BJ Bourg

Fascinating series of thrillers about a police sniper cum detective. It is a mixture of first person chapters in the voice of London Carter, and third person chapters describing events from the “outside”, for some of which London is present, others he is not.

The books are intricately plotted and take you inside the heart of police work in the bayous, and in particular inside the hearts and minds of trained snipers. The writing is compelling (I stayed reading until 1am to finish one book) show more and it is clear that the author is writing from personal experience and training (just check his bio).

Very occasionally the English sounds a little odd to a Brit, like the use of ‘whelped’ where we would say ‘yelped’, but this may be local idiom and is certainly not enough to detract from the story.

I have now read six of these London Carter books on the trot and I am ready for more. Thoroughly recommended. show less

So good!

There are so many unexpected twists in this book that it is impossible to put down.

It starts off with a man found dead in his hot tub. Was it accident or murder? His termagant wife looks a good suspect for murder. Then Clint and his team find an extraordinary, inexplicable, object in the hot tub that knocks them completely off their stride.

This is an amazing addition to a long-running series that never flags, or runs out of ideas. The main characters are engaging and likeable, and show more their relationships grow and change over time. I have bought and read every one of these books and never been disappointed. I thoroughly recommend them and look forward to number 32, due out in December 2024. show less

If you have read the author’s fiction before you are aware that betrayal is a theme found in many of his works. Such is the case here in Alive Into Hell: A Collection Of Crime Stories. All twenty stories have been previously published in a variety of platforms both print and electronic. It also happens that all of them are good ones while also very frequently packing a hard punch to the gut.

The book opens with the signature story “Alive Into Hell” where Vanessa Hickman is awakened from show more a dead sleep. She isn’t sure what woke her up at first. Then she realizes that the voices are back in the baby’s room down the hall. With or without her husband Reggie’s help, she has to go check on four month old Anna as it sounds like there might be a man in the house.

Hubby isn’t much help either as “An Indolent Heart” begins. Instead of sitting in his recliner drinking beer, Tom Becker should be out cutting the grass. Lydia has pretty much had it with him, but can’t leave for reasons that become clear.

An “Anonymous call” got them out there in the surveillance van looking for Baxter Dean. Nothing much was happening and then the night erupted in violence at the point of a gun.

An isolated campsite is the backdrop to “Bear Illegal.” Rebecca Sims heard the noise first and saw something moving around their campsite. Curry is sure that it, whatever it was, had to be something that wasn’t worth worrying about. Rebecca isn’t so sure.

Working out in the barn makes it easy for Edward Brooks to take a cell phone call without his wife Sarah knowing about it in “Backyard.” Bessie Harrington is a special woman to Edward and at least two other people.

Originally published as “Red Declaration” the story “Blood Pursuit” comes next. A homeowner awakes to discover there is a violent intruder in his house.

Kade was supposed to be building a shed. Instead he is digging a hole in the backyard. Jeri is not pleased in “Box of Secrets.”

Lake Pontchartrain is a dangerous place in a storm. Especially if you are in a Boston whaler in “Camp Keller.”

Nelson Devlin has not been acting normal as “Candlestick Justice” begins and Vicky Devlin has questions and mounting suspicions. Whatever he is doing it involves the computer and possibly an old threat.

Sabrina isn’t that thrilled with the idea of being in the Smoky Mountains in “Dead of the Day.” Barry isn’t worried about the possibility of a serial killer in the area and is looking forward to the picnic.

Chief Walton is mad from the get go in “Dear Joe.” He has good reason and Detective Joe Leonard had better get it together. Looks like he is going to need his partner, Detective Dan Pritchard, to help out.

The smell is what he notices first in “Death Notice.” A dead body and quite a lot more is involved here in this complicated tale.

“False Positive” as implied by the title revolves around a blood test and the consequences of the results.

Rosalie Beard has had enough in “Final Divorce” and no matter what Jay says it is over. He has a plan to salvage things and just needs a little more time.

Raising kids is difficult at times and video games can be an issue. Both are at work in “Final Level.”

Otis Redman is having a hard time of it and “Getting His Job Back” might help. At least if he was employed again his wife Claire might cut him some slack.

As if things already were not already this way in a number of stories apparently they are about to be “Getting ugly.” Jimmy and Steve have an issue with Buddy and the rookie, Ruben, does not like how they are going about business.

Gracie is spending the night with Granny as Jenny LeBlanc has work to do in “Happy First.” Being a mom and a cop is hard work, but things are about to change for the better for her as well as her four year old daughter.

40 year old Nelson Walton isn’t happy for good reason. As he explains to his good friend Jerry Stewart, he knows Cindy is cheating on him and just because of “Her Judas Eyes.”

It was another brutal night on two few hours of sleep and the wake up from Mallory at 5:30 in the morning is not what Wyatt needed. The day ahead is going to be a challenge personally and professionally in “Severed Relationship.”

Betrayal is a constant there in the collection of published stories from the mind of BJ Bourg. The betrayal comes in many forms both in terms of the personal as well as the professional relationships these characters have during their short visits with the reader. While it is easy to see the author’s extensive background in law enforcement at work in many of these tales, the twists and turns the tales take are often not so easy at all to see coming. Alive Into Hell: A Collection Of Crime Stories is a fast and enjoyable read that also gives credence to the idea that being a loner without attachments might be a good thing.

Alive Into Hell: A Collection Of Crime Stories
BJ Bourg
http://rightingcrimefiction.blogspot.com/
August 6, 2014
ASIN: B00MHFWQ9Y
E-Book
104 Pages (estimated)
$0.99

Material was purchased for my use in an objective review by way of monies in my Amazon Associate account.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014 show less

Tense, twisty and satisfying

Travels along at breakneck speed with so many unexpected twists that you can’t anticipate where it is going to end up.

This is an ongoing series where the books can be enjoyed independently, but I would strongly recommend reading them in order as the characters and relationships grow from book to book and events that took place in earlier books continue to have an influence on the behaviour and the main characters.

Bourg is an excellent writer who writes out of a show more lifetime’s expertise in law enforcement. His characters are well developed and his descriptions of locations make me want to visit them (at least until the next reference to the humidity and the mosquitoes!)

As an aside for the British reader, don’t be too quick to assume that the occasional ‘odd’ expression is an error. Look it up. You will likely find it is local dialect or urban slang.

I shall continue to pre-order books in this series, and in Bourg’s London Carter series, as soon as they are announced.

Highly recommended. show less