Arturo Pérez-Reverte's Queen of the South

Arturo Pérez-Reverte is one of the best selling Spanish writers in the world. He's a master of historical mysteries set in modern times (The Nautical Chart, The Seville Communion, The Flanders Panel) and of period adventure novels (Captain Alatriste, The Fencing Master). A complete list of his translated books, with synopsis, can be found here. His captivating novel, The Club Dumas, about the hunt for a rare book that allegedly reveals the secret to open the gates of Hell, was adapted to the screen in 1999 by Roman Polanski under the title The Ninth Gate, starring Johnny Depp. The Queen of the South (La Reina del Sur) is Perez-Reverte's foray into the world of smugglers, drug runners and cartels, as seen through the eyes of a shrewd, beautiful young woman forced to survive, rise up and claim her place in a world of ruthless drug lords and underlings. The action travels from Mexico to Morocco and Spain. Many North American readers may be deceived by the English book cover, which visually makes us think of another historical mystery. I guess the publishers were trying to ride the Da Vinci Code wave. For your reference, I've posted the much more accurate original Spanish cover next to it.

Tara Moss' life of crime

Some facts from Tara Moss' web site:

"Tara Moss began modelling at 15 and worked as an international top model for over ten years before turning her hand to full-time crime writing."

"According to the latest ACNielsen BookScan sales figures, Tara is officially Australia's number one selling crime writer."

"In September (2008) crime writer Tara will be the first person inducted into the Australian Walk of Fame for services to literature. More info to follow."

"Tara has just graduated from the Australian Security Academy with her Certificate III in private investigation, and will become a licenced PI."

Something tells me Tara would rather spend an evening with former FBI profiler John Douglas, one of the founders of the Behavioral Science Unit, than strutting her stuff down a Victoria's Secret runway. Coincidentally, me, too.

Bone-breaking Hong Kong film history

Since the release of The Matrix, hardcore Hong Kong film fans have been bragging about how they used to watch Chinese kung-fu flicks and wire-gag extravaganzas, decades before Jet Li had his first hit in the U.S. It has become chic and de rigueur among film connoisseurs to display their knowledge of pre-Rush Hour Jackie Chan history, going back to his Snake in the Eagle's Shadow landmark kung-fu comedy. Well... Me, too! Me, too! I grew up in a town where 70s Hong Kong films were a HUGE draw at the local theatres. As little kids, we used to line up to be the first to buy tickets for things like The Blind Fist of Bruce (who the hell was in that picture, anyhow?). Then, we would beat the living daylights out of each other on the way home, in an attempt to replicate the oh-so-realistic martial arts we had just witnessed. I grew up heavily influenced by the stuff. Two decades later, I discovered that somewhere on the other side of the world lived Stefan Hammond, the estranged son of my grandmother's brother, who was a deep fountain of Hong Kong film knowledge and a legit industry insider, even though he's American and as Chinese as Cheddar cheese. Stefan has written two of the most insightful books about Hong Kong cinema published to date, Sex & Zen and a Bullet to the Head and Hollywood East. They are highly entertaining and filled with pictures and amazing anecdotes. You want to know where Tarantino and many other Hollywood boys got a bunch of their most famous ideas? It's all here, baby. Forewords to both books were written respectively by Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh. I'm glad I found Stefan. Now, I have a place to crash in Hong Kong.

Hard Case Crime novels

In the own words of the publishers, "Hard Case Crime brings you the best in hardboiled crime fiction, ranging from lost noir masterpieces to new novels by today’s most powerful writers, featuring stunning original cover art in the grand pulp style." This is a magnificent collection, a throwback to the days of sharp-tongued rugged men and the devilish damsels who knew how to manipulate them. At their web site, you will find blurbs about each book and a glorious gallery of cover art. Congratulations to the creators of the line, Charles Ardai and Max Phillips.