A Book A Week

From the start, this novel is unconventional. It begins in the back room of a dress shop where twenty-year-old Allie Dodgson is being coerced into snorting cocaine and taking of her top as her boss, Jonas, masturbates. I warned you.

As the title would suggest, there is extreme loyalty amongst the members of the Ludlow family. Loyalty to themselves, each other, and most importantly to their father, Carl. But this loyalty goes far beyond the ties of family. Besides being their father, Carl is also their boss. He heads a high-powered law firm where each of his children work. His three sons all partners at the firm, follow a strict diet, religious exercise routine, and do everything in their power to keep their father happy. Fina, the sole surviving daughter of the family, could not be more different. She never did the law school thing, opting instead to apprentice with the firm's private investigator. Now, as the lead investigator for the firm, she brings her irreverent spontaneity to everything she does. To be clear, she still has a strong loyalty to her family, but she definitely has her own unique way of showing it.

The family is rocked when Melanie, the wife of brother Rand Ludlow goes missing. This isn't the first time this has happened. In fact, there has always been tension between Rand, Melanie, and their teenage daughter Haley, but this time things are different. Following an argument with her husband at their daughter's school the day before, she is literally nowhere to be found. Even worse for the family, all evidence points to Rand as being responsible for her disappearance. Rand is no stranger to minor run ins with the law, but he insists that he had nothing to do with this. With the police, who naturally have a frayed relationship with the family of lawyers to begin with, begin investigating Rand, Carl tasks Fina with getting to the bottom of things.

In Fina, author Ingrid Thoft has imagined a fireball of a character who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty to find the truth. As she investigates, she is forced to battle her own emotions and decide whether to place her loyalty in her own sense of moral justice, or in the family that she has devoted her life to. Reminiscent of an early Kay Scarpetta or Stephanie Plum, Fina is the kind of strong, endearing female character that you can't help but root for. In addition to the suspenseful mystery, Thoft involves Fina in an unconventional love triangle that gives us glimpses into her sympathetic if not a little bit twisted psyche. The mystery of itself does become a bit predictable towards the end, but the fun is in witnessing this entertaining character discover the secrets. With Loyalty, her debut novel, Ingrid Thoft has quickly established her place in crime fiction through her strong characters, suspenseful pacing, and charming wit.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and GoodReads.

(2013: week 32, book 31)

Jesse James is perhaps one of the most famous criminals in American history. With the assistance of his notorious gang of outlaws, James sealed his position in the legends of western folklore. In Shot All to Hell, author Mark Lee Gardner details the gang's final showdown, as they attempted to rob the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota.

Gardner provides unique insights into the gang's motivations. It turns out, that the group is comprised of mostly ex-confederates. With that in mind, it is easy to understand why they would want to rob a northern bank. On top of the giant blow the heist would cause the Northerners, the giant sum of money that the gang would acquire would allow the James Brothers to settle down and end their outlaw ways. But as most heists go, this one doesn't go as plan. Despite the gang's confidence in their actions, they never expected the bankers to fight back. Throughout the book, Gardner chronicles the actions of the gang and the group of citizens determined to defeat the notorious criminals.

This book could have easily been a rehash of historical facts, regurgitated as fresh revelations. Fortunately, Gardner eschews the pitfalls of other historical books, writing with a quick prose and surprisingly vibrant wit. He sheds a new light on several aspects of the James gang, remaining objective in both is reporting and observations. This books reads as a fast paced, historical, western, managing to remain both factual and entertaining. At under 300 pages, Shot All to Hell is the perfect summer read for those looking for a smart, quick, alternative to the standard fare.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and GoodReads.

(2013: week 31, book 30)