Book Review: The Lost Ones by Ace Atkins

The Lost Ones

Author: Ace Atkins

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Date of Publication: December 4, 2012

Pages: 368 (Trade Paperback Edition)

     Ace Atkins is a former Pulitzer Prize nominated reporter for The Tampa Tribune who has now written eleven novels.  The Lost Ones is the second to feature Mississippi sheriff Quinn Colson, following The Ranger, published in 2011.  Both of the Quinn Colson novels have been nominated for The Mystery Writers of America's prestigious Edgar Award for best mystery novel of the year in successive years.

     Quinn Colson is a complex character.  He is a former Army Ranger and veteran of deployments in Iraq.  He returned to his hometown and became the sheriff.  In The Ranger, Colson discovers a group of extremists living in Tibbehah County, Mississippi who are running a lucrative methamphetamine production facility.  In The Lost Ones he finds an even more insidious group.  They are emissaries from a Mexican drug cartel posing as the operators of a travelling county fair.  They have infiltrated rural areas in the South and Southwest in order to procure guns and munitions for their compatriots back home.  They are also behind an appalling operation to smuggle in babies for sale.

    The Quinn Colson character is much more developed in this novel.  Through flashbacks we learn of his run-ins with the law prior to his enlistment in the Army and also the complex relationship with his younger sister Caddy.  In this book Caddy has returned home as the single Mom of a mixed race child.  She has also come home sober but with a new found religious zeal which is a bit over the top.  

     I found this book very entertaining and well written.  I think the characters are even better developed here than in the first book.  Mr. Atkins continues to describe rural Mississippi in interesting and evocative detail.  The secondary characters in this story, including an attractive female ATF agent, a corrupt former sheriff of Tibbehah and several other returned veterans of the Global War on Terror are all very compelling.  The Lost Ones is certainly a worthy nominee for the Edgar Award and I wouldn't be surprised if it is indeed the winner!  I am looking forward to The Broken Places, the third Quinn Colson novel, to be published at the end of May, 2013.

2012 Edgar Nominee: Book Review: The Ranger by Ace Atkins

The Ranger

By Ace Atkins

     The Ranger is an interesting snapshot of rural Southern life: a life with little hope of escape and crime as the main alternative to a mundane meager existence.  The basic plot line involves Quinn Colson, an Army Ranger home on leave after several tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.  He returns to Tibbehah County, Mississippi to attend the funeral of his uncle, Hampton Beckett.  This uncle was a father figure to Quinn, his own absentee father chasing a dream as a stunt man in Hollywood.  His uncle had been the respected county sheriff for years and his death was ruled a suicide.  Quinn immediately suspects foul play and begins his own investigation which involves bending many laws and stepping on a lot of toes.

     Quinn quickly recruits an ally, a female deputy sheriff named Lillie Virgil who shares his doubts about the official investigation and its conclusions.  Together they gather information that points towards a larger conspiracy regarding Quinn’s uncle’s death.  Complicating matters, a local councilman threatens to take the farm Quinn has inherited from his uncle to pay off some nebulous and poorly documented debts, possibly related to a bad gambling habit. 

     There are other interesting characters in this novel, all of whom demonstrate some despondency related their social plight.  There is a pregnant teen who we meet early in the story who is searching for the baby's father.  She plays a huge role in the story's conclusion.  Quinn’s Mom is raising a mixed race grand-child, left on her doorstep by Quinn’s wild sister Caddy.  There is also a high school buddy of Quinn’s, a large black man who also served several tours of duty in the Global War on Terror.  This fellow did not escape unscathed, however, and lost an arm in an encounter with a roadside bomb in Fallujah.

     There is also Anna Lee Stevens, Quinn’s high school sweetheart who dumped him while he was on duty in Iraq and is now married to the local doctor.  There seems to some old fires still burning, at least for Anna Lee, although Quinn seems immune to her interests.  There are actually two opportunities for a romantic angle in this novel which are never quite developed (in the sequel, perhaps?).  One is with Anna Lee and the other is with Lillie the deputy.  Quinn is so focused on solving the mystery of his uncle’s death and ridding his home county of crime and corruption that he seems oblivious to these women.

     This rag-tag cast of characters scrapes off the layers of respectability in the county and reveals a large scale methamphetamine production system which encompasses a good number of the local citizenry.  The meth labs are managed by a ruthless group of separatists who live in the abandoned fields of the county.  The whole scheme is fueled by a Memphis based syndicate which is pulling the strings, managing the corruption and payoffs from up-river.

     The setting of North-Eastern Mississippi is very well described by the author, the rural farm roads, creeks and abandoned barns all playing roles in a rapidly evolving story.  This sense of loneliness and seperateness adds to the credibility of the entire narrative.  Atkins describes one ride Quinn took with the new Sheriff Wesley:

“He found a country music station, and they blared some good outlaw stuff from back in the day, zipping down all those hidden country roads, passing forgotten cemeteries and crumbling gas stations, nothing but gravel and dirt.  Quinn switched with Wesley, and Wesley took the car bumping up and over the road into an overgrown field, crashing through a rotting fence and spinning out in the mud and dust, nearly getting stuck in a a ravine, but then redlining her again and mashing that pedal till they were back onto the country road leading to the farm.:”

     I enjoyed reading this novel, even though I wouldn’t classify it as a “mystery” in the sense that I would expect from an Edgar nominee.  It, like Field Gray is more of a classic thriller.  The plot is a bit predictable and formulaic, but the overall novel succeeds because of the strength of the characters and the evocative descriptions of the setting in rural Mississippi.  I would recommend The Ranger to readers who enjoy action packed (read “violent”) novels with excellent characters, set in a unique and well-described location.

Book Review: 2005 Edgar Award Winner: California Girl by T. Jefferson Parker

California Girl

 T. Jefferson Parker

  

     California Girl is a fantastic crime novel set in Southern California, the locale for all of T. Jefferson Parker's many entertaining novels.  This author has been nominated three times for the Best Novel Edgar Award.  This is his second winner, the first being Silent Joe.  If you have never read one of Parker’s books before, you don’t know what you are missing.  He transcends the genre of mystery novel, as his books have great depth and are not pure crime novels or mysteries.  Like Silent Joe, this book is a tremendous character study.  Actually, there are multiple character studies which intertwine and interact.  California Girl is also a re-creation of an era and a place: late 1960s Orange County, California.  While this is not a historical novel, the appearance of many non-fictional characters makes this an even more interesting read.  These include such disparate characters as Richard Nixon, Timothy Leary and a hyperactive and wild rock and roll drummer named Charles Manson.

  

     The story is set up in the 1950s.  Two families feud after their sons are involved in a rumble outside of the California Girl orange packing plant.  The Becker family (four sons) is respectable, church-going and hardworking.  The Vonns (three boys, one girl) on the other hand, are from “the other side of the tracks”, literally and figuratively.  They are more interested in motorcycles, alcohol and drugs than more mainstream pursuits.  The one daughter involved, Janelle Vonn, grows up to win regional beauty contests and rises above her sordid upbringing.  The eldest Becker son is killed in Viet Nam and the remaining three mature into a minister, a newspaper reporter and a police officer.  The Vonn brothers remain outside the law, engaged in everything from illicit drugs to stolen goods.  The two family stories intersect again in 1968 when the decapitated body of Janelle Vonn is found in the now deserted orange packing plant.  Each of the three Beckers investigates Janelle’s killing from his own perspective.   Further clashes with the surviving Vonns are inevitable.  A conviction is finally secured and the alleged perpetrator is incarcerated.  The Beckers are never really satisfied with this and thirty years later the case is brought to a startling and unexpected conclusion.  Dirty politics (a Parker staple) play a major role in the resolution of the story.

     This book has it all: great characters which are well developed, a twisting but plausible plot with unexpected turns, a spectacular Southern California setting which the author obviously knows and loves and interesting historical tidbits thrown in for good measure.  I enjoyed California Girl by T. Jefferson Parker immensely and recommend it highly.  This novel is more than worthy of the 2005 Edgar Award which it received.

Book Review: Field Gray by Philip Kerr

Field Gray

By Philip Kerr

     This novel has been nominated by The Mystery Writers of America for the prestigious Edgar Award for best mystery novel of 2011.   While the book is good, I think calling this a mystery is somewhat of a stretch.  Field Gray is really a political thriller in the mold of John Le Carre or Robert Ludlum.  The main character is Bernie Gunther, a Berlin police detective turned private eye who joined the SS 1940 even though he never joined the National Socialist Party and didn’t consider himself a Nazi.  We meet Bernie in 1954 in Cuba.  He is working for the mobster Meyer Lansky and is captured by the U.S. Navy while taking a boat to Honduras.

     Bernie is interrogated by the F.B.I. at Guantanamo and then by the C.I.A. at a secret facility in New York state.  It is known that Gunther is a war criminal and a fugitive from justice, but the questions center around his relationship with a pre-war German communist named Erich Mielke.  Gunther and Mielke both served in Hitler’s SS in Berlin and on the Western Front.  By 1954 Mielke has become the commander of the East German secret police. 

     Gunther is transferred to Germany’s Landsberg Prison and he is held in the same cell which housed Adolf Hitler.   While at Landsberg, French and American agents try to pry information from Gunther.  He deftly plays one intelligence service against another.  The story is told in flashback style with chapters containing the interrogations alternating with Gunther’s remembrances of his various war time experiences.  These included fighting Russians on the Western Front, suffering as a Russian P.O.W. and serving as an intelligence officer in France.  These discontinuous time sequences are distracting at best and more confusing than seems necessary.

     Somewhere along the line a plot is hatched with the C.I.A. to deliver Mielke to the Americans in exchange for Gunther‘s freedom.  The conclusion involves more double and triple crossing activities.

The plot of this book is very difficult to follow.  There are no “good guys” and “bad guys” in this story (perhaps one explanation for the title), just a cadre of morally ambiguous folks looking after their own best self-interests.   I didn’t find this book as entertaining as Le Carre and almost gave up on it on several occasions.  I was glad that I read to the conclusion, however, because the ending almost makes the mental exercise of trying to follow the circuitous plot worth it.

The Edgar Awards and a Book Review: The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton

     The Mystery Writers of America, founded in 1945, annually presents the Edgar Awards for mystery fiction, non-fiction, television, film and theater published or produced in the previous year.  The nominees are always announced on January 19, the birthday of Edgar Allan Poe.  Poe is generally recognized as the “father” of the mystery novel.    Today is the 203^rd anniversary of the birth of Poe and the announcements of all of the Edgar nominees are included here: (2012 Edgar Nominations).   The Edgar nominees for the Best Mystery novel of 2011 are:

-          The Ranger by Ace Atkins

-          The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

-          1222 by Anne Holt

-          Gone by Mo Hayder

-          Field Gray by Philip Kerr

     To celebrate the announcement of this year’s nominees, here is a review of the 2011 winner: The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton.  This review was previously published in “The LamLight”, the physician newsletter of the Lynchburg Academy of Medicine.

 The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton

This novel is a truly unique and intriguing read.  The story is narrated in the first person by the main character, a young adult named Michael.  Michael suffers a major psychological trauma as an eight year old which leaves him literally speechless.  This trauma is alluded to early on and is revealed in detail at the conclusion of the story, a riveting chapter which ties up all of the plot’s loose ends.

We meet Mike as a struggling junior in a large high school in a town about forty miles from Detroit.  He has not spoken a word since age 8 and is seen as the class freak.  He is a very accomplished art student and can sketch in great detail.  He is living with an uncle who owns a liquor store.  Quite by chance, he learns that he is very good at picking locks.  He finds some old locks in an antique store and becomes fascinated by their mechanism, eventually teaching himself how to open any lock, including combination locks.  His skill is discovered by some of the more popular students in his school who recruit him to participate in a prank – breaking into the home of a rival school’s star football player and leaving a derogatory sign in the student’s bedroom.  Vandalism occurs, the police arrive, the perpetrators scatter and the only one apprehended is Michael.  He refuses to reveal the other students involved and a probation/restitution deal is worked out.  Michael has to work the entire summer for the well-to-do homeowner who was victimized by the vandalism.  He is a sadistic sort and has Michael dig a pool in his backyard using only a small shovel.  Michael becomes enamored with the man’s daughter who is also very artistic and a love affair ensues. 

The homeowner is in some economic difficulties, owes money to the mob and sees Michael as a possible solution to his problems.  He involves Michael with these criminals and the rest of Michael’s story is a series of break-ins where his safe-cracking abilities are well utilized.  The story of Michael’s criminal life is interwoven with the story of how he was introduced to this life in a very intricate but effective way.

The tragedy which caused Michael’s communication issues is revealed in a very innovative way at the end of the book.  Between assignments for the mob, Michael tracks down his former girlfriend who is now attending the University of Michigan.  They return to Michael’s childhood home which is now abandoned and together they draw a huge mural which depicts the events leading to Michael’s issues.

The Lock Artist is very entertaining.  It is told in the first person by the mute main character as a memoir which he is writing from jail.  The plot moves forward at a constant but not a rushed pace and switches back and forth between Michael’s life of crime as a young adult and his adolescence..  The writing is very engaging; the author even makes all of the details about the construction and design of different types of locks interesting.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it highly.