Murder in Georgetown by Margaret Truman

Originally published in 1986.

If you didn't already know it, the daughter of our 33rd president is quite the successful mystery writer. All of her books take place in and around the Washington. D.C. area and involve government figures and the temptations involved with power.

In Murder In Georgetown the daughter of a powerful senator with Presidential ambitions is killed in a park after embarrassing her father at a socialite party with her lewd and suggestive dancing. Is it the father, enraged by the threat to his candidacy? Is it a jealous ex-boyfriend? Is it a jealous classmate from her Georgetown University journalism seminar? Reporter Joe Potamos is on the case but is suddenly fired when he gets to close to the answer. Too late - his curiosity drives him on.

This is a decent mystery - the main characters are solid and likable.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Murder in Georgetown.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

Reviewed in 2004.

An Illustrated History of the Civil War: Images of an American Tragedy by The Editors of Time-Life

Published in 2006.

As a rule, I'm not terribly fond of the "coffee table" history books produced by the editors of Time-Life Books. Usually, they opt for more glitz than substance and you end up with a hefty (and this one certainly is, weighing in at more than 5 pounds - yes, I weighed it) but bland piece of history. However, this, I am very pleased to say, is a much better book than their usual effort.

Although this is an illustrated history, the narrative that begins each chapter is very well written. The topics are interesting, especially the chapters on the abolitionists and the secessionists. They do an excellent job of setting the stage for the Civil War.

I have but one complaint, a glaring factual error - they have the Battle of Gettysburg taking place in 1864 rather than 1863. Mistakes like this are easy to make (a stray finger on a keyboard...) but this is the most famous battle of the war!

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: An Illustrated History of the Civil War: Images of an American Tragedy.

Reviewed in 2004.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5

River of Darkness by James Grady

Could have been better with a bit more set up

Published in 1991.

Also published under the title The Nature of the Game.

Imagine that James Bond were no longer needed for Her Majesty's Secret Service so they decided to eliminate him so that he couldn't embarrass them later. This is sort of the premise of River of Darkness, except that Jud Stuart is not nearly as suave and debonair as Bond and he works for the American government.

Stuart is a special forces soldier recruited by the CIA during the Vietnam war. He is involved in action in Laos, Iran, the USSR, Washington D.C. and Central America. Finally, he's had enough and decides to use his connections to smuggle drugs into the U.S. and pocket the cash for himself (and eventually becomes a marked man due to nebulous connections to the Iran-Contra scandal).

The first 100 pages or so of this novel are confusing due to a large amount of flashbacks with little or no setup. Once all of the characters are established this is much more tolerable. The flashbacks themselves are very interesting since they involve Stuart's secret missions. The rest of the book, however, is not nearly so interesting.

I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars and it can be found on Amazon.com here: River of Darkness.

Reviewed in 2004.

Final Cut by Eric Wright

A decent read, but not spectacular

Published in 1991.

A movie is being made in Toronto about a Nazi war criminal who has been hiding for decades, but is discovered and pursued. Suddenly, the movie set is sabotaged and vandalized with swastikas. Then, the writer is killed. Who's doing it? There are plenty of suspects and Inspector Charlie Salter sifts through the evidence in his slow but steady manner in order to find the culprit.

That, in a nutshell, is the book. It's a decent read, but not spectacular by any means. I liked the ending because it was not all wrapped up in a neat little package, like it was the end of a Scooby-Doo mystery. I get tired of that.

The main characters are interesting. The book reinforces my impression of movie-making - it is a tedious business, filled with lots of waiting and big egos.

I rate this book 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Final Cut by Eric Wright.

Reviewed in 2004.

The Intruder by Peter Blauner

Lots of Plot Twists

Originally published in 1996.

The title to this book is interesting and serves as a decent introduction to the story. Ostensibly, the Intruder in the story is the homeless man who fixates on Jake Schiff and determines, through his crack-induced haze, that Jake Schiff has somehow stolen his family and his home. 

But, as you read you notice that there are actually lots of intruders. Jake Schiff is a Jewish lawyer from a rough Brooklyn neighborhood who doesn't quite fit in with his WASP law firm and their snooty ways. His wife is a social worker who is an intruder in her work world because she cares more about the clients than the bureaucracy. There's a mobster named Phillip who is an intruder in his world because he's hiding his homosexual feelings in the very, very macho world of the mafia. He's also an intruder in Jake's world as he forces Jake to deal violently with the homeless madman who has laid siege to his life.

But, then again, maybe I'm reading symbolism in to places where it doesn't belong. What the heck, it's fun. This book is a good read and has enough plot twists to satisfy all but the most jaded of readers.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5 and it can be found on Amazon.com here: The Intruder by Peter Blauner.

Reviewed in 2004.

Hope Against Hope: A Mystery Introducing Alison Hope and Nick Trevellyan by Susan B. Kelly

I Hoped For Something More!

Originally published in 1991

The title of this book originates with the murder at the center of this mystery novel. Aidan Hope is found bludgeoned to death by a heavy glass ashtray in his bed and breakfast room. His cousin, and former partner in a software firm, Alison Hope, is accused of the murder. (Thus, Hope vs. Hope).

One of the fun things with the book is that it is set in England and is full of British-isms, such as the phrase "Sod you!" which must be about the same as "Screw you!" The mystery itself is not too bad, but the editing job was at times heavy-handed. At times, there is almost an excess of detail. But, at others, it feels like entire scenes have been cut to shorten the book. A smaller font would have been much more preferable to butchering the text.

My final grade is "3 stars", mostly due to poor editing and my irritation at it.

This book can be found on Amazon here: 
Hope Against Hope: A Mystery Introducing Alison Hope and Nick Trevellyan
 
Reviewed in 2004.

Final Argument by Clifford Irving

What Would You Do?

Originally published in 1994.

Imagine you're a defense lawyer but you used to be a prosecutor. Now, imagine you find out a career criminal that you put on Death Row is really innocent of the crime because you discover that the witness statements you used were all lies. Now, imagine that he's going to die in a month. What do you do?

Throw in a heaping handful of racial politics, Florida's fascination with the electric chair and the main characters fractured family life and you've got Clifford Irving's Final Argument. It started out very slow but I kept going and it turned out to be one of the better legal thriller books I've read for a while.

I give this book a "4 stars" - I'm dropping the score because of the slow start.

This book can be found in multiple formats on Amazon.com here: Final Argument by Clifford Irving. 

Reviewed in 2004.