My Review of 'No Game For a Dame'

REVIEW: NO GAME FOR A DAME
AUTHOR: M. Ruth Myers

Maggie Sullivan is a female hardboiled private eye, who (in the grand tradition of the genre) is tough as nails, yet has a heart of gold beneath the steely exterior. In this first novel of the series, she’s hired by a wealthy man to check up on his daughter’s beau. Next thing she knows, some goon barges into her office and trashes it. Then, warns her off the investigation.

Needless to say, Maggie smells a rat. Mainly because the subject of the investigation is such a … nebbish. What danger could he possibly be associated with?

The answer to this question is the key to solving her client’s problems, as well as protecting various people who are at risk – including the nebbish beau.

I read this on my Kobo and it was a real “page-turner”. Or “finger-flipper”, if you will.

And did I mention that the story takes place in the Depression Era “radio days”, when private eyes were tough men who wore fedoras and packed a punch? This makes Maggie’s job even tougher, of course.

I so loved this book. Maggie Sullivan is my new favorite female private eye. She’s like Honey West before television!

My Review of ‘Saturday Night Cleaver’

REVIEW: SATURDAY NIGHT CLEAVER
Author: Karen Cantwell

Ever since I read the first installment of the Barbara Marr series, I’ve been a huge fan of these comedic mysteries. And, pun lover that I am, not just because of their groan-worthy titles.

The title of this book cleverly refers to two major aspects of the plot: Barbara’s discovering a man’s … sex organ (or pracia, as she prefers to call it) on the side of a footpath and a secret club in her community, Rustic Woods (aka, Reston, VA) – a place called Saturday Night Fever.

But what really sets the plot in motion is the disappearance of Barbara’s old friend, Colt.

Now, that’s all the details you’re getting from me. Because between the bizarro neighbor lady renting the house next door, Barbara’s need to tolerate her dominating mother, and the weird orgy she and her George Clooney-like husband Howard expect to find at the secret club, if I told you more, you wouldn’t need to read the book.

So trust me – read the book. It’s funny, suspenseful, and has movie references. And Barbara really comes through in the end!

This is a great read, and I highly recommend it.

My Review of ‘Last Kiss’

REVIEW OF LAST KISS

Author: Louise Phillips

A man is murdered in a swank hotel in Dublin by a woman apparently obsessed with imagery and the Tarot. When another body is found, killed in similar circumstances, the police realize they may be dealing with that rarest of birds – a female serial killer.

Louise Phillips’ protagonist, criminal profiler Dr. Kate Pearson, is in fine fettle. Not only smart, but funny. Professional, but feeling ill at odds about her personal situation.

Kate has separated from her husband and does her best to look after her son, Charlie. Her frustration with that situation is compounded by the odd feeling she has that the officer she’s worked with most closely – Adam O’Connor – would like to be more than friends and vice versa.

Nonetheless, they are teamed to investigate the possible connections with other murders across Europe. All the while, an ambitious rival officer plays dirty in an attempt to discredit O’Connor.

Meanwhile, a woman worries that her husband is having an affair with a much more aggressive and sexual woman than herself. She confides her fears to a group of female friends – at least one of whom knows more than she’s telling.

There is a twist – which I did see coming – but that did nothing to lessen how enthralled I was with the story.

Louise Phillips once again delivers the goods in this heart-stopping thriller.

This book is an absolute must-read!

My Review of ‘Hill Country Rage’

REVIEW OF HILL COUNTRY RAGE
by Patrick Kelly

In this sequel to HILL COUNTRY GREED, Joe Robbins is still separated from his wife, Rose, and is willing to do anything to reunite with her and their two daughters. Meanwhile, he’s been offered a job as CFO for a company run by Sam Monroe (a larger-than-life cowboy type) who has big plans (and a big payday for Robbins, assuming all goes well), which largely depend upon landing Kenji Tanaka, a big-shot Japanese businessman, as an investor.

However, when Neil Blaney, Robbins’ best friend (and a character from the first book) smells something wrong with Tanaka, then ends up murdered (in a way made to look like an accident), Robbins starts to rethink his commitment to Monroe.

What follows is a story that pulls the reader into the world of Austin big business and international intrigue. The book is compulsively readable. Robbins is a flawed, but likeable, protagonist who launches a personal quest to avenge Neil’s death by finding his killer. But, to his dismay, so many people (including those he’d usually trust) seem to want him to leave it be.

The book is not only a tense and fast-paced read, but Robbins is a three-dimensional character. In reading both books, it’s my impression that Robbins is a man simply looking for love, good friends and the good life. Without revealing spoilers, I’ll only say that Robbins’ continued quest to restore his former family life (a task made harder by Rose’s dating a new man) may be part of the good life he seeks. Or not. For there’s yet another woman in Robbins’ life. Leaving me to wonder if Robbins really knows what he wants or has defined what he means by “the good life”. This question adds a dimension to his character that holds promise for future storylines.

I highly recommend the book.

My Review of ‘Bad Monkey’

REVIEW: BAD MONKEY
AUTHOR: Carl Hiaasen

Andrew Yancy, busted down from detective to “roach patrol” in the Florida Keys, is determined to get his job back. When a man’s left arm is found afloat after a boating accident, Yancy jumps at the chance to 1) solve what he senses is a murder and 2) employ the services of Miami-Dade medical examiner Rosa Campesino to assist in his noble cause and because he just digs her.

What Yancy doesn’t realize is that, between the bizarre exploits of his married lover (whose husband Yancy attacked from the rear – so to speak – with a vacuum) and the twisted tale of lies surrounding the man once connected to the arm, he’s stepping into a rat’s nest of trouble.

To say more about the plot would reveal too much. Suffice it to say that the novel is one of Hiaasen’s best. From his vivid description of Florida’s fauna and flora to his tart-tongued disdain for greedy developers, Hiaasen pours on the laughs and creates a story that’s criminally funny.

My Review of 'Little Green'

Review: LITTLE GREEN
Author: Walter Mosley

My Review of 'Suspect'

Review: SUSPECT
Author: Robert Crais