EARLY GRAVE

PAUL LEVINE

It has been my pleasure to read all of Paul Levine's novels, especially his Jake Lassiter books, of which there have been many. And unlike some writers, every Lassiter mystery is enthralling, witty, and raucous. Paul Levine started this fantastic series with To Speak For The Dead and has now concluded it with  Early Grave.

Jake Lassiter, formerly of the Miami Dolphins, became a rough-and-tumble everyman's lawyer after his career petered out in the N.F.L. Killers, drug dealers, extortionists, you name it, and Jake defended the alleged perpetrator. All the while having a romantic time with the ladies and even taking over guardianship of his nephew, Kip. Now Jake is old and in mediocre health. One night, he watches his friend's son playing high school football and takes a vicious hit. The coach sends him back in, and therein lies the problem. The player seems paralyzed and deathly injured. Jake sees this and decides that High School football is too dangerous and contributes to Chronic Traumatic encephalopathy, the illness that can lead to grave diseases and strokes. Jake decides to file suit to stop football from playing in Florida until safety reforms are integrated. What follows is a topical and necessary examination of America's most popular sport, centered around realistic, sympathetic, and greedy people who stand to lose financially if Jake and his legal team pull off a miracle.

Paul Levine provides a well-written, logical, and entertaining novel that shines a bright light on Jake and all that has been endearing to his readers over the past 32 years.

SLEEPLESS CITY

R.F. COLEMAN

R.F. Coleman is as good a police procedural writer as there is. And that says a lot in a sometimes overcrowded field filled with mundane and banal writing and writers. Coleman has many novels, most recently writing for the late great Robert Parker estate.

It has been a few years since Coleman's last effort using characters of his imagination. And the reader is better off for it. The Sleepless City focuses on Nick Ryan, an Afghanistan veteran who worked undercover for NYPD. Nick's father was also NYPD and became a modern-day Serpico, exposing corruption and deceit among his fellow cops, and for that, there are consequences. A few wealthy citizens hire Nick. While on this job, he also agrees to help a young cop, the son of a major power player within NYPD. The tension mounts as he continues his initial investigation. Eventually, a reporter for a small paper attempts to discover what Nick is up to; as this happens, fires, shootings, and mayhem occur. The Sleepless City is a vastly entertaining procedural that will leave readers begging for more. And who better to meet that demand than R.F. Coleman, a master crime fiction writer.

CATCH AND RELEASE

TRACE CONGER

Catch And Release by Trace Conger grabs its audience at page one and never lets up. Readers stay engaged and laser-focused in Conger’s newest and memorable Connor Harding thriller.

Somebody needs finding, and Connor Harding is the go-to when trouble brews. Harding is asked, A.K.A. forced to find the person who killed a hit man's family. Connor has few clues and not much time to succeed.

He follows a trail of postcards sent to the hit man, each describing the violence suffered by the victims. The action is swift, and the writing concise as Connor gets closer to finding the doer of the crime. Or so we think.

Catch And Release is captivating, unpredictable, and great fun. Conger is an established crime writer with an extensive back list that should be read by anyone who appreciates a great crime novelist.

FINDING JAKE

BRYAN REARDON

This involving tale is not available until 2015 but please pick it up when you can. The novel deals with a family and a school shooting. I am not going to say anything else. The book is incredibly good.

POINT OF BALANCE

J.G. JURADO

I just finished this outrageously absorbing and fantastic thriller. I was completely taken in and captured by its premise, which is not new. Someone wants to kill the President of the United States. You say,” big deal”, seen it and read it. Sorry – you most definitely have not read this story. From the very beginning this book is imaginative and the characters are delineated with spectacular clarity and precision. You know who is good and who is not, but what will they do to remain that way? Betray everything that they believe in and for what? Read this book today. But today better be a weekend because there will be nothing more urgent than finishing this original, mesmerizing, and truly unpredictable novel. This is why you read.

THE SHADOW BROKER

TRACE CONGER

I was fortunate to obtain a promotional copy of this outstanding P.I. novel by Trace Conger. I had not heard of this writer and started reading it with minimal expectations. Wow—was I wrong. Believe me, Mr. Conger knows how to write and write amazingly well. I am in love with the Shadow Broker and Mr. Finn the protagonist in this creative, diverting, and involving novel. The characters are colorful, dynamic, and realistically drawn. The dialog is believable given what this wonderful novel is about.

I was dejected when I finished “Shadow Broker.” Only when I read that Mr. Conger is working on his second book was I again as happy as I was when reading this well-written and entertaining novel.

SCAR TISSUE

TRACE CONGER

I am not a snob when it comes to my P.I. novels. Give me believable characters, a plausible plot, and beautifully written prose. That is all anybody wants. Mr. Conger supplies all of these with style, grace, and elegant simplicity. Mr. Finn is a defrocked P.I who takes on jobs that others may not want or be able to accept. This time he does a good deed for his ex-wife. We all know the saying “No good deed goes unpunished.” Mr. Finn gets his in spades. A maniacal thug, a down-to-earth mobster and a misguided doctor all come at Finn with their own agenda. Money, drugs, violence in insignificant amounts and credible dialogue make Scar Tissue a must buy and read. More good news: Mr. Conger is hard at work with another Finn book. Stay tuned. I know that I will.

THE PRISON GUARD’S SON

TRACE CONGER

I am a huge fan of the Mr. Finn Novels. The Prison Guard’s Son is no exception. Right from the jump I was captivated and involved with the story. This time Mr. Finn is hired to find two men who would rather not be found. Why, I will not reveal. The story is straight forward, and the action is sudden and surprising.
The Mr. Finn novels are professionally written and offer a superior example of the P.I. novel. Here is my suggestion – Get on the case right now. Buy all three of the Mr. Finn novels and feel what it is like to be a P.I.

FIVE WILL DIE

TRACE CONGER

“Five Will Die” by Trace Conger is an enthralling and vastly superior police procedural. The pages disappear at astounding speed, and the novel holds you captive from page one. Five Will Die is a beautiful novel that delivers on every page.

The narrative unfolds in a rural Ohio town as we meet the Sheriff, a former Cleveland homicide detective relocated in hopes of getting cats out of trees instead of catching murderers. The Sheriff receives a threatening note, and soon after, bodies start dropping. Is a serial killer on the move, or are the crimes unrelated? Do the victims share common victimology, or is it all just coincidence? Soon the F.B.I. is asked to help. The interplay between the locals and the feds is entertaining, and mentioned databases like V.I.C.A.P. and N.C.I.C. ring actual. Conger knows his subject well. He is a gifted storyteller who has provided us with an extraordinarily satisfying procedural. Readers will hurry to buy and read the author's hugely diverting backlist.

GRAVESEND

J.L. ABRAMO

I was absolutely enchanted and enthralled by this outstanding crime novel. But it was much more than a novel about good guys and bad. It was a magic roller coaster ride through Brooklyn and the rest of New York.

The characters are as real as life and as difficult and memorable. Every page describes people and situations that have or could happens to any of us. The police are fragile and vulnerable, and their families suffer from their devotion to duty. We want the detectives to overcome adversity, make the arrest, and clear the case. But like life, some of the cases are too difficult to close and sometimes nobody gets collared

The bad guys in this gorgeous story are bad and deserve their fate. Their victims are innocents who are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Make sure that you buy this book. See Brooklyn and its inhabitants like you have never seen them. What a book.

BROOKLYN JUSTICE

J.L. ABRAMO

I am a huge fan of J.L. Abramo. In Brooklyn Justice we see just how talented a writer he is. P.I. Nick Ventura is scratching out a living in Brooklyn, the poor sister to the more glamorous borough of Manhattan. In Brooklyn Justice Nick has to deal with a variety of problems including a murdered detective, a film distributor who wants to be a gangster and the real thing, a dead Mafioso. Even though Brooklyn is known as the Borough of Churches, there is nothing saintly or reverent about this book. My advice – Buy Brooklyn Justice when it is available. Call in sick and be prepared to hang out in a dangerous neighborhood with a more than capable guide.

CONEY ISLAND AVENUE

J.L. ABRAMO

I absolutely loved this book. Mr. Abramo is one of my favorite writers. After reading GRAVESEND, I begged his publisher to have Mr. Abramo write a sequel. And what a sequel it is. Not only is it a continuation of GRAVESEND but even better. It stands by itself as a deeply involving, glorious, amusing, entertaining, and tremendously satisfying procedural. This is how great Coney Island Avenue is:

I was all over the boroughs this past week. The day before leaving I told my wife I was going to Coney Island. I wanted to get a first-hand look at the locations that had mesmerized me so much. Some of you may remember that on January seventh New York experienced a snowstorm. I was undeterred by the snow and only did not complete my mission due to my wife's insistence.

I demand, plead, and cajole you to read this book. Mr. Abramo knows how to write cops, criminals, and everyone in between. And I implore him to write another entry in this outstandingly excellent series.

THE FORGOTTEN ROOM

LINCOLN CHILD

I like this author a lot. Yes, I know he is an eningmologist and shades of Dan Brown. Call me a sucker for weird science. I have read all his books and have liked each of them. This is about a room in a mansion. What goes on in this room and why are people flipping out and acting strangely? You will have to read this to find out. Do not worry, I read it in three days about two hours per day. A lot of fun.

A VOICE FROM THE FIELD

NEAL GRIFFIN

This is another winning entry in the Newberg Novels written by Neal Griffin. This time out Tia Suarez is in the middle of a human trafficking ring that threatens to destroy her career when she investigates a missing girl. The locals do not want the case. Eventually the feds—led by an unidentified and mysterious security agency—big foot the case, leaving Tia and her boss out in the cold. Tia has no doubt that a girl has been kidnapped but the federal boys have a different objective in mind. They want to bring down a pervasive gang who claim to want to defend America and what it stands for. Tia must convince her chief and her colleagues that there is a missing girl hiding in the small town of Newberg.

Readers will instantly like and care for Tia as she battles police department bureaucracy and as well as the Federal government security agency that nobody seems to have heard of. I read this in a few days. When you buy A Voice from the Field be prepared to do nothing but get involved in a splendid and absorbing story.

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.