V.R. Barkowski's Blog, page 2

Launch Day: A Twist of Hate

I'm thrilled to announce my novel, A TWIST OF HATE, is now available.


A Brief Excerpt from the beginning:

Max wrapped a blanket around the boy and gathered Samuel’s slight frame in his arms, tenderly placing him in the worn canvas duffle in which their few valuables lay packed and waiting. Having no time to think, only to do, was a blessing. It meant no chance of being pulled under by the waves of despair that now lapped at his heels.

“Scared, Papa.”

“Shh, little man. Be brave.” Max took a sugar cube from his pocket and slipped it into the boy’s mouth. “Once we’re away from here, you can make all the noise you want.”  He folded back the rug and felt for the hidden edge of the trapdoor leading to the cellars. The dark, dank smell of saltwater and earth wafted into the room as he lifted the hatch. He’d chosen the house because of the interconnected cellars and months ago mapped their escape. The Gestapo would figure it out, of course, but not until it was too late. 

Max bent and kissed the top of the boy’s head and closed the flap protecting the precious bundle. After testing the straps one last time, he carefully slung the bag over his shoulder and started down the ladder.

There was a hard fist on the door. “Aufmachen!”

Max positioned the rug to camouflage the opening, secured the trapdoor from below, and dropped down to the dirt floor just as he heard the crack of a gunshot. With the duffle held tight against his body, he ran.

The Kind Worth Killing

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


If you’re into page turners, The Kind Worth Killing delivers in spades. Skillfully written, with a sociopathic cast and plenty of backstabbing twists, if ever there was a beach read, this is it. The story is unquestionably an homage to Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train. Although Highsmith’s work is deeper, darker, and more sophisticated, Swanson puts an original spin on the tale, making for a compelling read.

Early on, there is an overused mystery trope that foretells the ending, but the pages in-between were so enjoyable, getting to the predestined denouement was a pleasure.



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Goodreads ARC Giveaway

***MAY ARC giveaway for A TWIST OF HATE***

Ends June 1, 2015

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The Gates of Hell

Although my novel, A Twist of Hate, takes place in present-day San Francisco, the story has it's beginnings in Paris during the Second World War.

In August of 1941, the first targeted round up of Jews took place in the the 11th and 12th arrondissements of Paris. Between the years 1941 and 1944, approximately 65,000 Jews were deported from the transit camp located in Drancy, a suburb northeast of Paris, most of them to Auschwitz, virtually all of them to their deaths.



Today, the memorial depicted above, sculpted by Shlomo Selinger in 1976 and titled The Gates of Hell, marks the Drancy site. 

The two flanking blocks denotes Death’s Gate; the middle symbolizes a minyan—the quorum of ten required for prayer; and the seven steps (only three are visible here), the seven days of the week, as well as the ascent of the victims' souls.

The two heads at the bottom of the center block represent death, the male and female figures, suffering and dignity. Their arms and hair form the Hebrew letters lamed and vav. Lamed has a numerical value of thirty and vav of six. Together the two letters represent the thirty-six just men who, according to Jewish tradition, are always present in the world to support the oppressed and undermine their persecutors.

The three blocks of stone together make up the twenty-first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, shin (tooth). For those who are familiar with the tarot, shin equates with the twentieth card of the major arcana: Judgement.



The building behind the memorial is the last of the remaining apartment blocks (La Cité de la Muette) that constituted the Drancy camp. And yes, as inconceivable as it sounds, the building still functions as residential housing today.

A Storm of Witchcraft

A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience by Emerson W Baker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Part of Oxford University's Pivotal Moments in History series, A Storm of Witchcraft focuses on how the Salem Witch Trials both shaped—and were shaped by—America's unique history.

Professor Emerson Baker argues there was no single cause of the witch hysteria that led to the death of 25 individuals (19 hanged for witchcraft, 1 pressed to death, 5 died while in prison), and the accusal of nearly 200 others. He suggests a "perfect storm" of social, political, economic, and religious factors. From a government in disarray, to the waning of puritanism, to the constant threat of the ongoing Indian Wars, to factionalism, Massachusetts was under siege—the devil was at hand.

Balanced, extremely well-researched, and highly readable, the book is an excellent account of what happened in Essex County and vicinity 323 years ago. Recommended for anyone interested in this brief but remarkable period, the repercussions of which continue to reverberate more than three centuries later.



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Remembering Ruth Rendell

Ruth Rendell died today. She was not only my favorite crime novelist, she was also the writer who inspired me to pick up a pen. This is a repost of one of my A to Z posts from several years ago.

______________

R is for Reading Ruth Rendell, because if you enjoy psychological suspense, you really, really should.

... read Ruth Rendell, I mean.

"Some say life is the thing, but I prefer reading." ~Ruth RENDELL

British crime novelist, Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine/Baroness Rendell of Babergh CBE, has long been my favorite mystery writer. It all started decades ago when I picked up a copy of Rendell's novel, THE BRIDESMAID. THE BRIDESMAID not only changed the way I viewed mysteries, it inspired me to write.

Yes, it’s true Lady Rendell writes the Inspector Wexford series, but my heart resides not with her procedurals, but with her standalones. These books inevitably zero in on a clash between society and the individual. Not just any individual, either, but an individual driven by internal or external forces into socially unacceptable behavior. Deviants, my friends. Ruth Rendell writes about deviants. Even more tantalizing? She takes you into their tangled psyches without ever once letting down her social conscious.

"I try, and I think I succeed, in making my readers feel sorry for my psychopaths, because I do." ~RUTH RENDELL

Don't expect a happy ending. A twist, something that stays with you for days, even years, after you've flipped the book closed or turned off your Kindle, yes. But happily ever afters? Not so much.

Until the advent of Amazon UK, life for an American Ruth Rendell fan was not easy. It could take as long as a year and half for her latest to make it to this side of the Pond. Today, Americans willing to pay exorbitant international shipping, can easily access the Baroness's work hot off the presses. But why bother? Lady Rendell has dozens of impeccably crafted mysteries and psychological thrillers waiting on library shelves for anyone looking for a unique, intelligent read. Might that be you?

Novelist PATRICK GALE said it best:

"Ruth Rendell writes about people as coolly as a behaviourist observing the effects of fear or pain on laboratory rats. Because she does not care, the reader does not have to, and the effect is oddly liberating. Rendell’s works pitch the reader into an amoral universe where there is no salvation, spiritual or aesthetic. Rather than rout evil, she merely has it eat itself… and the tidiness of her endings unsettles even as it satisfies, because it carries no consolation in its wake."

Rest in peace, Lady Rendell.

The Mercy of the Night

The Mercy of the Night by David Corbett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


At the age of eight, Jacqi Garza was abducted by a child predator. She escaped, but both her trauma and ill-found fame endure. Now in her teens, Jacqi continues to struggle against her past. Enter Phelan Tierney, a former attorney turned PI with a tortured past of his own. When Jacqui disappears from her group home after witnessing a murder, Tierney is recruited to find her. Unfortunately for Jacqi, Tierney isn’t the only one looking.

Though Blood of Paradise remains my favorite of the author's novels, The Mercy of the Night is superior crime fiction, well-written, with beautifully drawn characters, yet still wields an edge. I am disappointed the book seems to be the set up for a series. Hope I’m wrong about that as I’m not a series fan. There are too many character psyches begging to be plumbed to be stuck with a recurring protagonist, particularly for a writer like Corbett who excels at breathing life into his characters.

Recommended with a caveat. If your taste in mystery leans toward Don Winslow, George Pelacanos, or James Sallis, read The Mercy of the Night and rejoice. If you’re more the Janet Evanovich, Lilian Jackson Braun mystery reader, this book probably isn’t for you.





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Goodreads ARC Giveaway

***April ARC giveaway for A TWIST OF HATE***

Giveaway ends April 30, 2015

You can run from history, but you can’t hide…

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In the Garden of Beasts

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I spent a lot of time deciding how to rate this book. I try not to review what isn’t there, but in this case, I’ll make an exception. Although the book was meticulously researched and is a quasi-interesting read, there seemed no reason to tell the story.

The book begins with William Dodd, a milquetoast college professor who is appointed ambassador to Hitler’s Germany. He arrives in Berlin with his wife, adult son, and his sexually indiscriminate, married daughter, Martha.

Given the premise, I was disappointed there were no real insights into US isolationism and this country’s reaction to the rise of Nazi Germany—something that’s always baffled me. No one cared. I get that. It's evident from the historical record, but why? The US didn't want to anger Germany for fear the country wouldn't repay its debt? That's the whole of it? I remain baffled.

Then there’s Martha. Fine, she’s promiscuous. Good for her. While reading the book, I kept thinking there has to be more to this bed-hopping airhead and [eventually disillusioned] Nazi sympathizer than meets the eye. After all, she ended up an accused Russian spy. Russia actively recruited her. Read this book, and you might wonder why they wanted her—at least once her father resigned his ambassadorial position.

Bill, Dodd’s son, is barely a blip on the book’s radar, but he did run for congress in ’38 (he lost). The epilogue tells us Bill ended out his life working in the book department of a Macy’s in San Francisco. Now, that sounds like a story.

On the surface, these are compelling characters at a pivotal time in history, but they are so disengaged from what’s happening around them, it’s nearly impossible to care or stay interested in their lives, and so I didn't.



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Life or Death

Life or Death by Michael Robotham

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Michael Robotham is one of my favorite authors. I continue to read his Joe O'Loughlin series despite the fact I vastly prefer stand alones. Last summer I was thrilled to hear about the release of his stand alone effort, Life or Death. Having to wait eight months for the book's US launch only made me more eager to read.

In Life or Death, a man in prison for ten years escapes the day before he's to be released. Why, you ask? Therein lies the story question that will keep you turning pages. This is a terrific tale, intelligently written, with well-drawn characters who are easy to root for, and so well paced it will leave you breathless. For mystery lovers, there's a conspiracy to parse out. For romantics, there's a love story. If you're looking for a diversion in the form of thrills and suspense, Life or Death will provide in spades. I docked the book one star for the handful of villains who veered too close to the mustache twirler trope, and an ending that was a bit too pat.

Getting down to my personal preferences, Life or Death didn't displace my favorite Robotham effort, Bleed for Me. I found the Texas setting beautifully rendered but mundane, and I prefer more psychologically driven storylines. However, that was not the goal here, and I'll be damned if I'll criticize any writer for having the courage to break from what's expected.

Recommended for readers looking for an entertaining, expertly-told tale, brimming with memorable characters and turn-the-page suspense.




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