It’s a Mystery: “Danger is the spur of all great minds”
/The Friendship of CriminalsBy Robert GlinskiMinotaur, 2015A Murder of Magpies
Anton Bielakowski excels in all elements of organized crime and—despite his age—should be considered extremely dangerous…. He survives because he makes few, if any, mistakes, and when he does make one, he handles the situation with brutal efficiency. Continually underestimated by younger adversaries, Bielakowski has fought off every challenge to his position…. His use of violence is pragmatic rather than psychologically or emotionally driven, which makes his aggression all the more perilous.
But there is a chink in his armor, one that all men share: aging. He’s outlasted his entire generation. What can he expect from the next? What should he fear? “It’s divine grace to survive your foes…. And a hellish curse to outlive your friends.”The sea change in his heretofore unflappable demeanor, the catalyst, as it were, is the arrest of Tom Monte, the man at the top of Philadelphia’s crime organization. In the subsequent fight for leadership, the victor is Raymond Rea—cocky, arrogant, and no respecter of protocol or paying dues. He wipes out his only other rival with a bomb and proceeds to renege on all the agreements made with the city’s other crime families, including Bielakowski’s. Rea’s strategy was simple—reintroduce Philadelphia’s legendary street tax to every business with a cash register. Unlike during Monte’s reign, he made no exceptions.This especially included “those high hat Port Richmond Polacks.”Bielakowski’s response is a handwritten note: “If you believe Port Richmond owes you a tax, come get it.” And he follows up with a kidnapping in Kensington, Port Richmond’s closest neighbor to the south and west:
Kensington was the ideal location for snatching an Italian. Grabbing one close to Port Richmond’s perimeter allowed Bielakowski to send a message without painting his own doorstep red.
As the saying goes, chance governs all. The Italian he snatches turns out to be an FBI agent. This revelation, after what you might call prolonged negotiation at the end of a knife, changes everything. Whatever the risk, the opportunity to have a federal agent inside the South Philly crew is worth it:
While his men might wonder why he freed the Italian, Bielakowski was a pragmatist. Rule number one was survival…. Staying alive and protecting Port Richmond were the only guidelines, and he wouldn’t deviate now that he’d been gifted such a treasure.
Of course, such a prize is a double-edged sword that very nearly cuts down the old-timer.Glinski excels at portraying a Philadelphia underworld populated by quirky, questionable characters. Among the most endearing is Angie Spina, girlfriend of Bielakowski’s son Marcek. Worth the price of admission is the very funny sequence in which Angie, outfitted as “trailer park trash” (“I learned from a Lifetime Channel movie that truck-stop hookers were more trailer park than streetwalkers”), and Marcek attempt to hijack a truckload of Viagra. This high-end, high-demand drug was just being introduced to the market. And you know you’re in virgin territory, so to speak, when a hooker on the heist scene (don’t ask) inquires, “Viagra, is that a type of spaghetti?”The Friendship of Criminals is a multilayered, old fashioned page-turner that is not to be missed. The way Bielakowski prevails is priceless.
Publishing offices are run by middle-aged women like me. We will never be stars, but instead know dull things like how books are put together…. Most authors think that if they’ve delivered a manuscript within their lifetime it meets the legal definition of ‘on schedule.’
Kit Lovell is Sam’s favorite author. He’s efficient, prompt, professional and “the best gossip on the planet.” He’s been working on a no-holds-barred book about the death of a top fashion designer. Because Kit is so meticulous, Sam thinks all the manuscript needs is a good libel lawyer. As she says, in what turns out to be a masterpiece of understatement, “This isn’t trouble. It just needs a legal read.”Then Kit disappears and all sorts of people start to take an interest in that manuscript and its editor. First comes Inspector Jacob Field CID on the matter of a messenger killed in a hit-and-run. All his deliveries are missing. Sam’s name was on his schedule and it’s likely he was delivering the hard copy of Kit’s manuscript. A closer look at Kit’s research reveals that the designer’s company was an elaborate front for money launderers—bottom line: organized crime. And adding to her woes is Sam’s surefire author, Breda McManus. Her annual bestsellers about middle-class, middle-aged women and their problems have been Sam’s bread and butter. Now Breda has delivered a deeply bizarre chick-lit novel. Sam is livid.This is a thoroughly charming, witty whodunit. Sam is a welcome addition to the roster of amateur sleuths. Flanders wisely doesn’t turn her into Superwoman. Everything she does rings true, which makes her very appealing. The publishing scene is handled with great panache and there are cameos aplenty that those in the know will have great fun identifying.The supporting cast is stellar. There is Sam’s PA, Miranda, who is as lovable for her retro neo-Goth makeup as she is for her throwback talent—she can spell. Sam’s mother Helena is a dynamo who is so accomplished you could hate her. She’s Margaret Thatcher with a sense of humor and a lot of charisma. In Flanders’ capable hands, you want to be adopted by her. Then there is the mysterious Mr. Rudiger, who lives upstairs from Sam and seems to be a hermit. His actions keep you guessing until the very end.A Murder of Magpies defies comparison, although the superb Donald Westlake comes to mind. It has been a long time since I’ve been so thoroughly captivated by a novel. I can’t wait for the further adventures of Samantha Clair.____Irma Heldman is a veteran publishing executive and book reviewer with a penchant for mysteries. One of her favorite gigs was her magazine column “On the Docket” under the pseudonym O. L. Bailey.
