Review of "The Last Alibi: A Jason Kolarich Legal Mystery" by David Ellis

In this 4th book in the 'Jason Kolarich' series, the attorney himself goes on trial. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

While recuperating from a knee injury, criminal defense lawyer Jason Kolarich - a partner in the Midwestern law firm 'Tasker and Kolarich' - becomes addicted to the painkiller oxycodone.



To hide his drug habit, Jason conceals the tablets in an Altoids box and munches them throughout the day.



Jason's opioid dependency may explain the lack of judgment and misguided behavior that results in his being tried for first degree murder.

Early in the story, Jason has a meeting with a potential client named James Drinker - a big stocky man with curly red hair, large black glasses, and a substantial beer gut. Drinker announces that two women of his acquaintance have recently been murdered, and - though he claims 'I didn't do it' - Drinker fears he'll be framed for the killings.



Drinker asks Jason EXACTLY how a person might go about framing someone, and the lawyer provides a step by step primer. (So that's not too bright.) Before long more women are killed, and each time Drinker claims 'I didn't do it.' As the bodies pile up, however, Jason comes to believe Drinker DID do it. All this leads to big problems for the attorney.

Meanwhile, Jason meets a beautiful court reporter named Alexa Himmel.



Jason and Alexa go on a few dates, have a lot of hot sex, and become a couple. Alexa is very sympathetic about Jason's 'hurting knee' (which is completely healed) and encourages him to take all the painkillers he needs. In fact, Alexa even obtains (illegal) pills for her boyfriend. Soon afterwards, Alexa manipulates the situation so that she's practically living with Jason.

Jason's law partner, Shauna Tasker - who's concerned about Jason's sickly appearance, weight loss, and odd behavior - hints that Alexa is bad news.....but the drug addict doesn't want to hear it.



In a coup de grâce Jason returns home one night to find a dead woman in his living room, shot with HIS gun.



The attorney is arrested, charged with murder, and put on trial. It looks like someone very cleverly framed Jason!



Jason insists on being defended by Shauna, even though she's a civil litigator, not a criminal lawyer. Shauna nervously takes on the task, knowing she'll have guidance from her partner.



The story is told from the alternating points of view of Jason and Shauna, and switches back and forth between the trial and the events leading up to it. There are numerous court scenes, with lots of maneuvering by the prosecution and defense - so plenty of fun for fans of legal thrillers.

The book is well-written, with a variety of interesting secondary characters, including: the district attorney, the judge, and the private investigator - Joel Lightner - who makes inquiries for Jason. Lightner's discoveries are very important to the story.



The author does a good job with twists and surprises, which are cleverly woven into the novel. We also see Jason deal with his opiate addiction and withdrawal, a topic that's very relevant these days.

All in all an enjoyable mystery/thriller, recommended to fans of the genre.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage: A Literary Novel" by Haruki Murakami

Tsukuru Tazaki, 36 years old and living in Tokyo, is a moderately wealthy, well-educated engineer who designs and builds railroad stations - a job he's wanted since childhood.



Nevertheless Tsukuru has few friends, is lonely, and can't see a happy future for himself. Part of the problem is a trauma Tsukuru experienced as a teen. In high school Tsukuru was part of an extremely close group of friends - two girls and three boys - that spent most of their free time together, always had things to talk about, and loved each other's company.



Soon after Tsukuru started college however, the group shut him out - told him not to try to see or call them - with no explanation.

The resulting depression almost killed Tsukuru; he lost weight and his physical appearance changed dramatically.



Tsukuru eventually recovered and went on with his life but he avoided visiting his home town, rarely saw his family, and was afraid to trust people for fear of being hurt again.

At the urging of Sara, a woman he's currently dating, Tsukuru decides to find and confront his friends - one at a time- to discover what happened all those years ago.



The story moves back and forth between the past and the present and we learn about Tsukuru's relationship with his friends, college years, career development, and so on.

We discover that Tsukuru swam for recreation when he was in college and developed a friendship with a fellow swimmer, Haida.



Haida helps Tsukuru develop an appreciation for classical music and becomes a frequent weekend guest at his apartment. This part of the story has aspects that seem like magical realism.

For example, Haida tells a story about his father taking a year off school as a young man to work as a handyman in a rural spa. There he met a kind of 'hippy' Jazz pianist who saw colored auras around people that revealed things about them.



Tsukuru also has vivid erotic dreams about the girls in his teen group and Haida - and has difficulty separating these dreams from reality.



In the course of the story Tsukuru tracks down most of his old friends and gets an explanation for their behavior, which helps him move on. The story is slow-moving and Tsukuru is too laid back a character for my taste. It's hard to believe Tsukuru didn't act sooner to discover why his friends abandoned him. Also - when he got the explanation - his reaction should have been more dramatic. However, this probably isn't the point of the book which is about Tsukuru's quest to understand his life and find happiness.

Murikami does a good job with ambiance, and provides colorful descriptions of people and their surroundings. I got a feel for parts of Japan and Finland that are described in the story, and the characters were interesting if not always believable.


Japanese town


Finnish town

Not a bad book but not really my cup of tea. Fans of Murikami would probably enjoy the book more than I did.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Into the Fire: An Orphan X Novel" by Gregg Hurwitz

In this 5th book in the 'Orphan X' series, the death of a forensic accountant enmeshes Evan Smoak in a fight against formidable opponents. The book provides enough background information to be read as a standalone.

*****

When Evan Smoak was a spindly twelve-year-old living in an orphanage - where he slept on the floor between bunks - he was 'rescued' and placed in a black ops program that trained orphans to be highly skilled assassins. Evan was dubbed Orphan X.



After doing his assassin job for many years, Orphan X left the black ops program and set himself up as 'The Nowhere Man', a badass who helps people in trouble. When a person in dire straits is given Evan's number by a former client, the call goes to Evan's uber-encrypted RoamZone phone, which he answers with the phrase "Do you need my help?"



Max Merriweather badly needs Evan's help. A few months ago, Max was entrusted with a yellow envelope by his cousin, forensic accountant Grant Merriweather.



Max was instructed to give the envelope to Los Angeles Times reporter Lorraine Lennox in the event of Grant's death. Now Grant has been brutally tortured and killed.....and when Max tries to give Lennox the envelope, he finds her dead. Max is now REALLY scared.



Max is a sad sack who's a failure in a family of overachievers and whose ex- wife - whom he still pines for - can't bear to look at him. Wanting to do at least one good thing in his life, Max is determined to take care of the envelope business before it blows back on Grant's wife and pregnant daughter.



Terribly frightened and not knowing what to do, Max stumbles into a coffee shop and collapses onto a stool. As it happens Evan's previous client, an autistic savant named Trevon Gaines, sits down beside Max.....and the RoamZone number is passed on.

Max calls the RoamZone, and Evan agrees to help the beleaguered man.....which turns out to be a Herculean task.

The envelope Max was given contains a thumb drive that details an Armenian gang's multi-million dollar money-laundering scheme. The Armenians are determined to kill Max and get the drive, so they search Max's house, ransack Grant's office, and eliminate anyone who gets in their way.



Evan manages to hide Max in a dilapidated house in the poorest part of Los Angeles, where the downtrodden man is supposed to remain until the coast is clear.

Evan uses his superb skills to neutralize the Armenian gang, and thinks job well done. Max is now safe.





But nooooo. It turns out there's someone more powerful than the Armenian gang leader calling the shots, and that person continues to send killers after Max and the thumb drive.

As things shake out, every time Evan defeats a nemesis, there's someone even higher up - and better connected - going after Max and the drive. (In my own mind, I was thinking, 'How far up does this go. The mayor? the governor? the President? Putin?' 😏)

The book isn't quite non-stop action, but it's pretty close, and Evan has to grapple with innumerable human killers as well as vicious fighting dogs. This gives Evan the opportunity to show his softer side, since he rescues a 'bait dog' and brings it to his protégé, a 16-year- old girl called Joey.



Joey is a gifted computer hacker who has an apartment chock full of computers, monitors, and high-tech gadgets....and a healthy supply of orange juice, Red Bull, and Twizzlers.



For a bit of light relief, Evan interacts with the other tenants in his apartment building, who think he's an importer of industrial cleaning supplies. When Evan is charged with bringing 'nibbles' to an HOA meeting, he's REALLY out of his depth. 😊 Still, Evan is compassionate when a mugger snatches a necklace from his neighbor - octogenarian Ida Rosenbaum - and that thief is in for a bad time.



As usual in this series, Evan gets into trouble with Mia, the district attorney who lives a few floors below him. Mia is attracted to Evan, but knows there's something 'off' about him.



For his part, Evan likes Mia and her 9-year-old son Peter. In VERY different circumstances, Evan and Mia might be a couple, but killers like Evan can't form romantic bonds.

As Evan deals with one threat to Max after another, he keeps saying he's going to quit being 'The Nowhere Man' after this mission, so he can lead a normal life. That would be a shame.

I like the novel, which is fast-moving, exciting, and a good primer about various weapons and explosives. If you enjoy action stories, this is the book for you.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Gregg Hurwitz) and the publisher (Minotaur Books) for a copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "Spook Country: Blue Ant #2" by William Gibson

In this 2nd book in the 'Blue Ant' series, the owner of the inscrutable Blue Ant Company - eccentric billionaire Hubertus Bigend - takes an interest in a new art form. The book can be read as a standalone with no problem.



Spook Country follows three groups of characters whose story threads merge as the narrative unfolds. The action moves from various parts of the United States to Canada as the protagonists pursue their agendas.

*****

Entrepreneur Hubertus Bigend has commissioned budding journalist Hollis Henry to write an article about 'locative art' for his new enterprise, Node magazine. Locative art, which is composed of images superimposed on the real world, must be viewed with a Virtual Reality headset. So pedestrians might stroll right past locative artworks, completely unaware.



To demonstrate this new art form, Hollis is shown an image of River Phoenix's body on the (actual) Los Angeles street where he collapsed before he died, and an image of a giant squid hovering in a warehouse.


River Phoenix collapsed in front of The Viper Room



The cutting edge technology needed to display locative art is facilitated by a reclusive oddball genius named Bobby Chombo, who also does work for the military.

It seems that Hubertus Bigend has an agenda, because he urges Hollis to interview Chombo for her article. Chombo is an introvert who almost never meets new people.



However, Hollis has an ace up her sleeve. She was once a member of the (now defunct) cult band Curfew, which Chombo liked, so she has a slight 'in' with the tech expert.

In time Hollis learns that Chombo is using his electronic know-how to track a cargo container that's been ping-ponging around the world for years. This container turns out to be the MacGuffin in the story.



*****

Tito is a young man of Chinese-Russian-Cuban heritage whose family is a self-contained criminal enterprise.



Tito's relatives are involved in forgery, espionage, money-laundering, illegal immigration, and so on. The head of Tito's family, called 'the old man', was once a United States government operative, probably in some intelligence/counter-intelligence department.



Tito is an expert in 'Systema' (a sort of parkour used to escape adversaries) and has personal Santeria gods protecting him, so he's almost untouchable as he goes about his business. Tito's occupation seems to be receiving and sending messages written in the invented language Volapuk (encoded in Russian) and delivering IPODs containing encrypted information to the old man.



As things shake out, Tito is eventually dispatched to perform a risky mission that involves the aforementioned cargo container.

*****

Brown is a shadowy personage - perhaps a former American military man - who has wired Tito's room to record incoming/outgoing Volapuk messages.



However, Brown doesn't understand Volapuk, so he abducts Milgrim - a homeless vagrant addicted to anti-anxiety drugs - who's an expert in the lingo.



Milgrim can understand Volapuk, including the idioms, and translate it into English. Brown keeps Milgrim from escaping by giving him drugs and issuing dire threats.

Milgrim, who's one of the book's narrators, isn't too bothered by his captivity because he gets the drugs he needs; has a stolen book about obscure medieval religions to read; gets to stay in decent hotel rooms; and is provided with regular meals - often in restaurants.



Druggie Milgrim has little interest in Brown's ultimate objectives, but he does note that Brown and his cohorts want to intercept Tito and snag one of the encrypted IPODs.

In time it becomes clear that Brown and company ALSO have an interest in the cargo container.

*****

The story is enhanced by additional characters and situations that add interest to the book. For instance, Hollis works with an art curator, Odile Richard, who makes robotic vacuums out of white Legos; and Hollis meets a locative artist, Alberto Corrales, who specializes in portraying dead celebrities.

Hollis also sees a couple of her former bandmates, philosophical Inchmale and versatile Laura. Laura is a formidable woman, who - when she fears Hollis is in danger - fashions a weapon out of an axe handle.



For his part, mixed-heritage Tito has a large number of family members - including numerous uncles and cousins - who are on hand to help when he needs assistance. And even loner Brown speaks to cronies on the phone, planning his secretive moves.

The author has a deft hand with conspiracies, and drops hints in the story that lead to 'aha' moments at the book's climax. All this is good fun, and the book is well-written and worth reading.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "I See You: A Novel of Suspense" by Clare Mackintosh

Like thousands of city residents, fortyish Zoe Walker commutes to work every day on the London Underground - contending with the noise, jostling, and strangers packed too close. One day, while perusing the 'London Gazette' on the train, Zoe is startled to see a picture of herself.



There, among ads for escort services and dating sites, is her photo - associated with an ad for 'FINDTHEONE.com.' When Zoe tries the ad's phone number and web address, the number doesn't work and the site requires an unknown password.

When she gets home, Zoe shares her discovery with her live-in boyfriend Simon and her children, 22-year-old Justin and 19-year-old Katie.



They're skeptical that the Gazette photo is actually Zoe, and downplay her concerns. Nevertheless, Zoe continues to check the ad regularly - noting that it features a different female's photo every day. Zoe soon realizes that the women in the photos seem to be the targets of crimes, such as stolen keys and a break-in.



Zoe brings this to the attention of Police Constable Kelly Swift, a disgraced/demoted detective who's now assigned to policing the Underground.

Kelly badly wants to redeem herself, and - and when one of the 'photo women' is murdered - manages to get herself seconded to the Murder Investigation Team (MIT). With Kelly's help the MIT discovers that one of the FINDTHEONE' women was raped, and others were crime victims as well.

As for Zoe, she notices that a well-dressed gent seems to be stalking her on the Underground. Moreover, when Zoe almost 'falls' onto the tracks, the man pulls her back.....and asks for a date. Zoe becomes increasingly paranoid, fearing that various commuters are ogling and chasing her.

On top of that, Zoe has personal concerns. Zoe's son Justin, a computer nerd who works in a coffee shop - tends to sponge off his mother;



Zoe's daughter Katie, an aspiring actress, is dating a handsome, older director who seems shady;



and Zoe's boyfriend Simon has been grouchy lately, and resentful of her ex-husband (Justin and Katie's dad).



Zoe's only moments of relaxation seem to be with her friend and neighbor Melissa, who's always good for a conversation and a cuppa.

Meanwhile, the MIT is making progress with their inquiries, and Kelly advises Zoe to be super careful....and to alter her travel habits. Interspersed with the actual events in the story are creepy observations from the 'perp', explaining the sinister behavior.



Events in the book escalate to a finale that reveals all, and there are some twists and surprises.

                                                                   SPOILER ALERT 

 I think, in an effort to up the ante for readers who've come to anticipate 'big twists' at the end of thrillers, some authors go overboard.....and stretch credibility beyond the breaking point. For me, that's the case with this book. I didn't buy the epilogue.
[ I think, in an effort to up the ante for readers who've come to anticipate 'big twists' at the end of thrillers, some authors go overboard.....and stretch credibility beyond the breaking point. For me, that's the case with this book. I didn't buy the epilog. (hide spoiler)]
                                                              END SPOILER ALERT

Overall, I enjoyed the novel. The premise of the story, that our 'personal information' is too public, is very relevant to modern times. And the main characters are fleshed out and interesting. On the downside, the middle of the story moves rather slowly, but this is a minor quibble.

The book is entertaining, and I'd recommend it to fans of thrillers. 

Rating: 3 stars