Chris Lee
This book is quite long, and I couldn't think of a way to write a review that encompassed all of my thoughts in less than ten pages. So I asked a friend who has read all 11,898 pages of the series to ask me a few questions. Here is the transcript, verbatim:
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1. This will be fun to start off with; what is the book about?
No small talk, eh? Okay, right to it. A group of youngsters suspect they may have been the target of a strange creature attack on a village and decide to leave their home by setting out on a journey. But they are not alone; an Aes Sedai, a person who is skilled in a particular form of magic, and a warder are trying to find out why the dark one is looking for them. Along the way, the group visits places of great grandeur that are bustling with people, as well as some dark places that are wrought with peril and danger.
2. Why this book?
I want to get a foothold in some of the more classic epic fantasy novels to see which ones I really want to stick with and sink my teeth into.
3. Who is your favorite character, and what makes them stand out to you?
This is an easy one. Moiraine, the Aes Sedai. Other than the incredible name, she is strong, helpful, selfless, and seemingly genuine in her role to guide the team.
4. Who would you rather face off against? Trollocs, Myrddraal, Fades, The Dark One, or Moiraine?
I like my odds with The Dark One. Other than maybe a bit at the end, you just have to be pretty mentally strong. It does quite a bit of beckoning, dream infiltration, and belittling of most of the characters. Nothing all that menacing.
5. What did you think of the journey overall?
I really enjoyed my time with the characters. Rand, Perrin, and Mat keep the pages rolling with their visions, hijinks, songs, and inquisitiveness. The Dark One pops in and out every now and again to offer up a sense of dread. Moiraine and Lan add to the overall world building, lead the team for a time, and offer up interesting action sequences. Egwene and Nynaeve add strong will, playfulness, wonder, and mindfulness.
* I wish the story would have outlined the stakes a bit more. I knew where the team was trying to go, but I did not fully understand what they were trying to accomplish.
6. The theme of self-discovery is rampant throughout this book. What is your favorite and least favorite aspect.
My favorite is definitely Egwenes's role. Out of the entire group, she volunteers to accompany them on the dangerous mission. She wants to go out and see the world, enrich her life, and experience new and interesting people. Her inclusion at the end is immeasurable. I definitely got a Leia vibe from Star Wars throughout. My least favorite would have to be Rands, surprising enough. His character literally and figuratively just falls into situations and does not capitalize on the lessons learned. I know this is a long series, and there is more than enough time to build character, but I never really got behind his role as a possible leader.
7. Most new WOT readers point out that secondary characters are often placed strategically for info-dumps. Was this confusing or bothersome to you?
I wouldn't say it was bothersome; I personally like fantasy that devotes an equal amount of time to the story and the description of the world. This novel skews more toward the former than the latter. I definitely could have used a bit more description of the traveled lands, but it has just enough for you to fill in the blanks.
8. Favorite depiction of magic?
This is an easy one! The part when the crew is leaving Baerlon. I do not want to spoil anything, so I'll just drop this quote for a visual. “You dare attack me!” Moiraine's voice roared like a whirlwind. Shadow spun in on her, draped her like a hooded cloak; she loomed as high as the town wall. Her eyes glared down, a giant staring at insects.”
9. Okay, let's have it. What did you not like?
It seems you are giving me a loaded question, and I like it. This is going to sound bad, but to me, the writing is kind of bland. It's not a bad thing, though. The flow is great, the characters get along well enough, and the story bends and weaves at a satisfying clip, but did it give me “the feels,” as the kids like to say? Not really. The book just kind of shines in its normalcy. It's an exciting, fun tale, written in a classic prose.
9-a. Shines in its normalcy? I feel attacked on so many levels.
*** Lol - The wheel weaves as the wheel wills.
10. There are quite a few scenes of dancing depicted in this book. What are your favorite moves?
I'm more like Perrin, the guy avoiding the floor at all-times so I don't embarrass myself.
11. What are your top 3 quotes?
1. “Some people think they can take advantage of others, and if you don't let them know they can't, they'll just go around bullying anybody weaker than they are.”
2. “Do you think you are safe from me in your dreams?”
3. “We'll fight the Shadow as long as we have breath, and if it overruns us, we'll go under biting and clawing.”
12. You could start a small papermill with the number of pages left in this series. Do you plan on continuing?
Absolutely. I really enjoyed it and will continue on in the near-future.
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Rosemary leads a wonderful life. She has a great husband, a spacious new apartment in New York, neighbors who are accommodating, and she's expecting a bundle of joy in just a few short months.
Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, though.
Somehow I have been able to avoid all spoilers from this book, and going in blind is definitely the way to go. I'm not entirely sure how to properly review the material, so I'll just give some vague thoughts.
What a rollercoaster ride it is! Like all great horror tales, a small seed is planted (quite literally), and it slowly festers until the end. It's the small details that make this great. Rosemary's friends, for instance. They are incredibly nice and forthcoming about what she should expect during her pregnancy. As the tumultuous pain arises, they comfort her, saying it's normal and that she should just carry on. Wait, what? A second opinion, anyone? They get there, with terrifying results.
At one point, Rosemary is told she looks like a walking corpse. Now, I don't know about you guys, but I would seriously take a good look in a mirror and make a swift judgement call about my eating habits. Especially if my doctor tells me not to read books about pregnancy. Red flags!
I'm really at a loss for what else to say without spoilers. For me, it's up there with The Exorcist. I would even say it's scarier. It's hard to read at some points, and that ending is one for the ages. It threw me for a loop.
It's going on my top horror list for sure. I know it's a classic, and it deserves all the praise. Now excuse me while I go and turn all the lights on in the house.
The Girl On The Train is a dreary, slow burn of a novel which relies too heavily on drunkenness to conceal facts. Its a mystery with so few characters it easy to figure out who the red herrings are early on and decipher most of the outcomes.
It has too many a few too many coincidences which tie the story together and it lacks any real emotional attachment to the characters. What starts as a Hitchcockian thriller ends with a run of the mill murder mystery.
Have you ever wondered what the ghost lurking in the corridor is thinking? Then pick up Oscar Wild's rip-roaring, hilarious tale of a ghost whose sole purpose is to send shivers down the spines of Canterville Chase. You will not find a macabre tale here. Sir Simon de Canterville is a dignified ghost. One who sets a time schedule and deploys tried-and-true scare patterns to get a rise out of its guests.
But what if the new owners do not believe in ghosts?
|| “They were evidently people on a low, material plane of existence, and quite incapable of appreciating the symbolic value of sensuous phenomena.”
Poor old Sir Simon tries everything to get a rise out of the entire family. Scraping heavy chains along the floor, moving items, and even leaving blood stains on the carpets to no avail. The family offers the ghost ‘Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator' to end the cacophony of chain sounds that echo throughout the night. This angers the ghost quite a bit. The small children add to the ghost's misery by setting up traps a-la Home Alone, such as trip wires, water buckets, and peashooters to humiliate him.
The hijinks are funny, but what about the ghosts' feelings? The Canterville ghost has not slept in over three hundred years and had lost his beloved Lady Eleanor de Canterville years prior. Does anyone offer a helping hand and conjure up some sympathy for the master of terror? Find out by checking out this fun classic.
But remember, the next time you see a ghost, try not to lash out, scream, or go running from them in haste. They have feelings too!
|| “Yes, Death. Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one's head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no to-morrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace. You can help me. You can open for me the portals of Death's house, for Love is always with you, and Love is stronger than Death is.”
An exceptional, grim thriller which meanders a bit in the middle but finishes off with a bang.
Hmm. I'm not really sure what to say about this entry other than that it was just okay. It was definitely the weakest in the Grant County series, and even though the first few books were great, I feel like most of the characters are starting to run out of steam.
The book starts off with Jeffery and Sara arguing again (no surprise there) until one of them trips on a pipe sticking out of the ground. After digging it out, they find that it is connected to a meticulously designed box. The box contains something that jumpstarts the next case.
We spend the rest of the book with the pair and their police cohorts searching the county for clues.
The story was fairly ordinary and had some obvious revelations towards the end. I would say this series is known for that, but there are usually a few shocking revelations thrown in. The procedural elements are very ho-hum; most of the suspects are easy to spot, and the twists were not all that thrilling.
That's pretty much it. No highs and no lows; just okay.
⭐ | Rating | ⭐
❖ 2 out of 5
It was bound to happen. I did not really enjoy this installment of the Grant County series for a few reasons. The location and some of the disparaging side plots. I'll get into that later, but this book focuses on a murderer who starts picking off students and faculty using questionable methods and setups. Are they all connected? Time will tell.
What makes this one unique is that Sara's sister is also a victim. While Sara is assisting the police in finding the killer, she is also watching her sister cling to life and trying to mend relationships with her ex-husband at the same time. It's panic-inducing, and it's hard not to feel sorrow for the family as the grisly story unfolds.
As I stated before, it is the college location that feels ordinary. We are introduced to stereotypical college kids, questionable faculty, parties, and those bending the law for a good time. It is fairly easy to figure out who to add to a list of possible suspects and who you can tick off and leave to indulge in their vices.
Do not get me wrong; this one is a dark book, but most of the content is much too obvious. There is no pizazz to the mystery, no exciting hook. The story's connective tissue (quite literally) is just dull. It definitely has that third-book or movie curse. i.e., Robocop 3, Superman 3, Terminator 3, Matrix 3, Godfather 3, etc., you get the point. I could have used more emphasis on Jeffery and Sara's relationship and less on Lena's constant downfall and noncommittal attitude to help with the murder investigation. I get why she is unwilling to help; believe me, it's horrible what she goes through, but it gets a bit much towards the end. I guess what I am getting at is that the story is just a bit thin. It has the usual trappings of the previous novels, but this one does not do too much more to lift the story to a new level.
The shocking ending will definitely rub most people the wrong way, and I don't even truly know where I stand with the twist until I check out the next installment.
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Whew! I finally got around to finishing the Grant County series. This last entry had much less Sara than I wanted, but it makes sense that Lena and Jeffery get more of the shine. If I could describe the book in two words, I would choose panic-inducing. It's not so much the mystery aspect that is pretty easy to figure out from the get-go; it's the classic Karen Slaughter downtrodden character arcs. Just when you think someone cannot suffer enough, more terse and unrelenting catastrophes are thrown their way.
The story is simple. A car is found engulfed in flames on the 50-yard line at the local high school. Lena, our tortured police detective, is involved, but she is not talking about the victim, who was trapped inside the vehicle. Jeffery and Sara come to the rescue. From here, we follow the investigation to the thrilling end. The pages flew by, and it touches on all the necessary small town happenings to the thrilling conclusion. It's not complex, but it's not supposed to be. We get to be a fly on the wall as certain character arcs end. Saying more would be a spoiler.
Overall, the series was exciting. It's incredibly dark and unsettling, but that's sort of Karen's brand of writing. I'd probably recommend starting with some of her stand alone novels (looking at you, The Good Daughter), but if you are in the mood for a police procedural with tortured characters that are injected into uncouth situations, this series is for you.
Question to anyone who has read the Will Trent series: Does it pick up after this and carry on? I feel like if I Google the information, it will spoil things.
// Random thoughts. \
Georgia is the setting of the book and home to some of the grisliest depictions of violence I have ever read. Sara, the county's coroner and pediatrician, is called to a scene of absolute horror. The police are baffled; there is no evidence left at the scene, and the diner in which the murder took place had no cameras. It's immensely evil. It's beyond dark. The scene descriptions are unwavering and intense.
Enter Jeffery, the chief detective and ex-husband of Sara (who got caught cheating), is searching for any shred of evidence so he can put the murderer away. Lena, an officer who is related to the first victim, will stop at nothing to catch the culprit as well. One after another, murders take place, and Sara is seemingly in the middle of each. Is it someone related? Someone from her past? Or just a coincidence?
Quick note: Whenever a hospital scene begins in a Karin Slaughter book, get ready; it's going to get emotional, graphic, or both. Did I mention not to eat anything while reading this book?
If the psychopath is trying to get caught, they are doing a bad job at it. The disturbing clues left on the bodies point in so many directions. I mean, can we get a little levity between chapters? This is not your average CSI episode, folks. There are only about four red herrings, so your pool of possible suspects is small. Even if you guess who it is, it does not stop you from being shocked at some of the connections towards the end.
The characters internal monologues are top-tier. The author knows what you are thinking in certain situations, so she internalizes questions that are probably brewing in your head into her characters. You then have a front-row seat to witness how the character reacts to what is happening. Do they lie about it, skirt the truth, or draw a line that is somewhere in between? It's exciting, and that's just one of the reasons I love her writing style.
Flash forward: The ending is great. A will they, won't they, that feels so realistic. I am incredibly excited and somewhat nervous to start the next one. I might need a palate cleanse. Something really light. Oh, and a hug.
The trigger warnings are strong with this one. Please be warned, it deals with some extreme depravity.
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How do I even begin to review this book? First off, this is an extreme zombie book. It's dark, grimy, gritty, uncouth, and not politically correct in any shape or form. Secondly, if you have a trigger warning of any kind, chances are this book has it. There are some genuinely fun and exciting moments in the book that I will touch on that really add to the zombie lore as a whole, but if you do think about reading it, just know that I personally do not agree with any of the hateful sentiments, extreme stereotypes, or really any other behaviors these morally corrupt characters portray. This is the Walking Dead if it was written by Rob Zombie on an extended bender.
With that said, let me set the stage for you.
A world-wide pandemic has hit, and those lucky enough to survive have to wade off the undead. Things get interesting, however. These are not your run-of-the-mill zombies. These demons or creatures are not the sluggish, brain-dead type you often see in movies. They can interact, drive vehicles, and spout off one-liners from your favorite ‘dad joke' book.
Animals are not immune to this disease either. Zombie deer, rats, birds, bunnies, and their brethren are all on the hunt to varying hilarious effects. But they do not crave brains; oh no, they want to keep the body intact so that they can become hosts. In this book, the zombies take over the body in a symbiotic manner. After the bond takes hold, the person's knowledge is transferred to the undead. It's an interesting twist on the genre, for sure.
|| “But if they're demons, shouldn't we be able to throw holy water on them or exorcise them or something?”
The main plot centers around a construction worker by the name of Jim. He is a divorcee who very much wanted to be in his son's life, but the new family moved a few states over, and he rarely gets to see his boy anymore. Jim's son finds a hiding place in the attic and calls his father for help. He tells him that the zombies are attacking the house, so Jim vows to race across a few states to save him. It is a flimsy narrative, but one that keeps you fairly engaged.
We also follow a lady-of-the-night who is on the run from some unsavory individuals, an up-beat priest who encourages everyone that there is a plan in place and they will be saved, and a gung-ho military unit who basically captures citizens and uses them for shields, pleasure, and the like.
As you can imagine, no matter what each group does to avoid these zombie creatures, they will eventually have to engage with them. Nobody is safe, which I can appreciate. Even though some of the lesser characters are used for fodder, other, more central characters are put into some hairy situations.
|| “How are they re-animating? And do you think we will see more and more as time goes by?” ~~ Says the guy who is a self-proclaimed zombie movie watcher. He might have missed a few.
A poorly paced and contrived deep sea horror novel which never really gets its footing. The body horror hits you over the head and is never really all that scary.
There are some authors who can write pertinent social commentary in a way that is both humorous and horrifying at the same time. Kurt Vonnegut is one of those writers. Most of his satirical takes start off like classic SNL skits to hook you, and then, as you're being dragged down the rabbit hole, he hits you over the head with candid facts. “Breakfast of Champions” makes your head swim. You won't forget its sobering lessons about the value of our climate, social insecurities, nature, race relations, and how we should all live much more peacefully until the last page is turned.
The book is, among many other things, a satire. A book composed of a compilation of Vonnegut's true-to-life observations and anecdotes about the world. The story follows Kilgore Trout, a struggling science fiction writer, and Dwanye Hoover, a businessman who is losing his mind. Trout accepts an invitation to go to a local arts festival while we follow Hoover's business dealings before an eventual meeting of the two minds. It's sporadic and hypnotic, much like a Mel Brooks film. As the two characters navigate their respective futures, Vonnegut uses their interactions as a vehicle to shine a light on topical issues such as unequal distribution of wealth, mental health, consumerism, art, the environment, etc., etc. It's an interesting and entertaining structure, to say the least.
One of the hallmarks is the content of Kilgore‘s science fiction books. Plague on Wheels, for example. It's a story about a planet filled with automobiles that leave oil in their wake as they reproduce, and they all inherently thrive off fossil fuels. These entities ultimately extinguish the planet's atmosphere and look to space travelers to borrow oxygen. You get the picture. It's sort of like reading your favorite comic strip. Sporadic ideas and musings that make you think about a topic in a different way. It's an adult version of Calvin and Hobbes.
Although some may find portions of the book preachy or irreverent, I believe every one of us can take something from the text to use as inspiration, a warning, or a good chuckle. Whatever way you look at it, the knee-jerk reactions of each thought might bring about this face:
I enjoyed this one quite a bit. It was a fun and exciting take on a classic horror tale that is definitely not foreshadowed on the cover or short story title.Plot: Rachel, Sam, and their two kids live in a rural area that is serene and quiet. That is, until they start to get hounded by a few predators, both inside the house as well as on the outside. How will the family cope throughout the night?This short was the last I read in the creature feature collection. It was a brisk read that held my attention and delivered on building tension. The characters back stories were strong, and I appreciated the level of depth that was taken to flesh them out, especially in a story under 60 some-odd-pages. Even though the material may be familiar, I think it has enough to make it stand out in the collection.The book shines when it focuses on the kids. They are fairly resourceful, cunning, and curious, which makes the semi-twist ending stand out.Overall, this was a fun collection to sift through. Best of Luck was still my favorite, but each had its own high and low points. Hopefully, in the future, we will get a full-on horror comedy. That would be fantastic.Series Rating:1. Best of Luck 2. It Waits in the Woods3. In Bloom4. Big Bad5. The Pram6. Ankle Snatcher
“Good luck is another name for tenacity of purpose.” – RWEI really enjoyed “Best of Luck” by Jason Mott. It's an elevated horror short that is relatable, exciting, terrifying, and fun.Plot: Will and Barry are friends who both have something they need to get off their chests. (quite literally) One accuses the other of stealing the luck out of their lives, which leaves the pair in a precarious situation. Tensions rise as the pair's conversations take a turn for the worst. What type of otherworldly creature could spawn from this envious confrontation? Well, you will have to dive into this fresh, exciting story that is far and away my favorite of this series. Give it a go, but if you have bad luck with it, you might just want to check your person for creepy crawlies.
I enjoyed this short creature feature story by Josh Malerman. It had a simple yet effective narrative that blended quite a few familiar horror tropes into a small page count.
Amanda disappears in the woods one evening, and the town believes a creature out of an urban legend has taken her. Amanda's body was never found, so after three years, her sister, Brenda, takes a trek out into the forest to search for her.
I would give this a 1 out of 5 in terms of scares, but a 4 out of 5 in terms of tension building. It reminds me of a good X-files or Twilight Zone episode. It does not linger for too long and flips the classic phone concept on its head. Most stories like these have to showcase how the main character's phone breaks right before any type of peril takes place, but this book embraces the technology and makes it part of the story. Bravo!
A couple moves out to a farmhouse and has some interesting dealings with something sinister after the husband brings his groceries home in a loaner baby stroller.
This story hangs its hat on previous horror stories and uses it's built in language to try and graft together an interesting story. The only problem is that it does not have that extra gear of creativity or added ingredient to help make it stand out.
⭐ | Rating | ⭐
❖ 2.5 out of 5
I remember my grandmother reading me James Howe's “There's a Monster Under My Bed” as a youngster, and for whatever reason, the blurb on of this book immediately made me think that it was going to be a more “adult” version of that short.
This is a short, short, story about a young man who grew up believing his mother was murdered by a boogeyman that lives beneath the bed because his father told him so.
I was on board for the first page or two, but soon fell out with the quick relationship banter, gross-out attempts, and the boogeyman-under-the-bed bit. There might be something to the story if it was fleshed out a bit more, but there was just not enough inherent backstory to really play up that fear of a monster under the bed.
Environmental horror with a fun story and a tad bit of nostalgia. Sign me up!
Heidi is a Cape Cod journalist who is writing a story about a recent uptick in algae blooms in the area. A local named Jimmy has a story to tell Heidi that may seem too fantastical to believe. Back in the 80's, Jimmy witnessed something horrific at a baseball game that has haunted him for decades. Will Heidi believe what he has to say and publish the story? She may not have the opportunity to do so.
This short story was pretty exciting, but I really enjoy old monster movies such as The Blob, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, The Stuff, etc. All the campy stories where an experiment goes wrong and is released to the populous. I was surprised at how much nostalgia and backstory the author was able to pack into this short and where it ultimately ended up. The creature is multi-faceted and causes a unique array of ailments on its victims.
I enjoy how varied the creature feature collection is, and this one was a fun standout.
Ratings so far:
1. Best of Luck
2. It Waits in the Woods
3. In Bloom
4. The Pram
5. Ankle Snatcher
I really do not have much to say about this spy thriller. It was exciting to see how the story fleshed itself out, but the relationship between Leamas and how it ultimately ended up really hit me in the heart.
// A British spy named Alex Leamas must go on one last mission during the height of the Cold War. //
This story has a lot going on. It has through line plots, counter-plots, back-stabbing, and political posturing to name just a few. For me, it was exciting to read how spy's question spy's who are undercover and cannot unveil who they really are or what they know. It was a cat and mouse game of words. I was expecting something like one of my favorite movies The Professional, but what I got was something more akin to My Dinner with Andre where they talk about counter intelligence other than anecdotes about life. That is not a bad thing, its just that some of the chapters felt like info-dumps and I would have liked a bit more buildup.
// “Intelligence work has one moral law—it is justified by results.” //
I feel like I should have read the first two books in the series. Maybe that is where I was missing some of the pertinent information pertaining to the spy network. But it was pretty good. I can definitely see why it's considered a classic. I'll work my way backwards with the series in the future.
──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗──Extra
I know I am supposed to say my mind was blown and that the book “got me” at the end, but that would be an understatement. I feel as though I was manipulated throughout. It's scary because you are thinking about what you would do in that messed up situation, and that is not a mind space you want to be in. That is how the book grabs you and does not let go. It's hard to not talk about the ending, but I feel dirty about how it “ended” up. We always say we want a clean-cut, satisfying ending, but we are not given that luxury.
Yikes, I need a shower.
❖ Review Quickie
❖ Background: I have fond memories watching the Poirot TV show as a young lad and marveling at the locations he visited. One episode in particular, called The Chocolate Box, takes place in Antwerp, Belgium and I knew the second I saw it that I had to visit there someday. Well, mission accomplished. I had never read the short story, so I soaked it all in on my train ride over from Brussels. It was such a lovely place filled with inspiring architecture and splendid people.
❖ Review: The short story itself was fun and incredibly thrilling. It outlines one of Poirot's critical failures as a detective and showcases just how imaginative Agatha Christie was.
Its short and sweet, so give it a go.
❖ Category: Mystery
❖ Rating: 4/5
❖ Review Quickie
Re-read of one of my all-time favorites.
❖ Category: Non-fiction / Mountaineering
❖Rating: 5/5
I am a big fan of Jon Krakauer's other books, so I thought I would give his collection of essays on mountaineering a go. Each chapter encompasses an array of fascinating stories of the brave souls who attempt to climb peaks of dizzying heights. I was surprised to find a good collection of stories on pilots who drop off climbers, people who boulder, canyoneers, and how mountains are measured.
I like the fact that each chapter is filled with details but is accessible as well. It has humor, heartbreak, and loads of tension. If you liked “Into Thin Air” and need to scratch that itch again, this will do it for you.
Hey, this is Hodges. I am glad you read the book about my detective work and attempts to catch a deranged psycho who mowed a few people down in a merc. Although I can not spoil the details of the case, I can give you some insight into what I thought about the novelization of my handy work.
First off, the literary wit is astounding. The author picked recognizable brands and locations to set the scene and really hammered home my impeccable talent for putting the pieces together, no matter how technologically impaired I may sound. Second, the chain of events was enthralling, exciting, dark, captivating, and a bit sad if I do say so myself.
The most interesting part was the relationships that were built over the course of my retired police work. I had a motley crew of personalities who believed in me and touched my life like no other. I have them to thank for turning my life around and giving me a reason to wake up each and every day. I even like the dog.
Although the literary craftsman showcased my skills with virtuous intentions, they could have skipped over the insecure moments and the multiple descriptions of me being a slob. That would have been nifty.
You might think to yourself, why would the author (who writes a lot of horror, I hear) want to write my story when there are so many TV shows that cover similar material? Well, those are typically drab and not fun at all. Your CSI's and NCIS (insert city here) stories do not hold a candle to mine.
I might be a bit bold in saying so, but I think this will be a big deal and sell well on the interwebs and in bookstores. Who knows, maybe there will be several sequels. Now that would be a great perk!
*** I thought I would have fun with the review, but in all seriousness, this was really, really good. Thanks to my book friends for the recommendation. I can't wait to start the next one.
I might be going against the grain here, but this one was my favorite of the series so far. This is surprising to me because I thought the side characters were much more engaging in the previous novels, but the story kept me flipping along at a steady pace. I still wish we knew more about what was happening on a larger scale. It's like a broken record for me. If I just knew a bit more, maybe I could enjoy it that much more. Does the series get better from here on out?