Review of "Accidents: A Legal Misadventure," by Phillip Rohlin

 Review of

 Accidents: A Legal Misadventure, by Phillip Rohlin ISBN 9781478718543

Four out of five stars

Cast of weird characters in the legal profession

  This story features some very unusual, if not psychotic, lawyers. Tim is an expert in music; he is able to identify the specific press of a vinyl album after only a short time listening to it. He also once deliberately ate glass in his closing argument to prove to a jury that a plaintiff that claimed great bodily injury due to a few shards of glass in food was lying. There is Jackie (the Fatman) who regularly has his genitals tightly in his hand when he is in conference with clients or negotiating over the phone. The Fatman keeps lush plants on his desk so that clients he is in conference with cannot get a good look at him. The Fatman also forms a religion based on psyllium and chia seeds that successfully pass through his entire digestive tract. He carries a jar of those seeds with him and is quite proud of it. Rich is another lawyer that befriends a toothless woman called the Blooze, pimping her out for oral sex. He has found that negotiations with others go much better after they have had a round with the Blooze. Some of the females also discover that the Blooze has other talents as well.

 One of other characters is Doctor O, an M. D. that cooperates with the lawyers in sham personal injury cases and that refers to his large male anatomy as the Klaina. He makes sure that as many women know about it as possible so that he can make sure that as many as possible are eager to interact with it. Master Lee is an enigmatic martial arts expert that no one crosses without being subject to serious retribution. Levonne owns a car towing company, and he helps recruit clients for the unscrupulous lawyers and doctors to develop fraudulent personal injury cases. Henry Miller, the author of “Tropic of Cancer” also appears and he is known for his games of Ping Pong with beautiful young women where both of them are nude.

 Given this list of weird characters, the reader should be convinced that unusual things happen in this story, while the list above gives away a little of the storyline, there is lots more beyond that. All I have done here is set the stage.

Review of "The Abraham Lincoln Joke Book," by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers

 Review of

The Abraham Lincoln Joke Book, by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers

Five out of five stars

Lincoln’s personality through his jokes

I first read this book when I encountered it in the library at my elementary school. To a young boy, it was quite amusing, and it also taught me some history of the man consistently ranked as the greatest American president. Lincoln was a humble man that constantly expressed his opinion of himself as ungainly and homely in appearance. A great deal of his humor was self-deprecating in nature, something that only accented his fundamental strength.

 As I read the book decades later my thought was that you can learn a lot about a person from the jokes they tell. If the jokes have a bitter tone and primarily ridicule others, then that person is generally petty and weak. The jokes that Lincoln told about himself were a verbal demonstration of the strength that he exhibited when he, more than anyone else, preserved the union at great cost.

Review of "The Case of the Calendar Girl," by Erle Stanley Gardner

 Review of

The Case of the Calendar Girl, by Erle Stanley Gardner

Four out of five stars

Many potential murderers make it fine Mason fare

 Perry Mason and Della Street are out having a quiet dinner and a man (George Ansley) approaches them with an unusual story. He had just left a tense meeting with a crooked politician on his palatial estate and when he was on the driveway a car came from the other direction, sideswiped him and then crashed. He went to the aid of the occupants and found a pretty young woman lying unconscious and in typical Gardner fashion, her skirt was up near her hips. Thinking she is unconscious Ansley starts off for help but hears her cry out before he can go to far.

 Going back, he finds her conscious and coherent. She insists she is unhurt and asks for a ride back to her residence. Ansley complies and manages to get a couple of kisses in before he drops her off. However, he has been thinking about the incident and is concerned about the legal ramifications, so seeing Mason at a table, asks for his assistance. Mason, Street and Ansley go back to the estate, looking for the car. At 11PM, the gates close and guard dogs are released onto the grounds. The dogs come after them, so Mason and company are forced to make a hasty retreat over the wall. This starts a convoluted series of events, as the politician is found murdered and Ansley is accused of the crime.

 There are several twists to the plot, as the chief aide to the politician constantly changes his story on the witness stand, and after hard cross-examination by Perry Mason, it is clear that Ansley could not have committed the murder. The person who becomes the prime suspect then hires Perry Mason to defend her and the case goes back to court. This time, the judicial finger of guilt is pointed in the right direction and the perpetrator is apprehended.

 While this story is in many ways a typical Perry Mason adventure, there are enough potential murderers to keep you guessing which one did it. The final piece of the puzzle, where an apparently solid alibi is destroyed, comes very late, climactically determining the identity of the murderer. I enjoyed the story, it was interesting and the conversation Mason has with Lieutenant Tragg is one of the best moments in the Mason series. It portrays them as adversaries, yet clearly with a great deal of mutual and professional respect.

Review of "Tape It & Make More: 101 More Duct Tape Activities," by Richela Fabian Morgan

Review of

Tape It & Make More: 101 More Duct Tape Activities, by Richela Fabian Morgan ISBN 9781438003344

Four out of five stars

Challenging projects for the patient person 

 I have no doubt that each of the 101 projects with duct tape in this book can be done, but I have even more doubt that they don’t require a high degree of manual dexterity and patience. As a frequent user of duct tape, I have experienced the frustration of having it inadvertently fold over and then having to throw that piece away as there was no way I could salvage it.

 These projects vary in complexity from the making of baskets to reusable sleeves for hot beverages. The more difficult ones require the precise folding and cutting of the sections of tape to specifications, something that has always eluded me. Explicit directions, list of materials and sequential images of the steps of the process are included, so there is no ambiguity in what has to be done. Therefore, if you have the skills to do this sensitive work, you will find this book a treasure of exciting and perhaps even marketable products. The rest of us can only try.

Review of "Perish Twice," by Robert B. Parker

 Review of

Perish Twice, by Robert B. Parker ISBN 0399146687

Five out of five stars

Sunny pursues the case when told not to

 When prominent feminist Mary Lou Goddard hires Sunny to protect her from threats and stalking, she takes on more than what first appeared. It is quickly clear that Goddard is not being truthful when Sunny poses questions to Goddard about what she knows about potential perpetrators. The case quickly goes more sinister when one of Goddard’s co-workers is gunned down at the place where they work. Since the co-worker resembles Goddard, it appears to be a case of mistaken identity.

 Sunny quickly identifies the most likely stalker, but that lead seems to dead end very quickly in a manner that could resolve all issues. However, Sunny believes that the loose ends were tied up too quickly and even though she was fired by Goddard, she refuses to quit the case.

 The story is compounded by two simultaneous plot threads. Sunny’s older sister discovers that her husband is playing around with other women and Sunny’s best friend Julie, supposedly happily married with children, is engaging in an affair with a man that is simply not right for her. Therefore, in the midst of investigating multiple murders, Sunny is forces to play counselor and emotional support person to two people that she cannot decline.

 The story moves along fairly well, Sunny uncovers facts that take her into unexpected and very dangerous territory. The climax is an interesting and somewhat unique one. In a few pages, Sunny goes from bravely facing death to engaging in an action right out of the hapless female playbook. This is arguably the best Sunny Randall novel penned by Parker.

Review of "Starr Tracks: Belle and Pearl Starr," by Phillip W. Steele

 Review of

Starr Tracks: Belle and Pearl Starr, by Phillip W. Steele ISBN 0882897233

Five out of five stars

An injection of reality into the legends

 With a countless number of western books and many different movies and television shows with a western theme, many of the characters have become mythologized. Many of the stories of their exploits are more legend than fact. This alteration of history covers all types of characters, from the heroes to the outlaws to the women. One of the most famous is Belle Starr, sometimes called the “Bandit Queen.”

 Like so many of the outlaws of legend such as the James Gang, the origin of the story of the woman known as Belle Starr begins in Missouri during the Civil War. It was a state sharply divided between Union and Confederate sympathies and Starr was on the side of the Confederacy. When the war was over, many of the people that supported the Confederacy moved to the outlaw side of society.

 This book is based on the history of the family of Belle Starr. The sources were family records and interviews with the descendants of Belle Starr. It was interesting to learn that she in fact went by several names and had multiple husbands. At least it appears that way. There is also doubt as to who was in fact the biological father of her children.

 As is most often the case, the verifiable track of history is much less dynamic than the legend. Yet, what is revealed is a woman that provided some basis for the stories of her outlaw actions. For example, she wore very fancy dresses, rode sidesaddle and carried a pair of pistols around her waist. This book is based on facts, and is interesting because it is based on truth, not fiction.

Review of "Johnny Bench: King of Catchers," by Louis Sabin

 Review of

Johnny Bench: King of Catchers, by Louis Sabin ISBN 0399205837

Four out of five stars

Perhaps the best catcher ever

 Catching is the most physically demanding field position in baseball. Not only does the catcher squat for over two hours, but they also control the game and must contribute offensively. From the moment he arrived in the major leagues, Johnny Bench proved to be a powerful force both offensively and defensively.

 He was one of the best at throwing out baserunners attempting to steal and was a major offensive force, leading the national league in homeruns twice and runs batted in three times. He also won 10 Gold Glove awards as the best defensive catcher.

 This book written at the YA level is a brief and entertaining history of his life up to the year of publication. Even as a child, Bench believed that he was destined to be a major league catcher. While this is not all that unique, many of my friends dreamed of being professional baseball players, Bench was one that achieved the dream. Like all players that are talented, there were times that Bench struggled early in his career. It was normal for him to question himself, yet he demonstrated that he had the skills needed to succeed. His honesty in admitting his difficulties is an inspiration to those that dream, yet doubt.