Book Review – When Darkness Falls By James Grippando

 

Sypnosis : 

Miami attorney Jack Swyteck is back in the lightning-paced thriller When Darkness Falls. This time Jack gets more than he bargained for when he defends a homeless man who calls himself Falcon.

Falcon is full of contradictions. He lives in a car but he has access to a lot of cash. And he has an obsession with the Miami mayor’s daughter. First, Falcon threatens to jump from the top of the Bay of Biscayne bridge unless he can talk to Alina Mendoza. He ends up in jail, but surprisingly has the bail money and is on the street again in a few hours, earning Jack the enmity of the powerful and vindictive mayor.

Then Falcon strikes again. Hours after his release, the body of a brutally murdered woman is found in the trunk of Falcon’s car. Then Falcon crashes Jack’s car into a motel and takes hostage the woman inside, plus Theo, in the process killing one policeman and injuring another. Now Jack’s in a pulse-pounding race to save Theo and the woman…but what Jack doesn’t know is that the deadly scenario that’s unfolding is much bigger than Falcon, much bigger than he could possibly imagine.

——————————————————————————————–

This Author came highly recommended by a buddy of mine,  so I decided to try reading one of his books.  Little did I know that this one happens to be number 6 of the Jack Swyteck series.  Doesn’t really matter as it does take off from the previous book nor does it lead you on to the next.

The plot is strong and the characterizations very good and it did well to hold my attention throughout.  But as far as twists goes well…. let’s just say for now, I’ve experienced far better.  Still I very much enjoyed James Grippando’s writing style and his wicked sense of humour which he manages to entwine into the tale, a feat not often found in Thrillers!

Book Review – The Righteous Men by Sam Bourne

 

Sypnosis : Someone is murdering good people. Why? This is a blisteringly high-concept serial killer thriller combined with a delicious religious conspiracy theory from a hot new British talent. A pimp is found dead in a rough New York neighbourhood. A far-right extremist is fatally shot at his remote log cabin outside Seattle. An eighteen-year-old computer hacker is murdered on his way home from working at a call centre in India. One thing unites these victims. All had, at some point in their largely wasted and grubby lives, performed an act of exceptional goodness. Someone is murdering good people. Why? For rookie journalist Will Monroe, in his first week on the crime beat for the “New York Times”, the story is a gift, the launch pad for a glittering career. But then his wife Beth is kidnapped, and the riddle becomes personal. When he starts receiving cryptic messages from the kidnappers, who warn him not to involve the police, Will realizes he needs serious help. The rebellious ex-girlfriend he hasn’t seen for five years might be the person Will least wants to see right now, but he knows that if anyone can break the kidnappers’ code, it’s her. And if TC can help save Beth then he has no alternative but to beg for her help. But as Will and TC piece together the clues, it becomes apparent that the kidnappers are motivated by a far higher calling than simple greed…

Well this book makes for a good read though it only really gripped me in the last two chapters.  There are subtle simliarities, though a much lighter and different plot to that of  Da Vinci Code.  Overall it is still a good book though I find the ending that reasons and actions of the ‘Group’ responsible for the killings a tad far fetched.

Book Review-Hell’s Kitchen by Jeffrey Deaver

 Sypnosis :- Every New York City neighborhood has a story, but what John Pellam uncovers in Hell’s Kitchen has a darkness all its own. The Hollywood location scout and former stuntman is in the Big Apple hoping to capture the unvarnished memories of longtime Kitchen residents such as Ettie Washington in a no-budget documentary film. But when a suspicious fire ravages the elderly woman’s crumbling tenement, Pellam realizes that someone might want the past to stay buried.

As more buildings and lives go up in flames, Pellam takes to the streets, seeking the twisted pyromaniac who sells services to the highest bidder. But Pellam is unaware that the fires are merely flickering preludes to the arsonist’s ultimate masterpiece, a conflagration of nearly unimaginable proportion, with Hell’s Kitchen — and John Pellam — at its blackened and searing epicenter.

What makes a thriller great, is when it’s far from predictable.  With Jeffrey Deaver the likely suspects are unlikely while the unlikely suspects are the most likely but then again you may still get it wrong! 

Hell’s kitchen builds up nicely in the beginning then slows down in the middle and accelerates to an exciting finale.  You get to experience why Hell’s kitchen is aptly name through it’s characters and even delve into the sick twisted mind of a pyromaniac through Deaver’s vivid descriptions.

Apparently this is the last novel of the John Pellam series.  Even though this is my first book of that series I enjoyed all the same.

Book Review – Garden Of Beasts by Jeffrey Deaver

 Sypnosis : 

Paul Schumann, a German-American living in New York City in 1936, is a mobster hit man known equally for his brilliant tactics and for taking only “righteous” jobs. But when a hit goes wrong and Schumann is nabbed, he’s offered a stark choice: kill Reinhard Ernst, the man behind Hitler’s rearmament scheme, and walk free forever—or be sent to Sing-Sing and the electric chair.

The instant Paul sets foot in Berlin his mission becomes a deadly cat-and-mouse chase, with danger and betrayal lurking at every turn. For the next forty-eight hours, as the city prepares for the coming summer Olympics, Schumann stalks Ernst, while a dogged criminal police officer and the entire Third Reich security apparatus search frantically for the American. Packed with fascinating period detail and featuring a cast of perfectly realized local characters, Olympic athletes, and senior Nazi officials—some real, some fictional—Garden of Beasts dishes up breathtaking action, a wrenching look at Nazi-era Berlin, and a series of stunning plot twists.

Well you can hardly go wrong with Jeffrey Deaver, even his worst written novel which I have yet to find could still be on The New York Time Bestseller List simply because he is a brilliant writer with a brilliant Chess player’s mind except in his case he’d beat you before you even move your first piece. 

While this book is fiction, the superbly combined factual events and things of that period makes this a very intriguing and an exciting read.  And because if this, I’ve decided to read another one of his books next – Hell’s Kitchen.

Book Review – Simple Genius By David Baldacci

Brief Description –  In a world of secrets, human genius is power. And sometimes it is simply deadly… A three-hour drive from Washington, D.C., two clandestine institutions face each other across a heavily guarded river. One is the world’s most unusual laboratory, whose goals and funding are a mystery. The other is an elite CIA training camp shrouded in secrecy. Now a man and a woman are about to run a gauntlet between these two puzzle factories, straight into a furious struggle to exploit a potentially world-shattering discovery–and keep some other secrets underwraps forever…

David Baldacci’s characters in his are in-depth with often times complex personalities and colourful histories.  And that is not even diving in to the rich, delicious, suspenseful plots.  In Simple Genius I found that I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen next as well as to learn what was it that drove some of the characters to do what they did and why?

In short the title of the book could very well serve two purposes, one in describing the general plot of the book and the second in describing the Author himself! 😉

Book Of Lies By Brad Meltzer

An easy read with  fast enough paced action that you’ll be able to finish the book in a day or two.  However in so far as great thrillers go this book is not quite in the same league as the best of them.  Why? Because the premise that there is a link between the death of the father of  the creator of  Superman and an ancient weapon of the old testament era is just too much fiction to bear.  Moreover the characters are rather two dimentional hence failing to complement the novel ideology of the book.  

Still it is a rather enjoyable read and what I liked best about the book is that it provided insights as to how the comic book hero Superman was created also not forgetting how Brad combined certain elements of fact with fiction. 

About The Book

In Chapter Four of the Bible, Cain kills Abel. It is the world’s most famous murder. But the Bible is silent about one key detail: the weapon Cain used to kill his brother. That weapon is still lost to history.

In 1932, Mitchell Siegel was killed by three gunshots to his chest. While mourning, his son dreamed of a bulletproof man and created the world’s greatest hero: Superman. And like Cain’s murder weapon, the gun used in this unsolved murder has never been found.

Until now.

Today in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Cal Harper comes face-to-face with his family’s greatest secret: his long-lost father, who’s been shot with a gun that traces back to Mitchell Siegel’s 1932 murder. But before Cal can ask a single question, he and his father are attacked by a ruthless killer tattooed with the anicent markings of Cain. And so begins the chase for the world’s first murder weapon.

What does Cain, history’s greatest villain, have to do with Superman, the world’s greatest hero? And what do two murders, committed thousands of years apart, have in common? This is the mystery at the heart of Brad Meltzer’s riveting and utterly intriguing new thriller.

The World Is Flat – By Thomas L. Friedman

 

Yes I know it has been a long time since I did a book review, well that’s because I was reading the National Geographic Magazine in between.  Also this book is filled with lots of new and interesting business models built on a flat world platform, that it takes some time to understand and grasp the importance born of necessity for it’s survival.  This however will be a short review since there are so many out there already written.

First and foremost, Mr Friedman is a world renowned jounalist with the New York Times and so you can expect a good read with great insights that perhaps only a journalist with a huge travel budget can give you.  What Mr. Friedman means when he says “Flat”, in essence means “connected” and how by getting ‘connected’ the world has changed dramatically.  This book is not so much about telling you what you can espect in the future as it is telling you how much catching up you have to do in order to survive this ever changing technologically advance world.  I’ve lived through and experienced  a lot of what he says in his book, about how computer use grew exponentially, to the dot com bubble burst era etc etc. but had little insight of what took place elsewhere in the world.  This book covers that and a whole lot more… Globalisation 3.0!

Who would otherwise be able to learn about the inside mechanics and measures that was taken by giants like Walmart, FedEx and UPS  to evolve in becoming truly World Class?  Who would have guess that the making of Our Lady Of Guadalupe statues would be outsourced by Mexico to China?  Or that Bill Gates the philanthropist together with the Gates Foundation would initiate the ‘Great Challenges in Global Health’ which got many scientists around the world to collaborate and find solutions to these problems. They ended up awarding and funding forty three grants totalling four hundred and thirty six million dollars! 

The world is not totally flat, in fact it is bumpy in some areas and mountainous in others and there are lots of unanswered questions! However you can start by reading Mr. Friedman’s valuable narrative which would point you in the right direction…..

The Hippopotamus By Stephen Fry

Here’s the thing about British humour, if you don’t get it then you probably never will and so shall perceive it to be utterly dry and a bore! However if you do get it …..well then *sings* ‘The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain!…By George you’ve got it!

Stephen Fry is extremely funny, witty, vulgar, but most of all a comedic genius! What an enjoyable read with clever twist in the end. I’ve already got the next book of his lined up……

Book Review -With No One As Witness by Elizabeth George

This being my first book from the Author, I had the impression that she was a native British writer since the story was set in England. Boy was I sorely mistaken, she was actually born in Warren, Ohio (USA) and was a high school English teacher for almost fourteen years or more.

It took me quite a while to finish reading this book. Apart from it being 662pages long, I had to look up and learn at least forty plus new words. Then there is the character rich storyline in which she has an uncanny ability to delve into the intricacies of the mind of practically all her characters. You hear their spoken and unspoken thoughts, their relationships with others all deliciously laid out on an emotional platter.

The overall storyline moves at quite a slow place from the beginning to past midway but with the compelling investigation and some nice unexpected twists the reader is engaged to the very end. Some may find the little shocker towards the end brutal and unnecessary but I beg to differ, I applaud her for it as not many Authors are willing to add that extra touch of realism.

When the naked body of a dead young boy is found mutilated and artfully arranged on top of a tomb, it opens up a whole can of worms for the Metropolitan Police Force of London, for it turns out that this is just the latest in a string of similar murders. The thing is that the previous victims had been either black or of mixed race and had been written off as gang related killings. This latest victim, however, is white and is inviting a whole lot of interest. Hoping to contain the accusations of racism and callousness, AC Hillier appoints acting Detective Superintendent Thomas Lynley to the case, assigning him newly promoted Detective Winston Nkata (window dressing in Hiller’s mind for the public as Nkata is off Jamaican background) and allowing Lynley to keep fiery Detective Constable Barbara Havers on the team. Everyone quickly realises that they have a serial killer on their hands; and as they race to discover how many prior victims there were and identify them, and to try to establish a pattern of sorts that would give them a clue as to the killer’s modus operandi, Lynley also has to contend with Hiller’s need to direct the investigation and his desire that Lynley and his team cooperate with the newspapers. As the killings continue to mount, and as the police officers race to get a result, things take an unexpected and explosive turn, one that perhaps neither Lynley nor Havers will ever recover from. – Story Outlined By Tregatt

Book Review – The Cold Moon By Jeffrey Deaver

Synopsis : Lincoln Rhyme returns in The Cold Moon, a roller coaster of a thriller that pits Lincoln and Amelia Sachs against time itself.

On a freezing December night, with a full moon hovering in the black skies over New York City, two people are brutally murdered—their prolonged deaths marked by eerie calling-cards: moon-faced clocks ticking away the victims’ last minutes on earth. More murders are planned, and Rhyme and his team have only hours to stop the icy-cold, brilliant Watchmaker, whose obsession with time drives him to plan his carnage with the precision of a fine timepiece. While the cat-and-mouse search for the killer proceeds, Amelia Sachs must balance her efforts to catch the Watchmaker with her job as lead detective on the first homicide case of her own, in which she unearths shocking revelations from the past that threaten to undermine her very relationship with Lincoln Rhyme.

I am now officially a fan of Mr Deaver! Wow! what a story, with the wonderful twist and turns as the plot thickens is nothing short of amazing.  Of course all great Authors would have a great team behind him….but the fact remains that he truly is a mastermind!  Thank goodness he is on the right side of the law *chuckles* What I love about his books other than the amazing thrills and spins is that you can learn something from them, for instance in this one he talks about the use of Kinesics to help solve some unanswered questions.  There are also a few other gems in it but I’ll leave you to discover them on your own.

Book Review – The Simple Truth By David Baldacci

Plot Outline : Behind the scenes, the U.S. Supreme Court is a battleground of egos, intellects, and power. Here brilliant young attorney Mike Fiske toils as an elite foot soldier. His colleague Sara Evans is clerking for a female Court justice who is powerfully connected to Congress. But Sara, whose career has limitless possibilities, is becoming a key player in a struggle that will link a convicted murderer to the Court.

Far from the imposing facade of the High Court is the world of street crime, prison time, and bare-knuckles criminal courts defense. In a Virginia military prison Rufus Harms is just one more lifer claiming innocence. Convicted of killing a girl on an army base twenty-five years ago, Harms smuggles a desperate letter out of his prison cell. It’s a bombshell — an appeal to the Supreme Court — that claims he was forced to commit murder. Suddenly everyone who has anything to do with Harms or the appeal mysteriously dies…..

How can anyone not love a story which has a little of everything it in it? Law at it’s highest and lowest form, murder,mystery, thriller, romance, suspense, sibling rivalry, brotherly love, jealously and even politics!

Well when there is a will, there certainly is a way so I have concluded when reading some of the mixed reviews. Personally I loved the book! The author not only gives us a little window view of the ‘innards’ of the Supreme Court Legal System but also those of the Lower Courts which governs the rest. Then there is the great mystery thriller which leaves you a little at the edge of your seat trying to figure who else is involved. I even teared a little at certain parts of the story, so YES I would say this is definitely a GOOD read!

( T-minus 1 Day) 

Book Review – The Measure Of A Man By Sydney Poitier

If you have a personal library or a special collection of books that you own, this is surely one you ought to include.

Mr Poitier turning 81 on the 20th of Feb is just three years older than my father, and so I have at least some idea of the era they were born in and the life struggles of that period. I have also watched at least three of his movies when I was very much younger. Two of which will always be remembered fondly, are ‘To Sir With Love’ and ‘Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner’ as they remind me a little of my dad and his life.

This is a wonderfully written autobiography of which he shares many of life lessons and his keen insights on the journey that led him to where he is today. Many will benefit from his wisdom gathered over the years and the eloquence for which he shares his truths. I used to love his portrayal of the characters in the movies and now after reading his book, I have come to admire and respect the man that he is.