Finished Fr 4/22/11
Michael Weston, Sniper Agent (D-MAN "Demolition Man' After taking his shot, he explodes something to divert attention.)
Leo Hoffer, PI in pay of former Senator. His daughter was killed by Weston in error.
Max Harrison, Arms dealer in rural England. Father of Belinda Harrison. She takes up with Weston, after her father is murdered and beheaded.
Spike, Texas Arms dealer who helps Bel and D-Man. He supplies the artillery, and does it for the Trans Am that Bel and Weston are driving. (Spike calls him 'Wild West')
DISCIPLES OF LOVE, Cult which was mistakenly funded by CIA dollars, Five Million.
Kline, Rogue CIA agent who is trying to stop mistake from becoming known
Eleanor Ricks, Journalist who D-MAN shoots, but somebody had tipped off the police
(SPOILER: She did it to facilitate her own suicide, and try to find out, and expose, the funding of THE DISCIPLES OF LOVE)
This was an interesting novel, and not at all like the John Rebus series by the author. I like this novel, and the Rebus collection as well.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
American Eve: Evelyn Nesbit, Stanford White: The Birth of the "It" Girl and the Crime of the Century by
Finished Mo 4/18/11
I got this book because I recently saw Cluade Chabrol's 2007 film, THE GIRL CUT IN TWO, which was based on the life of Evelyn Nesbit. However, in Chabrol's film, he set the action in contemporary France, and cast Evelyn's character as a peppy, TV weather girl. Evelyn Nesbit was born in a small town outside of Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania(Tarentum, PA)in 1884. Her father was a small town lawyer, and he died quite unexpectedly when she was only nine years old. Her mother tried to support Evelyn and her younger brother, Howard, by taking in sewing. By Evelyn's teens she is in New York City, acting, and dancing in Lower Manhattan. And, she is used and abused by some of the most powerful and wealthy men of the era.
I got this book because I recently saw Cluade Chabrol's 2007 film, THE GIRL CUT IN TWO, which was based on the life of Evelyn Nesbit. However, in Chabrol's film, he set the action in contemporary France, and cast Evelyn's character as a peppy, TV weather girl. Evelyn Nesbit was born in a small town outside of Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania(Tarentum, PA)in 1884. Her father was a small town lawyer, and he died quite unexpectedly when she was only nine years old. Her mother tried to support Evelyn and her younger brother, Howard, by taking in sewing. By Evelyn's teens she is in New York City, acting, and dancing in Lower Manhattan. And, she is used and abused by some of the most powerful and wealthy men of the era.
Friday, April 15, 2011
THE 7TH VICTIM by Alan Jacobson
Finished Fr 4/15/11
THE 7TH VICTIM examines some of my favorite components of Detective Fiction. The novel dealt with concepts and applications developed by the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit, and it featured a Profile Team which demonstrates how some of these theories could apply to a particular UNSUB. And, the book was a real 'page-turner', however, the entire story was just too far fetched to be believable. I think this paragraph from the end of the novel just about sums it up:
"Let's see, I find out I have a twin sister who's a serial killer, my mother's really my aunt, my biological mother is brutally murdered, and my worst fears about my biological father are confirmed. I'd say it's been a kick-ass week."
THE 7TH VICTIM examines some of my favorite components of Detective Fiction. The novel dealt with concepts and applications developed by the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit, and it featured a Profile Team which demonstrates how some of these theories could apply to a particular UNSUB. And, the book was a real 'page-turner', however, the entire story was just too far fetched to be believable. I think this paragraph from the end of the novel just about sums it up:
"Let's see, I find out I have a twin sister who's a serial killer, my mother's really my aunt, my biological mother is brutally murdered, and my worst fears about my biological father are confirmed. I'd say it's been a kick-ass week."
Monday, April 11, 2011
THREE STATIONS by Marin Cruz Smith
Finished Mo 4/11/11
A new addition to the Arkady Renko series by Martin Cruz Smith. The "Three Stations" of the title refers to
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/books/review/Steinhauer-t.html
A new addition to the Arkady Renko series by Martin Cruz Smith. The "Three Stations" of the title refers to
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/books/review/Steinhauer-t.html
Sunday, April 10, 2011
FAITHLESS by Karin Slaughter
Finished Th 4/7/11
My first novel in this very popular series. I thought it would be somewhat like the Kay Scarpetta Series(Patricia Cornwell), but this was not the case. Slaughter's novels are set in rural Georgia, and do not have the 'Big City/War On Terror' feel of Cornwell's novels. I enjoyed it a lot, and plan to read more by this author.
From Amazon review-
"Georgia medical examiner Sara Linton returns in Slaughter's Grant County crime thriller series (Indelible ), and this time she's hot on the trail of a demented killer who buries teenage girls alive. Out in the woods chatting about past infidelities, Sara and ex-husband/lover Jeffrey discover a young girl buried in a grotesque coffin, dead despite a breathing pipe extending to the surface. The victim is soon identified as Abigail Bennett, a member of the Holy Grown soybean farming collective, a group curiously unfazed to learn a daughter was poisoned. Suspicion blooms around Holy Grown's many farmhands, mostly ex-felons on work release, but then centers on the parishioners who congregate at the Church for the Greater Good, a local congregation run by a shifty minister. Another shallow grave, physical violence and another girl's disappearance lead Sara, Jeffrey and assisting detective Lena Adams back to the Bible-thumpers and their unholy dealings. Issues of abortion, domestic abuse and forgiveness afford these recurring female characters three-dimensional humanity, nicely offsetting Slaughter's patented grim forensic detailing. Slaughter's fifth Grant County case offers tough love, suspenseful spadework and life-affirming vigor."
My first novel in this very popular series. I thought it would be somewhat like the Kay Scarpetta Series(Patricia Cornwell), but this was not the case. Slaughter's novels are set in rural Georgia, and do not have the 'Big City/War On Terror' feel of Cornwell's novels. I enjoyed it a lot, and plan to read more by this author.
From Amazon review-
"Georgia medical examiner Sara Linton returns in Slaughter's Grant County crime thriller series (Indelible ), and this time she's hot on the trail of a demented killer who buries teenage girls alive. Out in the woods chatting about past infidelities, Sara and ex-husband/lover Jeffrey discover a young girl buried in a grotesque coffin, dead despite a breathing pipe extending to the surface. The victim is soon identified as Abigail Bennett, a member of the Holy Grown soybean farming collective, a group curiously unfazed to learn a daughter was poisoned. Suspicion blooms around Holy Grown's many farmhands, mostly ex-felons on work release, but then centers on the parishioners who congregate at the Church for the Greater Good, a local congregation run by a shifty minister. Another shallow grave, physical violence and another girl's disappearance lead Sara, Jeffrey and assisting detective Lena Adams back to the Bible-thumpers and their unholy dealings. Issues of abortion, domestic abuse and forgiveness afford these recurring female characters three-dimensional humanity, nicely offsetting Slaughter's patented grim forensic detailing. Slaughter's fifth Grant County case offers tough love, suspenseful spadework and life-affirming vigor."
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
DOG OF THE SOUTH by Charles Portis
Finished Mo 4/4/11
http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/Book-Review-The-Dog-of-the-South-by-Charles-985953.php
http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/Book-Review-The-Dog-of-the-South-by-Charles-985953.php
Friday, April 1, 2011
The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence by Gerald Blaine/Lisa McCubbin
Finished Fr 4/1/11
THE KENNEDY DETAIL is an account of the Kennedy Assassination told almost entirely from the perspective of the handful of Secret Service agents who were assigned to guard the president. In almost any discussion of the events of November 22, 1963 it is nearly impossible to avoid the specter of, "Who was Really Responsible" for this catastrophic slaying. However, it soon becomes clear that to these men, it was largely irrelevant as to who committed the crime, but only how the events of that terrible afternoon rendered them unable to preform their duty. These agents were highly dedicated professionals, and the well-being and safety of the president and his entourage was of prime importance. This was their mission, and everything else was secondary. Jerry Blaine, who co-authored the book provides the background as the manager of the detail, and he tells of the intense loyalty and devotion that the agents had to this new and energetic president. Clint Hill is the agent who was assigned to guard Jackie Kennedy and her children, and he is also the man who suffered the most guilt after the tragedy. In over forty years he had never been able to forgive himself for not being quick enough to exit from the car following the president on that fateful day, and place himself behind the president to act as a human shield. Once again, the book is not a "Who Did It"?, but very eloquently tells the tale of what it was like to be in this very special group of professionals who had the nearly impossible task of safeguarding the foremost leader of The Free World.
THE KENNEDY DETAIL is an account of the Kennedy Assassination told almost entirely from the perspective of the handful of Secret Service agents who were assigned to guard the president. In almost any discussion of the events of November 22, 1963 it is nearly impossible to avoid the specter of, "Who was Really Responsible" for this catastrophic slaying. However, it soon becomes clear that to these men, it was largely irrelevant as to who committed the crime, but only how the events of that terrible afternoon rendered them unable to preform their duty. These agents were highly dedicated professionals, and the well-being and safety of the president and his entourage was of prime importance. This was their mission, and everything else was secondary. Jerry Blaine, who co-authored the book provides the background as the manager of the detail, and he tells of the intense loyalty and devotion that the agents had to this new and energetic president. Clint Hill is the agent who was assigned to guard Jackie Kennedy and her children, and he is also the man who suffered the most guilt after the tragedy. In over forty years he had never been able to forgive himself for not being quick enough to exit from the car following the president on that fateful day, and place himself behind the president to act as a human shield. Once again, the book is not a "Who Did It"?, but very eloquently tells the tale of what it was like to be in this very special group of professionals who had the nearly impossible task of safeguarding the foremost leader of The Free World.
THE BIG SHORT by Michael Lewis
Finished Mo 3/28/11
Michael Lewis enlightens the reader on the financial meltdown of 2007-2008. We meet a handful of very strange, yet brilliant characters who essentially devise a system where economic value and financial stability is detected where none exists. This is a tale of greed and immorality on a cosmic scale, and never does one of these white collar criminals ponder the hardships which their ethically questionable practices have caused society at large. For them, it is enough that, "I got mine, and screw the rest of ya". Another sterling example the proves that the Free Hand of the Market Place cries out for external controls, or many suffer for the benefit of a very piggish and voracious few.
Michael Lewis enlightens the reader on the financial meltdown of 2007-2008. We meet a handful of very strange, yet brilliant characters who essentially devise a system where economic value and financial stability is detected where none exists. This is a tale of greed and immorality on a cosmic scale, and never does one of these white collar criminals ponder the hardships which their ethically questionable practices have caused society at large. For them, it is enough that, "I got mine, and screw the rest of ya". Another sterling example the proves that the Free Hand of the Market Place cries out for external controls, or many suffer for the benefit of a very piggish and voracious few.
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