Two From the Heart, by James Patterson, Frank Costantini, Emily Raymond, and Brian Sitts

Two From the Heart, by James Patterson, Frank Costantini, Emily Raymond, and Brian Sitts

This book has a very different format. It’s neither a full novel, nor a collection of short stories, but rather two novellas only hooked together by the cover of the book.  Ok, granted both are sorta love stories.  Although I’d characterize the first one, “Tell Me Your Best Story,” as more of a travel log and the second “Write Me A Life,” as an adventure, with elements of science fiction.  But, as odd as it may seem, there are intersections and tangents that connect the two.

Both are written in James Patterson’s breezy style of straight forward prose, which I like because I’m a simple guy, with simple tastes and not looking for an author who’s main point is he’s smarter than I am.  Once a writer starts his tangle of jagged almost incomprehensible babble, I lose the thread and go from reader to fly swatter.

Fortunately, Two From the Heart is very readable and a quick read at that. Call it a weekend book and even then you can read it all and still take Sunday off.

Patterson’s co-writer on Tell Me Your Best Story, is Emily Raymond and it’s definitely written with the tender sex in mind.  Soft morning sun. Edges only as sharp as the smoothest of river rocks.  It’s all so very moving and sweet as autumn cherries.  If there are touches of sandpaper, it’s 3000 grit and gentle enough to sooth the rash on a baby’s round little rump.  Harsh words?  Perish the thought.  Hard nose dilemmas?  Sure.  Should I stir the cream in my coffee?  What a nail biting decision.  There is sweet sadness, but please don’t worry.  Oh, the tension!

So, I didn’t like it?  Yes, matter of fact I did like it. It’s wrapped around a trip and one we’ve all thought about taking, visiting old friends and meeting new ones.   The book reads like having a series of amiable chats with old girlfriends, without scars and threats of violence.  Definitely written with a woman’s voice. And yet there is something intriguing about reforming your life that makes you wonder if you could.

Write Me A Life, on the other hand, is written by Patterson, of course, plus Frank Costantini and Brian Sitts and definitely has the smell of engine oil, beer and cigars.  But, rather than a gentle rowing across a placid pond, this novella features a unique plot, constant suspense, and memorable characters.  Yes, there are even some attitudes and clarion calls for romance between men and women.  What if someone wrote you a life and had the hutzpah to carry it off?  Interesting concept.  You go to a novelist and say, my life is a very successful bowl of blah.  I don’t care what it costs, just make it happen.

Makes me think it’s really possible to do, but not easy to do.  Take so many of my friends, for example.  Past middle age. Retired.  Married.  Children. Grandchildren.   What would you do to change your life?  I mean really change it.  Not just try for the umpteenth time promising yourself to lose those 30 pounds, or take a cruise to wherever.  I’m talking about changing your FREAKING LIFE!  How about creating a whole new life, without divorcing your entire family?  Write a novel? Maybe hire a personal trainer and cook?  Buy a motorcycle and drive across the country just to meet new people and see what opportunities abound?  Go to France for half a year to write that novel and learn French?  Start a business?  The possibilities are endless.

And now do you see how the two tales in this book are similar?  The characters in both stories are jumping into the roaring waves of discovery and letting the tide of life take them places they’ve never been.

You start to read this James Patterson et al book and you kinda, sorta like it, but it seems to be going at a slow, loping pace.  Then you hit the second tale and the pedal goes to the metal.  You read the last page and not long afterwards you start to ponder. Any book that leads you to ponder your life and its possibilities, is a good book.  This good book sneaks up on you as many of James Patterson’s books do.  It’s all the better for it.

Maple, Chicken, and Sweet Potato Hash

Maple, Chicken, and Sweet Potato Hash

Nothing I like better than a tasty dish that’s easy to make This one dances through the skillet, onto your plate, and keeps you warm, even in the chill of winter’s icy thrust.   Difficult?  You kidding?  I don’t do difficult.  I do easy, while sipping brandy.

Allow me to introduce Ms. Maple Chicken Sweet Potato Hash, the celebrated darling of your middle-aged dreams.  So, go ahead and pour yourself that first snifter of brandy while I lead you through this taste-bud teasing, stomach-pleasing recipe.  By the way, it’s a little less than 500 calories a serving and this dish can satisfy four diners with ease.

Maple, Chicken, and Sweet Potato Hash

I did all the chopping and dicing ahead of time and also combined the syrup/vinegar/mustard/cayenne/raisins in a small bowl.  I kept the ingredients covered and refrigerated all afternoon, so cooking supper was a snap.

1 Pound skinless and boneless chicken breasts, cut into one inch chunks

1 Medium onion diced – I used a red onion

2 Teaspoons sage – I used fresh, but dried will do

1 Large clove garlic diced

¼ Teaspoon smoked paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 Tablespoon vinegar – I used rice vinegar

¼ Cup whole grain mustard – Dijon will do

¼ Cup Maple syrup

Pinch of Cayenne pepper

1/3 Cup raisins – I used golden raisins

Spring onions, green portions thinly sliced for serving

½ Cup Gorgonzola or a similar blue cheese, cut in small chunks for serving

2 Tablespoons olive oil. More if required (The chef makes the decisions!)

Heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the chicken, diced onions, garlic and sage. Stir and cook until the chicken chunks are browning and the onion is wilted. Salt and pepper as desired.

Add a cup of water and mix in the cubed sweet potato. Cover and steam only until the sweet potato is tender.  Add the syrup mixture and heat well.

Fini!  Plate the portions and decorate with green onions and blue cheese.

Serve with the vegetables of your choice.  My choice was cheesy smashed Brussel sprouts.

Stand up, take a bow and grab that second snifter of brandy.

Blame by Jeff Abbott

Blame by Jeff Abbott

Ready for another book? Need a good mystery that reads like jagged pieces of glass dumped in a wastebasket?  That’s not a dis, that’s the reality of the main character, Jane Norton.  The jagged pieces are her life, or the way her life has shattered since she lost her memory and her close friend in a car accident two years ago. Everyone’s sure it was her fault.  Police reports and newspaper articles, and internet savages seem to confirm that.

Everybody blames her and with a severe loss of memory, she doesn’t know how to defend herself or which way to turn.  Some people are nice to her, but most treat her as damaged and deranged goods.

But, there’s more to it than that.  A lot more.  The dead boy’s mother, who lives next door, hates her viciously.  Jane’s schoolmates avoid her and often take their suspicions well past smirks and derogatory remarks in the hallway.  David, the boy who was killed was a popular guy, with friends galore.  His friends don’t forget.  Then there’s the suicide note found in the car, a note that Jane wrote.

“I was your friend,” is heard often, as an accusation.  Others put a positive spin on it.  “I am your friend.”  And at times the positive ones can turn out to be the most vicious.

A parade of characters romp through this engaging book and they all care and don’t care, believe her and don’t believe her.  They think she couldn’t have done it on purpose, then turn on her like whirling dervishes.  Without a memory, how do you defend yourself, and how do you even know if you should?

As Jane says, “Today I went to my friend’s grave.  I went to the crash site.  There were people there who don’t like me at all. The still blame me. They think it wasn’t an accident. One of them tried to hurt me. The other is smearing me online.”  The accusations swirl around her and not even she knows what she did or if she did anything.

In my own life, I’ve had friends who were wrongly accused. Tough to defend yourself if you didn’t do it and know you didn’t do it, even if you have a full memory.  What if you have no memory, or only thin shards of memory here and there, none of which fit together?

Maybe Jane is guilty of deliberately causing the accident.  Her own mother seems to think so.  Many of her classmates think so.  Even some of her former friends, who want to believe her, think so. And often she thinks so.

The main thing that makes this book so engaging is not the originality of the plot.  Memory loss, including complete memory loss is not uncommon in fiction. The main thing is the characters ring-true, even though the book is populated with college students, the wealthy, the middle class, the average, the intelligent, the conniving and the honest.  And all of them are vital to the plot.

You hear the term page-turner bandied about so often it loses its impact. In the case of Blame, it’s warranted. I stayed up late, I got up early, I read through supper and with my morning coffee. Jane’s plight became my plight.  I wanted to know, had to know.  The questions pound at the reader: What would I do?  Where would I turn?

And then comes the ending and in a swirling maelstrom of anger, action, blood, and revelation, against all odds, and through a series of devilish twists and turns, everything becomes clear. Somehow the jagged pieces of glass became a mirror that reflected the good, the evil, the darkness and the light.

Need a good mystery?  You’ve just found one.  Blame by Jeff Abbott.

How a Gunman Says Goodbye by Malcolm McKay

How a Gunman Says Goodbye by Malcolm McKay

This is the middle book of a trilogy, but I haven’t yet read the other two.  This one stands alone and I suspect that’s true of the others, although there are connecting characters, along with all three being set in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter

How a Gunman Says Goodbye

The Sudden Arrival of Violence

Peter Jamieson is a mob boss and like all mob bosses, he runs a large organization, complete with enforcers and gunmen, and held together by loyalty, fear, and violence.  Frank MacLeod is one of the gunmen.  In fact, he is the oldest and best.  Been working for Jamieson for decades. Never failed and hard to see how he ever could.

But nothing lasts forever.

In How a Gunman Says Goodbye do not expect the usual shoot-em-up.  Hardnosed, yes, but this book crawls deep into the organizational and individual psychology of organized crime.  Even in a superb look at the life of criminals, such as The Sopranos, you only get a glimpse of individual minds, the worries and frustrations.  In Gunman, you get a detailed picture of worries, ambitions, loyalties, and apprehensions.  The author must surely have some friends ‘in the business.’

Sociopathic and psychopathic minds are inherently interesting. We have an almost morbid fixation on those who are willing to accept the vicious as normal. Serial killers are at the top of the list and a gunman fits the mold, even if he’s not the one who picks out the targets or gives the order.

Well worth pondering: How does a gunman think he fits into an organization?  How are orders directed and carried out?  What are the jealousies that separate members of the same gang?  Why do some gang members become disillusioned and others grow only more steadfast?  How do girlfriends and lovers fit in?  Is there inherent pleasure in taking a human life, or is the act given no more thought than stepping on an ant, or shooting a squirrel?

In short, How a Gunman Says Goodbye takes you into the inner workings of organized crime and those who choose to live the life. The author narrates, not only day-to-day operations, decisions, doubts, and balances, but also the minds of killers.

Frank MacLeod is a gunman, a killer. He’s has been around a long time.  Longer than most and has more friends at the highest levels than most.  But, when are friendships really friendships and when are they only conveniences?

Questions pile on top of questions and if you’re picking up this book and expecting murders and mayhem on every page, you’ll be disappointed.  If, on the other hand, you want to know what the daily life of a gang member is like and can be satisfied with only punctuations of violence, you’ve come to the right place.  This book is intriguing and fascinating, and built on complexities and the angst of the characters over what comes next and the big and complicated question of how does a gunman say goodbye?

How a Gunman Says Goodbye is deeply absorbing and if it’s not the fast pace you’re used to, it’s still a page-turner that plays on the reader’s mind and rivets you on your journey to the astonishing ending.