Once You Start Reading BRING HER HOME, You Won't Leave The House.

Writer David Bell invites us to witness every father's worst fears with this nail chewing thriller. Two years after his wife dies in an accident, Bill Price and his teen daughter, Summer, are battling to maintain their fractured lives. But when Summer and her closest friend go out, what begins as a normal weekend turns into a nightmare. Both girls disappear and Bill will stop at nothing to find out what happened. Along the way, he'll learn secrets that will make him doubt his ability as a parent, and force him confront what kind of husband he was to his wife. 

Desperate to assist in the search, Bill barges into hospital rooms, schools and public parks. He's sometimes his own worst enemy as he ignores pleas from the police to let them investigate without his interference. At one point, his quick temper leads the police to put him on the list of suspects. But the reader is hard pressed to blame him as he staggers between grief and outrage.

David Bell throws plenty of roadblocks into Bill's path and like a crafty old pitcher, tosses a few curve balls that leave both our hero Bill and the reader swinging at air, and wondering what just happened. The surprises keep coming until the final shock. Read fast, because you'll be holding your breath for the last few chapters. Better yet, keep an oxygen tank handy. 

Did You Miss This Book When It Came Out? Maybe You Were BLINDSIDED.

    Dr. Cadence Lawrence's successful career as a young surgeon takes a wrong turn when she sees Dirk Lyons, an old high school acquaintance in a fellow doctor's office. Her shock and anguish become clear once the reader learns that Dirk was once accused of murdering Cadence's best friend....by Cadence herself. Within days, she's being stalked by him and now fears she may be his next target. Without hard evidence, the police are helpless to protect her, so she flees into the North Woods. In her haste, her car becomes stuck on a side road during a major snowstorm. She faces a chilly death, until a knock on her car window by a stranger offers her hope for survival. Having just fled the horror of a suspected killer, can she trust the offer of shelter in a storm from a total stranger?

    

    Thus begins this thriller by Kate Watterson, a terrifying tale that almost feels like a romance novel once Cadence settles in with her rescuer in a snow bound cabin, cooks for him, chats, and begins to fall in love with this tall stranger with a chiseled jaw, his own construction company and some really good wine! 

    OK, I admit a good wine will catch my attention as well, but the tale soon moves from the improbable to the absolute terrifying as Cassandra decides to return to her hometown and confront her stalker. She's accompanied by Mick, the man who couldn't turn his back on a stranded motorist in a snowstorm (and begins to like his decision on a personal level).

    The author interrupts the storyline several times by shifting the point of view to give the reader a glimpse into the mind of the killer. This is what kept me reading, and it will keep you reading as well, assuming you're not too scared to turn the page as the true malevolence of this skilled predator is unveiled.

If a poor little rich girl is kidnapped in the woods, does anyone hear it? THE GIRL WHO CRIED WOLF by Robert Ferrigno

 

This thriller tackles some of the usual suspects…fast paced action, a dedicated protagonist, and the threat of widespread destruction and death. It adds another underused theme by its emphasis on eco-terrorism. When the daughter of a wealthy capitalist is kidnapped, the ransom demand includes turning

over an old growth forest to a conservation group, which will save it from clear-cutting by ruthless loggers…or so we are told. Remy Brandt, the victim, has a history of making false claims, which complicates the case. It seems the police and the FBI have a hard time believing she’s actually been kidnapped. Her wealthy father doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to rescue her, which adds to the problem. Remy’s boyfriend has no doubts however, and his skills as a security expert and determination to find Remy make him a powerful ally…perhaps Remy’s only ally.

                The villains are part of an underground network of ecological misfits and tree huggers who cross the line from peaceful protest into violence. The leader of the kidnappers, Glenn, has more than saving the earth on his mind. Greed dominates his mind. His partners, Eli and Tree, are faithful followers who begin to doubt the wisdom of this crime as time passes. Each of them has their own personal motives for aiding Glenn. Eli begins to fall in love with Remy, while Tree loves only the woods, especially the forest where they’ve hidden Remy. Tree may be the most interesting character. He appears to be a brute, but we learn that he was once a foreman on a lumberjack team, until he heard screams in the forest…the screams of the trees being destroyed, and turned against capitalism.

                As Mack, Remy’s boyfriend, scours the Seattle underground looking for clues, he grapples with Glenn and then Cleo, journalist for an underground newspaper who offers to help him. But Cleo has secrets of her own and may not be the ally Mack has hoped for. As the ransom deadline draws near Mack, Remy, the kidnappers, and Cleo collide. The reader will find it hard to put this book down until the violent ending.

Double Wide Is A Triple Threat To Reader Boredom

When a story opens with a dismembered human hand, the reader and the protagonist both know that trouble lies ahead. There's something else that lies in wait for the reader...a great story with a narrator who has a wry, understated sense of humor and a strong desire to seek justice for the death of a close friend.

Double Wide, by Leo W. Banks, is a simple story well told. The narrator, Prospero Stark, is a former major league star pitcher fallen on hard times. He runs a trailer park populated by a collection of characters you'd expect to find in a David Goodis novel, with one important difference. They're down on their luck, but not desperate. Indeed, they often have more faith in Stark than he has in himself. With their help, and some assistance from a ruthless TV reporter who is hungry for a good story, Stark uncovers a scheme by a famous baseball agent to break the rules for his prospects.

It's a con that worth millions of dollars, and could be the key to learning what happened to Stark's friend, who was a promising catcher until he disappeared. Whoever left that hand for Stark to find wanted to reveal the truth, but now that witness is dead, murdered by Mexican drug runners. Stark has just one shot to break open the case, if he can face some personal demons, get back on the pitching mound and prove he still has the power to face down a batter. He still has the name recognition from his glory days, but it may not be enough if his arm can't back it up.

Leo Banks paints a vivid portrait of the southwest that would impress Georgia O'Keeffe. The setting and the characters are absorbing. It's a gripping tale of friendship, the things we lose as we age, and the redemption we gain when we face our worst fears. That's a lot to pack into 352 pages. And you may not notice all that because you're too busy turning the pages, engrossed in the story. But later, when you're done, you'll wake up in the middle of the night and mutter under your breath, "Wow." Then you'll reach for the book, because you'll want to read it again.

Well done, Mr. Banks.

Book your next vacation to Gangster Nation

Sal Cupertine, a mob hit man, screws up and kills some FBI agents by mistake. Now every cop in the country is looking for him. There's no way out, right? So naturally, he does the only thing left to do...he heads for Las Vegas, gets some plastic surgery and takes on a new role as...a Rabbi?

This is the implausible premise behind Gangster Nation, by Tod Goldberg. Hard to believe? But then I read the book. And somehow, by hook or by crook (or by some damn fine writing) he makes it work. Meet Sal Cupertine, aka Rabbi David Cohen. With the help of another Rabbi with ties to the mob, he gets a gig at a synagogue and school in Vegas. It's appropriate since Vegas is the city where nothing is real. Sal fits in by hiding behind the glitter and polish.

When he's not dispensing advice from the Torah to his congregation, he's helping to dispose of rival gang members at the local cemetery, and making a fast buck at the same time. His long term plan is to reunite with his wife and son once the heat cools down. That may take a while, seeing that the reward for his capture is a half million bucks. While he waits and stashes cash in several safety deposit boxes in town, we learn his background and begin to understand what made him the killer he is. As a kid, he sees his father tossed out of the window of a skyscraper and splatter on the pavement. Who wouldn't be traumatized by that? His brother heads a crime syndicate in Chicago, so Sal enters the family business.

But he's had enough. He doesn't want the same future for his own son. Soon, he'll have enough money to make his escape, maybe to South America. But then, Sal makes a mistake. He kills a woman who'll be missed, and comes to regret it. Not only was she not the threat he suspected, her death alerts an ex-FBI agent who was the partner of one of Sal's victims. As Sal, aka Rabbi Cohen, prepares to go under the knife once more to rebuild his botched plastic surgery, an accumulation of bad decisions by him and his family threaten to expose his secrets. The writer doesn't reveal the shocking conclusion until the very last line.

Tod Goldberg is a craftsman from the old school, a man who knows how to tell a story. He makes you sympathize with a main character who has killed dozens of people, which is not an easy task. As a writer, I'm still trying to figure out how he does that. But don't concern yourself with my problems. Just buy his book. It would be a crime not to read it.

The Girl In The Window should be The Book in Your Hand

I look forward to starting a new series because, if I like the main character, I know I'll have more great books to read. And I just found a good one. The Girl In The Window was nominated for a Barry Award and though it didn't win, it's well worth a read.

The protagonist, Inspector Samuel Tay works for the Singapore police investigating crimes of murder. A fascinating character, he's been solving murders longer than any normal human being should. Fortunately, he not quite normal...by Singapore's standards, anyway. He's a bit cynical, but does his job well in a country that has become more and more determined to sanitize it's streets, its image and even the way people think. But these are minor problems when Inspector Tay is asked to work with Singapore's Internal Security Division and join the hunt for an international terrorist. Tay's boss warns him that ISD may simply want to set up the police for the blame in case things go wrong. And wrong they do go.

Tay's longtime partner is killed during an undercover operation. Tay must not only handle his grief but hunt down the very terrorist they were seeking, a man who appears to getting protection from some very powerful people. To prevent himself from being drummed out of a job and catch the killer, Tay must draw on some longtime contacts with shady backgrounds. What he doesn't yet know is how a mysterious witness fits in. The girl in the window, whom he sees for a moment just before his partner is gunned down, may be key to solving the crime...if he can find her.

Singapore makes for an interesting setting for a crime novel, even if the people who run it make it hard to enjoy a good smoke and a cup of coffee. Sam Tay refuses to give up the two things (caffeine and nicotine) that fuel him through the day (and the Irish whiskey that soothes him as he sits in his garden in the evening). As an ex-smoker and still coffee drinker, I can relate. Tay doesn't fit in with the changes that have swept over modern Singapore. He longs for a better time, when the character of the place he calls home hadn't been demolished, scrubbed, and covered over with modern architecture that lacks humanity. His humorous thoughts on food, women and government planning are not only funny, but pretty accurate. I wouldn't mind joining him in his garden with a tumbler after a tough day. For now, I'll just have to seek out the rest of this series.

Writers Born Today - Mickey Spillane Born 100 Years Ago

It's the 100th anniversary of the birth of Frank Morrison Spillane, born March 9, 1918 in Brooklyn. The creator of Mike Hammer, his writing had a huge impact in the publishing world. Readers loved his novels, but critics despised them.

Spillane's father, an Irish bartender, gave him the nickname "Mickey". He developed a knack for story telling...it helped him avoid beatings by older kids in his tough neighborhood. By the end of high school, he had sold his first story to a pulp magazine. After some college he got a job writing comics. World War II interrupted his literary pursuits and with scant success in the comic trade, Spillane turned to writing novels using Mike Danger, a P.I. hero he created for the comics. He renamed the character Mike Hammer, and churned out the first novel with this hero in just three weeks. The publisher, E.P. Dutton, didn't think much of the writing, but bought it anyway, in part as a favor to Spillane's agent. It would change how people thought of the detective novel.

I, The Jury sold a respectable 10,000 copies in hardcover, but when released in paperback, sales exploded, literally. Over a million copies were sold, and Spillane churned out half a dozen more novels in the next few years featuring his hard hitting and often brutal hero. Spillane's timing was perfect. Paperbacks were cheap and fed the public's postwar demand for action and adventure filled stories.

Literary gems they were not. A new Mike Hammer novel brought enormous sales, but also scathing reviews from book critics. Anthony Boucher in the San Francisco Chronicle wrote of I, The Jury ,"so vicious a glorification of force, cruelty and extra-legal methods that the novel might be made required reading in a Gestapo training school."  The Saturday Review of Literature was more succinct. "Lurid action, lurid characters, lurid writing, lurid plot, lurid finish. Verdict: Lurid"

But Spillane didn't let the bad reviews bother him. "I don't give a hoot about readin' reviews. What I want to read is the royalty checks," he said. And the checks poured in, not just from print, but from television, radio and movie rights. One of the most successful screen adaptations was the movie Kiss Me Deadly, which starred Ralph Meeker as Mike Hammer.

Spillane created other protaganists, including spies Tiger Mann and Mako Hooker. He even wrote a few children's books and won a Junior Literary Guild award for one of them, The Day The Sea Rolled Back. In real life, Spillane bore little resemblance to his hard as nails characters. He was a Jehovah's Witness, and neither drank nor smoked.

By the time he returned to writing Mike Hammer novels in the 60s, his literary reputation was improving. In 1995, the Mystery Writers of America gave him their Grand Master, the highest award in the mystery field in recognition of his lifetime achievements as a writer.

To date, his novels have sold over 200 million copies.

"Mike Hammer drinks beer because I can't spell Cognac."

- Mickey Spillane