Books
“The Appeal” by John Grisham
Copyright 2008 by Belfry Holdings, Inc. Dell mass market edition, Dec 2008. Spoiler alert: I am going to give away the ending, so if you want to read the book you had better look away. If you want a book in which the bad guys win – big time – and the good guys all … Continue reading
“The Escape” by David Baldacci
Grand Central Publishing, New York, Nov 2014 There are a lot of similarities between Lee Child’s Jack Reacher and David Baldacci’s John Puller. Both are military (or ex-military) – Reacher is an ex-MP and Puller is an active CID investigator. Both are tall, lean and mean. Both make women swoon. Both are brilliant at outwitting … Continue reading
“Gone Tomorrow” by Lee Child
Dell Books, 2009, Dell Mass Market Edition, 2010 Yes, another Jack Reacher novel. I like them. This is the 13th in the series. The initial premise is very simple: Jack is riding a New York City subway train in the wee hours. There are six passengers in the car, including him. Four of the other … Continue reading
“Nothing to Lose” by Lee Child
Delacort Press, 2008 I love the Jack Reacher series, as you probably know. Nothing to Lose is the 12th in the series, of which I believe I have now read 10. They are all good, but after a while certain themes reappear. In this case the reappearing theme is Jack-Reacher-against-the-town, a theme that appeared in … Continue reading
“Bad Luck and Trouble” by Lee Child
Delacorte Press, May 2007; Bantam Dell paperback edition April 2008 I realized about 5 pages in that I had read this book once before. But I couldn’t recall how it ended. Being unable to remember critical plot elements of a book does not speak well of it. I knew it wasn’t one of the best of the … Continue reading
“The Summons” by John Grisham
Doubleday, Feb 2002 I think John Grisham is a very talented writer. I love his legal mystery/suspense/adventure yarns. They always keep my attention. They even keep me awake when I read late at night, which is high praise indeed. Except this one. In a nutshell, this is the story of a dying southern judge who … Continue reading
“Taming a Sea-Horse” by Robert B. Parker
Dell Publishing, 1986 There are books where the genesis of the title is obvious, like Green Eggs and Ham. There are books where the title is not immediately obvious, but is revealed in the reading, such as The Hunt for Red October or The Red Badge of Courage. Then there are books which, when finished, … Continue reading
“Shadows of Steel” by Dale Brown
Berkley Edition, May 1997 If you are familiar with Dale Brown’s books – particularly those that feature Patrick McLanahan as the protagonist – then you will already be aware that this book is chock full of whiz-bang military hardware, outlandish military threats to the United States and save-the-country heroics by McLanahan. In this case the … Continue reading
“Deception Point” by Dan Brown
Pocket Books, 2001. Dan Brown is best known for The Da Vinci Code and its sequel, Angels and Demons, both of which were made into movies starring Tom Hanks. Deception Point was published between those two blockbusters, but the story is unrelated, has a different cast of characters and, as yet, has not been made … Continue reading
“Think Twice” by Lisa Scottoline
St Martin’s Press, 2010 This is one of a series featuring Bennie Rosato, head of an all-female law firm in Philadelphia. Most books in this series are mysteries, with a strong cast of characters and a lot of time spent on romantic and family relationships, sometimes at the expense of the mystery. But, overall, I … Continue reading