Flesh and Blood

I am reminded of "Six Characters in Search of An Author", wherein the characters of an unfinished manuscript, come on stage and demanded to be completed. These characters in Flesh and Blood - even ones on the stage for only a moment - stay with you as full bodied, living people. There was an elderly woman being cared for by a drugged out niece that I wanted so much to find and bring home. The vision of the main character with her hand in the air, fighting for the causes of the union is as clear as a photograph. I found the story to be unpredictable with interesting twists and sidelines, just as found in life. I will absolutely look for more books by Thomas Cook.

"We are like the body, which needs all its parts to work. We are like the fingers of the hand." These were the early, impassioned words of the apparently soulless doyenne of the garment trade who is found murdered--and mutilated by the severing of her hand--in her sophisticated apartment. The case comes to Frank Clemons, as he anticipates: "He didn't know what he'd been waiting for but only that when it came, it would be wrapped in something else, that he wouldn't recognize it until, like a hand in the dark, it suddenly gripped him from behind." The wrapping turns out to be the garment trade itself, and the grip is the long, hidden past of a woman who appeared to have no past. Clemons' investigations lead him back into the lives of garment workers in the 30s, the world of women and men who "worked their fingers to the bone" and ultimately, to the continuing injustices done against workers in our own day. As always, Cook shows himself to be an extraordinarily fine writer, casually shedding incandescent images the way a welder's torch sheds sparks. His main character, Frank Clemons, is a man suffering from the deepest alienation. Grey is his color, night his time, dullness his tone of voice. He represents the determination to mourn truthfully for his own daughter, a suicide victim, and also for the victims of crimes he has solved in the past. There is integrity in his stance, as against his lover's determination to fuzz the edges of her own grief with material comforts and pastel colors. But one has to be grateful that Clemons picks up an exotic and witty sidekick in Farouk, whose fatalism is lifted by a certain joy in companionship and the human condition. If the novel has a flaw, it's that a host of characters cross the stage, do one stunningly informative turn, and then disappear, never to be seen again. To Cook's credit, he endows each with individuality, and the story strung together on this series of encounters is fascinating--even a little fantastic toward the end--but never outright unbelieveable. What remains most moving is the image of the victim as a young woman, speaking out in the cold, a defiant fist raised for justice. Cook's antihero does justice to her--brings all her life together, like the fingers of the hand.

Thomas H. Cook is an above the average mystery/detective author. His descriptions of environment, human emotions, and situations outdo most modern writers. This is one of his best novels centered around the main character who has appeared in his other novels: Frank Clemens, a former policeman from Georgia who is now in New York City functioning as a private detective. Frank Clemens, himself, is a unique star in that his personality is a dark, brooding one, with dominant and admirable traits of honesty, loyalty, and commitment. He demonstrates a deep desire and need to undestand and unfold the lives of the people he investigates, digging into the depths of their souls, and bringing to light their passions, weaknesses and strengths. In this novel, Clemens teams up with Farouk, who along with Frank investigate the murder of a garment industry worker who rose from sewing machine operator in the 30's to a major consultant in a firm upon her murder. Her murder is a little different in that her right hand has been severed at the wrist and is missing. Frank is hired by the head of the design company to find a next-of-kin for this woman, Hannah Karlsberg, who seems to have no past. What Frank and Farouk unravel is a long trail of murder, suicide, rape, corruption, revenge and forbidden love. An exciting book, I read it in 2 days, not being able to put it down. The ending is a "sure to grab you" twist you'd never figure out until the last few pages. Exceptional!!!