Review of "Mrs. Queen Takes the Train: A Novel" by William Kuhn

Queen Elizabeth is feeling a bit low when she walks over to her London stables to visit her horses on a particularly blustery day.



Young Rebecca, who tends the horses, lends the sovereign her hoody jacket and soon afterwards the unrecognizable Queen takes off for Scotland to visit her beloved Britannia - the former royal yacht that's now a tourist attraction.





The royal staff makes frantic plans to catch up with the Queen and return her to Buckingham Palace. This includes William the butler, Luke the equerry, Shirley the dresser, Anne the lady-in-waiting, Rebecca the horse caretaker, and Rajiv - a cheese seller who sold the queen some cheddar. MI-6 even gets in on the act.





Though this is a work of fiction the feelings attributed to the Queen ring true. She is still reeling from the 'annus horribilus' of a few years before when all of her children's marriages fell apart, the most scandalous being the divorce of Charles and Diana.



Her majesty is also bewildered by the public's hostility to her following Diana's death when all Queen Elizabeth did was 'keep a stiff upper lip' - as she was trained to do. Computers, twitter, and Facebook also puzzle the Queen. In short, the world is changing and the Queen is having a hard time keeping up.



The book contains both drama and humor. We learn about the background of each of the characters: Luke's tragic war experience, William's homosexuality, Anne's estrangement from her son, Shirley's financial worries, Rebecca's eco-terrorist boyfriend, and Rajiv's harassment by bigots.

But the Queen's 'escape' has fun aspects as well: the sovereign befriends many people she meets on her way to Scotland, and some think she seems familiar but they just can't place her. At different times the Queen is mistaken for a cleaning lady, a drinker, and a homeless person.



The author apparently did his research and the scenes in the palace - as well as the thoughts and feelings attributed to the Queen - seem authentic. From the Queen's point of view her life isn't that much fun; her royal duties require her to constantly attend functions she doesn't enjoy and make small talk with people who aren't interesting.



One thing that struck me was how sheltered Queen Elizabeth's life probably is and how out of touch she is with the lives of 'common people' - who shop for groceries, buy cars, rent apartments, make doctor appointments, drive their kids to school, go to soccer games, eat fast food, and so on - things the Queen has probably never done. In that respect, William and Kate (and Harry and Meghan) are likely to be much more savvy.





I thought the story was interesting but it moved too slowly. Several times I felt bored and thought about abandoning the book but I kept going - and I'm glad I did. I think I have a little more insight into the Queen's life now.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "They Must Be Monsters: A Modern-Day Witch Hunt. The untold story behind the McMartin phenomenon: The longest, most expensive criminal case in U.S. History" by Matthew Leroy & Deric Haddad

In the latter part of 1983, a kind of mass hysteria descended on the city of Manhattan Beach in southern California.



It started on August 12, 1983, when a woman named Judy Johnson accused 25-year-old preschool aide Ray Buckey of molesting her toddler son Mitchell at the McMartin Preschool.


Ray Buckey


McMartin Preschool

Judy reported the abuse to Detective Jane Hoag of the Manhattan Beach Police Department (MBPD), and Hoag arranged for Mitchell to be examined by pediatricians who were 'child abuse experts.' The doctors' report stated: "It appears the boy's anus was forcibly entered....he's been sodomized." After further investigation, Detective Hoag's report stated that Ray Buckey had "inflicted injury, bound and gagged his victim, and committed forcible sodomy."



Fearful that the molestation extended well beyond little Mitchell, the MBPD mailed 200 letters to families whose children attended (or had attended) the McMartin school. The letter asked parents to "question your child to see if he or she has been a witness to any crime or if he or she has been a victim." The letter listed the possible criminal acts under investigation: "[The acts include] oral sex, fondling of genitals, buttock or chest area, and sodomy, possibly committed under the pretense of taking the child's temperature. Also photos may have been taken of children without their clothing. Any information from your child regarding having ever observed Ray Buckey to leave a classroom alone with a child during any nap period, or if they have ever observed Ray Buckey tie up a child, is important."

Before long scores of panicked parents were taking their children to the Children's Institute International in Los Angeles (CII) - an agency for the treatment of abused children.



At CII the youngsters were physically examined for signs of abuse, and interviewed by therapists. Almost all the children reported that they were molested, and the medical examinations backed them up.




Therapists used puppets to interview the children

Moreover, the abuse allegedly extended well beyond Ray Buckey. The children implicated ALL the teachers at McMartin Preschool, and seven people were suspected of belonging to a Satanic cult that molested children. The youngsters also reported that the adults killed animals (and even babies) in front of them, and threatened to kill their parents if they told.



Before long the accusations spread to other preschools in the area, and the suspicion spread that the toddler schools were part of a pedophile/Satanist ring that did horrific things to children while adults took pictures and made films.


Outraged parents and community members

The police had a field day with this. They raided preschools in three counties and obtained warrants to search the homes of all the implicated teachers. This resulted in the closure of several preschools.....and many people who didn't even know Ray Buckey lost their jobs and reputations.

Though no evidence of any kind was ever found (no photos; no films; no bones of dead animals or babies), preliminary hearings began in June, 1984 and lasted for eighteen months. As a result, charges were dropped against everyone except Ray Buckey and his mother Peggy McMartin Buckey, who ran the McMartin preschool.




Peggy Buckey and Ray Buckey

Ray and Peggy Buckey were put on trial, and both defendants were acquitted on 52 counts of child abuse. The jury, however, was deadlocked on 13 additional counts against Ray. Ray was retried, and the jury was deadlocked once again - though the majority of jurors thought he was not guilty. The prosecution decided not to proceed and Ray was set free.



In the end the state had spent 7 years and 15 million dollars on the McMartin case and obtained no convictions. In addition, most experts now agree that NONE of the charges were true.

So what happened? The authors of this book, Matthew LeRoy and Deric Haddad try to explain.


Matthew LeRoy and Deric Haddad

In the 1980s, LeRoy and Haddad were attending San Diego State University. They knew consultants for the Buckey defense team and thought the case would make a good college research paper. So LeRoy and Haddad took leaves of absence from school and spent three years interviewing people in the Manhattan Beach area, including parents of 'abused children'; extended family members; teachers accused of child molestation; prosecutors; defense lawyers; friends of the McMartins; enemies of the McMartins; and so on. LeRoy and Haddad collected filing cabinets full of material, but didn't complete their book until now.

No one can really explain the hysteria that gripped Manhattan Beach in the 1980s, or why people believed the children's absurd stories. Kids reported seeing people fly; being transported in airplanes; being molested at locations all over town in a single morning; being abused in underground tunnels; having to sing while they were being molested; being forced to dance naked; and much more. How could all this be going on for years with no townspeople - and no parents - noticing.

It's now known that the therapists who examined the youngsters used incorrect methods, such as asking  leading questions; putting ideas in the children's heads; and refusing to take no for an answer - that is, badgering the children until they agreed they were abused. Once the children admitted they were molested, doctors found 'physical evidence' to support the claims.

LeRoy and Haddad believe the whole shebang revolves around Judy Johnson, who was the first person to report child abuse. Judy - an alcoholic who was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia - was in the midst of a contentious divorce when she accused Ray Buckey of hurting her son Mitchell. Judy also had an older son with terminal cancer, which undoubtedly contributed to her problems.



The writers obtained a garbage bag full of Judy's scribblings and writings from her father, and it appears that Judy's delusions convinced her that a Satanic cult was operating in Manhattan Beach.

The authors note: "The contents of the garbage bag embodied Judy’s experience. Each notation symbolized her mindset—a jumble of disbanded thoughts and emotions, confined to a single chamber, howling to escape, to be heard.....They came together into a sensible time-line: the paradigm of a schizophrenic in decline, where her misguided fear was the microcosm of the community around her."

Written notes of Judy Johnson

Calendar page of Judy Johnson from the month she reported child abuse

When the community joined in the hysteria, Judy relished being the center of attention and egged things on. Of course things soon spiraled out of control.

LeRoy and Haddad's creative non-fiction describes the McMartin case (and another Manhattan Beach child abuse case) from the first accusations of child abuse through the subsequent trials. The authors also elucidate Judy's life and state of mind from the years 1983 through 1986, when she died from alcohol poisoning.

I wanted to know what happened to the overzealous police, prosecutors, doctors, psychologists, etc. who were instrumental in promoting the 'Salem Witch Trial' atmosphere in southern California. The McMartin debacle caused irreparable harm to many people, including the children, and there should have been consequences. The authors don't go into this however.

This is a fascinating look at a bizarre incident that could probably happen anywhere to almost anyone. Highly recommended to people interested in the subject.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "Proof of Life: A J.P. Beaumont Mystery" by J.A. Jance

In this 23rd book in the 'J.P. Beaumont' series, the detective investigates the death of a prickly journalist. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

J.P. Beaumont (Beau) was a Seattle homicide detective for decades until his elite squad broke up about a year ago and he retired. Now the septuagenarian detective and his younger wife Melissa Soames (Mel) - who's the Chief of Police in Bellingham, Washington - divide their time between their house in Bellingham and their condo in Seattle.



Beau is contemplating how depressing retirement is when a 'case' falls into his lap. Beau and Mel are having dinner in a Seattle restaurant when Beau's old nemesis, crime journalist Maxwell Cole, hobbles up to their table. Clearly in poor health, Cole says he'd like to speak with Beau. Beau agrees to meet, but Cole dies in house fire before that can happen.



The authorities determine that the fire was accidental, but Cole's goddaughter Erin Kelsey suspects foul play....and asks Beau to investigate. As it happens Beau knows Erin, whom he rescued from a killer many years ago. Even before that, however, Erin had a tragic history. She was orphaned as a child; raised by people who - unknown to her - were illegal custodians; lost her 'mother' to a killer; and became estranged from her 'father' when the truth about her parentage came out.

Beau agrees to look into Maxwell Cole's death, and discovers that the fire that killed him was arson.



The detective also learns that the journalist was writing a book about old crimes he'd covered....and may have been about to expose police corruption. When additional deaths occur, it's obvious that SOMEONE is desperate to hide something.



Meanwhile, Mel is dealing with an officer involved shooting. The 'victim' - a violent wife beater and dog abuser - was barely wounded, but the case still requires her attention. On the upside, Mel gets temporary custody of the dog, a huge wolfhound named Rambo.



For Beau, Rambo is just what the doctor ordered. The retiree hurries out to buy dog food, a dog bed, a doggie door, etc.....and his doting care of the big pooch is amusing and touching. A scene where motorists think Rambo is driving the car down the highway adds a touch of fun. When Beau and Rambo befriend a homeless man and his pit bull, it's a good investment for the future.

In Beau's personal life he dines and socializes with his wife; drives his adult son to the oral surgeon; lunches with his beautiful French daughter-in-law; provides some good advice; and catches up with old colleagues and acquaintances.

The plot gets a bit convoluted but I enjoyed the book. Recommended to readers who like mysteries, especially J.P. Beaumont  fans. 

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Cop Town: A Novel of Suspense" by Karin Slaughter

This standalone by Karin Slaughter is set in 1974 Atlanta, where a serial cop killer is on the loose. As the search for the killer is going on Kate Murphy, a beautiful young widow from Buckhead (a wealthy Atlanta neighborhood) has completed her police training and starts on the job.



She's soon partnered with working class Maggie Lawson, whose uncle Terry Lawson and brother Jimmy Lawson are both cops.



The job isn't easy for women however. The 1970s Atlanta Police Department is dominated by racist, homophobic, white men who have contempt for black cops and female cops.



The white males feel free to disrespect and grope their female colleagues, who are generally relegated to traffic duty or undercover work where they pose as hookers. Kate is even more ostracized because of her good looks and posh accent.

Before long Jimmy is wounded by the cop killer and his partner Don is killed. The Atlanta PD goes into high gear to catch the murderer and Maggie - who thinks Jimmy's hiding something - wants to help.



Uncle Terry is violently against this but Maggie uses personal sources to get information and she and Kate launch their own inquiry.



As the women investigate Kate becomes re-acquainted with an old friend who's now a doctor, able to provide important information about Jimmy's injuries. The doc, though married, is attracted to Kate and proceeds to pursue her.



The book has a wide array of interesting characters including a tough lady officer who's willing to torture witnesses, a transgender pimp, a creepy child rapist, Kate's courtly family, and a whole bunch of cops. The plot is fast-paced and leads to a dramatic, believable, and satisfying climax. I enjoyed this mystery thriller and highly recommend it.

(A note: I'm glad to think the bigoted male cops in this story would be thrown off the job immediately in this day and age.)

Rating: 4 stars