GUILTY WIVES by James Patterson * David Ellis

 Finished Mo 2/27/23

This is a paperback that was among the books from The Brandenburgs, Xmas 2022.

Four hot married woman take a 'girlfriends only' vacation to Monte Carlo and they are set up for the murder of the president of France. A compelling and thrilling read (if you suspend disbelieve completely), but it felt like 'reading' a graphic novel without the pictures. 

From the novel's page at Kirkus:

"A girls-only weekend turns deadly for four friends who find that what happens in Monte Carlo definitely doesn’t stay in Monte Carlo.

Locked in an unspeakable French prison, Georgetown literature professor Abbie Elliot recalls the glamorous prologue to her murder conviction. Former U.S. Olympic skier Serena Schofield footed the bills for Abbie, British diva Winnie Brookes and South African beauty Bryah Gordon as they prepared for an unforgettable weekend of drinking, dishing and sexual adventures. Abbie doesn’t know that Devo, the man Winnie hooks up with, has actually been her lover for a year, or that he’s the President of France. Nor does she know that her husband Jeffrey, along with the husbands of Serena, Bryah and Winnie, is watching the four buddies as they sashay around Monte. When someone shoots Devo and the race car driver who turns out to be his bodyguard, the police arrest the four friends, but it’s clear that one of the four husbands (maybe more than one—they’re all so unappealing that it doesn’t much matter) has framed them for murder. There follows a trial during which Abbie keeps getting reminded that they’re not in an American courtroom, a prison stint marked by threats, bullying and worse (think Caged Heat), and a daring escape that leads to a high-fatality climax.

Patterson (The Christmas Wedding, 2011, etc.) and Ellis (Breach of Trust, 2011, etc.) make the pages fly without creating a single memorable character or asking you to take any of their variously glossy or gritty menace seriously."

STRANGE FITS OF PASSION by Anita Shreve

 Finished Th 2/23/23

This is one of the books that The Brandenburgs gave me for Xmas, 2022.

This is a superior novel about domestic violence during the 70's.

A woman is married to an abusive husband so she abandons her life and flees with her infant to a small village on the coast of Maine. She meets a sympathetic man (crab fisherman) and has an affair, but her husband finds her and she kills him. The story is a flashback and it is the author giving the novel to the infant daughter who is now grown. 

I found the book insightful and moving. The author is an excellent storyteller. 

From the book's page at Amazon:

"Everyone believes that Maureen and Harrold English, two successful New York City journalists, have a happy, stable marriage. It's the early '70s, and no one discusses or even suspects domestic abuse.

But after Maureen suffers another brutal beating, she flees with her infant daughter to a coastal town in Maine. The weeks pass slowly, and just as Maureen settles into her new life and new identity, Harrold reappears, bringing the story to a violent, unforgettable climax.

Nearly nineteen years later, a cache of documents regarding Maureen English is given to her daughter by a journalist. The truth should lie within them, but the papers raise far more questions than they answer..."   

Link to the author's page at Wikipedia:

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

Anita Shreve wrote 'THE PILOT'S WIFE' and when Oprah Winfrey selected the novel for her 'book club' Shreve's novels took off. Both 'THE PILOT'S WIFE' and 'THE WEIGHT OF WATER' were made into big budget, Hollywood films. 

STRAIGHT LIFE- by Art Pepper & Laurie Pepper

Finished Su 2/19/23

This is a trade paperback that I bought for my birthday. Art Pepper was a jazz sax player that was featured on the album that was supposed to be 'faves' of Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly novels. 

This is one of the best biographies that I've ever read. It was really a 'warts & all' portrait. I was surprised to read his very racist worldview, but you could see how he got there.

Patti- First wife who left him for another jazz artist when Art was in jail

Diane- A woman from the Philippines who was a fan. She was very loyal, but crazy.

Christine- This woman fancied herself a jazz singer and once she punched Art and almost killed him.

Laurie- Another 'fan', but this woman stuck with him.

SYNANON- a crazy 'therapy/ religion' that is based on Alcoholics Anonymous, but once you join the group, you never leave. They believe that once you are an addict you can never be strong enough to live unassisted. This group is no longer allowed in the US, but it's pretty big in Germany. 

When he made 'ART PEPPER MEETS THE RHYTHM SECTION' he was strung out and his horn had not been disassembled after he last used it and the cork seal was crumbling. Red Garland/ Philly Joe Jones/ Paul Chambers. 

The picture on the cover of the book was taken when he was junk sick. 

The best book I've ever read about what it would be like to do hard time in prison (San Quentin).

The most realistic portrayal of what it's like to be an addict. 

From the book's page at GoodReads:

"American jazz musician noted for the beauty of his sound and his improvisations on alto saxophone, and a major figure in the 1950s in West Coast jazz.

Pepper in his teens played in Los Angeles bands led by Lee Young and Benny Carter, then joined the Stan Kenton band briefly before serving in the U.S. Army (1944–46). He returned to Kenton in 1947 and remained until 1952, the year he began leading recording groups. Narcotics addiction and drug-related prison terms interrupted his freelance career in the 1950s; after a remarkably productive period of recording, 1956–60, he spent most of 1961–67 in prison. Physical ailments and a three-year period of rehabilitation in Synanon resulted in only intermittent performing until the late 1970s, when he resumed frequent recording and touring.

Pepper had been influenced by both swing musicians, especially Carter, and bop-era musicians such as Charlie Parker and Lee Konitz. He played alto saxophone with a brilliant, pure tone, stating even small note values with clarity, and he also played clarinet and tenor saxophone on occasion. He constructed his solos with broken phrases and asymmetric accents and formed melodic lines with rare, compelling tension. In contrast to the cool jazz aesthetic that prevailed among other white West Coast jazz musicians, Pepper’s improvising was intensely emotional at all tempos, and he was a sensitive interpreter as well, as in Hoagy Carmichael’s 1956 recording of “Winter Moon.”

Among his major recordings are his 1956 “Besame Mucho” and the albums Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section (1957), The Way It Was (1960), and Smack Up (1960). Influenced by John Coltrane’s music by the 1970s, Pepper recurringly incorporated modal material, cyclic forms, and dissonant, sheets-of-sound elements into his soloing, which continued to be outstanding at the end of his career."

 

STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND by Robert Heinlein

 Finished Fr 2/10/23

When I finished 'THE SECOND SON' by Charles Sailor it reminded me so much of the theme of Heinlein's novel that I had to reread it. I looked for my copy, but it was nowhere to be found. I got this for the Kindle and it was only five bucks. 

This was also a novel that dealt with a 'new messiah'. 

Sailor's book was more about how the existing institutions (religions & government) would deal with a new manifestation of 'god' and Heinlein's theme was about how people's lives would change after this cosmic occurrence. 

I liked both books, but 'STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND' is the better novel. I can't believe that Heinlein wrote and released this book in 1962. It is truly before its time. 

I think Heinlein did not identify with his main character, Valentine Michael Smith, as much as he did the character of Jubal Harshaw. The gruff, no-it-all, older gentleman who has 'seen and done it all' is more how the author probably viewed his own life.  

How Jubal treats the women in his life would cause a huge backlash if the novel had been released today. It seems that the role for women in 'STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND' is to be sexy, available, and instantly take the advice and counsel of the men in their social and professional circles.  

The sections of the novel that dealt with 'the Fosterites in Heaven' seemed like they didn't even belong in the story. It just made the whole thing seem unnecessarily odd. 

From the novel's review at The Guardian:

"Heinlein said he wanted to slaughter "the biggest, fattest sacred cows" of western society — chief among which is monogamy. Certainly the challenge Michael presents to conventional mores is provocative — and must have seemed especially so in 1961 — and it's all presented in an appealingly gentle way (with the exception of the fact that Jill, one of the lead characters, is prone to homophobia and saying things like: "nine times out of ten, if a girl gets raped it's partly her fault"). The lovey-dovey joy of Michael and his followers also provides an effective contrast with the more sharply barbed satires on religion and the media.

So yes, it's daft, but it's also thoughtful and generally good fun. Heinlein does have a tendency to lecture and harangue, but generally does an excellent job of making palatable some challenging ideas. You have to be a particular type of person to take these ideas entirely seriously, but as "an invitation to think — not to believe" (as the author once described it) Stranger From A Strange Land is a resounding success."

THE SECOND SON by Charles Sailor

 Finished Tu 1/31/23

This is one of my ancient paperbacks that I had never read.

It's a fascinating story of what it might be like if 'a new messiah' came to the planet.

Governments and churches would clamor to get the 'new son' to promote their vision of mankind's relationship with the divine. The Catholic Church would be at the head of the line to control the narrative.

Joseph Turner is a welder working on a high rise in NYC. One day he falls twenty-four stories while trying to save another man. He hits the ground and is perfectly fine. A couple of days later he runs into a burning building and saves two children. Then, he becomes 'the new son of God'. Although Turner is not convinced of his divinity, he tries to do the 'right thing'. He 'preaches' a philosophy of  'why can't we all get along' and 'the power is within you'.

He is told that his powers would only last until the next Good Friday. When that day arrives, he goes back to the scene of his 24 story fall, and disappears, but his followers are still with him in spirit. 

It was an easy and enjoyable read, but not as interesting as 'STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND' by Robert Heinlein. I ordered that novel from Amazon on Kindle the day I finished 'THE SECOND SON'.

About the author at his page on Amazon:

"New York Times Best Selling Author, screenwriter, and actor. Novels: The New York Times Best Seller “The Second Son”, which had an unprecedented 1.2 million copy first printing, and his newest novel “The Man Who Rode the Tiger.” Charles Sailor is the author of more than forty scripts for television programs, including “Charlie’s Angels,” “Kojak,” “Rockford Files,” “Switch,” “Chips,” “Bronk,” “Get Christi Love,” and television pilots including “The Bureau”, and “Nu Deli”; and scripts for television films, including “The Devils of Hell Week,” “Shock Team”, “Death With Total Security”, and “The Hostage Heart.” He has also been credited under the pseudonym Alexander Stewart.

Worked as actor in motion pictures, stage productions and television programs, including “Return To Peyton Place”, “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About But Were Afraid to Ask,” “Medical Center,” “General Hospital,” Blue Knight,” and “Katherine” Member: Writers Guild of American West, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Screen Actors Guild."