The Pallbearers by Stephen J. Cannell

The Pallbearers by Stephen J. Cannell features his protagonist Shane Scully.  I've read several Shane Scully novels.  He's an L.A. homicide cop who grew up as an orphan and still tries to deal with some of his anger issues.  The novels tend to be fast moving and have a bit of a mystery to them.


I'd recommend them for people waiting for the next Harry Bosch novel.  Although if pressed, Id admit that I prefer Michael Connelly's writing style, the characters are fairly similar and the novels have a similar feel to them.  That being said, I don't tend to confuse the plots of Michael Connelly and Stephen J. Cannell, I think because Shane Scully is a little more action focused than mystery centric. 


I've written before about the commonality of Los Angeles locations in crime fiction. 
Read While Walking: L.A. in Fiction
Mr. Cannell is another author who hits many of the same places as those identified by Michael Connelly and Robert Crais.  Shane takes the CSI guy to breakfast at the Pacific Dining Car (though, in a touch of realism, Shane is more concerned about the cost of breakfast at this restaurant than Harry Bosch tends to be).  I really enjoy the descriptions of Venice Beach in the Shane Scully novels, and it's clear Mr. Cannell loves the area.  Although Shane develops over the course of the series, there are no major spoilers if you start with The Pallbearers (one of the later entries in the series), and in my view it is a pretty good place to start.


In The Pallbearers, Shane and some other folks who grew up in the same children's home are called back to be pallbearers for the man who ran the home, and incidentally decide to delve into some of the mystery surrounding his last days and death.  Mr. Cannell works in a lot of surfer lingo and the importance of surfing.  I'm not sure it entirely works for me, though mostly because I don't picture Shane Scully as a surfing kind of guy and I don't recall any mention in the earlier novels of any interest or knowledge of surfing.


Shane does his rogue thing, and blusters around and deals with some of his anger.  I don't mean to say it dismissively, though it's something Shane often deals with.  I found it particularly affecting in this novel however, perhaps because of how his anger is intertwined with his grief and how he manages to work through the loss of a father figure. 


I always tend to wish Alexa's role could be fleshed out a little more.  She helps in the plot, but the novel is all about Shane.  It works though, since his involvement with his grief means he's more internally focused and perhaps less engaged with his wife and son.  Although I generally enjoy the Shane Scully novels, and find them a lot of fun, this one I also found to be moving.  As such I'd put it near the top of my list of Stephen J. Cannell books.

Dangerous Women vol. 3 "Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell" by Brandon Sanderson

"Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell" by Brandon Sanderson is the keynote novella of Dangerous Women vol. 3 (ed. George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois).


I've read Brandon Sanderson's collaboration with Robert Jordan in completing the Wheel of Time series, but otherwise have not previously read any of his work.


"Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell" is very well done as a short story.  It introduces a world (I'm not sure whether this is a world seen in Mr. Sanderson's other series, but it needed no additional background for me to follow it), introduces the magic and spirits and culture, all without info dumps or uneasy exposition and gets to telling the story.


It's fascinating how well it's done and how professionally it's done.  It reminds me a bit of seeing Bon Jovi in concert a number of years ago, and they followed Hedley as their opening act.  Hedley was good, enjoyable, but when Bon Jovi took the stage I just had an immediate appreciation for the difference between someone who is just starting out, and someone who is a professional and has been doing it for years and years and years.  I can't really point to particular aspects of what they were doing, but you see it and know that's how it's supposed to be done.


That's how I felt reading this novella.  I was immersed in the story immediately, internalized all the rules and customs of the place and was driven to learn more while being intensely engaged in the plot.  Like the other stories in volume 3 of this collection, I found it a bit dark for my tastes, but that can't detract from the appreciation I have for how the story was told.  It concerns a forest with ghost spirits and bounty hunters who turn criminals into prey to feed their own survival.


I understand Mr. Sanderson provides seminars and advice on how to write fantasy or science fiction novels, and from this I can see why.  I imagine he goes beyond writing technique to describe character development and plot development.  I think this story would provide some of that education (particularly in a short story context) and more, that it will inspire prospective writers to try to write short stories like this.

Dangerous Women, vol. 3 "Bombshells" by Jim Butcher

Of the three volumes in the Dangerous Women set (ed. George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois) I liked this one the least.  I'm a little curious what reading the whole collection as one volume would be like, since I found this volume unremittingly grim and nihilistic.


Would dispersing these stories among the others in a different manner give the collection as a whole a better tone?  Or would it just serve to bring down the whole collection?  Thinking back, there were a number of downer type stories in volumes 1 and 2, but they worked well with the other material in those volumes.  I suspect I'd find the whole collection a bit of a slog.


Perhaps because the stories in this volume were so grim, I found myself most engaged by "Bombshells" by Jim Butcher.  It was light, fun, some interesting mythos, but not a great sense of dread or darkness.  Since it was the first story in the collection, perhaps it got my expectations moving in the wrong direction.  I wonder if it might have worked better about halfway through.  Anyway.  I haven't previously read any stories by Jim Butcher, because I had the impression his stuff was darker than I'd probably enjoy.  But this was a lot of fun. 


I think a good way to describe the story is being like Laurell K. Hamilton's Merry Gentry series (A Kiss of Shadows, A Stroke of Midnight etc.) with a touch of Piers Anthony's Xanth series (Spell for Chameleon et al.).


"Bombshells" has as its protagonist Molly, who I gather was an apprentice of his principal character, Harry Dresden.  I didn't entirely follow how magic and demons and vampires work in this world, as I think it presupposes some level of awareness of the Dresden novels. I just went along with the ride, enjoying the surface of the story without trying to work out the overall mythos or where things might fit in the bigger picture.  I enjoyed the story, and would be prepared to try some of Mr. Butcher's other work, particularly that which features Molly.

Books based on Academy Award Nominees

I like books.  I also like movies.  Sometimes movies can put me onto good books.  Based on this year's nominated films, I've only read one book on which a nominated film was based.  So if I (or anyone else) is interested in reading books based on this year's Academy nominated films, our choices are:


American Sniper:  The autobiography of the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history by Chris Kyle.  Based on what I've read of Stephen Hunter's Bob Lee Swagger novels (Point of Impact and corresponding film "Shooter"), he's presumably surpassing Carlos Hathcock.


Still Alice by Lisa Genova. 
Alan Turing:  The Enigma by Andrew Hodges
Traveling to Infinity: My life with Stephen by Jane Wilde Hawking
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (I've got this book, just haven't read it yet).
Wild:  From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail by Cheryl Strayed
Unbroken: A World War II story of survival, resilience and redemption by Lauren Hillenbrand
How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (this is the one I've read).


From this, I think we can see that whatever criticisms we might like to make about the film industry, they're much better at titles than the literary world.


I haven't included "Song of the Sea" based on Celtic tales of Selkies, nor "The Tale of Princess Kaguya", based on Japanese folk tales.


So from this list, for myself, I think my priority reading ranking would be:


Gone Girl
Still Alice
American Sniper (I rarely read biographical novels, and even here my interest isn't high).


I've heard a lot of positive buzz about Gone Girl and Still Alice is apparently an excellent, affecting and difficult story.


While I have some level of interest in the stories of Stephen Hawking, Alan Turing and Wild I think I'll plan to watch the film versions and only if there's something I see that makes me think there's a lot more to the book would I pick up the novel.


How to Train Your Dragon I'll probably wait to read until I can read it with my sons.


If anyone has reading suggestions based on this list (or other movies that were overlooked by the 2015 Oscars), please feel free to add them in the comments.

Outlander TV series and "Virgins" by Diana Gabaldon

I read "Virgins" by Diana Gabaldon as part of vol. 2 of Dangerous Women (ed. George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois).  Although it is highlighted as the keynote novella on the cover of the book, I wasn't sure whether I was looking forward to reading it.

As background, I had read "Lord John and the Succubus" as part of Legends II, and "The Custom of the Army" as part of Warriors, both short stories by Diana Gabaldon featuring Lord John Grey.  While adequate as mysteries in a historical setting, they didn't particularly grab me, and I had little recollection of them.  In any event, they didn't inspire me to pick up other books by Ms. Gabaldon.


This past fall, the Outlander TV series began airing and my wife was quite excited about it.  I hadn't previously known that she read or was a fan of Diana Gabaldon, but we subscribed for the appropriate channel package (yes, she was that excited about it), and I watched the first episode with her, thinking that would be a start and I could ease out of it before it became a weekly routine.


Wow.  I was completely taken in by the show.  It wasn't just a series of historical british mysteries, but was a time traveling adventure show, with flashbacks and fascinating explorations of history.  I didn't need any convincing to make the show part of our routine, and (to my own surprise) I have been frequently recommending the show to people.  I think it's exceptional.  I like the settings, the intricate plotting, the casting (Caitriona Balfe as Claire Randall is excellent, though I think all of the actors are superb), the way the show doesn't necessarily wait for you to catch up, and I've found the episodes extremely rewarding on a second viewing.


My wife has already suggested the DVD set of the first season would be a great birthday gift for her... I said we'd have to see with the timing of the release whether it would be a great gift for her or for me.


In any event, I'm eagerly anticipating its return in April, but I haven't been sure about picking up the books.  In the first place, I don't want to spoil anything about the series.  I'm enjoying it too much.  But secondly, I was concerned that since the Lord John novellas made very little impact on me, whether I'd enjoy the "Outlander" series of books.


I really enjoyed "Virgins".  It confirmed for me that Ms. Gabaldon's writing is solid and enjoyable (and it's not merely the show producers who make it interesting).  Jaimie seems consistent with the character from the show, is resourceful and intelligent, and the novella explores another area of history and culture which is interesting and unfamiliar to me (in this case, some aspects of Jewish culture in France in the 18th century).  The novella appears to take place prior to the events of the show, so I didn't need to be trepidatious about spoilers.  I was a bit surprised that Jaime is apparently university educated, and picked up a bit more about his history than I got from the flashbacks on the show... but I think that will lead to an enhancement of my viewing experience. 


I wouldn't say it's common for me to focus on the tv or film version in preference to a novel version; though often a tv series or film will prompt me to try out a new author, usually I'm happy to outpace or even preview the film or show by reading the books.  In this instance my interest was sparked by my enjoyment of the TV series, and my enjoyment is such that while I would look forward to reading the Outlander series... I'm just going to wait until the TV show catches up.

Dangerous Women vol. 2 "Second Arabesque, Very Slowly" by Nancy Kress

As indicated below, I received the Dangerous Women collection (ed. by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois) as a three book set, so I'm commenting on one short story from each, as well as the "keynote" novella.


Dangerous Women vol. 2 was probably my favourite of the set.  I found that a bit surprising, because it's the middle volume, and because the first was anchored by George R.R. Martin and the third was anchored by Brendon Sanderson and I was particularly looking forward to those stories.


However, I can say I really enjoyed each one of the stories in this volume.  I've been interested in Lev Grossman for some time, so was glad to get some exposure to his writing style.  "Lies My Mother Told Me" by Caroline Spector was a lot of fun.  I sometimes find the Wild Card stories a bit dark for my taste, but this was upbeat and exciting. 


To my surprise for this second volume I am again most taken by a science fiction story, "Second Arabesque, Very Slowly" by Nancy Kress.  I've never read any of her other works, but may keep an eye out for them.


This story is set in a dystopian, urban future, in which gangs struggle and fight each other for survival and treat women largely as chattels for procreation and recreation.  The protagonist is an older woman, a healer for a roaming gang who has some memories from her Grandmother of a time before everything was merely about survival.


The gang spends a night in Lincoln Centre in New York, and a member of the gang rediscovers some books on ballet and a film with an excerpt of a ballet performance.  The story then explores whether there is room for art in the struggle for survival, and whether the craving for art may be an element necessary for survival as humans as opposed to survival as something less.


The story is written in a way that inspires enthusiasm and passion for ballet, and the arts, and awakens a desire to look at ballet again as a means of elevating our spirits.  It's very nicely done.  I wanted to watch a ballet again with fresh eyes, and have the sense of wonder the characters in the story achieve.  I'd strongly recommend this short story for those who appreciate the arts, and as a justification for the broader and more universal benefits the arts provide.  I can't wait for Ballet in the Park this year.

Dangerous Women vol. 1 "The Princess and the Queen" by George R.R. Martin

The Princess and the Queen strikes me as the keynote story in Dangerous Women vol. 1.  It's the last in the book, and highlighted on the cover.


Before I comment on that story though, a brief comment on Legends.  Legends was a short story collection... really more of a novella collection, that showcased a number of stories, each by major fantasy or sci-fi authors, and each set in the world for which they were most famous.  It was intended to be a sampling of authors so a reader could evaluate which multi-tome series to jump into.  It had "New Spring" a Wheel of Time prequel by Robert Jordan, "Little Sisters of Eluria" a Dark Tower story by Stephen King, "The Hedge Knight", a story of Westeros by George R.R. Martin, and others.  (I almost feel obliged to list them all, since I like most of the authors and their respective series).


In any event, I loved that collection, and have a bit of a tendency to judge new short story collections by those standards.  That is, if there is a short story with a sampling of a world, is the sample enough to make me interested in starting that series?  The Hedge Knight did that for me admirably.  It created some history for the world of Westeros, while creating engaging characters, and having much the same tone and sense of feeling that I found in the series.


From that perspective I hesitate over "The Princess and the Queen".  I really enjoy A Song of Ice and Fire series, but I'm not presently evaluating how well the story works for a reader (and re-reader) very familiar with that series.  On its own merits, The Princess and the Queen shows a world with an intricate history, a lot of imagined historical detail, and clearly great depth of world building. 


What it doesn't show (to my mind) is the depth of characterization that fills Mr. Martin's work.  By creating the (unreliable) narrator character, and telling the story in his voice, Mr. Martin has shown some artistry, but also created distance from his own story.  It does strike me as being like Robert Browning (the name I think of first when I think of unreliable narrators).  He's created an interesting world, and incidental insights into the narrator, but also a level of detachment and an impersonal approach to the characters and the plot.  It seems easy to start at one arbitrary place and end at another because the narrator is interested only in telling an engaging story rather than in the characters who populate the story.


If this was all I'd read of Mr. Martin, I'd be impressed at his writing skill, and probably would read more.  But it wouldn't tell me why people love the characters and love to hate the characters so much.  It wouldn't give me a sense of the scope of A Song of Ice and Fire, nor give me any sense of why people are so passionate and excited by that series.


I suspect the purpose of this short story was more to whet the appetite of readers for The World of Ice and Fire (which I haven't yet read, so can't comment on).  I understand that book to be written almost as though it's non-fiction, and to be intentionally like an encyclopedia or a history rather than to have the immediacy of the novels.  For the dedicated reader of the series, the history in this novella is fascinating, and gives lots of fodder for speculation about control and use of dragons in battle.  On that basis, it may be that The Princess and the Queen succeeds, but for myself I'm looking for more from George R.R. Martin, even in his novellas.

Dangerous Women vol. 1 "Neighbors" by Megan Lindholm

I received this short story set in three volumes, so I'll try to pick at least one story from each that I think sticks with me a bit, as well as commenting on the "keynote" story, if I can refer to it as such.


In volume 1 of Dangerous Women (ed. Geroge R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozios) I enjoyed "Raisa Stepanova", by Carrie Vaughn.  Of the authors I hadn't previously read, I'd be inclined to read another by her.  "Nora's Song" by Cecelia Holland (about one of the daughters of Eleanor of Aquitane) is a type of story I'd be less likely to pick up, but was well done and inspired me enough to search around on Wikipedia learning a bit about that era of English history.


The standout, however, is by one of my favourite authors, Megan Lindholm.  Strictly speaking, Robin Hobb is one of my favourite authors and that's a pen name of Megan Lindholm. Having read short stories under each name, and accepting the premise that there may be a different voice for each, Robin Hobb's stories are generally my preference.


"Neighbors" is a very well done science fiction/fantasy story.  I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about it since reading it, and in this book I turned back to it a few times.  Ostensibly it's about a hidden world accessible to certain people when they realize time doesn't matter and are therefore free of the constraints of time.  It's also a story about memory, aging and the importance of seeing and knowing people, not merely fulfilling tasks for them.


The protagonist, Sarah, visits her brother in a nursing home.  She's convinced she visits him like clockwork, though once she's free of the constraints of time that's a little less certain.  Her son asks her the question whether it makes any difference to anyone, since he's not able to remember her visits anyway.  Sarah quickly connects that the same attitude will confront her if she permits her son to commit her to a nursing home. 


From there she finds which memories and signifiers of memory are worth keeping, and which she can let go.  From the outside she's degenerating into senility or Alzheimers, but in her mind she's taking with her the things that matter most.


While written more in what I think of as Megan Lindholm's haunting, wistful style, her ideas about memory and to what extent memories form a person are what draws me back, again and again to her Farseer trilogy (Assassin's Apprentice et al.) and her Liveship trilogy (Ship of Magic, Mad Ship and Ship of Destiny). 


To my mind, "Neighbors" is excellent science fiction in that it tells an intriguing, compelling story while making you think about a different perspective and assessing a contemporary problem.  It also made me want to hug my Grandma.

The "Organization" in Grisham

As I indicated in the review of Gray Mountain (below) I found one of the key plot threads appeared to have been dropped.  Some spoilers may follow.


One of the characters habitually carries a gun, and is convinced that people are out to get him, to harm him or to stop him from pursuing his life's work of suing coal companies and making fees while doing so.


Ultimately, this character dies, and it is an open question whether he was murdered or whether his death was accidental.  Another character steps in, and soon our protagonist is convinced there are shadowy figures following her, wanting to stop her work, tapping her phones and manipulating law enforcement.


It's not unusual for a Grisham novel... similar things happen in The Pelican Brief and The Firm.  What is unusual is that Samantha basically gets bored of seeing these shadows, ignores them and the problem seems to go away.  There is very little extrinsic evidence of the existence of the organization.


Which got me thinking that it would be a very clever, and kind of humourous take on things if Grisham was ascribing to these lawyers the sense of self-importance and storytelling ability that makes them convinced that what they're doing is so important that they have exciting lives with mysterious people wanting to block their agenda at every turn.


I suspect many lawyers have been threatened in some way or another in connection with litigation.  When emotions are high, people can take out their frustration on their lawyer or the other side's lawyer.  Many lawyers probably have the ability to make a good story out of it as well, since in some ways they're professional storytellers.


I'd find it fascinating if the commentary Mr. Grisham is making is that these stories are just fictional yarns, exaggerated even in the lawyer's own head to give them a sense of purpose.  It's fairly cynical, but fascinating to think about.  Unfortunately, in this regard, I think I'm reading too much into a dropped plot thread.

Gray Mountain by John Grisham

Gray Mountain was a bit of a departure for John Grisham.  It featured a female protagonist... which I think he did in Pelican Brief, but cannot recall another legal thriller in which he does that.


He tries hard to provide elements of the female voice, and while I'm not sure it's an unqualified success, it largely works and isn't distracting.


The structure of the story is kind of curious.  My sister recommended the book to me, and, in her view, it was missing a chapter.  I think she's right that there is something missing, though I think it's probably more than a chapter.


The book concerns Samantha Kofer, furloughed from her New York law firm to work at a legal aid clinic in Virginia. 


I think the novel is about the choice facing Samantha (and by extension many lawyers at early stages in their careers).


Does she want to work at a big firm?  Samantha thinks about the big money, life in the big city and the pursuit of large transactions (building her own model skyline), though her own role is largely clerical and her interaction with clients is limited and negative. 


Does she want to work as a plaintiff's lawyer, representing a class of plaintiffs and making contingency fees on big class action lawsuits (like her Dad)? 


Does she want to be a government lawyer, influenced by political winds and policy decisions as much as legal aspects of cases (like her Mom)? 


Does she want to work as a local, small town lawyer (possibly legal aid) meeting face to face with clients and seeing how her advice affects them on a personal basis?


John Grisham has explored each of these in his various novels (I think maybe government lawyer has been given short shrift), and nicely explores the factors influencing Samantha's decisions and career path and gives her life influences to look at each of these.


If the novel was an exploration of how she chose her path in law, I'd say it was okay, though I didn't relate to her general lack of interest in the law and her own life.  And even if at the end of the novel some aspects were still undecided or unresolved about how her career would develop, I'd say it was legitimate not to provide that closure, since a career is a work in progress.  I'd almost rather the book end with offers from each of the different areas of law and you decide, based on her character development, where Samantha's path would take her.


The difficulty, for me, is that this doesn't seem to be the only focus of the novel.  The idea of class action litigation, against Krull Mining as well as Lonerock and Casper Slate (a big law firm) is introduced, but the resolution was not, for me, fully satisfactory.  As indicated, I can accept that there's a slice of life aspect to the novel and her career as it's developing.  I can even accept that this is not The Rainmaker and the story isn't about her role in class actions (otherwise the author has made her career choice for her).  But there are aspects of the plot that feel a little like a bait and switch, leaving a reader wanting more, wanting dramatics and closure. 


Thinking of it, I'd have to concede that perhaps it's just my inability to relate to the character.  Rudy, of The Rainmaker, made a choice about pursuing the plaintiff side litigation career path, and perhaps Samantha's facing the same choice from a slightly different perspective and doesn't get the thrill of the fight that Rudy had.  Samantha of Gray Mountain never seems excited by all the dollars and social impacts of class actions, but is fairly dismissive throughout.  She genuinely doesn't seem to care about whether or not she's involved in working on a class action law suit, whether at the individual client level or the research level.  So the fact that the novel does not explore these areas in more detail could be more a factor that it's looking through her eyes at her areas of interest.


The third plot line, however is the problematic one.  There's a murder, and suspicious thugs working for a secret organization, and a secret mountain fortress and a bit of a deus ex machina.    While I can accept that a legal career is a work in progress, and closure and resolution aren't necessarily reasonable to expect in the description of the choices that lead to the lawyer you are today, I think it's fair to expect a resolution to major plot points dealing with the above.  So my sister's comment is fair, and the ending is abrupt... as though Mr. Grisham realized he didn't want this to turn into a 600 page novel and ran out of plot point one before plot points two and three had been fully resolved. 


I'm trying to find a way to look at this book that does more justice to it than that.  I enjoy John Grisham's novels, particularly his legal thrillers, so am prepared to give him credit that the book as published is what he wanted it to look like.  There are hints that the murder, mountain fortress and thugs may all be products of a paranoid imagination.  That the characters in this (unlike Mitch of The Firm and Darby of The Pelican Brief) really have very little to be afraid of, and there are just a couple of unsettling coincidences which a certain type of personality can build up into excitement, but Samantha just doesn't care enough to do so.


While that's probably mostly a fair reading, it doesn't help me at the end of the day.    Samantha does seem fairly apathetic.  Maybe it's Mr. Grisham's attempt to write a millennial as bored, disinterested, difficult to engage and entitled and show her development into a true member of the community as well as finding her true calling within her profession.  But on that ground I think it fails as well.  That too needed more space (probably more than a chapter, a couple of hundred pages perhaps) because at the end she's still feeling and seeming as an outsider at a community funeral and is still not invested enough to generate the sense that she's inspired by passion for these people and her causes.  There are a whole lot of plot items that occur in the last couple of chapters, none of which seems to affect Samantha much at all, she just drifts through it all. 


In the end, if Mr. Grisham intended to show possible forks in the road for the legal career of a person who cared little for much of anything, and in the end found some level of enthusiasm for her chosen profession it's probably a success.  But there were an awful lot of forks and plot points that I as a reader would have been interested in even if his protagonist was not, and her apathy left me, in the end, a little apathetic towards her as well.

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

I loved Mr. Mercedes.   I commented on Revival a couple of posts ago, and read the two books one shortly after the other.  (A benefit of having a birthday shortly after Christmas).


Although I liked Revival, I felt Stephen King was trying to write in the style of H.P. Lovecraft, and as a result I thought the story lost some of the power it could otherwise have.


By contrast, in Mr. Mercedes I feel Stephen King is attempting to write in a different genre, and in the style of that genre, while still writing as Stephen King.  I thought it was exceptionally well done. 


I enjoy police procedurals and detective stories generally, so getting the opportunity to read one written by Stephen King felt perfect. I thought Mr. King did a great job of portraying a police detective, in a manner that felt much more comprehensive than the sheriffs of Castle Rock region.  The character of Bill Kermit Hodges was fully fleshed out, consistent and consistently well written as a man of his age.  I don't recall Mr. king writing a protagonist of that age too often before... Ralph Roberts perhaps, of Insomnia, but I thought he managed it here very well.


All the character beats rang true to me (the younger girlfriend thing was perhaps a bit of a stretch, but worked well... or perhaps I'm just used to the convention in this type of fiction).


I enjoyed following it along, I enjoyed the elements of mystery.  I especially liked that neither the detective nor the killer he was tracking was perfect, omniscient or infallible.  And further, that their mistakes and slip-ups were consistent with the characters.


Perhaps some of the ancillary characters could have been rounded out a little more (like Jerome), I really liked how he handled cousin Holly.  I'd love to read a whole series of Det. Ret. Hodges and his assistant Holly opening a PI firm.


I've been a longtime fan of Stephen King, and one of the things I find most amazing about him (aside from the sheer volume of work he's able to produce) is his ability to write effectively in a number of different genres.  I'd have a tough time labeling myself as a devotee of horror in fiction or film, but ultimately I don't put Mr. King in that genre box anyway.  I like his books about baseball, or small town life, or coming of age or time travel or mysteries just as I like all the books he writes.  That being said, I'd have no hesitation recommending Mr. Mercedes to anyone who is a fan of detective fiction, whether or not they think they like Stephen King.

True Detective

My sister was kind enough to loan me her DVD series of True Detective.  Although I collect the Game of Thrones series on DVD, I don't have HBO or Netflix, so hadn't previously had any exposure to the show.  I recognize it's a show that's already aired, and that people should be able to disclose spoilers about it. Nevertheless, I seem to have avoided any and plan to try to continue to do so.


I am greatly enjoying it, and finding the potential mysteries fascinating.  I have just finished watching Episode Four of Season One, and she asked me whether I think he did it... referring, I believe, to the Matthew McConaughey character Rustin.


I had been wondering that very thing, so thought it might be helpful to me, to set my thoughts out in further detail.


Both Marty and Rustin are in interrogation rooms during the "interviews", and he's acting suspiciously no doubt.  He's carving up beer cans in the shapes of crosses and men, getting increasingly drunk and coming up with weird philosophies that sound like a serial killer.


But Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson) is also having some issues in the flashbacks and his emphasis on how important it is to be steady and stable highlight how instable he appears.  You can tell by the reactions of the other detectives in the unit that it's not just "domestic troubles" as usual for tv cops, they seem to think he's over the line. It's also interesting that he's not wearing a wedding band in the interviews but does in the flashbacks. I noticed that early on, but also noticed that the camera seemed to be trying to hide the fact in the flashbacks. Just a way of keeping the suspense about his marriage or something more sinister?


I do find it interesting that Rustin has a history in the narc unit with the same group this suspect Ladoux is working for. What I can't get around with him as a potential suspect though is that he's been in Texas up until three months before the Dorrie Lang murder, and the evidence seems pretty convincing that the disappearing kids and the first murder took place years before. Could he have done these in Louisiana while he was in Texas? I guess, no bar to it, but I think unlikely. I also think, as a serial killer, if that's what he is, that he'd have been doing similar killings in Texas.


So I don't think he did those prior killings. If he did one, it could only have been Dorrie Lang, and I'm doubtful about that as well. But he's got some apparent issues, and some real weird disconnects in his personality. Having a crucifix on the wall of his apartment while professing not to believe in religion is odd. The lack of furniture, the drug use, the not sleeping (particularly if that gives him an opportunity to have blackouts/breaks with reality during those "not sleeping" times). From his history with the death of his daughter and four years undercover, that could lead to some mental health issues.


I also find it odd, on for both Martin and Rustin, that they don't want to involve the task force and instead lone wolf the case. Makes sense from Rustin's personality, but Martin doesn't seem like the kind of guy to want that in the same way. I also thought it unusual that they got hints about a rich guy's satanic worshipping/adventure killing club that abducts children and just let that clue lie there without follow up. Yes, they had other things they were following up, but the governor formed a specific task force to deal with crimes against Christianity, and not only do they not follow up clues, they don't toss them to the force either. (e.g. the reverend who asked them who he should call about the dead cats nailed to his Church door and they didn't answer). Rustin's focussed on serial killer as the only motive. Martin's focussed on a personal connection to Dorrie Lang.


So if I was solving the mystery now, I'd say it's very suspicious that no one (including the current interrogators) can find out about Rustin's history from Texas (recall he said it was interesting that his files were still locked though it's now at least 14 years after he was an undercover). I'd say he's still undercover, and was probably undercover when he went into Louisiana, possibly intentionally placed as partner to Martin. I'd say his role isn't narc at all, but is tracking down abducted children/child sex rings and/or some kind of religious cult that abuses children, and he thinks someone inside the Louisiana State police is involved. It explains his lack of furniture (temporary undercover), and his weird religious views, to try to get on the inside of the ring, as well as his skills and detecting ability. It explains his interest in Martin trying to "save" the underage prostitute from the bunny ranch they go to (by making a down payment), while doing nothing to stop it or interfere (the ranch itself is noted as being under the protection of the local sheriff). It also explains Rustin looking at the various billboards for missing kids that are seen by the roadside while they're driving together, and the lack of interest the police and local sheriff's departments seem to have for abducted or missing children, and it seems like a logical approach for him... particularly if his daughter wasn't killed in a car accident, but was abducted or murdered.


I'd say he's still undercover now (at the time of the interview) and is closer to the cult/finding the mole inside the cops responsible for the missing kids. I have a hard time seeing Martin as being involved, because he does seem devoted to his kids, though I also think the fact one daughter is drawing pictures of sex in her school books and the other stages weird rape scenes with her dolls is an indication that there may be abuse going on there too. Rustin seems to take a fairly active role in trying to get Maggie and the kids out from under Martin's exclusive control.


In terms of the current murder (that the interrogators don't want to tell him about) I think it's not a copycat, so much as it's the cult still at work or back at work. I'd say they do this kind of staged type of kill when they find a mole or a snitch (or maybe some other weird reason).


The other thing I note, is that the opening sequence shows scenes of kids' playgrounds etc. but also a lot of shots of oil refineries, which otherwise seem unconnected to the story at all (other than the one rave at an oil refinery). I'd be guessing that the rich satanic cult or what-have-you includes the governor who formed the task force (and whose brother is high up in the State Police), and probably some of the oil barons or millionaires in the county. The Yellow King is probably a reference to the governor or (more likely) an oil refinery owner. I'm trying to recall if we've seen any "king oil" automotive shops and things. Again, lots of automotive repair shops shown in the background scenery.