Monday, August 30, 2010

The BRICK LAYER by Noah Boyd *****

Starts off a tad slow for me with 3 separate scenes that feel unconnected but once you get to chapter 4 it all moves along better. It flows nicely, not overboard on descriptions or names and feels very realistic except for the women who are overly attracted (body language?) to some of the men but 'some' men think if you look at them you want them bad....haha.

So it's well written, intense and after you get into it a bit you don't want to put it down so it's entertaining and informative because author is a former FBI agent. I too have total disregard for authority so I like that about the main character, it's like he's inside my head sometimes.

It's about a terrorist group messing with the FBI and either killing them, framing them for crimes or manipulating their actions; all for ransom.

I must say, if the PD, FBI and/or CIA are half as stupid as some writers portray them we are all in for a world of hurt.

Good reading.

Friday, August 27, 2010

BLACK FRIDAY by Alex Kava *****

Starts a little slow but builds up well. Human 'bombs' go off in the mall of America and all hell breaks loose. People are scrambling to figure out who/why and others are trying to survive with the killers on their tail. Pretty good story telling but there are some "last book" issues. Yeah I don't care what happened to everyone in the last book, thanks. Some of the angst can be explained by the past like why so and so is still shell shocked or depressed over someone's death but don't give me the entire old book in the new one with explanations for each character. It can be said, 'they worked together before' and I'll survive.

Otherwise it's good reading, a page turner, with good descriptions, and writer is a step ahead of me- which is a novelty. Worth your time for sure.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

THE ARK by Boyd Morrison ****

Just started it and so far I'm hooked into the story line. Easy to read, slow intro of characters, good descriptions without wasting my time...so far....

I thought it has an interesting story line but there seems to be a lot of religious themed novels out there. This one is about finding Noah and his ark whatever the interpretation wants to be. I swear if you took religion out of fiction novels apparently some people have nothing much to say.

It's a good library book, there's some romance; nothing heavy but it's ok. Now for the WTF's; a female killer puts poison on a guy and at the same time she could have done it to the female with him. No idea why not but the point is that her killer boyfriend is proud that she didn't fuck that up. Well I think she did sir, as she only killed the guy. Not the female who now has the knowledge you're trying to cover up. I don't understand how this gets by since they both are so proud of her killing abilities...right?

You can safely skip chapters 26-30 gratuitous action adventure---> spoiler:
One bad guy dies but they get the secret suitcase from the good guys. Nuff said, continue on....lots of tough muscular men and skinny hot broads....have at it.

The last chapters is a fight with Ulrich vs Tyler Locke. It's very disruptive when one paragraph is about "Tyler" doing this and that, then the next paragraph "Locke" is in this or that situation. Shit...can't you stick to one frickin name? WTF?

Saturday, August 21, 2010

HOTHOUSE ORCHID by Stuart Woods*****

Just starting this one and Holly, our heroine, is a CIA pro who gets followed by a car with blue lights, injected and wakes up naked from the waist down with a needle mark in her neck. At the hospital there is not one mention, not a tiny hint about a rape test kit being used so; WTF??? Naked? Drugged? No rape kit? Did I miss something about Holly being a man? So it's mentioned a day later. Too little too late. Any chick wakes up in the dirt without panties is gonna swiftly panic about rape, pregnancy, some dirty, disgusting manhandling etc. But she's very blase, relaxed about the whole incident and hasn't thought or mentioned it again. Not realistic in my opinion. Also she's a PRO CIA op with yrs of training and can't recognize a bubble light on top of a dash or roof as opposed to a full bar of lights in a town where she once was a chief? Come on ... sucker. Nobody has dash lights that can stop traffic that I know of.

Well I think basically it's well written and smooth, easy reading. I sincerely like it. I do have questions, however. On page 39 Holly's date doctor Josh is speaking about her family and says about her father what a nice guy blahblah and "his wife" is nice not "your mother" is nice. How does he know that's not her mother? Must have missed something? Enquiring minds want to know.

Ex CIA agent "Jack Smithson" is a fickle fellow. He's in love with one chick, she's killed, he falls immediately in love with some other chick all in about 5 chapters. Love=trivialized. Just leave your thinking cap behind and read it for entertainment value, it's a good read. No thinking!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

IN THE NAME OF HONOR by R.N. Patterson ****

Well written, intense and hard to put down. Nice descriptions, but there are quite a few characters so I'm reading slower than normal to keep them all separated in my head. It's about a murder of one GI by another so army officers are involved in the prosecution/defense.

One issue is the defense atty goes to a hotel where dead guy's wife may have been having an affair. Jose ID's her and her husband, they had a verbal altercation. But why the hell didn't they ask who she was meeting? The lawyer never bothered or checked the register or flashed anyone's pic or even mentioned to Jose about another man. WTF? So I'm pissed about that. Even in the paragraph pg 92 he asks "if not (re:affair) Brian (the accused), who?" But writer never addresses that in any form I'm dangling and falling off the cliff...no net.

So far aside from that it's very engaging, the family and friends interplay is moving along and everyone is keeping secrets which I don't particularly like. Most mysteries have everyone lying about something or other and we're supposed to pretend it's not going on. Oh....Kay.....so I'm pretending to be stupid. Meanwhile I have my suspicions now about Brian. Did he murder his mommy when he was 9 too? See? Curiouser and curiouser.

Ok, so what does "full-breasted" mean? As opposed to half breasted? Like a mastectomy? Like if you order chicken you want the FULL breast not a half one like in the grocery store? But pertaining to a woman...what? It's just that it says this on pg 141 and I'm awe struck by the phrase. What EV-AH can it mean? What?

If you like courtroom blather this is the book for you. Not much in the way of mystery or surprises tho. I skipped a lot of the testimonies. Not a fan of so much repetition. Book seemed too long to me. Got bored.

Monday, August 16, 2010

DARK TIGER by William G. Tapply *****

This isn't a bad read at all. An oddity are some names. People just call each other by 3 of their names whenever the urge strikes like: 'Stonewall Jackson Calhoun get over here'. Says his girlfriend, not his mom. Not many people do that. More like; nobody? Sort of weird. Then another character is Franklin Delano Redbird. Apparently we got a famous name jones which isn't much of a crime but it's distracting.

Book is well written, am wanting to continue the story. The lead character Stoney, is pretty much an asshole to his girlfriend, and in general. He won't tell her even the barest minimum about his little secret mission he is FORCED to go on. Since he was struck by lightening and lost his memory he believes he worked covertly which is sort of the premise of these no-name mystery people who can suddenly have his business without a building to work from, his girlfriends' husband (yes cheater) kicked out of his old folks home unless Stoney does what they want. Pretty shady for gov't people. Why don't they just drag him into an office, explain his past and ask him to work part time to work off his past training? I don't get the big hushhush/blackmail shit...must be a guy thing. They could fill him in on his history in trade for work but the farce of blackmail must be more thrilling or som'tin.

And the cops are dumber than shit. Murder by gun they accuse someone of the murder cuz it's HIS gun in HIS room. Well they got no proof of ownership- yet call it HIS gun. Then it turns out to be Calhoun's gun and they jump to guilt there as well. Dumb hick cops apparently can't do a job without the professional memory-loss guy.

Otherwise the story progresses in an orderly fashion, descriptions are kept to a fair minimum, no stupid internal angst. It's interesting to see what this guys' point of view of a relationship is....all women in snug fitting jeans (read: camel toes) pretty much he's horny and needs a honeypot but anything beyond superficial isn't all that and a bag of chips...honesty for example or harmony, truth, justice and the American way. I think I got that down after I turned 20. But thanks for the memories. There's a mystery and someone is out to solve it and I want to keep reading- what more can I ask for?

O and hello NH writer- my old stomping grounds.
PS cracking windows and leaving a dog in the car isn't sufficient ventilation in warm weather. Open them more, like 4-8 inches and leave water for the dog.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

SUPREME JUSTICE by Phillip Margolin *****

Got right into it ASAP. Very interesting, well written and flows along like you're there. People are intro'd slowly and are well crafted. I also get a good sense of my surroundings. Recommend this one for mystery buffs.

About a judges aide or similar who has a past solving crimes. The judge needs his discretion to hire someone to find out why people want a case not looked at too carefully before the convicted female (Sarah) gets the chair. Lots of intrigue. It's carefully crafted and takes its time but you can feel the forward momentum. Have fun.

Issue: Sarah gets arrested for murdering someone who later shows up alive so that case is dismissed yet never once is the blood from her carpet ever mentioned. Who's is it pray tell? They would have needed it if the case went to court and it almost did. The cops/lawyers would be on some other crusade if that blood was from someone else. Issue 2: no one seems at all concerned that when the guy finally is murdered he has 4 different passports with his pic on them. So buddy I ain't a stupid reader. Courts, judge, lawyers, clients...everybody would have a nose into every clue. They wouldn't ignore them like this story line does. Making me crazy. Feeling urge to scribble in book margins....nonono...must not.

It's a good story and I liked it. There were a few loose ends but I'll get over it.

Friday, August 13, 2010

CAT IN AN ULTRAMARINE SCHEME by C.N.Douglas *

Wow couldn't even bother to read it. I read the 'before now' crap and bailed out ASAP. This is why so many publishers (previous to recently) refused to publish stories written by 'animals'. Don't know what the sudden explanation publishers have for these books reproducing all over the place like bunnies now.
I suspect tho. Just ask.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

CIVIL TWILIGHT by Susan Dunlap*

The beginning is full of weirdness. Darcy our heroine is babysitting some adult stranger for her lawyer brother and she mentions Darcy's missing brother (20 yrs ago), her other brother Mike rolls up in a police unmarked car. How did he know where she was? Isn't San Francisco a HUGE place? He landed his car right next to her without any phone calls. Nothing -and mentions Mike. She must have a HUGE family can't wait for all the proper nouns to hit me like a hurricane.

The missing Mike seems to be the topic of the day from a total stranger (twit) to her own brother and Darcy has been doing a lot of thinking about him lately. Wonder if he's on the menu.....a stupid comment about a Buddhist koan is what makes a total stranger (twit) tell Darcy not to blame herself for her brother missing. HUH?

Letcha know as I go. So far lots of strange events that lead the reader someplace I'm resistant to go.

The story telling is disjointed. So hard to follow. I'm hazarding a guess since I can swear I saw the word 'queue' she's English. Skip chapter 6 it's total bullshit and contributes nothing to the story. Just rip it the hell out. Waste of time.

Now I'm reading about traffic stopped, a body on the roadway (not street? or highway? roadway?) matching the twits description. Twit, who it's implied, is screwing both brothers and not even divorced yet. So where was I? God only knows...so ummm body, roadway, news copter, roadkill and 'unsubstantiated report of a shoe falling into the parking area'. What FRIGGIN parking area? I thought it was a roadway. What FRIGGIN "falling" from what/where? STUPID WRITER. Now we hop over to a new chapter. BOING! 4 pages later we get the "high rise" she fell off. I hope the double dealing divorcee is dead and I don't want any more information about this bitch.

I'm only on page 50 -I don't know if I can finish it. Wish I had her drug supply.
Here's a bit of magic for you. "He (a cop) had his cell on speakerphone. The squawk was coming so fast from so many locations it was almost impossible to make sense of it." I totally understand lady, makes no sense to me either. You can't turn a cell phone into a police scanner. This is what I'm dealing with here.
Smoke some weed and read it'll all make sense to ya someday just don't fall off your koan. LOL I would stop but I can't help myself. Now she says "lucky it wasn't a fifty engine smash-up" ENGLISH WRITER=It screams at me. I didn't know engines ran around on the highway able to smash up. So I guess she means in ENGLISH a fifty CAR PILE UP. Holy crap. This is becoming a comedy. I never got thru it. Too bloody awkward. Cover bio says she lives in SanFran but trust me, she's from ENGLAND.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

SICK LIKE THAT by Norman Green ***

So I'm confused. The protagonist, AL is a head taller than a guy named Frank (page 24) who is six foot four inches tall. Al has the vocabulary of a NY mobster, i.e. swearing, lingo and says a woman; or broad if you will, has a nice rack (pg 95). Al has 2 guys attempt a robbery and SHE beats the crap out of them throwing both around like potato chips. Thought Al was guy? All that's missing kiddies are the balls and bat. The writer should stick to a male point of view cuz this is really fucked up. Everything is screaming either she's a GUY or she's a TRANNY. Nothing in between. Sorry.

Aside from that, the writer does a lot of assuming in the characters' heads. Like they follow an assumption when someone disappears that he's in hiding, or been kidnapped but murder is not an option. They are proceeding to check phone and credit cards and assume he was dealing in something that he had to disappear. Other assumptions are made about people being dead/alive/missing and no solid reasons are given for these deductions that are made. I need to know WHY. Why why why?

If you are sensitive to gratuitous swearing and tough-guy behavior, lots of slang you won't like this book. I never saw The Sopranos but think of them in dresses, short, short, short ones with huge boobs. AL entertains the idea of having sex with the boss so he doesn't kill himself altho repulsed by him...WTF? I personally don't care- but every character is somewhat similar and it's hard to tell where one ends and another begins. They all come across as tough wise-guys from the mean streets.

I'm reading the story, it's not horrible. It's fair. But the lead character I can only picture slamming her head at doorways, her knees bounce off her chin when she sits in a chair, she has to duck down to put her eyeliner on. I mean this bimbo is seriously tall. And has a nice rack, and apparently all the rest of her body parts are a guy's wet dream. Have no idea what her hair color is tho....hmmmm....if I get curious I'll back track but I don't think writer cares about any physical features other than tits and ass. Where the hell does she shop..big and tall? She has no purse. What woman has no purse? (She finally has one on page 260 for a brief moment when she needs something out of it). These people never eat.
It's a male writer. SURPRISE!!!!!


On Google earth can you check to see if a car is in someone's driveway? Or are those fixed pictures? Well in this book you can see if someone is home with the google pix. Hmmmmm not possible I'm thinking. I wanted to finish reading it so that counts for the 3 stars.

13 1/2 by Nevada Barr *****

Really great writing style and creepy, mysterious story. I really like how fast paced it is and the characters are very well rounded out.

A girl marries one of two brothers involved in a family murder as children. You will be confused till the end about who did it as are all the characters and with the name changes it is additionally confusing.

I can't believe someone would take 40 years to think about a crime he supposedly committed (murder). Hasn't even tried to remember it. Just a few thoughts about it NOW and POOF he suddenly realizes who the killer is when he wouldn't think about it for 40 yrs. 40 years? You can go thru life without any memory of something so horrific as a family slaughter without THINKING of it and knowing whether you're innocent or guilty? When people say they don't remember a horrific crime I lean towards 'guilty but not going to admit'.

Other than that...have at it. Good reading, suspenseful, eery, page-turning fiction.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

FRANKENSTEIN Lost Souls by Dean Koontz *****

I haven't read the first 3 installments of this series so I have to play catch-up while I'm reading this one. Of course now I'll have to go back to the library and ask for the first three. Suggestion to readers; start with the others.

So far I'm being fast forwarded into some strange clone world with people who've all been here before me. I always like Dean's writing style, easy flow and great descriptions. Everything is properly dreary and creepy. I don't know too many writers who put down descriptions I enjoy reading but I do read these or I'm afraid I'd miss some little clue and it's not painful.

I'll keep going and hope a golden retriever shows up someplace to guide me through what I don't understand cuz I'm starting in the middle of something. O, I like it.


This is a never-ending story. To be continued. If you're not into that, hands off. If you are start with the first one, Prodigal Son.


Monday, August 2, 2010

CORPSE ON THE COB by Sue Ann Jaffarian ****

I'm liking the writing style, she really moves along and the lead character is believable and likable. I do have some issues. So this Odelia is telling a story, first person but shit she doesn't TELL half of it, like she says her husband Greg has some photos which were downloaded from a couple's cell phone. Odelia had them on HER cell and wouldn't look at them. That's a big STUPID ASS. She's not telling me what they're of, not telling how many there are. Supposedly the photos are of a murder in a corn maze. Tell me something....WHAT ARE THEY OF? Are you dragging it out for the last page cuz meanwhile you're only pissing me off? If it's a clue-this is a murder mystery-so give the clue. If it solves the case then don't tell me about the pix until the end of the frickin book.

Why did these people with the cell phone stop at this murder and in a few minutes or seconds have 2 hours worth of photos Odelia looked thru? 2 HOURS??? GIVE ME A BREAK. Even after telling me that I'm not told WHAT the pix are, how many, are they of the murder? What? LURCH? Leaving me in the....

Next an old boyfriend who apparently competed with her current husband for her affections is called to the scene by the current husband. WHO would do that? What new husband in his right mind would be so dumb as to call the ex boyfriend to the scene to help her out while he stays home? LOL

Next this old boyfriend continuously calls her 'little mama'. WHY? I don't know, that's never explained and she's not 'little' she's a size 20 and she's not a 'mama', she's childless. So WTF lady? Something is seriously wrong with an ex boyfriend calling his ex "little mama". He needs a brain transplant for starters.

Next everyone has a half brother or uncle or aunt, it takes place supposedly in Mass. but you should move it to any southern state where it'd make more sense for everyone to be inter-related.

These pretzels are making me thirsty.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

The ASK by Sam Lipsyte **

Hell if I know. Something about asking for donations and the people who give them? A pretentious married-with-kid asshole working at some college for donations. Not a fan. Sex, sex, hard ons, blow jobs, big titties and getting his head between her knees. How-to use women diatribe?

The cover says 'tour de force blahblah.. deepest fictions are often the funniest.' I haven't laughed. Teaches creative writing. In order for art and literature to (b pretentious) have a sense of whatever the fuck "art" is I suppose one must throw nudity, masterbation and sex all over it like a Jackson Pollock; replacing paint with a big tool and jism. Not entertaining if you're me so I didn't finish it.