Recent Purchases and Lawn Care

Back to the B&N for some purchases. All of the overstock variety.

I picked up Ace Atkins latest book, White Shadow. This I actually bought used. I have been reading Ace all the way back to his first, Crossroad Blues. This book is non-series and concerns events in 1950's Florida. I think. Ace is tops in my book, so I don't need much reason to buy anything he writes. Nick Travers is Ace's series character. Nick is a Blues Historian by day and righter of wrongs at night. These novels usually begin with Nick trying to dig up some facts on a long forgotten blues musician and in the process he discovers evil deeds. Murder, graft, the usual.

Next...... about a decade ago there was this crazy fascination with the Hypermodern novel. Instantly collectible books that were virtually impossible to buy for a reasonable price just weeks after release. I have a larger piece I want to write about that topic, but long story short I bought Julia Spencer-Fleming's Out of the Deep I Cry. Her first book is In the Bleak Midwinter and it will set you back about $150. Steep for a five year old book, but also understandable given the proven talent of her later books.

T. Jefferson Parker's, The Fallen was my penultimate purchase. I own a bunch of his books at this point. I should actually try reading one of them.

Last and most importantly, Scotts Lawns: Your Guide to a Beautiful Yard. I'm a man and I'm from the mid-west. Lawn, wife, and country.... in that order.

Total cost: $23.26.

Report - FELDMAN!

Readers of this blog will recall that KM and I traveled to Madison recently to see the live radio broadcast of Michaeal Feldman's Whad'Ya Know.

KM took this photo. Sweet. I also want to encourage everyone listen to Whad'Ya Know on thier local NPR station. The live show goes out at 11am EST and 10am CST every Saturday. Of course your NPR stations needs to carry the show, but you get the idea.

Next up my Brothers and Sisters

I'm going to move on two of the bigger books of '06.

Echo Park by the great Michael Connelly and Two Minute Warning by the equally talented Bob Crais.

I am excited to read the Crais. All reports are that it is a nice return to form. I love Crais, but everything dating back to L.A. Requiem has left me wanting. Let me step outside of this minor bitch slap and say that minor Crais is still better than most everyone else's 'A' game. Still.....

Why am I reading these two book? History has proven that I can probably knock both these books out by this time next week. Not an inspiring reason, but a good one.

The Blade Itself - Marcus Sakey

A stated goal of 2007 is to read all the books I buy in 2007. Don't hold it against me if I buy book late in '07 and don't read before the witching hour.

So one of the big early releases of 2007 is The Blade Itself. There is a great deal to like in this first novel by Marcus Sakey. It has gotten good reviews, with the worst thing being said about it is that it does not really break any new ground in the genre.

True it does not break any new ground, but if that is the only negative thing to say then what is the point of saying it. A well told tale is a well told tale.... so leave it at that.

Our lead.... hero is to strong... is Danny, a reformed thief who is drawn back into the life when his partner, Evan, is released from prison. Evan took the fall for a pawnshop heist gone wrong, and now he thinks he is owed one last score to settle this debt. Danny is less interested to say the least.

The first third of book settles the 'how' Danny ultimately feels obligated to make it right with Evan. This set up come off very nice. The characters are well drawn. Danny desperate to leave 'the life' behind. Karen, Danny's girlfriend, whose character could have easily become the shrill voice of reason that the girlfriend/wife character usually devolves into. Bless him, Sakey has enough sense not to let that happen here. And finally Evan who is the bad guy and perhaps a bit one dimensional. But when Sakey has to sell Evan's menace he does it with a shattered kneecap and a cold shiver down my spine.

The middle section of The Blade Itself is a series of one step forward eight steps back for Danny. Just as Danny thinks he is getting a handle on the situation, Evan proves to be one step ahead of him. Apparently, you get a lot of time in Jail to plan your revenge.

This is the part where I think reviewers probably felt the story grew stagnant. Essentially the whole point is to turn Danny's life into a living hell of regret. Every decision that Danny makes is going to be the wrong one and having that in the back of the readers mind can give the impression that this section of the novel is too by numbers. Again true, but that is such a negative way to look at. Good writing is good writing. Praise it and move on.

The end is excitingly tense. I read it in one big gulp.... okay two gulps because I did not have enough time at lunch. My one tiny criticism.... SPOILER..... is that Danny really needs to suffer a little more for all that he has done no matter how well intentioned he wanted to be.

Finally, Sakey's setting of Chicago was nicely observed. I'm from the Midwest and Chicago was my first big city experience. It was great reading about some of the places I have visited. Sakey clearly has a great love for the city.

Information is what I have always wanted

I have been writing this blog for a bit now and I thought I would explain one of the reason why it even exists at all.

I wanted a resource on the internets where I could go to find information on crime fiction. What's new? What's hot? What's collectible? Who are the undiscovered authors? What are the print runs for a specific novel? Etc.

Information is all I have ever wanted.

And I wanted that information without having to scavenge a dozen sites to answer less than half those questions. It always seemed to be the case that I found out about an author, a collectible book when I could no longer find it or worse afford to buy it.

Of course this blog does none of that...... yet. Cue ominous music.... and perhaps an evil laugh or chuckle.

2007 Edgar Nominations

A complete list of the nominations is up. There are some good books in the big three.... some of which I have actually read.

BEST NOVEL
The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard
The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin
Gentleman and Players by Joanne Harris
The Dead Hour by Denise Mina
The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard
The Liberation Movements by Olen Steinhauer

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
King of Lies by John Hart
Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith
A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
The Goodbye Kiss by Massimo Carlotto
The Open Curtain by Brian Evenson
Snakeskin Shamisen by Naomi Hirahara
The Deep Blue Alibi by Paul Levine
City of Tiny Lights by Patrick Neate

The real find for me is a book not even on this list. Rather it is the book previously published by Louis Bayard. Mr. Timothy follows Tiny Tim, of A Christmas Carol fame, in his later years as he solves the murder of two ten year old girl. Cameo by Scrooge. JESUS! That sounds awesome!

Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind handicaps the field.

What is New and Shiny in 2007 - Finally

What am I looking forward to in 2007? Let me tell you.....

Steve Hockensmith - On the Wrong Track
His first was a good... not great... blend of historical, Holmes, and western fiction.

Adrian Mckinty - The Bloomsday Dead
His first book was flat out brilliant. This is the third book in the Michael Forsythe series. Need to read the the second in the series the The Dead Yard soon. 2005's Hidden River was pretty good as well.

Marcus Sakey - The Blade Itself
Some buzz here. I know nothing about the book other than it is coming out soon.

Chris Grabenstein - Whack-A-Mole
Highly entertaining series that has just the right touch of seriousness.

Dennis Lehane - [Untitled Historical Boston Novel]
I ain't holding my breath on this one. But man, I can't wait.

Sean Chercover - Big City, Bad Blood
Another Chicago author that is getting great reviews. It is also a reminder that I need to read Eugene Izzi.

Robert Crais - The Watchman
People! A Joe Pike novel. Mixed feelings about this one. Pike ranks up there with Clete Purcell and Raymond 'Mouse' Alexander. Great character, but do I really want to see behind the sunglasses?

Michael Robotham - The Night Ferry
Just finished his first book Suspect. I like the London locales so I'm excited for this new book. Inspector Ruiz is back for a third time but as supporting character again.

Maureen Jennings - The Journeyman to Grief
For my money the best historical series out there. Great stuff.

James O. Born - Field of Fire
Florida crime fiction can take up a whole wing in a library. I have never really cottoned to it. Still I liked his first book Walking Money. This is non-series or a new series.

Some of these books are already out, and the rest (save the Lehane) are out by the summer. Release schedules for anything after May is pretty sparse. I'll try and revisit this later in the year.

Recent Purchases

Over to the B&N this evening to see what I could see. Not looking for anything in particular, but given some of my Milwaukee scouting I knew that a few things had come to the overstock/bargain racks.

A few things I did not buy were James O. Born's Shock Wave. Bought it at the Madison B'Con. Would have been happy to save about $20, but I am much happier to have James signature. Also pasted on Jonathon King's A Killing Night. Here is an author that I would love to get into, but for one reason or another it never happened. Suppose I could try and back build his books, but his first book The Blue Edge of Midnight could set me back a little at this point. George Pelecanos's The Night Gardener was also available. Could of saved a little cash there too. One of the big debuts from last year was Brian Freeman's Immoral. Still I recommend all of these authors.

So what did I buy? Grab a seat Broseph 'cuz I am about to drop some crime fiction buying wisdom.

Drama City by George Pelecanos, Val McDermid by Torment of Others, and Alafair Burke's second, Missing Justice. I have yet to read her first but good reviews and genes mean I'll by her sight unseen...... for a bit. Similar situation w/ the McDermid. I am only actively getting the Tony Hill books, because I am huge fan of the UK Wire in the Blood series. Had several chances to buy Drama City last year and never did. Glad to have saved the money here, but I do try to support authors upon the initial release of the book. Sometimes it just does not happen.

Total cost. $17.43. Total savings $1.43.

Final Purchases in Brew City

As the title reads; final purchases. Went over to MysteryOne on Thursday. I was looking to buy three books and I ended up w/ four... or three and a paperback. Two books were bought before I even walked in the door.

The Blonde by Duane Swierczynski and Big City, Bad Blood by Sean Chercover. Glad to finally have Duane's book. Monkey? Off my back. The other book? It is on my 2007 list that at this point I might not even publish.


The other hardback was Arnaldur Indridason's first US release, Jar City. I'll be honest, I picked it up because it has become hugely collectible. We will see.

And last and who knows maybe least, I picked up The Drummer by Anthony Neil Smith. Described as Heavy Metal Noir, this is a paperback original. I know nothing about this book. It was signed and $14 so there you go.

This book was put out by Two Dollar Radio Movement. They are a young publisher. Started in 2005. I wish them all the luck in the world I have a soft spot for independent book publishers. Sad to say it looks as if UglyTown is now defunct.

Additions and Corrections

It would seem in my Treasures of the $5.34 Savings entry I gave the impression that I was the one who made the listed purchases. KM informs that I did not, and that she did.

The editor of The Hungry Detective regrets this error.

As for additions I was in Rockford, Illinois this afternoon. Scanning the overstocks I found Jeffrey Deaver's The Twelfth Card. I've seen it in Rochester so I'll wait until I get back, although I could save a little on the tax.

I almost left the store when I remembered Adrian McKinty has a young adult mystery out. The Lighthouse Land is the first in a proposed trilogy. Interesting? I hope so. I know nothing about it, but this guy is dynamite! Yes I used an exclamation mark, he is that good. Read everything he writes. NOW!

Look for It! Year End List!

Due to Blogger weirdness my Year End post publishes from the date of creation not the date of of publication.... which would be today. Look for it.

Mad-Town

KM and I were in Madison Wisconsin, yesterday. We saw Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know. Mazel Tov! Lots of fun. The program was broadcast from the Lecture Hall at the Monona Terrace. The building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright way, way, way back in the 40's or 50's. It was not built until the 90's. There is a pretty big debate in how close... or far... it is from FLW intentions. The Lecture Hall is small theater of 350 seats. Only about 125 or 150 seats were filled. The lack of a full house can make for uncomfortable surroundings, but that was not the case at all. It was cozy and inviting. KM and I will make a point of returning the next time we are in town. I took a photo with Michael. I'll load the picture when we are back in Rochester.

We ate at Gino's for lunch. Delicious lasagna.

KM talked me into going over to Booked for Murder. I didn't have directions and it was only by chance that we crossed University on our way out of Madison. So we took a right instead of a left. It was just a short trip.

KM stayed in the car while I went browsing. I was greeted by a big friendly black dog. I'm desperately trying to save money for Milwaukee, so I was only looking to buy one book.

In my previous post I think my comments came off as overly negative about this store. It is a very good one. Lots of new and old books. In the future I will use the store to back build early books in an author's career. I almost bought Little Saigon by T. Jefferson Parker. They wanted $25.00 for it and I probably just should have pulled the trigger on that.

Instead I walked out of the store w/o buying a thing. Until the craziest thing happened.

KM told me to go back in and....... buy something! I nearly teared up. I didn't buy Little Saigon. I got Marcus Sakey's The Blade Itself. This book is on my 2007 list of upcoming books. Of course nobody knows that cause I have yet to publish the post. Anyway I paid an undetermined about as I can not find the receipt.

I'll try and publish my 2006 and 2007 list by Tuesday as it is the last full day I will be with my parents.

Home Cooking

I'm heading home to Wisconsin in a few days. Handful of days w/my folks and a few in Milwaukee. KM and I will head to Madison on Saturday for WhadYa Know. We both love Michael Feldman's NPR show, plus it never fails to remind us of home every Saturday morning.

I don't know if I will have a chance to head over to Booked for Murder. Booked for Murder is a big and bright store that I have never warmed to. Terrible to say, but Mystery One in Milwaukee is somehow more suited to my tastes. Perhaps it is my approach. I usually visit Booked having already spent my cash at Mystery One. I can entice my parents into getting me a book but at 35 it is unseemly. Trust me it is unseemly.

I'm still working on my best of 2006. Which I guess should be called read in 2006 as few of the books I read last year were released actually released last year. I also have Most Anticipated of 2007.

I finished Pistol Poets last night and I am on to Michael Robotham's Suspect.

Treasure of the $5.34 savings

Day after Christmas I used some Christmas money to buy the Cussler's Treasure of Khan. Looks like I bought some Christmas cards and a 2007 Get Fuzzy Calendar. I also renewed my B&N membership.

Membership is too strong a word for what I paid $25.00. I paid money for a discount card. I don't really see the benefits until I spend $250.00 dollars this year. So even though I spent 69.79, the $5.34 counted for last year not this year. I'm sure I spent more than $250 at B&N last year, so recouping is not a problem. But believe me when I say if Rochester had a viable independent bookstore I would make use of it.

I talked about Khan a few weeks ago, so I won't go on here. I'll write about when I read it... some time in 2007.