A Gun For Sale

tags: classics, crime, mystery, noir, thriller

⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

Born out of a brutal childhood, Raven is an assassin for hire whose latest hit—a government minister—is one calculated to ignite a war. When the most wanted man in England is paid off in marked bills, he also becomes the easiest to track—and police detective Jimmy Mather has the lead. But Raven’s got an advantage. Crossing paths with a sympathetic dancer named Anne Crowder, the emotionally scarred Raven has found someone in the wreckage of his life he can trust, maybe his only hope for salvation. Or at least, escape—because Anne is also Mather’s fiancée. Now the fate of two men will depend on her. And either way, it’s betrayal.

This is the first time I read A Gun For Sale. It is a very good story told seamlessly. The author was obviously sympathetic to the assassin. Raven, the assassin, was an ugly looking guy - small bodied and with a harelip which made it hard for him to elude the police. The assassination was not the reason he was being sought by the police. It was the stolen bills that he was paid for the job of killing a Czech government minister in order to start a war. Raven wanted revenge for the duplicity of the man who hired him. 

He encountered Anne on a train and tried to steal her ticket because he cannot use the marked money for anything, not even for food. He was able to keep Anne as his hostage of sorts, intending to kill her but Anne was smart. The way she got away from him was pure genius. They met for the second time when he found her in an apartment bound and gagged by the man Raven was trying to find. Small world but this happened in the same town of Nottwich where the assassin, the man who hired him, and the police are all in. The short story has a happy ending for Anne and her police detective fiance. Not so for the 2 bad men. 

Recommended for readers who don't mind reading books written in the 1930s.

I read Graham Green's Brighton Rock many many years ago and also a few short stories, some made into movies. The Third Man and The Fallen Idol are terrific. I  have yet to see Brighton Rock movie adaptation which is already on my Kanopy watch list. Or maybe I have seen it already. 

Brat Farrar

tags: mystery, ugly

goose🥚

From Goodreads 

What begins as a ploy to claim an inheritance ends with the impostor's life hanging in the balance. In this tale of mystery and suspense, a stranger enters the inner sanctum of the Ashby family posing as Patrick Ashby, the heir to the family's sizable fortune. The stranger, Brat Farrar, has been carefully coached on Patrick's mannerisms, appearance, and every significant detail of Patrick's early life, up to his thirteenth year when he disappeared and was thought to have drowned himself. It seems as if Brat is going to pull off this most incredible deception until old secrets emerge that jeopardize the impostor's plan and his life. Culminating in a final terrible moment when all is revealed, Brat Farrar is a precarious adventure that grips the reader early and firmly and then holds on until the explosive conclusion.

This is the worst mystery novel written by Josephine Tey and the worst I have read this year. She made an impostor, criminal, and thief an honorable character and made a 13 year boy murder his twin brother right after their parents were killed. Just because he didn't like his brother. No other explanation and not believable at all. This was an awful read.  

Tey had a habit of telling instead of showing. Throughout the short novel, now 21 year old adult Simon, never showed that he is an evil Cain. It was all in the mind of the impostor who was always sure it was Simon, at age 13 who killed his brother, without explaining why he thought so. Just a hunch. What?? Simon confessed to him when got drunk and justified the impostor's suspicion. 

The author never showed any sympathy for the fictional family who lost the parents at the same time, just told what happened., as though in real life she abhored the landed gentry. Anyway, the parents left 13 year old twin brothers Patrick and Simon, 11 year old Eleanor, and 1 year old twin babies, Ruth and Jane. I was so annoyed when out of the blue, the impostor Patrick thought that 9 year old Ruth probably has never been spanked. She hadn't done nor showed anything to make an adult spank her. She was a well behaved and spoken young girl. That's lazy crazy writing. Tey was not a talented writer or she was absolutely bonkers when she wrote this book. 

Not recommended.

The Jealousy Man and Other Stories

tags: Jo Nesbø, short stories, mystery, The Jealousy Man

⭐⭐⭐ 

From Amazon  

A detective with a nose for jealousy is on the trail of a man suspected of murdering his twin. [adapted into a movie, Killer Heat.]

A bereaved father must decide whether vengeance has a place in the new world order after a pandemic brings about the collapse of society.

A garbage man fresh off a bender tries to piece together what happened the night before.

A hired assassin matches wits against his greatest adversary in a dangerous game for survival.

An instantly electric connection between passengers on a flight to London may spell romance, or something more sinister. 

From Goodreads

Five stories set in the near future.

 

Welcome to Rat Island and a post-pandemic America, where the upper-class elite is waiting atop a skyscraper to be evacuated while the masses fight for survival down in the streets. 

In Shredder, a scientist researching eternal life has finally found a memory shredder that will help him forget everything, before it’s too late. 

Cicadas tells the story of two best friends on their way to the bull races in Pamplona when they fall in love with the same girl. 

The Antidote follows an estranged son with an agenda as he goes to visit his father at a snake farm in Africa. 

Lastly, in the epic and vicious Black Knight, we meet a psychologist who also happens to be an assassin contracted by big business.

All the stories have a common theme: jealousy. Some are very good but some are mediocre at best. The movie adaptation of The Jealousy Man has just 2 similarities to the story - the murder and the location. Everything else is skewed. The role played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a 60 years old Greek, still active police detective. He is not a lousy poser that the producer made him in the movie. Movie adaptations from books are always annoying. 

Mr. Murder

Tags: assassin, mystery, thriller

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Martin Stillwater has a vivid imagination. It charms his loving wife, delights his two little daughters, and gives him all the inspiration he needs to write his highly successful mystery novels. But maybe Martin's imagination is a bit too vivid...

One rainy afternoon, a terrifying incident makes him question his grip on reality. A stranger breaks into his house, accusing Martin of stealing his wife, his children-and his life. Claiming to be the real Martin Stillwater, the intruder threatens to take what is rightfully his. The police think he's a figment of Martin's imagination. But Martin and his family have no choice but to believe the stranger's threat. And run for their lives. But wherever they go-wherever they hide-he finds them.

Dean Koontz wrote this 500 page book in 1993. I listened to the 20 hour audiobook. It's not very different from his current novels with the usual sci-fi, murder, government conspiracies, and woke leftists. I liked the non stop action, Martin protecting his young family from his evil clone.

Ties Of Shooting Stars

tags: japanese dorama, murder mystery, Keigo Higashino, Netflix

🌟🌟🌟🌟

From  Asianwiki

At the age of 11, Koichi Ariake discovers his parents brutally murdered in their home. Furthermore, Koichi must tell his two younger siblings the awful truth about their parents disappearance.

14 years later the three siblings still feel as much rage against their parents murderer as the day it happened. Then one day they locate the murderer...

From IMDB 

"When we grow up - We'll kill him together". Koichi, Taisuke, and Shizuna are three siblings whose parents had been brutally murdered when they were just in elementary school, and they vowed to avenge their death. Fourteen years later, their vengeful plan unravels countless new facts. A shocking revelation leads to an overwhelmingly emotional ending. What will become of the siblings who have lived their lives solely in reliance of their bond alone?

The Japanese dorama 10 episode series is based on a serialized book written by Keigo Higashino and was filmed in 2008. I had to watch because the main lead, Koichi, is played by Kazunari Ninomiya of the Japanese boy band Arashi. He was just 25 years old and looked like a little boy. [His bandmate Jun Matsumoto has currently 2 doramas streaming on Netflix which will be my next Japanese watch.]

The series is murder mystery and drama but loaded with the silliest comedy, some are so random and strange I just had to laugh. The sister was one day scammed out of her money. Koichi got the idea and started scamming people. He wrote the "script" and the sister and younger brother perform the scam. It was doing well and earned them some cash until they discovered the new victim is the son of the man they suspected had killed their parents. 

I enjoyed it and binge-watched for 2 days.

Going Home In The Dark

tags: fable, horror, humor, mystery

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

When hometown horrors come back to haunt, friendship is salvation in a novel about childhood fears and buried secrets by #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense Dean Koontz.

As kids, outcasts Rebecca, Bobby, Spencer, and Ernie were inseparable friends in the idyllic town of Maple Grove. Three left to pursue lofty dreams―and achieved them. Only Ernie never left. When he falls into a coma, his three amigos feel an urgent need to return home. Don’t they remember people lapsing into comas back then? And those people always awoke…didn’t they? After two decades, not a lot has changed in Maple Grove, especially Ernie’s obnoxious, scary mother. But Rebecca, Bobby, and Spencer begin to remember a hulking, murderous figure and weirdness piled on mystery that they were made to forget. As Ernie sinks deeper into darkness, something strange awaits any friend who tries to save him.

For Rebecca, Bobby, and Spencer, time is running out to remember the terrors of the past in a perfect town where nothing is what it seems. For Maple Grove, it’s a chance to have the “four amigos,” as they once called themselves, back in its grasp.

It took me a few weeks to rate this book by Dean Koontz. I couldn't decide if it is worth 4 or 5 star or if it is really bad as some of the reviewers on Goodreads think. It is another good versus evil themed mystery but it is very different from previous books by Koontz. I felt it was written for young adults because on the first few chapters he breaks the fourth wall to talk to the reader to explain and define some words or terms which are not that uncommon. Example: in a fugue. People know what it means for sure. Some readers got distracted by the constant explaining. I didn't mind it because sometimes it is funny.

Dean Koontz once again ridiculed everything and everyone which is hilarious in my opinion. There are many many humorous LOL things going on with the three friends specially when they rescued Ernie from the hospital to prevent the mortician from getting to him. It was like Weekend At Bernie's

The book reads like a fable or parable and I think those who rated it a 1 star got offended at the very end of the story, when Koontz compared the evil blob to communists trying to destroy the idyllic town. The blob was defeated by the good blob which was older and bigger than it is. The moral of the fable is, keep the good growing to prevent the evil from becoming powerful.

Recommended only for Dean Koontz fans.

Blood Ties

tags: Jo Nesbø, mystery, sequel, thriller

⭐⭐⭐⭐out of 5

Blood Ties is the second of 2 thriller book series by Jo Nesbø, The first is The Kingdom which I rated 5 stars out of 5

From Goodreads

By all accounts, Carl and Roy Opgard are doing quite well for themselves. Or at least they’re doing as well as can be expected in a small town like Os. Carl manages the area’s swanky and successful spa and hotel, while Roy runs a nearby gas station and harbors grand plans to build it out into an entire amusement park complete with a roller coaster. But when news breaks about a new highway to be built nearby, bypassing Os and leaving the town cut-off and isolated, it’s clear that something has to be done . . . even if the methods are bound to be dirty. Fortunately, Carl and Roy have experience with just that kind of work.

Meanwhile, the town sheriff has gotten his hands on new technology that will enable him to take a deeper look at a slate of unsolved murders from years past—including that of his own father. And just as the sheriff reopens his investigation, the death toll begins to climb. It’s like Roy says about his roller “Once it’s rolling, it’s too late to get off.”

I enjoyed the book although I was not too keen on the on and off romance going on with Roy and his woman, or rather young girl, because he is much much older than she is. 

The sequel is twistier than the first book and with more vile people who deserve their violent end. It is still a great read from Jo Nesbø who can write a really bloody novel with plenty of humor.

Highly recommended for fans of Nordic noir and Jo Nesbø.

The Dinner Table Detective

 

tags: Amazon streaming, anime, 

The series is ridiculous but funny. A pair of affluent girl and boy solve murders with help from the girl's butler. *The butler actually solves the mysteries*. Both detectives are over the top just like a typical anime. 

In Japanese and a few other languages. Also dubbed in English and other languages.

Tommy And Tuppence Classic Collection

 

tags: Agatha Christie, classics, detective, thriller

 The Tommy and Tuppence Classic Collection by Agatha Christie brings together some of her best work featuring the beloved sleuthing couple, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. This collection includes the novel The Secret Adversary, where the dynamic duo first launches into the world of espionage and private detection. Here, they stumble upon a case involving political intrigue and a missing young woman named Jane Finn, setting the stage for their future exploits. Christie crafts a thrilling introduction to the world of Tommy and Tuppence, showcasing their blend of wit, courage, and teamwork.

Following The Secret Adversary, the collection offers Partners in Crime, a series of engaging short stories where Tommy and Tuppence take over the "Blunt's International Detective Agency." As part of their detective roleplay, they adopt the personas of famous fictional detectives while solving various cases. This adds a humorous element to the narrative, as the duo navigates each mystery with charm and humor. Key stories include The Case of the Missing Lady, Blindman's Buff, The Man in the Mist, The Crackler, and The Sunningdale Mystery. Each tale challenges them with new situations-from missing persons to mysterious deaths, and even elaborate swindles.

Christie's unique blend of suspense, humor, and the subtle interplay between Tommy and Tuppence's personalities keeps readers enthralled. Illustrated scenes add an extra layer of engagement, bringing to life the amusing, suspenseful, and sometimes romantic moments in the duo's detective career. Through Christie's storytelling, readers are immersed in the contrasting energies of Tommy's logical mind and Tuppence's quick wit and spontaneity.

For fans of light-hearted mysteries with a mix of adventure, romance, and classic Christie twists, this collection serves as a compelling journey into the detective escapades of Tommy and Tuppence. The Tommy and Tuppence Classic Collection captures Christie's mastery in creating engaging mysteries while portraying the charm of one of her most memorable sleuthing pairs.

 Novel

The Secret Adversary

Short stories

A Fairy in the Flat
A Pot of Tea
The Affair of the Pink Pearl
The Adventure of the Sinister Stranger
Finessing the King
The Gentleman Dressed in Newspaper
The Case of the Missing Lady
Blindman’s Buff
The Man in the Mist
The Crackler
The Sunningdale Mystery
The House of Lurking Death
The Unbreakable Alibi
The Clergyman's Daughter
The Red House
The Ambassador's Boots
The Man Who Was No. 16

The novel is very short at less than 300 pages and the short stories are really short. I like the novel and stories and also the 2015 TV series. There's an older TV show in black and white but I have yet to find where to watch them. 

Gabriel's Moon

tags: espionage, mystery, the early 60s

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐out of 5

From Goodreads

In his most exhilarating novel yet, Britain’s greatest storyteller transports you from the vibrant streets of sixties London to the sun-soaked cobbles of Cadiz and the frosty squares of Warsaw, as an accidental spy is drawn into the shadows of espionage and obsession.

Gabriel Dax is a young man haunted by the memories of a every night, when sleep finally comes, he dreams about his childhood home in flames. His days are spent on the move as an acclaimed travel writer, capturing the changing landscapes in the grip of the Cold War.

When he’s offered the chance to interview a political figure, his ambition leads him unwittingly into a web of duplicities and betrayals. As Gabriel’s reluctant initiation takes hold, he is drawn deeper into the shadows. Falling under the spell of Faith Green, an enigmatic and ruthless MI6 handler, he becomes ‘her spy’, unable to resist her demands. But amid the peril, paranoia and passion consuming Gabriel’s new covert life, it will be the revelations closer to home that change the rest of his story.

The short novel got me interested again in espionage fiction. 32 year old Gabriel Dax, the accidental spy, is sometimes annoyingly naive, has loose lips, and randy. I forgive him because he suffered a trauma when he was 6 years old and he can't recall exactly what happened that day.

His older brother occasionally uses him as a courier and he unknowingly delivers spy stuff wherever he was asked to go. He never suspects his brother maybe because he is a bit dim. He becomes a "spy" and a useful idiot when the enigmatic Faith Green asked him to fetch a piece of artwork from a famous Spanish artist in Cadiz, Spain. He couldn't say no to the woman as though he is hypnotized. It's just him being randy. Once in a while he has flashes of brilliance when necessary.

The book has lots of humor, not the satirical John le Carré kind, just some light funny stuff. It has equal amount of suspense but not much mind-numbing action which is why I like it. William Boyd is a great storyteller.

Highly recommended for William Boyd readers.  

My Cousin Rachel

tags: classics, Daphne du Maurier, gothic, mystery

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐out of 5

From Goodreads

Orphaned at an early age, Philip Ashley is raised by his benevolent older cousin, Ambrose. Resolutely single, Ambrose delights in Philip as his heir, a man who will love his grand home as much as he does himself. But the cosy world the two construct is shattered when Ambrose sets off on a trip to Florence. There he falls in love and marries - and there he dies suddenly. In almost no time at all, the new widow - Philip's cousin Rachel - turns up in England. Despite himself, Philip is drawn to this beautiful, sophisticated, mysterious woman like a moth to the flame. And yet ...might she have had a hand in Ambrose's death?

Philip Ashley at 18 months old was brought up by his cousin Ambrose when his parents died. The trouble started when Ambrose went to Italy for plant specimens and got married to a half Italian half English woman. The English parent of the Countess, as she prefers to be called, is a cousin of Ambrose and Philip. 

Ambrose hadn't come home to England for almost 1 year because he started getting sick and became paranoid that his wife is trying to kill him. He was able to send a few short letters to Philip when cousin Rachel is out. Philip went to Italy to try to rescue Ambrose but he was already late. Ambrose has died and the Countess left immediately after his death so they never met. 

Philip was angry at the gold digger cousin Rachel and imagined her as a huge fat ugly woman who didn't deserve his beloved Ambrose. Cousin Rachel as part of her scheme, came to England and the gullible easy to manipulate Philip instantly fell in love. Cousin Rachel is the opposite of a warty ugly witch. She is pretty, small and with dainty small hands with lovely fingers. Poor Philip. He had no idea and never seen a "real" woman. He doesn't think his childhood girl friend is a woman. She's just there as a girl He is so enamored with Rachel that he couldn't accept that she has a purpose in coming to England. Philip gave in only to discover the truth. He is frustratingly childlike that I wanted to shake him up or slap him upside the head for his naivete. However, all the feelings of aggravations while reading became moot with the great ending. 

Daphne du Maurier is a master of atmospheric superb stories. I loved this book. 

Highly recommended.

The Seven Dials Mystery

tags: murder mystery, secret society

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

From Goodreads

When a practical joke involving eight alarm clocks turns into murder, the case is taken up by Bundle Brent and Jimmy Thesiger. With the help of Bill Eversleigh they discover that the Seven Dials Club is not only a nightclub but also the headquarters of a Secret Society.

Agatha Christie's murder mystery is quite different from her regular whodunnits in not following the usual steps/methods. The short novel has young people in their early twenties instead of older folks trying to solve 2 murders with the help of Scotland Yard Superintendent Battle. 

I read the first book in this series with Battle as the investigating officer, The Secret of Chimneys. I have yet to read the rest. Or maybe I have but forgotten. 

Lady Eileen Brent or Bundle to her family and friends, leads the investigation. Her parents who own the Chimneys are renting it to a Mr. Owen Coote and his wife Maria. Bundle wasn't at the party in that house when one of her friends died of overdose but is actually a murder. Another friend died a few days later from a gun shot wound. Bundle thought she ran him over with her car and the dying boy said a few words that made her start her own investigations with the help of her friends. 

I like the unexpected very enjoyable twist and also the humor throughout specially the brief appearances of Bundle's father. The part where an older man (late 20s or early 30s), Lord George Lomax, who works at the Foreign Office, suddenly thinks of Bundle as a wife material. His marriage proposal is so funny and awkward that reminded me of Mr. Collins asking Lizzy Bennet to be his wife. Bundle turned him down because she likes one of her friends. There certainly is some romance going on in this short novel. The theme (secret societies, international intrigues, theft) and young female character as main protagonist  have similarities to a few of Patricia Wentworth's stand alone novels.

I listened to the audio book and loved it. Highly recommended for Agatha Christie fans. 

The Forest Of Lost Souls

tags: mystery, thriller

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From GoodReads 

A fearless woman, raised in the forest, fights against a group of powerful men in a novel about good versus evil, the enduring nature of myth, and the power of love by #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz.

Raised in the wilderness by her late great-uncle, Vida is a young woman with an almost preternatural affinity for nature, especially for the wolves that also call the forested mountains home. Formed by hard experience, by love and loss, and by the prophecies of a fortune teller, Vida just wants peace.

If only nearby Kettleton County didn’t cast such a dark shadow. It’s where Jose Nochelobo, the love of Vida’s life and a cherished local hero, died in a tragic accident. That’s the official story, but Vida has reasons to doubt it. The truth can’t be contained for long. Nor can the hungry men of power in Kettleton who want something too: that Vida, like Jose, disappear forever. One by one they come for her, prepared to do anything to see their plans through to their evil end. Vida is no less prepared for them. Vida, the forest, and its formidable wonders are waiting. She will not rest until goodness and order have been restored.

Dean Koontz's latest book is absolutely riveting. A fight between a young woman living alone far from the town and seriously evil men. She was orphaned at 5 years old and adopted by her great uncle who died of old age and she never left her forested 18 acre home.

The degenerate men who came for her with murder in their mind didn't know what was coming. The story unfolded slowly and the reader would feel scared for Vida but will find out how clever and prepared she was.  

The Five Red Herrings

tags: classics, Dorothy L. Sayers, Lord Peter Wimsey, mystery, puzzle, Scotland

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

The body was on the pointed rocks alongside the stream. The artist might have fallen from the cliff where he was painting, but there are too many suspicious elements -- particularly the medical evidence that proves he'd been dead nearly half a day, though eyewitnesses had seen him alive a scant hour earlier. And then there are the six prime suspects -- all of them artists, all of whom wished him dead. Five are red herrings, but one has created a masterpiece of murder that baffles everyone, including Lord Peter Wimsey.

The novel is a seemingly never ending puzzle with so many characters and their disappearances the very next morning. They rode trains and bicycles. I have never read a novel where the schedule of trains is very important to the story. With 6 suspects, the different schedules of train they took to different destinations is dizzying. And the missing bicycles! Oh, boy.

I like the novel for the descriptions of Galloway, Scotland as though I was on a tour with Lord Peter. The language is also very interesting. Dorothy L. Sayers wrote the words as they are pronounced and it was fun reading and understanding them. I probably would not have understood everything if I listened to the audiobook.

The exchange between the Scots Police Inspector and the H-adding English butler of one of the suspects is entertaining.

The Inspector opened his notebook. 

"Your name is Halcock, is't no?" He began. 

The butler corrected him. "It's H'alcock", he said reprovingly

"H, a, double l?" suggested the Inspector.

"There is no h'aitch in the name, young man. H'ay is the first letter, and there is h'only one h'ell."

"I beg your pardon", said the Inspector.

"Granted", said Mr. Alcock.

"Well, noo, Mr. Alcock, juist as a pure formality, ye understand, whit time did Mr. Gowan leave Kirkcudbright on Monday night?"

"It would be shortly after h'eight."

"Whae drove him?"

The novel will probably appeal to puzzle enthusiasts. Highly recommended.

The Last Murder At The End Of The World

tags: dystopian, murder mystery, sci-fi, simulacra

⭐

From GoodReads

Solve the murder to save what's left of the world.

Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched.

On the island: it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they're told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay.

If the murder isn't solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island—and everyone on it. But the security system has also wiped everyone's memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer—and they don't even know it.

And the clock is ticking.

The synopsis made me read it hoping it might be as good as Kazuo Ishiguro's novels. Alas, it isn't and disappointing. 

I'm tired of reading about climate change hoax killing everyone and everything on earth. Authors (or people who think they are good enough to write a book), think of something else and not rely on friggin' climate change. Read some Philip K Dick novels to see how creative one could be. Sheesh!

Someone died, an over 150 year old scientist. What's the big deal? She died, alright but there was no murder. The author tried so freaking hard to make it a murder mystery, going round and round, pointing to 2 people. But it was not murder! The author just wants to show that the simulacrum leading the investigation is as smart as a human and therefore worthy of replacing humans when they go the way of the dodo. 

  

Skip this pretentious and boring book.

The Water Keeper

tags: contemporary Christian fiction, human trafficking, mystery, romance, thriller

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

Murphy Shepherd is a man with many secrets. He lives alone on an island, tending the grounds for a church with no parishioners, and he's dedicated his life to rescuing those in peril. But as he mourns the loss of his mentor and friend, Murph himself may be more lost than he realizes.

When he pulls a beautiful woman named Summer out of Florida's Intracoastal Waterway, Murph's mission to lay his mentor to rest at the end of the world takes a dangerous turn.

Drawn to Summer, and desperate to find her missing daughter, Murph is pulled deeper and deeper into the dark and dangerous world of modern-day slavery.

With help from some unexpected new friends, including a faithful Labrador he plucks from the ocean and an ex-convict named Clay, Murph must race against the clock to locate the girl before he is consumed by the secrets of his past--and the ghosts who tried to bury them.

I never heard of this author before this book appeared on my Hoopla suggestions. It is a mystery with  romance and Christian quotes on the side. The first few chapters were not so exciting but picked up as soon as the mother looking for her daughter appeared. She started telling the story of a book series she had gotten addicted to and declared the books cured her of narcotics addiction. The story of the books [within the story] is a truly engrossing action thriller with a hint of romance between a priest and a nun working as a team to rescue young girls from predators. The story parallels the actual novel. There is a reason and it is easy to guess why. 

I'm rating it 5 stars regardless of the many many coincidences and the super duper hard-to-kill Murphy and the dog. The main character, Murphy, meeting the other people and even the adorable "super" dog Gunner is too contrived but I am giving the author a pass because I enjoyed the book. The sequel is already on my Kindle. 

Highly recommended for readers who like thrillers and are not easily offended by Christian and Bible quotes.

The Genome

tags: mystery, parody-ish, Russian, sci-fi, 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Genome" is a new science fiction thriller by the author of the bestselling Night Watch series.

Five months after the horrific accident that left him near death and worried that he’d never fly again, master-pilot Alex Romanov lands a new job: captaining the sleek passenger vessel Mirror. Alex is a spesh—a human who has been genetically modified to perform particular tasks. As a captain and pilot, Alex has a genetic imperative to care for passengers and crew—no matter what the cost.

His first mission aboard Mirror is to ferry two representatives of the alien race Zzygou on a tour of human worlds. His task will not be an easy one, for aboard the craft are several speshes who have reason to hate the Others. Dark pasts, deadly secrets, and a stolen gel-crystal worth more than Alex’s entire ship combine to challenge him at every turn. And as the tension escalates, it becomes apparent that greater forces are at work to bring the captain’s world crashing down.

According to Goodreads readers, the author included a coded message that the novel is supposed to be a parody of space operas. My copy of the book doesn't have it. Maybe the author removed it, I'm not sure.

The odd characters, the good story, and the humor made me think it is sort of a parody. The murder mystery is very interesting. I enjoyed the book very much. Highly recommended.

The book is written by the author of Night Watch Series.

A Small Town In Germany

tags: comedic, mystery, spy catcher

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
From Goodreads

The British Embassy in Bonn is up in arms. Her Majesty's financially troubled government is seeking admission to Europe's Common Market just as anti-British factions are rising to power in Germany. Rioters are demanding reunification, and the last thing the Crown can afford is a scandal.

Then Leo Harting—an embassy nobody—goes missing with a case full of confidential files. London sends Alan Turner to control the damage, but he soon realizes that neither side really wants Leo found—alive.

Set against the threat of a German-Soviet alliance, John le Carré's A Small Town in Germany is a superb chronicle of Cold War paranoia and political compromise.

With an introduction by the author.

John le Carré's short novel was first published in 1968 and in the "introduction" he wrote that he was not happy with the book. He meant it to be comedic but the German people were not too happy with his depiction of them. He revised some of what he wrote and he was half satisfied with the finished novelette. 

I disagree with him. I loved the novel. It really has several laugh out loud portions specially the dinner with the German guests. The description of the wife of one of the guests is so funny. The book has the signature le Carré numerous characters that have their own quirks and personalities. 

Alan Turner, the spy catcher that everyone at the embassy despised and feared, was sent to Bonn to find Leo. He had a clever and hilarious brusque way of extracting information from the embassy people in order to know Leo and where he could be. All the embassy people told half truths about their relationship with Leo, including the 2 women, one worked at the embassy and the other was the wife of the head of the embassy. They both loved Leo. 

Leo never spoke throughout the book and only appeared on the last page but he was so alive and present through the descriptions of various people in and out of the embassy.

The book is comedic but tragic. Alan and Leo have become 2 of my most favorite characters created by  le Carré. 

Highly recommended for John le Carré enthusiasts.

The Bad Weather Friend

tags: horror, humor, mystery, sci-fi. supernatural, suspense

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

Benny is so nice they feel compelled to destroy him, but he has a friend who should scare the hell out of them.

Benny Catspaw’s perpetually sunny disposition is tested when he loses his job, his reputation, his fiancée, and his favorite chair. He’s not paranoid. Someone is out to get him. He just doesn’t know who or why.

Then Benny receives an inheritance from an uncle he’s never heard of: a giant crate and a video message. All will be well in time. How strange—though it’s a blessing, his uncle promises. Stranger yet is what’s inside the crate. He’s a seven-foot-tall self-described “bad weather friend” named Spike whose mission is to help people who are just too good for this world. Spike will take care of it. He’ll find Benny’s enemies. He’ll deal with them. This might be satisfying if Spike wasn’t such a menacing presence with terrifying techniques of intimidation.

In the company of Spike and a fascinated young waitress-cum-PI-in-training named Harper, Benny plunges into a perilous high-speed adventure, the likes of which never would have crossed the mind of a decent guy like him.

Amazon Prime First Reads for the first time ever offers one great book and possibly one good book to start the year.

Dean Koontz's The Bad Weather Friend is superb. The usual sci-fi, horror, humor, mystery, and supernatural are all present, with a little romance added to the mix. It has a fabulous happy ending and I laughed out loud at the parts where Dean Koontz poked fun at almost everything from "climate change advocate"(Greta), pronouns (he/she/it/they/them), smutty fictions (A Game of Thrones), industrial cheap home decor (Ikea), EVs, artists with no actual talent (Francis Bacon, Edvard Munch, Jackson Pollock), and so much more.

Nice Benny never gets angry and doesn't get shocked by anything. When he was a small child, his abusive and drunkard father was shot and killed in front of him. He was spared by the killer because he didn't go into hysterics nor manifested fear. He instead proudly showed the LEGO he was building, a staircase to heaven, and the killer probably thought he was a retard. 

His most horrible experience was in a private school out in the remote mountains when he was 13 years old. The demented wife of the school principal seemed like a descendant of Dr. Moreau, experimenting on unsuspecting children of wealthy parents. She was actually infected by aliens and was being used by nefarious secret government agency to study how to subdue the citizens but she had a more sinister plan which was to rule the whole universe. 

When he was a 23 year old successful realtor, he received a shipment from his weird Uncle and the box contained an 1800 year old 7 foot tall alien being called a craggle. Spike, the craggle reminds me of a golem or a jinni. He has super powers and is staying with Benny to protect him from evil people, AKA the elites, who cannot stand nice people and want to kill them all to prevent more nice people to multiply.

I like the humor, the political jabs, and Odd Thomas vibes, although I find Dean Koontz inserted too many metaphor.

I love the book and recommend it to Dean Koontz fans. (Leftists will find themselves being ridiculed in the book so avoid if you are a humorless leftist.) 😁

The Nine Tailors

tags: Lord Wimsey, mystery

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

While ringing in the New Year, Lord Peter stumbles into an ominous country mystery.

Lord Peter Wimsey and his manservant Bunter are halfway across the wild flatlands of East Anglia when they make a wrong turn, straight into a ditch. They scramble over the rough country to the nearest church, where they find hospitality, dinner, and an invitation to go bell-ringing.

This ancient art is steeped in mathematical complexities, and tonight the rector and his friends plan to embark on a nine-hour marathon session to welcome the New Year.

Lord Peter joins them, taking a step into a society whose cheerful exterior hides a dark, deadly past. During their stay in this unfamiliar countryside, Lord Peter and Bunter encounter murder, a mutilated corpse, and a decades-old jewel theft for which locals continue to die.

In this land where bells toll for the dead, the ancient chimes never seem to stop.

Lord Wimsey and his valet Bunter were visiting the Fen country when they had a car mishap. They walked to look for help and Bunter guessed they were near Fenchurch St. Paul. The church clock chimed at the same time and Lord Peter uttered "Thank God! Where there is a church, there is civilization." How true! 

They walked on to the church where they met the rector and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Venables. The rector was eccentric but lovable and his wife was smart and efficient. I love the setting and numerous characters, specially Mrs. Venables. 

There is mystery alright, a dead body with an unlikely "murderer", but the story is centered on the bell-ringing called change ringing. I had to stop reading and watched it on YouTube. Very interesting. 

I have just voted it my favorite Lord Peter novel. Dorothy L. Sayers wrote a very engaging novel with her usual sense of humor. It was hard to put down once I started reading.

Highly recommended for Dorothy L. Sayers and Lord Peter Wimsey fans.