The SCOTUS Affair was both a love story about a secret love, and a conspiracy novel. The secret love story was about the relationship between Ben Johnson and Acadia LaFleur. Ben was 70 years old and was a partner in an impressive law firm which made him one of the most successful and powerful black men in the U.S. Acadia was the wife of Alphonse LaFleur. She was the remarkable Southern white wife in a loveless marriage, and she had been in love with Ben for 40 years. Her husband was part of a multigeneration of politicians who successfully controlled and financially benefitted from the political power. One of the other important figures was Dimase Augustin, a professional detective and trouble shooter who worked for Ben Johnson. 

This book is the first in what may become a series of thrillers about Mr. Augustin.

 

Unlike most conspiracies, this one was not driven by ideology. The loose network of people involved were of various political leanings. The group wanted to maintain their own power and control, and therefore the purse strings of government. The group thought that kickbacks from various rebuilding and military contracts would provide them with billions of dollars.

 

But Alphonse had his sights on controlling more than his corner of Louisiana. He was in league with a corrupt senator, Richard “Dickie” Monroe, and it was there design to control a powerful shadow U.S. government, and then eventually to win the presidency. While they already were a part of the political party that had majorities in the House and Senate, they had a plan to control the Supreme Court as well. Operation SCOTUS was intended to do that death. With the natural death of Supreme Court Justice Charles Thompkins at the age of 86, they knew they could fill that spot and one more with judges they could control. Operation SCOTUS was aimed at removing the youngest Justice and replacing him with one of their own.

 

Meanwhile, Dickie kept a room at the Watergate where he entertained his ladies of the night, and it was one such woman, who used the title of Daisy May, happened to see a text on Dickie’s phone about their plans for the Supreme Court. She was also from Louisiana and had the same name as Acadia La Fleur. The author explained that it was a common Cajun name. When the order went out for the murder of Daisy May, her real name was not known to the men in Washington so it was Ben Johnson’s love that was attacked with a baseball bat and left to die.

 

Normally, I would not be drawn to a conspiracy story, but this one was different enough. The characters were interesting and believable. The plot, which was not overly complex, developed nicely. I was eager to see how the author was going to bring this story to a conclusion. It’s a good story – have a look.

The Reflecting Pool by Otho Eskin

Meet Marko Zorn,  detective with the Washington DC Metropolitan Police. Zorn just happened to be the first law enforcement officer on the scene of a pre-dawn murder. A young woman who had drowned in the Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Sandra Wilcox is found in the shallow pool facing up, eyes wide open, Her deep blue eyes remind him of his older sister who was raped and murdered nearly 20 years before.

This is way more than just another of the myriad of DC murders. Wilcox was part of the Secret Service having risen to serve on the protective detail of FLOTUS. Some think her rise in the Service was a little too swift. The reflecting pool is technically the jurisdiction of the US Park Service. And, obviously, it happened in DC. That means the Secret Service, the Park Service, DC Metro, and the FBI are all at each others throat arguing jurisdiction. Seeing as how DC Metro isn't federal, they have the least to say. About the only disinterested agency is the CIA.

But Zorn is an uncompromising detective who only wants to find out the truth, jurisdiction be damned. Another thing about Zorn . . . he doesn't give a shit who he pisses off. He could care less about government officials telling him to back off. National security? Yeah, right. POTUS, FLOTUS, Chief of Staff, Secret Service, dozens of other White House staffers can't seem to get through his thick skull, Justice for Sandra Wilcox matters. Truth matters. That's it.  

So what if Zorn's pursuit of the truth might put his partner in someone's crosshairs. Heck, most of the detective service is quite unhappy with him.

The investigation ends up unwrapping some curious details of Sandra's life and death not to mention her rapid ascent in the Secret Service.  And because no DC detective only works one case at a time, Zorn manages to douse a developing gang war over a delivery of weapons and a threat of a possible presidential assassination. It's been a busy few weeks for Zorn.

Eskin spent a career in various aspects of government. His literary history is as a playwright so this is his first novel. Let's hope Zorn has a long and contentious career working DC crime. This is good stuff. Really good. 

West Coast Don reviewed this a couple months ago. He liked it, too. 

 ECD

The Voter File by David Pepper

Haven’t had enough pre-election nonsense? This one should scratch that itch. And it should send chills right down your spine. And don’t think this is about Russian meddling in our elections. This one is entirely homegrown and won’t reinforce any belief that our elections are free of any untoward mischief.

 

Jack Sharpe blew it. He was a top tier investigative reporter who made his bones by blowing open a number of political scandals . . . until his national news network and his sense of right and wrong collided. Now he’s scraping by doing the odd freelance assignment. With his reputation, not many assignments beckon.

Until Tori Justice, a lowly staffer working on the campaign of a judge in Wisconsin makes contact. The judge she is working for won the primary, but based on district demographics and basic campaign polls, there is no way he should have won by as much as he did. She has tried unsuccessfully to pitch what she knows to various reporters without luck. Jack needs a story to get back in the game but is not so sure about what this girl is telling him.

Reluctantly, he meets with Tori and she lays out just how votes and voters can be manipulated to dang near guarantee most any outcome. The Voter File. A piece of election preparation that every candidate has. Starting with the primary that launched the judge into the general election, she details the ubiquitous practice of manipulation and deception that will curl your eyelashes, grow hair on your teeth, and plainly piss you off because you know that every damn thing she says went on in that local election . . . is actually going on. Right now. And it’s not a result of ambitious staffers. The deception begins at the top of both parties. T

he winner is generally who is best at a dirty game.

This one is for those who naively trust the election system to be a truthful representation of voter wishes. Even folks how know our elections aren’t as pure as advertised will be stunned at the depth of deception that has become ‘the campaign.’ A well written (the 3^rd Jack Sharpe book) and frightening story that will make you both squeamish and seriously pissed off. Look closely at what you see and read in this election season. You'll see most every thing Pepper describes.

Perfect preparation for the coming election. It might even get you to draft letters to every elected official on your upcoming ballot to tell them that you know. 

ECD

 

Near Dark by Brad Thor

It’s early fall and the pre-Christmas rush of new books in getting into full swing. Brad Thor’s annual contribution comes right when we all need Scot Harvath.

Near Dark begins two weeks after last year’s Backlash ended. In Backlash, his mentor, Reed Carlton, had developed Alzheimer’s Disease and to protect the treasure trove of secrets in The Old Man’s head, Harvath had sequestered Carlton in the Maine woods. At the same time, Harvath had married Lara at a time where Carleton was reasonably lucid. The small ceremony also included Lydia Ryan, a former CIA section director and new head of The Carleton Group. While all were in Maine, Russian assassins attempting to kill Harvath took out his new wife, Ryan, and Carleton.

Near Dark picks up two weeks later after Harvath has gone off the grid in the Keys to drink away his pain. Does a pretty good job. His alcohol issues plague him throughout this book. But even when drunk, he can’t help sticking his nose into other people’s business, especially when a woman is on the wrong end of an altercation. One such attempt at helping a woman under duress leads to a 2 on 1 duel in an alley. Make that 3 on 1. As the 2 thugs are working on Harvath, a third comes in ready to end Harvath’s pain. Raises his weapon and  . . . the shooter gets a few bullets to the head. Some of Harvath’s compatriots with The Carleton Group have his back.

They inform Harvath that over the past two weeks since the slaughter in Maine, an unknown benefactor put up a bounty on Harvath. $100 million. The contract doesn’t go to one killer. It’s a general announcement. First to kill gets the payment. Not to mention that Carl Pedersen, a Norwegian Intelligence Service colleague of Reed Carlton, was tortured for information about Harvath and killed the week before.

From here on, the story is about tracking backwards from the dead shooter to find out who sent the shooter, who might be the next to try, who is/are the intermediaries between the money and the triggers, and ultimately, who put up the money. Harvath is after the source of the money behind the Maine slaughter. The Norwegians are on the same trail to find out who took out Pedersen and assign one of his proteges, a recovering drug addict/agent in need of redemption to work with Harvath.

Solvi Kolstad has her own history of demons. As a teenager, she was a runway model. A stunning Nordic beauty who got a little too involved in the model lifestyle. She did get married and out of the jet set for a while  finding work with the NIS. But when her husband wanted kids and she didn’t, the hubby bolted and she went back to the drugs. Pedersen pulled her out and got her head back into the intelligence game. Backing Harvath is her first real frontline assignment since coming back. These two wounded warriors form a working alliance where their physical skills and mental dexterity complement each other.

This Thor’s 20^th Scot Harvath book, most of which were NYT best sellers. This made the 2020 best seller list simply based on pre-release orders. Harvath continues to deliver the goods. Being one of those authors who churn out a book each year, he’s got to be good and this one is no exception. While this one is short on non-stop action and long on thought and reasoning that goes with dogged investigation in no way detracts from the tension of the story. A one or two sitting read if you give it the chance.

ECD

The Forger's Daughter

The Forgers Daughter by Bradford Morrow is his ninth novel, but he’s written many other things as well. Do you think of yourself as a bibliophile? Do you love mysteries. There’s no doubt that you’ll love this book. It is magnificent. It’s the first such review of a work by Morrow in our blog, and now I have yet another author with whose work I must get familiar. The Forgers Daughter will be released on 9/8/20, less than two weeks from now. My advice, get it in your reading queue now.

After starting my last review with a quote from Alfred Hitchcock, this book starts with one by Poe from “The Imp of the Perverse”: “I am more certain that I breathe, than that the assurance of the wrong or error of any action is often the one unconquerable force which impels us, and alone impels us to its prosecution. Nor will this overwhelming tendency to do wrong for the wrong’s sake, admit of analysis, or resolution into ulterior elements.”

Will has a distant history of having forged old manuscripts, but he’s gone legitimate for at least 20 years. He has a skill with letterpress printing which allows him to forge old books, in this case, Tamerlane ,an early and unsigned book by Edgar Allan Poe. It’s not only the art of printing, but the paper and ink have to be right to get by the experts, and Will is just the man for the job. Since going straight, will has helped in his wife’s used book business, but he was essentially blackmailed by Henry Slader, a sociopath who has long been more than a thorn in the side of Will and Meghan. Together they had a daughter, Nicole, who is now a late teen, and then they took on the care of Maisie, who had already grown up without a father, and then at the age of five, lost her mother to cancer (Meghan’s sister). The titled character was Nicole to whom Will had taught his knowledge of printing books which included learning to do calligraphy. Nicole was a natural talent in that art and she quickly mastered it. As Will’s skill began to deteriorate, Nicole was needed to take over for him on the calligraphy tasks. Wise beyond her years, she soon realized that they were involved in the illegal creation of the Poe book.

Slader commits a murder in the course of the book, although that is not central to the action, He had assaulted Will in their earlier years, causing great permanent damage to Will’s printing hand, leading to a long prison term for Slader. These were the stories that legitimized Will and Meghan’s fear of him. Also, the book starts with a mystery as to Maisie’s paternity. The author introduces a number of characters in the book business, and then there’s the unsolved murder of Adam, Meghan’s brother, which happened around the same time Will began leading a more lawful life.

There is artful character development, and the plot development is flawless. This novel rates as my favorite for the year 2020.

Watch Her Vanish

Watch Her Vanish by Ellery Kane is at least his sixth novel, and this book gripped my interest from the first few pages, and the fascination with this eerie story did not end until the book ran out of pages. The author’s website indicates he is a forensic psychologist during the day, and a novelist at night. If his other books are as good as this one, then he can say goodbye to his day job.

As an indication of the nature of the story to come, the author starts with a quote from Alfred Hitchcock from The Birds. There’s a restaurant in San Francisco called For Harbor, which is the fictional location for Kane’s maximum security prison which is somewhere on northern coast presumably, of California. In the prologue, he introduces as to Bonnie McMillan, the married mother of two boys who works at Crescent Bay State Prison as a creative writing teacher. Her husband has taken their boys whale watching, and he too works at the prison where he manages the GED program. Like so many other employees of the prison, it had never been the intent of Bonnie to stay in Fog Harbor and to work in this remote corner of the state, but sometimes thing work out that way. Bonnie took advantage of the absence of her husband and boys to go to a late showing of Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Only, she never made it home, and her body was discovered a few days later. That is the first of several serial murders.

Next, the  reader learns about the sisters Olivia Rockwell and Emily Rockwell. Olivia is the chief psychologist at the prison and Emily works there as a dental hygienist. The story centers around the character Drake Devere who is in prison for murder. But he’s a literate guy, in addition to being a total narcissistic personality disorder and sociopath. Bonnie has helped him with his writing and Olivia is his treating psychologist. Self-referred as the hawk, Devere has penned a book about a man who can slip in and out of a maximum security prison in order to murder women in the neighborhood. The book became a best seller, and Hawk has sent the proceeds of the book to a charity. He has become famous and promised a sequel. The next murder was that of Laura Ricci who was Devere’s work supervisor in the kitchen, although he was often late for his shifts and about to be booted from his job.

The author filled out this story with a rich group of characters including Warden Blevens, Sergeant Wickersham, and Detective Will Decker. The story is quite believable and there were suspenseful surprises right to the end. This book gets a fabulous recommendation from me, and Men Reading Books needs to invest some more time with this author.

The Last Trial by Scott Turow

Sandy Stern, a Kindle County, Illinois defense attorney, has appeared in Scott Turow’s novels since 1987 in the renowned Presumed Innocent.  Now at age eighty five and contemplating retirement, Sandy is asked to defend his friend and fellow Argentine immigrant, Dr. Kiril Pafko of insider trading, fraud, and murder charges.  Pafko and his company Pafko Therapeutics have developed a cancer treatment drug that has saved many lives, including Sandy’s life five years earlier.  However, during the clinical trials to gain FDA approval, Dr. Pafko is accused of altering the data to remove from the study patients who have died, then selling stock in his company when his missteps are about to be publicly exposed.

Pafko’s missteps during the drug approval process are revealed to the jury as the prosecutors draw the story out of the witnesses.  But Pafko’s life long character flaws are revealed as Sandy investigates and interrogates Pafko’s family and known associates in addition to the witnesses… many with some grudge against the doctor.  Sandy can’t help but compare his own life with that of his friend’s and finds himself late in life pondering his own life choices and how they have impacted his relationships with family.  But even distracted by his reflective thoughts and at age eighty five, Sandy uncovers the motives of his client and of those around the doctor who are intent on revenge.

Most readers will see this book as a legal lesson because apparently the legal points are rare and well developed.  But I see this more of a reflection of a man on his life… his exile from Argentina, his marriages and his children, his choice of clients and the time he spent representing criminals instead of nurturing his family… how his choice to practice law molded his relationships with each of his children and grand-children and how they feel about him today… what he should do about it now… all in all a lesson in humanity.  This is the author’s true theme and a lesson well worth learning at any age.