Need For reads

Fiction A perfect day for a corpse WHERE I CAN SEE YOU By Larry D. Sweazy 255 pp. Seventh Street Books Reviewed by Eric Petersen After his reputation was tarnished by a controversial shooting incident in Detroit, police detective Hud Matthews has returned to his hometown of Demmie Lake, a small Midwestern resort town that was popular with tourists and known for its small-town values. Unable to recover from the recession of 2008, Demmie Lake is now a ghostly shell of its former self. What haunts Hud Matthews the most is the fate of his mother. When he was eight years old, Hud saw his mother get into a car with someone and drive away. She never returned. Raised by his devoted grandmother Gee, a shopkeeper, Hud still refuses to believe that his mother abandoned him. Now, as he works for police chief Paul Burke, whom he’s known since they were kids, Hud feels himself drawn to his mother’s case like metal to a magnet. But first, on “the perfect kind of day for someone to find a dead body,” ...

Nonfiction Hard candies, condoms and dirty tricks CHURCHILL’S MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE:   The Mavericks Who Plotted Hitler’s Defeat By Giles Milton 356 pp. Picador Reviewed by Marty Carlock A couple of generations ago, British military officers looked upon war as a sporting exercise, in which rules and fair play were expected. One such gentleman opined that the only proper weapon for fighting was the sword, as it gave each man an equal chance. The brutality and efficiency of the Nazi war machine in Europe led England’s more intelligent gentlemen, Prime Minister Winston Churchill included, to a different conclusion. The Nazis’ opponents would only have a chance of surviving if they resorted to ungentlemanly tactics. Thus the formation of a secret branch of the war office designated Section D: for Deception, Destruction and Dirty tricks.  Its operatives were told that if caught they would neither be acknowledged nor defended by their government. They were trained in sil...

Nonfiction Living with mystery and complexity TIDES The Science and Spirit of the Ocean By Jonathan White 360 pp. Trinity University Press Reviewed by Lynne M. Hinkey For anyone who is fascinated, inspired, or in awe of the ocean, here’s the book for you. The ocean has drawn us to its shores in fascination, awe, and even fear throughout human history. It inspires poetry, mythology, and exploration. Its power and beauty enchant and intrigue us, and piques our curiosity. Whether calling for explorers us to venture forth across its expanse, scientists to discover its secrets, or poets and philosophers to ponder the love affair between the moon and the tides, the sea calls to us to solve its myriad mysteries. Tides is an ode to all those facets of the ocean tides’ rhythmic rise and fall--from mythology and lore to scientific research and great engineering feats.  Author Jonathan White interweaves anecdotes and stories from his experiences as a sailor and marine educator into the compl...

Fiction Dark deeds, neighbors naming neighbors BLACK WATER By Louise Doughty 352 pp. Sarah Crichton Books Reviewed by Sarah Morgan Graham Greene said, “There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets in the future.” It’s almost as though Louise Doughty studied this quote or perhaps all of Greene’s works. She certainly pays homage to the man in her extraordinary psychological spy novel, Black Water.  The lead, John Harper (his current alias), had a tough life before joining what he refers to as “the firm,” a Dutch security company that gathers information and carries out covert ops for multinationals doing business in hotspots around the globe. Harper is a solitary man with no binding ties, a “shadow man.” A spook. Everyone close to him has either died or abandoned him. There is a failed marriage and a child who died just days after birth. His mother was an alcoholic, his only close relative, a black civil rights attorney—his step-grandfather—must release h...

Fiction 
Baby shoes and bourbon THE ANGELS’ SHARE By James Markert 320 pp. Thomas Nelson Reviewed by Eric Petersen A reviewer never really knows to what to expect from a book until he starts reading it, and even then he often finds himself surprised when he reaches the end. Such was the case with James Markert’s second novel. Thomas Nelson is the Christian publishing division of Harper Collins. The copyright page mentions scriptural quotations from the New International Version of the Bible and discussion questions that were not included in this advance reviewer’s copy. I’d never read Christian fiction, but I believe in the old adage about never judging a book by its cover – or by its copyright page.  The tale opens in Kentucky, circa 1934. Old Sam, perhaps the finest bourbon in the country, was made in the town of Twisted Tree. (The title refers to the quantity of alcohol that burns away during the distillation process.) The distillery, owned and operated by the McFee family, was ...

Nonfiction Working-stiff workers left behind LISTEN, LIBERAL -or- Whatever Happened to the Party of the People? By Thomas Frank 308 pp. Henry Holt Reviewed by Dennis C. Rizzo I suspect Thomas Frank is one of the few people not surprised by the victory of Donald Trump. Clairvoyant? Prophetic? Maybe. Perhaps simply willing to look beyond conventional wisdom and the smug predictions of egocentric pundits. In a little over three hundred pages, Frank explains how the Democratic Party self-destructed, forgot its roots in the working class, and convinced itself that it still stands for the wage earner while pandering to Wall Street and other typically “Republican” entities. I would have been convinced at one hundred pages, but he’s the writer. Listen, Liberal is written in the style of investigative journalism. This means you are provided with facts, figures and verifiable information in such a way that your eyes don’t glaze over after two pages. I could have dismissed this as yet another in...

Fiction In the grip of The Troubles POLICE AT THE STATION AND THEY DON’T LOOK FRIENDLY A Detective Sean Duffy Novel By Adrian McKinty 320 pp. Seventh Street Books Reviewed by Eric Petersen Irish crime novelist Adrian McKinty is back with another quirky thriller featuring his most popular character, Detective Inspector Sean Duffy. Previous entries in the series, Rain Dogs and Gun Street Girl , are also reviewed on this site. Belfast in the 1980s. Ireland is in the grip of The Troubles, the nearly 30-year conflict between Irish Nationalists seeking independence and Loyalists who support the British government. Catholic Nationalists and Protestant Loyalists are killing each other left and right. The Irish Republican Army (IRA), a militant Irish Nationalist group, is waging an escalating campaign of terrorism, including a bombing that nearly killed the hated British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet. Amidst this chaos, Detective Inspector Sean Duffy of the Royal Ulster Const...