Stephen King's ' The Colorado King'

 

Colorado Kid is a Stephen King Novel that first came out in 2004 and has been out of print for the last decade. Published under the Hard Case Crime imprint by Winterfall LLC (in association with Titan Books), this one is a fast-paced mystery read which can be devoured in one sitting.

On an island off the coast of Maine, a man is found dead. Though seemingly a case of choking, there is no body identification, and the local investigators never cared much about the case either. A pair of local newspaper journalists and a graduate of Forensic Science take up the investigation and try to find out the truth behind the death.

This Stephen King Novel works to a considerable extent as a neatly written mystery. Colorado Kid is not your conventional police procedural, as the focus here is mainly on the identity of the victim and the reason for his mysterious appearance on Maine Island. The interactions between the principal characters, I believe, are the highlight of this book. Though a mystery thriller, the writer gets due credit for not making this too dark. Written in a light-hearted tone, the novel also takes a satirical look at the tabloid culture and police apathy. The book also has underlying themes of discrimination, high-handedness of investigators, investigative journalism, tabloid culture, and life in the 80 s. I liked how the author managed to throw little clues at regular intervals  (the pack of cigarettes with the stamp, the Russian Coin ), slowly unraveling the mystery. The climax is also decently done.

On the downside, the book takes its own sweet little time to arrive at the main plot as the initial pages are mostly spent introducing to the readers the news staff of The Weekly Islander and their new intern Stephanie and her deduction skills. As mentioned earlier, the initial few pages feel a bit off as a lot of time is spent establishing the setting. Also, there might be mixed feelings for those looking for a straight forward climax.

This new edition published in 2019 is also an illustrated one, and I must say that it did help in making it an enjoyable reading experience.

The fans of the author would relish this one!

-nikhimenon

 

#BookReview: The Jansson Tapes by Colin Garrow

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Amateur


When a familiar leggy blonde slides onto the back seat of his cab with the offer of work, taxi-driver, and amateur sleuth Terry Bell isn’t keen. However, compared to the tedium of driving a cab all day, the lure of another mystery is too strong to resist, and Terry agrees to help. Tracking down a missing writer and his tape recorder sounds simple enough, but following the clues to a remote village, the case takes a dangerous turn when the man turns up dead. After the police take over, Terry and his sidekick Carol return home to find their flat ransacked—and that’s not the only surprise.

Set in England,The Jansson Tapes is book #3 in the Terry Bell Mystery series but can be easily read as a stand-alone book, like I did.

The Jansson tape is a quick good-feel read for a weekend afternoon. It does not waste time setting up the plot and introducing the reader to the characters. The central character is Terry - the smart & witty amateur sleuth who also drives the taxi when he does not have a paying job to investigate. His girlfriend & sidekick Carol is not only intelligent but also very supportive of his work, even though she has to face near-death experiences in the past. Then there is the caravan owner Sheila and her employee Ralph who is friends with both Terry & Carol. These characters are common from the previous books so if you can start from the first, you will have more background of the cast.

The case starts quite simple - a writer has gone missing along with his tapes & notes for the book he is writing. Terry & Carol manage to gather some clues and it leads them to the dead body of the writer. They report the dead body to Inspector Charis Brown who is not impressed at all to see Terry involved in another murder case of hers. The story moves quite fast in each chapter but the writing never loses its humor and clarity. The action is easy to follow and keep one hooked to the story. The characters are all lovable, regular folks who never lose their head in any situation. I love one of the pizza dinner scenes a lot in this book between Terry & Carol. That made me spare a quick laugh. 

Where the book lacks a little is giving more details about the characters and the plot. I would have liked to know more about the dead writer and his book and the conclusion for publishing his work in the end. The book is good for beginners to enjoy a quick mystery but others might need a little more layers.

Book Links: Amazon US | Goodreads


About the Author: Colin Garrow grew up in a former mining town in Northumberland and has worked in a plethora of professions including taxi driver, antiques dealer, drama facilitator, theatre director and fish processor, and has occasionally masqueraded as a pirate. Colin has published three stage plays, six adventures for middle grade readers, two books of short stories, the Watson Letters series and the Terry Bell Mysteries.


View all my reviews

Review: The Redgrave Murders by A. L. Sowards

The Redgrave Murders by A. L. Sowards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes it is not the big picture but what is happening within that frame that makes a story work for the reader. This is a story of two people with different past working for a common future - a future together.
Evie and Gary are an unlikely couple for the 1950s and coupled with Gary's past it was not easy for him to be the kind of boyfriend he would have liked to be. Evie's father is murdered and the blame falls on Gary. Evie works on finding the alibi for him and clearing the blame and along the way she gets a better picture of the man she is dating. This is actually the core of their evolving relationship and their struggle to make it work.

The murder mystery is well crafted and easy to follow as they together go through the list of possible suspects. It reveals the bias and the struggle the minorities face in society and how love can heal it.

An easy read that has a lot of heart in it.


View all my reviews