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A must read if you want to understand the financial meltdown on Wall Street. A securities trader with an investment banking firm bets on derivatives. He is not using real money. It is like having a $100 million dollar marker from a casino. He loses the bet, and the firm must make good on the loss. He, of course, loses his job and is subject to sanctions. The balance of the book is his odyssey to find a new career, and his encounters with other wrongdoing on Wall Street. The novel will give you a good inside look at Wall Street.
An excellent mystery set in the present but reaching into the past. Investigative reporter Carson Lynch is dealing with her own problems after the death of her child when she is drawn into the investigation of an apparent serial killer. It is 2005 in Biloxi, Mississippi. Remains of five young women have been discovered under the parking lot of a waterfront nightclub - women reported missing 24 years earlier. Now there is a sixth victim. The story winds forward to a conclusion as past events emerge and various people deal with their lost family members.
Ray Dudgeon is a former investigative journalist turned hardboiled PI in Chicago. He has his own ideas of justice and takes no prisoners. The character reminds me of Spillane's Mike Hammer. This is an excellent first novel with well developed, interesting characters, and some good descriptions of Chicago settings.
Dudgeon had planned to take some time off during the Christmas holidays, but is talked into being a bodyguard for a Hollywood type who is a witness against a lower ranking mobster in the Outfit (someone who has not yet made his bones). The case turns out to be more complex than it originally appeared as there is a power play within the Outfit and questions about who is siding with whom. There is corruption is high places. and Dudgeon finds himself entangled in a web. The novel is a page turner that holds your attention.
A short story about PI Ray Dudgeon is included in the collection "Killer Year." I would hope to see more of the character. Like the late Dashiel Hammett, the author was a PI for a short period early in his career.
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This is an interesting collection of new short stories solicited by editor for this volume. The writing style and content varies and, as in most collections of this type, the individual readers will find some stories they like more than others. Not all the stories involve killers as such. The collection contains 16 stories including 13 relatively new authors and 3 more established authors. It is a good introduction to some interesting writers. I liked three of the stories well enough to order copies of novels by the authors.
"Teardown" by Marc Lecard is a somewhat humorous story about LoDuco, a never-so-well who stumbles into some amazing luck. The leadoff story, "Perfect Gentleman," by Brett Battles is about Wade Norris, the papasan at a stripper bar in Angeles City in the Philippines who has his own standards of justice. Sean Chevcover's "One serving of Bad Luck" is about PI Ray Dudgeon who can make the most of a bad situation. Other stories were of varying interest, but overall the collection is well worth the price. There is also a short essay by M.J. Rose about the difficulties of a new author getting established; an introduction by the editor, Lee Child; and a short Coda by Laura Lippman at the end of the collection.
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One of the funniest books of the year. Janet Evanovich has added some new characters including Zook and Brenda, along with some of Morelli's relatives from the other side of the law and assorted prople from the Burg. You also have Lula and Bob (Morelli's dog). A monkey has been added to the mix. You can expect the usual adventures and misadventures that you find in the series. You will learn something about potato guns.
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(4 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
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FredinVick has commented on (5) products.
Naked Option by Joe Kolman
FredinVick, September 30, 2008
A must read if you want to understand the financial meltdown on Wall Street. A securities trader with an investment banking firm bets on derivatives. He is not using real money. It is like having a $100 million dollar marker from a casino. He loses the bet, and the firm must make good on the loss. He, of course, loses his job and is subject to sanctions. The balance of the book is his odyssey to find a new career, and his encounters with other wrongdoing on Wall Street. The novel will give you a good inside look at Wall Street.Revenant by Carolyn Haines
FredinVick, August 4, 2008
An excellent mystery set in the present but reaching into the past. Investigative reporter Carson Lynch is dealing with her own problems after the death of her child when she is drawn into the investigation of an apparent serial killer. It is 2005 in Biloxi, Mississippi. Remains of five young women have been discovered under the parking lot of a waterfront nightclub - women reported missing 24 years earlier. Now there is a sixth victim. The story winds forward to a conclusion as past events emerge and various people deal with their lost family members.Big City, Bad Blood by Sean Chercover
FredinVick, August 1, 2008
Ray Dudgeon is a former investigative journalist turned hardboiled PI in Chicago. He has his own ideas of justice and takes no prisoners. The character reminds me of Spillane's Mike Hammer. This is an excellent first novel with well developed, interesting characters, and some good descriptions of Chicago settings.Dudgeon had planned to take some time off during the Christmas holidays, but is talked into being a bodyguard for a Hollywood type who is a witness against a lower ranking mobster in the Outfit (someone who has not yet made his bones). The case turns out to be more complex than it originally appeared as there is a power play within the Outfit and questions about who is siding with whom. There is corruption is high places. and Dudgeon finds himself entangled in a web. The novel is a page turner that holds your attention.
A short story about PI Ray Dudgeon is included in the collection "Killer Year." I would hope to see more of the character. Like the late Dashiel Hammett, the author was a PI for a short period early in his career.
(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
Killer Year: Stories to Die For...from the Hottest New Crime Writers by Lee Child
FredinVick, July 20, 2008
This is an interesting collection of new short stories solicited by editor for this volume. The writing style and content varies and, as in most collections of this type, the individual readers will find some stories they like more than others. Not all the stories involve killers as such. The collection contains 16 stories including 13 relatively new authors and 3 more established authors. It is a good introduction to some interesting writers. I liked three of the stories well enough to order copies of novels by the authors."Teardown" by Marc Lecard is a somewhat humorous story about LoDuco, a never-so-well who stumbles into some amazing luck. The leadoff story, "Perfect Gentleman," by Brett Battles is about Wade Norris, the papasan at a stripper bar in Angeles City in the Philippines who has his own standards of justice. Sean Chevcover's "One serving of Bad Luck" is about PI Ray Dudgeon who can make the most of a bad situation. Other stories were of varying interest, but overall the collection is well worth the price. There is also a short essay by M.J. Rose about the difficulties of a new author getting established; an introduction by the editor, Lee Child; and a short Coda by Laura Lippman at the end of the collection.
(1 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
Fearless Fourteen (Stephanie Plum Novels) by Janet Evanovich
FredinVick, June 19, 2008
One of the funniest books of the year. Janet Evanovich has added some new characters including Zook and Brenda, along with some of Morelli's relatives from the other side of the law and assorted prople from the Burg. You also have Lula and Bob (Morelli's dog). A monkey has been added to the mix. You can expect the usual adventures and misadventures that you find in the series. You will learn something about potato guns.(4 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)