UNTAMED COAST

4 stars out of 5

If I’m honest, I have to say it took me a while to “get into” this book, though in the end I can say I enjoyed it and consider it to be well-written. That’s mostly, I think, because there are three timelines, three different scenarios and three different sets of characters to keep straight; at my age, some days I have trouble remembering how to spell my own name.

It’s 1938, and a man is working at a gold mine, with a couple of partners in crime who are running a skimming scam. Then it’s 1982, when a beautiful young wife and the abusive husband she wants to get away from are operating a successful fishing business. Then it’s 2017, when a man caught in a violent storm in the Alaskan Sea hears an almost unintelligible radio message from a woman calling for help and can’t give up trying to find her – if she really exists.

At the heart of the matter is a seemingly abandoned island known as Radioville – from which Alaskan boater and widower Marco Franco picks up some kind of distress signal. Trying to track it down nearly kills him, but for some strange reason he’s certain the signal he heard was real so he refuses to give up. That leads to discovery of gold robbers and a woman - Anya Baron – who lives with a nasty husband who abuses her to the point that she fears for her life.

Of course, readers can expect all three scenarios to be somehow connected; and of course, they are. Shifting from scenario to scenario, clues emerge and merge; but although everything was brought to a conclusion in the end that was, at least for me, satisfying, the ride to get there was a bit bumpy. But for those who stick with it, as I did, it’s definitely worth reading. I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

Untamed Coast by Kevin C. Morris (Ballantine Books, September 2027); 304 pp.

MURDER AT HAVEN'S ROCK

5 stars out of 5

I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but with just 10% or so left to go in this book, I quite literally stood at the stove stirring pasta sauce with one hand and the other holding my Kindle (never mind what that did to my eyes). Yeah, if that's not a good indication that I really didn't want to put this one down, I don't know what is.

I'm always excited about the prospect of getting in at the beginning of a new series, although to be fair, this is an offshoot of the author's "Rockton" series (seven books, I believe, but correct me if I'm wrong). Those books centered on a town in the wilds of Canada that was created as a harbor for people who, well, need to get off the grid for one reason or another and Casey Duncan, a homicide detective with a secret of her own. Apparently, something happened there that meant starting over - and Casey and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are helping to finance and oversee the building of a new town deep in the Alaskan forest called Haven's Rock that will serve the same function as Rockton. 

In case you're wondering, I've not read any of the Rockton novels, and at no time did I feel disadvantaged as a result; this one stands very well on its own (with an ending, not surprisingly, that provides fodder for the next book, which I certainly plan to read). As the story begins here, Casey, Eric and their smart-as-a-whip dog are on their way to visit Haven's Rock at the invitation of Yolanda, the project general contractor. Somehow, Yolanda explains, the project architect and engineer, Penny and Bruno, respectively, have gone missing. Everyone working on the project has been warned many times over to not wander off into the surrounding wilds (if for no other reason, because the area is known to be populated with critters who aren't exactly people-friendly. Early on, their worst fears are confirmed as the body of a young woman turns up - and it's clear she's a murder victim.

As the investigation progresses, readers get to know (and, at least in my case) love Casey and Eric. Clearly, they're not your run-of-the-mill folks - after all, they're the ones who will be overseeing what most would consider to be a group of societal misfits, and they'd probably put themselves in that category as well. That's underscored by the fact that except for each other (plus Casey's sister April, a neurosurgeon who's on the autism spectrum, and their former deputy, Will Anders), they don't trust a single soul at the construction site. The action heats up as secrets are unearthed - along with another body or two - and it doesn't stop till the whole thing is resolved (coincidentally, that's about the same time I stopped holding my breath).

All told, it's a well-written, entertaining adventure and I'm looking forward to the next one. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy. Wonderful!

Murder at Haven's Rock by Kelley Armstrong (Minotaur Books, February 2023); 352 pp.

BLOOD STANDARD

4 stars out of 5

Whatever else I think about this book - the first in the crime-thriller category by this author - I cannot deny his way with words. Even when the going takes gruesome turns, the main character, Isaiah Coleridge, has the chutzpah of a Raymond Chandler private eye combined with the philosophical musings of the late Robert B. Parker's Spenser. 

And that's a good thing; otherwise, Coleridge - once a mob enforcer - wouldn't be a particularly appealing guy. Big, brawny and half Maori, he manages to get on the wrong side of his father and his Chicago mob bosses, who send him north to Alaska. There, his cantankerous genes kick in once again, and he is "retired" to remote Hawk Mountain Farm in upstate New York, where he performs mundane tasks like mucking horse stalls.  

Needless to say, the work isn't very challenging, and he misses the hard action of his former life (even he isn't sure whether he prefers getting punched or punching someone else's lights out). Still, he vows not to return to his old ways; but then the Michael Corleone effect kicks in: "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in."

In truth, "they" really aren't the problem; Isaiah simply doesn't have it in him to stay on the right side of trouble. He runs amok of some nasty characters - basically turning their body parts to mincemeat - and saves a wayward young girl from the clutches of some particularly dastardly dudes. Then, in the midst of his having to deal with enemies old and new, the girl he saved goes missing. That hits Isaiah right in the heart (it's stashed right behind his shoulder holster), and nothing  - not broken bones, not bloody knife slashes and certainly not threats of a slow and painful death - will stop him from saving her once again.

This is, I believe, the first of a new series - and yes, it's enjoyable enough that I look forward to the next. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review an advance copy. Well done!

Blood Standard by Laird Barron (G.P. Putnam's Sons, May 2018); 336 pp.

THE GOOD SPY DIES TWICE

4 stars out of 5

If this is, as the description suggests, the first book in a series, it's off to a pretty good start. The characters are interesting, the plot intriguing and the action relatively fast-paced. Leading the case is investigative journalist Jake Boxer, who used to host a tabloid-type show called "Bullseye." 

Several years back, Jake's sound man on the show is murdered - presumably by Russian intelligence agents - while he was digging up fodder for the show related to a strange humming noise said to be causing health issues for local folks. At the time, the sound man was engaged to the Clare, the show's producer; but after Jake goes on one too many far-out on-camera rants, the show is canceled and he's kicked off his career path.

Fast-forward a few years to the start of the current story, when a man convicted of murdering Soviet spies back in the 1970s and who claimed to be a former contract hitman for the CIA is executed. Jack has just married Clare (who's now a travel writer), and the two have landed at a fancy-schmancy ski resort in remote Alaska called Blind River - ostensibly so she can write an article about the place. Clare interviewed the now-dead inmate several times for a story years ago and, to Jake's surprise, she's clearly upset by the guy's execution. Suddenly, her behavior turns curiously secretive; and after a nasty turn of events, Jake learns only that the man's last words to Clare were, "The good spy dies twice."

Needless to say, Jake - ever the newshound (and a paranoid one at that)  - can't bring himself to not try to get to the bottom of his wife's interest in the old man and the meaning behind those words. As he pokes around the secluded town and resort, he runs into several questionable characters  and, potentially, an international conspiracy that's rooted in the past but has far-reaching implications for the present and beyond.

For the most part, the writing is solid, with lines here and there that gave me a chuckle, such as:

"...the ice-skating rink and hot cocoa stand was [sic] decorated with enough mistletoe to get the entire town laid."

I must admit, though, that although I enjoyed the book, I never "connected" with any of the characters who - despite all that happens to them - never seemed to give off any emotional vibes that seemed real to me (hence my rating of 4 stars instead of 5). There is plenty of ongoing tension as Jake tries to learn who's behind the conspiracy - no, I didn't know till the end - but somehow I just couldn't feel his often considerable pain. I really did hate to put the book down when other chores demanded my attention, but at the same time, at least twice I found myself wondering if the ending would turn out like the memorable finale of "Newhart" (if you don't know what that was, it's worth looking up). 

For the record, I was granted an advance copy in exchange for an honest review courtesy of the author and publisher via NetGalley. And also for the record, yes, I've put this series on my watch list for the next installment - if only because the former journalist in me wants to find out what story Jake will end up chasing next.  

The Good Spy Dies Twice by Mark Hosack (Wide Awake Books, September 2016); 324 pp.