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A Town Where Lights Are Blue by
William Saffell
Publisher: Quiet Storm Publishing
ISBN 0-97142-968-5
Though William Saffell's novel, A Town
Where Lights Are Blue, is rather sad and depressing, it is also intriguing and
full of heartfelt emotions. Set in the 1970's, in the small town of Yokohama in
Asia, a Viet Nam Vet lives his life like a twelve step program, one day at a
time. Only the main character is anything but an A.A. member.
John Sky is a Viet Nam Vet, who fell in
love with Yokohama, and has committed his life to playing piano in a bar band.
After an evening of performing, he and friends, like Ota—a womanizer—go from
bar to bar, drinking in excess. Ota generally goes home with a new woman each
night, and Sky heads home alone. Sky spends his life in a blur, a constant
buzz, living for the moment, but not looking to do anything in particular with
the moment of time he's in, until he meets two women and his life changes.
Sky finds himself intrigued by Sayoko, a
prostitute. Night after night, she shows up at the different bars with
different men. Regardless, she and Sky bond as life long friends. But there
friendship was not strong enough for Sayoko to share with Sky a secret that she
has kept hidden for the last few years.
Then there is Miyako. She is what they
call a "bargirl" in her country. In our country, she is a barmaid. She thinks
she is old in her mid-thirties and harbors a restless prejudice against
Americans, until she finds herself attracted to Sky. Her own depression might
be caused by the mixed marriage of her parents. Or, it might stem from her own
dissatisfaction with the career she's chosen for her life.
Saffell tells his story with taut scenes
descriptive narrative, and crisp dialogue. It's like reading Steinbeck, had
Steinbeck of written books based in Hong Kong. The tale explores culture and
racial issues. A Town Where Lights Are Blue is a character driven story that
will leave the reader thinking long after they've finished reading the book.
© 2003 Phillip Tomasso III
_____
Shirker by
Chad Taylor
Publisher: Walker & Co.
ISBN
0802733506
Reviewed by Phillip Tomasso III
4 lightening Bolts
Chad Taylor's novel is brisk, enveloping
and erotic. His imaginative world is eerily revealed in a vision of slate-gray
darkness, drab and dreary.
On a seemingly ordinary morning, Ellerslie
Penrose sees a crowd gathered by a street alley. Noting the police tape, and
since the event occurred in his neighborhood, he takes a closer look and finds a
wallet on the street just outside the crowd, planning to turn it in to the
police. The officers on the scene mistake his identity. For reasons unknown to
Penrose, he does not correct the investigator, and instead allows himself to be
included in the initial homicide investigation.
Though he quickly attracts unwanted
attention from Tangiers, the lead detective on the case, Penrose decides to keep
the wallet he has kept concealed. Once at his home office, he begins to dig into
the personal life of the murdered man. Penrose believes that he himself is
somehow connected to the killing. After all, the man found dead in the bin had
left a bloody letter "P" scrawled on the bin's lid.
This personal investigation leads
Penrose through a city of obscure people, all with odd stories to tell and with
confessions to share. Shirker reads like a movie length episode of The Twilight
Zone - highly original and compelling, with a Rod Serling-style twist at the end
to make it complete.
_____
A Great Day for Dying by
Jonathan Harrington
Write Way Publishing 256 pages - February
2001 ISBN 1885173938
Reviewed by Phillip Tomasso III
3 1/2 lightening Bolts
A Great Day for Dying is the third
book in the Danny O'Flaherty mystery series. For the purpose of this review,
attempt to imagine the most obnoxious and outspoken person you have ever known.
Now picture that person as the spokesperson for any public relations or public
speaking event. Doesn't sit well, does it?
Harrington brings to light such a person
in the opening chapter of his thrilling novel. Fintan Conway has been chosen as
the Grand Marshall for the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in New York City.
During his speech, he ruthlessly alienates nearly every one present with hard
and cold words. While riding on one of the floats, Fintan reaches out to shakes
hands with people in the streets. Without anyone knowing for sure what happened,
Fintan is shot and rushed to a hospital where he battles for his life.
Danny O'Flaherty may have been the only
witness to the crime. What's more disturbing is the fact that O'Flaherty's old
friend is the person arrested for the crime. In a race against time, O'Flaherty
tries to clear his friend of murder, while the latter is unwilling to cooperate.
The police believe O'Flaherty is chasing shadows, but someone is taking his
investigation seriously enough to try and stop him from digging any further.
Full of gritty action and suspense,
Harrington delivers a tale of clever intrigue. A Great Day for Dying is a
political thriller for today's readers. Compelling and enjoyable.
___
Stream of Death by
Bill Stackhouse
Poisoned Pen Press
188 pages, Feb 2001 ISBN 1890208566
Reviewed by Phillip Tomasso III
4 lightening Bolts
Stackhouse produces an exciting
first novel in Stream of Death. The mob-mystery takes place in a small county in
the Catskills. As a long time fan of Mafia-fiction, I thoroughly enjoyed
Stackhouse's tale.
The story revolves around the Il Ciondolo
Isabela Pendant. Back in Italy, the Mafia planned to steal the stunning, rose
colored piece of jewelry. But someone else knew of the plan, and the attempt
failed. Losing family to this archaic blunder, the Don swore a personal
vendetta.
Years later, the pendant is found on
Harvey's property in Green County, in the Catskills. Because of the jewelry's
famed origin and history, the media exploit the find. When the property owner is
murdered while fishing, it doesn't take long for the chief of police, Ed McAvoy,
to see a possible mob connection. Harvey's wife and good friends are willing to
do everything they can to help the chief catch the killer. McAvoy will need all
the help he can get as the mob investigates the same crime with a far different
motive: Revenge.
Stackhouse can solidly build his
main and secondary characters and shows his skill for portraying stereotypical
mob-dialect. I enjoyed the fresh and clean dialogue. The author is adept at
casting out a line and hooking the reader. I could not turn the pages of Stream
of Death fast enough. A fully engrossing read.
_____
Tip A Canoe by
Peter Abresch
Write Way Publishing
272 pages, January 2001 ISBN 188517392
Reviewed by Phillip Tomasso III
5 lightening Bolts
Tip A Canoe is the third book in
the James P. Dandy Elderhostel Mystery series, and what a series Abresch has
created. Elderhostel is an organization that coordinates events for senior
citizens and the Jim Dandy mysteries revolve around these outings.
In Tip A Canoe, Jim Dandy and his
girlfriend Dodee are headed down to the Carolinas for a week long Canoeing
Elderhostel trip. The plan is to enjoy the peaceful and inspiration surroundings
while hiking and canoeing. However, Dodee has a history of leading Jim by the
hand into obscure and dangerous mysteries. Jim and Dodee meet and join together
with a wide array of Elderhostel vacationers. It seems like all fun and games
until the police begin investigating a suspicious drowning and the appearance of
a dynamite box. Sure that the two events are unrelated, Jim attempts to dissuade
Dodee from sleuthing. However, her interests are met as she and a retired FBI
agent share conspiracy theories.
Fun, witty and most of the time
downright humorous, Abresch spins off well thought out scenes laced with strings
of laugh-out-loud lines. Compelling and clever, right down to the way Abresch
introduces and forces his readers to remember all the secondary characters. Tip
A Canoe will hold your interest from the opening page to the last line.
Two Bits by Clint Gaige
Publisher: Quiet Storm
Publishing
ISBN: 0972881905
Website: www.quietstormpublishing.com
Release Date: April 2003
5 lightening Bolts
Clint Gaige, author of A Kerouac Christ,
has written an unforgettable crime story in Two Bits. The tightly plotted
con-artist novel is complete with taut chapters, crisp dialogue and page
turning, roller coaster action packed into every scene. In Two Bits, Gaige left
out all the fluff and filler, clearly concentrating on putting together a
no-nonsense thriller.
Archie Greene, is like a young Paul
Newman. Caught after pulling off a petty scam, Greene might have walked away
from the deal with a slap on the wrist. His temper lands him behind bars after
taking a swing at the arresting officer. Two Bits starts with Greene's parole.
He has a telemarketing job lined up and an apartment ready and waiting.
Greene can't handle the day to day,
hum-drum life that ordinary people lead. He itches to get back into the game. A
con artist is a con artist. Conning is in his blood, literally. Greene learned
the tricks of the trade from the best, his grandfather.
Greene's grandfather shows up on his
doorstep a broken man. Pat Shannon, a hot-shot Mafia man inadvertently killed
Greene's grandmother. And the grandfather wants to bleed the man dry of his
wealth to teach him a lesson.
The easiest way to a self-absorbed person
is to make the con all about that person. Greene poses as a film producer
interested in shooting a movie about Shannon's life. Teaming up with a host of
odd friends and dangerous new acquaintances, the plan to scam millions unfolds.
Sounds easy, right? Wrong. Murphy's law comes into play. Anything that can
get screwed up, does. People you thought could be trusted are first in line to
twist the knife in your back. Greene finds himself isolated and trapped in a
quick-failing con, with nothing to do but keep up the con…The show must go on.
In the vein of Leonard's Get Shorty, and
Tevis' The Hustler, Two Bits is a fine work of cleverly crafted fiction. Clint
Gaige invokes anticipation in the reader with fingernail biting vigor. He knows
how to move the story at breakneck speed utilizing his host of unusual and
savory characters. Tension, it's in there. Action, it's in there.
Satisfaction, it's in there.
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