Book #42

Paskagankee by Allan Leverone
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I had a hard time finishing this one. I read about half of it and put it down for a couple of weeks, started another book, took a long time to read it and finally picked this one back up and finished it. I'm not sure if I was just in a reading slump or if I picked some books that were just not very good.

So, first for what I liked about this book. I really liked the plot. The story. The Indian legend that the crimes were based on and the way the the crimes ended and were resolved.

And what I didn't like about the book. I was a little disappointed with the dialogue in the book. It sounded stilted, stiff and a bit amateurish. I hated the love story component. It was too quick and unbelievable. I think the characters (and author) would have been better served by letting the relationship develop for awhile before jumping in. This is the first in a series so jumping in to the relationship was premature.

Not sure if I'll read book #2.


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Book #41

Finally!

Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I think I might be in the minority when I say I didn't love this book, but I didn't love this book. I despised the two main characters. I kept trying to find something about Nick and Amy to love, or even to like, or just something to tolerate. And I found NOTHING! Nothing about either character. The book would have gotten one star if not for the story. The story was interesting and the bit players were likable. Go was a twin sister who just wanted to believe in her brother but was caught up in the evidence. Boney was a good cop in a small town who also wanted to believe in Nick. Amy's parents were just plain weird. This book took me forever to read too. I just got bogged down in it. The story was interesting, but I just didn't really care how it ended since I didn't like the main characters. Wouldn't recommend this one to anyone.


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Book #40

Initiation by Imogen Rose
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This was an okay book but I was sorta disappointed. I always enjoy the Young Adult books set at boarding schools. I wonder why that is? No idea really, but it's a setting I liked. It was hard to figure out if the main character was supposed to be Faustine or Cordelia. This was listed as the 1st in the Bonfire Academy series but it seemed that there were some things that I never quite understood. Then I see there's a book called Faustine but it's #1 in the Bonfire Chronicles. Kinda pisses me off that now I've read this book and there was a previous book that probably should have been read first. So there are two series with some of the same characters? Confusing and not sure if it's worth my while to continue with either series.


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#39

Catch Me : A Detective DD Warren by Lisa Gardner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I figured it out too soon. That always disappoints me just a little. Otherwise, this was a good read. Easy and quick. Not too involved. Some brutal subject matter but it's another good outing for DD and company. Enjoyed the moments with her family.

Detective DD Warren is investigating a murder when she finds a note on her car and catches a glimpse of a person lurking around the crime scene. When she confronts the woman, Charlene Rosalind Carter Grant tells her a story unlike anything she's ever heard. Charlie believes that she will be murdered on January 21 at 8pm. You see for the past two years her best friends have been murdered on that date at that time and she knows she's next.


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Book #38

Insurgent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Second book in the Divergent series and it explained a great deal about the factions. The fighting and the war that takes place in this book is again brutal. The manipulation that Jeannine perpetrates is appalling. The romance between Four and Tris was just about right. The family story was phenomenal. I enjoyed then ending and can't wait to read the next book to find out even more.


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Book #37

Shock Wave by John Sandford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Read this one while I was at the beach. Didn't take the time to do the review. Oh boy, why do I do that? I love John Sandford. The Lucas Davenport Prey series is one of the best series out there and is a must read for me. Virgil Flowers had made some appearances there and he's a great character. This series is almost as good.
There's a huge mega store coming to town and not everybody is happy. There are the towns people who are probably going to go bankrupt and lose their businesses. There are the fishing enthusiasts who are worried about the run off ruining a great river. The politicians who seem to have taken bribes to change votes and approve the big store. And somewhere among all those folks is a bomber who is intent on stopping the store from being built and killing a few bystanders. Virgil Flowers gets the call on his day off and travels to another small Minnesota town to help the local Sheriff solve the crimes. There are some good twists and turns. Some good suspects who get cleared. And of course Virgil gets his guy.


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Book #34

She Who Hunts by C.L. Parks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Tenna Massey is a Demon Hunter. In fact she's the fulfillment of a prophesy and is know among the Family as the Dark Slayer. Her mother and father were Hunters and were killed when she was a young child. Instead of the Family taking her in to care for her she was let go into the foster care system. She hasn't forgiven them. Now she's an adult and her husband is possessed by a Demon and trying his best to kill her. Will she fulfill the prophesy and be the Dark Slayer or will she run and hide?

I really liked the story line of this book and am anxious to learn more about the back story. More details about Tenna's mom and dad, more about the Family, the prophesy, and what came before. Or did I miss a previous book?

A couple of things bothered me in the book. At the beginning Tenna speaks of her dad's best friend who should have raised her and calls him Virgil. Later in the book his name is Nigel? or is Nigel someone else entirely and we just don't hear anymore about Virgil? Another thing that got under my skin was the excessive use of 'giggle'. Someone was always giggling. Tenna, Claire, Jason and Russell the big bad men were giggling. Too much. I was also aggravated by the description of everyone who was talking on the phone with Tenna moving the phone. Enough of this description. Maybe a little more editing would have been welcomed. Am I being too picky? I don't know the answer, but little things like that bother me when I'm reading and make me less likely to read another book by the author.



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Book #33 of 2012

The Devil's Bones by Jefferson Bass
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the third book in the Body Farm series by the writing team of Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass. This book has 3 mysteries/problems happening. #1 Mary Latham's body is found in a burned out car on her family's farm outside of Knoxville. #2 Dr. Brockton's defense attorney "Grease" asks him to check out the cremains of his Aunt. #3 Garland Hamilton escapes form prison.

#1 -- Seemed to be almost an afterthought. This mystery wasn't the 'biggie' in this book, but was interesting to get the answer to how the fire was set while the suspect was 7 hours away.

#2 -- This story line was definitely based on the real life crematory mess that happened in North Georgia several years ago. My favorite part of this book, but wish Dr. Brockton had been more involved.

#3 -- I'm over the Garland Hamilton mess and am glad this is resolved in this installment.

There seemed to be a few loose ends that weren't tied up to suit me, but perhaps that'll happen in the next book. I want more of Art in the books and I enjoy the peeks into Dr. Brockton's family.


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Book #31 of 2012

Birdman by Mo Hayder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book in the Jack Caffrey series and boy does it pack a wollop. It's a mystery/thriller, but I would also categorize it in my favorite genre, sick shit. Jack Caffrey is a Detective Inspector who himself has a tragic and dark past that makes him flawed and sympathetic character . He's investigating a series of murders involving girls from the wrong side of the track. 5 bodies are discovered in a trash dump and at autopsy some disturbing clues are discovered. Each body has a bird sewn into the chest cavity, strange marks around the hairline, breast reduction surgery performed, and evidence of necrophilia. Graphic violence. An incompetent fellow DI. A couple of unexpected twists.

This book got a little too graphic and brutal for me at the end, but I'll definitely keep reading this series. I have a difficult time reading books set in England. Even though the language is the same, the words used to describe and name things are different. It's worth it to keep on reading and to do a little research to become more familiar with the language differences.


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#26 of 2012

Wool 2: Proper Gauge by Hugh Howey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second book in this series/omnibus takes us farther into the lives of those in the Silo and further into the Silo.
Since the Sheriff has gone to the cleaning, the Mayor must chose a new one to take his place. His Deputy, Marnes doesn't want the job, but suggests Juliette (who prefers to be called Jules) from Mechanical in the Deep Down. All the way to the 142nd floor deep into the Silo. Mayor Jahns and Deputy Marnes take a trip down the staircase stopping along the way to introduce us to other levels and people and their jobs.
I enjoyed learning more about this world in the Silo and being introduced to more inhabitants. This is an interesting world that Mr. Howey is setting up and I look forward to reading more.


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Book #25 of 2012

Wool by Hugh Howey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Started and finished this in one sitting. Very interesting story, glad I bought the omnibus so that I can start on Wool #2 right away.

Your world consists of living inside a silo, underground where all you see of the 'outside' is a brown, dead countryside and a city filled with decaying, building shells. Your entire life is inside, only those sentenced to death step foot outside the silo. Their crime? Wanting out. Their last job, to clean the cameras that allow those inside to see out. But why do they all clean the cameras so willingly?

This is Holston and Allison's story. We go from present day with the Sheriff, Holston to 3 years ago and his wife's sentence to cleanse the cameras. Why she wanted out, why he has decided to go out.

Thanks Wendy for the recommendation.


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Book #19 of 2012

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sookie is always loads of fun and games. The books are easy to read. I'm still not fond of the relationship with Eric. Eric isn't good. and he's not good bad, if you know what I mean. I want more of Sookie's fairy roots. I wanna see more of Claude and Dermot. What are they up to? Sookie's relationship with Hadley's son Hunter is sweet too. I'm not tired of Sookie and crew yet, but I do want her to get rid of Eric. Bring on a new man!


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Book 18 of 2012

Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I always really like the Tempe Brennan books and look forward to reading them. I prefer the books set in North Carolina (even though I do like Ryan). This book really had the best of all worlds. It began in Canada, had the connection to North Carolina and took the gang to Hawaii (my favorite place on earth) to solve the mystery. And I did enjoy this mystery even though it got a little convoluted at the end. I always learn a little in these novels and this time I learned about chimeras. Interesting stuff. I loved the Plato character. Loved him! I also learned about JPAC and was quite impressed with what I learned.
As an aside, I also like the TV show Bones that is loosely based on this series of books. It's enough different that I don't even see Emily Deschanel and/or David Boreanz as the characters when I read these books. I just see Tempe and Ryan.


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Book 17 of 2012

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When I first started reading this I didn't understand all the positive reviews I'd heard from my friends. It was really slow getting started, but did turn around. I'm intrigued by the Black Dagger Brotherhood and definitely want to learn more about some of the brothers. I enjoyed the introduction to this breed of vampires and the world they live in.
Wrath and Beth are at the center of this story and are fairly uninteresting characters. I was a little put off with the ease with which Beth (and Butch) accepted that vampires existed. I think most folks would be a slight bit more skeptical. I'm much more interested in Zsadist and his story. I'll try a few more before I decide if it's a MUST read series.


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Book #16 of 2012

Origin in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This series always gives me just what I expect. A good book, with some mystery and detecting, a little romance, and memorable characters. The futuristic aspect is well-done I think. The author gives us a glimpse into a future that doesn't seem too far-fetched to be real. I love the auto-chef and I want one, but I wonder if it will be just as aggravating to program a meal as it is to plan and cook one? The clean up should be easier, right? The basis of the mystery in this volume scared me. I see some of these scientific advances being made in the world we live in today and wonder if something like this could happen. I hope not and while the subject was scary and creepy I did enjoy reading this one as I'm sure I'll enjoy reading the next one. Nora Roberts as J. D. Robb delivers another great futuristic story! On to the next in this series!


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Book 14 of 2012

A Perfect Husband by Douglas Wickard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I found this book via a Goodreads friend who gave it a 5 star review. When I see a 5 star review by someone who has similar taste, I almost always try to find the book and read it. While I gave this book a solid 4 stars (4 1/2 if Goodreads allowed 1/2 stars) instead of 5 it was absolutely worth the time I spent reading it. I messaged the publisher and offered to review the book and received a copy for my Kindle via email. Thanks Untreed Reads.


There were many positives in this thriller. Smitty. Wow, he is one sick and creepy monster. He's a beautiful man. His looks play a pretty big role in his ability to find his victims. Girls are in awe of his looks. He's a kind,attentive husband to a fragile wife and a sweet, gentle father to his new baby girl. He's a dependable employee. He's also a sociopath with a cemetery full of dead wives. Sami is a great protagonist. She's in a really bad place. Just divorced, ready to move on to the next step of her life. She's moving out of the city to a cabin in the woods. Creepy stuff starts to happen and we see how Sami handles it. She's at times scared and at times strong. Just like a real person! The supporting players are woven into the story in a believable easy way. The ending was a little too schmaltzy for my taste, but the build up was great. The only negatives were the lack of back story for Smitty. I'd like to know than just the little blip about his mom being abusive. There was also one little thing that pissed me off. Toward the end of the book, there was scene with a cigarette and it was referred to as a 'fag'. This book is set in the US, and NO ONE in the US calls a cigarette a 'fag'. Little things bug me and this little thing was just silly and out of place.


I'm looking forward to Donald Wickard's next thriller.


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Book 13 of 2012

Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I like D.D. Warren. She's a great investigator and I like her vibe.

This book had a very compelling story. The issue of mental illness in children is a difficult one to read about. It's hard to believe that there are children who have such severe mental illnesses that locking them away is the only option. But those children are out there.

2 families murdered. It looks like the father murdered everyone and then committed suicide. Both families have a connection to the locked pediatric psych ward at the local hospital. There's a nurse working there who is the lone survivor of a similar attack. There's another counselor who also has a similar family incident. A family that is going through a crisis. A spiritual healer. All little pieces of the puzzle. There are a couple of elements thrown in that are a little questionable, but over all this was a good mystery with a somewhat believable conclusion.

I'll definitely be reading the next D.D. Warren thriller.


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Book 12 of 2012

The Accident by Linwood Barclay
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

There was too much going on in this book. The story became too contrived.


When Glen Carver's wife Sheila is killed in a drunk driving accident he's devastated. He can't believe that she would get behind the wheel of a car and drive if she was drunk. Not only did she kill herself, but a father and son are also killed in the accident. A couple of days later, her daughter's best friend's mother dies in a suspicious accident. As Glen delves into his wife's last day he uncovers some very unsavory happenings.


Too many types of counterfeit goods. Too many sexually perverted affairs. Too many murderers. Too many side stories. All put together it just muddled up the book and made it much less enjoyable.


I probably won't try another by this author unless I just run out of things to read.


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Book 10 of 2012

Survivor In Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's been a long time since I read a book from this series. I don't know why I waited so long. I really really like these books. Dallas just goes right in and kicks ass and worries about cleaning up the mess later. The cast of characters always offers just the right amount of assistance and comic relief.

In Survivor in Death the 23rd in the series, Eve investigates the murder of a family with a lone survivor. 9 year old Nixie had sneaked downstairs during the night to drink a forbidden orange fizzy drink leaving her best friend Linny in her bed. While she's drinking she sees a shadow slip into the housekeepers room and thinking it's a boyfriend and they are gonna 'do it' she slips in to watch. What she sees is the shadow cutting the housekeeper's throat, slipping up the stairs and joining a second to kill the rest of the family. Eve's investigation turns up other murders that may be connected and a suspect.

The setting in the future always makes me smile. I hope that many of the things that J.D. Robb has imagined are truly in our future.


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Book 9 of 2012

I'm not really sure if you can count a novella as a book, but for the purposes of my blog I'm going to.


Faint of Heart by Jeff Strand
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This thriller novella plunges right into a really scary place.Rebecca lives with her husband Gary in Alaska and she has some pretty extensive hangups. She's really, really scared of being alone. Gary and his friends are going on a weekend camping trip and Rebecca's not thrilled to be home alone. When Gary doesn't return by late Sunday afternoon, Rebecca becomes very worried. Then Alan shows up at her door pretending to be a State Trooper. Let the horror begin. What follows is a couple of days of torture for Rebecca, reliving Gary's torture. If Rebecca can relive the entire weekend of torture just like her husband Gary did, the 2 sadistic kidnappers promise they will both live.


I'm not sure I'm really fond of novellas. I think this could be a really great full length novel. There was just a little bit too much violence/gore for me, but if you like sick shit, this is definitely gonna be right up your alley.


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