Blowback by Peter May

This is a review of a Peter May book that will published in march 2011. It is number 5 in the Enzo Macleod series, and I really loved this book !

Blowback  by Peter May

Peter May has done it again!! Blowback, the 5^th Enzo Macleod mystery, is great and sure to please all those fans that follow his exploits. Enzo has agreed, on a bet, to solve seven cold cases that a friend of his has written about. So far he’s 5 for 5 ! Off course, new readers to the series will also be haopy that they found him!

Readers always learn something from a Peter May mystery. These time they’lll learn about haute cuisine and the Michelin rating system. The mystery is set in a three star restaurant in a beautiful, remote area about 4 hours out of Paris. The mystery revolves about the two brothers that own and operate a Michelin three star restaurant. The wine and food described in the book will make you want to go out and indulge in some fine dining.  Calories be dammed!! The brother theme dovetails with another aspect of the story and adds another dimension to Enzo. The book opens with the chef summoning journalist to reveal some news…..and the mystery is on!  The murderer is never easy to solve in any of his books and this one is no exception!  I love the way that May blends the modern world with vices that are as old as mankind.

As in other MacLeod mysteries, Macleod’s family plays a part in helping him with the case. The tension between his daughters is missing from this one and it works well for the story.  His family grows in this one in a way that follows the others in the series and with a new addition that takes the story in a new direction. There are the usual romantic interests, and tensions, in the story and the odd character that adds to the story without taking it over. May is really good with this technique!

This book is well plotted and beautifully written. Peter May has a series that is a winner! I’m looking forward to more from him!

The Brutal Telling

This is number five in the Chief Inspector Gamache mysteries that center around the villagers of  Three Pines by Louise Penny. This is a village with more murders than people ! The peaceful life of this village is shattered in this book and the secrets that are reveled are dark. This is an old fashioned who dun it. There are clues all along but they turn out to be red herrings.  The ending totally surprised and upset me. This is not the way it should be, good guys should not become the bad guy. I can't wait to read the next one !

An Object of Beauty

Steve Martin, yes Steve Martin the comedian has a new book out. Since I really enjoy his humor, I bought the book...and boy was I disappointed. Here's my review. If you read it and though differently, post a comment and let's discuss

Does Not Deliver

Art is about beautiful objects, pairing, sculpture, music,  and sometimes about people. The book does not deliver.

This is a story about Lacey Yeager, a newcomer to the art scene in New York City and what she will do to advance herself. It turns out that she will do just about anything, as will most of the characters in the story. Reading this book was like watching a train wreck. You know you should look away and say a prayer for the victims, but you just can't take your eyes away. There is no climax to the story, no good over evil, no "gotcha" moments where the bad guys get caught, there just a depressing tale of unfettered greed and ambition. Even the moments where Martin describes great art are tainted by the  characters always putting a dollar sign in the piece in question.

 The story is all about Lacey and noting else. Martin has created a character without depth, there are no complexities, no layers, no redeeming graces in her. In other words, there is no reason to like her or even to dislike her. She is what she is, vain, shallow and self serving. She is someone who if I meet her in real life, I would shrug off. Nothing there to be befriend.

The other main  characters in the book are written in the same vein, and again there is no reason to like any of them. The book showcases a world of privilege and manipulation, both of people and money. Success is measured in how much money you have, how "smartly " you go about acquiring it. Money does not buy class and Martin demonstrates this very well. Relationships are not important and can be discarded as easily as trash, at least in this world view. Every person that comes into her life is judged for friendship or gain, in how she can use or abuse them. When it comes to use and abuse, Lacey is a master. She never seems to realize that those she uses are  doing the same to her. Talley uses her to sell pictures, Patrice uses her as an object of gratification that can be exploited. Her two girlfriends in the story only interact minimally with her. Boyfriends are for drugs, sex and power. None of them seem to like her. The crowd that she so desperately wants to join, want nothing to do with her socially. The ones that have potential for her, she mocks and loses. In the end, she winds up the same way she lived her life in New York, alone.

Money and greed are universal themes, so are love and hate. Martin dwells exclusively on money and greed, and that, in my opinion makes this a inferior book. I expected more humanity in this novel, and Martin did not deliver.

I'm Back !

Hi everyone, boy it sure has been a long time since I posted ! Well life has been busy and I have been reading !! In addition to my Kindle, I have been reading on the iPad that I got for Christmas. Kindle books are so much brighter and photos inside of books look really good look !

So onto books......