Books: Good Behavior By Donald E. Westlake (1985)

"John Dortmunder's one of the slyest burglars going. While fleeing the police during his latest caper, he falls through the roof of the Silent Sisterhood of St. Filumena -and tumbles into the lap of trouble. It's an act of God, the sisters exclaim. Only the Creator himself could have sent this criminal just when they needed him. Sure, they'll shelter him from the cops. But there's a price: He must help them to retrieve their youngest and newest member from her father's clutches. This promises to get sticky. Dear old dad hates the Sisterhood like the plague. And he happens to have an odd hobby: putting together mercenary armies."

Good Behavior, the sixth book in the John Dortmunder series, is another tale of pure delight. And much like the last book, Why Me, Donald E. Westlake continues to shift away from Andy Kelp being the jinx of the team and just make John have some sort of "curse" of bad luck. This sort of alters both the character and the nature of John's burglary career, and it's a weird transition from the first three or four books in the series, but it's noticeable. But not horrible in any way, though.

Like the rest of the Dortmunder tales, the book is filled with various hijinks, with some fun and some outright funny set pieces (Dortmunder's inadvertent recruitment into this army is the best of a lot of funny scenes), with great dialogue, along with poking fun at some lowlife characters that exist in New York of that bygone era (including the cops). One of the best things about this series is how different all the plots are -Westlake creates some pretty unique and clever things for Dortmunder to get out of. I've read as the series ages, the plots remain fairly tight, but seem to go on longer than the should. Even Good Behavior seemed to go on longer that it should, but that may just be my warped opinion.

Books: Travelers in the Third Reich: The Rise of Fascism: 1919-1945 By Julia Boyd

"Without the benefit of hindsight, how do you interpret what’s right in front of your eyes?

The events that took place in Germany between 1919 and 1945 were dramatic and terrible but there were also moments of confusion, of doubt – of hope. How easy was it to know what was actually going on, to grasp the essence of National Socialism, to remain untouched by the propaganda or predict the Holocaust? Travelers in the Third Reich is a history of the rise of the Nazis based on fascinating first-hand accounts, drawing together a multitude of voices and stories, including students, politicians, musicians, diplomats, schoolchildren, communists, scholars, athletes, poets, journalists, fascists, artists, tourists, even celebrities like Charles Lindbergh and Samuel Beckett. Their experiences create a remarkable three-dimensional picture of Germany under Hitler – one so palpable that the reader will feel, hear, even breathe the atmosphere."

You can’t go wrong with this thoroughly compelling book which details the rise of Hitler and fascism seen by travelers and other “real” people of the era. The book excels at telling stories, with author Julia Boyd’s skills shinning through. Most of the travelers Boyd describes generally fall into three categories: those who “had made up their minds as to which camp they belonged”, those who were naively or willfully ignorant “because Germany’s cultural heritage was simply too precious to renounce for politics, however unpleasant those politics might be”, and those who were just plain confused and baffled by what they experienced and observed. She also didn't shy away from being judgmental when it was appropriate as in her comment, “The historian Sir Arthur Bryant was another notable foreigner whose benign view of the Nazis lasted longer than was decent.”

While the Treaty of Versailles in 1918 brought an end to German dominance, it was also was the lightening rod that swept Hitler into power. But it’s the brilliant propaganda that allowed Germany to still be a glorious, unspoiled place to visit, all while in the shadows (at first) building a new war machine that was still doomed to failure.It still remains striking after 80 years how it all happened, how it all was ignored for so long. “Perhaps the chilling fact, “ Boyd writes, “to emerge from these travelers’ tales is that so many perfectly decent people could return home from Hitler’s Germany singing its praises.” And she points out that even in the late 1930’s it was still possible for forengers (including Americans) “to spend weeks in Germany and experience nothing more unpleasant than a puncture.” But she adds –and this seems prescience today- there “was a difference between ‘not seeing’ and ‘not knowing.’ And after Kristallnacht (a pogrom against Jews carried out by SA paramilitary forces and civilians throughout Nazi Germany) on November 9, 1938, there could be no possible excuse for any foreign traveler to claim that they ‘did not know’ the Nazi’s true colors.”

It’s a disturbing book, coming off almost absurd in some people’s naivety. But the book also gives some insight into the complexities of the Third Reich, its paradoxes and its ultimate destruction.

Books: The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek By Rhett McLaughlin & Link Neal (2019)

“It's 1992 in Bleak Creek, North Carolina, a sleepy little place with all the trappings of an ordinary Southern town: two Baptist churches, friendly smiles coupled with silent judgments, and a seemingly unquenchable appetite for pork products. Beneath the town’s cheerful façade, however, Bleak Creek teens live in constant fear of being sent to The Whitewood School, a local reformatory with a record of putting unruly teens back on the straight and narrow—a record so impeccable that almost everyone is willing to ignore the mysterious deaths that have occurred there over the past decade. At first, high school freshmen Rex McClendon and Leif Nelson believe what they’ve been told—that the students’ strange demises were all tragic accidents. But when the shoot for their low-budget horror masterpiece, PolterDog, goes horribly awry—and their best friend, Candice Boykins, is sent to Whitewood as punishment—Rex and Leif are forced to question everything they know about their unassuming hometown and its cherished school for delinquents. Eager to rescue their friend, Rex and Leif pair up with recent NYU film school grad Janine Blitstein to begin piecing together the unsettling truth of the school and its mysterious founder, Wayne Whitewood. What they find, with Candice’s life hanging in the balance, will leave them battling an evil beyond their wildest teenage imaginations—one that will shake Bleak Creek to its core.”

For the most part The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek is fun, fast-paced thriller that features a lot of nostalgia. It’s also a semi-autobiographical novel about the authors lives growing up in North Carolina in the 90s. McLaughlin and Neal have been friends since first grade and a lot of what happened between Rex and Leif parallel the boys life. They are also, apparently, now a comedy duo known for creating the Internet’s most-watched daily talk show, Good Mythical Morning (which officially makes me old, as I never heard of), along with a weekly podcast Ear Biscuits, and penned bestseller Rhett & Link’s Book of Mythicality. I also amused in their bio it mentions “they share an office at Mythical Entertainment, the company they cofounded, but live separately with their respective wives, children, and dogs in Los Angeles.” Why this needed to added is beyond me.

As for the novel, it is enjoyable, even if a bit uneven –we go well over 160 pages before the supernatural aspect is introduced (and then there is only very little in an explanation as to what this all is). The boys have a good relationship which is suddenly being threatened by them both seeing their other long time friend, Candice Boykins in a new light. Yeah, we’ve seen this before. Even the mysterious Whitewood School, designed to take rebellious teens and turn them into White, Conservative Christian Good Folks has been done a million times before (even though the authors no longer believe in a God). A lot of what this book seems designed to do –even though written for modern teen audience- is talk about growing up in the late 1980s early 90’s. Both Stephen King and Peter Straub excel at this in their tales, but here it just seems to be more inside-jokes and nods at nostalgia for the two writers.

The book, ultimately, feels empty when it should’ve shinned. Its supernatural aspect is vague and never really fully develops into horror novel one might expect. In the end, if you like R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series, this book might be for you.

Books: The Conference of the Birds By Ransom Riggs (2020)

"With his dying words, H—Jacob Portman’s final connection to his grandfather Abe’s secret life entrusts Jacob with a mission: Deliver newly con­tacted peculiar Noor Pradesh to an operative known only as V. Noor is being hunted. She is the subject of an ancient prophecy, one that foretells a looming apocalypse. Save Noor—Save the future of all peculiardom. With only a few bewildering clues to follow, Jacob must figure out how to find V, the most enigmatic, and most powerful, of Abe’s former associates. But V is in hiding and she never, ever, wants to be found."

People are going to love or hate The Conference of the Birds, the fifth book in the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs, as it moves slowly towards what should be book six sometime in 2021. Much like JK Rowling’s movie prequel series to the Harry Potter franchise, which has divided the fan base, one has to ask if this series was needed. Sure, it’s set in America, which opens a whole new universe of new Peculiar’s, but does it add anything to the first three books, which came to a satisfying conclusion in The Library of Souls? 

Part of the problem is the book lies flat, and is often dull between some remarkable violence for a kid’s book. Picking up shortly after the Map of Days, this one introduces a prophecy that brings back (spoiler) the villain from the first trilogy. Who was trapped in a loop he should NOT be able to get out of. Can’t say this is a great development. 

The book, as noted, has a bunch of savage-like violence mixed in and leaves a lot of the charming humor aside. There is a forced romance between Noor and Jacob, and it’s written very awkward-like (not in a good way).

Overall, The Conference of the Birds is the weakest book of the five, which maybe the reason Random House released the book three weeks after Christmas. They knew the reviews would be savage.

Books: Nobody's Perfect By Donald E. Westlake (1977)

“The priceless painting is titled ‘Folly Leads to Man's Ruin,’ and its owner, the rich and careless Mr. Chauncey, wants it stolen for the insurance payout. That's why he hires Dortmunder, who has a foolproof plan. Just in case, Chauncey also recruits a hit man to make sure he gets the painting back. Too bad Dortmunder doesn't take the painting's message to heart. He gets stuck in an elevator, and the painting vanishes. Now he's got a few more days to live, unless he comes up with the painting -or another foolproof plan.”

After being caught in the act of stealing TVs out of a repair shop he –and facing more jail time -a high-priced defense attorney suddenly shows up and does the kind of court room magic that keeps the criminally rich out of jail and running around loose for years. But while John Dortmunder is astounded at his luck, he knows that his freedom came with a job. And for once, this job (not coming from Andy Kelp, who John is starting to believe is a jinx) seems simple and easy to pull off.

Of course, as the saying goes, the best laid plans seemly go askew. And this time, a simple unplanned trip in an elevator, sets off a chain of events that has Dortmunder and his Band of Misfit Toys scurrying around New York and England in search of a painting that seems not want to be stolen.

While I enjoyed Westlake’s Parker book I recently read (which is a more hard-core heist theme, with death and violence replacing the humor), I do find myself enjoying the Dortmunder books a bit more (even if they’re a bit formulaic). There is not much in the way of laugh-out-loud hilariousness in Nobody's Perfect, but like the previous ones I’ve read, it does eventually turn into outright farce. But Westlake’s often perfectly-timed dry wit (which I’ve always loved) makes up for some the silliness that sometimes happens towards the end. Still, as always, I love John Dortmunder, who is a principled thief afraid of change and the future -he's like some relatives I once knew. It’s this low-key charm that makes me want to pick up the next volume in the series just to find out what sort of good trouble he’ll end up next in.

Also with this fourth book in the series, I noticed that the first three took place a year apart form each other, as John is 37 in The Hot Rock and 40 by the time Nobody's Perfect begins. This brought up an interesting thing for me, as Westlake wrote Dortmunder (and Parker as well) over a 40 year period. I did a bit of research and discovered after this fourth book, Westlake kept Dortmunder and his crew at relatively the same age. He would do this for his Richard Stark persona as well, as Westlake wrote 16 Parker books in a twelve year period before taking a twenty-two year hiatus before the next Parker tale, 1997's Comeback.