Short Book Reviews: A Train Robbery, a Russian Wizard, and a Hired Gun

A Longer Fall, by Charlaine Harris (Saga)

An alternate 1920s American South, complete with racial tensions, railroad travel, and conventional roles for women, forms the backdrop for this delicious mystery/thriller/urban-fantasy/romance in true Charlaine Harris style.

Lizbeth Rose is a gunnie, a hired gun, and she’s part of a crew who have been employed to transport a mysterious, crated object and in the process prevent anyone from stealing it. Their method of transportation is railroad, and it comes as no surprise that the train is sabotaged, resulting in much bloodshed, and in the wreckage that follows, the leader of the crew, badly wounded but holding on to the box, is murdered. 

Lizbeth teams up with an old flame, Eli Savarov, a magic-wielding “grigori” wizard otherwise in service to the Holy Russian Empire. They’re forced to remain in the town of Sally, Louisiana, until the box is recovered and the mystery solved. Step by step, they are drawn deeper into the layers of oppression, from the social pressure on Lizbeth to dress and behave like a submissive woman to the casual lynching of blacks.

The first person narrative echoes the “Sookie Stackhouse” novels in tone and diction, but that is part of their charm. Both Lizbeth and Sookie convey savvy, sass, and depth of emotion in deceptively simple language. They’re not the same character, however, and neither are they the author, who demonstrates her deep understanding of Southern American culture with all its shadows and strengths.

A fast-paced, engaging read with quirky world-building and compelling characters that left me hungry for the next installment.

GUEST BLOG: Patricia Burroughs on "What's Next?"

Patricia Burroughs — Pooks of Book View Cafe — began her writing career in romance with five published novels. She received nominations and recognition from RT Reviews and was a Finalist for Romance Writers of America’s Rita.

Then she got lured over to the dark side — screenwriting. She received a Nicholl Fellowship from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for an adaptation of her first published novel, What Wild Ecstasy, under the title, “Redemption.” Uncredited but paying work followed, and she was happy with her Hollywood dreams… Until one day she woke up with a new story rooting itself into her heart, a story that couldn’t be told in a script but needed many more pages to spread out, flex its muscles and take wing. She returned to novels and is presently writing an epic fantasy trilogy.

 
1) What is the title of your book?
Scandalous


2) Where did the idea come from for the book?
My muse had madcap heroines from the 20s/30s on her mind, I’m afraid, even though I was writing about a world firmly set in the (then) contemporary 90s. Before I knew it, speakeasies and flappers and romances of Christmases past were occupying my mind and the life of Paisley Vandermeir.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

Romance. It was meant to be a romantic comedy, and it definitely has those elements, but it ended up having a bittersweet poignancy as well, as Paisley deals with the death, bequests and scandals of her great-aunt.

4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Louise Brooks is the obvious choice, but alas, she is dead. So I’d go for Jennifer Lawrence, whose spin in Silver Linings Playbook is spot on perfect and has the kind of tough vulnerability (compounded by being downright weird) that I see in Paisley, even though the characters are very different from one another.

Also, even though she’s much too young, I definitely can see Susan Sarandon as the fiercely independent Aunt Isadora [aka Auntie Mame on acid]. I wrote a screen adaptation of this book in which Aunt Izzy comes back as a ghost and haunts Paisley in an attempt to make her do things she wants done. That was more fun than a bag of monkeys.

As for Chris–I don’t know. He just needs to be able to look charmingly befuddled, as if he doesn’t know what just hit him, splendid in a tux, and also be willing to fight like hell for love when he finds it.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
“All she needed was a safe little scandal, and he seemed as safe as they come. Oops.”