Independence Square by Martin Cruz Smith.

 

            Senior Moscow Police Investigator Arkady Renko is tired.  Tired of his job, tired of the endless corruption he deals with at every turn, and very definitely tired of his boss Zorin, who has made an art out of toadying and feathering his own nest to the extent that he is virtually untouchable – as are most of the Would-Be’s if they Could-Be’s scrabbling to be on the various strata of the Kremlin.

            And he also knows that those he holds dear are never really safe;  they will always be vulnerable, always be potential victims as long as he remains honourable and a straight arrow:  his foster son Zenhya, and his long-time love, fearless international journalist Tatiana (now writing for the New York Times) who, as always has left Moscow on the trail of a sizzling exposé of Putin’s plans for war in the Ukraine.  No, he’s not flavour of the month with the Kremlin, but he has to soldier on, as they all do, accepting as a distraction a request from ‘Bronson’, so-called because that’s who he looks like, to find his daughter Karina, a classical musician and first violin of a string-quartet ‘because the assholes he hired to find her haven’t gotten anywhere.’  Could Renko investigate?

            It is ironic to think that Bronson, who runs most of the protection rackets in the city and has been jailed multiple times wants to hire the only incorruptible investigator in Moscow, but stranger things have happened – we just don’t know what they are yet.  So, Arkady and his loyal sidekick Viktor (every detective has one!) start with Karina’s apartment, which she shares with her friend Elena, also a member of the quartet.  Nothing is revealed except that both women are followers of Forum, a new and noisy political group whose leader is Leonid Lebedev who, at a rally Arkady attends announces that he is going to run for Mayor of Moscow – oh, really?  Good luck with that, thinks Renko.  And as the story develops and Arkady and Elena search for Karina farther afield, the body count starts to rise, beginning with the would-be mayoral candidate, and a naïve friend of Arkady’s foster son.  Will Zenhya be next?

            The bodies keep falling, and Arkady’s investigative powers are compromised by an unexpected illness – he is diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease before he leaves Moscow for the Crimea and a meeting with the elusive Karina.  And this is not a touch of melodrama for the sake of it:  Smith was diagnosed with the same disease and knows only too well whereof he speaks.  Regardless, he can still ramp up the suspense and heartbreak with the best of them, and his portrayal of contemporary events is fair and true, just like his mighty, world-weary protagonist.  FIVE STARS.

              

 

 Duffy and Son, by Damien Owens.

 

              Eugene Duffy and his son Jim live in a little Irish town south of Dublin.  Eugene has retired from his small business, a hardware shop, which is now run by Jim (as independently as he can; his Da took an age before he stopped making ‘just passing by’ drop-ins).  Eugene’s pretty but bored wife Una left when their kids – there’s an elder daughter, Eleanor – were just teenagers and hasn’t been in contact since, leaving, she said, for a more exciting life with another man who wasn’t a stick-in-the-mud like Eugene and, as this was not her first infidelity, it was time for Eugene and the kids to bite the bullet and face life without her.

            Eugene honestly concedes that his life has always been as predictable as Ireland’s rainfall;  he has always had the same job, lived in the same house – but it gradually occurs to him that son Jim is following in his safe but boring footsteps:  living in the same upstairs bedroom he occupied as a child;  going to the same school; and coming into the family business as a matter of course.  All meant to be!  But where’s the romance?  Eleanor has married Adrian,  whom Eugene detests, eventually producing Miles, a strange little boy who likes biting people (Eugene’s thigh, once attacked, still tingles at the thought), but Jim is nearing forty and, as far as Eugene can deduce, has no girlfriend on the horizon. At all.  Could he be gay?

            He could not!  Was the outraged response after a timid enquiry, thereafter giving life to a nascent plan cooked up with Eugene’s friend Frank to get Jim out into the dating world – which is not large in their little town:  Salsa lessons at the church hall will have to do for a start;  Eugene even bravely attempts the Salsa in an attempt to show  some male bonding, sadly his two left feet let him down – BUT – something happens:  Jim starts caring more about his appearance.  He goes out – ‘with the lads’ – more often.  Something’s happening!  Then Eleanor makes an announcement:  she has been in contact with her mother on Facebook:  after twenty-five years of silence Mam is coming to see them ‘just for a few days’.

            Damien Owens has made much out of little – the ‘little’ being the well-worn grooves that many people travel throughout their lives in an attempt not to experience any more hurt than they can endure, and ‘much’ being his wonderfully comic and humane characterisations of ordinary people doing just that:  trying not to be hurt – and being laugh-out-loud funny along the way.  SIX STARS.     

  

                 

 

 

Old Babes in the Wood, by Margaret Atwood.

   

          

            No-one knows more about being an old babe than Margaret Atwood, Canadian novelist, poet, essayist and artist extraordinaire:  she is now eighty-three years old, and well-qualified for Old Babeism, with all the life experience (good and bad), wisdom and wonderful ability to recount stories in her graceful, effortless prose of times past and experiences yet to come.

            What a pleasure it is to read this latest collection of short stories that cover a span of seventy-odd years, loosely joined by the long, mostly happy union between Nell and Tig, a marriage that has weathered many changes-of-scene, diversity of friends and countries of residence, but always has held together by rock-solid affection – until Tig starts leaving, little by little.

            In between times, Ms Atwood entertains us enormously with imaginary conversations with George Orwell, brought into temporary being through a medium hired by Ms Atwood:  she is thrilled that he has appeared;  he is thrilled to be called – and to be speaking to someone ‘still in their meat envelope’, an expression that temporarily pauses the interview as the Great Man attempts to explain that throw-away line – and other faux-pas further along as he refers to ‘women’s books’ and is taken to task by one of the greatest writers of ‘women’s books’ for trivialising women’s literature.  Orwell responds airily ‘he hopes he hasn’t caused offence.  Women do sometimes get their backs up over trifles.’  Indeed!  He also wishes he could see Ms Atwood, but the medium has her eyes closed – ‘if only these mediums could operate with their eyes open.  As it is, this is like the telephone, with an undependable line at that’.

            We leave Mr Orwell for ‘Impatient Griselda’, a fairy tale read to a group of Earthlings by a very reluctant alien People-Minder, sent to earth as part of an intergalactic-crises aid package to deal with a plague that is sweeping the planet:  the alien informs its human charges that it’s not having a good time either for, being an entertainer and thus low-status, it is tasked with looking after them, and providing food (no, I do not have snacks for vegans.  What is vegan?) and blankets whilst it tells the story, in its own inimitable alien way, a fairy story about Griselda and her twin sister, both of whom end up eating everyone in the fairy palace. The End.  What do you mean you didn’t like it?  You even stopped whimpering.  Now you must excuse me as there are several other quarantine groups on my list who need attention.  I hope the plague will soon be over too.

            Ms Atwood’s stories are that mix of comedy and tragedy, pleasure and pathos, just as our lives are.  How blessed are we to have her chronicle so beautifully the pain – and the joy.  FIVE STARS   

   

  

 

The Empire, by Michael Ball.

 

            British singing star Michael Ball is justly famous for his starring roles in many of the great musical productions of the West End over several decades;  now he tries his hand at authoring a novel about what he loves most:  the English theatre, a particular theatre, and everything connected with it, from the theatre watch dog (Ollie) to the megarich owners – the Lassiters.

            It is 1922;  people are still reeling from the Great War and the world-wide flu epidemic.  They are all trying to recover from their losses, and what better place to start the healing process than the Empire Theatre, a lush, beautiful setting for live performances of every kind, the perfect place to make people forget their troubles for a short time.  The Empire is a true Palace of Dreams, not yet overwhelmed by the Talking Pictures, as yet in their infancy and, when faced with unfair and overwhelming competition designed to bankrupt them by a would-be buyer (he knows a good thing when he sees one!) the enthusiastic and committed staff led by the semi-absent manager’s efficient secretary Grace Hawkins and Jack Treadwell, new doorman and Ollie’s right-hand man, decide to produce a musical of their own.

            Which is an excellent idea, except no-one has a clue how to do so!  But as we all know, a journey starts with the first step:  Grace is wrangled into providing the story and musical lyrics for ‘Riviera Nights’, the adventures of a hotel-owner and his guests on (you guessed it) the Riviera:

 “ ‘I don’t know what to write for her!’

Ruby’s hand strayed around the piano again.  ‘Don’t worry, dear.  It will come.  Glamour – that’s what we want.  And make it funny.  But sad, too, of course!  With the sort of ending that people feel down into their boots.  And real, so it speaks to people’s hearts.  But light.’

‘Is that all?’ 

‘A rags-to-riches story is always good.  And of course, lots and lots of romance.’  Grace groaned.”

Which sums up the plot succinctly,  and Mr Ball’s marvellous characters, some of them endearingly larger than life.  Very few are contemptible and cruel;  even his villain follows a certain code of ethics – up to a point before he orders the blood to flow, but this charming debut novel has all the ingredients previously described and required, and there is just enough mystery at the end to hope that we can expect a sequel.  PLEASE??  FIVE STARS.

 

Like a Sister, by Kellye Garrett.

 

  

        Black woman Lena Scott lives in the Bronx in an apartment left to her by her beloved paternal grandmother.  She is a self-supporting Columbia college Graduate student and is justly proud of her independence, especially as her father is a fabulously rich Music Producer, estranged from her life since he left her mother for his secretary when Lena was a child.  The only good thing that came out of that union, as far as Lena is concerned, is her friendship with her half-sister Desiree, commenced when they both stayed for school vacations with her Gram:  what great times they shared then – nothing would ever happen to break their bond.

            Until, by a series of happy coincidences, grown-up Spoilt Little Rich Girl Desiree became a reality TV star and fame started going to her head - and up her nose.  And Lena is not the sort of person to stand silently by while her sister slowly destroys herself. She issues an ultimatum:  carry on the self-destruction and their relationship is finished.  A challenge that Desiree accepts; who needs a Holier-Than-Thou Smart-Ass stopping Gals Who Just Wanna Have Fun?

            Two years of silence have passed when Lena finds out from a newspaper report that her sister has been found dead in a Bronx playground, partly-clad, all evidence pointing to an accidental drug overdose.  Which rings alarm bells right away, for Desiree would never venture to the Bronx;  nor had she graduated to heroin-use, as the paper stated.  Lena, battling with her grief and anger is certain that Desiree had been coming to the Bronx to see her for a particular reason, whatever that may have been, and she is stunned at the police lack of interest in investigating further, and her powerful father’s wish to have the matter cleared-up and out of the news as soon as possible. 

            WHAT IS WRONG WITH EVERYONE?

            The more Lena delves, the more rabbit-holes she has to investigate, especially with regard to Desiree’s new Bestie Erin, a white girl who ‘loved Desiree like a sister’:  oh yeah?  That’s kind of hard-to-swallow, especially as everyday racist experience for Black people, but Lena knows Desiree has been murdered- she knows.  But how to find the proof without suffering the same fate?  For Lena’s efforts at digging have not gone unnoticed.

            Kellye Garrett is a smart, funny writer and she has given us a perfectly-plotted, beautifully characterised tale of today’s Instagram age and our scary dependence on Social Media and all its forms – and Racism in its many forms, not to lecture but as fact, as part of the everyday fabric of so many lives.  Thank you, Ms Garrett.  SIX STARS           

 

A World of Curiosities, by Louise Penny.

 

            Canadian author Louise Penny is internationally renowned for her series featuring Chief Police Inspector Armand Gamache and his trusted assistant Jean-Guy Belvoir as they battle crimes big and small in Montreal and its environs.  Her readers number in the millions, all fans of her great plotting and clever characters who reappear in each new story, and it shames me to say that this latest title is the first of hers that I have read.  So, where have I been all my life?!  Missing out on an excellent series of thrillers, that’s where!

            Monsieur Gamache’s latest display of his superior powers of deduction centres on the return to his home in the little country village of Three Pines of Sam and Fiona Arsenault, the adult children of murder victim Clotilde Arsenault, a local prostitute and drug addict.  She didn’t just sell herself;  it transpired that she sold her children as well, and kept a record of who did what to them:  the local police force were good customers. 

            After it was proven that Fiona killed her drugged mother as revenge for what she did to them, Fiona was tried and jailed as an adult, even though she was barely in her teens:  now she has served her sentence, earned an engineering degree, and returned to lodge with Gamache and his family. 

            The only fly in the ointment of this successful rehab story is Sam, her brother:  he loathes Gamache and takes special pains at every opportunity to show him the contempt in which he regards him;  Gamache knows in his very bones that Sam is anything but rehabilitated:  wherever he fetches up, grief and strife will follow. 

And they do, but first a seemingly unrelated quandary presents itself:  a mysterious letter is forwarded to one of the series’ permanent characters, writing of a false wall in the local bookseller’s loft:  when it is excavated a copy of a very famous painting is revealed behind the bricks – the Paston Treasure – or a very competent copy of it – is there, complete with tiny variations, spelling out a coded message for Inspector Gamache. 

‘I’m going to get you’

And

‘Time’s Up’.

Louise Penny has constructed a seemingly impossible plot to unravel;  there’s no figuring out in advance who, or how many, villains there are, but Gamache has been in the business of catching criminals for a long time;  he has many enemies – but none so clever and seemingly anonymous as his latest adversary.  What a clever writer she is, and how deprived I have been by my ignorance, especially when all her permanent minor characters are so winning, especially Rosa the duck:  she can quack at me any time!  FIVE STARS.

 

 

Around the Adriatic, by Tony Straw.

         Levin author Tony Straw opens his second book of travels with the Christchurch earthquake of 2011, a major disaster for New Zealand which killed 185 people and changed the city’s landscape and way of life permanently.  It also changed emotional landscapes, too;  he and Lee, his partner of many years, finally decide to Tie the Knot, Engage in Wedded Bliss – get MARRIED, not least because, out of the rubble eventually appears in handy proximity a building announcing it is the Dept. of Births, Marriages and Deaths.  Tony is intrigued because he’d never noticed it on his travels to work and back and, after some discussion, he and Lee decide to avail themselves of the department’s marriage service which turns out to be a very happy and tasteful occasion – and after the celebrations, the perfect excuse to plan a honeymoon.

            And what a wonderful itinerary is planned:  their first cruise ever on board the liner Celebrity Silhouette, fifteen decks containing twenty-eight hundred passengers, leaving from Venice, where Tony and Lee will join the ship, having completed a motoring tour of the Balkans beforehand.  Their ship’s ports of call also include Balkan ports, as well as Malta, Sicily, Naples and Rome:  this is the Honeymoon of everyone’s dreams!  In theory.  In a perfect world.

            Tiresome reality at Shanghai airport cracks Tony and Lee’s rose-coloured glasses, especially after a two-hour wait on the runway, all belted up and ready to go, waiting for someone’s permission to take off.  They are not in the best frame of mind to start touring the Italian Lake district before they explore Croatia when they eventually get to their first destination, BUT!  A good night’s sleep will restore anyone’s good humour – even driving with the prospect of a Tom Tom GPS nicknamed Tomasina who, in the grand tradition of all GPSs, is definitely a law unto herself as pilot of their rental car. 

The monumental tussle of wills is just beginning as Tony and Lee start their journey on what they hope will be lesser-known country roads instead of the huge motorway system – the scenery and accommodation will be much less ‘touristy’, more authentic.  (If Tomasina allows it.)

            Especially in the Balkans, where there has been so much recent tragedy and conflict:  the locals are very resilient and happy to help, and they are possessed of an offbeat sense of humour that our travellers find very appealing – and that is one of the strengths of this book -  Tony’s great attention to detail, and the fascinating background and historical facts that add to his wonderful scenic descriptions, not to mention the mouthwatering descriptions of food and drink consumed (Tony and Lee are gourmets of long standing).

            If finances prevent you from following in their footsteps, then get a vicarious thrill from the printed page, especially aboard the Liner Celebrity Silhouette:  Tony is such an engaging, humorous writer that it will almost be like sitting at the same table. Everyone who reads this book will enjoy his honeymoon, too!   FIVE STARS.