I’d read a few negative reviews of this Jack Reacher thriller before I read the book. I agree that it’s different to the majority of the books in the series: for one thing, the author concentrates on the cerebral side of Reacher’s character and concentrates too much on his exceptional memory for phone numbers and mathematical abilities (these aren’t pertinent to the plot so why keep referring to them?); for another, there’s far less action in this book (usually, Reacher’s run into trouble at a bar within the first few pages, here we’re into the finale before he gets into a fight). It’s not really up to the usual standards, but it’s still a better read than a couple of other books I failed to get into recently.
Category Archives: Book Review
Book Review: A Wanted Man, Lee Child
Filed under Book Review
Book Review: Night Fall, Nelson DeMille
This is another John Corey novel by Nelson DeMille. What I admire about DeMille is that he’s written a couple of brilliant, one-off books set during the Cold War (The Charm School, The Talbot Odyssey) as well as this modern day series about a semi-retired NYPD detective with a sharp, though politically incorrect, sense of humour. This title has many of the signature John Corey features: struggle against the reach and might of the FBI/CIA; grapple with mortal enemy Ted Nash; call on NYPD contacts for off-the-books investigations; act like a jerk but still win the heart of the lovely Kate Mayfield. But it’s also based on a true story, the crash of flight TWA 800, and DeMille handles that with sensitivity whilst telling his own fictional story alongside the true horror of the crash.
Filed under Book Review
Book Review: The Big Short, Michael Lewis
Another great book by Michael Lewis. Although it might be a stretch for anyone who doesn’t already have a passing knowledge of the financial products involved, it’s a brilliant read. He manages to turn some pretty outrageous characters into unlikely heroes, and shines on a light on the murky dealings that led to the credit crunch of 2008.
Filed under Book Review
Book Review: The Stone Monkey, Jeffery Deaver
This is another in the Lincoln Rhyme series by Jeffery Deaver. Highlights of that series include The Bone Collector and The Coffin Dancer. This one falls short of that standard in my view, mainly because the whole plot falls down on a basic question – why is The Ghost (a sinister, violent figure from the Chinese underworld) going around trying to kill all the illegal immigrants that he was attempting to smuggle to America? Unusually, I was way ahead of the hero, Lincoln Rhyme, in questioning this motive – he only worked it out at the end of the book. Yet without knowing why this was going on, the book didn’t make sense to me.
Filed under Book Review
Book Review: The Governor’s Wife, Mark Gimenez
Initially, I was concerned that this book was going to be a bit dull – it starts with a lot of scene setting about American politics and there’s much coverage of the history/geography of the border with Mexico. Having read the book, I totally forgive the author for spending the time to introduce the reader to these matters – it brings realism to the motivations and main characters: the Governor, the Mexican doctor and the bandit (El Diablo). Interesting that the title is The Governor’s Wife – she’s the focal point of the plot, but not necessarily involved in much of the story line.
It’s a terrific book. The action sequence at the end that brings together the three male protaganists is on a par with Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, yet his handling of the journey taken by the Governor and his change of outlook is sensitively written. He gives great colour to even minor roles – if a film is made of this book, I bet many stars will covet the role of the political advisor to the Governor.
Definitely worth reading – I’m looking forward to another by Mark Gimenez.
Filed under Book Review
Book Review: Persuader, Lee Child
The first Jack Reacher thriller I read was One Shot. It came free with a copy of the London Evening Standard. That’s when the Standard cost 50p, before it became a free paper. On the back of that, I went on to read all the Jack Reacher stories – and One Shot wasn’t even the best. The best stories are those in which he gets members from his team of Special Investigators back together.
Persuader is one of the stories in which Reacher hooks up with a team – in this case, some government agents. Reacher gets a second chance to take revenge on an old adversary, whilst helping the agents to crack a gang of suspected smugglers.
Why is Reacher such a compelling character? He’s incredibly violent yet he’s smart too – like a cross between Jean Claude van Damme and Sherlock Holmes. He shuns convention – no fixed abode, he wanders wherever fate takes him, without any care for material goods (except the ever-present folding toothbrush). He stays true to his own code of Justice. Once committed to a cause, he never backs off. Men respect him, women flock to him. What’s not to like?!
Filed under Book Review
Book Review: Foundation and Earth, Isaac Asimov
I must have read the Foundation novels years ago and was intrigued to spot this sequel in the book shop. It’s a brilliant read, packed full of technology, philosophy, planetary adventures and even politics. Highly recommended.
Filed under Book Review
Book Review: The Business, Iain Banks
This is the first Iain Banks novel I’ve read for years, mainly because the recent ones struck me as macabre, if not gruesome. This one doesn’t fall into that category though and was a fun read – I’d forgotten just how funny Iain Banks can be. The book includes his typical gritty scenes from Scotland as well as colourful scenes (and stereotypes) from America. Having read books by this author before, I wasn’t expecting the plot to be fully resolved at the end, and it wasn’t (I would have rated the book more highly if there had been more content about the intriguing double-cross that the main character discovered).
Filed under Book Review
Book Review: The Common Lawyer, Mark Gimenez
I read The Common Lawyer after having read Accused by the same author. I really enjoyed Accused, so was really looking forward to this one – but ultimately I was disappointed. One of the elements I expected was there – detailed scene setting, leaving the reader with a vivid mental picture of the streets in Austin where the book is set. But I didn’t have much sympathy with the young lawyer character and overall I thought the plot was a bit thin, with needless murders sprinkled throughout to spice up the action.
Filed under Book Review
Book Review: The Proteus Operation, James P Hogan
The book has all the bases covered – history (much is set during World War II), science fiction (time travel) and action (crack troops storming the secret bases of their enemies). I think the plot was excellent, but something was lacking – I found the story telling stodgy in places (particularly at the beginning) and the characters were bland.
Filed under Book Review
musingstudio 