Killer Pursuit

Killer Pursuit by Jeff Gunhus   350 pages

I discovered author Jeff Gunhus’ work in 2015 when I read his Night Chill and The Torment of Rachel Adams. Night Chill scared me so bad that I didn’t sleep for three days and still haven’t worked up the courage to read its sequel, Night Terror.

But now he’s turned to a new genre, the political thriller. In Killer Pursuit, the second in the Allison McNeil series, Gunhus takes on serial killers, FBI agents, and prostitutes in Washington, D.C.

High society call-girl, Catherine Fews, is brutally murdered in her Georgetown home. While Catherine is being dismembered, Allison is about to gun down another bad guy.

The D.C. detectives who are investigating Catherine’s death find not one, but two, cameras hidden in her bedroom walls. One is a traditional, security-like camera that has had its memory erased. The other is a highly sophisticated device that “is connected to the Internet through an encrypted connection…and no one knows who’s on the other end.” Hence the FBI’s involvement.

As the news of Catherine’s death travels through the city, many high profile politicians start to sweat, especially the man most likely to be the next President of the United States.

Because of the nature of the crime, the FBI Director asks Allison to run an off-the-record investigation. Seems this case is similar to the one in the first book, Killer Within, which justifies Allison’s probe. I haven’t read the first book. When Gunhus refers to that case, he does an excellent job in supplying the details the reader needs.

Killer Pursuit is a good read, not a great read, which is why I give it 4 out of 5 stars. It had a strong plot (the killer was a surprise). The writing was good, the pacing was excellent. The dialogue was natural and flowed well, and the characters were well-developed. However, there just wasn’t’ anything to set the novel apart from the hundreds that are already out there. 

The Guest Room

The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian   336 pages

I’ve been a huge fan of Chris Bohjalian’s since he burst onto the literary scene with his Oprah Book Selection, Midwives. The Guest Room is his 18^th book, and, I believe, his finest.  As I Facebooked to Bohjalian: Oh Wow! Oh WoW! Oh WOw! OH WOW! 

Richard Chapman, his wife, Kristin, and their young daughter, Melissa, live in Bronxville, New York, a suburb of Manhattan. Richard is an investment banker, and Kristen is a history teacher. Richard’s idiot younger brother, Phillip, is finally getting married and Richard and Kirstin agree to let the bachelor party. Kristen takes Melissa into Manhattan to spend the weekend with her mother, as the couple is sure strippers have been included in the evening’s festivities.

Phillip’s friend, Spencer, doesn’t just hire strippers; he hires call girls. The girls, Alexandra and Sonja, arrive with what the guys believe to be bodyguards. As the evening progresses, stripping turns into sex. Richard finds himself enamored with Alexandra and alone with her, both naked, in the guest room. No spoiler here, so you’ll have to read the book to find out what happens.

It’s after Alexandra and Richard return to the party that all hell breaks loose. Sonja jumps one of the bodyguards and repeatedly plunges a knife into his neck. Blood is everywhere. Everywhere. The gunshots are heard and the other bodyguard’s blood is adding to the horror. The girls throw on some clothes and escape before the guys can come to their senses enough to call 911.

The story is told in alternative chapters: Richard and Kristen’s point of view and Alexandra’s viewpoint. Readers soon learn that the girls aren’t college students trying to earn money for tuition; they are Armenian girls who have been kidnapped and used as sex slaves.

There are so many threads in this one story. How did Alexandra and Sonja get caught up in this life? Where are they now? Are their kidnappers, the Russians, looking for them? Will Richard and the guys go to jail for having hired prostitutes? Will Richard and Kristen’s marriage survive? What will Melissa think of her father? How will the family ever go back to their home and life, knowing that it had been a crime scene?

Be prepared to stay up late as Bohjalian ties all the unanswered questions together into a riveting novel that left me gasping by the end. I give The Guest Room, 6 out of 5 stars.

Karen Memory

Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear
350 Pages

"Set in the late 19th century--when the city we now call Seattle Underground was the whole town (and still on the surface), when airships plied the trade routes, would-be gold miners were heading to the gold fields of Alaska, and steam-powered mechanicals stalked the waterfront, Karen is a young woman on her own, is making the best of her orphaned state by working in Madame Damnable's high-quality bordello. Through Karen's eyes we get to know the other girls in the house--a resourceful group--and the poor and the powerful of the town. Trouble erupts one night when a badly injured girl arrives at their door, begging sanctuary, followed by the man who holds her indenture, and who has a machine that can take over anyone's mind and control their actions. And as if that wasn't bad enough, the next night brings a body dumped in their rubbish heap--a streetwalker who has been brutally murdered."

I liked and disliked this book.  The narrative style was good and I liked the setting of the book but I felt the action and plot were weak.  I probably would not recommend this book to others.

Nana

Nana by Zola, Emile, 485 pages

I started reading Nana after I saw it in a list of banned books. The book had been banned in Yugoslavia and Ireland and the writings of Zola were banned in England and was listed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, which was the list of books prohibited by the Vatican until the list was abolished in 1966.

As I read it I could not understand why this book was banned. I know it came from an earlier time but asides from prostitution, lack or morals and some vulgarity there is not anything overly bad about it. After some looking it seems that the reason people objected to it was the heroine of the story being a prostitute and for exposing the desires of men in the era in a bad light.

This is actually the ninth part of a twenty volume set by Zola. I did not find that out till afterwards, but apparently reading them in order gives you the proper introduction of the characters versus the casual ones provided in Nana. The book can be read on its own though, if you are patient.

The book overall is only fair and despite all of the characters falling in love with Nana by the end I was hoping she would meet some horrible fate.


If the novel would come out now it would not even receive a passing glance. If I am to continue this reading of banned books I might have to focus on the newer ones, as most of these seem to be banned just for being progressive for their time.

Cop Town

Cop Town by Karin Slaughter,  402 pages

I don't read mysteries nearly as much as I used to, but my love for Karin Slaughter has not dissipated. I discovered her when I worked at ShopnSave and hit up the book section for something to read on break. She has 2 very good series (Will Trent and Grant County), but this book is a stand-alone.
Set in the 1970s, it deals with the Atlanta Police force (Slaughter is from Atlanta). Someone is methodically killing cops and the men on the police force are too busy drinking and degrading the female cops to get anything solved. So, it's up to Maggie and Kate, two female officers, to solve the crime. Luckily, their friend Gail, who works vice, knows a pimp who has a girl with some information.
Slaughter captures much of the racial discontent of the time, as well as the discrimination women still faced in the workplace, specifically in law enforcement.
The plotline and characters of this book will quickly suck you in and hold your interest, which is true of all Slaughter's books.
Warning: Karin does tend to be quite graphic with her depictions and descriptions of the crimes in her novels, so reader beware.
P.S. Karin Slaughter will be at Central Library Tuesday, July 15th at 7:00pm in the Carnegie room!

Belle Cora

Belle Cora by Phillip Marguilies,  594 pages


What it is about:  This historical fiction novel is the story of Arabella Goodwin and how she went from a well to do young girl in 1830's Manhattan, to a Madame of one of the most popular brothels in San Francisco.  The novel opens on the occasion of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco where Belle Cora has set up a comfortable life as a respectable widow.


Should you read it?:  If you are a fan of historical fiction you won't be disappointed by Marguilies' recreation of New York City during the 1830's and San Francisco during the Gold Rush.  Arabella is a strong female character, albeit sometimes unlikeable,  who uses her limited resources to succeed in life.  That being said, it is a long book and there are spots that drag.  In the end however, you'll be glad you read it.