Inferno by Dan Brown

52. – 741.) Inferno by Dan Brown – An unknown man calling himself the Shade climbs high in a Florentine building. Speaking in poetic phrases he seeks to protect a masterpiece:

It grows even now … waiting … simmering beneath the bloodred waters of the lagoon that reflect no stars.

As pursuers close upon him the Shade leaps to his death praying he will not be remembered as “a monstrous sinner, but as the glorious savior”.

His masterpiece is to restrain a burgeoning world population about to exceed the earth’s capacity to sustain its people.

Harvard Professor Robert Langdon awakes in a foreign hospital bed with confused images of a silver haired woman echoing in his mind. As he struggles back to reality a young beautiful woman, Dr. Sienna Brooks, explains to him that his head has been grazed by a bullet. He is shaken when he learns it is two days later than his last memory. His mind is further sent spinning when, looking out the window, he realizes he is in Florence, Italy. How did he get there from America? What happened in the lost days?

Before he can assemble his thoughts an attack is made upon the hospital room. A doctor is slain. Langdon barely escapes with Brooks. They go to her apartment where Langdon tries to grasp what has taken place.

At the same time members of the Consortium, a business devoted to facilitating the needs of the very wealthy are viewing a disturbing video from the Shade about Dante’s hell while showing a shimmering bag suspended in water.

Back in Florence a tube sewn into Langdon’s suit coat contains a form of projector that displays Botticelli’s famed painting, Map of Hell, portraying Dante’s Nine Circles of Hell. Upon the image have been put letters but they do not form a known word. Langdon starts drawing on his knowledge of symbols and cryptography to decipher the letters.

Langdon learns Brooks is a genius, an actress as a child who has become a doctor. When he finds her flowing blond hair is a wig and she is bald he confronts another mystery

Tracked down to Brooks apartment by black clad security forces Brooks and Langdon race away to determine the meaning of the letters amidst Florence’s greatest architectural achievements.

At the heart of the mystery is Dante’s Divine Comedy. Over 700 years after it was written the powerful images of his poetry and the images they inspired continue to make The Divine Comedy a powerful work of art.

The book is a breathtaking chase while Langdon determines the meaning of symbols in word, art and sculpture as a looming catastrophe faces the world.

The end was far more complex and subtle than I had expected. It was a genuine surprise to me. I was glad I read the book. My next post will have some thoughts on the quartet of Brown books I have read – Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Sympbol and Inferno. (Nov. 16/13)

Black Hats by Patrick Culhane

A few years ago I enjoyed seeing Max Allan Collins at Once Upon a Crime bookstore in Minneapolis. The event inspired me to read Black Hats.

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42. - 452.) Black Hats by Patrick Culhane – When Sharon and I were in Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago we went to the Once Upon a Crime bookstore to see Max Allan Collins talk about writing. He wrote this book under his pseudynom. Collins writes mysteries (alone and with collaborators who include his wife and under the pseudynom), screenplays, graphic novels (Road to Perdition) and comic books. He is also a move director. He said he can write a novel in 2-3 weeks when he starts actually writing. He said he did not know how many books he had written.

 

I was captured by the premise of the book – aging Wyatt Earp confronting Al Capone in 1920 in New York. I had never realized that Earp lived until 1929. In the book he goes to New York to help Doc Holliday’s son, Johnny, who is operating one of the first speakeasies. Johnny has been threatened by the Italian gang of which Capone is a member. In New York Earp joins up with Bat Masterson who in fiction and real life became an early 20^th Century sportswriter in New York. The spoken language has a convincing Western flavor. The story is well done. It does not have the many twists of some stories. The violence is limited. Earp is no saint but he is a hero. It was a satisfying honest story. It may be one of the year’s most interesting because of its historical theme. Paperback. (Oct. 12/08)

Dishonest Canadian Private Investigators Caught in the Caribbean

Photo from the Toronto Star

In last post I recounted how Canadian private investigators, Cullen Johnson and Elaine White, engaged in the creation of fraudulent evidence especially with regard to offshore bank accounts.

When caught in 2009 they fled Canada for the Bahamas. They would have been well advised to have maintained a low profile but they aggressively responded to the claims against them. They created a website, Superstar Corruption, in which they claimed they were framed with regard to all the allegations of fraud. They continued lashing out at their accusers.

Justice Lee in an Alberta case against them set out:

    ww) In or about July of 2012, Roger and Martin became aware 
    of a website known as www.superstarcorruption. com. From a
    review of the content of that website, it appears that is is a
    website created by, and maintained by, the Defendants. A
    number of segments of the website, titled "The Western Case",
    "Getting Lucky", "Derrick Snowdy, Cunningham and the Gouin
    Brothers", "Closing Observations", and "Concluding  
    Comments", clearly refer to, and pertain to, the Plaintiffs. By
    this website, the Defendants have repeated the Defamatory
    Statements.

In this electronic age it is fascinating and disturbing that both their original website, Internal Affairs at www.internalaffairs.ca and the Superstar Corruption site at www.superstarcorruption.com remain active and can be accessed.

Had they maintained a low profile I suspect they might have been able to avoid extradition but they arrogantly continued their frauds and drew the attention of American authorities.

Earlier this year, after 3 years in the Caribbean, Global News of Canada reported that they were picked up in the Turks & Caicos Islands for an immigration charge and then extradited to Virginia. Last month they agreed to plead guilty to American criminal charges.

An excerpt from the statement of facts signed by Johnson finally admits to the criminal actions:

3. Clients seeking to locate funds that had been stolen from them, or who believed that relatives or former spouses had hidden money or were otherwise trying to trace lost, missing or stolen assets, hired the defendant and/or his companies and/or co-conspirators to investigate the location of such assets. The defendant and co-conspirators would produce reports of information to such clients, which purported to contain financial and other information subject to the clients' requests.

4. Rather than providing valid information, the defendant and co-conspirators provided the client-victims with false and fraudulent data and fabricated banking records, purporting to show that the assets or monies that clients sought had been moved from one banking institution to another in countries such as Monaco, Greece, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Latin America and the Caribbean. The conspirators convinced victims that for additional payments, they could continue to trace the funds to their final destination. The defendant and White provided this information in so called "Confidential Reports" to clients, via facsimile and e-mail that contained bank account numbers, balances and fund transfers that, in truth and fact, as the defendant well knew, did not exist.

5. In or about 2009, the defendant and White were charged by the Ontario Provincial Police in Canada with crimes related to this asset tracing fraud. The defendant was arraigned and assigned a trial date, but shortly thereafter and being fully aware of the charges, fled Canada, traveling first to the Bahamas, and then to the Turks & Caicos Islands, where the defendant and White continued to operate this fraudulent asset tracing business on U.S. and Canadian victims.

6. From 2006 through 2011, victims of the asset tracing scheme wired the conspirators approximately $1,021,738.60 to bank accounts under their control in Canada, Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Crime paid well for several years but the pair are facing a bleak future.

Canadian lawyers have learned a harsh lesson because of Johnson and White that reports from private investigators must be verified. Relying on the integrity of licenced investigators allowed Cullen and Johnson to cause great pain and harm in Canada.

I expect to see a book and/or movie based on the dangerous duo in the near future. Just reciting the facts makes for a full plot.

Real Life Canadian P.I.'s Manufacture Evidence

Often when I read crime fiction in which it is alleged there is a conspiracy against the good guy or the creation of false evidence or a scheme to frame someone I am skeptical. Well, after reading about real life former Canadian private investigators, Cullen Johnson and Elaine White, I will have to more willing to accept such stories are credible.

The incredibly brazen Johnson and White manufactured evidence for years to be used in Canadian court cases.

They were successful for several years partially because of their professional backgrounds. In a Canadian Lawyer Magazine article it was stated:

The fact lawyers were hoodwinked by Johnson and White is no surprise given the couple’s professional pedigrees. What’s known about White is she once worked as an investigator for a subsidiary of Lindquist Avey, a well-regarded forensic accounting firm in Toronto in the ’90s later purchased by Kroll. Johnson was a police officer with the Toronto Police Service, where he enjoyed success during his 20-plus years on the force. He became an assistant in the chief’s office, a detective sergeant in the intelligence branch, and spent a number of years with internal affairs. Colleagues recall him as a competent and scandal-free officer.

The Canadian Lawyer Magazine focuses on the story of Eric Cunningham, a marketing executive and former Member of the Provincial Parliament for Ontario, who was in the midst of divorce proceedings when a multi-million dollar claim was made against him that he had secreted funds off shore.

The article states:

In the case of Cunningham, they presented Blaneys with an impressive-looking 59-page, single-spaced dossier, replete with bank account numbers, dollar amounts, and wire transaction records — for the most part fiction

Cunningham went through a multi-year struggle to clear his name and is now suing his wife’s lawyers, Blaneys, and others for the fraud.

In Alberta Cullen and Johnson provided false information in a family estate case involving the Gouin brothers. In the trial judgment for defamation by the brothers against Johnson and White Justice Lee summarized:

       

[52]  In the present case, the Defendants used their businesses to sell fake financial information about one person to a person who wanted to find "dirt" on another in order to sue that person. The sale of such information has wreaked havoc on the lives of innocent people, financially and emotionally. Notwithstanding the fraudulent nature of the financial information sold in this case, the Defendants continue to insist on the accuracy of the information they provide. These Defendants have hidden in Bahamas in order to avoid facing charges in both Ontario and the United States for this same conduct. Their disregard for honesty and the justice system, and the callous manner in which the Defendants have conducted themselves, define the very circumstances by which punitive damages should be awarded.

The consequences of their actions went beyond financial harm. Canadian Lawyer sets out another case in which it was alleged Lorraine Teicht, who was the lottery ticket buyer for herself and a group of co-workers who jointly purchased tickets, had taken money from a winning ticket:

White and Johnson produced a report saying Teicht had indeed stolen the lottery winnings and stowed the cash offshore. Driven by this false information, Teicht’s co-workers harassed her for months, causing Teicht to have two nervous breakdowns and other health problems.

The ticket had actually been stolen by the variety store owner who had sold the winning ticket.

Charged with fraud by Ontario police in 2009 Johnson and White fled Canada to the Bahamas. My next post will continue  the Johnson and White saga to the present day.

The Business of Dying by Simon Kernick

In this post I put up a review I wrote in the fall of 2008.

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44. - 454.) The Business of Dying by Simon Kernick – Dennis Milne, a London detective, moonlights as a hired killer of bad guys avoiding justice. His vigilante justice is turned upside down when he is set up by his employer and kills two customs officers and an accountant. As he struggles to deal with his actions he attempts to resolve the murder of an early teenage prostitute. Trying to reconcile his lawful pursuit of criminals with his own criminal actions is difficult. As he moves forward each of the plots becomes more complex. There were too many bodies for me. The book drew me swiftly forward as I wondered what the consequences would be for Milne. I concluded that anti-heroes are not my favourites. While I sometimes tire of the hero always solving the case I dislike the hero being a murderer. Should the anti-hero be rewarded for killing bad people? Many would favour such action but when did the anti-hero become God? Milne settles for justifying his actions to himself. Good. Paperback. (Oct. 21/08)

Cover Reveal for Open Secret by Deryn Collier

In this post I am participating in a cover reveal for a new book, Open Secret by Deryn Collier. The image next to this post is the first portion of the reveal. The book is being published on April 8, 2014 by Simon & Schuster.

Open Secret will be the second book in a series featuring Coroner Bern Fortin. An excerpt from Simon & Schuster’s page for the book provides the following about the book:

After the abrupt end to his military career Bern has settled into an uneasy peace in his new life in Kootenay Landing—a peace he knows can’t last. Out for a fall hike, he discovers Dr. Juniper Sinclair, the town’s lone doctor, attempting to revive small-time drug dealer Seymour Melnychuk, who has been shot in the forehead. In a seemingly unrelated incident, Gary Dowd abandons his van while crossing the US border. Gary is a local father of two, an accountant, and a steady, predictable guy. He’s also been best friends with Seymour Melnychuk since elementary school.

The full book page can be found at http://books.simonandschuster.ca/Open-Secret/Deryn-Collier/9781476716800

The first book in the series was Confined Space.

Deryn provides the following about herself on her website:

Deryn Collier grew up in Ottawa and Montreal and is a graduate of McGill University. After a very short career as a federal bureaucrat she ran away to the mountains of BC where she has been ever since. She has worked in a log yard, a brewery, as a doctor recruiter and a communications consultant.

Deryn’s first novel, Confined Space was shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award for best unpublished first crime novel by the Crime Writers of Canada. It was published in Canada by Simon & Schuster in 2012.

Deryn lives in Nelson, BC with her family and blogs about crime fiction and life in the mountains www.deryncollier.com.

The remaining parts to the cover reveal can be found at:

Wednesday, Nov. 6: A Bookworm’s World
Friday, Nov. 8: House of Crime and Mystery

I am looking forward to reading Open Secret especially as I have not read mysteries set in central B.C.

Furies by D.L. Johnstone

Furies by D.L. Johnstone – In bustling Alexandria, over 2,000 years ago, Decimus Tarquitius Aculeo, a proud Roman merchant, is reduced to poverty by the sinking of two fleets of ships carrying grain for him. He had recklessly borrowed, at ruinous interest raters, from moneylenders. When the ships sank they ruthlessly descended on Aculeo seizing every asset.

Aculeo’s beautiful wife, Titiana, judges him a fool and returns to Rome with their son, Atellus. Her wealthy family soon finds a new husband for her.

Aculeo is leading an aimless existence in a small apartment with his slave. Xanthias, and gradually drinking his way through the meagre amounts he can raise from the sale of Titiana’s jewellery.

Former friends who equally lost their fortunes blame Aculeo for persuading them to invest with him though it is obvious he has lost as much as anyone.

Alexandria is a city of extremes. There are numerous fine buildings and prosperous districts. At the same time a much greater part of the city is composed of slum level housing and acute poverty. In the book there is no middle class. A resident is either a member of the rich elite or desperately poor. Aculeo has moved the heights to the depths.

The strength of the book is in its descriptions of Alexandria and its history. I learned a great deal about the city.

The book was a good example of the challenge of names in ancient crime fiction. There are so many unfamiliar names for such matters as people, government and religion (objects, buildings and principles).

For many of the characters it was easy to tell if they were good or bad by their appearance.

It was hard to maintain interest in the story when the main characters are extremely poor and living bleak dark lives. I believe I can enjoy stories where the characters are poor but prefer not everything be grim about them.

Aculeo is muddled at times, no doubt from the large quantities of cheap wine he consumes, which left the plot for periods unclear to me.

Aculeo is roused from his listless life by reports that Iovinus, an associate of his deceased business partner, has not drowned with the sunken fleet but is in Alexandria. As he searches for Iovinus there are murders of women with which Aculeo becomes involved. I did not find the combination of mysteries worked well together. I think it would have been better to have concentrated on either the financial mystery of the missing ships or the cruel murders of young women.

I did find Sekhet, an aged healer and funeral attendant, a fascinating character. She had better potential to be the sleuth with her clever mind and unusual combination of skills.

I admired the ending. It was not predictable and suspenseful.

A reader interested in mysteries set in ancient times will find the book interesting. I thank the author for sending me a copy of the book (Nov. 1/13)

Personal Connections to Saskatchewan NHL Players

Young Saskatchewan Hockey Players

My last post was a review of Fire on Ice by Darrell Davis. The book is about Saskatchewan born NHL players. In the book Darrell puts forward the oft made statement that everyone in Saskatchewan knows someone either currently playing in the NHL or formerly played in the league. I am no exception. Going through the book I found myself thinking of my connections with NHL players.

In the early 1970’s Lorne Henning was a skilled player who was an important member of the New York Islanders when the team was winning Stanley Cups. I knew him better as a fastball softball pitcher for the Resource Cardinals. I played against him several times in local sports days.

Rex Jennings would drop into the family farm to discuss wildlife and water fowl issues with my father. His son, Grant, grew up in Melfort and reached the NHL as a defenceman with the Pittsburgh Pennguins. We talked several times about playing professional hockey. Grant married the daughter of a Melfort judge.

In the book Darrell never caught up with Wendel Clark, a star with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Wendel grew up at Kelvington about 175 km from Melfort. During the mid-1990’s I remember talking to Wendel as a reporter after he had returned to Toronto for the first time after being traded to the New York Islanders. He had a special bond with the fans of Toronto and even with the media of the city. Until that night I had never seen a Toronto sportswriter invite a player for a drink later that evening. I think his willingness to patiently talk to people including reporter after reporter asking the same question reflected his Saskatchewan upbringing. He was a star without pretention.

Todd and Jeff Nelson are from Prince Albert. Their maternal grandmother is from Meskanaw which is my hometown.

Dave “Tiger” Williams was a rough tough junior hockey player for Swift Current. One of my best friends in law school played junior hockey with Tiger. He told me 40 years ago about Tiger inciting a brawl one night before a game even started.

After his NHL career ended Marc Habscheid turned to coaching. He was the coach of the Melfort Mustangs, the local junior team, in the late 1990’s and I spoke with him often about hockey.

I take exception with one statement in the book. Darrell says Derek Boogaard grew up in Regina. He actually grew up in Melfort where he was in the same grade as my older son in elementary school and junior high before he left to pursue a hockey career. Derek was by far the biggest guy in each grade.

Derek used his size and determination to reach the NHL as a fighter and an enforcer. Tragically his addiction to prescription painkillers led him one night in Minneapolis to combine too many pills with too much alcohol and he died at 27. I continue to wonder about the transformation of the big young boy I knew to the addicted man at his death.

Tyson Strachan, who has spent time in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues and Florida Panthers, was a good friend of my sons. I coached him for several years in minor baseball.

In our province there are 1,100,000 people. With 487 NHL players from Saskatchewan in the last 96 years it is not a surprise there are many personal connections with professional hockey players.