"The Chalk Circle Man" is Hercule Poirot back?

"The Chalk Circle Man" introduces detective Commissaire Jean Baptiste Adamsberg who uses his brain to figure things out rather than old fashioned detective methods. He suspects something sinister when he spots blue chalk circles appearing in the Paris neighborhoods.

Adamsberg and his assistant, Adrien Danglard are tracking the chalk circles and what is being placed in them. It gets progressively serious, a dead mouse, a dead cat and finally, it happens. A woman, Madeline Chatelain, is found with her throat cut, inside the chalk circle.

In another part of the story, Mathelde Forestier, an oceanographer becomes friends with a young man, Charles Reyer. She calls Adamsberg and tells him that she has seen the man who draws circles. From the things she does and other actions, Adamsberg begins to think that she might be the killer. However, he realises that she is innocent. With his knowledge of human activity, Adamsberg feels that the killer is about to strike again and tells Mathelde to stay home that night as a precaution.

It becomes a cat and mouse game with Adamsberg figuring where the killer might strike next and eliminating the suspects in attempt to catch the killer. However, the killer murders another woman. This time Delphine Le Nermord is the victim. Now Adamsberg interviews her family and friends to see who might have a motive for her death.

Painstakingly, the investigation moves on, at times it seems that it is a new version of Agatha Christie and that Adamsberg has studied under Hercule Poirot. Finally, the killer is caught and charged with four murders.

The story was dry, a psychological novel with much thought and little action. A quick read that was a pleasant change of pace.

Not one of Baldacci's best

Ex CIA agents Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are asked to meet Pam Dutton, who wants to hire them.
When they arrive at her home, someone has murdered her and kidnapped her daughter, Willa. Willa is the First Lady's niece and she hires Sean and Michelle to find Willa.

Sam Quarry, a fanatic, is behind the kidnapping. he sent his son, Daryl, and a man named Kurt to carry out his orders. When Pam Dutton fought back, Daryl killed her by mistake. Quarry wants to make the two men pay for their mistake but can't discipline his son so Quarry kills Kurt, as a lesson.

Sean and Michelle are told that Pam's husband has been having an affair. This could be the reason to stage the kidnapping and have Pam killed so Sean checks it out. Meanwhile, Michelle gets a call that her mother has just died. She returns to her parent's home to find that her mother was murdered, so stays home to investigate that crime.

Quarry has also kidnapped another woman, Diane Wohl and the two kidnappers spend time together. Later, Sam tells Diane that she is actually Willa's mother, the child she put up for adoption twelve years ago.

The story takes a long time to develop and the reader must put up with the sub plot around Michelle's mother's murder. This takes away from the suspense of the kidnapping and adds confusion. This is the fourth Baldacci novel involving King and Maxwell, the last being, "Simple Justice." In this story King and Maxwell do not evoke sympathy. Sean clashes with CIA and FBI investigators who are also attempting to find Willa. The all knowing private investigator and the stiff, inflexible federal agents has been done too many times and doesn't come off in this story. Willa, is a charmer and was an excellent character.

Overall, not one of Baldacci's better novels but still enjoyable.

Climb aboard for a good read.

"The Venona Cable" is Brent Ghelfi's third novel with Volk as the protagonist.

Volk is a Russian agent and criminal. He's arrested at the Moscow airport and brought to his warehouse where he's shown the murdered body of American cinematographeer, Everett Walker. He's told that Walker had been looking for Volk and had a photo of Volk's father who had disappeared 30 years ago. The police want to know why Volk killed him. After questioning Volk, beating him and leaving him in his cell, he's finally released in order to find out what Walker was up to.

Volk finds a secret hidden in Walker's driver's license. Since Walker was good with film, he used a photographic technique to hide the document. What Volk found was the Venona Cable, a document that told of a meeting of Roosevelt and Churchill where they discussed opening a second front against Germany. The info from the meeting came from a spy, code named "19".

Later, Volk meets former KGB officer Isadora. She tells Volk that she worked with his father in America. She states that Volk's father worked in the aerospace industry for a firm called Loreli Industries.

Volk continues his investigation and he's summoned to Capt. Oleg Basoff who is high in the ranks of Russian intelligence. Basoff tells Volk that Volk's father worked for him and that his father was really an undercover agent.

Volk knows that Basoff wants Volk to find out if his father was really a spy or was he a double agent. Volk's boss, General Novoskaya arranges for Volk to go to America to where his father spent time. Before Volk leaves, a policeman, Rykov tells him that he just learned that someone killed Volk's father in 2004 and thinks Basoff had Volk's father killed.

When Volk arrives in Albuquerque, he meets NCIX agent Elizabeth Rhodes. She's sympathetic and seems to want to help. Elsewhere at Loreli Industries we learn that the man in charge is Alfred Reese. Reese talks to his henchman, Santorini and tells him to take care of Volk.

As the plot progresses, we learn that there are various spies trying to get information and it's hard to know who to trust. We do find out who killed Volk's father and who killed Walker.

Volk is an excellent protagonist. He's street smart, though tender with his girlfriend, Valya. He's emotional about his father and loyal to his country.

The action paced plot is complex but works well. The various agents are well depicted and properly dealt with. The first two Volk novels have been optioned for screen and this story should make a good addition.

Currently Reading

Volk is arrested in Moscow and brought to his warehouse. He's shown the body of an elderly man who he can tell was an American. Volk is told that the victim, Everett Walker, was a famous cinematographer who had been blackballed by Hollywood. He traveled to Moscow and lived in an inexpensive hotel as if he didn't want to be noticed by the authorities. When his body was discovered, he had a photo of himself with Volk's father. The Russian jailer wants to know the details since Volk's father was supposed to have died thirty years ago.
The officials let Volk out of prison to find out what Walker was up to.
Volk agrees because whatever it is, he wants to clear the family name.

"A Circle of Souls" Update Book cover

Latest cover for "A Circle of Souls"

The forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.

In "A Circle of Souls" a paranormal thriller by Preetham Grandhi, a ten year old child, Janet Troy, takes a shortcut home and is overcome and murdered.



Elsewhere, Naya Hastings, a seven year old, normally happy child is brought into the psych ward after having severe nightmares. She was found on her balcony where her mother believed she was planning to jump, believing that she could fly.



Since Janet's schoolbag was found in her neighbor, Presidential Candidate Thomas Bailey's property, Lisa Bines, an FBI agent with the CAC (Crimes Against Children) team is called in.



In the psych ward, Dr. Peter Graham is attending Naya. He is also fighting with her insurance coverage and is given only three days of testing before she must be released.



Det. Jose Rodriguez of the Newberry PD picks Leia up at the airport and while driving back to Newberry they're notified that Janet's body has been found. When they arrive at the scene they are horrified to find that Janet has been dismembered. Her head is at Elephant Rock and the other body parts are placed as if they represent a stick figure.



That night, Janet appears in Naya's dream. She tells Naya about her death and asks for her help. The next morning, Naya draws a picture if Janet's body at Elephant Rock and shows it to Peter. He is astounded and in disbelief.



Peter knows the area and goes to Elephant Rock to investigate. Leia is also there and at first she thinks Peter is the murderer but then spots someone running away through the woods and tries to follow.



We learn that the slaaf, (slave) had sacrificed Janet to appease Anansi (a figure from a folklore story in Jamaica). The slaaf's father had warned his son abut Anansi and made him afraid. Constantly fearing this spirit, another fortune teller told him he could cut up another animal in such a way that the Anansi would believe that it was him.

Scenes from this story are described in a literary, suspenseful manner. The author, Preetham Grandhi, was born in India, influenced by Alistari MacLean, and being an MD, he gives a realistic view of the hospital atmosphere.

Peter is an interesting character and what is found about him is truly startling. There is almost a connection to TV's "Ghost Whisperer" where a character can communicate with the earthbound spirits of the dead who are seeking help.

Little Naya is a precious, terrific character who lightens up the story.

Well done and recommended.

There's a lesson in this book.

Derek Cutter thinks he's got it made. His neighbors are going on vacation. He's going to hide in their home and when they're gone, this seventeen year old will have a place to party with his girlfriend, Penny.

Plans are made to be broken and the family, the Langley's, return home because Mrs. Langley, has become ill. Derek is still in the basement when he hears another car pull up. Suddenly, he hears gunshots as the newcomer kills the family.

Derek is ashamed of what he was planning and doesn't tell his father, Jim, what happened.

Jim and Derek have a business cutting lawns. One customer, Agnes Stockwell, had a computer she wasn't using and gave it to Derek. He and Adam Langley explored what was on the computer. He finds a pornographic novel and makes a copy.

After the Landley's are killed, Derek tells his father about the computer and the novel. When Jim begins reading the novel, he recognizes it as one written by his wife's boss, Conrad Chase. Jim also remembers that Stockwell's son committed suicide 10 years ago and that's when Conrad said he wrote the novel. Did he steal it?

The police have evidence of Derek being in Langley's home and arrest him. While he's jailed, Jim hires a man he's just met. The man, Drew, tells Jim that he just got out of jail for robbing a bank but Jim needs the help. Drew also tells Jim that while he was in jail, his teenage daughter died.

The plot has a number of twists as Jim is accusing Conrad of stealing the book, Derek is released when the police find the gun and it's the same weapon used in two other murders. Who could be behind these killings?

Barclay does another fine job with his story. There is a lesson that Barclay's told before about parents communicating with their children and being aware of what their children are up to. However, how parents can do this is unanswered.

There is good character development in Jim and Drew and the Mayor, Randall Finley, is the reincarnation of Burt Reynolds in the movie "Strip Tease".

Very enjoyable read, I recommend it.