Racing The Light by Robert Crais

In You Face by Josh Shoe is the name of the podcast. Josh Shoe is actually Schumacher, clever, eh? He and his best friend Ryan Seborg have been doing this podcast for a couple years. Josh fancies himself a journalist who reveals what the mainstream media can’t, or won’t, tell the public. Conspiracies, government coverups, Area 51, black helicopters are his bread and butter. He doesn’t have much of an audience.

One recent guest on his show was Stacy Lawless/Rachel Bohlen, an artist/porn actress/escort. He’s been interviewing her about her artwork, not her ‘other’ work. Not long after the episode dropped, Stacy/Rachel messages him for hush hush meet. She passes him a thumb drive. She says he’ll love it. Right up his alley.

And then Josh just up and disappears. Doesn't even tell Ryan. His mom, Adele Schumacher contacts Elvis Cole because he has the best rep in the LA basin for finding missing persons. She’s in her 80s, former college Stanford prof, lives alone (divorced), tends her bees, and for some reason has 24/7 security (maybe a future book will tell us more about her and her ex?). She and Josh meet weekly for lunch and he’s not been showing up, which is strange because Adele passes Josh a sack of money over lunch. The podcast doesn’t pay well and the rent is always due.

She drops another sack full of money on Elvis’ desk to find him and bring him home. Once the job’s parameters have been fully defined, Elvis starts with Ryan, Josh’s partner who tells Elvis about Stacy/Rachel. And it’s not long before Stacy/Rachel disappears, too. Elvis uncovers her ‘safety’ (the person she calls before and after each escort date), lifelong friend Kimberly Laird. Turns out Kimberly takes notes that include some names of Stacy/Rachel’s dates. And the list includes a smattering of LA politicians, one is the chief of staff for an LA Commissioner who sits on a zoning board that approves proposals by commercial developers.

Bye-bye Area 51 . . . hello City Hall.

At first Elvis thought Josh might’ve pissed off some federal office with his conspiracy ramblings. Now his attention becomes more local and may need the help of his longtime associate, Joe Pike, just in case back-up might be needed. Cole's cases usually need Pike's necessary and timely skills.

This is the 19^th Elvis Cole book written by Robert Crais. And unless I’m mistaken, they’ve all been reviewed her by the boys at MRB. Crais is a favorite for good reason. First and foremost, he’s a helluva a storyteller; easily one of the best we’ve reviewed, no question. A worthy member of our elite Power Rotation of top shelf authors. Second, it’s hard not to love Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. Elvis the the wise-cracking PI and Pike is the mysterious, quiet, and lethal one. 

Crais has worked behind the scenes in Hollywood (mostly writing for TV) and probably knows how ‘they’ can screw up your characters (cases in point: Tom Cruise playing Jack Reacher or any number of John Grisham’s books) so he’s been protective of his work being put on either the big or little screen. No matter. His writing style is taught and bare bones whose wit gives a subtle wink for the reader. 

And who  wouldn't want Joe Pike as a friend?

Crais is a regular on the NY Time best seller list. A multi-award winner and Emmy nominee (for writing on Hill Street Blues).  Bottom line: you’ll never go wrong with a book written by Robert Crais . . . ever.

The one drawback – he doesn’t publish an annual book in the fall (for the Christmas rush) like so many of the big names. It’s been three years since his last book, A Dangerous Man. And three years is just too long, but I'm patient. 

Due to be published on November 1, 2022. Thanks for Netgalley for the reviewer copy. 

ECD

In The Blood by Jack Carr

Book 4 in The Terminal List storyline.

James Reece is a beast. Son of a Vietnam-era sniper. Now a former SEAL who has contracted with the CIA to do what must be done quietly, lethally, and waaaay off the books. And he’s survived (see The Terminal List, True Believer, Devil’s Hand). But like all assassins, time has a way of tapping on a shoulder and asking, ‘are you sure?’

Jack is living the dream in the Montana mountains with Katie (see how they met in the earlier books). Thinking he has put that life behind him (didn't Michael Corleone said the much same thing?) A call comes telling him to turn on CNN. An airliner has been shot down after takeoff from the Burkina Faso international airport. 120 or so killed. As the passenger photos are arrayed on the screen, Jack recognizes this female Mossad killer. She’d been in country to do what she does, kill someone who didn’t have Israel’s best interests at heart. But someone else knew she’d be there, what her travel plans were, and supplied a local revolutionary group with a couple shoulder-fired missiles.

And the heat inside Jack builds. First stop is DC and the CIA. Then the Mossad. Then into Africa. All the while he is picking up info bit by bit. Turns out he is chasing a Syrian hired by Moscow (why would Moscow have any interest?) and his French partner. And the Mossad agent wasn’t the main target. Reece is the target and killing the Israeli would draw Reece to them. Further stops in the chase include a coastal Italian town, then Serbia. Each stop presents Reece with challenges only a former SEAL/author can dream up.

Carr is the pseudonym of a former career SEAL/sniper. The challenge is to pen a story that is entirely believable while just nudging the envelope of reality a touch. And Carr is learning his trade admirably. If you haven’t jumped on board the James Reece bandwagon . . . you just aren’t paying attention. Quality plot, well-developed characters, and not too over-the-top. Add James Reece to your list that includes Steve Harvath (Brad Thor), Jack Reacher (Lee Child), Bob Lee Swagger (Stephan Hunter), et al. 

BTW, I see that Terminal List is in production for a multi-episode series due to start July 1, 2022 on Amazon Prime with Chris Pratt in the lead. If it’s any good, expect the next book to be green-lit before the first series is even done.

As usual, pay attention to the publisher. Another winner (aren’t they all?) from Emily Bestler Books, an imprint of Atria Books under the Simon & Schuster umbrella.

 

East Coast Don

The New Neighbor by Karen Cleveland

Beth and Mike Bradford are living large in McLean, VA. He’s a doc (I think) and she’s a CIA analyst (on the Iran desk). They’ve raised 3 kids on the cul-de-sac. Got great neighbors who also have various positions ‘in government’ including the CIA cuz it’s nearby; they’ve all become like family. Beth and Mike's two older girls are out of college and on their own. Their son is heading out for UVa. Beth and Mike are empty nesters now and preparing to sell their home and downsize. Little does Beth realize just how much they will be downsizing.

For example, About the time of closing on the house, Mike tells Beth he’ll be moving into his own place, preparing for a life without Beth.

If that isn't enough, the Agency has made potentially career-changing decisions for her. Beth has been an analyst tracking mostly attempted incursions by the Iranian security agency into the security apparatus of the US. She’s been successful at it, too. She knows her Iranian counterpart and has been able to stay one step ahead of him, but one case, The Neighbor (a recruiter for Iran), has her and others stumped. She’s been trying for years to get a lead on The Neighbor. Cryptic notes are about all the CIA has, like 'use their children.' As a result, the higher-ups in the Agency think maybe Beth has lost her touch and demoted her to a teaching position at The Kent School – the CIA's school for rookie analysts.

Beth has a hard time accepting things. The pending divorce. Her demotion. Being told stop looking for The Neighbor. Now living alone, she develops a healthy case of paranoia to compete with her own self-loathing about how life has shit on her.

To maintain some sanity, she carries out her own clandestine search for The Neighbor that eventually narrows down to what she (and the reader) believe were her friends on the cul-de-sac. Staking out her old haunts becomes commonplace. And what’s a little breaking and entering amongst old long-time friends. Maybe a little harassment of the young couple who purchased her old home is a sensible endeavor.

And all this goes on for probably 75% of the book. I rarely put a book down once I’ve started. I figure that the author has put a ton of work into the book and if I start, I owe it to the author to finish. I’ll admit to having thought about quitting on a few occasions only to continue thinking the story has got to develop some teeth. Beth really wasn’t a character that made me want to care about what happens – she groans, she gripes, she fuses, she moans. The last 15-20% of the book does, thankfully, rock as Beth comes to realize the proximity of The Neighbor. My only hope is that a sequel won’t tread all that tired, old ground. But that’s just me. I can see some readers lapping up Beth’s descent and subsequent rebound. Not me.

The jacket blurb says that the author is a ‘former counterterrorism analyst’ an NYT best-selling author of three other (CIA and FBI) books. Her first book, Need to Know, has been optioned to Universal Pictures and is rumored to have Charlize Theron playing the lead. All her books focus on a strong female lead. The descriptions all sound interesting (particularly You Can Run). I just hope the lead for any of those other books isn’t as whiny and paranoid as Beth Bradford.

Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson

Although Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson has been panned by others as boring and dull, and the parts narrated by Dolly herself may have seemed trite and unworthy of her lustrous career, I enjoyed the book on Audible. This is not great literature, but there was a lot of Dolly in it. Dolly played the role of Ruthana Ryder, a retired country singing legend, and surely some of this work was partially autobiographical. Ruthana decided to take Annie Lee Keyes under her wing without knowing the darkness of Annie Lee (nee Ruth McCord) Keye’s past. Ruthana took the very talented and beautiful Annie Lee and helped her get breaks that would not have come otherwise. As a result, her rise to stardom was rapid. However, the past would not let her go and continued to pursue her. I found the protagonist to be possible. While I was willing to suspend my sense of reality testing, the book was just fun. 

 

While I typically prefer to read books and not to listen to them, I’m a fan of Dolly, and I loved listening to her. I also liked the auxilliary characters. Perhaps this novel should be considered an airplane book, something you could enjoy on a cross country flight, just for the entertainment of it.  

Duplicity by Shawn Wilson

 It's been awhile since Brick Kavanaugh's last case of the young woman found floating in the Tidal Basin surrounding the Jefferson Memorial. That was a soul crushing case. So draining that Brick took his bartender's advise and set off for Ireland for an extended R&R . . . a week. Maybe two. How about three months? Doesn't really matter. He quit his job as a homicide detective for the DC Metro police. He has managed to kill some time with an Air Lingus flight attendant, Nora Breslin, who conveniently has the Ireland-USA routes.

But head back he must. To what, he's not sure. First stop will be to see his bartender/friend, Eamonn Boland, owner of the bar in his name. While catching up, Brick flips through his email and finds a letter from the Ass't Director of the School of Public Affairs at Lincoln University (a thinly disguised Georgetown University) wanting to know if he'd consider being an advisor/mentor to a few students. The task he's asked to lead the students through is an investigation of a cold case. 

Brick isn't crazy about the invite, but out of courtesy to the prof who tracked him down, he agrees to meet Prof Grace Alexander, at Boland's Mill Pub of course. The cold case project is an unsolved hit-run of a Lincoln University student some years back. Brick doesn't have any pressing job prospects so he says OK if his former boss is OK with it. Lieutenant Hughes will have to agree, and process some paperwork, to give Brick, no longer an employee, access to their records. 

That request goes fine and Brink takes the records home for his first review. As he skims through the case file, he quickly learns that the case may be tougher than envisioned because most everything of importance has been redacted.  

Nora has a Dublin-Chicago and asks Brick to join her for a weekend. She's been there a bunch and is showing Brick around. A lakeside bar's TVs are tuned to a news channel. Brick absent mindlessly glances to see the trailer describing the possible abduction of a DC detective's twin infants and mother. It's the family of his former partner on the force, Ron. 

So much for a quiet weekend in Chicago. Brick heads back to find a devastated Ron, Lt. Hughes, and a host of other cops at Ron's house still picking through every possible shred of evidence. 

Brick has to take a back seat to the police investigation, be moral support for Ron, investigate as best he can, given his status as a civilian. And he is still looking into the cold case. Each heat up with the cold case taking a very unexpected turn (does the term 'diplomatic immunity' mean anything to you?). 

This is my second Brick Cavanagh mystery and it's as an equal to Wilson's previous novel (Relentless, reviewed here in 2020). From where I sit, if one wants a solid police procedural, look for titles from Oceanview Publishing. I've read a bunch and have yet to be disappointed. Does this book may not break any new ground in the mystery genre? Probably not. But who cares? It's a quick, fun read and that's good enough for me. 

Like I've said before - pay attention to those publishers. I've yet to go wrong with Oceanview. 

ECD

Born for Trouble: The Further Adventures of Hap and Leonard

Joe R. Lansdale is a prolific and accomplished author, as is revealed by the biographical sketch on his website. He has won the Edgar Award and many other awards, as well. His work has already been reviewed by ECD in this blog, who reviewed four of his books in the Hap and Leonard series. These two friends live in West Texas and they solve crimes. ECD reviewed the novels quite favorably. In his most recent work, Born for Trouble: The Further Adventures of Hap and Leonard, I had a very different reaction. The book has a dialogue driven story, but I found the dialogue to be too juvenile, and the crazy plot just did not catch my interest. I abandoned the story before I was halfway through. Obviously, my reaction to Lansdale was vastly different than so many. He has fashioned an impressive career as a writer, and it’s clear that Men Reading Books allows for a variety of opinions about the authors we read. Anyhow, this one does not get my recommendation.