Book Review: Hell's Corner by David Baldacci

Another in the Camel Club series, that sees Oliver Stone/John Carr a bit closer to home in Washington DC. A book that starts off a bit slow at the beginning then at the end it all seems a bit rushed. A bomb plot at the centre of things, with drug dealers and the secret service (both the US and UK versions) heavily involved.

The red herrings and sub plots are pretty good, and I am used to the different characters now. However, after the years have passed, the characters are becoming less believable with seemingly old men performing supernatural feats. Maybe the formula is becoming a little tired for this set of characters.

However, I did enjoy the read nonetheless and I managed to suspend my belief in parts.

Would give this a 6/10.

Book Review: Long Lost by Harlan Coben

Myron Bolitar number 9

Myron travels to Paris to meet up with an old flame, Therese. She is in trouble and he goes to her rescue only to discover that her ex-husband has been murdered. She is also the chief suspect.

Blood found at the murder scene matches his daughter. But she died ten years earlier. What is going on? Did she die or not? Is there another child?

The truth is revealed in the novel.

8/10 for me.

Book Review: The Whole Truth by David Baldacci

The world's largest defence supply contractor manipulates world events to engender a sense of foreboding forcing world powers to start an new arms race.

Shaw and Katie James set about trying to thwart him. The novel moves along at a great pace, Shaw is a sort of man with no name Clint Eastwood sort of a character and Katie James makes a good foil for him. The novel never stops moving and the path is never straight. A good novel.

My rating 7/10

Book Review: Promise Me by Harlan Coben

Myron Bolitar book 8

The Myron Bolitar series are my favourite books of the moment, although the Harlan Coben stand alone novels are generally great too.

This novel comes after quite a gap in time since the book 7, six years in fact. In the interim Myron appears to have had a quiet life doing his day job of Sports Rep.

This all changes in this great novel. He tries to protect a friend's daughter by offering her a lift home to shield her from abductors and drunk drivers. He is persuaded not to drop her back at her parents but at another address.

When the daughter goes missing, it is discovered that Myron is the last to have seen her. His world begins to unravel and he heads into another plot of excitement and intrigue.

Great book, 9/10 for me with this one, really great.

Book Review: Darkest Fear by Harlan Coben

Myron Bolitar number 7

Myron is shocked into finding out that he has a teenage son. The son needs a bone marrow transplant. A donor has been found but has now disappeared.

Myron is on the case of course in a desperate search to find the donor. This however leads to more problems involving kidnapping and sailing close to the wind with the FBI.

The plot unfolds and you feel for Myron. Great to be in Myron Bolitar world with Win, Little Pocahontas and Big Cyndi etc.

9/10 from me.

Book Review: Judge and Jury by James Patterson/Andrew Gross

Set against a background of the mafia and the trial of the head of a notorious criminal family. The corruption seems into the legal system and the trial does not go to the open and shut case that everyone was expecting.

 

One of the jurors and a senior FBI agent join forces to hunt down the mobster once and for all. The FBI agent and the juror become the criminal justice system. Their path is a dangerous and exciting one with plenty of action on the way.

My rating 7/10.

Book Review: The Final Detail by Harlan Coben

Myron Bolitar book 6

Myron is not having a great life at the start of this book. And then it gets worse! His heart has been broken and he is recuperating with a passionate woman he barely knows on a tropical island.

His strange friend Win turns up out of the blue and informs him that Esperanza (his business partner) has been accused of murdering one of their clients. Esperanza does not tell Myron what has happened and he has to find out for himself.

Why did a washed up pitcher get a place with the New York Yankees? What happened twelve years ago in Myron's past that has now come back to haunt him?

A strain on relations with Esperanza, how does Myron smooth this out and right their worlds? Well, you need to read the novel to find out.

Bang on form 9/10

Book Review: One False Move by Harlan Coben

Myron Bolitar 5

Myron's life is going along just fine as a Sports Rep. Then he meets a bright young female sports star. She has lost her agent and then her father disappears. The mafia begin to close in on her too.

There is more to this glitzy sports star than meets the eye and Myron soon becomes involved up to his neck and beyond.

My rating 7/10

Book Review: Worth Dying For by Lee Child

Jack Reacher stumbles into the open fields of Nebraska where I am told nothing really happens. It does in this novel. The local community is terrorised and kept down by the notorious Duncan family. Mystery surrounds their true business that more than supplements their farming and extortion practices. An unsolved disappearance gets solved along the way.

 

As ever, the body count is high and Reacher plays the tough man once again. He is chased, captured and escapes. Will he put the local community together again? Well worth a read to find out.

This is an 8/10 novel for me.

Book Review: Back Spin by Harlan Coben

Myron Bolitar 4

A boy from the rich streets is last seen on the less luxurious side of town and then disappears. He is the son of one of Myron's major clients and Myron's top priority is to track him down and bring him back to his family.

Myron is faced with villains and liars from both the rich and poor parts of town. Myron has to pull out all the stops to unravel the mysteries that he is faced with.

A good read 8/10

Book Review: Fade Away by Harlan Coben

Myron Bolitar 3

Myron Bolitar, Sports Representative, ex-basketball star and ex-FBI man is set to find Greg Downing. Greg is the husband of one of Myron's old loves and they were also big rivals on the basketball court before Myron received an injury that ended his professional career.

The team boss wants Myron to find Greg before the media finds out he is missing. A mystery unfolds when Myron finds blood in Greg's basement and the finds the body of a woman. The mystery begins to unfold in earnest.

Myron has to revisit his past and survive violent encounters before he finally gets all the pieces to the mystery.

8/10 from me.

Book Review: Wish You Well by David Baldacci

One of the earlier David Baldacci novels published in 2000 and it is still a cracking read. A nice thick paperback to read on the plane or train journey or soaking up some rays next to the pool. It is based on David Baldacci's family history of life from a different era in Virginia in the sticks. A family tragedy means two children have to relocate from New York and adjust to country ways. The book tells of their adjustment to a new type of life.

 

The novel also contains tension, mystery and thrills a plenty too. You get to love the characters and enjoy the way that they overcome their struggles. A different type of thriller with a definite human element and people overcoming adversity.

One of the better David Baldacci novels and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and would give this a 9/10.

Book Review: Drop Shot by Harlan Coben

Myron Bolitar 2

A once big tennis star is shot and dropped outside a stadium. During the height of the US Open another tennis star is on the rise. Represented by Myron Bolitar.

Myron investigates the murder and finds out that his client and the victim are connected. This leads him back into a murder in the tennis world from six years earlier.

Myron soon becomes involved in matters of life and death with the mob on his tale and a strange mother in the mix too.

Gets an 8/10 from me.

Book Review: No Second Chance by Harlan Coben

This is an excellent book (as usual) from Harlan Coben. You feel for the main character Marc as he recovers from a shooting where his wife was killed and his baby daughter goes missing. Handovers of ransom money go wrong, and he becomes the chief suspect.

Two really nasty psychotics are the abductors. Coben adds to the pot by introducing Marc's helper from the FBI called Rachel who has issues of her own. She too brings some enemies with her as well.

Fantastic stuff 8/10

Book Review: The Christmas Train by David Baldacci

Had difficulty getting hold of a copy of this one, it is not readily available in Doha, Qatar and did not appear to be available on Kindle either? However, I got this delivered to England and picked it up there while on holiday. While the book is probably best read at Christmas as in many ways it is a cosy winter sort of a novel, I enjoyed reading this in April J

 

A journey, friendships, mystery, a snow bound train and overcoming adversity. Twists and turns with red herrings a plenty but also that old time Christmas feeling soaks through too. Worth hunting this novel out for a good cosy read.

 

My mark would be 8/10 for this one.

Book Review: Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben

Myron Bolitar 1

Was so glad that I stumbled upon Harlan Coben novels and the Myron Bolitar series in particular. Read one of the stand alone novels first and then moved on to read about Myron. People say you should never judge a book by its cover but I did with Harlan Coben and I am very glad that ignored this old saying.

Myron is a Sports Representative and when Myron's prize client gets a phone call from his girlfriend who everyone thinks is dead, his dealings with his star start to go off track. Myron tries to investigate this sudden reappearance of the girlfriend and strays into the dark side of the sports world. Sex, blackmail and a family tragedy are all in play. Lies and half truths keep the plot boiling.

A good start to the series to get you hooked 8/10

Book Review: Hour Game by David Baldacci

A killer starts to murder people in the style of previous serial killers. Then a copy cat killer starts to leave dead bodies too, it all becomes very mysterious very quickly.

This novel features Sean King and Michelle Maxwell and they are investigating another case but they are then deputised to assist with the serial killer(s). The two cases become cleverly interlinked. King and Maxwell are in a race to track down the killers before any more bodies turn up.

A page turner.

8/10 for me.

Book Review: Saving Faith by David Baldacci

A novel about bribery in the top echelons of the US government sets a fast pace right from the first few pages. Faith is the name of the main character and you stick with her throughout the novel and hope that she wins through. She certainly has big dark forces against her, will her loyalty to her boss sink her or will she win through?

You need to read this David Baldacci novel, I would give this an 8/10.

Book Review: Gone for Good by Harlan Coben

A murder eleven years previously led to the alleged killer absconding and he is never contacted again. His brother Will gets on with his life and he has a lovely girlfriend called Sheila. Then his mother tells him on her deathbed that his brother is still alive.

Then Sheila disappears.

Will starts to chase after Sheila and searches for his brother too. Sheila's past is not what Will thought was the truth. As the plot unfolds the two events become intertwined.

A fantastic novel 9/10

Book Review: The Sixth Man by David Baldacci

For some reason I was able to get this novel ahead of scheduled publishing date at Heathrow Airport in London. I wanted to read a copy as it was the next in the series for me in the Sean King/Michelle Maxwell that David Baldacci writes.

They are called upon to investigate the murder of a serial killer, but on the first meeting with the lawyer, they discover his dead body. It is up to King and Maxwell to discover whether the alleged serial killer is a killer or not?

7/10 for me with this book.

Book Review: The Simple Truth by David Baldacci

A thriller set in theme of a miscarriage of justice and righting that wrong. Thrilling both inside the prison and out. The action keeps you turning the pages and a wanting for the wrong to be put right. If you like David Baldacci then you will love this novel from 1998, if you have not read any David Baldacci before then you will love to read this as your taster of his novels.

Another sure fire hit for David Baldacci and my mark is a 7/10.

Book Review: Split Second by David Baldacci

I like the Sean King/Michelle Maxwell series, and probably this one best of all. King was assigned to be a security cover for a presidential candidate and he was distracted for a split second and a horrendous series of events unfolded in this novel.

This is all eight years in the past, but then a similar event happens again to Secret Service agent Michelle Maxwell.

They join forces to investigate the similar events that leads to a thriller ride. They are opposites in many ways and the chemistry between the two is part of the appeal of this book.

8/10 for me with this one.

Book Review: Tell No One by Harlan Coben

A chilling novel by Harlan Coben that has you turning the pages. An event eight years previously comes back to haunt David Beck. His wife had been killed by a vicious attack but here she was trying to contact him.

He tries to follow the clues to see whether she exists in fact or not. The FBI are also involved and try and pin his wife's murder on him too. Despite this hindrance, David Beck continues to press on to find out the truth.

The truth inevitably turns out to be something different to what you expect.

This novel gets an 8/10 from me.

Book Review: The Winner by David Baldacci

I really enjoyed reading this David Baldacci, novel. I could identify with the character winning the lottery and getting out of poverty. I was in her corner the entire way. Thought that the way she won the lottery (a fix) was a bit contrived but it did not spoil the enjoyment of the read.

As it was one of David Baldacci's first published novels I would give this a 7/10.

Book Review: Simple Genius by David Baldacci

One of the Sean King/Michelle Maxwell novels that thunders along at a good pace. Michelle is out of sorts at the beginning of the novel and seeking medical care for her demons. There are sinister going ons at the medical facility too that Michelle helps to sort out.

Sean is forced due to financial hardship to accept an assignment with an old flame and starts investigations in the sinister and shady government facility of Babbage Town. Scientific geniuses endeavour to solve some of the world's biggest problems for the good of America. However, a murder or two here and there soon embroil the characters in life or death situations.

A thoroughly enjoyable read and I would give this an 8/10.

Book Review: Total Control by David Baldacci

A mystery thriller set on both sides of the USA, there is a pretty high body count and the mystery unfolds nicely through the book. Up to the usual high standard by David Baldacci and worth picking up for your holiday read or on a flight too. Plenty to get your teeth into.

 

My mark for this one would be 7/10.

Book Review: Divine Justice by David Baldacci

This is another novel in the Camel Club series, with John Carr/Oliver Stone and the gang. He is on the run having killed a couple of notables in the secret service. Divine is the name of the place that he ends up. He gets embroiled in local issues and a crime ring there as well and as ever is lucky to survive.

 

The book goes on at a cracking pace and I enjoyed reading it. Up to the usual David Baldacci standard.

8/10

Book Review: Just One Look by Harlan Coben

I really enjoyed reading this novel on my Kindle. A stand alone book of Harlan Coben's and not one of the Myron Bolitar series.

A mystery where a photograph from the past, people leaving prison and other events start a chain of events in people's lives in the present. The mystery is kept under wraps right to the end, with several twists and turns on the way.

Found the chief hitman, Mr Wu, particularly sinister.

A good stand alone novel and I would give this 8/10.