He sees the absurdity around us and describes it within the framework of the totally unrealistic environment that too many people actually believe exists. Making Money is one of the best introductions to fiat currency that I have ever seen, as well as a rather pointed description of the financial sector.

There are two sisters, Ailina and Bella, living in New Jersey who really don’t want to get involved. ‘Mommy Dearest’ is facing arrest on a felony larceny warrant if she returns to the US. The extended family is very large in Russia, which enables the father to apparently own buildings. They need to add a genealogist to the investigation to figure out who the major players are. Islam is not nearly as important as the culture of the Caucasus and the role of family.

If you add the totally lousy economy to the mix of problems, both real and imagined, that Tamerlan was dealing with, blowing something up is a Chechen solution.

Pratchett covers that kind of thing, but he throws in a lot of satire to ‘make the pill easier to swallow.’ If you want to know about the absurdity of war, read Jingo. An exploration of sexism, read Monstrous Regiment. The financial sector, Making Money.

You can read the books without a college education, but they are much funnier if you can catch all of the puns that allude to Shakespeare, popular music, the movies, politics. You know you are dealing with a master when you read a pun that refers to jazz composer and pianistThelonious Monk. Don’t skip over the footnotes, they are gems in their own right.

Jams O’Donnell, Steve Bates, Kryten, and I are all fans.

Also, the miasmic gases being vented by politicians are beginning to fog up the investigation, so I appreciate your clarity about the Tsarnaev family.