Skip to main content

Guise of Another (67% done)

Lively, interesting plot.

Death on boat of executive involved in Black Ops for US govt.  Probably killed by partner for $$$$.  Prostitutes on boat intended for blackmail scheme, but murder trumps that.  Serbian hit man (his parents brutalized in Serbia; he becomes killer in response) kills the prostitutes . . . but, one of the prostitutes is actually a 17 year old who has borrowed the name of a friend to get a job in a club that is required  by law to have "employees" (strippers) who are 18 and older.

The Serb comes to town to clean up the mess. His plan--get a flash drive that shows the murder of the executive on the boat and kill everyone left.  The 17 year old has become a respected Iowa mom. She tells Alexander (our detective) the truth, little knowing that the Serb wants to kill her and that Alexander--if he solves the case--would by necessity expose her.

Jericho Pope pretends to be James Putnam.  Michella Holla pretends to be Hillary.  The Serb is in disguise all the time.  Alexander (the good cop) looks like he probably stole $100,000 from a drug dealer.  Lots of nice twists and turns.

The weakest part continues to be Alexander's failing marriage.  He seems like an idiot--the woman is so clearly having an affair with Martin Andrews that the only possible twist at the end would be to learn that she isn't.  I don't see how he can pull it off.  Our shrewd, tough cop is a milquetoast with his wife.

Probably finish tomorrow, then back to Siberia for Part V before tackling NAPOLEON!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin . . . finished

 Follows Sadie and Sam (Mazer) from childhood to mid-thirties when both are feeling old and a bit out of it in the gaming world.  Characters are well-rounded, develop throughout the novel in interesting way.  Plot is involved but sensible.  Not a single, "Oh, come on!" moment.  The book could have been faster paced. Odd, since the main topic is video games which are not for their speed of engagement and Gabrielle Zevin clearly knows her video games. Recommended by Michael Connelly in an interview.  He also has Bosch pick up the book in his novel, Resurrection Walk, as Bosch tails a possible witness to a crime as she moves through a bookstore. Sadie and Sam do not get together at the end, which is good.   Marx killed by homophobic nutcase who really wants to kill Sam, but Sam isn't there. Marx is father of Sadie's child. 

The Franchise Affair, Josephine Tey--opening pages

Blair, a lawyer in Milford, gets a strange call.  His practice is wills and similar--nothing criminal.  A woman tells him that Scotland Yard is accusing her of abduction and implores him to come out to help her, even if later on he passes the case to someone else.  The woman says she has called him because he is "her type," meaning respectable and conservative.  He agrees.