Gary's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 21 Sep 2024 02:36:51 -0700 60 Gary's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Hat Dance (Emilia Cruz Mysteries, #2)]]> 21015877
By coincidence at the same restaurant as Acapulco's popular mayor, Emilia's date with hotel manager Kurt Rucker is cut short by an explosive fire that kills half of the mayor's security detail. Emilia is assigned to investigate what quickly is dubbed an assassination attempt on the politician.

Frightened by the fire and the raw emotion it has sparked not only inside herself but across the city, Emilia isn't helped by a boss who is more concerned with his own demons than hers, and a new partner who comes with a bad attitude. Moreover, Kurt Rucker could leave Acapulco for a lucrative new job in Belize.

When the involvement of the Mexican Army seems likely and would-be vigilantes post threatening videos on YouTube, Acapulco erupts with a wave of violent demonstrations. But even as pressure mounts for a fast arrest, Emilia remains bound by a promise to look for a girl who has disappeared from her own neighborhood. It doesn't take long before Emilia uncovers some nasty family secrets and turns to the city's most notorious hooker for answers, only to end up on the wrong side of a dirty Vice cop.

As fires, death threats, and the fallout from hasty decisions circle around her, Emilia will doubt both her skills as a detective and ability to survive amid the sharks. She'll start making deals for access and information, but the one she makes with the devil could be her last.

HAT DANCE is the second book in the Emilia Cruz mystery series. It follows CLIFF DIVER, the novel that Kirkus Reviews called "Consistently exciting . . . A clever Mexican detective tale that will leave readers eager for the series' next installment." The Emilia Cruz mystery series is as raw and action-filled as the headlines coming out of Mexico today, but just like the country, Emilia is both resilient and warm-hearted.

With hot nights on the beach and suspense straight out of the news, the series goes inside Mexico's drug war with a fearless style and a woman who will be hard to forget.]]> 338 Carmen Amato 0985325631 Gary 4 4.35 Hat Dance (Emilia Cruz Mysteries, #2)
author: Carmen Amato
name: Gary
average rating: 4.35
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2013/12/29
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves:
review:
This was a well-worth read. The protagonist, Emilia Cruz, is a tough detective from a poor background with relationship issues with boyfriend, Kurt, rather than the usual drink problem. It is set in Acapulco where the mayhem commences. The story centres on the hunt for a missing girl, Lila. It’s all here, corrupt Mexican police, drug gangs, shadowy military, and an assortment of dubious sub-characters. But Emilia is up to the challenge, utilizing both her intellect and her physical courage. She’s a complicated, multi-dimensional character, and the author doesn’t hold back from getting inside her head and exposing the positives and negatives. But don’t be fooled. This isn’t the work of a head shrink. The plot is intricate, and has more twists and turns than a F1 racetrack. There is a lot of use of Mexican slang/colloquialisms which is a little hard on the eyes at times, but the dance with the devil, to which the title alludes, is well-written and the characters authentic and memorable. But for me the city itself was the main character. I could literally smell it times. Saying that, I did feel a little swamped by the unrelenting flaws of the cast at times, and the book could have done with some more humour. Read it. Enjoy it. Four stars.
]]> <![CDATA[State of Honour (Special Agent Tom Dupree #1)]]> 24726982 One man, one mission; prevent the outbreak of the next world war�

Live reports of an explosive attack in Pakistan are flooding the world’s newsrooms. The US Secretary of State is missing - and with tensions on the international diplomatic scene at boiling point Special Agent Tom Dupree has only three days to track down her abductors.

Linda Carlyle will be beheaded in three days if her abductor’s demands are not met. Except everyone knows that the US never negotiates with terrorists...

Saving Linda’s life = save the world from a brutal and bloody war: The stakes have never been higher…and a web of conspiracy, deception and betrayal leave Tom with no-one to trust, but himself.

Political thrillers don’t come more turbo-charged than this! Prepare for twist after twist right up to the electrifying climax in this high-octane political thriller.]]> 384 Gary Haynes 1472054792 Gary 0 3.50 2013 State of Honour (Special Agent Tom Dupree #1)
author: Gary Haynes
name: Gary
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/26
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[State of Attack (Special Agent Tom Dupree, #2)]]> 24727380
Tom Dupree must embark on his most dangerous mission yet: a desperate search to track down the Sword of Allah, a jihadist otherwise known simply as Ibrahim.

But the closer Dupree delves into the knot of terror, betrayal and conspiracy surrounding the Sword of Allah, the fewer people he can trust � and the more deadly the race becomes.

Special Agent Tom Dupree is back!]]> 379 Gary Haynes Gary 0 4.46 2015 State of Attack (Special Agent Tom Dupree, #2)
author: Gary Haynes
name: Gary
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/27
shelves:
review:

]]> The Blameless Dead 42653835
As the war ends, retribution begins. But some revenge cannot be taken at once. Some revenge takes years.

And so it is, as post-war Europe tries desperately to drag itself back onto its feet, and soldiers attempt a return to normality, that retribution continues to ferment in the Gulags of the Soviet Union and beneath the surface of apparently ordinary lives.

Which is how, seventy years later, FBI agent Carla Romero and New York lawyer Gabriel Hall are enlisted to investigate a series of blood-chilling crimes that seem to have their roots in the distant past � even though the suffering they cause is all too present. And for one of them, the disappearance of young women is a particularly personal matter.

The Blameless Dead is an epic, compelling, edge-of-the-seat drama that sweeps the reader from twentieth century Europe to modern-day New York, taking in some of the most important events of modern history and exposing them in honest and unflinching terms. Part murder-mystery, part historical novel and shot through with adrenaline-pumping action, this novel superbly demonstrates that, while the hostilities may cease and the peace be signed, the horror that is war is never really over.]]> 0 Gary Haynes 1911445642 Gary 0 3.95 2019 The Blameless Dead
author: Gary Haynes
name: Gary
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/26
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Son of the Deathless (Children of Vasyllia, #1)]]> 62025661
Born on the vernal equinox, his first breath drawn while he lay on blood-soaked soil in the mystic woods of Dunai, Andry’s birth portended heroism, power, destiny.

And yet, other than an unusual affinity for the land, the boy has lived a life indistinguishable from that of any other child born in Dunai: a life of secluded, prosperous, boring contentment.

But when two soldiers arrive, fleeing the never-ending wars of an evil empress, everything changes. Andry’s home has at last been found by the empire, and the empress demands her due: Dunai’s crops and food to feed her subjects, its men and women to fight her wars. Worst of all, the empress has the Mother of Kish—a sorceress whose thirst for blood and power knows no bounds—to oversee Dunai’s conquest.

But the Mother of Kish has her own dark designs. For she has heard the rumors, she has divined the signs. She knows that the treasure of Dunai lies not in its crops or people, but in the power it hides: the power to raise the dead; to create an eternal army capable of laying waste to all who stand against her.

And the Mother of Kish will have that power—or she will destroy it, along with all Dunai—unless Andry can discover the truth of his birth, the lie of his life. Unless he can find within himself the power that creation bent itself to give him…as The Son of the Deathless.]]> Nicholas Kotar Gary 0 to-read 4.62 The Son of the Deathless (Children of Vasyllia, #1)
author: Nicholas Kotar
name: Gary
average rating: 4.62
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Forgive Me Father (DCI Warren Jones #5)]]> 46184731 A fire breaks out in a chapel, and DCI Warren Jones is alarmed by what is discovered at the scene. Curled up in the ash and debris is a body � and it’s soon clear that the chapel doors were locked from the inside.

The disappearance of a local priest, Father Nolan, and a cryptic note left in his room, point to an unusually violent suicide. But when further evidence confuses the picture, Warren begins to suspect foul play � and murder. Clearly, someone wanted this seemingly innocent man to suffer.

And when a discovery on a quiet riverbank sends the investigation reeling, Warren knows he must act quickly to discover who is behind this spate of grisly deaths � before another man of God is found dead.]]> 513 Paul Gitsham Gary 5
It begins with a body found burned to death on the ash-ridden floor of a chapel. The initial clues point to a violent suicide but the victim was a Catholic priest and within Catholicism committing suicide is a mortal sin. Moreover, why would a suicide victim lock themselves in? To prevent anyone from disrupting their final act? Maybe. But the priest isn’t the last man of God to die in gruesome circumstances.

Gitsham knows his stuff, both in regard to police procedure and in maintaining suspense. But he knows how to go beyond what a reader may expect in a crime novel too, and here there is an essentially theological inquiry of the nature of religion and man’s place in the universe, which brings a whole new dimension to the novel and allows the characters, including the protagonist, to evaluate their value systems. This thoughtful metaphysical examination in the midst of a multiple murder investigation is most satisfying.

DCI Warren Jones is that rare beast in crime thrillers: a man without too many flaws, who doesn’t live alone in a flat with a bottle of whiskey to cuddle up to. He is as mindful of the men and women who work under him as he is of the wider effects of the crimes he investigates. If there is one aspect of the series that stands out, it’s a sense of authenticity.

Forgive Me Father is definitely one of the best in the series. It’s an intelligent, compelling and humane investigation of the nature of good and evil. Five out of five stars.
]]> 3.89 Forgive Me Father (DCI Warren Jones #5)
author: Paul Gitsham
name: Gary
average rating: 3.89
book published:
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/11/18
shelves:
review:
Is there a greater crime than killing a priest? Gitsham’s DCI Warren Jones series is a winner and his latest novel in the series doesn’t disappoint. Unafraid to explore gritty and difficult subject matters head-on, Gitsham here enters the world of religion and the nature of sin via his Middlebury-force detective in the fifth novel in the excellent crime series.

It begins with a body found burned to death on the ash-ridden floor of a chapel. The initial clues point to a violent suicide but the victim was a Catholic priest and within Catholicism committing suicide is a mortal sin. Moreover, why would a suicide victim lock themselves in? To prevent anyone from disrupting their final act? Maybe. But the priest isn’t the last man of God to die in gruesome circumstances.

Gitsham knows his stuff, both in regard to police procedure and in maintaining suspense. But he knows how to go beyond what a reader may expect in a crime novel too, and here there is an essentially theological inquiry of the nature of religion and man’s place in the universe, which brings a whole new dimension to the novel and allows the characters, including the protagonist, to evaluate their value systems. This thoughtful metaphysical examination in the midst of a multiple murder investigation is most satisfying.

DCI Warren Jones is that rare beast in crime thrillers: a man without too many flaws, who doesn’t live alone in a flat with a bottle of whiskey to cuddle up to. He is as mindful of the men and women who work under him as he is of the wider effects of the crimes he investigates. If there is one aspect of the series that stands out, it’s a sense of authenticity.

Forgive Me Father is definitely one of the best in the series. It’s an intelligent, compelling and humane investigation of the nature of good and evil. Five out of five stars.

]]> The Assassins 29753536

1914.

Tensions are reaching boiling point in Europe and the threat of war is imminent.

Johnny Swift, a young and often brash diplomatic clerk employed by the British embassy is sent to infiltrate the ‘Young Bosnians�, a group of idealistic conspirators planning to murder Franz Ferdinand, the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in a bid to liberate their country from the monarchy’s grip.

Johnny has been having an affair with his employer’s wife, Lady Elizabeth ‘Libby� Smyth, and suspecting he’s being cuckolded, Sir George Smyth packs Johnny off on a mission to infiltrate the Young Bosnian cell with every confidence that that’s the last time he’ll be seeing his cocky young clerk.

But Johnny has a lot of living still to do and is not the type to embrace his ‘destiny� when it starts to look like it will ultimately end in an untimely death.

In an action-packed thriller, the compelling and tragic story of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his beloved wife ‘Sopherl�, Sophie, the Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo is played out against a backdrop of simmering international tensions that have world-changing political reverberations.

Johnny manages to infiltrate the Young Bosnian conspriators� cell, helped by Lazlo Breitner, a Hungarian Civil servant in the joint ministry of finance and a staunch monarchist acting on an anonymous tip-off about a serious threat to the Archduke’s life during his forthcoming visit to Sarajevo by a group of young local dissidents.

However, Johnny soon realises he’s in over his head, with gambling debts and a taste for beautiful women the very least of his problems as he struggles to survive on his wits in an increasingly complex world of political espionage and deadly threats.

In a convincing re-telling of the tragic real-life events that precipitated a world war, Alan Bardos manages to take the known facts � that the conspirators were young nationalist fanatics, able to dream of revolution but unable to act without the backing of the prominent Colonel ‘Apis� Dimitrijevic, or that the whole thing was Apis� idea, and that it was the Colonel himself who actively sought out, recruited and instructed the assassins for his own political agenda.

Whichever’s the case, in no time at all Johnny Swift finds himself embroiled deep within an increasingly deadly political situation that spans Europe and threatens to drag Britain to the coming inevitable war. Unable to trust anyone, and with the very lives of the royal couple unexpectedly in his hands, Johnny tries to avert catastrophe.

Using both fictional and actual characters and events, Bardos has crafted a heart-racing story of love, royal duty and political intrigue which expertly uses the historical evidence available to create a believable narrative arc, ultimately allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions as to what actually happened on one fateful day in Sarajevo�

Alan Bardos studied an MA in TV Script Writing at De Montfort University. He has experimented in different genres and media, and has found his voice in writing historical fiction.

Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at . Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via . We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.]]> Alan Bardos Gary 4
Woven into the ill-fated lives of the archduke and the assassins, is the fictional story of Johnny Swift, a member of the British Diplomatic Corps. Swift is a somewhat flawed hero, who has both nail-biting run-ins with Balkan revolutionaries and entertaining discourses with the likes of Leo Trotsky. After he is sent on the impossible task of infiltrating the cell plotting the assassination, following an affair with his superior’s wife, his dangerous mission uncovers what for me was the most interesting aspect of the novel. Although many people know the basic historical facts, I for one had no grasp of the detail, especially in respect of the rationale for the assassination, the characters involved, nor the manner of its planning. What is also interesting is that it almost failed and could have been thwarted, and the reader is left pondering how many lives would have been saved if the assassins had failed.

Swift’s exciting exploits, which do not dampen his penchant for gambling and womanising, get to the bottom of the assassins� revolutionary zeal in a satisfying manner. Although he is somewhat unsympathetic, he is nonetheless favourable in comparison. But even the assassins are not drawn wholly without sympathy. There is much nuance and shades of grey in respect of all the main characters, fictional and otherwise, and this gives the novel a real sense of believability. This is not an alternative history; but even though we know the outcome, the playing out of in the narrative is no less thrilling.

Bardos writes rhythmically and passionately about his subject, and not without a fair smattering of welcomed humour. The novel works not least because the author clearly has a firm grasp of the underlying historical detail. It appears, in fact, flawlessly researched. My one minor criticism is that infrequently the historical detail could have been brought fully to life via a more lyrical style.
Part historical fiction, part thriller and part love story, this is a compelling and entertaining read.
]]> 3.63 2021 The Assassins
author: Alan Bardos
name: Gary
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2019/05/06
date added: 2019/05/06
shelves:
review:
Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, are assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914. This fascinating novel takes this momentous historical event, which led to the outbreak of the Great War, as the framework upon which to construct layers of well-researched historical background and entertaining fictional analysis. But Bardos does so much more than mixing historical fact with fiction to bring about his punchy plot. There is real tension and laser-like insight here.

Woven into the ill-fated lives of the archduke and the assassins, is the fictional story of Johnny Swift, a member of the British Diplomatic Corps. Swift is a somewhat flawed hero, who has both nail-biting run-ins with Balkan revolutionaries and entertaining discourses with the likes of Leo Trotsky. After he is sent on the impossible task of infiltrating the cell plotting the assassination, following an affair with his superior’s wife, his dangerous mission uncovers what for me was the most interesting aspect of the novel. Although many people know the basic historical facts, I for one had no grasp of the detail, especially in respect of the rationale for the assassination, the characters involved, nor the manner of its planning. What is also interesting is that it almost failed and could have been thwarted, and the reader is left pondering how many lives would have been saved if the assassins had failed.

Swift’s exciting exploits, which do not dampen his penchant for gambling and womanising, get to the bottom of the assassins� revolutionary zeal in a satisfying manner. Although he is somewhat unsympathetic, he is nonetheless favourable in comparison. But even the assassins are not drawn wholly without sympathy. There is much nuance and shades of grey in respect of all the main characters, fictional and otherwise, and this gives the novel a real sense of believability. This is not an alternative history; but even though we know the outcome, the playing out of in the narrative is no less thrilling.

Bardos writes rhythmically and passionately about his subject, and not without a fair smattering of welcomed humour. The novel works not least because the author clearly has a firm grasp of the underlying historical detail. It appears, in fact, flawlessly researched. My one minor criticism is that infrequently the historical detail could have been brought fully to life via a more lyrical style.
Part historical fiction, part thriller and part love story, this is a compelling and entertaining read.

]]> <![CDATA[Robicheaux: You Know My Name (Dave Robicheaux)]]> 37805919
DAVE ROBICHEAUX IS A HAUNTED MAN.

Between his recurrent nightmares about Vietnam, his battle with alcoholism, and the sudden loss of his beloved wife, Molly, his thoughts drift from one irreconcilable memory to the next. Images of ghosts at Spanish Lake live on the edge of his vision.

During a murder investigation, Dave Robicheaux discovers he may have committed the homicide he’s investigating, one which involved the death of the man who took the life of Dave’s beloved wife. As he works to clear his name and make sense of the murder, Robicheaux encounters a cast of characters and a resurgence of dark social forces that threaten to destroy all of those whom he loves. What emerges is not only a propulsive and thrilling novel, but a harrowing study of America: this nation’s abiding conflict between a sense of past grandeur and a legacy of shame, its easy seduction by demagogues and wealth, and its predilection for violence and revenge. James Lee Burke has returned with one of America’s favorite characters, in his most searing, most prescient novel to date.]]> 447 James Lee Burke 1409176452 Gary 4 3.88 2018 Robicheaux: You Know My Name (Dave Robicheaux)
author: James Lee Burke
name: Gary
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2018/09/23
date added: 2019/01/30
shelves:
review:

]]> The Long Take 35659255 237 Robin Robertson 1509846883 Gary 5
]]> 3.82 2018 The Long Take
author: Robin Robertson
name: Gary
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2018/12/15
shelves:
review:
A fascinating and erudite verse novel that evokes post-WW2 America with rare skill. The protagonist, Walker, is a veteran, damaged by his experiences of the war. The story is based around the devastation he left behind and that which he sees about him as he traverses several of the US's great cities. A unique reading experience. 5 stars.


]]> Life and Fate 88432 Life and Fate is an epic tale of a country told through the fate of a single family, the Shaposhnikovs. As the battle of Stalingrad looms, Grossman's characters must work out their destinies in a world torn apart by ideological tyranny and war.

Completed in 1960 and then confiscated by the KGB, this sweeping panorama of Soviet society remained unpublished until it was smuggled into the West in 1980, where it was hailed as a masterpiece.

Librarian's Note: This is an alternative cover edition of ISBN13: 9780099506164]]> 864 Vasily Grossman Gary 4 4.42 1960 Life and Fate
author: Vasily Grossman
name: Gary
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1960
rating: 4
read at: 2018/09/23
date added: 2018/09/23
shelves:
review:

]]> For Whom the Bell Tolls 46170 For Whom the Bell Tolls. The story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to an antifascist guerilla unit in the mountains of Spain, it tells of loyalty and courage, love and defeat, and the tragic death of an ideal. In his portrayal of Jordan's love for the beautiful Maria and his superb account of El Sordo's last stand, in his brilliant travesty of La Pasionaria and his unwillingness to believe in blind faith, Hemingway surpasses his achievement in The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms to create a work at once rare and beautiful, strong and brutal, compassionate, moving and wise. "If the function of a writer is to reveal reality," Maxwell Perkins wrote to Hemingway after reading the manuscript, "no one ever so completely performed it." Greater in power, broader in scope, and more intensely emotional than any of the author's previous works, it stands as one of the best war novels of all time.]]> 471 Ernest Hemingway Gary 4 3.98 1940 For Whom the Bell Tolls
author: Ernest Hemingway
name: Gary
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1940
rating: 4
read at: 2018/01/31
date added: 2018/01/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Cities of the Plain (The Border Trilogy, #3)]]> 40470 All the Pretty Horses and The Crossing fashions a darkly beautiful elegy for the American frontier. It is 1952 and John Grady Cole and Billy Parham are working as ranch hands in New Mexico, not far from the proving grounds of Alamogordo and the cities of El Paso and Juarez. Their life is made up of trail drives and horse auctions and stories told by campfire light. They value that life all the more because they know it is about to change forever.

The change comes when John Grady falls in love with a beautiful, ill-starred Mexican prostitute and sets in motion a chain of events as violent as they are unstoppable. Haunting in its beauty, filled with sorrow, humor, and awe, Cities of the Plain is a genuine American epic.]]> 293 Cormac McCarthy 0679747192 Gary 5 4.13 1998 Cities of the Plain (The Border Trilogy, #3)
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: Gary
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2018/01/19
date added: 2018/01/19
shelves:
review:

]]> Kimo's War 18056150 201 James Frey 1489594515 Gary 0 to-read 3.83 2013 Kimo's War
author: James Frey
name: Gary
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/10/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Burning Soul (Charlie Parker, #10)]]> 9721102
When a girl disappears from a small Maine town, her neighbor—a recluse named Randall Haight—starts receiving anonymous letters that contain tormenting references to a different teenage girl, murdered long ago. For many years, Randall has kept a secret: when he was fourteen, he was convicted of killing that girl. Now, his former life has returned to haunt him, and he hires private detective Charlie Parker to make it go away. But in a town built on blood and shadowed by old ghosts, where too many of the living are hiding secrets, the past cannot be dismissed so easily. As Parker unravels a twisted, violent history involving a doomed mobster and his enemies, the police, and the FBI, his search returns again and again to Randall Haight. Because Randall is still telling lies…]]> 410 John Connolly 0340993537 Gary 0 4.09 2011 The Burning Soul (Charlie Parker, #10)
author: John Connolly
name: Gary
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at: 2016/07/24
date added: 2016/07/24
shelves:
review:

]]> The English Patient 11713 320 Michael Ondaatje 0771068719 Gary 0 3.88 1992 The English Patient
author: Michael Ondaatje
name: Gary
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at: 2016/03/27
date added: 2016/03/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[All the Pretty Horses (The Border Trilogy, #1)]]> 469571 302 Cormac McCarthy 0679744398 Gary 0 4.04 1992 All the Pretty Horses (The Border Trilogy, #1)
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: Gary
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at: 2016/03/27
date added: 2016/03/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Storm Rising (Storm Series #1)]]> 22428250
Aaron is a sadistic control freak who preys on people who lack confidence in their own self-worth. He uses psychological torture and both physical and sexual abuse to control and manipluate his victims.

It seems Abigail is just the latest in a string of such victims and it takes the intervention of the one man she was absolutely sure she could not trust to drag her away from Steele's clutches.

With the battle raging between her own damaged psyche and her need to do the right thing, is Abigail setting herself up for defeat or can she overcome her fears and let her true personality help her triumph. Her inbuilt self-loathing and distrust of others drags her inexorably downwards until she hits crisis point.

With her life, her sanity and her journalistic future on the line Abi must learn when to call for help and most importantly, who she can trust.]]> 288 Claire Smith Gary 0 5.00 A Storm Rising (Storm Series #1)
author: Claire Smith
name: Gary
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2016/03/27
date added: 2016/03/27
shelves:
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]]> One Hundred Years of Solitude 320 417 Gabriel García Márquez Gary 0 4.10 1967 One Hundred Years of Solitude
author: Gabriel García Márquez
name: Gary
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1967
rating: 0
read at: 2016/03/27
date added: 2016/03/27
shelves:
review:

]]> I Am Pilgrim (Pilgrim, #1) 14781675 Pilgrim.']]> 703 Terry Hayes 059306495X Gary 3 4.20 2013 I Am Pilgrim (Pilgrim, #1)
author: Terry Hayes
name: Gary
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2013/08/18
date added: 2016/03/04
shelves:
review:
This book is 200 or more pages too long, I'm afraid, making the pace a little ponderous. It’s clever in parts, with some new takes on tradecraft, and I like the hero, the Pilgrim, and the Saracen makes for a suitably ruthless and intelligent antagonist. But ultimately there are too many flashbacks and changes of POV within the same chapter for my liking. Good but not great, hence the three stars.
]]> The Stranger 49552 The Stranger has long been considered a classic of twentieth-century literature. Le Monde ranks it as number one on its "100 Books of the Century" list. Through this story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on a sundrenched Algerian beach, Camus explores what he termed "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd."]]> 123 Albert Camus Gary 4 4.04 1942 The Stranger
author: Albert Camus
name: Gary
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1942
rating: 4
read at: 2015/04/06
date added: 2015/04/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Narrow Road to the Deep North]]> 19012804 A novel of the cruelty of war, and tenuousness of life and the impossibility of love.

Richard Flanagan's story � of Dorrigo Evans, an Australian doctor haunted by a love affair with his uncle's wife � journeys from the caves of Tasmanian trappers in the early twentieth century to a crumbling pre-war beachside hotel, from a Thai jungle prison to a Japanese snow festival, from the Changi gallows to a chance meeting of lovers on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Taking its title from 17th-century haiku poet Basho's travel journal, The Narrow Road To The Deep North is about the impossibility of love. At its heart is one day in a Japanese slave labour camp in August 1943. As the day builds to its horrific climax, Dorrigo Evans battles and fails in his quest to save the lives of his fellow POWs, a man is killed for no reason, and a love story unfolds.]]> 419 Richard Flanagan 1761048147 Gary 5 There are no great surprises here in terms of plot twist, but the writing is as good as you’ll find. The sheer honesty of the thoughts of the cast gives this book a rare sense of authenticity. The novel seeks to understand rather than condemn, and extends this to the brutal and brutalised Japanese and Korean guards. It highlights the fact that even in the most inhumane of wars it is the rich and influential of the defeated who survive, whatever their crimes, and it is their human instruments who are condemned to die.
Apart from the nature of love and war, or rather of the loss of love and the madness of captivity, one of the novel’s main themes is that life cannot be truly explained by religion or philosophy, but just is. These men found themselves being reduced to skeletons in a foreign land due to a collection of circumstances all of which were beyond their control, including the accident of birth. For me, the most moving and extraordinary section of the book was when an Australian POW, a bugler, Jimmy Bigelow, plays the Last Post beside a funeral pyre deep in the teakwood forest. Utilising the bugler’s POV, the prose looks forwards to his future and the mind-numbing conclusion that, amid the banality of a normal life lived, whatever that really means, his days as a POW, however ghastly, were the only years he had been truly alive.
For the sheer pleasure of reading a resonating, intelligent or beautiful sentence, sometimes all three in one sentence, and for its deep understanding of the human psyche, five glowing stars.

]]> 4.20 2013 The Narrow Road to the Deep North
author: Richard Flanagan
name: Gary
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2014/11/28
date added: 2015/03/22
shelves:
review:
This is a powerful, harrowing and deeply intelligent novel, a non-linear story of love and war written in the third person and with several POVs. The writing is at times poetic, and always incisive. The events on the Line, the construction of the Thai railway by Australian POWs, are graphic, but the writer handles them with both a clinical detachment and a deep compassion that is very effective. There is a diverse tapestry of characters, both Japanese and Australian, and the narrative follows their lives before, during and after World War Two, although it rightly focuses on the main character, Dorrigo Evans and the horrific events on the Line.
There are no great surprises here in terms of plot twist, but the writing is as good as you’ll find. The sheer honesty of the thoughts of the cast gives this book a rare sense of authenticity. The novel seeks to understand rather than condemn, and extends this to the brutal and brutalised Japanese and Korean guards. It highlights the fact that even in the most inhumane of wars it is the rich and influential of the defeated who survive, whatever their crimes, and it is their human instruments who are condemned to die.
Apart from the nature of love and war, or rather of the loss of love and the madness of captivity, one of the novel’s main themes is that life cannot be truly explained by religion or philosophy, but just is. These men found themselves being reduced to skeletons in a foreign land due to a collection of circumstances all of which were beyond their control, including the accident of birth. For me, the most moving and extraordinary section of the book was when an Australian POW, a bugler, Jimmy Bigelow, plays the Last Post beside a funeral pyre deep in the teakwood forest. Utilising the bugler’s POV, the prose looks forwards to his future and the mind-numbing conclusion that, amid the banality of a normal life lived, whatever that really means, his days as a POW, however ghastly, were the only years he had been truly alive.
For the sheer pleasure of reading a resonating, intelligent or beautiful sentence, sometimes all three in one sentence, and for its deep understanding of the human psyche, five glowing stars.


]]> Elizabeth Is Missing 18635113
Maud, an aging grandmother, is slowly losing her memory—and her grip on everyday life. Yet she refuses to forget her best friend Elizabeth, who she is convinced is missing and in terrible danger.

But no one will listen to Maud—not her frustrated daughter, Helen, not her caretakers, not the police, and especially not Elizabeth's mercurial son, Peter. Armed with handwritten notes she leaves for herself and an overwhelming feeling that Elizabeth needs her help, Maud resolves to discover the truth and save her beloved friend.

This singular obsession forms a cornerstone of Maud's rapidly dissolving present. But the clues she discovers seem only to lead her deeper into her past, to another unsolved disappearance: her sister, Sukey, who vanished shortly after World War II.

As vivid memories of a tragedy that occurred more than fifty years ago come flooding back, Maud discovers new momentum in her search for her friend. Could the mystery of Sukey's disappearance hold the key to finding Elizabeth?]]> 320 Emma Healey 0062309668 Gary 3 3.69 2014 Elizabeth Is Missing
author: Emma Healey
name: Gary
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2015/03/17
date added: 2015/03/19
shelves:
review:
I bought the book after reading a trade review that stated it was both a literary novel and a thriller. I didn't find it was either, although the central idea was both an original and an important one, and the novel was certainly worthy of publication. Ultimately, though, this book was too ponderous and uneventful for my taste. It is well written, and I would recommend it for fans of "cozy mysteries". 3.5 stars.
]]> The Girl on the Train 22557272
An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.]]> 336 Paula Hawkins 1594633665 Gary 3
It would have worked better as a long novella, perhaps 50k words, because in parts, especially the last 35%, the story felt drawn-out and rather unremarkable. Three stars. Possibly 3.5. ]]> 3.97 2015 The Girl on the Train
author: Paula Hawkins
name: Gary
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2015/03/12
shelves:
review:
I expected more, given the hype, and that’s always part of the problem. The prose was somewhat banal, perhaps intentionally so. The twists were okay. The writer did capture the essence of the ordinariness of suburban life, quite brilliantly, in fact. The character of Rachel was particularly well-drawn, all the neurosis and self-doubt. But Megan, oh dear, Megan, what a nightmare; but again, perhaps this was intentionally so.

It would have worked better as a long novella, perhaps 50k words, because in parts, especially the last 35%, the story felt drawn-out and rather unremarkable. Three stars. Possibly 3.5.
]]> <![CDATA[Summary & Analysis | The Girl on the Train]]> 24649825
This is a Summary & Analysis of The Girl on the Train. Paula Hawkins� debut novel is a suspenseful thriller filled with a complex plot, shocking twists at every turn, and an ending that will both stun and leave the reader wanting more. Suspense, intrigue, drama, and murder, all entangled together into one giant knot that is begging to be unraveled.

Hawkins� novel relates the story of Rachel Watson has spent the last few years stumbling through life in a booze-filled depression ever since her husband left her for another woman. Now she wiles away her days riding the commuter train to and from London, despite having been fired from her job months ago. The train makes a daily stop by her old neighborhood and it is here she spies a couple appearing to be living a perfect life from a beautiful home. She begins to fantasize about the couple, inventing little lives and backstories for them to keep her mind off her own troubles. All of a sudden events take an unexpected turn. It contains an intricate plot that thrills with a suspenseful murder mystery sure to captivate all audiences.

This companion to The Girl on the Train also includes the
� Book Review
� Story Setting Analysis
� Story elements you may have missed as we decipher the novel
� Details of Characters & Key Character Analysis
� Summary of the text, with some analytical comments interspersed
� Discussion & Analysis of Themes, Symbols�
� And Much More!

This Analysis fills the gap, making you understand more while enhancing your reading experience.]]> 57 Book*Sense Gary 3 to-read 3.72 2015 Summary & Analysis | The Girl on the Train
author: Book*Sense
name: Gary
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2015/03/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Nano Man 24836632
But one thing is certain, the special interests closing in on them have their own nexgen human prototypes, and they know exactly what they can do. They also recognize that the first to market with their prototype wins. For that reason and that reason alone, the Nano Man must be eliminated at all costs. Budget no object.]]> 370 Dean C. Moore Gary 5 I don’t like spoilers in reviews so all I will say is that there are far from philanthropic forces at play in the shape of a ruthless government and giant corporations in the robotics field, all vying with the other to manufacture the perfect product. Juxtaposed with these forces is Jane, a well-regarded bioengineer, and Nano Man, a hugely successful human experiment; too successful, as it turns out.
Nano Man is as determined as The Terminator but Mr Moore’s imagination, it seems, no knows bounds, adding the very successful element of shapeshifting to Nano Man’s armoury. This heightens the tension and suspense. Added to the Cyberpunk are excellent elements of action-adventure, classic sci-fi and fantasy, and this mixing of genres, together with the twists and turns in the narrative, especially the explosive one at the end, make for a thrilling read. As always, Mr Moore is nothing less than professional in the execution of his craft, his prose being a delight to read.
What transpires will blow your mind. If you think dystopian novels paint a bleak future for humans, it’s nothing to what Mr Moore has conceived. It’s difficult to fathom how he comes up with his technological worlds, which in some ways mirror the worst police states of the last century, but he obviously has his finger firmly on the pulse of what is achievable scientifically in the future, and sprinkles his magic dust to make it believable. Is Mr Moore surreptitiously developing something like Nano Man in his basement? It wouldn’t surprise me!
“Jane watched on the monitor as the nanite, no more than an elaborate assemblage of peptides itself, manipulated the complex protein molecule until it found a configuration it liked, just like playing with a Rubik’s cube, albeit one at the microscopic scale. The nanobot then released its creation to do what it was designed to do, infiltrate the cell.�
There is great character development here, as well as splashes of humour, and this together with the huge amount of detail makes this a five-star treat not to be missed. Highly recommended!
]]> 4.06 2015 Nano Man
author: Dean C. Moore
name: Gary
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2015/03/08
shelves:
review:
This is another sensational Cyberpunk novel from the very talented and prolific Mr Moore. This book has everything, a brilliant imagined future, a sassy and intelligent heroine, and a turbocharged storyline.
I don’t like spoilers in reviews so all I will say is that there are far from philanthropic forces at play in the shape of a ruthless government and giant corporations in the robotics field, all vying with the other to manufacture the perfect product. Juxtaposed with these forces is Jane, a well-regarded bioengineer, and Nano Man, a hugely successful human experiment; too successful, as it turns out.
Nano Man is as determined as The Terminator but Mr Moore’s imagination, it seems, no knows bounds, adding the very successful element of shapeshifting to Nano Man’s armoury. This heightens the tension and suspense. Added to the Cyberpunk are excellent elements of action-adventure, classic sci-fi and fantasy, and this mixing of genres, together with the twists and turns in the narrative, especially the explosive one at the end, make for a thrilling read. As always, Mr Moore is nothing less than professional in the execution of his craft, his prose being a delight to read.
What transpires will blow your mind. If you think dystopian novels paint a bleak future for humans, it’s nothing to what Mr Moore has conceived. It’s difficult to fathom how he comes up with his technological worlds, which in some ways mirror the worst police states of the last century, but he obviously has his finger firmly on the pulse of what is achievable scientifically in the future, and sprinkles his magic dust to make it believable. Is Mr Moore surreptitiously developing something like Nano Man in his basement? It wouldn’t surprise me!
“Jane watched on the monitor as the nanite, no more than an elaborate assemblage of peptides itself, manipulated the complex protein molecule until it found a configuration it liked, just like playing with a Rubik’s cube, albeit one at the microscopic scale. The nanobot then released its creation to do what it was designed to do, infiltrate the cell.�
There is great character development here, as well as splashes of humour, and this together with the huge amount of detail makes this a five-star treat not to be missed. Highly recommended!

]]> State of Honour 18808218 One man, one mission; prevent the outbreak of the next world war�

Live reports of an explosive attack in Pakistan are flooding the world’s newsrooms. The US Secretary of State is missing - and with tensions on the international diplomatic scene at boiling point Special Agent Tom Dupree has only three days to track down her abductors.

Linda Carlyle will be beheaded in three days if her abductor’s demands are not met. Except everyone knows that the US never negotiates with terrorists...

Saving Linda’s life = save the world from a brutal and bloody war: The stakes have never been higher…and a web of conspiracy, deception and betrayal leave Tom with no-one to trust, but himself.

Political thrillers don’t come more turbo-charged than this! Prepare for twist after twist right up to the electrifying climax in this high-octane political thriller.]]> 384 Gary Haynes Gary 0 to-read 4.33 2013 State of Honour
author: Gary Haynes
name: Gary
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/02/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> All the Light We Cannot See 19398490 Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, a New York Times Book Review Top Ten Book, National Book Award finalist, more than two and a half years on the New York Times bestseller list


A blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). Open your eyes, and see what you can with them before they close forever. Marie-Laure has been blind since the age of six. Her father builds a perfect miniature of their Paris neighbourhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When she is twelve, the German Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure’s agoraphobic reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner Pfennig grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an master at building and fixing these crucial new radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure. The story Illuminates the ways, against all odds, that people try to be good to one another.

At the same time, far away in a walled city by the sea, an old man discovers new worlds without ever setting foot outside his home. But all around him, impending danger closes in.

Ten years in the writing, a National Book Award finalist, All the Light We Cannot See is a magnificent, deeply moving novel from a writer “whose sentences never fail to thrill� (Los Angeles Times).]]> 552 Anthony Doerr Gary 5 4.38 2014 All the Light We Cannot See
author: Anthony Doerr
name: Gary
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2015/01/13
date added: 2015/01/13
shelves:
review:
There are so many well-deserved 5-star reviews for this book that it seems everything that can be said has been said. But for me it is a celebration of the human spirit, overcoming whatever is flung at it, both in terms of individual 'disabilities' and the horrors of almost apocalyptic world events. It is also a celebration of language, a wonderful and evocative symphony of language. And I loved it.
]]> <![CDATA[The Warlords of Andromeda (The Hundred Year Clones, #2)]]> 23165709
So begins the second of The Hundred Year Clone sagas, THE WARLORDS OF ANDROMEDA, and the reign of Dargan, the second clone.

But will the ingenious tactics of Dargan’s warlords be enough to unseat the powers threatening the empire from within as well as from without? Or will these highly evolved humanoid species merely use their genetic and cybernetic enhancements to make better war on a scale never before imagined, using imaginative methods only such technological breakthroughs—not to mention sprawling space armadas—could accommodate?]]> 642 Dean C. Moore 1501042513 Gary 5 to-read
When sci-fi is at its best it mirrors our own existence, our own struggles and concerns in a fantastical and hugely entertain fashion. Dean C. Moore does this with aplomb and with a dramatic and suspense writing style. His imagery is inspired.

“Adler could assess the tremulous qualities in his father’s voice down to the sub-decibel range. This man with his pressured speech, his sweat glands near croaking from overwork, his heart thumping like hot metal on metal, how did he come to rule a galaxy? He had no control of his own mind. His emotions charged every nuance of thought like an otherwise parched desert in the midst of a flash flood.�

The complexity and excitement is interspersed with flashes of real humour and acts as counterbalance to the extraordinary imagination which underpins this novel. . If you’re a fan of Star Wars or Blade Runner, you’re in safe hands. Loved it. Five well-deserved stars]]> 4.89 2014 The Warlords of Andromeda (The Hundred Year Clones, #2)
author: Dean C. Moore
name: Gary
average rating: 4.89
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2015/01/06
date added: 2015/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:
A fascinating sci-fi novel involving the struggle of humanoids dispersed throughout the known universe. But nothing it seems has changed. While the many suffer, the oligarchy flourishes, just onboard a luxurious, immense and extraordinary mother ship. Their voraciousness knows no bounds as they harvest outer space in the manner of an intergalactic ‘Scramble for Africa�. Enter the protagonist, a 100 year-old clone called Dargan, who galvanises the downtrodden in a heroic fashion worthy of Greek myth.

When sci-fi is at its best it mirrors our own existence, our own struggles and concerns in a fantastical and hugely entertain fashion. Dean C. Moore does this with aplomb and with a dramatic and suspense writing style. His imagery is inspired.

“Adler could assess the tremulous qualities in his father’s voice down to the sub-decibel range. This man with his pressured speech, his sweat glands near croaking from overwork, his heart thumping like hot metal on metal, how did he come to rule a galaxy? He had no control of his own mind. His emotions charged every nuance of thought like an otherwise parched desert in the midst of a flash flood.�

The complexity and excitement is interspersed with flashes of real humour and acts as counterbalance to the extraordinary imagination which underpins this novel. . If you’re a fan of Star Wars or Blade Runner, you’re in safe hands. Loved it. Five well-deserved stars
]]> Black Hawk Day Rewind 23213189
Professor Zimmermann of the University of Buenos Aires has warned him: -They have been able to cover up the whole affair and destroy all the evidence. Mark has discovered an extraordinary secret hidden deep in CIA director Colonel Reed's past and in the neural transplant operations of Biosketch Technologies Inc., a biotech company set up by Reed. Mark came into contact with Biosketch Technologies Inc. and the diabolical Project Transtem 1.1 while studying civilian and military neural transplant patients. As Mark attempts to uncover the truth, he is pursued by Anaïs Degann, a CIA agent with orders to terminate him.

Project Transtem 1.1 is just the tip of the iceberg of Reed's dark plans and, in order to get his life back, Mark has to break the ties connecting Colonel Reed with Colonel Kozlov of the Russian counterintelligence service.
Reed's links to Russian intelligence threaten to compromise international security and Mark must stop him at all costs.]]> 676 Baibin Nighthawk 1497306442 Gary 5 4.81 2013 Black Hawk Day Rewind
author: Baibin Nighthawk
name: Gary
average rating: 4.81
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/12/02
shelves:
review:
An excellent spy/action adventure novel that travels at full throttle to various exotic locations, with plenty of unexpected twists along the way. Add in well-rounded characters and a well-researched plot and it’s a winner. Mark Savannah (not his birth name), a recruit to the British secret intelligence service, or MI6, makes for an interesting and suitably intelligent and physically robust protagonist, who is pursued by a cool female assassin. State-of-the-art bio technology, CIA shenanigans and 007-style gadgetry. What more do you want from an espionage thriller? 5 stars.
]]> <![CDATA[Blacklands (Exmoor Trilogy, #1)]]> 6596845
Only Steven's Nan is not convinced her son is dead. She still waits for him to come home, standing bitter guard at the front window while her family fragments around her. Steven is determined to heal the widening cracks between them before it's too late. And if that means presenting his grandmother with the bones of her murdered son, he'll do it.

So the boy takes the next logical step, carefully crafting a letter to Arnold Avery in prison. And there begins a dangerous cat-and-mouse game between a desperate child and a bored serial killer . . .]]> 240 Belinda Bauer 1439149445 Gary 4
]]> 3.70 2009 Blacklands (Exmoor Trilogy, #1)
author: Belinda Bauer
name: Gary
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2014/11/27
date added: 2014/11/27
shelves:
review:
This is more of a psychological thriller than a crime novel. The subject matter is interesting and unique, so I won’t post any spoilers. The protagonist, Steven Lamb, is a twelve-year-old boy who lives near Exmoor, an expanse of heath and grassland in Devon, UK. It is a simple plot and rather frustratingly meanders to its unremarkable climax, although there is tension and the antagonist, Arnold Avery, is a suitably chilling antagonist: a child-killing paedophile. That said it is not graphic. This is no Silence of the Lambs and the prose appears a little clunky and predicable in places with quite a few unnecessary clichés. But it was a worthwhile read. I have given it four stars, although 3.75 would have been more appropriate.


]]> Under an Iron Sun 23252740
Against the façade of pre-war Tunisia, an office worker finds his life irreversibly changed when a package arrives on his desk from one of his co-workers.
That package, a detailed espionage report, will ultimately transport Leon into another world, where gentlemanly spying has long been forgotten.
Caught between the local police, British, French and German authorities, he is accused of spying and must go on the run in an attempt to clear his name.

Leon is surprised to find that this new life, which he is so unaccustomed to, comes quite effortlessly to him, and he soon finds himself running a deal with a British undercover network in order to clear his name.

“A gripping adventure which demonstrates the frailties, humanity, and potential in all of us. �

PRAISE FOR UNDER AN IRON SUN
“It seems as though we may have a new variation on the James Bond/Jason Bourne prototype, but Leon Afflelou Baker is a bit more complicated - and that makes for terrific reading� � Amazon reviewer.
“Your book is excellent� � Amazon reviewer.
“A well thought out plot lends for a thrilling adventure that compliment strong characterization and a well-designed backdrop� � Amazon reviewer.
“A lot of elements combine to make this one fine, taut thriller� � ŷ reviewer.
]]> 238 Carl Nattrass 1311683836 Gary 4 4.22 2014 Under an Iron Sun
author: Carl Nattrass
name: Gary
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/11/17
shelves:
review:

]]> True Grit 257845 224 Charles Portis 1585673692 Gary 4 4.15 1968 True Grit
author: Charles Portis
name: Gary
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1968
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/08/17
shelves:
review:
I’ve seen both versions of the film but had never read the book until now. It’s a quick, delightful read. The voice of Mattie Ross is, of course, the most striking aspect of the novel. She’s a feisty, upstanding fourteen-year-old, who appears a tower of morality among the various cutthroats. The interplay between her and Rooster is priceless. Her indomitable Christian spirit is juxtaposed ably with her very human desire for revenge. But every time Rooster speaks I saw the late, great John Wayne. “Fill your hand, you son of a bitch.� With the book, dear reader, the book! Four well-deserved stars.
]]> <![CDATA[Patriot (A Brooke Kinley Adventure #1)]]> 21941779
Patriot is a pulse pounding, high octane adventure thriller with a heroine who is as happy running rapids as she is asking difficult questions at the Pentagon. For fans of Clive Cussler, Andy McDermott or Stella Rimington.

Advance Praise for Patriot:
“Patriot moves at a cracking pace, Homeland channelled by Bear Grylls... the name's Bond, AS Bond, watch this space� Nick Hazlewood, Author of "Savage; the Life and Times of Jemmy Button"]]> 462 A.S. Bond 1497519543 Gary 0 to-read 3.91 2014 Patriot (A Brooke Kinley Adventure #1)
author: A.S. Bond
name: Gary
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/07/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West]]> 394535 Blood Meridian is an epic novel of the violence and depravity that attended America's westward expansion, brilliantly subverting the conventions of the Western novel and the mythology of the Wild West. Based on historical events that took place on the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s, it traces the fortunes of the Kid, a fourteen-year-old Tennesseean who stumbles into a nightmarish world where Indians are being murdered and the market for their scalps is thriving.]]> 351 Cormac McCarthy Gary 5
The narrative is splattered with grotesque images that leave nothing to the imagination, although the flamboyant descriptions of the Apaches are a welcomed relief. McCarthy forces us to see a past far removed from John Wayne and Hollywood. It is the Old West laid bare in all its unremitting and ghastly reality. Don’t expect any dramatic twists. But do expect to be dazzled by the sheer force and originality of his voice, like a terrible echo of the past. Five brutal but brilliant stars.
]]> 4.18 1985 Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: Gary
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1985
rating: 5
read at: 2014/06/18
date added: 2014/07/18
shelves:
review:
It's 1833 in the Old West. The novel is an extraordinary and disturbing tale based loosely on real events, and follows a teenager's baptism of fire into both the community of men and the inhumanity of man. The protagonist, the 'the kid', joins a renegade band of Indian hunters hired by a ruthless Mexican governor. They are an intriguing, disparate and compelling bunch, including a judge and a former priest.

The narrative is splattered with grotesque images that leave nothing to the imagination, although the flamboyant descriptions of the Apaches are a welcomed relief. McCarthy forces us to see a past far removed from John Wayne and Hollywood. It is the Old West laid bare in all its unremitting and ghastly reality. Don’t expect any dramatic twists. But do expect to be dazzled by the sheer force and originality of his voice, like a terrible echo of the past. Five brutal but brilliant stars.

]]> <![CDATA[Fighting the Devil: A True Story of Consuming Passion, Deadly Poison, and Murder]]> 8608087 A few years after the millionaire's death, a bottle of arsenic and mail to the millionaire was found in a storage locker rented by a woman under an assumed name.
Nobody could have predicted the murder or the aftermath with its strange twists and unexpected results as the millionaire's ex-wife becomes a sleuth to help solve the murder.]]> 336 Jeannie Walker 1450213030 Gary 4


]]> 4.18 2010 Fighting the Devil: A True Story of Consuming Passion, Deadly Poison, and Murder
author: Jeannie Walker
name: Gary
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/05/28
shelves:
review:
If you like true crime you will love this book. I’m new to the genre but the author held my attention throughout. It’s a deeply personal journey to not only come to terms with perhaps the greatest of crimes, murder, but also to understand the nature of existence. The crime is almost Victorian in its duplicity and lack of humanity: a slow and agonizing death by arsenic poisoning. But who killed this man in Texas and why? The real-life story is written deftly and with compassion. All human emotion is laid bare. Against extraordinary odds, the author takes on the noble mantle of the truth seeker, ably assisted at first by the local sheriff. On one level the story is that of the outsider struggling with the intricacies and complexities of a frustratingly tardy legal system. But then the journey morphs into an increasingly religious study, as the author finds a peace amid the chaos and solace in her own deep-felt convictions. Will justice be done? Read this fascinating book and find out.




]]> New China 18691741
In the midst of the crisis, the member nations of ASEAN bankroll a group of rebels called the “New China Forces�, and place a mysterious former Thai policeman at its head. The man is simply known as the “the Colonel�, and his experience fighting organized crime and narcotics in south east Asia makes him the perfect man to navigate the fluid situation in China for his own ends.

Challenging the “the Colonel� is Ian Sanderson, the Commander of the 3rd Commando Brigade. He will embark on a humanitarian mission that will test his men, his abilities, and his conscience.]]> Barry Sierer Gary 4 3.60 2013 New China
author: Barry Sierer
name: Gary
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2014/04/10
date added: 2014/04/10
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama bin Laden]]> 12727472 The true story of the killing of bin Laden by author and former U.S. Navy SEAL Chuck Pfarrer

On May 2, 2011, at 1:03 a.m. a satellite uplink was sent from Pakistan crackling into the situation room of the White House: "Geronimo, Echo, KIA." These words, spoken by a Navy SEAL, ended Osama bin Laden's reign of terror. SEAL Target Geronimo is the story of Neptune's Spear from the men who were there. After talking to members of the SEAL team involved in the raid, Pfarrer shares never-before-revealed details in an exclusive account of what happened as he takes readers inside the walls of Bin Laden's compound penetrating deep into the terrorist's lair to reach the exact spot where the Al Qaeda leader was cowering when the bullet entered his head. SEAL Target Geronimo is an explosive story of unparalleled valor and clockwork military precision carried out by the most elite fighting force in the world—the U.S. Navy's SEAL Team Six.]]> 240 Chuck Pfarrer 1429960256 Gary 4 3.80 2011 SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama bin Laden
author: Chuck Pfarrer
name: Gary
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2014/04/10
date added: 2014/04/10
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Last Straw (DCI Warren Jones #1)]]> 18749006
For Warren Jones, newly appointed Detective Chief Inspector to the Middlesbury force, a high-profile murder is the ideal opportunity. He’s determined to run a thorough and professional investigation but political pressure to resolve the case quickly and tensions in the office and at home make life anything but easy.

Everything seems to point to one vengeful man but the financial potential of the professor’s pioneering research takes the inquiry in an intriguing and, for Jones and his team, dangerous direction.]]> 468 Paul Gitsham Gary 5 3.92 2014 The Last Straw (DCI Warren Jones #1)
author: Paul Gitsham
name: Gary
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2014/04/04
date added: 2014/04/05
shelves:
review:
A new detective series to watch. DCI Warren Jones is must read detective fiction. The characters stand out on the page and the hero's wit adds light to shade in what looks like the first of a brilliant series. And, no, I didn't work out who the bad guy was before the end!5 well-deserved stars. I couldn't put it down.
]]> Kill Zone (Lucy Guardino #3) 16001730 New York Times–Bestselling An FBI agent deals with a teenager’s death and a terrorist threat in one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Novels of the Year. It’s a vicious, horrific the brutal killing of a teenaged girl. When Pittsburgh detectives call FBI Supervisory Special Agent Lucy Guardino to the scene, their focus is on who—and why. Was it the girl’s Afghan father striving to regain his honor after she became too Westernized? Her Jewish boyfriend? Someone from Afghanistan settling an old grudge? Or one of the many drug cartels the father helped the DEA bring down seeking revenge? The answers seem clear when Pittsburgh becomes engulfed in flames as a violent narcoterrorist turns the city into a kill zone. But in the dark of night, surrounded by men intent on destroying the truth, Lucy learns that secrets hide in shadows�Praise for Snake “Very well researched with most details spot on. It is a compelling story. The characters were real, to the point of reminding me of an agent who was every bit as dedicated, smart, and fearless as Lucy Guardino. I highly recommend it.� —Mark B. Lewis, Former FBI Special AgentPraise for CJ Lyons and her Thrillers with “Everything a great thriller should be—action packed, authentic, and intense.� � Lee Child, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Jack Reacher novels “Compelling ... I love how the characters come alive on every page.� —Jeffery Deaver, New York Times–bestselling author of The Never Game “A pulse-pounding adrenaline rush.� —Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Before She Disappeared “Breathtakingly fast-paced.� —Publishers Weekly]]> 356 C.J. Lyons 1939038022 Gary 3 4.09 2012 Kill Zone (Lucy Guardino #3)
author: C.J. Lyons
name: Gary
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/03/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[One-Way Trip (Sniper Elite, #1)]]> 17559237 New York Times bestseller, American Sniper: In direct defiance of the president’s orders, Navy Master Chief Gil Shannon, one of America’s most lethal SEAL snipers, launches a bold mission comprised of SEAL Team Six and Delta Force fighters to free a captured female helicopter pilot being held by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

The president is afraid a botched rescue could jeopardize US foreign policy as well as end his presidency. But once the special ops community learns that one of their own—the first female helicopter pilot of the Army’s elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR)—is being held and brutally mistreated, there is no executive order strong enough to stop them from attempting to rescue her.

This fast-paced, action-packed thriller with incredibly realistic and blistering battles introduces a new American hero, Gil Shannon, whose iron will and expertise with the .308 Remington Modular sniper rifle will spell the difference between freedom and an ignoble death for America’s female POW.]]> 385 Scott McEwen 1476746052 Gary 0 to-read 4.27 2013 One-Way Trip (Sniper Elite, #1)
author: Scott McEwen
name: Gary
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/03/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Farewell Trip 19314466
There’s always one moment in life that passes without you saying what you really wanted � needed � to. For Ruth that day came after the death of her beloved husband Trip.

She and Trip had fitted together perfectly, right from the very start, and their marriage was filled with love, happiness and travel. Determined to leave nothing unspoken, Trip has left ten letters, taking Ruth on one last adventure - scattering his ashes in ten locations that have meaning for them both.

The letters take her on a journey across the world, but also back through her marriage, and the life she thought they had shared.

They had been so happy. Hadn’t they?

At once heart-breaking and uplifting …prepare to smile through your tears. Farewell Trip is a must read.]]> 221 Karin Dixon Gary 5 3.56 2013 Farewell Trip
author: Karin Dixon
name: Gary
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2014/03/08
date added: 2014/03/08
shelves:
review:
A heart-warming and heart-wrenching story of a love lost and a memory realized. My usual genre is a fast-paced thriller, but this was a wonderful detour. A very well- crafted book, and the collaboration between two authors was seamless. The unravelling of Ruth’s realization of her husband’s love for her was both a shattering and an uplifting experience. I loved this book. I loved Trip. I loved Ruth. 5 well-deserved stars.
]]> <![CDATA[Nightshade (Shadow Warriors #0.5)]]> 19059407
"He wasn't supposed to be here. None of them were. That wasn't unusual--he'd spent well over ten years of his life going places he wasn't supposed to go, doing things he wasn't supposed to do."

CIA paramilitary operations officer Harry Nichols had brought his team to Ciudad del Este for a single eliminating Jean-Claude Manet, aka Ramzi bin Abdullah, the former head of al-Qaeda operations in Europe.

It was supposed to be simple. But there's nothing simple about killing a man.]]> 29 Stephen England Gary 0 to-read 3.93 2013 Nightshade (Shadow Warriors #0.5)
author: Stephen England
name: Gary
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Mystic River 21671
Twenty-five years later, Sean is a homicide detective. Jimmy is an ex-con who owns a corner store. And Dave is trying to hold his marriage together and keep his demons at bay -- demons that urge him to do terrible things. When Jimmy's daughter is found murdered, Sean is assigned to the case. His investigation brings him into conflict with Jimmy, who finds his old criminal impulses tempt him to solve the crime with brutal justice. And then there is Dave, who came home the night Jimmy's daughter died covered in someone else's blood.

A tense and unnerving psychological thriller, Mystic River is also an epic novel of love and loyalty, faith and family, in which people irrevocably marked by the past find themselves on a collision course with the darkest truths of their own hidden selves.]]> 416 Dennis Lehane 0060584750 Gary 0 to-read 4.17 2001 Mystic River
author: Dennis Lehane
name: Gary
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Transfer of Power (Mitch Rapp, #3)]]> 184655
While the politicians and the military leaders argue over how to negotiate with the terrorists, one man is sent in to break through the barrage of panicked responses and political agendas surrounding the chaotic crisis. Mitch Rapp, the CIA's top counterterrorism operative, makes his way into the White House and soon discovers that the president is not as safe as Washington's power elite had thought. Moving stealthily among the corridors and secret passageways of the White House, stepping terrifyingly close to the enemy, Rapp scrambles to save the hostages before the terrorists can extract the president from the safety of his bunker. In a race against time, Rapp makes a chilling discovery that could rock Washington to its core: someone within his own government is maneuvering in hopes that his rescue attempt will fail.]]> 549 Vince Flynn 1416516352 Gary 0 to-read 4.32 1999 Transfer of Power (Mitch Rapp, #3)
author: Vince Flynn
name: Gary
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/02/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Drop of the Hard Stuff (Matthew Scudder, #17)]]> 9547675
In a novel widely celebrated by critics and readers, Lawrence Block circle back to how it all began, reestablishing the Matthew Scudder series as one of the pinnacles of American detective fiction.]]> 319 Lawrence Block 0316127337 Gary 0 to-read 3.79 2011 A Drop of the Hard Stuff (Matthew Scudder, #17)
author: Lawrence Block
name: Gary
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Last Rites (DC Laura McGanity, #3)]]> 6464200 Book by White, Neil 502 Neil White 1847560199 Gary 0 to-read 3.94 2009 Last Rites (DC Laura McGanity, #3)
author: Neil White
name: Gary
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Kill List 17707488
Added to it is a new name: a terrorist of frightening effectiveness called the Preacher, who radicalizes young Muslims abroad to carry out assassinations. Unfortunately for him, one of the kills is a retired Marine general, whose son is TOSA’s top hunter of men.

He has spent the last six years at his job. He knows nothing about his target’s name, face, or location. He realizes his search will take him to places where few could survive. But the Preacher has made it personal now. The hunt is on.

An extraordinary cutting-edge suspense novel from the master of international intrigue and #1 New York Times–bestselling author.]]> 332 Frederick Forsyth 0399165274 Gary 4 3.66 2013 The Kill List
author: Frederick Forsyth
name: Gary
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2013/12/08
date added: 2014/01/01
shelves:
review:
Ok this wasn't the best political thriller from Mr Forsyth that I've read, but it was still topical and full of suspense. The master has a real eye for detail, although the action wasn't state-of-the-art. He conjures up a credible tale of intrigue and conspiracy and executes it with his usual seemingly effortless flair. There is a reason why most of the greats in the genre point to him as being the reason they began to write: he's classy and unique. It's not a fast-paced outing, but you don't read his thrillers for an adrenalin rush. It is well worth a read though. He still stands head and shoulders above most of writers who try to do the same thing. A good read and well worth the effort. Four stars.
]]> Touch 85216 336 Elmore Leonard 0060089598 Gary 0 to-read 3.52 1987 Touch
author: Elmore Leonard
name: Gary
average rating: 3.52
book published: 1987
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/11/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Too Close to Home 3454252 404 Linwood Barclay 0553805568 Gary 0 to-read 3.99 2008 Too Close to Home
author: Linwood Barclay
name: Gary
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/11/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Accident 10196362 In this mesmerizing thriller by acclaimed author Linwood Barclay, a typical American community descends into darkness, as an ordinary man is swept into one of the most violent mysteries of modern life.

It’s the new normal at the Garber household in Connecticut: Glen, a contractor, has seen his business shaken by the housing crisis, and now his wife, Sheila, is taking a business course at night to increase her chances of landing a good-paying job.

But she should have been home by now.

Waiting for Sheila’s return, with their eight-year-old daughter sleeping soundly, Glen soon finds his worst fears confirmed: Sheila and two others have been killed in a car accident. Adding to the tragedy, the police claim Sheila was responsible.

Glen knows it’s impossible; he knew his wife and she would never do such a thing. When he investigates, Glen begins to uncover layers of lawlessness beneath the placid surface of their suburb, secret after dangerous secret behind the closed doors.

Propelled into a vortex of corruption and illegal activity, pursued by mysterious killers, and confronted by threats from neighbors he thought he knew, Glen must take his own desperate measures and go to terrifying new places in himself to avenge his wife and protect his child.

Bold and timely, with the shocking twists and startling insights that have become trademarks of this new master of domestic suspense, The Accident is a riveting triumph, a book that moves at a breathless pace to a climax no one will see coming.]]> 386 Linwood Barclay 0553807188 Gary 0 to-read 3.94 2011 The Accident
author: Linwood Barclay
name: Gary
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/11/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Two Graves (Pendergast, #12) 14889780
But when a string of bizarre murders erupts across several Manhattan hotels-perpetrated by a boy who seems to have an almost psychic ability to elude capture-NYPD Lieutenant D'Agosta asks his friend Pendergast for help. Reluctant at first, Pendergast soon discovers that the killings are a message from his wife's kidnappers. But why a message? And what does it mean?

When the kidnappers strike again at those closest to Pendergast, the FBI agent, filled anew with vengeful fury, sets out to track down and destroy those responsible. His journey takes him deep into the trackless forests of South America, where he ultimately finds himself face to face with an old evil that-rather than having been eradicated-is stirring anew... and with potentially world-altering consequences.

Confucius once "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, first dig two graves." Pendergast is about to learn the hard way just how true those words still ring.]]> 484 Douglas Preston 0446554995 Gary 0 to-read 4.02 2012 Two Graves (Pendergast, #12)
author: Douglas Preston
name: Gary
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/10/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Hero's Companion (Tallent & Lowery, #3)]]> 18629280
Now . . . Leah’s father has gone missing. They have only seven days before he will be killed, and the only clue to follow is a picture of one of the most famous icons of all time. Heading to her hometown, Leah begins her search for anything that will point her in the right direction. But all she finds is a mother who has fallen apart, talking about things that Leah doesn’t understand. Discovering a strange map stuck to the bottom of her father’s desk, Leah and Gareth are joined by a young woman who has a secret all her own. Teaming up, the trio must solve this new mystery that will take them from the pinnacle of the Acropolis to the depths of Cleopatra’s caves in order to unmask the man who has a definite score to settle.

This frightening adversary will do his best to capture Leah and take her far away from the protection and love of Gareth. In a location that’s been buried under rock and dirt for centuries the battle will begin, and the team will have to face the one foe that will expose secrets and unleash unheard of power in order to get what he wants. As it was with the mighty Athena, Leah is seen as ‘The Hero’s Companion’—the one woman who will do anything to make sure the right side wins. But without Gareth, her time may just run out.]]> Amy Lignor Gary 0 to-read 4.62 2013 The Hero's Companion (Tallent & Lowery, #3)
author: Amy Lignor
name: Gary
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/10/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Kaiser's Holocaust: Germany's Forgotten Genocide and the Colonial Roots of Nazism]]> 10753776 416 Casper W. Erichsen 057123142X Gary 0 to-read 4.37 2010 The Kaiser's Holocaust: Germany's Forgotten Genocide and the Colonial Roots of Nazism
author: Casper W. Erichsen
name: Gary
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/10/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[My Name Was Five: A Novel of the Second World War]]> 7684584
Before long, the investigator's inquiry reveals how the pilot's past had trailed him on his last flight and vividly brings to life a terrifying slice of history - the story of a German boy who grows up in Berlin before, during, and after the Second World War; sadistic teachers just call him Five.

The boy's father, an opponent of the Nazis, ends up in a concentration camp and later in a penal regiment that marches through Russian mine fields to clear the way for regular troops. In contrast, one of the boy's uncles is a fervent Nazi in charge of cleansing Berlin of every last Jew; another uncle revels in the governance of Paris. A favorite aunt, a confidential secretary at the Gestapo, is horrified by all she knows about the "final solution." The boy's mother is the one who keeps him sane when gunfire from a strafing Spitfire kills his best friend standing right next to him on a bridge.

But worse is to come: bombings and firestorms, the senseless sacrifice of children and old men in the Battle of Berlin, the Soviet occupation, along with rape, murder, hunger, and disease, and then the emergence of a new kind of tyranny yet.

In the end, we come upon an unexpected twist that shows how the consequences of war can emerge decades later and in faraway places.]]> 400 Heinz Kohler 1936107376 Gary 0 to-read 4.23 2010 My Name Was Five: A Novel of the Second World War
author: Heinz Kohler
name: Gary
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/10/20
shelves: to-read
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]]> Corpalism 14759944
Uprising, the thrilling opener to the series, follows Terry, an ordinary man living in a dystopian world burdened with lifelong debts. As a Re-Locations worker, he sends others to sink estates when they can't pay their debts, without considering their fate. But when he's fired and becomes indebted himself, he's relocated to a sink estate and unwittingly becomes embroiled in violent intrigue. Who is Terry, and who does he really work for?

Aftermath tells the story of Delores Grey, a rising star in the Independent movement, who finds herself trapped in darkness after a terrorist attack. She must survive and find a way to communicate, but can anyone help her?

From Democracy to Dictatorship is a series of exciting stories that follow a group of entrepreneurs, business people, professionals, and everyday workers who form the Independents, a political group with no party affiliation. They clash with the Establishment and Sir Phillip Blackmore, Head of British Intelligence, as they try to change the political landscape forever.]]> 778 Arun D. Ellis Gary 0 to-read 3.36 2012 Corpalism
author: Arun D. Ellis
name: Gary
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/10/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Path to Redemption 18452510 510 Steven J. Smith 3710302064 Gary 0 to-read 5.00 2013 The Path to Redemption
author: Steven J. Smith
name: Gary
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/10/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Baal 11560 and to her a child is born...
unleashing an unimaginable evil upon the world!

And they call him BAAL in the orphanage, where he leads the children on a rampage of violence...in California, where he appears as the head of a deadly Manson-like cult...in Kuwait, where crazed millions heed his call to murder and orgy.

They call him BAAL in the Arctic's hellish wasteland, where he is tracked by the only three men with a will to stop him: Zark, the shaman; Virga, the aging professor of theology; and Michael, the powerful, mysterious stranger.]]> 335 Robert McCammon 0671664840 Gary 0 to-read 3.57 1978 Baal
author: Robert McCammon
name: Gary
average rating: 3.57
book published: 1978
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/10/13
shelves: to-read
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]]> Deep As Bone 15995925 Fueled by her growing dislike of Amy’s mother, and increasing infatuation with Amy’s father, Ilsa investigates Clare’s disappearance. But justice is not top of mind. Driven by her own dubious past, Ilsa finds herself in dangerous territory as she moves closer to the family skeleton � literally.
Proving murder means having to find a body. And that isn’t easy when every move is being watched by a cold, calculating killer. As Ilsa intensifies her search, she finds herself being stalked in a game of one-upmanship that can only end in tragic revelation and disaster. The product of years of neglect, envy and a bitter sense of childhood injustice, Ilsa is ultimately caught in the trap of her own culpability.]]> Malla Duncan Gary 0 to-read 4.70 2011 Deep As Bone
author: Malla Duncan
name: Gary
average rating: 4.70
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/10/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Bodie 18179259 308 Anne Sweazy-Kulju 1625107951 Gary 0 to-read 4.16 2013 Bodie
author: Anne Sweazy-Kulju
name: Gary
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/10/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Who Could That Be at This Hour? (All the Wrong Questions, #1)]]> 13477819 Lemony Snicket, in case you don't already know, grew up to be the author of A Series of Unfortunate Events series.]]> 258 Lemony Snicket 0316123080 Gary 0 to-read 3.84 2012 Who Could That Be at This Hour? (All the Wrong Questions, #1)
author: Lemony Snicket
name: Gary
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/10/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> What Hides Within 15828555
Inside all of us, there is darkness. Inside Clive, it's tangible, and it's aching to get out.

What Hides Within tells the story of a man held captive by an unknown evil. Clive Menard is a spineless slacker leading an ordinary existence. But when Chester enters his life, it becomes far from ordinary.

A disheveled Clive stands alone in a hospital waiting room. A series of incidences have led him to undergo unnecessary neurosurgery. A voice inside Clive’s head nags him to kill the doctor.

Weeks prior, a murder investigation and an unrelated kayaking excursion set the story’s interlocking events in motion. When a remorseful killer, a bomb-happy psychopath and a mysterious widow spider converge upon Clive, they bring with them destruction and death. Clive must discover who or what is steering his very existence before he, too, is consumed by the carnage around him.

With a driven detective following his every step and a vicious killer hiding within his circle of friends, Clive must walk a narrow and dangerous path, teetering between salvation and damnation. He must confront Chester and his own demons. But is he powerless to overcome them?

An EPIC Finalist, "Best Horror of 2013" read and eFestival eBook Award Runner-Up for Best Horror.]]> 332 Jason Parent 1771150025 Gary 0 to-read 4.28 2012 What Hides Within
author: Jason Parent
name: Gary
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/10/13
shelves: to-read
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]]> Arboreatum 17257180
When a band of westward pioneers - lost, starving, and desperate - stumbles upon an unlikely oasis in the middle of a barren prairie, Micah wonders if his family has finally caught a lucky break...or does this new Garden of Eden hide a forgotten terror behind a veil of earthly delights?]]> 86 Evans Light Gary 0 to-read 4.08 2013 Arboreatum
author: Evans Light
name: Gary
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/10/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Highway in the Blood 18242543 172 Kevin Macneil Brown 148487059X Gary 0 to-read 4.00 2011 Highway in the Blood
author: Kevin Macneil Brown
name: Gary
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/10/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Breaking Point (Tom Clancy's Net Force, #4)]]> 19688 Reeling from a shattered personal life, Net Force Commander Alex Michaels is informed that top secret information from a joint Air Force--Navy venture has been accessed and downloaded. The research involves an atmospheric weapon with the capability to drive half a country into madness using low frequency wave generation. Now the technology has fallen into the wrong hands--and testing has begun...

]]> 368 Steve Perry 0425176932 Gary 4 3.72 2000 Breaking Point (Tom Clancy's Net Force, #4)
author: Steve Perry
name: Gary
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2013/10/11
date added: 2013/10/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Black Cherry Blues (Dave Robicheaux, #3)]]> 55019 Book #3 from the series: Dave Robicheaux

BACK IN THE UNDERWORLD HE TRIED TO LEAVE BEHIND

Haunted by the memory of his wife's murder and his father's untimely death, ex-New Orleans cop Dave Robicheaux spends his days in a fish-and-tackle business. But when an old friend makes a surprise appearance, Robicheaux finds himself thrust back into the violent world of Mafia goons and wily federal agents. From the Louisiana bayou to Montana's tribal lands, Robicheaux is running from the bottle, a homicide rap, a professional killer and the demons of his past.

Rich with fascinating characters and dramatic plot twists, James Lee Burke and his Cajun detective Dave Robicheaux recall the best of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe -- tough, complex and thoroughly entertaining.
]]> 366 James Lee Burke 0380712040 Gary 4 4.14 1989 Black Cherry Blues (Dave Robicheaux, #3)
author: James Lee Burke
name: Gary
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at: 2013/10/05
date added: 2013/10/05
shelves:
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]]> The Fall of Berlin 1945 42661
Antony Beevor reconstructs the experiences of those millions caught up in the nightmare of the Third Reich's final collapse, telling a terrible story of pride, stupidity, fanaticism, revenge and savagery, but also one of astonishing endurance, self-sacrifice and survival against all odds.]]> 490 Antony Beevor Gary 5 4.29 2002 The Fall of Berlin 1945
author: Antony Beevor
name: Gary
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/09/25
shelves:
review:
A seminal treatise on the end of Nazi tyranny, coupled with a scathing commentary on Stalinist cruelty. What comes across in this wonderful nonfiction work, which reads like a thriller novel, is Beevor's extraordinary grasp of his subject matter, his meticulous research, and refusal to stoop to generalities. The population of Berlin suffered for their sins, especially the woman, and Beevor does not pull any punches. This is a testament to the fact that we are one step away from brutality - one step away from being everything we judge to be abhorrent. A modern masterpiece, for sure. Five stars.
]]> The Stonehenge Legacy 9106984
Eight days before the summer solstice, a man is butchered in a blood-freezing sacrifice on the ancient site of Stonehenge before a congregation of robed worhsippers. Within hours, one of the world's foremost treasure hunters has shot himself in his country mansion. And to his estranged son, young archaeologist Gideon Chase, he leaves a cryptic letter . . .

Teaming up with an intrepid Wiltshire policewoman, Gideon soon exposes a secret society - an ancient international legion devoted for thousands of years to Stonehenge. With a charismatic and ruthless new leader at the helm, the cult is now performing ritual human sacrifices in a terrifying bid to unlock the secret of the stones.

Packed with codes, symbology, relentless suspense, and fascinating detail about the history of one of the world's most mysterious places, The Stonehenge Legacy is a blockbuster thriller to rival the very best of Dan Brown.]]> 496 Sam Christer 075154518X Gary 3 3.39 2011 The Stonehenge Legacy
author: Sam Christer
name: Gary
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/09/19
shelves:
review:

]]> Calculated (Discovered, #1) 18429003
Plunged into the murky waters of a seedy underground prostitution ring, this psychological thriller provides twist upon dark twist in a story that would ultimately pin the church and several government officials in the largest murder cover-up the city has ever witnessed.

But is it true, or has the journalist merely been used as a pawn in a greater scheme? And how many people is she willing to sacrifice trying to figure it out?]]> 213 R.S. Novelle Gary 0 to-read 3.96 2013 Calculated (Discovered, #1)
author: R.S. Novelle
name: Gary
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/09/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Poe Must Die 204740 466 Marc Olden 0441674208 Gary 3 3.58 1978 Poe Must Die
author: Marc Olden
name: Gary
average rating: 3.58
book published: 1978
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/09/13
shelves:
review:
Read this book as a teenager and really enjoyed it. Re-read it recently and realized that time had moved on. But Poe is interesting and the antagonist, Jonathan, is suitably twisted for such a tale. But the star of the book for me is Figg, a bare-knuckle fighter with a heart, who's not afraid to delve into the dark recesses of his psyche to defeat evil. Read it for Figg!
]]> <![CDATA[Executive Orders (Jack Ryan, #8)]]> 19675 Debt of Honor ended with Tom Clancy's most shocking conclusion ever; a joint session of Congress destroyed, the President dead, most of the Cabinet and the Congress dead, the Supreme Court and the Joint Chiefs likewise. Dazed and confused, the man who only minutes before had been confirmed as the new Vice-President of the United States is told that he is now President. President John Patrick Ryan. And that is where Executive Orders begins. Ryan had agreed to accept the vice-presidency only as a caretaker for a year, and now, suddenly an incalculable weight has fallen on his shoulders. How do you run a government without a government? Where do you even begin? With stunning force, Ryan's responsibilities crush on him. He must calm an anxious and grieving nation, allay the skepticism of the world's leaders, conduct a swift investigation of the tragedy, and arrange a massive state funeral—all while attempting to reconstitute a Cabinet and a Congress with the greatest possible speed. But that is not all. Many eyes are on him now, and many of them are unfriendly. In Beijing, Tehran, and other world capitals, including Washington D.C., there are those eager to take advantage where they may, some of whom bear a deep animus toward the United States—some of whom, from Ryan's past, harbor intense animosity toward the new President himself. Soon they will begin to move on their opportunities; soon they will present Jack Ryan with a crisis so big even he cannot imagine it. Tom Clancy has written remarkable novels before, but nothing comparable to the timeliness and drama of Executive Orders. Filled with the exceptional realism and intricate plotting that are his hallmarks, it attests to the words of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: This man can tell a story.]]> 1273 Tom Clancy 0006479758 Gary 4 4.10 1996 Executive Orders (Jack Ryan, #8)
author: Tom Clancy
name: Gary
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/09/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Venice Conspiracy (Tom Shaman, #1)]]> 7741616 480 Jon Trace 0751543020 Gary 3 3.42 2010 The Venice Conspiracy (Tom Shaman, #1)
author: Jon Trace
name: Gary
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/09/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bourne Ultimatum. Part 1 of 2 (Jason Bourne, #3.1)]]> 383291 0 Robert Ludlum 0736617027 Gary 4 4.30 1990 The Bourne Ultimatum. Part 1 of 2 (Jason Bourne, #3.1)
author: Robert Ludlum
name: Gary
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/09/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bourne Supremacy. Part 1 of 2 (Jason Bourne, #2.1)]]> 34685 0 Robert Ludlum 0736608672 Gary 4 4.30 1986 The Bourne Supremacy. Part 1 of 2 (Jason Bourne, #2.1)
author: Robert Ludlum
name: Gary
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1986
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/09/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bourne Dominion (Jason Bourne, #9)]]> 9682791
Jason Bourne is one of the most compelling and best loved characters created by internationally bestselling novelist Robert Ludlum. The hero of eight novels, including The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy, Bourne has also been featured in four blockbuster movies starring Matt Damon. Now, New York Times bestselling author Eric Van Lustbader presents a new story about the rogue secret agent who has lost his memory.
Jason Bourne is searching for an elusive cadre of terrorists planning to destroy America's most strategic natural resources-and needs the help of his longtime friend, General Boris Karpov. Karpov, the newly appointed head of Russia's most feared spy agency, FSB-2, is one of the most determined, honorable, and justice-hungry men that Bourne knows. But Karpov has made a deal with the devil. In order to remain the head of FSB-2, he must hunt down and kill Bourne.

Now, these two trusted friends are on a deadly collision course. From the Colombian highlands to Munich, Cadiz, and Damascus, the clock is counting down to a disaster that will cripple America's economic and military future. Only Bourne and Karpov have a chance to avert the catastrophe-but if they destroy each other first, that chance will be gone forever.

]]> 421 Eric Van Lustbader 0446564443 Gary 4 3.93 2011 The Bourne Dominion (Jason Bourne, #9)
author: Eric Van Lustbader
name: Gary
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2011
rating: 4
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date added: 2013/09/12
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]]> The Odessa File 149572 Odessa, a real-life fugitive known at the "Butcher of Riga", a young German journalist turned obsessed avenger...and ultimately, of a brilliant, ruthless plot to reestablish the worldwide power of SS mass murders and to carry out Hitler's chilling "Final Solution."]]> 334 Frederick Forsyth 0553271989 Gary 4 4.14 1972 The Odessa File
author: Frederick Forsyth
name: Gary
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1972
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/09/11
shelves:
review:
To be honest it's a bit dated now. The action scenes aren't exactly state-of-the-art and there's a scant desire to be PC (did that term exist when it was written?). But let's face it, Forsyth is a master thriller writer. The scenes involving the protagonist's reading of the old Jewish man's diary - when he was a victim of the Nazis - are haunting, informative and sympathetically written. But what a twist at the end! One of the best conceived. This isn't The Day of the Jackal, but it's well-plotted and enjoyable nonetheless.
]]> The Devil of Nanking 366787
The solitary Englishwoman Grey comes to Japan looking for a rare piece of footage that is said to document a particularly monstrous episode of the 1937 Nanking Massacre. Her quest will take her to a reclusive scholar and a wheelchair-bound gangster who clings to life with the aid of a mysterious elixir, and to a handsome American whose interest in Grey may be more sinister than romantic.

The result is a work of spine-chilling suspense, masterful historical detail, and otherworldly beauty.
]]> 471 Mo Hayder 0143036998 Gary 4 ]]> 3.94 2004 The Devil of Nanking
author: Mo Hayder
name: Gary
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2004
rating: 4
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date added: 2013/09/11
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This is more of a literary departure from Hayder's usual gritty crime thrillers, but it has plenty of dark moments. I don't normally like dual timeframes in a novel, but here the subject matter of the 1930's sections, the so-called Rape of Nanking, is so important and deftly handled that I've forgiven her. The ending is a little farfetched and OTT for my liking, but this book is wonderfully written. I recommend it

]]> <![CDATA[The Unquiet (Charlie Parker, #6)]]> 175247
Daniel Clay, a once-respected psychiatrist, has gone missing. His daughter insists that he killed himself after allegations surfaced that he had betrayed his patients to foul and evil men -- but when a killer obsessed with uncovering the truth behind his own daughter's disappearance comes seeking revenge, long-forgotten secrets begin to emerge. Hired by Dr. Clay's daughter to protect her from the predator on the loose, tortured and ingenious private detective Charlie Parker finds himself trapped between those who want the truth to be revealed and those who will go to any length to keep it hidden.

John Connolly masterfully intertwines secret lives and secret sins with the violence that so often lies beneath the surface of the honeycomb world in this gripping page-turner. Fast-paced, hypnotic, and elegantly written, The Unquiet is John Connolly at his chilling best.]]> 418 John Connolly 0743298934 Gary 5 ]]> 4.15 2007 The Unquiet (Charlie Parker, #6)
author: John Connolly
name: Gary
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2007
rating: 5
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date added: 2013/09/11
shelves:
review:
This has to be one of Connolly's best books and the first I read. Like the books of his literary hero, James Lee Burke, Connolly combines a crime thriller with passages of lyrical beauty. The landscape is vividly described and becomes a character in itself. The protagonist, PI Charlie Parker, is tough, funny, humane and believable. Connelly effortlessly blends gothic-like horror with gritty realism. His villains verge on being otherworldly and yet retain an earthly menace. There is humour, too, principally via the interactions between Parker and his two gay sidekicks, Angel and Louis. However, be warned, the subject-matter is grim. But if you read it, I’ll bet good money it won’t be the last of Connelly's books you’ll read.

]]> The Road 6288
A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, “each the other’s world entire,� are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.]]> 241 Cormac McCarthy 0307265439 Gary 5 3.99 2006 The Road
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: Gary
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2006
rating: 5
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date added: 2013/09/10
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A startling literary achievement. Reads like an epic poem. A post-apocalyptic nightmare with a glimmer of hope. The writing style is fresh, original and full of compassion. The relationship between father and son is perceptive and heart-wrenching. Loved it.
]]> <![CDATA[Pegasus Descending (Dave Robicheaux, #15)]]> 55014
Now, the arrival of Dallas’s daughter opens a door locked long ago, and extracting her motives points Robicheaux to the suicide of a local "good girl" pulled into a vortex of power, sex, and death. It’s Robicheaux’s most personally painful case—a roller coaster of passion, surprise, and regret—and it may be his deadliest.]]> 368 James Lee Burke 0743277724 Gary 4 4.17 2006 Pegasus Descending (Dave Robicheaux, #15)
author: James Lee Burke
name: Gary
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2006
rating: 4
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date added: 2013/09/06
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Crusader's Cross (Dave Robicheaux, #14)]]> 1535604 325 James Lee Burke 1416517286 Gary 4 4.14 2005 Crusader's Cross (Dave Robicheaux, #14)
author: James Lee Burke
name: Gary
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2005
rating: 4
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date added: 2013/09/06
shelves:
review:

]]> A Foreign Country 16580478 New York Times bestselling author of The Trinity Six, comes a compelling tale of deceit and betrayal, conspiracy and redemption


On the vacation of a lifetime in Egypt, an elderly French couple are brutally murdered. Days later, a meticulously-planned kidnapping takes place on the streets of Paris. Amelia Levene, the first female Chief of MI6, has disappeared without a trace, six weeks before she is due to take over as the most influential spy in Europe. It is the gravest crisis MI6 has faced in more than a decade. Desperate not only to find her, but to keep her disappearance a secret, Britain's top intelligence agents turn to one of their own: disgraced MI6 officer Thomas Kell. Tossed out of the Service only months before, Kell is given one final chance to redeem himself - find Amelia Levene at any cost. The trail leads Kell to France and Tunisia, where he uncovers a shocking secret and a conspiracy that could have unimaginable repercussions for Britain and its allies. Only Kell stands in the way of personal and political catastrophe.]]> 405 Charles Cumming 0007346433 Gary 4 3.88 2012 A Foreign Country
author: Charles Cumming
name: Gary
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2012
rating: 4
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date added: 2013/09/05
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]]> <![CDATA[The Last Man (Mitch Rapp, #13)]]> 13573622 The four dead guards didn’t concern Mitch Rapp as much as the absence of the man they’d been paid to protect. Joe Rickman wasn’t just another foot soldier. For the last eight years Rickman had ran the CIA’s clandestine operations in Afghanistan. It was a murky job that involved working with virtually every disreputable figure in the Islamic Republic. More than a quarter billion dollars in cash had passed through Rickman’s hands during his tenure as the master of black ops and no one with a shred of sense wanted to know the details of how that money had been spent.

At first glance it looks as if Rickman has been kidnapped, but Rapp knows certain things about his old friend that cause him to wonder if something more disturbing isn’t afoot. Irene Kennedy, the director of the CIA, has ordered Rapp to find Rickman at all costs. Rapp must navigate the ever-shifting landscape of Afghanistan as the Taliban, Iranians, Pakistanis and Russians all plot to claim their piece of the war torn state.

With Afghanistan crumbling around him, Rapp must be as ruthless as his enemies and as deceitful as people in his own government if he has any hopes of completing his mission.]]> 448 Vince Flynn 141659521X Gary 5 4.35 2012 The Last Man (Mitch Rapp, #13)
author: Vince Flynn
name: Gary
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2013/09/02
date added: 2013/09/02
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]]> The Alchemist 865 197 Paulo Coelho 0061122416 Gary 5 3.85 1988 The Alchemist
author: Paulo Coelho
name: Gary
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1988
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/08/24
shelves:
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]]> The Afghan 109509
A chilling story of modern terrorism from the grandmaster of international intrigue. T he Day of the Jackal, The Dogs of War, The Odessa File-the books of Frederick Forsyth have helped define the international thriller as we know it today. Combining meticulous research with crisp narratives and plots as current as the headlines, Forsyth shows us the world as it is in a way that few have ever been able to equal.
And the world as it is today is a very scary place.

When British and American intelligence catch wind of a major Al Qaeda operation in the works, they instantly galvanize- but to do what? They know nothing about it: the what, where, or when. They have no sources in Al Qaeda, and it's impossible to plant someone. Impossible, unless . . .

The Afghan is Izmat Khan, a five-year prisoner of Guantánamo Bay and a former senior commander of the Taliban. The Afghan is also Colonel Mike Martin, a twenty-five-year veteran of war zones around the world-a dark, lean man born and raised in Iraq. In an attempt to stave off disaster, the intelligence agencies will try to do what no one has ever done before-pass off a Westerner as an Arab among Arabs-pass off Martin as the trusted Khan.

It will require extraordinary preparation, and then extraordinary luck, for nothing can truly prepare Martin for the dark and shifting world into which he is about to enter. Or for the terrible things he will find there.

Filled with remarkable detail and compulsive drama, The Afghan is further proof that Forsyth is truly master of suspense.

]]> 343 Frederick Forsyth 0399153942 Gary 3 3.69 2006 The Afghan
author: Frederick Forsyth
name: Gary
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2013/08/21
date added: 2013/08/21
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]]> <![CDATA[Watchlist: Two Serial Thrillers in One Killer Book]]> 7791856 Harold Middleton returns in The Copper Bracelet –the explosive sequel to The Chopin Manuscript –as he’s drawn into an international terror plot that threatens to send India and Pakistan into full-scale nuclear war. Careening from Nice to London and Moscow to Kashmir to prevent nuclear disaster, Middleton is unaware that his prey has changed and the act of terror is far more diabolical than he knows.Will he discover the identity of the Scorpion in time to halt an event that will pit the United States, China, and Russia against each other at the brink of World War III? ]]> 408 Jeffery Deaver 1593155905 Gary 3 3.52 2009 Watchlist: Two Serial Thrillers in One Killer Book
author: Jeffery Deaver
name: Gary
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/08/20
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Snakehead (China Thrillers, #4)]]> 709521 405 Peter May 0753168634 Gary 3 3.86 2002 Snakehead (China Thrillers, #4)
author: Peter May
name: Gary
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2002
rating: 3
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date added: 2013/08/20
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]]> <![CDATA[Rules of Honour (Joe Hunter, #8)]]> 17272475 Praise for Matt Hilton and the Joe Hunter thrillers �

"The action scenes are immaculately described � and even the shades of grey are murkier than ever. An excellent starting point to the dark and dangerous world of Joe Hunter." �

"A rip-snorting novel which is fast paced, exciting and yet self-aware enough to address its own belief system." � Graham Smith, author of Snatched From Home

" � Hilton drives pace faster than The Stig �" �

" � grows at a steady pace and to be honest even though there's more than enough action and killing to satisfy the most ardent action reader throughout the course of the book it plays second fiddle to the reason for the deaths, something I enjoyed more than any of Matt's previous books � this for me is a more thoughtful adventure in avengement and plot building, the combination of both helps deliver a more mature action thriller." �

"Sharp and hard hitting � Matt doesn't allow himself to get complacent, but continually delves deeper into the psyche of Joe � Fast-paced, action-filled and completely addictive, Matt shows his continuing maturity as a writer with an exhilarating ride that still maintains humour and wit." �

]]> 323 Matt Hilton 1444728717 Gary 3 3.85 2013 Rules of Honour (Joe Hunter, #8)
author: Matt Hilton
name: Gary
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/08/20
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]]> Cut and Run (Joe Hunter, #4) 7989663 352 Matt Hilton 0340978309 Gary 3 3.94 2010 Cut and Run (Joe Hunter, #4)
author: Matt Hilton
name: Gary
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/08/20
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[No Going Back (Joe Hunter, #7)]]> 13403632 310 Matt Hilton 1444712683 Gary 4 4.04 2012 No Going Back (Joe Hunter, #7)
author: Matt Hilton
name: Gary
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2012
rating: 4
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date added: 2013/08/20
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]]> <![CDATA[Judgement and Wrath (Joe Hunter, #2)]]> 6883824 product_description 310 Matt Hilton 0340978244 Gary 3 3.84 2010 Judgement and Wrath (Joe Hunter, #2)
author: Matt Hilton
name: Gary
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2010
rating: 3
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date added: 2013/08/20
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]]> Pelham uno, dos, tres 9757273 0 John Godey 8439722699 Gary 0 to-read 3.60 1973 Pelham uno, dos, tres
author: John Godey
name: Gary
average rating: 3.60
book published: 1973
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/08/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Foreign Country (Thomas Kell, #1)]]> 13167077 New York Times bestselling author of The Trinity Six, comes a compelling tale of deceit and betrayal, conspiracy and redemption


On the vacation of a lifetime in Egypt, an elderly French couple are brutally murdered. Days later, a meticulously-planned kidnapping takes place on the streets of Paris. Amelia Levene, the first female Chief of MI6, has disappeared without a trace, six weeks before she is due to take over as the most influential spy in Europe. It is the gravest crisis MI6 has faced in more than a decade. Desperate not only to find her, but to keep her disappearance a secret, Britain's top intelligence agents turn to one of their own: disgraced MI6 officer Thomas Kell. Tossed out of the Service only months before, Kell is given one final chance to redeem himself - find Amelia Levene at any cost. The trail leads Kell to France and Tunisia, where he uncovers a shocking secret and a conspiracy that could have unimaginable repercussions for Britain and its allies. Only Kell stands in the way of personal and political catastrophe.]]> 357 Charles Cumming 0312591330 Gary 4 3.77 2012 A Foreign Country (Thomas Kell, #1)
author: Charles Cumming
name: Gary
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/08/12
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[A Spy by Nature (Alec Milius #1)]]> 915957 This is what they told me a long time ago.
Only make contact in the event of an emergency.
Only telephone if you believe that your position has been fatally compromised.
Under no circumstances are you to approach us unless it is absolutely necessary in order to preserve the security of the operation.
This is the number.

Alec Milius is young, smart, and ambitious. He also has a talent for deception. He is working in a dead-end job when a chance encounter leads him to MI6, the elite British Secret Intelligence Service, handing him an opportunity to play center-stage in a dangerous game of espionage.


In his new line of work, Alec finds that the difference between the truth and a lie can mean the difference between life and death--and he is having trouble telling them apart. Isolated and exposed, he must play a role in which the slightest glance or casual remark can seem heavy with unintended menace. Caught between British and American Intelligence, Alec finds himself threatened and alone, unable to confide in even his closest friend. His life as a spy begins to exact a terrible price, both on himself and on those around him.


Richly atmospheric and chillingly plausible, A Spy By Nature announces the arrival of British author Charles Cumming as heir apparent to masters like John le Carré and Len Deighton. A bestseller in England, it's the gripping story of a young man driven by ruthless ambition who finds himself chasing not just success, but survival.]]> 368 Charles Cumming 0312366353 Gary 3 3.48 2001 A Spy by Nature (Alec Milius #1)
author: Charles Cumming
name: Gary
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2001
rating: 3
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date added: 2013/08/12
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]]> <![CDATA[The Fellowship (Blake Carver Thrillers, #2)]]> 18110793
In Washington D.C., an American senator is the victim of a depraved murder. In London, a senior member of parliament is brutally slain in the tunnels beneath Whitehall. Only one thing appears to link the American and British politicians � the archaic ritual used to kill them.

As wayward intelligence operative Blake Carver hunts for the perpetrators, he discovers an ancient order of assassins thought to have been dissolved centuries ago. During an epic chase that takes him from the corridors of Washington to the wilds of South Africa and the catacombs of Rome, he finds himself caught in a shadow war that threatens to engulf the entire world.]]> 528 William Tyree Gary 4 3.97 2013 The Fellowship (Blake Carver Thrillers, #2)
author: William Tyree
name: Gary
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/08/10
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]]> Exile 79377
David Wolfe's life is approaching an exhilarating he's a successful San Francisco lawyer, he's about to get married, and he's being primed for a run for Congress. But when the phone rings and he hears the voice of Hana Arif—the Palestinian woman with whom he had a secret affair in law school—he begins a completely unexpected journey. The next day, the prime minister of Israel is assassinated by a suicide bomber while visiting San Francisco; soon, Hana herself is accused of being the mastermind behind the murder. Now David faces an agonizing Will he, a Jew, represent Hana—who may well be guilty—or will he turn away the one woman he can never forget?

The most challenging case of David's career requires that he delve deep into the lives of Hana Arif and her militant Palestinian husband, both of whom have always lived in exile. Ultimately, David's quest takes him to Israel and the West Bank, where, in a series of harrowing encounters, he learns that appearances are not at all what they seem.

Culminating in a tense and startling trial with international ramifications, Exile is that rare novel that both entertains and enlightens. At once an intricate tale of betrayal and deception, a moving love story, and a fascinating journey into the lethal politics of the Middle East, this is Richard North Patterson at his most brilliant and engrossing.]]> 562 Richard North Patterson 0805079475 Gary 3 4.00 2000 Exile
author: Richard North Patterson
name: Gary
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2000
rating: 3
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date added: 2013/08/10
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]]> <![CDATA[Balance of Power (Kerry Kilcannon, #3)]]> 107485 800 Richard North Patterson 0330490834 Gary 4 3.93 2003 Balance of Power (Kerry Kilcannon, #3)
author: Richard North Patterson
name: Gary
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2003
rating: 4
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date added: 2013/08/10
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]]> The Final Judgment 107483 The Final Judgement is a powerful, poignant, page-turning legal thriller that confirms Richard North Patterson as among the very best writers in the bookselling area.]]> Richard North Patterson 0345914627 Gary 3 4.02 1995 The Final Judgment
author: Richard North Patterson
name: Gary
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1995
rating: 3
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date added: 2013/08/10
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]]> <![CDATA[No Safe Place (Kerry Kilcannon, #1)]]> 107492 585 Richard North Patterson 0099175320 Gary 3 3.83 1998 No Safe Place (Kerry Kilcannon, #1)
author: Richard North Patterson
name: Gary
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1998
rating: 3
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date added: 2013/08/10
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]]> Deadlock (Ryan Lock, #2) 11254470 His mission should have been straightforward: to keep one man alive for one week.

ONE PRISONER
Super-intelligent and brutally violent, Frank 'Reaper' Hays is a leading member of America's most powerful white supremacists prison gang.

ONE BODYGUARD
Ex-military bodyguard Ryan Lock has been hired to protect him. His mission is to keep Reaper alive for a week until he can be brought to trial.

ONE WEEK TO STAY ALIVE
But Lock soon realises that he faces the toughest assignment of his career -- just to survive.]]> 432 Sean Black 1909062014 Gary 3 3.93 2010 Deadlock (Ryan Lock, #2)
author: Sean Black
name: Gary
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/08/10
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]]> Gridlock (Ryan Lock, #3) 12481850
Adult movie actress, Raven Lane, is one of the most lusted after women in California, with millions of fans to prove it. But none seem to be more dedicated in their pursuit of her than the murderous stalker who is carving a demonic swathe across the streets of Los Angeles in an apparent bid to get her attention.

Fearing for her life, and with the LAPD seemingly unable to protect her, Raven turns to elite bodyguard, Ryan Lock for help. But with suspicion settling on Raven herself, Lock finds himself drawn into a deadly web of deceit and seduction.

Events spiral swiftly out of control, as those closest to Lock begin to pay a bloody price for his involvement. Soon Lock is bent on revenge. As the hunted turns hunter, the blood-soaked streets of LA are about to get a whole lot bloodier.


From the Trade Paperback edition.]]> 347 Sean Black 1909062022 Gary 4 3.99 2011 Gridlock (Ryan Lock, #3)
author: Sean Black
name: Gary
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2011
rating: 4
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date added: 2013/08/10
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]]>