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 […]

DOC SAVAGE: SKULL ISLAND by Will Murray

When I first heard that Doc Savage was going to meet King Kong in the newest Wild Adventures of Doc Savage book by Will Murray, I couldn’t believe it. Then, after I thought about it for a moment, I wondered why no one had ever thought to tell that story before. Well, now it’s told, […]

WARRIOR OF LLARN by Gardner F. Fox

As a kid, I was a fan of both Edgar Rice Burroughs’s John Carter of Mars books as well as Gardner F. Fox, who created the new takes on many of the Silver Age DC Comics heroes and wrote a fair share of fantasy novels as well as the Golden Age comics. I became aware […]

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 […]

SWORD-DANCER by Jennifer Roberson

This is one of those books that I picked up again and again, and ended up buying all of the copies in paperback. Then boxed them up. Somewhere. Now that there is a new book out in the series, I wanted to read them again. And they’re on ebook so it’s much easier to buy […]

GODS OF RISK by James S. A. Corey

I’ve been seeing the James S. A. Corey name on science fiction books for a few years and just hadn’t had time to take on one of those monster doorstoppers. After reading this novella, I’m more inclined to pick one up as soon as school lets out for the summer and I have more time. […]

NIGHT OF THE TOADS by Dennis Lynds

Night of the Toads is a Dan Fortune private investigator novel by Dennis Lynds writing under the pseudonym Michael Collins. Legend has it that Lynds created one-armed PI Fortune after another private eye who was nicknamed “Slot Machine.” Because of the one arm, you see. I read my first Dan Fortune novel back in high […]

SONGBIRD by Colby Jackson (Bill Crider)

As part of the writing team for Rancho Diablo, I’ve made it a point to not post reviews of the books my fellow writers have written. Thought I would just stay conveniently out of the way and let readers find the books on their own – which they’ve been doing quite nicely, thank you. However, […]

DEAD AIM by Joe R. Lansdale

Joe Lansdale’s latest book snuck up on me. I didn’t know it was already out until I tripped across it yesterday on Amazon. I downloaded the ebook and tucked in, instantly transported to East Texas crime noir with series heroes Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. I’ve been reading the Hap and Leonard books for a […]