Parnell Hall is one of those mid-list authors who has churned out a book annually over the past three decades, making a decent living at it, without h...moreParnell Hall is one of those mid-list authors who has churned out a book annually over the past three decades, making a decent living at it, without hitting any home runs. His mystery series include Private Eye Stanley Hastings and, more recently, The Puzzle Lady (currently enjoying a steady run at St Martins Press’ Minotaur Books). Like many authors, though a number of his recent books remain in print, most older ones have fallen by the wayside. None of the older titles included sale of electronic rights and Hall has seized on the opportunity to bring out his entire ouevre as ebooks, first for Kindle and now as Nook books as well. This also provided the opportunity to restore to print his first series, the adventures of Steve Winslow, struggling criminal lawyer, who is modelled somewhat on Perry Mason and Paul Drake. The first title, The Baxter Trust, was published in 1988.
Sheila Benton is a multimillionaire heiress to the Baxter fortune but there's a hitch: she doesn't get the money till she's 35 and, at 24, she's dead broke, living in New York city. She's got a very hot Wall Street broker as a "pretty boy" boyfriend, Johnny Dutton ... but then he's still married. Her uncle Max is sole executor of the Baxter trust and doles out just enough for Sheila to make the rent on a very basic apartment. It gets a little more complicated because she also has a fondness for cocaine, something Johnny can supply. So when Johnny takes a flight to Reno, Nevada one morning to begin divorce proceedings against his wife, Sheila is without her drug supply. Worse, in her mailbox that morning, a blackmail note appears and, though she visits the police, they seemed inclined to dismiss her. Distraught, she turns to Uncle Max for some spare cash (for a fresh hit of cocaine but Max doesn't know that) and, while she's out getting her score, a dead body is left on her apartment floor. Frantic, she mails herself the cocaine, disposes of other incriminating bits around the apartment and then leaves for a payphone to report the body to the police. When the police arrive there seems no doubt Sheila is guilty: the corpse has her kitchen carving knife in its back with only her finger prints on it. What to do? She looks through the yellow pages and finds "Steve Winslow, criminal laywer" and offers him the job. Having been out of work for a year (he doesn't tell her that), and driving a cab nights to make ends meet (he definitely doesn't tell her that!), he rushes to her aid looking decidedly more hippy than legal beagle. Oh, and he doesn't own a suit. Will she trust him to take the case? Can he prove she's not guilty?
This was a fun, breezy read that will lead me to read others in the series. Light-hearted, no gore, and with believable characters and a reasonablu entertaining mystery to unravel, it's hard not to smile at the antics -- like the court room scenes (this is the first time Winslow has actually been in court) or his ability to bluff his opponents out of the court room. It's not flawless, but it's also a first novel and hits the spot with delight to spare. (less)
And now for something completely different ... The Chinese Maze Murders, the first of Robert Van Gulik's Judge Dee Mystery series, published in 1956....moreAnd now for something completely different ... The Chinese Maze Murders, the first of Robert Van Gulik's Judge Dee Mystery series, published in 1956. And, no kidding: these are the tales of Lan-fang's new newly arrived District Magistrate who is detective, prosecutor and judge in T'ang Dynasty China -- roughly 670 AD. Although a true historical figure, the stories are an amalgamation and re-imagining of many such stories that make up traditional Chinese literature. In this first outing, Judge Dee arrives in the city, cleans up corruption, solves multiple murders and is confronted by an overwhelming invasion by barbarians from north. Will right or might prevail?
Judge Dee, in riding toward Lan-fang to take up his post as District Magistrate, is accosted by a small band of robbers. Dee and his two loyal subordinates subdue the attackers (and kill a couple); it is the prelude to their arrival in the city only to discover the Tribunal facility in disarray. They quickly learn the city has been under the thumb of a local tyrant, Chien Mow: Judge Dee represents authority from the Capital and quickly sets about cleaning up the city. A series of clever ruses puts the Judge in the advantage as other mysteries come to light, including the murder of a local businessman, and the suspicious will left by a retired Governor, as well as helping shed light on the lost daughters Judge Dee's new hired hands. Miraculously, the threads of these disparate mysterious begin to come together and the Judge shows his risk taking, and wisdom, in solving these puzzles.
Gulik, a Dutch citizen born in China in 1910, was a career diplomat who knew Dutch, Chinese, Japanese and English; this novel, based on Chinese sources, was written originally in Japanese by van Gulik and translated into English by van Gulik; the balance of the series was written in English only. The stories race along at a pretty fair clip, with little reflection or homilies or character development. But there is charm in the pacing, and the setting is definitely "exotic", to say nothing of the puzzles laid out and solved, sometimes in the nick of time. Recommended.(less)
This mad cap murder mystery and court room drama is another star turn for Arthur Ramsgate Beauchamp, a "retired" criminal attorney who can't seem to s...moreThis mad cap murder mystery and court room drama is another star turn for Arthur Ramsgate Beauchamp, a "retired" criminal attorney who can't seem to stay retired or away from dead bodies. William Deverell's Kill All the Judges is the third novel in the series.
Cud Brown, a foul mouthed ex-steel worker turned ribald poet, lives on Garibaldi Island, Arthur's chosen retirement home. Cud's got a problem: he's been charged with the murder of a judge, His Honour Whynet-Moir, who disappeared over the balcony of his fabulous estate home. Cud was there but drunk enough that he doesn't remember a thing ... other than getting up to mischief with the late judge's trophy wife, Florenza. With the whole island urging Arthur to take the case, he demures, and plonks the case in the lap of Brian Pomeroy. But Pomeroy's got a problem, too: he's stewing over a divorce, getting deeper into substance abuse and, while he happens to be writing a novel, he's also going just a little bit nuts.
Should Arthur pick up the slack when Pomeroy disappears? Arthur's got a problem too: his wife Margaret has just been nominated as the Green Party candidate in a by-election and Arthur is expected to pull his weight to get her elected. He can hardly do that and take the case as well. But takes the case he does and, with an maleable prosecutor, Abigail Hitchens, a judge with an agenda who doesn't like Arthur and likes his sidekick, Wentworth Chance, even less, the story unfolds with sly humour and pacing which draws the reader deeply into the tale.
This is my first encounter with Rumpole in print (ok, e-ink), so I thought I'd start at the beginning. The first couple of stories in this volume wet...moreThis is my first encounter with Rumpole in print (ok, e-ink), so I thought I'd start at the beginning. The first couple of stories in this volume wet my appetite but later tales really turn on the charm. Reading Rumpole is a bit like slipping into a comfy pair of jeans and slippers. It's also a great "in between" read to "cleanse" my little gray cells as I switch from one thriller or police procedural to another.
John Mortimer's The First Rumpole Omnibus is actually a collection of three books published in the late 1970s: Rumpole of the Bailey, The Trials of Rumpole and Rumpole's Return -- and these, in turn, are based on a BBC Television series. There are at least two other Omnbius editions as well as other one-off novels.
In the main, I enjoyed the 12 short stories more than the lengthier novel which brings Rumpole out of retirement, linking a chance encounter with a flower child in Florida with a murder trial that draws he back to England. Rumpole is an acquired taste with all things in the world seen through the his somewhat self-serving eye. Bu it is delightful to give in to Rumpole behaving like a little boy ... sixty or so years younger than his age.
Small caveat: Penguin have allowed an appalling number of simply typos to creep into this edition. Truly: the text is a mess by any reasonable professional standard.(less)
The presence of Perry Mason is a persistent thread in my life as long as I can remember: watching original shows if I was allowed up that late, then r...moreThe presence of Perry Mason is a persistent thread in my life as long as I can remember: watching original shows if I was allowed up that late, then reruns, then the Return of Perry Mason as TV movies (the early ones filmed right here in Toronto), buying occasional hardcover anthologies and later collecting original paperbacks on eBay (even old TV Guide cover story issues), and most recently devouring the DVDs as they are released, a half a season at a time, every six months. I love the back and forth of investigative leg work and court room drama.
So imagine my delight in discovering Steve Martini's Shadow of Power in which our latter day criminal lawyer, Paul Madriani and his partner Harry Hinds, take on the case of an angry young man caught at the scene of a murder with his finger and shoeprints all over the room ... and the murder weapon! Set against a backdrop of the run up to the 2008 presidential elections, and involving, from the sidelines an ailing Supreme Court Justice, and a delightful conceit in the form of an undiscovered "Jefferson Letter" on slavery which threatens to ignite race riots across the country, the story tumbles along sometimes patiently, sometimes briskly, as the trial wears on and new revelations come to light. Highly recommended! (less)
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