REPRISAL

By Colin T. Nelson

ISBN: 978-0-87839-385-4

Released by North Star Press,

Trade Paper, 218 pages, 2010

From the first page of the prologue, this is a scary novel. It is also provocative, intriguing and it raises questions that remain in the mind after the final chapter closes. The other stand-out aspect of REPRISAL is that it presents people as multi-dimensional. Not all heathens are enemies. The novel calls on readers to consider and reconsider one of the founding principles of the United States, that we judge people individually, not by dress, or skin color or religious affiliation, or by country of origin, but by demonstrated actions and words. Makes it difficult for Law Enforcement, doesn’t it?

That’s part of the premise of the novel. The author doesn’t preach, doesn’t pontificate, rather he reminds us of our heritage through the thoughts and deeds of an American-born Muslim woman, a public defendant attorney for Hennepin County in Minnesota. She’s tasked with defending a Muslim man, accused of murder, who rejects out of hand the idea of a woman attorney.

Throughout the sometimes overly-detailed work of preparing the case, Zehra Hassan must defend not only the murder charge, but the man’s anger and hatred toward her and what he views as a corruption of the teachings of the Qur’an. But as the case progresses, Zehra begins to discover the outlines of a far darker, far more dangerous terrorist plot.

The novel is generally well-written, although a more precise editorial eye would have fixed a few awkward phrases and improved clarity. The book evokes well the widely varying attitudes of people toward those with whom they have few contacts and little understanding. A fine cast of characters with differing attitudes and roles contribute to the pace and the rhythm. The plots are well-organized and satisfactorily concluded. An enjoyable thought-provoking novel of crime fiction I am pleased to recommend. I also note that the author and this writer are acquainted.

The Anonymous Client
by JP Hailey (Parnell Hall)
ISBN: 978-1-936441-22-8,
e-book edition released 2011,
232 pages.

This is another fast-paced novel featuring criminal defense attorney, Steve Winslow. The protagonist is clever and so is the novel. It’s also slick, fast-paced, amusing and entertaining. The author has a good sense of his readers and their likely primary interests. He also has a good eye for detail and a finely-honed ability to use words to their maximum effect.

The novel begins and ends with personnel problems in Winslow’s office, a nice counterpoint to the main theme. The problem is a little fillip that adds some rhythm to the book. In the beginning, Winslow’s sole employee, Tracy Garvin, complains of being seriously underworked. That’s because her boss has a tendency to not appear in the office for weeks on end, and that’s because Winslow has few clients.

One day, as the novel opens, a letter arrives. It contains ten one thousand dollar bills. Thus is laid the basis for a very entertaining, very complicated murder and blackmail plot. As is the case with other novels in this series, the plot is a morass of mis-direction, tricky timing, private detectives, and a lot of both internal and external speculation and dialogue. The book is rife with minutia, details that enhance and color the reader’s perceptions of what has just happened, what it may mean and where the story is going next.

Set in New York City, Hall and his protagonist mine the rich variety of setting and character in mostly excellent ways. There is considerably less action in the novel than is often found in crime fiction except for the courtroom scenes which are among the most compelling I have ever read. Dialogue heavy, with sometimes arcane legal maneuvering; these scenes crackle with urgency and tension as we watch the nimble attorney skate along the edge of legal chasms while trying to save his client, sometimes without even knowing who his client is.

A DANGEROUS THING

A DANGEROUS THING
Author: Bill Crider
ISBN: 0-373-26216-7
World Wide Library
Copyright: 1996 250 pages

Here we have a fine academic mystery that blends political correctness with private agendas in that often strange collection of individuals we know as private liberal arts colleges.

A new academic dean arrives on campus with a new curriculum which threatens to disrupt the college and Professor Carl Burns mostly peaceful life. The routine of the college has left Burns plenty of time to contemplate and woo the new love of his life, Elaine Tanner, college librarian. Never mind that his principal rival is the local Chief of Police.

Things are pretty calm and then a window above Professor Burns' head explodes and an unloved colleague crashes to the sidewalk two stories below, killing the man instantly. Was it murder? An accident? Burns is almost forced to participate in an investigation by the Chief of Police. He's reluctant because he knows that any serious poking under the tender surface of any collegiate community will likely release unwanted mercies not so tender.

Because of Crider's keen eye for the nuances of college life, and his understanding of the humor of it all, A Dangerous Thing is a delight. It abounds with gentle humor, made the more so because of its careful plotting, pacing and the talent of the writer. I recommend this mystery to fans of the cozy, of academic mysteries and to anyone who enjoys good writing.

You may have to search used book collections and a library or two to find this novel. It’s worth it.

CRACKERJACK COURTROOM NOVEL

THE INNOCENT WOMAN
by Parnell Hall
a Kindle e-book
May, 2011

A Steve Winslow zinger.

Here's an author who can write! He has enough novels out you'd expect that, right? This was my first Steve Winslow mystery. It won't be my last. Fine, distinct interesting characters. Limited cast. A creative defense attorney hard at work for a surprisingly uncooperative client. First she's fired after accusations of theft from her employer, then one of the owners of the firm is shot to death and Winslow's client is arrested. Watching this lawyer both in and out of court is a real treat. The dialog crackles, the pace is next to pell mell and the explanations are precise. There is a good deal of detail, especially at the end. I would have preferred a more succinct closing to the novel with less sniping between attorneys, but it was a small price to pay for a fast, well done story.

Dead Folks

Author: Jon Jackson

Publisher: Grove Press

ISBN: 0-8021-3602-8

264 pages, trade paper

1999 release

Fang Mulheisen rides again. He rides from Detroit to Montana to Salt Lake City and back again. Mulheisen rides trains, planes and cars. He rides with a ditch rider named Sally McIntyre. Jackson tells a really good story, but from some points of view, he’s telling us the oddessy of Fang Mulheisen, broken up into several parts, called novels.

However, unlike some series, you needn’t begin at the beginning in order to understand this one. Nor will you learn secrets that spoil earlier novels about this detective. Jackson’s protagonist is a detective sergeant with the Detroit police department. He’s been around a few years and he’s assigned to Homicide. One of his personal goals is to make some good busts on important members of the local mob. Now, this is difficult to do, but Mulheisen is patient and follows the trails wherethey lead.

A recent hit on a mob guy has led Mulheisen to Montana, where he again picks up the trail of the elusive and illusive Joe Service. Service is an outside mob contractor. He’s called in when the mob needs to investigate it’s own. He and Mulheisen have been dueling for decades. Dead Folks tells the tale of how Mulheisen persists in his pursuit of Service and the result. Along the way a number of people get explicitly wiped out, hence the title. Along the way some of the characters in this book affirm life’s essence in some explicit and sometimes amusing sexual acts, not all of which could be called ordinary, however that word may be defined.

You may have trouble finding copies of this novel. It’s worth the trouble.

Jackson has a sometimes quirky attitude toward life and we see it amply displayed in this delightful novel. Jon Jackson is one of those excellent authors who knows a good story when he tells it. Here is one such.

Prescient thriller novel

Cloak of Darkness

Author: Helen MacInnes

Publisher: Fawcett Suspense

ISBN: 0-449-20115-5

pub. 1983 pb, 307 pages

Probably difficult to find, but well worth the search, this is Helen MacInnes at her very best.The story concerns the fictitious Interintell, an organization supported by, but not a part of, the governments of a few NATO countries. Interintell has tasked itself with the enormous job of tracking and developing countermeasures against growing threats of terrorism anywhere in the world.

Interintell is the brainchild of Bob Renwick, an American living and working in Europe. As a super-secret organization, Interintell goes to great efforts to keep its principal officers in obscurity. But Renwick, protagonist of this superb, thriller, is shocked to discover that his home, his special secure telephone number and other details of his personal life are included in a hit list developed by the ruthless executive of an international munitions firm. Worse, the firm which holds the list in an unknown player on the world scene.

Renwick jumps into action, fending off probing attempts to locate him and his wife, and moving his limited resources into action to find and neutralize the enemy. Almost from page one, MacInnes screws up the action to tighter and tighter levels of tension, with stories within the main theme adding to the attraction. This is one of only a few novels which can truly be called spellbinding. Renwick and his cohorts race across the world to ever-changing and ever-fascinating venues, sometimes thwarted, other times winning the small confrontations and battles which make up the fabric of this most excellent novel. Here as most of MacInnes’s work, the conclusion is eminently satisfactory, and yet, leaves available to the reader, the thinnest of threads, the faintest of suggestions of more to come.