All posts by : Gordon Cope

LIFE IN MEXICO

A very large man with a pair of earphones on his head is meandering around Valentina’s patio, slowly waving an electric wand around the tiles. Valentina is following closely behind.

Filled with a deep urge to snoop, I go next door. “What’s going on?”

Valentina holds up her water bill. “I got this yesterday – they’re charging me five thousand pesos!” She waves her cigarillo in the large man’s direction. “Wally is searching for a leak.”

Wally, ignoring us, slowly zeroes in on a corner of the patio. Bending over, he draws an X with a chalk. He then smashes a hole into the patio with a sledge hammer, lifting out pieces of cement until he exposes wet soil. Digging down with a trowel, he discovers a copper water pipe.

Valentina leans over and inspects the pipe. The end has been cut off, then loosely sealed with a cork and duct tape. “That’s what cost me five thousand pesos?”

“Welcome to Mexico,” says Wally.

RECIPES THAT APPEAR IN MY BOOKS

Florentine Steak

I first tried Florentine steak while Linda and I were visiting Florence. We went to a restaurant in the Piazza della Signoria, a spacious plaza lined with statues, including a copy of Michelangelo’s David.

The restaurant had a lovely outdoor seating area, and since it was spring, we opted to eat al fresco. While the steak was being prepared, our waiter brought out a salad made from fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly-sliced Roma tomatoes and fresh basil leaves, all sprinkled with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic cream vinegar.

After we had eaten our salad, a chef in white apron and hat wheeled out a trolley containing the main course. The Porterhouse steak had been sprinkled with salt then grilled for five minutes a side until the juices began to flow. The chef had then let it rest for 15 minutes. At the table, he took out a large, thin knife and carved it into one-inch slices and placed them on a serving platter. Reaching beneath the trolley, he produced a bowl of grilled zucchini, porcini mushrooms and red bell peppers that had been marinated in olive oil and garlic. All of this was washed down with a bottle of red Tuscan wine. Delightful!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Runaway Bomb launch is set for August 9. You can pre-order on Amazon here;

Pre order Runaway Bomb on Amazon!

WINNER OF RUNAWAY BOMB GIVEAWAY

Congratulations to Wilma Slenders for winning the very first print copy of Runaway Bomb! Thank you everyone who signed up to my monthly newsletter and qualified for the draw; I’ll be holding more draws in the future for other books and gifts, so urge your friends to sign up as well.

BOOK REVIEW

Kitchen Confidential

By Anthony Bourdain.

Long before Tony Bourdain was renowned for hosting cooking shows, he was the head chef of Les Halles. He wrote a scandalous expose of the underbelly of haute cuisine in a piece for The New Yorker, which led to his career as an author when Bloomsbury published his memoir, Kitchen Confidential, in 2008. “There will be horror stories,” he promises in the prologue. “Heavy drinking, drugs, screwing in the dry-goods area, unappetizing revelations about bad food-handling and unsavory industry-wide practices.”

And then he delivered the goods in a raucous, obscene fashion. The chapter entitled ‘The Wilderness Years’ begins as follows. “It is one of the central ironies of my career that as soon as I got off heroin, things started getting really bad.” His advice to aspiring chefs in a commencement address; “Never call in sick. Except in cases of dismemberment, arterial bleeding, sucking chest wounds or the death of an immediate family member. “Granny dies? Bury her on your day off.”

His ability to stand in front of a camera and deliver a heartfelt opinion about everything from dog soup to genocide led to his hosting a number of TV series, including Parts Unknown, the highly acclaimed CNN production in which he toured off-the-beaten tracks in search of exotic meals and experiences.

I write this as the world is celebrating #Bourdainday, the 63^rd anniversary of his birth. On June 8, 2018, while in the throes of depression, Tony committed suicide. His friends, fans and admirers around the world want him to be remembered for his honesty, candor and humor. They also wish to bring the debilitating effects of depression out into the open so that those who endure it can seek help without suffering from the stigmas attached to mental health. Here’s to you, Tony.

MOVIE AND TV ADAPTATIONS THAT I LOVE

Big Little Lies

By Liane Moriarty

Produced by HBO.

I’ve been a big fan of Australian author Liane Moriarty for many years. Most of her books are set in Sydney, Australia, in which I had the privilege of spending some time several decades ago. She has an amazing ability to conjure up this beautiful city and populate it with unique, unforgettable characters. Without a doubt, Big Little Lies is my favourite of her books, with not only a murder mystery at the heart of the story, but also a unique narrative that flashes effortlessly back and forth in time.

When I heard that HBO was going to make a mini-series out of the book, I was, as always, concerned that the adaptation from page to screen would take a parlous turn. But the capable hands of creator David E. Kelley and actors Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley created an award-winning sensation. By all means, read the book (as well as all of Moriarty’s works); I heartily recommend the screen version, as well.

GORDON COPE’S NEWSLETTER, JUNE 2019

Queen of Oklahoma

Our friend Coleen is a petite blonde from Oklahoma. She was married to Carl, the captain of the university cheerleading squad, and lived with him for 30 years until he came out of the closet and ran away with a cellist to Puerto Vallarta. “I should have guessed when he sewed all the curtains for our home,” she says.

Coleen is retired, having spent her adult life running her own chain of art galleries. She now spends her time managing her fortune and lavishing her children and grandchildren with love and unwanted advice.

We are at Casa Milagro, a large, four-bedroom home on the beach just north of Manzanillo. Sail boats dot the horizon, and fat, lazy clouds are lit by the setting sun. Coleen is sitting at the patio table, a margarita in one hand. She is busy making out her invite list for a party this Saturday.

“I’m going to invite Rod, he’s really cute,” she announces, writing in his name.

“Isn’t he married to Jeanette?” I ask.

“So what? She’s too old for him.”

“She told me she was 53,” says Linda.

“What? That woman’s got condoms in her purse that are older than 53!” Coleen shakes the gold bangles on her arm, admiring the way they tinkle. “Besides, I’m not going to steal him, I just want to borrow him.”

“What for?” I ask.

“What do you think?” Coleen takes a deep drink of her margarita. “I haven’t been properly laid since the Nixon administration. I want to get banged like a screen door at least once before I die!”

RECIPES THAT APPEAR IN MY BOOKS – GORD’S SECRET BBQ RIBS

I’ve been making these BBQ ribs for over thirty years, and dinner guests love them! The secret is that I don’t use tomatoes or ketchup in the marinade; they taste decidedly different from classic Tex-Mex recipes.

Ingredients

1 kg of back-ribs for every two guests, cut into separate ribs.

Marinade

1 cup of brown sugar.

½ cup of yellow mustard.

½ cup of soy sauce.

6 garlic cloves, minced.

2 Tsp of ground black pepper.

2 Tsp of Frank’s hot sauce (or similar brand).

Cooking Directions

1. Mix the marinade in a disposable tin roasting pan and immerse the ribs for at least one hour.
2. BBQ the ribs on a hot, open flame (approximately 5 minutes per side). Watch to flare-ups.
3. Return the ribs to the roasting pan, dipping each in the remaining marinade.
4. Prior to serving, place the roasting pan back in the BBQ and let them cook on medium heat for approximately 30 minutes, enough time for them to cook through to the bone. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Goes well with baked potatoes, corn, coleslaw and beer!

UPCOMING EVENTS

The release of Runaway Bomb is now scheduled for August 9, 2019! You can pre-order by going to Amazon.

PREORDER RUNAWAY BOMB HERE!

RUNAWAY BOMB BOOK GIVEAWAY!

That’s right, I’m giving away the very first edition of  Runaway Bomb! The draw will be held on July 1, 2019, and everyone who subscribes to my newsletter will be included!

STORY BEHIND THE PICTURE

I took this photo of an S&M boutique window display in Soho, London. The street was lined with peek-a-boo joints and XXX video outlets. I used the setting in my first FBI Jack Kenyon mystery series, Secret Combinations, as a venue where Jack could hide out while on the run from Scotland Yard. Check out the nails sticking from their bustiers!

MY FAVORITE BOOKS

NEWS OF THE WORLD: A NOVEL

By Paulette Jiles

Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, born in 1798, has fought in three wars for his country. Now, at the age of 72, he tours Northern Texas with a portfolio stuffed with newspaper and journals, reading the news of the world to rural citizens. He has a full head of white hair, stands ramrod straight, and tucks a Slocum .32 caliber pistol in his waistband.

Captain Kidd is in Wichita Falls near Indian Territory when Britt Johnson, a free black man, attends his reading. A mule freighter by trade, Johnson often travels through the untamed country to the north, delivering goods to the army at Fort Sill.

Johnson has a sad tale to tell. Four years prior, a marauding Kiowa party had attacked the Leonberger family farm near San Antonio. They murdered the father and mother, then fled with their 6-year old daughter Johanna into Indian Territory. The surviving relatives had begged the Indian Agent to locate and retrieve the child.

The Agent recruited Johnson to transport Johanna across the Red River into Texas, but the latter faces a dilemma; the freighter has to travel with a 10-year old white child through a State filled with folk still angry at the outcome of the Civil War. Could Captain Kidd deliver the child back to her family?

Captain Kidd is dubious. The child, with blue eyes and pale blonde hair, is dressed in a deerskin shift decorated with elk teeth. She looks like a wild thing caught in a trap, ready to flee at the slightest chance. Four years had totally erased all memory of her early life; she is a Kiowa warrior now.

But Captain Kidd also has two grown daughters of his own. He knows that this one’s only chance at a future is to take her back to her kin and hope for the best. Reluctantly, he agrees.

His first task is to clean the child and dress her in urban clothing. The women at Lottie’s bordello wrestle the Indian garments from Johanna and scrub her clean with blue soap, then struggle her into a dress, stockings and shoes.

Captain Kidd purchases a spring wagon painted a glossy green. Tucking a shotgun under the front seat, he harnesses his packhorse, loads Johanna into the wagon, and heads south.

The journey, of several hundred miles, is replete with danger. Flooding rivers, marauding Apache and a man intent on kidnapping Johanna for his child brothel all seek to thwart their journey. Together, they battle their way through adversity.

Although News of the World is, on its surface, a classic western, the author transcends the genre with a story that is replete with a poet’s images of a world both long gone, yet as close as the smell of wild sage after a thunderstorm. It is story of a tired old man and a lost child who somehow find in each other a reason to live.

Through her astute ability to evoke characters, vivid imagery of the wild Texas plains and laconic frontier dialogue, the author creates a lively novel that has universal appeal.

MY FAVORITE TV AND MOVIE ADAPTATIONS

HARRY BOSCH SERIES

By Author Michael Connelly

I’ve been a fan of Michael Connelly for several decades now, following his police procedural series featuring LAPD detective Hieronymous ‘Harry’ Bosch. The video series, now with 5 seasons, was produced by Amazon Video and loosely-based on several of Connelly’s books. The lead character (played by Titus Welliver), has been rejuvenated a generation younger, having fought in the first Gulf War instead of Vietnam, but still brings the same grit and unwavering determination to solve murders. This inevitably leads him into conflict with his superiors and the DA, forcing them to do their jobs in spite of their conflicting agendas. Well-cast and acted, the series is highly addictive – I can’t wait until the next season is released in April, 2020, on Amazon’s Prime Video!

GORDON COPE’S May 2019 Newsletter

Linda and I live in the city of Manzanillo on the Pacific coast of Mexico, south of Puerto Vallarta. The climate is tropical and sunny for most of the year, except for the occasional hurricane. My days are spent writing and watching the cruise ships disgorge tourists.

Our home is in the community of Los Ricos, located on a peninsula that juts out into the ocean. We are surrounded by deep blue water and golden beaches. Waves lap against the cliff on which our home is located.

It is mid-afternoon, and I am sitting on the shaded veranda of my neighbor Valentina, a Sicilian with wavy black hair. After selling her restaurant in Washington, DC, she and her husband Frank decided to move somewhere that didn’t require a snow shovel.

“Where’s Frank?” I ask.

“He’s resting. He got bit by a scorpion.”

I spill my margarita. “What, just now?

“No, last night.” Valentina waves her cigarillo in the general direction of the kitchen. “He went to get a beer from the fridge and it stung him on the toe.”

Conrado, Valentina’s Mexican friend, walks around the corner of the house and joins us on the patio. “That happens all the time,” he says. “They come out at night and are attracted by the hum of the fridge. It is like a love song to them.”

I ignore Conrado. “What did you do?”

“We drove to the clinic.” Valentina points to her leg. “On the way, first his foot froze, then his calf. By the time we got there, he couldn’t feel his thigh. But the doctor gave him the serum and now he’s OK.”

“A waste of money,” says Conrado. “Do you know what we do in Mexico? We take a scorpion and drown it in a bottle of tequila. Then, if you are bit, you drink five shots.”

“Does it cure the bite?” I ask.

Conrado waves his manicured hand in dismissal. “After five shots of tequila, who cares?”

RECIPES THAT APPEAR IN MY BOOKS – PASTA PUTTANESCA

Pasta Puttanesca, or whore’s sauce, is one of my favorites. It appears in my upcoming book, Runaway Bomb. It’s quick, inexpensive and easy to make.

Ingredients

1 clove of chopped garlic.

¼ cup of olive oil.

¼ cup of anchovies.

½ cup of chopped onion.

½ cup of pitted black olives.

1 Tsp of drained capers (optional).

One 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes, drained.

1/2 cup of white wine.

½ tsp of salt, ½ tsp of ground pepper.

1 lb. of spaghetti.

½ cup of chopped basil or parsley.

Grated Parmesan.

Directions

1 Fry the garlic in olive oil. Add the anchovies, onion and pitted black olives and fry until onion is translucent.

2 Add the tomatoes, white wine, salt and ground pepper and let simmer for 15 minutes.

3 Boil and drain the spaghetti. Place in pasta bowls and cover with the sauce. Garnish with basil/parsley and parmesan.

STORY BEHIND THE PICTURE 

Notre Dame de Paris, Our Lady of Paris, was built in the 13^th century and tragically marred by fire in 2019. Several of my books have passages that take place in this architectural and spiritual wonder, including A Paris Moment and Triple Cross. May it once again rise from the ashes for future generations to cherish.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Runaway Bomb, the latest installment in the FBI Jack Kenyon mystery series, is due for release on August 9, 2019. 

Pre-order your copy of Runaway Bomb here!

Stay tuned for events leading up to the release!

RUNAWAY BOMB BOOK GIVEAWAY!

That’s right, I’m giving away the very first  print copy of  Runaway Bomb! The draw will be held on July 1, 2019, and everyone who subscribes to my newsletter will be included!

Credit: Gary Larson

MY FAVORITE BOOKS

Small Great Things, by Jodi Picoult

On the surface, Small Great Things is a court procedural in which a public defender represents a woman accused of murder. The heart of the novel, however, is a story that goes to the very soul of America and challenges the reader to question their own firmly-held beliefs.
Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse who works in the maternity ward at Mercy-West Haven hospital. She has 20 years of exemplary experience. She is also the only Afro-American nurse in the hospital.
Turk Bauer is a white supremacist. Brittany, Turk’s wife, is pregnant; one night, she goes into labor, and the couple show up at Mercy-West Haven’s maternity ward to give birth. The child goes into heart failure and the emergency team, including Ruth, responds. Ruth performs manual stimulation of the child’s heart. Their efforts are in vain, and the child dies.
Turk goes to the police and swears that Ruth’s over-zealous intervention caused the death of his child and demands they press murder charges. She is arrested in the middle of the night and thrown in jail. 
Kennedy McQuarrie is a lawyer with the state’s public defender office. Her efforts to free her client delve into the heart of racism in contemporary America; what does it mean to be black in a predominantly white world? On an even deeper level, how does racial hatred become so virulent that those who fall into its pit are consumed by madness? 
This is a difficult novel to read. The author confronts the ailments that grip modern society and bares them in a painful manner. But Picoult also does so in such a truthful, unvarnished way that it ultimately leads to a greater understanding of the motives of those who participate in the confrontations that dominate today’s headlines. 
In the end, the author uses her immense skills as a story teller and her insightful observations of the human soul to illuminate both what is tragic – and what is noble – in our society. If you read only one book this year, I urge you to read Small Great Things.

MY FAVORITE TV & MOVIE ADAPTATIONS

Miss Fischer’s Murder Mysteries, Produced by the Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC).

Set in Australia during the Roaring Twenties and based upon the crime novels of Australian author Kerry Greenwood, the series features Essie Davis as the eponymous hero, a dashing heiress who sashays her way through both high and low society, solving murders most foul with her erstwhile partner, Melbourne police Detective Jack Robinson (played by Nathan Page). The series, which began in 2012, is featured on Netflix in North America.