Review Archive for author's that start with ... S
Review Archive for author's that start with ... S
Reviewed on this page: Out Of Mind (Catherine Sampson),
Outlaws
(Kevin
Sampson), The Hanged Man's Song (John Sandford), Dead Watch (John
Sandford), Invisible Prey (John Sandford), Phantom Prey (John
Sandford), Sovereign (C. J. Sansom), MurderOlé
(Corinne Holt Sawyer), The Stone Angel
(Katherine Scholes), The
Crystal Skull (Manda Scott), In The Shadows (Margaret
Scott), Devil's Corner
(Lisa Scottoline),
Killer Smile (Lisa
Scottoline),
Dirty Blonde (Lisa Scottoline), Daddy's Girl
(Lisa Scottoline),
Lady Killer (Lisa Scottoline),
Stalin:The
Court of the Red Tsar
(Simon Sebag Montefiore)The Interior
(Lisa
See), Lime Juice (B. Selkie),The Untouchable
(Gerald
Seymour), The Unknown Soldier
(Gerald Seymour), The Walking Dead
(Gerald Seymour), Those Garrison Women
(Louise Shaffer), In Tasmania
(Nicholas
Shakespeare),
Snowleg
(Nicholas Shakespeare), Virgin Heat
and Florida Straits(Laurence Shames),
The Orange Curtain
(John Shannon),Wilt In Nowhere (Tom Sharpe),
Eye to Eye
(Caroline Shaw), The Mayor of Lexington Avenue (James Sheehan),
The
Fig Eater(Jody Shields),
18 Seconds
(George D Shuman), Lost
Girls (George D Shuman),
Everlost (Neal Shusterman, Iced
(Jenny Siler), Flashback
(Jenny Siler),The Kill Artist
(Daniel Silva),
Marching Season
(Daniel
Silva),Damn Straight (Elizabeth Sims),
Easy
Street (Elizabeth Sims), The Shadow Maker (Robert
Sims)
Blindsighted
(Karin Slaughter),
Kisscut (Karin Slaughter),
A
Faint Cold Fear (Karin Slaughter), Indelible (Karin Slaughter),
Faithless
(Karin Slaughter), Triptych (Karin Slaughter),
Skin Privilege
(Karin
Slaughter), Fractured (Karin Slaughter), The
Red Hat Club (Haywood Smith), Child 44 (Tom Rob Smith),
The Secret Speech (Tom Rob Smith), Assegai (Wilbur Smith),
Cold (John Smolens),The Prophet Murders (Mehmet Murat Somer)
Monsoon
Rains and Icicle Drops
(Southwell and Brouard),
No Way Home (Peter
Spiegelman),
Blindfold Game (Dana Stabenow),
One Dangerous Lady
(Jane
Stanton Hitchcock),
Lights Out (Jason Starr), Body of a
Girl (Leah Stewart), ,
Firecracker
(Sean Stewart),
The
Adultery Club (Tess Stimson),
Bubbles Unbound (Sarah Strohmeyer),
Bubbles
In Trouble
(Sarah Strohmeyer) The Decoy (Tony Strong),
Sasso
(James
Sturz),
Exit A (Anthony Swofford),
OUT OF MIND
by Catherine Sampson
ISBN 1405040815
294 pages
MACMILLAN
October 3 2005
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
September 21 2005
OUT OF MIND is the second novel featuring journalist Robin Ballantyne, from the pen of journalist and China expert, Catherine Sampson. Her first book was FALLING OFF AIR, a story in which Robin was, herself, a suspect in a murder. At least the same fate is not visited on the hapless protagonist in this episode but there are many other perilous occurrences that threaten her well-being.
The prologue introduces horror into eirenic beauty when a woman is admiring a wintry landscape imbued with serenity whilst reminding herself that "scenes of bucolic tranquility were always the scene of greatest betrayal". Sure enough, a man crunches across the ice and pulls a sack over the woman's head. The reader is left surmising the fate of the victim.
Robin's three year-old twins have not endeared themselves to Finney, the detective who had been in charge of the case investigating the murder of their father. Nonetheless, because he is in love with their mother, Finney transports the children and Robin to London's War School, a place where journalists learn how to survive on front lines when sent by their masters to cover warfare. Robin is investigating the disappearance of camerawoman colleague Melanie Jackson and the School was the last place where Melanie was seen. Robin (alias Goldilocks to Sal Ghosh who shares an office with her at the Corporation ) is actively discouraged by her bosses from pursuing the case, but she promised Melanie's parents not to give up and intends honouring her word. She disguises her continued interest by incorporating Melanie's disappearance into a story on missing people . Her investigation takes her as far away as Cambodia, where her suspicions, already aroused, about a former associate of Melanie's, are magnified.
This is a very interesting, albeit very bloody, mystery about a journalist written by a journalist. One need not cast around too far to identify Sampson's inspiration for the fictional Corporation for which the reporters work. Sampson does not attempt to glamourise either her profession or the difficulties encountered by a working mother in raising small children. Eccentric family members make an appearance in the story and complicate the life of the journalist slmost to distraction.
The book is tightly plotted, with regulation red herrings drawn across the path of heroine and reader alike - although the latter is quite safe in the grip of his armchair while Robin faces deadly forces and slightly crazy villains.
This is a fitting reminder to the reading public that a journalist's
job consists of rather more than simply belting a keyboard. Incorporating
reflections of the perils experienced in real life by the Fourth Estate,
the book could make readers think more than twice about the dangers to
reporters implicit in daily news bulletins.
OUTLAWS
by Kevin Sampson
Jonathan Cape London
ISBN 0-224-06005-8
$30.45
August 3 2001
reviewed by Denise Wels
Merseyside author Kevin Sampson writes knowingly about drinking and debauchery... oh yes, and football as well. His previous novels, Awaydays, Powder, Leisure and the non-fiction Extra Time have garnered a certain following which this tale is unlikely to dispel.
Outlaws is a book about a singularly nasty bunch of Liverpudlian gangsters. It is told in an initially confusing first person from several points of view. The headings to each section identify the current speaker but if that part extends over more than one page sometimes it is necessary to look back to refresh the memory as to which character has the stage at the time. There is no distinct difference between the protagonists' speech patterns.
Ged is the leader of a gang comprising several members of whom the most prominent are his cousin Anthony (Moby) and his adopted brother John-Paul (Ratter). Ged is notoriously close mouthed about his projected activities and while he lets it be known he is organising some kind of heist he does not disclose the nature of the booty nor the date of the crime. The gang's normal hauls involve a certain amount of cooperation between couriers of the plunder and even the owners of the carrying companies (a stratagem of which most newspaper readers must be aware by now). Ged tells his menials that the goods will be light, which, to them, indicates it must be drugs.
Ratter has developed a respectable front in real estate and has also influenced a local councillor into becoming his parasitic ally. Unbeknownst to Ged, John-Paul has nursed a life-long resentment of his adoptive family and is determined to be free of them, formulating his own plan for a multi-million score and escape. Ged, for his part, has achieved a degree of respectability with his involvement in a charity and his friendship thereby with a police official. None too intelligent Moby follows his leader blindly but occasionally lets his bodily functions (he appears to be some kind of satyr) force him to disregard Ged's orders.
The narrative examines the lead-up to Ged's proposed coup and follows his personal life and that of his cohorts as Ratter plots their downfall. They are all ardent followers of soccer and Sampson's description of their excursion to an away game is tummy turning, to say the least. This is in contrast to the fact that shortly thereafter all will be attending the First Communion party for Moby's son. The hoodlums do have their own, strange, code of ethics which is exhibited as the story progresses.
Told in the local dialect the narrative may frequently befuddle the reader... that is, the reader that manages to persist in perusing the grot. I can't say this is the most appealing book I have read this year but it does keep one wondering about the final outcome right up to the finish.
THE HANGED MAN'S SONG
by John Sandford
ISBN 0743492188
321 pages
POCKET BOOKS
November 2005
$18.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
February 14 2006
A Pulitzer prize winning journalist who turns to crime fiction is bound to be well worth reading. John Sandford, or as he is known in his journalistic life, John Camp, has written quite a collection of thrillers with his Prey series being the best known. His Kidd series, of which THE HANGED MAN'S SONG is one, is less well known but is, nonetheless, utterly compelling.
For the reader, there is no secret about the murderer's identity. James Carp is shown as he brutally slaughters black hacker Bobby. Bobby is not exactly challenging as a murder prospect since he is the victim of a degenerative disease which sees him confined to a wheelchair. Nonetheless, he puts up a good fight, although not as good as the fight put up by his laptop which was the object of the killing exercise.
Kidd is a member of a hacker ring of which Bobby is an integral part. When Bobby doesn't keep an online appointment, alarm bells sound in his little community. Kidd and his sometime lover Luellen are busily working to ascertain if a casino is skimming undeclared profits but the call comes that Bobby is down, the priority is to locate Bobby's computers and make unavailable to the authorities sensitive information that could damage the individual members of the ring.
Kidd, Luellen and their friend John set out to discover the identity of the murderer and attempt to retrieve Bobby's laptop. Soon, stories begin to emerge on the media attributed to Bobby, stories that have political ramifications. Suddenly, very important people have an interest in retrieving the stolen computer.
Sandford's prose is tightly written. He never wastes words and, in an afterword, claims most adverbs have been eliminated. Certainly, the pace of the action benefits from the tautness of what remains.
Readers will gain an intriguing glimpse into the world of hackers in this opus. Possibilities that most of us would not have envisaged rear their all too believable heads and make us wonder just how safe and private our own little computers might be. Sympathy for the reluctant protagonist, Kidd, the man who only wants to be left alone to be an artist, is evoked even as the reader watches him indulge in shady deals and overt violence. The brotherhood of the hackers is depicted as something that overcomes racial divisions, even in the most prejudiced communities.
There is an element of the supernatural in the novel as Kidd, while
at the same time deprecating the art, scries the future by using his Tarot
cards: thus the titular Hanged Man. The entirety is a pleasing mix combining
energetic entertainment, a dash of violence and an overall sense of awe
at just what computer use and abuse may achieve.
DEAD WATCH
by John Sandford
373 pages
ISBN 074327623X
SIMON & SCHUSTER
August 1 2006
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
August 25 2006
Swerving from the tried and true paths of his Prey and Kidd series, journalist Sandford (John Camp) dips his toes (and a bit more) into the world of politics in DEAD WATCH. His new protagonist, Jake Winter, is introduced to the reader as a hunter and, at the instigation of his political masters, sets out to hunt for the identities of the kidnappers/murderers of Republican former senator, Lincoln Bowe.
The tale opens with Madison Bowe, wife of the ousted senator, realising she is being watched as she rides a mare on her farm. Returning to her house, Madison is faced by two Watchmen, a relatively new, ostensibly law and order group, intent on intimidating her. The men are flunkies of Virginia governor, Arlo Goodman, and they warn her not to attribute the recent disappearance of her husband to their organisation.
Vacationing political fix-it man and one-time academic Jake Winter is summoned to the White House by his boss, Bill Danzig, the President's chief of staff. The Democrats are finding themselves in an uncomfortable position as Madison Bowe's television appearance turns an unwelcome spotlight on them following the disappearance of her Republican husband. The canny lady has managed to capture on tape her encounter with the two Governor's men. The Governor belongs to the President's party and an upcoming election makes it imperative that the mystery of Bowe's disappearance be solved and that the solution not be laid at the feet of the Democrats.
Soon, the decapitated and charred corpse of the missing man is found. His widow, naturally enough, wants justice to be done to the murderers. Her husband's sexual orientation, knowledge of which could set the cat amongst the pigeons should it be known to the public at large, is not made publicised but is a handy device for the author to permit Winter and Madison to experience an unexpected mutual attraction.
Governor Goodman commissions his brother, a cold-blooded killer, to minimise possible damage to his chances of being selected as a vice-presidential candidate. There is a packet of metaphorically explosive materials, the premature release of which could damage the political campaign, to be found and protected.
The reader is escorted down the winding trail of the underside of political manoeuvering, the savage secrets customarily concealed from the public. Sandford's audience is treated to plausible scenarios as Winter attempts to unriddle murders which multiply as the trail becomes increasingly dense and opaque.
There is a danger that the reader may be confused by the sheer numbers of characters in the narrative; political alliances and designations are not always easily discerned, especially given the complexities of the somewhat convoluted plot. Regardless, the author manages to get across to his audience the less than edifying antics of the political machinery in the lead-up to an election.
None of the characters is shown to have an unalloyed pure and pristine character. Everyone has secrets to protect and few are the people brave enough and sincere enough to share with others the totality of their knowledge.
The tale relies heavily on action but there is also a satisfactory development
of character. Shafts of humour tend to lighten an otherwise rather depressing
and confusingly tortuous account. One can only hope that real life politicians
are not quite as black as Sandford's people are portrayed.
INVISIBLE PREY
by John Sandford
ISBN 9780743276252
388 pages
SIMON & SCHUSTER
July 2007
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
August 31 2007
INVISIBLE PREY opens bloodily enough, with two robbers becoming murderers (assuming they hadn't already achieved that status.) They bash two elderly women to death, then set about stealing some valuable antiques, whilst leaving many more within the house. Clearly, there is something even more psychologically wrong with one of the murderers than is common for his ilk. Despite his victim being definitely dead, he insists on beating her some more.
Meanwhile, Lucas Davenport is discussing what becomes the sub-plot of the novel: politician Burt Kline has been accused of statutory rape by a sixteen year-old girl who claims the relationship has been continuing for a year. As proof, she provides punctuation related evidence. I don't know about politically correct, but let's hope the senator's grammar is up to any court action.
The reader is introduced to the duo responsible for the murders and the robberies. A pair knowledgeable (naturally) about antiques but Murderer One cares for the items themselves whilst Murderer Two is more interested in the cash available for them.
While, one way or another, there is considerable gore tastefully decorating the novel, there is almost as much humour blackly ornamenting the text, some of it more obvious than some other. The characterisation is done well although the most vivid is of the baddies, whose names are bestowed, surely, with humorous intent.
I like the way the author has applied layer upon layer of subplot over the foundation of the plot. The interaction between the villains is a good example of this. The culmination of that relationship is rather delicious and certainly tastefully neat.
Altogether, the book is very well done. There is a nice balance between characters and plot, although at times I felt some of the domestic situations of the people might have been brought more to the fore, just to add more human interest. The humour could well be described as "irrepressible" and certainly provides a welcome contrast to some of the violence.
Given the success of Sandford's Prey series so far, this reviewer hopes
the author is not seeking a permanent stay of predation in the near future.
PHANTOM PREY
by John Sandford
ISBN 9781847371708
373 pages
SIMON & SCHUSTER
$29.85
August 1 2008
reviewed by Denise Pickles
January 12 2009
Alyssa Austin arrives home to discover that her security system has been disarmed but her house is empty. Her daughter, who does not live at home, has not been there and her housekeeper, reasonably enough, is also absent. What is present is blood -- or traces of it, blood that later is proved to be that of Alyssaís daughter, Frances.
Fairy and Loren enter the action. Interestingly enough, the author confides that they are aware of the identity of Francesí killers-- and this is before Alyssa is learns officially of her daughterís death. The author permits the reader to understand that Lorenís body is cold to the touch-- more so than one would expect from a normal humanís corpus.
Lucas Davenport is on a stakeout. Mind, he could be condemned to far worse duties, since the person whom he is watching is the woman belonging to a drug dealer. The drug dealer himself is missing, but Lucas hopes that Heather is the key to disclosing her manís whereabouts. The lady has entertaining habits, including undressing in front of the window which the law enforcement officers have under observation. Heather is pregnant and one of the questions that occupies Davenportís mind is how Heather got that way, since Siggy has, supposedly, been out of the country for quite some time.
At first glance, it would seem that Sandford has injected a goodly dose of the supernatural into this novel but if the reader accepts that he is seeing some scenes through the eyes of a character who has some psychological problems, then that difficulty is resolved.
My problem with this opus is that I feel it lacks ìedgeî. Perhaps the problem lies with the authorís divulging what should have been a big secret, far too early. Had it been kept until the last few pages, perhaps it would have made more impact. To my mind, the last few pages proved somewhat wishy washy and, perhaps, something of an anticlimax.
One of the problems I have with the characters centres on the woman belonging to the drug dealer, Heather Toms (now why would the author bestow that name on her?) There she is, a pregnant mother, taking off her clothes in front of an open window. A woman, in my opinion, would need to be pretty confident of her own sexuality, were she aware or unaware that there might be onlookers.
While I donít think one could categorise this opus as a complete dud,
I do feel it could have been improved.
SOVEREIGN
by C. J. Sansom
ISBN 9780330436083
662 pages
PAN BOOKS
May 3 2007
$21.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
May 15 2007
SOVEREIGN is the third in the Matthew Shardlake series and I deeply regret that I've not yet read the previous two, DISSOLUTION and DARK FIRE.
Lawyer Shardlake, formerly a minion of Thomas Cromwell but now employed
by Archbishop Cranmer, is sent to York ahead of Henry VIII's
1541 Great Progress to the North. Henry has already faced down a rebellion
by the northerners and now wishes to establish his authority and quell
thought of a further rebellion. Shardlake must see to the welfare of Sir
Edward Broderick, now a prisoner for his part in the conspiracy to topple
the King. It would not do to have a damaged prisoner delivered to the torturers,
the 'experts' in the Tower.
Shardlake's other task is to help Master Wrenne, a fellow lawyer, handle the petitions to the King.
On arriving in York, Shardlake and his assistant Barak seek out Wrenne but before they can follow up their tasks, they become enmeshed in the murder of a glazier, Oldroyd, a man in whose house Shardlake discovers a chest containing documents which hint at the root of another conspiracy. Before he can investigate further, the lawyer is set upon by someone, stunned, and the casket stolen.
When Henry arrives in York, Shardlake's duties cause an encounter between them -- a very unpleasant and humiliating experience for the lawyer who becomes the butt of the merry monarch's wit. Shardlake is a hunchback, despised by some as an harbinger of ill fortune and subject to discrimination by the superstitious as well as those seeking to make themselves feel superior to others physically less fortunately endowed.
While the murder mystery is very well constructed, my own feeling is that the greater interest lies in the depiction of the time. The author provides vivid descriptions of both the pomp and the savagery of the milieu. I could have done without the word-painting of the human body parts of traitors, tastefully decorating aspects of York, however. I'm very glad I didn't read the work before I visited that wonderful city.
The novel deals also with the waning days of Henry's marriage to the feckless and foolish Catherine Howard. Fortunately, not much beyond the historical facts is given. Catherine's character has no depth so the reader's sympathy is barely stirred.
Catherine's is not the only personality that suffers from lack of depth of description. Of the relatively major characters involved in the action, Talasin Reedbourne suffers a similar fate. One doesn't feel, either, that one gets into the character of Jack Barak, Shardlake's man, despite his key role in the adventure.
Any criticism of the work, however, pales in comparison with the strengths
and scholarship of this tremendous book.
Murder Olé
by Corinne Holt Sawyer
Fawcett Crest
If you are looking for depth of character and character development in your mysteries, something along the lines of what you would find in Ruth Rendell or her alias Barbara Vine, and you begin to read one of Sawyer's novels... forget it.
Sawyer is very good with her descriptions of events amd locations, but in all the novels of hers that I have read (which is most of them) Sawyer's protagonists Angela Benbow and Caledonia Wingate (both widows of Navy Admirals) are pretty well static. Of course, they have an excuse since they are septuagenarians (I think) and Sawyer has as the background for her books a retirement village rejoicing in the name of Camden-sur-Mer.
Murder Olé begins with the death in Mexico of a new resident of the village, Miss Braintree, but this is attributed, at first, to a heart attack perhaps brought on by the horrors of the exhibit,'The Mummies of Guanajuato' as the horse drawn vehicle in which the residents rode passed through darkened passageways displaying increasingly horrible waxworks spectacles. By the time any doubt is thrown on the manner of the death, it is too late for further investigation. The tourists have returned to California and the body has been cremated.
The annoyance of the retirees at Camden-sur-Mer at being treated as demented infants (shades of Waiting for God) is responsible for the initial short tour, to be followed by two more short trips to Mexico. The elderly folk wish, amongst other things, to improve their Spanish so the bus tours led by the redoubtable Mrs Maralyn Wilson are organised. Characters from previous novels, in addition to Caledonia and Angela, such as dipsomaniac Grogan; post-adolescent policeman gangly and apparently inept Shorty Swanson, the identical annoying female twins the Jacksons; Tootsie (!) Armstrong and inevitably the detective Lieutenant Martinez, and others, make an appearance.
Despite her lack of producing in-depth characters, Sawyer is quite adept at sketching humorous situations as well as sickmaking (such as the bullfight) events. I also found myself feeling quite nervous and travel sick as she described the tourists' bus making its way along a steep winding road which had no safety rail.
The puzzle is laid out fairly and the clues presented well. If you are looking for a convincing plot ... and why should any rational reader looking for light entertainment wish to find something that might occur in real life... look elsewhere. Sawyer does not pretend to produce any deep psychological insights into the aged nor do more than give the reader a capably fast paced light and pleasant read. As such, she succeeds admirably.
THE STONE ANGEL
by Katherine Scholes
ISBN 1405037040
362 pages
MACMILLAN
April 3 2006
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
March 17 2006
Tanzanian born Tasmanian resident Katherine Scholes has written books for children and young adults. She has garnered a well deserved award, the New South Wales State Literary Award, for THE BLUE CHAMELEON and one can but hope that the sensitively told THE STONE ANGEL is also recognised for the telling gives a wonderful insight into the mind of a naive young girl.
Stella is a journalist working in Addis Adaba. As a freelancer, she ekes out an impecunious living covering various troublespots but she jealously preserves her independence. Then one day she is given the news that her fisherman father is missing at sea; she must return to Halfmoon Bay, Tasmania and support her mother while the search is conducted in stormy seas with diminishing hope. Her mother is totally dependent on her father, a domineering man who demands total obedience to his word. Stella has not seen her family for fifteen years and had, until this time, no wish to do so.
Stella's thoughts turn back to the period just before her departure from Halfmoon Bay and the reasons for her not wishing to see her parents. She was to leave the town in order to continue her schooling. She had a boyfriend, James, whom everyone expected her to marry but while James is away, Stella meets a boy scarcely older than herself, a lone sailor, Zeph, who tells her he is sailing to New Zealand in order to keep his promise to meet his mother there. Stormy seas confine Zeph to Stella's favourite coves and the two fall in love, a union happily overseen by Zeph's cat, Carla.
Zeph leaves, unaware that Stella has fallen pregnant. He has promised to return to her but the days lengthen into weeks and still he doesn't return. Stella's adamantine hard father is told about the girl's pregnancy and insists she has the child and gives it away. She is to be sent to the mainland, to a home for unwed mothers, once her condition can no longer be hidden. She rebels, saying that she will keep the baby, but fate intervenes.
This is a remarkable story, detailing, as it does, the lack of freedom of a teenage girl and the absolute dominion her father has over both her mother and herself. The mother's complete obedience to and dependence on the man is horrifying. She has allowed him to order her life from the time they lived in England; she expects her daughter to obey him to the same extent. The insight into a teenage girl's plight, innocent and ignorant as she is, is extremely touching and the reader will no doubt cheer her on as she survives bitter disappointment before running away to an uncle who, it seems, is less than respectable but is still her godfather.
The characterisations are especially well done: the father comes across as terrifying while the mother is depicted as bordering on obsessive compulsive and completely ineffectual. The community, too, is very convincingly painted and the portrait of Stella is superb.
It is debatable whether a teenage girl in this day and age could live
her life in such a manner as to remain ignorant of all she needs to know
should she be caught in such a situation. It is likewise debatable whether
an adult woman could allow herself to be as intimidated and subservient
as Stella's mother, Grace, shows herself. Nonetheless, teenage pregnancies
are always possible and this story of a teenager who longs to escape and
fulfills her ambition should resonate with many people, teenagers and adults
alike.
THE CRYSTAL SKULL
by Manda Scott
ISBN 9780593055717
364 pages
BANTAM PRESS
January 1 2008
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
December 20 2007
Every now and again it's a pleasure to desert hard crime fiction for a little while and, instead, take a gamble on a hit of fantasy. Thus, when I saw the promo for THE CRYSTAL SKULL, I decided to relax with something different for a while.
The book proceeds in two time frames the present and the sixteenth century. The prologue is set in mid- sixteenth century with a letter from Cedric Owen, a physician and Ph.D. who was educated at the (imaginary) Bede's college, Cambridge. He makes it clear that persecution for "witchcraft" is alive and well and it would be best for him to flee the university city forthwith.
Back in the twenty-first century, Stella and Kit are newlyweds. For a wedding gift, Stella has asked to be taken to an undiscovered cave. While Kit can't quite manage that, he has learned, from the work of Cedric Owen that he is deciphering, of a cave that has probably not been entered for four hundred and nineteen years, a cave complete with buried treasure.
Needless to say, they find the cave, "the cathedral of the earth". Stella finds Owen's "heartstone", a sapphire in the shape of a skull (or, as the author has it "an unfleshed man's head".) Despite the legend that everyone who has held the crystal skull has died, Stella happily takes possession of it. Then they discover they are being hunted, Stella finds she has some sort of telepathic communication with the skull, which has the happy knack of being able to warn her of imminent danger. Following such a warning, Stella is able to escape the cave but Kit vanishes, to be found, badly injured, another day.
The narrative jumps back and forth in both time and space. Owen travels to the New World and is instructed in the mysteries of his heartstone, a family heirloom, by Mayans, before returning to England.
The author cites end of the world predictions of various cultures, all indicating a date in 2012 and constructs her story on that postulate. The author also says that the crystal skull in the British Museum inspired the foundation of the story.
The tale is involving enough and obviously a great deal of work was done so far as the research necessary for the adventure goes. I am in two minds as to the success of the characterisation. I think the fantastical nature of the tale may have made my appreciation of the people rather less than it might have been had the elements of the whimsical been removed -- but then there would have been no story.
Taking all things into account, I feel the story is quite good and it
does make for a pleasant diversion for an afternoon.
IN THE SHADOWS
by Margaret Scott
Vintage
ISBN 1-74051-109-3
$22.95
August 3 2001
reviewed by Denise Wels
Dr. Margaret Scott is a well known academic, occasional member of the Literature Board of the Australia Council, poet and novelist. She is also a regular panellist on Good News Week. Thus, I scarcely dare review In the Shadows but I shall give it my best fist and ascribe my lack of appreciation to my high scores in ignorance.
Dr. Scott is a Brit by birth but Tasmanian by preference. She has lived in Australia for decades and led a productive life. She has produced essays, articles and short fiction as well as her non-fiction Port Arthur ? A Story of Strength and Courage. Other work includes Changing Countries. (stories, essays and poems) and her other novel Family Album.
In the Shadows is a retitled release of her 1990 novel The Baby Farmer. It is founded on fact, the original crimes having been committed in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The story could have been narrated with great effect but, alas, to my mind, falls short of a gripping drama....indeed, it becomes a melodrama. One can almost see moustaches being twirled and virtuous maidens assailed to the accompaniment of gleeful laughter and 'Aha! Now I have you in my power, my proud beauty.'
The story begins with impoverished rake, Colonel Sam Fellowes, bemoaning to his sometime mistress Dolly, the fact that his home life is less than gladsome. His son Stephen is studying for the priesthood (and is seriously concerned about his soul), his daughter Elizabeth is an earnest type who wishes to become a nurse, and his wife, invalidish and vegetarian.... and controller of the purse strings... is much addicted to that pious Victorian fiction Eric, or Little by Little. Colonel Fellowes is much put out that his rival for Dolly's affection, James Hartshorne, is a former school friend of his son, .
Sam had got with child a housemaid formerly in his employ and had her summarily smuggled out of the house and into the care of a respectable woman to take care of Martha during her confinement and delivery. When the money ran out he then arranged for a former mistress to take Martha on as a maid, to which Gemma agreed.... but not when Martha was accompanied by her baby. Martha, therefore, puts her baby son Joseph into the hands of someone claiming to wish to adopt the boy. Only later does she discover that the woman with multiple names is, in fact, a baby farmer who takes on children for a fee then either murders them or simply allows them to die.
Sam's son Stephen and daughter Elizabeth become embroiled in the investigation... who is the mastermind behind the scheme? The Colonel runs around intent on continuing to sow his wild oats and ruin (almost) virtuous maidens while the remainder of his family attempt to do good in various ways. It is all an invitation to hiss the villain and cheer the heroes.
No doubt the story required a certain amount of research but it really
is unfortunate that the narrative style provoked in this reader at least,
a desire to laugh rather than to throw up one's hands in horror and righteous
indignation.
DEVIL'S CORNER
by Lisa Scottoline
ISBN 140505056X
393 pages
MACMILLAN
July 3 2005
$30.00
reviewed by Denise Pickles
June 10 2005
It may seem to readers that the sub genre of crime fiction involving lawyers and technical aspects of law is a relatively new phenomenon but that is a false impression. Wilkie Collins was one of the pioneers of the category as early as 1862. More recently, such luminaries as John Grisham, the wonderful John Mortimer and Richard North Patterson have ridden the crest of the wave of interest in legal thrillers to bring to bear on the category their own legal backgrounds. There appears to be an ever increasing number of lawyers seeking respite from their trade in fiction but of the flood there seem to have been precious few women. Lisa Scottoline is one of this minority. While she has founded a successful series on the all woman practice of Rosato & Associates she has, with DEVIL'S CORNER, ventured away from her former protagonists and introduced a new actor, assistant U.S. Attorney Vicki Allegretti.
Vicki and her professional partner, Bob Morton, are supposed to interview a confidential informant in a "straw purchase" case wherein two guns had been bought legally but passed on to someone else - as the narrative has it, "the violent equivalent of buying scotch for a minor". The case becomes violent indeed when the pregnant informant as well as ATF agent Morton are killed by two young black men. It quickly becomes apparent that drugs are involved and Vicki, guilt ridden at the deaths which she feels she could have prevented, determines to investigate.Vicki attends prison in order to interview Reheema Bristow, the woman whom the dead informant identified as her best friend and the perpetrator of the "straw purchase". On edge, Vicki loses control and attacks Reheema, who has been in gaol for a year, and finds herself in trouble at work as well as being sued by her assaulted victim. Reheema, as a result, is released.
Dan Malloy is Allegretti's best friend and colleague. He helps her - to an extent - but is not very happy when Vicki convinces Reheema, now resident in Philadelphia's Devil's Corner, to aid her after another murder takes place. Devil's Corner is, coincidentally, where Vicki's father grew up. Never a particularly salubrious locale it is now apparently doomed, having been taken over by drug dealers.
It goes without saying that the tale is exciting. There is a lot of violence portrayed - readers may need to skim some of the gory details of the corpses - as well as the puzzle as to just who is the ultimate mastermind of the crimes. The protagonist comes across as, perhaps, too naive for her position but that could be because it is relatively new to her. There is a heavy emphasis on humour provided by the unlikely partnership of the tall, beautiful, black ex-convict and the tiny, white attorney. While I did not see the resolution coming it is far from revolutionary in the annals of suspense. I leave it to individual readers to decide for themselves as to the validity of some of Vicki's actions and of the novel.
For all that the book does contain some flaws, it is not one that should
be missed.
KILLER SMILE
by Lisa Scottoline
ISBN 033041870X
437 pages
Pan Books
November 3 2005
$19.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
November 10 2005
Now that KILLER SMILE is available in small paperback format, mystery fans will be able to purchase a thoroughly good read at a relatively low cost. Scottoline has provided her popular protagonist, Mary DiNunzio of the all woman firm of Rosato & Associates, with a case that is very dear to the author's own heart: the maltreatment of Italians living in America during World War Two. While the story is quite enchanting and, in places, very lighthearted, it carries a dark message and a reflection on the paradoxical inhumanity visited on Italian Americans by their own government. How can humane authorities accept the service of young people to fight its wars while imprisoning their parents for the crime of being born on foreign soil?
Mary is working late in the office as she attempts to locate relevant documents to pursue a case for compensation for the family of Amadeo Brandolini. He had been imprisoned as an 'enemy alien' in 1941. Shortly thereafter his wife had died and Amadeo was thought to have committed suicide. Mary's work is interrupted when the telephone rings and an irrational caller threatens both Mary and her boss. A young woman lawyer does not have an easy life, especially when she feels the office furniture threatens her after dark!
Judy Carrier is Mary's fellow associate and best friend. She helps Mary's search even when their boss, Bennie, decides the search is fruitless. The pursuit is not just frustrating but downright dangerous, as is proven when a friend of Mary's, a fellow lawyer, is slain. Of course, the death simply strengthens Mary's resolve to discover why it is so difficult to learn exactly what happened to Amadeo Brandolini and why. The 'who dunnit' is obvious from early in the story but the 'whydunnit' remains hidden until near the end.
Scottoline invents a wonderfully warm Italian family in Mary's relatives, the DiNunzios. The love that must proliferate in her own family permeates the background story of Mary's parents and their troubles. While the mystery is intriguing and the plot twists keep the reader guessing (while causing the reader to wish to shout a warning when Mary ventures into obviously dangerous territory ) it is the humour and portrayal of real, affectionate (albeit matchmaking) people that provide the charm of the tale.
A great deal of research, inspired by the treatment received by Scottoline's
own family during the war, has gone into the work and perhaps it is not
too much to hope that the novel can advance the cause of Italian and other
so-called enemy alien families on whom was visited grave injury by the
injustices of the past.
DIRTY BLONDE
by Lisa Scottoline
ISBN 1405089970
358 pages
MACMILLAN
April 3 2006
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
March 26 2006
It was 1994 when Italian American lawyer Lisa Scottoline had her first book, EVERYWHERE THAT MARY WENT, released. DIRTY BLONDE is her thirteenth opus and, given the quality of the work, it is unlikely to bring the author bad luck. This book is not one of her series but is instead a standalone featuring a young judge, a woman with a shady secret.
The story begins at a party given by judges for the newest of their number. Cate Fante is now a federal judge and, as such, has a certain dignity and set of responsibilities to maintain. On her way home, on an impulse, she stops at a seedy bar and as she gradually unwinds, picks up a bit of rough trade, a tow truck driver who is already more than a little under the weather. She makes no bones about the fact she wants sex but at the same time she feels secretly ashamed of herself and wishes she were anywhere else doing anything else.
Six months later, Cate is presiding over a case which moves her emotionally, a case in which a young writer, Richard Marz, is claiming a powerful television producer, Art Simone, has stolen his ideas and characters in order to make a popular show, ATTORNEYS@LAW, a show that has made millions for Simone. Unfortunately, when discussions were undertaken between the two, no definite figure was given so no legal contract was entered into and Cate must find in favour of the defendant. Despite this, she lets it be known in no uncertain terms that Simone's actions were despicable and all her sympathies lie with Marz. Soon thereafter both plaintiff and defendant are dead, the apparent result of a murder suicide.
Cate's best friend, Gina, has an autistic child, Warren, a three year-old whom Cate dearly loves. She babysits him regularly two nights a week. Cate also has a boyfriend. Neither friend nor boyfriend knows of Cate's extracurricular hobby until one night Cate is nearly raped by someone she has picked up and must call Gina for help. Subsequently, the thug is found dead, having fallen from the motel where Cate had the assignation with him.
Now a detective, Russo, involved in the Marz/Simone case is out to get Cate in any way he can and, being a detective, it doesn't take too long for him to uncover Cate's illicit pastime. He also blames her for the death of his friend Richard Marz whom he has vowed to avenge. Soon Cate's secret life is very public, she is suspended and is in fear for her life.
There is a half hearted attempt to explain just why Cate, bright enough to be made a judge, should be silly enough to entertain herself as she does. Regardless, I didn't think it was nearly convincing enough. Despite this, once the reader swallows that very big and indigestible plot hinge, the rest of the tale goes smoothly. The story careers through dangerous situations and places, including a poisoned town (which exists in real life) and makes the reader have grave fears for the injudicious judge on every level.
Some of the characters in this are not terribly persuasive -- in keeping, perhaps, with the personality of Cate herself. The chief villain is a surprise but perhaps the shock value is not accompanied by adequate motivation.
Regardless of these perceived shortcomings, it is a thrill packed story
with a satisfying number of twists and turns and a shock resolution. In
summary: Law with a lightish touch.
DADDY'S GIRL
by Lisa Scottoline
ISBN 9780230014701
336 pages
MACMILLAN
April 3 2007
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
March 20 2007
DADDY'S GIRL, Lisa Scottoline's fourteenth novel, sets out to be different. Of course, it can't be different in every way -- her protagonist is a young American of Italian extraction, but she is not a practising lawyer.
Natalie Greco is a lecturer (an untenured one) at Penn Law. She is desperate to obtain tenure but has to contend with a class of students who are less than interested in the distinction between law and justice in Shakespeare's play, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE. While organising them into characters to read the play, Nat (nicknamed 'Gnat' -- a nickname with which she is, inexplicably, quite happy) comes in contact with colleague Angus Holt, a man whose lectures are extremely popular with his students. Angus is able to persuade Natalie to accompany him to the local prison where he lectures the inmates; he feels Natalie's lectures would be well received there.
Nat has some misgivings about the visit, misgivings that are shown to have a good basis in reality when there is a riot at the prison. She is rescued from the over-amorous attentions of one particularly loathsome prisoner but encounters a guard (or 'C.O.') who is dying from a stab wound. She attempts, unsuccessfully, to resuscitate him but, failing, hears his dying wish, that she take a message to his wife and tell her that 'it's... under the floor.'
The lecturer is determined to fulfil the dying man's wishes but along the way finds herself on the run from the law, a suspect in a murder and also suspected of deliberately wounding the guard's widow.
Suddenly, from being the downtrodden, negligible creature, seen as far less important than her brothers, even by her boyfriend, she must rely on her wits to escape the law and exonerate herself. Along the way, she discovers a formerly unknown 'station' along the Underground Railroad, the route by which escaped slaves were rescued and sent to safe houses and new lives in the free states. To my mind, the section dealing with the history of the road to emancipation of slaves provides the most interesting aspect of the book.
If you enjoy Scottoline's work in general, this book that depicts the
transformation of a mouse into, well, not a lion, but a self sufficient
woman capable of acting on her own principles, will also appeal. I can't
claim it is a masterpiece of deep thought and characterisation but it is
certainly a pleasant, entertaining novel.
LADY KILLER
by Lisa Scottoline
ISBN 9780230707016
355 pages
MACMILLAN
March 3 2008
reviewed by Denise Pickles
February 15 2008
I always enjoy reading Lisa Scottoline's Mary DiNunzio novels -not that I dislike her other books but Mary is a charming and extremely likeable heroine. Some part of me chimed in at that instant to comment ìToo nice to be a lawyer!î but my conscious mind, in combination with my conscience, immediately censored such an uncharitable remark.
Mary is presented with a conundrum (that's a word indicating a puzzle, for the benefit of a friend of mine who mistook it for a two syllable similar sounding word with a far different meaning). Her father and friends of his, all Dean Martin fans, wish to sue a lady from a rival fan club, one devoted to Frank Sinatra. She must solve this problem but, in the meantime, is presented with a far graver one.
Trish Gambone, the leader of a team of Mean Girls -- girls who behaved objectionably toward Mary in high school--is in the office, seeking Mary's help. Trish has a boyfriend who knocks her around and she wants to get out of the relationship. She needs Mary to help her - but spurns Mary's suggestions. Not only that, when Trish identifies the abuser, Mary recognises him as someone with whom she had had a brief fling in high school. But then both Trish and her boyfriend disappear and, shortly after, the drug dealing boyfriend's corpse is discovered. But where is Trish and is she still alive?
Mary, of course, feels it is incumbent upon her to investigate but she fails to take into account the effect the Mean Girls would have on her detective friend, so that she is shut out of the official investigation.
Mary puts herself in harm's way on every possible occasion. Mind, there is always the possibility that her love life might take a turn for the better, but she needs to stay in the land of the living in order to enjoy any up-turn!
Scottoline always portrays a wonderfully warm community feeling in her DiNunzio books. One could almost wish to be an Italian American, if those people are just as the author portrays them. Mind, the legal community is portrayed rather differently and Mary certainly faces difficulties in her job during this adventure.
Quite obviously, the author does a wonderful job in her portrayal of a warm (if not too bright) community of elders as well as Mary's best friend (what on earth does BFF stand for?) Judy. Mary's parents are a delight and her father isn't quite the nincompoop that, at times, he seems.
Perhaps Mary's attempts on her client's behalf might strain belief just
that tiny bit. Quite frankly, I can't see any lawyer I have hired putting
her life on the line, as Mary seems to do on behalf of her clients, but
any stretching of the imagination in that area is more than made up for
by the warmth and credibility of the characterisations.
STALIN
The Court of the Red Tsar
by Simon Sebag Montefiore
ISBN 0753817667
720 pages
Phoenix
August 6 2004
$27.95
reviewed by Chris Pickles
September 18 2004
The important thing to remember about this book is that it is a history of Stalin and his court, the inner circle of the Communist party. It is not a book about forced collectivisation, the gulags, the purges or the ëGreat Patriotic Warí. These momentous and terrible events are the background against which the story of Stalin, the Red Tsar unfolds.
Of course, the events mentioned above did not occur in a vacuum, and they certainly didnít happen without Stalin wishing them to occur. But that is not what this book is about.
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was one big happy family. The inner circle lived cosily in a small area of the Kremlin. The children played together, the adults knocked at each others doors forÝthe minutiae of daily existence. Stalin was just one of this intimate group - the most powerful certainly, but as yet he didnít have absolute power over the others.
They all agreed that the Ukrainian peasants were enemies of the revolution, and that collectivisation was the answer. Famine and starvation for millions were the outcome, but in the Kremlin life went on as before. Parties were a regular feature of Kremlin life, and it was at a party that the wheels started to come off the cosy lifestyle of the elite.
Stalin was a most charming man. He was a prude, but he was also a flirt - and of course he was, at least in his younger days, a most handsome man. He behaved very boorishly to his wife, Nadezhda. He waved away her protests when he went to a party one night. He staggered home at the end of the evening to find her dead, a pistol in her hand.
His consolation was his friend Kirov. Yet two years later Kirov was dead in strange circumstances. Sebag Montefiore investigates the deaths of both Nadezhda and Kirov and points up the discrepancies in the accounts. Was Stalin to blame? He might have been, but the author doesnít push the evidence too hard, and the question is left open.
The purges which followed and continued for the rest of Stalinís life make grim reading. Sebag Montefiore makes one forget that the main victims all had the blood of thousands on their hands in oneís indignation at their ëinnocenceí of the charges against them. Then he gives a gentle reminder of the fate befalling millions of less famous people whom these ëvictimsí had done nothing to protect.
Nobodyís reputation comes out of this book unscathed. Khruschev in particular had managed to destroy the records of his own complicity in the terror after Stalinís death, but in this book he is revealed as an enthusiastic purger who achieved his allotted quota of executions early and asked Stalin for permission to carry out more.
Sebag Montefiore writes in an understated style, which by not shouting or accusing points up the horror of the times all the more effectively.
The black and white photographs provide a fascinating glimpse of Stalin,
his family and his henchmen at work and play. The book also contains maps
and tables as well as an efficient bibliography and lengthy index.
THE INTERIOR
by Lisa See
Arrow
ISBN 0-09-927948-7
$17.50
December 4 2000
reviewed by Denise Wels
Chinese American writer, Lisa See, produced her first full length novel On Gold Mountain to detail the history of her family living in the United States. She discovered that her own ancestors had lived in 'interesting timesí' so one can only surmise that this taste of excitement generated in her the wish to write about fictional thrills.See's The Flower Net , to which this is a sequel, featured Liu Hulan, an Inspector with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, as well as American lawyer, David Stark. That novel was set in both China and the United States and The Interior is similarly located, though with the major emphasis being on China.
The narrative begins, in the interior of the title, with Ling Suchee, arguably the most attractive character of the novel, finding the body of her daughter Miaoshan, an apparent suicide by hanging. Suchee believes her daughter has been murdered but is turned away by the local police who are not interested in investigating. In desperation, Suchee writes to Hulan, with whom she used to work on the Red Soil Farm during the Cultural Revolution. Hulan was of a well to do family, but in those troubled times children of all households had to experience for themselves how the peasants existed. The hardships and privations of abour on the land, even in these modern days, are shown to be harsh beyond the imagination of western society.
Hulan has fled from her lover, David Stark, but is now pregnant with his child. They are at an impasse, since David is in America and wants Hulan and their baby to live with him there, while Hulan wishes to remain in China. Hulan receives Suchee's message and decides to help her. Miaoshan worked for an American company which produces high tech toys in China, Knight International. She telephones David to ask him to find out what he can about the company which she thinks might be implicated in Miaoshan's death. David is working as a prosecutor and his life has been in danger from ethnic Chinese gangsters, the Rising Phoenix. When he arranges to have dinner with friend Keith Baxter, who does legal work for Tartan, the firm which is in the process of acquiring Knight, David is horrified to have his friend run over (not gunned down, as the blurb writer would have it) by a car whose occupants also fire a gun. Stark is sure he was the intended target and as people are insisting he leave California and he wishes to see Hulan, he agrees to quit the Prosecutor's office to take up Keith Baxter's old position and set up a base in Beijing.
This is not a simple novel. It delves into the horrors of the Cultural Revolution and the injustices that were done in those times. The brainwashing of the young people of those days was horrific in that it could cause friend to betray friend yet have the betrayed recognise that the betrayer perpetrated such treachery in the belief that it would benefit the wider community, and to bear no obvious grudge.The Interior also explores the nature of American industries in China and how the best intentions may be perverted. The values and ideals of the Chinese, both those past and those that are gradually evolving, are compared and contrasted, all of which provides a fascinating background for this fast-paced and enthralling book. There is, perhaps, a bit too much blood-spattered violence for this squeamish reviewer, but I can quite see the necessity for it. The China that is depicted is mesmerising and, given the background of the author, one can assume it is authentic. The resolution of the mysteries is ultimately surprising but convincing. There is a hook presumably preparing the way for another sequel, one which I will be eager to read.
LIME JUICE
by B.Selkie
published by Autopsy
ISBN 1-875989-00-5
The blurb on this mercifully short book announces that ìAutopsy is an Australian publisher dedicated to putting crime fiction back in the gutter, where it belongs.î On the copyright page there is an announcement that the book is not supported by the Australia Council but that it was written ìto provide pleasure for the reader and money for the writer and publisherî. I tend to disagree with the notion that the gutter is the place for all crime fiction but can only laud the latter aim. Whether this opus provides pleasure for the reader, or otherwise, is a moot point. In a warning at the beginning of the book, Selkie informs the reader that there is little local colour, which is why the book is so short. Regardless of that warning, the talent of the writer manages to imbue the work with a little too much local colour.
B. Selkie is the pseudonym of one Peter Robb, an Australian journalist. What little I could discover about the man indicates that he likes to balance his life on the edge. He lived for a time in Brazil so one can only assume that the South American country in which this destructive little tale is set, is loosely based on that land.
The narrative is in the first person, from the point of view of Chico, proprietor of an art gallery/souvenir shop/ bar. A thoroughly nasty bit of work he is, too. An Italian couple come into his bar looking at curios, while waiting to arrange an illegal adoption.The Italians, Fulvio and Flavia, are introduced to Dr Jarbas, who runs a clinic in which these things can be arranged. The reader (and the childless Italians) are soon led to believe that strange things occur in the clinic.
The story is tightly written and full of action. The staccato style certainly promotes the hard boiled texture of the book. The novel appears to be an attempt at black humour. Black it certainly is, humorous I doubt. To me it seemed that the author sat down one afternoon when at a loose end and tried to think of as many ways in which to offend as many readers as possible. Perhaps the shortness of the book is due to the writerís running out of ideas, though I doubt it. I could think of a few unpleasantnesses over and above those appearing in the plot.
My problem with this work is not so much its content, but the fact that this man can really write. Were it simply an obvious attempt for lower than belly laughs in blackest titillation written in a florid, inappropriate style, full of grammatical and spelling errors, I would be happy. To have good writing produce this is an insult to the reader.
I hope, in the near future, to read more of Mr Selkieís fiction, but under
his real name of Peter Robb. I would hate to judge his mysteries on this
bit of emesis alone.
THE UNTOUCHABLE
by Gerald Seymour
Bantam Press
ISBN 0593046528
September 7 2001
reviewed by Denise Wels
Former television reporter, British author Gerald Seymour wrote his first thriller Harry's Game and saw it published in 1975. It would not be unreasonable to describe him as prolific. Others of his books are Holding the Zero, A Line in the Sand, The Waiting Time, Killing Ground, The Heart of Danger, The Fighting Man, The Journeyman Tailor, Condition Black, Home Run, At Close Quarters, A Song in the Morning, Field of Blood, In Honour Bound, Archangel, The Contract, Red Fox, Kingfisher, The Glory Boys and this latest novel The Untouchable.
All Seymour's stories involve international settings. He has been quoted as saying that they begin with a newspaper article, headline or photograph. He finds it necessary to second guess the direction events will take in order to remain topical and thus hold the interest of his readers. His background in journalism gives him an excellent understanding of the historical events in which he places his fiction.
The Untouchable concerns a czar of London crime, Albert William Packer who insists he be known, as a mark of respect, as 'Mister'. He has a penchant for nicknames, with his accountant being dubbed 'Cruncher' (number cruncher) and his lawyer 'Eagle' (legal eagle). Customs and Excise, the department which pursues him, is known both to him and themselves as 'Church' (presumably because of the initials C and E). One of the minions of Church, Joey Cann, a young man who does not quite fit in with the rest of the task force, Sierra Quebec Golf, which has been set up specifically to destroy Packer and his empire, becomes obsessed with the pursuit of the criminal.
Mister has been on remand awaiting trial for the eight months following his arrest. By various methods Henry Arbuthnot, Packer's Eagle, ensures that Packer 'walks', thus reinforcing the legend of his untouchability. The SQG squad is shut down and a new one, retaining only Joey Cann (whose motto is Cann Do, Will Do), set up.
On his release, Packer proceeds to reinforce his position as the leading figure of London's crime scene through torture, murder and other means of intimidation. He has a plan to expand his empire beyond the limits of England and to cut out the middle man in the importation of heroin, in which most of his profits lie. To further this end Cruncher, the accountant Dubbs, has been sent to Sarajevo to set proposals before Packer's Bosnian counterpart. The path has been prepared for Mister, but then the corpse of homosexual Dubbs is fished out of the local river.
Seymour tracks the history of the war in Bosnia, how friends and neighbours in even rural communities are set against each other. The annals of one particular valley are followed from 1991 when the people begin to be driven out of the valley and the fields mined. Gradually this story is brought up to the present day when the various threads of the plot meld horrifically.
Joey Cann is teamed with security authority, multilingual middle-aged Maggie Bolton, an expert in the construction and use of listening devices. They follow Mister and his merry band to Bosnia and set about the dual task of tracking Packer and attempting to force him into error.
Founded on factually accurate historical events, this is a cruel book. Brutalities and suffering are described in gory detail. For those seeking some leavening, there is a love story of sorts but no scenes of explicit sex nor even much in the way of romance. The ghouls that feast on a country following its decimation are examined. Seymour has asserted that it is necessary for people to stand up and take a position against evil so it is not surprising that this book contains the blackest of black villains as well as someone, albeit flawed, pursuing the greater good. The author posits corruption in high places and does not stint in his evaluation of the rivalries between law enforcement agencies.
This powerful novel is not a tale for the squeamish. It is, however, immensely compelling and extremely well told.
THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER
by Gerald Seymour
ISBN 0593052595
400 pages
Bantam Press
March 1 2004
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Wels Pickles
March 9 2004
Gerald Seymour is nothing if not prolific. I counted twenty-one novels listed inside the cover of The Unknown Soldier (which made twenty-two). From his first published novel, Harry's Game, released in 1975, Seymour has steadily been adding to the archive of 'hard' suspense and mystery fiction. One could say he is to suspense fiction what Larry Niven, say, is to science fiction. He is a former reporter for ITN and the skills and information learned then have since stood him in good stead. He does not, however, rest on his laurels but continues to keep up to date with what is happening, politically and militarily, in the world around him.
The Unknown Soldier proceeds at Seymour's customary hectic yet well thought out pace. It encompasses a large array of characters but the most prominent - and enigmatic - of all is Caleb. Caleb is the Unknown. He has spent two years in Guantanimo Bay posing as a taxi driver, Fawzi al-Ateh. Al-Ateh had been killed, as had his family previously , but the attack that saw his demise caused other deaths, including that of the Chechen who had recruited Caleb for service to Al Qaeda. Displaying incredible self control, Caleb spends his time at Guantanimo never once betraying that he is other than an innocent driver caught up unawares in the violence that plagues the world subsequent to the attacks of September 11, 2001. He hides his knowledge of English and other languages spoken at the camp, only responding to what al-Ateh would understand. It is not until a goodly portion of the tale has been told that Caleb's race and origins are revealed to the reader.
Caleb escapes when being escorted from Guantanimo then travels with a strange trio of characters - Hosni, Fahd and Tommy - across the Empty Quarter in the desert in Saudi Arabia. They are led by a guide and his son. At the other end of their route there is a Samsonite suitcase awaiting Caleb, a suitcase which is destined to bring death to westerners.
Other people are caught up in the tale - there is a ne'er-do- well doctor, a man who fled Britain lest he be struck off the medical register, a woman who lives in the Kingdom while doing geological research, an official from Guantanimo, a duo who operate unmanned high tech seek-and-destroy aircraft and various spymasters. The lives these people lead are given in unpleasant detail. All are eventually involved in one role or another with Caleb's trek through the desert.
The story is extremely topical, as are all Seymour's narratives without
exception when they are released. He appears to have an uncanny knowledge
of the secret workings of authority at various levels. His characters are
very realistic and convincing as are the situations about which he writes.
He is a master at concealment and the reader is held in suspense until
the very last page.
THE WALKING DEAD
by Gerald Seymour
ISBN 9780593057551
413 pages
BANTAM PRESS
July 2 2007
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
July 6 2007
Gerald Seymour couldn't write a bad novel if he tried. Correction: probably, given he is such a talented writer, he could manage to do so if he tried, though it would be a difficult job. Seymour's previous career was with writing and, as a journalist, it is unsurprising that his career as a novelist keeps his eye focused on topical matters. If he were to relinquish writing, he might make a useful penny as a fortune teller since I had just finished reading THE WALKING DEAD when the failed car bomb attack in Glasgow occurred. It says much for Seymour's ability to foresee such things, since it is not the first time such concurrence has happened.
The book deals with principled youth, the idealism of jeunesse and its gradual désillusion and possible abandonment or perversion of principles. The prologue concerns itself with the enlistment of a young man, Cecil Darke, and his wish to fight in the Spanish Civil War. The next young target for disillusionment is in Saudi Arabia: Ibrahim Hussein, a young man whose two older (and only) brothers were recruited by terrorists (or possibly, freedom fighters) for martyrdom. That Ibrahim "walks well" makes him a suitable candidate for sacrifice. The recruiter is the Leader (as Ibrahim knows him) or the Scorpion as the world of counter intelligence has him.
In England, a sleeper cell has been set up. A cottage has been hired for the duration and there the Engineer, friend of the Scorpion has been plying his trade and manufacturing a waistcoat for the luckless Ibrahim to wear to a sale in Luton. So many people, all crowded together in one place, provide an excellent "soft target" for a potential mass murderer such as Ibrahim to achieve his entry into Paradise.
One can only hope that Seymour's notion of such a "soft target" as a sale in a small town does not seize the imagination of Muslim fanatics and their followers. One trusts they continue seeking out harder targets which would carry more prestige.
This novel has everything a reader could wish: topicality, religion (the youngsters) atheism (the senior Islamists), general violence and mayhem, principles and their abandonment (or at least their withering) hardened criminals and even a teeny bit of sex.
Seymour is a whiz at characterisation. Ibrahim, the would-be walking bomb is perfectly credible. He knows his father will be immensely proud of him, as the elder Hussein rejoiced at the death of his older sons, not realising that Hussein Senior might want to preserve the life of his youngest child.
There is even an evil Yank as part of the cast. Joe Hegner may have lost his eyesight but he is determined to take down his enemy, the Scorpion, no matter the cost. A nice twist to the tale is the insertion of a suborned juror into the cast.
While THE WALKING DEAD is, as are all Seymour's novels, thoroughly
professional and a truly satisfying read, I must admit that it is also
rather more than a little depressing.
THOSE GARRISON WOMEN
by Louise Shaffer
ISBN 1863254919
322 pages
Bantam
July 1 2005
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
June 23 2005
THOSE GARRISON WOMEN (or , as Louise Shaffer's website has it, THE LADIES OF GARRISON GARDENS) is a sequel to her debut novel THE THREE MISS MARGARETS. The author's daytime job involves writing for television, for which she was awarded an Emmy. Thus, readers wishing to while away a few hours in the ostensibly laid back South could expect some polished prose to enhance their leisure. They will not be disappointed.
Chapter One introduces us to ninety year-old Old Missus, or Mrs. Rain, as she prefers to be known. Her companion/helper, young Cherry, brings her the Charles Valley Gazette despite Lawson County, the home of the office of the Gazette, not being the home of Old Missus. Just why the elderly lady should wish to be kept abreast of happenings in Lawson County is not immediately made obvious but the narrative eventually makes the reason plain.
In Charles Valley, Laurel Selene McCready, a self described redneck, is the unwilling beneficiary of recently deceased Miss Peggy's will. Miss Peggy was one of the three Miss Margarets, the other two being Dr. Margaret Long, or Miss Maggie and Margaret Elizabeth Banning or Miss Li'l Bit. Laurel, a writer formerly working for the Gazette, was fired from her position but now, financially, at least, her future is assured - if she can manage that future and her inheritance successfully.
In tandem with the 2004 tale is the story of Iva Claire Rain and her mother, beginning in 1927 when Iva is twelve years old. Iva Claire and her mother Lily have a singularly unsuccessful vaudeville act. A series of circumstances, some bad, some fortunate, see an older girl, Tassie placed under Lily's guardianship and. through Tassie's flair for comedy, improve the act until it is mediocre rather than dreadful. As both tales are told, the influence of the past events upon the modern day Garrison women is made clear.
This account has everything needed to provide pleasant light reading. There are worthy women who are cowed by unpleasant, dastardly men who patronise them unmercifully and keep them in their place where they are unable to meddle in 'men's business' when meddling might decrease profits of an organisation that sadly oppresses its workers. There are characters who make good despite the bad hand Life has dealt them and others who bow to oppression and failure. There are handsome men, some good, some less so, who woo the women in the beautifully evoked Southern setting.
Altogether, the story is pleasantly light but has sufficient tension and dark overtones to provide more than a little interest. The characters, that is the good ones, are attractive while the villainous are repulsive. In between are those who are simply weak although, in some cases, well intentioned.
If you are looking for a lighthearted read which you can consume without
being too wracked by deep emotions, this book is for you.
IN TASMANIA
by Nicholas Shakespeare
ISBN 1740512715
374 pages
Knopf
November 1 2004
$39.95
reviewed by Chris Pickles
October 30 2004
Nicholas Shakespeare is the author of four well received and award winning novels as well as an acclaimed biography of the travel writer Bruce Chatwin. His new book, IN TASMANIA, invites comparison with Chatwinís great travelogue IN PATAGONIA, and proves itself worthy of such company.
Tasmania, the former Van Diemenís Land, is famous today for three things: its brutal early history as a penal colony and the two extinctions - one, that of the Tasmanian Tiger, the other of the Tasmanian aborigines. In his evaluation, Shakespeare casts doubt on one of these crimes and roundly debunks the other.
The story of Tasmania is told through the stories of two men, both relatives of Shakespeare, both of whom sought a new life after finding themselves in debt at home.
Anthony Fenn Kemp came from a mercantile background. He found his way to Port Jackson ( later Sydney) after taking just two years to spend the considerable fortune he inherited at the age of 16.
Kemp was an opportunist. He cornered the notorious rum trade in the colony. Subsequently, he led the opposition to the Governor, Captain Bligh of Bounty fame. Then Kemp took advantage of the presence of the French Explorer Nicolas Baudin to invent an intended French colonisation of Van Diemenís Land and thereby gain a commission for himself and his associates to colonise the island themselves.
Despite the history of Tasmania as a penal colony, Kemp seems to have been the biggest crook there. He used his contacts and called in favours to get his own way and to do his enemies down. He died at the ripe age of 95, ëthe father of Tasmaniaí, a wealthy man... and he never paid back his debts.
Kemp took an ambivalent attitude to the Aborigines. As a radical and a republican he sympathised with their plight, and then supported the proposed Black Line, a cordon of settlers who would cross the island, driving the natives before them like like grouse before the beaters.
Shakespeareís other protagonist is Petre Hordern. A member of the Devon gentry, he frittered away his estate and, to escape the disgrace of bankruptcy, emigrated with his large family to Tasmania. That island, in 1900 was regarded as a heaven on earth.
North Motton, in the north of the island, turned out to be anything but paradise. Living in a shack rather than a mansion, faced with unremitting toil to make anything of the land, Hordern cut himself off from the society of his neighbours and even of his children, and drank himself to death.
IN TASMANIA is a pleasure to read. It makes this reader wish to see the island for himself, and yet the grim history is shown never to be far below the apparently idyllic surface. The book disturbs as well as delights. As a portrait of a place, this is one one of the best depictions I have read.
SNOWLEG
by Nicholas Shakespeare
ISBN 0099466090
387 pages
Vintage
January 1 2005
$24.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
February 25 2005
SNOWLEG, the jacket informs us, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. A worthy accomplishment (although it is a pity the book didn't make the short list) but the author had previously gleaned other awards - for example the Somerset Maugham Award and a Betty Trask Award. The former journalist has a colourful background featuring life in foreign climes so it is not surprising that he chooses to set some of his novels or, indeed, his non-fiction such as IN TASMANIA, outside his homeland of Great Britain.
SNOWLEG is the story of Peter Hithersay, a very confused man, to say the least. Until he was sixteen he thought himself to be a typical English schoolboy insofar as a scholarship holder to a boys' exclusive public school (or private school, as we would say in the colonies) could be labelled 'typical'. He is devoted to the notion of chivalry to the extent that his young sister, Rosalind, has dubbed him 'Bedevere' - a tag that may have ominous implications. On Peter's sixteenth birthday, life changes for the boy when he is told that while his mother is his birth mother, his father is a step parent. Peter was conceived in cold war East Germany, the son of a political prisoner, while his mother was a musician who had performed indifferently in a competition in Leipzig but requested time to be spent in the country. Peter's father was taken in by Henrietta when he escaped temporarily from his gaolers. She looked after him for a night, the night Peter was conceived.
Peter's sense of identity is shaken. At once he feels he is German and unwisely discloses this to his contemporaries at school, boys who ridicule him. Peter decides to become a doctor and goes to university in Germany where he hopes to find his father. He is persuaded by some fellow students to be part of a mime performance in Leipzig. Whilst there in 1983, he meets the girl he subsequently nick-names 'Snowleg', the girl with whom he sleeps once, thus emulating his mother's behaviour. Snowleg begs Peter to take her to the West and he agrees, but subsequently betrays her by not acknowledging her at an official dinner. This act haunts him for the rest of his life, a life devoted to attempting to discover the identity of his father and the fate of the girl with whom Peter has fallen in love.
According to some tales, it was Bedevere rather than Percival who was entrusted by the dying Arthur with the magic sword Excalibur, to return it to the lake. Twice Bedevere betrays Arthur by pretending to return the sword but on the third occasion he comes good. Thus Peter, the modern day Bedevere, betrays Snowleg but not only Snowleg, also his family and almost all who come close to him. His specialty changes from paediatrics to geriatrics as a result of some misbehaviour and at that level, as a result of a promise to an old woman, he seeks to redeem himself and his own past as he travels to Leipzig once more to keep his word.
This is a tremendously interesting and beautifully told story. Some of the harshness of the East - the brutality of the Stasi and some of the deprivations suffered by citizens of the old DDR (or GDR as the novel has it) are narrated. The importance of coincidence in the lives of the characters is emphasised, from Peter, his mother, Snowleg and, indeed, some of the Stasi. The tale is told mainly in the third person past tense but there are occasional forays into the present tense, which heightens the immediacy of the action. The character of Peter is deeply and convincingly drawn. The tension of the action is, at times, almost unbearable; in fact, the ultimate resolution is left until the very last page.
As an historical, character driven work, this book is superb.
Virgin Heat
Hyperion,
by Laurence Shames
Laurence Shames' books are set in Key West, Florida where the author spends a lot of his time.
His writing is redolent of the tropics and proceeds at a languid pace: not that it drags (heaven forfend), but there is never much hurry to begin tracking the baddies or solving puzzles, even if the puzzles make their appearance early in the book.His novels, at least the three I have so far read (the two reviewed here as well as Scavenger Reef) feature simple souls as the main protagonists and gradually the wonderfully eccentric Key West characters join the innocent.
In Virgin Heat the first character to appear is Ziggy Maxx, the bartender, who we quickly discover has had plastic surgery and is part of the Witness Protection Programme. He is filmed by vacationers as he builds a wonderful concoction called a Virgin Heat.
After the vacationers return home the reader discovers that the photographer, Uncle Louie, one of Shames' innocents, is the brother of a mafioso and the uncle of Angelina, the mafioso's virgin daughter who spurns all attempts by the local males to woo her. Angeline has nursed a secret passion for Ziggy Maxx, formerly Sal Martucci, who betrayed her father to the Feds and was spirited away not to be heard of for a decade.
Uncle Louie is graciously permitted to show his video of Key West and Angelina, incredulously, recognises the object of her unrequited passion by his body language and a mutilated finger.She leaves home after pumping Louie, and without any fanfare, and makes her way to Florida Keys to search for Sal. Louie, in turn, semi estranged from his wife, decides to follow Angelina to assuage the worry of his family and promote himself into the good graces of his brother, Paulie.
Angelina, meanwhile, has met gay Michael on the plane south and their lives become linked as he confesses he is going to the Keys to find Love, as is Angelina.
Angelina eventually finds Sal after consuming vast quantities of alcohol in her search through Floridean bars, almost simultaneously with Louie tracking her down in the hope of returning her to the criminal bosom of her worried family of the Family. What happens after that contains one of the most entertaining romps I have read in mystery fiction.
The whole book is gloriously funny but plot and character are not sacrificed for laughs. Shames' characters develop along the way as the chief problem becomes how to ingratiate Sal/Ziggy with Angelina's father,the betrayed Paulie.
The resolution of the plot comes as a surprise (perhaps) to the reader but all the main characters, with the possible exception of poor Michael, get their just desserts (sort of a Bombe Surprise).
Florida Straits
Dell
by Laurence Shames
Once I find an author I like, I relentlessly search out his earlier books in the hope they are as good as, or even better than, the first one I enjoyed, thus: Florida Straits which, like all Shames' books so far, is set in Key West. It is an earlier book than Virgin Heat but is by no means less interesting or less funny.
Joey Goldman, this book's innocent, is the illegitimate son of a mafioso (how does Shames come by his knowledge of the family life of Mafia bosses?) and a Jewish beautician who works in a funeral home (she justifies her place of work by pointing out the disadvantages of live clients... they invariably muck up her art within minutes of leaving the shop, whereas corpses do not).
Joey is tired of being a gofer of no importance in New York and decides to go south to the Keys, accompanied by his girl friend Sandra, so he can take over Keys' crime and become a big shot there, rivalling his hated but admired half brother, Gino, in importance..
I defy any reader not to laugh aloud at Joey's attempts at usurping local crime. He begins with a bid for the numbers racket, nearly succumbing to food poisoning along the way, then, when that fails, decides the life of a pimp would be rewarding. His encounter with the transvestite Vicki, who describes her/himself as an artist and indignantly assaults Joey with a detached bosom, should not be missed.
Joey, to his utter amazement, gradually decides that perhaps it is easier to make a living on the (what passes for) straight and narrow life of the Keys. In the meantime he and Sandra (who is a conservative bank teller and must have seen something other than his relationship with the Bosses of Crime in New York to make her fall for Joey) have moved into a compound with a swimming pool, around which Joey had originally pictured himself doing business with 'the boys' who would be delivering large quantities of money to him as a result of his organising of the criminal elements of Florida Keys. Joey had wanted a private home with a pool but in the event (he had very little money) had to settle for the compound and his unusual (for the rest of America) neighbours. Steve, the naked landlord spends his days in the pool reading and drinking beer, and speaks first... and then smiles. Luke is a reggae player and his girlfriend Lucy is a mailman (originally distrusted by Joey and apostrophised as a 'Fed'). In addition there are Peter and Claude, the gay blonde barmen and Wendy and Marsha the antique dealers.
Bert the Shirt, a former mafioso, recognises Joey, who has been causing talk amongst the inhabitant of Key West as he ineptly tries to become a local crime boss, and advises him to do things the Keys way. Bert, who died and therefore was permitted to retire to Florida, has as his companion Don Giovanni, a chihuahua formerly owned by Bert's dead wife who had made him swear to look after the dog. Giovanni, who needs to wear sunglasses (and if the dog on the cover is the artist's impression of a chihuahua I would hate to see his notion of an Irish Wolf Hound) is the bane of Bert's life but is protected from the guns of the local Mafia since the gunman likes dogs and would 'feel funny' about executing one.
Gino, Joey's brutish half brother, whose importance Joey always wanted to emulate, appears to disrupt Joey's and Sandra's now idyllic life.Gino,in pursuit of emeralds he originally came by dishonestly (how else?) by doublecrossing another Mafia boss and trying to blame the theft on the Colombians, has to enlist the help of his despised younger brother. Things can only get more complicated and hilarious.
Make
sure you have a box of tissues nearby if you read this story, to absorb
tears of laughter or to stifle shouts of amusement .
THE ORANGE CURTAIN
by John Shannon
ISBN 0-75284 - 699 - X
230 pages
Orion
June 8 2002
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Wels
This is the first of John Shannon's books that I have read and it took quite some time before I realised why I could not remember the author's name. I kept thinking only of his protagonist's name. In a fit of abstracted inspiration I eventually got it. The individual names were essentially the same name - John = Jack, Shannon = Liffey = river of Ireland. I was interested to have this confirmed when I read a Q&A session on the author's web site. I was also interested to see just how much of the author's own life and environment was integrated into his Jack Liffey books, of which The Orange Curtain is the fourth episode. The Concrete River was the first Jack Liffey novel (although not Shannon's first essay into fiction) The Cracked Earth came next, followed by The Poison Sky. Streets on Fire the fifth outing for Jack Liffey, has already been released overseas while City of Strangers has a planned publication date in 2003.
John Shannon spent some of his youth agitating reform and demonstrating against the war in Vietnam. Thus, unlike Liffey, who, while he did not fight in Vietnam did see service during that time, Shannon escaped the fighting in Vietnam. The author espouses his ideals through his protagonist and uses his Liffey novels to delineate the history of Los Angeles. His mystery fiction has become a platform from which he can examine the various ethnic groups to be found in the greater Los Angeles area as well as the tensions estranging the diverse populations.
The author has spent time producing educational films so that background provides authentic side lights on the occupation of Billy Gudger, the unfortunate young man with whom Liffey comes in contact during this investigation. Liffey, in earlier adventures, had lost his job as an aerospace technician - again a reflection of his creator's career. He discovered, subsequent to this, that he has a talent for finding lost children and in this episode in his life, Liffey is called on to discover the whereabouts of Phuong Minh, a young Vietnamese girl. Unfortunately he does not succeed in this and Phuong's dead body is discovered, much to the grief of her family who then tell Jack his services are no longer required. He is retained instead by Tien Joubert Nguyen, a Vietnamese business woman and remarkable character of whom I would like to see more. Tien falls hard for Jack and attempts - but that would be disclosing too much of the plot. What decisions would an attractive man make when exposed to the wiles of a beautiful (or even not so beautiful) woman of another culture?
Jack's investigations lead him to the place where Phuong took part in an educational video and here he meets Billy Gudger, the seriously disturbed young man destined to play a very large part in Liffey's - and Tien's - life. Billy's mother is a gypsy who tells fortunes for a living while refusing to disclose any information at all about his father to Billy. She has instead informed Billy that he has in his head a 'toadstone' which is destined to bring him good fortune. Shannon has included much of the lore of the toadstone - and interesting it is - throughout the book.
The story enmeshes unwilling, decent Jack in many perils at quite a rapid rate. He is subjected to a great deal of temptation which no doubt would see the downfall of men with greater will power than he possesses. Vietnamese gangs are examined as well as the power they wield and the notions introduced are enough to send chills down the spine of any casual would-be tourist. The language of the narrative is easily read without any of the florid embellishments which are all too likely to crop up in other contemporary authors' works. I would like to recommend to the reader an absolutely marvelous imprisonment scene toward the end of the book
Jack Liffey is not one of those detectives possessed of superhuman abilities although he often, alas, relies on the intuition that annoys me in other mystery tales, which conveniently permits leaps of awkward gaps in said detectives' capabilities. He is an attractive hero with whom the reader can feel empathy as well as exasperation with his all too frequent blunders. A welcome addition to the genre and an author I shall be interested in following in the future.
WILT IN NOWHERE
by Tom Sharpe
ISBN 0091799651
256 pages
Hutchinson
London
August 2 2004
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
July 8 2004
Tom Sharpe is one of the few writers capable of reducing me to a giggling heap, even when I am on public view in, for example a pub, or perhaps on public transport. This was once again my fate when I began reading Sharpe's latest Wilt novel, WILT IN NOWHERE. Wilt, of WILT, WILT ON HIGH, THE WILT ALTERNATIVE, must surely be one of the author's funniest creations. In this tale, Sharpe reanimates Wilt together with Wilt's long-suffering sparring partner, Inspector Flint.
The quads are now fourteen. That, of course, would be enough to drive anyone out of their minds given that they are blessed with the slightly off-centre perceptions of the world of their father and the tenacity of their mother. They are invited to accompany their mother and father to visit their mother's Auntie Joan Immelman and her billionaire husband in Wilma, Tennessee. Eva considers that if she is able to control the speech and actions of the quads and presents a financially pitiful enough picture to her relative, she may well induce the Immelmans to make out their will in favour of her offspring.
Wilt, too, is overjoyed at the prospect - provided he can see his way to stay at home whilst his family is overseas. He wishes to explore the REAL England, all the highways and byways thereof. He doesn't wish to know where he will be as knowledge would provide literary allusions and he would therefore be seeing the landscape through anothers eyes.
Using some fancy footwork and convincing lies, Eva's Henry sets off in blissful ignorance of his location whilst Eva and the quads travel to the United States. Inevitably, the quads alienate the passenger near whom they are sitting and when seats are swapped they find themselves next to a really nice man - who just happens to be a gangster returning to the US with a sample of a new drug which he thinks he can smuggle back home via the good services of the young and innocent girls.
Of course, it is impossible for things to run smoothly in a Tom Sharpe novel. Wilt is implicated in the arson of a manor house wherein the slightly soiled but oh so mistressful wife of a Shadow Minister frolics with the owner thereof. At approximately the same time, Eva and the quads become Persons Of Interest to the law enforcement agencies of America. The girls, meanwhile, pursue their researches on, amongst other things, the sexual habits of Americans by using one of Uncle Wally's tape recorders. They must hand in an assignment when they return to their convent school in England, you see. They learn rather more than they had anticipated. I would like to think that such young innocents would be shocked by what they hear. I would be doomed to disappointment, however!
Back home, Wilt sustains grievous injury - not as grievous as the injuries sustained by the Shadow Minister - and is hospitalised with head wounds and suspected amnesia. Inspector Flint, who is gradually, after many years' instruction, coming to understand Wilt's manner of thinking, is set to interview Wilt in order to solve the mystery of the conflagration at the Manor and Wilt's part in it.
While the novel starts and finishes well, I found myself a trifle disappointed
with some of the middle. The humour seemed a bit forced and desperate -
or perhaps I was mis-remembering past Sharpe books and expecting too much.
Despite this, there are some exceedingly funny scenes within the story
and I doubt Sharpe will disappoint his many followers.
EYE TO EYE
By Caroline Shaw
Random House
$19.70
ISBN 1 86325 257 6
September 2000
reviewed by Denise Wels
If you like to digest learning relatively painlessly, absorbing the topic by way of fiction, this book can be your way of studying a little about how students make films. If, too, you are a fan of the British author Liz Evans ( Who Killed Marilyn Monroe,JFK is Missing) or of the American writer Janet Evanovich, then Caroline Shaw is the wordsmith for you.
Lenny Aaron has a business as a private investigator of sorts: the main focus of and greatest money earner for her work is retrieving lost cats but in this book she has been hired by an insurance company to discover who has been vandalising and stealing property from Melbourne film school, Aquinas College of the Arts.
For this job, Lenny has to go underground, pretending to be a returnee, or someone who studied some years previously at the college, but did not complete the course, now discovering that her vocation really is in screen studies, so wishes to continue with her uncompleted discipline.
Naturally enough there is a murder on campus. What reader in possession of his senses would want to read about a tame insurance investigation, after all?
Emily Cunningham, a returnee, daughter of a wealthy family involved in a national hardware chain, is killed at the college when trying to work after hours, against the rules of the institution, on her film. The murderer ...shock, horror... cuts out her eyes. Never fear, Gentle Reader, this is not gratuitous gore, but necessary both to the title of the novel and to the motive for the murder.
Lenny, a former cop ( like Liz Evans' Grace Smith) is not officially involved in the murder investigation, but her one-time police partner is, and her own inquiry intersects with the police procedure in many places. Thus, she is able, ultimately, to solve both problems (not disclosing that early on she knows the identity of the vandal and thief) to her own satisfaction and without managing to get killed.
Like Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, Lenny has a pet, but unlike Plum's hamster, Rex, Lenny's pet is a cat, Cleo Aaron. Lenny holds many conversations with the cat who, of course, contributes to Lenny's solving the mysteries. Somehow.
Lenny is portrayed in all her neurotic glory as an addict and multiple pharmacy shopper. She blithely steals prescription forms (not for her the obvious entire script pad) and concentrates on one particular pharmacy where the daughter of the pharmacist is a teenage naif who actually believes Lenny is a Brown Owl with a Brownie troop. Thus, Lenny puts at risk her liver and stomach lining by constantly overdosing on paracetamol and aspirin, as well as making herself feel lots happier by ingestion of psychotropic drugs. Her encounter with the enraged pharmacist who warns her away from both his pharmacy and his daughter, is a delight.
Lenny is not, perhaps, such a sympathetic character as Evans' and Evanovich's heroines. She has more obvious problems... her father has died in recent months and she is extremely depressed about that. Like Stephanie Plum, she has close relatives, but not well-meaning and likeable ones like Granny Mazur. Lenny's grandmother is a horror.
Shaw has invented some impressive characters, from barber Anastasia, the accidental catnapper to a most unpleasant member of the local Council, whose cat was napped and who is carrying on a vendetta against cat retrievers. The students are (dare one crib a phrase?) a weird mob, none of whom I would like to meet at a party or, for that matter, in a dark alley anywhere in Melbourne.
The action of the book is fast paced. Shaw's creation of Komodo Man and the subsequent kerfuffle attendant on it, alone is worth the price of the book. There are large dollops of humour throughout contrasting with the pathos of Lenny's mental health. The resolution of the mystery is surprising.
The book
is to be released in September. I hope Shaw has another planned for the
near future .
THE MAYOR OF LEXINGTON AVENUE
by James Sheehan
421 pages
ISBN 0593057201
BANTAM PRESS
August 1 2006
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
July 31 2006
Debut novels are a mixed bag. Some of them are all rough edges and unfinished thoughts with plot threads that wander all over the place or simply peter out. Others are remarkably polished. James Sheehan's THE MAYOR OF LEXINGTON AVENUE falls into the latter category. The author is a lawyer and has, wisely, written about what he knows, so, while he may not have quite attained the dizzy heights touted by his publishers ('As good as Grisham') he has produced a work which should very favourably impress any fan of the courtroom drama who wants a really good read. I quite happily admit to not being able to stop thinking about the book during the interruptions that plague a devoted reader's life.
The opening chapter is a flashback to 1986 and Bass Creek, Florida. Lucy Ochoa is a lusty young thing determined to add convenience store assistant Rudy to the numbers of her conquests. Rudy is nineteen and handsome; unfortunately, Rudy is slow, with an IQ in the 80s. When Rudy obeys Lucy's instruction to visit her trailer when he finishes work, Lucy is annoyed by Rudy's ineptitude and orders him to leave.
Rudy is observed by Lucy's sometime lover, Geronimo, who goes to her home, makes love to her and slits her throat at the moment of climax, thereby depositing semen which, many years later, can be examined for DNA. At the time, only the blood group can be determined.
The murder is laid at the door of the younger man by the combination of a corrupt and brutal cop, Wes Brume and an equally corrupt state attorney, Clay Evans, ambitious to remove himself from Cobb County. Together, cop and counsellor conspire to hide evidence in order to convict Rudy, who is duly sentenced to be executed.
Further flashbacks introduce Mikey Kelly and Johnny Tobin. The author makes sure the reader understands that Johnny is greatly indebted to friend Mikey, to whom he is devoted by means of some stomach turning anecdotes -- although he leaves the greater part of the reason for later in the book. When the boys are teenagers, something occurs which causes them to drift apart.
By 1996, Johnny Tobin has evolved into the extremely successful lawyer Jack Tobin, who is tired of being a big time success and wishes to retreat into something less demanding. Mikey has sunk to the demeaning depths of alcoholism, lost his wife and son, then redeemed himself. He is reunited with his wife after discovering his son is about to be executed.
The plot is quite complex. Initially it seemed to me that the main thrust of the tale would be solely about the rescue (or otherwise) of Rudy from the electric chair but it goes beyond that, with an examination of miscarriages of justice, with the emphasis on capital punishment and wrongful executions.
The characterisations are, on the whole, excellent, although the attributes of some of the people may at times seem a little exaggerated and cartoonish: could the baddies be really as bad as that or Rudy be quite so naive yet wise? Could the weak and nervous Johnny really transmogrify into the supremely confident and capable Jack?
Murders proliferate throughout the novel. yet somehow the perpetrators are successfully able to make them seem to be accidents. Natural deaths also dot the action a bit too conveniently. Romantic themes season the plot and provide diversion from the legal technicalities.
These minor criticisms notwithstanding, this is one hell of a good book,
nicely calculated to occupy a reader's attention far beyond the time necessary
to finish the novel.
THE FIG EATER
by Jody Shields
Black Swan
ISBN 0-552-99865-6
$21.95
June 1 2001
reviewed by Denise Wels
Jody Shields is no stranger to writing, although this novel is her first excursion into the territory of fiction. She has written two non-fiction books, All That Glitters and A Stylish History , as well as some screen plays. She was the design editor of the New York Times and worked as editor at Vogue, House and Garden, and Details. She also has a Masters degree in Art, which perhaps explains the artistic detail in The Fig Eater. Shields has been quoted as saying that most of her research on Vienna was done in a library. The Vienna of her book springs to life as a tribute to that study.
The author has appropriated one of Sigmund Freud's failures as her murder victim: eighteen year old Dora, who was classified as an hysteric. Perhaps by having Dora murdered Shields provides a fitting revenge for Freud! The reader catches few glimpses of the living Dora but sees very graphic descriptions of her corpse, discovered in Vienna's Volksgarten in 1910.
The Inspector in charge of the case, whose name we never learn, is a follower of scientific method. He is guided by the dictates of a remarkable manual of detection methods known as the System der Kriminalistik (an actual book, written in 1904). He also employs a photographer, Egon, to capture the crime scene. The dangers of early science are exemplified by Egon's missing fingers, lost to an accident with his flash.
Erszébet, the Inspector's Hungarian born wife, is asked by him to paint the dead girl to make her appearance more acceptable to her parents. Erszébet's interest in the case is thus developed and she decides to instigate her own inquiry into the murder, using her own methods, which are totally different from her husband's relying, as they do, on superstition, intuition and a healthy gobbet of the supernatural. She is aided in her quest for the murderer by long suffering English governess, Wally.
Erszébet has the advantage in her search in that she surreptitiously rifles through her husband's effects in order to further her knowledge. Both inquiries initially try to find fig trees, not widely grown in the Vienna of the day, because Dora ate figs prior to her death and the whereabouts of the unknown tree could provide an important clue to identity of the malefactor.
The case is prolonged for months and the family and friends of the dead girl are interrogated by both sets of detectives. A thoroughly nasty lot of people surrounded the live Dora... immoral, syphilitic and perverse.
The tale is immensely unsettling. It relies not on pace, but on atmosphere.
The writing matches the quality of the research in its excellence. The
author has been quoted as saying she is writing another novel set during
the first World War. If the standard of the second book matches that of
the first, it will be worth waiting for.
18 SECONDS
by George D. Shuman
310 pages
ISBN 073181309X
Simon & Schuster
October 1 2006
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
September 27 2006
Yes, Virginia, there are new concepts still floating around in the aether although they are becoming more and more difficult to capture. Occasionally they relax their guard and some fortunate manages to snare them. Former cop George D. Shuman is one of those fortunates and he has set a very wily notion indeed loose on the pages of his debut novel 18 SECONDS.
Just imagine the horror you would feel if you inadvertently came in contact with a dead body and suddenly your consciousness was invaded by the last eighteen seconds of the corpse's life. Sherry Moore, beautiful and blind, received just such a shock and suddenly her former severely limited world was enlarged. She was offered a large amount of money by a woman, whose husband was lost, to locate his body through the memories of the friend with whom he was travelling. Reluctantly, Sherry acceded to the widow's request and very reluctantly received payment for her services; so a new resource for desperate police was created.
Sherry is haunted by nightmares which, at the beginning of the narrative, have become increasingly vivid and troublesome. Some feel the nightmares are a side effect of her work but the vision of a terrified face in a windshield is constant and Sherry's reaction increasingly distraught.
Convicted killer Earl Oberlein Sykes spends thirty years in gaol. In his youth, he and lover Susan Markey had kidnapped, robbed and burgled. On one occasion, Sykes raped and murdered a woman while Susan was to "take care of" her child. Susan, however, disappeared with the child, not to be seen by Sykes for many years to come. Ironically, it is not for the deliberate murders that he is imprisoned, but for the seventeen lives he took in a traffic accident. Now Sykes is free, anxious to locate Markey and also anxious to resume his interrupted career.
Lieutenant Kelly Lynch-O'Shaughnessy has to try to overcome the hostility of her subordinate Russell Dillon, a man convinced of his superiority to the Lieutenant, despite all evidence to the contrary -- after all, Kelly is but a woman while Dillon is a man so, by definition, must be superior. Kelly is handed a case involving blood discovered by a jogger's dog under a boardwalk. Eventually, a girl's body is found.
Detective John Payne of the Philadelphia City PD contacts Kelly in an attempt to locate the father of Susan Paxton, formerly Markey. The attempt is thwarted because the father, a nursing home resident, has died, apparently the victim of a fall down stairs. Susan has been shot.
Payne has a connection to Sherry and occasionally seeks her help on cases. When there are indications that his case has ties to O'Shaughnessy's case in Wildwood, the detective manages to arrange for Sherry to assist them both unofficially. Unfortunately, Kelly has to battle people determined to lay the blame for the murder on a brain damaged but exceedingly gentle man who has innocently come into the possession of property belonging to the dead girl.
The premise of the eighteen second capture is an intriguing one, vaguely reminiscent of the little boy in the movie THE SIXTH SENSE. The various crime threads come together well -- the mystery of just who Sherry could be, how Kelly can overcome the active discrimination against her, the ultimate fate of one of Sykes' victims, the plight of the brain damaged man -- and the romantic themes incorporated in the tale are not, as may be found in the work of other writers, simply thrown in as an afterthought.
The characters are developed well and the author manages to make it seem quite logical that a hardened detective should resort to services the general public might see as extremely dubious.
There is certainly the potential for more mysteries based on the unique
talents of Sherry Moore so this reviewer trusts that George D Shuman sees
fit to write more thrillers based on that interesting protagonist.
LOST GIRLS
by George D Shuman
ISBN 9780731813797
244 pages
Simon & Schuster
September 1 2008
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
August 21 2008
In 18 SECONDS, George D Shuman introduced the crime fiction audience to Sherry Moore, a woman with a strange talent. If she touches the hand of a corpse, she can envisage the final eighteen seconds of that personís life, through the deceasedís eyes. It is a tantalising ability as well as one which might possibly lead Sherry in the wrong direction but in this instance it does not.
Sherry is called upon to investigate the final thoughts of a mountain climbing, newly fledged, drug lord. Amazingly, he was thinking about a castle in the middle of a jungle and a room in which girls are herded like cattle-- and each with a Haitian symbol tattooed on her face.
The scene shifts to the point of view of a Polish woman Aleksandra. She is a law enforcement officer but has been enmeshed in her investigation in the unwelcome role of victim. She has been following a trail of kidnapped women but has misjudged and become one of the captives.
Meanwhile, an American family is enjoying a cruise. The family comprises the parents and two daughters, one a student and the other, younger girl, nearly 18. The girls are ashore in the Dominican Republic when Jill, the younger girl, announces her intention of buying a beach wrap. She is, unfortunately, targeted by a woman who claims to be a designer of such wraps, and is lured to the womanís van and kidnapped. Then Jill realises she has been taken for more than money........
Carol Bishop, mother of the girls, is not best pleased when her elder daughter confesses that Jill is missing. Carol has a way of forcing people to do as she wishes so the Italian captain of the cruise ship is no match for her and is forced to stop, but, in the meantime, Jill is suffering outrages that should never be visited on a young girl.
Shuman does not pull any punches when he relates what happens to the hapless youngsters who fall into the clutches of the slave traders. Apparently his research has unearthed the vile practices that are visited upon young, innocent girls who are traded as sex slaves and made to service countless men, made vulnerable to infections that could take their lives, were they permitted to live long enough. After all, the girls only have a limited shelf life and there are plenty more who can be lured from the East.
Sherry, she of the supernatural abilities, comes in contact with the corpse of a girl who jumps from an aeroplane. The pilot of the plane has chosen his victim ill-advisedly and soon Sherry is able to join the two cases, the one of the drug lord with the knowledge of the castle in the jungle and that of the young girl who commits suicide rather than undergo the horrors planned for her.
This book really is strong stuff. It is very obvious that Shuman views the ghastly practices with a great deal of horror.
The people of the plot are excellently portrayed, Sherry not being the least of them but Carol being overwhelmingly strong in her search for her daughter.
This is not a gentle tale-- indeed, far from it. Girls are just regarded
as a commodity, easily replaced and with a limited value. The conclusion
of the book is extremely pessimistic but one can only
hope that less than a century may see the turning of the tide. On the other
hand......
EVERLOST
by Neal Shusterman
ISBN 9780689872389
377 pages
Simon Pulse
January 1 2008
$14.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
June 10 2008
A black Mercedes and a white Toyota crash headlong into each other on a hairpin bend above a dead forest. Allie is sitting in the front seat of the Toyota and Nick in the front seat of the Mercedes. Allie, having been involved in an argument with her father, thoughtlessly removes her seatbelt in order to adjust her blouse. Nick is sitting in the back seat of the Merc with his older brother and sister who keep jostling him so that the chocolate bar he has been trying to eatis smeared all over his face. He has no seatbelt, since there are three people in the back seat but only two seatbelts. Airbags inflate in both cars, but the two unsecured children shoot through their respective windshields.
Both children find themselves in a black tunnel, but bump something and fly through the dark walls, hit the ground and sleep.
An eleven year-old boy, younger than Allie and Nick (who are about fourteen) is very interested in the crash. At first he is disappointed, because the only corpses he initially spies are those of adults-- and they ìgot where they were goingî. Soon, however, he sees Nick and Allie and, knowing they would eventually wake, he settles down to wait for that happy day when all three could play, swinging through the trees with not a care in the after-world.
Nick and Allie have different ideas, however. When they wake (after nine months) and find the younger boy, they refuse to stay and play with him in the forest. The child has forgotten his name, so they call him Lief-- and vow not to forget their own names.
Nick and Allie emerge from the forest, followed by Lief, but they have a great deal to learn of the afterlife. Monsters-- or at least one monster, the McGill-- live there and need to be avoided-- or defeated.
The author must have had great fun inventing the laws of Everlost. Just a couple: the Afterlights are all children-- adults donít go to Everlost because adults donít get lost. If an Afterlight stands still on any place other than the special dead places, they sink and may arrive at the centre of the earth. Only one Afterlight has ever had the gift of being able to return to the surface. Certain things accompany an Afterlight into Everlost, including a single nickel. Some physical things do travel to Everlost when their owner dies, simply because they were much loved by their owner.
The characterisation in the novel is excellent. The manipulative nature of Mary Hightower, someone I would characterise as a monster, although she is benevolent in her intentions, is unfortunately real. Allie and Nick are very well constructed, as is Lief. The monster McGill, too is horribly believable, as are his cohorts.
While Everlost could not be seen as any earthly clericís idea of an afterlife, itís a very successful invention. From the experience I have had, over the years, with young children, I think it would do much to quell any curious childís fear of death.
In short, this novel provides a charming, inventive tale that would
delight any child or young adult-- and some older adults.
ICED
by Jenny Siler
Orion
ISBN 0-75283-216-6
$27.95
March 9 2001
reviewed by Denise Wels
Like her heroine, Megan Gardner, Jenny Siler (Easy Money) is a returnée to Missoula, Montana: unlike Megan, Jenny is not an ex-con. She does admit to a variety of jobs, however, from working in a fish cannery through to being a nude sketch model in Hamburg. In an interview published on the Internet, Siler says she likes to incorporate aspects of her life into her fiction. Interesting, then, that the heroines of both her books are law-breakers.
Siler's writing could never be described as verbose, yet her descriptions are masterly and evocative. The action of Iced occurs around Christmas in Montana and some of the pictures she paints, especially of the corpse of Clay Bennett as it is pulled, glittering with ice, from the water where it has been accidentally immersed, are impressive.
The story is told in the first person and begins with Megan taking advantage of Bennett's murder by repossessing the Cherokee on which he had defaulted on payments. She is gradually drawn into the mystery of the murder when different people show a marked interest in what Bennett had left in the Cherokee. Two American Indians are arrested for the murder but gradually Meg finds herself doubting this too simple and obvious solution.
Megan has mixed feelings about her life. She sees her mother enjoying her existence despite, or more likely because of, the shooting of her husband some years previously. She is now responsible for his care and finds being in total control of him more to her liking than suffering his previous presumed infidelities.
The life of Missoula, as portrayed by Siler, is vaguely reminiscent of some of the harsher aspects of the television show of some years ago, Northern Exposure. There are, however, implications of racism not obvious in the old TV program. The American Indians of this novel make great scapegoats.
There is a lot of violence in this book as well as a telling examination of family life and motivations of individuals. The mystery associated with the missing aeroplane, the search for which has caused Bennett's death, is well thought out. The body count does tend to rise quite rapidly but each killing is necessary to the structure of the tale. There is what has become obligatory sex... but not as blatant as that in some of the other novels released this month.
It could be rewarding to keep a lookout for Siler's third novel.
FLASHBACK
by Jenny Siler
ISBN 0752856413
259 pages
Orion
July 9 2004
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
June 21 2004
It is about three years since I read Jenny Siler's ICED and although I missed her subsequent novel, SHOT, I greeted the release of FLASHBACKwith pleasurable anticipation since I remembered enjoying that previous effort. The novel begins promisingly enough - the heroine has lost a great deal of her memory but retains language and various motor skills. She is also told by her doctors that she has borne a child. Dubbed 'Eve', she lives in a Burgundian convent for a year until one day she returns from a visit to her psychiatrist to find all but one of the nuns who took her in have been massacred. To my mind, this beginning promises a story in which I could become engrossed.
Eve decides she must leave France in order to discover who she is so follows the single clue she holds - a ferry ticket purchased in Morocco. She steals the passport of one of the murdered nuns and, using money the good sisters have paid her for her work in their precinct, makes her way to Tangier. Once there, she is discomfited to discover that some onlookers are interested in her movements and who she is. They are prepared to kill people in order to get closer to her.
The redoubtable protagonist retrieves some property deposited by her former, non-amnesiac self. Within the parcel she finds, amongst other interesting items, a gun, the use of which she is sure she is familiar. Since she has been communing with religious for a year, the intimation of a violent nature within herself distresses her to a degree.
Eve makes her precarious way through different towns in search of her identity. Always she is pursued by people intent on shedding her blood. She makes uneasy alliances but is never sure which of her new friends might be next to betray her. Regardless, she seeks also to unearth, besides her own identity, the identity of her mysterious child.
Siler daubs a great deal of gore on the pages of this work as she did in previous books. She packs a lot of action into it but skips considerably on motives and character. One glaring fault, for example, is Eve's apparent wish to find her child. Yes, her child - but no mention of its father. Never once does she appear to speculate on some nebulous male figure. Perhaps she knows instinctively that she achieved the status of motherhood through artificial insemination; perhaps she achieved parthenogenesis. In the acknowledgments, Siler is profuse in her gratitude to her adoring cat, Frank. Possibly this solves the mystery of the apparent lack of interest in a father for the child, as I believe male cats are notoriously uncaring of their off-spring. Another mystery at the beginning of the work is Eve's driving a motor vehicle. She has no papers so no driver's licence nor is there a mention of her taking a driving test. Is the gendarmerie so lax in France that a known amnesiac with an uncertain level of skill is permitted to drive?
There are rather large gaps in the plotting which could, with a little
more care have been filled. I had the impression that perhaps Siler
was aiming for the position vacated by the late Robert Ludlum for thoughtless
excitement. Regardless, I trust that, in her next novel, Jenny Siler pays
a little more attention to detail and plausibility. One can expect the
reader to suspend disbelief only so far.
Daniel Silva admits to enjoying thrillers in the British tradition, such as those spy novels by John Le Carré. Not that he has much time to spend reading novels now he is a full time writer.
When Silva was studying in graduate school he was offered employment by U.P.I. and after a time went to work in Cairo. Obviously Silva was writing about what he knows when working on The Kill Artist. Silva left U.P.I., going to work for CNN where he eventually became executive director of CNN's Washington-based public affairs programming. Silva produced programs such as 'Inside Politics' and 'The World Today'. Small wonder, then, that Silva's own fiction concerns espionage and political intrigue.
Silva's first novel, The Unlikely Spy , was written in 1994 when he still worked for CNN. This book was such a success that he left CNN in '97 to write full time. This was much to the advantage of espionage and thriller fiction. His next two novels, The Mark of the Assassin and Marching Season followed. The Kill Artist should certainly, like its predecessors, achieve best sellerdom.
The prologue to introduce the novel takes place in 1991 with Gabriel Allon, the kill artist of the title, restoring a painting in the Stephansdom (cathedral) in Vienna. At the end of his working day, Allon meets his wife and small son in a restaurant then is about to leave them to go on a mission involving his other life as an assassin-spy when the car his wife is about to drive off blows up.
In the present, Gabriel works solely as an art restorer, which used to be his cover work, and buys a cottage in Cornwall as he tries to lay the ghosts of his past. He makes friends with another lone soul, eleven year-old Peel, son of a neglectful, uncaring mother who cohabits with a brutal actor. Peel has spied on his new neighbour, thinking himself unnoticed until Gabriel catches him and hires him as a watcher.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Allon's former employer, Ari Shamron is brought back from semi-retirement to head The Office, the Israeli Secret Service. Shamron has discovered that a recent assassination in Paris is the handiwork of Tariq, the Palestinian terrorist responsible for the explosion involving Allon's family in Vienna.
Tariq threatens the peace process in the Middle East and Shamron feels that Allon is the only person who could be trusted to destroy the Palestinian, motivated, as he is, by a desire to avenge the tragedy in his own past.
Also brought out of retirement is beautiful model Jacqueline Delacroix who had once aided Allon in an assassination in Tunis. She, like Allon, is Jewish and, also like Allon, had relatives who perished at the hands of the enemies of the Jews, though hers died in the Holocaust. while Allon's father was killed by Arabs in the Sinai. Jacqueline (formerly Sarah Halévy) had had a brief affair with Allon and had fallen deeply in love with him during the Tunisian operation.
Jacqueline has to leave Paris where her career as a model is fading, to work as a secretary in a London art gallery as her cover job. She has to meet Yusef, one of Tariq's men, and become his lover in an attempt to discover more of Tariq's operations as well as his whereabouts and, in fact, find out what he now looks like so that Gabriel can be sure to kill the right man.
This is not a simple shoot 'em up book. There are no clear blacks or whites. The motivations of both Israelis and Palestinians are examined and, on a certain level, justified, while the brutality and evil as well as the heroism on both sides is depicted. The machinations of top officials and their ruthless using and discarding of their human tools is unpleasant but all too credible. Silva incorporates real people to interact with his fictional characters and actual events side by side with those he fabricates.
This is a powerful book, sickening at times, but always gripping. The characters are well developed and completely believable as, indeed, are the situations. The reader can be assured of a fast and breathtaking ride through this adventure.
THE MARCHING SEASON
by Daniel Silva
Orion
ISBN 0-75283-702-8
$17.95
May 4 2001
reviewed by Denise Wels
Former political journalist , foreign correspondent and television producer Daniel Silva became a full time writer of fiction in 1997. He wrote his first novel, The Unlikely Spy, while working for CNN but found it impossible to write well whilst at the same time holding down a full time job. It was very fortunate for the world of fiction that he did relinquish his journalistic career since his powerful books convey a feeling of frightening authenticity that is frequently absent from the work of authors who simply 'research' their books without actually working in the field. His other novels so far are The Mark of the Assassin, this book The Marching Season and the marvelous The Kill Artist.
The Marching Season continues the series begun in The Mark of the Assassin and features former CIA agent Michael Osbourne who has been persuaded out of retirement. Osbourne had been forcibly retired when severely wounded by the assassin known to him only as October. October, or Jean-Paul Delaroche, likewise resumes his career in this adventure.
The Good Friday Agreement, while welcomed by many people on both sides of the troubled Irish community, was seen as a betrayal of ideals by many. The Ulster Freedom Brigade is an extremist Protestant group which sets out to destroy the Agreement by judicious assassinations of both Catholics and Protestants.
The father-in-law of Michael Osbourne, former Senator Douglas Cannon, is appointed American Ambassador to the Court of St. James. The Ulster Freedom Brigade feels that their movement can draw attention to itself and its cause if they can organise the assassination of the new Ambassador.
Osbourne is able to assist in foiling the Brigade's plan and the operation sees the decimation and virtual destruction of that organisation. One member, a woman, Rebecca Wells, escapes and seeks to carry out the assassination by herself.
The Society for International Development and Cooperation decides that their aims will be furthered should the assassination be successful so offers its help to Rebecca Wells and enlists Delaroche to carry it out. Wells insists she assist in the execution, much to Delaroche's disgust and annoyance.
This book fairly thrums with breathtaking action. As one would expect in a tale of the Troubles in Ireland, bombings and corpses abound, as do scattered bits and pieces of what should rightly be contained within the bodies.
Silva, like James Ellroy,
mixes real characters with fictional. Unlike Ellroy, this author employs
living people to further his narrative. England's Prime Minister, Tony
Blair, holds discussions with the fictional American President James Beckwith
(who later appears in The Kill Artist ). Britain's Queen Elizabeth
also has a couple of walk-on parts. I was interested to see that
The Kill Artist 's Ari Shamron makes a brief appearance prior
to his much more important part in that later novel.
The small amount of research I was able to do did not disclose whether Silva has actually met any real assassins but the motives and ideals he assigns to his protagonists are fascinating indeed. All within Silva's fiction hold true to their own stated moral values and aims, regardless of how distorted these may seem to outsiders. Like the subsequent novel, this book also has a strong theme of art. The intricate dance of politics is believably depicted in this immensely exciting book. The ending is a real corker but holds true to the ideals of the characters.
Just as a postscript... I do wish blurb writers would get their act together!
DAMN STRAIGHT
by Elizabeth Sims
ISBN 1555837867
272 pages
alyson books
Los Angeles
June 16 2003
$28.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
September 7 2004
Elizabeth Sims should certainly know what she is doing. She has been a reviewer for the Detroit Free Press and, perhaps more importantly, a bookseller. One could assume, then, that the feedback gleaned from reactions to these pastimes would provide her with plenty of opportunity to write successful mysteries for her targetted audience. And so it proves to be. DAMN STRAIGHT is Sims' second book (HOLY HELL being the first and the newly released LUCKY STIFF the third) in the Lillian Byrd series. This second title won the 2004 Lambda Award for best lesbian mystery.
Freelance journalist Lillian Byrd is not happy. It is winter in Detroit, a most unpleasant winter to boot. Her neighbour's dog is threatening the well-being of her beloved pet rabbit Todd, to Lillian's extreme distress. Lillian has some money problems - her profession is not paying enough to the extent that she has to take her mandolin busking in order to make ends meet. Then her best friend Truby, who lives in warm Los Angeles, telephones and asks Lillian to join her as she is undergoing a personal emergency. She can't discuss it on the telephone but Lillian must travel immediately to L.A. - and she can bring Todd - and help solve the crisis.
Lillian catches the next possible flight but is flabbergasted to learn that the 'crisis' is simply that Truby thinks she is gay. Theo and Truby have broken up and Truby decides that since no man she has ever met is up to her standards it is logical that only a woman can fulfill her needs. Lillian is doubtful about Truby's logic since she feels that Truby is heterosexual, but agrees to help educate her friend and otherwise assist her in her newly chosen lifestyle.
Truby tells Lillian about the Dinah Shore golf championships, a Mecca for lesbian sportswomen. A friend is unable to attend but bestows her ticket and accompanying room on Truby. Thus, the novice is determined to find at least one partner in such a promising environment.
The duo attends a party at Bel Air where, unexpectedly, Lillian attracts the attention of a golfing champion, Genie Maychild. The two retire to Genie's home and a pleasant romance begins.
Life rarely runs smoothly and so it proves when it becomes obvious to Lillian that someone is threatening Genie and Genie is extremely frightened. As her involvement with the champion deepens, and as the stakes are raised, for Genie MUST win the championship, Lillian decides that the only thing she can do to help her new lover is to uncover the miscreant who is threatening Genie and bring an end to the danger.
Genie is strangely reluctant to help Lillian investigate. She indicates that she thinks the threats emanate from a rival golfer but Lillian soon decides this is not possible. Lillian feels the secret must lie in Genie's past so attempts to probe the golfer's murky history by going to her hometown of Pearl Center, Illinois. Truby, in the meantime, is attempting to solve the mystery of lesbian relationships but not having much good fortune.
Lillian manages to discover a lot about Genie's past - including a would-be female lover as well as a former male lover. Somehow she stirs up danger for both herself and Genie. She poses, unconvincingly, as a sports reporter then as a nun whilst at the same time doing as much to increase resentment and hatred as she increases her knowledge.
More drama and violence are played out against the tension of the championship. Someone is intent on death, Genie's death, and Lillian is determined to frustrate the would-be murderer despite the danger to herself.
Lillian is an appealing protagonist. The characters in the story are
believable (and Todd is a pure delight). As Lillian attempts to educate
Truby and help her plan strategies, the straight reader is simultaneously
educated in the mysteries of lesbianism . There is a lot of excitement
in the tale and the story is well narrated.
EASY STREET
by Elizabeth Sims
ISBN 1555839266
229 pages
alyson books
October 2005
$27.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
May 31 2006
EASY STREET is the fourth novel by Elizabeth Sims to feature free lance journalist and sometime sleuth Lillian Byrd -- and, of course, Lillian's faithful and adoring assistant, Todd the rabbit.
Lillian is, as usual, poor. She attends a retirement party for cop Erma Porrocks, a veteran of twenty-five years. The main attraction of the party (for Lillian, at least) is all the free food but her under-nourished state attracts the attention of various friends, including Erma's. Porrocks, in an attempt to help, offers Lillian a job. Lillian immediately has visions of going into the detective business with Porrocks but, alas, the reality is far different. She would be helping the detective to renovate the house Erma has just bought. The journalist would need to rip up linoleum, old carpet, take down wallpaper and so on.
An unselfish soul, Lillian offers to share the work with one of her homeless friends, Drooly Rick, who wants to earn money in order to send his drug addicted girlfriend home. Byrd smuggles Rick to the site in her expiring Ford Caprice, leaving her equally aging and frail rabbit Todd at home. Once the pair begin work, the fun begins as Rick discovers a hoard of money and a gold bracelet in the wall.
Tragedy strikes in the form of a suspicious death and Lillian attempts to haul the corpse from the water. There is, however, a silver lining to the drama as Erma's neighbour Audrey takes Lillian under her wing and Lillian's susceptible heart is lost once more to the perky woman.
Troubles never come singly and Erma is attacked and hospitalised. Lillian, never one to let a good mystery go unsolved, determines to investigate, a pastime that takes her out of town to the further detriment of her Caprice.
As always, Sims pens a lively, funny and very slick work. In one scene she has Lillian interviewing a woman besotted with her idea of American Indian mystical culture. While Lillian has the handicap of a conscience, she nonetheless claims knowledge of native spirituality in order to find out what she needs to know, spouting jargon the while, but in her mind lambasting herself for deceiving an essentially nice woman.
Sims introduces yet another over the top Calico Jones adventure to motivate her heroine, whose dangers, hair raising though they be, are nowhere near as outré as those of the doughty Calico.
The author has a talent for the creation of delightful characters such as, for example, the lovelorn Lou and Billie, both of whom help Lillian with a massive job of cleaning up.
Sims' writing deserves to burst from the confines of gay literature
to be accepted by mainstream readers who might otherwise overlook the work
of this excellent and entertaining author.
THE SHADOW MAKER
by Robert Sims
ISBN 9781741751734
378 pages
ARENA
ALLEN & UNWIN
May 4 20007
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
April 23 2007
Detective Sergeant Marita Van Hassel lives and works in Melbourne. Australians have all heard rumours about how violent that place is and how criminals proliferate there so it is reasonable to assume that Van Hassel would be kept busy, especially as she has been studying to be a profiler at Quantico.
Rita has been called to a cheap hotel that is popular with prostitutes and their clients. A working girl has been assaulted by a john and will bear the scars for life. She has been blinded by someone who used a red hot poker to do the damage. The perpetrator added to his crime by having unprotected sex with her so, at least, DNA can, ultimately, be used as an identification tool -- always supposing the police can unearth a suspect.
Rita is unfortunate in that a former boyfriend is constantly harassing her. Even more unfortunate is the fact that the harassment is legally permissible. The ex is a journalist so Rita is fair game.
The investigation leads Rita to a smart card embossed with the name Plato's Cave. This, in turn, causes her to examine a company that produces computer games. The firm is owned by a television personality, one who has a rather unusual relationship with his wife.
The narrative is interesting. Spice is added to the tale by the inclusion of the company that is formulating and attempting to flog the game. While the details of the game are not made as prominent as in recent books featuring computer games, such as PLAYERS by Paul McAuley, there are still sufficient clues given so that the reader understands the sort of addictive game that is presented to the detective. A little basic philosophy is introduced to the reader but, I fear, scarcely enough to motivate them to study Metaphysics.
In the tradition of crime novels featuring women detectives, the policewoman is, of course, nubile and beautiful. She is put into dangerous situations which necessarily prompt the reader to say 'No! Don't go there! Look out!', which warning is, needless to say, ignored by the protagonist.
It's good to see another thriller writer set his tale in the familiar
environment of Melbourne. One can but hope this author creates further
readable stories featuring the detective who can only be a pleasant addition
to the law enforcers of Australian crime fiction.
BLINDSIGHTED
by Karin Slaughter
Century . London
ISBN 0-726-8075-0
$30.45
September 7 2001
reviewed by Denise Wels
Karin Slaughter is a professional signwriter by trade. She has sold her business in order to concentrate on her writing - surely an ambitious and confident move when one considers that Blindsighted is her first published novel, albeit along the lines of the work of best selling writer Patricia Cornwell. She is quoted as saying she has written short stories and novels since her childhood but I could find no reference as to whether any of her stories have seen publication. She is apparently contracted to write three novels in a series of which another, Kisscut is due for publication in 2002.
The author has had time to develop her three main characters, paediatrician and part time coroner Sara Linton, chief of police Jeffrey Tolliver and young detective Lena Adams as she created them for the short stories she has written. Unlike some authors, she has not produced three protagonists with a single voice so that if the reader lays down a book in the middle of a speech, then comes back to it later, it is obvious who is speaking.
The novel is set in the South of the United States, in a mythical town near Atlanta, Georgia. The first corpse is that of blind Sybil Adams, twin of Lena, the detective. Sara finds it necessary to go to the toilet in a local eatery and discovers the horribly abused and mutilated dying girl. Despite her best efforts, Sara is unable to preserve life and so earns the resentment of Lena. Sara's ex-husband, Jeffrey Tolliver is called to the scene and the investigation begins.
The title of the book comes from the fact that in some circumstances, normally sighted people are unable to perceive images. This is the case when belladonna, the drug administered by the serial-rapist/killer, causes the pupils of the eyes to dilate. Any reader who has visited an ophthalmologist for examination would be aware of this phenomenon.
The next victim is a female student who is likewise discovered by Sara before being claimed by death. Sara does her best but the girl dies. This causes a great deal of distress for Sara. Not only are her emotions in a turmoil over the murders but she can't make up her mind about her feelings for Jeffrey. She has also received a mysterious postcard, which she finds very threatening, since it was sent from the town where she once worked and is one of a series received by her at the same time each year.
The reader must be prepared for gallons of gore on which this writer does not stint. I felt that the same plot effects could have been produced for the reader without quite so much grue and explicit detail. It is obvious a lot of labour has been devoted to researching the pharmacological as well as the medical detail. I did find some things odd, however - for example the response of Lena to the discovery that Sibyl's hymen was intact was a reaction of shame. Now everyone would know her twin was gay. Setting aside the apparent homophobia, I completely fail to see why women must have a ruptured hymen or not be heterosexual. Perhaps things are different in America....
Without divulging the identity of the killer I would like to shout a loud 'huzzah'. About time people of that profession got their chance to be fictional villains.
There are some aspects of originality in the work and possibly any roughness
of writing will be polished in subsequent novels.
A FAINT COLD FEARKISSCUT
by Karin Slaughter
ISBN 0-7126-1409-5
339 pages
Century
October 1 2002
$29.95
reviewed by Denise WelsBlindsighted was Karin Slaughter's first novel. In that book the reader was introduced to Slaughter's three main characters : paediatrician/coroner Sara Linton, Sara's ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver and young detective Lena Adams. The three had been created by Slaughter in short stories prior to their debut in the full-length novel so she was quite at home extending their adventures. Kisscut sees the return of the three.
Sara, who should be inured to horror since in Blindsighted she displayed a predilection for discovering corpses, is further traumatised to find a murdered premature baby in a woman's toilet then to witness a girl patient of hers threaten a boy patient with a gun. To complete the drama she was then compelled to observe her ex-husband kill the girl in order to save the life of the boy. To further her discomfort it falls to her to perform the post-mortem on both victims. Lena Adams has been permitted, conditional upon her seeing a therapist, to return to her job. She is still recovering from her captivity and rape in the first book as well as the trauma of the murder and rape of her sister Sybil.
The paediatrician, in her capacity of coroner, discovers that, contrary to expectation, the dead girl, Jenny, could not have given birth to the murdered babe. Jeffrey, Lena and Lena's partner set out to uncover the solution to the mystery of why Jenny should have wanted to kill the young boy, Mark, whom she had apostrophised as a monster, when they had previously been friends. Then another of the dead girl's friends is abducted.
In her first book, Karin Slaughter did not seem to want to minimise the gore and grue attendant on the crimes. Nor does she in this second opus. Indeed, to my mind, KisscutÝ is even more distasteful than its predecessor. It is not until about halfway through the narrative that the reader is given to understand just what the themes of the book involve. Be warned, those of you who, like me, have a delicate stomach combined with delicate sensibilities. The novel comprises paedophilia, incest and child abuse. Still, I suppose it must be said that at least it does not contain necrophilia nor coprophilia. One must look on the bright side and try to find good in everything. There is action a-plenty as well as gore. The main protagonists spend a good deal of time trying to sort out their own emotions while attempting to solve the case and bring the miscreants to justice. The characterisations are well done and I noticed that the author spared those of her readers who had perhaps not read the first book in that she did not name the murderer who fulfilled himself in Blindsighted. That tactic did present a difficulty to the new reader in that it seemed unlikely that everyone should avoid mentioning his name, producing a kind of imbalance.
Slaughter is apparently tied to a three book contract. The same protagonists will feature in the third book. I wish her well but would also hope she learns to spare her protagonists some of their agony as well as not portray that same agony in quite so much detail. Likewise, it might spare her readership's feelings were they denied somewhat of the confrontational in the story-line.
Suspense author Karin Slaughter, she with a bent for gory and voilent detail, comes from an unusual background in comparison with most best-selling crime fiction writers of today. She used to be a commercial signmaker. That is ironic in that one of her three main protagonists, Jeffrey Tolliver, was unfaithful to his wife, Sara Linton, with a signwriter. It gives one to think! Slaughter has written about her trio, Sara, chief of police Jeffrey and Lena Adams, a detective, for longer than they have starred in full length novels. They sprang fully formed, so to speak, to life in the author's first book, Blindsighted continuing on their bloody and traumatised paths in the second novel, Kisscut and remain assailed by fate in A Faint Cold Fear. I would be interested to discover Slaughter's educational background and the inspiration for her writing but, unfortunately, I have so far been unable to unearth information which I would consider interesting.
Sara Linton is a paediatrician as well as part time coroner in Grant County, Georgia - an unlikely combination. She is summoned to a crime scene by her former husband Jeffrey and, since her younger sister, heavily pregnant plumber Tessa is with her, takes her along as well. She regrets this decision when Tessa, obeying the urgent call Nature inflicts on all heavily pregnant women, to urinate, is attacked and left for dead. The assault changes the immediate description of the death of a boy, a student at the college, from suicide to a possible murder. Later, the body of the woman student who found the first corpse is discovered, also apparently a suicide.
The third member of the protagonist trio, Lena Adams, has recently joined the security staff of the college and is, therefore, involved in the investigation although only as the minion of sleazy Chuck Gaines, chief of college security. In a previous book, Lena has been kidnapped and had her hands and feet nailed apart, handily, so her kidnapper has immediate and easy access to her for purposes of rape. Jeffrey has insisted that Lena obtain psychiatric help but Lena resists and finds herself out of the police force, seeking solace in alcohol. Lena, Jeffrey and Sara are all rather contrary characters and Lena has, in secret, been seeing the college psychiatrist who is the mother of the dead boy.
True to Slaughter's earlier oeuvres, this book is saturated with gore and carnage. I really don't see that the minute and loving detail with which she decorates her pages is essential to the plot. Other (to my mind) more talented authors produce superior books without finding it necessary to shock the reader with such colourful descriptions. I find, too that Lena, Sara and Jeffrey are not the most attractive of people. In this book Lena, hell-bent on self destruction, is even more antagonistic than in earlier adventures as she finds herself suspected of complicity in the crimes. It doesn't help her when she becomes involved with a male student.
Of course, if the reader is addicted to pace and violence, and enjoys
the adventures of unsympathetic characters with very great problems and
has been attracted by this author's earlier work, no doubt there will be
great appeal to be found in this novel.
INDELIBLE
by Karin Slaughter
ISBN 1844133710
360 pages
Century. London
August 2 2004
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
August 3 2004
It is often possible with novels to describe them as either character driven or plot driven. Not so with the work of Karin Slaughter. She has lived with her central characters for years, even before writing her first novel, BLINDISGHTED, having created them in a series of short stories. By the same token, her books are always chock full of action and intricate plot. Her three protagonists are amongst the most vividly drawn people, as they attempt to protect themselves and their loved ones whilst being assailed by violence on all sides, in crime fiction today.
INDELIBLE is told in two time frames: it begins in the present but a parallel narrative develops twelve years in the past. For those who are unfamiliar with the protagonists, Sara Linton is a paediatrician and medical examiner in Grant County. She is divorced from police chief Jeffrey Tolliver because of his infidelity but they remain friends - and in love. Lena Adams was the first female cop in Grant County but after suffering horrendous trials and tortures in previous books, during which her beloved twin sister was murdered, she has spent some time as a security officer on the local university campus. At the beginning of the present narrative, she is about to resume her work for Jeffrey.
Sara is at the police station to discuss the results of a post mortem with Jeffrey. At the same time, a young patrol officer brings a group of children into the station to give them a tour of the premises and an insight into police work. A stranger calling himself Smith enters the station, demanding to speak to Jeffrey. He and an accomplice start shooting, killing and wounding people. then seize the children and the surviving adults as hostages.
In the past, Jeffrey and Sara have not known each other for very long. He is despised and feared by the Linton parents who disapprove of his ways with women. Despite this, Sara goes off on holidays with him. To her displeasure, Jeffrey makes a detour to the small town where he grew up and Sara meets his two former best friends and their wives as well as his alcoholic and abusive mother. Clayton "Hoss" Hollister is the town's sheriff and Jeffrey and his friends credit him with saving them from becoming criminals. Because of Hoss, both Jeffrey and Robert, his friend, have become policemen.
To the horror of both Sara and Jeffrey, they chance on the scene of a murder moments after it occurs. A man has been shot dead in Robert's house and Robert himself has sustained a gunshot wound. He claims the man had broken into the house and shot him but Sara examines the scene and determines that the wounds do not tally with the story. Linton and Tolliver must, reluctantly, remain in the town , where everyone derides and despises both Jeffrey and Robert. They must determine exactly what happened both with this murder and a crime involving the remains of a girl they discover in a cave. Sara is, unwillingly confronted with aspects of Jeffrey's history which she would prefer not to have known. Needless to say, the past history is indirectly the cause of the present hostage situation.
Slaughter is a past mistress at the art of suspense. She is also an
artist in violence and the reader must be prepared for her usual gore daubed
scenes of extreme ferocity. If one can skip lightly through the horrid
bits, the book is well and truly worth reading, unrelenting though
the tension is.
FAITHLESS
by Karin Slaughter
ISBN 1844133745
390 pages
CENTURY . LONDON
September 1 2005
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
September 2 2005
When I read Karin Slaughter's first novel, BLINDSIGHTED, I was impressed by how well she handled her characters. The trinity of Sara Linton, Jeffrey Tolliver and Lena Adams leapt to vivid life via the medium of her keyboard yet it was accomplished without obvious strain and effort. The success was partially explained by the fact that Slaughter had featured them in short stories prior to that first excursion into the longer format and as their adventures have been explored in succeeding novels, their minds and souls have become further exposed to the reading public with each episode only serving to increase their reality. FAITHLESS uncovers more of the past of each of the trio in another engrossing - if torturous - adventure.
The story opens with Sara visiting her parents' house. Her aunt Bella is in residence, something which Sara's plumber father Eddie is finding difficult to tolerate. He is even less happy to learn that Sara and her former husband Jeff have reconciled. To escape the tense atmosphere, Sara and Jeffrey go for a walk in the woods. Jeff trips over a length of metal sticking up from the ground and the duo are horrified when they dig up a box containing the corpse of a young, pregnant girl. The post mortem discloses a means of death that serves only to increase the puzzle. Detective Lena Adams is called back from vacation a day early to assist in the investigation which leads to the headquarters of a cult: a strange, fanatical religious sect that takes in the dregs of society, ostensibly to aid them. The leader of the group, Lev, bears an uncanny resemblance to Sara.
I have, when reviewing Slaughter's previous works in the series, had occasion to comment on that lady's concentration on details gory. FAITHLESS is, alas, no exception to the rule. For all that, those squeams in the audience should not refuse the entire meal because of the peripheral offering but instead skim over the crudités and concentrate on the meat of the dish. I have already remarked on the characterisation. Because the author obviously cares what becomes of her people, the reader does, too. There is not only the puzzle of the deaths to unravel but also the mystery of how Lena, Jeffrey and Sara will cope with changes in their own lives. As more and more of the early lives of the three actors in Slaughter's dramas is disclosed, including more of the background of the members of their families, more about Sara, Lena and Jeffrey is understood while at the same time, more mysteries remain to be uncovered.
There are, of course, several issues left unresolved in the personal
lives of Tolliver, Linton and Adams which, while not providing a true cliffhanger,
will maintain the interest of readers and give the author a sturdy skeleton
on which to drape the flesh (and an abundance of blood) of her next mystery.
TRIPTYCH
by Karin Slaughter
393 pages
ISBN 1844138577
CENTURY LONDON
August 1 2006
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
July 28 2006
In this stand alone novel, author Karin Slaughter transports her readers from her more usual location of Grant County to Atlanta, Georgia. Detective Lena Adams gets a much needed break from the trials, terrors and tortures that regularly beset her, at least for the space of a book, while her creator bestows those benefits on different characters.
In February of 2006, Grady Homes is the scene of a brutal rape and murder. Detective Michael Ormewood is sent to investigate the crime. The victim, Aleesha Morgan, was a drug addicted prostitute who lived in the slum area. The killer, not content with depriving the woman of life, also bit out her tongue.
Michael's home life is not happy. His wife is discontented with him and the hours he spends at home and he has a retarded son, Tim, whose welfare is the prime concern of his wife's life. Then, of course, there is also his very attractive young neighbour, Cynthia.....
Michael's superior calls in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Special Agent Will Trent, a man with a large secret, comes to assist in the case. Trent decides there is a connection between their current case and the rapes of two very young girls who, although not killed, had their tongues bitten out by the rapist.
Part II begins some months before Part I, in October of 2005. Convicted rapist/murderer John Shelley has been paroled and is now earning a precarious living in a car wash. He desperately wants a television set but when he attempts to buy one, discovers he is the victim of identity theft. He becomes obsessed with finding who would want to perpetrate such a crime against him -- and why.
The action shifts to a time prior to the crime for which John is imprisoned. His cousin, Woody, gets John hooked on drugs. John's father, a doctor, is desperately disappointed as he watches his son's rebellion and deterioration. John's mother, although distressed, continues to love and protect him but everything changes when John is arrested for the murder of the girl.
Part III is the largest segment of the triptych and brings to light a great deal of the past of Will Trent and Angie Polaski, his sometime lover, now a cop working Vice. Angie is, for one reason or another, an important resource for Will and she becomes involved in the case.
I was, initially, rather surprised at the comparative lack of gore in the tale. Mind, there are some extremely nasty images of what was inflicted on Shelley when he went into prison as a fifteen year-old but the major quantities of blood are reserved for the closing chapters of the book and female victims of the killer. Slaughter is a deft hand at misdirecting readers' ideas and encourages her audience to believe in a scenario which is really entirely at odds with the reality.
As usual, the author brings her characters to vivid and credible life. Her narrative contains much that is heartrending while at the same time there is a welcome hope of redemption and rehabilitation.
One problem I encountered which tended to strain my suspension of disbelief was the introduction of a reasonably highly placed investigator with dyslexia. I know that dyslexics, of necessity, acquire sly habits in order to fool people into believing they are 'normal' but found it a stretch to think such an one could rise to a reasonably high rank without being able to read very well. Surely people in his position would have to sit for written exams at some stage? Still, his disability is an integral part of the plot.
Once more Karin Slaughter has produced an engrossing, well plotted thriller.
One can only hope that she is not content to leave this novel as a stand
alone but may, at some future date, resurrect the intriguing characters
she created to populate this work.
SKIN PRIVILEGE
by Karin Slaughter
ISBN9781844138593
401 pages
Century. London
August 1 2007
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
September 10 2007
Karin Slaughter is not one of those writers one could ever accuse of taking a blithe, lighthearted view of the society she inflicts on her characters nor of the characters themselves. Her three main characters -- is it possible to have more than one protagonist to a novel? --cope with an ultra-grim reality which could possibly drive lesser mortals to suicide.
The prologue is horrifying. Lena Adams is in a car together with an unnamed woman (who has a husband and children) and a man the reader realises is a baddie because he is wearing a ski mask showing only his eyes and (ugh) wet lips. The man drops a cigarette lighter onto the woman's lap but only after she has been doused in lighter fluid.
Sara Linton, meanwhile, is battling a malpractice suit concerning the death of one of her child patients. Needless to say, she is innocent, but try telling that to the parents of the child or the residents of Heartsdale, who have previously revered and loved their doctor. Sara is, therefore, not averse to travelling with Jeffrey when he is summoned to nearby Elawah County because Lena is in hospital and has been arrested.
Of all the books by Karin Slaughter that I have read, I can't say I have finished one that has left me with a buoyant, optimistic feeling: SKIN PRIVILEGE is no exception.
There are some horrible themes within the book. Drug dealing is one of the major interests as is a reformed drug addict's recidivism. Then there are the instincts for self destruction exhibited by the woman detective, Lena Adams. At least, in this outing, she resists the temptation to go back to her lover Ethan -- which would be difficult, given he is in gaol, but she certainly doesn't encourage him.
One must hand it to this author, she is a consummate mistress at evoking atmosphere -- horrible atmosphere, that is. Her description of the condition of a house belonging to one of the characters had me retching. She is also a past mistress at conjuring the worst possible scenarios for her people. Just imagine the effect on a woman who is unable to have children, as a result of extreme brutality, yet who desperately wishes for a child, when another woman who terminated an unwanted pregnancy, tells the first woman of her abortion. And this is just a minor scene of unpleasantness.
Lena, and her deceased twin Sibyl, have a lot that is unexplained in their background. Many of those mysteries are resolved and a lot more is turned on its head. Nonetheless, it all seems quite logical. Slaughter has previously told her readers that her characters have become quite real to her, having lived with them, as she has, for as long as she has. I wonder, then, if her close family, in Real Life, might regard her with some suspicion!
There are many surprises contained in this thriller. Some of them will, no doubt, have lasting effects on the hapless people inhabiting Slaughter's books. I can't help but wonder exactly what unexplored horrors could possibly be waiting to pounce on the unwary characters in future adventures -- and if they could possibly be worse than anything in this outing.
Despite all the above, I am very glad I didn't miss out on reading this
work.
FRACTURED
by Karin Slaughter
ISBN 9781844138616
389 pages
Century. London
August 1 2008
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
July 4 2008
Slaughter has not permitted Special Agent Will Trent, of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to languish in limbo after a single appearance in the novel TRIPTYCH in 2006. Will is a dedicated cop with a secret. He is dyslexic, and would do anything to hide his disability, keeping the secret even from the woman with whom he is partnered in FRACTURED.
Abigail and Paul Campano do not have a very strong marriage. They do have a lovely teenage daughter, Emma-- that is, they have her until the dreadful day Abby arrives home from an afternoon of tennis and finds the house has been broken into, and there is the dead body of a teenage girl there. There is also a young man, very alive, holding a knife. Abby somehow manages to strangle the young man, not realising that there is more than one way the scene may be interpreted.
Later, the distraught mother--- and killer--- learns that the female corpse is not that of her daughter but her daughterís friend, Kayla. To increase the horror of her situation, the young man was not a killer but someone attempting to protect Emma. Emma has been kidnapped and Abigail has brought heartbreak on an innocent family.
The GBI is called in to investigate by the (extremely wealthy and influential) grandfather of the kidnapped girl, when it is still thought that Emma is dead. Will Trent, unfortunately, already knows Paul Campano, father of the missing girl, as they were both foundlings in the care of the state, and Paul is aware of Willís disability and doesnít wish him on the case. Regardless, Will remains on the case and is partnered with Faith Mitchell from the Atlanta PD. Since Will had had to investigate the department for corrupt officers and rooted out a large percentage of the detectives, Faith is not happy with the arrangement.
A knowledge of dyslexia proves pivotal in this mystery so for once Will has a decided advantage, as Emma is dyslexic and, from a note left by the kidnapper, it appears he is as well.
For all that a successful, dyslexic investigator seems unlikely, Karin Slaughter makes a very plausible case for Will Trent. The rest of the characters appear equally realistic.
Itís undeniable that the author is truly in command of the unexpected
twist and misdirection. She also does a pretty good line in excitement
as well as the creation of some very unpleasant baddies. She has a very
good idea of the emotions that motivate families and has once again proven
herself a gifted narrator.
THE RED HAT CLUB
by Haywood Smith
ISBN 0733618618
306 pages
Hodder
March 1 2004
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Wels Pickles
February 22 2004
Haywood Smith, author of Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch is an indigene of Atlanta, Georgia. Her protagonists in The Red Hat Club are, like the writer herself, Southern Belles. One would assume, from the content of the book, that Smith is writing on behalf of all the oppressed sisterhood of the south. She is fulsome in her acknowledgments, thanks and praise of a wide variety of people who, apparently, have helped make her an astonishing success - people ranging from a banker to someone running a warehouse but not forgetting her family.
The Red Hat Club comprises a group of middle aged matrons who have been friends since their teenage years when they were inducted into a sorority known as the Mademoiselles (I wonder why they couldn't have been Mesdemoiselles?) They have weathered the years together, valuing the bond between them perhaps even more than the bond with their respective husbands. They have regular meetings and at one such discover that the husband of one of them, Diane, apparently has an extra domicile as well as an extra woman. The entire peal of belles therefore vow to ring the changes on the errant husband.
The tale is told in the first person and the narrator, Georgia, has a deep secret of her own which she has not willingly shared with the others, despite their Sacred Traditions. Just how Georgia's deepest wishes are fulfilled along with the revenge on the husband capable of such dastardly deeds,Harold, makes for an amusing, if slight, story.
The narrative bounces happily between the present day and the sixties when the women were taking their first tentative steps toward maturity. It details various traumas suffered by them - up to and including one of them being beaten by her husband whilst another becomes drug dependent. For anyone who was never a member of a sorority (and I have yet, in this country, ever to meet anyone who WAS a member of a sorority ) the novel provides some interesting revelations. On the whole it is an entertaining wish fulfillment dream for depressed dowagers and should no doubt prove popular in the annals of chick-lit.
CHILD 44
by Tom Rob Smith
ISBN 9781847371263
473 pages
Simon & Schuster
March 1 2008
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
November 13 2007
The action of Tom Rob Smith's magnificent work is set in the fifties, during the closing years of the Stalinist regime. The prologue occurs two decades before that with two young brothers hunting a cat in the desperately poor and starving Ukrainian village of Chervoy. Pavel, the elder of the two, is captured by an unkempt, wild man and the boy knows that he, like the cat, is destined for the cooking pot.
The action jumps twenty years in time and to Moscow in space. Jora and his younger brother Arkady are playing in the snow. A certain rivalry erupts with the elder wishing never to see his winning sibling again.
War hero and member of the MGB, Leo Stepanovich Demidov must tell his underling Fyodor Andreev that his younger son died as a result of his own carelessness and neglect, certainly not as the result of the malign actions of an adult. Arkady was killed by a train and the dirt in the corpse's mouth was easily explained by his being dragged by the train after the fatal impact.
Leo is an obedient functionary who obeys his superiors without question. He has a beautiful wife, Raisa, whom he assumes loves him. No doubt he would be distressed if, somehow, he learned of her hatred of him. He is addicted to methylamphetamine (which, despite the author's protestations is not a narcotic but a stimulant) which he swallows in large amounts in order to remain awake and alert despite his long working hours.
Everybody knows that crime, and especially serial crime, does not exist in Soviet Russia. Thus, when the bodies of naked children, their stomachs removed and their mouth filled with bark, are discovered, Leo and his subordinates -- especially Vasili, who at once loathes Leo and covets his position-- are convinced the deaths are simple aberrations, easily explained. But then Leo begins to wonder and sets in motion his own illicit investigation.
This is a superb book, especially as a debut novel. The prose is incredibly evocative: the paranoia of the people is brought to life in startling detail. The characterisation is beautifully done with the mistrust of people ,even within the one family, made abundantly and heartbreakingly clear. The despair of officials who know they have been betrayed by their own subordinates seems inevitable.
There is no doubt that a great deal of research has gone into the production of this work. Even so, the book easily outstrips tales that rest on research alone. The author has managed to recreate the era together with all the fear and doublethink of the time.
There are great strengths to this novel. The quality of the prose together
with the plotting, characterisation and research have combined to produce
a book which will not be easy to forget.
perfect.
THE SECRET SPEECH
by Tom Rob Smith
ISBN 9781847371294
453 pages
SIMON & SCHUSTER
April 1 2009
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
March 25 2009
Here is the second of what is, apparently, destined to be a trilogy. CHILD 44 was the first in line and made an indelible impression on this reviewer, for one-- and I donít think I was an orphan, in that respect. Leo Demidov, principal of his own homicide investigation bureau, is, once more, the protagonist in this powerful historical novel about the crumbling of the Stalinist regime after the dictatorís death and the installation of Kruschev in the top position.
Raisa, Leoís wife, reluctantly fell in love with her husband in the previous book. She is unable to have children of her own, but, thanks to Leoís actions, is now adoptive mother to Zoya and Elena. Elena is happy with her new family but Zoya, a teenager, hates Leo and is determined not to change her mind about him.
A secret speech, denouncing Stalinism and purportedly written by Kruschev, is circulated throughout Moscow and all Russia, reaching even to Hungary.
Zoya is kidnapped by the wife of Lazar, former priest, now imprisoned in a gulag. He had been betrayed by ìMaximî, aka Leo Stepanov. Anisya is now known as Fraera and leads a gang of criminals and is determined to avenge herself. She blames Leo and his kind for the death of her child, as well as for the imprisonment of her husband.
Fraera makes an offer to Leo. In return for the life and safety of his daughter, Zoya: he must rescue her husband, Lazar, from the gulag.
Leo manages to get himself imprisoned in the gulag , having gone undercover, and it only remains for him to rescue himself and the priest.
Subsequent events are surprising and Leo finds himself in Hungary for the uprising.
This is a truly gripping tale and exceedingly well written.
ASSEGAI
by Wilbur Smith
ISBN9780230529205
472 pages
MACMILLAN
April 1 2009
$49.99
reviewed by Denise Pickles
April 17 2009
Wilbur Smith just keeps on going. This episode in the life of one of the Courtneys begins before the outbreak of World War I-- in 1906, in fact.
Second Lieutenant Leon Courtney is out hunting members of the rebellious tribe, the Nandi. Leon is appalled to come across the bodies of the District Commissioner and his family, slaughtered by the Nandi, so he, his sergeant, Manyoro, and his men seek to find the murderous Nandi and destroy them.
Manyoro is injured as he and Leon attempt to wipe out the Nandi, and all their men are killed. Leon decides the only thing to be done is to carry Manyoro to his home so that Manyoroís mother, a famous witchdoctor, can tend to her son. Leonís feet are badly hurt during the trek so that Lusima has both men as her patients. Leon must, when his feet are healed, make his way back to his regiment, but when he does, he finds himself under arrest.
At his court martial, Leon is, of course, found innocent, thanks to the timely arrival of Manyoro, who tells the true story in the face of the manufactured evidence against Leon.
Courtney ostensibly leaves the army and, in partnership with hunter Percy, sets up in business as a hunter. In actuality, he is seconded to military intelligence. Manyoro, too, leaves the army and attaches himself to Leon because he is his man.
One of the parties Leon has to escort is that of the Graf Otto von Meerbach. He and his concubine, Eva von Wellberg are anxious for big game. Eva manages to bag the biggest game of the lot -- Leon Courtney. The Graf is a man of immense fortune stemming from the manufacture of aeroplanes, made from patents he stol from Evaís father. The war erupts.
To my mind, the book is somewhat overlong. The beauty of it, however, lies in the description of Africa as it was then. The wildlife is impressive, although I found the descriptions of the animalsí demise far less so.
The characterisation is plausible, although at times I felt some of the baddies were just too evil and the goodies too noble.
As before mentioned, I felt the hunting itself was too bloodthirsty
and it certainly made this readerís stomach somersault. Still, I am quite
sure that hunters and soldiers probably will enjoy the killing.
COLD
by John Smolens
Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN 0-340-82264-3
$29.95
November 2001
reviewed by Denise Wels
John Smolens is Associate Professor of Eng;lish at Northern Michigan University so it is reasonable for readers to expect an exciting tale told in a literate style and that is what Smolens provides. Unlike so many of his peers who churn out their novels at the rate of at least one a year, Smolens, who, in addition to his academic work, writes short stories and articles for a range of publications, allows years to elapse between books, with the exception that Cold has been published a scant year following his collection of short stories, My One and Only Bomb Shelter. His first novel, Winter by Degrees preceded his second, Angel's Head by six years.
The story is set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Norman Haas, who has been gaoled for grievously assaulting his fiancée, Noel Pronovost, then shooting a hunter, Raymond Yates and subsequently being suspected of his murder, is a trustee in the low security prison where he is being detained. He is working outside during a blizzard when he feels it is the right time for him to walk away. One of the themes of this tale is that 'right times' do present themselves to humans and must then be seized. Nearly frozen, Norman finds his way to the home of Liesl Tiomenen, a sculptor whose husband and eight year-old daughter had been killed in a vehicle accident some years previously. Liesl administers first aid to Norman who has fallen and cut his head. The telephone is out of action so the duo sets out in the blizzard to walk to the nearest town where Norman can be taken into custody once again. Liesl falls and initially Norman carries her but then finds himself unable to continue so, promising to bring help, he leaves Liesl to die in the snow. There are a number of what I consider to be anomalies in the story and this is one of them: not that Liesl is left to die but the fact that throughout the book she bears no malice toward Norman for his action. She can see it was necessary. I am fairly sure that if someone left me in the snow to die, no matter what their intentions at the moment, then failed to bring promised help, I would be rather cranky with them and somewhat less than understanding.
Norman makes his way to his home town where he is received by his former fiancée, Noel, now married to, but about to be unmarried from, Norman's brother Warren, Noel has borne a daughter, Lorraine, now three years old, to Norman. Warren is a drug dealer, Noel is an addict: altogether a cheery and likeable group of people.
Another theme of the book is escape : Norman's escape from prison, Noel's attempt to escape from both her husband and her life as her father's virtual slave. Liesl needs to escape from her memories of the accident which took from her her family and even Sheriff Del Maki, who is hunting (yet another theme) Norman, needs to escape from his memories of his failed marriage.
The story is told in the third person, enabling the author to switch between points of view, which he does, frequently. Another of his switching patterns is between past and present, which he does rather confusingly. For example, at one stage Norman thinks about his past, when he and his brother were children
Then, as Warren knelt down and leaned close, Norman opened his eyes wide, and for just one moment, he saw real shock, genuine fear in Warren's face. Norman screamed "Got ya!"
When his shovel struck something hard, Norman leaned over and carefully
scraped dirt away ....
The only indication that the actions occur in different time frames
is at the end of the paragraph, and most of the jumps in time are of this
nature. Some readers might see it, as undoubtedly the author did,
as a seamless transition: I saw it as bewildering.
These considerations aside, the story-telling was good and the language
evocative (it left me with a determination never to visit that country
in winter). I did not particularly take to the characters but just because
they resembled no people of my acquaintance does not mean they are unrealistic.
Whether or not it was the intention of the writer, I did feel the little
girl, were she to survive, would continue the same doomed style of existence
as her mother. For readers who enjoy thrillers set in the great outdoors
with their blood running cold for the duration of the tale, this is for
you.
THE PROPHET MURDERS
by Mehmet Murat Somer
translated by Kenneth Dakan
ISBN 9781846686337
242 pages
Serpents Tail
July 10 2008
$23.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
June 27 2008
Itís always interesting to find a crime novel with a fresh twist, and THE PROPHET MURDERS certainly has that-- as well as the usual bumps and grinds accompanying people who follow the ìexotic dancerî tradition. The difference is that the dancers in this novel are transvestites. The nameless narrator is also a transvestite and he has a close working knowledge of the world of transvestites, apart from his own predilection, as he has an interest in a nightclub wherein such people perform.
As the narrator is having breakfast, he reads in the paper about the death of a fellow transvestite. She has been burned to death. The paper accorded the story only page three status and the narrator is suitably annoyed, especially since the photograph is an old identity photo with the subject dressed as a man. There are unusual circumstances surrounding the death and the storyteller becomes sufficiently interested to do a bit of sleuthing.
As his investigation proceeds, the amateur sleuth is intrigued to note that the male names of the victims are names of prophets. Not only that, the deaths are in keeping with the torments suffered by the original prophets bearing those names.
The narrator becomes suspicious of a denizen of his ìmanly girlsî chatroom and decides Jihad2000 is worthy of investigation-- but said computer genius turns out to be a cripple as well as a religious freak. Thus, his talents as a hacker are instead pressed into the service of the detective.
The narrator is not know, in his manly guise, by the name of a prophet. but some of the other ìgirlsî are so afflicted and the detective decides he/she must attempt to protect some of them-- but as she points out, there is something of a dearth of masculine names in Turkish and she canít protect everyone.
I donít know if it is the fault of the translator or the author, but sometimes the change of pronouns with regard the performers can be confusing. This doesnít really detract from a thriller that lives up to its description. The narrator and his cohorts do suffer many dangers which would be enough to demoralise straight male or female detectives.
I was intrigued by one particular phrase to be found first early in the book, then again later. The police commissioner, Selçuk Tanyer, was described as having, during their common schooldays, ìsucked lipsî with the amateur detective-- but he had done so also with his current wife. Nonetheless, he is not averse to renewing the old friendship and dispensing detail not available to the general public. But what a description! Again, I donít know if it was an inadequate translation of the part of the translator, or a definite statement from the author. Whatever, it is certainly thought provoking.
The mystery isnít terribly obscure but, to my mind, the charm of the novel lies in the characterisation of the ìgirlsî, their similarities as well as their differences. Just what goes on in the Turkish version of Les Girls would be absorbing enough even without the murders.
I understand there are other books in this particular series. It will be interesting to follow the adventures of the nameless detective as well as those of his cohorts, in future cases.
MONSOON RAINS & ICICLE DROPS
by Libby Southwell with Josephine Brouard
ISBN 1740457897
279 pages
PIER 9
April 2006
$24.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
April 3 2006
Since I am not in the habit of reviewing non-fiction, it came as a surprise to me to discover this not terribly fat volume on my doorstep. I leafed through the book, discovering it was to benefit tsunami devastated Sri Lanka, so decided to sample its delights.
Libby was an advertising executive in Sydney, reasonably fancy free, falling in and out of relationships until a former colleague, newly released from the bonds of matrimony, proposes reentering those bonds, this time with Libby. She is not averse to the notion but mountain loving Justin departs, without her, on a climb in New Zealand, an adventure that proves fatal. Soon thereafter, accidents claim further of her friends.
Devastated by the loss of her fiancé, Libby flees to various points in Asia and her adventures, some in places where she intended exploring with Justin, comprise this book.
Libby is working as a chef in Sri Lanka when the island is devastated by the tsunami. She goes back to Australia to recover but is persuaded to help with the restoration of that paradise and this work provides part of her effort. Now she appears to be regaining confidence and happiness despite her earlier loss of fiancé and friends.
If readers are interested in sampling adventures from France to
Tibet and Mongolia, this book is for you, especially if you remember that
the money which you expend on it will aid the tsunami victims.
NO WAY HOME
by Peter Spiegelman
ISBN 1844130231
341 pages
Century. London
February 1 2005
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
February 18 2005
Peter Spiegelman made his crime debut with BLACK MAPS, the novel that saw Private Investigator John March's premier outing. March, like Spiegelman himself, has a foot in the financial world. March comes from a merchant banking family, the members of which are unhappy about his chosen profession and are constantly seeking to steer him back into the family occupation. Spiegelman, unlike his protagonist, worked in banking then transferred his attention to a banking software firm. Presumably this gave him sufficient income to retire and concentrate on writing. Fortunate fellow.
NO WAY HOME ( or DEATH'S LITTLE HELPERS, if you refer to the author's web page) sees March being hired by artist Nina Sachs, a woman who mightily offended former husband Greg Danes by becoming involved in a lesbian relationship after she left the finance guru. Sachs and partner, Ines Icasa, are jointly bringing up teenage Billy but Greg Danes, Billy's father, is seeking to increase his share of the custody. Danes, however, has disappeared. Nina wants March to discover the whereabouts of her former partner since his maintenance cheques have ceased to arrive and art is not a sufficiently well paid profession for her to maintain Billy without some supplementary income.
March begins his investigation with a search of Danes' background. A former wunderkind, Danes was massively wounded by the dot com crash, feeling that his reputation had been unjustly besmirched. Disliked by most of his associates, Danes was determined to justify himself in the eyes of the world - that and gain custody of Billy, thereby restoring his importance in his own eyes after his wife's desertion.
March's investigations lead him into some strange dens, including that where the vanished man's half brother is labouring. He calls on the good graces of sometime associates, including a former FBI agent. At the same time, John is recovering his personal equilibrium after the tragic death of his wife. He now has a girlfriend, Jane Lu, who is attempting to view March's perils as the normal part of any job.
John's heart is strangely touched by an appeal from Billy, the son of the missing man, who entreats March to find his father. Spurred on by the plea, March puts himself into all kinds of physical danger some of which is engendered by his own inflammable temper.
The plot of this novel is well constructed. I had read most of the story
before tumbling to the identity of the miscreant. The characterisations,
however, were perhaps lacking. March was quite convincing but Jane and
Nina seemed shadowy. I feel that possibly the author has yet to hit his
stride. I shall, nonetheless, be quite interested to read further output
from this writer as he certainly shows promise.
BLINDFOLD GAME
by Dana Stabenow
ISBN 0312937555
335 pages
St. Martin's Paperbacks
February 3 2007
$14.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
March 2 2007
If you missed out on reading BLINDFOLD GAME when it was first released, don't hesitate to grab it now it has been published in a very moderately priced small paperback edition. This is a stand-alone thriller -- and 'thrill' is the operative word here -- as opposed to Stabenow's more usual series books.
The action begins at Pattaya Beach in Thailand, a resort as popular with Australians as is the Indonesian island of Bali. Stabenow inflicts a bombing on the Thai location equally as shocking as the one that killed so many in Bali. A former journalist is involved in the melée that follows but is not badly hurt. Her eyes are drawn to two Asian men who survey the carnage, apparently unmoved by the horrors they witness. The two men are North Koreans, brothers calling themselves 'Smith' and 'Jones.'
The journalist, Arlene Hart, follows the Koreans to London but loses them when they board a flight to Moscow. She has managed to photograph the pair, together with two men they met subsequent to the bombing, so she takes her story and pictures to Hugh Rincom, at Langley. Hugh is convinced that the two men are tied to a purchase of Cesium-137 which could well be used to construct a 'dirty' bomb but when he tries to convince the Director of the FBI that he should follow the case, the Director not only is not interested, but implies that Rincom should not investigate further . Apparently Al Qaida are the only enemies worth following: Koreans don't count.
Hugh's wife, Sara Lange, is a Coast Guard Executive Officer aboard the cutter Sojourner Truth. The ship patrols off Alaska, the home of Sara, Hugh and their friend Kyle Chase, also of the FBI.
Partly as a result of detective work, and partly because of a 'gut' feeling, Hugh constructs a scenario wherein the North Koreans smuggle themselves and their bomb aboard a freighter which will take them off the coast of Alaska where they may, at their convenience, attack the land.
It is almost a truism to say that some thrillers are action driven and some character driven. Stabenow, however, has written a novel that is chock full of action, credible and horrifying, containing convincing, fleshed out characters. Hugh and Sara are, to the reader, real people with enormous problems caused by their necessary separation, a separation that could possibly see the breakup of their ten year-old marriage. The sympathetic characters (including the larger-than-life exuberant Russian Peter Wolf) are all well drawn, the baddies, especially the North Korean brothers, tend more to be cardboard cutouts into whose heads the reader is given not much insight.
Stabenow has apparently devoted a lot of time to researching conditions
aboard a Coast Guard vessel, research time which definitely pays off in
the details which she includes in the text. The combination of believable
action and sympathetic characters produces a work that could well be described
as a masterpiece.
ONE DANGEROUS LADY
by Jane Stanton Hitchcock
ISBN 1741148197
358 pages
ALLEN&UNWIN
February 3 2006
$24.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
April 5 2006
It is a truth universally acknowledged that the more successful authors write about what they know. Playwright and novelist Jane Stanton Hitchcock writes about the glitterati of New York, the kind of people with whom she grew up in that city. One can only trust that she speculates about, rather than knows, the murderers about whom she writes.
Jo Slater, eminent socialite and heroine of Hitchcock's previous novel, SOCIAL CRIMES, is in Barbados for the wedding of the daughter of one of her dearest friends, Betty Waterman. She has been told that Lord Max Vermilion will be another of the guests and the prospect of meeting him contains some allure since both are, at the time of the tale, single.
Two of the other guests are the Coles: reclusive, art collecting billionaire Russell Cole and his much younger wife Carla. Russell is the godfather of the bride and the Coles are living on their magnificent yacht, the Lady C. The duo hosts a pre-wedding dinner but drama strikes the next morning when Carla announces that Russell has disappeared.
Jo is drawn into investigating and involves her writer friend Larry Locket who determines to write a book about the case (he investigates crimes of murder.) Various of Jo's friends start being injured or murdered and Jo is inclined to believe that the presumed widow, Carla, who is ruthlessly clawing her way to the social tip of the iceberg that is New York's society, is behind it all. Carla appears even more dangerous than she might be when she implies that she is in possession of a secret about Jo's past which Jo is determined to keep out of public view. Soon, too, Carla invades every area of Jo's public life and Jo finds herself excluded (as she was in SOCIAL CRIMES) from most areas of polite society.
One wonders how much of the roman is a clef, since one real life writer claims the character of Larry Locket to be based on himself. Certainly the bitchy asides and similes seem to have a ring of verisimilitude surrounding them. One wonders, too, how many socialites couldn't wait to read the book when it was released in the US, just in case they rated a mention. The descriptions of excessive wealth, bad taste and the notion that a million dollars is mere pocket change leave the reader gasping for breath at times. A great deal of humour leavens the mix as does a shrewd eye for eccentric characteristics. While Hitchcock could scarcely lay claim (despite her opening sentence) to being in the same class as Jane Austen, she pens an intriguing mystery with a heroine who has more depth than she seems to possess at the opening of the tale.
I felt the cover of the book did it a disservice. The depiction of a pair of stiletto sandals surrounding nail polished feet implied, to me at least, a volume of light, fluffy chicklit, which this opus certainly is not.
I trust Ms Stanton Hitchcock, the author with the wickedly witty keyboard
and malicious eye, produces more novels in the near future, especially
if they feature the redoubtable and indomitable Jo Slater.
LIGHTS OUT
by Jason Starr
296 pages
ISBN 0752873474
Orion
July 7 2006
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
July 3 2006
Jason Starr is making himself a name in crime fiction, one which seems likely to be magnified by LIGHTS OUT, his seventh novel. He has, in various places, confessed that he once harboured a dream of becoming a baseball player so perhaps his choice of a successful celebrity in that field as his protagonist, Jake Thomas, is something of a wish fulfilment dream. On the other hand, perhaps he feared, should he have attempted to realise his ambition, that he may have turned out like Ryan Rosetti, Jake's contemporary who was, at one time, prior to a crippling injury, seen to have a future as bright as Thomas' present.
Ryan is not happy. He is a house painter, earning the magnificent sum of $10 an hour, a far cry from his former friend and rival's status as a millionaire. Ryan has one advantage, as he sees it, over Jake in that he has won the heart of Christina, Jake's fiancée of six years. Right now, though, Ryan has to accept requests from workmates to obtain Jake's autograph when Jake returns to Canarsie, Brooklyn, where he will be feted by family and friends and, at the same time, find a convenient out from a small problem his dallying has caused.
Jake has slept with a fourteen year-old Mexican girl. He is being threatened by the girl's blackmailing father: pay a small fortune or be accused of statutory rape. Jake thinks that such a trivial story will pale into insignificance if he announces he is to be married, so he plans to tell Christina that they must set a date. Christina wishes to break up with Jake so she can be with Ryan but when Jake tells her he will buy her father a condo (a promise he has no intention of keeping) Christina changes her mind, setting in motion a chain of events that will threaten the lives and well-being of both her suitors.
Saiquan Harrington is visiting his mate Desmond Johnson in hospital. Desmond has been shot and is almost unable to communicate but manages to convey to Saiquan that the man who tried to kill him is fellow gang member Jermaine. Saiquan swears vengeance on Jermaine but must proceed carefully, since other Crips members would be severely displeased did they discover he was intent on murdering one of their own.
Marcus, another Crips member but a severe crackhead, keeps a stock of guns and always has a car at the ready. Saiquan has neither car nor gun, twin disadvantages for a driveby shooting that cause him to turn to Marcus for help. Marcus insists that Saiquan take him along for the kill. Dubiously, Saiquan assents.
The paths of Jake and Ryan and Saiquan and Marcus intersect, with violent consequences for all concerned. Ryan, on a dejected bender, provides the means for Marcus and Saiquan to track Jake, seen as a wealthy pheasant ripe for plucking.
Don't expect any fully realised characters in this series of misadventures. Caricatures are the order of the day: the feckless, spoiled, philandering baseball hero who believes his own publicity, determined to avert ruin by marrying his high school sweetheart, despite what he sees as her enormous bum; the constantly disappointed, failed rival, always cast into the shade by his successful contemporary, turning to drunken excesses when given his marching orders; the disaffected lover wishing to escape but captured by wealth and her perceived duty to her father; the bumbling, incompetent gangbangers determined on vengeance and getting rich in the fastest possible way and, not the least, the ambitious parents.
The writing is hardboiled and slick, the pace is fast, the dialogue ventures into the territory of dialect and the humour, as already mentioned, is cruel and black.
BODY OF A GIRL
by Leah Stewart
Piatkus
ISBN 0 7499 3223 6
1 February 2001
reviewed by Denise Wels
This is short story writer Leah Stewart's first novel and a creditable performance it is, too. Perhaps Stewartís skills as a former associate editor of Doubletake magazine were brought to bear in the presentation of the book or perhaps it was simply care taken by the publisher but there are few subediting errors to detract from the appeal of the text.
The narrative of psychological thriller, Body of a Girl, is in the first person, the protagonist being 24 year-old newspaper journalist Olivia Dale. For the most part the story is told in the present tense, emphasising the fact that Dale does not know what is to come, with some flashbacks in the past tense.
The brief (too brief) biographical material provided by the publisher does not make it clear if the genesis of the Dale character was in Stewartís own experience or if her research provided it but there is a quality to the portrayal that makes it at once convincing and touching.
Olivia, contrary to her normal journalistic experience, is confronted by the body of rape and murder victim, Allison Avery. She usually has only photographs to provide her with the actuality of a crime, but by coincidence, is at the scene shortly after the discovery of the body. She is horrified to note that Allison was of a similar age to herself and later, as she tries to get to know the victim in retrospect, is told of her physical similarity to Allison and is even mistaken for her by Allisonís brother, Peter.
The book is a powerful depiction of how a young journalist must come to grips with the horror of stories that are encountered in day to day working life. Dale begins to see her own life as a series of headlines and stories. When she dreams, she does so not in images but in words.
Olivia is not infallible in her construction of the character and adventures of the dead girl, unlike many of her fictional peers. She makes some very large mistakes as she draws on the literal mantle of the victim. As she attempts to build her story and gradually gains the trust of Allisonís friends and family, she is used by some as much as she is attempting to use them.
There is a certain amount of action which will have the reader screaming silently ëNo, no. Donít do that. Theyíll getcha!í as Olivia begins to make obvious wrong choices in her own life and investigation of the crime. She is drawn down a destructive path, hurting her own close friends and co-workers as she neglects simple precautions in an effort to discover the what, why and who of the killer.
For me, the last part of the book was not as attractive, enthralling and convincing as the first two thirds. Perhaps the ending was more in line with reality than a fictional construction. Whatever. This story made a creditable debut and leads me to hope Stewart will produce more crime fiction with equally well-drawn characters in the near future.
No stranger to writing, American born but Canadian educated computer gamer and game originator Sean Stewart has written a tale with the perhaps no longer startling theme of a man who sees and speaks to dead people. Although the notion itself has not been done to death of recent times, Stewart has lit a spark of new life in the idea in this work.
Will Kennedy has been seeing ghosts since he was a child. He is divorced from the wife he has loved since the two were at high school. Josie realised that life with Will was a perpetual dead end so although she was pregnant with their daughter, Megan, she left Will and married Marine Don.
Both Will and Josie came from unfortunate, poor families. One of Will's earliest ghastly, ghostly encounters was with his Uncle Billy who was blown up in an industrial accident that scarcely seemed strange to his disadvantaged relatives and fellow townspeople.
Now Will, whose ability to see ghosts has been an open family secret, is approached by a cousin who wants the ne'er-do-well to rid him of a troublous ghost, a woman who cries constantly. Kennedy does so, but in an unfortunate manner that sees him nearly killed. The task inspires him to make a potentially profitable career from what could well be seen by others as a handicap .
Stewart has an ability to engage the reader's attention and maintain interest through a series of unfortunate events and unlovely characters, not the least unlovely being the protagonist himself. Several unusual themes, such as dead roads, could, perhaps have been explored in more detail than they are in the novel. The long suffering pre-teen daughter, Megan, is an attractive invention who enhances the intriguing tale. It says a lot for Stewart's writing style that, while the story is very dark, the reader will probably be prepared to consume the book in a single sitting.
In short, readers who take on the unlikely story may find themselves
well rewarded by reading it to the pessimistic end.
THE ADULTERY CLUB
by Tess Stimson
ISBN 9780330445207
390 pages
PAN BOOKS
March 3 2007
$22.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
March 1 2007
These things happen. But why must they inevitably hurt someone? Nicholas Lyon is a forty-three year-old divorce lawyer. The firm in which he is a partner takes on a new employee, a young lawyer named Sara Kaplan, when the senior partner is about to retire (much to Nicholas' relief.) From the moment Nicholas sets eyes on Sara it seems inevitable that something will happen between them. Nonetheless, Nicholas manages to cage his lust until there is a bombing in London, just near Nicholas and Sara and the pair take refuge in Sara's flat. The predictable occurs, despite Nicholas' previous good intention. Besotted with Sara, Nicholas manages to hide the affair from his wife, Malinche, but, of course, she eventually finds out, pretending, for a time, ignorance of the situation.
The death of Nicholas' father precipitates the disclosure that Malinche is aware of the situation. This forces Nicholas to leave his wife and live with his mistress, a situation that can eventually only show up the young woman as inadequate in every aspect save bed.
Malinche, meanwhile, is devastated but having an old boyfriend in the wings, attempts to find consolation.
Stimson is a reporter so one would expect her to graft popular stories into her work. She does push the notion of originality to the limits, however. I couldn't believe she could crib the story of the woman visiting the gynaecologist, who had accidentally applied glitter to her parts of interest and been approved by him for having gone that little bit further in order to please him. How many times has one read that particular tale over the years?
Yes, there are funny bits to the book but they could have been bettered, likewise the pathos. The technique of telling the story from the three differing points of view is good, fleshing out the principal characters well although the peripheral people tend not to be painted to a depth beyond shallowness.
Perhaps there are readers out there who will enjoy this oeuvre.
No doubt some will be unfamiliar with the total concept and will be anxious
to examine this sort of situation. Doubtless they will find it an entertaining
read, especially if they like to read about grimly detailed sexual intercourse.
Admittedly, some people may be inspired to put some of the author's notions
into practice to spice up their own personal lives but on the whole, perhaps
one can do better to pick up an alternative title.
BUBBLES UNBOUND
by Sarah Strohmeyer
Headline
ISBN 0-7472-6927-0
$29.95
October 30 2001
reviewed by Denise Wels
Journalist (despite gaining a degree in international relations, then a graduate degree in English literature) Sarah Strohmeyer wrote her popular Barbie Unbound: A Parody of the Barbie Obsession as a reaction to the simmering hatred most women foment. who do not resemble Barbie. And how many of us could possibly achieve that inhuman appearance, anyway? In her role of journalist, Strohmeyer interviewed best-selling humorous crime fiction author, Janet Evanovich and admitted that she, too, would like to write along the same lines as the Stephanie Plum novels. Evanovich encouraged her ambition and was, in fact, responsible for the title of Strohmeyer's foray into the genre. Bubbles Unbound had a title but no character or plot. Strohmeyer had had the inspiration for her Barbie Unbound when driving her vacuum cleaner and inspiration for the intricasies pf Bubbles Unbound struck on a similar occasion.
Strohmeyer openly acknowledges her debt to Evanovich so it is not to be wondered at that there are many parallels between the books. Bubbles' mother Lulu is the counterpart of Stephanie Plum's Granny Mazur and Steve Stiletto could well be the enigmatic Ranger in another guise. Luckily, Bubbles' friend and admirer, policeman Mickey Sinkler, a far cry from Stephanie Plum's on-again off-again lover Joseph Morelli, is not that creation's exact analogue for Bubbles has taken a vow to abstain from sex. Oh yes, and cigarettes, as well. There is a parallel with another woman author of humorous mystery fiction, Joan Hess, in her Claire Malloy mode, in that Bubbles, like Claire, has a teenage daughter. Like the heroines of Evanovich's and Hess's work (including Arly Hanks) Bubbles was married and betrayed by her former husband. Like Strohmeyer herself, Bubbles had put her faithless husband through college so he could become a lawyer, but the author's husband has not changed his name to Chip nor deserted his wife in favour of pastures new.
Bubbles Yablonsky is a mother struggling to support her daughter Jane. She is a hairdresser but is desperately trying to qualify for a more lucrative job by taking courses at a community college. She fails all but one course, that one obvious for a hairdresser who is the automatic recipient of her clients' secrets - journalism. Bubbles dabbles in free-lance reporting and is called out by her former lecturer Mr. Salvo, night editor of the local newspaper, the News-Times, to cover the story involving a potential suicide who is threatening to jump off a bridge. Steve Stiletto, who is in town only temporarily, is assigned as the photographer to cover the story with Bubbles. After they leave the scene they come across a dead body then find a drunken socialite who has apparently been responsible for the corpse. Bubbles ties the incident to the purported suicide of a high school girl who had come to her for a hairdo some ten years previously. Despite the husband of the socialite, the most powerful man in the town, attempting to prevent Bubbles' investigation by all means at his command, up to and including murder, Bubbles doggedly pursues her search for the truth about the decade old death, which she considers suspicious.
The aforementioned similarities to the work of Janet Evanovich notwithstanding,
the book is not a clone of that writer's novels. There is a darker feel
to this work, dealing, as it does, with the authority one man in a totally
powerful position as the largest employer in a community can wield. The
humour, too, is not quite of the same standard as that of the other author.
Nonetheless, the plotting is excellent and the puzzle well thought out.
The writing, too is very good despite there not being much depth of characterisation.
The comparisons I have drawn are really inevitable but readers should approach
this oeuvre with an open mind. No fair-minded reader can claim it is other
than an enjoyable frolic. Should Strohmeyer's projected second mystery,
Bubbles
Befuddled, eventuate, I anticipate reading it with pleasure.
BUBBLES IN TROUBLE
by Sarah Strohmeyer
ISBN 0-7472-6994-7
276 pages
Headline
August 8 2002
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Wels
Given the large readership and immense popularity of the work of Janet Evanovich, it is unsurprising that award winning Sarah Strohmeyer has garnered an admiring following, largely from the ranks of the society of Evanovich admirers. Strohmeyer admits that when she was a journalist interviewing the creator of Stephanie Plum, she was inspired by Evanovich to create her own intrepid protagonist, Bubbles Yablonsky. Evanovich had been kind enough to suggest the title of Sarah Strohmeyer's first foray into humorous mystery fiction although her first book, Barbie Unbound,: A Parody of the Barbie Obsession an exposé of the Barbie myth, had already met with success.
Bubbles has a dual profession, unlike Evanovich's Stephanie Plum who, although formerly an underwear saleswoman now occupies her professional life solely in the pursuit of mostly minor malefactors as a bountyhunter, albeit an inept one. Bubbles sought a more financially rewarding profession than that of beautician and eventually studied a journalism course. Her first successful investigation dealt with her misadventures in Bubbles Unbound. Now the mother of adolescent Jane (shades of Joan Hess' Claire Malloy) is feeling far more confident to solve mysteries. Her friend Mickey is to marry Janice, she of the mysterious and undivulged background. Bubbles is to attend Janice as her maid of honour, wearing an unbelievably tacky Bo Peep costume. To the horror of all concerned, Janice, the blushing bride-to-be, does not show up accompanied by her uncle, Elwood. Bubbles, who, somehow, finds herself blamed by various assembled friends, for the non-appearance of Janice, goes to Elwood's home only to discover the first of the corpses, that of the late lamented uncle.
It soon comes to light that Janice's real name is Elspeth and she belongs to an Amish community. Bubbles, with the cooperation of her sometime editor and some members of a family in the Amish community, goes to stay in the village. Her mother Lulu, despite her inappropriate size and shape, is currently aping the clothing and manner of Jackie O, and decides she must be a part of the new Bubbles adventure, so she and her friend, the intimidating Genevieve, take up lodgings in the vicinity.
Bubbles has been lumbered with the presence of her unpleasant former husband, Dan ( who prefers to be called Chip), a lawyer who, like Strohmeyer's own husband, has been put through law school by his wife. Unlike Ms Strohmeyer's spouse, Bubbles' ex is exceedingly ungrateful and unpleasant. having welched on his responsibility for paying for Bubbles' own education. Not only that, he has taken it upon himself to attempt to break up the promising relationship between Bubbles and Ranger-like (for readers who are unfamiliar with Ranger, he is an enigmatic, heroic, romantic figure to be found in the Evanovich books) photographer Steve Stiletto.
There is a plethora of villains in this novel. Bubbles attempts to fit in with the Amish family with whom she is staying and, naturally, her attempts to 'help' the family backfire in comedic grandeur. She is, of course, called upon to use her hairdressing skills as she attempts to uncover those responsible for the corpses. She encounters ingenuous Amish lads, drug soaked garage attendants and a geriatric racing car driver while pursuing the villains.
Those aficionados of Janet Evanovich's work will no doubt be enraptured by Bubbles' further adventures. Strohmeyer is a clever writer with some talent for the comic, although it is possible to detect perhaps a greater depth but less humour in her tales compared with the adventures of Stephanie Plum. I was pleased to note that there were fewer of the annoying 'recipes' at the end of various chapters than in the first novel, which I felt interrupted the action and flow of the narrative.It would probably be fair to say that Strohmeyer has not yet exhausted the humorous capabilities of the death defying mother of Jane. Perhaps she will secure the future of Bubbles with her own personal Tarzan, Stiletto, in future books. Or perhaps not.
THE DECOY
by Tony Strong
Doubleday
ISBN 0-385-60228-6
$30.45
July 6 2001
reviewed by Denise Wels
Successful British (despite being born in Uganda) advertising executive Tony Strong has heretofore had two excellent novels, The Poison Tree and The Death Pit to his credit. Unlike the two previous books, The Decoy is not part of a series (if two books revolving around the same character can be so described), nor is it set, as were the other two, in England, but, for the most part, in Manhattan. Like its predecessors, however, it contains graphic scenes of cruelty, violence and explicit sex. Be warned, Gentle Reader, if you are of a squeamish nature (and I admit to being a notorious squeam) you will of necessity find yourself skipping some passages. Despite this, the overall story does make perseverance pay off.
Claire Rodenberg is a British citizen who has overstayed her visa while visiting New York. She has very little money and no green card so is forced to work in menial jobs while studying acting. She has displayed great talent as an actress and has been recommended to a former actor as a possible employee. The actor, Henry Mallory, has set himself up as a private investigator and is using girls such as Claire as decoys in divorce cases to trap husbands who stray.
The actress has a great aptitude for this kind of role and is asked by his wife to find out if Christian Vogler is being unfaithful. Claire decides he is not but is horrified soon thereafter to hear that Vogler's wife has been found murdered. Claire is then asked by the police to act as a decoy since they think Christian has murdered his wife.
In his acknowledgments, the author says his book was inspired by a real life tragedy, the murder in 1997 of Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common. A decoy operation was used to attempt to solve that crime.
The body count in The Decoy mounts frighteningly as Claire becomes swept up in the murderous activities of the baddies. She, as well as the reader, finds herself unable to distinguish between friend and foe. In seeking to fulfil her task she must visit pornographic and necrophiliac sites on the Internet against the background of poems by Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du Mal. Then it appears that an undertaker could be providing extra work for his employers. Very thoughtful of him.
There are shocks and twists a-plenty in this narrative. I could have done without the detailed descriptions of grue and body parts but, this having been said, it is a masterly tale as a result of excellent research. If I can perfect the art of skipping over the puddles of blood without letting it splash my psyche, I shall certainly read Strong's next book.
SASSO
by James Sturz
Century London
ISBN 07126-6979-5
$27.95
April 6 2001
reviewed by Denise Wels
Sasso is a first novel by a freelance journalist, James Sturz. Sturz taught English in Italy and in his writing specialises in Italian subjects so it is reasonable to assume his novel contains much that is authentic about Italian culture. In his acknowledgments, the author divulges the fact that his fictional city of Mancanzano is based on the Italian city of Matera, sharing its geographical location as well as its sassi, after which the book is named.
The book begins with a motley team of 'experts' being sent to Mancanzano after the bodies of two teenagers are found in a sasso, or cave. The duo have chewed on the soft rock, or tufa, of the walls of the sasso and have thus uncovered frescoes presumably painted by the Benedictines who once lived in the area.
The story is told in the first person by an unnamed American anthropologist who leaves his pregnant girl friend in New York in order to be part of the expedition.
The sassi of the title had been used by city dwellers as homes. They had been hollowed out as necessary to cope with expanding families. Mussolini caused many of them to be demolished during his rule but some of the troglodytes escaped detection and gradually more have drifted back to them and some of the sassi are being used by the local teenagers as trysting places.
There are further discoveries of paired teenager deaths. Canine corpses, drained of blood, also come to light as do frescoes underneath those originally discovered. Major Luigi Martella of the carabinieri while nominally in charge of solving the crime (and perhaps preventing further deaths) seems more intent on accumulating gifts from the townsfolk and intimidating the foreigners than discovering the reasons for the epidemic of dying. A charming sidelight portrays a suicidal dog.
The tale meanders in almost Kafka-esque style. The experts find themselves imprisoned by their own determination within the city as the time approaches when the narrating anthropologist should be back in New York for the birth of his child.
The mystery of the deaths is eventually solved but more as a by-product of the main story of the devolution of the experts.
I would not call the book a thriller. It is more a portrait of the city and its inhabitants. To my Australian mind, while the story was well-written, in places the prose seemed stilted and I had to re-read passages in order to grasp their true meaning; probably a fault in my American to Australian translation. I wonder if Sturz has further novels in mind. Perhaps he'll decide this one was sufficiently unsettling for an entire career.
Anthony Swofford caused quite a stir when his memoir, JARHEAD, was released. He was a jarhead, a marine, in the first Gulf War and his book not only opened eyes, but shocked readers. EXIT A marks his debut in fiction although it draws on his personal experience of being an army brat, a shared experience with his two protagonists, Virginia Sachiko Kindwall and Severin Boxx.
General Kindwall is the base commander of Yokota Air Base, the camp where Severin's father is a colonel. He is also the football coach of the team in which Severin is a promising player. Severin, in common with most of the young men of the camp, is in love with Virginia Sachiko (Happy Child) but, unlike the rest, is selected by her to accompany her on an outing.
Virginia is idolised by her father but he (his wife, Virginia's Japanese mother, is dead) places impossible restrictions and goals on her. Virginia revolts in what she perceives is the only possible way. She befriends a petty criminal who at first indoctrinates her into minor criminal behaviour, robbing convenience stores, but has something larger waiting for her.
Severin declines the opportunity to accompany Virginia on one of her holdups and when she turns to the larger crime brokered by Silver, the man who issued orders mandating her crimes, contacts police in an effort to save her. Instead, Virginia is imprisoned and Severin is sent back to the US. All this happens in 1989.
In 1995 Virginia, now the mother of a daughter to one of her guards, his career ruined through his indiscretion, is released. She is determined to make a good life for her daughter, Hideko, and herself.
In the US, Severin has married, although he never forgets Virginia. His marriage is in trouble, his wife is desperately hurt when she learns of Severin's earlier adventures. When General Kindwall, now in Vietnam but dying of cancer, begs him to look for Virginia, Severin accepts.
The lure of the book lies, perhaps, predominantly with the factual rather than the fictional. The glimpse the author gives us of the Japanese way of life is charming and the insight into the life of army brats is absorbing. The tale of revolt by an over-governed child is predictable to an extent but beyond that limit is somewhat horrifying.
Severin's character is both interesting and distressing. He is unused to rebelliousness but is fascinated at the same time, determined on the redemption of Virginia, literally marked for life by his adventure with her and unable to fashion a satisfactory life without her. The characterisation of Virginia is less convincing, her rebellion more formulaic than revolutionary.
Whether the plaudits the author received for JARHEAD will be
repeated for Swofford's fiction debut remains to be seen. All told, however,
EXIT
A is an interesting outing.