Around the World in 120 Days, Book Summaries, Week Seven

Introduction: Around the World in 120 Days, Week Seven

Have you ever read the world?  If someone asked you about the diversity of the books you read, would you have a proper global reading list? This is the seventh and final week of the book summaries for Around the World in 120 Days for The Invisible Mentor’s Virtual Literary World Tour.

Last week, we stopped our Tour in the United States with The Outsiders by SE Hinton. This week we are wrapping up the Tour in Toronto, Canada with a side trip to Sweden. I felt like it was time to end the Tour now. So that I can prepare properly for the next time around, taking into consideration the lessons that I learned. More on that tomorrow.

I am ending the Tour with Dead Light District by Jill Edmondson, Buffalo Jump and High Chicago by Howard Shrier, The Water Rat of Wanchai and The Disciple of Las Vegas by Ian Hamilton and The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson – all books that were not on the original book list for the Virtual Literary World Tour. My soul needed these books.

A dear friend read recommended The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. It was her book club’s choice a few months ago. And she believed that I would enjoy it. She bought me a copy and was correct in her assumption. The book was quite funny. The other books were recommended by a sales associate at Chapters Indigo Gifts and Music.

All the books this week are great summer reading. And for the final week of the Tour, we wrap up with an interview with Babette Bensoussan, a long time reader of The Invisible Mentor blog.

Around the World in 120 Days, Week Seven

1. Dead Light District, Jill Edmondson
2. Buffalo Jump (Jonah Geller), Howard Shrier
3. High Chicago (Jonah Geller), Howard Shrier
4. The Water Rat of Wanchai (Import) Ava Lee, Ian Hamilton
5. The Disciple of Las Vegas: An Ava Lee Novel, Ian Hamilton
6. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, Jonas Jonasson

Book Summaries: Around the World in 120 Days, Week Seven, Day One

Around the World in 120 Days: Dead Light District by Jill Edmondson

Dead Light District (A Sasha Jackson Mystery) (Sasha Jackson Mysteries Book 2)

I am very careful and thoughtful when I write book reviews. Having written a book, I know that it isn’t an easy process and it takes courage. Most people say that they want to write a book. But they never commit to doing so. I didn’t like Dead Light District by Jill Edmondson.

The main character, Sasha Jackson, a Toronto private investigator reminded, me too much of the main character, V.I. Warshawski, Chicago-based private investigator in a series by Sara Paretsky.

I used to love the V.I. Warshawski series of books, and have been reading them for over 12 years. But in the last two books, I found them to be very predictable. And enjoyed them much less. That signaled to me that it was time to find some new authors and series to enjoy.

And it wasn’t just the V.I. Warshawski series of books. There were three other series of books that I had been reading for the same amount of time that I had to take a break from. I am a very loyal person and that loyalty shines through in many areas of my life.

The marvelous thing is that it was delightful to be able to recognize the places that are mentioned in Dead Light District by Jill Edmondson. In the book, Sasha Jackson is hired by Candace – a madam and the owner of a bordello – to find one of her call girls, Mary Carmen who is missing.

The way in which Dead Light District is written, you have the story unfolding as Sasha investigates, in addition to Mary Carmen relating what she is going through. Mary Carmen is lured to a hotel, where she encounters her ex-john who used to beat her severely when she was living in Montreal.

He beats her up again, she drugs and kills him to be free once and for all. The reader feels sympathetic towards her even though sex workers are treated so poorly in real life. Many of them do not aspire to work in the trade. But they are promised that if they leave their homeland they will work as models. And they face a different reality when they arrive in their new country, and are forced into prostitution.

The reader loses sympathy for Mary Carmen, when she kills Vivian Maplethorpe, a senior citizen to gain access to her bank account. Mary Carmen does housekeeping work for Vivian who is very tight with her money. Mary Carmen is desperate and needs money to return to Mexico. Living in Canada hasn’t been a good experience for her.

Sasha Jackson solves the mystery after making several mistakes. Many will find Dead Light District by Jill Edmondson fascinating and want to read her other books in the series, but having read so many books in the V.I. Warshawski series, it was too much for me, and just another book.

Around the World in 120 Days: The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson is the perfect summer read. A friend read this book for her book club a few months ago and insisted that I read it. She was so certain that I would like it that she purchased a copy for me. She was correct in her assumption because the book made me laugh a lot.

On the day when Allan Karlsson turns 100 years old there is a big celebration planned with dignitaries in attendance. But the centenarian has other plans. Instead, he climbs out the window of the nursing home where he lives and takes off.

Allan does not have a lot of money. So where he ends up depends on where the money will take him. While he is at the bus station, a young man asks him to hold his suitcase for him while he uses the bathroom. The bus comes, and Allan decides to take the suitcase with him. He gets off at Byringe, which is by an abandoned train station. That's how far his money will take him.

Allan encounters Julius Jonsson, a younger senior citizen who is living in the abandoned station. The two form a friendship. The young man who Allan steals the suitcase from finds them. And to calm him down and prevent him from seriously harming them, they lock him in the freezer. Unfortunately for the gang member, Jonsson forgets to take him out before going to bed and they have a frozen body next morning.

Jonsson opens the suitcase and finds it packed with over 37 million crowns in a denomination of 500 notes. The two decide to share the booty.  Julius and Allan dispose of the young man’s body. And they hire hot dog stand owner Benny to chauffeur them around. As the story unfolds, Jonasson leads us through Allan's life. The reader learns that the centenarian has led an eventful life. Allan has a larger-than-life history where he has met many heads of state, including US President Harry Truman.

Although Allan has an easygoing disposition and is very apolitical, he has spent a large proportion of his life in prison in various countries as a political prisoner. Allan seems to have nine lives, always landing on his feet, even when placed in impossible situations. The story is so improbable and ridiculous that it works and is hysterically funny. It's ideal for summer reading.

Around the World in 120 Days: Buffalo Jump and High Chicago by Howard Shrier

Jonah Geller Mysteries 3-Book Bundle: High Chicago, Buffalo Jump, Boston Cream

Howard Shrier was born and raised in Montreal, and now resides in Toronto. It's so wonderful to read a book and recognize the places. Buffalo Jump and High Chicago are the first and second installments in the Jonah Geller series. The main character, Jonah Geller is a Jewish man in his mid-thirties. He is a private investigator. And his mother wishes that he had another profession, perhaps in law, like his overachieving brother.

In Buffalo Jump, Jonah is recovering from a gunshot wound that he sustained in an undercover operation that went wrong. Jonah screwed up big time. So his boss, Graham McClintock (Clint) has placed him on administrative duty. One evening when Jonah returns home, assassin, Dante Ryan is waiting for him in his apartment.

Dante has a contract to kill a pharmacist, his wife and five-year old son. But the assassin has a problem killing women and children. So he wants to find out who ordered the hit. Dante orders Jonah not to reveal their dealings. This places Jonah in an impossible situation because he has to keep secrets from Clint.

While working on Dante's case, as well as another case at work, which turns out to be related, Jonah discovers a lucrative business. Pharmaceutical drugs in Canada are being shipped illegally into the United States. Dante and Jonah travel to Buffalo to investigate. Several people are killed, including a crooked drug enforcement agency officer.

The investigation returns to Toronto. Jonah ends up killing Stefano Di Pietra, the top player in the pharmaceutical scam. In solving the case, once again Jonah is injured. Jonah decides to start his own agency. How can he continue to work for Clint when he cannot be completely honest with him?

In High Chicago, Jonah Geller and his colleague, Jenn Raudsepp from his previous job are now working in his new private investigation firm. A friend of his mother, Marilyn Cantor, hires him to investigate the death of her daughter, which is listed as suicide. The deeper Jonah and Jenn get into the investigation of Maya Cantor's death, the more convinced they are that the young woman didn't' take her own life.

They uncover the secrets behind the Toronto Waterfront project. Jonah travels to Chicago to learn more about real estate tycoon Simon Birk. While in Chicago, he gets in over his head and has to call on his assassin friend, Dante Ryan for assistance.

One of the things I find fascinating is that a few years ago there was a lot of talk about Toronto revitalizing its waterfront, and making it similar to Chicago's. Howard Shrier was able to seamlessly tie in some of this information into High Chicago. This is an excellent murder mystery. And it’s fantastic when facts coincide with fiction.

Around the World in 120 Days: The Water Rat of Wanchai and The Disciple of Las Vegas by Ian Hamilton 

Author Ian Hamilton resides in Burlington, Ontario, just outside of Toronto. I enjoyed both The Water Rat of Wanchai and The Disciple of Las Vegas because the settings are so realistic. I have since read that Ian Hamilton worked internationally as a diplomat and businessman and has visited all the countries that he references in his books.

The main character is a Chinese-Canadian lesbian in her early 30s, who is a forensic accountant. She recovers large debts for “Uncle” an elderly Chinese man in his 70s who has ties to the Triad. Uncle lives in Hong Kong. In both The Water Rat of Wanchai and The Disciple of Las Vegas, Ava Lee easily locates the money. But the difficult part is retrieving the money. The fascinating aspect of the stories occurs when Ava Lee travels from country to country in her quest to retrieve the money for her clients. Her starting point is Toronto where she resides in the trendy and upscale Yorkville area.

In The Water Rat of Wanchai by Ian Hamilton, Uncle persuades Ava Lee to retrieve $5 million for the nephew of an old friend. The client, Andrew Tam, financed a purchase order for a large quantity of cooked shrimps. But the client, Jackson Seto, disappears with the shrimps and the money, intending not to repay the loan. Tam cannot afford to lose the $5 million, which belongs to his family.

Ava is able to map the money trail in less than a day. She knows that the money is in the Cayman Island and that Jackson Seto is in Guyana. Retrieving the money is not a simple process. Seto sets up his bank account in such a way that if he wants to withdraw over a certain amount of money he cannot do a wire transfer. He has to physically go into the bank. To recover Tam’s money, Ava travels from Toronto to Seattle to Hong Kong to Thailand (Bangkok) to Trinidad (Port au Prince) to Guyana (Georgetown) to Cayman.

I like Ava Lee’s character because she is very thoughtful and maps out her strategy. She is not perfect, and as in life, even though she plans, things do not always work out exactly as expected. So she has to be resilient. Although she is very petite, Ava Lee knows how to defend herself. She is a skilled martial artist who has been taught bak mei, a form of martial arts that is not well known. In The Water Rat of Wanchai by Ian Hamilton Ava Lee has to be extremely cunning to recover the money and work around corrupt officials.

In The Disciple of Las Vegas, Uncle and Ava Lee are hired by Philippine billionaire, Tommy Ordonez, to recover a $50 million in land scam. Early on into the investigation, Ava discovers that Tommy’s brother Philip Chew is responsible for the missing $50 million. He lost the money playing poker online.

Jack Maynard and Felix Hunter, two other online poker players lost funds as well. But nothing close to the $50 million. Both Felix and Jack are mathematicians and they performed statistical analysis which suggested that they were cheated.

To recover the $50 million, Ava Lee travels from Toronto to Hong Kong to Manila to San Francisco to Las Vegas to London. In The Disciple of Las Vegas, we see the importance and value in having a strong network of contacts. Once again Ava plans her actions on how to retrieve the money. And although she often works alone, when she needs assistance, she asks for it. That is a sign of a leader. This is a fascinating book and Hamilton is able to draw the reader into the story.

 The Water Rat of Wanchai: An Ava Lee Novel The Disciple of Las Vegas: An Ava Lee Novel The Couturier of Milan The Disciple of Las Vegas: An Ava Lee Novel The Deadly Touch of the Tigress. Ian Hamilton (Ava Lee Series) The King of Shanghai: The Triad Years The Red Pole of Macau: An Ava Lee Novel

Around the World in 120 Days: Interview with Babette Bensoussan

Avil Beckford: As an Australian, if someone asked you why they should visit Australia, what five pieces of advice would you give them? 

Babette Bensoussan:

1. Australia is a vast country and continent and as such the flora and fauna are unique to this continent. It has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world – a must visit is the Great Barrier Reef.  Essentially a country and continent to visit before you die!  Just beautiful from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean.
2. This country is as big as the USA in land area with a population of only 25 million, so if you decide to go to the outback or travel to remote areas (there are plenty to explore), ensure you have a roadworthy vehicle fitted with GPS and spare tyres. You’ll also need good maps, extra food, water and fuel and an emergency plan. Plan your route carefully and always notify a third party of your expected arrival.
3. Wear sun protection!  The Australian sun is very strong…
4. Your local Aussie is kind, hospitable and helpful.
5. Keep in mind that we have the most poisonous creatures on the planet here – from spiders, snakes to sharks and marine stingers.

Avil Beckford: What would be your arguments?

Babette Bensoussan: Australia is a unique continent with a truly amazing natural beauty.  It is an advanced Western economy, with a stable political system, well-maintained roads, low crime rate and high standard of health care.  It is therefore a safe and relatively easy country to explore.  So when are you coming?

Avil Beckford: What five books would you recommend for them to read, and hopefully one of the books would be by or about a prominent Australian.

Babette Bensoussan:

1. Fortunate Life by Albert Facey (one of my favourite books of all time!)
2. Any of the works of Henry Lawson or Banjo Patterson (Poets – gives you a real sense of the Aussie life)
3. The Slap: A Novel by Christos Tsolkias – a modern Australian story about our prejudices and cultural issues.
4. Tyranny of Distance by Geoffrey Blainey – this is an old book but explains so well the extraordinary impact of distance on Australia and its development as a nation.
5. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsey – a good mystery.

Avil Beckford: What is your favourite Australian dish and what is the recipe?

Babette Bensoussan: My favourite dish is anything that is barbecued!!  We have prawns on the barbie, steaks, burgers, fish, you name it!  Anything served from a barbecue with a salad, and I am in heaven….

We do have some unique foods such as Lamingtons, ANZAC Biscuits and Vegemite.  I will let you explore those for yourself!!  Here is a link to some interesting Aussie foods….. http://travel.cnn.com/sydney/eat/40-foods-australians-call-their-own-651613

Avil Beckford: Who is your favourite Australian musician?

Babette Bensoussan: I have a number such as Kylie Minogue, Percy Grainger, Guy Sebastin, however Peter Allen would have to be at my top… I love many of his songs with my favourite being “I still call Australia home”.

About Babette Bensoussan: Babette is best known as an international specialist and author in strategy and competition, and as founder and director of The MindShifts Group.  She is a brilliant presenter and communicator, and conducts training, workshops and individual mentoring on a worldwide basis to assist with the development and implementation of competitive strategies, competitive intelligence programs, and strategic planning.

As a qualified counsellor, certified coach and MBTI practitioner, Babette set up a second business uniquely for coaching executives and entrepreneurs in achieving their goals.

Book List for Week Seven: Around the World in 120 Days

1. Dead Light District, Jill Edmondson
2. Buffalo Jump (Jonah Geller), Howard Shrier
3. High Chicago (Jonah Geller), Howard Shrier
4. The Water Rat of Wanchai (Import) Ava Lee, Ian Hamilton
5. The Disciple of Las Vegas: An Ava Lee Novel, Ian Hamilton
6. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, Jonas Jonasson
7. Fortunate Life, Albert Facey
8. Any of the works of Henry Lawson (Australia's Bush Poets Henry Lawson part 1) or Banjo Patterson (The Works of ‘Banjo' Paterson (Wordsworth Poetry) (Wordsworth Poetry Library))
9. The Slap: A Novel, Christos Tsolkias
10. Tyranny of Distance, Geoffrey Blainey
11. Picnic at Hanging Rock, Joan Lindsey