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The Eight of Swords

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"Eight Of Swords" by David Skibbins - ISBN 0-312-33906-2

In the early `70s, he was an active member of the notorious Weathermen. Assumed dead for 30 years, Warren Ritter, latter-day, anarchist, makes a living reading Tarot cards on Telegraph Ave. in Berkley, California.

Now, fifty-five years old, he has a comfortable life: frequent forays into book stores for poetic sustenance, once a month to the shooting range with his favorite cop on the beat, cruising at 90 mph on an Aprilia RSV Mille motorcycle, and therapy sessions for manic depression on Wednesday's.

When out of no-where his older sister, Tara, discovers he is still alive, on the same day he gave an ominous reading to young, Heather Wellington, who has been kidnapped: it rocks his world.

Trying to still his fears, salvage his anonymity, life-style, and fend off an inevitable guilt trip, Warren tries to assuage Tara's outrage. But he's shocked to find out he has a daughter, and about to become a grandfather.

Panic escalates when Heather's mother also disappears. Then one of the victims is found murdered. Since both women were last seen in the company of Warren, he becomes a suspect.

Having the police and F.B.I. nosing around in his violent past just isn't cricket. Newly birthed with paternal feelings and pricked with guilt, Warren-anti-establishment-Ritter, the hunted, becomes the hunter.

David Skibbins' development of the characters and their interaction is well-crafted. But, the first-person musings of Warren Ritter are priceless. More than once I winced at his cheeky sarcasm.

Although some readers' recollection of the infamous Weathermen may be a little rusty, Warren's past affiliation with them was an integral part of his character profile. As more information about their activities is divulged, a better understanding of the depth of his fear of being caught and an appreciation of Warren's diverse capabilities is realized.

A fragile art that can't be forced, writing humor effectively is elusive to some scribes. In EIGHT OF SWORDS, subtle glimpses to brazen, in-your-face laughs stalk the pages. I can't remember the last tome I read that tickled my funny bone so well, so often. Yet, it did not clash with the killer / survival instincts Warren needed to "kick butt" and bring the murder mystery to an "anti-establishment" conclusion. You gotta' love him.

Get ready. Don your leathers. Grab your helmet. Straddle that chrome pony, (careful: hot pipes!) A new dude in town has just been jump-started. Name: Warren Ritter, he's over fifty, revved and long over-due.

It's about time.

Skibbins has created a very interesting collection of characters in his debut mystery. The very accurate portrayal of Berkeley and the Bay Area, adds an atmosphere that greatly enhances the story. In general, I am not a fan of glorifying those who have broken the law, and I do feel the premise of Warren's becoming involved was a bit weak. What really makes the story work is the characters, good suspense and, at the end, Warren's acknowledgement of what his life and actions has cost him. I ended up caring about Warren and want to see where his life goes from here. I know I'll be back for the next book. This is a very good debut.

Berkeley tarot-card reader "Warren Ritter" thinks that the tarot card reading he is doing for teenager Heather Wellington is no different from any of the other semi-jive tarot readings he typically does. Warren has second thoughts, though, when that evening he sees that Heather was kidnapped shortly after her reading with him. As the story quickly develops, Warren is contacted for help by Heather's mother and finds himself involved in the search for the missing girl. The plot kicks up another notch when Warren finds himself being framed for the murder of Heather's mother.

The plot in this first mystery by David Skibbins was well-done, with a satisfying conclusion to the main story of kidnapping and murder. In addition, there were a number of subplots which added to my enjoyment of this story. The protagonist "Warren Ritter" is himself a fugitive terrorist who has been hiding from both the police and his former terrorist colleagues for thirty years. "Warren" faked his death in a bomb explosion thirty years before the time of the story. Warren Ritter is also afflicted with a manic-depressive personality, and the story delves a bit into the highs and lows he experiences. Finally, author Skibbins paints a realistic picture of the Berkeley area in which the story is set.

The story leaves plenty of unanswered questions to look at in the next book in this series. I look forward to reading more about Warren Ritter and his quirky Berkely colleaagues.

Quite enjoyable! We begin this little adventure meeting "Warren Ritter," at least that's what he's calling himself these days. Warren is an aging hippie who has made a few mistakes in the past and is now living "in hiding." His family thinks he's dead and he's got a nice, if slightly paranoid life as a tarot card reader on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley...how cliché, yet it works!

We start out with Warren giving a reading to Heather, a teen with family issues. He gives her what he thinks is going to be a standard reading, but as he goes on, he gets an ominous feeling from the cards, and ends up cutting the reading short. After giving her one of his cards, she's off and running to do more shopping...but no sooner is she gone than she's kidnapped and Warren's sister (who thinks he's dead) shows up and recognizes him. It's a double whammy and Warren is left to pick up the pieces and figure out what to do about being framed for Heather's kidnapping and the discovery by his sister that he is NOT dead...we are drawn into a pretty exciting and fast paced adventure as Warren tries to figure out what is going on and as he delves into his feelings about his family and the life he left behind.

As the story progresses we are introduced to a bevy of interesting characters...and each is more than a little paranoid, this seems to be a theme throughout the book (avoiding "the man" and all that). We meet the jaded but talented (and wheelchair bound) hacker chick, his tough, yet extremely likeable therapist, a paranoid private investigator/surveillance guy, and a pretty standard bullying FBI agent out to pin the kidnapping on the most convenient person...Warren.

Overall I enjoyed this and was pleased with the ending. I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series and seeing where the author takes Warren! I give it a B+

A man on the run for over thirty years can't afford to be recognized. He certainly can't afford to become involved in an investigation regarding kidnapping and murder. Tarot reader Warren Ritter quickly manages to do both in this enjoyable debut novel from author David Skibbins.

Plastic surgery was supposed to make him unrecognizable to anyone including his family. Being a tarot reader on the streets of Berkeley, California was supposed to give him anonymity as well as an income stream to make him appear legit. Warren does not really believe in tarot, as it is just another piece of his carefully constructed facade to hide from his violent past. However, he knows the cards occasionally ring true and after his reading for Heather Wellington, it appears they were right. She has disappeared and it seems the cards saw it as well as the resulting police investigation coming.

Or maybe they foretold what would happen later in the day Heather vanished when Warren's sister Tara would happen to be in town far from her home and on the same street at just the right time and see him. Surgery may have changed his appearance but it didn't change the way he laughed or the way he sat at the table while doing a reading. Tara doesn't want to know why she just wants to publicly lash out with over thirty years of pain and heartache inside her.

As the cards possibly foretold, nothing is over and the shocks keep coming. Heather has disappeared and the only contact is a ransom note. Then, Heather's Mom vanishes as well. Tara is unhappy with Warren's answers and so too are the various arms of law enforcement who have Warren in their investigative sights. As does a killer who thinks that Warren would be the perfect fall guy. Too bad he didn't know about Warren's past because that isn't going to happen.

While a component of the work, the mystical through the tarot is never overpowering to the reader. Brief backgrounds on the cards are given as well as how the same card can be interpreted vastly differently by readers. The information presented on the tarot as well as Warren's occasional political observations are skillfully interwoven into the story as character development and do nothing to slow down the fast and enjoyable read.

Over the course of this 261-page mystery/thriller, the reader is drawn deep into the chaotic world of Warren Ritter. His fear is real and it quickly becomes real for the reader as Warren scrambles trying to patch up the crumbling facade of his life. Winner of "The 2004 Malice Domestic/St. Martin's Press Best First Traditional Mystery Contest" for good reason, this fast paced novel featuring a complex main character with interesting secondary characters is clearly an excellent start to the planned series.

Kevin R. Tipple (c) 2005

(43 and still a real person)

EIGHT OF SWORDS is a good story that moves smartly

along. It's also a thoughtful novel, and the

protagonist, Warren Ritter, is one of the most

intriguing characters I've met in a long time.

And as much as anything, probably, I was fascinated by

a look into a fugitive's life.

Warren is, in his words, "the last revolutionary

guerrilla out there." He's been on the lam for 30

years but has settled into a reasonably comfortable

life as a tarot reader on a street corner in Berkeley.

For total privacy he climbs an old oak tree in a

cemetery to make phone calls. He thinks his tombstone

will read,"You can run, but you cannot hide."

Warren is not aging gracefully. He still hates "pigs"

even though one of his friends is a cop. He still has

contempt for the feds. He takes pills to control his

mood swings. But he has a sense of humor and a kind,

if carefully guarded, heart. I liked him a lot.

Warren has several false identities, with a healthy

bank account under each name. He keeps a residence in

Las Vegas so he can get a driver's license without a

photo or a fingerprint. He has a survivor's instinct

for smelling danger, playing dumb, fading into a

crowd.

Even so, his life is like the deck of cards he uses.

There's a certain order to the tarot, and if a card

falls the wrong way the whole deck could follow. The

catalyst for Warren's potential downfall is a reading

he does for a teenaged girl from the 'burbs. In short

order, she is kidnapped, Warren is set up for a

murder, and his sister Tara suddenly shows up on his

street corner and recognizes him.

Warren's impulse is to move on but Tara drops an

offhand bit of family news that will keep him in

Berkeley. It's the proverbial rock and a hard place.

If he stays he has to investigate kidnapping and

murder to clear himself of suspicion without blowing

his cover.

Fortunately, he has interesting friends. There's

Sally, a paraplegic computer hacker who has a personal

beef with the government and takes a special interest

in security systems. In Warren's words, "She looked

friendly and harmless, and was the most dangerous

woman I knew."

Her hobby is hacking Northern California law

enforcement computers. Sally's fees are commensurate

with the risks. Need a couple of files from the local

PD? No problem. That'll be two thousand dollars

please. There's also Mad Max Valdez who runs a

top-notch surveillance service. As Max explains his

success, "... nobody notices you if you've got brown

skin. Being invisible must be good for something!"

Being invisible is an art form with these people but

Warren makes one careless -- and colossal -- mistake

that will bring the feds swarming down on them.

How Warren exacts justice, works his way out of the

mess and faces up to emotional attachments that have

made him vulnerable kept me turning the pages.

Caveat Emptor: I read Eight of Swords several years ago when it was submitted to the St. Martin's Press/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Contest; I sent it on, and it won in 2004.

Warren Ritter reads tarot on Telegraph Avenue in San Francisco. Most of the time, his readings have more to do with his ability to "read" the client than they do with the cards. Every once in a while "the cards reach up and grab me by the throat. The spread in front of me was screaming that my client was heading straight for Armageddon." That client is Heather Wellington, "maybe sixteen, slightly overweight, decked out in a suede mini and a tight gray T-shirt", looking to find out where her love life is going. Will things work out with the new boyfriend, Curtis, who happens to be black and a nice guy no matter what her parents think? Or will her father, the control freak, push her back into the arms of her old boyfriend, Hal, a would-be gansta? Warren gives Heather a reading which brushes up against the danger the cards are showing, but doesn't begin to convey the enormity of what she is up against.

Later that same day Warren sees Heather on the news; she's been kidnapped and her parents are frantic. Warren isn't thrilled - he gave Heather one of his business cards, something he does with most of his clients. Of course, the police come calling. For most people, this might be discomfiting. For Warren, it's downright scary. Warren isn't his real name. Mr. Ritter has several identities, scattered around the Pacific edge of Amerika. Mr. Ritter used to be Richard Green, active in the 60's Weather Underground, presumed dead in a bomb blast a long, long time ago. He does not want the cops trolling around in his life.

There are other sub-plots. Later the afternoon of the bad tarot reading for Heather, Warren is confronted by his sister Tara. She is, as one might suspect, more than a little upset to find her dead brother reading tarot on a street corner. Warren is thrown for a loop when Tara informs him that she is soon to be an aunt . . . which means that Warren is a father, something he had not known before.

In his search for the kidnappers, which becomes the search for whoever set him up for the killing of Heather's mother, Lorraine Wellington, Warren utilizes one of his many resources. Sally is a paraplegic hacker "in the old school way, an outlaw who liked to f**k with security systems". Sally is one of those characters that I'd like to think I'd like to know, but I'm probably really not very comfortable around anyone who could know that much about me. Warren manages to get past that discomfort, and they begin a low-key romance.

Eight of Swords is not nearly so much about the mystery of who killed Lorraine and who kidnapped Heather as it is about the mystery of who Warren is, how he got to be the man he is, and where he is going from here. His therapist, Rose, has a lot to say about the "why" of Warren, at least in this scenario. Again, I'd like to know Rose, even though therapy with her sounds like it's really work. One of the risk factors in Warren's life is his manic-depression. Watching him "ride the waves" of this disease is not always pleasant reading; it serves as a reminder that Warren is not always a pleasant kind of guy. The forces that made him a revolutionary in the 60's still affect him today. Some readers may not like Warren's politics. The resolution of the killing and kidnapping are reasonable and tidy (well, mostly); the resolution of Warren's situation isn't anything like that.

While Skibbins probably pushes the envelope in terms of whether or not Eight of Swords is truly a "cozy", there is no doubt that he wrote a compelling story. Eight of Swords left me wanting to know more about Warren; the possibilities for this series are myriad. I look forward to Skibbins' next book with anticipation and hope that the dreaded sophomore slump doesn't apply. Skibbins has great potential, as this book ably demonstrates.

I came across this book, and had no idea what to expect. I thought I would give it 30 pages, and, if it interested me, I would keep reading. Well, I kept reading.

I enjoyed the mystery, but more that that, I was entranced by the people who made up this book. I felt drawn into Berkeley sub-culture, and into the lives of many wonderful people, some of whom had questionable pasts.

The greatest part of this mystery is not the story, but the people. The author has presented a real, living place with real, albeit kooky people.

I hope he goes back there, so that I can read a sequel.

Oh, and I already have recommended this book to a friend.

Warren Ritter, tarot-reader and fugitive terrorist from the heady protest of the 1970's, is at his usual street-side table on Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue, ready to lay down his jive for anyone willing to pay down the dollars. But his reading for a rich teenage girl goes deeper than he anticipated, predicting such terrible times ahead that he holds back the worst from her. The girl is kidnapped soon after leaving his table. Her mother comes to Warren, seeking comfort or insight from the cards. She too disappears, and soon it is apparent that somebody wants Warren to take the fall for both women's fate.

This author deftly evokes the colour and character of the Berkeley street scene. I could smell the street people and the ethnic restaurants, hear Warren's sister's parting bellow and sense the danger and despair that washed beneath the innocuous daytime commerce. The diction was exciting - common phrases given a twist, delivered in Warren's inimitably wry voice. The woo-woo element of the tarot was not overpowering, and the solution did not depend on supernatural sources of information.

This book is as seductive as a tarot reading that promises all you ever wanted. Unlike the average tarot spread, though, `Eight of Swords' delivers. It is a tightly-plotted mystery, a slice of social history, a study of character, family, and mental illness that drew me in from the first sentence. Alternately intrigued and entertained, I was ready to see the dawn in for Warren and the kidnapped girl.

David Skibbin's Eight of Swords was the winner of the 2004 Malice Domestic/St. Martin's Press Best First Traditional Mystery Contest, but there's nothing traditional about his amateur detective. Warren Ritter is a tarot card reader on the streets of Berkeley, California. He got into the business as a non-believer looking for an easy career, but he can't deny that sometimes the cards do send strong messages. The cards he pulls for teenaged Heather is one of those time-- it looks like Heather's in for some hard times. Hours later, she's abducted and the police find Warren's card on her and come looking for more information. Warren's situation is complicated by the fact he's not really Warren, he's been underground for 30 years, since the Weather Underground, including him many believe, was destroyed in a bombing gone bad. He's also bipolar, and playing games with his drugs.

I found Warren and his associates to be refreshing new characters on the mystery front. Warren doesn't reveal much to those he interacts with, but the reader gets a good look inside his brain. I can't wait for the next installment. It was also great to see Berkeley again. It's been way too long since Susan Dunlap's Jill Smith worked those unique streets.