PUB DAY!

So, in case you haven't guessed, today is the "official" pub day for Devils and Dust. (You may have read a couple of things about that book in these pages). Grab it at your favorite bookstore...if they don't have it, ask why. Politely. Or, of course, you can order it at the usual places online. And don't forget, if you like it, please post a review at your favorte site, and don't forget to tell all your friends. Our books live and die by that kind of word of mouth advertising. Thanks for everyone who's helped bring this book to life, particularly Jason Pinter and Polis Books, and to everyone who's helping get the word out.

Review: Let the Devil Speak by Steven Hart

Let the Devil Speak: Articles, Essays, and Incitements by Steven Hart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Smart, witty, acerbic essays about American culture, literature, and music. The book's real tour de force is the first  chapter, "He May Be a Fool, But He's Our Fool", which proceeds from a curious juxtaposition between two cultural events: racist Georgia Governor Lester Maddox' contentious appearance on the "Dick Cavett Show" and Randy Newman's seminal 1974 album "Good Old Boys." Newman had often said that the Maddox appearance, where Newman felt the Governor was treated unfairly, was the inspiration for the album's opening track "Rednecks." Steven Hart uses that connection to trace not only the divergent careers of Newman and Maddox, but the thread of bitter, corrosive resentment, inevitably tinged with racism, which runs through right wing politics to this day.

My favorite passage is the one about Pat Buchanan's "culture war" speech at the 1992 Republican convention. Hart writes: "the imperturbably sunny face of the Reagan Presidency had been replaced by a frothing troglodyte with an anti-tax pledge in one paw and a picture of a bloody fetus in the other." That passage perfectly sums up the moment when I got off the moderate fence I'd been sitting on during the first George H.W. Bush term and threw in with the liberals.

It's not all politics, however: "The Ents From The Orcs" provides a fascinating glimpse of another particular moment in time that left an indelible mark on our culture: a night-long conversation in 1931 between three Oxford University academics (Henry Victor Dyson, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien) that led to the writing of Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia" and Tolkien's Middle Earth series. "Bruno" is an appreciation of the life and work of the late Jacob Bronowski (of "Ascent of Man" fame). All of the essays share the same insight and sharp, incisive, sometimes cutting prose. I found myself nodding along in some places, laughing out loud in others. Great book, and highly recommended.


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Review: 212 by Alafair Burke

212 by Alafair Burke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Alafair Burke is an incredibly talented writer. One of her many strengths is the ability to use just the right detail (the unmatched desks in a detective squad room, the contrast between a DA's cheap Bic pen and a defense lawyer's expensive one) to make the reader feel that they're right there in the scene. The plotting is tight and just twisty enough to keep the reader guessing without going so over the top as to elicit eye rolling. And her characters are very well drawn. For instance, I love how Burke portrays Ellie Hatcher, the protagonist of 212. She's certainly less than perfect, but without so much baggage that it weighs down the story. This is police procedural done right. Highly recommended.


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Buy the Latest, Get the First

Polis Books is running a very nifty giveaway for the upcoming release of my latest Jack Keller Novel, DEVILS AND DUST, as well as Dave White's new one, NOT EVEN PAST. Here's how it works:

1) Purchase DEVILS AND DUST by J.D. Rhoades in hardcover or ebook, or NOT EVEN PAST by Dave White in paperback or ebook.

2) Email your confirmation to info@polisbooks.com. Include your preferred e-reading device.

3) Enjoy your FREE copy of THE DEVIL'S RIGHT HAND by J.D. Rhoades or WHEN ONE MAN DIES by Dave White!

Find out where to buy the books here:

DEVILS AND DUST
http://www.polisbooks.com/books/devils-and-dust/

NOT EVEN PAST
http://www.polisbooks.com/books/not-even-past/

What I Read On My Summer Vacation | Views From the Muse

 Blogging today at  Views From the Muse, the Thalia Press Authors Co-Op blog.

Review: TAKEDOWN, by Brett Battles and Robert Gregory Browne

Takedown by Brett Battles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Poe boys (Robert Gregory Browne and Brett Battles) are back with the second installment in the Alexandra Poe series. I really liked the first one, and I have to say this one is even better. The pacing is letter-perfect and the action scenes are crisper and more focused.

Like the writers of a great TV show, the authors do a good job of weaving the plot of this "episode" in with the overall story arc of Alexandra Poe's search to find out the truth about her missing father and murdered mother, and like great TV, the end of this story leaves you gasping to find out what happens next time. Recommended.


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Devils and Dust -Cover and Jacket Copy

"You bring death," the voice said, "and Hell follows with you."

Relentless bounty hunter Jack Keller returns in DEVILS AND DUST, the long-awaited fourth installment of the critically acclaimed series.

Keller’s been in exile, living a quiet life in the desert, since his disappearance after the cataclysmic events of 2008’s award-winning SAFE AND SOUND. Now his old friend and former employer Angela has tracked him down and needs his help. Oscar Sanchez, Angela’s husband and Keller’s best friend, has disappeared while investigating what happened to the sons he was trying to bring to America. If anyone can find Oscar, Keller can, but along the way, he has to confront his own demons and his unresolved feelings for Angela—now his best friend’s wife.

Keller’s quest takes him from a corrupt Mexican border town to a prison camp in the swamps of South Carolina and pits him against human traffickers, violent drug lords, and a vicious group of white supremacists perpetuating an evil as old as civilization itself in the name of God. All of them are about to learn a hard lesson: if Jack Keller's after you, he's bringing Hell with him.

Review: The Unburied Dead, Douglas Lindsay

The Unburied Dead by Douglas Lindsay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A serial killer is brutally slaughtering young women in Glasgow. In pursuit of the maniac is the most dysfunctional police squad I think I've ever encountered in print. Drunks, has-beens, cuckolds,  horndogs of both sexes and all orientations, every blessed one of them seriously morose and tormented...it's astounding that they just don't all join hands and jump into the River Clyde together, except they seem to loathe one another too much to get that organized.

In the center of it all is DS Thomas Hutton, who's carrying around a head full of nightmares from his wartime service in Bosnia. As the investigation goes on, members of the team start dying, and Hutton begins to suspect that the murderer may actually be one of their own. And it wouldn't be the first time...

I love discovering a great writer I've never read before, and I really loved this book. It's dark, grimly humorous, with twists, reversals and surprises that made me go "holy sh*t!" out loud, more than once (if you're wondering how to pronounce that, the "*" is silent). I've already got the second book in the series from Blasted Heath Publishing, and I'm looking forward to it, after a short break to recover. It's got that kind of impact.

Highly recommended.


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The Big Blog Hop

Okay, so there I am, minding my own business, when out of the blue fellow Polis Books author Casey Doran (writer of the Jericho Sands series) drops into my e-mail inbox to ask if I wanted to be part of the International Blog Hop. "The whut?" I answered in my best Gomer Pyle accent.  It's simple, he said: you just answer four questions  about the way you write, add a pic of you, a cover pic of your latest book with a buying link; plus a link to your website and FB page. Your posting date would be Monday April 21st. You then need to invite three more authors, and tell them that if they agree, they will need their post scheduled for Monday April 28. 

Sure, I said, and so, here I am. 

What am I working on?

I recently turned in my fourth Jack Keller novel, DEVILS AND DUST, to Jason Pinter at Polis Books. I’m still waiting on notes for that, so in a sense, I’m still working on it. In the meantime, I’m working on what I call “my latest venture in career suicide.” See, the conventional wisdom is that your next book should be pretty much like your last one, only different enough so that the reader doesn’t feel ripped off. That’s why so many series go on longer than they should, and, I think, why an awful lot of writers burn out. So I’m constantly writing something different. In addition to the Jack Keller and Tony Wolf/Tim Buckthorn novels, I’ve written a standalone (STORM SURGE), a legal thriller (LAWYERS, GUNS AND MONEY), a military thriller (GALLOWS POLE) a military/space opera/vampire novel (MONSTER) and a medieval fantasy/mystery crossover (THE KING’S JUSTICE). It seems I want to write at least one book in every genre I enjoy. So for my next act, I’m trying a comic heist novel, a la Donald Westlake. It’s about a group of eccentric crooks who decide to steal this: 

No, not the model. The fantastic, outrageously expensive jewel-encrusted bra that Victoria’s Secret uses every year as a promotional gimmick. There are redneck crooks, Jersey mobsters, and, of course beautiful women. Working title: BOOBS: A COMEDY OF APPEARANCES. It’s a lot of fun to write. I was in the middle of it when Jason and I struck up the conversation that led to me picking up Keller again, and now I’m back at it. 

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Other than the fact that, as noted above, I’m all over the map genre-wise, I think my work tends to deal more than most with the effect of violence, even so-called “good” or “justified” violence, on the people who commit it. Jack Keller kills people, often for excellent reasons, but the violence takes its toll. Mark Bishop, the leader of an elite and highly clandestine anti-terrorist team in GALLOWS POLE, is still dealing with a terrible choice he had to make to save one of his people on an op gone wrong, a choice that violated his own sense of morality to the point where he literally built his own prison and locked himself in it, because no one else will do it. Laura So, the genetically engineered vampire commando of MONSTER, is literally born (or more accurately created) to kill, but even as she quests across the cosmos taking revenge on the people who murdered her unit, she struggles not to become the monster she was designed to be.

Why do you write what you do? 

Because these are the movies that are playing in my head. I tell you, I am not a well person. 

How does my writing process work?

The flippant answer that comes to mind is “only sporadically,” but I know that’s not very helpful. I’ve gone in recent years from being a total seat of the pants writer (or “pantser” as I’ve heard it called) to being a bit more of an outliner, especially once I got the hang of the wonderful program called Scrivener. But I still tend to only plot out a few chapters ahead in advance, with the vaguest of ideas as to where I want to go from there. And then, as usual, my characters look at what I’ve planned out for them, laugh, and go “Yah. As if.” Then they do whatever the hell they want anyway. 

So, anyway, there you are. My four questions. As for my latest, it's BROKEN SHIELD, the sequel to my best-selling BREAKING COVER, featuring sheriff's deputy Tim Buckthorn. Get it exclusively at Amazon (for now) in both e-book and trade paperback. 

As for who I'm tagging to follow up next Monday...hm. Yes. Well. I seem to have let that skip my mind. Sorry. So let me get back to you on that, ASAP....anyone want to volunteer, drop me a line at jdustyrhoades@aol.com.

Review: Louise's War, by Sarah Shaber

Louise's War by Sarah R. Shaber
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

At the height of World War 2, young widow Louise Pearlie comes up to Washington DC from her home in Wilmington, NC and finds a job as a file clerk at the ultra-secret OSS (precursor to the CIA). When her boss is murdered and a file with connections to an old friend of Louise's who's trapped and endangered in Vichy France disappears, she dives in to set things right.

Louise is an engaging character, the kind of tough, no-nonsense Southern girl I can't help but like. Sarah Shaber also perfectly evokes the setting of the nation's capital in time of war: the near-chaos, the paranoia, the unsettling sense that the world is changing in ways no one really understands or has any control over. I definitely recommend this one.


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Review: HOUR OF THE RAT, Lisa Brackmann

Hour of the Rat by Lisa Brackmann
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The protagonist is engaging, the local color and descriptions of life in modern China are fascinating, and the writing is top-notch. Problem is, the story doesn't finish. The book just ends, and not even on a cliffhanger. Nothing is resolved, the situation is still as perilous as it ever was, and the reader, one supposes, just has to buy the next volume to find out what happens next. This always annoys me. I don't mind series, and I don't even mind story arcs that go from book to book, but I just feel like each book should have at least one self-contained story. Even the rambling Song of Ice and Fire series ends each book on a high note or turning point. This just feels like the author wrote till she hit the deadline and quit. YMMV, of course, and it that sort of thing doesn't bother you, then this is a fine read.


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Review: BROKEN HARBOR by Tana French

Broken Harbor by Tana French
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mick "Scorcher" Kennedy and his new partner Richie Curran get called out to investigate a brutal crime in a crumbling, failed, mostly empty housing estate. Two children are dead, smothered in their beds. The unemployed father is dead of multiple stab wounds and the mother is barely alive and unconscious.

The detectives immediately find more strange and unsettling things at the Spain house. There are holes smashed in the walls, with video cameras pointed at the holes and at the hatch to the attic (which is covered with wire, as if to keep something from getting out). The wife had confided in her sister that she thought an intruder had been entering the house unobserved over the past few months. And someone has set up an observation post in the empty house across the street so as to watch the place.

It's the slow peeling away of the layers of this mystery that keeps the reader fascinated and engaged. If you're looking for an edge of your seat, "who will survive and what will be left of them" thriller with the heroes in danger at every turn, this is not the book for you. The drama and conflict comes in the interaction of the characters and in their personal lives, particularly Mick's travails with his mentally unbalanced sister Dina and the memories they both carry of their mother's suicide at the beach resort that was replaced by the development where the murders took place. This means that the book sometimes gets a little slow and talky. I also had trouble swallowing one of Richie's decisions, one that's the setup for the major reveal. It just didn't seem like something that character would do.

But, as always with Tana French, the prose is absolutely beautiful--I stopped to read the soliloquy at the beginning of Chapter 18 three times because it was so perfect, even though I knew there was a major turning point about to happen. And the ending was absolutely shattering. Recommended.


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The Face That Was Made for Radio Returns

I'm interviewed by ace book blogger and podcaster Pam Stack at Authors On The Air, where we talk about the writing process, newspaper columns, trying to make marketing interesting, and what I'd be doing in an alternate universe. Check it out, and don't miss the Final Five.

Check Out Books Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Authors On The Air on BlogTalkRadio

Review: A FINE AND DANGEROUS SEASON, by Keith Raffel

A Fine and Dangerous Season by Keith Raffel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What I liked most about this book is the way it showed how history is made by real people, with all their strengths, weaknesses, flaws, old grudges, resentments, grace, loyalty, faithlessness, idealism, and cynicism--sometimes all in the same character. Keith Raffel does a great job of portraying his people, both historical and fictional, so that you care not only about what happens to the country (which you probably already know) but what happens to them. That's what makes the best historical fiction, and the way Raffel handles the "ticking clock" of the Cuban Missile Crisis makes this a top-notch thriller as well. Recommended.



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Review: BOOK OF SHADOWS, by Alexandra Sokoloff

Book of Shadows by Alexandra Sokoloff

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Alex Sokoloff blew me away with her first novel "The Harrowing", and she's just gotten better and better with every book. She writes what I like to call "whatdunnits": mysteries and thrillers with a supernatural overtone in which the main characters (and the reader) are trying to figure out if their enemy is a particularly evil human or...something else, something Other. This is a brilliant example of that style, with some added eroticism to spice things up. Sokoloff is an deft, assured writer with a real gift for putting your head right into the scene using all the senses. She can really bring the shivers, both the sexy and the scary kind. Highly recommended.



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Review: Layer Cake by J.J. Connolly

Layer Cake by J.J. Connolly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A young drug dealer who fancies himself a bit above it all, a bit smarter than the average thug, learns some harsh lessons at the hands of some very bad people. The book is written in first person, in such a thick British criminal argot that it took me back to the first time I read "A Clockwork Orange." Eventually, you adjust to it, though. The plot wanders a bit in the middle, but eventually it all comes together in a fast and furious climax of big fish eating little fish, only to find out that, as the man said, there's always a bigger fish. Recommended.



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Review: THE HARD BOUNCE by Todd Robinson

The Hard Bounce by Todd Robinson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It's a standard P.I. novel plot: rich powerful man asks the wisecracking gumshoe to find and bring back his troubled young daughter. P.I. goes looking, poking around and asking questions, until someone beats him up or takes a shot at him and he discovers that things aren't as they seem, and things get more complicated from there.

In Todd Robinson's original take on the well-worn plot, however, the protagonist and his sidekick aren't P.I.'s, they're bouncers for downscale bars. They're professional kickers of asses, and they're as apt to dish out a beating with their questions as to take one--but only if the lowlife in question deserves it. And in their quest to find the girl, Boo Malone and Junior McCullough find plenty of folks who deserve it. They're saved from being portrayed as mere leg-breakers by Robinson's sharp, funny dialogue and the characters' fierce, years-long loyalty to each other. You quickly come to really care about the big bruisers and the surrogate family they've cobbled together over years of hard knocks. The book has plenty of twists and surprises, as any good hardboiled adventure should, and it all comes together to a fine, satisfying ending.

Recommended.



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Broken Shield Is LIVE!

 If you're one of the few people I know who hasn't heard this announcement already, BROKEN SHIELD, my new e-book for Kindle, is now available. More formats, including print, will be forthcoming.

Cool cover, no? It's by my friend Robert Gregory Browne.

Here's the description:

Chief Deputy Tim Buckthorn takes center stage in this scorching sequel to the bestselling BREAKING COVER.

Buckthorn and his beloved hometown of Pine Lake thought they'd seen the last of FBI agent Tony Wolf. But when evidence of a kidnapping literally falls from the sky, Wolf returns to assist in the search for an abducted young girl.

Buckthorn, Wolf, and brilliant FBI prodigy Leila Dushane race against the clock to piece the clues together. When the evil they find follows them home, Pine Lake once again suffers terrible tragedy at the hands of violent and lawless men. Tim Buckthorn, who's lived his life as a sworn officer of the law, will have to cross every line he ever knew on a quest to protect the people and the place he loves.

"I loved this emotionally riveting collision of good and evil in a small Southern town. Rhoades always melds action, character and suspense into a seamless and unforgettable ride."-Alexandra Sokoloff, award-winning author of THE HARROWING and the Huntress Series

“A blistering follow-up to BREAKING COVER. The prose is fast and smart, the pace frantic and the characters driven, dangerous and yet full of heart. BROKEN SHIELD reaffirms JD Rhoades’ position as the king of redneck noir.” -Zoë Sharp, author of the Charlie Fox crime thriller series

"J.D. Rhoades introduced Tim Buckthorn in Breaking Cover. Now, in the searing prose of Broken Shield, Rhoades shows us he has created a character who can stand tall alongside Jack Reacher and Harry Bosch."-Keith Raffel, bestselling author of DOT DEAD, DROP BY DROP, and A FINE AND DANGEROUS SEASON

BREAKING COVER FREE FOR KINDLE!

Laura Lippman says: "Breaking Cover won't surprise J.D. Rhoades' fans, who already know just how good he is, but it should win him many more. A breath-taking pace, paired with a sure sense of character and place, makes this book another winner. Rhoades' star on the mystery scene is rising almost as fast as his own stories rocket across the page."


Tess Gerritsen says: "Breaking Cover is one of those rare thrillers that combine smart, tense prose with a momentum that never quits. J.D. Rhoades revs this baby into action from the get-go and never eases up on the throttle."


BOOKLIST says:" Rhoades takes a break from his Keller series, featuring the Gulf War–haunted bounty hunter (Safe and Sound, 2007), with a stand-alone thriller starring rogue FBI agent Tony Wolf. Forced to break cover after rescuing two abducted children, Wolf—officially dead but living under the radar in rural North Carolina—suddenly finds himself on the run from both his former colleagues in the bureau (including his wife) and, more seriously, from the gang of drug-dealing bikers he infiltrated in his last FBI assignment. Tired of running from trouble, Wolf decides to go on the offense: take down the bikers, and expose the mole in the FBI power structure who is feeding the bikers information. If thriller fans are thinking Lee Child here, they’re right on target. Like Child, Rhoades dishes out one airtight action scene after another, mixing in just enough character-building moments and holding our interest in a full cast of nicely developed supporting players. All that, and a Sam Peckinpah–like bloody, bravura finale that will leave even icy-veined thriller fans panting for breath."


BREAKING COVER: Free for Kindle for a limited time! 

–Laura Lippman,

My Open Letter to President Obama

Dear Mr. President:  

I saw a news story today about a little argument you apparently had with Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona. Apparently, you were unhappy with the way she described a meeting she'd had with you a while back. At the time, she'd said the meeting was "cordial," but in the book she said you were "patronizing" and "condescending." She apparently got a little heated up about it, and ended up shaking her finger in your face after which one of you stalked away, it wasn't clear which.  

Now, Mr. President, I've always been a big supporter of yours. I haven't always agreed with you on some things, like Libya,  the public option, and the detention provisions of the NDAA,  but I agree with you on a lot more than I disagree. And even if we were discussing things I disagree with you about, I would never dream of being disrespectful or shaking my finger in your face. At least not normally.  

But here's the thing. I also read that, after the finger-shaking incident, Governor Brewer's book " “Scorpions for Breakfast: My Fight Against Special Interests, Liberal Media, and Cynical Politicos to Secure the Border,’’ went from 285,568 on the Amazon sales list to 20.

20! That's the biggest one day jump in Amazon's history. Which leaves me with a bit of a conundrum.  

As you may or may not know, I'm a published author in addition to being a lawyer and newspaper columnist. (If you weren't aware of this, just call up the guys downstairs and have them bring you my Homeland Security file. After all the stuff I said about the guy who was President before you, I'm 99% sure I have one).

The books have done okay. I've gotten some great reviews and letters from fans, and the respect of some of my fellow writers. That means the world to me. But, sadly, none of them have cracked the top 20,  at least so far.

I think you can see where I'm going with this.  

See, I've always been one of those people who thinks outside the box. When something controversial occurs, and other people are saying "this is terrible, how could such a thing happen?" I'm thinking "how can I get me some of this?"

Like I said, I have nothing but respect for you. But could you do me a solid? I know you're probably going to be in North Carolina a lot in the coming months, what with it being a battleground state and all. One of those times, could I maybe come by and be a jerk to you? It wouldn't take too long, maybe a couple of minutes.

I'm not talking about any kind of threat or anything, because I don't want to get my butt kicked by the Secret Service or get indefinitely detained. But maybe I could make fun of your tie or tell you I don't like Al Green or something. A little sneer, a little finger shake, I'd flounce off, and we'd be done.

If I could do that, and if we could make sure that there are cameras there, I'll bet my sales would go through the roof. I might get invited on Jon Stewart or Conan or even--dare I say it out loud?-- Craig Ferguson. Like I say, I wouldn't normally even dream of asking something like this, but it's always been a dream of mine to leave the day job behind and write full time, and this may just be my ticket.

The books, by the way, are The Devil's Right Hand; Good Day In Hell; Safe and Sound; Breaking Cover; Storm Surge; Lawyers Guns & Money; and the new one, Gallows Pole. All are available in Kindle and Nook formats. I think we can both agree that those are much snappier titles than “Scorpions for Breakfast: My Fight Blah Blah Blah." They also make great reading on airplanes. Just saying.

Thanks, Mr. President. You're the best.

Your fan,

J.D. "Dusty" Rhoades