Kurt Vonnegut – Photo by Jill Krementz
Stephen King
David Goodis
John Steinbeck
Jack Kerouac
Tennessee Williams
William Faulkner
Edgar Allan Poe
Category: Authors
Recent Books Read and Recommended
In Sunlight or in Shadow – Lawrence Block – Editor
A compilation of short stories all centered around the work of artist Edward Hopper. It’s an intriguing premise and for the most part the authors pull it off with style. Hopper’s work is filled with images of isolation, loneliness and voyeurism, each lending itself to much interpretation. That’s just what all of these authors do and most do well. There are a couple of mind numbingly dull entries, but overall this is a worthy collection. Special raves to Stephen King, Jill D. Block, Joe R. Lansdale, Michael Connelly and Nicholas Christopher.
Robert B. Parker’s Debt to Pay – Reed Farrel Coleman
Robert B. Parker was one of my favorite authors. His passing back in 2010, needless to say, left a void in my reading. The Parker estate, and Parker’s publishers, chose to continue three of his series characters: Spenser, Jesse Stone, Virgil Cole & Everett Hitch with other authors. Debt to Pay is Coleman’s third book in the Jesse Stone series. Michael Brandman wrote the first three, Coleman has been an improvement and this latest entry is his best so far. He has managed to keep Parker’s essence yet make the characters his own.
Shadows on a Maine Christmas – Lea Wait
Around Christmas time I always like to find a mystery or two with a holiday theme. While surfing the internet, both Amazon and Barnes & Noble, I came across author Lea Wait and this entry in her Antique Print series. The story is set along the coast of Maine, and frankly, that was part of what attracted me to read it. I have visited Maine many times over the years and honestly, its one of my favorite states. Wait’s characters are well developed and I have come to like the author’s main character, Maggie Summer, very much (I am currently reading another book in this series). Additionally, her well defined description of life in Maine adds to the pleasure. If you looking for a page turner, this book won’t satisfy you. It’s leisurely paced giving you time to soak in the atmosphere. Yes there is a murder, but it is just as much about the characters and the space they inhabit.
Home – Harlan Coben
The drought is over! After at least five years, Harlan Coben has finally brought back Myron and Win in this fast paced thriller about two young boys who have been missing for ten years. Both wisecracks and thrills fly at a fast speed. Coben’s book are always filled with plenty of unexpected twists and this one is no exception.
Original Short Story: A Merry Little Christmas Gift
The mall was jam packed with holiday shoppers. Christmas music from the likes of Perry Como to Elvis to Brad Paisley and the latest rapper blared out in no particular order. With only three shopping days left before the big day, last minute shoppers were scurrying all over from one shop to another. The line of young kids waiting to tell Santa the list of toys they wanted, no it was more like demanded, to see under the tree was staggering. It was the best time of the year.
I was standing just inside the entrance way to Jordan’s Jewel Factory, one of those large chain stores that clog up space in most of America’s malls these days. In jewelry stores it’s not unusual to see beautiful young women. If they are not rich and buying the diamonds, they are looking and wishing they could. Hoping to find some kind of satisfaction by just looking at the necklaces, rings, earrings and other accessories. That in itself is a common occurrence. What was uncommon happened when my eyes caught the attention of this one young woman. Yes, she was beautiful. That was obvious even from the distance between us. However, I was more interested in how quickly she picked up a particular necklace, slipped it into her coat pocket and dashed out of the store disappearing into the crowded mall. She did it with such precision, grace and speed that the employees behind the counter didn’t realize the necklace was gone until it was too late.
She didn’t quite disappear. I moved quickly myself following her as soon as she left the store. I caught up with her as she was heading toward the mall exit. I gently placed a hand on her arm.
“Excuse me a minute, miss,” I said.
She froze, but kept her back to me.
I walked around her so I could face her directly.
“We need to have a little talk. Could we just walk over to the side here so we are out of the way.” I said.
“I don’t talk to men I don’t know,” she said with a chill in her voice that would have given Frosty the Snowman a shiver down his spine.
“Well, I think this time you will.”
Her eyes were darting around until she found what she was looking for. “There’s a security guard right over there. I have no problem calling him over if you don’t leave me alone right now,” she said.
I followed her eyes and sure enough there was a security guard standing by the crowded food court. He was looking right at us.
“Miss, we just need to have a little talk,” I said, “No need to…”
Before I could finish, she waved the security guard over. In a moment the six foot two or so guard was between us.
“Everything okay here?” he asked.
Before she could get another word out, I said, “It’s okay, Damon. This young lady and I are just having a little talk.”
She looked at me and then at Damon.
“Yes. I’m sorry… I just.”
“Thanks Damon,” I interceded. “If we need you, I will give you a call.”
“Yes sir.”
With that, Damon moved on walking slowly away from us and back toward the crowded food court.
“You’re a cop?”
“Retired cop. Now I’m head of security here at the mall,” I said.
“What do you want?” she said.
“I was in the jewelry store at the same time as you.”
“So,” she said, keeping her cool.
“I saw what you did.”
“I didn’t do anything!” she said defiantly.
I managed to steer her away to one of the few spots in the mall where there wasn’t a crowd of Christmas shoppers. I stared at her for a moment. She was only about twenty-three or so, very attractive with shoulder length brown hair and green eyes.
“You don’t look like the typical jewel thief,” I said.
Her face remained frozen. She was still trying to tough it out.
“What are you accusing me of?”
“Why don’t we just drop the pretense? I was there. I saw everything. Just empty your coat pocket, the right one specifically.”
She was trapped and she finally gave in to the inevitable. She pulled the necklace out of her pocket. I took it from her.
“Nice.” Must be worth a couple of hundred bucks,” I said.
“Seven hundred,” She said.
I smiled. “I see you do your homework.”
“Let’s see some I.D.,” I said.
She pulled out her wallet from her handbag and handed me her driver’s license. I put the necklace in my pocket for safekeeping and examined her license.
“Julia Ross?” I asked. I pulled out my cellphone and snapped a photo of the license. I then handed it back to her.
“Look, I’m sorry, really sorry. Isn’t there some way we can make this go away?” she said. “We could go somewhere quiet, somewhere private, my car and…”
“Miss Ross, or is it Ms. Ross. I am a married man with two beautiful kids. In thirty-five years of marriage, I never, not once, cheated on my wife.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say anything to upset you.”
“Do you have a record?” I asked. “Don’t lie because I can easily check it out and I will. Remember I have a photo of your license.
“No, no, I don’t. I have never been in any kind of trouble.”
I smiled. “You know, I’m not surprised. I was watching you for a while in the store and you’re pretty smooth. You must have gotten away with plenty of good stuff in the past. You just knew when to make the snatch and split without anyone noticing. That is, except for me, of course. I am pretty good myself at my job.
“I know…couldn’t we just let this go? Just this one time,” She asked.
“You’re young and you have got your entire life ahead of you,” I said. “A criminal record could really screw your life up.”
“I’m really, really sorry,” she said.
“I don’t like people stealing stuff on my watch. It pisses me off. Especially at this time of the year. Families are out there shopping. Looking for the right gift. Working their way through the crowds. That’s why I’m out here. As head of security, I’m usually not out here pounding the beat so to speak. But the holidays bring out more lowlife’s and crooks than usual so I put myself out here too. Another pair of eyes for the holidays.”
She was shaking a bit now and on the verge of tears. “I’m so sorry, please…”
“Well,” I sighed, “as it stands now, no real harm has been done. I got the jewelry back, so therefore you didn’t steal anything which means I have no reason to arrest you.”
She looked up at me in shock. “Really? Oh, God, thank you so much.”
“I guess I am getting soft. Maybe it’s my old age. Maybe it’s the holiday season, I don’t know. I just don’t want to see a pretty young thing like you get in so much trouble that would ruin your life.”
Oh, thank you so, so much!”
“You’ve got to promise me something though,” I said.
“Anything, anything. What is it?” She said.
“You’re not going to do this anymore,” I said.
“Yes, yes, I promise. Never again,” She said.
I knew that was a lie. Once a thief, always a thief.
“And if you do it again… do it somewhere else other than my fuckin’ mall!”
She looked at me. A bit in shock. Not sure how to respond.
Merry Christmas,” I smiled.
“Merry Christmas,” she smiled back and took off through the exit door and out into the snow.
I felt good. I gave the kid a break. Why not, it’s the holidays. Hopefully, she takes my advice and stops her little crime spree or at least stays away from my mall. I looked around at the crowds. Yep, it was only three days before Christmas and the place was packed. Frank Sinatra was now on the sound system singing, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. I put my hands in my pockets. That’s when I remembered I still had the necklace. I smiled and thought, yes it will be a merry little Christmas. The wife is gonna love this!
A Merry Little Christmas Gift is part of my new collection of short stories that will be published as an e-book in 2017. Keep an eye out for further details.
Book Review: States of Mind
Okay, I admit I am bias about New England. It’s my favorite part of the country. There’s a quaint historical feel to almost everywhere you go. It’s in the architecture, the landscape, the air and the people. Adding to my bias is the fact my wife was born and raised in Marlboro, MA. Over the years, we have travelled to every state that makes up the geographical area known as New England. Some states like Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine are particular favorites, but I have found something fascinating and stimulating in all of them. So when I came across Jacqueline T. Lynch’s collection of essays on what it means to be a New Englander I knew I had to read it. Lynch writes in her introduction, “This is not about New England the place as it is about New England the idea…” She focuses on ideas that came out of the nineteen century and moved us into the twentieth century.
We meet many well-known figures like Annie Sullivan, Louisa May Alcott, Lizzie Bordon and other historical figures. There are also articles about lessor known individuals particularly women who became an important part of the workforce during the Industrial Revolution. We also learn about historical landmarks such as Norman’s Woe, a small uninhabited island just off shore from Gloucester, MA. The island and its waters are noted for a series of shipwrecks over the years. Maine poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, immortalized it in his poem, The Wreck of the Hesperus.
Lynch writes passionately about her subjects and New England in general. Her love for New England shines through on every page. Anyone interested in the history of New England and its influence will find these essays an absorbing read.
Quotable Quotes – O. Henry
“Write what you like; there is no other rule” – O. Henry
Book Review: Oh, Florida!
A must read for anyone thinking of moving to Florida. You just might have second thoughts! Author Craig Pittman (Tampa Bay Times) writes in a breezy informative style that is as engaging as it is funny. The sad, or scary part, is everything he writes about is true. It all happened. No exaggeration needed. From teachers who have had sex with their students, remember Debra Lefave, a sexy blonde bombshell, being the most prominent to crazies like a woman who thought riding a Manatee, an endangered species, as if it were a surf board would be a sane thing to do. Of course the state is loaded with crazy politicians. Now most states have a weird politician or two, but Florida seems to be growing them like oranges including the only Mayor to ever be over thrown in a military coup. We also meet Old Sparky, Florida’s famed electric chair and a long, long, long history of land swindles (swamp land for sale!). And let’s not forget the ‘stand your ground’ law. That all said, Pittman does not just focus on the crazies and the weird. While the state has more than its share of both some good and smart people have emerged and the author gives them their due.
The book is entertaining, informative and a warning to anyone contemplating moving to the Sunshine State.
In Remembrance of Michael Herr
Michael Herr passed away on Thursday at the age of 76. His book, Dispatches was and remains one of the premiere books examining what it was like to be a soldier in Vietnam. Herr was a war correspondent with the eyes and ears of a poet. In late 1967, Herr, working at Esquire, convinced his employers to send him on assignment to Vietnam. This was right before one of the deadliest and bloodiest battles of the war, the Battle of Khe Sanh. It was almost ten years until the book was published in 1977. After its publication, Herr worked on two of the most important films about the Vietnam war. He contributed to the narration on Francis Ford Coppola’s epic Apocalypse Now (1979) and co-wrote the screenplay, with Stanley Kubrick and Gustav Hasford, on Full Metal Jacket. The film was based on Hasford’s novel, The Short-Timers. Herr had met Stanley Kubrick in 1980 during an advance screening of The Shining. They became friends which evolved into a creative and artistic relationship.
Below is a paragraph from Dispatches.
“You could be in the most protected space in Vietnam and still know that your safety was provisional, that early death, blindness, loss of legs, arms or balls, major and lasting disfigurement — the whole rotten deal — could come in on the freaky-fluky as easily as in the so-called expected ways.”
A Few Words From H. L. Menchen
Though H. L. Menchen has been dead since 1956, many of his words are more relevant today in this nasty and despicable political climate than ever. For those unaware, Menchen was a journalist and critic. A man of ideas. In the 1960 film, Inherit the Wind, the character of newspaper journalist E.K. Hornbeck, portrayed by Gene Kelly, was based on Menchen.
The other day I came across a few of the writer’s famous quotes. It made me think about today’s political ugliness and the rise of mediocrity in many of the candidates. Vulgarity, encouraging violence, sexism, racism and other vile words should not be what comes out of the mouth of candidates for the Presidency of the United States. This kind of talk should in no way be part of the political process. We as a country are becoming a classless society. Then again, maybe we always were and this vile behavior is just bringing it to the surface and out into the open. It’s a sad comment on our society. I always hoped we were better than that.
Below are a few of his quotes…
“Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.”
“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.”
“Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity has made them good.”
Lessons in the Dark – New E-Book Now Available
My latest e-book, Lessons in the Dark, is now available exclusively at Amazon. com. Why Lessons? Simply because watching movies for me has always been more than just entertainment. It was art, history and it was education. I have found many classic (old) films to still be relevant to our lives today. For example, my father always talked about how tough it was growing up during The Great Depression. However, it was not until I watched films like Wild Boys of the Road and The Grapes of Wrath that I truly began to understand what it was like. I also came to see how today many of these old films have remained relevant to our society and can teach us not to repeat our mistakes.
In this book I have compiled a series of essays on films that reflect one or more of these themes. I hope you enjoy. Below is a link to Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Dark-John-Greco-ebook/dp/B01CC0TWLS/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Feelin’ the Bern…Rhodenbarr
Before Bernie Sanders there was Bernie Rhodenbarr, Lawrence Block’s expert thief and used bookstore owner. While Bern is good at his chosen profession, unfortunate situations always seem to occur, like an unexpected dead body showing up at the wrong time which forces our anti-hero to have to investigate the murder in order to clear his name.
I have been a admirer of Lawrence Block’s work for years now. He first came to my attention one day, during a lunch break from work, browsing the bookshelves in one of the local libraries. It was one of the his Bernie/Burglar books that caught my attention.
Bernie first appeared in 1977 with Burglars Can’t Be Choosers. With his second outing, the series settled in a series of titles beginning with The Burglar Who… With the third book in the series, The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling, published in 1979, Bernie acquired a bookstore in Greenwich Village. Eventually, Bernie got a cat he named Raffles, a gift from his best friend and Village soulmate Carolyn Kaiser. After all, what second hand bookstore doesn’t need a cat?
In all, there are eleven books in the series plus a few short stories. There is not a bad one in the bunch. The last one, The Burglar Who Counted Spoons, was published in 2013 after a nine year hiatus. The books are chock full of sharp witty dialogue and wonderful characters.
If you are familiar with Lawrence Block, you know that The Burglar books are just a small piece of his complete output of work. Block’s other great character is Matt Scudder, an ex-cop and recovering alcoholic who does “favors” for friends and clients. Scudder quit the force after accidently causing the death of a young girl. His life soon fell apart; he left his family and moved into an old hotel in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen area where he earned money working as a unlicensed P.I. doing those “favors” as he called them. The Scudder books, as you may have guessed, are much darker but just as brilliantly written.
In 2014, an excellent adaptation was made of his novel, A Walk Among the Tombstones, with Liam Neeson as Scudder. Until this film, Block had not had much luck with his work being transferred to the screen. From Nightmare Honeymoon to Burglar, one was worst than the other. In the latter film, Bernie was transformed into Bernice and portrayed by Whoopi Goldberg. Nothing against Ms. Goldberg, but who the hell thought this was a good idea?
From what I have read Block has not expressed much interest in doing anymore Bernie books. Which for me and many fans is sad. Still, we can hope.
John Greco Author/Photographer 