Nova Books

I was pulled into this science thriller by the murder of a doctor. Mr. Robinson moved the story along but then the bottom fell out. It became too talky with long and drawn out monologues by the central characters. Still, it had its moments but I figured it out with 60 pages to go. It was a decent read.

This book has good atmosphere and a fascinating premise - another species of humans survives into the present; like us but unlike us, they'll do anything to protect their secret. I think the author put a lot of thought into the history and characteristics of the species and didn't have much left over to watch out for inconsistencies, of which there are too many, both in the plotting and in characterizations. An example of the latter is that when the protagonist, Artie, thinks his son has been taken and probably murdered by the "Old People," he's precisely as upset as if they had snatched his favorite coffee mug. The solution to the mystery of the disappearance of Artie's son and wife is telegraphed from the very beginning, the Old People veer wildly from wise/innocent/victimized to vicious and coldblooded, and Artie's turn-around at the end of the novel is unbelievable and - if you're a homo sapiens - pretty unforgiveable. That being said, I still found WAITING a fairly enjoyable read, mainly for the speculation about another human species and the "flashbacks" to life 35,000 years ago.

I was suckered into reading this book by the notation on the title page that it was an NPR "All Things Considered" top 10 book for the summer. I'll not fall for that again. The book has an interesting, even promising, premise; it is in the execution that it is so awfully flawed. Had the author a decent editor, or even an editor, maybe the glaring inconsistencies that overwhelm the book might have been avoided. I found myself aggravated over and over again that I was wasting my time. Unfortunately I have the `finish it no matter what" syndrome.

The enemy demonstrates his super power by making a 76 year old man do what is physically impossible. He crushes dog's chests with a thought, is able to dispatch ordinary humans by inducing heart attacks, strokes, etc, but somehow finds it difficult, to impossible, to dispatch the protagonist for almost the whole book? Knowing the enemy is destroying all who even casually know about "them" the protagonist cavalierly and with no guilt ignores those about to be killed. And while the "hound" has the power to dispatch mere humans with a mere thought, he suddenly resorts to bullets? The protagonist's adopted son disappears but his search for him is so tepid as to be unbelievable.

I hate sloppy writing, inept editing and hubris. This is definitely an author I will avoid in the future.

This book caught my attention because it promised something new and different. It started out great and fizzled about half way through. The author had an original idea for a storyline but didn't seem to know how to keep the momentum going.

The premise of the book is a species of man has survived and blended in for thousands of years, biding their time till they could take over the planet and rid it of all homo- sapiens. It's almost impossible to tell the difference between the species unless you know what to look for. Artie is a homo-sapien who is caught in the crossfire and is in a race with time to find out what is going on and hopefully put a stop to it before it's too late.

This book is not a total waste of time, but it lacks excitement and depth. After reading 2/3 of the story, you find yourself wanting to just put the book down, but you have invested time and the story is just interesting enough that you trudge on to find out how it ends. I certainly wouldn't buy this book new, if you can get it from the library, at least you will only lose a little time, not money, to read it.

I would like to start out by saying that this is an exellent novel and I recommend it to anyone. Usually, after I read a book, I check the Amazon customer reviews just to see what other readers thought about it. What I saw about this book was expected, people going on and on about the rediculous environmental propaganda. While the book did mention some environmentalist views, I did not find it at all disturbing. Some of these reviews make it seem as if every page you look at will give you another reason to 'save the environment.' That simply is not true. There would be maybe a few paragraphs of it every few chapters, and even though I hate it when authors include political views in a book, I found it bearable, and anyway it was overshadowed by the book's plot which I found very intriguing.

(This is not a spoiler; it is the equivalent of what you will read on the back of a book.)

In Waiting, the main character, Artie, investigates the death of a friend and fellow "Suicide Club" member. He finds out about the existence of another species of human, dubbed the "Old People," who have the ability to send thoughts into the minds of others, and the plot goes on from there.

In another review I looked at, the reviewer argues that the "Old People" are not superior to humans, that they are just the same, and that even though they are supposedly so worried about the environment, they still drive cars and pollute. Well, the fact is that to Old People are superior; it is essential to the plot of the story. And Robinson, in my opinion, does not try to portray our race as evil, because in the story, both sides kill. It is human nature, and yes though the Old People are a different species, they are essentialy human, and their struggle to take back the Earth from Homo sapiens is also human, and I do not think that it has anything to do with the environment, though they use it as an excuse. It has to do with territory. They think they can run the world better, so they try (again, human nature).

Anyway, this is not a big book of propaganda as some would have you believe. Though this book was obviously written to get the author's "save the environment" message across, it is not the whole thing, and you should not start the book expecting that. It is instead about a war between two species of humans, one which has been waiting to take their world back.

I personally thought that this was one of Nevada Barr's very best books.It is informative and intertaining at the same time; with some amusing content.I highly recommend this one to any Barr reader, you cant go wrong.

After promising to look up other work by Nevada Barr in my review of `Women On The Case', I picked up `Blood Lure'. The premise sounded interesting: Anna Pigeon on loan to Glacier Nat'l Park to do a study on grizzly bears runs into murder most foul on the camp trail.

Barr's description of the natural beauty and the natural world are full-colored and vibrant. She makes grizzly bear DNA research downright interesting.

Her plotting is crafty indeed, her story trail strewn with misleads and false starts, and thirty pages from the end you're still not exactly sure who the murderer is.

Most of her characters are well-developed and fully-fleshed. Others are less so, but that's the art of the lure---how much do we know about these characters and should we bother or not?

Although I'm not entirely happy with the ending, the tale is well-told and is an enjoyable read.

But I wouldn't advise bringing it on a camping vacation.

I'd probably rank this three stars for plot and five stars for the Anna Pigeon character--always five stars for Anna. It's the integrity of her character, how she thinks and reacts. She is consistent, smart and terribly human. In Blood Lure, the work is an excellent combination of field work and office work. I enjoyed the long passage where Anna hikes alone way up into the wilderness, above timberline. Barr is not afraid to let the trip take time and the descriptions of the mountains and terrain are vivid, fresh and sharp. The puzzle pieces are few. In a way, this is a drawing room mystery splashed across the wide open landscape of Glacier National Park. By the middle of the book, the solution is going to be found down one path or the other and Anna keeps going back and forth between the two, trying to wrestle the facts to the ground in a way that makes senese. And it's that wrestling process that makes her so fascinating, the way in which every new piece of information is viewed, reviewed, considered and kicked around. That said, I found the ending also a bit over-the-top, as others have noted. But I give Barr credit for attempting an unusual situation; I just think the plausiblity factor was stretched to the max.

Nevada Barr's National Park-set mysteries are shelved in my mind with Tony Hillerman's books. Both authors present the landscape they are set in as a major character. The events in their books are shaped by the setting and couldn't happen anywhere else. Having a ranger in the Natural Park Service is a very clever device as it gives Barr the opportunity to move her character from park to park, and have recurring characters and new characters in each book.

In Blood Lure, Anna Pigeon, the park ranger heroine, is shadowing a grizzly bear researcher who is doing a population census of the bears by luring them to leave their hair on scratching posts. First Anna and the researcher are terrorized by a huge rogue bear, and then a body is found.

Blood Lure is one of Barr's more disappointing efforts. Although Glacier National Park is a jewel of the National Park System, it doesn't really come to life the way the Natchez Trace or the Guadalupe Mountains do. The resolution of the murders the park ranger heroine Anna Pigeon uncovers is also unsatisfactory. The situation seems contrived and well, unrealistic. I've read about five in the Anna Pigeon series and they were all more enjoyable. I look forward to sampling others and being able to lose myself in a national park once more.

BLOOD LURE brings Anna Pigeon out of the steamy south to Glacier National Park for a stark contrast in environment. Who killer the step-mother? The famed Grizzly or a more deadly creature? Anna searches for answers while playing the role of a student of DNA research on our largest bear.
Nevada Barr's skills of environmental description are in full swing, but the mystery is lackluster. If this is your first read of the exceptionally fine series, I recommend the first TRACK OF THE CAT or my favorite, FIRESTORM. Then pickup others an excellent series with lots of facts and information that spices the mix.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

Sorry, folks, didn't find any O"Henry ending at the close of this book. In fact, not quite sure what the ending is. I kept expecting something more. What happened to the teacher? What was the point of the final hiding the shirt near a school playground? What was the narrator's turn of events? Nice description of events in a small northern Canada town, but as for plot, very disappointing.

I am on the fence about this one. It was a good read, and the writing was not bad. That said, it was not as "terrifying" or "compelling" as the blurbs stated. Of course, that is a matter of opinion, and we all know what they say about opinions. ;)

As you can see from my other reviews, I read a *lot* of horror, and I may just be immune to the subtler forms of suspense and thrillers.

This is a wonderful thriller. The plot is unique and the dialogue and characterization scintillating and witty! American writers, with the exception of Anne Lamott and Tom Robbins, bore me; I generally stick with the English ones. Pyper, from Canada, is in the latter arena. Lots to think about in this one, but, more importantly, lots of laughs, too. Read it!

I enjoyed the creepiness of it and must admit there were times I actually felt my heart pounding a bit...and I was jumpy around the house for a little while...but it still can't be classified as "horror", it isn't really satisfying as a mystery, it's more than just a story. I guess, for me, it just left a whole lot to be desired.

The main characters were very one-dimensional. In fact, ALL of the characters were one-dimensional and needed a lot of development.

I can't say I'd never read another Pyper book again but I can say I'm not rushing out to see if there are any more.

I understand that this is Pyper's first novel and therefore I'm willing to give him some slack, but I can't understand how most of this book made it by an editor. The writing itself is often good and obviously the author is clever, yet the whole book feels silly and contrived. I felt as if I were reading a high school student's work or work from a writer trying to throw too many obvious cliches in all at once, none of them believable in the least. Too many questions are left unanswered at the end. Did the author simply forget to tell us why the murderer's shirt would have blood on it if the girls were drowned? And what about the narrator plunging into the lake in the winter, diving down to the supposedly incredibly deep lake, and just happening to come up with hair strands from three different girls? Come on! First of all, nobody would survive that kind of cold for that long; secondly, I thought it was a deep lake--how could he dive down and pull up hair from the lake's bottom? We're meant to believe the three girls all ended up at exactly the same place and this guy just happened to dive down at the exact spot where they died? And what about the "Lady"? Did she pull them down as we were led to believe at the beginning of the book or not? The author simply dropped this. This book was infuriating because too many questions were left unanswered, but mainly because it was so amateur. Also, the characters were one dimensional. I hated the main character and found it hard to care about him. His sudden trasnformation at the end, all in a day it seemed, was hardly realistic. His co-workers were cliched and ridiculous characters. I got nothing from this book. It was a waste of time.

This is one of his first books and it just gets better as you read it. His others are even better.

Typical DuBrul
Non stop action where Philip Mercer has to use every thing he has to eliminate all the bad guys.
highly recommended

Guy Dombrowski

It's not often that I don't start reading a new series of novels from the beginning. Usually if someone recommends a writer to me, I do my best to try and find the first novel that author wrote and then work my way through the rest of his books.

Frankly, if you're talking an author like Clive Cussler, that'll be next to impossible, considering how many novels he's written over the decades.

But, that's not the case with author Jack Du Brul. I read his latest novel Havoc recently, and I found that I enjoyed it greatly.

See, that's the situation here. That was the sixth novel he had written, not his first. Fact is that I enjoyed it greatly and I was lucky enough to find his first piece of fiction at the Chapters closest to where I live.

At the same time I found two of his older novels and picked them up as well. I waited until I had read several other books that I had on my shelf before getting into his first. I wanted to savour the moment... I wanted to give myself time (and truth be told, time to find more novels to fill out my to read list) before I got into it.

Well, I finally read it.

I can't say that I enjoyed it as much as Havoc, but lets be honest - it usually takes a new author a couple of books to set his pace, to get the feel for his characters and his or her own unique writing style. Now, don't get me wrong, it's not like I hated the book, but it didn't grab me the way Havoc did.

Still, it was a good adventure novel and even if I would have read it first, I still would call myself a fan of Jack Du Brul.

As many people know, I'm the kind of man who prefers a well filled out fictional universe, well developed characters and exotic locals.

Vulcan's forge does cover several of these aspects for me. First and foremost it deals with a conspiracy that began slightly after the end of World War 2, one that was started by a favoured villain of word smiths during the cold war era... the Soviets.

The novel introduces Philip Mercer, a character who will go on to star in all of Mr. Du Brul's future novels, as well as a cast of supporting characters who are all unique and entertaining in their own ways.

If I have a complaint when it comes to characters these days, it's how improbable they tend to be.

Which is the case with Mercer. He's a geologist, a genius, rich, well connected, and very well trained. To the point it seems that he could be a member of an elite Special Forces unit.
These characteristics seem to be rather unlikely today. I myself prefer heroes who are just every day working class people. Sort of like myself. But let's face it, those kinds of people usually wouldn't last too long in the situations that the protagonists of these novels invariably find themselves in.

So, I have to take these characters with an ounce of disbelief and just sit back and enjoy the adventures the authors take them on.

Maybe it's just jealousy, I don't know. Lets face it, we have an academic type that has a dash of Indiana Jones and James Bond thrown in for flavour.

Anyhow...

The novel, as I already stated, deals with a conspiracy that began just after the end of the Second World War. It spans the decades and involves some very unique twists. For starters, would you honestly expect it to deal with the possibility of Hawaii succeeding from the states?

Or for that matter the sinking of numerous ships over the decades a few hundred miles off the island chain?

How about a racist Japanese billionaire?

And let's throw in the Koreans and the Russians for a little spice as well.

As improbable as these different factors seem, they all mesh together and the entire novel comes off brilliantly.

Now, I found that the novel dragged a little in places, and it dealt with a subject that I am far from comfortable with reading about (sexual abuse). For me that was really un-necessary, and it was clear that this particular villain was vile enough. Because of this, I couldn't give it a five star rating.

Still, despite that, the book was a very enjoyable read and I would recommend it to anyone who asked me.

4 out of 5.

This is the first book in the Philip Mercer Series and the first novel I have read by this author. The format is very similar to the Dirk Pitt series by Cussler. Rough and tumble hero saves the day and wins the girl or girls. I thought the idea behind Vulcan's Forge was ok if not a bit far fetched but again there has to be a suspension of disbelief when reading these adventure novels. If you want profound characters and in depth dialogue then you are in the wrong place. This is a fast paced enjoyable book with lots of action. My only gripe would be Mercers sidekick Harry's connection to the story. I thought that was a little too neat for my taste but overall I enjoyed it.

DuBrul does a decent job with his first book in the Philip Mercer Series. The action is little wan, and several situations that Mercer takes over, I found myself envisioning a guy in a blue suit, red cape, with a big "S" on his chest. Forge is not bad as a first book, but it certainly does not compare to later hits like, "Medussa Stone" or "River of Ruin". But good nonetheless. DrBrul does present a sense of history for some of his characters which flows through to other books, and gives the characters like, Harry and Dick Henna a sense of worth and understanding when they materialize in the other books. Overall, this is a good read, and one worthy of Mercer fans.

Summary: an average thriller. The other book I read by Abrahams, The Tutor, was far, far superior.

Let's start with the plus: the book was exciting and definitely an entertaining read.

The minuses: I counted three implausible coincidences that mar the story (see below -- to be avoided if you haven't read the book). The resolution is not completely satisfactory either.

Plotting mistakes: 1) the phone call to the radio show which Roger somehow overhears; 2) the lover meeting the wife at her tennis club -- couldn't this have been arranged better?; 3) the lover discovering the cheating husband is actually cheating on her -- the whole scene is very implausible. What is frustrating is that each of these developments could have been avoided pretty easily in my opinion.

A Perfect Crime is a great psychological thriller that races away at the beginning but becomes slightly derailed at the end. The basic premise is: Francie and Ned are having an affair. Francie's vile husband Roger finds out about it and plans to kill them both. However, the twists and coincidences that occur are startling and exciting and make this thriller into something very original.

I especially loved the backdrop to this thriller. The weather is always cold and icy and the house where Francie and Ned meet in centred on an island and can only be reached by rowing across in a small boat. These elements provide great atmosphere and originality. Roger is diabolical and I enjoyed the contrast between how he viewed himself (clever, self assured) and the way others saw him (strange nutcase!).

Overall A Perfect Crime is a competent thriller with short sections and snappy dialogue. The characters are well developed although certain aspects seemed unlikely such as Roger thinking he'd be able to control Whitey Truax so perfectly that he could commit the perfect murder where he couldn't be implicated. However, this book is filled with suspense and surprises, so you'd be wise to give it a go. I'm glad I did.

JoAnne

This is the first book I have read by this author and it will not be the last as I really enjoyed this book. It is true that there are some scenes which are a bit too coincidental, but in this case I didn't even care. Perhaps I would have in the hands of a lesser writer, but I found Abrahams' writing style to be top notch.

It is the story of the affair between Francie and Ned who are both married to other people. Everything gets more and more complicated as their lives become entwined. Deception, jealousy, madness and murder...this one has it all!!

If you are looking for a well-written entertaining thriller,and are not too picky about everything being 100% realistic (it is fiction, after all!) look no further!!

"A Perfect Crime" is not a perfect book. That said, it is still worth the read. Interesting characters, a plot that twists and turns. All in all, a thriller that will keep you turning the pages.

As Robbie Burns pointed out so long out, life has a way of throwing a monkey wrench in the best laid plans of man. The planner in this case is one Roger Cullingwood, a self-proclaimed genius seen by others as a weird loser. When Roger discovers his wife is having an affair, he decides to reward her betrayal with death.

Francie, the wife, seems a little too smart to have fallen so hard for the smooth-talking Ned Demarco, a radio psychologist, who declines leaving his wife for fear of hurting his young daughter. Altruistically, Francie agrees to once a week trysts at a friend's isolated cabin, optimistically holding on to the belief her lover will leave his wife for her once the daughter is old enough.

A minister friend insists there is no such thing as a coincidence. Perhaps he doesn't read as much fiction as me. There are a lot of coincidences in this tale, though I suspect Abrahams may be pulling our chains to a certain extent. This is, after all, fiction, and they didn't detract from the overall impact of the novel.

When Francie learns her new tennis partner is Demarco's wife she is plagued by guilt and decides to end the affair, a plan that is derailed time and again while she builds her courage.

Meanwhile, Roger has found a demented killer who he attempts to use as a pawn in his murderous plot. Whitey, the killer, isn't quite as dumb as Roger thinks he is and there are some amusing encounters between the two. For good measure, Abrahams throws in a rural police chief whose wife was Whitey's first victim.

This was only the second Abrahams I've read. I liked it more than the first and I'm going to have to check out some of his other books.

Not that Ira Levin is gone or anything, but his output has slowed considerably now that he is in old age. In any case, though he isn't quite as good as Levin, Abrahams is very close to being so, and that's a tall order I wouldn't have believed any other American suspense novelist to be capable of. In Abrahams' case, his plots are a little less organic than Levin's, not quite so high concept, but he is twisty as all get out and his characters are amazingly real. You really get caught up in their dilemmas even if some of them are just plain bad apples.

Francie is having an affair with Ned because, well, just because. Roger, her husband, is so weird and cold that in a way you don't blame her, and yet on the other hand, as she comes to realize, she is hurting an innocent woman by sleeping with her husband. She gets hung up on this infidelity thing, as her natural decency kicks in once she befriends Anne at the local tennis club. I don't even like tennis but Abrahams is great at evoking the kick of it, the primal tensions it releases, how the game can hook you in and take you to a place you've never been taken before.

I didn't really buy the part about Whitey Truax and why Roger thought he could possibly control him, but to be fair Abrahams builds Roger up as kind of a Nietzchean superman who's dumb as a post, so I guess it fits. Whitey makes you squirm he's so vicious and horny, but there's also a lot of class resentment between Whitey and Roger that's perfectly done, worthy of a Henry Roth or a Zora Neale Hurston. Abrahams is a literary artist, and each of his books presents another technical problem he solves with the assurance and inventiveness of Flaubert. Here, in A PERFECT CRIME, he approaches the heights of THE TUTOR, not only his own TUTOR, but that of Henry James.

As with other Case books, "The Syndrome" starts with a bang. Thereafter the action is kept at high levels through the bringing together of seemingly unconnected events and characters. The story is very interesting, along the lines of "the Manchurian Candidate", and is very well told. The language is good and interesting, even if the author(s) have a tendency to overuse some words and put in a British word here or there.

One of the things I enjoy the most about the book is the fact that Case seems to have made quite a lot of research into the subjects of the book. This makes the complex story seem more realistic and indeed more interesting. Case also has a good way of upholding suspension throughout the book. Almost that is. The last chapters of the book are quite foreseeable. There are not really any surprises and the big climax is really not that climactic. It's a bit dull really.

Also I think that the characters are a bit too two dimensional at times. Given a situation they interpret it exactly as is best for the story, as is best for keeping up suspension, not necessarily as is most logical or "normal". Sort of like teenagers in a horror film.

Nonetheless it is a very entertaining book and John Case is a good author. No soubt about that. 3,5 stars

This is the second book by "John Case" that I have read. My first was "The First Horseman," and I really enjoyed it. I love reading thrillers that have a scientific slant to them. I picked up "The Syndrome" based on my prior read, not knowing what to expect. "The Syndrome" has a great hook in the beginning to grab your attention and then doesn't let up. This book was sequenced similarly to "The First Horesman" in the respect it takes a few chapters to get a handle on the main characters.

Lew McBride is a research psychologist at the opening of the novel is meeting with the director of the insitute that provides him with the grant money and funding to do his research, most recently in Haiti, studying trance states. The next thing you know the building is overtaken by a menacing figure and McBride is gased and ends up in an ambulance. He is semi-concious when the terrifying operation begins and since the anestesia is local is awake when the doctor slices into his face above the gum line.

We are then introduced to Nico Sullivan, a beautiful (as are all women in thrillers) woman on vacation near the Florida keys. She causually checks into a resort on a secluded island with special luggage that couldn't be carried on an airplane. It turns out she is an assassin gets her orders via a stange interactive website, "theprogram.org." When Nico returns home to DC, she catapults into a severe depression (she suffers from bipolar disorder) and commits suicide after visting her therapist, Jeff Duran.

Duran is a semi-recluse who appears to be addicted to television when not meeting with clients. He seems out of touch with himself and even attends a high school reunion in hopes that he will be able to remember some of his past more vividly. His world is disrupted when Adrienne Cope, Nico's sister, confronts him with the accusation that he is the cause of Nikki's suicide. It turns out Duran is not who he officially says he is and she plans on suing him for liability in Nikki's death due to the fanatasies he was treating her for that Adrienne claims never happened.

The rest of the plot involves Adrienne and Jeff's search for the truth regarding her sister's death. The fact that Duran cannot remember his past is coupled with the realization he has been implanted with a neurological device designed to control it's subjects. Once that part of the plot is revealed, the book turns into the standard "race against time to discover the truth and stop the evil plot."

The ending was a bit of a letdown, just in the respect it happens so fast and casually.

Overall, I would recommend this book.

I've read almost all of Case's works and have like about half of them. I did like this one. You are very curious for 3/4ths of the book because you don't understand why some things are happening to the characters. But it all gets flushed out in the end. So far Genesis code is my favorite Case book and this would be number two.

I'm a big John Case fan, and this is not his best, but still an entertaining read. Recommended if you also like Dan Brown.

John Case, now revealed to be the pseudonym for a husband and wife (Jim & Carolyn Hougan) writing team, can really knock you off your seat.
If you are looking for thriller's that come at you from a completely different angle (let's call it the educated angle for both the Hougan's are writer's, having released solo works, but Jim is an investigative reporter for the Washington Post which definitely gives him an inside look at many oddities that most people don't see), look no further. I have been reading the John Case books in order of release and have yet to be dissapointed. Both of the first 2 books (The First Horseman, The Genesis Code) were great, and Case has raised the bar once again.
This story about a psychologist that (hint # 1, suffers from agoraphobia and is acutely attuned with electronic devices) discovers that his life is not what it seems after one of his clients commits suicide. He is suddenly thrust in to a race for his life and that of his not-so-happy-to-be-included companion (the sister of the suicide victim) who is holding him personally responsible for her sister's death.
Both quickly realize that they are involved in a hidden plot to cover up something. They can't trust anyone, they can't trust each other, and worst of all, they learn that they can't trust themselves; but they are forced to work together to come to an amazing discovery about a conspiracy that is far-reaching and controlled by global powers.
The book is a taut thriller. It will have you hooked by the end of the epilogue. From Chapter 1 on, it is a spiraling death ride in which you, the reader, can see the future (knowing slightly more than the characters), but still can't figure out how the people all tie together.
By far the best John Case book yet which leaves me very excited, and a little nervous because I have several more books by Case to read, but I have not been disappointed since the first book.
John Case, or Jim & Carolyn Hougan, have a special gift for taking very real, very scary, very possible situations and making them in to scary books that make you think twice about who you can trust.
As I have found with the other 2 Case novels that I have read, the scariest thing about this book is that it is possible, most likely probable, and if you are a conspiracy theorist, definitely happening even as I type this review.
I will read all books by John Case and then I will move on to the works by the individuals, the husband and wife known as John Case. They have earned my lifelong dedication as a reader.
WELL DONE, ONCE AGAIN!

Shannon Drake's Come the Morning is Scottish Romance at it's best. Shannon has the ability to weave a beautiful story rich with people and history.

Mellyora and Waryk are two very different people with ideas of what their own lives will be like until a King decides otherwise. King David of Scottland wanted Laird Waryk, his champion, to hold Blue Isle since the laird had passed leaving no heir, and Waryk clearly deserved it. Mellyora being an only Daughter to a recenty deceased Laird meant either it went back to the King or he married her off to whoever he chooses to hold the land. Mellyora was not able to accept it to say the least and made havoc for Waryk who slowly won her over but could never truley trust Mellyora after all she had put him through. Ulric a Viking from Waryk's pass uses this against them so that he may claim Mellyora and Blue Isle, through it all Waryk realizes that Love is worth it no matter the past and Mellyora accepts her feelings for her Scottish Laird.

This was a pretty fast read and fun. Only problems I had were that the constant disappearances/abductions/escapes got to be like an old time Saturday afternoon serial. Also, as usual, there was too much exposition for my personal taste.

On the positive side though the characters, particularly the hero, were very well done and the dialogue was clever and believable. Also, for me, the era depicted is always exciting.

I am a great fan of Shannon Drake and think she is one of the very best medieval romance writers. However, this book, I believe the first in her Scottish series, is the worst of the five. I agree with reviewers who note there is too much history. I skipped pages and pages at times in order to keep up with the central story. Another problem is far too much "suspense," including kidnappings, escapes, attacks, battles, etc. all at the expense of romance. A lot of the dialog and many scenes are deja vu from other novels. The heroine is immature to the point where she seems stupid. And the love relationship fails to sizzle. Furthermore, in this novel, as in many other medievals, there is too much bathing. From what I know, people did not have daily baths in those days, no matter how wealthy and spoiled they were. I find that Knight Triumphant from the same series is a much MUCH better book.

I decided to check out my first Shannon Drake novel, COME THE MORNING. I enjoy gripping plotting, history and political intrigue with the romance, and I thought COME THE MORNING fit the bill. Not so much though, the tempestuous romance in the first part was fun, and there's some intrigue but nothing substantive. COME THE MORNING doesn't do a good job with settings either. Drake has a tendency to veer off into some historical discourse for pages on end which doesn't seem relevant to the story at all, and unfortunately, she does it often. She doesn't really make the historical backdrop mesh with her story and romance all that well and often times, we find belabored essays on various histories or genealogies. Having strong Scottish roots herself, author Shannon Drake's love for Scotland is evident. The light-hearted romance is fun though, and unlike other books I've read, COME THE MORNING heroine's scathing, belligerent attitude towards our hero was actually enjoyable.

The Story.

Heroine Mellyora MacAdin, Lady of the beatific and verdant Blue Isle, has just lost her laird father to death. King David of Scotland summons her and his champion Laird Waryk de Graham to Stirling for plans of his own during a tumultuous time when Scotland's borders are in conflict from England down south and the Vikings to the north. Unbeknown to either Mellyora or Waryk, King David plans to arrange their marriage to solidify Blue Isle during a time of conflict. Mellyora seethes and resents giving her home to a complete stranger and attempts numerous escapes only to have Waryk capture her time and time again.

The story with Mellyora & Waryk's rather tempestuous encounters is rather fun. There's some intrigue and fighting in the second half.

The story is rather light-hearted and overall, not bad at all. I may check out some other books by Shannon Drake in the future.

This was a terrific story. Realistic battles, several great characters, drama, romance, excitement, and triumph.

Waryk de Graham is a young fledgling warrior. He enters his very first battle at his father's side. When he awakens from an injury to his head, he finds his father lying dead beside him. The rest of his family lies dead as well. He is the last of the Graham name. Filled with rage, he pulls himself from the ground, grabs his father's sword, and runs to attack his enemies in surprise. He manages to kill most of them, as King David arrives with troops to help. David sees that Waryk has the potential to be a great champion. He knights Waryk there on the battle field. Waryk is now Sir Waryk de Graham, Laird Lion. He pledges his life to David's service, determined at the same time to use his father's sword to bring down the rest of his enemies.

Years later, with his father's sword in hand, Waryk has earned his king's respect. King David decides to reward Waryk by giving him a vast estate, complete with a beautiful heiress for his bride.

Mellyora MacAdin is the daughter of a former Viking warlord. Her father, Laird Adin, had long ago changed his ways and become one of King David's loyal lairds. However, he raises his daughter in the Viking tradition of teaching women to battle along with their men. Mellyora is a woman who can handle a sword against men who would attack her, her home, or her people.
When Laird Adin dies suddenly, his daughter travels to David's court in hopes of keeping her father's land, known as Blue Isle. David has already decided that Mellyora will marry Waryk, making certain that her Viking relatives can not seize the property. Mellyora escapes from the king's castle. She decides to run to her uncle's camp and ask him to help her keep Blue Isle long enough to convince the king that she is capable of defending it without a husband. While running through the forest at night, a man grabs her and questions her. When he discovers she is running from his king, Waryk makes a plan to bring her back to the castle. In the midst of his plan, he discovers that she is the woman intended to be his bride.

Over the next weeks, Mellyora and Waryk battle for control of her land and life. When the king makes it clear that he will give Blue Isle to Waryk, with or without marriage, Mellyora had no choice but to agree to marry him. Now they must work together to save Blue Isle and it's people from a secret enemy, the son of one of the men Waryk killed as a boy. This enemy, Ulric Hallsteader is determined to take Waryk's wife and land. He finds ways to attack while disguising himself as Mellyora's uncle, Daro of the Vikings. If he can cause war between Waryk and Daro, he can weaken them both. This will open Blue Isle for attack.


There were numerous terrific characters in this story. They made a truly magnificent tale. There are many men and women to root for, and plenty to fear. This keeps the story exciting and it makes putting the book down very difficult. (Hence the dark circles under my eyes after reading into the early hours of the morning.) The romances that develop are gripping and deep. While reading, you feel the joy, frustration, fear, and determination of the characters as if you were living it yourself. This is a characteristic that makes the difference between a good story and an excellent story.

My only disappointment was the fact that there were several pages of unnecessary history and background. I found myself skimming through these paragraphs to get back to the plot. However, the story was enthralling enough to make up for it.

After I read a book, I often check online to see the reviews. I don't like to read them before I open a book (with the exception of new recommendations) but it is always interesting afterwards to see what other folks had to say. Sometimes, even often, I am not that different than the general crowd of reviewers. Other times, I seem to march to a different drummer.

Hell to Pay is one of those books where I seem to be out of step. The reviews either seem to be glowing or grumbling. On Amazon, it gets five stars or one. There doesn't seem to be much middle ground. Pelecanos himself seems to have quite a pack of loyal fans (possibly from his work on The Wire, which may factor into the sharp difference.

I, by contrast, found it firmly so-so. I liked the relationship between the main characters-- that was good. I was unconvinced by his grasp of the mean streets-- not so good. The descriptions were vivid-- good. Dialogue clunky-- not so good. (This last point was odd, considering that one would expect a television writer to specialize in dialogue. So perhaps I just didn't get what he was trying to do.)

I read this book on a flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam. And for that purpose, it did just fine. It didn't annoy me too much. It kept me reading. I would willingly pick up another book by Pelecanos in the future.

I made it exactly eight pages in to this novel. The writer seemed to be unfamiliar with the subjects he was attempting to portray. The dialogue was forced and uneven. It seemed to be cobbled together from bits and pieces of misrepresentations heard on "MTV" or "Comic View." For me that ruined the entire book before the story had a chance to begin.

The author was trying too hard to convey subject matter he knew nothing about or completely misunderstood. It was too nerve grating for me too continue.

You can certainly smell and feel life on the inner-city streets of Washington D.C in this story.
But maybe that is the problem, the violence and lives of the people described is just too depressing to make compelling reading.
The plot lost direction at times and wandered off on tangents, without contibuting anything to the story.
If you like urban, gritty, realistic to a fault, novels about life on the mean streeets - then this is for you. But if don't, then give it a miss.

The tortured language, the dialogue, is simply awful. His attempt to make the detective's conversations seem like Spencer is more like Shaft in drag and it fails miserably.

The sexual tension is gratuitous, seems forced as if added to make the book sell rather than spending the pages in deeper character building. It's rare that I won't finish even a bad look, but this one I finally threw at the wall at page 160. Enough.

I picked this book up because I am a big fan of The Wire, a TV series that Pelecanos serves as a head writer for. I was hoping for a great crime novel with overlapping plotlines, memorable characters and thought-provoking themes like the TV series. Instead I got a boring, disjointed novel full of tripe dialogue, gratuitous refrences to music that the author probably cribbed off the Billboard top 100, boring moralizing, and lousy sex scenes.
His hereos and villians are one dimensional in the extreme and his use of slang is at-times ludicrously incorrect. As an example I'll focus on the mecahnics of the drug trade described in the novel. The main villian, Garfield 'Death' Potter, is a big time 'hydro' dealer, but doesn't appear to have any sort of hydroponic marijuana operation set up (there's a reason it's called 'hydro'), relies on a midget street dealer to distribute dimes and nicks, and spends most of his time in the novel stealing cars and shooting recalitrant customers (and since when can you find an 'oz' for $100 on the east coast?). What kind of drug dealer is that? A bad one that would definitely not be running the streets of DC. If this were real life, as Pelecanos would obviously like to have the reader believe, Potter would barely be making his money back or in debt to dealers that actually knew what they were doing. I felt like I was reading an after-school special from the early-90s.
Worse, I think Pelecanos thinks he is saying something important with this book, and he constantly tries to remind readers that young people have no respect for life because they listen to rap music instead of classic soul and "blues-metal." The novel is trite in the extreme. Stick to The Wire.

This book starts out promisingly enough. An affluent man in South Carolina has a daughter named Callie, ostensibly an only child. He adopts Bode Jessup, so Callie can have a brother. He also brings two young girls from disadvantaged and dysfunctional families, Brie and Sela, to be Callie's playmates, but they end up spending most of their time in the Parker household.

As Callie's mother is a sick woman and her father is a busy man, the roost is ruled by Mamma Pearl, a larger than life African American woman. She becomes the center of the universe for these three children, who look to her as a mother figure and love her dearly. Mamma Pearl also loves and cherishes these children, sacrificing her life to their well being.

When they are all young adults, however, intrigue and turmoil bubble under the surface, as their true feelings for each other begin to emerge on the eve of Callie's wedding. The catalyst for a great emotional catharsis is the tragic accident that leaves Callie in a coma on her wedding day. As events unfold, shocking family secrets are revealed, ripping the blinders from their eyes, as all was not what it seemed.

The book, which started off promisingly enough, begins to head south, as a series of revelations, increasingly implausible, are divulged. Moreover, the personalities of the characters seem to change at the drop of a dime, depending upon the circumstances. This tends to render them two dimensional, as there is no real character development. This deficiency in the writing serves to further highlight the implausibility of the storyline. Moreover, some of the surprises in store for the reader are positively ridiculous. The secrets about Bode and Callie are especially ludicrous, making the book almost laughable.

Fern Michaels does it again and again, I've never been dissappointed with her books, She will get you hooked!

The premise of the novel is a promising one: Brie, Bode, Sela and Callie are four best friends brought up together to think of one another as siblings under the watchful eye of Mama Pearl. They all meet back up as Callie plans the wedding of the century to the affluent Wyn. The set up of the story goes off beautifully and drew me in... but then the story crashed and burned. There are far too many holes in this story and the stories that are completed are so unreal it cheapens the story even more. I would reccomend that one should borrow this novel, as I did, rather than pay for it.

Oh and why oh why does Fern switch from Bode to Bawdey? I don't know why but this was one thing that really bothered me the most!

I can't say this was the worst book ever written, but it was the worst book I've ever read. I can't imagine how it has gotten so many good reviews. I almost can't believe Fern Michael's wrote it. The characters are completely one dimensional, the plot makes no sense, and the whole thing is riddled with inconsistancies. The worst though, is the dialogue. Completely unrealistic. Very dissappointed. I kept holding out, hoping it would get better, but gave up about halfway through. This is first book that I was so fed up with, that I wasn't able to finish.

I found this to be a very muddly story..someone was considered to be black..I hadn't even realised that he was supposed to be black...then he wasn't! A little blonde girl was considered to be white and was really black...perhaps it's my ignorance of these matters, but how could these situations not be obvious? A small boy named Bode was fostered at the home of a wealthy old Southern family, with a view to him being adopted. Two small girls, Brie and Sela, from what were unkindly called "white trash" families, were taken to the big house every day as playmates to Callie, the spoiled rotten daughter of the house. They all grew up as friends, lovingly cared for by an old black lady, Pearl, who nurtured them through their adolescences and encouraged them in their chosen careers. When Callie was about to marry a wealthy local man, they were involved in a serious car crash which left other people dead and Callie in a coma. The groom-to-be lied to the police, claiming that Callie was the driver and, leaving Pearl, Bode, Brie and Sela to physically care for her, played the part of the grieving lover. I really feel that this book could have been shortened by a third and tightened up considerably.

Hunting Season is the second novel I read featuring Anna Pigeon (the first was Track of the Cat). This series, by Nevada Barr, probably has 10 or so books in it now. I was curious whether 1) Barr is still successful with the Anna Pigeon model, and 2) whether you had to have read the previous 9 (or so) novels to enjoy this one.

In Hunting Season, Law Enforcement Ranger Anna Pigeon is in Mississippi, protecting a sliver of National Park Service Land, the Natchez Trace Parkway (never heard of it). She discovers a murder... or is it? As in Track of the Cat, Anna does her normal job while tracking down the human and forensic clues in this case. And as in Track of the Cat, she works with some interesting folk, is still getting over the loss of her husband, and doesn't mind getting dirty. It looks like she has stopped drinking, at least as much as she used to.

I had figured out the cause of death of Doyce about mid-way through the book. But I really missed the boat when it came to "whodunit."

I'll tell you, the pace, action, and employment focus of this series just keeps reminding me of Dick Francis and his mysteries relating to horse racing. Not bad company to be in!

I look forward to my next Anna Pigeon novel.

This was the MOST frustrating Anna Pigeon book I've ever read.

Anna was so incompetent I could have screamed at her over and over, had she been in my living room.
To let Randy Thigpen (among very many others) get away with such insubordination and ineptitude, did not a great boss make!!

And let's not even talk about the deer meat in the trunk!

This book was a DRUDGE to work through...

Like "Deep South," "Hunting Season" is set in Natchez Trace National Parkway. This is one of those units of the National Park system that nobody ever thinks of, but it takes up a 450-mile stretch from southwestern border of Mississippi through the northeastern border and up to Nashville. Because it's a strip of parkway, it is far more a part of the community than many other national parks.

Though she has been there a while now, and is deep in a relationship with a local pastor-sheriff, Anna remains an outsider to this community. She is a Yankee law enforcement officer who finds herself in a world Yankee stereotypes: good old boys, racists, pickup trucks and football. The facts that Nevada Barr loves the region and that Anna is falling in love with a sympathetic local smoothen the rough edges of this relationship between character and place.

As a supervisor, Anna continues to have to deal with some difficult employees. One of her two rangers is a real nightmare, a lazy, sexist, hostile, lawsuit-prone loser. His forms of resistance are so well drawn that they must be based on some people in Nevada Barr's own past as a ranger.

What about the mystery? It's less compelling than most others in the series. In addition, the book has an unfortunate title - - as you may find yourself halfway through the book wondering why it has this name. If you think too hard about this, you'll be in the rare situation of a mystery reader knowing more than the detective knows.

If you're new to the Anna Pigeon series, I'd read a different book first. If you're committed to the series, don't skip this one because there are personal developments that remain important for subsequent books.

I think you either like Anna or you don't. I can't say the plots are air tight. I can't say she's the most intuitive of detectives. I can say she's wonderful to spend time with -- and her insights and descriptions of very real people are, to use a well-worn word, palpable. She's focused, flawed, and fabulous (as a result). This plot is solid, the setting is well used, and the resolution is right there. Maybe not my favorite Nevada Barr, but still an enjoyable ride.

Anna Pigeon has parked her vehicle for a second time on the dark, gloomy Natchez Trace, which allows Nevada Barr time to strengthen characters and develop the atmosphere of setting. HUNTING SEASON treats readers to a return engagement of characters from DEEP SOUTH and allows you to sink deeper into the quagmire of place, local politics and "old friends."
HUNTING SEASON has all of the Barr standards, fast paced, extensive knowledge of park rangers, their problems and duties, great plotting and rapid pace.
You don't become bored with a Nevada Barr, Anna Pigeon novel, no matter where the location.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.