tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35662195018507773832024-03-14T04:59:31.370-04:00Read Me DeadlyThe Material Witnesses Talk About Books So Good They're Almost a CrimeSister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.comBlogger662125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-78562425760155757672016-08-09T22:04:00.000-04:002016-08-09T22:04:41.463-04:00Review of Tony Parsons's The Hanging Club<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s170/Nun+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s1600/Nun+Icon.jpg" /></a><br />
<b>The Hanging Club</b>, by Tony Parsons (International Edition, Century, June 28, 2016. To come from Minotaur on November 1, 2016))<br />
<br />
<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/512Sxfne0aL._SX323_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/512Sxfne0aL._SX323_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" width="208" /></a>As with the previous two books in this series, Parsons begins with a prologue describing a gut-churning scene of violence, setting off the police investigation that plays out over the pages. For those police procedural readers who are concerned about graphic descriptions of violence (and I’m one of them), I will say that these prologues are always short, don’t feel exploitative, and are more detailed and graphic than descriptions of violence in the rest of the book.<br />
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<br />
The Hanging Club is a group of four disguised killers who kidnap men and hang them, live-streaming the killings on the internet. These killings are not the neck-snapping hangings that professional hangmen used in the later years of the practice, though. These are slow, agonizing strangulations.<br />
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The Club members depict themselves as executioners in the style of Albert Pierrepoint, Britain’s last official hangman. Their execution targets are men who got off lightly after committing crimes against helpless victims. The internet broadcasts spark a media and online frenzy, with the majority supporting the Hanging Club, seeing them as doing the job that the police and courts are unable or unwilling to do.<br />
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Max Wolfe is a Detective Constable at West End Central station, and it’s his team that catches the Hanging Club cases. It’s West End Central’s usual good team of men and women, with a couple of new members joining this time around: a female sound expert whom Max finds himself attracted to, and a nebbishy historian.<br />
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<a href="http://dogsinpubs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/BkUsFeYIMAA3jub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://dogsinpubs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/BkUsFeYIMAA3jub.jpg" height="295" width="400" /></a>As always, Parsons cranks up the tension with a gritty, straight-ahead police procedural story and then releases it by shifting to Max’s after-work life with his sweet 5-year-old daughter, Scout, and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Stan. Max and his family are right on the edge of impossibly cute. But it’s a nice change of pace to have a police detective protagonist who isn’t an own-worst-enemy substance abuser and emotional cripple.<br />
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I loved the first book in this series (<b>The Murder Man</b>, published originally in the UK as <b>The Murder Bag</b>), but I found the second (<b>The Slaughter Man</b>) to be have several disappointing plotting problems. I was relieved that Parsons is back to form this time. The plotting is clean and propulsive, with just enough clues dropped along the way for a reader to solve the crime along with Max, and maybe even just ahead of him.<br />
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While I enjoyed this book very much, I can’t give Parsons full marks on it. He sets up a thought-provoking debate on vigilantism, but he gives short shrift to one side. He continues to have Max make stupid decisions that needlessly put him in danger––though at least as not as many as in <b>The Slaughter Man</b>. I was also disappointed that Parsons didn’t do as much with issues involving the media as he seemed to promise in the early stages of the book.<br />
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And now that I’ve read three books in the series, I can also see a character choice that Parsons makes with Max Wolfe that I’m not crazy about. When Max takes a physical or verbal beating, he is almost ostentatiously stalwart and uncomplaining. It’s clearly a play to gain sympathy for Max’s noble suffering character, but it's not an attractive trait.<br />
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I should also mention that I listened to the audiobook and recommend it. The narrator, Colin Mace, perfectly captures the Max Wolfe character.<br />
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<i>Image sources</i>: amazon.com, mirror.co.uk, dogsinpubs.com, buzzfeed.com.Sister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-39610255043753297702016-07-04T12:05:00.000-04:002016-07-04T12:05:14.900-04:00July 4, 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy Independence Day from all of us at Read Me Deadly</div>
Georgette Spelvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13853710671433406351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-14158867333466745732016-06-28T04:00:00.000-04:002016-06-28T04:00:15.915-04:00Review of Susie Steiner's Missing, Presumed<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s170/Nun+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s1600/Nun+Icon.jpg" /></a><b>Missing, Presumed</b>, by Susie Steiner (Random House, June 28, 2016)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/556844c6e4b07c004ad7c9aa/t/56a9380f89a60a995c0c432c/1453930539739/?format=500w" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/556844c6e4b07c004ad7c9aa/t/56a9380f89a60a995c0c432c/1453930539739/?format=500w" height="320" width="220" /></a>If you're a regular crime fiction reader, you know all about how the main genre breaks down into many sub-genres, one of which is the police procedural. I'm a big fan of the English PP, but I've enjoyed the more character-driven variations that we've been seeing recently in the sub-genre; for example, the quirky DC Fiona Griffiths in Harry Bingham's series.<br />
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Author Susie Steiner's variation on the traditional PP form is to broaden the focus of the character set. Instead of having a small team of detectives being the focus, with the victim, his/her circle and the suspects being seen only through the eyes of the investigative team, Steiner gives short first-person chapters to characters on both sides, the detectives and the victim's circle.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/03/14/20/32301CAF00000578-3492140-image-a-38_1457988645146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/03/14/20/32301CAF00000578-3492140-image-a-38_1457988645146.jpg" height="256" width="375" /></a>This way, the same events are seen through different eyes, bringing various shades and dimensions to the story. Better yet, this device allows Steiner to delve much more deeply into the effect of a crime and criminal investigation on the investigators, the investigated, and those associated with the victim.<br />
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The book tells the story of the investigation into the disappearance of the 20-something Edith, who is a Cambridge University student. Three characters dominate the first-person narratives: police investigator Manon Bradshaw and her detective partner, Davy, and Edith's mother, Miriam.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.guim.co.uk/5269a644b13147e849d2f0a09f0e1d73003c0a43/0_130_3888_2333/3888.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://media.guim.co.uk/5269a644b13147e849d2f0a09f0e1d73003c0a43/0_130_3888_2333/3888.jpg" width="320" /></a>Manon Bradshaw is the most-featured character. Her chapters are about both the investigation and her messy personal life. Manon is single, in her late 30s, and wading through the muck of online dating to try to find a partner before her biological clock strikes midnight. Her search is complicated (to say the least) by her clumsy interpersonal skills and deep ambivalence about developing close relationships.<br />
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As seems to be common with protagonists in crime fiction these days, Manon has strong tendencies toward being her own worst enemy, both personally and professionally. That particular device often irritates me, but in this case, it only made me roll an eye occasionally. If Steiner develops this into a Manon series, we'll see, though.<br />
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Through Manon and her work partner, Davy, we also learn about the rest of the members of the investigative team. Davy's chapters also include the story of his relationship with his girlfriend, Chloe.<br />
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Miriam, Edith's mother, is second to Manon in the book's focus. Miriam and her husband, Sir Ian, are privileged Londoners, whose whole world is suddenly ripped apart. Sadly, we all have read news stories or seen television depictions of the effect on a couple and their family when a child goes missing. One of the strengths of the book is Steiner's depiction of Miriam's thoughts and emotions––which are not always what the news and TV dramas glibly feed us.<br />
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<a href="http://static.cms.legacy.com/sites/default/files/styles/hero_detail/public/myths-about-grief-1600x500.jpg?itok=PHHA4Vf5" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://static.cms.legacy.com/sites/default/files/styles/hero_detail/public/myths-about-grief-1600x500.jpg?itok=PHHA4Vf5" height="150" width="340" /></a>There are several lesser-featured characters, including Edith's boyfriend, father and her best friend. Although we learn about them mostly through the eyes of the three key characters, these secondary characters are vividly drawn and add richness to the story.<br />
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This is a rewarding read, both as a police procedural and a study of the flawed and very human people who orbit a crime. I will keep Susie Steiner on my radar screen.<br />
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<i>Note</i>: I requested and received a free advance reading copy of the book from the publisher, through NetGalley.<br />
<br />
<i>Image sources</i>: susiesteiner.co.uk, dailymail.co.uk, theguardian.com, quotesgram.com, legacy.comSister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-30848807729550182422016-06-18T16:26:00.002-04:002016-06-18T17:48:39.657-04:00Review of Ferdinand von Schirach's The Girl Who Wasn't There<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s170/Nun+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s1600/Nun+Icon.jpg" /></a><b>The Girl Who Wasn't There</b>, by Ferdinand von Schirach (Abacus, June 7, 2016)<br />
<br />
The thing about Ferdinand von Schirach is that nobody writes the way he does. His style is cool, distant and spare, but it creeps up on you, and suddenly it's immediate and searing.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41EFkP0YxrL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41EFkP0YxrL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" width="209" /></a>I really didn't know where I was with this book when I started it. For nearly half the pages, it's the story of Sebastian von Eschbach, from boyhood to about age 50. He grows up on an estate, with his distant parents. He is deeply affected by a hunting experience with his father. He seems to have senses not shared by other people, including a perception of color so overwhelming he finds it almost unbearable. He becomes a celebrated photographic artist, exclusively sepia and black-and-white, then branching out into inventive multi-dimensional and video art exhibitions.<br />
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Though I didn't know where that first half of the book was going, I was still engrossed. Sebastian is an emotionally distant enigma, but one I wanted to solve.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">German television dramatization of a story from<br />
von Schirach's <b>Crime</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Then the book suddenly changes pace and direction when Sebastian is accused of murdering a young woman. Now the novel becomes the story of his defense attorney, Biegler, and Sebastian's trial. As with von Schirach's last novel, <b>The Collini Case</b> (see review <a href="http://www.readmedeadly.com/2013/07/review-of-ferdinand-von-schirachs.html">here</a>), the defense attorney must do his own investigation, because his client is largely uncooperative and seems indifferent to his fate.<br />
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Biegler's investigation and the trial make for a gripping exploration of the difference between perception and reality, the fallacies of what we believe and why. It makes some hard-hitting points about this in the context of modern-day geopolitics as well. It won't be a book for everyone, but if you think it might be for you, be prepared for the compulsion to read it all in one sitting.<br />
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<i>Image sources: Amazon.com, Hörzu.de, nolimitformind.com.</i>Sister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-34200521220177966872016-04-14T12:18:00.001-04:002016-04-14T12:18:48.650-04:00Patricia Wentworth: More Than Miss Silver<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s170/Nun+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s1600/Nun+Icon.jpg" /></a>I don't read all that many cozy mysteries, but I have a soft spot for Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver series. Miss Silver is a retired teacher who may be sitting in a corner, knitting, when visitors come to call on a country house.<br />
<br />
The visitors are told Miss Silver is an old family friend or relative, and they assume that the family is providing a little bit of comfort and company for an old lady living in genteel poverty. Little do they suspect that Miss Silver is unobtrusively gathering information that will reveal a blackmailer or even a killer.<br />
<br />
I read the whole Miss Silver series (32 books!) back in the 1970s, when they <br />
were already decades old and Patricia Wentworth had been dead for well over a decade. In the last couple of years, I've enjoyed revisiting some of them in audiobook versions, perfectly performed by Diana Bishop.<br />
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What I didn't realize is that Patricia Wentworth wrote many other mystery books outside the Miss Silver series; a couple of dozen standalones and three short series. Luckily for us, in addition to the Miss Silvers, Open Road Integrated Media is reissuing the other books in ePub and Kindle ebook formats. Here are the series titles:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Ernest Lamb series</span></div>
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<b>The Blind Side</b><br />
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When the handsome but evil Ross Craddock is found killed with his own gun, there is a wealth of suspects who had the motive to kill. The London Metropolitan Police department's Inspector Ernest Lamb, and young Detective Frank Abbott have their work cut out for them.<br />
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Who Pays the Piper</b><br />
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Lucas Dale is determined to break up the engagement of Susan Lenox and Bill Carrick, so that he can have Susan for himself. A spot of blackmail seems to have done the trick, until Dale is found murdered. Lamb and Abbott suspect Carrick, but soon find that there are quite a few others who wished Dale dead.<br />
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<b><br /></b>
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<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Pursuit of a Parcel</b><br />
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<br />
Lamb and Abbott become enmeshed in a deadly game of World War II espionage, with agents and double agents, mysterious parcels and a beautiful young woman in danger.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Benbow Smith series</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b>Fool Errant</b><br />
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A mysterious woman warns Hugo Ross not to take a job with an eccentric inventor, but Hugo needs the money. Soon he finds himself embroiled in a world of espionage and danger, and calls on Benbow Smith of the Foreign Office for help.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<a href="http://media.openroadmedia.com/files/media/2016/03/08/1457459371_Wentworth_BS_Danger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.openroadmedia.com/files/media/2016/03/08/1457459371_Wentworth_BS_Danger.jpg" height="200" width="129" /></a><b>Danger Calling</b><br />
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Benbow Smith recruits Lindsay Trevor, a former British intelligence agent, to rejoin the clandestine services to help catch a master criminal.<br />
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<br />
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<b>Walk With Care</b><br />
<br />
Benbow Smith becomes involved in an investigation to uncover the forces working to eliminate voices in favor of disarmament.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://media.openroadmedia.com/files/media/2016/03/08/1457459465_Wentworth_BS_DownUnder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.openroadmedia.com/files/media/2016/03/08/1457459465_Wentworth_BS_DownUnder.jpg" height="200" width="129" /></a><b>Down Under</b><br />
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When bride-to-be Anne Carew disappears, her desperate fiancé, Captain Oliver Loddon, contacts Benbow Smith. Smith believes this is just the latest of a series of abductions over the past few years by one man, but the police disagree. Loddon will risk his own life to save Anne.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Frank Garrett series</span></div>
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<b>Dead or Alive</b><br />
<br />
On the very day Meg O'Hara asks her Irish spy husband, Robin, for a divorce, he disappears. Time passes and he's presumed dead, but then Meg receives a message suggesting otherwise. Frank Garrett of the British Foreign Office investigates, along with Bill Coverdale, who has been in love with Meg for years.<br />
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<a href="http://media.openroadmedia.com/files/media/2016/03/30/1459352542_Wentworth_rollingstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.openroadmedia.com/files/media/2016/03/30/1459352542_Wentworth_rollingstone.jpg" height="200" width="128" /></a><b>Rolling Stone</b><br />
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While Frank Garrett investigates a series of thefts of valuable artworks, his nephew goes undercover to penetrate an international gang of dangerous thieves.<br />
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There are too many other Wentworth mysteries to list here, even when you exclude the Miss Silvers. But if you want to see which ones are now available from Open Road, just head <a href="http://www.openroadmedia.com/contributor/patricia-wentworth/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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If you enjoy romance novels, Wentworth started out as a romance writer and Open Road has a couple of those as well: <b>A Marriage Under the Terror</b>, set during the French Revolution, and <b>A Fire Within</b>, which hints at the Miss Silver to come.<br />
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<i>Note</i>: Open Road Integrated Media provided me with review e-copies of <b>Fool Errant</b>, <b>Dead or Alive</b> and <b>The Blind Side</b>.<br />
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<i>Images source</i>: openroadmedia.comSister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-32455610189339437032016-04-02T19:03:00.002-04:002016-04-02T19:03:25.779-04:00Review of Judith Flanders's A Bed of Scorpions<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s170/Nun+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s1600/Nun+Icon.jpg" /></a><br />
<b>A Bed of Scorpions</b>, by Judith Flanders (Minotaur Books, March 1, 2016)<br />
<br />
Samantha “Sam” Clair is an editor at a small London book publisher. The constants in Sam’s life are her colleagues, her powerful solicitor mother, Helen, her fatherly upstairs neighbor, Mr. Rudiger, and now her boyfriend, Jake, a homicide detective with London’s Metropolitan Police. If you want to know how Sam came to be in a romance with a police detective, read the first book in the series, <b>A Murder of Magpies</b>.<br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ISlAxQJxL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ISlAxQJxL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a>All seems well in Sam’s life this London summer. The weather is fine, her relationship with Jake has reached the almost-living-together stage, and the only fly in the ointment is the concern at the office that their company might be sold. That is, until Sam has lunch with an old friend, Aidan. Aidan, an art gallery owner, is distraught over his business partner’s having just been found shot.<br />
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Is it suicide, murder? No surprise, Jake is assigned to investigate and, of course, questions arise about whether this could have something to do with the gallery and Aidan. Since Aidan isn’t just an old friend of Sam's, he’s a former boyfriend, things quickly become awkward with Jake. Is it her desire to help Aidan that makes Sam start asking questions, or is it her crime fiction addiction that compels her? For whatever reason, she’s soon knee-deep in her own investigation.<br />
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Sam is an entertaining character. She’s the opposite of her super-confident, supremely groomed, socially connected powerhouse of a mother. Sam is a klutz, her wardrobe is marginal, she likes to lounge around at home, reading and going to bed early. She’s an amusingly snarky observer of her own foibles and everyone else’s.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Read the book</td></tr>
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Though this is a cozy mystery, that doesn’t mean it’s just a bit of fluff. The plot is engrossing, with clever twists and turns, and details about the inside workings of art dealerships and publishers that are informative and add unique features to the story. And I can’t tell you anything about the climax except that it’s both inventive and hair-raising.<br />
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It’s not absolutely necessary to read the first book in the series before this one, but it’s a good idea if you can.<br />
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<i>Image sources</i>: Amazon.com, bbc.co.uk, Wikipedia.Sister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-46756899625114183312016-03-29T04:00:00.000-04:002016-03-29T04:00:17.414-04:00Review of Philip Kerr's The Other Side of Silence<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s170/Nun+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s1600/Nun+Icon.jpg" /></a><br />
I should start by saying that Philip Kerr's <b>The Other Side of Silence</b> (Marian Wood Books/Putnam, March 29, 2016) is the 11th book in the standout Bernie Gunther series and, if you’re not familiar with the series, you should start with <b>March Violets</b>, the book that introduces us to Bernie as a private investigator in 1936 Berlin. Philip Kerr hasn’t written the series in chronological order––in fact, some of the later books in the series are set several years before that first one––but your reading experience will be so much richer if you start with the first books. For the rest of this review, I’ll assume the reader is familiar with the series.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51wyJlqt9QL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51wyJlqt9QL.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a>This is another one of Kerr’s dual-narrative novels, which he’s done a few times with Bernie. It starts in 1956, with Bernie working as a hotel concierge on the French Riviera. Because of his World War II misadventures as a reluctant aide to some big-time Nazi war criminals, he’s living under the false name Walter Wolf. The other narrative, which takes up only a couple of chapters, flashes back to 1945 Königsberg, East Prussia, when Bernie was in the German army, falling in love with a young radio operator while the Russian army encircled the city.<br />
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In 1956, Bernie’s life is uneventful, taken up with his job, playing bridge, and drinking away the time. That is, until he is invited to play bridge with the famous author Somerset Maugham, who lives in an opulent villa on the coast. Maugham, who had been a longtime agent for the British secret service (I didn’t know that, did you?), asks Bernie to help him deal with a blackmailer named Heinz Hebel. Bernie recognizes Hebel as Henning, a particularly despicable character whom Bernie had the displeasure of dealing with more than once, including in 1945 Königsberg.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maugham called the French Riviera<br />"A sunny place for shady people"</td></tr>
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Once this blackmail plot gets going, and you don’t have long to wait, it becomes a dizzyingly complex but thrilling game of Cold War espionage, betrayal, vengeance and revenge. And, as Bernie explains, there is a critical difference between vengeance and revenge.<br />
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The last Bernie book, <b>The Lady From Zagreb</b>, also has a plot that has one storyline about Bernie’s war experiences and another that is more espionage oriented. I liked that book, but I thought the espionage element was the much stronger storyline in that book. In this new book, the espionage plot is a far bigger part of the story. The flashback story is excellent, but it informs the bigger plot and blends well, which was not so much the case with <b>The Lady From Zagreb</b>. For me, this was a more successfully coordinated story, and it’s a particularly entertaining one if you know your Cold War espionage history.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2012/11/philip_kerr_a_l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2012/11/philip_kerr_a_l.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey, Mr. Kerr, quit gazing soulfully<br />at the camera andvwrite faster!</td></tr>
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My one criticism of this book concerns the romance element. As usual, Bernie has a romantic entanglement. This time around, it didn’t feel emotionally convincing. In fact, at the start, Kerr doesn't make it seem like Bernie even finds this woman attractive. But that’s a relatively minor problem, not enough to be of real concern. And that minor failing is more than made up for by the intricate plot and its clever denouement. I’m already impatient for Kerr’s promised 12th Bernie Gunther novel, <b>Prussian Blue</b>, coming in 2017.<br />
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<i>Note</i>: I received a free advance reviewing copy of the book from the publisher, via Amazon's Vine program. Versions of this review may appear on Amazon, Goodreads, BookLikes and other reviewing sites under my usernames there.<br />
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<i>Image sources</i>: Amazon.com, bbc.co.uk, hollywoodreporter.com.Sister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-29949076118570991332016-03-22T04:00:00.000-04:002016-03-22T04:00:19.242-04:00Review of Lyndsay Faye's Jane Steele<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1443487111l/25868918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1443487111l/25868918.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s170/Nun+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s1600/Nun+Icon.jpg" /></a>Years ago, I went through a period when I read tons of Victorian novels. There were times they drove me crazy, when the young female lead endured endless abuse from all quarters and then was finally saved by some guy, often one who hadn’t previously been particularly nice to her himself.<br />
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I know it was the Victorian era, when women had very little power, but I couldn’t help wanting to shake these women and tell them to stand up for themselves. Lyndsay Faye’s <b>Jane Steele</b> (G. P. Putnam's Sons, March 22, 2016) is like wish fulfillment for me. Jane Steele is a version of Jane Eyre, but with 21st-century updates, like overt female sexuality, anger and vengeance.<br />
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When I first heard about this book, what I heard was that it was a satire of Victorian novels in which Jane Eyre is a serial killer. Really? I wondered if it would just be a spoof or some kind of mashup. Or maybe a dark twist on the original. It turns out to be more and better than any of those things. It’s fun and sometimes very funny to see the new spirit Faye breathes into her Jane Eyre-ish character. But it’s also elegantly written, in a style true to the era, just infused with a bit more modern sensibility and wry wit.<br />
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<b>Jane Steele</b>’s story doesn’t track <b>Jane Eyre</b>’s either. Sure, there are lots of parallels, but this novel has its own plot. And what a plot! It ranges from the danger and squalor of London’s streets, to a country house filled with secrets, to the exoticism and intrigue of the Punjab. There are deadly feuds, false identities, hidden treasures and even romance. It’s packed with action, atmosphere and emotion and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are even possibilities left for a sequel. In the meantime, I'm thinking I need to go back and read some of Lyndsay Faye's earlier titles, like her Timothy Wilde series, set in 19th-century New York, which has three titles: <b>The Gods of Gotham</b>, <b>Seven for a Secret</b> and <b>The Fatal Flame</b>.<br />
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<i>Note</i>: I received a free advance reviewing copy of Jane Steele from the publisher, through Amazon's Vine program. Versions of this review may appear on Amazon, Goodreads, BookLikes and other reviewing sites, under my usernames there.<br />
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<i>Image sources</i>: goodreads.com, quotesgramcom.<br />
<br />Sister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-63085332734514292562016-03-08T04:00:00.000-05:002016-03-08T04:00:11.665-05:00Review of Natasha Solomons's The Song of Hartgrove Hall<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s170/Nun+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s1600/Nun+Icon.jpg" /></a>I have a confession to make. Natasha Solomons's <b>The Song of Hartgrove Hall</b> (Plume, 2015) isn't a mystery. So why am I reviewing it here? One reason is that it was one of my favorite reads of 2015 and I don't think it's received the attention it deserves. Also, because I think it might appeal to fans of <i>Downton Abbey</i>. I know that many of you are big fans of <i>Downton Abbey</i> and may be ready to go into withdrawal as it comes to a close. <b>The Song of Hartgrove Hall</b>, the story of the residents of a big English country house, could help you through your initial withdrawal pains. So, you're welcome!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61PR8HHYPZL._SX330_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61PR8HHYPZL._SX330_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a>Harry Fox-Talbot is the youngest of three young brothers from Hartgrove Hall, a grand but crumbling country house in the beautiful Dorset countryside once painted by Constable. His story is told in alternating time periods. The early part begins in 1946, as the brothers return from World War II and come home for the first time in seven years. The late part runs from 2000 to 2003.<br />
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The full life of a musician and his love for his wife, Edie, are told in the 50+ years of the story. When we begin, it’s 2000 and Edie has died, leaving Harry bereft. (Quirkily, Harry is called “Fox” by even his brothers, who are also Fox-Talbots, of course.) Solomons describes Fox’s feelings so well: “. . . the bric-a-brac moments that make up a shared life. The grand events . . . shine a little brighter, but they are only a tiny proportion of one’s life together; a handful of stars in the night’s sky. It was the mundane, frankly dull things I missed the most. I missed not talking to her over breakfast. We’d ignored one another over toast and morning coffee with great pleasure for nearly fifty years.”<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/John_Constable_-_Dedham_Lock_and_Mill_-_WGA5186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/John_Constable_-_Dedham_Lock_and_Mill_-_WGA5186.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Constable's <i>Dedham Lock and Mill</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Then Solomons steps back to 1946 and weaves her tale of Harry meeting and falling in love with Edie, a songstress and his dashing brother Jack’s girl. The years go by, filled with their history and that of Fox’s hunting down folk music and turning the songs into symphonic themes. And always, Hartgrove Hall is there, a perfectly beautiful exterior that is, underneath, full of age, damage––and poor heating.<br />
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The three-year story after Edie’s death tells of how Fox makes a surprising connection with his four-year-old grandson, when they discover together that the boy has a gift for the piano. This nudges Fox back into life and contacts with his family and his old colleagues, with all the bittersweetness of memory and regret.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.natashasolomons.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/L1005849-1024x684.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.natashasolomons.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/L1005849-1024x684.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Natasha Solomons</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Natasha Solomons has produced another novel that manages to be intelligent and heartfelt, without any sloppy sentimentality. She writes so beautifully that she can make the description of a frigid and windy Russia appealing, even as I sit here on a cold day. The atmosphere and feelings evoked by the story will stay with me, and I know I will read this again.<br />
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The publicity for the novel notes that it’s from the author of the bestseller <b>The House at Tyneford</b>. I can see why the publisher would do that, since that’s Solomons’s most successful book, but I really don’t think this is much like the Tyneford novel. To me, it’s much closer to my favorite Solomons novel, <b>Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English, </b>another love letter to England and Englishness, with all the flaws and oddities.<br />
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<i>Note</i>: I received a free advance reviewing copy of The Song of Hartgrove Hall from the publisher, through Amazon's Vine program. Versions of this review may appear on Amazon, Goodreads, BookLikes and other reviewing sites, under my usernames there.<br />
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<i>Image sources</i>: Amazon.com, commons.wikimedia.org, natashasolomons.com.Sister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-31276846971363229442016-02-27T09:28:00.000-05:002016-02-27T09:28:26.290-05:00Review of John Lawton's The Unfortunate Englishman<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s170/Nun+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s1600/Nun+Icon.jpg" /></a><b>The Unfortunate Englishman</b> by John Lawton (Atlantic Monthly Press, March 1, 2016)<br />
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At the center of Lawton’s stylish new espionage thriller is that classic set-piece of the Cold War espionage novel, the exchange of imprisoned spies on a bridge between East and West Berlin. But it’s the story of how the characters got there, physically and emotionally, that propels the story.<br />
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<a href="http://d20eq91zdmkqd.cloudfront.net/assets/images/book/large/9780/8021/9780802123992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d20eq91zdmkqd.cloudfront.net/assets/images/book/large/9780/8021/9780802123992.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a>Protagonist Joe Wilderness (born John Wilfrid Holderness) is an agent for MI-6, given the task in 1965 of arranging to swap KGB deep-cover agent Bernard Alleyn for a hapless English businessman caught adding a little spying to his business trips to the USSR. We learn how Alleyn lived a thoroughly conventional English life for 20 years before being nabbed by British intelligence. On the other side, Geoffrey Masefield, a metallurgist, is betrayed by his own romantic notions of spydom and the incompetent ambitions of his British handler.<br />
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But the story that matters most is Wilderness’s. This novel begins in 1963, just where its predecessor, <b>Then We Take Berlin</b> (reviewed <a href="http://www.readmedeadly.com/2013/09/review-of-john-lawtons-then-we-take.html" target="_blank">here</a>) left off, with Joe being in a heck of a predicament as a result of an East/West smuggling operation gone spectacularly awry during JFK’s famous visit to Berlin that summer. We jump around between there and 1961, as well as 1965 and even all the way back to 1946, when Joe was an army sergeant, black marketeer and British intelligence agent in the chaos, romance and ethical soup that was Berlin after the World War II shooting war stopped and the Cold War was in its infancy. Coming back to Berlin in the 1960s isn’t easy for Joe; it brings back bittersweet memories and forces him to deal with some of his old black market contacts.<br />
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Joe Wilderness is one of my favorite espionage thriller characters. Born into East End poverty, trained in thievery by his burglar grandfather, talent-spotted after being drafted into the army at the end of World War II and educated in the languages, history and politics you’d want any Cold Warrior to know, Joe is as smart, conflicted and cynical as any Raymond Chandler character. In his world, moral ambiguity is the norm and he doesn’t waste his time putting his faith in any person or ideal. Still, he has a heart, even if he opens it up only occasionally and reluctantly.<br />
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Another strong point of the novel is John Lawton’s evocation of time, place and atmosphere. It’s hard to find a more fascinating time and place than Cold War Berlin, but Lawton still uses his narrative skills to transform history into gripping fiction. His description of barbed wire going up right through the middle of Berlin in 1961 had me gripping the book so hard my hand cramped, even though I know the history well. Lawton is a master at weaving the historical facts into the threads of his fictional story and bringing both to vivid life.<br />
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<a href="https://harperganesvoort.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/barbed-wire.jpg?w=1000" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://harperganesvoort.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/barbed-wire.jpg?w=1000" width="320" /></a>I’ve been debating whether I’d say that it’s necessary to read the first Joe Wilderness novel, <b>Then We Take Berlin</b>, before reading <b>The Unfortunate Englishman</b>. It’s definitely not <i>absolutely</i> necessary, and I’d hate for anybody to miss out on this book, but I have to recommend reading <b>Then We Take Berlin</b> first. That’s where you get Joe’s full and extremely colorful background, which adds extra richness to the plot of <b>The Unfortunate Englishman</b>.<br />
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If you like the Joe Wilderness books, Lawton also has a terrific series featuring Metropolitan Police detective Frederick Troy. The series begins with <b>Black Out: An Inspector Troy Thriller</b> and its titles are set during World War II and various times thereafter, through the 1960s.<br />
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<i>Note</i>: The publisher provided a free advance reviewing copy of <b>The Unfortunate Englishman</b>. Versions of this review may appear on Amazon, Goodreads, BookLikes and other reviewing sites under my usernames there.<br />
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<i>Image sources</i>: bookdepository.com, bridgeofspies.com, harper-ganesvoort.com.Sister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-19902324798668443752016-01-15T04:00:00.000-05:002016-01-15T04:00:13.705-05:00Review of David McCallum's Once a Crooked Man<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s170/Nun+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s1600/Nun+Icon.jpg" /></a><br />
I'm dating myself horribly when I tell you that one of my earliest crushes was David McCallum's character Illya Kuryakin on <i>The Man From U.N.C.L.E </i>(1964-1968). Cultured, brilliant, mysterious and oh, so handsome; how could I resist?<br />
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For the last 12 years, McCallum has played medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard on <i>NCIS</i>. I hear that's the most-watched TV drama, worldwide, but here's a confession: I've never seen the show. I know, right? It seems like it's mandatory––for all Baby Boomers, at the very least. I'm a little worried that this will disqualify me from Medicare coverage. We'll see. Anyway, to me, McCallum will forever be that devastating young man of my youth.<br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GHUzZD3cL._SX327_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GHUzZD3cL._SX327_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="400" width="261" /></a>But now I have another way to view McCallum: crime fiction author. This week saw the publication of his first novel, a crime thriller titled <b>Once a Crooked Man</b> (Minotaur Books, January 12, 2016).<br />
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Things go elaborately and spectacularly wrong when the Bruschetti brothers––Max, Sal and Enzo––decide to retire from the crime business, and New York actor Harry Murphy accidentally overhears their plans for murderously cleaning up some loose ends. Harry decides to warn one of the brothers’ targets, and the more the brothers try to clean things up, the messier they get. Not just for the brothers, but for Harry, for the beautiful and feisty British police agent whom Harry teams up with, and for various compatriots of the Bruschetti brothers, their other family members and law enforcement.<br />
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The action careens around like a pinball arcade game, bouncing from one catastrophe to another, and back and forth between England and New York. The violence is frequent but not too graphic, the cast of characters is huge and colorful, and it’s easy to see this being turned into a caper/thriller movie.<br />
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I’d have liked to see a bit more character development for Harry and the other main characters, and there is a sexual plot point late in the book that struck a big-time false note for me, but on the whole I found this to be an entertaining read and a winning first writing effort by McCallum.<br />
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You might think that the category of crime fiction written by actors on very high-rated TV shows would be small, but I do know that McCallum isn't alone in it. Check out Hugh Laurie's <b>The Gun Seller</b>. Sure, he played the wildly popular Dr. House, but he's a heck of writer too.<br />
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<i>Note</i>: Thanks to Minotaur for providing a free advance reviewing copy of <b>Once a Crooked Man</b>. Versions of this review may appear on Amazon, Goodreads, BookLikes and other reviewing sites, under my usernames there.<br />
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<i>Image sources</i>: davidmccallumwiki, TV Guide, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.Sister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-2924387096908759962015-12-11T04:00:00.000-05:002015-12-11T04:00:00.156-05:00Review of Christopher Fowler's Bryant & May and the Burning Man
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The Peculiar Crimes Unit’s decrepit offices are located in the City of London, that ancient square mile that was home to London’s original settlement and is now jammed full of the skyscrapers housing the metropolis’s financial institutions.<br />
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Hardly anybody lives in the square mile anymore, which makes the P in PCU seem like it should stand for Precarious at times. The PCU has very little in the way of modern technology; nothing like the kind of assets that would allow it to combat the financial crimes that are headquartered in the square mile.<br />
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But as this twelfth book in the series begins, a case arises that is right up the PCU’s alley. Financial shenanigans in the banking world have led to increasingly large and violent protests in the City. One bank is firebombed, killing a homeless man dossed down under cardboard boxes in its entryway.<br />
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The PCU suspects this was murder, not accident, and their conviction is cemented when there are more murders; seemingly unconnected killings, executed in bizarre ways reminiscent of punishments common in more ancient times. As each day passes, demonstrations against the bankers and other presumed-to-be-corrupt wealthy people escalate. Arthur Bryant suspects that the mystery killer will take advantage of the upcoming Halloween and Guy Fawkes Day to pull off even more spectacular murders.<br />
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As always, the PCU gets no support––or even respect––from other police units. This time, their particular nemesis is Darren “Missing” Link, who hamstrings them, ostensibly to prevent their interference with an ongoing fraud investigation. Like everybody else, all Link sees in the PCU is a ragtag bunch of misfits, led by the spectacularly untidy and decidedly eccentric old man, Bryant. Like the rest of the force, he just doesn’t understand that Bryant’s encyclopedic knowledge of the history of London is what will make all the difference in the investigation.<br />
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Each member of the PCU faces a crossroads in this book, which gives it a bittersweet, even elegiac feel. After 12 books, the PCU members are like old friends. I hope to see them again, but if not, I wish them well and thank Christopher Fowler for letting us know them.<br />
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<br />Sister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-15114255849983935602015-12-07T19:57:00.000-05:002015-12-07T20:11:26.009-05:00Gift Shopping for Books: The Golden Age<a href="http://iflizwerequeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/holly1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://iflizwerequeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/holly1.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PN1pLp97xQw/TwHxm5Yo09I/AAAAAAAAAfU/UdTi00D9pi4/s1600/mme%2Bx%2Bcu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PN1pLp97xQw/TwHxm5Yo09I/AAAAAAAAAfU/UdTi00D9pi4/s1600/mme%2Bx%2Bcu.jpg" width="60" /></a>No matter what winter holiday you celebrate, this is the gift-giving season. This week, I'll give you suggestions for some book lovers on your list. We'll start today with so-called Golden Age mysteries, which came into prominence during the 1920s and '30s. Some of the best-known Golden Age authors are Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Michael Innes, Edmund Crispin, Margery Allingham, Georgette Heyer, Josephine Tey, John Dickson Carr, and Patricia Wentworth. (Sister Mary mentions more in her November 28, 2015 post.) If you're not personally familiar with these writers, don't dismiss them out of hand as being too old-fashioned to bother with. Golden Age books can be witty or charming and are also great for readers of more modern traditional mysteries inspired by the Golden Age, such as those by Simon Brett, Peter Lovesey, and Sarah Caudwell, in which violence is mostly off-stage. (We'll talk about traditional mysteries on another day.)<br />
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There are many terrific books a Golden Age fan may not have read, and you can find them in a good used bookstore or online. On the list below, I've starred books for people who have oodles of Golden Age mysteries under their belts; they probably haven't read these unless they're connoisseurs of the period. Needless to say, I haven't tried to be comprehensive. If you want more recommendations, I'm happy to supply them. I've also included some other gift suggestions, if you want an accompaniment for your book.<br />
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Margery Allingham<br />
<b>More Work for the Undertaker</b> features Albert Campion and the eccentric Palinode family, now reduced to poverty and further reduced by murder.<br />
<i>Accompany with</i>: a word game such as <i>Scrabble</i> (poison-pen letters feature in this book)<br />
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Francis Beeding<br />
*<b>Death Walks in Eastrepps</b> recounts one unexpected murder after another in a quiet English coastal village, Old Bailey proceedings, and a surprise ending.<br />
<i>Accompany with</i>: trivets in the shape of fish or boats<br />
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Nicholas Blake<br />
<b>Shell of Death</b> (APA <b>Thou Shell of Death)</b>, set on Christmas weekend in an English country house, involves a suicide staged to look like murder.<br />
<i>Accompany with</i>: the vintage card game <i>Authors</i> (Blake is the pen name of poet Cecil Day-Lewis, father of actor Daniel Day-Lewis)<br />
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Agatha Christie<br />
<b>And Then There Were None</b> (APA <b>Ten Little Indians</b>) features strangers on a private island dropping like flies, one by one.<br />
<i>Accompany with</i>: something that also disappears, one after another, such as a plate of homemade cookies (Maida Heatter's recipes are sensational) or some delicious artisan chocolate from <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/dining/index.ssf/2014/10/five_places_to_eat_chocolate_i.html">Portland, Oregon</a>, <a href="http://www.seattlemag.com/article/seattles-best-candy-makers">Seattle</a> or <a href="http://gothamist.com/2015/02/12/best_chocolate_nyc.php">New York City</a>. (If you were born in Europe, clutching French candy or a Swiss chocolate in your hand, you don't need help from me.)<br />
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John Dickson Carr<br />
<b>The Three Coffins</b> (APA <b>The Hollow Man</b>), a "locked-room" mystery, contains Dr. Gideon Fell's famous "Locked-Room Lecture."<br />
<i>Accompany with</i>: a charm bracelet that carries a tiny key; a lockable box for little treasures<br />
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Cyril Hare<br />
<b>Tragedy at Law</b> takes place as Judge Barber receives threatening letters while traveling the English Southern Circuit and is told from the viewpoint of down-at-the-heels lawyer Francis Pettigrew.<br />
<i>Accompany with</i>: some beautiful stationery and a snazzy pen<br />
<b>[</b>Note: Sister Mary previously mentioned Hare's <b>An English Murder</b>, a winter must-read due to its snowed-in English country house setting. I'm mentioning it again here because I love it, and it would be perfectly accompanied by a pair of warm slippers or a beautiful little snow globe.]<br />
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Georgette Heyer<br />
<b>No Wind of Blame</b> assembles an oddball cast of characters at the English country house of a good-natured, wealthy American widow and then kills off the most likely candidate for being murdered.<br />
<i>Accompany with</i>: a bottle of Russian vodka (one of the characters is an iffy Russian prince) <br />
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Richard Hull<br />
*<b>The Murder of My Aunt</b> is told from the viewpoint of a satisfactorily unpleasant young man who plots to kill his aunt, no great prize herself, for an inheritance.<br />
<i>Accompany with</i>: a board game that requires strategy, such as <i>Monopoly</i> or <i>Risk</i><br />
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Michael Innes<br />
<b>Hamlet, Revenge!</b> involves an amateur production of <i>Hamlet</i> during a house party at the Duke of Horton's palatial home, and a young Inspector John Appleby investigates the murder of one of the players.<br />
<i>Accompany with</i>: a DVD of <i>Hamlet</i>, of course<br />
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Paul McGuire<br />
*<b>A Funeral in Eden</b> (APA <b>Burial Service</b>) features a stranger found with his head bashed in on an idyllic island beach.<br />
<i>Accompany with</i>: ingredients for piña coladas, tiny paper umbrellas, and appropriate glasses<br />
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Dorothy L. Sayers<br />
<b>Murder Must Advertise</b> takes place at a London advertising agency full of clever ad writers.<br />
<i>Accompany with</i>: a T-shirt carrying a famous advertising jingle or the maker's name on the front <br />
<b>The Nine Tailors</b>, an exceedingly atmospheric book, finds Sir Peter Wimsey and Bunter stranded at an East Anglia rectory in time to help bell ringers usher in the New Year.<br />
<i>Accompany with</i>: some homemade muffins (trust me, the reader will need some when reading this) or some English stout<br />
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If you haven't yet read Josephine Tey's<b> The Daughter of Time</b>, a crime fiction classic, buy it for yourself. This is the one in which Inspector Grant, confined to his hospital bed, decides to tackle the guilt or innocence of Richard III in the deaths of the two princes in the Tower. For proper reading, you'll also need a bed tray for reading in bed, but don't feel you need to eat jello or other bland, hospital-like food. I suggest accompanying this book with hot tea or hot chocolate and cookies.Georgette Spelvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13853710671433406351noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-17467348740385328332015-12-03T19:18:00.000-05:002015-12-03T19:56:50.418-05:00There's no rapture for these crime fiction characters<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PN1pLp97xQw/TwHxm5Yo09I/AAAAAAAAAfU/UdTi00D9pi4/s1600/mme%2Bx%2Bcu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PN1pLp97xQw/TwHxm5Yo09I/AAAAAAAAAfU/UdTi00D9pi4/s1600/mme%2Bx%2Bcu.jpg" width="60" /></a>I'm home from work with the flu. My coughing and sneezing are too much for my dogs, who have disappeared under the bed, leaving me alone to binge watch <i>The Leftovers</i>, whose characters live in a world after a Rapture-like event caused many people to vanish. I can't tell if I'm running a fever or if this TV series, based on Tom Perrotta's novel of the same name, is just downright weird. I'll see if I can collect my thoughts enough to tell you about a couple of books whose characters have their hands full sans a mass disappearance.<br />
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<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1445792087l/25065640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1445792087l/25065640.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a>A man who's falling from his fifth-floor window windmills his way to the ground in the opening of Maurizio de Giovanni's <b>The Bottom of Your Heart: Inferno for Commissario Ricciardi</b> (translated from the Italian by Antony Shugaar; Europa Editions, November 2015). It's a beautiful piece of descriptive writing in a book replete with lively descriptions of life in the sweltering summer of 1939 Italy under Mussolini. The point of view leaps among various short first-person narrations, but it focuses primarily on a third-person omniscient narrator's account of the investigation of Commissario Luigi Ricciardi and Brigadier Raffaele Maione into the death of Professor Tullio Iovine del Castello, chair of gynecology at a university hospital in Naples. There is no shortage of suspects if Dr. Iovine was pushed or thrown; the victim repeatedly flunked an old professional rival's son in his medical school classes, was having an extramarital affair with a woman young enough to be his daughter, and had enraged a ferocious gangster who swore revenge.<br />
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<b>The Botom of Your Heart</b> is the seventh book in this series, and characters from previous books reappear. Ricciardi, who fears for his sanity and keeps himself aloof since "the Deed" that allows him to hear the final thoughts and to see the ghostly shades of people who have died by violence (see Maltese Condor's review <a href="http://www.readmedeadly.com/2014/03/waiting-for-spring.html">here</a>), is still single in his 30s and is living with his beloved tata, now in deteriorating health, and her niece, Nelide. The lonely Commissario also has the affections of Enrica, the shy teacher who lives with her family across the street; Livia Vezzi, a beautiful social butterfly and widow of Italy's most famous tenor; Dr. Modo, the irascible medical examiner; and, of course, his loyal and tireless Brigadier, whose own secrets make him particularly impatient with his informant, Bambinella, a transvestite prostitute. This entertaining series is for people who enjoy crime fiction with a literary bent, keeping track of an ensemble cast of characters, and an Italian setting that's brought to life by its characters' concerns and the author's vivid writing. A reader can begin anywhere in this series, but for the full backstory, start with the first book, <b>I Will Have Vengeance: The Winter of Commissario Ricciardi</b>.<br />
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1429811123l/24940998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1429811123l/24940998.jpg" width="263" /></a>The Italians in de Giovanni's series are natural philosophers. Even sassy private eye Kinsey Millhone is becoming more reflective in Sue Grafton's <b>X</b> (Marian Wood Books/Putnam, August 2015), the 24th book in the alphabet series set in the fictional town of Santa Teresa, California. Unlike other titles in the series (see my review of <b>W Is for Wasted</b> <a href="http://www.readmedeadly.com/2013/11/review-of-sue-graftons-w-is-for-wasted.html">here</a>), this "X" doesn't specifically stand for anything; however, one can find all sorts of Xs (symbolic and real), in the book: Teddy Xanakis, kisses, ex-husbands and wives, mistakes, the missing, a place locator, and unknowns.<br />
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In reading <b>X</b>, one gets the sense that things are beginning to wind up for Kinsey. The woman who trims her own hair with a fingernail scissors and has one dress hanging in her closet is financially secure, at least for a while; she can pick and choose her cases. Kinsey agrees to find an ex-con just released from prison only when Hallie Bettancourt says she was referred by one of Kinsey's friends, and Kinsey becomes involved in Pete Wolinsky's old case only when his widow, Ruthie, asks for help in locating financial records for an IRS audit. This isn't one of Grafton's strongest books; the plot feels somewhat contrived, and I was at times annoyed by Grafton's excessive attention to detail (Kinsey doesn't just make coffee, she turns on the machine, adds the coffee, watches the water heat...). Still, it's worthwhile to revisit Santa Teresa to see how one of mysterydom's most likable female sleuths is doing, and we won't have many more chances. Grafton does a great job of conveying what it's like to live on California's Central Coast; here, in 1989. Kinsey still goes to the library to look for old records and composes her case summaries on a Smith & Corona typewriter. She and her 89-year-old landlord and neighbor, Henry, are dealing with some new neighbors and the drought. (Was this timely reading!) In this 24th book, Kinsey seems less inclined to get into trouble, but when the searches for the ex-con and the financial records open cans of worms, she can't help but start digging. By the end, she's learned a thing or two and made her peace with the fact that justice isn't always cut-and-dried. Georgette Spelvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13853710671433406351noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-90824236307291452242015-11-28T11:32:00.001-05:002015-11-28T11:59:49.539-05:00A Mystery Reader's Thanksgiving<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s170/Nun+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s200/Nun+Icon.jpg" width="60" /></a>As long as we're expressing our thankfulness this week, I'm thinking of a special list of thanks for my mystery reading.<br />
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Phil_Trans_-_Illuminated_Capital_-_Volume_1_-_Number_13_-_T.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Phil_Trans_-_Illuminated_Capital_-_Volume_1_-_Number_13_-_T.png" /></a>T <b>is for traditional mystery</b>. Today's mysteries are fine, but modern technology ruins a lot of the fun. Give me an English country house with an ill-assorted group of guests forced to fend for themselves when their host is murdered during a blizzard that takes down all the phone lines. (Cyril Hare's <b>An English Murder </b>is my favorite of these.)<br />
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Murder by complex electronics is a popular theme today, but I'd much rather read about a fiendishly clever way of poisoning with arsenic (Dorothy L. Sayers's <b>Strong Poison</b>) or even a leg of lamb (Roald Dahl's short story "Lamb to the Slaughter").<br />
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H <b>is for Hill, Reginald</b>, may he rest in peace. Years ago, the Material Witnesses participated in an online mystery discussion forum. The members were quizzed about their favorite authors and Reginald Hill came out on top. It's still hard to believe we'll never read a new Dalziel and Pascoe adventure. Though I love that series, I'd have to say my favorite Reginald Hill is a standalone, <b>The Woodcutter</b>. You could call it a very different sort of fairy tale.<br />
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<a href="http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/redletters/files/import/illuminated_letters80_normal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/redletters/files/import/illuminated_letters80_normal.jpg" height="330" width="253" /></a>A <b>is for Anglophile</b>, that's me. When I was growing up, my mother was a mystery addict, but I didn't understand why anybody would want to read about murder. Then, when I went to college and haunted all the used bookstores in the neighborhood, I was drawn to those green spines of the Penguin mysteries. Of course, most of them were the classic British titles, by authors like Margery Allingham, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Leo Bruce, Christianna Brand, Josephine Tey, Cyril Hare, Edmund Crispin, Nicholas Blake, Anthony Gilbert, Michael Innes, Patricia Wentworth and Colin Watson.<br />
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I devoured those green Penguins, moving on from the Brits to other European writers, like Georges Simenon, as well as American masters like Donald Westlake and Dashiell Hammett. But I always come home to the British crime writers, over the years adding to my old Penguin green friends by falling in book love with the likes of Reginald Hill, Peter Lovesey, John Lawton, Barry Maitland, Sarah Caudwell, P. D. James, Colin Dexter, Robert Barnard and Ian Rankin.<br />
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Would you like to become addicted to Penguin green crime titles? Here's a good place to get started: <a href="http://vintagepenguins.blogspot.com.au/p/green-penguins.html" target="_blank">Vintage Penguins</a>.<br />
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N <b>is for new beginnings</b>, as in established novelists deciding to have a go at crime fiction. I'm thinking of two in particular: J. K. Rowling, writing as Robert Galbraith, and Tony Parsons.<br />
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Rowling's series began with <b>The Cuckoo's Calling</b>, which introduced us to PI Cormoran Strike, a large, untidy man with a prosthetic leg, courtesy of service in the British armed forces in the Middle East. After he nearly knocks her down a flight of stairs, Strike takes on a secretary, Robin Ellacott, whose role slowly morphs into detective partner. I wasn't crazy about the serial-killer plot of the third book, <b>Career of Evil</b>, but the development of the characters is so good I can forgive the plot.<br />
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Tony Parsons is not as well known in the US as in the UK, but he has had a longtime career there as a journalist and novelist. He decided to give crime fiction a try, creating the Max Wolfe character. Wolfe is a single father to a delightful little girl (and I usually <i>really</i> dislike kids in crime fiction) and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Stan. That sounds too cute for words, but there is plenty of hard-boiled and gritty crime in Max's job as a homicide detective with London's Metropolitan Police.<br />
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The Max Wolfe series begins with <b>The Murder Man</b> (titled <b>The Murder Bag</b> in the UK), which I reviewed <a href="http://www.readmedeadly.com/2014/10/the-wolfe-of-west-end-central-review-of.html" target="_blank">here</a>. The second book, <b>The Slaughter Man</b>, suffered from some truly terrible plotting, but this is another example of a series with such good characters that even a serious mis-step won't turn me off . . . yet.<br />
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K <b>is for Kerr, Philip</b>, author of the long-running Bernie Gunther series. Gunther is, variously, a homicide detective for Berlin's <i>Kriminalpolizei</i> in the 1930s, a private detective when the Nazis force him out, a reluctant investigator for the German army and some top Nazi officials, and so on.<br />
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I eagerly await each new Bernie Gunther novel, many of which I've reviewed here. (<a href="http://www.readmedeadly.com/search/label/Kerr%20Philip" target="_blank">Check it out!</a>) One of the things I most enjoy about the series is that Kerr is no slave to continuity. He's jumped all around the timeline and to a lot of different countries. You never know where (or when) Bernie will be next. I'm reading that the next one, <b>The Other Side of Silence</b>, coming in the spring, will be set in the French Riviera in 1956.<br />
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S <b>is for spies</b>. I can't get enough of <a href="http://www.readmedeadly.com/search/label/espionage" target="_blank">espionage</a>. Well, actually, that's not true. If the setting is after the Cold War, the subject loses a lot of its appeal for me. I can't get excited about cyberterrorism, nuclear weapons, technological whizbangery and all that kind of modern-era stuff. I prefer your old-fashioned dead drops, coded radio messages, and skulking down mist-shrouded streets somewhere in Central Europe.<br />
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To me, John le Carré will always be the master. But add in plenty of Len Deighton, Eric Ambler, Frederick Forsyth and Joseph Kanon, please. Oh, and nonfiction, with large dollops of Ben MacIntyre and anything about the Cambridge Spy Ring or Churchill's Special Operations Executive.<br />
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G <b>is for gumshoe</b>. If your definition is any private detective, then my favorite would be Lord Peter Wimsey, who is about as far as you can get from the classic fedora-wearing, tough-talking American guy who takes and gives regular beatings. But if you insist on the more traditional type, then I'd have to decide between Nick Charles and Philip Marlowe.<br />
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<a href="http://cdn.freeprintablecoloringpages.net/thumbs/Illuminated_Letters/Illuminated-I_Coloring_Page.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.freeprintablecoloringpages.net/thumbs/Illuminated_Letters/Illuminated-I_Coloring_Page.png" height="230" width="184" /></a>I <b>is for international</b>. I'm so grateful that the crime fiction market in the US has opened up to books from all around the world. It's a leap of faith to buy a foreign-language title and take the time and resources to have it translated and marketed to an American audience. If publishers and editors hadn't taken this leap, I'd never have read Fred Vargas's marvelous Commissaire Adamsberg series (France), Andrea Camilleri's Montalbano series (Italy) or the many Nordic titles that have become so popular here.<br />
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V <b>is for violence</b>, but the right kind. Graphic descriptions of dismemberment and serial killer rituals? <i>Nix!</i> I can't read with one eye closed, the way Georgette does, and even if I could, I don't think I'd sleep a wink afterward. I prefer my violence to take place off the page and for the author to take violent death seriously, not as a way to jangle nerves.<br />
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<b>I is for investigation</b>. Sure, that's what your gumshoe does, and I've already talked about that breed. But how about those other investigators, the ones we see in the police procedural? Of the many sub-genres in crime fiction, that's way up near the top for me. And I can't think of police procedurals without thinking of Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse series. For so long, I waited impatiently for each new title. I bemoaned just how nasty Morse could be to Lewis, but it was always the price to pay for the investigative prowess.<br />
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Despite his propensity to put himself in danger needlessly and break rules all over the place, Ian Rankin's John Rebus has been a good exemplar of the police investigator. In Harry Bingham's Fiona Griffiths you get a much more unconventional approach, but Fiona's definitely still part of the sub-genre, and a welcome one.<br />
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N <b>is for Nordic</b>, those mysteries set in the Scandinavian countries and northern Europe. Like most longtime mystery readers, my first foray into the Nordics was with Henning Mankell. My favorite, though, is Jo Nesbø's Harry Hole series. I'm excited to see that more German crime fiction is hitting our shores, like Ferdinand von Schirach's <a href="http://www.readmedeadly.com/2013/07/review-of-ferdinand-von-schirachs.html" target="_blank">The Collini Case</a>.<br />
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Since I've already given my thanks more than once for Eurocrime, I thought about making N be for Noir, but if you're a stickler for precise definitions, I'm more of a fan of hardboiled than noir––though I do like Jean-Patrick Manchette, who is classic French noir.<br />
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<a href="http://www.art-imagery.com/images/kells_99r_G.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.art-imagery.com/images/kells_99r_G.jpg" /></a>G <b>is for my longtime mystery-reading buddy, Georgette</b>. Nobody knows mysteries from every time period and sub-genre like she does. Go ahead, ask her for a recommendation of a book about, oh, say, death by ocelot or other exotic animal, and see what she comes up with.<br />
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I wish I also had a <b>P for publishers</b> like Minotaur, Mysterious Press, Open Road, Poisoned Pen, Europa Editions, Soho Crime, Severn House, Bitter Lemon Press, No Exit Press, the big houses, and others who feed our crime fiction addiction with new titles, translations of foreign-language crime fiction and republications of old gems.Sister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-24815330426489314872015-11-25T06:13:00.001-05:002015-11-25T06:13:51.413-05:00Review of Daniel Palmer's Constant Fear<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PN1pLp97xQw/TwHxm5Yo09I/AAAAAAAAAfU/UdTi00D9pi4/s1600/mme%2Bx%2Bcu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PN1pLp97xQw/TwHxm5Yo09I/AAAAAAAAAfU/UdTi00D9pi4/s1600/mme%2Bx%2Bcu.jpg" width="60" /></a> <b>Constant Fear</b> by Daniel Palmer (Kensington, May 2015)<br />
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I hope your Thanksgiving preparations are going smoothly. My own are chugging along. I got a little panicky when I realized my list of things to do before I leave Wednesday morning won't all fit onto one page, but, hey, I can sleep on the plane. Right now, I'm going to take a break to talk about Daniel Palmer's <b>Constant Fear</b>. I'll tell you about an Italian police procedural a little later.<br />
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Why is it bad action movies can still be entertaining, but poorly written action thrillers are annoying? Finding a decent thriller to read is tough. When I saw <i>Strand Magazine</i>'s Top Ten Books of 2015 (see <i>Note</i> below), I was hopeful about the books I hadn't read because I'd already enjoyed some of the others. (I recently showed you Chris Holm's <b>The Killing Kind</b>, in which you root for a nice-guy hit man (see review <a href="http://www.readmedeadly.com/2015/11/holiday-fare.html">here</a>.)<br />
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<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1413747856l/22750018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1413747856l/22750018.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a>In Palmer's <b>Constant Fear</b>, we meet a man who has suffered some debilitating losses. Jake Dent's promising pro baseball career ended when his drunken car accident injured his pitching arm. After their young son, Andy, was diagnosed with diabetes, Jake's wife left. Jake, who found comfort in taking up survivalism and teaching these skills to Andy, has brought his life under control. He's slowly developing a romantic relationship with a cop in Winston, Massachusetts, and is head custodian at the elite Pepperell Academy, where the 16-year-old Andy is a student.<br />
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Andy and a few geeky friends have formed a group they call "the Shire." They've been running a Robin Hood operation by hacking into accounts of Pepperell parents so wealthy they don't notice the theft. But now there's a problem. It's as if the Shire has cast a fishing line into a mud puddle and hooked Moby-Dick. They've stolen millions in bitcoins that need to be returned immediately, but the money has somehow disappeared. None of the kids will admit to knowing what happened to it. They realize they're in big trouble––but they have no idea. The bitcoins don't actually belong to that Pepperell parent. Some very bad men come to Winston, hellbent on getting that money back. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://blog.modernmechanix.com/mags/PhysicalCulture/3-1922/stop_mouth_breathing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://blog.modernmechanix.com/mags/PhysicalCulture/3-1922/stop_mouth_breathing.jpg" height="320" width="249" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Try this contraption while thriller reading</td></tr>
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The mouth breathing you need to do while reading this book is kinda hard when you're also gulping at some fairly grim scenes. <b>Constant Fear</b> isn't actually as brutal a book as one I told you about yesterday, Jason Matthews's <b>Palace of Treason</b>. The tension feels almost unbearable, though, because of Palmer's skill at conveying the threat of violence. Despite some curveballs the writer throws us, the plot is sometimes predictable, and the characters, physical setting, and events very contrived. I actually found myself exclaiming, "Oh, c'mon! What are the odds?" But those occasional objections to unreality really didn't matter. I liked Jake and the relationship he has with his son. Palmer had me staying up late, breathlessly turning those pages, and I didn't once feel like throwing the book across the room. <br />
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<i>Note</i>: Here is <i>Strand Magazine</i>'s Top Ten Books of 2015. (Don't ask me why there are twelve on the list.)<br />
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T<b>he Killing Kind</b> by Chris Holm (Mulholland Books)<br />
<b>Solitude Creek</b> by Jeffrey Deaver (Grand Central)<br />
<b>The Fixer</b> by Joseph Finder (Dutton)<br />
<b>Broken Promises</b> by Linwood Barclay (NAL)<br />
<b>Dark Places</b> by Reavis Z. Wortham (Poisoned Pen)<br />
<b>A Pattern of Lies</b> by Charles Todd (William Morrow)<br />
<b>Constant Fear</b> by Daniel Palmer (Kensington)<br />
<b>The Girl on the Train</b> by Paula Hawkins (Riverhead)<br />
<b>All the Old Knives</b> by Olen Steinhauer (Minotaur)<br />
<b>The Stranger</b> by Harlan Coben (Dutton)<br />
<b>The Hot Countries</b> by Tim Hallinan (Soho)<br />
<b>Dead Student</b> by John Katzenbach (Mysterious)Georgette Spelvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13853710671433406351noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-4847433459355536162015-11-23T04:00:00.000-05:002015-11-23T11:32:02.677-05:00A Thanksgiving Sampler<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/lowres.cartoonstock.com/transport-dangerous_driving-dangerous_drivers-driving_tests-failed_driving_tests-cars-dto130605_low.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/lowres.cartoonstock.com/transport-dangerous_driving-dangerous_drivers-driving_tests-failed_driving_tests-cars-dto130605_low.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thank God we're talking about test driving,<br />
not our own disastrous driving tests.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PN1pLp97xQw/TwHxm5Yo09I/AAAAAAAAAfU/UdTi00D9pi4/s1600/mme%2Bx%2Bcu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PN1pLp97xQw/TwHxm5Yo09I/AAAAAAAAAfU/UdTi00D9pi4/s1600/mme%2Bx%2Bcu.jpg" width="60" /></a>A friend and I have been tasting champagne this weekend, because that's what Hubby and I have been asked to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. After we methodically worked our way through several bottles, we felt festive enough to sample pumpkin pie coupled with various flavors of ice cream she had in her freezer. We agreed on the Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label and concluded it's best to stick to a good vanilla.<br />
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The holiday season is full of figuring stuff out: the gift for your best friend, the guest list for your winter potluck, how to ship cookies to your far-flung kids. You also need to find some books to read to keep yourself sane. An excellent way to ensure a book matches what you're in the mood for is to stock up on a variety. Let's test drive some possibilities.<br />
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During the winter holidays, one hones one's cloak-and-dagger skills hiding gifts at home and diplomatic talents charming colleagues at the office party. Surely, this is the season for reading espionage.<br />
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<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428950117l/23251254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428950117l/23251254.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a>Something British and cynical might hit the spot. Former BBC correspondent Adam Brookes has followed up his compelling <b>Night Heron</b> (Redhook/Hachette, 2014) with <b>Spy Games</b> (Redhook, September 2015). Freelance journalist Philip Mangan is a decent guy with more than his fair share of restlessness and curiosity. After a dabble into espionage necessitated his fleeing Beijing, Philip is in Addis Abba, investigating the Chinese presence in Ethiopia. Then three things happen: an MI6 asset dies in Hong Kong, Philip barely escapes a café bombing, and he is offered some classified Chinese military documents. Thus are Philip and Trish Patterson, his MI6 handler, drawn into a power struggle that is playing out primarily in Ethiopia; Oxford, England; and Chiang Mai, Thailand.<br />
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It's not necessary to read <b>Night Heron</b> first, but I'd suggest you do that simply for the pleasure of understanding exactly why MI6 isn't thrilled to find "Philip Mangan," "China" and "spy" again in the same equation, and why Philip is feeling a bit cross about it, too. At 437 pages, <b>Spy Games</b> could benefit from some tightening up; however, if you like an intricate plot woven with separate threads, colorful characters, and beautifully drawn exotic locations, this is for you.<br />
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If you're feeling in the mood for dueling American and Russian intelligence agencies, sex used as an espionage tool, and very sadistic villains (brace yourself), check out books written by an espionage insider, former CIA agent Jason Matthews. His writing feels very up close and personal in its focus on the characters' lives and personalities and their elaborate spycraft.<br />
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In 2013's <b>Red Sparrow</b> (Scribner), Matthews introduces the CIA's young hot-shot, Nate Nash, and the beautiful Russian agent, Dominika Egorova, whose job it is to get him to divulge the identity of a Russian traitor (see Sister Mary Murderous's review <a href="http://www.readmedeadly.com/2013/06/review-of-jason-matthews-red-sparrow.html">here</a>). Dominika is a synesthete who perceives people surrounded by a colored aura; at the appearance of her black-haloed boss, former Lubyanka prison torturer Alexei Zyuganov, I pulled the covers over my head.<br />
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Dominika is back in Russia in <b>Palace of Treason</b> (Scribner, June 2015). She's climbing the ranks of the SVR, much to the chagrin of the scheming Zyuganov, and maneuvering to avoid exposure as she passes information to the Americans. Meanwhile, there's a mole at CIA headquarters passing secrets to the Russians, which creates a very pleasant symmetry (don't you think?), and jacks up the suspense. I was surprised and pleased to see Russian President Vladimir Putin appear as a minor character, as wily and enigmatic as we Westerners find him in real life. <b>Palace of Treason</b> can be read as a standalone, but you'll want to read <b>Red Sparrow</b>, too. One can never find enough good spy yarns––especially those with lovesick agents and recipes.<br />
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With all the demands of the holidays pressing, you might appreciate the comfort of an offbeat mystery with a strong sense of place, such as Tarquin Hall's Vish Puri series, featuring the Most Private Investigators Ltd. agency in Delhi, or Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Botswana.<br />
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Vaseem Khan's quirky first book, <b>The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra</b> (Redhook, September 2015), is the opening book of such a proposed series. Inspector Ashwin Chopra's heart condition has forced him into early retirement after more than three decades on the Mumbai police force. During his last day, Chopra learns of a young man who apparently drowned in a puddle. The Inspector is warned off opening an inquiry and returns home to find a baby elephant, Ganesha, bequeathed to him by his uncle.<br />
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As a policeman, Chopra was an incorruptible officer who prided himself on treating everyone equally. So he can't get the screams of the dead youth's mother––that her family is too poor for his death to be adequately investigated––out of his head. Chopra decides to look into it on his own. He must keep this a secret, because his wife, Poppy, would object, and he doesn't want his former police colleagues thinking he's one of those unfortunate people who have no life outside work. Chopra balances caring for little Ganesha, whose abilities are not entirely realistic, with a criminal investigation that takes him through various Mumbai neighborhoods. This allows the reader to glimpse a fascinating city through the eyes of a man who loves it, even though he regrets some aspects of its modernization. <b>The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra</b> is a little too consciously charming for my taste, but I wanted to tell you about it because many readers love it for its charm, and you might, too.<br />
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Tomorrow we'll look at a few more holiday reads.Georgette Spelvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13853710671433406351noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-27638555096152099802015-11-20T04:00:00.000-05:002015-11-22T11:14:51.711-05:00Review of Simon Mawer's Tightrope<a href="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03330/Tightropebig_3330817f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03330/Tightropebig_3330817f.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s170/Nun+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s200/Nun+Icon.jpg" width="60" /></a><b>Tightrope</b>, by Simon Mawer (Other Press, November 3, 2015)<br />
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During World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the new Special Operations Executive to "set Europe ablaze" by supporting the resistance to the Nazis in occupied countries. Many young men and women who knew other languages, especially French, were sent behind enemy lines to gather intelligence and work with local resistance groups. Their chances of being captured, tortured, imprisoned and executed were very high––and they knew it from the start.<br />
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For years, I've been fascinated by the story of the SOE, and especially of the young women who volunteered for this lethally dangerous duty. In an era when it was rare for a woman to do anything other than graduate from school to marriage and children, these women were trained in the arcana of espionage, including parachute jumping, hand-to-hand combat and silent killing. What was in the minds and hearts of the women who became SOE agents?<br />
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<a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/multimedia/archive/00056/SOE_56066c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/multimedia/archive/00056/SOE_56066c.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>In <b>Trapeze</b> (Other Press, 2012), which is the predecessor to <b>Tightrope</b>, Simon Mawer gives us the story of a fictionalized SOE agent named Marian Sutro. She's English and French, grew up in Switzerland and moved to England with her family as things got dangerous on the European continent before World War II broke out. She had friends in France, especially Clément, the young scientist whom she'd had a crush on for years. When Germany overran France, it seemed very black and white to her; a place and people she loved were in danger from an evil invader and she wanted to help.<br />
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<a href="http://individual.utoronto.ca/jarekg/Ravensbruck/images/scan2002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://individual.utoronto.ca/jarekg/Ravensbruck/images/scan2002.jpg" height="221" width="280" /></a>When <b>Tightrope</b> begins, the war is in its last weeks and Marian is coming home. She wasn't an SOE agent in France for long. She was betrayed, captured by the Nazis, tortured and finally sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious prison camp for women near Berlin, where many real-life SOE female agents were sent. (By the way, I highly recommend Sarah Helm's masterful history of the camp: <b>Ravensbrück: Life and Death in Hitler's Concentration Camp for Women</b> (Nan A. Talese, 2015).)<br />
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Back home in England, nobody knows how to treat Marian and she hardly knows who she is and how she is to live in this postwar world. Mawer evocatively portrays Marian's numbness and alienation, the way she can more easily relate emotionally to her memories of her fellow Ravensbrück prisoners than to her own family and colleagues. To help her recover from her traumatic war experiences, Marian is advised to see a psychiatrist. She tells him that life in the camp appeared to be nothing but gray, but underneath the monochrome their lives were complex, with hierarchies, networks and groups. The way a prisoner made her way through the complex meant the difference between life and death.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Queueing for rationed food in 1947</td></tr>
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In many ways, it seemed to me that the same could be said of Marian's life in postwar England. Rationing of food, clothing and other goods continued for years, rebuilding was slow, everybody just seemed to want to keep their heads down, forget the past and get on with things. Gray. But Marian soon learns that the Cold War struggle has begun, another layered reality of complex relationships and loyalties.<br />
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Marian is offered a job and she attempts to return to some semblance of a normal life, but her past keeps impinging on the present. She has friends who are nuclear scientists, she has contacts in the intelligence services and, when she returns to Ravensbrück to testify against Nazi prison camp guards, she meets others who are in the intelligence game.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amdigital.co.uk/images/modules/Collections/Item-Images/1366/5458f14e2d1c46a18e282b25c0d60a4e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.amdigital.co.uk/images/modules/Collections/Item-Images/1366/5458f14e2d1c46a18e282b25c0d60a4e.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a>After the US drops atomic bombs on Japan, develops the far more powerful hydrogen bomb and seems to be seriously considering a preemptive strike on the Soviet Union, she wonders what was the point of all the sacrifice only a few years before, if World War III is now on the doorstep. Slowly, inexorably, Marian is drawn back into the ambiguous world of intelligence, with its agents, counter-agents, double agents and moles. Marian is once again in an environment where security and life itself depend on hierarchies, networks and groups. Will her choices lead to safety or betrayal?<br />
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Although this is a long and slow-moving novel, and Marian is a difficult character, I was riveted. Mawer makes Marian completely believable, even if often not very likable, and he immerses the reader in the tensions and uncertainty of her position, slowly upping the ante as the story goes on. Mawer has done his research, too, and skillfully interweaves real characters and events from SOE history, and British intelligence during the Cold War, into Marian's story. Details of Marian's SOE experiences will ring true to those who have read the histories. Her experiences reminded me a good deal of the description of what happened to SOE agent Eileen Nearne, which you can read about in brief <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2318572/SOE-agents-Didi-Nearne-Revealed-time-awe-inspiring-courage-British-sisters-waged-family-war-Nazis--left-emotional-scars-healed.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Former SOE agents Eileen Nearne and Odette Sansom<br />attend the 1993 unveiling of a plaque<br />
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Marian's story is told through the eyes of Sam Wareham, the son of Sutro family friends, who met Marian shortly after her return. Sam was 12 years younger than Marian and had an immediate schoolboy crush on her. His fascination for her continued for years to come, including when he became a member of the British intelligence services. The idea of looking at Marian through Sam's eyes has some benefits in telling the espionage story, but some real detriments, since his character so often has to write about events and thoughts that he couldn't know anything about.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hayley Atwell in <i>Restless</i></td></tr>
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Though I am dubious about the use of the Sam Wareham character, in other respects I think this is a first-rate novel, and should especially appeal to those who enjoy reading about World War II and/or Cold War espionage, particularly about female agents. I liked it every bit as much as William Boyd's <b>Restless</b> (Bloomsbury USA, 2006), a standout novel that was dramatized by the BBC. The three-hour BBC drama, starring Hayley Atwell, <i>Downton Abbey</i>'s Michelle Dockery and the fabulous Charlotte Rampling, was just released on DVD in the US, in case you're thinking of a good Christmas gift for somebody who enjoys espionage movies.<br />
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Although I did read <b>Trapeze</b> before reading <b>Tightrope</b>, I don't think that's at all necessary. <b>Tightrope</b> is also a better read than <b>Trapeze</b>, so if there's any question in your mind about whether you'd like either of them, I'd go with <b>Tightrope</b> first.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just in case you want to read more . . . </td></tr>
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<i>Note</i>: I received a free review copy of <b>Tightrope</b> from the publisher, through the Amazon Vine program. Versions of this review may appear on Amazon, Goodreads, BookLikes and other reviewing sites under my usernames there.Sister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-80592902862109941622015-11-14T13:38:00.002-05:002015-11-15T19:03:56.092-05:00Our hearts go out to France<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Material Witnesseshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01268824275590605660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-21610217428185796482015-11-12T19:56:00.001-05:002015-11-12T21:23:11.397-05:00More Holiday Fare<a href="http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/prowrestling/images/0/04/TLC10_Tag_Team.5.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110220004657" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/prowrestling/images/0/04/TLC10_Tag_Team.5.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110220004657" height="149" width="240" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PN1pLp97xQw/TwHxm5Yo09I/AAAAAAAAAfU/UdTi00D9pi4/s1600/mme%2Bx%2Bcu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PN1pLp97xQw/TwHxm5Yo09I/AAAAAAAAAfU/UdTi00D9pi4/s1600/mme%2Bx%2Bcu.jpg" width="60" /></a>Hubby and I plan to spend Thanksgiving with friends rather than relatives this year. By now, I'm so accustomed to a family holiday dinner that's akin to pro tag-team wrestling, I barely remember how one eats in a relaxed and civilized setting. This time, I won't sit down while beaming mental death threats to the Tactless Relative and silently pleading with the Always-Leaves-the-Table-in-a-Huff Relative. During the meal, I won't keep a foot cocked for delivering an under-the-table kick to my husband, who inevitably brings up the one topic I specifically warned him against, or take part in the traditional political discussion that degenerates into yelps and yells.<br />
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Instead of a fateful family dinner destined to burn itself into our memories, perhaps this Thanksgiving can include a discussion of memory, probability and destiny, and free will and fate––and the books that deal with these topics.<br />
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<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418113344l/22929563.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418113344l/22929563.jpg" height="400" width="262" /></a>One example is Natasha Pulley's intricate first novel, <b>The Watchmaker of Filigree Street</b> (Bloomsbury USA, July 2015). We tag along with Nathaniel Steepleton, a Home Office telegraph clerk in 1883 London. We take side excursions to Japan during the Meiji Restoration and Oxford, where we meet young physicist Grace Carrow, chafing under the restrictions society and family place on her research into the propagation of wave-based light, and her suave friend, Akira Matsumoto, who is related to the Japanese emperor.<br />
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These people are all linked through Keita Mori, a London watchmaker originally from Japan, whose talents involving time go far beyond his abilities to make enchanting clockwork devices. (I would kill to own Mori's little clockwork octopus pet, Katsu.) One of Mori's products, an exquisite pocket watch, mysteriously appears in Thaniel's room and enables him to escape a Fenian bombing without injury. Is Keita behind the bombing? And, in general, is Keita a good or bad guy, and what does it mean to become close to him? Like clockwork, Thaniel and Grace maneuver to answer these questions––and others about the nature of loneliness, love, and loyalty––in a hybrid of mystery/steampunk/speculative fiction. The atmospheric setting includes Victorian methods of detection, the struggle for women's suffrage, Gilbert and Sullivan music, and the experiences of Japanese immigrants in London. The puzzles of <b>The Watchmaker of Filigree Street</b>'s characters and plot reveal themselves slowly, but, for the reader who is willing to wait, what you'll discover is a charming and thought-provoking read. <br />
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<br />Georgette Spelvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13853710671433406351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-37673757940838677792015-11-10T13:33:00.001-05:002015-11-12T18:33:54.730-05:00Holiday Fare<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.livescience.com/images/i/000/079/362/i02/Dakotaraptor-South-Dakota.jpg?1446580586" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.livescience.com/images/i/000/079/362/i02/Dakotaraptor-South-Dakota.jpg?1446580586" height="145" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dakotaraptor illustration by Emily Willoughby</td></tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PN1pLp97xQw/TwHxm5Yo09I/AAAAAAAAAfU/UdTi00D9pi4/s1600/mme%2Bx%2Bcu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PN1pLp97xQw/TwHxm5Yo09I/AAAAAAAAAfU/UdTi00D9pi4/s1600/mme%2Bx%2Bcu.jpg" width="60" /></a>One of the joys of bringing up my son was getting turned on to dinosaurs when he was obsessed with them in elementary school. I'm thrilled when a new dinosaur is discovered, such as the huge raptor whose 66-million-year-old remains were found recently in South Dakota. <i>Dakotaraptor steini</i> was 16 feet long, winged and feathered, but couldn't fly. This inability probably wasn't much consolation to its prey, however, because it could run and leap like the dickens, and its front and rear limbs sported what paleontologist Robert DePalma calls "essentially grappling hooks" for slicing and dicing flesh. Whoa. Think about how challenging appendages like that would make shaking hands, changing the sheets, blowing your nose, and using a keyboard. I admit they would come in handy for making fruit salad and slicing bread into cubes for Thanksgiving stuffing. <br />
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<a href="http://www.postcardsfromoblivion.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/germophobe-meter2-copy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.postcardsfromoblivion.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/germophobe-meter2-copy1.jpg" height="136" width="230" /></a>Thanksgiving is November 26th. While you're preparing for the holiday, don't forget something to read. Over the next few days, I'll tell you about some books you might want to consider. If you're traveling, you'll need a book for the trip; if you're staying put and playing host, you'll need one for that moment when––after spending hours scrubbing and tidying––you come to your senses and remember your guests want to share the festivities rather than conduct a germaphobic's field test of your premises. Don't think about your cleanliness-obsessed mom or your anal-retentive Uncle Mortimer, and ditch the dust cloth, pour yourself a glass of wine, and curl up with a book. Then, at the end of the Big Day, whether you've played host or guest, you'll also need a book to occupy your mind before you fall asleep. After all, you don't want to just lie there wondering if you'll be able to get your jeans zipped up in the morning, do you? <br />
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<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1429298348l/24396847.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1429298348l/24396847.jpg" height="400" width="262" /></a>We'll begin with an ingenious cat-and-mouse game––among a bunch of hit men hunting their targets and each other. The hero of Chris Holm's riveting <b>The Killing Kind</b> (Mulholland Books, September 2015) is Michael Hendricks, who adores his girlfriend and couldn't stand to see an animal suffer. This sweetie pie joined the US Army and became a super-duper special ops soldier. When his unit was destroyed in Afghanistan, Hendricks was assumed dead. He sneaked back to the United States, but he felt too contaminated by violence to even let his grieving girlfriend know he's still alive. Now Hendricks lives off the grid and tries "to make things right, one murder at a time."<br />
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This means Hendricks calls a crime syndicate's targets for assassination––if he deems them morally worth saving––and offers to protect them for 10 times what their assigned hit man would make. Of course, Hendricks doesn't know what the pro killer looks like or exactly when the murder is scheduled to happen, so Hendricks usually must wait until the hit is attempted to take out the hitter. Eventually the syndicate bosses discover what's going on, and Hendricks himself becomes prey.<br />
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Holm's intelligent writing is perfect for this plot. It makes for an action thriller that's neither boringly shallow nor mind-numbingly convoluted. <b>The Killing Kind</b> has its gory moments, but it's not a senseless blood bath. The point of view skips around among various well-drawn and entertaining characters, allowing us to get to know each one and adding to the suspense. I cared whether Hendricks lived or died, right up to the cinematic ending. Please, somebody, make this into a movie.<br />
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Georgette Spelvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13853710671433406351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-82334303622747600162015-11-06T04:00:00.000-05:002015-11-06T04:00:01.833-05:00Review of Heda Margolius Kovály's Innocence: Or, Murder on Steep Street<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zxdFgWn8L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zxdFgWn8L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s170/Nun+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s200/Nun+Icon.jpg" width="60" /></a><b>Innocence: Or, Murder on Steep Street</b>, by Heda Margolius Kovály (Soho Crime, June 2, 2015)<br />
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After World War II, Czechoslovakia had a brief period of democracy until 1948, when it fell to a Communist coup and became a satellite of the USSR. Like so many European Communist states during the Stalin era, party apparatchiks could suddenly find themselves accused of imaginary crimes against the state and lose their positions or even their lives. State Security officials and their informants monitored and reported on activities of ordinary citizens, so that one never knew if co-workers, friends or even family members could be trusted not to be informers.<br />
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That’s the background of Heda Margolius Kovály's <b>Innocence, Or Murder on Steep Street</b>. Helena Novákova's world is turned upside down when she loses her job at a publishing house and her husband is arrested and imprisoned as a spy. He isn't, but truth isn't a priority in the paranoid security state.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://social.rollins.edu/wpsites/thirdsight/files/2013/02/Prague-Crowds-1950s.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://social.rollins.edu/wpsites/thirdsight/files/2013/02/Prague-Crowds-1950s.png" height="256" width="350" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fruit and vegetable store in 1950s Prague</td></tr>
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Now Helena is an usher at the Horizon cinema in Prague, along with several other female ushers, a manager, a concessionaire and a lone male projectionist. When a young boy visiting the theater is murdered, all of the staff fall under official scrutiny. There doesn't seem to be any mystery about whodunnit, but all the other staff members still have plenty of secrets, veiled by layers of lies.<br />
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At the same time that we read about the dual lives of the various Horizon staff members, another thread is Helena's attempts to find help for her husband. These two threads come together in an unexpected way. It's intriguing, but the wrap-up is murky and strays past enigmatic to confusing. In a few other places the writing lacks clarity. Overall, though, I still found it a very readable and atmospheric story.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">credit: Marie Šechtlová</span></td></tr>
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It might seem a little strange to have a crime novel told in hardboiled style when it's set in Prague in the 1950s, but I got used to it quickly, especially since the stripped-down bluntness of the style fits the bleak, paranoid time and place. When you find out that Kovály was herself a translator of Raymond Chandler's books, it makes even more sense.<br />
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Knowing Kovály's own story isn't necessary to appreciate this stark story of pervasive falsity and fear, but I think it does add something when you know how close this was to home for her. She and her first husband were Holocaust survivors who made it home to Prague, where her husband became an enthusiastic Communist. He was caught up in the infamous Slánský show trials and was executed. When you know that, Helena's thoughts and actions are especially moving.<br />
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If you're interested in knowing more about Kovály, read her stunning memoir, <b>Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague, 1941-1968</b>.<br />
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<i>Notes</i>: I received a free advance review copy of the book. Versions of this review may appear on Amazon, BookLikes and other reviewing sites under my usernames there.Sister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-16793164676509957202015-10-30T04:00:00.000-04:002015-11-08T19:29:49.331-05:00Do androids dream of electric detectives?<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Qb9WO4jwL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Qb9WO4jwL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s170/Nun+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s200/Nun+Icon.jpg" width="60" /></a><b>Made to Kill</b>, by Adam Christopher (L.A. Trilogy, Book 1; Tor Books, November 3, 2015)<br />
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In this alternative version of 1965 Los Angeles, the great experiment of doing menial jobs with "machine men" is over. Raymond Electromatic, a whole new model of machine man, rolled off the line just when the government shut down the experiment and all its products. Now Raymond is the world's last––and only––robot.<br />
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Raymond and his wisecracking computer partner, Ada, are the creations of scientist Dr.Thornton, who sets up Ada as the back-office brains and Raymond as the front-office muscle in the Electromatic Detective Agency. Once Thornton has passed on, their prime directive is to make money. Ada has figured out that murder for hire is a lot more lucrative than private detection, so now Ray's real job is hit-robot.<br />
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But here's the thing. Even though Ray was top of the line for his time, that doesn't mean he and Ada are all that advanced in some ways. When I say Ada is the back-office brains, I mean her hardware takes up nearly all the space in the back office. Ray's hard-wired with lots of fundamental knowledge, but his short-term memory runs on a tape that he has to give back to Ada every night for her to add to her racks of day-memory tapes. He starts each day with a clean tape and no memory of what he did the day before.<br />
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Ray's memory limitation is no problem for a hit-robot who's supposed to do an in-and-out kill on the occasional evening, but it's a drawback for a private detective. Still, Ray takes on a new case when that classic plot device of hardboiled fiction, the damsel in distress, walks through the agency's frosted-glass door. This dame offers Ray a big bag of gold bars if he'll eliminate Hollywood actor Charles David, no questions asked.<br />
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Ray's a bit of a movie buff, so he's interested in a case that takes him into Hollywood. What he didn't bargain for is finding a weird sort of cult among the movie world's upper crust. This group seems to be planning something really big; something involving Russians. And even though this is an alternative 1965, Russians are just as ominous as they were in our 1965.<br />
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<a href="http://41.media.tumblr.com/d129287fb2e82a340e05088938f5d3b6/tumblr_neh2n4MzvS1qhlul0o1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://41.media.tumblr.com/d129287fb2e82a340e05088938f5d3b6/tumblr_neh2n4MzvS1qhlul0o1_1280.jpg" height="320" width="231" /></a>Adam Christopher's goal here seems to be to write a Raymond Chandler novel with a robot protagonist. (I doubt it's coincidence that the robot protagonist and Chandler have the same first name.) And he does it fairly well. The hardboiled dialog is there, and Ray's deadpan wit makes him a believable mechanical Marlowe.<br />
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Compared to Chandler, though, this is more lightweight fare, a quick, fun read. And it's best to treat it that way and not think too much about the fact that most of the time there's not a compelling reason in the way the story is presented to have Ray be a robot at all. Or that there are way too many sentences including the words "I frowned on the inside" or someone "made a sound like" a cement mixer, a beehive, steam engine brakes, a cat pawing at a mouse inside an air vent, two rocks going for a joyride in a clothes washer, a garbage truck grinding its gears, a sewing machine on overdrive, a clutch slipping and at least a couple of dozen other things. I also would have liked to see more development of the alternative world of 1965, other than just a couple of tantalizing glimpses.<br />
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Still, I had fun reading the story, despite its significant drawbacks. The tone is funny with an edge, I grew fond of Ray and the time zipped by as I read. One other thing I should mention; though this is billed as the first in a trilogy, it stands on its own, so there is none of that cliffhanger stuff that makes me want to throw a book against the wall.<br />
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<i>Note</i>: I received a free advance review copy of the book. Versions of this review may appear on Amazon, BookLikes and other reviewing sites under my usernames there.Sister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-37565749325648953682015-10-23T04:00:00.000-04:002015-11-08T19:30:22.350-05:00Review of Ian Caldwell's The Fifth Gospel<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/612ERROTroL._SX326_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/612ERROTroL._SX326_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s170/Nun+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s200/Nun+Icon.jpg" width="60" /></a><b>The Fifth Gospel</b>, by Ian Caldwell (Simon & Schuster, March 3, 2015)<br />
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Father Alex Andreou is a Greek Catholic priest, which means that he is a subject of the Roman Catholic pope, but otherwise follows the traditions of the Greek Orthodox Church. As a Greek Catholic priest, he was allowed to enter the priesthood as a married man.<br />
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The priesthood is Alex’s family business and the Vatican is his world. His father was the seventh in a generational line of Greek Catholic priests. Alex lives in his childhood apartment in Vatican City, along with his five-year-old son, Peter. Alex’s wife, Mona, suffered a breakdown from postpartum depression not long after Peter’s birth and left her family.<br />
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Alex’s adored older brother, Simon, is a charismatic Roman Catholic priest who is a Vatican diplomat. Like his father and then Pope John Paul, his passionate ambition is to heal the centuries-long schism between the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches. At the time this novel is set, the Pope is crippled with Parkinson’s disease and nearing his death, but still absorbed with this goal of rejoining the sects.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Greek Catholic priest and his family</td></tr>
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Alex and Peter are in their apartment, eagerly awaiting a visit from Simon when he calls, evidently distraught, and asks for Alex to meet him at Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer retreat, where Alex is shocked to find Simon with the corpse of Ugo Nogara, a museum curator.<br />
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Ugo is an old friend of Simon’s whom Alex was tutoring in Gospel theology to help Ugo with an exhibit at the Vatican about the Shroud of Turin. Years earlier, the Shroud had been claimed by scientists to be carbon-dated as being from medieval times and could not have been the burial shroud of Jesus. Ugo promises his exhibit will shatter what the world thought it knew about the Shroud. As if the murder isn’t enough of a shock, Alex and Simon return to Alex’s apartment to find that someone has come into the apartment and rifled Alex’s belongings, while Peter and his caretaker cowered in the bedroom closet.<br />
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With Simon reluctant to fill Alex in on what might have been behind these two crimes, Alex begins his own investigation, calling on the many old friends and acquaintances who work at the Vatican as Swiss Guards, drivers and clerics. But the real solution may be the subject of Nogara’s exhibit and, for that, Alex’s expertise in the history of the Gospels is critical.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pope John Paul returns religious relics stolen in the Crusades to<br />
Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew</td></tr>
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You wouldn’t think that a mystery that revolves around the intricacies of Gospel history and critical interpretation could make for a decent thriller plot, but it’s surprisingly compelling stuff. Caldwell has that gift of taking a subject you might not have any interest in and making it fascinating. It doesn’t hurt that he adds in lashings of intrigue, with different groups within the Vatican favoring or implacably opposing any reconciliation with the Greek Orthodox Church––a reconciliation that would have to overcome centuries of hatred and mistrust, due in large part to the violence and plundering visited by Catholic Crusaders on the Greek Orthodox Church in Constantinople.<br />
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If you’re looking for an action-heavy thriller, this isn’t it. The plot plays out deliberately and works more cerebrally than physically. This isn’t just a thriller, though. Unlike so many thrillers, the focus is at least as much on the characters, and on history and ideas. And, with hardly a whiff of romance, this is a novel that is overwhelmingly about love. Love of family, of God, of friends. The kind of love that changes lives and leads to bonds that can’t be broken and to sacrifice.<br />
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The novel is a bit of a slow starter, but as I read on it became completely engrossing. I think it’s important to say you don’t have to be a believer to find the story and its characters compelling. I’ve heard some people mention <b>The DaVinci Code </b>in connection with this book, but this is nothing like <b>The DaVinci Code</b>––and that’s a good thing, in my opinion.
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A note about the audiobook: The narrator is Jack Davenport. If you watched the NBC series <i>Smash</i>, he played the libidinous English director. He has a voice like Irish Coffee and, to be honest, he could read me an insurance contract and I’d keep listening.Sister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566219501850777383.post-23273477613906992812015-10-09T18:04:00.000-04:002015-10-09T19:07:12.635-04:00Review of Sascha Arango's The Truth and Other Lies<a href="http://d20eq91zdmkqd.cloudfront.net/assets/images/book/large/9781/4711/9781471139703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d20eq91zdmkqd.cloudfront.net/assets/images/book/large/9781/4711/9781471139703.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s170/Nun+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwWe1R1YKho/TgouZuaHagI/AAAAAAAAAF8/AeJXi5GllYg/s200/Nun+Icon.jpg" width="60" /></a><b>The Truth and Other Lies</b>, by Sascha Arango (Atria Books, June 23, 2015)<br />
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Henry Hayden is one of those very successful writers who pumps out one best-selling thriller after another. His success saved the publishing house that discovered his first manuscript, he's charming to the fans who seek him out in the coastal village where he lives with his quiet wife, Martha, and he is modest and generous. Now, which of these things isn't true? As we find out right off the bat, it isn't Henry who is the writer, but Martha––though not a soul besides the couple knows that.<br />
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When Betty, Henry's editor and mistress tells him she's pregnant, Henry's carefully-arranged life threatens to unravel. Henry's quick fix goes awry and he has to engage in more and more complex schemes to avoid exposure of his current misdeeds––and the revelation of his past by an old acquaintance who promises to turn into a nemesis.<br />
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You might have figured out by now that Henry is a sociopath and this is one of those books (like Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley novels, for example) that invites us to identify with the amoral lead character. It was hard to do that at first; Henry is just too cold. But as we learn more about Henry, a bit of a thaw comes. Even if it's only admiration of Henry's skill at constructing complex schemes to wriggle out of trouble.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">illustration from <i>The New York Times</i></span></td></tr>
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This short novel moves along quickly and I kept turning the pages as fast as I could to find out what happens to Henry––and to the manuscript Martha has been working on when the novel opens. I enjoyed the plotting, and the translation from the original German is well done.<br />
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There isn't much sense of place; in fact, I couldn't tell you where this is supposed to be set, other than that it's a coastal town and it's somewhere in Europe. I would also say that it's not nearly as skilled in roping the reader into "sympathy for the devil" as Phil Hogan’s <b>A Pleasure and a Calling</b> (one of my <a href="http://www.readmedeadly.com/2015/01/best-reads-of-2014-part-three.html" target="_blank">favorite reads of last year</a>), but it's a quick and entertaining read.<br />
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<i>Note</i>: I received a free advance review copy of the book. Versions of this review may appear on Amazon, BookLikes and other reviewing sites under my usernames there.<br />
<br />Sister Mary Murderoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13721665989818474295noreply@blogger.com0