McCall & Company: Workman’s Complication (#1) by Rich Leder

04 May 2015 2 Comments

by Amy in 5 Stars, Humour, Mystery Tags: , , , , ,

Published: 7th September 2014Goodreads badge
Publisher: Laugh Riot Press
Pages: 394
Format: Ebook
Genre: Mystery/Humour
★   ★   ★   ★   ★  – 5 Stars

Off-off-off-off Broadway actress Kate McCall inherits her father’s New York private investigations business after he’s a whole lot of murdered in a life insurance company elevator.

A concrete-carrying, ballroom-dancing construction mule says he fell off the scaffolding, can never work—or dance—again, and sues the contractor for a whole lot of money.

Kate assembles the eccentric tenants of her brownstone and her histrionic acting troupe to help her crack the cases, and they stir up a whole lot of trouble.

But not as much as Kate, who sticks her nose in the middle of the multi-million-dollar life-insurance scam her father was investigating and gets a whole lot of arrested for murdering a medical examiner.

Will Kate bust the insurance scam, prove who really killed the examiner—and her father—and get out of jail in time to pull off the ballroom sting of the decade? She might, but it’s going to be a whole lot of hilarious.

Note: I was provided with a copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Leder toes the line between absurd and realistic with this novel with wonderful balance, displaying the right set of circumstances and components that pull off the strange events in this story and make it work smoothly and effectively. The narrative is easy to read and the story is engaging and captivating, making it compelling to read and very hard to put down.

From early on the humour is evident but it never stands out awkwardly, nor does Leder try too hard. The combination of unique and eccentric characters and an intriguing storyline makes the story light while not taking away the serious elements of the story and it gives it a feeling of genuineness. Leder is skilled at saying a lot without saying much and he uses the narrative and dialogue remarkably well to provide information without breaking the flow of the story. The dialogue and character interactions are also excellent and they demonstrate character personalities and show relationships nicely.

Kate is a likeable narrator, she is witty and quick, but she is real and honest with herself which is admirable. Being a PI means Kate is a good surmise of people, she isn’t too judgemental, she is just very observant. I liked that Kate was older; it changes the feel of the story and allows for a different type of story with different people and different interactions.

What I also liked about Kate was that she is proud of herself, but this didn’t make her arrogant; she knows what she is capable of and when to ask for help, and isn’t afraid to push the boundaries. There is no doubt she is clever, resourceful, and brave, but she is also passionate and she knows what she wants from her life which may make her idealistic to some, but it makes her happy.

The residents at the Brownstone are a quirky and peculiar bunch that is worthy of Hey Arnold and their uniqueness and interactions with one another make you smile and provide immense joy as you read. Even in their limited roles Leder brings the characters to life offering up their whole personality and life on the page, aided by Kate’s explanations but also by their interactions with one another. Other characters are developed and enjoyable and through Kate’s assessments and Leder’s minimal expression, getting a sense of who each character is is easy.

There are a few crazy and adventurous moments that can seem a tad outlandish but these moments are not without consequence and Kate’s knowledge as a PI and skills as an actress come in handy though not always with favourable results. I loved that everything was not perfect and there are real mistakes and consequences, it allowed the story to have surprises, danger, and excitement all the while maintaining a realistic feel to the story.

There are multiple points of interest to retain your attention and with surprises big and small Leder keeps it fun while being mysterious and filling you with anticipation. The humour makes you smile while the mystery pulls you in and the realness keeps you reading to the last page. It is a wonderful and surprising read.

You can purchase Workman’s Complication via the following

Amazon | Amazon Aust

 

Mad Dog Justice by Mark Rubinstein

06 Feb 2015 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Mystery, Thriller Tags: , , , ,

Published: 1st September 2014
Goodreads badgePublisher: Thunder Lake Press
Pages: 328
Format: ebook
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
★   ★   ★  ★  – 4 Stars

Roddy Dolan, a surgeon, and Danny Burns, an accountant, are being hunted as prey. Someone is after them with lethal intentions but they don’t know who or why. Whoever it is, and for whatever reason, they and their families are in the crosshairs of killers. Everything they know is unravelling. They must hide, send their families away, abandon their homes, and leave their lives behind.

The second book in the Mad Dog series, Mad Dog Justice is a harrowing tale of friendship, morality, betrayal, and dire consequences.

Note: I was provided a copy of this book for review

This is the second book in the series but Rubinstein writes it in such a way that you don’t need to have read the first in order to understand what is happening or who these guys are. Through conversations, flashbacks, thoughts, and memories the events in the first book are explained fairly well so that nothing is left unanswered or confusing for the reader. If you haven’t read the first book (like I hadn’t), then a great air of mystery is present having not known the past and you seek to find out something that the main characters already know about, but this does not take anything away from the book it simply adds curiosity on our part and a desire to find out.

Roddy as a character is curious, he is rough around the edges at times, and comes off as a little bit needy. Whilst on the run he laments often about his wife, every woman he meets reminds him of her in some arbitrary way, and it gets a bit much at times. Donny, on the other hand, tries to suppress his moral dilemma and the fear of being hunted by persons unknown and prays a lot in order to justify to himself their past actions.

The way Rubinstein has constructed the narrative is clever and with realism. Hiding from questioning police, running away from friends and family, while also trying to track down potential killers is a lot harder that it seems, especially in the modern world and Rubinstein explores that.

For a surgeon and an accountant they are quite skilled at being on the run and in hiding. They may not be professionals but there is certainly some skill. Roddy tells us numerous times he has had ranger training so he understands how to hide and leave no trace. Roddy is the main narrator so we find out more about his past and youth than Donny’s. At times Roddy seemed a bit arrogant and a bit too proud of his youth and his reputation. It was easy to see past Roddy and present Roddy as different people, Mad Dog versus the skilled surgeon, but as the story progresses it is clear there is still part of Roddy who remains Mad Dog.

With Roddy and Donny unsure exactly why it is they are being targeted, it adds a great element to the story. As readers we do not know, and as characters they have theories but are not certain, leading to assumptions being made and stress and panic over past behaviour. Even when their theories are eventually revealed, there is still a great suspense just in the fact that they are uncertain and it shows that the explanation and the story itself may not be as simple as it first looked.

I enjoyed how Rubinstein chose to end this story, after the events in the book and the actions of Roddy and Donny it was unexpected but not displeasing and it suited the story wonderfully. The story is clever and real but is also filled with danger and mystique that makes real life a little bit more interesting and certainly not as simple as it appears.

You can purchase Mad Dog Justice via the following

Amazon (Paperback)

Amazon (Kindle)

Algorithm by Arthur M. Doweyko

01 Oct 2014 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, General, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller Tags: , , , , ,

Goodreads badgePublished: 1st October 2014
Publisher: E-Lit Books
Pages: 448
Format: ebook
Genre: Science Fiction/Mystery/Thriller
★   ★   ★  – 3 Stars

A story that spans decades, ALGORITHM first takes readers back to the summer of 1979 as we meet Adam, a 13-year-old boy fascinated by a mysterious lump of coal with a gold medallion at its core. Despite his best efforts to understand its origins on his own, he ends up with few answers. His curiosity does, however, compel him to learn more about archaeology and living organisms, and eventually to become a bio-organic chemistry professor.

As the narrative leaps forward to Adam as an adult, the protagonist, now armed with years of scientific knowledge, revisits the marvelous artifact and learns that it may date back more than a hundred million years. When a random explosion at the lab threatens to destroy it, Adam becomes more determined than ever to understand its significance. 

With Linda, head of the Human Genome Project at their college, by his side Adam embarks on an action-packed adventure that takes the two from their lab to an abandoned coal mine. Meticulously following each lead, the pair encounters all kinds of trouble: the authorities, enigmatic beings and, finally an unplanned trip into space. Face to face with their darkest fears, and narrowly escaping death, the two begin to question everything they once held dear — science, humanity, faith and even DNA.

Note: I was provided a copy of this book for review

The story Doweyko’s created is one that is filled with questions that humanity has been wondering about since they first looked at the stars: where did we come from and why are we here? With a combination of reality, fact, and the creativity of science fiction, Doweyko offers up a creative and intriguing answer to these questions.

Told in two parts, Algorithm follows Adam, a boy who discovers a medallion in a piece of coal, who uses his curiosity about the piece and grows up to be a scientist interested in archaeology and living organisms. When mysterious things begin to happen that seem to be connected to the medallion, Adam and colleague Linda are thrown into a world of secrets, wonder, and dangers they are not prepared for. With their scientific curiosity guiding them they embark on a journey for answers, and to escape those who are after the mysterious medallion, and will stop at nothing to achieve it.

While the story is told in two parts, and despite being very different from one another, they are also connected. They are their own stories in a way, but the second part still refer back to the previous events. I liked the way Doweyko concluded the first part, it was suitable and rounded off the story so far very well. With the narrative clearly moving in a different direction for the second part there was a need to conclude what had gone before, something Doweyko has achieved as there is a clear sense of one stage finishing, while another one is just beginning.

The second part is slower in terms of narrative and pace than the first, but it still keeps its mysterious elements, albeit on a different level. It keeps you wondering and guessing as many things are possible and there is always a chance of the unexpected. The main theme of part two is mystery and uncertainty, away from the ongoing action, but not without its own drama. Trying to anticipate what will happen does not always work as just when you think you have worked out where the story is going it changes course. Instead you go along with an uncertainty but slightly intrigued to know where the story will go next.

There is an element of truth that Doweyko uses such as real disasters and a base in real scientific fact which makes certain aspects of this story really interesting as you learn about DNA and the sequence that makes up human kind. This, coupled with the science fiction element, works well as each aspect supports the other and enhances the nature of the story.

The characters are likeable, and most are given a small history into who they are and what their past is. This is kept to a minimum though with Adam being the most detailed, but you also get a sense of who the other characters are as well and Doweyko incorporates this information into the narrative well.

I want to say I enjoyed the first part over the second, but I think being so different it is hard to compare. As a whole I liked the story, and I think the involvement and interest in the first half is different than the curiosity and the intrigue in the second. While the first part offered a bit faster paced and almost nonstop action, the second focused on solving the mystery that was underlying the first part so you cannot really compare them adequately.

Overall the story is interesting and well written and the concept is detailed, with the right balance between reality and science fiction to make it believable as an idea. There is a risk of becoming a bit confused towards the end of the book as it all comes together, but the information and explanations are there to help make sense of what is happening if you pay attention. Algorithm is a story that demonstrates that seemingly innocent and exciting adventures may be anything but, and can also be so much more than you have ever imagined.

Nocturnes by John Connolly

14 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by Amy in General, Mystery, Short Stories, Thriller Tags: , , , ,

Published: February 28th 2007
Goodreads badgePublisher: Hodder
Pages: 486
Format: Book
Genre: Short stories/Horror/Fantasy
★   ★   ★   ★   ★  – 5 Stars

 A dark, daring, utterly haunting anthology of lost lovers and missing children, predatory demons, and vengeful ghosts. In these stories, Connolly ratchets up the tension to almost unbearable — and irresistible — levels. Nocturnes is a deliciously chilling collection from “one of the best thriller writers we have” (Harlan Coben)

John Connolly’s short stories in this book are dark and magical and monstrous, in so many different ways. All monsters are different, not all monsters can be seen, and there is always something lurking in the dark. There are 17 stories in this collection, each of them revealing something terrifying and eerie. The variety Connolly comes up with are amazing, and the fact we do not always find out what exactly is hiding in the shadows is what adds to the delight. What isn’t told leaves a lot to your own imagination to fill in the gaps, and what is told is just haunting enough to stay with you even as you move onto the next story.

With the opening story, The Cancer Cowboy, you know that these stories may not be entirely pleasant or uplifting, but with the other stories varying from being less dark and tragic to being simply eerie, or on occasion humorously tragic, you are given a wide variety in which to challenge your nerves and keep you awake at night.

Connolly writes with a wonderful descriptive simplicity. We are given details and basic information, but there are things we aren’t told as well. What we are told is what we need to be told for the story to progress and for us to understand. Anything else is revealed gradually in conversation, or implied through something else, or we don’t need to know it at all. The joy of the short story, and the art I suppose, is trying to capture a life within less space than normally provided. Connolly gives us characters that are as developed as they have to be for the roles and situations they are placed in. You do not always need to know everything about them, but we are not left with any husks of characters that we have no sympathy for and for what is happening to them or around them.

The title Nocturnes comes from one of the stories within the book, a story about things that come out in the dark, that haunt you, and hide in the shadows; the very name suitable to cover the nature of these stories. Nocturnes can be defined as “a work of art dealing with evening or night”, something these stories do, mixed together with the creepy and scary.  Connolly draws you in as you read with the mystery and unknown, but also compassion for the characters involved; of the innocent parties, the guilty, and even an admiration for the monsters. The extent of what he has created is of such variety it must be said it isn’t all darkness and shadows, but the daylight monsters are no less unnerving than anything that Connolly creates in the night time shadows I assure you.

One stand out addition was the Charlie Parker novella The Reflecting Eye towards the end. Even this manages to suit the theme Connolly has going rather well. Charlie Parker is from Connolly’s detective series, with this novella being between the fourth and the fifth in the series.  I have yet to read any of the Charlie Parker novels; I suppose with this novella I have had a taste now to reignite my desire to start reading them.

From the man who wrote the beauty of The Book of Lost Things, seeing the darker side was very revealing. The Book of Lost Things had its own darkness certainly, but the darkness and monsters hiding inside Nocturnes, whether they are treated with a distracting light heartedness like some, a mysteriousness that remains not entirely revealed, or one that brings a twist, is something that I found very exciting, and a wonderful surprise. Perhaps it was because we don’t always know what is happening, we only see snippets of events and what happens, or perhaps it is because it shows that darkness can breed anything and anywhere, and no one is exempt from its talons.

X Y Z by Anna Katharine Green

03 May 2013 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, General, Mystery, Short Stories Tags: , , ,

Published:1883
Goodreads badgePublisher: G. P. Putnam’s Sons
Pages: 52
Format: eBook
Genre: Mystery
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

A short detective story

I found this as part of an A-Z reading challenge last year after having little luck tracking down my previous choice for X. I had never read a detective novel at the time and I think this was a very good way to introduce myself into the age old genre. I had of course heard of all the wonderful detective novels and authors but never felt drawn to read them, aside from the feeling that I should read Sherlock Holmes one day. After I finished this short story I did begin looking for other stories of this genre and I am slowly opening myself to this wonderful genre.

X Y Z is a short story written by Anna Katharine Green, and tells the story of a detective who arrives in town in an attempt to investigate counterfeiters possibly connected to a series of mysterious letters addressed only to X Y Z. Set in a small town in Massachusetts, the story takes place in the later parts of the 1800s and begins with one investigation but soon moves into another of mystery and drama. In the course of the investigation an anomaly occurs, tugging at our unnamed detective’s curiosity. This curiosity leads his inquiries and attention to a prominent family in town, who as far as the rumours and secretive nature demonstrate, have mysteries and secrets of their own.

What amused me was that as I started to read I found myself reading it in the voice of the old black and white detective films, including that undeniable accent which made it all the more interesting in my mind. The story is engaging, and despite being short there is a decent well rounded story and character establishment. We are given the details we need for the plot, there is no information in this story that is irrelevant. I am not sure whether this includes the name of our detective, it hardly seems irrelevant, he interacts with enough people in the town, yet Green has omitted his name. Whether to add mystery or to keep her readers in suspense, I don’t know. If you wanted to look deeply into this you could play the idea of the mystery stranger who arrives in town, changes the town and creates a fuss, then leaves again. But isn’t being a stranger enough to do that? Whatever the reason I didn’t find it a bother, you almost forget after a while, there is only one detective to keep track of after all.

The characters in this story are well thought out and planned, and the story unfolded in a way where there were hints and clues and when it all came to a head it was as I imagined it to be. There are just as many gasps and surprises and twists even in a story of this size and there is no doubt it is of the detective genre. The secrets and mysteries are revealed by the end, perhaps not in the way you would imagine, but there are no extravagant twists and turns that make the story more mind bending and complex than it needs to be. Being written in the era it was, it is a basic detective novel where you are given clues and answers with the twists and revelations as you go. It was certainly a good read that certainly sparked my interest in this genre.

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