A fun, escapist read with a dynamic duo.
A murder-and-mayhem adventure unfolds in the small Texas town of Shotgun City.
Twenty-four chapters and 24 authors, each one forwarding a chapter to the next writer without knowing what that scribe would contribute to the narrative. This was the assignment from Cozy Cat Press for what is the publisher’s third such experimental endeavor. The tale opens at 4 a.m. Saturday, when Molly Jones is awakened by a phone call from her roommate, Janet Phillips. Janet is in Shotgun City, 50 miles outside of Dallas, where their close friend Merilee Mason has been arrested on an apparently trumped-up charge. Now, Janet is stuck with a car that will not start, and she needs a ride home. The two friends meet at the jail, where they eventually encounter Officer Eric Bartlett, a three-year veteran of Shotgun’s police force. He later tells them Merilee is being charged with the murder of her mother, who died six months earlier in what had been ruled an accident. But Molly and Janet are sure someone powerful is framing Merilee. The villain is quickly revealed to be Merilee’s uncle, Raymond Boyd, owner of the Flying B Ranch. While there is no mystery as to who the bad guy is and the conclusion is predictable, there are more than a couple of surprises concerning the relationships among the dizzying array of players. Each author adds a new character, a twist, or a piece of an unanticipated backstory. The occasionally humorous, action-fueled storyline builds on the traditional Texas lore of bandits and long-hidden treasure. Then adds a corrupt police department, misfit ranch hands, plenty of guns, a couple of oversized macho trucks, and a refreshing bonus—two strong, young women determined to obtain justice for their friend. Kudos to editor Donley and the team of authors for maintaining a level, lighthearted linguistic tone. There are no jarring switches from chapter to chapter, and readers are likely to forget this is a book composed by committee.
A fun, escapist read with a dynamic duo.Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-952579-17-2
Page Count: 194
Publisher: Cozy Cat Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.
The feds must protect an accused criminal and an orphaned girl.
Maybe you’ve met him before as protagonist of The 6:20 Man (2022): Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine, who’d had the dubious fortune to tangle with “the girl on the train,” is now assigned by his homeland security boss to protect Danny Glass, who's awaiting trial on multiple RICO charges in Washington state. Devine has what it takes: He “was a closer, snooper, fixer, investigator,” and, when necessary, a killer. These skills are on full display as the deaths of three key witnesses grind justice to a temporary halt. Glass has a 12-year-old niece, Betsy Odom, and each is the other’s only living relative—her parents recently died of an apparent drug overdose. The FBI has temporary guardianship of Betsy, who's a handful. She tells Travis that though she’s not yet 13, she's 28 in “life-shit years.” The financially well-heeled Glass wants to be her legal guardian with an eye to eventual adoption, but what are his real motives? And what happens to her if he's convicted? Meanwhile, Betsy insists that her parents never touched drugs, and she begs Travis to find out how they really died. This becomes part of a mission that oozes danger. The small town of Ricketts has a woman mayor who’s full of charm on the surface, but deeply corrupt and deadly when crossed. She may be linked to a subversive group called "12/24/65," as in 1865, when the Ku Klux Klan beast was born. Blood flows, bombs explode, and people perish, both good guys and not-so-good guys. Readers might ponder why in fiction as well as in life, it sometimes seems necessary for many to die so one may live. And what about the girl on the train? She's not necessary to the plot, but she's a fun addition as she pops in and out of the pages, occasionally leaving notes for Travis. Maybe she still wants him dead.
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781538757901
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
As usual, Evanovich handles the funny stuff better (much better) than the mystery stuff.
Stephanie Plum’s 31st adventure shows that Trenton’s preeminent fugitive-apprehension agent still has plenty of tricks up her sleeve, and needs every one of them.
The current caseload for Stephanie and Lula—the ex-prostitute file clerk at her cousin Vincent Plum’s bail bonds company, who serves as her unflappable sidekick—begins with two “failures to appear.” Eugene Fleck is suspected of being Robin Hoodie, who robs from the rich and, yes, distributes the proceeds to the poor. Racketeer Bruno Jug, who’s missed his court date on charges of tax evasion, is also suspected of drugging and raping a 14-year-old. But neither of these fugitives can hold a candle to Zoran Djordjevic, aka Fang, a self-proclaimed vampire wanted in connection with the gruesome fate of his late wife and three other missing women. As usual, Stephanie’s personal life is just as helter-skelter as her professional life as a bounty hunter. She’s managed to get herself engaged both to Det. Joe Morelli, of the Trenton PD, and Ranger, a former Special Forces agent who runs a private security firm; she thinks she may be pregnant; and she’s willing to marry the father, whichever of her fiances that turns out to be. On top of it all, her nothingburger schoolmate Herbert Slovinski suddenly pops up at one of the funerals she ferries her Grandma Mazur to, hitting on her relentlessly and gilding his importunities by cleaning and painting her shabby apartment and laying new carpet. Luckily, Lula’s on hand to offer cupcakes that stave off the worst disasters, and whenever this hodgepodge threatens to slow down, another FTA appears, or fails to appear.
As usual, Evanovich handles the funny stuff better (much better) than the mystery stuff.Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781668003138
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
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