Indie Crime Fiction discussion

A bit of Scottish grit. 4 stars from 5
Read - 17, July, 2022

Crow Bait by Douglas Skelton - publisher Luath Press


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Enjoyable second series outing. 4 stars from 5
Read - 10, July, 2022

The Burglar in the Closet by Lawrence Block - publisher No Exit Press

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Really enjoyable. 4.5 stars from 5
Read - 17, July, 2022

Ride Sharing by Mike Monson - publisher Mike Monson Books

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Enjoyable western. 3.5 stars from 5
Read - 28, July, 2022

The Last Lonely Trail by Richard Paolinelli and Jim Christina - publisher Tuscany Bay Books

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

An ok read/listen. 3 stars from 5
Read - 29, July, 2022

The Walls of the Castle by Tom Piccirilli - publisher Crossroad Press

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Two of the most powerful Hispanic criminal organizations in the nation are constantly vying for territory with blood and violence. One organization is stationed in Northern California, the other in Southern California. Near the center of California is Salinas, a sleepy farming community that grows more lettuce than the entire world combined. It is also known as the Youth Homicide Capital of the country. Here is where these two rivals meet. The dividing line. The war. More young gang members are murdered here per capita, than almost anywhere in the country. Migrant takes place here where the wrong-colored T-shirt can get you killed. I grew up in Salinas for half my life and was long gone before it got bad. Unless you are a fan of John Steinbeck, or world-famous rodeos, I doubt you have ever heard of Salinas. It’s still there, still growing lettuce, the rodeo comes once a year as planned, and the killings continue. The hero of Migrant is a Hispanic detective working within this environment, searching for a killer among killers.

I am Matt Orlando, and this is for my latest book, Migrant, a crime thriller. If you want to test drive a free book of mine, may I suggest Truncated: Apocalyptic and Loving It!.

Enjoyable series entry. 3.5 stars from 5
Read - 25, July, 2022

Queen of Diamonds by Frank Zafiro and Jim Wilsky - publisher Code 4 Press

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Enjoyable 70s crime outing. 4 stars from 5
Read - 27, July, 2022

Crime Partners by Donald Goines - publisher Tantor Audio

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Enjoyable early Block PI book. 4 stars from 5
Read - 19, July, 2022

You Could Call It Murder by Lawrence Block - publisher Carroll & Graf

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Enjoyable series ender. I like a bit of 70s crime. 4 stars from 5
Read - 25, July, 2022

Kill the Reporter by Marc Olden - publisher Mysterious Press

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Enjoyable 3rd entry in series. 4 stars from 5
Read - 25, July, 2022

The Burglar Who Liked To Quote Kipling: A Bernie Rhodenbarr Mystery by Lawrence Block - publisher No Eixt Press

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My kind of book! Fresh, funny and original!
4.5 stars from 5
Read - 3, August, 2022

The Lemon Man by Keith Bruton - publisher Brash Books

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Interesting non-fiction book on policing in the US. 4 stars from 5
Read - 5, August, 2022

Police Craft: What Cops Know About Crime, Community and Violence by Adam Plantinga - publisher Tantor Audio

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Another enjoyable Block - Burglar book. 4 stars from 5
Read - 7, August, 2022

The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza by Lawrence Block - publisher No Exit Press

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Another cracker from Eskens. 4.5 stars from 5
Read - 12, August, 2022

The Stolen Hours by Allen Eskens - publisher Mulholland Books

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Block and Bernie again! 4 stars from 5
Read - 16, August, 2022

The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian by Lawrence Block - publisher No Exit Press

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

A bit of 70s crime. 3.5 stars from 5
Read - 23, August, 2022

Death of a Courier by Marc Olden - publisher Mysterious Press

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

True crime confessions. 3 stars from 5
Read - 16, August, 2022

Inside the Montreal Mafia: The Confessions of Andrew Scoppa by Félix Séguin and Éric Thibault - publisher ECW Press

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Enjoyable investigative journo crime. 4 stars from 5
Read - 24, August, 2022

Lifeline by Gerry Boyle - publisher Anaba Publishing

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

An ok second in series. 3 stars from 5
Read - 30, August, 2022

Retribution by Herb Fisher - publisher Brash Books

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

More to like than dislike. 3 stars from 5
Read - 18, August, 2022

The Wolf Is At Your Door by Simon Maltman - publisher Aesthetic Press
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My kind of book! 5 stars from 5
Read - 31, August, 2022

Ladystinger by Craig Smith - publisher Brash Books

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Wondering what happened to Colm? Did the weasels threaten him? I hope not.

I've been here sporadically the last few months and I noticed the same thing. Col read and reviewed at a breakneck pace.

The Roads Chosen (by an Indie author):



This is a gift from my friend, Beth: thank you, Beth.

I don't have enough experience in books to award five stars, so like a few others I've read and really enjoyed it can have four stars.

It took me to places I've not imagined exist, in today's world. I think if I could step back in time by 50 or 100 years I might find something similar to the scenes portrayed in this.

Early on, there is a cafe, where you use a metal saucer to drink tea. A grotty cafe, that stinks of bad food-hygiene and nicotine and full of people smoking: it's difficult for me to think that is possible, I've never seen a person smoke inside a hospitality establishment. There's a laundry, again, maybe a back-street laundry service 50 years ago would resemble this. The depiction in these places and a good few others is: basic, worn, battered, ill-kempt. Are things that far behind in Eastern Europe?

There are so many people, in different parts of the world, and you have to keep tabs on what they're up to.

The chapters are headed with: place, date, time. As you go from chapter to chapter, you don't really know, at any time, what's going to happen next; and I did want to know; it gnawed at me more and more as I read.

It is like 'The Riddle of the Sands': I had not one clue how that story was going to unfold. Lots of scary-stuff, for me, in 'The Riddle of the Sands' was when thinking he was going to tip the boat over and people would drown.

In this, a good portion of the scary-stuff is him getting caught or killing himself while trying to escape: getting away from the 'baddies' does not go well. I did think he was going to get caught.

He does, however, get away. I don't think I'm spoiling it when I say that. So, he's alone, hiding in the woods, battered and bruised from head to toe and decides to 'call a friend'. As soon as he made that decision, I was convinced of how the story would play out. I then felt all deflated, but a little further on, I thought, 'Silly me! In real life that wouldn't work.'

I accept the hero of the story has to be 'a nice person' so we the reader get to like him: he has to do good things for people, be honest and caring: he is.

Toward the end of the book, we get to understand why the hero made the decisions he did. He tries to justify his decisions with the man who rescued him. I don't know, is the writer stretching it?

That for me made the story. If a family had very little food available to them and still felt obliged to share what they had with me (a stranger), that I could never forget.

It's not a story about 'goodies' versus 'baddies' and at the end the 'goodies' win. It's about a man who tries to make good decisions, which tend not to be so good later down the line; and rather than give up, he admits to his mistakes and tries to do what he thinks is right.

And, he is vocal and sincere in his appreciation of what others do to help him: I like that. I like it because I am.

Good on yer, Poppy.



Having read the reviews, here is my five Kroner for the jar.

The first chapter where we witness the tip-off to MI-6 is a great scene, full of tension and provides for the backstory of the whistleblower - this is skilfully laid out allowing the first hint of what this book hinges on; the abuse of Russian military conscripts. “Blessed,” his mother claimed in wonderment and smiled in her kindly way. “Spared from the military.” All-in-all, it’s clever pen-‘person’-ship.

Throughout the book, time is devoted to character development and not in great chunks of prose, but in dialogue and scene structure: again, good writing.

This is written in a style that befits the plot: raw and straightforward, but in saying that, nothing is missed.

The preface offers us a list of facts and the following pages are packed with verifiable detail, which give credence to the storyline. Also, the locales are genuine - down to the smallest detail.

How the main protagonist has managed to secure an extended visa is important to the plot - and verifiable. I admire the diligence that provides such a believable tale.

I’m British and live in Norway and did spend some years in rural Russia, with the oil and gas industry, before marrying a Norwegian girl.

The description of the book states: ‘the author has spent years in the former Soviet Union’. From reading this, I see that as a given. Partway into the story, a handful of Russians ‘having spent the evening with Russia’s favourite tipple’ are seen making their way home: you could not want for a more authentic telling.

This tale also provides us with knowledge (as every good book should); we’re offered relevant history and a glimpse of how life is for ordinary people living in the post Soviet states.

Happenstance places a young man in peril and as a consequence connects state-run organised crime with a folkloric organisation that provides succour for those at their lowest ebb.

A previous review of this book asks a very simple question: if somewhere between 2,000 and 6,000 military conscripts desert each year, most of whom are illiterate, and the authorities search for them, year-in-year-out, where are the bodies? If they’ve not managed to find their way home and they’re not dead – where can they be?

Folklore in rural Russia is part of daily life. The absence of literacy insists that records are simply oral - stories passed on by the elders. How much folklore is steeped with fact?