Slow burning fuse of a story together with tortuous plot lines equals no explosive twists and turns.
This book is certainly no fast-paced action thrilSlow burning fuse of a story together with tortuous plot lines equals no explosive twists and turns.
This book is certainly no fast-paced action thriller. But I kept reading until the end because there was suspense and Rankin is clearly an excellent writer who, in this book, carries it off owing to the excellent well-fleshed out characters and superb dialogue.
As a newcomer to Rebus, I found the plot somewhat complicated and baffling at times.
I'm not having much luck lately in choosing a new (to me) well-known crime fiction author. I must stop reading new authors in the middle or end of a series. ...more
Much, much better than Divine Justice which I recently reviewed and was not that impressed, so I gave the series another go with this, Book One - The Much, much better than Divine Justice which I recently reviewed and was not that impressed, so I gave the series another go with this, Book One - The Camel Club.
Great storyline and fast pacing especially in the middle third. The first third of the book was a tad slow for me but I'm glad I stuck with it.
Baldacci still has this annoying trait of seeming to give his readers a history lesson in both politics and the history of Islam. It slows the story down unnecessarily because his treatise on either of those topics is exactly that: a treatise and not what I expect from a work of fiction.
Yes, I did enjoy it but I'm unsure if I will go on to read any more in the series. This author is fine but he's nowhere near my favourite. ...more
It was okay but I wish I had read this review first which commenced: “If you haven't read the earlier books in this series (The Camel Club, The CollectIt was okay but I wish I had read this review first which commenced: “If you haven't read the earlier books in this series (The Camel Club, The Collectors, and Stone Cold), stop right here. You will like all of those books much more than this one . . . and you will like this one less than you otherwise would if you start with The Camel Club.”
I will give this series another go owing to what I hope is an accurate assessment of this book, ‘Divine Justice,’ as articulated above.
I must say I quickly realised I was starting somewhere in the middle of the series but that wasn’t a big problem as the author neatly recapped on the essentials that had preceded the events of this book.
I enjoyed the book a lot as far as a certain stage and was engrossed with the character of Oliver Stone aka John Carr. He’s a bit like Reacher on steroids and more likeable.
The reason I can’t award more than 3 stars is the plot sometime after Stone finds “refuge” in the town of Divine, Virginia, soon becomes a tad far fetched and for me, stretches the bounds of credibility. The Dead Rock Super Max penal facility events, for example, were farcical and not worthy of a bad B-movie. ...more
I did enjoy this book immensely. The main plot was great as were the various subplots. The backstory of the main character’s Russian family was also iI did enjoy this book immensely. The main plot was great as were the various subplots. The backstory of the main character’s Russian family was also intriguing and well worked into the overall story. The protagonist, lawyer Paul Copeland’s sister went missing 20 years ago at a summer camp. Suddenly things start to happen in the present day that on the surface seem to connect to the events of two decades past. These happenings take place as Copeland is prosecuting a couple of rich kids for raping a single mother. That trial turns out to be an excellent subplot with the author writing some funny pastiche characters into the courtroom scenes which serve as a source of light relief to the serious issues that invade Copeland’s life and career. The author does a great job with all the characters who range from his chief investigator to a couple of old-school tough NYC cops with a former lover thrown in for good measure, in addition to some other wonderful minor characters. The only thing I didn’t like was a tendency to let Copeland engage too much in exercises in homespun philosophy. That smacked of extraneous words to fill so many pages of a novel. I plan to watch the Netflix series. ...more
Excellent read with a plot set in 1950's Britain but pertinent to what's happening around the world in 2020. Two young boys die suddenly with plague-lExcellent read with a plot set in 1950's Britain but pertinent to what's happening around the world in 2020. Two young boys die suddenly with plague-like symptoms. They live in an idyllic village in Kent, southern England. The experts are called in as the cause of the infection is a mystery. Eventually, the government and armed forces become involved with the village becoming a 'no-go' area except for the inhabitants, local GP, medical experts, and the military.
Author Brian Porter takes us on a mystery ride unraveling pieces of the jigsaw little by little and using some great characters in the process such as the GP, the local bobby and vicar, and even the village's poacher and undertaker. Piece by piece, the villains are exposed and it finishes with a great ending that I didn't see coming.
This series of books by author Brian Porter are as fresh as the first in the series and I believe I have now read them all to date. Porter achieves thThis series of books by author Brian Porter are as fresh as the first in the series and I believe I have now read them all to date. Porter achieves this by first coming up with new plots – all based on some mysterious murder, of course – that usually involves the professional detective skills of DI Andy Ross and his team on the Merseyside Specialist Murder Investigation Team in a denouement at the end of the story. In this one, ‘A Liverpool Lullaby: He Loves Them To Death,’ Porter freshens the approach by the team identifying the serial killer early in the book. What follows is a thrilling hunt to first trace him to his ‘kill spot’ then an even more thrilling chase to apprehend the killer. It’s a thrilling read.
What’s more, the author freshens things by the characters evolving and developing as the series progresses. The reader gets to know each team detective well which is a good thing.
This eighth book in the series is a tad grittier than most of the others, but I prefer that to any kind of cosy style mystery.
The chase towards the end is the highlight for me of this terrific thriller but be warned, part of the finale made this grown man cry. ...more
Good story and beautifully written by author Justin Bauer. Much of the first third of the book is the set-up introducing the reader to three-year-old Good story and beautifully written by author Justin Bauer. Much of the first third of the book is the set-up introducing the reader to three-year-old Hannah, her parents, Nathan and Renee, until we reach the turning point when it becomes clear that Hannah may not be Hannah at all. She may be the reincarnation of a dead woman; a woman who was murdered.
The author achieves that by switching the girl’s dialogue from that of a three-year-old and into a far more mature discourse. It works well.
As the story continues, it revs up a few notches at the halfway point, and from then on, it’s action and conflict all the way to a violent end. I enjoyed it.
Just one criticism and not about the story. The cover does not reflect the book genre. ...more
Author Caroline Walken has written a first-rate thriller with this book. She makes the characters of Kate Ramey and the bounty hunter, Wayne Anthony, Author Caroline Walken has written a first-rate thriller with this book. She makes the characters of Kate Ramey and the bounty hunter, Wayne Anthony, leap off the pages and right into your head.
Anthony is a likeable character and I hope we read more about him in the future along with his long-suffering partner Lou.
Essentially, this is a cat and mouse story with Ramey the mouse and Anthony as the cat. But this is no Tom and Jerry. It’s serious and someone could get badly hurt. Read on … no spoilers.
What else is there to say: great characters, high stakes, conflict and an excellent story line. Well done Ms Walken.
I received an ARC from the author but my views are my own and freely given. I have pre-ordered this book too. ...more
Two stars because it was okay but no more. I doubt if I will read another book by this author. There were some things about her writing style that irkTwo stars because it was okay but no more. I doubt if I will read another book by this author. There were some things about her writing style that irked me.
One being she spelled out the obvious instead of allowing the reader to draw conclusions or form an opinion.
Two, just as I was getting interested, she goes off on one of the many excursions into ancient history involving stuff like human sacrifice and torture.
Characters were not believable especially the detectives in the book.
Plot was okay but way too many of the twists and turns were implausible for me. How many times can a captive escape death when bound and tied naked to a bed? Possibly once, but twice? Come on!
Dialogue was stilted much of the time.
I know I am probably in a minority as many rate this book and the author highly. Not for me. ...more
Enjoyed the book even though I found it disturbing. Not so much the graphic details of the murder of poor Elizabeth Short (the Black Dahlia), more so Enjoyed the book even though I found it disturbing. Not so much the graphic details of the murder of poor Elizabeth Short (the Black Dahlia), more so the psychological characteristics of the characters including the main character Bucky Bleichert, the LAPD cop. It wasn’t until I finished the book, I realized this novel uses a lot of true facts from the real Black Dahlia killing in 1947 Los Angeles. Then on learning something about the author, things started to drop in place as to why I found this book disturbing.
Short was a young woman murdered in 1947, her body cut in half and discarded in Los Angeles, in a notorious and unsolved crime. According to one source, throughout the author’s youth, Ellroy used Short as a surrogate for his conflicting emotions and desires based on his own mother’s rape and murder when Ellroy was 10 years old. His confusion and trauma led to a period of intense clinical depression, from which he recovered only gradually.
These personal issues are clear to see in this novel. Bleichert (surely the author?), his cop partner and buddy Lee Blanchard, and Kay Lake are the main characters at the centre of the novel. Initially, there is a kind of chaste and weird ménage a trois going on between them. Like most of the other characters they are dark and complex individuals weaving between righteousness, killing, corruption, and promiscuity - one moment trying to do good, the next … and that’s just the “good guys.” This book is full of dense plotting and a relentlessly pessimistic—albeit moral—worldview. I found it fascinating and hard to put down.
You can expect dialogue and narration replete with jazz slang, cop patois, creative profanity and drug vernacular with a particular use of period-appropriate slang. This is a tale set in 1947 and the immediate years after so don’t be surprised to read words and attitudes expressed that are wholly unacceptable in 2020.
It’s one of the few books I have read where I am forced to look up words and their meaning (Merriam, of course, as it's American English). I now know the meaning of amscray, ixnay, and copacetic. The first two are derived from ‘Pig Latin’ – what I knew in Britain as back slang, whereby a made-up word is formed by transferring the initial consonant or consonant cluster of each word to the end of the word and adding a vocalic syllable and can be used in a conversation to convey secrecy. You can also expect stripped-down staccato sentence structures like some of the great noir and pulp fiction writers.
I liked it ... but ... no, it was no more than okay. I was disappointed after reading it straight after The Poet.
It was okay because Michael ConnellyI liked it ... but ... no, it was no more than okay. I was disappointed after reading it straight after The Poet.
It was okay because Michael Connelly is a fine writer, but I fear he is straying from the style I most admire: he writes best when he writes about what he knows. The one area he really does know is how cops and detectives tick. That thread of authenticity runs right through his earlier novels.
In this book, it strikes me he offers a lot of information dumping, no doubt inspired by researching stuff he knew little about. Yes, it's well written, but it still comes across as an information dump and frankly, it gets boring. As does the gimmick of using hyperlinks which take the reader to his website. So annoying!
The book itself continues the exploits of Jack McEvoy, the reporter, who, it seems, has a knack for finding serial killers. The plot, per se, isn't too shabby, but I do find McEvoy's fight scenes to be leaning towards the implausible, as is the continued story of Agent Rachel Walling's in and out FBI employment. Give me a break!
I have still a lot of this author's books to read but I think I will go back to his earlier books.
There is something good about a story if it lingers in your mind after you finish reading it. This was the case for this first book in the JackGreat!
There is something good about a story if it lingers in your mind after you finish reading it. This was the case for this first book in the Jack McEvoy series, and some.
Jack is a hot shot reporter in Colorado whose twin brother Sean happens to be a homicide detective in Denver. The book starts with Sean's colleagues breaking the terrible news that Sean is dead: a suicide. Sean had been investigating the homicide of an attractive young woman and it was assumed by all the failure to track down the 'doer' had contributed to Sean taking his own life.
The subject of police suicides, especially homicide detectives, becomes Jack's driving obsession. He needs answers. Those answers lead him to other 'suspicious' cop suicides and the discovery of a foundation in Washington DC that collects statistics on such deaths. Jack goes on to find out facts tending to show many of these suicides were in fact homicides, including the killing of his twin brother.
So far, Jack's character is written in first person by Connelly, then it changes to third person with the introduction of a new character: William Gladden, a paedophile. The story really takes off from here with Jack first of all convincing his brother's former detective buddies that it was not a suicide at all. Shortly after, the FBI enter the ring with Jack being allowed to stay in the loop as an observer.
What follows is one heck of a story masterfully told at a great pace with a love interest and more than one red herring (no spoilers from me). I am not so sure about the ending. In another book written by many authors, it could have been a 'no-no' for me but this author pulls it off.
1. When reading this book, I didn't realize it was the one that kicked off a bit of controversy about the prediction of thTwo immediate declarations:
1. When reading this book, I didn't realize it was the one that kicked off a bit of controversy about the prediction of the COVID-19 virus.
2. I have read a Koontz book before but many years back and I can't recall the title. Now I have read this, albeit originally penned under the name of Leigh Nichols, I plan to read more of his books.
As for 1. above, if folks took the time to read the author's After Note, and a cursory internet search, they would know that Wuhan was never mentioned in the book's original form in 1981. However, it does seem rather prescient on the author's part, that this 2012 edition should include reference to Wuhan in the context of biological warfare ... or was it added much later than 2012 for promotional purposes by the publisher?
This is it, reproduced in part with my emphasis in italics:
"... As I revised the book for this new edition, I resisted the urge to transform the story entirely into a novel of the type that I would write today. I updated cultural and political references, polished away a few of the more egregious stylistic inadequacies, and trimmed excess wordage here and there ..."
As for 2. - the book itself. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a novel mixing action, suspense, romance, and more than a touch of the paranormal. Tina and Elliot, the two main characters, are developed sufficiently to make the reader like and root for them. Like the author says in that same After Note: "I enjoyed revisiting Eyes, which remains a basically simple tale that relies largely on plot and on the strangeness of the premise to engage the reader."
Loading...
