Pirate King by Laurie R. King

(18. - 1261.) Pirate King by Laurie R. King - The cover is brilliant, the story within less so.

In 1924 Fflyette Films aspires to rival the flourishing moving picture companies of America. The English company has done well with action adventure, abysmally with dramas and epics. It needs a hit movie. How little has changed in the last 100 years. 

Fflyette Films is prone to alliteration in its publicity - Fflyettes of Fancy. 

Aristocratic backers of Fflyette Films are uneasy that the company is involved in illicit ventures while making movies. Inspector Lestrade reaches out to Sherlock Holmes for assistance. Holmes, awaiting a visit from Mycroft, designates Mary Russell to be the police mole within the company.

Fflyette Films is embarking on a journey to Portugal and then Morocco to film a sea action film. The Pirate King is to be a movie about a movie adapting the operetta, The Pirates of Penzance. As it is the silent film era no songs need be sung. To avoid being too complex the operatta is lightly drawn upon.

Fflyette Films prides itself upon realism. Not for Fflyette to use constructed sets. They shoot on location.

Russell is to be the assistant to the producer, Geoffrey Hale. Not a patient person, she is forced to deal with infinite details. The position is open as the previous assistant, Miss Lonnie Johns, has disappeared.

For The Pirate King the Major-General has 13 daughters, all blonde. To have them all of a lawful age to marry the pirates there are 4 sets of triplets. The movie is a diva’s delight.

Randolph St. John Warminister-Fflyette (I hate that name. I keep typing Flyette.) is the founder and sole director of the company. At 5’ he maximizes his presence by attitude.

Casting the pirates in Lisbon is a challenge. Where do you find a dozen piratical looking men? The acting fraternity of Portugal lacks the swarthy fierceness desired? Eventually non-actors are found who meet the director’s expectations.

The man chosen to be the Pirate King, Senhor M. R. X. La Rocha, is not only swarthy, he has a large gold earring and an actual scar slicing across half his face.

The poet / translator, Senhor Fernando Pessoa, turns out to be more interesting for the multiple personalities that make up his mind than his actual actions.

For over 100 pages there is barely a question or break-in to aid the investigation. Russell recognizes there is precious little progress. Indeed, the investigation was feeling contrived. How would a haphazard, ill-organized film company engage in criminal activities such as drugs and guns?

A sailing ship, Harlequin, converted to a fishing boat is re-converted to a brigantine and becomes the pirate ship. They set sail for Morocco.

The investigation really begins about 180 pages into the book.

Holmes makes a startling return to the book. I wish Holmes had been in the book from the start. The interaction between Holmes and Russell is crucial to the series. Russell’s earnestness needs Holmes’ brilliant eccentricities. 

The Pirate King startles everyone with a spectacular outfit:

His hat was scarlet. From it danced an emerald ostrich plume the length of my arm. His jacket was brocade, orange and red, over a gold waistcoat, burgundy trousers, and knee-high boots a Musketeer would have killed for, also scarlet. His small earring had doubled in size overnight, and half a dozen fingers bore rings - gold rings, with faceted gems. The henna in his beard gleamed red in the sunlight.

Completing the pirate image is a parrot, Rosie, fluent in several languages with a speciality of “blood-curdling screams”.

The action picks up when the motley crew of pirates, actors and detectives arrive in Morocco.

The conclusion is amazing and the best part of the book.

It has been 16 years since I read a Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes book. I had felt the series had declined and had not read after The Language of Bees. I am not sure I will read more of their adventures.

****

King, Laurie R. – (2000) - Night Work; (2000) - O Jerusalem; (2001) – Folly; (2002) - Justice Hall; (2004) - The Game; (2006) - The Art of Detection; (2009) - The Language of Bees

Brandi Reviews The President's Lawyer

Brandi Rintoul is my partner in our law office, Selnes Rintoul, here in Melfort. She is an excellent lawyer and a great person. I am proud to be her partner in the law. She also loves books. As I indicated in my last post, a review of The President’s Lawyer by Lawrence Robbins, she recommended the book and provided me with her copy to read. I asked if she would like to write a review to be posted on the blog. She agreed. Her review is below. I am so glad she wrote a review. I consider it a strong review that reflects her. And thank you for the kind words Brandi. I told her we should do this again.

****

I’ve been an avid follower of Mysteries and More From Saskatchewan since the moment I googled Bill’s name and found the blog; the eve of my interview to become his articling student nearly a  decade ago. 

Sometimes I pick up books I think Bill will enjoy, and vice versa. I learned quickly that Bill does not like to know anything about a book going into it lest it form some sort of bias or expectation before he can form his own opinion. 

When I found The President’s Lawyer in the bookstore on Boxing Day, 2024, the premise immediately intrigued me. I did not read the summary and immediately put it into my cart, taking a page from Bill’s book. 

I tore through this book in two reading sessions over 24 hours. I sat in the comfortable chair at my parents’ house and let myself be taken away by the story - a bright, young lawyer with ties to both a former President and his childhood best friend has been murdered, and the former President has been charged.

I’m not going to trace the lines of the plot that Bill likely already has - I know how thorough he is with his reviews when he posts them and he had me commit to not reading his review before I wrote mine. Instead, I’m going to focus on what I felt about the book as I read it, both as a lover of thrillers and a lawyer. 

(Yikes; nearly 10 years post-law school, I guess I have to acknowledge that I have firmly established a different perspective than non-lawyers.)

When I started reading, I felt an immediate kinship with Robbie; I’m not a male lawyer from Brooklyn who had a tragic childhood, nor am I going through a divorce or unfaithful to my spouse, but I did relate to him professionally. In a profession such as law, you often wonder if you are the right person to take on a particular client or difficult case. 

As all of us have seen over the years in which we have been paying attention, it takes a certain type of person to become the lawyer on a high profile case and different yet for a former President. While the obvious premise of the story was that Robbie does take on the defense, I’m not sure I would have if I were in his shoes.

To me, Robbie is relatable because he is capable but does not always believe in his abilities. He’s thorough and rational and smart, both in his day to day and in the advice he gives his client, but the niggles of doubt about how to handle being The President’s Lawyer felt very real to me.

After Robbie is formally retained, the preparation begins. He is assisted by a retired partner from his firm. It takes some serious convincing to lure a Republican Jane into the defense room for a Democratic former President.

Jane is a spitfire; she has a keen legal mind and balances Robbie’s self-doubt. Another relatable aspect of Robbie’s practice! 

It is not often that a lawyer - no matter their fame or experience - would take on a case like this alone. The value of having a team of defense lawyers cannot be understated. For much of my career as a lawyer, Bill and I have worked together as a team on high-stakes cases that have come across our desks. To me, Robbie seeking out his mentor’s assistance and perspective felt right.

And I’m sure both Jack and Robbie are glad that he did.

As the work continues and the trial plays out, Jane keeps things on track. She is direct when she needs to be and is no-nonsense to a client who is used to being bathed in “yes men.” Jane and Robbie are able to convince Jack on various occasions to take steps that are certainly the right ones to formulate and present his defense, including the ever difficult question of whether the accused will testify. Without Jane’s perspective, I believe that Jack’s defense would have been significantly weaker. 

In this debut, the author, Lawrence Robbins makes his own career as a lawyer quite obvious. He nails a lot of details upon which other authors of legal fiction take liberties. A cross-exam has never read more realistically than it did in this novel. Stop before you ask one last question that could lead to disaster!

I am guilty of being a reader who attempts to solve the mystery or predict the outcome before the author reveals it.

Here, the writing made the story difficult to put down, often bouncing between the case itself, as well as expanding on the personal lives of our characters, past and present. You must keep reading because you’ve become fixated on a backstory or subplot that must resolve to your satisfaction.

I can say with certainty that everything is resolved in The President’s Lawyer - including the cryptic chapters full of dialogue between a psychologist and their unidentified client which were, without a doubt, the most unsettling part of the plot. 

There were two twists in this story that I did not see coming; the resolutions given by Robbins did not even cross my mind as I let it wander, trying to solve the mystery first.

I am sure I gasped aloud as the final pieces fell into place in the last few pages, and I definitely thought about the implications of the resolution for quite a while before moving on to my next read.

The next workday, I walked into Bill’s office and asked him nonchalantly if he would like to read The President’s Lawyer. I hoped he would so I could share my thoughts with him when we both finished, and I was thrilled when he asked if I would write about my thoughts for his blog.

While not a seasoned review writer like Bill, I am excited to share this book with his readers who would enjoy the ride, whether they have the perspective of a lawyer or not.

I’m happy to say that I rated this novel 4 out of 5 stars. In contrast, I was disappointed to learn that Robbins passed away at the end of 2024, and this will be his only novel. I would have loved to read more.

****

The President's Lawyer

The President’s Lawyer by Lawrence Robbins

13. - 1256.) The President’s Lawyer by Lawrence Robbins - A defence lawyer’s dream! The former President of the United States, John “Jack” Sherman Cutler, is charged with murdering “Amanda Harper, a junior lawyer in his White House Counsel’s Office”. It will be the case of the century.

Jack summons Rob Jacobson (Robbie to friends, family and colleagues), a friend of himself and his wife, Jess, since they were at Briar Country Day school in Brooklyn. He expects Robbie to represent him and is shocked when Robbie says he is “not the right guy to defend” Jack because he is too close to Jack and his family. Rob was also “close” to Amanda. 

Jack desperately wants to keep secret his affair with Amanda. No past, present or future President could think the affair would not become known during the trial.

Despite his protestations, pro forma to me, Robbie takes on the defence. He has a self-deprecating manner I appreciated. He describes himself as a “balding, middle-aged Jewish lawyer”. He recognizes his vanity. He wants to represent the President of the United States on a charge of murder. He “craves the limelight”.

Robbie came from a dysfunctional family. His mother was bipolar. His father “managed his own spooled rage with a studded utility belt” until he was beaten to death on his way home from work. Robbie was a senior in high school when his father was killed.

Jack’s father, John Sherman “Sherm” Cutler Sr., was a hedge fund CEO and the family lived in a “stately brownstone”. Sherm was a mean man. Jack and Sherm had a volatile, even violent, relationship. 

There are enigmatic chapters with a character talking to a psychiatrist. I struggled to determine who was seeing the psychiatrist. 

Judge Edgerton is the trial judge. He is an experienced no-nonsense judge whose bushy eyebrows express to knowledgeable counsel his thoughts on an argument.

In the media frenzy surrounding arraignment Jack and Rob “navigated a river of photographers”.

Robbie calls upon his retired partner, Jane Cashman, to return to the courts to help defend Jack. A conservative black Republican, she hesitates to defend the Democratic ex-President but is wooed back. I was glad to see there was a defence team.

Robbie had graduated from Fordham night law school. After working as a Federal prosecutor for a few years he was interviewed by a prestigious Washington D.C. firm, Lockyear & Harbison, better known as L & H. Because he is a thoughtful reader able to discuss books with the decision making  partner Robbie is hired.

The victim was a beautiful brilliant legal star at Robbie’s office. The affair between the young associate and the senior partner began while Robbie was still married. He rationalizes his infidelity. 

Robbie meets with the prosecutorial team, a carefully curated group. Katherine Hannigan is lead prosecutor. Sam Parker, an African American, assists her. Gary Shapiro is the “law guy”.

Amanda, being 6 weeks pregnant at death, adds to the drama of the trial. 

Surprises from the client are the bane of a criminal defence lawyer’s life. I would have loved to grab some clients by the lapels of a blazer, as Robbie did with Jack, to emphasize the need to be transparent with your lawyer, but there is no point beyond a brief moment of satisfaction.  

Participating in the court of public opinion Rob has an entertaining interview with Ryan MacGregor, a flame throwing right winger (think Tucker Carlson).

The prosecution wants to admit evidence of Jack’s affairs. Jack’s co-counsel, Jane, argues agains the motion. Her oral argument was perfect. She points out a typo in her written argument and sits down. 

The application does set the stage for a major trial issue. Will Jack testify? Rob wants him to go on the witness stand. He is known for his charm and seductive powers. The prosecutors would love to cross-examine him.

As with most accused, Jack would prefer to tell only part of the truth. Rob and Jane sternly clear up that misconception. His motive for partial concealment was a common concern. The whole truth would embarrass and tarnish him for life. 

Jane reminds Rob they need an alternative killer to Jack. Robbie's close personal relationships challenge his objectivity on potential alternatives. 

Lawyers are creatures of habit in court. Rob sucks peppermint Life Savers to restrain his “knuckle-biting habit” while Jane has “multicolored highlighters to mark arguments in order of their importance”.

I wondered why Jack, if the killer, would leave the body where it was bound to be found knowing there would be forensic evidence available from the body.

The trial gets immensely more complicated when a possible alternative killer is identified and Rob refuses to recognize the possiblity.

The trial moves quickly for a high profile murder case. Robbins approach is more like a T.V. show or movie in short focused excerpts of evidence.

I neither foresaw the ending of the trial nor the aftermath nor the final twist. It is hard to have a series of credible surprises at the end of a legal mystery but Robbins succeeded.

The pages flow easily. I was reminded of John Grisham. There is enough detail but not the minutiae of Scott Turow in Presumed Guilty. Robbins has written an excellent legal mystery.

****

My partner at our law office, Brandi Rintoul, gave me the book to read. I asked her if she would like to provide her own review of the book to posted on this blog. She accepted the challenge. Neither of us have seen the other's review. I will be putting up her review later this week. I am excited to learn her thoughts on the book.

Murder Crossed Her Mind by Stephen Spotswood

(14. - 1257.) Murder Crossed Her Mind by Stephen Spotswood - Mr. William Selnes, the originator and primary writer of this blog, said he instantly thought of me, Nero Wolfe, when he began reading Murder Crossed Her Mind. He advised me that the sleuthing team of Ms. Lillian Pentecost and Miss Willowjean “Will” Parker of Pentecost Investigations are characters very much like myself and Archie Godwin.

While I respect Mr. Selnes, I told him “pfui!” Archie and I are sui generis. Nevertheless, I purchased a copy of the book and read it at my desk during my daily reading periods.

While I have been wrong, though I cannot remember the last time it happened, Ms. Pentecost and Miss Parker are the female equivalents of myself and Archie. I was astounded. Mr. Selnes invited me to put down my thoughts about our connections and the book.

Ms. Lillian Pentecost is about 50. I am but a few years her senior. She is formidable in demeanour and intelligence. I respect, not a word I use often, the intelligence of Ms. P.

Ordinarily, I would eschew describing her by an initial but it seems the preferred form of reference. Never let it be said I am inflexible. It does grate upon me that Miss Parker does not insert a period after P. in her reporting. If there is a period after Ms. I follow the principle there should be a period after P.

Each of us spends most of our time in our brownstones. While I simply abhor life beyond the brownstone door Ms. P. has multiple sclerosis.  Since she does get out periodically I believe we could have a satisfactory conversation over a fine meal at my home. 

I am blessed to have a sturdy constitution but still find the rigors of thinking through an investigation demanding. I admire Ms. P. for her dedication to investigating while living with multiple sclerosis.

We maintain the standard that a suit is to be worn in the office. I admit Ms. P. has the advantage in style. Where I am content with brown suits and yellow shirts she shows her flair at the critical office meeting:

…. an English wool two-piece that must have been dyed twice to get it so black. With her white silk shirt, blood-red tie, and matching silver stickpins (one for the tie, one skewering the center of her braids), she looked like the Grim Reaper if he had a better tailor.

I am grateful that my Fritz is not as determined as her Mrs. Campbell who is constantly providing her with healthy meals. 

We differ in an important physical characteristic. I have never been so distracted by an investigation that I forget to eat. Should I be able to meet Ms. P. I would advise it is heresy to skip meals.  

Miss Parker is a young woman with grit, determination, a quick sarcastic tongue and a talent for finding trouble. All are characteristics she shares with Archie. They even spend their evenings alike by pursuing romance with the women of New York.

I was intrigued by them being hired by criminal defence attorney, Forest Whitsun, to find out what had happened to Miss Perseverance Bodine. Miss Bodine’s title had been personal secretary to the namesake partner of Whitsun’s firm though her eidetic memory meant she contributed far more than secretarial work. She was a valued member of the firm. 

Considering the exceptional memories of myself and Ms. P. we understand the burdens as well as the benefits of Ms. Bodine’s memory. 

I could relate to Ms. Bodine who had retired a few years ago and rarely left her apartment building. As referenced above, it takes an emergency to get me out of my home.

I was dismayed that Ms. Bodine became a hoarder in her retirement. It supports my determination to never retire.

I was intrigued by Ms. Pentecost using the third floor of her brownstone for archives, including a comfortable armchair. While I could not bear to give up my orchids I would love to have a whole floor of archives.

An awkward, in my case prickly, relationship with the New York City Police Department seems inevitable for elite private investigators. While Ms. P.’s foil, Lieutenant Nathan Lazenby, is less confrontational than Inspector Cramer, he is equally frustrated with Ms. P. and Miss Parker. I expect the NYPD, a contraction I usually avoid, will never appreciate us solving crimes that are beyond their abilities to resolve.

I did find the sub-plot with Miss Parker pursuing a pair of muggers discordant.

I appreciated Ms. P. calling the suspects and police together for a meeting in her office to identify the guilty. I savour such gatherings. I could see the tension rising in the room as Ms. P. masterfully set out the evidence.

I felt there was a twist too many in the plot and regretted that it was found by accident.

As I reached the end of the book I was planning to invite Ms. P. for dinner and a visit with the orchids but confound it, a cliffhanger will deny me the pleasure of her company. I may reach out to Miss Parker. I believe the situation exceeds her skills.

I am glad that Ms. P. joins myself and The Old Man in the Corner from the stories of Baroness Orczy as sitting sleuths. The world needs more people sitting and thinking.

Emails with Anthony on Home Fires Burn

After reading Home Fires Burn by Anthony Bidulka, I exchanged emails with Anthony. I cherish our exchanges.

****

Dear Anthony,

I finished reading Home Fires Burn to Sharon yesterday.

We had been proceeding at a stately pace until we started the final 60 pages at noon. We could not stop. I read as we were waiting for our sandwiches at the Balance Cafe. (We are currently at the Grand Mayan resort in the Vidanta complex in Puerto Vallarta.) When we went down to the beach I read some more while we were sitting under a thatched roof beach hut. After ordering Chinese food for dinner at Gong I read some more as we sat on the patio beside the mini-lake. When we went upstairs to our suite Sharon said can we keep going? She lay down beside me and the pages went by until we were done.

I asked Sharon her thoughts on the book. She said she enjoyed Home Fires Burn. The cliffhangers in the final chapters kept her wanting more.

She told me she thought the pace made it suitable for being an audible book. She said it did not drag, that the plot never stalled and was not repetitive. She continued that there was enough description to keep her interested and let her form a picture in her mind of what was happening.

She was concerned about Merry wearing her Christian Louboutin boots with narrow 4” heels on the icy streets of Livingsky. She worried Merry would have a bad fall.

Her comments were not prompted by my remarks on the first book, Livingsky, about those impractical boots.

She did wonder how tall Merry was without her heels. You spoke of her being tall but I do not recall her height being set out in the books. Did you have a height in your mind for Merry?

Sharon was patient about me reading aloud the last few days. She said it would have been better if I had not interrupted reading periodically by coughing. I have a lingering cold. 

My thoughts are in the review that I posted today. A link is below. If you can reply I will post this message and your response a few days from now.

As with the end of the Russell Quant series I express my regret there will be no more Merry Bell adventures. I thought the third to be the strongest of the series.

I have not always found the endings of your books to be a strength. Home Fires Burn had a strong, credible finish.

I believe Merry Bell and Roger/Stella Brown have become a formidable sleuthing team. It would be interesting if they had more mysteries to solve, especially if they ventured into rural Saskatchewan. 

I do not think I have seen or heard where your writing may take you next. If you are sharing then Sharon and I would be glad to know.

When Russell went on his “indefinite hiatus” I thought he was not really settled. I did see Merry’s life in a good place at the end of Home Fires Burn.

In a final plea I would love to see you write a mystery in which Russell joins Merry and Roger/Stella. I think it would be a grand adventure.

Sharon and I look forward to your next book. Fifteen are not enough!

All the best to you and Herb.

Bill

****

Hi Bill,

I hope this finds you well and the two of you enjoying more of the delights of Puerto Vallarta.

As far back as when Amuse Bouche first came out in 2003, I have always enjoyed imagining how readers experience my books. Over the years, some have been so kind as to send me photographs of them reading one, on a beach, in bed surrounded by pillows, on a favourite chair, in front of a fireplace, on an airplane. I love them all. In that same vein, I've greatly appreciated your telling me about reading Home Fires Burn aloud to Sharon.

One of the commonalities in your thoughts about any of my books is your ability to see beyond the mystery (perhaps that's the "More" in "Mysteries and More"?). Identifying "relationships" as the overarching theme of the trilogy is interesting and probably quite accurate. Before Merry was Merry, she was Joey. It's fascinating to think about whether Joey's relationships expired along with Joey or do they continue on with Merry in some form or format? And further, how much of Merry's life prior to transition influence relationships post-Joey? Relationships in general--and you identified many that are investigated in this series--are rarely straightforward. As a writer, I find that a wonderful aspect of character development to dig into.

Oh those Christian Louboutin boots. Not dissimilar to the wonderpants in the Russell Quant series, I've been surprised how often they are referenced by readers and reviewers, and in widely varying ways. Those boots were never made for Saskatchewan and, at first, the same might be said for Merry. She resists and sometimes denies their unsuitability because of what they represent to her and her transition. For me, the beautiful payoff of the boots comes in Home Fires Burn when the boots are irreparably damaged. As for Merry's height, you are correct that I never go beyond saying she is tall. I imagine her being somewhere between 5'8" and 6', but details like this I like to leave up to the reader for whoever it is they see in their mind's eye when they think of Merry.

At the outset of this trilogy I took on the responsibility of telling the stories of not only Merry Bell, but of Roger and Brenda Brown, very seriously. Quoting you, the Merry Bell books are at times "emotional, moving...wrenching, and compelling".  I've done my best to never shy away from the challenging aspects of their lives, yet still remain open to the possibility of hope, love and a happy life. It was bittersweet to write the final pages of this book, but, thankfully, very satisfying. I hope readers feel the same way.

On to the next.

Anthony

****

** Bidulka, Anthony – Russell Quant series and Adam Saint series and Merry Bell series and standalones:

(2021) - Anthony Bidulka and Hesitation Over the Cover Photo

Russell Quant books - (2004) - Amuse Bouche (Most
Interesting of 2004 – fiction and non-fiction); (2005) - Flight of Aquavit (2nd Best fiction in 2005); (2005) - Tapas on the Ramblas; (2006) - Stain of the Berry; (2008) - Sundowner Ubuntu;   (2009) - Aloha, Candy Hearts; (2010) - Date with a Sheesha; (2012) - Dos Equis; Paperback or Hardcover

Adam Saint books - (2013) - When the Saints Go

Marching In and (2015) - The Women of Skawa Island

Merry Bell books - (2023) Livingsky and Merry Bell - Saskatchewan Transgender Sleuth and Exchange with Anthony Bidulka on Livingsky; (2024) From Sweetgrass Bridge and I Am Excited to Become a Fictional Character and Poetry in Football - Fictionally and Real Life and Anthony Bidulka at the Melfort Library; (2025) - Home Fires Burn and Reading to Sharon

Standalones - (2017) - Set Free; (2022) - Going to Beautiful and Stellar Book Launch for Going to Beautiful