MIDTOWN SOUTH by Christopher Newman

Finished Tu 7/9/19

This is an ancient paperback that I found on the shelf and there was no note about where I got it or if I had read it. I finished this novel while waiting for '2 MEN & A TRUCK' to remove the couch from downstairs; ($258!!!!).

This is a police procedural novel (his first novel) and concerns NYC detective, Joe Dante. I love this genre and I'll probably get more by Christopher Newman.

Joe Dante and his partner, huge black detective, Sam Scruggs (The Condor) have been working undercover narcotics. Joe Dante is disguised as a punk rocker. They end up in a shoot out where many bad guys are killed, so they are transferred to different units.

Dante is teamed with Rosa Rosario who is a very smart, highly educated detective. Her parents were murdered while she was a sophomore at Bennington College.

Dante lives in a beautiful rent controlled townhouse in Greenwich Village. Rosa lives in Park Slope with a roommate. 

A killer is murdering prostitutes in the mid-town south area of NYC. This is around the Empire State Building (8th and 39th st. ).

Brian Brennan is a local sculptor who witnesses one of the 'call-girl murders'. He saw the late model BMW with a dent on the side door. Dante becomes friends with this man. Brennan is divorcing a very rich woman, Lisa, and is hated by her family. He owns a summer home on the cape.


SUMMATION:

The killer is Stuart Sprague, a very rich and politically connected figure on the Manhattan scene.  He has been sexually fantasizing about his adopted daughter and this is why he is murdering call girls that look like his daughter.

He has an apartment in the mid town area that is full of sexual paraphernalia and crazed writing about his step daughter.

There is a huge confrontation at Brennan's summer home and the killer is blown up when Dante uses flares to light up gas tanks that the sculptor used for his art.

Dante is off the force to teach at the academy and Rosa and him fall in love.

THE FOLK OF THE FRINGE by Orson Scott Card

Finished Su 7/7/19

This is one of my ancient paperbacks that I found on the shelf downstairs. No note as to when I got it.

This is a collection of novellas that Card wrote after 'ENDER'S  GAME' and he was trying to hone his short story writing skills.

The stories are set in a future America after some kind of nuclear exchange. 'The War' is never explained, but although nuclear weapons were used, the biggest damage was done by 'bio-engineered' plagues.

A large portion of the West has been resettled by the Mormons. Card makes a point to present Mormonism in the best possible light. He feels that their strict adherence to their biblical interpretations make for safe and dependable government. However, the characters are a little too 'black or white', all good or all bad.

Orson Scott Card is a Mormon and this is a kind of SciFi tale with a mix of pro-Mormon propaganda.

The first story is about a man who lives in the Smokey Mountains who is on a scavenger mission to The Carolina's. He meets a group of Mormons who have escaped persecution. There had been a pogrom in the area similar to the Jews during WWII (And, I guess throughout history. Card feels that Mormons are the 'chosen people' and subject to persecution). There are several children and Blacks and Whites, all believe in the Mormon faith.

They convert the scavenger to the Mormon faith, and use his skills to guide the group to the Mormon area of the West.

The next story is many years in the future and concerns one of the boys in this group.

I skimmed the middle part of the book, and the last section is why the author wrote the book and his feelings about the short story genre. The book was of some interest since I'd never seen Mormonism portrayed in such a positive light, and I thought that they didn't believe in racial equality, but apparently, at least Card does.

'ENDER'S GAME' is on disc at Netflix, but I think that I'll pass.

THE 25TH HOUR by David Benioff

Refinished Thursday, July 4th, 2019

This is an old trade paperback that I found on the shelves downstairs. On the flyleaf it says, "Saw the film at the Esquire and the book was in the mailbox when I got home- Sa 3/29/03.

Montgomery Brogan is a NYC mid-level dealer who has been ratted out by his Ukrainian bodyguard, Kostya. Monty is rich enough (and notorious enough) that he never waits in line, and stores will open after hours so that he can shop alone or with friends.

Doyle- Monty's pit-bull that he found along the highway, beaten and left for dead. His name is from 'Murphy's Law' that the Ukrainian incorrectly called, 'Doyle's Law'.

The book takes place in late January during a blizzard. Monty has to report to The Otisville Correctional Facility (90 miles north of NYC) for a seven year sentence. He is a handsome 27 year old man, and he doesn't think that he can make it.

TWO FRIENDS:

Jakob Ellison- teaches English at a private school. Kind of a failure; isn't happy and doesn't make much money. Lonely.

Frank Slattery- Ex-wrestler and very successful Wall Street broker. Lots of money, but also lonely. 

Naturelle Rosario- Monty's Puerto Rican girlfriend. He met and wooed her when she was still in high school.

Mr. Blue- Monty's boss in the drug trade. He's afraid that Monty will rat him out because why has Monty been allowed to be free until he has to start his sentence.

Tony Lobianco- A gay professor that works with Jakob. He claims that his life was ruined when a famous poet (San Francisco- started City Lights Bookstore; Lawrence Ferlinghetti) stole his title, 'Coney Island of The Mind'. 

Monty attends a 'Going Away' party at a fancy nightclub. During and after the party he leaves Doyle to Jacob, and he gets Frank to beat him badly around the face so that he isn't quite so handsome when he shows up for the sentence.

Mr. Brogan- Monty's father. He drives Monty to jail because the city's transportation is shut down due to the snow. His dad's bar is bond for Monty, and he won't run because he won't let his father lose it.

The last chapter Monty hallucinates that he has allowed his father to drive him 'somewhere West', and he's started a new life. He 'remembers' his criminal past as he tells his grandchildren who he really was.

"This life came so close to never happening".....

I can't wait to re-watch the film; with Edward Norton and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST by Emily M. Danforth

Finished Tu 7/2/19

I got this book on Amazon after seeing the film, starring Chloe Moretz; at the Sundance Film Festival is won The US Grand Jury Prize- the fest's highest honor.

The film incorporates the basic, important issues of the book, but the novel is far superior. And, BOY ERASED is a film that tackles the issue of Conversion Therapy in a slightly better and more dramatic way.

From the book's page at wikipedia:

"The Miseducation of Cameron Post began in the Summer of 1989 in Miles City, Montana when protagonist and narrator Cameron Post was 12 years old. Cameron had been shoplifting and kissing her friend Irene Klauson while her parents died in an accident at Quake Lake, which they visited every year. Cameron’s very religious Aunt Ruth moved in with Cameron and Grandma Post. Cameron began renting VHS movies and decorating her old dollhouse to cope with her grief. She stopped spending time with Irene. Irene’s family discovered a fossil on their property, which resulted in great success and wealth for them. Irene went away to a boarding school. On Aunt Ruth’s request, Cameron began attending a new church called Gates of Praise and their youth group, Firepower.

During the summer before starting high school, Cameron became close friends with Lindsey Lloyd, who joined the swim team with her while she stayed with her father in Miles City for the summer. Lindsey was a lesbian and told Cameron about her experiences with gay pride in Seattle, where she lived during the rest of the year with her mother. Cameron and Lindsey pursued a casual relationship, which mostly consisted of kissing. They stayed in touch after Lindsey returned to Seattle at the end of the summer. Ruth began dating Ray, who sold frozen goods around the local area.

Cameron became friends with Coley Taylor, who was in her biology class and started driving her to Firepower meetings at Gates of Praise. Cameron developed a crush on Coley, despite the fact that Coley had a boyfriend, Brett. Coley convinced Cameron to join her and Brett at prom. Cameron invited her best friend Jamie to prom. On prom night, Jamie realized that Cameron was attracted to Coley. He thought Cameron was confused and kissed her. Cameron and Jamie began casually dating after that, but Cameron was never very interested in doing anything beyond kissing him.

Cameron and Jamie argued and broke up at Miles City’s annual Bucking House Sale. Jamie hooked up with another girl. Cameron went home with Coley and they kissed, which led Coley to feel very confused. Over the following summer, Cameron and Coley both got summer jobs and Brett went away for soccer camp. Cameron and Coley began going to the movies after work to kiss in the dark. Meanwhile, Ruth and Ray got engaged. Cameron learned that one of the lifeguards with whom she worked had dated a girl before. Reverend Rick Roneous, the leader of a new full-time school that treated gay people called God’s Promise, visited Gates of Praise and a Firepower meeting, which made Cameron and Coley feel uncomfortable.

Coley got her own apartment in Miles City. Cameron brought a movie to watch with Coley alone in her apartment, which featured lesbian vampires. Cameron and Coley drank alcohol and began kissing during the movie, escalating to pleasuring each other in Coley’s bed. However, Coley’s brother Ty and his friends interrupted them and Cameron left short after. Cameron felt upset after work that day when Coley did not visit her and decided to make out with her coworker. When Cameron returned home, Ruth had invited the pastor to the house and announced that Coley had revealed what they had done together. Ruth would be sending Cameron to God’s Promise.

At God’s Promise, Cameron met her new friends Jane and Adam and her roommate Erin. She had one-on-one meetings with Reverend Rick and Lydia March. Cameron grew closer to Jane and Adam because they would sneak away together to smoke the pot that Jane had grown. Eventually, Rick felt that Cameron earned the privilege to decorate her room and receive her mail. Cameron got a letter from Coley that expressed her shame at what had happened between them, which upset Cameron.

Cameron returned home for Christmas. She attended Ruth and Ray’s wedding, but refused to be Ruth’s maid of honor. She did not get to confront Coley before she left. Back at Promise, Mark Turner, a boy in Cameron’s group sessions, had a breakdown during a session when speaking about his father would not accept him. Overnight, Mark severely injured himself by using a razor to cut his genitals and pouring bleach over the wounds. Rick brought Mark to the hospital. Rick would not admit that this was a suicide attempt. Cameron told the officers that came to investigate that the entire mission of the school was to make the students hate themselves. Cameron, Jane, and Adam planned to leave Promise. After finals, the three of them took a hiking trip but kept going until they reached Quake Lake and Cameron found closure with her parents."

From part of a review:

"In a surprising way, Cam avoids religion-bashing, although she employs humor selectively to get her point across. Yes, "curing gayness" is absolutely bogus, but she can eventually relate any Bible-thumper's faith to the peace she feels from a mountain jog. It's a peace that resonates through the book's final pages".

NO MIDDLE NAME by Lee Child

Finished Th 6/27/19

This was a collection of novellas and short stories of the Jack Reacher series that I bought at the library book sale on Fr 6/7/19.

I was reading the collection over several weeks- kinda 'sipping'.

One of the selections, 'SECOND SON', concerned Jack's life with his family when he was a teenager on Guam. Jack is thirteen and Joe is fifteen; his mother is called to Paris when she learns that her father (also Military) is dying. The story is about how Jack and Joe deal with a gang of kids on the island. Joe was the 'book-smart' brother, but Jack is presented as one who is the brother who can 'think on his feet'.

Another story features Joe where he executes a Soviet spy.

All of the stories were good, and I almost wish that he would have used the ideas and expanded them into novels.

Anything by Lee Child is worth a look, and it it 'the best' of Airport or Beach Reads.

ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS PERFECTLY FINE by Gail Honeyman

Finished Mo 6/24/19- June, 2019 selection for the Contemporary Book Club

I bought this as an E-book several months ago because the book was so expensive- new release.

UNRELIABLE NARRATOR:

From the book's page at wikipedia:

"Eleanor Oliphant, the novel's protagonist and narrator, lives in Glasgow and works as a finance clerk for a graphic design company. She is 29 at the novel's outset. She is academically intelligent, with a degree in Classics and high standards of literacy, and every day she completes the Daily Telegraph crossword during her lunch break. However, she is socially awkward and leads a solitary lifestyle. She has no friends or social contacts, and spends every weekend consuming two bottles of vodka. She takes no interest in her appearance, and has not had her hair cut since she was 13. She does not consider that she has a problem. She repeatedly describes herself as "absolutely fine", and when moments of obvious awkwardness arise in her interactions with others (as they frequently do), she tends to blame the other person's "underdeveloped social skills". Her work colleagues regard her as a bit of a joke, and refer to her as "Wacko Jacko" or "Harry Potter"; she regards them as "shirkers and idiots".

Clues gradually emerge to a troubled past. Eleanor has a badly scarred face; knows nothing about her father; spent much of her childhood in foster care and children's homes; and, as a student, spent two years living with an abusive boyfriend who regularly beat her. Twice a year she receives a routine visit from a social worker to monitor her progress. Her mother now appears to be confined to an unidentified institution: she phones Eleanor for a 15-minute conversation every Wednesday evening, and it is apparent that she is both vindictive and manipulative.

Two developments drive forward the narrative. The first is that Eleanor attends a concert (having won tickets in a raffle), and develops a crush on Johnnie Lomond, lead singer in a local band: she becomes convinced that he is the "love of [her] life" and "husband material". She starts to follow his Twitter feed, discovers where he lives, and visits his building. In anticipation of meeting him, she begins an unprecedented regime of personal grooming: she has a bikini wax, and later a manicure and haircut, buys new clothes, and visits a Bobbi Brown beauty store for makeup advice. The second development is that, on leaving work one day with a new colleague, Raymond Gibbons, they witness an elderly man, Sammy Thom, collapse in the street: at Raymond's insistence, they call an ambulance, and help save his life. They are subsequently drawn into a series of encounters with Sammy and his grateful family, and in the process an embryonic friendship grows between Eleanor and Raymond.

Eleanor attends a long-anticipated concert by Johnnie Lomond, certain that this is the moment at which they will meet, and the pieces of her life will start to fall into place. Instead, it is a disaster. First, she finds that she is hidden in the crowd, and that he is quite unaware of her presence. Second, at one point, to fill a gap in the performance, he bares his buttocks to the audience, and she realises that he is not the refined soul-mate she had taken him for. And finally, the dry ice stage effects stir disturbing recollections of the traumatic fire that lies in her past. In despair, she retires to her flat for an intensive three-day vodka-drinking binge, and assembles the materials for suicide – a hoard of painkillers; a bread knife; and a bottle of drain cleaner.

She is saved by Raymond, sent round by their boss to investigate her absence from work. He cleans her up, puts her on the road to recovery, and continues to visit regularly over the following days. At his urging, she visits her GP, who refers her to a mental health counsellor. She eventually returns to work, where she is warmly greeted. Gradually, with the help of both the counsellor and Raymond, her full childhood story emerges, including many details that she had suppressed. When she was 10, her mother had started a house fire with the intention of killing both Eleanor and her four-year-old sister, Marianne. Although Eleanor survived, her mother and Marianne died. The weekly phone conversations with her mother have been entirely in Eleanor's imagination."

When I read this I was watching THE MILLENNIUM TRILOGY on Hoopla. I thought that 'Oliphant' would be an angry and scary character. Lizbeth Salander and Eleanor had very similar backgrounds, but Lizabeth went 'dark', and Eleanor went 'light'.

From wikipedia about the author:

"Gail Honeyman studied French language and literature at Glasgow University, before continuing her education at the University of Oxford for a postgraduate course in French poetry. However, she decided that an academic career was not for her and started a string of "backroom jobs", first as a civil servant in economic development and then as an administrator at Glasgow University".

This was a debut novel.

THE WRONG SIDE OF GOODBYE by Michael Connelly

Finished Tu 6/18/19

A Harry Bosch Novel

I got this trade paperback at the library book sale on Fr 6/7/19

Released in 2016 and Harry has left the LA police department and now is semi-retired and works part time for the San Fernando Police and takes private cases. It seems that he works the SFPD mainly so that he can use their printers and computers for his private work. "Harry has been taken on as a volunteer reserve officer by the San Fernando Police Department to investigate cold cases."

The novel is really two separate cases:
1) The Screen Cutter Rapist (San Fernando Case)

2) The Search For Whitney Lance's Heir (Harry's Private Case)

Screen Cutter wears a mask, but leaves DNA
Has prior knowledge of the women, and maybe has had face to face contact
Selects women who are ovulating

The perpetrator is Detective Dockweiler an ex-officer of the San Fernando Police Department. He was demoted to Public Works as a cost cutting measure. He was forever resentful. He tracked his victims while checking properties for illegal electrical hookups.

He kidnaps a female detective, Bella, of the SFPD and Harry finds her in a hidden bunker under Dockweiler's house.


The private case concerns a billionaire, Whitney Lance. He's an 85 year old man who is looking for an heir. He believes that he impregnated a Mexican woman in 1950 and he wants to find out about this individual. "Now well into his 80s, Whitney Lance had left behind a pregnant underage Mexican girl “on the wrong side of goodbye” when he was a college student."

Harry learns that Lance had a son, and this young man was killed in the Vietnam War. The billionaire's company that made the helicopter that the boy died in was owned by the Lances.

Harry was a 'tunnel rat' during the Vietnam War. With a knife, he would crawl through the Vietcong tunnels and clear them of enemy fighters. Harry tells Maddie, his daughter, that the reason he will not eat Vietnamese food is that during his tour of duty he had to eat that food every day. He says that if he ate western food, the enemy would smell him in the tunnels.

Although Whitney's son has died, Harry finds out that this boy had a lover and she had a daughter.  The daughter and mother are local LA artists on the Latino Scene.

A sub-plot is that Whitney's elderly secretary writes a phony will in which she rewards herself with ten million dollars of the billions in the inheritance.  And, in order to keep this secret, she smothered the old man and made it look like he died at his desk.

All of the Bosch series are excellent and I want to make sure I've read them all.