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KD Thorne and Spring Reading

KD Thorne and Spring Reading

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Still working on the third KD Thorne novel, which begins with ransomware attacks on hydroelectric dams. No title yet, but I’m making good progress, I think. In the meantime, I’ve been getting some reading done.

Recently read The Grifter’s Daughter (book 1 in the Grifter’s Daughter series) by Duane Lindsay. This is a comic caper crime novel featuring Dani Silver, a professional thief and con artist. This time out, she’s assembled a crew to go after a crooked televangelist. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong as she tries to rope her score. Crisp writing and fast pacing keep it all rolling along. Very enjoyable.

Also read Kinds of Love, Kinds of Death (1966) by Donald E Westlake. You may recall that I am a big fan of Westlake’s Parker books (written as Richard Stark). Westlake originally wrote the Mitchell Tobin mysteries under the pen name Tucker Coe, but they’ve been re-released under his own name.

Tobin, a disgraced former police detective, is hired by a mob boss to find out who killed his mistress. Off he charges, using police techniques to hunt down the guilty party in New York’s underworld. I started it one night and finished it the next day. A top-notch who-done-it with no wasted words. If you read old school crime books, you’ll love this one.

All for now.

Happy reading!

April reading and research

April reading and research

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Recently read Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead. This book has received a lot of hype—and it does not disappoint. Ray Carney’s a Harlem furniture store owner just trying to navigate his way between the crooks and crooked cops in his neighborhood while he keeps his store afloat through legal and not-so-legal means. His cousin’s a hustler with a lot of bad ideas about how to get rich quick. And when his cousin ropes him in on a jewelry heist, he’s scrambling like mad to stay out of jail, out of the clutches of the mob, and to keep his part of their score, all while protecting his reputation as an upstanding businessman. Lots of fun!

You might recall that at the end of January I picked up a copy of The Gone Sister (Lee Callaway Book 2) by Thomas Fincham. Two plot threads here—the murder of a college basketball player and the disappearance of a young woman. While the cops are looking into the murder, Lee Callaway has been hired by the missing woman’s blind sister to find her.

This book starts out slow for me, but as it moves along, it picks up speed and the complications become a lot more interesting, particularly the way the two cases intertwine. Liked the blind sister character a lot.

And if you’re following my crime research, here’s a link to an article about how cybercriminals use checks stolen from mailboxes.

https://theconversation.com/how-cybercriminals-turn-paper-checks-stolen-from-mailboxes-into-bitcoin-%202165721446+Version+A+CID_cdcec7d6744fe4b86bfbc8d9e77a0d8e&utm_source=campaign_monitor_us&utm_term=How%20cybercriminals%20turn%20paper%20checks%20stolen%20from%20mailboxes%20into%20bitcoin

Finally, the Kirkus review of Murder at Mercy Creek is out. Kirkus calls it “… a ballet of tension and rough justice.” You can read the full review here: 

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/michael-p-king2/murder-at-mercy-creek-kd-thorne/

Happy reading!

In Iowa, spring is just beginning to peek out

In Iowa, spring is just beginning to peek out

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Just starting to write a new KD Thorne thriller—this time hackers are using ransomware against hydroelectric dams. And thanks again to those of you who picked up a copy of Murder at Mercy Creek. It means a lot. A few more reviews are showing up, which gives me a little extra incentive to push on with the new book.

In the meantime, two books I read recently—

Welcome to Cooper by Tariq Ashkanani was recommended to me. This book reads like a classic noir movie, but it takes place in contemporary Nebraska (US) and is written by a Brit. It’s got all the pieces of the puzzle—bad cops, femme fatale, pressure to do the wrong thing to get the right result. And Ashkanani doesn’t flinch from taking the story where it needs to go. Lots of surprises and lots of grit. So if you enjoy old school crime fiction, this is one for you.

Also read Deadly Stillwater by Roger Stelljes (Book 3 of the McRyan mystery series). It involves the kidnapping of two young women that appear at first to be unrelated. McRyan and his team of St. Paul, Minnesota, detectives have their work cut out for them trying to find the women and capture the kidnappers. Lots of local color and high-speed action. 

This book started out slow for me, but after it gets going, Stelljes keeps all the balls in the air, juggling a complex plot that just doesn’t quit until it’s all tied up in the last few pages. It’s free on Amazon today if you want to take a look:

https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Stillwater-compelling-thriller-Mystery-ebook/dp/B005WUVLAG

All for now. Happy reading!

Murder at Mercy Creek

Murder at Mercy Creek

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Murder at Mercy Creek, the second KD Thorne thriller, is out now. Whoo-hoo!

To celebrate the release, the eBooks for Murder at Mercy Creek and The Hunt for the Hijacked Nerve Agent (KD Thorne Book 1) are each $2.99 (US) for the next seven days. After that, they go up to $4.99. (The paperback for Murder at Mercy Creek will be out shortly.)

Here’re the universal links to your favorite store:

Murder at Mercy Creek: https://books2read.com/u/mYyn6V

Hunt for the Hijacked Nerve Agent:  https://books2read.com/u/bMwaXv

And here’s the Murder at Mercy Creek blurb:

A few fingers sticking up out of freshly dug dirt…

After an undercover FBI agent working for an interagency taskforce is found dead in a county park, National Defense Agency operatives KD Thorne and Jeffery Blunt are sent to Mercy Creek, Iowa, to run a parallel investigation into drug running, gun smuggling, and police corruption.

Who’s running the guns and trafficking the drugs? How was the undercover agent discovered? Which cops can be trusted and how many are on the take?

As KD and Blunt follow the money trail and contraband up and down Interstate 35 from Iowa to south Texas, the traffickers push back, eager to protect their anonymity and their business. Will KD and Blunt unravel the conspiracy before the traffickers find the opportunity to put them in their graves?

Murder at Mercy Creek is a swiftly paced thriller that will keep you reading into the night. If you like unpredictable plot twists and nail-biting suspense, you’ll love the second novel in the KD Thorne series.

…

I hope you enjoy it. And I’d love to hear what you think.

Happy reading!

Just a quick note

Just a quick note

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As promised, The Murder Run: The Travelers Book 6 eBook is $0.99 through February 3. So if you need to catch up on the series, now’s your chance. Here’s the universal link to your favorite store:

 https://books2read.com/u/mdzyPE

The description:

Never cheat a partner. Always get revenge. . .

The Traveling Man takes on a quick and easy safecracking job…easy until his partners are murdered and he’s on the run.

His wife is trying to settle into her new role as a rich man’s girlfriend, so she isn’t at his side.

Who are these killers who are after him? And how are they connected to the government agency that wants the envelope he took from the safe?

With the help of a new associate, he tracks the killers until he’s steered into a trap. They think he’s cornered, but he’s still got one ace up his sleeve. . .

The Murder Run is a gritty, hard-boiled crime thriller. If you like criminal intrigue, surprising plot twists, and high-speed action, you’ll love the sixth novel in the Travelers series.

…

By the way, this is the first book to make mention of Clara Garcia and the National Defense Agency, the organization that KD Thorne and Jeffery Blunt work for in the KD Thorne thrillers.

The new KD Thorne thriller, Murder at Mercy Creek, should be out as an eBook in about two weeks.

All for now. Happy reading!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

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Still finishing up Murder at Mercy Creek, KD Thorne book 2. KD and Blunt have been sent to Mercy Creek, Iowa, to investigate the murder of an undercover FBI agent who was working on a corruption case that spans the Interstate 35 corridor.

Drug running, gun smuggling, and police corruption. A criminal cartel jealous of its turf. A local sheriff whose motives are hard to read. What could possibly go wrong?

Meanwhile, two books of interest—

Read The Erasers by Alain Robbe-Grillet (English translation from French). This was an award-winning French novel written in 1952. It concerns a supposed murder being investigated by a special agent who doesn’t know that the victim survived the attempt and is in hiding. The writing is stylized, following the point of view of most of the characters at some point in the text. It’s a sort of “locked box,” where all the characters know bits of what happened, and the special agent has to try to piece together the truth. Has a surprising ending.

This is a cerebral book that requires a lot of focus because you have to keep track of and separate out the various points of view, but if you like to see how far the crime fiction form can be stretched, you might enjoy it.

Also read Song of the Lion (A Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Novel). This is book 21 in the series, and the third written by Anne Hillerman, who took over the series from her father. I’ve read several of the earlier ones written by Tony Hillerman, but this is the first one of hers I’ve read.

As in all of these books, there’s lots of local color about Navajo Country (in the southwest US) and Native American ways and rituals. And the lead characters are as compelling as ever. This outing concerns a bombing that seems to be connected to a plan to build a controversial Grand Canyon resort, which environmentalists and various stakeholders oppose. Plenty of complications and a plot that’s hard to figure out until the very end. A fun read.

Finally, The Murder Run: The Travelers Book 6 will be discounted to $0.99 at the end of January. So if you haven’t read it yet, here’s your chance. I’ll send out a reminder when the exact days are set.

And The Gone Sister (Lee Callaway Book 2) by Thomas Fincham is free today. I’m picking up a copy.

https://www.amazon.com/Private-Investigator-Mystery-Suspense-Callaway-ebook/dp/B0772WPK9Y

All for now. Happy reading!

Happy Holidays 2021

Happy Holidays 2021

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Whatever you’re celebrating this season, I wish you and yours the very best.

Woo-hoo! Murder at Mercy Creek, KD Thorne book 2, is off at the copy editor. After an undercover FBI agent working for an interagency taskforce is murdered, KD and Blunt are sent to Mercy Creek, Iowa, to run a parallel investigation into drug and gun smuggling and police corruption up and down the Interstate 35 corridor.

Meanwhile, two books of interest—

Recently finished The Job (Fox and O’Hare Book 3), by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg. These are a series of tongue-in-cheek comic crime books featuring FBI agent Kate O’Hare and con man Nicholas Fox, who set up stings against most-wanted felons. On this outing, Fox is being impersonated by someone committing crimes and he and O’Hare set out to catch the culprit, which leads them finally onto the trail of a secretive mega drug dealer. Lots of fun.

Also read Palm Beach Poison (Charlie Crawford Palm Beach Mysteries Book 2). I’ve read two in this series previously. This time out, Charlie and his partner Mort Ott are trying to solve a series of murders connecting Russian mobsters to suspect real estate deals. As usual, a well-plotted and fast-paced read.

I’ve read 42 books so far this year, which is a pretty good number for me. I’m always on the lookout for a great read, so please let me know about the best thrillers you’ve been reading, and I’ll put them on my list. All for now.

Happy reading!

Happy November!

Happy November!

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Happy Thanksgiving to all my US friends. Hope you have a safe and fun-filled gathering.

Still working on the new KD Thorne thriller—tentatively titled Murders at Mercy Creek. Five twenty-something friends have been murdered in Mercy Creek, Iowa. One of them was an undercover FBI agent investigating drug and gun smuggling down Interstate 35 from Iowa to the Mexican border. Police corruption may be involved, so KD and Blunt have been tasked with running a parallel investigation. Hope to release it in January.

Meanwhile, two books of interest—

Recently finished The Last Mona Lisa, by Jonathan Santlofer, which was one of People Magazine’s best books of summer. Luke Perrone, a struggling artist and art professor, is tracking down information about his grandfather, who stole the Mona Lisa in 1911. Was the genuine Mona Lisa returned to the Louvre or was it replaced with a forgery? And why did his grandfather steal the painting in the first place?

Perrone’s journey takes him down a rabbit hole of theft, forgery, and murder as he travels from Florence to Paris to New York following the trail that leads to the last Mona Lisa. A fast, fun read.

Also read The Blackbirder (1943) by Dorothy B. Hughes. She wrote a number of crime novels, starting in the 1940s, and was an important influence on the genre. This is one of the earlier ones, told from the point of view of a young woman on the run from Nazi spies in the US during World War Two. We only know what she knows, and she’s constantly misinterpreting what she sees and consequently being manipulated by bad players. Still, she manages to find her way clear by the end.

Read this book because I’d read a later book by Hughes, In a Lonely Place (1947), about a screen writer who might be a murderer, which was made into a movie starring Humphrey Bogart. Loved the movie. The book is quite different from the movie, and, I think, better. If you were going to read one Hughes book, this would be the one.

All for now. Happy reading!

October Reading

October Reading

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I’m in Washington, DC, for a while, but I’m still hard at work on the new KD Thorne novel. I’ll have more to say about it when I’m done with rewrites.

In the meantime–

As many of you know, I can’t pass up a discounted crime fiction classic. A few weeks ago, I downloaded a copy of Ed McBain’s Killer’s Choice (number 5 of the 87th Precinct books) from the Murder & Mayhem newsletter. It did not disappoint.

A woman working at a liquor store has been murdered. When the cops dig into her background, none of her associates agree on what kind of person she was. Was she a party girl, a free spirit, a doting mom, or a straightlaced, model employee? So the cops are at their wits’ ends trying to figure out who killed her and why. In the meantime, a cop is murdered interrupting a robbery. And the new detective feels duty-bound to catch the killer. This is a fast-paced crime book that never misses a beat.

(It’s $0.24 on Amazon today: https://www.amazon.com/Killers-Choice-87th-Precinct-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B005WZZRQU )

Also read Wendy Hornsby’s Half a Mind (Kate Teague Mysteries Book 2). This is a copy-cat killer book. A jailed psycho-killer is about to go on trial when bodies start turning up murdered in his usual way. Kate Teague’s boyfriend is the cop who caught the killer, and thus is the expert on his methods, but he has memory defects from a recent brain injury. So Kate finds herself in the middle of the action. There are lots of red herrings here, and real chemistry between Kate and her boyfriend. A fun read that kept me guessing until the end. You might want to check it out.

Happy reading!

Fall Reading and Research

Fall Reading and Research

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Still writing the new KD Thorne book. Here’s a few thrillers I’ve been reading along the way. Maybe one of these is for you.

Just read SA Cosby’s new crime thriller, Razorblade Tears. It concerns two homophobic ex-cons, one white and one black, who are on the hunt for whoever murdered their married gay sons. This is a serious, very gritty, roller-coaster ride through grief, revenge, and dealing with choices that are too late to change. I was still thinking about it two days after I finished it.

Blast from the past. Read Graham Greens’s Orient Express (originally called Stamboul Train) published in 1932. This is not Murder on the Orient Express, but instead is a suspense novel which involves the interwoven fates of a shrewd businessman, an overworked chorus girl, a vindictive journalist, and a has-been revolutionary traveling by train across Europe from Belgium to Turkey. A complex read focusing on Europe in the 1930s—nowadays really for the history buff—but kept me guessing until the end.

Finally, read Zoe Sharp’s Absence of Light (Charlie Fox #11), featuring Charlie Fox, a female professional bodyguard who’s always finding herself in trouble up to her neck. (I commented on #4, First Drop, earlier this year.)  On this outing, she’s working protection for a search and rescue team in the aftermath of an earthquake and trying, clandestinely, to solve a murder. As usual, she has to punch well above her weight to keep the bad guys at bay long enough to discover what’s what. I figured out one of the subplots about midway through, but didn’t fully understand how it was connected to the main plot until the very end. A fun read.

And on a research note, here’s an article about small town corruption:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/31/us/guernsey-wyoming-police-chief.html?searchResultPosition=9

That’s all for now!