Portobello

This is not an easy book to read.  Nor is it a mystery.  It is a somewhat disjointed story of some disparate characters joined only by the Portobello, a winding street in London filled with stalls and shops where one can find almost anything at any price.

The novel alternates telling about each of the characters, sort of in turn, and how, in the end, their lives kind of intertwine.  There is Eugene Wren, a fastidious personality who becomes addicted to a sugar-free sucking candy, a habit that could cost him his fianceé, Dr. Ella Costend.  Then there is a minor thief, Lance, who is arrested for an arson and murder, but not for his burglaries.  Lance’s girlfriend and grandfather play important roles in his life, along with here live-in mate, Fize and his friend, Ian.  Ella’s private patient Joel, who has a near-death experience during a heart operation, provides the author the opportunity to delve into deep psychological issues.

There is little plot to speak of, only descriptions of the Portobello neighborhood and the actions of the individuals, either by themselves or in relation to each other.  Except for Joel, who has almost no relationship with anyone except his doctor and no role in the erstwhile story.  It is easy to wonder while reading the book what it is all about; at least, until in the final pages, when it all seems to come together.  On that basis, as well as for the beautiful writing, Portobello is recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, December 2010.

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Operation Napoleon
Arnaldur Indridason
Translated by Victoria Cribb
Harvill Secker, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-846-55285-4
Trade Paperback (UK)

Long before there were Erlender and Sigurdur Oll, Arnaldur Indridason wrote this imaginative novel.  In fact, it was copyrighted a decade ago, and only now has been published in Great Britain and Canada.  (U.S. publication is scheduled for the fall of 2011, and the next Reykjavic Murder Mystery, Outrage, is to be published in the UK in 2011.)  It is a pity we have had to wait this long for an English translation of this work, but all the more reason to be grateful that that has now been done.

Just before the end of World War II a German bomber crashes on a large Icelandic glacier with American and German officers aboard.  One of the senior German officers attempts to reach a nearby farm, while the others remain on the plane only to be buried by a blizzard and ice; then he disappears as well.

Over 50 years later, after a few failed attempts to find the plane by U.S. intelligence, they are finally successful, and a secret mission is undertaken to remove the plane and its contents..  Coincidentally, two young Icelanders on the glacier in a training mission spot the Americans and are captured, one killed and the other seriously injured.  Before the capture, one of the men had contacted his sister, Kristin.  She undertakes to discover the truth of her brother’s fate, placing herself in danger in the process.

The tense plot follows Kristin as she challenges the Americans in an effort to find out what happened to her brother, leading her on an arduous journey to learn the facts of Operation Napoleon. The descriptions of the various elements of the story are overwhelming: the freezing weather, the subterfuge of the Americans, the divergent views of Icelanders vis-à-vis relations with United States authorities, and other conflicts.  Written with a sharpness to which we have become accustomed from this author, the novel is highly recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, December 2010.

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Our Kind of Traitor
John le Carre
Viking, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-670-02224-3
Hardcover

This novel could easily have been entitled The Money Launderer Who
Tried to Come in Out of the Cold.  It is the story of Dima, a Russian gangster, the Mickey Cohen of the Russian Mafia, who launders all the billions amassed in illegal activities.  He makes contact with a visiting English couple on holiday in Antigua and leads them to contact British intelligence in an effort to defect with his extended family, exposing his erstwhile cohorts, as well as British politicians and notables.

The plot evolves around plans to extract Dima et al by a few intelligence operatives who not only have to free the Russians, but fight their own organization’s superiors.  The characterizations of each of the principals is outstanding, with the foibles, strengths and weaknesses of each displayed to the utmost.  That’s more than can be said for the various subjects under study: money laundering, banking, the Mumbai stock market and other supposed contemporary themes intended to replace the author’s past dependence on the Cold War and its brand of spies.

Despite his reputation for research and detail, le Carre treats these essential topics in summary form, rather than in the depth one would expect from the list of experts he consulted.  For instance, Dima gets a telephone call telling him to “sell Mumbai,” only a while later to be informed to buy it back.  For this, one has to consult a pro?  And not even mention inside information.  As for Dima’s specialty, money laundering, there is virtually no hard description, just sort of a lackadaisical recounting of common knowledge. Despite this criticism, the author has written an entertaining tale, and it is recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, December 2010.

The Burning Lake

When Alexei Volkovoy, a Russian agent, learns of the death of Katarina Mironova, he is   horrified.  Katarina was a prominent journalist known as Kato and Volk has close ties to Kato.  The two had an intense personal relationship that they had managed to keep very private.  Kato had trusted Volk with information that she needed to pass on.  Volk immediately begins to plan how to avenge her death.

Volk manages to get his patron, The General, to give him an assignment that will allow him to move freely and conduct his own investigation into Kato’s death.  Kato was shot on the banks of Russia’s Techa River near the radioactive village of Metlino.  Kato had made friends in the area and as Volk makes inquiries, he is shocked at the condition of the people living in the area. Volk is convinced that Kato was killed in order to cover up a story.

Volk’s determination to find Kato’s killers and reveal the story she wanted to tell takes him from Russia to the United States where in the company of Grayson Stone he begins to uncover secrets that puts his life at risk and ends his personal relationship with Valya, his long-time lover.

The Burning Lake is a novel of suspense and intrigue and is very fast moving.  The book also gives some insight into the horrors of living in radioactive areas.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, May 2011.

The Bone Chamber

Feisty independent-minded FBI forensic artist Sydney Fitzpatrick is off again.  This time she bouncing between Washington, DC, San Francisco and various Italian locations.  All the while she and her cohorts dodge international hit men. Burcell is a good writer and her varied law enforcement background gives her writing a level of authority lacking in some crime fiction.

The novel is a wide-ranging tale of intrigue, sanctioned and unsanctioned black ops, the CIA, the FBI, and several other sometimes questionable agencies.  Here are active old and new world mafia figures, the Knights Templar, and several world governments.  The story dredges up long standing rumors, beliefs based on very sketchy and tenuous evidence, ancient legends and involves some vast and secretive organizations such as the Vatican, Freemasonry and maybe some left-over bits of the Tri-Lateral Commission.

Conspiracies within governments, especially those involving questionable banking institutions and practices are fruitful and always interesting. That is especially the case when the venal actions of important institutions from the distant past are held up to the unblinking gaze of modern research. This novel has ‘em all.  And that’s part of the attraction of the book. Burcell has linked in an essentially fanciful way, an incredible chain of real events that reach back to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and possible implications in the modern era.  The novel proves that murder, corruption and cynical manipulation with the goal of great power and wealth are not the province of our times.

If the novel has flaws it is the multiplicity of threads that wind through the book, sometimes creating a Gordian’s Knot of complexities. Nevertheless, The Bone Chamber never completely loses its foundation in the real world of plausible outcomes.  A tense and intriguing ride from start to finish.

Reviewed by Carl Brookins, October 2010.

Modo is an abandoned child in Victorian London, a child with such a fearsome appearance that no one could possibly care for him.  Mr. Socrates, though, a mysterious gentleman of means,  takes Modo in and raises him in a somewhat aloof fashion but with a purpose in mind.  A governess and a man with martial skills are his only companions and teachers but the approval of Mr. Socrates is of utmost importance to Modo.

Besides the education and training he has received, Modo has learned to develop and control, to a certain extent, his unusual physical powers.  Unwilling to let the world see his face, he wears a mask, but he also has the ability to transform his appearance for brief periods.  This ability is of special importance when he is suddenly forced to fend for himself as a test of his readiness to take his place as a spy at the age of 14 for the Permanent Association, secretive defenders of Queen Victoria and Great Britain.  Fend for himself he does, finding that he can support himself as a detective, and thus he meets a client, Miss Octavia Milkweed, and embarks on a most unusual case.

The Hunchback Assignments UK Cover

Technically, this is young adult fiction, but many elements make it very appealing to an older reader who will recognize many of the literary shout-outs.  A combination of steampunk, fantasy, mystery, espionage and action adventure lead to great fun and the villainous Clockworld Guild, with the mad scientist Dr. Hyde and his dastardly invention, may prove to be an ongoing adversary for Modo, Octavia and the Permanent Association.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and will look forward to future installments; I wish Mr. Slade would write faster.   I do have to say he has a terrific website (see the link above) and this is one time I think the UK and US covers are equally cool.   Also, Jayne Entwistle, already one of my favorite narrators, has done a great job again.

Very highly recommended for young adults and adults.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, March 2010.