3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, F, Fiction, Read in 2008

The Disappearance by J.F. Freedman

Tara
The Disappearance
by J.F. Freedman

Copyright: 1998
Pages: 486
Rating: 3/5
Read: July 1-8, 2008
Challenge: Initials Challenge

First Line: The weather had been raw and miserable virtually every day for two months; this was the worst winter in a couple of decades, way worse than those of ’95 or ’82, a continuous, relentless, El Nino-driven hard-falling rain from right after Christmas all through January and February, torrential sheets of cold piercing needles crashing down days at a time without cessation, soaking the ground past saturation, waterlogging everyone and everything.

When fourteen-year-old Emma Lancaster vanishes from her bedroom one night everyone panics. The daughter of a prominent media tycoon, something like this was not supposed to happen to their family. But when her body is found eight days later, all hell breaks loose. Although their are no immediate suspects, her death rips her family and friends apart. A year later when a close family friend is arrested after incriminating evidence is found in his car, it looks like an open-and-shut case. But it will end up being far from that. Defense attorney Luke Garrison has a funny feeling about this case and not even an assassins bullet will stop him from trying to discover the truth.

This book was okay for me. It was extremely slow in the beginning. But it picked up the pace. I found that about 200 pages into it was when it really picked up. The ending was twisted, I never would have guessed which way the author was going to go. I enjoyed the ending a lot. But like I said, it was just an average book.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, Lucas Davenport, Read in 2008, S, SERIES

Invisible Prey by John Sandford

Tara
Invisible Prey
by John Sandford

Copyright: 2007
Pages: 420
Rating: 4/5
Read: July 1-6, 2008
Challenge: No Challenge; personal read

First Line: An anonymous van, some-kind-of-pale, cruised Summit Avenue, windows dark with the coming night.

When two elderly women are murdered in a wealthy Minneapolis neighborhood, it looks like a random robbery gone wrong with nothing of real value being stolen. But when Lucas Davenport begins to probe the murder he realizes that this was not only not random but things of major value were stolen. As he continues investigating, he sees a pattern emerge and one can only wonder what path it will lead him down….

This book was really, super good! I really enjoyed it. It is fast paced and enjoyable. You know who the killers are early on in the book but it’s an enjoyable ride trying to figure out how Lucas is going to pull it all together. Highly recommended.

READING CHALLENGES 2008

Presidential Reading Challenge

Tara
Presidential Reading Challenge
Click here to go to the main page
Rules:
*I am choosing to do Level 3
* Read 5 books
* Can be fiction or nonfiction, has to be about President/First Lady or some connection to the President
* July 4, 2008 – July 4, 2009

I have yet to choose my books. I will add to this list as I go, but I will definitely be reading something on Lincoln and something on Kennedy.

Monthly Wrap Up

June 2008 Wrap-Up

Tara
June 2008 Wrap-Up

Here’s my end of the month wrap-up:

  1. James Patterson, Mary Mary –> Really good in my opinion. One of the Alex Cross series. Fast paced and action packed. Highly recommended. 4/5
  2. Nora Roberts, Blood Brothers –> The first in the Sign of Seven Trilogy. I really enjoyed it. It was definitely a little strange but I still liked it. 4.5/5
  3. Danielle Steel, Johnny Angel –> Extremely weird book. And boy do I mean weird. But I still enjoyed it. Steel is slowly becoming an author that I look for whenever I’m in a bookstore. 5/5
  4. M.C. Beaton, The Deadly Dance –> Part of the Agatha Raisin series. I was not impressed by this one at all. It was too fluffy for my taste. Just not my style of book. 3/5
  5. Max Allan Collins, The Titanic Murders –> Put something with the word Titanic in it and Tara will pick it up. However, I could have skipped this one. It was good, but the writing lacked a little bit. Just okay for me. 3.5/5
  6. Harlan Coben, The Innocent –> I simply cannot say enough good things about this author! He’s just frickin’ awesome in my opinion. I have yet to read a Coben book that let me down. This one was no exception! 5/5
  7. Linda Fairstein, Entombed –> Part of the Alex Cooper series. A new series for me. I liked it, but I felt it could have been better. It had it’s ups and it’s downs, but I will definitely be looking into this series more. 4/5
  8. Kathy Reichs, Deadly Decisions –> Part of the Temperance Brennan series. I’ve only read two of this series (1st & now 3rd) and I’m about ready to throw in the towel. I love the TV show Bones, but this series just does nothing for me. I’m still undecided about it. 3.5/5

Here are some statistics in regards to my reading:

  • Books read: 8
  • Pages read: 2,797
  • New Authors: 3
  • Fiction: 8
  • Nonfiction: 0
  • Read for Challenges: 4
Challenge Wrap-Up

Finished Challenge – Title Master Challenge

Tara

Finished my fourth challenge! I finished MizB’s Title Master Challenge today. And just barely I might add. I read all four books required for this challenge in the month of June and barely got the last one finished today before the July 1st deadline. Whew!! For some reason when I signed up for this challenge I was really excited, but then when it came down to it I wasn’t thrilled. I ended up changing 2 of my choices and only liking one of the two that I did keep. Oh well, live and learn (to make better selections, lol!!) Here’s my wrap up:

The rules were to read four books with the words in the titles starting with the same letters. Sounded pretty easy and it wasn’t too hard to find books that fit the description.

I read:

  1. M.C. Beaton, The Deadly Dance
  2. Nora Roberts, Blood Brothers
  3. James Patterson, Mary Mary
  4. Kathy Reichs, Deadly Decisions

Favorite: Blood Brothers (Roberts)
Least Favorite: Deadly Decisions (Reichs)

3.5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, R, Read in 2008, SERIES

Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs

Tara
Deadly Decisions
by Kathy Reichs

Copyright: 1999
Pages: 368
Rating: 3.5/5
Read: June 25-29, 2008
Challenge: Title Master Challenge

First Line: Her name was Emily Anne.

When nine-year-old Emily Anne Toussaint is fatally shot on a Montreal street, Dr. Temperance Brennan feels compelled to stop the senseless killings that she encounters. The fact that little Emily Anne was an unintended target by a ruthless biker gang war only fuels Tempe’s anger even more. But when she delves deeper into the cases more and more bodies keep popping up. And it won’t be until her nephew, Kit, is in the line of fire before it will all come to a screeching halt.

This book was just okay for me. I skipped the second in the series (a pet peeve of mine) because I needed to read this one before my July 1st deadline in the Title Master Challenge. Did I enjoy this one?! Not particularly. I love the TV show Bones, but for some reason this series just isn’t doing much for me. I own the others in the series and will probably trek on, but I’m still unsure about this series. It was just okay for me.

4/5, Alex Cooper, AUTHOR, Book Review, F, Fiction, Read in 2008, SERIES

Entombed by Linda Fairstein

Tara
Entombed
by Linda Fairstein
Copyright: 2005
Pages: 500
Rating: 4/5
Read: June 21-24, 2008
Challenge: No challenge; personal read

First Line: I looked at the pool of dried blood that covered the third-floor landing of a brownstone on one of the safest residential blocks in Manhattan and wondered how the young woman who’d been left here to die yesterday, her chest pierced by a steak knife, could still be alive this afternoon.

Manhattan ADA Alex Cooper is horrified when she realizes that the Silk Stocking Rapist is back on the streets raping women. But she’s mystified when the skeleton of a young woman is unearthed standing upright in a wall in a Greenwich Village brownstone where Edgar Allan Poe once lived. It’s a scene that Poe could have written. It will take a lot of strength and patience in order to get to the bottom of this case. It takes Cooper and her coworkers to the Bronx Botanical Gardens where a secret society of Poe fans may hold all the answers to this macabre story.
This was my first Alex Cooper experience. While I enjoyed it, I felt it could have been better. The story line was great but in some places I found myself struggling to keep up. It seemed to me that she used way to many descriptions in some places where I really didn’t need them. I know that sounds weird, but I just want things to be plainly spelled out for me, I don’t need elaborate descriptions or anything and that’s what I got out of this book. Will I be looking more into this series, of course, but I also hope that it improves some.
5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Read in 2008

The Innocent by Harlan Coben

Tara
The Innocent
by Harlan Coben
Copyright: 2005
Pages: 503
Rating: 5/5
Read: June 19-20
Challenge: Triple 8 – 500+ Pages Category

First Line: You never meant to kill him

Matt Hunter’s life as he knows it ends one night when he was innocently trying to break up a fight and ended up a killer. Nine years later, as an ex-con, he has it all – a wife, a baby on the way and they’re in the process of buying a house. But one phone call from his wife’s cell phone will tear everything he’s worked for apart. He will find himself once again in trouble with the law, this time completely innocent, and on the run trying to figure out his wife’s past.
Let me just say first, I LOVE HARLAN COBEN!!! I mean, I absolutely love everything I read by this guy!! I have yet to find a “eh” book by him. This one was just a total roller coaster ride! I had no idea what was going on and was completely shocked at the end! I highly recommend this book!
3.5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Read in 2008

The Titanic Murders by Max Allan Collins

Tara
The Titanic Murders
by Max Allan Collins
Copyright: 1999
Pages: 256
Rating: 3.5/5
Read: June 14-18, 2008
Challenge: Back to History
First Line: From the beginning, mystery and controversy have been stowaways on the Titanic’s crossing into history.
Jacques Futrelle, famous mystery author was one of the many passengers on the maiden voyage of the R.M.S. Titanic in April, 1914. He was one of 1,500 passengers that did not survive the sinking. When author Max Allan Collins received an anonymous phone call asking if he knew that there had been bodies found during a trip to the wreckage. The first thought that pops into mind, is, well, yeah of course there would be bodies, it’s essentially a cemetery. But when the caller states that they were found in canvas bags, he immediately gets Collins’ attention. What follows is Collins’ take on what had happened on board the Titanic based on the information that Jacques Futrelle’s daughter Virginia gives him.
When I saw this book in the used book store I grabbed it up simply because it had the word “Titanic” in it’s title. (Self-proclaimed Titanic junkie right here!). But I really enjoyed it. I only rated it a 3.5/5 simply because it could have been so much more, but after reading the Epilogue I understood why it was written the way that it was. Collins wanted to stick to as much historical facts as he could and it’s really what makes the book so interesting. He includes things about the ship, the passengers and the crew that he learned from his research that I didn’t know anything about. If you enjoy anything related to the Titanic or just like a good mystery pick this book up.
Meme

Meme: Celebrate the Author

Tara

What has been your favorite book that you’ve read for the Celebrate the Author challenge?
~ My favorite book so far has been my February read, Erica Spindler’s “See Jane Die” I just love Spindler’s books and this one was really good!!

What has been your least favorite book?
~ I have to say that I was not at all impressed by June’s read, M.C. Beaton’s “The Deadly Dance” This was not my type of book at all … it sounded interesting but it was just too fluffy for my tastes.

What one author or one book would you suggest to other participants?
~ Only one?! LOL! Okay, I would recommend Harlan Coben to anybody! I absolutely love the guy! I read “No Second Chance” in January, but I just finished reading “The Woods” a few weeks ago and it was AMAZING! Plus I just picked up “The Innocent” yesterday and am looking forward to getting to it. Read this guy if you never have!!

Have you discovered any new authors along the way?
~ Yeah, I have. M.C. Beaton was a new author for me (unfortunately I didn’t care for her book). I also read James Patterson for the first time (I know, I know, unbelievable). And Patterson is quickly becoming a favorite of mine! I’ve got a few other authors for the upcoming months that will be new for me also.

Would you be interested in participating in this challenge again next year? Why or Why not?
~ Yeah, I think I would be. There are so many different possibilities out there that I could choose 12 completely different authors next year! I’d be all for it!