Big Red Tequila (Conclusion)

The occasional description of Navarre’s use of tai chi on his adversaries is noteworthy.  (And apparently authentic; the “About the Author” blurb facing the last page of the story says, “He has practiced tai chi chuan for five years…” I almost find it odd that none of the infighting knowledge has found its way into the two Percy Jackson novels I have read; I guess when you have a ballpoint pen that morphs into a magic sword, the martial arts take a back seat!)  About Navarre’s final encounter with Kellin, he says, “I didn’t think he was carrying, but I couldn’t give him time to pull a weapon.  Kellin stepped back and I stuck to him like glue.  That’s the most disconcerting thing about fighting a tai chi opponent; you step back, they step forward; you advance, they retreat; you swing right, they disappear to the left.  The whole time they’re only a few inches away, but you can’t connect a punch.  And they touch you almost the whole time … It’s very annoying.” 

The various clues that he follows up on in order to be at the right places at the right times are just enough to keep his investigation from stalling out.  Locating the site where Lillian is being held by her kidnappers is facilitated by the accumulation of cement dust around the wheel casings of a car involved in the case which means … the local cement plant.  Nice detective work, Tres – except it’s his friend Ralph, not Tres, who makes the deduction and has to point it out to our hero.  But this is realistic; in real detective work, investigators often depend on evidence that falls into their laps while they are diligently following dead-end leads.  The novelized true crime classic, In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote [see our August, 2012 book] points this out beautifully. 

Navarre’s relationships with the ladies continue to be complicated.  Not only is Maia apparently out of the picture, with Tres’s call to her being answered by a male voice, but he effectively puts his romance with Lillian on ice by pretending to be unforgiving about her real reasons for bringing him back to San Antonio.  We’re left with the impression that he just needs some time to get used to being on his own again now that his father’s murder has been resolved and he no longer feels the obsession with that. 

It’s nice irony when we find that the crime boss, Guy White turns out to be uninvolved after all, especially after all the pestering he had received from Tres.  Can we assume that if he actually had been involved, he would have had Tres “rubbed out” very soon after that first encounter?  The fact that he actually helps Tres in small ways is even more delicious, particularly at the end when Tres returns the favor by giving him one of the discs with incriminating evidence against the local politicians who have made White’s live difficult for years.  Tres cleverly arranges things so that his potential enemies all have an interest in keeping him healthy.  No wonder there are a number of sequels to this storyline!  The next book in the series, The Widower’s Two-Step, will be on my shelf very soon!

 

A very nice concluding touch at the very end has his pal Ralph coming to the rescue when he finds himself without wheels to get home:  “‘Hey, vato,’ someone said behind me.  I turned and saw Ralph leaning out the window of his maroon Lincoln and grinning like a fiend.  ‘You lose your wheels man?’ … Ralph laughed and showed me a bottle of Herradura Anejo and a six-pack of Big Red.  ‘You still need friends like these?’ he asked.  ‘Only more than anything,’ I told him, and I got into the car.”

December’s book of the month; “Shakespeare’s Christmas,” by Charlaine Harris. 

(First post on December 6th over Chapters 1-2!)

If you are familiar with the Sookie Stackhouse (“True Blood”) novels, you know how great the writing is.  This series is a little more “hard-core mystery”, without the supernatural twists of Harris’ other books, but still a lot of fun!  Merry Christmas!

 

"Fresher, more unusual, than any other mystery I've read lately."
--The Washington Post Book World

"This one works on every level. The writing and plotting are first-rate."
--The Washington Times

"A seamless story... In her Lily Bard novels, Charlaine Harris blends a noirish atmosphere with a traditional mystery."
--Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

Big Red Tequila (Chapters 34-51)

Did I mention testosterone in the last entry?  As much as I’m enjoying the action, the boldness of the good guy(s) and the butt-kicking in this story, I have to admit that the testosterone levels seem to be leaving the logic and the realism behind, in some instances.  Tres can be given a pass, just maybe, for bending the rules … no, breaking the law … in his quest for justice due to his emotional melt-down.  We’re not really excusing him, but if he’s that fragile, we understand.  But what about Maia?  She started out by trying to talk sense into him, trying to get him to leave town and let things cool down while The Law looks into things.  But when the two of them go to “visit” Guy White, the alleged mob boss of San Antonio, they illegally force their way in to his home and she is the first one to start blasting away, apparently in total disregard not only for the law, but with a seeming willingness to throw away a highly successful career as an attorney and probably face some serious jail time.  Totally out of character, and quite unprovoked. 

Several factors help make up for this infraction of artistic license.  The characterizations of minor players, for instance; here’s more on the rather oversized Larry Drapiewski:  “Drapiewski’s red jeep seemed right at home in the Hill Country.  So did Larry.  Off-duty he was wearing boot-cut Levi’s and black leather Justins that must’ve been made from an entire alligator, a red shirt that made his hair and his freckles seem a little less neon by comparison.  Howdy Doody on steroids.”  And another minor player:  “Drapiewski’s friend with the Blanco County Sheriff’s Department had the unfortunate name of Deputy Chief Grubb.  We met Grubb outside the Dairy Queen, a place he had obviously frequented over the years.  His white hair had a slightly greasy tinge to it, and his upper body, once that of a football player, had swollen up over his belt buckle until it bore an uncanny resemblance to a Dilly Bar.”  Lovely. 

Tres finally works out a clue, in the form of out-of-place notes jotted on a sheet of paper among his father’s old investigation documents; “Sabinal.  Get whiskey.  Fix fence.  Clean fireplace.”  This leads him to the old family farmstead, run by the caretaker, Harold:  “Harold looked like he and the cows had been partying pretty hard the night before.  His shirt was buttoned wrong so his collar stuck up on the right side.  His jeans were half tucked into his boots.  At one point his third-grade teacher had probably told him: ‘You make that face at me and one day it’ll stick that way.’  She’d been right.  Harold always looked like he was trying his best to look ugly.” 

A big part of the fun of this series for those of us who live in the San Antonio/Austin area is the setting.  Much of the action takes place in the better known areas of these cities, from the La Villita, where Lillian and Karnau’s art shop is, to the Hilton Palacio del Rio, where Karnau meets his end, to the Congress Street bridge in Austin where the tourists go to watch the bats come out at dusk, to the Riverwalk itself, with a very colorful description of a typical tourist season evening.  It’s a treat to be able to visualize the setting as it really exists as the action takes place.

 

The reader continues to get the sense that the plot has been very meticulously mapped out, and that each of the rather short chapters has a perfectly good reason for being placed precisely where it is in the sequence.  With sixty-six chapters in all, one imagines sixty-six sheets of paper tacked up on the wall of Mr. Riordan’s study, or wherever it is that he writes.  I would not usually be interested, but in this case, I wouldn’t mind seeing those notes for myself!






Next week: Conclusion

December’s book of the month; “Shakespeare’s Christmas,” by Charlaine Harris.  If you are familiar with the Sookie Stackhouse (“True Blood”) novels, you know how great the writing is.  This series is a little more “hard-core mystery”, without the supernatural twists of Harris’ other books, but still a lot of fun!  Merry Christmas!

 

"Fresher, more unusual, than any other mystery I've read lately."
--The Washington Post Book World

"This one works on every level. The writing and plotting are first-rate."
--The Washington Times

"A seamless story... In her Lily Bard novels, Charlaine Harris blends a noirish atmosphere with a traditional mystery."
--Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

Big Red Tequila (Chapters 19-33)

Mr. Riordan uses the “mystery plot-formula” as well as anyone.  Normally, as I’m reading I am not consciously aware of the plot as it unfolds.  I’m still not completely comfortable with that feeling and I am distracted by it when I read mysteries.  An English professor would, perhaps, look down his/her nose at me and claim that I’m missing out on half the value of reading fiction if I remain oblivious to the plot as I read a novel.  But I still like the idea of just immersing myself in the events as the story goes along and letting the author concern him/herself with such matters.  In a mystery, however, there is almost always a carefully constructed “schedule” of exposition in which clues materialize at various points in the plot, and it is usually too obvious to ignore. 

I also frequently get the feeling that the protagonist is even aware of the plot, thus knowing which character to talk to next, or which file cabinet or deserted building to poke into at each turn.  In the case of this book - as in many other mysteries I have read – the protagonist even seems to know that the plot is dependent on his not dying.  Even though he apparently doesn’t have a death wish, he seems to be fine with constantly putting himself in situation which might very well be his last.  Yes, his determination is exceptionally strong and perhaps admirable; but he seems to be unaware that he is mortal – after all, the success of his quest kind of depends on his continued involvement.  And yes, this is a work of fiction, so it’s best not to over –analyze these points.  But the author is so clearly striving for realism in so many other ways that this appears to be an oversight, although a not uncommon one, to be sure.

The characterization continues to be entertaining.  Officer Drapiewski is characterized as someone who is a little too in love with food.  “By the time I’d told Larry Drapiewski my tale of woe he had relieved me of my leftover lemon chicken, four Shiner Bocks, a couple of beef fajitas, and half a box of the former tenant’s Captain Crunch, dry…I’ll give him this, the deputy got my mind off my problems.  Now I was thinking about my empty refrigerator and my empty wallet.  I was hoping to God that Larry didn’t want something else to eat.” 

His encounter with the chauffeur/bodyguard is amusing as well.  “No matter how strong your grip is, it’s always unconnected where the thumb meets the fingertips…I was halfway up the side walk before he realized he didn’t have me anymore.  He came at me again, but he had a serious disadvantage.  He was on the job and I wasn’t…even the toughest employees are usually hesitant about cold-cocking somebody in front of their rich boss’s house…He tried to grab me with both arms.  I stepped underneath and flipped him into the gravel…You’d’ve thought he got flipped every day by the calm look on his face.  He just stood up and nodded.  ‘Aikido?’ he asked.  ‘Tai chi.’  ‘How about that.’  Then he cleared his throat and looked at the front door.  ‘You mind if I make the introduction, man?  I don’t feel like job-hunting today.’”

 

There is plenty here for testosterone-laden guys to revel in.  But the ladies are depicted with great realism as well, shaking their heads in disdain at the thick-headedness of the men, especially our hero, Tres.  My guess – and I’m just as often wrong about women’s responses as any other thick-headed guy – is that the female reader will identify very positively with the female characters here, especially Maia, Navarre’s ex-lover.  All the ladies, including his mother, are being very sensible about advising him to stop poking his nose into this dangerous situation.  But if he were to heed their advice, well … we wouldn’t have a story then, would we?





Next week:  Chapters 34-51

Big Red Tequila (Chapters 1-18)

What a treat!  I seem to be accumulating “favorite new authors” in droves lately, especially in the mystery/crime novel genres.  Until now, I had only read Rick Riordan’s novels from his Percy Jackson series, written for a young readership, but enjoyed very much by this not-so-young reader for its pace, wit and creativity.  That led to a curiosity about his books written for adults.  (I technically qualify.)  The fact that his Tres Nevarre series is set in the San Antonio/Austin area is a plus for me, since that is my current stomping ground, but I was anticipating a level of entertainment equal to that of the Percy Jackson series and I am thrilled to find that it is!  Now I look forward to reading everything I can get my hands on by Riordan. 

The first thing that stands out about this author is the wit.  It’s reminiscent of, but different from the narrative quipping of Charlaine Harris, Joan Hess or Sue Grafton, who write equally well in the same genre.  About the house he’s renting:  “The house didn’t look much better on a second take…The right side of the building , where the in-law’s smaller porch stuck out, had shifted on its foundations and now drooped down and backward, as if that half of the house had suffered a stroke.”  About the landlord:  “Gary was an anemic watercolor of a man…I got the feeling he might just dilute down to nothing if he got caught in a good rain.”  And about San Antonio weather in July:  “The sun kept its eye on the city until its very last moment on the horizon, looking at you as if to say, ‘Tomorrow I’m going to kick your ass.’” 

As the story gets more serious and our hero’s situations more dangerous, the humor abates somewhat, but the dialog continues to be sharply first-rate.  Our hero has a James Bond style of fearlessness, barging rashly into tight situations with the confidence that he can get out of them as he needs to.  Following a crime boss to his mansion and grabbing the gun away from the crime boss’s henchman is as brash as it gets.  His confrontations with various law enforcement personnel that try to intimidate him are also quite gutsy.  Many of these people remember his father in a rather negative light, and would rather not have to deal with a case that was dismissed ten years ago, for various, yet-to-be-disclosed reasons.  Anonymous phone calls telling him to leave town and thugs confronting him in public with the same message simply tweak his curiosity more. 

The premise seems a little thin at first:  as the book jacket says, “Ten years ago Navarre left town and the memory of his father’s murder behind him.  Now he’s back looking for answers.”  And no, there is not much more to it than that.  But the storyline propels us forward and clues to the answers he is seeking keep turning up.  When Lillian, his love interest, is apparently kidnapped it seems clear that it is related to his snooping around; now he has a double motive for continuing his quest. 

Of course, it’s a little less risky to boldly go into potentially dangerous situations when you are a tai chi master.  The descriptions of his encounters with people who try to rough him up are very nicely done, with concise explanations of the how and why of Nevarre’s tai chi defensive moves.  “It’s … easier to grab someone who has lots of muscles; it’s like walking around with built-in handles all over your body.”  I am reminded of “Roadhouse,” the old Patrick Swayze movie, in which he portrays a tai chi bouncer cleaning up a rough and tumble redneck bar.  Very entertaining novel so far!

 

 

 

 

 

Next week:  Chapters 19-33