Mini-Reviews of Books #48…
[Note from Steve: Long after the category “Book Reviews” was created, which contains my longer reviews, I started this category on my blog in order to archive shorter reviews (they’re still longer than most you’ll find on Amazon). I can’t believe I’m approaching #50! It’s hard to count all my reviews between Bookpleasures.com, “Book Reviews,” and these mini-reviews, especially since lately I’ve been binge-reading and reviewing entire series. The fact that I would have to do some serious work to count them all at least shows I do a lot more reading than writing. The reviews in this blog are hopefully useful to blog readers looking for interesting books too.]
Tough Love. Susan Rice, author (Simon & Schuster, 2019). With all the tell-all non-fiction from celebs and pols (or fiction, depending on your political proclivities?), it was refreshing to read Ms. Rice’s memoire that describes her life of service to this country. She’s a woman who considers herself black, and is my choice for Biden’s running mate.
Susan also has creds that far surpass any of the other potential candidates, which is why the Good Ole Piranhas will be gnashing their teeth and salivating as they prepare to attack her. She took a lot of heat for Benghazi until Hillary became a better target for them, but she excelled as ambassador to the UN (a welcome change after the hawkish Bolton) and as National Security Advisor under Obama. She has a Stanford BA and a masters and doctorate from Oxford (Rhodes scholar). Moreover, she got along with old Joe well and was Obama’s confidant. I’m sure she has no love for Donald Trump, der Feuerteufel (German name for Trump meaning “the fire devil,” as reported in a NY Times editorial), although Il Duce is only a footnote in this memoir, which is what I hope he’ll be historically after the 2020 election.
If I were Biden, I’d be giving her serious consideration. By the way, and contrary to what the NY Times claimed in a recent article, she has ample experience on the campaign trail, stumping for Obama in both his elections. But this marvelous book doesn’t look forward that much. It’s a nostalgic examination of a life of struggle and service that every American should read.
“Jack Harris” Series. John Dean, author (The Book Folks, various dates). Susan Rice’s book was a gift I greatly appreciated because I refuse to pay Big Five prices, even if a book looks interesting. This seven-book mystery/crime series set in northern England cost me $21 (7 x $2.99), and it provided me many hours of entertaining reading. Jack Harris, the DCI doing the hard work in a rural police station, and his DI Roberts and DS Gallagher have to solve crimes mostly committed by lowlifes who have come north to prey on their peaceful valley’s inhabitants. Manchester is the source of that flow, and Jack knows it well. He cut his investigative teeth there in the GMP (Greater Manchester Police). Roberts is a local woman who looks harmless but is as tough as nails. And Gallagher did time in Scotland Yard until his wife wanted to live closer to her parents.
This series is a bit darker compared to other British-style mystery series I’ve binge-read, but it’s worth a look from mystery and crime fiction fans. The dialect is a bit heavy at times, as well as the spellings (scroat for scrote, i.e. lowlife, is an example), but you can derive most of the meanings from context. I have never had any problems with across-the-pond dialects for that reason. While most of the themes aren’t huge ones (the motivations for serious crimes are often quite banal), both the good guys and bad are well-drawn and the plots full of enough twists and turns to keep any fan of the genre happy.
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Comments are always welcome.
Soldiers of God. This is a bridge novel between the “Clones and Mutants Trilogy” and the “Chaos Chronicles Trilogy.” An FBI agent and a priest are out to stop a fanatical religious group’s terrorist attack plans. In the background, a maniacal industrialist is pulling the strings, using religion to further his agenda. Will they succeed? This is one of my evergreen books, and it’s available wherever quality ebooks are sold.
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
