The Fifth Witness

 

This book was beautifully reviewed by Midwest Dave in 2011, and I refer you to that. I'm in agreement with Dave about the quality of this book. Connelly just keeps delivering great murder mysteries. This one is almost entirely in the courtroom as Haller seems to be on top of things, only to be sent back to the drawing board as he encounters a skilled prosecutor. The tie to the financial crisis caused by fraudulent lending practices really made this book sing. I listened as I did my daily dog walks, and I was fully entertained.

Karma Never Sleeps

 Karma Never Sleeps by John Dingle is a novel about a serial killer who is after a group of women friends in a small New England town. This is a group of women who have mostly been together since birth and have chosen to remain in the same village where they grew up. There were two recent murders of this group of women friends, and then there is suspicion by the FBI agents that those deaths also were tied to the suicide of a girl during her teenage years, some 20+ years prior to the recent murders. However, it’s clear that the surviving women have a secret that they won’t talk to anyone about who is outside their immediate group. 

Simply put, I just could not get attached to the content of this story. I found the characters uninteresting, and the plot took too long to unfold. I closed the book at the 50% mark when I just did not care about the outcome. Perhaps, my response was a typically let down that I feel after just completing two stellar mystery novels which probably would have outshined any book. I can’t recommend this one.

The Big Empty by Robert Crais

 Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are back . . . life is good.

The latest case that lands in Elvis' lap is a simple missing persons case. Piece of cake for the self-professed World's Greatest Detective. Traci Beller is one of those ubiquitous 'influencers' that populate the Internet. She's 24, bakes muffins, and she has over 3 million followers. She's doing pretty good for herself.  

She was born/raised in the western end of the San Fernando Valley. Her dad, Terry, was partnered with her uncle in an HVAC business. By all accounts, he was a decent man. Good father, husband, and provider. Until that day 10 years ago when, right after he finished his last job in (the fictitious) Rancha, CA (somewhere between Woodland Hills and Malibu), Terry simply vanished. Left the job, told the customer he hated the return traffic, hit the road and disappeared.

Cops thought little of it at the time. Wayward husband just up and leaves ne'er to be seen again. Nothing turned up. He'd just vanished. Five years later, the family hired a quality PI firm in LA to check into Terry's disappearance and come up empty. Only thing to come from that investigation was that Terry was officially and legally declared dead. With the 10th anniversary looming, Traci tries once more. That's were Elvis gets hired.

He wasn't hopeful. The previous firm did all the right things, asked the right questions, followed a disappointing trail, and failed to come up with any leads. Elvis is running the same race all over again with the same outcome becoming more clear by the day. 

He does get a bit of a step further. Apparently, Terry stopped for burgers at a Rancha drive-up. The owner says Terry had some beer from the store across the street where a single mom struggles with the customers, her daughter, her boss, and the general Rancha low lifes.

The mom tells Elvis about this ex-con trailer trash woman and her daughter. Girl has some PTSD issues that date back to her high school years. These two now work for a flower delivery service. When Elvis shows them a photo of Terry Beller, their collective reactions trigger Elvis' BS meter - they are lying. 

The girl's PTSD issues date began in her high school years when she was abducted by a guy in a panel truck but managed to escape. That's the hook Elvis needs to set in the right person for the facade of secrets to start to crumble and the truth about who Terry Beller was bubbles up secrets no one could possibly imagine. 

And of course, Joe Pike has to step in when needed . . . and Elvis' cat makes the obligatory appearance and it has throughout Elvis' history with the beast. Just how old is that cat?

I'm not sure I gave this story the justice it deserves. Picked this up in the library on a Friday and was done by Monday. Crais's books are so readable, you just start reading and before you realize it, you've read 100 pages, put it done for a meal, pick it up again and another 100 pages are gone before you know it. After 20 novels and who knows how many teleplays for TV (e.g., Miami Vice, Hill Street Blues, Cagney and Lacy and dozens of others. Yeah, he's got the writing chops), you have to go in knowing that Crais is smooth, real smooth. 

With 20 books to his credit, a new reader to Crais' world might think they have to go back to #1 (The Monkey's Raincoat). Nah, drop in anywhere and you'll get plenty of background you need to know. Elvis is SoCal cool in his Hawaiian shirts and yellow 2-seater 'vette. Pike is, well, he's Pike, the former Marine spec ops, former LA cop, now partnered with Elvis' PI firm and provides muscle and balls of brass when needed. 

Having read most (all?) the Crais books, here's what's got me wondering. Why hasn't the Cole/Pike series been picked up for a streaming series? The material is there. I mean look at what's out there right now? Reacher. Longmire. Joe Pickett. Will Trent, Jack Ryan, The Dark Man series, and so many more. Why not Cole/Pike? The audience is there; every Crais book these days ends up on most all Best Seller lists. Only thing I can think of is that Crais just doesn't want to make the characters and stories available. Anybody know? Please tell me.

So, what's your soul craving about now? Yearning for a PI-missing persons tale that takes a very dark turn into the depths of depravity? Look no further. Firsts rate. 5 Stars. Top Shelf. Unparalleled. Unequaled.

East Coast Don

The Sequel

The second book in the two-book sequence by Jean Hanff Korelitz, following The Plot, about which I raved is fittingly titled The Sequel. So, the same story continues during which the author jumps forward and backward in time to flesh out the plot, to provide the reader with more information in order to show just how psychopathic the protagonist has been. The protagonist, Anna Williams-Bonner (one of several of her aliases) is the main focus of the second novel.

 

It's just true that I could not put this book down. In the first book, there’s a short funny conversation between the alleged author, Anna, with her editor and publisher about second books in a sequence almost always being worse than the first. In this case, while I sang praises of the first book, the second one is even better. One keeps waiting for this disturbed woman to be faced with the justice she deserves, but she just keeps getting away with it. I found the ending of this novel to be a surprise, a bit of a shock.

 

You don’t need to know more. These two books provided me with more fun and distraction than I’ve had for a long while. If good murder mysteries and great storylines are of interest to you, then these books will do it for you. The two-book sequence gets my 5+ recommendation.

Otello's Oil: A Saga of Blood and Oil (Book 1)

 

Otello’s Oil: A Saga of Blood and Oil (Book 1) is a near-future espionage thriller, and as suggested by the title, has a lot to do with the competition for oil in a world that is running short of it. The choice of Otello in the title comes from the agony of love that is embedded in this story. This really is a fast-paced debut novel by D. W. Layton. The worldwide scope of this plot is entirely believable, and the stakes of the competition for oil reserves are incredible high, geopolitical futures are at risk. As the prices of oil climb due to demand outstripping supply, the world’s economic stability is in trouble.

 

The plot is well-served by the authentic characters including protagonist Special Agent Elliott Jones, Secretary of State of the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, Secretary of State Lynne Farnsworth, her friend Mohammad Al-Mutairi from Kuwait, her lover Fhani, and more. The book opens with Jones foiling a terrorist attempt on a ferry in Seattle and it quickly moves to the assassination of Al-Mutairi at a Kennedy Center performance where he is seated next to Secretary Farnsworth.

 

Elliott Jones is a strong hero figure, honest and uncompromised, and I’d certainly like to read more about him in the future. This book gets my strong recommendation.

Two Kinds of Truth

 Two Kinds of Truth was published by Michael Connelly in 2017, and Midwest Dave wrote a beautiful review of the story that same year. I refer you to his review. I stumbled across this novel when I was looking for an audiobook on Libby. Connelly has yet to disappoint and I wonder if this could be one of his best novels. Of course, I almost always have the same question when I finish one of his books. I’ve lost count – has he now written about 70 novels in the last 35 years? Once again, Connelly gets my strongest recommendation for this novel.

The Plot

 Although Jean Hanff Korelitz is a prolific writer, this is the first I’ve heard of her and it’s her first book reviewed in this blog. I promise that there will be more reviews to come. The Plot is a spectacular book about Jacob Finch Bonner, a once successful writer who has gone dry with new ideas for many years. He is barely supporting himself as a teacher in a low-grade college writing program when his most obnoxious and narcissistic student announces that he has a sure thing for a plot. Jacob is doubtful that such a thing even exists until her eventually hears that story. It nearly tears him apart to realize that the student, Evan Parker is probably right – that he is about to gain international fame and massive wealth for the plot in the story that he is about to write. Subsequently, Jacob burns inside with jealousy as he waits to learn of Parker’s success, but that never happens. Then, he learns that Parker died shortly after the MFA program ended, apparently before ever publishing his story. 

Although agonizing about the decision, he decides that the great story must be told. Jacob takes credit for the story that brings him the fame that surely would have come to Parker, and Jacob’s life is transformed from being someone know one knew of, to someone of international fame and wealth.

 

But then he receives an anonymous email from someone who knows he has stolen the idea. Then we begin to learn more about the real author, how the plot was created, and who really stole the story.

 

I don’t understand how it was possible that more than 100,000 reviews on Good Reads only resulted in a 3.8 rating. I was captivated from the outset and found it so difficult to put the book down. My rating of this book is clearly a 5.0. Now, I’m ready to jump into The Sequel, which is the author’s follow-up to The Plot.

Jury of One by John Warley

Judge Dan Borders is a rarity these days. Fair-minded, well-respected by folks on both sides of the legal aisle, judicious, and all-around decent circuit court judge in eastern South Carolina. He also cares for his dreadfully ill wife. A task that has effectively removed him from SC society goings on; not that he’s complaining. It is what it is. Political movers and shakers in SC see him as a shoo-in for an opening as the Chief Justice of the SC supreme court. He gained some notoriety for a written positions that has begun to gain traction in SC and elsewhere. He has promoted the ‘jury of one’ concept for death penalty cases. 

Years ago, he sat for a divorce case involving an abusive husband and a local schoolteacher. His decision favored the ambitious wife. Fast forward to current day, a chance meeting of Judge Borders and the still single divorcee, Alana, ignites a purely innocent friendship. Nothing happens, but his imagination has him curious.

On one occasion, Alana’s ex- pops up armed and drunk. The confrontation leaves her ex-dead. To say Judge Borders is in an uncompromising situation is an understatement. He is a married man, a judge for heaven’s sake, a judge on the fast track to be the next Chief Justice of the SC State Supreme Court, and he’s now involved on the other side of the bench in what might end up being tried as capitol murder.

How do you define ‘trust issues?’ What does he keep secret? What must Alana do or say? If she says one thing, she could be tried for murder. If she says another, she just might walk away free. On the other hand, depending on what she says will no doubt impact Border’s nomination for the State’s highest court.

Interesting quandary, yes? I was hooked by the first couple chapters. Most all the characters seem like genuinely nice folks caught in a predicament not of their own making. What to do? And what is ‘the right thing’?

Tune in, folks.

 

ECD

The Blind Devotion of Imogene by David Putnam

The Blind Devotion of Imogene is particularly intriguing given the uniqueness of the characters. Imogene is a 75yo ex-con, recently released after spending time in the big house after accidentally (we think) killing her husband. Her sadistic parole officer predicts Imogene will never survive on the outside, is doomed to violate her parole and be back on the cell block. After 10 years inside, Imogene is determined to stay out. But she has to find a job. Not an easy job for a 75yo female con. She manages to find a job as a cashier at a variety store (something between a "Dollar Store" and a K-Mart) that serves the most desperate and down. Her days are spent watching the store, going home, then getting soundly drunk trying to forget about the circumstances of that night when she pulled the trigger. She never denied pulling the trigger, but she thought her mistake should have prosecuted as manslaughter, not murder.  

Imogene Taylor is an ex-con you might like to know or has as a neighbor. Her store manager (of a few other local branches) is a world class prick and uses the stores to launder money on a small-time scale. There are a few ne'er do wells that frequent the store and make Imogene's life interesting. Putnam populates Imogene's life with a co-worker trying to better her lot, a neighbor who thinks her husband in cheating, some local thugs trying to move in on the low-rent retail outlet.

Such is the life of Imogene.

Putnam develops his characters with a world-worn lower class ambiance and clever dialogue. Not often that a book told from the vantage point of a 75 yo ex-con woman can be wonderfully addicting.  Terrific dialogue, realistic plotting given the age and social class of the players makes for  novel worthy of your time. West Coast Don liked it. So do I. Recommended. You'll thank us.

ECD

Spirit Crossing by William Kent Krueger

#20 in the Cork O’Connor series set in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota by the prolific and award-winning William Kent Krueger. He also presents several standalone novels to considerable acclaim. Cork is mostly retired but still available to help local law enforcement, be it state or tribal, when needed or when trouble finds him. 

The daughter of a State Senator has gone missing, last seen in the north woods around Lake Superior. Th search for her cross nearly every jurisdictional line in Minnesota and so far, has come up empty. But that doesn’t minimize the search efforts.

Cork’s grandson, who goes by Waaboo, was out hunting for blueberries. While staying with Ojibwe healer Henry Meloux who lives the simple life of a hermit and is a de factor father figure to the locals, Waaboo stumbles across what appears to be an Ojibwe grave. Waaboo is a unique in that he has a gift of seeing and describing visions and voices he hears. When word gets out, the media swamps the town on the assumption that the body in the grave is that of the politician’s lost daughter. Cork and family are worried that Waaboo might be in the crosshairs of both the media and the killer(s).

Problem is that the autopsy reveals the woman was “just” a local teenage Ojibwe. As far as the media and the police are concerned, that case is not as important as the politician’s daughter. The cops continue their investigation while Cork and the tribal police focus on the Ojibwe corpse.

There is a side story going on. In the area is awash with construction workers working on an oil pipeline that is on track to cross spiritual grounds of the Ojibwe. That brings two fronts on conflict: the politics of state approval of the affront to the Ojibwe’s land and the crude roughnecks on the job.

The pressing question is whether the demise of the two women is related

Krueger is pressing the cases of missing and dead indigenous children as well as the attitude that ‘whites’ take in dismissing any concerns expressed by the local indigenous population. His case in compelling and important. He has dealt with these themes in numerous earlier titles of his. See This Tender Land and The River We Remember.

Many times, a title in a mystery series can be read as a standalone. Not this time. The narrative assumes that the reader is familiar with Cork’s history, his family, his neighbors, and the town. Go to your library, look at the copyright dates back at least about 10 years so that the history is laid out. Leave no doubt that this story is consistent with Krueger’s story-telling gifts. Top shelf. Heck, he’s an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel for Ordinary Grace. Saying he’s good is an understatement. But if this is the first Krueger book, a reader might feel a bit lost and dissatisfied. 

 

ECD

James

 

James, by Percival Everett, is a great novel. The author has reimagined and updated The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and rather than telling the story from Huck’s story, as it was told by Twain, Everett wrote from the perspective of Jim, the slave. Jim narrates the story and Everett created a well-educated and thoughtful man who is shackled, both figuratively and in reality, but the conditions of his slavehood. During this story, Huck fakes his own death to get away from his violent father. When Jim hears of his own impending sale to a slave owner in New Orleans, which would mean he was being ripped away from his wife and young daughter, he ran away. He and Huck made the adventure together, constantly looking after one another and developing a tight bond which was atypical of the times for any white boy and black slave. This led to their famous trip on a raft down the Mississippi River in which Jim was being sought not only as a runaway, but as the murderer of Huck.

 

I consumed this book in an audiobook format. The reader was the masterful Dominic Hoffman. I was entranced by his ability to change voices and the tempo of his delivery. It’s hard for me to imagine anyone giving this book less than a 5-star rating. It would have been in the early 60’s when I traveled with my family to Hannibal, Missouri, the home of Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain. This book refreshed my good memories of that trip. While Twain mostly avoided lengthy descriptions of the terror to which slaves were forced to endure by their masters, Everett does an excellent job of bringing such horrors to light.

 

I can’t rate this book any higher and it certainly gets my strong recommendation.

The Caesars Palace Coup

This is a nonfiction story that is entirely outside of the genre in which I usually read. Further, it is about the financial game behind the management of the staggering billions of dollars debt in which Caesars Palace found itself. Given my lack of knowledge about the high stakes financial instruments which the authors described, I felt a bit lost. On the other hand, the well-written description of the warring characters was fantastic, and that I could follow. I felt like someone watching a chess match between masters, knowing they were envisioning several steps ahead, but not having a clue what they could see. It's a good book, and if you're in the financial world, this one is definitely worth reading.
 

The Waiting

 

The Waiting is, at least Connelly's 44th book since his first novel in 1992. This one is subtitled "A Ballard and Bosch Novel." I always have high expectations of Connelly's character development and plot line, and he has not disappointed. Although it's hard for me to rate his books since I think they are all pretty good, this one is surely one of his best.

The book begins with Ballard surfing, her best stress reducer. When she gets out of the ocean and returns to her car, she finds the contents in her car have been stolen, including her gun and badge. She has been running the open and unsolved case department, and based on recent conflicts in the robbery division, she is highly alert for any new difficulties. Also she is understandably afraid of the very real misogyny in the LAPD. She fears being fired from the job she loves, solving cold cases. For fear of more retaliation, she is reluctant to declare the the loss of her gun and badge, so she decided to use her detective skills to pursue the robbers without actually reporting it. In the process of doing so, she runs into evidence of a much bigger crime, a terrorist event on the Malibu pier which is scheduled just a week away.

As is typical of the Bosch series, there are many crime stories happening at the same time, and Maddie Bosch appears as a volunteer in Ballard's department. Maddie announces that she thinks she has solved the oldest and most famous crime in LA history, a 74 year-old crime, the rape and murder of the Black Dahlia, a specific unsolved crime that has come up time and again in the Bosch series. However, at the same time, there is a bitter political war happening between the new Chief of Police and the District Attorney.

As always, Connelly is a master at weaving together the various plot lines. If this is your genre, then she should be your book.