Lori G. Armstrong's Julie Collins series
Oct. 8th, 2008 08:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jmc_bksI ranted last month about a line in Snow Blind, the fourth Julie Collins mystery, that jarred me out of the narrative. And I SBD'd about genre expectations and how they were fed or not.
It has come to my attention that my adoration for the series is at odds with my public posts. So prepare for some gushing. And for potential spoilers.
How did I find this series? I went looking for Armstrong's books after reading a review over at Dear Author. Borrowed one from the library, then had to buy copies of all of the books. Because my library had only the second book of the series on the shelf, I started there; that's okay, because the book stands alone, but it has slightly influenced how I would list the series in order of preference (the initial book of the series comes last).
Julie Collins is a functional alcoholic, or reads like one at least, because of her reliance on Don Julio tequila and peppermint schnapps in order to relax and sleep without nightmares. She's a chain-smoking, ass-kicking bundle of dysfunction, and being a PI seems to give her the perfect outlet for her propensity to snoop and to use her fists and gun. She's been a victim of abuse, and she lives her life with both caution and agression in order to avoid becoming a victim ever again. A resident of Bear Butte, South Dakota, Julie's world is peopled with colorful characters. She works as a private investigator with Kevin, her BFF since middle school. The two of them began the series with a weird UST that has since been resolved. Tony Martinez, el presidente of the Hombres, a biker club that controls criminal enterprise in the area, is Julie's boyfriend/significant other. As another character describes him, he's the most feared man in five states, but he's also a marshmallow when it comes to Julie. They fight a lot and usually follow the fighting with hot makeup sex. The rest of the cast of regulars includes Kim, a newish girlfriend who fills a void in Julie's life; Jimmer, a big brother type who is also a rumored ex-commando sort who still does covert jobs; Doug Collins, Julie's father, an angry, bitter man; and Ben, Julie's half-Lakota half-brother who was killed before the series began. Why include Ben, a dead guy? Because his existence and death were and are still catalysts for who and what Julie is.
Blood Ties: Julie Collins is introduced. Returning to Bear Butte County to work as a secretary in the sheriff's office, Julie is grieving still over the unsolved murder of her brother and angry about the lack of attention that Native American deaths receive. When a sixteen year old white girl is killed, she is sure that it will receive more attention than others by virtue of skin color, but she is surprised to learn that her childhood friend, Kevin, has been hired to look into the whereabouts of the victim before her death. Working part time for Kevin, Julie gets drawn into ugly family secrets that the dead girl's family kept.
Hallowed Ground: Another Indian casino is being built, this time on the hallowed ground of Mato Paha. Now working with Kevin as a full-time private investigator, Julie becomes interested in the controversy surrounding the casino for two reasons: because a suspected parental kidnapper is working as foreman, and because the driving force behind the casino is Leticia Standing Elk, estranged fullblood Lakota sister of Julie's half-blood half-brother, Ben. When the foreman is shot, Julie has to figure out who the shooter is -- someone opposed to the casino? a competing "business" owner from Deadwood? or maybe even Julie's own client?
Shallow Grave: Out on routine surveillance for an insurance claim, Julie and Kevin witness an accidental death that later leads to the discovery of more bones. Do the bones belong to a long dead burial ground? Or are they more recent? Who moved them and why? While investigating, Julie runs into the Standing Elk family again, and learns that they hid information about Ben and his death.
Snow Blind: Winter in South Dakota is brutal and business is sluggish. Kevin and Julie take a marginal case checking into the treatment of a resident of a retirement home. Their professional and personal relationships are strained by Kevin's involvement with the client, and Julie is having problems on the home front as Martinez's business endangers her. Add in a dead body on her father's farm and an old man who freezes to death, and you have a busy, cold February for Julie.
LGA's narrative as it touches on the geography, history, economy and culture of western South Dakota is fascinating: the tension between tribal and county government; the pervasive racism; the backbreaking work of ranching. As an East Coast person whose experience of the Midwest is limited to Madison WI and Cleveland OH (are they even midwest, really?), the glimpse into what is essentially a foreign world really captured my attention.
Armstrong does not shy away from violence on the page, or from descriptions of the ugly results of said violence. But it never seems excessive -- it is a function of 1) the set of characters and 2) the fact that these books are murder mysteries. The casual use of guns is very noticeable -- in fact, when I first read Hallowed Ground, I mentioned it to a colleague because it was so alien to me**. [Note: this is just an observation, not a criticism or judgment.] At one point, a housewife mentions going to get her shotgun.
LGA's writing has improved with each book. Although I am no language or writing guru, I think that although Armstrong isn't the best technician in terms of her prose, she is an excellent storyteller, if that makes sense. For example, (IMO) Joanna Bourne and Sherry Thomas both seem to have a facility for writing smart, pretty prose; I admire it and probably others would say it is "better", but at the same time, I'm not all that impressed or engaged by the characters they've created or the stories they are telling with their lovely language. LGA is a little bit the opposite for me -- I'm sucked into the stories, even with the occasional clunky phrasing. And there's sometimes just a passage that cracks me up with the humor and the dead on phrasing. The Trifecta of Terror, being one, the name Julie gives Martinez's trio of bodyguards/security guys.
Re: growth/improvement, in Snow Blind, I was very impressed with the way she established the basis for both Julie's escape from danger and the resolution of the main mystery. No deus ex machina, just Julie's muscle and brains, but with bits and pieces of things that had been scattered here and there earlier in the book. The editing seems a little bit tighter with each book. And the typesetting (which admittedly is a publisher problem, not an author problem) is improving. There is still some dropped punctuation and awkward sentences but fewer, and the multitude of dropped paragraph breaks have disappeared.
My other quibbles: must the Bad Guy have skanky villain sex, even just implied? "wet nurse" probably should only be used in the context of nursing an infant, not re: adult recuperation, unless it is some sort of sexual entendre; some continuity problems (brunette changes to redhead, guy married and unmarried on the same page). But they are minor in the end, just little things.
Questions about the future of the series: who was the guy in the Blazer? did he belong to the bad guy? have all of the bad guy's supporters been rooted out? Or was it someone else, maybe a lead for the next book? Will we be seeing more of Big Mike? His growth in page space is interesting and curious.
Why I'm hooked on the series: Because Julie is a fascinating character who seems fully-fleshed out. She's capable of violence, self-reliant, damaged, and soft-hearted in some ways, but covered in a tough girl shell. I'm not sure I'd want to be BFF with her, but I'd love to shoot pool with her on occasion. She'd probably drink me under the table and still kick my ass. Also, I get parts of her. Her memories of her teenaged bedroom? Could've been mine. And we have very similar taste in music.
Am very curious to see where the series goes and where the relationship with Tony goes as well. As I mentioned in the SBD post, there's no HEA expectation here because it's not a genre romance. The two seem well-matched and have said The Words, but it didn't magically solve their problems a la romance. Given the risks and violence attendant upon Tony's life and Julie's (own her own and because of Tony), I wonder if ultimately they'll end in (premature) death or disaster. Hope not.
The books are available on Amazon. I couldn't find a link for e-versions anywhere, but perhaps my google skills are lacking.
Armstrong's website is here. It mentions a second series, one sold to Simon & Schuster, but I haven't been able to find any other references or release info over at SimonSays.com, but a fellow blogger-writer posted that it will be released in hardback, probably in 2009.
**Which seems weird in retrospect, because I grew up in a very rural area, and had Hunter's Safety class in 6th grade. Before sex ed. And it included a trip to the rifle range. My family own guns. Although they are hunting guns, not hand guns.
It has come to my attention that my adoration for the series is at odds with my public posts. So prepare for some gushing. And for potential spoilers.
How did I find this series? I went looking for Armstrong's books after reading a review over at Dear Author. Borrowed one from the library, then had to buy copies of all of the books. Because my library had only the second book of the series on the shelf, I started there; that's okay, because the book stands alone, but it has slightly influenced how I would list the series in order of preference (the initial book of the series comes last).
Julie Collins is a functional alcoholic, or reads like one at least, because of her reliance on Don Julio tequila and peppermint schnapps in order to relax and sleep without nightmares. She's a chain-smoking, ass-kicking bundle of dysfunction, and being a PI seems to give her the perfect outlet for her propensity to snoop and to use her fists and gun. She's been a victim of abuse, and she lives her life with both caution and agression in order to avoid becoming a victim ever again. A resident of Bear Butte, South Dakota, Julie's world is peopled with colorful characters. She works as a private investigator with Kevin, her BFF since middle school. The two of them began the series with a weird UST that has since been resolved. Tony Martinez, el presidente of the Hombres, a biker club that controls criminal enterprise in the area, is Julie's boyfriend/significant other. As another character describes him, he's the most feared man in five states, but he's also a marshmallow when it comes to Julie. They fight a lot and usually follow the fighting with hot makeup sex. The rest of the cast of regulars includes Kim, a newish girlfriend who fills a void in Julie's life; Jimmer, a big brother type who is also a rumored ex-commando sort who still does covert jobs; Doug Collins, Julie's father, an angry, bitter man; and Ben, Julie's half-Lakota half-brother who was killed before the series began. Why include Ben, a dead guy? Because his existence and death were and are still catalysts for who and what Julie is.
Blood Ties: Julie Collins is introduced. Returning to Bear Butte County to work as a secretary in the sheriff's office, Julie is grieving still over the unsolved murder of her brother and angry about the lack of attention that Native American deaths receive. When a sixteen year old white girl is killed, she is sure that it will receive more attention than others by virtue of skin color, but she is surprised to learn that her childhood friend, Kevin, has been hired to look into the whereabouts of the victim before her death. Working part time for Kevin, Julie gets drawn into ugly family secrets that the dead girl's family kept.
Hallowed Ground: Another Indian casino is being built, this time on the hallowed ground of Mato Paha. Now working with Kevin as a full-time private investigator, Julie becomes interested in the controversy surrounding the casino for two reasons: because a suspected parental kidnapper is working as foreman, and because the driving force behind the casino is Leticia Standing Elk, estranged fullblood Lakota sister of Julie's half-blood half-brother, Ben. When the foreman is shot, Julie has to figure out who the shooter is -- someone opposed to the casino? a competing "business" owner from Deadwood? or maybe even Julie's own client?
Shallow Grave: Out on routine surveillance for an insurance claim, Julie and Kevin witness an accidental death that later leads to the discovery of more bones. Do the bones belong to a long dead burial ground? Or are they more recent? Who moved them and why? While investigating, Julie runs into the Standing Elk family again, and learns that they hid information about Ben and his death.
Snow Blind: Winter in South Dakota is brutal and business is sluggish. Kevin and Julie take a marginal case checking into the treatment of a resident of a retirement home. Their professional and personal relationships are strained by Kevin's involvement with the client, and Julie is having problems on the home front as Martinez's business endangers her. Add in a dead body on her father's farm and an old man who freezes to death, and you have a busy, cold February for Julie.
LGA's narrative as it touches on the geography, history, economy and culture of western South Dakota is fascinating: the tension between tribal and county government; the pervasive racism; the backbreaking work of ranching. As an East Coast person whose experience of the Midwest is limited to Madison WI and Cleveland OH (are they even midwest, really?), the glimpse into what is essentially a foreign world really captured my attention.
Armstrong does not shy away from violence on the page, or from descriptions of the ugly results of said violence. But it never seems excessive -- it is a function of 1) the set of characters and 2) the fact that these books are murder mysteries. The casual use of guns is very noticeable -- in fact, when I first read Hallowed Ground, I mentioned it to a colleague because it was so alien to me**. [Note: this is just an observation, not a criticism or judgment.] At one point, a housewife mentions going to get her shotgun.
LGA's writing has improved with each book. Although I am no language or writing guru, I think that although Armstrong isn't the best technician in terms of her prose, she is an excellent storyteller, if that makes sense. For example, (IMO) Joanna Bourne and Sherry Thomas both seem to have a facility for writing smart, pretty prose; I admire it and probably others would say it is "better", but at the same time, I'm not all that impressed or engaged by the characters they've created or the stories they are telling with their lovely language. LGA is a little bit the opposite for me -- I'm sucked into the stories, even with the occasional clunky phrasing. And there's sometimes just a passage that cracks me up with the humor and the dead on phrasing. The Trifecta of Terror, being one, the name Julie gives Martinez's trio of bodyguards/security guys.
Re: growth/improvement, in Snow Blind, I was very impressed with the way she established the basis for both Julie's escape from danger and the resolution of the main mystery. No deus ex machina, just Julie's muscle and brains, but with bits and pieces of things that had been scattered here and there earlier in the book. The editing seems a little bit tighter with each book. And the typesetting (which admittedly is a publisher problem, not an author problem) is improving. There is still some dropped punctuation and awkward sentences but fewer, and the multitude of dropped paragraph breaks have disappeared.
My other quibbles: must the Bad Guy have skanky villain sex, even just implied? "wet nurse" probably should only be used in the context of nursing an infant, not re: adult recuperation, unless it is some sort of sexual entendre; some continuity problems (brunette changes to redhead, guy married and unmarried on the same page). But they are minor in the end, just little things.
Questions about the future of the series: who was the guy in the Blazer? did he belong to the bad guy? have all of the bad guy's supporters been rooted out? Or was it someone else, maybe a lead for the next book? Will we be seeing more of Big Mike? His growth in page space is interesting and curious.
Why I'm hooked on the series: Because Julie is a fascinating character who seems fully-fleshed out. She's capable of violence, self-reliant, damaged, and soft-hearted in some ways, but covered in a tough girl shell. I'm not sure I'd want to be BFF with her, but I'd love to shoot pool with her on occasion. She'd probably drink me under the table and still kick my ass. Also, I get parts of her. Her memories of her teenaged bedroom? Could've been mine. And we have very similar taste in music.
Am very curious to see where the series goes and where the relationship with Tony goes as well. As I mentioned in the SBD post, there's no HEA expectation here because it's not a genre romance. The two seem well-matched and have said The Words, but it didn't magically solve their problems a la romance. Given the risks and violence attendant upon Tony's life and Julie's (own her own and because of Tony), I wonder if ultimately they'll end in (premature) death or disaster. Hope not.
The books are available on Amazon. I couldn't find a link for e-versions anywhere, but perhaps my google skills are lacking.
Armstrong's website is here. It mentions a second series, one sold to Simon & Schuster, but I haven't been able to find any other references or release info over at SimonSays.com, but a fellow blogger-writer posted that it will be released in hardback, probably in 2009.
**Which seems weird in retrospect, because I grew up in a very rural area, and had Hunter's Safety class in 6th grade. Before sex ed. And it included a trip to the rifle range. My family own guns. Although they are hunting guns, not hand guns.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-10-14 02:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-14 03:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-14 03:14 pm (UTC)Thank you - really - from LGA
Date: 2008-10-31 12:08 am (UTC)Alas, Snow Blind is the last book in the Julie Collins series. I hate to say forever, but I've signed with a new publisher Touchstone/Fireside (Simon and Schuster) for a new mystery series, set in South Dakota -- big surprise! which will be out in Jan. 2010, in hardcover.
Stay tuned. My new female character is as cool as Julie is hot - that's all I'm saying :)
Lori G. Armstrong
www.firstoffenders.typepad.com
Re: Thank you - really - from LGA
Date: 2008-10-31 12:26 pm (UTC)