Zero, 4 stars on Amazon.com, Nov. 29, 2016 Matt Brolly combines the police procedural with a dystopian fiction novel in his latest book, Zero. The title stands for a Zero Tolerance policy to crime: no matter how minor the crime, no matter who the criminal is, the penalty is always death. Read more...
Dead Lucky (DCI Michael Lambert #2), 3 stars on Amazon.com, April 20, 2016 Dead Lucky is the follow up novel to Matt Brolly’s Dead Eyed, which was the first book in a series about DCI Michael Lambert, a British police detective with a number of personal demons, and a habit of catching cases involving sadistic serial killers. Read more...
Dorothy Daisy: A Fiona Gavelle Mystery, 3 stars on Amazon.com, Nov. 26, 2015. This is a light-hearted, at times humorous, book about a not overly-competent lawyer, struggling to get her practice off the ground while dealing with a peculiar client who needs her help to prepare a will. Read more...
Downstream, A Time Travel Story, 4 stars on Amazon.com, Sept. 30, 2015
While this is, according to the title, a novel about time-travelling, it is not really science fiction or fantasy. Instead, and much to my surprise, it is a very well-developed, sometimes funny, sometimes touching character study of a man in his mid-30's whose personal and professional lives are spiraling downhill. Read more...
While this is, according to the title, a novel about time-travelling, it is not really science fiction or fantasy. Instead, and much to my surprise, it is a very well-developed, sometimes funny, sometimes touching character study of a man in his mid-30's whose personal and professional lives are spiraling downhill. Read more...
The Mask of Anonymity: a Story of the American West, 2 stars on Amazon.com, Sept.13, 2015
Overall I would rate this book as fair to middling. It revolves around a mysterious man named Crockett, who travels around the Old West advertising justice for sale. Read more...
Overall I would rate this book as fair to middling. It revolves around a mysterious man named Crockett, who travels around the Old West advertising justice for sale. Read more...
Dead Eyed, 4 stars on Amazon.com, Sept. 6, 2015
Dead Eyed is the taut, well-written story of Michael Lambert, a British detective on the case of the Souljacker killer, a serial murderer who removes the eyes of his victims while carving an inscription in Latin on their chests, stating that the soul lives in the eyes. Read more...
Dead Eyed is the taut, well-written story of Michael Lambert, a British detective on the case of the Souljacker killer, a serial murderer who removes the eyes of his victims while carving an inscription in Latin on their chests, stating that the soul lives in the eyes. Read more...
Fire Wolf (Deneb #1), 5 stars on Amazon.com, June 17, 2015
Fire Wolf is set in Prehistoric times, and follows various Neanderthal clans in their struggles to survive against nature, and sometimes against each other. The first thing that draws me into a book is characters that I believe in and that move me, whether it’s to love them or hate them. Read more...
Fire Wolf is set in Prehistoric times, and follows various Neanderthal clans in their struggles to survive against nature, and sometimes against each other. The first thing that draws me into a book is characters that I believe in and that move me, whether it’s to love them or hate them. Read more...
She Kills (Titan's Song #1), 3 stars on Amazon.com, June 12, 2015
There are several good ideas in this book, but I don’t think they’re all brought out as well as they could be. The book deals with parallel worlds, and demons or beings that seem to be able travel between them. Read more...
There are several good ideas in this book, but I don’t think they’re all brought out as well as they could be. The book deals with parallel worlds, and demons or beings that seem to be able travel between them. Read more...
You're Not From Around Here, Are You? 3 stars on Amazon.com, May 29, 2015
She was constantly moving and growing as a person, until in her mid-seventies she can look back on a rich and eventful life. Sadly, and perhaps strangely, the story of her interesting life isn’t that interesting to read. Read more...
She was constantly moving and growing as a person, until in her mid-seventies she can look back on a rich and eventful life. Sadly, and perhaps strangely, the story of her interesting life isn’t that interesting to read. Read more...
Tallas, 4 stars on Amazon.com, May 18, 2015
Set in a dystopian future, sometime after the Final Days when much of civilization broke down, Tallas is the story of a family trying to break free from the grips of an authoritarian government. Read more...
Set in a dystopian future, sometime after the Final Days when much of civilization broke down, Tallas is the story of a family trying to break free from the grips of an authoritarian government. Read more...
Leaving Traces: Between Time and the Stars, 4 stars on Amazon.com, April 28, 2015
"Where their spirits end up is a place that is nowhere and between times, a place where from a mountaintop they can view the entire universe dance before them." Read more...
"Where their spirits end up is a place that is nowhere and between times, a place where from a mountaintop they can view the entire universe dance before them." Read more...
Bombed, 5 stars on Amazon.com, on April 19, 2015
Annie fronts a struggling indie rock band that plays mostly in tiny, rundown bars, in small towns like Moscow, Idaho, where much of this story takes place. Read more...
Annie fronts a struggling indie rock band that plays mostly in tiny, rundown bars, in small towns like Moscow, Idaho, where much of this story takes place. Read more...
Sheila: Baby's First Zombie Apocalypse, 4 stars on Amazon.com, on April 6, 2015
Brian Malbon doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel here, but he does give us a tight, and taut, little story about a handful of survivors of a zombie apocalypse trying to navigate their way through the streets of Toronto to safety on Ward's Island on the southern edge of the city. Read more...
Brian Malbon doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel here, but he does give us a tight, and taut, little story about a handful of survivors of a zombie apocalypse trying to navigate their way through the streets of Toronto to safety on Ward's Island on the southern edge of the city. Read more...
Clouds Over Planet X (The Cloud Brothers Book #3), 2 stars on Amazon.com, on February 28, 2015
This is the third book of a series and I didn’t read the first two, so I had to take this into account when reviewing it. Nevertheless, I had several problems with it that had nothing to do with knowing what happened before. The book is a bit of a crazy jumble of a story, that begins badly and ends well, but getting to that ending is not a pleasant journey. Read more...
This is the third book of a series and I didn’t read the first two, so I had to take this into account when reviewing it. Nevertheless, I had several problems with it that had nothing to do with knowing what happened before. The book is a bit of a crazy jumble of a story, that begins badly and ends well, but getting to that ending is not a pleasant journey. Read more...
Malevolent (Lieutenant Kane, Book #1), 4 stars on Amazon.com, on February 25, 2015
My first thought when I started to read this book was: "Oh great. Another book about a flawed but determined cop chasing after a twisted serial killer. Haven't read one of those recently." Read more...
My first thought when I started to read this book was: "Oh great. Another book about a flawed but determined cop chasing after a twisted serial killer. Haven't read one of those recently." Read more...
Dark Matter Tiding, 3 stars on Amazon.com, Jan. 31, 2015
While I generally enjoyed reading this book, what are presented as major plot lines didn't work for me. Read more...
While I generally enjoyed reading this book, what are presented as major plot lines didn't work for me. Read more...
Thane (Everknot Book #1), 4 stars on Amazon.com, Jan. 18, 2015
Thane tells the story of two teen-age step-brothers, Timothy and Robert, living in the fictional medieval land of Botan which has been invaded by their sworn enemies, the Huctans. The Huctans kidnap the two along with many other young men to use as soldier slaves in their army.Read more...
Thane tells the story of two teen-age step-brothers, Timothy and Robert, living in the fictional medieval land of Botan which has been invaded by their sworn enemies, the Huctans. The Huctans kidnap the two along with many other young men to use as soldier slaves in their army.Read more...
Olive Kitteridge, 5 stars on Amazon.com, Jan, 14, 2015
Sometimes the best books you read are the ones you know nothing about going in. Olive Kitteridge is one of those. Not so much a novel as it is a collection of 13 short stories set for the most part in the small town of Crosby, Maine. Read more...
Sometimes the best books you read are the ones you know nothing about going in. Olive Kitteridge is one of those. Not so much a novel as it is a collection of 13 short stories set for the most part in the small town of Crosby, Maine. Read more...
Pirates of Bollywood, 3 stars on Amazon.com, Jan. 4, 2015
While the author of Pirates of Bollywood is an expert in the field of intellectual property, in this novel he has the unenviable task of trying to make copyright law interesting to the average reader. Read more...
While the author of Pirates of Bollywood is an expert in the field of intellectual property, in this novel he has the unenviable task of trying to make copyright law interesting to the average reader. Read more...
SurviRal, 4 stars on Amazon.com, Jan.1 2015
SurviRal tells the story of the aftermath of a man-made flu pandemic, which infects and kills millions of people around the world. Read more...
SurviRal tells the story of the aftermath of a man-made flu pandemic, which infects and kills millions of people around the world. Read more...
Of Mice and Money, 5 stars on Amazon.com on Dec. 26, 2014
There is humour in the story, but it is also at times, serious, sentimental and even action-filled. It is also well-written, told in a sometimes sarcastic first person narration which keeps the story moving along and kept me engaged through-out. Read more...
There is humour in the story, but it is also at times, serious, sentimental and even action-filled. It is also well-written, told in a sometimes sarcastic first person narration which keeps the story moving along and kept me engaged through-out. Read more...
On The Road, 2 stars on Amazon.com, December 24, 2014
While I'd like to say I understand now what all the fuss was about, and how important this book was, especially for the generation that came of age in the 1950's, I can't. Read more...
While I'd like to say I understand now what all the fuss was about, and how important this book was, especially for the generation that came of age in the 1950's, I can't. Read more...
Fearsome Creatures, 4 stars on Amazon.com, December 12, 2014
The main theme of this collection is that the universe contains many varieties of fearsome creatures, great and small, that would gladly destroy humans if they got the chance. Read more...
The main theme of this collection is that the universe contains many varieties of fearsome creatures, great and small, that would gladly destroy humans if they got the chance. Read more...
The Hand That Feeds: a Horror Novel, 3 stars on Amazon.com, October 29, 2014
This is a zombie novel that tries to take an original approach to the genre, and succeeds only in part. Read more...
This is a zombie novel that tries to take an original approach to the genre, and succeeds only in part. Read more...
Breakers (Book #1), 4 stars on Amazon.com, October 16, 2014
This was a very enjoyable book. The story begins with a flu-like plague that decimates the earth's population, and this is followed-up with an invasion by aliens who had unleashed the disease in order to destroy our ability to defend ourselves. Read more...
This was a very enjoyable book. The story begins with a flu-like plague that decimates the earth's population, and this is followed-up with an invasion by aliens who had unleashed the disease in order to destroy our ability to defend ourselves. Read more...
Dominion, 4 stars on Amazon.com, August 23, 2914
All I was interested in, when I bought this book, was reading a good thriller based on an alternate version of what happened during World War II, and this is what I got. Read more...
All I was interested in, when I bought this book, was reading a good thriller based on an alternate version of what happened during World War II, and this is what I got. Read more...
Deadly Accounts, 4 stars on Amazon.com, July 18, 2014
Deadly Accounts is the first of what promises to be a series of books about FBI agent Nora Wexler. When she is first introduced we see that she is smart, beautiful and determined. Read more...
Deadly Accounts is the first of what promises to be a series of books about FBI agent Nora Wexler. When she is first introduced we see that she is smart, beautiful and determined. Read more...
People Like Us, 4 stars on Amazon.com, on July 13, 2014
On the other hand, if you want a richer, more satisfying reading experience, then you’ll definitely enjoy it. People Like Us could be called a character study, but it is more of a study of a number of characters. Read more...
On the other hand, if you want a richer, more satisfying reading experience, then you’ll definitely enjoy it. People Like Us could be called a character study, but it is more of a study of a number of characters. Read more...
Rescue One, 4 stars on Amazon.com, July 2, 2014
Rescue one is a solid action story about the crew of a small space ship that is charged to deliver a vaccine to a distant planet; of course, not everybody wants them to succeed on their mission. Read more...
Rescue one is a solid action story about the crew of a small space ship that is charged to deliver a vaccine to a distant planet; of course, not everybody wants them to succeed on their mission. Read more...
What Went Wrong With Oscar Toll? 5 stars on Amazon.com, June 24, 2014
Charles Bush has given us a riveting human drama about the desperate struggle to have a man’s undeserved death sentence commuted. His writing displays firsthand familiarity with the labyrinthine appeals process. Read More...
Charles Bush has given us a riveting human drama about the desperate struggle to have a man’s undeserved death sentence commuted. His writing displays firsthand familiarity with the labyrinthine appeals process. Read More...
Jake's Last Mission, 3 stars on Amazon.com, on June 24, 2014
Jake’s Last Mission is a sci-fi short story that has some interesting ideas, but doesn't quite succeed in fleshing them out or developing much excitement. Read more...
Jake’s Last Mission is a sci-fi short story that has some interesting ideas, but doesn't quite succeed in fleshing them out or developing much excitement. Read more...
Space Sushi, 4 stars on Amazon.com, on June 15, 2014
Space Sushi, R.L. Currell’s entry into the Futuristic in Nature anthology, is a simple, yet clever story about a food critic about to feast on an epicurean delight which might, if not cooked properly, kill him. Read more...
Space Sushi, R.L. Currell’s entry into the Futuristic in Nature anthology, is a simple, yet clever story about a food critic about to feast on an epicurean delight which might, if not cooked properly, kill him. Read more...
Through the Cotton Blooms, 3 stars on Amazon.com, on May 5, 20014
The book is a bit uneven, sometimes quite good, and sometimes only fair. One of the problems of telling a story from the point of view of one character is that the reader is given little insight into the thoughts and feelings of anyone else. Read more...
The book is a bit uneven, sometimes quite good, and sometimes only fair. One of the problems of telling a story from the point of view of one character is that the reader is given little insight into the thoughts and feelings of anyone else. Read more...
God's Memory, Part 2, 3 stars on Amazon.com, on May 3, 2014
About a third of the way through Part 2 I told myself that this is much better than Part 1, but that optimism soon died. The tense dialogue and clever verbal sparring between the characters soon devolves into long-winded speeches, which was the same problem that cursed Part 1. Read more...
About a third of the way through Part 2 I told myself that this is much better than Part 1, but that optimism soon died. The tense dialogue and clever verbal sparring between the characters soon devolves into long-winded speeches, which was the same problem that cursed Part 1. Read more...
God's Memory, Part 1, 3 stars on Amazon.com, on May 3, 2014
Part I of God's Memory centers around Zoe, a woman in her early twenties whose mother and step-father died in the September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City. Actually, Zoe would disagree with me, because she is certain that the destruction of the Twin Towers was an inside job by the US government, acting under the control of something called The Family, which is the kind of shadowy, behind the scenes power that one can often find in books about conspiracies. Read more...
Part I of God's Memory centers around Zoe, a woman in her early twenties whose mother and step-father died in the September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City. Actually, Zoe would disagree with me, because she is certain that the destruction of the Twin Towers was an inside job by the US government, acting under the control of something called The Family, which is the kind of shadowy, behind the scenes power that one can often find in books about conspiracies. Read more...
The Girl Who Sang With Whales, 5 stars on Amazon.com, April 29, 2014
The story takes place in a world dominated by the ocean. The people live on islands of varying sizes that are grouped into atolls. Every aspect of life, from religion, to language, to politics, to food, is intertwined with the World-Sea and the creatures that inhabit it. Read more...
The story takes place in a world dominated by the ocean. The people live on islands of varying sizes that are grouped into atolls. Every aspect of life, from religion, to language, to politics, to food, is intertwined with the World-Sea and the creatures that inhabit it. Read more...
Altered Egos, 4 stars on Amazon.com, on April 15, 2014 While none of the stories are terrible, a couple are pretty average, while some others are very good indeed. Read more...
My Life as a Fake, 4 stars on Amazon.com, on April 13, 2014
This is one of those books that can leave a reader quite dissatisfied, or thoroughly captivated, depending on what one was expecting. I landed somewhere in between the two extremes. Read more...
This is one of those books that can leave a reader quite dissatisfied, or thoroughly captivated, depending on what one was expecting. I landed somewhere in between the two extremes. Read more...
Dark Space (Rogue Hunter), 4 stars on Amazon.com, on April 2, 2014
It’s full of great tough guy dialogue spouted by macho characters, including the many women on the ship who are just as tough, if not tougher, than their male counterparts. Read more...
It’s full of great tough guy dialogue spouted by macho characters, including the many women on the ship who are just as tough, if not tougher, than their male counterparts. Read more...
Deadly Secrets, 3 stars on Amazon.com, on March 28, 2014
This book is neither great nor terrible. It is a biological thriller that has a fairly interesting plot, but one that seems to be put together from many other books. Read more...
This book is neither great nor terrible. It is a biological thriller that has a fairly interesting plot, but one that seems to be put together from many other books. Read more...
The Troop, 4 stars on Amazon.com, on March 21, 2014
The Troop is the creepy, with gusts to downright gross, story of this small group that is infected by whatever has gotten into this strange man. Read More...
The Troop is the creepy, with gusts to downright gross, story of this small group that is infected by whatever has gotten into this strange man. Read More...
11/22/63, 5 stars on Amazon.com, on March 13, 2014
I grew up a huge Stephen King fan, reading pretty much everything he wrote; but that was back when he stuck to his great horror novels. Read more...
I grew up a huge Stephen King fan, reading pretty much everything he wrote; but that was back when he stuck to his great horror novels. Read more...
The Angel's Covenant, 3 stars on Amazon.com, on February 26, 2014
I received a free copy of this book for an honest review. But reviewing this book was not so easy, because while there were a lot of good things in it, there were also several issues that took away from the enjoyment of reading it. Read more...
I received a free copy of this book for an honest review. But reviewing this book was not so easy, because while there were a lot of good things in it, there were also several issues that took away from the enjoyment of reading it. Read more...
The Purpose of a Man, 5 stars on Amazon.com, February 15, 2014
Rather, this well-written book is a small but poignant tale about some very realistic characters living in the market town of Ormskirk, in England; the poignancy coming precisely because the characters in the book could be any twenty or thirty-somethings we might have known, if not ourselves. Read more...
Rather, this well-written book is a small but poignant tale about some very realistic characters living in the market town of Ormskirk, in England; the poignancy coming precisely because the characters in the book could be any twenty or thirty-somethings we might have known, if not ourselves. Read more...
Closure, 4 stars on Amazon.com, February 9, 2014
Author Quartley has written a gripping novel, spinning a complex web of deceit that keeps the police, and the reader, guessing. Read more...
Author Quartley has written a gripping novel, spinning a complex web of deceit that keeps the police, and the reader, guessing. Read more...
The World Until Yesterday, 4 stars on Amazon.com, February 8, 2014
When I first read Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel I was delighted to discover his original, yet accessible, take on the historical processes which formed much of our present-day world. Read more...
When I first read Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel I was delighted to discover his original, yet accessible, take on the historical processes which formed much of our present-day world. Read more...
Catch-22, 5 stars on Amazon.com, February 4, 2014.
Reading an acknowledged classic like Catch-22 for the first time I approached it with what I thought was a certain familiarity with the subject matter, only to find myself surprised at how little of what went into the book I actually knew.
Read more...
Reading an acknowledged classic like Catch-22 for the first time I approached it with what I thought was a certain familiarity with the subject matter, only to find myself surprised at how little of what went into the book I actually knew.
Read more...
Strangers Are Just Friends You Haven't Killed Yet, 4 stars on Amazon.com, January 13, 2014.
It is a rare experience to read a book that is as original, both in the style(s) in which it was written, as well as in the telling of its story, as this one. Read more...
It is a rare experience to read a book that is as original, both in the style(s) in which it was written, as well as in the telling of its story, as this one. Read more...
The Sisters Brothers, 4 stars on Amazon.com, January 4, 2014.
In this off-beat Western two brothers, Eli and Charlie Sisters, are hired to kill, Herman Kermit Warm, a man who may have stolen some money from their ruthless boss, although they don’t worry too much about the reason they have to kill him. Read more...
In this off-beat Western two brothers, Eli and Charlie Sisters, are hired to kill, Herman Kermit Warm, a man who may have stolen some money from their ruthless boss, although they don’t worry too much about the reason they have to kill him. Read more...
Saints of the Shadow Bible, 5 stars on Amazon.com, January 3, 2014.
Author Ian Rankin knows that fans, old and new, can't get enough of the cantankerous, hard-drinking, rogue detective, who plays by his own rules no matter the damage it does to his personal or professional life. Read more...
Author Ian Rankin knows that fans, old and new, can't get enough of the cantankerous, hard-drinking, rogue detective, who plays by his own rules no matter the damage it does to his personal or professional life. Read more...
The Dinner, 4 stars on Amazon.com, December 29, 2013
Before I bought this book I read some of the many reviews that were written for it, and was surprised at how many people absolutely loved it, and how many vehemently hated it. Read more...
Before I bought this book I read some of the many reviews that were written for it, and was surprised at how many people absolutely loved it, and how many vehemently hated it. Read more...
The Tragedy of Fidel Castro, 4 stars on Amazon.com, December 19, 2013
Joao Cerqueria’s The Tragedy of Fidel Castro is at times cynical, at times hopeful, always satirical and never boring. In this book he recounts a fictionalized confrontation between the forces of Communism and the free world. Read more...
Joao Cerqueria’s The Tragedy of Fidel Castro is at times cynical, at times hopeful, always satirical and never boring. In this book he recounts a fictionalized confrontation between the forces of Communism and the free world. Read more...
Excess: The Art of Treason, 3 starts on Amazon.com, December 13, 2013
Most thrillers are, if their plots are analyzed closely, not very believable. They overcome their inherent weaknesses by being fast-paced, moving forward so quickly, and so inexorably, that the reader has little time to question the logic or the realism behind various plot developments. Read more...
Most thrillers are, if their plots are analyzed closely, not very believable. They overcome their inherent weaknesses by being fast-paced, moving forward so quickly, and so inexorably, that the reader has little time to question the logic or the realism behind various plot developments. Read more...
The Bastion, 1 star on Amazon.com, November 18, 2013
There are times where a reader can overlook the occasional typo to enjoy a book anyway. This isn’t one of those times. Read more...
There are times where a reader can overlook the occasional typo to enjoy a book anyway. This isn’t one of those times. Read more...
Ghost Earthquake, 2 stars on Amazon.com, November 12 2013
Reading Ghost Earthquake is a bit like reading an idea for a Twilight Zone episode that was thrown away because nobody felt like developing either the story or the characters. Read more...
Reading Ghost Earthquake is a bit like reading an idea for a Twilight Zone episode that was thrown away because nobody felt like developing either the story or the characters. Read more...
Sweet Tooth, 4 stars on Amazon.com, November 10, 2013
When is a spy novel not a spy novel? When it’s in the hands of the excellent Ian McEwen, who uses his prodigious writing skill to give us a literary, and very literate, tale of love and betrayal in early 1970s England. Read more...
When is a spy novel not a spy novel? When it’s in the hands of the excellent Ian McEwen, who uses his prodigious writing skill to give us a literary, and very literate, tale of love and betrayal in early 1970s England. Read more...
The Unknown Neighbor, 1 star on Amazon.com, October 26, 2013
I know how much work goes into writing a book, whether it's a thousand-page epic, or a short thriller like this book is intended to be, so I've always hesitated to criticize another's work too harshly. Read more...
I know how much work goes into writing a book, whether it's a thousand-page epic, or a short thriller like this book is intended to be, so I've always hesitated to criticize another's work too harshly. Read more...
Among the Missing, 5 stars on Amazon.com, October 22, 2013
Among the Missing is a collection of twelve simple tales about everyday people, most of whom are somehow broken on the inside.Read more...
Among the Missing is a collection of twelve simple tales about everyday people, most of whom are somehow broken on the inside.Read more...
The Great Promise, 3 stars on Amazon.com, October 14, 2013
The Great Promise is a misleading title because there is little that is great, either in the "promise" of the title or in the book itself. Read more...
The Great Promise is a misleading title because there is little that is great, either in the "promise" of the title or in the book itself. Read more...
The Gestalt Man, 2 stars on Amazon.com, October 9, 2013
The Gestalt Man is a murder mystery where the main character, FBI agent Michael Jenk, suffers from a multiple personality disorder. Read more...
The Gestalt Man is a murder mystery where the main character, FBI agent Michael Jenk, suffers from a multiple personality disorder. Read more...
Feast Day of Fools (Holland #3), 4 stars on Amazon.com, September 14, 2013
I had never heard of James Lee Burke until I came across Feast Day of Fools in a used book store. Considering that this was the thirtieth novel in a long and highly successful writing career, I'm not entirely sure how I'd missed Mr. Burke all this time.
Read more...
I had never heard of James Lee Burke until I came across Feast Day of Fools in a used book store. Considering that this was the thirtieth novel in a long and highly successful writing career, I'm not entirely sure how I'd missed Mr. Burke all this time.
Read more...