Books
“The Sacred Vault” by Andy McDermott
2011 Bantam Books Mass Market Edition This is a book of epic adventure, #6 in the series featuring archaeologists Nina Wilde and Eddie Chase. These books are reminiscent of the Clive Cussler novels in that they involve fantastic locations and non-stop action. And a huge body count. In this book I counted 87 deaths, plus … Continue reading
“No Safe House” by Linwood Barclay
Copyright 2014 Barclay Perspectives, Inc. Published by Penguin Random House. I will give Barclay credit for coming up with a plot that I have never encountered before. A small-time gangster goes into the “private banking” business, taking in cash and other valuables from people who don’t want them where the authorities might find them should … Continue reading
“Speaking in Tongues” by Jeffery Deaver
Pocket Books, 2000. This book was special to me, not because it had great characters or plot, but because it was the first book I read using reading glasses. A few weeks ago I admitted to myself that my reading time had been greatly reduced because it was no longer a pleasure. Too much squinting, … Continue reading
“Sycamore Row” by John Grisham
Dell Mass Market, 2014 Yes, it has been quite a while since I posted my last book review. My primary excuse is that I have been busy traveling over 10,000 miles. But John Grisham deserves a share of the blame, too. Sycamore Row is long (637 pages in this edition) and it moves slowly. It … Continue reading
“A Wanted Man” by Lee Child
Delacorte Press, New York, 2012. It has been quite a while since I posted my last book review, which is both a statement about how much traveling/driving I have been doing and how this particular book just didn’t demand that I finish it. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t one of the best in the … Continue reading
“The Affair” by Lee Child
Delacorte Press, New York, 2012 You probably know by now that I love the Jack Reacher series of mystery/adventure books by Lee Child. I like them so much that I have a different scale for them when reviewing them. “The Affair” is about a 4 out of 10 on the Reacher scale but a 7 … Continue reading
“The Appeal” by John Grisham
Copyright 2008 by Belfry Holdings, Inc. Dell mass market edition, Dec 2008. Spoiler alert: I am going to give away the ending, so if you want to read the book you had better look away. If you want a book in which the bad guys win – big time – and the good guys all … Continue reading
“The Escape” by David Baldacci
Grand Central Publishing, New York, Nov 2014 There are a lot of similarities between Lee Child’s Jack Reacher and David Baldacci’s John Puller. Both are military (or ex-military) – Reacher is an ex-MP and Puller is an active CID investigator. Both are tall, lean and mean. Both make women swoon. Both are brilliant at outwitting … Continue reading
“Gone Tomorrow” by Lee Child
Dell Books, 2009, Dell Mass Market Edition, 2010 Yes, another Jack Reacher novel. I like them. This is the 13th in the series. The initial premise is very simple: Jack is riding a New York City subway train in the wee hours. There are six passengers in the car, including him. Four of the other … Continue reading
“Nothing to Lose” by Lee Child
Delacort Press, 2008 I love the Jack Reacher series, as you probably know. Nothing to Lose is the 12th in the series, of which I believe I have now read 10. They are all good, but after a while certain themes reappear. In this case the reappearing theme is Jack-Reacher-against-the-town, a theme that appeared in … Continue reading