Michael A. Draper's Blog, page 26

A mystery that stands out and is perfect for the holidays.

I was enchanted with this book as soon as I saw the cover with the tall spruce trees lining a snow packed road and a lone vehicle traveling with what appears to be flashing lights. Was it traveling to some mysterious setting?

The story has two parts. In one, the wife of a powerful, arrogant judge disappears and her car is found abandoned in a snowbank. The judge is not well liked but could he have been behind his wife's disappearance? What could be his motive? There is evidence that shows something is amiss.

In the other portion of the story, someone seems to want to harm Cork O'Connor's son, Stephen,  or his girlfriend. The youngsters car is practically forced off the road and skids into a possible life or death situation.

Everything is shrouded in mystery and Cork, the former sheriff, now a P.I. is asked to assist in the investigation because the sheriff's investigator is on vacation.

Cork is a returning character who is the protagonist of William Kent Krueger. He is part American Indian from the Ojbwe tribe and we experience the mysticism and spirituality of the Indians and Cork's daughter who was planning to become a nun.

Cork follows the investigation and someone goes to Stephen's girlfriend's home and kills her dog. She and her mother were minding the dog until a relative got out of jail in the near future. Cork analyzes the occurrences and begins to see a pattern. But who could be doing these things?

The setting is just before Christmas and perfect reading as we get ready for the holidays.

The characters are unique and wonderful. The area of the crime is in Minnesota just outside of an Indian reservation and the author's descriptions are vivid and memorable.

Very entertaining.

Action in East Texas at the turn of the 20th Century

Sixteen-year-old Jack Parker has seen his parents die of the smallpox epidemic and his grandfather killed by an outlaw. When the outlaw kidnapped Jack's fourteen-year-old sister, he couldn't let the outlaws get away with it. He's determined to rescue her and his actions reminded me of Huckleberry Finn. There is a comparison to Mark Twain in Joe R. Lansdale's writing.

Action takes place in East Texas at the turn of last century. We follow Jack's narrative and his amazement with some of the new advances such as the telephone and automobile.

Jack has a group of men who agree to go after the outlaws. He has land from his parents and grandfather and offers that as an incentive. Among the characters who accompany Jack is a black man who was a grave digger, a dwarf who had been in the circus, a whore, and a sheriff who had been a bounty hunter. The men are also accompanied by a hog and this reminded me of the piglets who followed the cattle drive in "Lonesome Dove."

They follow the trail of the outlaws and one of the outlaws, Fatty Worth, has escaped from jail and is on the trail to join the outlaw gang. This man is a cold blooded killer who was reminiscent of Blue Duck from "Lonesome Dove" in the multitude and heartlessness of the people he meets along the trail and kills.

Along the way, Jack's friends talk about their past adventures and in this manner we learn of Shorty's meeting Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley among other notables of history. This adds to the interest in the story.

The Thicket is a wooded area where the outlaws are hiding. This area is populated by murderous men and when peaceful people try to exist among them, many of the law abiding people are killed.

The story moves along swiftly with images of  Texas and life in a wild area at a momentous time in history.

Recommended.

Wasted days and wasted nights, but not if you have a good book

We go back in time for "W is for Wasted." It's 1988 and Kinsey Millhone is age 38.

There are two parallel investigations that PI Kinsey gets involved with. First there is a homeless man who had Kinsey's name and phone with him when he died. Through the investigation, Kinsey learns that the man was a former convict whose conviction was overturned. He was ostracized by his children and was a long lost relative of Kinsey's. She learns that the man had made her the executor of his estate.

The second story involves a shady police investigator, Pete Wolinsky who tried to take advantage of every situation. He gets involved in a marital investigation and it develops that there is a chance for Pete to make extra money through blackmail.

This is an enjoyable novel with a contemporary plot in that it deals with the homeless and medical experiments. The Wasted in the title appears to be about the lives of the homeless and in particular, Kinsey's relative who wasted his life when he had the brains to make something of himself.

Kinsey's relative, R.T. Dane was tried and convicted of a crime that a fellow worked committed. Only when the other man was on his death bed was Dane's conviction overturned and Dane freed. By that time, his family didn't want anything to do with him.

The action moves along nicely and Kinsey's dealing with Dane's children is interesting to follow. We come to feel that the children were only looking for what they could get from suddenly seeing something in their dead father that they liked.

I found the book entertaining but not one of the author's best works. I appreciated how  the author wrote about the homeless and how they might have become more if their situations were different.

'Tis a tale of the old country

"Buried in a Bog" is Sheila Connolly's charming story about a young woman from Boston who goes to her ancestral home in Cork County, Ireland.

The author states that she has a fondness for genealogy and this novel demonstrates her interest and passion. The story follows Maura Donovan who comes to a small village, Leap, in County Cork. Her gran, Nora raised Maura and her dying wish was that Maura return to the village where Gran lives in her younger days.

The picturesque village of Leap is made up of many people named after their relatives so we see a number of characters with the same name. This is confusing to Maura but she is enchanted by the tradition. She is told to go to Sullivan's Pub and will receive directions to the friend of her grandmother's who corresponded with her, Bridget Nolan.

Soon after Maura's arrival, a body is found in a bog. The person might have been there for half a century and is the talk of the town as to who it might be.

The owner of the pub had recently died and Maura takes a job there as she tries to learn more about her family and the land surrounding them.

Many people come to Sullivan's to interact with each other and share the latest gossip. Maura meets them as they arrive and interacts with them.

A man is murdered in the neighboring town and this becomes a bigger source of interest. Then, Maura finds a letter in the bar's papers. This is from a man in Australia trying to find about his ancestors and his missing uncle. Maura thinks that this might be the man in the bog and brings the info to the police but someone tries to run her car off the road and intimidate her.

Many people are related to each other and befriend her. Two managers of the pub ask her to remain in Leap until the ownership of the pub is determined.

This is a delightful story of identity and life's goals. Maura has nothing to tie her to Boston and comes to love the area and its inhabitants. She fits into her new surroundings easily and stands up for herself with the person trying to scare her into leaving.

I enjoyed the story and Maura's infatuation with the land and people who we find were related to her in distant ways.

Highly recommended.

A love story in cattle country and the threat of wolves

In the ranching community of Hope, Montana, wolves make their presence known by killing a number of the ranchers' cattle.

The ranchers, led by the powerful Buck Calder, would like to exterminate the wolves but the wolves are protected by government laws.

Helen Ross, a wolf biologist, is sent to the area to tag and protect the wolves. She is provided a cabin in the mountains so she can do her work in the area that is closer to the wolves trails.

Buck's son, Luke, is an eighteen-year-old who dislikes the idea of killing animals. He and Helen form a relationship that becomes romantic. They both attempt to protect the wolves from the ranchers' hatred.

The story presents both points of view, the care for an endangered species that had roamed this area, and the survival of the ranchers' cattle.

Among the unique characters we meet is J.J. Lovelace, a wolf catcher. He seems to have no love for anyone but is captivated by a one-year-old child he comes across at Buck's ranch. This encounter seems to open an area of Lovelace's soul.

Helen is a character the reader can empathize with, trying to do a job surrounded by ranchers who hate what she's doing. The pacing of the story is also well done as we get to see the town folk deal with the elements of a snowy winter.

The story is based on relationships and Luke's development as a character is well documented. He had been under his stern father's rule but even as a young person, he is strong enough to make up his own mind about the wolves and his future.

The story was enjoyable and it leave a good memory of Hope, Montana and make us wonder what the community might be like today.

Jo Nesbo writes another excellent thriller

Harry Hole returns to Oslo to attempt to clear the name of the boy, Oleg, who he helped raise. Oleg is accused of murder and is being held by the police.

To follow the trail of the murderer, Harry becomes involved in the Oslo drug trade. He has learned that the murdered boy, Gusto, was known as a drug dealer.

There is also a side story with an alternative point of view as the reader experiences Gusto's life and how he came to his death.

In the story, Harry deals with a number of memorable characters and it is difficult for the reader to determine who is honest and who is not. Even members of the police are suspects.

Since the police could be involved, it is difficult for Harry to find someone to trust and to help him. The reader has to feel for his plight and wonder how he could succeed.

The author has many surprises and where some readers are able to guess at who the killer might be, this novel is unique that it is impossible to tell who is Gusto's murderer.

The conclusion is powerful and the reader is left with the uncertainty of Harry Hole's fate.

Murder in Sydney in a suspenseful plot.

Harry Hole, inspector from Oslo is sent to Sydney to observe a murder investigation of a case involving a high profile case of a young woman from Norway.

He is assigned to work with the Sydney police but not take an active role. Andrew Kingston of the police unit will act as his escort during Harry's stay. Andrew is an Aborigine who has overcome much in his life. He is also a story teller and tells tales of the history of his people during the downtime in the investigation.

As the men work with other members of the crime squad they come across a number of interesting characters. In particular, I enjoyed a man who was a transvestite who worked in a traveling circus.

The investigation uncovers that other women in the same description of the Norwegian girl have been murdered in the same manner so that they believe a serial killer is at work.

We learn more of the Australian history and legends during the story and this adds to the interest and lessens the suspense that is mounting.

The pacing is swift and Harry meets a young woman and they form a romantic relationship. Harry tells her of his days in Oslo and the reason that he has to stay away from alcohol since he was driving a car after drinking and his partner was killed in the accident that followed.

I enjoyed the story and felt that the info on Sydney and the history of the people was very well written. I was disappointed to see that Harry wasn't able to live up to the heroic person I imagined he would become. The frailty of Harry's resolve and the human failings of other characters is well played in the novel.

Serial Mystery that's fun

"Inherit the Dead" is a serial novel with twenty bestselling authors adding their input to the development of the story.

The cast of mystery writers is impressive with such notable writers as John Connolly and Mary Higgins Clark. Reading their take on the progress of the story is an interesting concept.

Disgraced former NY Homicide detective turned PI Pericles "Perry" Christo is hired by a Manhattan socialite to find her missing daughter, Angel. The daughter needs to sign forms for her inheritance prior to her twenty-first birthday. The socialite also hasn't had a relationship with her daughter and tells Perry she wants to reconcile.

The daughter has been living in Long Island with her father and has been missing. The father lives in the Hampton s and doesn't seem worried, neither does a number of her past boyfriends. At the same time, someone is following Perry with an deadly agenda of their own.

Perry has a daughter about the same age as Angel and feels empathy for Angel but knows he's not being told the truth by the other characters. He's pulled deeper into the plot and only has one old friend from his New York police days who helps.

The plot has been done before but seeing the various authors input into it is fun.

I enjoyed the descriptions of New York and the social scene, even one of the characters who had a butler named Jeeves.

I think mystery fans will enjoy this book.

Well written literary mystery

It is a joy to pick up a book and enjoy an excellent reading experience from the first page to the conclusion.

Being an author and attempting to have a second novel published, I understand the difficulty in finding an agent and publisher.

In this story, Jo Donovan is the owner of a successful literary agency. One day she is stopped on the street by a man calling himself Sam Spade. He demands her attention and promises that his novel is the new big thing, the best novel in ages and that she will be overwhelmed by its excellence.

The man is so pushy that one of Jo's employees has to help her remove herself from the man's assertive manner and he threatens the employee because of it.

Later, Jo attends a literary function and her laptop is separated from her baggage for a time before it is located. Soon after, many of Jo's clients begin getting letters that their novels have been approved or other good news, all of this written by someone wanting to do Jo harm. This is also humiliating and disappointing to the clients.

Other events follow and Jo comes to fear for her safety. She brings the police into the investigation and a friend who is a FBI profiler. Then a murder occurs and the suspense escalates.

The author, Barbara Rogan has an excellent feel for New York and what goes on in the publishing industry.

The plot is refreshing and the characters are just what a reader would imagine would be in the publishing industry with the gala events and buildings with doormen. The entire story was a joy to read.

Left me hanging

This was my first experience with reading a Matt Hilton novel and the suspense was breathtaking. However, there is such a reliance on the evil of the villain, Tubal Cain, a.k.a. Martin Maxwell, a.k.a. The Harvestman, that I had a feeling that he would be like Freddy Krueger of the Halloween movies and somehow survive. His character also reminded me of Hannibal Lecter.

The writing was crisp but the dialogue seemed done before and it was difficult to see the difference between characters since they all had a similar speech pattern.

The central character, Joe Hunter, was likened to Jack Reacher on the jacket cover  but I failed to see the resemblance. Hunter is a much more flawed character, his reflexes are sometimes less than what a reader would expect and he seemed gullible at times. Reacher is the ultimate professional.

I enjoy reading thrillers but the group of evil men in this book were unintelligent and foolish in much of their behavior in leaving themselves open to attack and failure to anticipate consequences.

Up to the conclusion, the plot did get my attention but the conclusion was disappointing.