Razor Country by Nicholas Wagner; The Headmasters by Mark Morton; Blackstone Griddle Cookbook/Traeger Grill & Smoker Cookbook: Mouthwatering, Delicious, Healthy and Affordable Recipes with Images and Expert Tips for Griddling, Grilling, and Smoking Success by Dr. Jina;

 Razor Country by Nicholas Wagner; The Headmasters by Mark Morton; Blackstone Griddle Cookbook/Traeger Grill & Smoker Cookbook: Mouthwatering, Delicious, Healthy and Affordable Recipes with Images and Expert Tips for Griddling, Grilling, and Smoking Success by Dr. Jina

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Razor Country by Nicholas Wagner

Spoilers: Razor Country anthology is a tribute to the hard boiled detective genre of the 1920’s-50’s where protagonists walk a thin line between cop and criminal and violence runs rampant. The book could end with the mystery being solved and the detective triumphing over their enemies, but it could just as easily end with death and loss. 

Colm Steiner is a private investigator and sometimes assassin who travels from one country to another within the British Empire during the mid-19-teens to the 20’s. He is hired by various clients to find someone or something and is promised money and expenses for payment. He does some interrogation and investigation techniques which often involve him roughing up a few witnesses, bribing a few others, and/or sneaking into forbidden areas to find results. Most of the time he finds what he is looking for. While there are a few complete successes, most of them end with him taking a vow of silence finding his target is in a better place than where they previously were or ends in violence with Steiner or others shedding blood and killing clients, targets, witnesses, and those in their way.

Razor Country never forgets what it is or where its roots lie. It could easily have fit in during the time period that it portrays. Steiner may have been written a whole century behind but he definitely fits in with characters like Dashiell Hammet’s Sam Spade, Raymond Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe, or Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer. Like them, Steiner recognizes the dark graphic bloody world around him and acts just as, sometimes darker, more graphic, and bloodier than they are. 

I would love to say that because it is set in different countries along the former British Empire, it would be an engaging travelog but it not surprisingly isn't. Nicholas Wagner wanted to show the worst in each country and he did not skimp on the dark details of corruption, slavery, racism, domestic and child abuse, and every other evil imagined in each country. It's like a World Tour sponsored by Hell. 

Because the book is arranged in short story format, it doesn’t lend itself to much character development. Some plot points carry over between chapters such as ending on a cliffhanger and one chapter's previous antagonists come back for revenge in other chapters. Steiner gains and loses a few friends and lovers along the way either through death or separation. Even a segue where Steiner takes a break from his investigator career to fight during WWI leaves him battle scarred and more taciturn than before.

Mostly Steiner stays the same dour sardonic character throughout the book. In this context, Steiner is an archetype that fits perfectly within his genre. Within the framework of the noir genre, it works. Someone with such wanderlust and cynicism who has seen much suffering and has his own brand of injustice is bound to be maladjusted. 

The stories kind of blend in together for this reason. They are so intrinsic within the noir hard-boiled detective genre that you don't expect characters to fall outside of it. You don't expect things to change much for them because when they do, some things are bound to happen that stifles it. Steiner is the type to never marry or settle down because he can't imagine a world that would let him. He would always be looking for another case to solve and enemy to beat.

There is no world in which Colm Steiner can exist except the dark corrupt world in which he investigates, fights against, and is still a part of.

The Headmasters by Mark Morton

(Note this is just a brief summary and review. The entire review is on LitPick’s site. A link is provided above).

Spoilers: The Headmasters is a provocative and intelligent Science Fiction novel that challenges its readers to think about oppression and domination, what it means to truly resist, and what motivates one to fight against a tyrannical system even when the citizens don't know that they are being tyrannized.

Maple is a member of Blue Ring, a community in what was once Canada after an unexplained global event that left those in Blue Ring among the many survivors. Those in the Blue Ring survived by coupling themselves with those called the Headmasters. They are parasitic aliens fused onto the bodies of humans controlling their thoughts and actions. 

 Maple begins to share memories and consciousness with the former host body, a woman named Zara, whom Maple had a previous connection with. Some of her memories include life before the Headmaster’s arrival along with knowledge and information that had been repressed and banned. The more that Maple learns from Zara, the more that she questions the world around her. 

The description of humans and Headmasters grafted together is deliberately painful and traumatic. The physical and psychological torture of one living being joined with and controlling the other is present. Maple describes it as a continuous feeling that something is watching and monitoring them. If they act contrary to the Headmaster’s commands, they receive electric shocks. However, there are times, such as when the Headmasters shut off during a procedure called the “slackening,” and places where the Headmaster’s hold is weakened, like the Deep (in reality what remains of a Deepak Chopra Center), so they are vulnerable. 

What is particularly interesting and upsetting about this parasitic life is that the human characters make little move to protest or take advantage of the Headmaster’s vulnerabilities. True, the shocks are torturous, but there is another subtle reason about why they don’t rebel. They lost the desire to do so. They willingly surrender to a life of apathy and ignorance to creatures that exploit them. There are vague glimpses of rebellion and they aren’t revealed until almost halfway through the book. 

Maple herself does not desire to rebel until halfway through the book. In fact her character meanders a bit, providing exposition to the reader until she takes action against her oppressors. When she takes a proactive stance first within the community and then when she is in exile and encounters survivors, does Maple come into her own as a fully fleshed protagonist and heroine. 

What helps ignite Maple’s characterization is the awareness of a passage of time within the narrative. Most of the dystopian events often occur over the course of a few months or a year or two from inciting incidents to the denouement. 

What makes the Headmasters different from them is approximately seven years go by from when Maple is joined to her Headmaster to the end. This gives Maple an evolution that comes with age and experience but also emphasizes how slow moving changing from small acts of rebellion to a full scale revolution can be.

 Maple has to go through that long growth and development before she is able to have the confidence and strength to learn how to manually shut off her Headmaster permanently, walk away from Blue Ring, and lead the community and outsiders in a new world that will emerge and not make the mistakes of the old world that became subservient. 

This is a two part cookbook with double the amount of delicious recipes.

The recipes vary not only as breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals but elaborate on what one could cook on a grill, smoker, or griddle. Such recipes as “Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches,” “BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger,” “Grilled Veggie Stir Fry,” “Traeger Grilled French Toast,” “Cherrywood Smoked Salmon BLT,” and “Smoked Garlic and Rosemary Lamb Shanks” are rather interesting ideas to spice up any meal.

Since cooking with outdoor equipment can be unpredictable, the book offers tips on maintaining such equipment and keeping safe while cooking. This book also offers tips on how to infuse flavors like selecting marinating sauce, seasonings, and wood pellets. There are also tips on gentle and low and slow grilling to achieve the perfect sear and infuse rich smoky flavors.

This is a good book for the eager outdoor chef. 

New Book Alert: Flirt: A Novel of Lust Love and Murder by Ric Bohy; Alluring Beguiling Heroine Steals The Show in Modern Hard Boiled Noir

 

New Book Alert: Flirt: A Novel of Lust Love and Murder by Ric Bohy; Alluring Beguiling Heroine Steals The Show in Modern Hard Boiled Noir

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: By far the most interesting character in Flirt: A Novel of Lust, Love, and Murder, Ric Bohy's mystery thriller is Mary Bliss. Flirt is similar to a modern hard boiled detective noir combined with a psychosexual thriller. These types of genres often need a strong feminine presence and Mary is that presence.

Mary catches the eye of Jimmy Noze, a former reporter and current investigator, in the Train and Tunnel club in a suburb in northern Detroit. While getting to know Mary, Derek "Viking" Sloane, a possessive former admirer, gets rough with her. Jimmy points a gun at him to lay off. Jimmy and Mary then develop a connection that could become a potential romance. Unfortunately, they are pursued by a couple of stalkers. One is Sloane himself, a spoiled rich brat who believes that he can own anybody and that includes the woman who got away. The other stalker is Haymus Geasley, a punk Neo Nazi. Geasley is determined to seek violent revenge against Jimmy and intends to kidnap Mary and make her his captive.

Mary is a beguiling alluring heroine, practically a call back to the sexy femme fatales of old Classic Hollywood films, characters played by the likes of Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, Lana Turner, Veronica Lake, and Rita Hayworth. The type of woman who can entrap a man with just a smoldering glance or a flip of her hair. 

A woman who could either be working with or against the hero, but will certainly give him a wild time while he figures her out. From Mary's first appearance, she attracts the men around her without actually becoming physically intimate with them.

Mary was raised by her grandmother, Ruby who coached her to be different from her prostitute mother who abandoned her. Mary is taught to use her slender body, ample breasts, and flowing red hair to entice men's voyeuristic urges, but to never give into them sexually. For example, she inspires LaPierre, a cosmetologist to create a line of beauty products based on her particular scent. She is the type to be a muse or a model, an unattainable standard of beauty but never a lover. 

Even what would be considered a flaw in her appearance works to Mary's advantage. She was born with a deformed leg but has a prosthesis that looks completely natural next to her skin. The limp that forms because of her leg gives her a recognizable stride like a runway model.

Sometimes, as the plot of a detective noir novel continues, we may peer into that beautiful facade of this archetype and see a vulnerable fragile soul inside. Perhaps she even has a surprisingly moral center that has either been compromised or has remained despite the years of survival in a harsh world. This is certainly true of Mary.

Even though she is seen as an object of men's desires, she is able to maintain control in most of her relationships. She is willing to fight off those that get too physically violent. When Sloane and then Geasley kidnap Mary, she is frightened but uses sharp wit and cunning to outsmart them. 

While she didn't have a higher education, Mary is extremely observant, has some brilliant initial ideas that she persuades others to pursue (such as the beauty product line), and understands the way other people think. These advantages allow Jimmy to accept her as his partner. 

Besides being brilliant, Mary is a very moral person. She has strict etiquette standards such as referring to men by "Mr. (Last name)" and insists that they refer to her as "Miss Bliss." She also will not tolerate swearing.

Mary will not concede to demands for sex and will leave relationships if they turn out to be abusive. Despite being raised to be an object of beauty and desire, she is independent and strong enough to live alone rather than stay in a relationship that isn't working out. In fact, Mary spent more time alone than she did with male companions. She may entice some but she won't bind herself to them.

Because of the many layers of Mary's character, she far outshines the male characters in Flirt. Sloane sees her as an object, something that his wealth can buy and own. She is nothing to him but a statue, a trophy, and status symbol.

Geasley sees her as a means to fill his dark violent desires. He doesn't want to own her. He wants to destroy her. He has fantasies of physically hurting Mary before killing her as a means to emotionally scar Jimmy but also because he dehumanizes her.

Even the good men in Mary's life don't see all of her. LaPierre is a good friend and Mary is genuinely worried about him when he goes missing. But he too has his own image of Mary. He sees her as a muse, one that he can only admire from afar but is the inspiration for his great work, the cosmetics line. He however doesn't mind spying on her to catch her in provocative positions. His affection may be from afar and not as physical as Sloane and Geasley, but he still can be creepy.

Jimmy is mostly a decent enough guy, but at times he has issues with Mary. He becomes obsessed with her and even though he concedes to their chaste platonic relationship, he still fantasizes about having her. Because of her appearance, he has preconceived notions about her such as her sexual experiences and assumes that she isn't as smart as she appears.

However, Jimmy realizes his assumed views are wrong and is able to see Mary as a person and not just a beautiful woman. The fact that he calls her "partner" reveals that he sees her in an equal position that others do not, someone to walk side by side not in front of or behind him. It is only after they get through their adventure together and understands each other's past that Mary and Jimmy get through the friendship and partnership to become a romantic couple.

Flirt offers a female protagonist that has many layers: beautiful, alluring, honest, polite, savvy, and kind. Someone who is more than someone to be seen. She is someone to be heard, accepted, and understood.

New Book Alert: Thunder Road by Colin Holmes; Hard Boiled Detective Novel Begins In Noir But Takes A Detour Into Science Fiction

 

New Book Alert: Thunder Road by Colin Holmes; Hard Boiled Detective Novel Begins In Noir But Takes A Detour Into Science Fiction

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Colin Holmes' Thunder Road is one of those detective novels that has fun playing on real events or possibly real events. 

Set in the late 1940's, it borrows heavily from the hard boiled noir detective genre with the loner detective hired to solve a case that takes him right into a den of gangsters, prostitutes, corrupt officials, and many secrets yet to be exposed. But then it takes a very strange and bizarre detour into Science Fiction which either can become the highlight or the worst thing about this book.

Jefferson Sharp has been removed from his position as a cattle thief investigator with a Ft. Worth investigation company as well as his position as husband when his wife, Evelyn, files for divorce.

Divorced and unemployed, Sharp goes gambling in Ft. Worth's Thunder Road. There he is spotted by Doyle Denniker, casino owner and gangster. Denniker wants to hire Sharp to keep watch on Myron Williamson, an associate of his rival, Bobby Caples. It's a simple tail-and-report job.

The assignment ends up being anything but simple when Sharp finds himself surrounded by dead bodies, feuding gangsters, mysterious aircraft, suspicious military personnel, and a piece of what appears to be tinfoil that is out of this world.

Thunder Road is one of those types of historical detective novels that marries its fictional world with the real world and events, well allegedly real events anyway. While Sharp faces fictional gangsters and criminals he discovers that they are connected to real life gangsters, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and Meyer Lansky.

 Through  Sharp's investigation we learn about the creation of Las Vegas from a backwater forgettable desert town to the gambling and entertainment venue that we know today. We also see how the creation of the city played into the decline of Lansky and Siegel's one time friendship. 

Siegel wanted Vegas to be a glitzy success. Cost was no object. He even personally oversaw the construction of the first casino hotel, The Flamingo, later known as the Flamingo Hilton (named for the womanizing Siegel's then girlfriend, Virginia "Flamingo" Hill).

 Lansky however was concerned about the cost and felt that the showboat Siegel was getting too full of himself and drawing too much attention to the illegal dealings. Unlike most friendships which end with a fight or a Twitter battle, Siegel and Lansky's friendship ended with a bullet in Siegel's head. (Fun Fact: Siegel and Lansky were the inspiration for the characters, Moe Greene and Hyman Roth respectively in The Godfather franchise.)

It's brilliant how Holmes weaves Sharp's investigation with real life people like Siegel and Lansky. It gives a sense of history to this noir novel. Thunder Road seems to be a descendant of works like James Ellway's L.A. Quartet series (which The Black Dahlia and L.A. Confidential are a part) which uses a fictional case to comment on the very real and salacious past of certain American cities. This connection shows that in fact and fiction, there is a dark history that leads to the problems that are still prevalent to this day.

So far not bad, but then things get weird. Because Thunder Road then references another event from the late 1940's one that you would not expect to find in the genre: the alleged U.F.O. crash in Roswell, New Mexico (that's where the tinfoil comes in). 

For those that don't know: In 1947, a mysterious aircraft crashed outside Roswell, New Mexico. Eyewitnesses even saw bodies near the craft that didn't look human. Authorities insist that it was a weather balloon and the supposed bodies were merely crash test dummies. However most people believe that the craft was a U.F.O., the bodies were the alien occupants, and that the United States government covered up the crash and the results.

 Some also think that the Roswell crash was also tied to the mysterious section of Nellis Air Force Base, called Area 51, in Nevada (strange how Nevada appears a lot in Thunder Road isn't it?). Many people have seen strange lights and aircraft flying in and out of Area 51. Conspiracy theorists have been obsessed with it, even to the point of planning a raid on it three years ago.

 That's when Thunder Road steps away from detective noir and jumps right into science fiction conspiracy theory. It makes Thunder Road stand out from other neo noir books. The plot then makes the stakes higher than just a simple gang war. However, the book takes Sharp's investigation to a level that is distracting and only has a tangible connection at best to his initial case. 

Perhaps this is a case of Holmes doing too many things in one book. Maybe he should have split the ideas into two different books. He could have kept the noir detective book in this one and put the Area 51 stuff into a separate book. Maybe he could even have saved it for another Sharp book.

Besides the separate subplots that Thunder Road takes, there are some really great things to recommend. Among them is the development of the relationship between Sharp and his female friend, Roni Arquette. Longtime friends, they have been unlucky in love with Sharp's recent divorce and the death of Roni's husband.

 Roni and Sharp often taunt and tease each other but also are one another's confidant and partner. Roni even assists Sharp in his investigation by tailing and spying on potential targets. 

Throughout the book, Sharp and Roni are put in danger and have some very heated arguments to disguise their developing attraction towards each other. It would be interesting if a sequel to Thunder Road comes about and not only do Roni and Sharp become romantically involved but Roni becomes his partner. She is smart and observant enough to help him out. Their barbs and wit will keep one another on their toes for the rest of their lives.

Thunder Road has some aspects that work well, maybe not necessarily together. However, Holmes' book definitely makes a thunderous addition to the detective noir genre.

New Book Alert: Kalkota Noir by Tom Vater; Mystery Noir Peers Into Kalkota's Past, Present, and Future

 

New Book Alert: Kalkota Noir by Tom Vater; Mystery Noir Peers Into Kalkota's Past, Present, and Future

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Tom Vater's Kolkata Noir is a tribute to the city of Kolkata told in the style of a murder mystery noir novel. It's a three part structure in which two detectives, Madhurima Mitra and Becker, solve mysteries in the West Bengal capital over the course of forty years. Each mystery shows how Kolkata changes over the course of four decades. 

The first part "1999-Calcutta" is a murder mystery that could take place in an episode of an English cozy mystery. Richard Dunlop, an English expatriate, turns up missing and a Calcutta businessman, Abir Roychowdhury is reported murdered. Mitra and Becker interview potential suspects including Abir's widow, Paulami and brother, Kishore, and chase various leads that take them right into the homes of Kalkota's elite to get to the bottom of this case. 

The resolution of the mystery is pretty obvious but the characterization and milieu stand out in this section. Mitra in particular is an admirable lead protagonist. She is a bright ambitious young woman wanting to get ahead in a male dominated field in a country still set in a patriarchal society. She also has a family legacy to live up to: She is the niece of Feluda, the Bengali detective star of the novels by director/author, Satiyajat Ray. His reputation is legendary and Mitra wants to make her mark for her own benefit as well as fill his very large shoes. (Feluda's character is so prominent in Indian literature that it would be the equivalent of a young British detective trying to carry on the legacy of their Uncle Sherlock Holmes or Aunt Jane Marple.)

This section also reveals an India that even though it has been an independent nation since 1947, still holds onto the English class system and caste system from the Hindu religion. This part is an intended pastiche to the English drawing room mystery as a reminder of those days. Mitra and Becker visit the homes and interrogate Kalkota's wealthiest citizens who live in a separate isolated world from the people below them. There are still barely concealed hostilities between the English and Indian populations but mostly it's depicted with racist remarks and an entitled nature that claims dominance over others. The poorer areas are hidden away in the margins as though they live in a place far away and remote from the palatial mansions and marital troubles of the Roychowdhuries and the people around them.

The second part, "Kolkata-2019" takes place in those margins that were left behind by the elite of Part One. Becker is called back to India because an Englishman wants him to go to Kalkota to retrieve his wayward sons, Aubrey and Magnus Bilham-Rolls and bring them home. Aubrey and Magnus are not exactly receptive to the idea. The brothers have a sweet scam going on in which Aubrey assumes the role of Farangi Baba, a guru who claims to have a direct pipeline to Nirvana. Magnus handles the promotion and money while Aubrey wins over the crowd and reveals his version of the secrets of the universe, particularly where Mother Theresa hid her money. This particular story catches the attention of an impoverished public, several nationalistic groups, and violent people who would like to do away with the brothers and take the money for themselves.

Instead of the wealth experienced by the characters in Part One, Part Two shows the crippling poverty experienced in the poorer sections of Kalkota. The community is riddled with unemployment, homelessness, addiction, and various people who are without any sort of hope. It's no wonder that Aubrey and Magnus can so easily sway a crowd that is desperate for a miracle and need something to relieve their hard troubled existence. We also get a sense of people driven to violence and hatred directed at the various immigrants. They have been pushed around by the people on top and now they are pushing back violently if need be.

We also see how the years have changed Mitra and Becker. The two were briefly partnered but shared a mutual affection for each other. Now twenty years later, both have found professional success, Becker as a detective settled in England but acting as a liasion to India and Mitra has successfully climbed the ranks and became known as well as her uncle. Their personal lives are also marked by their previous case. Becker never married (except to his job) because he never forgot his beautiful and strong willed partner. Mitra however is married with an adult daughter but still carries a torch for her once partner. Their resumed romance adds on to the crime caper aspects experienced by the Billham-Rills Brothers in Part Two.

"Part Three: Killkata-2039" is the most influenced by the noir genre. It has a plot similar to a 1940's film but has a near futuristic science fiction setting  surrounding it. Becker receives a call from Davi, Mitra's daughter that her mother needs to leave Kolkata which is now largely underwater thanks to climate change caused flooding. Not only that but her father, Mitra's husband is missing. As a Muslim, he has been the target of several hate crimes and may have been kidnapped by an Anti-Muslim religious sect.

The Killkata setting shown in Part Three is one that has fallen into ruin. The city is ruined by environmental catastrophe. Besides the flooding, decades of chemical poisoning and radiation from war have taken their toll on the people. Those that haven't died from the poison have ended up with physical and psychological abnormalities such as a family of orphaned siblings that includes one sister with a large amount of testosterone that gives her a full beard and a hermaphrodite sibling. Racism has taken over as Anti-Muslim laws have prevented Muslims from finding employment and many ethnic groups are murdered in the streets. The wealthy have already abandoned the city leaving behind those who are too poor, too sick, or too protective of those that remain to leave.

While the setting is dystopian future, Mitra and Becker's romance and their plot is old Hollywood at its finest. There are dark shadowy figures who could be informants or assassins. There is a world weariness and cynicism as the detectives journey through the mean streets looking for any leads or suspects. This cynicism is played into their romance as the duo are no longer the young idealists that they once were. They have been hardened by the dark times and their profession. Justice is a faint memory and they no longer see the world as us vs. them black vs. white morality. Instead it's a gray world of mere survival. 

However, the duo still retain their selflessness and dedication to others as they prove in an ending clearly reminiscent of Casablanca. One of the pair leaves Kalkota forever while the other remains and continues to fight for the new surrogate family that they have formed.

With its engaging couple and detailed setting, Kalkota Noir is a brilliant mystery that exposes India's past, present, and future.