Nandakishore's bookshelf: thriller en-US Wed, 03 Apr 2024 06:28:08 -0700 60 Nandakishore's bookshelf: thriller 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1)]]> 873884 569 Dan Brown 1416529365 Nandakishore 2 thriller The Da Vinci Code was all the rage in India and I had already read it. So the formula was apparent from the beginning (the secret religious society, the cryptic codes, the ruthless assassin, the twist at the end) - but I might still have enjoyed it, had he not made . I mean, this is blasphemy to an engineer!

Warning: spoilers in the link]]> 3.82 2000 Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1)
author: Dan Brown
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2000
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2024/04/03
shelves: thriller
review:
By the time I reached this book, The Da Vinci Code was all the rage in India and I had already read it. So the formula was apparent from the beginning (the secret religious society, the cryptic codes, the ruthless assassin, the twist at the end) - but I might still have enjoyed it, had he not made . I mean, this is blasphemy to an engineer!

Warning: spoilers in the link
]]> <![CDATA[The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (George Smiley, #3)]]> 19494 212 John Le Carré Nandakishore 3 classic, thriller
Then why the three stars? Well, it was too dark and bleak for me, with nary a ray of light anywhere. If this is the real world of espionage, give me Bond and his girls any day! (And a martini, too, of course - shaken, not stirred.)]]> 4.07 1963 The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (George Smiley, #3)
author: John Le Carré
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1963
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2019/06/04
shelves: classic, thriller
review:
This is indeed a great book - tightly written and suspenseful with three-dimensional characters. If you think that "spy" meant that idiot James Bond, this book will introduce you to the real stuff.

Then why the three stars? Well, it was too dark and bleak for me, with nary a ray of light anywhere. If this is the real world of espionage, give me Bond and his girls any day! (And a martini, too, of course - shaken, not stirred.)
]]> <![CDATA[The da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2)]]> 968 The da Vinci Code, The da Vinci Code, The da Vinci Code, and The da Vinci Code

While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci -- clues visible for all to see -- yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.

Langdon joins forces with a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and learns the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion -- an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others.

In a breathless race through Paris, London, and beyond, Langdon and Neveu match wits with a faceless powerbroker who seems to anticipate their every move. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle in time, the Priory's ancient secret -- and an explosive historical truth -- will be lost forever.

The Da Vinci Code heralds the arrival of a new breed of lightning-paced, intelligent thriller utterly unpredictable right up to its stunning conclusion.]]> 489 Dan Brown Nandakishore 3 thriller
Dan Brown's mysteries are built on a formula, which became clear the moment I read Angels & Demons after this one - so I stopped reading his books. But this was the first one, and the formula was not apparent, so it was enjoyable in a lukewarm sense despite the bad writing. I especially enjoyed the puzzles.

Dan Brown deserves credit for taking the crackpot theories from Holy Blood, Holy Grail and making a passable thriller out of it. Since the original theory itself was so wonky, whatever he did on it was an improvement - unlike the prequel, where he took on physics and goofed up big time.]]> 3.92 2003 The da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2)
author: Dan Brown
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2018/05/23
shelves: thriller
review:
In India, we have something called the "formula film". The script would have certain stock characters and situations, and the ending would be highly predictable. Yet many a time, such movies perform well at the box office - because it panders totally to the expectations of the audience.

Dan Brown's mysteries are built on a formula, which became clear the moment I read Angels & Demons after this one - so I stopped reading his books. But this was the first one, and the formula was not apparent, so it was enjoyable in a lukewarm sense despite the bad writing. I especially enjoyed the puzzles.

Dan Brown deserves credit for taking the crackpot theories from Holy Blood, Holy Grail and making a passable thriller out of it. Since the original theory itself was so wonky, whatever he did on it was an improvement - unlike the prequel, where he took on physics and goofed up big time.
]]> The Auctioneer 923832
Published to wide acclaim in 1976, but almost neglected since then, The Auctioneer is a bona fide classic of American literature. The story of John Moore, his wife Mim, and his mother, it is a gripping tale of greed in a small town being quietly overrun by auctioneer Perly Dunsmore. Acclaimed by writers including Stephen King, and an influence on King’s Needful Things, The Auctioneer is here reprinted for the first time in thirty years.]]> 260 Joan Samson 1933618191 Nandakishore 0 thriller, to-read 3.72 1976 The Auctioneer
author: Joan Samson
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1976
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/01/15
shelves: thriller, to-read
review:

]]> Waiting for Sunrise 12345981
Later the same day they meet again, and a more composed Hettie Bull introduces herself as an artist and sculptor, and invites Lysander to a party hosted by her lover, the famous painter Udo Hoff. Compelled to attend and unable to resist her electric charm, they begin a passionate love affair. Life in Vienna becomes tinged with the frisson of excitement for Lysander. He meets Sigmund Freud in a café, begins to write a journal, enjoys secret trysts with Hettie and appears to have been cured.

London, 1914. War is stirring, and events in Vienna have caught up with Lysander. Unable to live an ordinary life, he is plunged into the dangerous theatre of wartime intelligence â€� a world of sex, scandal and spies, where lines of truth and deception blur with every waking day. Lysander must now discover the key to a secret code which is threatening Britain’s safety, and use all his skills to keep the murky world of suspicion and betrayal from invading every corner of his life.

Moving from Vienna to London’s west end, the battlefields of France and hotel rooms in Geneva, Waiting for Sunrise is a feverish and mesmerising journey into the human psyche, a beautifully observed portrait of wartime Europe, a plot-twisting thriller and a literary tour de force from the bestselling author of Any Human Heart, Restless and Ordinary Thunderstorms.]]> 368 William Boyd 0061876763 Nandakishore 0 thriller, to-read 3.58 2012 Waiting for Sunrise
author: William Boyd
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/01/01
shelves: thriller, to-read
review:

]]> Go with Me 6348151 160 Castle Freeman Jr. 0061671851 Nandakishore 0 thriller, to-read 3.23 2008 Go with Me
author: Castle Freeman Jr.
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.23
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/01/01
shelves: thriller, to-read
review:

]]> On The Gathering Storm 8778162 169 Jason McIntyre 1475138431 Nandakishore 0 thriller, to-read 3.99 2010 On The Gathering Storm
author: Jason McIntyre
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/01/01
shelves: thriller, to-read
review:

]]> Psycho 3267116 Robert Bloch's Psycho captivated a nation when it appeared in 1959. The story was all too real-indeed this classic was inspired by the real-life story of Ed Gein, a psychotic murderer who led a dual life. Alfred Hitchcock too was captivated, and turned the book into one of the most-loved classic films of all time the year after it was released.

Norman Bates loves his Mother. She has been dead for the past twenty years, or so people think. Norman knows better though. He has lived with Mother ever since leaving the hospital in the old house up on the hill above the Bates motel. One night Norman spies on a beautiful woman that checks into the hotel as she undresses. Norman can't help but spy on her. Mother is there though. She is there to protect Norman from his filthy thoughts. She is there to protect him with her butcher knife.

]]> 126 Robert Bloch 0552120693 Nandakishore 4 thriller
This book is a masterpiece. Unlike the movie, here the focus is on Norman Bates and his [spoilers removed] mother, and their tortured relationship. The suspense is largely psychological, and not the nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat variety.

A true masterpiece, one you can enjoy even if you have seen the movie.]]> 4.13 1959 Psycho
author: Robert Bloch
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1959
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2017/08/28
shelves: thriller
review:
What to say about this novel? It is the basis for the greatest suspense thriller on screen, maybe of all time. I had heard about the movie and Hitchcock much before I read this book (but surprisingly, I read it before I could actually see the film).

This book is a masterpiece. Unlike the movie, here the focus is on Norman Bates and his [spoilers removed] mother, and their tortured relationship. The suspense is largely psychological, and not the nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat variety.

A true masterpiece, one you can enjoy even if you have seen the movie.
]]> <![CDATA[The Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal Lecter, #2)]]> 23807
Dr. Lecter is a former psychiatrist with a grisly history, unusual tastes, and an intense curiosity about the darker corners of the mind. His intimate understanding of the killer and of Clarice herself form the core of "The Silence of the Lambs"—an ingenious, masterfully written book and an unforgettable classic of suspense fiction.]]> 421 Thomas Harris Nandakishore 3 thriller 4.25 1988 The Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal Lecter, #2)
author: Thomas Harris
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1988
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2017/08/15
shelves: thriller
review:
I didn't like Hannibal Lecter all that much on the printed page.😕
]]> Prester John 161002
In his remote store David finds himself with the key to a massive uprising led by the minister, who has taken the title of the mythical priest-king, Prester John.

David's courage and his understanding of this man take him to the heart of the uprising, a secret cave in the Rooirand.]]> 272 John Buchan 1406943223 Nandakishore 2 thriller 3.54 1910 Prester John
author: John Buchan
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.54
book published: 1910
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2016/05/25
shelves: thriller
review:
Another "classic" unpalatable to me because of its orientalist attitude.
]]> A Kiss Before Dying 2489731 239 Ira Levin 0330024299 Nandakishore 5 thriller The Boys from Brazil and Rosemary's Baby. But of the three, I found this to be the most suspenseful. The mystery is very well hidden; yet it's not a whodunit. The big revelation comes in the middle of the book: from then onwards, pure suspense carries it through.

Challenge for Indian readers: identify the Bollywood blockbuster based on this novel.

Read it!]]> 3.72 1953 A Kiss Before Dying
author: Ira Levin
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1953
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/05/22
shelves: thriller
review:
This book is an underrated gem, buried under the more famous The Boys from Brazil and Rosemary's Baby. But of the three, I found this to be the most suspenseful. The mystery is very well hidden; yet it's not a whodunit. The big revelation comes in the middle of the book: from then onwards, pure suspense carries it through.

Challenge for Indian readers: identify the Bollywood blockbuster based on this novel.

Read it!
]]> No Country for Old Men 1873903 Book by Cormac McCarthy 305 Cormac McCarthy 0330454536 Nandakishore 4 thriller
No Country for Old Men starts out in a thoroughly disjointed way. Multiple POVs, total lack of punctuation, dialogue rendered exactly as the characters speak it... the reader is utterly confused as to where the focus is, who the protagonist is, and what the story is about.

It could be about one Llewlyn Moss who stumbles upon a fortune while hunting antelope near the Rio Grande. A transaction between drug dealers has gone wrong, leaving a number of bodies, a huge stash of heroin, and a case full of cash. Moss takes the cash and runs, knowing fully well that his life is changed for ever.

Or then, it could be about Anton Chigurh, hired gun and cold-blooded killing machine. He is entrusted with the task of finding the money taken by Moss. On the way, Chigurh leaves a trail of dead bodies, sometimes philosophising to his victims.

Or it could be about Sheriff Bell, bent on doing his job of keeping law and order and protecting the citizens of his county to the best of his ability-even though most of the time, he fails.

The story moves at a roller-coaster pace. The scenes are short and mostly disjointed: the author sometimes leaves a major piece of the action behind the scenes. Characters come and go without any introduction. The sentences hit you like machine-gun fire.

If you stick with the novel, after some time, you get accustomed to the style; it loses its annoyance potential, and the real story starts coming through.

For this is not the story of Moss, or of Anton Chigurh; but of Sheriff Bell, and the country he is a symbol of. This is the country of Daniel Boone and Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kidd and Jesse James: the country of "The Man With No Name", and a hundred Spaghetti Westerns we have seen and forgotten. This country is absolutely heartless but imbued with a certain terrible beauty. This country sends forth its sons to die in Vietnam and Iraq.

It is, indeed, not a country for old men.

Anton Chigurh is a masterly creation: one of the most frightening villains I have come across, because he is not "evil" in the traditional sense. Chigurh is a philosopher, a believer in the karma of what he is doing, the karma which is unstoppable and which will find you out no matter what. The scenes of him philosophising with Carson Wells and Carla Jean before he shoots them are terrifying for the lack of emotion in them. It is also ironical that an out-of-control car driven by three junkies, an entirely chance event, ultimately proves to be his undoing.

But as I said earlier, this is the story of Sheriff Bell, who is atoning for a single act of cowardice during the second world war (rather like Lord Jim). We get to know this only towards the very end, after the whole affair of Moss and Chigurh is over and done with: then the story suddenly falls into focus, and the philosophical interludes of the sheriff interspersed throughout the novel with the main narrative starts to make perfect sense. The killers, the chase and the shootouts are all just window dressing for the story of this one man as he tries to make sense of the conundrum of the meaning of life. And he does find his answer, though maybe not the one he expected.

The image of this man, standing alone in the midst of the desert, shoulders slumped in defeat against an increasingly violent and unjust world, is a touching one: and somehow heartening. Because we know that he is the real spirit of the desert, the gunslinger of American myth who rides off into the sunset after taking care of the baddies. And because we know that finally at the end of the trail, his dad will be waiting for him with the fire burning in the dark as he saw in his dream.

Ride on, Sheriff Bell.]]> 4.01 2005 No Country for Old Men
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2012/02/04
date added: 2016/01/02
shelves: thriller
review:
This is started as a one-star book, then progressed to four slowly as the story unfolded. The novel grows on you.

No Country for Old Men starts out in a thoroughly disjointed way. Multiple POVs, total lack of punctuation, dialogue rendered exactly as the characters speak it... the reader is utterly confused as to where the focus is, who the protagonist is, and what the story is about.

It could be about one Llewlyn Moss who stumbles upon a fortune while hunting antelope near the Rio Grande. A transaction between drug dealers has gone wrong, leaving a number of bodies, a huge stash of heroin, and a case full of cash. Moss takes the cash and runs, knowing fully well that his life is changed for ever.

Or then, it could be about Anton Chigurh, hired gun and cold-blooded killing machine. He is entrusted with the task of finding the money taken by Moss. On the way, Chigurh leaves a trail of dead bodies, sometimes philosophising to his victims.

Or it could be about Sheriff Bell, bent on doing his job of keeping law and order and protecting the citizens of his county to the best of his ability-even though most of the time, he fails.

The story moves at a roller-coaster pace. The scenes are short and mostly disjointed: the author sometimes leaves a major piece of the action behind the scenes. Characters come and go without any introduction. The sentences hit you like machine-gun fire.

If you stick with the novel, after some time, you get accustomed to the style; it loses its annoyance potential, and the real story starts coming through.

For this is not the story of Moss, or of Anton Chigurh; but of Sheriff Bell, and the country he is a symbol of. This is the country of Daniel Boone and Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kidd and Jesse James: the country of "The Man With No Name", and a hundred Spaghetti Westerns we have seen and forgotten. This country is absolutely heartless but imbued with a certain terrible beauty. This country sends forth its sons to die in Vietnam and Iraq.

It is, indeed, not a country for old men.

Anton Chigurh is a masterly creation: one of the most frightening villains I have come across, because he is not "evil" in the traditional sense. Chigurh is a philosopher, a believer in the karma of what he is doing, the karma which is unstoppable and which will find you out no matter what. The scenes of him philosophising with Carson Wells and Carla Jean before he shoots them are terrifying for the lack of emotion in them. It is also ironical that an out-of-control car driven by three junkies, an entirely chance event, ultimately proves to be his undoing.

But as I said earlier, this is the story of Sheriff Bell, who is atoning for a single act of cowardice during the second world war (rather like Lord Jim). We get to know this only towards the very end, after the whole affair of Moss and Chigurh is over and done with: then the story suddenly falls into focus, and the philosophical interludes of the sheriff interspersed throughout the novel with the main narrative starts to make perfect sense. The killers, the chase and the shootouts are all just window dressing for the story of this one man as he tries to make sense of the conundrum of the meaning of life. And he does find his answer, though maybe not the one he expected.

The image of this man, standing alone in the midst of the desert, shoulders slumped in defeat against an increasingly violent and unjust world, is a touching one: and somehow heartening. Because we know that he is the real spirit of the desert, the gunslinger of American myth who rides off into the sunset after taking care of the baddies. And because we know that finally at the end of the trail, his dad will be waiting for him with the fire burning in the dark as he saw in his dream.

Ride on, Sheriff Bell.
]]> Shutter Island 5989185 385 Dennis Lehane 0061703257 Nandakishore 4 mystery, thriller 4.02 2003 Shutter Island
author: Dennis Lehane
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2015/10/25
shelves: mystery, thriller
review:
An excellent thriller. Lehane keeps us on the edge throughout: and the twists in the story are so subtly done, that you have to go over the earlier parts once again to see how they are open to a different interpretation than the one which seemed evident to us at that time. Agatha Christie was a master of this style, and Lehane is not far behind. And the ending was an absolute shocker.
]]> The Day of the Jackal 981998
The Jackal was an anonymous Englishman who came literally within an inch of destroying de Gaulle and possibly changing the course of world history. Frederick Forsyth's brilliantly researched novel reveals how the assassin was recruited; how much he was paid; the intricate planning that went into the attempt; the international security net that was set up (but failed) to trap him; the fantastic chase across the Continent in which he kept only a step ahead of his pursuers; and the unprecedented security measures the French were compelled to adopt to save the President from the most ruthless assassin known to modern times.]]> 384 Frederick Forsyth 0552091219 Nandakishore 4 thriller 4.13 1971 The Day of the Jackal
author: Frederick Forsyth
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1971
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2015/05/28
shelves: thriller
review:
This was the quintessential thriller during my teens, where we keep on rooting for the villain while praying at the same time that he doesn't succeed. "The Jackal" has become an iconic figure.
]]> <![CDATA[The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1)]]> 2732977 Henrik Vanger, head of the dynastic Vanger Corporation, is tormented by the loss of a child decades earlier and convinced that a member of his family has committed murder.

The Journalist
Mikael Blomkvist delves deep into the Vangers' past to uncover the truth behind the unsolved mystery. But someone else wants the past to remain a secret an will go to any lengths to keep it that way.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Lisbeth Salander, the enigmatic, delinquent and dangerous security specialist, assists in the investigation. A genius computer hacker, she tolerates no restrictions placed upon her by individuals, society or the law.]]> 538 Stieg Larsson Nandakishore 3 thriller 4.15 2005 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1)
author: Stieg Larsson
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/11/27
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> The Stepford Wives 831358
At once a masterpiece of psychological suspense and a savage commentary on a media-driven society that values the pursuit of youth and beauty at all costs, The Stepford Wives is a novel so frightening in its final implications that the title itself has earned a place in the American lexicon.]]> 116 Ira Levin Nandakishore 2 thriller 3.66 1972 The Stepford Wives
author: Ira Levin
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.66
book published: 1972
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2012/01/16
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> The Fourth Protocol 981996 448 Frederick Forsyth 0091586305 Nandakishore 3 thriller 3.83 1984 The Fourth Protocol
author: Frederick Forsyth
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1984
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/09/30
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> The Devil's Alternative 11736279 'Whichever option I choose, men are going to die.'When the entire Soviet Union wheat crop is destroyed by a devastating string of failures, the population faces starvation. The USA is quick to offer assistance. They devise a plan to trade vital food resources with the Russians in exchange for sensitive political information. But the Politburo has other the invasion of Western Europe to commandeer the food for themselves...As the paths of communication breakdown, the American president and leaders from around the world face an appalling should they allow the loss of thousands to save the lives of many more?This is the Devil's Alternative, and in this incomparable and gripping thriller the Cold War giants must fight a battle to the death.]]> 482 Frederick Forsyth Nandakishore 4 thriller 4.44 1979 The Devil's Alternative
author: Frederick Forsyth
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1979
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2011/09/30
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> The Odessa File 2214753 Odessa ...of a real-life fugitive known as the "Butcher of Riga" ...of a young German journalist turned obsessed avenger ...and, ultimately, of brilliant, ruthless plot to re-establish the worldwide power of SS mass murderers and to carry out Hitler's chilling "Final Solution".]]> 320 Frederick Forsyth 0552094366 Nandakishore 4 thriller 3.79 1972 The Odessa File
author: Frederick Forsyth
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1972
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2011/09/30
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> The Street Lawyer 5351
But a violent encounter with a homeless man stopped him cold. Michael survived; his assailant did not. Who was this man? Michael did some digging, and learned that he was a mentally ill veteran who'd been in and out of shelters for many years. Then Michael dug a little deeper, and found a dirty secret, and the secret involved Drake & Sweeney.

The fast track derailed; the ladder collapsed. Michael bolted the firm and took a top-secret file with him. He landed in the streets, an advocate for the homeless, a street lawyer.

And a thief.]]> 384 John Grisham 0385339097 Nandakishore 1 thriller 3.87 1998 The Street Lawyer
author: John Grisham
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1998
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2011/09/29
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> The Partner 5350
The man they were about to kidnap had not always been called Danilo Silva. Before he had had another life, a life which ended in a car crash in February 1992. His gravestone lay in a cemetery in Biloxi, Mississippi. His name before his death was Patrick S. Lanigan. He had been a partner at an up-and-coming law firm. He had a pretty wife, a young daughter, and a bright future. Six weeks after his death, $90 million disappeared from the law firm.

It was then that his partners knew he was still alive. And the chase was on]]> 416 John Grisham 0385339100 Nandakishore 2 thriller 3.95 1997 The Partner
author: John Grisham
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1997
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2011/09/29
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> The Firm 5358 Adaptation for younger readers.

Mitch McDeere is a young, intelligent and ambitious lawyer. When he gets a job with a top tax law firm in Memphis, he is delighted. But he quickly becomes suspicious after mysterious deaths, obsessive office security, and the Chicago mob figure into its operations. The situation only escalates when Mitch discovers that the firm is listening in on his phone calls and that the FBI want to speak to him. Money and power has a price � and it could be Mitch's life.

Adaptation Notes
This adaptation is a simplified text designed in association with world famous educational publishers, to provide a step-by-step approach to the joys of reading for pleasure. The series include original stories, contemporary titles based on today's best-selling media hits, and easily accessible versions of the literary classics from around the world. Each book has an introduction and extensive activity material. They are published at different levels for readers of all skill levels.

Series Editors: Andy Hopkins and Jocelyn Potter

Book Details:
- Difficulty: Level 5 - Upper Intermediate (2300 words)
- Category: Contemporary
- Dialect: British English]]> 76 Robin Waterfield 0582418275 Nandakishore 3 thriller 4.06 1991 The Firm
author: Robin Waterfield
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1991
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/09/29
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> The Client 5359 483 John Grisham 0385339089 Nandakishore 3 thriller 4.06 1993 The Client
author: John Grisham
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1993
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/09/29
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> The Chamber 5355
Maximum Security Unit, Mississippi State Prison: Sam Cayhall is a former Klansman and unrepentant racist now facing the death penalty for a fatal bombing in 1967. He has run out of chances -- except for one: the young, liberal Chicago lawyer who just happens to be his grandson.

While the executioners prepare the gas chamber, while the protesters gather and the TV cameras wait, Adam has only days, hours, minutes to save his client. For between the two men is a chasm of shame, family lies, and secrets -- including the one secret that could save Sam Cayhall's life... or cost Adam his.
--back cover]]> 632 John Grisham 0385339666 Nandakishore 2 thriller 3.84 1994 The Chamber
author: John Grisham
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1994
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2011/09/29
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> The Pelican Brief 32499 400 John Grisham 0385339704 Nandakishore 3 thriller 4.06 1992 The Pelican Brief
author: John Grisham
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/09/29
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> The Rainmaker 158826 A Time To Kill, The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, and The Chamber -- have been number one best-sellers, and have a combined total of 47 million copies in print. Now, inThe Rainmaker, Grisham returns to the courtroom for the first time since A Time To Kill, and weaves a riveting tale of legal intrigue and corporate greed. Combining suspense, narrative momentum, and humor as only John Grisham can, this is another spellbinding read from the most popular author of our time.

Grisham's sixth spellbinding novel of legal intrigue and corporate greed displays all of the intricate plotting, fast-paced action, humor, and suspense that have made him the most popular author of our time. In his first courtroom thriller since A Time To Kill, John Grisham tells the story of a young man barely out of law school who finds himself taking on one of the most powerful, corrupt, and ruthless companies in America -- and exposing a complex, multibillion-dollar insurance scam. In hs final semester of law school Rudy Baylor is required to provide free legal advice to a group of senior citizens, and it is there that he meets his first "clients," Dot and Buddy Black. Their son, Donny Ray, is dying of leukemia, and their insurance company has flatly refused to pay for his medical treatments. While Rudy is at first skeptical, he soon realizes that the Blacks really have been shockingly mistreated by the huge company, and that he just may have stumbled upon one of the largest insurance frauds anyone's ever seen -- and one of the most lucrative and important cases in the history of civil litigation. The problem is, Rudy's flat broke, has no job, hasn't even passed the bar, and is about to go head-to-head with one of the best defense attorneys -- and powerful industries -- in America.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> John Grisham 0712654593 Nandakishore 4 thriller 3.96 1995 The Rainmaker
author: John Grisham
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2011/09/29
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> The Runaway Jury 24192
The jury is behaving strangely, and at least one juror is convinced he's being watched. Soon they have to be sequestered. Then a tip from an anonymous young woman suggests she is able to predict the jurors' increasingly odd behavior.

Is the jury somehow being manipulated, or even controlled? If so, by whom? And, more importantly, why?

From the Trade Paperback edition.]]> 464 John Grisham 0385339690 Nandakishore 4 thriller 4.03 1996 The Runaway Jury
author: John Grisham
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2011/09/29
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Time to Kill (Jake Brigance, #1)]]> 32542 This is an alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780385338608

Before The Firm and The Pelican Brief made him a superstar, John Grisham wrote this riveting story of retribution and justice. In this searing courtroom drama, best-selling author John Grisham probes the savage depths of racial violence, as he delivers a compelling tale of uncertain justice in a small southern town, Clanton, Mississippi.

The life of a ten-year-old girl is shattered by two drunken and remorseless young men. The mostly white town reacts with shock and horror at the inhuman crime. That is, until her black father acquires an assault rifle and takes matters into his hands.

For ten days, as burning crosses and the crack of sniper fire spread through the streets of Clanton, the nation sits spellbound as young defense attorney Jake Brigance struggles to save his client's life, and then his own.]]> 738 John Grisham Nandakishore 3 thriller 4.11 1989 A Time to Kill (Jake Brigance, #1)
author: John Grisham
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1989
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/09/29
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Postman Always Rings Twice]]> 25807 The Stranger - is the fever-pitched tale of a drifter who stumbles into a job, into an erotic obsession, and into a murder.]]> 116 James M. Cain 0752861743 Nandakishore 4 thriller 3.79 1934 The Postman Always Rings Twice
author: James M. Cain
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1934
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2011/09/29
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Girl Who Played With Fire (Millennium #2)]]> 5060378 Millenium publisher Mikael Blomkvist has made his reputation exposing corrupt establishment figures. So when a young journalist approaches him with an investigation into sex trafficking, Blomkvist cannot resist waging war on the powerful figures who control this lucrative industry.

The Murder
When a young couple is found dead in their Stockholm apartment, it's a straightforward job for Inspector Bublanski and his team. The killer left the weapon at the scene - and the fingerprints on the gun point in only one direction.

The Girl Who Played with Fire
Ex-security analyst Lisbeth Salander is wanted for murder. Her history of unpredictable and vengeful behaviour makes her an official danger to society - but no-one can find her. The only way Salander can be reached is by computer. But she can break into almost any network she chooses...]]> 503 Stieg Larsson 0307269981 Nandakishore 3 thriller 4.25 2006 The Girl Who Played With Fire (Millennium #2)
author: Stieg Larsson
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/09/29
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> Double Indemnity 56616 Double Indemnity gives us an X-ray view of guilt, of duplicity, and of the kind of obsessive, loveless love that devastates everything it touches. First published in 1935, this novel reaffirmed James M. Cain as a virtuoso of the roman noir.

Walter Huff was an insurance salesman with an unfailing instinct for clients who might be in trouble, and his instinct led him to Phyllis Nirdlinger. Phyllis wanted to buy an accident policy on her husband. Then she wanted her husband to have an accident. Walter wanted Phyllis. To get her, he would arrange the perfect murder and betray everything he had ever lived for.]]> 115 James M. Cain 0679723226 Nandakishore 3 thriller 4.07 1936 Double Indemnity
author: James M. Cain
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1936
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/09/29
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (Millennium, #3)]]> 6892870
Lisbeth Salander - the heart of Larsson's two previous novels - lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She's fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she'll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge - against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.

Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back.

~from the jacket]]> 566 Stieg Larsson 030726999X Nandakishore 3 thriller 4.23 2007 The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (Millennium, #3)
author: Stieg Larsson
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/09/29
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> Jamaica Inn 50244 302 Daphne du Maurier 0380725398 Nandakishore 3 thriller 3.80 1936 Jamaica Inn
author: Daphne du Maurier
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1936
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/09/27
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The 39 Steps (Richard Hannay, #1)]]> 153492 100 John Buchan 1419151126 Nandakishore 2 thriller 3.62 1915 The 39 Steps (Richard Hannay, #1)
author: John Buchan
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.62
book published: 1915
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2011/09/27
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> The Boys from Brazil 458227
Thus Ira Levin opens one of the strangest and most masterful novels of his career. Why has Mengele marked a number of harmless aging men for murder? What is the hidden link that binds them? What interest can they possibly hold for their
six former SS men dispatched from South America by the most wanted Nazi still alive, the notorious “Angel of Deathâ€�? One man alone must answer these questions and stop the killings—Lieberman, himself aging and thought by some to be losing his grip on reality.

At the heart of The Boys from Brazil lies a frightening contemporary nightmare, chilling and all too possible.]]> 268 Ira Levin Nandakishore 4 thriller 3.72 1976 The Boys from Brazil
author: Ira Levin
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1976
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2011/09/23
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Red Dragon (Hannibal Lecter, #1)]]> 28877 454 Thomas Harris Nandakishore 3 thriller 4.07 1981 Red Dragon (Hannibal Lecter, #1)
author: Thomas Harris
name: Nandakishore
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1981
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/09/21
shelves: thriller
review:

]]>