Category: 3/5

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, D, E-Book, Edelweiss, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2015, Review Book

2015.24 REVIEW – Spy Trade: A Novella by Matthew Dunn

Tara

Spy Trade: A Novella
by Matthew Dunn

Copyright: 2015
Pages: 100
Rating: 3/5
Read: July 27-28, 2015
Challenge: No Challenge
Yearly count: 24
Format: E-Book
Source: Publicist via Edelweiss
Series: Spycatcher Novella

Spy TradeBlurb: When a mission goes awry in Syria, senior CIA officer Bob Oakland is captured by aspiring members of ISIS, who demand the release of one of their own, Arzam Saud, in U.S. captivity. When their hands are tied by Washington’s refusal to negotiate, the CIA turns to MI6 officer Will Cochrane to find out what’s really going on. The threats are escalating quickly, and in order to save the CIA officer, Cochrane must uncover why Saud is truly so important . . .

Review:I received a copy of this for free via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. All opinions below are my own.

I have never read anything by Matthew Dunn before, but when the opportunity to review this one showed up in my email a couple of weeks ago I jumped on it. I figured it would give me a great intro to the series and the author to see if I would want to start the Spycatcher series.

I didn’t hate this novella, but I didn’t love it either. It was just in the “okay” category for me. I think part of my issue with it was the ISIS aspect of it. I didn’t enjoy reading about it. I really enjoyed the parts where Patrick was dealing with Washington “politics” and Will was trying to track down Bob Oakland. The other parts, I could have done without. So like I said, I didn’t hate this one, there was some really good parts in it. I can say that my interest has been piqued enough to place the first Spycatcher novel on my TBR list for sometime in the future.

Overall, I think this one is short enough that readers can easily squeeze it into their reading schedules and I’m glad that I made time for it … I may have found another new series to enjoy 🙂

 

3/5, AUTHOR, Author Debut, Book Review, Fiction, L, RATING, Read in 2015, SERIES, Tess Monaghan

2015.4 REVIEW – Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman

Tara

Baltimore Blues
by Laura Lippman

Copyright: 1997
Pages: 290
Rating: 3.5/5
Read: Jan. 21 – Jan. 25, 2015
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly count: 4
Format: Print
Source: Personal Copy
Series: Tess Monaghan #1

Baltimore BluesBlurb:  In a city where someone is murdered almost every day, attorney Michael Abramowitz’s death should be just another statistic. But the slain lawyer’s notoriety – and his taste for illicit midday trysts – makes the case front page news in every local paper except the Star, which crashed and burned before Abramowitz did. A former Star reporter who knows every inch of this town – from historic Fort McHenry to the crumbling projects of Cherry Hill – now-unemployed journalist Tess Monaghan also knows the guy the cops like for the killing: cuckolded fiancé Darryl “Rock” Paxton. The time is ripe for a career move, so when rowing buddy Rock wants to hire her to do some unorthodox snooping to help clear his name, Tess agrees. But there are lethal secrets hiding in the Charm City shadows. And Tess’s own name could end up on that ever-expanding list of Baltimore dead.

Review: I picked this one up off my shelf on a whim. It’s not like I needed another series to begin … but for some reason it caught my eye at the time.

I found this one to be an interesting read. I liked Tess’s character. She’s got humor, but at the same time, she’s pretty serious too. I think it will be interesting to watch her grow as a character in subsequent books.

This is a relatively short and quick novel, clocking in at only 290 pages. But I found myself struggling to read much more than a chapter or so at a time. It had nothing really to do with the book I don’t think, because it was an enjoyable enough read, it just didn’t seem to wrap me up completely like some books do.

So while I enjoyed it and will be looking forward to reading on in this series, it’s not necessarily a book that I will remember in a few days. I think I might ultimately end up preferring Ms. Lippman’s standalone novels to this series.

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, E-Book, Fiction, K, RATING, Read in 2015, Review Book, TLC Book Tours

2015.3 REVIEW – City of Liars and Thieves by Eve Karlin

Tara

City of Liar and Thieves
by Eve Karlin

Copyright: 2014
Pages: 266
Rating: 3/5
Read: Jan. 14 – Jan. 20, 2015
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly count: 3
Format: E-Book
Source: TLC Book Tours
Series: N/A

City of Liar and ThievesBlurb: A crime that rocked a city. A case that stunned a nation. Based on the United States’ first recorded murder trial, Eve Karlin’s spellbinding debut novel re-creates early nineteenth-century New York City, where a love affair ends in a brutal murder and a conspiracy involving Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr erupts in shattering violence.

It is high time to tell the truth. Time for justice. . . . How she was murdered and why she haunts me. It is not only Elma’s story, it’s mine.

On the bustling docks of the Hudson River, Catherine Ring waits with her husband and children for the ship carrying her cousin, Elma Sands. Their Greenwich Street boardinghouse becomes a haven for Elma, who has at last escaped the stifling confines of her small hometown and the shameful circumstances of her birth. But in the summer of 1799, Manhattan remains a teeming cesspool of stagnant swamps and polluted rivers. The city is desperate for clean water as fires wreak devastation and the death toll from yellow fever surges.

Political tensions are rising, too. It’s an election year, and Alexander Hamilton is hungry for power. So is his rival, Aaron Burr, who has announced the formation of the Manhattan Water Company. But their private struggle becomes very public when the body of Elma Sands is found at the bottom of a city well built by Burr’s company.

Resolved to see justice done, Catherine becomes both witness and avenger. She soon finds, however, that the shocking truth behind this trial has nothing to do with guilt or innocence.

Review: I received a copy of this book for free in conjunction with a TLC Book tour, all opinions expressed below are my own.

When I was first pitched this book I was immediately intrigued. I love a good historical fiction novel based on a true crime story from the past. It takes two of my favorite things – true crime/mysteries and history – and blends them together in a way that I love to read about! So I was really excited to read this book!

Overall, it wasn’t necessarily a bad book. But I felt like the blurb might have been a little bit misleading. I expected more Hamilton/Burr than I got out of this book. I also wasn’t quite prepared for the sheer amount of political references.

But I will say this, I loved the scene that was portrayed by Ms. Karlin. She really brought nineteenth-century New York City to life for me. And definitely made me appreciate the modern conveniences we have and take for granted!

So while this story was a little more politically involved than I had been prepared for, I still enjoyed it quite a lot. I learned about a murder trial I had never heard about before. I felt like I was walking the streets of New York City in 1799. And it was just an overall entertaining read.

Recommended!

About the Author: Eve Karlin was born and raised in New York City. She is a graduate of Colgate University, where she studied literature and creative writing with Frederick Busch. Karlin worked in publishing for more than a decade in marketing, at Random House, Newsweek, and, later, as a foreign book scout with clients in the United Kingdom, Italy, Holland, Brazil, and Japan. She has had several short stories published in The East Hampton Star and has been a contributing writer for Patch.com. She lives in East Hampton, New York, with her husband and their sixteen-year-old triplets. City of Liars and Thieves is her first book.

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Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

GIVEAWAY! There is also a giveaway available in conjunction with this tour. The winner will receive a $25.00 gift card to the e-book retailer of their choice and one copy of City of Liars and Thieves. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE GIVEAWAY PAGE. 

As always, I hope you take the time to visit the other stops on the tour:

Tuesday, January 6th: Mystery Playground
Wednesday, January 7th: Bibliophilia, Please
Friday, January 9th: Fiction Zeal
Monday, January 12th: Omnimystery News – author guest post
Tuesday, January 13th: Dwell in Possibility
Tuesday, January 13th: Kritter’s Ramblings
Wednesday, January 14th: No More Grumpy Bookseller
Friday, January 16th: Reading Reality
Monday, January 19th: From the TBR Pile
Tuesday, January 20th: Sarah’s Book Shelves
Wednesday, January 21st: A Fantastical Librarian
Thursday, January 22nd: Chew & Digest Books
Monday, January 26th: History from a Woman’s Perspective
Tuesday, January 27th: Tales of a Book Addict
Wednesday, January 28th: Staircase Wit
Thursday, January 29th: 100 Pages a Day… Stephanie’s Book Reviews
Friday, January 30th: Books in the Burbs
TBD: Back Porchervations

3/5, A, AUTHOR, Book Review, E-Book, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2014, Review Book, TLC Book Tours

2014.51 REVIEW – Duke City Hit by Max Austin

Tara

Duke City Hit
by Max Austin

Copyright: 2014
Pages: 150
Rating: 3/5
Read: Dec. 12 – Dec. 18, 2014
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly count: 51
Format: E-Book
Source: TLC Book Tour
Series: N/A

Duke City Hit

Blurb: Max Austin takes readers back to Albuquerque for another action-packed thrill ride in Duke City Hit, as an elite assassin takes aim at—well, everyone.

According to Vic Walters, the secret to happiness is low overhead and few demands. Living rent-free in a modest bachelor pad behind his boss’s house, he has no debts, no entanglements, and no expensive relationships. He works just a few days a month, but his bank accounts keep growing.

Vic is a high-priced hitman with a legendary record of success. That is, until someone starts eliminating his marks before he can get to them . . . until his manager puts him in the middle of a vicious drug-cartel feud . . . and until a young man walks into his life with a big .45 and a startling revelation.

For Vic Walters, it’s time to step out of the shadows. Which means it’s killing time in Duke City.

Review: I received a copy of this book for free in conjunction with a TLC Book tour, all opinions expressed below are my own.

You may remember that earlier this year I had the pleasure of reading Mr. Austin’s book Duke City Split. I enjoyed that one and was pleased to be offered the chance to read more from Mr. Austin.

I knew going into this book that it was a short read – only 150 pages. Sometimes that is exactly what you need! And I definitely needed it!

For me this book was a fun read. It was just plain fun. There wasn’t a lot of thinking involved, it was just a mindless, quick read. Perfect for around the holidays (and when you’re in the middle of moving and unpacking a gazillion boxes).

Don’t worry if you pick this one up without reading Duke City Split. It’s a whole new cast of characters. And just as fun.

Recommended!!

Max AustinAbout the Author: Max Austin is the pseudonym of writer Steve Brewer. He lives in Duke City (Albuquerque), New Mexico.

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Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

GIVEAWAY! There is also a giveaway available in conjunction with this tour. The winner will receive a $25.00 gift card to the e-book retailer of their choice and one copy of Duke City Split. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE GIVEAWAY PAGE. 

Please be sure to check out all the other stops on the tour:

Tuesday, December 9th: Nightly Reading
Wednesday, December 10th: Patricia’s Wisdom
Thursday, December 11th: Reading Reality
Thursday, December 11th: Rhodes Review
Friday, December 12th: Mom in Love with Fiction
Monday, December 15th: Omnimystery News – author guest post
Monday, December 15th: Bell, Book & Candle
Tuesday, December 16th: CiCi’s Theories
Wednesday, December 17th: Reading to Distraction
Thursday, December 18th: Teena in Toronto
Monday, December 22nd: Book Nerd
Monday, December 22nd: The Book Diva’s Reads
Tuesday, December 23rd:  No More Grumpy Bookseller
Monday, December 29th:  From the TBR Pile
Monday, December 29th: FictionZeal
Tuesday, December 30th:  Tales of a Book Addict

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3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2014, Review Book, S

2014.36 REVIEW – Safe Keeping by Barbara Taylor Sissel

Tara

Safe Keeping
by Barbara Taylor Sissel

Copyright: 2014
Pages: 302
Rating: 3/5
Read: July 29-Aug. 2, 2014
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly count: 36
Format:  Print
Source: Galley Giveaway via Shelf Awareness
Series: N/A

Safe KeepingBlurb: Emily Lebay has always thought of her family as ordinary. Sure, they’ve endured their share of problems, even a time of great trouble – what family hasn’t? But when a woman’s body turns up in the dense woods near their home, and Emily’s grown son Tucker is accused of murder, Emily is forced to confront the unfathomable, and everything she believed about her life is called into question.

This isn’t the first time Tucker has been targeted by the police; a year ago he was a person of interest when another woman was found dead in the same stretch of woods. Still, neither Emily nor her daughter, Lissa, can reconcile their Tucker with these brutal crimes. Terrified, convinced there’s been a tragic mistake, Emily and Lissa set out to learn the truth about Tucker, once and for all. And while his life hangs in the balance, what they discover proves far more shocking than their darkest fears…

Review: I received a copy of this book for free via a galley giveaway through Shelf Awareness, all opinions expressed below are my own.

Last year I read and reviewed Evidence of Life by Ms. Sissel. I *loved* it. Like, really, really loved it. So I was excited to see this latest book come through a Shelf Awareness ad. I was excited and put a request in for a galley. I received a copy and then let it sit. For 4 months! (I have a really bad habit of doing that). So I picked it up hoping it would be just as great as last year’s book.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite meet those expectations. But that’s okay, I had extremely high expectations for it, probably to the point of unattainable to be honest. Overall this is a good book, but I think my main problem with it is that I have to use the one word I absolutely hate … predictable. I wanted there to be a twist. I wanted someone other than Tucker to be a murderer. I even considered Roy and Evan both as possible murderers!

And can I just say that I was absolutely disgusted by Lissa? I am a firm believer of a woman’s right to choose an abortion … but her “reasons” were ridiculous in my opinion. And the way she fawned over Tucker? I didn’t get that either. She was his sister, but the way she acted you would have thought she was his mother. I just didn’t like Lissa at all to be honest. Her character irritated me to no end.

Other than my issue with Lissa and the predictability of the book, it really was a decent read. It kept me turning the pages and was easy to read. It moved very quickly and was very well-written. I think I just would have preferred some sort of twisty, unexpected ending. But that’s okay, I’ll be on the lookout for Ms. Sissel’s next book anyway!

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, E-Book, Fiction, H, NetGalley, RATING, Read in 2014, Review Book

2014.34 REVIEW – The Butcher by Jennifer Hillier

Tara

The Butcher
by Jennifer Hillier

Copyright: 2014
Pages: 354
Rating: 3/5
Read: July 20-July 23, 2014
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly count: 34
Format:  E-Book
Source: NetGalley
Series: N/A

The ButcherBlurb: From the author of the acclaimed suspense novels Creep and Freak and whom Jeffery Deaver has praised as a “top of the line thriller writer,” The Butcher is a high-octane novel about lethal secrets that refuse to die—until they kill again.

A rash of grisly serial murders plagued Seattle until the infamous “Beacon Hill Butcher” was finally hunted down and killed by police chief Edward Shank in 1985. Now, some thirty years later, Shank, retired and widowed, is giving up his large rambling Victorian house to his grandson Matt, whom he helped raise.

Settling back into his childhood home and doing some renovations in the backyard to make the house feel like his own, Matt, a young up-and-coming chef and restaurateur, stumbles upon a locked crate he’s never seen before. Curious, he picks the padlock and makes a discovery so gruesome it will forever haunt him… Faced with this deep dark family secret, Matt must decide whether to keep what he knows buried in the past, go to the police, or take matters into his own hands.

Meanwhile Matt’s girlfriend, Sam, has always suspected that her mother was murdered by the Beacon Hill Butcher—two years after the supposed Butcher was gunned down. As she pursues leads that will prove her right, Sam heads right into the path of Matt’s terrible secret.

A thriller with taut, fast-paced suspense, and twists around every corner, The Butcher will keep you guessing until the bitter, bloody end.

Review: I received a copy of this book for free via NetGalley, all opinions expressed below are my own.

I first saw this book mentioned in a NetGalley email and was immediately intrigued. So I requested access and was glad to snag an e-galley.

This one is a tough one to describe. Here’s the deal: you know exactly who the Butcher is within the first chapter. I’m not entirely sure I liked that strategy. Nothing … and I mean nothing was a surprise in this book. I hate to use this word, but it was so predictable. That’s why I can’t rate it higher than a 3.

Overall it was a good book in general. I would recommend it, but if you like a lot of twists and turns, this one might not be for you. But it does read quickly and easily and kept me quite entertained.

3/5, AUTHOR, Author Debut, Book Review, Fiction, H, RATING, Read in 2014, Review Book, TLC Book Tours

2014.31 REVIEW – Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey

Tara

Elizabeth is Missing
by Emma Healey

Copyright: 2014
Pages: 301
Rating: 3/5
Read: June 26-July 4, 2014
Challenge: No Challenge
Yearly count: 31
Format:  Print
Source: TLC Book Tour
Series: N/A

Elizabeth is MissingBlurb: Despite Maud’s growing anxiety about Elizabeth’s welfare, no one takes her concerns seriously – not her frustrated daughter, not her caretakers, not the police, and especially not Elizabeth’s mercurial son – because Maud suffers from dementia. But even as her memory disintegrates and she becomes increasingly dependent on the trail of handwritten notes she leaves for herself in her pockets and around her house, Maud cannot forget her best friend. Armed with only an overwhelming feeling that Elizabeth needs her help, Maud resolves to discover the truth – no matter what it takes.

As this singular obsession forms a cornerstone of Maud’s rapidly dissolving present, the clues she uncovers lead her deeper into her past, to another unsolved disappearance: that of her sister, Sukey, who vanished shortly after World War II. As vivid memories of a tragedy that occurred more than fifty years ago come flooding back, Maud’s search for Elizabeth develops a frantic momentum. Whom can she trust? Can she trust herself?

A page-turning novel of suspense, Elizabeth is Missing also hauntingly reminds us that we are all at the mercy of our memory. Always compelling, often poignant, and at times even blackly witty, this is an absolutely unforgettable novel.

Review: I received a copy of this book for free in conjunction with a TLC book tour, all opinions expressed below are my own.

I was about 65 pages into this book when I realized that I didn’t know if I could go on with it. At that point I had spent three days reading those 65 pages. Three days. And it wasn’t because it was a bad book. Not at all. It was because Maud’s dementia hit a little too close to home for me. My grandmother has recently been diagnosed with dementia. I’m not sure what stage she’s in, but things are definitely deteriorating with her and it’s heartbreaking to watch. So. I was stuck … did I push through or give up?

I chose to push through. But I think a part of me really wanted to understand what my grandmother is going through. And let me tell you, the way Ms. Healey portrays dementia … just, wow. Obviously not having any previous contact with someone with the disease, I’m not sure what things will really get like. But I felt as if Ms. Healey hit it spot on in the way Maud is portrayed. It just felt so real. And my heart broke for Maud. And Helen. And Katy. It really was tough to watch the family go through everything. And Helen was so strong throughout it all; stronger than I would be or could be in her position.

But back to the book. I think the only reason I couldn’t rate it higher than a 3 (which means I liked it, but didn’t love it), is because of the dementia issue. I had trouble getting past it at times. I was relieved when I got to the last 50 pages and we finally learned what had happened to Elizabeth. It really didn’t surprise me, and I had a feeling it was as it turned out to be. But what shocked me was the storyline with Sukey. I can’t help but wonder if Maud saw exactly what happened to her sister all those years before and the shock of it all made her brain block it from her. I might have read into that a little more than what was there, but that’s the feeling I got from Sukey’s storyline. (Or it might have been exactly what Ms. Healey was trying to tell us … I read the last 80 pages in the car with a screaming toddler; my concentration might have been broken a few times!)

Overall, I think Ms. Healey is a very talented author. She definitely has a way with developing her characters in a way I haven’t seen in a long time. And if you follow me regularly, you know character development is very important to me. The writing was very well done and was easy to read. The story lines alternated back and forth between present day and shortly after World War II when Maud was just a teenager. The Sukey storyline was much more lucid, but it was really the present day storyline that was the heart and soul of this book in my opinion. It was the storyline that told the heartbreaking truth about the disease of dementia.

I would definitely recommend this to other readers – mystery lovers, literary fiction lovers, individuals with friends/relatives suffering from dementia. I think the audience can be very wide-reaching with this book.

I enjoyed it overall, but I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had read this book before my grandmother’s dementia diagnosis.

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Purchase Links

Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

Emma Healey photo credit Martin FiguraFind out more about Emma at her website and connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.Emma Healey holds a degree in bookbinding and an MA in creative writing. Elizabeth Is Missing is her first novel. She lives in the UK.

Emma’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, June 10th: Anita Loves Books
Wednesday, June 11th: Literally Jen
Thursday, June 12th: Doing Dewey
Monday, June 16th: No More Grumpy Bookseller
Tuesday, June 17th: Always With a Book
Wednesday, June 18th: Peeking Between the Pages
Thursday, June 19th: From the TBR Pile
Monday, June 23rd: Kahakai Kitchen
Tuesday, June 24th: A Bookworm’s World
Wednesday, June 25th: Ace and Hoser Blook
Thursday, June 26th: BoundbyWords
Monday, June 30th: Book-alicious Mama
Tuesday, July 1st: Time 2 Read
Wednesday, July 2nd: Tina’s Book Reviews
Thursday, July 3rd: Mockingbird Hill Cottage
Monday, July 7th: Tales of a Book Addict
Thursday, July 10th: 5 Minutes For Books
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3/5, AUTHOR, Author Debut, Book Review, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2014, Review Book, U-V-W

2014.30 REVIEW – The Qualities of Wood by Mary Vensel White

Tara

The Qualities of Wood
by Mary Vensel White

Copyright: 2012
Pages: 312
Rating: 3/5
Read: June 19-25, 2014
Challenge: No Challenge
Yearly count: 30
Format:  Print
Source: Publicist for Review
Series: N/A

The Qualities of WoodBlurb: When Betty Gardiner dies, leaving behind an unkempt country home, her grandson and his young wife take a break from city life to prepare the house for sale. Nowell Gardiner leaves first to begin work on his second mystery novel. By the time his wife Vivian joins him, a real mystery has begun: a local girl has been found dead in the woods behind the house. Even after the death is ruled an accident, Vivian can’t forget the girl, can’t ignore the strange behavior of her neighbors, or her husband. As Vivian attempts to put the house in order, all around her things begin to fall apart.

The Qualities of Wood is a novel about secrets. Family secrets. Community secrets. And secrets between lovers, past and present. And all of these secrets have their price.

Review: I received a copy of this book for free for review purposes, all opinions expressed below are my own.

When I was first pitched this book, it sounded really great. I was definitely excited about getting the chance to read and review it.

However, I was ultimately let down by this book. Maybe I had too high of hopes for it, I don’t know. But it didn’t end up being the book that I had hoped for. To bill this book as a “mystery” is not entirely correct in my opinion. Because there wasn’t much mystery at all in it. And I think that’s what I was disappointed in. When the blurb talks about a dead girl and secrets, I automatically think: mystery. But this book does not fit that bill.

The ending was extremely rushed. You had 300 pages of build-up to finally figure out what was really going on. Three hundred pages. And twelve pages of Vivian, Lonnie, and Nowell running around in the woods behind the house. I just expected more. I wanted more answers. I wanted Vivian to step up her game and really question Nowell with the revelations he made. I wanted more than I got.

Now, I will say this about the book, the writing was impeccable. It flowed so beautifully in places. The characters were all interesting in their own way. I keep coming back to the idea that maybe things were left the way they were to open the door for another meeting of Vivian and Nowell. I could definitely see them still in Grandma Gardiner’s house raising a few children. There could be plenty of material still there to explore with some of the holes in this book.

So there is definitely good points to this book and I would ultimately recommend it to other readers. However, if mystery/thrillers are your main thing, I don’t think it will necessarily work for you. But if you like literary fiction, this one will probably be a home run for you.

Overall, a good book, but not what I was hoping for.

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2014, SERIES, Stone Barrington, U-V-W

2014.29 REVIEW – Dirt by Stuart Woods

Tara

Dirt
by Stuart Woods

Copyright: 1996
Pages: 417
Rating: 3/5
Read: June 16-18, 2014
Challenge: No Challenge
Yearly count: 29
Format:  Print
Source: Personal Copy
Series: Stone Barrington #2

DirtBlurb: Feared and loathed for her poison pen and ice-queen persona, gossip columnist Amanda Dart has made her share of enemies. Then the tables are turned. An anonymous gossipmonger is faxing Amanda’s personal and private peccadilloes to anyone who can read. Desperate to save her reputation, she enlists the help of New York lawyer and private investigator Stone Barrington to learn the identity of the faxer. And everyone in the world of tabloid journalism becomes a suspect.

But the faxes don’t stop. In fact, they get worse. And Stone winds up with more leads than one man can handle, until Amanda takes matters dangerously into her own hands and turns the world of gossip on its head. As the circle of suspects shrinks, Stone discovers that even the most respected members of the social scene will stop at nothing – even homicide – to clear their sullied names, in this mesmerizing tale of betrayal, murder, and tabloid terror.

Review: This was the second book that I took with me on vacation. I didn’t know if I would get to it, but I was able to start it the morning we left and I read nearly all of it that day while on my flights home. 

As with the first book in this series, New York Dead, which I read just a little bit ago, this book was so readable. The pages just flew by.

However, it wasn’t perfect. I had a little bit of an issue with just how easily and quickly Stone jumped into bed with multiple women throughout the entire book. Most of it was completely unnecessary in my personal opinion.

I’ll definitely be continuing on with this series. So far I’m finding these books to be extremely easy reads and fun. I hope the series continues on this trend.

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, F, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2014, Review Book, Stone Barrington

2014.25 REVIEW – The Kafka Society by Ron Felber

Tara

The Kafka Society
by Ron Felber

Copyright: 2014
Pages: 341
Rating: 3/5
Read: May 24 – May 29, 2014
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly count: 25
Format:  Print
Source: Publicist
Series: Jack Madson #2

Blurb: After a night of clubbing, Jack has no memory of the past twenty-four hours. Who is the beautiful woman he discovers in his hotel room? How did a severed head get into the trunk of his Mustang convertible? Is he a murderer? Before he can answer these questions, Madson finds himself helping his former high school nemesis, Tom Dougherty – now chief the FBI’s East Coast Operations – get disentangled from a blackmail scheme. Nothing is quite what it seems. As his investigation progresses, Madson uncovers a criminal organization that specializes in the most monstrous of enterprises: global human trafficking, run from abandoned tunnels deep beneath the streets of New York City and directed by a coterie of intellectual thugs known as the Kafka Society. Once again, the reader follows Madson through a wealth of dangerous episodes and exotic pleasures before the exciting conclusion of this thrilling page-turner.

Review: I received a copy of this book for free for review purposes, all opinions expressed below are my own.

I had read and reviewed the first Jack Madson book, A Man of Indeterminate Value, last year. So when I was pitched this book, I was interested simply because I wanted to see what else Jack could possibly get himself into!

Overall, I have to say, I still do not like Jack Madson’s character. I don’t like all the booze, pills, sex and just overall stupidity that he finds himself in. He brings most of his troubles upon himself and he just seems to “prepare” himself with more drugs. I was also a little turned off by all the sex in this book. I don’t mind sex in books as a general rule, but the descriptions were very graphic and at times it felt more like erotica than a crime thriller. Just not my cup of tea.

But all that said, I still kept reading the book! So obviously it wasn’t that bad. I really wanted to know what happened in the end. I wanted to know if Jack would figure it all out in time. And really, I liked the ending. It’s actually made me quite curious to see what Mr. Felber has planned next for Jack Madson.

So while I would say that this book has a few bad characteristics to it, overall, it’s a compelling read, and I will be on the lookout for the 3rd Jack Madson book.