Mailbox Monday, Meme

Mailbox Monday, February 10, 2014

Mailbox Monday has returned home to Mailbox Monday’s site this year.

Two more review books this week:

The Weight of BloodFor fans of Gillian Flynn, Scott Smith, and Daniel Woodrell comes a gripping, suspenseful novel about two mysterious disappearances a generation apart.
 
The town of Henbane sits deep in the Ozark Mountains. Folks there still whisper about Lucy Dane’s mother, a bewitching stranger who appeared long enough to marry Carl Dane and then vanished when Lucy was just a child. Now on the brink of adulthood, Lucy experiences another loss when her friend Cheri disappears and is then found murdered, her body placed on display for all to see. Lucy’s family has deep roots in the Ozarks, part of a community that is fiercely protective of its own. Yet despite her close ties to the land, and despite her family’s influence, Lucy—darkly beautiful as her mother was—is always thought of by those around her as her mother’s daughter. When Cheri disappears, Lucy is haunted by the two lost girls—the mother she never knew and the friend she couldn’t save—and sets out with the help of a local boy, Daniel, to uncover the mystery behind Cheri’s death.

What Lucy discovers is a secret that pervades the secluded Missouri hills, and beyond that horrific revelation is a more personal one concerning what happened to her mother more than a decade earlier.

The Weight of Blood is an urgent look at the dark side of a bucolic landscape beyond the arm of the law, where a person can easily disappear without a trace. Laura McHugh proves herself a masterly storyteller who has created a harsh and tangled terrain as alive and unforgettable as the characters who inhabit it. Her mesmerizing debut is a compelling exploration of the meaning of family: the sacrifices we make, the secrets we keep, and the lengths to which we will go to protect the ones we love.


Watching the DarkA decorated policeman is murdered on the tranquil grounds of the St. Peter’s Police Treatment Centre, shot through the heart with a crossbow arrow, and compromising photographs are discovered in his room. Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is well aware that he must handle the highly sensitive and dangerously explosive investigation with the utmost discretion. And as he digs deeper, he discovers that the murder may be linked to an unsolved missing persons case from six years earlier and the current crime may involve crooked cops.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, Jeremy Fisk, RATING, Read in 2014, Review Book, SERIES, U-V-W

2014.5 REVIEW – The Execution by Dick Wolf

The Execution
by Dick Wolf

Copyright: 2014
Pages: 335
Rating: 4/5
Read: Jan. 26 – Feb. 1, 2014
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly count: 5
Format: Print
Source: Publicist for review

The ExecutionBlurb: A number of bodies are discovered on the United States’ border with Mexico, each carved with a bizarre symbol: a hummingbird. Detective Cecilia Garza – dubbed the Ice Queen among her colleagues at the Mexican intelligence agency because she’s famous for never showing an ounce of weakness – arrives at the scene and recognizes the image immediately; it is the calling card of a killer called Chuparosa, a man both feared and celebrated for his cunning and brutality. Known to be incorruptible in a seemingly lawless land, Detective Garza has pursued this killer for years, yet knows little about him, except that he’s merciless and heading to New York City – along with the rest of the world.

It’s United Nations Week in Manhattan and Jeremy Fisk – an integral member of the NYPD’s Intelligence Division, an antiterror unit modeled on the CIA – can’t let his grief over a devastating loss keep him from his duty to safeguard the city and the world’s most powerful leaders. Complicating matters is the startling news of a mass murder on the beach in nearby Rockaway – and the arrival of a beautiful and assertive Mexican detective determined to do things her way.

To have a chance at finding and stopping Chuparosa, these uneasy allies must meld their opposing investigative styles. They soon discover that there’s much more to this threat than meets the eye – and Fisk will have to learn the hard way that justice is not always blind.


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

This is the second book in the Jeremy Fisk series. I read an ARC of the first book, The Interceptshortly before it came out. Even before looking back over that review, I had vague recollections of being a little irritated by something within that book. After reading my review, I realized that it was because Mr. Wolf made the decision to kill off a pretty important character in the first book in the series.

So I guess you could say that I actually went into this book with a little bit of trepidation. How would Mr. Wolf handle things minus Fisk’s partner? Overall, I am quite pleased with the direction this one decision ended up going. I don’t want to spoil anything too big here, but I really think that it opens up Fisk’s character a lot more than I had ever thought possible. He’s a wounded man from losing his girlfriend and partner. He’s angry. And he’s sick and tired of everyone tip-toeing around him in regards to her death. The reader gets to see a lot more of Jeremy Fisk than he would want us to see just by the way he handles his feelings about her death after a little bit of time has passed.

The storyline of this book is very fast-paced and interesting. There’s really a lot going on in this book. You have Fisk trying to coordinate UN Week. And you have Cecilia Garza, a Mexican police officer in town on her country’s Presidential protection detail. Cecilia may be on that protection detail, but there’s a lot more that has drawn her to New York City than she wants to admit. Fisk and Garza have to work together to catch a very brutal killer before he has a chance to kill someone else.

I think what I liked most about this storyline (as well as the storyline to The Intercept) is that it felt real and relevant. It seems very hard to keep things relevant these days. But somehow Mr. Wolf is able to do just that. Having Jeremy Fisk work in the Intel division, rather than just be your standard homicide detective, makes for a really interesting protagonist with endless possibilities of story lines.

Overall I felt like this was as really good book. The storyline was interesting. The writing was very good. The characters were extremely well-developed. I’m very glad that I gave Mr. Wolf a second chance after only feeling lukewarm about his first book. In my opinion it’s a really good installment in this series that has me wanting more Jeremy Fisk.

Favorite quotes:

The explosive noise of the guns had set off a chain reaction, sheets of wet snow dropping from the limbs of the pine trees surrounding Jeremy Fisk. Even after the gunfire stopped, Fisk could hear limbs snapping, snow thudding to earth, a circular cataract expanding, fading away from him like ripples in a frigid pond.

And then the endless forest … went silent.

My God, thought Fisk. They’re all dead. (p.1)

And then I also wanted to share with you a quick one-liner that really made me chuckle just because of the absolute truth to it. To set it up a little bit, it’s spoken to Jeremy Fisk by Magnus Jenssen, the man responsible for Fisk’s girlfriend’s death.

What is a jury trial now but a television entertainment show? (p. 89)

First chapter, Meme

First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros #14

20120807-073336.jpg

Diane over at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts this meme.

The Innocent Sleep

Today I’m featuring a book that I’m reading for review. 

A storm is rising. He can feel it in the strange stillness of the air. There is no movement, no flutter of clothing, not a whisper of a breeze along the narrow streets of Tangier.

Beyond the lines of washing strung between the buildings, above the tiled roofs, he sees a patch of sky. There is a strange luminous quality to it, a bluish hue and lights that look almost like auroras.

He stirs a cup of warm milk, blinks, and looks out again into the changing and otherworldly colors of the sky.

Setting the spoon down onto the counter, he turns from the open window and crosses to where the boy is sitting, his face tightened in concentration at the jigsaw puzzle before him.

“Here,” his father says, holding out the cup.

The boy does not look up.

“Come on, Dillon. Drink up.”

The boy looks at him and frowns.

“No, Daddy, I don’t want to.”

I won a copy of this book through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program. It sounds really exciting by the blurb and this intro definitely caught my eye. Did it catch yours?

Mailbox Monday, Meme

Mailbox Monday, February 3, 2014

Mailbox Monday has returned home to Mailbox Monday’s site this year.

Nothing physically arrived in my mailbox this week. But I did pick up four books from my grandmother:

GuiltSleight of HandPrivate #1 SuspectTwo Graves

I haven’t decided yet if I will read the Kellerman book or pass it along again. I had wanted to read this series in its entirety starting from the beginning. I go to about book 4 or 5 and had to DNF that one and then in the big book purge got rid of every Kellerman book I had. And the description sounds really weird, and my grandmother said it was a very strange book. So I’m on the fence about that one, it might get passed along to someone else.

I keep hoping for the day that I read books as fast as I bring them in the house, ha!

Hope everyone has a great upcoming week!!

 

Monthly Wrap Up

January 2014 Wrap-Up

I haven’t done a monthly wrap-up post in what feels like forever. But part of my personal resolutions for this blog was to keep myself on track by posting them again. It’s just a way for me to focus on my blog a little more than I have been in the last year or so. I have a new resolve to make this blog into something more stable and I’m determined to see it through!

I’m sure the format of these posts will change until I find one that I like best, so bear with me on that. But here’s what I’ve got for you this month..

Books read: 4

The Winter PeopleLittle Girl LostThe HostageSeparation of Power

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon (Review coming 2/11/14)
Little Girl Lost by Brian McGilloway (Review coming 2/18/14)
The Hostage by W.E.B. Griffin
Separation of Power by Vince Flynn

Pages read: 1760

Challenge Progress:

Eclectic Reader Challenge: 2/12
Official TBR Pile Challenge: 1/12
What’s in a Name Challenge: 1/6

Books received: 16 (see list here)

Purchased New: 4
Received from Paperbackswap: 2
E-Galleys: 4
Hard copy Review books: 2
From my Grandmother: 4

Memes posted: 8

Events Participated In: Bout of Books

I read a total of 7 hours and 36 minutes
I read 467 pages
I finished 1 book

Recipes shared: 2

Mexican Lasagna
Pizza Chicken Roll-Ups

READING CHALLENGES 2014

#TBRChallengeRBR Checkpoint 1

2014tbrbutton

Knock, knock! I am *finally* doing my first check-in … barely sneaking it in at the end of the month! Whew! So when I made my list I knew which books I needed to knock off first. You know, while you still have that fresh, first-of-the-year, read-everything-in-sight feeling? Isn’t there just something lovely about the first of the year and the great prospects it brings with it? I sometimes wonder why we have to have the first of the year for that feeling, but I sure do. Anyway, off topic.

So in January I managed to finish my first (and likely most difficult just due to its sheer size) book for this challenge. I read W.E.B. Griffin’s The Hostage

The Hostage

This book had set on my shelf since early 2009. It did nothing but intimidate me every time I looked at it.

You see, military books are a little out of my comfort zone. Which is funny because I love a good war movie. And I won’t even tell you how often my TV is tuned to the Military Channel…

Add to the fact that this book is 750+ pages.

Yeah ….

So it sat. And sat. And sat some more. I knew it had to make this list if nothing else to get it off of my shelf without regrets, even if it was as a DNF. (I had made multiple book purges and for whatever reason, couldn’t bring myself to part with this one.)

I picked it up first because I knew I needed the first-of-the-year, read-everything-in-sight momentum to tackle it.

And my final thoughts?

Eh.

I was not impressed overall. It was 750+ pages. It took forever to read. And the worst part?! There was no conclusion!! Mr. Griffin wants me to pick up the next 750+ page book in the series to find out the conclusion to this book! I’ve decided to pass. I probably won’t pick back up with this series. But I will read Mr. Griffin again. I have another book of his from a different series on my shelf that I still want to read sometime (and it’s so not 750+ pages!)

I don’t know what my next read for this challenge will be. I have quite a few review books lined up that I have to get to first. My goal is to read 1 book per month for this challenge just so I’m not rushing to catch up in November 🙂

I hope everyone is having a great start to this challenge, I know I’m glad I got that book out of the way first. I feel like I’m off and running now!

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, F, Fiction, Mitch Rapp, RATING, Read in 2014, SERIES

2014.4 REVIEW – Separation of Power by Vince Flynn

Separation of Power
by Vince Flynn

Copyright: 2001
Pages: 436
Rating: 4/5
Read: Jan. 17 – 25, 2014
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly count: 4
Format: Print
Source: Personal copy

Blurb: Newly appointed CIA director, Dr. Irene Kennedy, is the target of an inside plot to destroy her and prematurely end the American President’s term. To make matters worse, Saddam Hussein is close to entering the nuclear arms race – something Israel has vowed to stop. With the haunting specter of World War III looming, the President calls on his secret weapon: top counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp. But with only two weeks to take out the nukes, Rapp is up against a ticking clock – and impossible odds.

From the deadly alleys of Baghdad to the corruption-riddled streets of Washington, D.C. Separation of Power is Vince Flynn at his shell-shocking best – filled with true-to-life insider detail and action that sizzles.


Review: This is the third book in the Mitch Rapp series (but I’m seeing some places call it the 5th because two books have been published in recent years that supposedly come before the first two in the series. Personally, I like to stick with the order they’re published, so this makes book #3).

Last year I read the first two books in the series and enjoyed both of them immensely. I am not entirely sure why it took me so long to go ahead and pick this one up, but I can honestly say that I was not the least bit disappointed. A word of caution though, this book relies heavily on the second book,  The Third Option. This book really picks up where that one left off and goes with that storyline a little bit. Now that’s not to say that you can’t read it as a standalone, I just have a feeling that it makes more sense if you know the whole backstory as to why Mitch goes astray in Italy.

That being said, this book was an exciting read. I don’t have much to complain about in regards to it. I suppose if I had to nit-pick something it would be that the really exciting action happens in probably the last 100 or so pages. But that’s not to say that the book is not enjoyable in any way, because I did not feel that way at all.

The writing is extremely good. The overall storyline is interesting. The character development was excellent. It made me want to pick up the next on in the series when I finished this one. And that’s how series books are supposed to be in my opinion.

I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what happens in future books now that Mitch has been “outed.” It definitely sets up for some interesting developments that I’m looking forward to discovering in the future!

My only true disappointment is that we lost Mr. Flynn last year. I was very upset when I heard of his death, but I’m even more upset now that I realize that there can only be so many more Mitch Rapp books (I honestly hope his estate doesn’t continue on like some prolific author’s have … I don’t like that at all).

A good solid read and another good installment to a series I highly recommend.

First chapter, Meme

First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros #13

20120807-073336.jpg

Diane over at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts this meme.

The Execution

Today I’m featuring a book that I’m reading for review. 

The explosive noise of the guns had set off a chain reaction, sheets of wet snow dropping from the limbs of the pine trees surrounding Jeremy Fisk. Even after the gunfire stopped, Fisk could hear limbs snapping, snow thudding to earth, a circular cataract expanding, fading away from him like ripples in a frigid pond.

And then the endless forest … went silent.

My God, thought Fisk. They’re all dead.

I was sent a copy of this book to review and I have to tell you … that intro definitely caught my eye! So far I’m only a couple of chapters in, but this book definitely has my attention for now!

Mailbox Monday, Meme

Mailbox Monday, January 27, 2014

Mailbox Monday has returned home to Mailbox Monday’s site this year.

Just two review books this week:

Fortunate Son Meet James Annesley, son of 18th Century Ireland. Though you may have never heard his name before, his story has already touched you in profound ways. Now, for the first time, novelist David Marlett brings that incredible story to life.

Stretching from the dirty streets of Ireland to the endless possibilities of Colonial America, from drama on the high seas with the Royal Navy to a life-and-death race across England and up the Scottish Highlands, from the prospect of a hangman’s noose to a fate decided in the halls of justice, Fortunate Son is a powerful, relentless epic. Here nobility, duels, love, courage, revenge, honor, and treachery among family, friends and ancient enemies abound. And at its center is the most momentous trial in Irish history – the trial of Annesley v. Anglesea from which our modern “attorney/client privilege” was forged, and our concept of a “jury of one’s peers” was put to the test.

Carefully researched, vividly evoked, and lovingly brought to the page, Fortunate Son is an unforgettable work of fiction based on fact, one that will resonate deep within you long after you finish it.

The ExecutionA number of bodies are discovered on the United States’ border with Mexico, each carved with a bizarre symbol: a hummingbird. Detective Cecilia Garza – dubbed the Ice Queen among her colleagues at the Mexican intelligence agency because she’s famous for never showing an ounce of weakness – arrives at the scene and recognizes the image immediately; it is the calling card of a killer called Chuparosa, a man both feared and celebrated for his cunning and brutality. Known to be incorruptible in a seemingly lawless land, Detective Garza has pursued this killer for years, yet knows little about him, except that he’s merciless and heading to New York City – along with the rest of the world.

It’s United Nations Week in Manhattan and Jeremy Fisk – an integral member of the NYPD’s Intelligence Division, an antiterror unit modeled on the CIA – can’t let his grief over a devastating loss keep him from his duty to safeguard the city and the world’s most powerful leaders. Complicating matters is the startling news of a mass murder on the beach in nearby Rockaway – and the arrival of a beautiful and assertive Mexican detective determined to do things her way.

To have a chance at finding and stopping Chuparosa, these uneasy allies must meld their opposing investigative styles. They soon discover that there’s much more to this threat than meets the eye – and Fisk will have to learn the hard way that justice is not always blind.

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, G, RATING, Read in 2014, READING CHALLENGES 2014

2014.3 REVIEW – The Hostage by W.E.B. Griffin

The Hostage
by W.E.B. Griffin

Copyright: 2006
Pages: 750
Rating: 3/5
Read: Jan. 2 – 16, 2014
Challenge: Eclectic Reader Challenge; TBR Pile Challenge
Yearly count: 3
Format: Print
Source: Personal copy

The HostageBlurb: An American diplomat’s wife is kidnapped in Argentina, and her husband murdered before her eyes. She is told her children will be next if she doesn’t tell the kidnappers where her brother is – a man who may know quite a bit about the burgeoning United Nations/Iraq oil-for-food scandal. There is an awful lot of money flying around, and an awful lot of hands are reaching up to grab it, and some of those hands don’t mind shedding as much blood as it takes – even if that blood comes from Charley Castillo…


Review: I have had this book on my shelf since early 2009. I knew it had to make my list for the TBR Challenge if nothing else to at least get it read or otherwise off my shelf as a DNF. I also picked it up first for that challenge because at 750 pages I knew I should get it out of the way immediately if possible.

This is the second in Presidential Agent series. I read the first one, By Order of the President, back in 2008. I knew going into it that I was going to have absolutely no recollection of the characters or storyline from that first book. That always makes me a little apprehensive, but in all honesty, it has no impact on this book. There are a few references to the first book, but for the most part this book reads quite well as a stand-alone.

Overall I was not incredibly impressed by this book. I honestly think that some serious editing could have occurred to cut the page number down to a more reasonable number without missing too much of the story. Looking over the notes I took as I read this book, around the 300 page mark I commented that there was a lot of unnecessary repetition. I feel very strongly that this is very much the case with this book. I would be going along reading only to get to the end of the chapter and Mr. Griffin would have the characters pretty much just sum up everything that just happened in the chapter. Very unnecessary in my opinion and only added to the page count.

The actual storyline was interesting at first, but as the book progressed things kept spiraling and more things were added to the story and I eventually started feeling a little bogged down. And the ending … or should I say, what ending? There are so many questions left hanging that I was a little disgusted. All this lead-up … all 700+ pages of it and no resolution? You mean you want me to read the next 700+ page book in this series to find out the conclusion to this book? No thank you, not at this time.

That pretty much sums up exactly what I felt about this book.

Overall I wouldn’t say it’s bad. It just wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea. Military-esque books are out of my comfort zone. Plus the length was a little bit of an issue for me. But if that’s your thing you’ll probably enjoy this one.