RUMBLE TUMBLE by Joe R. Lansdale

*Book 5 of the Hap and Leonard series*

After a twister blew away his house, Hap is living on Leonard's couch, working as a bouncer, thinking about moving in with his girlfriend Brett, and balls-deep in his mid-life crisis. But when Brett asks for help rescuing her estranged daughter who's turned to whoring and seems to be in danger with the wrong crowd, Hap puts on his white knight helmet, and the three head to the town of Hootie Hoot, Oklahoma, and equally dangerous Mexican border towns to track her down.

Size and strength didn't intimidate Herman. As he told me later, no matter how big they grow, balls and eyes stay soft and a tire tool has no friends.

Every installment of the Hap and Leonard series has been exciting entertainment, guaranteed for a heap of chuckles! Although this one delivers, it doesn't really stand out on its own the way the other books have. It doesn't really add much to the series, doesn't try anything new, and felt a bit more long-winded this time. But it's still lots of fun, and involves shotguns, armadillos, biker gangs, midgets with attitudes and prairie dog hunting, so fans of the series, of Lansdale, and his great dialogue won't be too disappointed. If I hadn't read the first four great novels, I would have probably loved this one more. On it's own though, it's a good thriller and solid entertainment.

"As Leonard has pointed out, I'm like the guy goes out in the yard and steps in a pile of horse shit, and where he or someone else would say, goddamn, I've stepped in horse shit, me, I'm looking for the pony."

GRADE: B-

AMERICAN TABLOID by James Ellroy

*Book 1 of the Underworld U.S.A. trilogy*

"He used to pimp and pull shakedowns. Now he rode shotgun to History."

Whoa, Ellroy's done it again. Another 5-star read. So far , that's 5 out of 5 for me. This time, he takes
his talent for weaving complex plots and conspiracies from his 50's Los Angeles setting and unleashes it nationwide in an epic re-shaping of the country's turbulent history between 1958 and 1963 as we follow three men who play pivotal roles in the events that ultimately lead to that infamous day in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.

Just when I thought a conspiracy couldn't get any more complex than L.A. Confidential's, this book takes it to a whole new level. But surprisingly, even though this is bigger in scope, I actually found it easier to follow along here than in Confidential. I'm not sure why that is, but maybe it has something to do with the author's growth as a writer.  

"His courage was weakness pushed into grandiosity."

Along with the immense amount of historical detail, plot development, and supporting players, Ellroy is able to create three of his most fascinating protagonists who, through their individual fears, dreams, and covetousness, end up creating the history we know today. Ward Littel is an FBI agent who dreams of taking down mobsters and has a fascination with crime-buster Robert Kennedy and his cool-cat buddy Kemper Boyd. Ward is desperate to get rid of his reputation for being a punk bitch, decides that he'll do anything to gain favor, and discovers talents that provide him an opportunity he's never dreamed of. His friend Kemper Boyd is obsessed with the Kennedy family and their high-class status, and starts to juggle multiple secret allegiances with the FBI, the CIA, the KKK, Jack Kennedy, and the Mob in order to get to that same status. Pete Bondurant is a shakedown artist and dope-procurer for Howard Hughes. He's getting tired of the extortion world and sees his job in jeopardy once Howard Hughes starts transforming into a Mormon vampire, so when Kemper and the CIA come calling, he sees a way out and a way to big money. These three guys are intriguing and complicated, and their arcs and journeys are what really gives the book its heart.

"Boyd was now some triple or quadruple agent. Boyd was a self-proclaimed insomniac. Boyd said rearranging lies kept him up nights."

Ellroy is constantly experimenting with form and language and it always works for me (but might not work for other people). I'm not sure how he is able to pull this stuff off. It seems like he's so entrenched in the eras that he portrays, and these stories in his head are so desperate to get out, that the words just spill out onto the page. And what's produced is a piece of work that is his and his alone. He is definitely one of a kind. And as usual for Ellroy, there's enough material in this bad boy for three separate books. You would think that something this huge would run away and get too large for the author, but once again, he is able to stick his landing in glorious form and bring it all to an awesome ending. He really knows how to pull off a great conclusion and that's a big factor in my 5-star ratings.

"Hughes kept Lenny on the payroll to write a private skank sheet.
The sheet would feature skank too skanky for public skank consumption. The sheet would be read by two skank fiends only: Dracula and J. Edgar Hoover."

He is not interested in accuracy, but more interested in how the people in power in our country are just as complicated as we are. But while our complications only really have an effect on us or those close to us, their complications affect the whole country. So watch who you vote for. 
How much of Ellroy's fucked-up epic is true? I have no clue, and that's not what matters. What matters is that we all know that it could happen in America and we wouldn't be all that surprised if it actually did happen. And that notion is terrifying.

"It's time to demythologize an era and build a new myth from the gutter to the stars. It's time to embrace bad men and the price they paid to secretly define their time.
Here's to them."

GRADE: A

GHOST OF THE FLEA by James Sallis

* Book 6 of the Lew Griffin series *

And finally we get to the grand finale of James Sallis's atypical, challenging, and elusive Lew Griffin

series. This novel has solidified the feeling that all six books are just part of one large story, a singular investigation into Lew Griffin's own life and purpose. No single book in the series can stand on its own without the others surrounding it. These novels probably shouldn't even be considered crime fiction, but if they are, they should definitely be seen collectively as one of the bravest pieces of crime fiction out there. I believe that not only was Sallis painting us a portrait of a complex man named Lew Griffin, but he was also painting a portrait of himself as a writer, with details for us to discover, or as he puts it many times in his books: he was sending us messages in code. Sallis is a superb writer, and this book is possibly the most impressive in the series in regards to pure prose. Sallis also provides a wonderful conclusion to the series, with a tone that fits perfectly in with the rest of the novels. But I want this review and the 5-star rating to not refer to this book alone, but to show big love to the series as a whole. These six novels might not be for everyone, and can be demanding and at times frustrating, but by its end, you'll know you experienced something special.

Out there in the window-world where a moth beat against glass, a man I knew both too well and not at all stood watching. A man dark and ill-defined, with the mark of lateness, of the autumnal, upon him too.

GRADE: A

WHITE JAZZ by James Ellroy

* Book 4 of the L.A. Quartet *

Every time I've finished an Ellroy book, I've had to sit back and process everything, climb up out of

his world, shake my brain free of his expert grasp. With White Jazz, he concludes his epic "L.A. Quartet," by narrowing his focus even more so than in The Black Dahlia, and miles away from the gargantuan L.A. Confidential. Returning to first-person narration and a single protagonist, Ellroy presents a portrait of racist and corrupt police lieutenant Dave Klein, who finds himself a pawn in a law enforcement political war when a Federal attorney mounts an investigation into LAPD malfeasance and its involvement in Southland vice.

Klein is a fascinating character, because he's not some hero or your everyday good guy caught up in a conspiracy and must be the one to bring it all to light. Instead he's a full-time criminal/part-time cop who finds himself in over his head, involved with individuals and systems that are even more corrupt than he is, and must fight through the whole book just to keep his head above water. And it was cool to witness as some semblance of justice (maybe goodness) starts to seep in to his motivations, once he gets a little love in his life and is forced to confront his actions in the past.

Style-wise, Ellroy takes the trimmed and slashed prose style he adopted for L.A. Confidential (by cutting out unnecessary words to cut the manuscript down by 100 pages per his editor) and ratchets it up to a thousand here! Paired with yet another complex plot, the clipped style makes White Jazz a very challenging read, as it's hard at times to follow, as major plot developments and twists can occur in just several well-chosen words, and if you blink (or skim), you miss it. It's not a casual read. But once I got settled in and used to it, I was along for the ride. And I began to realize how much this jazzy, bebop prose fits the confessional, stream-of-consciousness style that's used in the book. It's Dave Klein truly telling his story in his own words. And at times, it can be really poetic in it's own way. Here's what Ellroy himself had to say about his choice to continue the use of this technique for Klein in a Paris Review interview:
"I saw that if I eliminated words from his speech, I would develop a more convincing cadence for him: paranoid, jagged, enervated..."

This book, it's content, and it's writing style, as with most of Ellroy's work, definitely won't be to  everyone's taste, and I would suggest that people new to Ellroy not start with this one (probably start with the more accessible Dahlia). For a taste of what's in store in the book, here's a portion of the novel where Klein searches police records for a possible suspect:

Keyed up—glom the pervert file. Dog stuff/B&E/Peeping Tom, see what jumped:
  A German Shepherd-fucking Marine. Doctor "Dog": popped for shooting his daughter up with beagle pus. Dog killers—none fit my man's specs. Dog fuckers, dog suckers, dog beaters, dog worshipers, a geek who chopped his wife while dressed up as Pluto. Panty sniffers, sink shitters, masturbators—lingerie jackoffs only. Faggot burglars, transvestite break-ins, "Rita Hayworth"–Gilda gown, dyed bush hair, caught blowing a chloroformed toddler. The right age—but a jocker cut his dick off, he killed himself, a full-drag San Quentin burial.Peepers: windows, skylights, roofs—the roof clowns a chink brother act. No watchdog choppers, the geeks read passive, caught holding their puds with a whimper. Darryl Wishnick, a cute MO: peep, break, enter, rape, watchdogs subdued by goofball-laced meat—too bad he kicked from syph in '56. One flash: peepers played passive, my guy killed badass canines.

Although the style is more challenging than the previous books, making for a less smooth a read as I wanted, this novel is still an incredibly engaging crime saga, and skillfully ties in the events in the earlier novels, bringing the entire Quartet to a close in satisfying fashion (Ellroy's most poignant ending since Dahlia)! Ellroy and his work continues to fascinate me and he just climbed even higher in the ranks of my favorite authors.

To eclipse my guilt with the sheer weight of his evil. I'm going to kill him in the name of our victims, find Glenda and say:
  Tell me anything.
  Tell me everything.
  Revoke our time apart.
  Love me fierce in danger.

GRADE: A-

BAD CHILI by Joe R. Lansdale

* Book 4 of the Hap and Leonard series *

I started reading this series earlier this year, but Hap and Leonard already feel like a couple of old

friends! In this wild installment, while Hap is stuck in the hospital awaiting rabies shots after a run-in with a crazed squirrel and shitty health insurance, he discovers that not only has Leonard gone missing, but Leonard is also the lead suspect in the murder of Horse Dick McNee, a biker that stole his boyfriend Raul. In his quest to clear Leonard of Horse Dick's murder, he will discover a plot to steal grease from restaurants, meet a new love in his life, and risk forfeiting what measly insurance he has!

"The Sound of Music, I'd rather have my dick nailed to a burning building than have to sit through that shit again, and I don't care if the popcorn is free and you're giving me each bite with your vagina."

This just might be the funniest book of the series so far. The opening chapter of the squirrel attack, the section with the job interview at the chicken-processing plant, or anything involving Charlie Blank, are just some of the sections in this one that caused some serious out-loud laughter. But, this one isn't just all chuckles and political-incorrectness. It's also just as violent and menacing as the others, with some really stomach-churning bodily-harm this time. I also love the network of friends that Hap and Leonard are managing to collect; the supporting characters are just as entertaining as the two stars themselves. I'm happy that Hap has met the dirty-mouthed, kind-hearted nympho Brett, who seems to be a perfect match for love-lorn Hap ("She had legs that would have made the Pope abuse himself in the Vatican toilet."). Hopefully we see more of her, as well as more of the private dick Jim Bob Luke. And as usual, the book is filled with Lansdale's pitch perfect prose and genuinely insightful looks at life that really help to balance these stories, making for some entertaining reading!

"Life's like a bowl of chili in a strange café. Sometimes it's pretty tasty and spicy. Other times, it tastes like shit."

GRADE: B+

THE DEVIL'S SHARE by Wallace Stroby

* Book 4 of the Crissa Stone series *

Crissa Stone is back and this time she's taken a job in my neck of the woods, in sunny Los Angeles,

the City of Angels. She's there to lead the easy heist of millionaire, Emile Cota's prized art pieces as

they're being driven from Vegas to the Port of Los Angeles. It's a piece of cake job because Emile Cota himself is the one who hired her! Can't be anything easier than robbin' a dude who's asking to get robbed right...? Wrong. Dead wrong.

One of the things I've been a bit worried about with this series is the potential to become repetitive and boring. But Stroby has been able to keep it fairly fresh with each installment. And this newest novel definitely feels more distinct, and a bit more dangerous for our diligent heroine this time around. This one feels more assured and you can feel the author really getting into the groove of the series in his writing. I really appreciated how the "villain" this time around turned out to not be as one-dimensional and mustache-twirling as the previous ones have been. But I still want to see the series really evolve more and not fall into the usual series trap of not growing and not raising the stakes. Wallace Stroby, if you're reading, what about maybe having Crissa, in her desperation to be with jailed boyfriend Wayne, plan an epic breakout that might go horribly wrong, or maybe have her do a job that becomes really personal, like one that Wayne organizes or something? Something like that would be awesome and really step things up in the future!

But in the meantime, although the writing is as usual pretty straightforward and workmanlike, mostly surface with no frills and no time for real explorations of inner drama, this style really works with Crissa's character. The series is full of exciting action and all the books are quick, fun reads. And The Devil's Share might be the most satisfying and well-imagined book of the series.

GRADE: B+

EYE OF THE CRICKET by James Sallis

GRADE: B-

*Book 4 of the Lew Griffin series*

James Sallis's books are usually pretty short so you'd think I would be blazing through them. But they're so densely written and realized that it forces you to take your time while reading. This one is probably the densest of the existential Lew Griffin detective series so far. In this, the 4th book, we return back to the 90's section of Lew's life (so essentially a sequel to book 2, Moth), where Lew is not only searching for the missing brother of one of his students, but also is struggling with the sudden appearance of his doppelganger, a homeless man claiming to be him, and what it could mean in the search for his own long lost son.

I had the hardest time reading this book out of the other Griffin novels, as it felt more uneven and unfocused than the others, and it was difficult to get  a grasp at what was going on and what it all meant. I did like how this installment found Lew really trying to atone for many things that he regrets in his past, trying to make things right in so many ways. But don't start with this one. You shouldn't start with this anyway because it is absolutely necessary that this series be read in order, as it demands full attention of the reader across books to recall characters and situations, and the enjoyment of the novels are based on a frame of reference created by the previous ones. The series itself is a rich experience but this volume is the most maddening...

A TICKET TO THE BONEYARD by Lawrence Block

GRADE: A-

*Book 8 of the Matthew Scudder series*

A Ticket to the Boneyard is a whole new ballgame in the Matt Scudder series. After allowing Matt to confront his alcoholism in Eight Million Ways to Die and focusing on him dealing with sobriety in Out on the Cutting Edge, author Lawrence Block now has a blank slate and the space to really take Matt's story in any direction. But one would think that after your private detective character sobers up, the stories are in real danger of becoming flat and boring. Not so with Block's series! Because Boneyard is probably the most exciting Scudder book to date. Instead of Matt getting hired to solve a random mystery as with the previous novels, Block makes it personal and brings it close to home, while introducing a truly unsettling villain who proves to be a formidable foe for our hero. 

Years back when he was a cop, Matt framed a psycho, woman-hating killer who was raping and terrorizing his special lady-friend Elaine. When James Leo Motley went to prison for 12 years, he vowed to hurt Matt and everyone he loves ("You and all your women Scudder..."). Matt thought it was just the usual empty threat that criminals make while in cuffs. But things prove to be different after Motley is released crazier than ever and begins a mission to hurt any woman close to Scudder. 

This novel proves to be one of the most engaging of the series so far. While not as emotionally heavy as Eight Million, it is well paced, with the suspense quickly building as the threats to Matt's friends become real, and still packs an emotional punch as we see Matt becoming unhinged, making serious mistakes, blaming himself for these events, and getting dangerously close to falling off the wagon. 

Matt's relationship deepens with both Elaine (who's popped up sporadically in previous books), and Mick Ballou (the Irish gangster and butcher that Matt befriended in the last book). The relationships and the personal danger for Matt really make this book shine as Block steps it up another notch in this series. 

Life, I'd heard someone say, is a comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel. It seemed to me that it was both at once, even for those of us who don't do much of either.

THE BIG GOLD DREAM by Chester Himes

GRADE: C-

*Book 4 of the Harlem Cycle*

Since absolutely loving Chester Himes's first two books in his Harlem Cycle, A Rage in Harlem and The Real Cool Killers, it's sad that the next three books that I read in the cycle have gotten progressively worse. Himes's writing is always assured and fun to read. But while both Rage and Killers feel fresh and alive and filled with memorable characters, this novel feels uninspired and was frankly boring, as if Himes was phoning it in by this time with more of the same formula. After Alberta White drops dead after drinking a bottle of water blessed by the Sweet Prophet Brown during one of his mass street baptisms, it's somehow linked to more murders and a heap of stolen money everyone wants to get their hands on. You might like it, but if you want to start reading books by Chester Himes, I wouldn't recommend starting with this one.

BUTCH FATALE, DYKE DICK: DOUBLE D DOUBLE CROSS by Christa Faust

* Book 1 of the Butch Fatale, Dyke Dick series *

After thoroughly enjoying Money Shot, I couldn't resist squeezing in a read of Double-D Double

Cross, the first book in Christa Faust's PI series. Faust set out to write a detective book in the same hard-boiled pulp vein of the 40's and 50's, but with a queer erotic twist. The story ticks off all of the usual classic PI conventions, but instead of Mike Hammer running around solving cases and bedding dames, we have Butch Fatale, a broad-shouldered, big-titted, good-hearted, but tough-as-nails lesbian private detective, who cuts her hair like Tony Curtis and keeps a pistol and a strap-on dildo under her office desk for, you know, emergencies. 

Unlike most of our literary detectives, Butch's vice isn't liquor, it's vagina. And because her stomping grounds is sunny Los Angeles, there is plenty of temptation/distraction around. But make no mistake, Butch is also pretty formidable as an investigator, searching for a missing drug addict and ex-prostitute.  

 She looks like a Mormon quarterback but fucks like a wolverine.

Butch Fatale is a great character that really deserves a full series. She is even more fun to read than Angel Dare from Money Shot, and Faust brings her to life with writing that features her usual flair, well-tuned pacing, and clever wit. 

I've got a substantial ego, and like to think of myself as pretty bad-ass. Okay, maybe more bad-ass adjacent, but still...

While reading, you can feel how much fun Faust is having writing this story as well as her love for Butch and for the city of Los Angeles. Are there a lot of explicit sex scenes? Of course. It's an erotic crime novel so what did you expect? And as one might also expect, the book is a bit derivative, but it's still a really enjoyable and highly entertaining all the way up to a wild and crazy, climactic chase sequence from Malibu to the Palisades, an audacious sequence that has to be read to be believed! I read that last quarter of the book in glee, with a smile on my face. I hope for many more Butch Fatale books, and I'm happy to hear that Faust is already working on the next two novels, with Book 3 titled My Tongue Is Quick! How awesome is that!??

GRADE: B 

THE TWO-BEAR MAMBO by Joe R. Lansdale

GRADE: B+

*Book 3 of the Hap & Leonard series*

Another great adventure for my buddies Hap Collins and Leonard Pine! Leonard has a new boyfriend but is still surly, having just burnt down the neighborhood crack house for the third Christmas Eve in a row. But to stay out of jail this time, Leonard and Hap agree to help their friend Marvin locate his girlfriend Florida Grange, who happens to be Leonard's old lawyer and Hap's former sweet thang. The stakes are pretty high though this go round because Florida, an attractive black woman, was last seen in Grovetown, which is not only being threatened by heavy rains and flooding, but which also happens to be the most scummy hotbucket of racism this side of Texas, which doesn't bode well for an ex-hippie and his black, gay best friend with a hot temper. 

"Hell, I can't figure Raul. He's all mopey and shit. Today is the anniversary of when we met, and he wanted us to go out to dinner, go to a movie, do some serious fucking. I wanted us to do that too, but I didn't want it getting in the way of me killing somebody."

Lansdale does it once again, creating a thoroughly entertaining country romp, that's well-balanced with great dialogue, action, laugh-out-loud comedy, surprising insight and depth, and even a somber bleakness this time as our heroes realize that they may have stepped into some serious shit that they might not be able to handle. Again, there's a great cast of colorful characters that really stand out (Charlie really flew off the page this time) and in three books I've developed a really fondness for Hap and Leonard, I don't want them hurt, and I'm invested in their adventures. Mr. Lansdale created something special with this series and these characters so far.

"No one is anything better than human. Just some humans are better humans than others, but the best humans are still just human."

ALL I DID WAS SHOOT MY MAN by Walter Mosley

GRADE: C+

*Book 4 of the Leonid McGill series*

A nifty little title. I like it. It refers to NY private detective Leonid McGill's new "client(?)" Zella Grisham, who recently served 8 years for not only shooting her boyfriend, but for being involved in a major robbery. As usual, Leonid is feeling the need to atone for past sins. Leonid is the one that planted the false evidence that implicated Zella in the heist. Now he means to get to the bottom of who was really behind it. 

*Yawn*

The only thing cool about the plot is the title. One of the big issues here is that not only is that plot terribly boring, but Mosley also stacks too many other equally uninteresting mysteries, essentially weakening the effect of all of them. This seems to be a trademark in this series. It got to a point where I stopped caring about all the little issues that Leonid had to deal with. As a matter of fact it seemed like Mosley didn't really care that much either. It felt as if he just really enjoys writing these characters and, because he has the reputation of being a mysteries writer, felt as if he needed to come up with some thin mysteries to frame his characters around. The character that jump starts the whole story, Zella, is barely even shows up in the book! I've been noticing this trend of boring plots a lot in many detective stories and I'm getting a little tired of it. Don't get me wrong, character is very important, but there needs to be something else going on to keep me reading about the same people every book, and this series is getting a bit repetitive. This low rating might be a product of just getting tired of reading forgettable crime fiction.

That might be why I enjoy noir fiction over detective crime. The characters are sometimes more flawed and more engaging, and the plots and concepts are a lot more fresh and urgent. But don't get me wrong, I'm still a big fan of Mosley, but after catching up with this series after I read the next book, I'll focus more on his standalone work. I would've given this book a straight two stars but I wanted to give it a little extra for Mosley's usual good writing.

LEVIATHAN WAKES by James S. A. Corey

GRADE: C

*Book 1 of The Expanse series*

I don't really read many big sci-fi/fantasy series, the only ones have been Stephen King's The Dark Tower series and George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, both of which I enjoyed. But I'd read great thing's about James S. A. Corey's Expanse series, and the books in the 9-volume series seem to be coming out at the steady pace at a book a year, so being that there is an end in sight, I thought I'd give it a shot! 

The book takes place centuries in the future, generations after mankind has expanded into the rest of the Solar System to colonize Mars, it's moons, the Asteroid Belt, as well as the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. There is turmoil already brewing between the "inner planets" and the "Belters" and "outer planets." In a pair of parallel stories, we follow both James Holden, the Earthling XO of an ice-hauling vessel who suddenly becomes the captain of a small ragtag crew after they witness the bombing of their ship while on a recon mission, and Detective Miller, a Belter security officer on Ceres station investigating a missing girl. They are both caught up in not only a conspiracy but also in the middle of a war that has just broken out in amongst the planets. 

The science and speculative details of the story is the most fascinating thing here and really kept me reading. I just loved being lost in this universe. It caused me to do my own research on the Solar System and learn more about gravity and lack there of. I love the idea of people who were born and raised in places without natural gravity looking different than people who do. And I love that by expanding to other planets, discrimination based on skin color or has pretty much gone away, but replaced by something else. And despite all of the complex sci-fi stuff, the book was surprisingly easy to read!

But I have to disagree with a lot of the fans out here, the book's pacing left a lot to be desired. Something always felt off with the pacing and the tension. There was never a sense of real urgency and it always felt to me like an episodic TV series where Holden and his crew go from one adventure to the other, rather than having a solid overarching through-line. And many times the action scenes were really fumbled, where the set-up is amazing and the the author ruins it by overwriting or taking all the tension out of it altogether. A great example is the initially exciting sequence where are heroes are trying to escape Eros station which is being put on lock down, then a huge twist is introduced that promises to ramp up the stakes even more, filling the sequence with a new type of danger and violence that the character have never had to deal with! But instead, our characters sit around and talk for a bit in the middle of all the action, as if they're oblivious. I couldn't believe it...talk about a missed opportunity. Also, a climactic scene near the end had so much potential to be as suspenseful and creepy as Ripley descending into the Queen's lair at the end of Aliens, but instead the sequence is about Miller mostly pining over some chick and feeling sorry for himself, and you never feel like he's in any real danger, even though he's literally surrounded by the enemy. It also seemed like there was a problem keeping character details consistent, with Holden's pilot introduced as a guy who constantly talks to the point of annoyance but then after a while, he gets quieter and quieter, until he barely says 10 sentences before the end of the book.

So I was a bit disappointed but I still think I'll give the 2nd book in the series a try!

WHEN THE THRILL IS GONE by Walter Mosley

GRADE: B

*Book 3 of the Leonid McGill series*

I'd read the first two Leonid McGill detective mysteries written by Mosley years back, before I began to write my book opinions down. For some reason I never got around to continuing the series so I decided to try to catch up. From what I remember from the earlier books, the plots were a little unremarkable, as with many detective series. That might have been part of the reason why I wasn't in a rush to read this one. 

 

But this series carries it's strength in depicting Leonid McGill's highly-dysfunctional family life, having to juggle them as skillfully as navigating his dangerous cases as a PI in contemporary New York City. From his brilliant and charismatic son, Twill,  who's just dropped out of high school and always finds his way into trouble, his loveless but devoted marriage to his cheating wife Katrina, his on-again, off-again relationship with his girlfriend Aura, and his shaky relationship with his dead Communist revolutionary father (whose teachings are a constant influence to Leonid), it's a wonder that our hero has any time in the day to actually do detective work.

And in this installment, Leonid is hired by a young steel painter who is scared of being murdered by the psychic superpowers of her billionaire husband, a man who lives in a ranch-style house on the roof of a Manhattan skyscraper.

One of Mosley's strengths is a sensitivity to character and an ability to create very engaging protagonists. Like Easy Rawlins, Leonid is compassionate behind his gruff exterior, with an aching heart for the downtrodden. In this novel you really get a sense of Leonid cultivating a new "family" of misfits from the people in need that he helps along the way. But one of the issues with Leonid is that he always seems to have every resource available to him to solve every problem that comes his way, so he never seems to be in much danger and he never has to work too hard to find clues. That might also be an issue with detective novels set in contemporary times when information is so easy to find. And why are the plots in so many detective series books so damned forgettable?! Is it laziness and dependency on a cool character to carry you through? But anyway, the book is still an enjoyable read and the series is worth a look. And this installment might be the best in the series so far.

A sigh escaped my lips but no one heard, and so no one cared.

MISTER SLAUGHTER by Robert McCammon

GRADE: A

*Book 3 of the Matthew Corbett series*

While Speaks The Nightbird is a historical mystery similar with touches of The Crucible, with a darker atmosphere than the rest and a hint of the paranormal, and The Queen of Bedlam really jump-started the series with more of a straight detective thriller, this next novel truly flipped the Matthew Corbett series on it’s ear by introducing a pure action-adventure novel.

Robert McCammon ratchets up the excitement level in the series with Mister Slaughter and crafts a story that’s simpler and more narrowly-focused than the previous novels, with even bigger stakes! The book picks up where the last book left off, where Matthew (fully in his position as a "problem solver" for the Herrald Agency) and his partner Hudson Greathouse were offered a simple task of escorting pyscho prisoner Tyranthus Slaughter from Westerwicke Prison in the Philly colony to a boat in New York for transport to England. But on the road, the manipulative Mr. Slaughter presents our heroes with an offer they can’t refuse, setting them off on a terrifying chase and a thrilling adventure.

The stakes are even higher in this book, with it being more personal for Matthew. I love the idea of this character we love feeling like he’s made a terrible mistake, and dedicating himself for the rest of the book to making sure he sets it right. As usual with these books, we can feel Matthew maturing and learning during this adventure, growing up, becoming a better detective, and learning how to handle himself in dire situations. And Slaughter is an awesome villain, and definitely the most dangerous one that Matthew has faced up to this point! You feel the malevolence in every one of his lines and the imminent danger whenever he’s around. Even though the book isn’t exactly short, I went through this one like a speed demon; it’s so intensely readable and definitely is the fastest-paced installment in the series!

MUCHO MOJO by Joe R. Lansdale

GRADE: B+

*Book 2 in the Hap and Leonard series*

While the first great book in this series, Savage Season, focuses a lot on Hap Collins's backstory, this second installment focuses a bit more on Leonard's past and the town that he grew up in. Hap owes Leonard after getting him involved in the violent events of the first book so he agrees to accompany his buddy to the funeral of Leonard's estranged Uncle Chester. After the funeral, the boys are cleaning up Chester's old, run-down house and discover a skeleton and a stash of kiddie porn stuffed into a box under the floorboards. Leonard wants to learn the truth, so the two decide to try detective work on for size and get to the bottom of it all.

Once again, the two good ol' boys are a joy to read. I would read anything with these characters. At this point, if one of the subsequent books in the series turns out to be a 700-page tome about Hap and Leonard sitting in a boat the whole time trying to catch a catfish, I'd still read it in a heartbeat. Lansdale is a stunning writer. He has a real knack for finding the perfect combination of tone in his work (at least in the three books I've read so far). He's able to balance tender moments of real connection between friends with intriguing mystery, and with the perfect blend of humor. The books are downright funny sometimes without feeling forced. The humor seems to come naturally and the book never feels like it's trying to hard to be in the quirky humor crime genre. I think that's what I love about the characters Hap and Leonard, the balance and the ease of their characterization. They're funny while not trying to be and they're tough dudes while not having to be hard-boiled. I mean Hap actually seeks out non-alcoholic beer!

Anyway, this is another great Southern thriller by Joe R. Lansdale, who really is an awesome storyteller. I'm glad I still have a plethora of books written by him to choose from!

SPEAKS THE NIGHTBIRD by Robert McCammon

 GRADE: A-

*Book 1 of the Matthew Corbett series*

People who sometimes pay attention to my humble opinions here on Goodreads might guess that Robert McCammon’s Matthew Corbett series is possibly my favorite detective series. But, sadly it seems like it’s still a bit underrated. I think it’s one of the most consistently enjoyable book series and full of fantastic entertainment.

This book is where it all begins, originally conceived as a historical mystery standalone in two parts. It takes place in 1699, and introduces one of my favorite book characters, Matthew Corbett, who begins the book as a young clerk traveling with and assisting Magistrate Woodward, who has traveled to the small town of Fount Royal in the Carolina colony and is overseeing the trial of a local young woman accused of witchcraft. To everyone, Rachel Howarth’s guilt seems pretty cut and dry, but Matthew has doubts and sets out against the magistrate’s wishes to save Rachel from execution.

As well as being an historical fiction mystery, it's even more rewarding as a coming of age story, as it's a pleasure to witness the character not only fall in love for the first time, but also stand up for what he believes is right, and come out from under the shadow of the magistrate. Matthew Corbett is a great creation. He's smart, dedicated, but also sensitive and has a knack for reading people and situations. Unless you have a heart of steel, it's impossible to read this and not want to root for him as he stands up to an entire town for what is right and just. And one of the great things in this series are the baddies, and in this novel, fire-and-brimstone preacher Exodus Jerusalem is a great example. 

Definitely read this series. The rest of the books are even better than this one! But read the series in order and start with this! It has romance, adventure, mystery, as well as history about American colonial life. It's a blast!

BLACK HORNET by James Sallis

GRADE: B+

*Book 3 in the Lew Griffin series*

With Black Hornet, I'm realizing that the Lew Griffin series is entirely the written memories of an older man looking back on and contemplating major events in his life. While the first novel, The Long-Legged Fly, jumps around in time to study a changing man through different decades and the second novel, Moth, expands more on the 1990's part of his life, in Black Hornet, Lew remembers more events from the 1960's, expanding on the first part of Fly. What struck me, was how much the book actually did feel like a memory, even more so than the previous stories. Lew's narration seems to be unstuck in time, paralleling the past and present, cross-referencing not only things that have happened, but events to come and filling in some of the blanks between events that we are aware of from the previous books (maybe this is material for the later novels in the series?). All of this gives a great sense of an old man looking back on life with waning memory.

This story focuses on the younger Lew of the 1960's section of Fly, a raging drinker and debt collector, who is still far away from the best-selling novelist, professor, and sometime private detective that we know from the 1990's. He meets Esmé Dupuy in a bar, a white journalist who he has a drink with but who is soon gunned down right in front of him, the latest victim of a sniper that's been terrorizing New Orleans shooting white people. Lew is set on tracking the man down. And in doing so, we get to witness how Lew meets different people that we know will be important friends in the times to come.

This book has a very different atmosphere from the previous books in the series. There's more of a focus on race and racial identity and protest, probably coming out of being set in the racially-charged and political '60's. Lew finds himself adrift in this world, bumping into militant groups like the Panthers, and even meeting and rubbing shoulders with a socially-angry Chester Himes at an event for the author, a scene that turns out to be a great homage to one of Sallis's inspirations. Although the book is pretty short, I took my time with it and soaked in Sallis's passionate prose, enjoying yet another great book in a series focusing on identity and memory.

SHOOT THE WOMAN FIRST by Wallace Stroby

GRADE: B

*Book 3 of the Crissa Stone series*

Crissa Stone is back at it again. She's reunited with a couple of old colleagues (including Charlie Glass from the check cashing heist in Cold Shot to the Heart) and is getting ready to rob a car-full of cash just sitting out in the middle of a Detroit street. But, once again, everything gets all screwed-up, dumbasses make mistakes, people get shot, and Crissa ends up being hunted for the dough.

And yet again, Crissa lets her sense of morality and goodness get in the way. That's the thing that sets her character apart from her male literary counterpart, Parker, who she's constantly compared to. She actually has a heart, no matter how much she tries to conceal it. I guess that's a good thing, but if she didn't feel the need to do things like help a dead friend's family, things would go a lot easier for her. But, on the other hand, if she didn't do those things we wouldn't have these fun, action-packed books. Like the two previous books, this one is sleek and propulsive with very little filler. Another exciting chapter in a consistent series about one badass anti-heroine!

"When they're training these counterterror teams, they tell them when they're going into a situation where there's multiple targets––men and women– you shoot the women first."

"Why?"

"Because in a gang or a crew or whatever, a woman's got to be three times as tough, three times as committed, three times as hard-ass for the men to take her seriously."

MOTH by James Sallis

GRADE: A-

*Book 2 of the Lew Griffin series*

While the first book in James Sallis's Lew Griffin series, The Long-Legged Fly, was essentially a compilation of stories during different decades in Lew's life, the second, Moth, focuses on the time immediately following the events at the end of the 1990 section of that first book (literally picking up right where the last line in Fly left off). Lew has realized that he's too old to be running the streets now and has quit as a private detective and is now a successful mystery author and college French instructor. After a close friend passes, he feels a responsibility to track down her runaway estranged daughter. But if the investigation itself is the most important thing to you when reading a mystery novel, then you might be disappointed in Sallis's rich work. 

I found this book to be even more enjoyable than the first. Not only because now I'm more familiar with Lew and Sallis's writing style, but also because I'm discovering how meta, self-referencing, and cyclic these novels might be. Here are some examples:

1) Moth starts off with a line that made me return to the last paragraph in the first book with a whole new understanding, as well as more questions! Intriguing.

2) There's a part in this novel where Lew discusses a bad review of his third novel called Black Hornet, which foreshadows Sallis's next book, the third in the series, one that wasn't even written for another couple of years!

3) There's also a scene where Lew interacts with an old Cajun colleague who's also a private investigator named Boudleaux. But wait a minute, the main private eye character in Lew's books is a Cajun named Boudleaux! Hmm...Lew's inspiration perhaps?

Discoveries like these make this novel and the potential for the series really fascinating. And obviously means that it's necessary to read the series in order. But even aside from that, Sallis is a lovely writer with a great knack for characterization and for turning a simple mystery into a deeper look at loss, regret, and responsibility. He's gearing up to be one of my favorite authors and I want to tackle all of his work now. And with this book, the Lew Griffin series is gearing up to be an excellent, detailed character piece. While Fly touched on multiple parts of Lew's life, acting like an outline for Lew's entire story, Moth and the subsequent books seem to expand more on each specific period, adding more detailed nuance and texture to a larger existential portrait of a complex man.

While I never could bring myself to accept Christian notions of sin and atonement, there's definitely something to karma. The things we do pile up on us, weigh us down. Or hold us in place, at the very least.