THE MORDIDA MAN - Ross Thomas

Another slice of thriller genius from the best.

Chubb Dunjee, ex-politician is employed to recover the brother of the U S President from terrorists, who may be U S citizens and then there are the Lybian terrorists who are aggrieved over the death of their star terrorist.

Usual fantastic story, some of the best names ever given to characters in a book, Bingo McKay, Thane Coombs and Dunjee (The Mordida Man, the bribe man).

Its too amazing to summarize, but again this book is out of print so its hard to get but its well worth the effort. One of Thomas's best. (Published 1981)

BLEED A RIVER DEEP - Brian McGilloway

The third outing for Inspector Devlin and he hasn't got any smarter. As in the first two of this series half the trouble is caused by Devlin and if not by him, by other members of the constabulary. The trouble unfortunately results in people dieing.

As a detective Devlin is just a dogged plodder and stubborn with it, his solving the crime involves quiet a bit of luck.

This story involves illegal immigrants and gold, again set in the borderlands of Ireland.  Devlin isn't the brightest but the authors plots are outstanding, 8 out of 10 and they save the books.

So, I'll keep reading them, Devlin must learn soon to think just a tad before acting. (Published 2010)

TAKEN - Robert Crais

This is a departure from the normal Elvis Cole / Joe Pike story in that it is told in a non linear fashion, chapter jumping between characters and back in forth in time.

The basic plot is two teenagers have been kidnapped by 'bajadores' -bandits- that kidnap illegal immigrants and demand ransom from their families. If the monies are not paid they are murdered. Cole is hired to recover these two and ends up being kidnapped himself. Which results in Joe Pike being unleashed.

As a plot its pretty basic and if the story was linear it would be very ordinary but the time shifting and having separate chapters from the view point of several characters works. There are even chapters from the point of view of the victims.

The mode of story telling builds tension nicely right up to the very violent ending.

A good book recommended highly for fans and the casual reader alike.
(Published 2012)

THE SINGAPORE WINK - Ross Thomas

Ed Cauthorne is quietly selling vintage  cars when two mafia enforcers walk in and make him the classic 'offer that can't be refused.'

Cauthorne, a retired stuntman,  believes he is responsible for the death of the 'god son' of a senior Mafioso, who it now appears has risen from the dead after two years. 

With some heavy handed coercion they want Ed to travel to Singapore to recover information that the 'god son' has stolen.  They need Ed to go as they believe the recently risen Angelo will only deal with him.

'Singapore Wink is another classic Thomas tale of betrayal, deceit and the normal humour. This is much more of a romp than some of his other work with some very camp characters and an outlandish scenario.

As stated before you will never be disappointed by the late lamented Ross Thomas. (Published 1969)

THE BOOKWOMANS LAST FLING - John Dunning

The fifth 'Cliff Janaway" Bookman mystery. Cliff is contacted to appraise a collection of children's books worth many thousands by the family of the deceased collector to get a Will finalised.

On arrival he discovers that many  books are missing and have been replaced by copies and that  books worth even more have been left behind.

To solve this problem he has to confirm that the owner of the books was murdered twenty years earlier and then delve into her life to explain the book mystery. To do this he gets involved in the families other business which is race horses, travelling to Californian race tracks working as a groom.

Its a good story  not the best and although the author looses his way in the middle he manages to get  it all back on track  in a very hurried fashion at the end  and reaches a satisfying conclusion.

We have some good violence and interesting facts about the racing scene this time. Not so much information regarding the second hand book scene as in the two previous stories I have read.                    ( Published 2006)

THE LOO SANCTION - Trevanian

If you want four hours of absolute escapism this is for you. Dr. Jonathan Hemlock, art historian, mountaineer and assassin returns. This time he is in London and is coerced into locating films of establishment figures taken in compromising positions with professional women. This will involve lots of killing and other fictional assassin type stuff.

It total fantasy and not a cultural experience ,its a very violent James Bondish read but the writing is of a higher calibre.

It does slip into total parody in parts and the language dates it but its the perfect airport book.

I'd be very surprised if you can find it even in a secondhand store in New Zealand but again there's plenty on the Internet. I got mine from Trinity City Books, Garland, Texas for $1 plus postage. (Published 1973)

THE SIRIUS CROSSING - John Creed

Set in Ireland our hero, Jack Valentine, a cross between James Bond and 22 SAS, takes on one last job. This involves locating a body that was buried in Northern Ireland in the 70's ,one that should not have been there and recovering a package.

Along the way he enlists the help of loyalists and provo's alike as well as most intelligence agencies around the world.

A highlight involves a channel crossing in a major storm in Valentines converted trawler.

It is far fetched, very , but very readable. Its well written, Creed is the pen name of Eoin McNamee. Worth the effort and as it only cost me fifty cents at a book fair complaining would be miserable in the extreme. (Published 2002)

HAVANA BAY -Martin Cruz Smith

The fourth Arkady Renko novel. Here he travels to Havana to identify the body of a Russian found dead in Havana Bay.

The facts don't add up and he persistently digs into the circumstances. Along the way he enlists the help of a Cuban Policewoman ,(never ugly,always beautiful,obviously unattractive woman are never helpful).

After seeing William Hurt portray Renko in 'Gorky Park' he is forever this character when I read about him, his slow pedantic speech and manner was played superbly by Hurt so this book just rocks along slowly, sometimes so slowly the book treads water, but its a good story. And like most things 'follow the money'. (Published 1999)

THE BOOKMAN'S WAKE - John Dunning

The second outing for retired Denver detective now book dealer Cliff Janaway.

He is looking for a girl believed to be in posession of a rare book by Edgar Alan Poe. This leads to a tale of obession and madness with a few murders thrown in

Again we have an excellent mystery coupled with trivia regarding the rare and used book trade which I find fascinating. The author is a book dealer so they information supplied is first rate.

The books are unavailable in New Zealand but there are plenty out of the USA, thank goodness. (Published 1995)

BOOKED TO DIE - John Dunning

Books fairs, I love them, fifty cents got me this little gem concerning book collector / detective Cliff Janaway. The main story has Janaway trying to solve the murder of a down and out book dealer and a sub story of Janaway trying to end the reign of the local crime boss.

So, great plot, great characters and as the author is a book dealer , it is packed with trivia regarding the second hand book trade. Stephen King is worth thousands, who would have thought.

You won't be as lucky as me and score this for fifty cents but the series is available in the USA , all secondhand through Abe Books
(Published 1992)

CHASING DARKNESS - Robert Crais

During a fire in Los Angeles a corpse is located in a house when the Fire department are trying evacuate the residents. In the hands of the corpse is a photo album showing the bodies of seven murder victims.

Of those victims one person has been charged but on evidence supplied by PI Elvis Cole this suspect walked free.

So now Cole has to find the killer or live with the fact that he may have contributed to the deaths of further victims.

A good Elvis Cole novel, together with his partner Joe Pike they set out to solve the problem.

This is darker and more gruesome, not as flippant and humorous as earlier books in the series but good value for money.

Crais is probably the best American writing in this genre at the moment (apologies to James Lee Burke though while brilliant has gone off the boil a bit) and he never disappoints . (Published 2008)

THE DROP - Michael Connelly

The latest offering from Connelly in the 'Harry Bosch' series and it is excellent.

Harry is attached to the Open Unsolved Unit, investigating old homicides when he is called in to investigate the apparent suicide of a L. A. City Councillors son. The councillor is an ex- detective who loathes Bosch.

While doing this he is trying to solve an old murder where DNA was located on the victim but the suspect was only 8 years old at the time.

This is brilliant crime writing, the last 'Bosch' I read ( Nine Dragons) was poor, but the author has nailed this. Genuinely excellent. (Published 2011)

FREAKY DEAKY - Elmore Leonard

Sergeant Chris Mankowski is having a bad week, work trouble, domestic trouble and then two mad hippy sixties carry overs come to his town and start blowing people up with dynamite.

Its all about an extortion case they goes from poorly planned to a disastrous result.

Elmore is on form here, lots of violence, fun characters and lots of twists and machinations along the way.

Read it and have fun

THE CASE OF THE SINGING SKIRT - Erle Stanley Gardner

From 1959 we have super lawyer Perry Mason on the case.

A night club singer enters Perry's office with a gun and the tale of how her employers were planning to steal from a client with a gambling scam.

Then bodies start and turn up.

Of course Perry bamboozles everyone with his genius in Court as he always does with the assistance of his assistant Della Street.

My only complaint is that Gardner cheats the reader in not giving him some crucial information which breaks what Chandler calls " the rules'. The lack of this information stops the reader from logically following the investigation.

But, as with all the Perry Mason stories , its a good time filler and not unenjoyable.

THE SNOWMAN - Jo Nesbo

After the success of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and its sequels, you just knew some lazy agent would troll Scandinavia in an attempt to uncover the next Stieg Larsson.

Some lazy agent did and some lazy publisher has then punted on Jo Nesbo and his novel "The Snowman". Christ, this is dreadful, I am still giving myself uppercuts because I persevered and finished it.

The author is a musician, songwriter and an economist!!!!!!!!!!! and unfortunately he writes cliched crap crime novels. The cop is alcoholic with authority issues (aren't they all?), there is constant referall to songs and lyrics,(Rankin did it much better years ago). He has of course the estranged girlfriend who secretly wants him back and on and on and on and on.

The plot has holes the size of third world debt and to make things even worse it goes on for 550 ludicrous pages.

It is also translated and the translation just clunks - even though I admire anyone who is multi lingual the translator does this no favours at all, and it needs every bit of assistance that is out there.

I am aware Scandinavia is very socialist in its governance so the only conclusion I can draw is that authors are paid by the word, anyway, they obviously don't seem bother with little things like editors.

Save your money.

MOONLIGHT MILE - Dennis Lehane

This is the follow up to Prayers for Rain and has been written ten years after this was published.

In the intervening time, Kenzie and Gennaro have married and started a family.

The plot concerns a teenager who has gone missing,again, this is the same female who went missing in Gone,Baby,Gone as a child. Our investigators deal with many loathsome individuals but without the violence that was evident in the previous story.

This was written as the recession was really starting to bite in the US and the writing reflects this. It is very dark without the humour of previous installments of this series and this is not quite as good as Prayers..., but it is still very good and miles above most which is published as crime thrillers.

The big mistake I have made is not reading this series in order, I have yet to read, Gone Baby, Gone, which is a bugger because this is the ultimate plot spoiler here as it directly relates to Gone..

Worth the time but read this series in order and you won't be disappointed.

PRAYERS FOR RAIN - Dennis Lehane

The initial part of this thriller is genuinely disturbing. A complete stranger accesses the personal information of his victims and then systematically destroys their lives until they take theirs. And whats really unsettling is to gather all this information is not that difficult.

This is the situation facing Patrick Kenzie and his investigative partner Angela Gennaro who must locate the manipulator before he destroys their lives as well.

This is a great thriller and Lehane is up with the very best writers in this genre ever. The plot is sophisticated and he has excellent characterisation.

You are kept guessing until the last page. Lots of humour, very black humour, but it all fits in well with the story. An excellent read.

MR PARADISE - Elmore Leonard

I like consistency in my life, and with anything written by Mr. Leonard you know at the very least you are going to get great, sometimes brilliant.

This crime thriller is great and is set in his town of Detroit. We have one hooker and her model girlfriend going out for the evening to entertain a 80 year old retired lawyer. The entertaining comprises of dancing topless in cheerleader outfits.

Unfortunately, shortly after arriving we have two corpses, two upset hitmen, a change of identity and a safe deposit box everyone wants.

Then after this scenario is set, recently widowed police detective Frank Desla arrives on the scene and begins to unravel the confusion.

As always the story has Leonard's dark, dark humour throughout along with a great story. The perfect summer read.

VOODOO, LTD - Ross Thomas

The New York Times Book review has described Ross Thomas - as the master of the crime thriller.

They are exactly correct, nobody writes plots with the characters and humour of Mr.Thomas.

In this book we have Arty Wu and Quincy Durant ( WuDu Ltd) as Private Investigators who solve -big problems for big bucks - something they are a bit short of at the moment, bucks that is not problems.

They are hired to find two missing hypnotists who are needed to prove the innocence of a movie star charged with killing her ex-fiancee. All run of the mill stuff until things get a bit more complicated.

To complete the job they enlist several of their associates; - who happen to be terrorism experts, con men and con-women. None of these people have any scruples or morals , basically they are all crooks and this makes for a rollicking story set in southern California.

Like all of his books this rocks along with double crosses, triple crosses and other numerous twists which keep you busy to the end.

This is an absolute joy to read.

Also recommended are - The Eighth Dwarf and Twilight at Mac's Place.

Just as good as the novels written under the name Ross Thomas are several under the Pseudonym Oliver Bleeck.

Thomas's books are difficult to get in New Zealand, so any that you find are gems and to be looked after. There won't be any more as Mr. Thomas passed away in 1995.