Book Review: Curbchek by Zach Fortier

 

Author: Zach Fortier
My Rating: 5 cups
Source: review copy provided by the author
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Curbchek is the story of a damaged cop, Zach Fortier. Fortier worked in the police department for the city where he grew up. One foot in the world of the cops, courts and legal system. The other in the world of gangs, drugs, thugs and street violence. Where the laws and rules are made by the strongest, the schemers and the most brutal. Read about the transformation of Fortier from a green rookie to a damaged paranoid veteran seeing danger in every situation. Follow along as he walks this tight rope. Trying to make difference, breaking the laws he promised to enforce. This is a story of law and order uncensored.

Curbchek is one of those books I couldn't put down. The raw honesty I could feel in each and every single one of the stories made me want to keep reading. There were moments where I laughed out loud, because some of the scenes were quite funny, moments when I cringed because of the imagery of some scenes, moments when I was sad or even angry.

At times, the violence was a little overwhelming, but I think that's what makes the book seem so fresh and enjoyable. You read so many books with cops, see so many movies and TV shows, but they somehow seem staged, sugarcoated, censured. Curbchek is so different and it's a book that I believe sticks with you because it's so different.

What I loved most about this book was the fact that it felt real. I didn't think for even a moment "yeah, right, that can't happen" like I usually do with other books with police officers. I think the author gives a unique perspective on police work, sort of a "behind the scenes" look.

Another thing that made me enjoy the books was the "colorful" language. You know how crime dramas usually portray cops as talking so clean? That's something that makes me want to scream, because it doesn't feel right or true. Curbchek is entirely different and I liked that.

I think it's not a book for the faint of heart, but I think it's one of those "Must Read" books. Curbchek is followed by Streetcreds and I will definitely check it out.

Cover Love (10)

This feature is hosted by Carmel @ Rabid Reads. The rules are very simple. Choose a cover (or two, or three), preferably new-ish, and share what you like about it. Grab the graphic or don't just so long as you link back.


My pick this week:

I love love love this cover. I wonder what the book's about. And I'm actually tempted to read the book, just to see if there's any ice or snow in it. Reminds me a little of the Snow Queen. Yep, might have to read this one :D











What's your pick this week?

Why Shame and Reading Don't Belong In The Same Sentence

I thought loooong and hard (no pun intended...or maybe it is, read it how you want to) about this post. A few weeks ago the buzz about the series Fifty Shades of Grey started. I heard a lot of opinions about it, some good, some bad, some interesting, some extremely bothersome. Some amused me, some pissed me off so much I can't even talk about them without getting mad. I haven't read the book, so I can't really comment on whether it's good or bad or well written or poorly written. But I can comment on a few other things

If before the phrase "porn for women" bothered me a little, "mommy porn" is insulting to me. Yes, I'm talking about romance books and erotic romance books. Yes, I read those books. Do I hide them in my e-reader? No. If someone I know asks me what I'm reading, I show them the screen of my e-reader or I tell them. If they start laughing or making fun of me or looking down at me, it's their problem.

You know, this entire debate could be about fantasy novels or mystery novels or thrillers or horror stories. Just because I don't read something or I didn't enjoy a certain book, doesn't mean that the book was bad or that the people who enjoyed it should be ashamed for enjoying it. It just means I didn't like it. That's all.

I'll say it again. Yes, I read romance novels, mystery novels, horror stories, young adult, chick lit and anything I find enjoyable. And I'm not ashamed of it. And no one should be ashamed of what they read. Do you like what you read? If yes, then good for you. Be happy that for a few hours you can escape the jungle that is the "real" world and enter a magical world, where you can enter and leave whenever you want, a world that can help you relax, dream, fantasize and that can actually teach you something useful.

So why is the world so much against romance novels? Could it be because *GASP* there are sex scenes in them? Guess what, sex is everywhere, whether you like it or not. It's in our basic nature. Or could it be because those novels have some good sex scenes? Why, I didn't know we're back to "women shouldn't enjoy sex" era. You know, it's sad. If a man says he's watching movies with a lot of explicit sex scenes, he's good to go. If a woman reads romance, she gets crap thrown her way.

Reading is something that you either enjoy or you don't. I think no one should feel bad for reading something that others don't like. Or for not liking something others did. Why hide your reading material? I don't think romance novels or erotic romance novels are about sex.They're about the relationships themselves. Just as mystery novels aren't about murderers or a guide book on how to kill, they're about the suspense or the action or the artifact (like in The Da Vinci Code). Don't be ashamed about what you read. The people judging you by your choices in reading material should be ashamed.

I'm ready for the next one

I know that Infamous was just published yesterday, but I can't help myself. I'm really excited about the next book in the series, Inferno. I am sad though, that we have to wait another year for it *sob*.

Here's the blurb. And waiting impatiently for the cover.

The heat is on, and a new threat to humanity has risen…
Nick has his driver’s license and he’s not afraid to use it. But turning sixteen isn’t what he thought it would be. While other boys his age are worried about prom dates and applying for college, Nick is neck deep in enemies out to stop him from living another day. No longer sure if he can trust anyone, his only ally seems to be the one person he’s been told will ultimately kill him.
But life spent serving the undead is anything except ordinary. And those out to get him have summoned an ancient force so powerful even the gods fear it. As Nick learns to command and control the elements, the one he must master in order to combat his latest foe is the one most likely to destroy him. As the old proverb goes, fire knows nothing of mercy, and if Nick is to survive this latest round, he will have to sacrifice a part of himself. However, the best sacrifice is seldom the sanest move. Sometimes it’s the one that leaves your enemies confused, and you even more so.
And sometimes, you have to trust your enemy to save your friends. But what do you do when that enemy is you?

New Book Trailer: Infamous by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I know I probably say this too much, but one of my favorite authors is Sherrilyn Kenyon. I'm squealing like the lunatic fangirl that I am about the release of the newest Chronicles of Nick book, Infamous. I loved Nick's character since I read about him in Night Pleasures. I'm so hoping we're getting closer and closer to his Dark Hunter book and I hope he and Ash will be friends again.

I can't wait for the mailman to get here with my book (I think I'll probably scare the crap out of him when he does get here with the book). But until he gets here, I'm watching the Infamous book trailer, which is so great and it makes the waiting that much harder.

The world has fallen in love with Nick Gautier and the Dark-Hunters. Now Nick's saga continues in the next eagerly anticipated volume...

Go to school. Get good grades. Stay out of trouble. That's the mandate for most kids. But Nick Gautier isn't the average teenager. He's a boy with a destiny not even he fully understands. And his first mandate is to stay alive while everyone, even his own father, tries to kill him.

He's learned to annihilate zombies and raise the dead, divination and clairvoyance, so why is learning to drive such a difficulty? But that isn't the primary skill he has to master. Survival is.

And in order to survive, his next lesson makes all the others pale in comparison. He is on the brink of becoming either the greatest hero mankind has ever known.

Guest Post: Ellen Byerrum

Please welcome Ellen Byerrum, author of the awesome Crimes of Fashion series. She stopped at my blog to talk about fashion and crime solving.

Welcome Ellen!

 

Lacey Smithsonian: Solving Crimes with Fashion Clues

Some people might not think that fashion and mystery go together. But I do, as I ponder what’s more mysterious than a great outfit? The way it fits and feels and flatters? And what’s more eye-popping fun than a crime of fashion?

I write the Lacey Smithsonian Crime of Fashion mysteries, where style and murder take center stage. Lacey has what I call ExtraFashionary Perception (EFP for short). Every outfit tells a story, especially for Lacey, who is a reluctant fashion reporter in Washington, D.C., The City Fashion Forgot. Although she would like to work on a “hard news” beat that would get her more respect around her newsroom, she has a talent for finding clues in clothing and motives in style a la mode.

We all have this power, but Lacey has it to the n^th  degree. She solves crimes with fashion clues. The major crimes in my books are more serious than reckless dressing or shopping while ability impaired; nevertheless, Lacey also finds time to address, in her Crimes of Fashion and Fashion Bites columns, the lesser fashion faux pas around her.

So, what is a crime of fashion? Maybe you’d like to smack someone who wears pajamas in public, or at least issue a fashion citation. Visible panty lines make you crazy. You’d kill for those heels. Figuratively, of course. But another woman might take action: She might shoplift a dress from a boutique, or pinch some posh lingerie.

Ideas for fashion crimes can come from anywhere. I was in a Victoria’s Secret lingerie shop one day while a sales clerk was making a crime report to a policeman. A woman had just stolen an entire drawer full of Victoria’s Secret bras. The clerk didn’t have a very good description of the culprit, but she knew one thing for certain: The thief was a 36C, the size of the stolen merchandise. I watched the cop dutifully write down this fashion clue, and I visualized the suspect lineup. It’s really too bad that 36C is the most common size of woman in America. I’ve haven’t used that particular crime of fashion in a book yet, but someday it might pop up.

Like Lacey, we all tell stories with our clothes, and we intuit much about others’ stories by what they wear. In just one look we make snap judgments about people, before they even open their mouths. Look, there’s a suburban soccer mom! A congressional staffer! A presidential candidate! (Run for your lives.) We label a boy in a blue Mohawk a skateboard punk, a girl in black lipstick, multiple piercings, and choppy hair with a tiara, a Goth princess. In Washington, D.C., we can tell at a glance the lawyers, the lobbyists, and the P-WIPs (“Powerful Women In Pearls”). It’s fun, it’s instinctive, and this skill might even protect us in times of danger.

The books in the Crime of Fashion series all pose questions about fatalities and fashion. For instance:

• What’s a bad haircut got to do with murder? (Killer Hair)

• What happened to a young designer who went missing during World War II, and could there be a connection with the disappearance of a present day Washington, D.C., intern with fashion-industry aspirations? (Designer Knockoff)

• What are the lethal ramifications when an extreme makeover turns an ugly duckling into a swan? (Hostile Makeover)

• A century ago, Romanov princesses were executed wearing jewel-filled corsets. Could there be one lost corset full of jewels still out there somewhere, silent witness to a massacre? (Raiders of the Lost Corset)

In my latest book, Death on Heels, Lacey’s ex-boyfriend is accused of murdering three women, all found barefoot on lonely country roads. Lacey must leave her comfort zone and the District of Columbia to travel back to Sagebrush, Colorado, where she cut her teeth as a reporter. Caught between two men, with a vicious killer on her trail, Death on Heels is a whole new—and potentially fatal—frontier for this fashion reporter.

As I continue the series, I find the books becoming more personal for Lacey, and more dangerous. And I’m always on the lookout for good crimes of fashion, both style-related and otherwise. If you’ve got a good one, let me know.

And thank you so much for inviting me here today.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Ellen! I've said it once and I won't stop saying it: this is a must read series! I can't wait to read all the first 7 books and I know I'll be so impatiently waiting for the ninth novel.

About the Author:

 

Ellen Byerrum writes the popular Crime of Fashion mysteries, set in bustling Washington, D.C., The City That Fashion Forgot. Featuring style sleuth Lacey Smithsonian, who solves crimes with fashion clues, the eighth book, Death on Heels, takes Lacey out of her comfort zone and into the Wild West where she confronts her past and an old boyfriend who is accused of murder.

While researching fashion, Byerrum has collected her own assortment of 1940s vintage dresses and suits, and the occasional accessory, but laments her lack of closet space. She has been a D.C. news reporter in Washington, a playwright, and holds a Virginia P.I. registration. Although she currently resides in Denver, fashion reporter Lacey Smithsonian will continue to be based in Washington, D.C.

Byerrum is currently at work on the ninth book in the Crime of Fashion series, Veiled Revenge. You can find more about Ellen on her Web site or on Facebook.

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