Hi folks,
Just received some dandy
reviews of a couple of my novels that made my day! The first, for THE BITCH, is
courtesy of Brit author Martin Stanley in his novel-reviewing blog, The
Gamblers.
The last two are Amazon
reviews of THE GENUINE, IMITATION, PLASTIC KIDNAPPING which is now available in
the paperback edition from Amazon and you can preorder the ebook version (to be
released Sept. 30) from them also.
The Gamblers
Martin Stanley
Posted on September 22, 2014
4
Les Edgerton’s crime novels and
short stories have a rich vein of truth and knowledge running through them that
most crime writers, even the most talented, simply can’t emulate. Which is
hardly surprising considering that he
The Bitch in this case is not a
woman, but the nickname that cons and ex-cons alike give to the three strikes
and you’re out sentencing structure of the American legal system – the point at
which prisoners become ha-bitch-ual offenders and go inside for the rest
of their lives.
At the start of The Bitch, after
a second stint in jail, Jake Bishop is a reformed character working as a
hairdresser and dreaming of opening up his own salon with his pregnant wife,
Paris. The trouble starts when he takes a phone call from Walker Joy, his one-time
cellmate, to whom he owes a very big favour, begging for help: by
getting him out of a jam with a dodgy jeweller that he owes money to. His
thinking clouded by fears of The Bitch, Jake declines. He is then warned by the
jeweller that he has knowledge that will put Jake inside for a third strike and
also intends to frame Jake’s younger brother for a recent burglary of his
premises. Jake is left with no choice but to take the job on.
The job is to steal a few very
special stones from a jewellery designer who is away for the weekend, but there
will be a lot of other jewels in there too. If they can pull it off, the take
will be massive.
The only problem is that, in true
noir style, anything that can go wrong does go wrong. Jake is left wondering
just who he can trust, and just how far he can go to avoid the ever-present
third strike life sentence. Well, he goes pretty far, believe me, but to say
more would spoil things…
I enjoyed The Bitch
immensely. It is written with skill and care by a writer who knows his stuff
personally, and that comes through in the fear and increasing desperation of
Jake’s narrative voice. Thoughts of that dreaded third strike are always on his
mind, colouring his decisions, clouding his judgement, making him irrational –
it’s an impressive piece of first-person narration. But it’s the plotting and
organising of key events in the narrative that impressed me most. There are
times in many noir stories where events tumble into the protagonist’s path with
such frequency that there’s always the danger of the narrative tipping over
into parody. Les Edgerton sidesteps these potential problems adroitly through a
combination of fine writing and slowing the narrative down to allow the
characters and readers time to draw breath. He drops a few twists along the way
to a really satisfying ending, in which he gives Jake a truly great line of
closing dialogue (so good, in fact, that I wished I’d written the damn line
myself). If you are a noir fan, a heist fan, or a straight up thriller fan,
there’s plenty in The Bitch that will satisfy you.
Highly recommended.
Reviews from Amazon for THE GENUINE, IMITATION, PLASTIC KIDNAPPING
(The first review from author Liam Sweeny first appeared on his blog.
Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback|Verified Purchase
Pete Halliday's got a hell of an arm... and a little
gambling problem. Or is it a little 'getting caught' problem? Either way he's
washed out of baseball, biding his time in the Big Easy, pulling jobs with ace
fuck-up Tommy LeClerc.
In spectacular fashion, Tommy blows schemes so clever they shouldn't be done. Like a kidnapping when you don't know whom the kidnapee is connected to. But then Tommy comes up with a brilliant idea; a kidnapping the likes of which no one has attempted before...
... and maybe there's a reason for that.
Pete's a likable guy. He just smart enough to realize how insane Tommy's plans are, too dumb to tell Tommy to screw off. And it's that inability that brings the feet of the whole New Orleans reverse nobility down on Pete and Tommy's necks.
The ray of dirty sunshine is Cat Duplaisir, waitress with a side of hooker. Pete falls hard, and she's a great add to the team here. And the ending? Guess you'll have to read it.
Overall, I love Pete's way of putting things. He's a narrating character that's reliable, true to form. Edgerton pours this one from his fingertips; nothing gets you clogged in the reading, nothing keeps you from hitting the 'next' arrow except maybe sleep or a pee break (I don't even think I took a pee break).
I got an advanced copy, But I liked it so much, I bought the paperback.
In spectacular fashion, Tommy blows schemes so clever they shouldn't be done. Like a kidnapping when you don't know whom the kidnapee is connected to. But then Tommy comes up with a brilliant idea; a kidnapping the likes of which no one has attempted before...
... and maybe there's a reason for that.
Pete's a likable guy. He just smart enough to realize how insane Tommy's plans are, too dumb to tell Tommy to screw off. And it's that inability that brings the feet of the whole New Orleans reverse nobility down on Pete and Tommy's necks.
The ray of dirty sunshine is Cat Duplaisir, waitress with a side of hooker. Pete falls hard, and she's a great add to the team here. And the ending? Guess you'll have to read it.
Overall, I love Pete's way of putting things. He's a narrating character that's reliable, true to form. Edgerton pours this one from his fingertips; nothing gets you clogged in the reading, nothing keeps you from hitting the 'next' arrow except maybe sleep or a pee break (I don't even think I took a pee break).
I got an advanced copy, But I liked it so much, I bought the paperback.
Format:Paperback
Wow - here we go again. Les Edgerton is one of the best
writers of our time. Once again, I have a reason to read. This hilarious, yet
serious depiction of clumsy criminals and the terror and messes they run into
is impossible to put down. This book explodes from the page and pulls the
reader in. You will end up loving the main characters and laughing all the way.
Les Edgerton writes from truth and grit - the kind of writing that only a
writer with a mad soul and the life to go with it can write. I have yet to read
a book by Les Edgerton that I regretted purchasing. You can't lose with Les
Edgerton. Throw the dice and reap your reward.
Thanks, everyone! The cockles of my heart are hotter
than a three-dollar counterfeit bill!
If you haven’t yet, you can order either the
paperback version of KIDNAPPING or preorder the ebook version here.
Remember: Christmas is just around the
corner! This would make a great stocking stuffer, eh?
Blue skies,
Les
Posts
2 comments:
I get worried when you mention your "cockles of your heart." That word can mean so many things! You deserve it Les. Your writing is always super duper!
Yeah... them cockles... :) Thank you so much, Sarah!
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