God’s Country
The temptation to compare William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor novels to the Leaphorn/Chee novels of the late, great Tony Hillerman is strong, not least because they appeal to the same sort of reader: one who appreciates wilderness adventure overlaid with the history and spirituality of the Native Americans who peopled those lands long before the invasion of white settlers. In God’s Country, number 22 of the series, Cork lives the life of a retiree, mostly. His law enforcement skills are perhaps a bit rusty, but by no means atrophied. He may have finally met his match in the sociopathic Kennedy brothers, though. They have kidnapped a wilderness guide to aid in their search of the Minnesota Boundary Waters for a missing backpack that purportedly holds the keys to a future on easy street. And if some bystanders must die, the Kennedy boys just figure that’s part of the wilderness experience. Needless to say, Cork O’Connor and the Kennedys are gonna meet up; both factions are determined to prevail, and both will make grievous errors in judgment that will tip the balance one way or the other. Meanwhile, two members of Cork’s family have dreamed the identical frightmare, of Cork being attacked by a wolf bent on eating his heart. And you know what they say: “When wolf gets hungry, wolf gonna feed.”
★ The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies
As Kate Westbury’s The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies opens, students Ginevra Bishop and Sidney Braithwaite meet in rather unpleasant circumstances, both laying claim to the last remaining study table in Oxford University’s Bodleian Library. Sparks fly. Their paths cross again soon, as they attempt to render—unsuccessfully, as it turns out—first aid to a beloved librarian who appears to suffer a heart attack. But in those days of post-World War II espionage and political reconfiguring, a supposed heart attack is suspect, particularly when the victim was actually an undercover agent, tasked with outing the Soviet spy who has reputedly infiltrated the upper echelons of Oxonian academia. Gin and Sid could scarcely be more unalike. She: social butterfly, upper-crust, humorous. He: haunted by war experiences (including espionage), reserved, working-class. So of course they are going to get recruited by MI5 to take over the task of rooting out the supposed Soviet spy. Gin is eager; Sid is reluctant. And so it goes. And it goes very well, I might add. Westbury’s debut begs for a follow-up, and another, and another. The chemistry is delightful, the setting is academia personified and the story itself encourages propulsive page-turning—a heck of a debut novel indeed.
For Services Rendered
Will Thomas’ always delightful series featuring private enquiry agents Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn has been a mainstay in my reading and reviewing for ages. The latest entry, For Services Rendered, sees the pair tasked with the rescue of Chinese dissident leader Sun Yat-sen after his real-life kidnapping in London, circa 1896. It seems that Sun wrote a treatise critical of the Chinese government, calling for reform, and the emperor did not take it well at all. Chinese agents lured him to the Chinese Legation, imprisoning him for some time, until public outcry demanded his release. Thomas’ take on this tale seamlessly blends fact and fiction, drawing in real-life characters such as Sun’s friend and tutor, Dr. James Cantlie, and even Queen Victoria and her son Prince Albert Edward. Plus, of course, a fictional assortment of private detectives, inept Scotland Yard policemen and lethal Chinese triad members. The primary villain of the piece, Sebastian Nightwine, will be familiar to series regulars, but his appearance in this installment will be something of a surprise, in that he was killed years ago in a duel with Cyrus Barker, who solidly ran him through with a sword. As you might imagine, Nightwine’s revival is quite the surprise to Barker as well.
★ The Ninth Circle
As James R. Benn’s The Ninth Circle begins, World War II is winding down. Captain Billy Boyle has been relieved of his duties as military investigator for General Eisenhower and reassigned to look into the murder of a Naval intelligence officer in Havana along with his friend/sidekick Kaz. It seemed like it would be a pretty cushy gig, at least until the massive explosion in a waterfront bar put paid to that notion rather emphatically. Although Billy and Kaz escape by the hairs of their chinny-chin-chins (which were of course closely shaved in those days), it turns out that their intended contact, one Hector Diaz, was not so fortunate. Cuba is a bit of a free-for-all in 1945, with gangster Meyer Lansky running casinos in the capital, the Brits securing their interests in the Caribbean (via the Duke and Duchess of Windsor next door in the Bahamas) and even the Germans maintaining a presence. Each party has its own “security team,” a euphemism for “hired killers.” Rumor has it that a newly revised German U-boat is testing the waters in the Caribbean, and a lieutenant commander in the British navy, one Ian Fleming (yes, THAT Ian Fleming), is hot on its trail. Despite the fact that they are nominally on the same team, Fleming and Billy do not get along especially well. Although it should be noted that Fleming does admire Kaz’s Walther PPK pistol, so much so that it became the weapon of choice for Fleming’s superspy creation, James Bond. Art imitates life imitates art, or something like that. PS: This is the 21st installment—you can jump into this series anywhere and still have an exceptionally enjoyable read, but I strongly recommend starting at book one, Billy Boyle, and working your way through the series in order.