Books I’ve Read

Finished Walking Around Money by Donald E. Westlake. It’s one of several novellas included in the book, Transgressions, edited by Ed McBain.

If you’ve never read Westlake, start now. He’s one of my favorite writers, and he never disappoints. I especially love his Dortmunder series, about a gang of thieves, all of whom are lovable losers. Walking Around Money features the two main characters from that series, John Dortmunder and Andy Kelp.

They’re approached by a guy who has a plan to break into the printing plant where he works and run off several million dollars’ worth of money belonging to some obscure South American country (whose name I can’t recall). Then, they’ll exchange the South American money for real U.S. dollars. There are several hitches in the plan, including a travel agent and her jealous husband. But Dortmunder and Kelp always find a way to keep their heads above water.

Seriously, I can’t stress this enough — Donald Westlake is the funniest crime writer around. Go to the library now, and get his books. You’ll be glad you did.

Up next: Rain Fall by Barry Eisler.

PS: Can you tell I’m getting of my book review backlog today? 😉

Finished Keller’s Adjustment by Lawrence Block. It’s a novella in the mystery anthology Transgressions, edited by Ed McBain.

Keller is a hit man character that Block writes. In this novella, it’s just after Sept. 11, 2001, and Keller is reevaluating his life in wake of the tragedy. But work calls, and Keller heads off to Arizona to take out his next target. He meets some interesting characters in the course of his job and comes to terms with his own life.

I read the first book in this series a couple of years ago (I believe it’s called Hit Man), and I’d forgotten how good Block’s writing is. Very noirish. Block does a good job at portraying Keller’s feelings about his chosen profession and how he’s getting tired of what he does. I also really enjoyed the scenes with his handler, Dot, a no-nonsense woman.

So, thumbs up.

Up next: Walking Around Money by Donald Westlake, also from the Trangressions anthology.

Finished ‘Scuse Me While I Kill This Guy by Leslie Langtry.

This book focuses on Virginia (Gin) Bombay, a soccer mom who moonlights as an assassin. Gin comes from a long line of assassins, all of whom are named after places (Dakota, Savannah, etc). Things are looking up for Gin, when she meets a sexy bodyguard named Diego. There’s only one problem — she’s been assigned to kill his clients. And Gin always gets her man …

I picked this book up because I’m currently writing an assassin story (although mine’s urban fantasy). This one was a little lighter than I expected. For example, Gin is perfectly fine with teaching her five-year-old daughter how to become an assassin. Plus, the soccer mom as assassin character came off as a little too ditzy at times to carry out her assignments. But some of the situations Gin found herself in were pretty funny.

The thing I liked best about the book were the quotes that Langtry used at the beginning of each chapter. All the pop-culture references relate to death or assassination in some way.

But there was one thing about the book I just didn’t get — the romance between Gin and Diego. I thought they fell in love too quickly and that there just wasn’t enough time spent on the romance to start with.

So, I’m going split decision on this one. Thumbs down to the romance. Thumbs up to the assassination bits and the quotes.

Up next: Two novella from the mystery anthology Transgressions.

Finished Goblin Hero by Jim C. Hines. This is the second book in his Goblin series, which focuses on the misadventures of Jig, a goblin who’s a rather reluctant hero.

In this book, Jig is making the new leader of the goblins uneasy (given his heroic antics in the last book), so she basically sends him off on a suicide mission to find out what’s been enslaving the ogres who live lower down in the mountain. As added insurance, she sends along two more goblins with orders to kill Jig at some point. Of course, Jig eventually figures out what’s going on — and almost dies half a dozen times in the process.

While not as inventive as Goblin Quest, the first book in the series, Goblin Hero is still a fun read, especially if you like fantasy — and seeing how the “monsters” think and act for a change. Jig is still a put-upon goblin, but he’s grown up a bit, too, and uses what he’s learned to make the most of bad situations. Character growth and advancement is always good. I hate series where the characters basically stay the same and learn nothing from past experiences (Stephanie Plum, anyone?).

My only real complaint is a secondary character that Hines introduces — Veka, a female goblin who wants to be a wizard. He breaks up the action several times to devote long passages to her. I wanted more Jig and less Veka.

So, thumbs up.

Up next: ‘Scuse Me While I Kill This Guy by Leslie Langtry.

Also finished Revenge of the Homecoming Queen by Stephanie Hale. I got to sit next to Stephanie during the RWA conference in Dallas, and she was nice enough to sign a book for me.

This is a young adult novel that focuses on Aspen Brooks. Aspen is smart, beautiful, and one of the coolest girls in school. So, it’s just natural Aspen would be crowned homecoming queen. But somehow, her arch rival, Angel Ives, ends up wearing the tiara instead. As if that isn’t bad enough, weird things start happening to Aspen. Someone slashes her tire. Her inhaler gets stolen. Soon, the so-called Beauty Bandit kidnapper is on the loose, and Aspen’s mom is among the missing. Can Aspen figure out who the bandit is and save her mom before it’s too late?

I thought this book was going to be your typical, spoiled-girl-gains-a-heart read, but it takes an interesting turn with the kidnapping plotline. Hale also makes some spot-on observations about high school life, and how it can affect people for the rest of their lives.

Aspen starts out as a snotty, self-absorbed drama queen, but she learns some important lessons along the way, including there’s more to people than just what labels they wear. I wound up rooting for her in the end.

So, thumbs up.

Up next: Something from my to-be-read pile.