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Check out the July Challenge!
Do you have a book you read in school that you swore was the worst book ever? Have you ever thought that maybe your teachers weren't out to torture you, and there may have been a method to their madness after all? Then the July Challenge is for you!
Details on the challenge can be found here...check it out, and join us!
Details on the challenge can be found here...check it out, and join us!
Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs (Crime, Thriller, Mystery)
From the back of the book:
A nine-year-old girl dies on her way to ballet class, caught in outlaw biker cross-fire. Violence is spilling on to the streets of Montreal and Dr Temperance Brennan, forensic anthropologist for the state, has to pick up the pieces.
She knows she shouldn't let emotion get in the way of her role as scientist, but when nine-year-old Emily's body is wheeled into the morgue she cannot help but react. Tempe's nephew, Kit, is mesmerized by motorcycles. Does he understand the dangers posed by the outlaw gangs?
An exhumation uncovers the bones of another innocent, hidden in a clandestine grave close to a biker headquarters. With her boss in the hospital and her sparing partner, Andrew Ryan, disturbingly unavailable, Tempe begins a perilous investigation into a lawless underworld of organized crime.
My thoughts:
Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs is an undeniable page turner, but it is ultimately dissatisfying and unbelievable. There are far too many groups of people doing far too much for this reader to be able to keep track of who's who and who's doing what, where and with whom: rival biker gangs across the world, Dr Brennen, her relatives scattered across North America, and her colleagues at the FBI, the lab and the police. It's enough to make this reader's head spin and makes for a lot of shallow, stereotypical characters.
As well as an over-abundance of characters, there are two other key problems with this book: Infohiding and Infodumping. Reichs has an irritating habit of not revealing things that the main POV character (Dr Brennan) knows or has just found out. This is a cheap way to heighten the suspense and necessitates the infodumping in penultimate chapter of the book, where Brennan and her colleague, Claudel, explain to each other who's who and who did what to whom, where and why. The plot is also littered with red-herrings, another cheap way of building tension, as are the cliff-hanger endings to each chapter.
At the end of the book, this reader was left wondering at the sanity of Dr Brennan. She is supposedly a well-educated woman, a professional, but she makes some stupid, stupid decisions and acts on impulse, putting herself and others at risk. She doesn't listen to advice from her more experienced colleagues, and yet she makes it through the story alive. This is the third book in the series and the third book in which Brennan and/or her relatives end up in life-threatening situations. Dr Brennan is a dangerous woman to be related to. Unbelievable. And how could she not figure out what was going on with Ryan? This reader did.
On the upside, Reichs excels at description. The settings are vividly rendered, and the details of the scientific techniques she employs are clear if not always necessary to further the plot. There are some touching moments, including one that moved this reader to tears - in a good way!
Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
From the back of the book:
Business has been slow lately for Harry Dresden. Okay, business has been dead. Not undead - just dead. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry hasn't been able to dredge up any kind of work - magical or mundane.
Just when it looks like he can't afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise. A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange looking paw prints. A full moon.
Take three guesses. And the first two don't count...
My thoughts:
Ok, so I'm hooked. This is hokum, but it's good hokum. Butcher's writing is still a bit dodgy in places, and Harry Dreseden is still a chauvinist (although he does get called on it by the female characters), but even though I knew who the real bad guys were (I've just watched the TV series) the story still kept me reading to the very end. I'm not sure why I liked this book as much as I did. The romance/sex was rather contrived and emotionless, there was a little too much exposition in places, and the female lead was a little shallow, but the action scenes were great: fast and furious. I guess it is just pure escapism and good fun.
Fiction List (8/50)
From the back of the book:
Business has been slow lately for Harry Dresden. Okay, business has been dead. Not undead - just dead. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry hasn't been able to dredge up any kind of work - magical or mundane.
Just when it looks like he can't afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise. A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange looking paw prints. A full moon.
Take three guesses. And the first two don't count...
My thoughts:
Ok, so I'm hooked. This is hokum, but it's good hokum. Butcher's writing is still a bit dodgy in places, and Harry Dreseden is still a chauvinist (although he does get called on it by the female characters), but even though I knew who the real bad guys were (I've just watched the TV series) the story still kept me reading to the very end. I'm not sure why I liked this book as much as I did. The romance/sex was rather contrived and emotionless, there was a little too much exposition in places, and the female lead was a little shallow, but the action scenes were great: fast and furious. I guess it is just pure escapism and good fun.
Fiction List (8/50)
42. Careless in Red, by Elizabeth George. 623 pages. (2008)
Grade: B
The latest volume in the series, this one follows Lyndley on a walking trip through Cornwall, where he discovers a corpse. He is then "brought in" to help solve the case by the local Detective Inspector, who is shorthanded. At about page 300 Lyndley's long-time Detective Sergeant Havers shows up to help as well.
The focus on the surfing scene in Cornwall was interesting, but there just wasn't enough Havers for my taste. I find Barbara Havers fascinating. The end of it was just sort of hanging there, as well.
Not the best in the series by any means, but still a good read, as evidenced by the fact that I stayed up to 2:30 at night to finish it!
Grade: B
The latest volume in the series, this one follows Lyndley on a walking trip through Cornwall, where he discovers a corpse. He is then "brought in" to help solve the case by the local Detective Inspector, who is shorthanded. At about page 300 Lyndley's long-time Detective Sergeant Havers shows up to help as well.
The focus on the surfing scene in Cornwall was interesting, but there just wasn't enough Havers for my taste. I find Barbara Havers fascinating. The end of it was just sort of hanging there, as well.
Not the best in the series by any means, but still a good read, as evidenced by the fact that I stayed up to 2:30 at night to finish it!
- Mood:
hot - Music:Cash in the Attic
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Author: Fred Vargas, 2001. Translated from the French by David Bellos. 2003.
Genre: Crime. Police thriller.
Other Details: 321 pages.
I decided to investigate Fred Vargas' writings after learning she was an archaeologist and historian as well as a writer of acclaimed police thrillers in France. As with the Henning Mankell books these have quite a different pace than the American crime thrillers I tend to devour. There was quite a long build-up before the first murder and again, like the Mankell books, a more realistic feel to the police procedures recounted.
The story opens with a former sailor, Joss Le Guern, reviving a family tradition by establishing himself as a town crier in a Paris district. However, he finds that among the innocuous messages and advertisements placed anonymously in his box are a series of cryptic and ominous notes. His landlord thinks he recognises them as quotes from medieval texts and begins to investigate. At the same time Chief Inspector Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg is approached by a distressed woman who tells him that all the doors in her apartment building, except one, have been marked with a large inverted “4” in black ink with the inscription “CLT.” Adamsberg discovers that other buildings in the city have also been marked with this distinctive sign. Both the messages and the signs are discovered to link to the Black Death. Is it a bio-terrorist threat? Then when a body is found with rat flea bites and blackened flesh panic soon breaks out across the city.
This had quite a Gothic feel and Vargas' background as a medievalist working with records of the Plague brought an authenticity to the storyline. There was quite a bit of interesting information about breakouts of the Plague in history and about the disease as it still exists today. While the slow pace of the opening threw me a little, I soon appreciated the time Vargas had taken in establishing her characters and setting before the action started. Shall I be reading more of Vargas? Well I checked the next in her Adamsberg series out of the library as soon as I returned this one.
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Author: Kathy Reichs, 2007.
Genre: Forensic Crime Thriller.
Pages: 451 pages.
This is the 10th and final book to date in the Temperance Brennan series of forensic thrillers. I should have savoured the experience but once I started reading it I was hooked completely and could hardly put it down.
The story opens with Tempe recalling parts of her childhood and a friendship she had with an Arcadian girl, who summered annually in North Carolina. One day her friend mysteriously disappeared and the aunt and uncle with whom she stayed refused to give any details of why Evangeline and her younger sister had left. Tempe and her own sister, Harry, tried for some time to track down their friends but eventually gave up. In the present day Tempe is asked by a colleague to look at the skeleton of a teenage girl from the same area of New Brunswick where Evangeline lived. As she does so Tempe finds herself haunted by memories and begins to wonder if these could be the bones of her friend. At the same time she is asked by her on-again, off-again lover Detective Andrew Ryan, to help out on a series of cold cases involving the disappearances and possible murders of teenage girls. As usual in these books, there are interested parties who do not want these cases investigated.
There is some quite dark and disturbing material in this novel and Reichs doesn't spare the details. I found it compulsive reading and felt it was one of her best. I especially enjoyed the touches of humour that Reichs brought such as Tempe's thoughts drifting during a briefing as to what the flavour of the last doughnut in a bag might be and whether she could help herself to it and her interaction with her cat, Birdie. Small details among the dark drama of the book but I find them pleasing as I did the struggles Adamsberg had in the Vargas' book with recalling all the names of the detectives working under him in his newish assignment. It makes the characters more accessible to have these little quirks.
Cop Hater and The Mugger by Ed McBain (1956)
When I come to think of it, I don't read a lot of police procedurals, but I've heard great things about Ed McBain's '87th Precinct' novels; so, when I saw this omnibus of the first two in a discount bookshop, I thought I'd give it a go. And... well, I'm not sure. McBain's prose (especially his descriptive passages) can be excellent; it's the mysteries themselves that I'm undecided about.
The titles of the two novels sum up their plots: in the first, someone is shooting officers of the 87th Precinct dead; in the second, a purse-snatcher is at large -- one who goes too far, leaving a woman dead. The solutions to these mysteries are fine; it's just that they seemed to me to be solved almost entirely in the last few pages... Reading that back, it sounds a really naive complaint (because aren't most mysteries like that?); but that was my reaction when I'd finished -- that one minute we were nowhere near cracking the case, and the next minute it was all solved, without enough sense of build-up. Perhaps I'm not appreciating how the police procedural genre works; perhaps the later 87th Precinct novels (of which there are over fifty) are different -- I don't know.
One thing that did strike me about these novels was how contemporary they seemed. I've read two other books this year that date from the 1950s (I am Legend and The Broken Sword); and I didn't have to keep reminding myself that they were fifty years old, as I did with these books of McBain's. Not that I could mistake them for contemporary works -- things like the street slang used made sure of that -- but there was often just a little jarring moment of realisation all the same. Since McBain continued to write 87th Precinct novels into the present decade, I'm curious to know whether the setting remained in the 1950s, or whether it mirrored the passing of time.
When I come to think of it, I don't read a lot of police procedurals, but I've heard great things about Ed McBain's '87th Precinct' novels; so, when I saw this omnibus of the first two in a discount bookshop, I thought I'd give it a go. And... well, I'm not sure. McBain's prose (especially his descriptive passages) can be excellent; it's the mysteries themselves that I'm undecided about.
The titles of the two novels sum up their plots: in the first, someone is shooting officers of the 87th Precinct dead; in the second, a purse-snatcher is at large -- one who goes too far, leaving a woman dead. The solutions to these mysteries are fine; it's just that they seemed to me to be solved almost entirely in the last few pages... Reading that back, it sounds a really naive complaint (because aren't most mysteries like that?); but that was my reaction when I'd finished -- that one minute we were nowhere near cracking the case, and the next minute it was all solved, without enough sense of build-up. Perhaps I'm not appreciating how the police procedural genre works; perhaps the later 87th Precinct novels (of which there are over fifty) are different -- I don't know.
One thing that did strike me about these novels was how contemporary they seemed. I've read two other books this year that date from the 1950s (I am Legend and The Broken Sword); and I didn't have to keep reminding myself that they were fifty years old, as I did with these books of McBain's. Not that I could mistake them for contemporary works -- things like the street slang used made sure of that -- but there was often just a little jarring moment of realisation all the same. Since McBain continued to write 87th Precinct novels into the present decade, I'm curious to know whether the setting remained in the 1950s, or whether it mirrored the passing of time.
Another batch of crime fiction. All of these are part of on-going series that I've been reading. All were very good.
Book 73: Broken Angels (USA title: Merciless).
Author: Richard Montanari, 2007.
Genre: Crime Fiction. Serial Killer.
Other Details: 528 pages.
This is the third book in the Detectives Jessica Balzano and Kevin Byrne series and they just keep getting better. In Broken Angels the body of a young woman is found by the riverside. She has been strangled, mutilated and posed dressed in an old fashioned gown. As the Philadelphia homicide department investigate this murder, another dead woman is found and then another. All are found wearing old fashioned dresses and holding some kind of prop. Aside from this main story, Montanari weaves another series of murders and a cold case bringing the strands together in a very satisfying way.
I felt this was the best in a brilliant series and again I was kept guessing throughout the novel as to whodunit. I loved the way in which the darker aspects of classic fairy tales was woven into the story. Quite gruesome fare but compelling reading. Now I have a wait until the next book in the series appears.
Book 74: Break No Bones.
Author: Kathy Reichs, 2006.
Genre: Crime Fiction. Forensic.
Other Details: 468 pages.
This is the ninth Temperance Brennan novel and opens with Tempe leading an archaeological dig for a group of students on a small island near Charleston, South Carolina. The site contains prehistoric graves. However, when a decomposing corpse is discovered in a shallow grave the situation changes. Tempe works with the local coroner and police department to investigate the case. She notes unusual markings on some of the bones. Then another body is found with similar markings. Meanwhile, Pete, her estranged husband arrives in Charleston as part of an investigation into a missing woman. Is there a link between his case and the bodies Tempe has found? The arrival of her lover, Mark Ryan, complicates the personal aspects of the story as the two men in her life meet for the first time. The testosterone flows!
Although I felt the 8th book in the series Cross Bones was weak, seeking to enter into Dan Brown territory, here Reichs is back on form. In the author's note she discusses the real life inspirations for this and other novels as well as discussing the rise in TV forensic shows including her own Bones. This was another exciting read that was hard to put down.
Book 75: The Man Who Smiled.
Author: Henning Mankell, 1994. Translated from Swedish by Laurie Thompson, 2005.
Genre: Crime Procedural Fiction.
Other Details: 438 pages.
The fourth Kurt Wallander novel was again published in English out of order of the original Swedish publication. It makes me wonder if publishers don't understand the concept of a series and how characters develop let alone events link one to another. This story opens with the murder of an elderly lawyer on a lonely fog-covered road. The incident is made to look like an accident but the lawyer's son is unconvinced. He is a friend of Wallander's and seeks him out at a lonely beach where Wallander has retreated to consider his future. Wallander declines to investigate the case, citing his decision to leave police work. Then a few days later the son is shot dead in his office. Hearing this news Wallander changes his mind about early retirement and comes back to work determined to find the truth.
My admiration for Mankell increases with every book. I felt this was his best to date combining solid police procedural work with a nail-biting, fast-paced conclusion. Interestingly there was a plot link between this and Kathy Reich's Break No Bones. Wonderful stuff.
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Author: Richard Montanari, 2007.
Genre: Crime Fiction. Serial Killer.
Other Details: 528 pages.
This is the third book in the Detectives Jessica Balzano and Kevin Byrne series and they just keep getting better. In Broken Angels the body of a young woman is found by the riverside. She has been strangled, mutilated and posed dressed in an old fashioned gown. As the Philadelphia homicide department investigate this murder, another dead woman is found and then another. All are found wearing old fashioned dresses and holding some kind of prop. Aside from this main story, Montanari weaves another series of murders and a cold case bringing the strands together in a very satisfying way.
I felt this was the best in a brilliant series and again I was kept guessing throughout the novel as to whodunit. I loved the way in which the darker aspects of classic fairy tales was woven into the story. Quite gruesome fare but compelling reading. Now I have a wait until the next book in the series appears.
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Author: Kathy Reichs, 2006.
Genre: Crime Fiction. Forensic.
Other Details: 468 pages.
This is the ninth Temperance Brennan novel and opens with Tempe leading an archaeological dig for a group of students on a small island near Charleston, South Carolina. The site contains prehistoric graves. However, when a decomposing corpse is discovered in a shallow grave the situation changes. Tempe works with the local coroner and police department to investigate the case. She notes unusual markings on some of the bones. Then another body is found with similar markings. Meanwhile, Pete, her estranged husband arrives in Charleston as part of an investigation into a missing woman. Is there a link between his case and the bodies Tempe has found? The arrival of her lover, Mark Ryan, complicates the personal aspects of the story as the two men in her life meet for the first time. The testosterone flows!
Although I felt the 8th book in the series Cross Bones was weak, seeking to enter into Dan Brown territory, here Reichs is back on form. In the author's note she discusses the real life inspirations for this and other novels as well as discussing the rise in TV forensic shows including her own Bones. This was another exciting read that was hard to put down.
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Author: Henning Mankell, 1994. Translated from Swedish by Laurie Thompson, 2005.
Genre: Crime Procedural Fiction.
Other Details: 438 pages.
The fourth Kurt Wallander novel was again published in English out of order of the original Swedish publication. It makes me wonder if publishers don't understand the concept of a series and how characters develop let alone events link one to another. This story opens with the murder of an elderly lawyer on a lonely fog-covered road. The incident is made to look like an accident but the lawyer's son is unconvinced. He is a friend of Wallander's and seeks him out at a lonely beach where Wallander has retreated to consider his future. Wallander declines to investigate the case, citing his decision to leave police work. Then a few days later the son is shot dead in his office. Hearing this news Wallander changes his mind about early retirement and comes back to work determined to find the truth.
My admiration for Mankell increases with every book. I felt this was his best to date combining solid police procedural work with a nail-biting, fast-paced conclusion. Interestingly there was a plot link between this and Kathy Reich's Break No Bones. Wonderful stuff.
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Author: Richard Montanari, 2006.
Genre: Crime Fiction.
Other details: 538 pages.
This is the second novel featuring Philadelphia homicide detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano. The Skin Gods has them and their fellow police officers tracking a serial killer who is recreating famous murder scenes from movies and splicing them into VHS rental tapes over the original scenes. Their investigations bring them into contact with an A-list director and his production team filming in Philadelphia as well as with the darker side of the movie industry making S&M porn.
I found again that Montanari kept me guessing as to the identity of the murderer right to the end of the book and also showed great skill in bringing together various sub-plots. It made for a complex story but not one so complex that I ever felt lost. It was a real page-turner and I enjoyed this even more than I did The Rosary Girls. Byrne and Balzano make good partners and unlike some detective teams their personal issues tend to be subtext rather than dominating the plot.
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Author: Henning Mankell, 1993. Translated from Swedish by Laurie Thompson, 1998.
Genre: Crime Procedural Fiction/Political Thriller.
Other Details: 565 pages.
The Kurt Wallander novels were published out of order in English though Mankell's official site does give an order of reading. This doesn't matter so much for the story but does for the development of certain characters and relationships. The White Lioness opens in April 1992 with the disappearance of Louise Akerblom, an estate agent who is a devoted wife and mother. Her disappearance seems inexplicable though as readers we know from the first chapter a few details of what has happened to her. However, the police investigating her disappearance are completely in the dark and have to build their case from the very few clues available.
As Kurt Wallander investigates the case he stumbles across a conspiracy fronted in Sweden by a ruthless ex-KGB officer. This conspiracy has its roots in South Africa and seeks to turn the tide of history and bring about a civil war in that country. The reader's viewpoint doesn't just stay with Wallander or in Sweden but widens to include events in South Africa as the conspiracy unfolds as well as the work of the South African intelligence forces to uncover it. This aspect of the novel gives it the air of a political thriller and allows Mankell to explore issues relating to Apartheid and the emerging political situation in South Africa. At the time The White Lioness was written the process of dismantling Apartheid was still ongoing and the 1994 elections which elected Nelson Mandela to the Presidency still to come.
Even though a work of fiction, there are some historical characters such as Mandela and President de Klerk who are important to the story. I felt that Mankell presented a very realistic portrayal of police procedural work and delivered a strong and compelling story that also served to convey aspects of history within a taunt thriller. I find I am enjoying his novels more with each subsequent one.
Book 42: Burial
Author: Graham Masterton, 1992.
Genre: Horror with Native American theme.
Other details: 508 pages.
I wasn't aware until recently that Masterton had written any further novels in his Manitou sequence. I had read The Manitou, 1975 and The Revenge of the Manitou, 1979 years ago along with other of his horror titles. At some point he fell off my radar but he seems to have continued to publish horror and thriller titles year in, year out. Masterton writes very visceral horror creating images in the mind that really deserve the description of horrific. Despite this he also manages to put some comic touches into his stories and also often pays homage to the Lovecraftian mythos; both bonus points for me.
Burial is set 20 years after the events of The Manitou and reunites the rouge psychic Harry Erskine with a number of characters from the other books. This includes Misquamacus, the disincarnate Native American medicine man so full of rage towards the white man that he wishes to utilise the power of one of the Great Old Ones to remove them from the land restoring it to its pre-Columbian state; basically fulfilling the more militant Ghost Dance prophesies of the 19th century.
While Erskine opposes Misquamacus, he feels empathy for the native peoples and what they suffered. Working with him are a number of Native Americans, who also recognise that turning the clock back isn't the solution to what happened in the past. Added to the enormity of the task ahead of them, Erskine and his allies are somewhat weary having felt they had already fought Misquamacus twice before and now have grown older and more settled. Yet as the catastrophic events continue to escalate they realise that they must find a way to defeat him.
Burial may be over 15 years old but it still manges to pack a punch in terms of the creep-out level and pure gore. Even though his villain, Misquamacus, is Native American Masterton is not demonising these traditions and throughout the novel are many quite harrowing facts about how these native peoples were mistreated along with material on the Ghost Dance and events at Wounded Knee. This aspect was another reason Burial is not just your average horror for the sake of horror novel. Still Misquamacus' responses and solutions are extreme as always. Another facet of the novel was a blending in of New Orleans/Haitian voodoo on both sides of the battle. I did feel the end came a little too quickly given the build up though this was a slight let down alongside all the bone chilling horror.
Book 43: The Rosary Girls.
Author: Richard Montanari, 2005.
Genre: Crime Fiction.
Other details: 544 pages.
I had heard good things about this crime series and so decided to begin at the start. On Jessica Balzano's first day in Homicide she is partnered with veteran detective Kevin Byrne. They are soon called to a crime scene where a Catholic schoolgirl has been found strangled and placed in a ritualistic position clutching a rosary. There is no forensic evidence to be found and soon other girls are found murdered in a similar fashion. A sleazy tabloid reporter is also pursuing the case though as sleazy tabloid journalists tend to do in these kind of novels his motives to get a sensational story threaten the investigation. I was reminded a little of Freddy Lounds in Thomas Harris' Red Dragon.
I enjoyed the interplay between Jessica and Kevin and while perhaps not the most original of premises found this a gripping serial killer story that kept me guessing until the final pages.
Author: Graham Masterton, 1992.
Genre: Horror with Native American theme.
Other details: 508 pages.
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Burial is set 20 years after the events of The Manitou and reunites the rouge psychic Harry Erskine with a number of characters from the other books. This includes Misquamacus, the disincarnate Native American medicine man so full of rage towards the white man that he wishes to utilise the power of one of the Great Old Ones to remove them from the land restoring it to its pre-Columbian state; basically fulfilling the more militant Ghost Dance prophesies of the 19th century.
While Erskine opposes Misquamacus, he feels empathy for the native peoples and what they suffered. Working with him are a number of Native Americans, who also recognise that turning the clock back isn't the solution to what happened in the past. Added to the enormity of the task ahead of them, Erskine and his allies are somewhat weary having felt they had already fought Misquamacus twice before and now have grown older and more settled. Yet as the catastrophic events continue to escalate they realise that they must find a way to defeat him.
Burial may be over 15 years old but it still manges to pack a punch in terms of the creep-out level and pure gore. Even though his villain, Misquamacus, is Native American Masterton is not demonising these traditions and throughout the novel are many quite harrowing facts about how these native peoples were mistreated along with material on the Ghost Dance and events at Wounded Knee. This aspect was another reason Burial is not just your average horror for the sake of horror novel. Still Misquamacus' responses and solutions are extreme as always. Another facet of the novel was a blending in of New Orleans/Haitian voodoo on both sides of the battle. I did feel the end came a little too quickly given the build up though this was a slight let down alongside all the bone chilling horror.
Book 43: The Rosary Girls.
Author: Richard Montanari, 2005.
Genre: Crime Fiction.
Other details: 544 pages.
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I enjoyed the interplay between Jessica and Kevin and while perhaps not the most original of premises found this a gripping serial killer story that kept me guessing until the final pages.
Book 27: A Faint Cold Fear.
Author: Karin Slaughter, 2003.
Genre: Crime Fiction.
Other Details: 420 pages.
This third in Slaughter's Grant County series opens with Sara Linton, town paediatrician and part-time medical examiner, being called to the scene of a suicide at the local college campus. A shocking incident calls this preliminary cause of death into question and another suicide on the campus raises further suspicions. Again Sara' is working with her ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver in solving the case.
This was again a satisfying and exciting read with less disturbing elements than her previous two books. The ending gave me a genuine 'WTF!' moment and caused me to double back to make sure I wasn't imagining things. Lena Adams continues to be exasperating.
Book 28: Indelible.
Author: Karin Slaughter, 2004.
Genre: Crime Fiction.
Other Details: 360 pages.
In this fourth of the Grant County crime thriller Slaughter proves she is the mistress of the shock opening chapter.
The novel is set in the present day and twelve years in the past chronicling a crucial point in Sara Linton and Jeffrey Tolliver's relationship. On their way to Florida for a holiday, Jeffrey suggests a detour to his home town. When his childhood friend is involved in a fatal shooting Jeffrey and Sara are first on the scene. However, there appears to be something suspicious about the incident. In seeking the truth their fledgling relationship is tested to the limit as skeletons in Jeffrey's closet pop up. Not all are metaphorical either.
I read the book in record time because I really wanted to find out how things turned out. I enjoyed both elements of this thriller; as well as an intriguing mystery the past storyline gave insights into the early dynamics between Jeffrey and Sara while the present storyline was a real nail-biter.
Book 29: The Dogs of Riga.
Author: Henning Mankell, 1992. Translated from Swedish by Laurie Thompson, 2001.
Genre: Crime Procedural Fiction with Political aspects.
Other Details: 352 pages.
A raft with the bodies of two men dressed in suits drifts ashore on Kurt Wallander's patch. It is the winter following the events of Faceless Killers and Wallander is mourning the death of a close colleague as well as wrestling with a decision to leave the police force. He feels that the world is changing too much for him to continue in public service. In the course of the investigation into the murders, he is asked to travel to Riga, Latvia to assist their police in a related investigation. In Latvia he finds that his every move is monitored by those he is working with citing his 'protection' as the reason for the surveillance. This is a huge culture shock for him after the liberal culture of Sweden.
Wallander's personal life is less of a mess in this second novel. He is getting used to being divorced and taking better care of himself. Just as the first novel was informed by the political issue of foreign asylum seekers and illegal immigrants in Sweden; here the situation in Latvia and the Baltic States post the collapse of the Soviet Union is highlighted as well as the contrast between Sweden and the upheavals taking place in Latvia as it moves towards independence.
I am enjoying these windows into Swedish culture and its past political history (early 1990s). It adds an extra dimension to a solid crime procedural novel. Wallander is also growing on me as a character. He's not glamorous but gets the job done. I also felt this was a better translation than the previous novel in the series, the language remained quite economical but just seemed to flow better.
Author: Karin Slaughter, 2003.
Genre: Crime Fiction.
Other Details: 420 pages.
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This was again a satisfying and exciting read with less disturbing elements than her previous two books. The ending gave me a genuine 'WTF!' moment and caused me to double back to make sure I wasn't imagining things. Lena Adams continues to be exasperating.
Book 28: Indelible.
Author: Karin Slaughter, 2004.
Genre: Crime Fiction.
Other Details: 360 pages.
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The novel is set in the present day and twelve years in the past chronicling a crucial point in Sara Linton and Jeffrey Tolliver's relationship. On their way to Florida for a holiday, Jeffrey suggests a detour to his home town. When his childhood friend is involved in a fatal shooting Jeffrey and Sara are first on the scene. However, there appears to be something suspicious about the incident. In seeking the truth their fledgling relationship is tested to the limit as skeletons in Jeffrey's closet pop up. Not all are metaphorical either.
I read the book in record time because I really wanted to find out how things turned out. I enjoyed both elements of this thriller; as well as an intriguing mystery the past storyline gave insights into the early dynamics between Jeffrey and Sara while the present storyline was a real nail-biter.
Book 29: The Dogs of Riga.
Author: Henning Mankell, 1992. Translated from Swedish by Laurie Thompson, 2001.
Genre: Crime Procedural Fiction with Political aspects.
Other Details: 352 pages.
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Wallander's personal life is less of a mess in this second novel. He is getting used to being divorced and taking better care of himself. Just as the first novel was informed by the political issue of foreign asylum seekers and illegal immigrants in Sweden; here the situation in Latvia and the Baltic States post the collapse of the Soviet Union is highlighted as well as the contrast between Sweden and the upheavals taking place in Latvia as it moves towards independence.
I am enjoying these windows into Swedish culture and its past political history (early 1990s). It adds an extra dimension to a solid crime procedural novel. Wallander is also growing on me as a character. He's not glamorous but gets the job done. I also felt this was a better translation than the previous novel in the series, the language remained quite economical but just seemed to flow better.
6.
Title: The Perfect Husband
Author: Lisa Gardner
Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Romance
Rating: 4/5
I've read other books by Gardner and have liked them all. In this one, Tess discovers that her police officer husband is a killer. He has abused her since they got married. In a showdown, Tess shoots him and gives the Police enough evidence to put him in prison. Then he escapes and Tess needs to find a way to keep her and her daughter safe.
7.
Title: Crisis Four
Author: Andy McNab
Genre: Spy Thriller
Rating: 3.5/5
This book was ok. There were many times where I had to re-read things b/c they didn't make sense to me - it was too technical...lol..sounds stupid...and I know that it was probably just me. But, it I did want to read right until the end. So that was good.
Title: The Perfect Husband
Author: Lisa Gardner
Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Romance
Rating: 4/5
I've read other books by Gardner and have liked them all. In this one, Tess discovers that her police officer husband is a killer. He has abused her since they got married. In a showdown, Tess shoots him and gives the Police enough evidence to put him in prison. Then he escapes and Tess needs to find a way to keep her and her daughter safe.
7.
Title: Crisis Four
Author: Andy McNab
Genre: Spy Thriller
Rating: 3.5/5
This book was ok. There were many times where I had to re-read things b/c they didn't make sense to me - it was too technical...lol..sounds stupid...and I know that it was probably just me. But, it I did want to read right until the end. So that was good.
1. Person of Interest by Theresa Schwegel - Schwegel knows her setting (Chicago and the near 'burbs) well enough that that alone made this a good read. Then, she populated her story with flawed humans, my very favorite kind to read about! At the center of the story is a married couple who hit the wall in their marriage at the same time. This comes at a bad time, as the husband is an cop on a case that is far closer to his home than he can imagine, and the wife is looking to greener pastures just when her daughter's accommodating boyfriend wanders through. The police investigation is the central plot, but because of the perfectly believable way Schwegel brings all the members of the family into that plot, it's not your average police thriller story. The ending was a little too neat and nice for my tastes, but aside from that, I really liked this book.
2. Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin, Audiobook read by the Author - This was good - so very good! I'd strongly recommend the audiobook over the book because Martin does small bits of his original routines, and hearing them is so much better than reading them. The audiobook also has Martin playing banjo for the chapter breaks. If you're a fan of Martin's, interested in the history of stand up comedy, nostalgic for the 1970's, curious about just how serious comedy can be, or want to study a genius's creative process, listen to or at least read this book. Covering Martin's childhood to his last days in stand-up (and explains in good part why they were his last days of stand-up), the biography ends in the late 70s. Just as I wish Stephen Fry would get busy on his second volume of memoir's, I hope Martin is planning on writing about the second third of his career.
3.Memoirs of Hadrian and Reflections on the composition of memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar - A fictional memoir of Roman emperor Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus, told in the form of a very long letter to his appointed successor, Marcus Aurelius. Yourcenar has Hadrian covers his life pretty much in chronological order, occasionally jumping forward or backward to explain how he came to feel the way he did about a few of the vast number of topics he covers. As historical fiction of the Roman period, it's a so-so read, with more focus on character than place or time. As a character driven story it's true a page turner. Hadrian's rule bridged the time when the Roman gods began to be replaced by Christianity and other cults, and he made an attempt to understand (if not agree with) the Jews of the time period. He's probably better known for his great love for Antinous, and Yourcenar does a beautiful job of establishing that relationship without sensationalizing it, especially dealing with Hadrian's deification of the young man who captured his heart.
2. Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin, Audiobook read by the Author - This was good - so very good! I'd strongly recommend the audiobook over the book because Martin does small bits of his original routines, and hearing them is so much better than reading them. The audiobook also has Martin playing banjo for the chapter breaks. If you're a fan of Martin's, interested in the history of stand up comedy, nostalgic for the 1970's, curious about just how serious comedy can be, or want to study a genius's creative process, listen to or at least read this book. Covering Martin's childhood to his last days in stand-up (and explains in good part why they were his last days of stand-up), the biography ends in the late 70s. Just as I wish Stephen Fry would get busy on his second volume of memoir's, I hope Martin is planning on writing about the second third of his career.
3.Memoirs of Hadrian and Reflections on the composition of memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar - A fictional memoir of Roman emperor Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus, told in the form of a very long letter to his appointed successor, Marcus Aurelius. Yourcenar has Hadrian covers his life pretty much in chronological order, occasionally jumping forward or backward to explain how he came to feel the way he did about a few of the vast number of topics he covers. As historical fiction of the Roman period, it's a so-so read, with more focus on character than place or time. As a character driven story it's true a page turner. Hadrian's rule bridged the time when the Roman gods began to be replaced by Christianity and other cults, and he made an attempt to understand (if not agree with) the Jews of the time period. He's probably better known for his great love for Antinous, and Yourcenar does a beautiful job of establishing that relationship without sensationalizing it, especially dealing with Hadrian's deification of the young man who captured his heart.
Book 16
Title: More Twisted
Author: Jeffery Deaver
Thoughts: This is a short-stories collection from Deaver. I primarily read it because of the one Lincoln Rhyme story in there, but I also read the others and enjoyed them. Some were better than others, but most of them surprised me by the end and a few were down right chilling. I'm not a huge fan of short-stories, but I enjoyed this book.
Book 17
Title: Step on a Crack
Author: James Patterson
Thoughts: Patterson writes two series, the Alex Cross books and the Woman's Murder Club books- but he also publishes many stand-alone novels. This is one of them. Patterson writes in such a way that I find myself speeding up as I read, anxious to get to the end. However, while this book didn't impress me that much in regards to the thriller aspect, I found the home-life of the main character interesting and emotional.
Book 18
Title: Murder or Suicide
Author: Yong-Myun Rho, M.D.
Thoughts: It's basically set up with cases as short stories. It's all right and I enjoy reading about the different cases the author as worked on as a forensic pathologist, but I wish there was more detail. He doesn't go much into forensic procedure and only touches the basic of the cases. Probably good for someone who wants a basic overview, but I'd prefer more depth.
Book 19
Title: Legal Tender
Author: Lisa Scottoline
Thoughts: Another "mistake", I grabbed this thinking it was the latest book of hers. Turns out that this book is eleven years old and that I've already read it. But since it's been awhile and I didn't remember the ending or the characters that well, I decided to read it again. A quick read, but a good book. I felt that there could have been a bit more build-up to the climax- to me it was completely out of the blue- and that once the murderer was revealed, there could have been a bit more about that and motives and everything. But I did enjoy it.
I'm also in the middle of Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston, which I hope to finish tomorrow, as well as Dead Aim by Iris Johannsen (which I'll be reading on the airplane).
Title: More Twisted
Author: Jeffery Deaver
Thoughts: This is a short-stories collection from Deaver. I primarily read it because of the one Lincoln Rhyme story in there, but I also read the others and enjoyed them. Some were better than others, but most of them surprised me by the end and a few were down right chilling. I'm not a huge fan of short-stories, but I enjoyed this book.
Book 17
Title: Step on a Crack
Author: James Patterson
Thoughts: Patterson writes two series, the Alex Cross books and the Woman's Murder Club books- but he also publishes many stand-alone novels. This is one of them. Patterson writes in such a way that I find myself speeding up as I read, anxious to get to the end. However, while this book didn't impress me that much in regards to the thriller aspect, I found the home-life of the main character interesting and emotional.
Book 18
Title: Murder or Suicide
Author: Yong-Myun Rho, M.D.
Thoughts: It's basically set up with cases as short stories. It's all right and I enjoy reading about the different cases the author as worked on as a forensic pathologist, but I wish there was more detail. He doesn't go much into forensic procedure and only touches the basic of the cases. Probably good for someone who wants a basic overview, but I'd prefer more depth.
Book 19
Title: Legal Tender
Author: Lisa Scottoline
Thoughts: Another "mistake", I grabbed this thinking it was the latest book of hers. Turns out that this book is eleven years old and that I've already read it. But since it's been awhile and I didn't remember the ending or the characters that well, I decided to read it again. A quick read, but a good book. I felt that there could have been a bit more build-up to the climax- to me it was completely out of the blue- and that once the murderer was revealed, there could have been a bit more about that and motives and everything. But I did enjoy it.
I'm also in the middle of Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston, which I hope to finish tomorrow, as well as Dead Aim by Iris Johannsen (which I'll be reading on the airplane).
More updates as I try to catch up! These are from May and June.
10. Thin Wood Walls, by David Patneaude.
[http://www.amazon.com/Thin-Wood-Walls-D
231 pgs. Historical fiction, * * * * 05/01/2007
Audience: grades 5-8
Summary: Joe Hamada and his family face growing prejudice in their Seattle community after the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, and are eventually torn away from their home and sent to a relocation camp in California, even as his older brother joins the U.S. Army to fight in World War II.
Review: Patneaude skillfully describes Joe's emotions and frustrations as he deals with his father's separate internment by the FBI and his brother's enlistment into the Army. The ending was somewhat expected, and so it didn't have the same punch that I'd maybe expected. Still, this is a powerful and necessary novel, and one worth reading.
Awards: Thin Wood Walls was a Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award nominee for 2007, and was included in the 2006 Wilson's Junior High School Catalog.
Similar: Dear Miss Breed, by Joanne Oppenheim (nonfiction); Baseball Saved Us, by Ken Mochizuki; Journey to Topaz, by Yoshiko Uchida.
11. Ida B., and her plans to maximize fun, avoid disaster, and (possibly) save the world, by Katherine Hannigan.
[http://www.amazon.com/Ida-Plans-Maximi
246 pgs. Realistic fiction, * * * * 05/08/2007
Audience: grades 4-6
Summary: In Wisconsin, fourth-grader Ida B. spends happy hours being home-schooled and playing in her family's apple orchard, until her mother begins treatment for breast cancer and her parents must sell part of the orchard and send her to public school.
Review: Ida B. is a creative, imaginative, bright girl who loses herself in the fantasy of her family's apple orchard. She gives each tree and stream a name and a personality, and talks to them on a daily basis. When her family needs to sell a chunk of the orchard, she is heartbroken. Ida B. loses her friends in the orchard, and her friendship with her cancer-stricken mother, and must learn to somehow make friends and deal with the public school system. Ida B.'s voice is unusual, and a little too adult at times, but her narration brings a fresh, environmentally-aware perspective to the book.
Awards: Ida B. was a Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award nominee for 2007, and was included in the 2005 Wilson's Children's Catalog.
Similar: Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo; Hoot, by Carl Hiaasen.
12. Hana's Suitcase: A True Story, by Karen Levine.
[http://www.amazon.com/Hanas-Suitcase-K
111 pgs. Nonfiction, * * * 05/21/2007
Audience: grades 3-7
Summary: A biography of a Czech girl who died in the Holocaust, told in alternating chapters with an account of how the curator of a Japanese Holocaust center learned about her life after Hana's suitcase was sent to her.
Review: Tells the story of Fumiko Ishioka, director of a Holocaust education center in Tokyo, who came into possession of the suitcase and was determined to learn as much as possible about the owner. Surprisingly, Ishioka learns as much about Hana's brother George as she learns about Hana. This is a story of determination and tenacity told on two fronts-- that of Hana and her brother, in their struggle to survive the encroachment of the Nazi forces, and that of Ishioka, who follows clues and leads and researches them until she comes up with a complete picture of Hana's life. The one problem with the book is that it simplifies things-- we are given Hana's thoughts and words, but no source is given for these quotations. This makes the book less than useful for full-on research projects, but the work is still an amazing description of how one person can *do* research and compile all of that information into a clear narrative.
Awards: Hana's Suitcase was a Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award nominee for 2007, and was included in the 2004 Wilson's Children's Catalog.
Similar: The cat with the yellow star: coming of age in Terezin, by Susan Goldman Rubin; The Final Journey, by Gudrun Pausewang (fiction).
13. Fool Moon, by Jim Butcher.
[http://www.amazon.com/Fool-Moon-Dresde
342 pgs. Fantasy fiction, * * * 06/21/2007
Audience: adult
Summary: Out of work professional wizard, Harry Dresden, gets a case involving a brutally mutilated corpse and the strange-looking paw prints and full moon is just the ticket for someone with his kind of supernatural expertise.
Review: Murder, mobsters, witchcraft, and werewolves round out this second Dresden offering. The plot was somewhat easier to follow, but the violence and grittiness is still present. Who knew that there were four different types of werewolves and werewolf-like creatures? Dresden's dry humor and the Chicago setting keep things interesting.
Notes: Book 2 in the Dresden Files series; inspiration for the Sci-Fi Channel television series.
Similar: Werewolf Rising, by R.L. LaFevers (middle grades); Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause (grades 7-12).
14. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde.
[http://www.amazon.com/Eyre-Affair-Thur
384 pgs. Fantasy fiction, * * * * 06/28/2007
Audience: high school, adult
Summary: Thursday Next, a Special Operative in literary detection in a time-altered Great Britain in which messing with the classics is a punishable offense, sets out to apprehend a criminal who is murdering characters from works of literature and has chosen Jane Eyre as his next victim.
Review: There's a lot to wrap one's brain around in this alternate-history fantasy novel. Set in an alternate England where Wales has become a communist country, there's fighting in the Crimean Penninsula, there are cloned dodos as pets, there's time travel... and there are legions of citizens who engage in terrorism and warfare related to who was the actual author of Shakespeare's plays or which literary school was the One True Way of writing. Into this setting comes Thursday Next, a government agent who becomes involved first in the theft of Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit manuscript, and subsequently in the theft of the manuscript of Jane Eyre. Readers who are familiar with literature will be well rewarded by the twists and turns, but those who lack honors-level coursework in English Literature may be left with a bit of a headache. Still, the suspenseful literary detective work eventually kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering whether Thursday would rescue the manuscript, whether it would survive intact, and whether she would actually begin a romance with one of the other characters.
Awards: The Eyre Affair was an The Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award nominee for 2006, and was included in the 2003 Wilson's Senior High School Catalog and the 2006 Wilson's Fiction Catalog.
Notes: It is advisable to skim the Cliff's Notes or plot summary for Jane Eyre before beginning the novel. Trust me.
Similar: Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke (middle grades); Endymion Spring, by Matthew Skelton (grades 6-10).
- Mood:
cranky
Finished:
1. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - Not my favorite, won't read it again. I think I hate vampire books.
2. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philipa Gregory - LOVED it. I must read everythng else she has written.
3. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl - I felt smarter after I finished this.. and there was a good story in there too.
4. The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life by Laurie Notaro - Not wonderful, but a good airplane read. I laughed out loud twice
5. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - I liked it better as a kid
6. The Charm School by Nelson DeMille - A perennial favorite
7. The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant - Depressing but vibrant
8. King Dork by Frank Portman - took a great long while to get through. Too long for a book this short
9. ( Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich )
10. Map of Bones by James Rollins - very entertaining
11. Wanted: An Interesting Life by Bev Katz Rosenbaum (Harlequin Flipside)- sneeze and you're done with this book
12. Life According to Lucy by Cindi Myers (Harlequin Flipside) - sneeze and you're done with this book
13. Pop-Up Dating by Natalie Stenzel (Harlequin Flipside)- sneeze and you're done with this book
14. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay (2/21/07) - Disturbing, but readable
15. The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry (2/28/07) - Really enjoyed this. It was a fast read, 3 days, and entertaining. I didn't figure out whodunit too soon, which is also a plus.
16. Stress & The City by Stephanie Rowe (Harlequin Flipside)(3/10/07) - I needed a paperback that would fit in my purse. I actually enjoyed this little romance. It was cute!
17. Burning the Map by Laura Caldwell (3/21/07) - I got this for the airplane and didn't end up reading it there. But it only took me 2 days to read and realy made me want to take off to Greece with my girlfriends.
18. The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen (3/23/07) - Murder thriller about the essence of evil and a "society" that attempts to seek it out and understand it. Poor character development, too many plot threads not wrapped up, but a fast read and I didn't see the end coming.
19. Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George (3/28/07) Oh this was a lovely book and I cried at the end. It was more fact than fiction, and as such, took a bit longer for me to read. I will definitely be reading more from this author.
20. Baby Proof by Emily Giffin (4/2/07) Cute, smart Chick lit. It reminds me of me!
21. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (4/5/07) More of a book for younger girls, but the imagery is quite vivid. About Victorian English boarding school girls and their forays into the occult.
22. Eating the Cheshire Cat by Helen Ellis (4/6/07) A blip of a book that I will forget that I read one day. It concerns 3 girls and how their lives are intertwined from childhood through college in Alabama. BLAH.
23. Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay (4/12/07) Not as good as the first one, but still disturbing and vivid.
24. Sharp Objects: A Novel by Gillian Flynn (4/16/07) This was a good mystery, but reminded me of a Lifetime movie.
25. Black Order: A Novel by James Rollins (4/20/07)
26. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory (4/25/07)
27. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (5/7/07) This was an amazing book. A wonderful story with twists and turns and beautifulle-developed characters. I would recommend it to anyone.
28. The Archer's Tale: Book one of Grail Quest by Bernard Cornwell (5/11/07) I kept waiting for this to get to the plot, but the "waiting for the plot" part was actually the plot. Very graphic battle scenes, lots of vivid rape and plundering. I won't be reading anything by this author again. Good writing and very historical, just not my cup of tea.
29. The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier (5/25/07) I enjoyed this book, but it was a bit slow in the beginning and soul-wrenching at the end. I definitely need some lighter fare next
30. Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs (6/2/07) Canadian Medical Examiner thriller murder mystery. Sadly, better that some newer Stuart Woods/James Patterson drivel
31. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin(6/11/07) Chick lit read in one day
32. Something Blue by Emily Giffin (6/12/07) More chick lit, same characters as the previous book, but from a different perspective and following a different plot. It was about babies, so I was sobbing by the end. Damn pregnancy hormones.
33. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (6/17/07) Historical fiction and I loved it. Just LOVED it.
Next:
Book of Fate by Brad Meltzer
The Janson Directive by Robert Ludlum
Abandoned:
Confessions of a Pagan Nun by Kate Horsley (recommended by![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
sarahxines ) I just couldn't do it. Nothing was drawing me to this book. The plot had not hit a crux of any kind by the middle and I gave up. Which is sad because it is a short little book; but I hadn't learned anything by the middle, so back to the library it goes.
Pope Joan by Donna Cross I gave up after chapter 5. Life is too short to read books that don't grip you by chapter 5. I also have a hard time reading books containing names that I cannot pronounce readily.
These I need to get or want to read:
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
Areas of my Expertise by John Hogeman
Doppleganger by Marie Brennen
The Secret Supper by Javier Sierra
Letters to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris
1. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - Not my favorite, won't read it again. I think I hate vampire books.
2. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philipa Gregory - LOVED it. I must read everythng else she has written.
3. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl - I felt smarter after I finished this.. and there was a good story in there too.
4. The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life by Laurie Notaro - Not wonderful, but a good airplane read. I laughed out loud twice
5. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - I liked it better as a kid
6. The Charm School by Nelson DeMille - A perennial favorite
7. The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant - Depressing but vibrant
8. King Dork by Frank Portman - took a great long while to get through. Too long for a book this short
9. ( Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich )
10. Map of Bones by James Rollins - very entertaining
11. Wanted: An Interesting Life by Bev Katz Rosenbaum (Harlequin Flipside)- sneeze and you're done with this book
12. Life According to Lucy by Cindi Myers (Harlequin Flipside) - sneeze and you're done with this book
13. Pop-Up Dating by Natalie Stenzel (Harlequin Flipside)- sneeze and you're done with this book
14. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay (2/21/07) - Disturbing, but readable
15. The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry (2/28/07) - Really enjoyed this. It was a fast read, 3 days, and entertaining. I didn't figure out whodunit too soon, which is also a plus.
16. Stress & The City by Stephanie Rowe (Harlequin Flipside)(3/10/07) - I needed a paperback that would fit in my purse. I actually enjoyed this little romance. It was cute!
17. Burning the Map by Laura Caldwell (3/21/07) - I got this for the airplane and didn't end up reading it there. But it only took me 2 days to read and realy made me want to take off to Greece with my girlfriends.
18. The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen (3/23/07) - Murder thriller about the essence of evil and a "society" that attempts to seek it out and understand it. Poor character development, too many plot threads not wrapped up, but a fast read and I didn't see the end coming.
19. Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George (3/28/07) Oh this was a lovely book and I cried at the end. It was more fact than fiction, and as such, took a bit longer for me to read. I will definitely be reading more from this author.
20. Baby Proof by Emily Giffin (4/2/07) Cute, smart Chick lit. It reminds me of me!
21. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (4/5/07) More of a book for younger girls, but the imagery is quite vivid. About Victorian English boarding school girls and their forays into the occult.
22. Eating the Cheshire Cat by Helen Ellis (4/6/07) A blip of a book that I will forget that I read one day. It concerns 3 girls and how their lives are intertwined from childhood through college in Alabama. BLAH.
23. Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay (4/12/07) Not as good as the first one, but still disturbing and vivid.
24. Sharp Objects: A Novel by Gillian Flynn (4/16/07) This was a good mystery, but reminded me of a Lifetime movie.
25. Black Order: A Novel by James Rollins (4/20/07)
26. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory (4/25/07)
27. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (5/7/07) This was an amazing book. A wonderful story with twists and turns and beautifulle-developed characters. I would recommend it to anyone.
28. The Archer's Tale: Book one of Grail Quest by Bernard Cornwell (5/11/07) I kept waiting for this to get to the plot, but the "waiting for the plot" part was actually the plot. Very graphic battle scenes, lots of vivid rape and plundering. I won't be reading anything by this author again. Good writing and very historical, just not my cup of tea.
29. The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier (5/25/07) I enjoyed this book, but it was a bit slow in the beginning and soul-wrenching at the end. I definitely need some lighter fare next
30. Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs (6/2/07) Canadian Medical Examiner thriller murder mystery. Sadly, better that some newer Stuart Woods/James Patterson drivel
31. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin(6/11/07) Chick lit read in one day
32. Something Blue by Emily Giffin (6/12/07) More chick lit, same characters as the previous book, but from a different perspective and following a different plot. It was about babies, so I was sobbing by the end. Damn pregnancy hormones.
33. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (6/17/07) Historical fiction and I loved it. Just LOVED it.
Next:
Book of Fate by Brad Meltzer
The Janson Directive by Robert Ludlum
Abandoned:
Confessions of a Pagan Nun by Kate Horsley (recommended by
sarahxines ) I just couldn't do it. Nothing was drawing me to this book. The plot had not hit a crux of any kind by the middle and I gave up. Which is sad because it is a short little book; but I hadn't learned anything by the middle, so back to the library it goes.Pope Joan by Donna Cross I gave up after chapter 5. Life is too short to read books that don't grip you by chapter 5. I also have a hard time reading books containing names that I cannot pronounce readily.
These I need to get or want to read:
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
Areas of my Expertise by John Hogeman
Doppleganger by Marie Brennen
The Secret Supper by Javier Sierra
Letters to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris
When I checked this out from my local library, I admit I barely looked it over. It was a title by Faye Kellerman, and in a hurry, as I was, that was good enough for me. Imagine my surprise and delight when I actually realized it was a collection of short stories. A few contain the characters she regularly writes, a couple are co-written with her children, a few are inspired by her husband, and one is clearly a chunk of her own life. I will give you a run down of each story.
The Garden of Eden
This one features the Deckers, a married, Orthodox Jewish couple that are very real, and good to read about. This does have a mystery for Dectective Decker to unravel, as well as the usual rich relationship between Peter and his wife Rina. It wasn't a murder mystery, but rather a mystery about the vultures that so often circle upon a death.
Open House
A dead body turns up in an open-house, and it's up to Peter Decker and his officers to puzzle out the how and why. This is a great story with a psychological twist that might have been worthy of a whole book. Still, it was wonderful in this form.
Bull's-eye
Decker's daughter, Cindy, has apparently decided to be a police officer, and this time, the murder happens during the academy training that she is participating in. The mystery is intriguing, but it is the interaction between father and daughter that is really the treasure.
A Woman of Mystery
Rina has an encounter with a young, troubled woman without a name or past. The girl wants to know where she comes from, but there's a reason that the phrase, "Let sleeping dogs lies" continues to be used in regular conversation.
The Stalker
A woman who is being abused by her husband, makes an escape. He's not prepared to let her go unless it's over his dead body. Well, a woman must be accomodating, sometimes.
Mummy and Jack
Cowritten with her son, Jesse, Kellerman takes on the old Jack the Ripper story, from a perspective that will mess with your head.
Bonding
Told in first person, this teen needs the kind of psychological help that might come from a few years in a rubber room. Her story is bone-chilling, and she's impossible to connect with, though it's clear it was meant to be that way. It was disturbing enough that I still find myself thinking about it and shivering automatically.
Discards
A female private eye takes on a case to find a cleaning woman who has vanished over several days, and the employer is concerned. There's always a deeper motive, of course, and this one turns into a question of poverty and morality over a diamond ring. This was delightful in the depth of characters involved and was nicely placed after the previous story.
Tendrils of Love
A woman to turns up dead in a quiet backwater in Missouri. How it all fits together is what makes this story really something.
Malibu Dog
The neigbor in this story could have been lifted from my own life -- well sort of. The dog has been trained to protect his owner from everyone and everything, even those who might save him.
The Back Page
It's a cute story on an old urban legend; it's the story about a reporter who always seems to be first on the spot. It's kind of sci-fi-ish and maybe a little over the top
Mr. Barton's Head Case
It's a tale of true love, between a man and his car. He should have known he was in trouble when the car started giving him advice. Still, he should have listened.
Holy Water
More humor here about a rabbi who is kidnapped during Purim in a clash of corporate giants. It's a cute tale, and it made me chuckle a bit.
Free Parking
A tale of elderly women and a youngster gathered together for a family ritual of playing Monopoly. There's nothing criminal in this, though it was a bit delightful.
The Luck of the Draw
Kellerman co-wrote this with her daughters for an anthology. It is a huge departure from Kellerman's style, and I suspect her two daughters did more writing than she.
Small Miracles
This one is a recounting of an actual event in Kellerman's life involving her mother and her children. Woman's intuition can change everything in a life -- and this explains a lot about Faye's fascination with police drama.
The Summer of My Womanhood
This one is a story about Kellerman herself, working in the family business. It makes you feel like you know her
Overall the stories were really good. This is a perfect lunch hour book, as you can read each story around your salad. Four and a half stars.
The Garden of Eden
This one features the Deckers, a married, Orthodox Jewish couple that are very real, and good to read about. This does have a mystery for Dectective Decker to unravel, as well as the usual rich relationship between Peter and his wife Rina. It wasn't a murder mystery, but rather a mystery about the vultures that so often circle upon a death.
Open House
A dead body turns up in an open-house, and it's up to Peter Decker and his officers to puzzle out the how and why. This is a great story with a psychological twist that might have been worthy of a whole book. Still, it was wonderful in this form.
Bull's-eye
Decker's daughter, Cindy, has apparently decided to be a police officer, and this time, the murder happens during the academy training that she is participating in. The mystery is intriguing, but it is the interaction between father and daughter that is really the treasure.
A Woman of Mystery
Rina has an encounter with a young, troubled woman without a name or past. The girl wants to know where she comes from, but there's a reason that the phrase, "Let sleeping dogs lies" continues to be used in regular conversation.
The Stalker
A woman who is being abused by her husband, makes an escape. He's not prepared to let her go unless it's over his dead body. Well, a woman must be accomodating, sometimes.
Mummy and Jack
Cowritten with her son, Jesse, Kellerman takes on the old Jack the Ripper story, from a perspective that will mess with your head.
Bonding
Told in first person, this teen needs the kind of psychological help that might come from a few years in a rubber room. Her story is bone-chilling, and she's impossible to connect with, though it's clear it was meant to be that way. It was disturbing enough that I still find myself thinking about it and shivering automatically.
Discards
A female private eye takes on a case to find a cleaning woman who has vanished over several days, and the employer is concerned. There's always a deeper motive, of course, and this one turns into a question of poverty and morality over a diamond ring. This was delightful in the depth of characters involved and was nicely placed after the previous story.
Tendrils of Love
A woman to turns up dead in a quiet backwater in Missouri. How it all fits together is what makes this story really something.
Malibu Dog
The neigbor in this story could have been lifted from my own life -- well sort of. The dog has been trained to protect his owner from everyone and everything, even those who might save him.
The Back Page
It's a cute story on an old urban legend; it's the story about a reporter who always seems to be first on the spot. It's kind of sci-fi-ish and maybe a little over the top
Mr. Barton's Head Case
It's a tale of true love, between a man and his car. He should have known he was in trouble when the car started giving him advice. Still, he should have listened.
Holy Water
More humor here about a rabbi who is kidnapped during Purim in a clash of corporate giants. It's a cute tale, and it made me chuckle a bit.
Free Parking
A tale of elderly women and a youngster gathered together for a family ritual of playing Monopoly. There's nothing criminal in this, though it was a bit delightful.
The Luck of the Draw
Kellerman co-wrote this with her daughters for an anthology. It is a huge departure from Kellerman's style, and I suspect her two daughters did more writing than she.
Small Miracles
This one is a recounting of an actual event in Kellerman's life involving her mother and her children. Woman's intuition can change everything in a life -- and this explains a lot about Faye's fascination with police drama.
The Summer of My Womanhood
This one is a story about Kellerman herself, working in the family business. It makes you feel like you know her
Overall the stories were really good. This is a perfect lunch hour book, as you can read each story around your salad. Four and a half stars.
Still on a campaign to catch up reviews. The realization that I had missed a book yesterday, puts this one as book 24 not 23.
In Dead Wrong by J.A. Jance, Sheriff Joanna Brady investigates three crimes: the killing of Bradley Evans, an ex-con found in a gruesome state, a violent attack on an over-eager female animal control officer, and the long-closed case that put Bradley Evans in the pen in the first place.
From the prologue, readers get to see the murder Evans was accused of doing. It becomes immediately clear that something is fishy. The investigating officer at that time is DH Brady, who you later learn is Joanna's father. The sudden shift to the present day is a little disconcerting, but no big deal. As you begin to follow Joanna Brady, who is very pregnant, through investigating Evan's murder, it becomes a unique audience manipulation tool that the readers already suspect that Evans was innocent, while the police are still thinking of him as a bad guy.
The second crime comes upon you almost as an aside. Her friend and coworker, Jeanine, finds another dead dog killed in what was probably illegal dogfighting. Both women are determined to get to the bottom of it, and in true police fashion, they already suspect someone -- catching them is another story.
In the middle of all of this, is Joanna's own family drama as her inlaws show up unannounced. Joanna is obviously old-school, convinced that she must endure them no matter how rude or embarrassing they are. Her nosy mother-in-law actually opens the envelope that says the sex of their baby, despite the fact that Joanna and Butch had decided not to look. It's what ends up getting the inlaws to leave.
What finally gets Joanna to consider that Evans was possibly innocent is the gift of her father's diaries, delivered by her step-father who decided not to follow Joanna's mother's wishes by throwing them out. It is this that begins to break the case.
I won't give away the ending, other than to say the birth of Joanna's son happens there, shortly after a shoot-out and edge-of-seat car chase.
The story kept me reading. The writing was good. I think that the research is really JA Jance's failing, and it is a fairly big one, probably magnified by the fact that the book before this was Kathy Reich's Grave Secrets. There was never a point when I felt that the investigating was really impressive. There were moments it was a bit contrived, as people gave up long-held secrets a bit too easily. I wonder how a police officer would rate the police part of this. Still, a good story teller can make the weirdest happenings work. I'll mark her off a point, nevertheless.
Four stars out of five.
In Dead Wrong by J.A. Jance, Sheriff Joanna Brady investigates three crimes: the killing of Bradley Evans, an ex-con found in a gruesome state, a violent attack on an over-eager female animal control officer, and the long-closed case that put Bradley Evans in the pen in the first place.
From the prologue, readers get to see the murder Evans was accused of doing. It becomes immediately clear that something is fishy. The investigating officer at that time is DH Brady, who you later learn is Joanna's father. The sudden shift to the present day is a little disconcerting, but no big deal. As you begin to follow Joanna Brady, who is very pregnant, through investigating Evan's murder, it becomes a unique audience manipulation tool that the readers already suspect that Evans was innocent, while the police are still thinking of him as a bad guy.
The second crime comes upon you almost as an aside. Her friend and coworker, Jeanine, finds another dead dog killed in what was probably illegal dogfighting. Both women are determined to get to the bottom of it, and in true police fashion, they already suspect someone -- catching them is another story.
In the middle of all of this, is Joanna's own family drama as her inlaws show up unannounced. Joanna is obviously old-school, convinced that she must endure them no matter how rude or embarrassing they are. Her nosy mother-in-law actually opens the envelope that says the sex of their baby, despite the fact that Joanna and Butch had decided not to look. It's what ends up getting the inlaws to leave.
What finally gets Joanna to consider that Evans was possibly innocent is the gift of her father's diaries, delivered by her step-father who decided not to follow Joanna's mother's wishes by throwing them out. It is this that begins to break the case.
I won't give away the ending, other than to say the birth of Joanna's son happens there, shortly after a shoot-out and edge-of-seat car chase.
The story kept me reading. The writing was good. I think that the research is really JA Jance's failing, and it is a fairly big one, probably magnified by the fact that the book before this was Kathy Reich's Grave Secrets. There was never a point when I felt that the investigating was really impressive. There were moments it was a bit contrived, as people gave up long-held secrets a bit too easily. I wonder how a police officer would rate the police part of this. Still, a good story teller can make the weirdest happenings work. I'll mark her off a point, nevertheless.
Four stars out of five.
Dr. Temperance Brennan, international forensic anthropologist, has been asked to investigate one of the most heartbreaking cases of her career. She's in Guatemala to try to sort bodies from a mass grave and give a peaceful rest to villagers brutally slaughtered by a cruel government. But in Tempe's world, rarely is anything cut and dried. First, a dear friend is killed and another badly injured as they drove to join her at the dig site. As if that wasn't bad enough, she's then approached by a Guatemalan Police Detective for help in the nastiest site to dig that I can image -- a septic tank where an unidentifiable body has been discovered. But the moment she finishes that disgusting job, the body is confiscated by a DA who clearly doesn't want Tempe's help or interference.
Tempe is frustrated and becomes determined to investigate anyway. Then there's the Detective who got her into this mess, Galiano agrees and takes her with him to meet the families of four missing girls, any of whom may be the victim in the septic tank. Galiano turns out to be a former classmate of Andrew Ryan, the Montreal Detective who Tempe is in lust with. Soon, Tempe finds herself torn between the two men, while being simultaneously twisted up inside by the mystery she hasn't yet solved, and a desire to return to the original dig site that took her to Guatamala in the first place.
This plot is quite twisty and very well done. The forensics are fascinating and delivered in a straightforward way that makes sense. The politics are fascinating. This was my first Kathy Reichs novel, though I've become a fan of Bones on television. I found the differences between the book and tv versions of Tempe Brennan to be very fascinating. TV Brennan has no children and isn't sure she wants any. She doesn't believe in organized religion and doesn't think she believes in God. This version of Tempe has a daughter, is divorced, lives between Montreal and North Carolina, and still finds time to do things like run off to Guatemala to dig up a mass grave.
I won't spill the end. But I will tell you this -- it leads cleanly to the next book, without telling you which guy she picked.
Five stars out of Five!
I'm still trying to catch up reviews. So here goes book 21
I think I should start by saying that I never figured out why this book was called Stone Kiss. I think it was meant to be symbolic, but it would have fit better if it was explained.
Faye Kellerman does write interesting dramas, and this one was as fascinating and riveting as the others I've read. Her now famous character, L.A. homicide detective Peter Decker, answers a call for help from his half-brother, Jonathan, that takes him and his family to New York, and deeply into the jewish culture. Jonathan's brother-in-law, Ephraim Lieber, has been found murdered in a seedy Manhattan hotel. Ephraim's 15-year-old niece, Shaynda, who was supposed to be with him, is missing. There are a lot of misdirects, including the suggestion that Ephraim, a recovering drug addict, might have relapsed, or that his relationship with Shaynda might have been abusive? Ephraim's family are very unhelpful, especially Ephriam's brother and Shaynda's father. Peter is quickly caught up in a desperate attempt to find and save the girl from reckless killers and without inforation he desperately needs. Worse, his best ally in this impossible situation is Chris Donatti, a psychotic, mob-connected killer and maker of pornographic films. Donatti probably comes from another book I haven't read, and man! is he scarey. Through the whole mystery I was never sure whether he was a good guy for this piece or not. I think Donatti can't do right and good at the same time -- he either makes the right choice the wrong way, or manages to be a polite asshole, but there is never a kind righteousness in his repertoire, making him a fascinating character.
I think probably the strangest aspect in this story from a writer's point of view is the sudden shift in POV that occurs midway through the book. Donatti's girl shows up briefly and her section is written first person, while the rest had been third person. When her brief interlude was done, it shifted back to third person. It left me feeling disoriented, and though I know she's a best-selling author, it seemed a bit like a rookie mistake -- one I won't be making myself. She'll lose a point for that in my book.
Faye Kellerman clearly knows a lot about the jewish culture. She portrayed that so well that I felt it was almost familiar, even though I knew very little about it before that. I also think her characters are rich and her mysteries are very intriguing. There are times when she seems a bit wordy, and there was very gratuitous sex scenes that I didn't think were necessary. Therefor this book gets a four out of five stars.
I think I should start by saying that I never figured out why this book was called Stone Kiss. I think it was meant to be symbolic, but it would have fit better if it was explained.
Faye Kellerman does write interesting dramas, and this one was as fascinating and riveting as the others I've read. Her now famous character, L.A. homicide detective Peter Decker, answers a call for help from his half-brother, Jonathan, that takes him and his family to New York, and deeply into the jewish culture. Jonathan's brother-in-law, Ephraim Lieber, has been found murdered in a seedy Manhattan hotel. Ephraim's 15-year-old niece, Shaynda, who was supposed to be with him, is missing. There are a lot of misdirects, including the suggestion that Ephraim, a recovering drug addict, might have relapsed, or that his relationship with Shaynda might have been abusive? Ephraim's family are very unhelpful, especially Ephriam's brother and Shaynda's father. Peter is quickly caught up in a desperate attempt to find and save the girl from reckless killers and without inforation he desperately needs. Worse, his best ally in this impossible situation is Chris Donatti, a psychotic, mob-connected killer and maker of pornographic films. Donatti probably comes from another book I haven't read, and man! is he scarey. Through the whole mystery I was never sure whether he was a good guy for this piece or not. I think Donatti can't do right and good at the same time -- he either makes the right choice the wrong way, or manages to be a polite asshole, but there is never a kind righteousness in his repertoire, making him a fascinating character.
I think probably the strangest aspect in this story from a writer's point of view is the sudden shift in POV that occurs midway through the book. Donatti's girl shows up briefly and her section is written first person, while the rest had been third person. When her brief interlude was done, it shifted back to third person. It left me feeling disoriented, and though I know she's a best-selling author, it seemed a bit like a rookie mistake -- one I won't be making myself. She'll lose a point for that in my book.
Faye Kellerman clearly knows a lot about the jewish culture. She portrayed that so well that I felt it was almost familiar, even though I knew very little about it before that. I also think her characters are rich and her mysteries are very intriguing. There are times when she seems a bit wordy, and there was very gratuitous sex scenes that I didn't think were necessary. Therefor this book gets a four out of five stars.
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