Prime Suspect

Once A Spy (Review)

   

I just finished Once A Spy by Keith Thomson. The spy/thriller is the story of a 30 year old deadbeat gambling addict son who finds out that his Alzheimer-suffering father was one of the CIA's most legendary spies. When Drummond is targeted by a shadowy group in the CIA (are they the good guys? the bad guys? are they really CIA?) who wants him dead because they fear that he may blurt out secrets that would do untold damage, Charlie and Drummond go on the run.

Charlie nonchalantly takes this all in stride. After all, Charlie is already being hunted by the Russian Mafia for an unpaid gambling debt, so it's not much of a step to being targeted by professional assassins that aren't very good at their job if a civilian and a senior citizen with Alzheimer's can elude them quite easily. Even when something HUGE happens, Charlie sort of just shrugs it off.

As for Drummond, he goes in and out of lucid moments and it's hard to tell if he is faking his alzheimer's disease in order to fool the enemy.

The novel is darkly humorous. Thomson has fun playing with the conventions of the spy/thriller genre. But with the setup offered here, the story should have stayed within the land of the believable. Instead, we quickly go to the improbable with plot twists and gadgets straight out of the worst James Bond films (such as a Dr. Mengele-like torturer, the villain's secret island compound, underground secret laboratories, a sinister washing machine, and a nursing home for retired spies). 

The relationship between Chalie and Drummond is what holds the story together. It is bittersweet because as we see Charlie get closer and closer to his father, we also see Drummond retreating farther and farther into his disease. There's also a half-hearted attempt at a romantic storyline between Charlie and an NSA spy that doesn't really gel.

Overall, it was a fun story while I was reading it. But trying to mix a poignant father/son story against an improbable spy/thriller filled with mobsters, double agents, and complex fight scenes, just doesn't work.

Bowen, Rhys (Author)

 

Rhys Bowen is the nom de plume Janet Quin-Harkin uses when writing her mystery series. Her most current mystery, The Last Illusion, was just published this month. It is the 9th novel in the Molly Murphy Mysteries.

The multiple award winning author writes three mystery series: 

The Molly Murphy Mysteries feature an independent, forthright Irish immigrant in turn of the century (20th) New York. She starts her own detective agency, a bold move for a woman at that time. She soon finds herself trying to navigate her way through every level of New York society in search of murderers and other villains. Each novel focuses on on familiar themes of the era: the plight of immigrants, horrible sweatshops, fraudulent spiritualists, and woman's suffrage, to name a few. Molly has an on-again, off-again relationship with a high society police detective named Daniel Sullivan that adds a touch of romance to the mysteries.

1. Murphy's Law (2001)
2. Death of Riley (2002)
3. For the Love of Mike (2003)
4. In Like Flynn (2005)
5. Oh Danny Boy (2006)
6. In Dublin's Fair City (2007)
7. Tell Me Pretty Maiden (2008)
8. In a Gilded Cage (2009)
9. The Last Illusion (2010)

The Constable Evans Mysteries take place in modern day Wales. The village of Llanfair is as picturesque as a village one could hope for in mysteries. Filled with oddballs, family feuds lasting generations, jealousies approaching the boiling point, a kind-hearted constable, Evan Evans, to solve the mysteries and a pretty school teacher, Bronwen Price, to steal Evan's heart. The mysteries are short and funny while at the same time deal with modern societal problems like drug abuse and arranged marriages. After writing 10 books in this series, it is currently in hiatus according to Rhys's website.

1. Evans Above (1997)
2. Evan Help Us (1998)
3. Evanly Choirs (1999)
4. Evan & Elle (2000)
5. Evan Can Wait (2001)
6. Evans to Betsy (2002)
7. Evan Only Knows (2003)
8. Evan's Gate (2004)
9. Evan Blessed (2005)
10. Evanly Bodies (2006)

The Royal Spyness Mysteries is Rhys's newest series. It features Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie Rannoch, a distant cousin to King George V of England. The year is 1932 and Lady Georgie (as she's known to friends and family) finds herself in London, penniless and without servants! But she is no shrinking violet. Lady Georgie comes up with a crazy plan to make money: Clean and prepare London townhomes for the aristocracy when then come to town for the Season. Her escapades are quickly discovered by Her Majesty Queen Mary (of Teck) who asks Lady Georgie to use her proximity to these aristocrats to solve some minor mysteries and squash any scandal. The mysteries poke fun at the mystery conventions while adding derring-do and romance to mix.

1. Her Royal Spyness Solves Her First Case (2007)
2. A Royal Pain (2008)
3. Royal Flush (2009)

You can read more about Rhys Bowen and her series at www.rhysbowen.com .

Publishers:

• Minotaur Books, Macmillan, New York.
• Berkley, Penguin Group, New York.

Steve Cline (Sleuth)

       

If you are as sad as I am about the death of Dick Francis and wonder what we will read now that he has passed, I would like to introduce you to Kit Ehrman's Steve Cline Mysteries.

Steve comes from a prominent Baltimore family who drops out of John Hopkins to find himself. And he finds himself by working with horses and solving crimes, much to his parents’ and brother’s chagrin.

The first book, At Risk, takes place at a horse stable where Cline is the barn manager. In the first paragraph, Cline gets into some very serious trouble that almost costs him his life. And as the story progresses and he gets closer to solving the mystery, he puts more than himself in danger. The second book, Dead Man’s Touch, takes place at a race track and involves race fixing. The third book, Cold Burn, has Cline working at a breeding ranch and searching for a friend’s missing brother. The forth book, Triple Cross, sends Cline back to the world of horse racing.

Steve is a great sleuth. He’s young, volatile, smart, and desperately wanting to do the right thing. But he isn’t always able to do the right thing and that’s when everything starts to go haywire and often puts Steve in life or death situations.

Ehrman’s details about horses, horse racing, breeding, etc. are fascinating. We learn so much about what it’s like to work with horses that you can almost smell the stables and feel the power of these wonderful animals.

To read more about the books or Kit (like how she quit her government job after reading Dick Francis's books to work on a horse farm!), click here.

Steve Cline Mysteries

1. At Risk (2002)
2. Dead Man’s Touch (2003)
3. Cold Burn (2005)
4. Triple Cross (2006)

Publisher:

• Poisoned Pen Press, Scottsdale.

Benn, James R. (Author)

James R. Benn writes an exciting mystery series set within the Allied High Command during WWII. His sleuth, Billy Boyle, is a young Irish-American police detective turned soldier from Boston who finds himself solving mysteries in the middle of the most horrendous war the world had ever seen.

The mysteries deal with actual events during WWII, some well known, others not so much. In BILLY BOYLE, we meet a wise-cracking Southie more interested in saving his own skin than fighting another European War. But when his distant relation and his boss, a General called Dwight D Eisenhower, is appointed Commander of US Forces in Europe, Boyle is whisked away from his safe paper pushing job and tossed straight into a political nightmare. But Uncle Ike sees something in the his young relation. Then we get to witness Billy grow from a "self-centered wise guy" into a true American hero.

The stories are filled with lots of interesting war details. Everything from historic battles as well as more intimate facts such as how soldiers were fed, the bizarre details of how women with equal ranks were paid less and were not saluted to by lower ranking male soldiers, and the role of the Mafia during WWII.

Some of the characters are based on real people like General Eisenhower. But the characters of Benn's imagination are what shine in this series.

I am currently reading EVIL FOR EVIL which came out in September 2009. The fifth novel titled RAG AND BONE will be released this September.

 

       
  

Billy Boyle World War II Mystery

1. Billy Boyle (2006)
2. The First Wave (2007)
3. Blood Alone (2008)
4. Evil for Evil (2009)
5. Rag and Bone (Sept 2010)

Publisher:

• Soho Press, New York.

Crais, Robert (Author)

I came late to Robert Crais's novels featuring Pinocchio-loving private investigator Elvis Cole, but I'm glad I found them.

Crais started out as a screenwriter and worked on several TV series including HILL STREET BLUES, CAGNEY & LACEY and MIAMI VICE. Then in the mid-1980's he turned to mystery novels.

Crais's mysteries are often compared favorably to Lawrence Block and Robert B. Parker. His sleuth, Elvis Cole, is an former Army Ranger who owns a Los Angeles detective agency with a mysterious partner named Joe Pike. Together they solve cases for damaged clients. And they usually do so with lots of guns and dead bodies.

In 2007, Crais wrote The Watchman. This novel centers around the Joe Pike character and reveals his backstory which is hinted at in the previous Elvis Cole novels. Joe Pike fans loved the book so much so that even Crais was surprised by the readers' reactions. The second Joe Pike book came out this year. I read it one sitting.

Crais's writing is clever and funny. His characters are interesting and believable. The stories keep me up late into the night. And he has won a ton of awards including the Anthony, Macavity, Shamus, Dilys, and Mystery Ink along with the London Evening Standard "Best Crime Novel of te Year." (Note: Watch for an upcoming post where I discuss all the mystery awards.)

One of Crais's novel was made into a feature fim. HOSTAGE (2005) starred Bruce Willis as a SWAT officer turned hostage negotiater in Los Angeles. Crais has stated that he will not sell the film rights to Elvis Cole or Joe Pike.

Thankfully, many of the novels are available on Kindle so I can start reading the next book in the series immediately...even if it is 4:00 AM on a Monday!

Robert Crais is coming to my hometown, Tucson, AZ, for the Tucson Festival of Books on March 13, 2010. I look forward to meeing him in person. But first I have to decide if I should get my own set of red arrow tattoos.

I borrowed Robert Crais's bibliography from his website. You can learn more about Robert, Elvis and Joe by clicking here.

The Monkey’s Raincoat
Bantam -- 1987
paperback original

Stalking the Angel
Bantam -- 1989

Lullaby Town
Bantam -- 1992

Free Fall
Bantam -- 1993

Voodoo River
Hyperion -- 1995

Sunset Express
Hyperion -- 1996

Indigo Slam
Hyperion --1997

L. A. Requiem
Doubleday -- 1999

Demolition Angel (non-series)
Doubleday -- 2000

Hostage (non-series)
Doubleday -- 2001

The Last Detective
Doubleday -- 2003

The Forgotten Man
Doubleday -- 2005

The Two Minute Rule (non-series)
Simon & Schuster -- 2006

The Watchman (Joe Pike)
Simon & Schuster -- 2007

Chasing Darkness
Simon & Schuster -- 2008

The First Rule (Joe Pike)
Putnam -- 2010