James Patterson’s new novel Cross features Michael Sullivan, “the Butcher,” (a psychopath) who exhibits no sense of humanity and is unbelievably far more sinister and evil than Patterson’s other villains that included Gary Soneji, Casanova, and even Kyle Craig. The importance of “The Butcher” becomes evident when Alex’s partner Sampson finds evidence during the course of an investigation into the assassination of several mafia members and young college women that ties him to the 1993 murder of Alex’s wife, Maria. The question throughout the narrative, however, is whether Alex will finally be able to solve Maria’s murder and be content with turning the perpetrator over to the criminal justice system or if he will take justice into his own hands thus culminating his own deadly obsession.

Patterson creates a terrific, fast paced story which will keep his fans following page after page as he recaps Alex’s life with Maria, with attention to the poignant feelings that both Alex and his wife had for each other, which included Maria’s last words to Alex before her murder: “I love you, Alex. No one will ever love you the way I do.” Those haunting and prophetic words touched my heart and allowed me to feel his loss and pain and then he continues on to seek out her killer.

Some problems did exist in the book; however that showed it did need a better effort at fact checking and editing. For example in one chapter, the Butcher supposedly left his house in Florida, Massachusetts “drove west” and headed to the Massachusetts Turnpike but a little investigation would have shown that Florida is northeast of Stockbridge and is inaccessible to the Massachusetts Turnpike unless you drive via a series of hard to navigate back roads. Another somewhat disturbing issue was the continual use of name brand products such as “Sweet Tarts” that are used throughout this novel causing one to wonder if Patterson was getting paid to advertise these products.

Overall, however, I thoroughly enjoyed the suspense that is highlighted by Alex’s pulsating energy as he deals with threats against his extended family (which includes Nana Mama, Damon, Jannie, and little Alex), but if you aren’t a hardcore reader of horror novels Patterson’s descriptive genius may make it hard for you to handle some of the macabre exploits performed by the creepy and compelling butcher who at first evokes admiration, then sympathy, but ultimately the man’s evil colors everything else.

Tags: book review, james patterson, cross, horror, mystery, suspense

In For One More Day Albom, who is also the author of Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven, takes us on a sympathetic journey with one Charles “Chick” Benetto, a former baseball player and the story’s protagonist, who arrives at a turning point in his life when his 79-year-old mother experiences a fatal heart attack, while he is playing in an old-timers game, leaving him with enough guilt to haunt him the rest of his life. The scenario of the story is based on Chick being allowed one more day to mend his relationship with his mother and how important it is for humans to realize that life is short and you never know when it may be too late to mend a flawed relationship or just to make sure that you don’t put off letting others know how important they are to you. The novel itself is set in the 1950’s and 1960’s and gives you a very descriptive look into Chick’s flawed life, that begins with his impossible attempt to meet the different expectations set for him by his parents and continues through his abuse of alcohol, his penchant for continually arguing with his wife and daughter and ends with his eventually being left alone and broken. I thought the book was insightful and once again evidenced Albom’s masterful writing providing the reader with several opportunities to reconsider their past experiences in a new light. I guess you can sum this story up with the old adage “hindsight is 20/20″ and if we could change the past, we would certainly do things differently.

Tags: book review, mitch albom, for one more day, philisophical, fiction

Robert Crais, well-known for his books Demolition Angel, Hostage, and LA Requiem, chooses The Two Minute Rule as the name for his new novel from the concept that a bank robber has two minutes to get in and out of a bank before he is in danger of being captured. The Two Minute Rule may not be the best of Crais’ works but the exceptionally keen method that he employs to describe the vignettes on life that Max Holman faces as a freshly-released long-term prisoner are very well done.

The plot revolves around Max’s inexperience and unfamiliarity with current day life, as we know it (such as how to use a mobile phone, and his general knowledge of life in LA), accompanied by all the normal fears of a newly freed man including the fact that he has few job skills and is crippled with the fear that his son, Richard, (an L.A. cop who has been murdered) has turned out bad. Sensing, however, that something is wrong Max approaches the LAPD, where he seeks to discover what his son was doing down at the LA River at 1:30 am on his day off. When he is told to “back off” he becomes even more suspicious and joins forces with Special Agent Pollard (formerly of the FBI) in an effort to find out what is being hidden behind the blue shield. The subplots are also well done including Crais artful weaving of the course of the investigation, which is stymied at every turn by the police, with the personal stories of Max and Katherine who are both lost and terribly wounded souls who discover that not all cops are honest.

In The Two Minute Rule, Crais does a nice job of revealing the facts through the professional proceduralism of Pollard, while at the same time revealing the confusion and conflicts of his main characters. However, while I liked this book because the characters seemed realistic and, while possessing flaws, acted intelligently breaking the law only when having no other choice, errors in the proofreading of this work should be addressed . The pacing of the story is good and I found it refreshing that the two protagonists did not jump into bed despite an obvious attraction for one another.

Tags: book review, the two minute rule, robert crais, realism, mystery, action

Patricia Cornwell’s Predator show cases the brilliance of this talented author, as she once again highlights forensics expert Kay Scarpetta while taking you on a fast-paced journey that runs from Boston to Southern Florida.

In this volume of the Kay Scarpetta series Ms Cornwell has Scarpetta join forces with her niece, Lucy, at the National Forensics Academy in Florida where with the invaluable assistance of Pete Marino and Benton Wesley they track down a diabolical monster who is picking his victims at random and subjecting them to such horrors that they lose all their desire to survive. Throughout the investigation you are introduced to several lesser subplots that help to keep the novel moving forward, such as Lucy’s illness and the manipulations of Joe Amos who strives to make everyone at the Academy question each other’s motives.

This novel, a fine psychological thriller, will take you on a not soon to be forgotten race track ride of high intensity drama that zips you along from the first chapter to the totally unexpected ending. If you are a Patricia Cornwell fan and have enjoyed the past Kay Scarpetta series you will not be disappointed in Predator as I found it one of her best since the crime’s protagonist is totally unexpected.

Tags: book review, patricia cornwell, predator, kay scarpetta, mystery, thriller, suspense

Catherine Coulter’s Blind Side is a perfect book for night owls, who don’t have to get up in the morning, due to its ability to capture the reader from the first chapter and to keep them entranced to the last page. With her novel Blind Side Ms. Coulter excellently portrays a parent’s fears for their endangered children who are threatened by an unbelievably evil sociopath.in Blindside, there are actually two plots,  the main and most intense plot revolves around the kidnapping of six-year-old Sam Kettering (who escapes from his persistent kidnappers), Miles Savich (Sam’s father and ex-FBI agent),  Dillon Savich (a current FBI agent and close friend of Miles Kettering), his wife, Sherlock Savich (also an FBI agent), Katie Benedict (Sheriff of Jessborough, Tennessee who finds young Sam after his escape), and charismatic cult leader Sooner McCamy and his beautiful, wife, Elsbeth. The subplot revolves around the cold-blooded slayings of three Washington D.C. math teachers which are being investigated by Savich at the time he is called in on the
Kettering kidnapping.

I personally recommend this five-star, action-packed novel with it’s many twists and turns to anyone who enjoys a well-written, intense, and highly suspenseful novel that will keep you reading and wanting more from this wonderful author.

Tags: book review, catherine coulter, coulter, blind side, action, kidnapping, mystery, suspense

In 2nd Chance Patterson lives up to his reputation with his second of the Lindsay Boxer series by capturing the reader’s interest in the first couple of pages with the senseless slaying of eleven-year-old Tasha Catchings (a young choir member) on the very doorstep of the La Salle Heights church. This murder as well as the other killings that are committed by the novel’s diabolical madman (who isn’t prejudice against any one group but rather includes people from every walk of life) requires all the genius of the Women’s Murder Club to solve and as soon as you think you know who-done-it you find out that the killer is still out there.By incorporating the four heroines in the book, Lindsay Boxer (a
San Francisco police inspector), Claire Washburn (a medical examiner), Cindy Thomas (a crime scene reporter for the Chronicle) and Jill Bernhardt (an assistant D.A.) Patterson gives us a spell-binding book filled with twists and turns that will leave you frightened of the dark for days after you turn the book’s final pages where Patterson successfully ties the entire story together with a totally unexpected ending.

If you are a die-hard Patterson fan or not this series, that began with 1st to Die and this subsequent novel 2nd Chance, is a must read for any action-filled mystery junkie.

Tags: book review, james patterson, patterson, lindsay boxer, 2nd chance, action, mystery

State of Fear by Michael Crichton is a scientifically based novel on the theory of global warming. The book is exquistically written with scientific detail and on the edge of your seat suspense wrapped together in an informative and entertaining package.

In State of Fear Crichton, well known for his fast-moving prose combined with well researched data and his occasional controversial plot concepts, reverses field using the incorrectly perceived threats of environmental disaster as the underlying impetus against the hysteria surrounding global warming. In this book, Crichton weaves a story around the real-life manipulation of scientific data that is designed to force a political agenda and develops his story line around the ability of humans to influence the environment and the concept that you shouldn’t believe everything you hear. So if you enjoy an avalanche of scientific data on how giant ice bergs, tsunamis and flash floods can be created, this is your book.

The story centers around Peter Evans (an environmental lawyer) in charge of handling negotiations between George Morton (a billionaire philanthropist) and the National Environmental Resource Fund (NERF), to which Morton is about to bequeath $10 million. Morton and his co-horts take Evans for a dizzying adventure that zips them to places as far-flung as Antarctica. At first, Peter refuses to accept the idea that things may not be as they seem but after a couple of attempts on his life, he wakes up to the fact that NERF is actually involved in a planned, as well as dangerous, and well-funded, terrorist attack.

I found myself drawn to both the overall theory that things (such as global warming) are not always as they are related to us via the media and the fact that our government has its own agenda and will feed us tainted information so that they can manipulate us into a state of fear. In Addition, I also enjoyed the subplots that Crichton wrote into the story that kept it moving along at an acceptable pace. Despite my pleasure in the book, however, I wouldn’t recommend it to the traditional adrenaline fiction junkie, but if you are looking for a book that has a little substance to it as well as being entertaining this book is a must read.

Overall, State Of Fear is a nice combination for the reader who likes a little substance along with their thrillers.

Tags: book review, michael crichton, state of fear, global warming, suspense, terrorist attacks

As usual James Patterson is right on with his book 1st To Die (the first book of a four part series). It was one of those books that grab you the second you start reading and that you won’t want to put it down.

The book has four main characters the most notable being Lindsay Boxer, an inspector for the San Francisco Police Department. Along with Lindsay the characters who seek to solve the case include Claire Washburn (A medical examiner and Lindsay’s best friend), Jill Bernhardt (an assistant District Attorney assigned to the first case), and Cindy Thomas (a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle) who ingratiates herself into the group after the first murders. Together these four women form “The Women’s Murder Club” and take you on a roller coaster ride of suspense as they work together to find the monster responsible for a series of diabolical honeymoon murders that began with the savage killing of David and Melanie Brandt.

Patterson immediately exposes the monster, Phillip Campbell, (a psychotic Sociopath) as the perpetrator of these brutal slayings but don’t be surprised to discover that this is just a charade for what turns out to be an edge of your seat plot filled with twists and turns that takes all the teamwork, brains and courage that these four young woman incorporate to trap this terrifying monster.

Patterson’s 1st To Die, like his other books is a must read for the serious mystery reader. It is intriguing, artfully written, and makes for a lesson in terror that you won’t soon forget.

Tags: book review, james patterson, 1st to die, action, mystery, suspense, great read

Dean Koontz was unmatchable with his thrillers Intensity and Tick Tock which offered non-stop breath-catching scenarios that left readers up till three in the morning looking warily around corners and out of curtained windows. Unfortunately, Odd Thomas, however, is a different kind of book.

The plot moves at a snail’s pace covering a two day period and revolves around Odd Thomas, the novel’s protagonist, who sees dead people, particularly an evil spirit that Koontz calls Bob “Fungus Man” Robertson, who attracts other dark spirits like some kind of satanic Pied Piper. Unfortunately, however, while the concept was interesting Koontz succeeded in doing little more than portraying Odd as an ordinary guy who constantly reminded us (just in case we forgot) how much he loved his girlfriend and in using long drawn-out conversations as pointless filler in the plot. The book could definitely have stood a good editing by someone unafraid to chop out a paragraph here and there since there are scenes after scenes that serve no real purpose to the story when one operates under the theory that each scene is supposed to propel the story forward.

Another weak element to the novel was the climax which wasn’t even complicated enough to be a plot twist because it came out of nowhere and made little sense since it totally contradicted the later learned-about grand scheme causing this reader to feel as if Koontz didn’t know where to go or how to use the foundation he laid to finish the book.

In summing this up I would say that while Mr. Koontz is generally an unmatched story teller this book was a total disappointment and for me at least a waste of valuable time.

Tags: book review, odd thomas, dean koontz, thriller, suspense, mystery

Wages of Sin by Penelope Williamson is a powerful and provocative mystery centering around the precepts and corruptness of the Catholic Church. The setting is 1927 New Orleans and its focus is on the torture and crucifixion of Father Patrick Walsh, the city’s most beloved priest.

Ms. Williamson’s plot is fresh and insightful, revealing how the Church uses its power and influence to sweep unsavory or unacceptable occurrences under the rug. She presents us with a hero, Daman Rourke (the homicide detective investigating the case and also the brother of one of the priests) who takes us along for a ride through a multiple array of twists and turns that begin with the priests’ grisly murder, and continues through the circumstantial evidence that links an innocent black man to the crime, and includes the torture and murder of several young girls. Through all of this, however, is the main thread of the story which is a secret that the young priest hoped to carry to the grave.

This reader found the novel informative, well researched, and entertaining. The Wages of Sin is well worth the reading for the serious mystery enthusiast.

Tags: book review, wages of sin, penelope williamson, mystery, catholic church