JOHN SANDFORD

This is another wonderfully entertaining, absorbing, and compelling police procedural. Virgil Flowers is the unorthodox Minnesota based Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent who is always involved in weird and dangerous crimes.

This time out Flowers is tasked to find a pair of rare and endangered tigers that have been stolen from the Twin Cities Zoo. Who would commit this crime and of equal import, why? Flowers has many tools at his disposal least of all his service weapon which he rarely uses largely because he is a terrible shot. Fortunately for him and for us, he is a superb investigator who relies on his experience, acumen, and network of associates, witnesses, and criminals.

Beside the missing tigers, Flowers must take care of a violent man who has beat up his girlfriend’s sister who is researching illegal employment practices at a local pickle factory. Add this to the intriguing tiger tale and you have another fascinating, gripping, and compulsively readable mystery written by Mr. Sandford, one of the absolute best in the field.

BURNING BRIGHT

NICK PETRIE

Nick Petrie is one of my favorite thriller writers. He reminds me of Lee Child which in my eyes Burning Bright is about as good as it gets. Petrie catches you from page one and never lets you go. You will need to clear your schedule as I did when you start this involving, exciting, and well plotted second entry of the Peter Ash series.

Burning Bright is a book that is perfect at any time, especially when you are in the mood for action, a fascinating and exciting plot, and a well-told story. My advice- read THE DRIFTER, the initial entry of this already well-established series and immediately buy BURNING BRIGHT. Then wait as I did for another wonderful book in this great series.

LIGHT IT UP

NICK PETRIE

I have read all three of the Peter Ash novels written by Nick Petrie. Each of them has been exciting, entertaining, and absorbing. Light it up is no exception. In this installment we find our hero, Peter Ash, a retired but still-in-the-game marine vet, employed by a high-end security company whose clients are commercial marijuana growers in Colorado. There is plenty of cash that cannot be deposited in banks due to federal banking prohibitions. Where does it go and how does it get there?

Peter Ash works for the security company, transferring cash to its destination. The problem – crooks are watching as the cash leaves the client’s businesses. A shipment of cash has been highjacked and people are dead. What happens after that is for you to find out. Buy Light It Up. You will have a terrific time.

A FALLING KNIFE

ANDREW CASE

Discovering Andrew Case and The Hollow City series is like discovering gold. The Big Fear was a tremendous novel, and A Falling Knife is just as good. In this the second entry into the series the reader is transported to the borough of Brooklyn where buildings are going up as fast as the stock market. However, something is not right. People are dying, money is changing hands and our hero, and his counterparts are desperate to find out why. Is a large development company at the heart of the problem, and most of all why a certain detective is more dedicated to doing his twenty than solving the case.

Andrew Case writes about what he knows. He knows cops, the inner workings of the N.Y.P.D and how it all comes together. My only hope is that Mr. Case continues writing more in this wonderful series. However, if he chooses to explore other areas, I know that I will be happy. Do yourself a solid buy The Big Fear and A Falling Knife as soon as possible. Andrew case is an author that once discovered is like gold that you will treasure and keep around forever.

THE DIME

KATHLEEN KENT

I really like THE DIME by Kathleen Kent. I hope that this is the beginning of a long and intriguing series. Det.Rhyzyk, our protagonist is a transplanted New Yorker who now works narcotics for the Dallas P.D. If that is not difficult enough, what make matters more challenging she is also a lesbian. Ordinarily that would not be problematic, but sexual orientation on the job is an issue. Our hero is involved in a variety of drug busts, dealing with your typical low-life scum and perps. Bodies start to accumulate when Det. Rhyzyk and her squad discover a meth dealing cult.

THE DIME is a well-written captivating police procedural. I highly recommend that you read this novel. After finishing, you will want another serving of this entertaining and involving story.

THE DRY

JANE HARPER

I was unfamiliar with the brilliant writer of the equally excellent mystery, The Dry. Ms. Harper’s writing is piercing while developing fascinating plots and back stories. I read The Dry in two days. The descriptions of Australia rang true which added authenticity to this mesmerizing, beautifully crafted debut mystery. The characters were mightily conceived and believable. The Dry transported me to a foreign land where anything can happen. Grab this book as soon as you can, you will have no regrets.

THE BRIDGE

STUART PREBBLE

This psychological drama grabbed me from page one. An unknown man commits a series of indescribable crimes, yet the consequences are as bad as the crimes themselves. Imagine a sunny day and then picture the worst thing that can happen. Now you have an idea about what this absorbing wonderful book is about. I don't want to say anything else about THE BRIDGE except that it is a book worth buying on March 17th the first day that is available. I adored this book and I heartily recommend it for those of you who have never read a psychological drama or for those of you who do nothing but read books like this.

THE INSECT FARM

STUART PREBBLE

This is one hell of an enjoyable read. At first the reader is not exactly sure what is going on but as the pages turn the reader finds himself immersed in a murky world of insects, mental retardation, and murder. The plot is involving, and the premise is interesting and uncommon. My advice to the any reader is buy this book and await the arrival of The Bridge, the writer’s next excellent novel.

FATAL OPTION

CHRIS BEAKEY

This twisty and unpredictable psycho-thriller reminds all of us how vulnerable we are to doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. The plot is amazingly simple; a family-oriented person gets into a traffic accident, but the results are far from uncomplicated. The book gains momentum and the reader must turn the pages to find out what happens to this ordinary family battling far from ordinary events. My advice to you is to not drive in the snow and if you do avoid what happens in this involving and irresistible look at something that could happen to all of us.

INVISIBLE DEAD

SAM WIEBE

Sam Wiebe is an impressive writer. I absolutely loved his first novel, Last of The Independents. As soon as I started it, I wanted him to draft another book. And he just did, writing another moody, atmospheric, grey, and pensive novel, Invisible Dead.

It takes place in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. The plot is initially straight forward. A girl went missing a long time ago. Dave Wakeland, an earnest P.I. wants to find out what happened to the missing girl. Unfortunately, more than a few people, both good and evil, do not want her found. We accompany Dave as he deals with Vancouver’s meanest, deadliest, and scummiest. This is what being a P.I. is like. No glamour, girls, and glitz. Just hard-nosed reality in all its glory and gloom.

How Dave carries himself propels the reader rapidly through the story. Take a day or two to familiarize yourself with Dave Wakeland, a P.I. that has lived through a lot but can still talk about it. Once you read Invisible Dead you will cheer and root for another outstanding Dave Wakeland novel. I know I will.

SKITTER

EZEKIEL BOONE

Skitter is the second of Ezekiel Boone’s superbly entertaining, cinematic, and down-right fun end of the world novel. The Hatching, the initial entry was simply great fun and Skitter is even better. We pick up where we left off, spiders of unknown origin, have invaded the planet. Our heroes, if there are any, are the scientists madly working to find an answer to the ever-worsening catastrophe. So far, without any luck. The book follows a variety of characters as they cope with this invasion. What happens next is anybody’s guess. The only good news is that there is another installment on the way. Do yourself a favor – buy Skitter and The Hatching and settle back for tons of fun.

ZERO DAY

EZEKIEL BOONE

Zero Day by Ezekiel Boone is the third part of this tremendously fun and entertaining end of the world trilogy. In this case, it is imperative that you read the first two entries, The Hatching and Skitter.

The premise is simple. Man- eating spiders have infested the entire world and there is nothing to stop the rampant destruction and chaos. Hundreds of millions of people are in danger and nobody knows what to do.

Enter our players, politicians, Presidents, police, military, scientists of all stripes, and ordinary civilians.
What ensues in Zero Day is a marvelously entertaining and cinematic tale of destruction, redemption, and all-around fun. Buy The Hatching and Skitter and then read Zero Day. You will have a wonderful time.

PENDULUM

ADAM HAMDY

Pendulum by Adam Hamdy is just that. The story kept me swinging back and forth, racing along the streets of London and New York trying to avoid a nameless and faceless killer particularly good at his job. What captured my attention and held it long into the night was an elemental yet frightening question. Who is trying to kill our hero, and why? Along the way, in this entertaining and wild ride, we meet unknowing and undeserving victims from all occupations. But are they what they seem? The truth is revealed late in the game which means that you must race through to the end. The ride is wild, bewildering, and fantastic. I loved this book and hope for more by this talented and innovative writer.