AHMM, Jul-Aug 2005
Page 29
Into the Blue
While May brings us an in-name-only remake of House of Wax, July offers the exact opposite: a movie with almost the same plot as an earlier film but a different title. While Into the Blue isn't officially a remake of The Deep, anyone who's read Peter Benchley's 1976 novel (or has seen the 1977 movie it spawned) will get the feeling they've sailed into familiar waters. In both films, vacationing scuba divers (Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset in ‘77, Paul Walker and Jessica Alba in ‘05) stumble upon sunken treasure and run afoul of a local drug lord. At least Into the Blue director John Stockwell (Blue Crush) won't be desecrating a classic—The Deep doesn't have many fans, so it probably won't be hard to top. July 15
November
Sick of watching perky Courteney Cox yukking it up with her Friends friends? Then this film might be the perfect antidote: a disturbing psychological thriller about a woman's slow unraveling after the murder of her boyfriend. There's no laugh track here, just a disorienting Memento-style narrative structure and a shocking twist ending—or at least an ending that tries to be shocking. Whether it succeeds might depend on whether or not you've seen movies like ... nah, that would be telling! July 22
The Skeleton Key
Anne Rice isn't the only writer to be inspired by the spooky atmosphere of New Orleans and the surrounding bayous. Busy screenwriter Ehren Kruger (Arlington Road, Scream 3, The Ring) has set his latest spine-tingler there. A gumbo of mystery, ghost story, and psychological thriller, the film follows a hospice nurse (Kate Hudson) who agrees to care for a dying man in a remote (and possibly haunted) mansion. Needless to say, she ends up with a lot more to worry about than changing bedpans. August 12
Four Brothers
So we've already looked at a “remake” that has nothing to do with the original and an “original” film that seems to be a remake. Here's another variation: a remake of a Western that's actually pretty faithful ... except it's not a Western. The fondly remembered John Wayne vehicle The Sons of Katie Elder serves as inspiration for Four Brothers. Just as in the original, a band of men set out to avenge the murder of their mother. The remake takes place in present-day Detroit as opposed to the Old West, and the “brothers” are a multi-ethnic group of young men (among them Mark Wahlberg) raised by the same foster mother. But the story of crime, loyalty, and revenge remains largely the same. Of course, whether or not the quality will remain is another question entirely. August
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Booked & Printed
Reviews by Robert C. Hahn
Collaborations by mystery writers have a long history (think Fred Dannay and Manny Lee's Ellery Queen series) and it would take a sizeable bookshelf to hold the many volumes being produced by collaborators today.
Often it seems that collaboration is a family affair; notable combinations include mother/daughter (Mary and Carol Higgins Clark), sister/sister (Barbara Taylor McCafferty and Beverly Taylor Herald—twins, no less!), and husband/wife (Bill Pronzini and Marcia Muller).
In some cases, one spouse may already have a successful series and then teams up with the other to create a new series. For example Annette Meyers's Smith and Wetzon series was nicely established before she teamed with husband Martin to create a historical series tracking the development of New York City from its inception forward. Likewise, Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayles series was launched well before she teamed with husband Bill to create a series of Victorian-era mysteries under the name Robin Paige.
Charles Todd is the nom de plume of the mother/son team Caroline and Charles Todd. Their excellent collaborative series features Ian Rutledge, a shell-shocked Scotland Yard inspector returning from the gory battlefields of WWI to try to resurrect life and career; the series has won plaudits from the start. The first book, A Test of Wills (1996), was nominated for several awards and won a Dilys Award as well as notice as a New York Times notable book of the year.
More books and awards followed, each featuring the haunted inspector who carries with him the spirit of Hamish MacLeod, a soldier and comrade Rutledge had felt compelled to execute, who now accompanies him as an almost physical presence. But it wasn't until the fourth book in the series came out that it was revealed that the singular name of Charles Todd also contained another presence: that of Caroline Todd, Charles's mother and collaborator on each of the books.
The series relies on Rutledge's ability to fathom the psychology of the crimes rather than reading clues or deciphering forensic evidence. And the American Todds vividly recreate an England still reeling from the aftereffects of a war that robbed their youth of life and limb and left the survivors forever changed.
In A Cold Treachery (Bantam, $25), the seventh Rutledge mystery, a weary Rutledge is the closest available Yard officer when a shocking slaughter is reported in the remote village of Urskdale in the north of England. In terrible weather Rutledge treks to the small hamlet with its scattering of farms, ruins, and sheep pens. At the Elcott farm, husband Gerald, wife Grace, daughter, and twin babies have been shot. The only other member of the family, Josh, a young boy, is missing.
While the locals organize and conduct a desperate search for the boy, Rutledge sorts through the possible suspects, which include Gerald's brother, Grace's sister, and Grace's former husband, as well as the missing boy. Rutledge is aware that what physical evidence there might have been has likely been obliterated by the snowstorm that struck and that finding the boy, alive or dead, is likely the only way to solve the crime.
As in all of Todd's novels, the characters are very finely drawn and the insular character of the villagers, their stoicism and strength, resonate strongly. Series fans will recognize that Rutledge's health is continuing to improve and that Hamish's presence, while still important, is somewhat muted from earlier volumes.
Accomplished mystery writers William G. Tapply and Philip R. Craig, each with long-running series of their own, have joined their talents and their series heroes for a couple of adventures. Tapply's mysteries featuring Boston lawyer Brady Coyne have been delighting fans for more than two decades now, and Craig's J. W. Jackson has been patrolling Martha's Vineyard for more than fifteen years. In 2001's First Light, the real-life friends and fishing buddies brought their heroes together for the first time. Now they are reunited in Second Sight (Scribner, $24) in a collaboration where the veteran authors passed the story back and forth, chapter by chapter, for a smoothly seamed book that combines Coyne's intelligent insights and Jackson's rough-edged readiness.
In Second Sight, Mike Doyle, a client of Coyne's, wishes above all else to be reconciled with his runaway daughter, Christa, before he dies. Coyne's initial spadework uncovers the possibility that Christa is on Martha's Vineyard and he sensibly tries to hire Jackson to locate the girl. Unfortunately, Jackson has already taken a round-the-clock job as bodyguard/driver to mega-star Evangeline.
Alain Duval, leader of the Temple of Light and a cult-like figure who is equally praised and damned, has organized the “Celebration of Humanity” and Evangeline, a Madonna-like performer, is the featured star. With Jackson unable to devote time to a search for Christa, Coyne decides to undertake the chore himself.
Needless to say, the tasks of Coyne and Jackson eventually intersect in a plot more thriller-like than either author would likely concoct on their own. The result is a tale that lacks the subtlety and finesse common to both but remains enjoyable for the ease with which the authors handle each other's characters.
The husband and wife team of Aimee and David Thurlo have been collaborating on a series featuring Special Investigator Ella Clah of the Navajo police for a decade now. But the prolific Thurlos aren't content with their primary mystery series, for which they share equal credit, but also have two additional ongoing series. Their Lee Nez series about a Navajo vampire/cop (!) credits David as the primary author, while their Sister Agatha series credits Aimee as the primary author. Blood Retribution (Forge), the second Lee Nez mystery, and Thief in Retreat (St. Martin's), the second Sist
er Agatha mystery, were both published late last year.
White Thunder (Forge, $23.95) is the eleventh in the Ella Clah series and illustrates the typical strengths of the Thurlos with a solid grounding in Native American traditions and beliefs coupled with the myriad adaptations the Navajo continue to make both on and off of tribal lands. The ongoing tensions that result are illustrated within the Clah family itself where Ella, her mother, Rose, and her brother Clifford each hold different views that sometime result in clashes. (Rose was even given a book of her own separate from the Ella Clah series, 2003's Plant Them Deep.)
In her latest adventure, Ella has to find a FBI agent who disappears after interrupting a “sing” ceremony. If the missing agent is alive but injured, it's imperative that they find him quickly because he will not survive long in the harsh land of the Dineh. Further, if the tribal police cannot locate him quickly, it's a given that the FBI will take control of the search—a move that will cause additional bad feelings on the “Rez” (reservation).
Well-constructed plots and a recurring cast of growing characters make this one of the best series featuring a Native American sleuth. And the Thurlos quite obviously are not content to rest on their laurels, so new mysteries and new series should continue to grow.
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Solution to the June Unsolved
Greta VanDusen attempted to steal the purple fabric luggage of Betty Zinger, in which was contained a huge fortune in undeclared diamonds.
Position, Couple, Hair, Luggage
1, Ed & Ellen Tompkins, brunette, black leather
2, Ivan & Doris Quigley, blonde, plaid fabric
3, Allen & Joyce Yager, red, orange fabric
4, Floyd & Flora Unser, blonde, tan leather
5, Dan & Betty Zinger, brunette, purple fabric
6, Jim & Greta VanDusen, red, red canvas
7, Brett & Iris Xander, brunette, green leather
8, Harry & Alice Saunders, blonde, blue leather
9, Claude & Helen Rappaport, red, green leather
10, George & Clara Washburn, brunette, red leather
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Visit www.dellmagazines.com for information on additional titles by this and other authors.