The Revolution : A Manifesto by Ron Paul, Grand Central Publishing, politics, 173p., $21

Texas republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is the kind of conservative even a left-winger can love, excepting perhaps his stance against providing medical care for illegal immigrants. Yet even on that issue, he is correct about the staggering costs of providing such care while many Americans are unable to stand against rising health care prices. Paul is all about libertarianism, less government, and a non-interventionist foreign policy, and the man makes a lot of sense. This brief, perhaps too brief, statement of his platform is heartfelt, innovative, and underscored by the principles put forth by the founding fathers in the U.S. Constitution.

Paul has not only the intellect necessary to unraveling the various crises we face nationally, but he has a life that bespeaks his philosophy. He is a medical doctor who served in the Air Force and in Congress at various times for many years. He has been married for 51 years, has five children, eighteen grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. No scandal appears to have attached itself to him.

Paul wants us to close the 130 overseas military bases we currently maintain. He advocates that the U.S. mind its own business, encourage free trade, and fix what’s wrong here before we export our problems elsewhere. He believes we should cease the ‘war on drugs’, and refuse to allow the federal government to spy on its citizens in the name of the war on terror, or to act against U.S. citizens under the cloak of secrecy. He points out egregious examples of citizens being detained, denied counsel, and incarcerated without having been tried and convicted. He wants the power of the presidency to be checked as the founders intended.

There is an issue that has vexed and angered me since the Iraq war began which Paul doesn’t mention specifically, but which goes to the kind of power this administration has given to itself. Vice-President Dick Cheney has been credited with our failure to be able to see the caskets of our war dead as they arrive back in the country. Not seeing these flag draped boxes, about 4,000 of them, makes this brutal and bloody was more abstract than real. We don’t get to see the grieving parents, wives, and children, bereft as their loved ones are laid to rest. We should have been grieving with them, acknowledging the worst pain that can befall a parent, child, or spouse. We should have been able to cry with them, pray with them, and acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice their loved ones made in the name of our country. Why exactly did they have to die? Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11; Saudis overall planned and executed that attack. Yet Saudi Prince Bandar has reportedly been a guest at the White House and at the presidential compound in Kennebunkport. This is obscene, but this we have been permitted to see.

Tens of thousands more of our military have been mutilated by roadside bombs, their faces hideously disfigured, their limbs blown off. They’re treated in government hospitals that have been exposed as inadequate and in some cases, simply unhealthy. Ron Paul calls this a “national disgrace”. Who can disagree with him.

Paul wants to get back to the basics, including backing the dollar with gold. He plainly explains the origins of inflation and the unfortunate reaction of our government to ‘fixing’ it. He is against the draft on constitutional grounds.

So long as Washington’s ideologues wish to wage war, then let their sons and daughters, the children of privilege who have benefited most from what America offers, let them be the first to place themselves in harm’s way, but we all know there would be no wars if the sons and daughters of the wealthy and powerful had to fight them.

This is an important book because Paul is unafraid to take on the current administration and its failed policies. His is the voice crying out in the political wilderness of alternative candidates. One can only hope the mainstream candidates give him a fair hearing, examine his unique perspective, and grow the courage it will take to implement some of his proposals.

It’s a Crime by Jacqueline Carey, Ballantine Books, fiction, 274 pp., $24

Pat and Frank Foy of Hart Ridge, New Jersey have two daughters, a good marriage, and buckets of money. They live in a very large home and they employ a local chef to cater everyday meals. They have three cleaning ladies, and gardeners who prowl their well landscaped property for errant twigs and things. Frank is an accountant for an Enron-type firm who goes to prison for cooking the books while the two culprits at the top remain free and richer than is decent. Meanwhile, back at the family manse, Pat, who is cheerful, kind, and uncommonly ditzy decides to make restitution to some of the hardest hit victims by giving away their money. Young daughter Ruby has her own illegal scheme for avenging her father, and in this she is assisted by the slightly odd but very nice son of Pat’s long ago lover.

This book is quirky, sometimes disjointed, not especially funny, and challenging in its chronology, but I just couldn’t put it down. No tidy endings, no spectacular denouement, just the story of what happened to one family whose vast money was born in today’s corporate climate of steaming greed and hubris, and how loving people of good will tried to make it better. In the end, you somehow know it will be alright for them all.

Envy the Night by Michael Koryta, Thomas Dunne Books, mystery, 288 pp., $24.95

Michael Koryta is a young author with wisdom, insight, and the ability to write as well as anyone in the genre. He is the author of the successful Lincoln Perry PI series which I recommend most highly, but this is a stand alone thriller that can’t be put down. No surprise there.

Frank Temple III loved his father even though he was a federal marshal turned hit man who committed suicide rather then face prison. Young Frank, on a tip from one of his dad’s old army buddies, learns that the criminal who recruited his father and then sold him out to the feds is heading to the small Wisconsin lake town where Frank’s dad and his old comrades from Viet Nam purchased land. Along the way, believing he’s spotted the man he hopes to kill, Frank forces a confrontation with someone who turns out to be unknown, mysterious, and dangerous. Of course there’s a courageous girl mechanic with problems of her own who bails Frank out a time or two. For her trouble, she is attacked and a murder is committed on her property. She and Frank find themselves pulled together by chance and desperate necessity. Hovering behind the scenes is an FBI agent who took a liking to the teenaged Frank after tragedy struck him so hard. He knows things he’s never told anyone else, and he will be the key to defusing Frank’s rage.

Part of the strength of this book is the wild untamed setting; the other part, the big part, is the author’s skill in making you care about these characters. Koryta is someone to watch. His writing is thoughtful, and there’s a kindness and sensitivity in his work. I love what he does.

Angel’s Tip by Alafair Burke, Harper Collins, mystery, 342 pp., $23.95

Inspired by the tragic deaths of Natalee Holloway, Imette St. Guillen, and Jennifer Moore, all of whom were brutally murdered after leaving hot spots alone at night, Burke, a law professor at Hofstra in New York City, decided to write this cautionary tale. This is the second book in the NYPD Det. Ellie Hatcher series, and it’s very good. If you enjoy the work of Tami Hoag or Jonathan Kellerman, you’ll like the work of Alafair Burke just fine.

Three college girls from Indiana come to the city for fun and some modest thrills, except for Chelsea Hart, a nice kid who takes her nights out seriously. She’s a tease, and too sure of herself for her own good. Her more cautious friends leave the club, trying to convince the still partying Chelsea to join them, but they never see her again. Chelsea’s mutilated corpse is found the same morning along a jogging path, the very route that Ellie Hatcher and her musician brother take when they run. Hatcher is a newly minted young homicide detective, and together with her partner, the elegant JJ. Rogan, they travel a twisted path to find the girl’s killer, someone who may have killed many times before.

This book is solidly written, and its treatment of the trendy NYC nightlife is fascinating and grimly atmospheric

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Never Enough by Joe Mc Ginniss, Pocket Star, true crime, 384 pp., $7.99

This is the compulsively readable and tragic story of the Kissel family. It is at its core about the results of poor parenting, greed, and narcissism. In 2002, Nancy Kissel, the pretty wife of mega-successful investment banker Rob Kissel, drugged and killed her husband in their high rise luxury apartment in Hong Kong where Rob worked. They had three children who were sent to live with Rob’s brother Andrew, a real estate mogul who himself was murdered in his rented Connecticut mansion. Mc Ginniss of Fatal Vision fame, and other successful books, does a splendid job of reporting despite his inability to hide his disgust with this family. Can’t blame him for that.

 

Paint the Town Dead by Nancy Bell, Thomas Dunne Books, cozy mystery, 200 pp., $23.95

This is the third entry in the Judge Jackson Crain series set in rural Texas where the humor is as dry as a bone and murder, let alone three of them, is not the norm. Characters named Lutie Fay and Fayrene just compound the rural southern charm. Bell also writes the Biggie Weatherford series which is damn near perfect. Bell’s books are light as air and very entertaining.

 

 

 

Fisherman’s Bend by Linda Greenlaw, Hyperion Books, 244 pp., $24.95

Everyone’s favorite female lobster boat captain has written two books, the first being Slipknot, in a light mystery series that will appeal mightily to mariners. Jane Bunker is a former Florida cop who is now an insurance investigator in Maine who keeps stumbling upon murders. Reading about Maine is a singular pleasure, and Greenlaw is uniquely qualified to write about it. Pleasant, and perfect for a rainy afternoon.

 

 

Death’s Half Acre by Margaret Maron, Grand Central Publishing, mystery, 262 pp., $24.99

This is the 14^th installment in the charming Judge Deborah Knott mystery series, and this time the judge is trying to find out who killed a local commissioner who was playing footsie with some big housing developers. Maron is best when describing the beauty and culture of her beloved North Carolina. Another good one.