David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "character-sketch"
Everybody's Fool
The “fool” in the title is Doug Raymer, the Bath chief of police. Although Russo's usual hero, Donald Sullivan “Sully,” is featured quite a bit, this story is more about Raymer's poor self confidence.
We first see him attending the funeral of a local judge who thought he was incompetent. Raymer promptly falls into the grave, loosing a key piece of evidence that may lead to whomever his wife Becka was about to leave him for. She fell down the stairs and broke her neck before she could do so. So . . . he's in mourning as well as angry.
Sully has also struck it rich, hitting the trifecta at the race track a couple of times, selling the lot where his decrepit home used to be to the city, and inheriting his landlady Ms. Beryl's house when she dies. So now his dimwitted friend, Rub Squeers, who idolizes Sully, has no one to do scut work with anymore. Sully can be kind of mean. He names his dog, whose name used to be Reggie, after Rub.
Then there's Roy Purdy, Sully's former girlfriend Ruth's son-in-law, who hates Sully's guts. He's out of jail and looking for a way to get even with Sully, who ridicules him every chance he gets and thinks Janey can do a whole lot better than this tool.
If you don't like a lot of characters or if you can't keep them straight, you won't like this book. Sully's son, an adjunct college professor, makes an appearance; he lives on the bottom floor of Ms. Beryl's house with Sully's grandson, Will. Sully's former boss, Carl Roebuck, who hass lost his house, lives upstairs. Sully lives in a trailer out back.
Sully has also gotten a death sentence from the doctors. He's got a bad heart; he needs a defibrillator, but is too stubborn to get one.
Doug Raymer's dispatcher Charice, who keeps putting him on her list for various infractions, is a new love interest for Doug, although he's not sure she likes him back. Her brother Jerome, a 6' 6” black man, looks to be competition for Doug's job, but he's got a secret only Charice is aware of.
You may find yourself thinking, “Where's the plot?” as you're reading, but this is more about Russo's quirky characters and their humdrum lives (except when they're not) than any suspenseful plot.
We first see him attending the funeral of a local judge who thought he was incompetent. Raymer promptly falls into the grave, loosing a key piece of evidence that may lead to whomever his wife Becka was about to leave him for. She fell down the stairs and broke her neck before she could do so. So . . . he's in mourning as well as angry.
Sully has also struck it rich, hitting the trifecta at the race track a couple of times, selling the lot where his decrepit home used to be to the city, and inheriting his landlady Ms. Beryl's house when she dies. So now his dimwitted friend, Rub Squeers, who idolizes Sully, has no one to do scut work with anymore. Sully can be kind of mean. He names his dog, whose name used to be Reggie, after Rub.
Then there's Roy Purdy, Sully's former girlfriend Ruth's son-in-law, who hates Sully's guts. He's out of jail and looking for a way to get even with Sully, who ridicules him every chance he gets and thinks Janey can do a whole lot better than this tool.
If you don't like a lot of characters or if you can't keep them straight, you won't like this book. Sully's son, an adjunct college professor, makes an appearance; he lives on the bottom floor of Ms. Beryl's house with Sully's grandson, Will. Sully's former boss, Carl Roebuck, who hass lost his house, lives upstairs. Sully lives in a trailer out back.
Sully has also gotten a death sentence from the doctors. He's got a bad heart; he needs a defibrillator, but is too stubborn to get one.
Doug Raymer's dispatcher Charice, who keeps putting him on her list for various infractions, is a new love interest for Doug, although he's not sure she likes him back. Her brother Jerome, a 6' 6” black man, looks to be competition for Doug's job, but he's got a secret only Charice is aware of.
You may find yourself thinking, “Where's the plot?” as you're reading, but this is more about Russo's quirky characters and their humdrum lives (except when they're not) than any suspenseful plot.
Vinegar Girl
Tyler wrote VINEGAR GIRL for the Hogarth Shakespeare project. It is based on “The Taming of the Shrew”.
Kate Battista is the Kate from the original play. Having quit college in her sophomore year, she has a job as a preschool assistant teacher for four-year olds. At first she is intriguingly sarcastic as when a parent complains that her daughter is sucking her index and pinky finger. Kate advises him to have patience; she'll get over it when she pokes out her eye. As a result, Kate is always in the principal's office being threatened with termination if she doesn't mend her ways. Kate hates herself because she has a crush on one of her fellow teachers, Adam. She doesn't see herself as the kind of girl who gets all calf-eyed when a man is around, but she kind of does.
Then her scientist father comes to her with a request. Will she agree to marry his assistant Pyotr Shcherbakov who will lose his visa within the year? He is close to a cure for auto-immune deficiency, and he considers Pyotr indispensable to his research. This is where the story starts going down hill. Kate agrees to do it. Her sister, Bunny, who is sort of an empty-headed, boy-crazy fourteen-year, is outraged that her father would ask Kate to do this, which is way out of character. Pyotr is a hoot. He gets a kick out of American sayings like “Step up to the plate.” He thinks it means step up to the dinner plate. He always seems to be in a good mood; he even gets along with his land lady and her caretaker, and he has permission to plant a garden in the backyard, which Kate would love, as she was studying Botany. We never do find out why she quit, although Pyotr is about to ask her at one point. He wants her to go back to school at Johns Hopkins near where they live. Okay, by now you know where this is going. Kate doesn't have any friends; she's walks around with her head down, hoping people won't try to talk to her.
So . . . what do you think will happen? This book isn't up to Tyler's standards in nuance and unpredictability. It was obvious written for that Shakespeare project, and she didn't put her whole heart and soul into it.
Kate Battista is the Kate from the original play. Having quit college in her sophomore year, she has a job as a preschool assistant teacher for four-year olds. At first she is intriguingly sarcastic as when a parent complains that her daughter is sucking her index and pinky finger. Kate advises him to have patience; she'll get over it when she pokes out her eye. As a result, Kate is always in the principal's office being threatened with termination if she doesn't mend her ways. Kate hates herself because she has a crush on one of her fellow teachers, Adam. She doesn't see herself as the kind of girl who gets all calf-eyed when a man is around, but she kind of does.
Then her scientist father comes to her with a request. Will she agree to marry his assistant Pyotr Shcherbakov who will lose his visa within the year? He is close to a cure for auto-immune deficiency, and he considers Pyotr indispensable to his research. This is where the story starts going down hill. Kate agrees to do it. Her sister, Bunny, who is sort of an empty-headed, boy-crazy fourteen-year, is outraged that her father would ask Kate to do this, which is way out of character. Pyotr is a hoot. He gets a kick out of American sayings like “Step up to the plate.” He thinks it means step up to the dinner plate. He always seems to be in a good mood; he even gets along with his land lady and her caretaker, and he has permission to plant a garden in the backyard, which Kate would love, as she was studying Botany. We never do find out why she quit, although Pyotr is about to ask her at one point. He wants her to go back to school at Johns Hopkins near where they live. Okay, by now you know where this is going. Kate doesn't have any friends; she's walks around with her head down, hoping people won't try to talk to her.
So . . . what do you think will happen? This book isn't up to Tyler's standards in nuance and unpredictability. It was obvious written for that Shakespeare project, and she didn't put her whole heart and soul into it.
News of the World
Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, who reads the news from the big cities in the United States and feature stories from such cites as London in outlying parts of Texas for a living, takes a job to deliver a former Kiowa captive, ten-year-old Johanna Leonberger, to her aunt and uncle near San Antonio, four hundred dangerous miles from Wichita Falls. He's paid with a fifty-dollar gold piece.
Johanna is a marvelous character. She was taken when she was six and has forgotten how to speak English. She wants to go back to the Kiowa, but she and the “Kep-ton” soon develop a bond. She can count to ten and she remembers a few German words from when she was six. She is smart as a whip. During one scene the Captain is offered money to sell Johanna to a sex trafficker. The Captain arranges a meeting but sneaks out of town instead; the man follows them, and a gun battle breaks out. The Captain has a six shooter and a rifle that shoots only bird shot. The pimp has Indians with him with conventional rifles. Johanna figures out how to extend the range of the Captain's rifle and saves his and her bacon.
As they travel along, he keeps teaching her English words. She mixes them up on purpose, displaying a wonderful sense of humor. By the time they get to the aunt and uncle's home in D'Hanis, he isn't about to give her up to the wrong people. But we know that's going to be the case before they arrive.
The captain is 71 when the trip begins and 72 when he arrives in D'Hanis. He already has two grown daughters he's raised, but he sympathizes with Johanna. She's lost her parents, then she's lost her Kiowa parents, she forms a relationship with the Captain, and now, she's supposed to start over again.
This is a heart-warming story with sympathetic characters. There's even some satire when the Captain stops to read his newspapers in a town that's divided politically. This is Reconstruction era Texas, and before the Captain can finish reading, a fight breaks out in the audience. The Captain charges a dime to each person who wants to hear him read the news. The can containing the money has been spilled all over the floor, the money trampled. The Captain gets down on his knees to pick it up so he can get Johanna home.
Johanna is a marvelous character. She was taken when she was six and has forgotten how to speak English. She wants to go back to the Kiowa, but she and the “Kep-ton” soon develop a bond. She can count to ten and she remembers a few German words from when she was six. She is smart as a whip. During one scene the Captain is offered money to sell Johanna to a sex trafficker. The Captain arranges a meeting but sneaks out of town instead; the man follows them, and a gun battle breaks out. The Captain has a six shooter and a rifle that shoots only bird shot. The pimp has Indians with him with conventional rifles. Johanna figures out how to extend the range of the Captain's rifle and saves his and her bacon.
As they travel along, he keeps teaching her English words. She mixes them up on purpose, displaying a wonderful sense of humor. By the time they get to the aunt and uncle's home in D'Hanis, he isn't about to give her up to the wrong people. But we know that's going to be the case before they arrive.
The captain is 71 when the trip begins and 72 when he arrives in D'Hanis. He already has two grown daughters he's raised, but he sympathizes with Johanna. She's lost her parents, then she's lost her Kiowa parents, she forms a relationship with the Captain, and now, she's supposed to start over again.
This is a heart-warming story with sympathetic characters. There's even some satire when the Captain stops to read his newspapers in a town that's divided politically. This is Reconstruction era Texas, and before the Captain can finish reading, a fight breaks out in the audience. The Captain charges a dime to each person who wants to hear him read the news. The can containing the money has been spilled all over the floor, the money trampled. The Captain gets down on his knees to pick it up so he can get Johanna home.
The Thirst
THE THIRST may scare some people away because it's about drinking human blood. Actually it's about a serial killer who drinks the blood of his victims. According to a psychologist named Hallstein Smith, this type of person is called a “vampirist”. But they don't sleep all day and sleep in a coffin.
Harry Hole has retired from the police force. In a previous case a serial killer was hunting policemen and Rakel, with whom he's now living, is afraid for him. He loves her, so he agrees to quit. But then, Mikael Bellman, the police chief, who's being considered for the department of justice, ask specifically for Harry. Harry loves hunting murders almost as much as he loves Rakel. For some reason she doesn't object.
There are lots of twists and turns. Jo Nesbo is pretty good at false leads. At one point a hematologist doctor tells Oleg, Rakel's son from another relationship, his mother has rare blood. She's been in a coma for weeks, then suddenly gets well as if nothing happened. My ears perked up like a German shepherd. I'm the type who's always looking for the least likely suspect. He or she is usually the one who did it. Nesbo has a technique for readers like me. Make the reader feel kind of sorry for the suspect you should be able to figure out right off the bat. He got me.
About half way through the book, Hallstein Smith reveals that a vampirist is too impulsive to plan a murder. So now we're looking for the brains behind the killer. Harry tracks down a stalker who looks like a likely suspect. A waitress from the Jealousy Bar is also missing. One of the previous victims met a Tinder date there and this guy was there. Harry develops a relationship with the owner of the bar; he even buys into the bar to keep it open. If you haven't read a Harry Hole novel before, Harry is an alcoholic. When Rakel gets well he asks her to be his bookkeeper. She says she'll think about it. But the brains behind the vampirist is a lot smarter than that or Jo Nesbo is a lot smarter than that. It ain't that easy.
Eventually the light goes on for Harry as it always does, and it almost gets him killed. A good mystery writer also does the minor characters really well. In the Harry Hole mysteries there's this incompetent cop, Truls Bernsten, who's been selling evidence on the vampirist to a newspaper woman. He's pretty much bullet-proof because he grew up with Mikael Bellman, the police chief. Sadly, he's also is love with Bellman's wife, whom he tries to save during a crucial time in the story. He does something like this in every one of the Hole novels. Just when you think he's a total skunk, he solves the case or whatever.
Some people will hate this book, but since Nesbo faked me out of my jock, I have to give it four stars.
Harry Hole has retired from the police force. In a previous case a serial killer was hunting policemen and Rakel, with whom he's now living, is afraid for him. He loves her, so he agrees to quit. But then, Mikael Bellman, the police chief, who's being considered for the department of justice, ask specifically for Harry. Harry loves hunting murders almost as much as he loves Rakel. For some reason she doesn't object.
There are lots of twists and turns. Jo Nesbo is pretty good at false leads. At one point a hematologist doctor tells Oleg, Rakel's son from another relationship, his mother has rare blood. She's been in a coma for weeks, then suddenly gets well as if nothing happened. My ears perked up like a German shepherd. I'm the type who's always looking for the least likely suspect. He or she is usually the one who did it. Nesbo has a technique for readers like me. Make the reader feel kind of sorry for the suspect you should be able to figure out right off the bat. He got me.
About half way through the book, Hallstein Smith reveals that a vampirist is too impulsive to plan a murder. So now we're looking for the brains behind the killer. Harry tracks down a stalker who looks like a likely suspect. A waitress from the Jealousy Bar is also missing. One of the previous victims met a Tinder date there and this guy was there. Harry develops a relationship with the owner of the bar; he even buys into the bar to keep it open. If you haven't read a Harry Hole novel before, Harry is an alcoholic. When Rakel gets well he asks her to be his bookkeeper. She says she'll think about it. But the brains behind the vampirist is a lot smarter than that or Jo Nesbo is a lot smarter than that. It ain't that easy.
Eventually the light goes on for Harry as it always does, and it almost gets him killed. A good mystery writer also does the minor characters really well. In the Harry Hole mysteries there's this incompetent cop, Truls Bernsten, who's been selling evidence on the vampirist to a newspaper woman. He's pretty much bullet-proof because he grew up with Mikael Bellman, the police chief. Sadly, he's also is love with Bellman's wife, whom he tries to save during a crucial time in the story. He does something like this in every one of the Hole novels. Just when you think he's a total skunk, he solves the case or whatever.
Some people will hate this book, but since Nesbo faked me out of my jock, I have to give it four stars.
Girl in Snow
The most impressive aspect of GIRL WITH SNOW, is Danielle Kukafka's ability to make the reader think each of the suspects is capable of killing Lucinda Hayes, a fifteen-year-old, found near a merry-go-round on an elementary school playground.
Perhaps the number one suspect is Cameron who's a known stalker or peeping Tom. Actually he's so bewitched by Lucinda he can't stop watching her, especially at night. Cameron's father doesn't help either. He was a former police officer who was tried for assaulting a woman who later turned out to be his mistress. He disappears after being found not guilty.
Russ is the patrolman assigned to the case, and Lee Whitley, Cameron's father, is Russ Fletcher's former partner. Russ has a secret involving Lee. Before Lee left he asked Russ to take care of his son, so Russ does everything he possibly can to make sure Cameron is not charged. That's not the secret.
Perhaps number two on the list of suspects is Jade, a somewhat overweight Goth girl who was jealous of Lucinda. Lucinda was a blond cheerleader type, and her friends made fun of Jade, but her main reason for hating her was Lucinda's relationship with Zap, Lucinda's childhood friend who grew distant when they started high school. Lucinda and Jade also babysat for the Thornton's, and Jade was losing more and more babysitting work to Lucinda. Jade adds a stylistic device to the novel. She's writing a screenplay dealing with the murder: “What You Want To Say But Can't Without Being a Dick”.
Russ is married to a Mexican woman whose brother just got out of jail. He found religion there and has started his own church, but as an ex-con he's still a suspect.
I am a mystery aficionado. I can usually spot who done it almost immediately, but not with this one, and I can bet you a dollar to a doughnut (please excuse the cliché) you can't either. Let's just say that Lucinda was not the perfect little angel everybody thought she was. That's one of the faults of the book. It's hard to believe that a fifteen-year-old girl was this “experienced”.
Perhaps the number one suspect is Cameron who's a known stalker or peeping Tom. Actually he's so bewitched by Lucinda he can't stop watching her, especially at night. Cameron's father doesn't help either. He was a former police officer who was tried for assaulting a woman who later turned out to be his mistress. He disappears after being found not guilty.
Russ is the patrolman assigned to the case, and Lee Whitley, Cameron's father, is Russ Fletcher's former partner. Russ has a secret involving Lee. Before Lee left he asked Russ to take care of his son, so Russ does everything he possibly can to make sure Cameron is not charged. That's not the secret.
Perhaps number two on the list of suspects is Jade, a somewhat overweight Goth girl who was jealous of Lucinda. Lucinda was a blond cheerleader type, and her friends made fun of Jade, but her main reason for hating her was Lucinda's relationship with Zap, Lucinda's childhood friend who grew distant when they started high school. Lucinda and Jade also babysat for the Thornton's, and Jade was losing more and more babysitting work to Lucinda. Jade adds a stylistic device to the novel. She's writing a screenplay dealing with the murder: “What You Want To Say But Can't Without Being a Dick”.
Russ is married to a Mexican woman whose brother just got out of jail. He found religion there and has started his own church, but as an ex-con he's still a suspect.
I am a mystery aficionado. I can usually spot who done it almost immediately, but not with this one, and I can bet you a dollar to a doughnut (please excuse the cliché) you can't either. Let's just say that Lucinda was not the perfect little angel everybody thought she was. That's one of the faults of the book. It's hard to believe that a fifteen-year-old girl was this “experienced”.
Chances Are
Three old friends meet for a reunion forty-four years after graduating from an elite New England college. This is not your EMPIRE FALLS Russo type work. No Paul Newman type characters, in other words.
The three boys were all in love with Jacy, the spirited young sorority sister, who was one of the boys. The three guys were hashers in what must've been a pretty big sorority. Lincoln was “Faceman”, a waiter. Teddy was a cook, and Mickey washed pots and pans. Jacy was engaged to another guy. Then, just when they were about to split up, she disappeared.
Lincoln has another reason for returning to Minerva; it's the Great Recession, and he may need to sell his mother's house. His next door neighbor wants to buy it, but he was a principal suspect in Jacy's disappearance and Mickey, who's six foot six once punched him out for trying to grope Jacy.
Back when they were young, they were all draft eligible and they waited with bated breath by the radio to hear their respective numbers. Mickey drew a nine; Lincoln was in the middle hundreds and Teddy was in the middle three hundreds. Mickey promises his dad he will serve. Teddy and Jacy try to talk him into going to Canada.
Look at that last paragraph. A hint as to what happened to Jacy is buried within. I hope that's not a spoiler.
Lincoln can't help but look for what he believes is a murder. He finds a retired cop named Coffin who investigated the case; he just happened to play football with Troyer, the neighbor The old guy seems to think Jacy is buried in Lincoln's mother's backyard and the three boys were suspects, but he was drunk while speculating.
Russo does a great job characterizing the three guys and Jacy, but there isn't a lot of traditional Russo humor, other than Mickey's rock star personality. The main page-turner is Jacy's disappearance. There are quite a few unique twists.
The three boys were all in love with Jacy, the spirited young sorority sister, who was one of the boys. The three guys were hashers in what must've been a pretty big sorority. Lincoln was “Faceman”, a waiter. Teddy was a cook, and Mickey washed pots and pans. Jacy was engaged to another guy. Then, just when they were about to split up, she disappeared.
Lincoln has another reason for returning to Minerva; it's the Great Recession, and he may need to sell his mother's house. His next door neighbor wants to buy it, but he was a principal suspect in Jacy's disappearance and Mickey, who's six foot six once punched him out for trying to grope Jacy.
Back when they were young, they were all draft eligible and they waited with bated breath by the radio to hear their respective numbers. Mickey drew a nine; Lincoln was in the middle hundreds and Teddy was in the middle three hundreds. Mickey promises his dad he will serve. Teddy and Jacy try to talk him into going to Canada.
Look at that last paragraph. A hint as to what happened to Jacy is buried within. I hope that's not a spoiler.
Lincoln can't help but look for what he believes is a murder. He finds a retired cop named Coffin who investigated the case; he just happened to play football with Troyer, the neighbor The old guy seems to think Jacy is buried in Lincoln's mother's backyard and the three boys were suspects, but he was drunk while speculating.
Russo does a great job characterizing the three guys and Jacy, but there isn't a lot of traditional Russo humor, other than Mickey's rock star personality. The main page-turner is Jacy's disappearance. There are quite a few unique twists.
