In a jam and on the lam REVIEWS BY BRUCE TIERNEY

Suppose you had been making regular (and illicit) payments to an unsavory underworld character for, say, the past 20 years. Then suppose you found out that you had only six weeks to live. When the bagman came around to pick up the weekly payoff, you might just tell him to get stuffed, right? I mean, what would you have to lose? Then suppose your doctor told you that he had made a mistake, and that your "terminal" disease was nothing more than an acute case of indigestion. It's time to take it on the lam, somewhere out of reach of the long arm of the lawless; at minimum, it's time to hire some muscle. Enter Cole Springer: affable nightclub owner, sensitive classical pianist and thug-thumpin' hard guy. It's Springer's job to act as protector, or in worst case, avenger. In Springer's Gambit W. L. Ripley has crafted a clever plot, created a thoroughly credible lead character and populated the supporting roles with as motley a crew of strutting sociopaths as has ever graced a seamy underbelly. We will keep our fingers crossed that this is only the beginning of a great new series.


Riordan's latest Texas tale

Author Rick Riordan is on a roll. He is the triple-crown winner of the three most prestigious awards in suspense fiction: the Edgar, the Shamus and the Anthony. His novels featuring Tres Navarre -- English professor and sometime private investigator -- have been well received by critics and readers alike. In The Devil Went Down to Austin Navarre finds himself in the unenviable position of investigating the murder of a friend, a murder for which Navarre's wheelchair-bound brother is the odds-on favorite suspect. And, as Texas is a capital punishment state, there will be no room for error, no second chances. Riordan's grasp of the great state of Texas is legendary, and he displays quite an aptitude for characterizations as well, particularly his urbanely lethal villains. If you like the writing of Dennis Lehane or Randy Wayne White, you'll enjoy getting acquainted with Rick Riordan.


Tip of the ice pick

The coveted award for June's mystery of the month goes to (drum roll . . . the envelope, please) mystery icon James Lee Burke. Burke came to prominence with his Dave Robicheaux series, which included the bestsellers Heaven's Prisoners and The Neon Rain. His latest, Bitterroot, features ongoing character Billy Bob Holland, a rural lawyer and ex-Texas Ranger. Normally a taciturn man, Holland has been known to open up a can of spicy Texan whup-ass in times of necessity, and a trip to Bitterroot, Montana, in aid of a friend affords him ample opportunity. In the course of his travels, Holland will have to come to terms with his demons: his overly developed sense of right and wrong, his embattled relationships with his loved ones and the ghost of his former partner, for whose death Holland feels responsible. In equal measure cerebral and physical, Burke's books are rich and satisfying, and Bitterroot is among his best. It will appeal to his legions of current fans, and may well pick up a few stragglers from the Louis L'Amour crowd as well.


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