Okey dokey. I took a wee break between a heavy edit of (WIP title) 'Shanghai Road,' a Whiskey River Mystery, book 3. Then I jumped into the book I'd been reading, and did some critiquing for another (but prolific) writer.
So I want to talk about Lisa Black's last novel. Truly well-written. The first novel in the Gardiner/Renner series - "That Darkness," I simply couldn't put down. It was fantastic and shocking. Absolutely the best, cleanest crime fiction I've read in decades.
"Perish" is the novel I just finished. I love her writing style and her attention to research and detail. She writes more inner thought than dialogue (whereas I write more dialogue than inner thought). I now know more than I ever believed possible about the dirty tricks many loan companies tell us, lies, pure lies. However, despite all, the majority (99 percent) are the well-written lectures on insurance fraud vs. unethical practices. Her crime fiction comprised the last pages.
Disappointing to me. She's passionate about issues plaguing the world, but, like ... I wanna see the police procedurals, the forensics, and figure out the whodunit. Don't stop reading Lisa Black's novels because of this, however, keep in mind that her Gardiner and Renner series has tons (tons) of research sometimes related to the crime, and sometimes just barely. Such as physical newspaper publishing and what a mess blood can make on the plates (book 2, "Unpunished"). I've only been reading this series and am not yet through. So I would give "Perish" 3-stars.
Jane Daly - well I won't give away a thing about her next novel, say since her book isn't finished (out of a series/sequel), and I'm excited to read. Her characters in one chapter are already well-developed, and the romance has a great set up. I can hardly wait to see where she takes this in the next chapters. Jane writes fiction and non-fiction, and all are wildly worth the read.
I have like 200 books to read, all happily awaiting (or they may be indignant) on my Kindle. The sheer amount of books may take me to, well, after the Rapture.
After these activities, I started my 4th novel in the Whiskey River Mystery series. WIP title name? IDK you can help in the comment section. The publisher has the final say, but I can put all of them forward to her and see what she says.
While I wait for the editor to send the manuscript back for more slashing and red (blue?) penciling, I have the "next" work in progress titled, "Foggy with Chance of Murder." Several others rush around my brain but thus far, Foggy ... is my favorite.
Book 2, Whiskey River Mystery, "Silk & Slippers" is on Amazon, as is its precursor, "Romance Under Wraps." Also, "Rules of Engagement," the only thriller I'll ever write for the amount of research and the time it took to write -as in years- is available on Kindle, KU, audible, and paperback. If you type in Rules of Engagement - you'll find several options. So add 'Claire' to the end of it, and it should pop right up.
And that's all for now! Happy reading, happy writing, happy editing.
Whiskey River Mystery series:
