Review of The Adventure of the Peciluair Protocol by Nicholas Meyer

Author : Nicholas Meyer

Release Date: October 15, 2019

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Pages: 256

Buy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Peculiar-Protocols-Adapted-Journals/dp/1250228956/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=nicholas+Meyer&qid=1571262619&sr=8-1

January 1905: famed detectives Sherlock Holmes and his associate Dr. Watson are summoned by Holmes' brother Mycroft to embark on a secret investigation. An agent of the British Secret Service has been found dead in the River Thames. In the agent’s pocket is a document that appears to be the notes of a meeting of a secret society that’s focused on taking over the world.

Based on real events, the adventure takes the fabled private detective’s and other captivating characters through the heart of Europe aboard the legendary Orient Express. As they travel from Paris into the heart of Russia, Holmes and Watson attempt to trace the origins of the dangerous document. Hot on their heels are men of dubious loyalty, who will stop at nothing to prevent the release of the secret plans. 

The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols is Nicholas Meyer’s third Sherlock Holmes novel and in this highly entertaining murder mystery we are whimsically transported back in time. Harkening back to the writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, Meyer’s capably takes the reader on a gripping journey where Holmes and Watson exposes a secret so massive it shakes the duo to their core. An Academy Award nominated film writer, producer, and director. Meyer’s is also the author of three additional Sherlock Holmes novels that include The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1974), The West End Horror (1976), and The Canary Trainer (1995).

In this newest adaption we find Sherlock Holmes contemplating his future in the new century. The year is 1905 and there are fewer and fewer mysteries to solve. The aging detective finds himself at a crossroads with technological advances. Just before he and his distinguished partner John H. Watson, M.D. are set to retire, they find renewed propose as they are drawn into another exhilarating murder mystery.

At first the detectives are skeptical of the facts but as they wade deeper and deeper into the case it becomes crystal clear that the stakes are dire. Will Holmes and Watson be able to solve the mystery in time to prevent the secret organization from succeeding in their bid for global supremacy? It is set on the fabled Orient Express, which was made famous in the writing of Agatha Christie. Along the way, Holmes and Watson find themselves intertwined with several eccentric characters. As they contemplate the mystery that is currently unfolding they also ponder the changing world.

“A revolution was taking place half a world away. Events were unfolding that, if the nearsighted chemist enjoying Holmes’s sherry was correct, could conceivably drag the rest of Europe into a conflagration in which massive quantities of British gunpowder might well be required.”

Meyer’s expertise with Sherlock Holmes’ exploits are undeniably evident in this newest adaption. He effortlessly combines his screenwriting and storytelling skills into a fresh take on an old-fashioned murder mystery. While the exchanges between Holmes and Watson feel natural, Holmes’ side narrative of sibling rivalry with his older brother is undeniably entertaining.

“How is your French, Sherlock?” Holmes endeavored to conceal his surprise. “Schoolboy at best, as you are aware,” he confessed. Mycroft, I knew, spoke at least six languages, claiming it took but eight weeks to master a new tongue, which Holmes sneeringly once asserted in my presence was a sure sign of idiocy.” “It will have to do for now,” his brother replied, handing him the envelope.”

Invigoratingly engaging from start to finish, Nicholas Meyer has yet again created a fresh take on an old genre. The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols is a sure bestseller in which 21st century readers are gloriously transported back to the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.  

Review first appeared at the New York Journal of Books on October 16, 2019 - https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/adventure-peculiar-protocols

Review of Cold Stone Heart by Caz Frear

Author: Caz Frear

Release date: July 2, 2019

Publisher: Harper Collins

Pages: 368

Buy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stone-Cold-Heart-Novel-Kinsella/dp/0062849883/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=caz+frear&qid=1563225707&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Caz Frear has done it again. The author of the critically acclaimed bestseller Sweet Little Lies (2018), has created another can’t miss summer hit with Stone Cold Heart, the sophomore edition of the Cat Kinsella detective mystery series.    

After a brief stint in the mayor’s office, Detective Constable Cat Kinsella is back at the London Metropolitan Police, wisecracking with her partner Luigi Parnell and trying to avoid the wrath of the boss, Detective Investigator Kate Steele.

But for Cat and Parnell, it’s serious business when a young Australian woman turns up dead after a party thrown by her new boss. The initial investigation of Naomi Lockhart's murder points to Joseph Madden, the owner of a coffee shop around the corner from police headquarters. Madden insists he’s innocent, that he was home with his wife Rachel at the time of the murder. When police question her, Rachel contradicts his alibi, swearing that she was home alone.

While the team builds its case against Joseph, Cat is tasked with getting to the heart of the Maddens’ marriage. Cat knows that one of them is lying—but the question of which one, and why, is far more complicated than she could have expected. As she tries to balance the demands of the investigation with a budding romance and unresolved family drama, Cat has to decide how far she’ll go to keep her own past mistakes buried.

Caz Frear grew up in Coventry, England, and spent her teenage years dreaming of moving to London and writing a novel. After fulfilling her first dream, it wasn’t until she moved back to Coventry 13 years later that the second finally came true in 2018 with the publication of Sweet Little Lies.

In Stone Cold Heart we witness the highly anticipated return of the unforgettable Cat Kinsella, the smart and sassy London Detective Constable. And like its predecessor this novel is spellbinding from start to finish. Frear effectively combines a family drama with a captivating psychological mystery, while incorporating effective descriptions of police procedurals. Blend all of that with an unpredictable and intelligently witty storyline and you’ve got a winner.

“. . . pretending I haven’t heard him over the incessant gurgle of the coffee machines and the insipid soft jazz. I’m nearly out the door now. Just a few more strides and I’ll be safely outside, away from Casanova’s attention and basking in the scents of a grimy London summer. Warm beer. Bus diesel. Raindrops hitting the hot pavements. Bliss.”

Our character, Cat Kinsella is a strong and feisty woman, who also happens to be an excellent detective. Her character’s sarcastic sense of humor is appealing on so many levels but most importantly her everyday imperfections allow her to stand out because she doesn’t let herself be defined by these shortcomings. This character continues to resonate with readers because of her struggles balancing a dysfunctional personal and family life with career. Although her personal development is less of a focus in this book, that minor fact does not diminish the novel’s appeal. If you haven’t read Sweet Little Lies, it is highly recommended to catch up on all of the happenings and to fully appreciate Kinsella’s multilayered and enchanting character. Efforts like this are rare in fiction publishing today, and Frear has succeeded in this sequel where many writers have failed.

Overall, Stone Cold Heart is masterfully written, and Caz Frear’s trademark sense of humor shines brightly; add in a character worth cheering for and plenty of mystery and suspense (that leaves you guessing to the final pages), and you’ve got the recipe for a sure thing bestseller.

This review first appeared at the New York of Books on July 12, 2019 - https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/stone-cold-heart

Review of Life with Picasso by Francoise Gilot

Author: Francoise Gilot

Release date: June 11, 2019

Publisher: NYBR Classics

Pages: 376

Buy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Picasso-Review-Books-Classics/dp/168137319X/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=lisa+alther&qid=1560612767&s=gateway&sr=8-8

Francoise Gilot was just 21 when she met Pablo Picasso, four decades her senior. He had first seen the young artist in May of 1943, during the German occupation of France at a restaurant on the left bank of Paris, near Notre Dame. Picasso was captivated by her charm and intellect, while Gilot’s first impression of him was a little less than pleasing, “I was a little surprised at Picasso’s appearance . . . his graying hair and absent look—either distracted or bored—gave him a withdrawn, Oriental appearance that remined me of the Egyptian scribe in the Louvre.”

Gilot moved in with him in 1946, and during the following ten years they worked closely together. They never married, but they did have two children together. During their time together Gilot was often hassled on the streets of Paris by Picasso's legal wife, Olga Khokhlova, a former Russian ballet dancer, and Picasso himself physically abused her as well.

Eleven years after their separation, Gilot wrote Life with Picasso (1964), a memoir that sold over one million copies in dozens of languages, despite an unsuccessful legal effort from Picasso attempting to stop its publication. From then on, Picasso refused to see the children. All the profits from the book were used to help her children mount a case to become Picasso's legal heirs.

In 1970, Gilot married Jonas Salk, who pioneered the polio vaccine, and they remained married until his death in 1995. Gilot lives in Paris and New York, works on behalf of the Salk Institute in California, and at age 98, still continues to exhibit her own artwork internationally. New York Review Books has recently republished her timeless memoir with a brief introduction by Lisa Alther. She is the author of six novels, a memoir, a short story collection, and the book About Women: Conversations Between a Writer and a Painter, co-authored by Francoise Gilot.

“I lay there in his arms . . . Until then he had been, for me, the great painter that everyone knew about and admired . . . From then on he became a person . . . Now my emotions and affections were involved. I had not thought before then that I could ever love him. Now I knew it could be no other way.”

Brutally honest but even-handed, Gilot openly describes her often-turbulent life with the volatile genius. Picasso is revealed as brilliant but calculating, a man who despised sentimentality and mostly sought to shock the senses. It is filled with emotional and often surprising disclosures about the man, his work, his thoughts and his contemporaries such as Matisse, Braque, Gertrude Stein and Giacometti, among others.

Evocative of the time and full of remarkably detailed commemorations of conversations between Pablo and his famous friends. Gilot provides a brilliant self-portrait of a young woman with enormous talent figuring out who she really wanted to become. She provides a detailed insider's view of the great artist at work and delivers a dynamic understanding of his inner thoughts. A captivating and monumental snapshot of a bygone era that still resonates 57 years after its first publication.

Review first appeared at the New York Journal of Books on June 14, 2019 - https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/life-picasso

Review of The Paris Diversion by Chris Pavone

Author: Chris Pavone

Release date: May 7, 2018

Publisher: Crown

Pages: 384

Buy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Diversion-Novel-Chris-Pavone/dp/1524761508/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=chris+pavone&qid=1557354574&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Kate Moore is an expat mom being pulled in every direction, all the time—parenting that’s pulling her away from work, a perilous job pulling her away from her kids, and stressful professional travel pulling her away from her husband, from the damaged relationship she’s trying hard to repair. She’s also trying to remain relevant, clinging to an intelligence career that seems to be slipping away, with every day a chance to salvage it, or ruin it.

So when a suicide bomber arrives at the Louvre, it’s not someone else’s problem. And as Kate digs into the dangerous events unfolding across the City of Lights— multiple bomb threats, a missing CEO, her husband’s risky business move—she discovers that today’s citywide attack is not at all what it seems, and that the past she hoped she left behind might be closer than she thinks. Much closer.

Chris Pavone is the New York Times bestselling author of three award winning books that includes The Expats (2012), The Accident (2015), and The Travelers (2016). Since he burst onto the scene, Chris Pavone has continued to cultivate his craft and has become one of the elite writers of the thriller genre.

“After the Charlie Hebdo massacre, sirens began to take on a new significance, triggering more vital concerns . . . These days, sirens could mean anything…The sirens are closing in . . . people finally begin to react . . . The bomb that Mahmoud is wearing under his windbreaker is the sort that can be easily identified . . . Everyone knows what this is. That is the point. The world has become prepared for this sort of thing, in the sorts of places where it makes sense. Places like here. Mahmoud is the delivery system.”

The Paris Diversion is the second installment in the masterfully crafted Kate Moore series and much like its forerunner it’s jammed with nonstop adventures and electrifying action. Unlike other books in the espionage-thriller category it’s almost a requirement to have read Pavone’ first book. The plot has links to The Expats and without prior familiarity might tend to be a little baffling to the casual reader. Because the story is told from several viewpoints and given the fact that a few of these are from peripheral characters the casual reader who does not have prior understanding might be confused about their roles.

However, once these viewpoints are understood the storyline transforms into a read that is appealing, absorbing, and intensely spellbinding. The twists and turns are never predicable, and the heart-pounding tension of The Paris Diversion effortlessly transports the reader through a labyrinth of hypnotic suspense, where nothing is ever what it seems to be.

This review first appeared at the New York Journal of Books on May 8, 2019 - https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/paris-diversion-novel