The Ophelia Cut by John Lescroart

Some novels are of the mystery genre; some other novels are works of fiction that happen to have a mystery within. John Lescroart’s  The Ophelia Cut is a clear example of the former sort, and it does the genre justice.

The Ophelia Cut is about family, about protection of these loved ones, and, of course, about murder.  But it is not so simple. There are numerous subplots, as well as convoluted relationships, that make the book complex. It is also about hit men and human trafficking, bad guys, good guys, and bad good guys. At the beginning, these complexities were off putting; but, upon further reading, the interrelationships yielded more understanding and less confusion.

Despite all this busy-ness, defense attorney Dismas Hardy defends his friend and brother-in-law, Moses McGuire, when McGuire is charged with murder. A substantial portion of the book focuses on McGuire’s trial.

As a lawyer, I do not like reading “lawyer” books; however, I found the detailed courtroom scenes in The Ophelia Cut to be realistic and accurate. One of the more advanced evidentiary problems that arose during trial is indeed a current contentious legal issue – though I am still not convinced that the judge made the correct ruling in that instance.

As a philosopher, I was intrigued with the introduction of an expert in the reliability of eyewitness evidence. I had written a master’s thesis on this topic and was pleasantly surprised to find that such a complex subject was also dealt with in a realistic and accurate fashion.

I find it ironic that the most realistic and accurate book involving the legal profession that I have read was written by a non-lawyer.

‘Ophelia’ comes from the Greek and means “help”; hence, The Ophelia Cut is aptly entitled. The book is engaging and well written. It is a high quality murder mystery. My only hesitation about the book is the ending. I am still pondering the ending. Ophelia does not change; but, was there an ending?  Much surprise and much to think about at the (non)end.

IMO - Recommended

The Sound of Broken Glass by Deborah Crombie

Another Crombie masterpiece - what a treasure! With "The Sound of Broken Glass", Crombie may have out done herself; this is possibly her best book yet. As with all of Crombie's novels, we focus on, and learn about, a particular part of England; in "The Sound of Broken Glass", we learn about Crystal Palace, an area of South London. And like most of Crombie's books, it gives us a pleasant mix between the present and the past. We also learn about guitars.

As expected with a Crombie book, there is a body - a dead body. And, of course, at the center of it all are Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid. As Duncan continues on leave to care for their foster daughter, Charlotte, Gemma is transferred to South London, where her team is assigned to the dead body. Crombie masterfully leads us through the convoluted investigation and the James/Kincaid family complexities.

Although Crombie writes mysteries, her novels tend to be literary novels that just happen to involve a mystery. "The Sound of Broken Glass" is no exception.

"The Sound of Broken Glass" continues Crombie's literary journey. The writing meets the high standards we have come to expect from Crombie. Although  Crombie continues her tradition - Gemma and her team solve the mystery, and the complexities of the James/Kincaid household are well explained. A nice surprise is the time that Crombie takes to further develop some of her tangential characters. "The Sound of Broken Glass" is one of the best - if not the best - books that Crombie has written.

Highly Recommended.

No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie

Another Crombie masterpiece! While investigating the murder of a rower/detective, Kinkaid opens a can of worms; although James does not work the case with him, she starts at the other end of the can and meets him in the middle. 

Along the way, we learn about K9 Search and Rescue and become immersed in the world of rowing. The book reflects the balance that Kincaid and James struggle to maintain between their lives as detectives and their lives as parents. Adding three year old Charlotte to the brood of two boys, two dogs, and a cat makes their latter roles much more difficult - and more robust.

The mystery plot is convoluted and complex. With each book, however, Crombie moves closer and closer to the fiction novel genre, rather than merely producing mysteries. Although the mystery plots run through her novels, they are no longer front and center in the fiction that Crombie has created. This can be seen in No Mark Upon Her.

Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey, Lori Perkins, ed.

I received an Advance Review Copy of Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey, edited by Lori Perkins. I found a fair number of errors remaining in the book - a distracting stumbling block for an OCD comma (and other grammar) perfectionist like me.

Although the Table of Contents suggested thought out, orderly presentation of the materials, for the most part, there did not appear to be much organization or flow in the presentation of the different essays.

In addition, a number of the included entries left me wondering why those particular essays had been included and what those essays were supposed to add to this collection.

Nonetheless, a few of the essays were informative and even enjoyable. These "pearls" built upon the little knowledge I had attained from reading the Fifty Shades trilogy.

The Fifty Shades trilogy basically was my introduction to BDSM. Perkins's collection helped me learn how realistic parts of Fifty Shades were or were not; the collection went further and taught me more about the who and how and why associated with the BDSM lifestyle.

Perkins's collection also introduced me to the wide world of fanfic. As a newbie to fanfic, I learned a great deal about this world that has, unbeknownst to me, been evolving all around me, including, inter alia, the relationships between the Fifty Shades trilogy,its fan fiction version, "Master of the Universe", and the original fiction from which that derived, namely the "Twilight" series.

Questions about literature versus pop-culture, fanfic as its own genre, and whether fanfic can even be considered literature were particularly thought provoking. I enjoyed Anne Jamison's consideration of these issues: "If genre fiction is something like literature's ugly cousin (from literature's point of view), and romance is sci-fi, fantasy, and detective fiction's annoying girl cousin, a tag-a-long picked last for the team, then fan fiction has long been the ugly cousins' stepfamily's misshapen mixed-breed dog, the one everyone is too ashamed to let out in public but unable to quite put down or even neuter." (ARC p. 235) Even I had to laugh at this!

There are a handful of quality, helpful, and thought provoking essays in Perkins's compilation; the question is whether it is worth slogging through the remainder of the essays to find these pearls.

The Enchantress (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #6) by Michael Scott

I was very disappointed with this book. I have enjoyed the series and was really looking forward to reading this last book in the series. But with all the time between the books, I found that I had forgotten many of the names and who was doing what where. So, I struggled to try to catch up in my memory. Meanwhile, the book jumps back and forth between various actions going on at different places, and I became even more confused. But mostly, I was just very disappointed with the story. This plot had potential, which flowed through each installment, but which was never actualized in this last book of the series. The plot of The Enchantress was far-fetched, and the wrap up to the series was extremely dissatisfying.

Mad River by John Sandford

This book is very disappointing! After losing faith in Sandford (after he forgot one of his character's history, in an earlier book), I gave up on him - except for Virgil Flowers. I have always thought that Virgil is an interesting, well-developed character; so, I was looking forward to reading Mad River. Upon completing the book, however, I find that I have nothing positive to say about it, except that it is a Virgil Flowers book (and not even a good one of those).

In my opinion, the writing in Mad River is sub par, especially for Sandford. In addition, the plot is uninteresting and predictable. And lastly, I don't know how he could possibly do it, but Sandford has even managed to make his remaining interesting character uninteresting. This is not the same Virgil Flowers who has been developed - and has captured our hearts - in previous books.

I suspect that the time has come for this reviewer to part ways with Sandford. 

Not Recommended.

Glastonbury: Avalon of the Heart by Dion Fortune

My copy is simply entitled "Avalon of the Heart", copyright 1934. Nonetheless, this little book captures the magic of Avalon...the magic that can still be felt in Glastonbury today.