Reading

Finished Ken Bruen's The Dramatist. The book was, of course, wonderful. Hard to pin down, but that's not a knock. I might want to explain myself, however. If taken as a mystery - straight up give me a puzzle with some clues - well, the book doesn't really operate that way and you might be disappointed. Jack Taylor, the detective, doesn't detect so much as dodge in this book. Several crimes are committed in the book and Jack doesn't really solve any of them, not by himself at least. One crime is against himself, and the perpetrator doesn't hide himself. One crime is solved by a waitress. Another is solved by a barman. Then how is this a Jack Taylor novel?

Taylor is at the center of the maelstorm and trying to survive. In fact, he tries furiously to thrive. To make the world a better place for himself and the many around him - the souls clinging to the life raft he's paddling with, admittedly, a broken oar. The raft has sprung some leaks and it's headed straight into a murderous wave, so the question for the reader is "Can Jack and friends come through the ordeal without harm?" Well, it's a Ken Bruen novel so what do you think, ya pup?

As I said, a wonderful book. The ending will leave you thinking.

For lighter fare, I've started reading Al Guthrie's Hard Man. Just started this morning, so the report will need to wait, but the first twenty pages or so drag you into the story so that you don't really want to put it down. Good stuff.