Month: August 2008

4.5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, K, Maggie O'Dell, Read in 2008, SERIES

A Necessary Evil by Alex Kava

Tara
A Necessary Evil
by Alex Kava

Copyright: 2006
Pages: 413
Rating: 4.5/5
Read: Aug. 3-9, 2008
Challenge: Series Challenge Season 2

First Line: Monsignor William O’Sullivan was certain no one had recognized him.

Someone is killing Catholic priests. When Maggie O’Dell is called in to profile, she is surprised by the clues. They discover that this might have something to do with a role-playing game that teens are into. But when she realizes that Father Michael Keller might have something to do with this case, she’s absolutely astonished. For four years she has been trying to track Keller down. And now when he contacts Maggie in order to help her, she really doesn’t know what to do. Should she make the deal with him to help stop the killings or should she just trap him?

I am soooo glad I finally got to read this one!! It was really incredibly good. I really regret reading 1, 2, and 4 last year and then 3 and 5 this year. I should have read them all in order last year. So I was a little lost in places, but I really really really enjoyed it! The way that this book ended makes me uncertain if there could ever be another Maggie O’Dell. It’s obvious what will happen next with Keller, but there are so many unanswered questions between some of the other characters. It will be interesting to see if Kava does indeed bring this back again or if she lets it be.

READING CHALLENGES 2008

Book Awards II Challenge

Tara
Book Awards II Challenge
Rules:
*Read 10 award winning books
*Must have five different awards in your ten titles
*Overlaps are allowed; no lists required
*August 1, 2008 – June 1, 2009
After looking at the lists on the main page, here are some of my picks. These are just the ones that I already own; my list will undoubtedly change.
  3. BRAM STOKER AWARD: Bag of Bones by Stephen King
  4. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD: Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
  5. NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD: Atonement by Ian McEwan
  6. TBD
  7. TBD
  8. TBD
  9. TBD
  10. TBD

3.5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, G, Kinsey Millhone, Read in 2008, SERIES

B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton

Tara
B is for Burglar
by Sue Grafton
Copyright: 1985
Pages: 211
Rating: 3.5/5
Read: Aug. 4-6, 2008
Challenge: Book Awards II Challenge – Anthony Award

First Line: After it’s over, of course, you want to kick yourself for all the things you didn’t see at the time.

When Elaine Boldt’s sister comes into Kinsey’s office, Kinsey feels that finding the missing Elaine for her signature on some legal papers will be a piece of cake. She was last seen leaving her condo in California headed to her condo in Florida for the summer – an every year occurrence. But when Kinsey finds out that Elaine apparently never made it to Florida and that she instead sublet her condo (against condo rules), Kinsey feels that something deadly has happened to Elaine. As she follows the leads her case has, Kinsey realizes that her case is related to an accidental fire that killed Elaine’s next door neighbor – and that it might not have been accidental at all….
This book was a lot better than the first one. I liked it. It wasn’t exceptional, but it was definitely intriguing!It’s definitely got me hooked on this series. I’m looking forward to “C” sometime in the near future.
3.5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, E, Fiction, Read in 2008, SERIES, Stephanie Plum

Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich

Tara
Two for the Dough
by Janet Evanovich
Copyright: 1996
Pages: 312
Rating: 3.5/5
Read: August 1-3, 2008
Challenge: No challenge; personal read

First Line: I knew Ranger was beside my because I could see his earring gleaming in the moonlight.

Stephanie Plum is at it again. This time, the bounty hunter is on the hunt for Kenny Mancuso, a guy who shot his best friend in the knee and has jumped bail. He’s also distantly related to Joe Morelli. So with the help of Joe, her fellow bounty hunter Ranger, and her Grandma Mazur she’s on the hunt and determined to find Kenny before more people are hurt, mutilated or killed.
Okay, this one was just okay. I’m not overly impressed by this series (I read the first one a couple years back and remember not being very impressed), but I’m going to have to admit, that Grandma Mazur is a piece of work!! I found myself jotting down some of her funnier quotes because they were just too good to pass up! The best in the book had to be in the end, where Grandma quotes Clint Eastwood:

“But being that this is a forty-five magnum, the most powerful handgun in
existence, and it could blow your head clean off, you got to ask yourself one
question. Do you feel lucky today? Well, do you, punk?” (p. 305)

I laughed and laughed at that one! It’s definitely an entertaining book, but the plot left a little to be desired in my opinion. I’m probably going to look for the third in the library sometime in the future though, simply because these books are so funny!
Monthly Wrap Up

July 2008 Wrap-Up

Tara
July 2008 Wrap-Up

Here’s my end of the month wrap-up:

  1. John Sandford, Invisible Prey –> Really good. I thought this one had some really great twists and turns. I really enjoyed it and really need to catch up on this series more. 4/5
  2. J.F. Freedman, The Disappearance –> I thought that the beginning was incredibly slow. It did pick up some, but I really didn’t enjoy this one all that much, it was just okay. 3/5
  3. Michael Connelly, The Black Echo –> First in the Harry Bosch series. It had a slow start, but the rest of the book made up for the slow start! Glad I finally read this one! 4/5
  4. John Lescroart, Dead Irish –> I enjoyed this one. The first in the Dismas Hardy series. The ending was really good! Looking forward to exploring this series more. 4/5
  5. Alex Kava, The Soul Catcher –> Okay, this one was really great up until the ending … it was AWFUL! There is no other way to say it, the ending was just plain bad. 3/5
  6. Anne Bird, Blood Brother: 33 Reasons My Brother Scott Peterson is Guilty –> I’ve read a few books on the Scott Peterson case, this one was not the best but not the worst. I’m glad I read it, but I wouldn’t really recommend it to people who didn’t follow the case very closely. 3/5
  7. J.A. Jance, Name Withheld –> This one was okay for me. I didn’t really like or dislike it. I’d never read this author before, and I’m afraid to say I’m not going to be trying Jance again. 3/5
  8. James Patterson, The 5th Horseman –> This one is another good installment in the Women’s Murder Club. It’s a quick and enjoyable read! It’s not the best in the series (the 3rd is in my opinion), but I enjoyed it! Looking forward to the 6th in a little while! 4/5
  9. Jeffery Deaver, The Bone Collector –> I enjoyed this one. I found it a little hard to follow in places. But overall it’s a really good book. 4/5

Here are some statistics in regards to my reading:

  • Books read: 9
  • Pages read: 3,594
  • New Authors: 3
  • Fiction: 8
  • Nonfiction: 1
  • Read for Challenges: 7
4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, D, Fiction, Lincoln Rhyme, Read in 2008, SERIES

The Bone Collector by Jeffery Deaver

Tara
The Bone Collector
by Jeffery Deaver
Copyright: 1997
Pages: 423
Rating: 4/5
Read: July 28-31, 2008
Challenge: Triple 8 – First in a Series Category

First Line: She wanted only to sleep.

Lincoln Rhyme was one of the nation’s best criminologists. Then an accident at a crime scene paralyzed him. Now a bitter cripple, he’s ready to end his life. But when his old department drags him into a case, he is swept up into an intriguing case. A man known as the Bone Collector is preying on the New York streets, picking at random, and it will take Lincoln’s genius to solve the case. With police detective Amelia Sachs being his eyes at the crime scenes, it becomes a race against the clock in order to catch this madman before he hits too close to home….
I enjoyed this book. I found it a little difficult to follow in a few places, but that might have been my attention slipping a bit. I’ve only read one other in this series and am glad to have read the first in the series. Although I watched the movie, I didn’t recall enough of it to ruin the book for me (although I’m not sure I really agree with changing Thom’s character into Thelma for the movie). Overall I enjoyed this book!