#95 Ragtime Cowboys by Loren D. Estleman Take a few real people and events from 1921 - like Joseph Kennedy Sr., former Pinkerton operatives Charlie Siringo and Dashiell Hammet, Jack London's daughter Becky and stepmother Charmian, Will Rogers, Wyatt Earp, real-life San Francisco gangster Paddy Clanahan, the Teapot Dome scandal (which destroyed Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall and blackened Warren G. Harding's reputation) - and you have an entertaining if somewhat slow-paced mystery with a literal bang-up finish. Estleman only bent the history a little to make this fit.
#96 The Striker by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott The first case for Van Doren Agency detective Issac Bell. Set against the laborer vs. business owner strife and union-busting by some industrialists, Issac finds his footing and solves a hugely involved case, meets and loses his first love, and eventually solves his first love's murder. Lots of action and little character development, which is typical of Cussler's later works, but still an interesting read. The Issac Bell series is one of several collaborations with other authors, some of which are better than others. If you like straight adventure novels, these will fill the bill.
#97 The Judge's List by John Grisham Lacy Stoltz works in the Florida state agency that investigates wrongdoing by state judges. Her cases involve accusations of bribery, bias, sexual harassment, age-related diminution of faculty, drunkenness or being under the influence on the bench, personal misconduct, and other lesser stuff. Then a woman calls her, insists on meeting outside the office, and in the meeting produces evidence of a sitting judge with a long history of deliberate murder of people who have offended him in the past. Lacy is naturally skeptical, but as the investigation deepens she's convinced. Now all she has to do is get the real police, the ones with criminal responsibility, to listen and believe her. It's a very engaging peek into the psyche of a madman who understands how to be someone he's not, and a look at a life consumed with an obsession that goes beyond a thirst for justice. Highly recommended to Grisham fans.
#98 Outlaw by Ted Dekker The author was born and raised by his missionary parents in the jungle of Irian Java among the Dani people. This novel fictionalizes a widowed Christian missionary's journey to bring the Light to a pagan people, her trials and tribulations, and the son she brought with her who helps her complete her purpose. The tribe described in the story is fictional, but the customs and laws are drawn from real aboriginal tribes in our world. Dekker's narrative rings true because he lived much of it. An openly Christian book accessible by all and sundry.
#99 Texas Ranger: the epic life of Frank Hamer, the man who killed Bonnie and Clyde by John Bossenecker If you recognize the name Frank Hamer (pronounced "hay-mur"), you probably think of character played by Denver Pyle in the Bonnie and Clyde movie with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. Hamer masterminded the ambush that killed Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, but he was far more than that. He was a Texas Ranger, a Texas state investigator, a husband, a father and step-father, and the scariest lawman for any lawbreaker to learn was on his trail. He was scrupulously honest, God-fearing, and direct with everyone, sometimes to the point of insult. But he also helped ex-cons go straight with job searches and finances. He was, according to the author, totally even-handed in his treatment of prisoners irrespective of ethnicity. He wasn't perfect - no one is - but he was far more than the vindictive assassin the movie showed. A fun read with lots of history about Mexican-American relations in the early 20th century, plus information about the cultures of the Southwest. Thumbs-up.
Is there a medal for getting to triple digits?
#100 How Much for Just the Planet? by John M. Ford Star Trek TOS. A Federation survery ship discovers a planet just dripping with raw dilithium at the same time a Klingon warship does the same thing. A distress call from the survey ship brings the Enterprise to the scene. Together the two crews contact and interact with the humans on Deridi (the planet) to mine the dilithium so the Organians won't interfere. The human settlement has no defense against the two mighty forces - except laughter. And you'll laugh too. This is far funnier than the Tribbles incident, and that one was laugh-out-loud funny. Three thumbs up.
