Category: AUTHOR

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Eve Duncan, Fiction, J, Read in 2008, SERIES

The Face of Deception by Iris Johansen

Tara
The Face of Deception
by Iris Johansen
Copyright: 1999
Pages: 446
Rating: 4/5
Read: Jan. 24-25, 2008
Challenge: Triple Eight Challenge – First in a Series category
First Line: It was going to happen.
Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan wants nothing more than to find the body of her murdered daughter and do her work. Unfortunately, work is all she has for now. But her world is turned upside down when billionaire John Logan confronts her, offering her a large sum of money for the use of her services. Unsure of his reasons, she reluctantly agrees to the job. What she will find out in the process will not only stun the nation when revealed but also puts her and her closest family and friends in danger.
This was a really good book! I enjoyed it a lot! It was a good introduction to the Eve Duncan series and I want to pursue this series more. I highly recommend it!
5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, I, Read in 2008

The Quiet Game by Greg Iles

Tara
The Quiet Game
by Greg Iles
Copyright: 1999
Pages: 559
Rating: 5/5
Read: Jan. 21-23, 2008
Challenge: Triple Eight Challenge – 500+ Pages category
First Line: I am standing in line for Walt Disney’s It’s a Small World ride, holding my four-year-old daughter in my arms, trying to entertain her as the serpentine line of parents and children moves slowly toward the flat-bottomed boats emerging from the grotto to the music of an endless audio loop.
Prosecutor turned novelist Penn Cage returns to his hometown of Natchez, Mississippi, a few months after his wife’s death to sort things out with his young daughter. But peace and quiet is the last thing that he gets, for instead he finds himself mixed up in a murder investigation. Unfortunately, the murder happened some twenty years in the past and everyone seems to want to forget about it. But Penn cannot leave well enough alone and insists on seeing the case solved.
I loved this book!! I love Greg Iles’ books and this one definitely does not disappoint. It was full of lots of intrigue and twists and turns. This book is definitely a page turner and I highly recommend it! [Note: There is a lot of adult material in this book.]
4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, F, Nonfiction, Read in 2008

Murder in Greenwich by Mark Fuhrman

Tara
Murder in Greenwich: Who Killed Martha Moxley
by Mark Fuhrman
Copyright: 1998/1999
Pages: 401
Rating: 4/5
Read: Jan. 18-21, 2008
Challenge: Triple Eight Challenge – True Crime Category; What’s in a Name challenge (Place category)
First Line: Although she had lived in Greenwich for only a little more than a year, Martha Moxley had made many friends.
Mark Fuhrman goes into great detail about the Martha Moxley murder case. In this book he really goes into how the Greenwich police bungled the case practically from day one. To say that they were unprepared and inexperienced for such a case would be quite an understatement. Fuhrman’s book really tore the case wide open. He made the world look at the case in a new light and made them want to solve this case regardless of what it took. He clearly states that Michael Skakel is the murderer and that suspicion needs to rest on him rather than the other suspects. I enjoyed this book. I’m glad that he took the initiative to dive into a case that was long cold and also something that most Greenwich residents wanted to forget about completely.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, G, Read in 2008

Gone by Lisa Gardner

Tara
Gone
by Lisa Gardner
Copyright: 2006
Pages: 448
Rating: 4/5
Read: Jan. 16-18, 2008
Challenge: No challenge; personal read
First Line: She is dreaming again.
Former FBI Agent Rainie Conner is missing. Her car is found on a deserted highway in the middle of the night with the engine running, her car door open and purse still on the front seat. Her husband, ex-FBI profiler, Pierce Quincy goes nuts trying to help with the investigation. Rainie has a lot of ghosts in her past, has one of them come back to haunt her? Or was this a stranger to stranger abduction? Regardless, the police and Pierce have to team up to follow the ransom notes and find Rainie – dead or alive.
I enjoyed this book. I thought it was well written and read quickly. This was the first book I’ve read by Lisa Gardner and thought it was really good. The twists and turns were really good. The kidnapper was a complete shock (yet not surprising if you know your psychology). I recommend this one to anyone.
5/5, A, AUTHOR, Book Review, Nonfiction, Read in 2008

After Diana by Christopher Andersen

Tara
After Diana: William, Harry, Charles, and the Royal House of Windsor
by Christopher Andersen
Copyright: 2007
Pages: 301
Rating: 5/5
Read: Jan. 10-16, 2008
Challenge: Triple Eight Challenge, Biography/Autobiography Category
First Line: He took a few steps toward the body, gasped, then reeled back as if struck by an unseen hand.
Christopher Andersen delves into the private lives of the Royal Family since the tragic “accident” that took Princess Diana’s life. He not only details the comings and goings of Princes William and Harry, but also the actions of Prince Charles and his mistress (and now wife) Camilla.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’ve only read one other Diana book and this one was much better. I’m fascinated by the Royal Family. I’m also fascinated by Princess Diana’s untimely death. This book does a wonderful job of telling the stories of the young Princes’ lives after their mother’s death.
4/5, AUTHOR, B, Book Review, Fiction, Read in 2008

Darkness Peering by Alice Blanchard

Tara
Darkness Peering
by Alice Blanchard
Copyright: 1999
Pages: 316
Rating: 4/5
Read: Jan. 14-16, 2008
Challenge: No challenge; personal read
First Line: Police Chief Nalen Storrow found the dead girl lying faceup in a rust-colored runoff pond on the westernmost corner of Old Mo Heppenheimer’s cow pasture.
A young girl is found strangled in Flowering Dogwood, Maine. The investigation leads to the Police Chief’s son, Billy, as the only suspect. Almost twenty years later, the ex-Police Chief’s daughter, Rachel, now a police officer in Flowering Dogwood, wants to reopen the case. Soon after another young woman goes missing and turns up dead. And once again, Billy is the prime suspect. Will Rachel find that the truth would only hurt her in the end?
I enjoyed this book. I’ve never read anything by Blanchard, but I was thoroughly impressed by her writing. I found myself turning the pages quickly only to realize that at the end the killer came out of left field (with a few subtly laid clues which I of course missed!). I recommend this book to anyone! I really enjoyed it!!
5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Read in 2008

Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark

Tara
Two Little Girls in Blue
by Mary Higgins Clark
Copyright: 2006
Pages: 390
Rating: 5/5
Read: Jan. 10-11, 2008
Challenges: What’s in a Name (Color category); Numbers Challenge; Triple Eight Challenge,
From my TBR Shelf category
First Line: “Hold on a minute, Rob, I think one of the twins is crying. Let me call you back.”
Margaret and Steve Frawley’s three year old twin daughters, Kelly and Kathy, have been kidnapped from their own room, their babysitter knocked unconscious. When the ransom note comes in for eight million dollars, the money is put up by Steve’s employers. Unfortunately, only Kelly comes home safely. But when Kelly begins to voice concern that Kathy is not dead, as was widely assumed, Margaret goes frantic trying to bring Kathy home safely.
I loved this book! It was great!!! The twists and turns were wonderful. I love reading Mary Higgins Clark … she never disappoints! This book read rather quickly and was enjoyable. Another A+ effort by MHC!
1/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, Read in 2008

The Night Class by Tom Piccirilli

Tara
The Night Class
by Tom Piccirilli

Copyright: 2002
Pages: 278
Rating: 1/5
Read: Jan. 9, 2008
Challenge: No challenge; personal read

First Line: Cal’s ethic’s class was enough to drive him to murder.

Caleb returns from winter break to find that a young woman was murdered in his dorm room. Not being able to get the answers he wants or needs, he sets out on his own to figure out what really happened. But in the process he will stumble upon things that will make him go mad.

I didn’t like this book at all. I didn’t understand what was going on half of the time. I still am not really sure what the ending was supposed to be. I was not at all impressed.

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, R, Read in 2008, SERIES

Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs

Tara
Deja Dead
by Kathy Reichs
Copyright: 1997
Pages: 532
Rating: 3/5
Read: Jan. 5-8, 2008
Challenge: Triple Eight Challenge, First in a Series category
First Line: I wasn’t thinking about the man who’d blown himself up.
Dr. Temperance Brennan finds herself trying to convince her coworkers that there is a serial killer on the loose in Quebec. Five women have to die before she is finally able to convince them of this. Racing against the clock, after losing her best friend and the thought of losing her daughter starts to become quite a real possibility, Brennan has to face the killer herself.
I was not incredibly impressed with this novel. Maybe it’s because I know the TV show “Bones” so well and this is so not at all like the show. But I really had trouble with all the technological and medical information (in addition to the comments in French) and it really put a damper on my opinion of the book. I was bogged down throughout the entire reading and I doubt I will continue on with this series.
3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, F, Nonfiction, Read in 2008

Laci by Michael Fleeman

Tara

Laci: Inside the Laci Peterson Murder
by Michael Fleeman

Copyright: 2003 – update 2004
Pages: 250
Rating: 3/5
Read: Jan. 4-5, 2008
Challenge: Triple Eight Challenge, True Crime category

First Line: ” ‘Hi, Mom.’ It was Scott Peterson on the line.

Michael Fleeman delves into the story of the Laci Peterson murder. In the short 250 pages the reader reads all the information that had already come out during the investigation itself. This book was a slight disappointment for myself. After reading Catherine Crier’s book, A Deadly Game and Sharon Rocha’s book, For Laci, this book was not up to par. There was no secret, hidden information like in Crier’s book. There was no heartrending, tear-jerking recollections like in Rocha’s book. This was just a straight repetition of the facts. It was dull in places, and never really grabbed my attention. For those who watched the events fold out on CourtTV and other stations, you already know everything in this book. It was just okay for me.