Little Brown

Quick Review: SOMEWHERE BETWEEN SCREAMING AND CRYING by Dan Franklin (Constable)

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An interesting and illuminating biography of an album, albeit one that is also a little unfocused and disjointed…

Slipknot is one of metal’s most iconic and recognisable bands. In late August 2001, Slipknot released their extraordinarily brutal second album, Iowa. With it, nine masked maniacs from the American Midwest captured the zeitgeist and reimagined the genre. The album’s emotional intensity and aggression was matched only by its commercial success, as it topped album charts and defined the nu metal era.

Two weeks after its release, the world changed forever. After the attacks of 9/11, Slipknot collided with history and a generation in upheaval. As the band’s members struggled with their own demons, it wasn’t certain that Slipknot would survive. What followed is a story that’s as tumultuous, gripping, and as real as it gets.

Somewhere Between Screaming And Crying is the story of Iowa‘s difficult birth and its remarkable impact in a world seemingly coming apart at the seams. As nu metal is embraced by a new generation today, Dan Franklin unravels how and why this much-maligned subgenre still connects so strongly and explores the ongoing influence of Slipknot as one of the most recognisable and artistically vital bands in metal today.

Dan Franklin’s latest book examines a defining era of (nu-)metal and one of the bands that felt ubiquitous, divisive, and essential. It is an engaging, illuminating, and interesting read; but also one that has some flaws. Essential reading for fans of Slipknot, but also anyone who wants to take a walk down memory lane. Continue reading →

Upcoming: THE HOLLOW by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown/ Orion)

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It’s almost that time of year again: new Michael Connelly! I recognize that I have become something of a broken record here on CR, when it comes to Connelly’s novels. He is quite probably my favourite author. Despite being a relative late-comer to his Bosch-verse, I have actually now read all of his books (including short stories and non-fiction). He is one of the rare authors who manages to publish multiple books a year with no drop-off in quality. I can’t recommend his work highly enough.

Which brings me to The Hollow, Connelly’s next novel: the latest novel in his Harry Bosch series, also featuring his half-brother, Mickey Haller (the Lincoln Lawyer). It’s due to be published in October (North America) and November (UK), and here’s the synopsis:

Retired LAPD detective Harry Bosch delves into the darkest chapter of his past…

When Harry Bosch was eleven years old, his mother was murdered and he became a ward of the state, housed in MacLaren Children’s Center, a notorious facility where abuse was rampant. Decades after its closure, a massive class action lawsuit has resulted in a multibillion-dollar settlement for former residents. But when Bosch’s half-brother, defense attorney Mickey Haller, brings him word that Harry is entitled to $400,000, Bosch says he doesn’t want the money. He wants justice.

News of the settlement awakens his memories of a place he had hoped never to revisit, and a boy named Chops, a fellow inmate who wound up dead. Chops’s body was found in a hidden space under a staircase that the staff used to discipline their charges. The kids knew it only as “the hollow.” But Chops’s death was covered up and never solved. Now Bosch knows he must reopen the investigation and learn the truth, even if the killer is long dead.

As Bosch digs into the files, he picks up the trail of a predator who not only survived, but went on to a life of vicious crime. Forced to face a history that both scarred him and launched him on his mission as a cop, Bosch must bring down a sadistic criminal and finally put to rest the demons of his past.

Michael Connelly’s The Hollow is due to be published by Little, Brown in North America (October 27th) and Orion Books in the UK (November).

Also on CR: Reviews of The Black Echo, The Black Ice, The Concrete Blonde, The Last Coyote, The Overlook, The Wrong Side of Goodbye, Two Kinds of Truth, Blood Work, A Darkness More than Night, The Narrows, The Late Show, Dark Sacred Night, Fair Warning, and The Law of Innocence

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, BlueSky

Very Quick Review: THE LAW OF INNOCENCE by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown/Orion)

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ConnellyM-MH7-LawOfInnocenceUSMickey Haller, murderer?

On the night he celebrates a big win, defense attorney Mickey Haller is pulled over by police, who find the body of a former client in the trunk of his Lincoln. Haller is immediately charged with murder but can’t post the exorbitant $5 million bail slapped on him by a vindictive judge.

Mickey elects to represent himself and is forced to mount his defense from his jail cell in the Twin Towers Correctional Center in downtown Los Angeles. All the while he needs to look over his shoulder — as an officer of the court he is an instant target, and he makes few friends when he reveals a corruption plot within the jail.

But the bigger plot is the one against him. Haller knows he’s been framed, whether by a new enemy or an old one. As his trusted team, including his half-brother, Harry Bosch, investigates, Haller must use all his skills in the courtroom to counter the damning evidence against him.

Even if he can obtain a not-guilty verdict, Mickey understands that it won’t be enough. In order to be truly exonerated, he must find out who really committed the murder and why. That is the law of innocence.

Just wanted to post a very quick review of Michael Connelly’s latest thriller. I read it in two late-night sittings, on tenterhooks: I just had to know how Mickey Haller was going to get himself out of his latest predicament. If you’re a fan of Connelly’s novels, then you’ll no doubt have already picked up/read this one. If you still haven’t given Connelly’s thrillers a try, then I can’t recommend them highly enough. Gripping, well-paced, and another excellent read, The Law of Innocence did not disappoint. Continue reading →

Upcoming: THE THOUSAND CRIMES OF MING TSU by Tom Lin (Little, Brown)

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LinT-ThousandCrimesOfMingTsuUSThe Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu by Tom Lin is described as a blend of the “violent ardor of Cormac McCarthy” and the “otherworldly inventiveness of Ted Chiang”. In an early blurb, Jonathan Lethem name-checks a number of comparators, including the Coen Brothers and Ray Bradbury. An intriguing mix. The novel is “a thriller, a romance, and a story of one man’s quest for redemption in the face of a distinctly American brutality”. Quite looking forward to giving this a try. Here’s the full synopsis:

An astounding debut that reimagines the classic Western through the eyes of a Chinese American assassin on a quest to rescue his kidnapped wife and exact his revenge on her abductors

Orphaned as a boy, Ming Tsu, the son of Chinese immigrants, is raised by the notorious leader of a California crime syndicate, who trains him to be his deadly enforcer. But when Ming falls in love with Ada, the daughter of a powerful railroad magnate, and the two elope, he seizes the opportunity to escape to a different life. Soon after, in a violent raid, the tycoon’s henchmen kidnap Ada and conscript Ming into service for the Union Pacific Railroad.

Battered, heartbroken, and yet defiant, Ming partners with a clairvoyant old man known only as the Prophet. Together the two set out to rescue his wife and to exact revenge on the men who destroyed him, aided by a troupe of magic-show performers, some with supernatural powers, whom they meet on the journey. Ming fights his way across the West, settling old scores with a single-minded devotion that culminates in an explosive and unexpected finale.

Tom Lin’s The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu is due to be published by Little, Brown in North America and in the UK, on June 1st, 2021.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Twitter

Review: RAPTURE by Nick Nurse & Michael Sokolove (Little, Brown)

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NurseN-RaptureNick Nurse’s long journey to the NBA and how his experiences led to the Raptors’ Championship

Nick Nurse distills the wisdom, insight, and experiences that helped him lead the Toronto Raptors to the NBA championship in his first year as head coach.

NBA fans had modest  expectations for rookie coach Nick Nurse and his Toronto Raptors. But what those naysayers didn’t realize was that Nurse had spent the past thirty years proving himself at every level of the game, from youth programs and college ball to the NBA D League and Britain’s struggling pro circuit. While few coaches have taken such a circuitous path to pro basketball’s promised land, the journey-which began at Kuemper Catholic high school in Carroll, Iowa-forged a coach who proved to be as unshakable as he is personable.

On the road, he is known to bring his guitar and keyboard for late-night jazz and blues sessions. In the locker room, he’s steadfast and even-keeled regardless of the score. On the court, he pulls out old-school tactics with astounding success. A rookie in name but a veteran in attitude, Nurse is seemingly above the chaos of the game and, with only two seasons on his résumé, has already established himself as one of the NBA’s most admired head coaches.

Now, in this revealing new book — equal parts personal memoir, leadership mani­festo, and philosophical meditation — Nurse tells his own story. Given unprecedented access inside the Raptors’ locker room, readers get an intimate study of not only the team culture he has built, but also of a rookie coach’s unique dynamic with the star players — such as Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Low­ry, and Pascal Siakam — who helped trail-blaze the 2019 championship run. As much for readers of Ray Dalio as for fans of John Wooden and Pat Summitt, Rapture promis­es to be a necessary read for anyone looking to forge their own path to success.

I’ve been looking forward to this ever since it was announced (which was, I think, shortly after the Raptors’ NBA victory last summer). I started reading this a couple of days after it came out, and zipped through it. Written in an inviting and engaging style, Rapture is a quick and interesting read. I enjoyed this. Continue reading →

Quick Review: FAIR WARNING by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown/Orion)

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ConnellyM-JM3-FairWarningUSThe hero of The Poet and The Scarecrow is back…

Jack McEvoy, the journalist who never backs down, tracks a serial killer who has been operating completely under the radar — until now.

Veteran reporter Jack McEvoy has taken down killers before, but when a woman he had a one-night stand with is murdered in a particularly brutal way, McEvoy realizes he might be facing a criminal mind unlike any he’s ever encountered.

Jack investigates — against the warnings of the police and his own editor — and makes a shocking discovery that connects the crime to other mysterious deaths across the country. Undetected by law enforcement, a vicious killer has been hunting women, using genetic data to select and stalk his targets.

Uncovering the murkiest corners of the dark web, Jack races to find and protect the last source who can lead him to his quarry. But the killer has already chosen his next target, and he’s ready to strike.

Jack McEvoy returns! He’s at a new online publication, with new colleagues, but has the same determined drive to uncover the truth. He also retains his slightly flexible approach to the rules and ethics of journalism. Fair Warning is another excellent novel from the master of the craft. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE WRONG SIDE OF GOODBYE and TWO KINDS OF TRUTH by Michael Connelly (Orion/Grand Central)

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Bosch enters a new phase of his law enforcement career

As you may have noticed, I’ve been working my way through the Bosch universe novels at a fair clip this year. Now that I’ve caught up with recent novels, I thought I’d write some more reviews. These two novels were published 2016 and 2018 — they were separated by The Late Show, which introduced Renee Ballard (and was also the first of Connelly’s books that I read). Both of these were excellent novels, and Connelly remains one of the best writers working today. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE OVERLOOK by Michael Connelly (Orion/Little, Brown)

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ConnellyM-HB13-OverlookUKTerrorism, the FBI and Harry Bosch…

An execution on the overlook above the Mulholland Dam entangles Bosch with FBI Agent Rachel Walling and Homeland Security.

When a physicist is murdered in LA, it seems the killer has no fear of publicity, leaving the body on the Mulholland overlook, a site with a stunning view over the city. And when it’s discovered that the victim turned over a quantity of a lethal chemical to his killer before he died, Harry knows he has more than just a single death to worry about.

Alongside the forces of Homeland Security, Harry realises he must solve the murder or face unimaginable consequences.

In this, the thirteenth Harry Bosch novel, the LAPD detective comes face-to-face with a potential terrorist threat in Los Angeles. I’ve been working my way through all of Connelly’s novels this year (14 and counting at the time of writing),* and while I’m not going to write a review of each other them, I wanted to just flag The Overlook as one of the ones that has stuck with me. We see Bosch navigating the inevitable response to a terrorism threat, while also getting to know his new partner. A gripping, fast-moving crime story. Continue reading →

Very Quick Review: Terry McCaleb in Michael Connelly’s BOSCH Universe (Orion/Little, Brown)

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I’ve recently been blitzing my way through Michael Connelly’s excellent novels in the “Heironymous Bosch Universe” — those that star the eponymous detective, and also those starring the characters who have cycled in and out of Bosch’s orbit over the course of the series. I tend to focus my reviews on either upcoming, new or fairly-recently-published books. However, Connelly’s crime novels have so taken over my imagination and reading time this past month (eight since the beginning of June), that I decided I should put something together for CR. In this post, I take a quick look at the novels featuring Terry McCaleb. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE PRESIDENT IS MISSING by Bill Clinton & James Patterson (Little, Brown/Century)

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ClintonPatterson-PresidentIsMissingUKAn interesting, substantial political thriller

The President Is Missing confronts a threat so huge that it jeopardizes not just Pennsylvania Avenue and Wall Street, but all of America. Uncertainty and fear grip the nation. There are whispers of cyberterror and espionage and a traitor in the Cabinet. Even the President himself becomes a suspect, and then he disappears from public view…

Set over the course of three days, The President Is Missing sheds a stunning light upon the inner workings and vulnerabilities of our nation. Filled with information that only a former Commander-in-Chief could know, this is the most authentic, terrifying novel to come along in many years.

There was a lot of buzz surrounding this novel before it was published. Understandable, of course, but I nevertheless somehow managed to leave it quite some time before reading. I’m very glad I did, though. This is an entertaining political thriller that should definitely appeal to fans of the (sub-)genre. Continue reading →