I usually reread the previous Chapter before I start a new one and I noticed something they have in common with the first in this month's selections. They are all centered in different cities and the authors each give you a feel for their locales. Dee's books are based in New York City; Crais' books are from Los Angeles; and Lehane uses Boston as his backdrop. (Kaminsky also uses LA but the book I mentioned actually took place in Chicago). You'll find a new location next.
Series - Off The Shelf
The Neon Rain - James Lee Burke ($4.99/$4.99, copyright 1987, 281 pages, Paperback)
This is the first in Burke's Dave Robicheaux series. He's a recovering alcoholic Lieutenant in the New Orleans police department who's not above bending the rules when he thinks it will help. While out fishing near his house boat, he comes across the dead body of a young black woman and calls in the locals. When he checks in several days later he finds out that no one has done anything so he takes it on himself to find out what happened. Turns out she was a small-time prostitute that got in over her head. He brings in his partner Clete to shake up some people she may have dealt with but that quickly escalates. Things get to the point where he's involved in an assault on a drug lord, gets assaulted by a couple of sadistic goons working for some arms dealers, and is force fed liquor which drives him off the wagon and into some dangerous situations. When his half-brother Jimmy is mistaken for him and shot, Robicheaux pulls himself together and goes after those he believes are responsible including his partner. Burke has a way with words and his characters are all well defined. He also paints a great picture of New Orleans and the surrounding areas although, in my opinion, he does overdo it at times. I enjoyed it.
We're still in the same category and we're still dealing with Detectives but there's a difference here. I remember first coming across these main characters when I was a kid back in the '50's watching the "Million Dollar Movie" on a rainy weekend day with my Dad.
Charlie Chan Carries On - Earl Derr Biggers ($1.25/$1.25, copyright 1930, 217 pages, Paperback)
According to the book's cover, this is the 6th volume in the series. I don't know how the others start, but Charlie does not appear right away in this one. Instead we have an old friend of his - Scotland Yard's Inspector Duff. Duff is called to a murder in a respectable hotel in London. The victim is a member of a Tour Group traveling around the world. It's a large, varied group of well-to-do Americans and Duff wants to hold them but the American Ambassador steps in and he has to let them go. He continues working on the case and turns up some evidence against another of the travelers but when he catches up to the party he finds his suspect has been killed. Two more murders follow before they reach Honolulu and Duff gets to meet up with Charlie. When Duff is shot, Charlie picks up the case and vows to solve it before they reach San Francisco in 6 days. While Chan and Duff are solidly constructed characters some of the travelers are stereotypes - the Chicago gangster, the Ingenue, the Rich Old Lady. Still Biggers does right by them and he keeps the story moving smoothly up until the end where he throws in a red herring before wrapping it up. I enjoyed it.
(Chan was played in the movies by several different white men including Warner Oland and Sydney Toler. To satisfy my curiosity, I've ordered the first book in the series from a Discount site.)
Thank You, Mr. Moto - John P. Marquand ($1.25/$1.25, copyright 1936, 190 pages, Paperback)
Tom Nelson, a jaded American expatriate living in Peking during the mid-'30's, stumbles into a deadly conspiracy as tensions between Japan and China threaten to escalate into all-out war. When a British ex–army officer, Major Best, trafficking in stolen goods is murdered, the beautiful American art dealer Eleanor Joyce is implicated in the crime. The search for the real killer leads Tom and Eleanor straight into the clutches of General Wu Lo Feng, a notorious warlord from the North who has surreptitiously entered Peking as part of a secret plan with global implications. Feng will stop at nothing to silence the American pair. Their only hope for survival is Mr. Moto, a secret agent of the Japanese Government. This is a very short book and Marquand does a good job with most of the characters except, in my opinion, Moto himself. He's not in most of the book and only appears when there seems to be trouble, sort of an Asian Deus Ex Machina. It was OK.
(Again, Moto was played by a white man - the great Peter Lorre. I have no interest in reading any of the other books in this series.)
I have some books lined up for the next Chapter that are totally different from what I've written about recently. I hope they hold up as well as I remember. We'll find out. Until then ….
Keep Reading.
Friday, April 12, 2019
Sunday, March 10, 2019
Chapter One Hundred and Three
As I mentioned last time, I've been waiting for a few books on order to come in so I've dug into the piles of books on my shelves. I spent about 1/2 a day doing this and picked out about 10 that piqued my curiosity. I've had a lot of down time recently so I've gotten through a couple of these as well as a couple of the ones I ordered. Here we go ….
Series
14 Peck Slip Station - Ed Dee ($5.99/$4.28, copyright 1994, 302 pages, Paperback)
This is the first book in a series that I wrote about a few months ago and mentioned at that time that I'd ordered from a Discount site. Now I finally got around to reading it. Flynn and Gregory are detectives in NY and have been partners for a very long time. They've been checking out the Fish Market for a few days looking for one of the mob bosses when they watch a bunch of goons drop a barrel off a pier. Gregory is convinced that there's a body inside and calls out Special Services. They wind up recovering the wrong barrel but it holds something interesting - the body of a cop who's been missing for over 10 years. A cop who was openly on the take and doing business with and for the mob when he got nailed by IAD and was going to testify. There's a lot at stake for Flynn and Gregory as they deal with mobsters and senior police officials who may have all been involved in the corruption. This book is different from the one's that followed because the violence takes place on the page though none of it is gratuitous. Also, Dee spends a lot of time dealing with families and their relationships. We learn more about Flynn's home life and get to see Gregory's interaction with his father. His descriptions of the city and the various locations the guys drive through are spot-on but I felt that some of the supporting characters were interchangeable. Still, the ending we get feels right under the circumstances. I enjoyed it.
(NOTE: I have the feeling that Dee did not originally intend to build a series out of Flynn and Gregory. The ending here does not gibe with the subsequent books and there are a few things that happen that are changed in the follow-ups. Still, it's a good series and I recommend it.)
Series - Off the Shelf
You Bet Your Life - Stuart Kaminsky ($2.25/$2.25, copyright 1978, 213 pages, Paperback)
There's a formula for certain Detective stories that goes back to the days of Hammett and Chandler. A
down-on-his-luck ex-cop turned Private Investigator gets hired by a rich guy to help a client of his whose being threatened unless he pays a gambling debt that the client swears isn't his. A lot of writers have followed this - some successful some not. Kaminsky has added something interesting - specifics. Toby Peters (the PI) is hired by Louis B. Meyers of MGM (the rich guy) to help Chico Marx (the client) get out of a gambling debt that Chico swears isn't his. Toby has to fly to Florida to speak to Al Capone then take the train to Chicago to meet with Frank Nitti as he tries to find out who's behind things. During his investigation, he gets to interact with Chico and the other Marx Brothers and gets rescued from a tough spot by Ian Fleming. Kaminski does a great job with the characters including the secondary ones and I particularly liked the way he depicts Toby - a 40-ish guy who winds up underdressed in Chicago during the winter and catches a cold. I enjoyed it.
(NOTE: This is the third book in the series. I'm pretty sure I originally read this back in the mid-seventies as a selection from a book club I subscribed to. I can't find the first of the series around here so - you know me -I found it online and ordered it.)
The Monkey's Raincoat - Robert Crais ($7.99/$7.99, copyright 1987, 201 pages, Paperback)
This is the first in the Elvis Cole series and I actually found it in the stack on my bookshelves. Cole is a PI in LA and he's a real wise-ass. He's hired by a woman to track down her husband who appears to have run off and taken their son with him. It seems like a pretty simple case so he starts at the family house to see what he can find.Things start to get out of hand right there. The family house has been ransacked and the cops (including his friend Lou Poitras) get involved. Turns out the husband was in the film industry but not very successful. He's murdered and the boy turns up missing. Cole finds out that a Mexican drug dealer is missing a package and the dead husband is the suspect. He's given a deadline to produce the goods so he brings in his partner, Joe Pike,who's an ex-cop and a sometimes mercenary. This is a short, fast book that intensifies quickly. Cole and Pike are very interesting characters and Crais gives us some background to each of them as the book progresses.There's a lot of violence here but Crais offsets it with humor and some quiet moments between Cole and his client (and Pike). I enjoyed it.
A Drink Before the War - Dennis Lehane ($6.99/$3.75, copyright 1994, 277 pages. Paperback)
I found another of the books in this series within the pile on my bookcases and - you know me - I had
to order the first. It came in while I was reading something else. Patrick Kenzie is a PI in Boston with
a female partner, Angie Gennaro, a decent practice, and he's from the wise-ass school . They get hired by a State Senator and his cronies to recover some "documents" they accuse a cleaning lady of stealing. It seems like a quick job and easy money, but the cleaning lady is black and Boston is boiling over with racial tensions. The Partners track down the woman but Kenzie has a change of heart and they agree to help her out. That lasted until she was murdered in cold blood in a public square. Now they find themselves caught between two rival gangs trying to wipe each other out. Lehane has created a couple of interesting, likeable characters in Kenzie and Gennaro. They've been friends since kids, growing up in the same neighborhood, and the conversations between them ring true. Their back stories - especially Gennaro's abusive marriage - bring in a certain realism and Lehane goes one step further. Other characters who could've been clichés are fleshed out nicely and he wraps up the book with something unexpected. I enjoyed it.
Here's something that I felt I had to add even though most of you probably don't bother with them. I've included totals every year since I've been doing this but, due to circumstances, I missed posting last months. Bear in mind that these are from December, 2017, through November, 2018.
I don't have anything else on order for now and I'm hoping to do a Library Run soon. In the meantime, I'm juggling 2 books so we'll see what happens. the days are getting longer and the weather's getting warmer. Enjoy yourself and ….
Keep reading.
Series
14 Peck Slip Station - Ed Dee ($5.99/$4.28, copyright 1994, 302 pages, Paperback)
This is the first book in a series that I wrote about a few months ago and mentioned at that time that I'd ordered from a Discount site. Now I finally got around to reading it. Flynn and Gregory are detectives in NY and have been partners for a very long time. They've been checking out the Fish Market for a few days looking for one of the mob bosses when they watch a bunch of goons drop a barrel off a pier. Gregory is convinced that there's a body inside and calls out Special Services. They wind up recovering the wrong barrel but it holds something interesting - the body of a cop who's been missing for over 10 years. A cop who was openly on the take and doing business with and for the mob when he got nailed by IAD and was going to testify. There's a lot at stake for Flynn and Gregory as they deal with mobsters and senior police officials who may have all been involved in the corruption. This book is different from the one's that followed because the violence takes place on the page though none of it is gratuitous. Also, Dee spends a lot of time dealing with families and their relationships. We learn more about Flynn's home life and get to see Gregory's interaction with his father. His descriptions of the city and the various locations the guys drive through are spot-on but I felt that some of the supporting characters were interchangeable. Still, the ending we get feels right under the circumstances. I enjoyed it.
(NOTE: I have the feeling that Dee did not originally intend to build a series out of Flynn and Gregory. The ending here does not gibe with the subsequent books and there are a few things that happen that are changed in the follow-ups. Still, it's a good series and I recommend it.)
Series - Off the Shelf
You Bet Your Life - Stuart Kaminsky ($2.25/$2.25, copyright 1978, 213 pages, Paperback)
There's a formula for certain Detective stories that goes back to the days of Hammett and Chandler. A
down-on-his-luck ex-cop turned Private Investigator gets hired by a rich guy to help a client of his whose being threatened unless he pays a gambling debt that the client swears isn't his. A lot of writers have followed this - some successful some not. Kaminsky has added something interesting - specifics. Toby Peters (the PI) is hired by Louis B. Meyers of MGM (the rich guy) to help Chico Marx (the client) get out of a gambling debt that Chico swears isn't his. Toby has to fly to Florida to speak to Al Capone then take the train to Chicago to meet with Frank Nitti as he tries to find out who's behind things. During his investigation, he gets to interact with Chico and the other Marx Brothers and gets rescued from a tough spot by Ian Fleming. Kaminski does a great job with the characters including the secondary ones and I particularly liked the way he depicts Toby - a 40-ish guy who winds up underdressed in Chicago during the winter and catches a cold. I enjoyed it.
(NOTE: This is the third book in the series. I'm pretty sure I originally read this back in the mid-seventies as a selection from a book club I subscribed to. I can't find the first of the series around here so - you know me -I found it online and ordered it.)
The Monkey's Raincoat - Robert Crais ($7.99/$7.99, copyright 1987, 201 pages, Paperback)
This is the first in the Elvis Cole series and I actually found it in the stack on my bookshelves. Cole is a PI in LA and he's a real wise-ass. He's hired by a woman to track down her husband who appears to have run off and taken their son with him. It seems like a pretty simple case so he starts at the family house to see what he can find.Things start to get out of hand right there. The family house has been ransacked and the cops (including his friend Lou Poitras) get involved. Turns out the husband was in the film industry but not very successful. He's murdered and the boy turns up missing. Cole finds out that a Mexican drug dealer is missing a package and the dead husband is the suspect. He's given a deadline to produce the goods so he brings in his partner, Joe Pike,who's an ex-cop and a sometimes mercenary. This is a short, fast book that intensifies quickly. Cole and Pike are very interesting characters and Crais gives us some background to each of them as the book progresses.There's a lot of violence here but Crais offsets it with humor and some quiet moments between Cole and his client (and Pike). I enjoyed it.
A Drink Before the War - Dennis Lehane ($6.99/$3.75, copyright 1994, 277 pages. Paperback)
I found another of the books in this series within the pile on my bookcases and - you know me - I had
to order the first. It came in while I was reading something else. Patrick Kenzie is a PI in Boston with
a female partner, Angie Gennaro, a decent practice, and he's from the wise-ass school . They get hired by a State Senator and his cronies to recover some "documents" they accuse a cleaning lady of stealing. It seems like a quick job and easy money, but the cleaning lady is black and Boston is boiling over with racial tensions. The Partners track down the woman but Kenzie has a change of heart and they agree to help her out. That lasted until she was murdered in cold blood in a public square. Now they find themselves caught between two rival gangs trying to wipe each other out. Lehane has created a couple of interesting, likeable characters in Kenzie and Gennaro. They've been friends since kids, growing up in the same neighborhood, and the conversations between them ring true. Their back stories - especially Gennaro's abusive marriage - bring in a certain realism and Lehane goes one step further. Other characters who could've been clichés are fleshed out nicely and he wraps up the book with something unexpected. I enjoyed it.
Here's something that I felt I had to add even though most of you probably don't bother with them. I've included totals every year since I've been doing this but, due to circumstances, I missed posting last months. Bear in mind that these are from December, 2017, through November, 2018.
Off the Shelf - 5 books, 22.88 actual cost, 22.88 out of pocket
Miscellaneous - 13 books, 124.16 actual cost, 20.61 out of pocket
Series - 11 books, 76.18 actual cost, 4.75 out of pocket
Miscellaneous - 13 books, 124.16 actual cost, 20.61 out of pocket
Series - 11 books, 76.18 actual cost, 4.75 out of pocket
2018 totals 29 books, 223.22 actual cost, 25.36 out of pocket
grand totals for 9 years 353 books, 3444.97 actual cost, 380.29 out of pocket)
Keep reading.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Chapter One Hundred and Two
I'm going to do something different this time so bear with me. When I buy a book - and I presume it's the same for everyone - I'm motivated by the Author's name (especially if it's a continuation of a series), the subject matter, the cover, and/or the description and blurbs on the back. Still, the old adage is true - Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware). I've mentioned in the past that there are a lot of books I start but then put aside or wind up disappointed with. I thought that I'd give you an example so here are 2 books where the Author's name drew me in.
Series
Deep Freeze - John Sandford ($9.99/$.50, copyright 2017, 385 pages, Paperback)
Sandford is the author of the "Prey" series starring Lucas Davenport, who leads the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. I've read and enjoyed a number of these so when I came across this I picked it up eagerly. Virgil Flowers is an investigator for the Bureau who operates in the more rural areas of the state. Here, he's given two cases to work on in the small town of Trippton- a place he solved another case years ago and where a lot of people know him. The first is the murder of a prominent woman in her own home after hosting a meeting for a 20 year school reunion. The second involves tracking down whoever is adapting Barbie and Ken dolls so they can simulate sex. Virgil
is an interesting character and Sandford does a great job with the townspeople (especially Virgil's friend Johnson Johnson) and the winter scenes in Minnesota but it's entirely too long. Virgil interviews everyone who was at the meeting and asks them all the same basic questions which became tiresome. Plus, we know who the murderer is because he's revealed in the first chapter. As far as the second case, it only popped up intermittently and I lost interest. It's now in the "Donate To The Library" pile.
Miscellaneous
The Third Man - Graham Greene ($12.95/$3.98, copyright 1968, 120 pages, Trade Paperback)
I read a few of Greene's books years ago and recently came across a reference to one that I hadn't. I, of course, went to my favorite Discount site to look for it. I forgot about it as soon as I came across this. I didn't know that Greene had written it and it's one of my favorite movies. I ordered it immediately. My excitement on it's arrival evaporated quickly. It's a copy of the Screen Play. Again, this is one of my favorite movies and I'm not going to go into any details. It was interesting to read the dialog between Holly Martins and Harry Lime, and the descriptions of the scenery in bombed-out Vienna (which are short, clipped film references) give you a sense of the location . My problem is that I was expecting a novel, and a novel - in my opinion - should give you insight into the characters and their motivations. Through the Author, you should get to read their minds and try to understand what makes them tick. I was disappointed but I did finish it. It was OK.
Right now, I've got several books on order and they're all in transit. While I'm waiting I browsed through my shelves and came across several books that I remember enjoying years ago. They are all from different series' and different genres. Maybe the next Chapter will be a Throw-back one.
It's cold and we've had some snow. Typical February weather. Bundle up, pour a drink and …
Keep reading.
Series
Deep Freeze - John Sandford ($9.99/$.50, copyright 2017, 385 pages, Paperback)
Sandford is the author of the "Prey" series starring Lucas Davenport, who leads the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. I've read and enjoyed a number of these so when I came across this I picked it up eagerly. Virgil Flowers is an investigator for the Bureau who operates in the more rural areas of the state. Here, he's given two cases to work on in the small town of Trippton- a place he solved another case years ago and where a lot of people know him. The first is the murder of a prominent woman in her own home after hosting a meeting for a 20 year school reunion. The second involves tracking down whoever is adapting Barbie and Ken dolls so they can simulate sex. Virgil
is an interesting character and Sandford does a great job with the townspeople (especially Virgil's friend Johnson Johnson) and the winter scenes in Minnesota but it's entirely too long. Virgil interviews everyone who was at the meeting and asks them all the same basic questions which became tiresome. Plus, we know who the murderer is because he's revealed in the first chapter. As far as the second case, it only popped up intermittently and I lost interest. It's now in the "Donate To The Library" pile.
Miscellaneous
The Third Man - Graham Greene ($12.95/$3.98, copyright 1968, 120 pages, Trade Paperback)
I read a few of Greene's books years ago and recently came across a reference to one that I hadn't. I, of course, went to my favorite Discount site to look for it. I forgot about it as soon as I came across this. I didn't know that Greene had written it and it's one of my favorite movies. I ordered it immediately. My excitement on it's arrival evaporated quickly. It's a copy of the Screen Play. Again, this is one of my favorite movies and I'm not going to go into any details. It was interesting to read the dialog between Holly Martins and Harry Lime, and the descriptions of the scenery in bombed-out Vienna (which are short, clipped film references) give you a sense of the location . My problem is that I was expecting a novel, and a novel - in my opinion - should give you insight into the characters and their motivations. Through the Author, you should get to read their minds and try to understand what makes them tick. I was disappointed but I did finish it. It was OK.
Right now, I've got several books on order and they're all in transit. While I'm waiting I browsed through my shelves and came across several books that I remember enjoying years ago. They are all from different series' and different genres. Maybe the next Chapter will be a Throw-back one.
It's cold and we've had some snow. Typical February weather. Bundle up, pour a drink and …
Keep reading.
Friday, January 25, 2019
Chapter One Hundred and One
I actually reached my goal for this month and finished 2 books. I was hoping for a 3rd but got bogged down with some details I'll discuss later. Also, I really don't have as much time on my hands as you'd think. Yes, I'm retired and a stay-at-home kind of guy but my meds are all on different schedules - one is every 4 hours, another every 6 hours, and the food tube every 3 hours. It's not easy getting into a comfortable reading habit when you have to keep getting up. Anyway, I did what I wanted to and here are the results.
Series
Little Boy Blue - Ed Dee ($6.99/$.50, copyright 1997, 290 pages, Paperback)
This is the second book in this series that I've read (and the third chronologically). Again, Dee starts off with the crime already having happened - the theft of a large amount of cash at JFK airport. There were shots fired and several airport employees killed including a young man who was wearing his father's old heavy, woolen police coat. The boy's name was Johnny Boy Counihan and he died in a hail of bullets. Detectives Anthony Ryan and Joe Gregory wind up on the case and it turns out Gregory has a personal connection - the victim was the son of his ex-partner. The Italian mob is suspected and the investigation leans that way but Ryan and Gregory have a different take on things which may included the IRA. Dee gives us more of Ryan's family life and Gregory gets more to do here. The characters and well-defined for the most part although there are a couple that border on caricatures. There are several nicely done twists and the ending has a few surprises. I enjoyed it.
I mentioned last month that I'd ordered the first book in the series from a Discount site I use and it came in pretty quickly. At the time, I also ordered another book for reasons that should become obvious and that came in at the same time. I chose to hold off on the Ryan/Gregory book so as not to blur things and I went with the other one.
Miscellaneous
The Con Man's Daughter - Ed Dee ($6.99/$5.88, copyright 2003, 400 pages, Paperback)
I'm sure you've noticed by now that the author of this book is the same guy who wrote the one mentioned above - Ed Dee. This is a stand-alone novel and has a grittier, harder edge to it. In the Ryan/Gregory books the violence takes place off-screen, here the violence is in-you-face and largely caused by the main character. Eddie Dunne is an ex-cop forced to retire for taking bribes. He's also an ex-boxer and former gofer for a Russian mobster. these past careers influence his attitude throughout the book. He's spent the last 4 years trying to stay straight and help his daughter raise his granddaughter. Then, the daughter is kidnapped and Eddie vows to do everything he can to get her back. Eddie starts with the Russians and it becomes pretty obvious that they are involved. The cops join in and the FBI wants a piece of what's going on. Eddie doggedly pursues his own agenda - strong arming people and getting beat up in the process. Dee tries to soften all this with scenes of Eddie with his family, especially his granddaughter, and a love interest but he can't forget what's happened. Again, Dee has created some interesting characters and situations and throws a nice twist in that changes everything. I found the beginning to be very tedious but the pace picked up about halfway through. It was OK.
NOTE: Another reason that I had trouble with this book was that it was missing pages 148 to 180 and after page 210 pages 181 to 212 were reprinted. The binding didn't look tampered with so it must've been printed this way. This is curious because it comes from a library in New Mexico and the borrower's card shows that it was taken out at least 5 times. You pays you're money, you takes you're chances.
(If you're interested, the Discount site I use is Better World Books and they don't charge for Shipping and Handling. I've also used Thriftbooks but they charge S&H for orders under $10.)
That's it for January. I'm going to hold off on the first Ryan/Gregory book and try one of the other books I've picked up recently. February's coming and the weather's been cold. Bundle up, hunker down, and
Keep reading.
Series
Little Boy Blue - Ed Dee ($6.99/$.50, copyright 1997, 290 pages, Paperback)
This is the second book in this series that I've read (and the third chronologically). Again, Dee starts off with the crime already having happened - the theft of a large amount of cash at JFK airport. There were shots fired and several airport employees killed including a young man who was wearing his father's old heavy, woolen police coat. The boy's name was Johnny Boy Counihan and he died in a hail of bullets. Detectives Anthony Ryan and Joe Gregory wind up on the case and it turns out Gregory has a personal connection - the victim was the son of his ex-partner. The Italian mob is suspected and the investigation leans that way but Ryan and Gregory have a different take on things which may included the IRA. Dee gives us more of Ryan's family life and Gregory gets more to do here. The characters and well-defined for the most part although there are a couple that border on caricatures. There are several nicely done twists and the ending has a few surprises. I enjoyed it.
I mentioned last month that I'd ordered the first book in the series from a Discount site I use and it came in pretty quickly. At the time, I also ordered another book for reasons that should become obvious and that came in at the same time. I chose to hold off on the Ryan/Gregory book so as not to blur things and I went with the other one.
Miscellaneous
The Con Man's Daughter - Ed Dee ($6.99/$5.88, copyright 2003, 400 pages, Paperback)
I'm sure you've noticed by now that the author of this book is the same guy who wrote the one mentioned above - Ed Dee. This is a stand-alone novel and has a grittier, harder edge to it. In the Ryan/Gregory books the violence takes place off-screen, here the violence is in-you-face and largely caused by the main character. Eddie Dunne is an ex-cop forced to retire for taking bribes. He's also an ex-boxer and former gofer for a Russian mobster. these past careers influence his attitude throughout the book. He's spent the last 4 years trying to stay straight and help his daughter raise his granddaughter. Then, the daughter is kidnapped and Eddie vows to do everything he can to get her back. Eddie starts with the Russians and it becomes pretty obvious that they are involved. The cops join in and the FBI wants a piece of what's going on. Eddie doggedly pursues his own agenda - strong arming people and getting beat up in the process. Dee tries to soften all this with scenes of Eddie with his family, especially his granddaughter, and a love interest but he can't forget what's happened. Again, Dee has created some interesting characters and situations and throws a nice twist in that changes everything. I found the beginning to be very tedious but the pace picked up about halfway through. It was OK.
NOTE: Another reason that I had trouble with this book was that it was missing pages 148 to 180 and after page 210 pages 181 to 212 were reprinted. The binding didn't look tampered with so it must've been printed this way. This is curious because it comes from a library in New Mexico and the borrower's card shows that it was taken out at least 5 times. You pays you're money, you takes you're chances.
(If you're interested, the Discount site I use is Better World Books and they don't charge for Shipping and Handling. I've also used Thriftbooks but they charge S&H for orders under $10.)
That's it for January. I'm going to hold off on the first Ryan/Gregory book and try one of the other books I've picked up recently. February's coming and the weather's been cold. Bundle up, hunker down, and
Keep reading.
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Chapter One Hundred
I've been putting this Chapter off because I haven't been in much of a mood to read over the last few months. No need to go into that now but last month I did mention that I'd started bringing a book to my chemo sessions (there's a lot of sitting around). I actually got through 80 pages then. I finished that book this month and started on a second. I thought I'd share the story about why I chose this book.
I was having some soup (actually broth only) in the Living Room while watching the afternoon news. I was looking around while it cooled off a little when I noticed 2 books on one of the shelves. They were by the same author and I remember picking them up at a library sale in Woodbridge about a year ago. What attracted me to them was the fact that they took place in The Bronx, my hometown. I started with the one with the oldest copyright date,
Series
Bronx Angel - Ed Dee ($6.50/$.50, copyright 1995, 350 pages, Paperback)
The basic plot is simple enough. A young cop is found dead with his pants around his ankles on a back street in The Bronx. Nearby, water has seeped through a retaining wall and frozen into what the locals believe is an angel. Police Detectives Anthony Ryan and Joe Gregory get assigned to the case and they have some ideas about how to pursue it but an ambitious boss has other ideas. She has them working nights interviewing prostitutes and investigating a sex club for transvestites. Along the way they have to deal with what may be a gang of rogue cops and Gregory's running for President of the Hibernian Society. All this while they ride around a Bronx that was very familiar to me. Ryan is the narrator and we learn a lot about his past, especially what he regrets, while he and Gregory try to make sense of the murder and it's aftermath. Dee is a retired cop and he must've worked in The Bronx because his characters and locations ring true. I enjoyed it.
I've started the other Dee book I had and have gotten through 98 pages. I noticed that "Bronx Angel" is actually the second book in the series and the one I'm reading is the third. I'm enjoying these so much that I ordered a copy of the first of the series from a Discount site that I use. It came in over the weekend,
One book is a start. I'm hoping next month that I can tell you about two or more.
I hope you had a Great Christmas. I wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year. And, until next month …
Keep Reading.
I was having some soup (actually broth only) in the Living Room while watching the afternoon news. I was looking around while it cooled off a little when I noticed 2 books on one of the shelves. They were by the same author and I remember picking them up at a library sale in Woodbridge about a year ago. What attracted me to them was the fact that they took place in The Bronx, my hometown. I started with the one with the oldest copyright date,
Series
Bronx Angel - Ed Dee ($6.50/$.50, copyright 1995, 350 pages, Paperback)
The basic plot is simple enough. A young cop is found dead with his pants around his ankles on a back street in The Bronx. Nearby, water has seeped through a retaining wall and frozen into what the locals believe is an angel. Police Detectives Anthony Ryan and Joe Gregory get assigned to the case and they have some ideas about how to pursue it but an ambitious boss has other ideas. She has them working nights interviewing prostitutes and investigating a sex club for transvestites. Along the way they have to deal with what may be a gang of rogue cops and Gregory's running for President of the Hibernian Society. All this while they ride around a Bronx that was very familiar to me. Ryan is the narrator and we learn a lot about his past, especially what he regrets, while he and Gregory try to make sense of the murder and it's aftermath. Dee is a retired cop and he must've worked in The Bronx because his characters and locations ring true. I enjoyed it.
I've started the other Dee book I had and have gotten through 98 pages. I noticed that "Bronx Angel" is actually the second book in the series and the one I'm reading is the third. I'm enjoying these so much that I ordered a copy of the first of the series from a Discount site that I use. It came in over the weekend,
One book is a start. I'm hoping next month that I can tell you about two or more.
I hope you had a Great Christmas. I wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year. And, until next month …
Keep Reading.
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Bookmark 2
I took a "time out" last month because of the various medical issues I had to deal with. I'm now half-way through the chemo and the radiation and now I've developed another problem - I can't swallow anything solid.
I spoke with the Radiologist yesterday and I agreed to have a feeding tube installed. I have to meet with a Gastroenterologist with a local office. We went back and forth on the timing of the meeting but finally agreed on 2:45 Friday (after the chemo). He's only in this office Mondays and Fridays with afternoon appointments so I'm hoping he does his surgical procedures in the mornings and I can get mine done Monday.
Also, I called my Cardiologist to tell them that I can't swallow anything hard which includes most of my pills - specifically the Potassium, Calcium, and Magnesium. She told me that I could crush the Potassium and take it with Apple Sauce, Then she said she'd ask their pharmacist about what to do with the others. I haven't heard back yet.
I'll continue with my treatments and wait for some answers.
I did have several books that I tried getting into since last month. They were part of a batch of mystery/espionage titles that I picked up a couple of months ago. I've tried picking them up again but I still can't get interested.
A Small Town in Germany - John LeCarre
I first read this book back in '78.I was called for Jury Duty in The Bronx and during a break walked down the street and picked this up in a convenience store. I remembered it being pretty good.
Trouble Is My Business - Raymond Chandler
I don't normally read short story collections but this is more of a series of novelettes revolving around the classic detective Philip Marlowe. It's classic Chandler but I can't seem to get into it.
Funeral in Berlin - Len Deighton
This is one of those books that I've always wanted to read and, now that I have the opportunity, I can't.
I brought a book with me to my chemo session last week and have made some progress. I've read about 80 pages so far and will probably read some more later on. Maybe I've turned a corner. I hope so.
Anyway, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! December is up next and with it - Christmas!
Till then...
Keep Reading!
I spoke with the Radiologist yesterday and I agreed to have a feeding tube installed. I have to meet with a Gastroenterologist with a local office. We went back and forth on the timing of the meeting but finally agreed on 2:45 Friday (after the chemo). He's only in this office Mondays and Fridays with afternoon appointments so I'm hoping he does his surgical procedures in the mornings and I can get mine done Monday.
Also, I called my Cardiologist to tell them that I can't swallow anything hard which includes most of my pills - specifically the Potassium, Calcium, and Magnesium. She told me that I could crush the Potassium and take it with Apple Sauce, Then she said she'd ask their pharmacist about what to do with the others. I haven't heard back yet.
I'll continue with my treatments and wait for some answers.
I did have several books that I tried getting into since last month. They were part of a batch of mystery/espionage titles that I picked up a couple of months ago. I've tried picking them up again but I still can't get interested.
A Small Town in Germany - John LeCarre
I first read this book back in '78.I was called for Jury Duty in The Bronx and during a break walked down the street and picked this up in a convenience store. I remembered it being pretty good.
Trouble Is My Business - Raymond Chandler
I don't normally read short story collections but this is more of a series of novelettes revolving around the classic detective Philip Marlowe. It's classic Chandler but I can't seem to get into it.
Funeral in Berlin - Len Deighton
This is one of those books that I've always wanted to read and, now that I have the opportunity, I can't.
I brought a book with me to my chemo session last week and have made some progress. I've read about 80 pages so far and will probably read some more later on. Maybe I've turned a corner. I hope so.
Anyway, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! December is up next and with it - Christmas!
Till then...
Keep Reading!
Monday, October 29, 2018
Bookmark
I've mentioned before that I usually have more then 1 book that I'm reading at any given time. Right now I have 4 - 3 on my night table and 1 on the table next to my recliner in the Living Room. I haven't been able to finish any of them.
Since my last "Chapter" I've had 15 different doctor visits and medical tests that took up most of the month. Some were scheduled and some came up as a result of others. I've tried to read but I keep getting distracted.
There's some treatments that I have to deal with and I've got them scheduled over the next month and a half. There are some questions that I still have for the doctors that I'm dealing with but I'm gonna have to go forward with the treatment anyway.
I intend to get back to finishing the books I mentioned earlier. Hopefully you'll hear about them next month. Until then ……
Keep reading.
Since my last "Chapter" I've had 15 different doctor visits and medical tests that took up most of the month. Some were scheduled and some came up as a result of others. I've tried to read but I keep getting distracted.
There's some treatments that I have to deal with and I've got them scheduled over the next month and a half. There are some questions that I still have for the doctors that I'm dealing with but I'm gonna have to go forward with the treatment anyway.
I intend to get back to finishing the books I mentioned earlier. Hopefully you'll hear about them next month. Until then ……
Keep reading.
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