Yet again the Akashic Noir series curates an entertaining genre-bending anthology of dark tales, bad decisions, and charismatic characters. Continue reading Akashic Noir: Brussels Noir, edited by Michel Dufranne
This week Karl Wolff reviews Cries of the Lost, by Chris Knopf, a smart thriller that reads like equal parts Elmore Leonard and Roberto Bolano. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: Cries of the Lost, by Chris Knopf
Conrad Maddox is the Vice President in charge of development for Kroeger Concepts, Ltd. He’s an ad man who specializes in selling our dreams and desires back to us a steep price. On his return from a business trip, he discovered a key in his rental car. The key belonged to a locker that contained a Halliburton-style briefcase. The briefcase contained fake IDs, cash, a cell phone and several guns. Conrad calls the number on the cell phone. As they say, hilarity ensues. Internecine is a thriller written by David J. Schow. Schow is the Hollywood scribe who wrote Critters … Continue reading Internecine by David Schow @ Joe Bob Briggs
Phil Nicholas is a National Hunt jockey psychologically shaken after a bad fall. The National Hunt is a popular series of races involving horses in steeplechase races. Phil’s horse didn’t make it over one of these barriers, making the fall particularly nasty. He has had symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and it is making him not race as well. Because of the fall, he seeks psychiatric help, but keeps it secret from his wife Julia, a horse trainer, and his fellow jockeys. Phil is afraid the therapy might make him appear weak. Keith works as a gamekeeper and has been … Continue reading Dead Weight by John Francome @ Joe Bob Briggs
The novel Elysiana is about the eponymous barrier island off the coast of South Jersey. Chris Knopf, known for the Sam Acquillo Hamptons Mystery novels, has written a self-contained novel set in the summer of 1969. It begins with Midwestern girl Gwendolynn Anders suffering a bad drug trip. Time loses coherence as Gwendolynn experiences memories and flashbacks, seeing herself at a party, and then finding herself in the back of car. She gradually regains control of her mental faculties and then realizes she is on Elysiana. The island, only twenty-five miles long and a mile wide, presents a microcosm of … Continue reading Elysiana by Chris Knopf
The Driftless Area Review 