Previous collections include The Orpheus Complex, Braids & Other Sestinas, Thirteens, and Walk Like Bo Diddley. He has also completed a verse translation of the 19th century, Polish Romantic epic, Pan Tadeusz by Adam Mickiewicz. Kress teaches Humanities at Owens Community College in Ohio.
Praise for Living in the Candy Store:
From the early interweave of working-class life and intellectual and cultural erudition in poems such as “Letter from Bernard Malamud,” “Surplus Jeep,” and “Elmo,” through a glimpse of Polish women tending the graves in Gryzantyny, all the way to the hypnotic and heart-breaking “Ginsburg’s Harmonium,” Leonard Kress provides a feast of compressed, intelligent writing presented with highly polished craft — personal narratives full of colorful observations and surprising insights as well as touches of humor. The past is not even the past; whether it’s the Cold War or the Iliad, Kress makes it provocatively modern and alive —Oriana Ivy, author of April Snow (2011 New Women’s Voices Prize Winner), and From the New World
An army surplus jeep whose ride is as “choppy” as the final movement of Shostakovich’s 6th symphony? A memory of driving deep in Pennsylvania coal country to woo a girl whose miner father groaned “black piss” at the urinal, while the polka-dancing daughter would “sweat herself slippery, too slick to hold on to, changing her outfit, her partner with each set”? Getting a letter from Bernard Malamud, or reading Isaac Babel’s The Red Calvary alongside a co-worker perpetually hung-over from Mad Dog 20/20? Or, how about a poem titled “Notes for a Poem: The Liquidation of History,” one of the best long-poems I have ever encountered, tracing a forced march through the kaleidoscopic landscape of 20th century Poland, equal parts intelligentsia, alcohol, and ethnic complexity?—Daniel Bourne, author of Where No One Spoke the Language and The Household Gods, editor of Artful Dodge
Rating
There’s nothing better than a great fiction read that gets you so caught up in the mystery you forget the day you are living in! As a True crime writer myself, it’s always most impressive to see a mystery fiction writer get the details done correctly! Don’t miss this book! Alan R. Warren Best-Selling True Crime Author House of Mystery Radio Show on NBC
Langdon owns a mystery book store, but the pandemic is in full swing and the Governor has issued mandates and lockdowns making Langdon a homebody working around the house and getting closer to his wife. Besides, his PI business has also shut down since people are staying in their own homes. But then everything is opened again, but there are still mandates for masks from the governor. As Langdon’s book store opens, so does his PI business. He first gets a husband who is certain his wife was kidnapped and wants Langdon to find her. But there was something that just didn’t sit right with Langdon even though he agreed to check the case out. Maybe she just ran away! Then there is the woman who comes to him to investigate and find proof that her former boss (who fired her) not only sexually harassed her but he did it to other women. And to top it all of, a 4 year old boy is kidnapped and and the group who kidnapped him said they would kill the boy if the governor didn’t lift the mask mandate. Hit with these three cases at once is a burden to try and solve but our hero, Langdon, his wife and his friends go about helping him solve the 3 very twisted cases. Can they even be related? Will Langdon and crew be able to solve these mysteries? Will they be able to save the little 4 year old in time? There is a little too much when we get to read Langdon’s relationship with his wife, it sort of takes away from the main story line. There is also a political slant to the story. But the author writes well and everything flowed. I received an ARC of this book but the opinions stated here are strictly my own.
The question of masking has been a problem since the first wave of the Pandemic has eased. But one man in Maine has threatened to kill a 4 year old boy he has abducted if masking requirements are not eased. Then there’s the problem of a missing wife. Was she also kidnapped? And the woman who claims sexual harassment from a shady employer. So many problems and so little time to resolve them all. An enjoyable book and wonderful characters. I received an ARC for free and this is my honest review. Highly Recommended.
I found the book to be a bit choppy, jumping rapidly between characters. I did not feel it necessary to have the main character constantly having sex with his wife. Did not add to the story at all. I also felt the book was politically one-sided. People that believe in the vaccine and masking are the good guys and those that don’t are the bad guys. I don’t believe either group is bad. Everyone has the right to choose and should not be forced or demonized. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The novel occurs in Brunswick, Maine at the height of the Covid 19 pandemic (The Angst) when private investigators, Goff Langdon and his wife, are hired to find a kidnapped four-year-old boy. The kidnapper sends a video to a TV station and threatens to kill the boy by midnight on Halloween if the governor of Maine doesn’t lift restrictions on businesses and masking. Langdon has eight days to solve the mystery. This book has a great list of characters, and the plot is well developed up to the surprising and thrilling ending.
A fun mystery but not compelling. A good one to read when you know you cant finish in one sitting. Good characters to love and love to hate. A few twists to keep you on your toes. Worth the read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
