Archives For May

Curse of the Pogo Stick, By: Colin Cotterill

May 31, 2011 — 4 Comments

Title: Curse of the Pogo Stick

Author: Colin Cotterill

Year Published: August 2009

Length: 272 pages

Genre: crime fiction, amateur sleuth, political satire (with supernatural elements)

Standalone or series: series (ongoing)

Order in series: 5 out of 7 (at time of writing)

POV: 3rd person

Formats: print and digital, Kindle pre-order

Plot: The series is set in the communist state of Laos during the late 1970′s and follows the disheartened, stubborn and cynical communist party member, Dr. Siri Paiboun. He’s 73 years young and the nation’s only coroner. The Hmong people are front and center in this entry. A fascinating people who make their home in the mountainous region of northeast Asia and who fought in the “secret war” against communism and lost. Bad luck continues to attach itself to the Hmong when an American toy seems to have in their mind “cursed their village.” The pogo stick is sort of a reminder of their allegiance with the Americans who recruited them, trained them and abandoned them to an awful fate.

Meanwhile, Dr. Siri Paiboun travels with Judge Haeng on an assignment that proves to be quite the adventure for them both. Back in Vientiane, Nurse Dtui, Civiali and Inspector Phosy along with Madame Daeng (ex-freedom fighter and now entrepreneur of her own noodle shop) hunt down a royalist sympathizer with the code name of The Lizard (see Anarchy and Old Dogs). Their foe proves to be more clever than they had anticipated or maybe not. My thoughts are below the break. Continue Reading…

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Swedish Book Review of “The Quarry” by Johan Theorin

May 30, 2011 — 7 Comments

Swedish Book Review of “The Quarry” by Johan Theorin.

Blodläge is the third in Johan Theorin’s quartet of novels set on the island of Öland, and as with Skumtimmen (Echoes from the Dead) and Nattfåk (The Darkest Room), the island, its history and its legends have a key role to play. Each novel is set in a different season, and we have now reached spring, a time of hope and optimism, as the days lengthen and the first butterflies begin to appear.

The translator for The Quarry, Marlaine Delargy, reviews the upcoming third book in the Quartet series by Johan Theorin that’s due out June 23rd in the UK. Admittedly, I was surprised she reviewed this but then she’s the translator and not really the author who wrote it…it’s a good review nevertheless but full of plot details. I can’t wait to read this book which won’t be out in the U.S. until who knows when. I pre-ordered myself a copy from the UK. Yes, just call me impatient.

In translated crime fiction
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The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, By: Stieg Larsson (trans Reg Keeland)

May 29, 2011 — 12 Comments

Title: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Author: Stieg Larsson

Original title: Men Who Hate Women

Translation: Reg Keeland

Year Published: 2009

Length: 600 pages

Author Background: Journalist

Genre: crime fiction, Scandinavian crime fiction, amateur sleuth

Standalone or series: series (completed)

Order in series: 1 out of 3 of the Millennium Trilogy

Characters: Lisbeth Salander, Mikael Blomkvist, Henrik Vanger

POV: 3rd person

Available in Digital, Print or both? Both

Note: This is a re-post of my original thoughts on the book when I first read it about a year ago. It’s Sunday. I thought why the hell not. Continue Reading…

In Book Reviews, translated crime fiction ,
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Writers P.J. Parrish Pens New Series

May 28, 2011 — Leave a comment

P.J. Parrish is the pen name for two sisters who write mysteries featuring Louis Kincaid, a police officer and sometime private investigator set in South Florida. The series started with Dark of the Moon back in 2000. I’ve only read one book by this pair and that was The Little Death (2010). I’ve never read the entire Louis Kincaid series. What impressed about their work with that one book is the plotting with it’s twists and turns and the characters. If you enjoy character driven series then this is your author.

The new series features a Pulitzer Prize nominated journalist (is this a new trend now or what?) with some baggage. The first book is due out July 26th, the title: The Killing Song. I see that it’s coming out in Kindle (good deal). Not sure if I will read it. I tend to avoid crime fiction from the journalist’s perspective but since they write solid mysteries, I might give it a go. The synopsis is below the break for those interested in this new series. My only request would be for the authors to release more of their Louis Kincaid books in digital please. Continue Reading…

In Miscellaneous
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Digital Request Please: Patricia Highsmith’s Backlist

May 25, 2011 — 6 Comments

Just throwing this out into the ether. I check often for Patricia Highsmith’s backlist in the digital catalog (read as Amazon Kindle,etc).

Still no The Talented Mr. Ripley in digital format and I would love to read it on that thing over there to the right. I have the paperback edition but…it’s just not the same.

The digital era is here to stay people. Somebody work on getting her books in digital format please. Thanks. Aside from that, I did find one Kindle title by Patricia Highsmith under a pen name? of Claire Morgan. The title is The Price of Salt, that’s said to be a lesbian novel from reading the reviews. Of all the books to test the market with…just give us her mystery titles please.

In Miscellaneous
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Writer, Steve Hamilton

May 24, 2011 — Leave a comment

I love Steve Hamilton’s Alex McKnight series which started off with the excellent, A Cold Day in Paradise in 2000. The mysteries are all set in Michigan’s wintery, freezing Upper Peninsula. Alex McKnight embraces a lot of the typical tropes of this genre: he left the police force due to a bad bust that resulted in his partner being killed. Plus the bullet that struck Alex is still lodged near his heart. Now he’s a PI, working solo on the odd case now and again.

The mysteries are not that overly complex and there’s some light humor inter-weaved throughout to lighten things up a bit. I enjoy this series because I enjoy angst, people with flaws and a good old murder mystery to cap it all off. Another strength is that he’s really good at creating atmosphere and his settings are pretty well-developed. I keep going back to check the release date for his long-awaited entry in this series, Misery Bay. It releases on June 7th so not that far away and there’s some good buzz on it already which means absolutely nothing. Lawrence Block’s A Drop of the Hard Stuff had good early buzz but I couldn’t even finish that one. All the books in the Alex McKnight series are digitized and the total books in the series comes to about 8 books. Reading list below the synopsis and after the break for those interested. Continue Reading…

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More Jo Nesbø Links

May 22, 2011 — 3 Comments

From CNN International, Author Nesbø: I am attracted to [the] dark side (May 22,2011): I liked this interview because it gives us more insight into the character of Inspector Harry Hole (admittedly I’ve read it all and never tire of reading it)

CNN: For new readers, tell us a little about your main character Harry Hole.

Nesbø: It is not easy to summarize the protagonist of the series in a few words, but here are some features of Harry’s personality that are important to me when I write about him: He’s the type of guy who is driven by his good side as well as his darker side.

and this one (vague spoilers !) at The Canadian Press (May 22,2011) addressing that stupid label on his books:

“For the Scandinavian crime writers it was a good thing that Stieg Larsson came along,” he said. “But then again, there were writers preceding him that were door openers for Stieg Larsson also, like, Henning Mankell for example.”

Can we get an amen on that please? I’m sure there are more if one cares to chase down the roots of Scandinavian crime fiction. Moving on. The Canadian article actually goes more into his latest novel, available in the UK only right now, The Leopard and gives away some of the plot details. He says it’s his most dark and violent book to date but he didn’t intend for it to be that way. I loved it despite the grisly beginning.

All of his novels are also loaded with power play within institutions and police politics which I love as well. I remember reading another interview awhile back where the author was asked to name one of his greatest strengths as a writer and he answered with :his imagination and I concur because who else can conjure up gruesome torture devices. Still, he’s my favorite crime fiction writer. The Snowman (2011) is out right now (unpaid link to Amazon). Hardcover for the rest of you non-digital reading folks.

I enjoy reading these articles so pardon me for the repetition. Update: Just saw where The Snowman is at #10 on the NYT bestseller lists!

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Graphic Novel: Scalped: Indian Country, By: Jason Aaron and R.M. Guéra

May 22, 2011 — 2 Comments


Title & Author: Scalped (Vol.1), Jason Aaron

Artwork: R.M. Guéra

Introduction written by: Brian K. Vaughn

Series run: 2007 to present

Total out right now: 7 (at time of this writing); free downloadable first issue from Vertigo here

Length: 126 pages

Setting: The Prairie Rose Indian Reservation, South Dakota

Premise: Organized crime, drug use, corruption, greed, Indian wars, old scores to settle – take your pick.

Protagonist: Dashiell “Dash” Bad Horse, Tribal Police Officer. He’s bald and a bad ass dude, estranged son of an activist mother

Overall thoughts: Very dense story set in Indian country. Engrossing read that is very un-PC. Continue Reading…

In Graphic novels , , ,
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Villain, By: Shūichi Yoshida (trans by Philip Gabriel), A Conversational Review

May 20, 2011 — 6 Comments

Title/Author: Shūichi Yoshida , Villain (translated by Philip Gabriel)

Title Elsewhere: Akunin (2007)

Premise: what goes into the making of a killer?

Year Published: August, 2010 in US / UK

Length: 304 pages

Author Background: Japanese writer, known for writing about disillusioned youth

Genre: Contemporary Japanese crime fiction (translated)

Standalone or series: standalone

Characters: Yoshino Ishibashi (insurance saleswoman), Keigo Masuo (college student), Yuichi Shimizu (car enthusiast) + others

POV: 3rd person POV with a few chapters in 1st person POV

Digital, Print or both? Both, digital is agency priced and is available in Kindle, et al.

Fellow reader and blogger, Maili, will join me in sharing her thoughts on Villain. I had fun doing this. Conversational review begins on the next page. Warning: general spoilers up ahead. Thanks for reading and your thoughts/comments are welcome.

Pages: 1 2 3 4
In Book Reviews, translated crime fiction ,
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Interview with Johan Theorin : Un polar

May 19, 2011 — Leave a comment

Interview with Johan Theorin : Un polar.

There is a tendency these days to turn popular authors into celebrities, but if I as a person remain out of sight and only my books became well-known, that is fine enough with me.

Johan Theorin is one of my favorite writers of crime fiction. If I had to sum up his work with one word it would be: atmospheric. He’s worth reading.

Bibliography (selected):

Echoes From the Dead
The Darkest Room

In Miscellaneous
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Southern Sweden, et al – SWEDEN.SE

May 19, 2011 — Leave a comment

Join us on a journey through the darker, but fictional sides of Sweden — as seen and described by the numerous Swedish crime authors now delighting fans of murder and mystery world-wide.

Southern Sweden – SWEDEN.SE.

Central Sweden- SWEDEN.SE

Stockholm – SWEDEN.SE

Northern Sweden – SWEDEN.SE

Worth a cursory glance. The article highlights with pics (!) – crime fiction writers who set their stories in Sweden.

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