Category: Read in 2010

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, K, Maggie O'Dell, RATING, Read in 2010, READING CHALLENGES 2010, SERIES

REVIEW: Damaged by Alex Kava

Tara

Damaged
by Alex Kava

Copyright: 2010
Pages: 255
Rating: 4/5
Read: July 25-27, 2010
Challenge: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge 2010; Finish That Series Challenge
Yearly Count: 37

First Line: Elizabeth Bailey didn’t like what she saw.

Pensacola Beach is bracing for what could be a category 5 hurricane. The Coast Guard is routinely patrolling the Gulf of Mexico when they spot a cooler floating a mile offshore. Suspecting drugs, they recover it. Instead of drugs, it’s full of body parts. Profiler Maggie O’Dell is called in on the case. She is able to track down who the torso belonged to – a man who went missing during a previous hurricane on the other side of Florida. How did the body end up 600 miles away in the Gulf? Maggie must battle a serial killer in the middle of a hurricane to get all the answers this case has to offer.

This is the eighth in the Maggie O’Dell series and I must say, I was a little disappointed in it. First of all, Maggie didn’t even feel like the main character in this book; Scott and Liz did. And the story seemed to build up for the first 200 pages and then the ending was so rushed. The storyline seemed good, but not all that inventive, really. I have never read an Alex Kava book that felt so rushed. I just felt as if there was too much emphasis on the other characters, and not enough on Maggie, who is obviously the main character in this series. I still gave it a good rating because I just love this series and this author, but it’s definitely not the best book in this series.

4.5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, D, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2010, READING CHALLENGES 2010

REVIEW: The Next Killing by Rebecca Drake

Tara

The Next Killing
by Rebecca Drake

Copyright: 2007
Pages: 416
Rating: 4./5
Read: July 21-25, 2010
Challenge: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge 2010; RYOB 2010
Yearly Count: 36

First Line: The shed was dark.

St. Ursula’s Preparatory Academy is an elite institution that young girls have come to for years. There have been so many good memories, so much learning, and now so much death. When the first body is found, an accident is assumed. But the students know that something else is going on. When other girls turn up dead, it become increasingly obvious that there is a serial killer at work in the halls of St. Ursula. No sins will go unpunished at this school.

The description of this book immediately caught my eye, this is pretty much a perfect book for me. And for the most part, I enjoyed it. But I did have an issue with the ending, I wasn’t really too fond of it. It was okay, but that’s about it. I also had a feeling that the killer was revealed a little too early. It would have been a little bit better had it come in the last few pages, rather than with 100 pages to go. Overall, I enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to other people to read.

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Dirk Pitt, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2010, READING CHALLENGES 2010, SERIES

REVIEW: Pacific Vortex! by Clive Cussler

Tara

Pacific Vortex!
by Clive Cussler

Copyright: 1982
Pages: 270
Rating: 3/5
Read: July 11-14, 2010
Challenge: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Celebrate the Author Challenge 2010; Random Reading Challenge; RYOB 2010
Yearly Count: 35

First Line: Every ocean takes its toll of men and ships, yet none devours them with the voracious appetite of the Pacific.

Dirk Pitt, deep-sea expert, is put to the ultimate test when he has to plunge into the Pacific Vortex, a fog-shrouded sea zone where dozens of ships have gone missing without a trace. The latest victim is the Navy submarine Starbuck. An awesome super-sub with a nuclear arsenal, the Navy must find the Starbuck before the Russians do. Pitt has to find it and salvage it. The job sounds easy, but his time is limited. He will encounter a beautiful and dangerous woman and will find an ancient sunken island along the way, but it will end up being a race against time to make it out of the sea alive.

This is the first in the Dirk Pitt series. I have read another Cussler book in the past few years and really enjoyed it. This one was not as good in my opinion. The storyline was really strange, with an almost sci-fi-ish slant to it. Very strange, indeed. Overall it was just an okay book for me. I will probably continue on with this series, but this book will not stand out in my mind by any means.    

3/5, Alex Cross, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, RATING, Read in 2010, READING CHALLENGES 2010, SERIES

REVIEW: London Bridges by James Patterson

Tara

London Bridges
by James Patterson

Copyright: 2004
Pages: 378
Rating: 3/5
Read: July 5-10, 2010
Challenge: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge 2010; RYOB 2010
Yearly Count: 34

First Line: Colonel Geoffrey Shafer loved his new life in Salvador, Brazil’s third-largest city and some would say its most intriguing.

One of Alex Cross’s worst nightmare has come true: the Wolf and the Weasel are working together and what they are capable of together is incomprehensible. It begins when a small Nevada town is completely destroyed by a bomb. The Wolf takes credit for the destruction. This automatically brings Alex Cross in on the case. But the Wolf is far from done; he is giving law enforcement four days to come up with some serious money or else he will obliterate major cities, including London, Paris, and New York. Alex will run like crazy for those four days in order to figure out the identity of the Wolf and end this once and for all.

This is the 10th book in the Alex Cross series. Overall, I was not as impressed by this book as I have been with other books in this series. I had some serious problems with the plot, it felt a little more forced and choppy in places than other Alex Cross novels. There seemed to be a lot of jumping around back and forth and I had some trouble following where Alex was at a few times. There also seemed to be quite a few too many false leads and bad guys, I understood why Patterson chose to write this book in that fashion, but I just didn’t care for this strategy. That’s not to say that the book wasn’t enjoyable, because it was good. But I was just a little bit disappointed with it.

5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, D, Fiction, Lincoln Rhyme, RATING, Read in 2010, READING CHALLENGES 2010, SERIES

REVIEW: The Coffin Dancer by Jeffery Deaver

Tara

The Coffin Dancer
by Jeffery Deaver

Copyright: 1998
Pages: 532
Rating: 5/5
Read: June 24 – July 4, 2010
Challenge: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Celebrate the Author Challenge 2010; Random Reading Challenge; RYOB 2010
Yearly Count: 33

First Line: When Edward Carney said good-bye to his wife, Percey, he never thought it would be the last time he’d see her.

Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs have to pair up again to hunt down the Coffin Dancer – an ingenius killer who changes his appearance as often as most people change their clothes. They only have one clue – a tattoo on the killer’s arm is reportedly that of the Grim Reaper dancing with a woman in front of a coffin. Lincoln and Amelia have so little to work with, but they must find out who the killer is before more people die.

This is the second book in the Lincoln Rhyme series and I loved it!! It was so fast paced and so full of twists and turns. The plot was interesting as well. But I did have one issue with Amelia’s jealousy of another woman who supposedly has Lincoln’s interest. The jealousy was so unbecoming and I also felt as if it was a little forced, a male author (no matter how skilled) really didn’t capture the feelings Amelia would have felt like a woman author would have. It just didn’t work out all that great in my opinion. It definitely didn’t do anything about my opinion about Amelia’s character. But overall I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to see where this series goes next!

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Kay Scarpetta, RATING, Read in 2010, READING CHALLENGES 2010, SERIES

REVIEW: Black Notice by Patricia Cornwell

Tara

Black Notice
by Patricia Cornwell

Copyright: 1999
Pages: 441
Rating: 4/5
Read: June 17-23, 2010
Challenge: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; RYOB 2010
Yearly Count: 32

First Line: The late morning blazed with blue skies and the colors of fall, but none of it was for me.

When the body of an unidentified man is found in a cargo ship in Richmond, cause of death and an identification is nearly impossible. But Dr. Kay Scarpetta is able to make out an odd tattoo on the decomposing flesh. It will be that tattoo that will lead Kay to Interpol, over in France. But she also has to deal with a lot of stuff on the homefront. There seems to be someone out to get her and Marino: someone wants both of them out of their jobs. In order to figure out this latest puzzle, Kay will have to try and protect her career while also trying to get to the truth at the same time.

This is the 10th book the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series. I personally felt like it was another good installment in this series. However, I did have a few complaints: first, I got really tired of Kay and Marino constantly fighting in this book. I understood that emotions were still raw from what happened in the previous book, and I also understood that they were both having to deal with some changes in their jobs, but seriously? It was a little annoying after a while – I mean, their characters have always kind of gotten on each other’s nerves, but it was really obnoxious in this book. I also had some issues with Lucy’s attitude in this book. I hope that the characters straighten their attitudes out in the next installment of this book. Overall, I’m still enjoying this series and I did enjoy this book, but it wasn’t as good as some of the earlier books in the series.

5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, RATING, Read in 2010, READING CHALLENGES 2010

REVIEW: The Spire by Richard North Patterson

Tara

The Spire
by Richard North Patterson

Copyright: 2009
Pages: 446
Rating: 5/5
Read: June 11-14, 2010
Challenge: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Celebrate the Author 2010; RYOB 2010; Thriller & Suspense Challenge 2010
Yearly Count: 31

First Line:Sixteen years after the murder of Angela Hall had precipitated the decline of Caldwell College, Mark Darrow returned to campus, standing in the shadow of the Spire.

Mark Darrow grew up with very little – football was his only real escape. But when he is approached by Lionel Farr, a professor at a nearby college, Darrow is given the opportunity to excel in many areas of his life. Now a successful attorney, Darrow is called back to his alma mater by Farr to become the school’s new president. But coming back to campus brings back terrible memories – a fellow student was murdered during Mark’s senior year – and the person convicted of the murder was Mark’s best friend. Having pushed his friend’s conviction to the back of his mind sixteen years ago, Mark is unable to shake the feeling that something was not right – that the case was not as airtight as everyone seemed to believe. But as Mark begins an informal inquiry into the murder, he will realize that not only is the murderer still out there, but that his life is surely in danger.

Okay, it’s been a while since I have really been drawn into a book, and I must admit it really was a wonderful feeling! I was sucked into this book within the first few pages and I could barely stand to put it down at all! I will confess, however, that I had a pretty good feeling as to who the real bad guy was kind of early on in the book, but I had no idea just how far things would go when my suspicions were first aroused. However, that didn’t stop me from enjoying this book one bit. I simply could not get through it fast enough to find out what the ending would be! I really highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good book to read! I loved it!!

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, H, RATING, Read in 2010, READING CHALLENGES 2010, Review Book

REVIEW: The Alexandria Letter by George R. Honig

Tara

The Alexandria Letter
by George R. Honig

Copyright: 2010
Pages: 325
Rating: 4/5
Read: June 6-11, 2010
Challenge: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge 2010; Thriller & Suspense Challenge 2010
Yearly Count: 30

First Line: Late one evening, in the spring of the year 362, the venerable Athanasios, Bishop of Alexandria, received a visit from one of his deacons.

After Cambridge scholar Nathan Tobin discovers an ancient Aramaic letter, he finds himself thrown into an agonizing struggle against powerful forces committed to discrediting him. The Alexandria letter discloses surprising revelations about the lives of Jesus and John the Baptist, as well as shocking claims of duplicity by Paul of Tarsus, which threaten to turn long-held principles of Christianity on their heads. But as he races to verify the authenticity of the letter, he faces rejection by his fellow scholars and sinister opposition from within the Church that aims to stop him at any costs. The Alexandria letter represents the most important work Nathan has ever done, but it may also be the last.

I received this book to review courtesy of Maia Levenson with Phenix & Phenix Publicity.I was excited by the blurb when I was first contacted about this book, I thought it sounded like a book that would be really great and right up my alley. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. But I felt like it had a slightly slow start, the first 50 or so pages were kind of rough for me to get through. But once I got really into the book the pages were flying by! I really liked this book and would definitely recommend it!

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, RATING, Read in 2010, READING CHALLENGES 2010, SERIES, Thomas Pitt

REVIEW: The Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry

Tara

The Cater Street Hangman
by Anne Perry

Copyright: 1979
Pages: 247
Rating: 3/5
Read: June 5-8, 2010
Challenge: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Thriller & Suspense Challenge 2010
Yearly Count: 29

First Line: Charlotte Ellison stood in the centre of the withdrawing room, the newspaper in her hand.

There is a murderer running loose in the Cater Street area of London in 1881. The Ellison household is shocked by the gruesome murders. The Ellison girls are proper young Victorian ladies and things like this just aren’t discussed in their household. But when Inspector Pitt comes around asking questions, it becomes apparent that he fancies Charlotte. As Inspector Pitt’s investigation continues, and more murders occur, including one that hits incredibly close to home for the Ellison family, the walls of a carefully structured facade will eventually crumble.

Okay, this is the first in the Thomas Pitt series. I had never read any Anne Perry before and figured this would be a good place to start. For the most part, the book was enjoyable. I am not used to reading historical fiction, but this one read quite easily. But I had some issues with the characters. First of all, I realize that it’s set in 1880’s London. I get that it’s going to be stuffy – but my goodness! Charlotte’s father, Edward, could not have been any more controlling when it came to the information that was discussed in the household. I can understand not wanting to discuss murders and the like, but it was happening in their neighborhood, it was bound to be a topic up for discussion. And don’t even get me started on the Grandmother – her character was about as loathsome as you could get. I just wanted the old bat to shut up! The story itself was decent. I felt like there was a lot of unnecessary work up to the eventual outcome of the story, but the murderer ended up being a pretty good surprise. Overall I’m not going to go screaming off the rooftops about how wonderful this book was, but I am curious about continuing on with this series and seeing where Charlotte and Thomas end up.

5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, G, Jane Rizzoli, RATING, Read in 2010, READING CHALLENGES 2010, SERIES

REVIEW: The Sinner by Tess Gerritsen

Tara

The Sinner
by Tess Gerritsen

Copyright: 2003
Pages: 355
Rating: 5/5
Read: June 2-5, 2010
Challenge: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; 2010 Celebrate the Author Challenge; Random Reading Challenge; RYOB 2010; Thriller & Suspense Challenge 2010
Yearly Count: 28

First Line: The driver refused to take him any farther.

Christmas is around the corner, and no one is unaffected when they get called out to a brutal crime scene at a convent. Two nuns are found, one dead and one critically injured, after being savagely attacked within the walls of the convent. When medical examiner does the autopsy of the dead woman, she is in for a surprise: Sister Camille gave birth shortly before her murder. When another body is found mutilated beyond recognition, it takes a while for Maura to realize that there might just be a connection between the two cases. But what Maura and Detective Jane Rizzoli uncover about these two cases will prove to be even more shocking and will hit even more closer to home for Maura.

This is the third book in the Jane Rizzoli/Maura Isles series. I particularly enjoyed this book. First off, it was told from Maura’s perspective, which is different from the first two books where Jane tells the story. So that was kind of nice, it let us into Maura’s world a little bit more. I also enjoyed what Jane was going through in her personal life, it really opened her character up a little as well. I know that after I read the previous book, The Apprentice, I complained a little about Jane’s character. I felt like she was a lot more developed and likable in this installment. I enjoy this series, which I find interesting because for the most part, I do not like medical-type books whatsoever. But I have really taken to these books. I’m looking forward to getting the next book in the mail so I can start it!