Category Archives: Book Review

Book Review: One Shot, Lee Child

One Shot by Lee ChildThis book was the first Jack Reacher thriller that I read, quite a few years ago. That copy came free with a copy of the London Evening Standard newspaper – it was probably about 50p at the time, but has since become a free paper handed out to the commuters of London every evening. I particularly wanted to re-read it because of the description of Jack Reacher that starts the book.
Jack Reacher's CV
This should be very useful for any Hollywood Producers who are looking to cast Jack Reacher in a film – particularly his height (6′ 5″), weight (220-250lbs) and chest (50″). Obviously, this is a big guy, and missing that point would be bound to annoy any diehard Reacher fans.

This is actually one of the better Reacher thrillers. The perfect case is presented to the police, James Barr is the obvious perpetrator of a horrific killing spree in Indiana. Even worse for Barr, Jack Reacher has seen it on the news and is travelling there to ensure he doesn’t get away with it. Yet there’s more to the case than first appears, calling for Reacher’s special investigative skills and his own brand of blunt justice.
Four stars

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Book Review: Mistress of Justice, Jeffery Deaver

Mistress of Justice, Jeffery DeaverAccording to the author’s note, the edition that I read is his re-write of an earlier book by the same title. This is the second re-write that I’ve read recently, the other being by Nelson DeMille.

On first impressions, the book has a dull plot – a promissory note is missing, and Taylor Lockwood (the lead character) has been asked to find it somewhere in the law firm. The intrigue comes from the plotting around the firm, where competing factions are fighting over leadership. The stakes are high enough for Taylor to be at risk of physical attack – and she sees both senior figures and younger up-and-coming professionals risking everything to get ahead.
Four stars

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Book Review: The Scarecrow, Michael Connelly

The Scarecrow, Michael ConnellyJack McEvoy is a crime journalist whose position has been put at risk – meaning he has only two weeks left in the job. As well as handing over to a younger, cheaper journalist, he decides to go all out to write a final, brilliant story to show his employer what they’re missing. And perhaps he’ll be able to finish his first novel too.

Rather than a newspaper story, McEvoy uncovers a serial killer. He hooks up with Agent Rachel Walling of the FBI in order to investigate. Now, Walling has also appeared in other Connelly books with Harry Bosch – e.g. Echo Park. I love it when authors recycle characters across stories, Jeffrey Deaver does similar tricks.

The investigation focusses on a web hosting firm with a highly secure data centre. The description of “The Farm” (the grid of machines hosting sites) is quite interesting, although it’s a shame that the technicians are so stereotyped (not everyone that works with computer hardware is a long-haired hacker!).

It’s a pretty good story – hard not to have sympathy with McEvoy (who’s ex-wife is quite successful whilst he’s left jobless with few prospects), and there are sufficient twists to keep one’s interest.
Four stars

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Book Review: Protect & Defend, Vince Flynn

Protect and Defend, FlynnAfter the first Vince Flynn thriller that I read, my mind was made up not to read any more. However, my Dad recommended this one and I’m glad I persevered. This book features Mitch Rapp as a more established character. Where the earlier book sees him as a maverick agent, he’s now a senior figure, friend of the President and sage adviser on Middle Eastern affairs. Ok, so this is somewhat stretching believability, but it does make for an entertaining book!

What set this plot aside was that the storyline in Iran and ensuing political fallout was as intriguing as the action scenes where Rapp continues to be a master of his trade.
Four stars

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Book Review: The Devil’s Star, Jo Nesbo

The Devil's StarThis is another Harry Hole thriller from Jo Nesbo. There’s a clear chronological order to the books in this series – this one is the fifth and comes after his partner Ellen has been murdered. Harry is pitched against his nemesis Tom Waaler in an investigation into another serial killer.

As well as the excitement of the plot, Nesbo graphically depicts Harry’s fall into alcoholism as it threatens to destroy his relationship with Raquel and his career. The good news, though, is that this book isn’t as grisly as some of his other works.
Four stars

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Book Review: The Lincoln Lawyer, Michael Connelly

TheLincolnLawyerThe story stars Mickey Haller, a defence attorney with a complicated personal life (he has two ex-wives and a daughter). In this story, he has an innocent client – the question is, which of his clients is it, the highly privileged real estate broker, or the Mexican against whom there is cast-iron evidence? There’s also a nasty shock for his investigator, Raul Levin.

I picked up this novel having enjoyed the excellent film starring Michael McConaughey – I think the book is just as good.

Four stars

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Book Review: The Target, David Baldacci

The Target by David BaldacciThis is the first book by David Baldacci that I’ve read in a while. I enjoyed the early books in his King and Maxwell series, but thought they tailed off by the end. This book features CIA agents Will Robie and Jessica Reel, who have a tainted past with the agency, but are still at the top of their game. The real star of the book is a North Korean agent, Cha Chung, who has unmatched combat skills and an unshakeable character in the face of adversity.

This is a decent read and I may track down the earlier books in the Robie series, particularly The Hit which comes before this one.
Three and a half stars

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Book Review: The Quest, Nelson DeMille

TheQuestI’ve written before that DeMille has written several one-off books which are terrific, as well as his John Corey series. This book is another one-off, introducing Frank Purcell, Henry Mercado and Vivian Smith. They are journalists/photographer following the war in Ethiopia in the 1970’s, and this book follows their quest to find the Holy Grail after it’s existence is revealed to them by a dying priest.

The story behind the book is itself fascinating – apparently, DeMille wrote it as a contemporary novel early in this career, but decided to re-write and re-publish it in 2013. The narrative is unmistakably by his hand, and there’s more than a hint of the character of John Corey in Frank Purcell. I’d be interested to know whether the original book had Purcell enjoying the same sense of humour or if that’s part of the re-write.

As with other DeMille books, this one is a book to relish rather than a page-turning thriller. It’s about enjoying the journey – and that seems appropriate for a book called The Quest.
Four stars

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Book Review: Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov

FoundationTrilogy
Having read several other books set against the background of the Foundation saga, I decided to go back and read the original books. I was impressed by the pace with which Asimov tells the stories – where David Brin’s sequel is 430 pages, each volume in Asimov’s trilogy is about 230 pages. Yet none of the passages in Asimov’s books feels rushed – it’s just that he tells a part of the story in beautiful prose, then moves swiftly on to another period/place. The gaps that he leaves give other authors the space to fill in their own stories, which is how the sequel trilogy fits in. In fact, I enjoyed Asimov’s trilogy much more this time having recently read the others.
Five Stars

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Book Review: The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown

20150312-150712.jpgI really enjoyed this Robert Langdon thriller from Dan Brown. The mystical/dark arts side of the book harks back to Dennis Wheatley and if that isn’t your genre it’s necessary to suspend dis-belief – but it’s a good book even despite that.

In this latest adventure, Robert Langdon is involved in the world of Free-Masonry. As ever, he’s called on to use his knowledge of the arts and symbology to solve a number of puzzles. In this book, though, I found Langdon a more sympathetic character – half the time, he didn’t have a clue what was going on and this time he was singled out for abuse as much as the other victims.

20150312-151507.jpg

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