BOOK REVIEW | MOSTLY RECOMMENDED READING
No country for old men
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN by Cormac McCarthy (2005) Away from the cities and towns and all the prying eyes and curious minds a big deal is going down. A big money deal. A big drug deal. A standard business deal. But then all hell breaks loose, and everybody seems to be shooting bullets at everybody else. In the aftermath, many lay dead and dying. At this point Llewlyn Moss arrives and in between the blood soaked bodies discovers a truck full of heroin and a briefcase full of money. To Llewlyn’s credit, he pauses for thought, but apparently not…
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Fear and loathing in Las Vegas
FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS by Hunter S. Thompson (1971) Hunter and his attorney undertake the quintessential American road trip. True to form, the journey is about getting to the destination, the time spent there, the leaving and returning, as much as it is a journey into the self. To aid this process of discovery, a variety of drugs in various quantities will be consumed, which in turn leads to madcap adventures alongside evolving awareness. Hunter and his attorney seemingly observe society without its mask of polite conformity and with deft skill are able to navigate the world as…
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The Washington club
THE WASHINGTON CLUB by Peter Corris (1997) Claudia Fleischman’s wealthy husband has been found murdered and the police strongly suspect that she killed him. Private detective Cliff Hardy is hired by Claudia’s lawyer to investigate the Fleischman murder in an effort to clear her name. The quest soon draws Hardy into the lurid world of hired killers, extortionists, drug dealers, pimps, perverts, and the obscenely wealthy. As Hardy begins to uncover a conspiracy that involves the theft of major funds from Fleischman’s company, he meets with serious opposition. Some people don’t want Hardy sticking his beak into their business, and…
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Pale gray for guilt
PALE GRAY FOR GUILT by John D. MacDonald (1968) A big land developer is methodically buying up all the land in the local area. Tush and his family live upon a small parcel of land and run a business there. Despite purchase offers, Tush won’t sell. Life is good, so why should he sell? But big moneyed interests have a way of encroaching upon the lives of the simple folk. Tush and family are forced off the land. Then, Tush is killed in a highly unusual manner. Travis McGee, part time detective, part time adventurer, and full time justice seeker…
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The doomsters
THE DOOMSTERS by Ross MacDonald (1958) One family. Four dead in separate incidents. What are the odds? When a patient from the mental hospital busts out and drops in on private detective Lew Archer, telling a tall story and seeking his help, Archer promises to assist the escapee if he will return to the hospital. Will he go back? A sore jaw and a stolen vehicle say otherwise. But Archer is used to a little pain and is not easily perturbed. Ostensibly seeking the return of his vehicle, Archer sets out to discover the facts for himself. When Archer meets…
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The guards
THE GUARDS by Ken Bruen (2001) Jack Taylor used to be a police officer who liked a drink. But those times are over. Except for the drink. These days, Taylor is a “finder” who’s called upon to examine the circumstances of a teenage girl’s death. Apparently, sixteen-year-old Sarah committed suicide by throwing herself off Nimmo Pier. It is the third suicide to occur in the vicinity of the pier in recent times. All three, teenage girls. But Sarah’s mum is sure that Sarah would never kill herself. As Taylor delves into Sarah’s past, he discovers an unlikely pattern that leads…
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The mysterious affair at Styles
THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES by Agatha Christie (1921) A loud argument. A fragment of a burnt document. A door bolted shut. A carpet stain. A defective bell. And poison. These are the seemingly unrelated clues that Hercule Poirot must either piece together or explain away as he investigates the apparent murder by poisoning of Mrs Inglethorp. But who would want to kill Mrs Inglethorp and why? As Poirot methodically works his way through a lengthy list of suspects and alibis, he finally hits upon a very clever scheme that involves murder. Now Poirot must find the last link that…
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Blood money
BLOOD MONEY by Dashiell Hammett (1927) The big knock-over. One street. Two banks. Smart planning and precise organisation. At least one hundred thieves and grifters on the job, many from out of town. Who are then separated into teams and allocated specific tasks on the day of the robbery. Alarms. Sirens. Deadly shoot out. The armed thieves abscond with the loot. But bitterness soon displaces sweet success, as the robbers are murdered in groups when they meet to split up the stolen treasure. Is there a Mr Big behind all this action? The Continental Op investigates. Blood money. $106,000 payable…
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The Hargrave deception
THE HARGRAVE DECEPTION by E. Howard Hunt (1980) David Morgan has spent many years expanding American corporate and military interests whilst working for the CIA. After a CIA-backed coup d’état on foreign soil seemingly goes sideways, a senate inquiry is enacted, and Morgan is called to testify. Refusing to identify the co-conspirators and local actors, Morgan is found to be in contempt and promptly jailed. Eleven months later, the inquiry is wound up and Morgan is out. Feeling angry and betrayed, but not beaten down or consumed with hate, Morgan takes up a new life. After meeting the lovely Marisa,…
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The Bourne identity
THE BOURNE IDENTITY by Robert Ludlum (1980) A is for Alpha, B is for Beta, and D is for Delta. C is for Charlie and Charlie is the enemy. Jason Bourne is assassinated, and his name is assumed by the executioner. The new Bourne continues to work in the dirty trade. When things go belly up, Bourne ends up belly down in the ocean off the coast of Marseille. Rescued by fishermen, Bourne is provided with field surgery that excavates several bullets and a metallic object from his back. When pressure is applied to the object, it projects a light…
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The day of the jackal
THE DAY OF THE JACKAL by Frederick Forsyth (1971) A spy thriller and adventure story that could well be closer to truth rather than fiction. During 1962, occupied Algeria won independence after defeating the French forces. However, the colonial-settler mentality remained robust among the die-hards. An underground network consisting of French officers and mercenaries and identified as the OAS sought to exact revenge upon the leader who refused to maintain the colonial project. Their target was French President de Gaulle. An unsuccessful attempt on President de Gaulle’s life ensues and it is this recent failure that motivates the OAS to…
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Alexander Orlov: the FBI’s KGB general
ALEXANDER ORLOV: THE FBI’s KGB GENERAL by Edward Gazur (2001) General Alexander Orlov was stationed in Spain during the civil war, when Stalin recalled him to Moscow. Sensing that an unpleasant fate similar to that which had earlier befallen Theodore Maly awaited him, Orlov, along with his wife and daughter, swiftly emigrated to the United States in 1938. Once Stateside, the Orlov family lived undetected for fifteen years. Then, aware of the recent death of Stalin, Orlov wrote a series of articles that were subsequently published in Life magazine (April 1953). The presence of the highest-ranking Soviet defector living within…
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Mask of treachery
MASK OF TREACHERY by John Costello (1988) A highly detailed and superbly organised thesis describing the infiltration of the British establishment by spies recruited by the Soviets. Contains much original research and analysis. For extended periods, reads like an adventure novel. The lingering after-effects of the Great War. The Cambridge Apostles. Secret homosexual networks. Early work by Leon Feldbin and Theodore Maly. Costello argues that Cambridge had already been penetrated prior to the arrival of Anthony Blunt in 1926. And that, Blunt later ran the Cambridge spy ring. A spirited and insightful response to Wright’s Spycatcher and ultimately far more…
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Spy catcher
SPY CATCHER by Peter Wright (1987) This book documents Wright’s quest to uncover a Soviet mole working within the British MI5. What follows is an energetic campaign by Wright to discover and reveal the enemy infiltrator. Early on in his search, Wright settles his sights on the key figure of Sir Roger Hollis, the Director-General of MI5. However, despite an array of circumstantial evidence and a collection of footnotes, this is a rather vexing campaign that is ultimately unsuccessful. Simply put, the spy catcher does not catch the spy. Includes valuable contemporaneous information surrounding the then-known history of Soviet spies…
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Tales of the city
TALES OF THE CITY by Armistead Maupin (1976) Anna Madrigal hosts a motley crew of mostly young new arrivals at 28 Barbary Lane. She grows vegetables and weed in the backyard and has found a new love interest who will soon die. Each of the residents at Barbary Lane has their own story, and like all new arrivals, each has left something or someone behind. Now living in the city of San Francisco, each must find work, adventure, friendship, and love. As they explore the city and try to make their own way various situations arise. Which includes the interaction…
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The beach
THE BEACH by Alex Garland (1996) Richard finds a hand drawn map stuck to the door of his tiny room in the backpacker hostel. The map purports to show the location of The Beach, an earthly paradise available to the enlightened and rugged traveller. Suitably aroused, Richard seeks out the secret location, which is supposed to exist on an island situated off the coast of Thailand. Travelling with two companions, Etienne and Francoise, the trio make it safely to the island but initially find no signs of habitation. Unperturbed, the party then treks into the interior. Then the adventure really…
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Monkey grip
MONKEY GRIP by Helen Garner (1977) Nora loves Javo but Javo loves smack. Javo is infected with the junkie curse, whereby days of ordinary social engagement are interspersed with days of mayhem and other days of drowsy drug-induced bliss (for him). Javo disappears for days in search of smack or due to its effects and sometimes steals from his friends to finance his next hit. However, despite Javo’s unreliability, Nora continues to love him. Nora isn’t silly, she knows they have something special together, and they do, but a long-term relationship with a heroin addict is a complicated affair to…
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Crime
CRIME by Irvine Welsh (2008) Ray Lennox is an Edinburgh cop who is deeply driven to assist the weak and vulnerable. For Lennox, this means protecting kids from adult bullies who assume the form of the molester, rapist, and child killer. What follows is an unflinching examination of a child trafficking ring and the predators that operate within it. Alongside this, it is an unvarnished account of the cop culture that prefers short term results and simple solutions. In the process, Lennox comes to understand that pure evil is not simply the opposite of goodness, but is rather, the result…
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Slow horses
SLOW HORSES by Mick Herron (2010) When you fuck things up on the job working for MI5, you don’t get the sack, you get banished to Slough House and buried under mind-numbing tedium until you crack and resign. The rundown London facility is headed up by Jackson Lamb, and both are the topic of mockery and sarcasm within Five. But there’s more to Lamb than cut roast and mint sauce. Lamb is an old school field operative who knows a thing or two. And as three homegrown fascists kidnap a local man and threaten to execute him live on the…
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Widespread panic
WIDESPREAD PANIC by James Ellroy (2021) Freddy Otash is a bug-and-tap specialist. He lives to listen to and record his marks. Freddy’s also handy with the camera. Poof! Gotcha! Freddy’s business is extortion and blackmail. There’s money to be made and favours to be foraged from those who shun exposure. To maximise his income, Freddy works both ends of the trade, exposing cheating spouses during divorce gigs, whilst seeking and accepting hush money from nervous movie stars and assorted “Hollyweird” hangers on. But Freddy O. is not a purely venal man but rather is a man driven by a burning…
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The silence of the lambs
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS by Thomas Harris (1988) A series of gruesome murders has occurred, and a serial killer remains on the loose. Nicknamed Buffalo Bill by the police, this killer skins his victims before dumping their bodies in the river. The FBI face a race against time to stop the killing and catch the killer. Clarice Starling, a green FBI trainee not yet qualified as an agent, is called upon to participate in the investigation due to her extensive knowledge in the field of behavioural science. Her assignment is to interview and extract information from the imprisoned serial…
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The talented Mr Ripley
THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY by Patricia Highsmith (1955) Tom Ripley is a young and ambitious working class man. A little socially awkward perhaps, but what young person is not a little shy when first embarking upon life’s journey? Bored and frustrated with regular work – a promotion is years away – Tom develops his own small schemes to generate income. All the while Tom feels that he is just waiting for something new to arrive, something that would help him set a course in life. And then the opportunity comes, and Tom’s waiting has not been in vain. Employed by…
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The street lawyer
THE STREET LAWYER by John Grisham (1998) DeVon Hardy has just been evicted from a warehouse he called home. DeVon, along with numerous other long term homeless are forced onto the streets in winter. Many of the evictees scatter throughout the cold and wet streets seeking places of temporary shelter; a young family must now sleep in a car. DeVon is morally outraged and feels something must be done. At which point DeVon locates the law firm that carried out the eviction. Michael works for Drake & Sweeney and is seemingly on his way to promotion and much more money.…
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Something wicked this way comes
SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES by Ray Bradbury (1962) The carnival arrives in town and brings with it some very strange characters. The unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells, attract all the local kids, including two young boys, Will and Jim. But there is something a little sinister about this travelling circus and its keepers. Will and Jim figure this much out, as boys sometimes do, and now must investigate further. But when they discover a merry-go-round, whose revolutions can age you up or down, they seek help from Will’s dad. As the strangers in town launch a search for the…
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The catcher in the rye
THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J. D. Salinger (1951) Holden Caulfield has failed in yet another school. After getting kicked out, Holden undertakes a quest for knowledge. As he engages with a wide variety of people, we receive Holden’s unspoken assessment of them in real time. Indeed, we perceive the world exclusively through Holden’s eyes as he navigates the adult world and his own coming of age. Throughout his journey, which is as much internal as actual, Holden cannot find a hero or a worthwhile cause. Phonies are everywhere. Fake people conforming to meaningless social standards. People pretending to…
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Less than zero
LESS THAN ZERO by Bret Easton Ellis (1985) Clay returns home and has a void to fill. A hollow space within him demands that he see it all with his own eyes and hear it all with his own ears. Not only the best of human relations and endeavour, if that even exists, but the very worst too. Clay embarks upon an odyssey that journeys through the lives of the obscenely rich, over-privileged, parentally abandoned, and comfortably numb, circles of young people living in 1980s Los Angeles. A dark turn towards the seedy and sickening provides Clay with his own…
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One fearful yellow eye
ONE FEARFUL YELLOW EYE by John D. MacDonald (1966) Fortner Geis is dead. The bulk of the inheritance money is missing. Six hundred thousand dollars remains unaccounted for. The adult children suspect Geis’ young wife of financial abuse and theft. But Gloria is hardly the type to steal her late husband’s estate. And when Travis McGee is called in to help a friend in need, he soon agrees to investigate the matter. McGee uncovers a campaign of lesser violence which in turn demonstrates the possibility of greater violence. And with this implied threat to escalate the violence, a pressure was…
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The big sleep
THE BIG SLEEP by Raymond Chandler (1939) General Sternwood is ancient and looks it. Having summoned private detective Philip Marlowe to his enormous estate, he shows to Marlowe evidence of blackmail. During the ensuing discussion, Sternwood also explains that the son-in-law he very much admired has apparently ran off. No word was given, and no note was left behind. Rusty Regan has simply evaporated, and Sternwood wants to know where he is and why he left. Is there a connection between the two? Marlowe agrees to investigate both matters and soon discovers that Sternwood’s adult daughters have issues of their…
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Banker
BANKER by Dick Francis (1982) The banker lends five million pounds for the purchase of an established racehorse. Investing in racehorses is not just about winning races but also about siring foals, that may one day become the next generation of racehorses. However, when the stallion begins to sire foals that are born with deformities, it seems the five million pounds has been all but lost. And then, a lowball offer to purchase the racehorse is proffered. The prospective purchaser wants to send the racehorse to a mysterious “horse healer.” The horse healer has form in returning horses to their…
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Without fear or favour
WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOUR by Bob Bottom (1984) Investigative journalist Bob Bottom describes the cultural changes that occurred within Australia during the period 1965 – 1984. During the late 1960s, organised crime within Australia underwent a significant and irreversible transformation. New competition launched a hostile business takeover and eliminated the old-time crooks, before seizing their money-making enterprises. A new sophistication then entered the illicit business markets. This included the establishment and maintenance of ongoing criminal networks that encompassed the wealthy and powerful. Read chapter five, Death a Reality to learn about the disappearance and suspected murders of Juanita Nielsen (4th…
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