So I finally finished the second book for 2011 and it was a Kindle ebook and non-fiction The Devil We Know:Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower by Robert Baer. Baer is an ex-CIA operative in the Middle East and considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on the Middle East. The book chronicles Iran’s rise to superpower in the Middle East and the range of their influence, which extends from control of southern Iraq to Lebanon and the Palestinians. At times the book is scary because you see that the policies of the US have only helped to extend Iran’s influence in the Gulf! But his final synopsis which has the US negotiating with Iran and maybe even becoming allies is potentially (in my opinion) the best course for US policy. The book also explains the differences between Shia and Sunni particularly as it comes to terrorism. The book is highly recommended for anyone who is interested in politics and US policy in the Middle East! I would certainly read another book by Baer and may pick up Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude at the library!!
Author: ekkarn
Book 1 – 2011 – Crush – Alan Jacobson
WooHoo! Finally I finished the first book of 2011 – Alan Jacobson’s Crush. It was another book read on the Kindle. I am also reading on the Kindle The Devil We Knew by Robert Baer a book about Iran that we gave to Peter for Christmas, that is really good! Anyway back to Crush. The novel is set in the wine country of California and is the second book in the Karen Vail series. Karen Vail is a profiler who works tracking serial killers. The first book is The 7th Victim, which I saw at Barnes and Noble a while back and made a note on my phone about to look for at the library. But when I got the Kindle I checked out some of the books that I had made notes about and there it was it was for a good price but Crush was a better price FREE! So I’ve read the series out of order!
Like I said the series revolves around Karen Vail a FBI profiler and single mother, who was on vacation in the California wine country, with her boyfriend Robby Hernandez. A mutilated body is discovered in a Wine Cave and soon Karen isn’t on vacation and more but working with the local police to track down the killer. It’s a thriller because you know the killer but it’s one of those, what will he do before you can catch him books! Karen is a likable character and the action is pretty fast paced with a few twists and turns and more dead bodies!
I will certainly read more of Jacobson’s books my question now is, do I go back and read the first book, which available on the Kindle or do I go and get the third book out of the library! Jacobson left so many threads hanging at the end of the book that I think I’ll go read Book 3 Velocity next and then go back and read The 7th Victim!
Sara Davidson Leap and Paul Levine Riptide
Leap! Sara Davidson
So 2010 ends with 44 books read down the stretch I finished two books No 43 was “LEAP “What Will We Do with the Rest of Our Lives” by Sara Davidson. Conducting over 150 interviews from 2003 to 2006 Sara Davidson has crafted a book that explores what us boomers will be facing as we approach the later parts of our lives. From the dust cover ” she explores such questions as:
How does a high powered person learn to walk down the ladder gracefully?
How can women continue to bew sensual and not touch deprived?
How do we arrange to grow old with friends? (this is my favorite part the idea is that friends with lots in common will agree to live in close proximity so that they can take care of each other as we age!)
What will be the fire at the center of our lives??
Why are we still here?
The book is full of great insight and stories from folks like me and many other approaching the big 60!! It’s left me with questions and I’ll probably re-read this one next year!!
Riptide – Paul Levine
Book 44 was the first book I read on my new Kindle that son three Peter and his wife Missy gave to me for Christmas “Riptide” by Paul Levine. Ok so all through this book something seemed familiar so I did a quick look back at the old Lassiter titles and didn’t see the title – the book “Slashback”, which I read in 1995 seemed to be the closest and with good reason because that was the original tilte of the book! Anyway it was a fun good read from the Amazon review:
Someone ripped off Jake Lassiter’s favorite client, octogenarian Sam Kazdoy, stealing $1.6 million in negotiable bonds. Then Jake’s old Buddy, Berto Zaldivar, a lawyer-turned-smuggler, ends up dead. The trail of clues from both crimes leads to a sinister professional windsurfer and his companion, Lila Summers, herself a champion athlete and a lethal femme fatale. Jake chases the missing money and the mysterious woman from Miami to Bimini to Maui where, in an explosive finale he learns lessons never taught on the football field or in the courtroom.
“Irreverent…genuinely clever…great fun.” – The New York Times Book Review
“Take one part John Grisham, two parts Carl Hiaasen, throw in a dash of John D. MacDonald, and voila! You’ve got Jake Lassiter.” – Tulsa Sun
So if you’ve never read a Jake Lassiter book check one out and take it from me they’re as good the second time around as the first!!!
Track of the Cat – Nevada Barr
WooHoo! So after a month plus of slugging through Michael Koryta’s So Cold the River and only getting half through it, although I was enjoying it, I just haven’t had the time to finish it! I did finish a shorter book Track the Cat by Nevada Barr is book 42 for the year. The book is the first Anna Pigeon novel. Anna is a national park ranger and here’s what it says about her on the back cover of the book:
“The fascinating hero of Nevada Barr’s award-winning series , park ranger Anna Pigeon has brought an unyielding love of nature and sense of fair play to the mystery game. Track of the Cat is the acclaimed novel that first introduced readers to Anna, as a woman looking for peace in the wilderness – and finding mystery instead…..
The murder in this case is a fellow park ranger and when the murder is blamed on a rouge mountain lion and Ana’s investigation proves that that was not the case, Anna sets out to find out what really happened! Althoug I didn’t think that the plot was all that great I did like the character and didn’t guess the murderer! I will probably continue with the series and already have a few more books on my Mount to Be Read!!
Moonlight Mile – Dennis Lehane
The Story
In the world of Dennis Lehane‘s Kenzie and Gennero, 12 years have past since Patrick found Amanda McCready and returned her to unfit mother (see Gone Baby Gone). Patrick and Angie are now married and the proud parents of a four year four year old daughter.
Patrick is hoping to get a full time job at a very affluent security company. One night he gets a call the caller says “You found her before, find her again”. The next morning Patrick runs into Amanda’s Aunt Beatrice who apologizes for the previous night’s late call and then tells Patrick that Amanda, now a straight A student at a Boston prep school and a chance to go to Harvard or Yale, has been missing for three weeks and no one cares!
Soon Patrick is sucked back into the world he hoped he’d left behind including drugs and the Russian Mafia. But Patrick has to find Amanda to put the past behind him, the past that haunts him everyday because he did the legally right thing that was actually the wrong thing. Finding Amanda now could help to set things right!
My Thoughts
I really enjoy the characters of this series and Lehane’s writing overall. The pages of this book just flew by last night and like most of his stories there are enough twists to keep you guessing as to what’s going on! As with every Lehane book. It’s a great read! So read it now and then compare it to the movie sequel which is bound to come!
Book 41 – Moonlight Mile – Dennis Lehane
In the world of Dennis Lehane‘s Kenzie and Gennero, 12 years have past since Patrick found Amanda McCready and returned her to unfit mother (see Gone Baby Gone). Patrick and Angie are now married and the proud parents of a four year four year old daughter. Patrick is hoping to get a full time job at a very affluent security company. One night he gets a call the caller says “You found her before, find her again”. The next morning Patrick runs into Amanda’s Aunt Beatrice who apologizes for the previous night’s late call and then tells Patrick that Amanda, now a straight A student at a Boston prep school and a chance to go to Harvard or Yale, has been missing for three weeks and no one cares! Soon Patrick is sucked back into the world he hoped he’d left behind including drugs and the Russian Mafia. But Patrick has to find Amanda to put the past behind him, the past that haunts him everyday because he did the legally right thing that was actually the wrong thing. Finding Amanda now could help to set things right!
I really enjoy the characters of this series and Lehane’s writing overall. The pages of this book just flew by last night and like most of his stories there are enough twists to keep you guessing as to what’s going on! As with every Lehane book. It’s a great read! So read it now and then compare it to the movie sequel which is bound to come!
Fragment – Warren Fahy
Book number 40 for 2010 is Warren Fahy’s debut novel Fragment A reality series SeaLife staring a group of scientists exploring the world’s oceans is floundering in the ratings. Nell Duckworth a botanist on the show knows they are passing a little know island in the Pacific Henders Island and hopes they will visit! Nell gets her wish when an emergency signal is received from a boat that had run aground on the island, so Nell got her wish and as they say be careful what you wish for. What they find on this island is evolution gone wild….species of animals the likes of which have never been seen in the world! It’s a world full of fast and furious species that kill just about everything….. It’s a wild ride based on sound science facts that make it truly believable and scary! The pages just flew by especially the last 100 pages!!
The cover says that the book is: “A rollicking tale [that] will enthrall readers of a Jurassic Park and The Ruins. from USA Today
And James Rollins (one of my favorite authors) says:
“Few debuts are a explosive as Warren Fahy’s Fragment, a story of evolutionary horror that leaps off the page and grabs your throat. Think Jurassic Park on steriods. This is one hell of a ride”
I agree and can’t wait for the sequel that Mr. Fahy is working on!! Now it’s on to the new Dennis Lehane! Oh remember I said that I’d be reading two books at once well since I couldn’t put Fragment down that ain’t happening!
Book 40 – Fragment – Warren Fahy
Book number 40 for 2010 is Warren Fahy’s debut novel Fragment A reality series SeaLife staring a group of scientists exploring the world’s oceans is floundering in the ratings. Nell Duckworth a botanist on the show knows they are passing a little know island in the Pacific Henders Island and hopes they will visit! Nell gets her wish when an emergency signal is received from a boat that had run aground on the island, so Nell got her wish and as they say be careful what you wish for. What they find on this island is evolution gone wild….species of animals the likes of which have never been seen in the world! It’s a world full of fast and furious species that kill just about everything….. It’s a wild ride based on sound science facts that make it truly believable and scary! The pages just flew by especially the last 100 pages!!
The cover says that the book is: “A rollicking tale [that] will enthrall readers of a Jurassic Park and The Ruins. from USA Today
And James Rollins (one of my favorite authors) says:
“Few debuts are a explosive as Warren Fahy’s Fragment, a story of evolutionary horror that leaps off the page and grabs your throat. Think Jurassic Park on steriods. This is one hell of a ride”
I agree and can’t wait for the sequel that Mr. Fahy is working on!! Now it’s on to the new Dennis Lehane! Oh remember I said that I’d be reading two books at once well since I couldn’t put Fragment down that ain’t happening!
Damaged – Alex Kava
Damaged – Alex Kava -(Maggie O’Dell # 8)
Damaged – Maggie O’Dell #8 – Alex Kava
Damaged is the eighth Alex Kava novel featuring FBI profiler Maggie O’Dell, and it’s another fast, compelling read. Like many of Kava’s thrillers, it weaves elements of real-world truth into the fiction — and in this case, it drops Maggie right into the eye of a hurricane.
The Story
When a sea chest containing dismembered body parts is pulled from the Gulf of Mexico, Maggie is sent to Pensacola, Florida, to investigate.
At the same time, Dr. Benjamin Platt is called to Pensacola to help determine why young soldiers are dying after otherwise successful surgeries to repair war injuries. Maggie first met Platt while being treated for Ebola exposure in Exposed, and now they have a tentative, evolving relationship.
Adding to the chaos, a Category 5 hurricane is bearing down on the Florida coast.
Among the standout characters here are:
- Liz Bailey, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer who recovers the chest.
- Walter Bailey, Liz’s father, whose Coney Island canteen is a fixture on Pensacola Beach.
Thoughts on the Series
I’ve been an Alex Kava fan since A Perfect Evil, Maggie O’Dell’s debut, and every book since has been solid. The last three before Damaged — Exposed, Black Friday, and now Damaged — have tackled a wide range of threats: biological terrorism, suicide bombers, and now the grisly mystery of dismembered bodies.
While reading the series in order adds depth to Maggie’s character development and relationships, each book works well as a standalone.
If you’re looking for a smart, fast-paced thriller, pick up Damaged — or grab any Maggie O’Dell novel and enjoy the ride.
Ice Cold – Tess Gerritsen
So I finished Book 37 for the year like I wrote early between naps and then staying up until 12:25! The book was Tess Gerritsen’s new novel Ice Cold. This is the eighth Rizzoli and Isles book and the first that appeared after the debut of the TV show that has been one of the biggest hits this summer! This book is a little different from some of the others in that there are no murders to solve, or serial killers to chase and it focuses on Maura. The novel opens with Maura attending a pathologist conference in Wyoming where she meets a colleague who went to college with and lusted for Maura from afar. Soon Maura is impulsively (not at all like her) on her way with the doctor and his friends and daughter. An accident on a mountain road leads them to a cult village Kingdom Come, where they find shelter and also find that all of the residents have vanished! Soon events transpire that will test Maura’s mettle and change her life forever! What happened to the residents and soon it becomes why are people trying to kill me!!
As always the characters are great, the pace of the book is fast and it keeps you guessing to the end what really happened! While the full development of the characters isn’t know until you read all of the books but you can probably pick this one up and read and enjoy it with having read the others.
One thing I noticed in the book that Maura’s hair is black not the color of Sasha Alexander’s hair in the TV series! But overall I think the TV series does a good job of translating the book to TV. Has anyone watched it?
