WONDERLAND by Robert B. Parker and Ace Atkins

Wonderland is the second Spenser novel by Ace Atkins, and it is possibly the most densely plotted of all the books. Usually I breeze through these novels, including Atkins’s last entry into this long-lived series, but this one took some time to digest. There are a lot of players, and there are a lot of […]

SIX YEARS by Harlan Coben

I love Harlan Coben’s twisty suspense thrillers. I logged on with his first, Tell No One, and I’ve been through most of the rest of them with him, enjoying the surprising rides he’s offered. I show up every year just to get my breath sucked away as he launches into a chase with life or […]

BYE BYE, BABY by Max Allan Collins

Bye Bye, Baby isn’t a detective novel as much as it is a love letter from the author, Max Allan Collins. Collins makes no bones about his attraction to Marilyn Monroe, her story, or the mystery that surrounds her murder or suicide. Most of America is still split over exactly how the movie star’s death […]

IMPULSE by Steven Gould

Steven Gould’s Jumper series is awesome. I have read and loved all his books so far, which is – sadly – pretty easy to do because he’s only written nine novels and maybe twice as many short stories. So you can become an authority on Gould without years of reading. I wish he would write […]

SUSPECT by Robert Crais

I’ve been an Elvis Cole/Joe Pike fan for years, and I was really looking forward to January and catching up with my fave L. A. PIs, but that wasn’t in the cards this year. However, Robert Crais’s newest serving of cops and suspense was entirely awesome, with two characters that kept me nailed to the […]

GUN MACHINE by Warren Ellis

Warren Ellis is an amazing comic book writer whose career has spanned DC Comics and the Marvel Universe and independent comics companies. He wrote Red, which became a hot Bruce Willis action/comedy movie so successful a sequel is coming out. He’s one of those writers whose every move is watched by comics fans and Hollywood […]

NO MERCY by Lori Armstrong

No Mercy is the first book in Lori Armstrong’s new Mercy Gunderson series, which is currently three deep and growing in volumes as well as popularity. Mercy is a Jack Reacher kind of character in the kind of territory Walt Longmire would feel at home in. In fact, Longmire’s creator Craig Johnson had some very […]

SAILOR by Tom Epperson

When I first saw the book Sailor and read the premise, I figured I be getting a Lee Child/Jack Reacher type of story. I was happy with that because I like the run and gun novels a lot. Instead of being a tightly woven kill or be killed tale, it shakes loose story threads all […]

THE SORCERER OF THE NORTH by John Flanagan

My wife and fifteen year old love John Flanagan’s The Ranger’s Apprentice series. We’ve been listening to the audiobooks for a few years now, always when we’re on long trips so we can get a whole book in. This Thanksgiving we got away for a few days, and we listened to The Sorcerer of the […]

THE LOST ONES by Ace Atkins

I was kind of tepid on the first Quinn Colson novel by Ace Atkins. I thought The Ranger had a great sense of place and character, but there just wasn’t enough going on to suit me. The pot needed a little more stirring. However, after reading and being suitably impressed with the author’s Spenser novel, […]