tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43317833337997990452024-03-13T17:51:16.311-04:00Views from the CountrysideEclectic opinions and book reviews from northeastern PennsylvaniaBarbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.comBlogger532125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-91703524086331651232015-01-17T00:16:00.001-05:002015-01-17T00:16:20.008-05:00A FINE SUMMER'S DAY by CHARLES TODD<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51lJpgWuPNL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Charles Todd's Ian Rutledge series is one I hope you have been reading. Not only is Rutledge an excellent character, through his investigations we get a good look at England post World War I. <i>A Fine Summer's Day</i> however is a prequel showing us the country on the verge of that terrible war and Rutledge's background.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He is an inspector with Scotland Yard before the war and newly engaged to the beautiful Jean Gordon. His sister and an older family friend try to warn him that Jean is not the woman for him and on occasion he has doubts himself but he loves her and she is thrilled to be planning their wedding. She is also determined, as the daughter of a military officer, that he should enlist and go off to war like seemingly every other young man in England. In her mind he would look handsome in a uniform and after a short time as a hero in glorious battle (of which she has no real concept), he would return to her and her social schedule. Rutledge is a realist, doesn't believe there is a good reason for them to go to war, and has no intention of enlisting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile he is thoroughly caught up in a case his superiors order him to leave alone. Several men have died, murdered, Ian thinks, even though one death at first sight seems like suicide. There are similarities in that most have consumed a glass of milk shortly before dying. All are reputable men with no apparent reason to commit suicide and don't seem to have any connection. However, the connection must be there and Rutledge is determined to find it before any more men are killed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I enjoyed this story but even more I liked seeing the patriotic fever overcoming England as war becomes more definite. Even Rutledge's investigation is affected as young Scotland Yard and police department men rush to enlist and no matter what needs to be done there is a shortage of personnel to do it. And of course the reader knows how many of those young men will never see England again and how many will return maimed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a wonderful addition to a superior series.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: HarperCollins </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-5181594173310177062015-01-09T19:24:00.002-05:002015-01-09T19:24:38.406-05:00GLOBAL PREDATOR by JACK MACLEAN<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5140vNTqLdL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been having a hard time deciding how to review this book. The author (writing under a pen name here) has been a foreign correspondent for a British newspaper and has written eight nonfiction books, but I believe this must be his first effort at fiction. In my opinion, he would do much better concentrating on nonfiction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sad thing is that there is a good story in here. Unfortunately, I was too distracted by all the mistakes in my print edition to concentrate. For instance, the hero is sometimes called Wilkins and at others he's Wilkinson. When the protagonist's name isn't consistent, you can imagine what other errors have made it into the final print version. Some can be explained by the translation from one computer program to another, but most are grammar, spelling, leaving out words or alternately leaving in words that were obviously supposed to be deleted. If you have an inner frustrated English teacher like I do, this isn't a book for you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The hero is a flawed character but basically a good man and I liked him. He has gone to Pakistan to escape almost certain imprisonment in England but the former girlfriend he goes to see is a courageous aid worker determined to open schools for girls and keep them open despite Taliban attacks. Sally is his opposite, so selfless and generous that she influences Wilkins. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since we know this story is "ripped from the headlines" as they say on "Law and Order," there is real fear for all of the characters in the book and frankly I was disappointed that it wasn't written by someone who could make the story come alive. MacLean is knowledgeable, obviously knows Pakistan and the perilous situation there, but couldn't do justice to his story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc.</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-82705199099916070332015-01-08T02:53:00.000-05:002015-01-08T02:53:16.503-05:00I, ANNA by ELSA LEWIN<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41FPT9ZeRvL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I, Anna</i> is a difficult book to read and to review. Every character in it is sad or downright depressed, they all have problems in their lives that have them wondering about suicide, and not one of them seems to have any fight left to face those problems. Many times as I read the book I just wanted to slap them and say, "You're not the only one with bad times in your life." Or the Joan Rivers in me would shout, "Oh just grow up already!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Anna of the title is a 50 year old blonde divorcee whose ex-husband has married a 32 year old woman. Anna Welles lives with her daughter Emily in a small apartment where she alternately drives her daughter crazy feeling sorry for herself or goes to singles parties where she meets the same group of losers over and over again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At one of those parties she meets a particularly creepy man named George and goes home with him. He is divorced and living with his son, who knows the routine and promptly goes out to find a place to sleep. Anna smokes pot for the first time in her life and they dance to loud music before having sex. By the time she leaves, George is dead but she thinks he has just passed out. She has no memory of the evening at all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A cop whose wife has just thrown him out for daring to suggest their 12 year old son is mentally ill and vicious is drawn into the murder case. Bernie Bernstein is just about as depressing to read about as Anna and George. The only difference is that he's still able to function - barely.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All of these people plus the other characters were so unlikable that reading the book was like pounding my head against the wall. I just wanted it to stop. But I persevered and finished it so I can say with authority my opinion of this one is to skip it unless you are just unbearably cheerful and need something to bring you down off the high.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Open Road Media via Netgalley</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-57896332338723216432015-01-06T11:16:00.002-05:002015-01-06T11:16:44.321-05:00FATAL ACT by LEIGH RUSSELL<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51xIWy5h8qL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Leigh Russell's Geraldine Steel series is one I can always count on for reading pleasure. Her life has changed now since she has moved to London. Working with a new team, a new office mate, and getting used to a new lonely apartment is unsettling enough, but then she gets a case that defies logic. Meanwhile her former partner, Ian, meets her a couple times and she can tell something is wrong but he isn't ready to talk yet. On the other hand, her office mate keeps inviting her out for a drink and they extend the drink into dinner. And to top it all, her sister is hounding her to have her niece down to London for a weekend. When she has to cancel, they simply don't understand. Life is awfully complicated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The case is a real puzzler. First a young actress is killed and the killer disappears. Another murder and again the killer disappears. Despite video coverage they cannot spot anyone. Many of the characters are students at a drama school and the top suspect is a casting director who is about 60 but his lovers are normally very young actresses using him to get parts. The current ones are the age of his son who is also a drama student. These characters are, uh, dramatic and young so everything is earth-shakingly important to them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I spotted the clue that told me who the murderer was way before the end but I loved reading on to see when Steel would catch on. Meanwhile it was interesting to see how her relationships with her colleagues developed, particularly her partner, Sam, who isn't afraid to let her know she isn't delegating enough work. It makes the others think she doesn't trust them to do the job and they're offended. I like series where the main character grows and changes. That's certainly the case in this one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Witness Impulse/HarperCollins</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-36857227929408036292015-01-01T08:50:00.000-05:002015-01-01T08:50:15.771-05:00HAUNTED by RAND WAYNE WHITE<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rko1D8zCL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some Randy Wayne White fans haven't been impressed by his Hannah Smith series but personally I love it. Hannah comes from a historic Florida family. She's a fishing guide and a private investigator too, having inherited her uncle's boat and business after he taught her everything he knew. Hannah is at ease out of doors but she's also feminine and even a sometime lover of White's Doc Ford character.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As usual in a Randy Wayne White novel there are funny and strange characters but also some very real danger. Think venomous snakes and murderous chimps, alligators and vicious humans. You may just cancel that planned trip to Florida.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hannah's friend Birdie, a deputy sheriff, introduces her to Birdie's wealthy aunt who hires Hannah to investigate a supposedly haunted house that sits on land the aunt has invested in. When Hannah and Birdie try to spend the night there, they discover the place is full of scorpions and that someone is watching them. They meet a strange archeologist who is conducting a dig on the property. He introduces them to people in a campground nearby and they turn out to be carnival people. There is also a rumor of attacks by chimp-like animals from a snake venom business at the edge of the campground. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I liked this different location and plot for the series. Also, Hannah is researching her family's history and one great-great-great-uncle seems to be involved in Civil War crimes in this area. This is my favorite book of the series so far; I look forward to the further adventures of Hannah Smith.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Amazon Vine</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-61675527206859421512014-12-30T07:00:00.000-05:002014-12-30T07:00:01.453-05:00VANESSA AND HER SISTER by PRIYA PARMAR<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518fzOl%2BR6L._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We all seem to be fascinated with the Bloomsbury Group, Virginia, Vanessa, Thoby, and Adrian Stephen and an assortment of Thoby's friends from Cambridge. Their story is told here by Priya Parmar in a series of vignettes, a bit like diary entries, from Vanessa's point of view.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thus we see Virginia Woolf always in sympathy but frequently in exasperation by her sister "Nessa" who loved her dearly but always had to keep in mind the state of Virginia's mental health. Virginia was unstable all her life and her siblings grew all too familiar with the signs that a mad spell was about to come upon her. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virginia not only loved Nessa but was almost totally dependent on her. Jealousy reared its ugly head whenever Vanessa was the object of someone's else attention or admiration, particularly when Clive Bell began to court her. After Vanessa married him, Virginia seduced him into a platonic relationship simply because she couldn't stand his being in love with Vanessa. She most likely would have made it a physical relationship as well except that she had no interest whatsoever in sex.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vanessa was an artist and yet in the Bloomsbury crowd her artistic achievements and talent were pretty much overlooked because she didn't demand attention like Virginia did. Bell was a rare exception, realizing that she had a real gift. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thoby died young of typhoid fever and since he had been the leader of the group and much of what they did together, they were all devastated. The house where the siblings lived together for so long became a place for them all to mourn together. Their butler, Sloper, didn't approve of their life because the young women would gather in the evenings with the men without a chaperone. Their half brother, George Duckworth, handled their money and highly disapproved of their bohemian lifestyle. He was particularly upset that the girls weren't looking for husbands.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The discussions in that house must have been wonderful. Parmar writes in a style I would imagine is how they spoke, i.e. Parmar writes of words sprinting through the room. She also shows a ferry ticket showing arrival in England from France rather than just writing that Vanessa had come home. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I came to have great admiration for Vanessa Bell. She was the soul of patience with Virginia, tried her best to control her sister's most destructive mad spells and to see that she ate. After her son Julian (Thoby's first name) was born, Clive was unfaithful and made no real effort to hide it. Vanessa in our time would probably have divorced him but in that age she remained faithful to him for many years, trying only subtly to stop his affairs. Her art was her life's consolation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is an easy reading, delightful book that gave me a better understanding of the Stephen siblings than an earlier biography of Virginia did. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Ballantine/Random House via Netgalley</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-19836580692280889992014-12-28T10:53:00.002-05:002014-12-28T10:53:57.535-05:00THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by ALEXANDRE DUMAS (PERE)<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51WJhBdXDDL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reading this book from my "book bucket list" was a Christmas treat for myself. I've had it on my EReader for a long time just waiting for a little spare time. It's one of those classics people like to claim they've read when they really haven't. I was interested because it begins at the time when Napoleon escaped from the Island of Elba and marched into France to regain control of the country, temporarily as it turned out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You must accustom yourself to the flowery, yet formal prose and stilted dialogue which fits the time of the story and of fiction when it was written. Personally I didn't find those things any detriment because this is quite a good story with excellent characters. Of course there are coincidences that are a bit of a stretch, and plot devices that wouldn't fly in modern times, but I found them easy to overlook in my delight in the story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The count himself is of course the best depicted character of all. He is initially a 19 year old sailor who has applied himself well to learning his trade and who is deeply in love with the girl he is about to marry. Edmond Dantes is on the brink of wonderful things, not least of which is his pending wedding to Mercedes. Such a promising young man generates jealousy though and he has innocently made two enemies. These two men forge a letter implicating him in the conspiracy to help Napoleon and he is sent to prison. Soon he is in a dungeon and all but forgotten except for Mercedes, his elderly father, and his former employer, Mr. Morrel. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His years of imprisonment and the intricate plot he follows to get revenge on the people who were responsible make up the bulk of the book, but the point of it all is the emotions that sustain him until he escapes and then how the years of obtaining revenge that he believes he is due affect him. His plans are fascinating, even cringe-worthy at times but always understandable because we know exactly what he endured in that dungeon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm so happy that I finally can cross this book off that bucket list and have the memory of it for my life. I find myself thinking about it again and again as the days pass. It's one of those books that stay with you; there's just so much to think about.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Free download</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-72585860708362015832014-12-18T10:45:00.003-05:002014-12-18T10:45:42.509-05:00NIGHT IS THE HUNTER by STEVEN GORE<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q6%2ByIg4SL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is my second Steven Gore novel but won't be my last. His hero, Harlan Donnally, is a cerebral former cop with a highly developed sense of right and wrong. Add in a pinch of action and danger and you have a satisfying read with a great story and characters who actually think about important issues.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Israel Dominguez is the subject of the plot in this one. He has spent 20 years on death row for the murder of a gang rival. Now he is nearing execution and the judge who presided at his original trial has admitted his doubts to his friend Donnally that Dominguez was actually guilty. Gang wars and the passing of time haven't cleared up anything of what happened, but Judge McMullin can't bear to just let it go. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An alternate plot line concerns dementia. Donnally's fater, a Hollywood producer familiar to anyone who has read earlier books, is showing signs of it and so is Judge McMullin. As each faces the inevitable in his own way, the emotional toll on Donnally gives this story depth that you normally don't find in a mystery novel. I like the relationship between Donnally and his girlfriend as well. This is an adult committed partnership not based on lust, but not lacking it either.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really must read Gore's other novels. This is an author who provides thoughtful plots and characters to engage my mind.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: LibraryThing win</span><br />
<br />Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-72988324379151715562014-12-05T14:42:00.001-05:002014-12-05T14:42:04.606-05:00FLESH AND BLOOD by PATRICIA CORNWELL<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51UhhUX3cBL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been reading Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series for many years. I feel like I know Scarpetta and the other regular characters personally so I always look forward to their next adventure. One of the characters though has always stretched my powers of belief too far. Scarpetta's niece Lucy is just too brilliant, too rich, too strong, too everything. Everyone else has faults that make them believable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In <i>Flesh and Blood</i> Lucy is acting strangely and suspiciously, and it begins to look like someone is trying to frame her for a series of murders. Of course Lucy isn't talking to anyone about her obvious problem so no one can help but Scarpetta is about the only person really confident that Lucy isn't involved in something illegal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scarpetta and her husband, FBI profiler Benton Wesley, are scheduled to leave for a Miami vacation when a man is killed in his driveway by a sniper far away. Investigating this and other murders leads the team to a real estate company run by a politician. One of the company's employees keeps tailing Kay and Benton and seems to know too much about them, even the condo Benton has rented for their vacation. No clues are left with the victims except fragments of copper and in one body a complete bullet. Oddly, someone has placed seven shiny pennies on the wall around Scarpetta's back yard, each dated 1981, the year Lucy was born, and each facing the same way. Other items at murder scenes also show compulsive behavior.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the end I was dissatisfied with this novel. I'm not saying it's a bad book. I don't think Cornwell could write a bad novel if she worked at it. What I am saying is that this one is a disappointment. Scarpetta and Marino are caught in an enormous traffic jam for too long (although since they're in Boston I understand) and are simply getting messages from others about ongoing investigations. Throughout the story Scarpetta seems not to be part of the action and Benton is obviously keeping secrets from her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's an intricate puzzle that took some work on my part to keep up with and in the end I didn't feel like it was all wrapped up. I didn't feel like Cornwell played fair with the identity of the killer either although I can't say why for fear of a spoiler. My advice? If you are a die-hard fan, you'll probably read this one to keep up with the characters but if you aren't, read any other book in the series rather than this one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recommended only for Scarpetta fans</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: HarperCollins </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-72148446139312269462014-12-02T07:00:00.000-05:002014-12-02T07:00:00.169-05:00MATCH PLAY by D MICHAEL POPPE<img alt="Product Details" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51UXC5InRPL._AA160_.jpg" height="320" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Match Play</i> is a debut novel by an artist who is, I believe, a new talent to watch.<i> </i>Not for the faint-hearted, this novel features an obsessive/compulsive killer who chooses his victims at random, making him that much more difficult to catch. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The only thing tying his victims and their locations across the U.S. together is the LPGA Tour. The women he selects are golfers but not the recognizable professional golfers on the tour. Necessarily, they must live alone. <i> </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The killer has a well-thought-out plan which involves the golf game of match play. You don't need to know much about golf to understand what he's doing since you'll catch on as he goes along. It is however creepy enough to make you suspicious of strangers for quite some time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I should warn you that mutilation of the victims is a vitally important part of this madman's m.o.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When he learns which FBI agent is leading the investigative team, he turns his activities personal, as in a match play game between the two of them. The agent, Lou Schein, is frustrated in his attempts to catch the villain before he can kill again. The reader is head of him all the way and the back story of who the killer is and why he became the man he is makes this an unusual and engrossing novel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do hope Poppe will continue to write fiction. He's trying this later in life than most writers but he has demonstrated an ability to write a compelling plot with well-drawn characters. <i> </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Partners in Crime Book Tours</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-33681285402379977352014-11-29T08:52:00.002-05:002014-11-29T08:52:30.836-05:00ESCAPE THE NIGHT by RICHARD NORTH PATTERSON<img alt="Product Details" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516hlUSuLiL._AA160_.jpg" height="320" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Escape the Night </i>was originally published in 1983 and is now available as an e-book. I suggest that you add it to your e-book collection but save it for when you have some time to devote to it. I promise you won't want to put it down for long. I just had to know what would happen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The story is about obsession and involves three generations of a family who own a publishing company in Manhattan. John Peter "Black Jack" Carey is the force who brought control of the company solely into his own hands. He's ruthless and fiercely devoted to his company. His wife endures years of emotional abuse but produces two sons, Phillip and Charles. These sons are prodded into competing with each other for favored status in their father's mind and, most importantly his will. Phillip, however, is weak and Charles is the golden one. Also Charles marries a beautiful woman and they have a son, John Peter Carey II, who is practically a clone of his father. Charles adores him, and in old age so does his father. Phillip is left as a pathetic also-ran.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The obsession begins when Charles unfortunately comes under the notice of the HUAC because they believe he is publishing leftist writers, and actually he is prescient in recognizing new talented writers who may have ideas that don't exactly mesh with what the HUAC sees as proper. He doesn't back down but eventually the HUAC backs off, except for the investigator who was assigned to their case. He is later fired and moves to the CIA where he learns more effective spying techniques. Another man is obsessed with the company and particularly Black Jack because his father committed suicide due to Black Jack refusing to rehire him. He is yet another danger.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I may have told a little too much, but I won't tell more because the last thing I want to do is ruin your enjoyment of this intricately plotted, beautifully written novel. Patterson is best known perhaps for his courtroom dramas and I have loved the ones I've read, but this is totally different. It is, I think, the best of his work that I have thus far encountered.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The characters, not just the family but the others as well, are portrayed just stereotypically enough to fit the plot and add to the fear factor. The evil ones are truly evil and one positively insane, but sometimes you know you just have to go with the flow and enjoy the read for what it is. If you do that, you'll be on tenterhooks for sure.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I read this during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and was prompted to be very thankful that I'm not a member of a powerful family, nor do I have wealth that anyone else would covet. I'm just a reader who can become involved with a good story and when I'm finished, go on to something else, but only after a little period of relishing what a good story it was.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Open Road Media via Netgalley</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-66118267246986276832014-11-21T07:00:00.000-05:002014-11-21T07:00:01.889-05:00BOTTICELLI'S BASTARD by STEVEN MAITLAND-LEWIS<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51qBiMCtuqL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a fun read with more than a little history in it. If the word history puts you off, I hasten to explain that this book is never ever boring. I'm bursting to tell you what makes it so much fun but that would spoil the read for you, so mum's the word.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The main character in the story is Giovanni Fabrizzi, expert restorer of old paintings. He learned the skill from his father and in turn passed it on to his son. The family is of course Italian, but Giovanni is based in London while his son runs the Italian studio. For decades Giovanni had a beloved studio in an old building in Soho Square but had been forced by his clients' insistence to move into a large, impersonal, secure building where he has to carry a paper that lists all the codes to gain access to his own studio. Even there, he has to use codes to open up the two storerooms, one housing his current work and the other for other paintings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In search of a painting that would be an appropriate wedding gift for a client to give his son, Giovanni finds a portrait in a crate that his father had shipped to him some time ago. The subject turns out to be Count Marco Lorenzo Pietro de Medici. Yes, those Medici's. As you can see by the cover, the young man was handsome and proud, perhaps arrogant. There is a claim that this unsigned portrait was actually painted by Botticelli.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Giovanni's life has been in turmoil ever since his wife died. She was his true soul-mate and he mourns her every day although she has been gone for several years, and nearly a year ago he had married a much younger, beautiful woman. His marriage is suffering because of his sadness and he is unable to complete a restoration he has promised by a certain date.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He becomes obsessed with learning the true origin of the portrait. As he seeks out information we learn about the theft of European art by the Nazi's and how many of the paintings they seized were never returned to the Jewish families who owned them. We learn the strange story of this particular painting and of its various owners through the years. But since this is mostly told as stories in conversation, it's never dry reading. I felt like I was listening to a wonderful storyteller.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: IRead Tours</span><br />
<br />Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-20975658537258902812014-11-17T15:07:00.001-05:002014-11-17T15:07:45.651-05:00BLEEDING KANSAS by SARA PARETSKY<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51efL%2Bg8-VL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I saw Sara Paretsky's name at a book sale, I automatically picked up the book. I had read all of her V. I. Warshawski series and loved every volume. This was a stand-alone: I put it in my bag, confident that it would be a great read. It turned out to have nothing to do with the bleeding Kansas of John Brown and the fight over whether Kansas would be a slave state or free. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, I thought, let's see what it is about and I'm glad I went ahead and read it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The story concerns a farming community where three families have lived and worked the land for generations. The Grelliers, Jim, Susan, and their children Chip and Lara, love the land and try to be good neighbors. The Schapens, Myra the grandmother, Arnie the father whose wife left him, and sons Junior and Robbie are avid adherents of a church that makes fundamentalist churches look downright liberal. In between the Grelliers and the Schapens is the Fremantle house. Old Mrs. Fremantle has died and a relative, Gina Haring, moves in. Haring claims to be wiccan and she brings along her friend, a woman who runs a store in town that sells all kinds of suspicious things connected with wiccans.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gina Haring's appearance sets off a kind of war. A lesbian who celebrates strange holiday rituals? Myra's blog (that everyone reads even if they won't admit it) is full of ridiculous claims. Then a Schapen cow gives birth to a red calf and city ultra-orthodox Jewish elders arrive and say it's the perfect calf for a ceremony to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, the Schapen family has visions of wealth beyond belief.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All of this plus a teenage bully, a handicapped boy, young people in a forbidden love results in an explosive atmosphere that you know will have a bad ending. As much as I love the V.I. Warshawski series, this is my favorite Sara Paretsky novel. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe it's because I'm from the Midwest (not Kansas), the characters are familiar ones to me. Well, except for the Schapens who are an exaggeration of midwestern types to make a point. Paretsky grew up in Kansas and she remembers those people clearly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: book sale</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-51145032347503981842014-11-15T15:01:00.002-05:002014-11-15T15:01:59.412-05:00TEHRAN AT TWILIGHT by SALAR ABDOH<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41x7MleSJAL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tehran, a city that inspires many emotions in Americans, mostly a mixture of fear and curiosity. It was the latter that made me enter the LibraryThing contest to win a copy of this novel. It is written by a man who was born in Iran and currently splits his time between Tehran and New York City where he teaches creative writing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His hero is Reza Malek, the year is 2008, and Malek's best friend has just asked him to return to Tehran. Malek is a teacher in NYC who also works in Iran as a translator for media. He and Sina Vafa went to college together in California where their fathers had taken them to escape the violence of Iran. From there the two men took opposite paths as Vafa became radicalized. Now Vafa is in over his head and needs Malek's help. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The story is about the love of friends, and of mothers and sons set against the reality that is Tehran and the streets of New York. Thanks to his friend, Malek is reunited with his mother who had supposedly run away with a lover when he was a boy. Also thanks to Vafa, Malek is caught up in the corrupt and frustrating system that passes for government, all the while in danger and trying to get his mother out of the country.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Friends in NYC and politics at the college where he teaches, illustrate that violence lives there too but life is so much better. Those friends prove to Malek that there is still an American dream to be had. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a rare occasion when I feel my words are inadequate to express what depths exist in Salar Abdoh's fiction. I felt as though I were with Malek in Tehran and for that matter in NYC as well. The characters drew me into this exotic story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: LibraryThing win</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-91065726104751702102014-11-14T07:00:00.000-05:002014-11-14T07:00:02.501-05:00DEATH IN THE DOLOMITES by DAVID P. WAGNER<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51pbJnYnQjL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been on quite a world tour recently, ancient Egypt, South Africa, London and Italy, but none of those excellent books have set me quite so firmly in their setting as this mystery which occurs in a village called Campiglio in the Italian Alps. It's based on a real village which fills with tourists in winter for the beautiful views and wonderful ski slopes. The author knows the place well. Although he now lives in New Mexico, he spent many years in Italy for the Foreign Service.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rick Montoya is Wagner's hero for this story, a man who is half Italian, half American and has a translating business in Italy. His uncle is a high-ranking police officer in Rome who would like nothing more than to attract Montoya to law enforcement. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The story begins with Montoya in Campiglio with his old friend Flavio for a week of skiing and good food. His plans are almost immediately disrupted though by the appearance of a police inspector investigating the disappearance of an American who is a banker in Italy. The man's sister is also in town and she doesn't speak Italian so Inspector Albani needs a translator. He has been referred to Montoya by, who else, his uncle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You'll not be surprised to find that the two will investigate the disappearance together as it turns into a homicide case. In between delicious-sounding snacks and meals and wine, they interview the townspeople, including the mayor who is running for re-election, his opposing candidate who runs a bakery, a realtor and a hotel owner who have a big stake in the outcome, and others. Montoya also gets in a lot of skiing and Wagner's description of the slopes and the views made me want to call an airline immediately. I also found myself craving Italian food.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The plot is interesting but the main appeal of <i>Death in the Dolomites</i> is the setting and the characters. I was charmed by both, enough so that I was unhappy when the book ended. It was altogether a very satisfying read, one that I hope will be followed soon by another episode in the series. I will also seek out Wagner's first Rick Montoya book, <i>Cold Tuscan Stone</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Partners in Crime Book Tours</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-7043792294318866042014-11-09T08:29:00.000-05:002014-11-09T08:29:56.246-05:00COBRA by DEON MEYER<img alt="Product Details" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51TqNSVB9zL._AA160_.jpg" height="320" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two years ago I read the novel <i>7 Days</i> by Deon Meyer in which I was introduced to South African Captain Benny Griessel of the Hawks, the police department's top homicide unit. I remember him well, along with all of his personal problems, alcoholism being the most threatening to his life and career. Now a member of AA, divorced and recently having moved in with his girlfriend (also an alcoholic in AA), he is faced with one of the toughest criminal cases of his career. At the same time he is struggling with an intimate issue that he is unable to discuss with anyone. It forces him to sleep in the office frequently. When he appears rumpled and bleary-eyed in the morning, his colleagues assume he has fallen off the wagon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Poor Benny. I know it isn't professional to write of him by his first name but Benny got under my skin two years ago and is still there. I simply think of him as Benny, an indication of what a strong character Deon Meyer has created in this series. His other characters are just as real and well depicted. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this book we also meet a young pickpocket, Tyrone Kleinbooi, who is putting his sister through university. She wants to become a doctor and he is determined to give her that opportunity. He has been picking pockets since he was 12. Actually stealing is so ingrained in him that at one point when he is in desperate need of a cell phone, he wastes quite a bit of time trying to steal one before the sudden realization that he could just buy one. What a concept! I liked this young man very much for his good heart, and I worried terribly about him as he was caught up in Benny's case.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The killer in this story is one of the most amoral men you'll find in fiction. He kills without hesitation, without pity, without any thought except that the victim is somehow in between him and his goal. He is a killer for hire so his goal is to do his job, escape from the scene, and get paid. As the police identify him and learn his background there is an explanation for how he became such a deadly person but no real understanding.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No wonder it creates an almost overwhelming thirst in Benny even after more than 400 days sober. Can he overcome the need? Can he solve his personal problems, save Tyrone and his sister, and put this killer away? The story captured my attention and never let go. Deon Meyer is a great mystery writer with a wonderful character in Benny Griessel. I look forward to Benny's next case.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Amazon Vine</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-22352411967567609922014-11-04T09:56:00.002-05:002014-11-04T09:56:35.592-05:00DESERT GOD by WILBUR SMITH<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61nAZMXfDOL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prolific author Wilbur Smith has added to his Egyptian series with this adventure novel about a eunuch and his brilliant schemes to defeat the Hyksos people. They had taken over the northern section of the land along the Nile which forced the Egyptian pharoah and his people to the south. The Hyksos are a warlike people considered by the Egyptians to be below contempt in their crude way of life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taita is a eunuch who raised the young current pharoah and his sisters. He deeply loved their mother and promised to watch over them. He is shrewd, learned, knows many languages, is physically strong and accomplished at many things. He congratulates himself constantly, in fact, for his superiority. The young sisters adore him and one of his few failings is that they have him wrapped around their little fingers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A mounting problem is that Egypt is in dire need of money. Taita learns that the Supreme Minos of Crete will be sending a vast treasure to his ally the Hyksos and he devises a plan to grab the money and fool everyone into thinking another country is responsible. Meanwhile, to his consternation the elder sister has fallen in love with one of his favored military men, but the girls must be offered as brides to the Supreme Minos as part of the plan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The plan, of course, works brilliantly but there is much danger and need for Taita's clever inventions to overcome obstacles. Frankly I became weary of Taita and his bragging, but the story was engrossing. This is ancient Egypt after all so worship of various gods plays a large part in the plot; if you have forgotten, some of those gods are pretty frisky.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wasn't wowed by <i>Desert God</i> but I must admit it's a good story which remains fully in that period of history with all its misconceptions. You are immersed in the life of the ruling families of the Middle East with a horrifying glance at the life of the slaves and the poor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: HarperCollins</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-31582813896280553752014-10-29T11:55:00.000-04:002014-10-29T11:55:07.697-04:00ALL DAY AND A NIGHT by ALAFAIR BURKE<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51xZcYnpYUL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>All Day and a Night</i> is the latest Ellie Hatcher mystery novel and personally I think it's the best. Admittedly, I always think the last one I've read in a good series is the best and this is a good series. Burke creates great characters we can all relate to.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ellie Hatcher is a cop who is living with a prosecutor and how she feels about it is sort of illustrated by the fact that she has yet to tell her mother. Her brother lives in her old apartment and covers for her. Prosecutor Max Donovan, her boyfriend, suddenly springs a new assignment on Hatcher and her partner J. J. Rogan. Hard to tell who is more unhappy about it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The case involves correspondence insisting that Anthony Amaro who is serving life without possibility of parole (cop slang: all day and a night) is innocent. He had been convicted of one murder but assumed to have killed five women in Utica, NY. Now there has been another murder in New York City accomplished and staged identically. A highly publicity-conscious attorney has taken the case, and she has hired a lawyer to work the case with her. Carrie Blank also happens to be the sister of one of those victims. Why is she involved in trying to clear her sister's killer? In fact, she left a prestigious firm, a job most young lawyers would consider their ticket to a great future, to do this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are several characters in this book who fairly walk off the page and into your life. You can't help getting caught up in their struggles and feelings. That's a good thing for a reader but not if you want to solve the mystery before the reveal. I love Hatcher's relationship with her partner, and also the evolving relationship with Donovan. I laughed at the contrast between big city and small town as the city cops and lawyers converge on Utica investigating the old crimes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This book will keep your interest up throughout. Don't miss it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Amazon Vine</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-77484800759061775122014-10-28T07:00:00.000-04:002014-10-28T07:00:07.793-04:00DETECTIVE LESSONS by BILL LARKIN<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IMnnssACL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looking for a mystery novel with a charming hero and an intriguing plot, danger galore, and lots of motive for what happens? Add to the mix a beautiful private investigator, a billionaire, and the California coast and you have <i>Detective Lessons</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Schmitty is the star of the story, a cop working harbor patrol which mostly means driving a boat 5 mph around the harbor intercepting drunk and/or stupid boaters to keep them from killing themselves. His partner is a woman on a career track, he is a guy whose future is iffy so he sort of drifts along, living in a loft over a collection of classic cars (not his), with a sort of pie in the sky dream of finding treasure. He's likable and honest, a good guy I cared about.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When he and his partner save the life of an older man, he recognizes him as Mac Whelan, father of a classmate in high school. The next day Whelan calls wanting to hire him to find his missing son. He's only been missing for 24 hours but that just doesn't happen and Whelan doesn't want to involve the police officially, for good reason as we soon discover. Schmitty takes a couple days off to find Jimmy Whelan, then discovers Whelan has also hired a P.I., Megan McCann, to partner with him. Hence, the detective lessons. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you might imagine, the case turns out to involve more than just Jimmy disappearing, and it puts Schmitty and McCann into serious danger as well. As in all good stories, this one will change Schmitty's life. There are important consequences for everyone involved, so you finish it with satisfaction along with some sadness for the things people do to one another in life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope you'll read <i>Detective Lessons</i>. Bill Larkin is a writer I'll continue to watch for and I kind of hope I'll encounter Schmitty again in a future book. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Partners in Crime Book Tours</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-68570816616781972922014-10-20T19:27:00.001-04:002014-10-20T19:27:46.609-04:00BLOOD ON THE WATER by ANNE PERRY<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51wLsbZkMHL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the latest volume in the William Monk series, a series that never disappoints. He is commander of the River Police and happens to be out on the Thames with one of his detectives when a party boat ahead of them suddenly explodes. It is a night of horror as the pleasure boat was crowded and the only people with any hope of survival are out on the deck. Even if they manage to escape, the water is enough to kill them. In Victorian England the Thames was a swill of sewage, bodies both human and animal, and God knows what else. Most people who had the misfortune of being dunked in the river died of disease or infection very soon. The wealthy party goers below had no chance whatsoever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He and his detective do their best to rescue people. In the morning after cleaning up, they begin to work on the case. This was no accident. However, that very morning the case is taken away from them and given to a sort of special prosecutor who, how ever well meaning, knows nothing of the river. Monk, his men, and his wife Heather keep trying to solve the case, and it becomes obvious to them that corruption in high places, perhaps involving the newly opened Suez Canal, is behind this awful crime.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, an Egyptian man is tried and convicted, sentenced to be executed, but then that is changed to life. Since he is dying of disease anyway, why bother? Monk is certain that this is the wrong man. When he uncovers evidence of his claim, the case is reassigned to him. What in the world is going on with the powers that be? The answer is quite interesting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monk is in danger, both physical and professional, throughout. That kept me turning pages, although I was sorry when I finished the book. I like Anne Perry's England, a time of hints of change shining through Victorian mores. Hester Monk is a brave, intelligent woman, generous to the teenage orphan they've taken in and a loving wife to Monk.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you like historical mysteries, you would do well to try this series. You'll be so glad you did.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: LibraryThing win</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-87624051464693655362014-10-18T08:59:00.001-04:002014-10-18T08:59:36.444-04:00GOEBBELS: A BIOGRAPHY by PETER LONGERICH<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ipIhXar9L._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Originally I was told this biography was to be published October 14th but now I see it won't be out until May 2015. Since the print edition will be 992 pages long and this book is dense with facts of history, I can see why it might take longer to publish. Still, it is available to pre-order now. If you are at all interested in the Third Reich, this is well worth the time to read. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Author Peter Longerich is a professor at Royal Holloway College of the University of London. He was aided by a group of psychoanalysts in Hamburg, Germany since his major source was Joseph Goebbels' own diaries written for publication. Therefore, how to tell the truth from the man's delusions of glory. I can't imagine the difficulties Longerich faced in trying to sort out other accounts and documents to get at the true story. Where he can't do that, he reminds readers that the information is based only on the diaries.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Goebbels began keeping a diary in 1923 and stayed with it until his death in 1945. There are 32 volumes of them. He was born in 1897 and by the time he began his first diary he was poor, unemployed, an unsuccessful writer, and in a failing relationship with a woman. He was lame from being born with a clubfoot and needed an orthopedic device to walk. Yet he saw himself as a bit of a Don Juan. There would be a series of affairs with women the rest of his life, even during his marriage. After he became director of propaganda for the Nazi Party and close to Hitler, he doesn't seem to have realized that a big part of his attraction to women was the power they assumed he had.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He went to college to avoid military service and his studies led to a crisis of his Roman Catholic faith. He finally discovered the Nationalist Socialist movement and writing for its publications began to build a reputation among its members. It was only in 1924 that he found Hitler, and if that sounds like "he found God," that's because it was that kind of an experience for him. He idolized Hitler for the rest of his life. Although they didn't always agree, Hitler always had the last word. Goebbels never understood Hitler's political maneuvering. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, his anti-Semitism had taken over his life. Such a man who fails at everything he tries but has an ego as big as all Germany must find a scapegoat to blame. In Goebbels' case it was the Jews and it became a consuming belief. Anti-Semitism wasn't uncommon in Europe at the time but few people were radically against the Jews. Goebbels took his bigotry to the height of truly believing the future of Europe depended upon ridding the continent of Jews. He even called President Franklin Delano Roosevelt a Jew and head of a Jewish conspiracy. We can see the fallacy in his thinking but he absolutely believed his own propaganda.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That is one thing I came to understand as I read this biography. Goebbels was taken in by his own lies. When Hitler came into power in Germany, one of the first things they did was take control of the press and radio. Goebbels told the newspaper editors what they could and could not publish, and then basked in the effusive reporting of his own speeches and rallies. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One other item of interest to mention since I can't possibly include everything fascinating about this man is that Hitler also fell in love with Magda, Goebbels' wife, and spent much time alone with her. The Goebbels had six children together, all given names that begin with H, and all of whom were taught to adore Hitler. Longerich seems convinced that somehow Magda was a wife to both men and I had the impression that at least some of the children might have been Hitler's. Meanwhile, Magda was a very unhappy woman who wanted to have a position in government, but was forced by both men to remain wife and mother. They told her it would be highly inappropriate for her to have any other job. She was never reconciled to this, but her poor health would probably have prevented her from fulfilling her wishes anyway. At the end, she and her husband killed all six children before taking their own lives after Hitler and Eva Braun had committed suicide. They believed life after Hitler wouldn't be worth living, even though Hitler had named Goebbels as his successor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wish I could go on and on with revelations from this wonderful biography. I began reading it in hopes of understanding why Goebbels became such a monster. At this point I do have more of an understanding than I did previously, but realize that there is just no way I would ever be able to fully understand the path his life took. I also learned quite a bit about Hitler despite the fact that I've been reading about him and his Nazi Party for years. This was another side of him that I hadn't seen before.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended for history buffs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Random House/Netgalley</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-65001605056220580252014-10-15T07:00:00.000-04:002014-10-15T07:00:07.242-04:00PREY OF DESIRE by J. C. GATLIN<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41febCU6RRL._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the Prologue of this scary novel we are witness to an accidental death and a horrific murder that gives me the creeps just to remember it. Obviously the murderer in this story is obsessed with something and not real attached to reality.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The tale continues more than 20 years later with another killing that seems totally unrelated except for the way it's done. A young man is the victim, killed while using a pay phone to talk to the girlfriend he regrets breaking up with. He of course doesn't show up to see her but she refuses to believe he has run off. Her best friend, a beautiful neighbor who cares more about sexy clothes and expensive gifts than her friend's missing boyfriend, tries to talk her into dating a shrink but he keeps standing her up. She isn't interested anyway. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Throughout the book I was relieved that the main character has a Doberman named Zeus who is of course protective of her. Most of the time she doesn't believe she's in danger and I kept talking to her (out loud) about her lack of brains. She's a college student and yet she acts too bubble-headed to be real to me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are several candidates for the title of creepy bad guy here and actually I dismissed him as fairly harmless but the big clue was staring me right in the face. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to call someone else bubble-headed, eh?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have a hard time coming to a decision about <i>Prey of Desire</i>. I suppose the modus operandi here is clever for a mystery writer but I struggled with it, still do actually. I've already mentioned my difficulty with the main character too but on the other hand if she hadn't acted as she did, there wouldn't be much of a story to tell.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recommended with caveat about method of murders</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Partners in Crime Book Tours </span><br />
<br />Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-19574149007092980752014-10-10T07:00:00.000-04:002014-10-10T07:00:00.880-04:00AN INTIMATE MURDER by STACY VERDICK CASE<img height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QhcJjnTvL._AA324_PIkin4,BottomRight,-55,22_AA346_SH20_OU01_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Catherine O'Brien and her partner Louise Montgomery are the bickering, immensely funny feature characters in this series. They are police department detectives in St. Paul, MN but this reminds me of cozy set in London with the odd characters and the plot. Catherine is married and thankfully has a patient and loving husband who only gets upset at her long hours on the job when she's in danger. Louise is beautiful, enough so to distract both other cops and witnesses, but she's the one who is calm and tactful.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this story a couple have been murdered in their own home and their college age son came home to find them dead. A neighbor is looking after him until relatives can take him away from the scene. The wife was stabbed in the living room but strangely enough the husband was shot in the attic where he kept his prized train sets. No defensive wounds on either. Then there is a crazy niece and a suspicious looking sister and brother-in-law. Inherited money is an issue and there is the matter of the death of a wealthy grandmother in upstate Minnesota several years earlier. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neighbors they question are hilarious, for instance the one who thinks she's cracked the case but gives them such a vague description of the car she saw that it could be any car in town. She claims not to be nosy but has binoculars on the windowsill and knows everything about everyone on the block. We all know the type and that's what makes it so funny. They have the usual problems with the media too which is a hindrance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reading any book in this series is like settling down with old friends who tell great stories. I know I'll have a good time when the author is Stacy Verdick Case. If you aren't already a fan, you will be if you read <i>An Intimate Murder</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Author via Netgalley </span><br />
<br />Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-11124691659562922882014-09-23T07:00:00.000-04:002014-09-23T07:00:02.224-04:00TO DWELL IN DARKNESS by DEBORAH CROMBIE<img alt="Product Details" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/615TVSkj5+L._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Deborah Crombie fans won't need me to tell them that a new Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James mystery novel is out today. I've grown very fond of the regular cast of characters in this series and the plot is always a great one. No question then. Go out and buy it; you won't be disappointed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As usual Duncan and Gemma's combined family has a large part in the story. The children find a moma cat and four kittens locked in a shed. They bring them home where the animals thrive and work their way into everyone's hearts, except of course for the cat whose home they've taken over. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, Gemma is searching for definitive evidence against a young man who she is sure has sexually assaulted and killed a 12 year old girl. Duncan has been transferred to Holborn Station and worries that Gemma's recent promotion and his transfer are very suspicious. He has problems adjusting to a new team, but then someone burns to death at St. Pancras Station and he is in charge of the investigation. There's no time to be worrying about personalities for the duration.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We meet a group of protesters who were on scene, expecting one of their members to set off a smoke bomb. Melody's boyfriend Andy and his musical partner Poppy were performing there at the time as well. Unfortunately their manager is seriously injured by what is not a smoke bomb but rather a white phosphorous grenade. Melody is slightly injured. The scene is chaotic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As usual, Crombie has written a terrific page-turner that leaves you feeling a little breathless, and certainly expecting a sequel. The next one promises to be extremely intriguing. Can't wait.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: William Morrow/HarperCollins</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4331783333799799045.post-48208061908752254612014-09-18T14:36:00.001-04:002014-09-18T14:36:09.106-04:00FINAL JEOPARDY by LINDA FAIRSTEIN<img alt="Product Details" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515zk4oRphL._AA160_.jpg" height="320" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Talk about a weird day. ADA Alexandra Cooper awakens one morning to a headline which announces her death. There is an explanation for the mistake. She had allowed a sort of friend, gorgeous movie star Isabella Lascar, to use her Martha's Vineyard home for a getaway. Under the impression Lascar wanted to be alone, Cooper is surprised to learn that a man had been there with her. No one knows who he was.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is an old volume in the series, a lucky find at a book sale. I like Fairstein so it was a no-brainer to pick up one I hadn't read.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fairstein knows exactly what Cooper's job is since she herself worked for years as the head of Manhattan's Sex Crimes Unit. Of course this isn't a normal case for her as it involves her current boyfriend, her friend, and her home. No one knows if perhaps Cooper was the intended target, although Lascar had many enemies, so Homicide Detective Mike Chapman is assigned to protect her. They have worked together many times and have a great relationship, along with daily challenges on the final question of television program "Jeopardy." They bet $10, $20 and they are pretty evenly matched in their knowledge of trivia.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The media hounds Cooper relentlessly. She must go to Martha's Vineyard to aid in the investigation while trying to keep up with her work and yet be protected from possible killers. So, the restrictions force her to assign another lawyer to review new cases and assign them to others in the office. She makes unusual requests of her secretary to avoid being inundated by phone calls she can't or won't take. The media is foisted off on the public relations department. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One person she does keep in touch with besides her close friends is a neighbor down the hall from her apartment, Dr. David Mitchell. (That amuses me since it is my husband's name but he isn't a doctor.) He is a psychiatrist with a Weimaraner and I was highly suspicious of him, along with several other possible suspects. I did figure out some of the plot, but for the most part I read fast while I worried about Cooper.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a good read, but lock the doors and windows before you read it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highly recommended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Book Sale</span>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.com1