The Confessions of Young Nero: A Novel.  Margaret George. Penguin Publishing Group. March 2017. 528 pp. ISBN #: 9780451473387.

Nero is a well-known, infamous character to most readers the mad ruler of Rome!  Margaret George, the renowned historical novelist, has Nero tell the story of his younger years in a way that changes the reader’s perception about how Nero’s personality developed.  The picture isn’t pretty but is certainly amazing at how he managed to survive the traumatic events of his youth!

Nero’s mother, Agrippina, is a manipulative, intriguing woman who thinks nothing of having her enemies (real or imagined) poisoned or assassinated.  As a young boy, Caligula, the earlier emperor, tries to drown Nero by throwing him in a river but he is saved by a Roman soldier.  Nero is adopted by Claudius thanks again to the influence of Agrippina but is aware that his life is in a precarious position as Claudius’s natural son could also become the next emperor. 

Nero has two memorable tutors, one who introduces him to the glorious art and music of Greece and the other, Seneca, who introduces Nero to the philosophers and great moral teachers in Roman history, as well as the great Roman gods, goddesses, and leaders who will hopefully shape Nero into a moral, intelligent and capable leader.  Nero actually does become a leader who manifests the best of both teachers although it is his infamy that becomes prominent in the historical records of Roman history.

Due to a drug-induced dream (or reality?), Nero dreams of his mother, a haunting scene that leads Nero to forever wonder about his mother’s intentions and whether he possesses her evil nature.  At the same time, Nero is married to a woman he ignores and falls in love with a former slave, now a freed woman.  After Claudius dies, a stunning event as well, Nero becomes Emperor and becomes an intelligent ruler who makes decisions clearly beneficial for his empire.  But Agrippina is now fearful of her son as he trumps her malicious planning, a constant threat which will eventually lead to her own demise.

The Confessions of Young Nero is superb historical fiction.  There are notes in the afterword of this novel that lead the reader to expect a sequel, one which this reviewer avidly awaits!  Read this novel, a wonderful, astute, and fascinating account of an enigmatic, troubled, and haunted ruler shaped by the best and worst Roman influences!

Police At The Station And They Don't Look Friendly (Detective Sean Duffy Series #6) by Adrian McKinty

Police at the Station And They Don’t Look Friendly (Sean Duffy Series #6).  Adrian McKinty. Prometheus Books. March 2017. 319 pp. ISBN #: 9781633882591.

Belfast 1988 – Ireland is a volatile place where IRA, Irish and British conflict constantly erupts. The novel opens with Duffy being into a hidden area where he will be forced to dig his own grave and then die. The scene shifts, however, to a murder scene. Two murders, both committed by crossbows, have been committed and Duffy is called to investigate the second death of a known drug dealer.  Obviously, this is an odd choice of weapons but effective because of the difficulty of tracing the owner or owners.  All he knows is the victim’s wife is a violent mourner, giving grief to anyone and everyone. Add to the mess that it’s hard for Duffy to get cooperation in the Carrickfergus station.  However, he has a job to do and he sets about it with determination, even when it seems he is being blocked at every turn.

Duffy is also in danger of losing his girlfriend Beth and daughter Emma, as Beth hates being in the middle of a violent neighborhood.  There’s a subplot here as she tries to get him to think about moving to a house in the country.  At first he refuses but realizes he will lose her if he doesn’t come around.  Trying to explain to Beth that he is attempting to prove himself at the station, being distrusted as a fenian “peeler” or detective (Irish independence supporter and detective), and is slowly gaining ground in that effort.  Beth doesn’t see that as the essence of a steady, peaceful existence for a family, even though she won’t hear of marriage as a viable option.

The story continues and holds the reader’s avid interest as Duffy and an associate are kidnapped, almost murdered and endures other life-threatening moments and obstacles.  Adam McKinty crafts an excellent crime or detective novel that is challenging, mysterious, and altogether a wild ride with some poignant times in between the task of finding the guilty and bypassing the innocent.  Nicely plotted Adam McKinty!

Windy City Blues: A Novel by Renee Rosen

Windy City Blues: A Novel by Renee Rosen; Penguin Publishing Group. Copyright 2017. pb, 480 pp. ISBN: 9781101991121.  

Leeba Groski, daughter of immigrant Polish Jews, becomes a filer and receptionist for a new record company in Chicago, Illinois, in the post-WWII years.  She’s working for Leonard and Evelyn, mismatched partners who are spotlighting new talent in music specifically catering to colored (word used appropriately for that time) folks.  

The business collapses and a fluke accident enables Leonard and his brother to open a new music production company (the Chess brothers).  Leeba or Leah as she renames herself very slowly evolves into a fine writer for blues musicians.  Red Dupree (Jimmy Rogers in real life), a young black man, has come to Chicago to make his mark as an electric guitarist initially and then to write and have his music produced.   Acknowledged as a superb guitarist, he fails to get a contract for his own compositions.  However, after tremendous struggles, he gets hired as a band member for the notable “Muddy Waters,” and their music takes off.  Leah, Leonard and Phil make new friends and business contacts whom they will sign on as future “blues” stars.  

However, the equally dominant story behind the music concerns the virulent storm created by the fiery love, romance and marriage of Red Dupree and Leah.  They become part of the Freedom Riders movement and ultimately the Civil Rights Movement created by Dr. Martin Luther King.  

The majority of this fine novel contains a constant tension lowered at just the right moments with the magic of creating and playing music, as well as the passionate love and troubles of Red and Leah. 

Out of the suffering of racial prejudice arises a vibrant “sound” that changed the course of American history! Finely crafted historical fiction, Renee Rosen!

Everything Belongs to Us: A Novel by Yoojin Grace Wuertz

Everything Belongs to Us: A Novel.  Yoojin Grace Wuertz. Random House Publishing Group. February 2017. 368 pp. ISBN #: 9780812998542.

Two girls and two boys experience personal and national change in 1978 Seoul, South Korea.  Jisun and Namin couldn’t possibly be more different.  Jisun comes from an important family in business and she has easy access to money and all the privilege that comes with her father’s power.  Namin comes from a poor family, is studying to become a doctor so that her family will eventually be free from poverty.  The country is now in a campaign to work hard and make the country prosper economically.  That means all must conform to the long hours of work for meager wages; the novel opens with a group of women protesting these conditions.  However, in a random moment of rebellious action, they strip themselves of blouses and bras, not realizing their act removes them from the role of honest protest and instead earns them a scandalous repetition.  Jisun’s father attempts to have guards watch her every moment but that attempt fails to stop her doing what she wants.  What she’s not prepared for is how other protestors now scorn her for her privileged status after she was removed from jail while others had to undergo penalties and social ostracism.  Namin at first is delighted to become a friend of Jisun but their relationship evolves with Namin’s realization about status and the personal cost of privilege.

Jisun and Namin then meet Samin and his mentor, Juno.  We first meet Samin being forced to carry out ridiculous actions for Juno who has a sadistic streak.  Juno knows everyone who is important in the elite group called The Club and initially Samin would do anything to gain entry to this esteemed circle.  However, Samin gradually also evolves, through his encounters with Namin, to an independent thinker. 

The plot is simple but the way Wuertz depicts the emerging personalities of these four characters is exquisite and mesmerizing.  Their lives clearly parallel the changes South Korea is experiencing as it moves from a dictatorship to a form of social democracy.  These characters experience questions about personal desires and independence that must find a place within a society that clearly prizes working together for the common good.  At the same time, wealth is not a guarantee of security and these characters as well must find a vision and place within that same society to live a meaningful life per the new standards and vision.

Everything Belongs to Us… is compelling historical fiction that this reviewer highly recommends!

Gunmetal Gray - A Gray Man Novel by Mark Greaney

Gunmetal Gray: Gray Man Series #6.  Mark Greaney. Penguin Publishing Group. February 2017. 512pp.  ISBN#: 9780425282854.

The Gray Man is not an agent to be trifled with, for sure!  He’s been out of action for a while but now has been called on a very, very dangerous mission.  A visit to Hong Kong and connections by some Chinese agents immediately alerts him to the fact that the Communists are very much interested in and desiring to control his new assignment.  He finds his friend, Donald Fitzroy, being held in captivity after failing to capture Fan Jiang, a master computer hacker.  The job is now Court Gentry’s mission. 

Fan Jiang is not just any hacker.  He is a computer genius able to break into government programs and go even deeper, to figure out how hackers get in and figure out to hack the hackers’ program.  The rest of the novel plays out the chase to capture Fan Jiang and includes Court Gentry’s relationship with the head of a Russian spy mission bent on the same goal of capturing Fan Jiang.

Court Gentry is a brilliant tactician and warrior who can destroy any number of the enemy threatening his life and limbs.  Thus fierce, brutal, decimating battles follow, causing the reader to feel the intense stress despite innately knowing the outcome.  There is a growing romance and growing costs in each step of the war for this is an outcome that will affect the governments of America, China, Vietnam, and Russia.

All in all, for those who love the international spy thriller, this is adventure and mystery at its best!  Nicely crafted, Mark Greaney, with some twists and turns that even the most knowledgeable fans won’t predict!

Ashes by Steven Manchester

Ashes. Steven Manchester. The Story Plant. February 2017. 272 pp. ISBN#: 9781611882421.  

Two brothers, Jake and Tom Prendergast, who couldn’t possibly be more different, are about to take a life-transforming journey!  But first we meet them individually.  When we first meet Jake, he’s giving a “scared straight” speech to a bunch of juvenile delinquents.  The reader wants to think it’s all a bit of a stretch, but it doesn’t take long before we know he’s speaking about what he’s seen as a security officer in an adult prison.  No, it’s definitely not pretty!

Tom is a college professor who is annoyed to find out his father has died. The reader wonders immediately about what has elicited such disdain! 

Both brothers are called to their father’s lawyer’s office, only to hear the father is leaving them an envelope they may not open until they travel cross-country to spread his ashes.  If they refuse, they get nothing.  But then nothing is what their father always gave them, nothing but grief that is.

The journey is bittersweet indeed as Jake and Tom insult each other through half of the journey while they reminisce about their brutal father who wasn’t just happy at beating them but had to see blood to make him happy. Sadist extraordinaire!  But then the continuous clashes start to slightly alter as they find themselves reminiscing about their childhood and then later about their experiences as husbands and fathers. 

These interspersed tender moments begin to open the brothers toward each other, along with some very funny scenes as Tom gawks at his brother’s humongous appetite and Jake gapes at Tom’s snooty tastes in food and wine. There’s a lovely ending which the reader must experience without a spoiler and which almost makes one want to read it all over again!

Steven Manchester is great at presenting a simple plot but his real gift is on depicting the variations of temperament in characters in such a wonderfully moving manner.  One gets to know and love his characters no matter what the ups and downs of the conflict between them.

Finely crafted contemporary fiction once again, Steven Manchester – a MUST read that deserves the widest possible audience!

I See You by Claire Mackintosh

I See You.  Claire Mackintosh. Penguin Publishing Group. February 2017. 384 pp. ISBN #: 9781101988299.

Zoe Walker is traveling on the crowded London subway when he sees a photograph in the newspaper that looks just like her.  It’s a creepy feeling, indeed, as she has no connection with the website.  She shows it to her family and they think the picture is her but might not be as it has a grainy quality.  Meanwhile she’s dealing with her family, particularly a partner who thinks her son should pay rent and contribute to the family finances as he’s 22 years old and other minor issues. 

We are then introduced to Kelly, a detective demoted to a police officer who has a bad work history that she is trying to overcome by proving herself in her new job.  Her biggest problem is that she tends to react on instinct and that’s not always the brightest or safest way to perform.  Assaulting an alleged criminal is a no-no that has left Kelly with a hot-head reputation.

The next day Zoe sees a different woman’s picture in the same classified ad section and wonders what’s going on.  As time passes, we also have italicized messages from a voyeur who is taking pictures of women with a very set purpose; the messages are creepy and make the reader tense with anticipation of some crime soon to be committed.

So, the plot moves forward alternating between the mundane, everyday thrills and tussles of life and these photos of different women appearing in the daily newspaper.

Suspicions begin to form around Zoe’s acquaintances, even those who have been very good to Zoe and her family.  No spoilers here.  Suffice to say that the last portion of the novel is stunning as we discover who is behind these pictures – and a murder – and why.

Claire Mackintosh has crafted an interesting mystery that bounces between some boredom over the simple family discussions and the chilling fear elicited over who is clearly a dangerous stalker!  Nicely done, Ms. Mackintosh!