Book Review: Bonecrack by Dick Francis

A great read by Dick Francis, as ever set in the horse world that I have begun to love through these books. This novel was published in 1971.

Neil Griffon is entrusted to take care of his father's stables while he is injured and laid up in bed. However he is not very experienced and ends up being kidnapped by the bad guys. Subsequent to this, Neil is forced to hire a jockey to ride a potential Derby winning horse. The jockey turns out to be the son of the kidnapper.

How does Neil turn the situation around to ensure that the good guys win? You will lap up this book to find out. It is not one that you will want to put down!

9/10 for me.

Book Review: Gamble by Felix Francis

This is the first solo effort for Felix Francis following on from his father's tuition. In the first 20% or so of the book it was not very well written for me and lacked the flow of Dick Francis novels. However, I looked on this as first night nerves and continued to read, and I am glad that I did.

I liked the characters and the double leads of the financial advisor and the gambling was interesting and well disguised. Also the setting again on the edge of the racing world put you in the place too. I identified well with the characters and wanted them to come out well at the end and the baddies to get their comeuppance.

After the shaky start, this was well worth the read and I would recommend Felix Francis as the true successor of Dick Francis.

8/10 for me.

Book Review: Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer

As ever with Jeffrey Archer this is a good yarn with plenty to keep you interested regarding the life of Harry Clifton. Jeffrey Archer has covered this territory many times before, the rags to riches or success story and he tells it well.

The novel is part of the Clifton Chronicles and I believe that there will be two more to follow this first instalment. Only Time Will Tell has been left with a bit of a cliff-hanger.

This novel details the early life (up to his University years) of Harry Clifton born to a mother who had relationships with two men at the time. She is unsure who the father is. However one could have been effectively killed by the other. The prospective father who is still alive is rich and the father of Harry's best friend. This brings numerous complications and conflicts in the book. Some of these matters get resolved, but others remain as loose ends for future instalments.

I will be reading the next instalment that is for sure as I want to know what happens to Harry from 1939 when this novel leaves off.

8/10 for me.

Book Review: The Drop by Michael Connelly

Had been waiting for this book on Harry Bosch for ages. The two recent electronic short story books have been fine but this is the real deal.

As ever with ongoing series, it is the characters that we want to read about, in this case Harry, his daughter Maddie, Kiz Rider and Chu amongst others. On this level we are not left wanting. Harry is wrestling with quitting or "the Drop" in the title, his relationship with Maddie seems to be fine but he appears to be building up problems for the future? As to Kiz during the course of this novel his relationship with her appears to change completely. Chu and Harry go through a complete circle of a relationship.

Harry is investigating a fairly mundane cold case and this leads him into a huge case and towards a love interest too. He also has to deal with his old nemesis Irvyn Irving on the other one that becomes a political hot potato. Harry seems to prove adept in the politics while maintaining his usual integrity. Maybe this case of high jingo will come back and haunt him later in the series?

Another good novel from Michael Connelly that did not quite reach the heights of some of the others but as ever a cut above the rest in the genre and a must read.

Happy Christmas Everyone!!!

9/10 for me.

Book Review: Now You See Her by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

Another in the James Patterson novels to complete his mega-deal and this one shows a bit. The book is nicely written but the suspension of reality is too much really.

The plot centres on a young woman who is deceived by her boyfriend, gets drunk then takes his car. She kills someone while driving drunk and a friendly policeman covers up for her and takes her under his wing.

They get married and everything seems set fair. Then she finds out some things about her husband and he is too good to be true. She escapes from him and a serial killer and starts a new life with her daughter.

Her past catches up with her and she is dragged back to Florida Keys to face up to reality and her own past. Plenty of thrills and spills on the way and I am sure that you would enjoy this as a holiday read, but not one of the better James Patterson novels.

7/10 for me.

Book Review: A Deniable Death by Gerald Seymour

I find some of Gerald Seymour's books hard going, they seem to be a tad too long. That was the case with this novel, the first half in particular was slow but this was all just building the relationships and setting the scene, it could have been cut a bit I feel?

However the second half of the book was a real page turner, I was so engrossed in the welfare of the two main characters, Foxy and Badger, and I could not wait to find out what happened to them!

The novel concerns a covert spying trip for the two main characters into the border land of Iran to get some information on an Iranian. They literally go undercover and carry out cover surveillance. The British government would deny that they knew anything about this.

It is a good book as the tension uncoils and the action starts in earnest in the second half of the book. The ripples that spread from someone getting some DNA from a bomb maker many months before are felt by many, changing the course of their lives.

8/10 for me.

Book Review: The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo

Happy Christmas!!!

I have felt that some of James Patterson's recent novels have been like a production line and not really lived up to the quality of the early Alex Cross novels or the Women's Murder Club novels.

However, this book is really sweet, well written, cosy and warm. You want to know who the main character is going to marry and about the trials and tribulations of her family.

They are all coming together for Christmas and her wedding, you can almost smell the turkey and the fun that this season brings. It is like all the best of Christmas there on the page, Home Alone, family, friends, steamed up windows, Dickens and Disney all rolled into one. It tugs at your emotions and your heart strings.

A 9/10 for me for sure.

Book Review: One Summer by David Baldacci

This novel, published in 2011, is a bit of a departure for David Baldacci. He has moved away from the thriller towards a romance with some thrills within it.

The novel focuses on a man who is dying but recovers and has to take care of his three young children alone as his wife tragically dies. He inherits an old seaside house where his wife spent her childhood summers. He takes his family there and all sorts of adventures ensue.

We learn how he copes with the loss of his wife, how he gets to know his children, how he deals with his in-laws and new friends and enemies in his life. As you can imagine it is a bit of a bumpy track during the book as he deals with conflicts but everyone seems to move on nicely by the end.

Not as good as the thrillers but a reasonably good read.

7/10 for me.

Book Review: The Litigators by John Grisham

Before I read this novel, I read a review on Goodreads and this was aptly described as "romp". It is an enjoyable read.

The novel concerns a young lawyer who is on the treadmill in the back office and he, David Zinc, appears to flip one day and leaves his very well paid office. He heads to the local bar and gets very drunk then stumbles into a two bit law office of two ambulance chasers (I love that expression). His wife comes and collects him but he decides to join up with Figg and Finlay the down at heel lawyers.

He is led into the fantasy world of one of the lawyers and the firm is set up into a litigation that becomes increasingly difficult for them to win. They are clearly out of their depth but we enjoy the story along the way.

In parallel with this David takes on other cases too. However, it is the world of the two eccentric lawyers that we most enjoy as well as the courtroom scenes that are very well written.

A good book as ever from John Grisham but not quite the best.

8/10 for me.

Book Review: The First Rule by Robert Crais

Another in the superb Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series, this one focusing on Joe Pike.

One of his former mercenary colleagues is killed in his own home by gunmen, along with the rest of the family including the maid. It soon becomes clear that the focus is not on the family they turn out to be collateral damage, but the focus is on the maid.

The maid is Serbian and it is what she had that the killers were after. Pike seeks revenge for his friend and he is led into the murky underworld of gangsters and gun runners. The worst of the worst. Pike also stumbles into an investigation by the FBI too and they turn a blind eye to the killing spree that Pike goes on, plenty of blood-letting in this book.

Pike shows his emotional side in this novel and his caring side too. There is less jokiness about this novel but it is a good read nonetheless.

8/10 for me.

Book Review: The Rottweiler by Ruth Rendell

I like to read Ruth Rendell's stand alone novels although the Wexford novels are obviously her best.

In this novel someone in West London is murdering young women but keeping souvenirs of his kills. Rendell moves us from the national level that such a crime would cause to the local level and the effects of the crime on the inhabitants of converted flats above an antiques and curios shop.

The killer is arrogant and makes a mistake that affects the lives of all of the people around him. As ever with Ruth Rendell we are inside the minds of the diverse people we meet in the novel and it is a fantastic perspective that we get of the facts of the case.

The book is a bit long for me but I enjoyed reading this very much.

8/10 for me.

Book Review: Shelter by Mickey Bolitar

The first in the Mickey Bolitar series, the "nephew" of Myron Bolitar who is the hero of so many of Harlan Coben's previous novels. As I understand it, this is supposed to be aimed at children but I enjoyed the read as well even as an adult in my 50's.

I read this on holiday in New York and it was a lightly written read, and I mean that in the sense that it gave the impression of a teenager's mind but by the pen of a master writer.

Mickey is haunted by the death of his father and the pain of this and dealing with his seemingly overbearing and unwanted uncle Myron. He starts a new school and the first friend he makes disappears mysteriously. In his efforts to find her, Mickey teams up with three other slightly dysfunctional teenagers to track her down.

We are soon in the world of human trafficing and Mickey takes the situation on to help recover his friend. Myron is often there to lend a helping hand too.

8/10 for me.

Book Review: Private London by James Patterson and Mark Pearson

This is the second of the series featuring the organisation Private that is like a super police force. This one is set in London and involves kidnappings, drugs, organised crime and all other sorts of misdemeanours. In the background there is also money and terrorism for good measure.

I quite enjoyed reading this novel as it was set in London and I knew most of the places so I could envision this pretty well. However, the series is not a patch on the Alex Cross or Women's Murder Club that James Patterson writes. In places it got a bit tedious but there were some genuinely interesting parts to the novel.

For me 7/10

Book Review: Rat Race by Dick Francis

Another in the cracking Dick Francis yearly offerings, this one published in 1970. Matt Shore is a pilot who makes his living flying high class patrons around the country but he soon leans of a racing scam. I liked the book from the off as it started in White Waltham, an airfield that I know very well.

Matt however is not doing very well with his life and he appears to be heading downhill. His first flight with the taxi service results in the plane blowing up after he makes an emergency landing.

The hero can be you as he is Mr Ordinary in many ways but being thrust into unusual and frightening circumstances we love to see how he reacts and the actions he takes. He of course gets involved with a woman and there is the usual romance involved. I also enjoyed the tracking down of the villains too.

You will enjoy all the Dick Francis books I am sure.

8/10 for me.

Book Review: Slay Ride by Dick Francis

This Dick Francis novel is set in Norway but of course he sticks to his safe ground of the horse world. The case involves the disappearance of a visiting English jockey to Norway.

The novel was published in 1973 and it the usual Dick Francis page turner. There is the usual cast of Dick Francis characters too; we get the young man who stubbornly tries to justice. There is also the bullying big business deterrent as well as the slightly uncomfortable rich people at the racetrack too. There is some love interest as well together with the thrills and spills that you would expect from a Dick Francis thriller.

8/10 for me.

Book Review: Tigerlilly’s Orchids by Ruth Rendell

This is the last of the Ruth Rendell or Barbara Vine novels that I need to read to complete my set of reading them, finished on 26 October 2011 in Doha, Qatar. Have enjoyed reading the Ruth Rendell and Barbara Vine novels generally but the real stars are (obviously) the Wexford novels that are great and I hope that there are more to come of these.

As to Tigerlilly's Orchids this novel focuses on the inhabitants of a small block of flats and the neighbours opposite in suburban London. As usual with Ruth Rendell we get into the heads of the characters and learn about their aspirations and their dreams.

We also discover what they think of each other and the tensions that exist.

A flat warming party proves to the catalyst behind a lot of the events, which eventually ends up in murder. Subsequent to the murder we find out Tigerlilly's true identity and what her family are actually doing in their house, it has nothing to do with growing orchids.

I generally enjoy these types of Ruth Rendell or Barbara Vine novels but this one for me just lacks some edge. I like to feel a little uncomfortable with the characters in that they often do something shocking and yet we are led to believe the logic behind their actions then scold ourselves for thinking this. Unfortunately there is no such shock factor in this novel.

7/10 for me.

Book Review: Enquiry by Dick Francis

Kelly Hughes is a jockey who has been accused of being a cheat in a Steward’s enquiry. We are back in the horse racing world of Dick Francis, that is a great place to be! Kelly, with the help of his employer’s daughter Kelly investigates all of those who have testified against him in an effort to clear his name.

He uncovers evidence that the Chief Steward is being blackmailed and he drives on with his investigations to discover that the perpetrator behind all of this is someone who has motives for his actions. The criminal is someone that we can believe and maybe we are not so far away from crimes as we may think, the man is suffering from many of the pressures we suffer from albeit in more exaggerated form.

There is a touch of romance in the novel too as well as a page turning read all round.

8/10 for me on this one.

Book Review: Forfeit by Dick Francis

The story begins with Bert Checkov a Fleet Street racing correspondent who gives some advice to James Tyrone minutes before he falls to his death. James investigates what he is told and soon his life, and that of his wife is in grave danger.

This novel published in 1968, has the unusual twist that the hero, James, is married to a woman paralyzed by polio. The plot centres on blackmail and this novel won the Edgar for Best Novel.

James is also a journalist and he notices in his investigations of Bert that he notices that there is something odd about the horses Bert has written about. As the mystery unravels it is a race between the good guy and the bad guy to try and prevent the bad guy from achieving his plans. Many thrills and spills on the way and a nice cosy read for me.

8/10 for this Dick Francis novel.

Book Review: 10th Anniversary by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

At the beginning of this novel, Lindsay gets married to Joe and at the end the 10th anniversary of the meeting up of Lindsay and Claire gets celebrated. Inbetween we have the usual concurrent storylines to keep us interested.

One storyline is the schoolgirl who gives birth and puts her baby up for adoption through a website. She is underage and this situation takes some unravelling.

A taxi company is chief suspect in a series of rapes around San Francisco. Cindy takes one of their cabs and takes on more than she bargained for. Having a boyfriend in the police helps to get her rescued.

Yuki is on a court case where Lindsay appears to be batting for the other side. Some sparks fly at times until the truth is told.

For me this one has not been one of the better Womens Murder Club.

Therefore I would say this was a 7/10

Book Review: Blood Sport by Dick Francis

Another in the yearly offering of Dick Francis, said to have been the Queen Mother’s favourite author. I too enjoy reading his books and have now read them all.

Blood Sport was published in 1967, and this one sees Gene Hawkins having to travel to Kentucky, ordered there by his boss, to look for kidnapped stallions. Again we are in the horse world and Gene is soon embroiled in a typhoon of blackmail and murder.

The novel moves us from the River Thames, to Kentucky, to Las Vegas as well as the beaches of the Pacific. We meet the rich criminal and of course there is a bit of love interest too.

Gene is an interesting character to play the lead in this novel he is a man of mystery, he often gets depressed and this borders on the verge of suicide. The book is as much about Gene as it is about the search for the missing horses.

8/10 for me.

 

Book Review: Flying Finish by Dick Francis

This book was published in 1966 and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, as I do pretty much all of the Dick Francis novels. I miss this yearly treat.

Lord Henry Grey decides to take a change of career and he switches to his skills of being a pilot and combines this with his love of horses (he was an amateur jockey) to become a transporter of race horses and brood mares. He hopes that this will make him feel better towards life, get him out the rut he is in and enable him to see a bit of the world too.

The pressure is on Henry when he discovers that his planes are carrying more than horses and his employer does not want him to know. The mystery is also interspersed with a bit of romance with the lovely Gabriella.

A solid 8/10 for me.

Book Review: 9th Judgement by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Another in the Women's Murder Club series. As usual there are two main threads to the story. One is someone who is an Iraq vetran who has been deeply affected by the death of his best friend in combat. He takes out his form of revenge on women and children, gunning them down indiscriminately.

The other thread concerns a cat burglar who is a sort of To Catch A Theif good thief, who is robbing from the rich in the hope of getting a better life for herself and her fancy woman.

The women in the Murder Club all move on in their lives too and this is of interest to me as I have got used to the characters now. Lindsay makes her mind up, Cindy move on in her relatiohship and Yuki is still at the pinball stage of moving from one potential to another.

A nice read and 8/10 from me.

Book Review: 8th Confession by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Another in the Women's Murder Club series, number 8 (the clue is in the book title :-)) As usual set in San Francisco and featuring Lindsay Boxer from the SFPD and her friends.

There are two criminal threads here. First of all there is somone killing very rich people. However there are no obvious clues to how these people have died, there appears to be no trace of how and by whom they were killed. By pulling her resources, Lindsay cracks the case and chases down the killer.

The other thread is a street man who is murdered and Cindy champions his cause. However as the facts about the man, Bagman Jesus are uncovered all is not what it seems.

We are also interested in the relationships of the women and for three of them their love lives change for the better or worse.

A good read and 8/10 for me.

Book Review: Chasing Darkness by Robert Crais

This is another cracking read from Robert Crais, another in the Elivs Cole/Joe Pike series. I watched a video of the author talking about this novel and about people coming to Los Angeles to chase their dreams but amongst all the glam and glitter there is a dark side. It is this dark side that Elvis finds himself in with this novel.

Elvis did some work for a lawyer a few years back and proved with a time line that a man did not kill this woman. Now it appears to be that the man was the killer and he went on to kill even more women. The police appear to have all the evidence sewn up and Elvis is targetted by the family of one of the following victim's families.

As ever, despite all the nail on evidence the police have, all is not as it seems and Elvis is on the case, aided from time to time by Joe Cole. The police clam up, there appears to be a consipracy to stop Elvis investigating. The spotlight of suspicion falls on the police and others before the truth is revealed.

9/10

Book Review: Summer of a Dormouse by John Mortimer

The Summer of a Dormouse is another of John Mortimer's autobiography/musings on life and it is a fairly lighthearted look at growing old disgracefully. His tipping point for old age appears to be not being able to put your socks on without help.

I enjoyed this book quite a lot but not as much as his earlier episodes, presumably as he was running out of material? However there is still plenty to amuse here and for me it was particularly interesting as he is from Henley on Thames and that is not too far from where I come from and I know Henley pretty well. It is also nice to read about some famous people behind the scenes as it were as well as dips into the theatrical and movie worlds. The writing as ever is as easy as a summer's day.

7/10 for me.

Book Review: Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

This book I read very quickly in a few hours. I enjoyed it a lot, it is a romantic novel that tells the tale of a man recovering from the death of his father and being very cautious about getting married. However when he does it is all whistles and bells in his life although there is a cloud in the background.

The diary though is from a mother to a son. The diary is given to a woman who has just been jilted by her boyfriend. The woman is also pregnant with the man's child and she takes the time to read the diary.

We are led along a nice path that contains tragedy, love and the human spirit and the lesson to live each day as if it will be your last as one day you will be right.

8/10 for me.

Book Review: Port Mortuary by Patricia Cornwell (Kay Scarpetta 18)

I enjoyed the early Scarpetta novels very much but they have dipped very much in readability and Kathy Reichs has surpassed these novels by quite a long way now. However, I loyally continue to read the Patricia Cornwell novels in the hope that she will regain her form.

Scarpetta is the new chief of the Cambridge Forensic Centre that is a joint state/federal venture and she returns to her post after working with the Air Force. When she gets back to Cambridge she finds that standards have slipped. She discovers that one of the corpses could have been alive when it was put in the cooler. This revelation could ruin Scarpetta personally and professionally as well as shutting down the facility.

It soon becomes clear that sabotage of the facility is someone's aim. Scarpetta and her usual cast of characters (Marino, Lucy and Benton) investigate the cases that come up to bring the perpetrator to justice.

I enjoyed this novel a little bit more than the recent novels in the series, so hopefully number 19 will be a return to form? This one is on the way for me.

7/10

Book Review: The Postcard Killers by James Patterson and Lisa Marklund

A pair of serial killers is on the loose in Europe killing newlyweds. A father of one of the victims is on their tale from the USA. He befriends a reporter and together they try and track down the killers together.

The murderers send postcards of their killings and bizarrely they pose their victims as great works of art.

We are slowly dripfed information about the killers and it is apparent that there are precedents in their lives to these killings. Once this becomes known it is all a bit predictable. At one point the killers are arrested and the pretty unbelievably realeased.

Cannot say I enjoyed this too much, the middle (the release of the killers) is not explained very well, their backgrounds would also lead an idiot to arrest them (although half of Europe and the USA's cops missed this angle!) and it is all a bit silly. I get the impression that with this novel James Patterson is just filling his book deal.

Not good for me and 5/10

Book Review: The Two Minute Rule by Robert Crais

This is not in the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series but is a standalone thriller and is a very readable and enjoyable book. The criminal Max Holman is released from prison after a ten year stretch for bank robbery and is slowly readjusting to being back in society. Just before he is released however his son is gunned down. The pair have been estranged for a very long time and the son's mother has died. Max tries to put things right with his dead girlfriend and his son.

We learn of Max's pain at losing his son after so nearly getting to meet him as a son. He tries to track down his son's killers with the help of a fallen FBI Agent. She was the Agent who arrested Max all those years ago. They form an unlikely relationship but in the hands of Crais it is very believable.

As the novel unfolds we learn about corrupt cops and was Richie, the son, one of them or not? We also learn about the strange and almost comic details of Max's arrest as well.

A great novel for me and 9/10

Book Review: The Water's Lovely by Ruth Rendell

Two pairs of sisters share a house. One of the younger ones has killed her stepfather in the past by holding him underwater in the bath. The mother and sister have covered this up. The mother is now mentally ill and being looked after by her sister (an aunt) in the upper flat.

The other two daughters embark on relationships with men that are very different. These relationships upset the status quo and bring tension to the novel.

Does the sister warn her future brother in law of the earlier event, or does she keep him in the dark? The plot unfolds wonderfully and as ever we are given glimpses into the characters and see the action through their eyes.

8/10 for me.

Book Review: The Tinder Box by Minette Walters

This is a short read novella set in Hampshire in England. An Irishman has been accused of murdering an elderley lady and her nurse. Spirits in the village are running high and they are set against this man. His parents and cousin are threatened before the trial.

Crimes of arson and further murders ensue and we soon learn the truth of behind the killings and whether Patrick is guilty of the murders or not?

Why doesn't Minette Walters write any more? Anyone know?

A reasonable read and 6/10 for me.