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In this 9th 'Paw Enforcement' mystery, Forth Worth police officer Megan Luz and her German shepherd K-9 partner Brigit help investigate a grisly crime. The book works fine as a standalone.
The story opens on Valentine's Day, when Megan 'says yes' to her firefighter boyfriend Seth.
They'll soon have a blended family: Megan and her K-9 partner Brigit and Seth and his K-9 partner Blast. The betrothed couple hurry to share the news with Megan's family and her roommate Frankie, and wedding chatter commences.
In the midst of the excitement Megan gets a call from her mentor, Detective Audrey Jackson, who says "I'm at a crime scene. A grisly one. Can you and Brigit get over here?" As a K-9 team with a special set of skills, Megan and Brigit are always on call. So they leave the engagement merriment and hustle to the crime scene.....
.....where they find a kitchen covered in blood, but no body.
Detective Jackson explains that a married couple, Shelby and Greg Olsen, live in the home. Shelby returned from dinner with coworkers expecting to find her husband Greg - a movie theater manager who had to work on Valentine's Day - at home. Instead Shelby found the gruesome scene, and Greg and his car were missing.
Megan observes blood spatter all over the kitchen, and several sets of footprints on the floor, including pawprints from the family dog.
Megan allows Brigit to sniff the blood in the kitchen, then orders her to trail. Brigit leads Megan to the empty garage where she sniffs at a blood puddle where the car trunk would have been, sniffs the area where the passenger door would have been, and 'sits' to indicate the trail ends where a driver's door would have been if a vehicle occupied the space.
Brigit's behavior, which is rewarded with praise and liver treats, indicates that the people in the Olsen's kitchen left in the car that had been parked in the garage, perhaps with Greg's body in the trunk.
Megan and Detective Jackson proceed to investigate. They interview witnesses, look at CCTV footage, analyze computers, examine phones, interpret data, and so on.
A fertile area of inquiry seems to be cash proceeds from the movie theater, which thieves may have planned to steal.
In the midst of the Greg Olsen investigation, a hailstorm hits Forth Worth, damaging the roofs of many homes.
Roofers soon flood the city, going door to door to drum up business.
Some roofers become elusive after getting a deposit, and Megan is sent to investigate a claim of fraud.
A homeowner named Althea Nomikos says she gave roofing contractor Tommy Perkins five-hundred dollars a week ago, and he hasn't done a thing.
Megan agrees to look into the matter and uses her sleuthing skills to figure out what's going on.
The story is told from three points of view: Megan, Brigit, and the Slasher who perpetrated the crime in the Olsen home. In Brigit's sections the K-9 thinks about using her sniffing skills to help Megan; the discomfort of wearing dog booties at crime scenes; how much she likes liver treats and belly rubs; how dogs are better at some things than humans; and other dog-related things. Brigit acquits herself well in the story, peeing on the shoes of Megan's nasty former partner and bringing down perps who try to get away.
The investigative parts of the book are interspersed with scenes of Megan shopping for a wedding dress; looking for a wedding venue; arranging for centerpieces; choosing flowers; and so on - all of which adds a touch of fun to the book.
This is a well-researched police procedural that would appeal to armchair sleuths who likes to solve the crime along with the detectives.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author (Diane Kelly), and the publisher (St. Martin's Press) for a copy of the book.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Author David Rothkopf
David Rothkopf is a professor of international relations, political scientist and journalist who writes books about politics and government. In this book David Rothkopf makes the case that history will not look kindly on President Donald Trump.
Referring to Trump, Rothkopf writes, "The President of the United States is a traitor. He is a liar. He is a fraud. He is a racist. He is a misogynist He is incompetent. He is corrupt. He is unfit in almost every respect for the high office he holds." Rothkopf believes Trump betrayed the United States by "placing foreign interests before those of the United States, always ultimately to serve his own greed or personal ambition."
President Donald Trump
According to Rothkopf, Trump solicited Russian aid to win the 2016 election, and after he won "has repeatedly undertaken actions that protect Russia and Russians, advance their interests, and thwarted the efforts of the U.S. intelligence, law-enforcement, diplomatic and military communities as they sought to stop or counteract Russian wrongdoing." Rothkopf adds, "[Trump] has also sought involvement of other governments in helping to serve his personal objectives, from Ukraine and China, placing personal interests above national interests."
President Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin
Rothkopf notes that Trumps payment to Russia included weakening NATO; supporting Russian positions in Syria; fostering divisions within the U.S.; enabling Russian cyber-interventions in the U.S.; embracing Russian leaders and representatives; supporting Russian efforts to promote right-wing nationalists in Europe; and undoing sanctions against key Russian leaders. Rothkopf also asserts Trump was assisted by the GOP, which has embraced Trump's pro-Russia stance and is complicit with the president in advancing benefits to Russia.
President Trump with members of the GOP
Moreover, Rothkopf believes a REAL investigation into Trump's behavior "might not be even be fully possible until he is out of office and those who are actively protecting him, from his attorney general to the Senate majority leader, are out of power or substantially weakened."
Attorney General Bill Barr
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Rothkopf asserts that "the damage done has been so great and the threats remaining are so profound that it is our duty as citizens to understand how they came to be and what their potential long-term significance is." This means gaining historical context, and - for this reason - Rothkopf recounts the treachery of other Americans. Some of the best known traitors include:
⦿ William Blount (1749-1800) - a U.S. senator who secretly tried to help Great Britain seize Spanish-controlled territories in what now would be part of Florida and Louisiana.
William Blount
⦿ Benedict Arnold (1741-1809) - a once trusted colonial general who gave sensitive military information to the British during the American Revolution, then joined the British forces.
Benedict Arnold
⦿ Aaron Burr (1756-1836) - a former vice-president accused of plotting to annex lands that were owned by Spain and Mexico in order to form his own nation.
Aaron Burr
⦿ James Wilkinson (1757-1825) - a soldier and statesman who was Aaron Burr's co-conspirator.
James Wilkinson
⦿ Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) - a politician who served as the president of the Confederate States and levied war against the United States.
Jefferson Davis
⦿ Herbert Haupt (1919-1942) - a German-American citizen who spied for Nazi Germany during World War II.
Herbert Haupt
⦿ Alger Hiss (1904-1996) - a government official convicted of spying for the Soviet Union.
Alger Hiss
⦿ Julius Rosenberg (1918-1953) - an electrical engineer and his wife Ethel Rosenberg (1915-1963) - a factory worker, were convicted of spying for the Soviet Union.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
⦿ John Walker (1937-2014) - a Navy chief warrant officer convicted of spying for the Soviet Union.
John Walker
⦿ James Hall (1958-) - an army warrant officer and signals intelligence analyst who sold code secrets to East Germany and the Soviet Union.
James Hall
⦿ George Tromimoff (1927-2014) - a military intelligence officer convicted of spying for the Soviet Union.
George Tromimoff
⦿ Harold J. Nicholson (1950-) - a CIA officer convicted of spying for the Soviet Union.
Harold J. Nicholson
⦿ Robert Hanssen (1944-) - an FBI agent convicted of spying for the Soviet Union.
Robert Hanssen
⦿ Aldrich Ames (1941-) - a CIA agent convicted of spying for the Soviet Union.
Alrich Ames
⦿ John Walker Lindh (1981-) - an American citizen imprisoned for going to Afghanistan to work with the Taliban.
John Walker Lindh
⦿ Anwar al-Awlaki (1971-2011) - an American Islamic preacher who was radicalized and became a terrorist.
Anwar al-Awlaki
This abbreviated list of traitors clearly demonstrates that the Soviet Union (now Russia) has always taken advantage of cooperating Americans. And Rothkopf believes Trump has joined the ranks of those betrayers.
Donald Trump
Referring to Russia's interference in the 2016 election, Rothkopf observes "The Russian attack on American democracy and the fact that an American candidate for president embraced it and then later, as president, defended it and rewarded it is an event without precedent in twenty-four decades of U.S. history....its import is underscored by the fact that it has had major lasting and sweeping consequences." Rothkopf goes on to discuss those repercussions.
Rothkopf includes an extensive section on the Mueller Report - whose 'devastating revelations' didn't succeed in indicting Trump or even reigning him him;
Mueller Report
the Trump impeachment hearings - which failed because the Republicans controlled the Senate;
Impeachment hearings
and the Watergate debacle that led to President Nixon's resignation - which, prior to Trump, was "the greatest constitutional scandal in the history of the presidency."
President Nixon resigned after Watergate
To put Trump's odious behavior in context, Rothkopf compares it to previous abuses and scandals. For example:
Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland, Warren Harding, and Bill Clinton all were involved in sex scandals. Rothkopf notes, "Trump outdoes all those scandals added together."
Thomas Jefferson sex scandal
Parody of Trump sex scandal
Financial crimes have been committed from the time of the revolution onwards, writes Rothkopf, "but few compare with those with which Trump has been accused or for which he is under investigation." The author goes on to say, "The business affairs of Trump, Ivanka, Kushner, and the Trump family resulted in growing scrutiny....and conflicts of interest [are suspected] not just in Russia but Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, China, Malaysia, and elsewhere."
Parodies of Trump's financial crimes
Rothkopf contends, "In short, if you take all instances of abuse of the public trust in U.S. history and add to them all the presidential scandals, they would be exceeded in number and severity by the actions of just Trump and those closest to him."
Rothkopf notes that it's not just Trump, but Trumpism. "It's not one man but the tens of millions who support him." Rothkopf believes this stems from alienation, fear, frustration, and anxiety.....problems "exacerbated both by inherent prejudice AND by the license to hate given by Trump, the GOP, evangelical ministers, Fox News, and the rest of the right-wing grievance-amplification machine."
Trump has millions of supporters
Rothkopf concludes by noting that ultimately "the case for or against Trump will not be made by lawyers or politicians or pundits, but will be left to history and historians."
A full assessment of Trump's actions will be the job of historians
Rothkopf also discusses additional historical figures and touches on issues like cronyism, nepotism, ambition, rivalry, discord, corruption, bribery, entitlement, gridlock, sex scandals, inappropriate influence, slavery, white nationalism, racism, xenophobia, the red scare, terrorism, and other factors that shaped (and are shaping) America.
Nepotism
The book is not easy reading. It's wordy, repetitive, contains a lot of irrelevant information, and seems more like a combination history book/policy report than a non-fiction narrative. Still, the book is at least worth skimming to understand the extent of Trump's perfidy.
Rothkopf wrote this book before the Coronavirus pandemic, a tragedy that underlines Trump's willingness to sabotage the nation for his own political benefit. Rothkopf believes historians will skewer Trump and it will be interesting to see if they do.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author (David Rothkopf) and the publisher (Thomas Dunne Books) for a copy of the book.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Terrible things happened in Joe Thorne's English home town of Arnhill 25 years ago. His eight-year-old sister Annie disappeared and Joe thought it was the worst thing that could ever happen.....until she returned.
Later on Joe's mate Chris jumped to his death on the grounds of their school, Arnhill Academy. Joe moved away soon afterwards, and now he's a forty-year-old English teacher who drinks too much, smokes too much, and has a gambling problem.
As the story opens Joe has just moved back to Arnhill, being drawn back by an anonymous email that said: "I know what happened to your sister. It's happening again." Joe obtains a teaching position at his old school and rents a dilapidated cottage that was the site of a murder-suicide.
Joe isn't bothered because the place is cheap and he wants to absorb its 'atmosphere' for personal reasons. Moreover, Joe only plans to stay in Arnhill long enough to settle old scores and pay off a gambling debt - so that Gloria the enforcer doesn't cripple him for life (or worse).
The leader of Joe's old high school gang, a sociopath named Stephen Hurst, is irked about his former pal's return. Stephen wants Joe out of town YESTERDAY and will do almost anything to make that happen.
Stephen has other things on his mind as well: his wife Marie is dying of cancer and his son Jeremy - a bully like his dad - is constantly making trouble at school.
Arnhill, a defunct coal mining town, exudes a sinister atmosphere and eerie noises. Furthermore, the crumbling colliery's underground tunnels and pits - like all dangerous places - attracts kids looking for adventure. That led to trouble 25 years ago....and seems to be causing trouble again.
And then there are the black beetles.....oy vey!!
In addition to his mission in Arnhill, Joe has to do his job at the school - where he teaches classes; has lunch with other instructors; catches bullies tormenting students; and so on. Joe acquires both friends and foes at the school, and these side narratives help round out the novel.
The author is a good storyteller and the tale includes some clever surprises. That said, the narrative crawls along too slowly (for my taste) and the main character, Joe Thorne, has an extremely annoying personality. Joe has a sarcastic streak and a breezy jokey way of talking that NEVER LETS UP....even when he's facing down hooligans. I wanted to cover Joe's mouth.😷
The novel leads to a fitting climax that wraps things up in a satisfactory fashion. One of my favorite scenes involves a sinkhole, which I've always found intriguing.....and this is a good one. 🙂
Overall, I'd say the book is a clever mystery/thriller that would appeal to fans of the genre.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author (C.J. Tudor), and the publisher (Crown) for a copy of the book.
Rating: 3 stars
