Collecting the Dead by Spencer Kope

Special Tracking Unit book 1

4 stars

R- 1

Reader's Choice

So if Criminal Minds.... and the X-Files..... had some sort of love child....

It would maybe be this.  

But without the 90s cheese.

Let's call it a police procedural thriller with paranormal overtones.

Anyway.

Cool premise, good story.

One detail that snagged my brain, dragged me out of the story, and made me crazy for days:  there is an ENTIRE PAGE dedicated to cursing the Nevada heat.

In June.

In NORTHERN Nevada.

I got news for you, folks.  I grew up in Northern Nevada and there ain't nothing to curse.

Sure it gets hot.... and it's not completely outside the realm of possibility for it to have been 94 in June... but that would be a crazy hot day.

They were at Washoe Lake, and I checked-- the average high in June is around 80.

The character does feel grateful that he's at a higher elevation and therefore it's cooler than Reno to the north or Las Vegas to the south.

Let me tell you how many things are wrong with this statement.

Reno (average June high temp is 83, by the way) is 30 miles north of Washoe Lake.

Las Vegas is FOUR HUNDRED THIRTY SEVEN miles south.

Not all of Nevada is Vegas, my friends.  (Which was annoying growing up in Nevada.... people ask where you're from and you say Nevada and they assume Vegas... it's a big state guys.)

This is like comparing DC to Baltimore in the north and Myrtle Beach, SC in the south.  It's just slightly ridiculous.  (Note that my husband pulled out that comparison without checking and was within like 6 miles.  He's a freak that way.)

Anyway, it's a dumb detail and has no bearing whatsoever on the actual story, but it made me nuts.  A passing reference to the heat would have been one thing, but if you're going to spend so much time on it maybe check to ensure that you're believable first.

Other than that (sorry about the long rant, lol) I did enjoy it.  It's the kind of story I maybe prefer to have all wrapped up in a 45-minute episode, but I'll definitely be on the watch for book 2.

Once a Crooked Man by David McCallum

1.5 stars
R- 4
Language, Violence

Sigh.

I want to start by saying I really like David McCallum.  A lot.  I like him in The Great Escape and I utterly adore him as Ducky.

(Though I can't be alone in feeling cheated that the "young Ducky" of some episodes simply isn't as good looking as the young David McCallum of The Great Escape, right?  So sad.)

Ahem.

Anyway.

That said.... no.  Just no.

I'm kind of shocked I even finished this one, but I kept thinking (hoping) that it would get better.  That it would go somewhere interesting and unexpected and decidedly not where it seemed like it was going.

But no.

I will be the first to admit that it could be a genre thing-- this was gritty in a way I don't prefer.... there were elements of Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, which I did NOT care for at all.

So that could be the issue.

But there was also an element of... this just doesn't work.  Why would that character do that?

No one knows.

Overall, if you liked Girl with a Dragon Tattoo then this might work for you.

It just really didn't for me.

I'm going to go back to just watching him and pretend this never happened.

Ransom's Voice by Gary Dvorkin

2 stars
R- 4
Language.  Like... lots of language.
Also violence (including graphic sexual violence)
received for review

Okay, first of all I kind of hate doing more negative reviews when it's actually a scheduled blog tour type review situation.  On the other hand, I always prefer to READ negative reviews.... so maybe I'm helping somebody out there.  As of the date I finished this book, mine was certainly the only even remotely negative review on GoodReads.

Reading the positive reviews made me wonder if I'd read a different book.

I don't usually include summaries, but here's the summary of this one:
"Dominique Stein is beautiful, young, and Jewish. Her sanity is overly dependent on external cues, chameleon-like. She awakens every morning at 5:59:59. She weighs in at exactly 111, her snug palindrome. These are her ''friends.'' They keep her safe. Then, it all explodes. She desperately searches to find her way back inside that cozy bubble of sanity she had constructed. Lost, her bearings off and wobbly, her instincts are not functioning. Crimes are committed; not everyone survives. Found not guilty by virtue of temporary insanity, she is sent to a psychiatric prison for women. There she is caught between the kind, serene Freudian analyst, Dr. Haddad, and the head of the institute, the manic, megalomaniacal Dr. du Chevre, who offers her the Faustian contract; be the subject for his secretive, odd research, and he will get her out of prison earlier. Dominique has to navigate her way out of this maze of institutional insanity. Which shrink is telling her the truth? Or, are they both lying to her, manipulating her for their own strange motives? All of this while trying to survive the random explosive violence of the women's prison. In this psychological thriller, Gary Dvorkin crafts a compelling story of love, betrayal, and reality-shifting anxiety. Dominique hears many voices in her life. But which one can she trust? Which voice will ransom her sanity?"

Sounds interesting, right?  Compelling.  Fascinating.

And here's the thing-- that description is technically correct.  All of those things are in the book.

Except it's like they wrote a description of what the book wanted to be.... rather than what it actually was.

Some of the issues were first novel issues-- needed tightening and such.  There were whole sections that I don't see why they needed to be in there.  Some of the issues were of the editing variety-- sorry, but character names really need to not change at random.

Some of the problem was word choice-- I'm not sure if English isn't the author's first language or if he was trying to have a fancier vocabulary, or if it's a "American English vs Canadian English" thing but.... sometimes it was a case of "I don't think that word means what you think it means".  (Number of times the word "oleaginous" appears-- 4)

Speaking of word choice, my husband asked if I kept track of the f-word and no, I didn't, because I would have lost my mind.  For the record, he said he counted like 20 on the page he looked at over my shoulder.  Now the whole book wasn't that bad, but you get the idea.

Anyway, 2 stars for an interesting premise, but at nearly 500 pages it was way too long for what little actually happens.... except that I still don't know what happened because there's not really a nice wrap up that explains what scenes were even real.  Some were clearly delusions but rather than furthering the plot they just leave the reader wondering what the heck was real.  

I don't mind a book that keeps you guessing about the character's sanity and reality but you really have to let the reader in on it at some point.

The Hidden Chamber in the Great Sphinx by Linda A Cadose

Copy received for review

This  is  a  boo  review.
4 stars
This book was about Cliff Post who discovered a hidden chamber in the great sphinx with the help of two other explorers.
I liked it because it was science and adventure and fiction at the same time.  My favorite part was when they finally got to cut open the sphinx.
(It should have had a platypus though.)


Here's mom's review.
2 stars

I really wanted to like this one.  Mystery, intrigue, archaeology...  It even had crystal skulls for crying out loud!  (I admit, I totally enjoyed the most recent Indiana Jones movie.  Cheesiness and all.)

But the story felt shallow and under-developed.

Honestly, it was like a plot outline for what would be a totally awesome thriller/action/mystery... if it had been fleshed out.  The bare bones are there, but not a lot else.

But, I am not the target audience, and Boo liked it enough to ask if there was a sequel and the next week at the school library she checked out a book on pyramids, so what do I know?

I would LOVE for the author to flesh out a full-fledged (full-fleshed? lol) adult novel out of this.  That I would totally read.

I gotta suggest, though, in the current incarnation, it really needs a glossary.  There are several terms in italics throughout (which kind of drove me nuts) but there's no glossary to be found.  That would be a great addition for future printings.

Time Killer by Todd M. Thiede

3 stars
R- 1.5 
violence


copy received for review

Concept/story idea gets 4.5 stars
Character development gets 2.5
overall execution gets 2
editing gets... 1

Use of present tense was jarring and highlighted the weaknesses in the writing. Felt a bit like a rough draft.
Definitely had potential, but wanted a lot more polish.
Interesting story.

This would be a cool episode of Criminal Minds... ;)


Overall, though, not so much.  Three stars feels a bit generous, but it was a good concept.  Characters were sketchy.  Random lesbian scene felt really unnecessary.

Just didn't work for me.

Promise Me Eternity by Ian Fox

3 stars
R-3
Copy (bound printout/manuscript) received for  review.

Promising story, but needed serious serious editing.

The Dr. Miner storyline-- unnecessary complication.  Same with most of the Jerry Duncan storyline.

Also, the writing wasn't stellar and needing tightening/editing.

**Because my review copy was a bound manuscript I have NO IDEA if further editing was done before publication or in the course of publication.  I can only review what I read. :)

The story is definitely interesting, though.

If you like a good thriller and don't mind random distractions or racey scenes, this might be a good pick.

Istanbul Passage by Joseph Kanon

3 stars
R-2.5
Copy received for review

Okay, I get that it's a spy novel, but that was a bit too convoluted for me.  And holy moral/ethical ambiguity, Batman.  Sheesh.  (I don't do well with that kind of ambiguity.)

While the main character is sympathetic, I found that I just didn't care as much as I wanted to.  That connection was just never quite there.  You want to like him, but... meh.

It does certainly keep you guessing, I'll give it that.  And it's not a bad story.

Just didn't quite do it for me.

All Cry Chaos by Leonard Rosen

2.5 stars
R- 1

Meh.

For whatever reason, this one just did not work for me.  At all.

Good premise, for the most part, but oh my gosh it D R A G G E D.  Badly.  You stumble through the middle (and by middle I mean hundreds of pages) with nothing making sense and nothing even approaching resolution.

And then, TADA!  Suddenly it's all explained.  And everything is fixed.  All better.

Anyway.

If I'd been in a different mood or less tired it might not have bothered me.  But as it was, reading it felt more like a chore than a pleasure.

The Maze by Catherine Coulter

4 stars
R-2.5

An interesting thriller: think Criminal Minds.

This is actually the second book in the series, but it's so much Lacey's story that it didn't feel like a sequel at all.  (Savich is in the star in the first book.)  Don't get me wrong, there's lots and lots of Savich too, but the story is mainly Lacey's.

Some loose ends still, but it's a series, so no real biggie.

Apparently, though, Lacey and Savich are kind of side characters in the third book.

All in all, a good thriller.

Reader's Choice winner, 1998.

Pandora's Clock by John J Nance

4 stars
R- 2

An interesting thriller.

What happens when a plane has nowhere to land?  What happens when country after country refuses to allow a passenger jet within its airspace?

And what happens if everyone aboard is going to die anyway?

My only complaints, really, would be that a) it felt really really long and b) when you're going to be spending a lot of time talking about European destinations, for the love of all that's holy DON'T NAME YOUR MAIN CHARACTER AFTER ONE!  Sigh.  The pilot/captain's name was Holland, which drove me crazy during the entire section where they were flying near the Netherlands.  Sheesh.

Good thriller, but don't read it while flying, lol.

Reader Choice winner, 1995

Natural Causes by Michael Palmer

4 stars
R- 1

A compelling medical thriller.

I honestly wasn't totally in the mood for it, and to some extent books like this are a little bit of the "dime a dozen" variety, but it was interesting.

Reader's Choice winner 1995

Sacrilege by SJ Parris

4 stars
R-3
Copy received for review

While I didn't LOVE this one as much as the first 2, I did enjoy it.

Weaving Thomas Beckett's history into Doctor Bruno's adventures made for an interesting plot.

Didn't love the return of a character from Heresy as much as I wanted to, but what can you do?

I do have to say, though, that Bruno's consistent desire to pin things on people because he thinks they're guilty and wants them to be, when the facts point elsewhere, is getting old.  He's too smart to keep doing that over and over.

Recommended, but read the first two first, or you'll be missing details.

Prophecy by SJ Parris

5 stars
R-2
sequel to Heresy

A very enjoyable sequel.

Still filled with the religious insanity of the period, of course, but hey.

Elizabethan London always makes for an interesting setting and I quite like Giordano Bruno.

This time, things are closer to home for Queen Elizabeth... and possibly even more dangerous for Bruno.

Recommended, but read Heresy first. :)

(You know, the only trouble with these books is that I read SOOOOO much Victorian stuff that when they talk about the queen, but mind immediately says Victoria, lol!)

Heresy by SJ Parris

5 stars
R- 1-2
some language and disturbing/violent images
1st Giordano Bruno book

A very interesting historical thriller, apparently based on an actual person.  (I've never heard of him, but hey.  Or at least I can't remember having heard of him.)

The only downside/reservation/whatever I have about this book is absolutely not the fault of the book or author-- it's just that the religious insanity of the Elizabethan period drives me beyond all batty.  How anyone could justify torture and murder etc with Christian faith boggles the mind.

But as I said, not the fault of the author certainly.  She did an excellent job with the period.

Overall, recommended.  I'm looking forward to reading the next 2 books.  (I have an ARC of the 3rd book!!)

The Innocent by Taylor Stevens

4.5 stars
R- 3
Sequel to The Informationist
violence, language

(Not actually as violent as The Informationist, though, I thought.)

I liked this one even more than the first.

The writing has improved (though there are still a few things that really an editor should have picked up on, but whatever) and this plot interestingly explores a situation so similar to the author's own past.

And you have to love the moment when a character realizes that the seven dead bodies he's looking at were killed by the woman he's been trying to pick a fight with. 

Priceless.

The Informationist by Taylor Stevens

4 stars
R- 3
Violence, language
reader's choice

Let me start by saying I'm really glad I didn't read all the comparisons to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo before reading this.  Because I don't think they're super accurate or fair.

Which is good, because I really didn't like TGwtDT. 

The writing is not amazing, maybe.  I spent much of the book trying to decide if English was not the author's first language because of some awkward phrasing. 

When you read about the author, though, and find out that she was raised in a cult with no education past like 6th grade and was forbidden to read it's all a lot more forgivable.

While this thriller is really violent, I was intrigued by the characters and the story.  Very curious to read the sequel.

Overall, good read, though perhaps not for the squeamish.

Power Down by Ben Coes

3 stars
R- 1
Violence, language

This thriller, while interesting, kind of fell flat for me.

Between lengthy descriptions, repetitions, and contradictory paragraphs, what should have been a fast-moving plot got mired in words.  I really think it could have been 50, if not 100, pages shorter.

Which kind of makes me think it would make a much better movie.... since a movie would trim that stuff down a ton.

If you like Tom Clancy, you might give this one a try... but I ended up skimming a lot of it.

Crashers by Dana Haynes

4 stars
R- 2

Quite a ride!  This thriller would make an interesting movie.

You've got:
1 nerd who can bring down planes at will.
4 Irish thugs/terrorists
1 former Israeli "spook" tired of being "benched"
2 FBI agents
1 NTSB pathologist
1 "Sonar witch"
+ a whole crew of other NTSB specialists

Put it all together and you've got some serious craziness.

Definitely recommended.

Think of a Number by John Verdon

4 stars
R- 1
Copy received for review

An intriguing thriller about a killer who seems to read his victims' minds....

Very interesting.

Funny story-- I checked it out from the library... and then checked it out again (so I had 2 library copies out at the same time).... and then found it in my pile of books received for review!  LOL

Anyway, I'd love to have given it 5 stars, but there were threads that didn't get tied up... and threads that didn't need to be there at all.  Fairly typical of a first novel, really.

Apparently it's intended to be the first of a series... not sure how I feel about that.  I think it makes a better stand alone.

Overall, intriguing and a little creepy.  :)

Telling Lies by Cathi Stoler

3 stars
r-1
Copy received for review through Tribute Books

I thought the premise of this book was interesting and compelling.

I think it had a little bit of an identity crisis, though.  On the one hand, you have a determined amatuer sleuth of sorts trying to unravel the mystery of her friend's supposedly dead husband.  Kind of "cozy mystery" type heroine and all.

On the other hand, though, this is a major international suspense/thriller type, with the cop and the FBI agent and the PI all after a) the supposedly dead man, b) the major art collector who's probably dealing in looted art, and c) whoever's stepping in to buy the $150 million painting involved.  Oh, and don't forget the Mossad agent trying to recover the painting.

Given all of that, the stakes are just too high for the kind of stupid things cozy mystery heroines tend to do.  Like confront a seemingly harmless bad guy all alone.

And really, I didn't buy the "relationship" between the heroine and the cop.  All they did was yell at each other.  And half the time it seemed like the anger was for no reason.

It also really reads like a sequel-- lots of references to a previous case which was when/how they all met.  But this is the author's first published novel.  So no way to read the earlier story.

Overall, I liked the premise and it was an interesting read (but the copyediting was TERRIBLE) but it didn't quite work for me.