Review of "A Death in Vienna: A Gabriel Allon Thriller " by Daniel Silva

In this 4th book in the 'Gabriel Allon' series, the Israeli agent is on the trail of a Nazi war criminal who's hidden his identity for years. The book can be read as a standalone.



*****

Multi-lingual Israeli spy/art restorer Gabriel Allon is restoring a painting in Venice.....



.....when a bomb destroys the 'Wartime Claims and Inquiries Office' in Vienna, Austria.



Gabriel's friend Eli Lavon is badly wounded and Eli's staff is killed. When Gabriel travels to Vienna to investigate he meets an elderly Holocaust survivor who claims that a prominent, wealthy, local businessman - Ludwig Vogel - is really a Nazi war criminal named Erich Radek.



Before long the elderly Holocaust survivor is murdered..... 











.....and Gabriel's further inquiries, which require trips to the Vatican and Argentina, seem to confirm that Vogel is indeed Radek.

Gabriel suspects that the bombing and murder were perpetrated to prevent Vogel/Radek from being exposed - and there's a little side-story associated with this presumption.

Along the way Gabriel learns more about his mother, a Holocaust survivor who's been very reluctant to speak about her wartime experiences.



This makes Gabriel even more determined to bring Radek to justice.

During Gabriel's travels there are several attempts on his life but none are successful due to a little help from his friends. These various friends also help Gabriel hatch up a complex scheme to snatch Radek, and this leads to the book's dramatic climax.

As usual in Daniel Silva's writing, the book has a political bent. In this story, the Vatican, the Catholic Church, and Pope Pius XII are depicted as having collaborated with the Nazis and having helped war criminals escape.



Also, Austria is described as having been sympathetic to the Nazis, with people willing to run concentration camps and cover up war crimes. FYI: The parts of the book that described Nazi treatment of the Jews are graphic and disturbing.

There are an array of interesting characters in this thriller, including Gabriel's art mentor, his girlfriend, a clock restorer/assassin, residents of the Vatican, members of Israeli's intelligence service, and more. The story is fast-paced with plenty of action, but there aren't a lot of twists. Spy thrillers aren't my favorite genre but I enjoyed the book. Recommended for thriller fans.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "The Upright Thinkers: The Human Journey from Living in Trees to Understanding the Cosmos" by Leonard Mlodinow

For humans to advance from wandering hunter-gatherers to the savvy beings we are today - able to use all kinds of intricate gadgets and even send spacecraft out into the cosmos - there had to be significant advancements in knowledge and technology. In this book Mlodinow talks about the major leaps of mankind and how they came about.




Primitive humans were hunter-gatherers

/


Modern humans are tech savvy

Mlodinow focuses on three areas: evolution of the human mind; discoveries related to astronomy, physics, chemistry, and biology; and the revolutionary field of quantum mechanics. The book, which covers a wide array of topics, can't be summarized in a short review...and I won't try. I'd just strongly encourage anyone interested in the topic of human advancement to read the book themselves. It's exceptionally well written, has loads of fascinating information, and (against all odds) is VERY funny. The author has a great sense of humor and includes lots of humorous quips and examples throughout the book.

Just for fun, I'll mention a few things in the book that I found particularly memorable.

One of the most important human discoveries occurred when some cavewoman (or man) - banging a couple of rocks together - accidently produced a shard with a sharp edge....the first knife! This helped early humans, who were mostly vegetarians, expand their diet to include more meat. It made a good weapon as well. In any case, these sharpened rocks apparently helped us get much more clever.





I was surprised to learn that Sir Isaac Newton, who discovered the laws of motion, wasn't a nice guy at all. He worked constantly, shunned human interaction, and was very vengeful toward people who disagreed with him or criticized his research. If someone angered Newton he would write lots of nasty letters and viciously criticize them in scientific journals. You wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of this genius!





Charles Darwin, who at the age of 22 bravely undertook his extensive voyage on the Beagle, was a physical wreck by the age of 30. Poor Darwin was so sick that he sometimes couldn't work for months at a time. The biologist visited many doctors and tried innumerable remedies, but nothing helped. (My own theory is that Darwin picked up a parasite on his trip.) Still Darwin married and had lots of children. He also carried on (through the pain) for many years to develop his theory of evolution. (Yay!)





The book's author, Leonard Mlodinow, specializes in theoretical physics but had to learn some applied physics as well. For one such class young Mlodinow had to build a radio from scratch. As the author describes it, the radio only got one unpopular station.... and only worked when he held it upside down and shook it. (Ha ha ha.)


Leonard Mlodinow

I completely enjoyed the book and highly recommend it to anyone interested in science. 

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review of "The Cat-Nappers: A Bertie Wooster/Jeeves Novel" by P.G. Wodehouse

I listened to the audio book and the narrator - using different voices and accents for the various characters - added even more fun to this humorous book. The story: Bertie Wooster, advised by his doctor to get a rest, rents a cottage in the country. As it turns out, all manner of Bertie's former acquaintances, most of whom he'd rather not see, are in the area. These include: Vanessa Cook - a strong-minded girl who turned down Bertie's marriage proposal; Orlo Porter, Vanessa's current boyfriend   In this 15th book in the 'Bertie Wooster/Jeeves' series, Bertie abducts a cat to rig a horserace. The book can be read as a standalone ***** I listened to the audio book and the narrator - using different voices and accents for the various characters - added even more fun to this humorous story. The story: Bertie Wooster, advised by his doctor to get a rest, rents a cottage in the country. As it turns out, all manner of Bertie's former acquaintances, most of whom he'd rather not see, are in the area. These include: Vanessa Cook - a strong-minded girl who turned down Bertie's marriage proposal; Orlo Porter, Vanessa's current boyfriend - who's ready to throttle Bertie over Vanessa; Captain Plank - a hot-tempered hunter who thinks Bertie is the notorious thief Alpine Joe; and more. Bertie's Aunt Dahlia is also vacationing in the area and - having received a tip on a horse race - bet every cent she has on Simla. Too late, Aunt Dahlia learns that Simla has a worthy opponent named Potato Chip. As it happens Potato Chip has fallen in love with a local cat who sleeps in his stall, and the consensus is that Potato Chip will lose the race if the cat disappears. So Aunt Dahlia and other interested parties hatch up a scheme to kidnap and hide the cat until the race is over. Bertie, against his moral code and better judgement, is drawn into this scheme. Of course the various attempts at cat-napping and then cat-returning cause all manner of hilarious problems. Through it all Bertie's valet/butler Jeeves - who barely raises an eyebrow even when he finds Bertie tied up and gagged - keeps a straight face and a stiff upper lip. This is a fun story filled with cases of mistaken identity, misunderstood intentions, shifting marriage engagements, and a cat with a mind of his own. Wodehouse has a gift for comedic writing and every scene in the book draws at least a smile. Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster/Jeeves books are just what you need when you're in the mood for a light read. Highly recommended. Rating: 4 stars

Review of "The Alphabet House: A Psychological Suspense Novel" by Jussi-Adler Olsen

I decided to read this book because I'm a fan of Jussi Adler-Olsen's 'Department Q' mysteries and thought this standalone (written prior to the Dep't. Q books) might be a good read.

As the story opens it's 1944 and World War II is raging. English flyboys Bryan Young and James Teasdale are sent on a mission to do aerial reconnaissance over Germany, where they get shot down.



After some hide-and-seek with German soldiers Bryan and James make their way onto a German medical transport train, throw off the bodies of a couple of Nazi officers, and assume their identities.



They soon find themselves in a mental hospital, called Alphabet House, for shell-shocked SS officials; there Bryan and James must endure endless electroshock and drug therapy.



Though their 'mental illness' allows them to remain silent Bryan and James are still in a very precarious situation; if they're exposed as either Brits or malingerers they'll be killed immediately. Thus they live in a constant state of anxiety and fear.

As it turns Alphabet House seems to be chock full of Nazis faking mental illness. One group of malingerers consists of officers who are in the habit of whispering at night, bragging about murders they've committed and their secret horde of riches. These men are extremely suspicious of their fellow patients, fearing someone might discover their deception and expose them. Thus they watch everyone closely, not hesitating to harass or even murder someone they suspect is faking. Bryan and James come under intense scrutiny by these men and James especially suffers greatly at their hands. This part of the book is very long and very disturbing.



Eventually Bryan escapes from Alphabet House, which is bombed soon afterwards by the advancing Allies. Skip ahead to 1972 and Bryan is a wealthy, successful physician who owns a pharmaceutical company and is happily married.



Bryan has never given up trying to find James, however, and when circumstances align he returns to Germany and travels to the town where Alphabet House was located.



There he comes across some people he knew in the mental ward and things take a very dramatic turn. This section of the book is also very long and disturbing.

In the prologue of the book Jussi Adler-Olsen talks about his interest in mental illness and speculates whether faking a mental disability can lead to the real thing. He explains that his interests in both World War II and mental illness led him to write this book.


Jussi Adler-Olsen being interviewed

It's hard for me to rate this story because - though it's well-written and compelling - the subject matter is distressing and many of the characters are sadistic and disgusting. Thus I settled on 3 stars; this just wasn't the book for me. I'll probably stick to Jussi Adler Olsen's mysteries from now on.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Song of the Lion: A Leaphorn and Chee Navajo Mystery" by Anne Hillerman

In this 21st book in the 'Leaphorn and Chee' series, detectives Bernadette Manuelito and Jim Chee take center stage when a businessman is targeted by killers. The book can be read as a standalone

*****

The alumni basketball game at New Mexico's Shiprock High School always draws a big crowd, and Navajo Police Officer Bernadette Manuelito (Bernie) is on hand to watch the teams play.



An explosion in the parking lot draws Bernie outside, where she sees a car in flames.



Bernie calls for backup, and the police and FBI soon discover that the vehicle was ignited by a car bomb and one man was seriously injured - and soon died.



It turns out the car belongs to Aza Palmer, a Navajo lawyer slated to mediate a conference in Tuba City, Arizona.



The conference concerns a proposed resort at the Grand Canyon - a project that's very controversial. The attendees will include the resort developers; local Indian tribes (Navajo and Hopi); and various environmental organizations. In addition, 'open microphone sessions' are expected to attract a large number of opinionated people, determined to have their say.



Palmer isn't injured by the bomb but the Navajo police think it might have been intended to kill him, to stop him attending the conference. For this reason Sergeant Jim Chee (Bernie's husband) is assigned to drive Palmer to Tuba City and act as a bodyguard.



When the bomb victim is identified as twenty-something Rick Horseman, Palmer is very upset. He's known Rick for years, and tried to help the boy when he was abusing drugs and alcohol.



Palmer can't fathom what happened at Shiprock High School, won't accept that he's in danger, and doesn't want a bodyguard. This negative thinking doesn't help when Palmer and Chee get to Tuba City, and all kinds of trouble erupts.

Someone in a car follows Palmer; the lights go out in the conference venue; the heating malfunctions in the building; demonstrators mill around and cause one ruckus after another; detractors shout at Palmer - claiming he's in the pocket of the builders; a violent protester bangs up a car with his sign; and so on.



Since Bernie has a few days off, she joins Chee in Tuba City, where they cooperate to protect Palmer and investigate the bombing. The inquiry is really the job of the FBI, but the two Navajo cops want to help.

To get needed advice, Bernie contacts Joe Leaphorn, 'The Legendary Lieutenant' who mentored herself and Chee. Leaphorn is retired now, recovering from a head injury that impaired his speech.



The Lieutenant can still email, however, and - when he hears the name Rick Horseman - realizes he knew the victim. In fact Leaphorn rescued Rick from an abusive home when he was a child.

Bernie, Chee, and Leaphorn all make a contribution to the resolution of the case, and the book has a believable and satisfying conclusion. I like that Bernie really shows her mettle at the book's climax.

The original 'Navajo Tribal Police Mysteries' were written by Tony Hillerman, and his daughter Anne is following in his footsteps, continuing to write stories with the same characters. Anne does a creditable job, and provides a nod to Navajo customs, but I liked Tony's books better.

Tony's mysteries had more scenes concerning Navajo culture and beliefs, and - in Tony's novels - Jim Chee was studying to be a traditional healer.....which was very interesting. In addition, Tony's main character was 'The Legendary Lieutenant' himself - an unbeatable detective with a compelling background.



Still, 'The Song of the Lion' is a good mystery with an interesting setting; Bernie and Chee are likable characters; and fans of the series would enjoy the book.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Farriers' Lane: A Detective Thomas Pitt Mystery" by Anne Perry

In this 13th book in the 'Thomas and Charlotte Pitt' series, the Scotland Yard detective and his wife look into the murder of a judge. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

Detective Thomas Pitt and his wife Charlotte are at the theater when an appeals court judge, Justice Stafford, is murdered in his box.



It seems Stafford may have been planning to look into the conviction and hanging of Aaron Godman five years before. Godman was accused of killing married playboy Kingsley Blaine who was dallying with Godman's sister. Blaine had been stabbed and crucified and Godman was Jewish - all of which inflamed the public and may have led to a hasty judgment.



Could it be that Godman was innocent and someone doesn't want Stafford to rake the case up? Detective Pitt investigates Stafford's death (with the help of his wife Charlotte as usual). Pitt questions persons of interest, makes observations, consults with relevant lawyers and judges, and so on.



My problem with the book is that too many characters repeat the same evidence/story ad infinitum which becomes long and tedious. The book could have been edited to be a third shorter without losing any important threads. Also, a number of characters spout anti-Semitic sentiments, which I found offensive but is probably authentic for the time period.

Overall, it's a decent mystery with plenty of memorable (if not particularly likable) characters. The book's resolution was surprising but believable. In any case it's always fun to read the author's depiction of the rigid customs, foibles, and hoity-toity attitudes of the British 'upper classes' of the 1800s.



Rating: 3 stars