BOOK REVIEW: Her Final Breath (Tracy Crosswhite, #2) by Robert Dugoni

Her Final Breath is the second book in Robert Dugoni's police procedural/murder-mystery series featuring Detective Tracy Crosswhite. I enjoyed the first book, My Sister's Grave, quite a lot. Crosswhite a Seattle-based police detective who investigates murders. In My Sister's Grave, Tracy investigated the disappearance (and presumed murder) of her sister from 20-plus years before in their small hometown. There she re-connected with a former high school classmate named Dan who is now a lawyer who helps her re-open the case of the man who was wrongly convicted of killing her sister.

In Her Final Breath Tracy returns to Seattle and gets assigned to be the lead detective tracking a serial killer nicknamed the Cowboy who has claimed the lives of several female strippers by tying them up in positions in cheap motels which lead to deaths by strangulation. Tracy is the only female detective in her squad and her boss is also her enemy. It's pretty clear he only gave her the high-stakes job of leading the serial killer task force because he thinks that there's a good chance Tracy will fail and suffer significant career consequences.

Tracy is a great character and Dugoni does an excellent job portraying both her and Dan (who becomes her boyfriend). Dugoni uses the common device of letting the reader see what the suspect is up to while his protagonist is tracking them down. This heightens the suspense, because it makes it clearer how close (or not) the police are to solving the case.  In Her Final Breath the information about the suspect is provided in such a way that we also do not their identity.

Overall I enjoyed Her Final Breath but I don't see the Tracy Crosswhite series as becoming one of my favorites in the genre. It doesn't jave the biting humor of Stuart MacBride's Logan McRae or the brilliant word-smithing of Tana French or the heart-pounding thrills of Karin Slaughter.

Title: Her Final Breath.
Author: Robert Dugoni.
Paperback: 426 pages.
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer.
Date Published: September 15, 2015.
Date Read: January 5, 2019.

GOODREADS RATING: ★★★★☆  (4.0/5.0).

OVERALL GRADE: B+ (3.3/4.0).

PLOT: B+.
IMAGERY: B.
IMPACT: B+.
WRITING: A-.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments Today in Church-State Separation Case

Today the United States Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in an important case involving the separation of church and state. The case is The American Legion v. American Humanist Association and involves a 93-year-old World War 1 memorial called the Bladensburg Peace Cross erected on public lands and maintained using public funds in Bladensburg, Maryland.

The questions before the Court are:

(1) Whether a 93-year-old memorial to the fallen of World War I is unconstitutional merely because it is shaped like a cross; (2) whether the constitutionality of a passive display incorporating religious symbolism should be assessed under the tests articulated in Lemon v. Kurtzman, Van Orden v. Perry, Town of Greece v. Galloway or some other test; and (3) whether, if the test from Lemon v. Kurtzman applies, the expenditure of funds for the routine upkeep and maintenance of a cross-shaped war memorial, without more, amounts to an excessive entanglement with religion in violation of the First Amendment.

NPR's Nina Totenberg claims that the Court is expected to reverse the 4th Circuit's holding that the monument has the "primary effect of endorsing religion and excessively entangles the government in religion." The real question is how far will the Court's conservative majority go in dismantling the wall between church and state in this case?

Hat/tip to SCOTUSblog

TENNIS TUESDAY: Bencic, Tstisipas Win Titles; Federer Seeks #100; FAA Reaches 1st ATP 500 Final; Monfils Beats Stan To Win Title

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME REACHES FIRST ATP 500 FINAL IN RIO
18-year-old Canadian phenom Felix Auger-Aliassime (or FAA) became the youngest player to ever reach an ATP 500 final by playing in the Rio Open final against Laslo Djere. 23-year-old Djere won 6-3 7-5, but both players are now at career highs: FAA is at #60 and Djere shot up 53(!) slots to #37.

BELINDA BENCIC DESTROYS FIELD EN ROUTE TO WINNING IN DUBAI
Reminiscent of her historic 2015 breakout win in Montreal, Belinda Bencic, now 21, won the title in Dubai by defeating four Top 10 players along the way: Aryna Sabalenka, (defending champion) Elina Svitolina, World #2 Simona Halep and World #3 Petra Kvitova. Bencic beat 2019 Australian Open finalist Kvitova in the final, 6-3 1-6 6-2.

ROGER FEDERER IS CHASING ATP CAREER TITLE #100 THIS WEEK IN DUBAI
The men's tournament in Dubai starts this week and Roger Federer will be seeking his 100th career title in a field with Marin Cilic (who lost to Gael Monfils), kei Nishikori and Karen Khachanov (who also lost). Federer bear Phillipp Kohlschreiber and will face Fernando Verdasco for a quarterfinal slot.

STEFANO TSISTIPAS AND GAEL MONFILS WIN TITLES
NextGen phenom (and 2019 Australian Open semifinalist) Stefanos Tsiptsipas won his second career title this week by defeating Mikhail Kukushkin in Merseilles in straight sets. Gael Monfils won his 8th career title last week by outlasting Stan Wawrinka in Rotterdam 6-3 1-6 6-2. La Monf has an atrocious record in finals (8W-21L) so this was a good result for the 32-year-old Frenchman.

2019 OSCARS: The Winners

The 2019 Oscars were last night. According to my predictions for the Top 8 categories, I only predicted 4 of 8 correctly, and went 12 out of 24 overall.

• Documentary (Feature) — Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Free Solo
• Actress in a Supporting Role — Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
• Makeup and Hairstyling — Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe, and Patricia Dehaney, Vice
• Costume Design — Ruth E. Carter, Black Panther
• Production Design — Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart, Black Panther
• Cinematography — Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
• Sound Editing — John Warhurst, Bohemian Rhapsody
• Sound Mixing — Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin, and John Casali, Bohemian Rhapsody
• Foreign Language Film — Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
• Film Editing — John Ottman, Bohemian Rhapsody
• Actor in a Supporting Role — Mahershala Ali, Green Book
• Animated Feature Film — Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
• Animated Short Film — Domee Shi, Bao
• Documentary Short Subject — Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton, Period. End of Sentence.
• Visual Effects — Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm, First Man
• Live Action Short Film — Guy Nattiv and Jamie Ray Newman, Skin
• Best Original Screenplay — Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly, Green Book
• Best Adapted Screenplay — Spike Lee, Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, Jordan Peele, BlacKkKlansman
• Original Score — Ludwig Goransson, Black Panther
• Original Song — Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt, “Shallow,” A Star Is Born
• Best Actor in a Leading Role — Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
• Best Actress in a Leading Role — Olivia Colman, The Favourite
• Best Director — Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
• Best Picture — Green Book

EYE CANDY: Nana-Kofi Adams (black/white)

Nana-Kofi Adams has appeared as Eye Candy only once before (October 8, 2018). He is a British bodybuilder of African descent who has more than 12,000 followers on Instagram (@nanakofi_adams). He takes great pictures in color and in black-and-white (as seen here).

BOOK REVIEW: Salvation (Salvation, #1) by Peter F. Hamilton

Wow! Peter F. Hamilton, who should be considered the Master of Technological Space Opera, does it again. The author of multiple acclaimed works of hard military sci-fi (The Night’s Dawn trilogy, The Void trilogy, The Abyss Beyond Dreams/A Night Without Stars, Great North Road and Pandora’s Star/Judas Unchained) has returned with a new trilogy that begins with Salvation.

All of Hamilton’s signature story elements appear here: a futuristic advanced society, disruptive technology, culturally opaque aliens, incredibly wealthy/powerful tycoons, secret/hidden agents, detailed action sequences, ubiquitous artificial intelligence and apocalyptic threats. In his more recent novels, Hamilton has been combining these familiar elements with brand-new ingredients. For example, in Great North Road these space opera tropes are deployed in the context of a murder-mystery police procedural. In the Void Trilogy he cleverly embeds a classic epic fantasy tale within a space opera plot. 

In Salvation, Hamilton has all his usual space opera components present in a story built around two main plot threads. The main one is set in 2204 and tells the story of throwing a cadre of travelers together and recounts the background stories of each member of the group. In the second thread, Hamilton has a several hundred-year time jump from the main story line where a subset of the travelers in the first time line have become “The Five Saints” of humanity, which in the future is preparing for an epic existential battle with evil unnamed aliens who have apparently been exterminating all forms of civilization when they come across them. AND from a prologue we know there’s another alien species which has discovered and is secretly watching humanity.

Here the primary Hamiltonian disruptive technology involves quantum entanglement portals that allow instantaneous travel across interstellar (or intercontinental) distances. This of course has a dramatic effect on all forms of locomotion after its discovery in the 21st century and allows for many of the effects of climate change to be ameliorated. Other technological advances include telomere treatments for increased longevity and the use of alien biotechnology for beneficial and malignant purposes. The presence of highly developed artificial intelligence used as personal assistants and for many other purposes is another highlight of Salvation.

One of the central tensions in structuring the book in the way the author has are the questions it raises in the reader: Which of the travelers gain immortal status as the five saints of humanity? Which of the two alien species we know about so far that are portrayed as benign in the earlier time are actually trying to exterminate us? Or is there a third alien species we don't know about that takes this role in the time period that elapses between our two story threads?

For most of the book I was pleasantly entertained, enjoying Hamilton’s imagination and reveling in the familiarity of his plot structures and characterizations. I was generally thinking that this would be a very good but not extraordinary (a 4 out of 5 stars) read. However, the last two chapters of the book provided revelations that set up the next two books in the trilogy and completely blew me away, catapulting the book easily into five star territory.

Title: Salvation (Salvation Sequence, #1).
Author: Peter F. Hamilton.
Paperback: 426 pages.
Publisher: Macmillan.
Date Published: September 6, 2018.
Date Read: February 17, 2019.

GOODREADS RATING: ★★★★★  (5.0/5.0).

OVERALL GRADE: A (4.0/4.0).

PLOT: A+.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: A+.
WRITING: A-.

2019 OSCARS: My Predictions for the Top 8 Categories

Here is my annual prediction post for the 2019 Oscars. I really just consider the Top 8 categories on the blog but I play the Oscar game like everyone else (on other websites). Last year I predicted 7 out of 8 and 17 of 24 correctly.

Best Picture:

• “Black Panther”
• “BlacKkKlansman”
• “Bohemian Rhapsody”
• “The Favourite”
• “Green Book”
• “Roma”
• “A Star Is Born”
• “Vice”

SHOULD WIN: A Star Is Born.
WILL WIN: Roma.

Director:

• Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
• Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War”
• Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”
• Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”
• Adam McKay, “Vice”

SHOULD WIN: Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman.

WILL WIN: Alfonso Cuarón, Roma.

Lead Actor:

• Christian Bale, “Vice”
• Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
• Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”
• Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
• Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

SHOULD WIN: Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born.

WILL WIN: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody.

Lead Actress:

• Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
• Glenn Close, “The Wife”
• Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
• Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
• Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

SHOULD WIN: Glenn Close, The Wife.

WILL WIN: Glenn Close, The Wife.

Supporting Actor:

• Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
• Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
• Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
• Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
• Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

SHOULD WIN: Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

WILL WIN: Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman.

Supporting Actress:

• Amy Adams, “Vice”
• Marina de Tavira, “Roma”
• Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
• Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
• Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

SHOULD WIN: Amy Adams, Vice

WILL WIN: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk.

Adapted Screenplay:

• “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen , Ethan Coen
• “BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee
• “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
• “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins
• “A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

SHOULD WIN: Can You Ever Forgive Me?

WILL WIN: BlacKkKlansman.

Original Screenplay:

• “The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
• “First Reformed,” Paul Schrader
• “Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly
• “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón
• “Vice,” Adam McKay

SHOULD WIN: Roma.

WILL WIN: The Favourite.

TENNIS TUESDAY: Osaka Splits From Sascha, Fed Cup Semis Set, Serena Back to WTA Top10

NAOMI OSAKA ANNOUNCES SPLIT FROM COACH SASCHA BAJIN
Wow! World #1 Naomi Osaka has announced she has ended her coaching relationship with Sascha Bajin, who was with her as she raced up the rankings from #72 a year ago to winning the 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open and become the #1 ranked player in the world.  Bajin was a longtime member of Serena Williams's support staff and was named WTA Coach of the Year in 2018. This is the fourth example of a Grand Slam winner dropping a coach within a short time afterwards: Angelique Kerber split with Wim Fisette after winning 2018 Wimbledon, Simona Halep split with Darren Cahill after winning the 2018 French Open and Sloane Stephens split with Kamau Murray after winning the 2017 US Open.

FED CUP SEMIFINALS SET UP: ROMANIA V. FRANCE, AUSTRALIA V.  BELARUS
In a surprising result, Romania beat defending champs Czech Republic and Australia beat the  United States (playing without any major champions), Belarus beat Germany (without Kerber) and France beat Belgium. The Fed Cup semifinals will be played in April. Ash Barty won all 3 ties for Australia. Halep had a key win over Pliskova in the #CZEROU matchup.

SERENA WILLIAMS WILL RETURN TO TOP 10 NEXT WEEK
Amazingly, even though she has only played in 7(!) tournaments in the last year, reaching 2 major finals (2018 Wimbledon and 2018 US Open), Serena Williams will be rejoining the WTA Top 10.

TSONGA ENDS TITLE DROUGHT AT OPEN SUD DE FRANCE
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won his 17th career title (his first title in more than a year). He defeated Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the final of the Open Sud de France 6-4 6-2.

EYE CANDY: Blake Sciortino (#4)

Blake Sciortino has appeared as Eye Candy three times before (October 5, 2015; May 25, 2015; July 28, 2014). He has over 27k followers on Instagram (@blakesciortino).

TENNIS TUESDAY: Murray Has 2nd Hip Operation, Simona Picks A Coach, Kiki Wins Again, Canada Has Davis Cup Success

ANDY MURRAY HAS SECOND HIP SURGERY TO END CHRONIC PAIN
3-time major champion Andy Murray had a "hip resurfacing" operation last week in a last-ditch attempt to extend his tennis career and to end chronic pain in this joint. This happened a few days after he returned home after losing a 5-set thriller in the first round of the Australian Open against Roberto Bautista Agut.

SIMONA HALEP PICKS NEW FULL-TIME COACH
Former World #1 Simona Halep has finally found a replacement coach for Darren Cahill. She has selected the former coach of David Goffin, Thierry van Cleemput. The two started working together informally last month in Melbourne before she played her epic match against Serena Williams in the 3rd round.

KIKI BERTENS WINS THRILLER AGAINST DONNA VEKIC IN RUSSIA
Kiki Bertens defeated Donna Vekic in the final of the WTA Premiere level tournament in St. Petersburg 7-6(2) 6-4. the current World #8 has won 3 tournaments in the last year, including two on hard courts.

SHAPOVALOV AND AUGER_ALIASSIME POWER CANADA IN DAVIS CUP
Youngsters Denis Shpovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime together were able to power Canada over Slovakia to take their nation into the final of the revised Davis Cup.

Cory Booker Announces 2020 Presidential Run

Cory Booker announced on Friday February 1 (the beginning of Black History Month) that he is running for the Democratic nomination for President in 2020. The 49-year-old, vegan, bachelor junior U.S. senator from New Jersey joins the most diverse presidential aspirant field ever. It already features Kamala Harris (U.S. Senator from California), Kirsten Gillibrand (U.S. Senator from New York), Elizabeth Warren (U.S. Senator from Massachusetts) and Julian Castro (former secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Obama administration).