#BookReview: South by Southeast - Blair Underwood, Tananarive Due & Steven Barnes

I'm always surprised when my Twitter followers are shocked to find out that Blair Underwood writes.  Okay, really, the man is like a fine wine that just gets better with time, but he's more than just a handsome face.  In addition to being an actor with a long career that I've been drooling over since his LA Law days, he's the co-author of the Tennyson Hardwick series.  Yes, series.  South by Southeast is the fourth in a series that started with Casanegra, In the Night of the Heat and From Cape Town with Love.

To bring those of you who haven't read the previous books up to speed, here's a quick recap.  Ten is a gigolo turned actor with a side order of private investigator.  His wheelchair bound, retired police captain father and his nurse turned girlfriend, Marcela, live with him in a house he inherited from a former client.  When he's not rescuing kidnapped babies or pining over his ex-girlfriend, but still a good friend, April, he's guardian to Chela, a fiesty 17 year old that he rescued from his former madam.

Life is finally on track for Ten.  He's been handpicked by the famous director Gustavo Escobar for a part in his next zombie flick.  Temporarily relocating the family from Los Angeles to Miami is just what the doctor ordered.  Marcela will get to see her family, the captain will get to relax and Chela will have a chance to shed her LA baggage in a city where no one knows about her past as a prostitute.  But trouble has a way of finding the Hardwick clan and it's not long before Ten is thrown back into the role of protector and private investigator.

I don't know how the three authors work out writing amongst themselves.  Perhaps one of them writes the outline, someone else does character development and the third fleshes out the meat of the project.  What I do know is they seem to work seamlessly together.  Even though the only character that we have an actual image of is Tennyson, it's not difficult to imagine what the others look like based on the descriptions we're given.  Because of that, it's easier to visualize each scene as it plays out.  It's like the books are written as a screenplay, but without the stilted directions and scene set ups that you'd see in an actual screenplay.  It was reported back in August of this year that Blair Underwood signed a major development/talent holding deal with Universal Television.  Let's all keep our fingers crossed in hopes that we see Ten, Captain Hardwick, Marcela and Chela gracing our television screens in the near future.

384pp
Published: September 2012
Disclaimer: Copy of book received from publisher, opinions are my own.

Theme: Quimbara by Celia Cruz

#BookReview: From Cape Town with Love - Blair Underwood, Tananarive Due & Steven Barnes

Okay ladies, let's just take a moment to marinate on the sexiness that is Blair Underwood.  I'll give you a minute or two...notice how I made the picture a little larger than usual.  That's my Friday gift to you.  Now let's move on to the book.  I mean, that is why we're here, right?

The third in the series that started with In the Night of the Heat and followed by Casanegra, From Cape Town with Love is the best of the three.  I liked the first two books, but there were segments of the previous books that moved too slowly.  There is none of that in From Cape Town.

Tennyson "Ten" Hardwick is a sometimes actor, sometimes gigolo, sometimes detective.  He's also the guardian of a 17-year old girl, Chela, that he saved from the former madame for whom he previously worked; and caretaker of his father, a recent stroke victim and former Los Angeles Police chief.  His relationship with journalist April Forrest left him reeling and in an effort to rekindle their romance, he tracks her down in South Africa.

Through April's connections Ten is offered the job of body guarding Hollywood actress Sophia Maitlin, who is in the country to adopt a baby girl.  Ten and Sophia have an immediate bond that is only made stronger through their mutual admiration of adoptive parents.  When baby Nandi is kidnapped back in the states, Ten is the one person Sophia trusts to bring her baby girl home.

What did you like about this book?
The pace of the book was just right.  There was never a slow moment and, at the same time, it never felt rushed. The storyline and characters were equally exciting and made this book a real page turner.

What did you dislike about this book?
I can't think of a thing.

What could the author do to improve this book?
Insert a pullout poster of Blair Underwood...No? Well a girl can dream, can't she?

365pp
Published May 2010



Theme: Agent Double-O Soul by Edwin Starr