DANGEROUS IN LOVE - Book review

DANGEROUS IN LOVE

Leslie Thomas

 

Published in 1987, this is Thomas’s second Dangerous Davies novel.  It’s a long time since I read the first, The Last Detective. This one is a joy to read; it’s droll, with slapstick, social commentary, and just plenty of laughs. 

Bound to upset those who are easily offended as it's decidedly non-PC.

Davies is curious about the drowning in the local canal of a familiar homeless person, Lofty Brock. He can’t have been drunk, he was teetotal. Was he pushed? Helping him investigate is Jemma Duval, a beautiful black hymn-singing social worker and Davies’s pal, the workshy philosopher Mod. It’s virtually love at first sight when Davies meets Jemma, who has a missing tooth in the centre of her mouth. ‘Until he had seen that missing tooth he had never realized that something could be so potent, even beautiful, by its absence.’ (p24).

There are two more Dangerous Davies novels in the series.

Writing – market - Write down these mean streets…

Gumshoe Review is an online source for new books in the mystery/whodunnit category.

It is also open to short original fiction. What they’re looking for in stories is a complete mystery in 1,000 words or less. No character studies or mood pieces. They'd like it to lean towards noir but ‘being a mystery -- telling a story is actually more important’.

The short stories should be no longer than 1,000 words. Payment will be 5 cents per word to a maximum of $50 (so if the story is longer you still only get $50).

They plan to publish one short story per month.

Submissions should be sent as plain text within the body of an email or as a .txt, .pdf (not password protected), .doc, or .wp attachment to editor@gumshoereview.com. Use the subject line "Gumshoe Short Story Submission". They will acknowledge receipt of the story immediately but it may take longer to respond about whether they will use the story in an upcoming month. Please include a short bio with the story. Submissions should be original and unpublished.

According to their Senior Editor: "We're looking for stories where the investigator is the protagonist, or at least a significant character, and the focus is on solving a crime, or getting someone out of a jam, or seeking some sort of justice."

See the website: http://www.gumshoereview.com/

Good luck!

 

 

 

FFB – Alias Thomas A. Katt

A few years ago, when I was commissioning manuscripts for a publisher, I encountered this little fantasy gem, Alias Thomas A. Katt by Bob Stewart (2011, 2014).

Of the 190+ books I accepted during my tenure, I enthused over all or I wouldn’t have accepted them, yet of all those there were a good many that seemed just that little bit extra-special. It would be invidious to list all of them, but from time to time they may crop up in this regular feature. That’s one of the most satisfying aspects of being a commissioning editor – whether for a magazine or a book publisher – opening a submission that captures you from the first page.

Thomas is a detective noir with a twist. Cat lovers will love it, as will fans of crime fiction.

This book reached the end of its initial contract and has switched publisher. It’s an e-book and paperback, now with a new beguiling cover.

 

 

Alias Thomas A. Katt - the blurb:

When Mallory opens the cage at the animal rescue center I trot out, right into her heart. She names me Thomas, a natural enough moniker for a male cat. It is a pampered life until I enter the surreal world of “feline noir” which twists my fondest dream into my worst nightmare after switching bodies with my mistress’ boyfriend, Tom A. Katt.

My fondest dream? To have human interaction with Mallory, not limited to purring and mewing.

My worst nightmare? Mallory is now on the hit list of a killer…

The dilemma: To save her by learning to successfully masquerade as a human. My knowledge of the human world is limited to television, movies, and the books Mallory reads to me on rainy New Orleans afternoons. And, how do you use those pesky opposable digits, anyway?

The horns of the dilemma: There’s always a chance we’ll switch back, leaving Mallory in deadly peril.

Normally, I’d write a review for this feature. But I’d be biased, obviously. So here are some endorsements:

Faux saints, cats who inhabit human bodies and find they can’t dog paddle when in their human state, ace cops who are also mob enforcers… all are elements in Bob Stewart’s comic novel, Alias Thomas A. Katt, that I thought might make it difficult to suspend my disbelief, but those were minor obstacles to that goal. What really posed a problem for me is I’m a cat-hater, but, from the first page I was captivated. Any fears of not being able to suspend that famous disbelief went right out the window with the contents of the litter box. This is a book chock-full of rollicking escapades, impossible situations, and improbable characters in a plot that could have been designed by Timothy Leary while “researching” illegal substances (sound track by Dylan). It’s a really cool book! What we in the writing trade are speaking of when we throw around the words “original” and “imaginative.” I give it my highest rating: Four Fur Balls.

-  Les Edgerton, author of Hooked, Finding Your Voice, Monday’s Meal, The Death of Tarpons and The Rape.

Bob Stewart has created his own niche--feline noir--in this kitty caper. When Tom Katt, a police officer and romantic interest of the lovely Mallory, switches bodies with Mallory's real cat, Thomas, the tables are turned on the bad guys. Even though he's forced to work within the boundaries of an inferior human body, Thomas still has his feline smarts. Bad kitty! takes on new meaning in this fun romp that all cat lovers will find purr-fect.

- Carolyn Haines is the author of BONES OF A FEATHER, the 11th in the Sarah Booth Delaney Delta Mystery series. www.carolynhaines.com

"It's a given that cats and crime fiction have been cozy companions since the days of Edgar Allan Poe. Now, however, Bob Stewart adds a delightful new twist, taking the reader on a charming, fast-paced, and quite inventive ride..."

-- Carlton Stowers, two-time Edgar winner

Bob Stewart is the author of four published non-fiction books, and has reported news events for popular magazines (People, Time, Life, and Latina). He has authored two plays presented by the Aggie Players at Texas A&M University, and two scripts for series television while pursuing a career in journalism. He served as associate producer for Switched at Birth, a television mini-series based on the Kimberly Mays baby switch in Florida. It was nominated for an Emmy. He has been managing editor of The Bryan Daily Eagle, The Laredo Times, and the Marshall News-Messenger. For ten years, he wrote a daily television column for the San Antonio Light. Next, he pursued a career as a freelance reporter/writer/author. In 1998, he joined the staff of People Magazine as a correspondent, working out of his San Antonio home.

 

 

His non-fiction books are:
No Remorse (Pinnacle True Crime and a True Crime Book of the Month club selection) is the true story of Texas serial killer Kenneth McDuff who was convicted of murder, then paroled, when the Supreme Court struck down the death penalty, only to go on a killing spree. McDuff was executed in October, 1998.

Revenge Redeemed (Revell ) is the true story of a Kentucky couple whose only child was killed by a drunk driver in 1972. They rehabilitated the man who killed their son and today he lives next door to them.

Sacrifice: The Drug Cult Murder of Mark Kilroy (Word Inc.) with co-author Jim Kilroy is the bizarre true story about Mexican drug smugglers who murdered Jim’s son, a University of Texas pre-med student as a human sacrifice while the youth was in Mexico on spring break.

 
Man to Man: When the Woman You Love Has Breast Cancer (St. Martin’s Press and a Literary Guild Alternate Selection) with co-author Andy Murcia, the husband of entertainer Ann Jillian.

Bob has worked on a number of national stories for People, including the Oklahoma City bombing, the Branch Davidian standoff in Waco, the murder of Tejano singer Selena, the TWA jet crash in New York, the murder of students at schools in Pearl, Miss., Jonesboro, Ark., and Columbine in Denver, Colo., the racially-motivated murder of James Byrd in Jasper, Tx., the execution of Karla Faye Tucker, and the kidnap/murder of Mark Kilroy in Matamoras, Mexico.

Writing market - 'contemporary pulp fiction'

Spacesuits and Sixguns is a magazine of contemporary pulp fiction and it has just increased its rates to 4c per word.

According to their website, they want 'simple, straightforward storytelling with an emphasis on action. We’re not looking for Lovecraft or Howard pastiches, or stories set in the 1930’s. Read a dozen pulp fiction stories, soak it all up, then ask yourself: what if this happened in my hometown today? Write close to home, write about what you love, and follow Elmore Leonard’s maxim: leave out the parts people skip. All genres accepted — detective, horror, mystery, adventure, SF, sword and sorcery. We love them all. Give us about 4000 words. Shorter is fine. We’re flexible. If it’s longer and it’s good, no problem. Rule number one – be fun!'

Previously published authors include Scott Nicholson, Samantha Henderson, Michael Wiecek, Steven Utley, and Howard Waldrop.

Send electronic submissions only.  Pays on publication.  Buys First North American Serial Rights.

The editor is Dave Duggins. The email for submissions is submissions@spacesuitsandsixguns.com.

The website is www.spacesuitsandsixguns.com.

Best of luck!

Leap of Faith - Book review

Richard Hardie’s YA novel, Leap of Faith, the first in the Temporal Detective Agency series, is great fun. Narrated by Tertia, it brings to mind Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next novels and Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, as the same kind of wry and dry humour is in evidence.

Teenage Tersh and her cousin Unita (Neets) are apprentices of Merlin. The famous wizard is actually a woman, wouldn’t you know? Well, now you do. Keep up. These nearly-wizards are Merl’s Girls (hoping that the BBC doesn’t ban this term!), members of the Temporal Detective Agency (along with Marlene, the sister of the more famous Merlin), that is time travellers who happen to have the odd handy nifty time portal. Beats commuting. Zzzzzzzp.

When the duo investigate the missing statue of Nelson, having vanished off his column, they end up on the Welsh coast in the past; Port Eynon, 1734. They meet up with Bryn; as Tertia muses,  ‘… he wasn’t all that bad looking for a boy. If he played his cards right he stood a chance of a date, I reckoned, even if I was a thousand years older than him. Maybe he liked older women.’

Hardie never lets up with the pace, thrusting Neets into one predicament after another. There is quite a bit of history behind her, obviously! And it now, perhaps predictably, turns up to haunt them in the guise of the Black Knight, who escaped his due comeuppance at Camelot. Problem is that Sir Galahad isn’t interested in chasing bad knights, he’d rather attend to his new restaurant, the Olé Grill, not to be confused with the Holy Grail, which he purportedly found...

Zzzzzzp.

Thrown into the mix is police inspector Smollett, with his illegal truncheon; he was snatched into the time portal and his life was never the same again: ‘water poured from his shoes onto the carpet and added to the pool I’d created earlier. Of course his feet were several times larger than mine so he dripped longer and more thoroughly.’

 
The most calming thing is a cup of Merl Grey, apparently. And we need bucketsful as the pace quickens. We soon learn that Bryn’s father isn’t quite who he seems… Mystery and plot thicken, though the Merl Grey remains digestible and drinkable. There are a few likeable characters to meet too, notably Mrs Jones, a fantastic cook and marvellous eater. Not to be confused with Miss Jones, the head teacher, who employs Tersh briefly to mesmerise the children with her tales of derring-don’t do this at home stuff. There’s romance in the air, too, but not too soppy – this is a YA book, after all, and there are more serious things to write about, like swordfights and betrayal and hidden ill-gotten treasure…
 
Temporal paradoxes are acknowledged too – ‘One of Neets’s temporal anemones…’ Tersh observed knowingly.

Zzzzzzp.

 
The title relates to the cliff-top – from where people can make a leap of faith… and die… Very significant, that. Won’t say more on the subject, save that the ending is moving and the imagery works very well. I liked the sentence and sentiment – ‘Time for a group smile, then.’
 
I felt that maybe some of the chapter headings gave away too much about what was to happen; or perhaps they were intended to reassure the reader. Minor quibble.
 
Recommended. Please zzzzzzzzp it into your e-reader  or buy the book and enjoy.
 
[A shorter version of this review will appear on Amazon…]
 

 

A writer’s research – cat-burglar

One useful avenue to tread when writing about crime in a novel is the confessional book. Eye-witness accounts (America’s Master Detective magazines spring to mind), memoires of detectives and prisoners can provide that additional glimmer of realism. It’s not a case of plagiarising, but of absorbing the details and translating them in your own fiction as appropriate.

Nine Lives by Bill Mason was published in 2003 with the subtitle, Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief. Mason was born in 1940; both his parents were teachers in West Virginia. But the family moved so his father could get a better job and they ended up in Shaker Heights, Cleveland. He was fascinated with how things worked – engines, machines, locks… It fell apart from him when his father died. He got caught robbing a gas station with a pal and afterwards vowed he’d never use a partner again. He was self-taught, though kept his eyes and ears open when mixing with other criminals. Many a heist he performed was put down to a gang, rather than an individual. He was able to rub shoulders with the rich and famous and robbed them; victims such as Robert Goulet, Johnny Weissmuller, Truman Capote and Phyllis Diller (twice!)… He broke into Bob Hope’s hotel room but there was nothing worth stealing. He only stole high-end quality jewels. He planned his robberies meticulously and wasn’t an opportunist. He didn’t need the money from the fenced jewels, though it clearly came in handy when he wasn’t on a payroll. He confesses to suffering from a personality defect: he enjoyed the buzz, the adrenaline rush of the score.

Anyone who writes about cat-burglars will find this book instructive. Indeed, I would hope that security firms have taken note about some of his comments. It is not a handbook on how to crack a safe – those details are left out. But in every other respect it offers an insight into the mind of a professional thief. He admits he wasn’t a Robin Hood, either.

Mason’s marriage suffered and eventually died; he was imprisoned after a ‘five-year manhunt’, though he got off lightly in terms of years behind bars. He never used violence, attempting always to burglarise when the owners were out. He offers some interesting details about the quality of gems, too: the four Cs – carat, clarity, cut, colour.

Told in the first person (aided by Lee Gruenfeld), it reads in places like a suspense novel. At the time of his scores, he didn’t feel anything about the people he robbed. If he had, he probably wouldn’t have done it. Towards the end of his criminal career, as intimations of mortality hit home, he did regret what he’d done, even if it was of little consolation to his victims. He admits that often the owners of the jewels were hurt not at the loss of the monetary value of certain precious items; many were without price, being heirlooms or personal mementos from loved ones, valued for sentimental reasons.

Urged to write this book by friends and family, he is donating a portion of the royalties to victim compensation organisations in Ohio and Florida, his hunting ground when active. A film option was taken up in 2010 but a movie has not materialised.

He also admits, late in the day, that he never appreciated the ‘depressing and disturbing feeling of violation on the part of the victims’. He saw them as puzzles to solve, scores to resolve, a challenge.

Having been burgled, I know what it’s like and have conveyed this feeling in my novel Sudden Vengeance. Truth is, the majority of criminals don’t possess anything that resembles a conscience.  They’re self-centred, self-obsessed, thoughtless and don’t give a damn for their loved ones who will suffer if they’re ever caught and imprisoned. And of course there’s always keeping an eye out for ‘the big one’, the final score that will set them up for life.

 
It’s just possible that Mason’s book (notably the final pages of contrition and remorse) would deter potential burglars; if they have a conscience, of course. Well, we can dream…

Though a little out of date, this page may be of interest, too; Bill Mason is #7 in the top ten infamous cat-burglars:

 
http://listverse.com/2011/09/10/top-10-infamous-cat-burglars/
 
Other blogs to come will look at some of my non-fiction reference books on crime, espionage and police.

FFB - The Blind Man of Seville

The Blind Man of Seville, my chosen Friday's Forgotten Book today was published in 2003. Like the other good detective writers – Chandler, McDonald and Thomas – the author of this book, Robert Wilson, recognises that the seeds of murder are often sown a long time in the past. Wilson has already shown his command of past times and foreign places in his earlier novels and here he captures modern-day Spain and also mid-twentieth-century Tangier.

The beginning is macabre and brutal: a man is bound, gagged and tortured in front of a television showing something he doesn’t want to look at. The tortured man actually dies from self-inflicted wounds, anything to stop himself watching. It’s Easter week in Seville, where the Feria de Abril is about to swamp the entire city with its gaiety, colour and spectacle.

This story struck a few notes of recognition since I have visited the city. Wilson brings this city alive for the reader. It’s not like a North American city; here there were only seventeen murders last year – most usually committed within the bounds of the family. But detective Javier Falcón discovers that this awful death is different. After the third notable gruesome death, the press dub the culprit ‘the blind man of Seville’ because the dead men have their eyelids cut off so they cannot avoid watching whatever causes them to torture and kill themselves. But as you read on it becomes clear that the blind man is indeed Javier Falcón. He cannot see what his past is telling him.

Ostensibly, it’s a detective story about an insane killer, but it’s much more. It’s about heart-breaking truths revealed against the will, it’s a tense psychological thriller and it asks rather profound questions about the perception of ‘genius.’

‘Why do you think we tolerate evil in someone with a God-given talent? Why will we put up with arrogance and boorishness in a footballer, just because he can score great goals? Why will we accept drunkenness and adultery in a writer, as long as he gives us the poems?’

Through the agency of the uncovered journals of Javier’s father, the story about the Spanish Civil War, the Spanish legionnaires on the Russian Front in the Second World War and the protracted hedonistic exile in Tangier is revealed; Wilson spent some three months writing these journals and much of the material, not being directly pertinent to the story’s flow, wasn’t used in the book. One author at least who realises that he doesn’t have to impose all his research on the reader! However, you can access this research via his website, as a pdf in the section on The Blind Man of Seville (but you need to read this book first to gain insight from it): here. 

Above all else, however, the book reveals character – the good and the bad and all the greys in between. Wilson has written 12 novels, 4 of them Falcón books, two of which have been filmed with Marton Csokas as Falcón: The Blind Man of Seville and The Silent and the Damned (now available on DVD).

***

If you like police procedural novels set in Spain, you might like to try my novel Blood of the Dragon Trees here

 

Tigers slaughtered to cure pimples!

Laura Reid likes her new job on Tenerife, teaching the Spanish twins Maria and Ricardo Chávez. She certainly doesn’t want to get involved with Andrew Kirby and his pal, Jalbala Emcheta, who work for CITES, tracking down illegal traders in endangered species. Yet she’s undeniably drawn to Andrew, which is complicated, as she’s also attracted to Felipe, the brother of her widower host, Don Alonso.

Felipe’s girlfriend Lola is jealous and Laura is forced to take sides – risking her own life – as she and Andrew uncover the criminal network that not only deals in the products from endangered species, but also thrives on people trafficking. The pair are aided by two Spanish lawmen, Lieutenant Vargas of the Guardia Civil and Ruben Salazar, Inspector Jefe del Grupo de Homicidios de las Canarias.

Very soon betrayal and mortal danger lurk in the shadows, along with the dark deeds of kidnapping and clandestine scuba diving…

 



Published by Crooked Cat Publishing