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Spenser series, Book 42

Say, haven’t I read this before on ESPN?

Kinjo Heywood was a college all-American at Auburn and is now a ferocious Pro Bowl middle linebacker for the New England Patriots. Unfortunately, he has a penchant for off-the field violence as well.

When he thinks he’s being followed, his agent hires Boston private investigator Spenser to find and discourage the followers. But Spenser’s simple bodyguard duty turns serious when Kinjo’s 10-year-old son is kidnapped.

Perhaps it was masterminded by the boy’s mother, Kinjo’s ex-wife. Nope. She has an alibi and is every bit as invested in the boy’s return as Kinjo. How about the current trophy wife? Nope again; Spenser eliminates her fairly quickly. Perhaps the kidnapping goes back to Kinjo’s possible involvement in a shooting death at a New York dance club.

The three superheroes – Spenser, longtime running buddy Hawk, and Spenser’s protégé Z – employ their usual investigative techniques of intimidation and smart-ass repartee to solve the case. Spenser is as tough and funny as ever, and Atkins has become a worthy successor to Parker.

6/14 Jack Quick

ROBERT B. PARKER’S CHEAP SHOT by Ace Atkins. Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (May 6, 2014).  ISBN 978-0399161582. 320p.

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The Brilliance Saga, Book Two

A continuation of Sakey’s novel “Brilliance,” in which we learned that beginning about 1980 approximately 1% of the population was born with gifts formerly only dreamed of. Some were very high level geniuses, some could sense the inner most thoughts of people they came in contact with, move around virtually unseen or make fortunes predicting the movements of the stock market. There arose a divide between the “Brilliants” as they were termed and the remainder of the population
deepening over the 30 years that followed.

Present day and the opening of this book finds a terrorist organization composed of Brilliants launching attacks against the normal population, crippling three cities by preventing communications, deliveries of goods to stores, no answers to 911 calls for help and fanatics among the group actually burning people alive.

Nick Cooper, introduced in “Brilliance” is a Brilliant, working for the U.S. government, opposed to the people launching war against the normals, volunteers to help the president combat the revolutionaries. He works against them as the country moves inexorably towards civil war with the revolutionaries determined to change the status quo even if it means destruction and devastation of the nation.

The ending abruptly sets up a third book in the series and like book one leaves the reader either awaiting the next book or uninterested in continuing. Sakey is a master writer and the middle part of A Better World is well executed, but leaving the reader trying to put pieces together. Well written, but spoiled by abrupt beginning and ending which brings the expectation that the whole would be better if written as one long novel.

Note: According to the publicist, Legendary Pictures is scheduled to start production on the film version of Brilliance later this year.

6/14 Paul Lane

A BETTER WORLD by Marcus Sakey. Thomas & Mercer (June 17, 2014).  ISBN 978-1477823941. 390p.

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In this latest outing for quadriplegic Lincoln Rhyme, someone is murdering people, killing them by injecting poison as he creates exquisitely detailed tattoos on their bodies. Not only is the case eerily to a previous case – The Bone Collector, but it seems the unknown perpetrator appears to have learned how to keep his crime scenes clean and evidence-free, from Rhyme’s own writings.

How do you catch a killer who’s learned how not to get caught by the best criminalist in the business?

Meanwhile, the Watchmaker, the fiendishly clever killer introduced in 2006’s The Cold Moon (but referred to in intervening books), still haunts Rhyme, even after the man’s death in prison, making it hard for the investigator to devote his full concentration to the murder case at hand.

Before its over, those near and dear to Lincoln, as well as Lincoln himself, are put into jeopardy. Another suspenseful and twist-filled entry in this always-exciting series about a wheelchair bound Sherlock Holmes.

6/14 Jack Quick

THE SKIN COLLECTOR by Jeffery Deaver . Grand Central Publishing; First Edition edition (May 13, 2014).  ISBN 978-1455517138. 448p.