Ashes Never Lie
Sharpe and Walker, book 2.
“Where do you get that crap?”
“Spenser.” She took her head off his damp chest so she could look at him, but she didn’t let go and neither did he.
“Who is Spenser?”
“He’s a Boston private eye whose girlfriend is a psychiatrist. She’s always telling him that kind of stuff and that she accepts the risks that come from his gallant pursuits.” Page 139.
Only two mentions in the book that I recall, so it wasn’t a running gag, but as a recurrent theme? Pretty funny. That I read the bulk of the Spenser series, almost compulsively? Made this funnier, to me.
When I would “put the book down,” as this is only digital ink, digital library, but when I would stop reading the text, I kept thinking about characters, settings, plot line, the story, and what might happen next.
While this one was available for a while, I waited until it popped up the amazon “free” list. Regular library doesn’t carry much of this modern pulp-like material. But the way it got under my skin? I think there’s a style and structure that could be studied, a master class in how to hook, keep, and serve a reader.
Ashes Never Lie
The peeks provided by amazon and the author’s afterword indicate that the writer was a TV writer, first., Hence the pacing, but the eye for details, what points are revealed, no wasted verbiage, with ear for dialogue, just made it more enjoyable.
The fact that I’ve been stalking this text online, waiting for it to appear at either a library or the “free to me” section is merely window dressings.
Ashes Never Lie
Previously: Calico
