Friday, April 27, 2007

Some hot new novels

There's some good new stuff on the shelves now or soon...

New in paperback in May is J.D. Rhoades' Good Day in Hell starring Jack Keller.


And new in hardcover on sale right now is the new Estelman, American Detective starring Amos Walker.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Blood Ties (Julie Collins) by Lori G. Armstrong

Blood Ties (Julie Collins) by Lori G. Armstrong




Julie Collins is a secretary at the Bear Butte County Sheriff's Office where she wants to find the resources to track down the killer who slaughtered her Native American brother.
When the body of a sixteen year old girl found in Rapid Creek Julie and her PI friend Kevin get hired to find out what happened. Along the way she faces the aftermath of rape, tough guys in barroom brawls and the hurt that comes along with loving someone who’s involved with someone else.
Although the mystery is nice and dark and there’s enough action scenes to keep the blood flowing what makes this one a winner is the character of Julie Collins. She’s a bit of an anti-hero… She smokes, likes casual sex and more often then not she acts pretty unfriendly. All in all a great addition to the Daughters of Spade.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Charlie Parker is back!

The new Parker novel by John Connolly, The Unquiet, will be published in the UK on May 3rd and in the US and Canada on May 15th.

Al of the Hodder & Stoughton first editions of The Unquiet will come with a special cd featuring tracks by 14 artists that fit the mood or content of the novel.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Still River (Henry Oswald) by Harry Hunsicker



In this novel we first meet Dallas P.I. Lee Henry Oswald. The sister of an old friend hires him to track down the missing friend / brother. When he learns the brother has been murdered he sets out to bring the killer to justice.
Doesn't sound like a story you've never read before, does it? Well, you're right but that's part of the fun. If you like private eyes like Spenser, Cole or early Lehane you'll love this. It has psychotic sidekicks, hot babes, gunfights and dangerous mobsters... And of course a tough-as-nails, meth-using, ass-kicking ex-Special Forces hero.
There's some nice touches that add a sense of humour to the story like the fact Oswald is a bad shot (ironic with a name like that), apparently has a history of being unlucky or at least a bastard when it comes to love. Some added drama comes from his comatose mentor and the sad history of the female lead character Nolan.
All in all, a great read if you're looking for a book that has all you love about P.I. books but were afraid to ask for...

Friday, April 13, 2007

New Burke Novel: Terminal

The new Burke novel by Andrew Vachss (named Terminal) will be coming out in September!

Burke will be dealing with a cold case and an ex-con trying to gather money for his medical help in Switzerland. The cold case involves the rape, torture and kill of a thirteen-year-old girl by three rich men more than thirty years ago.

Sounds like pretty hardboiled stuff!

Visit www.vachss.com for more details.

Friday, April 6, 2007

Blue Screen (Sunny Randall) by Robert B. Parker



A common tradition in comics is the team-up of two series characters. Parker does the same here in this Sunny Randall novel by having his PI combine forces and share sheets with his other series character Jesse Stone.
It's interesting to see Sunny's view of Jesse. There are the usual observations of Parker about relationships, some run-ins with mob thugs and a few good one-liners. The mystery itself isn't very interesting and there's not much action. A friend of a B-actress is murdered with various Hollywood and gangster types as suspects. Sunny is hired to bodyguard the actress and after a few chapters gets involved in the
homicide investigation. During this investigation she comes to grips with the fact her ex-husband is becoming a father.
Not Parker at his best, but a more interesting read than the usual work he's delivered the last five years purely based on the team-up.