Showing 1 - 10 of 10
Down Mexico way
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 17/01/2020
» Brit turned American Lee Child is perhaps the most respected author in the crime-thriller genre. His 6-5, 250-pound literary creation Jack Reacher is the most popular of heroes. No small part of the reason is that he's played on the screen by -- rather shorter -- star Tom Cruise. On his own, the behemoth is likeable.
Evil personified
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 10/01/2020
» When the terms genocide and war criminals are mentioned, the connections that usually come to mind are the Third Reich and Nuremberg. Japan too, and the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. Today a permanent process for prosecuting crimes against humanity has been established at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Friends and enemies
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 22/11/2019
» People have friends and enemies -- fair-weather and true friends, run-of-the-mill and mortal enemies. It takes an emergency to sort them out.
Twists and turns
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 15/11/2019
» It is said that truth is stranger than fiction. That's debatable. Authors have lively imaginations. Many have concocted plots for their novels that are at least as strange as anything real life has offered. Readers of long standing sometimes can't be certain which is which. Which is where gut feeling is not necessarily reliable.
How honest are you?
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 16/08/2019
» Those finding a wallet or purse, particularly when stuffed with money or gems, have their honesty sorely tested when the owner's ID is included. Ought they notify him or her? They need the valuables themselves. Was it just luck? Didn't God mean for them to have it? Likely as not the loser is rich and shrugged it off to experience. Or not.
Desert graveyard
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 27/06/2019
» While not as prestigious as Nobel Laureates, Pulitzer Prize awardees are highly regarded in the US. The annual recipients are rewarded for works a giant step above their colleagues.
Isis foiled
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 15/02/2019
» Until a few years ago, no Western publisher dared say a word against Isis, the Muslim terrorist extremists infamous for taking umbridge and reacting violently. No longer. Isis is now targeted by the media and by novelists with impunity.
A word to the wise
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 24/01/2019
» A cloak-and-dagger book again, but this one is the Real McCoy. A veteran CIA operative of three decades, Jason Matthews has seen and done it all. As the saying goes, he knows where the bodies are buried. The theme of The Kremlin's Candidate is that the US is engaged in a second Cold War, brought about by Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin.
Isis destroyed
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 06/09/2018
» As most of the hijackers responsible for the 9/11 outrage were Saudi Arabian, it stands to reason that the US would take the kingdom to task. Instead, Washington turned its ire on Afghanistan and Iraq. How could that be? In fact, it made sense. America is Saudi's biggest oil customer and didn't want it to stop flowing, the more than 3,000 dead at New York's Twin Towers notwithstanding.
Good cops, bad cops
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 18/05/2018
» Few things are more disheartening than learning that those sworn to protect us from society's predators are corrupt, indeed evil themselves. Then who are the good guys, if any? Many a crime novelist raises this question without presenting a satisfactory solution.