'Savage Nights' Lives Up to its Name

Review: SAVAGE NIGHTS (Tarkus Press 2010)
Author: W.D. Gagliani

This book starts right off looking like a high-voltage suspenseful read, even though the first scene takes place in a jam-packed suburban mall a couple of days before Christmas. Plucky off-beat protagonist Kit, a college student, has been persuaded by her consumerist roommate Irina to brave the holiday shopping crowd. A weird incident involving someone Kit calls Pervy Man ensues. He separates the two women and Irina disappears. Kit looks for her in vain. While she's looking, someone snatches her. Kit's taken away and held captive for nefarious purposes, along with a number of other women.

Meanwhile, Kit's father is losing it. Kit's uncle Rick Brant is required to step up and take charge of the situation. Pulling Kit's dad along, reluctantly, Brant investigates. And guess who they end up talking to first? Irina. The roommate. WTF? Something smells fishy. Irina herself, maybe? (Ha ha.)

Brant, a strong but suffering Vietnam war vet who suffers nightmarish memories of his time as a "Tunnel Rat" (checking for booby trapped tunnels), is more of a father to Kit than her own dad, the almost comically pathetic Ralph. Brant must also deal with other ghosts from his past, including Zimmerman, a police lieutenant on the case who has hated Brant since back in the day.

Add into the mix a beautiful female sergeant named Colgrave assigned to work the case, who wants to believe Brant, but who takes her orders from Zimmerman, who happens to be her ex-lover (how awkward).

Meanwhile, is Kit sitting by idly waiting to be rescued? No! She's planning her escape, even though the odds seem almost insurmountable.

But have no fear. Not only does Brant have investigative resources, but he has this uncanny sixth sense that served him well as a Tunnel Rat, which seems to provide a psychic link of sorts with Kit. Assuring him to a degree that she's alive (maybe) and that he's heading in the right direction (maybe).

Not only that, but Brant eventually assembles a team of old chums from his days in Nam to effect Kit's rescue. This all leads up to a big bang-up finish worthy of the big screen.

W.D. Gagliani writes with an almost stream of consciousness style of prose that pulled me right into the story. The characters are living, breathing masses of contradiction. The plotting is exceptional. The action is non-stop.

Picture this. If Sam Peckinpah wrote a novel, how would it read? Probably like this one.

This book is available as an ebook only. Download it now. Read it and hold on tight.

Unique Writing Rituals of 20 Acclaimed Authors

You know those quirky little things authors supposedly always want/need to do as part of their writing routines? Well, I don't know if every author has a writing ritual quirk, but this article gives a list of 20 authors with unique writing rituals -- some of them even a bit bizarre.

Who knew, for instance, that Victor Hugo wrote naked (and had his valet hide his clothes) so he'd be forced to keep writing? (Nowhere to run, I guess, in the days before streaking. :))

Or that C.S. Lewis planned every minute of his working days in order to increase his productivity? (I wonder if I was him in a past life? lol)

In addition, Truman Capote apparently liked to work from bed. He referred to himself (proudly) as a "horizontal writer," which sounds interesting for all sorts of reasons.

Check out the article to see the rest of these wacky little writer habits. :)

'The Sex Club': Small Town Story With Big Time Suspense

Review: THE SEX CLUB (Spellbinder Press 2007)
Author: L.J. Sellers

THE SEX CLUB is (technically) a police procedural in that it is a Detective (Wade) Jackson Mystery and L.J. Sellers follows the police investigation in the book with a remarkable eye for detail. However, the story starts and ends with Kera Kollmorgan, a doctor working for Planned Parenthood in Eugene, Oregon. And the story starts off with a bang – literally – when a bomb goes off at the clinic where Kera works.

Things quickly turn even uglier when Kera becomes the unwitting focus of the unhinged anti-abortionist's deadly assaults AND a girl she's treated for genital warts ends up murdered and stuffed in a Dumpster.

The story follows the two incidents, creating two plotlines, and shifts deftly back and forth between two points of view – Jackson, a single parent with an adolescent daughter and a boatload of guilt about spending insufficient time with her, and Kera, who's suffered more than her share of personal loss in the form of a dead son (who died in Iraq) and estranged husband (who abandoned her).

Sellers builds suspense to the point where it's almost unbearable and weaves the plotlines seamlessly together. It got to the point where I simply couldn't click through the pages on my Kindle fast enough. This book kept me up way past my bedtime to see what would happen next.

The fact that the story is in Eugene is kind of icing on the cake for me, since I'm somewhat familiar with the town and enjoyed reading about it.

Not only that but the subject is timely and exposes the hypocrisy behind those who hide behind religion to justify things like bombing an abortion clinic to save a life. Yeah, right.

Not to mention the blind eye turned toward the "spare the rod, spoil the child" school of thought exposed in the story.

Plus there's the whole notion that kids are such innocents. Not no more. Nope. They notice things. They ask questions. They deserve real answers.

Which isn't to say the whole story is nothing but liberal socio-political discourse. Far from it. In fact, part of what makes it so compelling, are the relationships between the characters. There are, for instance, several police detectives and other law enforcement types on the case. At first, I thought I'd need a scorecard to keep track of the names, but then I got them straight. Evans is the smart and well put-together female cop, Schak (short for Schakowski) is Jackson's old pal, McCray is an older cop who wears corduroy, Sergeant Denise Lammers is their immediate boss, Fouts is an FBI agent, Slonecker is a district attorney, Ainsworth is a medical examiner in Portland, Debbie works as Ainsworth's assistant and Fieldstone is the mayor of Eugene. See! I told you I could do it. :) Then, of course, there are all the parents and their kids, but I'm not going to list all of them. But I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.

And, of course, our heroes, Jackson and Kera, who may (or may not) develop a budding romance. And there's also an interesting and kind of ironic development involving Kera's son toward the end (no, er, pun intended). I'll say no more. Just read the book. ;)

A Lot Can Happen in One Day

Everyone knows the expression: "What a difference a day makes." One thing I never knew until I saw this article was how many novels had been written that took place over the span of only 24 hours.

The article lists 11, including such classics as ULYSSES, MRS. DALLOWAY, SEIZE THE DAY and DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?

Makes you wonder how many more there might be.

Corruption is Unearthed in 'Buried Strangers'

Review: BURIED STRANGERS (Kindle Edition 2009)
Author: Leighton Gage

When an errant dog unwittingly discovers a mass unmarked burial site, Chief Inspector Mario Silva of the Brazilian Federal Police and his associates are called upon to help investigate. The clues include families buried together and missing families from poor sections of the city. Initial leads seem to point toward a cult, but his boss Nelson Sampaio discourages Silva from pursuing the case further in favor of gathering dirt on a political opponent. However, Silva ignores him and keeps looking into the matter on the sly.

Meanwhile, a local cop Yoshiro Tanaka pursues his own investigation with something a little less noble than seeking justice in mind, only to pay for it. Silva learns of this and sends Agente Arnaldo Nunes to follow up on where Tanaka went and see where it leads. Turns out to be pretty dangerous.

With the help of his nephew, Hector Costa, and the deceptively youthful-looking Heraldo "Babyface" Goncalves, Silva discovers that the burial site is only one of many and that something even worse than a cult is behind it. And Nunes ends up in terrible trouble. Silva and associates race with the clock to find him before the bad guys do their worst. (I won't tell you what, for fear of spoilers. I'll just say it involves something icky and medical and leave it at that.)

BURIED STRANGERS is an excellent work of fiction. It explores the depth of corruption among police and in other walks of life in Brazil (not that such things are limited to that country). The story was so gripping, it kept me up half the night, two nights in a row. The book is a genuine page-turner and thought-provoking.

Plus it's rare to find a book that not only has a well-constructed and fast-paced plot, but characters that are sympathetic and delineated with care. When one of the bad guys (a complete jerk) gets caught trying to escape, I actually felt bad for him. Now, pulling that off is no mean feat. It's a testament to Leighton Gage's ability to write believable characters.

I highly recommend this book.

My Ebook Launch for LEAST WANTED -- and a Cause

As those of you who follow this blog may know, along with reviewing books, I’m a mystery novelist with a new ebook release titled LEAST WANTED. (Just click on the link to read about the book.) I also happen to have dystonia (please click on the link to read another post about dystonia), the third most common movement disorder.

On Wednesday, Jan. 12—as in, tomorrow!—I’ll be holding an ebook launch for LEAST WANTED. What I’m doing is structuring the launch so as to make a donation to the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation based on where the book ends up ranking in the Amazon Paid Kindle Store at the end of the day.

Here's how it'll work. If, by the end of the launch date, LEAST WANTED:

Hits the Top 300 in Amazon’s Paid Kindle, I’ll donate $100; or

Hits the Top 200 in Amazon’s Paid Kindle, I’ll donate $250; or

Hits the Top 100 in Amazon’s Paid Kindle, I’ll donate $500; or

If we should get so lucky …

Hits #1 in Amazon’s Paid Kindle, I’ll donate $1,000.

So, tomorrow—Wednesday, Jan. 12—please help me promote my book (it is a book promotion, yes? :) ) and support a worthy cause and download a copy of LEAST WANTED from Amazon for the very, very low price of 99 cents (more than a bargain, I’d say).

That is all. Thank you!

Teen Angst and Suspense Combine Well in 'Life on Hold'

Review: LIFE ON HOLD (Kindle Edition 2009)
Author: Karen McQuestion

Rae Maddox is just a typical high school girl, except that her mother, Gina, can't seem to stay in one place for more than a year or two (at most). This makes for a very frustrating existence. So she's waiting it out until she turns 18 and can strike out on her own. Live life as she wants to, where she wants to. However for now, she's simply existing. Not getting terribly close to anyone, for fear of just losing them after yet another move. Living a life on hold as it were. (Hmm ... guess where the title came from. :))

From the moment I met Rae, standing outside the fence of a children's mental health facility where she's rushed by a pack of crazies despite the warnings of an inmate she's come to think of as Paranoid Girl, I knew I liked her.

Rae does have two friends she comes to rely upon. She has to have someone, right? Her best friends, Kylie and Mason. To quote Rae: "Two people. That's really all I need. At some of my schools I didn't even have that." Do those words not perfectly sum up the pain and defensiveness of teen alienation?

The three of them stand in marked contrast to the so-called "cool" kids, so full of themselves. Rae has kind of a thing for one of the guys in that group, but that's not to be -- or is it?

Anyhow, Rae is enlisted to escort Allison, an even newer student, around the school. A girl who sticks out like a sore thumb. Dresses like a middle-aged frump. And seems to look down her nose at Rae. How weird is that?

This all being part of the, ahem, Rae Maddox Integration Program? Yeah, right.

Well, the truth about it comes out. And I actually didn't see it coming. And I'm usually GOOD at spotting that sort of thing.

The story puts Rae in the position of figuring out what to believe or not about Allison. As well as how far to go for her.

There's also a budding romantic interest between Rae and a boy. Uh oh, another thing Rae could lose if her mom decides to move yet again. A distinct possibility that gets mentioned.

Plus there are all these family issues. Like who exactly her dad is and being separated from her grandparents. Dysfunctional family stuff.

As I got closer to the end, I found it harder and harder to set the book aside. I simply had to find out what happened.

The story works well as a coming of age tale, that combines romance and suspense, with teen angst. It also features Karen McQuestion's trademark sense of humor and spot on depiction of youth culture.

An awesome book. I totally recommend it.

Family Ties Run Deep in 'U is for Undertow'

Review: U IS FOR UNDERTOW (Putnam 2009)
Author: Sue Grafton

When I started this 21st installment in the Alphabet Series, I was afraid its charm was starting to wear thin on me. Even the familiar "My name is Kinsey Millhone ..." recitation at the beginning was coming off a bit too much like a drone. However, the initial interview with her young client Michael Sutton was intriguing enough to keep me reading, even if the questioning did seem a bit like it was intended to prompt exposition more than anything. Years before, as a small child, Sutton recalls witnessing the burial (possibly) of a kidnapped girl named Mary Claire Fitzhugh. At least, he recalls the burial of something by two men ("pirates" he calls them). This was right around the time the girl went missing, never to be found. She was presumed to be dead.

Sutton goes to the cops who refer him to Kinsey, who agrees to take the case. The case being to figure out where this happened and find out who the "pirates" are. Sutton is convinced these men kidnapped, killed and buried Mary Claire. He's also worried that they saw him and, now that he's gone to the police, they may come after him, too.

Okay, now I'm interested. But first, we must endure dinner with the plucky old next-door neighbor. Henry, that 88-year-old goat. So spry, I could just kill him. And must we hear AGAIN about the boat-like interior design of Kinsey's home? Porthole windows and all.

But that's okay, because like all big fans of this series, I've come to expect this. And the story exceeds expectations in far more important ways.

Things quickly get interesting as Kinsey delves into the past and tries to find the facts Sutton asks her to confirm. But nothing is quite as it seems. Memory plays tricks and this turns out to be as true for Kinsey as for Sutton, actually.

Sue Grafton takes the ambitious approach of jumping about in time and switching points-of-view among multiple characters. I found this approach most riveting. While the generation-hopping narrative requires concentration, it's well worth the effort.

As the story unfolds and more is revealed from each person's perspective, it becomes clear that while Sutton may not be completely right, he's not completely wrong either. Kinsey's investigation unearths (no pun intended) far more than expected. Although Mary Claire's body isn't immediately found, other clues suggest Sutton may have witnessed something he wasn't supposed to have seen.

The story deals with various issues--dysfunctional families, alcoholism, drugs, addiction, alienation--which all pertain to the crimes at the heart of this story.

Meanwhile, the various plotlines from the past merge to form the basis of the mystery Kinsey is trying to solve in the present (or, at least, the 1980s). Further, the theme of good intentions gone awry is hinted at in various metaphorical ways, including a lengthy description of a pier project that causes the undertow referred to in the title.

And while all the players have no obvious connection at first, they are tied together in the end. Grafton's plotting is virtually flawless in this regard. She also expertly weaves in a subplot about Kinsey's family and the things she never knew about them.

However, like all the other books in the series, I loved this one primarily for Kinsey herself. Yes, I'm still a sucker for Kinsey.

And I say the plot is "virtually flawless" only because the details around the timing of the first homicide and what Sutton witnessed are, shall we say, murky. Further, why does another murder (almost two) take place at the end, when the killer intends to flee to a non-extradition country, anyway? Oh, well, makes for a much better climax. :)

And the epilogue is--in a total departure from others in the series--genuinely moving.

Finally, I do recommend this book. And, my quibbles notwithstanding, I continue to be amazed at how inventive Grafton has been at keeping this series fresh and interesting.