The Doorman

This book by Chris Pavone (author of Two Nights in Lisbon) came so highly recommended that I forced myself to finish after many times wanting to give up. It is such a slow burn to reach the dramatic highpoint--essentially over ¾ of the book--that to me it just wasn't worth it. Others disagreed, however.

Publishers Weekly refers to the book as an "adrenaline-pumping thriller" that "delivers a lacerating, Tom Wolfe–worthy dissection of Manhattan society in the post-Covid era." They go on to summarize the plot: "The primary setting is the Bohemia, a storied Central Park West co-op where protagonist Chicky Diaz stands watch. A streetwise former Marine who moonlights as a security guard to pay off his late wife’s crushing medical debt, Chicky has seen and done a lot—but nothing approaching the perfect storm of catastrophes that converge during the fraught hours over which the narrative unfolds..." and they conclude with: "Page-turning from the opening paragraph to its killer finale, the narrative combines noirish atmosphere with a sharp attunement to the particular depravities of ultrawealthy urbanites. Pavone’s provocative look at the city that never sleeps will keep readers up well into the wee hours." I, on the other hand had to push myself to finish the book, but you can see why I was sucked in by the review.

The New York Times offers a more detailed account of the story line and effuses: "With its laser-sharp satire, its delicious set pieces in both rich and poor neighborhoods — a co-op board meeting, a Harlem food pantry and more — and its portrait of a restive city torn apart by inequality, resentment and excess, “The Doorman” naturally invites comparison to “The Bonfire of the Vanities,” Tom Wolfe’s lacerating dissection of New York in the 1980s." And they go on to offer a minor qualification to their praise but end up recommending the book with this: "If 'The Doorman' suffers from anything, it’s a surfeit of riches — details and digressions that can lead you away from the central story. But all of it accelerates into a tour de force ending (this is where it becomes a thriller) that rewards close attention." 

Kirkus closes their short review with this: "Social, racial, and political commentary add color to the profanity-peppered pages.Readers will root for the doorman in this enjoyable yarn." I did root for Chicky (the doorman) but can't say I found the book at all enjoyable except for the very end when some deserving person gets their comeuppance. 

 

Furever After

This is the 16th entry in the Magical Cats mystery series by Sofie Kelly. I read the first two books, Curiosity Thrilled the Cat and Sleight of Paw and enjoy both the plots and the characters.  These are cozy mysteries with the added element of two cats who are anything but ordinary house pets. Owen can disappear at will and Hercules can walk through walls, doors, etc. Of course they are very smart and often have to help their owner, librarian Kathleen Paulsen, solve mysteries by providing clues.  In this book she is getting ready to marry Detective Marcus Gordon and the story focuses a lot on the strong network of friends that Kathleen has formed in her small town of Mayfield. When she finds a dead body in the library, she feels compelled to try and figure out why the victim, ne'er do well Will Redfern, was trying to steal a painting from the library. It turns out the painting was part of a high profile theft some years ago and was never recovered. How did it end up in the library and why would someone kill Will Redfern? Our protagonists are put in mortal danger before the wedding and their union surprisingly comes with a bonus. 

Kindness Goes Unpunished

This is the third installment in the long-running "Longmire" series by Craig Johnson. I like the first book, The Cold Dish, but couldn't find the 2nd book, so settled for the 3rd. Separate missions take Longmire, Bear and Dog to the City of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia)--Longmire to see daughter Cady and Bear to appear in a photography show at an art gallery. On their first night in town, Longmire meets deputy sheriff Vic Moretti's mother Lena. Cady is late coming home and eventually the police show up saying Cady has had an accident--a fall-- and is in the hospital unconscious.  She remains in a coma for most of the book and Longmire and then Bear as well are determined to find out what really happened to her.  Kirkus praises with this conclusion to their review:  "Johnson deftly integrates country and city sensibilities; makes Walt’s love and fear for Cady palpable; and casts a droll eye on Walt and romance. Even better than Death Without Company (2006): a must-read for both the tough and the tender-hearted." Publishers Weekly recommends as well: "The quick pace and tangled web of interconnected crimes will keep readers turning pages."

The First Gentleman

This thriller, co-written by Bill Clinton and James Patterson, revolves around an author and his partner/researcher who believe that the first gentleman, husband of President Madeline Wright, killed his cheerleader girlfriend 17 years ago and they intend to write a book exposing him. Kirkus provides a positive summary and review:

"The former president teams up again with the industrial-strength tale-spinner to deliver an action-packed mystery. Cole Wright is in big trouble. Thanks to the dogged diggings of former Boston Globe reporter Garrett Wilson and his partner, sometime lawyer Brea Cooke, the former New England Patriots tight end is on trial for murdering his cheerleader girlfriend 17 years earlier. Thing is, Cole is now married to Madeline Parson Wright, the president of the United States. ... Garrett and Brea are shopping a book in which they claim to have hard evidence that Cole Wright killed Suzanne Bonanno, but as they probe deeper into the story, things become murky: Mafiosi, a contract killer, FBI agents, overworked cops, a law professor with deep insight into Cole’s enemies, and sleek political operatives all wait their turn to complicate the tale. For all the tangled threads, Clinton and Patterson turn in a taut yarn that’s satisfyingly stuffed with red herrings, a neatly engineered conspiracy, and more than a few dead bodies. One is tempted, of course, to read between the lines: The first gentleman is, after all, married to the first woman president, and there’s a vast right-wing effort to stymie her efforts to forge a “Grand Bargain” that, among other things, is going to “increase the legal immigration quota by a million people per year for a decade,” raise the corporate tax rate to an ironclad 15%, and “bring back Al Gore’s Reinventing Government initiative from the 1990s.” Suffice it to say that the primary audience for the book is not the MAGA crowd. Carefully constructed, entertaining escapism with a political edge, and just the thing for beach or airplane reading."

As an introduction to their interview with the authors the BBC offers this: "Their gripping new novel centres on US President Madeline Wright and husband, Cole Wright, a former professional American football star. He still carries the scars of his career and is looking for a purpose in the White House, as he fights to clear his name in a trial for the murder of a cheerleader more than 20 years ago. It's a classic police procedural-meets-courtroom drama, as journalists, detectives and political operatives all work to uncover the truth behind who killed the cheerleader and to exonerate the First Gentleman – or to destroy him – and his wife's political agenda. " 

 

Sheepdogs

I've read one other book by Elliot Ackerman, 2034: A Novel of the Next World War, a piece of speculative fiction co-written by Admiral Jim Stavridis about the third world war--and that was even before Russia started throwing its weight around. He is a veteran of several tours in Iraq as a Marine and of the CIA operations division. To paraphrase, there are three kinds of people in the world: sheep who do not recognize that evil exists, wolves who are evil and prey upon sheep, and sheepdogs who recognize the evil in the world and try to protect the sheep. This book took a while to engage me but did eventually. It is hard to describe the plot but Publishers Weekly does a decent job:

"International intrigue, classic heist tropes, and gonzo humor collide in this bruising page-turner from Ackerman (2054). Jay Manning, better known as "Skwerl," was a member of an elite CIA unit before one of his missions went FUBAR and he was fired. His old friend Aziz "Big Cheese" Iqbal is an Afghan pilot renowned for his ability to fly any kind of plane. Adrift without a war to fight, the two take to operating as mercenaries-for-hire. As the novel opens, Skwerl has persuaded Cheese to travel to Africa and "repossess" a luxury jet on behalf of an anonymous client. Things go south fast when they walk into an ambush, barely escaping in Cheese's plane to a hangar in rural Pennsylvania. They regroup and--with the help of a memorable supporting cast including Skwerl's dominatrix wife Sinead, an excommunicated Amish mechanic named Ephraim, and a former soldier nicknamed "Just Shane" who's gone off the grid in Colorado--try to determine who might have set them up. When Cheese's pregnant wife is kidnapped, things get more urgent. Ackerman, a former Marine, holds a funhouse mirror up to classic grizzled-soldier narratives while grounding the loopy proceedings with real stakes for his characters. The result is a riotous entertainment. " 

Other favorable reviews come from Library Journal which concludes its review with "Ackerman ...crafts a fast-paced spy-ish story that offers frisson and humor in equal doses. Fans of Carl Hiaasen will enjoy." Booklist offers "Gripping and stylishly conveyed, this thriller is also a fascinating portrayal of the interconnectedness of contemporary global conflicts."

The Summer Guests

I was so enthralled by The Spy Coast that I immediately checked out the 2nd book in the "Martini Club" series by Tess Gerritsen. It was equally engrossing--Publishers Weekly calls it a "lively sequel"-- to the point that I stayed up late to finish it. This is a story about a missing teenager, a body found in the bottom of the local lake, and a decades-old massacre that has scapegoated one of the resident families in Purity, Maine. As in the previous book, Maggie and her jolly band of ex-CIA spies are on the case and usually several steps ahead of the local police...but then they do have some special skills and special resources that even police chief Jo Thibodeau doesn't have. This story is absolutely loaded with red herrings and chapters told from various characters' points of view. None of this lessens the driving plot line, however. 

Following a brief prologue, we jump to present day when "the Conovers, a family of longtime summer residents, are arriving back in town. Fifteen-year-old Zoe goes swimming in Maiden Pond with a newfound friend and mysteriously disappears later that day. She is an excellent swimmer and diver, so drowning seems unlikely. Perhaps she has been abducted, perhaps worse. She is not 'the sort of girl you’d think would get into trouble'" (Kirkus). Kirkus goes on to describe Maggie and friends as "a delightful group of five retired government spooks who just love a good puzzle to keep their aging brains in shape. They are merry meddlers who keep trying to help Thibodeau..." and concludes their review with "A complex mix of fright and fun."

Publishers Weekly concludes their favorable review by saying, "As in the first book, Gerritsen paints Maggie and her crew with a fine brush, and strikes a satisfying tone...These sexagenarian spies are hitting their stride."  

Mr. Churchill in the White House: The Untold Story of a Prime Minister and Two Presidents

This chunk of Winston Churchill's life by Robert Schmuhl is painstakingly researched and reported. I have read 3 other books about Winston Churchill: Hero of the Empire, about his service as a soldier during the Boer War; The Splendid and the Vile, describing his personal and public life during his first term as Prime Minister during WWII, and Lady Clementine, which also describes his personal life during WWII alongside the lives of those closest to him. In many ways this book extends his biography to include Churchill's intensified interactions with President Roosevelt once the U.S. joined the war, as well as his strong relationship to President Eisenhower during Churchill's 2nd term as P.M. "With a new biography, Robert Schmuhl walks readers through Winston Churchill’s frequent stays at the White House – and the strong bonds those sojourns forged" Christian Science Monitor, July 31, 2024). For me at least, it did cement in my mind that this was a truly a great man who initially stood alone against the Nazi threat and who advocated relentlessly for peace and democracy. I had not realized he won a Nobel Prize for literature and just how extensively he studied and documented history of the western world.

Publishers Weekly notes that, in spite of the hundreds of books written about Churchill, Schmuhl takes a unique approach by focusing extensively on the character of the men involved and their relationships and closes by strongly recommending the book to "history buffs."  As one example cited by the Wall Street Journal's review reveals, "In an extraordinary gesture of trust, the American president [Roosevelt] left Washington, D.C., on Sept. 9, 1943, and handed the British prime minister his keys. 'Winston, please treat the White House as your home. Invite anyone you like to any meals, and do not hesitate to summon any of my advisers with whom you wish to confer.' Winston Churchill had been staying at the White House for more than a week and Franklin Roosevelt was departing for his country home in Hyde Park, N.Y. 'I availed myself fully of these generous facilities,' Churchill later wrote. Assembling the British and American chiefs of staff, he led a meeting on the invasion of Italy. One onlooker wondered whether 'there has ever existed between the war leaders of two allied nations, a relationship so intimate as that revealed by this episode.'" Moreover, Churchill is famously quoted as saying, "No lover ever studied every whim of his mistress as I did those of President Roosevelt" (letter to John Colville, May 2, 1948). Kirkus says, "An educational recollection of an era when geopolitics was based on respect, mutual understanding, and friendship....It adds up to a fresh approach to an important piece of history." 

The Spy Coast

This thriller from Tess Gerritsen kept me engaged the entire time. There is a small community of ex-CIA spies living in the small town of Purity on the coast of Maine. They wanted the quiet life in their retirement or at least they thought they did. But when a stranger accosts ex-spy Maggie Bird at her chicken farm, it appears that her past has finally caught up with her. The body of that same woman is dumped in Maggie's driveway the following day after having clearly being tortured. Maggie's friends, Declan and Ben are determined to hep Maggie figure out who is after her even though she would prefer they stay safely away from her search. Alternating chapters reveal the back story about why someone might be hunting her down. The ending is a surprise.

Publishers Weekly concludes their positive review by saying "The plot bustles along nicely, careening from Thailand to Italy and many points in between, but the real surprise is the richness of Gerritsen's supporting cast, a cantankerous bunch whose love for one another runs deep. Some details toward the end hint that a sequel may be in the works, and it'd be more than welcome. Maggie and her gray-haired tribe are more than capable of helming a long-running series." Similarly, Booklist recommends the book as "Compelling reading throughout, with astute characterizations, a fast-moving but understandable spy plot, and lashings of dark humor. Gerritsen fans and readers of Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club mysteries will love this."

The Cold Dish

This is the first in the long-running "Longmire" series by author Craig Johnson; the series was made into a widely popular TV series. Reading the book highlights how some of the characters in the TV series have been miscast, e.g., Deputy Sheriff Victoria Moretti is a short dark-haired woman in the books but a tall blonde woman in the TV version. Four years prior to the story's point in time, four high school boys raped a mentally disabled Cheyenne girl and never were significantly punished. Somebody has decided that revenge is overdue and is killing the young men. Two are already dead and Sheriff Walt Longmire races to find and protect the remaining two. The characters are compelling, the setting evocatively present and the plot line is fast-paced. A satisfying read. 

Kirkus describes Deputy Moretti as "...a foul-mouthed but extremely capable Philadelphian" and Standing Bear (aka Henry), Walt's life-long friend and fellow Vietnam veteran as "Walt’s Virgil as the sheriff steps onto the local reservation." (See Appaloosa by Robert Parker for the reference to Virgil) they conclude their review, offering "The police work comes slow and the solution comes out of nowhere, but Johnson’s gorgeous Wyoming and agreeable characters make the trip very, very pleasant."

Never Name the Dead

This novel by D.M. Rowell is a deep dive into Kiowa Indian culture as well as a murder mystery. Mae Sawpole (aka Mud) is a successful marketing entrepreneur in Silicon Valley on the eve of a huge IPO for one of her clients. Yet she flies home to Oklahoma and the Kiowa reservation in response to a plea for help from her grandfather, James Sawpole,  She knows he would never ask unless it was very important and urgent. She is dragged unwillingly back into her heritage and culture when her grandfather fails to pick her up at the airport and is also missing from his home. What she finds instead is a dead body. This book is followed by a 2nd novel featuring Mae Sawpole called Silent Are the Dead, which Publishers Weekly concludes: "By the time the narrative arrives at its surprising, fair-play conclusion, readers will be convinced this series deserves a long run."

Library Journal concludes their review with this: "The mystery is secondary in this debut wrapped in Kiowa history, stories, and culture. This novel is slow-paced, but a perfect fit for a story keeper account."