Mysteries Old and New

My books this week ranged from the much beloved private eye, Lew Archer, from 1949 to Paola Dicanti in the present.

In The Moving Target by Ross Macdonald, Lew Archer is hired by a wealthy young woman to find her much older husband, Ralph Sampson. Immediately after flying into Los Angeles on his private jet, Sampson disappears. His wife doesn't seem overly concerned with his well-being so much as the possibility that he may be drunk and giving away his money.

An array of shady characters populate this novel. Macdonald doesn't seem to do a lot in the way of developing them beyond them all being money-centered and selfish. Archer is definitely a likable character, but I also found him hard to figure out. Maybe delving further into the series will help me pinpoint his character a little better.

What Macdonald lacked in character he more than made up for in plot and style. There were quite a few twists and turns throughout the course of events and the end was definitely not predictable. Every character seemed a viable suspect and I found myself constantly oscillating between who I thought could be the culprit.

My favorite part about this novel was Macdonald's writing style. It is pure gold. He knows how to use language in an awe-inspiring way without weighing the book down with unnecessary detail. This is a scene when Archer was waiting in a bus station,

"The electric clock above the ticket booth took little bits of time.
A bus arrived and departed, shuffling the occupants of the room. The
clock chewed very slowly, masticating each minute sixty times."

What amazing imagery. It's even hard not to slow down your reading pace when you read that section. The man can work magic with words. It was hard to put this writing down. I look forward to reading more of Macdonald's work. I'll try to take it slow, however, because Macdonald is no longer with us; what a loss to the literary world.

The fifth Myron Bolitar novel went by far too quickly. One False Move may be my favorite of the series so far. Norm Zuckerman asks Myron to "protect" the star of his new women's basketball league, Brenda Slaughter. Brenda has been receiving threatening phone calls and her father has recently disappeared. Why Myron starts delving into his disappearance he finds more than he bargained for. In addition, this book finds Myron battling with the ultimatum that Esperanza presented him with at the end of Back Spin.

One of the reasons I like this series so much is Coben's character development. Like Fade Away, this novel did a lot to develop Myron's character. We see more of his strong family ties, his loyalty, and the internal conflict Myron battles with. Myron is so real, I often feel like I could bump into him on the street. He isn't a superhero who always has amazing strength. He isn't a MacGyver who can figure his way out of anything with a shoelace and a safety pin.

And Win I believe to be one of the most dynamic characters in literature. When Myron says to Win, "if I die..." And Win cuts him off with, "I'll spread your ashes over New England." Myron wants to know why New England and Win responds, "Because I like New England...and New York would be lonely without you." You don't see that coming at all. His attachment to Myron is so contrary to most of his characteristics. He's just an awesome character.

While the tone of this novel is a bit darker than the previous ones, it is still jam-packed with humor. I was listening to this particular book on my mp3 player, and I listen while out walking in the neighborhood. It was probably rather humorous to others to see me walking along laughing at regular intervals. So, Coben provided a good laugh for more than just me! The reader for this series does an outstanding job!

This was definitely another five-star effort for Coben. On to number six!!

The final book for this week is Juan Gomez-Jurado's first novel, God's Spy. In this novel, Paola Dicanti, an FBI-trained profiler in Rome, is called in when a prominent Catholic Cardinal is brutally murdered and dismembered. When Paola discovers that this is actually the second cardinal killed in this fashion, she's on the trail of a serial killer...a serial killer killing cardinals in Rome in the midst of John Paul IIs funeral and the impending conclave to elect a new Pope.

I listened to this book on CD in my car, and I have to say that the reader did not do the book justice. This was a great book and the reader was not great. But that aside, the plot was original and captivating. I may have to go back and read the book, however, because at the end I felt like I missed something. I don't know if I wasn't paying close enough attention while I was listening, or if the end was just vague and you weren't supposed to completely understand it. I will admit that I though the "romantic" episode between Paola and Anthony Fowler was cliche. The beginning of the novel really left me guessing and constantly trying to fit the pieces together. Once Paola completed her profile of Victor, however, the remainder of the novel seemed a bit on the predictable side.

Gomez-Jurado's character development was good as well. Since I was listening on audio book, it took me a little while to establish who each character was, but once I did, it wasn't hard to follow at all. Paola is sometimes stereotypical (i.e., the single female who sleeps with her married boss), but not completely. She has the makings of a strong female protagonist if Gomez-Jurado continues this as a series. But Anthony Fowler was the character who exhibited the most dynamic characteristics. I found that it was his character I wanted to know more about and delve into.

There were points where Gomez-Jurado seemed to overdo the crass language. It really diminishes a character when that's the best they can do as far as dialogue or monologue. But overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and was definitely captivated by it. I look forward to more novels from Juan Gomez-Jurado.

This, That and a Few More Books...

My week of author events is quickly approaching and I can't wait. I'll get to see Kathy Reichs on Tuesday May 6th then Michael Koryta on Thursday May 8th. What fun. Just imagine this time next year when I'm preparing to go to the Los Angeles Book Festival. I'll really be hyped then!

But for now, I have a few odds and ends. I picked up my copy of Harlan Coben's Hold Tight on Tuesday. I'm probably going to let my dad read it first since I have The Moving Target that I'm in the middle of right now, and I haven't started my "already-own" book for this month, Faithless (Karin Slaughter). By the time I'm finished with those, my dad should be done and I can read that one.

I wanted to update the release dates for this year. I have a new book to add; I wasn't aware that Alafaire Burke had a book coming out this year. I really like her. She seems like a genuinely nice person and she's a very talented writer as well. Anyway, here's the new updated list:

Chasing Darkness - Robert Crais - July 1, 2008
Fractured - Karin Slaughter - July 29, 2008
Envy the Night - Michael Koryta - August 5, 2008
Angel's Tip - Alafair Burke - August 19, 2008
Devil Bones - Kathy Reichs - August 26, 2008
The Brass Verdict - Michael Connelly - October 14, 2008

August is going to be a busy book month for me.

Now it's time to get caught up here. In the last week I finished Southern Fried (Cathy Pickens), One for the Money (Janet Evanovich) and Visibility (Boris Starling).

Southern Fried is the first Avery Andrews mystery. Avery has returned to her small-town North Carolina hometown of Dacus after being fired from her big-town law firm. When she agrees to help Harrison Garnet with an environmental agency visit, she suddenly finds herself in quite a circle of deception.

This book was charming and fun. The stereotypical small-town antics were amusing and the character of Avery is well-developed. Avery's parents are also strong characters. The plot was a bit on the predictable side, but it was an enjoyable read overall.

One for the Money - yes, I'm one of the few who has not yet read Janet Evanovich. But, I can no longer say so. Like Southern Fried, this was a fun book. There were several parts that made me smile and laugh. It was a tad bit on the silly side, but a fun read nonetheless.

One for the Money introduces Stephanie Plum, who like Avery Andrews, suddenly finds herself out of work. Stephanie was downsized from her job as a lingerie buyer for a discount clothing store. She decides to try her hand as a bounty hunter. Yeah, a little far fetched, but at least Evanovich makes it seem like a comedy of errors. Stephanie isn't magically adept at catching these bond skippers. I especially liked the scene where her prey handcuffs her naked to her bathroom shower curtain rod. Then she has to call the guy who is "mentoring" her to come and help her out of her conundrum. Stephanie's grandmother is an absolute stitch. I could just see Sophia Patrillo from The Golden Girls whenever her grandmother was in the picture.

It was light, funny and quick. I'm sure I'll check into more from this series down the road.

And finally, the final book I finished this week was Visibility by Boris Starling. This one was a bit heavier in its plot than Southern Fried or One for the Money. But, boy was it good. The plot was unique, based on my reading experiences. I can't say as I've read a lot of spy novels, though.

Herbert Smith works for Scotland Yard, but he isn't well accepted there because he came from MI5 - Britain's CIA. So, he didn't have to work his way up at Scotland Yard, he started high, and is therefore resented by his colleagues. The novel takes place during the Great Fog of 1952. What a great setting for a spy story, don't you think? When Herbert takes a case involving a man found in the Long Water, he takes on more than he realizes.

I loved the character development in this book. Herbert and Hannah are phenomenal, rich, dynamic characters. The plot has you chasing your tail trying to figure out, "who done it." And at every turn there is a new, surprising development.

My only criticism on this book would be that certain parts seemed to get weighted down by excessive detail. There were several parts where I started to zone out because the just seemed to go on and on without actually progressing the plot at all. There are also a couple elements in the conclusion that I think may be a little over-dramatic and unnecessary, but I won't give anything away.

Suffice it to say, I think this is definitely a book worth reading. It had my brain cells going!

Reacher and Dudgeon

This week I finished Die Trying by Lee Child and Big City, Bad Blood by Sean Chercover. Both were books that I thought about giving up on early in the plot, but ended up sticking with and I'm glad I did. I didn't consider either one an outstanding read, but they were worth finishing. Books like this are the reason I don't give up on a book very easily. If I've given up on one, it was painfully bad to me.

Die Trying is my first book by Lee Child. His series character is Jack Reacher. I believe this is actually the second book in the Jack Reacher series. Jack is unlucky enough to be a passerby when three men go to kidnap Holly Johnson, an FBI agent. Jack is kidnapped along with Holly just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But that's where Jack's unlucky streak runs out. For the rest of the novel he seems to take on superhero qualities. I was beginning to think he might start leaping buildings in a single bound or something.

The plot was your basic "save the damsel in distress"-type plot. I think Child was attempting to make Holly a strong, independent, self-sufficient female character, but he didn't quite succeed. Holly has a bad knee injury and requires a crutch to walk. She's a smart woman, and she makes her own tools - I was having MacGyver flashbacks during those parts of the novel, but in the end, the story is about Reacher, McGrath and her father General Johnson, all men, all out to "save the girl."

One element of the plot that really bothered me was when everyone was convinced that Reacher was in on the kidnapping. They all pointed out that he didn't "fit" with the other kidnappers, but the head of the FBI, the FBI head of Chicago, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...they all were totally convinced that the ONLY possibility was that he was involved. Even after they got his service record, their only position was that this war "hero" had turned dirty. I would think that if our top people in the FBI and the military could be so narrow-minded with information they know is incomplete our national defense is really deficient.

Overall, the book was enjoyable and I'm glad I finished it. I will probably check into some other Reacher installments as well. But, it won't make my Top 10 of 2008.

The second book I finished this week was Big City, Bad Blood by Sean Chercover. This is Chercover's first novel, and I have to admit that I may have gone into it with too high of expectations. The person who recommended it to me classified it as being on the level of Michael Koryta. It's not, and I was expecting that level of writing. So, it had an unfair disadvantage.

Big City, Bad Blood is the story of Ray Dudgeon, a private investigator from Chicago who agrees to protect a Hollywood locations manager, Bob Loniski, from a mobster until Bob could testify against the guy in court. The overall plot was o.k., but not original. I thought it resembled an early Robert Crais novel an awful lot.

My biggest issue with this book was that I disliked Ray. I liked almost every other supporting character: Vince, Terry, Jill, Gravedigger, even Johnny Greico. But Ray I just had trouble liking. The biggest factor was his seeming disregard for violence. It didn't seem to bother him at all. Among my favorite literary protagonists, they all have times when they are violent, but they have personal conflict with the use of violence. Several times throughout the book Ray would say to himself, "I'm o.k. with that." Meaning he was just fine with the violence that had occurred.

Ray was also quick to pass judgement on others while failing to look in the mirror at himself. Hypocrisy is very unbecoming. And while he did a great job as a body guard, he also seems to have a habit of always thinking of himself first. His feelings trump Jill's feelings, Terry's feelings, his grandfather's. It's like an adolescent mindset.

I was, however, able to identify with him in the end when he said,

"The truth was, I once made an enormous emotional investment in what journalism
is supposed to be, and reality never stood a chance. And I couldn't get
over it, or maybe I just couldn't grow up. Either way, I'd learned that
lesson once. Fool me twice, shame on me.

That quote echoed my feelings about education and I was able to warm up a little to Ray. Maybe in subsequent books he'll change a little more and the violence will become more of an issue.

Overall I seemed to see the influences of other writers in this book, but very little that was uniquely Chercover. He needs something that distinguishes him and doesn't just make him a carbon copy of people who have come before him. He also needs to get away from trying to be funny. He's not.

With this being his first time out, I'll give Chercover the benefit of the doubt, and if he publishes again, I'll probably check it out. But he isn't a Michael Koryta by any means.

A Few This and That Book Tidbits

Today is National D.E.A.R. Day in honor of Beverly Cleary's birthday. I adored Beverly Cleary's books when I was young and she is one of my biggest early reading influences. So thankful for Ramona and Ralph and Gang. But, in honor of her birthday the National Drop Everything and Read Day is today, April 12th. It's a reminder for friends, family, everyone to come together and read for 30 minutes each day. It's so vital to do this with young kids. I never need an excuse to read, and that's because as a child reading was fun for me. If we make it fun for our kids then they grow up enjoying it as well. Read to them, let them read to you, and let them SEE YOU reading - reading books, magazines, the newspaper...whatever! We really put our kids at a disadvantage if we don't help them to learn to love reading. And don't think that's the school's job either. It starts far sooner than the kids start school. It has to happen at home! I'm spending this evening with my niece and nephew, and we are definitely going to be reading together!!! Hope you'll be reading, too.





Just a reminder that Harlan Coben's Hold Tight comes out this Tuesday (April 15th). If you didn't have a chance to see his promotional video for the book, it's below. Check it out. He also has a blog on his website now. He is such a fun person. You should check it out! This is what Library Journal had to say about it:





"A fast and exhilarating roller-coaster ride that you don't want to end, but hold on tight. Then take the time to hug your kids."—Library Journal (Starred Review)

Book Goals for 2008

I've decided that I'm going to put my book goals for 2008 down on paper..well, virtual paper, anyway. I'm shooting to read 150 books by the end of the year. With Back Spin and The Judas Goat, I'm at 29, so I'm slightly behind at this point. I will NOT opt to rush through books just to reach this goal, however. I'm still going to savor every word, nuance, device, joke, allusion...everything. I'm also not going to opt for tiny little books that I can finish in a matter of hours. I'm going to tackle my already-established "to read" list. This goal just gives me a focus. Also included in this goal is my goal to read at least one book a month that I already own. This means I had to have owned it prior to 2008, so no new purchases count toward this goal. If you'll recall I've already read these books toward that goal:

January - The Great Santini (Pat Conroy)
February - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (John Berendt)
March - Judgement Calls (Alafair Burke)

This month's book is Faithless by Karin Slaughter. Here's the updated schedule for the next few months:

May - Sacred (or Shutter Island) by Dennis Lehane
June - Atonement by Ian McEwan
July - Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
August - I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb
September - The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Sutterfield
October - The Black Ice by Michael Connelly

As usual, I'll be keeping track of my books here with reviews and on http://www.goodreads.com/. Check back to see how I'm doing. And always feel free to comment on anything you think is a must-read!

Two Smooth Operators

Did you check out Harlan Coben's trailer video for his book, Hold Tight, coming out April 15th? Looks like a pretty time-appropriate thriller, doesn't it? I keep saying that we need to throw his books in a time capsule because they truly are imitations of life as we know it now. I mean, come on, his first seven books are Myron the sports agent, and this culture is definitely obsessed with professional sports! In Back Spin, my latest read by Coben, Myron and Esperanza are watching Wheel of Fortune. And Myron ponders the question, "why do people who obviously know the answer to a puzzle buy a vowel?" I've always wondered that myself. I had to laugh and cheer during that part because when I use to watch the show I'd yell at the TV when people did that! Definitely imitating life!

So, in Back Spin, Myron is making the rounds on the golf course this time. If nothing else, he's a well sports-rounded agent, isn't he? He's at the U.S. Open when the leader's son is kidnapped. Now of course, the leader is NOT Tiger Woods. The leader is Jack Coldren, who happens to be married to a cousin of Win, a cousin Win will have nothing to do with. So, while Myron agrees to try to help find the boy, Win refuses to be involved.

Back Spin is the fourth installment of the Myron Bolitar series, and again here we see a focus on family relationships. These relationships revolve more around Win's family this time, and some interesting background on his character is revealed. This just adds to the depth and dynamics of Win. Despite all the dysfunction throughout the various family links, those links count for something in the end.

As is par for the course (pardon the pun), Coben leads you in circles before the mystery is solved. He always give you just enough to start making hypotheses, and then a new detail throws a hitch in the whole guess. You often find yourself coming back to possible culprits only to question your theory yet again. It's so much fun. And it's a load of laughs.

I wasn't laughing quite as much in the fifth Spenser novel, The Judas Goat. Which is not to say it wasn't good. It was excellent, but Parker changed the tone of the novel a bit this time. It's nice to see an author throwing some changes in and not becoming formulaic.

In The Judas Goat, Spenser travels to London to track down the people who killed a wealthy businessman's family. When the heat is turned up, Spenser calls on Hawk to join him and the two of them track down the vigilante group.

Besides having a change of scenery, as I previously mentioned, there seems to be a change of tone in this novel. It's a more solemn, more introspective novel. I really enjoyed this novel because it reflected the sincerity of Spenser. I appreciate that he battles with his use of violence in his job. It isn't an "easy answer" for him and he doesn't easily resort to it. The Spenser vs. himself conflict is often the more intriguing plot to follow in Parker's books.

The interaction of Hawk and Spenser continues to add depth and dimension to both characters. They seem to be complements to one another, and at the same time function as each other's foil as well. The use of the character Kathie created some questions for me about Hawk. I look forward to seeing how his character develops and if I'm able to answer those questions about Hawk...or is he just meant to be an enigma?

The one criticism I had with Judas Goat was that I didn't feel the whole plot was resolved for me. I wanted to know WHO they were trying to assassinate and WHY. Was it just an arbitrary person? If not, how did they know the person would be a medal winner? And what was the ultimate point? Just to cause chaos? Why? I needed some strings tied together on that one. But overall, it was another great caper with Spenser.