Library Limelights 310

 

Nelson DeMille. The Maze. Ebook download from TPL. Large Print. USA: Simon & Schuster, 2022.

Smart-ass John Corey—ex-NYPD, ex-FBI task force, ex-Diplomatic Surveillance Group, known for going rogue on assignments and pissing off his colleagues in general, was my favourite DeMille character in a number of past missions. Well, here's unemployed John, relaxing at Uncle Harry's summer house on the North Branch of Long Island, fantasizing about the terrorists who are hunting him from his last go-round. But a girlfriend from a few assignments ago visits him: Det. Sgt. Beth Penrose of the Sussex County police force. Corey senses he may be able to stay in this idyllic location when Harry's summer tenants arrive, since Beth has a cottage here. In a nutshell, Beth is open to resuming their relationship, at her cottage, but the condition is that Corey take a job with Security Solutions, a nearby P.I. firm, for the summer. Real detectives have only contempt for such inferior beings, although many are ex-cops.

Against a prickly instinct, Corey agrees. So, besides Beth, the story is full of cops and ex-cops: John's friend Max, also Sussex police; Steve Landowski, head honcho of Security Solutions; SS investigators Ferrara, Quinlan, and Santangelo―the latter had once worked with John; Sharon Hite who quit SS; others of surrounding police force areas. And a disbarred lawyer, Jack Berger. Not to mention Amy the seductive receptionist. Of course no one has a higher opinion of Corey than himself, but Landowski and SS are thrilled to have him for a mutual trial period. Landowski also knows how to host the local big shots. Corey's suspicion of Beth's hidden agenda comes true, and in his own words, the job turns into a "high-voltage and multilayered case." Highly complex, I would add. Trust no one, of course, and Corey's renegade scheme unsurprisingly backfires on him with an epic run to the climax.

DeMille provides plenty of dialogue that's fun ‒ Corey's strong point ‒ but his references to sex have increased, or are we all just more #MeToo aware? Do I care how many synonyms he has for his male organ? Maybe it's really a guy's book? The women do give back as good as they get. Can't say it's not thrilling entertainment!

BITS

▪ I try not to have impure thoughts, but my dick has been unemployed longer than I have. (14)

▪ "Tourists come with their kids and pay five bucks to run around the corn maze." (77)

▪ "Kombucha. Fermented tea. About one percent alcohol." She assured me, "It's good for you." (111)

▪ What makes me angry is that Beth and Max thought they could juke and jive me. (194)

▪ So all of a sudden I was involved in something much bigger than a suspicious suicide. (214)

▪ Well, I was getting laid, getting paid, and my life was in danger. What more could I ask for? (216)

▪ She left before I could say, "Thanks for coming." Actually I was the one who came. Emission accomplished. (320)

▪ We all shook hands to seal the bet, then we popped another beer and I had a cigarette, because men who drink, gamble, smoke and joke together are brothers. (336)

▪ Well, my bullshit was piling up so high it wouldn't take much for it to collapse and bury me. But so far, so good. Maybe I should run for office. (398)

▪ "If we wanted you dead, John, you'd already be dead." (421)

More Corey & company

‒ Do you have pigs in a blanket?

‒ No, but I can get you a blanket and we can make one.(291)

‒ Would the lady like anything?

‒ Yes. A new boyfriend. (290)

‒ Any chance of a reconciliation?

‒ Only if I won the lottery and got a frontal lobotomy. (155)

‒ Have you ever done one of those DNA ancestry tests?

‒ No. Why?

‒ I was wondering what percentage of Neanderthal you are. (101)

‒ Is there a possibility of a reconciliation?

‒ The odds of that, Beth, are about the same as for peace on earth. (98)

John Grisham. The Whistler. Large Print. USA: Random House, 2016.

OK Grisham, you're up ... out of the random pile to read while waiting for TPL to deliver. His social theme this time is corruption in the court system. Lacy and Hugo are two of a dwindling number of investigators for Florida's Board on Judicial Conduct (BJC); they are lawyers mandated to follow up any official complaints submitted about a judge. A man who contacts them is extraordinarily cautious: a lawyer called Greg Myers (after a name change) who lives on his boat in the Caribbean. He does not know the identity of his client―communicated through his friend and intermediary Cooley—who has shocking information about the nefarious activities of Judge Claudia McDover. It concerns her secret link to a developer of housing and commercial properties abutting the Tappacola tribe's casino.

Slowly the mystery client reveals details via Greg to Lacy and Hugo that look to be credible, the developer likely being the head of the little-known Coast Mafia, Vonn Dubose, in league with members of the Tappacola. But the BJC needs solid evidence that Dubose is skimming the casino's cash profits, and that Claudia is one of the regular recipients (payment for decisions from the bench, favourable to Dubose and his enterprises). A devastating car crash almost derails the investigation; but the search for witnesses, for proof, expands far beyond the committed investigators' expectations and resources. Tribal law, bureaucratic red tape, dead bodies, money laundering, scared or vanished witnesses, all contribute to a super-complicated job but Lacy finally has enough for the FBI to spring into action with Agent Pacheco eagerly leading pursuit.

It's Grisham at his serious, didactic best if you like scenarios so real they could be today's headlines. Although without a smidgeon of humour to levy the relentless tangents and detours ... unless you count Lacy's loyal but unruly brother Gunther who manages to alienate everyone he meets.

QUOTES

▪ "Yes, and the FBI has never shown much enthusiasm for going after Indians for any type of wrongdoing." (25)

▪ "Claudia McDover sold her soul to the devil to get elected and she's been getting paid ever since." (48)

▪ "Dubose is protected by layers of offshore shell companies. He has no profile, leaves no trail." (50)

▪ Lacy said, "So to summarize the case so far, our target, Claudia McDover, takes bribes from thugs, skims casino cash from the Indians, and somehow launders the money with the help of a very close friend who happens to be an estate lawyer." (55)

▪ As a sovereign nation, the Tappacola make and enforce their own laws, with no real regard for outside interference. (97)

▪ "The judge is not the biggest problem here." (151)

▪ "You must protect my identity at all times, Lacy." (234)

▪ If the judge was shocked, she hid her surprise well. Nothing. No anger. No disbelief. (241)

▪ She reminded her boss that he himself had told Gunther far too much over coffee ... . (307)

▪ "I don't trust anyone, Vonn, especially you." (374)

▪ Pacheco said, "The short version, Mr. Bullington, is that we want your client to deliver the Coast Mafia." (386-7)

▪ Once she was in place, as a state employee, they had a clear path of recovery under the whistle-blower statute. (452)

The judge is served

"During the assessment, what did you learn that indicated these allegations have merit?"

"We're not required to divulge that at this time. As I'm sure you know, from a careful review of the statutes, Judge McDover has thirty days to respond in writing. During that period, we will continue to investigate. Once we receive your response, we will respond to it."

"I got a response for you right now," Killebrew growled. "This is defamatory, libelous, and a complete crock of shit. It's all lies. The Board on Judicial Conduct should be investigated for taking this rubbish seriously and defiling the name of one of the highest-rated judges in the State of Florida." (242)

Assessment by Pacheco

"Myers needs the money. He's an ex-con who's sixty years old and without much of a future. He was banking on a huge windfall from the whistle-blower statute. He knew that law inside and out and was already counting his money. He believed McDover and Dubose have stolen tens of millions and that a lot of the money can be recovered. I don't know how he paid for the boat but he was proud of it. He loved island hopping and puttering around the Keys. He was a happy guy about to strike it rich. So, no, I don't think he walked away." (318)