Stormy Weather Books 
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"Making a book is a craft, like making a clock; it needs more than native wit to be an author." Jean de La Bruyère |
Mysteries & Thrillers
William Bernhardt
J. A. Jance
Click here for an interview with the author
In In Breach of Duty, after a three year hiatus, J.A. Jance resumes her
Seattle-based mystery series featuring homicide detective Jonas Piedmont Beaumont. The novel begins on Lake Chelan (in eastern Washington State) 
as Beau scatters his grandfather's ashes in the water. The reflective moment offers Jance a perfect opportunity to get new readers up to speed with her hero (and offers a quick refresher course for the many ongoing Jance fans). Beau has struggled through a hard life of alcoholism and two failed marriages, but now, just maybe, he's pulled things together. After his return to Seattle, his new partner, Sue Danielson, bombards him with two cases and a number of leads. A 67-year-old woman named Agnes Ferman burned to death in her bed. After $300,000 was discovered in her garage, the police rightly began to suspect murder. At almost the same time, a group of teenagers discovered the long-dead body of a Native American man--possibly connected to recent hate crime. Sue and Beau plunge into both cases while they begin to learn a bit more about each other. One of the pleasures of Beau's narrative is his constant, unspoken (and often hilariously sarcastic) asides to the reader. Meanwhile, Beau's sensitivity to Sue and her personal struggles suggest great promise for this couple. In the end, a diverse collection of oddball characters, a comprehensive sense of Seattle and environs, and a strong pairing of mystery plots make this another winning installment in Jance's much-beloved series. The tale of J.P. Beaumont began with Until Proven Guilty in 1985, and has included award-winners Without Due Process and Failure to Appear among its 14 books. reviewed by Patrick O'Kelley
John D. MacDonald
John D. MacDonald published forty-four novels before The Deep Blue Good-By
(1963) introduces the reader to one of the most enduring characters in the mystery
genre. Travis McGee, a self-styled modern knight errant lives in Fort Lauderdale,
FL on a houseboat, appropriately named The Busted Flush. Eschewing the 9-5
existence, McGee enjoys his retirement in installments, working as a "salvage
consultant" when his money gets low. Salvage consultant? It works like this:
suppose you have lost something very valuable, very important to you and you've
exhausted all your resources trying to get it back. McGee will get it back for you-for
half its value. MacDonald writes with intricate, multi-level plotting, gritty insights into human
nature and meticulous characterization. One of the many delights of the series is MacDonald's
clever interweaving of the Florida people, landscape and the changing times into the story. Like
L.A. in Chandler's Philip Marlowe Stories, the setting is almost a character. For a select
bibliography of MacDonald's works, click here.
if you enjoy mysteries full of intense characters and plot twists that you won't want to put down, check this author out! Sandford shows a keen insight into the minds of cops, killers and the occasional mercenary. The Fool's Run and The Empress File were originally published under the author's real name, John Camp and will have you demanding more. The Kidd is a computer expert, who will have you believe he's one of the meanest sonofabitches that'sever lived. Until you get to know him, that is. The famed Prey series, starring Lucas Davenport--his picture is in the dictionary under "ruthless"-- begins with Eyes of Prey. A TV-movie based on Mind Prey will be shown on ABC this year.
