Vinnie Hansen > Recent Status Updates

More fun reading to prepare for my Psychological Suspense panel at Left Coast Crime (3/13-3/16). Mile High City here I come!

I was honored to judge for this anthology. I've read all the stories, plus more. It was an educational experience. For most part the stories accepted were the ones I scored high, indicating I was aligned with the other judges and validating my ability to assess a good story. I'm not a member of this SinC chapter, but I know many of the people who are. The revelation of who wrote what was quite fun.

Danny and I are on The Big Island for his birthday, so of course I chose this as one of my books to bring. Do you ever choose books set in the location to which you're traveling?

Lento pero segura. O, frijol a frijol llega la bolsa. O, gram a gram se acaba el montón de antaño.

This book is an international thriller, not my usual cup of tea. But Puja and I will be on the same panel at Left Coast Crime, and I like to get a sense of the other panelists' writing. The book opens with quick scenes, some set in Kuwait. This caught my interest as my good friends lived there for years. If you're at LCC, come and check out our panel: Is It Indie or Is It . . . Sunday 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM

I'm reading away for Left Coast Crime. I'll be on a panel with Laurie on Sunday morning. Cleansed by Fire falls in the P.I. genre, a category that I like quite a bit. The protagonist is an investigator with a unique background as a dominatrix. The book is set in and around Seattle, even mentioning Bellevue, home of this year's LCC, which gives it an extra spark.

I am very fond of my story "96 Tears" which kicks off this anthology. Since I'm in the book, I won't be rating or reviewing it. However, I just read "Come on Eileen" by Joseph Walker, a first-rate story--lovely writing and so many directions the plot could go. The anthology is a quick read with fun facts about the one-hit wonder that inspired each of the twelve stories.

As I suspected, I have read this book. However, I still can't remember the full story, so on I go. It's irritating. There are so many other great books to read that I hate to read one twice.

I keep getting the sense that I've read this book before but don't remember the plot. I wonder if I started it and abandoned it because the font is on the small side of comfortable.

Have you ever tackled a book in a foreign language? I'm trying to read this simple book in Spanish. Although I've been able to speak basic Spanish for 40 years and am currently taking an Advanced Spanish course, this task reminds me how far from fluent I am!

It takes a really good writer to lead me into the darkness of noir. C.W. Blackwell is The Man.

Giving this a go in Spanish. We'll see.

I love this book!

I love this collection so much.

I'm reading my way through this young adult series to prepare to be "in conversation" with Karen McManus at Bookshop Santa Cruz, 7 p.m. on Aug. 3rd. Quite an honor!

I eat up this series featuring Carter Ross, investigative reporter for the Newark Eagle-Examiner. Carter Ross's wit buoys serious themes and the grit of Newark.

I'm such a huge Jane Harper fan, but I have to say I don't get the prologue to this book. It's confusing and didn't entice me to turn the page. It's connection to the opening is unclear.

Whipping through this book. It's a page turner, but requires lots of suspension of disbelief.

I can't wait to dive into this book. My husband just read it and loved it. And members of the Drop-In Writing Group I attend have been raving about it.

Wow! A big reveal that I didn't see coming even though the author had raised questions in the reader's head about why Bobby Saxon was not in the military, why Bobby Saxon was alienated from family . . . .

I'm enjoying the noir WWII Los Angeles setting and a protagonist who hammers the eighty-eights.

The book, however, opens with a midnight phone call summoning a daughter to I.D. her father at the morgue. I almost stopped since people are asked to I.D. bodies and the idea of a coroner calling in the middle of the night seemed unlikely. Fortunately, the author shows his awareness of this by p. 4.

I've had this book recommended to me many times. I expected it to be darker than it is (Scandinavian, you know), but it's less gritty than many police procedurals. There's a fair amount of humor, which I'm enjoying, with Inspector Harry Hole (what a name!) making the rounds of Australia as an outsider trying to assist with the murder of a young Norwegian woman.

In this mystery, Inspector Grant of Scotland Yard is confined to a hospital bed contemplating Richard III's supposed murder of his nephews. Richard III has always fascinated me, but I spend a lot of time w/this book flipping to the family trees in the front. It's cerebral and lacking in action. A mental mystery. I am learning about the War of Roses . . . I think. It is after all, a work of fiction.

Since my friends on here are mostly people who know me, you may be wondering why I'm reading a western. Warlock was written by my mentor and all-around good guy, Oakley Hall, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, where I earned my BA in English (emphasis in creative writing). This book was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and is a fine example of masterful prose.