When All Else Fails...There is This.

By Andrew E. Kaufman

I have a new book coming out in just six days.

(Deep breath)

It’s been almost two years since I’ve been able to say that. After I signed a publishing deal, there were delays. I was okay with this, even anticipated it—but still, I’ve managed to accomplish what I do best.

Make myself crazy. 

It's a special skill. Do not attempt this for the first time alone. I've spent years honing my craft, and it's not for the weak. Should you choose to fall into global anxiety, please be sure to have a tolerant support system around you. And possibly some bungee cords, potting soil, and an assortment of down pillows. (Don't ask. You'll find out.)

Of course, there are the usual obsessive concerns: Will my readers still remember me after all this time? Will their enthusiasm over my work wither and die? Will I wither and die? Will the publishing business continue to gyrate, explode, then shoot me straight into oblivion? 

This is just a partial glimpse into the neurotic and continuously spiraling mind that keeps me awake late into the night and swimming the shifting tides of global uncertainty during the day. And other melodrama. 

In a way this spinning cycle of insanity is good, because on some level it keeps me on my toes and hungry—but in other ways, not really so much. Let's face it, folks: Anxiety isn't pretty. It's dominating and ferocious and greedy, but it ain't pretty. 

So, in an effort to self-medicate and to talk myself off the ledge and out of the pain vortex, logical thinking went out the window, and reckless overindulgence flew the in through the cuckoo’s nest.

I took a little jaunt over to this joint:

And inhaled me a little of this:

And thought inappropriate things about this:

 And I was powerless over this sexy little chocolate ganache number:

And I adopted 73 of these and took them home with me. They are all named Clive, and they are all wonderful and thriving in a loving environment.

That's all. 

Broken Detective?

Broken Harbor (Dublin Murder Squad #4)  by Tana French (Viking hardcover, 24 July 2012).

Two years ago, we met Mick "Scorcher" Kennedy in French's Faithful Place.  Frank Mackey, the protagonist of that book, thought Kennedy was a "pompous, rule-bound, boring git".  Of course, he's more complicated than that, as we learn in Broken Harbor.

Like Faithful Place for Frank Mackey, Broken Harbor (now known as "Brianstown") is a part of Kennedy's past.  He remembers it as the location of idyllic summers when he was a teen, renting a caravan on the beach with his family.  Now, it's a failed attempt at an upscale housing development, begun at the top of the real estate boom, and unfinished as a result of the recession.  Only a few of them are inhabited, and most of the others are half-built and used by children and teens to "play" in.

Along with his trainee partner Richie Curran, Mick Kennedy is assigned a multiple murder case, where victims are a father and his two young children.  The mother is alive, but critically injured.
Although it first appears to be a straightforward murder-suicide, there are too many pieces that don't fit the puzzle, including evidence that someone broke into the house.

On top of having a life-consuming case, Kennedy suddenly has to deal with his psychologically troubled younger sister Dina,  who is spinning out of control as she does periodically.  Since they have an unspoken agreement that they will care for Dina themselves, Mick and his older sister Geri take her in when her illness takes over.  Unfortunately, this time Gina's husband and daughter have the 'flu, and she's too overwhelmed to take on an unbalanced sister.

This story is written in the first-person, from Scorcher Kennedy's viewpoint, and French inhabits him masterfully.  Although we can only see what he allows us to see, we are definitely using his eyes and mind, and only at the end of the book can we sit back and attempt to be objective.

 

It's not necessary to read the Dublin Murder Squad books in order, but if you enjoy one, however, you must definitely read them all!


*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.