Dubious characters populate two thrillers
6:50 PM Fri, Nov 20, 2009 | Permalink
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Fitting words to describe Sandra Brown's latest effort, since the modern master of thrillers steamy enough to fog up the windows departs from convention with a slight but equally masterful tale. This beautifully written period piece transports us to 1934 Depression-era Texas and a rooming house operated by one Ella Barron. Ella lives there along with her autistic son and a number of borders, soon to include one David Rainwater, who comes with a suitcase full of secrets -- including the fact that he's dying of inoperable cancer and just wants to live out his days in peace. Nonetheless, Ella finds her sleepy life changed forever with Rainwater's arrival. First, he finds ways to reach her son, Solly, where all other efforts have failed. Then Rainwater begins to involve himself in the politics of the era, specifically the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation's efforts to "aid" indigent farmers by siphoning off and/or murdering their herds. His resolve in helping those rocked by financial ruin (eerily mirroring the plight of so many today) makes "Rainwater" a parable perfect to showcase Sandra Brown's newly displayed brilliance as a skilled lyricist as well as storyteller. Comparable bestselling authors John Grisham ("The Painted House") and David Baldacci ("Wish You Well") blazed the very trail Brown doesn't just follow, but essentially refashions. This departure from her norm is almost mystical in its elegance, resulting in a tale sure to stay with you long after you've flipped the last page. "Just before dawn. Bitterly, corrosive cold descended, creating a bleak, concrete wasteland. The street is deserted except for a man watching the ruins of a recently burned-out pawnshop."
That dark hero is a former brilliant martial arts sensei named Ho, who, like all of Vachss' protagonists, is running and/or hiding from his past. Like Burke, Ho has teamed up with a distressed band of outcasts in search of their own sense of belonging, including a dangerously deluded Vietnam vet, an ex-gangbanger, and several mismatched quasi-degenerates living off the grid. I say "quasi" because these are men still living life based on a sense of honor and devotion to a cause. And that's where the problems with "Haiku" start. As was the case with Vachss' later Burke novels, the plot is virtually nonexistent. The action, what little there is, revolves around a woman spotted throwing something into the river that may make her a ripe target for blackmail and an urban reclamation project threatening the cherished library belonging to one of Ho's adopted family members. The best of the Burke books cast him as a Batman-like crusader standing up for those who couldn't stand up for themselves, tales chock full of marvelous villains, colorful foils, and seismic confrontations. Vachss is every bit the writer he was then, but not nearly the storyteller, his style so overwhelming his substance that "Haiku" seems as thin as the three-line Japanese poem for which it's named. Jon Land (jonlandauthor@aol.com) of Providence has published two dozen thrillers so far.
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