The Walking Drum - Louis L'Amour

   1984; 468 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genres: Historical Fiction; Action-Adventure.  Overall Rating: 7*/10.

 

    For young Mathurin Kerbouchard, it’s time to leave home.  That’s not a decision he has spent a long time contemplating, but last night forces of the local evil powermonger, the Baron de Tournemine killed his mother and burnt down his home in Brittany.

 

    Mathurin barely escaped by fleeing into the underbrush, and the Baron’s henchmen are sure to return today to hunt him down and kill him.  He needs to flee immediately, and hopefully find safe haven with his father.

 

    Alas, his father, Jean Kerbouchard is a pirate.  Tracking him down is going to be almost impossible, since pirates like to keep their whereabouts a secret.  But hey look!  There’s a ship getting ready to sail just below where Mathurin is hiding.  Maybe they've heard something about his dad's whereabouts and maybe he can hitch a ride with them.

 

    What a shame that the only opening they have on their ship is for a galley slave.

 

What’s To Like...

    The Walking Drum chronicles the travels of Mathurin Kerbouchard around Europe, and later western Asia, as he tries to find news of, and make contact with, his father.  But the story takes place in 1176 AD, and long-distance communication is understandably spotty.  One source says his dad is cruising the seas around Cyprus doing the piracy thing, another says he’s dead.  A third source says he’s being held prisoner in an impregnable fortress in Persia.  None of the sources are up-to-date or reliable.

 

    As a work of Historical Fiction, The Walking Drum succeeds wonderfully.  It quickly becomes obvious that Louis L’Amour did a ton of research for this novel.  The first part of the book takes place in Moorish Spain, at that time one of the most civilized places in the world.  Books are readily available, and Mathurin quickly becomes absorbed in both them and the learning of foreign languages.

 

    On a more practical note, he also becomes skilled in the use of weapons and the charming of beautiful women.  The latter necessitates the use of the former since jealous beaus and jilted lovers abound, leading to lots of action scenes.  When Mathurin finally sets out to try to find his father, the adventures kick in.

 

    The story is told in the first-person POV, and there are two maps in the front of the book – one of Europe, one of Southwest Asia – that serve as a medieval GPS system for keeping track of Mathurin’s wanderings.  His fortunes rise and fall; sometimes his means of travel are magnificent Arab horses, other times he’s reduced to walking.  The book’s title comes from a huge drum that's sometimes beaten to set the pace for pedestrians tagging along in a caravan, but it also can mean the internal pace a walker sets when faced with the prospect of a long, grueling trek.  You just set your pace to that imaginary drum and get on with it.

 

    Louis L’Amour includes dozens of “diversions” into the historical details of 1179 AD.  It was fun to sit with Mathurin in the coffee shops of Cordoba and discuss philosophy with other scholars, or dispense personal opinions of the works of ancient writers such as Socrates and Plato.  And if coffee’s not your cup of tea, you can treat yourself to a refreshing mug of sherbet.  The author gives the etymology of medieval words like “assassins” and “grocer”, and relates how Eratosthenes, a Greek mathematician, calculated the diameter of the Earth way back in 194 BC, meaning that the stuff you were taught in grade school about Columbus “discovering” the Earth was round is pure malarkey.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Raubritter (n.) : a robber baron; a robber knight (German)

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.7*/5, based on 1,801 ratings and 615 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.24*/5, based on 8,644 ratings and 787 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    My father had brought from Moorish Spain a love of beauty and cleanliness.  So, accustomed to my own home, I could not abide the ill-smelling castles of nobles who had little but weapons and pride.

    The old Crusaders learned a little, but merchants and minstrels had picked up the Moorish habit of bathing, changing their clothing instead of allowing it to wear out and drop off.  Occasionally, travelers brought books to their homes.  But books of any kind were rare in the land of the Franks, and the few available were eagerly read—but read only in private for fear the church might disapprove.  (pg. 149)

 

    “Have you no reverence?” the teacher demanded.

    “I have reverence for all who ask questions and seek honest answers.”

    “A philosopher!” laughed a student.

    “A wanderer in search of answers,” I said, then to the teacher, “You asked if I have reverence?  I have reverence for truth, but I do not know what truth is.  I suspect there are many truths, and therefore, I suspect all who claim to have the truth.”  (pg. 245)

 

“A scholar with money!  What have you done, robbed a priest?”  (pg. 250)

    It should be noted that the text of The Walking Drum is incredibly clean.  I didn’t note any cusswords, nor any rolls-in-the-hay, which is amazing given that Mathurin is constantly beguiling beautiful women.  The Historical Fiction aspect is excellently done, and there’s enough thrills-&-spills to make Dirk Pitt jealous.  So why the mediocre rating?

 

    Well for starters, the character-development is poor.  Mathurin is especially unrealistic: he  becomes an expert instantly in any skill he becomes interested in, including philosophy, debating, acrobatics, horsemanship, weaponry, languages, escapes, and of course, women.

 

    The storytelling is shallow and simplistic.  The main plotline is Mathurin’s search for his father, but for the first half of the book you’re left wondering when the heck he’s going to get started.  When he finally gets around to it, his crafty plan for getting into where is father is being held works only because of a couple of way-too-convenient godsends.

 

    The ending is exciting but terribly contrived.  The main baddie is a complete idiot.  He arranges a meeting between Mathurin and his father (idiocy #1), but allows Mathurin to wear his trusty sword when doing so (idiocy #2), then demands that Mathurin commit an unspeakable atrocity on his dad (idiocy #3).  Even so, it takes a convenient “secret door” (idiocy #4) with a convenient 24-hour hiding place (idiocy #5) to make the rescue attempt work.

 

    Louis L’Amour is of course known primarily for his writing of Classic Western novels.  In reading the Wikipedia article about him, it appears the above critiques are typical of his writing style.  Luckily, I read The Walking Drum to get a "feel" for life in Europe during the 12^th Century, and in the respect, the book did not disappoint.  But I wasn't left with a desire to read any of his westerns.

 

    7 Stars.  The main plotline, that of Mathurin rescuing his father, is adequately resolved.  But the tale ends with our hero about to set out for Hind (present-day India) to reunite with one of his ladyloves.  That was the intended sequel, and a third book was also planned, with Mathurin journeying all the way to China.  Alas, those two books were never written, most likely due to the author’s declining health.  The Walking Drum was published in 1984, Louis L’Amour died of lung cancer in 1988.  I dearly wish his estate would hire somebody to write those sequels.

High Desert Barbecue - J.D. Tuccille

   2011; 264 pages.  Full Title: High Desert Barbecue: A Tale of Suspense, Pyromania and Sexual Tension.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Action & Adventure; Humorous Fiction; Arizona.  Overall Rating : 6*/10.

 

    Meet Rollo.  He’s what you’d call a loner.  That’s not quite a hermit, but pretty close to it.

 

    Rollo lives by himself in a shack way out in the mountains of northern Arizona.  It’s about a day’s hike from the small city of Williams, Arizona.  He’s not bothering anybody.

 

    Well, that’s not quite accurate.  His one mistake is that he’s living on public land.  In a National Forest, to be specific.  The Forest Service doesn’t like that.

 

    Which is why they’ve just burnt down Rollo’s shack and commandeered his truck.  Rollo just barely escaped into the woods before they grabbed him.  Now what’s he gonna do?

 

    Hey, is that a Forest Service Chevy Blazer parked just over there?  It’s a much classier truck than Rollo’s old heap.  I wonder how fast it would get him into Flagstaff, where Rollo’s friend Scott lives?

 

What’s To Like...

    High Desert Barbecue is essentially a book-long chase with the bad guys—the Forest Service rangers and some of their friends with common interests—running over the rivers and through the canyons while chasing Rollo, Scott, and Scott’s girlfriend Lani.

 

    The entire story takes place in the greater Flagstaff area, most of it in a place called Sycamore Canyon.  My college roommate was from that area and places cited in High Desert Barbecue such as Mingus Mountain, Clarkdale, and the Mogollon Rim bring back fond memories.  I’m even familiar with the tiny speck of a village called Cornville, which is part of the address of the book’s publishing house.

 

    The Forest Service team bears a close resemblance to the Keystone Kops.  Our three heroes may be outgunned, outmanned, out-communicated, and out-vehicled, but when you’ve got a living-in-the-wild geezer like Rollo on your side, you’ve got a fighting chance.

 

    Both sides are “co-ed”, which explains the subtitle’s reference to sexual tension.  J.D. Tuccille obviously has great tastes in music, since Toby Keith, The Pogues, and the J. Geils Band all get mentioned.  The Flagstaff riots made me chuckle, especially since hippies are one of the groups involved.  And the whole concept of “eco-erotica” was a hoot.

 

    The ending is a bit forced, but adequate.  The prolonged chase finally comes to an end, and the perpetrators of the pyromania are revealed to all.  Our happy but beleaguered protagonists are alive and off the hook.  High Desert Barbecue is a standalone novel and not part of any series.  There’s room for a sequel (one or more of the baddies get away), but I seriously doubt J.D. Tuccille is contemplating one.

 Things That Sound Dirty But Aren’t…

    “I have powerful lungs from all the bike-riding I do.  I can suck as long and hard as you want.”  (loc. 891)

Ratings…

    Amazon:  4.0/5 based on 29 ratings and 26 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.38/5 based on 45 ratings and 4 reviews.

Excerpts...

    “He don’t do so well in all his classes like he does in yours.”  She shrugged.  “He don’t do so well in summer school either.”

    Lani grimaced sympathetically.

    “I’m sorry about that Mrs. Begay.  I wish I could help, but there’s not much I can do about summer school.”

    Ozzie tugged at Lani’s shirt.

    “They don’t let me cut class like you do.”

    “Ummm … Let’s call it independent study, Ozzie.  Not cutting class.”  (loc. 216)

 

    Lani stood with a steaming metal cup in her hand, which she handed to Scott.  He took the cup and elaborately kissed her hand.

    “So we’re being chased through Sycamore Canyon by a pyro death cult?  How likely is that?”

    Rollo grumbled in obvious agreement.

    Scott sipped his coffee and sighed.

    “Well … it’s a lot more likely than the idea that we stumbled on a band of naked homicidal rangers holding a torch-lit forest-burning ceremony.”  (loc. 2102)

 

Kindle Details…

    High Desert Barbecue sells for $2.99 at Amazon.  It’s the only e-book offered by J.D. Tuccille, although there’s another dozen books or so under what's apparently his alternate nom de plume, Jerome Tuccille..

 

“Rollo!  I’m— Oh my God.  Did you set fire to your underwear?”  (loc. 2940)

    There are some quibbles.  From most nitpicky to least:

 

    The cussing frequency is moderate (14 instances in the first 10%), there’s a couple rolls in the hay, and a small amount of ancient marijuana, long past its expiration date, but which eventually becomes a factor in the storyline.

 

    There’s the usual number of typos and grammar errors that crop up in almost any indie author book, including things like paper weight/paperweight, on-coming/oncoming, here/her, and a place called Parsons/Parson Spring.  But they weren't frequent enough to become a distraction.

 

    The biggest problem for me was the overly convenient aspects of the storyline.  When our heroes need bigger and badass-er firepower; a cache conveniently appears.  When they’re about to be busted for shooting somebody; a distracting felony conveniently arises.  The appearance of such “deus ex machina” occurrences means that literary tension never builds as the ending approaches.

 

    And last but not least, the dog dies.

 

    6 Stars.  The main thing to keep in mind when reading High Desert Barbecue is that it’s primarily a piece of Humorous Fiction.  Are things too convenient?  Are the bad guys too unbelievably inept?  Yes and yes.  But that just contributes to the wit and comedy in the story, and in that respect I thought the book did okay.

Stupid Wars - Ed Strosser and Michael Prince

   2008; 321 pages (but only 299 of that is text).  Full Title: “Stupid Wars: A Citizen’s Guide to Botched Putsches, Failed Coups, Inane Invasions, and Ridiculous Revolutions”.  New Authors? : Yes & Yes.  Genres: History; War; Military History; Non-Fiction.  Overall Rating : 9*/10.

 

    Stupid Wars.

 

    They happen occasionally.  Sometimes the stupidity is caused by glory-seeking political leaders.  Sometimes the stupidity is due to incredibly inept and clueless generals.  Sometimes the stupidity is driven by national pride.  One was fought to protest the taxing on whiskey.

 

    To be clear, though, not all wars are stupid.  World War 2, for instance, was fought for very noble reasons.  So was the Korean War.

 

    Two things are worth noting about Stupid Wars.  First, history generally doesn’t supply a lot of details about them.  There’s not much glory to be gained in winning a Stupid War.  And if you’re the loser, you really don’t want to talk about it.

 

    And second, as Ed Strosser and Michael Prince discovered when they studied those Stupid Wars: once started, they are terribly hard to end.

 

What’s To Like...

    After an overview in the Introduction, Stupid Wars is divided into sixteen chapters covering one war apiece.  I’m happy to say I’d heard of all of them except one (the first one), but usually knew only the barest of details about the conflicts, including those that have happened during my lifetime.

 

    My favorite chapters/wars were:

1. The Fourth Crusade (1198)

2. The Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

3. The US Invasion of Russia (1918)

4. The Winter War Between Russia and Finland (1939)

5. The Falkland Islands War (1982)

6. The US Invasion of Grenada (1983)

 

   The chapters generally follow this format:

a. Introduction

b. The Players

c. The General Situation

d. What Happened

e. What Happened After

 

    I was impressed by the politically equitable approach of the book.  Russia starts three of these Stupid Wars (Finland, Afghanistan, the Gorbachev coup); the US matches that with three of its own (Russia, Bay of Pigs, Grenada); with Reagan initiating one of those (Grenada), and JFK initiating another (Bay of Pigs).  Hitler is both a plotter (the Beer Hall Putsch) and the target in one (the Generals’ Coup). 

 

    The 16 Stupid Wars are presented in chronological order, ranging from 337 AD to 1991.  The text is packed with historical details.  You’ll learn where the first Molotov cocktails were made and used, and why western Pennsylvanians (My native state!  Yay us!) rose up in rebellion in 1794 over a tax upon their beloved whiskey.  That revolt was doomed though: the insurgents were hopelessly outnumbered.  The total population of Pittsburgh in the 1790 census was only 376 citizens.   

 

    Stupid Wars is written in what I call a “Sarah Vowell” tone: lighthearted and witty.  Chapter 12 starts the “in my lifetime” portion of the wars.  My Kindle said the book was 321 pages long, but the text actually ends at page 299, with the rest of the book being “Extras” consisting of “Sources”, “About the Authors”, and “Searchable Terms”.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.1/5 based on 73 ratings and 33 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.41/5 based on 298 ratings and 55 reviews.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Louche (adj.) : disreputable or sordid in a rakish or appealing way.

 

Excerpts...

    It should be noted at this point that Paraguay was very small and poor, with the barest whiff of an arms industry.  Brazil, on the other hand, had everything that Paraguay lacked: men, wealth, arms, and contacts with the outside world.  While exact figures are difficult to achieve, Paraguay had about half a million people.  Brazil’s population numbered over 10 million.  Lopez, however, was not constrained by the logic of simple math.  Besides, it would be a quick war, he convinced himself, and the Brazilians would soon tire of pounding him and sue for peace.  Ah yes, the old formula for success—wear out the enemy by dying too frequently before them.  (loc. 1117)

 

    The primary aspect of the Falkland Islands has been their complete insignificance in every way.  The islands have no practical use except as a whaling station, weather observatory (although dreary is what people usually observe), or naval coaling station, useful in the rare case your ships still use coal.  When English sea captain James Cook discovered the islands, he declared them “not worth the discovery.”  On the other hand, he did feel it was worthy to note that it was not worth discovering.  (loc. 3566)

 

Kindle Details…

    Stupid Wars currently sells for $6.99 at Amazon.  ANAICT it is the only collaboration between these two authors.  In fact, it seems neither one even has any e-books to offer with them as the sole author.

 

 

He was truly a diplomatic idiot savant.  (loc. 1141)

    The quibbles are rather nitpicky.  The cussing is sparse: only 13 instances in the whole book, and seven of those are “birdshit” because one of the Stupid Wars was fought over the valuable commodity of guano.

 

    The book is heavily weighted towards the recent past—eleven of the sixteen chapter are set in the 20^th century.  It is also weighted, as the authors point out, towards Western civilization.  However, I think such “slanting” is inherent: we have a lot more information available on wars of recent vintage, and those that take place in our neck of the woods, as compared with wars fought in Africa and the Far East.

 

    A few reviewers groused that some of these conflicts don’t qualify as “wars”, most notably Hitler’s “Beer Hall Putsch”.  They have a point, I suppose, but OTOH, military personnel were involved in every one of these sixteen selections.

 

    9 Stars.  For me, Stupid Wars was a great read.  I may have heard of all but one of these conflicts, but the only information I knew of was whatever could be found in the newspapers, which would be neither comprehensive nor objective.  The history of any war is just a PR spin by the victors; it is accurate only if it serves to justify the winning side.  Thank goodness for authors like Ed Strosser and Michael Prince who present alternative viewpoints.

A Trail Through Time - Jodi Taylor

    2015; 383 pages.  Book 4 (out of 13) in the series “The Chronicles of St. Mary’s”.  New Author? : No.  Genres: Time Travel; Humorous Fantasy; Historical Fiction, Romance.  Overall Rating: 9*/10.

 

    Awww.  Madeleine “Max” Maxwell is back together again with her lover, Leon Farrell.  Kinda.  Except Max’s Leon was killed, so this Leon is a slightly different one.  And Leon’s Max was killed, so our Max is sort of a substitute.  Hopping around parallel universes can get to be confusing.

 

    Still, there’s enough similarities between the two Leons and the two Max’s that this arrangement might just work out.  It’s just a matter of taking things slow and easy, and getting to know each other all over again.  With enough time, they’ll do just fine.

 

    Alas, the Time Police are hot on their trail, vowing to bring both of them to justice for the unforgivable sin of altering History.  They are accused of bringing a boy named Helios from the ancient past back to the present world.  The Time Police are known to be relentless and merciless.

 

    That means Time is something Max and Leon no longer have.

 

What’s To Like...

    A Trail Through Time is the fourth book in Jodi Taylor’s fantastic Time Travel series which is now up to thirteen books.  I’m reading these in chronological order, which is advisable since Max now is jumping around through both Time and Multiverses.

 

    Those who are reading the series for its Time Travel elements (and I’m one of them) are in for a treat – the whole first third of the book is one long chase scene as our two heroes chrono-hop time after time (pun intended) in a desperate attempt to stay one step ahead of the baddies.  Major stops include 17^th-century England, 18^th Dynasty Egypt, and Pompeii right before Mt. Vesuvius blows its top.

 

    If you’re reading this series for the Romance angle, you’ll be happy to know that it seemed like that genre got greater attention here than in the previous books.  And finally, if you’re just reading these books for the thrills-&-spills, guess what? – the action starts immediately and never lets up.

 

    We get to meet some new bad guys here: the Time Police.  Their goal is to nullify anything and anyone who befuddles the original timeline.  Max’s dimension-jumping certainly qualifies for that (hey, it wasn’t her fault!), and so does the transporting of a doomed Trojan youth to present-day England, which has occurred in at both Max’s and Leon’s home dimensions.

 

    Jodi Taylor is an English author, so we get learn all sorts of British vocabulary, including some great slang phrases, a few of which are listed below.  I chuckled at seeing “wheelie bin” used; this was the second book in a row I came across that phrase, after a lifetime of never hearing of it.  And it was delight to go to a 1683 London event called a “Frost Fair”, a celebration that takes place out on the frozen Thames River.  Sadly, I don’t think those are held anymore.

 

    The storyline builds to an exciting fight scene, the outcome being both a surprising and inevitable climax.  The Max/Leon love angle plot thread also end in a climax.  The book closes with a coin-toss, but its result is not revealed, which serves as a great teaser for the sequel, No Time Like the Past.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Water Butt (n.) : a large container for collecting or storing a liquid, such as rainwater. (a Britishism)

Others: Todger (n., British, slang); Bint (n., British, derogatory), Buttie (n., British, slang).

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.7*/5, based on 2,241 ratings and 591 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.32*/5, based on 11,719 ratings and 750 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    Swans!

    Coming in at eye-height, in attack formation with necks outstretched, wings extended and some very nasty looks in their eyes, was what seemed like every swan in the county, or possibly all of England.  A whole battalion of them.  I had no idea we had so many.  I know they can be nasty, and God knows these had good reason.  Over the years St. Mary’s swans have been blown up, terrorised by Plesiosaur look-alikes, had a Renault 5 engine mistakenly flung at them by a Roman trebuchet, and been dyed blue.  These were swans that had had enough.  (pg. 149)

 

    “Okay people, listen up.  This is it.  We all know what to do.  If we remember our training then we’ll be fine.  Our job is to hold the front doors and stairs for as long as possible.  There will be some noise and chaos and you’ll be scared, but that’s OK because we’re St. Mary’s and no one does noise and chaos as well as us.  Major Guthrie estimates we’ll be outnumbered about six to one …”

    Around me, heads bobbed up sharply and Peterson said, “Um …”

    “So what I’m saying is, the first one to shoot their six nips back and puts the kettle on.”  (pg. 315)

 

We’re St. Mary’s.  We can fashion a heat-seeking missile out of two toilet rolls and an elastic band.  (pg. 338)

    It’s hard to find something to gripe about in A Trail Through Time.  Those who dislike cussing in their sci-fi/fantasy tales should note that I counted ten instances in the first 20% of the book, albeit none of them are f-bombs.  There’s also one roll-in-the-hay, already alluded to, but this is a Time Travel Romance story, so that’s to be expected.

 

    The overall tone of the book seemed a bit darker than what I remember of the first three volumes, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Some good guys die, but none of them are major characters, and hey, when you can hop across and around the multiverse, is death really an absolute finality for anyone?

 

    I thoroughly enjoyed A Trail Through Time.  As has been true thus far for all the books I've read in this series, it was a well-written and clever combination of action-adventure, historical fiction, and Time Travel Romance, with a healthy helping of wit and humor blended in to keep it a fun read.  I think I’m getting hooked on this series.

 

    9 Stars.  Jodi Taylor started a spinoff series from this, beginning in 2019, and focusing on the Time Police.  To date, there are four books in it, the first of which, Doing Time, resides on my Kindle.  Perhaps it’s time to check that out.

Catchee Monkey - Sean Cameron

   2014 (so sez Amazon, although my e-book says 2021); 183 pages.  Full Title: Catchee Monkey: Two Detectives, One Murder, No Clue.  Book 1 (out of 4) in the “Rex & Eddie Mysteries” series.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Satire; Murder Mystery; Humorous Crime Fiction.  Overall Rating : 7½*/10.

 

    Rex and Eddie have just been fired.  Again.  This time they were working as mall cops when they got the axe.  Something about them trying to arrest legitimate shoppers.

 

    What kind of job should two former mall cops be looking for now?  More importantly, what kind of job can they get where they won’t be fired?  Well, how about becoming a two-man, self-employed Private Investigation team?  Not having a boss means no one can fire you, amiright?

 

    Fortuitously, a cheap, seedy office space in a cheap, seedy, mostly-empty strip mall has just opened up.  And Rex and Eddie have just discovered a flaw in their career plans.  Nobody is going to hire two PI’s whose combined job experience is zero.  Now where will they find their first case to investigate?

 

    Hey, how come that big ugly splotch on their office carpet looks like a bloodstain?

 

What’s To Like...

    The subtitle of Catchee Monkey—Two Detectives, One Murder, No Clue—gives a good idea of the book’s tone.  If you like duos such as Bill & Ted, Wayne & Garth, and Beavis & Butthead, you’ll enjoy this book.  Rex and Eddie schlep around town, learning how to be private investigators, running afoul of police detectives, and causing unknown bad guys to seek to do away with them.

 

    I liked the supporting characters, which include a drug-dealer with all sorts of great connections, a girlfriend who doesn’t mind dumping a beau if it means moving up in society, and a street beggar who can be counted on to lend flat broke sleuths some money.

 

    The book is written in British, not American, and I enjoyed learning new vocabulary and phrases from across the pond such as: chav, strop, hob, wheelie bin, Morris Minor, and ponce.  The name of one of Rex & Eddie’s favorite pubs, “The Jolly Codger”, made me chuckle, as did the malady “Tourette’s of the foot”.

 

    The book’s title refers to a strategy our heroes used in playing Laser Tag.  Rex and Eddie are in their 20s, and are laughed at by the teenaged Laser Tag regulars who see them as geezers.  I’ve only played Laser Tag once in my life, I was middle-aged, and I didn’t get the hang of how to maximize one’s score at all.

 

   There are a couple of great plot twists along the way to keep you on your toes.  They lead to an ending that is exciting, over-the-top, overly convenient, and with all the major plotlines tied up.  For this genre, those are all plusses.  Catchee Monkey is both a standalone story as well as the first novel in a 4-book series.  I doubt that reading the series in order is important.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  3.7/5 based on 363 ratings and 189 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.39/5 based on 376 ratings and 52 reviews.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Chav (n.) : a young person of a type characterized by brash and loutish behavior. (British slang)

Others: Hob (n.); Strop (n., British slang).

 

Excerpts...

    “This is well overdue, gentlemen.  You’re both finished.”

    “Great meeting, Chief.” Rex stood.

    “He doesn’t mean the meeting,” Eddie said.

    Rex settled back down with a puzzled expression.

    “You two are a pair of—”

    “Mavericks?” Rex said.

    “You both knocked over a fragile old lady.”

    Rex threw his hands up in the air.  “Uh, apprehended a suspect with many stolen items in her bag.”

    “She had receipts for everything.”

    “It’s a good alibi.  I’ll give her that.”  (loc. 184)

 

    “I thought you’d always wanted to do a stake-out.”

    “So did I, but this is rubbish.  I’m hungry.”

    “I told you to bring snacks.  Did you?”

    “No.  Did you?”

    Eddie pulled his lunchbox closer.  “For myself.”

    “I’m not sharing my cola then.”

    “I don’t drink cola.  It’s dehydrating.”

    Rex scrunched up his face.  “Don’t get started with that again.”

    “It’s true.  It’s science.”

    “It’s science,” Rex said in a caveman voice.  “How can liquid dehydrate you?  It’s liquid.”  (loc. 772)

 

Kindle Details…

    Catchee Monkey presently sells for $2.99 at Amazon.  Books 2 and 3 in the series go for the same price, but be aware that they are both less than 140 pages in length.  Book 4, The Third Banana, goes for $3.99 and is listed as being 314 pages long.

 

“Softly, softly, catchee monkey, remember?”  (loc. 763)

    There’s not much to complain about in Catchee Monkey.  Cussing is sparse, only five instances in the first 50% of the book, and those were mild ones: four “damns” and one “hell”.  I was impressed.

 

    There were a number of typos and grammar errors, but not to where I’d call it distracting.  The most flagrant was the repeated lack of commas when addressing someone in direct dialogue.  Others were things like head first/headfirst, smile/smiled, and my favorite: regime/regimen.

 

    That’s about it.  I suppose I could gripe about the book’s brevity – a mere 183 pages in my e-book version.  In fairness, the Amazon blurb calls this a “novella”, even though I think of novellas as being a maximum of 150 pages or so.

 

    For me, Catchee Monkey was a short, easy, delightfully entertaining read, with tons and tons of witty and funny dialogue.  Which was exactly what I was looking for.

 

    7½ Stars.  One thing to note.  Unlike the duos cited earlier in this review, at this point Rex and Eddie are not bosom buddies.  Both have traits that irritate the other, but they ignore these for the sake of solving the case and thereby earning some cash.  I thought that was kind of neat.