Brendan Shea

I read this in the 1980's and loved it. I don't remember more than that, so I'm not sure how I'd see it today, but it was recommended by someone special so...

While there were some very slight inconsistencies and the plot wrapped up too quickly (I was hoping for a bit of an epilogue), this, my first Kinsey Millhone book, was an enjoyable, very readable, and fast moving romp. I will say that I skipped the two sex scenes in it for a multitude of reasons, not least of which was that as a guy, reading a woman describe things... well, it was not conducive. Anyway, that just makes sense.

I would like to have seen more of Con Dolan, and for Kinsey to have had slightly more of a personal life, but other than that, and wanting the afforementioned epilogue, instead of a paragraph note, this maiden outing from the late Sue Grafton was a good one for me.

Now on to a book I've been trying to read for months.

Thrills from beginning to end

Andy Maslen has cooked up a great story with compelling characters. I purchased a digital copy of The Seventh Girl... about a year ago, and it languished on my Kindle Cloud Reader for some months. I prefer paperbacks to digital books, but was hurting for some decent fiction between the available hard-copy and grabbed my phone to check it out. I read it in short bursts for maybe a few weeks, but the last half, I tore through in an evening. It was that good. The close of the denouement seemed slightly anti-climactic, but it had to end somewhere, and the end was still very good. I also appreciate that some character strands remained, meaning I might enjoy this protagonist and her group again. I look forward to my next book by this author. As the Brits say, “Well done!”

After reading Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex's book, Spare, I want to reduce the rating of many other reviews to less than five stars, but in fact, Spare deserves greater than 5-Stars. From his childhood, mourning the loss of his mother, unable to accept she was gone well into his adulthood, struggling in school, finding his way somewhat in the military, becoming a pilot, wrestling with PTSD, having difficulty being single, serving his country and the world in royal service to many laudable institutions, traveling the world, meeting and helping all kinds of people, having troubled relationships due to the press evil activity with regard to the royals, and Harry trying to find out who he was. He finally meets the love of his life, when his family, who were to love and accept him, cast him out. He triumphs despite this act, and manages to remain a kind and noble person, remaining steadfast to love them. Prince Harry's Spare is a tour de force; a wonderful book that anyone could benefit from. I look forward to hearing more about Prince Harry, and hope his wife and children prosper, and that God will shine down on them and share his peace with them. In some ways, I think He already has.

Iced is my favorite Felix Francis to date. His intertwining tale of mental anguish, alcoholism and pathos, commingled with horse racing and tobogganing, includes a bit of romance, and succeeds to hold the attention. I'd thought the younger Francis was not going to succeed beyond the mediocre, but he's proven his prowess with Iced, and I hope, in many books to come.

I enjoyed Decker's character development, and felt that Freddie White was a very good addition to the series.

Homecoming is interesting, and reunites the reader with familiar enjoyable characters.

Strawberry Moon is a poignant and well told tale.

Sparring partners is not as satisfying as the first two stories, but still held my attention.

I read this book around 1988. What I recall is laughing so hard and for so long that my sides ached. Westlake is a literary comic genius on a par with the late Douglas Adams, but in a different genre. Given, I am more selective regarding content now, and recall that some content was a bit “colorful” ;)
I cannot recall the content very clearly, but this would have to be the funniest caper I've ever read, hands down. Maybe I'll bite the bullet one day and read the thing again. Maybe the minor demerits will not tarnish the massive collection of guffaws and cleverness :) Thanks also to the New York Public Library system for loaning me a lot of great books including this one.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, is a startling, heartfelt, honest and compelling tale of Matthew Perry's journey.

The 6:20 Man
Baldacci is back and better than ever...

I recently completed reading David Baldacci's first entry in his Travis Devine series, The 6:20 Man; the new entry is called The Edge; I have not read that one.

There is a significant amount of sexual content in The 6:20 Man, and the book is a thriller, so there is violence, but Baldacci's Amos Decker series was getting a little thin, and the new character is fresh and interesting.

I like the Memory Man books, but wish Baldacci would let Decker age and change more, as Michael Connelly has allowed Bosch to do. Aging, mortal and doing the same detecting, but in different contexts. Maybe that is problematic for Baldacci, as Decker is very different than Bosch.

With The 6:20 Man, Baldacci's writing finds new blood and a captivating character. Yes, he is tall, dark and superhero, like Amos Decker, but Travis Devine's persistence, kindness and exceptional combat training, makes for an likable and exciting character.

The plot twists are good, and the settings and characters fairly distinct. I would have liked a little more depth, but the mystery had to be couched somewhat so as not to be obvious.

This book helps bring lasting and significant positive change. By helping the reader to navigate out of negative ruts in their lives, Groeschel's volume has a great impact for the good. High recommend.

So I rate a lot of books with four to five stars? Why? Am I easy to please? Maybe, but I also tend to put down books that don't move me in some way. But The Street Lawyer is maybe a six or seven star book. What a story. From the hostage episode with DeVon “Mister” Hardy, to the tragic story of Lontae Burton and her children, from Mordecai Green and his team, to the less likeable denizens of Drake & Sweeney, Grisham never lets up. But the story builds and grows at a reasonable pace. How many writers can move slowly and still be gripping and capture a reader's interest? Grisham does here. This is a fantastic book. Many thanks to the writer for giving us this compelling journey of a read.

So, this is the second Harlan Coben novel I've read. The first one had non-stop suspense, but this one is better; it has suspense, romance, childhood angst, thrills, humor and more. The plot was clever, and while the denouement was a little abrupt, you have to end a book somewhere. I think the finish was extraordinary, and I really enjoyed it.

Michael Connelly has outdone himself again. Most Bosch stories are excellent, but The Last Coyote is among the very best. No spoilers here, but many may have read it by now. I might expand on my brief treatise later, but for now, I hope you enjoy it. Please note, there is explicit sex, violence and language in this book. It is not for those reasons that I love it, but the writer tells his story well, so I am grateful.

I write a lot of 5 Star reviews because I find a lot of good in many disparate titles, but I think with Michael Connelly, there was only one book I didn't find excellent, Fair Warning, and one I put down before I could get into, The Black Ice. While I read all of Fair Warning, and liked the Jack McAvoy character, it was too episodic for me, with the point of view changing too often. The Black Ice was probably just too deep for me, so I'll definitely want to give it another go later. In The Night Fire, there is episodic shuttling back and forth, but only between Bosch and Ballard, who gel perfectly in this tale and others. I think Connelly really hit this one on the head, but again, I've read about ten of his books, and each one seems better than the last. It's rare that a narrative can keep my interest throughout my days and nights of busyness, but Connelly knows how to nab a thread and drive it to the core. The Night fire is a perfect seaming of two great characters. Did it have a few too many F-Bombs? For me, yes, but other than that, I think it scores an A+

In brief, Grisham tells a compelling story that is a page turner but avoids a lot of gruesome violence and sexual depravity. The story is not romper room, but it manages to walk the line and tell an interesting story. Kudos and thanks to author John Grisham.

I saw the movie with Robert Hayes and Pam Dawber in 1980 and loved it. Campy no doubt, but it was great. For a 13 year old, it was pure pleasure to see a guy with the power to make good things happen for himself, and to subvert evil. That he gets to pal around with pretty Pam Dawber just makes things better. I'd like to read the book on which the movie was based, particularly as I know John D. MacDonald to have been a great writer.

Beautiful

Here is my review from my blog; not for promotion, but to inform that this pasted blog is not plagiarized, as Amazon apparently thought one of my pasted reviews was, on their store's site:

This 1992 debut novel of Michael Connelly, and of his classic police detective character, Harry (Hieronymus) Bosch, is nothing short of genius. Harry is a rebel in every way, but his motives are good. We know that the road to hell can be paved with good intentions, and Harry reflects at one point that he thinks his heart is hardened, but his actions are those of a man who has made mistakes, hates falsehood, and takes good turns frequently, no matter the cost to himself.

His partner in “crime”, Eleanor Wish, is somewhat of a kindred spirit, and she works with him from her FBI perch. The crime is a bank caper, but the details are far grittier and complex than the word, “caper” usually evokes in me. Vietnam, street hustlers and tunnel digging figure strongly, and the 508 page paperback edition I read was a slow burn that turned into a page turner halfway through and a raging fire at the end.

Peripheral characters include a pair not unlike Shakespeare's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern if not seemingly anti-semitic, an IAD higher-up who seems like a stooge, and some allied to Bosch, often risking their careers to aid the trusty detective. These characters alternatingly provide dark comic relief, realistic scientific aspects and fraternal help. The supporting cast lend to the plot machinations and contrast that added to my enjoyment.

I was at a family member's home a few years ago and got my pick of several paper shopping bags of books that the person was getting rid of. She said that I could take any and all items wanted, with one stipulation: If I was to dispose of any, I had to sell or donate them; I was not to throw them out. This caveat was not difficult for the son of a book-buyer/librarian, but I am finicky or hesitant, and I only took two volumes of maybe two dozen.

One volume was The Last Mile, by David Baldacci, my Star Wars-like introduction to the great Amos Decker character, the second in the series, thus the Star Wars reference. The other was a book by Michael Connelly about Harry Bosch. I started with the Connelly book, but could not get into it, feeling it was “monochromatic”, with little coloring, no variety.

I then delved into The Last Mile, by Baldacci, and was immediately pleased to identify with the pathos, struggles, successes, and later, even wry humor, of the characters. There was no romance, but there was some chemistry with the primary female character, and the story won for me, hitting on all cylinders.

A couple of years later, my Mom loaned me a book by ‘Connelly, The Black Echo, a paperback from Grand Central, an imprint of Baldacci's firm, Hachette Book Group; a behemoth publisher. She mentioned its story about the detective and his mother, but later I learned she was referencing a different Bosch story.

I kept The Black Echo in the console of my car. Much like my reading glasses, I like to keep accompanying books everywhere I may be: A book in the car, an audiobook in that vehicle's CD player, something on our coffee table, dozens in our office that I like to think of as the library, some on my phone that I'm writing, and more.

When I was parked somewhere waiting, I'd read the book, but only got a little ways in. It seemed like the other ‘Connelly book I'd tried: a little singular in style, no variety. Much later, having exhausted other best reading options and wanting to find something new, I decided to give The Black Echo another try.

This time, I really got into it, and it was highly original and intriguing. There is some lurid content, but I didn't find that the author was tempting me, rather being factual and realistic. There is a lot of bad language, but not to a degree that I felt the writer either wanted to offend or was unable to tell the story without expletives. I had entered a dark tunnel, but while scary and forbidding, I wanted to get to the other side, and see the picture.

My strong feeling is that I was well rewarded. The Bible says that we can't hop the fence into Heaven, but must go through the strait gate and not slip around it. I'm not sure what path the fictional Harry Bosch, with his anger towards evangelists and people in authority is on, but I hope it has a good end. In this book, the character is one I very much admire, plunging into the darkness of humanity, in search of justice for those hurt by the caper.

I have read a half-dozen or so titles by Michael Connelly, and have found them overall to be exceptional. Fair Warning was good, but not my favorite. Two Kinds of Truth is maybe even better than Lost Light and The Black Echo. Enjoy.

I may have reviewed the print book The Late Show by Michael Connelly, about police detective Renee Ballard, in the past, but I just listened to the audiobook, and the production was outstanding. There is a lot of foul language and I did not really get into that, but the story was so good, and the narration and production of the audio so well produced, that I stayed with it through the whole thing, and it was definitely worth it. I hope you enjoy it as well.

I enjoyed the book but am dismayed that some of the cover art on certain newer versions seems quite dark. Nothing akin to the simple tales of adventure I loved as a boy.

This is at least my third time reading this book over the past 30-40 years, and it holds up like a champ'. It is not too lighthearted however, telling of a murder investigation that reveals some disturbing things. There is a great deal of intrigue, and while one of the primary antagonists is repeatedly annoying in description, all of the other characters, both good and bad, are well-drawn or even fascinating. Particularly loved are the police officer's brother and his giant dog, who together aid our hero protagonist in his investigation. Set against the beautiful if here unforgiving environment of Norway, Slay Ride tells the story of a murdered jockey in the “usual” ‘Francis tradition, and while there were few misses in Francis' canon, this entry is a palpable hit.

This might be one of the best of the series in The Chronicles of Prydain. Follow Taran as he seeks his identity, and along the way meets many strange and wonderful folk. He wants to find that he is of royal blood but in the end he learns things of much greater value indeed.

Like The Book of Three, The Black Cauldron is an excellent tail of magical events, brave people and difficult decisions. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. For me, it endures as much in my fifties and it did in my early teens.