Any character influence you?

Great question over on the Nathan Bransford blog. He reminds us that "fictional characters possess all of the power of real people when it comes to influencing and changing lives. So the question: what fictional characters have most affected you? Who has changed your personality, worldview, and/or ethics."

I wonder what would happen if we narrowed this down to the mystery / thriller genres - can anyone honestly say they were influenced, even in any part of their lives, by a fictional detective or other character from these genres?

Camping with Holmes and Watson

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping. They pitched their tent under the stars and went to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said: “Watson, look up at the stars, and tell me what you see.”

Watson replied: “I see millions and millions of stars.”

Holmes said: “and what do you deduce from that?”

Watson replied: “Well, if there are millions of stars, and if even a few of those have planets, it’s quite likely there are some planets like earth out there. And if there are a few planets like earth out there, there might also be life.”

And Holmes said: “Watson, you idiot, it means that somebody stole our tent.”

OK- I know its been going around but couldn't resist posting it.

Skin Deep by Gary Braver is Annoying

In Skin Deep we are thrown immediately into the investigation of a killing that is made to look a bit like a suicide - "autoerotica gone bad." Lieutenant Detective Steve Markarian, in charge of the investigation, counters the assessment of his partner Sargent Neill French by pointing out the clues that make clear that it is a homicide. This is just the beginning of differences of opinion that lead to friction between the two investigators throughout the book. It isn't long before it's clear that a serial killer is at work and the present case is only the most recent of a many. In each, the victim has a similar appearance and the method used to kill the victims is the same. But the investigators struggle to find the link that will break the case.

Complicating the case is the fact that both Markarian and French knew the victim, although both in different circumstances. In reality, shouldn't they both have been removed from the case? Yes, but both choose not to do so and do not report this to their superior officer. Further complicating the case: Markarian, a heavy drinker and long time user of the medication Ativan, had suffered a blackout during the time of the victim's death. Circumstantial evidence that he uncovers makes him think he is in fact the murderer. Yet he hopes fervently that it's not true and keeps investigating without a word to anyone.

I really loved Braver's Flashback, so I was truly looking forward to this story. But while the book was well written, and contained excellent pacing, I felt it was just plain annoying. To explain why I felt this way, I will have to continue with the assumption that you have read the book.



------WARNING------
PLOT GIVE AWAY!!
===================



It was annoying because the author deliberately sets about to mislead the reader as to the killer's identity. Hey! I know, that's what mystery authors are supposed to do. Well, there are ways that make sense and there are ways the are... well, annoying and... unfair.

You have to keep in mind that the hype about the book rather sets the stage:

• The title is Skin Deep.
• Picture on the cover: a scalpel (or something like that) preparing to cut skin.
• Testimonial on book #1: "An outstanding medical thriller..."
• Testimonial on book #2: "medical terror...that will make you question your own reflection in the mirror"
• Testimonial on book #3: "Put off that tummy tuck until you read Gary Braver's new chiller Skin Deep. ...the latest from this medical mystery master..."

See what I mean? Now if you read Braver's other books, you have already encountered wacko scientists and members of the medical community that want to make you smarter and others that want to keep you young forever, or at least stop senility. So, when I picked up this book, I already knew it would revolve around plastic surgery, and most likely, but not necessarily, a doctor, a plastic surgeon, would be at the root of the thriller.

Side Note: The other Braver books, where there was murder, it was pragmatic - in the name of research, or ooops! sorry, didn't know that would happen. There was a bit of a message, something to think about in terms of the science. On the other hand, this book is a straight serial killer book. There was a message intended, but it is weakly delivered.

OK, so I am already expecting there will be an evil plastic surgeon, which does in fact take place, although this is not confirmed until chapter 76 (out of 96). Now there are only a handful of characters that get much attention as suspects. But the author goes out of his way to make us think the suspect is in fact Lt Markarian. This is done by a series of chapters that flashback to the life of a boy who lives in a very dysfunctional home. The boy is sexually seduced by the step-mother, ignored by the father who is often away from home travelling for his job, and the victim of his mothers neurotic narcissistic behaviors. All the while, there are clues and situations that are deliberately meant to show us that the adult Markmarian and the unknown male child in the flashbacks are one and the same.

The idea that Markarian's wife was seriously considering plastic surgery arises in chapter 4 and then 8; he and she first meet the plastic surgeon in chapter 15. But the first of the series of flashbacks happen prior to even hearing about the surgeon, in chapter 5. The common bond between the Markarian and the unknown abused boy is headaches. Each time a flashback chapter arises, it immediate follows a chapter where the focus is on Markarian. The tie between the two is strengthened when the author causes Markarian to have a running dialog with himself, almost making it appeare as though Markarian is mentally disturbed.

Nevertheless, the whole time I am saying - What is all this about?... I know that the bad guy is going to be this doctor that is slowly becoming important to the story as Markarian's wife schedules plastic surgery with him.

I guess what I am saying is that as red herrings go, this was just to convoluted. Confusing me? Yes. Putting me off the track about the real threat in the book? Not at all.

No, there was none of the subtlety that made Flashback, and to a slightly lesser degree the other Braver medical thrillers, such great stories. Gary, even though I was annoyed, I'm still a fan.

Win a Kindle?

It's a "win a FREE Kindle contest!" Check out Rod Lott's blog, Bookgasm, and learn all about it. He says, "We’ve partnered with HarperCollins — publisher of Andrew Gross’ new thriller DON’T LOOK TWICE — to give away an Amazon Kindle 2. Retail price: $359. Cost to the winner: $0.

"One really, really lucky person will win the Kindle 2, plus DON’T LOOK TWICE, which we said “scores high on suspense,” autographed by Gross. Five not-as-lucky-but-still-rather-fortunate people will received a Gross-inscribed copy of the book."

I suggest you check out the blog and sign up!

What's a Kindle? An electronic reader designed and sold by Amazon.

Want to follow mystery authors on Twitter?

Thanks to the librarian blogger at "Librarian D.O.A." you can have at a list of mystery /thriller writers who have been tweeting. Yep you can officially stalk -- I mean follow a variety of authors. Check her list here.

If you want to follow me, be it known that I had to change my alias from Frank Hardy (there already was one) to Franklin W Dixon - close enough.

Who will play the lead in The Lincoln Lawyer?

Just heard that Matthew McConaughey will be playing the role of Mickey Haller in a film adaptation of The Lincoln Lawyer. The Mystery Book Club read The Lincoln Lawyer last year and it was so well received that it was decided to read The Brass Verdict later this year.

Benjamin Black's "Dark" Introduction to Quirke Series

Christine Falls was written by John Banville under the pen name of Benjamin Black and was both a Finalist for the 2007 Macavity Award for Best Novel and the 2008 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel. In the book, we are introduced to an alcoholic pathologist working during the 1950s in Dublin by name of Quirke Griffin. The multi-layered plot revolves around Griffin's family which over many years, it turns out, have quietly forced hapless young women to give up their children to an "adoption" scheme intended to be a pipeline to support the growth of the clergy in America.

The pen name "Black" accurately, in my view, conveys the dark nature of the book. There is first of all the grim/dreary tone, the dank atmosphere, created by Banville's incredibly skillful use of words. Even the name given to Quirke's step brother is Malachy, Mal for short. The second contributor is the nature of sin and evil that lies heavy across the pages and contributes to the dark feel of the book. For example, a casual reference to a 50's song by The Ink Spots, "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie," is not so casual an inclusion by the author; Quirke and his family are filled with lies. In fact, by the end of the book it is hard to be sure the whole truth about the family has been revealed.

Quirke's sister-in-law asks: "Aren't people always supposed to turn to God in desperation?" Again, this early comment proves to be prophetic of part of the motivation for the protagonists of the book. For at the end, we hear one of the protagonists say, "The only thing good about old age is that it gives you the opportunity to even up the balance. Between the bad and the good, I mean." Yet the means is misguided so that the good is drowned by the bad: "We decide!" the other protagonist declares. "It's God's work we're doing!" to which Quirke replies, "So you're the judge and jury... you're God himself."

Another contribution to what I have called "dark" is the constant sense of foreboding. It is contained in the warnings that Quirke receives from seemingly everyone as he tries to sort out the reason for the death of a young woman, Christine Falls, who appeared on the slab of his pathologists' table, and whose file is at first mysteriously altered and then stolen. The warnings are cryptic like this from a young nun: "Watch out for yourself. There are people--there are people who are not what they seem, who are more than they seem."

I find it difficult to say whether I "liked" this book. I had a little trouble following the story at first. My first impression, that the prologue occurred years before the events in chapter one were completely wrong, but I missed the clues. OK, but I feel this error was exacerbated by the author's frequently reference in the beginning to events that occurred 25 years prior. However, once passed the first few chapters, I found that I was truly drawn into it. It was the dark sense of foreboding that pulled me along, and not any special admiration for the protagonist.

Chapter One ends with a series of questions about a photograph on Quirke's mantle. Where was it? Where? And who had been behind the camera? Questions like this pulled me along, but honestly, I don't think the answer to the last question is ever answered.

I just came back from the discussion of this book with others who made up this morning's gathering of The Mystery Book Club. I took a poll to see how everyone rated the book on a scale of 1 to 100. (See rating sheet.) Here were the results: 23, 45, 50, 57, 75, 72, 82, 81, 85. My own rating came to 76. In general these tend to be low scores for the group. It was also a much wider spread of feeling, showing less consensus than normal.

I think this is one of those books where a second reading can help to bring out a lot of subtle clues, things that make the book's coherence a lot plainer. The problem is, for me, the overload of cynicism and fatalism in the book does not really invite a re-read. I guess I can tolerate the clear-cut evil of the manical villains conceived by Deaver or Territsen or Sandford because they are too over-the-top to be real, than I can tolerate the plausible evil that pervades the world of the everyday seen through the eyes of a cynic.

However, if the sense of cynicism and foreboding grips you, there is always the next in the Quirke series, The Silver Swan.