Summertime, All The Cats Are Bored by Philippe Georget

Europa Editions

I wish I could remember on whose recommendation I decided to buy this book, but since it has been sitting on my TBR pile for a year I simply don't remember.  Whoever it was - Thank You. 

Philippe Georget weaves a tale that involves murder and kidnapping in Perpignan, a town on the French Mediterranean near Spain.  Sebag and Molino, two tired cops who are being slowly devoured by dull routine and family worries, deal with the day’s misdemeanors and petty complaints without a trace of enthusiasm (from the book's cover). When the body of a young Dutch woman is found and another young Dutch woman goes missing as does a Spanish taxi driver she knew, the general lethargy that had an iron grip on the police department suddenly vanishes and a game of cat and mouse begins between Inspector Gilles Sebag and the kidnapper/murderer.

One of the amazing things about Georget's writing is his ability to create tone and atmosphere.  Georget is himself a resident of Perpignan and his intimate knowledge of the city permeates his descriptions of the residents and the city and surrounding areas. You feel the lethargy that has set in from the heat and humidity of summer. You sense the impact on the burgeoning small town invaded by summer tourists. You feel the pressure of a small police force under the microscopic eye of the international press. You witness the kidnap victim slowly acquiesce to her situation  - and you understand, completely.  You experience all these things not just through Sebag's eyes and thoughts, but also those of the kidnapped Dutch girl and her kidnapper. 

Sebag is an observer of life  who listens to his instincts about people and events.  He doesn't always immediately realize the significance of his observations and needs to let his thoughts ferment for awhile. He underestimates his own ability as a police inspector, as his wife, his partner and his boss often remind him.  The image of Sebag sitting beside the family pool with a glass of wine while he quietly mulls over the day's developments in his case, is reminiscent of Inspector Morse sitting in a pub with a pint, thinking things through. 

This is a police procedural and a well-written one that kept me reading late into the night.    The laid back atmosphere disguises a deceptively complex narrative.  The investigation is well thought through and develops at a very natural pace, but it is the characterizations that make this such an enjoyable read.  The relationships between Sebag and his colleagues, Sebag and his wife, Sebag and his children, all come together to create a character that you look forward to meeting again.

 

I am kind of happy I only recently got around to reading this book since the next book in the series, Autumn, All the Cats Return, will be released this October.  With a bit of luck I will read it before next spring.

 

 

 

 

Herbie's Game by Timothy Hallinan

Soho Press/Soho Crime

Sometimes a fictional character comes along that you simply connect with. Maybe you admire the character, share a common life experience or just outright fall in love with the character.  Well, I am in with love Junior Bender, he is my Hero.  He's intelligent, decent, tall and handsome, vulnerable and in touch with his feminine side. Except for the small detail that he is the thief's thief, giving him that bad boy appeal, he is perfect.  He is always on the side of right even when he's on the wrong side of the law.

This case is extremely personal for Junior.  He is hired to find out who stole a list of names from the safe of Wattles the "executive crook".  The list contains a chain of names that Wattles uses when he sets up hits.  He uses this chain of people to pass along the instructions at blind drops so that nobody in the chain knows who the actual killer is, except the killer. As soon as Junior sees the aftermath in Wattles' office he knows who stole the list - Herbie Mott.  The same man who took a seventeen year old Junior under his wing and taught him everything he knew, his mentor and substitute father has his signature unmistakeably all over the job.

Junior sets out to confront Herbie and find out what is going on, except he is too late. Someone has tortured Herbie in an effort to get him to reveal where he hid the list. But Herbie's heart gave out and he died before revealing the whereabouts of the list or becoming the next murder victim.  Once Junior begins the investigation, the people on the list start turning up dead, one after the other, and Junior wonders if he is next.

In thinking about Herbie’s Game I was struck by the fact that the story is the classical Hero’s quest.  Junior receives The Call to go down a path that he is Reluctant to pursue.  After all, this investigation means dealing with people who murder for a living and that’s not something that leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling.  The Quest itself is, on the surface, about revenge and finding whoever tortured Herbie, but it is also about Junior’s emotional journey and how he discovers things about Herbie that he never knew.  We the readers meet Herbie through Junior’s reminiscences and Junior Re-Meets Herbie through the stories of others he encounters along the way.   He does not journey through the ordeal alone; he has his archetypical allies and helpers (especially female), most of whom we have met in previous stories, as well as a few intriguing new ones. 

The Road Back from the quest is life-changing.  Junior learns to reconcile the Herbie that he didn’t know with the one that he did and Junior matures and comes to terms with other relationships in his life.   Like all Hero quests, conquering the outer world entails mastering the inner world and Junior eventually finds peace and acceptance in his new found knowledge of Herbie and Herbie’s game.

 

I don’t want you to think that this is a serious deep book with the raison d'être to enlighten you as to the meaning of life. But it is multi-layered and Hallinan does his usual job of great characterizations, incredible dialogue and wonderful humour to demonstrate his  keen and sensitive insight into human nature as the characters come together to direct and tell the story.

 

I don’t know where Hallinan draws his inspiration from to create his characters but I hope it is a very deep well so that he can keep them coming.

Reading a book written by Timothy Hallinan is just great fun – don’t miss out.

Thank you NetGalley and Soho Press for the copy of the book. I want to mention that I love the cover art created by Katherine Grames for this series.

To read an excerpt go to the author's web site:
http://www.timothyhallinan.com/index.html

Great interview:
http://www.omnivoracious.com/2014/08/amazon-asks-timothy-hallinan-author-of-herbies-game.html

Maxwell Street Blues by Marc Krulewitch

Random House Publishing Group - Alibi

As kids, a lot of us want to grow up to be like our parents or, their exact opposite.  Jules Landau is in the latter category.  He retains a strong memory of coming home from school to discover his prized basketball hoop lying mangled on the driveway. The Feds tore it down just for the heck of it, and then took the house, the cars and his prized Peugeot bike before sending his father off to jail.  With no great respect for law enforcement and even less for the criminals that dominate his family tree, he chooses to go to college to become a PI.  Checking up on the indiscretions of husbands and wives, doing background checks, surveillance and skip traces pays enough for the rent on a neat apartment. It's also enough money to own a 16 year old Honda Civic, buy cat food and keep raspberry sorbet in the freezer.  Jules is Living the life! - then his dad shows up.

 

Just 10 days out of jail his dad hires Jules to find out who murdered Snooky, an old family friend.  Charles Snook was a gentle man, a CPA and a money launderer for those in need of such services.  He was good at his job and appreciated by many on both sides of the law.  So why then did he end up on top of a pile of construction debris with two bullets in his head? 

 

When it comes to murder, Jules is the new kid on the block. This is his first murder case and it comes with some tough lessons not taught in PI 101.  He takes enough beatings in this one case to make you wonder why he doesn't change professions.  But he had a great affection for Snooky, so he pursues the case and like any great detective, he follows the money trail.

The trail leads to some very interesting characters, tattoo artists, meth heads, politicos, corrupt academics and cops.  Ultimately, he solves the case and the reader is left with the same feeling I imagine you have after eating a Maxwell Street Polish - full and satisfied.

There are overtones of Philip Marlowe in this tale.  The story is told in the first person and the plot contains the requisite femme fatale, criminals, and murder.  Like any good story it's all in the telling.  The dialogue is smart and snappy and the atmosphere has a big city smoky feel. The city itself is a major character in the story with its history of crime and corruption.  Maxwell Street really does exist in Chicago and I've read that there is a housing construction site right beside a major university, a key element in the plot. 

 

I look forward to further adventures with Jules in the south side of Chicago, the baddest part of town.

For a short interview with the author visit:
http://www.omnimysterynews.com/2014/08/please-welcome-mystery-author-marc-krulewitch-1408041200.html