The Case of the Substitute Face by Erle Stanley Gardner

Review by Matt B. (BuffaloSavage)

This is the twelfth Perry Mason mystery, published in 1938. Unusually for Gardner, this murder story begins not in the super-lawyer’s LA office, but on the high seas, on a cruise ship embarking from Honolulu and bound for San Francisco.

A distraught Mrs. Newberry seeks Perry’s professional advice. She suspects her family’s vacation is being paid for with newfound wealth that her husband Carl embezzled from his former employer. Mrs. Newberry is worried that exposure of her husband’s sticky fingers and the resulting scandal would damage the future prospects of their daughter Belle. Because Perry has been charmed by Belle’s vivacity and dislike of sham, Perry says he will help the family through its problem.

Mason calls his PI Paul Drake to execute a plan. He will try to cut a deal with Carl’s former employer whereby Carl can keep out of The Big House by agreeing to return the remaining money. The plan has a chance but is blown up when Carl’s murder takes place.

Excellent scenes entirely of dialogue feature Mason interviewing persons of interest. For comic relief, Mason performs a B&E with a Paul Drake, who plays a sidekick like Booboo, Ron Weasley or Bess Marvin with lots of doubt and trepidation but dependable loyalty in the end, no matter the trouble the hero drags them into. As for the damsel in distress, Della Street goes missing and an alarmed Perry pulls out all the stops to locate her. Before they find her is about as fretful and anxious as we’ll ever see our favorite lawyer.

The Mason mysteries written in the Thirties have a gritty feel. The characters talk in a fast-paced way and the slang and idioms are, of course, more than a little quaint by now. The cops are hard-boiled to the point of self-parody. Gardner’s prose has a tough and unsentimental style, but he’s not cynical or callous, keeps sex and violence offstage, and the settings and atmosphere are never sleazy. He’s tough on the rich and the guardians of the criminal justice system, especially when they aren’t giving The Little Guy a break.

VORTEX by Robert Charles Wilson

Review by Cyndi J. (cyndij)

VORTEX by Robert Charles Wilson is the third in his Spin trilogy. The first, SPIN, told the story of how Earth became enclosed in a mysterious bubble, in which life continued as if normal while in reality, time was passing by outside by hundreds of years for every Earth hour. It was determined that some outside entity referred to as the Hypotheticals had done this for unknown purposes.   In the second, AXIS, the story shifted to another planet, accessible from Earth by means of a giant Arch created by the Hypotheticals. Humans on this other world had “infected” Isaac Dvali in the womb with Hypothetical nanotechnology, hoping to gain dialogue with them. Turk Findley, an itinerant man with a pilot’s license, was caught up the Hypothetical’s pass through the planet and he and Isaac disappeared.

We get two storylines in VORTEX. One is on Earth, set a bit before the timeline from AXIS, and concerns Orrin Mather. Orrin has a story he’s written, an odd one, and there are people who want to help him out and others who would like nothing more than to shut him up.  As it turns out, Orrin’s story is about Turk Findlay, and Isaac, and a woman we’ll know as Allison.

Switch to the future. Turk awakens, naked in the desert, but is soon rescued. Ten thousand years have passed and his rescuers are part of a community called Vox.  They think he has some special relationship with the Hypotheticals after being taken, but he has no memory of it. Isaac too has been found, but in bad shape.  The physical part of Vox is a huge complex of traveling islands, and its population is almost all networked together. There will be quite a lot about the various types of group minds which you may, or may not, care about.  But basically, Vox knows their prophecies have come true and they’re on their way to meet the Hypotheticals.  It isn’t going to turn out like they hope.

On Earth, Orrin’s friends are desperate to get Orrin to safety and figure out what he’s trying to communicate. The situation starts to sound really familiar to us, and yes, it is almost – not quite, but almost  – exactly what we think. And why is it “almost”? You may well ask. Keep reading.

There are such cool big ideas in this trilogy. The Hypotheticals, the longevity drug, Vox, more.  It will all come together in the end in a rather mind-blowing way, but – you will not be surprised by this if you’ve been paying attention – there is no godlike force directing it all (thank you, Wilson). I wouldn’t call it a happy ending, I guess, but not sad either.  Despite the huge scope and the astonishing time that’s elapsed, this is still a character-driven tale; the story of individuals in an unimaginably large-scale happening. But truthfully I found it hard to really care about most of them. In my opinion this last book has more suspense and action than the previous two, and I was able to relate to Turk and the others more easily.  I also think Wilson had a hard time figuring out exactly how to conclude it, but the end of the universe shuts things down nicely.

In conclusion: it was a good series. I doubt I’ll lie awake thinking about it, but if you like big SF, definitely worth reading.

Texas Bluegrass History: High Lonesome on the High Plains

by Jeff Campbell and Braeden Paul

Review by jjares

This book is a different type of history of Texas Bluegrass Music. Individuals wrote portions of the book about a particular person or band, and the authors combined it into a book. A unique thing about this book is that many photos and newspaper clippings accompany the text. One author, Jeff Campbell, is a historic preservation professional. He aims to preserve the history of the critical figures of bluegrass music in Texas.
Although Bill Monroe invented the bluegrass genre, he had help along the way. The first man outlined is Howdy Forrester, the first to play double-stops with Bill Monroe.
The Mayfield brothers (Herbert, Smokey, and Edd) heard Bill and Charlie Monroe on the radio while they lived in Dimmitt, TX. Radio was the avenue for music, and the Grand Ole Opry played nationwide. The Mayfields were a musical family, from father William (fiddle), mother Penelope (piano and guitar), and all eight children.
After WW II, Herb, Smokey, and Edd started a band replicating the Bill Monroe sound. They also featured Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt, and Chubby Wise. Edd met Bill Myrick, a musician with Bill Monroe, and they formed a band — Bill Myrick and the Mayfield Brothers.
When Bill Monroe’s band came to Texas, he had the Mayfield band open for his group. Soon after that, Bill Monroe offered Edd a place in his band. Edd worked for him three times. Unfortunately, however, Edd died of leukemia in 1958 at 32.
The rest of the First Generation of Texas Bluegrass Musicians were:* Tex Logan — The Fiddling Electrical Engineer with a Ph.D. He wrote, “Christmas Time’s a Comin.”
* Tom Uhr — Part of the family’s band, he started writing songs at nine. The family’s heroes were Bob Wills and his band.
The Second Generation emerged as part of the American Folk Revival of the 1960s.* Tom Uhr formed the folk group, the Shady Grove Ramblers, who were busy from the 1960s – 2010s. However, he continued writing music and creating albums.* The House Brothers and the Canaan Valley Boys formed a gospel music group with a bluegrass orientation. Eventually, they became more secular and renamed themselves – the House Brothers until the 1990s.*Southwest Bluegrass Club — Tom Uhr and some bluegrass friends formed this in Hurst, TX. Their goal was to keep Bluegrass alive through scholarships, training sessions, and festivals.* Holly Bond and the Bluegrass Texans — By 1968, this band began recording, and in 1969, they won The Original Amateur Hour. The band was active for 35 years.* Johnnie Martin and the Bluegrass Ramblers of Texas — Martin gathered a band, bought a bus and started performing around Beaumont and that region. They produced some albums, and the group disbanded due to Johnnie’s declining health.* Russell Moore – One of Martin’s members who struck out on his own, Russell formed the Southern Connection and then IIIrd Tyme Out. They won IBMA awards for the vocal group for six years, and Russell won vocalist of the year for six years.
In the 1970s,  ’80s, & ’90s — Bluegrass exploded in Texas, and South Plains College started a bluegrass music degree (associate). They also created the Central Texas Bluegrass Association in Austin. This book recounts how the music department developed. Tom T. Hall, who loved bluegrass music, brought a film crew and created a documentary about the school and program. As a result, Waylon Jenning’s son enrolled in the program.
Did You Know?* Steve Martin, a comedian, was born in Waco, TX. He’s a bluegrass aficionado and an experienced picker on the banjo. So when his family moved to California, Steve took up the banjo at 17. Eventually, his love for Bluegrass resulted in him establishing the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. Winners have gone on to significant careers in Bluegrass.
Honorary Texans: This chapter recounts the influence of Alan Munde (from Norman, OK) and Peter Rowan (from Wayland, Mass), two legends in Bluegrass.
A New Millennium — With the film’s success, O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU, two new Texas-based groups emerged nationally — Greencards (of Austin, TX) and Cadillac Sky (from Fort Worth, TX). This chapter tells about their emergence and effect on Bluegrass. There are also short stories about Hot Pckin’ 57s (formed in 2016 in Austin, TX) and the Family Sowell (now of Tennessee, originally from Hempstead, TX). A unique band mentioned is the Beatlegrass band (combining Beatles and Bluegrass, which emerged into Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Bluegrass Band.
If you are interested in the beginnings of Bluegrass in Texas, this book draws on the knowledge of the movers and shakers of Bluegrass and how they have changed and improved over the generations. Great reading and extensive photos and newspaper clippings.

The Shortest Way to Hades by Sarah Caudwell

Review by Matt B. (BuffaloSavage)

This 1984 mystery opens with five young London barristers — Cantrip, Selena, Timothy, Ragwort, and Julia – handling a trust in such a way as to save the 5-million-pound estate a 3-million-pound tax bill. But to support a court petition to make the trust incontestable, one of the cousins demands 100-thousand pounds for her signature – which makes the barristers of the other cousins up their price for signatures too. But the demanding cousin suddenly dies of blunt force trauma due to a fall from a height. The coroner rules it was an accident.

The five young barristers call in their friend Hilary Tamar to rootle about and determine if the cause of death was in fact an accident. Or murder. Or suicide. Hilary is an Oxford historian with powerful reasoning skills. Not so much an unreliable narrator as a prejudiced one, Oxonian Hilary gets barbs into Cambridge in that offhand way only an English intellectual can pull off. Hilary plumps down on the side of rigorous scholarship, to an extent naïve and pompous at the same time. But narrator Hilary is never ridiculous and promises, “Cost candour what it may, I will not deceive my readers.”

Indeed, ridiculous is saved for Julia Larwood. You would think a tax attorney has a good fix on details but Julia is absent-minded and disorganized (as the English say: scatty). She tends to lose key documents and tuck away never to be found again letters that she is too afraid to open and read. She’s also easily distracted by male beauty. Everybody knows she’s arrived because they can hear her knocking over coat racks and dropping her handbag. Best of all, she’s as quixotic as a thirteen-year-old, apt to get on a high horse about Sir Thomas More and all that ethics jazz. Julia is a marvelous comic creation.

Fans of old-school whodunnits will think of the Bright Young Things of Craig Rice novels when they hear the wit and raillery directed at Hilary by Cantrip, Selena, Timothy, Ragwort, and Julia. They will also like old-school standbys like the family tree, the map of the layout of Rupert’s apartment, and some narrative given in letters. The plot is agreeably complicated and the legal-babble will call to mind the instructive explications of Henry Cecil. The stylish language is for readers who like literate mystery writers like Michael Innes, Nicholas Blake, and to a lesser extent Margery Allingham. There are British words all over the place: subfusc, rumbustious, tickety-boo, nip off to the loo, and get in a tizwozz.

I recommend this delightful legal mystery. Caudwell wrote only three other Hilary Tamar mysteries. She passed away at the age of 60 in the year 2000.

The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik

Review by Cyndi J. (cyndij)

THE GOLDEN ENCLAVES is the third of The Scholomance trilogy. This review will have minor spoilers for A DEADLY EDUCATION and THE LAST GRADUATE. You have been warned.

You can read my review of The Last Graduate on an earlier blog post by clicking here.

If you thought the idea of sending your kids to a brutal school where they were very likely to be killed was dark, wait till you read this last entry  But though there are dark doings, the tone of the book is not so grim. It’s asking important questions: Do the needs of the many really outweigh the needs of the few? Can the ends ever justify the means?

To briefly sum up: Galadriel (call her El), the immensely powerful teen wizard who has sworn never to use dark magic, has survived graduation day in The Scholomance. Not only that but she’s managed to bring everyone else – even the junior students – out alive, and sent the entire school into the Void from whence it can’t return.  The numbers of monsters therefore have been hugely reduced.  There, she thinks, that takes care of that and kids won’t have to die.

Oh but wait – El brought out all but one. Her boyfriend Orion is still in there.  Eaten by the maw-mouth, which means he is forever in torment, trapped inside the maw-mouth which is now trapped inside the Void. But wait again, because as it turns out there is a way to get back into the school.  And once El learns that, nothing is more important than ending Orion’s torment. Except as it turns out maybe there are some other things that need doing.

El’s quest is going to bring her to meet her great-grandmother, who famously prophesied that El would cause the destruction of the enclaves and the deaths of thousands, thus causing the ostracism of El and her mother. El’s determination never to become a maleficer, an evil wizard, stems entirely from her fierce resentment of that treatment and her rejection of the prophecy. Now she’s going to learn some things she really, really did not want to know about the enclaves and even about Orion. It turns out that killing the monsters is making things worse.  El is filled with rage but at the same time she thinks there has to be a better way, a solution to this continual slaughter.  With the help of her friends, she might be able to pull it off.

The book (and the series as a whole) suffers from too much description – all those monsters! – plus too much of El’s internal dialogue fed by her constant anger.  Too much telling in proportion to showing.  There isn’t exactly a happily-ever-after ending, although when it all stops, the world will have less evil in it and no one we care about has died.  I found it a satisfying and believable ending given how that world was constructed – El knows what she’s meant to do and she has allies to help her do it.

I liked the series as a whole, not as much as her TEMERAIRE books, but they make a good read. Excellent world-building along with sympathetic heroes. The pacing does tend to drag, but the villains have understandable motives and an excuse for their later failure to act.  Definitely recommended.

In a Lonely Place by Dorothy Hughes

Review by Matt B. (BuffaloSavage)

This is the city. Los Angeles, California. The year is 1946.

Dix Steele, a young veteran of good looks and no scruples, has had a pretty good war. Before the hostilities, he was a mere Princeton parasite, sponging tuition from a wealthy uncle and freeloading good times from rich friends. During the war, he was an ace in the Air Corps and ended up colonel in a cushy posting in London.

But postwar, he misses the excitement of flying and dogfights. He is bored and sickened at the idea of work, family life, and contentment in a normal adult life. His case of the blues manifests in a constellation of symptoms like anxiety, depression, irascibility, willful isolation, mood swings, and insomnia. He seeks no help, not recognizing his sulks and bad feelings as warning signs.

Combined with his lust and women-hating, this disgruntled alienated male is the perfect subject for a novel that examines the mind of a monster, never more dangerous than when feeling hopeless or weak or embattled. Proving that classic crime literature can be relevant to today’s headlines, this brilliant noir story, vintage 1947, seems to have been written last week.