Daily Loaf

Sure, it happens at the movies all the time. Somebody jumps out of the darkness with a knife and we all shudder. A whole film genre has been based on such scares. But when was the last time that happened to you while reading a book?

For me, that happened just last week, at the halfway point of The Scarecrow (Little, Brown, $27.99) by Michael Connelly. Even though you know something is up, the moment that makes you jump and do your Good-God! James Brown impression hits you with the same shock and fear that grips the novel’s hero, Jack McEvoy.

Moments like that make you appreciate what a great novelist Connelly has become. His books will still be read 75 years from now in the same way that college students are required to read Raymond Chandler and James M. Cain. Connelly leaves most of his contemporaries in the dust.

The Scarecrow doesn’t feature Connelly’s main attraction, L.A. Detective Harry Bosch, but instead focuses on newspaper reporter McEvoy, the central character in Connelly’s The Poet and a supporting character in a couple of other Connelly books.

This story grows from the freak show that is the modern newspaper business. McEvoy is a dedicated and talented veteran journalist, so he is laid off from the Los Angeles Times and forced to train his young-sprout replacement, a naïve and ambitious rookie from the University of Florida. Connelly vents a lot about what’s happened to the newspaper business — he was an LA Times star for several years before becoming a novelist — but uses that heartbreak to open the door to yet another thrilling narrative. It’s a great tale about a cast-aside reporter on the trail of a bad-ass computer-whiz serial killer. That the book also shows evidence of the immorality of big-time journalism is an added bonus.

It’s a thrilling, masterful book and it reminds us of why we love to read: we love to get caught in the web by a brilliant storyteller. Connelly lives in the area and he has a few shoutouts to Florida homies that make the book even more fun.

It seems that it was just 20 minutes ago that Connelly published his last novel, The Brass Verdict, and he’s got another one — Nine Dragons, the latest Harry Bosch novel — coming out in October. Janet Maslin of the New York Times is always a tough review, but she praised The Scarecrow, then said at the end of her review that Connelly was too prolific, that he needed to slow down. But Dude — as long as the books are this good, please … please keep them coming.

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Spring is here and mysteries are in bloom.

There’s something about this time of year that seems to bring out the pollen and also the best in our great mystery writers.

Michael Connelly, who just delivered The Brass Verdict last fall (and sent it rocketing up the best-seller list) is giving us The Scarecrow (Little Brown, $27.99) in a couple of weeks. Jack McEvoy, the hero of The Poet, one of Connelly’s classics, is back and this time he’s laid off. In a truly ripped-from-the-headlines move, the great reporter is a victim of Los Angeles Times downsizing. We’ll talk more about The Scarecrow as we get closer to publication date, but early returns are in and Connelly has scored another winner. (In a move designed mostly to make the rest of humanity feel like a bunch of slackers, Connelly will have his next Harry Bosch mystery out this fall. Pardon me, Dude, but three books in a year . . . . Are you trying to make the rest of us feel like slugs?)

Author TIM GREEN

A couple of other Florida mystery writers are bringing out novels as well: Tom Corcoran’s photographer-sleuth Alex Rutledge returns in Hawk Channel Chase (Ketch and Yawl, $24.95). See my Creative Loafing profile of Corcoran for more details. And Randy Wayne White is in top form — and that’s saying a lot — in Dead Silence (Putnam, $25.95), his latest Doc Ford mystery. Watch Creative Loafing for a career retrospective of White in a couple of weeks.

But let’s stop and praise a couple of other great mystery writers now.

Being a mystery novelist is Tim Green’s third life — at least. After an NFL career (defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons) and service as an attorney, Green became a writer. As an author, he’s written a non-fiction book about adoption and professional football and also published a series of children’s books.

And he’s a heck of a mystery writer. His new book, Above the Law (Grand Central, $24.99), is one of those fast-paced novels written with the urgency of a Twitter post. Like James M. Cain or Robert B. Parker, Green writes as if he’s being charged by the word. He sets a fast pace, then picks up the tempo a bit.

In short, you’ll rip through this book. Read the rest of this entry »

Filmmaker Jeff Barrie (pictured) sheds light on energy in Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America, a documentary that focuses on where we get our electricity, the problems energy production causes, and the individuals, businesses, organizations, and communities trying to make a difference by practicing energy conservation and efficiency, and using renewable, green power. The film is screened locally for free, with special related presentations to follow. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Nov. 19-20, at Muvico Starlight 20 on Wed., and Muvico Centro Ybor 20 on Thurs., free admission.

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band bring their tour to Jannus Landing tonight. For more info about the show, see this week’s Upcoming Concerts page. 8 p.m., $25.

Studio at 620 welcomes author Michael Connelly appears for an intimate reading and signing event in support of the creative venue’s educational programs. 7 p.m., $30 (includes a copy of The Brass Verdict).

The topic for this month’s Wide aWoke Wednesday event — a live interactive talk show featuring a panel of local guests ranging from writers to religious leaders — is “Holidays, Holy Days and Pagan Days,” about the real history behind different holidays. 6:30 p.m. social hour, 7:30 p.m. show, USF’s Alumni Center-Traditions Hall, Tampa, $5 (free admission with student ID).

Another Steve Solomon comedy comes to Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, this one My Sister’s an Only Child, a prequel that sheds light on Solomon’s relationship with his twin sister. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sat., 1 and 5 p.m. Sun., Nov. 19-23, $31.50.

William McKeen is chairman of the University of Florida’s Department of Journalism and author of several books, including the Hunter S. Thompson biography Outlaw Journalist.

FESTIVAL O’ READING: This weekend is the literary equivalent of a weenie roast for book lovers.

The 16^th Annual St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading brings 50 authors to town for talks, signings and – we assume – mucho book sales.

The schedule spreads 10 authors at a time through several venues on the Poynter Institute and University of South Florida campuses. This could be frustrating, so plan accordingly. If you want to see Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River, and your beloved wants to see Orchid Thief author Susan Orlean, then you might come to blows because they are booked at the same time. When in doubt, we suggest therapy.

It’s a great lineup, and here are some of the people we’re looking forward to seeing:

Rick Bragg is here to talk about his latest book, The Prince of Frogtown (Knopf, $24). After writing about his mother (All Over but the Shoutin’) and the grandfather he never knew (Ava’s Man), Bragg turns his attention to his father, who abandoned his wife and three young sons. It’s another heart-wrenching masterpiece and Bragg, a natural storyteller, is almost as much fun to listen to as to read. Arrive early for good seating. Before he won a Pulitzer for the New York Times “for his elegantly written stories of contemporary America,” Bragg was a St. Petersburg Times reporter.

Sandra Tsing Loh is like Erma Bombeck on speed. Her book Mother on Fire (Crown, $23) has the subtitle “A True Motherf%#$@ Story About Parenting.” Writing humor is a serious business, and Loh is hilarious, taking aim at over-protective yuppie moms, the cult of the “gifted” child and the intricacies of the modern marriage. We might want to go to her session just to see the woman behind the wild persona. And since I brought her up, may we have a moment of silence for Erma Bombeck?                                                Thank you. Read the rest of this entry »