Deep Blue Alibi excerpt

I've fallen behind in reading Paul Levine's legal thrillers, though I've always enjoyed them. At least one of his Jake Lassiter books was made into a TV movie with Gerald McRaney: Jake Lassiter: Justice on the Bayou.

I got a postcard today about his newest book, The Deep Blue Alibi, touted as a Hiaasen meets Grisham effort.

A preview is available at Levine's website, paul-levine.com, so if you're interested it's due on shelves Jan. 31.

S is for Silence

I spent a little longer on the treadmill yesterday to hear more of S is for Silence (12 hours unabridged) by Sue Grafton. I still have a couple of hours to go, and it's certainly keeping my earbuds in my ears.

The latest Kinsey Millhone mystery is a cold case investigation, set in the eighties with flashbacks to 1953. Kinsey is hired to find Violet Sullivan, who would probably have been called a loose woman in her day.

As Kinsey works her way through a list of people who knew Violet including her abusive ex-husband and her worshipful former baby sitter, alternating chapters flash back to third-person vignettes featuring key figures from 1953.

Rich addition
The well-realized flashbacks add richness to the narrative while building suspense as Kinsey inches toward answers even as we realize people are lying to her.

Maybe today I'll find out what happened.

My next listen
I'm kind of liking this kind of mystery, so next I'll be listening to Sunstroke by Jesse Kellerman, the tale of a young woman unraveling the past of her boss and lover.

For "Left Behind" Fans - a Top 10 List

The Left Behind website has a posted a light-hearted list - Top Ten Ways to Know If You're Obsessed with Bible Prophecy.

"Nail Biter" Sample

I'm intrigued by Nail Biter, a new entry in the "Home Repair is Homicide" series. Home repair and even furniture assembly have given me thoughts of homicide before.

Penned by Sarah Graves, this installment features self-styled witches accused of a minister's murder. The novel and series heroine is faced with finding the true killer.

A sample chapter is available here.

Odd Thomas Returns

When I got my iPod last Christmas, Dean Koontz's Life Expectancy was the first book I downloaded. I listened to that tale of killer clowns and clairvoyant experiences through vaccuming and exercise sessions for most of January.

I guess my year has come full circle because I'm finishing up with Forever Odd, the sequel to 2003's Odd Thomas.

Odd Thomas is a fry cook who sees dead people - ghosts who can't actually communicate with him but who appear nonethless with messages and hidden meanings. The ghost of Elvis lingers in his presence in this outing.

Odd talents
Odd's talents helped him thwart dark doings in the first novel yet couldn't protect him from some loss. They make him the target of a villaness just slightly less offbeat than the evil clown in Life Expectancy.

She is a classic Koontz character, though. She's well drawn and quirky with sinister motivations that drive her to manipulative action.

Most of the action takes place in a single setting interestingly. As I pedaled through a cardio workout last night, I joined Odd on an obstacle course of attempted escape.

Odd velocity
Forever Odd is definitely one of Koontz's fast paced efforts, one of those like Intensity that seems to unfold in a single, energetic burst. It's brief by Koontz standards, only about eight hours on audio.

Is it as good as the original Odd adventure? Not quite, but it's not a bad audio experience and should be interesting on the page as well.

Sue Grafton Discusses "S Is for Silence" on Audible

This is Audible, essentially Audible.com's podcast, features a great interview with Sue Grafton in its Dec. 13 edition.

She talks about her newest Kinsey Milhone adventure, S is for Silence, and speaks candidly about her background in Hollywood as a screen and television writer.

Audio excerpts from the book are included as well.

The novel, by the way, involves Kinsey in a thirty-year-old investigation and sounds like it may be structured a little differently than some of the other books in the series with viewpoint scenes featuring Violet Sullivan, the woman whose disappearance Kinsey is investigating.

Find out how she feels about the audio adaptations of her work and alsom more about why she's chosen not to sell the series to Hollywood.

Joseph Finder's Latest

I've become a fan of Joseph Finder's recent thrillers--corporate-themed tales of intrigue, although he may be best known to many for his military thriller High Crimes, made into a movie with Morgan Freeman and Naomi Judd.

His November newsletter annouces a new business thriller, Killer Instinct, not to be confused with the recently cancelled Fox series.

It will be set in the electronics industry and promises much of the same flavor that made his recent Company Man a fun, twisty read.

Fans will get an opportunity to receive a particularly interesting specialty item tied to the book.

For more watch Finder's website.