A new stand-alone thriller by an acclaimed master of the genre and author of the Nameless Detective series.

Bill Pronzini is crime-writing royalty. His more than eighty published novels have won or been nominated for Edgar, Hammett, Anthony, Shamus, and Macavity awards—a clean sweep of the crime fiction award field—along with rave reviews from critics. He crafts masterful stories, often from multiple perspectives, in which the human condition is on full display.

The Violated is no exception. In Echo Park, in the small town of Santa Rita, California, the mutilated body of Martin Torrey is found by two passersby. A registered sex offender, Torrey has been a suspect in a string of recent rapes, and instant suspicion for his murder falls on the relatives and friends of the women attacked. Police chief Griffin Kells and detective Robert Ortiz are under increasing pressure from the public and from a mayor demanding results in a case that has no easy solution. Pronzini cleverly unfolds the case through alternating perspectives—Martin Torrey’s wife, caught between her grief and the fear her husband was guilty; the outraged husbands of the women violated; the enterprising editor of the local paper; the mayor concerned most with his own ratings; the detectives, often spinning in circles—until a surprising break leads to a completely unexpected conclusion. The Violated is Bill Pronzini at the height of his storytelling powers.

 

 

This book was okay. Just okay not great but also not bad. As mentioned in the blurb it touches in the subject of rape so that may me a trigger to some readers. This book also have multiple POV which I thought was great for this book and story. The story was entertaining and kept me guessing while I was sitting on the edge of my chair. The characters were good but some of them seemed a bit immature, which kind of took away from the overall thriller of the story. While most of the book was entertaining, some f it was a bit predicable and others a bit too drawn out, which can slow it down. The overall pacing of the book was okay . Overall I thought it was good and something you can enjoy if you like thrillers I rate it 3 ★

*I received a free copy from the publisher and chose to leave a voluntary review. Thank you!*

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Mystery Writers of America Awards "Grand Master" 2008 Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1999) for Boobytrap Edgar Awards Best Novel nominee (1998) for A Wasteland of Strangers Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) for Sentinels Shamus Awards "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) 1987 Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1982) for Hoodwink.

Married to author Marcia Muller.

Pseudonyms: Robert Hart Davis (collaboration with Jeffrey M. Wallmann) Jack Foxx William Jeffrey (collaboration with Jeffrey M. Wallmann) Alex Saxon

Links

Goodreads *** Amazon

 

Gun in Cheek

by Bill Pronzini

 

If you're a mystery reader and a fan of "so bad it's good," then Gun In Cheek is the book for you. It's pretty much MST3K (Mystery Science Theater 3000) for detective fiction. As any mystery reader knows, mysteries are extremely formulaic, with a special formula for each subgenre, from classic golden-age to cozy to gothic to hardboiled to spy fiction. With a good mystery, the formula is satisfying and any deviations are intriguing. With bad mysteries, the results can be utterly hilarious. Pronzini has coined a great term for these wonderfully terrible works: "alternative classic." Given that this book was first published before I was born, he invented the phrase long before "alternative facts" came along.

So what makes a good "alternative classic"? Part of it is the writing. Some of my favourites, starting with one from the editor himself:

"When would this phantasmagoria that was all too real reality end? He asked himself."
Bill Pronzini, The Stalker

"Her hips were beautifully arched and her breasts were like proud flags waving triumphantly. She carried them high and mighty."
Ed Noon, The Case of the Violent Virgin

"A hint of excitement hovered around Miss Kane, looking well in an afternoon frock and explaining that she had obtained a weekend leave and was looking forward to the party."
R.A.J. Walling, The Corpse Without a Clue

"All in the same motion, he snap-kicked the man in the right armpit! The knife clattered to the floor as Mace finished the slob off with a mule-kick to his scrotum. Looking like a goof who had just discovered that ice-cream cones are hollow, the man sagged to the floor."
Joseph Rosenberger, Kung Fu: The Year of the Tiger

"The old woman's breasts were balanced over her folded hands like the loaded scales of justice waiting for her final judgment."
Leslie Paige, Queen of Hearts

"Hope flared in her dark eyes as she grabbed the rope I had tossed to her drowning brain."
Naked Villainy, Carl G. Hodges

And consider this eloquent bit of dialogue:

"'Dan Turner squalling,' I yeeped. 'Flag your diapers to Sylvia Hempstead's igloo. There's been a croaking.'"
Robert Leslie Bellem, "Come Die for Me"

Attempts at introspection are also a great way to achieve an alternative classic. Take this epic bit of impending doom:

"When it had settled itself, unperceived, in its lurking place--the Hand stole out again--closed the window-door, re-locked it.
Hand or claw? Hand of man or woman or paw of beast? In the name of God--whose hand?"
Mary Roberts Rinehart, The Bat

And how's this for the start of a gothic?

"I know now that there must have been a touch of madness in me that raw October night as I went to Cemetery Key and the house of horror known as Stormhaven."
Jennifer Hale, Stormhaven

And there's a special way for detective fiction to achieve Alternative Classic status: the mysteries themselves. Sometimes it's a convoluted, incoherent mystery with a climax disturbingly similar to:

From bugged belly-buttons to murder by fire-extinguisher-nozzle-foam-in-ear to murder by embarrassment, there is an impressive variety of ridiculous creativity in the collection. I can't decide whether I prefer the man who becomes an evil avenger because he's so upset he went bald or the archaeologist who went bald and now wanders around in gloopy mud. There are the Death Rays, and Giant V-Rays, and "Crime Rays," and probably a few other rays I forgot about. (And yes, here's the obligatory M&W sketch.)

There are "blood-sucking, man-eating" bushes, a man born with the head of a wolf, and a half-spider half-octopus monster called the Red Crawl which turns out (naturally) to be a man in a costume and a mask. There are vampires who, when unmasked, prove to be costumed people complete with a vampire bat that is actually a "tiny monoplane" whose engine is "fitted with a silencer" that flies around "with the wheels tucked up inside the fuselage." But my favourite has to be the octopi. There are actually multiple stories involving a death-pit of octopi, which, we are told, are

"The world's most awful bundle of awfulness, a writhing, squirming mass of hell-fury, attaching itself to its victim with four hundred vacuum cups on its eight snaky legs [...] in short, it is the monster-supreme of earth or sea or Hell."

Tom Roan, The Dragon Strikes Back

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, but I will say that I'm not sure Pronzini necessarily gives the writers credit. While it made them no less entertaining to read, quite a few of the stories struck me as intentional parody, such as Joseph Rosenberger's confrontation in a warehouse filled with "Musical Panda Dolls" between the protagonist--named the Death Merchant--and a killer. I thoroughly enjoyed it all, but I did read it in small doses-- you can only take so much "alternative classic" at a time. If any of this sounded entertaining to you, I can promise that Gun in Cheek has more where it came from. Take the opportunity to savor, down to the last bugged belly-button and twenty-pound attack octopi.

 

~~I received this ebook through Netgalley from the publisher, Dover Publications, in exchange for my honest review. Thanks!~~

 

Cross-posted on Goodreads.

Vol. 3: Locked Room Puzzles consists of four locked room mysteries...

 

The Third Bullet by John Dickson Carr-  5 stars

I liked it a lot. It's about a judge that's found murdered in his study which no one had access to. There was also 1 gun found, 1 suspect in the room & 3 bullets from 3 different guns so where did the other 2 bullets come from??  It was a fun locked room mystery and I didn't figure it out until the very end after all of the clues were pretty much announced already. : )

 

Booktaker by Bill Pronzini- 5 stars

This was a favorite of mine particularly because the setting was a bookstore. Some one had been stealing rare and valuable maps, prints & documents from the store during the hours of 11-2. The owner, Mr. Rothman, was at a loss to who was committing the thefts because the store had a faulty alarm system, sensors, locked windows and fire doors and he had taken back the two keys to the antiquarian room after the first theft occurred. So Mr. Rothman hires a private investigator to pose as an employee in hopes of catching the thief. 

 

From Another World by Clayton Rawson- 5 stars

In From Another World, a very wealthy man that's been murdered and an unconscious psychic apport medium, are found inside his study which has been sealed from the inside. Merlini, the famous magician, was asked in by police to help discover how the murder was committed. I liked this one a lot because of its paranormal and magic undertones. It was pretty entertaining and a challenge to figure out.

 

Day of the Wizard by Edward D. Hoch- 2 stars

This mystery features one of Hoch's leading characters, Simon Ark, who is said to be a two-thousand year old Coptic priest. He is asked to "solve the mystery of a wrecked plane in the desert and its strange cargo, an enigmatic magician and a drugged blonde. This one started out pretty good but I didn't care for how it ended and the multiple threads weren't tied together very well it seemed like. I just felt confused when it ended instead of satisfied. 

 

I read this for my 2016 Halloween Bingo: ~Locked Room Mystery~ square.

 

Locked Room Mysteries- 4 stars...

Vol. 3: Locked Room Puzzles consists of four locked room mysteries...

The Third Bulletby John Dickson Carr-5 stars
I liked it a lot. It's about a judge that's found murdered in his study which no one had access to. There was also 1 gun found, 1 suspect in the room & 3 bullets from 3 different guns so where did the other 2 bullets come from?? It was a fun locked room mystery and I didn't figure it out until the very end after all of the clues were pretty much announced already. : )

Booktaker by Bill Pronzini- 5 stars
This was a favorite of mine particularly because the setting was a bookstore. Some one had been stealing rare and valuable maps, prints & documents from the store during the hours of 11-2. The owner, Mr. Rothman, was at a loss to who was committing the thefts because the store had a faulty alarm system, sensors, locked windows and fire doors and he had taken back the two keys to the antiquarian room after the first theft occurred. So Mr. Rothman hires a private investigator to pose as an employee in hopes of catching the thief.

From Another World by Clayton Rawson- 5 stars
In From Another World, a very wealthy man that's been murdered and an unconscious psychic apport medium, are found inside his study which has been sealed from the inside. Merlini, the famous magician, was asked in by police to help discover how the murder was committed. I liked this one a lot because of its paranormal and magic undertones. It was pretty entertaining and a challenge to figure out.

Day of the Wizard by Edward D. Hoch- 2 stars
This mystery features one of Hoch's leading characters, Simon Ark, who is said to be a two-thousand year old Coptic priest. He is asked to "solve the mystery of a wrecked plane in the desert and its strange cargo, an enigmatic magician and a drugged blonde. This one started out pretty good but I didn't care for how it ended and the multiple threads weren't tied together very well it seemed like. I just felt confused when it ended instead of satisfied.

I read this for my 2016 Halloween Bingo: ~Locked Room Mystery~ square.

Vol. 3: Locked Room Puzzles consists of four locked room mysteries...

 

The Third Bullet by John Dickson Carr; Booktaker by Bill Pronzini; From Another World by Clayton Rawson & Day of the Wizard by Edward D. Hoch

 

So far I've read The Third Bullet & I give it 5 stars:

 

I liked it a lot. It's about a judge that's found murdered in his study which no one had access to. There was also 1 gun found, 1 suspect in the room & 3 bullets from 3 different guns so where did the other 2 bullets come from??  It was a fun locked room mystery and I didn't figure it out until the very end after all of the clues were pretty much announced already. : )

 

I haven't read the other three mysteries yet but they all sound really good so I'm planning on doing that this week which is why I'm not doing a full review on the book just yet.

 

 

I read this for my 2016 Halloween Bingo: ~Locked Room Mystery~ square.