DEAL BREAKER by Harlan Coben

Finished Mo 1/27/2020

I got this at the library book sale for fifty cents on Sa 1/11/2020.

This is the first in the Myron Bolitar series; 1995.

 Myron is an ex-basketball player turned sports agent.

Esperanza Diaz is his secretary/ assistant/ and later, business partner and she used to be a professional wrestler using the name 'Little Pocahontas'.


Win (Windsor Horne Lockwood III)  is Myron's 31 year old 'Blue Blood', best friend since college. This guy is a master of martial arts and lives in a very upscale apartment. He runs an investment group.

The plot of this novel was a little hard to follow due to a wide array of characters.

Myron's ex-girlfriend contacts Myron because her sister is missing and thought to be dead. And her father was killed in what appears to be a mugging. She thinks that the two crimes might be connected.

From a customer comment on Amazon:

"DEAL BREAKER is the first in Harlan Coben's new series staring sports agent Myron Bolitar. I must say I cheated a bit by reading two of the Bolitar series before the first. However, this did not detract from my enjoyment of the first. Bolitar, an ex-college and NBA standout switched to being a sports agent and part-time private eye after a crippling injury forced him to drop out of NBA competition. Harlan Coben, an accomplished and award-winning mystery writer ably develops believable plots with compelling characters. Myron Bolitar manifests humor, striking good looks and a magnetic personality that turns women's heads and makes men sit up and take notice. Myron's best friend and business partner, Windsor Horne Lockwood III, better known as, Win, is the wealthy intellect of the company who loves to kick ass and kill if necessary. The beautiful Esperanza, Myron's secretary, once women's national professional wrestling champion who fought under the name, Pocahontas, adds humor and organization to Myron's outer office. Myron lands his first big client, rookie quarterback, Christian Steele. All goes well until Steele's fiancee, Kathy Culver, turns up missing. When no trace of her is found after 18 months she is presumed dead and law enforcement stops looking. Enters the gorgeous and charming Jessica Culver, Kathy's older sister and Myron's former live-in girlfriend. Jessica convinces Myron to help locate her little sister who she believes is still alive. Soon the sisters' father, and Kathy's ex-roommate turn up dead. The story is a multi-plotted page turner that keeps the reader on his toes. The ending is typical Coben—lengthy and perplexing. Deal Breaker is an action packed great starter for the Bolitar series. I give the novel a strong 4-star rating."

The tone of the Bolitar series is light and humorous. It's very similar to the approach the Donald E. Westlake takes in the John Dortmunder series. 

It's an enjoyable read, but I prefer Harlan Coben's more serious works. 

SEVENDAYS OF US by Francesca Hornak

Finished Mo 1/20/2020

The January, 2020 selection for the Contemporary Book Club

NOTES:

The elder daughter of an upper class British family had been exposed to Haag Virus in Liberia. She comes back to the family's Norfolk home, Weyfield Hall and the entire Birch family must spend a week in quarantine over Christmas and New Years.

Olivia- The medical doctor who was stationed in Liberia. She fell in love with Irish coworker, Sean. He contracted the illness, and after the disease seems to go into remission, he dies. During the quarantine Olivia begins to exhibit symptoms of the Haag Virus, but she is actually pregnant. Olivia is tall and thin and is like her father although they do not have a close relationship.

Phoebe- She is Olivia's younger sister. She is the 'baby of the family' in all respects- Coddled and spoiled. She is engaged to another upper class boy, George. He is not committed to the relationship because he's dealing with repressed gay feelings.

Jesse- He has learned that Andrew Birch is his father. Both of them have never met and Andrew has only recently learned of the boy's existence. Andrew had received the emails, but decided to not answer. But Jesse shows up to the house and gains entry. He is also forced to be quarantined for a week. Jesse is polite,  handsome, well spoken, and gay.

Andrew- A writer for a magazine and reviewer of new restaurants. He was a foreign correspondent stationed at various 'hot spots' (Lebanon, Afghanistan) and learns that this was when he was the happiest. Andrew tries to keep Jesse's existence a secret from the family 'until after the holidays'.

Emma- The glue that keeps the family together. She upholds all of the family traditions, but is not happy. She learns that she has cancer and conceals this fact from everyone 'until after the holidays'. 

Famous people of Camden London:
Amy Winehouse
Charles Dickens
Dylan Thomas
George Orwell

"ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Francesca Hornak is a journalist and writer, whose work has appeared in newspapers and magazines including The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Elle, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and Red. Seven Days of Us is her debut novel. Visit her online at twitter.com/FrancescaHornak."

"Francesca's work has appeared in newspapers and magazines including The Sunday Times, The Economist, The Financial Times, The Guardian, Metro, Elle, Grazia, Stylist, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and Red. She is the author of two nonfiction books, History of the World in 100 Modern Objects: Middle Class Stuff (and Nonsense) and Worry with Mother: 101 Neuroses for the Modern Mama."

From Goodreads:

"It’s Christmas, and for the first time in years the entire Birch family will be under one roof. Even Emma and Andrew’s elder daughter—who is usually off saving the world—will be joining them at Weyfield Hall, their aging country estate. But Olivia, a doctor, is only coming home because she has to. Having just returned from treating an epidemic abroad, she’s been told she must stay in quarantine for a week…and so too should her family.

For the next seven days, the Birches are locked down, cut off from the rest of humanity—and even decent Wi-Fi—and forced into each other’s orbits. Younger, unabashedly frivolous daughter Phoebe is fixated on her upcoming wedding, while Olivia deals with the culture shock of being immersed in first-world problems.

As Andrew sequesters himself in his study writing scathing restaurant reviews and remembering his glory days as a war correspondent, Emma hides a secret that will turn the whole family upside down.

In close proximity, not much can stay hidden for long, and as revelations and long-held tensions come to light, nothing is more shocking than the unexpected guest who’s about to arrive…" 

A comment that I left at Goodreads:

"I agree that this was a weakest point of the novel and I don't think that it is resolved or even addressed.

It seems that Olivia could have exposed the entire British Isles to a pandemic and the government does nothing?"

The link to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/questions/1716505-i-am-half-way-through-the-book-and-i-m






 

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD by James Lee Burke

Finished Th 1/16/2020

I got this from Amazon  Fr 9/13/19. It sat around for a few months and for some reason I thought that this was Burke's first novel. It was not. It is the 13th in the Robicheaux series and it's set in Lolo, Montana. Since most of the series is set in and around New Orleans I thought it odd. Then I read that Burke owns a home in Lolo and spends part of the year in this part of the country- ten miles southwest from Missoula, Montana. Also, it's near Flathead Lake which is the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi. I had never heard of it. 

CHARACTERS;

Dave Robicheaux he and his daughter are staying at the home of a writer/ friend of Dave.

Alafair- Dave's daughter, and his wife, Molly. Alafair is now a lawyer and a writer. She had done an in jail interview with evil serial killer Asa Surrette.

Asa Surrette- this man might be some kind of demon and has a strong feral smell. Possibly this odor might be linked to a peritonitis infection.

Clete Purcell- Dave's ex-partner on the NOPO and now he is a private detective.

Gretchen Horowitz- She was a hired killer for the mob, but now is not affiliated. 

Wyatt Dixon- This man is an ex-rodeo clown and bronc rider. He has knuckles like large ball bearings.

From the books page at Goodreads:

"In Light of the World, sadist and serial killer Asa Surrette narrowly escaped the death penalty for the string of heinous murders he committed while capital punishment was outlawed in Kansas. But following a series of damning articles written by Dave Robicheaux’s daughter Alafair about possible other crimes committed by Surette, the killer escapes from a prison transport van and heads to Montana—where an unsuspecting Dave happens to have gone to take in the sweet summer air, accompanied by Alafair, his wife Molly, faithful partner Clete, and Clete’s newfound daughter, Gretchen Horowitz, whom listeners met in Burke’s most recent bestseller Creole Belle."

From the book's page at Amazon:

"New York Times bestselling author and “America’s best novelist” (The Denver Post) James Lee Burke is back with the twentieth mystery in the masterful Dave Robicheaux series.

Sadist and serial killer Asa Surrette narrowly escaped the death penalty for the string of heinous murders he committed while capital punishment was outlawed in Kansas. But following a series of damning articles written by Dave Robicheaux’s daughter Alafair, Surrette escapes from a prison transport van and heads to Montana, where an unsuspecting Dave—along with Alafair; Dave’s wife, Molly; Dave’s faithful partner Clete; and Clete’s newfound daughter, Gretchen Horowitz—have come to take in the sweet summer air.

Surrette may be even worse than Dave’s old enemy Legion Guidry, a man Dave suspected might very well be the devil incarnate. But before Dave can stop Surrette from harming those he loves most, he’ll have to do battle with Love Younger, an enigmatic petrochemical magnate seeking to build an oil pipeline from Alberta to Texas, and Wyatt Dixon, a rodeo clown with a dark past whom Burke fans will recall from his Billy Bob Holland novels."


I loved the book and plan to read everything by James Lee Burke. I just learned that the Wyatt Dixon character is from the Holland series.

THE BITTER SEASON by Tami Hoag

Finished Tu 1/7/2020

This is a paperback that I bought at the library book sale on Sa 4/13/19. I don't think I have read anything by Tami Hoag, but I will in the future.

Features her two detectives: Nikki Laska and Joe Kovac. They used to be partner detectives on the Minneapolis police department, but in this novel she is working 'cold cases' and he is on a double homicide.

However, both cases are linked.

From the book's page at Amazon:

"A murder from the past. A murder from the present. And a life that was never meant to be.…

As the dreary, bitter weather of late fall descends on Minneapolis, Detective Nikki Liska is restless. After moving to the cold case squad in order to spend more time with her sons, she misses the rush of pulling an all-nighter, the sense of urgency of hunting a murderer on the loose. Most of all she misses her old partner, Sam Kovac. Sam is having an even harder time adjusting to Nikki's absence, saddled with a green new partner younger than pieces of Sam's wardrobe. Sam is distracted from his troubles by an especially brutal double homicide: a middle-aged husband and wife bludgeoned and hacked to death in their home with a ceremonial Japanese samurai sword. Nikki's case, the unsolved murder of a family man, community leader, and decorated sex crimes detective for the Minneapolis PD, is less of a distraction: twenty years later, there is little hope for finding the killer who got away.

On the other end of the spectrum, Minneapolis resident Evi Burke has a life she only dreamed of as a kid in and out of foster homes: a beautiful home, a family, people who love her, a fulfilling job. Little does she know that a danger from her past is stalking her perfect present. A danger powerful enough to pull in both Kovac and Liska and destroy the perfect life she was never meant to have."

I loved the book because it's a classic police procedural with two quirky and interesting detectives. I will keep an eye out for more novels by Hoag.

SYCAMORE ROW by John Grisham

Finished We 1/1/20 New Years Day

I bought this paperback at the library book sale: Sa 6/7/19
It's over six hundred pages, but very hard to put down.

Jake Brigance is the lawyer that the old man chooses to be executor. Jake is not working for the housekeeper, Lettie, but he is only acting to make sure that every aspect of the will is carried out explicitly.

The novel is set in Ford County, Mississippi. Grisham's first novel was 'A TIME TO KILL' and 'SYCAMORE ROW' has a few of the characters from the first novel, but it's not really a sequel.

The title is not mentioned until over six hundred pages into the novel.

Seth Hubbard is the old man. Herschel and Ramona are his son and daughter.
Ancil Hubbard is the man's long lost brother.

Judge Atlee is the presiding judge.

THE PREMISE:

An old man is dying of cancer. He's a very wealthy recluse and he commits suicide by hanging.
He has composed a second, handwritten will (holographic will) the day before his death.
He cuts out all of his family and leaves all of his wealth to his black caregiver/ housemaid.
His estate is worth more than 24 million before taxes.
5% goes to a brother that is missing and the man had not seen in decades.

The man's brother and sister fight to have the handwritten will declared invalid and for the first will recognized. This splits the inheritance between his family members. They 'lawyer up' and even the grandchildren hire lawyers.

THE TWIST:

The reason he is leaving his fortune to his housekeeper is that he witnessed his father leading a mob, lynch the woman's grandfather. The housekeeper's mother was left naked, her house was burned to the ground, and all of the family was run off the land. This area was called 'SYCAMORE ROW'. Five sycamore trees were planted in a row, and this is were the grandfather was hung and where the rich old man chose to die.

THE REVEAL:

The 'long lost' brother is found in Alaska. One of the lawyers for the housekeeper finds this man, and he makes a video taped deposition that is shown at the trial. Once the jurors see this video statement, they now know why the man left all of his money to the housekeeper and they vote to acknowledge the second handwritten will.

A link to the book's page at Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sycamore_Row


At the end of the book the author talks about how he wrote 'SYCAMORE ROW'. I was surprised to learn that his first novel, 'A TIME TO KILL', was a real flop when it was first released. Only five thousand copies were printed, but later it was given a 're-launch' and millions were sold and a very successful movie was created based on the novel. Many readers feel that this is his best novel. For many, many years Grisham wanted to revisit the characters of 'A TIME TO KILL' and 'SYCAMORE ROW' was written decades later.