Book Review: Eyes of the Innocent by Brad Parks

Eyes of the Innocent by Brad Parks

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Brad Parks delivers a character as funny as Stephanie Plum. Carter Ross, investigative reporter at the Newark Eagle-Examiner, shows up at a house fire where two boys died. At first he thinks this is a tragedy, two kids home alone, single mother working to put food on the table. He meets the boys' mother who should be a professional storyteller for all the lies she tells.

When Ross is assigned a perky, blond intern nicknamed Sweet Thang, he hands her a research project to check out the truth of the woman's story. It unravels just before the paper is to go to press with the heart-tugging story. Ross tries to stop it, because Sweet Thang has uncovered some of the woman's lies.

The complete story becomes so delicious that Ross can't stop investigating. Add the disappearance of a city councilman, rumors of corruption in house flipping and downright hilarious political corruption, and you have a book that will keep you turning pages until the last one. And then you'll want more.

To be transparent, I know Brad Parks. I know he's funny, profane, zany -- just like his main character. So, is Carter Ross really a thinly disguised Brad Parks? You'll have to ask him. My money is on "yes."

Book Review: Mercedes Wore Black by Andrea Brunais

Mercedes Wore Black by Andrea Brunais

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Andrea Brunais has jumped into the realm of Florida-based mysteries with a well-written, finely-plotted addition to the subgenre. Along with Randy Wayne White, Carl Hiaasen and John MacDonald, Brunais has her own cast of quirky Florida characters, environmental issues and a mystery what leaves the reader wondering what is going to happen until the very end.

Janis Pearl Hawk, newly fired from her job on a central Florida newspaper, needs work. When a friend offers her a chance to write a blog covering everything from local politics to corruption to environmental issues, she leaps on the opportunity. She meets with her friend, Mercedes of the title, who tells her all about the candidate for governor she works for.

Enter the potential hunky maybe love interest in the guise of the gubernatorial candidate. When he offers her a job on his staff, she faces an ethical dilemma: should she give up her new-found freedom to pursue corruption or work for the man who shares much of her worldview.

Tallahassee politicos, sleazy political influencers, a gay best friend and fellow journalist, several committed ecologists who are too afraid of the special interest groups provide a cast of characters that keep the reader turning pages until the grand reveal at the end. One can only hope that this is the first in a series of great Florida mysteries, this time with a female sleuth.

Book Review: Deeper Than the Dead by Tami Hoad

Deeper Than the Dead by Tami Hoag

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Tami Hoag once again crafted a mystery that keeps the reader engaged from the opening when four elementary school children find a dead body in the woods until the last page.

The carefully posed body, half buried, head resting on a stone, with eyes and mouth glued shut, terrifies the children and their teacher. Their safe world in a nearly crime-free town in California is safe no more. The loss of innocence of both the children and the teacher extends into the town itself.

To help the police solve the crime, an FBI investigator who has helped pioneer a new profiling technique volunteers his time. Nearly crippled by the remnants of a bullet in his brain, he is not officially on the job because his doctor hasn't cleared him to work. But he is needed and so he travels from Quantico to California.

Clues pile up as to the identity of the killer, leading to a wild ride filled with red herrings and all the men in the novel falling under suspicion of being the killer.

Hoag offers a blend of a serial killer with a twist, a host of possible suspects, a teacher desperately trying to preserve her students' innocence and an FBI agent who needs to feel vital again. The blend works on all levels.

I listened to this on a long driving trip. I recommend it for long car rides or cuddling up on a dark winter night with a cup of cocoa and the lights on.

Writing Process Blog Tour - Betsy Ashton

My incredibly talented writer friend, Maggie King, author of Murder at the Book Group, and contributor to Virginia Is for Mysteries, tossed me the baton for the Writing Process Blog Tour. Does that mean I can sit back and think cute thoughts? No, it means I have to answer four very ordinary questions.

1. What am I working on? 
Heck, how does any writer answer that question? I always have at least three works in process. Right now, my second edition in the Mad Max series is with my agent for final edits before it goes to my publisher. This one has a working title of Uncharted Territory. It's locked for now, so I turned to two other projects. I'm workshopping my serial killer psychological crime story with a few trusted beta readers, while doing a ton of research on viruses and plagues for the third Mad Max entry. Plus I charted out two novellas in the mystery/crime genre.

2. Why do I write what I write? 
I write because I breathe. It's as simple as that. I love to write about strong women who aren't cute and in their twenties. Max is in her fifties, still sexy, still rich, still interesting. The killer is younger and deeply troubled about her calling in life, which is to kill people who she feels need killing. So, I write what I want to know about, because I certainly don't have first-hand knowledge about killing people. Or do I?

3. How does my work differ from others in the genre? 
I drive my agent nuts, because my mysteries don't start with a crime. No murders, no robberies right away. I start in the main character's head and examine what makes they do what they do. So, I don't spend a lot of time worrying about the narrower rules of a genre. Psychological fiction appeals to me, the darker the better. Even when my main character isn't dark, and Max is anything but dark, I surround her with evil and conflict so that she can grow. Some readers might be disappointed because I'm not "like" <fill in the name of a prominent mystery/crime writer here>. Yup. That's true. Sobeit.

4. What is my writing process? 
I plant my butt on my ball at my desk seven days a week. Yes, I sit on a balance ball instead of in a chair. I often edit hard copy standing at my breakfast bar. I work on something, even if it's bad, every day, usually for 4-5 hours at a stroke. I treat writing as my career, which it is since I retired from earning a paycheck. I rise, shower, dress and put on makeup as if I were going to an office. Discipline keeps me focused on the job at hand, to wit, churning out words, some of which might actually work. Others might be keepers. Still others are terrific except not where they are or in the manuscript where I think they'll be perfect. No bunny slippers, no pajamas. I do take time out to feed my stuffed llama and a thread-bare bear. Otherwise, they'll eat me alive.

I'm passing the baton to Kimberly Dalferes, author of I Was In Love With A Short Man Once, Mary Billiter, author of The XYZ Affair and Susan Union, author of Rode to Death, a mystery set on a horse ranch near San Diego and is the first in the Randi Sterling Mystery Series. 

I'll let each of these ladies tell you about themselves.

I can't wait to see what each of these ladies write about. And thanks to Maggie King for inviting me to hop on this tour.

Author Interview: Paul McNabb, The Jaguar Conspiracy

I have the pleasure of introducing my readers to a debut writer, Paul McNabb, whose The Jaguar Conspiracy, is a ride worth taking. Join me in getting to know Paul.

BA:    I was very excited when one of my friends introduced me to your book. Would you like to introduce yourself to the readers of this blog? Tell us where you live?

PMc: My wife, Cathy, and I originally planned on using a townhouse we purchased in Oxnard, California as a winter getaway from our home in Calgary, Alberta, Canada but when Cathy learned to surf we sold the place in Canada and decided to try California full time. I had visited the Ventura area quite a bit while I was still working as a sales rep for a data company so this area felt like home. We are 2 miles from the ocean and golf, kayak, hike, or bike almost every day. We are also only about a mile from the Pacific Coast Highway, one of the best in the world for driving. I am from Oklahoma but my wife is a dual citizen, US and Canada. She had never lived outside of Canada until two or three years ago.

BA:    Before we learn about your latest book, can you tell us the last two exciting places you visited? Why did you pick these destinations? 

PMc:  My father loved flying and owned a magnificent Cessna 195 when I was young so I had visited virtually every state in the continental US by high school. During my sales career I worked for an international data company based in Geneva, Switzerland so I did a lot of traveling for 25 years. I’ve made too many trips to Europe to count. I guess I like London the best. We are planning a trip to Italy next year. My wife is the traveler in our family, with trips to Ecuador, Peru & the Galapagos Islands two years ago and a photo safari for a month in Africa last year. It took me a long time to own a place in California and now everything I love is in my own back yard. My favorite trips are either 25 miles north to Cars & Coffee in Santa Barbara or 25 miles south for a hot chocolate and bagel in Malibu, both driving leisurely along the PCH in Lucille.

BA:     I know The Jaguar Conspiracy is your first published novel and the first of a series. Can you tell us how you came up with the idea of using a classic car as a character? 

PMc:  I own and drive a classic Jag. I wanted to attempt to give readers the experience of riding in the car. The side kick part just kind of developed. I wanted to do something completely original. Lucille will actually help solve the crimes in books 2 & 3 in an innovative way.
 BA:     The end note says you own a classic Jag named Lucille? For those of us who are classic car buffs like me, what year is Lucille? And did you restore her yourself? 

PMc: Lucille is a 1961 Jaguar XK150 Drop Head Coupe. I found her in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada while I was still working in Calgary. The body had been repaired and painted about 1990. Every else needed attention and a local shop named Mulsanne Motorcars did most of the work. Now that I live in Oxnard, a friend, who also owns a Jaguar XK150, does most of the maintenance. Whenever he checks something on his car I pull up Lucille beside and he checks the same thing on my car. The old Jags are actually quite reliable if regular service is performed and they are driven regularly.
 BA:     What is the second book in the series? How long will we have to wait for it? How far along are you in writing it? 

PMc: The second book of the series is tentatively titled Hope Against Hope and takes up right at the end of book 1. I’m on my twelfth draft but need a couple more to get it ready for Mitchell Morris. I think the publisher will start on it early in 2013 but we haven’t pinned down a release date yet. My books take a little longer because I was not formally trained in writing, making the editing more difficult.
 BA:     Can you tell us a little about how you became a writer? 

PMc: I worked for the same company for almost 25 years. The last 5 were difficult, hanging on until taking an early retirement. I had a lot of freedom in my job because I was in sales and the scorecard was simply meeting a quota. The west coast was an additional sales territory, even though I was based in Calgary, so I scheduled my business trips in conjunction with car and motorbike shows, etc. My pictures got emailed around and finally E-type Magazine asked to use a shot. I said yes and they asked for an explanation. The picture was of an elegant silver haired gentleman sitting beside his Jaguar XK140 calmly eating a sandwich. I asked him how long he’d owned the car and how he found it. He was driving his 1976 XJS Jaguar and stopped in Santa Barbara for lunch. When he came out an owner had parked his XK140 beside was having a close look at his XJ. He said he was looking for one. They ended up pulling out their pink slips, signing each car over and driving home in a new car. It’s actually exactly the same way the character in the book got into writing. 

I was working in Calgary and had gone to a client for the signing of a 6-year, multi-million dollar contract for our services with a nice commission check as a result. When I returned to the office Philip Porter had emailed and asked me to start writing a monthly column about cars, events and owners in North America. I was so much more excited about the writing than the sales, I knew then I really wanted to be a writer. I now write three monthly columns each month in classic Jaguar magazines. The writing keeps me very busy but the owners and locales are rich sources of characters and plots for new books.
 BA:     You can help your fellow writers by talking a little about how you are promoting this book? Do you have help from your publisher, or are you on your own for the most part? 

PMc: Again, I worked in front line sales for 25 years. I learned a lot along the way so I’m definitely taking the lead in promoting my book. The fact my book is woven around classic cars is a huge advantage in finding a market. 

Here is one example of what I’m doing. The Jaguar Clubs of North America have 66 chapters, each with its own web site. During one game of the World Series I visited each web site, copied 3-5 email addresses of officers such as membership chairman, president, or editor of the club gazette and then pasted them into a word document. The day my book was published, and I mean when I saw it was on Amazon and available from the publisher’s web site, I pasted the word document with all the email address into the BCC and sent an email message about my book. It took about one minute and had the potential to reach about 6,000 members who would be prime targets for my book. 

I stressed in my note that Christmas was coming and what a great gift idea this book would be. Almost every chapter put a note in their local newsletter this month. I do something like this EVERY DAY! Some writers write 8 hours a day. I write a couple at the most and market 2-4 hours a day. Thousands of car clubs exist so my targets are endless. Car guys may not be my end market, the book readers, but their wives are and it is an excellent head start. If my book doesn’t sell, there won’t be a book 2, book 3, etc. 

Finally a rule from a professional sales person: Many people confuse marketing and sales activity. Marketing might feel good but sales activity should result in someone buying a book. Don’t confuse the two. Impressing other writers might feel very good but writers make up a tiny, tiny percentage of the book buyers in the market. Think about people who might buy your book and target them.
 BA:      What are the last three books you read and why did you choose them? 

PMc:  I have little time to read these days. I feel it is more important to work on developing my own style. I do plan to pick up the new Michael Connelly book, the Harry Bosch book, when it comes out soon but that’s about it. I love murder mysteries. Reading the James Bond books when I was a teenager taught me to love reading. I loved the exotic locales and the recurring series theme of following a character through adventures. When I discovered Raymond Chandler I wanted to write. When I look for inspiration I tend to reread his books rather than read something new. The vocabulary he used in describing characters and locales is unparalleled. I love film noir and murder mysteries in LA noir.
 BA:     What haven’t I covered that you’d like to add? 

PMc: My dream was to create a detective who would travel from case to case, exactly the way Philip Marlowe did in the Raymond Chandler novels. Book 2 is in the final stages. I’ve roughed in much of book 3 and I have the most fantastic idea for book 4, something that could really knock it out of the park. If I can write and publish these four installments I think I will have really accomplished something.

Thank you, Paul, for sitting down for this interview. I know my readers will enjoy your candor and advice on selling your book. As you say, Christmas is coming. If I may, add this to your shopping list. Anyone loving old cars and fresh mysteries is in for a treat. I'm selfish. I want to read book two.

Book Review: The Jaguar Conspiracy by Paul McNabb

Several of my friends take delight in finding books by small presses that may fly under the radar. Paul McNabb's The Jaguar Conspiracy, is one such treasure. First of all, this jaguar is the car, not the cat. So, if you don't love classic cars, you'll miss part of the pleasure of this particular work.

Former police officer Michael McAllister receives an invitation to bring his classic Jag to California from Oklahoma to participate in a reunion of cars once owned by a celebrity race car driver. McAllister accepts the invitation and drives, rather than ships, his car across country. The story begins when he arrives at a mansion in the Marina District of San Francisco. McAllister is swept into a world of wealth and intrigue, attempted murder, drug running and car rustling.

When McAllister saves the life of Tanya, the wealthy woman whose uncle is the sponsor of the illustrious car show at Pebble Beach, his police officer instincts kick in. In short order, he agrees to assist the local police in an informal capacity, posing as a writer for a car magazine. He's able to interview a series of suspects, ruling out those who have alibis for the attack on Tanya.

The San Francisco Police Department welcome his assistance, because on top of Tanya's attempted murder, a slasher is murdering young women in particularly brutal ways. McNabb takes the twin story arcs and intertwines them to bring about an unexpected conclusion.

The first of a series, readers who enjoy little gems of mystery, intrigue and no small amount of gore will be waiting anxiously for the next in the series.

If you know the iconic drives in California, you'll want to motor down PCH, into Malibu, through Big Sur and into the Bay Area with McAllister. McNabb lives in California and captures its uniqueness in the pages of the book.

Oh, the "star" of the book, Lucille, is the best car character since Stephen King's Christine.

Book Review: First Time Killer, by Alan Orloff

First Time Killer by Alan Orloff, writing as Zak Allen, takes a radio talk show host down a path to murder. A dark book, the story is set in a radio station and the characters on air and behind the scenes. When someone begins killing people who work at a station that is trying to land a huge satellite deal, people think this is all about ratings. With a nod at the great Network, First Time Killer stands alone with a sadistic killer who calls into the station to get on the air and tell his story.

The killer targets one of the talk show hosts as his mouthpiece, refusing to talk to any other on-air personality. As the murders mount up, everyone at the station lives in fear. When it becomes clear one of their own or one of their standard listeners is the killer, the book plunges the reader into a morass of suspicion and tension.

When the killer calls the show at the start of the book, he identifies himself as a long time listener, but a first time killer. That sets the stage for this noir mystery. This is a re-release in Kindle format. Well worth the time to follow the unraveling of a mystery.

Russian Roulette by Austin Camacho

I have been very careful about reviewing self-published works. For a long time, I believed self-publishing was one step above vanity publishing. I now know better.

Why? Because I've been making an effort to read more self-published books and have found many to be as good as debut novels published by traditional publishers.

Recently, I read Russian Roulette by Austin Camacho. I picked up the book at a writers conference, flipped over to read the back blurbs and saw"Hannibal's Back." Back? I didn't know there was a Hannibal Jones, a private investigator in the D.C. area who gets involved in crimes. What else? This is billed as a thriller.

Camacho weaves a good tale, well written, with solid characters and a killer that, while not impossible to identify early, has enough duplicity to trick the casual reader.

The plot is straightforward. Hannibal Jones is "hired" by a Russian thug to help him get the woman he loves back. The thug threatens Hannibal's own girlfriend to put leverage on the investigator. Russian mobsters, multiple identities, changing loyalties, male dupes, strong female characters and building tension lead to a confrontation on Roosevelt Island. I'll leave most of the plot for the next reader to enjoy, so don't expect me to tell you how the book ends. It ends with a bang. Enough said.

Camacho turns many of his phrases in such a way that you want to stop and enjoy the images. "Hannibal wondered what the job description looked like for the position of thug. Did they have a union, have to update their resumes, hassle about their benefits?" Interesting thought, a thug union.

Like many self-published works, Russian Roulette could have benefited from tighter writing, but not by much. A strong editor would have removed extraneous words and made the story flow even faster.

Regardless of how this was published, it's a damned good read.

Shout Out to Sally Roseveare

My fellow Lake Writer, Sally Roseveare, is publishing her second Smith Mountain Lake Mystery next week!!! I was at her house two weeks ago when the last proof copy came in. Imagine two mature (all right, immature) women fairly dancing around her living room.

The book, SECRETS AT SWEETWATER COVE, is fantastic. It includes the same characters as her first book, SECRETS AT SPAWNING RUN. For those of us who live at Smith Mountain Lake, it's like a tour of local places with a whole lot of mystery and danger thrown in. Aurora Harris, the protagonist of the first book, once again has to solve a mystery and save innocent people. But she doesn't do it alone. She has King, her resourceful black Lab, and Little Guy, a neighbor's intrepid Jack Russell terrier, to help.

If you are looking for something wonderful to read on the dock this summer, I strongly recommend both. I was honored to read the advanced copy and will definitely be at Sally's first public reading.

Again, shameless promotion. Buy the book. You'll get hooked on the characters.