Thursday, April 21, 2011

The Sticking Place by T. B. Smith

This is not a mystery in the usual sense of the word. But I think anyone interested in mysteries would like this book. The story follows two rookies in the San Diego police department, Luke and Denny. The reader follows along with them as they go out on patrol, confront criminals and other unsavory characters, deal with political pressures on the department, and personal struggles. Luke has a graduate degree in English lit and eases his stress by quoting appropriate lines from Shakespeare. At times this seems a little forced but its an interesting twist. You get a real sense of the emotional demands placed on them by this kind of work. This is a first novel, I think, but it reads like Smith plans more books about these two. My only knowledge of police procedures comes from tv shows but the action in this book seems very real.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carlson

The story is of a family living in the rural south in the early 20th century. The father is a small town school teacher and he and his wife also work a small farm. They have four daughters. The first part of the novel describes a summer when three of the girls, adults now and living a distance away, come home for two weeks. It is a sweet story of a close family, not without tensions, but basically a happy story. In the rest of the novel, she devotes a chapter to each of them, peeling away a layer and looking at key moments in their lives. Needless to say, it adds great dimension to the story, some real surprises and is a very effective way to look at the characters. The writing is first rate.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Black Swan by Chris Knopf

This is the fifth in the series of Sam Acquillo mysteries. I have not read the first four and found that this book stands well alone. Much of the book takes place on a sailboat. Sam and his girlfriend Amanda are trying to deliver the boat to the Hamptons for a friend but have to take refuge in a harbor on a small, very private island. I am not a sailor and can't speak to the technical acumen but Knopf describes Sam's handling of the boat during a storm well enough for the average reader to follow. Sam and Amanda encounter hostility from some of the locals but the new owners of the hotel, the Black Swan, welcome them. While waiting for boat parts to be shipped to them, they become embroiled in two deaths and the disappearance of a very disturbed young man. The plot involves extremely advanced computer coding and the machinations of the owners of a large software company. As Sam becomes more and more involved, at the risk of his own life, he asks himself why he doesn't just leave. I found myself asking the same question. I could only conclude that Sam has an extremely finely honed sense of justice. In a genre where there are great extremes of writing ability, Knopf is among the better I've read. He gives Sam a strong, consistent voice and carries the reader along extremely complicated plot turns. It's a quick and enjoyable read.

Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey

Parrot is a lower-class English boy whose father is an itinerant engraver with no real home. After a series of misadventures, Parrot is separated from his father and rescued by the Marquis de Tilbot, a Royalist French spy. He is the link that connects Parrot and Olivier, a young French aristocrat born right after the Revolution. Olivier's parents had escaped the guillotine and still held their ancestral estate. Fearing another revolution, the parents send the by-then young man to America on the pretext of writing a book on the American prison system. Unwilling to go, he is tricked onto the ship by family friend, Tilbot, who also arranges for the older Parrot to go as his servant. The heart of the book then begins with the experiences of the two in America. Olivier sees the new, uncultured society through the eyes of privilege, used to having his comfort and wishes a priority. In letters to his mother, he comments on the strange ways of these people. This, of course, leads to comparisons with de Toqueville's book. Parrot finds himself a servant in a society that worships the principles of equality. Their very different experiences are what you might expect given their backgrounds. Carey surrounds them with fascinating characters. With surprising plot turns, the reader is swept along. This is the first book I have read of Carey's and was struck by his remarkable craftsmanship in telling this story.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Troubles by J G Farrell

The story is told from the perspective of an English soldier; a Major has just returned from WWI France and his story unfolds against the backdrop of the Irish uprising that led to the creation of the Republic. The Major goes to visit a girl he met prewar, whose English family owns a decrepit old hotel in an Irish coastal village. The title refers to the political unrest and fighting in Ireland and also to the unfolding of the Major's life. We meet some fascinating characters, her family, Irish hired help and the English aging guests who are fading as fast as the hotel. The Major is enough of an outsider to be able to step back from the contempt the English characters have for the Irish and the hate the Irish return. The decaying of the hotel mirrors the collapse of the society around it and the owner is just as oblivious to that as he is to his role in the village unrest In spite of this setting, parts of the novel are actually very humorous. The author's description of the slow collapse of the ancient hotel and how the occupants adjust is wickedly funny. I really enjoyed this one.