FOREIGN GODS, INC. by Okey Ndibe

FOREIGN GODS, INC. is one of those rare books that has you laughing and crying at different intervals. It is well-written, excellently characterized and the story line is near perfect. I enjoyed this reading experience immensely.

February 19, 2014 ¡ Judi Clark ¡ No Comments
Tags: , , ,  Âˇ Posted in: Africa, Debut Novel, Humorous, New York City, World Lit

THE AMATEURS by Marcus Sakey

The titular novices of Marcus Sakey’s recent novel, THE AMATEURS, are four friends, three men and one woman, who band together against the frigidity of Chicago’s winters and the loneliness of urban life to form the Thursday Night Drinking Club. But amateur drinkers these four are not – experts in the art of throwing back martinis, the first thing any of these four do in a time of crisis is reach for a bottle of vodka. If only the same could be said for their foray into the criminal underworld.

August 6, 2011 ¡ Judi Clark ¡ No Comments
Tags: , , , , , , ,  Âˇ Posted in: Thriller/Spy/Caper, US Midwest

FUN AND GAMES by Duane Swierczynski

Imagine a kick-ass action flick–say one starring that perennial crowd-pleaser, Bruce Willis, and then imagine the source material, and you’d just about have an image of Duane Swierczynski’s latest book, FUN AND GAMES. This is the first entry in the Charlie Hardie trilogy. HELL AND GONE follows in October 2011, and the third novel, POINT AND SHOOT is scheduled for publication in March 2012. FUN AND GAMES delves into the old Hollywood story that studio fixers leap in to stabilize publicity nightmares. This legend has bounced around Hollywood for decades and still lingers over the deaths of notables such as Jean Harlow’s husband, Paul Bern.

June 20, 2011 ¡ Judi Clark ¡ No Comments
Tags: , , , ,  Âˇ Posted in: California, Sleuths Series, Thriller/Spy/Caper

CRASHED by Tim Hallinan

Well-known for his Simeon Grist and Poke Rafferty Bangkok series, Tim Hallinan introduces a new series character in CRASHED. Junior Bender is a top-of-the-line crook, hired for specific jobs, and pretty much working when his child support payments come due. Junior is also a private investigator, and most of the time, he works for the down-and-out, the underdog and/or those who can’t defend themselves. In essence, he’s a burglar with a good heart.

March 20, 2011 ¡ Judi Clark ¡ No Comments
Tags: ,  Âˇ Posted in: 2011 Favorites, Humorous, Sleuths Series

THE THIEVES OF MANHATTAN by Adam Langer

Struggling writer and coffee barista, Ian Minot, is frustrated and depressed. For one thing, he just can’t seem to write the kind of stories that will get the publishing world’s attention. After all, Ian knows, his life isn’t as glamorous as his Romanian’s girlfriend’s Anya Petrescu, whose travails under Ceausescu, has landed her an attractive publishing contract. In a snide reference to the New Yorker’s 40 Under 40 list, Ian points out that “Anya had recently been named one of American Review’s ‘31 Most Promising Writers Under 31.’ This year, I was too old to qualify,” he adds.

August 26, 2010 ¡ Judi Clark ¡ No Comments
Tags: , ,  Âˇ Posted in: 2010 Favorites, Humorous, Literary, New York City, Thriller/Spy/Caper

AUNTS AREN’T GENTLEMEN by P.G. Wodehouse

For me, P. G. Wodehouse and eighth grade totally belong together. I spent all of eighth grade reading whatever Wodehouse I could get my hands on and totally inhabited the lives of Bertie Wooster, Jeeves and Blandings Castle. I still remember my friends and I writing letters to each other in the Wodehouse style: “How are you? Hope you’re in the pink of h.” That sort of stuff.

That instantly recognizable style of writing is also here in AUNTS AREN’T GENTLEMEN—one of the many Wodehouse novels re-released by Overlook Press on the 25th anniversary of his death. This is a Jeeves caper, which means the stoic butler is again rescuing his employer, Bertie Wooster, from comically sticky situations.

August 18, 2010 ¡ Judi Clark ¡ No Comments
Tags: ,  Âˇ Posted in: Classic, Humorous, United Kingdom