Blogcritics Category: Books: Crime

Book Review: 24 - The Official CTU Operations Manual by Denise Kiernan and Joseph D'Agnese

Mary K. Williams — Sun, 4 Jan 2009 16:58:47 EST

Contains the sections one might expect to find: Interrogation, Surveillance, Combat.
I just realized something folks; I could have been working at CTU. Where does this wistful and slightly remorseful statement come from? In 24: The Official CTU Operations Manual there is brief description of offices and facilities at the Los Angeles campus, including the CTU Walsh Memorial Library. “…one of the most extensive...

Book Review: The Ghost and the Femme Fatale by Alice Kimberly

Mel Odom — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:55:30 EST

Pen McClure and the ghost of PI Jack Shepard confront a twisted mystery spanning 60 years and offering certain death.
Alice Kimberly’s Haunted Bookshop Mystery series is a treat for cozy mystery readers. The conceit of having a single mom team up with a ghost of a private eye from the late 1940s might not, on the surface, seem like it would work, but Kimberly has done a swell (to use the 1940s lingo) job over her last four books. The fifth book is due out...

Book Review: The Case of the Left-Handed Lady (An Enola Holmes Mystery) by Nancy Springer

Mel Odom — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 08:25:49 EST

Sherlock Holmes's fourteen-year-old sister investigates again, and the game is afoot!
With The Case of the Left-Handed Lady Enola Holmes is back in her second adventure, and this time she’s in the heart of London. While she’s prowling the dark streets and dangerous alleys of 19th century England, she’s also being hunted by her brother Sherlock Holmes. Nancy Springer has created an excellent series for young readers...

Book Review: Killing Castro by Lawrence Block

Mel Odom — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:27:04 EST

One of Lawrence's Block's early thriller novels is in fine form in this reprint edition from Hard Case Crime.
Lawrence Block’s Killing Castro is a reprint of the original 1960s novel published as Fidel Castro Assassinated under the penname Duncan Lee. As a collector’s item, it’s pricey and hard to find, so for completists looking for a bargain and not stuck on first editions, here’s a bargain - with a fantastic cover.I’m a big...

DVD Review: Perry Mason - Season 3 Volume 2

El Bicho — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:17:19 EST

Perry and his team defend 14 clients on Season 3 Volume 2
Defense attorney Perry Mason is an iconic figure of detective fiction. Created by author and lawyer Erle Stanley Gardner, Mason first appeared in the 1933 novel The Case of the Velvet Claws and went on to appear in numerous novels and short stories. The character was the “King of All Media” before Howard Stern coined the term,...

Book Review: A Snowball In Hell by Christopher Brookmyre

Richard Marcus — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:36:59 EST

Brookmyre is one of the best social critics going as well as being one of the most original crime fiction writers you'll ever read.
It used to be in order to be famous you had to have done something important or have an ability that distinguished you from other people. Artists, scientists, thinkers, explorers, inventors, and military leaders were all likely candidates for fame as they were all in careers that provided opportunities for renown. Any celebrity or fame that came...

Book Review: White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

Vivek Sharma — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 12:06:35 EST

While White Tiger reveals the dark matter in the cosmos of Indian reality, its exposition and complexity requires understanding and humanity absent in this novel.
White Tiger by Aravind Adiga has already won the Man Booker Prize, and is being hailed universally by the critics for its virtues in presenting a narrative quite different from the Bollywood capers and the modern Indian English fiction. In the wake of some well-deserved praise, my biased review might appear like an afterthought examining a foregone...

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Tue, 23 Dec 2008 12:06:35 EST

Beyond the Books: Interview with Crime Mystery Author Marta Stephens

Dorothy Thompson — Sun, 7 Dec 2008 17:39:13 EST

"In many ways it�s a study in human nature � how the criminal mind works and what mistakes will lead to his or her capture."
Marta Stephens is represented by the interviewer's Pump Up Your Book Promotion, a public relations agency specializing in online book promotion. Marta Stephens is a native of Argentina who has made Indiana her home since the age of four. This mild-manner lady turned to crime with the publication of the first in her Sam Harper Crime Mystery...

Book Review: Murder at the Bad Girl's Bar and Grill by N.M. Kelby

Lisa Solod Warren — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:09:41 EST

N.M. Kelby sustains a complicated plot, hysterically funny and sophisticated dialogue, and beautifully rendered musings on art, life, and Florida�s ecosystem.
What do you get when you mix a little magic realism, some riotously funny dialogue that gives Carl Hiaasen a run for his money and characters you really care about and would love to see turn up in a whole bunch of sequels? You get the perfect winter read, a book that could serve as a substitute for a vacation in these troubled economic times, a...

Book Review: The Tenth Case by Joseph Teller

Megalith — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 14:17:50 EST

The Tenth Case is a solid entry into the courtroom thriller genre.
The Tenth Case by Joseph Teller is a gripping courtroom drama for readers who love mysteries and legal thrillers. Teller’s debut novel centers around attorney Harrison J. Walker, known as “Jaywalker.” Although a bit of a cliché, the Jaywalker nickname is appropriate, as Jaywalker is known for playing fast and loose with the...