Well, it's Spring - although you wouldn't know it by the weather out there. Anyway, one of the pleasures I get out of library shopping is that, once in a while, I come across something interesting. I can take a chance on it because it’s only gonna cost me a dollar or so. Another pleasure I get is finding another book in a series I enjoy. Let me tell you about these.
Miscellaneous
Up Jumps the Devil - Michael Poore ($13.99/$1.00. Copyright 2012, 358 pages, Trade Paperback)
This is that “something interesting“ that I mentioned above. It deals with the Devil (just as the title implies) and his time here on Earth. It starts with how he - using the name John Scratch - made an agreement with a band in 1969. 3 different people with 3 different dreams who each make deals with him, and how those deals come true. Interspaced among this story is how the Devil, throughout history, kept trying to get his girlfriend to leave Heaven and stay with him. Poore even mixes in the Devil’s participation in several different American historical events - mostly wars - and meets (and tempts) several different historical figures from George Washington to JFK. At times funny, at times sad, but always with a poetic feel to it. I really enjoyed it.
Series
These two books belong to series’ that I’ve mentioned here before. Interestingly, these detectives have to deal with cases from their past and how they impact on their present.
Chasing Darkness - Robert Crais ($9.99/$.50, copyright 2008, 391 pages, Paperback)
This is another volume in the Elvis Cole series. There’s a fire in the hills and a corpse is discovered - a suicide. Turns out that he was a suspect in a homicide several years ago, and Elvis found the evidence to get him off. Unfortunately, the police find a scrapbook with the corpse that points to the deceased being responsible for not only that murder, but several others. Crais gives us the more mature but still wise-mouthed Elvis trying to figure things out while dealing with the impact this has on his career and his contacts. Of course, the ever taciturn Joe Pike makes an appearance, although it's a brief one. There are several red herrings that Crais throws in that keep you following along to the surprising ending. I enjoyed it.
Moonlight Mile - Dennis Lehane ($9.99/$5.70, copyright 2010, 348 pages, Paperback)
I actually went looking for this specific book and found it in my favorite used book store in Colonia. The Crais book (above) reminded me about a review I’d seen when this first came out. Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro are detectives who, many years ago, worked a case that put them at odds with each other and actually drove them apart. (Unlike the Crais book, the previous case here was actually a previous volume in this series - “Gone, Baby, Gone“ - involving the disappearance of a little girl). Twelve years later, Patrick and Angie are married, with a 4-year old girl and a home, mortgage, etc. Angie’s gone back to school, and Patrick is trying to get a full-time position in a large investigating firm. Then the previous case comes back in a big way. Lehane puts the Kenzies through the wringer and throws in street punks, identity theft, and the Russian mob for good measure. He even brings in the Kenzies’ friend, the sociopath Bubba, for an appearance. This is a more mature, world weary Patrick and Angie but the old sense of humor and the sparks between them are still there. I enjoyed it.
That's it for this month. Hopefully, by the time I add another chapter we'll finally have some real Spring weather. Until then........
Keep reading!
