Solomon v. Lord by Paul Levine

The Alphabet in Crime Fiction meme hosted by Kerrie Smith at her Mysteries in Paradise blog has arrived at the letter "S". I have chosen a legal mystery, Solomon v. Lord. It is the first in Levine's series. The books feature wonderfully funny legal scenes while being good mysteries. Real life trials often feature humour amidst the tension.

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20. - 335.) Solomon v. Lord by Paul Levine – The funniest courtroom mystery I have read. Steve Solomon is a wise cracking / university baseball semi-star / trial lawyer who shoots from the lip while following Solomon’s Laws (No. 2 – In law and in life, sometimes you have to wing it.) Victoria Lord is the rule abiding / club tennis star / assistant D.A. In a hilarious trial over illegally importing birds both end up in jail for civil contempt because of their biting comments to each other. After Victoria is fired Steve unethically, but cleverly, creates a partnership with Victoria so they can represent Katrina Barksdale who has been charged with murdering her husband during some very kinky sex. To his dismay Steve discovers Victoria is engaged to a vegan avocado magnate, Bruce Bixby. Complicating life is a State custody hearing over Steve’s ward and nephew, 11 year old Bobby, still recovering from a maternally abusive life. Bobby’s brilliant mind ricochets around including the ability to instantly form anagrams from people’s names. Steve reminded me of deceased Melfort lawyer, Stuart Eisner. The duo could be the 21^st Century Tracy and Hepburn. Brilliant. Hardcover or paperback. (May 8/06)

White Sky, Black Ice by Stan Jones

Kerrie Smith's Crime Fiction Alphabet community meme on her website Mysteries in Paradise has reached the letter "J". I am posting an outstanding Alaskan mystery by Stan Jones. Bernadette from Reactions to Reading had mentioned it was waiting for her on her eReader last week in her post for "I". Having enjoyed reading White Sky,Black Ice I decided to make it my post for "J". I thought the second in the series, Shaman Pass, was even better. The author has a fine website and has been prompt in replying to emails.

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7. - 470.) White Sky, Black Ice by Stan Jones – It is always exciting to find a new character in a setting outside a major city with a mystery unique to the area. Nathan Active is an Alaskan in the same way the Joanna Kilborn of Gail Bowen and the Russell Quant of Anthony Bidulka are Saskatchewanians. Active is an Alaskan state trooper stationed in his home village, Chukchi, on the northwest slope of Alaska. With the ocean to the west and tundra to the east there are few more remote areas. The indigeneous population is the Inupiaq (the people). Eskimo is a pejorative term. Active was born to an Inupiaq mother who put him up for adoption. He is dutifully putting in time at Chukchi but eagerly looking forward to getting transferred to Anchorage. He has doubts about the suicide of Charley Clinton. Most in the community believe that Charley was driven to suicide because of a curse put on his father’s family by a shaman. Active has doubts about someone shooting themselves in the Adam’s apple with a rifle. Active is asked by his birth mother to help find a missing husband, Aaron Stone. With the aid of local pilot, Cowboy Decker, he finds Aaron, also an apparent suicide by shooting himself in the Adam’s apple. With no curse, a happy family life and a good job at the Grey Wolf copper mine there is no reason for Aaron to kill himself. Local leader, Tom Werner, is advocating the residents vote to ban alcohol. Drunkeness is devastating the community. As Active pursues the investigation he finds romance with Lucy Generous (her grandmother sets them up). The characters are real people. The author captures the Inupiaq contraction of English verbs vividly. The descriptions of the vast Arctic are powerful. Jones must have lived in the winter of northern North America. It is interesting how English has its regional variations. A snowmobile is a snowgo. I look forward to the next book in the same way Maisie Dobbs captivated me last year. Hardcover. (Feb. 2/09) (Tied for third most interesting of 2009)

Inspector Imanishi Investigates by Seicho Matsumoto

This week the Alphabet in Crime

Fiction hosted by Kerrie at Mysteries

in Paradise has reached "I".

I am posting a triple "I"! See all

the other entries on Kerrie's

website.

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29. – 439.) Inspector Imanishi Investigates by Seicho Matsumoto – A mystery written and taking place in Japan of the late 1950’s. A man is found beaten to death and placed upon railway tracks under a train. Inspector Imanishi starts out on an incredibly difficult investigation. There is great difficulty determining the victim’s identity. While witnesses can identify him with another man shortly before his death with an unusual accident the inspector struggles to find any connection between the deceased and the area of Japan where the accent is most common. The inspector is incredibly dogged in following the slender threads of the investigation. A parallel story follows the Nouveau group – several young intellectuals bent on changing Japan’s approach to the arts. Three more unusual deaths occur but none seem to have a means of homicide. The inspector is unusual in having a loving wife and son. While we would consider his focus on his job excessive they have a strong marriage. In the police department he is respected and respects his superiors. It is so different from most contemporary mysteries where there is frequently a lack of respect, support and co-operation between investigators, supervisors and administrators. Chasing Darkness illustrates the current approach. It was very interesting. I will look for more by the author. Hardcover or paperback. (July 18/08)

Kindness Goes Unpunished by Craig Johnson

Kerrie Smith's Alphabet in Crime Fiction is at "K" this week. Full particulars of the meme can be found on her blog Mysteries in Paradise. The meme involves the use of "K" in a title or author's name or mystery related topic. I have chosen a book by the great Wyoming mystery author, Craig Johnson. While I like C.J. Box's books I love Johnson's mysteries. Kindness Goes Unpunished is one of his best.

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21. – 431.) Kindness Goes Unpunished by Craig Johnson – Walt Longmire accompanies Henry Standing Bear to Philadelphia where Henry is the star of a photo exhibition of Mennonite photos of the Cheyenne and to visit his daughter Cady. As they arrive his world is turned upside down for Cady is in intensive neurosurgical care because of a fall which may or may not have been an accident. Her boyfriend, Devon Cunliffe, tries to deny the seriousness of the relationship. A confrontation with Sheriff Walt sorts out what likely happened. As he seeks to discover what happened to Cady he is drawn into the life of the Morino family (his deputy Victoria’s family). Three brothers and father are police officers while mother is an alluring charming woman. The trail leads him into the depths of Philadelphia life. A key to the solution is a white Indian (a white convict who has converted to an Indian lifestyle with an Indian name). The investigation involving small notes with Indian themes reminds me of the cleverness of Michael Connelly and the early Laurie R. King books. The solution brings Wyoming to Philadelphia brilliantly. The book is a stunning exception to my reluctance to see detectives leave their home area. In dialogue and relationship and size and difference of race Walt and Henry strongly reminded me of Spenser and Hawk. (May 27/08) (Third best fiction of 2008.)

One Fearful Yellow Eye by John D. MacDonald

The Alphabet in Crime Fiction hosted by Kerrie Smith at Mysteries in Pardise has reached the letter "O". The Travis McGee series remains a favourite of mine. John D. MacDonald created a memorable figure whose adventures continued over 20 books. It was one of the few long running series where I have every book. He is not getting as much attention at this time. I expect there will be a revival. One Fearful Yellow Eye features his personal code of life while solving the mystery.

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10. - 376.) One Fearful Yellow Eye by John D. MacDonald (1966) – Travis McGee is called to Chicago by Glory Geis because her late husband, Dr. Fortner Geis, has surreptiously disposed of $600,000 in assets. While McGee admired Dr. Geis the doctor had a flawed sexual history of a relationship with his housekeeper’s daughter while his wife was dying. A child was born to the housekeeper’s daughter. McGee books shift between finding where the money went and how to recover the money. This salvage operation was a mystery on finding the money. His sexual code is further refined as he avoids taking advantage of Glory, turns down a sexually charged farm housewife and declines to break down the walls around the icy Heidi Geis Trumbill. In the end he has a serious relationship but she does not want to be dependent on him. McGee loves relationships but not commitments. He wonders if he has lost the “one” but will not pursue the risks of a permanent relationship. As McGee stumbles to the solution there is a shocking twist that forever illustrates the danger of those closest to you turning upon you. The man with “one fearful yellow eye” has been left with but one eye at death. (Feb. 5/07)

Red Square by Edward Topol and Fridrikh Neznansky

The Alphabet in Crime Fiction meme hosted by Kerrie Smith at her blog Mysteries in Paradise rolls on to the letter "N". I have chosen a book co-authored by Fridrikh Neznansky. Written in 1982 it is a superb mystery/thriller which is remarkable, as stated in my review, with how it "presaged" the economic decisions of the late 1980's in the U.S.S.R. Neznansky, trained as a lawyer, was reported to have been a criminal investigator for Moscow prosecutors before he left Russia. The book is not easy to find but is worth the hunt.

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12. - 327.) Red Square by Edward Topol and Fridrikh Neznansky (1982) – Leonid Brezhnev’s brother-in-law, Semyon Tvisgun, has been found dead in an apartment with a bullet through his head. Brezhnev summons Special Investigator, Igor Shamrayev, to investigate the official verdict of suicide. Sharmrayev soon discovers it was murder. With his new Georgian girfriend, Nina Makarycheva, and devoted fellow investigator, Marat Svetlov, he relentlessly pursues the truth. Tvisgun and Brezhnev’s family have profited handsomely from corruption in the economy. A special investigation is rounding up their friends and business acquaintances. Is a coup in sight? An investigator has unlimited power in a totalitarian state when he bears a personal letter of authority from the head of state. The end was as uncompromising as Le Carre’s Absolute Friends a generation later. It is amazing how the book presages the decisions of the late 1980’s to partially open up the Russian economy to try to save the Communist state. Excellent. (Feb. 27/06)

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

The Alphabet in Crime Fiction sponsored and led by Kerrie Smith at her blog Mysteries in Paradise is at "L". Click on the link to see all the "L" entries. I have chosen a book by Michael Connelly who is one of my favourite mystery writers. When he created a lawyer as a new leading character I was excited. For a non-lawyer his understanding of lawyers and court proceedings is exceptional. The movie version of The Lincoln Lawyer has just been released. I have not seen it. My older son, Jonathan, liked it though he said it differed from the book. I had disliked the movie version of Connelly's Bloodwork.

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52. - 307.) The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly – In a departure from his Harry Bosch  stories Connelly features L.A. criminal defence lawyer, Mickey Haller, who is racing from court to court tending to his usual clientele when suddenly called to defend wealthy realtor, Louis Roulet, who has been charged with attacking Regina Campo in her apartment. Haller is excited about the opportunity for a “franchise” client (a client who can afford a 6 figure legal bill). Aided by investigator Raul Levin he attacks the evidence. The story dramatically and suddenly twists when it turns out a previous client, Angel Mendenez, Haller persuaded to plead guilty of murder is a defender’s nightmare, an innocent man. The connection with his present case puts Haller in an incredible dilemma. The whirl of a busy lawyer’s life and the action in court are far better than the average legal thriller. The style reminded me strongly of John Grisham. The conclusion is a touch too predictable but Haller has a future as a character. Hardcover. (Nov. 18/05)

"Q" is for The Quick Red Fox by John D. MacDonald

At Kerrie Smith's blog, Mysteries in Paradise, the Alphabet in Crime fiction has reached "Q". Every week there are lots of interesting posts on the letter of the week. Drop in on Kerrie's blog to check out the posts. This week I am going back to John MacDonald for one of the grimmer Travis McGee mysteries. The Quick Red Fox is a good book. It presents a dark side of McGee.

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11. - 266.)  The Quick Red Fox by John D. MacDonald (1964) –  McGee searches for compromising orgy photos of a Hollywood star, Lysa Dean. He is joined by Dean’s executive assistant, Dana Hollis. They search out the party participants ranging across America. It is a sordid investigation. McGee brutalizes a ski instructor to get information. Other extractions of information are less violent. Gradually they narrow down who had reason to have photos taken and who is susceptible to blackmail. McGee falls in love with Hollis but she breaks his heart breaking off at the end. There is a twist in the end but unlike many modern novels it is a single twist not twist after twist. Excellent. (Mar. 9/05)