Edgar Nominee: How Lucky by Will Leitch

How Lucky

Author: Will Leitch

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Date of Publication: May 11, 2021

Pages: 304

     The five nominees for the 2022 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel are: Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby, The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen, Five Decembers by James Kestrel, How Lucky by Will Leitch, and No One Will Miss Her by Kat Rosenfield.  This is the second of my reviews for this list of books.  Click on the hyperlink above to read the previous review.

     This nominee combines a totally unique narrator, a tricky plot, great secondary characters, and a satisfying (although explosively violent) conclusion.  The main character is Daniel Leads, a young adult with Type II Spinal Muscular Atrophy.  SMA is a genetic neuromuscular disorder which causes progressive muscular degeneration and weakness.  Despite his handicap Daniel lives independently with the help of caregivers and a few close friends.  Daniel's courage, tenacity, independence, and humor make him a tremendously sympathetic character.  While telling a great story, Daniel also gives the reader a terrific insight into the life of a person living with a frightful handicap.  

     The plot involves the disappearance of a foreign student from the campus of the University of Georgia.  The setting of Athens, Georgia, also lends a distinct uniqueness to this novel.  While sitting in his wheelchair on his front porch one morning, Daniel sees the young Chinese woman get into a Camaro.  He also had a good view of the driver.  Daniel has difficulty reporting these details to the police, so he enters an online chat room to describe what he saw.  He quickly gets a communication from someone claiming to be the driver who has abducted the young woman.  Multiple e-mails follow, the police finally get involved, and the mystery is eventually solved.  

 

     Much like Razorblade Tears, this book is more than the usual mystery novel.  It makes a bold statement regarding the lives of handicapped people and how they must deal with the ignorance and insensitivity of the non-handicapped population.  Much like the racial prejudices faced by the characters in S. A. Cosby's fine novel, Daniel has to learn to live with people's preconceived notions regarding people in wheelchairs and the discrimination which results.  

     This book has been criticized as a mere modern retelling of Hitchcock's "Rear Window" but it is so much more than that.  The similarities end with the main characters being in wheelchairs.  How Lucky opens a window into the life of a feisty, independent, and courageous handicapped person who manages to contribute mightily to society despite his difficulties.  This is a marvelous book, well worthy of the Edgar Nomination it has received.   

Edgar Award Nominee: Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby

 

Razorblade Tears

Author: S.A. Cosby

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Date of Publication: July 6, 2021

Pages: 336

     The five nominees for the 2022 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel are: Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby, The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen, Five Decembers by James Kestrel, How Lucky by Will Leitch, and No One Will Miss Her by Kat Rosenfield.  This is the first of my reviews for this list of books.

     I immediately became engrossed in this book since it is set in my new (and old) hometown of Richmond, Virginia.  One scene even takes place in a strip mall about two miles from my new home!  There are references to many Richmond landmarks including the recently removed Civil War statues on Monument Avenue.  Even if you are not familiar with our area, the descriptions of the city and surrounding counties are vivid and add to the depth of this story.

     The story itself is intriguing.  Two fathers, one black and one white, dissatisfied with the lack of progress of a police investigation, join forces to find the killer of their married, gay sons.  Both fathers are ex-cons and each had rejected their sons for their lifestyle.  Poking around their sons' workplaces and acquaintances they become entangled with a large biker gang.  Violence and mayhem ensue.  

     The writing in this book is very good.  The characters are well developed and the dialogue is superb.  The exchanges between the two main characters are particularly crisp.   The action moves the story along at a brisk pace.  The brutal encounters with the bikers are not for the faint-hearted!  The story is a good one and gives the author a platform to examine contemporary aspects of race relations as well as LGBTQ issues.  In many regards this novel evokes favorable comparisons to Joe R. Lansdale's Hap Collins and Leonard Pine novels.  

   Razorblade Tears is a worthy nominee for the Edgar Award.  I enjoyed it very much.

Book Review: The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

The Nickel Boys

Author: Colson Whitehead

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Date of Publication: July 16, 2019

Pages: 224

     This novel is astounding.  As a piece of writing, it is exquisite.  As a story, it is captivating, infuriating, and devastating.  As a lens to glimpse life in the Jim Crow South, it is mind-boggling.  This is an important book which should be read by every American, especially those who doubt or deny the existence of systemic racism or still hold some vestige of white supremacy.  

     On the surface this is the story of Elwood Curtis, a highly intelligent and promising young black teen who is unjustly arrested and sentenced to confinement at The Nickel School for Boys.  The Nickel "School" is a racially segregated hate farm where kids are basically worked to death and abused in every way imaginable.  Elwood is a highly engaging character.  He is abandoned by his parents and raised by his grandmother.  He reads voraciously and listens repeatedly to a recording of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speeches.  He was headed towards college when bigotry and hatred conspired to derail his life.  The tales from the Nickel School are barbaric, unbelievable, and invoke rage in the reader. The author does a masterful job of invoking the teachings of King, especially when Elwood describes The Letter from Birmingham Jail.  If this tale was the description of an isolated, unfortunate incident, it would still be heart-breaking.  But it's not.  History and even current events reveal that this is just one appalling example of over 400 years of deplorable behavior.

     Since the murder of George Floyd in 2019, I have been trying to educate myself on racism and the history of the Jim Crow South.  I have read Isabelle Wilkerson's Warmth of Other Suns and Caste, Lauren Sandler's This is All I Got, and fiction titles The Vanishing Half (Bennett), A Good Neighborhood (Fowler), Deacon King Kong (McBride), and Behold the Dreamers (Mbue).  This book captures the themes of Wilkerson's non-fiction and augments the stories told by Bennet, Fowler, McBride, and Mbue.   The magnitude of achievement in The Nickel Boys cannot be understated.  It is an awesome work of literature, but also such an important one because of the truth it tells.  Read it!

  

 

Book Review: The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict

 

The Only Woman in the Room

Author: Marie Benedict

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Date of Publication: August 6, 2019

Pages: 336

    The Only Woman in the Room is the fictionalized story of actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr.  She was a woman famous for her beauty, but a smart, savvy, and independent woman existed behind the glamour.  She was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in Austria, an only child in a Jewish family.  This book begins with her courtship by Friedrich Mandt, an older arms manufacturer.  He was enamored with her beauty and became obsessed.  She was encouraged in this relationship by her father, who thought that Mandt's connections would protect the Kiesler family from the Germans should they invade Austria.  One condition of their marriage was that Hedy would have to abandon her acting career. After their honeymoon in Italy, the couple hosts many extravagant dinners and parties to enhance Friedrich's munitions business.  Hedy becomes a trusted advisor to her husband and is often the only woman in the room during negotiations and other business meetings.  She pays attention during these discussions and learns about the munitions business and about difficulties the Germans were having with guidance systems for torpedoes.  

     The relationship deteriorates as Friedrich becomes more controlling, abusive, and manipulative.  She decides to escape and devises a clever plan. In London Hedy meets Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM studios in Hollywood and captivates him with her beauty.  She moves to America, negotiates a lucrative contract with MGM, and soon is cast in many blockbuster movies with the most popular leading men of the day.  During this time, she revisits the torpedo guidance system issue and with the help of a famous composer devises a method of alternating frequencies to improve accuracy and prevent jamming of torpedo guidance systems.  She presents her invention in Washington, D.C. to the Navy and, again, she is the only woman in the room.  The idea is rejected, mainly because of her gender.  She did receive a patent and her innovation was implemented in 1957.  This technology is still used today in Bluetooth and wireless devices.  

    The Only Woman in the Room does an excellent job of bringing this fascinating person to life.  Hedy Lamarr's perseverance, determination, and brilliance are a revelation to those of us who only knew her superficially as a Hollywood starlet.  The story is told in the first person from Hedy's point of view which allows for even greater insight into the character, her thought processes, and her motivations.  The author did extensive research to give this work of fiction great credibility.  My only criticism is that the The Only Woman in the Room ends in the 1940s, but the Hedy Lamarr story had many more chapters!  She lived until the year 2000, and died at the age of 85.  The somewhat abrupt conclusion to this book made me want to learn more about this fascinating lady.  There is a documentary which was released in 2017 which gives a more thorough view of Ms. Lamarr's entire life.  Entitled "Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story", the documentary contains many movie clips and interviews with Ms. Lamarr as well as with members of her family.  The author's stated purpose for this book (as well as for her many other books) is to illuminate the significant contributions of many women which have been ignored or overlooked.  In this regard, Marie Benedict has powerfully succeeded!

 

    

Book Review: The Jersey Brothers by Sally Mott Freeman

 

The Jersey Brothers: A Missing Naval Officer in the Pacific and 

His Family's Quest to Bring Him Home

Author: Sally Mott Freeman

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Date of Publication: May 9, 2017

Pages: 608

    

     The Jersey Brothers was selected for monthly discussion by our neighborhood non-fiction book group.  I had never heard of the book before it was selected and doubt that I ever would have stumbled upon it to read on my own.  I am glad that our group selected it, as the book is obsessively researched, tightly written, emotional in many areas, and, on top of all of that, very educational.  

     The story is about two brothers, Bill and Benny Mott, and their younger half-brother Barton Cross.  The focus is mostly on Barton who was taken prisoner by the Japanese after the fall of the Philippines.  The early part of the book relates much of Barton's upbringing and schooling.  The reader is also introduced to the boys' mother Helen, who becomes a major character as the book moves along.  Bill and Benny are achievers, each obtaining an appointment to the Naval Academy in Annapolis and going on to successful naval careers.  Barton has a flair for the arts and music and doesn't seem to have the same drive to succeed.  He is sent to a private boarding school for high school to try to improve his academic standing but is not offered a position in Annapolis.  He spends a year at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. instead.  He survives all the hazing and harsh treatment as a first-year cadet.  Succeeding at The Citadel he transfers to the Naval Academy, where he endures yet another year of hazing and brutal physical punishment.  He proceeds to fail a math class by a fraction of a point and winds up at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.  He graduates from there with a business degree.  The point of all this backstory regarding Barton is important for the reader to know since these experiences were very formative and explain how he could survive the ordeals inflicted by his Japanese captors.  The reader also sees Helen Cross as a manipulative and obtrusive parent, what today we would call a "helicopter parent".  She embarks on letter writing campaigns every time she perceives that her son has been mistreated.  

     Meanwhile, Bill becomes an attorney and then, as a naval reservist, becomes a Naval Intelligence officer.  Benny moves up the ladder of command at sea.  As World War II approaches, Bill, recognizing that Barton will inevitably be drafted into the Army, pulls strings and gets Barton into the Navy as a supply officer.  Bill figures that this arrangement will keep Barton out of harm's way.  Unfortunately, exactly the opposite occurs as Barton is in the wrong place at the wrong time as the Japanese overwhelm the Philippines.  

     What follow is the story of Bill and Benny's relentless pursuit of information pertaining to their imprisoned brother and Barton's horrific ordeals at the hands of his Japanese captors.  Bill uses his position as chief of the White House Map Room (the war room) and his close relationship to President Roosevelt to gain access to classified prisoner and casualty lists.  Benny gets closer and closer to the Philippines as the U.S. Navy moves across the many Pacific islands as the war progresses.  These brothers collectively are witnesses to most of the pivotal events of the Pacific war: the attack on Pearl Harbor, the naval battles at Coral Sea and Midway, the Doolittle raid, and the utilization of the atomic bomb.  The author also exposes the infighting between the Army and Navy over strategy and the personal battles between General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz.  

     This book is important for many reasons, not the least of which is that it highlights the intense emotional toll that war has on families.  The unraveling of marriages, the disruption of any sense of normalcy, and, especially poignant, the terror inflicted on family members of prisoners of war.  Using Helen's diary entries and her many letters to naval officers, congressmen, and even President Roosevelt, the author shows the psychological damage inflicted on those at the home front.  

     In the end, The Jersey Brothers is an exhaustive look at World War II through the eyes of a remarkable family and their many contributions to the war effort.  The author is the daughter of Bill Mott, and she has obviously poured her heart and soul into this work.  She brings the horror of war down to a very personal level; Bill, Benny, and Barton are presented as the heroes that they indeed were, but with all their humanity, doubts, failings, and inadequacies presented as well.  The Jersey Brothers is a remarkable achievement and one which I will not soon forget.  

 

Book Review: The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton

 

The Last Train to Key West

Author: Chanel Cleeton

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

Date of Publication: June 16, 2020

Page: 320

     I am a sucker for any book written about Key West.  We have vacationed there several times and the combination of charm, history, climate, inclusiveness, and just plain fun are hard to beat.  I have documented one such trip in a previous blog post.  The restaurants are world class as well!  There are many attractions there besides the beaches and the bars, including The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory.  When this book was selected by our new neighborhood's book club, I couldn't pass it up.

     This is a novel of three women in crisis.  Their stories are told in alternating chapters.  The author does an incredible job tying these stories together at the end of the book.  The first woman is Helen, a native of Key West who finds herself trapped in an abusive relationship.  She married young, works as a waitress and is pregnant with her first child.  She dreams of her fisherman husband's death which she sees as her only means of escape. The second is Elizabeth, a former debutante from New York who is also trapped in an engagement to a New York mobster.  This marriage is the only way she can see clear of a mountain of debt her family is buried under after the stock market crash of 1929.  She has come to Key West in search of a lost brother, a WWI veteran working in a labor camp.  The third woman is Mirta, a Cuban who is on her honeymoon, having married an older man of dubious reputation.  This marriage was brokered by her father in order to improve his political position.  All three of these main characters are very well developed by the author.  They are all sympathetic and likable.  As these women are introduced and the plots are taking shape, we find that there is a hurricane threatening the area.  This hurricane is, in fact, the famous 1935 Labor Day storm, the strongest hurricane to make landfall in North American history.  This storm had sustained winds of 200 mph and virtually destroyed the village of Islamorada on Matecumbe Key.  At least 250 of the veterans sent to work camps in the Keys were killed.  The storm and its aftermath are the thrilling conclusion to this novel and the crisp, articulate writing comes to a crescendo.

     This is a story of survival.  The three women successfully navigate their personal and actual storms, each in their own way.  The novel tells of some very interesting history as well.  The plight of the World War I veterans, chased from Washington, D.C. by President Herbert Hoover as they protested delayed pension payments is touched upon.  The plight of both the rich and the poor during the Great Depression is alluded to as well.  Mr. Flagler's railroad from Miami to Key West plays a role throughout the story, although details of engineering and construction difficulties are not elaborated upon.  The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 is central to the entire novel.  Its devastation is expertly described and those chapters are nothing short of riveting.  Although it may have detracted a bit from the main plots, a little more historical detail as it pertained to the veterans and some more details regarding the railroad would have given the novel a bit more depth.

     All in all, this was a very enjoyable book to read.  It sparked my interest in learning more about Henry Flagler and his Florida Overseas Railroad as well as the veterans' work camps in the Keys during the Depression.  Entertaining and thought provoking is a great combination!

     

Book Review:Later by Stephen King

Later

Author: Stephen King

Publisher: Titan

Date of Publication: March 2, 2021

Pages:272

     Summer books or "beach reads" are supposed to be brief, entertaining, and not too taxing on the brain.  This book fits these criterion perfectly.   This is the story of  Jamie Conklin, a young boy who can see dead people.  It is different from the 1999 movie The Sixth Sense in that the boy can communicate with the dead and his ability dissipates the longer the person is dead.  Initially this only sets up awkward situations for Jamie and his single mom.  As the story progresses, his gift becomes known by his mother's girlfriend, a New York city detective.  She uses Jamie and his gift to further her career and places the boy and his mom in increasingly compromised situations.  

    The story is told by an adult Jamie and moves right along.  One underlying subplot is Jamie's desire to know who his father is/was.  His mother refuses to discuss it and there are no photos, letters, or other clues to his identity.  This issue is neatly resolved at the end of the book with a surprise twist which I did not anticipate.  The characters are incredibly well developed (as is typical for Mr. King) and even the minor characters pop to life in brief appearances.  Jamie's elderly neighbor is a wonderful example of this.  

    As with other Stephen King stories and novels, this stands as an allegory for facing your fears and accepting yourself for who you are, even if that means becoming comfortable with your ability to see dead people.  Maybe I sold this brief novel a bit short in my opening sentence.  It is a quick read and is very entertaining.  It does, however, make you think a bit, especially about confronting one's fears.  I enjoyed this, recommend it, and not necessarily just for the beach!