The Alphabet Challenge "J" Books

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 The "J" Books


Book one: Oceano Beach Bedlam, written by my friend Topper Jones

This is book two in the Thad Hanlon and Bri de la Guerra Mystery series. (I am eagerly awaiting the third.) In Book Two, Thad and his partner, Bri, are newly licensed private investigators. They do it all: fraud busting, background checks, surveillance, and anything else. They just need a client. When the body of a young man is discovered on the beach, Thad recognizes him from the day prior, when the now-dead young man was arrested with a few of his BVL 13 homies during a weapons search. After being questioned by the police, Thad and Bri head back to the tent where he and his son Zale are living, until the detective agency starts bringing in money. Bri lets Thad know that the fledgling company is in the red. They need a client or else. But where do you get a client? 

And then, an exotic, dark-haired woman makes her way across the sand to Thad's camp setup and hires the team to find her missing son, a surfing prodigy.

What follows is a roller coaster ride of one mess after another. The threads of the case all tangle together. Everyone seems to be involved. It's up to Thad and Bri to untangle the mess and figure out what is happening at Pismo Beach and why. Can they do it? 

This was a fun book. It kept me guessing with every twist and turn. I had to go back a few times to ensure I hadn't missed anything. If you are looking for a fun mystery with a healthy dose of surfing, I highly recommend this series. 

Book Two: Mapping The Interior, by Stephen Graham Jones.

Stephen Graham Jones is one of my favorite authors. I will admit that some of his books threw me for a loop, but the ones that sucked me in took me on a mental journey where inner demons and craziness seemed to walk hand in hand. This book was one of the latter. 

Walking through his house at night, a fifteen-year-old boy sees a figure of a man stepping through a doorway. The figure reminds him of his father, who died mysteriously on the reservation. Is it the ghost of his father, or is the boy seeing things? He follows the figure and sees it hunched over his younger brother before it disappears. Where did it go? 

For the next few nights, the boy maps out the interior of the house. He searches it from end to end for a sign, any sign, whether the figure existed or not. If it is his father, why is he back? Is he trying to tell him something? Strange, unexplained things start to happen. Can the boy stop it?

Death has a way of affecting people in different ways. Closure is hard to find, and this book is a mental trip. If you are looking for a psychological mind trip, get this one; it won't disappoint. But keep in mind that sometimes Stephen Graham Jones opens doors that lead to the darkness lurking inside. 





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