A modern-day, hard-boiled Raymond Chandler disciple with a knack for writing excellent mystery-thrillers with characters who strive to be better than what they are, Crais is among the small collection of authors who’s books I would rather run out and buy than be on the hold list at my local library. I’ve recently been revisiting some of my own personal favorite books since we at Bookpusher HQ are on pins and needles waiting for a certain kiddo to get here. (No sign yet of progress, and my wife is about three days away from borrowing the Jaws of Life from the local fire station to make his thing happen.)Most of Crais‘ novels are told from the point of view of private detective Elvis Cole, self-proclaimed World’s Greatest Detective, an ex-Army Ranger who likes to collect Walt Disney paraphernalia. When the series starts he’s an Olympic-level wisecraker, but in later books Crais has shifted the focus from making us laugh to finding out what exactly about Cole the wisecracks are hiding. In L.A. Requiem, Cole shares the story with his silent partner, ex-cop and violent force of nature Joe Pike. He’s usually the vengeful muscle but in this novel comes out of the shadows here to participate in the story.
Pike is hired to track down his ex-girlfriend, who is later found murdered. In charge of the police investigation is an old nemesis from Pike’s days at the LAPD who has an entire roomful of axes to grind and wants to make Pike for the murder, along with a string of similar killings. Pike and Cole are employed by the ex-girlfriend’s father to keep an eye on the investigation. Cole is struggling with a sea change in his own life – his own girlfriend with a son in tow has moved to L.A. to be close to him, and Cole’s involvement in his friend’s case is putting him in the middle of a conflict. Cole struggles keeping all the balls in the air while trying to track down the real murderer.
Crais is an author I love to use for Reader’s Advisory – he’s a former television writer for shows like Hill Street Blues, among others, and always has an excellent sense of pace, action, and character. His novels fit neatly among those by Michael Connelly and Lee Child – all of these are likely in the “C” section of your library’s mystery section, which is probably why I always associate them together.
Also, a criminally-underrated Bruce Willis film, Hostage, that came out a few years ago was adapted from a stand-alone Crais novel, which is well-worth reading and an excellent jumping-on point for new readers.
Last night about 12:30am my wife and I went to the hospital thinking that perhaps This Was It, but we found that it was just some intense Braxton Hicks contractions. They poked and prodded for a little bit to see if the kiddo wanted to do anything more than throw a miniature hissy fit, and then we went home. It was good for me, though, as I’m the kind of person who wants to see how things are going to happen before I do something, and a dry run to the hospital puts me at ease when it comes to the real thing.
The due date’s in early December, however the missus and I have a sneaking suspicion that this could be a Thanksgiving baby. If anyone out there is interested, we can set up a pool and you can bet on which day the kiddo will make his debut.
I originally didn’t want to turn Bookpusher into a dadblog, writing about midnight runs to the hospital, 3am feedings, and the physics and techniques of diaper changing, but I think I may have to do that for a bit. I’ll be able to sneak in some book reviews as the kiddo allows it, however the books I’ll be able to read will probably be more along the lines of quick reads like the Hard Case Crime pulp thrillers and graphic novels. I just got hold of a few books I’ve been looking forward to, but I don’t think I’ll have time for them; stuff like this will be more appropriate, I think. Feel free to post your fast reads in the comments, so I can have some suggestions at the ready.
Anyway, thanks for the well-wishes and for sticking around. This should be fun.
I’ve mentioned in this space an inability to find a good fantasy/sci-fi novel of late. The closest I came was Richard Morgan, who does wonderfully grimy cyberpunk in the “Neuromancer” mold, but nothing that satisfies a hankering for some good old-school sword-n-sorcery. That itch is now nicely scratched by Karen Miller, a new Australian author I noticed when I passed by her book on the shelf. I’m not ashamed to admit that I was attracted by the striking cover – we here at Bookpusher Headquarters are not above good marketing techniques. (I also cheerfully welcome bribes, gifts, and kickbacks, so publishers, please take note.)
The interesting thing about this book – and the sequel, of which there’s only one, so no nine-volume series that you’ll have to wait until you get your AARP card to finish – is that it doesn’t really follow the traditional tropes of your basic fantasy novel. You’ve read the type before: young guy/girl comes from backwoods town, gets caught up in world-changing forces beyond their control, insert an apocalyptic prophecy somewhere in chapter nine, hero learns swordcraft/magic/macrame/whatever, finds themselves plunged in the middle of a war against a bad guy with the fate of the world at stake, they find love, hero wins, and world saved, or at least until the next book comes out.
Well, all that is here, but Miller finds a fresh and interesting take on the standard fantasy tale. Instead of showing off her world and her magic system, shoving it in our faces in a look-at-me way, she focuses on the characters, slowly building traits and relationships between them until you genuinely care about these people. Magic exists here and is central to the plot, but it doesn’t even become a big deal until well into the novel. The book is so well-written and the characters so well-defined, you don’t even notice that there’s no dragons or orcs or enchanted weaponry anywhere in the thing. And no elves! When’s the last fantasy novel you read that didn’t have a freaking elf in it?
So seek this one out, if you’re in the mood for it. Good writing, an original fantasy world, and characters you want to have lunch with.
And no elves.
Go out and play; it’s a nice day outside.
Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, 2007 Edition. Just in case you’re looking for something to read. PW’s usually pretty solid – last year they picked George Pelecanos’ brilliant and wonderful “Night Gardener” to be on the list, which means they get a lifetime pass from me.
Thriller author Barry Eisler posts some thoughts over on Buzz, Balls, & Hype on the future of the book publishing model. Fascinating stuff from an industry insider – and his books are pretty damn good, as well. Parts one, two, and three.
Oh, and if you’re into sportsblogging at all, Kissing Suzy Kolber has been on fire recently, with its attacks on the tastefully named Gregg Easterbrook and the ever-increasing bounty on Tom Brady’s knee. Consistently funny and gleefully vulgar.
My recent book selections have been a bit on the heavy side, so I was looking for something lighter, something more along the lines of a guilty pleasure. I went over to Naomi Novik’s website to see if her new book has hit the library yet (it hasn’t), noted that her husband, Charles Ardai, is an award-winning author who writes under the pen name of Richard Aleas. I figured what the hell and tracked down his first novel, Little Girl Lost. It turns out that not only does the guy write novels, he writes pulp novels. He is one of the founders of the Hard Case Crime line of books, which are small paperbacks, throwbacks to the golden age of pulp noir, with luridly painted covers, most of them featuring a beautiful woman holding a gun. The books are well-crafted perennial award-winners, full of tales of betrayed lovers, cheating husbands, crooked cops, steel-eyed molls, and detectives who can’t let that one case go.
Hell yeah.
The story introduces us to John Stark, a young investigator still learning the ropes but who knows just enough to be dangerous. He reads in the paper that his high-school sweetheart, Miranda, who he thought was in med school, was found murdered on the top of a seedy New York stripclub. Stark tries to track down her murderer, and almost as importantly, discover how she went from the bright and smart girl next door to sensual grifter slumming for cash. It all ends badly, but of course, it has to: it’s the classic tale of someone losing their innocence while discovering how someone else lost theirs. Along with Stark and his journey through the New York underworld, Aleas creates interesting characters like Stark’s boss, Leo, an ex-cop who instinctively knows how the story is going to end, and Susan, a stripper Stark enlists to help him with his quest who turns out to have formidable investigative skills of her own.
“Little Girl Lost” is an excellent noir tale, short enough to devour in a day or two but well-written and packing a surprisingly large emotional punch.
