Broken Promise: A Thriller
by Linwood Barclay
New Author (11/3/2016)
I have seen good reviews for Linwood Barclay’s books so I decided to give them a try. I chose the Promise Falls Trilogy for starters. The third book Twenty-Three is not available to me yet. No matter…
The first book Broken Promise started a little slow for me, but it did pick up. The story-line is very good and well plotted. The characters were interesting and I enjoyed that we were getting the story from different perspectives. At the end of Barclay’s wrapped up the story very nicely leaving a few dangling story lines for the next book in the trilogy.
Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future
by Jeff Goodell
Turn the light out as you leave the room.... (6/27/2015)
This book was published in 2007 and not a thing that written about in this book has changed in the last eight years. The coal industry has lied and cheated its way into our daily lives and there is not one thing we can do about it.
The power industry does not want to move away from coal because it is cheap and easy. Still yet we see how an industry is running the political discourse of how we generate power in this country. With such political clout as the power companies have we will be a long time in moving away from coal-burning power plants.
I keep hearing that there is no reasonable replacement for fossil fuels but if the energy industry continues to fight for the things as they are we will never get ourselves away from fossil fuels. The next time you see an ad from the energy industry about all they are doing to move toward renewable energy do not be fooled.
Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld
by Jake Halpern
the dark side... (6/18/2015)
Debt collection has always had a bad reputation, this book does nothing to dispel that reputation. Jake Halpern follows an ex Wall Street Banker and an ex-convict set up shop in the Collection Capital, Buffalo, which is home to some of the largest collection agencies in the country.
Who knew that banks sold their uncollected debts for pennies on the dollar? We do know that collection agencies are unmerciful in their pursuit of money, but the pursuit of “paper” is even more cut-throat than could be imaged. Consumer Debt Collection is a totally under-regulated industry. I learned a lot about this dark side of the financial world.
A Circle of Wives
by Alice LaPlante
disappointing.... (6/18/2015)
Alice LaPlante’s first novel Turn of Mind was excellent, Circle of Wives not so much. There is so much about this book I disliked I don’t know where to begin. First of all, I did not like any of the characters – they were swallow and self-centered, even the good Doctor came off as an oaf.
There is nothing redeeming about this book, it was simply a boring story about a man who was unhappy in his marriage and proceeded to go out and marries two more women, none of the wives except for the first wife know about one another. Surprise the good doctor is found dead in a hotel room and foul play is suspected. Enter Samantha Adams the rookie detective assigned to the case and another totally unlikable character, she blunders her way through this book like a bull in a china cabinet.
I am still trying to figure out how a successful reconstructive surgeon had time for three wives, one of which he had to report home to every morning at 5:00am.
All and all not an enjoyable read.
What Stands in a Storm: Three Days in the Worst Superstorm to Hit the South's Tornado Alley
by Kim Cross
Mother Nature.... at it worst (6/18/2015)
Mother Nature is a terrifying thing. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes are just scenes from the nightly news you never can really relate to until you have actually experienced one. You know at the beginning of this book that your heart is going to be broken – Cross achingly details the march of a EF5 tornado that took 72 lives and devastated everything in its path.
A sensitive, well written commentary on how we deal with things that we cannot conquer.
Blue Stars
by Emily Gray Tedrowe
Mixed feelings.... (1/6/2015)
I have mixed feelings about this book, I believe the authors' intentions were good and that she meant to portray the struggles that families have with returning veterans. There was an effort to show how our government has let both the families and the veterans down.
The two protagonists did not elicit the empathy that I wanted to give them. The ending just did not ring true to me.
I did read all of the book, mostly because I thought the writing was good it was just the story that did not engage me. I don't know how that is but that's what I ended up feeling.
The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter
by Mark Seal
Con of Cons (12/7/2014)
Reading Walter Kirn's Blood Will Out made me curious about you get from being German immigrant to passing yourself off as a Rockefeller. Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter pulled off one of the most audacious cons in recent history.
This is one of the those you-can't-make-this-stuff-up books, Mark Seal follows Gerhartsreiter from the moment he first steps on American soil until his arrest and trial for kidnapping his seven-year old daughter. It is an interesting but creepy tale. I would find keeping up this type of charade exhausting, I wonder if in the end he did believe he was a Rockefeller.
On March 15, 2011, Gerhartsreiter stood trial and found guilty of the murder of a California man in 1985
Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade
by Walter Kirn
conned (11/24/2014)
This is the first I have read by Walter Kirn, I was looking forward to book so much that I purchased it in hardcover. That was several months ago, I finally decided I needed to end it and finish the book.
I am not sure who I disliked more, Walter or Christian Gerhartsreiter. Since Walter has not murdered anyone to my knowledge I will give him the benefit of doubt. Kirn is at least honest in his telling of being snookered by a con artist - the problem is I ended not really liking Walter which took the steam out of the story.
To compare this book to In Cold Blood is a stretch at best.
Train Dreams: A Novella
by Denis Johnson
A remarkable life (11/24/2014)
I picked this up from the library as an audiobook read by Will Patton. What an absolute gem, I was transported to another era, the depth that Johnson brings to Robert Grainer life is breathtaking.
City of the Sun
by Juliana Maio
Cairo, 1941.... (11/24/2014)
Juliana Maio has written an impressive debt novel. She is a natural story teller.
Set in Cairo, Egypt in 1941 with WWII in full swing. There was a thriving Jewish community in Cairo and it became a common destination for Jews escaping the Fascist regimes of Europe. Egypt looking to free themselves from British domination formed close ties with the Nazi's. The Nazi's where funding militant nationalistic societies using them to promote antisemitism in Cairo.
Set against this backdrop Maio weaves a tale of romance, intrigue, deception. I enjoyed this book but felt that the affair between Maya and Mickey overshadowed the story. The story is the an emerging Egypt looking to free itself from the British, the Nazi's fueling a growing Egyptian nationalism with propaganda about both the Jews and British. The politics of the time became the backdrop where I would have enjoyed the story more if the politics were in the forefront with the romance in the background.
The Jews have a long history in Egypt, the onset of WWII was the beginning of the end for them. During WWII there were 80,000 Jews in Cairo, today there are less than 40. I look forward to this author bringing us more of the Jews in Egypt.
Five
by Ursula Archer
TNLN (10/12/2014)
Ursula Archer has put together an intriguing story about a murderer who is using longitude and lattitude – coordinates to tell the police where the last victim was placed in a series of seemingly unrelated murders. The hunt that the murderer has the police going through is very much like a multi-cache in the recreational sport of geocaching. Only in this case the "finds" are not fun little trinkets but body parts.
The book is well plotted and I thought it moved along at good pace. I will be looking for more books from this author.
Island of a Thousand Mirrors
by Nayomi Munaweera
Great debut novel... (5/3/2014)
Island of a Thousand Mirrors is the story of two families on opposite sides of the civil war that raged in Sri Lanka for 26 years. Told by the eldest daughter of each family, the story is definitely told from a woman's view.
Ever since reading Anil's Ghost Sri Lanka has interested me as to how such a small country could have such a brutal history. The civil war based on ethic lines cost the lives of thousands of Sri Lanka's citizens especially the Tamil.
While the Sinhalese family immigrated to America the Tamil family remained in Sri Lanka, either family was spared in this conflict. It is clear that any country that is involved in a 26 year civil war leaves no citizen of that country unharmed.
Nayomi Munaweer writing was even and flowed well. I truly enjoyed her writing and I believe that she has a lot to offer as a writer. One thing that stood out for me was that the Tamil daughter's story was very cold and brittle. I would have liked just a bit more on her side of this story.
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