I finished reading Ice Cold this weekend. I even re-read my own story. It’s an impressively solid anthology that tackles the Cold War from so many different angles. There’s even a Hemingway “Crook Factory” inspired story and one that was inspired by a real life experience of a famous author. Our first review, from bookreporter.com, is both lengthy and effusive. The blurbable quote is: “It is a must-have volume for your bookshelf” and it ends by saying, “The stories are not long, but run deep and are memorable, particularly for those of us who remember the dawn of that cold conflict.”
I’m currently reading an ARC of No Safe House by Canadian crimewriter Linwood Barclay. It’s a sequel to No Time for Goodbye and takes place seven years after the events in that book. As a sequel, it does a couple of things particularly well. First, it contains enough backstory for anyone who hasn’t read the earlier book (like me) to understand what’s going on. Second, it doesn’t reveal so much of the earlier book that someone wouldn’t want to go back and read it.
I went on a Netflix binge this weekend, clearing out a few things from my list. On Friday night, I watched Exile, a three part BBC crime drama starring John Simm (Doctor Who, Life on Mars), Olivia Coleman (Broadchurch), Jim Broadbent and Claire Goose (Waking the Dead). Simm plays a disgraced journalist who scampers back to his family home. He’s been estranged for many years from his father (Broadbent), who is now suffering from Alzheimer’s. His sister (Coleman) has been caring for him, and she’s had it up to here. They come to an understanding and he agrees to help out. However, their father’s mind is fixated on some strange parts of his life and the more Simm digs into it, the more he turns up. It’s a family drama and a mystery where the major clues are all locked inside his father’s mind. Powerful people don’t want him stirring up old crimes. Quite a good tale. Claire Goose plays his new (but married to one of his best friends from high school) love interest.
Then on Saturday, I watched Headhunters, a Norwegian film based on a standalone novel by Jo Nesbø. I hadn’t read the book, but I’ve read all of Nesbø’s Harry Hole novels, and the film came recommended to me by Michael Slade. It’s a quirky, oddball film that reminded me at times of Fargo. The main character is a business headhunter who is 5′ 6″ and declares in the opening moments that he tends to overcompensate for his shortcomings. He’s married to a statuesque blonde and he’s so insecure that he steals artwork so he can buy her a nice house and other nice things. He’s quite successful at it. His partner works for a security company and can shut off alarms at will, so that helps. He interviews a candidate for a high tech company, but when the guy seduces his wife (something he learns while he’s in the middle of robbing the guy’s flat), of course there’s no job offer pending. From there, things devolve very fast, and the main character ends up running for his life, arrested, shot, stabbed, slashed, bitten by a dog, run off the road while in police custody, and so on. Quite exhilarating and mordantly funny at times. I especially got a kick out of the scene where his partner and a Russian prostitute are engaged in a game of naked “laser tag,” using real guns.
Yesterday, three more double episodes of Waking the Dead. I’m nearing the end of the fourth season, where I understand dire things are going to happen to a character. Her goose is cooked, so to speak. I found it funny that they decided to address Boyd’s anger management issues. That’s one thing I’ve commented on before: everyone seems angry on this show. Shouty.
