4 Stars. Great but it dragged a little. I'm a long way from Mississippi but Grisham really has a way of bringing to life characters and the challenges4 Stars. Great but it dragged a little. I'm a long way from Mississippi but Grisham really has a way of bringing to life characters and the challenges of their daily lives in the deep south of the US. Through the eyes of 23-year-old Willy Traynor, the new owner of Clanton's weekly paper which he purchased for a song, we follow the 1970s story of the rape and murder of a young mother, the conviction of her accused killer, Danny Padgitt, and the terrible repercussions of his threat during the trial that, if the jury convicted him, he would come back after his release and kill them all. Yet the story does not revolve around Traynor or Padgitt. It's Callie Ruffin, a black woman from the other side of the tracks in the town who is the centre of things. A great cook, she beckons young Willy every Thursday for lunch like a magnet draws a nickel. She's raised all but one of her 8 children to PhD level, and persuades him to take up religion. Callie becomes the first black person on a jury in Ford County, and it's her experience on the Padgitt jury and its aftermath which fascinates. Miss Callie is the last juror. Enjoy, I did. (Se2024)...more
4 Stars. Just a little contrived but it's a tremendous dash through an American presidential primary and election campaign with all the electoral pitf4 Stars. Just a little contrived but it's a tremendous dash through an American presidential primary and election campaign with all the electoral pitfalls they entail. Plus the added physical dangers of a thriller only Stuart Woods could author. In its own right an excellent read but, given the extraordinary events of the very real 2024 US presidential election, this piece of fiction from 2000 is eyrie in its similarities. It becomes a must read. Just a few - a President named Joe with the onset of Alzheimer's (or something similar), unanticipated withdrawals, an assassination attempt on a candidate in which he incurs minor injuries, far-right conspiracy groups, a surprise party nominee, and a cliffhanger in the polls. Will Lee is a second-term Senator from Georgia. Doing a good job, but he has ambitions for the highest post. Next time? No, ready or not, the door of opportunity for Will is creaking open now. Everyone, including Will, anticipates that Vice President Adams will be the Democratic Party's Presidential nominee in the coming election. He deserves it. But Joe has a health secret and urges Will to throw his hat into the ring. He does. (Se2024)...more
3 Stars. It's good, but not my style. Kidd and his on-and-off girlfriend LuEllen, she's a thief who targets the rich and almost famous in her day job,3 Stars. It's good, but not my style. Kidd and his on-and-off girlfriend LuEllen, she's a thief who targets the rich and almost famous in her day job, are criminals of the hacker variety. They find ways to break into software companies which are not developing products in the best interests of their clients or the US government! Kidd, an artist of renown, has just returned from a fishing trip to Kenora in north-western Ontario when he learns that his friend Jack Morrison has died while breaking-into a restricted zone at AmMath software company in Dallas. The company has a contract with the US government to develop Clipper II; it would make encrypted data readable by security agencies. The news story says that Jack shot a guard before being killed himself. It doesn't take long before Kidd jumps in with both feet to assist Jack's sister Lane Ward. They know that Jack hated guns and wouldn't be found dead with one! Which unfortunately he was. But, could he be one of the new hacker group called Firewall? The one going after the federal tax collection agency in Washington? It's complicated and somewhat dated. PS: I add more comments below. (Se2024)...more
3 Stars. Good but I found the conclusion a touch too tidy. Ali Reynolds is an enjoyable lead in this series; its her empathy for others in difficult s3 Stars. Good but I found the conclusion a touch too tidy. Ali Reynolds is an enjoyable lead in this series; its her empathy for others in difficult situations and her perseverance that I admire. As well as the difficult circumstances she always gets into. It includes a nice dollop of humour too. More later. There are two murders here. Are they related is the question. In no order, the body of James Mason Sanders, an ex-con and absentee father of a great young man, A.J., is found at a secluded site in the desert near Sedona, Arizona. Shot to death. Not far from him is another body, that of Gemma Ralston. Stabbed to death. Given the con's past and the proximity of the two bodies, they must be related, right? It can't be a coincidence, right? Because she doesn't have a Private Investigator licence, Ali falls back on her reporter experience, and pretends she's writing an article on the Ralston case. Now the humour, I laughed out loud when I read the reason Sanders estranged wife Sylvia gives for why he couldn't have killed Gemma. He's a romantic, she says, and that's the special place we used to go to have sex when we were teenagers! My kind of thinking. (Au2024)...more
4 Stars. Nothing could match the first entry in the Letty Davenport series. And 'Dark Angel" doesn't, but it's up there. It surpasses John Sandford's 4 Stars. Nothing could match the first entry in the Letty Davenport series. And 'Dark Angel" doesn't, but it's up there. It surpasses John Sandford's top-drawer standards. Letty's debut in 'Investigator,' at least her debut in her own series (we meet her in #14 of her father's series), was stupendous. A ride for the ages. This one is complicated in a positive way and keeps you guessing until the last few pages. Sandford seems to be addressing today's issues through Letty - the toxic right in #1 and computer hackers here. My new favourite is working for Homeland Security and her cases would necessarily have to have national or international implications. It's au courant in another way. The hackers in question, loosely organized under the name of Ordinary People, are threatening to cripple the water department in a large mid-west city but have recently taken down the Russian rail system - during the lead-up to the invasion of Ukraine. Do you see the ambiguity and confusion at the core of the story? Who's on whose side? It's a masterpiece. Again Letty's working for Senator Colles but she's undercover this time with a bulky guy named Rod Baxter. It'll keep you thinking. (Au2024)...more
5 Stars. Did I ever like this book! A six although the max is five. We first meet Letty Davenport in 'Naked Prey,' #14 in the Lucas Davenport series. 5 Stars. Did I ever like this book! A six although the max is five. We first meet Letty Davenport in 'Naked Prey,' #14 in the Lucas Davenport series. He bumps into her as a 12-year-old brat, smart and street-wise. She narrowly escapes death at least twice. Unfortunately her mother, an alcoholic who is more being supported by Letty than the reverse, is one of the victims. Lucas and Weather adopt her and realize that she likes detective work. She becomes a chip off the old block - a Lucas Two! Jump forward a dozen years and she's a Stanford graduate working for Senator Colles in Washington. But bored with a craving for field work and excitement, not a desk job. Colles arranges for her to be hired by Homeland Security and sends her to investigate the disappearance of small amounts of oil in Texas. His fear is that profits from the stolen oil could be getting into the hands of toxic militia groups. A well-placed concern. It leads to an illusive group called The Land Division, a showdown in Texas in a border town near El Paso, and attempts to stop a busload of Central Americans from entering the US. Letty's in the middle. It's so today. What a story. (July 2024)...more
3 Stars. OK, but not as good as Turow's classic 'Presumed Innocent.' I couldn't get into the narrator, Pinky Granum, who answers to Clarice if you wan3 Stars. OK, but not as good as Turow's classic 'Presumed Innocent.' I couldn't get into the narrator, Pinky Granum, who answers to Clarice if you want to be formal! A PI, she's "inked from neck to ankle [and has] a magenta Mohawk." Pinky is the granddaughter of Sandy Stern, the defence lawyer in that 1987 best seller. The book is much more about her than Highland Isle Police Chief Lucia Gomez who's up in front of the Police and Fire Commission for "demanding sex for promotion." A public scandal for the ages. Pinky works for her lawyer stepbrother, Ric Dudek, who has the task of defending the Chief and the far more difficult one of ensuring she doesn't lose her job regardless of the outcome. Three male officers are the complainants. When graphic photos emerge, that task begins to look impossible. It's Pinky's job to find cracks in the evidence and explain to all and sundry, how the Chief got into such a situation. Is it a set-up? Soon two possible suspects emerge - Pinky's weird neighbour Koob who may be a PI himself, and a developer and former cop with a bad rep, Moritz Vojczek aka The Ritz. My conclusion? To like this novel, you'd better like Pinky. (Jul2024)...more
4 Stars. Almost a five. Am I being too tough? It's good though. As readers, you and I are left asking, 'What's going on here?' through many chapters. 4 Stars. Almost a five. Am I being too tough? It's good though. As readers, you and I are left asking, 'What's going on here?' through many chapters. Right off the bat, why was an elderly woman, whose family had been major benefactors of Paradise, killed and her house ransacked? One of the burglars, known as King, found an old sheet of paper taped under a dresser. It appeared to show the image of a key and have some numbers. But he didn't tell his slow-on-the-uptake buddy, Hump. It's got to be valuable. A safe deposit box? It's well into the book before we find out what could be in that box. There's a second complication. On the morning of Suitcase Simpson's wedding, when best man Jesse Stone could only think of remembering to bring the ring, he's visited by three interesting characters. One is sexy Bella who flirts with him big time. They're visiting the Chief to ensure police cooperation for a planned 75th birthday party in Paradise for Terry Jester, the faded rock star. Celebrities galore. The Mayor is worried about her image if the big event goes off the rails; she would sooner fire Jessie. Is this connected to the robbery? I didn't think so, but .. That's the fun part. (Mar2024)...more
4 Stars. The last of the stand-alone Holly Barker series. That's not to say she doesn't later re-appear in the Stone Barrington series. She does. This4 Stars. The last of the stand-alone Holly Barker series. That's not to say she doesn't later re-appear in the Stone Barrington series. She does. This is a good one, not the best of the six but not bad. I like her - smart, tough and independent. Holly's with the CIA now, working for Lance Cabot, Deputy Director for Operations. Lance values her highly but some at the agency are less than positive. Let me summarize as they see it, 'Do you mean to say, Lance, that your prize pupil (Holly) let our #1 fugitive, Teddy Fay, escape when she had him in her sights not once but twice?' That's not in the book, but you get the idea. Lance suggests to Holly that she take a sabbatical, a month or so, until things cool down at Langley. She decides to go back to Orchid Beach with Daisy, her wonder dog. They still have a home there. This entry has more than its fair share of coincidences. First? James Bruno, the Army Colonel who harassed and sexually assaulted Holly years ago, is now Chief of Police in Orchid Beach! Second? Teddy Fay is nearby as is Lauren Cade, Holly's co-accuser of Colonel Bruno. Teddy and Lauren fall for each other. I could go on. But it was still enjoyable. (No2023/Mar2024)...more
3 Stars. Good but not up there with the first three. I truly enjoyed them. The next was a combination Stone Barrington #10/ Holly Barker #4 which I re3 Stars. Good but not up there with the first three. I truly enjoyed them. The next was a combination Stone Barrington #10/ Holly Barker #4 which I read a year ago. But the first three? Exciting, with interesting criminal issues in Orchid Beach, Florida where Holly is Police Chief. One concerned a secretive new development being used surreptitiously as an international drug haven. Now we have #5 and she has moved on. Lance Cabot of the CIA recruits her as an operative. The first section is more about her training at Camp Peary, aka 'The Farm' in rural Virginia, than I wanted to know. Except that her extraordinary dog, Daisy, is there too. It's only when Holly meets Teddy Fay that it becomes interesting. Teddy's a former CIA employee in technical services in charge of supplying weapons, fake credentials and disguises to field agents. Since retiring his personal mission has been to kill right-wing enemies of America with whom he disagrees politically. Law enforcement agencies don't take well to that concept. Then he asks a beautiful woman, although unknown to him, to occupy the empty seat next to him at the opera in New York. Her name? Holly. (October 2023)...more
4 Stars. Better than the 2nd in the series. A fun read. I enjoyed the confusion and conflict the characters felt throughout - especially between Orchi4 Stars. Better than the 2nd in the series. A fun read. I enjoyed the confusion and conflict the characters felt throughout - especially between Orchid Beach Chief of Police Holly Barker, undercover FBI agent Grant Early working on a mysterious case in O.B., and his boss in Miami, Harry Crisp. It sometimes results in mistakes based on a lack of cooperation. Exasperating. The novel is about two cases. Are they related? One local? One national? To her growing aggravation, our favourite chief can't seem to pin down what the FBI is looking into. To make matters worse, a charming, elderly real estate developer from New York named Ed Shine has purchased from government surplus the half-completed Palmetto Gardens, you'll recall it featured in the first entry, renamed it Blood Orchid Estates, and hired Holly's Deputy Chief Hurd Wallace to become Head of Security. At the worst time for her. Her case? A body is found bobbing in the Intercoastal Waterway on the edge of town, and a young woman is being hounded by the likely murderer. Holly needs Hurd's help badly but he's out golfing on Ed's dollar! At least she has Daisy, her wonderful Doberman. (Oc2023/Fe2024)...more
3 Stars. A good one, but somewhat repetitive and not truly engaging like recent Sandfords. There's also a glaring out-of-character action by one of th3 Stars. A good one, but somewhat repetitive and not truly engaging like recent Sandfords. There's also a glaring out-of-character action by one of the antagonists. "Silken Prey" (#23, 2013), "Field of Prey" (#24, 2014), "Extreme Prey" (#25, 2016), and "Ocean Prey" (#31, 2021), all fives, are among the best thrillers I've ever read. A standard hard to match. We follow a chase by Lucas Davenport and U.S. Marshals Rae and Bob across much of the southern USA. A hitman for the Louisiana mob, Clayton Deese, not previously known to police, brutally beat a man owing money to a loan shark. There was a witness. Arrested, he escaped and the team search his home in bayou country and find it surrounded by bugs and mud, poisonous snakes, up to a dozen graves, and evidence of cannibalism! This minor case jumps to the top of the list. Deese flees to California to find refuge with his brother, Marty Beauchamps, the leader of a successful home invasion gang. It includes his girl friend Genny and friend Cole. It's Genny Cox, for a long time an extra, who makes an uncharacteristic decision near the end. You'll know it. I just love Sandford's writing, so it's on to #30. (September 2023)...more
4 Stars. Can I give away the last line? I don't believe it's a spoiler but it is a hint. Throughout the novel, a police procedural if there ever was o4 Stars. Can I give away the last line? I don't believe it's a spoiler but it is a hint. Throughout the novel, a police procedural if there ever was one, U.S. Marshal Lucas Davenport and his two associates-in-arms, Marshal Rae Givens, she's tall, black, and a former basketball star, and Marshal Bob Matees, he's short, husky and a former wrestling star, bemoan the low probability of bringing this case to a successful conclusion. You see, they are operating this time in Washington, D.C. with all its agencies, especially the FBI, wanting to protect their turf, and powerful politicians like Minnesota Senators Porter Smalls and Taryn Grant interfering at every opportunity. The last line? Lucas says to his wife Weather, "But it's finished now." I won't say anything else! We first meet the lovely and wealthy Grant in "Silken Prey," #23 in the series, when she's running for Senate against incumbent Smalls and uses every dirty trick, including murder, to win. He returns to the Senate two years later and they face-off. There's an assassination attempt on Smalls, and Sandford reveals up front that Grant was behind it. The task of Lucas, Rae and Bob? Get to a successful conclusion. (September 2023)...more
4 Stars. I was thinking three stars until the middle of the book, #2 in the series. The tension then started to build. Yes, I was angry about what hap4 Stars. I was thinking three stars until the middle of the book, #2 in the series. The tension then started to build. Yes, I was angry about what happened to Jackson Oxenhandler and was looking forward to revenge on that score; can I admit to that? Maybe I should have said 'resolution on that score.' More vague. But that wasn't good enough for a four or five. Orchid Beach Police Chief Holly Barker was truly in love. Getting married to the man she met in #1. By chapter 4, the wedding was off and the honeymoon in Paris, my favourite international city and her fiancé's surprise wedding gift, was off too. Fifty-eight chapters still to go. Back to the tension. It builds as Holly, her father Ham, and her FBI friend, Harry Crisp who runs the Miami office, get back together. Stone Barrington also makes a brief appearance. The incident at the Orchid Beach bank wasn't your average robbery. The men behind the heist are mysterious and turn out to be a group of radical right, gun-loving patriots. Racist crazies living at an off-the-grid camp near Lake Winachobee. Holly recruits Ham to reconnoitre the place and the tension escalates. Big time. On to #3. (Au2023/Fe2024)...more
4 Stars. Many Cooperman novels are right on the edge of 5 and this one is no exception. Some reach the top but they're all worth reading. Benny is suf4 Stars. Many Cooperman novels are right on the edge of 5 and this one is no exception. Some reach the top but they're all worth reading. Benny is suffering from the leftovers of Alexia, a brain issue detailed in 'Memory Book;' it was caused by a blow to the head. He can't remember names, or read well. But he still has the instincts of a great private eye. A woman catches him while he is closing down his office; he used to know Victoria Pressburger and her now husband, Jake Grange, at Grantham High. She begs Benny to help find Jake in an exotic little country in S.E. Asia near Singapore called Mirinam. A former French colony. Reluctantly, he agrees to take one more case; Jake is probably dead but there's always a chance. Benny finds the place hot and looking "old, stained and shopworn." What makes the book so good are the characters: Father O'Mahannay of the Catholic persuasion who knows everyone in the capital Takot and their idiosyncrasies, Beverley Taylor who is Benny's beautiful scuba companion, Prasit of the local police who seems to be able to square ethics and graft at the same time, and others. Is it all about drugs? At first, Benny thinks so. (Se2024)...more
3 Stars. A good one but a change in style for Parker / Coleman. Over many entries, I've commiserated with Jesse Stone and his problems, both personal 3 Stars. A good one but a change in style for Parker / Coleman. Over many entries, I've commiserated with Jesse Stone and his problems, both personal with alcohol and with his ex-wife Jenn, and as Police Chief in Paradise when serious crime raises its ugly head. Take 'High Profile.' It's #6. It starts with the body of New York talk-show host, the opinionated Walton Weeks, found hanging from a tree in Paradise. One of my favourites. How is this one different? Coleman has adopted the approach of some thriller writers of introducing a master criminal who stalks the hero, his family and friends. Here it's Mr. Peepers. A good read, but I'd sooner leave that type of thriller to James Patterson with Dr. Alex Cross and nemesis Gary Soneji. The story? There's marriage in the air. Jenn has said "Yes" to a Texas multi-millionaire, Hale Hunsicker. And Jesse is contemplating, maybe too deeply, the same with ex-FBI Agent Diana Evans. But Peepers, an ego-driven twerp who is a hit-man for hire, is upset that Jesse, two of his officers, Suit and Molly, and Boston mob leader Gino Fish, interfered with one of his recent hits. Revenge is on the menu. Not bad, but is it a Jesse Stone? (De2023/Mar2024)...more
4 Stars. A great mystery and thriller combination. The mystery? Did something happen 25 years ago on the evening of July 4th just outside Paradise, Ma4 Stars. A great mystery and thriller combination. The mystery? Did something happen 25 years ago on the evening of July 4th just outside Paradise, Massachusetts which resulted in the disappearance of two teenage girls? The thriller? How far would any unknown individuals involved in their disappearance go in order to prevent Police Chief Jesse Stone from finding out? A vicious storm from the Atlantic makes landfall and hits Paradise right on the nose. One result? An old, abandoned factory partially collapses and Fire Chief Robbie Wilson and his crew discover three bodies in the rubble. One is a man murdered yesterday; he's badly disfigured. The two others are skeletons which appear to be from 25 years ago. The girls are identified fairly quickly but why was this other person buried in the same place? And who is he? The story is superb as we follow Jesse Stone and officer Molly Crane who was a close friend of the girls, Mary Kate O'Hara and Ginny Connolly, as they edge towards the truth. Here's a clue to prospective readers - keep an eye on each character. Most of them have a role to play in the resolution. I shouldn't add anything more! (De2023/Mar2024)...more
3 Stars. Fast paced. Back and forth across the pond. Outrageous murders are happening in D.C., New York, London and Paris and the public are terrified3 Stars. Fast paced. Back and forth across the pond. Outrageous murders are happening in D.C., New York, London and Paris and the public are terrified. I found some of the criminal activity, especially by escaped prisoner Gary Soneji who was also the protagonist in "Along Came a Spider," to be over-the-top and broaching on unbelievability. ".. Spider" was the great entry which kicked-off the series. If you recall, Soneji kidnapped two students from an upscale private school in Washington, and Alex Cross and fellow officer John Sampson were pulled reluctantly from pressing duties in the projects to lend-a-hand. Soneji is back and tracking Cross. He wants revenge fast. While in prison, he came down with Aids, more of a death sentence then than now. There is a breathe-taking scene earlier in the novel when Soneji is hiding in the Cross basement while a family party is taking place upstairs. Or is it someone else? Didn't Cross shoot Soneji in New York? Could the devil downstairs be Mr. Smith who is stalking victims in the US, England and France? With Thomas Pierce, the FBI's new profiler par excellence in hot pursuit, "Cat & Mouse" is the right name for this thriller. (June 2023)...more
3 Stars. I guess the Goths don't do it for me. Whatever, this is not my favourite Davenport. All of Sandford's Lucas Davenports are good, but that sub3 Stars. I guess the Goths don't do it for me. Whatever, this is not my favourite Davenport. All of Sandford's Lucas Davenports are good, but that sub-culture has never interested me. Am I being superficial in my assessment? People dressed in black and fascinated with death are not explainable in any rational way. Right or wrong, to me the Goth thing was a spinoff of the 1975 movie musical, 'Rocky Horror Picture Show.' From that year, 'Jaws' is the one I remember. Davenport has been with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for some time now. His wife Weather persuades a reluctant Lucas to review the local case of a friend of hers, Alyssa Austin, a wealthy widow whose daughter Frances is missing. She thinks the police are doing nothing about the fact that traces of blood were found in her kitchen. Frances is involved in the Goth culture and soon an acquaintance at a Goth bar is found murdered. It escalates. A Goth fairy has been seen at more than one crime scene. Two other factors come into play: people with multiple personalities are featured, not my cup of tea, and the novel seemed slower than most for the first half. It's best I just move on. (January 2024)...more
4 Stars. Maybe not a top drawer 'Davenport' but darn close! Sandford is such a great writer. Keep an eye open for some subtle highlights. Here's my fa4 Stars. Maybe not a top drawer 'Davenport' but darn close! Sandford is such a great writer. Keep an eye open for some subtle highlights. Here's my favourite. In an old St. Paul mansion, where a rich, elderly widow and her companion have been brutally clubbed to death, two police officials are conversing about the difficulties they're encountering. "Smith looked glumly at .. who was peering at the bottom of a silver plant-watering pot [and said to Lucas Davenport]: 'It'd spread the blame [if we called in the FBI], if we fall on our asses, .. but I want to catch those motherfuckers. Me.'" Please pardon Sandford's language. The amusement? The two are talking within eyesight of one of the murderers. Lucas is up to his neck in two cases. Mrs. Bucher and Mrs. Peebles referred to above, among others, were involved in collecting antiques including six, 19th century quilts with hidden messages which had been gobbled up by galleries at outrageous prices. He's also trying to pin the goods on State Senator Kline for having sex with an underage girl. It's only when someone tries to kidnap the teenager, Jesse Barth, that case connections surface. A great read. (January 2024)...more
Loading...
