2011 Reading Log

[Tiger]

LOTS of books to review since last checking in.....23 in total. Will post my reviews in groups of 6 so I don't get carpal tunnel. In chronological order...............


Crime/Drama/Thriller Category
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1) "Blindsighted" by Karen Slaughter
Set in Georgia, coroner Sara Linton, and her ex husband, police chief Jeffery Tolliver try to solve the grisly murder of a college professor. As they close in on the killer, they realize there is a macabre connection to Linton's past.

These characters are a series for Slaughter and I have picked up 2 more.............."Kisscut" and "A Faint Cold Fear".
3.5/5


2)"The Summons" by John Grisham.
A retired judge, knowing the end is near, calls his 2 sons home to help get his estate in order. By the time they get there, Dad has passed away, leaving behind a secret stash of cash that someone besides them seems to know about.

As with my other read of Grisham ....."The Partner"..... I found this novel to be very vanilla. I won't be in any hurry to read him again.
2.5/5


3)"The Bone House" by Brian Freeman.
I have read all 5 of Freeman's previous work and would rate all of them as excellent. This is his first Stand-Alone novel, and it was very good.

Quirky detective Cab Bolton has a young girl's murder to solve, and a community that appears willing to kill, to keep their secrets safe.

If you like psychological suspense, then you will like Brian Freeman.
4.5/5


4)"True Evil" by Greg Iles
I have read 4 Iles novels now (including one more to be reviewed here later) and by far, this was my least favourite. Basically a Mad Scientist type of story......not what I gathered from the back jacket.
2/5


5)"Prior Bad Acts" by Tami Hoag
Have had mixed success with Hoag................this one was good, but not great. A very brutal crime remains officially unsolved, but everyone knows it was Karl Dahl. When a judge lets him go free on bail, ruling his prior criminal record is inadmissable, all hell breaks loose.
3.5/5


6)"The Concrete Blonde" by Michael Connelly.
Written in 1994, this details the story of how a serial killer dubbed the "Dollmaker" stalked Los Angeles. Detective Harry Bosch shot him dead 4 years ago, but now the dead man's widow sues Harry and the LAPD for killing the wrong man. When a new body shows up with the calling card of the "Dollmaker", everything we thought is cast in doubt.

As with all Connelly novels, this was very gritty and realistic................Connelly wrote the true crime column in the LA Times for 10 years before becoming a novelist.

4/5


More to come.............................................

 

[Tiger]

7) "Alone" by Lisa Gardner.
Gardner was a strong recommendation to me, and I was not disappointed. State Trooper Bobby Dodge has a split second to make a decision in a hostage standoff. After the fact, new details emerge about what that standoff was actually all about.

Have picked up another Gardner book....."The Third Victim" and look forward to reading it.
3.5/5


8) "Carte Blanche" by Jeffery Deaver.
This is the new James Bond novel that I talked about last spring................Deaver was selected to be the newest writer of the Bond series.

I am a HUGE Deaver fan, but I have NEVER been a Bond fan, so this book was just OK for me. Lots of twists and turns in the traditional Deaver style, and of course, a big twist at the end.
3/5

Deaver just announced his next novel will be coming out in the summer of 2012, starring his LA kinesetic (body language expert) detective Kathryn Dance.........one of my favourite recurring characters................. and is called "XO".


9) "The Cold Room" by JT Ellison.
Nashville's detective Taylor Jackson is chasing a new killer called "The Conductor" who starves his victims in a glass coffin before posing their dead bodies in public places, reenacting scenes from famous paintings. When similar scenes start popping up over in Europe, there are more questions than answers.

Another great novel from Ellison.
4/5


10)"In the Dark" by Mark Billingham.
My 2nd try with English author Billingham, and my second hit.

On a rainy night in London, gunshots are fired into a car which then swerves into a bus stop shelter. Lives are lost in what appears to be a gang initiation. But not everything is as it seems.
4/5

Have picked up 3 more Billinghams......"Scaredy Cat", " Lazy Bones" and his latest to come out "From the Dead".



11) "Live Wire" by Harlan Coben.
His latest in his "jumped the shark" series with Super Agent Myron Bolitar. Myron learns some secrets about his long lost brother, and faces some realities with his aging parents. Harlan, please go back to your stand alones.................which are generally brilliant !
2.5/5


12) "The Bricklayer" by Noah Boyd.
I had read a lot of positive reviews about this book, but it left me wanting more. Ex FBI agent Steve Vail is called into an investigation where people who have been a thorn in the side of the FBI are dying. Vail seems able to see what others cannot see, and make breakthroughs where others were stonewalled...................and I don't particularly enjoy that type of "perfect" character. I prefer a flawed hero........someone that makes mistakes but you can identify with.
3/5



More to come.......................................

 

[dunclock]

FYI to Kindle users ... they are now available for FREE downloads from your library

 

[Tiger]

13) "The Last Coyote" by Michael Connelly.
Another outstanding body of work from Connelly. Detective Harry Bosch is on suspended leave from the LAPD following the "Dollmaker" case fallout ("The Concrete Blonde") so in his free time, he decides to look into the long ago murder of his prostitute mother.

He finds evidence of a massive coverup that leads upstairs to the Hollywood bigwigs.

4.5/5

Connelly himself has said that this is his single favourite novel.


14) "The Last Child" by John Hart.
A new author based out of North Carolina that I wanted to try, and this book was sensational.

One year after his younger sister goes missing, a 13 year old boy continues to not only search for her, but also tries to keep his family together after his Dad walked out on him and his Mom.

A heart wrenching tale about the strength of this child as he tries to learn the truth.

5/5



15)"The Accident" by Linwood Barclay.
My favourite author.

I waited 18 months for Barclay to follow up on his brilliant last work "Never Look Away" and I guess my sights were set too high, because I thought this book was only average.

Set in a small town in Connecticut, a family is having trouble making ends meet in the recession. When his wife ends up dead in a very suspicious car accident, the husband finds corruption and many secrets within his own neighbourhood.

Others I have leant this book to have said they loved it, so I cannot be too harsh. I guess I have just come to expect an awesome novel every time Barclay writes.

3.5/5



16) "Manhattan is My Beat" by Jeffery Deaver.
This is Deaver's very first book from 1988, and it was pretty good. His first main character was a female rocker named Rune. She works at a movie rental business and when one of her best customers is found murdered, Rune investigates on her own, running into lots of bad guys. Why was this guy murdered ?

4/5


17) "The Hypnotist" by Lars Kepler.
Following on the coattails of Steig Larrson, this Swedish couple who write under the pseudonym of Lars Kepler have penned a pretty good mystery.

There is a gruesome triple homicide of a family, but the youngest son somehow survived multiple stab wounds. With this boy in a coma, a hynotist is brought in to try and get enough information to build an investigation.

3.5/5


18) "Iron House" by John Hart.
After reading "The Last Child" I ran right out and got this book, also by Hart.

Two young brothers who grew up together in a brutal orphanage find themselves back together as adults 20 years later, trying to sift through their family heritage and more than one dead body.

3.5/5


More to come.......................................

 

[Tiger]

19) "The Devil's Punchbowl" by Greg Iles.
Iles main character, Natchez, Mississippi mayor Penn Cage turns his sights on prostitution, dog fighting and tax evasion set on the Riverboat Casinos operating out of his territory. A very good book..........long........700 pages.....as are all Iles books...........but he writes so fluently that you don't notice the length at all.

4/5

This book ends with an emergency that sets it up for his epic 2 parter that he has planned for quite a while. Cage's father (Doctor Tom Cage) will be front and center in this 2 part story...part 1 comes out in December with part 2 sometime next year. Each book will be about 1000 pages long.


20)"Back Of Beyond" by CJ Box.
My first try with Box and it was a good experience.

An alcoholic cop has to track down a professional wilderness trek in Yellowstone Park, because there is a killer among them, and the cop's son is one of the clients on the trek.

3.5/5


21) "So Close the Hand of Death" by JT Ellison.
Nashville detective Taylor Jackson finally goes toe to toe with her nemesis "The Pretender", a killer she has chased throughout several novels. It all ends here.

4.5/5

Ellison's next book "Where all the Dead Lie" is now available and I won't be wasting any time getting to it.


22) "Blacklands" by Belinda Bauer.
Again, a highly recommended book that fell short for me.

Set in England...............18 years ago, Billy Peters disappeared without a trace. Now, his nephew, 12 year old Steven.............who wasn't even born then............sets out to find the body by digging holes in the moor. Steven contacts the serial killer in jail, always suspected, but never proven to be the actual killer of uncle Billy, asking for help in locating the body.

2.5/5



23) "Think of a Number" by John Verdon.
About 200 pages still to go in this one, so will post the full review once finished tomorrow.

A retired cop is drawn into a case where the killer asks his victims to think of a number, and is able to guess exactly which number they will pick. Then they die.

Weird but interesting so far.




Happy Reading !!

Tiger

 

[Tiger]

Hey Dunny...........thanks for checking in. Yes people, please support your local Library !


Finished "Think of a Number" by John Verdon.
A killer asks his targeted victim to pick a number between 1-1,000, and is able to perfectly predict what that number will be. That starts the psychological terror of this killer, and it escalates from there.

And you will never guess how he does his guess the number trick !

This was the debut novel for Verdon and I'll most definitely read him again

4/5

 

[EXTRAPOLATER]

1. some short stories my uncle had published

2. Karl Popper-The Open Society and It's Enemies (1962) (()very slowly())

3. John Perkins-Hoodwinked (2009) - excellent; highly recommended

4. some old edition of Playboy I found hidden among my Nietzsche

 

[MadJack]

Category 3b - Turf Pest Management

:facepalm:

 

[Tiger]

"Trunk Music" by Michael Connelly

A body is found in the trunk of a car with a bullet hole in the head........the signature of a mafia hit, also known as "trunk music".

But as detective Harry Bosch investigates, things just don't add up. Multiple crime scenes, multiple suspects and an undercover FBI agent throw this case into turmoil.

4/5




"In Desperation" the Rick Mofina
Before this novel, I had read Mofina 3 other times. The first "Vengeance Road" remains in my top 10 books, but the other 2 (Six Seconds and Panic Zone) were disappointing.

Reporter Jack Gannon's sister disappeared without a trace over 20 years ago. When she contacts Jack telling him her 11 year old daughter has been kidnapped by drug dealers, Jack investigates but really isn't sure what to believe.

3.5/5



Am now reading "The Burning Soul" by John Connelly, with "Very Bad Men" by Harry Dolan on deck.

 

[Tiger]

"The Burning Soul" by John Connelly. As a boy, Randall was involved in the murder of a young girl. He served his time, and was released under a whole new name and new life. But it looks like someone has found him.
3.5/5

"From the Dead" by Mark Billingham. My 3rd try with Billingham and all have been quite good. A woman went to prison for 10 years for arranging her husband's murder. She gets out to try and start her life over again, but all signs lead to the fact that her husband might still be alive.
3.5/5

"Kisscut" by Karen Slaughter. The second in Slaughter's series about Georgia medical examiner Sarah Linton and her ex-husband, police chief, Jeffery Tolliver, and this looks like a really good series. The youth of the community is being stalked by a different kind of terror......chilling.
4/5

"The King Of Lies" by John Hart. My 3rd Hart novel as well. A lawyer's father goes missing, and when his corpse is found 2 years later, the suspects are many.
3.5/5

"Very Bad Men" by Harry Dolan. I like a multi level mystery, but this one went too far. Too many hooks, too many suspects, too many unbelievable plot twists. He had me until the last 50 -60 pages when it got a little silly.
2.5/5

"The Killer is Dying" by James Sallis. My first try with Sallis, and it was very different. A story about grief and coping with loss, where the main characters only intersect in a tangential way.
2/5

"Red Herring" by Archer Mayor. My first try with Mayor, but it won't be my last. Three seemingly unrelated murders must be solved in a quiet Vermont town. Gritty police work combined with CSI lab work helps detective Joe Gunther wade through this mystery.
4/5

Am presently reading a very early((1993) Jeffery Deaver mystery called "The Lesson of Her Death" and enjoying it.

Happy Reading !

Tiger

 

[Happy Hippo]

FYI to Kindle users ... they are now available for FREE downloads from your library

I noticed that at my library now... kind of wish I had kept the kindle, but the nook will suffice...

Just got back into the swing of reading after my cross-country transition, and will be posting some reviews after I finish my current book.

 

[dunclock]

I just bought the Kindle Fire ... but they are still being kind of weird on what is "allowable" for downloads from Amazon on Kindle to libraries ... plus you have to give your personal info to Amazon when you download from the library :scared

 

[Happy Hippo]

I just bought the Kindle Fire ... but they are still being kind of weird on what is "allowable" for downloads from Amazon on Kindle to libraries ... plus you have to give your personal info to Amazon when you download from the library :scared

That's weird. Did you figure out how to use it? I know technology can be hard for you old people... opcorn2

 

[dunclock]

That's weird. Did you figure out how to use it? I know technology can be hard for you old people... opcorn2

I just carry it around so I can look "cool" to the younger folks like you and Woody :0074

 

[rrc]

Dunclock...what are your first impressions of the kindle fire?

thx

 

[dunclock]

Dunclock...what are your first impressions of the kindle fire?

thx

for someone that is pretty much technology "challenged" ... I did not have any problems getting the product registered, adding a couple of apps, logging into the wifi, downloading a book, using the bookmark feature for books, etc

now I have not traveled with it yet so have not tried to use wifi with other locations ... you also get access to Amazon Prime for 30 days free which gives you free access to Amazon books, movies and music:0074

 

[rrc]

Sounds good...does it surf the web pretty quickly?

 

[dunclock]

did just fine from my house but going to library tomorrow and see how easy and well it does with guest signing in to another server :0008

 

[rrc]

Thx for the info

 

[Happy Hippo]

Update:

I haven't kept up my book-by-book tally, but I have currently read 49 books towards my 50 book tally. I just started what should be my last book of the year, although considering I read 3 books already in the last two days, I just might get to 51! I will post a couple of highlights from the last few books I read after I am done.