RULER OF THE NIGHT by David Morrell

November 17, 2016

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Thomas and Emily De Quincey, Book 3

Morrell brings to a conclusion his well researched trilogy featuring Thomas De Quincey, known as the Opium eater, and his daughter Emily. He brought us into the mid-19th century in England, at a time when Russia was at war with England in the Crimea, and the railroad was in the process of transforming the country and bringing it head long into the Industrial Revolution.

De Quincey was one of the first figures to utilize logic and the finding of clues into solving criminal cases. He was a huge consumer of opium, using the intake of laudanum which was used as a painkiller to imbibe it.

The first death aboard a train was about 25 years before the year 1855, which is when this novel is set. We re-meet De Quincey and Emily when they are aboard a train coming out of London, and discover a horrible murder committed in the next compartment to theirs.

The war against Russia is not very popular in England and the first thoughts are that the killing has been done by a Russian agent. The De Quinceys join forces with friends of theirs at Scotland Yard, Detectives Ryan and Becker. Both of these men have learned much about crime solving from Thomas and also each has an open crush on Emily.

Other murders occur in London with the thought the same that they have something to do with the Crimean war.

In solving the cases, David Morrell ties up some past conflicts for De Quincey and in a literary license manner tied to the truth brings the trilogy to a very satisfying ending. Due to the prodigious amount of research into the period and the people living then, the reader experiences the sights, the smells, and the living conditions for both rich and poor.

Well done, a possible prelude to more historical novels with portraits of the people living then.

11/16 Paul Lane

RULER OF THE NIGHT by David Morrell. Mulholland Books (November 15, 2016). ISBN 978-0316307901. 352p.

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THE JEKYLL REVELATION by Robert Masello

November 16, 2016

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Robert Masello has the knack of writing books that incorporate both the supernatural with a well researched time and place for the action. The thoughtful combining of these two factors provide the reader with a unique reading experience which will hold him or her captivated by the novel.

Rafael Salazar is an environmental scientist working in the Topanga Canyon in California with a project of classifying the habits of coyotes. While he does expect to find animal poachers in the normal course of his work, he is surprised to find an antique steamer trunk when a rain shortage brings the item to a newly dry area of a lake.

Investigating the contents, Salazar finds an old journal written by the famed author Robert Louis Stevenson and describing events centering in the 1880’s. At that time Stevenson, a sickly man, was a resident at a care center headed by a doctor developing new and radical treatments. Taking some of the treatments described require an acceptance of literary license. For example, pertinent to the story Stevenson is injected with blood taken from a wolf. The doctor also offers him a specially made tonic which somewhat invigorates the famed author.

Readings from the journal are interspersed with Rafael Salazar’s adventures in the Topanga Canyon in present day California. Stevenson moved to London from the care center and met such literary figures as Charles Dickens and Bran Stoker, the creator and author of Dracula. Stoker, during the period he met Stevenson, was the manager of a theater and coincidentally had a dramatization of “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” playing. The book had recently been published, becoming a hit in England. The play featured an actor that achieved an almost miraculous ability to change quickly on stage from Jekyll to Hyde.

During the period when the play was drawing big crowds, the famed serial killer “Jack the Ripper” appeared in London mysteriously murdering several prostitutes, and surgically cutting them up. For a short while the blame fell on the actor playing in Stoker’s theater since Mr Hyde looked like the supposed description of Jack. But, as is known, the ripper was never caught.

Stevenson left England with his wife and family, stopped in California for a short time and than moved to American Samoa with the hope that the climate there would help his illnesses. He passed away leaving the world with a brilliant literary legacy. What his trunk was doing in California is explained and as part of the narration it’s contents help Rafael Salazar move forward in a budding affair with a woman living in the Canyon, and also do away with a drug manufacturing ring based there.

Very well done and certainly another captivating book by Masello.

11/16 Paul Lane

THE JEKYLL REVELATION by Robert Masello. 47North (November 8, 2016). ISBN 978-1503951198. 492p.

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WHILE THE DUKE WAS SLEEPING by Sophie Jordan

November 14, 2016

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The Rogue Files, Book 1

One my favorite Christmas movies is “While You Were Sleeping“, Sandra Bullock’s first starring role and if you, too, like that movie, you will like this book. The film:

Lonely transit worker Lucy Eleanor Moderatz (Sandra Bullock) pulls her longtime crush, Peter (Peter Gallagher), from the path of an oncoming train. At the hospital, doctors report that he’s in a coma, and a misplaced comment from Lucy causes Peter’s family to assume that she is his fiancée. When Lucy doesn’t correct them, they take her into their home and confidence. Things get even more complicated when she finds herself falling for Peter’s sheepish brother, Jack.

This book is the same story, only set a couple of hundred years earlier.

Poppy Fairchurch is a salesgirl in a flower shop where the Duke of Autenberry shops nearly every day. He is handsome, kind and generous, and Poppy fancies herself in love with him. He, of course, doesn’t even know she’s alive.

One day after shopping, Poppy sees the Duke throw a punch at another man. The Duke ends up in the road and a horse drawn cart is racing down upon him. Poppy flings herself on the Duke, pushing him to safety. A moment later, the other man in the fight pushes Poppy to safety.

Turns out the men are half brothers and don’t get along. Poppy’s boss insists she accompany the unconscious Duke home, where due to a mis-overhead conversation, the housekeeper thinks they are engaged. The Duke is in a coma, but family is delighted with Poppy somehow, despite the difference in their classes.

Meanwhile Struan, the half-brother, who was raised in Scotland, is intrigued with the shopgirl and can’t quite believe she is engaged to the Duke. The Duke’s best friend knows it isn’t true, but he peruades Poppy to allow the family to think they are engaged.

Poppy and Struan are both fighting an intense physical attraction but none too successfully, and there are a few steamy scenes there.

The happy ending is eventually reached, and Poppy and Struan realize they fell in love while the Duke was sleeping.

11/16 Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch™

WHILE THE DUKE WAS SLEEPING by Sophie Jordan. Avon (October 25, 2016). ISBN: 978-0062222541. 384p.

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A WEDDING FOR CHRISTMAS by Lori Wilde

November 13, 2016

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A Twilight, Texas Novel

Although there are several Twilight, Texas novels, this is really the sequel to last year’s I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS. That story was a takeoff on the film, The Holiday, where Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet trade homes over the Christmas holiday. In the book, Kate and Gabi trade homes, and Gabi falls in love with Kate’s brother.

This book starts off with Kate’s adventure in Los Angeles while staying at Gabi’s home. She goes to a club where she runs into her first high school crush, Ryder Southerland. He is security at the club and tackles her, mistaking her for a stalker. They end up spending the night together having mind blowing sex, but Kate slips out in the morning and heads home.

The story then picks up a year later. Gabi and Joe’s wedding is taking place on Christmas Eve and Kate is the maid of honor. Ryder is the best man and it is his first time back in Twilight in over a decade. He comes home a few weeks early after he finds out the stepmother who hated him has died. His father is in the hospital and Kate is hired to clear out the house before he comes home. There were major hoarding issues going on there.

Kate and Ryder meet up and the sparks fly, but Kate is afraid of a relationship because of Ryder’s commitment issues. Ryder has feelings for Kate, but is afraid to take the next step. Meanwhile the housecleaning goes on, as do the pre-wedding parties and Ryder and Kate are constantly thrown together.

They end up back in bed again but Kate is treating him like an embarrassment. Eventually Gabi and Joe point out that everyone knows what’s going on and they come out of hiding. A pregnancy scare moves things forward but there is no easy path to the happy ending.

Another fun, sexy read in Twilight, Texas.

11/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

A WEDDING FOR CHRISTMAS by Lori Wilde. Avon (October 25, 2016). ISBN 978-0062311450. 384p.

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John Grisham on his literary influences

November 12, 2016

In high school, author John Grisham (THE WHISTLER) was assigned a book by Steinbeck, who he appreciated for the clarity of his writing. Later, John le Carré’s THE LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL became an important influence.

THE WHISTLER

From John Grisham, America’s #1 bestselling author, comes the most electrifying novel of the year, a high-stakes thrill ride through the darkest corners of the Sunshine State.

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We expect our judges to be honest and wise. Their integrity and impartiality are the bedrock of the entire judicial system. We trust them to ensure fair trials, to protect the rights of all litigants, to punish those who do wrong, and to oversee the orderly and efficient flow of justice.

But what happens when a judge bends the law or takes a bribe? It’s rare, but it happens.

Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the Board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption.

But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business with a new identity. He now goes by the name Greg Myers, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined. And not just crooked judges in Florida. All judges, from all states, and throughout U.S. history.

What’s the source of the ill-gotten gains? It seems the judge was secretly involved with the construction of a large casino on Native American land. The Coast Mafia financed the casino and is now helping itself to a sizable skim of each month’s cash. The judge is getting a cut and looking the other way. It’s a sweet deal: Everyone is making money.

But now Greg wants to put a stop to it. His only client is a person who knows the truth and wants to blow the whistle and collect millions under Florida law. Greg files a complaint with the Board on Judicial Conduct, and the case is assigned to Lacy Stoltz, who immediately suspects that this one could be dangerous.

Dangerous is one thing. Deadly is something else.

THE WHISTLER by John Grisham. Doubleday (October 25, 2016). ISBN: 978-0385541190. 384p.

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THE MAN WHO WANTED TO KNOW EVERYTHING by D.A. Mishani

November 11, 2016

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Avraham Avraham Series, Book 3

In this third entry in the Avraham series set in Tel Aviv, the detective investigates his first murder case. The victim is a 60-year-old widow, and Avraham is surprised to see that he knows her.

A neighbor reported seeing a policeman in the building around the same time as the murder, but the higher ups don’t want to hear about that or publicize it in any way. Avraham is also dealing with his girlfriend, who recently moved in with him after moving from Brussels. Avraham struggles with his personal problems and his murder case, especially when his bosses zero in on a suspect he is not convinced did it.

Mazal Bengtson realizes her marriage is in serious trouble, and when her husband tells her he may have hurt someone in a hit and run accident, she realizes there may be more to his story than he’s telling.

The case slowly unfolds and the translation by Todd Hasak-Lowy is occasionally awkward or politically incorrect (“yesterday night”; “Do I look retarded to you?”) and that awkwardness tended to pull me out of the story. Nonetheless, this should appeal to readers who enjoy international police procedurals, books set in Israel, or Liam Shoham novels.

11/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE MAN WHO WANTED TO KNOW EVERYTHING by D.A. Mishani. Harper Paperbacks (November 8, 2016). ISBN 978-0062447906. 304p.

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CITY ON EDGE by Stefanie Pintoff

November 10, 2016

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Eve Rossi, Book 2

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is at the center of this New York City thriller. A riot breaks out the night before the parade and Police Commissioner Logan Donovan is shot.

Luckily, it’s not as serious as it first appears, until he realizes that during the confusion, his thirteen year old daughter has been kidnapped. Fearing for her life, he turns to the FBI, specifically to Eve Rossi.

Rossi heads Vidocq, a strictly undercover team of ex-cons with specific skills that can be put to good use here. Then another child is kidnapped, one with serious medical issues.

The kidnapper has several demands and Eve and her team scramble to meet them all, but panic ensues when they realize there may be more than just a kidnapping at stake. This appears to be a personal vendetta against the police commissioner, with possibly horrific consequences for the thousands of people lining the streets for the parade.

This is a worthy follow up to the first Eve Rossi thriller, and should appeal to Linda Fairstein or Meg Gardiner readers.

9/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

CITY ON EDGE by Stefanie Pintoff. Bantam (November 15, 2016). ISBN 978-0425284452. 400p.

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NIGHT SCHOOL by Lee Child

November 7, 2016

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Jack Reacher Series, Book 21

In this 21st entry in the hugely popular series, Jack Reacher is still in the Army as it is 1996. That means he’s not wandering and he’s following orders. It also means no internet, no cell phones, no 9/11.

Reacher has been given a medal for his mission in the Balkans, and immediately is ordered to attend night school. But when he gets there, he realizes this is not school at all, but a secret mission.

There are rumors that an American traitor has something to sell to Islamic terrorists for $100 million. Reacher is working with other government agents from the FBI and CIA, along with Frances Neagley (Without Fail.) Of course Reacher takes lead on the case, despite being low man on the totem pole, and eventually figures out what’s going on. This involves an extended stay in Hamburg, Germany with a variety of bad guys popping up.

I found this to be one of the slowest moving books in the series, the action doesn’t really take off until beyond the half way point. It’s an interesting story, especially given the time period, but I’m sorry to say it is not my favorite Reacher book.

11/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

NIGHT SCHOOL by Lee Child. Delacorte Press (November 7, 2016). ISBN 978-0804178808. 384p.

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GOLIATH by Shawn Corridan & Gary Waid

November 5, 2016

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A powerhouse story of men against the sea in the tradition of authors that pioneered the genre such as Jack London. Russia launches the world’s largest supertanker on a secret mission during it’s maiden voyage. The only person with knowledge of what is to be accomplished is the captain.

An engineer discovers a minor defect in the ship’s mechanism and informs the captain. But in spite of attempts to correct the problem a fire erupts and in spite of efforts to control it, it spreads to engulf the entire ship.

Two hundred miles from the stricken vessel, Sonny Wade, the owner of a failing salvage business, is telling his crew that a salvage attempt just completed has not produced any money. The business is not able to continue operations.

Just after he has dismissed his men including his daughter who sails with him and attempts to keep the business going a mayday is received. It is from the Bennkah, the 700,000 ton Russian tanker that is aground and filled with petroleum worth a fortune. The name Bennkah is Russian for Goliath and that is also the Herculean task Sonny seizes as his way out of the financial doldrums his business is in.

Sonny quickly gets the crew together and goes out at an attempt to pick up the Bennkah and in so doing collect the huge amount of money salvaging the ship will bring. But sailing also to grab the prize is Dan Sharp, Sonny’s former employer and currently his nemesis.

The novel is a tale of men arising to great heights in fighting the eternal sea for the prize. The book moves with a rapid pace and is guaranteed to keep the reader transfixed. Sonny’s knowledge and understanding of the ocean and problems and solutions it brings is showcased. A new member of the crew picked up before sailing due to his knowledge of underwater welding provides a love interest for Sonny’s daughter who has had a bad relationship with Dan Sharp’s captain. She fights her attraction but it does let her come to understand that things have a way of working out.

Excellent book and hopefully the beginning of a series.

11/16 Paul Lane

GOLIATH by Shawn Corridan & Gary Waid. Center Street (October 11, 2016). ISBN 978-1455530441. 384p.

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THE HOPEFULS by Jennifer Close

November 4, 2016

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I think this was the review snippet that got me to pick up this book:

“Jennifer Close’s fresh, smart, realistic portrayal of two young Washington couples is a must read for House of Cards junkies…. [D.C.] almost functions as a fifth character in the book, with its own quirks and dynamics and idiosyncrasies.” —Kimmery Martin, The Huffington Post

I love House of Cards (British version even more so,) love politics (although this election season has just about driven me around the bend) and I am a West Wing fanatic (re-watching the entire series to follow along with the West Wing Weekly podcast, amazing!) So this sounded like a book I would love.

I didn’t love it, but I did enjoy it. It was more about the relationships between husbands and wives and friendship than about politics. Although that is not a bad thing, it wasn’t what I expected. And D.C. was a very minor plot point.

Beth and Matt are newly arrived in Washington D.C., where Matt has secured a job in the Obama White House after working on the campaign. Beth hates it immediately, missing New York City. Matt loves it. He comes from a family that models itself on the Kennedy’s, with ritual Sunday family dinners, super competitive football in the yard, and a week every August at the family compound on the shore.

Matt is Harvard smart and dreams of running for office himself one day. Beth isn’t so sure about any of it. They befriend another young couple, Jimmy and Ash. Jimmy has a great job as advance man for Obama, and Matt envies his career path and the easy way he charms every one he meets. Ash is a Texas Southern belle, but quickly she and Beth become the closest of friends, two fish out of water in D.C. and clinging to each other.

The book follows the ups and downs in their lives and is told mostly from Beth’s point of view, so it is a complete bitchfest, although there are some very funny moments that help balance it out. When Jimmy runs for Railroad Commissioner in Texas (yes, there is such a thing, and even though I lived in Texas for five years I never heard of it) Matt becomes Jimmy’s campaign manager. The two couples move to Texas, share a huge house and a life until ten months later the election is slipping away. All their relationships have slipped away as well. Matt and Jimmy are fighting. Ash and Jimmy are fighting, Matt and Beth are just ignoring each other, and even Beth and Ash drift apart.

Eventually things work out the way they are supposed to, Matt finds a better job in DC, as does Beth, and they live happily ever after. We hope.

11/16 Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch™

THE HOPEFULS by Jennifer Close. Knopf (July 19, 2016). ISBN 978-1101875612. 320p.

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