The Drop

Detective Harry Bosch and partner David Chu work in the open-unsolved unit.  A DNA match from a 20 year-old crime is assigned to them.  However, the matched drop of blood belongs to a man - a sex offender - who was only 8 years-old at the time of the crime.  Did forensic mix up a sample?  He is told to look into it quietly.  Before he leaves to tackle the case, his superior informs him that his DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Plan) has been partially approved.  Bosch is at mandatory retirement but gets an additional 39 months through the DROP.  Bosch and Chu have hardly begun their case when they are summoned to the chief's office.  George Irving, son of Bosch's longtime nemesis and former Assistant Chief Irvin Irving, has been found dead, an apparent suicide.  On the other hand, there are indications that he may have been dropped while unconscious.

The two cases are independent of one another, which makes this feel like two books in one.  The investigation of George Irving dominates the first part of the book while the DNA match consumes the second half.  Each bleeds over but one is clearly the dominant case at those points in the book.  Bosch's latest partner is another disappointment.  The departure of Jerry Edgar and Kiz Rider has resulted in mediocre replacements.  Connelly has put a lot less effort into Iggy Ferras and David Chu.  Both feel more like a burden than a partner.  Maybe Bosch is becoming a crotchety old man compared to his younger partners.

Though the title is simple, it is probably one of the best titles ever.  Everything is a drop, just not the same kind of drop.  I wonder if he came up with the title and then the various links.

Highly recommended.

Drink Bleach

It has been a year since the 'drink bleach' story swept the country.  Did President Trump really suggest that drinking bleach would be a treatment for Covid-19?  Let's check it out.

During a briefing on April 23, 2020 that included William Bryan of DHS, Trump said the following:

"A question that probably some of you are thinking of if you’re totally into that world, which I find to be very interesting. So, supposedly we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light, and I think you said that hasn’t been checked, but you’re going to test it. And then I said supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. (To Bryan) And I think you said you’re going to test that, too. Sounds interesting, right?"

"And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning, because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that, so that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me. So, we’ll see, but the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute. That’s pretty powerful."

From this, the press latched onto the words disinfectant and injection.  It was a short step from their to drinking bleach.  Then again, injecting light sounds pretty wild too.  Is that a thing?

Yes, it is a thing.  Check out Healight for more details.  Given the opportunity between informing the public about a potential treatment for Covid-19 or making President Trump look like a moron, what did the press choose?  Is it any wonder he called them "Fake News."

Charade (1963)

Regina Lampert (Audrey Hepburn) returns from her vacation to find her Paris apartment stripped bare and her husband missing.  She has hardly finished walking the empty rooms when a police inspector reveals that her husband is dead.  Though he reportedly earned $250,000 from selling the contents of the apartment, no money is found among his meager possessions.  Where is the money?

At her husband's funeral, three men arrive to view the body; none of them seem to mourn his passing.  Leopold sneezed on the corpse, Tex (James Coburn) held a mirror under his nose to test for breathing, and Herman (George Kennedy) stabbed his hand with a pin.  Soon after, each visits Regina and demands the money.  However, she has an ally.  While on vacation, she met Peter Joshua (Cary Grant) and he has arrived to offer condolences and otherwise assist her.  She is soon falling for him.  She is also contacted by Hamilton Bartholomew (Walter Matthau), a bureaucrat from the American Embassy with ties to the CIA.  He explains that her husband had stolen US money during WWII with 4 other men but then absconded with all the money.  He assures her that the money is still out there and she should find it before the others do.  If not, one of them is sure to do to her what happened to her husband.

Though directed by Stanley Donen, it has an Alfred Hitchcock vibe.  Throughout the movie, one is never sure whose side Cary Grant is on.  He has a variety of aliases and backstories that are highly suspect.  Still, he is ridiculously charming and Regina finds him irresistible.  There is a peculiar mix of humor and danger; at times, it feels like Grant is in a zany comedy while the rest of the cast are in a suspense-thriller.  Even so, it is quite entertaining and recommended.

Guilty

Derek Chauvin has been found guilty on all counts.  I hardly paid any attention to the trial but I did read one report that George Floyd had an alarming amount of drugs in his system according to the autopsy.  In fact, one witness testified that, based solely on the autopsy and toxicology, it looked like a classic overdose.  Both fentanyl and methamphetamine were found in abundance in his blood.  Moreover, he had Covid-19 too.  Reasonable doubt?  Apparently not.

One wonders if the jury took into account the politics outside the courtroom when deliberating.  One of the trial's witnesses had his house vandalized with pig's blood and a severed pig's head.  Congresswoman Maxine Waters called for protesters to stay in the streets and be more confrontational if Chauvin was acquitted.  It is a given that riots would follow an acquittal.  With that, do you convict on all counts in order to avert a devastating riot like the ones that tore through Minneapolis last year?  Two people died in the riots and there was $500 million in damages.  Send one man to prison to save the city?  Heck, anyone who saw the video would be glad to toss this guy in prison, all the better if it prevents further mostly peaceful protests.

Vaccine Passport

Can we implement that at the border first?  If undocumented immigrants are allowed to cross the border into the United States without a vaccine passport, I don't see any reason an American citizen should be held to a higher standard.  Citizenship should have some privileges.

Extraction (2020)

Ovi Mahajan (Rudhraksh Jaiswal) is the son of a Mumbai drug lord.  Though his father is currently in prison, Ovi lives in a mansion and has personal bodyguards.  Despite warnings of coming straight home from school by his father's chief lieutenant, Saju (Randeep Hooda), Ovi dares to go to a club at night to meet some friends.  This proves disastrous as he is abducted by a rival drug lord who demands a ransom that will ruin Ovi's father.  Saju gets the blame for Ovi's kidnapping and is ordered to recover Ovi without paying a ransom or his son will be killed.

Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is an Australian mercenary who served multiple tours in Afghanistan.  He accepts the job of recovering Ovi from Dhaka in Bangladesh.  With the support of a crack team, he arrives 'alone' to pay the ransom after he sees Ovi alive.  Once Ovi is thus located, the non-stop action begins.  Tyler proves to be a combat monster, a John Wick-type character who overcomes wave after wave of enemies.  Not only does he have to fight the goons of the rival drug lord, he also has to battle Saju's forces who intend to snag Ovi without paying Tyler.  Then the local police and even the military join the fray.

High adrenaline action film with great combat choreography.  Unsurprisingly, the director is a veteran stuntman who worked in Deadpool, Avengers, Thor: Ragnarok, Atomic Blonde, and a long list of successful action-packed blockbusters.  Lots of fun.  Recommended.

The Reversal

Mickey Haller is called to a meeting with the district attorney of Los Angeles.  The state supreme court has reversed a 25 year-old verdict.  Jason Jessup, a tow-truck driver, was convicted of abducting and murdering a 12 year-old girl.  Modern DNA testing has determined that a semen stain on her dress does not match Jessup.  Jessup intends to sue the city for millions.  The DA would like Haller to take the case as an independent prosecutor and retry the case.  As a defense lawyer, Haller is initially stunned by the offer but he sees some positives.  He can advance his ex-wife Maggie MacPherson's career by giving her 2nd seat at the prosecution table.  Plus, his daughter can finally see him working for the 'good guys' for a change.  He accepts.  Next, he calls upon his half-brother, Harry Bosch, to serve as investigator.  Of course, Mickey is new to the prosecution game and doesn't demand bail for Jessup, much to the shock and dismay of his ex-wife.  Jessup is allowed to wander LA while he awaits trial.  Haller quickly realizes that he has taken a potentially unwinnable case.  If he loses, the blame will not fall on the district attorney's office.

An unusual turn for both Haller and Bosch but very engaging.  Not only is it a good read, but it provides great insight on the workings of the courts and law enforcement.  Highly recommended.