REVIEWS FROM JOHN A. BROUSSARD
John's e-mail address is:
broupome@hawaii.rr.com
He has been writing and selling fiction, including novels and short stories, for several years.
Eleven of John's books are now available in Kindle editions via Amazon.com. Click on John's name below to view selections.
THE EXECUTOR
JESSE KELLERMAN
G. P. Putnam's Sons April, 2010
The future looks very bright. On his way to a doctorate in philosophy at Harvard, with excellent grades under his belt, there seems to be no stopping Joseph Geist. But when his sympathetic college advisor suffers a stroke and has to retire, the vine suddenly withers. His new advisor, a dedicated follower of a very different school of philosophical thought, denigrates the subject of Geist's thesis and leaves him with hundreds of pages of manuscript which he now feels are going nowhere. The crowning blow is when his girlfriend breaks up with him and sends him off with nothing more than a knapsack filled with his few personal belongings. Just when the future seems completely hopeless, however, he receives an offer he can't resist. An elderly woman, herself with an extensive background in philosophy, offers to pay him for a few hours of discussion of the subject. Joseph accepts and is so successful in this new role that Alma Spielman offers him a room in her mansion in return for a minimal amount of housework. The future seems assured, but it's not all a bed of roses. Alma's only living relative is a sponging grand-nephew who visits every so often to receive financial help. Alma, herself, suffers from a neuralgic affliction that immobilizes her for hours at a time. And, despite his best intentions, Joseph is getting nowhere with his thesis. Suddenly, murder intrudes, and his world crumbles. THE EXECUTOR is really about the subject of Joseph's thesis: the question of free will. Are human beings really responsible for what they do, or are they the pawns of fate, no matter how much they may struggle against it? If Kellerman's work needs classifying, "intellectual mystery" may be the best category. An interest, however slight, in the shadowy land of human motivation will help the reader to fully appreciate the remarkable qualities of this novel. Even without such an interest, the vibrant prose and memorable characters in these pages will make the reading interesting and worthwhile. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
- John A. Broussard
WATER HAZARD
DON DAHLER
Minotaur Books March, 2010
Having multiple hats can be a problem, especially when you're expected to wear more than one at a time. Golf professional/private investigator/attorney Huck Doyle is faced with that difficulty soon after he arrives in Hawaii to participate in an important tournament. During a friendly round prior to the big game, Sing Ten Wong, CEO of the Bank of the Pacific Islands, is shot and killed while teeing up at the seventeenth hole. Huck was actually watching him at the time, but he has no inkling of where the shot came from. The police are equally baffled, so Sing Ten's son, Rick Wong, a close friend of Huck's, pleads with him to uncover the facts behind his dad's death. That leaves Huck with the difficult simultaneous tasks of sleuthing, preparing for the coming big game, and staying out of trouble with the police while engaging in what they will undoubtedly consider meddling on his part. He immediately discovers that Sing Ten was secretly planning a merger of his bank with another entity. Did other officials at the Bank of the Pacific Islands decide to take drastic steps to avoid the merger? Or was it, perhaps, that mysterious other party to the transaction? There's also an international twist, since the People's Republic of China may be involved. Whoever the perpetrator is, Huck's obviously unwelcome investigations lead to his being shadowed and beaten. WATER HAZARD will find favor with the golf crowd, but may be a bit much for those less devoted to the minutiae of the sport. The problem is easily resolved, however, since the long game sequences can be skipped without significantly impacting the reader's understanding of the plot. A greater difficulty is the strange writing style, which makes dialog difficult to follow. Dahler does not use quotation marks, so there are no embedded clues as to who's talking - such as he said or she responded - and this sometimes leads to confusion. In addition, the indenting and italicizing are occasionally erratic. Even if the reader has patience for these unusual features, the ending will require gigantic suspension of disbelief. And if all the women in Hawaii truly are stunning young Asian-American beauties, this reviewer has clearly misspent his three decades in the Aloha State.
- John A. Broussard
FARM FRESH MURDER
PAIGE SHELTON
Berkley Prime Crime PBO 4/10
One would expect that the vendors at a long-established farmer's market would be a peaceable and sociable lot. They certainly were at Bailey's market, tucked away in a rural South Carolina county. At least they were until the murder. The early arrivals had been setting up their booths when they discovered the body of one of their number. The new peach seller had been hacked to death with an axe. The local police chief suspects Abner Justen, an old-timer who rents a stall at the market, so Abner makes himself scarce. That's where Becca Robins comes into the picture, since Abner is a longtime friend and mentor who she is convinced couldn't possibly have committed the crime. Much to the displeasure of Chief Sam Brion, Becca sets out on an investigation of her own to clear her friend and, not surprisingly, it gets her into a peck of trouble. FARM FRESH MURDER is a cozy with an outdoor setting, plenty of suspects, and secrets hidden deep in the past of this small community. When Becca stirs up some of those muddied waters, she finds out far more than she'd bargained for. Shelton has drawn up an entertaining plot -- with a double romantic interest in the two possible successors to the twice-divorced protagonist's ex husbands -- and provides an intriguing ending to a nicely-paced mystery.
- John A. Broussard
MISSISSIPPI VIVIAN
BILL CRIDER and CLYDE WILSON
Five Star April, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59414-874-3
Ted Stephens is not your typical story-book private eye. He doesn't drink, doesn't womanize, has a happy marriage, and just wants to do his job and get back home. The good folk of Losgrove aren't particularly eager to help him, and they definitely want him to move on. His purpose in coming to this small Mississippi town in the first place had been to investigate an insurance fraud. A dozen residents who had taken jobs in Houston, Texas, claimed to have been injured at work and are now collecting insurance checks - all mailed to Losgrove's only attorney and all cashed by someone who endorses them illegibly. When Stephens begins nosing around, he soon finds that the townspeople have all become thoroughly closed-mouthed. This is especially true of the top name on the list of claimants - mainly because he's dead. According to the local sheriff, the case is closed, the death declared a suicide. But Stephens suspects there's more than coincidence about the timing of the death, so he turns to the one person willing to talk -- the colorful waitress in a nearby restaurant. She calls herself Mississippi Vivian, knows pretty much all there is to know about Losgrove and, for a little financial assistance plus a lot of prompting, ladles out bits of useful information. MISSISSIPPI VIVIAN is a novel that comes across more like an old time Western than a modern private-eye story. Stephens is the Lone Ranger who, without really intending to, stirs up hidden secrets and finds himself fighting for truth and justice far beyond his original assignment. Crider and Wilson have created an especially memorable figure in their leading lady, and they turn the time-worn plot of the eponymous novel into an interesting mystery, packed with fascinating descriptions of the denizens of one small Southern town.
- John A. Broussard
INFAMOUS
ACE ATKINS
G. P. Putnam's Sons April, 2010
The time is the height of The Great Depression, when armed robbers - rather than bank officials - stole from those financial institutions. The place is the American Midwest, where a lucky few harvested fortunes from the oil fields. With pickings from banks becoming increasingly slim, it's not surprising to find criminals turning to the more lucrative trade of kidnapping. George "Machine Gun" Kelly and wife Kathryn hatch a plan to pick up millionaire Charles Urschel and hold him for ransom. In spite of incredible bungling, the deal goes through and George and Kathryn are soon making plans for how they'll spend the money. But there are complications. It's not just the marked bills, which need to be exchanged for something more readily negotiable. As it happens, another duo operating outside the law get wind of the haul, and want a slice of the booty. The end result is a steady, booze-filled roaring back and forth on dusty, sun-baked roads, on the run both from the other criminals and from the G-men. INFAMOUS is a rip-roaring tale of the Thirties, with plenty of gun action, a Department of Justice whose agents manage to stay just one step behind the thieves, and two protagonists who will elicit the sympathies of all but the most law-and-order-committed citizens. Atkins is remarkably adept at depicting the personalities of George and Kathryn, the one looking no further than the next job, the other dreaming only of a luxurious future - with or without her husband.
- John A. Broussard
ELEGY FOR APRIL
BENJAMIN BLACK
Henry Holt and Company April, 2010
Despite their differing occupations and backgrounds, these five young people have formed a close-knit group, meeting more or less regularly for friendly conversation. Phoebe Griffin works in a millinery shop, Patrick Ojukwu is a Nigerian student studying for his medical degree, Isobel Galloway is pursuing her career as a stage actress, journalist Jimmy Minor writes for a local newspaper and April Lattimer is a junior doctor. The undertone of today's luncheon meeting is different, however, as April hasn't been seen or heard from for several days. Phoebe is especially concerned, and later calls upon her father to help in locating the missing woman. This becomes the heart of the novel. What has happened to April? Phoebe's father (who goes only by his last name, Quirke) enlists the informal aid of a police friend while doing some inquiring of his own. April's mother and brother know nothing about what may have happened to her, and they care even less. But bits and pieces of the puzzle gradually emerge as the tale unfolds. There's evidence that April has had a miscarriage - or an abortion - in her tiny apartment. Could Patrick have been the father? And what of Isobel, who insists that April had stolen Patrick away from her? And Jimmy, who wrestles with the problem of journalism versus friendship? Most baffling of all is Quirke, fighting a losing battle with alcohol as he tries to work his way through the mass of contradictions surrounding April and her dysfunctional family. Skilled writer that he is, Black delights in detail and depicts it extremely well... from the fog-draped streets of Dublin, to horse-drawn "jaunting cars" offering tours of the city, to drops of water falling from chilled bottles of wine. Though the time period is never made explicit, which adds to the enigmatic atmosphere of the novel, it does seem to be somewhere around the early 1960's. In any event, it's the age of cigarettes - which fill these pages with a blue haze - and of an uneasiness about racial differences even more pronounced than it is today, plus a fascination with sex in a society which fitfully tries to blind itself to its existence. ELEGY FOR APRIL is a pleasure to read. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
- John A. Broussard
MURDER IN THE PALAIS ROYAL
CARA BLACK
Soho Crime March, 2010
A phone call when one is in the midst of sex can be annoying, but the one to PI Aimée Leduc will produce much more than annoyance. Agitated partner René Friant is calling from the office with strange news. A hundred thousand francs have suddenly shown up in the company's account and neither René nor Aimée can figure out why. A second phone call soon afterwards is a grim sequel to the first. René has been shot and seriously wounded. He now lies in the hospital in critical condition. Following close on the heels of that information are the police, who arrest Aimée after a witness reports that she was there and had fled from the scene of the crime. Her alibi crumbles when her evening's lover turns out to be a married man who vehemently denies having been with her at the time of the shooting. The police reluctantly release her, since the evidence against her is still somewhat tenuous, and that gives her the opportunity to look for the real culprit. Leads take her to the Maison d'Arrrêt de la Santé where Nicolas Evry is imprisoned. She has good reason to suspect him of what she's convinced is a revenge crime and a deliberate effort to incriminate her. It's a lead that produces grim results. MURDER IN THE PALAIS ROYAL rapidly becomes a tale of blackmail, homicide and corruption in high places. Black has combined an intricate plot with the captivating figure of Aimée Leduc as she bobs and weaves to avoid the charges against her, to find out who is depositing large and suspicious sums in her bank account and, finally, to discover who has shot her partner and is now threatening her own life.
- John A. Broussard
ON DEADLY GROUND
MICHAEL NORMAN
Poisoned Pen Press March, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59058-692-1
Being a ranger in Utah's Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument is bound to be a quieter assignment than that of a homicide detective in a major U.S. city. But, as J. D. Books finds out on the very first day of his new job, it isn't. David Greenbriar, head of the Escalante Environmental Wilderness Alliance (EEWA) is found murdered, with a taunting note pinned to his body. "One less tree hugger." To both J.D. and the local sheriff, it means that the murderer is trying to implicate the Citizens for a Free West, a group comprised of local ranchers who have been feuding with the environmentalists. And a much more likely prospect shows up almost immediately in the form of Lance Clayburn, an EEWA member who'd been having an affair with Greenbriar's wife. The evidence against the suspect mounts when beer cans found at the crime scene bear his fingerprints, and the gun registered in his name has disappeared. But J.D. isn't at all convinced that this primary suspect is the actual killer. What follows is the painstaking running down of leads which at first seem to go nowhere, but which do eventually produce results... very unexpected results. There may have been an actual witness to the crime, a mentally unstable boy who suddenly disappears before J.D. can question him. And a stranger shows up in town who has an inordinate interest in Greenbriar's death. ON DEADLY GROUND is a police procedural whose investigation is conducted over an area larger than several small states. As more disappearances occur, that vast spread of land adds to the complications. Norman has done a commendable job of combining an interesting mystery with the current turmoil surrounding environmental issues. The result is a plausible tale that includes greed, passion and corruption.
- John A. Broussard
ARCADIA FALLS
CAROL GOODMAN
Ballantine Books March, 2010
The Arcadia School of the Arts, hidden away in a remote part of rural upstate New York, promises to be a refuge for Meg Rosenthal. Recently widowed, overwhelmed with debts left behind by her husband, she is accompanied by a teen-aged daughter who is still grieving for her lost father. Meg hopes that the teaching appointment at this prep school will help her renew her happy relationship with the withdrawn Sally, as well as helping her own transition to life without Jude. She is soon intrigued by Dean Ivy St. Clare, who was a friend of the original founders, Vera Beecher and Lily Eberhardt. Even more intriguing is the school's peculiar fascination with pagan rites. Her own class in local folklore allows her to probe into the past to find that Lily's death several decades earlier in a nearby gorge may not have been the accident it was reported to have been. Barely settled into her new job, Meg is confronted with an additional - and this time contemporary - enigma, when one of her students is found dead in virtually the same spot where the body of the school's co-founder had lain. The plot rapidly becomes a grand opera librettist's dream, as changelings abound, as many of the major characters turn out not to be what they themselves assumed they were, and as lives are turned upside by new revelations. ARCADIA FALLS combines the story of a young widowed mother trying to find a new life for herself and her daughter with a mystery covering several generations. Goodman's complex and slow-paced novel contains a book within a book as several chapters are devoted to Meg's discovery and reading of long-lost pages left behind by Lily. The secrets they contain explain much about the school's mysterious past and point to solutions of some of the current mysteries.
- John A. Broussard
John's review of
THE LAST EMBER
by Daniel Levin
appears on the
PAPERBACK PAGE
.
HAILEY'S WAR
JODI COMPTON
Shaye Areheart Books June, 2010
There are numerous mysteries here. What's the real reason Nidia Lopez is going to Mexico? Why did Hailey Cain wash out of West Point just months before her graduation? Who are the thugs who abduct Nidia and leave Hailey for dead on the roadside in rural Mexico? Why did Hailey leave Los Angeles so abruptly? These are just a few of the questions readers will be asking themselves as the story wends its way through much of California and across the southern border. As some of these mysteries are cleared up, others unfold. Hailey Cain is a bike messenger in San Francisco, making good money at this dangerous occupation, when she receives a different but temporary job offer. All she has to do is to drive Nidia to a small village in Mexico, ostensibly for the young girl to take care of her sick grandmother. She accepts the job partly as a favor for a friend, but also because the pay is generous. As she approaches the village, a group of American thugs ambush her, take Nidia, and leave behind an unconscious Hailey, who just barely survives the attack. HAILEY'S WAR starts off with lengthy biographical material that sketches out Hailey's earlier life, but these preliminaries are essential for making understandable much of what later happens in Mexico, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Truckee, California. Compton has come up with a first-rate thriller where seemingly unrelated pieces keep coming together right up to the last pages. Her protagonist is definitely a memorable character, the depiction of the urban Latino gangs rings true, and the human motivations that drive this novel -- though they seem farfetched at first -- eventually emerge as quite comprehensible.
- John A. Broussard
TOM WASP AND THE NEWGATE KNOCKER
AMY MYERS
Five Star May, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59414-870-5
East London in 1863 was filthy, crowded, filled with choking smoke and dust-laden fog. Even so, Tom Wasp and his young assistant Ned are grimier still; they're both chimney sweeps. Their soot-filled life is interrupted by a gift from one of Tom's friends, a woman about to be hanged for murdering her husband. The interruption is a Chinese porcelain statuette, which brings nothing but trouble to the pair. Before Tom can even trace the origin of this strange bequest back to the house where the murderer had been a domestic servant, it becomes evident that there is something of value to the figure - something beyond its lovely appearance. When a young girl serving at the household that the statue may have been stolen from is found dead, and a German band member is arrested for the killing, Tom has reason to believe the arrested man is innocent. The girl's parents also feel the wrong man has been charged, and they ask Tom to find out the truth of the matter, knowing that chimney sweeps have quick and easy access to even the most exclusive households. But there are several complications. The parents run one of the major crime mobs in London, a rival mob is also interested in either the doll or in finding the real killer, and it soon becomes evident that international elements may be involved as well. In addition someone steals the statue, Ned steals it back, and then it disappears again. TOM WASP AND THE NEWGATE KNOCKER moves at a pace that fits the ambience of mid-Nineteenth Century London with its pedestrian-filled streets and horse-drawn carriages. Myers has suffused the pages of this novel with that fetid atmosphere while adding to it an intriguing sleuth and a complex plot.
- John A. Broussard
THE INSIDER
REECE HIRSCH
Berkley Books PBO 5/10
Becoming a partner in a major San Francisco law firm should have been the single most important day in Will Connelly's life. But the suicide death of one of the other partners casts a pall over his appreciation of his new appointment. The fact that he's been given a major merger negotiation that Ben Fisher, the deceased partner, had been working on, merely makes the police wonder if the apparent suicide might not have been something more insidious. Crisis piles upon crisis after two immigrant Russian thugs acquire a hold on Connelly and force him to reveal information about the secret merger. That brings him under Securities and Exchange Commission scrutiny. And possible involvement of the Russian mafia means Homeland Security is interested in some of his dealings as well. The pace of the novel rapidly escalates as the Russians resort to threats and torture to find out more about this merger, so they'll have insider information for lucrative trading on the stock exchange. THE INSIDER is the story of an honest attorney who gradually slides further and further into a morass of what amounts to business espionage. Hirsch is adept at describing the fascinating world of corporate mergers, and the legal ramifications of its workings. His protagonist is a sympathetic figure whose misfortunes are only partially the result of his own doings. The attorney's desperate efforts to avoid meeting his tormentors' demands and to find out what really happened to Ben Fisher, along with his frantic attempts to fend off the authorities, make for an intriguing thriller.
- John A. Broussard
THE MARKS OF CAIN
TOM KNOX
Viking May, 2010
The Basques are a strange people, with a language believed to be unrelated to any others in the world, clinging to their ancient ways long after their French and Spanish neighbors had taken over their lands, and suspected of every wickedness from heresy to witchcraft. But the Cagots who live among them, set apart by aberrations such as webbed toes and/or fingers are so different as to be despised even by the Basques. It's an ancient map of the area, left to him by his Basque grandfather, which sends David Martinez off to his ancestral home to discover he-knows-not-what about why his grandparent had held the document so dear. The quest produces the good: a lovely English woman caught up in the Basque independence movement; the bad: a mad Cagot who seems completely committed to guarding the mystery of the map; and the intriguing: a strange geneticist who is on the verge of discovering new and perhaps dangerous facts about the nature of race. THE MARKS OF CAIN has all the prerequisites of the new breed of international thrillers-a headlong rush from one part of the world to the next to solve a mystery buried in ambiguous Bible passages, a secret right-wing Catholic Society bent on preserving Church secrets at all costs; and a lovely companion to share the traumatic experiences of the protagonist. Knox provides all of the above, spiced up with torture scenes utilizing the traditional instruments of the inquisition and brought up to date with the most recent technology. There's plenty of action, miraculous escapes from danger, and lots of bodies left along the way-more than enough for fans of the genre.
- John A. Broussard
REVENGE SERVED COLD
JACKIE FULLERTON
Thomas House Publishing PBO 5/10
ISBN: 978-0-9843815-0-0
Amateur sleuths need all the help they can get. This one is especially fortunate in that she has the ghost of her dead father helping her investigate the mystery as he guides her footsteps closer and closer to a resolution. Court reporter Anne Marshall makes full use of her other-worldly helper when she sets out to discover who killed law professor Elliott Spence. The fact that she was taking a night class from him provides an additional incentive for her to solve the crime. The prime suspect, as usual, is the wife, but Anne is convinced that the perpetrator of the hit-and-run killing is actually someone in the widow's past. Someone whom Kathy Spence is reluctant to talk about. Someone who has now shown up with homicide in mind. As the police gather more and more evidence linking Kathy to the crime, and as her arrest becomes more and more imminent, Anne steps up the pace of her investigations and gets into more trouble than she can handle. REVENGE SERVED COLD is a mystery story where the inept police are still stumbling around in the dark long after the reader has identified the murderer. Fullerton has come up with a combination of humor, woo-woo and marital intrigue.
- John A. Broussard
THE NINTH STEP
GABRIEL COHEN
Minotaur Books June, 2010
Brooklyn South Homicide is a tough enough organization to work for even in the best of times. But these are now the worst of times. Detective Jack Leightner has a deli killing to solve, after one customer bashes another with a can of beans, and he suddenly gets a lead on his own brother 's murder which had happened several decades ago. Both cases become increasingly murky as the first evidently involves a terrorist organization - at least according to the Feds who show up at the scene and want to take over the investigation. The other is definitely connected to the mafia, which had once operated with impunity along the Brooklyn docks where Leightner's longshoreman father had put in long, back-breaking hours. Worse yet, Leightner soon finds that his own life is in danger as he pursues leads in both cases. THE NINTH STEP is an NYPD police procedural whose main feature is the pursuit of the fugitive bean-can murderer - a Pakistani American caught up in a web of intrigue not of his own making. Cohen has done a masterful job of capturing the world of the New York waterfront, the mingling of a multi-ethnic population in the Brooklyn streets and the police who do their best to maintain order in that disorderly world - one whose residents are still painfully dealing with the aftermath and memories of 9/11. The plot is complex but believable, the ending a surprise par excellence.
- John A. Broussard
THE STARLET
MARY MCNAMARA
Simon & Schuster Trade PBO 6/10
The bizarre world of Hollywood is now on location in Italy, and male lead Lloyd Watson has just died from a drug overdose. Meanwhile, Juliette Greyson has arrived for a well-deserved vacation from the Pinnacle Hotel in Los Angeles, where she serves as counselor and babysitter for some of the weirder denizens of cloud-cuckoo land. Her vacation ends abruptly when she encounters a crowd yelling for Mercy Talbot, female lead in that same ill-fated movie, to jump from her perch atop a statue in the middle of one of Florence's numerous fountains. She disappoints the audience by rescuing Mercy and then spiriting her away to a bucolic Sienese manor Juliette owns with her cousin Gabe. With the filming barely begun, with one star dead and the other unwilling to come back to the set, the entire crew moves to the estate, where the cameras again begin to roll... this time with Michael O'Connor, once Juliette's lover, as Lloyd's replacement. Needless to say, his appearance gives Juliette even more to be concerned about than her self-appointed watch over Mercy. For their part, the Italian police, increasingly convinced that Lloyd's death was neither accident nor suicide, show up at the new set. THE STARLET is a truly fascinating portrait of the unreal: the making of a movie with a completely stoned actor moving self-assuredly under the klieg lights. Mercy Talbot is an amalgam of Marilyn Monroe and the most outrageous of the current young stars playing out their lurid roles both off and on the silver screen. She is mother-driven, suicidal, alcoholic, addicted to whatever drug is available, indiscriminately promiscuous... and yet incredibly talented; someone who was born to act and who does so flawlessly. And she is just an extreme example of the crew as a whole, where drugs are always on hand, where bed-hopping is the standard form of rest and recreation, and where greed, ambition, and personal vendettas are the norm. McNamara has caught it all in these pages and makes it believable: the utterly fantastic world of those who provide endless entertainment for the impossible-to-satiate public. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
- John A. Broussard
EXECUTIVE INTENT
DALE BROWN
William Morrow & Company May, 2010
Anyone who is not a totally committed fan of military techno-thrillers will need to regularly consult the first few pages of this novel. On the other hand, the average reader will likely find those pages intimidating, since they consist not only of a list of characters (50), but also of past, present and future weapons (43), and of acronyms and terminology (51). These lists aren't exhaustive even then, but they should help readers work their way through this complex tale of challenges by China and Russia for the U.S.'s top dog position on the world scene. The story opens with a Chinese missile attack on the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush. From then on it's the tale of an indecisive president trying to fend off a Chinese invasion of Yemen, Somalia and other stray Moslem points in that region of the world. Fortunately, Vice-President Ken Phoenix, with the help of retired Air Force General McLanahan and some other powerful but shadowy figures, stands up to the new powers, and their threats dwindle to nothing. EXECUTIVE INTENT is a tour de force detailing future armed conflicts with numerous descriptions along the lines of "...less than two miles off the northeast coast of Hainan Island, a Type Pt93 mobile twin thirty-seven-millimeter antiaircraft cannon, guided by passive electro-optical and infrared sensors and therefore undetected by the Grebe's electromagnetic sensors, opened fire." Brown's novel should be especially appealing to readers of Soldier of Fortune magazine.
- John A. Broussard
FORTUNA
MICHAEL R. STEVENS
Oceanview Publishing May 2010
ISBN: 978-1-933515-77-9
As a Stanford graduate student who is working as a teaching assistant, taking a full load of courses in computer science, and helping a girlfriend with her school work, Jason Lind would seem to have his plate overflowing already. Yet he somehow still finds time to sign up for Fortuna, a computer-generated game which soon takes up more of his time than all of his other commitments combined. In Fortuna, his avatar is a priest in High Renaissance Florence. While the cost of signing up is minimal, to increase his standing he needs money - if not florins, then dollars. And, for him, the world changes. "Over time, the game became more and more real... [s]ometimes - often, actually - it felt more intense than real life." Though the participants are anonymous and cannot, by the rules of the game, reveal their true identities, it becomes increasingly evident that one of the other players knows Jason is in the game, and is manipulating him into needing more and more money to continue playing. Fortuna has become so important to him that he quits school and starts doing computer work for the corporation founded by his deceased father to get the necessary cash. There he soon finds that reality takes on a dangerous and almost fictional quality. Stevens' depiction of the arcane world of corporate finance will leave behind even some of the more sophisticated readers. Nevertheless, the complexities of that world, as well as the one of computerized role-playing against the backdrop of 16th Century Florentine politics and intrigue, still makes for an engrossing story.
- John A. Broussard
INSIDE OUT
BARRY EISLER
Ballantine Books June, 2010
An embarrassment? For the CIA in 2007, the fact that ninety-two interrogation videotapes turn up missing is little more than that. But when a phone call reveals that they weren't "erased by mistake" but are now in the hands of someone who wants a hundred million dollars to keep them from being released to the media, embarrassment becomes panic. That's when "The Company" decides to call on its ultra-top-secret Intelligence Support Activity (ISA) team to track down the phone caller. It's going to be a difficult job, since the tapes are protected by a dead-man switch, a computer program that will send the tapes off to interested parties should the reset button not be regularly activated. To make matters worse, it's evident that the blackmailer is a superbly trained rogue ISA member who will be difficult to locate, and even more difficult to deal with once found. Current ISA member Ben Traven, because he has much the same background as the target, is selected to be point man in the search. He very soon encounters FBI agent Paula Lanier, who is on the same quest. After a rough initial encounter, the two decide to join forces, and they head to Costa Rica and ensuing conflict with others equally interested in finding the possessor of the tapes. INSIDE OUT is an unabashedly political thriller with a factual basis (those tapes once existed and are still missing). That fact lends considerable verisimilitude to a story. While Eisler is well versed in the workings of the CIA and other intelligence agencies - as can be seen from the eight or nine pages of sources and bibliography included at the end of the book - he allows that background to turn his novel into something of a polemic. Fortunately, that feature is counterbalanced by a fast pace, sharp dialog and the nicely handled requisite romance.
- John A. Broussard
THE ARK
BOYD MORRISON
Touchstone Books May, 2010
In the first fifty pages, a 737 is spotted flying over the Pacific with no passengers, no pilot, and no sign of life on board whatsoever. A man is killed in the L.A. airport food court with a poison applied to his bare arm by a mysterious woman who speaks with a Slavic accent. The dead man's companion survives a hit-and-run car crash shortly afterwards. A helicopter approaching an oil rig off of Newfoundland is blasted out of the air. These events are in fact interrelated and capture the flavor of the novel, which follows a course filled with explosions, futuristic weapons, a car chase and crash involving a house-sized vehicle -- all accompanied by enormous amounts of gunfire and various other forms of mayhem. Behind it all is The Church of the Holy Waters, whose leader possesses an innovative WMD which will kill billions in order to cleanse the world for him and his followers. The deadline is five days away. Standing between him and his goal are archaeologist Diara Kenner and former combat engineer Tyler Locke; but they have few clues to go on and no help from a skeptical FBI. They know that the secret of what's happening is somehow connected to Kenner's father, also an archaeologist, who had disappeared several years before while searching for Noah's Ark. After several diversions caused by further attempts to assassinate them and hosts of other people, the pair make it to Mount Ararat to find the elusive vessel and, supposedly, the source of the world-destroying weapon. THE ARK is an international thriller with almost as many thrills as there are pages. Morrison has outdone himself with this flamboyant novel. It might be mistaken for satire but is in fact simply an extravagant embellishment of this genre.
- John A. Broussard
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR
NICCI FRENCH
Minotaur Books May, 2010
What's to be done with the corpse of a murdered man? Bonnie Graham is faced with that not-so-simple problem, complicated by the fact that she'd been having a torrid affair with the now dead Hayden Booth. As for him, the consensus is that the world was well rid of him. Though he was thoroughly charming and a talented musician, his darker side predominated. A woman beater, a drifter, a free-loader and an expert at provoking others, he managed to alienate virtually everyone in the small "pick-up" band that Bonnie had assembled as a favor to a friend who wanted live music at her wedding reception. Bonnie is a music teacher herself - though with her spiky hair, her nose stud, and her reputation as a two-fisted drinker, she hardly fits the teacher stereotype. Desperate to solve her current problem, she calls on friend Sonia Hurst for help. The solution? They wrap the body in a rug and dump it in the local reservoir. Problem solved! But, of course, it isn't. The makeshift disposal method leads to eventual discovery of the body, and excruciatingly persistent questioning by the police. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR doesn't lend itself to skimming. Instead of chapters, short passages alternate between post-corpse and pre-corpse, adding to the drama but making the time line sometimes difficult to follow. French (actually a husband and wife writing team) has come up with a complex plot that will take some considerable suspension of belief in the face of multiple coincidences. But the tale is more than redeemed by the unforgettable figure of Hayden Booth, who will probably remind readers of at least one person they've encountered in their lives.
- John A. Broussard
DOUGLES CORLEONE*
ONE MAN'S PARADISE
DOUGLAS CORLEONE
Minotaur Books May, 2010
Kevin Corvelli is a far cry from the usual attorney of fiction. Yes, he does drink too much. But he hates cell phones, bites his fingernails to the quick, is not heroically physical, and has a conscience he's perpetually wrestling with. That conscience prompts him to leave behind a lucrative criminal law practice in Manhattan after he fouls up a case that leads to the untimely death of his innocent client. Corvelli transplants himself to Hawaii to start his career afresh, swearing never again to defend anyone accused of a major felony. Almost immediately he finds himself representing young Joseph Gianforte, who had been arrested and charged with killing his girlfriend early one morning on the sands of Waikiki. The main obstacle Corvelli faces in constructing a defense is the fact that Gianforte repeatedly lies to him - or omits important information - so Corvelli is constantly blindsided by unexpected and disastrous evidence. He also faces numerous other obstacles, such as the FBI and the Mafia, both of which seem to be dedicated to keeping him from probing in the directions he feels might find the real killer. Despite these problems, when the trial date arrives, he has a long list of alternate suspects which he hopes will cast reasonable doubt upon the guilt of the defendant. Corleone has captured the atmosphere of Hawaii, caught the distinctive character of the local courts, depicted a memorable figure in Kevin Corvelli, and ended the novel with a killer who few readers would have predicted, but whose motives are psychologically very convincing. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
- John A. Broussard
*PHOTO CREDIT: JILL CORLEONE
LOVE KILLS
DIANNE EMLEY
Ballantine Books PBO 5/10
The apparent murder/suicide of private investigator Vince Madrigal and an ex-hooker begins the workday for the Pasadena Police Department. At first, it seems that it will be a routine investigation for Detectives Nan Vining and partner Jim Kissick. But then a wealthy socialite's death - one which may well be a homicide - gives both of these cases an unexpected twist. It turns out that Nan's mother Patsy has been dating Madrigal, and the socialite had been Patsy's close friend. As the detectives pursue their investigation, they find more and more connections with Nan's family. This causes her superior to take her off the case... but not before she runs down leads pointing to the involvement of a local alternative-lifestyle center. LOVE KILLS is a fascinating tale of love, murder, hints of witchcraft, uncooperative relations among various law enforcement agencies, and the growth of a dubious health industry catering to the stars. Emley writes with verve and enthusiasm, and is especially skilled in detailing intra-family rivalries and loyalties -- in this instance ones that directly relate to the mystery at the core of the novel. The ending is a cliff-hanger of a very different kind, and multiple surprises continue through to the last chapters. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
- John A. Broussard
THE PULL OF THE MOON
DIANE JANES
Soho Constable May, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-56947-639-0
To the casual onlooker, it might well seem that this never-married, middle-aged woman living placidly in a small British town must always have had an uneventful life. In large measure that would be a correct assumption... were it not for the summer of 1972, which had had such a promising beginning and came to such a tragic ending. Kate Mayfield's memories of that time are vividly awakened when she receives a letter from the mother of Danny Ivanosovic, who had been a major factor in the tragedy. Danny - Kate's lover - and his college friend Simon were looking forward eagerly to the summer. Planning to travel abroad, Simon's wealthy uncle had asked him to care-take his rural home for some three months, thus providing the trio an idyllic vacation spot. But early on, a stranger named Trudie Finch encounters them at the beach, insinuates herself into their good graces, moves in with them, and becomes the catalyst for much of what is to come. THE PULL OF THE MOON is a multifaceted mystery. Who, really, is Trudie Finch? What actually happened to the woman who had been murdered in 1917 in the nearby woods, and why is Trudie so concerned about that crime? What is it that Danny's mother wants to know about her son's death, now so many years later? And what part does the murder of a coed at Danny's and Simon's college play in the events of that summer? Janes skillfully intertwines the humdrum present with a frenetic series of events in the past, to produce a spellbinding mystery. Her characters are real, the incidents are believable, the human motivations, though foreboding and eerie, are understandable. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.