Killing Floor by Lee Child
26 Aug 2010 1 Comment
in Books, reviews Tags: Jack Reacher, Killing Floor, Lee Child
ISBN: 978-0425205068
Rating: B
#1 Jack Reacher
Jack Reacher is a wanderer. A military brat who turned into a 13 year military man who craves freedom. He wants no place to hang his hat, he’d rather throw it away and buy a new one. KILLING FLOOR leads Jack to Margrave Georgia where he finds himself accused of murder with hours of his arrival.
I picked up KILLING FLOOR based on several recommendations from my online book group. I wasn’t overly impressed, but I wasn’t let down either. I think Reacher and I need to get to know each other a little better. This was a mediocre read, I enjoyed it when it was within my grip but it was easy to forget about Jack and his problems when I wasn’t actively involved in the story. Was this the typical debut novel of a series that is full of set up and has a slow wandering plot? Maybe, but I am interested enough to read the next in the series DIE TRYING.
Reacher is an interesting character, this area of story development was flush however the plot had major gaping holes. I’m not sure how I feel about I feel about Reacher’s relationship with the police, if you have read this you know what I mean. The rest of the plot was well thought out and had me trying to solve it the entire read.
Although I was not impressed by this series debut I am intrigued to see if Reacher and Child will grow on me.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
08 Aug 2010 1 Comment
in Books, reviews Tags: Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
ISBN: 978-0307454546
Rating: B
Who knew that the world of financial journalism could turn into a chilling thriller, which takes the reader on a spiraling journey towards a truth so twisted it was hard to see coming.
I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews about THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO and while I can’t rave about it as much as others, I can say that it was definitely not what I expected. When I hear the word “thriller” I think of HEARTSICK by Chelsea Cain where I am turning the page even before I’ve finished reading it because I have to know what is coming next. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is not your typical thriller. For me it was reminiscent of Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon series; a thinking man’s thriller. A lot of the story was cerebral and required the reader to be active in the investigation. As a reader you were on the journey with Mikael Blomkvist pushing your theories of the crime onto the character waiting for him to come to the same conclusions as you. It was an interesting experience because I did like I was part of the story, not just watching it from the outside.
I look forward to reading the remaining two books in this trilogy to see if they live up to my new found expectations of this author’s work.
Bullet by Laurell K Hamilton
01 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
in Books, reviews Tags: Anita Blake, Bullet, Laurell K Hamilton
ISBN: 978-0425234334
Rating: B
Anita Blake #19
The Anita Blake series is one of my favorite series, and I expect a lot from these characters and from this author because of my love of this series. BULLET did not disappoint, but it left me needing more. It felt almost incomplete; I felt like FLIRT AND BULLET could have been made into one book.
I can’t even do a synopsis of this series anymore because it goes beyond just the plot or story arc of one novel. It’s a series about characters, and relationships and the politics of each relationship.
Anita Blake is a vampire killing US Marshall, who can raise the dead. She’s flawed and makes mistakes and this series is about how she learns to trust in herself and keeps her faith when all she knows it the things that go bump in the night.
BULLET is a set up book, it’s obvious, something is changing in St Louis and Hamilton is preparing for what is to come. However in that process as a reader I feel like I was let down because BULLET did not feel as complete as it should have. Anita and Hamilton are finally back in line with who Anita was and who she is becoming, it must have been a tough negotiation. It is totally worth it. There are “fans” out there who think Hamilton has done nothing but write bad porn lately, but they just don’t get it. They expect Anita and Hamilton to not change and remain stagnant, but if that were to happen then those same “fans” would complain of boredom. It’s such a fine line to be an author and Hamilton draws her own line in the sand and pretty much says if you don’t like it don’t read it. I can respect that.
I will say that I laugh when talking to friends who are finally beginning to see what makes Nathaniel the man I always knew he was. They are now trying to steal my literary crush, and I won’t give him up but I am willing to share.
If you have never read this series I will suggest starting at the beginning with GUILTY PLEASURES but be warned these books do become more sexual as you read them, so if you like traditional love scenes this series is definitely not for you. However, if you take the chance, I hope you find what I love about this series.
