Barry's powerless October

[BarryP]

Power just came back, so here I am!!!

The Black Box: Michael Connelly
Harry Bosch back again, and fully the detective we know and love. He lacks certain social skills, he’s not the best of fathers (though his intent is good), and his love life could use some help. But when it comes to 20 year old murders, he is the man. (A-)

Deja Dead: Kathy Reichs
The start of “bones”, though I must admit to trying a later novel and liking it enough to go back and start at the beginning. A strong start as Tempe tries to find and stop a serial killer not just because he is killing, but the killings are ever closer to home for her. (B)

Death Du Jour: Kathy Reichs
Tempe continues to find that her investigations drag her into the cases, and into trouble. (B)

Grave Secrets: Kathy Reichs
Tempe goes to Guatamala to identify massacre victims. Murder follows her. (B)

Mad River: John Sanford
A Flowers novel, still a bit off-beat and fun to read. There is a murder spree in progress. Flowers knows who it is, but not where they are. The chase is long, but interesting, and Sanford’s ideas of justice take a few right turns. (B+)

Judgement Day : JA Jance
A Joanna Brady book. While these have (in general) improved over the series, they still seem almost the polar opposite of hard boiled, with the bad people all being mean and petty and the good people showing redeeming qualities every time they eat a hamburger. (B)

NYPD Red: Marshall Karp (Patterson)
I’m not sure what Patterson does besides put his name on the book and picture on the back. By style, this seems like a Karp book, though the wry insanity of The Rabbit Factory is not in much evidence in the Patterson series. Still, in all, a good search for a serial killer. (B+)

Never Look Away: Linwood Barclay
Not the worst book in the world, and if you like Coben’s suburban thrillers, you will love this one. I have some problems with the whole genre, and the tricks the authors seem to need to play to make it possible for a sociopath to live next door to you undetected and then burst into a murderous rage just as your best friend, who is now a Navy Seal, is coming to visit and the mobster next door kidnaps your child. (no , that is not the plot of this book, that is a for-instance). This is a much more straightforward man accused of murdering wife. (B-)

Nothing but the Truth: John Lescroat
OK. So the bad guys fall into 3 categories:
1. Evil
2. Morons
3. Evil Morons.
The good guys I would have to characterize in terms of Star Wars:
1. Yoda
2. Jar Jar Binks.
They match what wits they can find in their lurch to the surprise ending. (B)

Alpha: Greg Rucka
Maybe the next step after the Atticus Kodiak series, we now have Jad Bell, a special forces operator who “makes it right”. Alpha is like a frog in a pan of slowly warming water. The story progresses, and all of a sudden you realize it is all boiling around you. (B+)

13 Million Dollar Pop: David Levien
I was expecting a story about a really expensive soda, but instead it was the recurring character, Frank Behr, who in the greatest of hardboiled traditions watches his life falling apart around him while investigating the stuff he thinks is important, rather than the stuff he is being paid for. But justice is what he seeks, not a paycheck. (B)

Under the Ice: Richard henrick
I have been wanting to read this dated techno for a long time, not so much for thesotry, but because it spawned a game in the 90s that had cult like following. The plot is nothing new. A cabal of Soviet officers concocts a plot to wage nuclear war on the US by blaming the americans for shooting down their premier, when they have acually bombed the plane. this could be derailed by the real black box being found, so 2 submarines, one US, one USSR are dispatched tothe arctic ice to find it. (B+)

Kasserine: The Anatomy of Slaughter: Charles Whiting
The American entrance into WW2 fighting the Germans (and French) might not have gone as well as planned. In fact, this might have been the greatest debacle of the war, but but such greats as Eisenhower and Patton showed their mettle there, and many others not up to the task went into obscurity early in the game. (B+)

To Kill A Cop: Robert Daley
Daley was a NY Deputy Police Commissioner. His tale, while a procedural, revolves around a plot to kill a number of police. Taking place in 1975, many of the devices and techniques we now take for granted were not there. This was an interesting contrast to the cerebral futuristic “Philosophical Investigation”. None of the characters here were highbrow, they seemd to range from desperate to banal. (B+)

Sword of Orion: Robin White
Techno thriller with teams of American and Russian specialist, not trusting each other, attempting to find and neutralize the device. (B)

The Cabal: David Hagberg
A Kirk McGarvey novel, one of the more extreme of the superspy genre. It is what it is. (B)

A Philosophical Investigation: Philip Kerr
A police procedural taking place in London of the future (as imagined in the past), the police have been cataloging DNA to identify a flaw that might make an individual more subject to becoming violent. A hacker uncovers the list, and decides that society would be safer with these people dead, so begins a series of murders that Scotland Yard must uncover. (B)

[Ann]

Glad your power is back on Barry; a great variety and count for the month as always! I loved the early Kathy Reichs books too, have slowed a bit on the last two but still enjoy them, and Bones on TV.
I am eager to get to The Black Box and need to look up Alpha, I missed that one, and miss Atticus.
Barry wrote: "Power just came back, so here I am!!!
Alpha: Greg Rucka
Maybe the next step after the Atticus Kodiak series, we now have Jad Bell, a special forces operator who “makes it right”. Alpha is like a frog in a pan of slowly warming water. The story progresses, and all of a sudden you realize it is all boiling around you. (B+)"

[Melodie]

Great month! Glad you got your power back! I never liked Temperance in Reichs' books, but I love the TV show.

[Sandi]

It is good to see you back with power. Good month as usual. I need to get back into Greg Rucka's books. I enjoyed the first book by David Levien, City of the Sun, since it was set in Indianapolis.

[Dan in AZ]

Good month, Barry. How do you read in the dark?

[Brakedrum]

Barry, you had a good month, except for power.

[BarryP]

Daniel wrote: "Good month, Barry. How do you read in the dark?"

I was in the service and then went to work for the power company. I have been in the dark for a long time.

[Susie]

Glad your power is back Barry! You had a GREAT month ;)

[Carol/Bonadie]

Barry wrote: "Power just came back, so here I am!!!

The Black Box: Michael Connelly
Harry Bosch back again, and fully the detective we know and love. He lacks certain social skills, he’s not the best of father..."

Wow, you must have been using your night vision goggles if you finished all these during a power outage! Good job. A nice range of stories. I'm looking forward the TFF and
Mad River

[BarryP]

I did have the Florida trip too. The auto-train is not a bad environment for reading. I finished 6books in a 5 day trip. During the hurricane, I put my collection of booklights to use, then ran a lamp from the generator when I started that. I hate to waste good reading time.

[Merrilee in AZ]

Good month Barry. I'm in CA I can't access my book list from my IPad. I'll post when I get home later next week.

[Ann]

Have a good trip to California, Merrilee!
Merrilee in AZ wrote: "Good month Barry. I'm in CA I can't access my book list from my IPad. I'll post when I get home later next week."

[Ann]

Barry: Readers will take advantage of anything and any time to read! Good that you could do it even without power and while traveling down the rail tracks. I wonder if I could read on a train, I can't in a car unless it is an audio, car sickness!
Barry wrote: "I did have the Florida trip too. The auto-train is not a bad environment for reading. I finished 6 books in a 5 day trip. During the hurricane, I put my collection of booklights to use, ..."

[Amy]

Ann, I can read in a train, but not a car.

[BarryP]

My sister has been trying to read by candle light. Now I know what to get her for the holidays: a storm kit with battery lanterns, some book lights, etc. At least she has a gas stove. She's in Jersey and said that generators are going quiet as people run out of gasoline.

[Dawn]

Glad you have your power back! Can't wait to read The Black Box. I was also able to read without power..thanks to my Ipad...it has its own back lights!
The gas situation here in Jersey reminds me of the 70's. Its crazy. I couldn't get any gas yesterday - hoping to fare better tomorrow.

[Ann]

Barry: sounds like a great gift! I hope the gasoline situation gets better soon, it is not fun at all to not have any gas, and without generators, I imagine it is getting cold.
iBarry wrote: "My sister has been trying to read by candle light. Now I know what to get her for the holidays: a storm kit with battery lanterns, some book lights, etc. At least she has a gas stove. She's in Jersey..."

[Cathy]

Amy wrote: "Ann, I can read in a train, but not a car."

with a fox, but not in a box. (sorry, couldn't resist!)

[Donnajo]

I have the patterson book but haven't downloaded it onto the nook. and I was going to give Barclay a try and I think that book is the one I ended up putting on the nook when I saw a bunch of his available. never tried his books before so didn't know which was the best one to pick at the time. I found when I was at my sister's without power and my bil was doing the lanterns. he was using a propane one which he finally put on top of the coffee table and a ice chest since it wasn't high enough with just the table I was having trouble reading even with my reading glasses. and for some stupid reason I didn't want to use up my reading lights. (of course I should really have them all charged or put new batteries in them now I had a few that was dead before I started.

[BarryP]

My reading got much easier once I started the generator.

[Donnajo]

I think one night he might have hooked the generator up to the light in the den. that worked alot better than trying to read by lantern or even the propane light. I think when they finally got electric back which was not long ago he had said he was just getting into doing the whole camping thing with using the propane lantern and regular lantern to see by and he was even cooking using the propane stove burner thing. that was alittle scary to watch that. but he did coffee or hot water to do tea each morning. I think he even did soup.
but I think at some point he's planning on getting a bigger generator like other people on his street and having some one come in that he knows to have the whole thing switched that he can easily switch to generator if it ever happens again. when they lose power it's usually for a good amt of time.