read: True Blue Murder (2 stars)

True Blue Murder by Elise M. Stone
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I wanted to like this goofy little cozy mystery set in a senior citizens' residence in a small town near Tuscon, Arizona. My beloved Arizona settings came across as true to life. The descriptions and interactions of the wide variety of distinct characters seemed spot on. But the overall story was disappointing and fell flat.

The best word I can find to describe most of the prose is pedestrian. The action and relationships came across as stiff and clumsy. Then there's the uncompelling mystery, with an unlikable victim and a complete lack of suspects capable or inclined to have done it. This forced the author to end the story with a completely invented perpetrator and what amounts to a fanciful motive. The 'clues' that were supposed to support these inventions were unconvincing.

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read: Gun Church (2 of 5 stars)

Gun Church by Reed Farrel Coleman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I can only give this 2 stars because, even though I could tell the writing was extraordinary, I cannot say I would recommend it to anyone who wasn't predisposed to enjoying this sort of thing. I did not find it entertaining.

I didn't particularly enjoy the first-person narrator. He was just too meandering and self-centered. This might be the point, since he's this self-destructive, washed-up writer. He's still not someone I wanted to spend 500 pages of my life with. Maybe I'm dense. I didn't get the literary references that were no doubt sprinkled through out. It even felt a little 'overwritten' to me. Also, repetitive. Five chapters in and he's still calling someone "St. Pauli Girl" (not to her face, thankfully) even though he knows her name and is constantly sleeping with her. I got it after the first two or three times. But I don't get why she keeps throwing herself at him. Maybe it's part of the gun church plot. Maybe it's author-worship. It's just inexplicable at this point.

The gun church of the title makes an early appearance and then disappears. If it had reappeared earlier, along with some more interesting characters and some actual plot, I might have hung on and finished the book. It was intriguing. Moving on to something I do enjoy.

Notice that this is all just my reaction. There are plenty of 4 and 5 star reviews. This might be the sort of thing you'd like, if you like this sort of thing.


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read: A Steep Price (4 stars)

A Steep Price by Robert Dugoni
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Robert Dugoni continues to hit all the right notes with the latest entry in the Tracy Crosswhite series, "A Steep Price". This around, the story delves into issues as varied as race, drugs, poverty, culture, education, pregnancy and workplace.

Tracy and her partner, Kins, are called in to help investigate the disappearance of a young University of Washington student. When her body is found at the bottom of an abandoned well not far from her home, the initial ruling is suicide. But Tracy's not buying it and investigates it as a murder.

Meanwhile, Faz and Del are assigned to the killing of a local mother and activist in a high crime neighborhood. Their investigation puts them at odds with both the community and the cartel that seems to run things. It also puts them into real danger.

The author keeps everything fluid and moving and real, including Tracy's conundrum about when and how to announce her pregnancy. As usual, the writing is crisp and clear and realistic, right down to the park I pass almost every day on the way to work.

Disclosure: Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing a free copy of this book in return for my honest review.

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read: The Escape Artist (5 stars)

The Escape Artist by Brad Meltzer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of those books that keeps you guessing right up until the end, when you tell yourself "I should have seen that coming." But you won't.

Brad Meltzer loads up the story with distinct and interesting characters and keeps up a magician's patter of interesting facts to distract you as he spins a complex tale. It's a mystery wrapped in a thriller wrapped in tragedy. And it works.

Disclosure: Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing a free copy of this book in return for my honest review.

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read: Over Your Dead Body (4 stars)

Over Your Dead Body by Dan Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm really liking this Audible series. The narration is well-done and the story is pretty spellbinding. This one is a little different in that the demon is not really discovered until late in the book. The pace is a might leisurely up until then. But then it sticks the landing.

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read: The 5 Love Languages (4 stars)

The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts by Gary Chapman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This may not be the ultimate guide to saving your marriage. But it could be a good starting point for a discussion with your spouse. Or it could be an inspiration to rethink how you are relating to your spouse. Or it could be a good reminder to revive some behaviors that you've allowed to become stale. No book on relationships can cover all the bases or be the balm that heals all wounds. But this one is pretty clear and direct and well-motivated.

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read: Moving Mars (4 stars)

Moving Mars by Greg Bear
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Excellent hard science fiction set about 150 years from now. Humans have expanded into the solar system and haven't really changed that much. Mr. Bear does a great job of telling a multi-threaded story from a single viewpoint. There are very few info-dumps, usually to explain politics and history. Most future technology is simply taken for granted. The big exception is a major advance in physics that drives the story. Amazingly, even tech that was far-fetched when the book was written 25 years ago is still pretty speculative so that the story does not feel dated.

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