Emails with Anthony on Home Fires Burn

After reading Home Fires Burn by Anthony Bidulka, I exchanged emails with Anthony. I cherish our exchanges.

****

Dear Anthony,

I finished reading Home Fires Burn to Sharon yesterday.

We had been proceeding at a stately pace until we started the final 60 pages at noon. We could not stop. I read as we were waiting for our sandwiches at the Balance Cafe. (We are currently at the Grand Mayan resort in the Vidanta complex in Puerto Vallarta.) When we went down to the beach I read some more while we were sitting under a thatched roof beach hut. After ordering Chinese food for dinner at Gong I read some more as we sat on the patio beside the mini-lake. When we went upstairs to our suite Sharon said can we keep going? She lay down beside me and the pages went by until we were done.

I asked Sharon her thoughts on the book. She said she enjoyed Home Fires Burn. The cliffhangers in the final chapters kept her wanting more.

She told me she thought the pace made it suitable for being an audible book. She said it did not drag, that the plot never stalled and was not repetitive. She continued that there was enough description to keep her interested and let her form a picture in her mind of what was happening.

She was concerned about Merry wearing her Christian Louboutin boots with narrow 4” heels on the icy streets of Livingsky. She worried Merry would have a bad fall.

Her comments were not prompted by my remarks on the first book, Livingsky, about those impractical boots.

She did wonder how tall Merry was without her heels. You spoke of her being tall but I do not recall her height being set out in the books. Did you have a height in your mind for Merry?

Sharon was patient about me reading aloud the last few days. She said it would have been better if I had not interrupted reading periodically by coughing. I have a lingering cold. 

My thoughts are in the review that I posted today. A link is below. If you can reply I will post this message and your response a few days from now.

As with the end of the Russell Quant series I express my regret there will be no more Merry Bell adventures. I thought the third to be the strongest of the series.

I have not always found the endings of your books to be a strength. Home Fires Burn had a strong, credible finish.

I believe Merry Bell and Roger/Stella Brown have become a formidable sleuthing team. It would be interesting if they had more mysteries to solve, especially if they ventured into rural Saskatchewan. 

I do not think I have seen or heard where your writing may take you next. If you are sharing then Sharon and I would be glad to know.

When Russell went on his “indefinite hiatus” I thought he was not really settled. I did see Merry’s life in a good place at the end of Home Fires Burn.

In a final plea I would love to see you write a mystery in which Russell joins Merry and Roger/Stella. I think it would be a grand adventure.

Sharon and I look forward to your next book. Fifteen are not enough!

All the best to you and Herb.

Bill

****

Hi Bill,

I hope this finds you well and the two of you enjoying more of the delights of Puerto Vallarta.

As far back as when Amuse Bouche first came out in 2003, I have always enjoyed imagining how readers experience my books. Over the years, some have been so kind as to send me photographs of them reading one, on a beach, in bed surrounded by pillows, on a favourite chair, in front of a fireplace, on an airplane. I love them all. In that same vein, I've greatly appreciated your telling me about reading Home Fires Burn aloud to Sharon.

One of the commonalities in your thoughts about any of my books is your ability to see beyond the mystery (perhaps that's the "More" in "Mysteries and More"?). Identifying "relationships" as the overarching theme of the trilogy is interesting and probably quite accurate. Before Merry was Merry, she was Joey. It's fascinating to think about whether Joey's relationships expired along with Joey or do they continue on with Merry in some form or format? And further, how much of Merry's life prior to transition influence relationships post-Joey? Relationships in general--and you identified many that are investigated in this series--are rarely straightforward. As a writer, I find that a wonderful aspect of character development to dig into.

Oh those Christian Louboutin boots. Not dissimilar to the wonderpants in the Russell Quant series, I've been surprised how often they are referenced by readers and reviewers, and in widely varying ways. Those boots were never made for Saskatchewan and, at first, the same might be said for Merry. She resists and sometimes denies their unsuitability because of what they represent to her and her transition. For me, the beautiful payoff of the boots comes in Home Fires Burn when the boots are irreparably damaged. As for Merry's height, you are correct that I never go beyond saying she is tall. I imagine her being somewhere between 5'8" and 6', but details like this I like to leave up to the reader for whoever it is they see in their mind's eye when they think of Merry.

At the outset of this trilogy I took on the responsibility of telling the stories of not only Merry Bell, but of Roger and Brenda Brown, very seriously. Quoting you, the Merry Bell books are at times "emotional, moving...wrenching, and compelling".  I've done my best to never shy away from the challenging aspects of their lives, yet still remain open to the possibility of hope, love and a happy life. It was bittersweet to write the final pages of this book, but, thankfully, very satisfying. I hope readers feel the same way.

On to the next.

Anthony

****

** Bidulka, Anthony – Russell Quant series and Adam Saint series and Merry Bell series and standalones:

(2021) - Anthony Bidulka and Hesitation Over the Cover Photo

Russell Quant books - (2004) - Amuse Bouche (Most
Interesting of 2004 – fiction and non-fiction); (2005) - Flight of Aquavit (2nd Best fiction in 2005); (2005) - Tapas on the Ramblas; (2006) - Stain of the Berry; (2008) - Sundowner Ubuntu;   (2009) - Aloha, Candy Hearts; (2010) - Date with a Sheesha; (2012) - Dos Equis; Paperback or Hardcover

Adam Saint books - (2013) - When the Saints Go

Marching In and (2015) - The Women of Skawa Island

Merry Bell books - (2023) Livingsky and Merry Bell - Saskatchewan Transgender Sleuth and Exchange with Anthony Bidulka on Livingsky; (2024) From Sweetgrass Bridge and I Am Excited to Become a Fictional Character and Poetry in Football - Fictionally and Real Life and Anthony Bidulka at the Melfort Library; (2025) - Home Fires Burn and Reading to Sharon

Standalones - (2017) - Set Free; (2022) - Going to Beautiful and Stellar Book Launch for Going to Beautiful

Home Fires Burn by Anthony Bidulka

(12. - 1255.)  Home Fires Burn by Anthony Bidulka - Merry Bell is tentatively reaching out to her father, Samuel. It has been 12 years. She calls him on the landline of her parents. He answers the wall mounted phone. He calls her Joey. She says she is now Merry
Bell. He instantly realizes the names as her grandmother’s first name and Bell as the English translation of Dzvonyk, their family surname.

The first call is abrupt. Merry makes more calls. Though short in time, emotion fills every call as Merry deals with her feelings about her parents when she was Joey and told them 12 years earlier “that she was actually a girl and wanted to become one”. They are a powerful series of calls.

Anthony provides a candid and credible portrait of a family relationship for a transgender person coming out. Forgiveness comes hardest in families.

Merry meets her first love, Evan Whatley. Since they finished high school he has become a famous rockstar. While he is startled by her transition they resume easy conversation. 

Their relationship is complicated. As a teenager Evan was a gay boy loving another boy, Joey, who did not want to be a boy. Now Evan is a gay man and Joey is Merry, a transgender woman. Anthony addresses their uncertainties. They are friends. Can it be more?

Evan hires Merry. His father, John Whatley, was found dead a year earlier in circumstances all too real for Saskatchewan residents. On a bitter winter night with the temperature at -33C and a wind chill of -42C he is locked out of his car on a country road outside Livingsky and cannot find his keys.

The police conclusion of “death by misadventure” troubles Evan. Merry undertakes to find out what happened that night.

Merry sees her father in a memorable meeting shortly before Christmas. It is organized by Merry’s high school classmate/office neighbour/unexpected friend, Brenda. It was emotional and moving.

The emotions of Christmas seasons past and present are wrenching and compelling. 

Orientation and gender affect families at special occasions. Christmas is the most complex time of the year. Merry’s Christmas experience left me almost as drained as Merry. 

I noted Anthony’s personal passion for themed Christmas trees made its way into this book with a spectacular 20 foot tree beautifully decorated by Brenda. It is “champagne coloured”, slowly rotating, with “boughs heavy with shiny ornaments of gold, brass and white and at the top the largest star Merry had ever seen, so bright the Three Wise Men would need sunglasses”. That is a Christmas tree!

Merry’s investigation into John Whatley’s death proceeds slowly. Dead ends keep requiring Merry to go deeper and deeper into his lfe.

Merry and her landlord, Gerald Drover, continue to have an unlikely relationship. Anthony caught me totally offguard when Gerald meets Merry at the Mayor’s Boxing Day Breakfast for the citizens of Livingsky for both are wearing Christian Louboutin footwear with signature red soles  (Merry in her signature boots and Gerald in “shiny black leather lace-ups).

I regretted that Merry’s sidekick, Brenda’s cross-dressing husband Roger/Stella, did not join the investigation until late in the book. They are such a fascinating sleuthing duo.

By going through the tapes of the crime podcast, The Darkside of Livingsky, which is hosted by Stella, there are a couple of leads for Merry.

It takes Merry and Roger/Stella working together to solve the mystery of John Whatley’s death.

The final chapters flew by.

Anthony’s books have themes that dominate the book. I see the overarching theme in the Merry Bell trilogy as relationships.

I saw Under Sweetgrass Bridge as his best exploration of vulnerability. 

In Home Fires Burn the relationships include parent/child, teenage love, teenage rejection, a cross dressed man with a happy marriage and transgender/straight relationships. The mystery has some challenges competing with the exploration of past, present and future relationships.

I found Home Fires Burn most powerful in its exploration of the angst in the relationships of straight parents with gay or transgender children. I was grateful that love triumphed.

****

Bidulka, Anthony – Russell Quant series and Adam Saint series and Merry Bell series and standalones:

(2021) - Anthony Bidulka and Hesitation Over the Cover Photo

Russell Quant books - (2004) - Amuse Bouche (Most
Interesting of 2004 – fiction and non-fiction); (2005) - Flight of Aquavit (2nd Best fiction in 2005); (2005) - Tapas on the Ramblas; (2006) - Stain of the Berry; (2008) - Sundowner Ubuntu;   (2009) - Aloha, Candy Hearts; (2010) - Date with a Sheesha; (2012) - Dos Equis

Adam Saint books - (2013) - When the Saints Go

Marching In and (2015) - The Women of Skawa Island

Merry Bell books - (2023) Livingsky and Merry Bell - Saskatchewan Transgender Sleuth and Exchange with Anthony Bidulka on Livingsky; (2024) From Sweetgrass Bridge and I Am Excited to Become a Fictional Character and Poetry in Football - Fictionally and Real Life and Anthony Bidulka at the Melfort Library

Standalones - (2017) - Set Free; (2022) - Going to Beautiful and Stellar Book Launch for Going to Beautiful

A Man With One of Those Faces by Caimh McDonnell

(11. - 1254.) A Man With One of Those Faces by Caimh McDonnell - Appearances can be deceiving in Dublin.

Paul Mulchrone is visiting a hospice. A patient, Margaret, calls him Gareth who is either her son or grandson. Paul speaks a little but mainly listens patiently. He says goodbye Ma. I thought he was her son.

He is actually just a guy performing 6 hours of charity work each week by going to hospices and hospitals and being whoever an elderly patient with confusion thinks he is in their family.

Paul knows he has “one of those faces”. It is “entirely ordinary, as was the rest of him …. His sheer ordinariness was the whole point. He was a medium everything; his features the most common in every category …. Collectively, they formed an orchestra designed to produce the facial muzak of the Gods”.

Hospital staffs know him as the “granny whisperer”.

An elderly man, Mr. Brown, attacks Paul, putting Paul in hospital. In his hospital bed Paul finds himself in a solicitor’s office though he knows he is not there. He can see and hear the solicitor, Greevy, reading  his Great-Aunt Fidelma’s will. That she is sitting on a donkey behind the solicitor confirms that he knows he is dreaming while still dreaming.

Counting every cent of every Euro, I thought Paul was living on government assistance. He is actually existing on 500 euros per month from Great-Aunt Fidelma’s estate and abiding by her conditions for the monthly stipend that include no other sources of income and the weekly charity work.

I expected it was a temporary arrangement given the modest amount but it turns out Paul has been living on the meagre monthly payments for seven years, four months and two weeks to frustrate the distribution of the estate to the Donegal Donkey Sanctuary. 

McDonnell is deft with irony edging into sarcasm. Detective Inspector Jimmy Stewart, a week away from a retirement forced by age, dislikes complications. He senses nurse Brigit’s enthusiastic statement on Mr. Brown’s attack on Paul, during which Mr. Brown dies of a heart attack, is going to mean complications. Stewart’s investigation is:

Dotting the “I’s” and crossing the “T’s”, waiting for the S and the H to show up.

Mr. Brown is not Mr. Brown, a lonely old Irish man, come home to die. Who Mr. Brown thought Paul was, must have been someone he hated.

Brigit appears to be an average nurse from rural Ireland with an average routine job of caring for the elderly. She is actually a passionate devourer of real crime stories. She is secretly delighted to be caught up in a real crime story. She had always believed that there “had to be some adventure, some magic left in the world”.

Paul has to go on the run and Brigit is eager to help him.

Who do you trust when you are uncertain why you are a target and who has identified you?

Paul understands Gerry Fallon, the big boss of Dublin’s underworld, is involved. Paul reaches out to a minor crime boss. Auntie Lynn is a 50 plus red haired looker. She is blunt:

“Son, not even God can help you.”

Facing a desperate situation, I was proud that Paul and Brigit reached out to a lawyer.

DI Stewart and another veteran officer, Detective Sgt. Bunny McGarry, are determined to keep Paul and Brigit alive.

Paul and Brigit find the most unusual safe house in all my reading days. 

The deceiving appearances kept happening through the book and I kept being deceived.

The relationship between Paul and Brigit is “complicated” to me though Brigit is a firm believer that:

“Nuclear physics is complicated. The middle east is complicated. Our lives? They’re actually pretty damn simple, we just somehow make them difficult for ourselves.”

Having decided self-help is the only way to save their lives the unlikely sleuths start investigating. Brigit proves adept at internet sleuthing.

The twists and turns in their investigating journey are fascinating.

McDonnell is a brilliant writer. Paul may have “one of those faces” but his mind is keen and his psyche unsettled. He is a unique character  but it is Brigit I will remember. Resourceful, determined and bright she is engaging. She is the final deception. I underestimated her.

The book has abundant subtle humour and occasionally scenes that made me chuckle, more accurately snicker, aloud.

The dialogue is amazing. It rivals Tana French’s The Seeker. I have now read two works of crime fiction with superb dialogue in 3 months. Both are by Irish writers. 

It is a grand book. Were it not for a bizarre ending, A Man with One of Those Faces would be a great book.

Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow - The Trial

The second half of my review of Presumed Guilty
by Scott Turow is the trial of his stepson, Aaron, charged with murdering his girlfriend, Mae.

The opening statements of Jackdorp and Sabich are fascinating as they explore the evidence to be heard in far more depth than would occur in a Canadian jury trial. Both are good lawyers. Jackdorp seeks to hammer home the expert evidence he will need the jury to believe in order to convict. Sabich responds with comments on the weaknesses in that same evidence.

Sabich, a man I would consider suave and urbane, manages to speak in a folksy country tone while not talking down to the jury.

I wondered what alternative to Aaron might be provided by Sabich. Murder by a mysterious stranger is a hard sell to juries. An alternative in this case requires delving into, even attacking, Mae’s character and lifestyle. It is a delicate process for the defence. Sabich must be careful not to antagonize the jury.

How do you approach questioning Mae’s grieving mother, Charmaine, who is in a wheelchair? She has evidence that would help Aaron. 

The State calls Cassity who is Aaron’s best friend. Her evidence demonstrates the risks of not fully questioning a potential witness before trial. Lawyers dream of being able to cross a friendly prosecution witness. Sabich always does his homework.

Sabich faces a great challenge with a witness eager to help the defence. If believed, the witness will be helpful. He knows the witness will be savaged on cross. He knows far better than Aaron and Bea the consequences of a defence witness considered a liar by the jury.

Sabich’s representation of Aaron is tearing at his relationship with Bea just as he expected.

Turow ratchets up the tension when Sabich bolts awake in the middle of the night with the realization there is an alternative killer he had never considered. 

Aaron’s Grandpa Joe, with his migrant beginning, working man background, military service and blunt speech is a hit with the jury. He has the best response I have ever heard or read by a witness asked if he would lie for someone he loved:

“Oh, me,” says Joe. “Hell yeah. If it was the right thing to do, I’d lie for certain.”

Sabich’s cross of the State witness George Lowndes, who loves to hear himself talk, is deft and deflating. Turow is great at creating trial testimony. 

The intensity of trial work and the challenge of being old affects Sabich. He is as exhausted as Sandy Stern was in The Last Trial.

As inevitable in major trials there is evidence that surprises. Looking at photos requires careful attention. Cell phone records, while often tedious, can be important. Turow does not overlook such evidence in his books.

Seeking to score verbally in argument and comment during a trial with a clever remark is often ill-founded. Sabich comes to regret a somewhat flippant remark in his opening address. It should have been saved for closing.

Foot and tire impressions prove more absorbing than I would have expected. There is a Hollywood moment in the trial when Sabich is able to have an important People’s Exhibit struck which he then dumps into a garbage can. Jackdorp compounds the power by retrieving it and then being directed by the Judge to give it to her. She puts it out of sight. I was reminded of the real life Bruce Cutler defending John Gotti and expressing his opinion of the indictment by firing into a garbage can.

At the end of the trial the decision comes on whether Aaron will testify. Sabich cannot decide for him. It is very hard for the defendant to be objective. My experience is that accused are well advised to listen to the recommendation of their lawyer. It is the lawyer who has the experience in trials. 

If he does not testify the jury will decide if the State proved its case. If he testifies the focus shifts from the State’s evidence to Aaron. If he is believed he will walk out of the courthouse but if the jury does not believe him he will walk into a jail cell for the rest of his life.

Aaron wants to testify. As clear from The Last Trial Turow is clearly of the school of defence counsel that the accused should not testify in a criminal trial. There are great risks that the accused will lose control on the witness stand or be forced to admit contradictions or simply not be believed by the jury. 

If Aaron testifies Sabich is rightly concerned that Aaron’s criminal record, not revealed during the State’s case, will be in evidence and tarnish him. In Canada, the record would not be available for cross-examination if the accused does not lead evidence of good character.

The moment of the decision was the second most gripping moment of the trial for me. 

Most gripping was the verdict. There is no greater moment of tension in a courtroom than a jury coming back with its decision.

While I found the first 90 pages tedious at times the final 150 pages were absolutely compelling. 

I was surprised that Jackdorp and Sabich each tackled this case on their own. It is a complex murder trial. Each has an investigator aiding them Each investigator is experienced and helpful but they are not lawyers. Normally Jackdorp and Sabich would have had at least one lawyer assisting them. 

Each could have benefited from having a second lawyer. In particular, for Sabich in his mid-70’s another lawyer would have eased the burden of all the trial responsibilities. There are financial issues with hiring another lawyer but they were ready to hire a lawyer at the start of the case. Returning to The Last Trial, Sandy Stern had his daughter and legal partner, Marta, with him.

I expect it was because there is a perception of less drama in having two counsel rather than a lone litigator standing between the accused and a jail cell.

It is a twisty legal thriller in Turow’s best tradition. It would have been wonderful if it had been 350 instead of 534 pages.

****

Turow, Scott – (2000) - Personal Injuries (Third best fiction of 2000); (2003) - Reversible Errors (Tied for the best fiction in 2003); (2007) - Ordinary Heroes; (2011) - Innocent; (2012) - One L (My Review) and One L (Michael Selnes review) and Thoughts on Reviews of One L by Myself and Michael; (2014) - Identical; (2018) - Testimony and Lawyers and Opportunities in International Criminal Courts; (2020) - The Last Trial - Opening and Mid-Trial and Closing; (2024) - Suspect

Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow

(9. - 1252.) Presumed Guilty
by Scott Turow - Rusty Sabich is back. Nearing 77 he is living in the country. After his release from prison he had tried defence work as  court appointed counsel for the indigent. He has achieved the rarest combination of legal experience in the courts. Sabich has been a prosecutor, defence counsel, judge and defendant. I can think of no real life or fictional lawyer filling all those roles. Finding the representation of the guilty unfulfilling he has further added to his legal portfolio by now working as a mediator and arbitrator. 

Since moving north out of Kindle County he has found love yet again. He is living with Bea, a school principal, who is 23 years younger than Sabich. He is startled that a vibrant lovely woman would love him.

Unconsciously, he had followed the advice of a former lover that if you are looking for a happy life “you should look for someone who is happy”.

They were content with living apart until Covid forced a decision. They decided to live together. They have not decided about marriage. The teacher has settled the restlessness that had caused Sabich so much grief. He is content with his life. 

Bea’s black adopted son, Aaron, and Mae Potter, the “Barbie” like daughter of Skageon County aristocracy (father and grandfather have been county prosecutors) have had a volatile relationship since high school. Aaron is currently on a tight judicial release for possessing drugs that were actually Mae’s drugs.

Aaron and Mae have disappeared. Neither Aaron nor Mae are mature 22 year olds. While Aaron is trying to go straight, Mae is self-indulgent.

Aaron returns. 

Mae does not return and is not in contact. Her family gradually grows frantic.

The opening and back story stretch out for almost 90 pages when the action begins. It need not have taken that long to get to what every crime fiction fan knew was coming - Mae is dead and Aaron will be charged with murder.

It is a rare work of legal fiction that discusses the impact upon parents of the accused being advised their child is charged with first degree murder. Pain as a parent comes in many ways. Few can be harder.

With Aaron denying guilt, who will represent him at trial? With the best local lawyer begging off, a search is made through the Mid-West, handicapped by Aaron not wanting a black defender and by Sabich and Bea wanting someone who at least sounds country.

Ultimately, Bea and Aaron and Sabich’s son Nat all want him to take the case. It made me cringe, which was Sabich’s first reaction. To represent a family member in a major trial is a bad idea. Objectivity is the first problem. Concern over relationships with family members including the accused is second. Obsessing over making a mistake that would imprison a family member is third. The list could be longer. 

I knew Sabich was going to take the case when he went to see Aaron. A lawyer who does not want a case will refuse to see the potential client. It is almost impossible to say no directly to a person wanting your representation. Litigators love feeling wanted and a big case is irresistible.

Sabich convinces himself he is the best lawyer for Aaron. It is a blind spot for lawyers. Sabich tells himself he will not shirk from the responsibility to represent Aaron fearlessly no matter the cost in friendships and other relationships.

I thought of Jake Brigance in A Time for Mercy. He takes on the difficult defence of a teenager who shot and killed his sleeping abusive stepfather. It was hard because the victim was a police officer and the compensation is meager putting financial pressure upon Brigance.

Sabich is relieved of the financial consequences. He has no need to work.

The County Prosecutor, Hiram Jackdorp, is respected in the way the folks of Marenage County regard the God of the Old Testament - “unsparing, and uninterested in excuses from those who cross the line”.

Sabich’s “standard costume” for court "is a midnight blue suit, white shirt and muted red tie - hoping to send a subliminal message of abiding patriotism”. I doubt any juror in America would get the message.

The trial judge is Wendy Carrington, formerly the State Defender.

It is unusual for a judge to have antipathy towards a prosecutor. More often any ill will is with defence counsel. Jackdorp, in his seventh term as County Prosecutor, appears to relish the judge’s antagonism. 

Aaron’s belief he will walk out of court a free man dismays Sabich.

Inevitably, my thoughts turn to Turow’s book, The Last Case, where 85 year old Sandy Stern defended his good friend, Dr. Kiril Pafko.

Though Sabich does not say it is his last case he is in his mid-70’s.

My second post on the book will deal with the trial. 

****

Turow, Scott – (2000) - Personal Injuries (Third best fiction of 2000); (2003) - Reversible Errors (Tied for the best fiction in 2003); (2007) - Ordinary Heroes; (2011) - Innocent; (2012) - One L (My Review) and One L (Michael Selnes review) and Thoughts on Reviews of One L by Myself and Michael; (2014) - Identical; (2018) - Testimony and Lawyers and Opportunities in International Criminal Courts; (2020) - The Last Trial - Opening and Mid-Trial and Closing; (2024) - Suspect