Back From the Dead by Peter Leonard (Book Review and Interview)

TOUR SCHEDULE

Feb 2 - Review by Krystal @ Live To Read

Feb 5 - Guest Post by Jodi @ Words by Webb

Feb 23rd - Review by Gautami @ Everything Distils Into Reading

Feb 25th - Showcase by Kate @ Read 2 Review

Feb 26th - Review by Athena @ The Stuff of Success

Mar 1st - Review by Misty @ The Top Shelf

Mar 3rd - Review by Kim @ Bookishly Me

Mar 4th - Guest Post by Mason Canyon @ Thoughts in Progress

Mar 7th - Guest Post & Review by Lori @  Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book

Mar 30th - Review by Gina @ Hott Books

Apr 1st - Guest Post & Review by Kathleen @ Jersey Girl Book Reviews

Apr 2nd - Interview & Review by  Kristi @ Books and Needlepoint

Apr 3rd - Review by Susan @ My Cozie Corner

Apr 7th Interview & Review by Jean BookNerd

Apr 10th - Review by Kathleen @ Celticlady's Reviews

Apr 11th - Review by Mary @ Mary's Cup of Tea

Apr 12th - Review by Victor @ Vic's Media Room

Apr 14th - Review by  Tammy @ The Self-Taught Cook

Apr 15th - Review by Rick @ Rhodes Review

Title: Back From the Dead
Author: Peter Leonard
Publisher: The Story Plant

About the Book: Peter's jaw-dropping Voices of the Dead introduced us to two mortal enemies:  Holocaust survivor Harry Levin and Nazi death angel Ernst Hess.  Now, their struggle reaches its dramatic conclusion in Back From the Dead. 

Bahamas, 1971.  Ernst Hess, missing and presumed dead, regains consciousness to find himself stuck in a hospital bed on a strange ward in a foreign country.  He must do what he needs to do to get his life back and to finish the job he has been doing for decades.

Harry believes he has already stopped Hess.  When he finds out that the war criminal has somehow survived, Harry must do the only thing he can do -- kill Hess again -- even if it means crossing continents and putting his life and the lives of those that matter to him on the line.

Action-packed and darkly humorous, Back From The Dead is the unforgettable conclusion to a story that launches Peter Leonard into the pantheon of great suspense novelists. 


My Thoughts:  Just as in his previous book about Harry Levin, Voices From the Dead, you jump right into the action on the first page.  I really liked that this book picked up immediately from where the last one ended.  It had been awhile since I read Voices, so it took me some time to get familiar with the characters again.  They are all back - even the despicable Ernst Hess - whom we thought we had seen the last of. 

It was a fast paced story with the characters doing a lot of world traveling in their game of who can kill whom first.   I was rooting for Harry, of course, as this all started with the loss of his daughter in the first book.  He doesn't mince words when he writes and it is all very much action driven.  The characters are all forces to be reckoned with and it is just a matter of time before someone comes out on top.  Finding out who that is will keep you on the edge of your seat!

I guess you could read this one as a stand-alone - but why would you want too?  Pick them both up - you will be glad you did!

Read my review of Voices From the Dead.

 

~I received a complimentary eCopy of Back From the Dead from Partners in Crime Book Tours in exchange for my unbiased review.~

About the author: Peter Leonard lives in Birmingham, Michigan. He has published five novels: QUIVER, TRUST ME, ALL HE SAW WAS THE GIRL, VOICES OF THE DEAD, and BACK FROM THE DEAD.


Visit Peter on his website: http://www.peterleonardbooks.com or on facebook. 



 







I was very lucky to have Mr. Leonard answer some questions for me!  Please enjoy the interview below.

1. How do you typically write? Do you plot it all out beforehand or do you just let the story pour out?

 

I’ve written books both ways. I’ve outlined stories where I know the starting point and the end, but not how I’m going to get there. The book I’m currently writing is free form. I don’t know where I’m going or what is going to happen.

I think it’s more fun this way.

 

2. Do you have much say in the title or covers of you books?

I’ve only had to change one title. The original was: As The Romans Do, which in retrospect didn’t have much attitude. I changed it to: All He Saw Was The Girl.

 

As for covers, the answer, strangely enough, is yes. I was a partner in an ad agency when I wrote my first novel Quiver, and St. Martin’s, my publisher at the time, showed me half a dozen covers. I didn’t care for any of them, so I asked Jim Tocco, an art director and one of the partners at the agency to come up with a couple ideas. His first cover design was unanimously chosen. Since then Jim has designed three more covers for my current publisher, The Story Plant.

3. What would you tell a beginning writer?

 

Find a writer you really like, and copy him/her until you develop your own sound and style. Every writer is influenced by someone.

4. Do you have a favorite quote?

“If it sounds like writing, rewrite it.” This is from my father, Elmore Leonard. If you’re telling the story through the eyes of your characters in shifting points of view as I do, the writing has to sound like the characters.

5. Do you have a favorite place to write or “must haves” while writing?

 

I write in a wood-paneled den with a fireplace in my house in Birmingham, Michigan, now looking out at the snow-covered front lawn. My dog, Sam, a miniature Pincher, sits in a little chair next to me. I write in longhand on lined legal pads, and then I transpose that to an Apple MacBook Pro. I try to write four pages a day. The most I’ve ever written in a day is six.

 

6. Where/when do you brainstorm best?

 

The best idea time for me is first thing in the morning, laying in bed, thinking about what I wrote the day before, and what’s next.

7. What is your favorite way to promote a book?

 

Talking about it, whether it’s a broadcast interview, speaking at a local library, or college/university. I enjoy interacting with readers, talking about writing, answering questions.

8. How long do you think about a story before starting to write the book?

 

It varies, a week, a month, typically when the proper research is finished. The inspiration for the book I’m writing, Unknown Remains, came from a lunch conversation with an old friend. I was writing another book at the time and put it aside and wrote the first chapter, which amazingly still sounded interesting to me when I picked it up a year later.

9. Do you have any hidden talents?

 

I think I’m a pretty good cook. I’ve been the main cook in the family since I got married thirty years ago. I make dinner after writing all day. A few evenings a week, my newly single father, Elmore comes over and we eat, drink wine and talk about writing.

 

 

Back From the Dead

Publisher/Publication Date:  The Story Plant, Jan 2013

ISBN: (P) 978-1-61188-063-2 (E) 978-1-61188-064-9

282 pages

Voices of the Dead by Peter Leonard (Blog Tour and Giveaway!)

Title: Voices of the Dead
Author: Peter Leonard

Publisher: The Story Plant

About the Book: The year is 1971. The place is Detroit. Harry Levin, a scrap metal dealer and Holocaust survivor, has just learned that his daughter was killed in a car accident. Traveling to Washington, DC to claim the body, he learns that the accident was caused by a German diplomat who was driving drunk. This is only the beginning of the horror for Harry, though, as he discovers that the diplomat will never face charges he has already been released and granted immunity. Enraged and aggrieved, Harry discovers the identity of his daughter’s killer, follows him to Munich, and hunts him down. What Harry finds out about the diplomat and his plans will explode his life and the lives of everyone around him.

Brimming with action and dark humor, Voices of the Dead, firmly positions Peter Leonard as a writer ever suspense fan needs to read.

My thoughts: Since I started blogging I have began reading the introductions and acknowledgements a lot more.  In the introduction to this book, Elmore Leonard states about Peter Leonard's writing "...no long-winded parts of it overwritten, no show-off descriptions that say, "Hey, look at my writing,"  so I was thinking about this as I read the book.  I have to agree with that statement and I found it refreshing.  Much of the book is set in Germany and surrounding locations and I think some writers would have spent some time describing the countryside, but this is not one of them, and it is not missed.  But enough about what the book wasn't.

What it was was a great page-turning suspense novel.  You are introduced to the main characters immediately and the ball gets rolling within the first few pages.  Slowly you begin to see how the characters are intertwined and to what extent.  You can't help but feel sympathy for Harry, upon learning that his daughter was killed by a drunk driver.  And imagine his outrage when he finds out that nothing is going to be done about it!  Though not really in his nature, he takes it upon himself to track the killer down, not really knowing what he will do if he finds him. 

Well, he finds him and suddenly past and present come together in ways no one can imagine.  While in Munich he meets Cordell, a recently discharged serviceman who also happens to be from Detroit.  I loved Cordell and found myself laughing at some of his thoughts and interactions with Harry. 

The book moves along very quickly, and I think the majority of it takes place in about two weeks time.  Sometimes I would get some of the characters mixed up, but would soon be back on the right track.  The author wraps it up satisfactorily, but in my mind, leaves some wiggle room - maybe for another book?

I was provided a complimentary PDF of this book from Partners in Crime Tours, as well as the excerpt below for your enjoyment:

Hess found out the woman lived on P Street in Georgetown, not far from the consulate. He told the ambassador he was having dinner with potential clients, and wanted to drive himself. It was unorthodox, but plausible. He had been issued one of the embassy’s Mercedes sedans. He stopped at a bookstore and bought a map of the area, and located P Street. He drove there and saw the Goldman residence, a federal-style brick townhouse.

Hess went to a restaurant and had dinner and a couple drinks. At ten o’clock he drove back, parked around the corner on 32nd Street between two other vehicles so the license plate was not visible to anyone driving by. He walked to the Goldmans’, stood next to a tree in front of the three-storey townhouse. There were lights on the first floor. He walked to the front door and rang the buzzer. He could hear footsteps and voices inside. A light over the door went on. Hess stood in the open so whoever it was would see he was well dressed. The door opened, a man standing there, assumed he was Dr. Mitchell Goldman, dark hair, big nose, mid-forties, top of the shirt unbuttoned, exposing a gold chain and a five-pointed star. Hess smiled. “My car is on the fritz. May I use your phone to call a tow truck?”

Dr. Goldman stared at him with concern.

“I am staying just down the street at the consulate,” Hess said, smiling. Now the door opened and he stepped into the elegant foyer, chandelier overhead, marble floor.

“Mitch, who is it?” a woman said from a big open room to his right.

Dr. Goldman looked in her direction. “Guy’s having car trouble, wants to use the phone.”

“It’s ten o’clock at night.”

“He’ll just be a minute,” the dentist said.

Hess could see the woman sitting on a couch, watching television.

“The phone’s in here.” The dentist started to move.

Hess drew the Luger from the pocket of his suit jacket,and aimed it at Goldman.

The dentist put his hands up. “Whoa. Easy.”

“Who is in the house?”

“Just the two of us.”

“Are you expecting anyone?”

He shook his head.

“Tell her to come in here,” Hess said.

“What do you want? You want money?” He took his wallet out and handed it to him. “There’s eight hundred dollars in there.”

“Call her,” Hess said.

“Hon, come here, will you?”

“I’m watching ‘All in the Family.’ Can you wait till the commercial?”

Hess could hear people laughing on the television.

“Just for a minute,” the dentist said.

Hess saw her stand up and step around a low table in front of the couch, moving across the room, still looking back at the television. She turned her head as she entered the foyer and saw him holding the gun. Her hair looked darker in the dim light but he had only seen her briefly that day.

“Oh-my-god,” she said, hands going up to her face.

“We’re reasonable people,” the dentist said. “Tell us what you want.”

“The pleasure of your company,” Hess said. “Where is the cellar?”
(from Voices of the Dead by Peter Leonard

Author Bio: Peter Leonard’s debut novel, QUIVER, was published to international acclaim in 2008 (“A spectacular debut...you will be holding your breath until the final page.”– The New York Sun). It was followed by TRUST ME in 2009 (“TRUST ME is fast, sly and full of twists.” – Carl Hiaasen, New York Times bestselling author). The Story Plant will publish Leonard’s newest novel, ALL HE SAW WAS THE GIRL, in the spring of 2012.

 

 

You can find out more about Peter Leonard and his books at http://peterleonardbooks.com/ and also at The Story Plant.

Now for the giveaway!  I get to giveaway one copy of Peter Leonard's newest book - All He Saw Was the Girl. To enter the giveaway, please fill out rafflecopter below - US only - ends March 1, 2012.

 About this book - Rome: McCabe and Chip, two American exchange students, are about to become embroiled with a violent street gang, a beautiful Italian girl and a flawed kidnapping plan.Detroit: Sharon Vanelli's affair with Joey Palermo, a Mafia enforcer, is about to be discovered by her husband, Ray, a secret service agent.Brilliantly plotted and shot through with wry humour, All He Saw Was the Girl takes place as these two narratives converge in the backstreets of Italy's oldest city. A thrilling ride, it once again displays Peter Leonard's genius for exploring the wrong turns that life can take.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway







Voices of the Dead
Publisher/Publication Date: The Story Plant, Jan 2012
ISBN: 9781611880328
320 pages

ARC Arrival: Trust Me by Peter Leonard

Trust Me by Peter Leonard

Publisher: Minotaur Books

About the book: An ensemble cast of schemers, losers, thugs, con-men, and killers runs amok in Trust Me, Peter Leonard's high-speed thriller that careens through the neighborhoods of Detroit, pausing only for the occasional flirtation - or to reload.

When two thieves, Bobby and Lloyd, break into a wealthy house, they encounter Karen, who, instead of being scared, sizes the duo up and tries out a tempting proposition on them: How would you two like to make some real money? Soon the crooks have been roped into Karen's plan to rob her ex-boyfriend Samir, a shady bookmaker to who she had entrusted three hundred grand of her own, which Samir never returned after their breakup. Samir is guarded by a crew of heavies, one of whom is ex-cop O'Clair, a collector on the lookout for a certain individual whose bets are long past due - a gambling addict and sometimes-thief named Bobby. Yes, the very same.

Having assembled her crew, Karen believes her scheme to be foolproof, but then, she's never encountered fools like these. The robbery turns fatal, and soon Karen is on the run with the recovered three hundred thousand plus a whole lot more. The rest of the players are after her and simultaneously out to get each other. It's a tangled situation from which no one can escape without some serious help, but if this collection of backstabbers has one rule, it's Don't trust anybody. (FSB Associates Book Announcement)

About the author: A partner in the ad agency of Leonard, Mayer & Tocco, Inc., Peter Leonard lives in Birmingham, Michigan with his wife and four children. His debut novel Quiver came out in 2008.

Trust Me
Publisher/Publication Date: Minotaur Books, March 2009
ISBN: 978-0-312-37903-2
304 pages