Reading a new book by South Lake Tahoe author Todd Borg is like settling down in your favorite fireside chair, confident that something pleasurable awaits you. So his latest book in the Owen McKenna series, "Tahoe Night," the sixth in the line, is something to really enjoy.
The major characters remain the same: McKenna, his great dane Spot (who has just about taken over the series as the chief character), Owen's girlfriend Streets and various cops and sheriff's deputies.
The new ones include a TV talk show hostess who survives a planned car wreck that leaves her face disfigured and her husband dead. She's terrified of everything. Her landlady fears she's being stalked and hires private detective Owen to look into it. A shooting leads Owen to New York City and into the world of art forgery.
A lot of work and research went into this thriller, which is really better than most of the genre. This is more like an art instruction tour, a look into art forgery, a series of bad guys trying to do worse things and good guys doing good. Nothing is tightly buttoned up, nor should it be.
And then there's Spot, who Borg reports had become his readers' darling. Spot plays a major role in the story.
Borg is an unusual author, one who has skipped the major publisher racket. He does it all, from writing the book to distributing, to printing and shipping. He goes to book fairs to promote and sell his works and it is a success story for him. He does better doing it all himself than many authors who sign up with major publishers.
Borg will be at the Carson City Library Sept. 19 along with a host of other local writers for Oktoberfest. He's always happy to chat and sign his books.
If you missed any of the first five books in the Tahoe series, they are available at thrillerpress.com. This new one sells for $16.95.