In this 12th book in the 'Sheriff Joanna Brady' series, the law enforcement officer has to deal with two big cases while she's nine months pregnant. The novel can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters and story arc is a plus.
*****
Sheriff Joanna Brady of Cochise County, Arizona is almost ready to give birth, but that doesn't slow her down. With one deputy out on sick leave and others fighting for their country, Joanna feels obligated to pick up the slack herself - even if it means squeezing into a (currently) too small Kevlar vest.
There's a lot going on in the region, with illegal immigrants flowing over the border; dead pit bulls being found in the desert; and a homicide to solve. The murder victim, Bradley Evans, was imprisoned for 25 years for killing his wife in a drunken stupor. Since his release, Evans has been working with the prison ministry and living a clean, quiet life. Now his dead body has been found - with all the fingers cut off!
The bizarre killing is of special interest to Joanna because her late father - Sheriff Lathrop - was the officer who originally arrested Evans. Moreover, Lathrop's newly unearthed diaries indicate that he doubted Evans' guilt. As Joanna and her team investigate the murder, some secrets come to light - both about the case and Joanna's dad.
While this is going on, Joanna's Animal Control Officer, Jeannine Phillips, takes it upon herself to stake out the ranch of the O'Dwyer brothers. The nasty, foul-mouthed O'Dwyers are suspected of running an illegal dog-fighting ring, which might explain the dead pit bulls in the area.
Unfortunately Officer Phillips ends up raped, horribly beaten, and fighting for her life. Outraged and distressed, Joanna is determined to bring the culprits to justice.
To add to Joanna's troubles, her husband Butch's parents - who live on the other side of the country - show up unexpectedly.....to wait for the new baby to arrive. Joanna's mother-in-law is an interfering busybody who disrupts the household, sticks her nose (and hands) into everything, and mouths off in public. Joanna tries to be patient, but it's a tough row to hoe.
Popular recurring characters make an appearance in the story, including: Joanna's teenage daughter Jenny - who hides out with the pets to avoid the in-laws; Joanna's best friend, Reverend Marianne Maculyea - who dispenses good advice; the medical examiner Dr. George Winfield - who's happily married to Joanna's difficult mother; Joanna's deputies and detectives - a smart, hard-working bunch; Junior - a mentally challenged man-child who works in his family's restaurant; and more.
By the time Joanna's cases are solved, she's dealt with an abandoned python; 'jailed' a bunch of homeless pit bull puppies; faced off against vicious thugs; demonstrated her sharp-shooting skills; and chosen a name for the new baby.
I enjoyed the book, which is a good police procedural and a compelling family story. Recommended to readers who like mysteries, especially Joanna Brady fans.
Rating: 3 stars
This is the second book in 'The Three' series, but has minimal connection to the first novel and can be read as a standalone with no problem.
*****
If you're planning to take a vacation cruise any time soon you might want to skip this book.
As the story opens the almost 3000 passengers and crew on board the (so called) luxury liner 'Beautiful Dreamer' have experienced smooth sailing for three days. It's now day four....and things take a downturn.
An engine room fire badly injures the head engineer, cuts off the ship's electricity, and interferes with the ship's communication systems. Thus, there's no phone service, no wi-fi, no emergency radio - in short no way to contact anyone outside the ship. Emergency generators are of limited assistance. On top of that the contagious norovirus begins spreading among the passengers and crew.
Pretty soon food supplies dwindle, the ship is sweltering hot, toilets stop working, dirty towels and sheets pile up, cabins reek from vomit and diarrhea, passengers become belligerent, the pool is polluted;
passengers get sick; people start camping out on decks and recreation areas, etc.
Moreover, the body of a dead girl is found in her cabin - and murder is suspected. In short, the situation becomes hellish.
To add to the confusion, frequent public announcements thank the passengers for their 'patience' but provide no real information about what's happening. And help doesn't seem to be coming! People become frightened and start to offer wild speculations about what's going on. Zombies? Bad weather? War? Bermuda Triangle? Ship drifted off course? .....no one knows.
The story follows a number of passengers and crew members as the situation unfolds. These include: Paul - a rapist/accidental murderer; Celine Del Rey - a fake medium who supposedly conveys messages from loved ones on 'the other side;' Celine's assistant Maddie - who helps her boss rook her marks; Xavier - a blogger who means to expose Celine as a fraud; Helen and Elise - widowed friends who plan to commit suicide; Althea - a conscientious steward on the luxury deck; Jesse - the ship's doctor, who has a whiff of malpractice and a drug addiction in his past; and Devi - a security guard who's ashamed about a rapist he allowed to go free.
The mayhem is escalated by several supernatural creatures ('ghosts') that are seen or heard by passengers and crew members. Some crew men even claim the dead girl is moving around. As the situation aboard ship gets more and more intolerable many people resort to drastic measures, apparently following the dictate 'every man for himself'.
The story held my attention and I was anxious to learn what was going on and what the final outcome would be. At the end of the book it's not crystal clear what had happened...but the speculation is intriguing. All in all, an enjoyable horror story - not too deep, but an entertaining read.
Rating: 3.5 stars
These days it's common to see high profile trials on television, like those of Jeffrey Dahmer; Lyle and Erik Menendez; O.J. Simpson; Scott Peterson; Martha Stewart; Jody Arias; Dr. Conrad Murray; Casey Anthony; Aaron Hernandez; and others. At one time, however, courtrooms could be closed to the public on the whim of the presiding judge.
In this book, Dan Bernstein - a former journalist for the Riverside, California 'Press-Enterprise' - tells the story of his newspaper's leading role in two Supreme Court decisions that opened the courtrooms. Bernstein's story is fascinating from a legal standpoint, since the public now has a constitutional right to observe trials - and even preliminary hearings - from beginning to end. Exceptions occur if there are COMPELLING reasons to close the courtroom with NO OTHER REMEDIES - but this is a very high bar.
Dan Bernstein - author and former journalist for the Press-Enterprise
The book is also interesting for its details about the players, including newspaper people, attorneys, judges, law clerks, and Supreme Court justices. Bernstein describes their backgrounds, personalities, quirks, opinions and so on - all of which provides a fine personal touch.
*****
Prior to the 1980s the public was often banned from California courtrooms for at least parts of trials. This was usually done to preserve the privacy of jurors during voir dire and/or to insure that the defendant got a fair trial. Most California newspapers, including the Press-Enterprise, didn't make a fuss.
However, when three heinous crimes in the early 1980s resulted in death penalty trials in Riverside County, Press-Enterprise publisher Tim Hays wanted to cover the whole shebang - including voir dire and preliminary hearings. Hays felt the public had a right to know exactly how the criminal justice system worked, and to observe that it (presumably) operated fairly.
Tim Hays - Publisher of the Press-Enterprise
The trio of crimes included the rape of a white high school student by an African-American man named Albert Greenwood Brown; a deadly bank robbery engineered by Christopher and Russell Harven and their gang; and the murder of twelve elderly hospital patients by a male nurse called Robert Rubane Diaz.
The first trial to draw Hays' attention was that of rapist Albert Brown, in which the judge blocked access to jury selection. Feeling the public had a right to observe voir dire - and encouraged by executive editor Norman Cherniss and senior editor Mel Opotowsky - Hays hired a lawyer to represent the Press-Enterprise. The litigator was Jim Ward - the self-styled 'world's greatest attorney.' 😊
Ward asked the trial judge to open voir dire, then approached the California appellate court, and finally petitioned the California Supreme Court.....all to no avail. After much deliberation, Ward appealed to the United States Supreme Court, a step-by-step procedure that's carefully explained in the book. Luckily, the Supreme Court elected to hear the case.
Norman Cherniss - Executive Editor of the Press-Enterprise
Mel Opotowsky - Senior Editor of the Press-Enterprise
Jim Ward - the 'World's Greatest Attorney'
Ward's preparations and appearance before the Supreme Court - as well as the justices' thoughts and exchanges and the maneuverings of opposing parties - are described in detail. This makes for riveting reading. I was amused to see that Justice Harry Blackmun - in his private notes - described Ward as "greying & glasses" and rated Ward's presentation as a 5 (out of 10). Ward also had a jocular exchange with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, in which he essentially said "I'll be back."
The Supreme Court's resulting 1984 decision was a victory for the Press-Enterprise, whose front page story read "Supreme Court Says Open Jury Selection Is To Be The Rule."
Next, multiple murderer Robert Diaz's pretrial formalities drew the Press-Enterprise's attention to preliminary hearings. These hearings - since they often lead to plea bargains - are frequently the entirety of 'a trial.' As Ward predicted, he was back at the Supreme Court in 1986 - this time to argue for open preliminary hearings. Once again all of Ward's preparations - and the thoughts and actions of the other participants - are thoroughly explicated.
This time attorney Jim Ward and his wife arrived in Washington, D.C. days ahead of the Supreme Court hearing and enjoyed "French toast at Gadsby's Tavern.....dinner at a sedate and excellent French restaurant....lunch at the University Club.....the fun, trendy, cluttered Filomena Italian Restaurant....the clock exhibit at the Renwick Gallery.....and a trip to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving." It seems like Ward was much more relaxed this time around. 🙂👌
Gadsby's Tavern
Filomena Italian Restaurant
Renwick Gallery
After the Supreme Court presentations Ward prevailed once again, and the justices ruled that the public and press have a right to attend pretrial hearings. The combination of Supreme Court rulings essentially "pried open America's courtrooms, barring judges from arbitrarily shutting the public out of criminal trials and hearings."
In an epilogue, Bernstein mentions a number of criminal proceedings since the 1980s that were kept open because of the above rulings, even when the prosecution and /or defense requested closure. The public has a right to know.
The end of the book includes a long section of notes and acknowledgements, attesting to the copious research that went into this narrative.
Full disclosure: the book felt a bit padded in places. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it to readers interested in the subject.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Dan Bernstein) and the publisher (University of Nebraska Press) for a copy of the book.
Rating: 4 stars
In this 11th book in the 'Walt Longmire' series, Sheriff Longmire looks into the death of an elderly Indian while other people wrangle over a valuable fossil. The book can be read as a standalone but familiarity with the characters is a plus.
*****
A huge Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton - perhaps the largest yet discovered - is found on the Wyoming ranch of elderly Cheyenne Danny Lone Elk. The dinosaur is dubbed 'Jen' after it's discoverer, Jennifer Watt. Jennifer and local paleontologist Dave Baumann prepare to dig out the skeleton for the local High Plains Dinosaur Museum.
While the dinosaur is being excavated the corpse of Danny Lone Elk is found in the local snapping turtle pond, partially eaten by the aggressive shelled reptiles.
Because the 'Jen' skeleton is estimated to be worth more than eight million dollars it's ownership is soon disputed. The Cheyennes claim it's theirs, the Acting Deputy U.S. Attorney says it belongs to the state, and Jen and Dave insist they bought it from Danny for the Dinosaur Museum.
While the wrangling over the skeleton goes on, Sheriff Walt Longmire investigates the death of Danny Lone Elk and welcomes a visit from his daughter Cady and grandbaby Lola, who live in Philadelphia.
Though there's speculation that a drunken Danny died when he fell into the turtle pond, further inquiries point to mercury poisoning as the cause of death. Who would want to murder Danny? Walt goes to the Lone Elk Ranch to talk to the old Indian's family - his brother, son, daughter, and grandson, each of whom has their own quirky issues.
As the story proceeds there's a tragic death connected to Walt's family, which may have been engineered by a psychopath with a grudge against Walt and his under-sheriff Victoria Moretti. This story thread isn't pursued much, and may be fodder for a future book.
As Walt looks into Danny's death some of the possible suspects pull a vanishing act. Walt's pursuit of these individuals leads to plenty of action involving a recalcitrant Appaloosa; a ferocious thunderstorm; a helicopter; a hidden cave;
a sinkhole whirlpool; etc.
In the course of the story various characters are poisoned; almost killed in a flash flood; cold-cocked with a rifle butt; shot; bruised; taken to the hospital; and so forth. Through it all Walt and his best friend Henry Standing Bear (AKA The Cheyenne Nation) show their mettle, two tough old soldiers who know how to get the job done. Walt's loyal pooch, 'Dog' also demonstrates some doggy smarts.
As I read the book I learned a little about Wyoming; Indian artifacts; snapping turtles; helicopters and dream visions. I was also impressed with Walt's common sense, affection for his family and friends, and just plain grit.
By the end of the book Danny's death is solved and the T. rex is getting a home. This is a good mystery in an engaging setting, recommended for fans of the genre.
Rating: 3 stars
A sadistic serial killer is at work in Portland, Oregon. The murderer's first two victims were prostitutes - unfortunate women who were burned, beaten, and starved before being snuffed out. The third victim - a pretty young barista named Meredith Fenner - was lucky enough to escape, but she's physically and psychologically damaged.
Meredith's winsome neediness touches the heart of (unmarried ) Sheriff's Deputy Harry White, who shepherds Meredith through her first hours of freedom and helps her search for the cabin where she was tortured. Harry's taken with Meredith 💖, but knows he can't pursue a relationship until the case is completely resolved.
The cabin Meredith identifies belongs to Portland lawyer Alex Mason - a wealthy, rude, unpopular loudmouth whom no one likes - not even his trophy wife Allison. Allison tells detectives that her husband likes 'kinky sex' that involves burning and restraints, which is a milder form of the torture inflicted on the dead hookers and poor Meredith.
The cops figure they have their man and arrest Mason, who promptly hires legendary criminal defense attorney Regina Barrister - a brilliant, litigator who rarely loses. Regina's been feeling a bit unwell lately, but tries to brush it off as stress.
Regina's new junior associate, Robin Lockwood - a former MMA fighter fresh off a clerkship at the Oregon Supreme Court - is THRILLED to be working on a murder case with her idol, Regina Barrister. Thus Lockwood is dismayed when Barrister shows signs of being less sharp than usual, with occasional bouts of confusion and memory loss.
In any case, Lockwood teams up with the law firm's investigator, Jeff Hodges, to look for an alternative suspect to Alex Mason. The duo hit on a likely candidate, Police Detective Arnold Prater, a vicious dirty cop who's known to beat up prostitutes for sexual pleasure. Barrister refuses to point the finger at Prater though, because he's a former client.....and she'd have to give up the Mason case for conflict of interest. Barrister thinks she can get Mason off without mentioning the corrupt cop.
As the story unfolds, a series of revelations show that things are more complicated than they seem; a character does something TOO STUPID TO BELIEVE; and Lockwood gets to use her MMA skills.😊
The tale is related from the rotating perspectives of a number of characters, including attorney Regina Barrister; associate attorney Robin Lockwood; Sheriff's Deputy Harry White; a detective named Carrie Anders; a pimp; and more.
Astute readers may think they're a step ahead of the defense team in figuring things out, but they shouldn't get too cocky.😏
This isn't Margolin's best work (IMO) but it's a good story with interesting characters and compelling courtroom scenes. Recommended to mystery fans.
Rating: 3 stars
