Busy busy busy!
I'm soooo glad tomorrow is Friday. It's been a long, long week.
Just finished two more books a day ago! Yay! Two mysteries. The same genre, but very different styles.
Indian Sign, by Les Roberts. This is towards the end of a pretty lengthy series of books by an author from my neck of the woods. Ohioans -- especially those in the northeast quadrant -- will appreciate the local setting Roberts gives his series. His main character, Milan Jackovich, is a private detective. Generally, he handles routine business security matters, but every once in a while, a case lands in his lap which tests all of his skills -- both physical and mental.
In this story, Milan is asked by the owner of a major toy company to investigate a new employee. Sounds straightforward, right? Except Milan encounters several wrinkles that test his high ethics standards to the maximum.
While working on this case, Milan also is asked to look into a case of the kidnapping of an Odawa tribe infant from a poor family in Michigan -- a case which hits Milan's heart (he is the father of two sons). Here, too, he encounters many ethical issues.
This story is different from Roberts' earlier stories in that both cases are pretty straightforward. I gleaned most of what was going on fairly early on in the book (although there were a couple surprises). What makes this a fascinating read are the ethical dilemnas Milan struggles with in both cases. Our intrepid hero also is struggling with guilt from a previous ... ah, but I can't get into that.
Four to Score, by Janet Evanovich -- Yes, we go from the somewhat serious tone of the Milan Jackovich series to the fall-down funny antics of Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter semi-extraordinaire. My mom got me hooked on Stephanie Plum, something for which I am very grateful. You have to hand it to an author who has you squirming one second and cackling the second.
In this fourth (mis)adventure, what starts out as what should be a simple pickup of a Failure to Appear puts Stephanie in the middle of a series of conspiracies and adventures. It's hard to sum up this book withhout giving too much away, but so far, the books generally can guarantee the following:
* Something will catch fire or explode in dramatic and hysterical fashion
* A supporting cast of colorful characters, including Stephanie's overprotective mother, her uninhibited (to put it mildly) grandmother, her co-workers, and her nemesis Joyce Barnhardt. Joyce, in this story, has also become a bounty hunter and is after Stephanie's quarry.
* At some point, her quarry will confront and entrap her.
* At least one body will be found, usually in a bizarre fashion, and
* You will laugh.
Stephanie Plum is almost a Cleauseu, only female, from New Jersey, with big hair and the tenacity of a bulldog. Indeed, her stubborness is generally the only thing that keeps her going in the (eventual) right direction.
Fair warning: I would not start with either of these books, because there is a good deal of continuity in the series, and many earlier references to previous events in both series.
Movies: Watch "Whale Rider." Have been wanting to see this one for some time. What a neat and different movie. I really liked how they did the grandfather's character. Yes, you wanted to smack him, but he wasn't unredeamable. Also, you could see where he was coming from. He was set in his ways -- but this is the way he was brought up.
For those following Grudge Match:
We need to polish one more scene, then I think we are done with the next chapter. I didn't think it would take this long, but...
* This is our longest chapter to date, at about 20,000 words. It will most likely be divided in three parts.
* We had to overhaul a LOT in this chapter. The skeleton of this was written ages ago, and several things -- including two major scenes -- no longer worked.
I'm hoping the next chapter will follow shortly after this one. My intrepid co-author and I went over it this evening, and other than some tweaking, we are pretty happy with it.
Just finished two more books a day ago! Yay! Two mysteries. The same genre, but very different styles.
Indian Sign, by Les Roberts. This is towards the end of a pretty lengthy series of books by an author from my neck of the woods. Ohioans -- especially those in the northeast quadrant -- will appreciate the local setting Roberts gives his series. His main character, Milan Jackovich, is a private detective. Generally, he handles routine business security matters, but every once in a while, a case lands in his lap which tests all of his skills -- both physical and mental.
In this story, Milan is asked by the owner of a major toy company to investigate a new employee. Sounds straightforward, right? Except Milan encounters several wrinkles that test his high ethics standards to the maximum.
While working on this case, Milan also is asked to look into a case of the kidnapping of an Odawa tribe infant from a poor family in Michigan -- a case which hits Milan's heart (he is the father of two sons). Here, too, he encounters many ethical issues.
This story is different from Roberts' earlier stories in that both cases are pretty straightforward. I gleaned most of what was going on fairly early on in the book (although there were a couple surprises). What makes this a fascinating read are the ethical dilemnas Milan struggles with in both cases. Our intrepid hero also is struggling with guilt from a previous ... ah, but I can't get into that.
Four to Score, by Janet Evanovich -- Yes, we go from the somewhat serious tone of the Milan Jackovich series to the fall-down funny antics of Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter semi-extraordinaire. My mom got me hooked on Stephanie Plum, something for which I am very grateful. You have to hand it to an author who has you squirming one second and cackling the second.
In this fourth (mis)adventure, what starts out as what should be a simple pickup of a Failure to Appear puts Stephanie in the middle of a series of conspiracies and adventures. It's hard to sum up this book withhout giving too much away, but so far, the books generally can guarantee the following:
* Something will catch fire or explode in dramatic and hysterical fashion
* A supporting cast of colorful characters, including Stephanie's overprotective mother, her uninhibited (to put it mildly) grandmother, her co-workers, and her nemesis Joyce Barnhardt. Joyce, in this story, has also become a bounty hunter and is after Stephanie's quarry.
* At some point, her quarry will confront and entrap her.
* At least one body will be found, usually in a bizarre fashion, and
* You will laugh.
Stephanie Plum is almost a Cleauseu, only female, from New Jersey, with big hair and the tenacity of a bulldog. Indeed, her stubborness is generally the only thing that keeps her going in the (eventual) right direction.
Fair warning: I would not start with either of these books, because there is a good deal of continuity in the series, and many earlier references to previous events in both series.
Movies: Watch "Whale Rider." Have been wanting to see this one for some time. What a neat and different movie. I really liked how they did the grandfather's character. Yes, you wanted to smack him, but he wasn't unredeamable. Also, you could see where he was coming from. He was set in his ways -- but this is the way he was brought up.
For those following Grudge Match:
We need to polish one more scene, then I think we are done with the next chapter. I didn't think it would take this long, but...
* This is our longest chapter to date, at about 20,000 words. It will most likely be divided in three parts.
* We had to overhaul a LOT in this chapter. The skeleton of this was written ages ago, and several things -- including two major scenes -- no longer worked.
I'm hoping the next chapter will follow shortly after this one. My intrepid co-author and I went over it this evening, and other than some tweaking, we are pretty happy with it.