Skip to main content

A Fogotten Post: A Remembrance

[Editor's Note: Started this missive, never came back to it. Still relevant, I suppose.]

I am reading MURDER IN OLD BOMBAY by Nev Marsh. This was... technically still is... on my to buy pile. In the before time... the overwhelming to be read pile time... I would have bought this and thrown it on the shelf to read in the near or more likely distant future. I hope I like it enough to buy the second in the series. Buying a book is fun, buying a book that is good is better. [Editor's Note: Abandoned this book, unfinished.]

BLACKTOP WASTELAND - S.A. COSBY

So glad I didn't buy this last summer. Good decision to put off buying and reading what would have certainly been one of the best books of the year. New goal for the remaining 2021 calendar. Don't be dumb. Buy Mr. Cosby's follow up and read day one! [Editor's Note: I did buy a signed copy of RAZORBLADE  TEARS, meanwhile B.W. won every award, except the Edgar where it wasn't even nominated!? Also Signed firsts of B.W. going for north of $200!! B.W. should be my crypto!]

MARION LANE AND THE MIDNIGHT MURDERS - T.A. Willberg

Not the first to describe this is an adult version of Harry Potter, though more grounded in reality with just a touch of mystical magic that verges closer to steam punk... I guess. The book really suffered because of the weak characterization of almost all the secondary characters. I often had no idea who Marion was talking to or their importance to the story. When the villain was revealed I legitimately responded with "Who?" Confusing the situation was Ms. Willberg's penchant for using first names for characters to only turn around and immediately and use their last names. At times it seemed a room was full of characters but it was just 2 or 3. I think the series has a some potential, but this was bursting at the seams with details and flourishes that should have waited a book or two to be explored.

TAKE ME APART - Sara Silger

My day job is as a film archivist so I was exited to read this story of a photo archivist who comes to small California town to organize the work of a photographer who killed herself years before.

The book really sings along until I ran in to a 50 page section where the lead falls for her boss, the son of the photographer. It was some rough sledding. Bad decisions are the corner stone of the Crime Fiction genre. If the book is working these bad decisions, for the reader, seem justified. Justified in the sense that the character for good or for ill is taking control of their life. But when a bad decision falls more into the stupid category the character making that decision suddenly becomes unworthy of my trust, my empathy, my forgiveness. That is what happens here and the book suffers for it. Still, I would recommend the author and will look for her next. The central mystery is compelling and thoughtful. Like most mystery's that try to reconcile the past I found the book to be compelling on that level.

[Editors Note: Right now I am reading THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD. Reading the le Carré Smiley books is a 2021 project. Early days on that book but already a significant step up from his previous two. After that I am going to have to burn down a handful of purchases from the last few months. I'll be back with a another round of reviews of Spring and Summer reads soon.]

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Small Mercies - The Return of Dennis Lehane

 A time honored tradition at The Hungry Detective HQ is to perform the twice annual, and largely ceremonial, 'Dennis Lehane New book 20XX" Google search. Nothing comes up on his long abandoned Website, except notification of the script work for his television and film projects.  Grousing aside, 2022 was a big year for Mr. Lehane. BLACK BIRD, a show he created, played on Apple+ to solid acclaim. The show's star, Paul Walter Hauser, won a Golden Globe. But despite that I have yet to watch it. Not for any other reason than I am a movie person more than a TV person. The TV I do watch is watched in an arcane order that is difficult to decipher and even more baffling to explain. Short story, I need to watch ANDOR [Editor's Note: Slow going on ANDOR despite everyone telling me it is amazing.] And then BLACK BIRD, or maybe SLOW HORSES. I'll get there...  Anyway at the dead end of 2022, I did the search. Found out he wrote a book. SMALL MERCIES . I was excited to hear it. I...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Very Best of Mr. Michael Connelly - Part 2

My August 31 post of The Hungry Detective ranked all the non-Bosch books. This list returns to take on the larger task of Mr. Heironimous Bosch. 9 Dragons made its appearance right before the Indy B'Con, and try as I might... ok I didn't try that hard... I didn't have time to read it for inclusion in these rankings. As a quick aside I don't want to undersell any of the books at the bottom of the list. Mr. Connelly doesn't know how to write a bad book, but in my case there have been occasions where I have not connected with his work. 13. THE NARROWS - 2004 It is because I love THE POET so much that this book is at the end of the list. When Mr. Connelly is at his best his works has the precision of a watchmaker. THE NARROWS just felt forced and not worthy of the intricacy of THE POET. 12. BLACK ICE - 1993 Second book. Third read. I thought the story was pretty flat. It has been well over a decade since I read this book, but the story of Mexican drug runner...
1 comment
Read more