Category: Authors

THE WAYS OF WOLFE by James Carlos Blake / Z-View

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THE WAYS OF WOLFE by James Carlos Blake

First sentence…

Axel Wolfe stole a white Ford Fairmont out of the zoo parking lot, then followed Duro’s black Mustang up to I-30 and then eastward a few miles to an exit near a shopping mall.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Axel Prince Wolfe was a married college student whose future was assured.  On track to take a position of honor in the Wolfe family’s law firm.  Axel would have a position of power to various Wolfe family criminal endeavors.  Success and riches were assured.

When an opportunity for a big money heist came his way, it was too much for Axel to resist.  He went in with his best friend, Billy, and a Mexican stranger.  When things went sideways Billy and the new guy took off.  Axel was arrested and convicted.  A thirty year prison sentence took away everything.

Axel disgraced his family.  His wife took off.  His young daughter would grow up refusing to see him.

After two decades in prison, with another decade to go, Axel get the opportunity to escape. He takes it.  Axel and Cacho, an inmate with cartel connections make it out.  Now Axel and Cacho are on the run into the badlands.  With state and local cops dogging their trail and Federales on the Mexican side waiting, the chance for survival is slim.

But if he does survive Axel will see his daughter… and have his revenge.

+++++

James Carlos Blake has created a universe where the Wolfe family’s history spans decades.  It’s interesting (and fun) to see how Wolfe’s on both sides of the border work together in respectable/legal as well as criminal enterprises.

I’ve never been disappointed by any of James Carlos Blake’s novels, but his Wolfe tales are always moved to the top of my to-be-read pile.

Rating:

NOIR BURLESQUE by Enrico Marini / Z-View

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NOIR BURLESQUE by Enrico Marini (writer/artist)

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Terry Cole agreed to one job to pay of his brother-in-law’s debt to a gangster named Rex.  It was a jewelry store robbery.  The heist went sideways when the getaway driver panicked and left early.  Terry made it out, but the haul came up short.  There wasn’t enough to cancel the debt.

To make matters worse, Terry discovers that Rex’s fiancée is Terry’s former lover.  Terry knew her as Debbie, but she now goes by Caprice.  Caprice is gaining a reputation as a burlesque entertainer.  Caprice dreams of stardom and Rex has the money and pull to help her get it.  Still, the attraction to Terry is still there.  And Terry feels the same.  Caprice loves the sex with Terry, but loves the idea of stardom more.

Rex learns of their past relationship and believes that they’ve started seeing each other.  (They have.  But is it lust or love?)  Rex orders Terry to do another job to finish paying off his brother-in-law’s debt.  It’s a suicide mission to rip off Rex’s competition — an Italian mobster.  If Terry is successful, Rex will kill him.

Terry is outmaneuvered and outgunned.  Or is he?  Terry has a secret and a plan that just might save his life.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

If you’re a fan of crime fiction and film noir, NOIR BURLESQUE is for you.  It’s obvious that Enrico Marini loves the genre.  Set in the 1950s, Marini checks off all the boxes expected for a fun crime story.  It’s got the stoic tough guy anti-hero, the sexy former lover who is as apt to shoot you as she is to make love to you, the jealous crime boss, the little tough guy and the big dumb lug henchmen.  It’s got sex (more than in older film noir, but nothing too graphic).  And more than a couple of twists.

I’ve been a fan of Marini’s art for a while, but this is the first story I’ve read by him.  I hope it won’t be my last.  (And I’d love to see more NOIR BURLESQUE tales.)

NOIR BURLESQUE by Enrico Marini (writer/artist) rates 5 of 5 stars.

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RACING THE LIGHT: AN ELVIS COLE AND JOE PIKE NOVEL by Robert Crais / Z-View

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RACING THE LIGHT: AN ELVIS COLE AND JOE PIKE NOVEL by Robert Crais

First sentence…

Josh agreed to meet her at the Coffee Club, which was where they met the first time he interviewed her.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Adele Schumacher wants Elvis Cole to find her missing son.  She’s more than willing to pay since she brought a bag of cash (and a very professional security detail).  Her son, Josh, is a podcaster.  Adele believes her son stumbled on to a story big enough to get him killed.  Elvis isn’t so sure, but he takes the case.

At first it appears that Josh may have just run off with his porn star girlfriend.  But as Elvis digs deeper he wonders if the geeky young podcaster really did discover a story that some well placed politicians and a crime cartel are willing to kill to keep secret.

Elvis won’t have to wonder long.  Soon he is marked for execution.  That is nothing new for Elvis and his partner Joe Pike.  But the love of Elvis’ life, Lucy Chenier, and her son, Ben are in town.  And they could become collateral damage.

+++++

I’m a huge fan of Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole and Joe Pike tales. Each new novel is an automatic pick-up.  They’ve never disappointed.  RACING THE LIGHT is no exception.

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Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger Novels Being Developed as TV Series by Chad Stahelski!

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Jonathan Maberry recently directed fans to Nellie Andreeva’s Deadline article ‘John Wick’s Chad Stahelski To Develop Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger Novels As TV Series.  Here are a few highlights before you click over…

  • Chad Stahelski, director of the John Wick franchise, has acquired rights to bestselling author Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger book series…
  • … the Joe Ledger thriller series consist of 10 novels and various offshoots. Its protagonist, Joe Ledger, is a psychologically fractured Baltimore detective secretly recruited by the government to lead a new task force called the Department of Military Sciences to face off against terrorists using bleeding-edge science weapons. Along with his combat dog Ghost, his team of tier-one special operators, and the resources of the mysterious Mr. Church, Joe faces off against the threats no other team is able to stop.

I’ve been a fan of Maberry’s Joe Ledger tales since the very first.  They are all excellent.  I hope the series adapts one novel each season.

“Curucu, Beast of the Amazon” (1956) / Z-View

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Curucu, Beast of the Amazon (1956)

Director: Curt Siodmak

Screenplay:  Curt Siodmak

Stars: John Bromfield, Beverly Garland, Larri Thomas, Ray Barlow, Sue Bernard, Stuart Lancaster, John Furlong (voice) and Paul Trinka.

Tagline: Actually filmed in the Amazon Jungle in spectacular Eastman Color!

The Plot…

Rock Dean (Bromfield) and Dr. Andrea Romar (Garland) are on an expedition deep into the jungles of the Amazon.  Dean hopes to discover a legendary beast.  Dr. Romar wants to get samples of a drug used by natives to shrink heads.  She believes the drug could be used to reduce cancerous tissue.

As Dean and Dr. Romar venture into areas never seen by white men, they must be prepared for wild animals, head hunters and Curucu, Beast of the Amazon.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Curt Siodmak who wrote and directed Curucu, Beast of the Amazon was a novelist (DONOVAN’S BRAIN; THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS; FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN); screenwriter (The Wolfman; Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman; Tarzan’s Magic Fountain) and director (Bride of the Gorilla; Love Slaves of the Amazon; The Magnetic Monster).

Curucu, Beast of the Amazon was shot on location in the Amazon River in Brazil.  Siodmak shot so much footage that he couldn’t use, he brought back some of the actors.  He created a new screenplay, Love Slaves of the Amazons and used the leftover footage in the new film.

Curucu, Beast of the Amazon uses quite a bit of what feels like stock footage of wild animals.  Except for the final shot, the movie is very run of the mill.

Curucu, Beast of the Amazon (1956) rates 1 of 5 stars.

ROBERT B. PARKER’S BURIED SECRETS: A JESSE STONE NOVEL by Christopher Farnsworth!

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I’m a fan of Robert B. Parker.  I’m also a Christopher Farnsworth fan.  So when I learned that Farnsworth was selected by Robert B. Parker’s estate to continue the Jesse Stone series, I took notice.  Here’s the lowdown…

Police Chief Jesse Stone investigates the mystery behind a dead body found strewn with photos of murder victims and placed on top of $2 million in cash, before a mob of hit men converge on Paradise.

Just another day in Paradise . . .

Chief of Police Jesse Stone is on his way home from a long shift when a call comes in for a welfare check on an elderly resident of the wealthy seaside town of Paradise, Massachusetts. Inside a house packed with junk and trash is a man’s dead body. It’s a sad, lonely end, but nothing criminal . . . until Jesse finds the photos of murder victims strewn around the corpse, on top of a treasure trove of $2 million in cash.

Jesse takes on the case and finds a trail leading to an aging mobster who will do whatever it takes to keep the past from coming to light. Before long, Jesse has a price on his head as hit men converge on Paradise to take back the cash and destroy any remaining evidence. But the real danger might be coming from inside his own department. Jesse Stone must unearth the truth buried under the wreckage of a dead man’s life . . . before he winds up in the ground himself.

BURIED SECRETS drops on February 4, 2025.

“House of Usher” aka “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1960) directed by Roger Corman, written by Richard Matheson, starring Vincent Price / Z-View

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House of Usher aka The Fall of the House of Usher (1960) 

Director: Roger Corman

Screenplay: Richard Matheson based on “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe

Stars: Vincent Price, Mark Damon, Myrna Fahey and Harry Ellerbe.

Tagline: He buried her alive… to save his soul!

The Plot…

Philip Winthrop (Damon) travels to the remote Usher estate.  Philip intends to leave with his fiancée Madeline Usher (Fahey) so they can be married.  Madeline’s brother Roderick (Price) warns Philip that the Usher bloodline is cursed.  All of the Usher ancestors went mad and committed evil deeds.  Roderick wants the Usher bloodline to end.  If Philip and Madeline marry, Roderick feels that the curse will continue.

Both Philip and Roderick are determined to have their way… only one will.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Prior to House of Usher, American International Pictures (AIP) focused on low budget black and white films destined to be second (or third) features at drive-ins.  The demand for these type of films was in decline so AIP rolled the dice.  House of Usher was given a higher budget and made in color.  The gamble paid off.

House of Usher was the first of eight films based on Edgar Allan Poe short stories directed by Roger Corman.

House of Usher aka The Fall of the House of Usher (1960) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Lonesome Dove” (1989) starring Robert Duvall & Tommy Lee Jones / Z-View

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Lonesome Dove (1989) 

Director: Simon Wincer

Teleplay: William D. Wittliff based on LONESOME DOVE by Larry McMurtry

Stars: Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover, Diane Lane, Robert Urich, Frederic Forrest, D.B. Sweeney, Ricky Schroder, Anjelica Huston, Chris Cooper, Timothy Scott, Glenne Headly, Barry Corbin, William Sanderson, Barry Tubb, Gavan O’Herlihy, Frederick Coffin, Lanny Flaherty, David Carpenter, James Terry McIlvain, Sonny Carl Davis, Nina Siemaszko and Steve Buscemi.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Augustus “Gus” McCrae (Duvall) and Woodrow Call (Jones) are legendary Texas Rangers.  But their legends were made years ago.  Now they live quiet lives running a tiny ranch outside the small town of Lonesome Dove. Joshua Deets (Glover) and Pea Eye Parker (Scott), men that rode with them in their Ranger days, help with the ranch.  Also assisting is Newt Dobbs (Schroder), a young man Gus and Woodrow took in when Newt’s prostitute mother died years ago.

Gus and Woodrow couldn’t be more different.  Gus loves life, women, gambling and fun.  Woodrow is a workaholic who seldom laughs. Despite these disparities, Gus and Woodrow couldn’t be better friends.  And they both miss their wild days as Rangers.  When a friend passing through tells them about the beauty and opportunities in Montana, it isn’t long before Woodrow dreams of one last adventure.

Woodrow wants to drive a huge heard of cattle to Montana.  There they’ll start a big ranch in pristine country.  Gus surprisingly has a practical attitude.  They’re no longer young bucks.  They’re not cattlemen.  The territory is wild and full of hostile Indians.  Woodrow holds firm.  The more Gus thinks about it, the more he likes the idea of one last hurrah.

Gus and Woodrow are joined by Deets, Pea, Newt, and a few folks from town who decide to join the cattle drive.  They’ll face inhospitable land, drought, cattle thieves, Indian war parties and challenges they never dreamed of.  Not everyone will survive.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Lonesome Dove was nominated for 19 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning seven

  • winner Outstanding Achievement in Casting for a Miniseries or a Special
  • winner Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for a Miniseries or a Special
  • winner Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Special (Dramatic Underscore) 
  • winner Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Special
  • winner Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or a Special 
  • winner Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries or a Special
  • winner Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Special

Larry McMurtry originally wrote a feature film screenplay. His dream cast was John Wayne (Woodrow), Jimmy Stewart (Gus) and Henry Fonda (Spoon).  I think McMurtry was lucky that it wasn’t made.  The story is big and features a huge cast.  It needed the extra time that the mini-series provided.

Lonesome Dove features such a strong cast and no matter who he was paired with Robert Duvall owned the scene.

Lonesome Dove (1989)  rates 5 of 5 stars.

“The Spirit” (2008) written and directed by Frank Miller / Z-View

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The Spirit (2008) 

Director: Frank Miller

Screenplay: Frank Miller, based on The Spirit by Will Eisner

Stars: Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Jaime King, David Brian Martin, Eva Mendes, Eric Balfour, Louis Lombardi, Sarah Paulson, Dan Lauria and Frank Miller.

Tagline: My city screams. She is my lover. And I am her spirit.

The Plot…

Denny Colt (Macht) was a rookie cop killed on the job. Colt was dead… until he wasn’t.  Now Colt has become a masked crimefighter known as The Spirit.  Supervillains beware!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I’m a Frank Miller fan from his early days on Daredevil comics.  I’ve followed his work through the years and was excited to see that he was writing and directing The Spirit.   Over the years I’d read more than a couple of Will Eisner’s Spirit stories.

I tried to watch The Spirit more than a few times in the past.  It was just too over-the-top for me. I never made it all the way through. It also didn’t seem to be The Spirit from Eisner’s tales.  Recently I decided to stick it out and watch the movie all the way through.  It didn’t get better.

I wish Frank Miller had written and directed a Sin City movie instead of this one.

The Spirit (2008)  rates 1 of 5 stars.

THE BIG EMPTY: AN ELVIS COLE AND JOE PIKE NOVEL by Robert Crais is Coming!

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Any new Robert Crais release is cause for celebration.  If the book is an Elvis Cole and Joe Pike novel, then lock the doors, cause the party is going to be off the chain.  Get ready to bar the doors.

THE BIG EMPTY: AN ELVIS COLE AND JOE PIKE NOVEL drops on January 14, 2025.  Here’s the lowdown…

Private investigator Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, face a cryptic case and a terrifying, unpredictable killer in this twisty, satisfying thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Crais.

Traci Beller was thirteen when her father disappeared in the sleepy town of Rancha, not far from Los Angeles. The evidence says Tommy Beller abandoned his family, but Traci never believed it. The police couldn’t find her dad and neither could the detectives her mother hired, but now, ten years later, Traci is a super-popular influencer with millions of followers and the money to hire a new detective: Elvis Cole.

Taking on a ten-years-cold missing person case is almost always a loser, but Elvis heads to Rancha where he learns an ex-con named Sadie Givens and her daughter, Anya, might have a line on the missing man. But when Elvis finds himself shadowed by a deadly gang of vicious criminals, the simple missing persons case becomes far more sinister and dangerous. Elvis calls in his ex-Marine friend, Joe Pike, to help, but even Pike might not be able to help.

As Elvis Cole and Joe Pike follow Tommy Beller’s trail into the twisted, nightmare depths of a monstrous evil, the case flips on its head. Victims become predators, predators become pray, and when everyone is a victim, can Elvis Cole save them all?

In a case that tests Elvis Cole’s loyalty to his clients and himself, the truth must come out no matter the cost. Elvis must face The Big Empty and see justice done.

When Death Came for Frank Miller by Anthony Breznican for Vanity Fair!

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Anthony Breznican at Vanity Fair recently sat down with Frank Miller for an no-holds-barred interview.  Miller, the comics genius behind Sin City, Dark Knight Returns, Batman Year One, 300, Ronin, and so much more openly discussed his addiction, recovery as well as upcoming projects.  This interview, When Death Came for Frank Miller is not to be missed.

Congratulations to Frank Miller for his health comeback.  The Sin City western is music to my ears.

The Blood Brothers Mother #1 by Brian Azzarello & Eduardo Risso / Z-View

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That’s one of the covers to The Blood Brothers Mother #1 by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso.  I say one of the covers, because there are variants available.  I selected the Eduardo Risso cover, since I’m a huge Risso fan and he did the art for the series.

Anything Azzarello and Risso team to create is worth more than a glance.  Best known for the award-winning series 100 Bullets, Azzarello and Risso should clear out more space on their mantles.  The Blood Brothers Mother is off to that great of a start.

Carter Cain is an outlaw.  Recently released after a five year stint in a Mexican prison, Carter has one thing on his mind.

Anna.

Carter’s gang is there to meet him when he’s released.  They’re ready to take up their old ways.  Easy money to be had by robbin’ and killin’.  But Carter has other plans.  They’ll get Anna and then return to the life.

The fact that Anna’s married with three young boys means nothing to Carter.  She’s his and he’ll have her.

Issue one of The Blood Brothers Mother starts as Carter Cain’s story.  But it’s not.  If anything it is the prologue to Anna’s boys’ story.

Azzarello and Risso’s first issue perfectly sets up a story of adventure and revenge.  The oversize format is justified by Risso’s stunning watercolors.

The Blood Brothers Mother #1 by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) directed by Neil Jordan, starring Tom Cruise & Brad Pitt / Z-View

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Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

Director: Neil Jordan

Screenplay: Anne Rice based on INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE by Horace McCoy

Stars: Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Antonio Banderas, Kirsten Dunst, Christian Slater, John McConnell, Bellina Logan, Thandiwe Newton, Indra Ové, Helen McCrory, Roger Lloyd Pack and Stephen Rea.

Tagline: Drink From Me And Live Forever

The Plot…

Daniel Molloy (Slater) is a writer looking for a story.  After a chance meeting with Louis de Pointe du Lac (Pitt), he may have found it.  Louis claims to be a vampire.  Although Molloy is skeptical at first, Louis quickly proves he is what he says.

As Molloy records and takes notes, Louis tells his story. In 1791 Louis was a young, wealthy Louisiana plantation owner.  That changed the evening the vampire, Lestat (Cruise) turned him.  No longer human, Louis and Lestat moved through the night.  Undead but living.  Forced to leave Louisiana, when folks began to suspect Louis and his new friend were behind many disappearances, Louis and Lestat head to New Orleans…

Louis’ tale spans 200 years.  New Orleans.  A new vampire joins them.  Betrayal.  A journey to Europe where they discover the Théâtre des Vampires.  True Vampires putting on plays where they pretend to be humans playing vampires! The victims are real.  To tell more of Louis story would be to say too much.

But I will leave you with this… can an interview with a vampire end well?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles was nominated for two Academy Awards

  • Best Art Direction-Set Decoration: Dante Ferretti Francesca, Lo Schiavo
  • Best Music, Original Score: Elliot Goldenthal

Anne Rice was not initially happy when Tom Cruise was cast as Lestat.  When Rice wrote the novel she envisioned Rutgar Hauer in the role.  She thought of Alain Delon when writing the screenplay.  Then when it was time to cast the role she suggested John Malkovich, Peter Weller, Jeremy Irons or Alexander Godunov.  When Cruise and Pitt were selected for the two leads she suggested that Pitt play Lestat.  That wasn’t to be.  When the film was released, Rice had come around to the Tom Cruise casting.  She said he brought something to the role that she had not foreseen.

While I’m a fan of many of Tom Cruise’s movies and I do really like Interview with a Vampire, I think he was miscast as Lestat.

River Phoenix was set to play Daniel Malloy before his untimely death.  Christian Slater then got the part.  Slater donated his salary from the film to two of River Phoenix’s favorite charities.

The initial scene Stephen Rea shares with Brad Pitt is both funny and a bit scary.  It’s a favorite of mine.

Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) rates 4 of 5 stars.

MYSTIC: THE MONK ADDISON CASE FILES by Jonathan Maberry is Coming!

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I’m a big fan of Jonathan Maberry’s novels.  My favorite is his JOE LEDGER series, but everything I’ve ever read by Maberry has been worthy.

MYSTIC: THE MONK ADDISON CASE FILES is on my “must-buy” list. (How about that cover by Lynne Hansen!)

MYSTIC: THE MONK ADDISON CASE FILES drops December 3rd, 2024.  Below is the synopsis…

Gerald “Monk” Addison used to be a soldier. Sometimes he’s a bounty hunter. Mostly, he’s a killer of killers.
His body is covered with the faces of victims of serial killers, human traffickers, and other monsters. Their blood is mixed with holy water and then inked onto his skin, allowing him to relive their deaths. To feel what they felt, and to see what they saw. The faces of the killers.

And then Monk goes hunting.

He is forever haunted by the ghosts who hire him. A madman mystic. A man driven to darkness and acts of shocking violence. Monk is a good man on a dark and dangerous road in search of personal redemption. In search of red justice.

MYSTIC collects the Monk Addison case files, pitting him against the most dangerous kinds of human monsters. These are stories of a complex and driven hunter of men. They are tales of a mystic hunting the nightmare streets and back alleys.

For full details click here.

A TROLL WALKS INTO A BAR: A Noir Urban Fantasy Novel by Douglas Lumsden / Z-View

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A TROLL WALKS INTO A BAR: A Noir Urban Fantasy Novel by Douglas Lumsden

Publisher: Independently published (November 17, 2019)

First sentence…

If I had failed to notice that he was packing a quarter of a ton of rock-hard muscle into his seven-and-a-half foot frame, or if I hadn’t observed the loose grayish skin that made his face look as if it were made of wet clay, the large close-set ears that rose to a point next to his hairless skull, his blood-red sunken eyes glowing like half-hidden warning lights beneath a stony brow ridge, his predator teeth behind oversized dark ruddy lips, and his large knobby hands with clawed fingers that extended like eight thorny tendrils, I wouldn’t have known he was a troll.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Our story takes place in a world where trolls, gnomes, were-rats, ocean nymphs, adaro, Dragon Lords, elves and other mystical creatures live along side humans.  Alexander Southerland is a human private detective.  He’s getting by (barely), by knowing the players and using his smarts.

One night Southerland is enjoying a quiet drink in a bar.  His peaceful evening is ruined when a seven-and-a-half-foot tall troll pulls up a chair.  The beast is a cop.  Detective Stonehammer provides his credentials and a warning.  He tells Southerland that a sexy dame is going to come to him wanting help.  Southerland is to turn her down.  Southerland asks how much she’s paying.  Stonehammer says it doesn’t matter since Southerland ain’t takin’ the job.  And with that fair warning, the troll leaves.

Against his better judgment, Southerland meets with the woman.  Although he initially turns her down, curiosity gets the best of him.  She may be playing him, but it doesn’t matter once you’re in too deep.  Southerland finds himself in the middle of a gang war, on the run from crooked cops and corrupt politicians… and those are just the humans!  Discovering what is in the locked box will either kill or save him.  The smart money ain’t on him livin’.

+++++

A TROLL WALKS INTO A BAR is my first book by Douglas Lumsden.  Normally, I don’t read fantasy.  If you’re story has elves and mystical creatures, I’m not you’re audience.  Yet something about the opening pages of Lumsden’s story drew me in. (Oh, and let’s not forget the cool cover!)

I love crime, noir and detective stories.  Add the right mix of humor and violence and I’m on board.  I don’t normally read stories with elves, gnomes and fantasy aspects.  Still, I kept thinking about the tale Lumsden set up.  I decided to give A TROLL WALKS INTO A BAR a try.

I’m glad I did.  Alexander Southerland is the type of hero I like in a detective yarn.  Smart, tough and with enough attitude to get him in tight jams as he tries to (mostly) do the right thing.  I even enjoyed the trolls and other creatures.  While I’m not ready for a constant diet of this genre, when I do want another taste, I know Douglas Lumsden is open for business with other tales.

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