Friday's Forgotten Books, March 24, 2017

(From the archives)
Not exactly a forgotten book since C.J. Box's BLUE HEAVEN won the Edgar in 2009. But I have been meaning to read it and since I did, here is my review. This is a masterful book that manages to tell a fairly complex story in a completely lucid way. There is no fat in the story. It takes place over 48 hours and you can feel those hours ticking by at breakneck speed.
Two kids in northern Idaho watch the murder of a man, see that they've been spotted and are immediately on the run. They are lucky enough to find themselves in the barn of Jess Rawlins, a rancher who is one of the few good men left in his neck of the woods. He is also a hardluck guy who has lost almost everything. But Jess must hide the kids, figure out if their story is true, and determine just who the murderers are and why. Can he trust that what they think they saw really happened. And is it fair to keep the kids away from their worrying mother.
Blue Heaven is a term for the part of northern Idaho that is now a haven for ex-policeman. And some of those ex-policemen have taken over Jess's town for their own purposes. The is an exciting read and a nice introduction to this part of the country. Not a false step in the story and Box creates great villains and great heroes. Not an easy thing to do.

Mark Baker, LA REQUIEM, Robert Crais
Yvette Banek, HEIR TO MURDER, Miles Burton
Joe Barone, A CAST OF VULTURES, Judith Flanders
Brian Busby, PILLAR OF FIRE Gordan Green
Bill Crider, HOMICIDE TRINITY, Rex Stout
Martin Edwards, JOE JENKINS, DETECTIVE, Paul Rosenhayn
Richard Horton,  Flower of Doradil, by John Rackham/A Promising Planet, by Jeremy Strike
Jerry House, THE SEVEN CARDINAL VIRTUES OF SCIENCE FICTION, ed. Asimov et al
Nick Jones, THE FOREVER WAR, Joe Haldeman
George Kelley, ONCE A PULP MAN, Audrey Parente
Margot Kinberg, WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN A CASTLE, Shirley Jackson
B.V. Lawson, DEATH OF A BUSYBODY, Dell Shannon
Evan Lewis, NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH, James Hadley Chase
Steve Lewis/Barry Gardner, ALL SHALL BE WELL, Deborah Crombie
Todd Mason, THE BANTAM STORY, Clarence Peterson
Matt Paust, A VIEW OF THE CHARLES, Con Chapman
James Reasoner, KI-GOR AND THE FORBIDDEN MOUNTAIN, John Peter Drummond
Richard Robinson, IMPOSSIBLE STORIES, Zoran Zivkovic
Gerard Saylor, SNITCH JACKET, Chris Goffard
Kerrie Smith, LUSTRUM, Robert Harris
Kevin Tipple/Barry Ergang, MR. MONK IN TROUBLE, Lee Goldberg
TomCat,MURDER IN MESOPOTAMIA, Agatha Christie
TracyK, DANCERS IN MOURNING, Margery Allingham