As I write this, I remember that we are now experiencing the Ides of March — now April 15th, Income Tax Day. Yeah, this year we have three extra days, the 18th, as there is a celebration-holiday in Washington D.C. While shelving books and acknowledging the grim day is approaching, I found Confessions Of A Tax Collector, as written by Richard Yancey. The subtitle is One Man’s Tour of Duty Inside the IRS. Picking it up as a lark, I found the book completely fascinating, and now rejoice that the methods used in 1991 and later are no longer being used by the IRS. Interesting reading but somewhat scary too as the 4th Protocol for a collector of the IRS is “Seize, seize, seize”. Luckily that requirement has changed, and, supposedly, the agents are really good people! But hope I never have to find out.
Joy Fielding’s latest, Now You See Her, is set in Ireland and primarily the area around Cork. She has really outdone herself this time; the plot details the incredible changes that a mother goes through following the disappearance of her adult daughter. Despite the physical evidence that the daughter has committed suicide, the mother refuses to believe this and starts upon a search to find her. She accosts any woman with a slightly similar appearance to her daughter, and this leads her into a strange entanglement in Ireland. The description of Cork, both the new area and the old, is beautifully done; makes me want to find a plane and head to Cork, and search for the remnants of my ancestor’s family. Ms. Fielding’s plots are composed of twist after twist; to the point that the reader remains astonished when the ending is reached. Excellent and compelling reading; you do not want to put the book down and go to sleep.
But the book I liked the best out of these three is So Help Me God as written by Larry Thompson. Possibly because this is a legal thriller and the courtroom scenes are fascinating at least to me. Or possibly because I knew the author as I had worked at the firm of which he was managing partner. Being familiar with legalese and the drafting of various legal documents, it was “a trip” to see how the author was able to translate his background into a work of fiction complete with character development and plot and subplot. The book is easy to read, somewhat informative, but with the essence of the plot concerning the doctrines of the Pro Life and Pro Choice movements, it really holds your attention. An extra, Larry’s brother was Tommy Thompson, a very accomplished author. I do hope that this will be not only a one book experiment by Larry; he has found another calling.
Hey, kids, mark your calendars for Saturday, May 7th at the Library; the children’s librarian from Port Lavaca will be here to show a movie beginning at 10:00 a.m. Either Gulliver’s Travels or The Green Hornet will be shown.
A note of gratitude to the person who gave us some DVDs for our collection; with the cut in budget for our Library, the purchase of DVDs has ended. We do appreciate your thoughtfulness.
“When an old person dies, a Library burns down.”
Karin Gillespie
