The SCORPIO ILLUSION by Robert Ludlum ****

I really couldn't give 5 stars, it was 5223 pages and a lot of it was kind of boring and repetitive. There were so many characters from so many different "secret" agencies I could barely keep them straight. Some woman with about 4 names screws an agent named Tyrell Hawthorne. Sometimes he's called Tye, or Hawthorne, the author  likes to be confusing like that. Using first names instead of last names when you least expect it and have to find where the original names were put together. It's a nightmare in some cases esp. with the bitch from whatever town lopped her mommy's and daddy's heads off and she becomes determined to kill leaders in 4 countries. She uses other people   "Scorpions" who are a collection of highly placed gov't officials who want to change the way their countries are running and figure killing the presidents off will get this done faster.

That's the basics of the story. I wasn't absolutely committed to finishing it and read other books in between because this was too over loaded with characters, partnerships, conspiracies that I was lost most of the time.

If you're a Ludlum fan you'll like it if not may want to pass. It's 500 pages for cryin' out loud.

The AUSCHWITZ ESCAPE by Joel C. Rosenberg *****

One of the best books I ever had the pleasure of reading. As I kept getting closer to the end I didn't want the story to end. I dreaded it being over and not having it to read anymore.

Very good novel about he Holocaust and a few particular people who worked to let the world know what was happening inside Germany "work" camps. I had no clue that most of the population in Germany didn't know Jews were being cremated as soon as they arrived towards 1945. They were herded into rail cars, shipped to Auschwitz and stood in line with none of their belongings, told to strip naked and while other prisoners went thru the clothing etc, the unfortunate new arrivals, be they Christians who helped hide Jews, Jews or Gypsies were led directly into the crematorium.

You begin reading about Jacob Weiss who is forced to flee Germany even tho his father was adamant the Germans wouldn't kill someone who has lived and loved Germany all his life. It only took a bullet to his head and his wife's head for that to force Jacob to run. A lot of the German Jews were under the impression they wouldn't be treated badly by Hitler. BOY they were wrong.

So on Jacob's trip he joins an underground resistance to stop a train when things go wrong and he ends up at Auschwitz accidently and must assume someone else's identity in order not to be held accountable for the train stopping and a few hundred Jews running for their lives or shot on the way.

He eventually meets his future wife, a lot of people who help each other by sneaking small bits of very welcome food to them or help them get in a better position to survive. It's such a good story I don't want to ruin it for anyone. Please read this book!

I got it at the library book sale day. It was so worth the nickel. I would buy it full price. Great reading.

IQ by Joe Ide ***

The things I don't like about the novel are 1) chapters change from 2006 to 2013 when least expected, It was totally incoherent to me. 2) Most of the characters are gang bangers with the same language, clothing and attitude which is kind of wearing after a bit. 3) Didn't like the explanation for how fighting dogs "win titles" like champion lines-that actually means the winning dog survived and perhaps the losing dog did not. Otherwise he got a lot of basic facts correct about Pit Bulls.

I liked some of the story line but still got confused with so many similar characters one guy out to kill another guy, a self taught PI??? That possible? I never knew if he was using nicknames, first names or last names. Throws me off a lot. So I had to keep going back to the beginning of each chapter if I put the book down for any length of time to figure out who the FK he was writing about.

Also tons of 'must have flashback" type interruptions of the tell not show variety. Got sick of being halted in my story line to read about some new guy's meager history.

In general if I was forced to read it again I would only pretend. I'm not done but the book is being returned after 290 pages of confusion.

HUMANS BOW DOWN by James Patterson & Emily Raymond ****

Future world with robots and half human/half bots running around lording it over the humans living in filth and garbage with little to eat. A few of the bots have an emotional input by the creator and feel for the people and don't want or like killing them unlike their leader.

A human and a hu-bot connect and meet the grandfather of the girl who is the creator of the bots. He is trying to infuse some human qualities in them but most of them have already killed many hundreds or thousands of people.

So it's a run and struggle here and there each one saving the other one, trust is built and they have an almost happy ending. I liked it enough, Patterson is also a prolific writer with other people sharing the load. This wasn't too painful to get thru as I like futuristic stuff.

Would either buy or get in library.

LONG AFTER MIDNIGHT by Iris Johansen ****

Kate works in a genetic facility and is close to a breakthrough but someone is trying to make sure she never completes her work.

She is now being stalking by an unpredictable killer and she needs to trust a new guy in her life to survive. Seems straight forward and it's almost a page turner but falls a tiny bit short. Prolific writer with tons of fans. Most will enjoy the book, it doesn't have pages of sexual behaviors in it which really is painful in most cases to read.

Not bad but I'd get it from the library.

DISCLOSURE by Michael Circhton *****

Written by Michael  of "Jurassic Park" fame. The book was very fast moving with a kind of unusual topic. A married man feels pressured into sex by his old girlfriend who recently was moved into his company and as his boss. So he presses charges against her. Lots of surprises pop up here and there. He has a very good lawyer.

He has proof and I'm not giving anything away. I would buy it, good summer reading, got at a yard sale but worth it.

ESCAPE CLAUSE by John Sandford ***

Someone stole tigers to sell their parts to foreign markets mostly China to use as medicine. The tigers came from an unprotected cage.

These brothers were involved 2 of them, ended up dead and their other brothers weren't so happy about that. Meanwhile back at Flowers and his new town pump with 5 kids from 5 different daddies is happy with that but gets jealous of other men talking to her when she's probably already fked them. It's a small town and she's quite a bimbo.

Frankie (Flowers girl) and her spaced out sister Sparkle (?) yeah whatever the fuck that is get beat up for whatever reason you can make up cuz you are never told. And someone comes after Flowers house by throwing a molotov cocktail at a neighbors house. It's all pretty fucked up. Flowers is like the idiot bumbling detective falling thru floor boards, loosing his gun, allowing a tiger to roam free in a barn or garage, the one that hasn't yet been killed.

It's very heartbreaking to read about rare tigers being killed for ground up bone, skin, their meat etc. I think thru the whole thing I was holding my gag reflex because it was disgusting killing a wild species that isn't very wild. Such a terrible waste.

So if you like Virgil Flowers you may like the book aside from tiger slaughter, I don't even care ho many people died. He sure didn't protect them both. AT ALL. Took him forever to get the facts and finally get to the tiger that was left.

You read, you decide. Either you like Flowers or you don't. I don't particularly. I think he's FUBAR. 

4321 by Paul Auster

I really cannot give any stars because I opened it to numerous pages and pages of narrative where they failed the "show do not tell" test of publishing. This was a monster to even TRY to read. The publishers should be ashamed they have this out in public. It's so fucking boring I had to pick up something else just to amuse myself.

No stars. Hated it. Hated the boring almost 100 pages of narrative. Who is who, married to who in what year and who the fuck cares.

Good one Holt & Co. Losers. But MY novel which is very interesting and descriptive is ignored by publishers because they don't get animals telling their own stories. Well all I can say is no wonder people don't read anymore. YOU suck.

The CHOSEN ONES by Steve Sem-Sandberg

I read this large dark novel. It's about children in orphanages that the German doctors were experimenting on, abusing, torturing and euthanizing. Most of them were sort of society's cast offs. Moms worked and no father in the house the kids went to the orphanage. Some, but rarely got adopted unless they were Jewish.

So there's a lot of depressing scenes and sometimes I wasn't sure it was someone's dream, reality, a combo whatever. There were some gruesome things going on and there were a couple protagonists whom you pretty much know nothing about until after 200 pages. So apparently they're not that important to the story line.

What happens to the one kid who barely remembers his tortured childhood, or the nurse who helped enable the abusers. I found it very confusing and barely tolerable. Not because of the subject matter but because of the writing style. Didn't like it at all. You never know how many days pass, or weeks or anything. Children are (for whatever stupid reason) shoved under cold water in their sleeping quarters with no heat and then covered with ice cold towels till they pretty much shiver to death.

They didn't get much to eat, and if in isolation got nothing, hardly any water or bread. It's not a cheerful story and like I said the writing style was sparse and cold. Didn't really like it.
Up to you, buy or library.

The SECOND OPINION bu Michael Palmer *****`

This was a page turner for me. It's was a medical mystery about a female Doctor, her family and dad who was comatose in his own hospital. She finds out it's not an accident that he's in there and strange xrays show up on other people. Some  die some don't.

She eventually figures out the whole thing but is trapped with a killer before she knows what's going on and getting out of that situation was a good enough ending for me. I liked that the story kept my attention, the characters were well drawn for me, I was empathetic towards the characters.

Drawn in and really enjoying the ride. I would buy it.