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Here comes trouble!
The best kind.
The best kind.
Mover and Shaker Charles Kipps has been setting the world on fire with his brilliant work in more ways than one. Emmy? He's won that. Peabody? Charles earned that too. Humanitas? No problem, check. Gold Record? He's got seven as in plural records, so dance to this number called Times Square Trouble all literary awards givers! Now his killer writing style featuring stellar IRISH detective Conor Bard, a resident of Hell's Kitchen has got a third book to the series and of course the third time is a charm.
Conor's ability to listen to his inner voice is unparalleled. But is there enough peace in chaotic Manhattan to find that voice? If Conor finds it we hope he shares it with us. And thank you to Simon and Schuster who pitched us Charles Kipps's first book-they must be reading Whom You Know to know we'd probably like something like an Irish detective who's smart as a whip but not so smart that he first drinks Ketel One written by a guy named Charles.
The story began with Hell's Kitchen Homicide:
and continued with Crystal Death:
We believe Peachy Deegan was the only critic to love the books but cause trouble of her own in criticizing the vodka choice, so in this edition, Charles Kipps included Star Vodka, the Official Vodka of Whom You Know created by Founder and CEO Mover and Shaker Charles Ferri and the only Vodka you can properly make the Peachy Deegan cocktail with.
Thank you so much to Charles Kipps who wrote us in on page 102! Click here to read the quote. So, this is our literary debut and though more than one author has told Peachy he/she will write her into their next book, Charles Kipps is the first one who made good on the promise! We could not be more thrilled. Note: Charles Kipps did not know us before we reviewed his first book. He wanted to meet us when we said there really is a drink named after Peachy. He mentions other people in Times Square Trouble he likes too, like Frankie & Johnnie's, highly recommended by Whom You Know, and oh my goodness Peter when will you be getting online.
Charles Kipps has a pen that's sharper than a razor and a mind more brilliant than all the detectives in the world combined. We began reading this one night, but then could not sleep because we were wondering what happened next so we woke up in the middle of the night and read more. We read all of Times Square Trouble in less than 24 hours and it is so gripping.
The plot could not be better, and is clearly the piece de resistance of this novel meal. We don't want to ruin a thing so we'll mention little of it, but you know someone's getting killed. How? By whom? Can they figure it out? Maybe not. You'll just have to see. When push comes to shove however, when it rains, it pours...
After the plot, the characters in their own strength and in their relationships between one another are just perfect. Charles Kipps knows people and he knows how to paint pictures of everything from bipolar head cases of the world to the wolves of Wall Street to characters really cracking under pressure: "... It was obvious she had been crying. Her eyes were red, full of sadness. Not the sadness of sudden loss, but the sadness of weariness, the sadness of gradual erosion, the sadness of being beaten down. On the surface she had everything, the kind of life most women would trade for their own. But obviously there was a truly dark side..." (p. 116)
The strongest character interrelationship is without a doubt between Conor and his professional detective partner, Rosita. Their banter is ablaze! We quote page 241:
"Conor wasn't sure how to explain it to her, given that she had only been a detective for three years. Just like Ralph was never able to relate to him how a case that has been stalled for days or weeks can suddenly surge like a rogue wave rising from a calm sea, how you had to ride it wherever it took you because if you didn't, it would dissipate in an instant."
There are plenty of authors who write and never reference. They think it is all about them and the world they created rather than think about how who they are and what they created fits into the context of history. Literary history matters, and Kipps quotes Ulysses on page 129. There is a real depth to Times Square Trouble that greatly supersedes the average novel.
Beyond getting the story right,
Kipps is not lazy about checking to make sure all details are precisely accurate: did you know that there are 26,400 people per square mile in New York City? Early in on page 25, social media is advocated...not everyone believed in this concept when we began in 2009. And Grampy, we know you are reading up there - there's even a dog named Sarge in this for you.
Calling all big and small screen people-this series will look fabulous on you too! And as far as book awards go, this should take them all. Murder has never been so much fun!
One final note: Star Vodka has planned an event tonight to celebrate and you can find more details on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/starvodkausa
Times Square Trouble by Charles Kipps has earned our Highest Recommendation!
More trouble:
Charles and Peachy with the next book you ought to read!
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Emmy Award Winning Law and Order Scribe and Songwriter Charles Kipps Pens Third Detective Conor Bard Mystery
The Singing NYPD Detective, Conor Bard, is back in Emmy Award Winner Charles Kipps’ third installment of the Conor Bard Mystery series, Times Square Trouble, out now on Vigliano Books.
Bard has 10 minutes left in his shift when he catches what proves to be a blockbuster case – the stabbing death of a tourist at the crossroads of the world – Times Square. Bard balances a bevy of potential suspects and a profound sexual tension with his partner, Rosita Rubio, all while planning the gig of his life at the Cutting Room.
Kipps created Bard – protagonist for Kipps’ previous novels Hell’s Kitchen Homicide, Crystal Death and now Times Square Trouble, 20 years ago, after moving to Midtown, Manhattan. But Kipps’ Emmy winning success as a television writer for “The Cosby Mysteries” and “Law and Order: Criminal Intent” left Bard temporarily on the sideline.
“Luckily for him (Bard), the strike happened,” Kipps said.
Finally, with the television writers’ strike of 2007-2008, Kipps had the time to bring Bard alive. He pulled pieces of Bard from the cops he met at bars after moving to midtown in the 1990s. Like Bard, some of them were singers. So, Kipps mulled his character’s idiosyncrasies – like constantly relating popular song lyrics to life moments – at a table in the Upper East Side writer’s haunt, Elaine’s. Bard’s lyrical tick also recalls the Kipps’ own music industry pedigree, having worked as a songwriter for Motown greats Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and Temptation’s lead singer David Ruffin in the 1970s.
Kipps’ efforts led to the publication of Hell’s Kitchen Homicide in 2009, and Bard was on his way.
Charles Kipps has won an Emmy, a Peabody, and an Edgar Award. Kipps’ television credits include Exiled: A Law & Order Movie, Little Bill, Fatherhood, The Cosby Mysteries, Columbo, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Kipps co-wrote Fat Albert: The Movie with Bill Cosby. Along with the Conor Bard mystery series, Kipps is the author two non-fiction books – Out of Focus and Cop Without A Badge.
Times Square Trouble is available for purchase on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
