Books July 2011

13 French Street by Gil Brewer.

Alex surprise visits his old army buddy Vern and wife Petra and things go bad, bad, bad.  Really this book is riff on the old The Postman Always Rings Twice plot, and while I did finish it…. I struggled with it. It was ok, just ok, I didn’t find any of the zing and prose that other Brewer books (The Vengeful Virgin comes to mind) that I have read.

What of Terry Conniston? by Brian Garfield

 Full review can be found here 

… and kudos to Cullen Gallagher for bringing Garfield to my attention.

Fun and Games by Duane Swierczynski

Fast paced, fun, Action Film romp of a book… the first in a trilogy and I am looking forward to the next two. In this first installment Charlie Hardie, an ex-cop is house-sitting for a living when things go very very wrong.

Stark House Press novel of the Month:  Iron Man W.R. Burnett

Following the rise and fall of Coke Mason a middle weight boxer on the rise. This was the second reprint in this collection, and while I enjoyed it I liked the other book better. There are a lot of great boxing scenes, and some excellent character drama moments, but over all it was just ok, and the prose while straight forward and tough didn’t really zing.

Lawrence Block book of the Month: Such Men are Dangerous

I really liked this tale of a former GI and Merc who finds himself figuring out what he’s going to do next with his life. At first he seems to be headed for the life of a hermit, until he’s approached to help hijack a load of military weapons.  Part introspective and existential, part heist novel ala the Parker novels, it’s a fast read that is both entertaining and thought provoking…. Good stuff.