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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Publishers on Pinterest

Random House Books has a fun Pinterest page.  Check it out here.



Pinterest:  Where things of interest flock together, like pelicans on the beach.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

January Doldrums

January is dragging on and on and on.  Before I begin reading The Trinity Six, a spy novel published last year, I am trying to finish The Skull Mantra by Eliot Pattison which I began at the start of this month.  The Skull Mantra won an Edgar Award in 2000.  Although the year 2000 seems a lifetime ago, the book is still great; I am enjoying it very much.  I am just having difficulty finding time to read.

I'm also on the lookout for a good novel outside the spy/mystery genre.  I'll let you know when I find it.

Monday, January 16, 2012

A Fun Read for Mystery Fans: "Bad Things Happen" by Harry Dolan.



I just discovered Bad Things Happen, a fun mystery by Harry Dolan published in 2009.  If you haven't yet checked it out, grab a copy.  Dolan's writing style is cool, but the plot is hot with twists and turns all the way to the end.

The protagonist in Bad Things Happen is David Loogan (if that's his real name).  Loogan lives a quiet life in his rented home in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  He works as an editor at Gray Streets, a magazine publishing mystery stories.  Gray Streets publisher Tom Kristoll and Loogan are friends.  That's one reason why, when Kristoll asks Loogan to help bury a body lying dead in Kristoll's study, Loogan helps out.  A short time later, Kristoll is also found dead.  Now the police are involved, and they have their eyes on Loogan.  Loogan in turn is trying to unravel what is really going on.  And, yes, more bodies turn up.

Bad Things Happen is a highly entertaining book, particularly for those of us who have read a lot of mysteries.  I'm looking forward to Dolan's second book, Very Bad Men.      


Any Kindle Fire Reviews?


My Nook Color, featuring the new Flavia de Luce story.

Did anyone get a Kindle Fire as a holiday gift?  If so, how do you like it?  Ten months into owning a Nook Color, I still enjoy using it every day.

Up-date 1/24/12:  Tablet ownership almost doubled from December to January.  Check out the story here.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

"Beat the Reaper" Author has New Book Coming in February.

Good news for fans of Beat the Reaper (and that includeds me): Josh Bazell has another book coming out in February called Wild Thing.  Wild Thing continues the story of Dr. Peter Brown.  Brown, we learned in Beat the Reaper,  packed-in quite a bit of living before turning to a career in medicine.  He was Pietro "Bearclaw" Brnwa, a hit man for the Mafia. Beat the Reaper is about how Brown/Brnwa got drawn into life as a hit man, and what happens when his life in the Mafia and at the hospital intersect. Check this link for my full review of Beat the Reaper.

I'm looking forward to reading another book by Bazell.





Monday, January 2, 2012

Book Report: "Silver Lies" by Ann Parker.



I picked-up Silver Lies by Ann Parker on a bit of a whim and breezed through it over the holidays. Silver Lies is the first mystery in Parker's Silver Rush series.  I recalled reading not long ago about Parker promoting her fourth book, Mercury's Rise.  So when I chanced upon Silver Lies, I thought I'd give it a try.

Silver Lies turned out to be pleasant entertainment.  Set in 1879, in Leadville, Colorado, the protagonist is Inez Stannert.  Inez' husband is a gambler who has runoff.  She operates the Silver Queen Saloon with her remaining business partner.   After a local assayer named Joe Rose is found dead, trampled by a horse outside the saloon, Inez gets drawn into investigating the death.  Was it an accident or murder?  Parker uses Inez' investigation to show us life in Leadville when it was a mining boom-town with gambling, corruption, counterfeit currency, ladies-of-the-evening, as well as church-going families.  It was a rough-and-tumble time and Parker makes the period interesting.  

Silver Lies was fun to read.  I will definitely check into the other books in this series.      



Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year!


Best wishes to everyone for a happy, healthy, and peaceful 2012.



Photo:  Birds Greet the First Sunrise of 2012.  Arizona, near the Mexican border.