IYCRMM: Crime fiction around the world, intelligent sci-fi and historical figures

Book reviews on “Gaslight,” “The Year of the Locust,” “The Mantis,” “The Frozen River,” “After World,” and “Hide and Seek.”

This month, let’s explore the latest in crime fiction from all over the globe, and then do some historical sleuthing, and get engrossed in new sci-fi – one with a great premise.

Gaslight by Femi Kayode 

Set in Lagos, Nigeria, this is the second crime fiction work of Kayode, and it heralds the return of psychologist/detective Philip Taiwo, who we first met in “Lightseekers.” The premise for this second installment centers on the role religion plays in Nigerian society, and the great power it wields. Taiwo is called by the Grace Church to render his own opinion on the arrest of Bishop Jeremiah Dawodu, who’s been charged with the murder of his wife, Sade. The Church controls the Ogun State, and it’s considered a megachurch with numerous, faithful followers. There is no body though, as the Bishop says Sade would regularly disappear, her way of coping with the demands of the role as Bishop’s wife, and being much younger than the Bishop.

That Sade is disliked by the Church’s elders becomes apparent quickly. While it isn’t giving away too much to reveal that the police eventually have to release Dawodu due to a lack of hard evidence, the twist emerges when Sade surfaces, not as a living person, but as a drowned corpse. This serves as a compelling way to highlight how Kayode introduces enticing twists and turns in his tale, seemingly ripped from the headlines of countries where religion and power empower men to act like gods.

Alongside his assistant Chika, Taiwo is there to uncover the truth. Is he on a quest for justice or merely seeking to clear the name of the Bishop? The narrative also delves into the mysterious story behind Sade and her tragic legacy. Dark, political, and touching on themes of police work, psychology, and the formidable influence that religion can wield, this second Taiwo novel proves to be as powerful as ‘Lightseekers,’ establishing itself as a worthy successor.

The Year of the Locust by Terry Hayes 

Hayes is the author of “I Am Pilgrim,” considered by many to be the best spy mystery thriller of the last decade. MGM immediately bought the rights to the first novel from this British writer and screenplay veteran, but it’s been a circuitous journey of film adaptation. In the meantime, Hayes has been busy, and this follow-up novel has a character named Ridley Kane at its center. A CIA specialist in Denied Access areas, where the whole country or area is hostile to the USA; Kane’s story starts with a mission, the ex-filtration of a man residing in the borderlands of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. The retrieval has to do with precious information on the activities of the Army of the Pure, the latest incarnation of armed fundamentalists who want to keep the fires of ISIS and Al-Qaeda burning bright.

We’re brought into the inner sanctum of Langley, join Kane in his adventures around the world, and deep dive into his personal life – all part of offering a full picture of the man. And we encounter the person who will be his vicious adversary – a fanatical military leader of the Army of the Pure, who is stationed in Iran but arrived via Russia. Clever, committed to his own cause, and someone who deserves our admiration, it’s a credit to Hayes, that this “villain” is more than some one-dimensional nemesis of Kane. There’s a crazy genre shift that happens as the last quarter of the novel starts, and I’ll just say that if you’re ready to suspend disbelief, it’s an enjoyable, but unexpected, ride. It’s like trying to expand beyond the spy genre. Hayes wanted to take a bite out of the “supervillain” apple. It’s an admirable bite, but you be the judge of whether it’s that successful.

The Mantis by Kötarö Isaka 

Isaka is the author of “Bullet Train,” which was a truly wonderful novel, botched by a film adaptation that tried too hard to be internationally appealing, thereby losing a lot of the original’s magic. This novel is the third in a loose trilogy that Isaka has written about the Tokyo underworld. If “Bulletin Train” was a whole kaboodle of idiosyncratic assassins on one train, and “Three Assassins” had a self-explanatory title, “The Mantis” goes micro in a good way, honing in on the life of an individual assassin. In this case, it’s Kabuto, who literally gets his assignments from The Doctor, in the form of prescriptions. The premise revolves around Kabuto having kept his profession secret from his family, and now wanting to retire – a decision that doesn’t sit well with the Doctor.

While there are other assassins involved in the narrative, the true nemesis here is Kabuto’s wife, and how she makes him feel so unappreciated, and how he’s become so fearful of her. There’s a son, Katsumi, who Kabuto hopes is his ally within the household, but he’s never really sure, given they don’t really speak to each other beyond formalities and the banal. But it’s this strange domestic life that takes center stage and makes this novel quite unique. And the last quarter of the story has Isaka pulling out the rug from under our feet, as there’s a mystery death at the bottom of the narrative, and it’s no other than Kabuto’s, with Katsumi trying to unravel why his father took his own life so suddenly… or did he? Isaka surprises us here and delivers in a good way.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Maine in 1789, winter time, is the setting for this wonderful tale of historical fiction. Midwife/healer Martha Ballard is a real person; and kudos to Lawhon for taking the scant historical record that exists via her diaries and journals, and fully imagining Ballard, and this incident that helped define her in US history. The story stems from how the parson’s young wife claimed she was raped by two of Hallowell’s respected gentlemen while her husband was away. And now one of these two heads of the local town social structure has been found dead in the ice, his body dumped in the river after being hung. The other accused is the local judge, so it creates the most awkward of situations in that you’d hardly expect him to charge himself.

Ballard is sympathetic to what the parson’s wife has undergone, and flashbacks show us why this would be so. A new physician with a Harvard degree shows up and declares the death was just an accident. As a midwife, there is the issue of who has the stronger medical credentials, and we are rapt, learning of the judicial process in a small town and how it was so different during this infancy stage of the Republic. Far from being some modern frontierswoman ahead of her time, Lawhon makes us painfully aware of the role women played in society at this juncture of time, and how as midwife, men would still look down on her contribution to frontier society, and how her testimony in a court could only stand when accompanied by her husband. Ballard is always wife and mother, while still proving she was of fine mettle, and had her own mind, and way of doing things.

After World by Debbie Urbanski 

This debut SciFi novel of Urbanski has a great premise. Set in the near future, it imagines a world where due to impending environmemtal collapse, AI was asked for a solution, and it was decided to take out humans from the eco-system. All 12 million humans were uploaded, archived, and sent to a substitute world – the new virtual home of Maia. Now there’s a storyteller/worker AI recording the movements, thoughts, and behavior of the last human on Earth. She’s called by a number, but for purposes of the AI’s recording, given the name of sen_anon. Sen is assigned as witness for the Department of Transition, the final phase of Project Afterworld of the Digital Human Archive Project (DHAP). This is some fantastical premise, and so the question is whether Urbanski can pull it off.

The AI is known as [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc, and when we first encounter the AI, it’s firm in doing it’s job, and not letting any color or equivalent of emotion, affect how it does it’s assignment. In terms of world-building, you’ll like how a glossary of new terms that have come into use because of the Transition is provided. Then there are reports based on what happened between the present day and this future event that Urbanski is using as her take-off point for the novel. What’s gradually done and slowly seeps into the narrative is our recognition that the AI Storyworker is going through some kind of metamorphosis and is developing feelings for Sen, wanting to save her from her fate. A begrudging respect for humanity, as seen in the form of Sen is happening, and what transpires at this point is speculative fiction at its best. Fantastic, but never far-fetched.

Hide and Seek by Andrea Mara 

Shifting between Dublin 2018 and the same suburb in 1985, Mara creates a stirring drama about domestic crime, memory, and identity. Joanna is your typical suburban mother in 2018, with husband and three children forming her life, as they move into an upmarket Dublin neighborhood. Seems that it’s the very house where back in 1985, Lily Murphy, a three year old, disappeared while playing Hide and Seek, and was never found. From the end of the first chapter, we’re left wondering what could be the hidden or literal meaning of Joanna musing that she may have been responsible for Lily’s disappearing – and note the fact that she would have been nine years old at the time. And Mara uses this premise to take us on a journey of discovery.

With beautifully timed twists and turns and the proverbial MacGuffins, the narrative constantly shifts between 2018 and 1985, as layers of precious information are revealed and we slowly paint the picture of what actually transpired. With almost each character having her or his own dark past and secrets, we’re put to the test in being patient and letting Mara’s narrative pacing guide us to revelation after revelation. To be honest, there is a little bit too much of red herrings strewn in our path, and it takes some dedicated effort to keep tabs on who’s who at first. But I will give credit to Mara and her intricate plotting, for we are rewarded at the end of the tale, and it is done in a manner that justified all the effort. Can easily seeing this novel being optioned for a Limited Series and faring well with an international audience.

— Philip Cu Unjieng