Review of "Calico: A Genre-Bending Thriller" by Lee Goldberg

Detective Beth McDade worked for the Los Angeles Police Department until she lost her badge for having sex with a junior officer. Beth is now with the sheriff's department in Barstow, California, a desert town where 'nobody wants to be.'



In the 1800s, Barstow was a busy railroad hub for silver mining operations, but is now just a hot desert burg near a military base and a tourist attraction called the 'Calico Ghost Town' - a re-creation of the original town of Calico, with 'residents' and 'shopkeepers' dressed in period costumes.





As the story opens Beth is called to the scene of a late night accident near Peggy Sue's diner, a 50s-style eatery that looks like a giant jukebox surrounded by dinosaurs.



Beth is told that an old man was killed by a motor home.



When Beth looks at CCTV footage of the incident, she observes the sky crackling with electricity, a loud blast, and a bright flash from the nearby Marine base. Then a terrified, disheveled old coot runs out of the darkness into the road, where he's mowed down by a trailer home that has no chance to avoid him.



When coroner Amanda Selby examines the old man's body, she tells Beth that the victim, who has no identification, is filthy; has only a few, badly decayed teeth; is infested with lice; is suffering from advanced syphilis; is wearing clothes manufactured in the 1880s; and has old coins in his pocket. Beth is bewildered, but thinks the victim was probably a kind of eccentric mountain man living off the earth.





A few days later, a Los Angeles police officer consults Beth about a missing person. It seems a Los Angeles chef named Owen Slader, who was driving back to LA from Las Vegas, vanished in the desert. The last ping from Slader's Mercedes SUV occurred around Barstow, and Beth determines that Slader went missing on the same day, at the same time, and in the same area that the dirty old mountain man ran into the road.



Shortly afterwards, a construction crew that's just starting work in the desert near Barstow comes across a buried old coffin containing a dry yellow skeleton that's over a hundred years old. And -WAIT FOR IT - the skeleton is identified as Owen Slader, who disappeared just a few days ago.



From here the story alternates back and forth between the old mining town of Calico in the 1880s.....



.....and current times in Barstow, where Beth is investigating the disappearance of Owen Slader.



Beth's inquiries put her on the radar of Bill Knox, the Security Chief at the nearby Marine base, who warns her off. Nevertheless, Beth plows on with her investigation, aided by the coroner Amanda.



In 1880s Calico, we see that the town is in the midst of a silver rush. It has one newspaper man and one judge, and harbors saloons, restaurants, prostitutes, bath houses, etc. that cater to the miners.



Calico is dirty and stinks to high heaven, with red dust everywhere, and human waste and garbage covering the streets and swept into open ravines. The descriptions of old Barstow/Calico are very vivid and I could picture the filth; the overpowering stench; the exhausted miners with bad breath and unwashed clothes; the meals of steak, beans, biscuits, and boiled potatoes (25 cents); the bath houses where the same water is used again and again; the cramped caves where miners sleep; and so on.



There's a side plot about Beth's investigation of the robbery of a house on the outskirts of Barstow, that the out-of-town owner sees on CCTV from his home in La Jolla. Beth shows up as the culprits are getting away, after one robber flips a middle finger at the security camera and pees on a sofa. Beth gets on the trail of these perps, who've hit several homes in the area.



There are plenty of twists and surprises in the book, which is a mixed-genre thriller.

I was a little put off by Beth's obsession with sex (she picks up men and has sex with them to deal with her boredom and anxiety), a plot device I call 'male fantasy writing.' That aside, this is an excellent story, highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley, Lee Goldberg, and Severn House for a copy of the manuscript.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "Most Talkative: Stories From the Front Lines of Pop Culture" by Andy Cohen

 

Andy Cohen


Andy Cohen is the executive producer of the 'Real Housewives' franchise, and if you're interested in those programs, Cohen writes about them in this memoir. Cohen's coverage is extensive, but he does not include everything you ever wanted to know. That out of the way, I'll continue.

Andy Cohen, born in 1968, grew up in a close Jewish family in St. Louis, Missouri. Cohen writes, "I was a good kid, but I've had one Achilles' heel that's stayed with me through the years: talking. I simply could not shut the f**k up - I still can't - and that small issue has gotten me in all sorts of trouble." Relating an anecdote about his constant chatter during a trip with relatives, Andy recalls, "My Aunt [Judy] - my own flesh and blood by marriage - dumped an entire pitcher of iced tea over my head!"


Little Andy Cohen


Teenage Andy Cohen

Andy includes lots of stories about his youth, including this one about vacationing in Sarasota with his extended family. Andy remembers, "I loved doing impersonations. My specialty was the Reverend Ernest Angley, who wore a white suit and a big toupee and healed people. I often took my Reverend Angley act in the street and 'preached' around the neighborhood.....now I wonder what people thought of the screamy little Jewish boy pretending to be a Bible Belt preacher."


Reverend Ernest Angley (whom young Andy Cohen liked to impersonate)

Regarding his sexuality, Cohen writes, "To be clear, I've been gay since the day I was born, but even though I knew it somewhere in my head, I didn't want to face the facts of what that meant." Andy grew up in a time of widespread bigotry against homosexuals, and notes, "I really believed my life would be over once I came out." Recalling an Eddie Murphy show he attended, Cohen writes "Every other word out of [Murphy's] mouth was 'faggot.' Cohen goes on, "My friends loved it. I was surrounded by thousands of people in hysterics, and they were laughing at 'faggots.' And ipso facto, laughing at me."


Comic Eddie Murphy


Andy Cohen at his high school prom

After high school, Cohen went to Boston University (BU) in 1986, to study Broadcast Journalism. According to Cohen, he picked BU because "it was urban, with a good communication school, and, I'd found out on the sly, a semblance of a gay community." Andy began to hang out with gay men, but stayed in the closet to his friends and family, for fear they'd ostracize him. Cohen also worried about his health. He observes, "The dark side of my initial forays into the gay world was that I was absolutely terrified that I was going to get - or had already gotten - AIDS."


Andy Cohen sporting his 'Jewfro'

When Cohen finally decided to come out in college, he wrote a journal entry that he read to each friend after he told them his secret - an explanation that was long, explanatory, and heartfelt. As things turned out, Andy's friends and parents accepted him. Cohen writes, "Overall, the support was overwhelming, although two friends later confessed to barfing hours after our conversations. I'm going to choose to blame that one on processed foods, whether it's true or not."

Cohen writes a great deal about his career, which started with a summer internship at 'CBS This Morning' in 1989. After graduating from college, Andy returned to CBS as a newsclerk, and he "answered phones, ripped scripts, collated packet for the anchors, and did irritating work for producers."


Andy Cohen at CBS News


Andy Cohen and friends on shirtless Tuesdays at '48 Hours' on CBS

Andy slowly worked his way up to a producer on CBS news, and mentions many of the famous people whose appearances he produced - including Mary Jo and Joey Buttafucco; Buddy Hackett; and Tammy Faye Bakker, of whom Andy speaks with great affection. Andy also had to rush to disaster scenes (floods, hurricanes, fires, bombings, plane crashes, etc.) to line up people to be interviewed on the news. These experiences were difficult and haunting.


Televangelist and singer Tammy Faye Bakker

Eventually, Andy started working for the new Bravo network, which was "seriously gay friendly", with shows like 'Boy Meets Boy'; and 'Gay Weddings.' In time, Bravo morphed into a very successful network, airing reality programs such as 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy','Project Runway', 'Top Chef', 'My Life on the D-List', 'Shear Genius', 'Flipping Out', 'Million Dollar Listing', and others. Bravo is also the home of the popular 'Real Housewives' franchise, and Andy writes a good bit about the cast members (including those awful Salahis) and the reunion shows, which he hosted.


Real Housewives of New Jersey Reunion Show


Michaele and Tareq Salahi dressed for a (notorious) dinner at the White House

Once Cohen got on-air there was no stopping him, and Andy went on to host reunion shows for other Bravo programs. Finally, in 2008, Cohen got his own show, called 'Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen', where he discusses pop culture topics with celebrities and reality show personalities.


Carol Burnett on What's What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

Andy includes lots of chit-chat in the memoir, including his camp experiences as a boy; his fascination with Susan Lucci and Oprah Winfrey; his college travels in Europe; his good friend Graciela, with whom he pulled (what they thought) were hilarious pranks; his wonky eye; his work; his parents Evelyn and Lou; and much more. Many of the stories are funny, and Andy's exuberant personality comes through loud and clear.


Andy Cohen with Susan Lucci


Andy Cohen with his parents, Evelyn and Lou

From a boy, Andy wanted to be on television, and when he's asked if his life is different now that he's famous, Cohen responds, "Sometimes I can get into a great restaurant, sometimes people want to have their picture taken with me, and sometimes people come up to me and say something that they perhaps intend to be nice or funny, but that leaves me feeling....sweetly bludgeoned. Something like: You are cuter than I thought you would be! Or, The Housewives are the end of civilization."


Andy Cohen on the Red Carpet

On the down side, every mistake of a celebrity is trumpeted on social media. For instance, when Andy criticized public school children who sang on the Oscars - thinking he was being funny - all hell broke loose. Andy recalls, "That was the day I realized I was kind of famous....and I wish I could've enjoyed that moment instead of having it tied to the nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach....as it became clear that I would now be world famous for being a child-hater." Andy sincerely apologized and now has two children, Benjamin and Lucy, so he's not a child hater at all....and he likes dogs as well. 😀


Andy Cohen with his children, Benjamin and Lucy


Andy Cohen with his rescue dog Wacha

I listened to the audiobook and had a digital copy. I enjoyed Cohen's memoir, and recommend it to fans of Andy Cohen and people who enjoy Bravo television shows.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "The Spanish Diplomat's Secret: A Captain Jim Agnihotri Historical Mystery" by Nev March

In this 3rd book in the 'Captain Jim Agnihotri' historical mystery series, private detective Jim Agnihotri and his wife Diana search for a killer on a transatlantic passenger ship. The book works as a standalone but familiarity with the characters is a bonus.

*****

After serving in the British army in India, Anglo-Indian Captain Jim Agnihotri became interested in being a private detective, like his fictional idol Sherlock Holmes.



Now Agnihotri and his 22-year-old Persian-Indian wife Diana live in Boston, Massachusetts, and - due to a bureaucratic glitch on the couple's journey to America - Jim is now officially called James Agney O'Trey and his wife is Diana O'Trey.



As the story opens, it's 1894, and Jim and Diana are on board His Majesty's Ship Etruria, traveling from Boston to London.



Diana has packed all the elegant clothing she and Jim need for the trip, since first-class passengers dress up for meals, dances, and other activities.





Unfortunately for Jim, he has no sea-legs, and on the first evening of the voyage - while Diana is dancing in the ballroom - Jim is being sick over the side of the ship. An older Spanish gentleman, who has the bearing of a soldier, helps Jim sit down, and the two men have a brief conversation.



The next day, Jim receives a short note that reads, "Attend me immediamente" and it's signed J. Nepomuceno. Jim consults a steward to get the cabin number for J. Nepomuceno, and hurries off to assist the gentleman. Regrettably, Jim is too late. Don Juan Nepomuceno - whom Jim met the evening before - has been murdered in the ship's music room.

The Etruria's skipper, Captain Hawley, knows that Jim is a private detective, and asks him to investigate the killing. The Captain explains that Nepomuceno is related to the king of Spain, and if the killer isn't found before the ship docks in Liverpool, a diplomatic incident will be triggered. This gives Jim a week to find the murderer.



Jim proceeds to interview the passengers and crew, concentrating on people who claim to have seen Nepomuceno around the time of the murder.



Jim is told that a nurse. or someone dressed like a nurse, was on deck with Nepomuceno. However, Jim can't identify the nurse in question, and everyone Jim interviews seems to be lying or withholding information.



Jim questions the same people again and again, day after day, but he can't seem to make headway with the investigation. Jim is hampered even more by Captain Hawley's edict that first class passengers are above suspicion and not to be disturbed. So Jim isn't permitted to press them or search their quarters.



Moreover, Jim's Anglo-Indian military background means he doesn't fit in with the ship's upper crust passengers. Luckily, Jim's wife Diana, who's beautiful, refined, and sophisticated, blends in with the rich folks, and she's able to help Jim search for the killer.



In addition to Nepomuceno's murder, other incidents add to the disturbing atmosphere on the Etruria. There's a 'man overboard' occurrence; someone is assaulted; a passenger seems to go missing; and - according to some observers - there are ghosts aboard the ship.

Regrettably, I found Jim's continuous questioning of the passengers and crew to be extremely tedious. There are too many characters to remember; I got confused about who said what; and the story meanders VERY slowly rather than going full steam ahead. For me, this is a major flaw in the plot.

On the bright side, it's interesting to read about the configuration of the luxury liner;



the stylish clothing of the wealthy passengers (we don't meet anyone in steerage in this novel);



and the activities aboard ship, like music, dancing, quoits, shuffleboard, croquet, dining, etc.



I also like the occasional references to Sherlock Holmes stories, which provide clues for Jim's investigation.

For history buffs, there are also references to the Spanish Civil War and to Spain's control of Cuba, which caused quite a ruckus at the time.

Of the three books in the series, my favorite is the first, 'Murder in Old Bombay.'

Thanks to Netgalley, Nev March, and Minotaur books for a copy of the manuscript

Rating: 3 stars