PEPPER PIKE - Les Roberts

Milan Jacovich is a rather eccentric private investigator in Cleveland, Ohio, and he receives a strange call one night from Richard Amber, a big wig in the advertising business. Amber wants to hire Milan as a body guard for twelve hours. The pay is good; Milan has nothing better to do; so off he goes to meet Amber at his house in ritzy Pepper Pike. If the call wasn't strange enough, when Milan arrives, Amber is no where to be found.

The next morning, Milan receives yet another call. This time the call is from Amber's wife, Judith. She's also calling to hire Milan. Judith Amber wants Milan to find Richard Amber; he's missing. Richard Amber's disappearance may turn out to be more than your basic "missing person" case for Milan.

PEPPER PIKE is the first book in the popular Milan Jacovich series, originally published in 1988. Being from the Cleveland area, it's about time I got around to reading Cleveland's favorite P.I. If you've never been to the Cleveland area, believe me when I say that Les Roberts is not only true to the flavor and feel of this part of Ohio, but his love of the region radiates from the pages. I shivered actually feeling the wet and cold when Milan was trekking through some residential back yards:

"When I got where I wanted to go my pants legs were soaked from the soft, wet snow, my shoes squished when I walked, and I had left a set of footprints from the Ambers' house across four other backyards that even Stevie Wonder could follow."

In addition to the physical geography, Roberts does a stellar job illustrating class distinction and the sharp contrast that can exist in the Cleveland region. One needn't drive far to see the struggling working class and then the obscenely wealthy: from a bar where everyone is hanging their hopes on the night's lottery numbers to homes costing in the range of the mid six figures (remember it's the 80s). Even organized crime has a face in the urban sprawl of Cleveland.

The realism doesn't stop at the setting. Roberts is also a master crafter when it comes to his characters. Milan exhibits many of the traits of the traditional P.I. He's witty, a loner and has a knack for finding trouble even when he isn't looking for it. But he also has some traits unique to the P.I. character. As a female reader, the one I most admire is his respect for women, which is probably a reflection of his creator because the female characters in the novel are also worthy of respect. PEPPER PIKE is not full of beautiful women with empty heads, nor damsels in distress who are saved through sex. Roberts' emphasizes Milan's intelligence, thoughtfulness and vulnerability, not brute strength. Milan is also principled, encouraging the reader to develop a strong faith in Milan, cheering him on when the odds are against him.

PEPPER PIKE was an enjoyable read, and I'm glad I finally managed to remove it from the "to be read" pile and check it off the "read" list. I will also be adding the remainder of the series to my must read list. The biggest benefit of discovering a series late? Not having to wait for the next book to be published! Les Roberts published the fourteenth Milan Jacovich novel last year, so I'll have plenty of Milan to keep me reading for awhile.

PEPPER PIKE was originally published by St. Martin's Press in 1988 and was reissued by Gray & Company in 2005. ISBN: 1-59851-001-0.

You Have the Right to Six Words - Part I

As part of my author interviews I always ask each author to tell me what his/her six word memoir would be. The question came from the book NOT QUITE WHAT I WAS PLANNING: SIX-WORD MEMOIRS OF WRITERS FAMOUS AND OBSCURE. This question is always so much fun and I look forward to what each author is going to respond. I also noticed that I received the most comments from readers on that question. So, the little wheels started turning and I decided to make it a series.

I've been out pounding the pavement to solicit six-word memoirs from writers of crime fiction. I have to tell you that I've been overwhelmed by the response. All these folks took time out of their schedules to humor me. So, each week on Wednesday I will be posting four memoirs until I've exhausted them all. I don't know for sure how long we'll go because I'm still actively soliciting, but I can tell you that if I get no other submissions, we'll have a minimum of 9 weeks of memoirs with writers contributing from the U.S., England, Ireland and South Africa. Each week, for at least the first nine, we'll have two memoirs that are recaps from the interviews and two brand new memoirs.

O.k., I'm too excited, so let's just get to the inaugural post of YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO SIX WORDS: SIX-WORD MEMOIRS FROM CRIME FICTION'S GREATEST WRITERS!

Almost one year ago I was posting my very first interviews. Some day I'll go back and re-interview these brave souls because my interview questions have surely improved in the last year! But, the interviews did include the six-word memoir question.

Michael Koryta was first, so I find it only appropriate that we remember his memoir first in this series. Michael is the author of the Lincoln Perry series, publishing the first book, TONIGHT I SAID GOODBYE when he was 21. TONIGHT I SAID GOODBYE went on to win the St. Martin's Press/Private Eye Writers of America prize for best first PI novel. TONIGHT I SAID GOODBYE was also a Edgar Award nominee for best first novel. The fourth Lincoln Perry novel, THE SILENT HOUR, will be released from St. Martin's this August. Michael also wrote the stand alone novel, ENVY THE NIGHT, which won the 2009 L.A. Times Book Prize in the mystery/thriller category.

Can I have a seventh word?

Alafair Burke was my second interview and she's probably the female writer I hold in the highest regard, and not just because she's Duffer's Momma, either. She has two crime fiction series: Samantha Kincaid the Portland, Oregon deputy district attorney and Ellie Hatcher the New York City homicide detective. Both series feature smart, strong, realistic female protagonists. And both series epitomize the idea that "art imitates life." Next up for Alafair is 212, the third novel in the Ellie Hatcher series, which will be out this winter. Alafair is also a blogger, and if you haven't had a chance to check out her blog, you don't know what you're missing! In addition to her ability to write riveting crime fiction novels, she has a knack for finding the greatest topics to blog about!

Loved, was loved. Appreciated both. (one word short)

Oh, that's O.K. Alafair, I have a feeling that another author's going to need one down the road. We'll just save your extra word! :)

So, those are the recaps. Now for the two new memoirs in this week's post. I decided to make this post a family affair. Alafair's father, James Lee Burke is also a contributor to the Six-Word Memoir Project.

James Lee Burke is one of crime fiction's all-time greats. And you've heard me mention before that I view him as one of America's greatest living writers, period. He is a model of determination, having his novel THE LOST GET-BACK BOOGIE rejected 111 times before finally having it published and then nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. In addition to the Pulitzer nomination, Jim has been awarded the Edgar twice for Best Crime Novel of the Year, and just this past May he was named Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America. SWAN PEAK, published last year, marked the 17th novel in Jim's amazing Dave Robicheaux series. This summer Jim is resurrecting Hackberry Holland, who first appeared almost 30 years ago in LAY DOWN MY SWORD AND SHIELD, for his 29th novel RAIN GODS. So, how appropriate is this memoir?

I never ran out of stories.

And the final memoir for the first post comes from Les Roberts who was the winner of the initial St. Martin's Press/Private Eye Writers of America Best First PI novel! Les has penned two crime fiction series: the Saxon Series and the Milan Jacovich Series (which, like Koryta's Lincoln Perry series is set in Cleveland), the Saxon and the Milan Jacovich series had nominees for the Shamus and Anthony Awards. Last year, after a short hiatus from Milan, Les published THE KING OF THE HOLLY HOP. Among Les' other accomplishments is writing screen plays; he was also the first producer of THE HOLLYWOOD SQUARES. What initially brought him to the Northeast Ohio area was a job creating a lottery game show. That game show ultimately became CASH EXPLOSION DOUBLE PLAY. During Les' hiatus from Milan, he wrote a full-length memoir, WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE CLEVELAND. When he scaled it down to six words, it became:

Writer, father, lover, friend, occasional louse.

I hope you have enjoyed the first four memoirs and that you will come back next week to see who is included in Part II of YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO SIX WORDS!

Happy Reading!

We Have a Winner

Yesterday the random number creator helped me determine that Jason from Minnesota is the winner of the Hatchett contest for a copy of the MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA'S THE PROSECUTION RESTS. Congratulations to Jason and thanks to everyone who entered! Check back regularly. There will be more giveaways throughout the summer. Fun stuff coming up.

Also wanted to let you know that Annie Barrows, one of the authors of THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY, had announced her U.S. book tour. You can check here for locations. Unfortunately, she isn't going to be close enough to me, but maybe she'll be in your neighborhood.

Someone who IS going to be in my neighborhood, though, is Les Roberts. Yeah, o.k., he's technically almost always in my neighborhood, but he's doing an EVENT in my neighborhood. June 23rd I'll be attending his event at the Westlake Porter Public Library. Definitely looking forward to that. If you're in this area and interested in attending, I believe you need to register.

Before that, though, don't forget that Rosemary Harris is going to be at the Barnes and Noble in Westlake. Her event is May 18th at 7:00p.m. So, that one's getting close. Excited for that. And in June, I'll be taking a drive out to Oakmont, PA, for Craig Johnson's dinner event at the Mystery Lovers Bookshop. I don't believe words are necessary for my excitement about THAT event! :)

Hope you were able to get out and show the Indie's some love on Friday. In addition, I hope you think of them more often than just the Buy Indie Day. Right now I'm so acutely aware of all they have done for me - after the big event at The Mystery Bookstore in L.A., seeing Michael Koryta at Foul Play in Columbus, and having the opportunity to meet Alafair Burke and Craig Johnson at Mystery Lovers Bookshop. The Indies can't offer these great opportunities if we aren't helping to support them.

Now it's time for me to get started reviewing some of these books I read over vacation. Yikes! Have a great week and happy reading!