I don’t remember being tremendously impressed with Grisham’s more recent novels, but have always enjoyed his writing ability and his willingness to take on painful subjects, and so was excited to hear that he had done a sort of follow-up to A Time to Kill, one of his best. And while it did not disappoint, I have to admit that it lacked the high-octane appeal of earlier novels like The Pelican Brief and The Firm. But who says an author has to offer thrills and chills […]
This book is mesmerizing
This is my first foray into the works of Swedish crime-novelist Kepler, and it was –umm — mesmerizing. The horrible slaughter of nearly an entire family leaves Detective Joona Linna determined to solve the mystery, and as readers learn right away, the highly-respected detective is always right and is famous for his “told you so”s. The problem is that no one has any idea why someone butchered the father across town, then went to the home and murdered the wife, the little girl and […]
Drama without Passion
This is a fairly well-written but slow-paced story that takes place in the tiny town of Witless Bay, Newfoundland, surrounding a handful of colorful characters who struggle to make sense of their lives with relatively little connection to the outside world. Touches of magical realism combine with a certain bleakness of spirit to make for a story which has fascinating aspects to it, but which ultimately left me somewhat cold. Fabian is the product of a faltering marriage, who early on discovers that his […]
Perfect Spy Thriller
A Cold-War spy thriller, written to perfection by the master of spy thrillers. Rocket scientist Claude Lucas wakes up in a Union Station men’s room with no clue as to who he is or how he got there. He is hung over and dressed like a bum, and a fellow bum reassures him that he was on a total bender. As he tries to figure out his identity, he discovers multiple skills that suggest he is no ordinary derelict. People start following him, and little […]
A work of Dickensian depth and breadth
This nearly 800-page novel is a revelation – it is one of the more complex literary works I’ve read in a long time and proved impossible to put down. The Goldfinch tells the story of precocious 13-year-old Theo Decker, who lives alone with his mother in New York City until their unplanned visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the day terrorists decide to blow the museum up. Theo’s mother dies in the disaster, but Theo survives and manages to extricate himself and return […]
True-Life Fiction About Who Pulls the Strings of Terrorism
An exciting thriller of terrorism, psychosis and high-level corruption in Italy, Hewson’s City of Fear is also a barely-veiled political expose of the infamous Gladio network that was created by the CIA’s Alan Dulles in the post-WWII period with the backing of the US and several European governments. The idea of the Gladio network was initially to have a clandestine “stay-behind” network of partisans in place should a Soviet takeover of Italy and Communist encroachment on the rest of Western Europe be attempted. However, the […]