Mystery Crime Books

As another reviewer stated, too much violence. Must have wanted to do a bit of hippie bashing(also a bit too sensational grabbing). Still it is McGee and not a totally bad read. Green Ripper is the best one I've read.

I have read several of the McGee series with my favorites the ones that aren't so erotic or violent. This one seems to have a lot of both in it and I'm not sure why. I guess as time went by for McD it seemed more necessary or maybe it was a reflection of the times that the vlolence and sex became more diviant, cruel and prominant. I much prefer the earlier books when there was more of a campy necessary point to the violence and more of a visual behind closed doors than a full out play by play bedroom scene. This book was awfully heavy on that stuff and took up many pages. It's sort of depressing. But I did find this book very intriguing especially as McD really paints a scene and you feel as though you can not only imagine the sights but hear the background noise of the busy city. I lived this era although on the younger side of when this was written compared to the characters I am glad that era is over. I really did not like the hippie era and was sorry that it was my generation's contribution. I felt scared in my own time of all the drugs and strange opinions running counter to all that had been safe and secure in society. They didn't really have an answer just wanted to "drop out" but made nothing any better by doing so. It's interesting to note this era was followed by the yuppie and preppy eras, lol.

I did feel that there may have been too many characters in this book and that the problems of the "girl" the story centers around were never really made clear. Why was she the way she was and to the extent? Many people have tragedy in life but don't resort to such self destruction. All in all a good book a little out of character for JDM in some of the more graphic areas.

It really doesn't matter which Travis McGee book you are reading because they are all so pleasureable that it is like slipping into a warm bath. They possess great narrative drive and a character that is at once bigger than life, self-deprecating, philosophical and all too human.

Travis Mcgee is a great figure in literature. Over the 20 years or so that MacDonald wrote these 21 novels(all with a color in the title and all with the title somewhere in the novel), McGee aged by about a year for every three that MacDonald wrote. His insights grew sharper, his cynicism and self loathing battled with his heroic life and his incredible pleasures. His reliance on his physical dexterity and strength diminished as his cunning increased.

The books were written between approximately 1964 to 1984. This particular book was written in 1969. Relatively early in the saga, and one of a handful taking place in Mexico. Most took place in South Florida where he lived on a houseboat. Where else could he live?

He went to Mexico to find out what happened to a friend's daughter. Traveling with his frequent companion, Meyer, he uncovers some sinister plot and we are introduced to some great memorable characters, and always fabulous women including Elena from Guadalahara and Becky, a sexual machine. Since it is the late 60's, you get to see the hippies in Mexico and McGee's relation to them.

The wonder and greatness of these books lies in the writing and the creation of a world and a being that you are lucky to tag along with during your time together.

If there is a weak link in the chain of Travis McGee novels, I have yet to find it. MacDonald's "Dress Her In Indigo" is yet another great tale in the long list of books of the McGee cycle, and I have read more than a dozen of them. This one has the same driving pace, magnetic and realistic characters, and acerbic wit as any other in the series.

A classic commentary on the 60s counterculture by John McD. A group of flower children are scattered across Mexico and have information concerning Bix Bowie's last days. As Meyer and McGee unravel the story, the gang starts dropping like flies. Several neat twists and a jawdropping finale. Reading this book brought back memories of old Dragnet and Adam-12 shows featuring the degenerate hippies. Trav gets more work in the bedroom than in any other I've read. Along the way he gets to pummel a homosexual AND a lesbian(not that there's anything OK with that, they just had it comin' to them).

Brophy gives an excellent sense of place in this novel. Having studied in Rome for several years, her impressions of Italians were right on; her descriptions of Assisi and Umbria were vivid. The story was engaging as were the characters. My biggest quibble is that her descriptions of Catholicism were inaccurate. A few examples: Good Friday (an essential element in the story) is not the holiest day of the year (it's Easter); there is never a Mass on Good Friday (It's the only day of the year that there isn't one); and there would never be a first Communion on the same day as the ordination of a bishop. Also, a minor slip: She gives the temperature at one point in Fahrenheit, not Celsius.

Overall, though, this story will breeze you along and give a satisfiying read.

The Last Enemy is a terrific read, an Italian police procedural that caught me up in a conflict between turning its pages fast and slowing down to savoring its luscious tastes, fascinating vignettes, and sights full of Umbrian local color. From its very first chapter, where the Penitente parade winds its way through the streets of Assisi and we learn of Count Casati's childhood failures and subsequent treatment of his own family (which includes the murder victim), we are hooked.

The story is told with an Austen-like wry wit from the point of view of its appealing and sensitive but sexy Police Commission Alessandro Cenni, whose fiancé had been kidnapped years ago by political terrorists. This is what has spurred him into his work with the State Police, and the novel's back-story promises many engaging return runs. Brophy's lush prose makes its host of vivid characters come alive in all their quirky individuality: Rita Minelli, the murder victim, the priest with whom she had an affair, the Count and Countess Casati and their daughter Artemesia, one of the first women curators of a regional art museum, the Croatian immigrant Sophie who tends the cemetery where Rita's body is found. Some characters, I hope we meet again, including Elena and Piero, his seconds in command, Cenni's twin brother Renato, and even Cenni's cat, Rachel, with her late night wake-up ritual. This is a must-read and a new name to watch out for avidly.

What a treat this novel is. As an avid reader of mystery fiction as well as a lover of travel, I found Brophy's book to be doubly rewarding. Her characters are richly drawn, and her knowledge of Italian culture, art, and politics make the book more than just another mystery. Brophy captures the allure of Assisi and its charming atmosphere. I was sorry when I came to the end of this story but I'm looking forward to getting to know Commisario Cenni and his colleagues better in future books. This was one of the most enjoyable mysteries I've read in a long time.

I love mysteries and I really went for "The Last Enemy" by Brophy. The richness of the characters and family dynamics were so interesting, I hardly had to know `who-dun-it.' There were no too easily predictable `good guy' - `bad guy' roles and an unexpected pleasure was the painless education on medieval Italian history and culture. I obviously missed a lot when I was in Italy.

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time, combining a twisted plot with even more twisted suspects. The characters are wonderful, with villains on both sides of the law. I love Assisi, and the beautiful ancient town is such an interesting part of the whole experience. Sit down with a cappuccino and a biscotti and enjoy a great read. I can't wait to see what lies in store next for Alex Cenni and company.

Before reading this handsome, well-made volume of six crime novels, I tended to consider 'noir' a movement, one of both style and period. I now know that noir is also and more generally an atmosphere and pertains to a wide variety of literary styles, characters, plots, motivations -- but all informed by a dark and often depressing overall mood. Ultimately, these six novels are character studies and although they are offhandedly described as 'pulp novels', their qualities of description, dialogue, and even basic construction techniques such as gradual disclosure and story arc far exceed most recent crime novels I've read. And although classic noir undoubtedly exposed the dark recesses in the minds and hearts of its contemporary audiences, these stories today confirm that there is very little that can shock us; the beauty and longevity of these novels is in their exposition and description of characters and surroundings and the significance of a single, seemingly insignificant event building to an inexorable, devastating climax.

Rather than recount each novel's plot and characters, I will only add that again, each of the representatives of the noir genre present in this edition illustrate a wide variety of settings and styles, places and characters. From what most of us probably consider classic noir represented by Cain's classic "The Postman Always Rings Twice" with its classic highway settings and passion, to the suave, biting, and sardonic wit of Fearing's "The Big Clock" reflecting the unusual structure of multiple first-person narration around a single, main protagonist in an urban, corporate setting, to the Oklahoman grit of a group study in gang crime via serial bankrobbers in Anderson's "Thieves Like Us", to the more explicitly horrifying, psychologically penetrating and depraved "Nightmare Alley" of Gresham, this edition is like a menu of various aspects and directions noir can and did take.

As other reviewers have stated, there is not a weak novel here. I found "The Big Clock" the most singular in structure, setting, and style and in certain aspects, it defies categorization as 'noir' except perhaps only in mood. In fact, it is the novel that for me most broadened the definition of the genre. I found "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" the most depressing because it appears to be the least fanciful, most truthful and thus the most devastating of the set. In this sense, "...Horses..." comes closest to rivalling truly great literature not so much for its details, but for its overall impact. In my opinion, Woolrich's "I Married a Dead Man" is the least successful because its exploration of mistaken identity (first mistaken, then deliberate) is somewhat banal and after finishing it, I wished Woolrich might have explored the contrast of genteel facade and grasping desperation a bit more explicitly. It is in many ways the most subtle and emotional of the set as well as the most modern (it is chronologically the last), but suffers a bit from the repetitive description of Helen/Patrice and the strain of her external and internal duality.

Several reviewers have found Anderson's "Thieves Like Us" the weakest of the set, but I disagree. The description of a gang is necessarily different and unlike the other novels, Anderson manages to accomplish what the other authors are unable to do (save perhaps McCoy): Describe the criminal as a legitimate, objective individual who deserves our sympathy and even our allegiance. Bowie, the central character, is described as taking a far more relaxed view of his own criminal activity and isn't portrayed in dark, tortured terms. In this light, Bowie has either the weakest conscience or the strongest depending upon how you choose to read him and in either sense, he and together with his cohorts provide and excellent example of the Anti-Hero.

"Nightmare Alley" is the longest and the most absorbing of the set. It is also the most violently and sexually explicit, has the largest cast of important and varied characters, and best succeeds in addressing the big questions concerning truth, faith, relationships, society, etc. Who are the real freaks -- carnival oddities and tricksters, or respectable society members seeking spirituality? Those with mere physical abnormalities or those who deliberately develop intentional differences? What is deception, particularly self-deception? "All the world's a carnival" might be a nihilistic worldview, but Gresham's portrait of an intelligent young carnival magician's development from a sensitive, impressionable boy into a full-blown 'spiritualist medium' whose only desire to trick the vulnerable out of their money (and who ultimately is tricked by one who lacks his ultimate weakness -- his conscience) is devastating. Although I predicted the ending, this truly nightmarish journey down Stanton Carlisle's alley is the point of the book. The true ending is, in fact, never reached and is a brilliant literary stroke.

I highly recommend this set of novels.

This collection of novels from the 30s and 40s was terrific fun and an outstanding introduction to the genre. You can debate whether they're all noir (at least what I expected noir to be); but nonetheless they each convey a distinct impression and view of the time. Without getting into lengthy reviews, I enjoyed Woolrich's "I Married a Dead Man" the most--from his eloquent style to the actual story-line. You know you're reading a master story-teller. Second was Gresham's "Nightmare Alley;" although sometimes I thought he could have expanded on some aspects of the story and shortened other passages (i.e., a little bit of editing would help). But each novel was distinct and enjoyable. Highly recommended.

First of all, the Library Of America collection provides the reader with some of the most beautiful hardcover editions available today. That said, the selections chosesn for this edition are all first class; for someone just getting into hard-boiled fiction, this is the ideal place to start. If you're like me and have been reading this genre for many years, this is a perfect volume to add to one's collection.

This is an impressive collection of early and now scarce Noir novels. "The Big Clock" and "Nightmare Alley" are particularly hard to find outside of this volume.

Cain's "The Postman Always Rings Twice" was probably the first crime novel I ever really got into, and it's a stunning departure from Agatha Christie-style mysteries. So much happens in this short book (as turns of plot, but also development of character) that it compares favorably to the first half Camus' "The Stranger." The drifter plumbs the depths of his desperation in a brutal attachment to another man's wife: it's not greed or lust that drives him, but a base need for someone to whom he can anchor himself. A raw and amazing experience, unmatched by anything else of Cain's.

McCoy's "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" is impressively vivid. I had no idea these dance-hall marathons took place before reading this story. This circus of exploitation of young and apparently desperate people certainly makes for excellent Noir. One of these benefits of reading these novels is the unearthing of buried episodes in America's past.

"Thieves Like Us" has been reviewed here as the weaker end of the collection, and I have to agree. It's still a very capable story of outlaws; and the stoicism of the young people caught up in the criminal's lives is admirably depicted here. I recommend reading Andersen's novel before the others (it's still definitive Noir), so one can more easily avoid expectations built up by the Cain and McCoy.

"The Big Clock" is interesting in the depiction of power relationships between employer and employee, and the shifting first-person style of telling the story works here. I never heard of Fearing before reading this novel, but he evidently had a deep understanding of the motivations of very different kinds of people. This novel has the most suspense of the collection, and is a great and sophisticated read.

The most surprising and bizzare novel is "Nightmare Alley," a strange and memorable journey of an aspiring carnival charlatan. It defines Sleaze. The longest and most complex novel, it feels like a long-lost classic that's been hidden away because of its disturbing content. Some may think of it as too long, but the twisting journey through sweaty farming towns, railroad stations and addled big-city martiarchs required time to establish some crediblity: by the end, I was convinced that such a grotesque collection of stunts actually belonged in the story of this country. "Nightmare Alley" alone is worth the price of the book. Fans of Tarot might be a little offended, but this is especially recommended for understanding fans of Ray Bradbury.

Finally, "I Married a Dead Man" by Woolrich is a suspense novel set up by a tragic accident. The protagonist, literally and figuratively hungry, siezes the opportunity to substitute herself into a more fortunate woman's life. Excellently done, and more grounded in comparison to "Nightmare Alley."

Overall, there's no legitimately weak entry in this collection. The variety of content in these novels is enormous, and acquiring this book will allow the reader to experience the different flavors of American Noir. Most modern crime/suspense movies will seem ridiculous by comparison.

Noir emerged in the early 20th-Century from Pulp paperbacks published for mass consumption. Highlighting in gritty and sensationalistic detail the sordid undercurrents of Western society, Noir became an artistic force that became the medium for the representation of the down and out segment of the populace. Whether set in the impersonal grime of urban reality or at the deceptive simplicity of rural picturesqueness, Noir in Film and Literature revealed the odyssey and travails of lost souls whose misguided characters bore too much of the weight of their selves and their pasts to break from the shackles of their present.

"Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1930's and 40's" is the American equivalent in prose of the influential and enduring genre. The grim and unforgiving tales of the dejected cast of mid 20th-Century American life are openly depicted ("The Postman Always Rings Twice"; "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"; "Thieves Like Us"; "Nightmare Alley"); vicissitudes of fate ("The Big Clock"; "I Married a Dead Man"). Whether set in scenic California, the vast and open Midwest, or a high-rise office in Manhattan, these novels uniformly render a panorama of blighted dreams, twisted turns of fate, and the sad recurrence of misfortune in desperate individuals doomed to tragedy.

None too substantial in content but highly readable, this edition is the first of a handsome 2-Volume anthology on American Noir fiction published by the venerable Library of America. Edited by Robert Polito (Poet, writer, anthologist on Noir Lit. and author of a biography on Jim Thompson), these stories enduring relevance are seen in various forms of contemporary society: from the writings of James Ellroy, Brett Easton Ellis, Lawrence Block, and Robert Bloch; in films like "Scarface", "Pulp Fiction", "Fight Club"; and in everyday life.

In November 1968 there was a big demonstration by the American Embassy in Stockholm in spite of the pouring rain. Two policemen find a bus that went off the road. Eight bodies, one a detective, and a lot of shells. Detective Martin Beck is called from home for this mass murder. Chapter 8 has the press conference; little was known. Could a madman have planned this so carefully? When they question the girlfriend of the slain detective they learn he had been working hard on a secret investigation (Chapter 13). Martin Beck and the other detectives began questioning the people who knew the victims. The last victim mentioned a name before dying (Chapter 14). They identified the murder weapon: a Finnish Suomi Lahti from WW II (Chapter 18). Their psychologists wrote a profile on a mass murderer. Usually quite normal and polite until they suddenly erupt. (Is this profile right?)

Chapter 19 recapitulated what they know about the nine victims from the bus. They know detective Stenström was skilled at shadowing. How could he have been surprised? Following the leads results in the name of the unknown victim (Chapter 22). Another lead results in the arrest of narcotic dealers (Chapter 23). Martin Beck figures out the 16-year old unsolved murder that Stenström was investigating, the most hopeless case (Chapter 24). The police activity affected the underworld, they helped in the hunt. The investigation continued. Then there was a break on the identification of a car seen where a body was dumped 16 years ago (Chapter 28). Newly recovered facts point to a person on the list of suspects (Chapter 29). The solution to the crime occurs in Chapter 30. At the end Martin Beck received a telephone call from the detective who searched Stenström's apartment and found a name. Beck began to laugh.

This story seems implausible in having people killed in public when only one is a danger to a murderer. The authors have used a mass murder to create an unusual plot. Could over 60 shots be fired with no one hearing them?

George Santayana

On a rainy Stockholm night a gunman opens fire on Stockholm bus, killing eight passengers and critically wounding a ninth. The crime scene is bloody and chaotic. Critical clues may have been destroyed when the first police officers arrive on the scene and trample through the bus. Police Superintendent Martin Beck is placed in charge of the investigation. There appear to be no clues and no apparent motive. His task is the monumental one of taking this chaotic scene and imposing enough order on it so that clues may be found, leads followed, and the criminal or criminals brought to justice. The physical and mental burdens of the job are compounded by emotional burdens once Beck discovers that one of the victims happens to be a detective who worked in Martin Beck's unit. That is the plot that unfolds in the opening pages of Per Wahloo and Maj Sowall's remarkably well-crafted "The Laughing Policeman".

The Laughing Policeman, published in Sweden in 1968 and in the U.S. in 1971 (winner of that year's Edgar Award for Best Novel), was the fourth in a series of ten Martin Beck mysteries written by the Swedish, husband and wife team of Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall. The plot and structure of the four Beck mysteries I've read to date do not deviate from the standard format found in any well-written police procedural. However, what sets the Beck mysteries apart is their location and character development. Naturally enough, each book is a small window into Swedish life and culture in the 1960s and 1970s when the books were written. Further, as the series develops the character of Beck and his colleagues evolve and the reader slowly obtains a real feel for Beck and his fellow police officers. By the fourth book, the personalities of Martin Beck and his police colleagues have developed to the point where the reader almost has an instinct for how each will react to a given situation. At the same time the characters, especially Beck, remain far from predictable. However, they are already fully formed in the authors' minds and for that reason I suggest reading these books in order.

I do not think it appropriate to divulge any details about a police procedural such as this so I will leave it to the reader to see how Martin Beck and his crew slowly put together the pieces of the puzzle behind the killings. The authors are quite good at keeping the pot boiling. They don't reveal too much too early and they do not rely on Sherlock Holmes-like deductions to take the place of crafting a story. Additionally, the writing is filled with funny moments and asides. In its own way the Beck mysteries provide a very interesting glimpse into Swedish life and culture in the 1960s and 1970s. In the hands of Wahloo and Sjowall, Beck's conversations are filled with both blunt exchanges and very sly, sardonic comments that kept me chucking throughout. I was also impressed with how the authors have slowly continued to build up their protagonists back stories. By this volume in the series the reader has a pretty good idea as to the home lives and personal idiosyncrasies of all the major characters. They are free from stereotype and make reading the book a more enjoyable experience.

The Laughing Policeman was a good read, one of those books that you feel you must finish just one more chapter before heading off to bed or back to work. Highly recommended. L. Fleisig

Martin Beck and Lennart Kohlberg are playing chess. They are police officers assigned to the homicide squad. It is November 1967 in Solna, a suburb of Stockholm. The officers discover a double decker bus filled with dead people including a dead policeman. On that date there had been a demonstration at the American embassy protesting the War in Vietnam. The dead policeman was one of the officers assigned to the homicide unit, Ake Senstrom. His service-revolver is pulled out. Senstrom always kept his watch on the precise time and thus it is possible to measure the time of the assault accurately since the watch has stopped. The officers assume the attack on the bus was made by one man. The weapon is probably a submachine gun. The officers interview the family members and friends of the deceased persons. A clue emerges. The gun used may have been Finnish. The police have no Swedish precedents for mass murder. They have to use American cases as their models! The dead policeman, it seems, was good at shadowing. The dead policeman's girl friend tells the officers she believes that Ake was using her as a sort of guinea pig. It is determined that Senstrom was shadowing a blackmailer. The victim of the blackmail, the perpetrator of an unsolved murder, killed Senstrom and everyone else on the bus to maintain his cover. The solution to the crime is worked out winningly. The portraits of the officers and their families are interesting and charming.

This book was favorably mentioned in the Mystery Lovers Book of Quotations so I thought I'd try it out--my 1st by the author duo. While it contains some social commentary, this is not central to either the story or the characterizations. The characters are the heart of the book IMHO. The detectives are a team and quite a few provide important details leading to the solution of the case. The "hot" case of group murder leads to an old Cold Case (alas, no Lilly though). The authors carefully provide personal details of the team members as they go about a very methodical approach to the solution. There isn't any star (e.g. Holmes or Poirot) here. The plusses & minuses of various policemen are well depicted in a realistic manner. Some of the clues can help the reader to figure out some of the solution. The Stockholm described (though 40 years or so ago) is very different than the one the tourist sees--and I was there in 1968. The book is cleverly written & entertaining for the most part; the story is consistent & logical. Overall its a pretty good police story.

The Laughing Policeman is the best known book of the multi-volume Martin Beck series by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. Despite the title there is little laughing in this grim and gloomy yet classic police procedural. The book is marked by the sparse dialogue and buttoned-down personalities of the Swedish characters. (The book was later made into a movie of the same name starring Walter Matthau and Bruce Dern, but set in San Francisco!)

The entire detective force of Sweden is assigned to solve the murder of 9 people on a Stockholm bus in 1968 (an anti-war - Vietnam that is - demonstration is the backdrop for the book's opening). One of the murdered is Ake Stenstrom, a Stockholm detective. His presence on the bus begins to unravel the mystery of this seemingly random and insane mass murder. Insane it may be, but never random.

Each detective obsessively follows their own path and the paths lead into Stockholm's underworld. Could an old unsolved murder somehow be related to this insane bloodshed many years later? Mass murder so un-Swedish after all - the police don't even have any psychological profiles they can use. Can the always miserable Beck or his top-notch partner Lennart Kollberg crack the case?

Highly recommended for fans of detective stories with an international bent.

Having read just about all of the Nero Wolfe series, I have to say, this one contains all of the elements that make Rex Stout's detective novels wildly entertaining, without most of the elements that make some of them maddening

In this mystery, the utterly unswashbuckling Wolfe is revealed, in his younger, svelter days, to have been quite a romantic. Not only did he fight on the anti-Imperial side in Montenegro during the Great War, but he adopted and may even have actually sired a young girl.

To his shock, this young Yugoslav maiden--whom he had lost track of--reappears in his life, up to her neck in a particularly messy, intricate affair that may or may not include missing diamonds, a dead body or two, international intrigue, and a bellboy's uniform. For all of the peeks into Wolfe's previously unsuspected soul, he remains as crumudgeonly and as immovable as ever. Archie Goodwin, of course, remains the wisecracking, milk-drinking sidekick, flirting with anything in a skirt and even giving a Nazi agent a black eye just for the fun of it.

The joy of these books is their marriage of the American gumshoe attitude and the British cozy focus on character. Where they generally fall short is their plotting. This entry in the series is, without a doubt, the most successfully rounded out of the lot. Stout manages to keep the mystery truly mysterious, and yet never manages to confuse the reader so thoroughly that s/he can't find the exit. The plot actually ends on the last page--many of the Nero Wolfe mysteries fizzle out, wrapping up a chapter or two before the end, leaving nothing but rumination and grumbling for the final pages. Others seem never quite to wrap up all the loose ends. Here, the conclusion is both inevitable and unexpected--utterly satisfying.

Over My Dead Body is the seventh in the Nero Wolfe series. A young lady claiming to be Wolfe's adopted daughter from Yugoslavia asks for his help with a charge of stealing diamonds but this quickly evolves into a situation where she is suspected of murder. The case frustrates Wolfe no end, it gets more complicated all the while, but of course he manages to uncover the solution by the end of the story.

This book is a prime example of a Nero Wolfe novel. Archie Goodwin is in top form as a wise cracking pain-in-the-neck. Inspector Cramer is present more than a lot of stories giving Goodwin plenty of opportunities for zingers besides the ones he routinely fires at Wolfe. Wolfe himself is definitely out of his comfort zone dealing with the situation of his adopted daughter and this also adds to the potential for laughs.

This is a very entertaining book and I would recommend it for readers unfamiliar with Nero Wolfe as a great place to start or for established fans.

In this Nero Wolfe mystery-one of the earlier episodes-we encounter Wolfe's adopted daughter, who is in a bit of a fix. Wolfe comes to the rescue and along the way, shares little glimpses into his past: his tumultuous youth in Europe; the origins of his suspicion of all women; how he came to adopt a child. In this book, probably more than any other in Rex Stout's series, do we see the effect that women-especially those from the former nation of Yugoslavia-have upon Wolfe's psyche. It's a good read-a good mystery with a great plot-like pretty much all of Stout's works.

This book hits on all cylinders. The plot is excellent, intricate but clear. The characters are well drawn. The atmosphere, New York on the eve of World War II, is almost palpable. The dialogue is perfect. I'm at a loss as to what else to say about the book except, "Read it."

A Britsh undercover agent is murdered at a Manhattan fencing school, skewered by an epee with a gizmo attached that turns it into a weapon sans blunt end. Yugoslav women who are instructors there are possible suspects, one of whom is Nero Wolfe's adopted daughter from his days as an ill advised Austrian agent in the Balkans, pre World War, before we started numbering them. This alone is a startling revelation about Wolfe. Wolfe slender? Youthful? Abroad, outside, involved with people? I was astonished.

As usual, the beer drinking, orchid collecting, erudite, corpulent food lover Nero Wolfe declines, under any circumstances, to leave his brownstone abode with a greenhouse rooftop for his rare flowers. Using Archie, his assistant, as legs, Wolfe solves the baffling case. I knew he would. He's solved all the other mysteries in the Nero Wolfe books I've read.

Mystery fans who have not read mysteries from the golden age (pre-1950) do not know what they are missing. There is no sex to lure the lascivious reader, very little violence, no profanity. What there is (and this book is an excellent example of the sub-genre) is intelligence.
That's a rare commodity in most modern mysteries.

This is, at once, one of the best books in the series and one which translated brilliantly to TV on the A&E series.

Rex Stout decides to deal us a little shock in this one: Nero Wolfe, woman-hater, has a daughter he's not seen since she was a baby. She comes from Yugoslavia to New York, unknown to her pops, and gets into a real tight spot involving murder by "coldymort."

When Archie learns this, he considers resigning on the basis of his boss's morals. You just have to read this one to find out.

Or, again, buy the A&E series - they did a great job here.

The Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman is the book where Detective Decker first meets Rina Lazarus, who in later books becomes his wife. Rina Lazarus lives in a Jewish commune tucked away from the world most of us live in. All the Decker/Lazarus stories are great whodunits, but what make them even more enjoyable are the peeks into the lives of Jewish orthodox community. The ancient customs that are part of their daily lives, (you need three sets of dishes) and how they cope, meshing tradition and law in a modern world, (It is immodest for women to show their hair, so they wear wigs). This one is pretty tight and once started it's hard to put down.

The Ritual Bath, by Faye Kellerman is about a rape that takes place outside of a Mikvah in a Jewish community. This is the first book in the series, where Rina and Peter meet. This is a very quick read, without alot of twists and turns. It is just a so-so book. The story lacked a little something throughout.

When I started to read this book and saw that there weren't cell phones and if you have an emergency you have to go to a payphone or call at your office anytime you were paged I remembered my childhood. I liked this part because now nobody can do anything without cells and that's really sad.

The book's plot is fast paced but you must know at least a little bit of Jewish religion to fully understand it -I mean the quips and quibbles in Hebrew or Yiddish. For being the first book written by FK she deserves the whole five stars.

I've actually read this book several times, and have enjoyed it even more each time.

Rina Lazarus makes a sympathetic character, one that draws the reader into the story, even if they've never personally known any Orthodox Jews. As a woman, it's easy to identify with this character. A widowed mother of two little boys, she supports her family by teaching school and working as the mikveh lady at the ritual bath.

Author Faye Kellerman also deftly handles some cultural issues that exist within the Jewish community: Rina's less religious parents aren't happy with her choice to live as an Orthodox Jew. Even in later books in the series, her parents remain distant, bit players in the lives of their daughter and her two sons.

Without spoiling the heart of the story, LAPD cop Peter Decker comes into her life after investigating a crime that happens outside the mikveh, the ritual bath house. The story between them unfolds in a reasonable and believable way, and sets the pace for the entire series of books, which have stretched over twenty-two years. None of them are as much fun to read as 'The Ritual Bath.'

In this, the first Pete Decker book, Faye Kellerman displays deft proficiency in both characters and settings-two of the most important facets of a detective novel. It's not only the first Decker book, it's also Kellerman's debut, a truly amazing fact when evaluating how sure-handed she is.
The story centers around Detective Decker investigating a rape at a mikvah at an Orthodox Jewish School (yeshiva) in Southern California. Concurrently, there are a series of rapes being committed nearby and it's not clear if they are connected. From the beginning, Decker finds himself drawn to Rina, a teacher at the school whose strict religious convictions won't allow her to even entertain the notion of dating a goy like Decker. But she, too, finds herself attracted to the unattainable in Decker. The book plays out as much about the mystery as the subtle love story between the two who can never consummate despite their mutual feelings. Best of all, it's satisfying in both aspects. The mystery is suitably filled with possible suspects though no obvious red herrings and the love story plays out slowly and realistically. Helping things along dramatically is the setting of the yeshiva, an environment most will find quite foreign. But Kellerman understands this and through the Decker character, makes understandable and even beautiful. The love affair is extremely satisfying, despite the book ending without real resolution between the two, making the reader want to follow the couple in their next moves. Something I will surely do.

I am new to the Sharon McCone series. I am very glad I've discovered this wonderful series by Marcia Muller. The Ever-Running Man is an intense mystery with surprise twists and turns!

I had to get used to the rhythm of this book. I did think it was way too intense at first, so I put it aside. I planned on returning it to the library. But, I soon found myself wondering about the identity of the "ever-running man", as well as the problems in McCone's marriage to Hy Ripinsky. Obviously Muller crafted strong characters and plot.

I'm glad I finished the book. Muller kept me on my toes until the very end. I recommend this book for all people who are looking for a solid mystery series.

Very absorbing read.I constantly wonder where the author can take these characters next and how she can develop them and keep them and her stories fresh but she always manages it.The "Sharon McCone" she created all those years ago in her first book is essentially the same person but with subtle and not-so-subtle differences, just as we all are in real life as time passes.Skillful and spellbinding plotting as usual,highly recommend it.Enjoy.

When veteran detective Sharon McCone married Hy Ripinsky in her last adventure, VANISHING POINT, she knew she was marrying a man with a dark past. Ripinsky is a hostage release specialist with Renshaw & Kessell International, a security firm made up of two other partners who share a connection as cargo pilots from years past in Southeast Asia.

When a series of explosions damage several of RKI's branch offices, the partners at first suspect terrorism and hire Sharon McCone's firm to investigate. The violence grows personal as McCone narrowly escapes a deadly explosion at the San Francisco headquarters where an employee is killed as the bomb goes off in the lobby. Just before this occurred, she spotted a man running down the alley.

During her investigation, other witnesses describe a similar individual running away from the scene before each explosion. McCone turns her crew of computer and industrial espionage experts loose on the case. She decides to investigate the backgrounds of each of RKI's partners as she begins to suspect that the bomber carries a personal grudge against the company. This leads to delving into the past of the newest partner --- her bridegroom --- which threatens their relationship as questions surface about his connection to activities with the cargo firm while in Thailand. Suspicion mounts as the investigation uncovers some unsavory connections to drug and munitions running by the other partners.

As first one partner and then the second disappear, McCone is torn between concern for her husband's safety and suspicion of his activities. As she closes in on the bomber, both her marriage and her life are in jeopardy.

Marcia Muller has created a colorful cast of characters that weaves through each of her novels in an enduring family saga. Fans will remember McCone's shaky beginnings in San Francisco in the 1970s when she started the All-Souls Detective Agency with characters as hip and altruistic as the times. Her business and her lifestyle have changed since then, but she wears well with her readers. She has developed strong survival skills and pilots her plane, stakes out her suspects and takes them down like the pro she has become.

THE EVER-RUNNING MAN is as taut and finely honed a mystery as any of the preceding 24 Sharon McCone novels.

--- Reviewed by Roz Shea

I've been a Marcia Muller/ Sharon McCone fan since i read Wolf in the Shadowsin the late 90's, since i've read all the McCone books several times. This new book i couldn't put down, the clues kept me intrigued until the last page, Excellent! I can't wait until the next book comes out!

I've now got the previous 24 Sharon McCone novels the read. I will enjoy both looking for them and reading them. How I missed this author is a mystery, but THE EVER-RUNNING MAN has developed a new fan for the series.
Sharon is hired by her husband to discover the identity of a man seen running away from terrosts type bombings of the facilities of his company. During the investigation one of Hy's partners disappears and the other is murder.
This is a fast moving mystery/thriller with all the twists and turns of California's Highway 1. If like us you are new to this series you won't find a better read.
Writing as a Small BusinessSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelNatchez Above The River: A Family's Survival In The Civil WarUnder the Liberty OakGuns Across the Rio: A Texas Ranger in Old Mexico

The thing I like about Laura Lippman is that she does her research. The way she describes San Antonio is wonderfully accurate, down to the names of streets, places and historical facts. Coupled with her gift to tell a really great story with out giving "too much information".

It's a great summer book and reads nice and smooth. I've no doubt you'll enjoy it as much as I did, particularly if you're already a Tess Monaghan fan.

After listening to NPR's Crime in the City Series I decided to check out a Tess Monaghan story, written by Laura Lippman. I picked In Big Trouble arbitrarily, not realizing that this is one story that does not take place in Balitmore, even though the Monaghan series is usually set in "Charm City". It didn't matter though, San Antonio was a great location and the same type of attention that Lippman probably gives to Baltimore in her other books was lavished on Texas with great affect. The mystery itself was good, especially the way a 20-year-old unsolved murder case was woven into the plot. I almost felt the murders were true, so well was the plot line developed.

Tess was also a great protagonist; honestly I wasn't sure how a woman my age could possibly fit my vision of a hard-boiled detective, but Lippman successfully did just that, giving Tess just the right amount of humility, warmth, longing, and cynicism.

The only criticism I have of this book is that in the end the story's conclusion was a little too neatly wrapped up, with seemingly incidental characters playing major roles. I felt that either they should have been developed more so that the reader could have a chance to factor them into the mystery or that the final answers should have involved some unknown players; everyone just seemed to fit too well into the storyline.

In this continuation of the Tess Monaghan series, Ms. Lippman removes Tess from her usual milieu and places her in San Antonio, Texas, about as far, culturally-speaking, from Baltimore as can be.

I live in San Antonio, so I can vouch for the accuracy with which Ms. Lippman describes the Alamo City, and she does a good job of incorporating real restaurants and hangouts throughout the novel. She even got me thinking about a couple of things, including the way that the Broadway area is laid out. Kudos to her for that.

As far as the actual story goes, I enjoyed this one because it brings Tess and Crow back together. Those of you who've read the previous books in this series know that Crow left Tess when she basically told him she wasn't ready to commit to anything long-term with him. He is younger than she is, and he was always the one who gave their relationship and time together a sense of permanence; Tess felt a bit smothered and uncomfortable with that, and she told him that she didn't see their relationship the same way he did. Being the straightforward guy that he is, Crow packed his things up quick-smart and left her within moments of the conversation.

This book picks up with Crow and Tess after they've been apart for a good while, and it brings him back into her life when she gets a newspaper clipping indicating he might be in danger. She puts off doing anything about it, then decides to look into what he might be involved in. This is typical of Tess; she's excellent at either willfully ignoring her own emotions or acknowledging them and refusing to do anything about them. But she heads to San Antonio to look for Crow and see if she can get him out of trouble.

What she finds is a tangled mess of abuse, sex, and lies that almost gets her and Crow killed.

The good parts of this novel:
1) the back and forth between Tess and Crow, who is no longer just a sweet foil that allows us to see how sharp and competent Tess is (she has to fight for him now, something she's never had to do before in this series, and she also isn't as sharp and competent when it comes to understanding and interacting with this young man);
2) the peripheral characters, including the young woman with whom Crow appears to be romantically involved;
3) Ms. Lippman's consistently strong descriptive powers (you'll likely want to visit San Antonio after reading this book); and
4) the abundance of peripheral characters who keep the reader laughing and learning (I particularly want to see more of the young couple that Tess almost breaks up).

Overall, this is a good continuation of the series. Enjoy!

This is a complex plot about relationships. Crow has left Tess and taken his band (Poe White Trash) to Texas. Now his parents contact Tess because he is no longer in contact and they are worried. Tess has also received a message with an indication that he is in trouble. The search should be simple. She has a recent photo and is looking for a performing musician. But the trail is initially cold, and things are complicated by Tess finding an overripe body, someone of interest to the police in connection with a cold case from 20 years earlier. Tess loses her lunch and decides that she will never eat another Moon Pie.

Tess eventually tracks down Crow, playing at local clubs with a new band, but it drawn into the cold case which involves the new woman in Crow's life. There is a complex web of relationships related to the woman's family and dating back to a triple murder 20 years earlier. Tess finds a second overripe body, also a man of interest to the local police. Police use some forensic entomology (maggots can be used to establish a time of death).

There are a few surprises as the novel moves towards a climax. There are questions about a past kidnapping, and questions about who was responsible for the various murders. And there are questions about motives including sex, money, and revenge.

As the novel ends, Tess is in a tenuous renewal of her relationship with Crow, her aunt Kitty has become involved with Tyner, a wealthy man is charged with murder but has a high powered attorney and social connections, a young woman is charged but her attorney is claiming insanity, and Esskay has been spoiled with pork rinds and pizza. Tess does finish reading Don Quixote.

The plot is somewhat slow reading with lots of background color. There are language, some sex (actual or by reference), and some violence. At best, I would give it a PG-13 rating. Some scenes are not for the squeamish.

It's a shame to see some of the kvetching about Tess leaving her beloved Baltimore for other climes. Lippman wisely chose as a place she once worked as a newspaper reporter -- Texas. Having worked on a daily in Texas myself (and as a big fan of the city of San Antonio), I can tell you that Laura's depiction of this wonderfully quirky city and its inhabitants is dang near perfect. As with other Monaghan stories, it's as much about Tess as it is about the mystery to be solved ... and there few more interesting main characters in the genre today. Well done, Laura!

There is no such thing as a bad Ross MacDonald novel, but while this is good, it isn't typical of his best work. MacDonald's Lew Archer novels are correctly judged to be the great successor works to the great stories and novels of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. Together the three writers constitute the Great Triumvirate of the American hardboiled school. While MacDonald doesn't write prose quite as brilliant or memorable as his two predecessors, he created characters of greater depth and complexity. He also wrote a larger quantity of great novels than either Hammett or Chandler.

Despite all this, THE DROWNING POOL does not stand out very far from what Hammett and Chandler had achieved and it did not really put on display MacDonald's later innovations. If there is a theme running through MacDonald's best books like THE CHILL or THE INSTANT ENEMY or THE MOVING TARGET is it this: "The sins of the fathers will be visited unto the second and third generations." In almost all of his mature novels Lew Archer starts off investigating some incident in the present that ends up having roots 20 or 30 or 40 years earlier. His novels always puts me in mind of Yeats's "Leda and the Swan," where the rape of Leda by Zeus in the form of a swan inevitably leads to the tragedy of the Trojan war: "A shudder in the loins engenders there/The broken wall, the burning roof and tower/And Agamemnon dead." There is an intricate causality in the Archer novels. Things happen not because of anything happening right here and now, but in almost foreordained fashion because of actions in a previous generation. THE DROWNING POOL has a smidgen of this, but not much. The causality developed here is the later view of causality in embryonic form.

The amazing thing is that even though this is not quite as breathtaking as later MacDonald novels, it is still absolutely first rate. Ironically, this is one of his best-known novels, even if it isn't one of his very best. The reason is easy to identify: it was made into a movie starring Paul Newman. In fact, though MacDonald is clearly one of the Big Three hardboiled writers, unlike Hammett and Chandler -- both of whose novels have been turned into several great films -- MacDonald's books simply do not lend themselves to conversion to movies. Paul Newman did play Lew Archer as Harper in two movies, but they were not of the same quality as the best films based on Hammett and Chandler books. HARPER was a film version of THE MOVING TARGET, so both the title and the main character underwent a name change. Unbelievably, MacDonald's best book -- and one of the two or three greatest hardboiled novels ever written -- THE CHILL has never been made into a movie. The film that is closest to the world of Lew Archer has no connection to any novel by MacDonald, Roman Polanski's CHINATOWN, which is much closer to MacDonald in spirit than to either Hammett or Chandler.

Still, this is must read MacDonald. His books would get better, but that isn't to say that this isn't a good, even a great, novel.

Of all the classic heroes in hard-boiled fiction (Spade, Marlowe, etc.) I've always found Lew Archer to be my favorite. Maybe it's because MacDonald does such a superlative job illustrating Archer's flaws, doubts and shortcomings. Rather than some iron-jawed superhero, he's a compellingly complex person whose battered conscience ultimately makes him more heroic. Many readers consider The Drowning Pool to be the best Archer book and it's hard to argue that contention. If pressed, I might rank The Way Some People Die just a little bit higher, but both books are so good it's stupid to quibble. I haven't read The Barbarous Coast yet, but look forward to diving in soon.. and afterward I might have to revise my opinion regarding Archer's best case once again.

A different Lew Archer here than THE BLUE HAMMER Lew Archer. The tone is in TDP is more gritty and hardboiled. Lew is less the romantic toward the ladies he meets. I like Macdonalds' writing in TDP. A less polished and more direct style has its appeal. There's less psychological development of the characters, more emphasis on plot.

I hesitate to call this a classic because some people consider "classics" as dull and out-dated. And there's nothing dull or out-dated here (well, maybe that paying $10 to be driven from Las Vegas to L. A. is a bit out of date).

Archer's hired to discover who sent his client's husband a letter accusing her of infidelity. Introduced to the family and friends at a party as a Hollywood agent, he is sensitive to the growing tension and explosive atmosphere. The reader knows of course that somebody's going to be murdered, but these early chapters are among the most skillfully written to build suspense that I've ever read.

Written in 1950, the inclusion of a homosexual couple was quite daring although there is not graphic description, and isn't significant enough a factor of the plot to either offend or attract a reader.

Read this and I'm sure you'll find it on your own list of crime classics.

In this skillfully written tale of murder and intrigue, Ross MacDonald manages to "out Chandler" Raymond Chandler. It's Southern California, circa 1950, and hardboiled detective Lew Archer finds himself traversing the same landscapes Chandler's Philip Marlowe does in The Big Sleep, High Window and The Long Goodbye.
The plot of The Drowning Pool is complex enough to be interesting without being convoluted or forced. Greed, blackmail, homosexuality and family dysfunction all play roles in advancing the nicely paced narrative. Thrown in for good measure are seductive women, a number of action scenes and a Lolita like teenager named Cathy.
MacDonald's very descriptive prose is quite effective. And there's plenty of memorable dialogue. My personal favorite: "Your reminiscences fascinate me. May I take notes?"
You'd be hard pressed to find a more satisfying example of noir crime writing. An enthusiastic 5 stars.

I read JDM for his musings, his rants and his take and insight. The stories are secondary. I have learned a lot about criminals, more than I wanted to know which makes you wonder how he researched his books. The reason I sought out JDM books was from seeing him referenced in other books one of which is Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews. She "gets" MacDonald and I love the romance of remembering him so fondly.

Love all the references to the pre-Disney Florida in his earlier books.

OH yeah, I liked this book, too. Travis is more in touch with his frailty and the changes that losing your invincibility brings. If you love JDM Travis McGee series you will love this one just as much.

Dragging my feet to finish this one `cause I know it is the last. I have come to know Travis McGee well, as all of us have who've read the novels. He and Meyer confide in me. I give him advice which he rarely follows. But that's OK because it seems he always comes out OK.
I have read J.D. MacDonald's Travis McGee books- all of them beginning with "The Deep Blue Good-By" over the past year and am now at the end of the line- "The Lonely Silver Rain." A truly good author sucks you in, makes you feel as though you know the characters and would like to have a Boodles on ice with them (or Plymouth in the earlier books). It's been 21 books in all and I don't know if Travis dies in this one yet (would be truly great writing if he did) but either way he will die for me and for all of us or just fade into the sunset after this final book. John D. died himself barely two years after publishing this one. Who knows if he knew the end was near?
But others have carried on. I only began reading MacDonald because an author I had been introduced to earlier, Randy Wayne White, had been referred to in reviews as "the rightful heir to John D. MacDonald." Having read all the Doc Ford books prior to embarking on Travis McGee's adventures, I can see that Randy borrowed much from Mr. MacDonald. I think he would have been honored rather than perturbed.
I could make you an ordered list of the Travis McGee books, but all you need do is buy the first, "The Deep Blue Good-By" (yes, I always thought it was "Good-Bye" too) and it has the list in the front cover for you. The only one I had difficulty getting was "The Empty Copper Sea." I speculate that this is because that book was made into a TV movie and the producers probably still own the rights. You can get it used on Amazon, or I will sell you my first edition for a nice price- nice for me, that is. But I'll only accept half of the value if I recover your lost copy for you (if you haven't read at least the first book you probably don't know what I'm talking about).
In honor of the Busted Flush, slip F-18 Bahia Mar I sail the Garden of Idun, rack 65, Home Port Marina whenever I can. She is smaller and runs a bit faster than the Flush, but my wife and I enjoy her no less. Cheers to all of you who love the sea and all she brings to our lives!

No one has or will write better in this genre. Almost every novel is a gift, and this one is as good as any.

OK OK, so MacDonald is little retrograde, a little 50's in attitudes, a little slick, even a little puerile. But man he can write. This is his last McGee book I think. A terrific read. If you can overlook the sexism et al

I read and rate 8 to 10 books in this genre each month. I rate each book based on a 0-5 point scale. This book rated as follows: Characters: 3.5. Realism: 4. Description: 4. Ah Ha: 3.5. The Read: 4.01 Overall, the book ranked 33 out of 366 books

There will never be another John D. MacDonald. This is the last of the Travis McGee series, an exciting and dynamic read. McGee finds himself pitted against the usual evils, but also finds out an important fact from his past. Great read!