The real thing

The real thing

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The real thing

It is one of this author's peeves that contemporary authors writing about a variety of subjects throw in Islamic terrorists in the hope that it makes stories more exciting. This ploy doesn't work. To be sure Islamic terrorism is the flavour of the 21st century, heinous and vile, but ought to be written about in context.

PORTRAIT OF A SPY by Daniel Silva, 465pp, 2012 HarperCollins paperback. Available at Asia Books and leading bookshops, 350 baht

Only when their efforts to destabilise civilised nations by sending suicide bombers to kill innocent men, women and children should scribes go all out on them. Describing how they are tracked down and caught, hopefully preventing the deed. That Islamic terrorists are planning follow-ups to 9/11 is no secret.

Several authors focus on this theme, their homelands not always discernible from the blurbs. Among them is Daniel Silva, who has penned 20 spy novels to date in his Gabriel Allon series. Travelling with his beautiful wife Chiara, his cover is being an art restorer, which he is, as well as a fine painter.

Israeli intelligence doesn't have finer operatives, their Arabic fluent. In Portrait Of A Spy, the couple's mission is to bring down an Arab jihadist.

The author doesn't shilly-shally about who are the most dangerous Islamic terrorists. Osama Bin Loony was Saudi Arabian, as were 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers.

Rashid most certainly is so. Indeed, none of its officials has clean hands. If Silva is to be believed, it finances mayhem from Morocco to the Philippines. They are actively trying to overthrow the governments of Egypt, Syria and Jordan to replace them with jihadist regimes. Rashid's bombs have gone off in Paris, Copenhagen and London.

Gabriel succeeds in getting Nadia, the progressive-minded heiress to her father's billions to side with Mossad against Rashid. Dangerous work taking her through the Middle East on so-called business trips, but falling into the hands of her nemesis. Tortured, Nadia is stoned to death.

Gabriel is imprisoned in Riyadh, a Saudi intelligence officer extracting his story. There's no doubt in his mind that a high ranking British intelligence official in London has sold them out. Nadia is regarded as a martyr by women in the Arab world. Ultimately released, Gabriel does what he has to do to finish the job. And paints a masterpiece in Cornwall as well.

Portrait Of A Spy is the real thing. Islamic terrorism isn't added just to add spice to a plot where it doesn't belong.

RED MIST by Patricia Cornwell, 503 pp, 2011 Sphere paperback. Available at Asia Books and leading bookshops, 325 baht

Wallows in blood

A crime reporter early on, Patricia Cornwell attended medical schools and became knowledgeable in forensic studies. Without earning an MD or PhD, she became a recognised authority and the FBI consults her on the forensic evidence of their cases.

Cornwell's novels _ 20 to date _ feature her literary creation, American forensic pathologist Dr Kay Scarpetta, who solves murders between dissecting cadavers. While it isn't necessary to read all her books, there is a continuity to the series. Characters carry over, perhaps skipped over once or twice, then reappearing.

Her niece Lucy can get through any internet firewall in moments, yet is slow to recognise when a lesbian relationship is bad for her. It took several novels before Kay and FBI forensic psychologist Benton Wesley tied the knot. Because Kay knows too much, she's on more than one death list.

The author rejects the cliche that women were born to be victims, men predators. Both are capable of violence and mayhem. In some of her stories, the man is the perpetrator. In others, the woman.

In Red Mist a number of personae of both genders are killed, virtually all by women. More than half the story is set in the Georgia prison for women.

To give away part of the ending, the lady warden is no lady. In a previous book, Jack Fielding was Kay's assistant for two decades before he was murdered. The plot expands to identify the culprit as his daughter Dawn Kincaid, who also tries to stab Kay before being caught and locked up.

Red Mist expounds on this. Behind bars for sex abuse, Kathleen Lawler insists on telling her visitor Kay that she had seduced 12-year-old Jack. Becoming pregnant, she had to give the child away for adoption. What she neglects to mention is that she had twins, Roberta Price also is adopted.

Meeting later, both prove to be sociopaths _ Dawn prefering blades and Roberta poison. Between them they kill a family and individuals.

Needless to say, Kay figures it all out. Whereupon she and hubby go to Massachusetts, where she returns to do her slicing and dicing in Cambridge.

Par for the course _ wallows in blood _ for the top forensic crime novelist. Aficionados will be happy to know that Angelina Jolie will be playing Kay Scarpetta in a forthcoming film.

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