"The Secrets of Secrets" Doesn't Add Up

 

I’ve read most of the Dan Brown novels, and for the most part, they are fine. Yes, they usually have a conspiracy that can be seen as silly if you’re a serious scholar. Also, they are solid page turners. They are good fast reads. However, I couldn’t get over how silly the science at the core of the mystery was.

Before I talk about the problems with this novel, I’ll mention too good things about this one. Langdon finally dates a woman who is age appropriate, and the other is Brown keeps the action going, making this a solid page turner.

However, the problem with this novel is the core at the mystery is basically junk science. Robert Landon’s girlfriend, Katherine Solomon, is known as a Noetic scientist, and I had to look up what that is. According to Wikipedia, it’s a part of something called The Institute of Noetic Science. They study psychic abilities, mediation, life after death and other things that don’t really click with actual science. They are under the banner of alternative medicine, and that’s not a good start.

To make matters worse, the C.I.A. is trying to hide experiments on a Russian woman to prove something that has to do with mind reading. Even saying that out loudly, that sounds silly. I just couldn’t buy that. There’s also this mysterious stalker trying to uncover the experiments calling himself the Gollum, naming himself after a Jewish mystical figure. However, this character just seems to want revenge without really diving into what being the Gollum really means.

The C.I.A. really wants to destroy Solomon’s manuscript, and to me, that was the biggest nonsensical part of this book. There are a ton of books with questionable premises, even books considered non-fiction, so why would the C.I.A. think her book expose something if the idea sounds so ridiculous in the first place. There’re even bestsellers that are full of junk science, but serious scholars and journalists don’t take them seriously. No one would suspect that the C.I.A. would be involved either way, and the readers who believe in her book, wouldn’t have power to do anything anyway.

Look, Dan Brown isn’t a great literary novelist. Even among thriller and mystery writers, his proses is often just considered passable. It’s also too long, at 600+ pages.

"Paper Doll" Is Still A Good, Yet Dated, Mystery

I’ve always been a fan of the Spencer novels. In the classic 1993 novel, “Paper Doll”, private eye Spencer is at it again, trying to solve the case of who murdered what appeared to be a devoted wife and mother. On the surface, this woman appeared to have no enemies and was an outstanding member of her upscale Massachusetts community. However, as Spencer digs deeper, he finds that she is not who she seems to be. In fact, even her devoted husband might not even know who she is. At one point, when Spencer is asking too many questions, he is fired by her widower husband from the case. Spencer, though not one to let things go easily, decides to continue to dig into the case.

This case takes him out of Massachusetts and into an odd small town in South Carolina, where he goes to the private school the wife went to as a teenager, meets her estranged father, a mysterious woman who works at a local diner with a picture of her on the wall, and other people in the town who might be clues to her real identity. He also suspects that a politician who is friends with the family of the murdered women might have something to do with her murder.

This was a solid Spencer novel. Yes, parts of it were dated like when Spencer compares the politician he is investigating to a presidential candidate at the time, Gary Hart, who lost the nomination because of an affair being uncovered. It was a simpler time. However, this sketchy politician might have had something to do with the murder, as he reveals to Spencer himself, he was having an affair with her.

There’s your usual cast of side characters, like Spencer’s friend Hawk and his girlfriend Susan. Most of the novel’s asides are Spencer and his girlfriend, Susan, hanging out and exchanging witty banter about the case and life in general.

While this book is dated, it’s still a good Spencer novel. The mystery has plenty of twists and turns, and some scenes even get a bit sad. It’s a well-crafted mystery because even at times, as a seasoned reader of mystery novels, I didn’t know exactly where it was going. At different times in the novel, I suspected different people who could have murdered this woman, even family members.

One thing I will point out is this novel is titled Paper Doll, and I don’t really know why exactly. There is no mention of paper dolls throughout the entire book. Maybe the wife is supposed to be like a paper doll, as a metaphor. I’m not sure.

"Twisted Prey" Is Another Solid Davenport Adventure

 

Lucas Davenport is at it again in “Twisted Prey”, by John Sandford, his 2018 novel where Davenport confronts an old nemesis, Senator Taryn Grant. In a previous novel, Grant framed a rival for her Senate seat by planting child pornography on his computer. Despite the Senate candidate being cleared of any wrongdoing, he still lost his Senate seat. Davenport is also convinced that the Senator might have been responsible for three murders, but he wasn’t able to prove it. In “Twisted Prey”, though, Davenport might finally have found a way to prove that Senator Taryn Grant, who now has her sights on the White House, had committed murder.

The novel opens with a car crash where Grant’s current rival for the seat is almost killed in a car accident, and when he is sure this accident was no accident, and was a set up, he contacts Davenport, who is now a federal marshal, to prove it. This makes Davenport leave his usual stomping grounds of Minnesota and into Washington D.C.

The book is well written and follows the usual Sandford formula. However, Sandford’ s formula isn’t a bad thing. He doesn’t dwell too much on the personal lives of his characters, though there are little glimpses of them. We also get cameos from other regular characters in the Sandford universe like Lucas Flowers and Davenport’s adopted daughter, Letty Davenport.

Sandford keeps the thrills coming, as well as the twists and turns. Davenport is sure that Grant is up to no good. However, this leads Davenport into a further trail of political corruption, as he starts to also investigate a defense contractor with ties to Grant. The conspiracy becomes even bigger than simply Grant trying to knock off another rival for political power.

There’s plenty of action and plenty of plain old detective talk in this book, like the other books by Sandford. Sandford goes back and forth between the good guys and the bad guys talking through the book. All in all, a solid Sandford book.

"The Testament" Is A Solid Grisham Adventure

 

John Grisham’s 1999 novel “The Testament” starts off with a bang. An old billionaire, Troy Phelan is talking about his final day. The first chapter is narrated by Troy, in the first person right before he jumps out of a window. He complains about his spoiled kids, and many ex-wives who all want a part of his estate. Jumping out the window is a final vengeful strike to them. However, he has one other trick up his sleeve, as when his will is read, he leaves all his money to an illegitimate child his ex-wives, children and lawyers never even heard of. She is named Rachel Lane and is a missionary in Brazil.

Curiously, only the first chapter is in the first person. The rest of the novel is told in the third person. The narration of Troy Phelan dies with him. I was a bit surprised by this, as I expected through the first chapter, maybe Troy would narrate the whole book. However, I guess, that wouldn’t make a ton of sense because Troy isn’t the most likable character. It might have been too much for Grisham to ask the reader to stay with such an unlikable character for the entire book.

Enter Nate O’ Reilly, a hard drinking lawyer that has been in and out of rehab more than once. He is at the end of his rope but is still part of the law firm that represents the interests of the late Troy Phelan. So, needing something to do, he is contacted by the late Troy’s lawyer, Josh Stafford, to go to Brazil to find Rachel Lane.

There’s a bit of a religious undertone to the book. It didn’t really bother me. I think it makes sense for the story, because it benefits Nate who needs some help throughout the story. When he goes to Brazil, he is tempted by alcohol. However, his views on his temptations change when he meets Rachel Lane. He is shocked when Rachel’s reaction to the billion dollars offer. She just wants to help the poor tribe she is living with in the jungles of Brazil. I don’t know much about missionaries, but it doesn’t surprise a missionary would want a simpler life, even if it means missing out on a ton of money.

This book is a bit all over the place, but it mostly worked for me. I liked the mix of a legal thriller, adventure story through Brazil and the personal story of Nate trying to overcome his demons. The book also spends a bit of time with Nate, as he tries to put his life back together.

This adds to the book feeling a bit all over the place, but once again, I didn’t mind it. It added to the bigger message that I felt a bit faith based, but also, I felt was something Nate probably needed to straighten out his messy life.

There’s also the usual stuff in the novel, about a trail over Troy’s estate. The family he left behind are not surprisingly fighting over the estate. I guess if you where left a billion dollars, you would fight with others over it as well. Besides an illegitimate daughter Troy hardly knew, and the rest of his family didn’t know existed, the rest of the family aren’t exactly a charming group.

Grisham, as usual, writes well. His writing isn’t hard to read, at times, he summarizes a little too much. However, Grisham is writing page turners, and he knows it. It’s a solid Grisham page turner, and one that makes you think about life a bit.

"Mister Magic" Is A Interesting Fever Dream About The Past

Mixing nostalgia, horror and mystery, “Mister Magic” by Kristen White is a bit of a fever dream. The idea that you can block such a big part of your life from your memory is a scary but plausible thought, and even more scary is the part of your life that you blocked from your mind is shared by others. The story centers around a woman named Val, who lives on a ranch and teaches children horseback riding lessons. When her father passes, she goes to the funeral and meets a mysterious group of people around her own age. They seem to know her, but she doesn’t know them. They tell them that as a child, she was on a television show with them. Yet, she has no recollection of this. The name of the show was “Mister Magic” and it was a children’s program.

She joins them in a mysterious town in Utah, where they are doing a reunion interview with a podcast host, but even the podcast host is mysterious. The podcast host only talks with them through a microphone, and they never see her face to face. The show they were on is also very mysterious. The show is fondly remembered by the kids who watched it, but there is no footage available anywhere anymore. The show seems to exist in the memories of the kids who watched it, and that’s it. The novel has internet posts between chapters of the book, with adults and lost media hunters looking for footage of the show but coming to no avail.

The reason Val doesn’t remember the show is she somehow has something to do with what ended it. Yet, she doesn’t remember and her fellow former cast members, while nice to her, do not seem to want to tell her exactly what she did. There’s a lot of commentary in this novel about the problems with becoming consumed with the past, whether it’s wanting to go back or simply obsessing over a children’s show which comforted you as a kid watching it. As my generation gets older, there’s something to be said for that. However, that’s not just my generation. That’s something every generation goes through.

White’s writing is eerie and interesting, and one gets the sense this TV show isn’t a TV show, but something else entirely. A metaphor for parts of our childhood we look back on fondly but tend to look at through rose-colored glasses.

A couple years ago, I read Kristen White’s horror novel “Hide”, which dealt with similar themes as “Mister Magic”, which is mainly the disappointments of growing up and a system which takes advantage of that. However, while that novel dealt with young adults getting desperate to get their lives started, “Mister Magic” deals with young adults looking back on the more mysterious parts of their own childhoods.

The mystery of the novel deepens and deepens as the story goes on. White has a knack for tapping into the anxieties of young adults, while figuring out what outside forces are shaping them. She did this in both “Mister Magic” and “Hide”, but while “Hide” looks at the present, “Mister Magic” informs us on how our past shapes our future.

This book is an unusual book that took me to different places and is a somewhat hard book to review because of its unusual topic. However, I think it’s well worth reading especially for a generation that is looking back on what is now nostalgia. 

"Blink" Or You'll Miss It

 

Malcolm Gladwell’s 2005 book “Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking” left me a little perplexed. As in he made some good points, and some other points didn’t seem to add up. I call these kinds of books “think about it” kind of books. They are more commonly referred to as pop psychology, which makes sense. Gladwell himself is a figure who divides people in the writer, reader and psychology community. Some people praise Gladwell for his storytelling skills to prove a point someone might have not thought about before. Others say he cherry picks his research. Either way, Gladwell has sold millions of copies of his books, which include other popular titles like “The Tipping Point”.

I was a little divided reading this book myself. On one hand, Gladwell’s stories are interesting. He opens the book with a story about a museum buying an art piece, but quickly the museum’s hopes are dashed when experts who are invited to look at the piece find it might be a fake. Gladwell askes the question, how did the experts know the piece was a fake, but the people who ran the museum does not pick up on this. There are clues about the way the statue they bought, thinking it was from ancient Greek times, but not so. Little clues like the way the feet and hands of the statue is pointed.

This goes into the theory Gladwell has about how certain people know something, and some people don’t seem to know the same thing. He presents this as the main topic of the book, the ability to know something better even with limited information presented to the person. He calls this theory thin slicing.

Gladwell is a talented writer and uses telling a lot of different types of stories to sustain his theories about how people think and act based on limited information. He tells stories about science, medicine, war games, and even a story about an office chair which at first wasn’t a hit but became one later. He references everything from the cola wars between Pepsi and Coke to studies about people with autism.

I was surprised the book was called “Blink” because he doesn’t use the word blink a lot throughout the book. However, I suppose it’s a more marketable title than “Thin Slicing”, which is the theory this book is about.

At point, Gladwell writes a chapter on speed dating and a professor studying couples who stay together and couples who get a divorce. None of this is that exciting, as the topics Gladwell picks aren’t exactly the most extreme topics. A lot of slices of life topics, but there are some topics in this book that are beyond that. At one point, he talks about a police shooting in the Bronx where an innocent immigrant was shot. I do agree with him that simple racism or police reacting too fast is hardly ever the cause of these types of situations. They are usually more complicated than that.

However, when Gladwell goes into the topic of autism, and declares everyone is temporarily has autism in certain situations, I wasn’t too sure about that. I’m not an expert on the topic, but that conclusion sounded odd. I’ve read other authors like Gladwell in the past who try to mix pop culture, stories and psychology. Usually, these books make arguments of which some are rational, and some are not. This book has the same problems as other books in this regard. However, it’s an interesting read, and I think it was worth reading Gladwell’s interesting ideas.

"Gone Tomorrow" Is A Solid Jack Reacher Adventure

I’ve been reading Jack Reacher novels for years. “Gone Tomorrow” is the 13^th novel in the series and is told from Jack Reacher’s point of view. Author Lee Child does write some novel from Jack’s point of view, but most of them aren’t. Most of his novels are told in the third person, not the first. Either way, this novel is a solid adventure for Jack Reacher. It’s also very much a post 9/11 novel, as it was published in 2009. This does date the novel somewhat. There are references to Bin Laden being alive and Ronald Reagan only being 20 something years ago. There’s even a reference to Donald Rumsfeld.

The novel opens with Jack Reacher sitting on a New York City subway and noticing something suspicious about a women on a bench across from him. Reacher can’t seem to leave anyone alone. So, he approaches her, and she looks at him. Then she pulls out a gun and kills herself in front of him. The NYPD questions Reacher as a witness to the suicide and are eager to close the file. However, Reacher wants to know why this woman killed herself.

As he digs more, he finds this woman was named Susan Marks, and she worked as a staffer at the Pentagon. This leads him to working with two police officers, and as he digs further, he finds a connection to a congressman and a women named Lila Holt, who may or may not be a member of Al Qaeda, who Reacher at first mistakes for being eastern European.

The novel moves at the brisk pace that most Reacher novels move at. The chapters are short and end on a cliffhanger, which are picked up on the next chapter. The novel being told from Reacher’s point of view keeps the novel’s pace going, but because it’s told from Reacher’s point of view, we are there alongside him as he himself is confused all the twists and turns. Reacher reminds me a bit of a Batman type figure, except without the secret identity or massive funds because Reacher is just himself. He is a great detective. Reacher, like Batman, is also not a superhero. He is just a pissed off guy taking things into his own hands.

The novel has some of the usual tropes of a Reacher novel, and it doesn’t always make sense. Reacher sleeps with the female cop in one chapter, and there’s your usual scenes of violence. Reacher sleeping with the female cop feels thrown in without any romantic build up. However, it’s very much a solid Reacher mystery. Despite being a bit dated, it’s always good to read Reacher solving a mystery. I do wonder if younger readers would get this novel, but than again, for my generation of readers, it’s worth reading.