April 30

Afraid by Jack Kilborn

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Paperback: 9780446535939, $6.99

Governmental experimentation on U.S. citizens is nothing new (in the fictional world). In Afraid, the debut from Jack Kilborn (alias of JA Konrath, author of the excellent “Jack” Daniels mystery series) the products of these experimentation, an elite, psychotic team tagged “Red-ops” have crash landed in the small U.S. town of safe haven. Worse than the thought of deranged, programed killers carrying out orders on a town of innocent people is the thought that they might not have landed on accident.
Compared to his other work, Afraid is just as brutal, but the tension is less over the top and nail biting and more of a complex reveal, not slow, but building on itself in levels until the full depth of the situation (and the plot) is realized. There is less humor involved, almost because there isn’t time for the characters to begin to adjust to facing their own, painful, deaths and get cynical.
Kilborn makes a solid showing in the horror/thriller genre with a tale that’s genuine and engaging enough to keep people reading, but neither over the top, or stodgy with attempts to build up the characters to make the audience sympathize with their plight.
Fans of David Morrell and Michael Crichton should take note, Kilborn is capable of holding his own against thriller veterans, delivering a solid, tension filled book that rates high on the readibility scale.
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March 25

Whiskey Sour by JA Konrath

Whiskey Sour by JA Konrath

Whiskey Sour is labeled “Mystery” but if it’s a mystery it’s the kind that rings your doorbell then punches you in the face, points and laughs rather than plays peek-a-boo with you. From the moment I finally found it I hoped it was going to be different. It does have a florescent cover after all.

 

Whiskey Sour is the first Jack Daniels mystery. Veteran police detective Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels is not only lead investigator in a nasty serial killer case she’s also been singled out by the Gingerbread Man as an adversary worthy of “special treatment”.

 

I was unsure for quite a ways into it. My trepidation and the things I liked were pretty much in balance. The tone to the writing is different than a lot of the stories I’ve read lately. Instead of the book wrapping itself around the reader it plays more like a private drama acted out before them. The action itself is the atmosphere.

 

I’m not sure about Jack herself. I did like that the main character was troubled, older and experienced. No young upstarts here. But Jack is neither a character I’d be able to enjoy a coffee date with nor one I’d want to dive into the story to help out. I don’t despise her by any means, but honestly I didn’t find a lot of sympathy for her either until after I knew what had happened between her and Harry. It took a while for her to show more emotion than just a cop. She’s not, in the end, an “I need sympathy” character.

 

Konrath also uses a writing tool that I am terribly skeptical about. Interspersed in the story from Jack’s point of view are chapters from the bad guy’s point of view. Normally I don’t like this mechanic. I generally don’t like as a reader (or as a writer like my readers), to know anything that the character doesn’t. But Konrath uses the technique well, putting the villain’s sections in present tense third person and Jack’s parts in first person past tense. This method absolutely would not have worked for me if the Gingerbread Man wasn’t such a proactive killer. If I didn’t know what he had done, specifically to attack Jack, then spend two chapters waiting for Jack to find her little presents, then I definitely would have been turned off.

 

But like I said, this mystery isn’t content to just sit back and slowly unfurl. It sits around a bit, gets bored, then jumps up and hits you with a baseball bat.

 

I’m still not sure if Konrath’s style works for me. He doesn’t pull his punches, he doesn’t hesitate or blur the shot. That does work for me. Whether I like the series as a whole or not I’m hooked for another book. Hopefully this time Harry gets what’s coming to him. This book rates a buy it for sheer balls.

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March 25

Bloody Mary by JA Konrath

Bloody Mary by JA Konrath

Bloody Mary is the second book in J.A. Konrath’s “Jack” Daniels series. Bloody Mary starts with Lieutenant Jacqueline Daniels being called down to the county morgue because a few extra body parts have been found. Not just any body parts though. This pair of arms was found held together with Daniels’ own handcuffs. Like it? It gets better from there.

If you told me that the bad guy would be revealed and caught in the middle of the book and that the remainder of the story would still be just as intense and suspenseful as the hunt for the perp I never would have believed you. But finding the killer’s name is just the beginning of the story.

Konrath must have been laughing at the idea that all mysteries reveal the bad guy at the climax. He absolutely shattered my preconceived notions of what a mystery should be.

Bloody Mary is fun, funny, incredibly dark, and completely pulled me in. My only regret is that I finished it at 3am, and alas all the book stores that carry the third book in the series were closed.

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