Hit Me (A John Keller novel) by Lawrence Block | LibraryThing

Hit Me (A John Keller novel) by Lawrence Block | LibraryThing:

The Keller hitman series lends itself well to a short story format and that is what we have here, a collection of episodes or stories connected by a character.  Often this means that the reader suffers through some repetition of background details.  And stamps.  And then more stamps.

Keller now lives in New Orleans and where he has a successful business remodeling and flipping homes after Katrina.  He’s married to Julia and has a child, Jennie, whom he loves and dotes on.  Then Dot, his old “hit” contact, calls and offers him a job,  The business having slacked off a little because of the subprime crisis, and wanting to add some rare and exotic stamps to his collection, Keller, with full knowledge of his wife (who gets “hot” when told of his exploits -- something I found truly abhorrent), heads off to other cities to fulfill the contract (and buy stamps.)  Each case is unique and brings its own challenges.  I liked the one at sea the best.

I like the series and in the past eagerly read all of Block, but Keller’s nonchalance about killing has begun to grate, not to mention Julia’s complicity in its rationalization.  Keller’s greatest moral challenge is now which stamp to buy.  The book does have some of the classic repartee between Dot and Keller that continues to make the book fun and interesting.

Of course, if you don’t like stamp collecting you won’t like Keller.



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Pattern of Wounds (A Roland March Mystery) by J. Mark Bertrand | LibraryThing

Pattern of Wounds (A Roland March Mystery) by J. Mark Bertrand | LibraryThing:

Roland has a chip on his shoulder.  Still devastated by the death of Jessica, his daughter, in an accident committed by a drunk driver, he has made a legal form of revenge his mission. If someone gets off, or fails to intervene when something bad is happening, March works out a way to discover some dirt or malfeasance for which they could be punished.  His job suffers as a result.  He’s also lost whatever faith he had. “ If the Almighty was gonna sit back and let it all happen, somebody had to step up. There’s no such thing in my book as an innocent bystander.”  Charlotte, his wife, enlists their renters, overtly religious types,  to pull him back into the fold, with little success.  

“Carter, listen to me. You mean well, I realize that. But there’s no magic formula or platitude they taught you in seminary that’s going to turn me into one of you. It’s not gonna happen. You have no idea what I’ve seen and what I’ve done. Trust me, if you did, you’d be like me, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”  “I don’t think I’m deceiving myself.” … “People don’t. That’s the whole point. But they go on believing what they’ve been told, they keep voting and buying and praying, they live good lives surrounded by good people in a good world where everything is good. And they think when it’s not good, that’s the aberration. That’s the exception to the rule. But underneath, Carter, if you could turn this city upside down, you’d see it’s all rot down there, all corruption.”

Despite some platitudinous religious overtones (ones that were much less evident in the first book of the series,) there’s a good mystery.  A woman has been found floating in a swimming pool, cut up in a rather bizarre pattern and the murder scene has been choreographed to closely resemble the murder scene in a case March had closed and about which a book had been written.  The photographs in the book of the floating body were identical to the ones of the current case.

As I noted in my review of the first Roland March, I was puzzled by the Christian label attached to it. March has a very cynical view of the world and has little time for the religious, but perhaps some form of over-the-top redemption will take place later in the series.  That would tune me out for sure.  In the meantime it’s a good series although this one can tend to be a bit confusing mixing up characters.  And what’s with the overuse of present tense?

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Goodreads | Eric_W Welch (Forreston, IL)'s review of The Vulgar Boatman

Goodreads | Eric_W Welch (Forreston, IL)'s review of The Vulgar Boatman:

I’ve read many of Tapply’s books and regret his passing.  I’ll continue until I’ve read all of them.  This happens to be one of the early ones I had missed.  (They needn’t be read in order.)

Tom Baron has a problem.  He's running for governor when his son's girlfriend is found dead with cocaine in her body and his son has disappeared, obviously a person of interest for the cops.  So he calls his lawyer, Brady Coyne, who very reluctantly agrees to help look for the son. Never one to bend the rules Brady happens on a trail that may very well test his friendship with Tom and throw the gubernatorial race into turmoil.  Reluctant to participate in what’s normally better done by the police, Brady is dragged into researching some things he’d rather not know about.

I only wish there had been more legal shenanigans.

The more exciting moments are leavened by Tapply’s prosaic view of the law: ;“I spent the next hour or so on the phone, doing the things that make the legal profession exciting. I set up two luncheon meetings with attorneys for the next week, I declined an invitation to serve on an ad hoc committee for the Bar Association. I checked back with the Coast Guard, which had not found Frank Paradise’s boat. I reconfirmed my golf date with Charlie McDevitt. I called a travel agent about a junket to the Madison River in Montana. I touched base with a few clients. A thrill a minute. Real Perry Mason stuff. 



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Robert B. Parker's Fool me twice : a Jesse Stone novel by Michael Brandman | LibraryThing

Another excellent Jesse Stone written by Michael Brandman. Paradise is being overrun by a Los Angeles film company and Jesse witnesses an accident caused by a rich teenager who was texting and ran a stop sign. Leading off with the classic, "Do you know who I am?" arrogance, she's the daughter of a wealthy contributor to the DA's election campaign so the charges Jesse files don't stick very well, and he makes it his mission to make her life a bit miserable. (All in the guise of doing what’s best for the poor little troubled girl so misunderstood by her parents -- a theme I found beyond fanciful.)

A concurrent plot involves threats on the life of the film star by her estranged husband.  The plots are hardly novel; it’s the characters and their relationships that make them enjoyable.

I’ve listened to all of these post-Parker Jesse Stone novels and the reader is very good. They’re all pure fantasy, however, not to be confused in any way with real life.  But that’s OK.

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Robert Parker's Damned if you Do

I have always preferred the Jesse Stone series over Spenser and was sad that the series never blossomed into many more books. The relationship between Jesse, the town council, and Suitcase and Molly was fun and often led to humorous exchanges between them.

After Parker died the series was taken over by Michael Brandman who had been a writer and producer of the eponymous TV series. (Tom Selleck was really good, and I wish they would make more.)  Brandman’s first venture into recreating Stone was not successful.  This one is.

Jesse investigates the murder of a young prostitute in a local motel while simultaneously looking into conditions at the local assisted living facility, Golden Horizons where his friend and former accountant is living.

Increasingly, Baby Boomers are reaching the age where they need geriatric services such as alzheimer support and assisted living facilities. For those who have the traditional family with children and a spouse, there is usually someone to care, or, at least, look out for them. Unfortunately, those who opted to stay single or who have no relatives, often find themselves at the mercy of unscrupulous nursing home operators who have no problem bilking their savings and insurance while providing the bare minimum of services and no one is around to protest.  Brandman has done a service by raising the issue in the context of a good mystery.

The main plot turns on a war between two major crime groups for control of the prostitution business and the dead girl got caught in the crossfire enabling Jesse to unravel the scheme.

Nicely read by James Naughton.



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