The Foreign Service Journal, November 2016

38 NOVEMBER 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL written the book’s foreword, describes them—“an invitation to wonder … to lean forward in speculation, stand back in awe.” Fabrycky’s Advent and Christmas poems recall the story surrounding the birth of Jesus and the holy family’s travails, a recounting so often obscured by the commercialization of the season. A couple of these musings were no doubt inspired by life in Amman, where Fabrycky, her children and her FSO husband, David, were posted. Other poems in the collection include observations about the early years of the Arab Spring in 2010 and 2011, and writings from when she resided in the Washington metropolitan area or her time as a student at Vir- ginia Theological Seminary. Laura Merzig Fabrycky is a freelance writer, editor, poet and essayist. Her work has appeared in Books & Culture , The Review of Faith & International Affairs and Christianity Today , among other publications. She is an occasional contributor to The Foreign Service Journal (see her “Reflections: Road Trip to Syria, 2011” in September and “Rethinking the Role of ‘Madam ’: Kafala and the U.S. Foreign Service” in December 2013). She and her family currently live in Berlin. Two Pumps for the Body Man: A Diplomatic Noir Ben A. East, New Pulp Press, 2016, $14.95/paperback, 275 pages. Part soft-boiled noir, part literary satire, this novel follows the exciting, dangerous career of Jeffrey Mutton, a Diplomatic Security Agent assigned to protect State Department officials in a Middle Eastern country. “A wonderfully wacky consular bash in a nightmarish place straight out of Catch-22…haywire bureaucracy at its finest,” is the way Robert Bruce Cormack, author of You Can Lead a Horse to Water (But You Can’t Make It Scuba Dive) , describes the book. Mutton has survived an array of near-death experiences, including car bombs, hijackings and enemy threats. Now, however, he must face up to the ultimate danger—his obses- sion with feet. He can’t stop thinking about toes and ankles, strappy sandals or heels, closed-toe or open-toe. But he has to deal with terrorists who want him dead, a consul general who wants big parties and a secretive new branch of government demanding “intel” to support the war on terror. The enemy is everywhere. Can he handle it? Ben East is a former Foreign Service public diplomacy offi- cer, whose assignments ranged from Saudi Arabia, Nicaragua, Ghana and Mexico to Washington, D.C. Prior to his diplomatic career, he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching English in Malawi and taught at the Brooklyn College Academy in New York City and at the American School of Asuncion in Paraguay. Two Pumps for the Body Man is his debut novel. Tower of Fools: A Mystery in Vienna Shawn A. Kobb, CreateSpace, 2016, $10.99/paperback, 222 pages. A serial killer is preying upon students at the University of Vienna. One of the victims is a friend of American exchange student Jake Meyers, who up until the murder was more concerned about pull- ing himself together than following the unnerving reports of a killer on the loose. When Jake’s study group decides to turn their class project into creating a profile of the murderer, they find themselves on the killer’s hit list. Those closest to Jake become pawns in a murderer’s game, the rules of which are unknown. With assistance from an American consular officer and an Austrian detective, Jake Meyers must solve the mystery before he becomes the next victim. Anyone who likes “The Third Man,” the 1949 film noir classic that takes place in post-World War II Vienna, and the “Scream” franchise will enjoy this thriller. FSO Shawn Kobb is presently posted in Vienna, Austria, with his wife, Jennifer. He has served in Ukraine, the Bahamas, Afghanistan and Washington, D.C. Before joining the Foreign Service in 2006, he worked as a 911 dispatcher in Portland, Oregon, where—as he puts it—he had ample opportunity to develop plot ideas while speaking on the phone with crime vic- tims, murderers, naughty children and schizophrenics. Black Widow Down Walter Reid, CreateSpace, 2016, $9.95/ paperback, $4.99/Kindle, 212 pages. The ambitious son of an American icon, Elliott Roosevelt has always felt like the “black sheep” of his family. But by put- ting together an elite aviation squadron during World II, he believes he will make a real difference to the war effort—and finally make a name for himself in the process. A key member of Elliott’s team is his friend Russell King, who flies experimental reconnaissance flights before the Battle of the Bulge. But when intelligence reveals a deadly situation he has unwittingly sent his pal into, Elliott must face unforeseen dan-