I CAN NEVER SAY GOODBYE TO INSPECTOR SAMUEL TAY. NEITHER SHOULD YOU.

 Jake Needham's latest novel, Goodbye, Mr. Boogie, continues the saga of protagonist Samuel Tay, recently retired from the Singapore homicide squad.  This series won the Barry Award for "Who The Hell Is Harry Black?" (recognition that was long overdue in my humble opinion).

In this latest installment, Samuel Tay is enjoying retirement, but still in demand for his expertise in criminal investigations. So it's no surprise when a friend from the Thailand Police sends an emissary to ask for help. It seems an international assassin is targeting a Global Summit in Bangkok, where several world leaders are meeting. There's just one problem. No one knows who this assassin is targeting, or if he really exists. And Tay's presence may just be a convenient way to use him as a scapegoat if things go sour.

Inspector Tay has a challenge on his hands. Only his loyalty to a friend convinces him to stay on the case. But with nothing to go on, not even a name, the challenge seems insurmountable. With help from a young female police officer, Tay begins to make progress when a suspect appears. He also discovers that his partner may be a romantic interest, and for a long time bachelor, this complicates his task.

Inspector Tay isn't above liberating some potential evidence without the benefit of a warrant. But when you're battling an international assassin, the rules can be flexible. Is that a good word to use when you're breaking the law? I like it. Let's use it...flexible. His quick hands turn out to be useful. But as the case races to it's conclusion, Tay begins to suspect that the obvious solution may not be the right one. Is Tay on the verge of cracking the case? Or is he being setup?

Readers say that books can transport us to another world. That's true. Whenever I finish an Inspector Tay novel, I lean back and close my eyes. In a few moments I am walking down the street where Samuel Tay lives. I ring the bell, and am invited in, offering a bottle of Irish whiskey. Tay produces the ice and the glasses. We retire to his back yard, surrounded by bamboo. We watch the birds, and enjoy the silence. No one speaks. There is no need for conversation. Tay smokes a cigarette. I don't mind. A former smoker understands. And that is all I need.

Join me. You won't regret it.

A NIGHT AT THE SHORE IS THE NIGHTMARE YOU WON'T STOP READING

 I was almost done with this book before it occurred to me that I didn't know the narrator's name. Not his real name anyway. He uses fake names throughout the novel to protect himself. After all, he's a thief...and a good one. He pays for scores. Never carries a gun. And he always cases the job before he goes in.

Except for this one time. Welcome to your nightmare. The sun has gone down, and it's going to be a long night.

We're on the Jersey Shore. The target is a high stakes gambler with 10,000 dollars in the house. Getting in is easy. But in a few minutes, the police have arrived.

 Silent alarm? Not likely. A double cross? Far more likely.

The rest of the novel is a series of narrow escapes and a desperate attempt to get off an island whose only exit is guarded by a police roadblock.

Along the way, your hair will stand up on end with every creak of a door and every step around a dark corner. When the tension builds, the only sound will be your heatbeat filling your ears. But you'll also pick up a few tips about breaking and entering. 

Did I just say that out loud? Never mind.

A Night At The Shore is a great introduction to a great series. Hop Aboard. After all, what else did you have planned for tonight?

Get Off! (Your Butt and Buy This Book)

 Angel Dare's latest appearance in The Get Off starts with a bang (literally) and doesn't let up for 256 pages. Get ready for a wild ride. Christa Faust has quite a story here. My fingers were scorched just flipping the pages. Or is that just the scorching summer heat here in Missouri?

Our tale begins with Angel seeking revenge on a gangster who harmed her. She stalks him for weeks, and as she's about to deliver the Coup de grâce with a fatal injection, something terrible happens. Another gangster kills her gangster. And this is just the beginning of a terrible day.

In the ensuing battle, several people get shot, including a police officer, and suddenly every law enforcement officer in the country is looking for Angel...and not as a witness. Oh, and in her attempt to seek medical assistance for wounds received in the battle, Angel gets a surprise. She's pregnant!

This girl can't catch a freakin' break to save her life. But she'd better catch one soon, or she'll be dead.
She makes her way to the home of an old friend who arranges passage for her to a remote area of the Great Northwest, sort of a modern version of the Underground Railroad. Along the way she encounters various rural rednecks who turn out to be complex, fully developed characters, with the same hopes, dreams, and flaws as the people she left behind in L.A.

Who'd have thunk?

In many respects, they're better than Angel, and many of them (but not all) really seem to care about her. It helps that Angel has given them the impression that she's a blameless victim of domestic abuse (which is a bunch of hogwash). But hey, a few white lies never hurt anyone, right?

Doing double duty as the protagonist and the villain, Angel can be hard to like. But she's so brutally honest about her own flaws, that the reader can't help but admire her. And I do. Also, I wanted to find out what happens! That kept me reading, and it will keep you turning the pages as well. Have fun!

Find out more about Christa HERE. And enjoy this interview she did with The Poisoned Pen Bookstore.

Max's Story Is Our Story. Max's War, Our Victory

Most World War Two fiction centers around the great struggles on the battlefield. Libby Fischer Hellmann has given us a fresh look at the conflict through her novel, Max's War. In it, we see the birth of fascism in Germany  through the eyes of Max Steiner, a German Jew. All the familiar historical events are covered...the rise of Hitler, the purges of the Universities, Kristallnacht. We also see the back story, the secret war waged against the Nazis with the help of Europe's refugees. The writing is so fresh, so straight forward, you'd think Libby was writing about current events. And in a disturbing sense, she is.

Seen at such a personal level, it's easy for the reader to believe Max's suffering is happening to your next door neighbor. Fear and fury at the injustice will strike you like a punch in the mouth that you never saw coming. Libby's writing pulls you into the story and at times will shake your faith in humanity. Every small victory for Max will make you smile and turn the page with fresh hope.

By the time Max and his parents decide to leave Germany, their exit strategy has narrowed. Max's father, a prosperous businessman calls in every favor he can to help Max escape Europe. But some doors are closed in his face. Others open to betrayal.

Once safe, Max seeks justice (or is it revenge?) through the only avenue open to him. He joins the U.S. Army, and discovers his language skills and knowledge of Germany are invaluable to his new homeland. By the time Max returns to the fight in an American uniform, we're eager to follow his exploits and cheer him on.

Most readers may never know the extent to which escaped refugees like Max helped America win the war.  German and Italian scientists helped build the first atomic bomb. Some, like Max, gathered intelligence and infiltrated enemy lines, saving countless lives along the way.

In a broader sense, this is story of every refugee who has fled to America for the past 400 years. Fleeing persecution for a better life is an old story in this country, and it continues to this day.  Who will write the next great refugee novel of the migrants from South America and Mexico? Who will tell their story, their suffering and their success?

The answer may come sooner than you think. Libby Fischer Hellmann is still writing.

WRITERS BORN TODAY - IAN FLEMING

    It's the birthday of Ian Fleming, born May 28, 1908. His younger days saw him flourish in journalism and then in naval intelligence during World War II, where he worked on schemes to mislead the Nazis. By 1952, he was semi-retired and bored. Living by the ocean in Jamaica, he decided to write a novel. He based his story on some of the spies and rogues he had met during his wartime activities, and created one of the most famous spies in literary history...James Bond. He would go on to sell over 100 million Bond books.

    His first novel, Casino Royale, gave little hint at the tremendous success that awaited him. After two months at his typewriter, he had a finished draft. But when he re-read it, he thought it was a ghastly effort filled with clichés and could only have been penned by an adolescent mind. He eventually found a publisher despite its flaws. Sales, however, were mediocre. In the United States it sold only 4,000 copies. Nevertheless he kept writing, and by 1961 had published six more Bond novels and a collection of short stories. Sales were good, but not great.

    All that changed in 1961, when LIFE magazine published an article about the new American President, John F. Kennedy. In the article, Kennedy mentioned that one of his favorite books was Fleming's fifth novel, From Russia, With Love. After that sales rocketed. All of his previous works, some of which had gone out of print, were re-issued. The first Bond movie was released in 1962. Dr. No starred Sean Connery as James Bond.

    Fleming continued to write and publish one Bond novel a year until his death in 1964. He was only 56 years old, but years of heavy drinking and a four pack a day cigarette habit resulted in a fatal heart attack, 

    Two more Bond novels were published posthumously, and since Fleming's death, his estate has authorized additional Bond novels, fourteen written by John Gardner and six by Raymond Benson. Others have been penned by Kingsley Amis, Anthony Horowitz and Jeffery Deaver. There have also been 27 Bond films released with the latest, No Time To Die, coming in 2021.

SOYLENT GREEN PREMIERED 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

 On April 19, 1973 Soylent Green premiered in the United States. This science fiction film became a cult classic, and foresaw the devastating effects of global warming decades before the phrase "climate change" came into popular use. It takes place in the year 2022.

The movie is also a murder mystery. The main character, Robert Thorn (played by Charlton Heston), is a police officer investigating the killing of a powerful man in an overcrowded New York City plagued by scorching temperatures and a lack of fresh food. Most people without wealth are condemned to eat government issued wafers made from questionable ingredients, such as Soylent Red, Soylent Yellow, and the infamous Soylent Green. 

Soylent Green features several scenes between Thorn and his roommate, a retired police analyst named Sol Roth, played by Edgar G. Robinson. These scenes are the highlight of the film, and Robinson's performance was praised by critics, even those who didn't like the movie. In one scene, when Thorn presents a piece of fresh beef he's procured, Roth breaks down in tears. 

Edgar G. Robinson was profoundly deaf at this stage in his career, and had to memorize not only his lines, but the lines of the other actors so that he could perform in front of the camera. This fact only served to demonstrate his skills and professionalism. Sadly, he passed away just a few weeks after production ended and didn't live to hear the praise surrounding his performance.

The film ends with Thorn learning about the motive for the murder he's investigating, and the terrible truth behind Soylent Green. If you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about. And if you haven't seen it, well...what in hell are you waiting for?

MYSTERY HISTORY: KING KONG DEBUTS 90 YEARS AGO TODAY

 It's only fair that the movie King Kong, which ended with a gigantic ape climbing the Empire State Building, debuted in...of all places...New York City. The film had been inspired by the imagination of Merian C. Cooper, who learned about the hunt for the Komodo dragon and saw one of the first specimens brought back alive from Indonesia. This lead to the creation of a film in which a giant gorilla battles dinosaurs on a tropical island, is captured, and brought to New York City. The beast escapes, and wrecks havoc among the local population before being killed. 

It was a winning plot, pulled off by some cutting edge animation (for the time), dangerous wildlife, and America's fascination with exotic locales. As Humphrey Bogart quipped in Casablanca, "You're not very subtle, but you are effective". The same could be said for Cooper's creation.

The movie was a huge success, entertaining audiences in the depths of the depression with escapist entertainment. King Kong has, since this initial success, inspired dozens of sequels in film, comics and fiction. 

The backstory of how Cooper created filmdom's most famous monster can be located here, compliments of THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.