Category: Book Review

4.5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, RATING, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2009

REVIEW: Silent Witness by Richard North Patterson

Tara

Silent Witness
by Richard North Patterson

Copyright: 1996
Pages: 500
Rating: 4.5/5
Read: Oct. 29 – Nov. 6, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; RYOB 2009
Yearly Count: 58

First Line: Gina Belfante murdered her husband at one-fifteen on a Tuesday morning.

Attorney Tony Lord left his hometown shortly after graduating from high school and never looked back. He left the memory of his murdered girlfriend behind. But when he returns, nearly thirty years later, it’s to defend his high school best friend of the charge of murder. Sam Robb, married father of two, was the last person to see sixteen-year-old Marcie Calder alive. And when forensic evidence reveals that she was carrying his child, he quickly goes from witness to suspect. Tony returns back to town to help his former best friend. But he has no idea what he is getting into and what the consequences of defending his friend of Marcie’s murder could be in the end.

This one was a good read in my opinion. It took me a little longer to read than it should have because I’ve been really busy lately. But overall it’s a really good read. There are some sluggish parts, and the way that Patterson utilizes the flashback style of writing could be a little confusing in parts. However, I found that the ending to be very good. Patterson really brought things back together full circle and had his characters have to face some really tough issues. I really recommend this book.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2009, T

REVIEW: The Double Eagle by James Twining

Tara

The Double Eagle
by James Twining

Copyright: 2005
Pages: 399
Rating: 4/5
Read: Oct. 22-25, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge 2010; RYOB 2009
Yearly Count: 57

First Line: They were late.

Someone has managed to steal five Double Eagles from Fort Knox. These five $20 gold coins were some of the few still in existence. President Roosevelt ordered them destroyed during the Great Depression, and they are worth millions. When one of them turns up in the stomach of a murdered priest in France, FBI agent Jennifer Browne is put on the case. Browne knows that she needs to close this case in order to save her stalled career. Following all the clues leads her directly to art thief Tom Kirk. Kirk wants out of the game, and Browne can promise him a clean break, if he cooperates with her and helps her recover these coincs. This unlikly pair sets out on a breakneck race around the world and right into a surprising conspiracy of greed, power, and death.

I have had my eye on this book for a few years now. One of my co-workers’ wives recommended this book to me at a company Christmas party back in 2006 or 2007. It sounded interesting, but not something that was high on my priority list. But I kept coming back to it on my PBS reminder list and finally used the credit for it. And I can only say that I am disappointed I waited so long to meet James Twining’s work! I was totally taken pretty much from the first page. I was intrigued and couldn’t get through the pages quickly enough to figure out what was really going on. And when I got to the end, there was definitely a nice twist to the ending that surprised me. I really enjoyed all the descriptions about how Tom Kirk carried off his heists. This is a wonderful book I am definitely looking foward to getting around to the rest of the books in this series, and I doubt that I wait another two years to read the second book. I highly recommend this book.

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, RATING, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2009

REVIEW: Wait Until Twilight by Sang Pak

Tara

Wait Until Twilight
by Sang Pak

Copyright: 2009
Pages: 229
Rating: 3/5
Read: Oct. 19-21, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge 2010
Yearly Count: 56

First Line: The sun sits flat against the blue sky like someone pressed it on there with a giant thumb.

Sixteen-year-old Samuel is looking for the perfect subject for his video project for school. He has heard rumors about these supposed alien triplets in town. With his interest picqued, he heads out to their house to find out what the real story behind the triplets is. Immediately upon seeing these deformed babies, he is physically ill. However, an intense obsession with them begins soon after.

I was contacted directly by the author in regards to receiving a review copy of this book. I was intrigued after reading a brief excerpt, I thought it sounded really interesting. However, I was kind of confused about the book at about the halfway mark. It’s not a bad book at all; in fact Sang Pak has released a wonderfully written debut novel. It was just that the overall story was a little weird in my opinion. But I’d definitely recommend others to read this book.

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, L, Nonfiction, RATING, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2009

REVIEW: The Murder of Laci Peterson by Cliff Linedecker

Tara

The Murder of Laci Peterson
by Cliff Linedecker

Copyright: 2003
Pages: 222
Rating: 3.5/5
Read: Oct. 13-19, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge ; RYOB 2009; Countdown Challenge 2010
Yearly Count: 55

First Line: Homicide is the leading cause of death for pregnant women in America.

I followed this case like nothing I had ever followed before or since. I was just absolutely obsessed with it. And yeah, I thought Peterson was guilty from pretty much day one. I don’t want to go into a lot of details of the case itself because anyone who was alive in America and paying the slightest bit of attention in 2002 after the disappearance of Laci to the end of 2005 that culminated with the guilty verdict and death sentence of Scott knows at least the basic facts of this case. All in all, I was like a lot of the American people, I fell in love with the young woman with the deep dimples who was excited to be having a baby boy in a few months. And I was outraged that her husband could possibly be responsible for killing her. To read the first line of this book that I quoted up above is absolutely sickening. Pregnancy is supposed to be the happiest time in a woman’s life. It’s really a miracle, a blessing. Having never been pregnant myself, I cannot imagine what it would feel like to carry a baby inside me. But I also cannot imagine the pain and hurt and betrayal that would accomany being murdered by your spouse either. But to know that you and your baby both were being murdered: unthinkable. There really isn’t nothing new in this book that anyone who paid attention to this case as it was unfolding wouldn’t already know. It was published before Scott Peterson went on trial for the murders of his wife and unborn son, so there is a huge chunk of the case not even covered in it. But I suppose if you want a pretty good description of the facts of the case, this would be a good choice. I have also read Laci by Michael Fleeman (last year I believe). I’m not sure which one would be the better choice, because the facts are the facts pretty much in this case. But if you’re a true crime fan, this is definitely a book and case that will prove to be interesting.

5/5, Alex Cross, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, RATING, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2009, SERIES

REVIEW: Pop Goes the Weasel by James Patterson

Tara

Pop Goes the Weasel
by James Patterson

Copyright: 1999
Pages: 461
Rating: 5/5
Read: Oct. 14-18, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge ; RYOB 2009
Yearly Count: 54

First Line: Geoffrey Shafer, dashingly outfitted in a single-breasted blue blazer, white shirt, striped tie, and narrow gray trousers from H. Huntsman & Sons, walked out of his town house at seven-thirty in the morning and climbed into a black Jaguar XJ12.

Alex Cross is back! In this installment of the Cross series, Alex is up against a guy that no one is looking for. Jane Does are being murdered in the Southeast. No one seems to care. No one seems to see a connection. Except for Alex Cross. He cares. He sees a connection with these Jane Does. He spends his off-duty time investigating these murders. But his supervisor pulls him off the case. There are more important cases in his opinion than a case that really doesn’t exist within the department. But when Alex’s fiancee is kidnapped, Alex doesn’t know what to do. As time goes on, he moves on. He dives right back into his work on the Jane Doe murder cases. He dubs the killer “The Weasel”. But when he finally catches up to the Weasel he gets the shock of a lifetime – the Weasel has diplomatic immunity. But instead of invoking his immunity, he waives it in order to try and beat Alex Cross. This puts Alex up against his most interesting character yet.

I just love this series! It is so much better than his Women’s Murder Club books are. This one was a really good installment though. It was full of twists and turns and I loved the character that Patterson created in Shafer aka The Weasel. I personally thought that he was a creepier villain than Gary Sonjei was. As a reader, I really felt Alex’s pain when his fiancee went missing. I really feel a connection with Cross’s character, and I just love his Nana’s character!! I look forward to getting around to the next one in this series to see how Alex’s relationship with Christine continues to develop. I highly recommend this series to anyone, and I felt like this was another strong book in the series.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, H, RATING, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2009, SERIES

REVIEW: A Bone to Pick by Charlaine Harris

Tara

A Bone to Pick
by Charlaine Harris

Copyright: 1995
Pages: 262
Rating: 4/5
Read: Oct. 10-13, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge ; RYOB 2009;
Yearly Count: 53

First Line: In less than a year, I went to three weddings and one funeral.

Roe Teagarden has had an interesting year. After her crime discussion group disbanded, it seems like life has been a roller coaster – with her personal life on a permanent downfall. But her life will be turned upside down when she is told that she has inherited everything that Jane Engle owned. Jane was a member of the abovementioned discussion group but it wasn’t like she was Roe’s best friend. So why would Jane leave her everything? Roe is unsure but she is impressed by the inheritance. But when she finds a skull in Jane’s window seat she is completely baffled. Knowing Jane, Roe is positive that she had not killed somebody, but why on earth would Jane Engle have a skull in her house? She finally realizes that Jane would have wanted Roe to figure out the puzzle that Jane left behind. But Roe begins to suspect that one of her new seemingly ordinary neighbors is a cold-blooded murderer.

I recently read the first in this series, Real Murders and was not very impressed overall. This one was a lot better. But my one main complaint is that halfway through the book it’s like the mystery part of the book was thrown out. On the positive side there was a lot of character development in this installment, but the actual murder mystery part of this book was kind of sporadic. Overall it’s a good story and it was a quick and enjoyable read, but I felt like there could have been a lot more to the actually mystery part of this book.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, G, Kinsey Millhone, RATING, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2009, SERIES

REVIEW: ‘D’ is for Deadbeat by Sue Grafton

Tara

‘D’ is for Deadbeat
by Sue Grafton

Copyright: 1987
Pages: 240
Rating: 4/5
Read: Oct. 6-10, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; A Well-Rounded Challenge 2009 ;2009 Celebrate the Author Challenge; RYOB 2009; 2009 What’s in a Name Challenge
Yearly Count: 52

First Line: Later, I found out his name was John Daggett, but that’s not how he introduced himself the day he walked into my office.

Kinsey Millhone figures her latest job will be an easy one. All she has to do is deliver a $25,000 check to a fifteen-year-old boy. She was a little leery of Alvin Limardo, but she took the job, and his retainer check. But when the check bounced, she knew that something wasn’t quite right. Trying to track Alvin down, she finds out that Alvin is actually John Daggett, a drunk who was just released from prison. But by the time Kinsey tracks him down again, he’s dead. And unfortunately there is a very long list of people who was more than happy to see him end up dead. So how does a private investigator get a dead man to pay up?

This is the fourth installment in the Kinsey Millhone series. I found this book to be slow to start, but it had a really great middle and then a below-par ending. It really is kind of unbelievable in regards to all the trouble that Kinsey manages to find. But I like her character. This one was definitely better than the first three books in this series were. I guess she was still developing as an author back then. But I’m going to repeat something that I know that I mentioned in my reviews of the first three in this series: it’s hard to pack a really great action-filled story into 240 pages. I know that as this series progresses, the books become longer in length, and I hope that that’s due to Grafton being able to develop the characters a little bit more. That’s something that I really look for in a series, but I haven’t seen much development so far.

5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, G, Jane Rizzoli, RATING, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2009, SERIES

REVIEW: The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen

Tara

The Surgeon
by Tess Gerritsen

Copyright: 2001
Pages: 359
Rating: 5/5
Read: Oct. 3-5, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; 2009 Celebrate the Author Challenge; 2010 Countdown Challenge; RYOB 2009
Yearly Count: 51

First Line: Today they will find her body.

He is dubbed The Surgeon. He slips into women’s homes unnoticed and does horrendous things to their bodies. Things that are so precise, it indicates that he is a man of medicine. The only clue is another surgeon, Dr. Catherine Cordell. Two years ago she was attacked and fought back and ultimately killed her attacker. But everything Cordell has worked to build will come crashing down when The Surgeon begins to do his work in Boston – he will re-create almost identically the ordeal that Cordell went through.

Okay, so I’ve read a later book in this series, Vanish, a couple of years ago and I really enjoyed it. I’ve had this one on my shelf for over a year now and finally picked it up! And I am definitely glad that I did pick this one up, I was really surprised by it. I loved it! I am not one who normally reads and/or likes medical type books. But this one was a little different than your typical medical thriller. There was an actual story kind of outside of the hospital to this book. Sure, there was a distinct medical aspect to the book, but as the reader I was not bogged down with a lot of medical terminology. I found it to be a really easy read and very suspenseful! Highly recommended!

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, RATING, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2009

REVIEW: The Godwulf Manuscript by Robert B. Parker

Tara

The Godwulf Manuscript
by Robert B. Parker

Copyright: 1973
Pages: 204
Rating: 3/5
Read: Sept. 28-29, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; 2009 1st in a Series Challenge; 2009 Celebrate the Author Challenge; Random Reading Challenge; RYOB 2009
Yearly Count: 50

First Line: The office of the university president looked like the front parlor of a successful Victorian whorehouse.

Spenser, a private detective, is hired by a local university to find a rare manuscript that has been stolen. But when a body shows up, the cops are ready to throw the book at the dead man’s girlfriend. But Spenser has a feeling that the dead man and the missing manuscript are connected. But when people start to tell Spenser to back off from this case, that only makes him want to solve it even more.

Okay, so this was a weird book. It’s been on my shelf for a little bit and it sounded interesting. But it just wasn’t my thing. First of all, I really didn’t take to Spenser’s character. I mean, I guess he was okay, he had some witty remarks here and there, but overall his character did nothing to endear me. I also felt like the plotline was a little lacking in places. It was just an okay book honestly. I suppose I will eventually read the second in this series, but if it doesn’t improve I probably won’t continue.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2009

REVIEW: Michelangelo’s Notebook by Paul Christopher

Tara

Michelangelo’s Notebook
by Paul Christopher

Copyright: 2005
Pages: 355
Rating: 4/5
Read: Sept. 23-27, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; 2009 1st in a Series Challenge; 2010 Countdown Challenge; RYOB 2009
Yearly Count: 49

First Line: Maggiore Tiberio Bertoglio, wearing the uniform of one of the Mussolini Black Brigades – complete with ebony shoulder boards, bloodred-and-silver double-M collar tabs and a silver-and-black skull-and-crossbones insignia on the forepeak of his regulation bustina – sat in the backseat of the dusty Lancia staff car, arms crossed over his ches Il Duce-style, not feeling half as grand as he looked.

Beautiful art history student Finn Ryan is just an intern when she discovers something amazing: a Michelangelo drawing that has been mislabeled and seemingly forgotten about. But this is no ordinary Michelangelo. Finn is pretty certain that it is from Michelangelo’s missing notebook. After a confrontation with her immediate supervisor, Finn is fired from her intern position and her boyfriend is killed that same night, stealing the sketches that she had made of that drawing. Not knowing what is going on, Finn flees while she still can, to the address that her mother gave her before she moved to NYC. It brings her face to face with an antiquarian book dealer, Michael Valentine. Together, they will unravel the mystery of this Michelangelo and try and discover a secret that has been well-kept since the final days of World War II … a secret that has ties to the Vatican … a secret that could get Finn and Valentine killed.

This book starts out really good. It has a lot of fast paced action. But then at times it’s also kind of confusing because it flashes back and forth between the present day with Finn and Valentine and the last days of World War II. It took me quite some time to even begin to figure out what was going on and why the flashbacks kept happening, but overall I thought that this was a good book. I have the other three books in the Finn Ryan series and I’m definitely looking forward to getting to them. I will say that I gave this book a 4 overall simply because it was a little hard to follow in places. So overall this is a great book that I highly recommend.