OVERBOARD

4 stars out of 5

I've been reading about detective V.I. Warshawski for so long that she feels like an old friend I don't see often enough. This is the 21st book in the series, and yes, I was very happy to bump into her again.

This one takes place during the Covid pandemic, and I'll give kudos up front for the author's handling of the masking issue (i.e., making the importance thereof up close and personal throughout the book). Victoria not only wears one herself on just about every out-of-home venture, but she insists that others around her do the same.

Following an all-night job for a client, Vic's two boisterous dogs go nuts on the banks of Lake Michigan - leading her to a crevice where a seriously injured young girl is (presumably) hiding out. The girl manages to utter a single word - something with no meaning to Vic or later the police - before she's taken to a hospital. She's treated and put in a room, but before anyone can talk to her or determine her identity, she disappears. One of the investigating police officers in particular seems unusually upset that she's gone missing - a long-time officer who has a history of unchecked violent behavior that's been overlooked by his higher-ups. Thwarted, he turns his full wrath toward Vic - to the point of trying to make her life miserable (often with more than a modicum of success).

As this is happening, a very old local synagogue is defaced, upsetting the elderly congregation, several of whom are Vic's friends. At this point, the corruption for which Chicago's political elite are known rears its ugly head; someone seems to be intent on getting ownership of the synagogue for unknown reasons. More investigation turns up more political corruption (a revolting development, so to speak), but not before hitting close to home with a nod and wink to some of Vic's family members that she's almost forgotten she had and almost certainly can do without. Along the way, she got support when she needed it most from old friends Lottie Herschel and her helpful elderly neighbor Mr. Contreras. Notably missing - off on assignment - is her significant other, archaeologist Peter Sansen, who is thousands of miles away. 

By this time, the sheer number of characters grew far beyond the number of my brain cells; I finally gave up trying to keep them all straight and decided it all would work out in the end. It does, of course, but not without more than one nail-biting chapter in which Vic's own life is put on the line. All in all, very satisfying - and a big thank you goes to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to meet up one of my fictional BFFs once again. Can't wait till she comes for a visit again (soon, please)?

Overboard by Sara Paretsky (William Morrow, May 2022); 400 pp.

BAG MAN

5 stars out of 5

Whining about a witch hunt? Pleading innocence while claiming fake news? Circumventing (or outright ignoring) the U.S. Constitution and attempting to obstruct justice? Hmmmm - has a familiar ring. But in this case, we're not talking about current events; rather, it was in the early to mid-1970s, and the person saying and doing all those things was President Richard Nixon's vice president Spiro Agnew - who was being investigated for a slew of crimes including bribery and extortion.

It's a story that brings back memories; as a relatively young wife and mother, I watched as Agnew's predicament unfolded - for the most part overshadowed by the concurrent unfolding of the Watergate scandal that ultimately brought down Agnew's far higher-profile boss. It was meaningful to me in another sense; what Nixon and Agnew did, I believe, marked the beginning of the end of my many years of staunch Republicanism. I'd never really paid a lot of attention to party affiliation - my focus was more on platforms, and my votes went to those with which I most agreed. On the other hand, I happily voted for Richard Nixon - not once, but twice - an admission I was now embarrassed to admit.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm now a left-leaning moderate, huge fan of Rachel Maddow and long-time career journalist whose blood boils when I hear those who unfairly (IMHO) call mainstream media "corrupt." So when this book came along, everything sort of came together as a story I wanted to learn more about - so I set aside my customary fare of free-for-review police procedurals, thrillers and blood-and-guts murder mysteries to give it a go. And by golly, it's a well-written, well-researched gem that's both informative and entertaining. Much of the overall story is familiar because, well, I lived through it. But the devil is in the details; especially surprising were a few involving former President George H.W. Bush and, to a lesser extent, crooner Frank Sinatra. Also of note are the "heroes" - those prosecutors and legislators who, unlike most of today's crop, were willing to put the Rule of Law above party politics.

The rest I'll leave for you to read. If you're a fan of the current (as I write this) administration, be forewarned that you'll run into a few spicy comments that mirror the kinds of things DR. Maddow says on her TV news show. Overall, it's a totally satisfying and easily digestible way to pack in some history that's relevant to the times in which we live. Kudos!

Bag Man by Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz (Crown, December 2020); 304 pp.

TOO CLOSE TO HOME

5 stars out of 5


As a rather prolific reader of books - for several years I've topped the 100 mark - it's not easy to find one that has a noticeably unusual plot or an unusually intriguing character. And since the lion's share of my reads are in the mystery/thriller genre, uniqueness is even more constrained. So it is that I'm delighted to find this series, of which this is the second installment.

Central character Paul McGrath is an interesting guy - a highly skilled former military guy who's back home in Albany, N.Y., working at the courthouse as a janitor and fancying himself a vigilante of sorts whose mission is to right society's wrongs. The case in point here involves his own father; McGrath believes he died as a result of a corrupt legal system that allowed the "murderer," a man named Alex Pardew, to go free. As McGrath pokes around in courtrooms to look for evidence that he's right - specifically a file that's gone missing - he meets a businessman who's been accused of arson. Yes, I did that, the man says, but emphasizes that it was because the man - a venture capitalist - is involved in shady deals, insider trading and otherwise bilking millions out of his clients.

Aha, McGrath says - right up my alley. So together with his former GI friend Robson - with whom he lives in his father's $40 million mansion - he sets out to investigate, with a priority on his father but the hope of seeing justice done in both cases. Along the way, he considers visiting the home in which he grew up, now inhabited by his father's former housekeeper. He hasn't purchased much furniture for the home he occupies with Robson, so perhaps, his friend suggests, he can take a few things from the other home. Just as he's about to agree, though, he learns that the housekeeper has died. Needless to say, that makes removal of any furniture much easier, but it raises other questions that may lead to answers McGrath isn't expecting to hear.

There are a few twists and surprises as the investigations proceed (complete with some awesome technology hacks by Robson and another computer-genius friend), but near the end come a frenzy of flashbacks that bring even more surprises for McGrath - and readers, of course. All in all a terrific (and, at 288 pages, quick) read and a great start to a new series. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Too Close to Home by Andrew Grant (Ballantine Books, January 2020); 288 pp.

KILLING MAINE

4 stars out of 5

Some of my favorite authors don't hesitate to tackle issues important to them - Brad Thor and John Grisham come to mind immediately. But Gott im Himmel - in this one, the editorializing nearly obliterates the story. And that's too bad because there is a story here, and, IMHO, a darned good one. 

I came close to missing it; after a few chapters, I'd grown so weary of the bashing of the wind energy industry, "crooked" politicians, newspapers and business leaders that I actually considered giving up. Now that I'm finished, I'm very glad I hung in there, and I thank the publisher for offering me a copy for review. My 4-star rating, in fact, is based on the underlying story - with the caution to other readers that  they'll have to ride out a soapbox derby to find it.

In fairness, though, the ever-increasing wind turbine farms in Maine is not only central to the plot here, but an important environmental issue: Their presence, particularly in such large numbers, clearly is harmful to wildlife and humans (hence the title of the book) while bringing, not insignificantly, the lure of huge profits to proponents. Hey, I'm from northeastern Ohio, where the big issue now is fracking; trust me, I get it. But in a work that's touted as fiction, the constant haranguing is, well, overkill.

I'll also note that this is the author's second book featuring former Special Forces veteran Pono Hawkins, who mostly spends his civilian life surfing in Hawaii (the first is Saving Paradise, which I have not read). This book stands alone well, though; I didn't realize there was a previous book until after I'd finished it. That said, when the main character mentioned on a couple of occasions, "As I said in that other book..." I did wonder what the heck he was talking about. 

Here, he's called to come to Maine - in the dead of winter, yet - to help former Special Forces teammate Bucky get out of jail after being charged with murder (as well as a successful shootout that destroyed a couple of wind turbines). Problem is, Bucky and Pono aren't even close to being friends; Bucky's testimony back in the day helped put Pono in prison (he was exonerated shortly thereafter), and then he had the audacity to marry Pono's girlfriend Lexie. But loyalty to the corps trumps everything else, so Pono reluctantly says goodbye to the ocean waves and heads to the Pine Tree State, where his own ancestors are lying (probably in unrest, given the current environmental issues).

Then things start to get muddled - and very cold. For openers, Bucky is less than cooperative despite his insistence that he's innocent. In short order, Pono becomes the target of an unknown sniper, and as one might expect, his lust for his pre-prison flame Lexie returns with a vengeance. The course of his investigation also puts him in close contact with the murder victim's widow, Abigail, and long-ago girlfriend Erica, now a hot-shot attorney. For sure, there's plenty of contact to go around; the sex scenes really aren't graphic, but they're plentiful enough that I started to suspect that while the incessant whine of those turbines may be destroying the hearing of local folks,  it's making them very horny as well.

The corrupt powers-that-be, of course, aren't happy to find Pono's nose in their big business. At every ice-covered turn, he's thwarted by local police, who seem intent on putting him behind bars again. And in the middle of all this, Pono learns that his beloved father, who's still in Hawaii (where the government also is corrupt, BTW), is dying of cancer. Pono needs to get back to see him, but that won't be easy when the police are eyeing his every move. Besides that, his efforts could be putting the three women with whom he's enamored in danger. And there's this: If the corruption is as entrenched as he believes, even if he's able to track the identity of the culprits, nothing will be done about it.

Some editing would be helpful here and there - a few words are omitted in sentences, and it struck me as odd when a character whose grammar has been almost impeccable suddenly  pops up with, "I didn't do nothing." Of course, how it all works out in the end I won't reveal, but I'll certainly repeat that this is a story worth reading. 

Killing Maine by Mike Bond (Mandevilla Press, August 2015); 388 pp.