White Heat by M. J. McGrath

Some mysteries you read and can’t put down. Some make you want to read every other book ever written by the author.  This is not one of those.  It is well written but I could not get into the location.  I have no prior knowledge of Inuit culture, language or even of life in the Arctic Circle.  If I didn’t think about the conditions, the food, the cold, etc. I was able to get into the mystery! 

I cannot imagine life in the Arctic.  The farthest north I have been is Thunder Bay, Ontario and that was during the summer months. Six months of darkness would drive me insane. I could handle the long day much better.  I also can never imagine my favorite food being seal blubber and blood soup.

I think the author did a great job of describing life in this part of the world.  Alcoholism and drug abuse run rampant as does despair and people looking for a quick dollar.  Like in the Killing in the Hills, people are caught up in the circumstances of living to the point that they are willing to go to almost any lengths, including murder, to improve their own life.

Joe and Edie were two who seemed to have come to terms with life in Autisaq. Edie was guiding tours into the wild and teaching at the school. She had stopped drinking two years prior and was using much of her guide money to help her stepson, Joe, save enough money to enter nursing school.  Then a series of accidents happen which threatens to destroy the life they are building.  Joe ends up dead, an apparent suicide!  Of course, the reader does not think he was the type to commit suicide any more than his step-mother does.  I first thought it was a bit too easy but as the story developed the complexity of life in the wild drew the reader into its tangled web.

Edie is a multifaceted woman, half Inuit, half foreign!  She works hard, plays hard, maintains a relationship with her ex-husband, and often prefers her dogs and the frozen world to interaction with many humans.  She is also a very determined individual who is determined to get to the bottom of the murders/accidents that cost her her job and her step-son.  To do so she must rely on a policeman who prefers to watch the goings on of lemmings to doing any real work.  However, Derek Pallister does not like to let go of a hunch any more than Edie.  Together they get to the bottom of this and the outcome will surprise most! 

M J McGrath ties many themes into the novel.  Russian vs US desires to gain access to Arctic oil and gas rights, possible terrorism in the blowing up of an oil rig, meth labs, murder and interpersonal relationships make for a good read.  Now if I could just get over my inability to like the cold, the raw food, and the names I can’t pronounce!

Hanson's Mariners by Richard Towers

As we know this is written by one of our community!  I am pleased to have it offered as a book club selection.  I hope you did as well! I spent 33 years in the education system and this book rang true to my experiences, if not true to my actual experiences.

Rob Mariner is a man of many facets and I liked them all. He was not wishy-washy. He set goals and went after them even when things got rough.  He was not a superhero, nor should he be.  Superheroes do not make good principals.  He cared about his students and took risks on their behalf.  He was a gentle soul who made Denny’s mother feel pride in her son (was he really dealing drugs out of the deli?  Great twist to the end and wrapped it all up!) He was a no-nonsense principal who could get students to understand the wrongfulness of their ways while still allowing them to keep their humanity. 

Many things occurred in this book which makes it not only enjoyable but also a good read.  There are many portions that ring true.  The poetry game seemed appropriate given their backgrounds and that they were working to make the Friday evening meal special. While I would have liked Rob to go marching over to “bring Liv back” it fits his personality. He was focused and that focus was the source of their problems.  Had he gone it would not have fit the character as well. Also, because there is always there hint of antagonism between him and his father I see that as something he would not do.  It is quite appropriate that Les and Rob not get along. Les wanted the job and was set up as a non-team player even for Andrew.  Rob’s hospitalizations also fit. Anyone who is under that kind of stress will have health issues and these humanize him.  The book really does not slow. It took me three days to read because I did not have time to read straight through.  I never had to go back and reread to keep things straight.

As any good author will let you know there must be a twist or two!  Les and Mr. Pulaski being twins added to the suspense.  I saw Les as an ass but never a killer.  Even his taking money for getting unwed mothers to give up their children did not make him a killer.  I think it was a pleasant surprise to find out he was just an unhappy person who would eventually get what was coming to him by losing the school he wanted so badly.  I have known plenty people in education who are in it because of the power they perceived came with the job. Ironically, most of them did not even like children and I think Les fits into that category. Juan’s father being part of the “Mexican Mafia” is not farfetched either as Juan did not want his father to know what was going on with the threats against them.  Could be he feared his father yanking him from school but the idea of him going ballistic and taking matters into his own hands is lots more fun!  In keeping with the use of poetry between Rob and Liv, the Charge of the Light Brigade is terrific.  It depicts his sense of getting in way over his head—with Liv and their relationship, with the murder investigation at school and even with the problems around the school itself.  the comment about “way too much education” makes it all the more appropriate.  As for the death of Travis riley by Rasheed—genius! I had no idea who he was and it all seemed to make sense after I got over the OH NO!! stage.  I even expected Rasheed to be the one going after Rob in the end but liked that Mr. Pulaski was there instead.

Many questions arise.  Why did Jennifer failed to testify at Christian Pulaski's trial,

and was Mr. Pulaski death in prison accident or murder? This one is trickier!  One of my former students just spoke on CNN about the young ladies in Cleveland. He would tell us to always believe the young lady. Laws require Rob to do exactly what he did.  That being said, I have known people who make accusations based on desire to be noticed, gain attention, even as a cry for help.  Jennifer was a drinker like her mother.  Maybe someone else had abused her and she used her art teacher as a scapegoat. Maybe it was to get out of trouble for the wrestling team capers.  Maybe it did happen.  The fact that she did not testify leads one to think it did not; that she got the attention she needed, dried out a bit and was able to go with her father where she probably wanted to be all along.  OR, Mr. Pulaski got to her and bribed/threatened her into not testifying.  The unanswered makes it good!  As for his murder, and I believe it was a murder, I would look into Juan’s father! 

 If there is any unfinished business here it is what happens to Leon Salazar?  I liked the kid and would hope he made it somewhere and was able to stay alive. What say the rest of you?  Look forward to our discussions!

 

A Killing in the Hills by Julia Keller

A murder mystery set in my home state—what is not to like!  The only thing I disliked is that the author, another native, made up a county when we have 55 perfectly good ones to choose from!  Everything else I liked.  Everything else is described perfectly.  Extreme poverty, honest pride, small towns where everyone knows someone who knows someone and the hollers (hollows for non-natives) keep more secrets than can be counted. Despair that comes from having the intelligence but not the money or wherewithal to change the direction of one’s fate is evident. 

She weaves a good tale of a child who is pulled from horrible conditions and goes away to become a lawyer. Has a perfect family, married to a man who also “escaped” and has no intention of ever returning.  What got her to return to Acker’s Gap with her daughter is something many questioned as the book progressed.  I am one who left and has no intention of returning. However, I am not a prosecutor who has the opportunity to put drug criminals behind bars and hopefully enable others to use the innate intelligence they possess and pull themselves out of the cycle of despair that has hit so much of the state.  Meth labs abound.  Looking at my hometown newspaper I see evidence of this each week.  More and more are lured into the quick fix and easy money.  Behind each of them is a person like Tom Cox, someone who knows better, can do better and thinks (convinces himself) he is doing it for the right reasons until the greed sets in. 

The secondary story here is Bell’s itself.  She was abused by her father and her sister killed the father and burned the trailer with him in it.  She went to prison and insisted her sister consider her dead.  Bell tried even until the very end but Shirley would not give in.  It is interesting that Nick told her people had known what was going on in the house but did not want to speak up.  That is the nature of such insulated small towns.  Even the Bevins household would allow a mentally challenged young man to take the blame for a death of a young boy rather than admit to an affair.

The novel is tied together nicely when Carla asks her to go back to her high school and talk to the students.  Progress on so many levels!  She leaves the reader with hope that thinks can change. I hope she is correct.  

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

When I first started this book it reminded me of the movie Memento which I did not like.  Every time you think you have figured out the plot it changed and started all over again.  Once I got further into the book (because I truly believe I should read each book before commenting!) I realized that Ursula was leading each of these lives in different times that simply coincided with the same time period.  Ursula led many diverse lives, some more interesting than others.  I enjoyed the ones that dealt with the blitz, disliked the ones where she suffered unfairly.  I liked that people presumed dead were not.  I liked that in each of the lives she remained strong woman.  When nearly destroyed by men, she fought back, whether directly or indirectly.  She lost much and gained much. In fact, one could question whether or not she lost everything and gained nothing.  Did she live from infancy?  Which of the many lifes was really hers?

Teddy was one of those characters I enjoyed watching develop.  He was a darling as a baby and remained a favorite of Ursula throughout the book.  Maurice seems to have been a pain from birth and remained so.  Pamela is also a character that remained a true sister regardless of the time in which she is placed.  Izzie fares better in some than others but she is the creative individual that adds a spark to an otherwise dull life.

I am not sure what to make of the way the author deals with the men in Ursula’s life—particulary the ones with whom she is romantically involved.  Crighton I liked despite the fact that he was an adulterer.  The relationship was one of mutual admiration and respect.  Obviously the marriage to the teacher (Derek Oliphant) was horrible. He was such a horrible person but a presume he was included as penitence for her having had an abortion.  I was pleased to see that she was able to correct both the rape and the marriage in another life.

The life in Hitler’s Germany is one area I was not able to wrap my head around.  It is like she just dropped in there.  The premise of visiting the family of Eva Braun and actually getting to know her I suppose was to allow Ursula to see the other side of WWII.  However, this again ended with her having to make a terrible decision regarding a child.  One way or another, the child always seems to die.  This one was particularly poignant.

I think many of wonder about the opportunities to do things differently.  Would we make any of the same mistakes?  Do we learn from previous encounters, realities?  I look forward to our discussions!

The Butcher's Theater by Jonathan Kellerman

I have read several books by Jonathan Kellerman but this is the first that provided such a detailed, intricate mystery that differs from the Alex Delaware mysteries I so like.  While it is a murder mystery it does not ta place in California.  I enjoyed the Israeli setting and the insight it gave the reader into the social and political issues that continue to plague the country today. 

The interaction between the members of the police department plays up the conflicts between the ethnic groups as well as the cooperation.  It is an interesting to see how the weaknesses of one person become a strength for another.  History was woven into the personalities of the characters. Religion and social mores cause conflict and resolution at the same time!  It is as if the entire book is two sides of the same coin.  For every up there is a down and every turn leads into a more complicated twist.

Without giving away too much of the book, I will say that I was captivated by the way Kellerman used social situations to add to the suspense.  Fatima was kicked out of her family because she had a boyfriend.  Other victims had similar pitfalls—prostitution, drug addiction, the inability to conceive children.  They appear separate but in the final analysis they related very well to the killer and his desire to purify the world.

Dani is the ultimate detective—determined to get to the bottom despite what it might cost him.  A devout Jew, he missed the Sabbath most of the book. His family is extremely important to him but he all but abandons it to solve this case.  In the end he realizes how those sacrifices could impact his life and family and lays it all on the line to protect those he loves.

In order to catch a murderer as devious as the one here an international army was needed.  The cooperation of law enforcement personnel in the US, the Netherlands, Interpol and the FBI, exposes the criminal mind and lead the reader on a chase to the end that has many false turns.  I found this one of the most endearing things about the book.  I turned many others into the Butcher prior to realizing who it actually was!  I did feel vindicated to learn that one of my “choices” turned out to be a bad guy in a very different way.  Each of my suspects had their own secrets and I am left wondering how some will deal with those.

Without giving it away to those who are still reading the book, I would like to pose some questions.  Was the psychological damage done to the killer by his parents?  Did they create him or was he the way he was by his own nature?  Were the women he killed a substitute for his mother? Were the women killed more than just victims of the Butcher or were they also victims of the society in which they lived?

I look forward to discussing the book with you and hearing your opinions!

Marrying the Mistress by Joanna Trollope

From its title one expects a very different book than the one we get.  I would have expected a book about the evils of having an extramarital affair. If that was the intent she failed!  However, I truly believed she expected the reader to look at how all people in a relationship are impacted by decisions made each and every day.  Therefore, I will give my take on the key players in this book.  I look forward to discussing the same characters at our meeting.

 

Guy—like many people I expect he did love his wife.  He had married her.  He wanted her to be happy and to create a life for herself.  He worked hard and long to ensure she wanted for nothing.  I do not believe he set out to have an affair, let alone leave his wife for another woman. As a father, he worked and paid for things. 

Laura—the wronged woman was not her best reflection. She never seemed happy from the very beginning. It was like she was doing what was expected:  marriage, children, making a good home. Nowhere in that does one find that she loves her husband.  Her friend evens calls her on this by saying she thought she was happy Guy was leaving her.  Laura seems more concerned about manipulating her son and maintaining her social status than her marriage.

Simon—truly Laura’s favorite.  She could pull his strings to the point of almost ruining his marriage.  Like many first born children he feels a responsibility to his mother. Seems he and Guy were not that close even though they share a profession.  He too was busy earning a wage to provide for a family without realizing the family needed him more than the money.

Carrie—strong willed and not afraid to take on the Mother-in law!  Truly loves Simon but is willing to give Guy and Merrion the benefit of a doubt. 

Alan—surprised that he is presented as gay.  Could this be the reason his mother prefers Simon to him?  He is one of my favorite characters—loves life, accepting and honest.

Jack, Emma and Rachel—amazing how each plays a role in the eventual outcome of the book.  Jack needs someone to talk to so goes to Grando since he feels his parents are too caught up in everything to listen. Rachel and Emma are honest with their father about their mother’s reaction.  The three combine to give the parents a  reality check and jolt Simon into telling his mother that he would no longer be a puppet on her string.

Gwen—wants the best for her daughter to the point of being willing to alienate her.  Sees her making similar mistakes she made earlier in her own life. 

Merrion—interesting character.  Says she wants to marry Guy but I believe she liked the affair more than the idea of marriage.  She did not like sharing him with his family and when she began to interact with them found this more difficult.  I think she was saddened by the outcome but a bit relieved too.

 

I liked the ending of the book. Simon and Carrie found what mattered in their marriage—something Guy and Laura never did. Laura may get her act together and become her own person.  Guy does an honorable thing and renews his relationship with his family without going back into a loveless marriage.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

“Try not to live in the past, but who knows, sometimes the past lives in me” is the first line I highlighted while reading this book. It led me to have some faith that all would be resolved at books end.  I wondered through its pages if there would be resolution or not.  I cannot imagine how life was in Seattle or any other Pacific coast city during WWII.  I did not even learn of the relocation centers where we placed American citizens based solely on their ethnicity until I was a first year teacher. That had conveniently been omitted in the history books I encountered in West Virginia, even as a Social Studies major in college.  I believe the friendship between Henry and Keiko would have been the equivalent to a friendship between a Caucasian and African American in this part of our nation for many years.  Henry fought his father’s hatred of the Japanese, his unwillingness to speak anything but Cantonese, his being disowned for having his own stubborn streak and even his willingness to return to China to finish his schooling.  His father was living in the past.  He did not want to do so. Yet, he always lived with Keiko in his heart.

Honor is very much a part of Asian culture, possibly even more so than for other cultures. Henry respected his mother for honoring his father by always doing as he declared. “Obedience as a sign of loyalty, as an expression of honor, even as an act of love, was a well-worn theme in his household.” Henry saw this every day as his mother would prepare his food and sneak his letters under his pillow all the while not talking to him because to do so would go against her husband.  When she does speak with him it is to ask obedience of him to take the suit, the ticket to Canton and the money and obey his father’s wishes that he return to China and complete his education.  He agreed under certain circumstances which his father did honor as well—keeping the Panama Hotel from being sold.

“Feelings can only be hidden so long from those who really pay attention.”  Henry’s mother always knew how he felt about Keiko.  Being a woman, I would have thought she would have had a bit more empathy for his situation but that did not keep her from wanting her only son to grow up, meet a nice Chinese girl, marry and have a family!  It is one of the underlying themes in this entire book—loyalty and honor above all else.  The interesting thing is to compare the way Keiko’s family saw these items as opposed to Henry’s.  The Okabes took people at face value with actions speaking louder than any ethnic tensions between two worlds.  They saw the love their daughter had for Henry and he for her.  They knew that he respected them as well and were able to welcome him to their home.

Henry did meet Ethel, marry and have a son.  While he continued to think of Keiko, he was a loving partner and a good father.  I think it interesting that his reasons for marrying Ethel also revolved around loyalty and honor.  He had started dating her after he found Keiko did not show up at the Panama Hotel as requested. He assumed she had moved on. Later he would find that his father had used his power to keep not only his letters from going to Keiko but also him from receiving hers.  At this time he considered, at least momentarily, going to find Keiko but he had asked Ethel to marry him in a burst of passion on V-J Day.  His parents loved her and accepted her. To go back on his proposal would have been dishonorable to Ethel.

I believe he had a good live with Ethel.  He continued to honor her by keeping her with him while she dealt with her cancer and later died of it. “But choosing to lovingly care for her was like steering a plane into a mountain as gently as possible. The crash is imminent; it’s how you spend your time on the way down that counts.” As one who lives with a person who suffers from an incurable disease I know that it is both a joy to spend the time together and a pending crash into the mountain side as you never know what is around the next day.  Will it be a good or a bad day?  Will the progression of the disease accelerate or slow?  That is why I push to get the most out of life every day while we can. I know the day will arrive when we cannot travel, when life as we know it now will change dramatically, but in the meantime I choose to spend the our time on the way down in a manner that creates joy and love. Henry did the same for Ethel. 

I believe it is the way he loved and cared for Ethel that leads Marty to help Henry find Keiko in the end.  He knew his father had sacrificed much for his mother and he deserved to find happiness.  Everyone tells Henry to “fix it” but in the end it is his own son and future, American, daughter-in-law who fixes it.

What I liked about the book:  easy to read, based on historical facts, dealt evenly with the events of the time period without dwelling on the misery and depicted the importance of friendship.  I loved that he and Sheldon remained close friends throughout their lives.  Good friends are there through good times and bad times and they were there for each other.  I loved that Keiko had kept the record and gave it back to Sheldon when she heard he was dying.  It meant as much to her as to Henry and Sheldon. It was like it kept them together even when they were apart. 

What I disliked: Chaz, (even though I am sure his kind existed then as they do today), the conditions under which we treated people in our own country who were American born citizens, and that it took Henry forty plus years to find Keiko. However had he reconnected immediately after the war it would have been a much shorter, less poignant book!