Daniel Pyne

Water Memory is just the sort of book to turn any reader off freighter cruises. True, they do supply the leisurely cruise without the bling and crowds of the behemoth cruise ships of companies like Carnival or Princess or Royal Caribbean, but freighters are more likely to be boarded by pirates. In fact, one of the things I found interesting in Daniel Pyne's thriller is that there seems to be an entire thriving business around hijacked cargo ships.

The first third of Water Memory is a bit show more clunky as the author explores Aubrey Sentro's relationship with her children as well as the workings of Aubrey's mind. Persistent post-concussion syndrome means headaches, aural distortions, mood swings, and memory problems among other things, and watching Aubrey experience these things can be painful because she is a talented black-ops specialist who enjoys what she does ("international risk mitigation") and she's extremely good at it. Having her mind betray her is going to put paid on the life she loves.

Not having told her children Jeremy and Jenny what she really does for a living has caused problems. Both grew up with a stay-at-home father and the idea that Aubrey couldn't be bothered to spend any time with them like "real mothers" do. In fact, it's warped Jenny so much that I got tired of her whining about how she's never had the mother she deserved. (Big girl panties, Jenny. Big girl panties.) Pyne's description of mother and daughter-- "two peeves in a pod"-- made me laugh and stayed in my mind just like the author hoped it would.

Once the first third of the book, the setup, is done and the pirates have taken control of the ship, the pace picks up. This is where I really became engrossed in the story. I learned why Aubrey chose this unusual work for herself. I learned to appreciate characters like Morehouse the doctor and little Zoala who might be playing in the Cricket World Cup one day. I also appreciated what Pyne has to say about women who don't do what's expected of them.

I loved watching Aubrey at work as she tried to save everyone aboard the cargo ship. I loved Zoala. Those two caused me to break out in fist pumps more than once. And I loved the little twist at the end of Water Memory. Evidently, there's supposed to be a follow-up book in the "Aubrey Sentro series." As much as I enjoyed this story, I'm not interested in reading any further. Some characters are absolute perfection in one book and one book only. I think Aubrey Sentro is one of them. show less

Look, I'll admit it: rather cattily, I was dubious that a screenwriter -- however successful -- could put out a compelling novel. But the premise -- and fantabulous title -- of this book was too intriguing to resist, so I agreed to take this on to review.

To my (chagrined!) surprise, I loved this book. It's darkly funny, with all these weirdly unlikable-yet-totally-lovable characters, and this almost-too-ludicrous-to-be-believed plot that comes right out of a 19th century mining show more yarn.

Post-divorce, motivated by a midlife crisis, Lee Garrison, a high school teacher, buys a mine off eBay near his hometown in Colorado. Locating the mine is something of an endeavor: mine claims were obfuscated and hidden to keep thieves away, and within days of his purchase, he's gathered an unwelcome cadre of 'partners', eager to make it rich. Complicating matters is his brother Grant, newly released from prison, and his ex-wife's new husband, a slimy lawyer, and the pretty Rayna, a woman he's uncomfortably interested in.

Unsurprisingly, the dialogue is stellar in this book, laugh-out-loud funny, dark and sharp and sarcastic. There's a scene early on between Grant and his parole officer, dialogue only, that was so delightful I wanted to make out with it. The novel's start was a bit slow for me -- the narrative was a bit long-winded at times -- but as the story went on, I was hooked, and I couldn't stop reading. I didn't want the book to end, either, although I found it immensely satisfying, just what I didn't know I wanted.

I'm not sure how or who to recommend this novel to: it's not a Western, but is strongly influenced by the world of 19th century mining, the lore and backstabbing and intrigue; it's not a romance, but romantic relationships -- new, old, and in-between, feature in the story as do sibling relationships; it's not a business thriller, but there's drama and greed and plenty of action. This is an amusing and rather moving novel that surprised and delighted me. show less

Catalina Eddy (2017) by Daniel Pyne. This is a brilliant crime novel told in three novellas. They are set in three different settings about 20 years apart with different casts of characters. All are set in Southern California.
Part 1: The Big Empty, June 1954. The big news of the day is the H-Bomb test on Bikini Island. Rylan Lovely, an L.A. private eye gets a message from a woman to meet with her about a possible case. But when he gets to her apartment he finds a dead woman and a couple of show more cops waiting for him. The cops know he didn’t do the crime, but then they didn’t know the dead woman was Lovely’s estranged wife. He and her had been apart for seven years.
The following story involves a preacher for a new-age Cosmic Church and a rocket scientist who likes to get rough with his dates. Lovely’s wife worked for the first and was mixed up with the second, but Lovely’s investigation is hindered by the appearance of federal agents trying to protect the scientist and willing to give up the wife as a scapegoat for several other crimes along the way.
This is a salute to the hard-boiled genre popular in the 40’s and 50’s and plays true to it throughout. It turns out Lovely has a lot more in his history than just being a WWII vet, including involvement in OSS operations and other clandestine work.
And keep an eye out for his lighter.
Part 2: Losertown, June 1987. The Feds and San Diego’s prosecutor’s office are reacting to the Reagan White House’s demands for the “War on Drugs”. Rolling busts are the tool being used. A series of small crimes leading rapidly up the supply chain to net the bigger fish, all in a night’s work. Sounds easy on paper, but the reality is moer of a long slog with unseen complications along the way. When an Egyptian, a “possible” drug dealer, is pulled in, he gives up his supplier. He is all too happy to tell the cops whatever they want to hear, be it the truth or not. He names Nick “Stix” Mahrez, a one time drug dealer, gone straight years before.
The new U.S. Prosecutor wants him and is pushing hard on the lead prosecutor, Gil Kirby. He is forced by her to do deals which he, and any sane D.A., would never do, but the White House demands results, no matter what. And the good intentions of the people of the U.S. are cast aside, bargains are broken, the laws are stretched, all in the name of results.
Part 3: Portuguese Bend, June 2016. Finn is an introverted crime scene photographer with something of a photographic memory when it comes to his work. One night in a cop bar, Finn witnesses sees Riley, an attractive woman who is having a bad break-up with her boy friend, a police detective. Finn, despite all odds, somehow manages to go and talk with her. For whatever her own reasons, she goes home with him. There in his apartment/photographic studio and photo display area, she becomes wrapped up in the latest crime scene photos. They show a young woman who has just killed her husband.
Riley, in reality an undercover cop, sees the photos as evidence that the woman, Willa Ko, did not shoot the husband.
As the story develops we see how Riley’s on-going investigation gets tied to the murder, how her ex-boyfriend and his detective partner play a big roll in the situation, and finally how Finn manages to make some sense of the crime and his life.
These three tales have subtle connections, strings which thread them together but are mere background detail, never overpowering the plots. The book is well crafted with three different styles of telling. These strongly defined characters some to life in the best possible manner.
And the title refers to a swirling frontal weather patter that sets into SoCal almost every June. It brings in depression, mood swings, and mayhem. It is not some slick dude who rides in a pimped caddy and has a gold display tooth, despite what I was thinking when I picked up the book.
Catalina Eddy is far better than it has any right to be, and I can’t recommend it enough. show less

What an introduction Water Memory provides to author Daniel Pyne, who is a delightful new find for this reviewer. Coming in at just over 350 pages, the writer weaves a tight, action-packed story with interesting, duplicitous characters that include modern-day pirates sans any charm and black-ops operators who do their best to tilt the world right, but sometimes fail awfully.

Aubrey Sentro, the central character in this high-seas romp, suffers from severe mental fog caused by multiple show more concussions, an employment hazard in her line of work or, perhaps, the way she operates in her line of work.

Sentro is also a mother, although she's been pretty much absent from her children's lives. Now adults, Jeremy and Jenny have no clue about their mother's backstory nor what she does in the day-to-day.

And that's exactly the way Sentro wants it. Talk about a life totally compartmentalized, that is, until her memories bleed together and mix and match themselves at the most inopportune times.

A good quick read. show less