Brief Mentions: Alan Furst, Åsa Larsson, Joelle Charbonneau

Summer schedules can be downright challenging, but the graduations, birthday, and family weddings are over for now, and I have a great stack of mysteries that kept me calm on the inside while dancing through June's gentle chaos. Reviews will roll ...

But here are three titles I won't be reviewing at length this time:

1. Alan Furst, MIDNIGHT IN EUROPE. Furst's pre-World-War-II noir brings Europe in its potent darkness alive, and although technically his books are mysteries (thrillers), they separate from the crowd in two ways: First, we know the upcoming world events that will  follow the action of each book (war will break out, yeah), so the suspense resides in the smaller, personal details of lives and goodness at risk. This time the protagonist is Christián Ferrar, whose efforts in the Spanish Civil War threaten to give him the ultimate reward, as in, "No good deed goes unpunished." (I was eager to get more details of the Spanish Civil War myself ... I'd always been a bit fuzzy about it.) Second, Furst writes with the lush deliberation of a deep literary novel. The drawback for MIDNIGHT IN EUROPE is that this leads to an ending that's hesitant, sweet, but also distant from the press of the plot. Consider it a tease, perhaps, for the sequels we know are en route. Note: Furst's "sequels" are not a series in the traditional sense -- some characters occur in multiple books, but there is no need to read his others before opening up MIDNIGHT IN EUROPE. And yet ... I want each of them on my shelf.

2. Reading Scandinavian noir? You may still not know the name Åsa Larsson; she isn't at the top of the PR lists. But oh my, her books have gripped me this summer. I'm catching up -- I read Sun Storm and The Blood Spilt, and devoured The Black Path, then cruised into the most recent, Until Thy Wrath Be Past. I'm fully committed to the protagonist, lawyer and crime victim and now dogged sleuth Rebecka Martinsson. The fifth book comes to the United States in August, and I've pre-ordered my copy of The Second Deadly Sin. Most intriguing aspect (besides the character of Martinsson): discovering Swedish prejudices and ethnic groups. Mmm.

3. Joelle Charbonneau's widely awaited final book in her YA dystopian series "The Testing" is here -- GRADUATION DAY. It's a fitting finale to Malecia "Cia" Vale's investigation of the powers running her post-apocalyptic world, and distinguishes the series emphatically from its "older sister" in "The Hunger Games." I wasn't entirely happy with the percent of the book that takes place through Cia's thoughts, present tense, but I think that's more a personal taste -- and I suspect the frame is on target for many "young adult" readers who live in the intense present themselves. No major issues of sex or religion in this series -- it's all about power, personal and governmental. Cia is a reluctant leader, but once she accepts the role, the action is nonstop. More about the books at the author website: http://www.joellecharbonneau.com

Brief Reflection: Alan Furst, MISSION TO PARIS

It was a pleasure at this year's Bouchercon (the biggest mystery fan conference nationally -- held close enough so Dave and I could attend!) to receive a special "complimentary copy" of Alan Furst's 2012 title, MISSION TO PARIS. Random House used this to prepare for his upcoming 2014 book, although they don't reveal its title ... just that, as Furst comments at the end of this handout, it's linked to the Spanish Civil War. Count me in. I want to know more about that, and reading one of Furst's moody espionage novels with such a delicate balance between great change in the world and small but vital change in human lives is my favorite way to learn "history" through immersion.

Having this softcover version meant I could take my copy of MISSION TO PARIS with me on my walks, and while on the road. (You can't do that with a treasured signed hardcover.) I enjoyed it a lot. Most of all, for me, Furst nailed the way an ordinary person caught at a world-shaking moment can choose to do the extraordinary. Here, actor Fredric Stahl, sent from Hollywood in September 1938 to make a film based in Paris, unexpectedly discovers that he is willing to make a sacrifice for his adopted nation, America, by carrying some messages that amount to spying.

But the human risk and cost are enormous. The quiet way in which Stahl falls into agreeing to take on such tasks contrasts with what will happen if he is caught -- and what will happen to his friends, one way or another.

My father was a teen in Europe in 1938, and I could picture him in almost every scene of the book. It moved me deeply.

The book's had some challenging reviews, particularly in terms of its very strange ending. I presume Furst intended it to feel uncomfortable in terms of an espionage novel's ending. Yet it is, in some ways, exactly what happened to my dad. Once again, I find the opportunity to learn about history through a novel -- this time, my family's roots.

Today has been a time for remembering the tragedy at Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut, a year ago today. "Let us never forget" remains also the best response I know to World War II and its predecessor, the Great War, now known as World War I. Next year (almost here!) will be 100 years since that war began. A lot to remember, a lot to learn ... and we too have the chance to make small differences that may, in the long run, help to protect the people and values we care about. Deep thoughts for a gray winter afternoon; ah well, a good book sometimes will do that.

Brought to TV: Alan Furst, THE SPIES OF WARSAW

We're planning a 9 pm Wednesday date with "BBC America" television, for the start of a mini-series based on Alan Furst's pre-war novel, THE SPIES OF WARSAW. Dave and I are both committed fans of Furst's writing, enjoying the way these espionage novels evoke the 1930s and the looming Nazi machinations with depth and all senses -- as well as a touch of love or lust.

Here's one review on the TV series. And click here for a list of what Kingdom Books has on the shelf right now from Alan Furst, including some signed copies.