3 stars out of 5
My just-finished a gin-and-tonic may have put me in a generous mood, but I'm a bit more upbeat about the latest co-authoring effort from James Patterson than others are. At the time of this writing, 93 reviewers had rated the book on Amazon.com, 38 of whom gave it just one star, 11 gave it two and 10 agree with me at three. "The book is simply drivel," one reviewer said. "This was a waste of money to me," said another.
I don't disagree with either one, but unlike a few reviewers, I managed to finish the book - and even look forward, at least somewhat, to learning how things would work out in the end. I admit I had this nagging feeling that I'd be gob-smacked with something akin to the Bob Newhart-Suzanne Pleshette "Newhart" finale, one of the most memorable in TV history (if you don't know what happened, Google it). Although I'm not one to offer spoilers, I will say nothing like that happened here, thank goodness.
This one features Benjamin, the more-than-a-little paranoid and very wealthy owner of an Internet newspaper whose mind tends to wander all over the map - movies, presidential minutia and other trivia. He's also obsessed with a beautiful woman named Diana, who has asked him to install surveillance devices in her apartment while she's gone. As he exits the building, she comes in - only to jump off her sky-high balcony in an apparent suicide while he's still in the neighborhood.
Very soon, though, he begins to realize Diana isn't quite the perfect woman he thought - and trying to find out what really happened puts him in the crosshairs of everyone from the CIA, the Russians, the Chinese and even the U.S. President. Soon, he's convinced he's the target - even if you're paranoid, after all, it doesn't mean they're not out to get you - and the race begins to see if he can uncover the truth before he gets captured or worse, killed.
At every turn of his motorcycle, bike and even his own head, Ben spouts trivia (usually from movies) - ad nauseum. At first, it helped define his obsessive personality; but very quickly, it turned just plain annoying. By about a third of the way through, I learned to skim over those parts (one reason, no doubt, that I was able to finish the book in short order even with limited spare time). And you know what? When it came to the plot, I didn't miss a thing.
The bottom line? It's readable, but take my advice and borrow it from a library or a friend for free. Even the Kindle version at $12.74 is way too much to pay for this one.
Mistress by James Patterson and David Ellis (Little, Brown and Co., August 2013); 448 pp.
5 stars (out of 5)
Opening a new Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus book always is accompanied by a bit of excitement - I've read them all (this is the 21st), and while some have been better than others, I've enjoyed every single one. This one, IMHO, is one of the best.
Any disappointment, if you can call it that, is that it seems Rina's role has diminished over time (a trend that became noticeable in last year's Gun Games). In the past, she's been more directly involved in her husband's murder investigations, and there's been more interaction between the two of them. Now, her life has taken a back seat, mostly serving as the chief family cook and mediator between Peter, an LAPD detective, and the high-strung musical prodigy they've taken in at least for the short haul.
Besides that, I've always enjoyed learning more about Orthodox Judaism (Peter came to that party when he married Rina many years ago). But in this book, except for a mention or two of Peter's need to be home by sundown on Friday to observe Shabbat, the subject is virtually nonexistent. Then too, there's the matter of more than a couple of grammatical errors that should have been caught - but that's more on the head of copy editors than the author (and something, unfortunately, that's become quite common in books I've read over the past few years).
As for the story, it involves a particularly gory murder of an old, and extremely eccentric and exceedingly wealthy recluse who keeps an adult tiger in his apartment and apparently enjoys kinky sex with ladies of the evening. Early on, Peter and his LAPD colleagues learn that the tiger's roar is much worse than her bite - and the chase is on to find the real killer. That leads the crew from a remote wildlife sanctuary to Las Vegas casinos and includes a consult with Dr. Alex Delaware, the lead character in books by Kellerman's husband, Jonathan.
Meanwhile, that teenage child prodigy is having problems all his own, creating tension at home. Everything comes together to present a dilemma (and possible major life change) for Peter and Rina which, I assume, will provide very interesting fodder for the next book.
I'll be waiting!
The Beast by Faye Kellerman (William Morrow, August 2013); 384 pp.
5 stars (out of 5)
When it comes to books, not much thrills me as much as learning Daniel Silva has produced another featuring art restoration expert and Israeli super-spy Gabriel Allon. No surprise, then when I couldn't wait to get my Kindle stylus tapping on the latest adventure. That said, I always open them with a sense of hesitation; I'm always fearful (make that scared to death) that something awful will happen to him and/or his beautiful wife Chiara.
So, as each chapter begins and Gabriel's always complex, always dangerous adventures unfold, I take a deep breath in anticipation of reading something I hope I never have to read. That is, I think, a complement to Silva, who has managed to tap into my emotions like few authors have done and, simply put, make me care enormously about all of his characters.
This one begins as a young British woman with links to the Prime Minister disappears on the island of Corsica and, in part to avoid a scandal that threatens to topple the English government, Gabriel is called upon to handle negotiations with what is assumed to be a kidnapping. Of course, nothing in the world of espionage is ever as it seems, and just when you think a situation has been resolved, a new and even more potentially dangerous twist appears on the horizon. Along the way are Silva's wonderful insights into his characters -- not many authors do a better job, IMHO -- as well as interesting and informative looks into the history of the countries in which the action takes place (most notably Israel, a country that has long fascinated me).
Much more than that I can't say without revealing too much of the plot, although I will add that the ending brings into question exactly what Gabriel's role will be in future books. But I enjoyed this one from beginning to end and think it's one of Silva's best - were it possible, in fact, I'd have given this one 6 stars.
The English Girl: A Novel (Gabriel Allon) by Daniel Silva (HarperCollins Publishers July 2013); 490 pp.
As I've mentioned in other book reviews, I am so not a fan of history in any size, shape or form. Museums? You've got my attention for half an hour, max. Books? Fuhgettiboutit! So when I say that Hidden Order not only taught me a few things about history but made it interesting in the process, you can be sure that's a compliment to the author's considerable talents.
This book marks, if I'm not mistaken, the 12th in the series featuring Scot Harvath, a covert counter-terrorism operative and former Navy SEAL. The private firm he now works for has been called in to investigate the sudden disappearance of five candidates under consideration to head the U.S. Federal Reserve Board. When the candidates start to turn up dead, the situation takes a more urgent turn in an effort to prevent all from being slaughtered in horrific fashion. Clearly, someone is sending a message, and solving the case means finding out who's doing it and why.
The chase leads Harvath to match wits with CIA officers and Boston detectives, one of whom proves to be a "match" for Harvath in more ways than one. The action moves along quickly and, for the most part, believably - with only a few instances of super-human efforts - and my suspicion of the whodunit didn't come until fairly close to the end. For the record, yes, I was right, but as the TV commercials say, wait, there's more.
I was also happy that the "rants" the author is fond of making (and which, in his last couple of novels, were a bit over the top), were kept to a mild roar. It's obvious he wants the public to be aware of the absolute power of the Federal Reserve - which, as he points out, is neither federal nor has any reserves yet has almost total and unchallenged control of U.S. monetary policy. But this time the facts, figures and warnings are worked into the plot on a more subtle basis - I didn't feel as if I were being hit over the head with a two-by-four.
Hidden Order: A Thriller by Brad Thor (Stria/Emily Bestler Books, July 2013); 374 pp.
4-1/2 stars (out of 5)
After reading Cussler's disappointing Poiseidon's Arrow, co-written by his son Dirk Cussler last year - I gave it just 3 stars - I wasn't expecting this to be much better (read my review here). That book was the 22nd "starring" Dirk Pitt, who since his introduction in 1965 has "graduated to head up the National Underwater and Marine Agency. Pitt makes an occasional appearance in that capacity in Zero Hour, but this one (Book 9 of The Numa Files) follows friends Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala and the rest of the Numa team as they try to stop a mad scientist who's bent on destroying the world as they know it.
The focus, if you will, is on "zero point energy," which is a theoretical state of energy that well-known scientists like Nikola Tesla reportedly espoused but for which his designs mysteriously disappeared before they could be tested. If tapped, it could be used as an energy source for the betterment of the world; but misused, the consequences could be dire. Here, the Numa team learns that a discredited and paranoid scientist has mastered the technology and, together with his son, plans to unleash it by targeting a fault line that runs through the middle of Australia and splitting the continent right down the middle.
As the team searches to find and shut down the villain before that happens at "Zero Hour," the chase moves along nicely, making this book hard to put down. On occasion, the boundaries of what the human body is capable of are tested a bit as the testosterone levels shoot up (literally and figuratively), but it never quite reaches the point of super-human that always bugs the heck out of me when I run across it in other books of this genre. All in all, a great job!
Zero Hour by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown (Putnam Adult, May 2013); 400 pp.
4 stars (out of 5)
It was the setting - St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in the United States - that made me take a closer look at this book, which, when I got it, was free on the Kindle. My husband and I have friends in the Sunshine State who have taken many beautiful photos of the attractions there, like the historic lighthouse and the Alligator Farm, so I was hoping I'd be getting an enjoyable bargain.
And that I did. The first in a series featuring private investigator Quint Mitchell (the second, Bringing Down the Furies, has been published as well), it's very well written and held my interest right to the very last page. And to my special delight, some of the action actually takes place at those two landmarks I mentioned earlier.
The story begins as Mitchell is helping at an archaeological dig, where a more recent and gruesome find turns up. When the lead archaeologist and Mitchell's personal friend is charged with the murder, the PI sets out to find the real killer. In the process, he runs afoul of local law enforcement, city leaders and politicians who have irons in fires that have yet to start burning.
If I'm honest, I must say I suspected how this one would end. But at no point did I know for sure until the author (whose real name is Victor DiGenti, by the way), put it in writing. All in all, I very much enjoyed Quint Mitchell's debut - and I look forward to reading the next one (which takes place in South Carolina).
Matanzas Bay by Parker Francis (Windrusher Hall Press, March 2011); 258 pp.
5 stars (out of 5)
What's in a name? If it happens to be mine, you can be sure I'll take notice. I first discovered C.J. Box's series featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett years ago with the first - Open Season - simply because Pickett is my family name. I'd have read it just because of that, but the fact that it fell into the genre of books I love most made me even more eager to check it out.
That was then - 2001 - and I've been a happy reader ever since. As always, I couldn't wait to get the 13th and latest, Breaking Point, on my Kindle. And like all the others, it was hard to put it down and the ending, which of course I won't reveal, made me want to learn what happens next.
Part of the books' appeal is that they're not simply about the game warden and his adventures, but his wife and children as well. But now, his daughters are practically grown (one is in college), and I was curious to see how the family dynamic would be worked into this story. And in fact, while Joe's wife Marybeth has a bit of a role here, there seemed to me to be noticeably less emphasis on the family angle in this installment. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out in the next book in the series.
This one, which brings into play the dire consequences of government power gone wrong, is based on a true story that ended up before the Supreme Court (Sackett v. EPA 2012). Butch Roberson, Joe's family friend and business owner, has become the target of the Environmental Protection Agency, which apparently is out to get him by ruining everything he's tried hard to build up by declaring a tract of land on which Butch and his wife plan to build a retirement home a protected wetland. But then, two EPA agents are murdered, and the evidence points to Butch as the killer - suggesting that he he may have reached his breaking point.
As Butch goes on the run, a manhunt ensues, and it becomes clear that the powers-that-be aren't looking to capture him alive. As the local game warden and a man who is familiar with Butch, Joe is called into service to assist in the hunt. But early on he begins to suspect that something is very wrong and that some of the very people who employ him may be less than honorable - and who, by the end, bring Joe to a breaking point of his own.
If I have a criticism, I suppose it would be that almost all of the U.S. government folks are shown in a much less-than-positive light - bringing to mind the political rants late author Vince Flynn would insert into his novels (for the record, he's a favorite author too). At the same time, author Box is a life-long resident of Wyoming, so I'm sure the Sackett case struck a few personal chords. And, much of the criticism is justified; sometimes, the government really is out to get you.
Breaking Point by C.J. Box (Putnam Adult March 2013); 384 pp.
I don't disagree with either one, but unlike a few reviewers, I managed to finish the book - and even look forward, at least somewhat, to learning how things would work out in the end. I admit I had this nagging feeling that I'd be gob-smacked with something akin to the Bob Newhart-Suzanne Pleshette "Newhart" finale, one of the most memorable in TV history (if you don't know what happened, Google it). Although I'm not one to offer spoilers, I will say nothing like that happened here, thank goodness.
