Sunday crime brunch in Philadelphia
Robin’s Book Store’s Crime Fiction Book Club hosts its monthly brunch this Sunday, Feb. 8, at 1 p.m.Join William Lashner, author of Blood and Bone, at Les Bons Temps, 114 S. 12th Street, 215-238-9100. Brunch is a la carte.
"Kyle Byrne, illegitimate son of a prominent Philadelphia lawyer, had to sneak into his father's funeral when he was fourteen years old. Twelve years later, his father's death still casts a shadow upon his heart. Now amiable and handsome, Kyle finds himself drifting through a life of slack. With his house in foreclosure and his part-time job lost, he spends his days playing Xbox and his nights in Philly bars, drinking way too much and sleeping with the wrong type of women. Life is, well, actually pretty damn sweet.
"But when his father's former law partner is murdered, the cops start asking uncomfortable questions about his father's death. And after a strange encounter with one of his father's former clients, Kyle enters a search for answers that leads from his father's past to the highest pinnacles of power — and forces Kyle to lay bare the deceptions and losses in his own life. Just when it seems he's close to learning the truth about his father and the murder, Kyle is reminded of that old adage `be careful what you wish for.' Because Kyle Byrne's most fervent wish is suddenly about to come true — with a vengeance."
posted by Peter Rozovsky at 6:27 PM
6 Comments:
I'm a big fan of Lashner's Victor Carl books, though I'm a couple of volumes behind now. He's another really good writer that I don't think has made the mark he should have yet.
This one sounds like a stand alone, so it might be a good place for a newcomer to start.
I shall tell him you're a fan. He's a local guy, and I've bumped into him at a number of events around Philadelphia. The father-son angle to this novel is no surprise, considering some of what he's said about his own writing in the past. He may have been working on this book when he made some of those father-son comments.
Thanks, Peter. I expect, or at least hope that he has a bigger following out your way, but I've done what I could to introduce him out here. And will bump my unread Victor Carls up the TBR pile, as well as hunting down the new one.
The father-son issue came up when someone asked him why he liked to write crime fiction. Because it allowed to him to write about anything he wanted to, he said. In his case, this turned out to be father-son questions. He said he used to think about this, with himself as the son, until one day he realized that he was the father.
As a big fan of international mysteries, I've been enjoying your blog. My favorite sub-genre is Scandinavian detective fiction, so I was happy to read your interview with Hakan Nesser. I spoke with him briefly at a seminar of Scandinavian mystery writers at Scandinavia House in New York a couple years ago--a very nice (and handsome!) man--and a great program.
I hope you had a chance to watch the first two of Henning Mankell's books to be made into English films on PBS, with Kenneth Branaugh as Wallander. In my opinion, he totally captured his character.
Cheers,
Bobbie
(former Philadelphia girl)
I have just met Nesser again at CrimeFest in Bristol (England, not Conn.!), where he was a guest of honor. I'd previously met him with three other Swedish crime writers at a joint apparance in Toronto, I think the same week you saw him at Scandinavia House. You can read about his Bristol appearance here, here and here.
I have yet to see the Wallander series, but I may have a chance to do so in the next few days.
Thanks for the kind words and the comment. I hope you'll visit again.
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