Hi folks,
Just got a
great review from my friend and fellow writer, Gregory C. Randall, on his blog, Writing 4 Death.
Greg and I
met in person at the last Bouchercon in Long Beach and instantly hit it off. I
was already a fan of his books and we had corresponded via the Intergnat, and
were “Gnat” friends, and when I met him in the flesh, we became great friends.
He’s the kind of guy you enjoy having drinks with. And, then, he cemented our
friendship when, after I got finished with a panel I was on, he came up and
presented me with a San Francisco Giants t-shirt, commemorating their latest
World Championship! No one’s ever done anything like that!
Anyhoo,
here’s Greg’s review of Kidnapping…
Review by Gregory C. Randall
The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic
Kidnapping
By Les Edgerton
Les Edgerton and I share a few things, most especially our love and
appreciation of baseball and the San Francisco Giants. His latest book The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnapping
is just downright fantastic and tres-tres cool. Les, after more than a dozen
books covering everything from baseball to many things underworld in New
Orleans, knows exactly how to hit that nerve that is both sharp and edgy. His
prose is as crisp and crusty as a backroads Louisiana road-kill and as soft and
mushy as a Café Du Monde beignet.
Pete Halliday is a failed baseball
player (ex-Giant); seems he has this thing for gambling and it cost him his
spot in the rotation and the team. Now in debt to a bookie he needs to get a
chunk of money or suffer badly – and the best way out . . .kidnap the head of
the local Cajun Mafia, cut off his hand, and hold the thing for ransom. And
that’s just the main leitmotif of the story. There’s also the hooker with a
heart of gold, a guy who thinks he’s a real Indian (maybe not), a double-cross,
a classic case of Tourette’s syndrome in the face of some serious killers, and
of course New Orleans. A place that Les says has broken his heart since
Katrina. It is relentless and pulls you under like a fifteen-foot alligator in
the bayou. It is a five star must read.
That’s it—thanks, Greg! As I’m not
one who disbelieves in the philosophy of quid pro quid—I do—I’d like to
recommend his own work. A great place to start would be with his DIAMONDS FOR
DEATH
I firmly adhere to the principle of quid
pro quid but only when the work merits it… and Greg’s work most assuredly does.
Blue skies,
Les
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