#31: The Mind of Evil by Terrance Dicks

The Doctor and Jo Grant try to foil The Master's latest plot, involving a prison riot, a nerve-gas missile, and a peace conference in Terrance Dicks' novelization of the Doctor Who episode The Mind of Evil.

This is the Jon Pertwee-era Doctor, who was stranded on Earth in the early 70s and working as an advisor to a military group.  Pertwee was a more can-do Doctor, and showcases his mastery of Venusian kung-fu in this outing.

Terrance Dicks is considered the definitive Doctor Who novelist, and I concur.  I read a lot of these as a teenager without ever having seen an episode of Doctor Who nor having much knowledge as to what it was.  When, as an adult, I moved to a city where Tom Baker-era Doctor Who was on the local PBS affiliate, it all came together, and the Baker era was a good time to catch up.

I had not read a Terrance Dicks novel in a very long time, but found a good audiobook version of this at the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana and enjoyed listening.

#30: Fannin by David Markson

Fannin is a private eye who was blind to his ex-wife's cheating; but when she ends up on his doorstep dying, Fannin goes hunting her killer with fists and guns blazing in David Markson's Fannin, previously released as Epitaph for a Tramp.

The original title is more fitting; Markson's novel is as bleak and grimy as any noir I've read, as the detective and his cop friend spend a delirious couple of hours in the gutters of early 60s New York to find the killer in a nihilistic finale.

Markson later went on to some acclaim as a literary novelist, but in his peanut-butter days wrote two Fannin detective stories, another noir, and a western before moving up the ladder.    You can see where Markson was headed, as his detective enjoys novels and between bouts of mayhem comments on what books he and others are reading.

I stumbled across this one in an antique store in Arcadia, Florida, and for two bucks bought it on a whim.  Absolutely recommended for hard-boiled fiction fans.

#29: Hot Sky Over Paraiso by Marshall Grover

Texas gun-hands Larry and Stretch agree to help a professor and his daughter recover gold from a web of haunted cliff dwellings in Marshall Grover's Hot Sky Over Paraiso.

Grover was Australian author Leonard Meares, whose staggering output of western writing included this series and a more sober one, Big Jim.

Larry and Stretch are almost superhuman in their fist- and gun-fighting capabilities but are good-natured and funny as well.  Their stories are always plentiful in action but definitely on the lighter side with plotting.

Slightly confounding in the history of Larry and Stretch is that the American versions of these novels were credited to "Marshall McCoy" and Stretch was called "Streak."  It was one of these that I found in an antique store in Arcadia, Florida, my first of these to ever find on the loose.

I read this in a single day on vacation and always enjoy this series when I come across one.

#28: The Guns of Sonora by Ben Smith

A scarred stranger once left for dead, and a gang of cattle rustlers led by a cutthroat gunfighter, end up closing in on a Mexican ranch run by an aging cattleman, creating a triangle of death and destruction in Ben Smith's The Guns of Sonora.

This was an action-packed Ace Double from an author I had never heard of, on the flip side of Tom West's Black Buzzards of Bueno (reviewed previously).  This was a solidly-plotted western set squarely in the 60s revisionist western era, enjoyable enough to read on vacation in a single day, which I did.  I will look for more from Ben Smith, who I can't seem to find any details about online.

This Ace Double was part of a big lot I got from a friend, and I always look for Ace Doubles in the wild.

#27: Black Buzzards of Bueno by Tom West

An outlaw comes off the owlhoot trail to hunt his missing brother in a bleak little town with a dark secret in Tom West's Black Buzzards of Bueno.

A colorful title for a colorful story, as an enigmatic widow draws men to her ranch through an ad placed in eastern newspapers, although all seem to take a side trip to Boot Hill first.  An unusual plot with a lot of interesting characters.

Tom West was actually, although seemingly unlikely, a British writer named Fred East who took up Ace western writing somewhat late in life and mostly wrote under this name.  He seems to have a lot of fans, and I liked this well enough to look for more of his after reading my first by him.

This is an Ace Double with The Guns of Sonora by Ben Smith on the other side.  I got this from a big lot of Ace Doubles and read it quickly, then flipped it over and started on the other.

#26: Easy Motion Tourist by Leye Adenle

A writer on assignment in Lagos foolishly lies about being a reporter for the BBC, putting him square in the crosshairs of corrupt cops when he stumbles across a dead body in Leye Adenle's Easy Motion Tourist.

Adenle's debut is as crackling a crime novel as I have read in a while, as the writer and his savior--a lawyer with her own complicated agenda--try to stay one step ahead of both the police (such as Sergeant Hot-Temper) and a colorful collection of criminals (with names like Knockout, Go-Slow, and Catch-FIre).  Teeming, raggedly, dangerous Lagos is almost a character in itself, and expertly portrayed.

"Easy Motion Tourist" is a Nigerian classic rock song, if that gives you an idea of the vibe the novel is trying to convey.

Although I thought the ending wrapped up a bit too easily--but also left a thread dangling--this novel was super-charged with energy throughout and recommended for anyone needing a change of pace in their crime reading.

I checked this out from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library in New Castle, Indiana and read it quickly.

#25: The Governesses by Anne Serre

Three free-spirited governesses have caught a household up in their collective spell in Anne Serre's The Governesses.

Serre's first novel translated into English really can't be that easily summarized; it is slender, episodic and dreamlike, erotically charged and full of unusual vignettes.

I wasn't sure what to make of some of it--including a wrap-up involving an elderly neighbor watching them through a telescope--but was interested throughout and caught up in the imagery.

I am curious about what else Anne Serre has written, and I hope more gets translated into English.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.

#24: Wetworld by Mark Michalowski

The Doctor and his companion Martha square off against a mind-controlling alien on a newly colonized planet, while some insensitive settlers and innocent natives get in the way, in Mark Michalowski's Wetworld, a Doctor Who story that features characters played by David Tennant and Freema Agyeman.

Fans of the Tennant era will like this story just fine, funny enough and mildly entertaining throughout.  Fairly low stakes, even with a massive nuclear bomb ticking away at the denouement. 

A good audiobook reading by Agyeman adds value.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.

#23: Shoot McAllister by Matt Chisholm

As a favor to a friend, gun-hand McAllister becomes sheriff of a dangerous, booming mining town, only to go up against a secret organization of killers, in Matt Chisholm's Shoot McAllister.

Chisholm was Peter Watts, a highly prolific western writer from England whose work I have enjoyed under his various names.  I like his McAllister series especially, always written in a lean style with colorful characters and sardonic humor.  Recommended for western readers.

I am always happy to come across McAllister stories in the wild.  This one I found at a Half Price Books in Bloomington, Indiana for a goodbye price.

#22: The Pirate Loop by Simon Guerrier

The Doctor and his companion Martha Jones decide to find out what happened to a luxury space liner that disappeared, only to quickly find themselves up against some dim-witted space pirates, in Simon Guerrier's The Pirate Loop, a Doctor Who adventure.

This story takes place during the David Tennant/Freema Agyeman era of the contemporary series, and it has a distinctly television-sized air. 

An experimental spaceship engine that, naturally, was used ill-advisedly makes up the rest of the slender plot. Fine for fans.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana and enjoyed the audiobook reading by Freema Agyeman.  

#21: The Nearest Exit by Owen Steinhauer

A reluctant spy and more reluctant double agent is asked to kill a teenage girl under mysterious circumstances; when he refuses, thinking of his own daughter, murderous dominoes begin to fall all across the world in Owen Steinhauer's The Nearest Exit.

This worthy sequel to Steinhauer's The Tourist once again dives into the gnarled politics of the secret Department of Tourism, seemingly largely staffed by emotionally crippled "Tourists" whose black ops on behalf of the U.S. cause shenanigans all across the globe.

Steinhauer writes with the density of John le Carré  and the tough action of  Len Deighton;  if you like either or both of these writers, Steinhauer is a great contemporary addition to the spy canon.

This is the second of a trilogy and I am looking forward to finishing it.

I bought this at a goodbye price from Half Price Books in Bloomington, Indiana on audiobook, and David Pittu's reading added value.

#20: Big Sister by Gunnar Staalesen

A private eye gets a job hunting a missing woman from a half-sister he never met in Big Sister by Gunnar Staalesen.  Soon our aging but determined PI is mixed up with a motorcycle gang and a long-buried sexual assault amidst a myriad of other crimes.

Staalesen is riffing on Raymond Chandler, from the title (cribbed from The Little Sister) on through to his terse style and murky family dynamics. 

I enjoyed this thoroughly and was deeply surprised to find out this story was some twenty novels in, and that Staalesen and his protagonist are huge in Norway, having also spawned a dozen or more movies and a commemorative statue (seen in a photo at the beginning of this book!).   I would definitely say more of Stallesen's writings need to be translated into English as only a few seem available. 

Recommended for crime fans.  I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Library in Richmond, Indiana and read it quickly.

#19: Blood of the Mountain Born by Frank Leslie

Colter Farrow is on the run after killing a crooked sheriff, but family trouble--and an old flame--back home return him to his mountain roots in Blood of the Mountain Born by Frank Leslie.

Leslie is actually Peter Brandvold, a very prolific contemporary western writer.  Brandvold writes a lot of what are called "Adult Westerns"--with amplified sex and violence--but this one has the bones of an old-fashioned western.

The settings and situations are well-drawn, and Farrow is a very likeable character, a good-hearted kid with an alarmingly fast gun whose complicated romantic and family ties create interest.

This one is part of a series of Farrow's adventures, and I would be interested in reading more.

I bought this one for my beloved Kindle and read it quickly.

#18: Cold Trail from Fort Smith by Robert Bell

An owlhoot turned lawman, who works for a hanging judge, becomes focused on bringing in a murderous gang at all costs in Robert Bell's Cold Trail from Fort Smith.

I picked this up on a whim from the Parker City Library in Parker City, Indiana, without recognizing Bell's name.  As is often the case, Robert Vaughn Bell turned out to be a prolific writer who I just hadn't stumbled across yet.

Although Bell's storyline and characters aren't particularly shaded in nuance, this oater cooks right along and never takes itself too seriously, introducing colorful characters and situations along the way for a quick read.

I ended up liking Bell's style and would look for more from him.

#17: An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten

An elderly lady uses murder to solve life's basic annoyances, flying under the radar as they appear to be accidents and mishaps, in Helene Tursten's darkly comic short story collection aptly titled An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good.

Tursten is the author of a solid police procedural series featuring Swedish detective Irene Huss (who makes a brief appearance here).  By contrast, this slender collection is relatively breezy, especially by the inky-black standards of Scandinavian noir.

But I enjoyed it as a quick read, and would recommend it to anyone wanting to dip a toe into the shallower end of Scandinavian mysteries.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana and read it quickly.

#16: Orson Welles's Last Movie by Josh Karp

Orson Welles directed what is considered one of the greatest films of all time, Citizen Kane, but at the end of his life struggled for years to finish a film with threadbare finances and a crew of young hippies, a fascinating story told in Josh Karp's Orson Welles's Last Movie.

I watched the posthumously released film The Other Side of the Wind, and was so fascinated I immediately watched the documentary They'll Love Me When I'm Dead and then immediately started listening to Josh Karp's book on audio.

If you are interested in Welles at all, or the collapse of the studio system and the rise of independents in the 1970s--a favorite subject of mine--this is a highly compelling read, and deeply researched.

If nothing else, it is an interesting Hollywood story, full of unbelievable successes and ruinous failures, featuring a larger-than-life Hollywood auteur.

Very relevant for film fans, and recommended for those with similar interests.

#15: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

An emotionally and socially stunted woman finds solace and order working in a convenience store; but when she tries to fit into society by starting a relationship with a young man, it almost comes crashing down in Sayaka Murata's Convenience Store Woman.

Murata's novel seems a fairly lightly sketched slice of life, but contains deeper meaning for the lives of women and also the structure of Japanese society.  Readers interested in Japanese culture should find this especially rewarding.

I liked Murata's style and found it alternating between melancholy and humorous.

This is Murata's first novel to be translated into English, and it is genuinely offbeat.  I checked this out from Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana and read it quickly.

#14: Transcription by Kate Atkinson

In 1940, a young woman works for MI-5 as a transcriptionist, helping snare a group of pro-Nazi Brits; in 1950, she now works for the BBC, and sees her past catching up to her in Kate Atkinson's Transcription.

Atkinson writes across all genres, from literary fiction to mysteries; I believe this is her first quasi-spy novel, but it is filled with her quirky style.  She writes complex characters, from the protagonist's closeted boss and later sort-of fiance to a prim old lady who might also be a murderous Jew-hater.  Alliances are murky and violence can be sudden and sometimes absurd.  Features a genuine surprise ending.

I have enjoyed Atkinson's novels, especially her Jackson Brodie detective series, but this is a great standalone for readers who enjoy spy fiction as well as literary fiction.  Recommended.

I checked this out on audiobook from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library in New Castle, Indiana, given a good reading by  Fenella Woolgar. 

#13: Destroy All Monsters by Jeff Jackson

A string of seemingly random murders at music venues across the country sets forth a chilling effect on live music; but a band's tribute concert may change all that, if they can hold it together long enough to go through with it, in Jeff Jackson's Destroy All Monsters.

Jackson's book is genuinely offbeat; as much about unstoppable fate and inexplicable violence as small-town life and fragile relationships, a heartfelt slice of life and a heady fantasy.

As soon as I finished it, I texted the biggest live music lover I know and asked him to read it; anyone else who loves the live music scene or who has ever been in a band should pick this one up soon.

The music theme carries through even to the novel having an "A side" and a "B side."  You flip the novel over, and there is a novella-length story where a different character is killed, and a different person is leading the band; curiously, many of the supporting characters are gender-flipped, as well.

As unusual, but approachable, a novel as I have read in a long while.  Recommended.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana and read it quickly. 

#12: Moon in a Dead Eye by Pascal Garnier

Two couples buy into a retirement community which is unsettling in its emptiness, save for a sinister groundskeeper and a stoned activities coordinator; and then when a single woman moves in, civility is abruptly ripped away in Pascal Garnier's Moon in a Dead Eye.

Garnier was a French noir writer whose novels veer from dark comedy to bleak tragedy, and even with the unusual setting and characters (elderly in a retirement community) this one follows that formula.  There is murder, sex, animal cruelty, and a fire of unknown origin just to mention the top few plot points.  And the novel's title does not refer to the moon in a dead eye for artistic sake alone.

I enjoy French noir in films and novels and am quickly becoming a Garnier fan as more of his work appears in English.  I got this one in a collection called Gallic Noir Volume 2 and read the slender volume quickly.

#11: The Man Who Came Uptown by George Pelecanos

A private detective helps a getaway driver get out of prison on a technicality, but then expects to be repaid in dangerous fashion, in George Pelecanos' The Man Who Came Uptown.

Pelecanos is a great contemporary crime writer who has also made forays into popular television shows such as The Wire and The Deuce.  Most of his crime novels are set in Washington D.C., including this one.

The push-pull in this story is between the getaway driver, who is trying to go straight; the private detective, who is starting to go crooked; the detective's gradually reluctant partner; and a dissatisfied prison librarian who the driver meets up with once he is free.  Throw in a lot of angry double-crossed criminals and the ending leaves nobody unscathed.

 Another fine novel from Pelecanos that hits all the right beats.  I checked this out from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library and read it quickly.

#10: Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly

Renee Ballard ran afoul of office politics and ended up on the overnight detective shift for the LAPD--called "The Late Show"--dealing with the carnival of night life on display regularly.  But when she finds legendary retired detective Harry Bosch snooping through some old files, she ends up in the middle of a cold case on a murdered runaway in Michael Connelly's Dark Sacred Night.

I think Connelly's Harry Bosch series is a landmark work in contemporary crime fiction.  He has from time to time introduced other series characters, including Ballard and "The Lincoln Lawyer" Mickey Haller (who has turned out to be Bosch's half brother).

This is the first team-up between Ballard and Bosch, and it's a solid, fast-paced story, with a shaded-in-gray finale that ties the past cold case to an explosive present.

I'm a big fan of Connelly and would recommend his new novel to fans (although reading The Late Show featuring Ballard first helps).

I checked this out on audiobook from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library in New Castle, Indiana.  A good read from Christine Lakin and Titus Welliver.

#9: Forever and a Day by Anthony Horowitz

007 is dead, so a new 007--named James Bond--sets out to avenge his predecessor's death, and subsequently prevent an attack on America, in Anthony Horowitz's Forever and a Day.

This is Horowitz's second Bond novel, after Trigger Mortis, and like its predecessor this novel sits very comfortably in the Ian Fleming timeline and written in that classic style.  His last Bond novel took place immediately after Goldfinger, and this one slots in just before Casino Royale.

Thus we have a rookie Bond, being helped along by an older, enigmatic freelance agent called Madame Sixtine.  Horowitz has fun staging the origins of a lot of Bond's interests and habits shown in later novels.  And of course, adds a couple of oversized villains orchestrating a Byzantine plot.

For fans of the classic Bond, Horowitz hits all of the right notes.

I listened to a good audiobook reading of this novel on loan from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library in New Castle, Indiana.

#8: The Stalking Moon by Theodore V. Olsen

A soldier rescues a woman from captivity, only to have the warrior who took her come looking to get her back, in Theodore V. Olsen's The Stalking Moon.

Olsen was a prolific paperback writer, largely westerns but in other genres as well, and had several of his novels turned into movies.  Including this one, made in 1968 and starring Gregory Peck and Eva Marie Saint.

Olsen tries to stretch genre conventions in his novel, portraying the complexities of life for the two mixed-race children the rescued woman bore during her captivity, as well as the complexities of the growing relationship between the soldier and the woman.  For a mid-60s mass-market paperback, Olsen made a pretty good stab at it.

Offbeat for a western of this time, but still fast-moving and full of action, and worthwhile for genre fans.

I got this in a big box of goodbye paperbacks and read it quickly.

#7: Resurrection Bay by Emma Viskic

A private investigator's cop friend is murdered, and suspected of being crooked, which the investigator sets out to disprove at great personal peril in Emma Viskic's Resurrection Bay.

Viskic's Australian setting, and deaf protagonist, elevates a standard but pretty fast-moving crime novel.  A genuinely surprising ending involving a slew of deaths and one major betrayal adds value.

Resurrection Bay is the first in a series featuring Caleb Zelic, a popular run of novels in Australia which are just making it over to the States.  I liked it well enough to want to know what happens to Zelic next.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Library in Richmond, Indiana and read it quickly.