Night Vision

I raved about Paul Levine’s first book in the Jake Lassiter series, To Speak for the Dead. I thought he had done a good job developing the protagonist, Lassiter, an attorney in Miami. Lassiter is an unconventional and irreverent guy who tells stupid stories when he is in the midst of great stress. I did not feel so strongly positive about the second book, Night Vision. As a psychiatrist, perhaps I’m too sensitive when the bad guy is in my profession. I’ve seen so many books and movies where psychiatrists were badly portrayed, and I can’t imagine a more deranged character than this British one, Dr. Pamela Maxson, a beautiful, intelligent psychopath. As the book approaches the end, the death of Dr. Maxson is tortuous and laughable. It was over the top and she climbed up a drawbridge only to lose her grip and fall 300 feet into the machinery that operated the bridge. Oh well. I may give Levine another chance, but I have a long reading queue and it might take me a while to get there.

The Sorcerer's Stone

I’m not going to review Harry Potter, the stories are so well known and loved, but I’ve been reading the novels for the first time. When the first book came out in 1997, my kids no longer needed me to read to them. One of my daughters immediately fell in love with the stories, but I was too busy and not interested enough to dive into the books at that time. I’ve never even seen a Harry Potter movie. But now I have a second chance. My 7 yo grandson, Cruise, is into these stories. I’m visiting him in Mexico and now have the chance to read to him at night. I quickly consumed the first book, The Sorcerer’s Stone, just to catch up to where his parents and Cruise had gotten, so now were part way through The Chamber of Secrets. I’m loving this. There are great characters with great adventures – very clear good guys and evil ones. Enough said. If you’ve already had the pleasure of these stories, you know what I mean. If you haven’t read these J.K. Rowling stories, then you have no idea what you’re missing.

Running Against the Devil

Warning: Out of Genre

If you’re a diehard Trumpster, read no farther – you won’t like this book.

Rick Wilson is a lifelong conservative Republican who is also a Never Trumper. He makes appearances on MSNBC, and before Trump, he traveled in elite Republican company, as an election adviser who successfully defeated many Democrats. His latest book, Running Against the Devil, does two things. First, it describes what having Trump in the White House would look like – a very scary prospect in which Trump is unchecked as he continues the destruction of our democratic institutions. Second, it describes how one would win the upcoming election, which will still be close. Trump has a bottomless war chest and some smart (unlike himself) people who will work tirelessly on his behalf. Wilson’s focus is on the Electoral College and what must be done to win there, not in the popular vote.

It’s worth reading, or at least skimming. Near the end, Wilson writes, “Well? How about it? You’re in a bar fight with bikers, not a fucking Princeton debating society. You gonna pick up the axe handle and start swinging, or you gonna try to win based on a 600-page healthcare plan.?” That quote captures the tone of this book.

The Crow's Nest

This is my first novel by Richard Meredith, and I’m not sure that he has taken on such a genre before this one, but he has written one can’t-put-it-down adventure. One of his reviewers wrote that this story, The Crow’s Nest, was a mixture of Don Winslow and Clive Cussler, and I fully agree with that high praise.

Captain Jonny was driving one of a a fleet of crude submarines from Columbia to northern Baja where he was delivering pure cocaine which was intended for sale in the U.S. The street value of this shipment was about $125 million. It was the second such delivery Jonny was making over the course of a month. But, Jonny had a plan of how to capture the cargo for himself rather than deliver it to La Hermandad – the Brotherhood, who controlled the border territory East of Tijuana. Drug wars had led to various cartels controlling various patches of territory, and there was always a threat of one of the cartels making a move on another. Jonny scuttled the sub and released the contraband in 50 bales of material which were designed to float about 75 feet below the surface while sending to those who were there to collect the material for a specific retailer.

La Hermandad was ruthlessly run by El Cuervo, the Raven, and his enforcer was El Baracuda, or just Cuda. A huge and deadly man who frightened everyone who met him. Meanwhile, there was a tuna fleet which Cuervo had purchased in order to launder his money, but when the sub went missing, Cuervo sent his nearest tuna boat to protect the submerged stash so it wouldn’t end up in the wrong hands before he could collect it. Cuda was on the way to handle all the dirty work that would happen. The assistant to the chief engineer Chase Brenner who lived in San Diego where his wife Maria and t of here children were desperately missing Chase who had been gone for 90 days on a tuna fishing trip. But, the boat was almost full of tuna and the crew was ready to head home when they got the word they would be delayed when the skipper was ordered to protect the sunken cargo. Chase and Maria were the love story part of the novel.

Mr. Meredith has spun a great story with good guys and evil guys. He covered the lives of the tuna crew, the infighting at La Hermandad, and the possibility of being taken over by a rival cartel. The plot development was excellent and he brought this story about with rich characters. This book gets a five-star rating and I can only  hope for more stories from Richard Meredith.

Death of a Messanger

I had already read the second and third books of this series, Off the Grid and Fire and Vengeance, and this is the first one of the series, Death of a Messenger. Given that I’ve read all three of Robert McCaw’s books about Koa Kane, the Chief of Detectives on the big island of Hawaii, you should guess that I really like his story telling. So, this is a really a review of the entire series as much as it is about his first novel (which I liked as much as the other two). Koa Kane is a marvelous protagonist.

I think there’s a fine line between a good story line in a murder mystery and one that is just too complex. On the other hand, if it’s too simple, then what’s the point of reading about it? For example, I’ve not liked the classic spy novelist John Le Carre because the plot twists, shifting alliances, and cascade of characters are just too much to enjoyably follow. So, McCaw does not take you off the rails in an attempt to impress you with how clever he is. On the other hand, there are multiple suspects that one must sort through, and there are plot unexpected plot twists. McCaw knows how to ride the fine line to create a spellbinding story.

This books open with Koa riding a helicopter to investigate a murder, a body having been found in the saddle between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, in the Pohakuloa Training Area, an army reservation. The mutilated and decomposed body was found in a lava tube where lava once flowed. It looked like the killing might have been a ritualistic event. Koa was also struggling with significant neck pain due to a pinched nerve that was soon going to need surgical attention, a procedure that caused Koa great anxiety.

McCaw surrounded Koa with a cast of characters, most importantly his much younger and beautiful girlfriend Nalani who is currently working at the observatory which has the world’s largest optical telescope, but she is hoping to get a job in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The possibilities of who could have committed the murder included a group of grave robbers who trafficked in antique treasures, an old drunken helicopter pilot Skeeter Slade, Charlie Harper who was a serial sexual harasser and an insanely jealous husband, Prince Kamehameha who was the descendant of the last royal king of the islands, and Aikue Opua who was a nuisance Hawaiian activist who wanted the islands declared independent of the U.S. Koa must deal with some incompetents including his boss who is politically motivated and the obstetrician who serves as the island’s coroner.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope that McCaw is planning more adventures of Koa and Nalani.

Fair Warning by Michael Conelly

Remember reporter Jack McEvoy from The Scarecrow in 2009 and The Poet in 1996?  You do if you are a Michael Connelly nerd like me.  McEvoy returns in Fair Warning, the namesake of his employer, and the name of a consumer watch website.  Jack is restless as a consumer advocate reporter and haphazardly stumbles upon a murder investigation.  The murder was of Tina Portrero, a woman he had briefly dated a year earlier.  He is drawn into the investigation because the police interview him as a person of interest.  But further sleuthing leads him to a story about DNA being collected by ancestry type companies who self-regulate and sell their data to anyone interested, including men in involuntary celibate (Incel) groups who hate women to the point of violence and murder.  Jack engages his former love interest and former FBI profiler, Rachel Waller to help in his investigation.  They’re stirring of the pot soon brings the perpetrators out in the open and all involved in or with knowledge of the diabolical scheme become targets including Jack and Rachel.

Michael Connelly proves again he doesn’t need his beloved Harry Bosch as his protagonist to write a great story.  His ability to highlight his characters’ flaws yet compel the reader to love them anyway, comes through in his latest thriller… great entertainment.  Hope we don’t need to wait ten years for more.

Half Moon Bay by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman

Half Moon Bay is the third installment of the father and son team series featuring Alameda County Coroner Clay Edison.  Clay is working the graveyard shift to best participate in the care of his newborn without disrupting his wife’s work schedule.  In his capacity as Deputy Coroner, Clay is called to a local park on the Berkley UC campus where the decade old remains of a baby is found.  To complicate his work, protestors in true Berkley tradition are demonstrating against building within the park.

Clay’s investigation leads him in two directions.  One in following the clues to identify the body and relatives of the dead child and one from a local man who thinks the corpse could be his long lost sister.  Clay becomes entranced by both paths and methodically follows the vaguest of clues to conclusion.

It is hard not to compare Clay Edison to Alex Delaware from Jonathan Kellerman’s mainstay series.  They both have that intelligence and tenacity that make them follow the most subtle clues.  The pacing and building of suspense is classic Kellerman.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced look.