It's murder, darling

Lord knows where my original paperback copy of Max Allan Collins' Kill Your Darlings has disappeared to, so it was great rediscovering the book on Kindle (it's also back in regular ol' print, too). The third book in the Mallory series, our man Mallory is now a successful mystery writer, and spends the entire book at a real-life mystery convention, Bouchercon, hobnobbing with mystery fans and fellow writers.

The entertaining and well-drawn convention scenes (apparently, mystery conventions aren't all that different from other conventions, as evidenced by the many scenes set at the hotel bar) soon give way to an actual mystery, as a writer friend of Mal's is found dead in a bathtub. Accident or foul play? Mallory is going to find out.

Originally breezing through the book as a young man, this time there was an added level of richness: I know about mystery writers and mystery publishers now, and also know (via his website and other writings) what Max Allan Collins thinks of many of them. So I kept saying to myself (despite Mr. Collins' assurances in the beginning that none of the characters was based on anyone real), "Hmmmmm, this guy has got to be based, at least a little, on Robert B. Parker", and "Mallory's friendship with the murder victim, Roscoe Kane, has got to be strongly informed by Collins' own friendship with Mickey Spillane, even though Spillane himself is mentioned in other parts of the book." And finally, "That successful but somewhat shady bookseller, editor, and small-press mystery publisher has got to be a thinly-veiled version of...", well, let's be nice, but you get the idea. Of course, I could be wrong about any or all of this stuff, but it was fun to speculate as I was reading.

Anyway, the mystery plot is very good: clean, clear, and engaging, with a satisfying resolution that's unpredictable while playing fair with the facts. Also satisfying is a sweet little romance for Mallory, entertaining observations about Chicago and its attractions, and lots of good banter (aka trade-speak) between all the writer characters. A couple of tough-guy style fisticuffs, some involving Mallory getting attacked by thugs and some involving our hero losing his temper with fellow conventioneers, seemed a little broad and unnecessary, but that's a quibble. So what if Mr. Collins' current polish and subtlety isn't completely evidence in his earliest work?  And, to be fair about some of those scenes, Mallory himself later admits he acted like a boob during his confrontations with his colleagues. 

As I've said once or twice before, these past months it's been a lot of fun moving through this five-book series many years after originally encountering it. I only hope that when I'm done, more Mallory adventures will be on the way. Max Allan Collins has been quite prolific of late, so I'd say it's a definite possibility!

Kill Your Darlings is available on Kindle for $3.99. 

Truly seeking justice?

Roger Donaldson's Seeking Justice didn't receive a lot of attention- from the media or audiences- when it was released in theaters not too long ago, but it's worth a look at home via disc, download, or streaming (so many options these days). The film reminded me a lot of Mr. Donaldson's old thriller with Kevin Costner, No Way Out. Like that earlier film, there's lots of tension and action, but all laced with an uncomfortable (and involving) paranoia as both audience members and the center-stage characters constantly wonder who is in on the big conspiracy.

The story in Seeking Justice involves a vigilante group that offers, well... justice to the Nicholas Cage character and his wife after the wife (played by January Jones) is brutally attacked by some weirdo creep. Though it rubs him the wrong way, the husband eventually takes the deal, but soon finds out that there's no free lunch. You see, Cage is all too quickly asked to return the favor and help the vigilante group exact vengeance against some other thug who supposedly did something horrible, this time to a little kid. The "supposedly" is what complicates the film, demonstrating that vigilante justice maybe isn't the simple, satisfying thing many believe it is.

In the end, this was a solid, well-crafted thriller about a topic- taking the law into one's own hands- that is usually relegated to exploitation films and other "crowd pleaser" type movies (the Neil Jordan/Jodie Foster movie The Brave One is the only other modern, A-list movie that comes to mind that tackled the subject, and that did a decent job, too). Anyway, a well-told, intelligent story and complex, understated performances by Nicholas Cage and his co-stars easily make Seeking Justice a good choice for home viewing.

Death-tainted treasure

The fifth novel in John D. MacDonald's classic Travis McGee series, A Deadly Shade of Gold, has boat bum, philosopher, and occasional (read: when he needs the money) investigator McGee chasing after ancient gold statuettes and clues to unravel who killed his friend Sam Taggart. Joining McGee in the adventure is Taggart's ex-fiancee Nora, who was on the cusp of renewing her romance with Taggart when his brutal murder put a damper on things.

Like the four books that preceded it, this travel-heavy fifth entry in the series (we spend time in Mexico, California, and New York, in addition to McGee's native Florida) is gritty, detailed, and enjoyable, but for my tastes things got a little bogged down with politics (particularly involving Cuba of the 50's and 60's), too-complicated plotting, and excessive philosophizing my our man McGee. Plusses include well-rounded women characters (pun sort of intended) and many tense confrontations and escapes.

While this slightly overlong tale is my least favorite among the first five books in this 21-book series (I'm finally discovering this series via reading each of its entries in order), all that means is that I enjoyed the book instead of really enjoyed it. The brisk and scary Nightmare in Pink (with its memorable psycho ward setting) is still my favorite so far. But this tale of the corrupt rich and their ethics-free pursuit of priceless antiquities, and the many violent deaths left in the wake of that pursuit, still largely kept me speeding through its chapters. This is rich, dark fun.

A Deadly Shade of Gold is available on Kindle for $7.99. 

Sure cure for boredom

Once again available to mystery readers via new print and e-book editions, Max Allan Collins' classic Mallory series continues to be a terrific rediscovery. In this second entry in the five-book series, our man Mallory rescues a pretty woman from a brutal assault in a bus station, which all too soon immerses him in a mystery involving dark family secrets, multiple conspiracies, greed, and a rich patriarch (perhaps) trying to atone for past sins. And- oh, yes- there's murder, too, quite a bit of it.

Is Mallory- basically a nice young man home from the Vietnam War and a couple of years of trying out different jobs around the U.S.- up to the task of unraveling a series of deaths that seem to be connected to the richest family in his moderately-sized midwestern town? The author's clean prose and no-nonsense storytelling keep the reader immersed and turning the pages to find out. In fact, if Mr. Collins didn't tell you (in a new introduction penned for this reissued edition), I don't think most readers would guess that this polished, immersive book was written more than forty years ago by a writer still learning his craft.

Oh, one more thing-- Mr. Collins also tells us in his introduction that No Cure For Death was intended to be the first book in the Mallory series, and The Baby Blue Rip-Off the second. However, for various reasons, The Baby Blue Rip-Off was released first and No Cure For Death second, establishing No Cure For Death as the official second entry in the series.  So, though it ultimately doesn't much matter, you might want to read No Cure For Death first, as it's chronologically Mallory's earliest adventure. One or two things happen in this book, including a personal tragedy for Mallory (I won't get more specific), that resonate later in The Baby Blue Rip-Off.

Well, I'm now off to grab book three in the series, Kill Your Darlings, to continue my delightful reacquaintance with a series I haven't read in decades. I had forgotten how much fun dark doings in the American Midwest could be.

No Cure For Death is available for $4.99 on Kindle, or is free to borrow for Amazon Prime members. 

A dossier on Bond

Most James Bond fans have at least a rough idea that there was a man named Kevin McClory who established in court that he was a co-creator of the story that eventually became both the 1961 James Bond novel and 1965 film known as Thunderball. That particular claim seems reasonable to myself and many other Bond fans.

Of course, Mr. McClory took things a step further and also claimed that he was the father of the cinematic James Bond we all know and love, that Ian Fleming's original creation was just the same old stodgy spy character seen countless times before in countless thrillers before Mr. McClory shaped him up into the suave adventurer that lit up movie screens. That particular claim is more problematic to myself and many other Bond fans.

However one feels, Len Deighton's Kindle Single essay, James Bond: My Long and Eventful Search For His Father, is a fascinating look at that heady time when James Bond was first making the jump from reasonably popular novels to super popular films (which eventually lead to the novels becoming super popular, too). I especially enjoyed Mr. Deighton's colorful descriptions of Mr. McClory (who I now see as a real person with a passionate, real position, even if I largely don't agree with it), but I also liked learning a little more about the skills, charms, and personal foibles of Ian Fleming, Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman, and other notable personalities peppering the James Bond literary and movie landscape.

The paragraphs are a little long and the writing a little dense for what should have been a breezier, lighter reading experience, but the interesting subject matter cut through the thick verbiage and assured that this long essay- which can be completed in one to three sittings depending on your personal reading habits- was never less than a compelling glimpse into a period (beginning in the swinging sixties and extending into the early eighties) when the ownership of James Bond was a hotly-debated topic.

James Bond: My Long and Eventful Search For His Father is available on Kindle for $1.99, or is free to borrow for Amazon Prime members.

Spector of fear

Last night I watched the HBO Original Movie, "Phil Spector", about the famed record producer's arrest for murder in 2003.  Like most people, I can be easily drawn into a well-produced drama based on a real criminal case, and that's exactly what happened here.  I'll probably shortly file a few thoughts on the film. 

Anyway, the movie reminded me that I had already read a decent book about Phil Spector in general and the murder case in particular a few years ago.  It was Mick Brown's "Tearing Down the Wall of Sound: The Rise and Fall of Phil Spector".  I thought readers would find my review of the book (originally posted on Amazon in 2007) interesting, so here it is:

Tearing Down the Wall of Sound is an engaging, informative, and very entertaining reading experience. This is in large part due to the fact that even if one gets a little tired of the endless personal antics of Mr. Spector, the book also functions as a pretty comprehensive examination of the evolution of popular music from the 50's to the present. But to also give the book's subject his due, it's also fascinating to learn exactly what a record producer does and how Mr. Spector, during several specific moments in history, did it better than anyone else.

Alas, the book also makes it pretty clear that the gun tragedy of a few years ago involving Mr. Spector was bound to happen sooner or later, as author Mick Brown recounts literally dozens of incidents of Mr. Spector waving a gun at someone in jest, in a bullying manner, or in jealousy or anger.

But it's the many musical stories and anecdotes that really stand out here. Reading all the behind-the-scenes stuff about The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Sonny and Cher (Sonny got his start taking down sandwich orders for Phil Spector and his technicians!), The Ronettes, The Teddy Bears, etc. is a blast, and also kind of reassuring: we see that, despite talent and often genius, our musical heroes often struggled to produce good work; usually relied on the guidance of a good producer or other technical person; and worried what people thought of them. In other words, we're reminded that those musical heroes, in at least some ways, weren't too different from the rest of us.

Okay, back to 2013.  "Tearing Down the Wall of Sound" is available for $13.99 on Kindle, which would be a bit of an extravagent purchase, I admit.  Good book, though.

Hammer's back

Once again working from notes and fragments provided by the late Mickey Spillane, the always reliable Max Allan Collins has created a solidly entertaining mystery/thriller with Lady, Go Die!, the originally-envisioned follow up to the first Mike Hammer novel, I, The Jury.

The book starts out with Mike, still reeling from the events in that first famous novel, taking a short vacation in a sleepy seaside town to get his bearings back. But he soon learns, first hand, that the sleepy town isn't as sleepy as it first seemed. Before he knows it, Mike and his faithful secretary and sidekick Velda are knee deep in murder, crooked cops, organized crime, and ultimately, true evil.

Scary, puzzling, funny (I loved the way Hammer always referred to his car as "the heap"), Lady, Go Die! is another great Spillane/Collins collaboration. There hasn't been a bad one yet.

Lady, Go Die! is available on Kindle for $7.79.