A last minute project came in of a bar-b-que-ing Santa underwater.

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My love of Doyle comes from his science and studies of man. Here he combines both. Most won’t pick up how much of both subjects is stuffed in this odd novel. Most will also be surprised that this is not an entirely London based novel.

Doyle has a readable style that can make about any subject readable. Most writing today write down to the reader, where Doyle wrote up. Making it all that more intriguing.

Though the Holmes and Watson characters are quickly established, the mystery is established to a point. Then suddenly a western starts in the middle of the book and trails on with little sign Holmes will ever reappear. The story of the western U.S. is extremely well done (Though there are British slips, like the use of “Likely lad”). Doyle also mostly well lays out the story of Mormons. His view of creation myths scream from this section.

All returns to London and wraps to an interesting conclusion. Though i would’ve liked to see the two tales told in this book as two books with similar conclusions in each location. The location shift i found a hard jolt. A smoother telling of both tales would’ve made two very story stories.

Bottom line: i recommend this book. 7 out of ten points.

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Sharky’s Machine by William Diehl
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’ve wanted to read this book since I saw the film nearly 40 years ago. I’d purchased a few editions of the book over the years, but had not read the book. I finally got to it!
The book is very good. I found the back story excessive and likely more an issue of a first time writer. The first chapters being edited to one more focused would’ve made the bulk of the police procedural more powerful. The film needed more back story. The happy compromise missed.

Getting past the back story, the Sharky and Machine part is excellent in approach and writing. The dialogue – especially for a first time writer – is extraordinary. The back and forth and the rest is as I’ve witnessed with my involvement with law enforcement over the decades.

The bad guys are another story. Diehl is trying to create some believable bad guys, but I get the impression he didn’t want to make them too evil and held back more than he should have. The suspense is also thwarted near the end. At that point I didn’t care what happened to the bad guys.

I wanted to read more of the “Machine”. I wish Diehl had picked up the McBain waning series and continued with an Atlanta based version. GREAT characters.

Bottom line: i recommend this book: 6 out of ten points.

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Got this piece inked. In the process of digitally coloring it. I’ll post that version when it is finished.

If you’d like a piece like this, send me a message and I’d be happy to help!

A Few Minutes Past Midnight by Stuart M. Kaminsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The last peters book I loved due to Kaminsky’s writing of W.C. Fields. This one was just a good story and good writing. Again i could hear Chaplin in the writing of dialogue.

This entry is also better due to less focus of side characters and weird dream sequences. Still a bit too much of poems and presentation of an amateur writers, though this latter folded in well with the Chaplin story this time. Settings were better written and characters are excellent.
I also love the ending.

Bottom line: I recommend this book: 8 out of ten points.

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The Sentries by Ed McBain
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Despite myopic reviews here oddly relating the book to this current time period, the book’s problems are in construction and setting. I turn to my podcast to review this book and similar problems with McBain’s Matthew Hope series.

Here’s the podcast:
https://anchor.fm/swampysflorida/epis…

Bottom line: I don’t recommend this book 2 out of ten points.

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A Fatal Glass of Beer by Stuart M. Kaminsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I believe this chalks up to my favorite of the Peters tales. It does seem far fetched, except Fields lived a bit of a far fetched life and did deposit money in banks all over the place. Gets one to wonder just how the Fields family got all of that money from such a list of banks.

Kaminsky was often excellent at getting the voice of the celebrity starring in his books of Peters. Huge exception are his two Rockford Files books. Here, I can hear Fields voice throughout the book. The banter is terrific and full of Fileds well known outrageous storytelling. Peters is played down quite a bit here. Almost a co-star despite the book being in first person.

The story of why there is, essentially, a great chase is ridiculous as is the ending, but stilla great book.

About Florida: One of the stories Fields tells is of having a kumquat farm near Homosassa and that being ruined by alligators. The tale is told and sounds as Fields. i know no truth to the story. Extremely well done and thought out by Kaminsky, including using an actual Florida location and such location as kumquats are usually grown!

Bottom line: i recommend this book. 8 out of ten points.

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