Category: Crime

KRAJ the ENFORCER: STORIES by Rusty Barnes

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I’ve never read anything by Rusty Barnes.  That’s about to change.  I’m going to put in my order for KRAJ the ENFORCER: STORIES.  Check out the synopsis below,  It may be something you’d like as well.

Meet Kraj—pronounced krai—a low-level errand boy and hitman masquerading as a bouncer for Tricky Ricky Gutierrez, nefarious owner of the Twist, a club in upstate Elmira NY. A place that has both a LGBTQIA night and a cowboy country night, this cockeyed corner bar in northern Appalachia supports Ricky’s illegal schemes, and serves as a rural balm for Croatian-war refugee Kraj.

Kraj plies his trade over a short span, moving from petty theft to strong-arming tips from people at the door, breaking up redneck fights, protecting the club’s nubile female staff and collecting gambling debts owed Tricky Ricky. Kraj eventually gets sucked further and further into Ricky’s underworld plans, where he wants to be seen as a man on the come-up, but he has problems moving up in Ricky’s organization will never solve. His sister Ana, missing since the Croatian War for Independence, never strays far from his mind.

Kraj, together with his sometime girlfriend Cami, newly become manager of a franchisee McDonald’s, and his manager Mikael. negotiates his way through underground fight clubs, prostitution rings, drug deals, petty thievery, and of course, murder. Tricky Ricky gives Kraj a great deal of rope and autonomy to operate.

Will he hang himself with it or swing?

TOO MANY BULLETS (Nathan Heller) by Max Allan Collins!

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Max Allan Collins’ Nate Heller series is one of my favorites. Collins takes famous murders, thoroughly  researches them and then sticks Nate Heller in the middle of things.  It’s cool seeing Heller (who ages in real time through the series) interacting with famous people in cases and often with an ending not quite like what we’ve come to believe.  Collins always includes an afterward with insights and a bibliography.

Collins latest Nate Heller yarn is TOO MANY BULLETS.  Here’s the lowdown…

Acclaimed “True Crime” detective Nathan Heller, whose cases have sold more than 1 million copies, returns to uncover the secrets behind Robert F. Kennedy’s 1968 assassination in this brand-new novel from bestselling ROAD TO PERDITION author Max Allan Collins.

In 1968, Nate Heller is there when Robert Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel. Heller takes it upon himself to investigate the murder when a friend of his and Bobby’s raises doubts about the LAPD’s investigation. Heller strongly suspects the involvement of Jimmy Hoffa (currently imprisoned), but Hoffa seems to be in the clear as the private eye looks into the possible presence of CIA enemies of RFK’s on the murder night, the apparent manipulation of Sirhan Sirhan into a Manchurian Candidate-style assassin, and a probable second shooter.

A TROLL WALKS INTO A BAR: A Noir Urban Fantasy Novel (Alexander Southerland, P.I.) by Douglas Lumsden

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I usually like my crime fiction to be hardboiled and realistic.  Well, as realistic as hardboiled fiction usually is.  Still, sometimes it’s fun to venture off into some crazier territory. A TROLL WALKS INTO A BAR: A Noir Urban Fantasy Novel (Alexander Southerland, P.I.) by Douglas Lumsden looks to fit the bill.

When a troll speaks–listen up! Hardboiled P.I. Alexander Southerland just wants to enjoy a quiet drink when a 500-pound troll walks into the bar. Next thing he knows, Southerland is navigating his way through rogue cops, a gang war, beautiful nymphs from the ocean depths, a were-rat, the mayor’s corrupt fixer, the sleaziest (and cleverest) gnome in Yerba City, and creatures right out of legend. At the center of it all is a mysterious locked box. Can Southerland discover its explosive secret–and survive long enough to pay his rent on time?

I read the Amazon sample and liked what I saw.  Check it out.  You may as well.

JACK REACHER: THE SECRET by Lee Child & Andrew Child

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Next month we’re getting a new Jack Reacher novel!  As you can see, it’s THE SECRET written by the father and son team of Lee and Andrew Child.  Here’s the lowdown…

1992. All across the United States respectable, upstanding citizens are showing up dead. These deaths could be accidents, and they don’t appear to be connected—until a fatal fall from a high-floor window attracts some unexpected attention.

That attention comes from the secretary of defense. All of a sudden he wants an interagency task force to investigate. And he wants Jack Reacher as the army’s representative. If Reacher gets a result, great. If not, he’s a convenient fall guy.

But office politics isn’t Reacher’s thing. Three questions quickly emerge: Who’s with him, who’s against him, and will the justice he dispenses be the official kind . . . or his own kind?

“Justified: City Primeval” – Does the Twist Ending Set Up Another Season with Raylan vs Boyd?

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Justified: City Primeval ended on a cliffhanger or maybe it didn’t.

Check out Justified: City Primeval Closes Out With Epic Twist: “It Was a Dangerous Idea” by Josh Wigler at The Hollywood Reporter.  Wigler talks to Justified: City Primeval creators Michael Dinner and Dave Andron about the “twist” ending.  We also learn what Timothy Olyphant and Walter Goggins had to say about it.

I thought the ending to Justified: City Primeval was perfect.  Dinner and Andron were right in not having Boyd Crowder show up sooner.  I agree having Raylan visit Boyd in prison to help get a read on Mansell would have felt a little too Silence of the Lambish.  It would have also taken a bit of the luster off of Mansell (who was a great character in his own right).

If we get another season of Justified, it should involve the final confrontation between Raylan and Boyd Crowder.  But if that happens, how do you top it?  Would that mean the series ends? (Say it wouldn’t be so.)

I would love Justified go on for several more years.  Each new season would be Justified: __________.  That’s Justified with a subtitle.  ; )

I wrote earlier that I thought the ending to Justified: City Primeval was perfect.  Fans of the series were hit with a surprise that we didn’t see coming.  Kudos to all that kept Walter Goggins’ appearance a secret.  The ending flawlessly set up a potential next season.  But if we don’t get another round of Justified, fans are left with the ability to imagine their own ending.  I think Elmore Leonard would have liked that.

“D.O.A.” starring Edmund O’Brien / Z-View

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D.O.A. (1949)

Director: Rudolph Maté

Screenplay: Russell Rouse, Clarence Greene

Stars: Edmond O’Brien, Pamela Britton, Luther Adler, Beverly Garland, William Ching, Neville Brand, Frank Cady, Hugh O’Brian, Jerry Paris and Bill Baldwin.

Tagline:  A picture as excitingly different as its title!

The Plot…

Frank Bigelow (O’Brien) learns that he was poisoned with a a “luminous toxin” that will kill him in a few days.  The toxin has no antidote.  Bigelow is determined to discover who and why he was marked for death,  The clock is ticking.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

What starts out as a fun weekend in San Francisco turns into one of the noirest noirs.

Sadly the copyright on D.O.A. wasn’t renewed so there are many poor copies out there.  Beware!

This is Neville Brand’s first credited role.  Look for future tv stars in small roles: Beverly (My Three Sons) Garland, Frank (Petticoat Junction / Green Acres) Grady and Jerry (Dick Van Dyke) Paris.  Hugh O’Brien, who would go on to star in feature films and more than one tv series, has an uncredited role.  Bill Baldwin, perhaps best known for his role as a fight commentator in Rocky, Rocky II and Rocky III, also has an uncredited role!

There’s a scene where Edmund O’Brien is running down a crowded city street.  O’Brien bumps into pedestrians as others look around confused by the man running past them at full speed.  That scene is an example of Gorilla Filming.  The filmmakers made the shot without any permits or permission.

I’m a D.O.A. fan and like to revisit it every so often.

D.O.A. (1949) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Justified: City Primeval” (2023) starring Timothy Olyphant & Boyd Holbrook / Z-View

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Justified: City Primeval (2023)

Written by: Dave Andron & Michael Dinner (eps. 1 – 2, 7 – 8); Eisa Davis & Chris Provenzano (eps. 3, 5); Taylor Elmore (ep. 4); Taylor Elmore & V.J. Boyd (ep. 6)

Directed by: Michael Dinner (eps. 1 -2, 8); Jon Avnet (ep. 3); Gwyneth Horder-Payton (ep. 4); Kevin Rodney Sullivan (ep. 5); Sylvain White (ep. 6); Katrelle Kindred (ep. 7)

Stars: Timothy Olyphant, Boyd Holbrook, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Adelaide Clemens, Marin Ireland, Victor Williams, Norbert Leo Butz, Alexander Pobutsky, Terry Kinney, Regina Taylor, Yosef Kasnetzkov, Paul Calderon, Amin Joseph, Walton Goggins, Keith David, Natalie Zea, Luis Guzmán  and Vivian Olyphant.

Tagline:  None.

The Plot…

Raylan Givens (T. Olyphant) is a US Marshall and part time father to his 15 year old daughter, Willa (V. Olyphant). Raylan is sent to Detroit to testify in a court case.  While testifying, Raylan tests Judge Alvin Guy’s patience.  That evening the judge is murdered by a sociopath named Clement Mansell.. Raylan is assigned to the team tracking down the killer.

Mansell is known as The Oklahoma Wildman.  He has no fear and kills without remorse. Before it is over, Raylan will find himself dealing not only with Mansell, but an attorney willing to cross the line in her efforts to become a judge, a dirty cop, and the Armenian mob.

“You want a shootin’ match?  Let’s go.”

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Elmore Leonard novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit doesn’t feature Raylan Givens.  It was adapted to bring back Justified.  The novel’s protagonist is Homicide Detective Raymond Cruz.  The Cruz character also appeared in Leonard’s Out of Sight novel.  When Out of Sight was transformed into a feature film starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez, Paul Calderón played Detective Cruz.  Calderón also appears as Cruz in Justified: City Primeval.

A hero is only as good as the villain he’s facing.  Clement Mansell is a great one.  Boyd Holbrook is perfect.  Other standouts include:

  • Aunjanue Ellis as Carolyn Wilder.  Wilder is Mansell’s defense attorney who ends up in a complicated relationship with Raylan.  She’s strong, vulnerable and willing to cross lines that shouldn’t be crossed.
  • Vondie Curtis-Hall as Marcus “Sweety” Sweeton.  Sweety was once a talented musician, crook and friend to Mansell Clement.  Now Sweety owns a bar.  Sweety is drawn back into the life with the return of Mansell and his plan to get rich.
  • Adelaide Clemens as Sandy Stanton.  Sandy is Mansell’s woman girl. She’s in way over her head and sees no way out.
  • Victor Williams as Detective Wendell Robinson.  Williams is best known for his comedic role on The King of Queens.  Here he shows his dramatic chops.
  • Keith David as Judge Alvin Guy.  Keith is only in one episode, but he shines.

Some actors/actresses are born to play a character.  Timothy Olyphant is a perfect example.  He IS US Marshall Raylan Givens.  Everyone remembers the great lines and Olyphant’s delivery.  I also love the quiet moments when Olyphant uses his body language, eyes and facial expressions to sell a scene.

It’s not often a series returns and is as great as the original.  Justified: City Primeval is a great example that it can be done.  There’s an excellent set-up for another season at the end of Justified: City Primeval.  I hope it happens.

Justified: City Primeval (2023) earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Desperation Road” starring Garret Hedlund & Mel Gibson – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Desperation Road is one to keep an eye on.  Great source material, starring Garret Tulsa King Hedlund and co-starring Mel Gibson.  Yeah, deal me in.

In a small Mississippi town, justice and the law are two very different things. Academy Award Winner Mel Gibson (Braveheart), Garret Hedlund (TRON: Legacy), and Willa Fitzgerald (Scream: The TV Series) star in a modern noir thriller based on the acclaimed novel by Michael Farris Smith about two lost souls tortured by the mistakes of their past and bound by a secret that keeps them running.

RELEASE DATE: October 6

CAST: Mel Gibson, Garrett Hedlund, and Willa Fitzgerald