A Walk on Chicago's Noir Side with Danny Gardner

        

A Negro and an OFAY

By Danny Gardner

                       This gritty Urban Noir book is a loosely fictional account about a real person, Lieutenant William Drury, a person “known for personal bravery” as was said after his death. The story takes place in the early 1950’s in Chicago and includes fresh description and detail on the underbelly of life in the city and surroundings. This author’s mastery of language in both text description and in dialogue is compelling and a real treat to read. The beleaguered protagonist faces systemic corruption and Syndicate confrontation. His fight is lined with persistence, street smarts, and a degree of fatalism. The struggle demands attention and unrelenting commitment, and the author artfully crafts the story in a way that infuses the reader with a tangible passion for the fight.

                Family and friendship are deep ties for Elliot Caprice, the Protagonist, in this book. I found these other characters also to be fascinating to read about in their dramatic relationships. I developed some real favorites among them, and I appreciate the strong men and women characters he creates in his writing. And just wait until you read the femme fatale. This author is a very successful and exhilarating genre bender who weaves unexpected elements into this Urban Noir.

                You may know Danny Gardner as a young stand-up comedian (Def Comedy Jam All-Stars vol. 12), and he also enjoys careers as actor, director and screenwriter. He has several published short pieces of non-fiction and Noir. He’s a frequent reader at Noir at the Bar events nationwide, including in Seattle at the Sorrento Hotel’s Fireside Room. He’s also a regular blogger at 7 Criminal Minds. This is his first novel, and such an impressive start to what hopefully will be a series. He is originally from Chicago and there’s no doubt his deep feeling for his hometown partly inspired the novel. In fact, his dedication of the book is “To Chicago, my love. May your south and west sides rise again.”

                Elliot Caprice is a cop on the run after charges that he killed two crooked colleagues. He returns to his hometown to find the family farm in foreclosure and the man who raised him dying in a flophouse. Desperate to raise the needed money, he starts working thanks to friends. He ends up crossing paths with a powerful family from Chicago’s north shore and a murder. Hired on the side, Elliot investigates with Chicago’s cops and the FBI breathing down his neck, the Mob watchful of his every step, and the wealthy and powerful pushing their own interests. Elliot Caprice is walking a tight wire.

And for more from the author tune into Kendall & Cooper Talk Mysteries with Danny Gardner

Revenge In Paris by Valerie J Brooks

Revenge In Paris

By Valerie J. Brooks

New Year’s in Paris sounds like a dream, but in this contemporary noir novel it’s just the beginning of a swirling nightmare for a smart and impulsive protagonist. Angeline Porter is a criminal lawyer. She knows crime when she sees it, and she’s used to seeking justice in a court room.

When she finds her sister Sophie dead from suicide, she’s overwhelmed with emotion and determined to blame someone. She settles on a likely suspect, Sophie’s French lover, and makes plans to execute her own form of justice, which is fatal. She’s passionately intent on avenging her dear sister.

Follow Angeline to beautiful Paris. She’s incognito, of course. Witness first hand her intricate plotting; how will she murder him? Her devious interactions with her target, and will he catch on in time to save himself? And other questions that pop up as she sets her trap, including that ultimate question – is she capable of vigilante murder? And if so, what happens après le murder? Well, I can tell you that the final scenes in this story present a jarring predicament.

Revenge In Paris, or as I’ve come to think of it as RIP, is the first in a Noir Travel short story series and is free at all ebook stores. Voilà, the second is available the week of October 23rd, titled Portland Prey and a third is on the way. You’ll want to start at the beginning of this adventure though and follow through in sequence. What an incredible setting the author chose, and Valerie Brooks knows Paris very well. Her descriptions of the city and its varied sights are truly pictures in your mind and you get a sense for the places as if you’ve been there yourself. As an incredible bonus, at the end of the story she’s provided us with so much information about Paris, and links to many sites where you can learn even more.

Valerie is certainly a writer of 5-star Noir. Other beautiful writing by her has appeared in Scent of Cedars: Promising Writers of the Pacific Northwest, and also in France, A Love Story. She’s served on the board of directors for Oregon Writers Colony, and she co-founded the acclaimed Willamette Writers Speakers Series.

You’ll be glad you tagged along on this exciting trip to Paris at New Years in Revenge In Paris. The author treats you to a strong, intelligent, gutsy woman who writes her own rules and throws herself into a dangerous situation of her own creation. As has been said, “well-behaved women seldom make history” – or good novels.

And if you want to find out more from the author herself, here’s the link to Kendall & Cooper Talk Mysteries with Valerie Brooks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_VWnNCPL7M 

Win A Kindle With Your Book Recommendation

Your Book Recommendation is your Raffle Ticket to win a Kindle

             

Friends of the Edmonds Library Presents:

And the recommendation goes to . . . . .

Write a book recommendation

Email book recommendations to edmondslibfriends@gmail.com OR hand in your written book recommendation at the Edmonds Library between October 1^st and October 27^th

Age Categories are:  13 and under / 14 – 21 / over 21

Kindles will be given to 3 lucky raffle winners who also earn free help to setup their device and learn about ebooks from Sno-Isle Libraries staff.

Prizes:

Kindle winners will be announced at the Friends Annual Book Sale at noon October 28^th in the Frances Anderson Center

Winners’ recommendations will be published on My Edmonds News

All book recommendations will be displayed on Edmonds Library website and social media

Three recommenders of mystery books will be invited to read their recommendations on the Kendall & Cooper Talk Mysteries Podcast (YouTube, iTunes, Sound Cloud and KBFG radio)

Thank you sponsors:  Friends of the Edmonds Library, Symetra, and Marsh and McLennan Companies

Hollywood Homicide

Hollywood Homicide
By Kellye Garrett

This book is a mystery that’s cozy, gone glam, gone great. Unemployed actress Dayna Anderson was looking for a job, not a mystery when she was scrounging for her last coins to pay for gas. Her car had abruptly hit empty, leaving her stranded blocks down the street. Above her loomed a billboard offering a reward for information on a recent hit and run. Dayna had been in the vicinity and thought she may be able to find information to collect some much needed money.

As Dayna pulls together the information she knows, what’s revealed pulls her into a full-on amateur sleuth investigation. At the same time the intriguing questions and puzzling clues pull the reader eagerly in to find the solution. You’ll truly be tested to identify the murderer and the motivation behind the murder.

As important as it is to share a good mystery, this author also gives us a great cast of characters who bring a delightful vitality and humor to the story. Dayna, with her closest friends Sienna and Emme, are truly laugh out loud funny, so if you’re reading around other people on the bus or at the coffee shop you may get some stares and then some people around you writing down the title of the book. The humor rises naturally from the characters and the situations. You’ll feel like you’re there, laughing with them. Small town character Omari who has just made it big in one of Hollywood’s newest cop shows is a stunning choice for a romantic interest. We get to see him skyrocketing with the overnight success that actually takes years, plus a lucky break. In this case he edges out the originally cast star of the new tv series by a nose, literally.

Added appeal comes from the book’s setting, with the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. “Hollywood is high school with prettier clothes and better lunch options. You study scripts, not textbooks. Try out for roles, not varsity. Take screen tests, not math exams. And you vote for Oscars, not prom king.” The author knows the place well.  Kellye Garrett spent 8 years successfully working in Hollywood, including writing for the CBS drama Cold Case.  She expertly layers in interesting insights about the town and the celebrity business, along with making some fun of the phenomenon that it is.  If you want to hear more from the author herself, click on the podcast – Kendall & Cooper Talk Mysteries with Kellye Garrett

A great setting, starring a fun sleuth with her bright friends, plunged into the subterfuge of murder.

Thereby Hangs a Tale . . . .

Disturbed by Kevin O'Brien

Disturbed

By Kevin O'Brien

This book that I recently inhaled over a lock-all-the-doors weekend was suspense at its best.  And yes, I was Disturbed, in a good way.  Wow!  This author’s characters and situations feel very realistic.  The mystery all takes place involving every day people, adding to the fearful feeling that grows as you read, that this could really happen.  Your imagination will be ignited by suspects and alleged motives.  It’s amazing how involved a reader becomes trying to solve the mystery, as if the reader is actually one of the residents living at Willow Tree Court, part of it all, and needing to stop it.

It’s so much fun to get on and ride this roller coaster of twisted passions and intrigue.  A serial murderer is on the loose.  The target is specific people in their homes where they live on a certain type of street, on cul-de-sacs.  Be on your guard.  No one is safe, while the reader and the characters try to determine if there’s some other pattern for why these people are being attacked in their homes.

There’s a particular family the author is following.  The husband and wife are trying to settle into a very recent second marriage, with his kids who are a teenage boy and his younger sister.  On the outside of this marriage are his ex-wife who moved nearby and her friends who are still living in that same cul-de-sac.  As the plot unfolds, the secrets that are revealed just within this family will raise the hairs on the back of your neck.  A menacing quote from one character that will send shivers down your spine is the ominous, “I knew all your secrets – and all your weaknesses.”

Before becoming a New York Times Best Selling Thriller Author, and recipient of many awards, Kevin O’Brien’s interesting background was as a railroad inspector by day and novel writer by night.  A huge Hitchcock fan, Kevin O’Brien delivers a thrilling suspense of his own in his many hold-your-breath books.  I recommend his books, and now there’s one more – his new book Hide Your Fear is now available.

If you’d like to hear more from the author himself, in his own words, please listen to Kendall & Cooper Talk Mysteries with Kevin O’Brien

Exploring the Soul of an Octopus

Soul of an Octopus

A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness

By Sy Montgomery

Here’s a sweet read written by a mesmerizing storyteller who spins a true novel all about a sea creature that I discovered I knew very little about.  This book entertains with so much interesting information that surprises. The octopus lives an intriguing presence in the oceans, and in our Puget Sound.

The author studies octopus in the wild as well as in captivity primarily at the New England Aquarium in Boston, and also at our Seattle Aquarium, and the Vancouver Aquarium in British Columbia.  Most surprising to me is the personal connection she made with particular octopuses who they named Octavia, Kali, Athena, and young Karma.  How each of these beautiful beings demonstrated real intelligence and unique personalities was described vividly and with strong feeling by the author.

We’re treated to glimpses into the great work the Aquariums are doing, and especially what was featured at our Seattle Aquarium.  It was so fun to read about Seattle’s Octopus Symposium and the Octopus Blind Date events they’d had, as well as exciting descriptions of their work studying the wild octopus in the Puget Sound.

Sy Montgomery is a naturalist, documentary scriptwriter, and author of 20 acclaimed nonfiction books.  She’s been presented with Lifetime achievement awards from the Humane Society and the New England Booksellers association.  She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and the many animals they care for.  She’s said, “I think that animals teach compassion.”

Here’s a taste of the author’s passionate writing.  She’s relating her thoughts of the meeting of the wet and dry worlds while her hands and Octavia’s arms intertwine emotionally at the Aquarium.  Octopuses enjoy time exploring through touch this way.

“In the sea, perhaps, time itself is slowed by the water’s weight and viscosity.  Even with just my hands in (the octopuses) Kali or Octavia’s tank, time proceeds at a different pace.  Perhaps, I muse, this is the pace at which the Creator thinks, in this weighty, graceful, liquid manner – like blood flows, not like synapses fire.  Above the surface, we move and think like wiggly children, or like teens who twitch away at their computer-phones, multitasking but never focusing.  But the ocean forces you to move more slowly, more purposefully, and yet more pliantly.  By entering it, you are bathed in a grace and power you don’t experience in air. . . . To dive beneath the surface feels like entering the Earth’s vast, dreaming subconscious, submitting to its depth, its currents, its pressure, is both humbling and freezing.”

Beat Until Stiff by Claire Johnson has Murder on the Menu

Beat Until Stiff

By Claire M. Johnson

Are you hungry for a fun, summer read?  Here it is - a taste of intrigue, with spicy characters, a dash of humor, and a steamy setting all blended into a delicious mystery.

In this mystery the protagonist, Mary Ryan, is a pastry chef at a fancy San Francisco restaurant.  Some who work at the restaurant, or dine there, hide interesting, personal secrets.  And somebody hides one that’s clandestine.  It’s murder after hours in the restaurant’s kitchen.  You the reader are in a great place to try to solve this murder along with Mary.

To complicate matters, Mary’s ex-husband is a police officer and becomes involved in the investigation.  However, the officer assigned to the investigation is the ex-husband’s former partner on patrol who also knows Mary very well.  Neither of them is interested in Mary’s theories, but as the reader you’ll find that the clues she turns up are very helpful.

I really enjoyed the humor in the book, especially with the amateur sleuth, Mary Ryan.  And not just the characters are described so well.  The author painted a vivid picture of the setting.  San Francisco scenes are well known, but Claire M. Johnson wrote deeper including background snippets about the society and cultures there that put the story into a meaningful context.

Claire M. Johnson knows a lot about the life in her book.  After graduating from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in History, she decided to work as a pastry chef.  She loved it so much she continued for eight years in San Francisco and Oakland during the height of their food revolution. The passion and frenzied pace characterizing the food scene on the West Coast during the 1980s is well documented in this book, her first novel Beat Until Stiff.  For this book she won the 1999 Malice Domestic Writers Grant.  She stopped cooking professionally when her children were born.  Eating at restaurants is still one of her favorite hobbies, with her most discerning critiques reserved for their dessert menus.

If you have an appetite for following clues, meeting interesting characters, and trying to solve mysteries, you’ll enjoy this book.  Perhaps you’ll want to read it with a side of Butterscotch pie – Claire M. Johnson’s favorite.

And if you’d like to hear more, from the author herself, please click on our podcast Kendall & Cooper Talk Mysteries with Claire Johnson - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoqePYM_L5w