Luck of the Draw
Anthony Cardieri
ISBN 9780312565022
St. Martin’s
New York City at Christmas can be very beautiful but it’s also the setting for a first crime novel by Anthony Cardieri. The story begins with picture perfect family preparing for a holiday trip. Everything is fine until, at the end of the day, the young son opens the door to a flower delivery. They are all killed. Enter Deke Durgess a good homicide cop. There isn’t much to go on but a second killing also with the killers calling card means that Deke and his team are up against the worst killer the city has seen.
Luck of the Draw is an interesting, fast paced first novel. Cardieri knows New York and the workings of bureaucracy. It’s going to be fun to see if he can top himself with his second novel. Check it out.
David Biemann
The Divine Sacrifice, by Tony Hays, Forge, 2010. isbn 9780765319463
The Divine Sacrifice is the second in Tony Hays’s new historical series featuring Malgwyn, a trusted advisor to great King Arthur. A Priest is murdered at a Christian religious center and Malgwyn must solve the crime and find out who the traitors are who covet Arthur’s throne. As Bernard Cornwell did in his brilliant Arthur trilogy, Hays is able to create a totally believable fifth century Briton. His plotting is excellent, we solve the crime along with Malgwyn. His characters ring true, this with the whole Arthurian crew present. Fans of both historical adventure and crime novels will love this series, one of my new personal favorites. Richard
Die Twice, by Andrew Grant, St Martin, 2010. isbn 9780312540272
Andrew Grant returns with his second novel featuring David
Trevellyan, former Royal Navy Intelligence Officer and now a trouble
shooting spy for the British Government. After the serous events in
NYC(portrayed in Grant’s terrific first book, Even) Trevellyan is
lying low in Chicago when summoned to The British Consulate. He is
sent after an intelligence agent gone bad who is selling dangerous
nerve gas. In his profession who do you trust, an agent must operate
alone.
Grant books are a breath of fresh air. Like many of the best
thriller writers today(Eisler, Child, Ghelfi, Staeger, Flynn, Thor,
and many others) his books feature a tough hero lead and are part
crime novel and part adventure novel. His plotting is excellent,
relevant and features issues from today’s news. I look forward
to his next book. Collectors take note, his first book is already
hard to find. Richard
