Review: Follow the Money by Bob DeGeorge

Synopsis: Welcome to San Jose, the hi-tech capital of Silicon Valley, where the streets are lined with silicon instead of fruit trees. But beneath the shiny facade of this city lies a dark and dangerous underbelly that can easily turn the so-called 'safest large city in America' into a lie. Seasoned San Jose Police Department police detectives Rex Johnson and Kat Sanchez know this all too well as they navigate through the treacherous world of crime in their city.

From sex crimes to financial fraud, they've seen it all. But their latest case is unlike anything they've encountered before. As they dig deeper into a seemingly simple counterfeit check scam, they uncover a tangled web of Asian Organized Crime, led by a ruthless Vietnamese crime boss who will stop at nothing to become the ultimate kingpin of San Jose.

As their investigation heats up, so does the danger. With their families at risk and a psychopathic criminal mastermind on their trail, Rex and Kat must race against time to take down this crime boss before it is too late for them and the city they have sworn to serve and protect.

Follow Detectives Rex and Kat as they navigate through the dangerous streets of San Jose in this thrilling tale of crime, corruption, and survival. If you enjoyed books like John Connely's 'Bosch' series, then you won't want to miss this first in the series gripping crime novel set in the hi-tech world of Silicon Valley.

~ ~ ~

Just not for me - it felt like a (poor) serialisation more attuned to the TV than print. Too much going on that it just felt ... off. I quickly lost all interest, skimming through the chapters to at least make it to the end. I wish I hadn't bothered - I should have set it aside after the first few chapters and moved onto something else.

Will not be pursuing book two.

Review: Raiders of the Hidden Ark by Graham Addison

Synopsis: The mystery surrounding the Ark of the Covenant’s location is among the world’s greatest and most enduring. One of the Bible’s most sacred and powerful objects has not been seen for over 2,500 years. The missing Ark has inspired many quests and even a famous film.

Perhaps the most remarkable of the quests to find the Ark is the Parker expedition. Its story seems stranger than fiction and includes aristocrats, poets, psychics, secret cyphers in the Bible, a deadly curse, bribery, gun-running, riots, and madness. It sounds unbelievable but the Parker expedition is real. Rudyard Kipling, who knew several expedition members, wrote ‘Talk of fiction! Fiction isn’t in it’.

In 1908, a Finnish scholar convinced a group of young Englishmen from wealthy and titled families he had uncovered secret cyphers in the Bible showing where the Ark was hidden. They were educated at Eton, had fought in elite units of the British military and socialised with European royalty and rich Americans. One had thwarted an assassination attempt on Queen Victoria, another had helped spark the Boer War, and most of the funding came from the family of one of the richest men to have ever lived in Australia. They headed for Jerusalem on a private yacht to dig for the Ark. With them were a Swiss psychic, a Finnish poet, and a Swedish captain who had experienced the darkest heart of colonial madness in the Belgian Congo.

During the course of their years of digging for the Ark the Parker expedition unwittingly ‘scattered sparks in the religious tinder-heap’ that is Jerusalem. Its impact still has echoes today. They caused riots and disorder resulting in headlines around the world and a parliamentary enquiry.

Previously untold in English in its entirety, Graham Addison has uncovered many new details during his research. He skilfully weaves these together in the amazing story of the individuals who sailed on a private yacht bound for Jerusalem in 1909 to retrieve the Ark. He examines who the adventurers were, why they went, what really happened while they were in Jerusalem and what happened to them afterwards.

~ ~ ~

About as laborious and tedious as the dig itself and as dry as the earth being dug. I kept putting it aside, not wanting to continue with it - that is how engaged I was. But I dragged myself forward and persevered till the end - but my initial opinion remained unchanged - I should have skipped it from the very beginning!

Review: Rogue Agent by James Crossland

Synopsis: The thrilling biography of Robert Bruce Lockhart, Britain's 'Agent' in Moscow

Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart (1887–1970) was an impressive figure: a diplomat, intelligence agent, conspirator, journalist and propagandist who played a key role in both world wars. He was a man who charmed his way into the confidences of everyone from Leon Trotsky to Anthony Eden. A man whom the influential press baron Lord Beaverbook claimed ‘could well have been prime minister’. And yet Lockhart died almost forgotten and near destitute, a Scottish footnote in the pages of history.

Rogue Agent is the first biography of this gifted yet habitually flawed maverick. It chronicles his many exploits, from his time as Britain’s ‘Agent’ in Moscow, and his role in a plot to bring down the communist regime, to leading the Political Warfare Executive, a secret body responsible for disinformation and propaganda in the Second World War.

Exploring Lockhart’s unorthodox thinking and contributions to the development of psychological warfare as well as his hedonistic lifestyle, late nights and many affairs that left him in a state of perpetual debt, Rogue Agent tells the thrilling story of this unconventional war hero.

~ ~ ~

I was familiar with events in Russia both leading up to and following the removal of the Tsar and the installation of the Bolsheviks. However, not as much as I thought I did.

Crossland provides the reader with what seems to be akin to a "boys own adventure" but is - in reality - something far from fiction. Lockhart is an intriguing yet elusive character, a man at odds with himself, a man somewhat ahead of the political game, but one who contributed to his own downfall - a victim of his own story.

Here was a man, aged 31yo, who was given a brief by the British Foreign Office, and had it impressed upon him to undertake and ensure its success "by whatever means" - then he was unleashed into the storm. Left to his own devices, Lockhart cavorted, womanized, drank and plotted to the point that any crucial information forwarded from him was considered suspect. He ignored all the signs that would eventually lead to his own capture and imprisonment, but was lucky in that he left nothing behind to incriminate himself.

Returning to Britain upon his release, and after various jobs for the Foreign Office, he eventually found himself in the political warfare executive (WWII propaganda department).  When the war was over, so too Lockhart's career effectively came to a close. He chose writing as a means to dig his way out of his perpetual cycle of debt, producing a number of works, many of which touched upon his own life experiences.

Crossland has managed to strip back the myth and ambiguity, to reveal a little more of the real man - a man full of human foibles, whose adventures seem larger than life, but one with the sheer audacity to stand face to face with Bolshevik Russia and walk away to tell the tale. Excellent read.

Review: Frank's Bear Cave by Glenn Harvey

Synopsis:

The second decade of the 20th Century was a period of great transition, especially with the beginning of WWI in 1917. The war accelerated the industrial revolution and took an estimated forty million lives. The 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic decreased the world population by upwards of another fifty million.

The United States probably experienced more changes during that brief era than in any period since. The Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote and serve on juries. Prohibition gave rise to the moonshine industry and associated gang activity. Automobiles were coming onto the scene. Yet, farmers and timbermen were using centuries-old horse-drawn technology. There was increasing demand for farm produce by the expanding population of mill workers who kept the factories humming. Likewise, the virgin forests of the northeastern U.S. were providing the lumber needed for new homes in the cities and mill towns.

People coped with the 1918 influenza pandemic and industrial accidents without health insurance or welfare assistance outside their family, friends, churches, and local social institutions. The introductory chapters provide the early 1900s, rural setting, through the experiences of one family. As all of the individuals cited are deceased, this content is based on both written and verbal memories passed down through the family, verified to the extent possible by public records. The complete 1921-22, "Trial Book" of over 1000 pages, tells the story of the murder trial.

At 1:00 am, April 3, 1921, an intruder in Frank Harvey’s Butler County, Pennsylvania, farmhouse opened a life-changing chapter in his life. The murder he witnessed led to a sensational trial, “The Commonwealth vs. Henry A. Blakeley." The resultant testimony, motions, and appeals dominated local news from April 1921 through Blakeley’s execution in October 1922.

The murder trial is told verbatim through selections from the original typewritten trial manuscript. More than seventy witnesses from many walks of life provide us with vivid images of the day and times through their unredacted words, slang, and local expressions. Witnesses for the prosecution left little doubt that the defendant was profane, mean-spirited, mentally unstable, and guilty of murder.

A verdict of first-degree murder was an automatic death sentence in Pennsylvania in 1921. Thus, the defendant’s attorneys pulled out all stops trying to convince the jury and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that the murder was not first-degree. They failed, as the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's sentence. Nonetheless, the wide range of defense witnesses provided fascinating testimony. The defendant’s attorneys called more than forty witnesses, including the defendant’s children, local drunks, and distinguished physicians, to prove the witness was acting in self-defense or was unaware of his actions due to intoxication, insanity, or being in an epileptic coma.

In the end, his body was unclaimed by the family and Henry Blakeley was interned in the prison cemetery. He left behind photographs that he had taken for his friends and a final letter that prison officials refused to release due to its extremely vile language.

~ ~ ~

Begin with the family and local history leading up to the fateful events, which are interspersed with occasional fictional chapters to give colour to events are recollected by family members.

With regards to the criminal trial, Harvey states that he has presented the testimony in a different order than the actual trial: 

Harvey presents the details of the trial through the reproduction of the original transcripts which literally encompasses nearly seventy-five percent of the tome. We finish with the accused's execution and a footnote on Blakeley's final, vile missive, wherein "... he vulgarly assails those who had anything to do with the trial ..."

Harvey finishes with a comparison of times then and now and laments that things really have not changed.

A great source for local historians who get a very of life in early 20th century Pennsylvania, as well as the court proceedings in a capital trial.  Definitely one for true crime aficionados.

Review: The Bucharest Legacy by William Maz

Synopsis: CIA agent Bill Hefflin is back in Bucharest—immersed in a cauldron of spies and crooked politicians ...

The CIA is rocked to its core when a KGB defector divulges that there is a KGB mole inside the Agency. They learn that the mole's handler is a KGB agent known as Boris. CIA analyst Bill Hefflin recognizes that name—Boris is the code name of Hefflin's longtime KGB asset. If the defector is correct, Hefflin realizes Boris must be a triple agent, and his supposed mole has been passing false intel to Hefflin and the CIA. What's more, this makes Hefflin the prime suspect as the KGB mole inside the Agency.

Hefflin is given a chance to prove his innocence by returning to his city of birth, Bucharest, Romania, to find Boris and track down the identity of the mole. It's been three years since the bloody revolution, and what he finds is a cauldron of spies, crooked politicians, and a country controlled by the underground and the new oligarchs, all of whom want to find Boris. But Hefflin has a secret that no one else knows—Boris has been dead for over a year.

~ ~ ~

A thrilling follow up to The Bucharest Dossier, which sees Bill back in Bucharest, tracking down not only a long dead mole, but who has now assumed his identity. A proverbial cat-and-mouse game is played out against a backdrop of conspiracy, corruption, espionage, and where every man and his dog is out for a piece of something. Democracy is slow as generations grew up in an era where bribes and blackmail were pervasive - it is a system not so easily given up, especially for those with the information and the power to hold onto it and meld it into something of their own. This is the world into which Bill is thrust in his search not only for the mole but the means with which to clear the suspicion attached to his own name.

They say "write what you know" - and Maz does this to perfection, giving the reader an insider's view of Bucharest pre and post Glasnost. A worthy successor to The Bucharest Dossier.

The Bucharest Dossier by William Maz

Synopsis: Bill Hefflin is a man apart—apart from life, apart from his homeland, apart from love ...

At the start of the 1989 uprising in Romania, CIA analyst Bill Hefflin—a disillusioned Romanian expat—arrives in Bucharest at the insistence of his KGB asset, code-named Boris. As Hefflin becomes embroiled in an uprising that turns into a brutal revolution, nothing is as it seems, including the search for his childhood love, which has taken on mythical proportions.

With the bloody events unfolding at blinding speed, Hefflin realizes the revolution is manipulated by outside forces, including his own CIA and Boris—the puppeteer who seems to be pulling all the strings of Hefflin’s life.

~ ~ ~

I love espionage / spy thrillers and this one is right up there with some of my favourite authors.

It has been a while since I first read this and its sister book, but both still resonate. It is the story of a naive young CIA analyst caught up in a game played by those higher up for their own ends. A man, whose own life is shrouded in mystery and who is far from being honest with those around him, who is thrust into a world where identity is a commodity, loyalty questionable, corruption pervasive, and conspiracies abound.

The writing is slick, engaging, and ready to send you hither and thither during the years of revolution in Ceausescus' Romania of the 1980s. What fully immerses the reader in the narrative is the author's ability to posit parallels from his own early life into the text, giving such a sense of realism.

A great first book,which I followed immediately with the second - The Bucharest Legacy.

Review: The Bishop Murder Case by SS Van Dine

Synopsis: After solving the Greene murders, Philo Vance has taken a well-earned holiday in Switzerland. Returning to New York City he finds his old chum, District Attorney Anthony Markham, up against a bizarre series of murders inspired by children’s nursery rhymes. 

The first murder, involving a beautiful young woman and a private archery range, was apparently based on “Who Killed Cock Robin?”; it is followed by more hideous deaths referencing “Mother Goose.” But Philo Vance is not a man to be fobbed off with points to juvenilia. Markham and his colleagues may be worried that a certain Mr. H. Dumpty is riding for a great fall, but Philo Vance suspects a connection to a rather more sophisticated writer.

~ ~ ~

The fourth in the series with the Benson Murder Case, the Canary Murder Case & the Green Murder Case all preceding. There are - including this one - twelve books in the series, all set in the 1920s and 1930s. I read all of these quite, quite some time ago and enjoyed them all.

Vance is portrayed by his creator as "a stylish — even foppish —dandy, a New York bon vivant possessing a highly intellectual bent." A homage to Sherlock Holmes, Vance even has his own Watson in the form of one Van Dine (friend, legal advisor, narrator, chronicler). Author Van Dine often has Vance monocled, impeccably attired (gloves, hat, top coat), and his speech frequently tended to be effete, affected, quaint and whimsical. He is invariably accompanied by and works with: DA Markham, Sgt Heath, Dr Doremus, Van Dine (his Watson), and Currie (his valet).

In this outing, the nursery rhymes of Mother Goose provide a backdrop for murder, which Vance, using his vast and unique knowledge of subjects obscure, will solve for the police.

Each tome is accompanied by a cast of characters and murder scene to assist the reader follow the narrative.

This is a golden age detective novel - it is a novel of its own time, not ours. Enjoy it for what is represents - the foundations of the modern day private detective tomes - and a little bit of escapism. For unbeknownst to the world at large, the Great Depression was was about to descend - and escapism from the harsh realities of life would provide a little relief for many.

You can find both the films and radio plays still - enjoy!

Review: A Danger to the Minds of Young Girls by Adam Morgan

Synopsis: The definitive biography of overlooked queer icon Margaret C. Anderson, whose fight to publish James Joyce’s Ulysses led to her arrest and trial for obscenity. Perfect for fans of The Editor and The Book-Makers.

Already under fire for publishing the literary avant-garde into a world not ready for it, Margaret C. Anderson’s cutting-edge magazine The Little Review was a bastion of progressive politics and boundary-pushing writing from then-unknowns like T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, William Butler Yeats, and Djuna Barnes. And as its publisher, Anderson was a target. From Chicago to New York and Paris, this fearless agitator helmed a woman-led publication that pushed American culture forward and challenged the sensibilities of early 20th century Americans dismayed by its salacious writing and advocacy for supposed extremism like women’s suffrage, access to birth control, and LBGTQ rights.

But then it went too far. In 1921, Anderson found herself on trial and labeled “a danger to the minds of young girls” by a government seeking to shut her down. Guilty of having serialized James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses in her magazine, Anderson was now not just a publisher but also a scapegoat for regressives seeking to impose their will on a world on the brink of modernization.

Author, journalist, and literary critic Adam Morgan brings Anderson and her journal to life anew in A Danger to the Minds of Young Girls, capturing a moment of cultural acceleration and backlash all too familiar today while shining light on an unsung heroine of American arts and letters. Bringing a fresh eye to a woman and a movement misunderstood in their time, this biography highlights a feminist counterculture that audaciously pushed for more during a time of extreme social conservatism and changed the face of American literature and culture forever.

~ ~ ~

It is a decent rather than definitive biography of a woman, who happened to be a lesbian, who ran her own publishing company, who employ other women, and who took on the "established" publishing world by serialising Joyce's "Ulyssses" much to the chagrin of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. It would be for this alone, that Margaret would be demonised and arrested for obscenity - resulting in her standing trial in 1921 with co-publisher, Jane Heap.

Morgan's book takes us through Margaret's earlier life - childhood, her self-emancipation from her parents, her work in non-traditional roles, including reviewing books, before establishing her own publishing company - and all the trials and errors associated with each decision and action. 

Then the obscenity trial is covered - rather too briefly for my liking - before we travel with Margaret out of the USA and onto Continental Europe where her life is a little sketchy at best. Powering through the 1930s in rather jumbled narrative - quite possibly due to the number of people introduced and the required explanations as to their associations / connections  - we jump to the final years of Margaret's life.

For a woman at the forefront of a major publishing controversy, I felt this fell a little flat. Whether this was due to a lack of sources or access to sources, I cannot tell but I was looking for slightly more than a wikipedia entry, especially with regards to the trial component.  

Look, overall, it is a great introduction to a woman whose lasting legacy was the promotion of "serious literature" in an era and to a society marked by conservative moral and literary tastes.

Review: Murder in the House of Omari by Taku Ashibe

Synopsis: Osaka, 1943: as the Second World War rages and American bombers rain death down upon the city, the once prosperous Omari family is already in decline, financially ruined by the terrible conflict. Then the household is struck by a series of gruesome murders.

Can anyone solve the mystery of these baffling slayings before the Omari line is extinguished entirely? To do so, and unravel the killer's fiendish plot, they will have to delve into the family's past, where a dark and deadly secret has been festering for decades...

~ ~ ~

To be perfectly honest I was not a fan of this one. I had to have a serious think about this one before putting pen to paper a it were.

Even for Japanese crime fiction, this book was excrutiatingly long winded with a snaking narrative that when it finally gets to the point, doubles back on itself, becoming long winded and snaking yet again.

I did enjoy facets of the book - the family dynamics and historical content, but felt my interest waning as the pathway to the conclusion became lost.

I am sure many other will enjoy this - and I will continue to champion Japanese crime fiction as I have grown to love it.

Spymistress - A Biography of Vera Atkins

She was stunning. She was ruthless. She was brilliant and had a will of iron. Born Vera Maria Rosenberg in Bucharest, she became Vera Atkins. William Stephenson, the spymaster who would later be known as "Intrepid", recruited her when she was twenty-three.

Vera spent most of the 1930s running too many dangerous espionage missions to count. When World War II began in 1939, her many skills made her one of the leaders of the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a covert intelligence agency formed by, and reporting to, Winston Churchill. She trained and recruited hundreds of agents, including dozens of women. Their job was to seamlessly penetrate deep behind the enemy lines.

As General Dwight D. Eisenhower said, the fantastic exploits and extraordinary courage of the SOE agents and the French Resistance fighters "shortened the war by many months." They are celebrated, as they should be.

But Vera Atkins's central role was hidden until after she died; Author William Stevenson promised to wait and publish her story posthumously. Now, Vera Atkins can be celebrated and known for the hero she was: the woman whose beauty, intelligence, and unwavering dedication proved key in turning the tide of World War II.

A Woman of Pleasure by Kiyoko Murata

In 1903, a fifteen-year-old girl named Aoi Ichi is sold to the most exclusive brothel in Kumamoto, Japan. Despite her modest beginnings in a southern fishing village, she becomes the protégée of an oiran, the highest-ranking courtesan at the brothel.

Through the teachings of her oiran, Shinonome, Ichi begins to understand the intertwined power of sex and money. And in her mandatory school lessons, her writing instructor, Tetsuko, encourages Ichi and the others to think clearly and express themselves. By banding together, the women organize a strike and walk away from the brothel and into the possibility of new lives.

Based on real-life events in Meiji-era Japan, award-winning and critically acclaimed veteran writer Kiyoko Murata re-creates in stunning detail the brutal yet vibrant lives of women in the red-light district at the turn of the twentieth century—the bond they share, the survival skills they pass down, and the power of owning one’s language.

Translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter

Review: The Adventures of Max Spitzkopf by Jonas Kreppel

Synopsis: Max Spitzkopf, the Yiddish Sherlock Holmes, “heads the famous Viennese detective bureau Blitz . . . He’s bold as a lion and takes the wildest risks.” Meet Max Spitzkopf: legendary private eye, undefeated foe of villains, and passionate defender of the Jewish people. No matter how hopeless or dangerous the case, when “the investigatory profession’s greatest artist” is summoned, justice is assured. Aided by his trusty assistant, Fuchs, super-sleuth Spitzkopf deploys equal parts physical bravery and intellectual ingenuity— not to mention a knack for stealthy disguise—to unpick evil conspiracies, outwit the canniest of criminals, and restore moral order to the world.

Giving a unique twist to a beloved literary genre, this complete collection of the fifteen Spitzkopf mysteries is also a vibrant testament to Jewish life, in all its variety, during the last years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Reading the tales, with every iota of their linguistic verve and historical charm preserved in Mikhl Yashinsky’s translation, it’s easy to see why the young Isaac Bashevis Singer thought them “masterpieces.”

~ ~ ~

Highly engaging collection of fifteen short stories featuring a Jewish detective, written in the style of Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes". The stories are set in and around Vienna in the 1920s, and deal with issues pertaining to the Jewish community and their dealings with those who are outside it.

Max Spitzkopf is a well respected (licensed) detective, and is accompanied by his Watson - Hermann Fuchs - who always seems to get himself into one scrape after another, resulting in a bash on the head, imprisonment and escape. Spitzkopf is inundated with cases from the seemingly banal to issues of national importance. As Spitzkopf bemoaned to Fuchs: “I would need at least ten heads, along with twenty eyes, twenty ears, and twenty pairs of hands and feet, to take on all of the cases these people wish to drop into my lap.”

Themes dealt with include religious bigotry, racism, murder, revenge, persecution, marriage, gang violence, espionage, forged wills, kidnappings, disappearing persons, - so if you have read your Holmes, you will feel at home with Spitzkopf. Like Holmes, Spitzkopf makes use of his assistants to do the leg-work, dons disguises himself, and throws out red herrings when on the trial of his mark. All cases are solved when the detective takes centre stage to unveil the villains and lay the matter to rest. And the villains always receive their dues.

Each of the stories follows in sequence and this is indicated by references at the beginning of the next tale. They are each in turn set out with a number of small chapters. As Yashinsky points out in his introduction, the stories of Spitzkopf were originally written as fifteen ".. pulp-fiction pamphlets that told his stories and cost only twenty Austrian heller for each shabby little shocker of thrity-two pages, published in Kraków around 1908."

I welcomed the opportunity to explore and savour a new detective series and highly recommend investing some time with Spitzkopf, the Yiddish Sherlock Holmes.

Review: A Prentender's Murder by Christopher Huang

Synopsis: The year is 1925. A labyrinth of roads and rails spirals out from the bones of a nearly forgotten settlement. Londinium. Once the far-flung edge of the vast Roman Empire, it is now the seat of a greater one.

Few have given more for the Empire than Colonel Hadrian Russell. Robbed of his four sons by the Great War, he now holds court as the acting president of the Britannia, a prestigious soldiers-only club in London. But when the Colonel is shot and thrown out the club’s front window, it seems the shadows of the Great War may extend further than previously thought.

Lieutenant Eric Peterkin, newly installed secretary at the Britannia, finds himself thrust into the role of detective after Scotland Yard points fingers at friends he knows are innocent. But is the true murderer an unknown spy? Or a recently resurfaced friend of the Colonel’s dead sons? Or is it one of the Colonel’s four widowed daughters-in-law, who by all appearances paid him complete devotion?

Accusations from personal betrayal to wartime espionage mount among the suspects as Eric's investigation draws him back to scenes and sites of a war he’s sought to leave behind. From the greening fields of Flanders and the springtime streets of Paris to the sterile wards of a Swiss sanatorium, and back to the Britannia itself, Eric finds that even myths leave behind bones.

~ ~ ~

Having read the first in the series - A Gentleman's Murder - I was eagerly awaiting the second, so was glad of an opportunity to finally read this.

This second book, follows on from the first - and there are a number of references made throughout this one so I do suggest reading "A Genteman's Murder" first. 

Set in the years immediately following WWI, the scene is again set in the Britannia Club, a club for returned soldiers only in London, where we find Peterkin is now Secretary. Against a backdrop of post traumatic stress and the horrors of the Great War", social change, identity and the emancipation of women, murder is once again committed within these hallowed walls.

Returning from Hong Kong and now seconded to Scotland Yard, Inspector Benedict Crane investigates - whilst Peterkin himself conducts his own postmortem of events and interviews those close to the victim, many of who are hiding their own secrets.

As an exploration into the effects of war on those who survived and returned, this is very empathically done - in addition to taking into account the impact of those who remained at the home front and suffered trauma and loss of a different kind.

The mystery of who and why the Colonel was killed was well-crafted, with witnesses and suspects alike coming under the scrutiny of both Peterkin and the Inspector - with both gaining a little more than their counterpart based on the interpersonal relationships. Peterkin is aided in his investigation by his sister Penny and best friend Avery, with a host of other characters providing their perspective (at times I found myself questioning their relevance).

But the past has a way of rearing its head, old secrets long forgotten or buried are coming to the fore ... but at what cost?

"... you do not want to be so lost in the past that you lose your present ..."

Where this lost me a little bit was the need to go "off site" - that is to France and Switzerland" where answers were not forthcoming - and to me this was really was merely an unnecessary diversion for the reader. In addition, in order to portray the societal changes and struggles, I felt the narrative went on a bit too long as there are a number of different elements to be explored before all are brought together.

All in all, another decent novel from Huang.

Review: Sisters In Death by Eli Frankel

Synopsis: Who killed the Black Dahlia? In this eye-opening shocker, an award-winning producer, true-crime researcher, and Hollywood insider finally solves the greatest - and most gruesome - murder mystery of the twentieth century just before its 80th anniversary.

In January 1947, the bisected body of Elizabeth Short, completely drained of blood, was discovered in an undeveloped lot in Los Angeles. Its gruesome mutilations led to a firestorm of publicity, city-wide panic, and an unprecedented number of investigative paths led by the LAPD—all dead ends. The Black Dahlia murder remained an unsolved mystery for over seventy years.

Six years earlier and sixteen hundred miles away, another woman’s life had ended in a similarly horrific manner. Leila Welsh was an ambitious, educated, popular, and socially connected beauty. Though raised modestly on a prairie farm, she was heiress to her Kansas City family’s status and wealth. On a winter morning in 1941, Leila’s butchered body was found in her bedroom bearing unspeakable trauma.

One victim faded into obscurity. The other became notorious. Both had in common a killer whose sadistic mind was a labyrinth of dark secrets.

Eli Frankel reveals for the first time a key fact about the Black Dahlia crime scene, never before shared with the public, that leads inexorably to the stunning identification of a criminal who was at the same time amateurish and fiendish, skilled and lucky, sophisticated and brutish. Drawing on newly discovered documents, law enforcement files, interviews with the last surviving participants, the victims’ own letters, trial transcripts, military records, and more, this epic true-crime saga puts together the missing pieces of a legendary puzzle.

In Sisters in Death, the Black Dahlia cold case is finally closed.

~ ~ ~

The mystery of the Black Dahlia has intrigued many - including myself - for some time. Who really was Elizabeth Short, what was she doing in the days / weeks leading up to her death, and why was she murdered is such a brutal manner.

Frankel explores initially the murder of Liz / Beth / Betty Short in 1947 from what is popularly known and reported on. Elizabeth is the proverbial riddle wrapped up in a mystery inside an enigma. Then we move onto what Frankel perceives to be a similar murder - possibly the trial run to Elizabeth Short - that being the brutal murder of heiress Leila Welsh in 1941.

Frankel outlines the history and life of Welsh, including the love triangle she found herself in whilst a socialite at university. Then the detail of the murder, investigation, and trial - where the main suspect was her own brother! At this particular time, there was constant conflict between investigating parties, and rampant violence and corruption in the police force and judicial system was commonplace. A fair trial for Leila's brother was not on the cards - a quick and easy solution was, and as a result, the family endured more than then should.

We are then drawn back to Elizabeth Short - a more detailed look at her life in Hollywood, her associations, and a re-look at not only her final days, but of an investigation that had been tainted from the very start so that the real perpetrator literally got away with murder.

Frankel directs the reader to similarities in both cases: the bungled investigations, the return of the murderer to the scene of the crime to leave clues, witnesses and suspects discounted too easily, whilst providing information as to where, when and with whom the lives of these two women intersected. Frankel links one particular suspect to both crimes - a person of interest who warranted further investigation but wasn't. It is an intriguing proposition - and Frankel posits a plausible case for his suspect.

True crime fans will sink their teeth into this one - I did!

Review: Evil In High Places by Rory Clements

Synopsis: The closer you get, the further you have to fall.

Munich, 1936. All eyes are on the Bavarian capital for the upcoming Olympic games. As athletes fight for gold and the Nazis fight for power, Detective Sebastian Wolff faces a battle of his own.

A famous actress has disappeared and Wolff has been ordered to find her, fast. But Elena Lang is no ordinary film-star: she is the mistress of Joseph Goebbels - Hitler's right-hand-man in the party that Wolff despises.

But corruption runs deep in Munich and Elena is just the first to go missing. In a search that will take him from high society to the city's darkest corners, Wolff is about to learn just how easily the hunter becomes the hunted: this is a city on the brink of war, and some enemies are better left alone.

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Who do you trust when a stray word or action could mean a death sentence.

This is the second in a series, the first book being "Munich Wolf", which I do recommend reading before this one as it will give the reader move of an anchor for this second book. Both books are set in 1930s Germany, when the Third Reich was in the ascendant, war was not yet a reality, and the Olympic Games would be used by Hitler as an opportunity to promote his government and ideals of racial supremacy.

Into this cauldron of conspiracy, suspicion, corruption, paranoia, elitism and racism, is a solid police procedural wherein our main character, Sebastian Wolff is at odds with the party line, and his Sergeant, Hans Winter, has a secret that could end not only his career but his life.

Both men are sent to investigate the disappearance of film star Leila Lang, and are required to conduct their investigation without treading on the toes of the German aristocratic elite and the dreaded SS. Against this, the reader is confronted by the treatment and persecution of Jews, the support given to Hitler from elements of the British aristocracy, and the growing control over all levels of society that was beginning to be more forcefully exerted and enforced.

The narrative is full of " .. twists and turns as tight as the winding bend up to Schloss Stark ...".

This is a compelling work and one I would liken to by that of author Douglas Jackson, whose books are set in late 1930s Warsaw.

Review: Agents of Change by Christine Hillsberg

Synopsis: The timely and revelatory exploration of the pioneering women who changed the insulated world of international espionage—from the barrier-crashing challenges of the 1960s to the present day reckoning—told through the eyes of a former intelligence operative herself.

Through exclusive interviews with current and former female CIA officers, many of whom have never spoken publicly, Agents of Change tells an enthralling and, at times, disturbing story set against the backdrop of the evolving women’s movement. It was the 1960s, a “secretarial” era, when women first gained a foothold and pushed against the one-dimensional, pop-culture trope of the sexy Cold War Bond Girl. Underestimated but undaunted, they fought their way, decade-by-decade, through adversity to the top of the spy game.

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"... there is no crying in espionage ..."

From the 1960s through to our current decade, women have endured misogyny and sexism in the workplace, as well as both racial and gender discrimination - the agencies of the secret services are no different nor are they immune. The documented behaviour towards women by men in Hillsberg's book could apply to women anywhere - except in these instances, the women run the risk of exposure, imprisonment and death - all for serving for the greater good of their nation. 

Hillsberg documents across seven decades, the internal and external threats the women battled, with a more narrower focus on the barriers being put up to their advancement - oft times by their own gender - setting all this in context against the modern-day "Bond" franchise.

"Agents of Change" looks at the numerous milestones these women achieved across the decades, from working as secretaries and clerks, to going out in the field of covert ops, to becoming departmental heads. All the while having to walk the fine line of work-life balance that their male counterparts did not. As Hillsberg notes: "... spying was still very much a man's world ..." and some of the stories presented highlight that fact - detailing the prevalence of sexual harassment and unwelcome advances including those from both colleagues, and external agents and operatives, slut-shaming, aggression, and the constant deflection of the barrage of rumour and inuendo when advancement does come their way. Hillsberg also sadly notes, that women in the Agency did not feel able to support other women due to potential repercussions for themselves and their own careers - this is still prevalent today - women can be their own worst enemy.

As the decades roll on, Hillsberg concentrates her focus a small number of prominent women and the challenges they faced - married women were often forced to give up their careers for their families, but also in order to ensure the career advancement of their husbands. For many, they elevated themselves above societal and cultural norms to work in a field where threats to personal safety could be a daily occurrence. Hillsberg documents that for some, the inevitable toll on their mental health and personal lives and those of their families, was too much and they left the Service, a number taking on prominent roles the the government and business sectors.

This is an eye-opening chronicle of the struggles women faced in the Agency, written by one who had the insider's take on what these women experienced. There are still many more untold stories, but as the synopsis notes, this is a ".... long overdue tribute to the survivors....".

In conjunction with this book, I also recommend reading "Secret Servants of the Crown" by Claire Hubbard-Hall, which looks at the role of women in the British Secret Services.

Review: To Catch A Spy & Traitor by Toby Oliver

Synopsis: International espionage and the inner workings of the intelligence communities collide in this thriller featuring Russian Secret Service. In this Cold War thriller set in London, a showdown between America and Russia is imminent.

Double agent Alexei Ivanov is the highest-ranking KGB officer ever to work for British intelligence. But now, he’s under surveillance, and his enemy is closing in. The head of the British Internal Arm of the Service orders top field officer Joyce Leader to protect Ivanov. But the threat against Ivanov’s life is not only from the KGB . . . it’s also coming from the ranks of British Intelligence.

On the run, Ivanov and Leader must dodge both sides. No one is safe in this political thriller set during the Cold War. To Catch a Spy and Traitor is a suspense novel set around the Cuban Missile Crisis full of intrigue, action, and an unlikely partnership between two people fighting for their lives.

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Set in 1960s London, this espionage tome takes the reader on a thrilling cat and mouse chase in which a British agent must stay one step ahead of the Russians and keep her double agent alive.

Short chapters keep the narrative flowing as the focus is mainly on chase itself and the agents rather than all the preamble that usually proceeds such affairs. This is action driven and whilst character development is minimal, it works! Without all the 21st century technology, this will definitely take the reader back to a time when street smarts were used to prevail against an all too human enemy.

Review: Something Wicked by John F Myslinski

Synopsis: Something Wicked plunges readers into a labyrinth of corruption, organized crime, and religious intrigue at the heart of the Catholic Church. When Father Dan Lanaham - newly elected Superior General of the Jesuits - stumbles upon a series of bombings, murdered nuns, and unsettling ties to the Vatican Bank, he realizes the danger lurking beneath Rome's hallowed corridors is far more sinister than anyone dares admit.

Determined to uncover who ordered the Jerusalem bombing and why, Dan teams up with unlikely allies ranging from Mossad agents to secretive hackers-even a terrorist whose motives are murkier than they seem. At every turn, he battles shadowy Mafia connections, extremist plots, and twisted ambitions vying for control of the papacy. As the ailing Pope struggles to bring Dan into the Church's innermost council, a shocking global conspiracy unravels, threatening both faith and the lives of those closest to Dan.

Brimming with moral complexity, high-stakes subterfuge, and characters torn between devotion and ambition, Something Wicked will keep you on the edge of your seat. In a world where evil wears a saint's robes and redemption hinges on secrets best left buried, Father Dan's quest for the truth may cost him everything-including his soul.

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This type of book was certainly down my alley - yet this was not.

I am not sure if it was how the narrative was delivered, the over abundant cast of characters, the multitude and complexity of themes, I just could not get into this - despite my most ardent desire to immerse myself in this tome, I found myself flagging with every chapter.

Quite possibly I need to re-revisit this in a physical format.

Review: The President's Hat by Antoine Laurain

Synopsis: Dining alone in an elegant Parisian brasserie, accountant Daniel Mercier can hardly believe his eyes when French President François Mitterrand sits down to eat at the table next to him. Once the presidential party has gone, Daniel discovers that Mitterrand's black felt hat has been left behind. After a few moments' soul-searching, Daniel decides to keep the hat as a souvenir of an extraordinary evening. It's a perfect fit, and as he leaves the restaurant Daniel begins to feel somehow . . . different.

Has Daniel unwittingly discovered the secret of supreme power? Over the course of the next 2 years the iconic item of headgear plays with the lives of the men and women who wear it, bringing them success that had previously eluded them. As it makes its way from head to head, the wearers find themselves acting with more confidence, decisiveness, authority and panache—just like the original wearer. Some, like Daniel, attribute their new luck to the hat itself, while some are unaware of its magical effects. All, however, find themselves changed by their time spent wearing the president’s hat.

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A light-hearted and quirky short story of how having possession of something new can inspire and give confidence to pursue what you really want.

Set in 1980s Paris, our four main characters - accountant Daniel, aspiring writer Fanny, perfumer Aslan, and aristocrat Bernard - all come into contact with the fifth character - the hat of French President Francois Mitterrand. The journey the hat takes and the impact on the lives of each of the "owners" is skillfully told, and is interwoven with letters between them. 

However, it is the undocumented character of the French President who has the final say as the narrative comes full circle back to the President and the author provides a wrap up of the lives of the characters for the reading audience.

Review: The Long Game - Inside Sinn Fein by Aoife Moore

Synopsis: Inside the rise of the political party, once subordinate to the IRA, that is on the brink of taking power in Ireland.

Sinn Féin, long widely-regarded as the political wing of the Provisional IRA, is the most popular political party in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. A movement once synonymous with a paramilitary campaign is on the brink of taking real power through purely democratic means. But if Sinn Féin has mastered the art of electoral politics, it remains strangely opaque. Who really runs the party? How is it funded? And what can we expect of it as a party of government?

Aoife Moore, Irish Journalist of the Year 2021. explores these and other burning questions in The Long Game. Drawing on exclusive interviews with current and former members of Sinn Féin, she builds up a picture of a party undergoing a profound, and still incomplete, transformation. She looks at the key individuals and moments that put the party on its present course, and she explores tensions within the party and the wider republican movement.

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Moore's books is intended to provide a fair and accurate account of the rise of the Irish political party, Sinn Fein. And to be fair, Moore does this, documenting the legitimisation of Sinn Fein in 1974 through to its current incarnation today. Along the way, the narrative looks deeply into the culture and history and personalities of those within and those pulling the strings of the party.

What the reader will find when picking up this tome are the following, summarised in dot points below, and in no particular order:

• the efforts of the party leadership to change the party's image were undercut by forces within the movement;
• the party was and is in a state of perpetual flux;
• the party is still tied and subservient to its historical paramilitary and political baggage;
• there is a deep seeded culture of bullying, cover-ups, political disfunction, paranoia and suspicion, scandal, chaos, malfeasance;
• it has a top down structure and hierarchy that is not driven by grass roots culture;
• the party leadership worked to control its members and centralise power and no deviation from the party line is tolerated;
• the party narrative was and is driven, controlled and censured by dominant personalities who didn't care for change until the politics became popularly unpalatable;

From available sources, historical documents, and anonymous interviews, Moore has managed to put together a history of the party. The narrative, however, goes back and forth with the introduction of each new character and key events to give perspective and context to the overall story (Irish storytelling is never linear). 

I personally, would also have preferred two things:

1. that the actions of the Sinn Fein were viewed also in context of the actions of its political and paramilitary opponents, though understand that this would have increased what is already a decent lengthy tome;
2. that the detail on the hierarchical structure of the party had been documented earlier in the book to aid the reader is grasping where each organisation was placed.

I have previously read a great deal about Irish history and politics leading up to the early 2000s, so I was keenly interested in what Moore (who implies that the reader has a certain level of knowledge already) had to say and what she could add to what had previously been written. There were some snippets I found of interest whilst there was much that confirmed and substantiated what I knew and suspected from my own readings and research.

Overall, from an outsiders' perspective, Moore achieves her intent. A worthwhile read for those for whom this subject matter is of interest.