Category: books

Cross – season 1

On By Rick McIn books, TVLeave a comment

I’m somewhat disappointed.

Excellent source books, the Alex Cross series. Excellent cast. …

I’d fire the writers. This TV drama should have been much better.

In the books, Alex Cross is a savant, using forensic psychology to analyze killers’ minds, delving into victims’ psyches to identify murderers and bring them to justice.

In season 1 he’s no Sherlock. Too angry. Too distracted. His overwhelming grief does not work for me.

He hardly does anything right.

Disappointing.

Isaiah Mustafa as Detective John Sampson, Alex’s Washington, D.C. Metro Police Department partner is very good, however. Much like in the books.

The bad guy — the “fanboy killer” is very well portrayed by Ryan Eggold. That performance cannot be faulted either.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

My GUESS is that the writers will learn from their mistakes. I expect season 2 to be much better.

Gone for Good by Harlan Coben

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This 2002 book is excellent.

Gone for Good has a complicated and surprising plot.

As a boy, Will Klein had a hero: his older brother, Ken.

Then, on a warm suburban night in the Kleins’ affluent New Jersey neighborhood, a young woman—a girl Will had once loved—was found raped and murdered in her family’s basement.

The prime suspect: Ken Klein.

With the evidence against him overwhelming, Ken simply vanished …

10 years later Will’s girlfriend simply vanishes. Or was she murdered?

Netflix adapted the book into a TV series set in France.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

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Excellent.

Ashley Elston was a YA author before this HIT adult novel in 2024.

I assumed First Lie Wins would be just another in the predictable series of psychological thrillers.

It’s much more than that.

“This fast-paced read has everything you could want in a thriller: secret identities, a mysterious boss and a cat & mouse game that kept me guessing the whole way through.”
—Reese Witherspoon

“Prepare to trust no one on this high-speed thrill ride through timelines, identities, and motives as you work to piece together Elston’s expertly crafted puzzle. First Lie Wins is a fun, clever spin on the con artist novel …
—Ashley Winstead, author of Midnight is the Darkest Hour

For me, it started to drag before the end. Many of the twists and turns needed explaining.

She also wanted to set-up for an inevitable sequel.

It’s already being adapted for TV.

Tracker – season 1

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Tracker is … based on the 2019 novel The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver, one of my favourite authors.

The series stars Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, a skilled survivalist and tracker who earns his living by assisting law enforcement and private citizens in exchange for reward money.

Justin Hartley is that super charismatic guy from This Is Us.

He’s a credible action hero.

This is a cable TV drama on CBS, not streaming.

Therefore it’s written in scenes between commercial breaks. (I don’t watch ads. It now streams on Disney+.)

Simple stories that have to wrap-up in hurry. Easy to watch.

All that said — it’s very popular.

It’s set all over North America, while being filmed in British Columbia.

I quite like Eric Graise as Bobby Exley, Tracker’s hacker.

Tracker is one of the few current cable scripted TV show’s I can recommend.

Kill Joy: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder Novella

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Kill Joy (2021) is a novella, prequel to the series.

I’ve never attended a murder mystery party — but this one sounds interesting.

Six suspects. Three hours. One murder…

Pip is not in the mood for her friend’s murder mystery party. Especially one that involves 1920’s fancy dress and pretending that their town is an island called Joy. But when the game begins, Pip finds herself drawn into the make-believe world of intrigue, deception and murder.

But as Pip plays detective, teasing out the identity of the killer clue-by-clue, the murder of the fictional Reginald Remy isn’t the only case on her mind …

Amazon

The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson

On By Rick McIn books, ethics, government, IslamLeave a comment

If you liked the TV series Homeland — you’d likely enjoy this novel.

A CIA asset may or may not have been turned by al-Qaeda.

The Faithful Spy (2006) is a novel by The New York Times reporter Alex Berenson. …

… tells the story of a CIA agent who has infiltrated Al Qaeda and, years after 9-11, struggles to stop a terrorist attack in the United States. …

Al Qaeda detonates two truck bombs in LA, killing hundreds of people. John Wells is returned to the USA on a mission from Al Qaeda where he reconnects with the CIA. However, due to the length of his absence he is accused of being “un-faithful” because he did not warn the US about Al Qaeda attacks. …

High Stakes by Dick Francis

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Dick Francis  (1920 – 2010) was a British steeplechase jockey and crime writer whose novels centre on horse racing in England.

This is the first of his very popular books I’ve read. Francis wrote more than 40 international best-sellers.

He is a skillful and entertaining writer — but I’m no fan of horse racing. And these books are REALLY focused on horse racing.

His wife Mary was very involved. He called her his researcher.

His son became a co-author and author on his own.

High Stakes (1975) has a terrific romance. And a complicated heist plot.

I did like the story.

The hero is a toy designer / engineer — who begins dabbling in owning race horses.

His trainer takes advantage of his naiveté — and enters into a conspiracy to defraud the owner.



The Late Lord Thorpe by Peter Grainger

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Peter Grainger is the best author I can name who doesn’t have a Wikipedia page.

His 2024 book ➙ The Late Lord Thorpe: A DC Smith Investigation — is as brilliant as all of the rest.

DC Smith is one of my favourite characters of literature.

Dry British wit. I laugh out loud.

No gun shots. No car chases. No profanity. No sex, please, we’re British.

Instead you get a meticulous procedural. The slowest of slow burns.

This is DC Smith’s third investigation with the Diver and Diver Associates agency. He works for them part time, being retired from the police.

They have been asked by a member of Norfolk’s aristocracy to look into the tragic death of her younger brother, Freddie, the late Lord Thorpe of the title.

The inquest verdict was of misadventure, but it isn’t long before Smith begins to suspect there has been a serious miscarriage of justice.

This book is only available on Kindle and Audio. I highly recommend it.

Peter Grainger

The Black Cat by Martha Grimes

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The Black Cat (2010) is quite good.

One of the series of Richard Jury mysteries.

Several weeks have passed since Richard Jury was left bereft and guilt-ridden after the tragic accident of Lu Aguilar. Now she lies in a coma, and Jury wants to stay near her.

Instead, he has been tossed a case outside of his jurisdiction, in the village of Chesham, where a beautiful young woman has been murdered in the grounds of a pub called the Black Cat. And the only witness to the murder is … the black cat. …

Given her gown–Yves St. Laurent–and her shoes–Jimmy Choo, Jury wonders, Was she rich or wed to riches? She carries no identification, and no one in the village has a clue as to who she is.

Then in London, another murder, another beautifully-got-up woman, this time shoes by Louboutin. And then a third. Jury is stumped: he knows these killings are connected, but if this is a serial killer in London, why commit a murder in Chesham?

‘Inherit the Dead’ by Various Authors

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The book is average. But it’s impressive to see how great writers can improvise into someone else’s plot.

The private eye is Perry Christo, a divorced dad and one-time NYPD homicide cop who’s been running on fumes (and parental guilt) since a corruption scandal cost him his career, his marriage, and, most importantly, time with his beloved daughter Nicky.

So when a loaded Upper East Side matron Julia Drusilla offers a load of cash for what seems like a no-brainer wandering-daughter job Perry jumps at the chance.

But tracking down the 20-year-old heiress Angel isn’t quite the slam-dunk he expected—it turns out everyone has a different reason for finding the troublesome party girl—or making sure she’s never found. …

Amazon

Jonathan Santlofer envisioned this book:

 I started by asking a bunch of writers if they were willing to participate in the project and for a good cause – in this case, donate their royalties to a charity of my choosing, (again, I was calling the shots). I chose Safe Horizon, an organization that helps victim of violent crime and abuse. I figured that writers who made money writing about crime (often violent crime) should want to give something back – and every one of these writers enthusiastically said YES. …

Mystery Fanfare

Mark Billingham
Lawrence Block
CJ Box
Ken Bruen
Alafair Burke
Stephen L. Carter
Mary Higgins Clark
Marcia Clark
Max Allan Collins
John Connolly
James Grady
Bryan Gruley
Heather Graham
Charlaine Harris
Val McDermid
SJ Rozan
Jonathan Santlofer
Dana Stabenow
Lisa Unger
Sarah Weinman
Introduction by Lee Child
Afterward by Linda Fairstein