An enjoyable, intriguing read that captures the atmosphere of a chaotic era.
Basinski’s legal procedural is set on Georgia’s Fort Daley Army base in 1969 when the Vietnam War is raging and the anti-war protest movement is gaining traction.
Drafted after completing law school, Pvt. Frank Grabowski is in basic training and not by choice. It’s a cold October morning when he learns that Sgt. Eustice Benson has been killed, repeatedly stabbed to death during the night. Benson had been an especially brutal drill sergeant, but he was also a war hero. The Army intends to conclude the case quickly. Within the day, they arrest Pvt. Perry Morrocco and charge him with premeditated murder. A year earlier, Perry had rescued Frank from the police-instigated violence during Chicago’s Democratic convention. Now they are serendipitously serving in the same unit in Fort Daley. Perry has been an active anti-war protester, and his induction in the Army was the unconventional result of having been arrested for drug possession after leaving Woodstock. It’s through such narrative snippets that Basinski evokes the political, legal, and social turmoil that was roiling the country at the time. Much to Frank’s surprise, Perry is refusing to talk unless his just-out-of-law-school buddy is assigned to the Judge Advocate General defense team. JAG attorney Lt. Karen Farrall is co-counsel, and she and Frank begin the search for other plausible suspects, indulging in a bit of romance along the way. This is first and foremost an engaging legal drama, pitting the idealism and naiveté of an inexperienced attorney against the institutionalized power of the U.S. Army. But it also serves to highlight one of the tragic ancillary problems arising out of the Vietnam debacle—the easy availability of drugs in Southeast Asia, resulting in a dependency that plagued too many returning troops. Legal enthusiasts will find some disturbing examples of the differences between civilian and military codes of justice. Conversational narration and easy-flowing dialogue propel the story forward at a good pace, with a couple of surprises along the way, including an unsettling epilogue.
An enjoyable, intriguing read that captures the atmosphere of a chaotic era.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 195
Publisher: Manuscript
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Smart, edgy, and entertaining as heck.
Against her better judgment, Lucy Chase returns to her hometown of Plumpton, Texas, for her grandmother’s birthday, knowing full well that almost everyone in town still believes she murdered her best friend five years ago, when they were in their early 20s.
Coincidentally—or is it?—Ben Owens, a true-crime podcaster, is also in town, interviewing Lucy’s family and former friends about the murder of Savannah Harper, “just the sweetest girl you ever met,” who died from several violent blows to the head. Lucy was found hours later covered in blood, with no memory of what happened. She was—and is—a woman with secrets, which has not endeared her to the people of Plumpton; their narrative is that she was always violent, secretive, difficult. But Ben wants to tell Lucy’s story; attractive and relentless, he uncovers new evidence and coaxes new interviews, and people slowly begin to question whether Lucy is truly guilty. Lucy, meanwhile, lets down her guard, and as she and Ben draw closer together, she has to finally face the truth of her past and unmask the murderer of her complicated, gorgeous, protective friend. Most of the novel is told from Lucy’s point of view, which allows for a natural unspooling of the layers of her life and her story. She’s strong, she’s prickly, and we gradually begin to understand just how wronged she has been. The story is a striking commentary on the insular and harmful nature of small-town prejudice and how women who don’t fit a certain mold are often considered outliers, if not straight-up villains. Tintera is smart to capitalize on how the true-crime podcast boom informs and infuses the current fictional thriller scene; she’s also effective at writing action that transcends the podcast structure.
Smart, edgy, and entertaining as heck.Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781250880314
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
If you love good crime writing but aren’t familiar with Winslow’s work, read this trilogy in order.
The dramatic conclusion to the trilogy about two New England crime families begun in City on Fire (2022) and City of Dreams (2023).
Near the end of his journey, multimillionaire Danny Ryan watches a casino implode in a mushroom cloud of dust and muses about his life’s implosions: “The cancer that killed his wife, the depression that destroyed his love, the moral rot that took his soul.” Danny is from Providence, Rhode Island, and desperately tried to leave his criminal life behind him. But using a ton of ill-gotten gains, he invests heavily in Las Vegas properties. Congress is conducting an investigation into gambling that could destroy his casino business and even land him in jail. An FBI agent plans to take Danny down for major sins he’d like to repent for. Meanwhile, can he make peace with his enemies? Nope, doesn’t look like it. Even if the parties involved want to put the past behind them, the trouble is that they don’t trust each other. Is Vern Winegard setting Dan up? Is Dan setting Vern up? “Trust? Trust is children waiting for Santa Claus.” So what could have been a “Kumbaya,” nobody-wants-to-read-this story turns into a grisly bloodletting filled with language that would set Sister Mary Margaret’s wimple on fire—figuratively speaking, as she’s not in the book. But the Catholic reference is appropriate: Two of the many colorful characters of ill repute are known as the Altar Boys, serving “Last Communion” to their victims. On the law-abiding side and out of the line of fire is an ex-nun-turned-prosecutor nicknamed Attila the Nun, who’s determined to bring justice for a gory matricide. (Rhode Island really had such a person, by the way.) Finally, the prose is just fun: A friend warns Dan about Allie Licata: “In a world of sick fucks, even the sick fucks think Licata’s a sick fuck.” A couple of things to note: This not only ends the trilogy, but it also closes out the author’s career, as he has said he’ll write no more novels.
If you love good crime writing but aren’t familiar with Winslow’s work, read this trilogy in order.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780063079472
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
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