Category: Read in 2010

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

REVIEW: Black Friday by Alex Kava

Tara

Black Friday
by Alex Kava

Copyright: 2009
Pages: 295
Rating: 5/5
Read: Feb. 7 – 11, 2010
Challenge:  2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Finish That Series Challenge
Yearly Count: 7

First Line: Rebecca Cory stood her ground despite another elbow shoved into her shoulder blades.

It’s the busiest shopping day of the year – Black Friday – everybody is enjoying great sales and the true beginning of the holiday shopping season. People were minding their own business in the Mall of America … until three bombs go off in the food court area. The three young men that are carrying the bombs think that they’re just carrying jamming systems to cause chaos in the stores, unfortunately they become suicide bombers by the man carrying the remote control for the bombs. Maggie O’Dell is called in to profile. But things get a little personal when Maggie finds out that her brother Patrick could have been mixed up in all this mess. But when an informant finally confides in Maggie about the truth behind the entire situation she realizes that there will be a second place and that she must find out where it will occur in order to stop it and save more lives.

I love, love, love this series!! And this installment was especially good in my opinion. I’ve been to the Mall of America numerous times, not on Black Friday, but it always seems to be packed inside that mall, I can’t even begin to imagine if a bomb was really to go off in that mall. I found the way that Kava brought Nick Morelli back into the picture a little far-fetched, the odds of the way they ended up at the same disaster was a little suspicious. Personally I feel like that attraction ran its course a few books ago. But I liked how she brought Patrick back into the story. Overall I really liked this book. If you’ve never tried this series before, I definitely recommend reading them in order.

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, G, RATING, Read in 2010, READING CHALLENGES 2010, Review Book

REVIEW: 18 Billion by Jack Gresham

Tara

18 Billion
by Jack Gresham

Copyright: 2009
Pages: 337
Rating: 3/5
Read: Feb. 4-7, 2010
Challenge:  2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge 2010; Thriller & Suspense 2010
Yearly Count: 6

First Line: The man approaching teller number three carried a rectangular black leather briefcase.

Blurb from the back of the book:
In Washington, D.C., a cell of Afghan terrorists – armed with a nuclear weapon – conspire to rob the Federal Reserve Bank of New York of eighteen billion dollars. They plan to fund and curry favor with Mohammed of Babylon, an international negotiator and proponent of peaceful jihad who is rumored to be the Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam. Mohammed, shocked to find himself the center of religious extremism, attempts to right the wrong done to the United States without betraying the trust of his people. Meanwhile, the government’s investigation into the terrorist cell behind the threat uncovers a more frightening plot. An international corporation called Global Consultant Ltd. appears to be funding and manufacturing global terrorism for their own purposes. The corporation, driven by greed rather than ideology, has the feds wondering how far their influence reaches and what it will take to counter the terrorism already set in motion.

My opinion: (some SPOILERS are included)
I received this book to review from Maia Levenson from Phenix & Phenix Publicity. This would not have been a book that I would have ever picked up in a bookstore. This is a little bit out of my normal reading, and I think that that is what initially attracted me to this book. However, I was slightly disappointed in it. First of all, there were more than a few grammatical errors (I know I’m a stickler for that, but it’s definitely a pet peeve of mine). I also didn’t really care for the writing style, I found myself having to re-read a lot of paragraphs because I found myself losing track of who was speaking and what was really going on. Personally, I felt like the first half of this book was much better than the second. Pretty much everything that went on after the robbery at the Fed in regards to the government and their plans, well that was unbelievable to say the least. The overall story got a little bogged down for my taste with all the descriptions by the different government agencies in regards to how they were going to unravel the conspiracy behind the terrorists and the nuclear threat. There was so much jumping around between the different characters that it was a little bit confusing at times. I thought that Mr. Gresham could have made it a little more believable if some of the government agencies had made a few wrong turns here or there in regards to tracking the communications, the terrorists and the businesses involved. Everything went a little too smoothly for my taste – the robbery occurred, but the bombs were never set off – the money was returned – the terrorists were caught, etc. It was all just a little too cookie-cutter clean. Sure, this is the first book in a planned series, so maybe some of the answers are in subsequent books, but I’m not sure I would continue on with this series. Overall, I wouldn’t consider this a bad book, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

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

REVIEW: Final Breath by Kevin O’Brien

Tara

Final Breath
by Kevin O’Brien

Copyright: 2008
Pages: 436
Rating: 4.5/5
Read: Jan. 27 – Feb. 3, 2010
Challenge:  2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge 2010; RYOB 2010; Thriller & Suspense 2010
Yearly Count: 5

First Line: “I swear to God, I’m going to killer her,” he whispered. 

The deaths appear to be random. There seems to be no connection whatsoever. But one woman is slowly realizing that there is indeed a connection – and it’s her. Television reporter Sydney Jordan begins receiving strange souvenirs. She has no idea what these souvenirs really mean, but she eventually begins to realize that people that she has previously interviewed for her television show are ending up dead – most of them are made to look like accidents. But she knows that something else is going on with these deaths. After leaving Chicago abruptly with her son for Seattle, she feels that it will be a new start, but these strange occurrences just keep happening. Someone is watching her and her son, someone who knows her quite well, someone who has placed Sydney as a pawn in a very deadly game. When Sydney finally puts all of the clues together, will it be too late?

I have read a few other Kevin O’Brien novels in the past and have always loved the intense thrills that he manages to write. I don’t know how he does it, but he’s just one of those authors who can give me goosebumps. This one had a few slow places, but overall I thought it was a really good book! I had no idea as to who Sydney’s stalker was until it was revealed in the last few pages, and it was definitely a surprise. There were clues placed throughout the novel, but like Sydney, I missed most of them. My one gripe was that there were a few grammatical errors (my biggest pet peeve). I highly recommend this one.

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

REVIEW: Shall We Tell the President? by Jeffrey Archer

Tara

Shall We Tell the President?
by Jeffrey Archer

Copyright: 1977, 1985
Pages: 322
Rating: 4/5
Read: Jan. 23-26, 2010
Challenge:  2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Random Reading Challenge; RYOB 2010; Thriller & Suspense 2010
Yearly Count: 4

First Line: “I, Florentyna Kane, do solemnly swear…”

Florentyna Kane has finally achieved everything that she hoped to – she has been elected as President of the United States of America. She hopes that her legacy will be in her Gun Control bill that she is pushing through Congress. But there are a lot of people who are opposed to the legislation – even people who want to kill Florentyna in order to kill the bill. FBI agent Mark Andrews knows that there is going to be a presidential assassination, but he doesn’t know the who, when, where, or how. He only has six days to figure out who wants the President killed. He doesn’t know who he can trust. He doesn’t know anything except that he must divert this possible assassination.

I’ve only read one other Jeffrey Archer book, False Impression, and I really enjoyed it. This one was almost as enjoyable. As I tend to do with older books, I found some of the things a little dated (hello! Cell phone Mr. FBI Agent! Oh wait – they don’t exist yet.) And this one had a few slow spots that had some slightly unnecessary information. Overall though, the book was quite enjoyable. It was really interesting to see everything unfold for Mark Andrews, and how he had to determine who was behind the possible assassination plot. I think I will look for more Archer books in the future.

4/5, Alex Cross, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, RATING, Read in 2010, READING CHALLENGES 2010, SERIES

REVIEW: Four Blind Mice by James Patterson

Tara

Four Blind Mice
by James Patterson

Copyright: 2002
Pages: 383
Rating: 4/5
Read: Jan. 18-22, 2010
Challenge:  2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge 2010; Finish That Challenge Series; RYOB 2010; Thriller & Suspense 2010
Yearly Count: 3

First Line: The District Attorney for Cumberland County, North Carolina, Marc Sherman, pushed the old wooden captain’s chair away from the prosecution, and it made a harsh, scraping eeek in the nearly silent courtroom.

Alex Cross is ready to resign from the D.C. police force. But there will be one last case that he simply can’t refuse before he can resign. His best friend and partner, John Sampson, comes to Alex asking him to help him prove that a good friend of John’s has been framed for murder and will be executed. His accusers are the United States Army. Tackling such a case will be more of a challenge than they could ever imagine. And this case goes deeper than either of them would have ever thought.

I love this series, and this was another good installment. While this one was not as good as my personal favorite in the series (Roses are Red) this one was still a good strong book. I like the direction that Alex Cross is going in in regards to his personal life. It will be interesting to see how things end up for John and Alex in the next few books.

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

REVIEW: Exposed by Alex Kava

Tara

Exposed
by Alex Kava

Copyright: 2008
Pages: 373
Rating: 5/5
Read: Jan. 7-10, 2010
Challenge:  2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge 2010; Finish That Challenge Series; RYOB 2010; Thriller & Suspense 2010
Yearly Count: 2

First Line: Waheem was already bleeding when he boarded the crowded motorboat.

FBI profiler Maggie O’Dell and Assistant Director Cunningham cannot believe what is happening to them until it’s too late – they have been exposed. Exposed to a very deadly virus. Stuck in quarantine, Maggie beings to wonder if there isn’t some kind of a connection with the victims. Cunningham thinks it’s personal. And it is – they just have to figure out how. With nothing to think of except what could be going on inside her body, Maggie has to get inside this killer’s mind. And she needs to do so before this becomes an epidemic.

I love the Maggie O’Dell series. I was a little late in getting around to this one, mainly because medical-ish books are not really my cup of tea. But I should have known better- Alex Kava has never disappointed me yet. Since it has been so long since I read anything in this series, it was a little difficult for me trying to remember what had happened with the characters in the earlier books. There’s just something about the way Kava writes. Her books are always full of such great suspense and of course I absolutely love the psychological aspects!! I’m definitely looking forward to getting  Black Friday from the library so that I can get caught up on this series again until July when the 8th book in this series is set to be published.

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

REVIEW: Hold Tight by Harlan Coben

Tara

Hold Tight
by Harlan Coben

Copyright: 2008
Pages: 477
Rating: 5/5
Read: Jan. 1-6, 2010
Challenge:  2010 100+ Reading Challenge; 2010 Celebrate the Author Challenge; Countdown Challenge 2010; RYOB 2010
Yearly Count: 1

First Line: Marianne nursed her third shot of Cuervo, marveling at her endless capacity to destroy any good in her pathetic life, when the man next to her shouted, “Listen up, sweetcakes: Creationism and evolution are totally compatible.”

Mike and Tia Baye know that they are losing touch with their teenage son, Adam. After losing his best friend to suicide, Adam has become more and more withdrawn. He spends all his time in his room on the computer. They decide that their best option to finding out what is going on with their son is to install some software on his computer that will tell them every website that he visits and logs all of his e-mails and instant messages. But what they end up finding and what it implies and eventually leads to is beyond anything that either Mike or Tia would ever have thought possible. Adam is in over his head and what he is involved with could end up taking the whole family down in the end.

I always love Harlan Coben’s books. They are always fast paced and enjoyable. This one was definitely no exception. There were many twists and turns, and even at the end I was kind of surprised by what really started everything that happened in motion. I think a lot of parents today can relate to how their children spend so much time on the internet and they don’t really know what’s going on at all. I personally liked how Mr. Coben made it really obvious that a lot of people don’t really understand how quickly children are growing up nowadays, but with Adam’s sister, Jill’s character, he really made it obvious. I’m a huge Harlan Coben fan, so it’s hard for me to not to rave about every book of his I read (although I do prefer is stand-alones to his Myron Bolitar series).