Saturday, August 22, 2015

The Shadow Broker (Finn Harding) by Trace Conger

I knew Finn Harding would be a bit on the shady side for a PI but what I got went beyond that. He crosses the criminal line frequently, although he doesn't seem such a hardboiled character from the first look. He's got a dad and a kid to look after for example and knows his way around a Search Engine.
Finn Harding lost his PI license some time ago and also divorced his wife. Now he not only wants to make a living but also figures having money might be the way to get his wife back. When he's hired by a black market information brokerage outfit he sinks deeper and deeper into the darkness.
Finn is a cool character, the the mix of regular Joe and hardboiled criminal / shamus is very interesting. The criminals are Elmore Leonard material and pretty original. The action is fast and furious.
All in all, an interesting new series. Great for fans of characters like Quarry, Burke or Parker.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

No Hard Feelings (August Riordan) by Mark Coggins

I was happy to get an advance review copy of this one. It's been some time since we last saw Mark Coggins' August Riordan, but here he is.
This is a pretty much different kind of book than earlier ones in this series. Earlier ones starred Riordan in a bit less effective Philip Marlowe, in this book he's more a less effective Jack Reacher.
Winnie, a tough girl from earlier book Vulture Capital returns, wearing some high-tech implants that enable her to walk. The man behind the implants wants his hardware back though, and Winnie enlists Riordan for help. What follows is a summer blockbuster kind of ride full of action, thrills and some romance.
I'm not entirely sure if I like the fact this series is moving into thriller instead of mystery territory, but it sure was an engaging and fun read.