THE 10:12

 

THE 10:12

By Anna Maloney

Harper Perennial

Available in Oct.

299 pgs

 

When reading a modern-day action thriller, the last thing any reader expects to encounter is a middle-age female art teacher cast in the role of an action hero. Claire Fitzroy is on her way home to London from Manchester having bought a ticket on the 10:12 train. She has plenty of things on her mind, to include the possibility that her husband, Jim, is planning to leave her. It occupies her thoughts until, after a few minutes out of the station, a group of ill-prepared, rag-tag men hijack the train. 

Yelling and waving guns around frighteningly, this group of thugs suddenly turns what had begun as a boring train ride into a rolling nightmare for Claire and the other 387 passengers on board. Then, an incredible accident, the average housewife managed to kill one of the terrorists and help tie up a second. Before she can fully come to grips with what she has done, Claire begins to organize those people in her car willing to risk an attempt to retake control of the train. 

What follows is chapter and after chapter of razor edge suspense. We are introduced to Deavy, and ex-soldier who immediately becomes Claire’s partner and several others. As they methodically move up the train, they manage to retake the other cars, either subduing the terrorist on them, or killing them. The battle isn’t without cost and ultimately several of the brave civilians are also slain. Still, by the end of the book’s first half, Claire and her team win out and all the terrorists defeated and captured. 

But our story doesn’t end there. What follows are lots of interviews by the police and eventually a trial. Here Claire and her allies testify, from their personal memories of that awful day, their violent encounters with the hijackers. Every detail is scrutinized by the prosecutor and defense attorneys. Each of the surviving criminals is tried, convicted and sentenced to various British prisons. Through it all, poor Claire finds herself obsessed with understanding exactly why these men, from different backgrounds and occupations, somehow magically came together and planned such a horrendous event. Never mind  that during the hijacking and subsequently on the witness stand, none of them had the same clear-cut goals. It made no logical sense. Claire begins to suspect there are hidden facts known only by certain government agencies that are being withheld from the public. She is determined to uncover what they are and who was actually responsible for the deaths of several innocent souls.

 

Anna Maloney has written a genuine page turner that takes hold of the reader immediately and never once let’s go. The pacing is brutal, the characters, especially the courageous passengers, memorable. In all a decidedly new path taken for what was all too often a familiar and tired mold. Thanks for breaking it, Anna Maloney.

 

THE MAGPIE'S SHADOW

 

THE MAGPIE’S SHADOW

A George “Magpie” Collins Mystery

By Len Driscoll

Blowing Glass Media

157 pgs

 

In this, his third Magpie Collins mystery, writer Len Driscoll offers up the thief-turned-private eye his most complex and deadly case. Society dame, Mrs. Evelyn Hartwell comes to Collins in the hopes he can retrieve her stolen jewels. They were taken from the bedroom safe during a charity gala she and her husband were hosting at their stately downtown mansion. Aside from being priceless items, Mrs. Hartwell informs Collins that the pieces taken belonged to her mother and grandmother and have sentimental value that can’t be measured in dollar bills.

Collins takes the case and soon learns that among the guests at the soiree was young Charles Weatheby, the son of Judge Weatherby; a man who has no love for the Hartwells due to a past business transaction gone sour. No sooner is the Sydney shamus investigating the household staff and other attendees, then Charles supposedly commits suicide via an overdue of drugs. His death seems too convenient at a time when Collins was beginning to uncover clues that pointed to serious mob involvement. Collins instincts tell him the lad was murdered to keep him quiet.  

In “The Magpie’s Shadow,” Driscoll weaves a taut thriller that pulls the reader along with the hero until it becomes all too apparent that the simple theft was merely the first link to a citywide opium smuggling ring and municipal corruption. It is a dandy of a mystery and page turner. As with his previous two Collins books, Driscoll continues to showcase a pre-World War II Australia and that is a joy to discover. Don’t miss this one.

WILD, WILD, WESTERNS

 

WILD, WILD, WESTERNS

The Art of Ron Lesser Vol 3

Edited by Robert Deis, Bill Cunningham & Tim Hewitt

Subtropic Productions – Pulp 2.0

152 pgs

 

Writing a review for an art book is daunting to say the least. With a traditional story novel, one can describe the plot, characters etc. etc. etc. Whereas with an art book, we humble reviewers can only use words to tell you about amazing, stunning, breathtaking visuals that are the product of one man’s talent. Yeah, it’s a challenge, but allow us to rant just a wee little bit and hopefully we will get our point across. 

Ron Lesser was born in 1941 and most of his life, this Manhattan native, was an illustrator and painter that specialized in paperback covers, comic books, magazines and film posters. From the mid 70s to the early 90s, Lesser was among the premier illustrators contributing painted book covers for publishers like Double Day, Dell, Avon, Bantam, Ace, Fawcett, Pyramid and dozens of others. Today most of his original paintings are done for art galleries. 

Men’s Magazines historian Bob Deis and design guru, Bill Cunningham, have begun producing beautiful volumes of Lesser’s work showcasing hundreds of his published works. In this third volume, dedicated to Lesser’s western art, they are joined by Tim Hewitt, another fan and authority on the artist’s career. 

What they have assembled is over a hundred pages of some of the most beautiful and memorable paperback covers and posters ever illustrated depicting the western genre. From outlaws, to gunfighters, cavalry men to Indian warriors, they are all here within these pages. Captured in a unique style that wondrously manages to capture both the authentic realism of the era and its idealized mythic romance. Going from page to page, we couldn’t help but marvel at Lesser’s skills throughout. Still, the editors saved the best for last in featuring his most recent work; paintings of Indians riders against rugged sun-drenched landscapes. 

“Wild, Wild, Westerns,” is a rare glimpse into the world of American illustration history by one of its greatest craftsmen.