THE NIGHTMARE THIEF by Meg Gardiner

Finished We 9/18/13
September 2013 selection for The Contemporary Book Club

Post on Goodreads-

This is a Jo Beckett Thriller that also features Gardiner's other adventure heroine, Evan Delaney in a tale that centers on 'An Extreme Reality Experience'. A very wealthy hedge fund manager arranges a birthday party for his daughter and five of her friends in which they will be featured players in a 'role-playing urban-reality game', but Edge Adventures, the company that hosts the event has been usurped by a band of criminals who are using the game to mask a multi-million dollar kidnapping. The plot is fairly intricate and a real page turner, but doesn't take the time for much character development. It almost has the feel of a screen play and it would certainly make a fine Action/Adventure film, but it's not finely crafted literature, and veers close to parody. I guess the author set out to make the book as 'over-the-top' as possible, but it has the feel of an airport read or a book for the beach. Nothing wrong with that, but be forewarned.

NOTES-

Autumn Reiniger- She's the kidnap victim

REINIGER CAPITAL-Her father's (Peter) investment group

EDGE ADVENTURES-Urban reality games, role-playing scenarios into the demimonde of crime rescue. 

Terry Coates-The game runner. Former Oakland cop.

"Kyle Ritter". Bad Cowboy. The Red Rattler.

Dane Haugen- He was fired from Reinger after being traumatized by Edge Adventure. He's terrified of snakes.

Sabine-With Haugen on their own 'adventure'. Also Von Nordlinger

Evan Delaney-Forensic psychiatrist who helps journalist Jo Beckett track down Autumn.

Delaney is working on a murder/disappearance of Phelps Wylie. He worked for Reinger and was found at the bottom of a mine shaft. No reason for him to be there.

Lark, Dustin (Autumn's boyfriend), Autumn, Peyton (broken collar bone, snake bit), Cody Grier (shot and killed),Noah (shot and badly broken leg) -The six kids on the birthday party.

Gabe Qunitana-Boyfriend of Jo Beckett. He's highly trained rescue expert (PJ-Air National Guard pararescueman). Recovering from a gunshot wound.

Tang-Female SF cop that aids Evan in the investigation. 

BABY DRIVER: A STORY ABOUT MYSELF by Jan Kerouac

Stopped Reading Tu 9/24/13

My post at Goodreads-

I tried to get through this novel several years ago and couldn't make it to the end. And this time, I fared no better. Obviously she isn't her father, and although she doesn't try to duplicate Kerouac's literary fluency, she never makes the case that her life story merits a book. Unfortunately what makes her interesting is her relationship to her famous father, and she (through no fault of her own) never had much to do with the man. I found her 'hippie' adventures quite commonplace, and I personally know people who led more interesting lives during the turbulent 60's. Why would she choose to write a 'road book' when her father has already crafted a classic of the genre? Her life might have merited documentation had she chosen a lifestyle and career altogether different from 'The Kerouac Brand'. Maybe if Jan Kerouac had made a career in the US Marines or became a successful executive in a flashy Madison Avenue advertising agency she would have delivered something of her own instead of only dishing up a very pale imitation of her father's life work.

ICE COLD IN ALEX by Christopher Landon

Finished We 9/18/13

My post on Good Reads-

First of all, I must admit that I am growing weary of so many contemporary fiction novels that employ tawdry 'flashbacks', garish 'flashforwards', and pointless 'shifting points of view' as literary gimmicks, and it was a pleasure to read a novel from 1958 that was written with enough confidence to just proceed inexorably from 'A' to 'Z'. I fully enjoyed the tale because the author did not attempt to woo the reader with unnecessary tricks or useless pedantic devices.  

ICE COLD IN ALEX is a gripping tale of World War II set in the North African desert during the fall of Tobruk in 1942. Captain George Anson and his Sergeant Major Tom Pugh are ordered to transport two nurses out of the city just as the Tobruk is about to be overrun by the Nazis.  Although set during the war, all the characters are non-violent types, and the book is more of a straightforward metaphor that allows that their shared adventure and metaphysical journey will lead to catharsis and character development. The clever title refers to Captain Anson's desire to have an ice cold beer in Alexandria with his compatriots once they have completed their mission, and this overwhelming sense of purpose keeps his mind from dwelling on his addiction to whiskey and spirits. His alcoholism, the fierce desert environment, and the mysterious South African Captain Zimmerman who shares their hospital ambulance are as much of a hostile force or mortal enemy as are the Nazis.

This is not a major work by any means, but it's an interesting and insightful novel of WWII, and I'd recommend it to anyone.

THE NIGHTMARE THIEF by Meg Gardiner

Finished We 9/18/13

NOTES
Autumn Reiniger- She's the kidnap victim

REINIGER CAPITAL-Her father's (Peter) investment group

EDGE ADVENTURES-Urban reality games, role-playing scenarios into the demimonde of crime rescue.
Terry Coates-The game runner. Former Oakland cop.
"Kyle Ritter". Bad Cowboy. The Red Rattler.
Dane Haugen- He was fired from Reinger after being traumatized by Edge Adventure. He's terrified of snakes.

Sabine-With Haugen on their own 'adventure'. Also Von Nordlinger

Evan Delaney-Forensic psychiatrist who helps journalist Jo Beckett track down Autumn.
Delaney is working on a murder/disappearance of Phelps Wylie. He worked for Reinger and was found at the bottom of a mine shaft. No reason for him to be there.

Lark, Dustin (Autumn's boyfriend), Autumn, Peyton (broken collar bone, snake bit), Cody Grier (shot and killed),Noah (shot and badly broken leg) -The six kids on the birthday party.

Gabe Qunitana-Boyfriend of Jo Beckett. He's highly trained rescue expert (PJ-Air National Guard pararescueman). Recovering from a gunshot wound.

Tang-Female SF cop that aids Evan in the investigation.

 

STEVE WINWOOD: ROLL WITH IT by Chris Welch with Steve Winwood

Finished Th 9/12/13

Post on Good Reads-

The book offers a standard tabloid treatment of multi-talented rock musician, Steve Winwood. It documents his career from a teen aged performer in The Spencer Davis Group, and on to Blind Faith and Traffic. It also features his transition to a major player in the 'easy listening' demographic in the 1980's. If you like the man's music, you won't be disappointed, but the book is really not much more informative than an expanded Wikipedia article. I'd recommend that you listen to any of his records rather than spend time with this book.

THE CROOK FACTORY Dan Simmons

Finished Th 9/12/13

The book is a fact based fictional work concerning Ernest Hemingway's little-known Caribbean based spy operation in Cuba during the height of WWII. J. Edgar Hoover, tyrannical head of The Federal Bureau of Investigation,  was deeply suspicious of Hemingway's supposed 'leftist leanings' and he enlisted FBI agent Joe Lucas to keep tabs on the spy ring. The novel is told from Joe's point-of-view, and initially he disliked and distrusted Hemingway, but the novel is also documents his change of heart towards the author.

This historical novel is a gripping tale of riveting suspense with unbelievable characters who are accurately modeled on the real participants, and the book offers a real insight into what Hemingway 'the man' might have been like. In the 'Author's Note' at the end of the book Dan Simmons acknowledges that although THE CROOK FACTORY is a work of fiction "the vast majority of details, characters, incidents, dialogues, and wartime events are true".

I can't recommend this book enough, and I definitely want to read more by Dan Simmons.


NOTES-

P. 219-220 FROM THE LIBRARY BOOK
Why was the director so interested in Hemingway's penny-ante operation? Why the visits from the BSC's Ian Fleming and the OSS's Wallace Beta Phillips (the bald dwarf)? Why assign someone as serious and deadly as Delgado as liaison? (this man was Lucas's contact and worked for the FBI, but might have been a German agent planted by Himmler) Why should the raido operator from the Southern Cross be murdered and who had murdered him? (This was an American ship that Hemingway thought was helping the Germans, and refueling U-boats). Why assign a weak sister Abwehr agent like Theodor Schegel (this guy had an American name also) to head it up? Was Helga Sonneman in on the Abwehr mission and, if so, what was her role in it? (She was one of the rich people behind the Southern Cross's enterprise, and might have been working with Schlegel, but who was the boss).  How did Hemingway get Martin Kohler's radio codes (this was the radio operator that had his throat cut), and was their getting the codes part of some larger deception? What was the reason that the FBI was funneling large sums of money to the Cuban National Police through a killer like Lieutenant Maldonado (this guy's nickname was CRAZY HORSE, and he has a violent showdown with Lucas in a creepy national cemetery in Havana. Lucas overpowers him but is gravely wounded, however he manages to lock Maldonado in a tomb, and the man walks with a limp for the rest of his life). And why was the FBI also funding Schlegel and the Abwehr at the same time?

OUR BAND COULD BE YOUR LIFE by Michael Azerrad

Finished Th 9/5/13

My post on Good Reads-

If you are a fan of any of the thirteen bands that are profiled in this tremendous book or if you are only curious about the 80's, this might be the book for you. The groups that are featured are the bands that were enormously influential, yet some of them sold very few records and Michael Azerrad finally accords them their just due and explains the reasons they were ignored or left behind. Each of the bands, and also the important management personalities within the DIY record labels are given the full 'Rolling Stone' treatment and the book is nothing short of a 'page turner'.  I think that most people remember the Reagan Eighties as a time of widespread greed and the hegemony of corporate America, but this book documents another 'revolution'.  OUR BAND COULD BE YOU LIFE chronicles the deeply personal and always challenging subversive musical scene that started with 'punk' and transformed into a myriad of musical styles and directions that have changed nearly all of what is thought to be 'popular' music. The hippies said, "Don't Trust The System", but the kids of the eighties said, "Make The System Work For You", and always THINK FOR YOURSELF. I can't recommend this book enough!!

THE BIG WHEEL by Bruce Thomas

Finished Tu 9/3/13

My post on Good Reads-

The book is written by the former bass player with Elvis Costello and The Attractions, and if you are looking for a behind the scenes 'tell all' of what it was like to be a member of one of the best and most influential rock'n'roll bands of any era, you will be disappointed. The band members names are never used ('the drummer', 'the singer', etc), and Thomas crafts a kind of fictionalized and highly personalized view of the music biz and his part in it. On the plus side, the book is very cleverly written, and his wry observations would be captivating even if he wasn't one of the foremost bass players in music, so maybe he should have written a straight up novel instead.  I guess I was looking for more of the 'inside scoop' on what it was like to be 'an Attraction', yet I couldn't help but enjoy Thomas's slightly surreal take on his professional life.

HARD FREEZE A Joe Kurtz novel by Dan Simmons

Finished Labor Day Mo 9/2/13

Post on Good Reads-

Another pulse-pounding page-turn from author Dan Simmons's 'Joe Kurtz series'.  Kurtz is on the trail of a serial killer who also happens to be the chief of the Buffalo, NY detectives unit. Joe is contacted by a man whose 13 year old daughter was raped and killed over twenty years ago, and on a recent trip through Buffalo accidentally recognized chief detective Hansen as the man who murdered his daughter. And, throughout the course of the novel, Kurtz is dodging hits from various local crime families and militant groups even though he has formed an alliance with Angelina Farino, the beautiful crime boss of the Farino mob. The novel opens with an assassination attempt on Kurtz by three killers known as 'The Three Stooges' at Buffalo, New York's famous (and very real!) Ted's Hot Dogs that is so exciting that you can't put the book down after reading the first couple of pages.  

Nonstop action, and the Joe Kurtz series is easily one of the best out there. I highly recommend any of these books!

NOTES-

Begins with a hit on Kurtz by 'The Three Stooges' at Ted's Hot Dogs, a very popular Buffalo hot dog stand. This is a real place-  http://www.tedshotdogs.com/history/

The hit was from Stephen 'Little Skag' Farino of the Farino crime family of Buffalo. Kurtz begins a partnership with 'Little Skag's' sister, Angelina Farino Ferrara. She had left the area to marry an Italian boss, had a son by him, killed the son, and then married a count. She wants to be a world class thief (she learned this skill from the count) and to be The Don of the Farino crime family.

The Gonzaga crime family is the other organization in Buffalo, and it's run by an ugly toad of a man called Emilio.

A Black concert violinist, John Frears, contacts Kurtz's agency. He runs a dating service, and is soon going to expand into the wedding planning market, but everyone knows that is was one of the best detectives in the US. Frears wants to find who killed his thirteen year old daughter almost twenty years ago. The serial killer/rapist is a man who is a master of identity theft, and now is the head of the Buffalo detective department- James B. Hansen. Frears was in the Buffalo airport on a concert tour and saw Hansen and recognized him, and this is why he comes to Kurtz.

Kurtz puts it all together, and later he and Angelina break into Hansen's house and rob his safe of $200,000 and incriminating evidence (photos of teens that he has murdered).

Donald Raferty is a drunken thug who is the guardian of Rachel who is the daughter of Sam, a close friend of Joe's who was murdered many years ago. This is why Kurtz landed in jail because he three the man responsible out the window and killed him. He did twelve years.

The final throw-down happens in the abandoned Buffalo train station. It's the middle of the winter, snowing, and very cold. This is the reason for the title of the novel.

Hansen is called by Kurtz to buy back the evidence. Hansen shows up with two crooked detectives to kill Kurts. And an Asian hit-man from Gonzaga's outfit tries to kill them all. This man throws Kurtz over the side of the building, and almost kills him. Kurtz is rescued by Frears. Frears was also a demolition expert in Vietnam. He was in Princeton at the time, but dropped out to enlist. He was doing this because his professor was an expert on ethics and morals. and he wanted to prove himself. This professor is now homeless and a friend of Kurtz, his name is Professor Frederick (called Pruno).