CAPITOL MURDER
PHILLIP MARGOLIN
Harper Premium pb 12/12
CAPITOL MURDER by Phillip Margolin incorporates three lines of evil that twist and turn and converge throughout the novel. The main characters: Portland, Oregon, P.I. and former cop Dana Cutler and lawyer Brad Miller are brought together again by threats old and new in this last tale of Margolin's Washington Trilogy. As a group of terrorists plots to blow up a football stadium, Clarence Little, the convicted serial killer from the first book, escapes custody. The story - set in Karachi, Pakistan, Portland and Washington, D.C. - involves CIA bigwigs, a senator and various Pakistani functionaries.
The underlying message of this "novel of suspense" is how difficult it is to capture and prosecute terrorists of all sorts within the letter of the law. The delivery of the message is like a slow three-train wreck.
Margolin writes in omnipotent third-person narrative interjected with bursts of dialogue. The first two parts of the book get bogged down in physical descriptions and back stories of the characters. The writing seems stilted and formulaic. It becomes more cohesive and the action becomes more compelling a third of the way into the book. Yet, I don't think I would have ventured this far had I not agreed to review the book.
I'm surprised that this author has written fifteen New York Times bestsellers. Based on this book, I am not a fan.
CRUISING IN YOUR EIGHTIES IS MURDER
Paul Jacobson Geezer-Lit Mystery Series
MIKE BEFELER
Five Star Publishing December, 2012
Although blurbs promise Mike Befeler's book to be a "humorous cozy" (Publishers Weekly) starring a "hero whose short-term memory loss is... believable" (Kirkus Reviews), I found CRUISING IN YOUR EIGHTIES IS MURDER to be neither.
The premise: a newlywed octogenarian discovers and is suspected of three murders while on his honeymoon cruise to Alaska. Hampered by short-term memory loss, he can remember only the past day's and night's activities until he falls asleep, unless he writes them down in his journal or a note to himself. Upon awaking, he doesn't recognize where he is or his new wife sleeping next to him.
Thus we follow Paul Jacobson's narrative as he is accused of murders, mayhem and accidents - the latter being true.
The perspective is from Jacobson's point-of-view. Phone conversations with his granddaughter propel the story forward. Although a short book, 237 pages, it could have been shorter if repeated mentions of lack of whale sightings and causes of death were eliminated.
I'll give the author his due: the plot is unusual, if not always believable. CRUISING IN YOUR EIGHTIES IS MURDER might make a much better movie than a book, but perhaps that's the author's intent.
DEADLY STAKES
J. A. JANCE
Touchstone Books February, 2013
J. A. Jance spins a compelling tale embedded in Phoenix, Arizona, its surrounding towns and multijurisdictional landscape.
Two tales converge in a Camp Verde dumping site. One involves a greedy Phoenix divorcee who's on the make and the other an ex-con whose college exploits may have come back to haunt him. When Chip Ralston, the ex-husband of the first victim, and his current girlfriend, Lynn Martinson, are accused of his ex-wife's murder, Ali Reynolds is asked to aid in Lynn's defense. Ali, a police academy-trained former reporter, had met Lynn on a previous case (FATAL ERROR by J.A. Jance).
Concurrently Ali becomes involved in the case of teenager A.J. Sanders, who was the first to find the woman at the dump while on a mysterious mission to retrieve a box buried there by his father. When a second body is discovered at the site, the police suspect the two cases are linked.
Ali's success at uncovering the truth relies heavily on her questioning mind and investigative skills, but the case could not have been resolved well without the aid of B. Simpson, the very wealthy and highly influential owner of High Noon, a cyber security firm, who is also her boyfriend.
I recommend DEADLY STAKES. It will keep your interest and challenge you without taxing your mind. The ending is a little sappy... but I found it a nice respite in today's world.