Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A New Start

The Slasher by Michael Collins

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Because he toiled in relative obscurity compared to his contemporaries, I don’t know much about Dennis Lynds’ (“Michael Collins”) evolution as a writer. Part of my disillusionment with the last few Dan Fortune novels, which sag in talent after an awesome start, is how Collins seemed to regress. Obviously, when you do a series for a long time, a rhythm develops and plots become familiar but my biggest issue was how Lynds reverted to lazy, familiar PI tropes that weren’t there in his earlier work. […]

Crime Doesn’t Pay

Frank Sinatra In A Blender by Matthew McBride

The Nightrunners by Michael Collins

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Been in sort of a mini-slump lately reading-wise and while both of these books had moments, neither was able to break it… Frank Sinatra in a Blender When you dial up the alcoholic ex-cop PI routine up to a 10, add a heavy dose of slapstick comedy and stupid criminals, this is what you get. Parts of this book are so much fun and very relatable, particularly the references to White Castle (my stomach churned just reading them). But this book desperately need a better […]

Do You Wanna Know?

The Silent Scream by Michael Collins (Dennis Lynds)

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Making my way through the Dan Fortune series and while I’m not sure “Dennis Lynds” (Michael Collins’ pen name for these books) is going to improve these like I initially hoped he would after greatly enjoying book one, he’s at least showing signs that he can grow. This is thematically similar to the other Dan Fortune novels I’ve read, and the Lew Archer ones the series inspired: the private eye gets involved in the nefarious deeds of a well-off family and has to untangle them. […]

The Past Is Not Through With Us

Shadow of a Tiger by Dennis Lynds (Michael Collins)

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The influence of Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer series is what originally drove me to this series. Dan Fortune can kind of be seen as Archer’s east coast counterpart, only he’s missing an arm and we know more about his personal life. In this one, Dennis Lynds (writing under the nom de plume “Michael Collins”) treads familiar territory for both he and his influencer: exploring the dirty deeds of a family. A recurring theme in many of these stories is the past often catches up to us. […]

Tales of the Past

Walk A Black Wind by Michael Collins/Dennis Lynds

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Lucked out that I finished this one on the last day of my Kindle Unlimited subscription as it’s the only one in the Dan Fortune series my local library doesn’t have. One of the best of the four I’ve read so far, maybe my favorite after Act of Fear. Michael Collins/Dennis Lynds takes the story out of New York City, or at least large parts of it, to investigate corruption in an upstate New York town. I always love a good tale of municipal corruption and there’s […]

All That Razz

Night of the Toads by Michael Collins/Dennis Lynds

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Trying to pour through as much of the Dan Fortune series as I can before my Kindle Unlimited subscription finally expires (for real this time). I really enjoy these books. I’m a Ross Macdonald devotee and “Michael Collins” (Dennis Lynds) is one of the closest writers I’ve read who’s capable of aping Macdonald’s style. He is empathetic yet engaging. He also uses just enough of New York City without getting lost in it. This one is another good entry in the series, though the seams […]



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