VIWF Staff

One of the many pleasures of Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski novels is that the books are topical. In Breakdown, young women (some of whom are immigrants) are involved in a book club reading a "Twilight"-like young adult horror novel penned by “Boadicea Jones”.  A wonderful incentive for young women to be in a book club, but near their ‘haunting’, a real murder takes place.

Meanwhile, two adult women (not unlike some we see on American TV) are running against each other for the Senate.  There is a powerful conservative talk-show host, anti-immigrant hysteria, the fears of the backers of each of the wannabe politicians, and the hysterical concern that V.I.’s work and sharp tongue will have a negative impact on the upcoming election. 

There are lots of coincidences and connections that keep the story moving.  Amid a backdrop of power and politics, bad—and not-so-bad guys are killed and murders solved.  The dialogue is sharp, the satire of politics and media institutions wonderful, and the descriptions hilarious.

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I’ll See You in My Dreams, by William Deverell

After reading crime novels dealing with people smuggling, diamond smuggling, spies, killers, and other bad guys, it was a particular pleasure to read William Deverell’s I’ll See You in My Dreams.  There are, of course, bad guys but in Deverell’s books, these are accused of being bad guys, and Deverell’s Arthur Beauchamp is a lawyer who struggles to successfully defend them in court.  In all his books, Deverell situates the crime—and the legal arguments—in places we recognize: the Law Courts at 800 Smithe and in what is now the Art Gallery.  He lives in the West End and the thinly disguised Garibaldi Island (filled with residents whose lifestyles we recognize), he drives to Squamish, and uses the ferries to small and large islands.  I’ll See You in My Dreams has the additional storyline of the accused, who appears to be the grandchild and great grandchild of victims of residential schools.  A wonderful, provocative read!

Feast Day of Fools, by James Lee Burke

Everything I know about Louisiana I learned from James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux series—wonderfully written books that exemplify Burke’s conviction that “beauty and horror go hand in hand in this life”.  This week I read Feast Day of Fools because it was recommended to me; this is the third book in the Hack Holland series (I will have to find the first two). Like Robicheaux, Sheriff "Hack" Holland is a lawman.  In his case, he’s also a Korean veteran and a descendant of a long line of Texas lawmen. The Holland books take place in southwest Texas, near the border of Mexico; like the Robicheaux books they are wonderfully written, but in this instance, the darkness of a man's heart is greater than the beauty.  I found parts of Feast Day seriously scary, which prompted a memory of Burke’s statement when he was at the Festival several years ago.  He reminded us that, while he writes fiction, his books are based in reality.  Given that he grew up in the Texas/Louisiana Gulf Coat, I believe him.  James Lee Burke is a superb storyteller, well worth reading.

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