Nova Books

The oath by John lescroart is courtroom drama at its best. I have now bought the whole series

Our only prior exposure to our author was his "Dead Irish" Dismas Hardy story that all but his most ardent fans found rather mediocre, as did we. In that book, half the tome was little but rumination before the action finally commenced. The Oath was thankfully somewhat more entertaining, but, though we failed to guess the villain as soon as many others, it ended with a whimper instead of a flourish. The plot per se was somewhat interesting - a prominent HMO executive is critically injured while jogging by a hit and run driver, but survives surgery only to die mysteriously in the ICU. Indeed, an autopsy reveals he was murdered while in recovery! So a kind of dual-pronged investigation is launched - was it really an accidental hit and run, and is the most obvious suspect, our hero Dismas Hardy's eventual client, attending physician Dr. Kensing, really the hospital perp? Lescroart uses this storyline to attack the now hardly creative idea that HMO's, especially those on financial skids, will invariably sacrifice patient well-being to cut costs. This tactic gets a little tiresome as it seems to have little bearing on the ongoing murder investigation. Finally, a series of killings in the hospital seems to have been uncovered, and a minority male nurse becomes a critical lynchpin in the discovery of the true villain.

Although numerous sub-plots populate the novel - including extra-marital affairs, Hardy's tendency to neglect family for work, two cops just learning their trade, and the unusual friendship between what would otherwise be arch enemies DA Abe Glitsky and Defense Attorney Hardy - Lescroart handles a pretty high character count with enough clarity we can keep track of everybody. While the resultant meandering storyline managed to create enough suspense to capture our interest, we were destined for disappointment at the end. We didn't think the somewhat unspectacular outcome was a fitting conclusion, and many readers reported figuring it out long before the denouement. Also an attempt to fool us into thinking a major character had suffered a fatal wound in the late chapters was unappreciated and inept. Lastly, some attempt at poetic justice in the final chapter, an almost irrelevant epilogue that pointed back to a heretofore irrelevant prologue, seemed irony out of place in an otherwise rather prosaic story.

Lescroart is a successful writer and demonstrates a decent imagination; he seems to enjoy a loyal following and a lengthening bibliography. But the overall craft of this effort leaves us with little incentive to spend our money, let alone our time, taking a chance on his many other books.

The book starts with a hit and run. We never really get back to this accident until the very end of the book. Then we set up an innocent guy to look guilty, and move to a guilty guy who didn't do the crime they are after him for.

This book has 2 parts. The first two thirds of the book is spent in pursuit of red herrings, and the last third is a disjointed alliance between Abe Glitzy and Dismas Hardy.

The hit and run is a rnadom event that opens up a spectrum of investigation that would never have happened. I have problems with the true bad guy. I'm not sure anyone is that stupid.

I enjoyed the characters in this book and found them easy to follow. The plot and outcome were interesting and easy to understand. I am currently reading The Motive and it's nice to see the characters taking on new challenges. It's also nice to see how their relationships continue to intertwine and develop over time. I highly recommend this book and the author.

I read this novel not too long ago. A family member of mine just introduced me to it and i had never heard of john lescroart before at all. But i have to say it was something of a book to read. One of the best that i think that I have read of this author in a while. I would recommend this novel to anyone who is looking for a good book to read on one of those rainy days.
I am going to check out The first law from my local library and The second chair sound pretty good also.

Ryan Barry
Music1379@aol.com

Having read a few of Ms. Rice's other novels, I was looking forward to this one, not the least because it was partly set in a part of Canada that I know very well.

The story itself was not up to Ms. Rice's usual standards: the plot seemed contrived and the characters lacked credibility. More irritating, however, was the author's shoddy research. Ms. Rice's descriptions of hockey games were laughable, and her descriptions of the setting were downright ludicrous. Ms. Rice should stick to writing about topics she knows and understands, or make sure she is writing about fictitious places.

The only reason i don't give this book five stars is because i think five stars should be reserved for truely amazing works of literature. This book however, was highly enjoyable. I couldn't put it down after i started to read it. I have a soft spot for stories like these. It was quite moving and i loved all the characters. They made the book and story come alive. To the people who think it's to sappy for them, i say, then why read novels that have a romantic vibe about them? Aren't they all just going to be too sappy for you? All in all...great summer read. I recommend it highly!

At its center, this is a romance novel--the story of how unlucky-in-love May Taylor and famous-but-lonely hockey player Martin Cartier find each other--but it's also much more than that. May and Martin are brought together by May's daugther, Kylie, who seems to have a special gift of seeing things others do not. One of the things she claims to see is Martin's long-dead daughter, Natalie, who may have a vital message for her father. Martin refuses to speak of Natalie, and he blames his own father, Serge, a once-great hockey player in his own right, for her death. Ultimately, it is all of these relationships plus others which make this a more rich, complex novel. One problem I had with the book is that the character of Martin is not always sympathetic; at least from my own women's perspective, it was hard for me to understand at times why May continued to put up with him. Regardless, I still found this to be an engaging read, and I will definitely look into other work by this author.

This is the first time I've read anything by LuAnne Rice, but it definitely will not be my last.
I'm inspired by the way she draws the reader into the lives of these characters and you suddenly find yourself wrapped up in their emotions as if they were your own. I'm eager to see if she is consistent with her style and technique. I highly recommend this book.

I was in my favorite bookstore a month or so ago and asked one of the employees for some help in introducing me to a new author. I was tired of reading the same old authors time and time again. She told me about Luanne Rice and reccomended that I read Summer Light. I bought the book and had it read within a few days time. I loved this book! I am now hooked on her books and have borrowed 5 of them from my mother!! It isn't often that an author can get me so hooked on a book that I don't want to clean house, cook, etc.!!
The plot in Summer Light has ups and downs just like real life does. The child in this story is fascinating and I am a true believer that we all have angels surrounding us. We just have to be open to it to believe. I would highly reccomend this book to anyone!! I can't wait to dive into the rest of Luanne Rice's books!!!!!

Merci Rayborn returns in Black Water for her third go aroung as Parker's lead detective. If you haven't read Blue Hour and Red Light, you might be a little confused, as this woman comes in with ALOT of baggage. While I didn't really care for her in Blue and I couldn't stand her in Red she actually grew on me in this final(?) book that features her. The plot is pretty good and it mirrors circumstances that she dealt with in Red Light so she doesn't want to make the same mistakes again. Overall the story worked for me, but it does get slow from time to time and I have to agree with the others about Tim, the kid, being a little too smart and really annoying but atleast she wasn't looking in the damn backseat every other sentence. I'm loooking foward to reading Cold Pursuit next.

One of the best writers of the genre is the 2002 Edgar Award winning author, T. Jefferson Parker. He is capable of, not only writing a superior mystery ,but of writing it in style. His books delve deep into the psyche of the main protagonists. SILENT JOE, his Edgar winning stand alone is quite typical of this. The characters are unforgettable and alone can make it a worthwhile read. Detective Merci Rayborn is also a character well examined in his work. In Parker's hands she becomes a living breathing creation.
Merci Rayborn is assigned to look into the death of a young woman. The dead woman was the wife of Deputy Archie Wildcraft, a young talented cop. Archie was also shot and suffers from a bullet wound in the head. Prosecutors are pointing the finger at Archie in that the gun was found in his hand. They think it was a shooting death and suicide attempt. Merci, however, feels Archie is innocent and wants to prove it. Her investigation, once again, puts her reputation at stake. However, Merci follows her personal conviction and attempts to discover the true killer.
T. Jefferson Parker's strength as a writer is on full display in this, his latest novel. Merci is tough and an individualist. The plot is compelling enough to keep the pages turning. However, it definitely went on a bit too long. By the end, Merci and the reader have had enough. A bit of a tighter plot would suit Parker's books quite well. However, he is and should be listed among the best there is writing today.

Merci Rayborn is a tough-as-nails female cop with a small son, a suspicious partner and half the department against her because she blew the whistle on some dirty cops a long time ago. Who cares you ask? Exactly. This is my first Merci novel, and while I liked parts of this book other parts I could care less. Namely, Merci's office politics, and the shunning by other officers- boring. Her stay-at-home-mom-dad. Likewise boring. The alcoholic neighbor who manages to provide most of the major evidence? A little too good to be true.

Archie? While a good character he lost me about 2/3rd's of the way through the book. Come on, we invested a lot of time in Arch. And this is how you end it? Wings? Silly. And Gwen? Ohhh...Kay...... I agree with other reviewers about the child character. A little overdone.

3 stars. I found Black Water to be an unsatisfying and somewhat depressing read. No good resolution for anyone, and a lackluster cast of characters. I might pick up another if I can find it used but this book left me with a flat feeling.

This is the first one of the Merci Rayburn books I've read. It's a good solid story, albeit a little slow and plodding at times. The only thing I really disliked about the book was Merci's kid, Tim. He's 3, and she makes a point very early on to say that Tim likes to be contrary. She says, "the sky is blue", and Tim says "the sky is not blue". This is cute the first 3 or 4 times, but it happens about 150 times in the book.

Sorry...I like kids, but little Timmy needs a to go to him room and stay there. Other than that, a solid mystery with good character development. Let's just leave Tim at home on the next one, OK?

Orange County Sheriff Deputy Archie Wildcraft hears a disturbance in his home in the middle of the night. He investigates and is shot in the head. He survives, but his young wife is killed. This book had a promising beginning, but the plot was transparent and the pace dragged considerably at times. I did like the character, Archie, but the detective investigating the case, Merci Rayborn, was mostly just annoying. Frequent references to Merci's mysterious past were intriguing at first, then tedious. I am a big fan of T. Jefferson Parker's and can usually count on a good tale from him, but I felt let down by this one.

Lost and Found was an excellent contemporary romance after so much historical romance. It was well written and fun to read. Enjoy !!

All Cady Briggs knows about a client, Mack Easton, is that he owns Lost and Found, a business on the internet that traces lost or stolen works of art, and has a voice on the phone that makes him her Fantasy Man.

Finally seeing him face to face on a job he hires her to do, Cady Briggs is not disappointed in the man she's been fantasizing about, and Mack seems to share the same thoughts.

But all that is put aside when Vesta Briggs, owner of Chatelaine's (an art gallery) and also her strange aunt, dies in a swimming "accident." Cady, suspecting that there is something wrong in this picture, hires Mack Easton to pose as her "almost fiancee," and help her prove her aunt was murdered.

I read this book in one sitting, and enjoyed it 'til the last page. I read this for the mystery, and was not disappointed. The romance did not play center stage though, so this book may not be as satisfying to readers who read this for the lovey-dovey stuff.

Cady Briggs knew Mack Easton only from the internet. He owned an online company, Lost And Found. He mainly traced stolen artifacts for owners and museums when the owner could not go to the police for one reason or another. Mack hired her as a consultant often since she had excellent connections in the art world. They met face-to-face when Mack hired her to help him track down a stolen antique helmet.

Everyone said Cady Briggs was a lot like her Aunt Vesta Briggs. They both had a fine eye for art and antiques, fought panic attacks, and had bad luck with men! But everyone also knew that Cady liked consulting jobs. She wanted nothing to do with Chatelaine, the gallery Vesta ran. Sylvia, Cady's cousin, was a natural born CEO and was a shoo-in for inheriting Vesta's shares when she passed away. However, one week before Vesta died, she changed her will to give all the stocks to Cady. Vesta made it clear that she was considering canceling a bidding for Chatelaine to merge with Austrey-Post as well.

Cady did not believe Vesta's death to be a swimming accident. Thinking foul play and the concerns Vesta had of the merger, she called Mark for help. He would pose as her "soon to be fiancée", and help track down a killer that she could not prove existed. It quickly became apparent that more than one scam was going on! And Cady was in the hot seat!

Jayne Ann Krentz has often proven to me that I am right to consider her one of the best Modern Contemporary authors of our time! This latest book will take a place of honor among my favorites in my "Keeper" shelf! There is not way I could recommend this book highly enough! *****

This book is a mystery, yes, but it is also playful and cheeky. The subject of the mystery was different, and as I know little about antiques I actually learned that it is a very complex international business. What I loved about this story is the man. Mack, our hero, is the man I want to meet. He takes care of his woman, and her family, and his family. Most times the men are coaxed into the relationship, dragged into the family, but not Mack. He boldly walks right in. He is a mature man with a grown daughter, so why should he act like a confused kid? Nicely done. Cady is no weak woman either. She knows she needs a partner, first professionally, then personally. I liked the way they worked together.

Now, about the ending. The mystery wraps up very nicely and quite credibly. It all made sense to me. But the love story had an epilogue that was a bit too sweet. I like a happy ending, but once again I had the feeling the author was compelled to give us a peek into their future in this book instead of writing another one. Mack and Cady could be Nick and Nora. There could have been at least two more books about this couple with their unique talents and genius friends. What about it, Jayne?

Cady Briggs knows art...what she doesn't know is what to do with Mack Easton, her sometimes boss, sometimes employee. They're looking for some answers, and maybe even a murderer. They're also forming a relationship...she knows it won't be permanent, but there's something different about it, about Mack. She feels like she's found something with him that's she never even knew she was missing...something she'll be lost without when he leaves.

A great story of love and intrigue by a master storyteller.

I haven't read Norman's earlier hit novel, The Bird Artist, but picked this book up out of curiosity.It disappoints hugely. De Foe, orphaned at the age of eight, and his Uncle Edward are guards at the Glace Museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia,and the time is 1938. Refugees are beginning to stream out of Europe ahead of Hitler's Panzer divisions and Luftwaffe. The first half of the novel is faintly comic and concerns itself with the details of the jobs the two men have, and a ton of unnecessarily detailed back story. Uncle Edward is a piece of work. The second half of the novel centers on De Foe's girl friend, Imogen, who becomes obsessed with one of the paintings at the museum, entitled "Jewess On a Street In Amsterdam." She then becomes obsessed with the artist who painted it, and believes she is his wife. Things go on from there. I would describe the story as a tale of a woman suffering from severe melancholia and delusions, as well as listless affect on the part of the two protagonists, coupled with the onset of mania in Imogen, but I'm not a psychologist.

I found the writing turgid and the book a page turner in the old sense: boring. Much of the latter portion of the novel is in epistolary form, and I can well understand why that form died out after the 18th century. It's merely a lot of tell instead of show and it carries no emotional freight for the characters

Two of the three main characters in this curious book, Edward and DeFoe Russet, uncle and nephew, are guards at a small art museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the late 1930s; both have rooms in the same hotel. Imogen Linny, the third character, and DeFoe's lover when she feels like it, becomes obsessed by a modern Dutch painting on loan to the museum, "Jewess on a Street in Amsterdam." This alters her relationship to both men and, more seriously, calls to her own part-Jewish heritage, starting her out on a journey from which there may be no return.

The pre-Holocaust themes are powerful, but I find it difficult to tell whether the book is intended as a realistic novel or a fable. We are certainly meant to feel that the approaching menace of Naziism is real. And yet the book has a simplistic, self-obsessed quality reminiscent of Kazuo Ishiguro's use of closed worlds (especially in THE UNCONSOLED). While no museum, no hotel could run like those in the book, and none of the social or business interactions ring true, the alternative reality is not clearly established either. It is a difficult balance that, for me, never fully comes off.

Reading the Museum Guard reminded me of the work of Roald Dahl, whom I'd read as a child. The author, Howard Norman, has a knack for creating characters that are awkward and strange, yet strangely familiar. Between the wide eyed appeal of the narrator, Defoe Russet, and the ne'er do well of his uncle, Norman has created an instant classic that will harken adult readers back to a time when reading Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Danny, The Champion of the World were at the top of their summer reading list.

After reading all the reviews and the novel, I've come to the conclusion that you either really love the novel or you hate the novel. There seems to be little room in between. As for me, I belong to the group that did not enjoy this novel and its hard to pinpoint why.

I thought the author did a great job with the tone of the novel, a sort of sparse, dead, dreary tone. But during some moments of the novel, I wanted some kind of emotion and felt little from the characters. Even when Edward died or the scene when DeFoe smashed up Helen's house.

All the characters were so strange in their thoughts and actions, I just could not relate to them. I did not understand what caused Imogen's identity crisis, why DeFoe loved her so much, why Helen and the museum currator took it upon themselves to plan and take her to Amsterdamn. And why did everyone think stealing the painting, even for a night, was a great idea? And in what way did Edward, DeFoe's uncle, love Imogen too? I didn't think he loved her, I just thought he was a jerk to get involved in Imogen and DeFoe's relationship and then flaunt it when he'd practically raised DeFoe.

I don't want to sound too negative about this novel. I think for me it just wasn't my type of novel. There were just too many questions left unanswered and too much analysis and symbolism.

There are certain things you can rely on in a book by Howard Norman: distinctly quirky protagonists, odd character names, a relatively remote Canadian location, and a dynamite opening sentence -

"The painting I stole for Imogen Linny, 'Jewess on a Street in Amsterdam', arrived to the Glace Museum, here in Halifax, on September 5, 1938."

That's the voice of DeFoe Russet, the main protagonist of "The Museum Guard". He is one of two guards at the museum, his uncle Edward being the other. DeFoe's narrative tone borders on lugubrious throughout the book, but never fails to be engaging. To be fair, he does have some reason to be mournful - both parents died in a fiery Zeppelin crash when he was eight, his plodding romance with Imogen isn't exactly going swimmingly, in no small measure due to recent unwelcome competition from his philandering uncle. To put it mildly, DeFoe is a person who craves a regular life - when stressed, he likes to iron shirts to calm himself. So increasingly odd behavior by Imogen, his uncle, and everyone around him is starting to get him seriously rattled.

A lot of shirts get ironed, and DeFoe does achieve a measure of calm by the end of this book. The hook that Howard Norman places so expertly right there in that first sentence is irresistible - you just have to keep reading to find out how DeFoe, the most buttoned-down character imaginable, is driven to such an act of desperate bravado, and how it all turns out.

The characters in this book are so odd, and behave so eccentrically that, by rights, it shouldn't work at all. Yet somehow it does. I don't understand how Norman manages to pull it off, but he does it brilliantly. This is a terrific novel.

All books by Anne McCaffrey are amazing! She makes her characters real, not just words on a page.

Great concept to write around. She and her collaborators wrote several of these in a series.

In the first book, To Ride Pegasus, Henry Darrow is a rich man who earns his living as an astrologer. He "discovers" his psi ability through an almost fatal car accident, and from there, is able to fund and help build an independent psi agency. There is no one stopping him, no government(CIA, NSA, FBI)underhandness,and when Henry is tested the first time, with one of his people's psi abilties, his rich partner, George Henner, bails him out and from there, the psi have won, and that leads the way to Daffyd's time (Pegasus in Flight) and Peter's and Rhyssa's time(Pegausus in Space)

Maybe the book would be better if Henry and George had to deal with MIB's or some other "XFiles" stuff. If Henry, George, Rhyssa, Peter, Tirla, or Daffyd had to contend with that, or be hurt or injured or one of them killed due to underhandness, I would believe the books more. How about a story in the very last where, Rhyssa talks about all the racism (ie "XMen") that Henry, and later Daffyd, had to contend with in the early days of the agency and how Henry was shot and George was killed, and how Daffyd had to go into hiding?(think of "The Terminator")

We would all like to believe in an utopian society, but realistically, people can't do it. The books are a nice source of escapism and I wish that people were this nob;e, but sadly, it ain't so.

Ann M is a great writer with vivid imagination.

This book follows streaght on from the events in Pegasus in Flight. This book follows Peter Reidinger as his Talent strengthens and he and Johnny Green decided to set up FT&T.
It forms a bridge between the Pegasus series and the Tower and the Hive series
I would like to see another book were we find out how Peter sets up FT&T and becomes the first Earth Prime

this book came out the same time as the skies of pern and i felt that they were both rushed jobs. Pegasus in Space does close the Pegasus series and gives u the bridge to the Talent series, but it seems to be made of a list of facts then an actual story, there just dosent seem to be ne substance to it. And even though its ment to end a series the book dosent recap/flashback to hardly ne thing from the previous novels except by merly mentioning what happaned and i sometimes was a little lost because i hadnt read the other novels recently.

As I do with most of my paperback mysteries, I gave this to the thrift shop soon after reading it. I wish I hadn't. It was one of those rare stories that sticks in the mind, and I'm actually tempted to get a new copy. Every Walters book is terrific, and I think this one's the best I've read.

This book is a huge disappointment, given what an extraordinarily gifted writer Walters is, and how good her other books are.

The hero with amnesia is a plot device that one must be careful with, because such a story can degenerate into obvious reader manipulation if, as here, it isn't handled with finesse or creativity. Walters drops the ball with this one, and the result is a story that is on the level of Agatha Christie's lesser works, combined with an ending that is marginally better than "...and she woke up to discover that it was all a dream."

Even that isn't necessarily all that great a crime. Let's face it, when you're on vacation lying on a beach, Dame Agatha remains quite readable all these decades later. But if one is going to write something so predictable and pedestrian, one could at least have the decency to do it is less than FOUR HUNDRED #$&@ING PAGES!!!! Had this tripe been condensed into 200 to 250, which given the overall lack of content it easily could have been, it would have been worth an extra star.

Jinx Kingsley is found thrown from her car which has smashed head-on into a wall. It is believed that she was trying to kill herself because her fiance Leo has run off with her best friend Meg. Jinx's father Adam, a former gangster and now extremely rich and powerful businessman has Jinx admitted to a hospital where Dr. Protheroe tries to help her with her amnesia and why she doesn't believe she would try to committ suicide. Then Leo and Meg are found murdered and the police discover that Jinx's first husband was also murdered in a similar fashion. Now she and her gangster father are the prime suspects in three killings of which she can only remember bits and pieces.

The Dark Room is technically well written and Walters gives all the characters depth. The story keeps your interest enough that you want to know who actually committed the murders. However, the mystery is overplotted. Their are too many characters to keep straight and too many people lying so you, as the reader, never know what is going on either. The entire book devolves into nothing but conversations and question and answer sessions whether it's between Jinx and the police or Jinx and her doctor or Jinx and another patient or her half-brothers. Nothing happens for much of the book and it gets tedious covering the same ground again and again from a different character's perspective. Jinx, as the main character, is not all that likable either. She's petulant and arrogant and lies as much as everyone else. The ending is also a let-down, the real killer revealing theirself in an anti-climactic fashion and turning out to not have that much to do with the rest of the story anyway.

Lately I have been on a Minette Walters jag - reading one after the other of her fine psychological novels. This is one of the best because of the unique plot and the mesmerizing, no-nonsense Jinx - what a gal!! Walters has taken the familiar suicide attempmt/amnesia/murder story and given it wings. She takes off as we set out on our journey to discover the dark secrets that remain unlocked in her head.

Jinx, despite her near-death accident and subsequent trauma, maintains a saucy manner, brutal honesty and fragility that combine into an authentic character that one can easily picture scolding, berating or confessing in a moment of weakness. This is a woman trapped by her exacting standards, finding no one who measures up to what she expects - not of others but herself. As usual there is a male romantic interest and, as usual, the circumstances under which they meet are not optimal. Walters excels as presenting adults (not horny teens) in hesitant situations. As complex as her characters are presented, the human relationships are even more strained. This is a classic case of English angst a la Carre. The male hero, her doctor, even identifies himself as an existentialist.

I graded down 1/2 point for what I consider a frequent error in mysteries. The identity of the villian is a surprise to the reader because there were no clues provided or rather, there were a host of misleading clues. But once again this was handled with subtlety by a case of look alikes.

My grade: A

Jinx Kingsley wakes up in a strange room, only to be told that she's been in a head-on collision (with a concrete pole, no less) and is now in a hospital. Apparently, they say, she tried to commit suicide. But Jinx doesn't believe this. She doesn't remember anything, but simply can't make herself believe that she is the type to kill herself. Even though her best friend and her fiance just ran off together is no reason to off herself. She was happy about it! Wasn't she??

But then the police come to question her, and she finds out that her two friends are now dead--and the police suspect her or someone in her family. How can Jinx clear her name when she can't remember anything? All she knows is this sense of panic and fear. Who could have done this? Who would want to set her up? Can she figure it out before it's too late?

Dr. Alan Protheroe is at the clinic with Jinx and works to help her regain her memory. But in the process, an attempt is made on his life as well and he realizes just how serious this situation is. Can he protect Jinx? He knows she didn't do it, but can he figure out who did? There has to be more to this than meets the eye.

Armchair Interviews says: Minette Walters does a great job of twisting the tale to keep the reader from figuring out the real killer. This British author has written ten other books. Check then out.

Nobody hits a homerun all the time. This author and his characters are usually so excellent they can certainly be forgiven a slip like this one. Several times I thought the lead character's ego got in the way of evidence and common sense and when one especially senseless death occurred I thought--remember Elvis they asked you to back off! Skip this one and continue on with this first rate series.

FREE FALL is the fourth entry in Robert Crais's "Elvis Cole" series about a private eye in Los Angeles. I'm currently reading this series in order, and this novel is the best of the four I've read.

I truly admire Crais's sharp prose style, which is remarkably clever and funny. All of his books are a pleasure to read at that level. In many ways, he reminds me of Robert Parker, whose crisp writing style is obviously a strong influence on Crais's work. I used to live in Los Angeles, and Crais's descriptions of the city are both hilarious and dead-on.

In my opinion, Crais's major weakness is his plotting style, which is often rigidly formulaic and over-the-top. For example, almost every one of Crais's books ends with a series of overblown action scenes and cartoonish confrontations that defy credibility. But in FREE FALL, Crais dials down the melodrama a bit, and produces a a more realistic story with characters that are more complex.

This novel deals with gang violence in LA, and Crais performs a solid job of exploring the consequences of such violence. While nobody would confuse this book with the work of Michael Connelly or George Pelecanos, it has a grittier, hard-edged quality that I found refreshing.

Overall, FREE FALL is another solid entry in the Elvis Cole series, and a first-rate entertainment. If you want to read a Cole novel, this is definitely a good place to start.

Like most fiction readers, I like to see good plots, good research by the author, and a little humor to lighten up some of the bloody action. Crais' gives you all of that along with his well developed characters Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. Good entertaining stuff.

Always get the audio books to listen to while driving. This is another winner by Robert Crais.

It's a shame that a writer as talented as Robert Crais fell into a rut so early in his career. I'm just now reading the entire Elvis Cole series, in order, and as I finished Free Fall, the 4th book, I felt like I was reading the same ending from the previous three books. Crais just can't come up with an ending that doesn't involve our two heroes Elvis Cole and Joe Pike in the middle of some huge shoot-out with dozens of heavily-armed bad guys, miraculously managing not to get killed or even badly hurt.

There are other plot points that carry over from the other novels as well; Elvis always seems like he's going to fall in love with his female client (or the wife of his male client, or the secretary of his male client, etc) but he normally manages to pull back just at the last moment. There is also the standard moment where Elvis is in big trouble, Joe Pike is nowhere to be found and suddenly, poof, Pike shows up to save the day. Another thing that made this book somewhat annoying was the very preachy tone about racial violence and the extremely unrealistic way Crais has his characters discussing it.

All in all, Crais is too good a writer and Elvis Cole is too hilarious a character for these books to suffer from so many little problems, and yet they do. I'm hoping things get better as I move slowly through the series...

If you do not already know something about the War of 1812, I cannot recommend this book for your reading pleasure. Why not? The author, David Nevin, goes into the story without much of an explanation of who the characters are and just assumes you know who they are. I would have recommended a small two to three page introduction that laid out the issues of the day and something about the personalities of the day as well.

Instead, we spend page after page getting these introductions as a part of the story. Along the way, Nevin introduces us to the innermost thoughts of such people as James Madison, Andrew Jackson, Winfield Scott and Dolley Madison. Nevin seems fascinated in exploring each of these characters as sexual beings. We get to read about James Madison's lusting for Dolley (he refers to her breasts so often that I blush when I see Madison in my history book).

However, the book is saved by his descriptions of the battles. They are very well done.

If you don't know your War of 1812, be sure to keep your computer handy so you can check the 'net to learn the background material to the things Nevin is referring to.

An excellent read. I found the book hard to put down. It also renewed some American History for me that I have long ago forgotten. It also gave me a greater appreciation and respect for the brave americans of that time.

"1812" by David Nevin is a rich historic fictional account of what some historians have called "the Second War for Independence". Neven uses broad strokes of his pen to create a readable, yet accurate depiction of life in the burgeoning United States of America.

Nevin concentrates the bulk of his work on President James and Dolley Madison, Andrew and Rachel Jackson, and Winfield Scott. All are expressly fleshed out and made somewhat more human by Nevin's fictional styling. The Madison's, in particular, are shown to be more common than regal, with many human foils and foibles. Andrew Jackson is portrayed (as he is in most history books) as a larger-than-life character who was a demanding military taskmaster for the first third of the 1800's. Scott, on the other hand, is given a more even treatment with copious views of both his military and social adventures.

The book is somewhat plodding in its first 200 pages and Nevin does take some liberties by creating completely fictional characters to the story, yet the book is still eminently readable. "1812" will be enjoyed by both the serious student and casual reader of American History. All readers will find out more about this sometime overlooked part of our nation's heritage, while being entertained in a fictional sense, as well.

The descriptions of the burning of the White House and the Battle of New Orleans, though found in the latter part of the book, are well worth the effort to get to. Nevin paints a great picture of both historic events and makes the reader feel as if he or she is right there during the event.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

In the genre of the Shaara's, 1812 gives an insightful look into a war usually skipped over in history classes. Good profiles of James Madison, Andrew Jackson, and a young Winfield Scott as individuals. A "must read" for history teachers and history lovers; recommended as extra reading for students high school and above.

I bought this book because I wanted to read something about the War of 1812. I thought it would be a good idea to start with a novel to ease myself into the subject, something on the lines of Jeff Shaara in his excellent books on the War of Independence or the Civil War.
I really did not want to read about important historical figures like President Madison or Andrew Jackson getting erections ! I kid you not, the first 70 pages or so contain this....needless information ! The book has good material when it comes to describing landscapes, battles and the nuances of fashion of the day ( which is actually quite good as the author puts the reader in the shoes of James Madison worrying about whether his trousers are old fashioned or not ! ). The problem is that we are drawn into situations which are reminiscent of a sweeping romantic novel that could be based at any period of time ie. beautiful buxum ladies and dashing gentlemen in uniform. If Shaara is your cup of tea leave this book well alone !

Another great book by Pratt! You'll like this book if you enjoy stories about TRUE romance, love the way it was designed to be. If you enjoy stories that keep you turning pages until you've discovered "what happens next." If you're ready for an uplifting tale by a great author. Much recommended!

I picked this book up like many of the other reviews I have read because of the cover, and the fact that I really enjoy lighthouses. But as I got into the book I realized it was more than just a story about a lighthouse keeper, it was a story about all of life's triumphs and tragedies. I was really drawn into the book by Pratt's style to make the characters come alive. We see through the eyes of the narrator that not only do some things in life cause major heartbreak, many things also cause joy. This heartfelt story of a father telling his daughter all about his childhood is one of the best works I've read in a long time. The story of one mans life shows us all how the light does not just come from the outside, but also from within. I was happy and sad as the book came to a close. This is a great novel that I would recommend to anyone.

This story centers on the reflections of Peter O'Banyon, an elderly lighthouse keeper in Massachusetts... One day his daughter decides to bring him back to the old lighthouse to boost his spirits. The visit awakens old memories and causes the old man to pour out his soul to his daughter. The rich stories, filled with emotion, surprise his daughter because she was not aware of the depth of her father's love for her mother Anna or the pain he suffered over her loss. She also learns of Peter's painful separation as a child and his destiny in becoming a lighthouse keeper just like his Uncle Billie. He tells the story of Uncle Billie, who was raised in a poor family in Ireland but overcame the difficulties. He tells how Uncle Billie taught him to live life as a good man despite all of the life's injustices. He tells how Uncle Billie never gave up on true love. Overall, Peter shares valuable lessons learned throughout his life with his daughter and passes down the family lighthouse legacy before it is too late...

Get out your kleenex box! This one is a tear-jerker. A story about an old lighthouse keeper who wishes to pass along his legacy to an only daughter, shortly before his death. The story revolves around his earlier life as a simple Irish immigrant, sent off to Europe in WWII, the tragedies of his young life, and how he came to be the lighthouse keeper. A story of love lost, which is ultimately regained. The ending is a bit farfetched, in my opinion, yet the story itself keeps you reading to the end. A touching novel with a social comment...and a new twist on the meaning of a "light keeper."

I picked this out for a little distraction from my Rat Pack, Sinatra, mafia obsession I was going through.....and it was perfect. First of all, if you love books the cover art and dust jacket art are exquisite. That's what first caught my eye. Truly a keeper.

The story starts as a dying father tells his daughter about the lighthouse and how he came to be the island and how his "Uncle Billy" came there, and the story of the family. Little did I know that the story would parallel my life.....the man at one point goes to basic training at Fort Knox, KY (I'm there), while at war he meets Joey from NJ (my home).

It's love, tragedy, faith, and mostly hope. Pratt never drags you down, he'll leave you with a feeling that you lived with the characters and they were a part of your life. I know I did, I was sorry to see the story end.