Catch Me If You Can
Frank W. Abagnale
The movie version of Catch Me If You Can is exciting and fast-paced, with plenty of Hollywood glitz that adds a glossy veneer, making many of Frank Abagnale’s exploits seem fake and overblown. While enjoyable, the movie doesn’t begin to compare to Abagnale’s descriptions of his short but highly lucrative life of crime. With a wickedly quick mind, Abagnale kept one step ahead of the FBI by continually changing his strategy and learning new cons. While almost all were based on cashing phony checks, the complexity schemes grew by leaps and bounds. Many of his earlier attempts at passing bad checks would, and should have been, caught. However, like “Clark Rockefeller” Abagnale also understood the importance of...
The Man in the Rockefeller Suit
Mark Seal
“The bigger the lie, the more it will be believed.” – paraphrased from Joseph Goebbels
There is something simply unbelievable in the stories of serial imposters like Frank Abaganle and “Clark Rockefeller”. How, you ask yourself, could so many people possibly believe such twaddle? And yet they do. Far above the class of metal-siding salesmen, these world-class liars create entire personas for themselves. Their tightly woven stories, embellished with the most garish and outrageous of stories, are costumed and acted day and night. The mask never slips. When someone gets too close, another mask is made in its place. While most imposters create their new selves to acquire wealth and power, in the case of German...
Raven Black
Ann Cleeves
The first in her Shetland Island thrillers, Cleeves’ story is dark and gripping. The isolation, small-town atmosphere and like of privacy on the tiny island add to the tense atmosphere and ominous air. Suspicion over the death of two local girls bounces from one resident to the other, though always circling to the grinning old man in the dilapidated house. A book as much about psychology and personality as it is about murder. Wonderful.
Star Island
Carl Hiaasen
Hiaasen’s newest title, Star Island, is by far my favorite since Skinny Dip. Using the trite and oft-seen story of a starlet going off the rails, Hiaasen drags Cherry Pye, a mediocre singer filled with blind ambition, had her double Ann, into the psychotic world of The Captain’s Florida. Never one to disappoint, Hiaasen’s characters careen widely from one-near miss to another. The bad get theirs in the end and the good get a nasty vindication. Cheaper than drugs and just as shiny and confusing.
In the Courts of the Sun
Brian D’amato
By far the best book I’ve read in months, D’amato creates a fantastic near-future and recreates the lost Maya civilizations. As 2012 nears, the end of the Maya calendar, a large-scale disaster strikes. The disaster, followed by the end of civilization, are both predicted in a Maya codex. Jed DeLanda, a Maya descendant and expert in the future-fortelling Game, becomes involved with a conglomeration of groups interested in stopping the end-time. In short order, DeLanda finds the rich and powerful powers-that-be have the ability to send a copy of his mind back in time, with the hope that he can find out what the final disaster is and avert...
Evil Genius
Evil Genius – Catherine Jinks
Where do you go to school if you are a genius and your father is an evil genius? Why, the evil genius academy, of course. Learn the fine arts of lying, stealing, poisons, hacking, disguise and other deeply useful skills. The only drawbacks? The matriculation rate is nothing to write home about and leaving really isn’t an option. Surprisingly gritty, intense themes for a supposed kids book.