Mystery

In his Spero Lucas Mystery series, Pelecanos features a present day Travis McGee (series by John D. MacDonald). Lucas is a U.S. Marine veteran of the war in Iraq and the Washington D.C. setting is a character in itself.

People come to Speros when they want to retrieve something that would normally be irretrievable. He obliges them because he loves danger and he keeps 40% of the item's value. In The Double, second in the series,(The Cut is the first) the item in question is a painting that has been stolen, and the woman from whom it was stolen wants it back. Finding and retrieving the painting

"One book. Two readers. A world of mystery, menace, and desire."  S is the brain child of Lost creator J. J. Abrams and put into form by Doug Dorst. It has mystery, romance, self-discovery, conspiracy, and the idea that nothing/no one is quite as they seem.

To start of with, this is a strange book. I first saw the book trailer for it, and knew that it was something I had to read. S is told in two parts (or maybe more depending on how you read it). First you have Ship of Theseus, a bizarre Lemony-Snicket-like story for adults. It is touted as the final work of one V.M. Straka, a enigmatic

For years, Batman has protected Gotham City from the darkness that seeks to destroy it. Within this darkness is the Court of Owls, an urban legend that tells of a shadowy conspiracy ruling Gotham City for centuries. Now the Court has placed the Batman in its sights, to take back their city from the Caped Crusader. Can Batman, the Dark Knight, survive the maneuverings of the Court or will he watch Gotham burn around him?

I have read a lot of Batman comics over the years. Some have been pretty bad (I am looking at you Dark Knight Strikes Again), but there have been many good ones (try the The

Fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy Murder at the Altar, by Veronica Heley. The story actually begins with the climactic moment when the murderer is advancing towards Ellie. Suddenly: “Too late… The murderer took a step forward.” (p. 1)

 Back in time we go. Newly widowed Ellie Quicke is finding life sad, confusing and almost more than she can bear. For years, she waited on her husband and his elderly aunt, meekly accepting their dictates and their opinion that she was unfit for any other role. With Frank’s death, Ellie is forced to find her own place in the world. Her grief-fogged existence is

Aimee Leduc, private investigator, starts the novel with her longtime partner Rene Friant absent and out of the country.  Already concerned about running Leduc Detective on her own, matters grow exponentially worse when her friend Saj hits and possibly kills a Serb with Rene's car.  Soon, the accident is tangled up in the mysterious death of a Russian bookbinder, a missing painting that could be nearly invaluable, and even Aimee's own mother, who's been missing for many years.  Without Rene and Saj--who is under suspicion for the Serb's death--to help, Aimee has to draw on all of her cunning

Dave, Molly and Clete have gone to Montana for a peaceful summer vacation.  But where they go murder seems to follow and Swan Peak is no exception.  Two college students are brutally murdered close to the ranch where the friends are trying to relax.  Another couple is murdered at a rest stop nearby and the two incidents appear to be connected.  Burke is known for the interesting characters he creates with his stories.  This tale includes some down-and-out folks trying to better their lives and/or get even with the world for the wrongs done to them.  Troyce, Candace, Jamie Sue, Ridley and

This is one craaaaaazy book.  I am now contemplating what I should collect & freeze.

Noa's life has been looking up. She ran away from the foster care system that failed her, set up a fake foster care family using her amazing hacker abilities, and has been working odd jobs to stay afloat. But that all changes when Noa wakes up on a cold metal table in an abandoned warehouse with a mysterious incision in her chest. Noa barely manages to escape the men in black suits who pursue her out of the warehouse and through the back alleys of Boston's southside.

Meanwhile, Peter, home alone in his parent's McMansion while they attend another fundraiser, rummages through his father's desk

Some kids are identified by their parent's profession: the preacher's kid, the doctor's kid, the principal's kid, the mayor's kid. Jazz is defined by his father's profession: serial killer. Billy Dent is the most notorious super-serial, claiming 123 victims in his decades long spree. Worse than being the serial killer's kid was that every day was take-your-kid-to-work day for Billy. Jazz learned how to separate a hand from it's fingers, how to stalk a victim, and how to commit the perfect crime without getting caught. Billy was convinced that Jazz would be the first of a new breed of serial

Sawyer's life has been all planned out by his parents: attend their alma mater, become an insurance actuary, and ever do anything interesting...ever. And he has complacently followed their plan for years, dating Zoe because they like her, working at the ice cream store owned by a family friend, taking all honors classes...until he meets Grace. Grace is different from anyone he has ever met. She breaks the rules, and she makes him want to break them too. It starts harmlessly enough, helping her steal a model UN treaty (come on it is Model UN!) but becomes a slippery slope. Hanging out with

It all started so innocently with a morning shave of a trademark moustache – but, nobody noticed. Nobody.  Neither the wife, nor the boss. All tried to convince him that he never even had a moustache ever before.  All feels like a twilight zone: Is he losing his mind or is it an elaborate group conspiracy against him?  The premise of this movie is rather original and intriguing and one expects this movie to be a comedy, but it turns dark a few fast frames later.  The viewer is kept guessing as the plot is continuously shifting further away from domestic solitude nearing a psychiatric asylum

Cullen Witter's summer break begins with a trip to the Lily, Arkansas morgue. With this aunt and mother too distraught to get out of the car and his father on another long haul delivery, Cullen is left to identify the body. And his summer only gets better when an ornithologist from Washington shows up in town claiming he has seen a species of woodpecker previously thought to be extinct.

As the small town of Lily is brought to life by the sudden influx of scientists, media and bird watchers, Cullen's life is turned upside down when his younger brother Gabriel goes missing. Cullen spends his

When Annie and William Taylor witness an execution in the woods they run to the safety of the first passing car. But the driver isn’t just a passerby; he is one of the executioners. They escape and are on the run again, this time knowing they can’t trust anybody. Eduardo Villatoro, a newly retired detective, just happens to be in town following up on some unlikely clues to the only unsolved murder of his career. As Villatoro gets closer to solving the crime, he also gets closer to Annie and William. But will he get there in time? Alternating viewpoints over a single weekend make the bulk of

The short stories in this book gave me just enough of the flavor of each author to let me know if I would be interested in spending more time on a full book by the author .  They contain action, romance, vampires, witches, werewolves, zombies and more.  I  have just become interested in this genre' and this presentation helps me look for new authors.  One of my favorite stories was by Patricia Briggs. It was about a blind witch and a werewolf searching for someone and how feeling alone  in the world became connected.  Some of the other ones where full of action with shoot out's with both guns

Taylor was abandoned on the Jellicoe Road when she was 11 years old. She was taken in my Hannah, a caretaker at the Jellicoe School, a place for wards of the state to go to school until they are 18. Behind the seeming quiet of Jelliceo School is a feud that goes back before Taylors time there, a secret war going on between the students of Jellicoe School, the townies and the cadets. Taylor has just been named the leader of the students and it is hear job to regain precious territory from the cadets and townies. Taylor is surprised to find out that her enemy, the leader of the cadets, is the