The Lost Constitution (Peter Fallon #3) by William Martin

I always enjoy reading William Martin’s novels.  They have well-developed characters, interesting plots, and a writing style that makes then fun to dive into. His Peter Fallon series is a perfect blend of a couple of my favorite genres: historical fiction and modern day thrillers.

For those that have yet to experience one of the Peter Fallon books, let me summarize the approach. Peter is a rare-book and manuscript expert and businessman, specializing in collectables of historical significance. In these novels, he is a treasure hunter, following clues from many sources until, hopefully, he reaches a successful end to his journey. But what makes these books unique is that we readers get to follow along in history, joining the historical figures (both real and fictional) and their adventures with that very same treasure that Peter is hunting in the present day. It is really cool to jump back and forth and see how the events laid out in history transform into clues for Peter to follow.

This time, the treasure is nothing less than an original near-final draft of the US Constitution, with margin notes scribbled by the founding fathers. This novel was published in 2007 but is even more relevant today as Peter’s present day world is engaged in a nation-wide debate on the the right to bear arms. Gun violence has reached such a level that they are even considering a repeal of the 2nd amendment. ("A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."). What would happen if some of those margin notes provided further insight on what the framers of the US Constitution might have been concerned with?  Of course both sides of the issue have their thoughts and extremists in this novel are even willing to kill to either find the lost constitution or see it destroyed.

This makes for a fascinating tale and the book rises to the occasion. The historical chapters follow Will Pike and his descendants as the lost constitution is smuggled out of Philadelphia, sold, purloined, auctioned, and hidden for over two centuries. There are a lot of action sequences as the document's value grows over time and people fight over its location or ownership as well as a lot of family intrigue. I did feel some of the middle sections grew too long and other parts could have stood some pruning as well but overall it was a fully engaging story. It was also nice to see progress with Peter’s personal life as well.

I certainly recommend this series, particularly for those interested in historical America. The first two books in the series (Back Bay and Harvard Yard) were almost entirely set in the Boston area but this one found its way to all of the New England states. I always look forward to my next William Martin novel.

Skycruiser by Howard M. Brier

I found this book in the dusty back storage area of an antique shop where it looked like it had been languishing for years. I took pity and rescued it and, of course, I had to read it. From the cover and the back cover description I figured I was in for an old-fashioned YA adventure yarn with a lot of "Golly Gee" type dialog. But I must say, this turned out to be a really fun read. 

First published in 1939, it's a straightforward adventure story of Barry Martin, a rookie pilot who gets hired on by an airplane manufacturer as a test pilot. Barry is a great flyer but his main challenge is finding a way to fit in with the other two pilots who regard him as an unnecessary addition to the team. Barry has many flying adventures in this novel, as he earns his place, but he also encounters some intrigue in the form of industrial espionage from rival manufacturers. His loyalty is tested as are his courage and flying skills.

Lots of fun to be had here. Today's book market would probably classify this as YA even though Barry is in his 20s. But I can certainly appreciate the more innocent age in which it was written. I'm very happy to have rescued this one from whatever fate awaited.

Mad Money (Two books in the Nolan series) by Max Allan Collins

Hard Case Crime completes their re-publishing of all of Max Allan Collins’ “Nolan” books with this Mad Money two-fer. I’ve enjoyed every one of the Nolan yarns, but this dual entry may, in fact, top the list.

The first book in this volume is Spree which comes in as the longest of the Nolan stories. Many readers consider this one the best and I probably find myself among them, although I hesitate to take anything away from the others as all of them are just absolutely top-notch.

Spree is the penultimate Nolan novel, at least as far as chronology is concerned. Nolan finds himself in a comfortable place, having gone straight as owner/manager of his own restaurant/club, located in the Brady Eighty shopping mall during the 1980s. His relationship with Sherry is solid and appears to be headed to a more long-term commitment. Meanwhile, his sidekick, Jon, is finally tasting some minor success with his lifelong dream of writing and drawing his very own comic book series. Unfortunately, that notorious family from the past, the Comforts, have reared their head again, this time led by Coleman Comfort and his son Lyle. Coleman, seeking revenge for several deaths of his family members at Nolan’s hands, makes his play, forcing Nolan to mastermind a truly ambitious heist of the entire 50-store Brady Eighty mall. A wonderful heist story, this one also reaches deep on an emotional level, with some wonderful new characters as well as several intensely dangerous scenes.

The second book in this volume, Mourn the Living is, reportedly, Max Allan Collins’ very first novel, written when he was an undergrad in 1967 or ’68, although it wasn’t published until 2001. I had always heard that the entire Nolan series was MAC’s tribute to the “Parker” series by Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake), and I could really see the style similarities here. This one is pure Nolan with no Jon, no Sherry, and, in fact, acts as Nolan’s origin story. Previous novels have made reference to the events depicted here, especially how Nolan finds himself refusing to carry out an order from “The Family” and has to go on the run. The plot stems from an old friend from the Family named Sid Tisor. Sid’s daughter is dead, the victim of a long fall from a rooftop. Sid wants Nolan to investigate to see if she actually fell…or was pushed. It’s likely LSD and/or heroin was involved. This story is largely one of Nolan acting as PI, investigating and solving the mystery. A nice twist at the end that I should have seen coming, but didn’t, makes this one another fine read.

Together, these two books make a fine pair of bookends for the series, although MAC did provide a follow-up in 2020 with Skim Deep. I still have that one to read but I will add that these books, for the most part, read very well in this Hard Case Crime publication order. I am glad, however, that I saved Skim Deep until the final one, since it was written last and takes place after Spree. I don’t know if there will ever be any more Nolan stories written but if so, I plan to be first in line for my copy, regardless of when it takes place in the timeline.