Short Story Wednesday: Bullets and Other Hurting Things, edited by Rick Ollerman

From the description at Down & Out Books:

In a career spanning nearly four decades, Bill Crider published more than sixty crime fiction, westerns, horror, men’s adventure and YA novels. In this collection 20 of today’s best and brightest, all friends and fans of Bill’s, come together with original stories to pay tribute to his memory. Authors include: William Kent Krueger, Bill Pronzini, Joe R. Lansdale, Patricia Abbott, Ben Boulden, Michael Bracken, Jen Conley, Brendan DuBois, Charlaine Harris, David Housewright, Kasey Lansdale, Angela Crider Neary, James Reasoner, James Sallis, Terry Shames, S. A. Solomon, Sara Paretsky, Robert J. Randisi, SJ Rozan, and Eryk Pruitt.

I personally have enjoyed books from Bill Crider's Sheriff Dan Rhodes series and a Western, Outrage at Blanco, set in Texas in 1887. I was happy to see this book of short stories honoring him.

I started reading this book of short stories on Monday. I have only read six of the stories but they are all good, so that bodes well for the rest of them.

In "Innocence" by William Kent Krueger...

Nick and his 4-year-old daughter Pet (short for Petula) are traveling in Minnesota. They stop at a motor court in a tourist town. They meet a pretty waitress, and Nick daydreams about staying with her, settling down, fishing at the lake together. But there are other considerations ....

In "Night Games" by Bill Pronzini...

Brennan is an investigator who  specializes in industrial espionage, and is willing to cross the line when necessary. He is searching for his quarry and the money he has taken on a small island off the coast of Washington.

In "Promise Me" by Joe R. Lansdale 

Two hit men are planning to kill an accountant who has taken a large amount of money from the company he works for. Surprisingly, he is at his house waiting for them. The ending was very good.

In "Pretty Girl from Michigan" by Patricia Abbott

Chet Plummer, Chief of Police in West Lebanon, Michigan, is looking into the brutal murder of pretty Lena Lefkowski, who worked in the pet department of Grueber's Department Store. Although he has to call in detectives from Traverse City to help out, in the end he solves the crime with a little help from his mother. I loved this story; it was very clever.

In "Asia Divine" by Ben Boulden

Detective Mike Giles of the Tooele County Sheriff's Office in Utah is investigating the death of a woman whose body was left in a bus in a junkyard. This story includes two of Bill Crider's favorite things, Dr. Pepper and alligators.

After reading the first five stories, I checked out the next to last story in the book by S. J. Rozan, "Chin Yong-Yun Finds a Kitten." 

This one surprised me. It isn't even really a crime story. I am a big fan of S. J. Rozan's Lydia Chin and Bill Smith series, but I did not recognize immediately that Chin Yong-Yun from the title was Lydia Chin's mother. This is an entertaining and fun story, told in first person narration by Chin Yong-Yun and it was good to see her character fleshed out more. However, I don't think you need to be familiar with the character previously to enjoy the story.

Of course I will be continuing to read the stories in this book over the next few weeks, and I encourage you to find a copy and read them too. 

My Reading in July 2019

I read a lot of books in July. Of the fifteen books I read, ten were crime fiction, although one of the graphic novels could be placed in that genre and the nonfiction book I read was mystery reference. Two graphic novels, both very good. And two older straight fiction books.

Mystery reference

Hardboiled, Noir and Gold Medals (2017) by Rick Ollerman

The subtitle of this wonderful mystery reference book is "Essays on Crime Fiction Writers from the '50s Through the '90s." Rick Ollerman has written several introductions to omnibus editions of works published by Stark House, and he shares several of them here, along with other essays or articles written for his book. Authors covered include: Peter Rabe, Donald Westlake, Ed Gorman, James Hadley Chase, Wade Miller, and Charles Williams. An entertaining and informative book.

Fiction

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943) by Betty Smith

This is a well-known and enduring classic story of poverty in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn. The story of Francie Nolan, her parents, and her brother Neeley begins in 1912.  While reading When Books Went to War, I was surprised to learn of this book's huge popularity when distributed as an Armed Services Edition. I am very glad I finally read this book but I found it very hard to read.

Benighted (1927) by J.B. Priestley

This book is sometimes described as horror or psychological terror, but it is not very horrific. It is atmospheric and a good read. And short. Benighted was adapted to film by James Whale, as The Old Dark House in 1932. Introduction by Orrin Grey. My thoughts are here.

Graphic Novels

Aetheric Mechanics (2008) by Warren Ellis (Writer),  Gianluca Pagliarini (Artist)

This is really a graphic novella at only 40 pages. It is a wonderful mish mash of mystery (Sherlock Holmes style), alternate history, science fiction. The line drawings by Gianluca Pagliarani are lovely.

Ignition City (2009) by Warren Ellis (Writer),  Gianluca Pagliarini (Artist)

This could also fit right into the crime fiction section, although it is also science fiction. Mary Raven is a grounded space pilot who finds out that her father has died in Ignition City. She goes there to find out who killed him. Ignition City is a spaceport filled with thinly disguised versions of older space heroes.  I enjoyed this one a lot, even I didn't get a lot of the references. I was surprised that the illustrator was the same as for Aetheric Mechanics, since the artwork is completely different. 

Crime Fiction

Might as Well Be Dead (1956) by Rex Stout

This is a Nero Wolfe novel, published in 1956. The case starts as a search for a missing person, then later turns into a hunt for a murderer. This time Nero Wolfe solves the case from the brownstone, while  Archie Goodwin and the freelance investigators do the legwork. My review here.

Pearls Before Swine (1945) by Margery Allingham

This is the 12th book in the Albert Campion series, also published as Coroner's  Pidgin. This one is set in wartime London, towards the end of the war. Campion has just returned from years on an assignment, and gets pulled into a very strange case. My review here.

The Keeper of Lost Causes (2007) by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Carl Mørck has returned to work as a homicide detective after being on leave following an incident which ended badly, leaving him nearly dead. Another policeman was killed and the third was left paralyzed. Moerk feels guilty and responsible, has lost his  edge and is not keeping up with his work. His boss plots to put him in charge of a new department to follow up on high profile cold cases and use most of the funds for the new department to shore up the main Homicide area. This is the first book in the Department Q series, and was published in the UK as Mercy. Set in Denmark. Carl and his assistant Assad are both unusual characters and I hope to continue the series.

Allmen and the Dragonflies (2011) by Martin Suter

This is an unusual crime fiction novel set in Switzerland. Translated from German by Steph Morris. I enjoyed it very much. My review here.

China Lake (2002) by Meg Gardiner

Evan Delaney series, book #1. I bought this book because it was set in California and a large portion of it takes place in  Santa Barbara. I had also heard good things about the author. The book was a page turner but it was too much of a thriller for me and I had problems with the characters. I still have Mission Canyon, the 2nd book in the series, and Mission Canyon is the part of the Santa Barbara area that we lived in the first six years in California. So I am sure I will read that one too.

Broken Harbor (2012) by Tana French

The fourth book in Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series features Mike "Scorcher" Kennedy, who had a minor role in Faithful Place, and his new partner, rookie detective Richie Curran. See my thoughts on the book here.

Colonel Butler's Wolf (1972) by Anthony Price

I had just purchased this book when I learned that the author, Anthony Price, had died recently, at the age of 91. This is the third book in the David Audley / Colonel Butler series, a cold war espionage series set in the UK and usually featuring some historical element (in this case, Hadrian's Wall). Colonel Butler was a secondary character in the first two books, but this book is told from his point of view. David Audley is the central character throughout the series, but each book is different and in this book he has a smaller although significant role. I am truly enjoying this series.

The Disciple of Las Vegas (2011) by Ian Hamilton

Ava Lee series, book #2. This book is similar to China Lake by Meg Gardiner, also read this month. Both books are thrillers, and focus on action and pacing. They both have interesting settings (at least for me). The difference is the characters. In The Disciple of Las Vegas, the main characters are interesting, professional, low key -- highly focused on the job at hand. I enjoyed the book throughout and look forward to continuing the series. However, I will admit to being bothered by some distasteful and graphic violence.

The Summons (1995) by Peter Lovesey

The third book in the Peter Diamond series, set mostly in Bath, England. The series started in 1991, and the 18th book was published this year. Goodreads describes Peter Diamond as "a modern-day police detective in Bath". In the early books he is most definitely not interested in modern day techniques, and I look forward to seeing how that changes. In this book, he has not been working as a policeman for a while, and Bath CID is forced to ask him to return to help with a case.

Dance Hall of the Dead (1973) by Tony Hillerman

This book was my introduction to Hillerman's series of books featuring Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. The first three books featured Joe Leaphorn, the next three books were focused on Jim Chee, and the remaining books were about both of them. This is the 2nd book in the series and I am glad I started the series here. This was one of my favorite reads this month.