Crime Fiction | Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

THIS TENDER LAND by William Kent Kruger

September 6, 2019

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From the publisher:

A magnificent novel about four orphans on a life-changing odyssey during the Great Depression, from the New York Times bestselling author of Ordinary Grace.

1932, Minnesota—the Lincoln School is a pitiless place where hundreds of Native American children, forcibly separated from their parents, are sent to be educated. It is also home to an orphan named Odie O’Banion, a lively boy whose exploits earn him the superintendent’s wrath. Forced to flee, he and his brother Albert, their best friend Mose, and a brokenhearted little girl named Emmy steal away in a canoe, heading for the mighty Mississippi and a place to call their own.

Over the course of one unforgettable summer, these four orphans will journey into the unknown and cross paths with others who are adrift, from struggling farmers and traveling faith healers to displaced families and lost souls of all kinds. With the feel of a modern classic, This Tender Land is an enthralling, big-hearted epic that shows how the magnificent American landscape connects us all, haunts our dreams, and makes us whole.

“If you liked Where the Crawdads Sing, you’ll love This Tender Land…This story is as big-hearted as they come.” —Parade

Definitely.

While Kruger is best known for his Cork O’Connor mystery series, he probably received the most accolades (and gained a ton of new readers) with his extraordinary book, Ordinary Grace. This new book was pitched to me as another Ordinary Grace, so I wondered, can lightning strike twice? Apparently it can.

The writing is simply superb. The characters are unforgettable, and the setting is rich and evocative. I have seen this book described as an updated Huckleberry Finn, and that is an apt comparison, as is its comparison to Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath and Homer’s Odyssey. These are some heady correlations, and Kruger’s book easily stands up to them.

Four kids run away from the school where they have been, for lack of a better word, horribly mistreated.They jump into a canoe and head out on the Gilead River. The Gilead feeds into the great Mississippi, and that’s where these children are headed, hoping to reach St. Louis and the possibility of family, where two of them, the brothers, are from.

There are crimes committed along the way, starting with the “kidnapping” of Emmy, a young orphaned girl who has been adopted by the heinous owners of the school. But is it kidnapping is she wants to leave? It is her choice to run away, but this is right on the heels of the Lindburgh baby kidnapping and no one is asking those questions. These children, like many during the depression, grow up way too fast.

There are some major themes at play here, starting with the grand adventure on the river. This is an epic odyssey, often chaotic, and at times, spiritual. But other themes are also important, like the deplorable mistreatment of Native Americans in this country, and much of the history revealed here was completely new to me. Another major theme is that of family, how that is defined, and what it means. It is also a coming of age story for these runaways, and the book is narrated by the adult Odie so it is told with some perspective.

It is a story that immediately grabs the reader and doesn’t let go until the last page is turned. There is resolution, and redemption. Book clubs will love it; there is a deep, rich reservoir worthy of discussion. It is an excellent read, sure to make my best books of the year list. Don’t miss it.

9/19 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THIS TENDER LAND by William Kent Kruger. Atria Books (September 3, 2019). ISBN 978-1476749297. 464p.

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ENTANGLEMENT – QUANTUM AND OTHERWISE by John K. Danenbarger

September 5, 2019

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Synopsis:

An explosive collision between a pickup truck and a Volvo erases two momentous scientific discoveries. Quantum probability results in complex emotional entanglements. Voices return from the dead. A blood-stained piano becomes an heirloom. Although a picture-perfect family, Beth Sturgess divulges an ignominious past to her loving husband–who has deadly secrets.

Mistakes are fatal.

With deeply flawed, relatable characters, Entanglement–Quantum and Otherwise is an intricate literary crime story that unravels the generational impact on reality after a loved one’s death.

A well done novel concerning the cause and effect of one generation’s actions on the people coming after them.

The book is populated by eight flawed characters living their lives in ensuing times with their thoughts, deeds and actions having direct effect on others. The story starts out with a collision between a Volvo and a Pickup truck. The action erases two important scientific discoveries. Events stemming from the accident creates a chain of events involving people somehow tied to those that took part in the crash.

The reader is led from person to person, event to event in a novel carefully planned to follow the sequence laid out by the author. The process is cumulative; what happens to whom and how does it effect the other principals in the book. Quite well done and an engrossing read highlighting the author’s work.

9/19 Paul Lane

ENTANGLEMENT – QUANTUM AND OTHERWISE by John K. Danenbarger. StormBlock Publishing (August 6, 2019). ISBN 978-0578450377. 380p.

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THE EXTINCTION AGENDA Michael Laurence

September 2, 2019

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Michael Laurence starts out with the beginnings of an extremely interesting novel set on the U.S. – Mexican border and involving the constant effort of the Border Patrol to keep out illegal aliens. He then moves forward and presents his readers with a much larger and more engrossing plot.

James Mason and his strike force are met as they launch a raid against what are perceived as smugglers, but encounter evidence of an adversary aiming to destroy humanity for their own evil intentions. During the raid, many of Mason’s strike force are killed as well as his partner who was his mentor during his early years with his bureau.

Returning to his division, James becomes possessed by what he is sure that he found, and in spite of his superior’s opposition to the idea, launches his own investigation into what he has seen and determined in the building raided on the border. He is positive that what is planned is far and away over and above a case of smuggling in material into the U.S. Proving that he is correct in his assumptions, his wife, who is an investigator for the Internal Revenue Service, is killed in an explosion while investigating a potential suspect in what is probably a warning to leave the investigation.

With the help of two of his friends, Mason finds that what he has uncovered is a conspiracy that has been hatched more than a hundred years earlier, about the period of the first World War. The investigation, what is uncovered, and the events involved in solving the mystery are handled in a fashion geared to keeping the reader glued to the book and wondering what is really involved.

The ending is a logical one stemming from the events depicted and also leaves enough room for more books about James Mason and the two friends that helped him in this one. Based on the way Laurence handles this novel, they should also be all-nighters and sought after by his readers.

9/19 Paul Lane

THE EXTINCTION AGENDA Michael Laurence. St. Martin’s Press (September 3, 2019). ISBN 978-1250158482. 400p.

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PERFECT STRANGER by Jake Cross

August 31, 2019

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Rose and Chris have been happily married for 20 years. They have a beautiful daughter, Julia, and both like the path they are on and whom they are on it with.

Suddenly their lives are shaken up when a beautiful young girl shows up on their doorstep and tells Chris that she is his daughter. Before Chris married Rose he had a short affair with another woman. They went their separate ways and Chris forgot about that episode in his life until Katie appeared shaking everything up. She knows all about the affair, requests that to remove all doubts about Chris being her father, he take a DNA test coupled with a similar test of Katie’s. And her mother has passed away prompting her action and need to find a way to live.

Katie indicates that she is staying in a temporary residence pending the outcome of the tests, but Rose extends an invitation to her stating that the family should get used to her in the meanwhile. Katie does so and suddenly strange things start to happen: someone crashes into a neighbor’s fence, an unexplained fire starts in the kitchen, and a family friend disappears on the way to visit them. Mysteriously, Chris refuses to explain where he was when the friend went missing.

The plot evolves from one to many instances. The police get involved and it is a certainty that the reader will experience some sleepless time when unable to put the book down. A well done mystery with an ending a capstone to a well done novel.

8/19 Paul Lane

PERFECT STRANGER by Jake Cross. Bookouture (August 20, 2019). ISBN 978-1786814432. 338p.

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TIN BADGES by Lorenzo Carcaterra

August 26, 2019

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Carcaterra has been absent from the literary scene for a while due to personal reasons, but fortunately for his readers, has returned with a good story, solid writing and unforgettable characters; in other words, as good as ever.

Tin Badges is the designation given to retired detectives that have been asked to return to temporary duty to work on a case that for one reason or another is out of the reach of the active police.

“Tank” Rizzo has been retired, along with his partner Pearl, after an arrest went wrong and both were severely injured, Pearl reduced to becoming a paralyzed man confined to a wheel chair.

As the novel opens, Tank and his ex-partner have been handed a case involving a gangster kingpin named Gonzo. Tank assembles a group of the people that he normally assembles to help on the case. These include an ex-gangster who is the father of the woman that Tank has been involved with and who manages the restaurant that Tank frequents.

As Tank’s group begins to operate to bring down Gonzo, he is hit with the horrible news that his brother and sister-in-law have been killed in an auto accident. Tank is the only relative that Chris, his brother’s son, has, and he is brought kicking and squirming to live with him. While his nephew is getting settled in, he manages to enter the world of Tank’s team and it is found that he is a computer genius whose talents prove useful in the move against Gonzo.

Similarly to Carcaterra’s previous novels, once the reader is grabbed very quickly this book is impossible to put down until finished. What their operation entails in their move against Gonzo is the main part of the book. Most important though, is the description of the team assembled, how they work together, and what their particular skills are. I trust that I am correct in making the judgement that this book is just the first of succeeding novels about Tank and his group and the unorthodox ways they handle cases. It is also a safe assumption that these novels, and other non related ones, will be well done and capture the author’s readers quickly and keep them glued to the book until the end.

8/19 Paul Lane

TIN BADGES by Lorenzo Carcaterra. Ballantine Books (August 27, 2019). ISBN 978-0345483928. 304p.

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OLD BONES by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

August 21, 2019

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Nora Kelly, Book 1

The very prolific writing team of Preston and Child introduce a new pair of lead protagonists. They each have appeared shortly in one of the authors’ books featuring their Sherlock Holmes lookalike Agent Pendergast. Starting with this novel, they appear to be headed for their own series of stories. Nora Kelly is a young curator for the Santa Fe Institute of Archaeology and Carrie Swanson a fledgling agent for the FBI.

The story begins when Clive Benton, a recognized historian, approaches Nora with information he has received pointing towards the finding of the lost camp of the Donner party. The Donner party refers to a group of pioneers heading towards California during the years 1845-46. In crossing the Sierras they were trapped by massive snow storms. With no food to be had due to the weather they ate the animals with them – cats, dogs, and the oxen pulling their wagons. The culmination of their plight resulted in a documented case of cannibalism.

Benton requests that Nora’s employer finance an archaeological expedition to reach the lost third Donner site, and to sweeten the pie indicates that one of the people with them was carrying a fortune in gold coins. The institution agrees that the find itself would be a major discovery with the possible discovery and recovery of the gold coins a great addition. The expedition is arranged and due to Benton’s information the third site is found and digging begins.

There is no problem enjoying another well written book by the two authors but it would not be like them if a bit of the macabre was not introduced. Could there be something supernatural mixed in with the bones and relics found? Probably yes and how, if there, does it affect the story? Very few of the novels that I have read by the authors is less than a five star book and “Old Bones” is no exception.

8/19 Paul Lane

OLD BONES by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. Grand Central Publishing (August 20, 2019). ISBN 978-1538747223. 384p.

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NOTTINGHAM by Nathan Makaryk

August 19, 2019

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Not surprisingly, Nottingham is a novel about Robin Hood and his merry men. But not your ordinary tale of Robin, Little John,Will Scarlet, Friar Tuck and the chaste and beautiful Maid Marion and their struggle against the evil that permeated the county they live in. The author has written quite an interesting version of the legend of Robin.

Instead of complete evil being faced by overwhelming good, Makaryk postulates a story involving people with real motives and why their actions could have led to the tale of Robin being what it is.

In the first place, there is no evidence that Robin Hood and his band ever really existed although the author has done research into the mid 1100’s in England, the period ascribed to Robin Hood and used some of the facts he unearthed in the story.

The story begins at a point where Robin of Locksley and his friend William are serving in the army of king Richard during his crusade in the holy land. They are taking part at the siege of the city of Acre, and planning a near future attack on Jerusalem against the forces of Saladin. During the fight at Acre, it is discovered that a shipment of new weapons needed by Richard if he is to continue to fight has been lost in transit. Robin and William are sent back by Richard to find these weapons and deliver them to the army.

The men detached, on the temporary assignment, find themselves in the midst of problems in and around Nottingham with the current Sheriff unwilling to do anything about it. He is too nice and does not want to offend anyone. Robin and William decide that they have to take care of the problem and dive right in. Robin meets up with his long time lady love Marion and as before they talk about marriage when there is time. William also meets a young lady whose family has become destitute and she must take a servant’s position at Locksley castle. Robin attracts a group of citizens that want to help solving the problems facing Nottingham and follow him into Sherwood forest where they begin robbing rich people riding through. Since Marion is there the author comes up with the basis for the term merry men in relation to Robin’s band. Since Marion had a hand in organizing them they became known as Marion’s men. This is one of the examples of possible fact turning into the source of glorified fiction and creating the legend. There are many other instances where what did happen turns into what is thought to have happened.

Nottingham is a novel that will keep the reader interested and is appropriate for anyone that has read the books and seen the movies dealing with the Robin Hood legend. The length of the book keeps it from being an all nighter and there is a bit too much description of the events that could have turned real life into legend.

Recommendation – read the book, it is different enough in its presentation to the legend making it an interesting read.

8/19 Paul Lane

NOTTINGHAM by Nathan Makaryk. Forge Books (August 6, 2019). ISBN 978-1250195609. 496p.

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THE PERFECT SON by Lauren North

August 18, 2019

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This novel is North’s first book and it definitely heralds the appearance of a very talented author on the literary scene. It is an emotional roller coaster taking hold of the reader and holding him or her until the quite satisfying ending.

Tess Clarke is a happily married young woman with a young son the cement further bonding the couple. They have also purchased a new home away from the hustle and bustle of London assuring a better lifestyle for all three. Her husband, Mark, has just been promoted to the sales department with the firm he works for when suddenly tragedy strikes. On a sales trip to Germany, Mark, leaving ahead of other staff members coming there, is killed when the plane he is on crashes, killing all aboard.

Tess is devastated but somehow manages to put her son, Jamie’s well being ahead of her own. Not knowing how to act she imagines conversations with Mark and his probable replies in examining the world she now lives in. Mark’s brother Ian visits her and instead of being a comfort tells Tess that her husband borrowed 100,000 pounds from him and he needs the money returned immediately. Ian tells her that she should immediately check out her husband’s will, his insurance policies and benefits that could have accrued to the estate.

Not exactly a comforting presence is he? At the same time a grief counselor visits her in order to help Tessa come to grips with her loss. Trouble is that the counselor had lost a young son to leukemia shortly before these events and Tessa gets to feeling that the woman is interested in taking Jamie from her and not in helping her.

The story is told via the descriptions of the days before Jamie’s birthday and what happens during this period. Ms North handles the slow but sure decay of Tessa quite well, keeping the reader glued to the pages and also changing his or her mind about the ending several times. Very well done and an excellent start for this new author.

8/19 Paul Lane

THE PERFECT SON by Lauren North. Berkley (August 13, 2019). ISBN 978-1984803849. 368p.

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THE DOLL FACTORY by Elizabeth Macneal

August 16, 2019

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The author sets her story in the London of the 1850’s and sets it very well, describing the city at that time with both its problems and also its attractions. She does an excellent job of presenting the persona involved with their distinct personalities and their reactions to their own time.

The Great Exhibition, a huge hall, is being erected in 1850 in London to showcase as many of the symbols of life at the time, as well as objects that might illustrate the future. Among the exhibitions are portraits done by the artists of the day. The building has an important part to play in the events depicted in the novel.

Iris is a young lady that, due to her background and lack of money, works in a shop making items for the woman in charge. Her sister Rose works with her. As the novel begins, Iris goes to the grounds of the Great Exhibition to have a look at this marvel. In passing she bumps into Silas, whose forte is obtaining either by purchase or killing birds and other animals, mounting them and selling them to artists to use as models in their paintings. Iris forgets the encounter, but Silas imagines that she fell in love with him at that moment. Silas is a psychopath with these tendencies beginning during his early life when he fantasized that a girl he knew was secretly in love with him. When she didn’t respond to him he lured her away from their area and in a secluded woods killed her.

Iris delivers an order from her shop to an artist named Louis Frost. He is struck by her beauty and asks her to model for him. Iris consents but indicates as part of her terms that Louis teach her to paint as well as paying her for the time. The artist later notes that Iris has the talent to become a first class artist, and also falls in love with her, and she with him.

The novel is dedicated to describing the interactions between the three people. It is extremely well done and while the ending is a direct output of the actions of the characters and not a surprise, it provides a good read with the desire instilled to buy more books by Elizabeth Macneal.

8/19 Paul Lane

THE DOLL FACTORY by Elizabeth Macneal. Atria/Emily Bestler Books (August 13, 2019). ISBN 978-1982106768. 368p.

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THIRTEEN by Steve Cavanagh

August 13, 2019

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Eddie Flynn, Book 3

Wow – that’s the one word I must use in describing Cavanaugh’s novel featuring former con man and huckster turned defense attorney Eddy Flynn. The novel is a wonderful romp through a murder trial and of course it had to be finished in one sitting (only one cup of coffee though – have to watch the caffeine so I can sleep until Cavanaugh’s next book is published.

Bobby Solomon, a first tier screen actor is accused of killing both his wife, who is his normal co=star, and his agent who were supposedly caught by him in bed together. The star is indicted and is put on trial for murder. Eddy is called upon by the firm handling Bobby’s defense to help them as needed via discrediting testimony by the police officers involved in the arrest. Needing a job Eddy signs on, but due to a change in circumstances finds himself handing the total defense. He hires a former FBI agent to help him with investigations necessary to work the case properly. The lady proves quite capable in working all angles necessary to aid in the defense. She is also introduced as a possible romantic interest in the future since Eddy’s current wife is in the process of divorcing him.

Cavanagh skillfully takes us through the events involved in the trial, starting with picking a jury and moving forward from there. Eddy is shown as human – he does not come up with brilliant one time off the cuff ideas. He has his doubts but continues to work the case as well as he is able. His logical approach turns up one startling factor that becomes the most important aspect of the case. The real killer is not only in court to watch the proceedings; he is actually one of the twelve jurors and in the most advantageous position to influence the verdict.

The rating system we are accustomed to in reviewing a book involves stars – five for best. I really think that that total is not enough. The reader will judge the book, undoubtedly have one or two cups of coffee and relish a superb reading experience and like myself will eagerly await Steve Cavanagh’s future novels.

8/19 Paul Lane

THIRTEEN by Steve Cavanagh. Flatiron Books (August 13, 2019). ISBN 978-1250297600. 336p.