NEVER SAY SPY (Pub. 2011) is easily one of the best reads I've come across in ages. The story itself is intriguing, downright thrilling and hard to puNEVER SAY SPY (Pub. 2011) is easily one of the best reads I've come across in ages. The story itself is intriguing, downright thrilling and hard to put down, but it's the amazingly tough yet fun MC, Aydan Kelly, that really makes this book shine. I've now got a serious girl-crush going!
Henders keeps up a relentless, thriller-ific pace throughout -- it launches off right from the get-go -- and doesn't let up until the last page. She somehow manages to sprinkle in humorous moments, along with some lusty bits too, in very natural, organic ways that add to the characters and the story moments, without breaking the thriller vibe or hurting the pace. I bow down to her skills in pulling that off, and would love to buy her a couple of drinks as thanks for the 24-hours of great entertainment!
Never Say Spy has all the classic thriller components, along with a smidgeon of sci-fi that comes into play with the top-secret technology that's being developed by an unknown entity that appears to have ties with the government. It's never made truly clear what the technology is ultimately being developed for (by the good guys), but the bad guys want to use it to further their bad guy missions and tools, and will stop at nothing to get a crack at it. Aydan innocently falls into the mix, but brings her own brand of skills to the table as she fights to keep her freedom, her sanity and her good name. The good guys are almost as well-drawn as Aydan, and the two lead men are just as fun to get to know and watch in action as Aydan. The author has done a fantastic job with the easy way she gradually brings the characters' details to life, always within the flow of the action, and it all rings true-to-life.
It's hard to put my finger on what I like best about the story itself, but for sure, it's a refreshing read that doesn't have an ounce of cookie-cutter dust on it. It was really a pleasure to read! I came across this story as a freebie on Bookbub, and am so glad I did. I'm very happy to see several more books in the Spy series are available, and literally clicked 'buy now' on the second novel within minutes of finishing this first one. ...more
LAST SHOT (Pub. 2006) by Gregg Hurwitz is the author's seventh novel, and the fourth in Hurwitz's Tim Rackley series. I stumbled across this author whLAST SHOT (Pub. 2006) by Gregg Hurwitz is the author's seventh novel, and the fourth in Hurwitz's Tim Rackley series. I stumbled across this author while perusing the library shelves a couple months ago, and he immediately shot to the top of my favorite-authors list. You know you've found reading gold when you scramble to get every book written by the author, no matter the cost or the hassle. I've blazed through almost the entire 20-book oeuvre, and thoroughly enjoyed every story, but LAST SHOT is possibly my favorite Hurwitz book, and that's saying a lot.
Hurwitz has a magical way of weaving several plot twists and believable character issues into the main story that give all his books many layers. It's impossible to call any of them cookie-cutter thrillers.
This story has everything a thriller reader wants - it starts off with a unique and intriguing bang, and keeps blazing away until the very last page, with the stakes steadily climbing at a relentless pace that kept me turning pages as fast as I could. Multiple story lines running at just the right level, with a strong and believable base plot backed up by great dialogue and fantastic writing that doesn't try to impress, but manages to do so any way. You can't help but marvel a bit at how well this author spins a tale without trying too hard. Hurwitz hits all the right notes all the way down the line. But what makes this one really stand out are the incredibly well-drawn characters that suck you into their lives in a subtle, yet irresistible way. And the brilliant characterization is capped off by a surprising twist on what's supposed to be the bad guy--a man who, at the end of the day, is really a good guy that made some bad decisions along the way. It brings a very interesting slant to the story, and makes this thriller far and above the usual fare.
The protagonist, Tim Rackley, is a Federal Marshall brought in to hunt down a felon who's escaped from a maximum security prison, in what turns out to be a masterfully well-executed plan. The first thing Rack must figure out is why the man would escape when he had only a year left on his five year sentence? And it turns out Walker Jameson is not your average convict - he's a decorated former elite soldier / sniper, with several tours of duty in the Mideast under his belt before the government found a way to kick him out on a dishonorable discharge. Rack quickly realizes he's met his match in Walker Jameson, and it will take everything he's got to bring the man in without getting killed or worse. But what Rack doesn't know until the train's already left the station is, Walker escaped prison to seek revenge on behalf of his sister, and the man wastes not one minute of his hard-won temporary freedom. The blood-letting starts on his first night out, and continues until every man involved in his sister's murder is dead - dead in a big, ugly, public kind of way.
LAST SHOT has such poignancy, real heart-pulling stuff--even while the thrills keep rolling--I have no doubt it will linger in my mind for days. ...more
THE LAST CHILD (Pub. 2009) by John Hart is absolutely captivating from the first page to the last. This is Hart's third novel, and his first two won bTHE LAST CHILD (Pub. 2009) by John Hart is absolutely captivating from the first page to the last. This is Hart's third novel, and his first two won back-to-back Edgar awards. In my opinion, LAST CHILD outshines both of those, as does his forth novel, IRON HOUSE, so they just keep getting better with this author.
This story brings so much to the table, it's hard to say what I like best about it. The main character, Johnny Merrimon, is a 13-yr old boy whose life has gone from sunny and secure to a blacked-out hell in less than a year. The horrible slide starts with the disappearance of his twin sister, Alyssa, followed a few month's later by his beloved father leaving town without a word to him and his mother. Johnny's mom is shell-shocked with grief, unable to adequately support them, and she blindly turns to the richest man in town for succor, but the man brings them only more trouble and grief. Meanwhile, Johnny's sole purpose in life is finding his missing sister, and he endures the hell at home in between working the case.
In John Hart's unbelievably smooth way, we get all of that backstory in a succinct nutshell, woven around the high action opening, where we see Johnny and his buddy Jack ditching school to continue the search for Alyssa, which ends on the river's edge with a dead man at Johnny's feet. But before the stranger dies, he tells Johnny, "I know where she is." The rest of the story comes screaming down the pike, blasting away with one unexpected twist after the next, and myriad clues woven in along the way are so well played, it's impossible to figure out the multiple who-done-its until the last page. Before it's all said and done, many people will die and one heinous lie after the next comes to light, shattering more lives and healing others.
Without question, Hart has shot straight to the top of my favorite authors list, and I sincerely hope he has another story in the works so I can rush out to buy it, and the next one, and the next, and so on. My hat is off to him, and my pocket book wide open. I wish he had a dozen on the shelf so I could snap them up. ...more
IRON HOUSE (Pub. 2011) by John Hart is hands down the best book I've read this year. This is my first story by the author and I'm thrilled to have disIRON HOUSE (Pub. 2011) by John Hart is hands down the best book I've read this year. This is my first story by the author and I'm thrilled to have discovered it, although by accident, after pulling it off the library shelf at random simply because the title was interesting and the cover flap intrigued me.
I enjoyed this story so much it's hard to know where to start on what I liked best about it. It's a fantastic, fast-paced thriller coaster ride that is completely different than the typical thrillers on today's market. There is absolutely nothing cookie-cutter about this book, that's for sure. The myriad plots twists, surprises, intertwined and far-reaching events all have wide impact on multiple characters, and yet manage to come across very organically, never shoe-horned or head-shaking.
In addition to the fantastically woven plot, Hart gives us characters we begin to root for and care about from the get-go. Several characters are so well drawn I easily developed a picture of them in my mind's eye that will likely linger for days.
Two brothers, Michael and Julian, one strong and fierce because he has no choice, the other weak and damaged, are found as infants on the edge of a freezing creek in the Carolina mountains, rescued by hunters and taken to an orphanage. They grow up in a horrific situation, scrapping and surviving, barely holding on to their sanity, until one day, forced to fight for his life, the weak brother kills his tormentor in the lavatory, and the strong brother steps up to take the blame. This gruesome scene takes place while a rich and beautiful woman waits in the director's office, come to adopt them and take them away from the hell they've been living in. But only one boy goes home with the angel of mercy, the other is forced to run from the law and into a life of hard crime he never wanted. This fascinating and heart wrenching backstory scene plays out very briefly, in a 'real-time' flashback, then we get popped right back into present time where all hell is breaking loose for the now-grown brothers, one weak, one strong, both with their lives and hearts on the line once again, but the stakes are much, much higher this time around.
The writing itself is several notches above today's standard thriller fair. The author manages to pull off a riveting and hard-driving thriller of a story while constantly giving such beautifully phrased, yet quick and succinct descriptions, all with an easy flow that never once interrupts the story in progress. Hart gives us just enough description and scene setting blips to engage the mind's eye without bogging the pace for a moment. He manages to do that with such spot-on, and yet unexpected phrasing, I had to sit back and marvel for a brief second, to taste them on my mind's tongue a moment before greedily zipping on down the page. And the author manages to do that over and over, throughout the story.
In addition to the brilliantly breathless thriller that launches high and hot from the first chapter, the author keeps popping story questions along the way, which culminate in a big and ugly murder-mystery that doesn't kick off until the middle of the story. IRON HOUSE brings twists and turns and surprises right up to the last page, along with an extremely satisfying ending, all questions asked and answered, comeuppance and karma fully dealt, and our hero on the brink of what we want to believe will be happily ever after, although it's handled with such finesse and just the right amount of angst we can't be sure exactly how it will go.
The only thing wrong with this story is how high it sets the bar--it will be hard to find another great read that compares with this one. John Hart has easily vaulted to the very top of my favorite author list with this book, and I can't wait to get my hands on another one of his stories. ...more
MR. LUCKY, (Pub. 2005) by James Swain was my third read of this author's works, and I am still loving this guy. I'm buzzing through the books my libraMR. LUCKY, (Pub. 2005) by James Swain was my third read of this author's works, and I am still loving this guy. I'm buzzing through the books my library has, and will then be plunking down my hard-earned cash for his new books as they come out. He's catapulted his way onto my top five favorite authors list, and that is no easy trick because I've been a huge book fan my whole life, and am now a very picky reader.
What I like best about all of Swain's stories is the different angle he takes. MR. LUCKY is from Swain's Tony Valentine series, and features, Valentine, an ex-cop who left the force under questionable circumstances and no pension. He now earns a substantial living by helping casinos unearth cheaters and scammers, and he's the best in the business because that's largely what he did while working as a detective on the police force.
In Mr. Lucky, we get to follow two story threads - the main thread comes about when Valentine gets a call from a disgruntled casino owner, asking him to check into a guy the press is calling 'the luckiest man in the world'. The guy, Ricky Smith, just keeps winning at everything . . . he wins $20,000 at The Mint in Los Vegas, while a neighboring casino burns to the ground. Then goes to another casino down the road and hits it big on roulette. When he arrives home, he wins a local lottery worth a million bucks. But Valentine's no dummy--he knows nobody is that lucky, so he takes the job. But there turns out to be a deep and wide reason why Mr. Lucky is so lucky, and that reason comes packing guns and all kinds of trouble.
Meanwhile, Valentine sends his adult son, Gerry, a former gambling addict, to speak with the world's greatest poker player. Ricky Smith, Mr. Lucky, managed to play the poker expert and win. Valentines smells a dead fish and wants his son to interview the poker player. But the guy turns out to be a crafty dog, and the poker player dangles an easy $50K for Gerry, if he will agree to help cheat an unsuspecting billionaire in a game of poker. Gerry's conscience kicks in at the last minute and he bails on the deal. But unbeknownst to him, the Dixie Mafia is behind the game and they aren't happy that he walked, because it cost the cheating cartel a couple hundred grand. Of course, that leads to another barrel of trouble for Gerry and his family.
One of the things I really admire about Swain's stories is how well he fleshes out the characters, not just the MC, but all the major players. In earlier stories, we see Gerry, Valentines son, is pretty much a complete loser. One of those guys that's always got an excuse for why he can't get his life together, and our hero, Valentine, suffers through Gerry's immaturity and irresponsibility with a grudgingly caustic approach as the weary father that can see where his son is headed. But in this story, we see Gerry make a bend in the curve and start heading down the right road for a change. The author handles it with a light-touch, but in a very organic-to-the-story way, and it's fun to see someone starting to get things right, even in the midst of a hell-storm of trouble raining down.
And it's a good thing Gerry's getting his act together across the state line because Valentine is up to his eyeballs in bad guys. But he's no chicken, and he's determined to unmask Mr. Lucky for the loser and cheater the guy is underneath all that unearned dough that keeps coming his way. And sure enough, in the end, Valentine prevails and we have fun along the way, learning all the interesting and incredibly crafty ways Mr. Lucky has gotten so darn lucky.
The story ends with a twisty and satisfying end that left me feeling as though all the loose ends were tied up and the correct comeuppance has been achieve for all the players involved. It doesn't end with a bang, but it does end with some interesting angles and another unique moment for Valentine on the personal side of things, a problem with a woman that's captured his heart, and resolves a guilty conscience that's been poking at him on and off all through the book.
The thing I love about Swain's stories is they hold my interest all the way through, I learn stuff, and they make me ponder my own ways of approaching the world, open a person's eyes a little bit without ever getting preachy or too teacherly, and most importantly, without ever slowing the pace or derailing the story in progress. Plus we get action, along with some violence, an interesting story that's different than the usual murder/detective stuff, all with a regular whiff of Valentine's dry humor. If you haven't read Swain's work yet, you really are missing out....more
FRACTURED by Karin Slaughter (Pub. 2008) deserves all five stars and more. I literally could not put this book down, and read it in less than 18 hoursFRACTURED by Karin Slaughter (Pub. 2008) deserves all five stars and more. I literally could not put this book down, and read it in less than 18 hours.
The story starts with a bang and doesn't let up. It opens with a high-end housewife coming home to a break-in. Panicked for her 17-yr old daughter's safety, Abigail rushes up the stairs, only to find her daughter dead in a pool of blood and her killer standing over her with a knife in his hand.
Interestingly, the author then writes the remainder of the story from the point-of-view of FBI agent, Will Trent, and a local police detective named Faith, with only four short chapters in Abigail's POV, including the last one. It is a unique story structure that works.
This is Karin's eighth novel, and her writing really shines throughout this book. The prose is smooth, with just the right amount of scene description and narrative to dialogue ratios. It's hard to decide what I liked best about the book--everything is so top notch, it's hard to choose. The intriguing twists that keep this from being a 'standard murder mystery' keep coming through out the story, right up to the end game. And the pace is just right for a thriller.
What impressed me most is how incredibly well developed many of the characters are, not just the two protags and the antagonist. And Karin manages to do it in a completely organic-to-the-moment kind of way. Nothing feels forced, and the character traits we gradually learn are interesting, and easy to identify with.
FRACTURED is easily one of the best, if not the best, book I've read in the past year. I'm happy to know there are many more Karin Slaughter novels on the shelf. :) She's just vaulted her way onto my favorite author list with this one....more
CATCHING FIRE (Pub. 2009) by Suzanne Collins is the second book in the fantastic Hunger Games trilogy. This is one of the few sequels ever written thaCATCHING FIRE (Pub. 2009) by Suzanne Collins is the second book in the fantastic Hunger Games trilogy. This is one of the few sequels ever written that is even better than the first book.
The story opens with Katniss Everdeen, alone in the woods at dawn, enjoying the last of her freedom before embarking on the mandatory victory tour of the twelve districts. We see her confusion in adjusting to life after winning the Hunger Games, the impact it has on those around her, and there is a big question mark hovering over her life. When she arrives home to an unexpected visit from President Snow, she quickly realizes although she's won the Games, her future, as well as her families, is now in long-term jeopardy.
The president's veiled threats are ever present in her mind as Katniss begins the victory tour, conscious of the president's caution for the need to not inflame the people of the districts, and to convince them of the validity of the love she professed for Peeta during the Games. Of course, that all goes wrong in a hurry.
The victory tour ends after several stressful stops, the results of which are clearly leading to hard trouble for Katniss and her family. Sure enough, the president makes good on his threats when it's announced that to celebrate the quarter-century anniversary of the Games, two victors from each district will be chosen instead of the usual reaping from the children's bowls. Katniss and Peeta are suddenly back in the Games after only a year's break. The quarter quell Game is even more deadly because they are up against seasoned adults, all older than they, some of whom have nothing to lose, and all of them turn out to have secrets that will ultimately threaten Katniss' life, and the world as she knows it.
Suzanne Collins is an absolute master at the dystopian thriller novel. Her imagination and the way she brings the characters and the story to life is unforgettable. All generations are crazy for these stories as well as the movies. I traded forum posts with a gal the other day who is in her early 60s, and she and her brother are avid fans of the Hunger Games trilogy. They've both read the books multiple times, stood in line for hours to attend the movie's premier, and plan to do so for the opening of Catching Fire. Did I mention she's in her 60s? And Katniss is a 16-year old girl. Wow, does that speak to the phenomenal skills of the author.
I have to admit, I just can't wait to see how Hollywood handles Catching Fire, and I plan to see it on the day it opens. :) Collins also wrote the screenplay for Catching Fire, so I have no doubt the second movie will be as great or better than the first one, just like the books. If you haven't read this trilogy yet, do yourself a favor...get all three books before you start. I absolutely guarantee you'll be glad you did. Otherwise you'll end up like me, desperate to start on the next one the moment you've finished the first, and willing to drive to Barnes & Noble at inconvenient times to appease the fix.
This trilogy is absolutely on my Top Five Fave stories ever told, and I have no doubt it will remain on that list for good. I envy readers who haven't yet discovered this amazing story. Be sure to read these three books as slowly as you can stand because once you've finished, you'll be looking around wondering how in the world you'll find another story as good as this one. ...more
NEVER GO BACK (Pub. 2013) is Lee Child's 18th Reacher thriller and a 5-star read for me. Lee is by far my favorite author, so I ran to B&N to buy the NEVER GO BACK (Pub. 2013) is Lee Child's 18th Reacher thriller and a 5-star read for me. Lee is by far my favorite author, so I ran to B&N to buy the book on its release date.
The first fifty pages seemed a little off from Lee's usual stripped down, clean prose approach. The story starts kind of sideways, in a 'telling' way, rather than truly in the heart of the moment as Lee's other books do. It's the only weak spot for me, but it certainly doesn't ruin the story by any means. I kept turning the pages because I know I can count on the author to deliver a good tale, and Reacher never disappoints. It quickly straightened out into the usual fantastic Reacher adventure we all love to read.
The story opens with Reacher being dropped off at a flea-bag motel, after having been told that he's being forced back into the Army. He's facing serious charges from a long-ago incident while working as a Major in the 110th. The Army also informs Reacher he's got a 14-yr-old illegitimate daughter with a woman he doesn't remember who will be coming after his paychecks while he's in prison for the other charges.
Then we learn the woman Reacher has travelled all the way to Virginia to meet, his phone-interest from three stories back, has been thrown in jail for treason the day before he arrived. Reacher is largely certain Susan Turner didn't take a bribe or reveal state secrets, but the Army intends to keep them locked up based on planted evidence. It's obviously a cover-up of some kind, but what is being covered up? The rest of the story is about Reacher and Turner working to unwind the charges and reveal the culprits behind the set-up.
What I liked best about this story is seeing Reacher's reaction to the news that he might be a father. The way he interacts with the girl, and the way he's thinking about her by the end of the story. It was interesting to see another side of Reacher, opposite the feral-ness he brings to the table in each story. I also enjoyed the way the author plays out this phone-interest-relationship with Turner, the ebb and flow of Reacher and Turner's budding relationship and the way they leave things off at the end. Classic Reacher romance, with a twist.
Lee Child has a real knack for coming up with interesting and unexpected story ideas--what Lee calls "the Thing"--that underlies the story's happenings, the end-game question that keeps me turning the pages. He's also great at popping smaller questions along the way, and giving us those answers like intravenous feedings that keep the pages turning.
I'm a writer, and Lee is my top Dog fave, so I took the time to analyze all of the openings in the Reacher series, hoping to learn some of his secrets. What I found instead is that Lee is not predictable, he really mixes them up, as far as the 'writers rules' go.
One excellent bit of writing advice Lee's given the masses is to plug a story question in as early as possible, on the first page, and preferably in the first paragraph. But Lee broke his own unwritten rule in NEVER GO BACK. We don't get much of a story question in the first chapter, unless you count the fight scene question of, "Why are these guys trying to run Reacher out of town?"...but again, that all comes at us sort of sideways, and it threw me off.
By the time I got to the end of the book, I realized Lee is up to his tricks again--never repeating himself, and was just doing something different, breaking 'the rules' again. Probably doing so while wearing a smug smile behind his coffee cup and laughing all the way to the bank. ...more
HUNGER GAMES (Pub. 2008) by Suzanne Collins was an amazingly good read. I'll confess on the front end here--I saw the movie first. While I liked the mHUNGER GAMES (Pub. 2008) by Suzanne Collins was an amazingly good read. I'll confess on the front end here--I saw the movie first. While I liked the movie, there were parts that felt vague on the details, in spite of it being a 3-hr film. I sure wish I'd read the book first--it would have made me enjoy the movie more.
I was surprised by how much I loved everything about this book. I mean no slight to the author when I say I didn't expect to enjoy a YA book so much. Which makes it clear why it's become so hugely popular. I think this is because it has such a 'high concept' -- Hunger Games goes out there where the trains don't normally go (paraphrasing Dean Koontz), but manages to do it in such a believable way.
The other reason why it's got such broad-spread appeal is, although the MC is a sixteen-yr old girl, it reads like a 'grown up' novel, and Katniss is almost a 'unisex' character despite her womanliness. There is no choice, because the very premise of the story puts Katniss in a situation that is beyond 'adult', beyond anyone--man or woman. In a situation no one would ever want to be in. Fighting 23 other children, aged 12-18--to the death. One of them is from her own neighborhood. A boy that saved her life, as well as her family's. A boy who has loved her ever since she was eight.
The author immediately makes us begin caring for her characters, while rolling out an enthralling scenario in a way that you just can't wait to find out what happens next. The prose is simple, stark, and very much in keeping with a dystopian novel. Yet there is such eloquence in the words, as well as an important lesson we can all learn from which isn't portrayed as a lesson.
I'm a writer myself, and for selfish reasons, I read Hunger Games not only for the story, but also paying close attention to how the author handles the exposition and narrative portions. Due to the nature of many scenes, there is a lot of exposition, which can be the kiss of death for many a novel. But Collins is an absolute master at what agent Donald Maass refers to as 'micro tension'. She makes every sentence riveting. I did zero skimming of this book (on all three books for that matter), which I can rarely honestly say about a novel.
Not only was the story absolutely fascinating, Collins also plugs in just the right amount of descriptive details that make the scenes come fully alive without bogging the story down.
****SEMI SPOILER ALERT****
The only thing I would change in the whole entire trilogy is the last ten pages of the story. This is very much a subjective thing, but I would rather have seen it end slightly more upbeat - I don't mean a silly happily-ever-after Disney thing, just slightly brighter. But hey, it starts out as a dystopian story and ends as a dystopian story, so I can't fault the author for being consistent. It probably ends more realistically than my secret heart would like after falling in love with the characters....more
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