#1512 The Devil You Know by Chris Hauty

Did you know that each Supreme Court Justice has a protection team (after the most recent confirmation hearings, we shouldn’t be surprised)? Round the clock. Justice Anthony Gibbons lives in Fairfax County, VA. The shift change of the guards has just been done. The day watch is Martin Barnes. Vet, but like all vets, he’s brought back memories better left in hell. He’s been threatened. His family will be tortured beyond comprehension unless he carries out a job. It’s simple. 

Kill Justice Gibbons. Today.

He fights with his inner demons and loses. Strangles Justice Gibbons in the kitchen then turn his service weapon on himself. Media presents it as a cop gone seriously rogue.

Haley Chill’s demons are messing with her too. Back home in nowhere West Virginia for funeral of a school friend who OD’d on opioids. Drowning her misery in tequila shots, she tears up a bar after being hit on by a local. Next day, she awakens to see April Wu sitting in her motel room. Problem is April died (in an earlier book) and now haunts Haley as sort of a ghost of conscious present. And Haley has no recollection of the bar episode last night.

You may recall that Haley Chill is an operative for something called the Deeper State. These are the folks behind so many conspiracy theories. Their goal is to preserve the nation from (mostly) fuckups by elected official. But she’s a mess. In recent books she’s survived a miscarriage, April Wu’s death, the deaths of childhood friends – all instances that have send Haley into a tailspin that ends in the bottom of a bottle.

After the death of Justice Gibbons, the US Marshall’s service has ramped up the Supreme’s protective details. Her Deeper State controller sends Haley to Hawaii where Justice Anita Fisher is vacationing at her vacation home (she’s ‘old money’ wealthy). Haley must don her forged FBI credentials to be an unwelcomed addition to the USMS protective team. Not a bad gig if she’d been welcomed. Haley doesn’t know much about the most recent court appointee. Justice Fisher is not just new, she’s young (mid 40’s), single and due to get married to a best-selling author tomorrow. Small wedding at Justice Fisher’s home, and the USMS says they’ve vetted every invitee and each person working the wedding. It’ll be fine. Unknown to all, Deputy Shaw (the head of Justice Fisher’s USMS team) has received the same phone call Martin Barnes received.

Back up a week or so. A team of 5 Mexican’s has arrived at the Islands. A team leader, a pair of brothers, a guy who lives on killings, and the new addition with dyed blond hair and a history as a surfer. All are highly trained by the Mexican military and since discharged, have been recruited by a drug cartel to handle the messy stuff. Most of them are good family men, love their wives, adore their children. Veritable pillars of their communities . . . until the cartel calls with an assignment. Everything is compartmentalized. They don’t know the full story of why they find themselves in Paradise. They only know their job: kidnap a bus filled with school children and hold them hostage. When the time comes, they may have to kill them all (but the leader devises a plan to further enrichen the team: organ harvesting for the black market). They snatch a bus carrying kids, mostly around 7-14yo, and stash them in an abandoned bomb shelter.

Haley’s job is to help protect Justice Fisher, but she can’t just ignore those children despite what her Deeper State handler says. As you might guess, a number of things kind of coalesce for Haley: the wedding, her fuckup at the reception, the kidnapped kids, Deputy Shaw, Fisher’s husband, one very brave kid, the surfer/kidnapper, and even Justice Fisher. The last half of the book simply flies by.

Haley Chill #5 (somehow we missed Insurrection Day. We’ll get to it. Promise). Hauty again puts Haley Chill in some challenging, but also quite believable circumstances. And the reasons behind why those two sitting Supreme Court justices are targeted will make you even less sympathetic to power brokers doing whatever is necessary to hold onto their power base.

This is the 4^th Haley Chill book we’ve reviewed. And for good reason. See a new title by Chris Hauty? Get it. Get home. Clear your calendar. No need for coffee to help with late night reading. Just get comfortable. You’re gonna be there for quite a while.

Publication date: May 23, 2023.

Thanks to Emily Bestler Books (one of my 2 favorite publishers) and NetGalley for making an advance reviewer copy available.

East Coast Don

 

 

#1511 A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

I’m surprised that I missed Louise Penny’s latest book when it was released in the fall of 2022. She is one of my top authors. I’m not sure what happened that led me to miss the release of her latest novel. This is her 18^th book in the Armand Gamache series, and I’ve read them all. It’s her use of language and her deft character development that are biggest draws to her. This is the second review of A World of Curiosities in the blog. Curt Remarks, our newest contributor, debuted in the blog with this book. Like CR, I did have some problems with this novel.

 

My first problem had to do with the content. While Penny wrote in the acknowledgements section that forgiveness was one of her main themes, the dominating theme was childhood sexual abuse and the negative impact that such abuse has on one’s lifetime character development. The writing wasn’t bad with regard to the topic, far from it. In fact, Penny expertly touched a topic which I detest. It was early in my career as a psychiatrist/psychoanalyst when a criminal defense lawyer (a longtime friend) referred a client who was in jail due to his being a pedophile. The patient had been abusing prepubescent boys – not something I had encountered before in my practice. He was in protective custody when he was in jail, and he was transported to my office by marshals. I realized after a few sessions that my own negative reaction to this person (countertransference) precluded me from being able to work with him. I thought his characterological problems which in part were caused by the similar abuse he had suffered, were not amenable to the talk therapy that I provided.

 

The history of such past sexual traumas was an issue for two of the characters in the book, the half-siblings, Fiona and Sam Arsenault. They had the same mother, Clotilde Arsenault, a known prostitute. The story began with Clotilde’s murder. I don’t think it’s necessary to reveal the rest of the plot in this review. 

 

My second problem with the story had to do with the plot. The reader got to hear the ongoing saga of all the beloved characters from Three Pines, as well as the other characters that had been introduced in prior Penny books. I found the book to be full of unbelievable, but predictable twists, and I just didn’t buy the way Penny wove this story. Unlike my usual experience with her novels, I knew who the bad guy was long before it was revealed in the story. It is far from her strongest writing. But, I’ve spent so many wonderful hours with this author that I continue to eagerly anticipate her next novel. I think every great author is likely to produce a work of less mastery, and for Penny, this is it.

#1510 Righteous Prey by John Sandford

Righteous Prey by John Sanford is a late 2022 publication in which both Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers team up to stop a team of serial killers. The killers, who refer to themselves as “The Five,” publish information about the killings on social medial, and they become media darlings. They are a group of very wealthy people who are bored with their lives and decide to entertain themselves by murdering “assholes,” people who they judge to be of negative value to society and who don’t deserve to share the air they breathe with other humans. They make untraceable bit coin donations to charities and victims of their targets. The Five chose one Minnesota person to kill, and that leads to the involvement of Davenport and Flowers. Perhaps the story is unbelievable, but I did get caught up in it.

I rate Sanford as being a B to B+ author who is incredibly prolific, if not formulaic. It’s the 32^nd book in the Prey Novel series. This is an “airplane” quality novel, meaning that it would entertain you on a cross country flight, but if you didn’t quite finish it and left it in the seatback pocket on the airplane, you probably wouldn’t race to by another copy just to read the ending.

# 1509 Life's Illusions

I tend not to write in “rave” language, but I’m pretty excited about this one. Life’s Illusions is the debut novel by Michael Kenny, and it’s remarkable this is his first book. A little background first. Although my career has been as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, I spent 30 years offering testimony about the psychological damage that someone had or had not suffered as the result of injuries and crimes. I’ve met with and gotten to know, love, and dislike numerous lawyers in the process of doing 2,000 cases. Here’s the line you’re waiting for: “Some of my best friends are lawyers.” Once I got far enough along in my career and life, and after my kids were done with their respective graduate schools, I chose to retire from the forensics part of my work and continue with the psychotherapy/psychoanalytic part of my practice. There’s no question that my quality of life has improved dramatically since I stopped dealing with the courts. But, it is fair to say that I was immersed in one part of the legal system for a long time, and I’ve known some formidable criminal and civil attorneys.

 

In Life’s Illusions, Michael Kenny begins the story by starting with the closing argument  by Jonathan Kent, one of the biggest cases he tried over the course of his very successful career. I don’t remember a legal drama starting with a closing argument, but that’s what Kenny did, so much of the book was backstory. An important part of the story was Jonathan’s intense dedication to the work it takes to win trials, but his single experience with love provided an important background for his character. The backstory included the history of the precedent setting cases that he tried, and it described in detail the politics that went on within a Big Law firm. I found the entire story to be believable, and I’ve personally seen big time litigators have terrible home lives and big family troubles. It seems that to be a successful trial lawyer, one must disappear from his family for lengths of time, sometimes very long lengths of time.

 

I found the characters and the plot to be rapid paced and I did not want to put the book down. The quality of the writing was wonderful and the social issues were profound that Kenny was able to address through the cases that Jonathan tried. On the one hand, I was a little disappointed in the end of the book, but on the other hand, Kenny’s end to this story allows for a second book that would be a continuation for the characters he so powerfully created. After one novel, I’m a fan of Michael Kenny – I want more.

#1508. The Scorned by David Putnam

Johnny Fillmore is an LA entrepreneur who sits at the top of a SoCal business pyramid. Owns plenty of real estate, and restaurants - his crown jewels. A subordinate oversees the next layer down - bars and strip joints mostly. The lowest layer of his empire includes variations on houses of ill repute. Those places cater to the most basal of human demands and desires. While Johnny oversees all levels of his empire, it's hard to (legally) connect Johnny with the real money makers at the bottom of his holdings.

Call him Johnny Ef. A moniker that he doesn't appreciate it. Call that to his face and that face may be the last one you ever see. 

Remember Bruno Johnson? First reviewed last year in The Sinister. Ex LA County Deputy Sheriff, Ex-con. Wanted for murder and kidnapping now living in Costa Rica with Maria, his father, and 10 kids they've liberated from shit environments and even shittier parents. Bea, his mom, is largely absent. Been that way since Bruno was a child; she lived the life of a con artist. She resurfaced in The Sinister bound to a wheelchair and looking 20 older from a life of hard living. More importantly, Maria is pregnant and due. Bruno is beside himself with joy at becoming a dad (again) at 50y.

Bea's back and Bruno ain't happy. He's sure she's only in Costa Rica to con his dad of what little money he has squirreled away - about $20K to get back in the game in LA. Bruno agrees to take her back to LA to drop her off under the condition she never ever make contact again. 

Alisa and Aleck Vargas are Costa Rican friends in Tamarindo, CR. He's an MD and thinking about running for local office with the intent of an eventual national run. Their daughter, Layla, is an undergrad in LA.  That's a problem. They tell Bruno that she's been kidnapped and the ransom demand is $100,000. They ask Bruno to deliver the ransom and bring Layla home. Bruno figures he can do both in one trip. Can it wait until Maria delivers? 

That question becomes moot as Maria goes into labor and Dr. Aleck has to do the delivery. And it's a difficult one. So much so that Aleck tells Bruno that Maria will likely sleep for the next few days so he can do these two deliveries while she recovers from the birth. Reluctantly, he agrees. He owes Dr. Vargas.

Upon arrival, Bruno's first call is to his long-time wing man, Karl Drago. A massive beast of a man who thrives on violence. Keeps a rod of rebar up his sleeve and tampons in his truck (for wound care). And if his anger directed at biker gangs, all the better. Bruno and Drago are a team to be feared. Bruno's rep in LA lingers even as he hides in Costa Rica. Rumor on the streets that he is dead, but when he shows the unconvinced his BMF tattoo on his shoulder, attitudes change from arrogance to limp-wristed dread.  He makes one other call. Helen Hellinger, LA deputy sheriff who worked with Bruno and knows the felony warrants against Bruno are meaningless.

A simple up-back delivery and pick up goes south. Mom disappears as soon as they land. Layla had fallen into Johnny Ef's orbit. The track of Layla leads to a seedy rundown hotel hard by a recent freeway where every basal human behavior can be bought. Even babies. Babies that have been given up by strung out women as well as babies bred specifically for sale. Yuck. What they've found has bubbled up deeply hidden feelings in both Bruno and Drago that can only be jammed back into the darkness with violence. Bone and blood they call it. 

Was kind of surprised when I read that this is Putnam's 10th Bruno Johnson book. In each of the previous 8, Putnam develops Bruno's law enforcement history, how he ended on on the wrong side of the law, and more importantly, the back stories to how he and Marie ended up with 10 foster children, yanked from the mean streets of LA and taken to their home in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Also why and how Bruno lost 2 of his own children in LA. The publisher's website says all can be read as standalones, but it might help to start at the beginning with 2014's The Disposables. 

The first half of the book is more about Bruno wrestling with his conscious about his mom/dad, his newborn son, this ill-advised trip to LA, and his own flawed history. More discussion about feelings than you might find in a romance novel. But once both Bruno and Drago take the bit, they are cleaning up all things connected to Johnny Ef. And not in a way that Helen Hellinger can take to court so they have to take out the garbage in a more biblical manner and get back to doing the thing he loves . . . being a dad.

An other Oceanview winner. What can I say.

Thanks to Netgalley for making the advance reader copy available.  To be published February 7, 2023.

ECD

#1507. Code of the Hills by Chris Offutt

Mick Hardin left his old Kentucky home 20yrs ago after high school. Got out of the hills by joining the Army. Did his 20 and is retiring from his service as a military police investigator. His plan is to retire to Corsica and live with an Army buddy. But first, he feels the need to head home first before completely turning his back on Kentucky.

His sister Linda and he have an OK if not close relationship. She sort of followed in his footsteps by becoming the county sheriff leading a small staff of subordinates, mainly her primary, if still green, deputy Johnny Boy Tolliver.

Pete Lowe is/was a local resident. ‘Was’ because he went and got himself killed. In a small town like Rocksalt, KY, when someone gets killed, everybody knows who did it and why. Not this time. Linda and Johnny Boy start with what few clues they can find, and Mick goes along for the ride.

Most every clue is at the end of some long, curvy, dirt road that creeps deep and up into the Kentucky hills. First ‘break’ is when a local calls up wanting the sheriff to evict a squatter who’s taken up residence in his hen house. Linda would also have to evict the squatter’s wife but she already up and left. Can't imagine why. Guy is sharing the hen house with a bunch of hens and a couple roosters, one of which really isn’t native to the area.

Another guy, a local legend when it comes to dirt track car engines, also turns up dead. When Linda starts trying to shake a few limbs, she ends up getting shot in leg. Pretty bad wound, too. She’ll be ok, but she’s out of any primary investigation that would put her on her feet. So Johnny Boy is now the acting sheriff and temporarily deputizes Mick.

This rather dark tale of the KY hollers and hills takes a number of turns and Offutt deftly directs our attention in multiple directions between Rocksalt and Detroit involving drugs to liquor to money laundering to extortion and even cock fighting before finally leading Mick to the source of the murderous goings on.

Offutt isn’t new to us as we have favorably reviewed two earlier books, Country Dark and The Killing Hills. Personally, I like Country Dark the best. But don’t let that turn one away from this or his other books. Offutt knows how to deal up country/redneck/hick noir with the best of ‘em. If that kind of story trips your trigger, you'll need to make sure you run down anything by Chris Offutt.

Thanks to NetGalley for access to an advance reader copy.

Release date: June 13, 2023

 

East Coast Don

#1506. A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

In this 18th Inspector Gamache novel, Louise Penny takes the opportunity to tell the story of how Gamache meets his colleague Jean-Guy Beauvoir. They have been together since 2005's Still Life, through professional, personal and family challenges. It's something loyal readers have been waiting for- how did Armand's mentorship of Jean-Guy begin? 

Unfortunately, the subject matter of this first case is the murder of a mother who has unspeakably abused her two children. In the present day, these two children return to Gamache's life in Three Pines. The author does a fine job connecting the timelines through a real life event in Montreal history, but the second half of the novel turns into something everyone has read before. 

 

Ms. Penny has written Inspector Gamache novels in a variety of styles - some are very cerebral, some thrillers, some a nice mix. In this latest mystery, she indulges several tropes her readers have appreciated her avoiding all these years. The elaborate revenge of the enemy from the past is the most egregious, but there are others to be discovered upon reading. 

 

I love Louise Penny a great deal and her previous novels have truly meant something to me on a personal level. My recommendation is always to start at the beginning of a series, but I think it's essential in this case so one doesn't mistake Inspector Gamache as just another detective. Because he truly is unique. 

 

As you may know, Amazon Prime has brought Inspector Gamache to life as played by Alfred Molina. Three Pines, named for the village central to many of the novels, is an excellent adaptation of the early entries in the series. If you haven't read Louise Penny, start with Still Life and you will become part of the Three Pines family. If you are a fan, I'm afraid you may be disappointed in this latest installment. That said, she has built up so much good will I'll read the next one the day it is released. 

 

Curt Remarks 

(new MRB contributor as of 1/2023)

#1505. Second Shot by Cindy Dees

It’s tough being Helen Warwick. She’s 55yo. Recently retired from the CIA, not of her own accord. She was a highly accomplished field agent. She’d get her assignment and go wherever in the world she was needed. Kill America’s enemies. Escape by any means necessary. Plenty of kills to her credit. One of the CIAs most valued assets. Toss aside because of some arbitrary date on a calendar.

Now she’s at home in the DC suburbs. An unaccustomed field of fire. Her CIA job was a secret. Her cover story with her family was that she was as a State Department analyst of international trade agreements. She was an absent parent while her husband raised their 3 children. Her new mission is to repair her relationship with her family. A mission she is uniquely unqualified to undertake.

First chore: dog-sit her son Peter’s and his boyfriend/fiancé Liang’s new puppy on New Year’s Eve. Peter is a fine art dealer and Liang has a hush hush job with the NSA. No sooner than they leave and a 4-man hit squad hits the house. Helen puts her old skills to good use by taking out 3 bad guys and protecting the dog. When the cops arrive, she goes into full desperate/frightened middle-aged woman mode saying, between gasps and tears, that she was shooting blindly. Someone is after her even though she is no longer in the game.

Her other son, Mitchell, is an ADA in Washington, DC. He tells mom that a friend of his, a defense attorney, has noticed a troubling trend in some murder convictions. He asks his mother to see this lawyer, review the evidence and offer an opinion.

Unrelated (at this time at least) is the resurfacing of a serial killer. Make that a serial killer and a copycat killer. The identity of each may contain clues about the attack on her at her son’s house as well as those wrongly imprisoned.

And with any luck, just might open a tiny crack in the wall between her and her family.

I picked up this on a lark solely based on it’s cover jacket description. I’d never heard on Cindy Dees. After reading her webpage bio, I’m not surprised I’d never heard of her. Her catalogue of books is primarily a unique corner of the market. Her books might be best described as romantic thrillers. Romantic novels involving spies/SEALs/detectives, etc. This effort is part 1 of a series of Helen Warwick novels that is decidedly not a romance book.

Further down the bio are interesting details about Dees . . . licensed pilot before she got her driver’s license . . . left high school at 15 to attend University of Michigan . . . studied Russian and eastern European studies . . . joined the USAF upon graduation . . . one of the first female fighter pilots . . . piloted the big C-5 Galaxy . . . did some intelligence work during her time flying for Uncle Sam . . . who now is a craft loving gardener who, based on her literary productivity (20+ books with well over 2 million sold), must constantly be writing. Safe bet to say that her primary subject matter isn’t something any of the MRB boys would pick up, but I’m here to say that when part 2 of the Helen Warwick books gets published, betting 2024, I’ll be first in line. Why? Because Dees writes an entertaining story about a middle-aged women, albeit one with ‘a particular skill set’, that moves along at a brisk and unpredictable pace. One that kept me reading almost non-stop during a car trip to/from Disney World with the family. Travel entertainment at its best.

Publication date: May 23, 2023.

ECD

#1504. My Darkest Prayer by S.A. Cosby

Meet Nathan Waymaker . . . resident of Queen County, VA (SE Virginia) and former Queen County deputy . . . single and biracial . . . both parents died in a car accident (of a suspicious nature) . . . Marine . . . sometime bouncer at a favorite bar . . . full-time associate in his cousin’s funeral business . . . big man (Jack Reacher big). Given his history, he knows how to handle bodies.

The funeral home has a bit of a delicate task ahead. The right Reverend Esau Watkins just died. The sheriff’s office says suicide. Some of the parishioners think otherwise. Now the dead reverend hasn’t led a pious life. He is a wounded counselor with a small to middling criminal history who found the Lord during a turn in prison. Seeing as how Nate used to be a deputy, these curious members of Reverend Watkins flock try to enlist Nate's help as a liaison with the Sheriff who’s not known for being too aggressive when it comes to non-white victims.

Nate's not going to be well received by the sheriff seeing as how Nate left on less than civil circumstances. But Nate starts turning over some rocks and checks in with a deacon who had recently left the church. The deacon tells Nate that Rev. Watkins was in negotiations to merge his church with Rev. Thomas Short, the head of a massive non-denominational church based near DC. And plenty of the church are concerned. And if it wasn’t just that, a local hoodlum has been placing about $10K into the offering plate twice a month. Nate’s thinking drugs and a money laundering operation are going on.

But when he turns over the next rock, Nate finds out what lies deeper in rural Virginia, and it’s not about drugs. Far from it.

To go much further would wreck a superb story. Typical with the other two Cosby books reviewed by the MRB boys, expect plenty of twists, betrayals, colorful characters, to-die-for dialogue, and a shitload of in-your-face-ball busting-head cracking-rivers-of-blood confrontations between Nate (and his good bud Skunk), with the Queen County Sheriff’s office, Reverend Esau’s porn star daughter, Rev. Short's protection squad, and the shady crime boss Shade (yes, that was intentional).

Turns out My Darkest Prayer is Cosby’s preceded Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland (loved them both) and there is a 4^th that might be a touch hard to find (Brotherhood of the Blade). He had established a good reputation in short stories, mostly in the mystery trade publication ThugLit (I’ve got to find that). His trio of standalone novels have been highly praised by people of considerably more literary oomph than MRB (e.g., Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Stephen King, et al.). His novels (so far) have appeared on Best Of lists from the NY Times, Washington Post, Time, NPR, Boston Globe, plus numerous literary awards.

If Cosby is a new name to you, probably should find out where to obtain these books. They’ll grab you by your lapels for a vicious headbutt. And when it comes to Redneck/Country/Hick Noir, Cosby’s a welcome member to the club. But I sure hope Cosby tells us the backstory of Nate and Skunk. These two stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Joe Pickett and Nate Romanowski (by CJ Box) and Elvis Cole and Joe Pike (by Robert Crais). Would love to learn how Nate and Skunk joined forces.

Regardless, find this or any of Cosby's books. Betting you won’t regret the effort. This guy is good. Just say good things about him when you're done. What happens when people run afoul of Nate? 

'Talk shit. Spit blood."

ECD