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Showing posts with label thrillers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thrillers. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Mystery Series - Lucas Davenport

Margery Allingham (Fair Use) John Sandford (Random House)

Lucas Davenport is the creation of John Sandford (born 1944), pseudonym of John Roswell Camp. Throughout the long series, Davenport evolves.

Davenport has various roles in the Minneapolis Police Department, or in some way connected to it, as he has several run-ins with them over the course of his career. In some books he works for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, or is a US Marshall.

His family life provides counterpoint to the high-action police work.

Recurring Characters of Note:
Lucas Davenport
Sister Mary Joseph (Elle Kruger)
Weather Karkinnen- his wife
Kidd- computer genius (there is a separate series featuring him)
Letty- adopted daughter
Virgil Flowers- fellow detective (there is a separate series featuring him)

#1 Rules of Prey (1989)

#2 Shadow Prey (1990)

#3 Eyes of Prey (1991)

#4 Silent Prey (1992)

#5 Winter Prey (1993)

#6 Night Prey (1994)

#7 Mind Prey (1995)
A mother and her two daughters are kidnapped in broad daylight by throwing them into a van as the girls are being picked up after school. The woman is a psychiatrist. It is unclear if the kidnapper is a former patient or a family member. There is big money in the family and a convoluted chain of inheritance if the mother and/or children die.

Davenport's gaming company is strongly involved in the solution to the crime.

This book has some violent content involving children, so it's probably not a good read for people who are sensitive on this topic.
Lucas Davenport is trying to decide whether to ask Weather Karkinnen to marry him.

#8 Sudden Prey (1996)

#9 Secret Prey (1998)

#10 Certain Prey (1999)

#11 Easy Prey (2000)

#12 Chosen Prey (2001)

#13 Mortal Prey (2002)

#14 Naked Prey (2003)

#15 Hidden Prey (2004)

#16 Broken Prey (2005)

#17 Invisible Prey (2007)

#18 Phantom Prey (2008)

#19 Wicked Prey (2009)

#20 Storm Prey (2010)

#21 Buried Prey (2011)

#22 Stolen Prey (2012)

#23 Silken Prey (2013)
This book is full of political intrigue, and your interest in that sort of complexity could affect how much you like the story.

Child pornography is found on the computer of the man running against the governonr in the election. However, the governor himself thinks the man is being framed and calls in Davenport to find out the truth of the matter because even though it is his political opponent.

The story runs from political intrigue to cyber crime to burglary. Everyone who is pursuing the case believes that someone from the opposing team is responsible, but it's hard to see how it could be done.

This is one of the books that is a crossover with the Kidd series. Computer nerd Kidd can crack almost anything.

#24 Field of Prey (2014)

#25 Gathering Prey (2015)

#26 Extreme Prey (2016)

#27 Golden Prey (2017)

#28 Twisted Prey (2018)

#29 Neon Prey (2019)

#30 Masked Prey (2020)

#31 Ocean Prey (2021)

#32 Righteous Prey (2022)
A small group five of Bitcoin billionaires decides that they are going to rid the world of one really bad person each. And they are going to do it with high publicity, taking credit for each killing.

The first two murders take place without a hitch, but when they attempt one in the Twin Cities, Davenport finds a few cracks in their careful planning.

Things begin to unravel for the Five, and law enforcement manages to figure out who is to be the next victim. They set up an elaborate surveillance.

The leader of the Five is identified, but can the entire group be found and rounded up?

#33 Judgment Prey (2023)

#34 Toxic Prey (2024)

Sunday, November 17, 2024

Mystery/Thriller Series - Ali Reynolds

J.A. Jance J.A. Jance (Creative Commons)
Judith Ann Jance, born 1944, is an author of three different mystery series, all written under her own name. Alison Reynolds is the protagonist in this series. She begins the series as a news reporter for a TV station in the Los Angeles area.

Recurring characters of note:
Alison Reynolds, Ali
Edie, her mother
Bob, her father- her parents run a restaurant in Sedona
Christopher, her adult son.

#1 Edge of Evil (2006)

#2 Web of Evil (2007)
A man is left on railroad tracks in the trunk of a car where he is subsequently killed by the train. Ali passes the emergency vehicles in the middle of the night, having no idea what the commotion is. She is on her way to a meeting of all parties to finalize her divorce proceedings from Paul Grayson. Paul needs the divorce to go through because he's scheduled to marry the next Mrs. Grayson the very next day. That woman, April, is 8 1/2 months pregnant with Paul's child. But Paul does not show up for the meeting.

#3 Hand of Evil (2007)

#4 Cruel Intent (2008)

#5 Trial By Fire (2009)

#6 Fatal Error (2011)

#7 Left for Dead (2012)

#8 Deadly Stakes (2013)

#9 Moving Target (2014)

#10 A Last Goodbye (novella) (2014)

#11 Cold Betrayal (2015)

#12 No Honor Among Thieves (novella) (2015)

#13 Clawback (2016)

#14 Random Acts (novella) (2016)

#15 Man Overboard (2017)

#16 Duel to the Death (2018)

#17 The A List (2019)

#18 Credible Threat (2020)

#19 Unfinished Business (2021)

#20 Collateral Damage (2023)

Monday, August 12, 2024

Mystery Series - Alex Cross

alt text James Patterson
James Patterson, born 1947, is one of the most prolific and richest authors of all time. He has written or co-authored well over 100 books. There are currently 32 books in the Alex Cross series.

Alex Cross is a psychologist and police detective, an FBI agent, and one of the most popular fictional black heroes. He's a large man with plenty of brains to go with his imposing presence. His family is highly important to him. Since his first wife was killed, he is continually searching for another woman.

These are police and/or psychological thrillers with plenty of gory and disturbing details.

Series location: primarily Washington, DC and surrounding area.

Recurring characters of note
Maria- Cross' first wife, the mother of Damon and Jannie
Nana Mama- Cross' grandmother who has always been in charge
Damon- his oldest child
Jannie (Janelle)- his daughter
Ali (Alex Junior)- son by his second wife
John Sampson- Cross' partner, they've been friends since childhood, a 6'9" giant
Kyle Craig- an enigma who fills several roles throughout the series
Adele Finaly- Alex's own therapist
Gary Soneji- a recurring nemesis

#1 Along Came a Spider (1993)
In this series opener, Alex and his friend John Sampson seem closer to their black-culture background with a lot of jive talk and comments about being given no respect by whites. They are investigating the murder of three black people from one family when they are pulled off the case to investigate the kidnapping of two rich white children from a prestigious day school. The are naturally resentful.

The math teacher, Gary Soneji, has abducted Maggie Rose and "Shrimpie" Goldberg.

We are let into the twisted mind of Gary Soneji for the first time, with his manic desire to be "The Son of Lindburgh" and to perpetrate the "Crime of the Century." But "Shrimpie" dies by accident as his frail constitution can't handle the dose of sedatives Soneji gives him.

We meet Alex's family- Nana Mama who has raised him since he was ten after his mother died. Nana is a retired schoolteacher and then principal. She doesn't pull any punches. His first wife, Maria, has been dead two years, and Damon and Jannie are still young enough to cuddle.

A fluke mistake results in Soneji's capture. Alex interviews him multiple times in prison, wondering if the man is a consummate actor or truly has multiple personalities.

Meanwhile, the Secret Service men who were assigned to the children are let go. Their supervisor, Jezzie Flannagan, hasn't been fired, but she's depressed. She turns to Alex for comfort and they begin a torrid affair, each sharing hurts from their pasts.

But Soneji masterminds a brilliant escape from the prison.

Note: this was made into a movie starring Morgan Freeman, but don't even bother with the movie. About all it has in common with the book is the very basics of the plot and the characters. It's shallow and doesn't hold together well at all.
#2 Kiss the Girls (1995)

#3 Jack & Jill (1996)
The book begins with an immediate introduction into two high-profile cases. There are a man and woman who are killing people in Washington, DC, apparently chosen at random as part of a bizarre game. Also, someone is murdering small children who attend the same school as Cross' son.

There is more than one twist to the plot before the cases are resolved.

The spectre of Gary Soneji is never far from Alex's mind.

We learn how Alex's parents died and why Nana Mama raised him since he was nine years old. It is mentioned how Alex's first wife died, but this contradicts the details given in Cross. He meets Christine.

#4 Cat and Mouse (1997)
There are two intertwined plots in this book. Alex's nemesis Gary Soneji is still around and intent on mass murders with more apparent abandon then previously. Cross figures out why the man has changed and tries to get ahead of his thinking. Another murderer, dubbed Mr. Smith, has been methodically killing and dismembering one person at a time across the globe. Thomas Pierce is brought in by the FBI, as his amateur study of the killer is most thorough.

Soneji meets his own supposed death, but vows to reach out and kill Cross from beyond the grave. The very next day, the detective is brutally attacked.

Cross is healing from the death of his first wife, the mother of his children. He begins to fall in love with the prinicpal of his children's school, Christine.

#5 Pop Goes the Weasel (1999)
Alex and Christine decide to get married, and the entire family is thrilled. She seems to be perfect for them all.

At work, they are dealing with a number of murders of prostitues in the Southeast (black) section of DC. Of course, the department mostly ignores this situation. Alex and his police friends are working on their own time to find the killer, but the Chief finds out and suspends the other three.

Meanwhile, we learn that there are four ex-MI6 agents playing a game of their own design called The Four Horsemen. Death, on a pale horse, was formerly a government assassin who developed a taste for killing. When Alex gets a little to close to discovering his identity, Christine is kidnapped.

Time drags on. Christine is not found, but Alex does not give up hope because he receives several phone calls which cryptically inform him that "we have her." The Chief of Detectives assigns Patsy to the find the murderer nicknamed "The Weasel." But Patsy begins to realize that Alex was doing a good job and the Chief was trying to make Cross look bad.
#6 Roses are Red (2000)

#7 Violets Are Blue (2001)
In a series this long by a good writer, you can expect to find a lot of interesting sub-genres. The theme of this book is vampires. It builds on the premise that there is a large cult of people who actually believe they are vampires.

It's no secret from the beginning that two attractive young brothers see themselves as vampires. They were raised lawlessly, by hippies, and believe none of the rules of society apply to them. They don't even really think there are rules.

But how does the story play out as Cross chases down "vampire murders" over the course of more than a decade of cases.

#8 Four Blind Mice (2002)
This book has only one story, and the reader is told right up front what is going on. An Army officer is found guilty of murdering three women. He swears he is innocent, and he is a friend of John Sampson. So Cross, who is trying to resign from being a detective, agrees to look into it. We immediately learn that the murders were done by a group of three other ex-military men, code name Three Blind Mice.

How are they finally brought to justice, why did it all happen, and who is the Fourth Mouse?

We learn about John Sampson's childhood. Nana Mama is 82 and may finally be showing her age. Alex's current flame is a Detective from SanFrancisco named Jamilla.

#9 The Big Bad Wolf (2003)
#10 London Bridges (2004)
#11 Mary, Mary (2005)
Someone in Los Angeles is killing mothers who have multiple children. The perpetrator is sending emails to a journalist about the crimes, claiming to be "Mary Smith." Cross is called in to consult (he's now with the FBT) and suspects the killer is a man using a woman's name. But no one can be sure.

We meet a woman named Mary who has three children. She apparently also suffers from lapses of time where she blacks out and can't remember what she did.

Alex is trying to gain custody of his youngest child, Ali, but Ali's mother seems to switch between being rational and vindictive.

The plot is complex and intriguing. We are let inside the killer's head a fair amount, but that doesn't really help identify the person until almost at the end of the book.

#12 Cross (2006)
This book begins with a flashback to when and how his first wife Maria died, killed by a hit man's bullet.

Then it jumps ahead to 2005 when Alex sees a hit man take a bow before he disappears. The hit man turns out the be "The Butcher," who works for the mob, freelances, and is a serial rapist for kicks. He leaves no one alive who threatens him. Is there a connection to Maria's death? Cross and Sanders embark on a long quest to hunt down "The Butcher."

#13 Double Cross (2007)
Bizarre murders begin happening that appear to be staged, literally, as in the murderer is committing them as if he is an actor on a large stage. There seems to be some clue left by the killer at each one, but Cross is having a hard time figuring out what it means.

Also, Alex is in jeopardy from Kyle Craig, despite the man being in prison.

His current girlfriend is named Bree, who is also a Detective.

#14 Cross Country (2008)
This is one of the more horrific and brutal books in the series. Alex investigates two incidents in Washington, DC, where the entire family was killed. He knows one of the victims. His search for justice takes him to Africa where he witnesses the insanity and injustice of anarchy in Siera Leone, Niger, and the Sudan. In fact, he becomes the victim of a fair amount of brutality himself.

He finally returns home, beaten both literally and in his quest for justice. There, he learns that his family has disappeared and he is kidnapped yet again.

Warning- this is a seriously violent story.

#15 Alex Cross's Trial (2009)

#16 I, Alex Cross (2009)
Alex's neice, whom he has not seen for quite a few years is murdered, and her body is disposed of in a most brutal manner. Cross gets involved in trying to solve this crime which leads him to an exclusive sex club. It involves all the alphabet soup agencies, and even the White House.

Meanwhile, Nana Mama, who is in her 90s although she won't admit to an exact age, has a heart attack.

#17 Cross Fire (2010)

#18 Kill Alex Cross (2011)
The children of the US President manage to evade their Secret Servce protectors and while out of their sight, Ethan and Zoe are kidnapped. A van is seen speeding from the school, a chase and crash ensue, but when the van is cut open, the children are not there.

Meanwhile, terrorism on US soil rachets up a notch with a potential attack on the water supply.

Alex is still with Bree.

#19 Merry Christmas, Alex Cross (2012)
#20 Alex Cross, Run (2013)
#21 Cross My Heart (2013)
#22 Hope to Die (2014)
#23 Cross Justice (2015)
#24 Cross the Line (2016)
#25 The People vs. Alex Cross (2017)
#26 Target: Alex Cross (2018)

#27 Criss Cross (2019)
Following the execution of a serial killer, Alex and John Sampson return to D.C. only to find that a copycat killer is toying with them. Or did they work to convict and execute an innocent man? This new murder and many subsequent crimes are tagged with a note from "M." Is this their old nemesis the "Mastermind?"

"M" seems to know way too much about everything, and Alex even begins to question whether someone he saw did is actually dead.

Ali, Alex's son (now 10 years old), becomes interested in mountain biking and strikes up a friendship with an Army Captain. With so many threats to his own life and his family, does Cross dare trust this near stranger to be friends with his son?

#28 Deadly Cross (2020)
#29 Fear No Evil (2021)
#30 Triple Cross (2022)
#31 Cross Down (2023) (co-written with Brenden DuBois; also a John Sampson solo book)[2]
#32 Alex Cross Must Die (2023)

Monday, August 5, 2024

Mystery Series - Travis McGee

alt text John D. MacDonald
John D. MacDonald (1916-1986) wrote thrillers and various standalone crime stories from 1936 on. In 1964, the first Travis McGee book appeared. McGee is not a detective, but a "salvage consultant" living on a boat in Florida. McGee is 6'4" tall, ex-military, and has a commanding presence. He consistently gets pulled into high-stakes adventures, usually to solve problems that are beyond the reach of the law. These are rather hard-boiled stories with lots of action and sex (not explicit), but there is a cerebral element to all the problems he is called upon to solve. Every book includes his musings about his relationship with the current woman, although this eases up as the series progresses. His sidekick is Meyer, an economist, with whom he shares everything. He has few emotional ties, but two women do appear more than once in the series, both of whom have an impact on his life before they are abruptly removed (for different reasons). All the books in this series have a color in the title.

The books, especially the early ones, are in the noir genre of Sam Spade, etc. The women have personalities, but they are primarily sexual objects who behave in stereotyped ways. Although, interestingly, in Nightmare in Pink McGee specifically states that he does not feel this way about women. There is a lot of pessimistic psychological description. This is well-written and mostly not tedious, but there is more of it than modern readers expect.

More than most mysteries, these include a lot of McGee's personal philosophy of life- thus perhaps McDonald's. He seeks to be independent, to eschew the modern plastic, mass-produced, comfortable world and lifestyles.

As the series progresses, more strong women appear, and the style evolves to include less dark psychological narrative. However, there is plenty of nudity although no explicit sex, and there is plenty of violence.

Series location:
McGee lives on his houseboat, the Busted Flush in a marina located at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The series is based there, but McGee and Meyer travel extensively.

Recurring Characters of Note
Travis McGee, salvage operator
G. Ludweg Meyer, economist and his best friend
Puss Killian, one of the few women Travis really loved
Gretel, another of the few women Travis loved
Chookie McCall, a dancer who appears in several books

#1 The Deep Blue Good-by (1964)
As the introductory volune of this series, McGee and his boat, the Busted Flush are introduced and we learn a fair amount about who he is. His "salvage operation" business is generated by recovering things for someone that have been stolen or disappeared, but perhaps the original acquisition wasn't quite kosher either, so no one wants the authorities involved.

A young dancer, Cathy, tells McGee the story of how her father, a WWII veteran went to prison after the war, but he had always told his family there would be plenty of money for them. Somehow his tales rang true, and they always believed him. But he died in prison.

A man who knew him while he was incarcerated shows up at the family farm. He lives with Cathy as if they were married and is severely abusive. They can tell he is looking for something but have no idea what. One day, he disappears again, but the gateposts are torn down and he's obviously taken something. He shows up in the area a week later with plenty of money.

McGee tries to track him down and recover whatever was taken that should belong to Cathy and her family.

#2 Nightmare in Pink (1964)
The story begins with McGee trying to do a favor for Nina, the kid sister of his best friend, a disabled Korean vet. Her fiancee was killed in an apparent mugging, and she finds $10,000 in his closet. This lends weight to things he had told her about financial irregularities at the place where he worked.

But the kid sister has grown up, and is no longer the 12-year-old of the snapshot in Travis' friend's wallet. They begin a long affair while he tries to track down how the fiancee was killed. Their suspicions of fowl play seem validated when her apartment is burglarized but nothing except cash is taken.

The pursuit leads to a terrifying confinement for McGee.

This volume includes a lot of narrative about the mysteries of sexual intimacy. You can skip those chapters if you just want the story.

#3 A Purple Place for Dying (1964)
Through recommendation by a mutual friend, Mona Yeoman requests that McGee try to find out how her husband has stolen a lot of money from her inheritance. McGee travels to Texas and hears her story, but he doesn't like the setup. But things happen that pull him into the story and he is forced to stay involved.

This is one of my least favorite books in the series. There is a lot of stereotyping of women, pages and pages of philosophising about the psychology of sex. And the denouement of the action is just plain silly.

#4 The Quick Red Fox (1964)
McGee is summoned to the aid of an actress whom he quickly characterizes as a "quick red fox." The actress, Lysa, was being blackmailed with photos from a wild beach party. She paid off because she felt the requested amount was reasonable. But now, another blackmailer is back with copies of the same pictures.

The trail to the truth is convoluted and tricky.

This book has language and attitudes that are going to be offensive to some people in the 21st Century.

#5 A Deadly Shade of Gold (1965)

#6 Bright Orange for the Shroud (1965)
Arthur, an old friend of McGee's shows up emaciated and totally discouraged. He had been fairly well off, got married and had moved away. But it turned out the wife was in on a con game and a group of ruthless "players" had taken every cent he'd ever had. When he found out his wife was in on it, that was the final blow.

Chookie sets about to rehabilitate Arthur and convince McGee to try to recover some of the money. McGee is reluctant to get involved, especially when he learns that, although disastrous for the mark, the scheme had been set up so that it was legal.

They come up with a plan to run a scam back on the original group, but things go from bad to worse.

#7 Darker than Amber (1966)

#8 One Fearful Yellow Eye (1966)

#9 Pale Gray for Guilt (1968)

#10 The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper (1968)

#11 Dress Her in Indigo (1969)

#12 The Long Lavender Look (1970)

#13 A Tan and Sandy Silence (1971)

#14 The Scarlet Ruse (1973)

#15 The Turquoise Lament (1973)

#16 The Dreadful Lemon Sky (1975)

#17 The Empty Copper Sea (1978)

#18 The Green Ripper (1979)
The Green Ripper is a child's mispronunciation of The Grim Reaper. McGee has been living aboard his boat with Gretel, one of his true loves. She has temporarily moved to a location closer to her new job as an all-purpose-person at a health spa. She is telling Travis and Meyer about an odd occurance where she recognized a man from her past with one of the owners. A few day later, the man is dead from a fall off his bicycle and Gretel is in the hospital with an unexplained flu-like disease. Her condition worsens, and the pathogen can not be identified.

When Gretel does not survive, Travis insists on an autopsy, and a clever murder is revealed.

McGee embarks on a quest to find the man Gretel recognized, find out what's going on and exact revenge. His quest takes him to a militant terrorist "church" in California with a chilling agenda.

#19 Free Fall in Crimson (1981)

#20 Cinnamon Skin (1982)
Meyer's geologist neice Norma and her new husband Evan are visiting as part of an extended honeymoon. Meyer leaves for Toronto for a speaking engagement. Norma, Evan, and a pilot take Meyer's boat out for a cruise, and just after it enters deep water the boat disintegrates in a violet explosion.

McGee and Meyer embark on a mission to find out who is responsible and why. The story is very linear as they learn more and more facts, but it is not boring.

They end up in Mexico where a Mayan womon with "cinnamon skin" has as much reason to want revenge on the perpetrator as they do.
The Travis McGee Quiz Book (compiled by John Brogan, introduction by MacDonald) (1984)

#21 The Lonely Silver Rain (1985)
This is the final book in the series. It's not exactly clear if MacDonald intended to end the series, but it does make a nice conclusion. The final chapter takes place in a rain so heavy it bounces off the pavement. Travis calls it a "lonely silver rain."

A friend of McGee asks him to try to recover his custom yacht that was stolen. It's a real long shot, because stolen boats are usually quickly transformed so as to be unrecognizable. However, the custom build of this one does suggest a method to find it. When McGee finds the boat, there are three dead bodies aboard, and someone in the drug smuggling world seems to want to blame McGee and the boat owner for the murders.

McGee travels to Mexico to try to keep from being killed by finding out who is really to blame.

Meanwhile, someone is leaving whimsical pipe-cleaner cats in various colors on his own boat.