Gail
I,Ripper by Stephen Hunter tries to be a fresh take on the many Jack the Ripper stories. The book is told through two perspectives, the diaries of Jeb,a reporter covering the Ripper case, and of Jack himself. Jeb does eventually discover his Ripper, but not until his mission is mostly complete.
The story was ok. I was expecting a Ripper story to have a more sinister mood but didn't feel that here. The most interesting part of the book for me was the revealing of who Jeb would become and what he did with Jack's story than the identification of this book's Jack. Unfortunately, that didn't come until late in the book.
I give this book 2.5 stars.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. The story follows Robert Tarza, his fiance Tess and two former colleagues, Oscar and Jenna. Oscar is clearly in over his head in a shady seeming rate book deal and is soon kidnapped. Robert and Jenna distrust the police and investigate the kidnapping on their own. Eventually, a French judge and an honest captain in the police manage to save the day and solve the crime despite never been given all the information that Robert and Jenna managed to collect.
First, it wasn't mentioned as a series book but it looks like this is the second or third book featuring Robert and Jenna. I think this stunted the character development and I never connected with Robert or Jenna. The book setting is Paris and many times, the two main characters are painted as stupid or arrogant Americans. Story is ok but there are too many times when convenient accidents or coincidence push the story forward. I was just never really cared much what would happen to anyone in the book. The book is an easy read, but ultimately left me unsatisfied.
The Truth According to Us tells the story of a small depression era town in West Virginia and a once prominent family that has fallen from grace. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Through most of the book, I thought I new exactly where this was going, and though it was a good read, I was loving it. The last 100 or so pages turned it from an ok story to a really good story in my mind. The ending was happy and heartbreaking at the same time and I just thoroughly enjoyed it.
I won this book as a Goodreads giveaway.
3.5 stars! This is the first book I've read in the Shifters Unbound series by Jennifer Ashley but based on this story, they are interconnected but stand alone novels that do not need to be read in order. This basic plot of this book is that Kenzie and Bowman have a mating of convenience (loved that phrase!) But have not developed a mate bond despite the fact that they are very obviously in love. This causes tension in their relationship and in the pack as they battle a mythical beast, meddling family, lonely gnomes and a mad killer.
The story drew me in right away and was a fun, fast read. The characters were likable and I was pulling for their HEA pretty much from page 1.
I won this book as a First Reads giveaway.
This book examines the post-enlightenment philosophy the both created the Nazi's and made it possible for them to gain power. It's a difficult read, especially if you have not studied much philosophy, but worth the extra effort. Piekoff dismisses the usual causes for the rise of Hitler in favor of a deeper look at the common philosophy of the German people. A philosophy nihilism, complete obedience and distrust or dismissal of logic. The result is the most complete explanation of how the Nazi's happened.
I won this book through a First Reads giveaway.
I won this book as a First Reads give-away. It is a Nancy Pearl Book Lust Rediscovery originally published in 1987. I am a fan of spy-novels and I think this was a great one! The story is about Viktor Tronko, who is either a Soviet defector with very little real value or a Soviet disinformation plot meant to confuse the CIA and/or end an internal mole hunt for a Soviet spy code-named Dmitri. The story unfolds as Michael Kessler gets a visit from an old CIA informant and former member of counter-intelligence, Mel Pokorny, who tells him of Tronko and Dmitri and then is killed right after leaving Kessler's home. Kessler can't stop himself from following the story through despite the contradictory information he is being fed and the danger he is putting himself in.
I was drawn into this book right from the start but it is not an easy read. There are a lot of characters, none of whom should be trusted as telling the complete truth about what they know. I read another review of this book that said it would be an easier read in e-book format since you could more easily search back to jog your memory about certain characters. I totally agree with this. Absent the e-book version, taking notes would have helped me a lot and may be something I'll do on a second reading. But the book is fascinating. David Quammen weaves his setting so well that I felt I was on the journey with Kessler to find the truth. The twist ending will surely leave me thinking about this book for some time. I highly recommend this book to fans of spy and cold war fiction.
Sinclair McBride is a rising star barrister and a widower with 2 wild children. He meets Bertie after he wins the freedom of her good friend who's been framed for murder. Bertie is an East-End pick pocket and she's been sent by her father to get a souvenir off McBride. She steals his watch, leads him on a chase and then steals a kiss. From that point on, Sinclair and Bertie are working together to care for the children, find out who is threatening Sinclair and keep Bertie away from her evil ex-beau and her less evil but still no good father.
I liked this story right from the start. It's fast paced and gets right into the action. I liked both Bertie and Sinclair on their own and together, I absolutely loved them. The have great chemistry together. Like other stories I've read by Jennifer Ashley, the main characters are strong and well written but also great fun to read. I really enjoyed seeing how these two come together.
This book is 7th in the Mackenzies and McBrides series but it doesn't have to be read in order. I have only read one other book in the series (the first in the series about Lord Ian) and don't feel that reading out of order detracted at all. On the other hand, if you are a fan of the series, there are appearances by all your old favorites from both clans. Ashley is great at bringing the old friends from previous stories back in without distracting from the new story. I will be going back and reading more of this series!
I won this book thru a first reads giveaway.
I won a copy of this book as a Goodreads first reads five-year. It's a very good 3.5 star book.
The story starts with the discovery of the body of a young girl covered in strange drawing. Felix Guichard, a professor of occult religions is called to identify the drawings. His research leads him to the work of John Dee and Edward Kelley, two 16th century alchemists and to Jackdaw Hammond, who is holding on to secrets about the alchemists and the dead girl.
This story has a lot going on, the Countess of Bathory, Vatican inquisition, dual timeline stories, a little romance...but it ties most of it together nicely. I was pulling for Jack to triumph, she's a very engaging character.
The book is well paced for suspense, both in the present story of Jack and Felix and the past story of Edward and Dr Dee. I was tempted to race through but also wanted to savor a great story. The only bad note in the book was the romance between Jack and Felix. This underdeveloped and in the end unfinished. It didn't detract from the story but didn't add anything either.
I won this book as a Goodreads first reads give-away. The book is about the reign of King Hatshepsut who ruled Egypt first as regent to her toddler nephew, Thutmose III, and then as co-king with him. Kara Cooney writes in the Author's Note at the beginning of the book that due to the length of time and the Egyptians superficial methods of reporting on a ruler's reign, there was a lot of conjecture in the book. This was distracting at times since the author would propose one theory for a large portion of a chapter and then end with...but maybe that person was already dead by that time or maybe the complete opposite reasoning was behind a particular outcome. She does this a number of times with Hatshepsut's daughter Nefrure, who was maybe being raised to succeed her mother when the tide changed against her. Or maybe she was dead.
I did like the book. It seems very well researched and it is an interesting defense of a woman that wielded great power for over twenty peaceful years. The author mentions many times how suspicious early Egyptologists where of her reign...assuming that she was a power-hungry bitch that stole the throne from the rightful heir. Nevermind that he was 2 or 3 years old at the time and quite unable to rule. Nevermind the fact that she was a successful ruler that greatly increased the wealth of Egypt during her reign. Nevermind the extensive building that she sponsored. There seems to be no evidence that she was not considered a good ruler and a great deal of evidence showing that she was the reason her dynasty was able to continue. When Thutmose III finally did elect to have her erased from the records, he intentionally did not do a complete job (taking out only references to her as King) and waited 20 years after her death to even do this. It seems likely he was motivated more to try and shore up the line of succession for his heir than to get rid of the evil usurper.
Overall though, I feel that the book would have made more sense at times if it were a well researched work of historical fiction than as a history book filled with so much theory.
Wow! I loved this book, 4.5 stars! This is the third book in the Associates series by Carolyn Crane. For background, The Associates are a privately funded group of under cover agents looking to take down international crime syndicates with a smarts over brawn. In this installment, Thorn is moving up the ranks of Hangman, one portion of the deadly Quartet crime syndicate with the goal of taking over and bringing the gangs and the government officials that cover for them down. But his former girlfriend, Nadia is causing trouble by stealing from the gangs. He's fighting to protect her while keeping his mission on track.
Thorn is the most complicated and damaged (my favorite) hero yet. He doesn't think he's good enough to be a real Associate, doesn't think he's good enough for the woman he loves and is so broken he doesn't care if he lives or dies so long as he completes his mission first. My heart was breaking for Thorn pretty much from the start. He is so morally sound and yet thinks of himself only as a thug and a loser. Nadia loves him but is afraid of the life he leads and the danger it would bring her and her family. These two made quite great pair and I was pulling for them all the way!
This series keeps surprising me. The characters are so well drawn that I'm hooked on them from page one. I can't wait to see who is next!
I won this book on Goodreads and I wasn't very familiar with Kim Philby or the Cambridge Spy Ring before starting the book. The book is non-fiction but Ben Macintyre's has a storytelling writing style that increased my enjoyment of the book. In brief, Kim Philby, along with a handful of college friends all working for MI5 and MI6 during WWII were in fact spying for the Soviets. Philby is probably the most successful and most highly placed spy ever to have been uncovered on either side of the Iron Curtain and his spying lead not only to strategic wins for the Soviet Union but to the deaths of countless agents and pawns that he felt were a danger to the USSR. But the real story here is about his friendships and the way that he manipulated some very powerful people in both MI6 and the CIA. According to him, it was his ability to compartmentalize that allowed him to repeatedly betray his close friends while earning their unwavering loyalty. That is the part of the story that was most upsetting to me and made this book one that I couldn't put away easily. He considered himself as true to the ideals of Communism above all else but it seemed at many times that the high of getting one over on all these powerful people was the real draw for him. He's a cold, unfeeling, and I thought, unlikable person but a compelling character all the same. Fans of spy books and the Cold War period of history will especially enjoy this book.
Predictable but enjoyable
This book tells the story of a liberal former Secret Service agent (Reeder) drawn into the investigation of the murder of a supreme court justice. The story is set in the near future, about 10-15 years from now in an America that is ultra conservative and has greatly expanded police powers and repealed the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Reeder, our hero, is a gifted people reader that sees important clues in the behavior of the perpetrators that no one else's picks up on. This lands him on the task force working the murders and puts him in the crosshairs of the killers.
I liked the story over all but did find it a bit too predictable. I felt like I saw were the story was going as easily as Reedes should have been able to. The ring leader is easily pegged pretty early on tho he isn't revealed for certain until the last few chapters. The story also felt a little choppy at times. On the positive side, the story was fast paced and drew me in quickly and I really liked Reeder and his task force partner Patti Rogers. The characters were easy to relate to. Overall, I found this book to be a fun, easy read.
Outstanding historical fiction
This is the first book I've read by Harris and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story of Dreyfus has always intrigued me and I was eager to read this historical fiction retelling. It is hard and yet sadly easy to imagine this gross miscarriage of justice taking place as a government scrambles to find a scapegoat and a rallying point. The book was compelling, it kept my interest, it made me angry on Dreyfus' and his supporters' behalf even though I knew that they would be exonerated in the end. I highly recommend checking e cling this book out! And I will be look I my into Harris's backlist!
This is the story of Christy and Austin and their journey to discover their own realities and push past the illusions of our world. The book comes in four short story installments and I found the first three very intriguing. They story starts out unsettling as you are left trying to figure out what is real and what is illusion in the worlds of Christy and Austin. I am not really a fan of the psychological thriller but I found this story very intriguing. My problem was that it switched from a psychological thriller to a philosophical story without much transition. I know that Ted Dekker is a Christian writer and have read his books before. I'm ok with the Christian or religious themes. I just felt that the book turned a corner and almost switched its genre without much of a transition.
Skip it
I'm a fan of Sally MacKenzie's books but found this one disappointing. Jack and Frances mistakenly spend a night in the same bed in an inn while Frances is dressed as a boy. The rest of the book they are working to restore her reputation while also trying to capture a Jack the Ripper type killer. The problem is that Frances isn't very likable. She's prickly, judgemental and at times even mean. She had some good reasons for being that way, but I still didn't like her so it was hard too root for her and hard to like the book. Sally MacKenzie has written some fun books and I'm a fan but this book didn't cut it for me.
I have been reading Sabrina Jeffries books for a few years now and she really never disappoints. This is the 2nd book in the Duke's Men series and it features Victor and Isa. Victor was introduced in the first book as the Duke of Lyon's cousin. In this book we find that he was married 10 years before and his wife deserted him, leaving him to answer some tough questions about the theft of some jewels. Or so it seems. Isa is also led to believe that her husband deserted her and played a part in the jewel heist. 10 years have passed and it's time for the two lovers to find there way back to each other and bring the real jewel thieves to justice.
I liked Victor from his appearance in the first book and took to Isa right away as well. They had good chemistry and both had great spirit and fight. Both are “damaged” from the events of 10 years ago and Victor has some tough childhood issues to overcome as well. I loved the damaged hero and Victor is a great one. I appreciated that both of the characters seemed to want to get to the truth pretty much from the start and were willing to hear the other out. It wasn't instant but I was happy with the pace of the reconciliation. This was another fun read from Sabrina Jefffries! And I'm more excited than ever to read the books for Tristan and Dom!
This is an great story about an amazing group of men and women who fought to save the cultural history of Europe in the final months of World War II. I'm glad that this book and the new movie are bringing attention to this forgotten part of Allied history. These men and women are examples of why our grandparents have earned the right to call themselves The Greatest Generation.
Edsel tells the story well, weaving in the paths that each of the Monuments Men took through Western Europe into one narrative. This is a history book that is written to be accessible to the non-history types who just want to read a good, fast paced, almost too crazy to be true story. It's really a treasure hunt and the twists keep story moving and the pages turning!
Solid historical thriller.
This story weaves together a retelling of the story of the Blood Countess Bathory with a present day thriller about a young psychiatric patient and her doctor. Daisy Hart is the teenage patient suffering from nightmares that cause her to wake up choking. Betsy Path is the psychiatrist treating her. But there is a deeper connection between the two the Betsy realizes and very soon they are both in great danger.
I give this book 3.5 stars. it started and ended strong but there were some passing and story issues in the middle that frustrated me. The frustration was not enough to make me stop reading and I'm glad of that. The end of the book was fast paced and I couldn't put the book down!
I got this book as a First Reads thru Goodreads and it is only the second graphic novel that I've read. I am a fan of the Dresden series and I felt that this graphic novel was true to the Harry Dresden character. The humor and style of the character were brought to life in the new format. It was a good story and the new character's brought in were fun. The art was great and I think the artist did a really great job of creating Harry's world. I'll know have a better picture in my head of Harry when I read future books.
Page turning romantic suspense!
This is this first book I've read by Melinda Leigh and I really enjoyed it! It is the third book in a series but it can be read as a stand alone. Brooke stops a crime and attract the killers attention. Luke is her brother best friend and has always had a secret crush on Brooke. He agrees to watch out for Brooke even tho he's recovering from a recent violent event that's left him with physical and emotional scars. These two are both traumatized and the traumas help them relate to each other. This book has great pacing and tension. Brooke and Luke have sizzling just by chemistry. a great read for fans of romantic suspense!