It was a long, hot summer but we've made it to September and some cooler, much welcome, weather. My local Library has a set of shelves in the lobby that hold their sale books. They're 4 for $1.00. I've been stopping by every now and then but there wasn't anything interesting until last month. They must've gotten a donation of old mystery/adventure books and I spent $3.00 on a random selection. Here's the first few.
Series
Confessional - Jack Higgins ($.25/$6.99, copyright 1985, 293 pages, Paperback)
I've read a few of Higgins' books over the years and always enjoyed them. I'm considering this as a part of a series because the protagonist is a character that he's use in 3 other novels. Liam Devlin is a former IRA gunman and German spy who was once sent to England in a plot to kidnap Winston Churchill. He's an antihero with a silvery Irish tongue and a ready wit despite being a well-honed killer. In this book, Devlin is recruited by British intelligence to ferret out an unknown assassin who has used murder to sabotage peace efforts in strife-torn Northern Ireland for decades. Neither Devlin nor British intelligence know the assassin is Michail Kelly, an Irish-born Soviet agent whose has literally been living under their very noses. With Britain and Argentina at war over the Falkland Islands, Kelly sets out to sabotage a last minute peace effort by assassinating the man responsible for organizing it--the Pope. Thus the stage is set for an action-jammed manhunt ranging all throughout the United Kingdom. Higgins' characters are never caricatures and he knows how to build suspense until he reaches a typically satisfying ending. I enjoyed it.
The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife - Erle Stanley Gardner ($.25/$3.95, copyright 1945, 245 pages, Paperback)
This is the first Perry Mason book that I've ever read - although I grew up watching his various incarnations on TV (specifically Raymond Burr's). All the main characters are here - Perry, Della (his secretary), Paul (his investigator), and Lt. Tragg - although their physical descriptions are different from the TV portrayals. Here, Perry joins a woman named Jane on her yacht to meet with her sisters and some businessmen. She wants to sell an island and share the money with her family but there are oil right issues that Perry is there to figure out. There is the obligatory foggy night and Perry hears a scream followed by him seeing an armed woman run by. Some clues lead Perry to accuse someone which turns out to be a mistake and he winds up getting fired and getting sued. It's complicated but Garner pulls it all together in the end. Two things: there's a relationship here between Perry and Della that was never addressed on TV and the language is very formal/stilted which took away from the enjoyment. I liked it.
Nightcrawlers - Bill Pronzini ($.25/$6.99, copyright 2005, 301 pages, Paperback)
I don't recall having read anything by Pronzini before but I'll keep my eye out from now on. This is a part of series about a "Nameless" detective who started as sort of a Lone Wolf but now works with a couple of partners. There's Jake Runyon, a (younger version of himself) and Tamara Corbin (the office manager who tries to get out in the field). In this book the "Nameless" detective is now referred to as Bill and he's trying to track down his dying friend's mother-in-law to deliver a package. Jake is trying to help his estranged son by finding whoever is severely beating gay men. Tamara is looking for a dead-beat dad and winds up getting kidnapped so Bill and Jake set out to help. Pronzini does a great job with these characters. They work well together but they also work well as stand-alones, each with their own back story. He's good with location details and the plot moves along briskly. I enjoyed it.
The A. B. C. Murders - Agatha Christie ($.25/$4.99, copyright 1935, 184 pages, Paperback)
I've read a few of Christie's books many years ago and didn't really care for them. Still, this one sounded interesting and the price was right. There's a serial killer on the loose and each of his victims has been in a different town starting at Andover then working him way alphabetically through the ABC Railroad Guide. He's gotten away with 3 before he makes the mistake of challenging Hercule Poirot to stop him. Of course, Poirot is intrigued and comes out of retirement to catch him. What follows is a complicated "catch me if you can" story. Christie has always had a great way with plots and plot twists and her writing style can only be described as elegant. Still, for some reason, I just don't like Poirot. It was OK.
October is coming. The weather should get cooler. The leaves will change colors then fall. The days will get shorter. And Halloween will come. Maybe I can find a few Horror Books to read. Till then ..
Keep reading!
