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Julia Kalas #1
Nine Days
She's short, round, and pushing forty, but Julia Kalas is a damned good criminal. For 17 years she renovated historic California buildings as a laundry front for her husband's illegal arms business. Then the Aryan Brotherhood made her a widow, and witness protection shipped her off to the tiny town of Azula, Texas. Also known as the Middle of Nowhere.
The Lone Star sticks are lousy with vintage architecture begging to be rehabbed. Julia figures she'll pick up where she left off, but she's got a federal watchdog now: police chief Teresa Hallstedt, who is none too happy to have another felon in her jurisdiction. Teresa wants Julia where she can keep an eye on her, which turns out to be behind the bar at the local watering hole. The bar's owner, Hector Guerra, catches Julia's eye, so she takes the job. But before she can get to know him as well as she'd like, they find a dead body on the bar's roof.
The county sheriff begins trying to pin the murder on Hector for reasons that Julia discovers are both personal and nefarious. Unfortunately, the evidence cooperates, but Julia's finely-honed personal radar tells her Hector isn't a killer. She risks reconnecting with the outlaw underground to prove it and learns the hard way that she's not nearly as tough--or as right--as she thinks she is.
Nine Days, Koenig's debut, is atmospheric, gutsy and fun, and Julia Kalas is an intriguing new heroine in crime fiction.
The Lone Star sticks are lousy with vintage architecture begging to be rehabbed. Julia figures she'll pick up where she left off, but she's got a federal watchdog now: police chief Teresa Hallstedt, who is none too happy to have another felon in her jurisdiction. Teresa wants Julia where she can keep an eye on her, which turns out to be behind the bar at the local watering hole. The bar's owner, Hector Guerra, catches Julia's eye, so she takes the job. But before she can get to know him as well as she'd like, they find a dead body on the bar's roof.
The county sheriff begins trying to pin the murder on Hector for reasons that Julia discovers are both personal and nefarious. Unfortunately, the evidence cooperates, but Julia's finely-honed personal radar tells her Hector isn't a killer. She risks reconnecting with the outlaw underground to prove it and learns the hard way that she's not nearly as tough--or as right--as she thinks she is.
Nine Days, Koenig's debut, is atmospheric, gutsy and fun, and Julia Kalas is an intriguing new heroine in crime fiction.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published September 9, 2014
8 people are currently reading
280 people want to read
About the author
Minerva Koenig
2 books17 followersI was born in Berkeley, California, but moved to Texas at an early age and consider Galveston my home town. I began writing as a pre-teen, and became addicted to mystery and suspense novels in my early twenties. Many years later, I decided to try my hand at writing them myself, and Julia Kalas was born.
The Day Job is licensed Texas architect, running my own one-woman practice in the Live Music Capital of the World. When not architecting or writing, I like to read, play chess, ride my bike, wrangle cats, and fight the patriarchy.
The Day Job is licensed Texas architect, running my own one-woman practice in the Live Music Capital of the World. When not architecting or writing, I like to read, play chess, ride my bike, wrangle cats, and fight the patriarchy.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
June 25, 2016
Entertaining mystery thriller set in Texas with a great leading character. I love books focussed on less than ethical people with a strong sense of justice. Julia is sharp and I loved her every move....I hope there will be more from this author.
August 31, 2014
So contemporary mystery/crime procedural/thrillers aren't usually my bag. I prefer my mysteries historical, supernatural, or with some sappy romance thrown in. But I *devoured* this book in all of three days -- which is a pretty mean feat these days, given I work full-time and have a full plate of other things to occupy my time -- and I don't think there was more than maybe one spot where I wasn't wholly hooked and compelled to read on.
Julia is a compelling narrator who bucks a lot of stereotypes, doesn't take shit from anyone, and does exactly what she likes. The cast of supporting characters are all engaging, wild, and intriguing. And eyecandy/love interest Hector is A STONE COLD FOX; boy, Julia, am I glad you tapped that.
The mystery is twisty and complicated, and there are a LOT of threads being woven together here, but it keeps the story running at a break-neck pace and doesn't allow us enough time to be too confused. There are some thrills, some chills, a smattering of violence and brutality, and a relatively satisfying conclusion -- just so long as there's a follow-up, that is, so we can see what happens next.
Highly recommended if you're interested in WITSEC stories, badass ladies, and unpredictable mysteries.
Julia is a compelling narrator who bucks a lot of stereotypes, doesn't take shit from anyone, and does exactly what she likes. The cast of supporting characters are all engaging, wild, and intriguing. And eyecandy/love interest Hector is A STONE COLD FOX; boy, Julia, am I glad you tapped that.
The mystery is twisty and complicated, and there are a LOT of threads being woven together here, but it keeps the story running at a break-neck pace and doesn't allow us enough time to be too confused. There are some thrills, some chills, a smattering of violence and brutality, and a relatively satisfying conclusion -- just so long as there's a follow-up, that is, so we can see what happens next.
Highly recommended if you're interested in WITSEC stories, badass ladies, and unpredictable mysteries.
October 30, 2014
A real page-turner of a first novel with a fascinating main character and set-up for a series. I was in a rotten mood today, and I thought, "I don't want to do X, Y, or Z. (pout) I don't even want to read," but this pulled me in and took me away from my mood and the real world.
Unfortunately, it took me to a land where logic and common sense don't rule. You know what it reminded me of? A Hollywood movie, a big-budget thriller, that has a great score that manipulates you perfectly and great pacing, and just the right combination of stuff blowing up, car chases, the occasional funny line, and character development, and it stars actors you like, and you're into it for 102 minutes...but then you can't help but put your thinking cap back on as you put the DVD back in its case and think, "That made not a bloody lick of sense." And you return the DVD to the Redbox and while you don't at all resent the buck and a quarter you spent renting it, you're a little embarrassed you did and not at all sure you'll admit watching it to your serious-film-watching sister. (Okay, me, not you. I've drifted from the general and into the specific. But surely you know this feeling and have a "sister" of your own.)
The whole Witness Protection part of this plot is nonsense, and you know it all along, and it has--if a thriller can--too many twists, and the very end is totally off the wall. (But it was fun off-the-wall.)
It's still a good read. I nearly gave it three stars, which is what I *think* it deserves, but you know, I'll confess to liking it and say screw my sister and her ilk and give it the stars that accurately reflect my enjoyment of it.
Unfortunately, it took me to a land where logic and common sense don't rule. You know what it reminded me of? A Hollywood movie, a big-budget thriller, that has a great score that manipulates you perfectly and great pacing, and just the right combination of stuff blowing up, car chases, the occasional funny line, and character development, and it stars actors you like, and you're into it for 102 minutes...but then you can't help but put your thinking cap back on as you put the DVD back in its case and think, "That made not a bloody lick of sense." And you return the DVD to the Redbox and while you don't at all resent the buck and a quarter you spent renting it, you're a little embarrassed you did and not at all sure you'll admit watching it to your serious-film-watching sister. (Okay, me, not you. I've drifted from the general and into the specific. But surely you know this feeling and have a "sister" of your own.)
The whole Witness Protection part of this plot is nonsense, and you know it all along, and it has--if a thriller can--too many twists, and the very end is totally off the wall. (But it was fun off-the-wall.)
It's still a good read. I nearly gave it three stars, which is what I *think* it deserves, but you know, I'll confess to liking it and say screw my sister and her ilk and give it the stars that accurately reflect my enjoyment of it.
December 1, 2014
Julia Karas is an interesting main character. Her dead husband and his father were professional gun smugglers and dealers. She provided a front by reconstructing houses and businesses while laundering money for her husband. When he was killed by the Aryan Brotherhood, a competitor in the gun running trade, Julia turned federal witness against the Brotherhood and became a part of the WITSEC (witness protection) program. Now she finds herself relocated to a fading Texas town, given a job in the local bar, and supervised by the local police chief, who isn't wild about her presence. When the woman police chief is murdered following her discovery of a town renewal scam, Julia is at loose ends, especially since her new employer is accused of the murder. In addition, Karas is being squeezed by a pair of federal agents, one of whom may be a former (maybe present) drug cartel chief and hitman for the CIA in Bolivia. Julia, attracted to her boss, and involved in the murder to all appearances, looks into the crime out of self preservation.
That bare plot outline is interesting enough, but what makes the novel howl along is Julia's character and general take on life. She is very funny (being the author's main mouthpiece), wounded by her husband's death and very much on the run (it's the equivalent of post traumatic stress), smart as all get out and tough as nails. I was pleased to see that more novels are in the future.
That bare plot outline is interesting enough, but what makes the novel howl along is Julia's character and general take on life. She is very funny (being the author's main mouthpiece), wounded by her husband's death and very much on the run (it's the equivalent of post traumatic stress), smart as all get out and tough as nails. I was pleased to see that more novels are in the future.
October 2, 2014
After consorting with a criminal (husband), suffering his murder (gangsters), and being assigned a new life (the Feds), middle-aged Julia finds herself in small-town Texas, working in a bar owned by local hottie Hector. As a former criminal with a house-rehabbing background (can't help but pick up some pointers from your money-laundering operation), Julia is also talented at stumbling into and then clawing out of trouble's path, and this new dusty road littered with unforgettable characters leads her to conspiracy and murder, and if there's any justice, more books in this series.
July 14, 2014
I would like to put this book in so many genres: mystery, thriller, anthropology... Nine Days has it all. A perfect summer read that will grab on instantly and take you for a wild ride through conspiracies and beautifully-wrought landscapes touched with the stark beauty of the typical Texas towns of old... a magnetic romantic plot complication, mysterious accidents, delicious clues and a narrative voice like nothing else in fiction today... Stunning debut
April 25, 2015
I can't give this 5 stars because I didn't like the main character at first (and the other characters weren't peaches either) and really had to force myself to keep reading. If this wasn't a book club read I would have abandoned it before the murder even happened. It was an interesting set up for a story, I just didn't care for Julia as a person. I still don't know that I like her much better, but this was a REALLY well written mystery.
Usually there's a kind of formula to mysteries, you know the suspects, you know the killer because of how the suspects are addressed (and ignored), the main character unrealistically sticks her nose in where it doesn't belong solving a crime... This book was not like that at all as I read it (though in retrospect it may have been more like it than I recognized), I didn't know who to suspect at all, I didn't know where the story was going at all, nothing felt forced or unreasonable (which is saying something when dismembered hands are involved) and it was all in a nicely written package.
I can't say anything more about it because I'd hate to ruin the experience for someone else, but it had a good ending, though painfully abrupt (that's one thing about mysteries the author did stick with, ending mere pages after the climax). I would check out another in the series, mainly to find out more about (no longer?) Sheriff Maines since I don't know how many of the other side characters might make a return appearance, but it seemed to be introduced that he would be back.
Usually there's a kind of formula to mysteries, you know the suspects, you know the killer because of how the suspects are addressed (and ignored), the main character unrealistically sticks her nose in where it doesn't belong solving a crime... This book was not like that at all as I read it (though in retrospect it may have been more like it than I recognized), I didn't know who to suspect at all, I didn't know where the story was going at all, nothing felt forced or unreasonable (which is saying something when dismembered hands are involved) and it was all in a nicely written package.
I can't say anything more about it because I'd hate to ruin the experience for someone else, but it had a good ending, though painfully abrupt (that's one thing about mysteries the author did stick with, ending mere pages after the climax). I would check out another in the series, mainly to find out more about (no longer?) Sheriff Maines since I don't know how many of the other side characters might make a return appearance, but it seemed to be introduced that he would be back.
December 1, 2014
This is Koenig's debut novel and her main character, Julia Kalas, is unique - she's short, round, pushing 40, a widow, an ex-criminal and in the Witness Protection Program in miniscule, Azula Texas. All these things made me read the entire book in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. Julia's snarky, quirky and PTSD-haunted by the violent murder of her husband right in front of her; yet on the other hand, the sight of an old house needing renovation (of which there are many in this dying small town) can turn her on faster than the hunky bartender she works for. There is a murder and so many red herrings, I wanted to just shoot them all, just for the principle of the thing. But I loved the book and this author will be on my watch list for when her next book comes out because I will jump into it so fast it'll make your head spin and I love when that happens because it doesn't happen nearly often enough. Read it and enjoy!
November 30, 2014
Smart-aleck fat broad is in the witness protection program because her husband was a mobster and she witnessed his murder. She uses the name Julia Kalas and pretends to be Finnish by ancestry. She is sent to a tiny Texas town, where she meets another strong, big woman, the local sheriff, Teresa. She is advised to take a job in the local honky tonk, for a handsome (and big) man called Hector Guerra. Everybody thinks he's Mexican; he doesn't let on that he's not. He was adopted from Bolivia by THE prominent local family, and has two sisters, one American, one adopted like him. Julia also meets an assortment of local characters, most of whom are involved in chicanery of some sort. I like this book pretty well, but I especially like the ending. You may see it coming, but I didn't and I smiled.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2014
I loved Julia, the protagonist, who is "short, round, and pushing 40." What's not to love about a former money launderess and construction business owner who ends up in the witness protection program after her husband's gunned down before her, and she narrowly escapes the same fate? But she ends up in the middle of another murder mystery in the tiny town where she's been sent.
I admit I got lost among the secondary characters and had trouble keeping them all straight. That being said, my reading time for this book was divided into tiny chunks, so perhaps the fragmented nature of my experience led to my confusion.
I'd definitely read another by this author, especially if it was about Julia Kalas.
I admit I got lost among the secondary characters and had trouble keeping them all straight. That being said, my reading time for this book was divided into tiny chunks, so perhaps the fragmented nature of my experience led to my confusion.
I'd definitely read another by this author, especially if it was about Julia Kalas.
Want to read
November 14, 2014Excellent review by Joy Tipping at Dallas Morning News syndicated ocregister 2014/11/09.
". . . . In all my gazillion years of reading Kinsey Millhone stories, I’ve never come across a female character with half the gumption, guts and “I just don’t care” sass that Kinsey exudes. That is, until Julia Kalas, the whip-smart, witty, unconventionally attractive ex-money launderer at the heart of Nine Days.
With a debut author, comparisons are natural, and yes, I’ve succumbed. But I’ll stop now, because Julia and her creator fully deserve their own praise and applause...
She's mouthy and politically incorrect to the point of rudeness. I want her to be my new best friend . . . . " J. Tipping.
". . . . In all my gazillion years of reading Kinsey Millhone stories, I’ve never come across a female character with half the gumption, guts and “I just don’t care” sass that Kinsey exudes. That is, until Julia Kalas, the whip-smart, witty, unconventionally attractive ex-money launderer at the heart of Nine Days.
With a debut author, comparisons are natural, and yes, I’ve succumbed. But I’ll stop now, because Julia and her creator fully deserve their own praise and applause...
She's mouthy and politically incorrect to the point of rudeness. I want her to be my new best friend . . . . " J. Tipping.
November 6, 2014
"Wow. That's what I thought as I finished the last page of Ms Koenig's terrific mystery. My next thought: How the heck did I get here? Not because it's an implausible ending. No, sirree. Not only is it a very plausible ending to a delightfully twisty, turny, blind-alley-filled story, but it hints at the beginning of a beautiful friendship between an unlikely but literarily scintillating duo." - Donna Chavez, BookBrowse.com. More at https://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/in...
November 4, 2015
I like to try first time authors. Every once in a while I find one that consumes my life until I finish the story. It had a lot of characters (I sometimes had trouble remembering who they were) and a ton of twists and turns. It made it more interesting as the sleuth was criminal and the fact she wasn't a size 2 and ate 10 donuts every day. She had flaws along with most of the characters. Plus there were several layers to unravel so characters changed day by day. Highly recommended for a first time author.
October 10, 2014
A different lead character, and interesting circumstances. Her husband killed in California she testified and was provided with witness protection and sent to a little town in Texas. Some of the plot was a bit difficult to follow, and I am still not sure how it ended. It kept me turning the pages. It seemed in the end that the character was not totally in character, and her brain workings made me think it was going to be a total imaginary happening, but it seemed to work out ok.
October 26, 2014
A small town in south Texas is a crucible for crime. Stir in a pair of severed hands, a corrupt sheriff, drug dealers, real-estate scammers and a woman on the run from the Aryan Brotherhood, and you have a dandy debut mystery from author Minerva Koenig. I enjoyed the meandering plot until the very end. However, I confess that I read the last two pages of the story several times, and still wonder how the revelation contained therein contributes to the story.
October 27, 2014
Nine days was a quick paced mystery set in a Texas hill country town. I enjoyed the people in the town, including Julie Kalas, the woman in a witness protection relocation. Enchanted Rock park and antique Texas homes gave the story a strong foundation for me because I had just visited the area this spring. I look forward to reading more mysteries from Minerva Koenig!
October 28, 2014
Might this be a good opener to a new series?! Koenig has created an original, likable, tough, honest, sly, earthy, real 'heroine'.....well, the whole thing was pretty original & likable, actually! I will definitely look for more from this author. I really liked the way she used slang in her writing
April 5, 2016
Solid debut mystery novel with a strong, kick-@$$ female protagonist. However, her repetitive references to her intuitive "radar" and problem-solving "brain" eventually became annoying as they were continually referenced throughout the story. Looking forward to continuing the series and seeing what happens in the next book.
October 8, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters are engaging and well developed. I loved all the architectural detail. Sense of place, dead on. More twists than a Texas rattler.
Looking forward to more adventures with Julia. Loved it!
Looking forward to more adventures with Julia. Loved it!
October 10, 2014
This started out pretty well, but there were some editing mistakes that were distracting. And after a while I just didn't care so much about the characters. couldn't finish it. Read the ending to see whodunit and was glad I hadn't bothered to read all the way through.
November 30, 2014
It has a very different main character and interesting premise. I liked the characters and setting. It seemed to jump around a bit too much for me at the end, but I'm interested to see what this author writes next.
December 9, 2014
I really enjoyed this book and this leading woman - let's see: Witness Protection lands a woman into a conflict in a small town - people start showing up dead - and hands are being found - and sought - good detective work and I'd like to see more!
October 2, 2015
It was a good book. I thought it was going to be a typical mystery but it had many twists and turns. I think the more she writes this series, Ms. Koenig will be a great writer. She definitely has a great plot line.
January 19, 2015
totally engaging, sometimes disorienting,and quiet plausible in today's and past years CIA activities
Would read other novels written by Her. Would like to know more about her writings and activities in Texas and where is Azula located.
Would read other novels written by Her. Would like to know more about her writings and activities in Texas and where is Azula located.
August 17, 2015
I liked the fact that Julia was not your typical main character. Although she's athletic, she's overweight and pushy and an ex-criminal. The story had potential but was just too slow moving. It took me a long time to finish because I needed breaks from the tedium.
January 6, 2017
About a woman in the witness protection program who is flawed but supposedly possesses 'radar' which lets her slowly figure out what is wrong. Far too many characters with little character development. Also, while I like to suspend disbelief, this book makes that impossible. Not a good read.
July 13, 2014
Well I wrote it, so of course I think it's good. Today. Ask me again tomorrow.
July 27, 2015
Good reviews on this book and author in Post Bulletin today so had to get it!
November 16, 2014
I love books of this genre and enjoyed the writing style of this author. But I didn't enjoy this book. Found the varying plot lines overly complex, and way too far-fetched.
December 17, 2014
hooked in from the very beginning, this book has all the makings of a good, contemporary mystery. thanks, Minerva, for completely flooring me by the end!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews