Three guys, three different reasons to steal priceless art. Former software whiz kid Mike MacKenzie can buy most anything he wants, but he's bored, restless, and looking for adventure. Boring, divorced banker Allan Cruickshank needs cash to pay for his sons to attend their outrageously expensive private school. And Professor Robert Gissing has a cause: the "repatriation" of art being stored or displayed privately.
The three joke about how to go about stealing art from the storage rooms of Scotland's National Gallery, but soon their talk moves from fantasy to an actual plan. They can't pull it off on their own, however, and turn for help to Chib Calloway, a rough type with ready access to extra manpower. Adding Chib to the caper is a mistake-he's a cutthroat, take-no-prisoners gangster with money problems. Add an art student with a demanding girlfriend, a detective trying for advancement, a Hell's Angel nicknamed Hate (due probably to the fact that both of his hands are tattooed with the word) to the mix and the plot just gets better and better.
In 2007, Ian Rankin retired Edinburgh Detective Inspector John Rebus after more than 20 books written over 20 years. Doors Open, a stand-alone mystery, was published as a 14-week story in the New York Times Magazine. The story's origin as a series is clear from each chapter's cliff-hanger ending. Rankin is beloved among mystery fans on both sides of the pond. Even if you thought Rebus was a bit of a crank, you'll love his latest.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Poe No-Show
There's a real mystery afoot in Baltimore this week. For the past 60 years, a mysterious figure has visited the grave of Edgar Allan Poe on January 20, his birthday, leaving three roses and a half-full bottle of cognac.
This year, no one came.
According to the Washington Post, the Baltimore Evening Sun first reported on the mysterious offerings in 1949. The tradition has continued since then, with the identity of the stranger the subject of intense speculation on the part of Poe fans. One "suspect" mentioned fairly recently is Baltimore poet/performance artist David Franks, who, according to the Post, "once photocopied his private parts on a Xerox machine at a Social Security office and put the images on display. Decades ago, he posed as a disabled poet in a wheelchair, solicited donations from the crowd, then thanked everyone and got up and walked away."
I couldn't make that up if I tried!
Franks died last week at age 60. If he was the mysterious visitor, his death would explain the no-show on Poe's birthday Tuesday.
I guess we'll have to wait for a year to learn if the tradition was merely interrupted this year, or if Poe's birthday will be celebrated (wait for it!) nevermore.
This year, no one came.
According to the Washington Post, the Baltimore Evening Sun first reported on the mysterious offerings in 1949. The tradition has continued since then, with the identity of the stranger the subject of intense speculation on the part of Poe fans. One "suspect" mentioned fairly recently is Baltimore poet/performance artist David Franks, who, according to the Post, "once photocopied his private parts on a Xerox machine at a Social Security office and put the images on display. Decades ago, he posed as a disabled poet in a wheelchair, solicited donations from the crowd, then thanked everyone and got up and walked away."
I couldn't make that up if I tried!
Franks died last week at age 60. If he was the mysterious visitor, his death would explain the no-show on Poe's birthday Tuesday.
I guess we'll have to wait for a year to learn if the tradition was merely interrupted this year, or if Poe's birthday will be celebrated (wait for it!) nevermore.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Robert B. Parker, 1933-2010
One of my favorite authors, Robert B. Parker, was found dead this morning at his Cambridge, Massachusetts home. According to news accounts, Parker, age 77, was found by his wife, slumped over his writing desk.
Parker wrote over 50 novels, 37 of which starred Boston PI Spenser. Other series included the Jesse Stone mysteries, some of which were made into t.v. movies starring Tom Selleck, and the Sunny Randall series.
I liked his books for their well-plotted mysteries and the consistency of his books. Although tending to be a tad formulaic, fans could count on Spenser to speak with a directness that was endearing, even if his girlfriend, psychologist Susan Silverman, was a neurotic pain in the neck. Perhaps my favorite character, though, was Spenser's sidekick Hawk, whose supreme coolness was unmatched in the mystery world.
Parker has long been a mainstay of the mystery world, and I'm so sad that he's gone.
Parker wrote over 50 novels, 37 of which starred Boston PI Spenser. Other series included the Jesse Stone mysteries, some of which were made into t.v. movies starring Tom Selleck, and the Sunny Randall series.
I liked his books for their well-plotted mysteries and the consistency of his books. Although tending to be a tad formulaic, fans could count on Spenser to speak with a directness that was endearing, even if his girlfriend, psychologist Susan Silverman, was a neurotic pain in the neck. Perhaps my favorite character, though, was Spenser's sidekick Hawk, whose supreme coolness was unmatched in the mystery world.
Parker has long been a mainstay of the mystery world, and I'm so sad that he's gone.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The Given Day, by Dennis Lehane (Morrow; $27.95)
I didn’t get to Dennis Lehane’s latest when it came out in 2008, but since he’s one of my favorite mystery authors, I decided to get caught up. The book is quite a departure from his previous books— Mystic River; Gone, Baby, Gone; and Shutter Island (soon to be in theatres)—all fabulous, all on my mental list of the thousand or so best mysteries of the modern era.
The Given Day is not a mystery, but is instead a historic novel focusing on the rise of labor unions after World War I. Officer Danny Coughlin is Boston Police Department “royalty”: the son of captain and the godson of lieutenant. The department has reneged on its pre-war promise of raises, sick pay, and covering the cost of uniforms and weapons, and Danny and the rest of the rank-and-file are getting tired of hearing the excuses. Dad and Uncle Eddie promise Danny a gold shield if he brings them information about the what officers are involved with the increasingly militant Boston Social Club (and other “Bolsheviks.”) As Danny tries to infiltrate the budding union, he finds more sympathy for their cause than for the need of department management to maintain control. The beat cops and management are on a collision course that threatens to alter the course of labor history.
Lehane skillfully weaves several subplots into the story of the police unions. Luther Lawrence, pitcher for a black baseball team, winds up on the lam in Boston after some trouble in Tulsa, where he had to leave his wife and baby. Nora O’Shea, a young Irish woman living with the Coughlins loves Danny but is engaged to his toady of a brother, Connor. And Babe Ruth, who plays against Luther in a pick-up game one day, learns that he might not always be a Yankee. Set against the backdrop of the influenza epidemic, the upcoming Volstead Act, and the racism of the early 20th century, The Given Day is a richly textured, well-plotted joy.
The Given Day is not a mystery, but is instead a historic novel focusing on the rise of labor unions after World War I. Officer Danny Coughlin is Boston Police Department “royalty”: the son of captain and the godson of lieutenant. The department has reneged on its pre-war promise of raises, sick pay, and covering the cost of uniforms and weapons, and Danny and the rest of the rank-and-file are getting tired of hearing the excuses. Dad and Uncle Eddie promise Danny a gold shield if he brings them information about the what officers are involved with the increasingly militant Boston Social Club (and other “Bolsheviks.”) As Danny tries to infiltrate the budding union, he finds more sympathy for their cause than for the need of department management to maintain control. The beat cops and management are on a collision course that threatens to alter the course of labor history.
Lehane skillfully weaves several subplots into the story of the police unions. Luther Lawrence, pitcher for a black baseball team, winds up on the lam in Boston after some trouble in Tulsa, where he had to leave his wife and baby. Nora O’Shea, a young Irish woman living with the Coughlins loves Danny but is engaged to his toady of a brother, Connor. And Babe Ruth, who plays against Luther in a pick-up game one day, learns that he might not always be a Yankee. Set against the backdrop of the influenza epidemic, the upcoming Volstead Act, and the racism of the early 20th century, The Given Day is a richly textured, well-plotted joy.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Deeper than the Dead, by Tami Hoag (Dutton; $26.95)
Tami Hoag’s books are one of my few vices. Equal parts mystery and romance, they are long enough to last a whole snowy weekend, infinitely readable, and with plots that don’t require a lot of effort to figure out.
So I was thrilled to learn that, after a two-year hiatus, Hoag was back with a new mystery. In Deeper Than the Dead, four 5th-graders stumble upon the body of a dead woman in the woods, her eyes and mouth glued shut and her ear drums ruptured. (A nod to the “no evil” monkeys.) The students’ teacher, Anne Navarre, does what she can to help them through the aftermath of this horrific discovery. She works with the local cops as well as a FBI agent, Vince Leone, who examines the pattern of this and similar murders to make conclusions about the killer. This being 1985, profiling was just starting to be used to help solve crimes, and not everyone is on board with the help Leone can offer.
Faced with a handsome young cop or an injured FBI agent twice her age, I’ll leave it to you to guess which one the lovely Ms. Navarre falls in love with. Alas, the book is not one of Hoag’s best, but it’s still a decent page-turner.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Hollywood Moon, by Joseph Wambaugh (Little, Brown; $26.99)
Former LAPD detective Joseph Wambaugh earned his literary stripes with The Choirboys and The Onion Field. More recently, he’s written a series of police procedurals based on the “new” LAPD: a department whose cops must operate with their hands tied due to restrictions and increased paperwork imposed as a consequence of past abuses. Hollywood Station and Hollywood Crows, the first two books in the new series, were terrific. The latest, Hollywood Moon, falls far short.
As with the other two books focused on the cops working out of Hollywood Station, Moon has one plot at its core, but with short anecdotes about Hollywood and the cops’ lives filling out the pages. The plot involves a couple of flim-flam artists made up of a chain-smoking “coppery blonde with gray roots that she seldom bothered dyeing any more until there was at least an inch showing” and her husband, a washed-up actor whom she has totally emasculated. They work a couple of scams using LA college kids and petty crooks, including one deranged character who addresses his mommy issues by attacking women.
Most of the cops are repeat characters from the two previous books: surfers Flotsam and Jetsam, “Hollywood” Nate Weiss, who is trying to break into movies, and various others. But whereas the anecdotes in the previous books were ripe with black humor, they just fall flat in the latest. Similarly, the cops’ street talk seemed fresh and realistic previously, but clichéd to the point of cringeful here. (I simply don’t believe that surfers have said “Cowabunga” since the late ‘60s.)
Wambaugh is still worth reading, but don’t waste your time with this one.
As with the other two books focused on the cops working out of Hollywood Station, Moon has one plot at its core, but with short anecdotes about Hollywood and the cops’ lives filling out the pages. The plot involves a couple of flim-flam artists made up of a chain-smoking “coppery blonde with gray roots that she seldom bothered dyeing any more until there was at least an inch showing” and her husband, a washed-up actor whom she has totally emasculated. They work a couple of scams using LA college kids and petty crooks, including one deranged character who addresses his mommy issues by attacking women.
Most of the cops are repeat characters from the two previous books: surfers Flotsam and Jetsam, “Hollywood” Nate Weiss, who is trying to break into movies, and various others. But whereas the anecdotes in the previous books were ripe with black humor, they just fall flat in the latest. Similarly, the cops’ street talk seemed fresh and realistic previously, but clichéd to the point of cringeful here. (I simply don’t believe that surfers have said “Cowabunga” since the late ‘60s.)
Wambaugh is still worth reading, but don’t waste your time with this one.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
My favorite books of 2009
Here is a list of the nine best mysteries and thrillers I read since January 2009. (Sorry, but I just couldn't come up with one more!) Do you agree? Were there books you read that you think were outstanding?
- Safer, by Sean Doolittle (Delacorte Press; $24). A newcomer who refuses to kowtow to the demands of the head of the neighborhood watch committee finds his life in ruins in this harrowing tale of suburbia at its ugliest.
- Spade & Archer by Joe Gores (344 pages; Knopf; $24.00. The back story of Sam Spade’s life and career, told through his earliest cases.
- The Birthday Present by Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine (Shaye Areheart Books; $25). A fantasy kidnapping meant as a birthday present for a woman with unusual tastes goes terribly wrong.
- Road Dogs by Elmore Leonard (Morrow; $26.99). Three characters from earlier Leonard mysteries plan joint capers and individual double crosses.
- Gone Tomorrow by Lee Childs (422 pages; Delacorte Press; $27). Jack Reacher tries to stop a woman he suspects of being a suicide bomber, only to learn that she’s part of a larger plot with international security implications.
- The Defector by Daniel Silva (Putnam; $26.95). Israeli art restorer/spy Gabriel Allon must again face the Russian arms dealer who blames Allon for his lost fortune and family.
- Wicked Prey, by John Sandford (Putnam; $27.95). Lucas Davenport has his hands full dealing with thieves targeting moneyed conventioneers at the Republican National Convention, and an evil pimp out for revenge.
- Hardball by Sara Paretsky (Putnam; $26.95). V.I. Warshawski’s latest case promises little money, lots of headaches, and the risk of permanently destroying her family.
- Risk, by Colin Harrison (Picador; $13.00; paperback). A New York insurance company lawyer’s life goes from staid to perilous when he investigates the death of a man involved with a Czech hand model and the Russian mob.
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