The Appeal

Hallett, Janice. The Appeal. New York: Simon & Schuster 2021. Print.

First Sentences:

As discussed, it is best you know nothing before you read the enclosed.


Description:

I am always intrigued by epistolary novels. You know, the ones told completely through written documents (e.g. letters, diaries, newspaper clippings, texts, emails, etc.). Here, in Janice Hallett's first novel, The Appeal, she frames the story through the eyes of two junior lawyers assigned by their boss to read through a file of correspondence and related notes, then come to a conclusion about what really happened. Apparently, Tanner, their boss, needs information for an upcoming case he is defending and wants fresh eyes to study the details and present him with their thoughts.

 

Slowly, slowly, we read with the copious emails and notes exchanged between a small group of people who are preparing their roles for a community theater presentation. While they find nothing exciting at first, soon an email surfaces that the director's two-year-old granddaughter, Poppy, has been diagnosed with a rare brain cancer that is probably incurable. But fortunately, her grandfather notes, Poppy's doctor has heard of promising results from a new drug in its test stages that might help, possibly even cure the child. It has not yet been approved for the general public, the Poppy's doctor has a means of obtaining the medicine at a stiff price: $175,000 for the first of four treatments.

An appeal goes out to the theater players and their friends and family to help raise the funds to acquire this test drug privately which can then be administered by the girl's doctor. Everyone contributes, creates fund-raising opportunities, and even dedicates the proceedings from the upcoming play to Poppy's medication.

But there are hints that maybe something might not be quite right in this appeal. And when a cast member is found dead after apparently falling off the balcony, no one knows quite what to think or whether anyone from their group might be responsible.

Epistolary novels usually reveal themselves slowly as we need time to, piece by piece, understand the characters and actions. Lots of writing is placed in front of the researching lawyers (and us readers) full of thoughts, ramblings, misdirection, rumors, accusations, dreams, and relationships flicker across the pages, writings presented to the lawyers (and us readers), for analysis and then discarded or held onto as key information.

Hallett is the master of spreading subtle clues buried in a complex plot and benign yet somehow suspicious characters. As I read these missives, I kept seeing something out of the corner of my eye, unable to clarify whether it was really there or even what, if anything, it was, yet thinking that it might be important to remember and understand. Such is the skill that drew me to Hallett and novel, The Appeal. And I was not in any way sorry to be immersed in its story and characters. A challenging, satisfying read.

 

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

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          (and an Intro to The First Sentence Reader) 

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Hallett, Janice. The Twyford Code

The best, most baffling, intriguing mystery, full of twists, turns, questionable narration, undiscovered treasure, and a possible code/treasure map found in a child's book. Fantastic. (previously reviewed here)

 

 

The Fix

 Baldacci, David. The Fix. New York: Grand Central Publishing. 2017. Print.

First Sentences:

It was normally one of the safest places on earth. But not today.

Description:

OK, I admit it. I am a huge fan of David Baldacci's Amos Decker character, the ex-policeman/football player with the perfect memory. Having nothing to read that could quite match the intensity of the brilliant 787-page The Year of the Locust by Terry Hayes that I had just finished, I returned to my old reliable crime-solver, Amos Decker in Baldacci's The Fix. This is the third book in the 7-book Amos Decker detective series, the crime-solver introduced in Memory Man, the first (and in my mind the best in the series), and then the second book, The Last Mile. The Fix, I found, was a fine chaser to my Amos Decker thriller binge reading.

In the first four pages of The Fix, Decker is walking in front of the J Edgar Hoover building, home to the FBI, heading to a meeting. Several yards ahead, he notices a well-dressed man, Walter Dabney, walk up to a woman, Anne Berkshire, pull out a gun and shoot her in the head. Then, before Decker could intervene, Dabney put his gun under his chin and shoot himself.

Wow, what a start. Two deaths, sudden, intentional, in front of the FBI Headquarters, and  with memory-perfect Decker as an eye-witness.  Seems an easy case. But the only question is who were these two people? Why did Dabney kill Berkshire? And why did he choose the very public FBI building for this action?

Not much to go on, but Decker is roped into the investigation of these questions mainly due to one other minor point. The FBI has intercepted messages that very soon there will be a terrorist act on the magnitude of 9/11. And it is scheduled to take place sometime very soon. Where, when, how, and by whom are a new set of questions. Could these recent shootings and terrorist threat somehow be linked?

Slowly, slowly, Decker and his partners on the FBI investigation team, uncover tiny nuggets of interesting information that may or may not contribute to these investigations. As they peel back layers based on new discoveries, the two cases become more and more unclear. Rather

than getting closer to a solution, Decker and his team feel increasingly confused with the disjointed information.

And the day of the terrorist event is rapidly approaching.

Highly recommended for readers who love to watch detailed crime procedure, grapple with tiny clues, and then try to puzzle out for themselves who is telling the truth and who is involved in these events up to their necks. The Fix, through Baldacci's terse writing and dialogue, encourages readers to immerse themselves and binge read until their eyes droop. But what a pleasant way to stimulate your mind and wear out your eyes.

 

P.S. If you are new to the Decker series, start with the first and second books, Memory Man and The Last Mile to get some background on Decker and his partners, The Fix can clear up their backstories on its own, but it is more satisfying to start at the series' beginning and read the first two equally complex and brilliant Amos Decker books, then dive into The Fix as a dessert.

 

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

 

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Baldacci, David. Memory Man.   

The first book in the Amos Decker mystery/thriller series. Decker, due to a football accident, cannot forget anything: words, pictures, faces, events. After his wife and child are brutally murdered, and even though someone has confessed to the crime, Decker takes on his own personal investigation and uses his perfect memory to identify key clues to unravel the event and find the true killer(s). Highest recommendation. (previously reviewed here)

 

The Year of the Locust

Hayes, Terry. The Year of the Locust. New York: Scribner 2023. Print.

First Sentences:

I once went to kill a man.


Description:

Now there's a first sentence that does it's job. With those seven words that hint of upcoming violence, probably most readers will either be excited to read further or else dismiss the book as a topic they have no interest in.

 

But Terry Hayes' The Year of the Locust is, for me, a worthy addition to my "Highest Recommendation" category. It is a worthy sequel to I Am Pilgrim, my all-time favorite international thriller. 

 

Written ten years after Pilgrim, The Year of the Locust brings back Ridley Kane, the "Denied Access Area" CIA spy whose specialty is sneaking into (and successfully returning from) forbidden countries (Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia, etc.) and doing what's necessary to stop terrorists who threaten the United States and the world.

Here, the CIA is alerted to a terrorist, al-Tundra, forming his own anti-Western army of hatred in Iraq for nefarious ends. Thought long-dead, al-Tundra (identified by the huge locust tattooed on his back), is revealed as alive in a grainy photograph smuggled out of Iraq for the CIA. Kane's mission is to infiltrate into Iraq, meet with the informant, and understand what al-Tundra is plotting for the world so the CIA can figure out how to stop him.

 

What could go wrong ... besides everything.

 

And that assignment is only the first in Kane's encounters with al-Tundra over the course of 700+ pages in Locust. Adventures follow in Russia, Pakistan, and even the United States. Yes, there is violence, some very graphic, but author Hayes relies on building plotting, unraveling situations, and nail-biting tension rather than glorifying blood. You are side-by-side with Kane, in his head as he pours over even trivial or complex detail ("like digging a well with a needle") and decision as he works out to best deal with each encounter or threat he faces.

The action is compelling, and, although the book is 700+ pages, it goes along rippingly due to the very short 1-3 page chapters. It's so easy to binge-read Locust, saying "Oh, I have to read just one more chapter to see how he decides/executes/escapes this situation." I won't say it flew by, but definitely it read as quickly as humanly possible since I was completely engulfed in the action, Kane, his CIA boss Falcon, the elusive CIA traitor Magus, and al-Tundra, the Locust. 

 

Locust is able to humanize Kane more over the pages, introducing his partner Rebecca, and her dealings with his profession. Kane is a loner of a man with many worries, but his relationships with Rebecca and Falcon, as well as several characters he encounters during his "Denied Access Area" missions, make his a rounder character, someone with internal conflicts.

 

Of course, the writing by Hayes is superb. His attention to every detail and descriptions of people and environment paint a totally enveloping atmosphere that make us lucky readers get hopelessly caught up in the action. There are new age weapons like a rifle scope with a built-in GPS system, an completely undetectable missile, copious use of satellite surveillance and recordings, a deadly virus, and even a bit of science fiction in the end to make the world right again. All seems reasonable and acceptable due to Hayes able writing style, terse dialogue, and believable character personalities.

I loved it, can't you tell. Won't spoil any more of the plot, but by now you should be able to decide whether this book is for you. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but for me it was gripping and fully immersive on every page. My highest recommendation.

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

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          (and an Intro to The First Sentence Reader) 

________________________

If this book interests you, be sure to check out

Hayes, Terry. I Am Pilgrim.   

Simply the best, most thrilling, unexpected, spy caper ever as CIA agent Kane tries to track down an unknown terrorist threatening a nefarious, unstoppable act that will destroy America. My Highest Recommendation. (previously reviewed here)

 

Shibumi

Trevanian. Shiubumi. New York: Crown1979. Print.

First Sentences:

The screen flashed 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3...then the projector was switched off, and lights came up in a recessed sconces along the walls of the private viewing room. The projectionist's voice was thin and metallic over the intercom. "Ready when you are, Mr. Starr."


Description:

I was intrigued and utterly captivated by Trevanian's Shibumi, when I first read it in the early 1980s. After stumbling across it again at a used book sale, I thought it was worth a purchase and re-read, and I wasn't disappointed. The story, characters, plot, and writing hold up very well forty years later.   

Trevanian, author of the best seller and movie, The Eiger Sanction, offers a new character, Nicholi Hel, a most interesting, dangerous man. Raised by a Russian aristocrat mother and later by a Japanese general in Shanghai who taught him the strategic game of Go, Hel becomes an international figure, master of many languages and cultures. 

His passion is spelunking in dangerous caves. He has also picked up a skill known as "hoda korosu," or "naked kill," which allows him to use common household objects (playing cards, paper clips, etc.) to do bodily harm to enemies.  

Throughout his future life, although he was seldom armed, he was never unarmed; for in his hands a comb, a matchbox, a rolled magazine, a coin, even a folded piece of writing paper could be put to deadly use....For  Nicholai Hel, the average Western room contains just under two hundred lethal weapons.

In his youth, he suffered many hardships including the loss of his mother, the bombing of Hiroshima, and imprisonment by the American government, Naturally, he has a few grudges against several people and countries. 

It is only natural that he uses his skills to become the world's most feared assassin, although the book does not detail any of his "stunts" as he refers to them. Most have happened prior to the book's major narrative when Hel is retired and seeking to live in peace. 

But the Mother Company, an international organization which controls the CIA, NSA, etc., has botched a recent assassination attempt on the Munich Olympics killers. They will not leave Hel alone after learning one of the assassination survivors showed up at Hel's isolated Basque home to ask for help.

A violent man, no. His calm voice and demeanor reflects his thoughtful study of the life philosophy and practice of "Shabumi," the state of effortless perfection. He has restored a castle to fit with his lifestyle, including a rain porch where he can listen to the tones of rain on the roof, garden, and stream (which he tunes for more perfect sounds by moving the stream's rocks into different positions). These luxuries require money, hence his anonymous profession of the past as a highly-paid assassin.

Shibumi has to do with great refinement underlying commonplace appearances. It is a statement so correct that it does not have to be bold, so poignant it does not have to b e pretty, so true it does not have to be real. Shibumi is understanding, rather than knowledge. Eloquent silence. In demeanor, it is modesty with pudency....elegant simplicity, articulate brevity.

I don't want to reveal too much of the plot, but suffice to say this character, Nicholai Hel, is fascinating on every page. He calmly discusses philosophy, social mannerisms, game theory, life choices, and cultural differences, each of which is intriguing and absorbing to read about. These have shaped his upbringing and still influence his current life. And now he finds himself unwillingly drawn back into the world of secret, nefarious operations.

If you are a fan of thrillers, government covert plans, international politics, cultural philosophy, and just great characters, I highly recommend Shibumi. It is the best of this genre, next only to I Am Pilgrim (see below) that I have ever read...and I have read a bunch of them. Enjoy.

 

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Hayes, Terry. I Am Pilgrim  

The best international thriller I have ever read, regarding a terrorist and his plot to destroy the United States, and his pursuer from a secret government agency. Unbelievably tense, well-written plot with two great characters. Highest recommendation.  (previously reviewed here)

 

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Feeney, Alice. Rock, Paper, Scissors. New York: Flatiron 2021. Print.

First Sentences:

My husband doesn't recognize my face. I feel him staring at me as I drive, and wonder what he sees. Nobody else looks familiar to him either, but it is still strange to think that the man I married wouldn't be able to pick me out in a police lineup.

Description:

I'm a big fan of Alice Feeney's twisty-turny novel, Sometimes I Lie, so was really looking forward to plunging into another of her books, Rock, Paper, Scissors. Well, it was lulu, too, so much so that when I read the last page, I immediately turned to the first pages to start it again, looking with newly-aware eyes at every thought, person, and incident. Not many books will make you do that.

Feeney is the master of the unreliable narrator(s) and edgy circumstances. In Rock, Paper Scissors, husband Adam and wife Amelia have agreed to try to save their marriage with a weekend away at an isolated inn, a converted chapel in the backwoods of Scotland. 

Along with faithful dog, Bob, they suffer a long car trip through a blinding snowstorm and unplowed dirt roads to reach their destination. Constant bickering ensued throughout the drive and memories emerge as the story's narration shifts between each person, unfolding their past lives and personal challenges from vastly differing perspectives.

Sounds like it's going to be a fun weekend, huh? 

To have wasted so much of our lives by not really living them, makes me feel so sad. We weren't always the people we are now, but our memories of the past can make liars of us all.

Add to these two smoldering individuals an environment full of clues that would warn any sane person to get the heck out of there: creepy, dusty living quarters; oddities glimpsed out of the corner of their eyes (or right in front of them); breathy whispers in the dark woods; electrical outages (with no available flashlights, of course); locked and then mysteriously unlocked doors; and, of course, no cell phone coverage. Naturally, a huge snowstorm prevents them from immediately fleeing upon arrival at this freezing spot. 

As they wait in these unwelcoming quarters, the narrators unravel the backstories behind their lives and marriage, although each remembrance is a bit different, tainted by the emotions, desires, and distrust of the other person.

You can feel it when someone you love is lying. What I don't know, yet, is why....

These seemingly rational narrators often do the exact opposite of what any normal person would do. They peer into and enter unnerving spots like the dank wine cellar located in the chapel's crypt. They open the door marked, "Danger. Do Not Enter" and walk right in. They lean on and then almost fall through the tall bell tower's crumbling wall. 

Soon, they begin to realize something very odd is going on besides their unraveling marriage and mounting suspicions about their partner. But don't worry, readers. I'm not one to read or recommend horror stories or slasher tales. Rock, Paper, Scissors, while definitely unnerving and edgy, does not offer a bloodbath, just the impending threat that something unsettling is just about to happen. It's a genuine thriller, one where you constantly say, "Don't go there" and "Don't do that," reading line after line between your fingers that partially cover your eyes.

I cannot reveal any more than this barest of backgrounds to get you absorbed into this tale of sad people trying to figure out what future is best for them, either with the other person or without. The choice to recover their relationship or forget it entirely and start afresh proves a challenge neither seems up to. And the lies continue to flow...

The reason why a person lies is almost always more interesting than the lie itself. My husband shouldn't tell them; he isn't very good at it.  . 

 Happy reading.

Fred

About The First Sentence Reader blog

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

O'Nan, Stuart. The Odds: A Love Story.   

A couple decides to take all the money they possess and use it all to bet on the future of their marriage -- on one roll of the dice. Win and they stay together; lose and they part. Narrated by each person on their drive to Niagara Falls, a reader will probably sympathize with one person, then reverse opinion after hearing the other side. Their fate is revealed only in the very last sentence. "Wow!" is all I can say.  (previously reviewed here)

 

City of Windows

Pobi, Robert. City of Windows. New York: Minotaur. 2019. Print

First Sentences:
 

Nimi Olsen made the mistake of trying to cross Forty-second half a block before the intersection and missed the light.

 

She was now stranded on the spine of frozen slush that snaked down the middle of the street, freezing her ass off. Cars snapped by with homicidal vigor, and every few seconds a mirror brushed her hip. 

Description:

I confess to a certain addiction to thrillers, especially when they involve police procedures. I'm not a fan of gratuitous, bloody violence (although with Scandanavian authors, I seem to be more willing to compromise). 

So it is with great enthusiasm that I recommend Robert Pobi's City of Windows, an almost bloodless series of murders investigated by a astrophysicist who doesn't carry a gun. The murders, and yes, there are killings, are conducted with one shot only, by a shooter using a long-range rifle from over 700 yards away. The target is dead before the sound reaches any observers. The victims seem to be random selections, and of course the shooter is long gone by the time the police can even guess which window the shot came from.

Enter former FBI agent Lucas Page, a university professor who left the service after an "incident" left him with a prosthetic leg and arm. But he still retains a unique ability of seeing the world and situations broken down into geometric patterns, angles, and makeup. He is reluctantly recalled into service because the first shooting victim was his former partner.

Page pokes around, digging into files, looking for some connection between the targets before another person can fall to a long-range head shot. But the trail is cold and the victims keep falling, forcing Page to enlist help from unusual sources: computers and small town people who hate government intervention into matters best left in the past.

I loved this book because, while there are people being shot, it is relatively bloodless. No eyeball gouging, no street fights, no stabbings, and certainly no gun battles. Just someone picking off victims, eluding FBI and Page throughout the book. There are hints to solving this, but they are very subtle - until Page starts to see the light.

So if you are fan of nail-biting suspense crime stories, even ones that involve murders, but might be a bit hesitant to leap into another book with over-the-top violence, then City of Windows is for you. 

P.S. There are now two other Lucas Page novels, Under Pressure and Do No Harm I just finished reading both of them and can eagerly recommend each of these twisty, thoughtful serial murders. Best to read them in order, starting with City of Windows. He's just a great character trying to untangle complex, unsolvable cases, exactly the scenario I enjoy.

Happy reading. 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Child, Lee. One Shot.   

Five random people are shot on a public street in only a few seconds by a person using a long-range rifle. The police make a quick arrest based on the evidence found. But the  prisoner claims innocence and ask for Jack Reacher, former Army MP, to investigate. Breath-taking in its thoroughness of investigation, thrills, and toughness. Another great one from Lee Child.

Falling

Newman, T.J.. Falling. New York: Avid Reader Press. 2021. Print

First Sentences:

When the shoe dropped into her lap the foot was still in it.

Description

Best first sentence ever. Sure beats "Call me Ishmael." 

This is the start to the roller coaster thriller by T.J. Newman, Falling. It has a very simple premise. The pilot currently flying a major airline with 149 "souls" aboard (technical pilot jargon), learns mid-flight that his wife and two children are being held hostage by a man in their house. Moreover, both his family and their captor are strapped into vests covered with explosives.

The threat from the kidnapper? The pilot must crash his plane into a target or his family will be killed. That's it. The pilot is also warned that no one, including the crew, passengers, or any authorities can be alerted to this situation or the explosive vests will be detonated.

A devastating choice no matter which option is followed. Of course, the pilot tells the terrorist via his internet phone that he has no intention of crashing the plane and that his family will not be killed, but these seem hollow words without any real hope of coming to pass.

First time author Newman, a ten-year flight attendant, knows her way around the airline workings, from passenger profiles to procedures on airline communications and actual flying operations (at least, they seemed very real to me). 

The story is a pip, the characters believable, and the action non-stop. A thoroughly engrossing page-turner that offers many outcomes. How the situation ends is completely unpredictable..

Happy reading. 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Hawley, Noah. Before the Fall.   

One night, eleven people board a private jet and then, a few minutes later, crash into the ocean. There are only two survivors: an artist and a four-year-old boy. The novel follows the ensuing lives of these two and their attempts to understand why the jet went down and how they alone were able to survive.  (previously reviewed here)

The Twyford Code

Hallett, Janice. The Twyford Code. New York: Atria 2023. Print.

First Sentences:

Dear Professor Mansfield,

I am investigating a mysterious case and suspect you may be able to help. Let me explain.

An iPhone 4 is among a number of items belonging to a recently reported missing person. It is not associated with any phone carrier and at first appeared to be blank, with no call records, music, emails, texts, or photographs. Upon closer examination it was found to contain a series of deleted audio files: voice recordings in various encrypted formats, with dates that span eleven weeks in 2019. We recovered these files and deciphered them.

Description:

Ever had a fabulous meal at an exclusive restaurant, where the food was so delicious that for the next few days all other food seemed blah and uninviting? All you can think about is the layers of flavors in that restaurant meal, the carefully-orchestrated delivery of each course, and the overall atmosphere that subtly reinforced the pleasure of the dining experience.

For me, reading Janice Hallett's The Twyford Code, was such an memorable meal, one that spoiled me into dissatisfaction with all other books I tried to read over the next week. None of these books offered the complexity of characters, the hidden flavors of plot and exposition, and the aromatic pull that The Twyford Code had offered and still lingered in my mind. They probably were worthwhile books, but in comparison they just fell short. Fast food, not fine dining. Unsatisfying.

I'm not going to give you much about this book; you'll have to experience it yourself. Like trying to describe a mouth-watering dinner. People will just need to taste it for themselves.

But a brief description is necessary. The book focuses one man's search for a children's book written by Edith Twyford that might contain a secret code in its text. His search is documented solely through transcripts created from restored audio files found on an otherwise blank phone.

 

The creator of these audio files turns out to be Stephen Smith, a small-time gangster, newly out of prison after serving an 11-year sentence. Smith's recordings (shown in transcripts only) reveal that besides looking for the Twyford book, Smith is also trying to discover what happened to his teacher who first hinted there might be a code before mysteriously disappearing while leading a school field trip. He hopes the book and/or teacher will help him decipher any code and maybe lead him to a rumored treasure. 

 

His short, confusing transcripts document his searches, and also reveal tidbits about his early family life and criminal activities. Smith recorded his conversations with various people who might know something about Twyford, or narrated memos in secret to preserve his research. These text files are enticing, tangled, revealing, incomplete, and sometimes undecipherable.  But information is sketchy, contradictory, and seemingly dangerous as they evolve to include spies, stolen British gold, and betrayals.

There's truth in everything here, even if some bits are not strictly to the letter. But what's important now is all made up, constructed to hide secrets, and reveal them only to the person they're meant for.  

A great meal ends with the perfect dessert, and author Hallett saves the best for last. The final chapters are the finest I have ever read.

I admit it's a confusing narrative format, making readers try to decipher the brief transcripts that jump between Smith's current search, his boyhood recollections, his family life, and early criminal episodes. Keeping people straight about who is talking in the recorded transcripts can require going back to familiarize yourself with who is actually talking. 

 

But readers will discover the effort to piece together information and characters mentioned in the transcripts is definitely worth their efforts. And when you reach the final page, all you will want to do is begin the entire novel again to now recognize the subtle clues and twists inserted throughout.

It gets my highest recommendation for all lovers of a great mystery and amateur code-breakers. It's a meal you won't soon forget, trust me.

Some things, when you finally hear them confirmed, it's like a veil drops away from a statue. The size and shape are familiar, they've always been there, it's just the detail in the caving is obscured. All that stands before you is evidence of what you knew all along.

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Brown, Dan. The DaVinci Code.   

Probably by now everyone has read or at least heard of this book describing the convoluted trail and clues involved in code-breaking. Still, it's a great read full of excitement, intrigue, intelligent people, and puzzles.

 

Sometimes I Lie

Feeney, Alice. Sometimes I Lie. New York: Flatiron 2018. Print

First Sentences:

My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me:

1. I am in a coma.
2. My husband doesn't love me anymore.
3. Sometimes I lie.

Description

Here is a complicated story told by a woman just waking from a coma. She can hear everything within earshot in her hospital room, but remembers nothing of how she arrived in this condition other than a vague recollection of being in a car accident. Her other memories are clear right up to that incident. Oh, and she is completely paralyzed, so cannot speak, move, or respond to anyone who comes near her.

Alice Feeny's Sometimes I Lie is a ripping good set-up with a wonderfully untrustworthy narrator (note the book's title) who is trying to unravel a very twisty plot. Her husband, Paul, and sister, Claire, spend time in her hospital room. Although Amber is completely unresponsive, the visitors are all kind, talking to her without expecting a response. Yet somehow, as Amber listens to their words, she realizes each is part of the puzzle she is struggling to remember surrounding her accident. 

My husband and my sister sit on either side of the bed -- my broken body forms the border between them. The stretch-out time the three of us endure is coated in the silence of unspoken words. I can feel walls of them, each letter, each syllable piling up on top of one another to form an unstable house of unanswered questions. Lies form the mortar, holding the walls together.

The narrative switches frequently from Amber's musings about her current situation, to her earlier memories of her husband, to quotations from a diary kept years ago. Each chapter reveals new information about Amber and her former life, as well as about the people around her, but only grudgingly provides any solid clues as to what exactly happened, who is responsible, and what her future holds. And believe me, there are some completely unexpected turns of events that will change your entire perspective on everything about these people and their world.

I won't reveal any more of the novel, but suffice to say that if, by this time, you are intrigued, I urge you to follow your curiosity and settle into a comfy chair to read this delicious story. Absolutely absorbing, challenging, and unpredictable on so many levels. Very highly recommended.

I think about time a lot since I lost it. The hours here stick together and it's hard to pull them apart. People talk about time passing but here, in this room, time doesn't pass at all. It crawls and lingers and smears the walls of your mind with muck-stained memories, so you can't see what's in front of behind you. It eats away at those who get washed up on its shores and I need to swim away now, I need to catch up with myself downstream.

Happy reading. 

Fred

Other book recommendations
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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Bauby, Jean Dominique. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life and Death.   

True memoir by the author who was completely paralyzed by a stroke and experienced the locked-in lifestyle where his brain and senses are completely intact, but he can only move one eyelid. Through a special Yes/No code for each letter of the alphabet, Bauby painstakingly dictates this beautifully-written memoir. Unforgettable.

Presidio

Kenedy, Randy. Presidio. New York: Touchstone 2018. Print

First Sentences:

Later, in the glove box, the police found a folder of notes. It said: 

Notes for the police:  (Or anybody else who finds this and wants to read it.): My name is Troy Alan Falconer. These are the things I love most: I love checking into a motel room on a hot afternoon, when the cool air inside smells of freon and anonymity. (They always leave the A/C running for you.) I love checking out at dawn, my hair combed wet to meet the world. I love hard-shell luggage and Swiss-made watches...I love driving cars down empty highways in the middle of the night, listening to the music of sincere-sounding country singers like Wynn Stewart and Jim Reves....I love these things for their own sake. But I can enjoy them only when they posses a certain additional quality...of belonging rightfully and legally to comeone other than myself.

Description:

There are a few more items Troy Falconer records in his "Folder for the Police" left in an abandoned car in the opening sentences of Randy Kenedy's Presidio. Right away, we getr a picture of, and maybe even like, this audacious man -- at least, I did. The reference to the police finding these notes in an abandoned car was a bit ominous, probably foreshadowning that this man might not be a person worthy of affection. But that's what pulled me into this character and plot.

Turns out, Troy is a car thief traveling through the desert expanse of the Texas Panhandle region in the 1970s. He is a man who loves cars and is quite good at taking them from unsuspecting people, usually fellow travelers staying in cheap motels. He loves driving, too, especially "full-size automatic sedans with electric windows and bench seats, upholstered in breathable fabric, not vinyl." He has his standards.  

I'd like you to believe that I started out with some kind of justification, a reason better than anger and want. But that was mostly it -- same old story. It wasn't until later that it changed from a profession into a way of life, a calling that felt almost religious if I'd been inclued that way.

If I had, I would have been its reverend. Preaching my message of freedom through loss from my pulpit behind the dashboard.

Troy returns after many years away to his bleak hometown to help his estranged brother, Harlan, find his wife and get back the money she took when she ran away. Of course, they first steal a car before setting off after the woman. Unfortunately, they inadvertantly make off with something else hidden in the stolen car. When the brothers discover their unexpected cargo, they realize their plans must change and they head on backroads towards the Mexican border town of Presidio.

With the police right behind them.

Part diary entries (remember, the notes left in the glove compartment for the police?), part stream-of-consciousness narrative of his history, and part meditations by Troy, Presidio offers non-stop tension and personality for the travelers. These are really "alive" characters, vivid in all their faults and dreams. Beautifully written, the story also throws in fascinating details about cars, car stealing, cheap motels, and the flat Texas desert that they blow past on their drive.

The land no longer seemed actively hostile. It just seemed like one of the places on the earth that had long ago stopped bothering to hide its indifference.

This is a debut novel by Randy Kennedy, so I sincerely hope this is the first of many more stories to come from him. I'll be right there ready to read them all.

Happy reading. 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Lutz, Lisa. The Passenger.   

Tonya, the narrator, takes to the open road to avoid police who might question how her husband ended up dead after a fall down the stairs. Tonya changes her name, cars, living accomodations, jobs, and lifestyles on her odysee for a new, anonymous life away from pursuit. Gripping and unexpected on every page. (Previously reviewed here)