Law and Disorder: A Legal Thriller by Mike Papantonio

Law and Disorder: A Legal Thriller.  Mike Papantonio. Select Books. September 2016. 352 pp. ISBN #: 9781590793671.

Like the author, Nicholas “Deke” Deketomis is a skilled trial lawyer and talk radio show host.  The novel opens with a dramatic scene in which a young woman, suing a large pharmaceutical company for allowing the sale of a drug, dies right in front of the court after the Judge’s decision to not allow her story as evidence in a class action lawsuit against the drug company.  Deke’s law firm had six good witnesses to take to trial on this matter but now he’s got five and he’s looking for evidence that will unequivocally burn through the defendant’s “lawyered-up” and powerful strategies to defeat Deke’s lawsuit.

The plot then moves to a seeming sub-plot in which a coach of a woman’s team at a Southern Pentecostal Church receives a letter threatening exposure for sleeping with a minor fifteen-year-old teen.  The alleged perpetrator fakes a suicide hoping to con his wife into forgiveness and prayer, but the Pastor in charge of this church has different plans.  For one thing, this is one of those popular mega-churches making enough money from televised sermons and their in-person weekly services to make them a wealthy business.  The Pastor is also supporting a former Senator who is planning a comeback and who is stupid enough to ignore the fact that he is a tool in the Pastor’s grand strategy for even more success in the political world.

The remainder of the novel is about the machinations of the court, lawyers, Judges with a partisan preference, pharmaceutical companies whose only vision is making money minus caring about patients who die because of their poisoning drugs, and what it takes to achieve success in modifying the choices made by these drug companies.  Illegal methods are deemed perfectly appropriate to obtain pivotal evidence to use against the defendant drug company.  Religious leaders are not above destroying anyone who opposes their glorified status.

Most of what is in this novel reflects the way the law and businesses operate, but some of it goes over the edge with authorial license.  Still we are left with a ripping tale that has enough twists and turns to keep the reader flipping the pages and left with somewhat an education that is both informative and shocking!

Nicely plotted, with spunky, intelligent characters, Law and Disorder… is a terrific read sure to please those who love the legal thriller genre!

Max's Diamonds: A Novel by Jay Greenfield

Max’s Diamonds: A Novel.  Jay Greenfield. Chickadee Prince Books. May 2016. 344 pp. ISBN #: 9780991327423.

Paul Hartman, his parents and many in their family are refugees from the hell created by Adolf Hitler.  In short, they are Holocaust survivors!  Think you’ve heard it all before!  Stop in your tracks – you haven’t!  Jay Greenfield’s first novel is reality.  The appearance of Paul’s Uncle Max is a life-changing event for Paul.  Two aspects of Uncle Max’s life remain with Paul forever, the numbers etched into Uncle Max’s arm and the diamonds Uncle Max owns and spreads throughout the family.  These items are evidence of the worst kind of evil one can imagine!  They permeate the family with guilt as survivors and victims who deserve more of life’s wealth because of what they have endured.  In between these searing scenes are moments of intense beauty which Paul and his girlfriend, and later wife, find in playing music.  Should one play Wagner, the enemy of the Jews, to show all that Jews survived and are now their own masters? Yes, Wagner, the music that was played when selections were daily made of who was to go to the gas chambers.  The novel is replete with decisions of a like-minded nature!

For Paul, it seems for every few steps he moves ahead in his career and family life he must take multiple steps backwards laced with shared guilt and moral obligations.  As the story progresses, we learn how Max acquired those diamonds in the concentration camp and what he did with them.  Harrowing story, indeed!

Paul becomes a lawyer whose State Supreme Court clerkship becomes compromised because of his family background.  On and on the same stop-and-go scenes follow, eventually causing the failure of two marriages, barriers with relatives because of a deed Paul committed after meeting Max and before Max’s death.  All his relationships become tainted and the reader can empathize with his frustration and desire to get it all healed and behind, if that is possible at all!

Max’s Diamonds… is a startling, riveting work of historical fiction that each reader may never forget.  It’s a thriller spawned by an evil reality of one man but passing on to all the victims tied into that evil man’s existence!

Amazing read that this reviewer highly recommends!

Blind Ambition: The White House Years by John W. Dean

Blind Ambition: The White House Years. John Dean. Open Road Media. December 2016. 480 pp. ISBN#: 9781504041011.  

John Dean felt privileged on being invited to be Richard Nixon and the White House’s legal counsel.  Highly intelligent and skilled, Dean recognized that his main task was building a business in the White House and wrongly assumed he would have all the connections and advice necessary for the job.  He also realized he had spent so much of his life working, he had no meaningful relationships outside of that professional career, so he again wooed and married his old girlfriend, Mo.  It wasn’t long before his surrealistic, high-flying dreams began a slow, odious descent from legal counsel to firefighter, to fellow conspirator, to defender, to criminal and finally to prosecutor.  This then is Dean’s story of Watergate, the ultimate demise of Richard Nixon and many of his staff members who never learned the lesson that power has limits!

It all began with a break-in of a psychiatrist’s office to get the psychiatric records of Daniel Ellsberg to smear him and progressed to a larger break-in of the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate building in Washington, D.C. in June 1972.  Five men were arrested for the latter break-in and Dean clearly describes the White House interference trying to get these men freed and paid hush money.  It didn’t help that the men were carrying a large amount of cash ultimately found to be connected to the Committee for the Re-election of the President (Nixon).   The remainder of the story concerns the cover-up attempted by Nixon’s henchmen: Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell, Colson, Strachan, Mardian and others.  What made it ten times worse is that everyone was caught in lying about the event, about the money used to hush testimony, about the use of pivotal figures quickly followed by their being discarded, and numerous hours and money spent in trying to deny the truth and basically save butts.

At first Dean’s job seemed to be what he calls being a “firefighter,” putting out the truth before it burst into the public scene via media.  As one reads these pages, it’s hard to deal with the mix of feelings of feeling sorry for these misguided men and then getting angry at the relentless justice that pursues them for their clear, untrammeled guilt.  Dean portrays Richard Nixon as the wily, devious manipulator who plays dumb but is playing each of the characters toward his own end of being acknowledged as innocence.  But he failed to realize that his Presidential staff would slowly unravel in fear of being indicted and eventually jailed; after each implodes, devastating testimony is given that is both convicting and self-serving, including for certain time spans Dean’s own reporting.  While these men were prosecuted and served time in jail, except for Nixon who was forced to resign the Presidency, the truth has been spoken despite attempts at distorting, denying and placing blaming elsewhere.  

Blind Ambition: The White House Years is vital reading for a nation concerned with the abuse of power and the checks and balances systems of government that are intended to stop events like Watergate from happening and/or being kept hidden.  Power has boundaries! Highly recommended reading!

The Con Man of Lagos: A Novel of Espionage by Francesca Salerno

The Con Man of Lagos: A Novel of Espionage.  Francesca Salerno. Amazon Digital Services. October 2016. 577 KB.  ASIN#: B01MAYEND9. 

Francesca Salerno’s second espionage novel takes the reader through the realities of terrorism in the world of Boko Haram, a small but dangerous group affiliated with Al Qaeda.  Boko Haram is located in Africa, and the plot in Lagos involves a Soviet submarine loaded with nuclear tipped missiles that explodes in the waters around Lagos and the surrounding area.  It also concerns their plan to take barrels of sludge-like chemicals siphoned off barrels of gasoline and explode them in an area guaranteed to kill many Nigerians.  Although Nigeria financially prospers from the sale of gas and oil to nations around the world, the terrorists believe Nigeria is a superior country that should gain most the benefits of the gold mine to the world. 

There is very little action in this novel.  However, the essence of its appeal lies in the knowledge of its characters and the expanded knowledge accumulated through the political, military, business and ambassadorial connections.  This is a very different style for an espionage novel but one that works well herein.  You will meet upper officials of Nigeria’s petroleum business, an ambassador from America who is really a CIA operative, an Imam whose connections make him able to make huge amounts of money and use that money for terrorist purposes, a shady employee who carries out the plans of the Imam but who fails to realize the plot involving a far greater risk until it is too late, a Pakistani ambassador who works for the glory of his country although his job in Lagos is a demotion for getting too cozy with the Americans, and more men and women who are astute chess pieces in a game that’s headed for a showdown between the King and Queen.

Another notable feature of this novel is the characters whose idealism and dedication to the betterment of Nigerian interests supersedes the financial greed or fundamentalist spiritual fanaticism threatening the permanent demise of Nigeria and other global powers.  It’s also fascinating to follow the motivations and changing plans of these characters as they coalesce and vie with each other.  Sometimes in the real world, volatile terrorism is thwarted, actually more times than is obvious from the news we view or read every day.  Francesca Salerno has obviously researched her topic well and been to the setting she so aptly describes.  The Con Man of Lagos… is a good read that is recommended for those who like to learn more about this imaginary but all too realistic terror plot!

Days Like These: A Novel by Sue Margolis

Days Like These: A Novel. Sue Margolis. Penguin Publishing Group. December 2016. 368 pp.  ISBN#: 9780451471857. 

Judy Schofield hasn’t been doing well since her husband passed away.  Now, her daughter and husband are hoping to do medical work in Nicaragua and ask Judy or Nana to babysit for the six weeks they will be away.  While her daughter has a lot of anxiety about this arrangement, Judy takes it in stride and agrees to watch her granddaughter and grandson.  Little does she know what she’s in for, despite the fact she raised two children on her own quite fine!

The children are cooperative and sweet for the first twenty-four hours. Then starts the bickering, insulting, and hiding of belongings.  Meals seem to calm things down but what to watch on TV, what toys to play with, what books Nana should read and when, extension of bedtime, and so much more finally get to Judy and she gets it that she’s going to snapping sharply very soon.  Fortunately, she keeps her cool and keeps them from killing each other. 

Meeting the other Moms at the local school is a challenge.  The social satire of this novel is depicted in a funny but real way.  One mother insists on overseeing everything, cornering other mothers into volunteering for the next community fair.

While the plot is rather novel in the first half of the book, the remainder are pretty much what the reader expects.  Yet there is enough cuteness and feistiness in these children to keep the story alive. Just how far can Nana be tortured without losing her cool completely?  And what is it about contemporary kids who are never allowed to be alone without something to do?  How about just “being?”  In one sense, Nana can help her daughter and her grandchildren to realize that life does have a significant purpose and it’s not about social meetings where everyone compares food and clothing or being busy at every waking moment. 

Days Like These: A Novel is a lovely story that warms the heart while it keeps a few darts of adrenaline floating in the reader’s heart and brain.  Judy meets people who embrace life.  There should be more to come, but who knows the long-lasting effects of this one perfect day! Nicely put together, Sue Margolis!

When All The Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz

When All The Girls Have Gone.  Jayne Ann Krentz. Penguin Publishing Group. November 2016. 352 pp. ISBN #: 9780399174490.

Charlotte Sawyer’s stepsister Jocelyn is away on a no-contact retreat far from home.  But that need to know basis becomes very important when Charlotte finds out that Jocelyn’s good friend, Louise, has not overdosed on drugs but instead has been murdered.  All of a sudden, Jocelyn has disappeared and it turns out she left her retreat after the first night.  Charlotte is now afraid for her sister’s well-being. 

It turns out that several women had formed what was an investment group.  A cousin of the murdered woman hires Max, a private eye investigator who lost his previous job because it went all wrong.  It’s clear Max is the hero of this story as his investigative skills are immediately obvious.  He finally gets out of Charlotte that Jocelyn had a troubled past and they wonder if this is involved, even though Jocelyn had been clean of drugs and rough living for many years.

No spoilers here – readers will be shocked when they find out that one’s past follows one for years and has consequences, some of which one can involve more than an obvious victim and perpetrator of crime.  These women all know there is more than meets the eye than people know about their “investment” group but now realize they are in some very deep trouble that is beyond their control.

Other deaths will happen and families will become more involved, even Max’s family.  A secondary part of the story involves how Max and Charlotte work closely together and a romance appears to be in the making, along with some cute humor. 

While the plot is serious, there’s an easy flow to the story that stops it from being oppressive.  Even the humor that is intermixed helps cut down the fear that Charlotte and these women feel – and rightfully so!  All in all, When All The Girls Have Gone is a nice read and seems to end as if there is more to come in a sequel.  For those who love crime fiction and mysteries, you’ll be pleased with this contemporary, dramatic novel!

Victoria by Daisy Goodwin

Victoria.  Daisy Goodwin. St. Martin’s Press. November 2016. 416 pp.  ISBN#: 9781250045461.

Daisy Goodwin wrote the novel, Victoria, while she was writing the screenplay of the PBS series due to be shown beginning in January 2017.  It is also ironic that it follows the biography of Victoria by Julia Baird almost simultaneously being published.  The novel about Victoria, however, is confined to the time between Victoria first becoming Queen of England at the age of 19 up to the time when she marries Albert in the early nineteenth century.  This is a very young Victoria, whose deepest consolations vacillate between her little dog Dash and the Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne or William Lamb.  So anxious is she to shed the advice of her domineering mother and her mother’s lover, Sir John Conroy, that Queen Victoria flounders, making many huge mistakes but somehow making up for them with her gracious ways.  Lord Melbourne clearly was the ruler’s right-hand man.

Although Victoria has received an education in history and other appropriate subjects for her role, she displays a child-like ignorance of many of the issues of pivotal importance in her kingdom.  So, we see how rebellion in Ireland, the protests of the Chartists, and other “situations” required Lord Melbourne’s guiding hand; but this is true of every day.   At the same time we see her kinder nature evident in those rebels who escaped hanging because of the Queen’s merciful nature. 

Queen Victoria’s reputation is almost permanently ruined when she makes a very bad judgment about one of her ladies-in-waiting.  Thus the Queen has her first taste of the people’s favor dramatically turning, along with the realization that she rules with the approval (or not) of her subjects.

Many more fascinating scenes fill the pages of this notable novel soon to be seen in film.  Read it to the vicissitudes of how this young woman grew into the noble, intelligent and wise ruler of Great Britain for sixty-three years.  Daisy Goodwin has once again captured the essence of an age, royalty, and the world surrounding royalty!  This reviewer eagerly anticipates the film version of this notable historical novel!