Mystery Read: Whiskey Sour by J.A. Konroth

"Death... on the rocks"

Whiskey Sour: A Jack Daniels Mystery

by J.A. Konrath

Published by Hyperion

available for purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Half Price Books

"Whiskey Sour" is the first novel in the Jack Daniels Mystery series. Konrath creates an engaging novel  that takes you on a roller-coaster. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels has given her entire life over to her job and as a result she has worked her way up to a Lieutenant in her local precinct.  It has caused her to sacrifice most of her relationships, including romantic ones. The girl is a mess. Then enters the "The Gingerbread Man", who has an unhealthy appetite for Jack. Will she survive his wicked games? Only one way to find out... Read the book.

Konrath is able to foreshadow the aspects of the mystery without revealing to the reader that they are the pieces that they should be looking for, which is only something a true mystery genius would be capable of doing. When you reach the end of the novel you slap your forehead and go, "Duh, all the pieces fit together. He told us everything that we needed to know." We just don't realize he gave us all the components for understanding why "The Gingerbread Man" is killing the women he chooses. This makes it an exciting read. 

One complaint about Konrath is that he sometimes tries to be too technical in his writing. He wants to explain out things for the reader, but he fails to recognize that in most instances the reader isn't looking for this. Most mystery readers are not looking for high-brow explanations, so trying to explain procedures is lost on the intended audience. Most mystery enthusiasts are simply seeking a thrill, which this book does do. Konrath is very graphic about what the killer does to his victims and you will squirm in places, but it just adds to the fun of the book overall. This makes up for his over-explanations. 

The other interesting component of this book is the chapter that you would think that it would end with isn't the ending. I thought as Jack read the Ed McBain novel would have been a rather clever ending to the first book, but Konrath pulls us for a loop. He sets up nicely for a continuing series of books, which I had forgotten that most mystery writers want to do with a title character, especially one as awesome as Jack Daniels. 

I want to reiterated before closing that there is some rather graphic content contained within this book. Most mystery lovers will be able to handle these scenes, since they will be used to them. The typical reader may find themselves uncomfortable with these descriptions though, so go into this book knowing that there may be content that is upsetting. Do not go into it thinking that it is a fluffy little piece of literature that you will walk away from feeling happy about, instead go into it expecting your pulse to race and your heart to reach critical mass. If you go in with this you will LOVE Whiskey Sour.

Until next time... Stay Optimistic!!!

Series Books- Fear Street Seniors Book 4: No Answer by R.L. Stine

"The phone line is DEAD!!"


Fear Street Seniors: No Answer (Book 4)

by R.L. Stine

Most of the plots and stories in the Fear Street Seniors series to date have felt contrived or just played out in other Fear Street books that I had read in the past. This one though felt fresh and interesting. This book focuses on one of the girls in the senior class that has recently been released from a mental health institution after the death of her sister. There is a part of the book where you understand that the main character, Clarisse, had a bond with her sister which doesn't happen frequently with Stine's books. Many of them simply are devoid of human emotion. You could literally change the name of any character and fit them into another role without taking something away from the book. This isn't true with "No Answer". The main characters are not interchangeable. Each has a personality and serves the purpose of the plot to discover who killed the person in the book. 

The book continues with the cliched surprising chapter endings with a not so shocking reveal of what really is happening at the beginning of the next chapter, but some of that has dwindled in this volume. There is actual payoff with some of the chapter endings. We see that horrible things are really happening to Clarisse, which makes this by far a better book than the three previous volumes of the Senior series. To date if you only wanted to read a single book in this series this would be the one to read. This story is quick to read, interesting, and leaves you gasping at the ending. I wish more of the series was like this one, but alas most to date have just been fun trips down a street that used to be entertaining for a young high schooler. It is ceasing to be as entertaining to a 31-year old adult who wants a little bit more thoughtful plot development. I still plan on finishing out this series, but Fear Street may be a road I don't find myself going down as often in the future.

Until next time... Stay Optimistic!!!

Mystery Books: Dance Hall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman

Dance Hall of the Dead

by Tony Hillerman

available for purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Half Price Books

"Learning about culture has never been so deadly..."

This is the second book I have read in the "Joe Leaphorn" book series. The first being The Blessing Way. Neither book was all that exciting for me to read (they were group reads on a facebook group I partake in). I do have to say that Hillerman develops though from his first book. He grasps how to make a plot a little more interesting on the mystery angle, but it takes away from the thing that was enjoyable from the first book. In the first book his description of the various areas is richer than what is contained within this volume.

Hillerman's ability to write the mystery aspect of a book felt a bit stilted in "The Blessing Way". He gave you all the pieces of the puzzle far too early and as a result you were left wondering why you were even reading the book, but the same cannot be said for Dance Hall of the Dead. You are left questioning up until almost the final ten pages who killed the victim and why. There have been plenty of hints along the way so you have an idea of who it may have been, but you can't be fully sure until it is revealed. (Just so you know I pretty much had guessed it by the end of the book, but it was more of an OH MY GOODNESS I was right moment instead of knowing in the first chapter) This added a nice layer that wasn't available in that first book. 

The gripe about this book is that Hillerman painted a very vivid picture of the area in The Blessing Way.He can't seem to recapture that description and beauty that was present there here. It may simply be because he is learning how to write an engaging mystery book, but he hasn't found the proper balance between his individualistic style and the genre he is in. I recognize that an author can progress as they find who they are as an author and what charms they bring to the table of a genre. I hope that in subsequent novels that he is able to pull that out of himself because it just isn't apparent here. 

Is the book worth reading? If you want to know more about Native American culture than it is. If you want an engaging mystery novel I would state find another one that might be a little more modern in nature and also more engaging. This will be educational though for those interested in understanding a vastly different culture other than your own. This is one of the truly redeeming qualities of the book series thus far. You will walk away from it knowing something you didn't know. That is always something worthwhile in reading. 

Until next time... Stay Optimistic!!!

Fear Street Friday- "Fear Street Seniors: The Thirst" by R.L. Stine

Fear Street Seniors #3: The Thirst

by R.L. Stine

3 Faerie Points

These books can get a little mundane as an adult reading them because of Stine's chosen style to be shocking at the ending of every single chapter. Chapter Ends: "Becky shrieks" Next Chapter Opens: "Becky saw a spider is why she was shrieking". Sometimes this makes you want to yawn very hardcore. This book does pick-up some of the steam for the series overall though. We finally have a real death and we can see where things might be going for the rest of the series. Trisha Conrad, a girl in the senior class that had a psychic vision about all the seniors dying, is obviously going to be an important character throughout the series since she has been mentioned in every single book to date, while many other characters haven't made even the first appearance. 

This book focuses on the horror stereotype of the vampire. It is funny to read this particular book now because of "Twilight" being so huge still, but this follows some of the cliched things we immediately associate with vampires, though the ones here can indeed step into the sunlight (no they do not sparkle jeeze). In this book you are trying to figure out who the vampire is that is draining the blood of people, but it is pretty apparent if you follow the formula of the first two books or if you have read any other Fear Street book. By the end you go "Okay, so (insert character name) is the vampire thanks captain obvious". *Not giving you any spoilers since you know you should actually read these things I post about hehe*

The main reason that this volume gets 3 points instead of 2 is it picks up the pace a bit, as previously mentioned. Characters actually die in this book, which makes you start to believe the series will have a bigger pay off at the end. This is still in the first 1/3 of the 12 book series, so I wasn't expecting these first few books to be all that great. They have to build to something, but the nice thing is that they are not direct continuations of each other. They all to this point have independent stories that can be read singularly, so anyone can pick up one in the series that sounds interesting to them without having to read all of them. 

I should also mention that anyone that enjoys reading about twins this book does feature twin sisters prominently. They go through it, but they are the main characters here, so you will see how they interact with each other. The issue is do not go in expecting a lot of characterization of them as twins because they are pretty much different as night and day. Also Stine tends not to give his characters a very clearly distinct personality for some reason. I think this could be because of the fact that there are 12 books in the series and he isn't sure which characters he will need for what yet, so having them to defined could result in them being unusable in future books. 

The Fear Street books are easy reads. You can read them in the matter of an hour or two, so don't worry about wasting your life away from reading this drivel, but if you like a quick horror story that will tantalize you you can pick these up. There are ones you will enjoy and others you will not. It all depends on what tale Stine is weaving at the time. 

Kindle Book Review: Along Came A Spider by James Patterson

Along Came A Spider

by James Patterson

3 Faerie Points

I decided to read the first book in the Alex Cross series because of having had such a great experience with the beginning of the Women's Murder Club series that he also writes. For the majority of this particular book I was underwhelmed by what was happening in it. Then suddenly in the last 50 or so pages I felt like it I was reading something worthwhile. I believe it is simply because I didn't attach as easily to the characters in this particular book like I did with the characters in Women's Murder Club. 

This book introduces Alex Cross and is about a kidnapping. The book is fast-paced and the chapters are short like the other book I read, which is something that makes his book very readable. This helps to keep a reader invested in the time it takes to read the over 400+ pages. Some people call him a hack because his writing isn't necessarily up there with literary classics, but some books we have to recognize are not meant to be like that. Some books are supposed to be read during the summer when you are tanning. That is how Patterson's books feel like they should be read, which honestly is great from time to time. We all need a little bit of guilty pleasure in our lives. 

This book is lacking though in the pleasure aspect of the reading experience of a guilty pleasure. It isn't a horrible book by any means, but certain aspects feel like they are forced. Also there are no real hints to the mystery aspect of this particular book, which I felt was a bit of a let down since in Women's Murder Club I was able to predict what was going on and it added greatly to my enjoyment of the book. Here the characters didn't resonate with me as strongly, specifically Jezzie because it never felt like you truly understood that character and her motivation for any of her actions contained within. This could simply be that they couldn't give her more because the chapters are so quick, but I wish there had been more for her than what she was given. 

Will I read the next book in the series called "Kiss The Girls"? I probably will be this will largely be because I watched the movie years ago and think it would be fun to read the book it was based on and also rewatch the movie at the same time. It won't be because I have fallen in love with the Alex Cross series. 

On My Shelf Book Review: Let's Party by R.L. Stine (Fear Street Seniors Book 1)

Fear Street Seniors: Let's Party (Book 1)

by R.L. Stine

3 Faerie Points

As a teenager I used to devour the "Fear Street" books. I would go to the Muncie Mall bookstore and always turn the corner to the young adult section looking for one of these books that I hadn't previously acquired. I would devour them in no time at all and wish that I could read the next one. There are some good memories attached to these books thus I decided to purchase them again as an adult. 

I never had the opportunity when I was reading the series previously to read the Senior series, so I wanted to start my trip back down Fear Street with it. One of the important things that it has been important for me to recognize is that I am not the same reader that I was when I used to read these horror books. I can spot bad writing or a bit lousy writing better than I could back then. Stine is not bad writing, but he uses a formula at the end of every chapter that gets frustrating to read. He always had to finish the chapter with some horrible thing happening only to reveal that it wasn't what you thought in the beginning of the next chapter. This takes away from the writing, but it also is what makes the Fear Street books unique. They try to keep in invested and guessing what is real and isn't. 

Some of the joy of the books obviously has waned with the passing of time, which is only natural. I was shocked that I still enjoyed them as much as I did. They still hold my interest enough to get through roughly 200+ pages, but now I do so with a few eye rolls. Eye rolling is not always a bad thing in fiction writing, especially with a horror element. 

This first book in the series mainly sets the stage for the upcoming books. We are introduced to numerous members of the Shadyside High Senior class. This feels appropriate and not at all confusing since there are 11 other books featuring these characters. Stine did the intelligent thing by having the characters go to a party. This feels natural for high school students and allows us to gain a lot of names at once without being too concerned about who each of them are just yet. 

Stine made a solid first book in this particular series for young adults. Do I recommend this for the more adult reader? Probably not. There is better stuff out there to read, but for those that just want a short horror book this will keep you entertained. You won't gain any deep meaning about life, but you will be wondering if anyone will die. That is the ultimate question though in this series: Will the senior class make it to graduation? Welp, I guess I have to continue reading to find out for sure. 

Bracken Library Book: Three Stations by Martin Cruz Smith

"Three Stations"

By Martin Cruz Smith

GROUP READ for: Authors, Authors on Shelfari

There are times when you start reading a book and you have to question that if your own train of thought is disjointed or if it the way that the author tells the story. I recognized while reading "Three Stations" that Cruz Smith's writing at times did feel disjointed, but it works for his particular brand of storytelling. He sets the story in Russia and this disjointed nature contributes to the feeling of it being authentic.

"Three Stations" is a police procedural mystery book that starts with the abduction of a baby. This is, however, not the main plot though. It is about a body found by the investigator. This takes the story on a disjointed rump where you are left wondering what one scene had to do with the last one. Often in books this doesn't work because the reader is left wondering where the heck the book is going, but for some reason it works with "Three Stations." You do not want to put it down because you recognize it is a rather short read and you want to know how the child will reunited with the character of Maya. I won't reveal if the child ever does because you need to read it for yourself.

If you are a mystery enthusiast I would recommend this book, but for those of you wanting something a little more light-hearted I don't think this is the book for you. There are scenes of violence, explosions and cursing that feels a bit overdone at times. For me, a mystery fan, it was the right cup of tea. To each their own and I recognize that. You really need to go into this particular novel knowing that it isn't a fluff "The Notebook" type of book, but one that is disconnected, violent, and a damn good read for seeing how an author can craft a story.

The mystery aspect of the book felt a little bit predictable, but I think when you start reading mystery over and over again you start to see the basic formula naturally. He does however throw in enough side characters that could have done it that you are left wondering if you could be way off base on what your assumptions are. Then you recognize that some of the side characters are actually a side story, which adds a bit to the depth of the story. It makes it feel more organic and like it is set in the real world because for most people they have multiple things going on at once instead of a normal story that focuses so heavily on the one particular plot.

The three faerie points for this novel is mainly because of the disjointed storytelling, but also because there are moments where you are suddenly thrust with characters that you have no idea why they are being showcased. It isn't until the end of the chapters that you find out why they are being mentioned and in this particular book it just doesn't work the way that Cruz Smith wanted. Outside of those things this is a worthwhile book to read.