The Howard Hughes Affair by Stuart M. Kaminsky

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nice to return to a solidly written story, after another bout with a current author that was left alone by a good editor. Kaminsky does move this one very, very fast. The plot is very good, the mystery great and the characters very well done. As usual, Kaminsky nails the dialogue of the separate characters. Also, if you are a nostalgia nut like me, you’ll love the appearances of the well-known during this 1940s setting. To some, I’m guessing, this all appears way too old fashioned. Cynics of this day might say it isn’t realistic to what was really happening at the time, as if they knew what was realistic at the time (We sure have a weird view of “realism” today). These Toby Peters novels are just very good mysteries that are also much fun to read. With the 500 page tombs drowning in excess being produced today, I think some have forgotten what a good book is.



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The President’s Assassin by Brian Haig

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This story had a promising start for me. I liked the beginning and the humor knitted in the text. However as the book wore on, the endless meetings depicted and the constant reports of action that had already occurred began to wear on me. It would have been a better story if the narration had been brought to the action than more than three quarters of the book reflecting on it. It was almost like a series of flashbacks. As much as I love humor and sarcasm, even Haig’s leaning on it became to much for me. I kinda figured from the start who the bad guy was, which made it even tougher to get through the 500 pages. Another recent book needing severe editing is what is the bottom line…again!

The sarcastic hero reminded me a lot of Stuart Kaminky’s Toby Peters and Kaminsky’s writing & plotting in general. I would guess Haig is a Kaminsky fan. So, Toby Peters is my next stop.



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Always Say Goodbye by Stuart M. Kaminsky

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the first I’ve read of the Stuart Kaminsky series involving Lew Fonesca that otherwise takes place in Sarasota. This entry in the series, though, mostly takes place in Chicago as the main character looks for the murderer of his wife. The writing is well done. Especially in getting the Chicago dialogue to read true. There are a number of twists. One twist involving one character is especially well done. Also, this is not an overwritten novel as so many others are today.

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Nice illustration on the cover of Agatha Christie’s Hickory Dickory Death.

Here’s a cover by Harvey Kidder from Murder in the Cardais Coach (later named Murder on the Orient Express).

This version of Agatha Christie’s Three Blind Mice has a Mike Ludlow cover. The wiping away of the film on the pane is amazing painting work.

e_BouThe Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very enthralling and involved story of an amnesiac who finds out he is an assassin and wants to know why. Author Robert Ludlum created a very thorough story that, though a little wordy in dialogue, is otherwise concise in a long narrative way.

Unlike so many of today’s super spies who are out to kill, the main character, Jason Bourne, turns pacifist as an amnesiac. Though there is violence, it is far less than in current similar themed novels by Vince Flynn or Brad Thor. This is more of a study of a person trying to find themselves.

I love the series by folks like Flynn because they are so much fun to read. But, in light of Ludlum, they are missing the important parts of the story that makes the Ludlum book so much better in it’s writing and plotting.

About the movie: It might as well been named the Schwartz Identity. It’s a separate world than the one Ludlum created and made for the financial purposes of the film industry.



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Here are a few pages from the new Swampy’s Florida Storybooks” Trilby’s Flower that I’m introducing at the 2012 Pine Castle Pioneer Days. Come out and say Hello! I’ll be drawing and painting live Saturday after 3pm and all day Sunday.

The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book of Hammett’s I’ve read and wish I’d read him in the past. This is a very good story. Well written. The skips in time by chapters does keep one wondering who might be involved with the central murder. There is no detective here. Just a fellow trying to help a pal. That fellow and just about everybody featured in the book are caught in an upcoming political election that is well described and helps move the story move beyond the average who-done-it. I look forward to reading more Hammett in the future.



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The Vanisher by Kenneth Robeson

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This is my first Doc Savage novel. I read some of the comic books back in the 1970s. Those didn’t strike me even though I’m a fan of the main artist that drew it. This one also didn’t grab me. It is poorly plotted, written and, in general, conceived. It’s full of plot holes and bad literary devices. There is all kinds of nonsense where one minute Doc is thinking way ahead of everyone and then suddenly seems not to be able to think at all. The writer worked way to hard to keep the bad guy a mystery, though to me it was obvious what was going on. I hoped loose ends and needless action scenes added up to even a bad plot twist. Didn’t happen in that way. All of this is assembled to be one of the worst books I’ve read in many years.



However, two friends tell me not to give it up and track down the early adventures of the Doc. This I get. Sounds like a situation similar to the Mike Shayne series. It’s a powerful set of mysteries up until the original writer dropped it into the hands of a sea of freelancers brought in by Dell publishers. So I will wander back to the Doc Savage series as soon as I find one of the early parts of the series.



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Here is a tremendous Robert McGinnis book cover I picked up Wednesday. Below is a closer look.