It's all an illusion

A Reasonable Doubt, A Robin Lockwood Novel by Phillip Margolin; 2020; $27.99; 292 pages; Minotaur Books, New York, NY; 978-1-250-11754-0; checked out from Multnomah County Library, St. Johns; 6/30/2020-7/1/2020

Just a quibble, Phillip Margolin, the morgue isn't in that building any more.  It's a dermatology clinic now.  

I was introduced to Robin Lockwood in The Perfect Alibi she is still bad ass, but now we know even more about her.  A magician performs an illusion at the Oregon Coast and disappears for several years.  There is plenty of riveting backstory before we get there.  When he reappears he hires Robin Lockwood and invites him to a return performance and his illusion goes deathly wrong.  Robin then has to figure out how the illusion was done and why it went wrong.

10/10

Not de facto, but de jure

The Color of Law, A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein; 2017; $17.95; 342 pages; Liveright Publishing Company, New York, NY; 978-1-63149-453-6; purchased from Thriftbooks.com;6/23/2020-6/30/2020

I knew about the government encouraging redlining, what I didn't know was not government agencies were acting unconstitutionally.  The FHA and other agencies involved in housing went against the constitution in refusing mortgage insurance to developers who wanted to build integrated housing developments.  The VA did the same thing in refusing to allow Black veterans to buy home in white or integrated neighborhoods.   This  is a thoroughly researched look at how the United States government was complicit in keeping Blacks and whites segregated in residential settings, which made sure that schools were segregated also.  The government acting against the best interest of its' own citizens.  Excuse me, but what a f**kin' suprise.  Note the use of the sarcasm font.  

10/10

Between the Joists

Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg; 2019; $24.95; 226 pages; Thomas & Mercer, Seattle, WA; 978-1542093804; checked out from Multnomah County Library, Central; 6/22/2020-6/23/2020

A policewoman takes down a well known male action star in a video that goes viral and all of sudden she is the face of the department and a newly minted detective. One of her first cases involves a home with large amounts of blood in all the rooms but no corpses.  With time running out due to inter-agency squabbles, over eager supervisors and a fast moving wildfire she must solve the case and save a life.

10/10

See your aura, and raise you one

The Vanishing by Jayne Ann Krentz; 2020; $27.00;294 pages; Berkley, New York; 978-1-9848-0643-7; checked out from Multnomah County Library, Central;6/19/2020-6/22/2020

Many years ago in Fogg Lake, Washington a mysterious gas was released causing the residents to hallucinate.  The residents told everyone that is from food poisoning so that they didn't become lab rats. Actually many people who were involved acquired some sort of physic ability. Two women, who were teenagers when the incident happened, use their abilities to investigate people.  One day one suddenly disappears and her friend is forced to find her with the help of a shadowy operative from THE FOUNDATION.  It was just okay.

8/10

Now for something completely different

Wish You Well by David Baldacci; 2000; $16.00; 418 pages; Grand Central Publishing, New York, NY; 978-0-446-69948-8; checked out from the Multnomah County Library, Northwest; 6/13/2020-6/18/2020

In 2000 David Baldacci took a break from all his thrillers to write a coming of age story.  Set in the mountains of Virginia in the 1940's.  It is a moving story that reinforces my belief that Baldacci is one of the foremost storytellers of our time.  A wonderful cast of well rounded characters makes for an engrossing story. 

10/10

A series of unfortunate events for Adults

Without Sanction by Don Bentley; 2020;$27.00; 373 pages; Berkley, New York, NY; 978-1-9848-0511-9; checked out from Multnomah County Library, Hollywood; 6/9/2020-6/12/2020

Matt Drake is a former operative for some alphabet agency who has retired.  He is then recalled to retrieve an asset from a war zone, who will only deal with him. Their are other operators from other alphabet agencies who have a grudge against Matt because he showed how incompetent they were.  As he moves in to rendezvous with the asset he runs, literally at times, into obstacles of all types.  He manages to overcome them to complete the mission.  It is an engrossing thriller and I look forward to reading more from Don Bentley.

10/10

Better than the movie

Mister Roberts by Thomas Heggen; 1946; $2.50; 221 pages; Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA; purchased at the Multnomah County Library's Title Wave Used Bookstore;6/7/2020-6/9/2020

This book was the basis for one of my all time favorite movies and it meant a lot to my friend Greg and his Dad. I wanted to read it and it did not disappoint.  It had all of the comedy of the movie but also had some musings on the nature of war and death that were not present in the movie.  Those chapters made it a well rounded novel.

10/10

Enduring Momunents

Mount Rushmore Q&A by Don "Nick" Clifford, Mount Rushmore Worker, 1938-39-40; 69 pages; Arizona Lithographers, Tucson, AZ; 0-9753006-0-1; a gift from Kirsten Harrington Leonard; 6/8/2020

During the great Pandemic of 2020, I had lunch with my good friend Kirsten and she gave me this book and I wondered why.  She made me guess why and when I got to the inside back cover I discovered why, there was a autographed baseball card of the author. It was a quick read and a fascinating account of the creation of the Presidential faces on Mt. Rushmore.

10/10

magnum opus

East of Eden by John Steinbeck; 1952, $16.00, 601 Pages; Penguin Books, New York, NY; 0-14-200423-5; purchased from SmileAmazon.com;Corner Reading Society; 5/17/2020-6/7/2020

I usually like John Steinbeck's books.  I felt like this one was bloated, had too much backstory and took too long to get to the main story.  There were parts of it that I like and overall I liked it. 

8/10