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<![CDATA[Neil added 'Rough Country']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78927261
Rough Country (Hardcover)
byJohn Sandford bookshelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[Neil added 'Jericho Point']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57099289
to: Jericho Point (Evan Delaney #3)byMeg Gardiner
Evan Delaney is having a very bad week. Her boyfriend Jessie’s brother PJ is wasted again, and he seems to think he saw a woman thrown into the ocean. Jessie’s a mess too, dealing with his family and PJ’s troubles. There’s a job offer on the table at Jessie’s Law Firm, but it’s on hold since she’s being accused of check fraud by a washed up rocker’s wife; both important clients.
And she’s got to be a bride’s maid for Jessie’s cousin on Saturday…
Meg Gardiner’s third Evan Delaney novel is a non-stop roller-coaster ride into chaos and mayhem. Written with an eye toward making the reader part of the heroine’s struggle, Gardiner again succeeds at creating character’s on both sides of the line who embody both subtle and overt draw. The good guys are good, but not super heroes. They get hurt, fall when they need to run, get depressed and don’t think of everything; just like real people. The bad guys are scary, unreasonable, without compassion, and easy to despise.
One of the most noticeable things for me is that I find myself feeling the frustration that Evan is experiencing. The situations unfold in a way that brings the reader right into the midst of the story. I find this one of the most telling traits of great writing, as I become part of the story, not just an observer.
Even more, I have really come to appreciate that the heroine is a Sci-Fi writer and part time lawyer, and not a cop. Because she’s not a cop, she doesn’t think like a cop, act like a cop, fight like a cop… She acts like a lover, sister, aunt, or friend would in overwhelming, out of control situations.
The physical descriptions of Evan’s world are vivid and colorful, and transport the reader into the midst of it. The Santa Barbara setting is beautiful and presents the perfect backdrop to the story.
I highly recommend Jericho Point to anyone who enjoys a great suspense novel. I do suggest that you read the previous books in the series first, as there is a great deal of development and background that makes this book more understandable.
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<![CDATA[Neil recommended the book
The Evolution of Linda- The Emotional, Spiritual, and Sexual Journey of a Modern Lakota Woman to
Candice]]>
http://www.goodreads.com/book/recommendation/653579
Neil
recommended the book
The Evolution of Linda- The Emotional, Spiritual, and Sexual Journey of a Modern Lakota Woman
to Candice
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<![CDATA[Neil added 'American on Purpose']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74937294
to: American on Purpose (Hardcover)byCraig Ferguson
“It’s a great day for America everybody!” in a thick Scottish borough is how TV’s Craig Ferguson begins his monologue each weeknight. As host of The Late Late Show, Craig follows David Letterman, spinning his unique and very different style of late night comedy. Fans of the show are well aware that the Glasgow native is now a naturalized American, and a recovering alcoholic, but few have known the whole story.
American On Purpose is a fascinating memoir, a cautionary tale, and a damned funny adventure into the world that formed what is possibly one of the most clever wits on television today. Without reveling in the past Ferguson manages to highlight just enough of the debauchery to let us see how it took hold of him. He opens his failings and weaknesses to examination without ever glorifying mistakes; humanizing himself and calling it what it is.
With amazing humor and clarity, the story carries the reader along as each story unfolds. Ferguson is a master story teller, and has well succeeded taking those stories to the page. At times, I could almost hear his borough as the vivid pictures came to life and the killer ducks chased through the park.
While it’s true that I’m a sucker for anyone who finds the strength to admit they need help, and the courage to walk out their recovery; I also have little stomach for those who use it like a badge of achievement in Hollywood. Craig never does, but rather has the honesty and humility to do it day by day and let himself become a reminder that it can be done. American On Purpose makes that crystal clear, while still entertaining the reader.
I highly recommend this book to any and all, especially if you are or care about someone struggling with addiction. Even if not, it’s a great read. My copy was signed in person and will be one of my treasured possessions.
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<![CDATA[Neil added 'The Stone Monkey']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68823072
to: The Stone Monkey (Lincoln Rhyme, #4)byJeffery Deaver
Jeffery Deaver has, once again, created a gripping and engrossing tale featuring his hero/heroin team of Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs. The Stone Monkey, the fourth in the series, finds the master criminalist/crime scene investigator duo diving head first into a seemingly impossible task; working with FBI and Immigration authorities to locate a Chinese freighter out on the ocean, with a cargo of undocumented immigrants, and the human trafficker who is bringing them across. The trafficker, or “Sneakhead”, goes by the name Gui, Ghost, and has earned his reputation as both deadly and cunning.
Finding a ship in the midst of a raging ocean with nothing but forensic evidence is difficult, but when the ship sinks before the Coast Guard can arrive, the priorities change from arrest and evidence collection to rescuing the victims while trying to preserve the crime scene; and then to keeping the Ghost from murdering any more of his charges.
Woven into the fabric of the story is a reasonably deep look into the Chinese immigrant community, some cultural tradition, and the inevitable conflict of generational differences. These add a fresh color and intrigue to the telling, and all parties have to broaden their horizons to understand both the predator and the prey.
Adding to the mix of usual characters are the personal demons that Amelia and Lincoln wrestle with. Rhyme is still planning to undergo an experimental surgery that he knows won’t reverse his quadriplegic condition, but might give him just a little more feeling and movement; that is, if it doesn’t take all he has left. Amelia is as supportive as she can be while worrying about losing her love in the attempt. And, she desperately wants for them to have a child…
I very much enjoy the closeness, respect, and understanding that these two have developed over the course of the series. They operate with unstated anticipation of the other’s next question or instruction, knowing just what the other is thinking. The relationships with the supporting characters are, likewise, growing and deepening. When outsiders enter the fine meshing machinery it takes a while for them to become part of the big picture, just as it would be in any team that’s worked so closely for so long.
I do wish that Deaver had done just a little more research into the operations and procedures used by US Immigrations, which he erroneously calls INS throughout the book. The publication date is 2003, right on the cusp of the reorganization of the various agencies, but by that date, the enforcement arm of INS had been renamed the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE for short. He also stumbles over minor operational errors that few on the outside are aware of (I’ve worked for ICE as a Detention Officer since 2004), but that could have been discovered without too much trouble.
And, once again, I have to take issue with Deaver’s inaccurate firearms description. In chapter 44 he writes that the INS Agent working with Sachs has an issued Glock Model 36, the compact .45 caliber version of the venerable Austrian pistol. In fact, in 2003, ICE agents carried either H&K USP’s in .40 caliber or Sig/Sauer pistols in .40 caliber or .357Sig. I know it’s insignificant to the story, but when a mistake like this is made a special point of “evidence”, it makes me wonder what else is just as incorrect that I didn’t catch.
Those small issues aside, The Stone Monkey is superbly written and the plot twists are familiar and welcome to any fan of Deaver’s previous works. He kept my interest throughout the story and kept me guessing all the way to the end.
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<![CDATA[Neil
is on page 50 of The Stone Monkey
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http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68823072
Neil
is on page 50 of 735 of
The Stone Monkey