Kitty

This story had a great start, but it fizzled out around the middle. The plot was disappointing in the end: a good storyteller with a story that was too small.

I am a great fan of David Liss, even though not all of his books are of the same quality. [b:The Coffee Trader 49491 The Coffee Trader David Liss https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1314911453s/49491.jpg 2616025]The Coffee Trader and [b:A Conspiracy of Paper 49488 A Conspiracy of Paper (Benjamin Weaver, #1) David Liss https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1466292107s/49488.jpg 2362185]A Conspiracy Of Papers are breathtakingly good - I was enthralled, even as a historian who normally frowns at lots of anachronysms and just-not-right feellings.The Whiskey Rebels is not as good, it is drawn out too long, the plot is a little far fetched, but still I prefer this book over tons of other thrillers.

A great read. A myriad of stories within stories within stories. A monologue more than a dialogue. And an insanely drawn out plot, the suspense kept up till the very end. Masterful writing. Very pleasant mainly because of its endlessly unfolding storyline and it's authors tone.

A nice writing voice. The plot is a little disappointing.

Well written, with a strange artificiality in the plot and much unnecessary gruesomeness. 3/4 into the book it annoyed me so much I abandoned it. A waste of a strong writing voice.

I listened to this book as an audiobook - narrated by SAUL REICHLIN - and loved how he mastered all the different South-African accents and languages. Audiobooks can really improve a reading experience this way. The book is fast paced and suspension is built in quickly - with lots of quick cutovers to different scenes. Very movie-like. The people that populate it are however what make it a very enjoyable read - as always with the best thrillers. Recovering alcoholic Benny Griessel, the ueber-polite inspector Wussi, the feminist inspector that no ones likes but who is always right - and the jokes that get cracked about the New South-Africa - great fun. Also, the way the plot got finished up in the end was very satisfying. No rush to end the book there, but a nice rolling out of new possibilities for the main actors.

Quit at one fifth. Rand can write, but the story is a caricature and the actors are boring. I don't believe in industrialists as heroes because At Least They Act.

This is a very good and a very true book, about people who have made mistakes and who are very, very sorry. This book also hit me between the eyes. It starts funny (with a dark undertone) and it remains light and witty - with a pleasing stab at modern marketing when the bunch dress in white pilgrimage t-shirts - but I did not see the final plot evolution coming. As a mom who has experienced the same thing I had wondered about Harolds son.

I don't think any book has made such an impression on me over the last years. I do not want to spoil the plot so I will refrain from saying more. But this is a very good and a very true book. Well written. It keeps you wondering. And it is just so, so human.

Great read. Fun. Snappy. Political. On to the next volume.

All of Lisses historical thrillers are very well written, great style, great storytelling and very likeable characters. This book is nice enough, though not as awe inspiring as The Coffee Trader or A Conspiracy Of Papers. The Benjamin Weaver books are a little more middle of the road. Yet better than most.

Did not finish (audiobook). Too slow a pace.

I liked the characterization. But I dislike books that are mean and bleak for bleakness' sake. Or just black, for the fun of being black. Ready to move on to richer tales now.

Well written with a great plot that keeps you guessing. The first part takes a little long, but the second part is a big surprise. Book starts off like a feel good story but soon turns alarming. A psychological thriller more than anything else. Better than your average thriller.

First I thought this was a book about a problem child. Then I thought: a woman, growing old. Then: oh, a family. Next: a house. Later: a family and its past. But in fact it is about all of this - of course - and the problem child finds a neat resolution too, at the very end of the book.
But even more so, like with all of Anne Tylers books, it is about endearingly normal, endearingly weird people. And she is looking back on life itself.

Only half finished this book. It never gripped me.

A charming, endearing and witty love story. Having read almost all of Tylers books, I am surprised to see how well working from a plot works for her. I love her other, character driven work, but it sometimes meanders. Vinegar girl goes straight to the point - it would make a great movie - and in fewer words. It is also a somewhat smaller and lesser book than, say, The Amateur Marriage. It leans more toward commercial fiction. So - a great study case ;-)

OK. This is the second book I read by Heaberlin and I LOVED my first - the Black Eyed Susans. This one feels a little repetetive in a way. Same type of cast of nice, alive people, same sudden ending - not really an anti-climax but a bit funny. I would read another book by Heaberlin because I like the atmosphere and the lack of hard core gruesomeness, which I am grateful for. I will be curious to see if she handles the ending differently next book ;-)

Excellent book. Original structure and plot. Not your 432nd average thriller. More psychological than anything else. Charming characters. Leans towards literature.

Love this series, for the fun characters. This part has a well rounded plot, the best so far.

Disappointing. Every so often Alexander McCall Smith should not publish a book he's written. The story is, even to his standards, too small.

An interesting biography - well written. Full of surprises for someone not acquainted with Dahl's life. Whoever knew his first book was made into a Walt Disney movie - with Dahl being quite a pain in the ass for everyone? I Read this as an audiobook on Storytel, months ago, so it's not fresh in my mind. But I loved it - it was off detail, and as much about his work as about his private life.

Entertaining and well-written newspaper columns. A selection. Varied. Mostly very enjoyable, some serious too. I love anything Sue Townsend writes (except for the woman who went to bed for a year). I enjoy how she builds her jokes.

Useful. Smart.

As a rule I thinks Godins books are too long. What he says he could easily put in a long blog post. All of his books have only 1 main idea.

Also, I cannot find a system in what Godin says. He is smart and eloquent, but I don't get his way of thinking. There seems to be something fundamentally wrong, but I can't put my finger on it.

Listen to the audiobook of this memoir of his life before presidency, because Obama reads it himself and his timing is uncanny, his accents astoundingly good - he could have become an actor, easily. Which should tell us something. The story itself is interesting and entertaining.