Review of "The Private Life of Spies and The Exquisite Art of Getting Even" by Alexander McCall Smith

Author Alexander McCall Smith is a Scottish legal scholar and prolific fiction author, perhaps best known for his 'No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency' series and his 'Isabel Dalhousie' series. This amusing two-part book is a departure. 'The Private Life of Spies' contains tales about espionage, and 'The Exquisite Art of Getting Even' contains anecdotes about revenge.

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'The Private Life of Spies'

In the author's note, Smith observes that the spy stories are part fiction and part non-fiction.

📕 Nuns and Spies (England, 1943)

In 1943, Conradin Muller is a German man, fluent in English, who's recruited into the German Intelligence Service. Conradin has to take a three-month-course to learn about short wave radios and such, and to be taught 'how to behave like an Englishman.'

The behavior lessons include things like drinking tea with the little finger extended, and using the word 'jolly' as much as possible. For instance, if asked how you are, you reply 'I am jolly fine.' If asked what time it is, you say, 'It is jolly nearly twelve o'clock.' If something bad occurs, you say 'This is a jolly bad show.' And so on.



After the training course, Conradin is dropped into England with a nun's habit, and 'Sister Conradin' inadvertently finds himself the resident of a convent.



📕 Syphax and Omar (Algiers, 1924)

Syphax Brahimi and Pantaléon Dubois are rival spies in Algiers. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, Pantaléon follows Syphax. And on Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, Syphax trails Pantaléon.



On their birthdays, the two spies sit down in a café and share a birthday cake.



The story explains how this unconventional state of affairs came about.

📕 Ferry Timetable

Fergus Andrew Mactavish is a Scottish farmer who's about to lose part of his best field for a new road that was approved by the town council. In anger, Mactavish performs an act of treason, which has unexpected results.



📕 Donald and Yevgeni (Shanghai, Moscow, Washington, 1934 -1947)

Due to a confluence of circumstances a British diplomat called Archibald Clark Kerr is gifted with a Russian valet named Yevgeni by Stalin.





Many years later, in Washington DC, Kerr becomes acquainted with a member of the British Diplomatic Service called Donald Maclean. Donald suspects Yevgeni might be a Russian agent....but the truth is much more complicated.



📕 Filioque (Rome, 2022)

Pierre Citroën is a student at the French Pontifical College who's written a paper about the filioque controversy - a difference of opinion about the Holy Spirit between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.



When Cardinal Tommaso di Montalfino learns of Pierre's interest in the filioque, the Cardinal invites Pierre to lunch. This leads to Pierre being offered an important position after he graduates, but there may be an ulterior motive.



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"The Exquisite Art of Getting Even"

📕 Vengeance Is Mine

Murdo lives on a Scottish island called Mull and has a fishing boat. When Mull isn't fishing, he uses the boat to take visitors out and about.



Mull is a placid place until a flamboyant newcomer, Robert McCoy, arrives and flaunts his big red car and fancy new house.



As the story unfolds, someone is wronged, and there are consequences.

📕 The Principles of Soap

David Thoreau is an aspiring actor who makes a friend named Henry in acting school. Henry isn't a great actor, and becomes the target of cutting remarks from a fellow pupil called Virginia. Years after acting school ends, these three people come together on the set of a television show.....and things happen.



📕 Cavalleria Rusticana

Rose and Colin marry and buy a house with a large garden in the lovely Edinburgh suburb of Balerno.



The newlyweds are taken aback when they learn their neighbors have a big, rambunctious, barking dog Monty, who has no boundaries. All this leads to a series of unfortunate actions.



📕 One, Two, Three

Sam gets a degree in English literature and goes to work for a publisher. A big part of Sam's job involves editing (rewriting) the novels of Brock Maxwell, a very successful author who can't write.



Despite his writing challenges, Maxwell is arrogant, condescending, and nasty.



In time, there's an opportunity to take Maxwell down a peg.

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I'm a fan of author Alexander McCall Smith and always enjoy his stories and erudite philosophic insights. In this book, Smith depicts the more lighthearted aspects of espionage, and discusses the morality of revenge vs. forgiveness. Smith prefers forgiveness. I'm probably not as kindhearted, though I might hold a grudge in lieu of full-out revenge (sometimes). 🙂

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Paw and Order: A Chet and Bernie Mystery" by Spencer Quinn

In this 7th book in the 'Chet and Bernie' series, the detective team investigates a murder far from their home turf.

*****

In the Chet and Bernie stories, Bernie Little and his hundred-plus pound dog Chet run the Little Detective Agency in Arizona.



The books are narrated by Chet, whose somewhat limited vocabulary, unfamiliarity with idioms, doggie logic, and tendency to get distracted set the stage for plenty of smiles.



Bernie is a West Point graduate, war veteran, former police lieutenant, and talented private detective. Chet is Bernie's invaluable partner, always ready to clamp his jaw on perps and drag them off by the pants.

As the story opens, Bernie decides to visit his journalist girlfriend Suzie Sanchez, who relocated to Washington DC for a better job.



In the capital, Suzie lives in the carriage house of a political insider named Lizette, who hosts fund raisers for candidates running for office.



When Bernie and Chet arrive at Suzie's home, an urbane English gentleman named Eben St. John is just leaving, and he calls out 'bye love' to Suzie.



Bernie's jealousy hormones kick in, but Suzie explains that the Brits call everyone 'love,' like Ringo Starr. This gets canine Chet to musing, "Ringo Starr? Had to be some sort of perp. And not the first Ringo perp we'd run into. Who could forget Ringo Gogarnian, who liked to dress like a mailman and empty out people's mailboxes and was now dressed in an orange jumpsuit? Message to Ringo Starr: heads up, buddy boy."

Suzie goes to say St. John is the source for an important story, but she won't provide any details. Later, while Bernie's napping, Suzie and Chet go to St. John's office and find him dead. The police discover Eben was shot with a gun Bernie had in his car, and they arrest Bernie for the murder.



As things play out an enigmatic government operative named Ferretti gets Bernie released from jail, and helps out Chet as well. Later, Eben St. John's father hires Bernie to investigate his son's murder.

Bernie and Chet get on the job, and - in the course of their inquiries - the detectives come across mysterious people packing up St. John's office; happen upon a calendar with Cyrillic (Russian) writing; stop in at Lizette's fundraiser for a presidential hopeful; are offered a security job; discover that someone is lying about their background; find themselves being spied on by a drone; and more.



It appears that Eben was killed because he was about to uncover a dastardly plot, and the people involved silenced him. The story gets a bit complicated and hard to follow, but there's plenty of humor to make up for these shortcomings.

For instance, when someone jokingly tells Bernie, 'You're in the dog house at the moment', Chet thinks, 'Whoa! Stop right there. Bernie in a dog house. I'd seen that once before. But that was Bernie on a bet, and after a number - more than two - of bourbon shots. The dog house in question belonging to Spike, a buddy of mine who hadn't reacted well on finding Bernie curled up in his personal space. Were we in for another round of that?'



And when Bernie observes,'Is it time for playing your cards close to the vest? But since we haven't got any, let's go full frontal [a military maneuver]', Chet says, 'Full frontal! I hoped with all my heart that full frontal wasn't in the plans. It had only come up once in our career, the case having to do with a stolen sombrero and a nudist colony. The less said about nudist colonies the better, but clothes are a fine invention when it comes to humans. I kept a close eye on Bernie, waiting for him to start unbuttoning his shirt, but that didn't happen. Meaning maybe he'd reconsidered. Sometimes you catch a break in this business."



The story has an exciting climax, where Chet helps get the bad guys.....earning his favorite treats as usual.



The Chet and Bernie books are great for a light read or when you just want a few laughs.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Extinction: A Novel of Suspense" by Douglas Preston

This review was first posted on Mystery & Suspense Magazine. Check it out for features, interviews, and reviews. https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/ex...

Every evening, guests at the Erebus Resort in the mountains of Colorado gather to watch 'de-extincted' Pleistocene animals like wooly mammoths; giant armadillos; rhinoceros-like indricotheres; giant ground sloths; Irish elk; and giant beavers.


Mammoths


Indricotheres


Giant Ground Sloth

The luxury resort, a kind of Disneyland for rich people, is comprised of a magnificent lodge in a valley surrounded by 144 square miles of rugged, mountainous terrain.



Honeymooners Olivia and Mark Gunnerson - who happens to be the son of a tech billionaire - stay at the lodge for a few days before they embark on an eight-day guided hike along Erebus Resort's 110-mile Barbican Trek. On their first night out the couple set up camp on a ridge, dine on freeze-dried chicken tetrazzini, and retire to their tent. Later that night Olivia and Mark are attacked and abducted.



To investigate the Gunnersons' disappearance, Agent Frankie Cash of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is sent to Erebus along with a CSI team.



At the resort Cash collaborates with Sheriff James Colcord to search for the Gunnersons.



Cash - a sharp-tongued woman who comes from Maine, and Colcord - an old-fashioned guy who hails from Colorado, start out as uneasy partners, but ultimately work well together.

Cash and Colcord study the crime scene, speak to Erebus's managers and security experts, visit Erebus's research laboratory, and interview Erebus's chief scientist, Dr. Marius Karman.





Karman supervises the 'Erebus Project,' which uses DNA from extinct creatures to produce 'de-extincted' animals for release into the Erebus Resort. When Cash and Colcord question the project's safety, Karman insists the new fauna are non-aggressive herbivores.



When the investigators search the woods they sense silent shapes flitting through the trees and hear hideous yowling. Cash and Colcord realize cryptic creatures are scurrying around the resort, which is made even more evident by additional frightening occurrences.



Meanwhile, a film crew is making a movie on the resort property, directed by Slavomir Doyle. Doyle tells Cash and Colcord the film, called 'Hannibal and the Baron,' is about a herd of mammoths that get caught in a time warp and appear in the 1880s. Cowboys then tame the mammoths and ride them into town to save the residents from a robber baron. 

Some of Doyle's crew weren't on the movie set when the Gunnersons disappeared, and Cash and Colcord reserve the right to question them.

As all this is happening, Marc Gunnerson's wealthy father, drunk and grief-stricken, lashes out about his missing son.



Gunnerson Sr. insists that Erebus's billionaire founder, Maitland Barrow, be called on the carpet to answer for what's happened.



As evidence is collected and analyzed, Cash and Colcord conclude that a good deal of lying and deception is occurring. The investigators probe into events more deeply, and shocking secrets are revealed.





The novel, a combination police procedural and adventure story, is engaging and suspenseful, with an interesting array of characters. I especially 'loved to hate' Cash's boss at the CBI, Wallace McFaul, who tries to take credit for Cash's discoveries, and to blame her for his deplorable mistakes.



In the Afterword, author Douglas Preston explains that seemingly fictitious elements of his story are based on scientific research. Moreover, Preston asserts that a company called Colossal - founded by geneticist George Church and technology entrepreneur Ben Lamm - is focused on rapidly advancing the field of species de-extinction.


Colossal founders Benn Lamm (left) and George Church

For a glimpse of things we might see in the future, read the book. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley, Douglas Preston, and Tor Publishing Group for a copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials" by Marion Gibson

Author Marion Gibson, a historian of witchcraft and magic, writes about ancient and modern witches and witch-trials. In this book, Gibson hones in on thirteen trials that span Europe, Africa, and the Americas.


Author Marion Gibson

In modern times people often associate witches with characters in television shows like Bewitched, Charmed, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Mayfair Witches, etc., where the  witches are funny or helpful or heroic....protagonists we root for.




Elizabeth Montgomery played witch Samantha Stevens in 'Bewitched'

In the real world, however, witches have generally been thought of as evil beings who use magic to do harm. In the Bible, witch stories extend back hundreds of years BCE, but witch hunts really took off during the medieval period, with the study of demonology by Christian clergymen.


Christian clerics persecuted witches in the Middle Ages

According to Gibson, clerics believed witches were committed to wickedness, and "the imaginative world of the 15th to 18th centuries was crammed with curses and blessings, angels, devils, ghosts, sprits that could invade bodies, fairies, and elves."


Belief in demons and other supernatural beings was common in the Middle Ages

Witches, thought to be empowered by Satan, caused fear and terror, and had to be rooted out of society. Gibson writes that most witches were thought to be female, and many of them were poor and uneducated. Gibson goes on to say, "Christian priests were all male....[and some] were obsessed with the regulation of women: their sexuality, conduct, and thought." Often, women (and a few men) accused of witchcraft were perceived as wanting revenge for some slight, so that something happened to the offender: their cow died, their wife couldn't conceive, their ship sank, their crops failed, their business lost money, their child took sick, and so on.


There were many accusations of witchcraft in the Middle Ages

Gibson discusses thirteen witch trials, expanding on the lives of the accused as well as the accusers, and she provides background details of the time, place, atmosphere, laws, religious beliefs, witnesses, verdicts, etc. Many 'witches' were tortured into 'confessing', and the tales are shocking and sad.

I'll mention a few examples of witch trials, to give you a glimpse of the book.

Helena Scheuberin (1485) in Austria. Helena was accused of poisoning a knight named Jörg Spiess, who had wanted 'more than friendship' with married Helena. Helena was tried by inquisitor Heinrich Kramer who believed witches were devil-worshippers who had given their souls to Satan; prayed to the devil; killed animals and people; and performed every evil they could imagine.


Inquisitor Heinrich Kramer

Tatabe (1692) in Salem, Massachusetts. Native American Tatabe grew up in Barbados and was brought to Salem as a slave. Tatabe was unfortunate enough to be enslaved in the household of a Puritan minister named Samuel Parris when young girls in the home claimed to be bewitched.


Puritan Minister Samuel Parris


Many 'witches' were hung during the Salem witch trials

Helen Duncan (1941) in Barham, England. Helen was a spiritualist/medium who announced that a British ship, the HMS Barham was lost BEFORE this information was public knowledge. This 'foreknowledge', as well as Helen channeling dead people, materializing ectoplasm, and so on led to accusations of witchcraft.


Helen Duncan (allegedly) materialized spirits during her seances

Stormy Daniels (2020) in Columbus, Ohio. Stormy (perhaps best known for her liaisons with Donald Trump) is an adult film star, tarot-reader, ghost-hunter, medium, and believer in a non-traditional religion. When Stormy sued her lawyer Michael Avenattii for defrauding her, she found herself accused of being 'a witch who practices witchcraft.'


Stormy Daniels

The libeling of Stormy Daniels shows that accusations of 'witch' still occur in modern times. Gibson notes, "Witchcraft is still criminalized in multiple nations and quasi-states." The author observes that in Guatemala, traditional healers were killed for being witches in 2021; during Nepal's civil war (1996-2006), suspected witches were beaten or burned to death; in Britain in 2000, a 'child witch' of African descent was tied up in a bath, beaten with hammers and chains, burned, and cut. And more.


In modern times, children are often accused of being witches

The author has done an immense amount of research for the book, which has extensive notes and an index. The narrative is interesting but dry and repetitive, and the author tries too hard to connect incidents in disparate places. What comes across very clearly is that men have felt compelled to control women from time immemorial, and an accusation of witchcraft is one tool in their arsenal. Historically, this has been a powerful tool, and it continues in some places today.

The book is well worth reading for readers interested in the subject matter.

Thanks to Netgalley, Marion Gibson, and Scribner for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3.5 stars