Monday, December 8, 2014

Reading right now:

            “The Skeleton Road” by Val McDermid. “I had always wanted to write, ever since I realized that real people actually produced all those books in the library. But everyone told me that it was impossible to make a living from writing, that I needed to have a proper job. I knew I wasn’t the sort of person who would be suited to a proper, nine to five job with a neat hierarchical career structure, so I became a journalist,” says Val McDermid on her website. Scottish mystery writer, McDermid has had tremendous success since she started writing mystery novels in the 1980s. While she writes several series, her latest is a stand-alone which starts with the discovery of a skeleton found in an apparently inaccessible Gothic pinnacle on a derelict school which is about to be torn down. Cold-case detective Karen Pirie is called in to trace who the skeleton once was which leads to decades old secrets being revealed.

On hold right now:

            “Perfect Sins” by Jo Bannister. Bannister and McDermid have much in common—both from the UK, both former journalists, and both have contributed many books to the mystery genre. “Perfect Sins” introduces a new series starring former government agent Gabriel Ash and police constable Hazel Best. While Best is dragged into a cold case, Ash finds new clues to help him discover if his family (who were taken by pirates) are still alive.



Other Mysterious Things:

“Cold in July” by Joe R. Lansdale. “Cold in July” was a stand-alone novel that came out in 1989 and was made into a movie in 2014. Newly out on DVD, this movie is worth a viewing. It’s gritty and sad with a twisting plot that will keep you involved. After Richard Dane kills an intruder in his home, he is told that the man was wanted felon, Freddy Russell. Dane has trouble moving on with his life which is compounded when the father (Ben Russell) of the man he killed starts threatening him. Eventually Dane discovers that the man he killed was not Freddy Russell which brings Dane and Ben Russell together in an attempt to find out what really happened to Freddy Russell and who Dane actually killed. Ben and Dane become involved with a private detective who leads them into trouble with federal agents and the mafia. The cast is amazing and includes Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, and Don Johnson. 

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