Friday, July 27, 2007

Rattlesnake Crossing, J.A. Jance-Book Review

"Rattlesnake Crossing" by J.A. Jance is a superb mystery full of suspense and eloquently written with good down to earth motherhood and love. Joanna Brady is the sheriff of Cochise county, Az. and a single mom of Jenny, 11 years old. The hardships of being a mom and the sheriff are what Joanna faces every day. The high power sniper activity that downed 2 cattle and destroyed a well pump at a local ranch, took Joanna to a gun dealer in Pomerene to gather info about 50 caliber sniper guns. She finds the dealer dead and all his guns gone. This was the beginning of a mystery of a serial killer that brutally kills and mutilates by scalping the dead. One of the victims from a dude ranch that caters to wannabe Apache Indians, puts the focus on the visitors of Rattlesnake Crossing because of the scalping. Joanna is faced with the crime of the century and the chores of a single mom. Her relationship deepens with Butch Dixon and the sad tale of her friend Maculyea's adopted daughter becoming very ill. Joanna has a full plate but overcomes these problems with faith and perseverance. Only J.A. Jance can write a story of this quality and keep the reader going to the end.

Friday, July 20, 2007

The Last Coyote, Michael Connelly

"The Last Coyote" by Michael Connelly is a very involved detective mystery that Harry Bosch decides to solve. Bosch receives involuntary stress leave (ISL) after pushing his commanding officer through a window. With time on his side, Bosch takes on a voluntary cold case of the murder of his mom that was 31 years ago. Having to see a shrink, the true Bosch comes to light, a very angry man. The psychologist brings to surface much dirty laundry that Bosch must face. He must contend with internal investigation, political power and ruthless killers that want everything kept quite. Also Bosch lost his lover and his house is condemned from earthquake damage. He has a heavy load and might be the last coyote on the LAPD. In the search for the answer Bosch travels to Florida and meets a lady that left a spark in his heart. Connelly writes an in depth story of a detective who overcomes these problems by moving forward in life. Very good story that keeps the reader going to the end.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Beach Road, James Patterson

"Beach Road" by Patterson and De Jonge is a real suspenseful thriller that is easy to read and very interesting to try and figure out the plot, who dun it. The story starts in East Hampton where the wealthy have muti- million dollar estates. At one estate the owner built an official basketball court and the locals had games there often. Tom Dunleavy was a pro player, but injury kept him from his dreams. He ended up a lawyer in East Hampton and kept busy enough to pay the bills. Tom still played and went to the court to stay in shape. After a fight at one of the games, three team mates were murdered and Dante Halleyville is falsely accused. Dante is a friend of Tom's so Tom decides to defend him in court. Tom seeks the help of Kate Costello, a successful super lawyer and Tom's old lover. Together they produce a good defense for the trial of the century. Patterson has written the book from the viewpoints of the different characters involved. It is some what different from his normal prose, but the end product is very good. The ending is very surprising, but that is what Patterson does with the grace of a great author.

Thursday, July 05, 2007

The Lonely Silver Rain, John D. MacDonald - Book Review

A Travis McGee novel by John MacDonald, "The Lonely Silver Rain" is a good mystery and thriller in Florida that speaks for itself. Travis is contacted by an old million air friend, Billy Ingraham, to find his stolen 54 foot cruiser. Travis excepts and begins the search. From the air, the cruiser looks like a smiling face, so Trav had a pilot take pictures from the air and they finally hit their mark. Trav went to where the cruiser was anchored and found three dead bodies inside. One of the bodies was a female, the daughter of a Peruvian diplomat, her throat was cut and she had been raped. The diplomat was in a rage and wanted revenge. Travis' life was in danger. Assumption had it that Trav killed the occupants upon discovery of the vessel. Several attempts on Travis' life caused him to find the root of the problem and pursue information about the real killers. The trek takes him to Mexico and back which gave him the truth of the matter. They say if you shake a tree, the ripe fruit will fall. With the name of the killer exposed, a big turf war erupted between the new drug lords and the old ones. A lot of people were killed in Miami. The action was hot but Travis was going to save faith and expose the truth.

MacDonald has done a fine job with this book and to keep a character like McGee active in so many books, the reader always wins. The ending is very touching, showing that Travis is a real man.