Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

This is the third Crawford novel featuring Ethan Warner, continuing the trend of setting up a plot that is outside of the normal and involving him in scenarios that enter into the paranormal. Warner is summoned by the Defense Intelligence Agency to help with the investigation of a double murder of a woman and her daughter.

Within moments of arriving at the scene with his partner Nicola Lopez, Ethan is telephoned by the woman’s husband who tells him that he did not commit the murders, but he himself will be killed within 24 hours, knows the murderer who is not yet aware that he will kill, and predicts various events that will occur during the 24 hour period.

The opening throws Ethan and Nicola into an investigation that involves the Bermuda Triangle, and the mysteries surrounding it, a huge undersea installation first built by the military and taken over by a private company and a logically developed and explained method of seeing into the near future.

Crawford has a knack for grabbing the reader and drawing him or her into the book, explaining the possible science behind developments portrayed in easy to understand terms without making these events explained away by glossing over them. High adventure very well done with out of the ordinary plots continues to be Crawford’s forte and he guarantees sleepless nights for the reader engrossed in his book.

3/14 Paul Lane

APOCALYPSE by Dean Crawford. Touchstone (March 18, 2014). ISBN 978-1451659498. 416p.

Louise Beeston is on the brink of a complete meltdown. Distraught over being separated from her seven-year-old son, Louise is already in a sensitive place. But now her neighbor’s partying has kept her up late one too many times. Exhausted, Louise attempts to once more politely broach the subject with her neighbor. Her pleas are not only ignored, she’s ridiculed by Justin Clay and his friends.

Clay takes things one step further by blasting Louise’s walls with classical pieces and finally what sounds like choral music. Choral music like that her son has been performing at the elite Saviour College School. Louise reaches out to the local authorities but becomes convinced that their efforts will be in vain. Then she hears about a new second home community just over an hour away. It would mean peace and quiet, a break from the neighbor, a chance to recover and relax. But even here Louise can’t escape the haunting melodies and hymns. Now it seems Louise may truly be losing her mind… unless there’s another meaning behind the music.

This stand alone from Hannah had all the pieces of a potentially great chiller but unfortunately fell flat. While the book begins with good character development, setting the scene for Louise’s no doubt looming mental breakdown, the overall balance of the book is disappointing.

By the time Louise starts to find out more about her mysterious choral music, the book is fully three quarters through. Ultimately the end comes on much too quickly and with very little explanation.

3/14 Becky Lejeune

THE ORPHAN CHOIR by Sophie Hannah. Picador (January 28, 2014). ISBN 978-1250041029. 288p.

The author of The Expats returns with another mesmerizing espionage novel, this time centered on a novel written by someone styling themselves as “Anonymous.”

Isabel Reed, a top literary agent, is sent a manuscript which captures her immediately, revealing dark hidden secrets about a great man whose life and career could be destroyed if the book were ever published. At the same time, Hayden Gray, a CIA chief of station in Copenhagen, is attempting to prevent that publication from happening. The author of the manuscript is living the life of an expat in Zurich, attempting to make up for a life of lies and deceits with the publication of the book.

Pavone sets up a plot that moves quickly from danger and possibly murder for anyone that has a copy of the book, in attempts to squelch the revelations. Scenes move from New York to Europe and also to a road in upper New York State a quarter of a century earlier, when the subject of the book commits what becomes the point of the plot.

Chris Pavone is good at making his characters react and think as they would in real life and allow his readers to enjoy a fascinating internationally focused novel. An all nighter and one that will prompt interest in his next book.

3/14 Paul Lane

THE ACCIDENT by Chris Pavone. Crown (March 11, 2014). ISBN 978-0385348454. 400p.

Grippando brings back Jack Swyteck, his Miami based attorney, who is marrying his girlfriend Andie Henning. Andie is an undercover agent for the FBI and Jack has to accept the fact that much of what she does is confidential and he will not know about it. The two plan a honeymoon to Key West and settle in for days of romance and getting to know each other as man and wife. The getting to know includes the revelation that Andie is pregnant and expecting in about eight months.

An unexpected glitch suddenly affects both Jack and Andie when an ocean going, Cuban owned drilling rig explodes, triggering an immense oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that wends its way towards the Florida Keys and up the coast from there. The rig is in Cuban waters and is actually a consortium between Cuba, Venezuela, China and Russia whose group prohibits the U.S. from bringing in equipment to contain the oil spill.

The problem falls into both Jack and Andie’s laps when the F.B.I. calls her back to work on what might be a terrorist plot to blow up the rig. At the same time Jack agrees to represent a girl whose fiancé was on the rig working towards a solution to be allowed to leave Cuba and be with his sweetheart in the United States.
The author covers the activities of both Jack and Andie in their work on what could be the same problem. As always, Grippando’s knowledge of the intricacies of the law and his explanations of cause and effects in the action tied to these rules makes the action very real to the reader, and allows him to think of Jack as not superman, but a good, knowledgeable practitioner of the law. Andie’s role in her portion of the events is in keeping with her image as a woman loving her job, doing it well, but aware of the dangers involved in working undercover.

Grippando’s books never cease to attract and keep the reader going, and when finished anxiously awaiting the next one.

2/14 Paul Lane

BLACK HORIZON by James Grippando. Harper (March 4, 2014). ISBN 978-0062109880. 384p.

Leonard delivers another book in which he shows his skill in bringing characters to life, as well as setting up an interesting plot. O’Clair is a retired Detroit Homicide detective that has moved to Florida, opened up a motel and developed a love interest in Virginia, a younger, stunning girl who can fix anything and works with him.

Life looks sweet for him when suddenly he discovers a young girl killed and left on a chair outside of his motel on the adjoining beach. The circumstances are very similar to those of a series of murders he worked on while still active in Detroit. At that point he caught the serial killer who was jailed in Michigan and the case marked closed.

Circumstances appear that the actual killer in Detroit was never caught and has followed O’Clair to Florida. The murder forces him to offer his help to the homicide detective in Florida, due to the similarity to those in Detroit. The case is worked at both areas, and includes a trip revisiting people and evidence gathered in Detroit. The reasons for the murders occurring in Florida constitute a major force in the novel and help with the solution.

In all probability, Peter Leonard has developed a character that will be used again in future novels and will be a welcome one.

3/14 Paul Lane

EYES CLOSED TIGHT by Peter Leonard. Story Plant, The (March 4, 2014). ISBN 978-1611881141. 300p.

Thomson won me over with ONCE A SPY followed by the sequel – TWICE A SPY. In SEVEN GRAMS OF LEAD, Thomson introduces all new character – journalist Russ Thornton. If you are even the slightest bit paranoid, you may not want to get into this one.

Ostensibly the plot revolves around the development and then theft of an e-bomb – which generates an electro-magnetic pulse which fries all semiconductor material in range. However, the real “makes you wonder and keeps you up at night” part comes from the massive and pervasive overt and covert surveillance by various government agencies and the lack of oversight and control of these activities.

In this regard the book reads right out of today’s headlines about NSA eavesdropping activities, and will definitely make you shudder. On the other hand, if you are not overly paranoid, it’s a great read with a delightfully twisted ending.

2/14 Jack Quick

SEVEN GRAMS OF LEAD by Keith Thomson. Anchor (February 25, 2014). ISBN 978-0307949905. 464p.