Time for another guest review from my friend Lauren, whom I have to coerce into writing for me—hence, the “gunpoint”—by making her fill out the form below. This time, she offered to submit a review before I had to get rough and take away her Girl Scout cookies. (For Lauren’s previous review, click here.)
William “Boo” Malone and Junior, best friends since they both resided at Saint Gabriel’s Home for Boys, are, by all appearances, a couple of tough, tattoo-laden biggies who provide security at a Boston nightclub, The Cellar. Boo and Junior run 4DC Security (“Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” what’s not to love about that?) and take the occasional side job. When 4DC is hired to find a young runaway, we find out all is not as it seems, including those tough-guy exteriors.
Your thoughts in five sentences or fewer:
We all know from last time how good I am at this “five sentences or fewer” rule. So bear with me. When a work is published by Tyrus Books, I know there’s going to be something nifty between the covers. But I (kinda) never saw this one coming. Simple perfection. A smart, moving story; outstanding dialogue; wicked humor; and well-drawn characters (even the secondary ones, which are all too infrequently done well)—I could have read it again as soon as I finished. And I rarely reread.
I say I “kinda” never saw this one coming because I had the pleasure of meeting Todd at Bouchercon last year. I knew his book was coming out early this year, and after spending some time with him, I remember thinking, “If this guy writes anything like he is, this book is going to knock folks’ socks off.” Consider me barefoot.
I read this book in January and proclaimed at the time that I would bet my mortgage it will be in my top 5 reads this year. It’s only March, but I’ve read almost thirty books thus far. Boo and Junior are still kicking ass.
There’s been a thousand Bouchercon posts already everywhere but I figured no two experiences are exactly the same, right? So, if you’re not tired yet of reading about it, below are my highlights.
For those unfamiliar with B’con, it’s an annual world mystery convention for authors and fans. And by “world,” I do mean people come from all over, such as Thailand and Scotland in the case of international guests of honor, Colin Cotterill and Val McDermid, respectively.
So much happened and some of it is a blur, but among the things that stood out:
Meeting authors I’ve gotten to know a little online and finding they’re just as charming and funny in person. It was a pleasure having tea with Laura Benedict, though I didn’t actually drink tea and just ate a cookie half standing up. Seeing her, as a panel moderator, handle an audience member who talked endlessly without actually asking a question was also quite satisfying.
Squeezing into a photo booth with Ben LeRoy (of Tyrus Books and F+W Crime) and my friends Christine and Lauren to take goofy pictures. Ben’s passion for life and efforts to make the world a better place neutralize the damage done by at least twenty a**holes.
Being packed into the Meshuggah Cafe for Noir at the Bar with some of the best crime writers working. They have sick, twisted minds, just the way I like ’em.
Eating Vietnamese food and sharing cab rides with Brett Battles, Meg Gardiner, and Lauren that threatened to turn into Noir on the Streets. Our driver Jill started talking up the local asylum to us and I couldn’t blame her.
Having breakfast—and coffee, and brownies, and nuts—while talking with Mike Cooper, who raised my IQ.
Hearing Matthew McBride, who writes brutal fiction, fret about his bowling skills, afraid he wouldn’t be good enough for the tournament. (He did just fine.)
Witnessing Hilary Davidson win her Crimespree and Anthony Awards for Best First Novel. I’m hoping she’ll wear the plaques as earrings at next year’s B’con.
Chatting with Katrina Niidas Holm and observing her husband Chris‘s petrification when an idol of his, Daniel Woodrell, sat with us in a booth in the hotel bar.
Waving at Clare from Criminal Element at the auction and almost losing $300 because auctioneer Mark Billingham thought I was bidding on something.
Encountering Jonathan Hayes in the elevator and having him say, “I didn’t know you were Asian!” I also got “I didn’t know you were a woman” from some but let’s not go there.
Running into Robert Crais in the hotel lobby within minutes of my arrival. ‘Nuff said.
From L.: Naomi, Paulette, Michael, Christine, me. Not pictured--Jen and Carolyn.
Finally meeting super Craisie Naomi and her friend Carolyn, as well as hanging with the rest of the gang—Michael, Jen, Paulette, Lauren, and Christine—culminating in dinner at Mosaic. I shall think of you whenever I lick spicy ice cream. (For more on the Craisies, go here.)
Briefly spending some time with my friend Rae, one of the classiest people I know. (She chaired last year’s B’con.)
Meeting the extremely thoughtful Sabrina, who’s about to make someone’s day, if not month.
Rooming with the divine Christine, who is just beyond words as a human being.
The risk of doing one of these posts is that I omit someone, so I apologize if I got to meet you and failed to mention you. Please know I had an over-the-moon experience and you contributed to it.
Many thanks to Jon and Ruth Jordan, Judy Bobalik, Jen Forbus and all the other organizers for putting on such a fantastic show. I heard that some people thought they were paid; they were not. They did it purely out of love and isn’t that the best reason to do anything?
I’ll leave you now with a set of videos regarding the Joe Pike vs. Jack Reacher debate. At last year’s Bouchercon, Lee Child was asked who would win in a Reacher-Pike fight. I captured his answer in the first video. This year, Gregg Hurwitz asked Crais for a rebuttal, which you can see in the second clip. The video quality isn’t great because I recorded it on my photo camera, but I think his answer is loud and clear.
Wanted to put up a quick post to alert you to the amazing thing Ben LeRoy and the good people at Tyrus Books are doing: giving away e-books for the rest of the summer! (UPDATE: Poncho reports below that the offer is not available in Latin America.)
For a “Summer of Crime,” a free novel will be given away every week. There is no obligation—just download and read it. LeRoy has repeatedly said all he cares about is that people read and he’s consistently backed this up with his generous actions. (In case you’re interested, my full valentine to Tyrus is here.)
This week’s title is Angela S. Choi’s dark, witty Hello Kitty Must Die, which has that famous opening line: “It all started with my missing hymen.” And boy, did that MIA hymen start a lot of trouble. You can download it from Amazon here or from Barnes & Noble here. The promotion ends next Monday, August 8, and the schedule for the rest of the free e-books is as follows:
Late Rain by Lynn Kostoff (8/8 – 8/15)
The Wind Knot by John Galligan (8/15 – 8/22)
Untouchable by Scott O’Connor (8/30 – 9/6)
Mark your calendars, tell your friends, and get yourself caught up in crime this summer!
In a time when the economy is weak and many businesses are tightening their belts, Ben LeRoy, publisher of Tyrus Books, has been going in the opposite direction. He’s been giving free books to anyone who asks. He’d pick an hour or two out of a random day and announce on Twitter (follow here if you don’t already) that he’d take requests during that time for anything from Tyrus’s catalogue of dark crime fiction. If he has copies available (finished books, not ARCs), he’ll send them to you for free. Yes, that’s plural because you can ask for more than one.
Why is LeRoy doing this? He asks for nothing in return, no reviews, no please-tell-your-friends-about-us, nothing. A recent tweet said, “Just read. That’s all I care about.” That moved me deeply and is why I felt the need to write this.
There were no libraries in Vietnam during my childhood. I remember how I’d walk to a nearby store that rented books by asking customers for a deposit. If patrons returned the book in good condition, the store would refund their money, minus a small rental fee.
This may sound fair except I was a small child with no money of my own. I’d try to barter with the store owner—can I leave my shoes as collateral? How about my school bag? The shop owner would laugh at me but there were few things I wouldn’t have swapped for the chance to read.
More than 30 years and 10,000 miles removed, that feeling hasn’t changed. So, for me to get free books from Tyrus with no questions asked and no strings attached? It’s like receiving…I’m not sure I have the right words. Insert gold, money, food, water, life—whatever’s most precious to you—and you’ll get the idea. I don’t understand such generosity but I don’t have to. I can just be thankful there are people like LeRoy keeping literacy alive while allowing that long-ago girl to keep her shoes.
Title: The Hard Bounce
