Book Review: Echo Burning by Lee Child (Jack Reacher 5)

The loner returns, Jack Reacher is back. The ex-military wanderer is back to put wrongs to rights in his usual inimitable way. With intelligence, violent action and a high injury list.

He is picked up by a Hispanic woman called Carmen when he is hitch hiking and she tells him of her life. We are not sure whether she is telling the truth or not? A lot of the book is a to and fro about whether she is truthful or not.

Redneck Texans are the villains who are Reacher's adversaries in this novel. However, in this novel there are only a few action scenes and the novel is quite slow paced. We learn little more about Reacher and this is not one of the best Reacher's for me.

Only a 6/10 for this novel.

Book Review: 1st to Die by James Patterson

This is the first in a series of ten (to date, July 2011) novels that features the Women's Murder Club and it is the first one that I have read. The woman detective, Lindsay Boxer, is in the San Francisco force and a crazed killer is on the loose killing bride and grooms on their wedding day.

Lindsay has her plate pretty full with a life theatening disease as well as the high profile case to figure out. She also has a new partner with the SFPD as well as finding love. She also gets dragged into the limelight due to the high profile nature of the case and the character accused of the crime.

The novel generally seems to focus on new love both for Lindsay and the killings. I enjoyed this novel immensely and I feel that I will enjoy the other novels in the series too. The other women in the Women's Murder Club help each other out to solve this case and it is nice to read about this teamwork and bonding too.

Got my copy of this in paperback from a charity shop in Maidenhead, England. £1 well spent!!!

For me this novel is a 9/10 and I look forward to the rest in the series.

Book Review: Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly

This stand alone novel by Michael Connelly dates back to 2002. Henry Pierce is on the verge of a breakthrough in the nanotechnology field that will make him a very rich man indeed. However, his devotion to his task mean that his relationship folds. He moves into a new apartment with a new residential phone. He keeps getting calls on this new line for an escort girl, Lilly Quinlan.

Pierce obsessively tries to track her down. He finds the internet site for the company she works for but she has gone missing. He follows the trail and is soon embroiled with some very nasty people indeed. However, Henry sticks to his task as he has a link to Lilly as his own sister was killed by a serial killer while working as a hooker.

The novel is frankly not one of Michael Connelly's best, I am much happier in the world of Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller.

I would give this novel 7/10.

Book Review: Lullaby Town by Robert Crais

This is the third in the detective Elvis Cole novels that sees Elvis and his partner Joe Pike being dragged across country to New York. From the hot to the cold. This novel involves gangsters and the film industry.

I really enjoyed some of the characters, the over the top film director and the gangsters too. It was good to read about some snow as here in Qatar it is pretty hot at the moment.

The plot was pretty good and it was an enjoyable read. The estranged father and the problems that he causes coming back into the life of his ex-wife and discovering his son for the first time as well makes for an interesting read.

I also enjoyed, as ever, the humour in the novel too. This is snappier at the beginning of the book and then as the plot thickens the action and the terror takes over and the humour fades. However, the human tragedy becomes more pronounced.

I would give this novel a 7/10.

Book Review: Four Blind Mice by James Patterson (Alex Cross 8)

Alex Cross is in the throes of resigning from the Washington DC police and he is taking some quality time with his family. The criminal Kyle Craig is behind bars and he feels that he can relax a little.

However his peace is shattered when his best friend and police partner John Sampson comes on the scene and tells Alex that Sampson's friend is condemned to death in a prison cell for a crime he did not commit.

They join forces to try and run down the killer or killers. The old friend is in the US Army and the crime trail leads them into the world of the military. However the military shuts up shop and is evasive in helping.

Three army wives are killed in North Carolina and it seems as if they are on the trail of more than one killer. They slowly uncover the missing pieces, taking them back years to Vietnam and the war world from that time.

We get to know who the killers are pretty early on in the novel so we are able to watch the run down from both sides of the fence.

As to romance, we all want to know what happens to Cross, he is carrying on a long distance relationship with Jamilla on the West Coast while Cross remains on the East. However, Sampson finds love in this novel that is very touching.

This novel can be read as a standalone novel but it is probably best read in the Alex Cross sequence.

9/10 for me on this one.

Book Review: The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly (Jack McEvoy 2)

This is the second in the Jack McEvoy novels following on from the introduction of the character in the Poet. Also in this novel FBI Agent Rachel Walling is also involved and these two characters have links to the Harry Bosch novels.

McEvoy is to be terminated at his job on the LA Times due to the economic downturn. However he has to train his young female replacement before he leaves. She is keen as mustard and her investigations into one of Jack's reporting cases, sets her up in a computer trap that leads to her murder. The LA Times network is also hacked into.

Jack follows the leads that he has to a prisoner serving time for a similar crime. However while he is at the remote prison at a hotel he is set upon and beaten up. Rachel Walling comes to his rescue and they both are on the trail of the attacker and the murderer.

The hacking of the IT system lead them down an electronic path to find the killer. Some odd clues come together to help Jack and Rachel on their quest to track down the Scarecrow. Why the Scarecrow, well you will just have to read the book to find out why, it would be too much of a spoiler to tell you here.

Well worth reading this novel and 9/10 for me.

Book Review: The Visitor by Lee Child (Jack Reacher 4)

This fourth of the Reacher novels was published in 2000. He gets back onto familiar territory back in the army world that he came from. Back to the US Army Military Police.

A series of women who have left the army after sexual harassment are killed by having their hearts stopped in baths of camouflage paint. A bizarre way to kill people! Reacher is accused of the killings and he tries to clear his name and track down the real killer.

How does Reacher track down the killer? You will need to read the book to find out. The violence level is up as is the body count. As usual for a Lee Child novel.

A good read as ever.

7/10 from me.

Book Review: Void Moon by Michael Connelly

This is a standalone novel by Michael Connelly that was published in 2000.

I found this novel to be a bit complicated in places but I enjoyed reading Michael Connelly as ever! Cassie and her boyfriend Max did one last job in Las Vegas, a heist. Then the book moves forward five years and Cassie is now an ex-con who is looking at a house where the couple are moving to Paris. The couple have a daughter Jodie who is in fact Cassie and Max's daughter who was given up for adoption. Max died in the last robbery in Vegas.

Cassie, in an attempt to get her daughter back, decides to commit one more crime so that she can get enough money to kidnap Jodie before her parents move to Paris. This job involves her returning to the Cleo casino where her last job was and where Max died. She gets the job through Max's half brother and he warns her not to go to the victim's room between 3.22 and 3.38 in the morning as that time is a Void Moon in astrology.

Max was killed during a Void Moon and Cassie discovers that the man she is to rob is a courier for the mafia and he has $2.5 million on him and not the $500K that they thought. In the morning the man is found dead.

The casino manager hires an investigator/hitman to track down the money and the story twists and turns from there. This story features big money, the mafia, kidnapping and family ties. Everything is not as it seems, as ever!

Worth a read and 7/10 for me.

Book Review: The Poet by Michael Connelly (Jack McEvoy 1)

The Poet was published in 1996 and introduces a new main character to Michael Connelly readers, called Jack McEvoy a crime reporter. It also contains the viewpoint of a paedophile called William Gladden. The novel also includes the first appearance of another Michael Connelly character, Rachel Walling an FBI Agent. The Poet and Agent Walling also tie into the Harry Bosch series too.

McEvoy's brother, a homicide detective with the Denver police has committed suicide in a car in a remote car park. He has left a simple suicide note. It seems that it can only be a suicide but Jack McEvoy refuses to believe this and he starts to dig into his brother's life.

He looks into his brother's last case, the murder of a young woman and he concludes that the suicide was only a staged event and his brother has been murdered by a serial killer. He also discovers that there were other homicide detectives who committed "suicide" in the same fashion. The suicide notes all link to poems by Edgar Alan Poe, hence the book title.

McEvoy joins forces with Agent Walling and the FBI, she is the protégé of the head of the FBI investigation called Robert Backus.

The FBI focus in on William Gladden but it becomes apparent that he did not murder Jack's brother. Jack further discovers links between the "suicides" and the FBI and the plot twists again. Agent Walling seems to be the Poet and the murderer?

However, is she or isn't she? The book is great and there are plenty of twists and turns until you discover the truth. McEvoy is physically attacked and mentally confused as he deals with the clues he is dealt.

A great novel from Michael Connelly as ever.

8/10 for me on this one.

Book Review: Stalking the Angel by Robert Crais (Elvis Cole 2)

This is the second Elvis Cole that I have read. I quite enjoyed the first one (The Monkey's Raincoat) but I read it when I had just been made redundant and I associated it with bad times.

This novel also features the Private Detective from Los Angeles and I enjoyed reading this very much and I am already started on the third novel in the series.

In this one, Stalking the Angel, Elvis is hired by a very rich man to find the culprits of a stolen Japanese book that is very valuable. Elvis Cole uncovers a sad family history and gets involved with the Japanese version of the Mafia. The book has the usual Robert Crais touches of humour in the way that Elvis Cole speaks. However, I did notice that the wisecracks become less frequent as the novel becomes deeper and darker.

I would give this novel an 8/10

Book Review: Tripwire by Lee Child (Jack Reacher 3)

This novel, published in 1999, sees our hero Jack Reacher at the beginning digging swimming pools in Key West by hand. The job suits the drifting ex-army man until his calm is disturbed by the arrival of a NYC private detective who comes looking for Reacher on behalf of Mrs Jacob. Who is Mrs Jacob? Reacher doesn't know but the detective ends up dead and Reacher has a mystery to solve.

He travels to New York City and discovers that Mrs Jacob is in fact the daughter of Reacher's former army commander, Leon Garber. Garber has been investigating a Vietnam mystery where a soldier did not return. He wants to find out for the parents but Garber is dying and dies before he can hand over the case to Reacher.

Jack Reacher then becomes obligated to unravel the mystery and we come along for the ride too. Of course, he has a liaison with Jody Garber, the daughter of his ex CO.

I like Reacher, I don't really notice the violence, I think we all want to be the guy with the white hat hunting down the bad guys and putting the world to rights.

7/10 for me for this one.

Book Review: Swimsuit by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

This novel starts off on the islands in Hawaii and your thoughts of paradise are soon interrupted by the crimes committed by a serial killer. I found this novel difficult to read, if it had been TV I would have watched it from behind the sofa.

A really thrilling thriller that has you hooked and frightened both at the same time. No doubt some unspecting person will pick this book up for a romance but it is very far from that.

We learn about the serial killer Henri and his horrendous current crimes and his extensive past killing sprees. We also learn about the sick people he provides snuff videos for. The book also gets personal when Henri traps and terrorises a writer and his girlfriend.

The book moves around geographically and there is never a let up in the terror either.

Superb, a 9/10 from me.



Book Review: As the Crow Flies by Jeffrey Archer

This novel was written in 1991 and is a rags to riches story that has plenty of spills and spoils along  the way.

The story concerns Charlie Trumper who wants to follow his grandfather by having the biggest barrow in the world in Whitechapel, London in the ealry 1900's. He works hard and finds a very supportive wife. However he has made an enemy who tries at all times to keep Charlie down. The book moves along well and you want to read of how Charlie overcomes each adversity.

A thick and engrossing novel that is worth a read.

7/10 from me.

Book Review: The Monkey’s Raincoat by Robert Crais (Elvis Cole 1)

I read this at not such a great time in my life and enjoyed it quite a bit but I associated it with the bad time (being made redundant and searching for a new job) so I gave Robert Crais a bit of an unwarranted cold shoulder. Having read some more Elvis Cole novels, I was wrong!!!

This novel concerns the LA private detective and his strange partner Joe Pike. The narrative is crisp and well done as well as the quips from the characters, particularly Elvis Cole. It is an enjoyable easy read.

Cole is hired by a lady called Ellen Lang to track down her missing husband and son. Unfortunately her husband we discover has been killed and Elvis has to track down her son and restore him to his mother. However the path to the truth is a seedy one through the darker parts of Hollywood sex and drugs. Some nasty people have also declared war on Elvis and Ellen Lang. The book shows how Elvis overcomes evil and rights wrongs. Pretty realistic and believable and with some sunny quips along the way.

A good novel and 8/10 for me.

Book Review: The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch 4)

This novel was published in 1995 and is the fourth in the Harry Bosch, LA detective series by Michael Connelly. The title refers to a dream that Harry had where he dreamt of a lone coyote and this was interpreted by a psychologist that Harry was one of the last of a dying breed of policemen.

Bosch has been involved in an incident at work and has been put on leave to recover, much against his will, hence the trips to the psychologist. Harry has also just split up with his girlfriend too and it is not a great period in his life.

He tells the psychologist that his mission in life is to find the murderer of his mother, she was a former prostitute and she was killed when Harry was at the formative age of twelve. Harry tries to clear his past by getting the murder file on his mother and visiting his mother's best friend, a fellow prostitute called Meredith.

He learns that his mother, on the night of her murder, was going to meet with Arno Conklin who had been running for District Attorney. Bosch also goes to Florida and meets the only detective still alive who worked the case. He learns that the detectives were warned off one of the suspects at the time, called Fox. The murder remained unsolved.

Harry also visits the widow of the other detective on the case called Eno. Bosch manipulates the widow to gain access to old notes on the case from Detective Eno. He learns that Eno had been receiving 1,000 dollars a month from a dummy corporation following his mother's death.

Harry's boss Harvey Pounds is found murdered while Harry was away investigating and this turns out due to Bosch using Pounds name to gain advantage in the investigation into his mother's death.

Bosch discovers that his mother and Conklin were going to go to Las Vegas and get married but his mother was murdered on that day. The murderer captures Bosch and kills Conklin. Harry is the only loose end to his mother's murder.

How does Bosch track down his mother's killer on his own now?

Find out by reading the book.

9/10 for me, I loved finding out more about Harry Bosch's past.

Book Review: The Doings of Raffles Haw by Arthur Conan-Doyle

Raffles Haw is the richest man in the world, he has gained his money by being able to turn lead into gold.

He moves to Tamfield and bestows all sorts of gifts on the community. He also befriends the McIntyre family (father, son and daughter) and he lets the son and daughter into world.

He helps the son by being a generous partron of his art and he also falls in love with the daughter. The father, a mean and bitter old man, does not experience the benevolence of Raffles Haw.

So much money that Raffles Haw tries to do good with but it changes his relationships and the lives of the people of Tamfield, a town outside of Birmingham. The book gives a wonderful insight into how money changes lives, both for good and bad.

I really enjoyed reading this short book and 8/10 for me.

Book Review: The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens

This is the last of Dicken's novels and he died before he could finish it in 1870. It is a mystery novel and it concerns the disappearance of Edwin Drood very suddenly one night. Did he run away from a rival in love? Did he run away as his love had spurned him? Did he discover his uncle loved his love too? We will never know!

The book has some lovely characters and the prose in places is lively and beautifully descriptive. I felt that Dickens was at the top of his game in terms of the writing style. As ever, some wonderfully evocatively named characters.

I read 10% of the novel by listening to it on my Kindle while I was on the treadmill. A strange experience and not like an audio book at all. It was like an American robot reading, I hope that Amazon will improve this feature in future. This is the last of the Dickens novels that I needed to read so no more Dickens for me!

As to Edwin Drood, 8/10 for me.

Book Review: Black Market by James Patterson

I read this early James Patterson novel pretty quickly and thought that it was pretty good if not one of his best.

The story concerns some Vietnam vetrans getting their revenge on an ungrateful USA by blowing up a lot of the financial district of New York. This is all tied up with the CIA and international criminals.

The good guy is called Archer Carroll who is of Irish descent and has four children and is a widower. He is, of course, a superhuman who survives everything that is thrown at him. We are interested in his romantic liaisons and his family as well as his struggle with the bad guys. There are echoes of the character Mike Bennett who Patterson wrote about later.

The book is a bit wordy in places and the Northern Ireland parts did not really ring true for me (one of the characters is referred to as North Irish for example).

From what I understand this is a lot better than some of Patterson's earlier novels and would be a good rainy afternoon novel to while away a few pleasant hours.

7/10 from me.

Book Review: Violets are Blue by James Patterson (Alex Cross 7)

Alex Cross the Washington DC detective goes out to San Francisco as two joggers are killed there. The killings are similar to ones that he has investigated back in DC. Further investigations reveal that there are number of similar cases elsewhere in the USA.

The Mastermind is still taunting Alex Cross and a trail of bodies leads Cross down many treacherous paths. His partner is murdered and Alex Cross receives threatening phone calls from the Mastermind not only for him but his family too.

The book encompasses the world of vampire killers and Cross is led into the world of cults and lawlessness. Some of the scenes are truly gruesome.

The vampire parts were a bit near the edge of reason for me, but I love the Alex Cross novels and I had to keep turning the pages. It has the advantage of not only a cracking read but you get to worry about Cross and his family, lovers and friends too.

Inevitably many questions are posed to get you on to the next novel too.

7/10 for this novel for me.

Book Review: Theodore Boone the Abduction by John Grisham

This is the follow on from the first Theodore Boone novel but it can be read as a stand alone I would say. However to read them back to back is better as you get to know the characters. Grisham's writing style is pleasant and reading his novels has always been easy. Although these novels featuring Theo Boone may be aimed at a younger market they are perfectly readable for adults too.

However this novel was not the greatest of adventures. I enjoyed the glimpse into the American way of life but the story is a little lacking in excitement and danger for me. The first novel was a lot better. If John Grisham continues with these novels then I hope that it will be a bit more interesting than this one.

I look forward to his next adult novel that comes out before the end of 2011 but for me this novel is only a 6/10.

Book Review: The Fourth Estate by Jeffrey Archer

This novel dates from 1996 and I read this many years ago. The book is based on Robert Maxwell and Rupert Murdoch and it chronicles their fictional counterparts in this novel. The two protagonists had very different upbringings and they battle to gain the right to have the biggest media empire.

The Fourth Estate is seen as the press as a watchdog over the state. The first three Estates are the Church, the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The book is exciting and probably captures the spirit of the Maxwell/Murdoch battles of the past. No doubt the reality was as exciting but we will probably never know.

A nice novel for me and 8/10 on this one.

Book Review: The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling

I must confess I only got this as I remembered the title from a film and it was free on Amazon for the Kindle. I have never read any Rudyard Kipling before.

The novel was pretty short too, you can read it in under two hours like me.

However I really enjoyed this and I was transported back to colonial sweaty India and I could feel the hussle and bustle of life there in my imagination.

The two men who go off to be Kings are funny and larger than life characters. To become Kings they go to Afghanistan where they encounter a hostile country once they transgress from their pact not to have women in their lives.

A  nice novel to read quickly 7/10 for me.

Book Review: Die Trying by Lee Child (Jack Reacher 2)

Maybe this novel should be called never help a stranger. Jack Reacher helps a woman who is abducted as she comes out of a dry cleaners. He tags along with her and finds out that she is being kidnapped by a militia group who are trying to overthrown the US government. The woman, Holly Johnson's father is head of the Joint Chief of Staff (wasn't he in Frankie Goes to Hollywood? J).

They are transported across America to a remote camp in Montana. They then spend time escaping (and getting recaptured) and turning the tables on their kidnappers. It is an enjoyable read and you begin to like Reacher even more.

This novel is one of a series, but there is no necessity to read them all in order. However, I read them all in order and I am now waiting for the next one to appear (June 2011 at the time of writing).

My rating 8/10

Book Review: Live Wire by Harlan Coben

I love to read Halan Coben novels and particularly the Myron Bolitar ones. This is the last published novel for both Harlan Coben and Myron Bolitar. Unfortunately for me it is the last Harlan Coben that I had on my shelf to read too.

I read through this novel at a pretty swift pace. Having read the nine previous novels I was familiar with the great characters of Win, Big Cyndi and Al Bolitar etc. You feel for Myron's family and friends so much too.

The crime/mystery part includes the Ache Brothers and a mystical and mythical rock god pop star. The plot moves on really nicely and you cannot wait to find out what happens next and how Myron and Win blow away the smoke of confusion.

We also learn about Myron's brother Brad as well as the sadness of his parents El Al getting older and dealing with the emotions and practicalities that poses.

Brilliant novel 9/10 without a doubt.

Book Review: Miracle Cure by Harlan Coben

This is one of the early Harlan Coben novels and he makes excuses for it in his introduction. This is a little unfair as it is quite readable if not as good as his Myron Bolitar novels etc. I read it in three days so that is a pretty good sign that it is OK. However, having written that it is really only a novel for the people (like me) who want to read all of Halan Coben's novels.

The book is set in the medical world and the thirst for research dollars and the conflicts that exist there. The characters are likeable and fairly real. The plot is reasonably good and the pages for me kept turning relatively quickly.

The fun part of the novel for me was that as it was written in the early 1990's the perception of AIDs was really quite strange looking at it now from 20 years later. The gay tag has definitely gone from this subject. Also the lack of mobile phones and the use of pagers for me was a fairly short lived era.

6/10 for me.

Book Review: A Matter of Honour by Jeffrey Archer

Written by Jeffrey Archer and published in 1986 a disgraced British Army Colonel leaves a letter to his only son. However, the letter proves to be a Pandora's box. As soon as he has opened the letter he sets in motion events that will haunt him and many others. Soon he is pursued across Europe by the KGB and the CIA.

Shady characters endeavour to track Adam Scott down, and Adam appears to have no friends to help or protect him.

The novel leads us into the world of the Nazis of the Second World War and Adam is connected to this through his father and his time as a prison guard to Hermann Goring. Adam Scott becomes the possessor of a Russian icon that contains a lease for the USA to hold Alaska for 99 years and not a sale as was originally thought. The Russians are intent on getting the lease before the deadline expires on it in a few days.

A journey back in time and a chase to keep you enthralled from beginning to end.

8/10 for me for this book.

Book Review: The Killing Floor by Lee Child (Jack Reacher 1)

The book is set in Georgia, USA and is written by Lee Child who is English but has an American wife. He turned to writing when he was made redundant in the UK and then subsequently moved to the USA.

We are introduced to Jack Reacher who is an ex-soldier who becomes the drifter of today, doing odd jobs and going around from place to place with no ties and no particular direction.

At the beginning of the book he wanders into town looking for some leads on a jazz player who died years ago. He is not exactly welcomed to town as he is soon arrested. For murder. The police chief has turned evidence to arrest him and there is a further twist that the victim is Reacher's brother who he hadn't seen in seven years. We soon discover that there are other victims too.

Reacher gets some assistance from a couple of the town folk but generally they are against him. He tries to follow the footsteps of his brother but soon discovers that his brother's contacts are also dead.

The body count in the novel is high, but you cannot help but identify with the tough guy Reacher. He is the man every man wants to be and the man every woman wants to be with.

7/10 from me and a good first novel for Lee Child.

Book Review: The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch 3)

I just love the title of this novel, I found it intriguing and I wanted to find out the reason for the quirky title.

Harry Bosch the LA detective is pursuing a serial killer called the Dollmaker, who uses make up to paint on his victims. A prostitute gives him a lead that a client of hers had a lot of women's make up in his bathroom.

Bosch follows up the lead and breaks in to the suspects house finding the man there naked and shaved. As the man reaches under his pillow after being told by Bosch not to move, Bosch shoots and kills him. Bosch is subject then to an internal investigation and is effectively demoted by his transfer from Robbery Homicide Division to the Hollywood table as he did not follow procedures correctly. However the make up found at the suspects house is matched with the Dollmakers victims.

However, four years later the widow of the killer sues Bosch and her attorney makes out that Bosch is a loose cannon and seeking revenge for the unsolved murder of his own mother when he was a child.

Another victim turns up with the make up on but this time encased in concrete. It is then realised that this latest victim and two of the original victims do not fit in with the pattern of the other victims of the Dollmaker. Bosch goes on the hunt and has a suspect for these other copy cat killings, another detective.

Bosch again takes the law into his own hands and discovers another crime being committed by the suspect and a lead on the concrete blonde case. The real Concrete Blonde killer threatens Bosch and his blonde girlfriend too.

The court case with the widow of the Dollmaker continues but the widow's attorney, another blonde, is also murdered.

Harry has his hands full with the court case, the Concrete Blonde killer and the threats to his girlfriend. He has so many matters to juggle and this is a great novel as you discover how all the leads come together and Harry uncomplicates his life.

A superb book and 9/10 for me.

Book Review: Blood Work by Michael Connelly

I am addicted to Michael Connelly's work hook line and sinker. He has written two novels with the character Terry McCaleb and this one is the first of those.

Terry is a retired FBI criminal profiler who is contacted by the sister of donor of his heart, as he has recently had a heart transplant. The donor, Gloria was killed in an unsolved convenience store robbery. However, McCaleb is living on a boat quietly recuperating from his operation, he is not even allowed to drive.

However, he does agree to help the donor's sister Graciela but the police are not very cooperative. The mystery thickens when he is able to spot similarities to another killing and also that the call reporting the shooting was before the shooting took place.

He gets few leads but he too becomes a suspect to the police when it is noted that the two victims of the linked crimes both have the same blood group as McCaleb. He would benefit from their deaths. The police want to search his boat and the real killer starts to plant incriminating evidence on his boat too.

He manages to fend off the police but the clues point to the Code Killer who's case he had been working on for the FBI. The tracking down of the Code Killer is good and there are further twists to the plot when Graciela and her son are kidnapped too.

You feel for McCaleb as he is supposed to be recuperating from a very serious operation yet he is involved in a very stressful situation with a master criminal.

Great stuff and 9/10 from me.

Book Review: Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer

Seemed a little strange to be reading this book in the heat of Doha with a subject so closely connected to Mount Everest.

Paths of Glory is based on the story of George Mallory, who it can be argued was the first man to get to the summit of Mount Everest. However this has never been proven one way or the other and he died in the attempt.

The novel, based generally on fact goes back to the early days of the 20^th century, as Mallory died in 1924. Before you get to the end, there is the story of Mallory's life and his mountaineering life as well as his personal life.

Mallory was a brilliant student and became a teacher but his passion was mountain climbing and his obsession was to climb Everest. However, his life like so many others at the time was interrupted by the First World War (1914-1918) where he fought bravely and managed to survive it so that he could continue climbing.

I enjoyed Paths of Glory very much as I must confess I had never heard of George Mallory and he is a great English hero. Archer also tells the story well, as ever his prose is easy to read. And I believe that he was fair at the end and the mystery of whether Mallory reached the summit or not is still not cleared up. A mystery in a factual book.

8/10 for me on this one.

Book Review: Hold Tight by Harlan Coben

Enjoyed reading this novel by Harlan Coben. It is a stand alone novel but it does tie in with some of the previous books. It was nice to be on familiar territory with Cope and Muse etc and also the geographical location.

The story concerns the interactions between families and within families. Coben has got a nice mix in this novel with the growing angst of teenagers that goes too far. Also younger teenage girls and they also add to the mix too.

I enjoyed the parts where a small fairly insignificant action resonated like a ripple on a pool to much bigger and tragic consequences. The book encompasses drugs, murder but all seemingly in a suburban setting with some diversions to the seedier side of town.

8/10 for me.