The Girls in the Picture: A Novel by Melanie Benjamin

The Girls In the Picture: A Novel.  Melanie Benjamin. Random House Publishing Group. January 2018. 448 pp.  ISBN#: 9781101886809.

What was it like to be part of the beginning of silent and sound pictures in the first half of the 20^th Century?  Mary Pickford and Frances Marion meet and immediately recognize the independent and creatively talented spirit in each other.  They also will learn how talented actresses and screen writers are used to make money and then shunted aside when no longer useful.  They also initially have no time for love as they are obsessed with their artistic craft. 

Mary Pickford, with her slight, blond figure is delightful to audiences as “America’s Sweetheart;” but after Frances creates scripts depicting a childhood Mary never had but will now get to live on camera in “Poor Little Rich Girl,” Mary is viewed as America’s darling for sure.  The story of how that movie was at first rejected by producers but was produced by Mary is intriguing and thrilling. Audiences went crazy with delight as this story called forth the inner child in every viewer.  More importantly, this experience cemented their trust and belief in their own creative vision of what audiences wanted on film.

Then love arrives for Mary, after a failed marriage, in the person of Douglas Fairbanks and for Frances in a love she finally found and lost.  Mary and Frances are tested with these loves, the Academy Awards and other glamorous acknowledgments of excellence.   

The thrills of this novel lie in the descriptions of love, betrayal, forgiveness, renewal and artistic growth representing the rise and fall of two magnificent careers, a celebration of women’s rise in the film industry and a tribute to the art of drama on screen and stage.  A magnificent historical fiction read!

A Treacherous Curse - Veronica Speedwell #3 by Kathleen Rowland

A Treacherous Curse (Veronica Speedwell #3). Kathleen Rowland. Penguin Publishing Group. January 2018. 320 pp. ISBN#: 9780451476173.

Another intriguing mystery fuels the intelligent investigator, Veronica Speedwell, and her just as skilled mysterious friend Stoker. This one hits closer to home as it involves the disappearance of John De Morgan who was at one time very close to Stoker’s world indeed a best friend.  The mystery begins with an archaeological dig in Egypt which centers on the discovery of the burial site of the Egyptian Princess Ankheset.  But along with the discovery comes a curse that has shadowed the expedition with first a death and then the disappearance of both De Morgan and the diadem of the Princess.

This third mystery in the Speedwell series is not as engaging in plot as it is in diverse types of characters.  You’ll meet the eccentric head of the expedition and his cool, deviously calm character who knows more than she tells, as well as their son who is a keen observer and not as detached as he often appears.  Jealous couples, a friend of both Veronica and Stoker who knows everyone and a tad of information about the present disappearance and theft, and someone willing to commit murder over a lost relationship.  Add to bone-chilling scenes the presence of ancient Anubis, god of the embalming process and dead, who visibly appears to a few of the characters at the exhibition site.

There are also some interesting discussions about how mummies of royal Egyptian rulers and their keepsakes buried with them were deliberately moved from their known burial sites and hidden. 

The end of the plot left this reader a bit weary as it’s rather anticlimactic.  However, if one is into a good mystery, with plenty of scintillating banter (as usual) between not only Veronica and Stoker but also other characters, and some fascination with exotic locales, this is a good read.  Nicely done, Deanna Raybourn!

Operator Down: A Pike Logan Thriller #12 by Brad Taylor

Operator Down: A Pike Logan Thriller #12. Brad Taylor. Dutton/Penguin Random House Publishing Group. January 2018. 464 pp.  ISBN#: 9781101984819.

The Taskforce is back again with Pike Logan, Knuckles and Jenny actively working a simple surveillance mission.  Their job is to find out if a certain party involved in the Israeli diamond business is involved in a plot that could seriously embarrass and damage Israel’s reputation on a world-wide scale.  But the simple mission blows up and goes awry, winding up with Pike’s good Israeli friends, Aaron and Shoshanna in serious trouble. 

Aaron is kidnapped by South African forces who believe he is spying for America or Israel against their takeover of the government in Lesotho, South Africa.  Shoshanna is a secret Israeli, former Mossad, agent who is a hot-tempered killing machine who turns deadly at the slightest attempt at deception. 

The plot thickens and it turns out the Taskforce has wandered smack into a military coup in Lesotho and a plot by an American arms dealer to sell “triggers” for putting together a nuclear bomb to the right bidder.  The latter must be stopped and that part of the plot is told in fragments as the kidnapping of Aaron takes precedence.   Shoshanna doesn’t believe the group is doing enough to rescue her husband Aaron and so spends most of the novel alternatively going rogue when inflamed and cooperating when the Taskforce proves they are being trustful and loving.

The Taskforce follows its usual game plan of tracking the multi-layered group of “bad guys” who are either involved in nuclear arms dealing or government takeovers. At times it’s a bit drawn out and too long. However, bones break, bodies fly, and death is an ever-distracting moment away for all the characters involved in this mission. 

Shoshanna prevails as the main character here, at points even turning against Pike and Jennifer.  The force of her character leaves the readers breathless.  Indeed the ending of the novel will also leave the reader stunned, far distant from what one expected.  Again, a thriller that’s great adventure and a true international spy story to rival its counterparts in the genre!

A Reckoning in the Back Country: A Samuel Craddock Mystery by Terry Shames

A Reckoning in the Back Country: A Samuel Craddock Mystery. Terry Shames. Prometheus Books. January 2018. 272 pp. ISBN#: 9781633883673.

A relatively new resident, a neurologist from San Antonio, is vacationing in Jarret Creek, Texas, with his wife. They are intending to become permanent residents but suddenly he is reported missing by his wife.  While she seems upset about this disappearance, Acting Police Chief Samuel Craddock senses something not quite right in her nervous appearance and shifty looks.  All of this is aggravated when her husband’s dead body is found.  He has been gruesomely mutilated by what looks like an animal attack.

The plot centers around dog fighting, a “sport” this reviewer is not familiar with.  Readers will learn more than they want to about how these fights are organized, the training involved, the role of other dogs as what one can only call “bait.”  One also finds out that the murdered victim was running away from the shame of a malpractice case and has an addiction of gambling that’s far beyond wagers other gamblers are willing to accept. 

The investigation itself involves Craddock interviewing people who knew the doctor and people who know about the rumors of dog fights.  While there’s a bit much of repetitive questions, Craddock keeps the investigation moving with some characters being threatened and others being attacked as the conclusion draws near.

Craddock finds that the victim owned a boat; but when he hires someone to look for the missing boat, nothing is found.  Why did the marina owner fail to conduct the search Craddock asked for?

Add to the mix a very slowly moving romance that is a nice counter-balance to the intensity of the crime and its perpetrators.  The Craddock mysteries have just enough tension to keep the reader interested, without being overbearing.  Nicely done, again, Terry Shames!

Seraphina's Song by Kathryn Gauci

Seraphina’s Song. Kathryn Gauci. Ebony Publishing. December 2017. 172 pp.  ISBN#: 9780648123521.

Dionysos Mavroulis is a man hitting rock bottom.  Escaping Smyrna after the Turkish occupation, Dionysos consoles himself in the hashish parlors of Piraeus, spending every small bit of money so he can dream his life away.  However, his life undergoes a more than a dramatic change when he sees a picture of Seraphina, a singer who accompanies Aleko, a famous bouzouki player.  It’s 1923 and this form of Greek music is just beginning to become popular with its soulful sound and tone reflective of the Greek soul that has loved and suffered so deeply.

Seraphina is described as a gorgeous woman and Dionysos loses his mind, heart and soul after hearing her sing.  Truly she has the voice of a nightingale and Dionysos is so lost in that glorious being that he dances with her in a way that touches everyone watching and listening to this unexpected but glorious performance.

A love story begins but journeys where no one expects it to end.  For Seraphina is controlled by the tavern owner who is a Mafia-style figure.  Aleko knows the power and violence of Papazoglou, warning Dionysos to back off his passion for Seraphina.
 

Love is blind, however, and events quickly transpire leading to a devastating but passionate ending.  The beauty of this novel lies in the exquisite descriptions of the music produced with a bouzouki, the enchantment that binds Seraphina and Dionysos, the dances that give expression to life and love, and the almost indescribable depth of passion that these Greeks have for their homeland and unique culture.  

This is a novel you will not soon forget, a story emerging out of a painful period of Greek history, and a story of revival and love that no enemy could stifle.  Highly recommended!

Ring of Fire - A Pike Logan Thriller #11 by Brad Taylor

Ring of Fire: A Pike Logan Thriller #11. Brad Taylor. Dutton/Penguin Random House Publishing Group. December 2016. 416 pp.  ISBN#: 9781101986196.

Dexter Worthington made an agreement to become a successful defense contractor. That agreement was secretly linked to Saudi Arabia who was indirectly linked to the horrendous act of 911.  Now part of the “Panama Papers” have been leaked to the public showing how many businesses and individuals have been linked with various terrorist acts committed by ISIS and other like-minded terrorist groups.  

Now Pike Logan’s Taskforce is assigned the job of stopping a second leakage because the next leaks may reveal the work of the Taskforce which is a group approved by the President of the United States and the Oversight Council, the Board of Directors of the Taskforce but cannot be found anywhere in print within government records.  However, in seeking to prevent another leak, a far greater and devastating plan is revealed.

A group of Saudis is planning to finish what they believe was never perfectly carried out on 911.  The plane that should have crashed into a significant target such as the White House, Camp David or a nuclear facility, instead crashed into a field in Pennsylvania due to the bravery of the passengers who attacked the on-board terrorists and died for their efforts.  Now the Saudis are looking for a completion of that task through a plan known as The Ring of Fire, a series of attacks on the ports of America and one final explosion of a dirty or nuclear bomb that will render life unlivable wherever it explodes!

This then is what the Taskforce is attempting to discover and stop.  The action is intense and nonstop.  The machinations of the terrorists are for most of the novel always one step ahead of the Taskforce. The Taskforce members are highly skilled, perceptive investigators – the best in their field of work!  A couple of side conversations keep this maze-like journey from becoming monotonous.  One involves a woman being “selected” for the Taskforce and what that entails, including some dialogue that reveals prejudices of tried and true male members of the force.  The other involves dialogue between an Arab and one of the Taskforce members in which myths and truths are thrown at each other, revealing how prejudice grows through misinformation and how generalizing costs lives.

All in all, there’s enough violence and excitement in this eleventh Pike Logan thriller to satisfy every fan of thriller, adventure, international crime, terrorism fiction.  An enjoyable, fast-paced, somewhat long and unpredictable but exciting thriller!

Say Nothing: A Novel by Brad Parks

Say Nothing. Brad Parks. Penguin Publishing Group. March 2017. 448 pp.  ISBN#: 9781101985595.

Judge Scott Sampson, his wife Alison and their two children, Sam and Emma, are a happy, peacefully content family.  They’ve moved out to a farmhouse in Virginia so that they can maintain that quiet lifestyle without the pressures of urban living, especially with the frenetic atmosphere of government workers in Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C.  But the Judge’s family life is about to totally unravel with a hair-raising series of events that keeps the reader’s pulse raised to the very last page.

Judges are expected to be the epitome of neutrality, capable of examining the facts and circumstances of a case and apply the objective law to those situations.  But what does a Judge and his wife do when their children are kidnapped and they are told to await each new message, letting no one else know what is happening?  They say and do “nothing.”  For the lives of Sam and Emma are clearly at stake! 

The first case the Judge is asked to rule on is what should be a simple drug seller case.  Obeying the kidnappers means making a decision that immediately opens up Pandora’s box of the legal world.  Judge Sampson is now under the scrutiny of higher Judges and even politicians.  To keep his children alive, the Judge says “nothing.”  Alison’s family know but promise silence although they are so enraged one wonders how long that will hold true.

The second case heading for Judge Sampson’s decision concerns a patent of a drug that will be life-saving for those who get to try it.  Its very nice to see all the details of the case laid out so that one understands the intricacies of such cases and so that one can see how much complication Judge Sampson must wade through to come to a legally acceptable decision.  The plot thickens substantially at this point.  One of the children is freed but the other one is undergoing terrible acts that will probably scar her for life.

The story evolves to a mind-numbing, horrific conclusion which is very realistic and not like your standard crime novel.  This is a story you will never forget, one that will want to make you read more of any writing of Brad Parks!  Well done, Mr. Parks!