“Mystery,” by Jonathan Kellerman

FM's ratings:

          1. Premise 9
          2. Prose 10
          3. Plot 9
          4. Characters 10
          5. Overall 9

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

Another character-driven/dialog-driven detective jewel from Mr. Kellerman.  The series of confrontations between the investigators and their leads, which can get somewhat stale in a novel of this nature, is always kept interesting here with subtle twists and plot devices.  The result is a fascinating study in investigative technique.  It’s interesting to watch our protagonists bend the rules here and there to get where they need to be.  The final questioning whiffs of entrapment, but is mesmerizing to watch as Delaware goes solo in what could have been a dangerous situation.  It’s hard to see how some of the leads pursued by Sturgis and Delaware contribute anything to the solution of the mystery, but maybe a careful re-reading would reveal things one misses the first time.  Doesn’t matter.  I will simply move on to the next vastly entertaining masterpiece by this superb author!

“The Trouble with Magic,” by Madelyn Alt

FM's ratings:

1.      Premise 9

2.      Prose 9

3.      Plot 8

4.      Characters 8

5.      Overall 9

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

Another so-called “cozy” mystery that really hits the spot.  It’s the added supernatural aspect here, with a nice atmospheric creepiness that brings it up to a “9” for me.  The Voice - Alt’s way with words in her first-person rendition of the heroine’s viewpoint - isn’t striking in any obvious way, but it drives the narrative very compellingly.  The sub-theme of witchcraft (“the new, friendlier witchcraft for which we should all be more tolerant!”) adds interest without becoming the main theme.  And (gasp!) the protagonist isn’t pretty!  At least she doesn’t think so, being especially self-critical regarding her semi-chubby figure.  The men in the story who do find her attractive are drawn to her personality instead of her looks.  Do other people find that as refreshing as I do?  It seems to be an important part of the message here.  Anyway, there are at least six more books in the series – and I might very well read them all eventually.  Thank you Ms. Alt!

Here’s the August line-up! 

“The Devil Went Down to Austin,” by Rick Riordan [8-6]

“Little Men,” by Louisa May Alcott [8-13]

“Locked In,” by Marcia Muller [8-20]

“Haunted,” by Chuck Palahniuk [8-27]

(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so.  Also, if you have already read one on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)

“The Moonstone,” by Wilkie Collins

FM's ratings:

          1. Premise 8
          2. Prose 10
          3. Plot 9
          4. Characters 10
          5. Overall 9

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

Evaluating this classic based on the standards of the time (compare to Charles Dickens, for example, with whom he was a close friend) might well result in a rating of “10.”  There had been very few authors that could accomplish this masterpiece.  One source rates this novel as one of the greatest 100 novels.  Yeah, maybe so.  It is considered the “greatest English detective novel,” although not the first; that honor has been bestowed by some as going to “Bleak House” by Dickens, perhaps my favorite Dickens novel.  Collins and Dickens even collaborated on works (see “The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices and more at: http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/collins/pva200.html). Like most Victorian Age books, the premise is more or less secondary to the Premise; the Love Interest, often between cousins, as in this novel.  Of course, we still see this today in modern novels and movies that still seem to require a love interest as part of the plot.  Is this just to attract and hold the attention of women?  As sexist as that sounds today, that would appear to be the case.  Go into any bookstore and locate the “Romance” section for ample evidence.  If I were a woman, would this bother me?  I like to think so, but perhaps not.  Anyway, the premise of this book, at the beginning, appears to be the theft and subsequent whereabouts of a sacred diamond, a religious relic from India, perhaps with a curse attached.  Kind of Indiana Jones meets Steampunk.  Nope.  It’s a Victorian Romance.  But as such, it’s an extremely well-written one.  I think Collins rivals Dickens, maybe even besting him, and that’s saying a LOT, coming from me.  Dickens had a strong interest in Stage Theater, and his novels reveal that on close examination.  They are written in “scenes,” more than the works of other authors of the time.  That’s part of their charm, to me, and a large part of why his works have remained so popular for so long.  Collins’ works don’t have this quality so much – and he’s not as well-known.  Dickens’ secondary characters – the supporting roles, if you will – were very stereotypical.  The secondary characters in this novel are even more interesting than the “leads,” beginning with the first narrator, Gabriel Betteredge, the House Steward (or butler with extended duties).  This novel uses a technique that I have always imagined myself using if I had been a novelist: namely progressing the story through a series of different characters speaking in first person.  The perspective shift is not as stunning here as it could be, but is nevertheless used cleverly.  The indirect commentary on religious extremism found in the narrative passage of Miss Clack – the extremist herself –  is a brilliant bit of writing, in itself making it worth the time to read the book!  “The Lady in White” is thought of by many to be this author’s best work.  It’s definitely on my radar now!

“Robinson Crusoe,” by Daniel Defoe

FM's ratings:

          1. Premise 7
          2. Prose 5
          3. Plot 6
          4. Characters 7
          5. Overall 6

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

For me, this is another example of a “CLASSIC” that is kept alive over the generations due to factors other than literary merit.  One expert claims that it is “regarded by many as the first real novel,” whatever that means.  The premise was interesting enough in its day, though it has been rather overdone since then.  (I couldn’t help seeing Tom Hanks in my mind’s eye as I read.)  The prose can probably be forgiven on the grounds of how early the book was written, but it is full of awkward phrasing, ending sentences with prepositions, run-on sentences, and all the other faults that would have resulted in its pages being zig-zagged by red ink after review by a high school English teacher.  Even the major event that we’ve all been waiting for is clumsily introduced (about half-way through the book) - “It happened one day, about noon, going towards my boat, I was exceedingly surprised with the print of a man’s naked foot on the shore, which was very plain to be seen on the sand.”  I remember having heard that Friday was the most interesting character in the story, and I would have to agree; though it is largely due to lack of exposure.  Defoe seems to feel the need to make up for the ploddingly slow plot development throughout the first three quarters of the book by tacking on some action-packed scenes near the end.  Who would have recommended that a story about a man being stranded on a tropical island should wrap up at the very end with him and a band of winter travelers being attacked by hundreds of wolves in the mountainous area between Spain and France?  Am I glad I read it?  Well, yes.  Would I recommend it to someone else?  Only for its historical significance.  Don Quixote was published more than 100 years earlier and is a better read. 

“Fantasy in Death,” by J. D. Robb

FM's ratings:

1.      Premise 10

2.      Prose 10

3.      Plot 10

4.      Characters 10

5.      Overall 10

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

Once again, I see absolutely no weaknesses in this “…in Death” series novel.  The topic being explored here is computer-game playing, and since it is set in 2060, we get a peek – through J. D. Robb’s brilliant imagination, at what such gaming might be like in a few more decades.  The protagonist, Eve Dallas (always pure joy to watch in action!) is predictably behind the times when it comes to the technology of computer games, but is surrounded by techno-geeks who help her through the maze.  Ironically, she’s turns out to be the one who first thinks outside the box enough to solve the mystery.  The dialog between her and her assistant, Peabody is, once again, a major highlight of the prose – sheer magic!  As usual, we are “treated” to the obligatory (apparently) hot and steamy scenes of intimacy between Eve and her husband, Roarke.  And, as usual, it manages not to detract from the story as much as one might suppose.