The Collector by Daniel Silva

Finally caught up with the Daniel Silva books on my TBR shelf, although this was read sporadically while I was trying to read my way through the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures series books as well as the Gables Book Club books. The Collector is the 23rd in the Gabriel Allon series and Silva just keeps getting better in his craft with each of them. 

Despite the fact that Allon is supposed to be in retirement, he is recalled back into service as the master spy and art expert that he has practiced in his past. He needs to track down a painting that had been stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It seems that within the secret safe of Lukas van Damme, a very rich shipping tycoon, an empty frame was found that would match that painting  - The Concert by Vermeer. Van Damme had been murdered and it was argued that the murderer was also the one who stole the painting. As he investigates, the trail leads to him Denmark and a cybersecurity expert, Ingrid Johansen. She is also a renowned thief and Allon soon recognizes that she could be an ally in resolving the crimes. 

In inimitable Silva fashion the novel takes on a much more serious theme as the investigation leads to a possibility of a nuclear war between the United States and Russia. With the introduction of Ingrid, he has created another strong character who works with him in averting the crisis and the resolution of the crimes. The plot is intricate and one of the best in the series. 

It is amazing how Silva is almost prescient in knowing world events before they happen. In this novel, the Russian war with Ukraine plays a large part in how the events materialize. The tensions between Moscow and the U.S. are also underscored. Silva's books are masterpieces in spy and politics and never fail to entertain. It will be interesting to see how and if he includes Ingrid in his 2024 book which will be published in July!

 

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

In some books there are characters that will either leave you cold or leave you indifferent about what happens to them in the course of a novel. In The Nickel Boys, this is not the case. Elwood Curtis from the outset of the novel stole my heart. The events that affected his life were for the most part not of his doing and tragically show the harsh cruelty that was inflicted on the blacks as late as 1960 in this country. 

Elwood was left by his parents in the care of his grandmother, Harriet, when they set out to find a new life in California. Harriet raises her grandson to respect and learn. She buys an album of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speeches that so inspire Elwood. He is bright and is selected to attend college classes while he is still in high school. At about the same time he is unjustly arrested by a white policeman for being in a stolen car. He is sent to a reform school, Nickel School,  in Eleanor, Florida where he is to spend a year. The school is based on the Dozier School, that was so blatantly involved in the deaths of many black young men. 

Elwood tried to minimize his time there by being docile and observant of the rules. He forms a bond with Jack Turner, who goes by just his last name. Turner seems to know the inner workings of the school and has a beat on those in charge. Elwood witnesses so many acts of cruelty that he feels compelled to write an exposé of the conditions. This leads to his second confinement and according to Turner, the intent to take Curtis "out back" where he will be killed. Turner somehow manages to free Elwood and the two plan to escape. 

The narrative moves back and forth between the early1960s, the time of Elwood's Nickel School days and the late 60s when he is in New York City operating a moving company business. There is a real twist that Whitehead springs on the reader that is like a dagger to the heart.

In 2010 Elwood travels back to Florida to publicly express what transpired at that school. In actuality, much has been exposed about the Dozier school and the cruel abominations that occurred there. Archaeologists have been excavating Boot Hill, the area where bodies of the boys were interred.

Whitehead has created a work of fiction that is a masterpiece in informing and soul searching. It would be an incredible book to teach in high schools in states that are not fearful of having the truth about racism exposed. I will never forget Elwood Curtis and his tragic life.