Author Ian Rankin brings back his iconic character, Inspector John Rebus of the Edinburgh Police, in the chilling new mystery Standing in Another Man's Grave.
Rebus officially retired several years ago, but he's back working as a civilian consultant on a police cold case team. Here, he is drawn into the disappearances of a series of women along the same stretch of isolated country highway.
Rebus begins to suspect that a serial killer is at work. But as he digs deeper into the case, he runs up against the resentment of police force members who may not want him to solve a mystery that they could not. Rebus plunges ahead anyway with his usual tactless attitude, like a rude bulldozer that won't be stopped.
The plot is gripping, but the real pleasure of the novel is watching the character of Rebus himself, with his deep cynicism and his sardonic remarks. John Rebus is one of the most entertaining continuing characters in a crime series, along with Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch and Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole.
Standing in Another Man's Grave is a first rate read for mystery fans.
BEACH RATING: 4 Palm Trees
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Monday, November 26, 2012
Best Mystery and Crime Novels of 2012
2012 saw the release of some outstanding novels in the Mystery genre. Here are the picks by this Blog for best of the year:
The Leopard by Jo Nesbo - A chilling new entry in the series that features Oslo police detective Harry Hole. This one is a near-epic hunt for a serial killer who uses a fiendish device called the Leopold Apple on his victims. A gripping and psychologically complex narrative of Harry's obsessive pursuit of the killer. Jo Nesbo's novels are rich in character and twisted, big canvas plots. This crime thriller was the best read of the year.
The Black Box by Michael Connelly - LAPD detective Harry Bosch returns to investigate the cold case of a female journalist murdered twenty years before during the 1992 Rodney King trial riots in the city. As Bosch digs deeper into the death, seemingly mundane threads weave together to link to powerful people and a past war crime. A solid and methodical police procedural, with Michael Connelly writing at his satisfying best.
Defending Jacob by William Landay - Both a riveting legal mystery and a troubling picture of a family cracking apart under the stress of a murder indictment against one of its members. The teenage son of a Boston Assistant D.A. is arrested for the bloody murder of a classmate. Jacob insists he is innocent, but his worried parents face mounting doubts. The novel is a compelling, disturbing read with a hideous twist at the end. A can't-put-down plot and a tense moral puzzle. Outstanding.
The Expats by Chris Pavone - An intriguing tangle of deception and an innovative take on the espionage novel. A woman who is a retired CIA covert agent begins to suspect that her husband may be involved in a secret life of his own. When the couple comes under surveillance by someone, alarm bells begin to ring. The plot is full of unexpected twists as each layer of lies is peeled away both within the couple's marriage and their covert lives, which have been kept secret from each other. An unpredictable and thoroughly enjoyable spy thriller read.
Raylan by Elmore Leonard - Best outing in years for crime writer Leonard as he brings back his iconic character, fast-draw U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. Here Raylan is up against canny, treacherous offenders in backwoods Kentucky coal country. Full of the author's trademarks of dead-on dialogue, oddball criminal types, and quick, lethal violence. An entertaining treat for Elmore Leonard fans.
Honorable Mention - Broken Harbor by Tana French, The Fear Index by Robert Harris, Driven by James Sallis.
The Leopard by Jo Nesbo - A chilling new entry in the series that features Oslo police detective Harry Hole. This one is a near-epic hunt for a serial killer who uses a fiendish device called the Leopold Apple on his victims. A gripping and psychologically complex narrative of Harry's obsessive pursuit of the killer. Jo Nesbo's novels are rich in character and twisted, big canvas plots. This crime thriller was the best read of the year.
The Black Box by Michael Connelly - LAPD detective Harry Bosch returns to investigate the cold case of a female journalist murdered twenty years before during the 1992 Rodney King trial riots in the city. As Bosch digs deeper into the death, seemingly mundane threads weave together to link to powerful people and a past war crime. A solid and methodical police procedural, with Michael Connelly writing at his satisfying best.
Defending Jacob by William Landay - Both a riveting legal mystery and a troubling picture of a family cracking apart under the stress of a murder indictment against one of its members. The teenage son of a Boston Assistant D.A. is arrested for the bloody murder of a classmate. Jacob insists he is innocent, but his worried parents face mounting doubts. The novel is a compelling, disturbing read with a hideous twist at the end. A can't-put-down plot and a tense moral puzzle. Outstanding.
The Expats by Chris Pavone - An intriguing tangle of deception and an innovative take on the espionage novel. A woman who is a retired CIA covert agent begins to suspect that her husband may be involved in a secret life of his own. When the couple comes under surveillance by someone, alarm bells begin to ring. The plot is full of unexpected twists as each layer of lies is peeled away both within the couple's marriage and their covert lives, which have been kept secret from each other. An unpredictable and thoroughly enjoyable spy thriller read.
Raylan by Elmore Leonard - Best outing in years for crime writer Leonard as he brings back his iconic character, fast-draw U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. Here Raylan is up against canny, treacherous offenders in backwoods Kentucky coal country. Full of the author's trademarks of dead-on dialogue, oddball criminal types, and quick, lethal violence. An entertaining treat for Elmore Leonard fans.
Honorable Mention - Broken Harbor by Tana French, The Fear Index by Robert Harris, Driven by James Sallis.
Monday, October 15, 2012
PHANTOM By Jo Nesbo a Must-Read Crime Thriller
The new Jo Nesbo work Phantom is a must-read for crime novel fans. The novel is the latest in a series that features Oslo police detective Harry Hole, who appeared in the previous outstanding novels The Snowman and The Leopard.
This time, Harry isn't hunting for a serial killer, but is on a more personal quest. A young man Harry is close to is arrested for murder. Harry digs into the case, even though he is not currently on official police duty.
The case takes him into the murky, violent world of drug smugglers who exploit the spreading heroin addiction problem in European countries. The drug ring is led by a mastermind phantom known as Dubai. The smugglers even have a planted mole inside the Oslo police. Enemies who cross the ring are dealt with using a diabolical device called The Beetle.
As Harry Hole keeps hunting for the identity of Dubai, the case takes him toward awful truths he doesn't want to know. He must face at last the inner demons that now lead him to a final dark end. Phantom is a tense crime thtiller that doesn't disappoint and another winner for Jo Nesbo.
BEACH RATING: 4 Palm Trees
This time, Harry isn't hunting for a serial killer, but is on a more personal quest. A young man Harry is close to is arrested for murder. Harry digs into the case, even though he is not currently on official police duty.
The case takes him into the murky, violent world of drug smugglers who exploit the spreading heroin addiction problem in European countries. The drug ring is led by a mastermind phantom known as Dubai. The smugglers even have a planted mole inside the Oslo police. Enemies who cross the ring are dealt with using a diabolical device called The Beetle.
As Harry Hole keeps hunting for the identity of Dubai, the case takes him toward awful truths he doesn't want to know. He must face at last the inner demons that now lead him to a final dark end. Phantom is a tense crime thtiller that doesn't disappoint and another winner for Jo Nesbo.
BEACH RATING: 4 Palm Trees
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Horror Movies - A Dying Genre?
Back in 2009, this blog did a post asking if the Horror movie genre had itself become one of the walking dead lately. Not much has changed since then.
We still get too much recycling of well-worn stereotype plots. How many more vampire and zombie retreads do we need to see? How many more formula slasher movies that kill off victims by ever-gorier methods?
Occasionally, a fresh new take on horror themes will appear. The creepy paranoia of The Ring, an import from Japanese horror films. The pandemic hysteria of 28 Days Later. The claustrophobic intensity of Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity.
Sadly, these inventive breakthroughs are all too rare. Last year's Insidious was an unsettling portrayal of hidden demonic forces around us. 2012 has so far offered only Cabin in the Woods, a sardonic commentary on the empty nihilism of the whole slasher movie format.
If the Horror movie genre is to revitalize itself, it needs to get off a stale, dead-end road and find vivid new ways to portray the elemental fears of human existence in modern society. That's what the Horror genre is there for, after all.
We still get too much recycling of well-worn stereotype plots. How many more vampire and zombie retreads do we need to see? How many more formula slasher movies that kill off victims by ever-gorier methods?
Occasionally, a fresh new take on horror themes will appear. The creepy paranoia of The Ring, an import from Japanese horror films. The pandemic hysteria of 28 Days Later. The claustrophobic intensity of Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity.
Sadly, these inventive breakthroughs are all too rare. Last year's Insidious was an unsettling portrayal of hidden demonic forces around us. 2012 has so far offered only Cabin in the Woods, a sardonic commentary on the empty nihilism of the whole slasher movie format.
If the Horror movie genre is to revitalize itself, it needs to get off a stale, dead-end road and find vivid new ways to portray the elemental fears of human existence in modern society. That's what the Horror genre is there for, after all.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Best Hard Boiled Crime Writers Out There
The hard boiled crime genre is a harsh, unsparing one populated with morally crippled characters, gritty street realism, and outbreaks of sudden, graphic violence. The genre's bloodlines run through the classic works of Jim Thompson, George V. Higgins, and James Ellroy.
Here are three of the best hard boiled crime writers working today:
George Pelecanos - His novels are set in Washington D.C., but not in the world of big time politics. This world is one of working class streets, gang turf, and small time hoods with vicious ambitions. A series of novels feature streetwise former cop Derek Strange, beginning with Right As Rain. The author's recent novel The Cut introduces a new character, Spero Lucas, an Iraq war veteran and freelance investigator who will work for almost anyone, including local criminal types.
Pelecanos writes with a clean, razor-sharp style that seems to move with an effortless momentum through the hard-edged stories that he tells.
James Sallis - Author of the novel Drive and its sequel Driven, whose main character is known only as Driver. He works as a movie stunt driver and sometimes makes side money driving in robbery jobs for crime gangs. Sometimes, those jobs go bad.
The novels are brute, existentialist parables. Driver lives day-to-day. He defines himself only by his actions to survive in the moment, whatever that uncertain next moment may be, Stay alive, keep moving somewhere.
That restless, spontaneous movement is a metaphor for the character and for the novels themselves. Sallis writes with an ice-cold minimalism that embodies the bleak, violence-spotted road that Driver travels down.
Dennis Lehane - His work is set in the rough-edged blue collar neighborhoods of south Boston -- areas of worn brick tenements, raw red complexions, and shabby local bars filled with tired, embittered patrons. A petty crime act is only a step away for people who don't have much to begin with.
An ongoing series of novels features private eye Patrick Kensie and his partner, and later wife, Angela Gennaro. The series includes the classic Gone, Baby, Gone and its recent sequel Moonlight Mile.
Central to the novels is the sardonic narrative voice of Kensie and how changes in his new family situation with Gennaro and their small daughter affect his philosophy in facing the brutal violence he encounters in his work.
Here are three of the best hard boiled crime writers working today:
George Pelecanos - His novels are set in Washington D.C., but not in the world of big time politics. This world is one of working class streets, gang turf, and small time hoods with vicious ambitions. A series of novels feature streetwise former cop Derek Strange, beginning with Right As Rain. The author's recent novel The Cut introduces a new character, Spero Lucas, an Iraq war veteran and freelance investigator who will work for almost anyone, including local criminal types.
Pelecanos writes with a clean, razor-sharp style that seems to move with an effortless momentum through the hard-edged stories that he tells.
James Sallis - Author of the novel Drive and its sequel Driven, whose main character is known only as Driver. He works as a movie stunt driver and sometimes makes side money driving in robbery jobs for crime gangs. Sometimes, those jobs go bad.
The novels are brute, existentialist parables. Driver lives day-to-day. He defines himself only by his actions to survive in the moment, whatever that uncertain next moment may be, Stay alive, keep moving somewhere.
That restless, spontaneous movement is a metaphor for the character and for the novels themselves. Sallis writes with an ice-cold minimalism that embodies the bleak, violence-spotted road that Driver travels down.
Dennis Lehane - His work is set in the rough-edged blue collar neighborhoods of south Boston -- areas of worn brick tenements, raw red complexions, and shabby local bars filled with tired, embittered patrons. A petty crime act is only a step away for people who don't have much to begin with.
An ongoing series of novels features private eye Patrick Kensie and his partner, and later wife, Angela Gennaro. The series includes the classic Gone, Baby, Gone and its recent sequel Moonlight Mile.
Central to the novels is the sardonic narrative voice of Kensie and how changes in his new family situation with Gennaro and their small daughter affect his philosophy in facing the brutal violence he encounters in his work.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
The Stephen King Scorecard - Rating His Later Works
Three years ago, this blog did a post titled, "Stephen King in a Slump?" This was a rating of King's more recent work, finding some of it weak or worse. At that time, we reluctantly asked the question: Could Stephen King still write a really good horror or paranormal novel to match some of the great ones from his earlier career? Or was his best stuff behind him?
But then ...
Then Mr. King, in short order, uncorked two massive reads that can stand with the best of all his work: Under the Dome and 11/22/63. As a fan of King's writing and his amazing creative production over four decades, we offer kudos to him for finding his groove once again in such spectacular fashion.
Herewith, our updated scorecard for King's major works since 1998. (Note list does not include the Dark Tower series)
Pure Classics, no argument: Under the Dome, 11/22/63. These two are King writing at his red-line, hammer-down best. See this blog's past posts for full reviews of these novels.
Pretty Good Stuff: Bag of Bones, Everything's Eventual (collection), Mile 81 (Kindle book). Most of this material is mainstream supernatural horror, where King still shines. Entertaining, fun reads.
Just Okay: Just After Sunset, Full Dark, No Stars (both collections). No real knock-out stories here, but some interesting, offbeat angles.
Pretty Awful: Dreamcatcher, From a Buick 8, Cell, Duma Key. Please Mr. King, no more dumbness like killer cell phones, possession by evil aliens, or pirate ghost ships. Let's just pretend none of that ever happened.
All of which only shows that a writer who produces as much new material as Stephen King is bound to have some uneven work along the way. But given the contribution this author has made in his career over the decades, especially to the Horror fiction genre, we can readily forgive him that.
But then ...
Then Mr. King, in short order, uncorked two massive reads that can stand with the best of all his work: Under the Dome and 11/22/63. As a fan of King's writing and his amazing creative production over four decades, we offer kudos to him for finding his groove once again in such spectacular fashion.
Herewith, our updated scorecard for King's major works since 1998. (Note list does not include the Dark Tower series)
Pure Classics, no argument: Under the Dome, 11/22/63. These two are King writing at his red-line, hammer-down best. See this blog's past posts for full reviews of these novels.
Pretty Good Stuff: Bag of Bones, Everything's Eventual (collection), Mile 81 (Kindle book). Most of this material is mainstream supernatural horror, where King still shines. Entertaining, fun reads.
Just Okay: Just After Sunset, Full Dark, No Stars (both collections). No real knock-out stories here, but some interesting, offbeat angles.
Pretty Awful: Dreamcatcher, From a Buick 8, Cell, Duma Key. Please Mr. King, no more dumbness like killer cell phones, possession by evil aliens, or pirate ghost ships. Let's just pretend none of that ever happened.
All of which only shows that a writer who produces as much new material as Stephen King is bound to have some uneven work along the way. But given the contribution this author has made in his career over the decades, especially to the Horror fiction genre, we can readily forgive him that.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Ray Bradbury's Horror Fiction
Ray Bradbury was known for his science fiction work, but he wrote some fine horror stories too. Here are five of his best:
"The Jar" - In a seedy country carnival sideshow, something hideous is floating in a big glass jar. From the classic horror collection "The October Country."
"Zero Hour" and "The Veldt" - Two tales that portray the secret malevolent schemes of apparently innocent children. Both are found in the famous collection "The Illustrated Man."
"The Witch Door" - An unsettling tale of persecution in two different time periods. From the collection "Quicker Than the Eye."
"The October Game" - Grotesque story of a resentful husband and father and a Halloween game called "The Witch Is Dead." The whiplash ending is both ambiguous and horrifying. A Bradbury masterpiece. From the collection "Long After Midnight."
Thanks, Ray, for all the great reading you created!
"The Jar" - In a seedy country carnival sideshow, something hideous is floating in a big glass jar. From the classic horror collection "The October Country."
"Zero Hour" and "The Veldt" - Two tales that portray the secret malevolent schemes of apparently innocent children. Both are found in the famous collection "The Illustrated Man."
"The Witch Door" - An unsettling tale of persecution in two different time periods. From the collection "Quicker Than the Eye."
"The October Game" - Grotesque story of a resentful husband and father and a Halloween game called "The Witch Is Dead." The whiplash ending is both ambiguous and horrifying. A Bradbury masterpiece. From the collection "Long After Midnight."
Thanks, Ray, for all the great reading you created!
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