Act of Fate by John Bishop

Act of Fate is the fifth novel in the Doc Brady mystery series. All of them are winners, but I might just like this one the best. As a physician myself, its my opinion that Bishop knows how to capture the hospital scene and personnel, and his medical dramas are real-to-life. His use of the science of medicine is spot on. In this book, his beloved wife Mary Louise is in the wrong place at the wrong time. She has a severe auto accident that results in multiple fractures and massive head trauma. She is left in a coma and her survival is in doubt. Meanwhile, there is drama among the hospital staff (doctors, nurses, ward clerks). 

Nearly emotionally paralyzed by the possible loss of his wife, Brady finds himself unable to see patients in his orthopedic practice, and he finds an excuse to be of help to a detective with the Houston Police Department, Susan Beeson, who just happens to be Mary Louise’s best friend. They work together on solving the case of a doctor’s wife who was murdered about the same time as Mary Louise was in her accident. The cases seem to have some things in common besides the timing of the murder and the accident. The murdered woman is the only daughter of a wealthy Houston philanthropist, so the pressure is intense on Detective Beeson to reach a quick conclusion to her investigation.

 

In short, the unfolding of this plot is very well written. It will be obvious once you’re read it why the ending to the story literally brought me to tears, something that most novels do not do to me. The characters are all compelling and believable, some good guys, some very bad ones. 

At the end of the book, there’s a teaser for the sixth book in the series, and I can hardly wait to get my hands on that one.

Fox Creek by William Kent Krueger

Krueger returns to his 'roots' with another (19th!) Cork O'Connor mystery . . . sort of.

As you may recall, O'Connor is half Ojibwe from the lands surrounding Lake Superior. He did a stint as a Chicago cop and returned to northern Minnesota to become sheriff. He's retired now and fills his time as a cook for a local burger/dog joint for tourists and locals alike as well as starting up a private investigation practice. He's a grandfather, has remarried to Rainy, is still very close to his mentor/healer Henry Meloux, and watches over his brood and those important to him. 

Stranger comes into town. Stops in the burger stand. Asking around about his wife, Delores. He said they've been having some 'issues' and that she was heading up this way to meet up with an Ojibwe healer goes by the name of Henry Meloux. Cork says he'll check around, but doesn't see a 'case' here. 

But he still makes the trek out to see Henry, now at around 100 yrs old, but still sharp as a tack, still living alone in his cabin, still out walking the Boundary Waters area almost daily. Yes, Delores has been to see Henry. In fact, she's taking a sweat right then with Cork's wife. When questioned, Cork learns that the man asking is an imposter and she's no idea why anyone would be looking for her. When he returns to town, he learns that more than one man is asking about Delores.

So, who's Delores? She lives in the Minneapolis area. Married to an Ojibwe (who has sort of rejected his heritage) who practices mostly commercial/real estate law. Does a lot of work in Canada. Yes, they've been having problems. Yes, she sought out Henry to help her find her way. She was prompted to find Henry when her husband went to Canada on business and hasn't returned. 

Lots of reasons why that might've happened. But a few more questions and an altercation convince Cork that this is way more than a domestic squabble. It might even be deadly. With that in mind, Henry takes Delores and Cork's wife into the Boundary Waters wilderness to put some distance between them and those trying to find Delores. 

All that happens in the first quarter of the book. From here on, the story focuses on Henry, Delores, and Rainy's path through the wilderness as they attempt to elude those after Delores. Thing is that the guys looking for Delores have their own Native who's sole purpose for this job is to track Henry's wandering in the woods. So we have Henry in the lead, 'The Wolf' and several creeps tracking them with Cork tracking The Wolf et al. Weather impacts the local authorities from participating via off road vehicles or through the air.

One of the things I really liked about this book was the 'deep dive' into the Ojibwe culture. Much more than what Krueger's done in the past. This book really is about Henry. And it's flat out terrific. One of the things I learned while reading this is that Anne, the daughter of the late great Tony Hillerman (who based his stories in the 4-corners area of the southwest and featured a couple Navajo tribal policemen) appears to have her father's storytelling gift and is continuing his story lines.  Since she started in 2014, she's published 7 or 8 books that I'll soon be diving into. How did I miss her entry into writing?

Atria Books turned me on to Krueger some time ago. While I've not read all the Cork O'Connor books, I've read a bunch. When I'm in read of a quality mystery, I head to the library for an O'Connor book. Krueger also writes standalone novels. One of which, Ordinary Grace (reviewed by us), is one of the very best novels I've ever read. And it won the 2014 Edgar Award for Best Novel (think of that as fiction's version of Best Picture). Not many better at telling a compelling story than Krueger. Don't just focus on the mainstream titles in the grocery story rack. Pick up any book by Krueger. You can't go wrong and won't regret it. 

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy. Due to be released August 23. 2022.

ECD

Belinda by Mark Zvonkovic

Belinda is primarily a story about a beautiful and aging successful lawyer, Belinda “Lyn” Larkin who works in a well-established Houston law firm. Lyn never married and had always been satisfied with being married to her job. But her retirement age was approaching and she found herself, for the first time, less interested in her work. 

 

She had one major deal to close out when she got an unexpected call from a former love, Jay Jackson. Unbeknown to Lyn, Jay was a former spy for the CIA who had used being a lawyer as his cover. He was out to get even with a French man for killing Jay’s former mentor. But, it is hard to retire from one’s past as a spy which brought complications to his renewed relationship with Lyn. At the same time, the oil deal Lyn wanted to help close was complicated by people who did not really understand the oil business, and by Patrick Brashner who was a partner in one of the firms that was trying to close the deal. This is a well-chosen name for the character who was brash beyond words. He claimed to be representing both sides in the deal which Lyn understood to be a conflict of interest. 

 

It turned out that Brashner needed to the deal to close so he could get his money that he needed to pay for costly renovations on one of his properties. He was antagonistic and obnoxious, and it just so happens he was a misogynist of a severe degree. He did not realize that it was a junior lawyer in the firm he was trying to bamboozle that he chose to rape. She did all the right things and by the end of the book, it was clear that Brashner was headed down the tubes. 

 

The love story between Lyn and Jay seemed to be headed in a good direction, but there were some ambiguities that probably require a follow-up novel to bring all the subplots to a final resolution. This is a good story, one that you’re bound to find entertaining. This is the third novel in a three-book series, but it is adequately a stand-alone work. Check it out.

 

WCD

 

Blackout by Simon Scarrow

Blackout is an excellent WWII historical fiction novel which takes place in December 1939 in Berlin. Simon Scarrow is a prolific author of historical fiction novels, but this is the first one reviewed in this blog. By December of 1939, Hitler had already invaded Poland, therefore breaking the Munich Agreement between the English Prime Minister Chamberlain and Hitler regarding nonagression. While the Nazi forces were working to subdue the captured Poles, Berlin was struggling with the new Nazi Party, the changes that were happening in the country, the cold winter, and all the food and fuel shortages. In the midst of this disorganization of Germany, a series of murders were occuring along the Berlin railways.

The protagonist was Criminal Inspector Schenke, who importantly was not a member of the Nazi Party. He argued that he was a professional police officer who worked to keep the citizens safe and he had no interest in a party affiliation. The title of the book has to do with Berlin being in blackout mode every night, and that allowed all types of criminal activity to go on during the long cold nights. Schenke actually worked for Kripo, a group of highly professional investigators, but the usual police officers were gradually coming under the control of the Gestapo, led by Heinrich Himmler and his deputy Richard Heydrich. Himmler had formed the SS which gradually began to dominate all forms of law enforcement within Germany.

The Nazi party seemed to have an unexpected interest in this case and began putting unusual pressure on Schenke with regard to his findings. Meanwhile, the death toll was mounting. Women were being sexually assaulted and murdered. The method of murder was very specific, and despite the Nazi interference Schenke kept following the evidence. The one of the assaulted women got away after having wounded her assailant, but since she was a Jewess, her credibility was immediately devalued. Another party official said, “A Jewess?... How can we trust the word of a Jew…. You might as well trust a pack of rats.” When Schenke said she had not given him any reason to believe she was lying, Muller said, “Of course not. They’re far too crafty for that.” Certainly, the disregard and mistreatment of the Jews left his reader very uncomfortable.

In short, the characters of the police, the victims, and the Nazis were all well described and believable. I did not see the conclusion coming until it was on top of me. The writing is excellent and compelling. The historical fiction aspect only added to the drama. The ending was appropriate to the historical setting, but one that was otherwise unsettling. This story gets my strongest recommendation.

 

WCD 

Cold Snap by Marc Cameron

Cold Snap is the fourth in Marc Cameron’s Arliss Cutter series. ECD and I have read both of those books which were reviewed very favorably. His first book was Open Carry, the second Stone Cross, and the third Bone Rattle. Cutter is a US Marshall Army Ranger who has transferred from his base in Florida to Alaska to help out his sister-in-law following the apparent accidental death of his older brother. He is helping her raise twin boys and a hard-to-get-along-with teenage daughter.

 

Just as in Bone Rattle, his junior partner is Deputy Lola Teariki, a much younger woman who is a native of the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. She is a fitness freak and is capable of handling her own with nearly any man she encounters. She and Cutter have formed a meaningful Platonic relationship. In the beginning, Arliss has bordered a Russian ship which had previously been tagged as being a rogue, having not paid fines to the US, and leaving Cutter with the paperwork to impound the boat. On board, they find 300 French bulldogs which the captain has purchased for $100 from puppy mills in Russia, and which he can sell for $1,500 a piece. The Captain is none too happy about the seizure, and the State Department is none to happy that is forced to deal with 300 needy puppies. 

 

This book consists of two mysteries. Meanwhile back in Anchorage, evidence of a serial killer is being found. Body parts from different people are washing up on the shores, but the parts are not identifiable because they consist of torsos and other amputated parts. Apparently, the victims were women with few meaningful social connections, such as prostitutes, who are not missed for days at a time. Although the police are playing down the suggestion of a serial killer, the press has gotten wind of that – it has become the news story of the moment and the local population is terrified.

 

On a sudden assignment, Lola was sent to the north shore of Alaska, “the slope,” but that would cause her to miss a medical appointment, so Cutter volunteered to go in her place. She was expected to transport a prisoner back to Fairbanks. There was an urgent matter of the weather since a vicious storm was about to move in off the Bering Sea. Meanwhile, one prisoner became four. There should have been no trouble making the transport to Fairbanks, But, one of the new prisoners turned out to be the pilot who was supposed to fly Cutter back to Fairbanks, so other arrangements had to be made. The three new men were all severe sociopaths who were determined not to return to prison, and as the story evolved, there was a connection between one of them and the serial killer that was operating in Anchorage. Once they were all in the air, the storm struck with a vengeance. The troubles that developed and the solutions to it were incredible.

 

Cameron weaved the stories together in a masterful way. Cutter is a classic detective character, and he and Lola play off each other very nicely. The more peripheral character to this story include Mim, the widow of Cutter’s deceased brother, her three children, as well as the hierarchy of several law enforcement agencies that all became involved in the chase. Then, there’s the climate researcher from University of Alaska, Fairbanks and her graduate assistants that were holed up in a remote cabin who become entwined in the drama.

 

That’s enough to entice you towards this very captivating novel. Since there’s one novel of this series about Arliss Cutter that I’ve missed, I did find Stone Cross in the Amazon Kindle Store, and I’ll get to that one as soon as I can.

 

WCD

Child Zero by Chris Holm

 Child Zero takes place in the not-too-distant future . . . 2028 or thereabouts. Bacterial infections are running amok they become resistant to the wide spectrum of antibiotics. Millions are dying. It doesn't help that some biological hackers let loose the Harbringer Virus that has yet to be contained. In NYC, the city has set up Park City in Central Park. A tent city for the sickest of its inhabitants. Attempting to keep the populace healthy and distinct from the infirm, the federal government set up a new cabinet post called the Department of Biological Security (DBE) and gave it unprecedented leeway to carry out questionable mandates. Then there are the EndTimers, a loose pack of crazies intent on helping humanity rush headlong towards its eventual destruction. 

Jake Gibson is a NYPD detective and partner with Amy, an American-Muslim and all-around good detective. He is a former military medic. Single father to 4.5 yo Zoe. His wife died at the onset of the pandemics. He was dating Hannah, a general surgeon in the City, but he got morose one too many times with her and he broke things off. Jake and Amy catch a floater in Hell's Kitchen. But Zoe is sick so his local source for childcare refuses him so Jack calls on Hannah. 

Jake and Amy check out the corpse who must've been an escapee from Park City so that's where the investigation starts. Upon arrival, they encounter a heavy DBS presence - too heavy for what appears to be just a bonfire by the residents. Getting closer to the pyre, they see that the fuel isn't wood. The onsite rep from the coroner's office tells Jake and Amy that none of the victims bear the markings of any illness - murder, yes. Illness, no. Their tents have been tossed. Looks like someone got past security and committed the atrocity, looking for something or someone. In particular, an illegal immigrant kid named Mat and his Uncle Gabriel. Why? Because Mat's not sick. Never has been. Back home. In the USA. Never so much as a sniffle.

Using security footage from nearby retail shops, they find the entry point, question the guard (Jake has a way of going old-school when those skills seem apropos), get the guard's DBS contact and follow that agent to an abandoned building in an attempt to find Mat. As they approach the building, they hear shots and run to see what's happening . . . and the building explodes killing Gabriel and setting Mat on the run. Jake sees this kid on the run and grabs him. One hand on Mat, other on his gun, and John Q Public with a camera phone. Not long before the video is uploaded, Jake's boss sees it and promptly suspends Jake (and Amy). 

NYC has a mess on their hands. Dozen's murdered and used as fuel for a massive bonfire. All the squatters killed in that explosion. And now Jake, Amy, and Mat are on the run trying to see how it's al connected while staying hidden within a city littered with CTV camera everywhere no one to trust. The PD want them based on the explosion and rough handling of a 12yo latino boy. The Feds want them because the Feds have jurisdiction over Park City. The EndTimers want them because . . . well, because they are crazy. 

While it should be pretty obvious that there is something really unique about Mat, why so many different authorities want him is murky. That means Holm has dreamed up a plot with two main points: Mat's uniqueness and who stands to benefit if and when he gets caught. 

And therein is the crux of the matter. Two cops and a kid (plus a surgeon and Jake's 4.5 yo daughter) manage to stay ahead of the full power and reach of the DBS and the NYPD (and various other secondary groups). And while that might sound a bit too much for the garden variety reader of medical thrillers, trust me when I say that Holm is quite adept at stringing us along by revealing the minutest of clues to keep the plot rolling and us reading. 

But I will say that I had to work a bit at following the story in the first few chapters. Maybe 10% of the book. Once I got past that, Holm has us sprinting all over and under NYC toward a conclusion that some might say, "saw that coming" or, "if that story every happened and it became public . . . " Either way, as breakneck paced medical mysteries go, this one's worth it. 

Holm always wanted to be on the front lines of viral detection for the CDC. Was in the PhD program in microbiology at UVa, but quit when his penchant for storytelling overcame his interest in diseases. He has about six other novels (one, The Killing Kind, reviewed by us) in two distinct series. Makes me wonder it Jake Gibson will be reappearing. 

Child Zero is to be published the week of May 9, 2022.

ECD

The Fall of the House of FIFA by David Conn

 If I were to say that my latest read was about  political intrigue, bribery, embezzlement and power you might think it was an historical novel about the results of familial infighting amongst a ruling family in some far away country.

And you'd be wrong.

This book is about political intrigue, bribery, embezzlement and power within the governing body of a sport. And not just any sport. THE sport. The biggest in the world. Football (soccer for the unenlightened). 

Better known as The Beautiful Game, its governance began in some English tavern mostly to codify a common set of rules, mid 19th century. As the game spread to more countries, an organization was set up to arrange matches between nations, early 20th century. The birth of FIFA, the Federation Internationale de Football Associations. 

The early years, FIFA was a small-time operation run from a 2-room office in Paris with just a couple employees. As the game started to spread beyond its European base (and to deal with the hangover post WWI), FIFA moved to neutral, and tax friendly Switzerland and set up shop in Zurich. By now, South American countries were members, and then Central America. Asia wanted in. Africa, too. 

FIFA had moved beyond simply facilitating matches between countries. They started a small tournament in the mid 1930s. Held in in Uruguay (with England being noticeably absent; they'd gotten their stiff upper lip a bit too stiff and pulled out in a huff). FIFA held another tournament four years later. In Italy. Then WWII got in the way, but after the war, the tournament returned, in part as a way to use sport as a means to welcome Germany back into the sporting fold. 

Management had to this time been mostly adherent to the Olympic ideal of amateurism, but with new Presidents comes new ideas, including the use of professionals that now dominated play in Europe. Most presidents held the office for 1-2 years, save for the 33 years of Jules Rimet of France (the World Cup trophy is named in his honor) who moved FIFA into being a truly international governing body. The next long timer was Sir Stanley Rous (ENG) who sat at the head of FIFA for 12 years. Interesting that from it's beginning (1904) to the end of Rous' tenure (1974), FIFA had eight presidents. Since 1974, FIFA has had just three presidents: Joao Havelange (1974-1998), Joseph Blatter (1998-2015) and Gianni Infantino (2016-present; there was also a 4-month interim president between Blatter and Infantino). 

Where FIFA started to go off the rails was near then end of Rous' presidency. Havelange was a Brazilian businessman, mostly in shipping (of all things legal and illegal) who had risen up in the Brazilian football hierarchy and 'carefully' managed to win enough votes to win the Presidency beginning right after the hugely popular and highly regarded 1974 World Cup won by GER over NED in a game that featured two of the game's defining players then and for decades to come: Johan Cryuff (NED) and Franz Beckenhauer (GER).

But first, FIFA had to get past the next World Cup in Argentina and its ruling military junta (ARG was awarded the 1978 World Cup before the military coup). This Cup was were the money started to become a big deal, and apparently the military took a big chunk.  

Then Spain (1982) all the way to 2022 in Qatar. The suits at FIFA became less lovers of football and more about business. You see, Havelange had made a lot of promises to the smaller countries (for their vote - FIFA presidents are elected as 1 member 1 vote) and he needed money to fulfill those promises. Corporate sponsors were courted (the first mega sponsor was Coca Cola; today sponsors include, KIA, Hyandai, VISA, Qatar Air, Adidas, and a few others). TV came running . . . with money . . . lots of money. In the last World Cup (2018 Russia), FIFA banked something like $4 billion. But despite the TV, sponsor money, etc. the real behind-the-scenes manipulator was Adidas who has been tied at the hip to FIFA since the company was born. The things they did will curl your hair.

Havelange may not have started the graft most people associate with FIFA, but he sure seemed to have refined the process. Even had a protege to carry on his legacy. Joseph Blater (SUI), his Secretary General, won election in 1998 and stayed in office until he was summarily booted out in 2015 when the extent of corruption was spelled out. 

You see, FIFA was about power (are you surprised?). It was about money (still surprised?). Influence was mightily peddled ('vote for me and I'll make sure you or your federation or your wife or your bratty kid gets some sweet deals'). Not all of that was done by Havelange or Blatter. Some was by their subordinates or other hanger's on wanting to climb FIFA's ladder. 

Lest you think it was just those two. It was widespread amongst national federation presidents and club presidents. Confederation management (FIFA's membership is divided into 6 geographic confederations - The US is in CONCACAF - from Canada to Panama and all those teeny islands). For example, the longtime president of CONCACAF (Jack Warner of Trinidad) would throw his political weight around by delivering all 41 votes as he convinced all the members that each would get more $$$ if they voted as a block. When Warner was kicked out of football, he was best described as a 'gangster.' His #2, Chuck Blazer (USA) was just as bad and when the US DOJ was set to arrest him in a money laundering scheme, he rolled over and wore a wire and the results showed the extent of widespread bribery and vote-buying amongst the FIFA members. Some of the worst instances were for those involved in site selection of future World Cups

FIFAs House of Cards started tumbling down. Started with the arrest of nine individuals attending the FIFA annual meeting in Zurich (2015). The the convoluted tentacles of corruption pulled down the then president of UEFA (the European confederation) and continues to investigate Franz Beckanbauer (for his role in helping Germany getting the votes to host the 2006 World Cup and other voting issues). Not to mention just how the hell did tiny (but rich) Qatar get the votes needed to host the 2022 World Cup (beating out the USA and ENG bids).  Not to mention all the hubbub about their use of foreigners to construct the necessary stadiums in the oppressive Qatari weather. Those an others questions remain under investigation. 

In the end, the World Cup will go off without a hitch. Qatar will look like a middle eastern paradise. And somehow, Germany will find a way to win (that's an ENG joke from the late 90s). Blatter is riding off into the sunset accompanied by lawyers whose billings will no doubt be paid in part by money he obtained as president. 

Here's the thing. Many of the suits at FIFA and other football administrators still wonder what happened. To them (and those in, especially South America, Asia, and Africa), bribery (whoops, make that 'commissions') are a way of life. A way of doing business. Corporations budget for it. Swiss taxes, for crying out loud, have a line on their tax forms for 'commissions' (wink, wink). 

OK now. Full Disclosure here. I worked for FIFA from 2004-2015 in their medical research program (called FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre; F-MARC). That also entailed working in FIFA's educational program doing medical courses around the world, in each of the six confederations. In the grand scheme of FIFAs organizational chart, we were far too low on the food chain to understand what was going on.  Conn presents a lot of names of folks that I met in passing. And I was in Zurich in 2015 that fateful day when the Swiss police and the FBI perp-walked the nine men out of one of Zurich's most prestigious hotels. That's when the extent of corruption became headline news. That also made for some interesting dinner conversations the rest of the week.

Like most any massive corporation, insurance company, government, healthcare network, etc. I see no way to trace each dollar in and where it goes out. Any chance that F-MARC's budget benefited from the way FIFA did business? I've no clue and neither did my colleagues. Based on what's present in this book, I suspect that we were exceedingly distant from what the suits were up to. That kind of shit was/is way above my pay grade. 

But during and after all that happened, I still get asked if the level of corruption was surprising to me. My response was/is something like, 'given the amount of money and prestige involved in FIFA, I would have been more surprised to find out that there was NO corruption." We in sports medicine never saw it. I'm not in denial. I was just way way way too far removed.

David Conn is a journalist for The Guardian and has reported for years on FIFA's pros and cons. 

ECD

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Kruger was a book I found in my Audible library. I think it’s been there for several years, and it might have come with my original subscription. On the other hand, it may have been sent by Atria Books, a subsidiary of Simon & Schuster, and Atria has supplied this blog with one winning novel after another. The book was reviewed in this blog 9 years ago by ECD, and he raved about it. Check out his review because it’s more detailed and complete than this one. I had never even looked at it, but I had already listened to all the other books in my Audible library, and I was desperate to stop listening to news, politics, and current events podcasts. I continue to take long walks with my dog every day, so I needed something to listen to. I had already used up all of my Audible credits, so I gave this one a go.

 

And what a surprise for me – As ECD wrote, this is not a good book, it’s a great book. I’ll make this second review of the novel a short one because I wholeheartedly agree with that description. There are deaths and murders in this book, so technically it is a murder mystery, but it is so much more. Mostly, the story is about a pastor, Nathan Drum, and his family in rural Minnesota. Nathan was a charismatic man who was a devoted Christian. While he often talked of God’s grace and wisdom, he did so with compassion. His style was not preachy. But life was not simple. He had met his wife when his career was headed in a different direction. Both Nathan and Ruth thought he was going to be a lawyer until Nathan heard a different calling, and so a most compelling family story unfolds from there.

 

WCD