Mark de Castrique

Third time’s still the charm for author Mark de Castrique’s novel, The Sandburg Connection, the third in his excellent series featuring amputee veteran Sam Blackman and his partner in work and love, Nakayla Robertson. Author Thomas Wolfe played a central role in the debut novel, Blackman's Coffin, while F. Scott Fitzgerald featured in the second, The Fitzgerald Ruse.

This time around the mystery’s literary connection is to Connemara, Carl Sandburg’s home in Flat Rock, N.C., just show more outside of Asheville. A college history professor falls to her death on the mountain trail near the historic home (now a museum), and Sam and Nakayla — and a forest ranger named Bobby Ray Corn — suspect murder, not a tragic accident. De Castrique adds lots of wonderful twists and suspense that should leave readers eager to move on to No. 4, A Murder in Passing.

Those who have read the previous two books will enjoy this novel a bit more, but newbies won’t feel lost on this wild ride of a mystery novel. show less

First Line: The night sky around Asheville can play tricks on the eye.

Former U.S. military CID officer Sam Blackman and his lover, Nakayla Robertson, have set up a detective agency in Asheville, North Carolina. Their first client, Ethel Barkley, is a bit eccentric and lives in a retirement home. Her request? To retrieve a lockbox which contains an F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscript. Mrs. Barkley feels the need to right a wrong she committed over seventy years ago.

No sooner than Sam and Nakayla show more have the lockbox in their possession than it's stolen and a security guard is killed. As Blackman and Robertson investigate, they find that either someone is killing to protect an American fascist organization that flourished in the 1930s, or rogue Blackwater mercenaries have come after the loot they believe Sam stole from them. Either way, Sam and Nakayla have to put together their evidence quickly before anyone else dies.

The strengths of The Fitzgerald Ruse lie in its plot, which is based on various historical occurrences in the Asheville, North Carolina area, and in its main characters of Sam Blackman and Nakayla Robertson.

Sam has come a long way since the first book in the series, Blackman's Coffin. In the first book, he was a bit too bitter and whiny after having had a leg amputated while serving in Iraq. (Yes, I do have a heart, and I do have compassion, but there comes a point when bitterness and whining start to detract from a story instead of giving a reader insight into a character.) In this second book, he's come a long way in accepting what happened, and de Castrique adds several pieces of information which help the reader better understand amputees.

Nakayla Robertson is a strong woman and a good choice to be able to stand up to the rather forceful Sam, and their banter brings a welcome breeze of humor into the novel.

Do you have to read the first book in this series to have The Fitzgerald Ruse make sense? Absolutely not, but I'd suggest that you read it anyway for the amazing plot and for the first glimpses into the characters of Sam and Nakayla. I'm really looking forward to reading more of their adventures. show less

I have never been disappointed by a book written by Mark de Castrique, and this continues to hold true for the second book in his new Secret Lives series, Dangerous Women. This is a fast-paced, intelligent political thriller filled with wit and a cast that makes me smile.

76-year-old Ethel Fiona Crestwater is the landlady of young FBI agents, and she has fierce maternal instincts when it comes to each and every one of her boarders. She swears by Ruth Bader Ginsberg's workout, and there's no show more end to the high-level contacts she's made over the years. In truth, she's a legend to people in the know. I'd say that Ethel's forgotten more than most of the current FBI agents will ever know... except that I don't think she's ever forgotten one single thing. Watching her work, and watching young Jesse learn from her, is a delight.

The environmental conundrum behind Dangerous Women is thought-provoking. "What environmental price do we pay to save the environment? What people do we harm in the process?" It is a question we inhabitants of Planet Earth will be forced to answer over and over again.

If you're in the mood for fast-paced excitement spear-headed by a brilliant mind, pick up Dangerous Women. I recommend reading the first book in the series, Secret Lives, because of the characters, but it's not strictly necessary in order for you to enjoy this second book.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) show less

There are more and more bad-ass elderly sleuths making their appearances in crime fiction, and I couldn't be more pleased. In Mark de Castrique's Secret Lives, readers make the acquaintance of my new favorite, Ethel Fiona Crestwater. Call this seventy-five-year-old a little old lady at your peril. At the age of eighteen, this woman tracked down her father's killer, and she's been going non-stop ever since. Her knowledge is wide-ranging and her contacts never-ending. She doesn't suffer fools, show more and those who know her know to stand back and let her do her thing.

Ethel's mantra is Integrity, Fairness, and Justice, and she's willing to bend a few rules to ensure those three things happen. How far will she bend rules? As she tells someone, "I'm so far off the books, I'm not even in the library." There's some laugh-out-loud humor in Secret Lives as Ethel and Jesse investigate-- like her response when a bad guy tells her to show her hands-- but you'll be happy to know that the story is every bit as interesting as its main character. I didn't know all that much about cryptocurrency when I began reading, but I feel a bit more comfortable with the subject now due to the skillful way de Castrique weaved the information into the story.

It was an absolute pleasure getting to know Ethel and Jesse in this series launch, and I'm certainly looking forward to their next case. More, please-- and quickly!

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) show less