Ideas, Opinions, Genealogy, and Book Reviews
At first I wasn’t sure, “The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum” didn’t sound like my type of book. I had never heard of this women and certainly had no idea about the talented part. But the subtitle “The Rise and Fall of an American Organized-Crime Boss” got me interested.
Then I read the description on Netgalley and it made me give it a try. It starts like this:
Continue reading “Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum, crime in old New York”
I had never read Lucinda Riley’s books before. But I ran across “The Murders at Fleat House” on Netgalley and it sounded interesting. Since it was available and I was in the mood for a good mystery so I thought I’d give it a try.
It was a mystery written many years ago, before Lucinda Riley became a published writer and her only crime novel.
According to the brief introduction by her son (the author had died), the novel was unchanged since his mother had written it in 2006 and it had not been published until now.
Continue reading “The Murders at Fleat House by Lucinda Riley”
Val McDermid is one of my favorite writers. So I jumped at the chance to read her latest. I thank Netgalley for that chance Of course my experience with her writing is limited to 3 mysteries in the same series (see reviews at https://www.jackreidy.com/blog/2020/10/05/still-life-by-val-mcdermid/).
Continue reading “1979 by Val McDermid”
Still Life is the third novel I have read and reviewed in the Karen Pirie series by Val McDermid.
The other two are Broken Ground and The Distant Echo . The first was because someone had suggested this book and the second was because I wanted to read more of the series.
Continue reading “Still Life by Val McDermid”
The Long Call is my first Ann Cleeves book. It is also a first for these characters as she is starting a new series of crime mysteries (The 2 Rivers Series).
But I did see Shetland, a TV series based on a series of her books. I liked the TV series do I decided I’d try one of her books.
Continue reading “Ann Cleeves new series of crime mysteries”
The Distant Echo by Val McDermid is her first novel in the Karen Pirie series.. Detective Perie is not the central character in this book. As I remember, she does not even make her first appearance until the second half of The Distant Echo. But I am getting a bit ahead of myself so I’ll just begin at the beginning.
I had read Val McDermit’s Broken Ground a few months ago. It was the 5th and most recent book in her Karen Pirie series. I liked the book and thought it might be interesting to read the series from the beginning. The first in the series was available in my local public library. Continue reading “The Distant Echo by Val McDermid”
Broken Ground by Val McDermid is a great Scottish crime mystery. This book came out last year but my favorite librarian suggested it to me few months ago. This is a wonderful book and I completely enjoyed it .
Continue reading “Broken Ground by Val McDermid”
I like Jeffery Deaver’s books. I know I have read several and enjoyed them immensely, especially the Lincoln Rhyme novels. So when I saw an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver on Netgalley, I immediately requested it. I was reading another book at the time which I planned on finishing and had several others in line to be read but this one jumped to the front of the “to be read” line.
The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver is the latest Lincoln Rhyme novel. I had high expectations and this did not disappoint. Continue reading “The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver”
Last year I reviewed a first novel by established non-fiction writer Stephan Talty. I liked it very much and thought it was a great introduction to a new series about Detective Absalom Kearney.
The second book in the series came out a few months ago and just read it. I thought Hangman by Stephan Talty was a great followup and if anything I found it even more compelling than the first.
The book starts with what seems a very unlikely escape of a serial murderer known as the Hangman. He had recently terrified the residents of Buffalo, NY with a series of murders of teenage girls (involving hanging). The manhunt begins and soon after the murders and the terror begins again.
Homicide Detective Absalom (Abbie) Kearney, who Continue reading “Hangman by Stephan Talty”
I have been a fan of Gabriel Cohen‘s writing for several years now. So when I received an email that his Jack Leightner crime novels have been published as ebooks by Open Road Media, I thought I should help spread the word. Continue reading “Gabriel Cohen mysteries published as ebooks”
A first novel by an established non-fiction writer, Black Irish by Stephan Talty is certainly a worthy entry into the crime-novel genre. This book is a first-rate thriller and promises to be a great introduction into a new series about Detective Absalom Kearney
As those who have seen my website know, I have been very interested in Irish genealogy and Irish history for several years. So the placement of this story into an Irish-American community added an extra interest for me.
The book grabs your interest right-off with a gruesome murder. Then you are introduced to Detective Absalom Kearney who is working a missing persons case of a utility worker from “The County” an Irish enclave in Buffalo.
The detective grew-up in the County but still is viewed as an outsider as her County tie is the result of being adopted by a now retired cop from the County. Absalom or Abbie left Buffalo after graduating from Harvard but returned to care for her father.
To make a long story short and grant you the pleasure of being able to read without any spoilers from me, let me just say the Detective Abbie Kearney becomes involved in the investigation of the murder and realizes before anyone else that she has a serial killer to deal with. But there is much too learn about who the killer is and why he is targeting residents of the County
I’ll not say much more (no spoilers, remember). But the clannishness of the Irish enclave and Irish history play large roles. The book is well written and it is a great story with many twists and turns. Just as Abbie has it figured out and it all makes sense, something else happens and you learn that you and she are both wrong. I liked this book very much and give it my highest recommendation.
Apparently other reviewers feel the same way. A few reviews that I’ve found:
Reviews
Nelson DeMille’s Death Benefits is a short story which will be released by itself as a digital short in an e-book. The story has already been published in the anthology edit by Demille, The Rich and the Dead.
The short story opens with an author past his prime. He once wrote best-seller mysteries but his last few books just haven’t done well. (Nelson DeMille is himself a best selling author but certainly not past his prime.)
The writer still lives well but just doesn’t have the money to support the lifestyle he likes and to which he has become accustomed. He is broke. He resents his agent who took 15% in the good times and the writer sure could use that money now. He has an insurance policy on the agent’s life which he took out in the good times. Can he now commit the perfect crime and be a wealthy man again?
Demille tells the story well. It starts well and just gets better until the twist and the surprise ending.
Athough I haven’t read The Rich and the Dead, I have seen reviews and understand it is a fine collection of short stories by a wonderful group of writers. Death Benefits is just one of the stories.
So if you are interested a short mystery, try Death Benefits . It is available as a digital short for those with e-readers such as the Kindle or Nook. According to the latest on the Amazon site this won’t be release until August 1, 2012 but can be ordered now. If you would like to try a group of short mysteries, try The Rich and the Dead . This is available as an e-book as well as an actual physical book.
Recently I’ve been reading some non-fiction and really enjoyed those books but large non-fiction books can be a bit slow and since I liked the crime fiction by Gabriel Cohen, I thought I would give myself a treat with a couple of his books that were on my “to read” list. These would be “The Graving Dock” and “Neptune Avenue”. And as expected, both were much faster and enjoyable in a different way.
In the past few months, I reviewed 2 books by Gabriel Cohen: “The Ninth Step” and “Red Hook”. I really liked both, the first and fourth in a series about Detective Jack Leightner. “The Graving Dock” and “Neptune Avenue” are and second and third.
Gabriel Cohen’s books are crime novels, they are so much more. Jack grew up near the docks in Red Hook, Brooklyn and is haunted by his childhood (his relationship with his father and the death of his brother mostly) and his failures as an adult (especially a failed marriage, an uneasy relationship with his son, and difficulties in relationships). All in this series have been excellent reads and now that I’ve read all 4 in the series to date, I guess I’ll just have to wait for the next.
Since the sense of place is so important in Gabriel Cohen’s novels, these books are wonderful for those who either know Brooklyn or want to know more about Brooklyn. By the way, a graving dock is a dry dock and is used to repair ships below the water line. And Neptune Avenue is in Brooklyn, the Coney Island, Brighton Beach area.
So I’ll finish up with a few links you might find useful or interesting:
Last month, I reviewed “The Ninth Step” by Gabriel Cohen..
I really liked that book but it is the 4th in a series about Detective Jack Leightner. At the time I mentioned that I planned to look for the earlier books in this series. As it turned out I found the first of the series in our county library and enjoyed that as much as the other. Here is my review of the first in the series, “Red Hook” .
Although Gabriel Cohen’s books (or at least the two that I’ve read) are crime novels, they are so much more. “Red Hook” begins with a young Dominican man who is found murdered near the Gowanus Canal. The questions are who and why and there is no obvious answers. Sure the book is a crime mystery and in it Jack investigates a this crime and risks his career doing what he thinks is right (and his superiors disagree) but it is more importantly a story of an imperfect man dealing with his past and working toward a better future.
Continue reading “Red Hook by Gabriel Cohen”
“Maybe if he had one more drink they’d leave him alone.” So says the man in the bar with his 12 ghostly companions. Well, you learn that on the first page and are immediately pulled into “The Ghosts of Belfast” by Stuart Neville.
Now that Northern Ireland is at peace, it would seem there is less material around for a thriller. And you’d think that an ex-hit man would not be a good main character. But this book proves those ideas wrong. Certainly the peace is there but there is a bit of tension still in the air, mostly behind the scenes. And then there is a certain aftermath. Gerry Fegan had gained a certain status in his Belfast as a killer for the IRA but is now hounded by his past. It is hard to imagine feeling sympathy for a professional killer but somehow Neville manages manages that neat trick.
The peace is fragile. I don’t want to say too much about it as the presentation here is both wonderful and depressing and I certainly don’t want to try to summarize or say so much than it ruins some of your pleasure in reading about it here. Both sides (the IRA and Unionists) have their politicians and violent sides and there is a tension within and between. The book is does have a good bit of violence so if that sort of thing bothers you, this may not be a good choice for you. But if you enjoy a good story, try it now. The link below is for the paperback but it is easy enough to move around and get the hardback or the Kindle edition if you’d rather have one of those.
The book is published by Soho Crime. If you like good books, especially with an international flavor, you might want to check out Soho Press.