Follow the Money
The doghouse in the photo below was struck by a meteorite in Costa Rica in 2019. Note the hole in the roof. The dog, a German Shepard named Roky, was spooked but uninjured. The structure will be offered at a Christie’s auction and is expected to command at least $200,000. Photo from foxnews.com:
Headline from FN: “Georgia Republican slams Coke, NBA over cooperation with China: ‘Don’t give them a free pass.’” It’s not free. They’re raking in the blood money.
Headline from nypost.com: “NY mobile sports betting generates $70M in tax revenue in first 30 days.” Bet with your head, not over it. Pols now have more money to pass on to those who elected them.
More from NYP: “Bail ‘reform’ is a disaster — 43% let go in NYC were rearrested.” Anyone surprised? How much money is it costing businesses, which pass on increased costs to customers?
According to a blurb at Amazon, “Conrad Williams is the author of seven novels, four novellas and a collection of short stories. One was the winner of the August Derleth award for Best Novel (British Fantasy Awards 2010), while The Unblemished won the International Horror Guild Award for Best Novel in 2007 (he beat the shortlisted Stephen King on both occasions). He won the British Fantasy Award for Best Newcomer in 1993, and another British Fantasy Award for Best Novella (The Scalding Rooms) in 2008. In 2015 he began a trilogy about a PI. I just finished the first, Dust and Desire. The investigator, mid-thirties, is cynical to the max, with good reasons. I won’t be a spoiler and say why. He is hired by a young woman looking for her brother, gone only one day. Soon bodies pile up. The protagonist is a target himself. Most of the narrative is his first person account. The prologue and Part Two are in the third person and follow the murderer. He is not a serial killer, as there is a reason he’s on a homicidal jag. I enjoyed the story despite the fact that it is a tough read. A keen mind created it. There are more UK terms, slang, than in any novel I’ve ever read. A glossary would have helped. And there are also instances where I have no idea what is being conveyed. Were they lapses on my part, or are readers to assume it is due to the man’s drinking? There is abundant violence and profanity. I’d guess the novel’s appeal does not extend beyond fans of the genre. Of course, what would a hardboiled mystery be without the detective’s snarky thoughts and comments? Here’s one: “…she was slinging wine down her shouter with the kind of enthusiasm you just can’t fake.” And another: “She was thinner than the plot of a TV movie…” Ten users at Amazon have rated Dust and Desire, forging to a consensus of 4.6 on a scale of five. I’ll go with three. Here’s the author, perhaps smiling all the way to the bank:
It was warmer than yesterday but still cold despite the brilliant sunshine. I spent half the time of today’s session of the floating book shop in the car. My thanks to Greg, who bought Five Cents by yours truly, and to the burly gentleman who purchased The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum, Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton and The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. He said something surprising, miffed at the empty spaces on the shelves at CVS, at shoplifters not being prosecuted. He’d told me long ago that he’d been in prison. I did not ask for details. Today he imparted two: he did 20 years for killing someone. If I’d had to guess his age, I’d have said 40, which is probably off by a decade. I’ve been acquainted with him for ten years and he’s never been anything but good to me, but I’ve never seen him smile, let alone joke… In a much lighter vein, Gary, a gregarious, perpetually tipsy Russian, asked how my Valentine’s Day was. I said “Great,” speaking generally, not romantically, having realized long ago that every day is a gift. He said his was too. “I got lucky,” he boasted, laughing heartily. I applauded.
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