Category: Move Books

Missing You by Harlan Coben – Journeys into the Past are necessary and often painful!

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Missing YouWhen NYPD Detective Kat Donovan sends her ex-fiancée Jeff Raynes “Their Video” on the dating site  You are just my type.com and his response is “It’s Cute”, Kat doesn’t understand his response.

Eighteen years earlier, before he dumped her and left town, their love was real and magical. Sure his dating site biography says he is a widower, but should his response be that lame?

Well, he just wants to move on thinks Kat and so does Kat.  She has more important things to do too, her father’s murderer is dying and she needs to visit one more time before he dies.  When she does the hit man who killed her father, once again proclaims his innocence.

Soon the son of a woman who has gone from her Connecticut home visits Kat in hopes that she will help him find his mother. Why thinks Kat- because the man she ran away with is none other than Jeff Raynes!  So begins Kat’s quest in Harlan Coben‘s latest  Missing You!. Maybe I should say quests because Kat needs to know what happened on the night of her father’s murder, along with what happened to Dana Phelps, the missing Connecticut woman and Brandon’s mother along with the reason that Jeff ran out on her with no explanation.  None of the quests are free from potential pain to those involved!!

So once again Harlan Coben builds  great story around a simple action i.e. a friend signs you up for an on-line dating service and the first time you go in you find an old love. How will he or she react?  Is it better to leave the past behind??? This time throws a potential danger in getting carried away by an on-line dating service!! The book is Harlan Coben at his best and is one of the few books that I couldn’t put down this year!! When I found the book in the library I had a few days previously checked out two other books. I thought no I’ll just wait and read it later. Then I thought, no it’s Harlan Coben, it will go fast and it will be great! I was right on both counts.

This is book 19 for 2014 – if I can finish to more before the end of the month I’ll be averaging 3 books a month and that will be a great recovery considering the way that the year started!! It is also the 19th Harlan Coben book that is one my Goodreads bookshelf and they all are good reads!!!

Will Trent Collides with Grant Co in Unseen – by Karin Slaughter (Will Trent #7)

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Will Trent in Unseen by Karin Slaughter

September was a slow reading month (I listened to more music than mysteries. However, I’ve still been reading and yesterday finally finished Book 30 for the year Karin Slaughter’s latest Will Trent book Unseen.

Unseen is the seventh book in the Will Trent series couple that with the six books in the Grant County series and that makes a total of thirteen great books by Karin Slaughter!!

 

The Story

In  Unseen the  Grant County series and the Will Trent series continue their collision course, as Sara Litton and Lena Adams, come face to face for the first time since the surprising conclusion to the final book in the Grant County series. Beyond Reach.

The story opens with a deadly attack on Lena and her husband Jared in their Macon Georgia home. . Lena takes out two of the assailants and is stopped short of taking out a third by Wiil Trent a Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) agent working undercover in Macon. Jared is Sara’s stepson so she quickly heads to Macon at the request of Nell  Jared’s mother. Soon the lives of Sara, Will and Lena are entwining and creating havoc in all their lives!  The action careens through flashbacks from present events to a failed drug bust that Lena had headed!!

Final Thoughts

As always the story functions on two levels first on the events that occurred prior to and after the drug bust and the attack on Lena and Jared,and on the second level how the events affect the lives of Sara, Will and Lena. The case nearly destroy Will and Sara’s relationship, and forces both Lena and Sara to relive a period of their lives, that they would both rather forget!

Now the question is whether you can read this novel without having read any of Slaughter’s other works. Yes, you can but I don’t think you’ll enjoy it as much as you would if you had read Beyond Reach, So if you are new to Karin’s work do yourself a favor and read that one first. But at a minimum read at least one, then you’ll only have twelve more to go!!

Links

Author’s Website
Facebook
Save the Libraries
Amazon
Goodreads

About Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter (born January 6, 1971) is an American crime writer. She has written 25 novels, which have sold more than 40 million copies and have been published in 120 countries. Her first novel, Blindsighted (2001), was published in 27 language and made the Crime Writers’ Association’s Dagger Award shortlist for “Best Thriller Debut” of 2001. Wikipedia

 

Visit Karin Slaughter Page

Breaking Point – C.J. Box – Joe Pickett # 13

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Breaking Point- C.J. Box

Book 25 for the year is Breaking Point, the 13 the in C.J.Box’s great series and it’s another good one. I had checked the book out a couple of weeks ago, but I got immersed in two other books and it sat on the shelf. Finally, a few nights ago I picked it up and I don’t think I set it down until I was done! Box can really tell a story with believable characters and suspense that doesn’t let up!

The Story

This story revolves around Butch and Pam Roberson, whose daughter Hannah is best friends with Joe’s daughter Lucy. Butch and Pam set out to build their dream house only to be sited by the EPA for illegally filling wetands, after a year-long battle and skyrocketing fines, two EPA agents set out from the Denver office to deliver a compliance letter to the Robersons, only to end up dead on the Robeson’s property and Butch is the only suspect!! Soon there is a manhunt of epic proportions for Butch who has taken flight to the rugged woods and mountains that surround his home. Joe’s official job is to lead the group chasing Butch, but Joe’s real job to save Butch’s life so he can find out the true story about what happened!!

My Thoughts

While the action and suspense was non-stop and I devoured the book super quickly, I did think that the portrayal of the EPA both from a compliance standpoint and the manhunt was a little over the top. As a wetlands delineator and having dealt with NJDEP for the last 25 years, I thought the whole EPA issue could have been handled quickly. But then again considering the other case The Sacketts cited in the book and the premise of this book is taken from a true story maybe not!! Either way the book is a fantastic read, so check it out!

Comparing Joe Picket to Cork O’Connor

Joe Pickett is one of my favorite characters. He reminds me a lot of Cork O’Connor in William Kent Krueger’s books. Both have been in law enforcement Joe is a Game Warden and Cork an ex-sheriff. Both are good honest men with families. Joe has a wife Marybeth, two natural daughters and one foster daughter. While Cork has two daughters and a son. Both have trusted friends that help them.  Joe’s friend Nate (who makes a small appearance in this book) /Romanowski is just a tad (said with heavy sarcasm) more violent than Cork’s spiritual guide Henry Meloux! Throughout both series the well-developed characters have evolved, the children have grown up,  the families have dealt with typical family problems, and both men have dealt with the gray areas involved in their pursuit of justice!

While I don’t think that you necessarily need to read the earlier books to enjoy this one, I think that once you read it you’ll want to find out more about Joe and his friends, particularly Nate,  Joe’s mother-in-law Missy and Joe’s problems with his vehicles!!! Enjoy!!

Say You’re Sorry by Michael Robotham – Buckle Up!

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The first Michael Robotham book I read was Suspect. I was introduced to one of the best characters in the mystery-thriller genre Joe O’Loughlin, who not only battles wits against the bad guys but also battles Parkinson’s disease. Since that first books I’ve followed all of Joe’s adventures and Book 37 of 2012 Say You’re Sorry  is the fifth book in the series that just keeps getting better.

Recently Michael was named as one of the Top 100 most Influential People in Sydney. and Michael wrote, “I’ve been named among the 100 most influential people in Sydney. I’m not even the most influential person in my house. My daughters think it’s hilarious.”

The Story

n this installment while in Oxford to give a conference speech, Joe is enlisted by the police to aid in a double murder a man and woman have been brutally murdered in their farm-house. Soon the body of a missing girl Tash McBain is found frozen in a lake not far from the farmhouse. Tash is one of two missing teenagers known as The Bingham Girls. Tash and Piper Hadley went missing three years earlier. The farmhouse where the murders occurred was her former home!! Soon joe and his friend former police detective Victor Ruiz join the hunt for Piper before it’s too late!!

Along the way the story of their disappearance is told through Joe’s investigation and the writing of Piper.

Final Thoughts

Once again Robotham’s characters are great. Joe moves through the story battling his personal problems and his family problems which includes a separation from his wife, that was the result of a former casThe book is a fast paced fun book to read, I enjoy Robotham’s writing as much as any of the authors that I read!

Stephen King included Say You’re Sorry among his :2012 Best Books of the Year: Stephen King Lists His Favorite Reads of 2012

So check out his work, you won’t be sorry!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Stay Close – Harlan Coben

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Ray Levine an ex-photojournalist, who has now fallen so far that he is taking pictures as a fake paparazzi. Ray visits the same abandoned iron mill in the New Jersey Pines every year on February 18th. On that date, seventeen years earlier his life came crashing down, when his girlfriend found an abusive customer, Stewart Green, who she knew from the strip club  where she worked, lying in a pool of blood along the path that Ray was now walking. She ran to protect herself – to protect Ray.

 

Megan Pierce was that girlfriend,back then she was “Cassie”, now she is a mother two living the suburban life, with a loving husband and two children, with a wanderlust for the “old life”. When the old bartender at the club appears and tells her she may have seen the old customer alive, and another man goes missing on the same day as Stewart Green, Megan is drawn back to Atlantic City to try to help the police solve the case. The detective on the case is Broome, he has been haunted by the case since it happened, wanting to help the widow Green find closure. All three are drawn into the story woven from the mind of Harlan Coben in his latest novel Stay Close , book number 26 for 2012! Like most of Coben’s books this one is a page turner, the characters are well drawn and are three people living lives they never wanted, hiding secrets that even the closest to them would never suspect.

Coben writes with wit and irony, and his flair for exposing the frail balance point between order and chaos in our lives has never been stronger than in this suspenseful outing.- Publishers Weekly

Here is an interview from the Today Show with Al Roker and Harlan discussing Stay Close. The best news from this clip is that Harlan is working on adaptations of  both Tell No One and Stay Close. I can’t wait. If you’ve never read Harlan Coben, this is a good one to start with, actually, any of his books are great reads!!

 

 

The Moses Expedition – Juan Gomez-Jurado

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Book 23 of 2012, is on of the books that I picked up in Williamsburg several weeks ago, The Moses Expedition by Juan Gomez-Jurado.

 From the book cover of the book:

After fifty years in hiding, the Nazi war criminal known as the Butcher of Spiegelgrund has finally been found, and with him the candle covered filigree gold that was stolen from a Jewish family. But it isn’t the gold that Father Anthony Fowler,a C.I.A. operative and the Vatican’s secret service, is seeking. As he holds the flame to wax, the candle unveils the missing fragment of an ancient map that reveals the location of the Ten Commandments tablets.

Soon Father Fowler is part of a mission financed by a recluse American billionaire to the desert of Jordan to discover the tablets. Accompanying him is journalist Andrea Otero, whose life Fowler saved in Gomez-Jurardo’s  début novel God’s Spy. But not everybody wants the tablets found, including a terrorist group whose leader is hidden within the members of the mission, waiting for the moment to strike!

Juan Gomez-Jurado’s work has been published in more than forty countries and while this is my first of his books I’ve read, it will not be the last. It was a page turner for me. I enjoyed the characters and the history woven into the story. I think I would have prefered to have started with God’s Spy just to know the history between Father Fowler and Otero, but I will go back and catch-up before moving on to Gomez-Jurado’s latest The Traitor’s Emblem. Here’s what some others have to say about the book:

“A true masterpiece. A brilliant thriller-sharp, suspenseful, and engrossing” – Brad Thor

“Settle back and savor this perfect piece of entertainment” – Steve Berry.

“A perfectly balanced, fast-paced, and compiling thriller” – Booklist, starred review

So check it out! As for me, I’ve moved on to Book 24 of 2012 – Bleed For Me – from Michael Robotham! (I’m almost back to 3 books per month!)

Feast Day of Fools – James Lee Burke

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Feast Day of Fools - Ja,mes Lee Burke Cover

Book 12 for 2012 Feast Day of Fools is book three in another of Burke’s series featuring Hackberry Holland,  and I must say that this series is just as good,  if not better than the Robicheaux

Looking back through my Goodreads.com bookshelf,  I see that I read my first James Lee Burke book, The Neon Rain and was introduced to the world of Dave Robicheaux in 1990!

Now 22 years and 17 books later, I still can’t wait for the next book Creole Belle which is due out in July! In the meantime, I figured I’d read a book from Burke’s Hackberry Holland  series!

Hackberry Holland first appeared in Burke’s 1971’s Lay Down My Sword and Shield and didn’t appear again until the release of Rain Gods last year! Holland is the sheriff in a small southern Texas border town and in this book he faces some pretty nasty villains!

 The Synopsis from Burke’s website:

When alcoholic ex-boxer Danny Boy Lorca witnesses a man tortured to death in the desert and reports it, Hack’s investigation to the home of Anton Ling, a regal, mysterious Chinese woman whom the locals refer to as La Magdalena and who is known for sheltering illegals. Ling denies having seen the victims or perpetrators, but there is something in her steely demeanor and aristocratic beauty that compels Hackberry to return to her home again and again as the investigation unfolds. Could it be that the Sheriff is so taken in by this creature who reminds him of his deceased wife, that he would ignore the possibility that she is just as dangerous as the men she harbors?

Danny Boy Lorca is only one of the many memorial character in a book that is loaded with them. Others include a Mexican named Krill. and his comparde Negrito, Reverand Cody Daniels,  an evil Russian mobster, but perhaps the most memorial one is Preacher Jack Collins, Holland’s nemesis in Rain Gods. Collins was thought to be dead  at the end of Rain Gods, but he is far from dead and he and his Thompson machine gun rip it up in this book. It seems that the majority of characters including Hack are flawed, and they are haunted by their past, as they battle for the future!  Overall, this is one of the best books that I’ve read in a long time!!

Again from Burke’s website!

 Praised by Joyce Carol Oates for “the luminosity of his writerly voice” James Lee Burke returns with his most allegorical novel to date, illuminating vital issues of our time—immigration, energy, religious freedom—with the rich atmosphere and devastatingly flawed, authentic characters that readers have come to celebrate during the five decades of his brilliant career.

If you’ve never read a James Lee Burke book this is a great place to start and if you do read it,  I know you’ll be back for more!!!

 

The Genesis Secret – Tom Knox

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The Genesis Secret-Tom Knox

 According to his website, Tom Knox became intrigued with the Turkish archeological site Gobekli Tepe several years ago. The site which is over 10,000 years old just felt like the basis for a good historical thriller only problem was Knox did not write thrillers at the time.

When his finacial situation changed, he returned to the idea and after a couple of years of hard work The Genesis Secret was born. I picked up the book at last fall’s book sale at the Cinnaminson Library and it’s Book 7 of 2012 and it was a good one!

As frequent readers may know, one of my favorite types of books are ones with an historical basis, like  The DaVinci Code or James Rollins and Steve Berry books. The setting of this book is Gobekli Tepe: The World’s First Temple?  

The Story

Rob Luttell is a journalist who recently survived an attack by a suicide bomber in Iraq is given a cake assignment to visit Gobekli Tepe, take a few pictures, and write a fluff piece. But the fluff piece soon turns deadly, as the leader of the dig is killed.

Soon Rob and Christine a compatriot of the leader of the dig are on a quest to figure out what happened.  Meanwhile, a second story is unraveling in England as Scotland Yard detective D C Forrester is trying to solve a series of brutal, sadistic murders across England that seemed to be tied to the Hellfire Club.

My Thoughts

I must say that I was not in love with the first half of the book, but as the stories started to blend, and the action picked up (some of it very grizzly and graphic) I became entrawled and couldn’t wait to find out the Genesis Secret.  And when the Secret was finally unraveled it really gives the reader something to think about!!

After finishing the book, I went to Knox’s website and read about all the aspects of the book that are true,  including all of the graphic and grizzly stuff. So if you enjoy historical basis and aren’t put off by graphic violence you’ll enjoy this book! As for me I’ll be on the look out for more books by Knox!

 

The Accident – Linwood Barclay

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So Book 29 of 2011 is Linwood Barclay‘s latest thriller The Accident

 Comfy chair? Drinks? Snacks? Good lighting? Excellent! ‘Cause you’re not going to be getting up or stopping once you dive into Linwood Barclay’s latest release – The Accident. – Luanne Ollivier on Goodreads.com

Sheila and Glen Garber are your typical middle class couple. living in Milford, Connecticut.  Glen owns a construction company and Sheila has lost her job and  is taking an accounting course so that she can help out in the business. They have one daughter eight year old Kelly. Like most families and small business’ they’re going through a rough patch. The Garbers are not alone most of their friends are in the same boat. One Ann Slocum has started selling knock-off purses at “Purse Parties”. One night Sheila is late coming back from class so Glen goes to look for her. There”s a major accident a drunk driver drove up the on ramp on the expressawy and fell asleep the car was hit by another car The accident killed the driver as well as the driver and child in the other car. The drunk driver was Sheila! Soon Glen’s life, Kelly’s life and the lives of all those around him are falling apart. As Glen tries to figure out what happened why was Sheila drinking he also has to deal with Kelly’s problems at school and the problems of friends and neighbors.

The book like most of Barclay’s books was riveting and fast paced and throughout last nigh’ts Phillies game I couldn’t put it down! I love Barclay’s books because the stories always revolve around everyday people facing REALLY big problems! I enjoy the characters and the twisting plot, that most times was written in the first person, with Glen as the narrator and at other times when it was necessary it Barclay switch to the third person. So if you like Harlan Coben try Linwood Barclay!

Here’s the offical trailer for The Accident ]

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Weekend: Running and Reading! Book 28 They’re Watching – Greg Hurwitz

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So here is the me part of the weekend….. it started Sunday morning when I was going to go for a run. Opps! Forgot to put the running shoes in the clothes bag! I was a little frustrated but Kathy said go buy some shoes! So I headed over to Target and bought some cheap running shoes, figuring I could use the later for everyday and save running shoes for running! So on my way back I decided to check out the course that I had created through the residential neighborhood near our motel. Ah, the maps on Runners World are flat, but I forgot that we were in the rolling hills of Northern Viriginia not flat New Jersey! The course had some major climbs in it but I said let’s go for it! So I took off taking it slow. I forgot how hard it is to go up and then down several times in during a run. Anyway I modified the 4 mile run a little and it ended up being a 3.6 mile run instead completed in 35:57. But as I approached the end of the run I told myself that 3.6 miles with several hills is equal to at least 4.5 miles maybe 5!! Here’s the route. Check out the elevation part!!

The day ended at about 12:20 as I finished Book 28 for 2011 They’re Watching by Greg Hurwitz. Hurwitz is one of those authors whose books I pick up and enjoy every now and then and this one is no exception! This was a real page turner!

The story starts when Patrick Davis a high school teacher and would be screenwriter sells a script. But on the movie set he is religated to babysitting the star Keith Connor. The babysitting ends badly when Connor slams his face into a table and then tells everyone that Patrick did it! Davis was thrown off the set and sued by the movie studio. So Davis slinks home finds a new job teaching screenwriting and attempts to put his life back together and then it starts.

One day he finds a DVD in the entertainment section of the newspaper the video is of him! They’re Watching! Who are they and what do they want? Soon Davis’ life is more of a mess as he is drawn in situation after situation that only get worse and worse!! And as the reader your pulled into the mess and hope somehow he can get out!!

The book is well plotted with many a twist and turn! Writing the book in the first person, I think, makes you pull for Patrick even more! Like I said the book is really engrossing is tough to put down! (See above for the time I finished the book) As I look over at my TBR shelf I see another Hurwitz book Trust No One Maybe its time has come??…. Still to come a visit to DC and An Evening with Tom Russell!