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theirresponsiblereader's Reviews (607)
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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"Kim, any ideas?” he asked.
He didn’t need to tell her what for— her stations repeated everything he saw and kept her apprised of the situation.
“Other than we run? Nothing, sir. I know that’s not what you were hoping to hear.”
“I can’t expect you to solve the impossible every day. Maybe just on Tuesdays,” he said with false cheer.
What’s With Grimm Resolve About?
Grimm’s back from command school and the USS Interceptor is back on patrol. His crew has become the well-oiled machine he knew they could be. There’s been a little shuffling of the crew between books, but by and large, those secondary characters you enjoyed before are back and ready for more.
I really don’t know what else to say shy of recapping the whole novel—the crew looks into a distress call on a fairly remote station, and finds both action and a mystery. Chasing breadcrumbs leads them to a couple of discoveries that blow their minds (and don’t do wonders for the structural integrity of the ship, come to think of it). Coupled with what they uncovered/witnessed in the first volume, Grimm and his crew know that things for their Navy and the Alliance will never be the same.
Its Place in the Series
Initially, I saw this advertised as a trilogy (and it still looks like one on the publisher’s website, as of the time I write this)—and there’s at least one reference in the book to a trilogy.
However, Amazon tells me there’s a fourth book coming in September. I’m refusing to read anything about it, so I don’t inadvertently learn anything about the third volume, One Decisive Victory. But I can’t stop speculating—was there just too much to wrap up in One Decisive Victory, so Haskell had to split it? (I can 100% believe that given the events of this book) Did he finish the trilogy and decide he was having too much fun/success to leave it there and came up with something new? (Another theory I could absolutely believe).
Regardless, With Grimm Resolve functions as a middle novel of a trilogy—it’s darker, the stakes are higher, and it certainly appears that Grimm, the Interceptor, her crew, and potentially the entire Alliance are in dire straits—straits so dire I should probably capitalize them. At the same time, we get a complete story here—Haskell only leaves the minimum unresolved. There’s clearly more to come, but we get a resolution on most of the important events here. One Decisive Victory will be about the repercussions of this novel.
So, what did I think about With Grimm Resolve?
Against All Odds started slowly, establishing the status quo for the Navy, the political realities in the Alliance, and the state of relations with other governments—in addition to everything about Grimm and the Interceptor. Once that’s established, he takes the brakes off and it becomes a thrill ride. As we start this novel by focusing on a different group and their activities threatening the Alliance, I assumed we’d get something similar.
And we sort of do—but it’s quicker, Haskell doesn’t have much to do in order to orient his readers, and the action hits before we’re a quarter of the way in—and it really doesn’t let up. Yes, there are moments of rest for the reader and characters, it’s not all danger and combat for the last three-quarters. But the plot doesn’t stop and no one gets out of the woods until the end. There’s a tension throughout that doesn’t let up.
Along those lines, I should mention a nice trick by Haskell. The series is called Grimm’s War, and whether it goes on for one or two (or more) books, you know Grimm makes it through Book 2, or the series would be called something else. Yet, there’s more than once where you can see Grimm being killed and you can’t help but wonder if Haskell has fooled you into thinking he’s safe. I love that he was able to do that.
With Grimm Resolve ended in a way that made me consider tossing off my schedule and jumping on to the next one right away. I’m thoroughly enjoying this series and can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t. Give this series a try!
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
[Det. Rossi] heard [Andi] sigh over the phone. He hated when she sighed. It was one of the few childish affectations she had, but he also knew that meant she was either frustrated, disappointed, or, worse, thinking something through.
Or even worse, he corrected himself, all three combined.
He suspected this was an “even worse” scenario.
What’s The Self-Made Widow About?
Andrea Stern’s social circle is shaken up when the husband of one of her friends dies suddenly. Many knew of his heart condition, so it wasn’t a total surprise, but it still wasn’t expected. Everyone rallies to support his wife and sons through this trying time.
During the funeral, however, Andi’s Spider-Sense starts tingling, and she starts to put some things that she’s noticed together—leading her to a daunting conclusion. Meanwhile, Kenny Lee, her collaborator in the exposure of the conspiracy and murder last year, gets an anonymous phone call saying that his death wasn’t due to natural causes, but that he was murdered by his wife.
Finding themselves interested in the same case again, they divvy up the avenues of investigating and get to work.
Kenny Lee
He was thirty years old and the only meaningful relationship he’d ever had in his life was with the fear of being in a meaningful relationship.
Kenny’s life since their last investigation has changed the most—he’s no longer a disreputable journalist, that case reestablished his reputation, got him some great publicity, and frequent TV exposure. He’s set to release his book about the murders/investigation in a few weeks and the Netflix documentary series will follow soon after that.
He is, for Kenny, back on top of the world—he’s bought a new car, is taking better care of himself, has a better attitude toward life, and maybe has a girlfriend. But it’s not enough—he’s restless, he realizes early in the novel that he needs to be chasing a story. Something makes him take another look at this death and he starts to ask questions.
He ends up using the team he has working with/for him on the documentary to help with the legwork, I really didn’t think that the novel’s cast needed to be bigger—but man, I had a lot of fun with this group. Most of them aren’t investigators, but (like with so many in this series) that’s part of their charm—and maybe the secret to their success.
I can’t help but wonder that the same impulses that led to his earlier professional downfall are being held back by his current wave of success. If that success slows or wanes, will that come back, leading him to a new round of scandal, possibly derailing Andie’s work? Or maybe making him a target for her?
Andrea Stern
Her insecurities kicked in. What was it about her that alienated people? She knew she was arrogant, sarcastic, and judgmental, but was that reason for people to be so wary around her?
Things haven’t been good for Andi and Jeff in the months since she uncovered the murder/had their fifth child. Long-simmering resentments and arguments have heated up. Andi hasn’t gone to work full-time or anything, but she has consulted with the police a little bit, and she’s clearly interested in doing more—if she can figure out how to do it. Jeff is not at all supportive of this, but Andi’s not deterred for a moment.
What does give her some pause is the effect that this particular investigation is having/going to have on her children and her friends. Yes, she’s (mostly) privately been judging the other moms, but they’re her social circle and have been for years. Can these relationships survive the secrets she will have to dig up and expose?
Thankfully, the friend she made last year, Sathwika* is encouraging, and supportive—and jumps into assisting Andi with both feet. Sathwika gets Andi more than anyone else seems to, and Andi may just have to rely on her alone after all this shakes out.
* This post is too long as is, so I won’t talk more about her now, but I need to spend a few paragraphs on Sathwika when I talk about the next novel.
That’s just what’s going on in the background—proving that Derek was killed is going to be hard enough. But then how is she going to prove her friend did it (assuming she is the one)? Is it all worth it? What will she gain and lose here?
Ruth Stern
…she also couldn’t accept someone getting away with murder.
Her first thought was: How does Mom do this?
But Ruth’s next thought, immediately coming after the first one, and bringing both excitement and trepidation in its wake, was: How do I do it better?
Like Anci in the Slim in Little Egypt books and Auri Vicram, one thing that almost always works for me is a daughter of a mystery protagonist taking it upon themselves to jump into mystery-solving (or being recruited to help). There’s a mixture of eagerness, naiveté, inventiveness, and immaturity that adds a freshness to a type of novel that can seem familiar before you even read it.
Ruth helped out her mom a little bit in the previous book, but she’s called upon to do more now. One of Molly’s sons is in her grade and they’re friendly with each other. Ruth uses this to get a better picture of life in the Goode household—both before and after Derek’s death.
It’s not the easiest thing for her to do—it feels like she’s betraying her friend. She knows the toll it takes on her mother’s relationships, and can understand that. But she continues to emulate her mother, driven by similar impulses. Ruth is one of the aspects of this series that works best, and I hope Nicieza continues to bring her in.
Molly Goode
Ohhh, Molly is possibly my favorite antagonist of the year. She’s the kind of woman that Bernadette Fox would feud with in the neighborhood or school. You can see her bullying mothers in a PTA meeting for not bringing the right kind of gluten and allergen-free goodies to a Bake Sale, or bringing the wrath of the HOA on someone who has let their grass get too long. She’s a meticulous planner, always gracious, with perfect children, and a (until he died) husband successful enough to enable her to live the kind of life she’s wanted.
In short, she’s the last person you’d suspect of a devious, premeditated murder. But then again…
What kind of person would you have to be to commit murder when one of the people closest to you solves murders as a hobby?
So, what did I think about The Self-Made Widow?
This was not a whodunit—both Kenny and Andi had a target in mind when they started looking into Derek’s death. It was a howdunit, a little bit of a whydunit—and, sure, a wasitdun? Then the biggest question—how could they prove any of it? I absolutely loved how they had to approach this one—I can’t think of a novel with an alibi like this one. This is a master class in how to put together a mystery novel for those readers who’ve read too many mystery novels.
My biggest (only?) complaint is that there’s a new Chief of Police in town, and we don’t spend nearly enough time with him—I hope that changes in the future, I liked him and think it’d be fun to see him lock horns with Andie more (and/or work alongside her).
For both Kenny and Andie, Suburban Dicks* was about them getting back to what they wanted/needed to be doing with their lives—Kenny needed to do some real reporting, and shake the scandal off; Andie needed to stop forcing herself into the mold of perfect suburban wife/mother, and do some profiling/investigating. This book focuses on some introspection for the two of them, what’s important to them? Are the choices they made last year—or this year—worth it to them? What made them this way? Between what we see about them in these books, we have a foundation for what’s to come (hopefully in many books).
* We get a nice dash of meta-humor about the title, incidentally.
It’d be easy to talk up the humor of the book—but it’s not a comedy. It’s comedically told—and there are some moments of slapstick—but at its heart, The Self-Made Widow is a murder mystery (with some other crimes thrown in for good measure). There’s a lot of darkness under the laughs, and readers should be prepared for that.
There’s a lot to chew on here when it comes to our protagonists as well as many of the supporting characters. Add in the murder and what they have to do to resolve things, and you’ve got yourself a great read. But you also get Nicieza’s laugh-out-loud humor, sharp observations, and strong narrative voice. If this novel had only one of these elements—character, plot, and writing—and it’d still be something I recommend. All three? Fuggedaboutit.
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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What’s Condemned About?
DI Charley Mann is called out to look at a probable arson at a house that’s set for demolition. It takes no time to determine that, yeah, it was arson—but since the house was abandoned and set to be torn down, no one cares to invest the resources to investigate further—what’s the point?
Charley was curious about the house—since before she grew up in the area, there were stories about the manor house. Many (especially area children) call it haunted. Who wouldn’t be curious?
Then the demolition company finds two bodies at different locations in what little of the building still standing just before they finish their job. And now it’s time for Charley and her detectives to get to work. One body was tucked into a hidden compartment behind a fireplace, it’d been behind there for weeks—maybe a few months—and was the victim of a gunshot. The other body was hidden in the basement and seems to have been interred in the manner of a pagan ritual—possibly killed that way, too. That body has been in the basement for several decades, maybe a century.
Two homicides in one house. Two cases that couldn’t be more different. This is going to take a lot of work, and a decent amount of luck for Charley and her team.
Grinding Slowly
In Police Procedural novel after Police Procedural novel, inevitably one character will say something to another about how forensics don’t get results as quickly as they do on TV. We all know this, anticipate this, and are ready for it. But, boy howdy, do things move slowly in West Yorkshire—they’re probably more realistic than many of the other procedurals that make the same disclaimers.
The same things go for interagency communications—when Mann gets a call from some other law enforcement agency for information, etc. it’s frequently long enough ago that I’d wondered if Bridgestock had just left that hanging, or decided to not pursue that line for whatever reason.
I absolutely believe that Bridgestock is more realistic in this than the majority of their contemporaries. How does anything get done? Sun Tzu had no idea about the pace of 21st Century bureaucracy when he wrote, “Wheels of justice gind slow but grind fine,” but the man was prophetic. I just hope he’s as accurate about that fine grinding…
Trusting the Reader
While I have been enjoying this series—there’s been something nagging me about the writing (well, a few things, but let’s just focus on one). RC Bridgestock doesn’t trust their readers. After illustrating (or sometimes before) what a character is thinking or feeling, they state it. They explain a joke—or a pretty clear statement.
One example:
‘He comes across as dodgier than a care salesman,’ Annie said, ‘and car salesmen are well dodgy!’‘Not all of them, Annie,’ Charley chuckled.
What reader isn’t aware of the general view of car salesman as being unreliable, honesty-impaired, shifty—in short, dodgy? Who (in the conversation or reading it) needs Annie to elucidate that? Then to add Charly’s disclaimer and chuckle? It’s like the old 70s/80s shows that end with a punch line and then a freeze frame showing the entire cast laughing. Cut that section at “Annie said.” Then you move on to the next scene—it’s punchier, it displays the necessary information about the suspect and the requisite jaded cop humor (it’s good to see Annie getting experienced enough to show that, by the way), and trusts the reader to know how people are going to react. It also cuts a little of Charley’s sanctimoniousness, no one needs her to defend car salesman in that conversation.
Bridgestock does this kind of thing all over the place. It’s not needed, it’s off-putting, and it slows everything down. Especially with all the—very necessary—exposition in this book, the last thing you need is to let things drag.
So, what did I think about Condemned?
I’ve had a good time with the first two books in this series—I think I enjoyed this one a bit more than the predecessor. Charley’s a good protagonist—dogged, determined, and flawed. Just what you need. A good leader, but not a perfect one. The rest of the cast of characters are just as promising, they’re the kind you want to watch grow and develop and be fleshed out.
In this book, Bridgestock has given two of the detectives on Charley’s team interesting backstories—and added to the backstory of one other. I don’t know that they’ve done enough with them to justify the time spent—but there’s promise for the future. I hope they deliver on that promise.
The mechanics of the writing still bother me—there’s one chronological flub that I keep tripping on—but I find the cases, the storytelling, and the characters engaging and compelling enough to keep me going and I can gloss over 99% of the problems. The procedural aspects seem as sound as they can be. Two murders at the same location that are clearly unrelated? That’s a great hook, and once you dive in you have to know how they’re resolved.
I do recommend this—with a couple of qualifications—you’re going to have a good time with it, and probably (like me) be ready to come back for more.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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What’s AMORALMAN About?
Derek DelGaudio is a performer. writer, and illusionist. This book claims (and that subtitle should make you suspect everything) to be an account of DelGaudio’s childhood, his early interest in magic tricks and illusions—and then how he was introduced to card sharps, eventually becoming friends with some and learning how to use the card tricks he’d practiced for so long to become a cheat at cards.
At some point, he takes this theoretical knowledge into the practical—to help a good friend, despite that friend’s former insistence that DelGaudio not follow him into that life. After some time exposed to this lifestyle, he has to make a choice? What kind of man is he? What place does morality hold?
It’s tied throughout to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, the role of the perceptions, reality, and the participants.
The Title
Obviously, DelGaudio is playing with things in the title. Is this book about a moral man? an amoral man? Is it a story without a moral?
How much of this is the true story and how much is a lie? It could be seen as a collection of stories—so is only one true, or is the overall narrative true, with a scattering of lies?
I’m mildly amused by that, but I really don’t think I care.
So, what did I think about AMORALMAN?
Ehhhhh. I wanted more. And not in a “this was so good, I’ve got to have more” kind of way, but in a “this was okay, but…is this all there was?” way. Ultimately, what we’re dealing with is a memoir that tells you upfront (and repeats it) that at least some of what you’re told is a lie—and probably not just from those people who are liars by vocation.
I thought the premise promised more. I expected to get something with a bit more meat on it. A bit more to chew on.
Still, DelGaudio can tell a story. You get engaged right away and you’re eager to see how this detached, disinterested, and largely aimless kid becomes the guy who stars in In & Of Itself*. We don’t get that answer, but it’s not hard to see the foundation being laid.
* And, yeah, I bought this book without knowing anything about it because of the film version.
I do think I’d read another book by DelGaudio—I’m curious about what else he has to offer. And I do think that people interested in his other work would find something compelling here. But that’s about as much as I can say—you won’t be wasting your time.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
DCI Reeve was in the room now, accompanied inevitably by Detective Chief Superintended Allen. Another promotion, how was that possible—what did he actually do all day but get in the way of more junior officers trying to solve crimes and bring about convictions. Waters stopped that train of thought. Over time, we all become our fathers and mothers, that’s a sort of natural process. But surely we don’t all become our first Detective Sergeant as well.
What’s Songbird About?
It’s the first murder that’s fallen under the jurisdiction of King’s Lake since Chris Waters was promoted to Detective Sergeant, and it’s time for him to step up.
There’s been a killing at a caravan site that’s well-known to Waters, and he knows the manager. This will both work for and against him, but early on it gives him some confidence—he knows this area and doesn’t have to learn anything about his surroundings. He needs all the confidence he can get.
DI Terek and DCI Reeve take the lead on this investigation (Reeve’s much more hands-on than her predecessor, and things are better for it). Some very convincing evidence leads them to focus on a suspect early, and they go about building their case.
For reasons he can explain, and some that remain ineffable, Chris Waters doesn’t believe in their suspect’s guilt and Waters follows his mentor’s example and sniffs around a little himself. He doesn’t have the relationship with his superiors that DC Smith did, though, so he has to be careful about it. Thankfully, Serena Butler (when she’s not giving him grief over his promotion), agrees with him and the two are able to come up with some compelling reasons to look elsewhere for the guilty man.
Passing the Baton
It’s a tricky thing that Grainger tries here—the series protagonist is gone, and yet it continues. It reminded me of when Kyra Sedgwick’s Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson left The Closer and the show became Major Crimes, and the team was then led by Mary McDonnell’s Capt. Sharon Raydor. The tone shifted, the characters got to grow and develop in different ways, the team functioned differently, and the approach they took to closing cases changed, too. But the show still worked.
Grainger’s always kept a broad view of the characters while focusing on DC Smith in the past—now we spend a little more time with everyone, but the focus is on Chris. That alone will change how things go—Chris has less experience to draw upon, he’s not quite as jaded (but he’s getting there), and generally sees things differently. The introduction of Cara Freeman and her methods to the mix also changes things (sure, she’s been around for a while, but we really see her at work here).
So the series continues, it just looks and feels a little different. But the core of the storytelling seems like it’s going to persevere.
Gildart Jackson’s Narration
It’s a subtle thing, but I thought I picked up a little change in the narration—it’s got less of “DC’s voice” but it’s still distinct from other books that Jackson’s narrated. Maybe it’s all in my head, but I think I can tell the difference in his approach to the books. It doesn’t matter, Jackson’s voice and characterizations bring me to King’s Lake Central they bring the world to life. Another great job by Jackson.
So, what did I think about Songbird?
Okay, the initial suspect was clearly innocent—and it took far, far too long for someone to figure out where the evidence that implicated him came from—it was maddening yelling at my phone, waiting for them to get there. But it was satisfying very satisfying when they finally put two and two together.
And for readers of procedurals, the guilty party was pretty clear all along—but getting to the motive and then working the case so that they had evidence to arrest, that was great. Watching Waters and the rest carry on Smith’s mission was exactly what a fan wants—and the new DCI in charge of the Murder Squad, Cara Freeman has her own style and pace that makes for a pleasant new dynamic.
The plot part of this novel wasn’t Grainger at his best, but it was close enough (so close). But the heart of this book was on the transitions—the team moving on from DC, the further establishment of the Murder Squad, Waters transitioning to DS (and people getting used to that), DC transitioning to his new life—plus some personal stuff that I don’t want to spoil. And Grainger absolutely nailed it.
As this is a transition point—it’s a great time to jump in. Yeah, there’s a lot of backstory, but none of it is necessary to get 98% of this book.
This had to be a tricky needle to thread for the series (singular or plural, take your pick), and Songbird pulled it off. I’m not at all surprised to see it, but I’m very pleased.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“It’s hard enough solving a case without the victim working against you.”
“Now you know how I feel.”
Eve walked alongside her sister across the parking lot. “What do you mean?”
“Patients almost never do what we tell them is best for their health and then complain when they just get sicker or their injuries don’t heal. It’s incredibly frustrating.”
“So you’re saying what we do is futile.”
“All it takes is one win, one life saved, and all the other bullshit doesn’t matter.”
What’s Movieland About?
The way that Lee Goldberg describes Malibu Creek State Park in this book makes ti seem like something he created just to have a setting for this book. Exhaustive research (Duck Duck Go +45 seconds) shows me that he didn’t make it up and that he barely scratched the surface of what a great place that must be. Sadly, if Goldberg has Eve Ronin and her partner, Duncan Pavone, at the Park, it can only mean one thing: someone’s been murdered there.
Before Eve got promoted and assigned to Lost Hills station, causing upheaval in Duncan’s life, he’d been trying to tie together a series of cases of shootings (at buildings, cars, that kind of thing) around the Park. He was convinced it they were related, but once he started mentoring Eve through high-profile murder cases, that got put on the back burner. But now, his gut tells him that those shootings and this shooting are related.
The LASD brass doesn’t want to hear it–they want the two focused on the murder and preventing the media storm that’s brewing around it–also, they want this all to come to a quick resolution so the Park can be reopened and people will be willing to use it again.
This is, of course, when things get complicated.
The Victim as a Hurdle
The victim’s girlfriend is an activist blogger well-known in the area for taking on developers, local politicians, celebrities–and the LASD. She was also injured in the attack. She might be the only person who is more skeptical of the Department than Eve. Zena’s convinced that her girlfriend either was killed to silence her or that Zena herself was the intended target and the wrong person was killed.
Zena doesn’t trust the Sherriff’s Department to find the murderer, she assumes they’re not that interested, either. She has her own list of suspects and lashes out at them on the blog she works for, muddying the waters and serving as a distraction to the avenues of investigation that Eve and Duncan want to pursue.
This is a great dynamic to see play out in the book–I don’t remember seeing this a lot in fiction, but seeing the way media attention (however well-intended) makes it hard for the police to do their job properly is a great way to ratchet up the tension.
Is Eve Learning?
“When I start investigating a homicide, I go all-in.”
“You become obsessed.”
“I become focused,” she said.
He shook his head. “You can’t sustain that, physically or emotionally. I keep telling you that. The way you’re going, I’ll outlive you.”
I’ve talked before about Eve’s reckless, pursue-the-case-at-all-costs mentality, and how that’s not sustainable–Duncan’s been on her for quite a while, too. From the way she reacts after this conversation, he might be getting through to her. Then again, action is her default position, so who knows how well it’ll stick.
She also might be paying attention to what he (and others) have been saying about the way she interacts with people, how she plays politics–and tries to apply it.
Basically, Eve’s learning. Goldberg said from the beginning that this was about a rookie detective learning, making mistakes (and we see the blowback from past mistakes here–as well as new ones), and growing into a seasoned detective. Bosch was fully formed when we met him. Ditto for John Rebus, Renee Ballard, Walt Longmire, Jesse Stone, and so on. We really don’t see that many detectives learning their trade. I love this aspect of it.
Frank Belson Redux?
“Is there a way to broach it that won’t offend all of them?”
“Nope, so I’ll handle it,” he said.
“Why you?”Duncan got out of the car with a groan, clutching his right knee. “Because I’m lovable and retiring and you’re abrasive and sticking around.
I finally put my finger on it while reading this book–Duncan Pavone is Goldberg’s version of Sgt. Frank Belson, from Parker’s Spenser series without the cigar. He’s closer to Ron McLarty’s portrayal in Spenser: For Hire, actually. He’s a slob, getting food on every item of clothing, he doesn’t seem to be incredibly interested in the job, etc. But he doesn’t miss a thing, he’s doggedly stubborn, and will do what it takes to close a case. (he’s also quick to make a caustic and/or cynical comment, and will dole out unsolicited advice like it’s his life purpose).
Knowing that when this book opens that he was 2 weeks away from retirement (which makes him impervious to political pressures, incidentally) cast a shadow over everything in the novel. Eve’s a great character, but I’m really starting to think that Duncan’s the guy to watch in this series.
So, what did I think about Movieland?
“How old so I to be before people stop offering me life lessons?”
“It’s not age, it’s experience.”
“There’s another one,” Eve said, but with a smile, to show there was no bitterness or anger behind the remark.
“It won’t be long, Eve. You’ve crammed more experience into the last few months than most detectives I know have in decades.”
It shouldn’t be this way, but I always end up liking an Eve Ronin book more than I expect to going in–and I’m always champing at the bit for the next one. This is no exception. The Eve Ronin books are one of my favorites in the last couple of years. Movieland is the twistiest, most complex case she’s dealt with, there’s a harder edge to this novel, and fewer reasons to grin or chuckle.
That is not a complaint, it’s a description. Nor does it mean that this is harder to read–Goldberg doesn’t do that–the action moves quickly, his style is deceptively breezy, and the characters pop off the page.
At this point, I’m really invested in these characters and can’t wait to see what’s next for them.
The book also features someone who might be Michael Connelly’s most misguided fan. That was a nice little treat.
Readers of this series probably don’t need the encouragement to read this, but here it is. People who are looking for solid police procedurals with engaging characters and great plots would do well to hop on the Eve Ronin train now (or jump back to book one, Lost Hills).
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
World peace Is a noble ideal, but I’d like to step that goal up a notch: A world with peace and without whom is the place I’d like to spend my golden years, basking in the sun, nary a subjunctive mood in sight, figurative literallys and comma splices frolicking about.
This is a book about feelings, mostly—not about rules, because how can anyone in good conscience create blanket rules for something as fluid, as personal, and as alive as language? Something that is used to communicate literally (literally) every thought, every emotion humans are capable of experiencing, via every medium in existence, from speech to print to Twitter to Snapchat? We can’t. Nearly everything about the way words are strung together is open to interpretation, and so boldly declaring a sentence structure “right” or “wrong” is a move that’s often subjective, and we’d be remiss not to acknowledge that most of the guidelines that govern our language are too. Communication is an art, not a science or a machine, and artistic license is especially constructive when the internet is the medium.
What’s A World Without “Whom” About?
This could easily—very easily—be a book I take 10 paragraphs to describe, so I’m going to have mercy on you and me and borrow the description from the Publisher.
A World Without “Whom” is Eats, Shoots & Leaves for the internet age, and BuzzFeed global copy chief Emmy Favilla is the witty go-to style guru of webspeak.
As language evolves faster than ever before, what is the future of “correct” writing? When Favilla was tasked with creating a style guide for BuzzFeed, she opted for spelling, grammar, and punctuation guidelines that would reflect not only the site’s lighthearted tone, but also how readers actually use language IRL.
With wry cleverness and an uncanny intuition for the possibilities of internet-age expression, Favilla makes a case for breaking the rules laid out by Strunk and White: A world without “whom,” she argues, is a world with more room for writing that’s clear, timely, pleasurable, and politically aware. Featuring priceless emoji strings, sidebars, quizzes, and style debates among the most lovable word nerds in the digital media world—of which Favilla is queen—A World Without “Whom” is essential for readers and writers of virtually everything: news articles, blog posts, tweets, texts, emails, and whatever comes next . . . so basically everyone.
At one point, Favilla cites a book, Internet Linguistics: A Student Guide, noting that it “was published in 2011, aka eons ago in internet time.” This book was published in 2017, making it eons-old by that standard, and a tad dated. But it still works and may even trigger a pleasant memory or two with a then-topical joke/reference.
The Overall Tone/Voice
This is a funny book. Favilla writes with a lot of passion, which helps in addressing what most would consider a dry and arid topic. But even better than the intensity of some of her thoughts, it’s the humor. I don’t know if I made it 3 pages without coming across a solid laugh line—and generally, it was fewer.
Granted, it may take a particular and peculiar sense of humor to find joes about conjunction use fodder for laughter, but if that’s your poison…
Even when she’s not going for the big laugh, but simply explaining something her style is fun. You can’t not have a good time reading this (even when she encourages something like “verbifying with abandon.” Just quoting those three words makes me want to scrub my hands like Adrian Monk.
A Couple of Nice Bonuses
As one should expect from a book that invokes BuzzFeed twice on the cover, the book is filled with graphics and lists—and even a couple of quizzes.
My favorite lists are “Standard Punctuation Marks, Ranked from Worst to Best,” (I’d literally have a poster of this hanging next to my desk if there was room for anything but bookshelves there) and “Old-Timey Words You Need to Start Using Again” (there’s a version on BuzzFeed)
So, what did I think about A World Without “Whom”?
Hey, remember Latin and its roughly 18,239,721 conjugations for every word? (If you don’t, your high school days were much brighter and probably filled with many more cool parties than mine.) We survived the evolution away from declensions, and we will survive this free-for-all era unscathed as well. Simpler doesn’t necessarily equate to a loss of impact or clarity. It just means fewer strict guidelines to follow. And that’s okay. Have you read the news lately? We have enough utterly horrifying, faith-in-humanity—destroying stuff going on in our day-today to worry about.
The fear that our language is deteriorating because we’re making calculated decisions to nix periods or because more people are pretending that whom doesn’t exist or they’re swapping emojis for words is as irritating as the performance that die-hard carnivores often put on of a paralyzing fear of trying vegan food. Pull yourself together. It’s not going to kill you, and it might actually make you a more well-rounded person with a new perspective.
This is not a book for the die-hard prescriptivist when it comes to language use. Favilla bases her positions and stylistic choices on feelings (and literally tells you that on page 1—which is not to say that there’s no thought involved) and what she thinks will communicate more clearly. But she’ll say time after time, that her rules are subjective and writers should make up their own minds. Especially when it comes to the internet—she will draw a line between print and online writing and doesn’t seem to have a problem with more formal writing being done for traditional/print publications—as long as the internet can be the Wild West.
I’m reflexively a prescriptivist and will tend toward that kind of usage/take/book. But anyone who’s read this particular site for any length of time (even if this post is your first!), will know I’m clearly not a strict practitioner of the rules Mrs. Hammer and Mr. Nelson pounded into me in Middle School. She didn’t convince me on some points, and I’d still side with Strunk, White, and Dreyer at any point they disagreed with her. But I had so much fun reading this—and learning from it, I have to admit—that I don’t mind her somewhat anarchical approach.*
*I halfway expect that in 2053, if someone reads this book they’ll find that this is a straightjacket in terms of free expression.
And since this is supposed to be what I thought about the reading experience, not if I agree with her on every jot and tittle, I have no problem recommending it. If you’re the kind of person who gets worked up about getting your phrasing juuuuuust right or are bothered when someone doesn’t. If you think reading tributes to commas and em dashes is a good time. Or if you’re curious about why someone would want to eliminate whom or is fine with letting the English subjunctive mood die…this is the book for you. I’m very glad that Jodi recommended this one to me.
And, I think I came away from this with an idea for my next tattoo. So, right there, this was worth the time for me.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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I can barely scratch the surface of this book—I spent months trying to write something about the previous book in the trilogy, The Cartel, before giving up because I tried to do my typical post with it. This time, I’m going to go pretty surface-level, just to get something written.
What’s The Border About?
Adán Barrera is dead. DEA Agent Art Keller’s personal White Whale is gone, and two things are up in the air: what is Keller going to do with his life/career now? and What will happen to the Drug Trade in Mexico? Barrera may have been an evil man with a trail of bodies in his wake, corrupting government officials on every level, and is responsible for getting countless people on both sides of the border addicted to poisons. But he was a stabilizing influence on the various competing gangs, and without him, chaos ensues.
Meanwhile, a ranking Senator gets Keller appointed as the new head of the DEA. Once there, Keller attempts to change the way the War on Drugs has been fought. As one on the forefront of the “old way,” he knows how poorly it has succeeded. If he’s going to make any kind of impact, he’s going to have to change the way things are done.
But it turns out there’s something uglier and dirtier than the heinous crimes Barrera and his colleagues and rivals are steeped in—U.S. politics. Keller has to battle factions in the DEA and other law enforcement agencies to put his plans into action. He commits to a risky plan that could make a real difference in the war—if he can pull it off.
If he can’t, his career, his freedom, and maybe his life are at stake.
A Financial Education
A key part of Keller’s new strategy is to watch the money—there’s a lot going back and forth across the border, both to buy drugs and then to launder it. But then…it turns out, the cartels wanted more. They couldn’t just sit on the money, no matter how clean it was—there was just too much to leave hanging around. So they invested it, and they wanted something out of those investments.
If Keller can stop the money from going back South, that would be a significant move in the War on Drugs. They’re not going to provide the product if they’re not getting paid for it.
I didn’t go into this book expecting to get a lesson in finance or anything, but I don’t know if I’ve learned as much about that kind of thing since The Bonfire of the Vanities or Liar’s Poker. But the numbers Winslow uses make what those guys were up to seem small.
Supporting Characters that Steal the Show
One thing that Winslow does time and time again throughout this trilogy is to take a character and treat them as a case study for someone in this war on drugs. He’s used hitmen, minor drug dealers, aspiring gangsters, and others. What’s amazing is that he will consistently take someone like this and turn them into a character you really care about while using them to illustrate a reality, and at some point to advance the plot, too. The latter is probably the most impressive part—they’ll spend so much of the book seeming like a digression—a compelling, often moving digression, but a digression—and then he’ll shock you by making them integral to a plot point.
There were two that really stood out to me in this book—most prominently was a ten-year-old Guatemalan boy, forced by his mother to travel to New York (alone) to live with his Aunt and Uncle. The alternative was staying in Guatemala City and being forced to work for the gangs. His journey north is heartbreaking—and what happens to him (and how he reacts) once he crosses the border just guts me.
The other one that will stick with me for a while is a young woman addicted to heroin. Her story is tragic and frequently predictable. That predictability ends up making it even more tragic the further into her story you get.
If nothing else, characters like these two remind you that the Drug War really isn’t about the DEA, the Cartels, the gangs, or anyone else—it’s about the people who get caught up in the middle. The victims. The addicts. The people most of us never see or think about.
So, what did I think about The Border?
This is a daunting read—before you open it up, and it stays that way until the last 150 pages or so.
But it’s a powerful read. A gripping read. A haunting read.
I’ll frequently talk about how a novel feels real, like the kind of thing you’d read in the news. Usually, when I say that, it’s a compliment—like I can’t believe how well the author was at portraying something realistic. But with Winslow, I don’t know that it’s a compliment. He’s done his research—so much of this book is true. So many of these characters are amalgams of several actual people and their crimes. In many cases, I’d wager that he’s toned down the violence, the money, the debauchery, the corruption—just to make it credible. That old line from Mark Twain, “It’s no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense,” comes to mind.
It doesn’t bother me to think that characters like Hannibal Lecter or Ernst Blofeld are running around this world, because they’re so clearly fictional. But Keller’s targets—those south of the border, in the world of finance, and the halls of power in Washington, D.C.? Those are real. Those are frightening.
This is a disquieting book. It’s disturbing. It’s distressing. And it’s supposed to be. Winslow’s trilogy is a monumental achievement. It will entertain you as well as make you reconsider your position on the Drug War.
I can’t say enough about this accomplishment. This trilogy is one of the best things I’ve ever read.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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What’s The Law About?
Harry is still recovering from the events of Battle Ground, as is the city of Chicago. This is going to be a theme for a while, It seems (and should be). But he’s doing better than he was in “Little Things” (from Heroic Hearts. I’m not sure that I am, but that’s something for me to take up with my therapist.
He and Billy are tending to some administrative duties when they’re interrupted by someone looking for help. “Everyone knows” that if you need help, there are groups you can seek out, but if you need a miracle…Harry Dresden is who you look for.
Her problem isn’t supernatural in origin—it’s dealing with a vicious landlord who is on the verge of destroying a tutoring service that she and several others have built up over the last few years, serving underprivileged kids and barely scraping by. Something about her problem strikes at something in Harry—this isn’t the kind of problem he’s dealt with in a long time (but it brings the reader back to the time before his office building burned down, probably earlier, too). He figures the landlord is a bully and he can go out-bully him and help the tutor out.
Of course, it’s not that easy.
And sure, I said something earlier about it not being a problem of supernatural origin. But maybe it’s supernatural-adjacent, and everyone’s favorite wizard gets to do his thing.
Battle of the Bean Aftermath
We don’t spend much time with characters inside Harry’s immediate circle, and everyone (or so close to everyone that it doesn’t matter) that he comes across outside that circle responds in some way to what he calls the Battle of the Bean—although they may not understand what actually happened there (officials have done a really good job with a cover story, better than anything Tommy Lee Jones’s Agent Kay ever gave). But more people have at least a general awareness of what happened there than I think Harry realized.
I can’t dive too deeply into this without spoiling, so I’m just going to offer two thoughts:
* I loved seeing Harry’s reactions to these responses.
* This, more than anything that happened to any character(s) in Battle Ground makes that whole thing more real to me. It gives it all a different weight than many of the events in the books—it didn’t happen in Chichen Itza or some other place that will make it out-of-sight-out-of-mind; it’s not something that was limited to the signatories of the Accords (or their like), or something that had limited impact on us muggles. This was a major event and the ripples from it are going to change everything.
* I loved seeing Harry’s reactions to these responses.
* This, more than anything that happened to any character(s) in Battle Ground makes that whole thing more real to me. It gives it all a different weight than many of the events in the books—it didn’t happen in Chichen Itza or some other place that will make it out-of-sight-out-of-mind; it’s not something that was limited to the signatories of the Accords (or their like), or something that had limited impact on us muggles. This was a major event and the ripples from it are going to change everything.
How was Butcher as a Narrator?
He was…fine? Yeah, he’s clearly not James Marsters (who will, Butcher assures listeners be returning for the next novel), and doesn’t try to be.
Still, listening to the author bringing his own words to life—hitting things the way he absolutely intended, rather than someone’s best guess—is always fun. While Dresden is generally narrated by a better performer, I’d gladly listen to more Dresden audio narrated by Butcher (and would only complain a little).
His characterization of Bob was, shall we say, interesting. If I hadn’t heard 16 novels by Marsters, I might have appreciated it more. While I didn’t dislike Butcher’s Bob, it wasn’t what we’ve grown used to.
Oh, be sure to stick around at the end for some outtakes. They’re amusing and something that others should add to their audiobooks.
So, what did I think about The Law?
This was a great way to bridge the gap between Battle Ground and the next novel (we might get more bridges, too….who knows?). Harry, his allies and friends, and the city are recovering. Things are shifting around and the new status is becoming more quo. That kind of thing wouldn’t work in a full novel, we need something more, but it’s great in a novella (he says knowing that Butcher could easily prove him wrong). Now we’re ready for the next Big (or fairly-Big) Thing in Harry’s life.
My favorite part of this novella is that Harry can’t blast his way to a solution to this case. He can’t yell “Forzare!” or “Fuego!” and make everything okay (except for cleaning up the debris left behind). He has to think about it. He has to work the system—multiple systems, actually. He has to find a new ally to help him through one of them, too. We all know Harry is capable of this, but too often lately (especially post-Winter mantle) his solution is to punch at something, punch some more, and then, if there’s no other recourse, to think about the problem. This was a nice return to Harry having to think.
This is not one of the best entries in this series—long or short form—but it’s a really good one. I love spending time in this world and with these characters, so I’ll gladly embrace any excuse to do so. Even if you’re only a casual Dresden fan (I assume those exist?), you’ll have a good time with this one.