Critical Conditions by Stephen White (an Alan Gregory Novel)

This is my second Stephen White novel and at least the fifth one reviewed in the blog. Midwest Dave has already been a long time fan of this author, and now I’m fully on board with that. Alan Gregory, a clinical psychologist, and his pal detective Sam Purdy team up to solve another murder mystery. White has a talent for creating a cast of compelling cast characters who repeat and evolve from one book to the next, while mixing his stories with new persons that are specific to the current story. In Critical Conditions, the reader is forced to accept a couple remarkable coincidences in terms of who knows whom, but that was not too much for me to swallow, and I kept reading. After all, Boulder, Colorado, where much of the story takes place is a small town, and therein lined much of the unfolding drama amongst the characters.

Little Chaney Trent is dying of a viral cardiopathy, and the only treatment, while promising, is not proven. The managed care company has denied payment for “experimental” treatment which would mean flying her to Seattle where a couple of doctors have developed the new treatment protocol, which probably involves a heart transplant. But, there are no guarantees that even if Chaney’s parents could raise the money, that the treatment would work. Meanwhile, Dr. Ed Robilio, the owner and CEO of MedExcel insurance company lives and works right in the Boulder. And, Ed suddenly winds up dead, shot twice in his own home, and Chaney’s 15-year-old sister is found with lots of evidence suggesting she did it.

There are multiple plot changes which I did not see coming and White kept me guessing until the end. And, this brief review is not doing justice to the rich subplots. I may be moving Stephen White into my power rotation of authors, so I’m ready to take a look at his next book in the series. Unfortunately, Kindle does not have all of his early books, so I’ll grab the earliest one I can, Remote Control.

Still Life by Louise Penny

Still Life is my second Louise Penny novel. Once again, the protagonist is Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec, and a crime has occurred in Three Pines, a very small and rural village near Montreal. Jane Neal was murdered in the woods with a bow and arrow, and while the locals think it must have been a hunting accident, it makes little sense that it could have been a mistake. The bow hunter would have to have been very skilled and would have to have been very close to shoot an arrow directly through her heart with enough force that the arrow went completely through her body. A mistake like that is improbable. And, who would want to kill this splendid woman who had lifelong friendships in the village where everyone knew everyone. The title of the novel comes from the victim’s involvement in the local art world, but she never let anyone see any of her finished works. Just after she decided to enter a piece in a local competition, the murder occurred. The familiarity of the characters with one another, both in the village and in the Surete feels similar to the Camel Club series by Baldacci, although the characters are more fleshed-out by Penny. The author takes us through a cascade of fascinating local characters who could have committed the murder, and the process of Gamache putting the clues together is well done. Did the murder have anything to do with the painting that she submitted for viewing, or was it from some old local feud. Penny feigns resolution of the mystery from one character to another, as well as any author, so I was surprised by the twists near the end that led to the story’s conclusion. This is very entertaining stuff without being too gruesome or too contrived. I’ve already selected and downloaded my next Penny novel.

The Tender Bar: A Memoir by J.R. Moehringer

Unlike most of the books reviewed in our blog, The Tender Bar: A Memoir by J. R. Moehringer is not a crime novel. It’s a coming of age autobiographical work which is beautifully written. This book is all about character development, not only of the people that Moehringer writes about, but about his own evolution as a personality and as a man. The pace of the unfolding of this story is neither too fast nor too detailed and slow. It is just right, and it’s one of those books that I was sorry it had to end. Moehringer grew up without a father, so he looked to his extended family for masculine influences and love. The descriptions of Grandpa’s house where he lived with his mother, and the people who live there are classic. Uncle Charlie is a bartender at Dickens, the classic bar in Manhasset, Long Island, the same town where Gatsby’s mansion was said to have been located. All of the people the author wrote about at the bar came alive to me. The book details the author’s childhood through his early 20s, and he writes about how well Dickens worked for him as a father substitute, until it didn’t. This book gets my very favorable recommendation, and I’m sure that I’ll read his second book, Sutton, which was released last year. Thanks to buddy Pat Iantorno for recommending this one.

Beyond Outrage by Robert Reich

Robert Reich was Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton.  I was first exposed to Reich two years ago by a speech he gave at the St Louis Speaker Series.  In that speech he explained that the average male worker’s salary has not increased in real terms in over 40 years.  Instead to raise our standard of living in our generation, we have done three things: 1) we work longer hours, 2) our wives have gone to work and 3) we have gone deeper into debt. Reich’s observation resonated with me so I decided to give his latest book a try.

In Beyond Outrage: What has gone wrong with our economy and our democracy, and how to fix it, Reich blames the 2008 recession on the fact that there is not enough money in circulation to sustain a healthy economy because too much of our nation’s wealth in concentrated at the top.  He says that 50 years ago, 9 to 10% of the wealth in the U.S. was controlled by the top one percent of the population.  By 2007, that top one percent controlled 23% of the wealth.  This has been caused by two things: 1) stagnation of working class wages while top management salaries have exploded and 2) A series of tax cuts and tax loop holes for the rich that allow them to maintain their wealth.  Reich claims the ultra-rich tend to save their wealth and invest it offshore whereas the working middle class will spend their earnings and stimulate the economy at home.  This thought disclaims the premise that the wealthy create jobs when we tax them less… a notion our politicians recite repeatedly with little objection.

 

Reich also bashes our political election process which basically is ‘the guy with the most money wins.’  When the Supreme Court ruled that money is speech and it can’t be limited under the First Amendment, the amount of money an individual or corporation can give to a candidate became unlimited.  With 23% of the wealth in the hands of one percent of the population, they give massive amounts of money to super PACs to get politicians elected.  Guess who then gets the ear of our politicians?  And this isn’t just at the Federal level… did you know that most states have voted away estate and inheritance taxes in recent years?  How exactly does a politician rationalize that?

Generally, I hate politics and don’t like to hear either side when their views are so extreme… especially when they scream at each other or act so sanctimonious when others disagree.  But I think Reich has a point.  Our system (both political and economic) is broken.  It isn’t the Republicans or Democrats gaining too much power that is the problem.  They both equally have proven they can screw it up when they hold the power.  The problem is that increasingly the vast majority of the population has no voice… that’s not a democracy. As Reich points out, the only way to fix it is for more people to get involved.  That’s good advice regardless of your political persuasion. 

The Double by George Pelecanos

Quick reminder of Pelecanos’ current continuing character: Spero Lucas is one of 3 black children adopted by Greek parents. After high school, Spero joined the Marines and did a tour in Fallujah where he came out physically fine, but his family worries about emotional wounds. Now, he is an “investigator” for a Washington, DC defense lawyer and also freelances finding items of value for a hefty fee.

Three concurrent gigs here:

First, Spero’s lawyer/boss knows he can’t get his current client off a murder charge, but wants Spero to look into the case to see if there is a crack in the evidence, maybe get a reduced sentence. To mull over his next steps, he bikes to a favorite bar where a chance meeting gets the phone number of one muy hot (and married) lobbyist. Second, the bartender has a friend who got taken by a gigilo who snatched a very expensive painting of hers that she desperately wants back and thought Spero was the kind of guy who could find it. Third, Spero’s brother Leo is a high school teacher and can’t believe that Metro PD has struck out on the murder of a former student.

A call a couple days later puts Spero and the lobbyist squarely between the sheets in a pricey boutique hotel. She and Spero become friends with benefits.

Case 1: Spero learns that the victim of the lawyer’s client had some skeletons and her history with a former boyfriend puts doubt in the jury’s mind.

Case 2: A team of 3 scumbags took the painting titled The Double. Billy ‘Hunter’ seduced the lady and his buddies burgled the house and prepare to fence the painting. They also run one of those Nigerian Internet scams and it’s this that Spero uses to track them down.

Case 3: The cellmate of Case #1 says another inmate bragged about killing a high school girl. During an interview at the jail, Spero’s cellmate gives him the details needed to track down the perp.

In and around all three jobs, Spero and the lobbyist continue to boink each other.

Pelecanos brings all three stories to their own righteous conclusion. Just how is what makes his books so damn readable and keep him firmly in the top 2 or 3 in my power rotation along with McCammon and Stella. Spero is, of course, a flawed hero. He has a very strong sense of right and wrong, but it’s somewhat situation dependent. On one hand, he is bound and determined to do right by the defendant, get back the stolen goods, and flesh out a murderer. But at the same time he has no problem contributing to the demise of a marriage and a family. And, based on his military history and the stories about souls tortured by the war, his family tries and tries to get him to seek help. So, stay tuned for Pelecano’s next superb journey into the mind of Spero Lucas.  Damn, another year-long wait.

East Coast Don

Sycamore Row by John Grisham

John Grisham is the master of courtroom drama, and in his latest crime novel, Sycamore Row, he proves that once again. This is the sequel to A Time to Kill, a fabulous story of racism and violence that took place in the mid 1980s in Mississippi. Unlike A Time to Kill, which starts with a brutal pedophilic murder, this story starts with the simple suicide of Seth Hubbard, a wildly successful but secretive entrepreneur who is in the final days of his struggle with metastatic lung cancer. Seth decides to leave his millions to his black housekeeper rather than his two ex-wives, two children, and four grandchildren. He leaves a handwritten will which he knows will be contested by the family, and he posthumously hires attorney Jake Brigance to make sure his wishes are followed.

A Time to Kill was made into a very successful 1996 movie with Matthew McConaughey as Jake Brigance, Ashley Judd as his wife, Sandra Bullock as the young paralegal, Samuel Jackson as the murder defendant Carl Lee Hailey, Kevin Spacey as the prosecuting DA Rufus Buckley, Oliver Platt as the conniving Harry Rex Vonner, and Donald Sutherland as the brilliant but disbarred and drunken Lucien Wilbanks. How much fun it is to see all of these wonderful characters come back to life in a new, equally compelling drama.

Jake had never met Seth, but Seth wrote that he chose Jake for his attorney because he was so impressed with Jake’s handling of the Carl Lee Hailey trial. I would not have thought that a contested will could provide so much drama, but as Grisham fleshes out the characters, he creates just that. I did not put this book down until it was finished, thereby ignoring a few tasks that really needed my attention. As Grisham does with his other novels, this story makes lawyers look both good and bad, both honest and money-grubbing. Grisham artfully reviews the troubled history of Mississippi and its long history of racial turmoil. Even though I saw the details of the ending coming long before Grisham got to the dramatic conclusion, the story held me in its grips. This is an A+ read which you’ll enjoy.

Compound Fracture by Stephen White

Compound Fractures is Stephen White’s final book in a series that has spanned decades. Lead characters, the intellectual, reserved and physically fit psychologist, Dr. Alan Gregory and the overweight, red neck, hockey loving, Boulder police detective, Sam Purdy are unlikely best friends throughout.  In this final work in the saga, that relationship as well as nearly every close relationship in Alan’s life is scrutinized… real or fake, loyal or betrayed?

In White’s previous book, Line of Fire, Alan witnesses his wife, Lauren being murdered by his dear friend and colleague, Dr. Diane Estevez.  In the months that follow Alan’s world unravels.  Now he must grieve the loss of his wife, ponder the complexities of why his colleague did this, and defend himself from the DA’s unwarranted suspicions.  Even though Alan witnessed his colleague shooting his wife, Diane is not arrested.  Alan suspects Diane’s politically powerful husband, Raoul is spending some political capital to avoid her incarceration. Meanwhile, Alan has a patient that is ‘working’ her way through college by acting as mistress to wealthy clients.  He discovers her most regular client is Raoul.  Professional ethics prevent him from sharing this with authorities.

Elliot Bellhaven, the Boulder District Attorney and Lauren’s former colleague has ambitions for higher public office.  Paranoia envelops Alan when he discovers Elliot is investigating him. Is he after Alan for Lauren’s murder or for Alan’s involvement in a murder his friend, Sam committed in another county some years earlier?  Can Sam be trusted?  Is he the one behind Elliot’s inquiry of Alan?  Or is Elliot threatened by an old crime Sam is investigating that may implicate Elliot?

   

In the midst of all this, Alan learns that Lauren had not been totally faithful to him.  Ironically, the extraordinary psychologist is himself in need of the healing he has administered for decades.  He finds himself on the brink of emotional collapse not knowing who he can trust or if anyone is truly trust worthy.

And so we say farewell to Dr. Alan Gregory and Sam Purdy who had become Stephen White’s life-long venture.  I’ve read and enjoyed every one of his books going back to the 1980’s.  Interestingly, one of my blogger buddies, West Coast Don has recently dipped his toe in the water of one of White’s earlier works.  This is truly the best way to experience White’s talent.  Buckle in and enjoy a deeply satisfying ride.