Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

Career of Evil is Robert Galbraith’s (aka J.K. Rowling) third mystery featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott.  The plot develops around an unknown enemy of Strike seeking revenge by murdering young women with the intent of implicating Strike.

Strike’s PI business is going well after the notoriety he received from solving two very public cases.  So well that Robin’s role is expanded to include investigative duties as well as administrative ones.  Robin is elated both at by her expanded duties and by Strike’s confidence in her abilities.  She is so engrossed in her work that preparation for her approaching marriage to Matthew seems less of a priority. Then a mysterious package arrives at the office addressed to Robin.  It contains a woman’s severed leg and suddenly everything changes.

Strike calls the police and is relieved when they assign Detective Wardle to investigate.  Strike’s success in twice solving active cases of the London police, has put him at odds with many of the police inspectors.  Wardle, on the other hand, was not offended by Strike’s superior sleuthing.  Strike searches his memory and offers four possible suspects that may have reason to seek revenge on Strike and are capable of such unspeakable brutality.  One is connected to a London crime syndicate, two were adversaries of Strike during his stint as special investigator in the army and one was a rocker and former live in lover of his mother, a super-groupie who had died of a drug overdose when Strike was a child.  Wardle is most interested in the crime syndicate suspect so Strike begins searching the whereabouts of the other three.  Afterall, he knows his business will suffer from this type of publicity, so the sooner he finds the perpetrator the better.

But searching his gloomy past is emotionally painful for Strike.  Each one of the suspects has done despicable acts to women and children and tracking them brings back depressing memories.  We also learn that Robin was raped at university during her first year and dropped out to recover.  Much of her interest in criminology and detective work stems from that incident.  Her fiancé, Matthew’s behavior was somewhat supportive but was at times demeaning during her recovery.  This whole ordeal makes Robin respect Strike more and Matthew less which results in more conflict between Robin and Matthew.

As Strike closes in, the psychopath murders two more women and attacks Robin.  Robin’s self-defense training saves her life but Strike bands her from the investigation for her own safety.  But Robin can’t remain uninvolved and her initiative leaves her vulnerable.  Meanwhile Strike lays a trap in hopes of catching the villain in the act.

I’m impressed with Rowling’s mastery of this genre.  The characters are sufficiently flawed to be vulnerable and likeable.  The plot is complex enough to keep you guessing and simple enough to follow and the pacing keeps you engaged to the end.  I’m sure we will see more of detectives Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacot.

The Crossing by Michael Connelly

The Crossing is Michael Connelly’s twentieth Harry Bosch novel but this time features Mickey Haller, Harry’s half-brother and famed Lincoln Lawyer in a supporting role.

Bosch has retired from the LAPD after being side lined for breaking into the captain’s office after hours to secure information to advance a case he was working.  Regardless of the reason, this is a violation and convenient grounds for his political enemies to force Harry into retirement.  His half-brother Mickey Haller is representing him in a law suit against the department when Mickey asks for Harry’s assistance.  Seems Haller’s regular PI has been injured in a motor cycle accident and Haller needs Harry’s skill set in defense of a client arrested for murder.  Harry finds the idea of working for a defense attorney repellant but Haller assures him his client, Da’Quan Foster is being framed and only an experienced detective can save the former gang member.  Harry reluctantly agrees to investigate but on the provision that if evidence points against Foster, that will be turned over to the prosecution.  With a copy of the murder book in hand, Harry digs in.

The victim, Lexi Parks had no apparent association with the accused but he is arrested when his DNA is mapped from the semen found on Parks’ body.  Even though Foster is a reformed gang banger, his recent activities and lack of rap sheet entries support his apparent rehabilitation.  He did however have one remaining and closeted vice… having sex with transvestite prostitutes.  He sheepishly reveals this to Bosch while explaining that his alibi for the Parks’ murder was male prostitute, James Allen.  When Bosch finds out James Allen was murdered earlier this year as well, the adrenalin kicks in for Harry and the hunt begins.

Bosch contacts his last partner at LAPD and she gets him a peek at James Allen’s murder book.  He visits both Lexi Parks’ and James Allen’s crime scenes as covertly as possible and unearths the scent of their connection… the crossing of the two victim‘s lives.  If they were killed as a cover-up as Harry suspects, several others are at risk including him and Haller… and maybe even his daughter.

The Crossing is classic Michael Connelly and classic Harry Bosch.  Just when you think the series is over and there’s no where else to take this character, Connelly churns out another winner with all the never-give-up tenacity that is Harry Bosch.  Great stuff and another example of why Connelly remains number one in my power rotation.  This is a must read.    

Legends of the Fall

Having been so impressed with the writing of Jim Harrison in the recently reviewed The Great Leader, I decided to try a second novel, and I went for the one for which Harrison is most famous, Legends of the Fall. I was not disappointed, although I did not get what I expected. Written in 1979, this is actually a book of three novellas, Revenge, The Man Who Gave Up His Name, and Legends of the Fall, which at least in the most obvious themes, are not related to one another.

Revenge is a story of betrayal in Mexico. Tibey, or Tiburon, which is translated as “shark” had a best friend, Cochran, who had an affair with Tibey’s wife, Miryea. Revenge is the theme, and there is much brutality, but what sets the story apart is the quality of the writing. Although it is not apart of the main theme, in addressing the emotions that are being felt, Harrison writes about what it is like to be 19 years old: “Nineteen is the age of the perfect foot soldier who will die without a murmur, his heart aflame with patriotism. Nineteen is the age at which the brain of a nascent poet in his rented room soars the highest, suffering gladly the assault of what he thinks is the god in him. Nineteen is the last year that a young woman will marry purely for love.” Beautiful prose.

The second novella, The Man Who Gave Up His Name, was about a successful businessman, Nordstrom, who found his life unsatisfying, and after divorcing his wife Laura, decided to give away all of his money. Harrison captured the melancholy of Nordstrom and his feeble attempts to break free of his emotional doldrums, but the story was less compelling to me that the other two stories. As I read other review of this book by Harrison, it is clear that many other are moved by this particular story.

The final novella, “Legends of the Fall” is a remarkable work. While I previously favorably compared Harrison’s writing to other thriller/mystery writers of note, in this one, his style reminded me of Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove, which is one of my all-time favorite books. This is a three-generation tale of the old west, starting in Montana at the start of World War I, but the backstory begins in the 1870’s with William Ludlow, a very successful rancher who has advised presidents about the U.S. Indian policies (and his humanistic ideas were generally ignored as the Indians were massively mistreated). His three sons, Alfred, Tristan, and Samuel all travel to Canada to enlist in the war before the U.S. was willing to get involved. It is Tristan whose character is most developed by Harrison, and it was Tristan who was played in the 1994 movie by Brad Pitt. The book ends with a current day epilogue. It is a story of family, of adventure, of love, of loss. I was spellbound by it.

The Spy House by Matthew Dunn

Will Cochrane has been at this covert operative business for 15 or so years. 70 missions, not all successful, and the scars to show for it. But some vengeful US Senator blasted his photo over the Internet effectively rendering him to be a non-operative operative. Mustered out of the service (apparently that is the subject of the previous unread book). Now he has to figure out what to do with his life. 

The Israeli ambassador to France was strolling a nearby park one lunch hour only to be cut down by a sniper's bullet. In the uproar that followed, Israel concludes that Hamas was behind the kill and prepares for war. Invade Lebanon and rid it of this Hamas threat in one massive strike. Of course such a war will cause the middle east to explode, which bothers Israel not one bit.

In Gaza, a UN rep searches for children that he can take out of the squalor to the west to raise and educate. Help one child at a time. The 12-yo Safa is chosen and moves to France to live with the university professor-guardian. He is brought up to hate Israel.

This presents a problem for the US President. Does he give Israel his support or not? Either way is a loss for the President. In the White House situation room, all his security advisors line up on one side of that fence or the other.

All except Admiral (ret.) Tobias Mason. Housed at the Pentagon, Mason is the president's Svengali, whispering balanced opinion in the President's ear. He wonders if Israel isn't jumping the gun and proposes a listening post in Beruit to sift through the chatter for clues to Hamas' complicity. The post, the Grey Site, is manned by a spook from the US (a close friend and former colleague of Will Cochrane), France, UK, and Israel. It's an impenetrable windowless site deep in a basement and behind a massive steel security door that can only be locked from the inside. The four spooks live and work in this dungeon. A message is intercepted by the American and relayed to Washington for transmission to France, UK, and Israel.

The next morning, the Grey Site goes black. No response, no communication. Nothing. A joint team goes to the site, cuts their way in through the steel door and find all dead. The evidence they find is that the American killed the other three and then himself. Had to be. No way to get in.

Israel concludes Hamas found out and killed them. The plan is to invade in two weeks. Mason convinces the president to hold off his decision about supporting Israel until an unbiased party can determine the how and why of the murders at the Grey Site.

Mason is in contact with colleagues at the CIA and MI6 looking for someone unconnected with any country or policy to find out. Why not Will? He is currently unemployed and looking for something meaningful. After some haggling, Cochrane agrees.

From London to Washington, back to London, and now Beruit, Cochrane distills what few clues he can find. Unfortunately, all point to the American spook (and friend) gone over the edge and killing the rest of the Grey Site. Even after seeing the site, he finds nothing that can change the narrative.

Then comes Chapter 35. Not some unit or corrupt group. I mean the actual Chapter 35 of the book changes everything from Cochrane's investigation to his future and what about the boy Safa.

This is the 3rd book by Matthew Dunn reviewed here. Dunn is a former spook and now author. His books ring with authenticity, much like LeCarre. The attention to detail is monumental, especially when it comes to surveillance. One doesn't get that kind of detail from an interview with a retired spy. This comes from experience. I'm not concerned with book sale numbers. I read what sounds like fun. But I would guess that sales of books by Dunn don't approach that of Brad Thor, Alex Berenson, or other current best-selling thriller authors. And I have no clue why. His are every bit as good and probably a bit closer to reality (OK, the shoot-outs may be embellished a bit. It is fiction). But the ins and outs of the spycraft presented by Dunn are first-rate and presented with skill and flair.

Now I'm going to back up one book and find out just what caused that Senator to get such a burr under his saddle about Cochrane and report back.

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Back Blast

Mark Greaney, a New York Times bestselling author, is best known for co-authoring Tom Clancy’s last three Jack Ryan novels and then writing two more Jack Ryan novels after Clancy’s death. Back Blast is the fifth novel in his Gray Man series, and it’s a classic CIA-espionage intrigue.  Considering that the action in Back Blast mostly takes place in and around Washington, D.C., this is a book that East Coast Don has been waiting for.

Court Gentry was the best of the CIA’s team of assassins, but for the last five years, the agency put out a kill-on-sight order against him. Gentry successfully avoided all the attempts on his life while working as an independent agent, but he finally decided he wanted to understand why he had become a target. He had never blown an assignment or made any mistakes while working for the CIA. Also, he wanted to go home, so he slipped back into the US and headed directly to D.C. with a plan to find out the basis of the plot against him.

It’s pretty clear early in the book that Gentry is really the good guy, and Denny Carmichael, the Director of the National Clandestine Service, was really the ultimate bad guy. Why was Carmichael using a team of assassins from Saudi Arabia to insure that Gentry was killed and not captured alive? Carmichael was the one with all the power and the assets against this one very talented killer. And of course, the reputation of the CIA was at stake, and Gentry did not want to totally sully the agency that had provided his identity and work for the last 20 years. Greaney provided a detailed plot with lots of believable characters who are either for Carmichael or for Gentry. Zach Hightower, who had once been Gentry’s boss was particularly interesting. There’s no love story in this book, and Greaney has avoided adding gratuitous sex. It’s just not stop action from the opening chapter. This one would definitely entertain you on a crosscountry flight.

The Old Gray Wolf by James D. Doss

The MRB boys have a soft spot for modern day western mysteries - Craig Johnson (Longmire), CJ Box (Joe Pickett), and the king of them all, Tony Hillerman. Ever since Hillerman's death, I've looked for another author that weaves Native American culture as well as he. While picking up a book at the library, I struck up a conversation with the lady looking at the New Fiction rack. She suggested looking into Doss and his main character, Charlie Moon, a Ute tribal investigator. I quickly learned that Doss has 19 books about Charlie Moon and decided he was worth a look see.

The Old Gray Wolk is a pretty simple tale. A sleazy drifter is wandering through Southern Colorado and snatches a purse from a lady coming out of a supermarket. Moon and his best friend, Granite Creek Poice Chief Scott Parris are headed back for their car when they hear the lady scream. Scott may be a bit too old to chase down the younger perp so he grabs a can of peas and does his best Crocodile Dundee and brings down the thief with a strike to the head, but then an unfortunate landing on a curb accidently kills the kid . . .

. . . who happens to be the only son of the widow of a Chicago mob boss. And she wants revenge. Wants these two cops to suffer.

Now this was an interesting plotline that included a new-ish PI looking to make her mark in Illinois, and an old Ute lady with a coarse, sarcastic mouth.  The narrative was presented in an entirely new format to anything I've read recently. It's told like an older third person telling a tale from a long time ago. The first paragraph is telling. "No; please do not ask. It would be less than charitable to explain how the unfortunate old soul got tagged with a nickname which suggests froggish features. Ninety-year-old ladies are not without vanity, and are entitled to their privacy." (about Hester "Toadie" Tillman).

I think my less than stellar opinion is related more to the timing of reading this book than it is about this book. I read Doss' leisurely story right after the latest Jack Reacher book, which was bad timing. Too bad. I'll try again.

Allegiance by Tom Abrahams

Jackson Quick was a bullied kid who struck back. But he toed the line, went to college, and tried to

 

find a calling only to job hop in his early 20’s. A college bud working for the state of Texas and manages to get him a gofer job in the Governor’s office to work on his re-election campaign.  And during a speech, the opponent is the victim of an assassination attempt, but survives.

The Governor takes a liking to Jackson and offers him an assignment that is a bit outside of his job duties. Jackson is to personally. When he makes his last delivery to a woman in Alaska, she opens accesses the iPod, but drops it when she stands. Jackson, trying to be the nice guy, picks it up and returns it then does what he is supposed to do. He leaves and returns to Texas.

But he did see the screen. And it contained a foreign bank name and a number, obviously an account number. And as soon as he gets back to Texas, his life takes a horrific turn. He is kidnapped and tortured by this older Brit who goes by The Saint. What does Jackson know? Who has he told?

Jackson takes the torture, reveals nothing because he knows nothing. The Saint then releases Jackson, but that doesn’t set him free. Paramilitary types are after him now. Looking for someone to turn to for help, Jackson approaches an investigative reporter from Houston and they start peeling back the layers of the onion taking them to an obscure research lab at Rice University to an observatory in far western Texas, and then back to Austin and Houston leaving a trail of bodies in his wake – Jackson turns out to be a formidable target; guess striking back to a bully has some carry over.

This is the first of a series of books about Jackson Quick. This is a well-named newcomer to the thriller genre as Abrahams presents this story in a breathless, rapid-

fire fashion narrative. Doubt this new character will challenge Jack Reacher on the charts, but it certainly is a good choice for to occupy the hours of a long trip. See West Coast Don's reviews of this book as well as its follow-up Allegiance Burned on the blog.

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