Now & Then - Robert B Parker - Another Spenser book and I do enjoy the characters.
When a client who suspects his wife is cheating on him is murdered in Parker's 35th snappy Spenser adventure (after Hundred-Dollar Baby), the Boston PI takes it personally, not only because the case resonates with Spenser's past history with love interest Susan, but also because, like Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade, Spenser feels he can't let a client get murdered without doing something about it. The repartee is up to Parker's high standards, and the detection is hands on and straightforward, with Spenser carrying the load. Since Spenser's aides, including the stalwart Hawke, outclass the heavies, Spenser has time to deal with the mysterious other man, Perry Alderson, whose academic background appears as suspect as his dealings with various subversive groups. This briskly paced cat-and-mouse game offers Spenser fans exactly what they've come to expect from the reliable Parker—no-nonsense action and plenty of romantic give-and-take between Susan and Spenser, who even find the subject of marriage intruding once more.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Audio Books in May, 2008
Shoot Him If He Runs - Stuart Woods - The reader of this book annoyed me to no end. Half the time he was talking like he was a wannabe mobster. If I hadn't be a fan of the characters I never would have finished listening to the book.
Stone Barrington and his colleagues are dispatched to the Caribbean island of St. Marks to hunt down a rogue CIA agent, who has turned into an assassin. Their task is simply to locate and report his whereabouts. However, once they begin their mission, their orders take a terrible turn. SHOOT HIM IF HE RUNS, their CIA handlers command. Tony Robertss narration is clear and crisp. He differentiates the characters comfortably, although his representation of NYPD Detective Dino is a tad irritating. Roberts, an accomplished reader, blunders, as many people do, with his pronunciation of Spokane (Washington) during the opening chapter. However, for those who enjoy thrillers, this is still an entertaining production.
Stone Barrington and his colleagues are dispatched to the Caribbean island of St. Marks to hunt down a rogue CIA agent, who has turned into an assassin. Their task is simply to locate and report his whereabouts. However, once they begin their mission, their orders take a terrible turn. SHOOT HIM IF HE RUNS, their CIA handlers command. Tony Robertss narration is clear and crisp. He differentiates the characters comfortably, although his representation of NYPD Detective Dino is a tad irritating. Roberts, an accomplished reader, blunders, as many people do, with his pronunciation of Spokane (Washington) during the opening chapter. However, for those who enjoy thrillers, this is still an entertaining production.
Audio Books in May, 2008
King Con - Stephen J. Cannell - I enjoyed this book. Loved the characters.
Those who remember Jim Rockford's stings on TV will recognize the setup of KING CON, about con man Beano Bates's scheme to avenge his cousin's death--and his own beating--at the hands of mobsters Joe and Tommy Rina. That's because both Rockford and Bates are Stephen J. Cannell creations. Cannell doesn't try to create a new voice for each character, but conveys emotion through inflection. He tends to get a bit breathless with excitement in action scenes. Frequent profanity stands out a bit too much, and changing points of view are occasionally confusing. Even with these flaws, this caper moves briskly and enjoyably.
Those who remember Jim Rockford's stings on TV will recognize the setup of KING CON, about con man Beano Bates's scheme to avenge his cousin's death--and his own beating--at the hands of mobsters Joe and Tommy Rina. That's because both Rockford and Bates are Stephen J. Cannell creations. Cannell doesn't try to create a new voice for each character, but conveys emotion through inflection. He tends to get a bit breathless with excitement in action scenes. Frequent profanity stands out a bit too much, and changing points of view are occasionally confusing. Even with these flaws, this caper moves briskly and enjoyably.
Audio Books in May, 2008
Sweet Revenge - Diane Mott Davidson - I have always enjoyed this series but this time the author added some things that were just not believeable. Really makes me angry when they do that and takes away from my enjoyment of the book.
A month before Christmas, I saw a ghost...
Goldy Schulz is thrilled to be catering a holiday breakfast feast for the staff of the Aspen Meadow Library. But little does she know that on the menu is a large helping of murder.
While setting up at the library, Goldy spots a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Sandee Brisbane—the Sandee Brisbane who killed Goldy's ex-husband, the Jerk. But Sandee is supposed to be dead. Or so everyone believes. Goldy's suspicions mount when the body of Drew Wellington, a former district attorney, is found in a corner of the library with a map worth thousands of dollars stashed in his clothing. She's convinced that Sandee is involved. But the holiday madness is only just beginning for Goldy. Soon she's drawn into the dangerous, double-crossing world of high-end map dealing. And, like the ghost of Christmas past, Sandee keeps making an appearance. Could she be out to prove that revenge is sweet?
A month before Christmas, I saw a ghost...
Goldy Schulz is thrilled to be catering a holiday breakfast feast for the staff of the Aspen Meadow Library. But little does she know that on the menu is a large helping of murder.
While setting up at the library, Goldy spots a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Sandee Brisbane—the Sandee Brisbane who killed Goldy's ex-husband, the Jerk. But Sandee is supposed to be dead. Or so everyone believes. Goldy's suspicions mount when the body of Drew Wellington, a former district attorney, is found in a corner of the library with a map worth thousands of dollars stashed in his clothing. She's convinced that Sandee is involved. But the holiday madness is only just beginning for Goldy. Soon she's drawn into the dangerous, double-crossing world of high-end map dealing. And, like the ghost of Christmas past, Sandee keeps making an appearance. Could she be out to prove that revenge is sweet?
Audio Books in May, 2008
School Days _ Robert B Parker - I enjoyed the book but was really annoyed by the reader saying he said or she said and then I said.
Why? It takes a tough guy to get the answer to a tough question like that, especially when no one else wants to know. Spenser's the tough guy who's looking for answers in a school shooting case in this latest novel. Narrating as the Boston gumshoe, Joe Mantegna adds a light touch to Spenser's toughness, drawing laughs with his reading of wry, erudite lines. As the investigation gets more serious, Mantegna's narration turns more dramatic. Always, he highlights Parker's carefully drawn sense of place and eye for detail, sounding as naturally observant as a private eye. More than a puzzle, this novel shines light on the human factor in tragedy.
Why? It takes a tough guy to get the answer to a tough question like that, especially when no one else wants to know. Spenser's the tough guy who's looking for answers in a school shooting case in this latest novel. Narrating as the Boston gumshoe, Joe Mantegna adds a light touch to Spenser's toughness, drawing laughs with his reading of wry, erudite lines. As the investigation gets more serious, Mantegna's narration turns more dramatic. Always, he highlights Parker's carefully drawn sense of place and eye for detail, sounding as naturally observant as a private eye. More than a puzzle, this novel shines light on the human factor in tragedy.
Books Read in May, 2008
Praying for Sheetrock - Melissa Fay Greene - This book was written about a county close to where we live. Wish I could say it wasn't true but from the stories I have heard it's the truth.
Despite what it said in the New York Times or the Congressional Record, not everybody in America got the word right away about the civil rights movement. Thus it was that well into the 1970s, McIntosh County in backwoods Georgia remained a place where the black majority still had never elected one of their own to any county office, where black kids were bused away from the white school, and where the white county sheriff had his hand in every racket there was. Praying for Sheetrock is the saga of how, thanks to the leadership of a black shop-steward-turned-county-commissioner named Thurnell Alston, together with the aid of a cadre of idealistic Legal Services lawyers (Melissa Greene was one of their paralegals) this situation began to change. The story, written as grippingly as a novel, is charged with twists that only nonfiction can deliver; for example, Alston, for all the brave good he did, ultimately got caught in a federal sting and went to jail while the corrupt sheriff walked. This is, writes Greene, a story of "large and important things happening in a very little place."
Despite what it said in the New York Times or the Congressional Record, not everybody in America got the word right away about the civil rights movement. Thus it was that well into the 1970s, McIntosh County in backwoods Georgia remained a place where the black majority still had never elected one of their own to any county office, where black kids were bused away from the white school, and where the white county sheriff had his hand in every racket there was. Praying for Sheetrock is the saga of how, thanks to the leadership of a black shop-steward-turned-county-commissioner named Thurnell Alston, together with the aid of a cadre of idealistic Legal Services lawyers (Melissa Greene was one of their paralegals) this situation began to change. The story, written as grippingly as a novel, is charged with twists that only nonfiction can deliver; for example, Alston, for all the brave good he did, ultimately got caught in a federal sting and went to jail while the corrupt sheriff walked. This is, writes Greene, a story of "large and important things happening in a very little place."
Books Read in May, 2008
Mad Mouse - Chris Grabenstein - THis plot was a little easier to figure out but I still enjoyed the characters.
Grabenstein's second humorous procedural (after 2005's Tilt-a-Whirl) reunites that incongruous pair, Sea Haven, N.J., police officer John Ceepak, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom who lives by the code "I will not lie, cheat or steal nor tolerate those who do," and his callow young sidekick, Danny Boyle, who's promoted from part-time summer cop to full-time status. Paintball vandalism becomes something more serious when the assailant switches to actual gunfire, targeting Boyle and his circle of friends. In scenes reminiscent of Jaws, the local mayor, anxious that tourist dollars not be scared away, tries to conceal the significance of the shootings, but the politician offers little resistance to the detective duo's investigative efforts. Some readers may find that the jokey tone jars with a plot that echoes the real-life D.C. sniper case, but those for whom a laugh counts more than realistic action will be amused.
Grabenstein's second humorous procedural (after 2005's Tilt-a-Whirl) reunites that incongruous pair, Sea Haven, N.J., police officer John Ceepak, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom who lives by the code "I will not lie, cheat or steal nor tolerate those who do," and his callow young sidekick, Danny Boyle, who's promoted from part-time summer cop to full-time status. Paintball vandalism becomes something more serious when the assailant switches to actual gunfire, targeting Boyle and his circle of friends. In scenes reminiscent of Jaws, the local mayor, anxious that tourist dollars not be scared away, tries to conceal the significance of the shootings, but the politician offers little resistance to the detective duo's investigative efforts. Some readers may find that the jokey tone jars with a plot that echoes the real-life D.C. sniper case, but those for whom a laugh counts more than realistic action will be amused.
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