Review of "Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line: A Comic Thriller" by Elle Cosimano

  

In this 6th book in the comical 'Finlay Donovan' series, Finlay's friend/nanny is under house arrest for theft, and Finlay wants to prove someone else is guilty.

*****

Virginia resident Finlay Donovan is a divorced mother and romance novelist who has a knack for getting in and out of trouble.



Finlay met her live-in nanny (and now best friend) Veronica Ruiz (Vero) about a year ago, when Vero was on the run from a theft charge in in her home state of Maryland.



Since then Finlay and Vero have buried bodies; got involved with the Russian mafia; acquired boyfriends; and had all manner of kooky adventures.



Unfortunately, the Maryland police finally caught up with Vero, and she's been extradited and charged with stealing money from her sorority house.



The crime happened like this: In Vero's senior year of college, she was on the executive board of her sorority with two other girls, Ava and Mia. The threesome decided they could make some money hosting underground poker nights, and accumulated $200,000, which was kept in Vero's room.



Vero went out to a party one night, and when she returned, the money was gone. Vero was blamed for taking it, and to avoid arrest, Vero went on the run Everyone involved with the poker games got into big trouble with the cops and the school.....and the parents of students who'd lost all their tuition money went ballistic.



Now, outfitted with an ankle monitor, Vero is under house arrest in the Maryland home of her mother Norma and aunt Gloria. Vero's public defender is still wet behind the ears, and it looks like Vero will be convicted if the real culprit isn't exposed.



Finlay is determined to help Vero, so she entrusts the care of her children, 5-year-old Delia and 2-year-old Zach, to her boyfriend, police detective Nick Anthony.



Finlay then takes off for Maryland with Vero's boyfriend Javi.



In Maryland, Finlay, Vero, Javi, and Vero's cousin Ramón.....



......embark on a series of escapades to uncover the real thief. This is easier said than done because Vero is permitted only limited excursions while under house arrest, and her ankle monitor shrieks at ear-splitting decibels if she stays out past her curfew.

To further the investigation, Finlay contacts her acquaintance Cameron (Cam), an 18-year-old high school dropout who was a hacker for the Russian mafia. Cam can find anyone's name and address from a license plate number, and he can 'fool' Vero's ankle monitor into reporting she's at home.



Finlay and Vero - with the help of Javi and Ramón - contact people involved in the poker games, especially Vero's sorority sisters and some fraternity boys, most of whom have graduated.





The amateur sleuths uncover all sorts of nefarious activity on the night the poker money was stolen, as well as an ongoing counterfeit ring. Finlay and Vero hope to wring a confession out of someone before Vero goes to trial, but it's a challenging enterprise.

Meanwhile, Vero is being harassed. The home of Vero's mother and aunt (where Vero' is staying) is vandalized with raw eggs that say things like bitch, liar, crook; rocks are thrown through the windows with messages calling Vero a thief; burning dog poop is left on the porch; and so on.



As always in this series, there's a good deal of comic relief. For instance:

🌸🌸 Vero and four elderly Maryland neighbors named Eugene, Joan, Lenore, and Wendell play 'Go Fish' for old Halloween and Christmas candy. Here's an example of the conversation as a game finishes up:

Vero: We'll play again tomorrow.

Lenore: But tomorrow is Taco Tuesday.

Joan: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, tomorrow's Friday Lenore. Get with the program.

Lenore: There's a program?



🌸🌸 Finlay's literary agent Sylvia arranges for Finlay to have a Facebook page, to promote her romance novels. Finlay's nosy neighbor Stacy posts comments about Finlay's 'hot cop boyfriend' and starts a 'boxers or briefs' poll about him. The neighbors then publish Twitter posts with the hashtag 'hotcopcrotchwatch'. Stacy votes for briefs.



By the conclusion of the novel, the culprit is revealed, and a cliffhanger ending whets the reader's appetite for the next Finlay Donovan book.

Vero's mom and aunt are great cooks, so here's one of their dinner menus: tortillas with picadillo; and bread pudding with a sugar-crusted top.




Tortillas with Picadillo


Bread Pudding with a Sugar-Crusted Top

I'm a fan of the series, but this book is a bit disappointing. First off, the crime doesn't ring true. How would a sorority glean $200,000 from an underground poker game? And would Vero be foolish enough to leave the money in her room? That's crazy!! Also, robbery isn't as exciting as the murders, burials, exhumations, and so on featured in previous books.

Still, I'd recommend the novel to Finlay Donovan fans for an entertaining afternoon's reading.

Thanks to Netgalley, Elle Cosimano, and Minotaur for an ARC of the book.

 Rating: 3 stars 

Review of "Three Bengal Kittens: A Dr. Bannerman Vet Mystery" by Philipp Schott

Dr. Peter Bannerman, a veterinarian in the lakeside town of New Selfoss, Manitoba, is an amateur sleuth who can't help getting involved in criminal investigations. Peter knows he's on the autism spectrum, and uses his 'compulsions' to propel his detective work.



In this fourth 'Dr. Bannerman Vet Mystery', Peter goes into action when his brother Sam is accused of murder. Sam is a struggling artist who recently moved into a Winnipeg apartment building called Lady Alice, located about an hour from New Selfoss. Sam is mentally unstable and calls Peter whenever a problem arises.



As the story opens, Sam phones Peter about a missing cat. Sam's neighbor Dženan Knezevic died suddenly and Sam took in Knezevic's three bengal kittens - Barry, Flinders, and Mr. Bingley.



Mr. Bingley has now escaped, and Sam insists that Peter hurry over with his renowned sniffer dog, Pippin, to search for the cat.



While Peter, Sam, and Pippin scout the neighbors and the neighborhood looking for Mr. Bingley, the police show up to interview Sam about Dženan Knezevic's death. The next thing Sam knows the police charge him with first degree murder.



The facts are these: Dženan Knezevic, a 70-year-old Bosnian immigrant, died from being drugged and suffocated. Sam regularly played backgammon with Knezevic, and was in Knezevic's apartment on the afternoon of his murder.



Sam relies on Peter to get him a lawyer, and - in his defense - Sam claims Dženan Knezevic was being haunted by ghosts. According to Sam, the ghosts were making noises and moving things around in Knezevic's apartment, and they killed him.



Peter doesn't believe in ghosts, but he's convinced Sam is innocent, and he sets out to find the real culprit. Peter considers the most important clue a mark on the wall outside Knezevic's apartment: a kind of Celtic knot containing a Utasha - a symbol used by a Croatian ultra-nationalist organization.



The Utasha symbol leads Peter to believe the killer is a person with Bosnian/Croatian heritage who had an animus against Knezevic. Moreover, since a key is needed to enter the Lady Alice apartment building, Peter thinks the killer is a resident.

To gather information, Peter knocks on every door in the building, on the pretext of offering a reward for finding Mr. Bingley. Peter makes a roster of suspects, based on the evidence he can glean. For instance:

☕︎☕︎ Elena has a Slavic accent.



☕︎☕︎ Ed served in an army unit that may have been stationed in Bosnia.



☕︎☕︎ Josh and Claire backpacked in the Balkans a few years ago.



☕︎☕︎ Mia looks like she could be from southeastern Europe.



Peter knows these 'clues' are very flimsy, and he tries to deepen his investigation. Though Peter's inquiries form the core of the story, much of the book's charm lies with the recurring characters. These include:

☕︎☕︎ Laura - Peter's wife, who's one of the foremost knitters of bespoke geek-wear anywhere. In this book Laura is making a 'Matrix' sweater with the vertical lines of code in acid green on the movie poster. Laura keeps Peter focused when he gets carried away with his investigations.





☕︎☕︎ Kevin - Laura's brother, who's a detective with the Royal Canadian Mounties. Kevin sometimes gets annoyed when Peter's detective work interferes with REAL police investigations, but he always tries to be helpful.



☕︎☕︎ Stuart - Kevin's Nigerian partner, an accountant and excellent cook. Stuart is an easygoing fellow with close ties to his parents and siblings in Nigeria.



In this book, Kevin and Stuart adopt a new puppy, a Shetland sheepdog called Orbit, because - when the pup is loose - he joyfully careens in circles, tail wagging, with an expression of pure delight. Orbit performs a selfless service in this novel, when he gets a small scratch that helps locate Mr. Bingley.



As always in these books, Peter runs into terrible trouble before he solves the case, but he manages to unveil the truth in the end.



For me, this book is okay, but not as good as the previous novels in the series. The earlier books were more exciting, and had more interesting tidbits about immigrant culture and history. Still, I'd recommend the book to Peter Bannerman fans.

Thanks to Netgalley, Philipp Schott, and ECW Press for an ARC of the book.

 Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Stories: The Collected Short Fiction" by Helen Garner

Helen Garner is a renowned Australian novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and journalist. This collection of stories, first published between 1985 and 1998, is my introduction to Garner, who's known for her “generous, category-defying imagination and her signature blend of sharp observation, honesty, and humor."


Helen Garner

The fourteen tales in this book are more 'slice of life' vignettes than short stories, and they demonstrate Garner's focus on interpersonal relations, women, and memorable, sometimes life-changing, moments.

A number of journalists and reviewers have written in-depth analyses of Garner's work, but - since that's not my field - I'll just give brief impressions of some of the stories.

🦘🦘Postcards From Surfers🦘🦘

A woman is visiting her parents and aunt in Coolangatta, and writes a series of postcards to a man named Philip, relating things she's doing with her family. For example: "A big red setter wet from the surf shambles up...my parents send it packing with curses in inarticulate tongue. Go orn, get orf, gorn!" In the end, the woman doesn't send the postcards, but bins the lot.



This story contains a humorous scene about a woman who senses she stinks for days, though she washes and washes. It turns out the woman forgot to take out her tampon.

My thoughts: The postcards demonstrate unrequited love or a bad break-up; and women should always remove the tampon.

🦘🦘The Dark, The Light🦘🦘

A man returns to his hometown for his wedding. The people in his former social group talk about him endlessly, and expect to hear from him, but most of them don't.



My thoughts: The man has moved on from (what he thinks of as) his old boring lot.

🦘🦘In Paris🦘🦘

In a communal living situation, it's a Frenchman's turn to make dinner for the group. The only food in the house is fish and brussels sprouts. A female roommate from Australia tells him to just cook the fish and brussels sprouts, but the Frenchman insists - in his country - these aren't eaten together. "It is not done, they do not complement each other. Fish and potatoes, yes....But not green vegetables."



My thoughts: The Frenchman is a gourmet and a bit of a snob.

🦘🦘Little Helen's Sunday Afternoon🦘🦘

A little girl visiting relatives peeks into the shed, where her teenage cousin and his friends are fooling around. The cousin warns against 'telling what you saw' and makes the girl look at his surgeon father's slides of 'horrible children' with war injuries.



My thoughts: The cousin is mean and the incident is potentially scarring.

🦘🦘All Those Bloody Young Catholics🦘🦘

An Australian man and some friends, one of whom is a woman called Watto, are having drinks. The man goes on and on and on, telling stories. As an example: "Oh Christine was beautiful though - I'll never forget the night you and her brought Gerry back here, Watto, he was that drunk...and then you went off, Watto, and left the poor young girl stranded with this disgusting drunk on her hands. Laugh! Aaahhhhh. Course much later she goes off with Chappo....and years after that she took off with that show pony McWatsisname...course, she's living with someone else now. They fought over her, you know. They fought in the pub....Cut it out, I says, look you don't have to fight over cunt! If I was to fight over every sheila I'd ever f**ked there'd be fights from her to bloody Darwin! Why do they fight over them? Those bloody young Catholics...Look if I can't get a f**k there's a thousand bloody massage parlors between here and Sydney...."



My thoughts: This guy is a hoot.

🦘🦘A Thousand Miles From The Ocean🦘🦘

A woman meets a man in Australia and then - against her better judgement - visits the man in Germany, where he lives. The woman is uncomfortable and out of her element, and the man doesn't put himself out for her visit. So she leaves and goes touring by herself.



My thoughts: Kudos to the lady.

🦘🦘Did He Pay?🦘🦘

This story features a type of man often seen in Garner's books and stories. He's a slim, charismatic, good-looking musician who has frequent one-night-stands and sleeps on the couches of friends and acquaintances. "He drifted from house to house between gigs, living on his charm....He was never in the way. In fact he was a treat to have around, with his idle wit and ironic smile....If someone he was not interested in asked him to spend the night with her, he was too embarrassed to say no. Thus, many a woman spent a puzzled night beside him, untouched, unable to touch."



My thoughts: Women, stay away from this guy.

🦘🦘My Hard Heart🦘🦘

A woman's husband returns from a trip and says he's leaving her for someone else. The next day, the husband is gone to be with the new woman.

The husband has apparently been serially unfaithful because the wife gets a call from a young woman asking for the husband. The wife says, "He's not here...This is his wife speaking." The caller responds, "Oh yes! He told me he was involved with you." The wife says, "Involved! He's MARRIED to me." The caller replies, "Oh well, married....involved...."



The wife is crushed, and turns to her friends to talk about the betrayal. In a café, the wife's friend Elizabeth confides that her husband is dying from a tumour. Elizabeth says, "I used to think there was justice and fairness. That there was a contract, that things meant something. Now I know your foot can go straight through the floor." Tears, black with mascara, pour off Eliabeth's face, and she confides, "I think what I'm trying to do is to die. Because I can't BEAR him to have to go out there on his own."

My thoughts: Men can be cheaters, life can be hard, and things can always get worse.

*****

I rarely read short story collections, and lean toward humorous stories when I do. Still, I found Garner's sketches engaging, and was glad when women showed their mettle. If you're unfamiliar with Garner's writing, this might be a good place to start.

Thanks to Netgalley, Helen Garner, and Pantheon for an ARC of the book.

Rating: 3.5 stars