What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte

Another recommendation from Charlie Stella and Gonzalo Baeza.

We don't do much non-fiction here at MRB, but when something gets a strong recommendation from a friend of MRB, I'm inclined to check it out. I was actually surprised our library had this book.

This is collection of essays on various topics connected to Appalachia, its geography, heritage, politics, civil (and some no-to civil) disobidence, the 2016 election, life, ills, history, successes, and failures. As well as some of the reasons why this region, so intimately connected to coal, is rightly and wrongly labeled as Trump Country.

In large part, Catte's book is in response to  JD Vance's 2016 Hillbilly Elegy: a Memoir that has been both praised and vilified (and is in preproduction to be directed by Ron Howard. How Hollywood interprets Vance's book should be interesting).

A sociological presentation of a misunderstood region. Those who've read Vance's book probably need to look at another side of the coin.

Fast Falls the Night by Julia Keller

No day in Acker’s Gap, WV is a treat. It’s most well-known for its “notorious clans of petty thieves and lazy liars and mean drunks and nonstop troublemakers living in a daisy chain of dingy trailers.” A less literate sociologist might say it’s a place where “diseases related to cigarettes and whiskey and obesity - and now drugs – has settled into the area like a turkey vulture on a fence post.” 

Raythune County WV.

It’s Belfa Elkins’ home. The help and support from an aging Deputy Sherriff got her into college and then law school in DC. She came home and eventually was elected to be the Raythune Country Prosecutor. Three other women from her law school class have invited her to join their newly formed firm in DC. Something to think about, especially after this particular day.

Midnight out at a Marathon station, a strung-out girl wants to use the restroom. The overnight guy, Danny, knows why, but gives her the key anyway. Happens so often that the owner says to go roust ‘em out if they are in there for more than 20 minutes. He goes to check and finds her on the disgusting floor. Calls 911. A Deputy and the EMS arrive. The girl is alive, but barely. Naloxone doesn’t work so it’s off to the hospital, but she dies before they even get her in the van.

Mexican heroin has infiltrated Raythune county. And this batch is deadly. It’s been cut with carfentanil – a deadly opioid that is 100x more potent than fentanyl, 5000x more potent than heroin, 10,000x more potent than morphine. Don’t even let this stuff touch your skin. And it’s on the streets of Acker’s Gap.

Before the menace is stopped, there will be 33 ODs and 3 deaths . . . in a single 24-hour period.

Keller tells the story of this horrific day from the viewpoints of the main players:

·             Danny, the Marathon station’s overnight attendant.

·             Sally Ann, the short-lived girl in the gas station bathroom.

·             The County Prosecutor’s office: Bell Elkins, (with a long-buried secret), the two Assistant Prosecutors, the office secretary, and Bell’s older sister (with her own secret).

·             EMS tech Molly – African American with a special needs little brother. Like so many in Acker’s Gap, she also has her own secret.

·             Deputy Jake, A WV native, but not from Raythune County. Has the hots for Molly.

·             Paul. Pastor of the local free will church. He and his wife have been shuttled through a few earlier assignments due to a personal weakness of his.

·             Eddie is the caretaker of Paul’s church. Eddie is a vet not recovering well from a brain injury in Afghanistan. And don't forget to pile on the PTSD. Eddie lives in the church basement.

·             Raylene. Early 30s but still looks like she should be getting ready for the prom. Has a 5yo daughter Marla Kay. Raylene is a piece of work working scam after scam. Latest is to hang out in grocery parking lots with Marla Kay and a sign asking for money to help with her child’s cancer treatment. Eddie is Marla Kay’s father and worships the group she walks on, but Raylene keeps Eddie at bay.

·             Plus a few less prominent, but no less important, residents of Acker’s Gap.

I’ll be honest. This is one depressing story. By page 75, I was ready to return this 2017 book to the library. The writing was terrific. No question. A real pro put this together. 

But the story . . . one OD after another mounting up as the day progresses. And so many of those saved by the rapid responses of the EMS are just plain pissed that the naloxone slammed the door shut on their high. You can save ‘em, but they’ll just start looking for their next fix. All ages, all classes. Even the millionaire coal company lawyer wasn’t immune.

But I stuck it out and was richly rewarded. Keller slowly reveals one secret after another that underlies the actions and relationships of the residents.The dogged work of Bell and her office, Deputy Sheriff Jake, and EMS Molly finally end this most tragic day right up until the author presents a cliff hanger in the last paragraph.

Julia Keller, the author, is from Huntington, WV and apparently, something like this actually happened in Huntington sometime in the last 10-15 years. Keller was awarded a Pulitzer Prize during her tenure with the Chicago Tribune. Looks like this is the 7^th Bell Elkins novel. Seeing as how I like books based up and down the Appalachians, I suspect I’ll be paying Bell Elkins another visit. 


Special shout out to Gonzalo Baeza (an FOC - Friend of Charlie Stella) for bringing Keller's name to my attention.

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Traitor by Jonathan de Shalit

Imagine you are a young Israeli naval commander. 1983. You’ve seen strategic initiatives that outline Israel’s plans to control the eastern Mediterranean. And they are disturbing. You think the best chance to change those plans is to convince the Americans to exercise their influence over Israel. So you walk in cold to the US embassy in Rome asking to see an intelligence officer. Your convictions say you are doing the right thing.

But there are hoops to be jumped through and you pass with flying colors. Right upbringing, university degree, military rank, ambitious goals of rising within the halls that establish foreign policy. Your case is passed up the chain and a handler is assigned. Thus begins a fruitful relationship in terms of inside information about Israel and good money for your account.

You become a high valued asset. So high valued that all information about you is very tightly controlled. You are Cobra. Years later, Werner, your first handler and Marlene, his valued aide, head off to retirement. You are turned over to a new handler.

2012-Dresden. Marlene is dying of cancer and confesses her love for Werner to her priest. And some minor tidbits about the existence of Cobra. In a world where the ears for a country’s interest are everywhere, the priest has in the past given information to Israel. The existence of Cobra gets to Tel Aviv and the retired Mossad director, Aharon Levin. January 2013.

Who does he tell? There is a mole. Going on 30 years. Could be anywhere, even the very bureaus who would normally be charged with such investigations. But where is he? With 30 years in, he’s undoubtedly high up and well positioned. Levin approaches the President and a plan is put in place. Levin is to assemble a small team. Really small. Answer only to the President. Completely off the books. A leak about a mole would be devastating. If the word got out, who could then trust Israel? Friend or enemy. Levin’s team has one job: find Cobra. Bring him in. Quietly. Because once Cobra or his handler gets an inkling that his cover is near blown, an extraction will be put in play and Israel will never know the extent of Cobra's treason.

Seemingly insignificant clues are tracked. One in particular shows some promise. A middle-aged artist was carrying on a ‘same time next year’ romance with a Russian translator until she abruptly broke it off. Find her and maybe, just maybe, Cobra’s handler can be narrowed down. But why has the trail detoured to Russia? And an American handler?

This book, originally published in Hebrew in 2015 (and 2018 in English), was written by “a former high-ranking member of the Israeli intelligence community. His books must pass a rigid vetting process including the approval of the Governmental Ministers’ Committee.” Obviously de Shalit is a pseudonym for one with deep insight into espionage. I was checking out another book at the library when my eye drifted to the Recent Acquisitions shelf. I took the bait and the jacket liner set the hook. Four days later - done.

Despite the Mitch Rapps and the Scot Harvaths of the thriller genre, Traitor is probably a more realistic accounting of a serious mole hunt. For those who appreciate the intelligence of Le Carre’s Smiley’s People or Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, de Shalit’s story of manipulation, impersonation, deception, treachery, tradecraft, and dogged pursuit will keep you riveted for hours. De Shalit’s eloquent prose and rich delivery takes you through the minutae of espionage not often seen in modern day thrillers. I wouldn’t pretend to know who else writes so articulately, but de Shalit’s style does reminds me of Olen Steinhauer. 

And of course, of Le Carre. 

P.S. I've mentioned before that it's sometimes a good idea to check out the publisher. I've yet to be disappointed by any book published by Emily Bestler Books. Care to guess who published Traitor? 

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Cold Frame by PT Deutermann

Ken Smith. Average name. a 50^th percentile kind of guy. It was sort of held over his head during an argument with his Metro DC homicide boss when the boss said he was an average cop with an average closing rate. Thus the beginning of his nickname within the force. Av Smith.

After that exchange, he was tasked to the Briar Patch. The Interagency Liason Branch. The ILB. Their job is to make sure that any Metro case that might even by of the most remote interest by any one of the 80+ counter-terrorism agencies gets pushed out of Metro. In the mind of many of the Metro PD suits, it’s the last stop on the way out the door. The cases they handle are called tar babies. Their job is to “Move that tar baby, Detective.”

Av works with 3 other losers (so say the brass). Howie (Mau Mau) Walker: detective who wears a dreadlock wig with outlandish shirts. Mistaken for a pimp more often than a cop. Ditch the wig, add a Brooks Brothers suit and he could be a K St. lobbyist. Sergeant Wong Daddy Bento, who resembles a sumo wrestler without the gut. Famous for stomping his feet when he gets worked up. And Miz Brown. A tall guy with the look of an undertaker who has a knack for getting a confession out of perps by boring them senseless with his longwinded overly pretentious academic presentation of the facts. All supervised by Lt. (Precious) Jackson. That’s her real name.

Francis X. McGavin is a moderately high up skirt chaser within the Dept of Homeland Security. Chasing a colleague he thinks he’s about to reel in. At least until he up and dies right there in the middle of lunch in Georgetown. Not a week later, another career bureaucrat, this time from Treasury, tells a cabbie to stop, exits, and walks right into traffic and gets killed. Both cases are tar babies due to their level within the government. But the cases have to start with Metro PD and eventually end up in Av Smith’s lap for him to ship wherever they should go.

Behind it all sits Carl Mandeville. #2 in the National Security Council. Heads the DMX committee whose task is to draw up a kill list of suspected terrorists. The list gets sent to the President who then starts the process. Pretty good-sized committee what with all the various cabinet departments wanting a finger in the counter terrorism (CT) pie. A few on the committee have begun to question the mission of DMX and have sent out feelers to the Senate to take a look. Like all good committees in the government, DMX’s primary mission is to survive. Meaning Mandeville might need to looking how he can keep such an investigation from getting started.

Aside from the DMX connection of the two deaths, there is no actionable physical evidence of murder. Just a coincidence. And we know how cops don’t believe is a coincidence. Av makes calls to the coroner’s office, various Metro district stations, gets caught in the middle of inquiries from the FBI, CIA, DHS, FPS, and Lord knows how many others in the CT morass. Then there is this secluded billionaire (a Marfan’s case bearing a resemblance to Lurch from The Adams Family) who lives near Great Falls who is somewhat of an expert on plants and how they communicate and protect each other.

Somehow, it all connects in a pretty entertaining police procedural/terrorism story. A dramedy novel. Plenty of action for the testosterone-addicted reader and enough lighthearted nonsense for comedic entertainment. 

Deutermann is an accomplish author with around 15 novels and non-fiction titles to his credit. His years in the military, chiefly with the Joint Chiefs, imparts an air of authority and insider understanding of the inner workings of DC. And he has garnered some awards for his military fiction books. I don’t get the feeling that this book is the start of an Av Smith series, but I could be wrong. 

Great literature? Nah, not the point. Fun read? Oh, yeah. You can count on it.

The Wedding Guest by Jonathan Kellerman

A young woman is found dead in a remote restroom at a downtown L.A. wedding reception.  She has been both injected with a knockout drug and choked with a wire.  No one in the wedding party claims to know the victim so Detective Milo Sturgis and psychologist Alex Delaware must dig deep into each family and into the owners of the building (a former strip club) to find even the scent of a clue.  The sleuths must rely on their vast experience and intuition just to identify the body.  Then their suppositions lead them down many blind allies.  Only their tenacity moves them forward.

This is a very typical Jonathan Kellerman creation.  Number 34 in the series, character development is glossed over.  But the following of educated, almost implausible hunches and suspenseful pacing, for which Kellerman is a master, keep you engaged to the end.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance look.