THE RANGER BY ACE ATKINS

A SHADOW REVIEW

 

          "The Ranger" heralds a new series by best-selling author Ace Atkins.  It takes place in contemporary Northern Mississippi, an area Ace lives in and therefore knows very well. The book is very much a classic "Western" in modern dress.  Quinn Colson, an army ranger, fresh from six years in Afghanistan and Iraq, is coming home to Jericho.  On leave between assignments he arrives home to find his uncle, the towns sheriff, dead in an apparent suicide.  Not only that but the town seems to be in a downward spiral of meth use and development funny-business.  With the often hesitant aid of an old girlfriend, now a deputy on the local police force, Quinn begins the dangerous task of getting to the bottom of his uncle's death and cleaning up the town.

          Besides the compelling relationship between Quinn and Lillie Virgil, the deputy, the book is rife with colorful Southern characters.  Atkins strength has always been his ability to bring his settings to life and deliver "pulse of place" to his readers.  Tibbehah county comes alive under Atkins pen and is as much a character in the book as the humans are.  The pace is quick, the action non-stop, and the western vibe shimmers above it all.  I look forward to the next chapter in Quinn Colson's life.

          Ace Atkins started on  his road to fame as a star football player for Auburn University.  His team won a national title and Ace was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Not many writers can lay that  claim.  Rather than try the NFL Ace became a newspaper reporter which led to his becoming a novelist.  His first series, featuring Nick Travers, combined music, mystery, and the Deep South.  Ace followed that up with four outstanding crime novels.  These books covering Phenix City, Tampa, The Fatty Arbuckle  trial, and Machine Kelly stand as unique and superb historical fiction.  Each book is beautifully rendered with Ace's ability to evoke both character and setting in a way that makes the reader feel he is there.  In particular I found "White Shadow", about organized crime in Tampa, Florida masterfully executed.  In "Devil's Garden", the story of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, we see the action through the eyes of Dashiell  Hammett; a unique perspective indeed.

          As a youngster Ace's literary hero was Robert Parker.  Oddly Parker's nickname was "Ace".  And in a final and fortuitous chain of events Ace has been chosen by the Parker family to continue the "Spenser" series.  Look for the first new Atkin's penned "Spenser" later this year.

          We wish Ace good luck with the new challenge and while he hopefully reaps monetary rewards, we his readers, now reap literary rewards by having two series to look forward to.

                                              STEVE SHADOW SCHWARTZ


Browse available Ace Atkins titles at poisonedpen.com (click here)
Find out more about Ace at http://aceatkins.com/

Great news for April Smith

     EXCITING NEWS  

  TNT TO PRODUCE GOOD MORNING, KILLER 

    FILMING STARTS SEPT.7 IN VANCOUVER, B.C.
 

CLICK IMAGE TO PURCHASE

It's a dream come true for FBI Special Agent Ana Grey fans - and the author!  

TNT is about to film a two-hour television movie of the second Ana Grey novel, Good Morning, Killer.  April wrote the script and is executive producer, along with her friend and colleague, the great Frank Von Zernek.  She's heading up to Vancouver for four weeks of prep and eighteen days of shooting.  

Catherine Bell has just been signed to star as Ana.

She is currently appearing on Army Wives, and is

famous for her role on JAG.

The movie will air this fall as part of TNT's new series, "Tuesday Night Mysteries," which will include adaptations of books by Scott Turow, Mary Higgins Clark, Richard North Paterson, and Sandra Brown.  April is thrilled to be part of this distinguished line-up.  

Good Morning, Killer puts Ana Grey on the trail of a serial sexual predator who has abducted a young woman from the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. At the same time, Ana is involved in an intense relationship with a detective assigned to the case, Andrew Berringer.  Worlds collide when she becomes too involved with the psyche of the victim - as well as her volatile lover's mind.  Good Morning, Killer is currently available as an e-book and will be re-issued by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard in conjunction with the movie this fall.     

"The social event of the season-nay, the year" -Laurie R King

Garden Party TwInvitation

August 17, 2011 By Laurie King Leave a Comment

You say your Royal Wedding invite got lost in the mail?  The White House staff seems to be ignoring you this summer? Well, fret no longer, your invitation to the social event of the season–nay, the year, is here.  If you’re feeling social, drop in and chat with Mary Russell and friends (Will that husband of hers make it this year?) If you think you’ll be too shy, we’re leaving a virtual gap in the fence for you to watch through.

When and where is this happening?  This Sunday afternoon, on the terrace of Russell & Holmes’ house in Sussex–or, on a computer screen near you.  And now, from the virtual engraved envelope, your invitation to join us for the Twitter Garrrrden Party:

Explanation and links are here.  Come and have a great time, although I’d watch out for the honey wine, if I were you.  Holmes makes it powerful.

Woohoo!

BARRY GRAHAM - THE WRONG THING

A SHADOW REVURB...

Barry Graham's THE WRONG THING is available,
signed from The Poisoned Pen. (PM Press $14.95) 

         Barry Graham, a local writer by way of Scotland, has just had a new novel published by PM Press under the Switchblade imprint.  PM Press is a group of publishers and media people using every means possible to encourage new and challenging ideas.  Check out the web site.  Switchblade is the arm that puts forth the hardest of the hard-boiled works of fiction.  They publish what I call "heart-break noir", stories that take us to the edge of human longing and it's often disastrous results.

          Graham, a well known journalist and novelist, takes us to these far shores where societies castaways dwell unseen and uncared for.  In "The Wrong Thing" we get the American nightmare rather the the American dream.  The main character in the book is   known only as the Kid, his story bracketed by prologue and elegy. He comes to us a  fully realized human being who never gets a break.  Unloved and unwanted he must try and find a path through a world he is ill prepared to face.  Uneducated but bright, talented but directionless, unaware and unguided he tries his best to adapt.

          The novel is set in Santa Fe and Phoenix and shows a side of these cities we are barely aware of.  The barrio of the hispanic underclass is presented by Graham as a place of richness and kindness.  It can also be a trap and a road to a life of pain and grief.  The Kid's journey through this minefield is riveting and tragic.  His story is short, compact, and powerful. The writing is deceptively simple and straight forward.  Graham's subtle style weaves a spell-binding web that left me mesmerized.  The violence and sex are graphic and presented without judgement.  This is strong material wrapped in the cloth of truth.  Obviously Graham knows this world well and it shows.

Barry Graham will speak at The Poisoned Pen Saturday,
August 20th at 5pm. Click for details. 

          Barry Graham also happens to be a Zen monk and Abbot of the Sitting Frog Zen Center in Phoenix.  His story in the "Phoenix Noir" anthology was an early version of what became the new novel.  His early work has recently been made available on Amazon for download. I recommend his novel "The Book of Man" and "Scumbo: a Novella and Stories".  

                                                           - STEVE SHADOW SCHWARTZ

          For further reading try last years Switchblade release "Pike" by Benjamin Whitmer.  It is a hard-boiled neo-noir knockout of a book.

In Preparation for James Sallis

I thought I would post the new trailer for DRIVE, which won Best Director at this year's Cannes Film Festival. This has been a great adventure for James as well as The Poisoned Pen Press. The novel originally publishing with them in 2005. On August 19th at 7pm Mr. Sallis will be signing his latest novel
The Killer is Dying($24 Signed) at the store. 

He will also be performing with his band Three-Legged Dog. (That's him on the right)

To find out more about the event, head over to the event page at www.poisonedpen.com