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Jonathan Hunter is an employee of the CIA who has not seen his family for years due to assignments in places like Afghanistan, Iraq and other mid-eastern hot spots. Out of the blue he gets a call from his brother Kevin to rush home to help him. In spite of being estranged for 15 years Jonathan goes AWOL from his duty station and rushes home.

Unfortunately it is just in time to meet Kevin dying by a lake that both brothers are familiar with and hear his last words, “Khalifah not them, Maya.”

Kevin has obviously been murdered and Jonathan, in spite of not seeing him for so long, vows to find and execute his killer.

With the violence of the killing beginning the novel it is a safe bet that the remainder of the book will feature more of the same. And that is certainly what happens. While going after the killer or killers Jonathan meets his brother’s widow, his adopted son and has his CIA supervisor find him up and okay the search. Oh yes, seems like Kevin’s death is tied into a plot by extremists to cause a mass killing of Americans in several areas and the forcing of action against the perpetrators by the U.S. government. Also Kevin’s widow develops an attraction for Jonathan, and she also has an adopted son that is somehow tied into Islamic terrorists.

O’Connor vividly portrays the hierarchy of the CIA to which Jonathan is attached. His direct supervisor, Oscar LaRue, shows up in time to tie many other side factors to the murder and orders Jonathan to investigate these while he is working on his brother’s case. Tall order, but our hero is certainly able to do so in spite of all the factors working against him. He gets involved with a female FBI agent who starts out very antagonistic but does develop a liking for him, and a local police officer that is so certain that Jonathan is guilty of something that he becomes a tormentor to him.

The ending leaves enough clues to make it almost a certainty that there will be future books featuring Jonathan Hunter, his supervisor and others who are front and center in “The Consultant”. I look forward to these for the promise of steady action in those novels.

5/18 Paul Lane

THE CONSULTANT by Tj O’Connor. Oceanview Publishing (May 15, 2018).  ISBN 978-1608092833. 432p.

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In the history of the United States, several presidents have been assassinated. In none of these murders has the killer ever been brought to justice and tried in a court of law for the crime. Buffa has set up a riveting novel describing how such an event might take place.

A newly elected president takes a trip to San Francisco and while still aboard Air Force One, accepts a visit from the junior senator from California. This man is seen as one that could run against the president and due to his popularity, win the next election and take the office.

While still on the plane, shouts are heard and people running into the area where Kevin Fitzgerald, the senator, had met the president  who is seen lying on the floor with wounds on his body. Senator Fitzgerald is holding a bloody knife and quickly confesses to the murder. He demands a trial indicating he wants to bring out the reason that he killed the president.

Joseph Antonelli, a character used by Buffa in previous novels and known as the defense attorney that has never lost a case, is asked to take the case on behalf of Kevin Fitzgerald.

The handling of the trial and the back and forth action is guaranteed to keep the reader glued to the book. There are enough events occurring to make a very rewarding read even better than normal, including a love affair that captures Antonelli’s interest. The ending is not telegraphed and is a surprise and one not expected by the reader but upon reflection, a very apt one.

5/18 Paul Lane

NECESSITY by D.W. Buffa. Polis Books (April 24, 2018).  ISBN 978-1947993082. 352p.

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 A World of Spies Mystery, Book 1

O’Donohue gives us a thoroughly delightful tale featuring two charming main characters, a plot that features international criminal activity, murder, and mayham but presented in a slightly tongue in cheek manner, blunting any horror.

Hollis and Finn Larrson are two married professors with at least PhDs teaching at the same university in Michigan. They have arrived at the top of their professions, have academic tenure, great reputations in their subject field, but have reached a point in their married lives in which they may be taking the other partner slightly for granted. Our story begins when Finn proposes a vacation involving a trip to Chicago in which he will go to Wriggly Field to watch baseball with Hollis dutifully tagging along. Hollis is not too thrilled with such a vacation but their marriage is too solid to have a big fight over it.

Right out of the blue Hollis gets a visit from a friend of hers who was a companion during a short period that she actually worked for the CIA, taking the training in preparation for a career with the organization. There are some hints that the “friend” was involved with her until she left the CIA to return to graduate school where she met Finn; they married and several years later both are teachers at the college level. But her friend is there to make an offer to the two which would set a different tone for a getaway. He indicates that the CIA would pay for a trip to Dublin, Ireland if Finn, an expert in the field would pick up a manuscript, quickly authenticate it and, if real, deliver it as directed. A twenty minute task paying for a priceless trip to Ireland Hollis jumps at the chance, and although Finn is not that thrilled with the idea he goes along with the woman he loves.

The trip starts with a bang. Their contact is not there; they run into various individuals that would love to get their hands on the manuscript, they are forced to run all over the section of Ireland that they have gone to. Their lives are at risk and a twenty minute job turns into a life threatening situation . Needless to say the book is an all nighter with enough suspense to keep one wrapped tightly into it. I can’t help but hope that Hollis and Finn can find other non academic adventures to get involved in in the near future.

5/18 Paul Lane

BEYOND THE PALE by Clare O’Donohue. Midnight Ink (May 8, 2018).  ISBN 978-0738756509. 360p.

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A Max Tudor Mystery, Book 7 

Malliet presents the 7th book written featuring Max Tudor, the Vicar of his church in the village of Nether Monkslip, situated in a charming rural section of England. Max is quite happy in his chosen role after a career with British Intelligence as an agent for MI5. He is married to a lovely lady, has a young son and is very content with his role in life.

Unfortunately, Max seems to attract murder like a fly to honey and has proven quite a help to DCI Cotton of the local police in solving these cases.

Just returning from a trip with Cotton to help with a case in another town, Max wants nothing more than to relax and concentrate on a sermon he plans to give about the ancient Israeli King David and his lust for Bathsheba. David had committed the sin of sending Bathsheba’s husband to die during a war so that she could be his wife.

Just getting involved in the sermon, the town is confronted with the apparent murder and attempted suicide pact of the wife of the local manor lord. Max is plunged into helping to solve the crime and away we go. It is probably not appropriate to use the term “charming” about a case of murder, but Malliet’s prose brings this adjective to mind. There are no grisly murder scenes depicted, merely statements that these occurred. Life in Nether Monkslip is modern; computers are used, e-books are read and the people are affected when bad things happen.

The novel is a fun read, certainly not deep nor devious, quite satisfying and certainly sure to whet the reader’s appetite for more of these books.

4/18 Paul Lane

IN PRIOR’S WOOD by G. M. Malliet. Minotaur Books (April 17, 2018).  ISBN 978-1250092809. 304p.