2022 was not a great reading year for me. I read few non-fiction books. Thus this year I have chosen 2 instead of 3 books for Best of Non-Fiction.
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NON-FICTION
1.) Defense Lawyer by James Patterson and Benjamin Wallace (review and supplementary review) - After representing people accused of criminal offences for almost 5 decades, I am prejudiced in favour of biographies of defense (defence in Canada) lawyers.
Barry Slotnick represented accused in New York City from Bullets (a mafia leader’s dog) to Bernhard Goetz (the “subway vigilante”).
Impeccably dressed in $2,500 suits he strode into courtrooms with a presence that claimed the room. He personally carefully prepared the facts for trials. He relied on others to develop the legal arguments to apply to the facts.
In the book the focus is on his two most highly publicized trials.
In the RICO, racketeering, trial of John “the Teflon Don” Gotti case, he led the defense team while representing a co-accused of Gotti. There were flamboyant moments and gripping evidence in the trial.
Goetz’s trial was even more of a circus with Slotnick wrestling with a client who loved the limelight and talking about his case.
Patterson and Wallace kept the narrative driving.
2.) Kleptopia by Tom Burgis (review and libel case) - I had but the barest knowledge of the “Trio” - Alexander “Sasha” Machkevitch from Kyrgyzstan, Patokh Chokiev from Uzbekistan and Alijan Ibragimov of Uihghur descent - before reading this book.
They moved vast sums of money from central Asia and Africa through London. Burgis provides fascinating details on how, aided by Western bankers and lawyers, they shifted the money to the West.
Through the book:
I learned the perils of modern black money. Between Western governments constantly investigating and rapacious unreliable colleagues there is constant personal danger. Best to spend the loot.
In a second post I discussed a libel suit against the author. While his defence was successful I was not surprised he did not answer a letter I wrote to him about the book.
MOST INTERESTING
1.) The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizu - My first Japanese locked room mystery, set in 1937, was an excellent read.
Yokomizu provided a “locked room” that I never figured out. Not a surprise there.
He also introduced an interesting sleuth:
Kosuke Kindaichi, a famed young private detective, is summoned. He is an “unremarkable” looking young man in his mid-20’s - “he seemed stunningly indifferent to his appearance”. Formerly a drug addict he applies “reasoning and logic” to the evidence collected by the police. The narrator associates him with a fictional English detective.
What made it Most Interesting were the references to real crime fiction:
In an intriguing development for mystery book lovers, there is an extensive collection of crime fiction, including locked room mysteries, in the main house. Saburo, who is Kenzo’s younger brother, has assembled the books. Most remarkably, Kindaichi, uses the collection to help him solve the case.
2.) The Silence of the White City by Eva Garcia Saenz and translated by Nick Caistor - I infrequently read crime fiction featuring serial killers but The Silence of the White City was compelling.
The scenario began with a series of killings 20 years earlier:
The first victims had been a pair of newborns, then a boy and girl each 5, then a boy and girl aged 10 and then a boy and girl of 15.
The killings have begun again in the Basque city of Vitoria with a young man and woman of 20.
I was Most Interested when I learned that bees had been diabolically used to kill the latest victims.
3.) To Those Who Killed Me by J.T. Siemens - In his first novel Siemens creates an amazing sleuth in Sloane Donovan:
The book is at its best exploring the tumultuous Sloane. Constantly on the edge of dysfunction, nightmares of her family past lurking in her “pinballing” mind, she is never at rest but she is resolute and resourceful.
She finds her friend, Geri Harp, murdered and has to find out “why”. While now working as a fitness trainer she had been a Vancouver police officer.
I summed up the book:
Wild it was and glad I was to have experienced it. The pages raced by in the exhilarating feeling of a great read. No drug or alcohol needed.
3.) The Searcher by Tana French - I have seen many recommendations for French and took this book upon a 34 day cruise last November and early December. It was a good choice.
Former Chicago Police detective, Cal Hooper, is seeking a quiet life in Western Ireland. He finds himself drawn into a quest for a missing teenage boy.
It is a very good story which become one of my Most Interesting because of French’s portrayal of Ireland and the Irish:
French’s lyrical descriptions of the west Irish countryside, its people and their speech drew me into their world. From afar the image of Ireland is of a land of soft greens and misty landscapes. French equally evokes the Ireland of mountains and rocky fields.
I am looking forward to a more productive reading year in 2023. I will be starting with some good books from Christmas.
I'm sorry you didn't have an outstanding year for reading, Bill; I hope this year is better. I like the idea of a category for Most Interesting Books. I've had reads like that, too, where I couldn't say they were top reads, but they did make me think, or were interesting in another way. As to your choices this time, I remember thinking that d The Honjin Murders sounded interesting when I read your review of it; I still plan to read it.
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for the comment. The Honjin Murders was unique. I am going to try to read another in the series in 2023.
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