Berlin Like Flames

BOOK REVIEW: Too many cooks spoil promising mystery

The hype for "No Rest for the Dead" gave me high hopes for the book. David Baldacci's blurb on the front cover said, "The lineup of writers who have contributed to this mystery is akin to the Murderers' Row of the 1927 New York Yankees. There is not a weak spot in the bunch."

There is no one author for "No Rest for the Dead." Twenty-six big-name mystery authors wrote the novel.

The result, I'm afraid, is not Murderers' Row. It's not even the 2011 popgun Padres.

You'd think when you put together writers like John Lescroart, Kathy Reichs, Tess Gerritsen, and Fallbrook's own T. Jefferson Parker, you might get a heck of a book ---- but in this case, the whole does not equal the sum of its parts.

So why is it that 26 writers with such impressive pedigrees failed in this endeavor? It's not that there is any one chapter in "No Rest for the Dead" that is particularly bad. On the contrary, most of the writing is good. But it's not cohesive.

If this book tells you anything, it's clear that it's not enough for writers to be working from a single plot. When an author writes a book he establishes his own unique pacing, dialogue, point of view, style, tone and voice. A good author is a magician. You don't notice his misdirection, but instead are swept up in the show. Good writing is like good music ---- everything builds on what has come before. The words and tones sound right; they flow.

The basic plot for "No Rest for the Dead" is sound enough: Rosemary Thomas is the primary suspect in the death of her husband, Christopher Thomas, the curator of a prominent San Francisco art museum. His remains were found inside an iron maiden in a Berlin Museum. Rosemary is found guilty of the crime and is executed.

The main protagonist (if there is a main protagonist ---- one of the novel's weaknesses is that the characters are too numerous) in the book is San Francisco detective Jon Nunn, who years after Rosemary's death is still convinced of her innocence.

Although neither plot nor protagonist is wildly original, we've seen many a fine book constructed on less. However, in this case too many cooks definitely spoil the broth. While the transitions between chapters might not be as pronounced as those between Jekyll and Hyde, the characters' voices change from author to author, and the different pacing is distracting.

In 1993, I participated in writing a "book" with many other San Diego County writers. The result was "The Exquisite Cadaver," a mostly unreadable work. While it would be hard to find fault with each individual contribution, the book as a whole was awful (except perhaps as a writing experiment gone amok).

Traveling To The Heart » Music Review: Berlin "Like Flames"

Like Flames
Album: Count To Three & Pray
Year: 1986

Terri Nunn believes the disadvantaged will one day have a voice in the stalwart “Like Flames.”

Diligent whistling and Nunn crying out “like flames” opens the single, setting a rebellious tone.

In the first verse, she says people listen to secondhand stories about person who is about to be homeless or going hungry. They’ve seen imporverished people on television, screaming for help. People know it happens and they hope it won’t be them. People block it out, thinking it’s just the media exploiting a small group of others for ratings. The destitution and fight to survive each day eventually wears the people down and they die without notice. On the next street, a restraruant flourishes with people talking about their significant others, achievements, and homes.

In the second verse, she says they have been cut off from society, called losers and freeloaders. She says they will have power someday. They would remember each rejection and call for help left unanswered. They see their numbers grow. They watch as people in positions of authority crumble, toppled by sex scandals and hypocrisy. They shout for change, hearing opposition the other side to quiet down.

The chorus is sung again.

In the bridge, people are desensitived to the problems circling them. They’ve become a passive audience in own their lives, choosing to stay in dire situations instead of getting out. Then, one day, it will hit the person square in the eye and show them the path they should’ve headed down. They live in fantasies and shut out the real world. Once they realize the fantasy is only in their mind, their lives are half over.


A defiant guitar solo follows.

The chorus is sung twice to close the single.

Nunn reads the articles in her newspapers and hears the soundbites of politicians promising jobs and the American Dream. But when she walks to her job, she sees rundown homes and empty businesses. It troubles her to see people victimized and then get blamed for not having the opportunities to rise above. She hopes one day the people will protest and let themselves be heard.

Her gutty, lion-hearted vocals call for change. She sympathizes with those in need and incensed with their binding silence. Nunn’s speculator range and flexibility to fit it into the rock genre is notable. She can rock as hard as she dances.

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