The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman

The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman

Review of the novel The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman

Published by David Fickling Books.

Cost: £7.99 (UK Paperback October 2018)

ISBN: 978-0-241-36585-4 (Paperback Edition - 569 pages)

Dedication: To Jude

First Published: 19 October 2017 (1^st Volume)

The story is set twelve years before ‘The Northern Lights’, the first story in The Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman. There is more to tell about the characters in this story as it is Volume 1, as The Book of Dust is also planned to be a trilogy.

This tale is all about the journey of Lyra Belacqua, while she is still a baby. She is befriended by an eleven-year-old boy, Malcolm Polstead, the son of the local landlord of The Trout Inn, located on the outskirts of Oxford.

Like every child of an innkeeper, Malcolm had to work around the tavern, washing dishes and glasses, carrying plates of food or tankards of beer, retrieving them when they were empty.

Every so often the book has a picture to accompany the telling of the story and the first one is the view of The Trout Inn, sited on the river Thames - Page 5.

The story introduces the second major character early on in the story: Alice, who is a fifteen-year-old girl who helps with the washing of the dishes at the inn. Although Malcolm and Alice do not get on, there is a bond between them that enables them to complete a task of great danger.

Malcolm attends the local Elementary School and although he has friends, he is happiest on his own. His main interest is his canoe, which is called La Belle Sauvage, (the subtitle of the book).

If you are new to The Dark Materials Trilogy you may not be aware that all the characters in this series by Philip Pullman have a Dæmon. (A dæmon is defined as a physical manifestation of a person’s ‘inner being’, soul or spirit, which takes the form of a creature.) A dæmon is a creature that belongs to an individual and helps them with their daily life. In the case of young children, the dæmon has the ability to change form, but as an adult, the dæmon is permanently one type of creature. Malcolm’s dæmon is called Astra and she changes to anything from a mouse, to a kingfisher and to an owl.

One day while Malcolm is paddling his canoe through the reeds on the river, looking for great crested grebes, his attention is distracted by ‘a man in a raincoat and grey trilby hat, standing under an oak tree’. The man’s behaviour is suspicious, and between him and his cat dæmon, they appear to have lost something on the towpath. Unable to find it they move on. As you can imagine, Malcolm and Astra find the object. The story takes a new direction with Malcolm becoming involved in a secret organisation called ‘Oakley Street’ – their work was said to be important and on the side of Liberalism and freedom.

Across the river from The Trout Inn, is the priory of St Rosamund, which is accessed by a bridge near the inn. Malcolm likes to spend much of his free time at the priory, doing errands for the nuns. Although it is meant to be a secret, the nuns at the priory are tasked to take care of the baby Lyra Belacqua. Malcolm takes a liking to the baby, Lyra, and takes a keen interest in her well-being.

At Malcolm’s school, there are mysterious things going on. He and his friends are subject to a new authority cult, The League of St Alexander, where they are told to report on anything unusual to their teachers. It is believed that this organisation is linked to the CCD (the Consistorial Court of Discipline). Malcolm is aware of the CCD and the fear they put into the locals as they have previously visited the inn and caused trouble and he decides not to report anything to the League.

When Lyra’s father visits the priory, he is able to enjoy her company for a short time and comfort her, but his visit has not gone unnoticed by a member of the CCD. He escapes with Malcolm in the canoe but requests that he takes the canoe further downstream, leaving Malcolm to return to the inn on foot. When the canoe is returned a few weeks later, it has been repainted, repaired and modified.

‘She’s been through the hands of the finest boat-builder on English waters,’ said Coram van Texel. ‘Every inch of her has been looked at and strengthened and that paint on her now is a special anti-fouling paint that has another virtue too. She’ll be the slippiest vessel on the Thames, apart from the real gyptian boats. She’ll go through the water like a hot knife through butter.’

The man returning the canoe is a gyptian (a canal-faring nomad), who is very knowledgeable in predicting the weather. He warns Malcolm to be wary of a major flood that is about to occur, which will see the UK flooded in many parts.

Although none of the locals believe Malcolm when he tells the story of the expected flood, he finds himself at the priory a few days later when the river Thames breaks its banks resulting in the ground floor of the priory being swamped with rising water.

Now begins the Part Two of the story – Page 317. Malcolm and Alice must overcome numerous trials and tribulations as they journey towards London, aboard La Belle Sauvage, and what they hope will be the safety of Lyra’s father’s home. I'm not going to spoil the story for you, but if you’re already a fan of The Dark Materials series, you will find this story just as captivating. The language is ideal for young adults, but it will stretch their reading ability. I felt the story stopped too early in the tale, however, there are two more books in the series. This story made the assumption that the reader knew much of the subject covered in The Dark Materials trilogy, which may leave the reader left wondering about some of the topics covered, but it did not detract from the enjoyment of the tale. Rating: 4 stars.

Dr Sheppard

6 November 2018

The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien

Review of the novel The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien

Published by HarperCollins.

Cost: £20 (UK Hardback 30 August 2018)

ISBN: 78-0-00-830275-7 (Hardback Edition - 293 pages)

Dedication: To my family

As Christopher Tolkien refers to, he is 94, and this will undoubtedly be his last published book of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work. The Fall of Gondolin, brings together a number of tales, that in its publication, completes the mystical world created by his father. When I first read Lord of the Rings, I was totally captured by the world created by Tolkien and always craved for more, and in deciding to review this story, I found myself researching a number of other books in my collection written by Tolkien, however, I have decided to review this book on its own and treat it as a stand-alone tale, which I am sure will be easier of anyone reading this review.

The book has some wonderful plates in colour created by Alan Lee, which adds to the pleasure of reading the tale. The book opens with a Preface:

In this book one sees, from the complex narrative of many strands in various texts, how Middle-earth moved towards the end of the First Age, and how my father’s perception of this history that he had conceived unfolded through long years until at last, in what was to be its finest form, it foundered.

In quoting these selected words from the book I have not given away any secrets of the tale, as the reader is aware of what happens to the city of Gondolin from the title of the book.

The next chapter of the book is a Prologue, which lays out the writing of The Fall of Gondolin, first conceived in 1916, but when the tale was read to the Essay Club of Exeter College at Oxford in 1920 it had already gone through a number of revisions. Further revisions took place in the 1930s and possibly right up to about 1951. It should be noted that although this story is about the end of the First Age, at the time of writing, there was no First, Second or Third Age, and no Hobbits or Lord of the Rings.

Christopher Tolkien relates the tale and some of its revisions, such that the reader will have an understanding of the background to the story, The Fall of Gondolin, and a brief translation of the story itself. This has a bearing on the contents of this book, for the story of The Fall of Gondolin actually is only covered on pages 37 through to 111. What follows is a retelling of the story, with more detail, variations and the revisions of the tale, allowing the reader to obtain a much fuller and clearer picture of the lead up to, and the destruction of the city of Gondolin.

The tale of The Fall of Gondolin recounts the story of Tuor, a man who lives in The Land of the Shadows. Wandering alone, he follows a hidden river into a cavern where he is unable to return to the light. Here he is saved by Ulmo, Lord of Waters. After wandering aimlessly, Ulmo speaks to Tuor and requests him to take a message to Turgon, King of Gondolin (the hidden Elvish City). Tuor encounters many problems on his travels but for much of it he is guided by Voronwë and they follow the river Sirion. When he arrives at Gondolin, the news he carries is not welcome, however, Tuor is invited to stay in the city. The city is protected with magical spells, and to all outsiders it is invisible. As you can imagine, there is an evil individual, Morgoth, that wants to attack the kingdom of Gondolin. Having been vanquished from Gondolin, Morgoth, (also known as Melkor), betrays the secrets of the Hidden City, which leads to its final destruction. In the battle that takes place, Tuor is able to lead a number of the elves to safety and they create a new home on the estuary of the river Sirion.

Christopher Tolkien has included the revisions to the story and added some detailed descriptions to the travels taken by Tuor and Voronwë. One of the most vivid and magical one for me is the passage through the seven gates into the city of Gondolin, in the chapter called 'The Last Story'; once entered there is no turning back, and the traveller needs to know the magic to open each gate and pass through the watchers guarding the gates.

The story is a remarkable story, and I’m happy to read it with its revisions, clarifying the details that came to revisiting the tale.

Following on from the tale of The Fall of Gondolin, there are some important chapters that bring other parts of the mystical world created by Tolkien together. We learn of the early days of Elrond, the beginnings of Sauron’s actions into evil, but much of it is about the tale of the Silmarils, and the desire to possess them and leads to their death. The tale is an excellent addition to the Tolkien stories and a must-read for Tolkien fans. Rating: 5 stars

Dr Sheppard

8 October 2018

A list of the Bantam Book collection of Agatha Christie stories.

Bantam Books, The Agatha Christie Mystery Collection.

Published between June 1982 and October 2000, by Dodd, Mead & Company of New York, and their subsidiary companies. The Black Leatherette collection was known as The Agatha Christie Mystery Collection, but there were some printed in a Blue Leatherette edition and although they all have the same imprint on the front cover, some are printed on the copyright page as Agatha Christie Hardcover Collection. If you feel the need to collect them all, the total collection consists of 101 books. The books were published as a new one each month, as can be seen by the ISBN details, however, the original series had only 92 novels in the collection. A further nine books were added to the collection when G.P. Putnam’s Sons published stories with the English titles. These books are not rare but were printed as part of a small print run. They also printed some of the original collection with a new ISBN. Somehow two titles in the original collection were given the same ISBN number, which is most unusual. Witness for the Prosecution was published as The Witness for the Prosecution, in Aug 1999, having two additional short stories. I am still researching for some missing information, but I am confident that this is the definitive list and hope it is of interest.

If you have any data that can be used to update the list please email me. In the list, there are 20 USA titles of which 9 are UK duplicates. The USA titles are denoted with a ‘*’, duplicates have a corresponding UK list number. The Mary Westmacott book is identified with ‘**’. The collection includes two plays, two books of poetry and the Christie autobiography.

The list has been updated with the help of Peter Scott 09/09/2018, GKCfan 04/12/2018 and Daisy … 15/12/2018

I have set the list out in two parts which highlight the different ISBN and print dates.

	Book Title	Print date	ISBN #
1	A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY	May-85	0-553-30532-3
2	A HOLIDAY FOR MURDER *	Aug-85	0-553-35035-8
3	A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED	Jan-86	0-553-35040-4
4	A POCKET FULL OF RYE	Apr-86	0-553-35044-7
5	ABSENT IN THE SPRING **	Jun-92	0-553-35082-X
6	AKHNATON (Play)	May-96	0-553-35102-8
7	AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY (NON-FICTION)	Nov-90	0-553-35081-1
8	AND THEN THERE WERE NONE	Feb-83	0-553-35000-5
9	APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH	Jul-87	0-553-35062-5
10	AT BERTRAM'S HOTEL	Aug-87	0-553-35063-3
11	BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMBS	Oct-84	0-553-35021-8
12	CARDS ON THE TABLE	Nov-84	0-553-35025-5
13	CAT AMONG THE PIGEONS	Mar-84	0-553-35014-5
14	COME, TELL ME HOW YOU LIVE	Nov-85	0-553-35049-8
15	CROOKED HOUSE	Dec-86	0-553-35054-4
16	CURTAIN	Dec-84	0-553-35026-9
17	DEAD MAN'S FOLLY	Sep-88	0-553-35078-1
18	DEAD MAN'S MIRROR * (#37)	May-98	0-553-3507-9
19	DEATH COMES AS THE END	Feb-84	0-553-35013-7
20	DEATH IN THE AIR *	Jun-86	0-553-35047-1
21	DEATH ON THE NILE	May-83	0-553-35003-X
22	DOUBLE SIN AND OTHER STORIES	Feb-87	0-553-35057-9
23	DUMB WITNESS	Jun-85	0-553-35098-6
24	EASY TO KILL *	Jan-87	0-553-35055-2
25	ELEPHANTS CAN REMEMBER	Jun-84	0-553-35017-X
26	ENDLESS NIGHT	Dec-85	0-553-35039-0
27	EVIL UNDER THE SUN	Nov-83	0-553-35010-2
28	FUNERALS ARE FATAL * (#93)	May-84	0-553-35016-1
29	HALLOWE'EN PARTY	Sep-84	0-553-35020-X
30	HICKORY DICKORY DEATH * (#98)	Jan-84	0-553-35012-9
31	LORD EDGWARE DIES	96	0-553-35009-4
32	MR. PARKER PYNE, DETECTIVE *	Jun-82	0-553-35061-7
33	MRS. MCGINTY'S DEAD	Apr-87	0-553-35059-5
34	MURDER AT HAZELMOOR * (#80)	Nov-84	0-553-35024-2
35	MURDER IN MESOPOTAMIA	Mar-85	0-553-35029-3
36	MURDER IN RETROSPECT * (#97)	Nov-85	0-553-35038-2
37	MURDER IN THE MEWS	1997	0-553-35093-5
38	MURDER IN THREE ACTS * (#87)	Jan-88	0-553-35069-2
39	MURDER ON THE LINKS	Oct-85	0-553-35037-4
40	MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS	Jan-83	0-553-03000-0
41	MURDER WITH MIRRORS *	Apr-85	0-553-35027-7
42	N OR M?	Apr-88	0-553-35072-2
43	NEMESIS	Oct-84	0-553-35022-6
44	ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE	Nov-87	0-553-35067-6
45	PARTNERS IN CRIME	Oct-83	0-553-35008-0
46	PASSENGER TO FRANKFURT	Jun-88	0-553-35075-7
47	PERIL AT END HOUSE	Apr-88	0-553-35073-0
48	POEMS	Oct-96	0-553-35103-6
49	POIROT INVESTIGATES	Apr-85	0-553-35031-5
50	POIROT LOSES A CLIENT * (#23)	Jun-85	0-553-35033-1
51	POSTERN OF FATE	Jan-87	0-553-35056-0
52	REMEMBERED DEATH *	Mar-85	0-553-35030-7
53	SAD CYPRESS	Nov-84	0-553-35023-4
54	SLEEPING MURDER	Sep-85	0-553-35036-6
55	SO MANY STEPS TO DEATH * (#96)	Oct-86	0-553-35052-8
56	STAR OVER BETHLEHEM (Poems)	Oct-96	0-553-35104-4
57	TAKEN AT THE FLOOD	Nov-87	0-553-35066-8
58	THE A.B.C. MURDERS	Apr-83	0-553-35002-1
59	THE BIG FOUR	Feb-86	0-553-35041-2
60	THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY	Mar-87	0-553-35058-7
61	THE CLOCKS	Mar-88	0-553-35071-4
62	THE GOLDEN BALL AND OTHER STORIES	Oct-87	0-553-35065-X
63	THE HARLEQUIN TEA SET	Feb-98	0-553-35010-2
64	THE HOLLOW	Aug-86	0-553-35050-1
65	THE LABORS OF HERCULES	Aug-84	0-553-35019-6
66	THE MAN IN THE BROWN SUIT	Aug-88	0-553-35077-3
67	THE MIRROR CRACK'D *	Apr-84	0-553-35015-3
68	THE MOVING FINGER	Oct-83	0-553-35009-9
69	THE MURDER AT THE VICARAGE	Aug-83	0-553-35006-4
70	THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD	Mar-83	0-553-35001-3
71	THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES	Jun-83	0-553-35004-8
72	THE MYSTERIOUS MR. QUIN	Mar-86	0-553-35043-9
73	THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE TRAIN	Dec-85	0-553-35068-4
74	THE PALE HORSE	May-86	0-553-35046-3
75	THE PATRIOTIC MURDERS *	Mar-86	0-553-35042-0
76	THE REGATTA MYSTERY AND OTHER STORIES	Nov-86	0-553-35079-X
77	THE SECRET ADVERSARY	May-85	0-553-35028-5
78	THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS	Sep-87	0-553-35064-1
79	THE SEVEN DIALS MYSTERY	Nov-86	0-553-35051-X
80	THE SITTAFORD MYSTERY	Nov-84	0-553-35024-2
81	THE TUESDAY CLUB MURDERS * (#100)	Jul-86	0-553-35048-X
82	THE UNDERDOG AND OTHER STORIES	Feb-88	0-553-35070-6
83	THERE IS A TIDE * (#57)	Nov-87	0-553-35066-8
84	THEY CAME TO BAGHDAD	Jul-85	0-553-35034-X
85	THIRD GIRL	May-87	0-553-35060-9
86	THIRTEEN AT DINNER * (#31)	Jul-88	0-553-35076-5
87	THREE ACT TRAGEDY	Jan-88	0-553-35069-2
88	THREE BLIND MICE AND OTHER STORIES	Sep-88	0-553-35080-3
89	TOWARDS ZERO	Dec-83	0-553-35011-0
90	WHAT MRS. MCGILLICUDDY SAW! *	Jul-84	0-553-35018-8
91	WHY DIDN'T THEY ASK EVANS?	Jul-83	0-553-35005-6
92	WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION	Apr-89	0-553-35007-2

Book Title Print date ISBN # 93 AFTER THE FUNERAL Oct-00 1-58165-153-8 94 BLACK COFFEE Sep-98 1-58165-078-7 95 DEATH IN THE CLOUDS Mar-00 1-58165-130-9 96 DESTINATION UNKNOWN 1-58165-129-5 97 FIVE LITTLE PIGS Mar-98 1-58165-016-7 98 HICKORY DICKORY DOCK Oct-00 1-58165-152-X 99 SPARKLING CYANIDE Mar-98 1-58165-015-9 100 THE THIRTEEN PROBLEMS May-00 1-58165-133-3 101 THE UNEXPECTED GUEST Sep-99  1-58165-110-4

A book titled The Agatha Christie Engagement Diary was published in April 1996, but as it is not a story it is not included in the list.

They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie

They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie

 

Review of the novel They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie

Published by William Collins Sons & Co Ltd.

Cost: £2.50 (UK Paperback March 1988)

ISBN: 0-00-646605-9 (Paperback Edition - 254 pages)

Dedication: To all my friends in Baghdad

First Published: 5 March 1951, Collins Crime Club

I should point out the story was serialised in John Bull in January 1951. Having been asked for my view on this novel recently, I thought it better if I reread it and put my thoughts on paper.

They Came to Baghdad can be seen as a thriller, rather than the murder mystery we would expect from Christie. This story follows A Murder is Announced, published in 1950, and is very different in its plot and storyline. There are no lead detectives, instead we follow the trail of Victoria Jones, a rather incompetent copy typist, who soon finds herself out of a job. When Agatha Christie speaks about the novel she informs us that it was inspired by her trips to Baghdad with her husband Sir Max Mallowan, and when she writes about life the city of Baghdad the writing is very clear and fluent, but less so in other parts of the novel.

The plot of the story is about a secret summit of superpowers being held in Baghdad, which a group of anti-communists are trying to prevent. I find that the story gets a little complicated as Christie has to keep track of the superpower representatives, as they make their way to the summit. For Victoria Jones, the problem is that she finds herself unknowingly involved in the anti-communist plan to kill representatives of the superpower in an attempt to cancel the meeting.

If the story seems a little confusing, everything is made clear in the final chapter, but I found myself turning back to pages that I had read to identify which character had changed their name or had been kidnapped and was now a known character, standing in for the kidnapped person.

At this point I need to be careful not to give away any spoilers. Having spent the first chapter setting the background as to why the meeting of the superpowers will meet in Baghdad, Christie introduces the reader to Miss Victoria Jones in Chapter two. Having lost her job, Victoria is contemplating on her situation while sitting on a bench in FitzJames Gardens, London. She is soon approached by the man of her dreams and when they depart, he is off to Baghdad and she is thinking of anything but finding a new job, to the extent that she decides that she might be able to find a suitable job in Baghdad.

For Victoria Jones, life in Baghdad gets a little exciting. A man rushes into her bedroom and dies on the bed; she is kidnapped but escapes; works for a week on an archaeological expedition; dresses up as a nun; passes herself off as a member of the superpower; and finally, is offered a job with an admirer on the archaeological dig.

There are two passages which I found I raced to read on as the storyline was so captivating. Firstly, at the start of Chapter 18, when Victoria awakes from being chloroformed and drugged to find herself in a locked room in the middle of nowhere, and secondly, Chapter 22 when Victoria meets her admirer in a situation he has contrived and persuades her to present herself as a member of the summit. Throughout the story the plot appears to be complicated and the conversations between characters do not flow smoothly, but Christie allows Victoria to express her unspoken thoughts to be written on the page, which makes much of the storyline clearer to the reader. My conclusion, on the whole, an enjoyable story, but for me, not one her best. Rating: 3 stars.

Dr Sheppard

20 August 2018

The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

Review of the novel The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

Published by Hodder & Stoughton in 2017

Cost: £7.99 (UK Paperback June 2018)

ISBN: 978-1-473-61699-8-0 (Paperback Edition - 374 pages)

Dedication: N/A

It’s June 2018 and the paperback copy of The Rooster Bar has just come out in print. John Grisham is a very successful writer. He is the author of 43 novels and publishes a new novel every year. After attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981, he practised criminal law for ten years. His first novel, A Time to Kill, was written and published while he was still a practising lawyer. A number of his books have been made into very successful films and Grisham has a very large fan base.

The Rooster Bar is a legal thriller style novel, about three law students, who are depressed with their chances of completing their law degrees at Foggy Bottom Law School and passing the bar exams to enable them to practice as lawyers. All three students have problems within their family background and this adds to the stress of the debt building up while their studies continue.

Mark Frazier, Todd Lucero and Zola Maal, believed that by attending law school they could change the world and make it a better place. However, the stress of the debt up has become a problem for Zola’s boyfriend, Gordy. He has stopped taking his medication for a bipolar disorder and he has dropped out of lessons to research the link between Foggy Bottom Law School and the Student Loans Company. The investigation has resulted in various pieces of paper being, pinned to a wall in the living room of his flat.

The wall was a maze of white poster boards and dozens of sheets of copy paper, all arranged in some crazed order and secured with colored pushpins and Scotch tape. With black, blue, and red markers. Gordy was in the process of piecing together a gigantic corporate puzzle, some grand conspiracy that led to the ominous faces of the few men at the top.

Gordy explains to his friends what the diagram means:

[He] pointed to the top photo. This is the Great Satan. Name’s Hinds Rackley, Wall Street lawyer turned investment crook…... His main vehicle is Shiloh Financial, a private investment operation, [which] owns among many other companies, our dear Foggy Bottom Law School, [one of a total of eight schools].

[….] the Great Satan nets $20 million off dear Foggy Bottom. Multiply that eight times and the math will make you sick.

As they argue, Gordy storms out and locks himself in his bedroom and demands his friends leave the flat. But like all good friends, they decided to remain, taking it in turns to sleep on the sofa. But in the early hours of the morning, Gordy slips out of the flat and drives his car downtown, only to be stopped by the police and charged with DUI (driving under influence). When they discover their friend has been charged, the three friends attend the Central Police station and try to get Gordy out of jail. In the waiting room, they are introduced to a lawyer specialising in DUI cases, who will advise them and the client, Gordy, for a fee of $1,000. Two hours later all four friends leave the police station.

That night the friends decided, once again, to watch over Gordy while he sleeps, taking it in turns on the sofa. But when Zola’s phone finally wakes her, she realises that Gordy has left the flat and driven off in his car. Driving Todd’s car in pursuit of Gordy, they find their friend has stopped on the Arlington Memorial Bridge and dived into the cold river below – committing suicide.

In their depression, the friends return to the research that tormented Gordy and which may have had an impact on his decision to take his own life. The current major news story in the newspapers is about a scandal at the Swift Bank, a company which has shown up in Gordy’s research. When customers register for a standard current account at Swift Bank, they are offered other banking services, if the customer declines them, the bank adviser opens up the accounts regardless and is paid a commission for doing so. As for the customer, the charges for the unknown accounts are hidden in the fees for the main account. A lot of income is being generated for the bank and its owners. Gordy’s research shows that Hinds Rackley owns 12 per cent of Swift Bank under the guise of different hidden companies.

A few days later the three friends meet for dinner in The Rooster Bar and discuss their future. None of them has attended classes at law school recently. However, Todd and Mark have been busy and explain what their future holds. They have set up a business - Upshaw, Parker and Lane - to offer DUI services to clients. Although Zola shows her concern for the boys’ action, which involves her actively being part of the illegal business arrangement, she goes along with it. At their next meeting in The Rooster Bar, they have an income of $1,600 in cash, with promissory notes for another $1,400.

Throughout the story, the three students are being hassled by the Students Loans Company regarding repayment of their loans. The emails get more frequent when it is discovered by the authorities that they have been missing lessons and have very little chance of getting a proper job. As part of the main theme of the novel, there are also background stories for each of the three main characters, that has an impact on the main storyline, particularly in respect of Zola, which will result in a serious decision that impacts all of them.

Halfway through the book, it is the Swift Banking scandal that comes to the fore and the new lawyers soon get involved. A major firm of lawyers has set up a class action against Swift Bank, and the newly created firm of Upshaw, Parker and Lane, decides to join forces to claim misappropriated funds on behalf of their fictional clients. When the legal action seems to be stalling, Mark decides to approach Rackley directly and challenge him on links he has with the Swift Bank and its underhand dealings, threatening to publish the facts using the files and research done by Gordy. Hinds Rackley panics and agrees to settle all six class actions against Swift Bank, out of court. The cheque from the class action to Upshaw, Parker and Lane is $4,583,256. Mark, Tom and Zola now find themselves running from the authorities, with fake drivers licences and passports, to set up a new life. As the story ends, they purchase a run-down bar in Senegal, do it up, and name it The Rooster Bar.

The story has a lot more to it than I have covered and it is captivating throughout, in places it was impossible to put down it was so gripping. It really was an enjoyable read and one I would recommend. Rating: 5 stars.

Dr Sheppard

27 July 2018

International Agatha Christie Festival Programme 2018

The Burial Hour by Jeffery Deaver

The Burial Hour by Jeffery Deaver

Review of the novel The Burial Hour by Jeffery Deaver

Published by Hodder & Stoughton in April 2017

Cost: £7.99 (UK Paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-473-61864-0 (Paperback Edition - 476 pages - starts on page 3 – small font)

Dedication: To the memory of my friend Giorgio Faletti. The world misses you.

I’m a great fan of Jeffery Deaver, and particularly the Lincoln Rhyme series of which this is number thirteen. Number fourteen in the series, Cutting Edge, is out in the UK on 17 May 2018 in hardback.

Lincoln Rhyme was first introduced in The Bone Collector published in 1997. He is a quadriplegic forensic criminalist who was head of the New York Police Department’s Central Investigation and Resource Division, until an oak beam fell on him, crushing his C4 vertebrae, leaving him only able to move from his shoulders up and his left ring finger. Things have moved on in the series and Rhyme has gained a little more movement in his arms.

He was largely paralyzed, yes. But surgery and daily exercise had returned to him some mobility to move his right arm and hand. Fate had helped him too. … He could grasp objects – like single malt scotch bottles, to pick a random example – but he could not rise from his complex wheelchair to fetch them if his resident helper (Thom), kept them out of his reach.

As you might imagine, Rhyme is unable to investigate any of the crime scenes, but in The Bone Collector, he persuades Amelia Sachs, a 31-year-old police officer to walk the scene as his eyes. They have been a team ever since. In chapter 2 of The Burial Hour, Lincoln is discussing with Thom where Amelia and he might go for their honeymoon.

            “No. You and Amelia cannot go to Greenland.” …………………….

            “Because you need to go someplace romantic. Florida, California.”

The discussion is with Thom, who is Lincolns arms and legs and considerably more. But they are interrupted by a visit from Lon Sellitto, a detective in the NYPD Major Cases Division. He’s hoping that Amelia Sachs can walk through a crime scene. An adult male has been kidnapped, observed by a child, the victim had a hood placed over his head and was then dumped in the trunk of a car. The perpetrator has left behind a signature of his visit, a small noose made from catgut.

When Amelia returns from the crime scene the investigation team set up a flipchart to record and review the crime scene data. ‘Often the month and day are used as a temporary nickname for the unknown criminal subject. [In The Burial Hour,] ‘this perb would be UNSUB 920, for September 20.’

[They] set out the items out on examination tables, which were in a separate part of the parlour, away from where the others, dressed in street clothing, clustered, to avoid contamination.

The pickings were sparse. Rhyme knew this, as he’d been ‘with’ Sachs, via video feed, as she’d walked the grid at the scene. All she had found was a small noose, random trace from where the abduction had occurred and some shoe prints and tire mark evidence.

First, the noose. Any prints?

Cooper tested the cord in the fuming tent to raise invisible fingerprints and said, ‘A few slivers. Nothing to work with.’

‘What’s it made out of?’

‘I can run the chromatograph but I’m sure it’s proteins – collagen, keratin and fibroin. I’d say catgut.’

They discover the material the noose is made from is used for stringed musical instruments and most likely, because of its length, a cello. Moments later the team discover that the perp has released a live video of the victim being strangled, depending on his movements, the noose will tighten. The video is set with a soundtrack, The Blue Danube, but as the tune slows down, it’s the victims breathing that matches the tempo of the tune. The video is signed off with the words ‘© The Composer’ in the middle of the screen.

In a desperate desire to save the victim from a terrible death, the team put all their efforts into analysing the data they have before them, time being of the essence. Sachs is soon of on a desperate car journey to the crime scene and arrives in time to release the victim from the noose around his neck. Most important is a find that Sachs comes across while walking the crime scene. A scrap of paper, more or less intact, with four indistinct words. It’s a receipt from a currency exchange bureau.

One of the features used in the Lincoln Rhyme novels is a ‘picture’ of the crime scene board, which spreads over two, sometimes three pages. It will be a case of you like it as a reminder of the case findings, or you find it easy to turn the page and move on. The crime scene board ‘picture’ will be updated throughout the novel so it will appear as many as eight times.

Based on the exchange bureau receipt, the details of the crime and possible trail of the perp is sent out to police forces across Europe. When a local police force in Naples, Italy, request further information on the case, as there are similarities to a case of their own, the story takes a complete change from previous novels. The team are soon on a flight to Italy. It’s the first time Deaver has taken his characters out the USA.

The local team in Naples are surprised that the information on the New York kidnapping arrives on their doorstep in the personal hands of Lincoln Rhyme, and are not happy. However, when they acknowledge Rhyme’s expertise they agree to allow him to review their investigation into the local case as it unfolds. Amelia is also allowed to partner the police officer managing the Naples crime investigation. She proves her value as she walks the grid and quickly solves another kidnapping, even though the criminal escapes. They realise that with another video of the crime, which shows a victim in trouble while haunting music is playing, they are on the trail of The Composer. The team solve three incidents in total, but it is The Composer that helps them prevent a serious incident towards the end of the novel. Released from custody to aid the investigation, he listens to a recorded phone call linked with the case. The Composer has the ability to hear the background sounds from where the call has been made.

I can hear transmissions downshifting and increasing in volume, as the cars get closer to the phone. That means the callers on top of the hill. The hill’s steep. They are mostly cars, mostly small ones, both diesel and gas. One has a muffler about to go. Some vans, I think. But no large trucks.’

Another playback. Staring at a blank wall. ‘Birds. Two different types. First pigeons. There are many of them. I can hear their wings flutter from time to time: once, when a roller board – those things boys ride on – went by. Once when children, about four or five years old, ran after the birds. I can tell the age from their footfalls and the laughs. The pigeons returned at once. They didn’t fly off when cars went by. That tells us that they’re in a square or plaza. Not a street.’

As with all Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme novels, there is a second case running alongside the main story – sometimes the two are linked, but not always. In this instance, the chief of the Naples police wants to quickly close the second case, but Rhyme decides to secretly work on the forensics and discovers the man they have arrested is being set up. This story has a twist towards the end of the story, that is quite strange and a little complex, but I’m not going to give it away. As you might expect, it’s a story that runs at a fast pace; all Deaver Rhyme novels solve a crime in two or three days, but his story runs to eight days, as a result of the trip to Naples. The novel uses a lot of American phrases and sayings, which the reader has to get used to, I enjoy the use of them and it adds to the setting of the novel. This is another fantastic Jeffery Deaver novel, a real page-turner. Rating: 5 stars.

Dr Sheppard

21 May 2018