P.D. James: The Private Patient (Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries)
P.D. James is such an excellent writer—this series is a true mesh of mystery and literature. Very British and quite formal, this story did remind me of a classic Agatha Christie "who-dunnit." (****)
Lee Child: Gone Tomorrow (Jack Reacher, No. 13)
I was rather disappointed with Jack Reacher No. 12, but this is totally back to excellent form! I'm not sure why I'm so enamored with this violent modern-day gunslinger, but there's something about him! The bad guys are (as usual) hair-raising bad, and so whatever comes to them is well-deserved. I think I'll read the Dexter series next! (****)
Markus Zusak: The Book Thief
"Death" certainly does have a way with words! This book was amazing. Yes, it has depressing undertones as it takes place in Nazi Germany, and it IS narrated by "Death." But there is a lot of dark humor, humanity, and love throughout and it ultimately left me feeling uplifted....and amazed. (*****)
Harlan Coben: Long Lost
I love the Myron Bolitar character (and his psychotic friend, Win) and I was thrilled when this came out on Kindle! Myron has matured in the past ten years, but he's still a caustic hoot. Coben puts poor Myron through hell, though, especially in the second half of the book. The story is ultimately a little over-the-top, (OK, maybe a LOT) but I still enjoyed it. We read to be entertained, after all! (****)
Earl Emerson: Cape Disappointment
After nearly a decade, Thomas Black is back! I've enjoyed these because they take place in and around Seattle, so the locale is very familiar, and Earl Emerson is an excellent writer. This was a complex, dark, and at times disturbing story. It was a little "Pulp Fiction-y" as it switched between the present and flashbacks, and at times you couldn't be sure what was "real." A lot of interesting conspiracy theories and a scary look at the corrupt power of politics and corporate-run journalism. (****)
Olen Steinhauer: The Tourist
As a classic espionage story, this made me remember watching the Mission Impossible TV shows with my dad when I was little, constantly asking him: "Why did he do that?" "What did that mean?" "Was that the same guy who...?" I was mesmerized, but had some difficulty following the complexities of the storyline. Characters with multiple aliases (and keeping them straight), and twists & turns that resulted in lots of head-scratching. It was also rather a depressing story. It has great reviews, and it was well-written, but, hmm. (***)
Ivan Doig: The Whistling Season
Boy. (I almost said "Boy Howdy!" because this book does make me think of "Cold Sassy Tree," one of my most favorite books of all time). It takes place in the early 1900s in Montana, and the heart of the story is the one-room school house. But it's so much more than that. It's family, it's intelligence, it's creativity, it's loving people (and unintelligent angry people), it's Halley's Comet. And it's written by one helluva craftsman. Wow. (*****)
Wally Lamb: The Hour I First Believed
It took Wally Lamb 9 years to write this novel, and it seems to me that it took him that long to figure out where to go with it. This isn't BAD—it's just all over the place. There are multiple stories happening here, and they just don't seem to mesh together all that well. And maybe I'm getting more "simple" in my middle-age, but I'm tired of unlikable, un-relatable characters in many of the books I've read lately. (***)
Chelsea Cain: Heartsick
A little clunky in places, but overall a riveting read — much along the same lines as "Silence of the Lambs." So, yes, there were a number of scenes that made me rather squirmy! A few leaps of faith here, but good. (Just not great). (***)
John Sandford: Heat Lightning (Virgil Flowers)
This is a Virgil Flowers whodunnit, with cameo appearances by Lucas Davenport. Flowers is an interesting character, and this was a fairly absorbing mystery/thriller, but I figured most things out long before the ending. (***)
Stephen King: Just After Sunset: Stories
It was fun for a change to read a collection of short stories, and of course SK is always "fun!" There wasn't a bad one in the bunch. Enjoyed these very much! (*****)
Charlie Huston: Caught Stealing
A high octane thriller isn't always such a good thing. This wasn't "terrible" (decently written/crafted), but it has so many horrible people, and the main character isn't a gem, either. The best character was the cat, who didn't behave much like any cat I've known. It read like a, well, high octane movie script. (***)
Jonathan Kellerman: Bones (Alex Delaware, No. 23)
Better than several of the recent Kellerman books, whereas Alex Delaware is very integral to the story (often he's such a bystander). Pretty good, but the storyline is already fading... (***)
Stieg Larsson: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
I liked this a lot; it was riveting to me. That said, I can understand why some folks may not agree with me, as it's true that it does bog down a bit with a lot of family members to keep track of and some complex Swedish politics. But I loved the straight-forward writing (and/or excellent translation), and I especially enjoyed the dimensional characters. Intriguing all the way around, and I look forward to reading the next book in the trilogy. (****)
Nelson DeMille: The Gate House
This is actually a sequel to "Gold Coast", an excellent story written back in the early 90s. I LOVE DeMille's smart-assed characters, and John Sutter is most definitely that! Oh, the sarcasm! Oh, the laugh-out-louds. It took me a while to read this book, and I suppose it's because it wasn't a major page-turner. I did enjoy the caustic humor, but a leeetle bit more action would have made it a five-star book. (****)
Chuck Klosterman: Downtown Owl
I will readily say that this book was marvelously written with a dry quiet wit. It was somewhat "Richard Russo-y" with the small-town setting and quirky characters and no bowl-you-over plot, but it also lacked LIKABLE characters. They were all pretty depressing and basically losers. But again, the writing was very creative and the climax was certainly "climatic" with the 1984 North Dakota blizzard. (***)
Mary Ann Shaffer: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
What a unique story (written in letters/telegrams) and a unique setting (yes, I've Googled everything I can about Guernsey and I want to go there!) and what quirky and lovable characters. I loved the light-heartedness paired with the underlying tragedy of post-World War II and German occupation. It was educational, but mostly it was incredibly entertaining. Equal parts Jane Austen and Fannie Flagg! This is an excellent read and I highly recommend it. You won't be sorry. (*****)
James Lee Burke: Swan Peak: A Dave Robicheaux Novel
James Lee Burke is a true poet, and his writing skills are right up there with Richard Russo and Pat Conroy with his ability to make you believe you are THERE. But...his characters are so full of angst and demons, and this book was so dark and heavy (as many of his are), that I never even opened my Kindle to read it during vacation. I finished it this week and it's a relief to be unburdened by it. (Even though my mind goes back to many painfully beautiful passages...) (***)
Robert Crais: Chasing Darkness: An Elvis Cole Novel
Not the best Elvis Cole/Joe Pike story (in fact, Pike was pretty scarce which was such a bummer), and Elvis wasn't his typical hilariously flippant self and I missed that, too. The plot was pretty good, and it wasn't a bad book by any means, just not as sharp as usual. (***)
Lisa Unger: Black Out: A Novel
The tone of this novel was impending doom and gloom throughout, and the main character (the narrator) was sketchy and untrustworthy which all made this an uncomfortable read. It was definitely intense, but ultimately convoluted and contrived. Shame, because the premise was very intriguing. (***)
John Sandford: Phantom Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries)
John Sandford's writing style sort of annoys me — clipped and hurried and Dragnetty — but this was a pretty interesting glimpse into the Goth subculture. The "whodunnit" was made clear about mid-way through the story, so it was mostly an observation of how Lucas was able to fit the pieces together. Overall, it came down to dumb luck. (***)
Lee Child: Nothing to Lose (Jack Reacher Novels)
Wow, the right wingers are having a hissy fit over this book (the story dares to question our involvement in the Iraq war and brings to light the scary fringes of fanatical Christianity — fodder for right wing hissy fits). I love the Jack Reacher series and I enjoyed this book, but it's definitely not my favorite. The plot was rather far-fetched and also rather slow to get to the point. And that ultimate point was a bit of an eyebrow-raiser. Still, it's Jack Reacher! (***)
Michael Connelly: The Poet
This was a non-Harry Bosch story, written in 1995. That's surprisingly a long time ago based on the technology between then and now, so it felt extremely dated. "High-tech" phone modems! Ha! It was a good story, though, about a serial killer and the efforts to hunt him down. It also confirmed my reasons years ago for not pursuing a career in print journalism — the dog-eat-dog environment. (***)
Dean Koontz: Odd Hours
I LOVE this character, Odd Thomas, and I thoroughly enjoy his quirky sense of humor. But this 4th story of the Odd series was a blatant setup for the next installment(s), and with so much left dangling, I can't help but feel cheated about that. (***)
Elizabeth George: Careless in Red
I enjoyed this book in the midst of reading it; the eloquent British style of writing, the well-drawn if dysfunctional characters. But there were far too many characters (lots of plants of red-herrings), the story was overly long for what it needed to be, and the revelation of the mystery was totally anticlimatic. (***)
Stephenie Meyer: The Host: A Novel
Sometimes I enjoy a sci-fi book, but not very often because they tend to be extremely cheesy. Good ones are Dune and Ender's Game, but they are rare. The premise of this book intrigued me, as did all the positive Amazon reviews, so I gave it a whirl. What a juvenile, idiotic soap opera. Gag me! It was like Danielle Steel goes pseudo-Sci-Fi. Cheesy would be a compliment. (*)
Alexander Mccall Smith: The Miracle at Speedy Motors: The New Novel in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency)
This wasn't my all-time favorite book of the series, but I enjoyed it because it was so nice to be back among these lovable characters. These stories are so uplifting and often there is a gentle lesson to be learned. (****)
Lee Child: Killing Floor
This is Lee Child's first Jack Reacher novel, and it's definitely one of the best (if not THE best) of all of them I've read so far (the 12th is coming out June 2008). It may (?) be the only one that is written in first-person. I absolutely could not put this down. This series is awesome! (*****)
Jesse Kellerman: The Genius
I almost didn't buy this book because I didn't care for Jesse Kellerman's previous novel, "Trouble". But reading a couple of sample chapters on my Kindle sucked me in, and I hit the "One-Click" button to purchase it! I'm glad I did. It's a complex and suspenseful story, and while I wouldn't call it a "thriller", it definitely has a mysterious element and it's also a riveting family saga. It was hard to have to put this down, you know, to go to work and cook dinner and stuff! It's amazing that someone this young (under 30) can write so well. (****)
Lee Child: The Hard Way (Jack Reacher Novels)
Surprisingly, I figured out a lot of the "twists" in this book beforehand, but I still really enjoyed it. Once again the ending had me squirming in anxiety — Lee Child is sure good at that! (****)
Philip Pullman: His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass)
This amazing trilogy reminded me at times of "Dune" with its imaginative worlds and complex politics. It truly was an epic and treacherous journey, and at its core were children and animals to tug at your heart strings. Zealots call this series anti-religious, but I saw it as a tribute to humanity's passion for free will and the quest for knowledge — and overcoming the narrow-minded who stand in the way. (*****)
Joseph Finder: Paranoia
This was a gripping corporate espionage thriller, and the promise of a dynamite shocking ending kept me enthralled. Throughout, I kept thinking that the movie "Michael Clayton" would have been better based on this book with all its intensity and excellent characterization. But the ending was a major thunk for me. Until then, it was riding on a solid five stars. That "thunk" was bitterly disappointing. So much for promised dynamite endings. (***)
Nevada Barr: Winter Study (Anna Pigeon Mysteries)
My feet felt cold throughout this entire book! Ms. Barr does a good job painting a frigid January on Isle Royale in Lake Superior. Anna Pigeon makes me feel inadequate with her amazing survival skills and her ability to solve complex crimes committed in the extreme elements, but I keep coming back to them. A little over-written but very good! (****)
Alison Larkin: The English American
Excellent! I hated for this book to end! The story and the characters are so well drawn and so unique! I loved this book! I highly recommend it! (*****)
Jonathan Kellerman: Compulsion: An Alex Delaware Novel
This was better than some of the recent Jonathan Kellerman books, but I still felt that he was making things up as he wrote along and didn't have much of a plan from the beginning. (***)
Joshilyn Jackson: The Girl Who Stopped Swimming
This was really good, although I gave it four stars inestead of five because it was terribly melodramatic in places. I would definitely recommend it, though. (****)
- David Baldacci: The Collectors
Not so sure what all the hoopla is about with David Baldacci (nor why the book's cover art doesn't show up). This is the 2nd of the three Camel Club novels, and his writing is off-putting enough (all those damned adverbs and cardboard characters), that I'm not all that interested in reading his new one, "Stone Cold." (***)
John Connolly: The Unquiet: A Thriller
I enjoyed this Charlie Parker novel, although the poor guy is SO chalk-full of angst that it can sort of bring you down. There's a bit of a paranormal aspect that is truly haunting. (****)
Lee Child: One Shot (Jack Reacher)
I love this modern-day gunslinger series about Jack Reacher, and this one does not disappoint. This has the most thrilling ending that I've read in a long time. If ever! (*****)
Cathy Lamb: Julia's Chocolates
While this was pretty entertaining, the characters were extremely over-drawn and a fair amount of melodrama ruled the day. In spite of that, the story worked quite well. (***)
Sue Grafton: T is for Trespass (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries)
This, too, was a heavy read — but well worth it. Kinsey Malone is one of my favorite characters. (****)
James Lee Burke: The Tin Roof Blowdown: A Dave Robicheaux Novel
The devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita come to heartwrenching life by Burke's incredible pen in this superb thriller. Nobody does it better. It was excellent, although a heavy read. (*****)
Douglas Preston: Blasphemy
While I really enjoy the collaboration of Preston/Child's Special Agent Pendergrast series, this Preston stand-alone was just awful. Cardboard characters, ridiculous plot-line with holes as big as an abyss, and eye-rolling dialogue that read as horrible acting. This was BAD BAD BAD. I won't give it a single star.
Stephen King: Duma Key
I've always loved SK's characterization skills, and this is his best in a long time. The PEOPLE are so real and so likable, and the story is riveting. (Yes, also quite scary! SK, after all...) I loved being able to escape into this in the midst of crazy-bad work days. (Side note: Remember Wilson in Tim Allen's "Home Improvement"? The neighbor you never saw on the other side of the fence? The character, Wireman, in this book totally has his voice!) (*****)
Alexander McCall Smith: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (Book 1)
I'm just listing the first of the series of 8 books (soon to be 9!) -- but I've read them all and I absolutely loved them! Full of wit and wisdom and a very unique setting -- Botswana, Africa. A very special series of lovable characters. (*****)
Sarah Addison Allen: Garden Spells
This story is a cure for dreary days; it's a simple but eloquent reminder to appreciate who you love (and who loves you). And you can chuckle at the matter-of-fact antics of a mischievous apple tree that is as three-dimensional as all the human characters. It has the quirk-factor of a southern "Northern Exposure," or "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe". It's light and airy and fragrant and mystical, and I absolutely loved it. (*****)
Richard Russo: Bridge of Sighs
Unfortunately, this is my least favorite Russo book which makes me sad because I'd looked so forward to it. As usual, it was beautifully written and his characters stepped out of the pages as real people, but people who weren't particularly likable. Mostly I missed the wonderful sense of humor that was so prevalent in his previous books. I would have given this 3-1/2 stars if that was an option. (****)
Anne Rivers Siddons: Sweetwater Creek
This lyrical coming-of-age story was an interesting character study. Set in the Lowcountry, it wasn't quite as well depicted as James Lee Burke's ability to make you feel the Southern summer sweat dripping from every pore, but it was very pleasurable, tense in places, sad in places, and ultimately uplifting. You'll love the soulful "Elvis"! (****)
Sue Grafton: S is for Silence (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries)
It's been a while since I've read one from this series (need to go back to "P" or "Q" and get caught up!), and I was delighted at how good it was. I've always liked them, but either this one was exceptionally well-written, or else I've read so many poorly-written books lately, that this one really stood out. (****)
Tess Gerritsen: The Mephisto Club
Cardboardy, stereotypical characters: The hard-nosed Italian female cop with an attitude who prefers blue-collar beer; the uptight lonesome female M.E. in love with a priest and who prefers good wine. And then a writing style like so many others that basically tells a lame story without any finesse. What's up with these supposed "bestselling" novelists? Or their editors? I NEED A GOOD BOOK! (I hear Russo is coming out with a new one soon!) (**)
Good for Nate! Have you ever cut up pot roast and then cooked it in a pressure cooker? It would tenderize it really well. I dump onion soup mix and some water in there with it too then let it "steam" for 45 minutes or so. Poor John-still working TOO hard. It was a gray day, wasn't it? We're truly into fall.
Posted by: Margaret | Saturday, September 20, 2008 at 11:33 PM
Ahhh, your pets look so cute togther!
Posted by: tod | Sunday, September 21, 2008 at 08:33 AM
You are obviously an avid reader...have you read this one? http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/3604
Posted by: Islander | Monday, September 22, 2008 at 07:58 AM