Has the Sun Set on Renko?

The Siberian Dilemma – Martin Cruz Smith – (Simon and Schuster)

Martin Cruz Smith is one of those rare writing craftsmen, who can hone a story to a smooth edge and deliver descriptive insights into not only the setting of his stories, but into the characters he utilizes to tell the tale. Smith’s go to character is detective Arkady Renko, a crusty, hardboiled creation that gives off just a touch of Sherlock Holmes with his ability to piece together details unseen by the common person and always seems to be a step ahead.

For long time fans, Smith’s ninth installment in the Arkady Renko series, The Siberian Dilemma, may be more than a bit perplexing. While Smith can skillfully weave together a seemingly disparate storylines into a seamless final product, The Siberian Dilemma, creates a real dilemma, with its choppy story, that tends to ramble in a number of directions without ever quite hanging together as a complete tale.

The characters are, sometimes quirky and different, and at others downright confounding because you aren’t quite sure how they fit or move the story forward. There are some familiar pieces at play here; the vivid renderings of setting; you can feel the bite of the Siberian cold, the inherent, stoic Russian nature and Renko’s ability to wield sarcasm with a razors edge. But, even half way through the rather generously paginated book, I was left scratching my head and wondering where this was all going and quite frankly, what it was really all about.

Sadly, it may be the crippling effects of Smith’s battle Parkinson’s disease that is having an impact on his abilities. While I commend him for trying wage a battle with that terrible disease and simultaneously continue to write, I can’t help but wonder if it has reached the point to allow Arkady Renko to retire to the lovely Russian, Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Newsflash: No Labels is a Label

The Ultimate Guide to the 2020 Election: 101 Nonpartisan Solutions to All the Issues that Matter – Ryan Clancy and Margaret White (Diversion Books)

Let me be perfectly clear right up front; I am an unabashed, unapologetic Conservative. So, I have always been amused by people who claim some sort of special status, because they take no firm stances on any issue, because they are just so darn intelligent and thoughtful. They famously laid claim to being mavericks or moderates, but due to the higher thinking of political/media consultant Mark McKinnon, he of the annoying hipster fedoras and scarves, they now prefer the tag, No Labels.

While McKinnon co-founded the organization, Ryan Clancy and Margaret White have spent the past few years leading the growth charge for the group. Now the pair serve up the new book, The Ultimate Guide to the 2020 Election: 101 Nonpartisan Solutions to All the Issues that Matter.

For me, Clancy and White stumble right out of the box, when they attempt to make the No Labels case by citing a poll by the group More in Common; gee, am I the only one who thinks this might be a poll geared to get the exact result they were seeking when they set out? The book offers up a selection of issues that we face that the authors deem are critical like; healthcare, climate change, guns, immigration, big tech and more. I’m not sure why healthcare is on that list, I thought Obamacare had solved that one?

GUNS  

On the issue of gun control, Clancy and White once again cite flawed polling. In an era when Hilary Clinton, the clear, hands down winner of every 2016 presidential poll – does not reside in the White House should tell you all you need to know about polling. It’s impossible to have a legitimate discussion on the issue of guns when one side refuses to educate themselves on guns and describe semi-automatic rifles as “assault weapons” or “weapons of war.” The seemingly singular focus on the AR-15 rifle frame style, that has been around since the 1950s fascinates me. That’s right, the AR has been around for six decades, and yet is suddenly public enemy number one for gun grabbers. Just a small tidbit of education; AR stands for Armalite Rifle, after the company who invented it, not “automatic rifle” or “assault rifle” as some claim.

NO SOLUTIONS

The Ultimate Guide to the 2020 Election, doesn’t offer anything in the way of answers or solutions to the problems and issues that they outline in the book; which I get since they claim by their nature, they don’t really do. Where this approach fails is that as much as the like to beat their chest and proclaim themselves higher thinkers, they don’t even attempt to offer new of compromise positions on the issue. To me that makes them uniquely suited for the Swamp, the deep state bureaucrats who perpetuate only their own existence and never really solve any problems.

Not that either party really wants to solve problems or deliver workable solutions and that’s not due to any intransigence on their part, other than the problems are what they use as grist to grind down their opponents, election after election. That is in the long run what created voter frustration that lead to the election of Donald Trump and the unholy upheaval that launched in Washington.

Hey Jack…Tel Me a Story

The Russian – Ben Coes (MacMillian Audio)

Lethal Agent – Vince Flynn and Kyle Mills (Simon and Schuster Audio)

My new daily work commute has me delving back into audio books to pass the time; the longer trip allows me sit back and have someone tell me a story. My two most recent jaunts into audio thrillers come from two of my favorite thriller writers; the late Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp character carried on by Kyle Mills, who I was a fan of in his own right, and a bit of departure from Ben Coes.

The Russian, tells the tale of Russians who are trying to impact and interfere in the U.S. Presidential election, but its not what you might think. The departure for Coes comes in the form of his normal tip of the spear character Dewey Andreas, taking a back seat to his second fiddle Rob Tacoma.

The Russians Tacoma goes toe to toe with aren’t hackers but, are members of the Russian mob who assassinate a high profile, Presidential candidate at a campaign rally and a powerful, mob-busting Senator by poisoning at a New York steak house. While the numbers are clearly lopsided, Tacoma is a man on a mission and that keeps that action boiling on the front burner.

Narrator Ari Fliakos deftly handles multiple Russian accents that really raise the production bar and the feel of the book.

Lethal Agent, once again finds Flynn’s Mitch Rapp character going at it with middle eastern terrorists hell bent on the destruction of the United States and the seemingly inevitable Washington, DC swamp dwellers hell bent on his destruction.

The lived in feel of the story, while comfortable, also ends up with a I’ve been here before and maybe one too many times tinge. Veteran narrator George Guidall even comes off a bit tired; his voice noticeably changes at points in the proceeding, moving from strained to strong and back again.

The bio-terror attack storyline is wholly believable, but ends up just short of the normal direct hit target.

A Wake Up Call for the NBA

Trump Vs. China – Newt Gingrich – (Center Street)

Given the recent uneducated and often down right stupid comments from NBA players, coaches and league officials – what better way to explain China’s worldview than by using a sports analogy. China is the equivalent of the New England Patriots; they will lie, cheat, steal or doing pretty much anything to win or give themselves an unfair advantage.

For the clueless money grubbers in the NBA - this really isn’t that hard – it’s as simple as understanding the difference between a murderous, totalitarian dictatorship (China) and a system based on freedom and free markets (the U.S.) Simple enough that even dopey libs like Steve Kerr and Greg Popovich should be able to get it.

If that doesn’t quite get to the bottom-line then I suggest picking up former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich’s new book Trump Vs. China, in which he lays out in straight forward terms, why China is an existential threat to the future of our country. Gingrich, as always, brings his insider’s depth of knowledge to this examination and breaks down the multiple layers of the threat and offers a detailed plan for facing it down. He keeps it simple enough that even a shooting guard or LeBron James should be able to understand, if they had someone read it to them.

There is a simple difference between those who are willing to sacrifice principles (NBA) and intellectual property, in the pursuit of money and those who are willing to stand up and push back against the tyranny of Communist dictators. Gingrich makes it clear that this is a battle where one side will win, and one side will lose; a true battle of good vs. evil.

No greater example exhibits this better than the protestors in Hong Kong who fly the American flag and see the U.S. as a beacon of hope. Are we perfect? No, but who is? As president Ronald Reagan famously said, “America is a shinning city on a hill, whose beacon light guides freedom loving people everywhere.” Put that in your bong and smoke Mr. Popovich.

The Future of Justice

Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court - Mollie Hemingway, Carrie Severino (Regnery)

In 1987 Federal Judge Robert Bork famously described the process of his Supreme Court nomination, confirmation hearing as a “public campaign of distortion?” Four short years later, in 1991, well before Al Gore invention of the Internet spawned Facebook and Twitter, Clarence Thomas called the process “a high-tech lynching.”

Just imagine what the process would be like in the era of multiple 24-hour news channels, social media outlets, countless news and political ax grinding platforms. Well we don’t have to work our imagination very hard we have witnessed in the form of the confirmation hearing for Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

In Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court, Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at the Federalist and Carrie Severino, chief counsel for the Judicial Crisis Network, offer up an insider perspective of the highly combustible confirmation process.

While it’s not a new thing to see conservative Supreme Court nominees having their lives ripped to shreds – what was different was the nominee and the President’s willingness to stand up to the ridiculous liberal onslaught from a parade of hapless accusers, clueless democrat politicians and operatives and scumbag bottom feeders like the creepy porn lawyer, Michael Avanati.

Hemingway and Severino offer up countless interviews, coalescing in a behind the scenes look at the wrangling from both sides of the equation. While there were a number of true standouts that played roles in this drama, perhaps none was more steadfast, and strong than the nominee himself. Kavanaugh’s solid, direct response, while abhorred by easily outraged liberals, it was the right level of vitriol in the face of the ridiculous, unfounded claims brought forth by brought forth by Democrats.

Hemingway and Severino write with a clarity that points up not just the negative effects on this confirmation process, but those that will come in the future from Donald Trump and Presidents to come.

My Sweet Spot

More Fun in the New World: the Unmaking and Legacy of L.A. Punk – John Doe and Tom DeSavia – (DaCapo Press)

It was my perfect music storm; the crossroads of the building of my massive music collection which would grow to more than 10,00 pieces, my professional start in radio and working as a reviewer/columnist for the Buffalo News. My music sweet spot – 1982 to 1987 – is the focus of former X bassist John Doe and co-author and music industry guru Tom DeSavia’s second installment focused on the Los Angeles, punk, music scene, More Fun in the New World: The Unmaking and Legacy of L.A. Punk.

The pair once again curate a wonderful collection of essays, interviews and first hand rememberances of those who where front and center in the L.S. scene. Go-Go’s, Jane Weidlin and Charlotte Caffey, Peter Case of the Plimsouls, Louie Perez of Los Lobos, Dwight Yoakam, Dave Alvin of the Blasters are among the list of contributors. These are the folks who powered the soundtrack of my life not only in that era, but still to this day.

These snapshots brought me back, dredging up memories of my interview with a sleepy X guitarist, Billy Zoom; who joined me on the phone for a live on-air chat about the band’s latest album and to drum up ticket sales for an upcoming club show in Buffalo. The opening segment found the slogged Zoom serving up one-word responses to my enthusiastic queries. Never intimidated or a fawning fanboy; I had a no nonsense, off air, “wake the fuck up or this is over” conversation, where I made my expectations crystal clear and ended up with a great interview.

I have always believed, and I think this book backs me up – that punk may have been a misnomer for the range of sounds emanating from the L.S. scene. Yes, punks were accounted for, but so where straight up power pop, the rootsy country sound of Bakersfield, and even a little Tejano music influence were on full display on my turntable.

 If you are looking to go back and remember that era/scene or just want to take a musical journey through this wide ranging, genre busting period; More Fun in the New World, is the perfect guide book/roadmap to take on that musical journey.

A Fiction Drought...is Over

Lately I seem to have been stuck in a rut where i have found it a tough slog to get through the latest outings from usually dependable purveyors of thriller fiction. Some I managed to struggle through. I think in some cases, the authors may have fallen victim to their own success; when their latest efforts fail to measure up to their prior work and can be perceived as missing the mark.

Cari Mora - Thomas Harris (Grand Central Publishing)

That may be the case with Thomas Harris, who is clearly cursed by the overwelming success of Silence of the Lambs and the Hannibal Lecter character being the yardstick that readers will forever measure him by. Harris has the uncanny ability to create memorable, violent, psychopathic, characters like Lecter and Francis Dolarhyde (Red Dragon) that drive his stories.

In his latest, Cari Mora, Harris combines a newly minted psycho in the form of Hans-Peter Schneider with a truly interest story concept of the hunt for an ill-gotten treasure in the form of $25 million in drug cartel gold, hidden beneath a Miami, ocean front mansion. While Lecter and Dolarhyde where clearly next level crazy, Schneider comes off as violent for the sake of violence.

As the story moves forward, it unfortunately begins to fizzle out as the title character can't quite measure up to FBI profiler Clarice Starling as female foil to the craziness.

The Persian Gamble - Joel C. Rosenberg (Tyndale)

Another case of the yardstick issue is the latest from Joel C Rosenberg, The Persian Gamble. I couldn't help but find myself comparing the latest entry in the Marcus Ryker saga to Rosenberg's early political thrillers like, The Last Jihad and The Last Days, that had an almost Nostradamus-like quality; seemingly predicting real world, future events, before they happened.

While Ryker is a dependable tough guy, that places him in the league with those created by Brad Thor, Vince Flynn, and Daniel Silva; this one seemed to be a bit of a stretch. The result was that it started to lose me at points - not bad, just not up to the level I've come to expect.

Crown Jewel - Christopher Reich (Mullholland)

Once again, the concept, while familiar, classic, tried and true; that of the so-called unseen hand in plain site, is a great one that has been done to great effect in the past. The second installment in Christopher Reich's Simon Riske series, Crown Jewel, misses the  and a beautiful femme fatale. Riske come off as a battered and bruised, Energizer Bunny, who takes an ass-kicking and keeps on ticking. While I am certainly a willing participant in fiction that suspends disbelief, this one just seems a bridge too far.

Drought Over

Collusion - Newt Gingrich and Pete Earley (Broadside)

Things start to look up with the latest fiction forray from the combo of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and veteran writer Pete Earley, Collusion. While we have been blasted with the C-word for the past two plus years, this one is not what you may think. The first entry in what will hopefully become and ongoing series featuring FBI counter-intel type Valarie Mayberry and disgraced former Navy SEAL, Brett Garrett, Collusion taps into not only Gingrich and Earley's insider knowledge, but also some ripped from today's headlines storylines.

Along the way you get political assassination, high stakes espionage, whack-a-mole Antifa types and even a side story centering on the opioid crisis and medication assisted treatment. Perfectly paced and intricately woven the team keeps things moving forward and isn't shy about tossing in a few curveballs to make things even a little more audacious.

Rogue Strike - David Riccardi (Berkley)

In Rogue Strike, from David Riccardi, the unseen hand remains a mystery until deep into the story, and could have deadly consequences not only for CIA Operative Jake Keller and his partner, Curt Roach, but on a more global scale, the United States and it's interests around the globe.

Early on a mission in Yemen to take out a high value terrorist target goes awry as control of a drone get's commandeered in in mid-flight. The drones payload of Hellfire missiles, intended to take out the bad guy, instead get dropped on Mecca and the innocents at the annual Haj pilgrimage, leaving thousand dead, countless injured and the U.S. squarely in the crosshairs of international outrage and hatred.

Keller and Roach become the easy targets of blame for politicians looking to pass the buck. With a target firmly affixed on their back, Keller and Roach run hellbent to stay one step ahead of the Middle Eastern Hoard on the hunt for their heads. Fast-paced is an understatement and Riccardi make the case that he is poised to join the elite ranks of thriller writers.

Redemption - David Baldacci (Grand Central)

Right from his first forray into fiction, 1996's Absolute Power, and on through his numerous series of regular characters, David Baldacci has proven to be one of the most prolific, nearing fifty titles in print, and consistently satisfying writers out there.

Baldacci's fifth installment in the so-called Memory Man series, Redemption, is no exception. The quirky and enigmatic Amos Decker is back and Baldacci does his dead level best to string you along and dole out not only a steady stream of clues to the stories direction, but also enough hooks and curves to keep you guessing right through the end.

While for me, Decker doesn't rank at the same level as Baldacci's Will Robie, King and Maxwell or The Camel Club crew, Redemption, did wonders for ending my fiction drought.