THE BITTER PAST (Sheriff-Porter Beck-Nevada-1950s/Cont) – 1st in series – Bruce Borgos Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, north of Las Vegas. Born and raised there, he left to join the Army, where he worked in Intelligence, deep in the shadows in far off places. Now he's back home, doing the same lawman's job his father once did, before his father started to develop dementia. All is relatively quiet in this corner of the world, until an old, retired FBI agent is found killed. He was brutally tortured before he was killed and clues at the scene point to a mystery dating back to the early days of the nuclear age. If that wasn't strange enough, a current FBI agent shows up to help Beck's investigation. In a case that unfolds in the past (the 1950s) and the present, it seems that a Russian spy infiltrated the nuclear testing site and now someone is looking for that long-ago, all-but forgotten person, who holds the key to what happened then and to the deadly goings on now
Gabriel – Good – Interesting setting, interesting characters, gripping opening but realized the rest of the books wasn’t as much. The relationships seemed more formulaic than needed for the story. Grace – Good - The book certainly opened with a bang: "The crime scene is monstrous. The victim, retired FBI agent Ralph Atterbury, has been skinned, mostly on his arms and things, and strips of various lengths and thicknesses lay like lasagna noodles on the floor around the recliner..." I'd say the first page definitely hooked me, and in general, I enjoyed the pacing as the mystery of why Agent Atterbury was killed and how it related to everything else going on in Lincoln County. But I wouldn't say that anything blew me away here. I pretty easily guessed halfway through that Porter's dad was probably the missing KGB agent, and I'd say everything unfolded fairly logically. I can see, though, how Porter Beck might become a compelling character in a series. I'm not convinced, but I'd probably read Borgos' second mystery in this series before I make a decision. Marcy – VG - Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, north of Las Vegas. Born and raised there, he left to join the Army, where he worked in Intelligence, deep in the shadows in far off places. Now he's back home, doing the same lawman's job his father once did, before his father started to develop dementia. All is relatively quiet in this corner of the world, until an old, retired FBI agent is found killed. He was brutally tortured before he was killed and clues at the scene point to a mystery dating back to the early days of the nuclear age. If that wasn't strange enough, a current FBI agent shows up to help Beck's investigation. This was a fabulous book! It's setting is in an area that (while in the U.S.) would probably feel totally foreign to me. A land of rednecks, hunters, gun collectors, ex-Army -- not my usual neck of the woods. The story toggles between today and the 1950's. Keeps you reading, keeps you guessing. Nancy – Good - Despite some significant cons I really enjoyed this book. Although I don’t usually read books with a ‘western slant’ I was drawn in by Sheriff Beck’s dry sense of humor and ever present sarcasm. His character and that of his staff as well as sister Briney, Joe Buck and the Russians were well developed. Learning more about this area of Nevada and its history of nuclear testing was fascinating. The whole US vs The Russians dynamic rang true as well. I didn’t guess the books complicated ending beforehand which really made it work for me. And now the cons: The character of Special Agent Sana was very poorly developed and barely respected by any of the book’s other characters. She only seemed to exist to allow Beck to be smarter and superior than her at every turn. His silly sexist fantasies and constant comments about her looks were the book’s weakest parts. And another con: no way could Beck have hidden something as significant as night blindness from the powers that be, while in the army or as a sheriff in Nevada. Ron – VG - Interesting concept and setting for a mystery, good characters, and good dialogue.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: G+
THE CAVEMAN’S VALENTINE (AmaSleuth-Rom Ledbetter-NYC-Contemp) – Standalone – George Dawes Green Romulus Ledbetter forages for food in the trash cans of the city's better neighborhoods and wages a strenuous one-man war against Cornelius Gould Stuyvesant, an evil -- and imaginary -- power broker. One wintry night, Rom finds a corpse at the mouth of his cave that rouses his well-defined sense of ethics and launches him on an obsessive quest for answers. Forced to reconnect with society, Rom leaves his world and journeys through a spiraling web of clues and hunches, straight into a sinister den of money, temptation, and murder--otherwise known as the "civilized" world.
Grace - VG - With a truly unique and mesmerizing protagonist, The Caveman's Valentine drew me into the swirling, whirling depths of Romulus Ledbetter's brain. Sometimes as chaotic as heavy metal and other times as flawlessly fluid as a classical piece, The Caveman's Valentine had me guessing and second-guessing where the notes would take me. With beautiful prose and a complex character, The Caveman's Valentine gave me one of my most entertaining reads in a long time. Nancy - DNF (only made it to page 33) - For me, the book began by going on too long in the Caveman’s voice-which for me was only tedious and slightly confusing. I look forward to being edified by those who’ve finished this Valentine. Ron – VG - Unique protagonist, well written and plotted, with a satisfying ending.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: GOOD
LAND OF SHADOWS (PolProc-Det. Elouise “Lou” Norton-Los Angeles-Contemp) – 1st in series – Rachel Howzell Hall Seventeen year old Monique Darson is found dead at a condominium construction site, hanging in the closet of an unfinished unit. Homicide detective Elouise "Lou" Norton's new partner, Colin Taggert, fresh from the comparatively bucolic Colorado Springs police department,
Grace – Okay - The visceral, procedural natural of Rachel Howzell Hall's Land of Shadows gave me Michael Connelly and James Ellory vibes (also probably because both those authors set their novels in LA), but for me lacked some of that character complexity from Connelly and gritty noir from Ellory. Like a medical examiner, Howzell Hall really cracked the sternum on Los Angeles, peeling back its underbelly and exposing its rotten innards. While it took me a while to get into this one, Howzell Hall eventually hooked me with the connection between the two crimes. But I didn’t love the payoff. Blaming a tumor on someone’s actions felt very thin to me. And while there may be a case here, it wasn't supported heavily throughout the book but rather kind of dumped on at the end. I'm a big fan of Howzell Hall's more recent work, but this earlier novel felt a bit too raw for me, relying too much on making your skin crawl. Helen – Okay – The police corruption is routing. The protag is a brittle, not strong character. Had she been a white man, she’d have hated her. Helen is tired of looking inside the killer’s head. Joni – Good - I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read. I especially enjoyed the African American characters, story lines, and location. It felt much more realistic and honest than a lot of books that seem to “drop in” ethnic characters. I might read more at some point. I gave it a “good” as it was a solid, sustainable read. Ron – DNR
Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, north of Las Vegas. Born and raised there, he left to join the Army, where he worked in Intelligence, deep in the shadows in far off places. Now he's back home, doing the same lawman's job his father once did, before his father started to develop dementia. All is relatively quiet in this corner of the world, until an old, retired FBI agent is found killed. He was brutally tortured before he was killed and clues at the scene point to a mystery dating back to the early days of the nuclear age. If that wasn't strange enough, a current FBI agent shows up to help Beck's investigation. In a case that unfolds in the past (the 1950s) and the present, it seems that a Russian spy infiltrated the nuclear testing site and now someone is looking for that long-ago, all-but forgotten person, who holds the key to what happened then and to the deadly goings on now
Gabriel – Good – Interesting setting, interesting characters, gripping opening but realized the rest of the books wasn’t as much. The relationships seemed more formulaic than needed for the story.
Grace – Good - The book certainly opened with a bang: "The crime scene is monstrous. The victim, retired FBI agent Ralph Atterbury, has been skinned, mostly on his arms and things, and strips of various lengths and thicknesses lay like lasagna noodles on the floor around the recliner..." I'd say the first page definitely hooked me, and in general, I enjoyed the pacing as the mystery of why Agent Atterbury was killed and how it related to everything else going on in Lincoln County. But I wouldn't say that anything blew me away here. I pretty easily guessed halfway through that Porter's dad was probably the missing KGB agent, and I'd say everything unfolded fairly logically. I can see, though, how Porter Beck might become a compelling character in a series. I'm not convinced, but I'd probably read Borgos' second mystery in this series before I make a decision.
Marcy – VG - Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, north of Las Vegas. Born and raised there, he left to join the Army, where he worked in Intelligence, deep in the shadows in far off places. Now he's back home, doing the same lawman's job his father once did, before his father started to develop dementia. All is relatively quiet in this corner of the world, until an old, retired FBI agent is found killed. He was brutally tortured before he was killed and clues at the scene point to a mystery dating back to the early days of the nuclear age. If that wasn't strange enough, a current FBI agent shows up to help Beck's investigation. This was a fabulous book! It's setting is in an area that (while in the U.S.) would probably feel totally foreign to me. A land of rednecks, hunters, gun collectors, ex-Army -- not my usual neck of the woods. The story toggles between today and the 1950's. Keeps you reading, keeps you guessing.
Nancy – Good - Despite some significant cons I really enjoyed this book. Although I don’t usually read books with a ‘western slant’ I was drawn in by Sheriff Beck’s dry sense of humor and ever present sarcasm. His character and that of his staff as well as sister Briney, Joe Buck and the Russians were well developed. Learning more about this area of Nevada and its history of nuclear testing was fascinating. The whole US vs The Russians dynamic rang true as well. I didn’t guess the books complicated ending beforehand which really made it work for me. And now the cons: The character of Special Agent Sana was very poorly developed and barely respected by any of the book’s other characters. She only seemed to exist to allow Beck to be smarter and superior than her at every turn. His silly sexist fantasies and constant comments about her looks were the book’s weakest parts. And another con: no way could Beck have hidden something as significant as night blindness from the powers that be, while in the army or as a sheriff in Nevada.
Ron – VG - Interesting concept and setting for a mystery, good characters, and good dialogue.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: G+
THE CAVEMAN’S VALENTINE (AmaSleuth-Rom Ledbetter-NYC-Contemp) – Standalone – George Dawes Green
Romulus Ledbetter forages for food in the trash cans of the city's better neighborhoods and wages a strenuous one-man war against Cornelius Gould Stuyvesant, an evil -- and imaginary -- power broker. One wintry night, Rom finds a corpse at the mouth of his cave that rouses his well-defined sense of ethics and launches him on an obsessive quest for answers. Forced to reconnect with society, Rom leaves his world and journeys through a spiraling web of clues and hunches, straight into a sinister den of money, temptation, and murder--otherwise known as the "civilized" world.
Grace - VG - With a truly unique and mesmerizing protagonist, The Caveman's Valentine drew me into the swirling, whirling depths of Romulus Ledbetter's brain. Sometimes as chaotic as heavy metal and other times as flawlessly fluid as a classical piece, The Caveman's Valentine had me guessing and second-guessing where the notes would take me. With beautiful prose and a complex character, The Caveman's Valentine gave me one of my most entertaining reads in a long time.
Nancy - DNF (only made it to page 33) - For me, the book began by going on too long in the Caveman’s voice-which for me was only tedious and slightly confusing. I look forward to being edified by those who’ve finished this Valentine.
Ron – VG - Unique protagonist, well written and plotted, with a satisfying ending.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: GOOD
LAND OF SHADOWS (PolProc-Det. Elouise “Lou” Norton-Los Angeles-Contemp) – 1st in series – Rachel Howzell Hall
Seventeen year old Monique Darson is found dead at a condominium construction site, hanging in the closet of an unfinished unit. Homicide detective Elouise "Lou" Norton's new partner, Colin Taggert, fresh from the comparatively bucolic Colorado Springs police department,
Grace – Okay - The visceral, procedural natural of Rachel Howzell Hall's Land of Shadows gave me Michael Connelly and James Ellory vibes (also probably because both those authors set their novels in LA), but for me lacked some of that character complexity from Connelly and gritty noir from Ellory. Like a medical examiner, Howzell Hall really cracked the sternum on Los Angeles, peeling back its underbelly and exposing its rotten innards. While it took me a while to get into this one, Howzell Hall eventually hooked me with the connection between the two crimes. But I didn’t love the payoff. Blaming a tumor on someone’s actions felt very thin to me. And while there may be a case here, it wasn't supported heavily throughout the book but rather kind of dumped on at the end. I'm a big fan of Howzell Hall's more recent work, but this earlier novel felt a bit too raw for me, relying too much on making your skin crawl.
Helen – Okay – The police corruption is routing. The protag is a brittle, not strong character. Had she been a white man, she’d have hated her. Helen is tired of looking inside the killer’s head.
Joni – Good - I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read. I especially enjoyed the African American characters, story lines, and location. It felt much more realistic and honest than a lot of books that seem to “drop in” ethnic characters. I might read more at some point. I gave it a “good” as it was a solid, sustainable read.
Ron – DNR
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Okay