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

The Last Clinic by Gary Gusick

From Random House Publishing Group

The story begins with the shooting of an evangelistic minister outside an abortion clinic he regularly pickets, in small town Mississippi.  Immediately, the doctor who runs the clinic becomes the prime suspect and a lynch mob starts to form.  Sheriff Shelby Mitchell knows he has to find the killer quickly, to satisfy the towns people and to protect his career to survive another election. He calls in detective Darla Cavannah,  who is home on sick leave after the tragic death of her husband in a car crash.  She is reluctantly teamed up with Tommy Reylander, a local detective whose claim to fame  are his Elvis impersonations and the pink Cadillac he drives.  There is also Uther, a computer geek doing an internship with the police force, who turns out to be quite the whiz at putting puzzle pieces together.

There are some interesting characters in the story, a little romance, and an intriguing trail to follow to find the Reverend's killer.  I enjoyed the strong character of Darla and found her to be sympathetic and intelligent and would look forward to reading another book featuring her.  However, I have to admit my favorite character (bit of a spoiler here) was the hired killer/terrorist.  The in depth intel he was provided and the scenarios he created to cover the real agenda were believable, making them just that much scarier. Coming in second was Sheriff Shelby, who I could just picture sitting on a porch, chewing on a piece of hay while sipping bourbon and saying "Yup", belying a quiet intelligence that could pull the rug out from under most people.

Darla and her team have to investigate people on both sides of the abortion issue and overall, the subject is presented in a fairly balanced manner and woven neatly into the story line.  I think there was a slight edge to the pro-choice side but that could just be my perception.  Through her investigations, I learned about some of the history and "traditions" that are rooted in the early days of slavery that I had never heard of and are key to the plot.   

 

Although at times I thought the South was presented a little too much along the lines of the Dukes of Hazard, and Reylander reminded me very much of "Boss Hoggs", it was essentially done for dramatic emphasis and a bit of fun.

 

Overall, an enjoyable read that will keep most readers engaged and quickly turning the pages.

The Paris Lawyer by Sylvie Granotier

Translated by Anne Trager
Le French Book

Book Review 

This is another award winning psychological thriller from LeFrench Book.

 

In this story Sylvie Granotier introduces us to Catherine Monsigny a young, ambitious lawyer and a rising star at a major Parisian law firm. Catherine finds herself with a major felony case and sees an opportunity for her career to take off.  She has to defend a black woman accused of murdering her rich husband in a pastoral village setting on the outskirts of Paris.  The journey to the village to meet her client and investigate the case becomes a journey of self-discovery for the young lawyer.

Always close to the surface of Catherine’s mind, is the unsolved murder of her mother that happened when Catherine was a toddler; she often finds herself in a whirlwind of questions, memories or dreams related to this traumatic event. Unfortunately, she has a father unwilling to provide any answers that might help ease her mind. As Catherine attempts to uncover her past, she is unknowingly being manipulated in the present and complicating her future.  Happening in parallel is the story of her client, a woman who quite deftly hides her past and ingeniously manipulates the present to ensure she has a future.   

As we meet the many characters in this story who provide insight into both the murder of Catherine’s mother and the case of the murdered husband, we witness different types and different aspects of love and relationships.  There is the passion of lovers, the love of husband and wife, and the love, devotion and loyalty between parent and child.  We also see happy marriages, marriages of convenience, the fallout from divorce, and the ramifications of lovers betrayed. 

 

As there is a lot going on in Catherine’s mind and life, there is also a lot going on in the story line.  Some readers will find the back and forth between past and present, dream and reality, a little confusing but it reflects the main character and makes this book so much more than just another procedural thriller.  Some readers may not like that the ending to the Paris Lawyer, isn’t neatly wrapped up and tied with a bow. However, you are left with a feeling of closure for the past and a sense of hope for the future.

Laidlaw by William McIlvanney

Canon Gate Books

Book Review

 

This book starts off with the murder of a young woman in Glasgow, Scotland.  We know immediately who the murderer is, where he is hiding and who is trying to help him and why.  Each character that we meet, leads us to another character until we find ourselves caught in an intricate web where numerous story lines intersect.     

Most of the individual characters are sad personae from a hard gloomy neighbourhood.  Not the least of these is Jack Laidlaw, one of the detectives assigned to the case.  He is somewhat of a philosopher and his thinking gives him an insight into people that the other policemen don’t grasp.  He uses wits and intuition to navigate the moral code of the hard men and low life that live in the shadows of the city.  Think part Inspector Morse, part the Singing Detective and part Kierkegaard.  

The moral concerns and social issues encountered weigh down Laidlaw and his partner Harkness. I found they could also make for heavy reading.  Overall, this is an intriguing book and I would recommend it.  The Scottish English, while it made for tedious reading in some places (at least for me) also adds an authenticity to the atmosphere and you feel as if you are right there.