Wishing you a happy holiday season, no matter what holiday you’re celebrating. The new Travelers book is shaping up into its final form. Going to have to come up with an appropriate title. Lots of twists and turns and tradecraft in this one, which I hope makes it an un-put-downable read. If you want to see a complete list of my Travelers and KD Thorne books, you can check them out here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Michael-P.-King/author/B00W81SHBI

Meanwhile, here’re a thriller I read after Thanksgiving.

The Middleman by Olen Steinhauer (2018). I’ve read several of Steinhauer’s thrillers. All were excellent. This one involves the FBI hunt for a would-be terrorist group. But in the usual Steinhauer way, pretty soon you’re not sure if all the bad guys are bad guys and if all the good guys are good guys, as we follow FBI Agent Rachel Proulx while she tries to unravel the complex machinations of the Massive Brigade before they can execute the next step in their plan to overturn the US government.

Lots of rich detail and suspenseful complications make for a very satisfying read.

Happy reading!

Working hard on the outline of a new Travelers book. In the meantime, here’s two thrillers I read last month. They couldn’t be more different from each other. One is traditional hard-boiled, the other is quirky literary.

The first is My Gun Is Quick (Mike Hammer Book 2, 1950) by Mickey Spillane. I’d never read one of these books, although I was familiar with the character from popular culture (which means I knew the character’s name, but I don’t know why).

Mike Hammer is a hard-drinking, quick-to-fight private eye who lives by a code of protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty. On this outing, a prostitute is murdered, and the police aren’t interested, at least initially. So Hammer digs into her death and uncovers the city-wide corruption supporting a violent prostitution ring.

Lots of twists and turns here, leading to a smash-up finale, although you’ll have to ignore the casual sexism and homophobia that marked the hard-boiled thrillers of this era.

Also read Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (2019) by Olga Tokarczuk. (Tokarczuk is a Nobel Prize winner). This is a first-person literary mystery. The narrator, Janina, is an eccentric older woman. You might practice astrology, translate William Blake into Polish, and be strong for animal rights, but, trust me, you are not as eccentric as Janina. Community leaders in her village are being murdered in bizarre ways, and she gets involved in the investigation, trying the patience of the local police.

We dig into her character via her philosophical musings, odd outbursts, and spirited generosity, as we follow along to the discovery of the killer and the surprising ending. Challenging and enjoyable.

Happy reading!

It’s the dog days of summer, and I’ve started writing a new Travelers crime thriller. Hoping for it to be the best one yet. But more on that later. Here’re two mystery I read in the last month. One from the time capsule and one contemporary.

A Knife for Harry Dodd by George Bellairs (Inspector Littlejohn, book 20, 1953). In a small town in England, Harry Dodd, a happy-go-lucky ne’er do well, is stabbed outside a pub on his way home and dies before he can get help. As Inspector Littlejohn of Scotland Yard digs into the case, he discovers that Dodd isn’t at all the man he appears to be and that his girlfriend and his estranged family all have motives to want him dead.

This is a classic, old-fashioned police procedural loaded up with convincing red herrings and false trails. An easy, fun read.

Also read Dark Angel (Letty Davenport Book 2) by John Sandford. Sandford is probably best known for the Lucas Davenport Prey series. I’ve read a number of those books, so I thought I’d give this one a try. This is a “ripped from the headlines” kind of book.

Letty Davenport is Lucas Davenport’s adopted daughter, and she does investigations with the Department of Homeland Security. On this outing, she’s on the trail of a hacker collective that’s disrupted railroad trains in Russia. In the usual John Sanford fashion, circumstance quickly go out of control at Davenport tries to home in on the hackers and discover the real reason that the NSA has sent her after them. A quick read with lots of exciting twists and turns and a great introduction to a cast of fresh characters that I imagine will be appearing in later books.

Happy reading!

KD Thorne book 4, The Hidden Mine at Agua Dulce, is off at the copyeditor. In the meantime, here’re two thrillers I read last month. 

First off, Spy Game (Brodick Cold War Thriller book 1) by John Fullerton. This book is set in Pakistan and Afghanistan during the 1980s when the Soviet Union is mired in Afghanistan. Richard Brodick, a British spy in his first assignment, is undercover as a journalist gathering intel on the Afghans’ progress in their war against the Soviets.

He’s at odds with his superiors, can’t trust any of the locals he’s dealing with, and is conflicted about what he’s been assigned to do.

Lots of suspense and detailed tradecraft, a hero who does not do what you expect him to do, and historical accuracy make for a fun read.

Second, The Maid (Molly the Maid book 1) by Nita Prose. I picked up this book because the reviews were outstanding. This is a traditional cozy-style mystery told in the first person by Molly, a hotel maid who has what seems to be a learning disability of some sort. She’s constantly misinterpreting other people’s actions and intentions, which lands her into the middle of a murder investigation at the hotel where she works.

Deft plotting and the unique point of view make for real page-turning pleasure here. If you like old school cozy mysteries, this book is for you.

Happy reading!