Category: C

AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Kay Scarpetta, Read in 2009, SERIES

Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell

Tara

Postmortem
by Patricia Cornwell

Copyright: 1990
Pages: 327
Rating: 3.5/5
Read: Feb. 18-26, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; 2009 1st in a Series Challenge; RYOB 2009; Suspense & Thriller Challenge – Forensic mystery subcategory
Yearly Count: 13

First Line: It was raining in Richmond on Friday, June 6.

Someone is killing women in Richmond. Someone who is going completely undetected. A “Mr. Nobody” if you will. Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta is determined to get to the bottom of these cases and find out who is behind these brutal killings. Even when it becomes apparent that someone is trying to sabotage Kay’s investigation from inside her own office she will not back down … even if someone might even want her dead …

I finally got around to reading the first in this series. I’ve only read a few of these books here and there, but this one is not as good as some of the later ones that I’ve read of this series. However I am glad that I finally read the first book and can start to understand more things about this series as I continue on with it in order now.

AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Myron Bolitar, Read in 2009, SERIES

Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben

Tara

Deal Breaker
by Harlan Coben

Copyright: 1995
Pages: 343
Rating: 3.5/5
Read: Feb. 3-5, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; RYOB 2009; 2009 1st in a Series Challenge; 2009 Celebrate the Author Challenge
Yearly Count: 9

First Line: Otto Burke, the Wizard of Schmooze, raised his game another level.

Sports agent Myron Bolitar is representing rookie quarterback, Christian Steele. But when Christian receives a mysterious phone call from who he thinks is his former girlfriend who has been missing for over a year everything starts to spin out of control for Christian. And it is Myron who is at the helm of investigating what is really going on. But what he will find out will shock him more than he can believe possible.

This is the first in the Myron Bolitar series. I enjoyed it. However, I personally feel that his stand alone books might be better than this. I am going to continue this series, but I’m really not in much of a rush to do so.

Archie and Gretchen, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Read in 2009, SERIES

Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain

Tara

Sweetheart
by Chelsea Cain

Copyright: 2008
Pages: 325
Rating: 5/5
Read: Jan. 11-13, 2009
Challenge: What’s in a Name 2 – Body Part in title category; Countdown Challenge; 2009 100+ Reading Challenge
Yearly Count: 2

First Line: Forest Park was pretty in the summer.

Archie and Gretchen are back!! The police detective and serial killer’s lives once again intersect. This time Archie is investigating a body that was dumped in the same area as Gretchen’s first known kill. It brings back bitter memories for Archie. With the help of Susan Ward, Archie identifies the Jane Doe in the park and his case is only made even bigger by the identification. But everything has to be put on hold when the Beauty Killer case is blown wide open: Gretchen has escaped from prison! While everyone else is panicking, Archie is somehwat relieved. He knows that Gretchen is the person who has wrecked his life, and he also knows that he is the only one who can catch her. With that in mind, he formulates a plan that will help him get out from underneath the spell of Gretchen Lowell, the Beauty Killer. Are you ready, Darling?

Okay, I’m going to be honest here. I wasn’t really very impressed by the first book by Chelsea Cain featuring these two characters, Heartsick. But this book – I absolutely loved!!!!! You have to read the first book to understand what is going on in the second, and this second book actually answers a lot of unanswered questions from the first book (which was one of the complaints that I had about the book). Either way, though, you HAVE to read this book!!! I absolutely adored it. I’m really looking forward to the next book in this series, because I’m dying to know what happens. Oh and by the way, when you read that the character of Gretchen Lowell has been compared to the greatest serial killer since Hannibal Lecter – believe it!!

AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Read in 2008

I Heard That Song Before by Mary Higgins Clark

Tara
I Heard That Song Before
by Mary Higgins Clark

Copyright: 2007
Pages: 384
Rating: 5/5
Read: Dec. 6-14, 2008
Challenge: Celebrate the Author

First Line: My father was the landscaper for the Carrington estate.

When Kay Lansing was six years old she snuck into the Carrington estate and overheard a heated argument between a man and a woman. That same evening, Susan Althorp drove home with Peter Carrington. She was never seen again. Now, 22 years later, Kay Lansing finds herself in the Carrington estate once more, asking Peter for the use of his home as a site for a charity event. The whirlwind courtship and marriage that follows shocks everyone. However, when they return from their honeymoon, Peter is arrested for the murder of Susan. But Kay is convinced that her husband could never ever commit murder. However, once she sees him sleepwalking she begins to wonder if he could have possibly done something while he was asleep. Eventually Kay realizes that in order to find Susan’s real killer she must figure out who that man and woman arguing so many years ago was.

I enjoyed this book. It took me longer than it should have to read it because life and work got into the way, but I still really really enjoyed reading this one!! I just love Mary Higgins Clark and this book is another great read in my opinion! Check it out if you get the chance!

Archie and Gretchen, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Read in 2008, SERIES

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain

Tara
Heartsick
by Chelsea Cain

Copyright: 2007
Pages: 337
Rating: 4/5
Read: Sept. 26-Oct. 2, 2008
Challenge: No challenge; personal read

First Line: Archie doesn’t know for sure that it’s her until that moment.

Detective Archie Sheridan spent years tracking Gretchen Lowell, a brutal serial killer. But in the end, she caught him. And she tortured him and let him go. But why would she let Archie live?! That’s the question that has haunted Archie ever since. But when a new task force is formed because of a new killer on the loose, Archie is called back into duty to lead it. With the local news following this case 24/7 Archie can’t solve the case soon enough. But the question is, will he solve it in time to save himself?

Okay, in all honesty, I have heard a lot of good things from various people in regards to this book. So when it finally arrived in my mailbox via PBS, I was beyond ecstatic. But did it live up to my expectations?! Unfortunately, not really. However, in the end I ended up giving it a high rating because the ending was really a curve ball and was enjoyable. I just had a lot of issues with a few of the characters, mainly Susan and Gretchen. So I’m not sure if I will pick up the next Cain book, “Sweetheart” but I’m glad I read this one at the same time.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Harry Bosch, Read in 2008, SERIES

The Black Echo by Michael Connelly

Tara
The Black Echo
by Michael Connelly
Copyright: 1992
Pages: 412
Rating: 4/5
Read: July 9-16, 2008
Challenge: Celebrate the Author Challenge; Triple 8 – First in a Series Category

First Line: The boy couldn’t see in the dark, but he didn’t need to.

LAPD homicide cop Harry Bosch is surprised when he is able to identify the body in the drainpipe. It’s Billy Meadows, a fellow Vietnam “tunnel rat” who fought side by side with him. But Billy’s murder turns up evidence that there’s more than just murder to this story. Meadows’ death will take Bosch to clues of a bank heist that was never solved. It’s when working with a female FBI agent that Bosch will discover the true identity of the bank robber and murderer, and it’s a familiar and shocking face.
I enjoyed this book. I thought that it was a slow start, but the ending was REALLY good! Perhaps it was just because I’ve been swamped at work and haven’t had much spare time to read lately. Either way, I’m glad that I finally read this book. It is definitely an interesting read and one that should not be missed.
5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Read in 2008

The Innocent by Harlan Coben

Tara
The Innocent
by Harlan Coben
Copyright: 2005
Pages: 503
Rating: 5/5
Read: June 19-20
Challenge: Triple 8 – 500+ Pages Category

First Line: You never meant to kill him

Matt Hunter’s life as he knows it ends one night when he was innocently trying to break up a fight and ended up a killer. Nine years later, as an ex-con, he has it all – a wife, a baby on the way and they’re in the process of buying a house. But one phone call from his wife’s cell phone will tear everything he’s worked for apart. He will find himself once again in trouble with the law, this time completely innocent, and on the run trying to figure out his wife’s past.
Let me just say first, I LOVE HARLAN COBEN!!! I mean, I absolutely love everything I read by this guy!! I have yet to find a “eh” book by him. This one was just a total roller coaster ride! I had no idea what was going on and was completely shocked at the end! I highly recommend this book!
3.5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Read in 2008

The Titanic Murders by Max Allan Collins

Tara
The Titanic Murders
by Max Allan Collins
Copyright: 1999
Pages: 256
Rating: 3.5/5
Read: June 14-18, 2008
Challenge: Back to History
First Line: From the beginning, mystery and controversy have been stowaways on the Titanic’s crossing into history.
Jacques Futrelle, famous mystery author was one of the many passengers on the maiden voyage of the R.M.S. Titanic in April, 1914. He was one of 1,500 passengers that did not survive the sinking. When author Max Allan Collins received an anonymous phone call asking if he knew that there had been bodies found during a trip to the wreckage. The first thought that pops into mind, is, well, yeah of course there would be bodies, it’s essentially a cemetery. But when the caller states that they were found in canvas bags, he immediately gets Collins’ attention. What follows is Collins’ take on what had happened on board the Titanic based on the information that Jacques Futrelle’s daughter Virginia gives him.
When I saw this book in the used book store I grabbed it up simply because it had the word “Titanic” in it’s title. (Self-proclaimed Titanic junkie right here!). But I really enjoyed it. I only rated it a 3.5/5 simply because it could have been so much more, but after reading the Epilogue I understood why it was written the way that it was. Collins wanted to stick to as much historical facts as he could and it’s really what makes the book so interesting. He includes things about the ship, the passengers and the crew that he learned from his research that I didn’t know anything about. If you enjoy anything related to the Titanic or just like a good mystery pick this book up.
4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Dirk Pitt, Fiction, Read in 2008, SERIES

Raise the Titanic! by Clive Cussler

Tara
Raise the Titanic!
by Clive Cussler
Copyright: 1976
Pages: 435
Rating: 4/5
Read: May 28-31, 2008
Challenge: No challenge; personal read

First Line: The man on Deck A, Stateroom 33, tossed and turned in his narrow berth, the mind behind his sweating face lost in the depths of a nightmare.

The President is on a mission to secretly produce a defensive weapon that will change the world forever. To make the weapon work, a very rare, radioactive element is necessary – byzanium. Unfortunately, no trace of the element has been found to date. But Dirk Pitt has traced a stash of the element all the way to the watery grave of the Titanic. When the President gives the go-ahead, a massive undercover operation is begun that will ultimately try to raise the Titanic from the bottom of the ocean – an unheard of, unthinkable feat.
This book was really good. It had my attention from the first page. I have always been fascinated by the Titanic and loved the incorporation of it’s story into this story. I was also intrigued to see that this book was published some 10 years before the Titanic herself was actually found. Kudos to Clive Cussler for making the Titanic come to life even though in reality she is still in her watery grave.
5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Read in 2008

The Woods by Harlan Coben

Tara
The Woods
by Harlan Coben
Copyright: 2007
Pages: 508
Rating: 5/5
Read: May 24-27, 2008
Challenge: No challenge; personal read

First Line: I see my father with that shovel.

Prosecutor Paul Copeland is still dealing with the loss of his sister, Camille, twenty years ago. One night she walked into the woods with her summer camp boyfriend and never came out. While working one of the biggest cases of his career, new evidence comes to light. A man’s body has been found, brutally murdered. Evidence points to Copeland, who insists that he is looking at the body of his sister’s boyfriend. The possibility that Gil survived that night brings hope to Copeland that perhaps Camille did as well. Now on a mission to find out the real truth about his sister and that awful night in his teenage past, he will open doors that have been closed for quite some time … doors that most people want to remain closed.
This book was really, really good! I was hooked in from the first few paragraphs. For someone who has been in quite the reading slump, this book was a wonderful relief! This book came highly recommended to me from my mother and grandmother … and for those of you reading this blog: Read this book! Immediately! It is definitely NOT to be missed!!!