#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: Sins of the Mother - Victoria Christopher Murray

I'm a little slow to this party, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it.  The publisher sent me a copy of Sins of the Mother as a "you might also like" when I requested another book.  It took me a minute to realize that this was part of a series, but with a few minor exceptions, it was easy to catch up on what was going on.

Jasmine Larson Bush has had a pretty colorful past.  And I'd fill you in on that past, but all I could make out was that she slept with her archenemy's husband and got pregnant, while married to a minister herself.  Jasmine's husband, Hosea, agreed to love and raise Jasmine's daughter with Brian as his own and has done so for the past five years.  A shopping trip during the holidays turns from a joyous occasion into a tragedy when Jacqueline, the Bush's daughter, is kidnapped in the mall.

Brian and Alexis have had a rocky time since Brian slept with Jasmine Bush years ago.  Their once perfect marriage ended in divorce, but that hasn't stopped Brian from making every effort to reconcile with Alexis.  The stubborn Alexis has tried to distract herself with other men, but in her mind, she knows that her heart still belongs to Brian.  When news that his daughter has been kidnapped is brought to their attention, Brian rushes to Jasmine's side and leaves Alexis wondering if she's going to be hurt by him once again.

What did you like about this book?
Even though this is billed as Christian lit, the author doesn't go overboard with Biblical references.  Instead, they're sprinkled through as appropriate and the reader isn't overwhelmed by them.

What didn't you like about this book?
There's an assumption by the author that anyone picking up this book has read the previous books leading up to it.  While it was not difficult to follow along, it would have been helpful if more background was given about the characters so that anyone reading would have been brought up to speed immediately.  The members of the church disliked Jasmine, but the reader is not really told why.  Jasmine and Hosea live in New York, Brian and Alexis live in California.  If you're not familiar with the story, you have to draw your own conclusion as to how these couples met, interacted, etc.

What could the author do to improve this book?
As I said, additional background would have been great.

400pp
Published June 2010
Disclaimer: Received from the publisher

Theme: Criminal by Fiona Apple

 

#BookReview: Leaving Atlanta - Tayari Jones

In her first novel, Tayari Jones approaches a scary time in history for African Americans and their children. Leaving Atlanta is the story of three children living in Atlanta during the child abductions of the 80s. Tasha, Rodney and Octavia are students in the same fifth grade class in 1981. This is a fascinating read of how each child and their family approaches the recent abductions, especially those of their schoolmates, and the ultimate decision to leave Atlanta.