Stanley Trollip

I first met Crystal Nguyen in Dead of Night written by the writing team known as Michael Stanley. In Wolfman, one half of that writing team, Stanley Trollip, has written a prequel, telling Crystal's story prior to Dead of Night.

In Dead of Night, I had some problems with Crystal Nguyen, and after reading this book, I don't think I'll ever be her BFF; she's just too self-centered and impulsive even if her heart is in the right place. Crystal wants to be an environmental investigative reporter for National Geographic, but she goes out of her way in Wolfman to jeopardize her chances. Career in television not moving fast enough to suit you? Well then, just create your own news and report it. What could possibly go wrong?

In the first half of this book, Crystal spends too much time jumping in without thinking, and then she doesn't like the consequences. Like most young people, she also thinks she's ten feet tall and bulletproof. Time and again, her actions put her in danger. A friend finally has to get in her face and say, "I don't think you get it. Just because you are in the right, doesn't make you safe!"

Did my opinion of Crystal ruin the book for me? Not at all. I was thrilled to see that she actually did some growing up in the second half, and I really liked her attitude toward what she'd done. Sharing Crystal's relationship with a gray wolf she named Alfie also went a long way in helping me understand her.

Besides trying to solve the mystery, I quickly learned to look forward to Crystal's biathlon scenes, which both illuminated her character and added depth and excitement to the story.

Will we be seeing Crystal Nguyen again? I don't know. One thing I do know is that, if she does make another appearance, I'll undoubtedly read it. I may not particularly like her, but I do like reading about the trouble she gets herself into in her quest to save the natural world.… (mehr)

Cold weather and I are enemies. That's why I moved to the Sonoran Desert where the sun and heat suit me just fine. When I heard that there was a short story collection called Sunshine Noir, I knew I had to read it.

This collection of seventeen brand-new short stories are written by some of today's best crime fiction writers, and readers will find themselves in Africa, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Asia, the Middle East... anywhere there's plenty of sun and evil doings. The crimes are as varied as their locations, too.

I enjoyed every single story in this collection from beginning (Robert Wilson's "Extreme Heat") to end (Colin Cotterill's "When You Wish Upon a Star"). My favorite story title? That would have to be Tamar Myers' "Corpus Crispy," which is set right here in the Phoenix area. Most memorable line? "They live in a world that no longer exists" from Michael Stanley's "Spirits." Which is my favorite story? When my choices include gems like "Snake Skin" by Ovidia Yu, "The Sultan Rules Mombasa" by Annamaria Alfieri, Jeffrey Siger's "Someone Moved the Sun," and Kwei Quartey's "The Man in Prampram" (among so many others), it's impossible to choose just one.

I've been reading more short stories than I ever have before, and one thing that I can say with complete assurance is this: Sunshine Noir is the best collection I've read this year. Not only that, I've been introduced to some new-to-me writers, and I fully intend to read more of their work.… (mehr)