Finished Tu 9/25/18
This is a hardback that I bought at the library book sale on Saturdy, June 10th, 2017. I lent this one to Janny, and she read it first and said that she loved it. So did I.
The Story:
A sinister conspiracy in nearly all branches of the American government is about to be revealed. Daniel Buchanan, a senior lobbyist is trying to raise money for less fortunate countries. He is bribing government officials to kick-in tax money, but he isn't giving them anything for their influence until they retire from government service, then he is setting them up in cushy, well-paid 'non-jobs'. The scope of this operation is in the millions and millions of dollars.
Faith Lockhard is working with the FBI to uncover this operation. However, she's a close friend of Buchanan and doesn't want to implicate him, she just wants to expose this 'massive cancer' in the federal system.
Lee Adams is a PI who was hired by Buchanan. The lobbyist wanted to make sure that Faith was not going to be killed. One night at the FBI safe-house, while Adams observes, their is a hit on Faith and an FBI agent is killed.
Robert Thornhill is the villain of the piece. He heads the CIA wants to stop Faith and Buchanan from telling the secrets. He wants to retain the information and use this as leverage to force the government officials to do his bidding.
The rest of the novel is 'Faith and Lee On The Run'.
At one point, Faith and Lee flee on a big Honda Gold Wing motorcycle.
In the end, Faith is placed in the witness protection program and might never see Lee again. A sympathetic female FBI agent, Reynolds brings Faith to Lee while he is on a stake out.
Lee and Faith just decide to 'ride off into the sunset'.....and that's what they do.
Once again, not great literature, but the story and plot just take you up and propels you along. About what you would expect from a Jack Reacher novel, or almost anything by Harlan Coben.
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Monday, September 24, 2018
LITTLE FIRES EVERWHERE by Celeste Ng
Finished Su 9/24/18
This book is the September selection for The Contemporary Book Club. I got this in hardback from Amazon and I paid $26- couldn't get it any cheaper. I'm glad that I liked the book so much.
Set in Shaker Heights, OH. Ward Cleaver was 'The Pride of Shaker Heights High School'. The Cleaver's home was in Mayfield which is 9 miles northeast of Shaker Heights and Shaker Heights is about 9 miles east of Cleveland. When the city of Shaker Heights was established in 1912 it was the last stop on the new street car system.
The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers
The book has been picked up for a mini-series on Hulu by Reese Witherspoon. She read the book in her book club.
Link to her recommendations at 'Whiskey In A Teacup'
Link to the book's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Fires_Everywhere
https://www.bookbub.com/blog/2018/03/21/reese-witherspoon-book-club-list
This book is the September selection for The Contemporary Book Club. I got this in hardback from Amazon and I paid $26- couldn't get it any cheaper. I'm glad that I liked the book so much.
Set in Shaker Heights, OH. Ward Cleaver was 'The Pride of Shaker Heights High School'. The Cleaver's home was in Mayfield which is 9 miles northeast of Shaker Heights and Shaker Heights is about 9 miles east of Cleveland. When the city of Shaker Heights was established in 1912 it was the last stop on the new street car system.
The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers
The book has been picked up for a mini-series on Hulu by Reese Witherspoon. She read the book in her book club.
Link to her recommendations at 'Whiskey In A Teacup'
Link to the book's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Fires_Everywhere
https://www.bookbub.com/blog/2018/03/21/reese-witherspoon-book-club-list
The Richardson Family
- Elena Richardson - a 3rd generation resident of Shaker Heights who writes for the local paper
- Bill Richardson - A prominent lawyer
- Lexie Richardson - The oldest Richardson child who is a senior in high school
- Trip Richardson - The second oldest Richardson child who is a jock
- Moody Richardson - A well-meaning and kind person he is the one who introduces Pearl to his family and develops a crush on her
- Izzy Richardson - The black sheep of the family who rejects the Richardsons upper-middle class lifestyle.
The Warrens
- Mia Warren - a photographer who specializes in unique prints. She has lived a transient life-style for Pearl's entire life and refuses to tell her who her father is
- Pearl Warren - Mia's daughter who is the same age as Moody
Bebe Chow
- Mia's co-worker Bebe Chow, who wants her abandoned baby back from the McCulloughs
The McCullough Family
- Linda McCullough - A childhood friend of Elena's
- Mirabelle McCullough/May Ling Chow - Her adopted infant daughter
I loved the book and although it was chock full of characters, it was very easy to follow. I'd most definitely read more by Celeste Ng.
Monday, September 17, 2018
MISSING YOU by Harlan Coben
Finished Su 8/17/18
This was one of the books that Cindy gave me when I visited her place last week; 2015/ paperback.
Coben doesn't provide great literature, but nobody can crank out a thriller the way he does.
Kat Donovan is a NY cop as were her father and grandfather.
Two Story-lines-
1) Kat is single and one of her friends signs her up to a dating site. On the app she reads a post and sees a photo from the love of her life who she hadn't seen or heard from in eighteen years. Where is Jeff and why did he leave her?
2) Her father was killed many years before and a convicted killer is dying. He confessed to the murder, but Kat never felt that this was true.
A young computer hacker, Brandon, contacts Kat. He tells her that his mother, Dana, lives in Connecticut and met a man on this same dating site. She's been gone for days, and he is worried.
It turns out that many men and woman on the site have been lured to a remote farm. When they arrive they are attacked, placed in an underground bunker/coffin, and all of their money is extorted.
Titus is the brains behind this sinister operation, and Renaldo is his chief lieutenant.
Dana briefly escapes her coffin, but not the farm, and Titus goes into NYC to bring Brandon to the farm. He will torture Brandon until Dana returns to the farm house and gives up her money.
Kat has called in the FBI and is in hot pursuit. Just as Titus has shot Brandon in the knee, Kat draws her gun and kills Titus.
Dana has previously killed Dimitry, the farm's computer expert, with an ax, and Renaldo is taken out by the zombie-like hostages. Renaldo was coming back to kill all of the people in their locked underground compartments, but they cling to him so that he's not able to shoot them and pummel him to death.
Later, Kat learns that his father was a closeted gay man and throughout her childhood he had been having an affair with a black male prostitute, Sugar.
Kat's father was conflicted about his sexual identity and he was filled with rage that he had to leave Sugar. One night he was spotted by Jeff and Kat's father's partner, Stagger. Jeff shot her father because he might have beaten Sugar to death. Stagger puts a cover-up in play. Nobody would believe them about how the shooting actually happened, and also they wanted to keep Kat's father's sexual proclivities secret. This is why Jeff had existed her life.
\
In the end, Kat and Jeff live happily ever after.
The novel's title is from a 1984 song by John Waite, 'Missing You'.
This was one of the books that Cindy gave me when I visited her place last week; 2015/ paperback.
Coben doesn't provide great literature, but nobody can crank out a thriller the way he does.
Kat Donovan is a NY cop as were her father and grandfather.
Two Story-lines-
1) Kat is single and one of her friends signs her up to a dating site. On the app she reads a post and sees a photo from the love of her life who she hadn't seen or heard from in eighteen years. Where is Jeff and why did he leave her?
2) Her father was killed many years before and a convicted killer is dying. He confessed to the murder, but Kat never felt that this was true.
A young computer hacker, Brandon, contacts Kat. He tells her that his mother, Dana, lives in Connecticut and met a man on this same dating site. She's been gone for days, and he is worried.
It turns out that many men and woman on the site have been lured to a remote farm. When they arrive they are attacked, placed in an underground bunker/coffin, and all of their money is extorted.
Titus is the brains behind this sinister operation, and Renaldo is his chief lieutenant.
Dana briefly escapes her coffin, but not the farm, and Titus goes into NYC to bring Brandon to the farm. He will torture Brandon until Dana returns to the farm house and gives up her money.
Kat has called in the FBI and is in hot pursuit. Just as Titus has shot Brandon in the knee, Kat draws her gun and kills Titus.
Dana has previously killed Dimitry, the farm's computer expert, with an ax, and Renaldo is taken out by the zombie-like hostages. Renaldo was coming back to kill all of the people in their locked underground compartments, but they cling to him so that he's not able to shoot them and pummel him to death.
Later, Kat learns that his father was a closeted gay man and throughout her childhood he had been having an affair with a black male prostitute, Sugar.
Kat's father was conflicted about his sexual identity and he was filled with rage that he had to leave Sugar. One night he was spotted by Jeff and Kat's father's partner, Stagger. Jeff shot her father because he might have beaten Sugar to death. Stagger puts a cover-up in play. Nobody would believe them about how the shooting actually happened, and also they wanted to keep Kat's father's sexual proclivities secret. This is why Jeff had existed her life.
\
In the end, Kat and Jeff live happily ever after.
The novel's title is from a 1984 song by John Waite, 'Missing You'.
Thursday, September 13, 2018
THE NIGHT MANAGER by John Le Carre
Finished We 9/12/18
This is one of my ancient paperbacks that I found on the shelves after watching the excellent mini-series, 'THE NIGHT MANAGER' on Amazon Prime. I just learned that this series has won numerous awards including three Golden Globes, and I loved it.
Put simply the story-line is;
" The night manager of a Cairo hotel is recruited to infiltrate an arms dealer's inner circle ".
Jonathan Pine is a night manager of an exclusive hotel in Cairo. He falls in love with a woman, Sophie who is the mistress of an Egyptian thug who is involved with international organized crime- especially arms dealing. She has entrusted Pine with documents that implicate a kingpin in the international arms trades, Richard Roper.
Sophie is murdered and Pine flees with the documents. Pine is an orphan who grew up in the British armed services. He's trained as an elite specialist, and has friends in the British intelligence community.
A false history of Pine is created. Pine appears to leave Egypt because he stole money from the hotel. And, he flees to rural Ireland and made to look as if he murders a 'partner in crime'.
In Ireland he seems most at home, and has a relationship with an older woman and her daughter. He rents a house from them.
Years later, Pine is the night manager of a hotel in Switzerland, and Roper and his entourage shows up.
With the help of multinational intelligence services, Pine is able to insinuate himself into Roper's organization.
They fake a kidnapping of Roper's son where Pine appears to 'save the day'.
Pine becomes friends with Roper and gains his confidence in the running of the conglomerate. Pine is also close to Roper's beautiful mistress, Jeds.
The only 'most trusted' lieutenant in the outfit that never buys Pine's legitimacy is 'Corky' Corkoran. This man is portrayed as a vicious, yet effective, homosexual mastermind of the business. He was Roper's 'right hand man'.
In the end (I skimmed the last hundred pages) Pine and Jeds escape the gang and return to Ireland. He grows a beard and his friend insists that he is not Pine, but maybe a relative. Some of the people recognize him.
John LeCarre is not an easy read, and I spent more time on this book than I probably should. Overall, I liked the series better because it was such a perfect fit for a film. And the fact that it was a series that they were able to stretch the story-line across several hours.
This is one of my ancient paperbacks that I found on the shelves after watching the excellent mini-series, 'THE NIGHT MANAGER' on Amazon Prime. I just learned that this series has won numerous awards including three Golden Globes, and I loved it.
Put simply the story-line is;
" The night manager of a Cairo hotel is recruited to infiltrate an arms dealer's inner circle ".
Jonathan Pine is a night manager of an exclusive hotel in Cairo. He falls in love with a woman, Sophie who is the mistress of an Egyptian thug who is involved with international organized crime- especially arms dealing. She has entrusted Pine with documents that implicate a kingpin in the international arms trades, Richard Roper.
Sophie is murdered and Pine flees with the documents. Pine is an orphan who grew up in the British armed services. He's trained as an elite specialist, and has friends in the British intelligence community.
A false history of Pine is created. Pine appears to leave Egypt because he stole money from the hotel. And, he flees to rural Ireland and made to look as if he murders a 'partner in crime'.
In Ireland he seems most at home, and has a relationship with an older woman and her daughter. He rents a house from them.
Years later, Pine is the night manager of a hotel in Switzerland, and Roper and his entourage shows up.
With the help of multinational intelligence services, Pine is able to insinuate himself into Roper's organization.
They fake a kidnapping of Roper's son where Pine appears to 'save the day'.
Pine becomes friends with Roper and gains his confidence in the running of the conglomerate. Pine is also close to Roper's beautiful mistress, Jeds.
The only 'most trusted' lieutenant in the outfit that never buys Pine's legitimacy is 'Corky' Corkoran. This man is portrayed as a vicious, yet effective, homosexual mastermind of the business. He was Roper's 'right hand man'.
In the end (I skimmed the last hundred pages) Pine and Jeds escape the gang and return to Ireland. He grows a beard and his friend insists that he is not Pine, but maybe a relative. Some of the people recognize him.
John LeCarre is not an easy read, and I spent more time on this book than I probably should. Overall, I liked the series better because it was such a perfect fit for a film. And the fact that it was a series that they were able to stretch the story-line across several hours.
Sunday, September 2, 2018
MOHAWK by Richard Russo
Finished Sa 9/1/18
This was a trade paperback that I got at last June's library book sale.
The first novel by Russo, and I remember reading 'EMPIRE FALLS' a few years ago. He won the Pulitzer Prize for literature for literature for this novel.
Mohawk, New York is a fictional town in northwest New York state south of the Adirondacks. The main economic generator are leather factories. Since the early sixties, these companies have relocated overseas.
This is the story of 'the working poor'. Most of the men were employed in these factories. Not only did they leave them with no jobs, but the water table has been poisoned and now they are faced with drastically increased rates of sickness and cancer.
Harry- owner and operator of The Mohawk Diner. This is a central meeting place for the town; coffee and cigarettes and conversation.
Wild Bill- mentally damaged man who is protected by Harry. Bill is the son of Rory. This man was a corrupt, yet powerful figure at the tanneries. Rory stole leather for the mills.
Wild Bill was severely beaten by his father. Bill was in love with Anne and he was always following her around.
Dallas is a kind of 'jock' character. Always a teenager, no real job or prospects. Divorced from Anne, but still friends.
Anne has always been in love with her cousin Diane's husband, Dan. Dan is in a wheelchair from an accident many years before.
Dallas is in love with his brother's wife, Lorraine. Dallas's brother, David had died of cancer many years before. Lorraine has a young daughter, Dawn. Dawn contracts a deadly disease later in the novel.
Mather Grouse- Anne's father and 'the patriarch' of the novel. He's moral and stands against the cheating at the leather works. He's dying of breathing problems. His wife objects to the oxygen tanks in the house. She see's it as against how she sees her husband. He's a fine strong man and nothing should be wrong with him.
Many characters, but not too hard to remember. I like these kinds of novels.
This was a trade paperback that I got at last June's library book sale.
The first novel by Russo, and I remember reading 'EMPIRE FALLS' a few years ago. He won the Pulitzer Prize for literature for literature for this novel.
Mohawk, New York is a fictional town in northwest New York state south of the Adirondacks. The main economic generator are leather factories. Since the early sixties, these companies have relocated overseas.
This is the story of 'the working poor'. Most of the men were employed in these factories. Not only did they leave them with no jobs, but the water table has been poisoned and now they are faced with drastically increased rates of sickness and cancer.
Harry- owner and operator of The Mohawk Diner. This is a central meeting place for the town; coffee and cigarettes and conversation.
Wild Bill- mentally damaged man who is protected by Harry. Bill is the son of Rory. This man was a corrupt, yet powerful figure at the tanneries. Rory stole leather for the mills.
Wild Bill was severely beaten by his father. Bill was in love with Anne and he was always following her around.
Dallas is a kind of 'jock' character. Always a teenager, no real job or prospects. Divorced from Anne, but still friends.
Anne has always been in love with her cousin Diane's husband, Dan. Dan is in a wheelchair from an accident many years before.
Dallas is in love with his brother's wife, Lorraine. Dallas's brother, David had died of cancer many years before. Lorraine has a young daughter, Dawn. Dawn contracts a deadly disease later in the novel.
Mather Grouse- Anne's father and 'the patriarch' of the novel. He's moral and stands against the cheating at the leather works. He's dying of breathing problems. His wife objects to the oxygen tanks in the house. She see's it as against how she sees her husband. He's a fine strong man and nothing should be wrong with him.
Many characters, but not too hard to remember. I like these kinds of novels.
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