Quickies

The Scavenger's Daughter by Mike McIntyre. Fo' Stars. Our villain is using medieval torture devices to kill his victims. Good plot. Check it out here.









Elvis Has Not Left the Building by JR Rain. Fo' Stars. Elvis is older, but now he's a private detective in Southern California. Fun book. Check it out here.








Open Season by Archer Mayor. Fo' Stars. First book in the series (~1988), so keep than in mind when you are asking yourself: why don't they just use their cell phone? I've bought more of these books. Check it out here.

Stonewall's rating system here.

Without a Spark by George Berger

Bueno

So, Stonewallians, why is this book ranked 342,054 in the Kindle Store? Not sure myself, because I found it to be a fun read.

I don't laugh aloud when I'm reading something - and if I do it's rare. I didn't do that while reading Without a Spark, but there were some funny, clever moments. And this is draped in front of a good plot, clear writing, and unique characters that I haven't seen before.

The plot unfolds nicely, Berger does a good job of avoiding info dumps and gives us what we need know at the right time. There is some sex in the book, if you're worried about that one way or another. There are a few reviews on Amazon (here!) that may provide more insight than I can, seeing that I am an amateur reviewer and all.

I liked Berger's dry humor and got a kick out of his self-flagellating humor on his website here. (Not to be confused with self-flatulating humor, which would be worse.)

If you are biased against self-published authors, here are a couple of points to assuage your angst: the book was formatted correctly and I didn't find any typos. In two or three places the dialog was a bit garrulous, but I got through it in about fifteen seconds.

I'd like to see this book get more sales - it's quick and well though out. The book is worth at least $2.88 and a few hours of your time.

And I'd like to see these characters again. What better rec can I give? Fo' Stars, Jorge.

Stonewall's rating system here.

The Cleaner by Brett Battles

Bueno

In a reader review somewhere out there, I read that Brett Battles was a cross between Lee Child and Robert Ludlum. After reading The Cleaner, it was a good comparison (except Battles' sentences are longer than Childs', which are difficult to be any shorter).

It's a fast moving plot without any info dumps - he feeds you info as you go and it keeps the pages turning. The writing is very good and I liked the characters. Our hero, Jonathan Quinn, does a little continent jumping and Battles does a good job giving a sense of place (but not too much, which I prefer).

I'm tired, so I'm not expounding as much as I should, because this is a book worth reading. If you like Lee Child's Jack Reacher, you'll like Battles' Jonathan Quinn.

I'll keep my eye out for the next book in the series, The Deceived. As I like to say, I'll read more of his work - what better rec can I give? Bueno, Brettito: Fo' Stars.

Stonewall's rating system here.

The Devil's Right Hand by JD Rhoades

Bueno

JD Rhoades is an attorney, which makes sense because of his initials. And someone that shares the same initials with JD Sumner (from JD Sumner and the Stamps, Elvis' background vocals in the 70's) can't be half bad from the get-go.

This is another one that I picked up for free, along with a couple more of his books. It seems that The Devil's Right Hand was originally published by St. Martin's back in 2005, and now Rhoades has the rights back and is offering it directly (good for him).

The book met my requirements as a Free Book Freeloader, and I put it in the queue (along with a few hundred others). I read the blurb, checked out his website and blog, and came away with the idea that Rhoades was a pretty affable guy.

I really enjoyed this book. Great characters, plot, dialogue, and just flat out good writing. There weren't necessarily any surprises, but the plot convergence at the end of the story came together well, and with a lot of suspense, to boot.

I'm generally loathe to compare folks to other authors, but if you like Hiaasen, Tim Dorsey or Ben Rehder, you will like The Devil's Right Hand. (This is a little more serious and suspenseful than those, though.)

I picked it up for free, but I would have paid for it. And I'll read more of his stuff. Like I say, what better rec can I give? Great job, JD. Fo' Stars.

Stonewall's Rating system here. Since this is published directly, I consider this an Indie for my purposes.
Amazon equivalent: 4.5 Stars

Bangkok Burn by Simon Royle

Bueno

One guess where this is set. Bangkok Burn is a fun book with some quirky characters and a fast plot. I discovered the book while I was scavenging for free books, and I'm glad I found it. (It's back to the regular price now, but worth the dinero.)

Royle does a good job providing insight to Thai culture and mores. Ample description of the city and of rural scenes, but not too much (which I prefer). Great dialogue and a well thought-out plot; all loose ends were tied up.

I'll admit at times I had trouble keeping things straight, but Royle continues to give you what you need to know, and I found myself straightened out quickly enough.

I don't really know much about the author, but it seems he's a Brit living in Bangkok. Makes sense - he knew enough to write about it.

I liked these characters and I'd like to see them again (Mr. Royle?). If you want a thriller with a new setting, I'd recommend Bangkok Burn. If you just want a thriller, I'd still recommend it.

Bring these characters back, Khun Simon. Fo' Stars.

Stonewall's rating system here.

The Shopkeeper by James D. Best

Bueno

Let's see, the last western I probably read was Lonesome Dove (which qualifies as a Stonewall Five Star, since I would read it again). I'll take that back: I read a couple of John Locke's Emmett Love books (good, quick reads, by the way).

So, with my predilection for free books (or the actual search for them, as discussed here), I stumbled across James D. Best's The Shut Mouth Society. Recognizing his name a few weeks later with yet more libros por no dinero, I hit the free book hat trick: three free Best westerns (get it?) in his Steve Dancy series.

At this point in my life, I'm looking for quick, fun, interesting reads. Enough of reading the description of an azalea for five pages - I want some fun without all the prose.

The Shopkeeper did not disappoint. It's well written with deep characters (that we care about) and a swift plot that keeps the pages turning.  The descriptions of the vast Nevada country are ample without the overkill. Great dialogue and a well contrived plot. One caveat: the formatting needs to be fixed, but it didn't deter me from the story.

I'll read the rest of his work at some point. Great yob, Yimmy. Fo' Stars.

Stonewalls rating system here. I think this was originally published by a small press, but I categorize it as an Indie for my purposes.

I Really Don't Want to Know

A song you don't hear too often. This from one of his last concerts in 1977. He's sporting the Mexican Sundial and hits all of the notes. Now with Spanish subtitles!