Wolfy's 50 States Mystery Tour

In a similar vein to my European Challenge I thought I should set this one up as an accompaniment to it.

To differentiate between these and my Reading Globally Challenge I will make this one from books which belong to the Mystery, Crime, Spy & Thriller genre(s). Another change from my Reading Globally challenge will be that I will include books that I've already read in 2009. (I've been tracking what I read this year so why not?) Comments on the previously read books can be found on my 999 Challenge so I'm not going to re-post them here.



create your own personalized map of the USA

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California - Not the End of the World by Christopher Brookmyre (Santa Monica)
Tapping the Source by Kem Nunn (Huntington Beach)
The Black Echo by Michael Connelly (Los Angeles)
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida - Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard
Georgia - Killing Floor by Lee Child

Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois - Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine - Smoked by Patrick Quinlan
Maryland

Massachusetts - Night Passage by Robert Parker
Michigan - Out of Sight by Elmore Leonard
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey

New Mexico
New York - Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina

South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Washington DC - Shoedog by George P. Pelecanos

Thanks for the map tip, AHS-Wolfy. I added one to my list.

There are a few places that do something similar. TravelBlog is another option I know of for sure.

Los Angeles, California provides the setting for Not the End of the World by Christopher Brookmyre. I just wish that I'd read this 10 years ago so as to get the full impact of the millennium hysteria. This time around the author has moved away from his native Scotland to Los Angeles and uses the setting of a B-Movie film festival which invokes the wrath of a Christian fundamentalist. He espouses that Hollywood and the rest of the entertainment industry has led to the decline of morality and decency in America and that it's time to, quite literally, put the fear of God back into people's lives. A few sub-plots help the story proceed at a fast pace and keep you coming back if you do manage to put this book down for a few minutes. The black humour and the witty banter make you laugh out loud so probably not a good idea to read this while you're sat in church.

Sounds great! Haven't read Brookmyre or even heard of him. Is this an ideal starting point?

A couple of characters are featured in earlier works but that has no bearing to this story so it could be a good place to start. I've read a couple of reviews that complain of dialogue used by American characters not ringing true but not being American myself I can't say that I noticed. This is the first of his stand-alone books that I've read, the others being the 5 books in the Jack Parlabane series which I would also recommend. Though these should probably be read in order starting with Quite Ugly One Morning.

I have A Tale Etched in blood and Hard Black Pencil, which surely has a claim to best title ever.

RidgewayGirl, He's come up with a couple of titles I like. As well as that one there's A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away, Boiling a Frog and Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks which stand out though.

Georgia - Killing Floor by Lee Child

This is the first book in the ongoing Jack Reacher series. An ex-military policeman turned drifter heads to a small town in Georgia and is immediately arrested for murder. Released when his alibi checks out he decides to stick around and investigate a bit more with the help of a more than friendly local female cop. Many coincidences and lots of violence later sees the not so overwhelming culmination of the events. Despite that it's not a bad book and covers pretty much all the bases for this genre. I will at some point pick up the next title and see how things progress.

Florida - Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard

Perfectly adapted into the movie Jackie Brown with great characters and even better dialogue. Down on her luck stewardess earning extra income by bringing gun-runner's money into the country gets stopped by ATF law enforcement agency and agrees to help setup the gun-runner in exchange for charges against her being dropped. Lots of twists and turns in this one but it''s easy enough to follow and is highly recommended if you like the genre and/or the movie adaptation.

California - Tapping the Source by Kem Nunn

Already visited California but I thought I'd add duplicates if I read them, especially if they detail a different part of the State.

A coming of age tale set against the mystery of a disappearance in the surfing community of Huntington Beach. Self confessed hick, Ike Tucker learns that his sister has gone missing under suspicious circumstances so leaves his small-town desert home to see if he can find out what happened. He takes up surfing to try and infiltrate the group of those he believes responsible and falls under the wing of a disillusioned former partner of the leader of the gang. As the novel progresses it details Ike's descent into the darker life of sex and drugs and losing the focus for his search. Only the forced ending lets this book down but it's still a very good read. Recommended for any hard-boiled mystery fans out there.

Massachusetts - Night Passage by Robert B. Parker

I picked this book up because it's part of the No Exit Press 18 Years of publishing celebration editions. It's the first of the Jesse Stone series and also the first of Mr. Parker's books that I've read. Stone is an ex-LAPD homicide detective forced to resign because of a drinking problem caused by the break-up of his marriage and subsequent divorce. He is asked to become the chief of police by the selectmen of the Massachusetts town of Paradise because they want someone they think they can control. As Stone wants to get as far away from his problems as he can, a job on the other side of the country seems ideal. When he arrives he finds things aren't as quiet as he'd hoped for and starts digging at the towns underbelly and wondering why they'd hire a drunk as police chief. Add in a new romance and a re-kindling of his relationship with his ex-wife and you have what amounts to a pretty decent introduction to a series which, at some point, I will continue.

Michigan - Out of Sight by Elmore Leonard

This is the 2nd book I've read of Mr. Leonard's and both had been adapted into very good movies. The other was Rum Punch/Jackie Brown and as with that one not much has changed in the plot. Serial bank-robber, Jack Foley, escapes from a Florida prison and kidnaps deputy US Marshal Karen Sisco. While ensconced in the boot of the getaway car they strike up an immediate rapport that sets Jack to thinking what if...

Thinking on events later Karen realises that she too had developed something for Jack. He's the perfect match for her with just one exception. He's on the wrong side of the law! Will she be able to do her duty if she's the one that has to bring him back in? Not so sure of the answer she sets off in pursuit of the few clues dropped during the breakout and heads off to Detroit to try and pick up his trail.

Going for the big score, Jack and long term friend and partner-in-crime Buddy, get mixed up with some really brutal thugs to rob a former swindler of his nefarious earnings. Can Karen foil the crime? Will she save Jack? Will she arrest him or possibly shoot him if he resists? Or will they just ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after? All these questions and more are answered at the end of the book and I'm not one for spoilers so you'll have to read or watch it (or maybe even both) to find out for yourself.

This book is split between Florida and Michigan. The first half set in and around Miami before relocating the action to Detroit. You get more of a tour of the locale in the second half of the book so that's where I'm going to put this one.

Maine - Smoked by Patrick Quinlan

Former safe-cracker turned bomb-maker, Smoke Dugan, made his retirement from the mob when one of his devices was used to blow up a plane instead of the empty buildings that were the norm. His former employers weren't too happy with his leaving, especially his retirement gift of $2.5m and a bonus of the corpse of they guy who'd given him his last job. So they're more than happy when Smoke pops up on the radar living the quiet life in Portland, Maine and send a few boys to bring him back for a chat.

Unfortunately, things don't run smoothly for the retrieval squad and events escalate to include Smoke's girlfriend and her room-mate. The leader of this squad has also been having second thoughts about his chosen career path and can't seem to be able to pull the trigger any more. Considering that he's usually employed as a hitman then that's not a good sign he's in the right profession. He decides this may be his chance to disappear.

This is not an overly complex book, just a case of who'll survive when the curtain falls. The characters are fairly standard fair but likable enough and I wouldn't say no to spending more time with those that did survive.

Not a huge amount of descriptions of the area but you do get a sense of the decline of the once thriving industry. Plenty of abandoned or rundown area's and places closed when out of season.

Washington DC - Shoedog by George P. Pelecanos

A gritty and fairly violent modern noir where a drifter, Constantine, gets caught up in a heist when he hitches a ride with Polk, an old Vietnam vet who's heading to Florida. He's just got one stop to make before he goes. He needs to collect an old debt he's owed from local DC hoodlum, Grimes, who's a little reluctant to part with the $20k. Grimes talks Polk into one more job where he'll get his money and much more besides, readily accepting that Constantine will be part of the crew. Ulterior motives see the bullets and blood fly when the liquor store robberies go down leading to the final confrontation itself.

You get a fairly good sense of place with this one as Constantine grew up in DC and now on his return you get the comparison of how things are now with the way they used to be. Add in a pretty decent music soundtrack that also helps with the atmosphere and you have a pretty decent book that is a very quick and easy read. It should appeal to fans of Lee Child's Jack Reacher series especially if you like a little classic noir such as Jim Thompson.

California - The Black Echo by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch is a rogue homicide detective with few friends in or out of the Los Angeles police force. When he picks up a case of an apparent heroin overdose and recognises the victim, he is loathe to assign this as an open and shut case when a few anomolies in the initial investigation are thrown up. He's soon tracking down a lead that links to an old unsolved bank heist and crosses paths with the FBI. After the initial butting of heads, Harry is assigned to work the combined case and gets a new partner in the shape of Eleanor Wish from the FBI.

This book lays out Harry's character and releases the information on his back-story and the ongoing investigation with near perfect timing. There is certainly enough going on in the plot to keep you turning the pages and keep you coming back quickly when you have to put it down (pesky sleep). This makes another series that I'll have to add to the ongoing pile.

This book gives a fairly good feel for the location and provides good attention to detail as the author puts his knowledge of being a journalist in LA to good use.

This is another series that I started some time ago and just haven't had time to get back to. I remember really liking the Harry Bosh books - perhaps will be able to fit one in to my 11 in 11 Challenge next year.