Thursday, September 21, 2006

Killer Instinct


I was a virgin to Robert W. Walker's books but that's not a bad thing because now I'm not any longer and I really enjoyed myself. A LOT.

KILLER INSTINCT (Diamond Books, c1992, ISBN 1-55773-743-6)is the first book in Walker's Jessica Coran series. Dr. Jessica Coran is an FBI medical examiner, brought into a case by Otto Boutine, featuring a killer who is draining his victims of their blood in vampire-like fashion across the Midwest.


The book begins:


Something akin to a fetid spirit moved past the sheriff and his deputy when the warped cabin door creaked open, revealing a black crypt.


For me, this was a fast-paced story with interesting characters and a good, solid plot. The only thing I didn't care for was Walker's overabundant use of ellipses (you know...the dot dot dot...thing) which distracted me to a great degree but I continued on to enjoy the story, trying to ignore the punctuation until I was finished with the reading. Sometimes I succeeded...sometimes not.
I loved that the book featured the Midwest (Wisconsin, Iowa City, IA and Chicago, IL)since this is where I make my home. I always find it refreshing to see in print a book that isn't set in New York, California, Florida or Texas.
I have given the author the benefit of the doubt as this book was published fourteen years ago and writing styles change as an author continues with his/her craft. Because of that, I will read the next book in the series because I truly enjoyed Dr. Coran's story.
She's the kind of gal with which I'd get together to drink coffee and discuss disembowelments. That's my kind of girl.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Triptych


Karin Slaughter is darker, bleaker and better with this stand-alone, TRIPTYCH (Delacorte Press, c2006, ISBN 978-0-385-33946-9), in my opinion.
The book begins:

Detective Michael Ormewood listened to the football game on the radio as he drove down DeKalb Avenue toward Grady Homes.


John Shelley is newly paroled from prison after doing a stint of 25 years after his conviction for the rape and murder of 15-year-old Mary Alice Finney. But there's a problem for John: similar murders are occuring and the similarities could land John back to prison, someplace he does not what to go.


Angie Polaski works undercover for the Vice Squad and meets John while working the streets and Will Trent is an agent with the GBI,(Georgia Bureau of Investigation) brought in to work on the cases in question.
The three make up the triptych of the story, their lives paralleling each others in more ways than one.


Okay, so this book is not for the weak-stomached. I have written before that I thought I was jaded to violence in books, grit and gore, that nothing seemed to bother me anymore in the books I read.


This book bothered me. On several levels. And there was one scene...I was reading on the couch and my jaw literally dropped because the revelation sucker-punched me right in the head and I had to read it again just to make sure I read it correctly. And then I read it one more time, just to make sure.

This book is not recommended for people who won't read about crimes against women or crimes against children and I wouldn't call the graphic violence gratuitous, but be warned that there is quite a bit of it. I would recommend it however, to everyone else. Even those people who really like her Grant County series.
Just leave a light on for this one.

Snow Blind


SNOW BLIND is the latest book by PJ Tracy (GP Putnam, c2006, ISBN 0-399-15339-6) and wowzer, this book, the 4th in the Monkeewrench series, is one zinger of a book.

Set in Minneapolis, Minnesota, it starts with the discovery of two police officers murdered and rolled up into snowmen during a snowman building contest. When another cop is found in the same fashion several towns away it becomes apparent that something is afoot. Grace McBride and the rest of the Monkeewrench gang team up with their computer sleuthing skills to aid Leo Magozzi, Gino Rolseth and Iris Rikker, the new sheriff to Dundas County, by trying to find a common denominator to the slain police officers before it becomes too late.


The book begins:

They had to sit for a time after dragging the body so far in the heat-two young women in sleeveless summer dresses, hugging their knees on the hillside while the hot wind danced in their hair and crept up their skirts and a dead man lay behind them.


There are many positives about this book including the break-neck pacing and the mystery wrapped up in a mystery. If there was anything negative to be said about this book, it would be that the Monkeewrench only plays a small part in this book as opposed to the others. If you're looking for a Monkeewrench book, this isn't it. But if you're looking for a great read, check this one out.

Sleeping with fear


Well, I've been reading them one right after another.

First up, is SLEEPING WITH FEAR by Kay Hooper (Bantam, c2006, ISBN 0-553-80318-1). Set in Hazard County, Opal Island off of South Carolina, Riley Crane, a clairvoyant, wakes up one morning with no memories of the past weeks and her clairvoyance lost to her as well. Riley was on assignment to investigate occult activity when a bloody murder occurs. Her lover and local DA, Ash Prescott plays a significant role in the book as well and I wouldn't be suprised if we saw him again.
This book was the third book in Hooper's FEAR trilogy, another Bishop FBI psychic book which I look forward to each and every time.
This book, although quick paced and high in suspense took me a while to read but I think my at-the-time upcoming wedding had a lot to do with that. I anticipate Hooper's next endeavor as usual.


It begins:

Even before she opened her eyes, Riley Crane was aware of two things.

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

Gone to the chapel



Okay, so it's been almost a month since I've posted but as you can see, I've got a very good reason...I married my long-time love on August 19th and life is just starting to settle down after post-wedding stuff.



I've read a couple of books since my last post; I just haven't had the time to write my thoughts about them but I promise that it is one of my top priorities and I look to flood my blog (Ha!) with posts in the upcoming couple of days.



Please don't give up on me. I've not given up on any of my readers. I've just been preoccupied for the past couple of months but now my life will get back to normal.


Weddings are crazy...