Thursday, September 30, 2010

Fractured - Karin Slaughter

Fractured is the first book I've read by Slaughter.  Abigail Campano came home to her fancy estate to find her daughter lying dead in the upstairs hallway.  She's then attacked by the killer and manages to strangle him to death.  Is that really what happened?  It seems that way at first but nothing in this thriller is what it seems.  The mystery begins to unravel when an unlikely pair of law enforcement officers are teamed up to work the case.  One of the detectives has manage to hide the fact that they can't read or write, and strangely this may give the team the big break they need.  Will the break come in time though?  This is one I had a hard time putting down.  Very highly recommended.

The Lost City of Z - David Grann

The Lost City of Z reminds me of the books I used to read as a kid. Stories of explorers in African and South America who searched for elusive new animals or treasures. I really wanted to be an explorer like that. Grann has done an excellent job of bringing the life of one real explorer, Percy Fawcett, into perspective.  I'm not so sure I'd want the insects and poison arrows that he had to deal with in the Amazon,but it makes an interesting and exciting tale.  And in the end it sound like Fawcett and Grann may have found what what they were seeking, even if Fawcett never realized it.  Highly recommended.

Monday, September 13, 2010

The Colorado Kid - Stephen King

The Colorado Kid is a pretty short novel but I liked it. The critics seems to have problems, but I thought it was a good change of pace.  Sometimes you're better off not knowing. Maybe this is one of those times.  That said, the series Haven, which I'm watching on Hulu, is so loosely based on this novel it's almost hard to find the connection.  I like them both though.  Highly recommended.

Burned - P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast

Burned is book seven in the House of Night series. This one came after a major cliff hanger.  I got out of sync writing what I read instead of reading.  There is a much more satisfying ending to this novel but it's still like going to the Saturday movies where every week they leave you hanging so you come back the next Saturday.  There are starting to be more threads than I like in a novel but it hasn't exceeded my tolerance yet.  Recommended.

Tempted - P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast

Tempted is the sixth House of Night novel.  Almost too busy to read so I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this.  Go to the link and read the reviews.  This was something you had to read after reading the first five books.  I enjoyed it but talk about a cliff hanger.  Recommended.