I wanted to start a book log on here to keep track of what I read with brief reviews.
The first book for this log is 'Judgement Calls' (2003) by Alafair Burke which I got from a "blind date with a book" packet at a thrift store back in August; because of school and me being a slow reader, I didn't get to finish it until now.
CW: Sexual assault, child prostitution, and drug addiction; This book goes into heavy topics, and my review and summary mentions these topics.
My impression of this book was that it was a bit generic in flow and dialogue, but it wasn't something that took away from the immersion. It was an entertaining read, though it's not a book I would recommend nor read again. [Summary and Review below cut]
Summary:
The book follows Samatha Kincaid, a deputy district attorney, who gets assigned on a major crimes case about a 13 year old child prostitution victim, Kendra Martin, who is found half dead at a park. Because of Kendra's history and heroin addiction, her case was not being taken as seriously as it should've been, making it difficult for Samantha to argue for the attempted murder charge.
Samantha organizes the evidence collected by her investigators, to create a solid case against Kendra's assaulter Derrick Derringer. However, her evidence begins to fall apart once a letter from a presumed serial killer confesses to the murder of a past high publicity case, 'Jamie Zimmerman's Case' (which is referenced throughout the book due to one of the characters, Chuck Forbes, being closely connected to it), Kendra's assault, and 4 other murders; putting Kendra's case at higher stakes.
In the end it is found out that there was no serial killer but instead one of the deputies in charge of Kendra's case, Tim O'Donnell, wrote the murder letters to get her assaulters out of trouble. He had also been involved with the Jamie Zimmerman case with Derrick and his brother Frank. When Samantha got close to the truth by discovering Frank and Derrick's involvement in child prostitution, they enter her home to kill her which results in a shoot-out resulting in the death of Tim, Frank, and Derrick. [There's obviously more substance in this, but these are the main plot points]
Review:
Burke has qualifications as a former deputy district attorney and I trust those qualifications. The bureaucracy of the legal process was emphasized and thoroughly explained throughout the book. Before I read the book, one of my worries was how such a dark subject would be handled, but I found it to be handled professionally. The subject matter of the book was an uncomfortable read, but I appreciate it not being sugarcoated. The presentation of the information was blunt; it was explicit (for clarity) but not graphic. It's meant to be uncomfortable, letting the reader feel the weight of the severity and tragedy that is Kendra's life.
Narratively, Burke did a really good job at combining murder mystery and court drama in a realistic way. The set up at the beginning felt natural and the twist catches you off guard though. It has a slow start but that is only because it has a lot to set up for, though when it picks up, the suspense keeps you hooked.
(snicker) No, not single combat against an alien race. (...jots down the title anyway)
Something else, though. This again! Seriously, I thought I had this business pretty much settled.
It's a Middle Kingdoms food problem. Briefly: We already know that some of the Solanaceae are present in the Kingdoms. Chiles like the whitefruit, and bell peppers, have already explicitly appeared in both prose and in various recipes at the Food and Cooking of the Middle Kingdoms site.
But not potatoes. They were purposely excluded from the Kingdoms, a good while back, with extreme prejudice.
Until the filmed version of Lord of the Rings, you could sort of get away with including Solanum tuberosum in a fantasy novel. Only fellow print-format geeks were terribly likely to have noticed their appearance in LOTR (or cared about it). Nonetheless, my writer-conscience had been itching me about this issue for a while, as regarded The Door Into Fire... nagging me about lazy worldbuilding. And then, of course, this happened:
So I was glad to have made a judgment call regarding this when republishing the first three Middle Kingdoms works, and continuing them in the Tales of the Five group. (Because why include something in your work that's inevitably going to forcibly drag people out of your narrative and into somebody else's universe?—be it ever so beloved. Not least by me.)
Now, though, here comes another judgment call!—because this whole damn genus plainly has it in for me.
Solanum lycopersicum, ffs! That is to say, tomatoes.
Because the venison dish I was auditioning at the time of posting (as a candidate for the spiced venison that appears on the Goddess's autumn-festival table* at the Darthene embassy in The Door Into Sunset) suggests that it ought to have tomato puree in it. And this didn't really register until I was three-quarters of the way through making the dish.
(eyeroll) Now I have to sit down for a bit and decide whether this is going to be allowed... and if it's not, what to substitute for it. And what the further implications are likely to be if I allow this inclusion.
(wanders off muttering) ...It'll be eggplant next, I'm sure.
*More about this seasonal tradition appears over here at the Garlic-Stuffed Chicken recipe, if you're interested,
A New Jersey police chief who defended “profiling, racial or otherwise” in an internal email was suspended without pay.
I can understand why this chief was suspended; you should have just cause to pull somebody over however,
Profiling goes both ways doesn’t it? The police profile everybody based on experience because that’s part of making the crucial judgments that keep us all safe. I find myself wondering if it’s useful.
I suppose that the problem aside from the fact that it is illegal to profile is that profiling met with bias is simple racism, not intelligent judgment. Profiling is far too vulnerable to negligence and human error and the consequences are serious.
At least in New Jersey comments like this are met with unpaid suspension.
I was just thinking the other day that everyone’s a critic, but if you don’t try to do it, you can’t understand what it feels like. CRITICIZING IS THE EASY PART As someone who watches a lot of reality shows and competitions like Top Chef among others, it’s easy to say: She should have done this! He should have done that. You totally missed this!! ..but hindsight is 20/20. I get that in the heat…
Book Review » Menyambut Panggilan dalam Mengambil Keputusan
Judul : Judgment Calls: Twelve Stories of Big Decisions and the Teams that Got Them Right
Penulis : Thomas H. Davenport dan Brook Manville
Penerbit : Harvard Business Review Press (3 April 2012)
Tebal : 288 halaman
ISBN : 978-1422158111
Harga : US$ 30
Bagi para praktisi dan pemerhati manajemen pengetahuan, Thomas Davenport bukanlah nama asing. Davenport telah lama dikenal sebagai salah satu pemikir manajemen pengetahuan yang berpengaruh di dunia. Kecintaannya pada ranah keilmuan manajemen pengetahuan terbukti dengan produktivitasnya menghasilkan berbagai karya di bidang ini. Kali ini, profesor tamu di Harvard Business School ini berkolaborasi dengan Brook Manville, mantan Direktur Manajemen Pengetahuan McKinsey, merangkum kisah 12 organisasi yang berhasil mengelola data dan pengetahuan yang mereka miliki menjadi alat penilaian dan pengambilan keputusan yang efektif.
Read more > http://swa.co.id/business-strategy/menyambut-panggilan-dalam-mengambil-keputusan
Podcast: The CYA Report is a free flowing, sometimes mature discussion of HR and talent issues. On today’s show we have Brook Manville, co-author of the book Judgment Calls, on the essence of ”going with your gut” when making big decisions.
