The Shadow Pavilion, the fourth in the Detective Inspector Chan adventures certainly carries through with the promise of an entertaining read. DI Chen, Shanghai Three’s Police Liaison with Heaven and Hell, is after whatever group is illegally bringing in residents of Hell as cheap labor. He has two of the best working on it when they disappear. Seneschal Zhu Irzh is not only a demon but a terrific operative in his own right and was sent in with Badger, who can take care of himself. Now Chen has to find out where they’ve gone and still get to the bottom of the issue. It doesn’t help when he finds out that the newly crowned Celestial Emperor is under an attempted assassination and that a shortcutting scriptwriter has imported a Tiger demon to impersonate a movie star and that she is now on the loose and in a starlet-sized snit.

Liz Williams has created an interestingly enjoyable fantasy/scifi/adventure. This one sort of defies classification as Singapore Three is futuresque but with her addition of the realms of Hell and Heaven and all their dream- and nightmarescape denizens, the tale takes on a mythological bent that makes for fascinating reading. She has begun to flesh out some of the secondary characters more – we get to see from the perspective of Badger, a Hellish family familiar with fierce loyalties to Chen and his wife; we also get a little more perspective from the Celestial Emperor; as well as Chen’s wife Inari. As usual we have some new secondary characters, new demons, foolish humans, and the most successful assassin of all time to keep us amused.

With all due speed Williams draws us into the intrigue, imbuing our imaginations with vivid images full of color and scent that make her stories come alive. With this descriptive skill she lures us in. Then, like the sticky strands of a spider’s web, we get trapped and held by a story that is so full of life we cannot even decide what to call it. Is it futuristic police procedural? Is it an allegorical fairy tale? Near future occult? Perhaps an alternative historical fantasy? Whatever you would like to call it, I’ll just call it something I want more of. Fans of the previous three will not be disappointed.

Since the folks at EOS were kind enough to send me a copy of The Undead Kama Sutra, I felt that I should extend them the same courtesy and read this book. This is the third book in Mario Acevedo's Felix Gomez detective series, but I don't believe that it is necessary to have had read the first two books (something I haven't done yet).

Perhaps a plot summary is in order, because god knows after you finish reading my review, the summary may be all you want to know of the book. Vampire PI, Felix Gomez, is charged with finding out more information about the near mythical underground sex-tome, The Undead Kama Sutra. It’s held in such regard within the vampire community because it can “realign the chakra” causing vampires to “reverse psychic damage and heal mental and emotional wounds.” Hmm, how philosophical?

But wait, let’s not just stop there: positions in the erotic tome come with such hysterically knee slapping names as “Monkey Laughs at Moon” and “Feeding the Melon.” Can’t stop laughing at how ingenious the names are? Yeah, me neither—so funny! I kept waiting for the “Hidden Trap Door from Behind” position.

Sadly, the position names are the high point of this book. Honestly, I’d rather watch people perform Tai Chi in the park for the rest of my life than want to hear anymore about chakras and The Undead Kama Sutra. I’d rather Tae Bo around the US with Billy Blanks than watch anyone acting out the things found in this sex-tome.

Okay you may be saying, “We get it, but that can’t be all this book is about right?” Fair enough. I guess I forgot to mention that Felix Gomez has also been tasked with the dying wish of his alien buddy to “save the Earth women.” From what you may ask? Well that would be giving things away. Let’s just say, I envy you for not knowing.

Enough negatives, on to the positives—it’s fairly short. It’s also self-contained which is nice I guess. The story ended when the pages ran out. The cover was pretty nice. It was free. Is that enough?

I'm not entirely sure who this series is marketed towards, but it sure isn't me. I feel that the target audience for these books is the 14-17 year-old adolescent boy demographic. The demographic that love The Hardy Boys but always wished there were more soft-core titillation and blood in the stories. The same demographic that watches scrambled porn on cable, enjoys the spice channel, and laughs when they stumble upon their father’s hidden stash of Playboy magazines. I mean many of the characters walk around naked most of the time for no other reason than to be naked. If I have to hear another descriptive of, "she had a bikini that was too small for her breasts and she knew it", I'm going to weep—I’m talking about openly weeping without any regard to shame.

Also Mr. Acevedo's writing is extremely clichéd and weak. Characters go from point A-B with expository that seem almost ridiculously simple.

i.e.: I need to go there- So I get in a car and drive- Here I am driving- Still driving- I pull up to where I was driving towards- I get out of the car and here I am.

Basically, that’s how the descriptives go in this book. Take this "fine" writing and throw plot ideas in a hat and pull things out at random and you have what passes for a story here. I'm not giving this a lower score because like I said, I don't believe I'm the target readership and perhaps 14-17 year-old boys will love the cheesy "is that a pen in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me" dialogue. And besides, it knows it has its fair share of faults and doesn't take itself too seriously, unlike a lot of so called “literary” books out there. Now excuse me while I cry over the wasted hours spent reading this book that I'll never get back.

Not recommended for anyone who is old enough to buy a lotto ticket.

If you liked this also check out: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Supercharged Kama Sutra Illustrated, the always heart numbingly fun “danger stranger” (if you don’t know what that means Google it!), any American Pie movie, and the absurd yet enticing Hardy Boys and the Rainbow Party.

"Hip Flask: Concrete Jungle" was very much what I expected in terms of continuing the stories begun in the "Elephantmen: Wounded Animals" graphic novel. This volume could be considered a stand-alone volume in some circles, but in my own experience, it was a mistake to attempt to read "Concrete Jungle" without reading "Wounded Animals" first. "Concrete Jungle" offers only the barest recap into previous events which helps jog the memory of readers who are already familiar with the series, but offers little in the way of explanation to readers who are experiencing "Elephantmen" for the first time. The first attempt at reading this volume was largely unenjoyable because I didn't have the faintest idea why I should care about any of these characters. After reading (and very much enjoying) "Wounded Animals," I began reading "Concrete Jungle" again and discovered it to be a far better volume than I'd anticipated.

As with "Wounded Animals," "Concrete Jungle" masquerades as a pulpy, genre action story that centers on Hip Flask, the Elephantman who appears to be a bipedal hippopautamus. He was introduced in "Wounded Animals" as a private investigator type who's been contracted by a branch of official law enforcement. His exact employment status and agency aren't fully revealed, but it's clear that he's meant to be on the side of the "good guys" as much as this series can be said to have "good guys."

Once again the artists have gone for a look that while richly textured is decidedly dark and gritty which is fitting considering the hard-boiled pulp noir storyline. This book follows Hip Flask through the partial investigation of a case that clearly involves a hitman, the elephantman Obadiah Horn, and a man named Serengheti. What isn't clear is exactly how the case will be resolved because this volume, frustratingly enough, doesn't contain a full story arc. It's obviously setting up plot elements for bigger and better things to come in the series, though the cliff-hanger ending is less about cheap tricks to sell more books and more about a logical place to end what is, essentially, a single chapter in a much larger work. "Concrete Jungle" shifts between plot threads fluidly, while only weaving a couple of them into the larger storyline. The reader gets the impression that they can trust the author and artists to resolve all of these glimpses into a coherent whole, especially if that reader has gotten to read "Wounded Animals." The changes in characters and plotlines are nothing new for "Elephantmen" and it's part of what keeps the story so interesting.

The "Elephantmen" series is a fast-cut action series skillfully melded with noir and near-future science fiction and "Concrete Jungle" is no exception, however, as with "Wounded Animals", much larger and deeper issues are at the heart of this story. "Concrete Jungle" raises issues of scientific ethics and responsibility, racism, economics, and even provokes some thought on law enforcement and prisons. While this certainly shouldn't surprise readers of graphic novels or genre fiction in general (because much of it does contain worthy statements on society and culture), the simple fact is that the "Elephantmen" series carries all this issues within a story that brings them up without ever getting horribly preachy or boring in the slightest. "Concrete Jungle" is one of those books that a person can't help thinking about after reading it, and that's certainly not a bad thing at all.

War is on the way and every Vampyre in Manhattan cab feel it coming. The balance of power has shifted and the conflicting agendas of Vampyre Clans have destabilized relations, but Joe Pitt has another fight on his hands. His girl, Evie, is sicker then ever, stuck in a hospital, losing hope, running out of time. On top of that, Joe has a new assignment: Go to Brooklyn to investigate the violent demise of a blood dealer. It puts him face to face with the strangest Vampyres he’s ever met – from a tasteless crew who flaunts their talents as circus freaks to a family who prays together as often as they slay together.

It’s a devilish task and it takes every last one of Joe’s supernatural reflexes to stay in one piece, yet one thought pushes him forward: Evie. But when desperation drives him too far, his effort to save the one thing he loves could cost him the little he has.

Half the Blood of Brooklyn is the third Joe Pitt casebook following 2005’s Already Dead and last years No Dominion. Since all of the Joe Pitt books have had the same release date, December 26th is becoming one of my favorite days of the year.

Each book tends to shed some light on some of the different clans, in No Dominion Pitt ventured into the territory of The Hood. The death of a blood dealer in the beginning of Half the Blood of Brooklyn acts as the catalyst for Pitt to venture out into the territory of some new clans to the series. Minor, lesser clans that hold less turf then the major clans do.

One of these clans gave me pause, I may not be the most ardent vampire student but I really had to rack my brain to remember even the slightest instance of this type of vampire being mentioned. This was one of the highlights of the book.

The general atmosphere of the book is that of impending doom. A major war is drawing closer and sides are being chosen. No clan, regardless of size or prior allegiance, will be able to stay out of it.

As the middle book of a five book series there is some set-up happening in order to make way for the final books. I really liked the end of this book and the blind-sided feeling that it produces.

By the end of Half the Blood of Brooklyn decisions that have been put off will have been made; changes in the Vampyre clan structure will have taken place and everything will be shaken up. Pitt hasn’t so much burned all of his bridges as he has completely blown them up and ends the book, literally, with a declaration of war.

--Brian Lindenmuth

As an aside it was recently brought to my attention that, once again, that the UK covers are far better looking then their US counterparts, adding more fuel to that fire. I hadn’t ever checked them out so I did. That person is right the UK version IS better.

As the tale opens, Dr. John Watson, steadfast companion of the legendary detective and recently vanished Sherlock Holmes has been framed for a grisly murder! Writing from a damp cell in Coldbath Fields penitentiary, the falsely convicted prisoner recounts the events leading to his arrest . . . and provides twelve removable, facsimile clues that point to the true culprit. Among them are:


· An article torn from a newspaper in California
· A puzzling manuscript ripped into several pieces
· A catalog of Victorian medicines and marital aids
· Plus a telegram, an arrest report, an empty matchbook, and much more


It's up to you to sift through the clues and solve the whodunit. When you think you've identified the culprit, slice open the final signature of the book (sealed at the printer) to read the remainder of the story.


When you see this book for the first time, you just want to admire it. This is a gorgeous book that has to be one of the best looking books that I have seen in a long time. It does something that most books fail to do it demands to be handled. You immediately flip through it just to see everything from the beautiful illustrations to the inserts to the clues. The sealed solution even taunts you a bit from the back. Quirk books just did as fantastic job.


For readers already familiar with Duane Swierczynski's other books the first thing that becomes readily apparent is the difference in writing style and tone. Swierczynski is very adept at adopting the voice and writing style of Dr. Watson as well as the tone of the time. I was impressed overall and think that The Crimes of Dr Watson really shows the range of his writing ability in a new light.


The framing device used to tell the story is a letter, written by Watson, that has been sent to, and is being read by, Colonel Harry Resmo.

All the while adhering to the stylistic conventions of another era Swierczynski does manage to insert some of his trademark humor into the mix adding a new facet to an already intriguing mix, like in this following passage.




When you are presented the opportunity to actually interact with the book your reading the reading experience is taken to a different level. Its one thing to read about a protagonist finding clues then their interpretations of them. There is an inherent distance in this time-tested method. Even the most fair play of stories relies on you buying into a certain series of events. When you are given the opportunity to really handle the clues and to examine them fully and freely the distance between the reader and the detective is bridged. More so then a simple suspension of disbelief the reader actually becomes the detective.


All of which begs the question, which is also a selling point of the book, of solvability. Is the mystery, as it’s presented, with the clues presented, able to be solved in a fair manner, without resorting to trickery? I'm happy to report that it is. Some of the connections between the clues are pretty easy, but assembling the web of clues WILL take work but it is doable.


So, did a guy who claims to be "not exactly the most Holmesian motherfucker on the block " write a fantastic Sherlock Holmes book? Yes he did and this is one of the better books that I have read this year.


--Brian Lindenmuth


As an aside, there are a number of inside jokes peppered throughout the book if the right reader chooses to look for them. References to other authors and their protagonists that are friends with Swierczynski. One of the inserts is a newspaper from 1895 and a number of the articles are written, unaccredited, by other authors that are, again, friends of Swierczynski. References contained in the articles give additional clues as to their authorship.

A movie producer hurtles to his death from the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, an apparent suicide that shocks the film community and puts a two hundred million dollar production in jeopardy.

His colleague, Grace, doesn’t believe it was suicide and turns to private detective Cape Weathers to find the truth. To solve the case, Cape and his friend Sally—an assassin raised by the Triads—take on the Russian mob, a major movie studio, and a recalcitrant police department by enlisting the help of rogue cops, computer hackers, and an investigative journalist who just doesn’t give a damn. But with a sniper on their trail, the challenge will be staying alive long enough to find out the truth.

Beating the Babushka is the second book in the Cape Weathers series following Stealing the Dragon earlier in the year. As with the earlier book Beating the Babushka is a lot of fun to read. I normally am not one to get caught up in a series but Maleeny's books have quickly become must-haves for me upon their release.

It is not necessary to have read the earlier book in the series to understand and appreciate what happens in Beating the Babushka. But I will say this, that a fuller understanding of Sally, one of the reoccurring characters in the series and Cape's back-up in tight situations, can only be had with a reading of the earlier book. But, Sally's character is just as vibrant and interesting without that prior knowledge though readers of the first book may feel that she is underused here after she had such a dominating role in the earlier book. Like all of the great deadly sidekick characters her time spent in the story isn't enough but Maleeny knows better then to spoil a good thing and ultimately leave us wanting more.

One of the things that are interesting here is the sustained Hollywood theme. Not only is the death of a movie producer at the heart of the story here but Beating the Babushka is filled with movie allusions and references as well as offering up a behind the scenes look at the business side of movie making.

Reflecting the shift in the power structure of organized crime in the U.S. it’s the Russian mob that dominates here. An outline of their history and their methods of dealing with other organizations (both legal and not) provide an interesting sub-plot. One of my favorite characters in Beating the Babushka is the retired Russian mobster known as The Pole. It will be an anecdote of his that will provide the title of the book. His character is one that you see sometimes in fiction, regardless of medium. A kind of idealized, gentlemen criminal, usually from the old country, who has a strict code of conduct. He doesn't care who he deals with as long as they adhere to this code and those that follow it have his trust and friendship. He proves to be a carefully crafted, intelligent, thoughtful friend to Cape who just happens to be on the wrong side of the law.

During the climatic fight scene at the end of Beating the Babushka it will be revealed to the astute reader that the events here take place a year before those in Stealing the Dragon, making it a prequel. This shows Maleeny's willingness to jump around in the timeline of these characters, which could make for some interesting stories down the road.

--Brian Lindenmuth

Meet Fletcher Moon.


Half-pint schoolboy and fully qualified private investigator. Since graduating online, he has solved all sorts of minor mysteries at school and at home. It was only a matter of time before things got serious...


These are strange days in the town of Lock. There has been a spate of odd crimes, including the theft of something very special belonging to one April Devereux. Fletcher investigates – and the finger of suspicion is soon pointing firmly in the direction of the notorious Sharkey brothers, Harod and Red.


It looks like an open and shut case.


But nothing is quite as it seems. And, as Fletcher delves deeper, it‘s not long before the hunter becomes the hunted...


This book was a lot of fun and I liked it a lot. A lot of the great mystery books for the YA crown tend to feature protagonists that rely solely on their intellect to deduce crimes and foil bad guys. Fletcher Moon’s intentions are to do the same but this junior G-man’s story reads more like a junior hard-boiled novel then the brain games associated with other child sleuths. The Great Brain never got beat up, Encyclopedia Brown never had an informant and The Hardy Boys never got arrested.


The opening of the book sets the tone for the rest of the book and grabs you right from the start. It also serves you notice that it intends to be something familiar but different at the same time.

This book has a lot of strengths. Once the story proper kicks in the pace only gets faster and faster. The characters are in are in some ways characters that we knew growing up: the popular, the rich, the misunderstood and the outsider but they become fully fleshed out and mange to rise above their John Hughes imposed stations. The plot and the characters manage to really throw some surprises and twists at you.


Adult mystery readers, and those parents who filch their child’s books when no one is looking, will find things like subtle tweaks of the genre. For example a lot of PI’s are alcoholics, it’s a genre staple that has become cliché over the years, but in this book the main character is a chocoholic, he just cant get enough of those chocolate bars. Also since Fletcher is actually a licensed PI he has a handbook that he carries around with him offering up nuggets of wisdom that are meant to govern any situation. Some of them are:




A number of them get proven wrong as Fletcher learns not to trust the book so much. Almost every one of them offers up some form of subtle commentary on the genre and many of them are priceless.”


The bottom line is that I devoured this book in a couple of sittings and can’t recommend it enough.


--Brian Lindenmuth

A hit and run. Simple as that. And suddenly harmless old Gerry Figuroa is lying dead on the asphalt. New Jersey cop turned private investigator Jackson Donne sure as hell doesn’t want to investigate his drinking buddy’s death, but he’s made a promise that leaves him no choice.

And before long, he’s drawing uncomfortably close to a murderer.

Meanwhile, an apparently routine divorce case takes a dangerous turn, and sinister connections to Gerry’s death start to emerge. Just when it seems things can’t get any worse, Donne learns that a bitter old enemy is mixed up in the whole mess. Bill Martin, his ex–Narcotics Department partner, has secrets to expose that could reopen the still-aching wounds of Donne’s past. Permanently.

Donne would like nothing better than to crawl back into a bottle and forget he ever heard Gerry Figuroa’s name, but it’s too late for that. Now he’s in way too deep, tangled up in a plot whose tendrils reach far into his town’s past—and his own.

As a necessary part of its growth and development a genre must always maintain an on-going and open-ended dialogue with itself. Asking tough questions, raising issues and addressing problems contributes to its constant evolvement in an effort to make changes where needed, grow and remain vital. Over the past year or so we have seen some intriguing debates arise within the crime fiction community; from the sensational and provocative (The whole notion that women writers are more violent then their male counter-parts and the role of sexual preference in this1, 2, 3 & 4) to the academic and historic (the notion that "neo-noir" betrays its noir heritage by its focus on the criminal element in amoral situations instead of the common man caught up in forces beyond his control1, 2).

One of the more persistent topics over the years has been the death of the PI (1, 2, 3, 4 & 5), like a smoldering ember it never takes much fanning to bring about the flame. Once again this discussion arose recently and Dave White himself was an active participant in it rigorously defending the PI novel. Much like the death of the novel and the death of Rock & Roll the idea of the PI dying is overwrought and over blown. The bottom line is that the popularity of the PI novel may ebb and flow but it will never completely go away, after all the PI novel is the haiku of the mystery genre; there may be only 17 syllables but in the right hands those syllables will sing. There is the potential for a lot of power in that framework.

White's love of the PI genre and his knowledge of and passion for it show on every page. Using that passion and knowledge When One Man Dies is an important contribution to the PI genre and one of the best PI novels of the year. Truth be told in any other year it might just have been the best PI novel published but that darn Sean Chercover just had to go and ruin the year for everyone else.

Almost 30 years ago the PI novel was in a state of despair as well and with the release of The Last Good Kiss James Crumley provoked, instigated and inspired one of the great genre reboots of all time. From the brilliant writing to the quest like nature of the book not to mention that now seminal opening line it was, and remains, one of the most important and influential books of the last 30 years. The imprint of Crumley's footprint is still visible on the backside of the genre.

With Sean Chercover's Big City, Bad Blood opening the year and Dave White's When One Man Dies closing it, not to mention the strong contributions from Tim Maleeny, Ray Banks, Nick Stone and others, I think the faint pulse of the PI is growing stronger.

Jackson Donne is a sympathetic and reluctant PI. He is an interesting and ultimately engaging character that has appeared in a number of short stories over the last couple of years. This lends to Donne, and the other characters around him, an immediate and recognizable depth. This is readily apparent in some of there interactions, even if the reader isn’t aware of those other stories there is a definite history and in some cases, subtext that is present. The good news is that readers who enjoy When One Man Dies can read more about the character. (see the comments section)

The bulk of When One Man Dies is told in the first person but White intersperses third person chapters told from the point of view of Bill Martin, one of the antagonists in the book and Donne's ex-partner. As the point of view switches it ratchets up the tension in the book as their inevitable confrontation draws closer. These two men have a history and there is bad blood between them, the development of this story line above all others I may be looking forward to most in future novels. I'm looking forward to not only a re-read of When One Man Dies but also future books because I can't shake the feeling that there is a dark secret that binds the two men.

Given the ending of the book, and the basic fact the Donne doesn't want to be a PI any longer, it will be interesting to see what is next for Donne. Given all of its stregnths it's hard to believe that this is a debut novel and needless to say I can't recommend it enough.

--Brian Lindenmuth

A boy has been crucified in Galway city.

People are shocked; the broadsheets debate what this says about the state of the nation; the Irish Church is scandalized.

No further action is taken

When the sister of the murdered boy is burned alive, PI Jack Taylor decides to take matters into his own hands.

Taylor's investigations take him to some old city haunts where he encounters ghosts – living and dead. But what he eventually finds surpasses even his darkest imaginings…

If Priest was an examination of violence born of an inability to deal effectively with grief then Cross is a multi-faceted examination of evil. Chief among the questions asked here is whether evil exists and whether it is bred or born. Bruen easily provides an answer to the former; evil does exist. The answer to the latter, more basic philosophical/theological question is harder to answer. Examples of both sides are presented by Bruen and a valid case is made for each side of the argument. The reader may ultimately decide that the answer is both.

Cross comes across as more plot-driven than the other books of the series and less of a character study. Jack is an active participant in the investigation, which remains for the most part front and center and retains a more linear progression. This is a nice touch and reflects Jack's still relatively new found sobriety. But a less introverted plot certainly doesn’t mean that it is any less hard hitting because when Ken Bruen is the one throwing the punches they hurt.

In a surprising development Bruen dangles the possibility of Jack Taylor going to America in front of us. This prospect certainly raises a lot of 'what if' type questions in the minds of the reader.

We expect a certain type of ending with a Bruen book - and in particular a Jack Taylor book - and Cross doesn’t disappoint. But while the ending of Cross does pack a wallop it’s interesting that it is of a more subtle nature. Upon its arrival it’s no less devastating than the others but instead proves to be quieter in its conviction as it hits close to home.

Here is a video trailer for Cross.

Nothing ever beats the author reading his own work. Here Ali Karim's video of Ken reading the first chapter of Cross while sitting in a sidewalk cafe in London.

Here is Ken reading one of his short stories Punk

Cross is the sixth book in the Jack Taylor series. While with this series it is absolutely imperative to read the books in order Cross is most assuredly a companion novel to Priest. A full working knowledge of Priest is necessary for even the most casual reading of Cross. So with that said, the following portion of the review is going to discuss specific plot points and should only be read by those who have read all the books in the series. You’ve been warned.

If you would like to bypass the upcoming section and go right to the comments section then please click here

Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here

There are two books left to be published in the series after Cross. Typically when a series is completed you can look back at the whole thing and see how the final events started to take shape in the lead up books. One of the things that I want to try to do here is recognize the writing on the wall while its being written. I want to crack them open and take a closer look at them.

There is an interesting series of events that take place near the end of Cross that I believe may signify that the endgame has begun. Slowly the end of the series is starting to take shape.

Cathy is a specter constantly looming over Jack's life and the story itself. She will not make a physical appearance in Cross, but her presence is always deeply felt. The last time we saw her was when she suddenly appeared before Jack in Priest and swore a blood feud. Her highly focused, simmering anger chilled the veins of both Jack and the reader. The completion of her story arc will be a powerful one as certain machinations beyond Jacks control seem to have been set in motion. Cathy is now the Angel of Death and is being set up as executioner.

Before a death sentence can be carried out one must first stand before his accuser to be judged. Enter Cathy's husband, Jeff. Late in Cross he makes a brief but memorable, late-night appearance on the beach. In their exchange Jeff condemns Jack for his sins and more importantly refers to him and their relationship in the past tense. It’s a quiet, powerful moment as Jack stands before him, judged. Jack's past actions, and one in particular, the death of Serena May, comprise his Jacob Marley's chain. With the final judgment passed Jack only has to wait for his sentence to be carried out.

The meeting with Jeff is not the only scene in Cross that takes place on the beach. The ocean plays a telling part in the events of Cross, especially near the end. When Stewart and Gail are sitting on the beach he tells her "...how the sea washed away everything and then was quiet." Since Stewart is there to kill her we can take this literally to mean that her body would be carried away but given the prevalent religious imagery throughout the series we can also take this to mean that the water could wash away ones sins. In other words the ocean is being presented and set-up as a baptismal font. What's interesting about this set-up for the role of the ocean is that there is an earlier scene in Cross when Jack enters a church to light some candles for his dead and he dips his fingers into the holy water font to cross himself and discovers it to be dry. Jack is not yet ready to partake in this ablution.

This brings us to the climax of Cross, the fight between Jack and Sean on the beach. After they fight Jack takes Sean's body way out into the ocean and uses stones to weigh the body down and keep it under. Since the ocean has already been established as a baptismal font when Jack came spluttering and staggering out of the ocean to collapse on the beach his sins have been washed away. Even the locations of Jack’s injuries from the fight with Sean and from an earlier fight are possessed of a religious significance: head (crown of thorns), hands (nails) & side (spear). THIS ablution washes away his sins and clears the way for his trip to America and the promise of a new start.

I find the epigraph quote that opens chapter 22 to be interesting. It’s a line from Shakespeare's Measure for Measure: "A thirsty evil; when we drink we die." Which ties in very nicely with Cross because both works deal with the theme of the many faces of temptation and the constant struggle of resisting it. In Jack's case his alcoholism.

Maybe the epigraph provides a clue for us that there are allusions to Shakespeare in the Jack Taylor books. When Jeff appeared before Jack I found myself being reminded of The Ghost's appearance before Hamlet. There are other allusions to Hamlet buried in Cross.

More so then any other play of Shakespeare’s Hamlet has an abundance of ear imagery and references to hearing. In Cross its Jack's ear's that plagues him most. He loses his hearing and has to be fitted for a hearing aid.

Though it’s not discussed as much as the other themes Hamlet inverts the process of revenge. Others before have stated that Hamlet is an indecisive character due to the way that the plot unfolds. By asking a series of questions and examining everything leading up to a decision the expected action is continually post-poned. Cross too inverts the idea of revenge. On one hand Jack finds that he wants to avenge Cody's death but since the person who killed him is Cathy he refuses to take action. Cathy also wants to take revenge on Jack. The problem quickly becomes a Gordian Knot. What the stroke is that cuts the knot remains to be determined. It is yet another sub-plot that will be very interesting to see reach conclusion.

A prevalent theme in Hamlet is the motif of a country being represented as a body. Jack is in many ways the walking embodiment of old Galway before the economic boom. Jack's aging represents the passing of the old ways to make way for the new. From the very beginning this has been one of the most prevalent themes of the Jack Taylor books.

One of the most famous questions explored in Hamlet is the contemplation of death and suicide. Death in general is greatly explored in Cross as well and although Jack doesn’t contemplate suicide directly on some level he does become resigned to his fate by his unwillingness to go after Cathy as long as he stays in Ireland. This decision one could argue leaves his fate up to chance but it could equally condemn him because he knows that Cathy won’t let up and what she is capable of doing.

When Jack became involved with Serena May in The Dramatist he discovered first hand the redemptive power of children. She provided him with a lifeline back to humanity. Serena May represented Salvation for Jack. Her death at his hands took away the possibility of Salvation and will seal his fate.

Since salvation in the afterlife is now denied to Jack due to the death of Serena May he more actively considers America as his door number three option when it is presented. Going to America is a way to side-step his sentence and start fresh. But there is a telling moment that occurs twice in Cross that indicates Jack's willingness to ultimately forsake this option. Twice Jack is invited to sit down and given the choice of chairs. Both times he takes the hardest, most uncomfortable chair. The second time it happens is with Father Jim who says to him "You don't want the easier option" and "But at a guess, you take the hard route most times." This act of taking the hard chair and Father Jim's explicit observation acts as a very subtle foreshadowing that sets up Jacks later choice.

At the end of Cross Jack has sold his home and, in that moment, is willing to leave it all behind. He has made his peace with this decision and has said good-bye to the city and to others, with one glaring exception though, he hasn't said good-bye to Ridge. He knows that he hasn’t said goodbye to her and doesn’t plan on doing so. One of the final acts of the book takes place when Jack is literally on the verge of leaving. His phone rings and against his inner judgment he answers it. It’s Ridge calling to tell him that her cancer is malignant. Jack, with a sigh of resignation, sits and talks to her. In the quiet moments that close the book he knows he's not going to America. Jack forsakes his shot at a new life to help his only friend that he has left, Ridge. In the end this decision will condemn him; possibly to death by Cathy's hand but certainly to the hard route that lies ahead.

From the beginning the trajectory of Jacks story arc marks him as a tragic figure whose downfall has been in the cards since the opening hand was dealt. He is neither a good man nor a bad man; he's too complex a character for such simple designations. But he has done bad things, quite a number of them actually. Redemption is still possible for Jack but it would have to be quite the act of sacrifice that would redeem him. I think that redemption and death are very possible but redemption without death is unlikely.

The writing is on the wall; Jack, Cathy and Jeff are being positioned for a final explosive confrontation that will be biblical in proportion. This literary triumvirate is headed quickly for a collision. There is now so much raw emotion, anger and sub-text tied up with these characters and their relationships that a palpable dread permeates every interaction. As this dark drama unfolds in the streets of Galway no one is safe and at least one of these characters will probably die. As much as readers love the Jack Taylor series of books a happy ending just wouldn’t fit.

With nothing to suggest this other then a gut feeling my personal opinion is that the final Jack Taylor books will probably unfold in a manner similar to Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano. Whether Jack is Hugh or Geoffrey I honestly couldn't say but regardless how it ends it is shaping up to be one of the great finishes of all time.

--Brian Lindenmuth

Michael McGill is a burned-out private detective and self-described "shit magnet" who is enlisted by the White House Chief of Staff to retrieve the Constitution of the United States, not the one taught about in history class but the REAL Constitution. The one with invisible amendments held in secret and meant to be used in a time of moral crisis to return the country back to more traditional values. The current presidency believes that time is now, but they have a problem. The book was lost 50 years ago and needs to be recovered. That's where Max comes in and his search for the missing constitution will lead him across the country and deeper into the shadows of America on a job that "started out weird" and turned "scary".


As far back as the Transmetropolitan series Ellis has worn his Hunter S. Thompson influence openly and on his sleeve. The main character from that series, gonzo journalist Spider Jerusalem, was nothing short of a fully realized future descendant of the good Doctor. From the look, to the shared maniacal gleam in their eyes, to the varied and excessive drug use no one would dare deny the lineage between the two. In the series there were other links between Thompson's and Ellis' works that included visual references and direct placement.


With Crooked Little Vein he still maintains that Thompson connection in many ways. For example in 1985 Thompson wrote a column called Nixon and the Whale Woman that was later collected in Generation of Swine. In it Thompson wrote:

Early in the book when the Chief of Staff recounts for McGill the origins and history of the alternate constitution we find out the specifics of when and how it was lost.




One of the prevailing themes of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was the death of the 1960's and the state of the American Dream. What’s explored in Crooked Little Vein is the idea that the American landscape is in the midst of a pole shift due in large part to the proliferation of the Internet. What’s voiced throughout the book is the notion that if those ideas/acts that once resided on the fringe now are readily accessible then the fringe is now the mainstream.


The groups engaging in these fringe practices (including but not limited to tantric ostrich sex and Godzilla bukakke) trade the book from one to another and this is the trail of clues that that McGill follows. The very book that could reset the national thought process acts as a totem for these groups. By controlling it they maintain an environment that is conducive for their actions. What's partly on display here is an exploration of freedom in America and the warts and all approach to freedom that is its purist form. In an update of Voltaire's often atributed quote I can honestly sit here and tell you that I will never inject a saline solution into my balls for any reason but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn't have the right to do so.


Ellis brings to this funhouse mirror exploration an outsiders view since he is not an American, but it is in these distorted images that a sharp satire emerges. What at first seems to be an exaggeration reveals itself to be much closer to reality then maybe we would sometimes like to admit. In the following example McGill is listening to a local radio station:




The center piece for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is what is now known as the wave speech. It acted as a summary and commentary of themes and the calm eye of the storm for that book. Crooked Little Vein has its own version of the wave speech that comes at about the halfway mark. While flying to Las Vegas McGill finds himself having a rather calm and lucid conversation with an indignant serial killer who, among other things, is upset at the way that the media is portraying him. Not only is this man presented as a voice of reason but he outlines one of the major themes of the book.




Thompson's wave speech ends with the most memorable line and one of the most well written passages of the book.




As McGill's makes his entrance into Vegas he hits the same exact point where the high water mark is almost visible, except that now, 35 years later, he sees something else. It too is one of the more memorable and better written passages in the book.




As the book winds down and McGill closes in on the constitution he realizes the amount of power that he now wields and he has to make a monumental decision. The end of the book is one that will have fans of Alfred Besters classic novel The Stars My Destination cheering as Ellis has McGill channel and then become a modern Gully Foyle.


Crooked Little Vein displays the full spectrum of Warren Ellis' imagination. As the story propels along at a machine guns pace he never loses sight of the central story arc. Any one page contains multiple images and ideas that a lesser writer would have been tempted to focus on and develop into a bland inconsequentiality. But here, in their brevity, they retain their razor sharp focus as well as another layer of enjoyment.


Not only will our protagonist stay in a Las Vegas hotel built in the shape of Christ the Redeemer dressed as Uncle Sam but we find dozens of other passages like these that make us smile, shake our head and almost wish they were developed further.






It should be noted that there is an overall pattern to the book that fans of Ellis will recognize. His protagonists tend to be intelligent, damaged people carrying some baggage. The protagonist always has a sexy (which doesn’t take away from her toughness) female assistant. Weird situations are explored and the cutting edge of technology is utilized. It is in this basic framework that Ellis constructs his fiction and is the style he has developed. But just because a style is recognizable does not mean that it is less enjoyable.


I can't recommend Crooked Little Vein enough.


Brian Lindenmuth

Ireland, awash in cash and greed, no longer turns to the church for solace or comfort. But the decapitation of Father Joyce in a Galway church horrifies even the most jaded citizen.


Jack Taylor, devastated by the recent trauma of personal loss, has always believed himself to be beyond salvation. But a new job offers a fresh start, and an unexpected partnership makes him hope that his one desperate vision - of family - might yet be fulfilled.

In the beginning of Priest we find Jack Taylor in an asylum. The story picks up as he is starting to come out of his medicated stupor. As he eases into some semblance of his old life he tries to keep from confronting the tragedy that ended The Dramatist and deal with its fallout. For the first time he finds himself completely sober, no drugs, no alcohol, no cigarettes. With those numbing defense mechanisms not in place Jack tries hard to ignore the enormity of his actions. His refusal to directly confront his act lends to the narrative a palpable menace mixed with a strong riptide of violence that threatens to pull him under. Jack will use physical confrontations to release the building pressure but will find no real satisfaction.




We know from previous books that Jack had a dubious relationship at best with his parents, especially his mother. In this book Bruen is going to spend a lot of time analyzing the relationship between fathers and sons. Jack is going to spend some serious time thinking about his own father and more importantly his feelings of longing at wanting to be a father himself. Joseph Campbell frequently described both a midlife crisis and late middle age as "getting to the top of your ladder then realizing it was up against the wrong wall." This description fits Jack well in this book. His twin desires of having a son and being a father are fully materialized when he takes on a partner named Cody. Cody and Jack's relationship will mirror the father/son dynamic so much so that others in town just assume that's what it is. Throughout the course of the book the limits of that relationship will be greatly tested.




Priest is a fantastic entry in the Jack Taylor series that finds these characters at a crossroads. We don't yet know where these characters are heading or what their fates, both collective and individual, will be but as always the journey is interesting.


--Brian Lindenmuth


Side note: I throw this out there as an observation separate from the review. If anyone has any thoughts on the subject then please feel free to leave them in the comments section. While reading Priest I wondered, not for the first time, as to the possibility of Jack being a kleptomaniac. Even though it has never been stated I think that it may be the case based on his actions.

White Knight by Jim Butcher is the ninth book of The Dresden Files. This latest finds wizard Harry Dresden trying to solve several apparent suicides. Harry’s cop friend Karrin Murphy believes they were murder and calls in Harry to find out what happened to them.

If you aren’t already familiar with the series, I’ll give you a quick synopsis. If you are already familiar with these books, go ahead and skip this paragraph. Harry Dresden is a private investigator in modern day Chicago. He is also a wizard. Since he advertises that fact in the phone book, he gets all sorts of strange cases. In addition, he often helps out Karrin Murphy of the Chicago police’s SI division which handles ‘special investigations’, or rather, all the strange and unusual crimes. His brother is a vampire, his mother a faerie; and he counts angels, werewolves and witches among his friends. He is perpetually broke, lives with a giant cat named Mister, and an even larger Temple Dog named Mouse, has an angel’s daughter for an apprentice and the spirit of a banished black wizard for a lab assistant. Because he once used black magic in the past, the governing council over magic users which is called the White Council keeps him under close observation lest he slide over to the dark side.

This time around, someone is trying to frame him for the murders and somehow his brother Thomas is involved. During the investigation, Harry meets up once again with his first love Elaine, who happens to be in town to find an answer to the killings as well since Chicago is only the latest city that has record of these types of killings made to look like suicides. So, Harry must solve the case, prove his brother’s innocence, keep his apprentice safe, ensure the continuation of the Vampire Courts’ peace talks and protect Elaine.

All in a day’s work for Harry Dresden, Wizard. Of course his job is much easier since he has police back up, a magical Temple Dog, an evil but honorable gangster who needs a favor, a White Council Warden and the shade of a fallen Angel all ready to pitch in. Will Harry be able to solve the case? Is his brother truly innocent? Well, as the cliché goes, you’ll have to read the book to find out.

Butcher’s Dresden Files are very entertaining. Harry Dresden is a dynamic and well-rounded character and the supporting cast isn’t a bunch of cardboard cutouts either. Because this is an urban fantasy based on real life Chicago, Butcher doesn’t have to focus on his physical world building. He therefore puts a great deal of that energy towards his mythos. His mythical creatures all have full histories and complete biographies. While much of these may be taken from common mythology regarding vampires and ghouls and other things that go bump in the night, it is clear that Butcher has put his own stamp on each of them and keeping their stories as simple but complete as possible. He then adds in wonderful characterization, relationships and humor to create a series that is engaging and entertaining. It isn’t surprising to me that this series has been picked up by the SciFi Channel to be the basis for a TV series.

I admit I only read “Monkey’s Raincoat,” the first Elvis Cole mystery by Robert Crais because I heard he had a book out that was all about Joe Pike, Cole’s sidekick. Now, never having read any of Crais’ work, you may wonder why I cared about the sidekick. Simple: Joe Pike was described in a review along the lines of: the tall, dark, mysterious man that takes care of the ugly business when needed. Ah, mysterious. Quiet. Takes care of business. I was intrigued.

Of course the first order of business was to familiarize myself with the characters in order to determine if Joe Pike was indeed going to be mysterious and interesting. “Monkey’s Raincoat” is definitely a tough guy book. It has the wise-cracking, hard drinking PI, only he’s pretty young and not really jaded by life. It has the beautiful ladies that predictably fall into Cole’s lap. Cole is a rather strange blend of the typical hardcore PI mixed with a protective, sensitive type. In my opinion, the protective attributes were overdone—for example, there was a scene in the book where Cole picks a potential fight with a jerk giving a waitress a hard time. Well, fine, that was nice of Cole, but it failed to fit into the larger story, and the character had already shown his protective instincts by taking on the case at hand, quite possibly for free.

Just what was the case at hand? A damsel in distress, of course. Ellen’s husband has disappeared, along with her nine-year-old son. Cole suspects that husband Mort has run off with another woman, only there seems to be a lot of people looking for this other woman. Things get a little tighter when Cole’s client, Ellen, disappears. It becomes clear that someone was after Mort and not because he was a nice guy. He either knew something or had something important. Cole does a good job of following the clues with a satisfactory number of well-done shootouts and narrow escapes.

The story is fast-paced and the plot is quite believable—corruption in Hollywood, drug deals and of course, murder. Likeable characters are important and Crais does a good job of providing them. In the first half, I was a little disappointed; the women were looking like cardboard props. In the second half Crais pushed out some of the extraneous characters and concentrated on filling out Ellen. He never deviated from her early personality, but he grew the character in a very realistic fashion. The book would not have worked had he failed to create a woman character as important as the PI. The story and the crisis, after all, were about Ellen. Had she not come to the forefront and become less than a prop, it would have been impossible for me to care about the outcome. Luckily Crais came through.

Perhaps the strangest part of the book was the “sensitivity” of Cole that ricocheted between knowing women well and missing by a mile. Maybe I’ve just never met a guy that was sensitive and knowledgeable enough that when packing for a woman remembers not only her toothbrush, but her deodorant, gathers running shoes and purposely collects an outfit that matches well. The same Cole, as an affectionate gesture, squeezed a friend’s butt as he departed an office setting (she was a professional career type that he visited for some information.) Uh, no. I cannot see it happening. Don’t try this one at the office guys.

All in all, Monkey’s Raincoat was a fun read—and yes, I am intrigued enough by Joe Pike to go and read that adventure. I’m looking forward to it. Crais fleshes out characters well when he wants to; the book, “The Watchman” A Joe Pike novel, should be a good read.

Once, in a conversation about the movies of John Woo, I told someone that the trick was to not count the bullets. I think that the same advice applies to Tim Maleeny's novel, Stealing the Dragon.

Cape Weathers is a PI in San Francisco who is assisting the police and the FBI in investigating a cargo ship that crashed with a dead crew and full of refugees from China. The investigation will take him deep into the heart of Chinatown and the various groups that control it. The method with which the crew was killed points to Capes missing partner Sally who was trained by a secret society in China to be an assassin.

The stories of the investigation and of Sally’s training are concurrently told. The effect of hopping back and forth between stories propels the story along at a fast pace. The plot moves so fast that the effect is dizzying at times, but ultimately this is a good thing and the story is enhanced by the cross cutting of scenes. Sally's story is a compelling one and Stealing the Dragon is a page turner in the best sense of that phrase. Then when you think that the plot can't get any more manically paced and no more action can be packed in the two parallel story lines converge and with the battle lines drawn all of the characters will meet in a final showdown. I think that it is important to note that Stealing the Dragon is compelling because of the action packed plot not so much because of the characters, which can be a little on the thin side.

Cape Weathers and his friends on the force are characters that, for the most part, we've seen before but just because your favorite uncle visits once a week doesn’t mean you get bored hanging out with him because he is your favorite for a reason. So there aren’t any real surprises with any of the characters. Sally is the most developed of the characters but even she barely transcends her action movie caricature. That phrase though shouldn’t scare anyone away though because taken on her own terms she is a great character.

Cape Weathers and Sally are an odd paring to say the least. When asked why she trusts him she simply says "He's honest." At the point in the story when she says this we know that honesty is important to her so its enough. To Maleeny's credit he doesn't go into why these two people are now partners and how they first came to meet. On one hand it could be interesting to see how this question plays itself out in future books but on the other hand the paring is so odd that he may need to be careful if he does choose to reveal the genesis of their relationship. It may be one of those things that is best hinted at and left mostly unexplained.

There are some problems with the story and some smaller plot points that will jump out at most readers. But they are minor in comparison to the fast and furious story that will unfold in your minds eye. There are things left unexplained, thinks that make me scratch my head and even things that just plain don’t work. Almost none of this matters though because this book is a blast to read.

Stealing the Dragon is the first book in a series featuring Cape Weathers and Sally so the underlying question when reading a new series is 'Will you read the other books when they come out'? Yes, I think I will.

So remember, don’t count the bullets.

--Brian Lindenmuth

There's fantasy Bubblegum and then there's mystery Bubblegum. Monkey Man by Steve Brewer fits the mystery bubblegum category nicely. I'd consider Evanovich and Tim Cockey at the top of this category. Both have won the Lefty Award (Best Humorous Mystery). Turns out that Monkey Man was a 2007 nominee for the award. This book is the seventh in the Bubba Mabry PI series (my first) and is full of wise-guy humor that almost always works. There are zany side trips that in hard-core mysteries would be red herrings, but in this book are comedic diversions.

The book started with a bang--showing great promise. I like a dead body early in my mysteries (morbid, I know.) It paced itself after that, focusing on an unusual setting to carry the story along for a bit. There aren't too many mysteries out there that focus on an Albuquerque zoo setting. I must admit I was a little concerned at first that I couldn't like Bubba Mabry, the main character, because despite being a PI, frankly, he's a wimp. He's afraid of everything--snakes, monkeys, funerals and quite possibly hard work. He'd much rather take pictures of cracked sidewalks for ambulance-chasing-lawyers than investigate a murder, but lucky for us, he feels obligated. Unlike your typical hardcore, heavy-drinking PI, Bubba is actually happily married without the obligatory ghosts forcing him to the bottle. He's more like your middle-aged, slightly overweight neighbor; a somewhat charming couch-potato with his heart in the right place.

Despite Bubba's self-declared clumsiness, lack of motivation, and the almost-too-often realization that he might not be the best PI, Bubba does his job. His supporting cast is generally strong, although there's a character in there that will make you want to take his gun and shoot her. There are enough suspects and likeable side characters to keep things interesting and most important of all--there's a real plot and a real mystery to be solved. Not only does Bubba figure out who killed the dead body in the first chapter, he manages to sniff out and solve the mysterious deaths of zoo animals.

Yes, it's a beach read--a nice diversion--and how can you not like a book that starts with the line, "Nothing interrupts a nice chat like the arrival of a gorilla."?

I think this book compares quite favorably to the other Lefty Nominee that Brian reviewed a bit ago "47 Rules of Highly Effective Bank Robbers." I enjoyed this one more, mainly because there was only one POV--that of Bubba.

As a side note, the author, Steve Brewer, seems to know Albuquerque well--and I'm almost positive he makes some liberal puns with real places there. For example, he mentions the "Flying Squirrel" coffee houses multiple times. Just so happens there is a "Flying Star" chain in Albuquerque that resembles his description of the "Squirrel"--minus the dead body, of course. If you're ever in Albuquerque, NM, the Flying Star is well worth a stop--their desserts are out of this world and not the least bit squirrelly.