good reader gone bad

I’m not sure why, but this non-fiction tale about building an efficient baseball team was fascinating. Maybe the attention paid to supporting characters inside and outside of baseball by author Michael Lewis is what grabbed and held my interest.

Published in paperback by W. W. Norton. ISBN 0393324818

Elmore Leonard can always be counted on for a taut, no-nonsense thriller. U.S. Marshal Karen Sisco and escaped bank robber Jack Foley find themselves as interested in each other as they are in their respective careers. The story begins in Florida and plays out its conclusion in Detroit.

The novel was made into the 1998 film starring Jennifer Lopez as Karen Sisco and George Clooney. The success of the film spawned a television series titled Karen Sisco starring Carla Gugino, recently cancelled.

Published in paperback by Dell. ISBN 0440214424

Steve Brewer has authored an entertaining semi-comic Southern California crime thriller with a cast of thousands, none of them very good with a gun, and every one of them with a plan B.

Published in hardcover by UNM Press. ISBN 0826331246

Captain Benjamin Sisko experiences a vision of life as Benny Russell, a struggling science fiction writer in 1950s Harlem. Benny dreams of a space station, hundreds of years in the future, where a man is judged on his words and deeds, not the color of his skin. But is it really a dream?

Steven Barnes authored this adaptation of one of the best DS9 episodes, Far Beyond the Stars, which was written by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler, based on a story by Marc Scott Zicree.

Published in paperback by Pocket. ISBN 0671024302

I saw the film adaptation of Tony Hillerman‘s eighth novel at the Taos Picture Show. The film was directed by Chris Eyre and stars Wes Studi as Joe Leaphorn and Adam Beach as Jim Chee.

This is the third Hillerman film from the same production company, with the same cast and crew. Alice Arlen’s script has a bit more humor than the previous films and we continue to see interesting developments in the lives of Leaphorn and Chee. Nicely done.

A Thief of Time will be broadcast on PBS this July. Don’t miss it.

Writer Pari Noskin Taichert has crafted a breezy, fast-paced, slightly odd tale of a publicist looking for a job with the Chamber of Commerce in Clovis, NM. Murder, ghosts, a talking cat, and alien abductions ensue. First in a planned series of mystery novels set in New Mexico locales.

Published in hardcover by University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0826331858

Timothy Zahn lit a fire in the Star Wars universe several years ago when he authored the Thrawn trilogy, beginning with Heir to the Empire. He resumes telling the story of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade Skywalker in Survivor’s Quest, sort of a mystery, which also explores Mara’s doubts about her chosen path. An entertaining read. Zahn is also working on a followup to this novel.

Published in hardcover by Del Rey. ISBN 0345459164

It’s pretty clear that Judith Van Gieson knows and loves the state of New Mexico. Claire Reynier, in her fifth appearance, travels through northern New Mexico and her own memories as she tries to learn the identity of a homeless woman found dead in the basement of the UNM library.

Published in paperback by Signet. ISBN 0451211340

Deadly Morsels contains four mystery novellas with food themes. I picked up this book because it has Red or Green?, a Posadas County story by Steven F. Havill. An old friend of retired sheriff Bill Gastner dies of an apparent heart attack while eating a Burrito Grande from his favorite restaurant. The green chile is a suspect.

Published in paperback by Worldwide. ISBN 0373264526

I read this years ago and reread it recently after channel-surfing into the 1965 film starring George Maharis and Anne Francis. The movie is entertaining, but Alistair MacClean’s book is far more visceral and fast-paced. Maybe transplanting the plot from the cold, wet UK to sunny Southern California is part of the problem. In any event, read the book if you like a good thriller.

Originally published in 1962 under the pseudonym of Ian Stuart.