Robert Harris - Act of Oblivion (London: Penguin, 2022)
This is a gripping story, based on mostly historical facts. It outlines the pursuit of the 'regicides' who were responsible for the execution of King Charles I and the establishment of Oliver Cromwell's republican protectorate in England. In particular the story revolves around two of Cromwell's closest disciples, Edward Whalley and his son-in-law William Golle, who escaped to colonial America in the 1660s. The long arm of the royalists, once Charles II had been put on the throne, chased the two men across puritan New England. The book gives enough historical background for the story to flow and depicts the hard and poor living conditions in London and England and in the colonies and among the Puritans very well indeed. Great read; great historical novel by one of the masters of this genre in the UK. (July 2023).
Rich Cohen - A Ghost Ship, a Killer and the Birth of a Gangster Nation: The Last Pirate of New York (New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2019)
Very well-written book about the chase, the prosecution and execution of Albert Hicks, the notorious murder of 3 sailors on a ship in New York harbor in 1863 and many previous murders. The short book of 235 pages is full of suspense and throws an illuminating and enlightening light on life and the fate of Irish and other immigrants in NYC just before the civil war. The New York underworld is very well described and explained. (July 2023)
Brad Meltzer & Josh Mensch - The NAZI Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill (Flattime Books Paperback, 2024)
Gripping historical narrative about an alleged Nazi plot to kill the 'Big Three' at the Tehran summit meeting between Nov. 28 and Dec. 1, 1943, the first 'Big Three' meeting during World War II. The book is not fiction but history (with some liberties) and fills in nicely the context of the meeting in Tehran and also gives much background to the international history and military strategies, and Big 3 cooperation and lack of it during World War II. Also the nature of the genocidal Nazi rule and war machine is well explained. A book to be recommended; great read on the whole - despite some repetitions and over explanation of some issues. Some of the chapters are also rather too short and thus a little abrupt. Churchill is not always portrayed that accurately and the Roosevelt-Churchill relationship is painted in overly simple colors (and Roosevelt's intense competition with Churchill for Stalin's attention and favor is only partially explained). Still, an enjoyable read and good lively history. (March 2024)
Jack Finney - The Body Snatchers (1955) (London: Golancz/Orion Publishing, paperback, 2010).
The classic science fiction book - turned into a popular movie four times - about the invasion of a small Californian town by aliens who turn the people of that town into duplicates of themselves. Although the town people look and behave exactly as before, their brains have been changed and their emotional life has been erased. Gripping and fast-paced thriller of 227 pages which focuses on the local doctor and his bride who gradually realize what is happening and eventually manage to defeat the invaders whose seeds escape into space. Very good reading (Sept. 2024).
