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Title: Life's Work

Subtitle: A Harry Stoner Mystery, Book 6

Author: Jonathan Valin

Narrator: Mark Peckham

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-17-12

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Cincinnati Cougars' Billy Parks was All-Proand he's missing. Harry Stoner's job was to find him and get him into shape for the season. But Billy's photo told Stoner he didn't like the manor the shape he was in. The eye revealed a killer mentality - a player who crushed, mangled, and sacked with pleasure. Billy's disappearing act might be part of a contract dispute or something far more deadly. For Stoner suspected that Billy had become a mean machine who went on scoring in a sordid world of drugs and violence, where death hit with a blindside tackleand life lasted only until the final cut.

Members Reviews:

A fine entry in the Harry Stoner Series

Cincinnati's Harry Stoner occupies his domain much the same way as Loren Estleman's Amos Walker occupies Detroit or Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder occupies New York City. This is one of the better entries in a first mystery series that has Stoner tracking down a missing NFL player. Hardboiled detective fiction fans will love it.

The only murder mystery about a Canadian league player.

I recommend Valin. Start with The Lime Pit and read them in order

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Title: Hot Stuff

Subtitle: A Lessor and Moore Mystery, Book 6

Author: Don Bruns

Narrator: Jeff Cummings

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-16-12

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

An attractive sous chef at the famous LElfe is murdered and half of the employees are suspect. Lacking confidence in the police to solve the murder, Chef Jean Bouvier seeks a quicker solution. He hires private eyes James Lessor and Skip Moore to go undercover and discreetly investigate his restaurant staff. But their investigation turns up far more than they bargained for.

Skips girlfriend, Emily, confesses that the murder victim and she had been close friends at one point in their lives and had shared a very dark secret. But Emily refuses to elaborate, building a wall of defense between herself and the two young detectives.

The more James and Skip investigate the background of the victim and the people she knew, the more they are convinced that this shared secret has far-reaching implications that may lead to the motive for the murder. The closer they get to the answer, the more desperate someone is to stop them.

Members Reviews:

Easy reading mystery writer

Don Bruns books are usually set in the Caribbean or Florida geographical area which is easy living and fun in the sun atmosphere plus his characters are so true to life. The words flow off of the page so that it doesn't take forever to get from beginning of the book to the end. It is just a pleasure to read his mysteries and Hot Stuff was good reading even though I have no interest in the restaurant business whatsoever. I have all of Don Bruns books and I hope his next one takes place on a boat or is a water story with some music involved!

Submitted by Carol

An quick and enjoyable escape

I got this Kindle book at a really good price. Not familiar with the author, but was interested because of the cooking angle. It was quite enjoyable and the characters were likeable. Although I had a pretty good idea who the murderer was about half-way through the book, I enjoyed the story and the writing. I will probably look for more from this author in the future.

A great read!

A great read with lots of suspense and lovely humor. I love a good laugh and Don Bruns knows how do do that in his books.

Hardy Boys Wanna Be

Could not get past the first one quarter of this book as is almost nonsensical. Two inexperienced and for the most part unemployed guys are hired to find the killer of a friend. Why? Just could not get past the fact that these two novices are fumbling and bumbling along and somehow they have creds as private detectives licensed by some obscure state agency.

Stuff Serires

Good, fun fare. Mr. Brun's novels get better as they investigate unusual subjects that not many authors would tackle. "Good Stuff" (to coin a phrase)

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Title: Trick of Light

Subtitle: A Kay Farrow Novel, Book 2

Author: William Bayer

Narrator: Talmadge Ragan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-14-12

Publisher: Crossroad Press

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Originally released under the pseudonym David Hunt.

A shocking and provocative new thriller from the author of the national best seller The Magician's Tale. Kay Farrow, a color-blind photographer who sees the world in black, white, and shades of gray, probes the mysterious death of her beloved mentor on a quest that takes her to the darkest intersections of San Francisco's Mission District.

When distinguished photojournalist Maddy Yamada is struck by a motorcyclist at two in the morning in a seedy area far from her Marina apartment, Kay Farrow's grief is tempered by suspicion. What could have drawn the reclusive Maddy so far from home at such an hour? Kay believes Maddy's work in progress - blurry, abstract images uncharacteristic of a woman famous for her unsparing clarity of vision - holds elusive clues, clues Kay is determined to decipher.

Tracing old photographs and undeveloped film discovered in one of Maddy's cameras, Kay begins to bring into focus Maddy's activities at the time of her death. The territory Kay must cover runs from the back alleys of the Mission to the elite enclaves of Pacific Heights and beyond, to a very private shooting preserve miles north of the city. Lurking in her path is a netherworld of decadence and evil - and evidence that Maddy's death was no accident.

Kay doggedly pursues a winding path to justice, negotiating a labyrinth of debauchery and dark desires.

New York Times best-selling author William Bayer has written numerous crime novels. His books have won several prizes, including the "best novel" Edgar, have been published in 15 foreign languages, and his Janek series novels have been made into seven television movies all broadcast on CBS. He and his wife, cookbook author Paula Wolfert, lived in the Sonoma Valley in Northern California.

Critic Reviews:

"Eerie as a midnight walk in the fog." (The New York Times Book Review on David Hunt's The Magician's Tale)

"Hunt mesmerizes with his sleight of hand." (People)

Members Reviews:

skip this one

I am a huge William Bayer fan but this book left me laughing for reasons I'll explain after a spoiler alert. The book is a dark mystery starring Kay Farrow, a colorblind professional photographer who is investigating the death of her close friend and mentor, Maddie. On the whole the book is well written but not nearly as good as the 1st in this series. Better yet, I suggest "The Dream of the Broken Horses" as a really top notch example of what this author can accomplish. Now on to the part that ended up so funny that It destroyed this book for me.

We start with Kay, an accomplished and prize-winning photographer who is also very skilled at Aikido (a martial art). She is terrified of guns but later through a short 4 day course becomes very skilled here as well. She is investigating the death of Maddie, a woman who was also a photographer and is in fact world renowned for war photography. We find out later that Maddie, in her youth, was perhaps the best trick shooter in the world but gave it up. Maddie's parents are people described as the best tracker/hunter in Wyoming and the best known hunting camp cook in the west. Maddie made friends with "Bee" while working in a circus (where Maddie was a trick shot artist and Bee maintained the guns used).

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Title: Edited for Death

Author: Michele Drier

Narrator: Lee Ann Howlett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-14-12

Publisher: Michele Drier

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Amy Hobbes never expected to solve anything tougher than a crossword puzzle. When she left her job as a journalist in Southern California, she planned to give the adrenaline a rest, but her next job, managing editor of a local newspaper, delivers some surprises. After a respected Senator and World War II hero dies and two more people turn up dead, the news heats up. Both victims had ties to a hotel owned by the Senator's family. With the help of reporter pal Clarice and the new man in her life, Phil, Amy uncovers a number of shadowy figures, including a Holocaust survivor who's spent 60 years tracking down Nazi loot. It's a complex and dangerous puzzle, but Amy can't walk away until she solves it.

Members Reviews:

Solid start for a series

I truly liked Amy Hobbes as a protagonist, empty nest mother of a grown daughter, who's had a couple of bad breaks with relationships: widowed young when her cop husband is killed on duty, followed by a divorce from Mr. Wrong. The relationship she re-kindles with a former colleague seemed too good to be true to me, bordering on romance genre, but I suspect it's more that I'm not a woman of a certain age who might appreciate those details more than I did.

As with most first novels, the "mystery" angle vies with series setup details, so the ending wasn't the strongest part of the story. In my case, the professional relationship between Amy and her protégé reporter Clarice made for the most compelling aspect. My memory may not be the greatest, but I don't recall a story featuring women newsroom colleagues (Amy does give a "hat tip" to Edna Buchanan as a trailblazer).

I'm looking forward to the sequel that Ms. Drier has in the works, especially if Lee Ann Howlett narrates that one as well. Her Amy voice fits the character well, but I liked Clarice's quite a bit, also - no way you'll confuse the two women!

A good cozy mystery in history.

Any additional comments?

This wasn't really my kind of book, but I know a lot of people enjoyed it from the reviews. I found the characters really interesting and the story line really good. I liked how the story switched between the past and the present and the mystery expanded between the two time lines.

I listened to the audio version and the narrator did a pretty good job. I found the reading really slow, and even 3X was too slow for me. But the characters were interesting.

Not really for me, but a good cozy mystery in history.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

Lots of WW11 historical facts

My Review

Let's be clear, I would never have chosen this audiobook had the publishers summary more accurately represented the content. I wanted a fast moving murder mystery, instead I had a history lesson. I'm sorry to say, but I found this book boring, I felt obliged to listen to the end as it was gifted to me. The main character, Amy, did little to enliven the story, OK, she was starting a sexual relationship with an old friend but even this didn't lift the story. The only lively element is Clarice, how much better the story could have been had she featured as the lead character, her boring old boss could have chirped in from the sidelines.

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Title: The Man of Gold

Author: H.R.F. Keating

Narrator: Sheila Mitchell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-13-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

For a respectable governess like Harriet Unwin, her first few weeks in the shabby, inhospitable home of the Partingtons were as unhappy as any she could remember. The bone-chilling cold, the grim sparseness of the meals, the embittered meanness of old Mr Partington: But for the kindness shown by his son, her spirit must surely have been crushed. But worse was to come for Harriet. Her chance discovery of the old man's cherished secret was, she felt sure, the cause of the attack that finally stilled his heart.

The doctor, however, thought otherwise. It was neither illness nor old age that killed poor Mr Partington. It was poison....

Members Reviews:

Thoroughly Victorian

This is the 2nd Miss Unwin to which I've listened. I again enjoyed it very much. Sheila Mitchell has grown on me as the narrator to such an extent that I cannot imagine anyone else reading these very victorian stories. A great ending to the book.

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Title: Act of Fear

Subtitle: Dan Fortune Mystery

Author: Dennis Lynds

Narrator: Patrick Lawlor

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-12-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

A one-armed PI looks for a link between a mugged cop and a missing kid.

Until he lost his arm, Dan Fortune was known all over Chelsea as a crook with promise. He was looting a ship when he slipped and fell, breaking his arm in so many places that the doctors were forced to amputate, ending his criminal career and forevermore branding him Pirate Fortune. Since fate forced him to go straight, he has become the resident private eye of this run-down part of Manhattan, chiseling out a career of divorce work and subpoena delivery. But a big case is coming his way.

A beat cop is mugged in broad daylight and, as is the norm in this hard-bitten neighborhood, nobody saw anything. The only possible witness is Jo-Jo Olsen, who disappears the next morning. Unsure if hes looking for a witness or a perp, Fortune hunts for the kid, unearthing ugly secrets in a neighborhood he thought he knew well.

Members Reviews:

Strange writing style

Good plot but a non native american would do better not writing in the first person as an American. It seems strange to see a native New Yorker speaking with British spelling and using non-American syntax and colloquialisms sp?)

Fortune's First

Act of Fear (1967) introduces Michael Collinsâ most notable series character, the one-armed private detective Dan Fortune. The Fortune series is credited with helping move the detective genre into the modern age, but there is little indication of that historical role here as Fortune in this first book is a fairly traditional sardonic private dick in the Phillip Marlowe/Lew Archer mold.

This maiden foray gives us some background on Fortune and involves him in an increasingly puzzling mystery having to do with a young man who disappears one day. The more Fortune digs into the case, the more people connected with it seem to wind up in the hospital or dead. The resolution is inventive and fairly plausible if a bit contrived. Still, a very impressive debut for a series that makes you want to read more.

one of the best PI novels of all time

What a beginning! Everything really began with the mugging of a cop, and in a few days private detective Dan Fortune is hired by a young client. Pete Vitanza, college boy practicing as a mechanic, can't find his best friend, Jo-Jo Olsen, also a mechanic who is obsessed with motors and interested in Vikings. The boy did not come for work, and parents say that he had gone somewhere, but Pete feels something's wrong and pays detective fifty dollars (big money for a boy), that he'd find Jo-Jo. Fortune thinks Olsen certainly has gone with some girl and will soon appear, but to appease the conscience, decides to fulfill the received fifty dollars and ask around here and there. Fortune guesses that either the Olsen mugged the patrolman or saw who did it, that's why he went into running. Detective looks for a fugitive for three days and have already decided to quit the case, did not find any clues, as in the alley Fortune is attacked by a burly man who threatens that Fortune should forget about Jo-Jo and mind hos own business. The big man is the father of a runaway boy, and it finally convinces detective, that something is wrong with the Jo-Jo case.

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Title: Make Believe

Subtitle: An Edna Ferber Mystery, Book 3

Author: Ed Ifkovic

Narrator: Christine Williams

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-06-12

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

"Others find peace of mind in pretending. Couldn't you? Couldn't I?" - from the song "Make Believe," by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II for the musical Show Boat

In June 1951, Edna Ferber heads to Hollywood to support an old friend, Max, who has found himself blacklisted in the McCarthy anti-Communist hearings, which have rattled Hollywood with allegations of Communist sympathies. She has no plans of becoming involved with the soon-to-be-released MGM film based on her bestselling novel Show Boat.

She first met Max Jeffries when he worked on the 1927 Broadway production of Show Boat, and most recently he had brought his magic to the new film version starring Ava Gardner. In fact, he was the one who pushed to have Gardner play the role of Julie, the doomed mulatto. But Max, expelled from the MGM lot and shunned by friends, is not credited on the film because of his political leanings. Edna's visit is one of friendship, nothing more - until Max ends up dead. Edna now must search for answers to the questions surrounding his death.

She begins socializing with Ava Gardner, a woman currently scandalizing Hollywood and annoying Hedda Hopper because of her affair with Frank Sinatra, who has left his wife for the sultry goddess. Edna finds Ava, the supposedly hard-as-nails temptress, to be a vulnerable, insecure woman whom she comes to like. Because the gentle Max was killed right after a public brawl with Sinatra, Ava fears that her lover will be implicated.

Edna plays sleuth quietly, becoming involved with the people who hang around the edges of Hollywood fame and fortune, where she uncovers dark layers of greed, envy, and desire. Against the backdrop of the new Show Boat is the tawdry romance of dream-street Hollywood itself - all part of the world of make-believe.

Ed Ifkovic taught literature and creative writing at a community college for over three decades. His short stories and essays have appeared in the Village Voice, America, Hartford Monthly, and Journal of Popular Culture.

Critic Reviews:

"Set in 1951, Ifkovic's enjoyable third Edna Ferber mystery deposits the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer in Hollywood just before the premiere of the movie Show Boat, based on the musical adapted from her 1926 novel. A host of Hollywood and Broadway personalitie,s from Hedda Hopper to George S. Kaufman, provide period color." (Publishers Weekly)

"Ifkovic's series jumps ahead to author Edna Ferber's Hollywood days, when her novel Show Boat is being filmed and a blacklisted friend is killed. Mix in Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner for an unforgettable read." (Library Journal)

"Edna Ferber returns to the 1950s and to her most unlikely avocation: amateur sleuthing." (Kirkus Reviews)

Members Reviews:

Enjoyed meeting Edna and especially Ava.

Loved the idea of Golden Age Hollywood meets Algonquin Round Table writer. Originally went looking for the author of Cimmron and found Edna but never a Kindle version of Cimmaron. I intend to learn more about Edna but all that aside. I gave the book a low rating because it just read sooo slow. I now Edna was no spring chicken but how many times was she going to return to the hotel without something interesting or exciting happening? By the time I reached the end I didn't care who did it. Thanks to the author. Love your premise and characters.

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Title: Operation Fireball

Author: Dan J. Marlowe

Narrator: Adam Epstein

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-01-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Five strangers Two million bucks One lusty redheadAnd no holds barred.

Staying out of trouble might be relaxing for some guys. But too much peace and quite make me very nervous. Hazelthe luscious lady who keeps me busy and happy during long winter eveningswas trying to sell me her retirement plan. I was tempted. But then suddenly an old pen pal turned up with a couple of friends and a scheme that started my motors going full blast. A two million dollar heist. Cash. Already out of the bank and stashed in a nice, respectable museumin Cuba.

They needed me to help them get it back to the States. That should have tipped me. A hijacker trying to get back from Cuba? I shoulda stood in bed. With Hazel.

Members Reviews:

Dan J. Marlowe wrote fast-paced, clear-eyed crime fiction ...

Dan J. Marlowe wrote fast-paced, clear-eyed crime fiction, but the power is diminishing in Operation Fireball from his first two novels with this hard-boiled protagonist. Determined to score large, the ex-con with plastic surgery hooks up with a questionable crew planning a rip-off in Fidel-era Cuba, and of course there are complications as the plans go awry. If you get into the swing of the caper, it builds to a quick and for me less than satisfying climax, ending as if the author had run out of energy for the project. I may not on to another of Marlowe's books featuring "Drake" for fear of yet diminishing interest, but the first two, The Name of the Game is Death and One Endless Hour delivered some true chills.

Solid reading for crime fans

It is fantastic that these books are becoming available at an inexpensive rate through Kindle. I have recently discovered Dan Marlowe, and after reading The Name Of The Game Is Death, decided to start making my way through the rest of his novels about The Man With No Face. This is the 2nd sequel to The Name Of The Game...it is a well-paced heist book that puts the hero in touch with an old connection who has a hard path to $2 million dollars. The action runs across the country to Florida then across the water to Cuba. This book features the return of Hazel, the hero's love interest from the first novel. Nothing too complicated but there is a twist at the end I did not see coming. Very enjoyable reading.

Two Stars

These stories start off great, but have gone downhill by this, the 3rd installment.

Drake Invades Cuba In Search Of Lost Treasure

"Operation Fireball" is the third book in the Drake series and it is a pivotal book in the series, marking Drake's metamorphosis from hardboiled criminal to men's adventure character. This is a terrific, fast-moving story which takes Drake and the redheaded Dynamo named Hazel into a new world of adventures from a wild battle with a horde of country folk to a search for millions in abandoned treasure in Fidel's Havana. Getting there with a ragtag crew of criminals and smugglers is half the fun as they evade both Castro's troops and an entire U.S. Military base. Although this book is a departure from the hardboiled goodness of the earlier books in the series, it works well as a tough nosed adventure story.

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Title: Peruvian Nightmare

Author: Mike Barry

Narrator: Adam Epstein

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-12-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

When a wolf leaves the pack, he lives only as long as he can kill by himself quicker and surer than any pack he runs up against. Meet a man beyond either forgiveness or vengeance. Meet the Man they call The Lone Wolf. Better meet him now. The way he lives, he can't live much longer.

Burt Wulff found himself in something called the Hotel Crillon in Lima. It was steel and glass, looked like a Hilton, and had beggars living in the eaves. In Wulff's room there was a small man who wanted you to think he was Peruvian, but Wulff figured he was German if he was anything at all. He wanted Wulff to deliver several million dollars' worth of heroin to the States. Several of the most efficient man-hunting organizations in the world - a few of them legal - desperately wanted Wulff dead, and knew where he was. Wulff said, "I don't think you understand...."

One of the other two men in the room both sprawled on the floor, shook, limbs flailing like and insect's, in his coma. The small man flinched, and said, "Your work is well known. But you will never get out of Peru without my help...."

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Title: Day One

Author: Bill Cameron

Narrator: Fred Berman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-11-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Born and raised in southern Oregon farm country, Ellie Spaneker flees her home and abusive husband, unaware she's being tracked by an ex-cop in the hire of her vengeful father-in-law. In Portland, retired homicide detective Skin Kadash fills his idle days drinking coffee and searching for Eager Gillespie, a teen runaway of special interest as the only witness in a troublesome and long-unsolved murder. Eager, meanwhile, is on his own, grifting and oblivious to the danger he's in.

Members Reviews:

Better Late Than Never

I've come late to the Bill Cameron party. So if you're already a fan, this will reaffirm what you know. If you haven't read him, you should. And if you've read him but you're not a fan there's something wrong with you (though he may not be your cup of tea, which is okay). I started with DAY ONE, and it's as quirky as the city in which it's set, Portland--Oregon, that is--as twisted as Portland's streets, and as dark as a winter's day there.

It's also beautifully written, with fully realized characters, even the bad guys. While we don't get to know them well, we know exactly what drives them. Cameron does a little time-tripping to help with back story, but he plays fair and announces where his time machine is going at the beginning of each chapter. Keep up because the ride is well worth it.

Skin Kadash, Cameron's series protagonist, here is at a juncture in his career, no longer a cop and unsure of his place in the world. But he's a compelling and likable guy, and I look forward to seeing how he got to where he is career-wise and as a man.

Rocking good stuff.

Slightly Overwound, but Lyrically Original

"Day One," Bill Cameron's third crime novel, is big, sprawling, messy and bleak. It's also deep, thoughtful, gorgeously written and full of memorable characters who are as original as they are flawed.

It's far from perfect, given an incredibly complicated flashback structure that probably makes the reader work too hard, but Cameron makes the effort worth it by creating a handful of characters so frail and damaged and vulnerable and yet hopeful that you can't help but hope they'll find their way through the godawful mess they've helped create.

Most memorable are Ellie Spaneker, a tormented housewife from rural Southern Oregon trying to find her salvation in her missing best friend; Eager Gillespie, a teenage dirtbag from the dumpy side of the tracks who secretly harbors the thin hope of helping himself out of his dead-end life through helping others; and Skin Kadash, the main character, an aging and ailing ex-cop with not enough to do and a reluctance to do what's thrust upon him. Yet, he finds to his dismay, he hasn't quite detached from the world enough to stop caring -- or stop putting his fine cop's brain to work.

Portland, as always in a Cameron novel, makes for an incredibly vivid setting, though Cameron tends to dwell on the parts of town that the Chamber Of Commerce would probably prefer not to spotlight.