The Tales of Elliot Caprice - A Super Series

 Ace Boon Coon

By Danny Gardner

The next of the Tales of Elliot Caprice series is the new book Ace Boon Coon. This is a detective novel that addresses issues of race and class by building these issues seamlessly into the dramatic plot. What results is a totally unique detective in Elliot Caprice, an intriguing read, and fascinating characters. This is a super sequel in a historical crime fiction series about a disgraced police officer caught in a world caught between black and white, where murder exposes a clash of greed and competing interests.

Set in 1950's rural Illinois, Elliot Caprice returns to help his uncle save the family farm as he struggles to keep it through a terrible drought. Elliot is pulled into more than he bargained for when a murder draws him back to Chicago. Twists keep Elliot investigating as he resolves to find answers, and to save those he cares for the most. Once Elliot Caprice is challenged, he doesn't back down. As one of the characters sums it up, “It's his backbone . . . Sometimes it gets to him.”

This author is a Chicago native and is extremely knowledgeable in history, philosophy, literature and much more. His extensive research is woven into the tapestry of this story. The city of Chicago in this historical perspective is a fascinating depiction, and appears almost as another character in the story. When Elliot Caprice's Uncle Buster says “I hate this city. She takes too much.” Elliot says “She ain't so bad, after she kills you once or twice.” It's a vivid depiction of this contentious city that these characters fight to survive in. Another aspect of the story that pulls the reader into the story is the colloquial language that is a unique linguistic flare of the era brought to life. It's a compelling cast of characters, with varied motives and ethnic backgrounds.

Author Danny Gardner has enjoyed careers as a Stand-Up Comedian, Actor, Director, Screenwriter and Author. He's a Pushcart Prize nominee and his flash fiction has been featured in Out of the Gutter and on Noir On The Air. He's a frequent reader at Noir at the Bar events nationwide. He blogs regularly at 7 Criminal Minds. He's a proud member of the Mystery Writers of America and the International Thriller Writers. Danny Gardner lives in Los Angeles by way of Chicago. His first book A Negro and an Ofay began his Tales of Elliot Caprice series, now followed by Ace Boon Coon. To learn more about Danny Gardner, check out bronzevillebooks.com on social media or his author page on Amazon or Goodreads, and to hear more from the author, listen on YouTube to  A Novel Talk with Danny Gardner.

Tainted Times 2 - Lies, Love, Limits of Justice

 

Tainted Times 2
By Valerie J. Brooks

Your heart will be racing as you turn the pages of this psychological noir thriller and follow the adventures of former criminal defense attorney Angeline Porter. After her self-defense killing of two leaders of an extortionist mob, the new leaders want her money and then they want her dead. Tainted Times 2 indeed. She's laying low in Kauai, but she's uneasy in her hide out. She doesn't want to hide, she wants to fight for justice. She yearns for a fulfilling life again, after the painful betrayal by her dead sister Sophie.

The sexy and cerebral Gerard, an undercover FBI agent and Sophie's former lover lures Angeline into being the bait in his continuing investigation. She debates the wisdom of working with him, but she's ready to immerse herself into the effort trapping the mob that's after her and ending their domination. Gerard surprises her with the secret she never suspected, that she has another sister who is very much alive and was raised by another family. Angeline's hopes are quickly dashed as she discovers that her newly discovered sister could be connected to the extortionists determined to kill Angeline herself.

Angeline detaches from suspicious activities in Kauai that entangle her and heads for the mainland and the even greater hazards ahead. There are many intriguing twists and turns to Angeline's fight for justice, and she is confronted with danger on all sides. Part of the answers to the mystery can only be found by delving into secrets of the past in her very own family. Secrets can be painful, and the consequences can sometimes be deadly. Angeline is going to have to rely on her wits and on skills she didn't even know she has.

The action is riveting, and this novel keeps the tension taut throughout with the complex characters and their unpredictable motives. The plot sparks with dynamite when Gerard and Angeline come back together on this mission. They share an undeniable attraction that's contaminated with impossible complications. The author tells the story through Angeline as the action happens and the reader is propelled into her dynamic reactions and thought process in real time.

The author, Valerie J. Brooks' first book in the Angeline Porter trilogy, Revenge in 3 Parts was a finalist for the Nancy Pearl Book Award. She received an Elizabeth George Foundation grant and the Monticello Award for Creative Writing. As a literary activist, she served as Associate Fiction Editor at Northwest Review for four years, was a Board of Directors member of Oregon Writers Colony and co-founded Willamette Writers Speakers Series. She's a proud member of Sisters in Crime, and you can find out more at her website valeriejbrooks.com. Valerie enjoys life in Oregon with a nearby large family and lives in the McKenzie River Valley with her husband Daniel Connors and their spirited Havanese pooch Stevie Nicks.