Tag: mystery

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#BookReview: Past Tense by Lee Child

Reacher Being Reacher. This is Reacher number 23, and kind of in the middle of the pack overall. Not the best Reacher story, but not the worst either. Third person again, and while the bad guys are truly bad, they aren’t quite as bad as I was fearing – I thought early on Child might be going for more current headlines ala the last Reacher tale, and instead he shifts into something that is rumored online but which I’ve never seen actual evidence of. Don’t start with this book if you’re new to Reacher, but if you’ve read even a single Reacher reading this one out of order won’t be a problem other than introducing certain new wrinkles that could be interesting going forward, should Child decide to pursue them.

This review of Past Tense by Lee Child was originally written on November 18, 2018.

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#BookReview: Hawaiian Punch by Douglas Corleone

Fun Hawaiian PI. Even if PI/ detective books aren’t really your thing, this book is awesome. Fun mystery on Hawaii that keeps you on your toes – I didn’t see the endgame coming until it played out, though I was at least partially correct in my early presumptions. Really hoping to see more of this character in future books.

This review of Hawaiian Punch by Douglas Corleone and Rick Chesler was originally published on May 13, 2018.

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#BookReview: The Good Liar by Catherine McKenzie

Let’s put it this way: I finished this 41 chapter book in less than 24 hours. The summary had intrigued me, and the story itself didn’t let me down. I was 20% through the book without realizing it and felt like I had barely scratched the surface (and at that point, knowing what I do now, you really *have* barely scratched the surface). Easily one of the best of the now 25 books I’ve read in 2018, which is saying quite a bit.

This review of The Good Liar by Catherine McKenzie was originally published on April 3, 2018.

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#BookReview: End in the Beginning by Gary Williams and Vicky Knerly

Epic Conclusion. In this truly epic conclusion to the God Tools Trilogy, the fate of humanity is at stake as the three God Tools come together with various human elements. This is the most fantastical book in the trilogy, the first one where the fantasy elements nearly override the human. But Williams and Knerly give a more complete ending than many stories do, and it works with what they had previously established.

This review of End in the Beginning by Gary Williams and Vicky Knerly was originally published on February 12, 2018.

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#BookReview: Evil in the Beginning by Gary Williams and Vicky Knerly

Great continuation with a cliffhanger ending. The first several chapters seemingly introduce new characters every chapter, but by the midway point many of these characters start meeting up. And by the end of the story, the first and second God Tools are revealed… and a clock has started up for one of our heroes. Will the other hero save the day in time in book three? That is left for us to find out…

This review of Evil in the Beginning by Gary Williams and Vicky Knerly was originally published on February 11, 2018.

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#BookReview: Death in the Beginning by Gary Williams and Vicky Knerly

Intriguing and Unique. In all my years of reading, I’ve never encountered a book that had the same epicenter as this story – and I’ve easily read over 500 books in my life! The action and mystery are well paced, with astonishing reveals even onto the final page of the book. Extremely well done, looking forward to the rest of this trilogy.

This review of Death in the Beginning by Gary Williams and Vicky Knerly was originally published on February 8, 2018.

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#BookReview: Solar Island by Rick Chesler

In this one, Shores – scarred for life from an unfortunate trauma involving water in her childhood – yet again finds herself at sea investigating a possible crime. Once again, the mystery builds nicely and the action is well paced, but once again – as was the case in KiDNApped – the tale ends abruptly following the final battle sequence. But partial stars aren’t allowed in most rating systems, and this and the book’s one other flaw were not enough to ding it the .56 of a star that would round to a 4 star review. Maybe take a tenth of a point off for each, but that still leaves at a 4.8 which obviously rounds to 5.

The other flaw? The mocking of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and the seasteading initiatives being worked by at least a few people. It was unnecessary in showing how unhinged the primary antagonist had become.

This review of Solar Island by Rick Chesler was originally published on February 4, 2018.

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Featured New Release Of The Week: The Post by Kevin Munoz

This week we look to an excellent post Apocalyptic zombie tale by a promising debut author. This week, we look to The Post by Kevin Munoz.

This was a book that was very reminscent of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road in terms of overall bleakness. The key difference being that while I often cite The Road as the singular worst book I have ever read, this particular book was genuinely great. While I cop to being a Georgia native – and UGA athletics fan -, I am not overly familiar with most of the particular locales described in this book. That said, it is always nice to see an area you’ve known even a bit to be featured in a book. This book is an excellent examination of how society can rebuild itself from nearly anything, including the dual Apocalyptic events described as having happened years before the events here. Truly an excellent human centered book that happens to take place in a world that has survived the Zombie Apocalypse and is still in the process of rebuilding, this book shows those efforts – and secret efforts that could undo every ounce of progress made so far. I really cannot heap enough praise on this debut work. If you are open to genre, read this book. If you like post Apocalypse, read this book. If LGBT centered stories are your particular bent, you will also enjoy this book. If you’re just looking for a solidly entertaining read, read this book. Seriously, just read this book and hope – as I do – that we get an unnecessary yet welcome sequel.

And as always, the Goodreads/ Amazon review:
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