Half Moon Bay

I have read some of the Alex Delaware books by Jonathan Kellerman before, but it's been a while. In this book he co-wrote with his son Jesse, the protagonist is the Deputy Coroner for the Alameda County Sheriff's Department--basically, the Berkeley area of California.  This is apparently the 3rd installment in this series. Clay Edison is already a little sleep deprived with their new baby when he gets called in to investigate the skeleton of a small child found in People's Park by a construction crew. As a result of their search for unsolved missing children cases, Clay is also contacted by a local businessman, Peter Franchette, who wants Clay to find a sister that he thinks went missing before Peter was born...over 50 years ago. The body at People's Park is not the man's sister, it is quickly determined, but Clay agrees to take on the search on his own time. The skeleton in the part is the catalyst for a raft of trouble--protests, sit-ins, law suits, etc--and the sooner Clay can identify the boy, the sooner things will calm down. Filled with colorful history of the area, highlighting the issues of the day such as nuclear weapons research, this book also offers a truly engaging main character. Publishers Weekly offers only a lukewarm review.

Survivor Song

This only slightly speculative thriller by Paul Tremblay takes place in contemporary Massachusetts, which is under quarantine due to the outbreak of a particularly virulent varient of rabies. Rather than dying in days or weeks, symptoms--loss of mental capacities, aggressive biting behavior, and death--occur within hours. When the husband of 8-months-pregnant Natalie returns from a fraught trip for groceries, an infected neighbor attacks them; Paul is killed and Natalie is bitten before she fatally stabs the crazed man. Natalie turns for help to her oldest and closest friend, pediatrician Ramola Sherman. Fighting panicking people who jam the road to the hospital, Ramola gets Natalie to a hospital for a vaccination, but it's not clear whether they made it before the virus has reached Natalie's brain. When an attempt to evacuate Natalie to a maternity hospital for delivery is thwarted by more infected victims storming the hospital, Ramola begins a desperate attempt to get Natalie to safety. The tension comes from the numerous obstacles they face--infected animals and people attacking them, roving armed bands of militia--as well as the uncertainty about Natalie's and her unborn child's future. Obviously a somewhat hyperbolic scenario of what we are currently facing with the COVID pandemic is depicted in the hysteria and violent reactions of the population. A fast read with well developed characters. All but the last chapter of the book takes place in the mere span of a few hours, and you know how it will end because the author warns you ahead of time. But it's a compelling ride.

NPR concludes their review by saying, "Survivor Song is a small horror story. A personal one. A fast and terrible one that is committed beautifully to the page. It goes on, piling banal complication on top of the awful terror of time running out, and crushes you in the most surprising of ways — with a look, a line, a touch, a memory, an inevitability that you saw coming from page 1. It exists in a pandemic world where all choices are bad ones. Where things unravel faster than you can possibly believe. Where happy endings are transactional: they come with a cost. Because Survivor Song isn't a fairy tale. It's a horror story."

The NYT notes the prescience of the author  writing something that sounds remarkably like our current situation: “In the coming days,” the narrator tells us, “conditions will continue to deteriorate. Emergency services and other public safety nets will be stretched to their breaking points, exacerbated by the wily antagonists of fear, panic, misinformation; a myopic, sluggish federal bureaucracy further hamstrung by a president unwilling and woefully unequipped to make the rational, science-based decisions necessary; and exacerbated, of course, by plain old individual everyday evil.”

 

All the Devils are Here

Louise Penny never disappoints and this latest installment in the "Inspector Gamache" series is totally engrossing plot wise, with rich description of settings and satisfying development of characters and relationships. Gamache and wife, Reine-Marie, have come to Paris to await the arrival of their daughter Annie's 2nd child. Annie's husband, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, was formerly Gamache's second in command at the Sûreté du Québec when Gamache was Chief Superintendent. He now works for an engineering firm. The Gamache's son Daniel and his family also live in Paris; Daniel is in venture capital at a large bank. On their first day, Gamache reunites with his godfather and surrogate parent, Stephen Horowitz, for a stroll down memory lane to the Rodin sculpture garden. The family and Stephen dine together that evening, but while walking home, Stephen is injured in a life-threatening hit-and-run, which Gamache is sure was not accidental. When Gamache and Reine-Marie visit Stephen's Paris apartment the next day, they find it ransacked and they also find a dead body. Gamache has a long-time professional acquaintance with the Prefect of Police in Paris, but as time goes on, Gamache comes to think his old friend may be involved in the secrets behind the attempt on Stephen's life. Everyone in the family becomes involved. Reine-Marie's skills as a research librarian and archivist help to uncover planted clues. Daniels does his own research on Stephen's recent financial maneuvers, and Gamache, as usual, tries to plumb the hearts of  those involved, including his son's. Gamache's relationship with Daniel, which has been strained for years, is tested in extraordinary ways, and Gamache faces the possibility of losing not only his friend Stephen, but also his son. 

Kirkus advises, "If you're new to Penny's world, this would be a great place to jump in. Then go back and start the series from the beginning." The NY Journal of Books says, "...the combined mystery—tension—stakes—people—place are drawn so well that it’s nigh impossible to put the book down...The rest of the story is a deep dive into human psychology and the eternal battle between good and evil." The NYT call's this Penny's "most haunting novel yet," and goes on to say, "Although Penny touches on a wide range of subjects in this expansive story, her main concern is with the sacrifices we make for those we love." Highest recommendation as for all her books.

Conviction

Never heard of or read Scottish author Denise Mina, although she has published over a dozen books.  Her first book, Garnethill (1998), won a John Creasey Dagger Award for best first crime novel. The narrator is Anna McDonald, married with two daughters she adores and a husband with whom she is no longer so in love. Her morning starts as they often do--some early quiet time indulgently listening to a true crime podcast before getting the kids ready for school. But things take a shocking turn on two levels. The podcast involves the death of someone she befriended years ago, and then her best friend, Estelle, shows up--not to join her in attending yoga class, but to leave town with Anna's husband and children.  Anna is furious, distraught, and completely alone. When Estelle's anorexic and mildly famous husband, Fin, shows up on Anna's doorstep, the moment is captured by a nosy neighbor and posted to social media. The new identity Anna--born Sophie Bukaran-- has so carefully crafted is now visible to old enemies who once tried to kill her. There are repeated hints about a dark past secret and it isn't until fairly late in the book that we find out Anna was a victim, not a perpetrator. 

Anna doesn't know where to turn but decides to try and solve the death of the man she knew and, at the same time, to elude enemies who will be sure to find her. So ensues a crazy road trip across Scotland and then to the continent chasing down clues and trying to outrun killers. 

The Washington Post's Maureen Corrigan notes that this novel is very different from Mina's earlier work and gushes that it is both a compelling and "spectacular" read. Kirkus claims this book "... has it all: sexual predation, financial skulduggery, reluctant heroism, even the power of social media." There's also an interview by the NYT with Denise Mina that will give some interesting insights into the author. The Guardian offers an in-depth review and offers this summary, "Although there is a rollercoaster, cross-continental murder mystery at its backbone, the muscle and sinew of Conviction are satisfyingly substantial themes about the sustainability of self-invention, and how possible or desirable it is to tell the truth about oneself in the social media age, as well as a subplot that reflects the core concerns of the #MeToo movement."

Burning Bright

This is the 2nd installment in the "Peter Ash" series by Nick Petrie. Peter Ash is a veteran who has returned from Afghanistan with PTSD, characterized primarily by debilitating anxiety attacks whenever he is in enclosed spaces. He sleeps outside, regardless of the weather. See my earlier post for the first book in the series, The Drifter, for more background; you'll want to read the first book to truly appreciate one of the key relationships in this book.

Peter spends months at a time backpacking in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, but when he encounters a hungry grizzly preparing for hibernation, he survives by climbing a tree. Surprisingly, he finds a set of climbing ropes that lead him into an encounter with June Cassidy, a journalist who is being pursued by men claiming to be from the government. Based on past interactions with these men, June is pretty sure their intentions are harmful rather than helpful. June's mother, Stanford professor and brilliant computer scientist. Hazel Cassidy, was recently killed in a hit and run. When June finds her office at Stanford ransacked, June begins to fear that these men want a new AI program Professor Cassidy was working on, and they think June can lead them to it. June is extremely smart in her own right, although a bit unfocused in her life, but she is clearly outnumbered and out-resourced in this fight. Peter offers to help. He reminds me a bit of that old TV series, The Enforcer, in coming to the aid of the underdog, or more currently, those favoring the "Jack Reacher" series by Lee Child will find a similar sort of lone hero here. June reluctantly agrees, and as they try to evade the hunters, Peter finds himself growing increasingly attached to June.  As they untangle the strings controlling the hunters, the clues lead them to June's estranged father, but is he the perpetrator or another victim? 

Publishers' Weekly's only downbeat is that the book was not tightly edited. I didn't find that it detracted from a sense of a fast moving storyline.  Kirkus calls it a "fine thriller" and anticipates the continuation of the series.

Committal

This was a relatively quick and interesting read by Irene Cooper, set in a not too distant future when AI had developed to the point of being able to respond to just about your every need--certainly all your information needs. Luci Sykes is at the heart of the story, born to a beautiful and intelligent mother, Maggie Sykes, and an ambitious and uncaring father. She was deprived of oxygen by an incompetent nurse at birth and consequently suffered emotional and neurological problems as a child, but was nevertheless a savant of sorts. When her father tired of her tantrums, he sent her to a clinic that promised a cure; there she underwent a lobotomy. She came out even smarter and certainly more in control. But the underlying rage that fueled Luci never left; it just went underground. She has a constant companion at the clinic and in her current life, Jasper. He was abandoned at the clinic when a former patient ran away. Luci runs Olympia Navigation and is the creator of a ubiquitous and highly successful intuitive navigation system called Beacon. BEACON is also a character in the story. Luci has created a new, even more advanced GPS, Searchlight, to replace BEACON, but it is also secretly programmed to do something that will end the human race. One of the things Luci didn't realize was that, in transferring programming code from BEACON to Searchlight, the two AI's developed their own relationship.

Another surprise comes in the form of another major player in the story,  Luci's fraternal twin brother, Tokker. She never knew anything about him, nor he about her until Mr. Lamb shows up on Tokker's little farmstead in Oklahoma and informs him he was sent away at birth to protect Tokker from the twins' father. Mr. Lamb wants Tokker to find Luci and stop her from releasing the program. Tokker is aided in a seemingly senseless and futile quest by BEACON who takes him all over the country to gather clues. Luci has created a complex puzzle that will lead to her location. Along the way, Tokker meets and is assisted by Viggo Mortenson, Tilda Swinton, Daniel Day Lewis, and Steve Buscemi. Offbeat sci fi/fantasy is how I might describe it, similar in some ways to Tyler Hayes' Imaginary Corpse. We also learn in the end that everybody seems to be related to everybody else.

I would agree with Publishers' Weekly that Luci's character is underdeveloped and that the frequent flashbacks and gimmicks detract somewhat from a clever storyline.

Milkman

This book by Anna Burns was the first Northern Irish book to ever win the Man Booker Prize (2018). The author was so poor and in so much pain while writing that she moved from one house sitting gig to another and used food banks to survive.

Set in what is probably Belfast during the "Troubles" of  the 1970's, the town is never named and neither are any of the characters--with one exception. Rather we know the narrator and those around her only by a description of their relationships to one another, e.g., Ma, maybe-boyfriend, wee sisters. second brother, etc. In an interview with The Guardian, Burns states, “Although it is recognisable as this skewed form of Belfast, it’s not really Belfast in the 70s. I would like to think it could be seen as any sort of totalitarian, closed society existing in similarly oppressive conditions...I see it as a fiction about an entire society living under extreme pressure, with longterm violence seen as the norm.”

Violence is so pervasive, that the paramilitaries or Renouncers never hesitate to claim responsibility for beatings and murders. Everything is so politically charged that even certain names associated with the other side are forbidden in the community. People watch and gossip and make up stories and one's life is never totally one's own. When the 18-year-old narrator, middle sister, tries to go against these norms--she doesn't want to marry or refute the rumors that are circulating about her--she escapes by walking and reading. As a result, she becomes a sort of pariah of the community. Her father is dead by natural causes, but her brother has been killed by politics and one of her sisters is banished, also because she crossed one of the many invisible but potent political divides. An adopted brother hasn't been heard from in years as he is also being sought by the authorities for his anti-government activities. When a man, who everyone refers to as Milkman, starts stalking middle sister, her life truly spins out of control. The rumor is she's having an affair with him, a married man. Morever, he is a leader among the paramilitary resistance movement and her supposed association with him, in spite of all her denials, leads to the community kow-towing to her out of fear.  No one, not her mother, not even her longest friend believe that she has had no involvement with him other than to be the target of his psychological campaign to intimidate her until she gives in. She has been sort of dating maybe-boyfriend, an avid car mechanic, for over a year, and when Milkman starts talking about car bombs, she becomes fearful for maybe-boyfriend's safety. That relationship, which had been a haven from her crazy mother and the oppressive community mores, also starts to sour. She feels trapped and alone, without resources. Also in The Guardian interview, Burns emphasizes that the book is about power, “how power is used, both in a personal and in a societal sense.”

The style of writing was definitely a challenge for me as she talks about things in lengthy series, for example when she lists ALL the names that are not allowed on their side. And there is a great deal of Irish slang that defies attempts to clarify with a dictionary. Most of all, though, this narrative is all so internal, even though big things are happening in the outside world--the story feels largely like one long stream of consciousness. Or as The Guardian puts it, her style "makes reading her an immersive, sometimes maddening, experience."

The New York Times also interviewed Ms. Burns shortly after she won the Man Booker and she denies that middle sister is autobiographical, although they shared the habit of reading while walking. But she was raised in a district of Belfast where there was constant violence at all levels and where she and her family were evacuated from their home to a refugee camp in the Republic of Ireland when houses in the area were being burned. She said they had plenty to eat there, for a change, and she was disappointed when she had to return home to school.

The LA Times takes issue with those who imply the book is too difficult, noting "Don’t let this do anything but persuade you to read and absorb it. The difficulty is only in settling into a fresh voice and style that are dense, yes, but that would not work or be anywhere near as revelatory or transporting in any other format. It should go without saying that a novel with the setting of Northern Ireland in the late 20th century should not be an “easy” read. It would be a dishonest book and a failure. There is too much to contend with."

NPR calls it "brutally intelligent" and concludes "At its core, Milkman is a wildly good and true novel of how living in fear limits people."

Read it and decide for yourself.

Nickel Boys

I started this book by Colson Whitehead some time back and decided I couldn't deal with the dark subject matter in the middle of a pandemic. Nevertheless, my book group selected it for the coming month's discussion, so this time I pushed through to the end. Of course Whitehead writes so well that reading it is easy in one sense, although one of my fellow book groupies complained about the abundant jargon. But it is a dark subject, based on an actual Florida school, the Dozier School for Boys, that was in operation for over 100 years, inflicting horrific psychological and physical injuries--including death--on thousands of children. 

The protagonist for most of the book is Elwood Curtis, abandoned by his parents, but taken in and nurtured by his grandmother in 1960's Tallahassee, Florida. He works hard from childhood on, both at school and to earn money after school, and has absorbed the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. by listening to his speeches on a phonograph record. When a high school teacher recognizes his intelligence and determination, Elwood is set to start college classes at a nearby high school. But as he is hitch hiking to his first day of classes, he takes a ride in a fancy car with a black man who is stopped minutes later for car theft. Although the driver backs up Elwood's claim of innocence. Elwood is arrested and sent to the so called Nickel Academy which is supposed to provide "physical, intellectual, and moral training" for delinquent boys. It is in fact a holding pen and money maker for administrators and teachers who love to inflict pain and make money by selling off the black children's food supplies and employing them in grueling labor. When Elwood tries to defend a boy being picked on by two bullies, he receives a beating that leaves him hospitalized for weeks. After that, he learns to fly under the radar with the help of his friend Turner. 

We fast forward about midway in the book to New York City, a decade or so later, to find that Elwood supposedly escaped and has now managed to work his way up an an employee at a moving company and eventually starts a moving company of his own. What we learn in the end, however, is that Elwood never made it out of the Nickel Academy in his mind or his body. The book is a blistering indictment of the systemic and systematic abuses heaped upon African Americans since we brought them to America as slaves. Obviously this is a timely read given the recent high profiles police killings of black Americans and the re-energizing of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The reviews are uniformly glowing.

The New York Times provides a lengthy description of the plot as well as cogent commentary on the significance of the book's topic. 

The Guardian calls this book "essential" reading. 

The Washington Post notes that Whitehead has abandoned all the "surreal insertions" that characterized his Pulitzer Prize winning Underground Railroad. This book is instead "restrained" and "transparent," it's "groundedness...perhaps, an implicit admission that the treatment of African Americans has been so bizarre and grotesque that fantastical enhancements are unnecessary."

The Golden Cage

Prolific writer of psychological thrillers, Camilla Lackberg is a new author for me. She might better have titled this book Revenge for it spends the first half of the book making the case for why the protagonist Faye so elaborately executes in the second half of the book.

We are constantly getting dark hints about Faye's upbringing in a small town as the daughter of a poor family. We learn her brother committed suicide, her mother is dead, and her father is in jail. She can't get out of town fast enough when her father goes to jail. She heads to the place she's always dreamed of, Stockholm, and proceeds to leave her past behind, or does she. She gets into the prestigious Stockholm School of Economics, where she excels. But when she meets and then marries her exact opposite, a man born with a silver spoon in his mouth, she drops out of school to support him and a friend in starting their own business. With Faye's excellent guidance, the business grows beyond their wildest imagining they become wealthy and then become parents of a daughter. But husband Jack becomes increasingly distant, shutting Faye out of all involvement with the business. And then she comes home unexpectedly to find him with another woman. In spite of her seminal role in the business's success, he cuts her off without a penny. 

You'll probably begin to guess how things turn out early on, but won't know the full extent of Faye's machinations until the very end. The Washington Post notes, "the lure of The Golden Cage lies in the moral ambiguity of its heroine..."  Reviewer Maureen Corrigan goes on to observe that Lackberg's prose, at least in translation, is not particularly elegant. And, in fact, I often found her writing, even of the sex scenes, boring. But you will certainly want to find out how Faye gets payback. The New York Times offers a favorable review with more detail about plot and character. Kirkus calls this "A deliciously inventive thriller brimming with sex, secrets, and scandal." And Publishers' Weekly gushes, "The poignant insights into women’s capacity for self-sacrifice, multidimensional characterizations, and celebration of female ingenuity will resonate with many. Läckberg reinforces her position as the thriller queen of Scandinavia." I wouldn't turn down another of her books if offered, but I wouldn't bother seeking one out either, so I guess that puts me in the minority.