Life’s Weirder Than Fiction

Hey, World, I just dropped by to let you know I’ve decided to get with the program and start my own blog. After all, I’m the one solving the weird cases. I should be the one writing about them. I got to write the damn reports, anyway, I might as well share them.

Okay, the big cases I leave to my ghostwriter, M. D. Benoit, but there’s a lot she’s not interested in logging in, so I told myself, what the hell, I might as well do it. That ought to keep me out of trouble for a few days out of the month.

In the Jack Meter Case Files, you’ll not only be able to read about some of the weird cases I had, but I’ll also let you know about my take on things. There are a lot of weird things happening in this weird universe of ours. Plus, my life’s changing, and not a little, so you’ll be able to keep up with all the new characters that pop up to stir the pot.

I’ve already two cases posted on my blog, so mosey along there and have a look.

Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.

Jack

Death Game, by Cheryl Swanson

What would push Cooper O’Brien’s brother Jimmie to shoot and kill another teenager, one he didn’t even know? The evidence is there: a tape of the shooting, with Jimmie’s face clear as day on it. But Jimmie isn’t there to defend himself. He disappeared, leaving behind the murder weapon.

What follows is Cooper’s quest to prove her brother innocent, despite all the evidence against him. As she gathers facts, the situation becomes more and more complex. Is everyone involved in a dark, secret plot, including her ex-husband and her ex-lover? Where is Jimmie, and what would have impelled him to kill? Did his beloved video games hide a darker side to them?

Death Game hits the ground running, and doesn’t stop until the end. With this first novel, Swanson impresses with complexity of plot, intricate characters, thrilling suspense, and a final chase worthy of a James Bond movie. Swanson also gave Cooper O’Brien a sharp, gutsy, sarcastic tone that goes extremely well with her neurotic toughness.

Death Game is a satisfying read that ends in a thrilling climax, in which Cooper barely escapes with her life. Or, does it really end?

For all those who flip-flop between feeling completely mushy and completely cynical about Christmas, my best wishes.

Santa has a plan…

Over at Writing English, I happen to fall on this post about 25 funny analogies. They’re tagged as the 25 funniest, and I don’t know that I haven’t read funnier ones than that, but they’re pretty funny. Those analogies were collected ty High School teachers. Here are some of my favorites:

• His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.
• She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.
• Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.
• Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.
• The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

For a complete list, mosey along to Writing English.

Eventide, by Kent Haruf

Eventide is the sequel to Plainsong, although it does stand alone. The brothers McPheron, two old bachelors who took in a pregnant teenager and learned to love her, now must let her go when she starts college. A young boy takes care of his grandfather and befriends two little girls. Two young children, who live with mentally disabled parents, suffer taunts and an abusive uncle. Summer is over. Winter is coming.

In his usually understated, beautiful prose, Haruf weaves his way through these peoples’ lives and makes us care deeply for them. He doesn’t spare any of his characters from suffering, and in this way paints a concrete picture of life in a small, isolated town.

Despite the bleak setting of winter, Eventide ends with a message of hope. Once night has fallen, light is not far away. Haruf, in his inimitable style, leaves each one of his characters poised, waiting for the light, and the reader waits with them.