We made it!
It's March and the long winter is over (although I understand that there's another storm coming in Tuesday into Wednesday). Still, the sun is out and the temperature may hit 60 tomorrow. I'll take it. Now for the books that kept me going during the last few weeks.
Series
Chinaman's Chance - Ross Thomas (95 pence ($2.50)/ $.25, first published in England in 1978, 318 pages, Paperback)
This is the first appearance of Artie Woo - the fat man who claims to be the rightful emperor of China - and his friend Quincy Durant - the thinner one, who's past is shown by the scars on his back. They've been together since they escaped from an orphanage when they were 14. They are hired by a wealthy guy to find his wife's sister - both women having had been members of a popular female trio back in the day. It seems like easy money to the guys, but Thomas throws in grifters, the CIA, and millions of missing dollars. I'll say this for Ross, he really knows how to create some very memorable characters. There's suspense here and a whole lot of humor. I enjoyed it.
Treasure Hunt - John Lescroart ($9.99/$.50, copyright 2010, 434 pages, Paperback)
I wasn't impressed with the first book in this series but I am a big fan of Lescroart so I gave it another try. The focus here is on Wyatt Hunt and his detective agency - The Hunt Club - which has fallen on hard times. The action revolves around his "junior" associate Mickey Dade, who stumbles on to the body of a bigshot in the charity business and comes up with a way to try and save Wyatt's agency. Unfortunately, It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Some of Lescroart's other series characters make appearances here, including his most famous - Dismas Hardy - but they don't really help, and there's way too much attention paid to Mickey's hoped-for career as a chef for me. I stuck it out till the end and - I have to admit - that was pretty good. But, all in all, I didn't like it.
Miscellaneous
Cathedral - Nelson DeMille ($7.99/$.50, copyright 1981, 575 pages, Paperback)
I've finally gotten around to reading a DeMille book and I'm gonna have to go out and find some more. I picked this one up last month and read it right away due to the subject matter. It takes place on St. Patrick's Day in New York City and, while the city celebrates and the parade goes on, a group of former IRA members take over St. Patrick's Cathedral, demanding the release of family and friends from prison. DeMille has created some great characters from all sides of the situation including the police and the hostages - specifically Brian Flynn as the leader of the IRA men. The chapters move back and forth between all the players, and the action and suspense build nicely. Plus, DeMille blends in some great historical information about the "Struggles" and the Cathedral itself. I enjoyed it.
Next up - Spring! And there are some family celebrations coming up that I'm looking forward to.
Get out in the sun everyone and ...
Keep reading!
