The Fortress of So-litude

Click on the image to enlarge.

The Lineup: Poems on Crime… Continue

I'd been curious about this novel since the news broke last January it would be written. I was most curious how author William Rabkin would handle Shawn-Vision, Spencer's ultra-perceptiveness shown on TV in extreme close-ups and highlighting. I'm happy to report it's delivered quite smoothly (e.g. Shawn looked at the truck driver and he saw. Saw the chafing on his face. Saw the redness in his eyes.") as is the interplay between Shawn and Gus, the heart of the show.

What I'd heard of the plot do… Continue

Just back in New York having spent a month in California for a relative's wedding, Lydia Chin is put on the trail of a storied brooch by her P.I. friend, Joel Pilarsky. Their client is Alice Fairchild, a specialist in the recovery of Holocaust antiquities, who claims to work for heirs of the brooch's owner. When Pilarsky is murdered shortly after leaving a message for Lydia, she must pick up the trail with Bill Smith, four months estranged from Lydia after their last case (Winter and Night… Continue

New Haven police reporter Annie Seymour is at a strip club for a colleague's bachelorette party when gunshots are heard outside. Investigating, Annie finds the club manager, her ex-husband Ralph, dead. At first, the police suspect Annie and her paper pulls her off the police beat as a result. Compelled to look into her ex's affairs to clear her name, she uncovers a conspiracy involving illegal purchases of guns and drugs.

Shot Girl is told in first person from Annie's viewpoint. While a… Continue

The highest compliment I can pay Quantum of Solace is I believed the conceit that it picks up twenty minutes after Casino Royale. Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, and the other returning actors are on their game. The overarching mission to uncover the organization behind Mr. White drives the action at the same breathless pace. I wouldn't mind if all Craig's Bond movies kept this continuity.

That said,… Continue