Category: action

Esperance by Adam Oyebanji (SF / Mystery)

Writing: 5/5 Characters: 4/5 Story: 4/5

Part (very weird) murder mystery, part speculative fiction and a wow ending — Esperance is an evolving surprise from start to finish.
Ethan Karol is the Chicago PD detective trying to solve the seemingly inexplicable murder of a father and son, found drowned in seawater next to a large (also dead) fish on the 20th floor of a fashionable apartment building. Meanwhile, Abidemi Eniola is roaming the streets of Bristol (England), dressed in 30s attire, speaking in a weird accent, and full of technological trickery that is beyond anything her accidental sidekick, Hollie, has even considered possible. And both Karol and Eniola appear to be trying to track down a very specific, long ago sea captain…

All the characters are fun to read and slowly learn about. Character insight comes through action and behavior more than any kind of introspection. Themes of racism, justice, and intergenerational trauma are core to the story, but (IMHO) serve primarily as background motivation for what is an intense, action filled set of pages. In truth, a little more action than I usually care for, but so well-written and full of surprising twists I didn’t even have time to complain (to myself).

I’ve read all four of Oyebanji’s books in the last four months and they have all been written (or at least published) in the last three years. This is promising! Two books are straight up mysteries (not cozies, but also not too thrilling for me) and two are SciFi Crime / Mystery. Author has exactly the kind of interesting bio that leads to creative plots and unusual characters. I’ll be keeping an eye out for all his new, apparently rapidly produced(!), works.

Thank you to DAW and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on May 25th, 2025.

So Far and Good by John Straley (Mystery – Audio Book)

My first John Straley novel, and it turns out to be the 8th in his Alaska based Cecil Younger investigator series. I found it fascinating — now I just have to see how much I like the main character when I start back at book #1

The story in brief: Cecil’s daughter’s friend George (for Georgina) does a surprise DNA test for herself and her unaware mother. The results are not what she expected, and the book takes off from there — and I mean really takes off. Meanwhile, Cecil is in jail serving time for murder of a man who had done something terrible to his daughter. I don’t know what that was and I’m guessing it took place in one of the previous books I haven’t read yet, but I have to say that his experiences in prison and the way he participated in the story from there were deeply interesting from both an action and a psychological / philosophical perspective.

I loved the characters — from Cecil himself, to his possibly autistic best friend, to his research scientist wife, to the personalities in prison, to the long bearded survivalist defense attorney, to the Tlingit parents, and to the teenagers at the center of it all. I think what I liked best about the characters is that they all have a strong sense of morality and principles and they stick to them. The morality may or may not not be the same as yours or mine — but it exists and is consistent. Loved the Alaska setting and the various relevant discussions of prison life including gender fluidity and the psychology of the relationships between inmates and parole boards, men and women, black and white.

I’ve already gone back and started the first in the series…

Racing the Light by Robert Crais (Action / Mystery)

Elvis is back! Well, Elvis Cole that is — sorry — couldn’t help myself! Cole and his quiet (but definitely-the-guy-you-want-to-have-your-back) partner, Joe Pike, help an old woman find her missing adult son, Josh. But it’s not just any old woman and not just any missing son. Adele Schumacher pays in cash, doesn’t trust phones, and talks about conspiracies and aliens as obvious facts. She has a couple of very buff “helpers” who follow her everywhere. And Josh is the controversial podcaster of In Your Face with Josh Shoe (with a listenership of approximately 20 people).

Laugh out loud funny, with plenty of action (the good kind where a lot happens and it happens quickly but we don’t have to suffer through long car chases or drawn out battles — ugh) and plenty of colorful characters. A fast and thoroughly enjoyable read. This is book 19 but you can really start anywhere — a few references to previous cases but nothing problematic.

Thank you to G.P Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on Nov 1st, 2022.