(Oslo, Norway)

Roller coasters are a very popular ride for children and adults.  Your heart rises and sinks according to the direction, angle, and speed of the car that you are in.  This experience is the only way to describe Jo Nesbo’s seventh iteration of his Harry Hole series.  Nesbo is a prolific writer of crime thrillers as the Hole series has thirteen books to its credit.  Each is unique in the case it confronts, and each is equally satisfying as is the case of THE SNOWMAN.  Since the death of Stieg Larson and the retirement of Henning Mankell critics have argued who should be considered the best Nordic writer of crime fiction.  I am not an expert on the genre, but I do enjoy it and for my two cents worth I bestow the crown equally on Lars Kepler and Jo Nesbo.  Both add to their work every year or two and I look forward to their plot lines.  In the present case Nesbo takes the reader on an uncommon journey as he has created a story in which the reader believes that he has solved the crime, but as is usually the case, Nesbo completely shifts his focus from one possible perp to another…..repeatedly!

The novel has an inauspicious beginning in November 1980 as Sara Kvinesland is having sex with her lover during a snowy afternoon while her son waits in the car.  The affair is about to end when her lover looks out the window and sees a snowman.  This is just the inkling of what is to come as a number of women with children, disappear some never to be found, some with body parts discovered. 

Nesbo creates a number of new characters, one of which plays a significant role in the story.  Katrina Bratt, a beautiful young officer joins the Oslo Police Department Crime Squad and is assigned to Harry Hole an Inspector on the Crime Squad, the first time he has ever had a woman as a partner.  Hole as he projected in previous novels remains a troubled individual, fighting his battle with alcoholism, and the end of his relationship with his lover, Rakel Fauke who informs him that she is about to marry a physician and would soon depart for Botswana to assist in the fight against the AIDS epidemic.  Hole is devastated and as they keep having trysts he continues to hold out hope.

As the novel evolves in 2004 a series of murders take place, and it is obvious a serial killer is responsible.  Since Hole is the only one on the Crime Squad who has solved a serial case, years before in Australia he is assigned to lead the investigation.  He sets up a team of four and they soon learn that a 1994 cold case is similar to these murders.  The officer in charge at that time was Inspector Gert Rafto who seemed to be the perfect candidate for murder because of his reputation and action over the years on the force.  We soon return to 2004 and along with several women, Rafto turns up dead.

Nesbo has set the scene and the investigation moves quickly but as each suspect seems to be the killer, evidence emerges that is not the case.  Nesbo has constructed a plot that will leave the reader’s head spinning as Nesbo shifts the plotline to areas that seem unimaginable.  Hole has taken a shine to Bratt, but he does not pursue it as he sees it as only a means to deal with his lost love.  Hole’s approach to the investigation is rather unorthodox.  For example, when the police announce they have captured the killer, Hole goes on a popular television program and announces the suspect is not the killer who remains at large.  The Chief Superintendent is apoplectic as the department looks rather foolish.

(Jo Nesbo, author)

Nesbo provides plenty of atmosphere through Hole’s commentary. One will acquire a sense of  life in Oslo; this is one of the achievements of the book. Another is the use of language. Nesbo has a fine sense of detail and how to make certain details significant, and others, less so. In fact, Nesbo is something of a magician, performing one sleight after the next with icy calm as the plot keeps shifting.  The killer is referred to as the Snowman because the killer builds a snowman in front or near the homes of his intended victims. The real snowmen face inward, toward the house. And occasionally, part of a snowman is replaced with a human part or a carrot!

Nesbo introduces a number of fascinating characters in addition to Bratt.  Arve Stop was a piece of work who was obsessed with sex and beautiful women.  He was the editor and owner of the Liberal, an important Norwegian magazine who had a reputation for speaking up for the downtrodden.  Hole uncovers an interesting paternity history in dealing with Stop and he is out to prove he is the killer.  Nesbo describes the lives of the victims carefully as he does with all his characters including Gunnar Hagen, the Head of the Crime Squad, Magnus Skarre, a member of the missing person’s unit, Dr. Matthias Lund-Helgesen, who was to marry Hole’s ex., Dr. Idar Vettlesen, a plastic surgeon, and others who have worked with Hole previously.

There are a number of creepy scenes in the book as Nesbo takes the reader on a tour of Oslo in neighborhoods that are rather seedy as well as those that are upscale.  The creepiness goes further as Hole believes that; “I just have the feeling that someone is watching me the whole time, that someone is watching me now. I’m part of someone’s plan.”  This does not stop Hole from applying his years of experience and methods to try and solve the case despite obstacles placed in his way by higher ups and a series of suspects.

In reviewing Nesbo’s work one must be careful as to how much information about the plot is put forward as you do not want to give away the ending.  In this case the reader will be shocked on numerous occasions and will be quite surprised with Nesbo’s conclusion – which of course makes him a superb practitioner of the Nordic crime thriller as his edgy story will attest to.  It is a story that would make Alfred Hitchcock proud!

(Oslo, Norway)

(Providence, RI)

There is no novelist that can compare with Don Winslow’s novels that deal with the drug cartels and organized crime, their operations, what it was like to be inside these murderous organizations, and what it was like to try and end their reign of drug induced terror.  If you have read Winslow’s cartel trilogy; THE POWER OF THE DOG, THE CARTEL, and THE BORDER then you have experienced the depth of the author’s knowledge of the drug trade in well-written, deeply insightful, and carefully crafted works.  Winslow is the author of twenty-three bestsellers, many of which have been made into films.  His latest is the Danny Ryan trilogy which begins with CITY ON FIRE followed by his latest work, CITY OF DREAMS where we become reacquainted with Mr. Ryan who is now on the run from the FBI, the Mob, and the police as he tries to create a new life for himself in California.  The crime fiction genre has no shortage of memorable mob sagas by such practitioners as Mario Puzo, James Ellroy, and Dennis Lehane.  With its large cast of memorable characters and low-key allusions to classical literature, in CITY OF DREAMS  Winslow provides incontrovertible evidence that he is part of this elite group, and perhaps is the best among them with his wit, erudition, and riveting approach to storytelling.

Winslow begins the novel describing the end of an organized crime war between the Irish and Italian mobs for control of the New England market, circa 1988.  The Murphy’s, which Danny Ryan belonged to, lost the war to the Moretti family, and Ryan and his crew are driving south on I95 trying to escape the feds, the cops, and most of all the Moretti’s.  Peter Moretti had set up the Murphy gang and they fell for what appeared to be an effective drug heist, but it backfired resulting with Ryan and his crew on the run and Moretti trying to recover millions of lost drugs.

The novel’s plot centers on Ryan who, when push came to shove, dumped $2 million worth of heroin  into the ocean and killed a dirty FBI agent named Phil Jardine.  The problem for Ryan is that the FBI’s national sub director for organized crime, Reggie Moneta was Jardine’s lover and she wants revenge against Ryan no matter the cost.  For Ryan, who winds up in San Diego and later Las Vegas life is hard.  Right before he left Providence, RI his wife Terri died of cancer.  Further, his father the old leader of the Murphy gang, suffers from dementia and is institutionalized.  Ryan also has a young son Ian and is broke.

Winslow’s story presents the dysfunctional nature of mob families.  The Moretti’s are a case in point as Peter and Paul Moretti, brothers, do their best to make the other look bad.  As the novel unfolds one gumba is screwing another’s wife, one of the gambas daughters commits suicide, and all are looking for the next drug deal that will set them up for life.  Interestingly, one of the affairs is between Peter Moretti and Cassandra Murphy even as their families are trying to kill each other.

The author’s writing is serious, witty, and extremely entertaining.  His characters’ experiences are fodder for Winslow’s sarcasm and somewhat perverted view of human nature that permeates the novel.  It is clear the FBI and the mob want Ryan dead, but the former head of the CIA and currently a Georgetown University professor, Evan Penner wants him alive, which allows Winslow to introduce a number of characters that help create varied plot twists.  There is Brent Harris, a former student of Penner who is a DEA agent with the Southwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force. He will track Ryan down in Las Vegas and convince or blackmail him into doing his bidding against the Baja Cartel and its leader Domingo Abbarca.  Other important characters include Madeline McKay, Ryan’s mother who has done very well financially as a courtesan to feds, cabinet members, judges and other officials as a “high class courtesan,”  who has morphed into a “dotting” grandmother.”  Celia Moretti who hates her husband Peter is screwing Vinnie Calfo who will eventually become head of the crime family.  Lastly, Reggie Moneta who is obsessed with killing Ryan even when she is told by higher ups to stand down telling associates she “wants Ryan delivered like KFC. In a bag or in a box.”

Perhaps the most entertaining section of the book is the author’s insight into the Hollywood film industry, particularly comments that show how “the Hollywood film industry and the criminal class intersect.”  It centers on two members of Ryan’s crew, “the Alter boys,” Kevin Coombs and Sean South who weasel and threaten their way onto the set of a film about the New England mob as “consultants.”  The film entitled, “Providence” has a “Danny Ryan type figure” and when the “Alter boys” want a larger stake in the film the producer pushes them away resulting in negative happenings on the set.  Eventually Ryan is contacted to reign in his crew, invests in the film himself, and meets its star Diane Carson, just out of rehab.

The result of all of the machinations Winslow introduces is a continuing drug war involving the FBI carrying out an off-book operation against a Mexican cartel, a continuing war with the remnants of the Murphy and Moretti crime families, Danny Ryan seemingly working with the feds to survive, and a Hollywood film, resulting in a fascinating plot as Ryan falls in love with a Hollywood starlet.  The progression of Ryan’s life involves numerous twists and turns, the result of which makes for a sweeping tale of family, revenge, and survival as he confronts the reality of what he hopes his life will turn out to be.

(Las Vegas, NV)

As Maureen Corrigan writes in her April 27, 2023, review in the Washington Post, ”before journey’s end, Danny will also be hunted down by a Mexican cartel run by a psychopath named Popeye Abbarca, whose men will comb roadside motels and bars, thirsting for Danny’s blood and that of his kin. Though inflected with occasional reflections on the absurdity of the human condition, “City of Dreams” is no picaresque; instead, as his many fans have come to expect from Winslow, this latest novel in a projected trilogy is unrelentingly tough, tense and violent. Distinct from its predecessor, “City on Fire,” in the geographical sweep of its story, “City of Dreams” reads like one long breathless drag race between Danny and his many enemies on the all-American road to Nowhere.”

By the end of the new novel, Danny and the few friends he has left are on the run again, setting the stage for the trilogy’s upcoming conclusion, CITY IN RUINS.

(Providence, RI)

(Independence Square, Kyiv, Ukraine)

Without a doubt Martin Cruz Smith is a master of the international thriller.  His Detective Arkady Renko series is exceptional in plot development, writing style, and a character who combines wit, sarcasm, and self-deprecation.  With the war in Ukraine in its 15^th month, Smith tackles some of the background for Putin’s illegal invasion in his 10^th iteration of the Renko series.

What separates Smith from others who practice the “thriller” genre is his ability to offer important and accurate insights into contemporary Russia in his novels.  His expertise as a Kremlin observer was readily apparent in his previous works including; GORKY PARK, STALIN’S GHOST, THE SIBERIAN DILEMMA, WOLVES EAT DOGS, POLAR STAR, and RED SQUARE as they are in his newest novel, INDEPENDENCE SQUARE.    

The title of the book would have one believe that the story took place in Kyiv during the 2014 Orange Revolution that occurred before Putin’s seizure of Crimea.  The Russian autocrats’ actions were a result of a corrupt election that produced an emotional reaction by the Ukrainian people who demonstrated against a corrupt election in Maidan Square, the precursor to Independence Square.  The Orange Revolution would have a profound effect on the way Ukrainians perceived themselves and their national identity. For the first thirteen years of independence, the political, cultural, social, and economic boundaries between Ukraine and Russia had remained blurred. Most people on both sides of the border continued to regard the fates of the two notionally separate countries as inextricably intertwined. This changed dramatically in 2014 when millions of Ukrainians mobilized in defense of free elections.

Putin would go on to try and Russify Crimea after the invasion and his illegal annexation of the region.  His goal was to secure what he argued was illegally given to Ukraine decades before and was the home of the Russian fleet at Sevastopol.  Further, it provided him with the opportunity to ethnically cleanse Crimea of the Tartars much like Joseph Stalin did towards the end of World War II.  This background permeates the novel and provides an understanding as to what motivated Putin.

Smith’s work revolves around the Democracy Forum, an organization that opposes Putin’s tyrannical rule.  Further, applying character dialogue, Smith explains oligarchic corruption, the origin of Putin’s personal wealth, and the Kremlin’s fraudulent regime.  Further, the author introduces a series of characters, some new and some from previous novels.  Of course, Arkady Renko dominates the story as he tries to solve three murders and determine how they are linked together.  Tatiana, his ex-lover who he has still not gotten over as she left for Kyiv on assignment for the New York Times without telling him.  New characters include Lenoid Lebedev, the leader of the Forum for Democracy, Fydor Abakov, head of the rackets in Moscow asks Renko to locate his daughter Karina who appears to be a Forum for Democracy member and has gone missing, Uzeir Osamanov, a friend of Lebedev and his daughter Elena, another Forum for Democracy supporter, Alex Levin a computer hacker, and lastly, the Werewolves, a biker gang that comes across as Putin’s “Hell’s Angels.”

The author has created an intricate plot involving three murders.  Renko is dispatched to solve the first, but that will lead to two more deaths and travel from Moscow to Kyiv, to Sevastopol.  For Renko old and new demons emerge.  First, he will come across his former lover in Kyiv, second, he is not sure of Karina’s loyalties, third he learns that he has contracted Parkinson’s disease which he tries to deal with as he conducts his investigations.  Interestingly, there is an autobiographical element to Renko’s health as the author has been diagnosed with the same disease.

(Kerch Bridge)

Smith conveys the corruption of the Russian state very carefully.  The most useful example he points to is the Kerch Bridge that links Crimea to the Russian mainland.  One of Putin’s St. Petersburg thugs Konstantine Novak is a governor in Crimea and was in charge of building the bridge.  The bridge cost billions of rubles and as with any major project kickbacks were standard adding to Putin’s wealth.  In addition, Novak will take a share of the proceeds for himself, not a smart thing to do under Putin.

Renko remains the archetype of an honest cop working for a corrupt regime who, despite the roadblocks he must deal with, usually emerges as a stronger person.  Smith has delivered another solid work of international crime thriller and I recommend it to Smith’s fan base and to those who have never tackled one of his novels.

(Independence Square, Kyiv, Ukraine)

Reading a new Steve Berry novel is like visiting an old friend.  No matter the plot line the reader immediately reaches a comfort level with the knowledge that the author is a master of historical fiction who has the ability to capture your attention and take you for an educationally thrilling ride.  He has the ability to create believable scenarios involving new and returning characters performing in a pseudo-historical thriller at a high level.  In the eleventh iteration of his Cotton Malone series, THE 14^TH COLONY Berry meets expectations by producing a searing plot that evolves slowly and more importantly developing a realistic storyline which could have actually taken place.

Berry begins the novel with the June 7, 1982, meeting between Pope John Paul and President Ronald Reagan at the Vatican.  The topic was Poland and the threats and oppression meted out by the Soviet Union.  At the time the Kremlin’s hold over its Eastern European neighbor was weakening even as they tried to crush the Solidarity labor movement which emanated from Gdansk.  The two men had recently survived assassination attempts, one by a man obsessed with a Hollywood actress, and one by a Bulgarian assassin in the pay of Moscow.  The two men spoke in conspiratorial tones to undo the February 1945 Yalta Agreements concerning Poland and help diminish Soviet control of its Eastern European satellites.  Reagan’s approach was a massive Pentagon rearmament which he knew the Soviets could not afford and the goal was to have them spend themselves into oblivion.  Berry’s description of the meeting and other historical events throughout the book relies on a certain amount of conjecture, but also a solid grounding in historical accuracy, which he clearly explains in his writer’s note at the end of the book.

(St. John’s Church, Washington, DC)

The scene swiftly shifts to the present day with a Russian surveillance plane flying over Lake Baikal in southern Siberia with Cotton Malone aboard which will soon be brought down by a SAM missile.  Berry lays out Malone’s mission which was to learn about the machinations of a former KGB agent, Alexsandr Zorin and Vadim Belchenko, an old archivist for the KGB’s First Directorate.  The agenda of the two men was clear – revenge against the United States for the destruction of the Soviet Union.  Zorin, in particular, was apoplectic about events from 1989-1991 when he moved to southern Siberia where he was joined by like-minded people setting up their own community.  It appears that the Kremlin was split between hardliners who supported a mission against the United States and those who did not.

Berry reintroduces a number of important characters from previous novels.  Stephanie Nell, the head of the Justice Department’s Magellan Billet has been fired as a new president is about to replace Danny Daniels.  Cassiopeia Vitt, Malone’s former lover, whose relationship redevelops throughout the novel.  Luke Daniels, a Malone protégé and nephew to President Daniels also  plays a major role.  New characters aside from Zorin and Belchenko include SVR agent, Nikolai Osin who had requested American help and lays out for Nell what she is up against in the closing hours of her time in office.  Jamie Kelly, an American who spied for the Soviet Union for decades and had in his possession important intelligence information.  A number of officials from the Society of the Cincinnati, a fraternal society created by General Henry Knox, our first Minister of War after the American Revolution to look after revolutionary officer’s interests, even after the army was dissolved.  Zorin’s girlfriend and SVR agent, Anya Pedrova, plays a limited role as do a number of others.  Berry also includes historical figures like Pope John Paul, Ronald Reagan, and former KGB head and Soviet Premier Yuri Andropov.

(Author, Steve Berry)

Zorin was convinced of a US plan called “Forward Pass,” supposedly agreed to by Reagan and John Paul to destroy the Soviet Union.  He believed it was implemented creating chaos and allowing oligarchs to steal the resources of the Russian people and create a criminal mafia that controlled his homeland.  His revenge would be based on a plan developed by Andropov in 1984 to decapitate the American government.

Berry carefully lays out his plot as Zorin’s obsession plays out.  His vehicle is Andropov’s plan which was based on the location of “suitcase nuclear weapons,” or RA115s, five of which were disseminated in the early 1980s in the event of nuclear war with the US.  The question was whether the weapons were still operable after twenty-five years and how would they be employed.  A second plot line that rests on a good deal of historical fact is How the Society of Cincinnati’s held documents outlining an American plan to invade and seize Canada called the  l 14th colony which Berry ties into Russian resentment which is left for Malone and his cohorts to dig up and solve.

(War of 1812 map)

It is a race against time as intelligence showed that the Kremlin was fixated on a number of documents.  First, Andropov’s plan to assassinate the American leadership; secondly the “zero amendment” which refers to the 20^th amendment of the US Constitution that deals with presidential succession, and lastly the Tallmadge Journal written by George Washington Chief of Intelligence.  Andropov dies in 1984 so his plan cannot be implemented, but Zorin and company have resurrected it for the January 20, 2009, inauguration of the new president Governor Warner Scott Fox, an intelligence and foreign policy neophyte who along with other members of his new administration where skeptical about to accepting advice from a soon to be former President Daniels, Stephanie Nell, or Cotton Malone.

As in most spy thrillers time is of the essence, and it becomes a race to negate what the assassins hope to achieve.  As per usual, Steve Berry has concocted an absorbing thriller in creating THE 14^TH COLONY where he explores flaws in our Constitution and the presidential succession act, the secrets (both real and made-up) of America’s oldest fraternal organization, the Society of Cincinnati, and our sometimes contentious relationship with our northern neighbor.  The book engages the reader from the outset and keeps them in a vise-like grip until the conclusion of the novel. In addition to the breakneck speed, character development is just as well-developed as in previous Malone thrillers, with each character having their own set of demons as well as long held grudges that are plaguing them.  Some might argue that the book is a little drawn out with the violence that is interjected, but for me it is just about right.

I just completed William Kent Krueger’s MERCY FALLS which left a number of things up in the air as it concluded.  I found it unusual in that his first four books in his masterful Cork O’Conner series had solid endings on which to move forward toward the next installment.  Since I am hooked on the series and extremely curious to know where Krueger’s imagination would take me I started reading COPPER RIVER, the sixth book in the O’Conner chain and it proved to be almost as satisfying as the previous five.

One of the many strengths of Krueger’s thrillers is character development and COPPER RIVER is no exception.  Krueger returns the entire O’Conner family that includes Cork, the Sheriff of Tamarack County, MN who at the outset of the novel finds himself on the run fleeing those who are trying to assassinate him; his wife Jo, a lawyer who does a great deal of work for the Iron Lake Indian Reservation; and their three children;  Henry Meloux’s philosophy of life returns, the old Ojibwe mid whose wisdom everyone seeks;  Dina Willner, a former FBI agent and Cook County DA in Chicago who became Cork’s protective angel; and members of the Tamarack County Police Department which Cork heads as Sheriff.

There are a series of new characters that appear, all with significant roles in the story.  Cork’s cousin Jewell Dubois a veterinarian in Bodine, MI. who cares for his wounds and provides a hiding place.  Her son Renoir (Ren) DuBois, a 14 year old whose father was murdered by police and is trying to grow up.  Ren’s close friend Charlene (Charlie) Miller who is saddled with a drunken and abusive father after her mother ran off.  Detective SGT Terry Olafsson of the Marquette County Sheriff’s office.  Ned Hodder, Bodine’s constable.  Gary Johnson, the publisher and editor of the Marquette County Courier, and a host of others.

Since Krueger’s previous novel is a prequel to COPPER RIVER the author does a workmanlike job explaining what Cork is dealing with apart from two murders that have turned up in Bodine.  For Cork he is the victim of trying to solve the murder of Eddie Jacoby back in Aurora.  The problem is his father, Lou Jacoby, a rich powerful man is distraught when his eldest son, Ben is also murdered.  It seems that Ben Jacoby and Jo O’Conner were lovers in law school, and to exacerbate the situation, Ben’s son Philip rapes Jo O’Conner.  Lou Jacoby refuses to accept the truth and blames Cork for the murder of his sons when the real murderers are Gabriella, Eddie’s wife and her brother Tony Salguero.  Lou refuses to listen to reason and puts out a mob style hit on Cork offering a $500,000 reward.

As usual, Krueger presents vivid descriptions of the natural beauty of the Huron Mountains, conveys a solid sense of place, along with the woodlands near the shore of Lake Superior, northwest out of Marquette,  the forests that make up the county of Marquette and the wildlife of the region.  Further, Krueger integrates Native-American life on the reservation, culture, and racism geared against “Indians,” by townspeople and certain high school bullies into his story line which is his usual modus operandi.

Among the key characters are Max Miller and his daughter Charlie.  In an awful scene Max is murdered with his daughter’s baseball bat, and his daughter is seen as a suspect.  Once her father’s body is discovered Charlie flees, but to no avail.  Her flight sets in motion a chain of events that leads to the discovery of a grisly, monstrous conspiracy aimed at girls like Charlie.  A number of incidents have impacted Charlie, particularly the death of her friend Sara Long with whom she lived at Providence House, a home for wayward teens.  Naturally, the wounded Sheriff sheds his own problems and takes on Charlie’s. No one will be surprised when selflessness and virtue, not hit men, are rewarded.

There is a great deal of backstory in the novel, lots of marking time and, at the end, a flurry of overplotting.  In addition, the segway to the familiar children-in-peril theme feels like a cop-out, especially since the previous novel had primed readers for something more intense and harrowing.  This novel had a great deal of potential, but it will not stop me from moving on to the seventh book in the series, THUNDER BAY.

After completing an immensely satisfying read of William Kent Krueger’s fourth installment of his Cork O’Conner series it “behooved” me to move on to the next installment, MERCY FALLS.  As is usually the case Krueger’s storyline drew me in and I immediately got comfortable for what I knew would be another excellent read.

Straightaway we learn that O’Conner has been reinstalled as Sheriff of Tamarack County replacing the disgraced former Sheriff, Arne Soderberg who quit in the middle of a scandal.  This would be his second go round in the Sheriff’s office having spent seven years on the job when he too was forced to resign.  The situation he was confronted with involved a phone call from the home of Lucy and Eli Tibodeau who lived on the Ojibwe reservation.  The couple had a history of domestic violence against each other but when O’Conner and Deputy Marsha Dross arrived they were immediately met by gunfire from a sniper.  Dross was shot and it soon became clear that O’Conner was the target.

O’Conner tried to figure out who may have had a motive and the only thing he could come with was a meth bust a few weeks before when one of the perps was killed in an explosion with his brother vowing revenge.  While developing an investigation into who was trying to kill him, O’Conner was presented with a murder scene at Mercy Falls where the victim had been stabbed to death and castrated.  The victim was Edward Jacoby who represented Starlight Enterprises and provided management for casinos across the Midwest and was trying to sign up the Ojibwe Casino as one of its clients.

Starlight’s goal split the reservation community in half as to who might want their services.  Jacoby was also a client of O’Conner’s wife Jo who was a lawyer.  Events greatly upset Ms. O’Conner.  First her husband was almost killed by a sniper and now one of her clients was murdered.  They had left Chicago where O’Conner was a police officer because it was so dangerous and moved to a beautiful and supposedly peaceful town of Aurora, MN near Iron Lake to raise their children.

As in all of his novels Krueger highlights the natural beauty of northern Minnesota in addition to his deep respect for Native-American history and culture.  Krueger delves into the development of casinos on the reservation as means of overcoming the poverty that federal law had imposed on the reservation.  However, once the casino lifestyle was introduced it brought with it other socio-economic issues for locals to deal with.

Krueger can always be relied upon for interesting twists and turns in his stories.  A case in point is the Jacoby family with the victims overly aggressive obnoxious father and his son Ben.  It seems that twenty years had passed since Ben and Jo O’Conner had seen each other.  They had been classmates at the University of Chicago Law School as well as lovers.  It made for a very uncomfortable situation for Jo as Ben seemed to want more than catch up on old times. O’Conner also found himself in an uncomfortable situation when Dina Willner, a former FBI agent and Cook County DA in Chicago took a liking to Cork.  She was part of the Jacoby family entourage and became part of the murder investigation.  She and Cork worked close together which made him nervous.  The Jacoby family also included an interesting Argentinian branch.  Gabriella, the widow of Eddie Jacoby and her brother Antonio Salguero have their own agenda which is difficult to discern.

Krueger ‘s plot line is split into two parts.  First, the attempted murder of O’Conner and the continuing threat that included his family.  Second, the murder of Edward Jacoby who was pressuring the Iron Lake Ojibwe Council to contract with Starlight’s managerial services for the casino.  The question that comes to mind, are these two scenarios related, and if so how?  To answer the questions the reader must follow the twists and turns in Krueger’s plot from the Great Boundary North in Minnesota to Chicago, along with unusual characters like Bryan St. Onge and Lizzie Fineday who play important roles as the plot moves quickly.  It is an interesting ride, and if you take it you should be drawn in and quietly entertained, but keep in mind that the ending is somewhat obscure, and it could be an introduction to the next novel in the series.

William Kent Krueger is not your typical formulaic practitioner of suspense/thriller oriented fiction.  Despite this fact he has created the award winning Cork O’Conner series with story lines and characters that do not follow any systematic pattern.  Krueger focuses on many of the same characters from earlier books, but that is all that is predictable as he has the unique ability to introduce new characters and create plot lines that seem random but are engrossing and absorb the reader.  The fourth installment in the series, BLOOD HOLLOW is no exception.

Krueger begins by introducing the reader to the white expanse of the northern Minnesota winter as it is January, and a blizzard is approaching. Cork O’Conner is joined by his compatriot, Oliver Bledsoe, an attorney and true blood Iron Lakes Ojibwe who handles the legal affairs for the tribal council.  Both men are in a race to locate Charlotte Kane, a seventeen year old young lady who left her New Year’s party intoxicated on a snowmobile as the storm seems imminent.  The girl has been missing for two days and O’Conner is deeply disappointed as the search is called off by Sheriff Wally Schanno who is about to retire.

The sheriff’s office plays a significant role in Krueger’s plot.  O’Conner had been the sheriff but was replaced by Schanno after a nasty tribal incident.  Now reaching retirement Schanno is replaced by Arne Soderberg who knows nothing about law enforcement and whose background is the family trucking business.  Needless to say, Soderberg and O’Conner do not get along as the new sheriff is a political animal who wants to use his new position as a political steppingstone to enhance his career.

Once Charlotte Kane’s body is located the novel kicks into gear as Soderberg believes he has his ticket for a political future – Kane’s former boyfriend Solemn Winter Moon.  When O’Conner shows up at the murder seen Soderberg feels threatened as the former sheriff points out a number of discrepancies in the new sheriff’s investigation.  From this point on Krueger lays out the plot very meticulously as he introduces background information about his characters and the role they will play in the story.

Kruger’s novels can stand alone as he nicely fills in the context of each character from previous books and how they fit into the author’s current effort.  Krueger has the ability to create intimacy among his characters particularly the O’Conner family, the role of Henry Meloux an aging Midewiwin, a mide, and member of the Grand Medicine Society, and the relationship between Solemn Winter Moon and Cork O’Conner.

Solemn is a troubled young man with a dark side that has gotten into difficulties in the past.  O’Conner always looked after him as he was the great nephew of Sam Winter Moon, O’Conner’s surrogate father and mentor.  Once Kane disappears her father Dr. Fletcher Kane is convinced Solemn is the murderer.  Cork’s wife Jo, an attorney, represents Solemn and for the two of them proving his innocence becomes an obsession.

After digging around much to Soderberg’s chagrin who is in the midst of railroading Solemn, O’Conner develops an interesting theory as to who the real murderer is, and his private investigation begins to split the town of Aurora in half.  Since Solemn is Native-American and Cork is one-quarter Native-American the segment of the local population that abhors the reservation and the people who live their rally around the District Attorney to prosecute Solemn for first degree murder.  For O’Conner, the evidence just does not add up.

Krueger adds an interesting wrinkle to the story focusing on Anti-Native prejudice which gives way to spiritual controversy when Winter Moon turns himself in after claiming to have seen Christ while seeking a vision from Kitchimanidoo, the Great Spirit.  The encounter changes Solemn’s view of life and brings tourists, the sick, and numerous others to Aurora to be healed by one of Jesus’ newest disciples.   Krueger also introduces a series of new characters that have not appeared in previous novels.  Arne Soderberg and Dr. Fletcher Kane play key roles as each has their own agenda, and Fletcher and O’Conner having their own convoluted history.  Solemn’s personal journey is crucial to the story as are Lyla Soderberg, the sheriff’s spouse, Deputy Randy Gooding, a former FBI agent from Milwaukee and friend of O’Conner, and Father Mal Thorne whose actions raise some interesting questions.

The quality of Krueger’s work measures up to the first three books of the series as O’Conner in his own bullish way skeptical of Winter Moon’s religious claims is determined to prove his innocence.  O’Connor will uncover a twisted family drama, frightening religious fervor, and suspicious betrayals. As per usual, Krueger skillfully crafts ample plot twists to keep the reader guessing through the bloody climax to the thrilling conclusion of the novel that this reader did not see coming.

In February 1969, the bodies of four women were discovered buried in a North Truro Cemetery on Cape Cod.  The bodies reflected gruesome attacks that involved dismemberment and other despicable acts.  The victims were in their late teens or early twenties and according to police sources the murderer, Antone “Tony” Costa was suspected of killing a total of eight women.  The details associated with the investigation and conviction of the serial killer are the subject of Casey Sherman’s latest book, HELLTOWN: THE UNTOLD STORY OF A SERIAL KILLER ON CAPE COD. Sherman, a bestselling author of fifteen books including such topics as the mobster Whitey Bulger, the Boston Strangler, and the assassination of John Lennon, grew up on Cape Cod, attending Barnstable High School and shares his extensive knowledge of the region in his narrative.

Sherman has created a book with aspects of fictional storytelling as he writes in the author’s note, that “a work of fiction can benefit from elements of fiction storytelling.”  The book is a mishmash of fact and fiction, filled with invented dialogue interspersed with actual events.  In part, HELLTOWN, the nickname given to the Cape Cod community of Provincetown in the 17^th century because of its affinity with drinking, gambling, and other vices of the time – reads like a novel. 

Sherman has exceptional command of the material relying on interviews, primary research, his personal knowledge of the case and area, including Costa’s own unpublished autobiography “Resurrection,” as he reconstructs each murder scene, provided knowledge of the victims, highlights a careful reconstruction of the investigation zeroing in on the detectives involved, the trial itself, and Costa’s incarceration at the Walpole State Prison until he committed suicide on May 12, 1974.  The book itself has a number of ancillary stories particularly the relationship between writers Kurt Vonnegut and Norman Mailer who both lived on the Cape for periods of time.  Their rivalry is explored as is their relationship to Costa, especially the role of Vonnegut when the killer was imprisoned.

For the people of the area the case and hunt for the serial killer reminded them of the Boston Strangler case of Albert De Salvo that had been solved two years earlier.  Sherman explores the reasons behind the killings focusing on Costa’s split personality; the good Tony, and his alter ego, Cory Devereaux.  The author recreates conversations between the two elements of Costa’s personality and offers a psychological profile dealing with his complex relationship with his mother.  Sherman adduces that Costa idealized his father and resented the fact that his mother remarried.  As a young man he craved the attention of his mother and had to fight for her affection with two unwelcome rivals; his stepfather and his brother Vincent.  According to Sherman’s analysis his mother had been taken away from him, therefore, somebody had to pay.  The murders were a result of Costa’s convoluted thought process and the dichotomy that existed in his brain.

A number of important characters emerge in the narrative; George Killen, the chief investigator for the Bristol County District Attorney, Detective Bernie Flynn whose belief in understanding the active personalities of the victim led to an acquaintance of Costa who would expose the location of the buried body parts; Massachusetts State trooper, Edgar “Tom” Gunnery who focused on Costa from the outset and dug up the bodies at the cemetery; Maurice Goldman, Costa’s lawyer; Edmund Dinis, the Bristol County District Attorney who saw the murder case as an opportunity to advance his political career resulting in his sensationalizing events and outright lies, i.e., referring to Costa as “the Cape Cod vampire,” to achieve the notoriety he craved; and lastly of course Tony Costa.

Costa was a native of Somerville, MA and grew up with a deep interest in taxidermy.  While growing up neighbors reported that he killed pigeons, squirrels, and household animals.  He purchased a copy of Maynard’s MANUAL OF TAXIDERMY, whose instructions on how to skin animals was transferred onto Costa’s mutilated victims. 

A further aspect of the story are the roles of Vonnegut and Mailer who are fascinated by the brutality of Costa’s actions.  Their rivalry seems like a literary footnote to the murder narrative and seems rather irrelevant to the overall story.  Sherman details Vonnegut’s jealousy and envy toward Mailer whose literary success won a Pulitzer and a National Book award for ARMIES OF THE NIGHT while Vonnegut struggled to complete what would become his masterpiece SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE.  While Mailer enjoyed his notoriety which led to, opposition to the Vietnam War, directing films, and a run for mayor of New York City; Vonnegut ran a failing Saab dealership and as an American GI in World War II he endured the psychological impact of living through the carpet bombing of Dresden, and was later captured and imprisoned by the Nazis.  Vonnegut would cover the trial of Costa as a journalist and wrote about it for Life magazine in an article entitled “there’s a Maniac Loose Out There,” giving the false impression that his daughter Edie knew and was perhaps in danger from Costa.  Mailer also followed the story and the trial and later used some of its details in an unsuccessful novel and film.

HELLTOWN successfully integrates Costa’s story with the major events and movements of the 1960s.  Sherman discusses the Vietnam War, the impact of the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, the Civil Rights Movement, the Chicago Democratic convention, the Apollo 11 moon landing, the death of Mary Jo Kopechne on Chappaquiddick Island, the Charles Manson killings along with other events and issues.  The result is an interesting study of the mind of a seral killer and the impact of the violent murders on the community involved.  The book is well written and at times mesmerizing, the result of which is a fascinating read. 

It’s been a few years since I have read a Dan Fesperman novel which is an obvious oversight since I greatly enjoyed his previous works LIE IN THE DARK, THE PRISONER OF GUANTANAMO, and THE WARLORD’S SON.  All novels met expectations for creativity and Fesperman’s ability to create realistic scenarios that maintain historical relevance is one of his many strengths.  Therefore, his work was an obvious choice for my current read, SAFE HOUSES which did not disappoint.

In true Fesperman fashion, SAFE HOUSES is a complex novel that develops a multi-faceted plot involving a number of characters that are difficult to sort out.  The main character, Helen Abell pursues a life that is a dichotomy.  In the late 1970s she was employed by the CIA in West Berlin in charge of maintaining and operating four safe houses for agents and the German sources they handled.  After overhearing a classified conversation and witnessing a rape by an important CIA operative Abell finds herself in a compromised position.  She decides to report the assault on the German source, but her station chief, Ladd Herrington, a rather misogynistic pompous individual wants no part of any investigation and would like nothing better than to get rid of her. 

Fesperman deftly flips the script as he turns to 2014 and Maryland’s eastern shore in developing a second plot line as Helen Abell and her husband are murdered.  The police and public believe the murderer is their son Willard Shoat, a psychologically disturbed young man.  Willard’s sister, Anna, cannot believe he has the capacity to engage in such violence and in seeking answers hires Henry Mattick, a private investigator who in the past held positions in the White House, Congress, and the Justice Department.  Mattick is an interesting character as he also working for an operative named “Mitch” who wants him to keep on top of the events surrounding the murder and making sure that Willard is found guilty.  The problem that surrounds the murder is that while Abell was in the CIA from 1977 to 1979 where she made an enemy out of Kevin Gilley, a CIA agent who resented her in the past and always wanted to remove her as an obstacle to his career.

Fesperman carefully manipulates his dual plot as the reader wonders how events in 1979 are related to the 2014 murder.  As the link is established, suspense dominates as Gilley, the high priest of the CIA’s darkest arts operated by his own rules with a propensity to go rogue and had a history of attacking women with no consequences because of the male dominated structure of the CIA.  Fesperman is a master at throwing out a series of hints to guide the reader, but then will shift the focus of the novel to a new path which is totally surprising.

The novel is an ode to persistence and hunting down a rapist and possible murderer while you are being hunted yourself.   The story revolves around “the sisterhood” made up of Abell, Clair Saylor, a clerk at Paris station, and Audra Vollmer who will support Abell and assist her in challenging the misogynistic way in which the CIA operated risking their careers and their lives to bring about justice for the many women who have been violated.  The key for Anna and Mattick is to unravel the life and career of Helen Abell and determine what really occurred in West Berlin and why she and her husband are eliminated thirty-five years later.

(Writer Dan Fesperman pictured in his home).

A series of important characters dominate the story.  Apart from Abell is her lover and mentor in West Berlin, Clark Baucom, an aging CIA type who tries to control Helen and one wonders whose side he is really on.  Kevin Gilley, code named “Robert” lives by his own rules and is difficult to control.  Anna, in her early thirties had left the family years before, but she wanted to save her brother and learn her mother’s true history.  Henry Mattick, an operator in his own right, falls for Anna, but can he be trusted.  Larry Hilliard, an archivist at the National Archives who guides Abell in trying to understand “the Pond,” a clandestine intelligence organization spun off from the CIA. The members of the “sisterhood” within the CIA, a group made up of Claire  Saylor who supported Abell and helped her conduct her clandestine mission, Audra Vollmer who turns out to be deeply involved with “the Pond,” which was supposed to be disbanded in 1955 and was not, and of course Helen Abell.  Other characters appear with important roles and all point to Fesperman’s inventiveness and imagination in fitting the novel together as assassinations of politicians, intelligence assets and others have been arranged or carried out by Gilley in 1979, 1998, 2000, and possibly 2014.

Fesperman’s “Safe Houses” have a number of implications.  The houses are designed for agents to meet in private and carry out their missions, but the houses contain hidden listening devices and traps for female agents.  Helen Abell is the key to the story, and it is fascinating how she evolves from an employee who lacks confidence in herself to one who refuses to be cowed by the CIA leadership infrastructure. “Safe Houses” is an amazing thriller both on the international and domestic scene, particularly the #MeToo slant.  After reading SAFE HOUSES, Fesperman’s latest novel, WINTER WORK is now near the top of my pile of books on my night table!