Just One Look, Harlan Coben

Just One Look is a good thriller mystery by Coben. Grace Lawson picks up a roll of film developed by Photomat to find one picture out of place. It was an old photo of four people with one that looked like her husband. She asked Jack about the photo and he denied it was him. That night he disappeared. Grace holds her own as the main character and proceeds on her trek to locate her husband. The trek leads Grace back in time to an old rock concert she was at. When the concert was late, the crowd got rowdy and Grace was seriously hurt in the stampede of the crowd. 18 people died including the son of a crime lord, Vespa. With Vespas help, Grace continues the search and learns Eric Wu, martial art killer, has kidnapped Jack, but why? Jacks sister an attorney is also involved. The rock star and the perpetrator of the rampage are also pieces of the puzzle. The puzzle gets very complex, but Coben is able to piece it together leaving the reader satisfied. There are way to many characters in this story and it is very confusing to say the least. I found myself re-reading several accounts to make since of it. Despite the complexity of the story, I found it worth reading.

Dark Harbor, Stuart Woods

Dark Harbor by Stuart Woods is the twelfth Stone Barrington novel. Stone is a lawyer in New York and just received a will from his second cousin Dick Stone, who bequeathed him his estate on the island of Dark Harbor, Maine. Dick made Stone the executor of the will so Stone went to Dark Harbor to take care of the legalities. Dick's death looked like a murder suicide as the local sheriff said, but upon further investigation Stone found many loop holes in the theory. Stone was accompanied to Dark Harbor with his long time friend Dino Bachetti, Lt. NYPD, and Lance Cabot of the CIA and Holly Barker, Stones lover. With further probing into the deaths, more deaths happen. There is a serial killer on the lose. There were two theories about the killings, but little evidence to bring a conclusion. Holly was kidnapped and held for several days by the killers, she was able to bargain for her life and got away. By now Stone was certain about the killers which leads to an exciting conclusion. Stone was never in any real danger but the story is put together well and Woods leaves us with another adventure worth reading.

Ricochet, Sandra Brown

Brown has written a good story with Ricochet, a romantic thriller that leads the reader on a twisted plot full of suspense. Savich, a Savannah crime lord, was on trial for murder when a mistrial was declared by the judge. Savich was above the law. Duncan Hatcher, homicide detective for the Savannah police, who has been after Savich for some time, was appalled by the judges decision and spent two days in jail for contempt for telling the judge off. Attending an awards ceremony with DeeDee, Duncans partner, he met a beautiful lady that made his heart flutter with lust. This lady was the judges wife, Elise. A few days later, Duncan and DeeDee are called to the residence of Judge Lairds to investigate a self defense homicide. Elise had shot an intruder. Duncan was not satisfied with the murder statistics and wanted to follow it up with more questions. One thing leads to another and Elise has a private meeting with Duncan to explain that the judge is trying to kill her. To win Duncan over, Elise uses lust to win his heart. Elise ends up missing. Savich and Laird are behind her disappearance but Duncan and DeeDee are on the case and come up with a lead. The lead comes to a conclusion. Brown leads the reader on a very suspenseful romantic thriller that keeps the pages turning and the plot twists but the ending is great!

The Face of Deception, Iris Johansen

Eve Duncan is a forensic sculptor who sculpts faces from skulls in hope to identify them so there can be a closure of the case. After losing her daughter to a serial killer and not knowing the where abouts of the body, she chooses this career to satisfy her obsession of finding her daughter's bones. Eve is the best forensic sculptor around and chooses young kids for her job. Eve is approached by John Logan, a software billion air, to sculpt the skull of a man. Eve is not interested but is persuaded to do this job for a substantial sum of money that will go towards a fund for missing children. Logan neglects to tell her that there are some very powerful political people that don't want her to do the job. Eve is put out by Logan's deception, but continues sculpting the skull until the truth is out. Eve and Logan have uncovered a dark secret that might get them killed. They are able to stay one step ahead of the relentless pursuers, gathering DNA evidence to bring this to an end. Johansen has led the reader on a plot that only thickens and Eve and Logan have joined thinking to bring it to an end. The suspense is strong and the finale is awesome. Iris is still the queen of suspense.

Without Mercy, Jack Higgins

Jack Higgins has written a great story in "Without Mercy". In the previous book "Dark Justice" Ferguson, top intelligent agent for the British and Dillon, former IRA enforcer, has just killed Belov, Russian billionaire in oil, who supported all terrorism. Some of Belov's agents who were supposed to have died in the shoot out survived and wanted revenge against Ferguson and his band of spies. Hannah Bernstein, a special branch detective dies in the assassination of Belov and Sean takes it on very seriously. He is not fond of coppers but holds a special warmth in his heart for Hannah. He is very hurt and feels guilty. President Putin of Russia wanted the Belov assets for their country so he sends Igor Levin, Russian super agent, to Britain to see things through. This leads to a chase throughout western Europe with shoot outs and danger.

Higgins has his characters traveling to Ibiza and to the Algerian coast and back to Britain, with trips to Belfast. All of the characters are excellent shots and the shoot outs are exciting. Higgins holds your interest together well although the plotting is very simple and the final shoot out leaves the reader wondering what is up next... It is a good thriller!

The Camel Club, David Baldacci

Baldacci is a good story telling author and with "The Camel Club" he has the reader focusing on several plots in one story. The Camel Club is sort of a conspiracy watchdog organization that looks at problems in our government. It is run by four misfit men, the leader is Oliver Stone, assumed name. The group witnessed the murder of a Secret Service agent on Roosevelt Island in the Potomac river. This is the beginning of a nightmare. Baldacci includes terrorists, government officials and the President of the USA to keep the reader alert. There are many subplots that should not be over looked. Baldacci goes into depth as to the way the Muslims think, the freedom that the Americans have and the aggression of democracy in the Arab world by the US. This all leads to some kidnappers who force the US to threaten Damascus with a nuclear missile. A lot of facts and history are the way Baldacci keeps the reader focused on the truth. The Camel Club, with two new members lives on to another story.



The Camel Club (Unabridged)

Judge and Jury, Patterson & Gross

"Judge & Jury" - Patterson is one of the best-known and bestselling writers of all time. Nick Pellisante, special agent for the FBI in New York, has staked out a wedding on Long Island in hopes to capture a mobster, Dominic Cavello. Cavello is spotted and the word was go, but the capture went bad and several agents are killed including two of Nick's close friends. Cavello is caught and jailed which leads to a trial. A jury is selected and the trial begins, but Cavello is not worried for he has the best mercenary and assassin on his side. As the trial continued, the prosecuters had a good and solid case. The jurors were in a bus when the mercenary blew it up, killing all the jurors but one, Andie Degrasse. Her ten year old son was on the bus also for his birthday, his death left a big hole in her heart.

Nick Pellisante quit the FBI and started teaching law. He felt bad for Andie and went to see her. This started a relationship between them and when the new trial came, Andie and Nick went to see the proceedings. The new trial was to be held at Ft Dix Army Base, NJ, totally set aside from the public. In the transfer of Cavello to Ft Dix from the federal building, guards were taking Cavello down in an elevator when a large explosion goes off in the basement. Through the confusion Cavello escapes.

Nick goes over the tapes of the elevator for several weeks and makes a link as to who the mercenary was, a man in Israel. With his connections from the FBI, he learns this mans address. Andie and Nick are off to Israel. They hope to learn Cavello's location. They found this mans home and watched for weeks until they came up with a plan. The plan worked and they found out where Cavello was, southern Argentina, "the end of the earth" as Cavello said.

Nick and Andie are off to Argentina. They locate the ranch and realize how desolate the area is and winter is setting in fast. They learn Cavello's routine and come up with a plan that will use Andie's talents. Patterson & Gross do a fine job bringing the story to a close, but when you think it is over, it is not. The ending is great, eye for an eye...

The Twelfth Card, Jeffery Deaver - Review and Video

The Twelfth Card is a Lincoln Rhyme novel that is packed with suspense. Lincoln Rhyme is a forensic expert confined to a wheelchair, but still has a very active mind in criminology. His side kick, Amelia Sacks, is his legs for walking the crime scene. They make a good team! A sixteen year old Harlem high school student is doing a research paper on a past relative of hers that was a slave. His master freed him and gave him an apple orchard of five acres in New York. The research led to an assassin going after her. Why is she the target? Lincoln is trying to find that out with the clues he has. There were several attempts on Geneva’s life but she managed to elude the killer. More clues were gathered after each attempt but they all led in different directions. Deaver has produced an excellent forensic criminologist in Rhyme and it is amazing how he can take a microscopic piece of evidence and come up with the direction to go. The book starts off with suspense and ends with suspense. A very good book with a good ending..

Killer Dreams, Iris Johansen

Iris Johansen has produced a good story with "Killer Dreams". The queen of suspense introduces Sophie Dunston, a sleep researcher who developed a drug, REM-4 to help people with dream disorders. The drug can also be used for mind control and the owner of the Sanborne Pharmaceutical does just that. He turns regular people into what he wants, killers who he can control. After learning what Sanborne was doing, Sophie leaves the firm and tries to take care of her son, who has killer dreams. Her hatred for Sanborne brings her in touch with some of the killers Sanborne produced. Under extensive therapy, they once again live a normal life, but they despise Sanborne and what he is trying to do, develop this drug for sale to evil doers all over the world.

Sophie had one alternative, kill Sanborne. She meets with Matt Royd who was one of Sanbornes products, but was cured and his goal was to kill Sanborne also. They team up to rid the world of this evil man. At first they did not get along, but with time, they become romantically involved. The hunter becomes the hunted as Sanborne wants Sophie to continue with the drug. This leads to a dramatic conclusion with Sophie and Royd confronting Sanborne on an island off Venezuela. The suspense of this thriller holds the reader to the last page. The romantic overtones are the icing on the cake.

Book of the Dead, Preston and Child

The "Book of the Dead" is written by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. It is the third book of the Pendergast trilogy. I found that reading them in sequence put the story together better, but they can be read anyway you like. Both Preston & Child are authors of their own, but when one pairs them up as a duo, they become extra ordinary. They are very descriptive in the settings, it makes one feel like they are there. The personalities of the characters are done in a way that the reader becomes familiar with them, you become one with their personality, you are part of the story. The only problem with this story is it is very predictable.

The story starts with the New York Museum of Natural History receiving a package in the mail. Upon delivery of the package, a brown powder is leaking from a corner. It is thought to be a bio-chemical, anthrax. The hazmat is summoned and all hell takes place. With further examination, the package contains ground up diamonds. A couple of months prior, the worlds most valuable diamond collection was stolen from the museum, and this was all that was left, powder. Why? The museum tries to cover up the story but the news media finds the truth and published it in the paper. There was an outcry of the public! It was not good.

Collopy, the director of the museum, held a meeting with his board to do something about the outcry. He gets a message that ten million euros would be donated to the museum if they would put the money to use in the restoration of the Tomb of Senef. This was the way out of the scandal of the diamonds. They would have a big opening of the tomb, with invitations to all the high dignitaries, mayor, governor and many celebrities.

Meanwhile, agent Aloysius Pentergast was incarcerated in a maximum security prison, framed by his evil brother Diogenes for the murder of several people. Aloysius is very positive in his thinking and prepares for the best. His friends are trying to spring him from prison.

Diogenes has a big plan to create havoc with the museum and the city of New York. With Aloysius out of the way, he has a green light. With the catastrophic opening of the tomb of Senef, Diogenes is faced by his brother in a thrilling, page turning ending that will leave one brother dead, and surprises that makes one think.

Pop Goes The Weasel, James Patterson

"Pop Goes the Weasel" is a story with Dr.Alex Cross as the main character. Alex is a detective with the Washington DC police, also a psychologist. There was a rash of brutal murders, Alex was sure they were done by a serial killer. Alex's commanding chief, Pittman, did not want Alex looking for a serial killer and told him not to. Pittman even had another detective watching Alex to make sure he did not look into that option. The detective, Patsy Hampton, was a loner in her operations, that is the way she worked. Alex uncovered some crucial evidence in the case with pictures of his family in a closet.

Alex and his family take a few days off to celebrate the "yes" answer that Christine said to the question of them getting married. They all went to the Bahamas for some rest and relaxing and plan for the up coming wedding. They were having a good time swimming and snorkeling in the ocean. On the last day of the stay, Christine gets kidnapped! There was no word and Alex was beside himself.

Geof Shafer, known as the weasel by Alex, was an agent for the British embassy, he seemed like a family man but he was a manic or bi-polar person. He was addicted to pharmaceutical drugs, he was out of his mind. Shafer was a player in the 4 Horsemen, a role playing game on the internet. He was death and all the murders in DC were his fantasy, but he took it a step further. He loved to kill!

Patsy Hampton was able to identify Shafer from a young hacker who read some of his fantasies on the net and hacked into his profile getting his identity and location of work. After receiving this information, she gets in touch with Alex to discuss the case. They put Shafer under surveillance. This leads to a large court battle and Patterson takes the reader to the truth of the justice system. If one is wealthy, the verdict bends in their direction, like O.J. Simpson. Patterson creates a grand finale to this story with the FBI and Interpol from Britain working together to keep things in wrap. Many surprises are in the ending and that only makes me want to read more of Patterson's novels.

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Dead Wrong, J.A. Jance

Jance writes a good mystery with "Dead Wrong". The main character is Joanna Brady, Cochise county sheriff. She is 9 1/2 months pregnant with her second child, but she has a job to do. She is faced with a shortage of help and a brutal murder of an unidentified man, his fingers were severed. Joanna was at a dead end, when someone made a positive ID of the victim which led to his background. The victim was Bradley Evans, he was incarcerated for 25 years for the killing of his pregnant wife while he was under an alcoholic blackout, no body was found but Evans coped a plea for his jail term. In Bradley's impounded truck, a photo pack was found and he was suspected of stalking this lady. The lady resembled Bradleys wife, but why was she being stalked?

Butch's parents arrive to wittiness the birth of the new baby. The mother was very rude and obnoxious and Butch did not want Joanna to take offense to her. Joanna had enough on her plate and did not need this, so Butch was by Joannas side in everything.

At the sheriff station, Joanna got word the Animal Control Officer(ACO), Jannine found a badly scourged and hurt dog, the third one, the other 2 were dead. She suspected illegal dog fights at the O'Dwyers ranch. The O'Dwyer brothers were bad news and Joanna said they are off limits. Jannine was doing some surveillance of the O'Dwyer ranch when she was attacked and beaten almost to death. Some innocent by standers witnessed the beating and were able to get Jannine to the hospital. Joanna talked to the witnesses and was able to get some leads on these cruel people.

J.A.Jance writes a very good story putting the murder mystery, the stalker and the brutal beating of the ACO together in a heart warming and exciting ending. Does Joanna have her baby? Read the story and find out.

Lifeguard, Patterson & Gross

In the book Lifeguard, Ned Kelly was the main chacter. He was a part time lifeguard and caretaker of a wealthy man's estate, Sole Roth. While lifeguarding on the beach at Palm Beach, Florida, Ned meets a beautiful Aussie, Tess. After several dates, he ends up in bed with her and felt love knocking at his heart. Ned had an illegal opportunity to earn some money, all he had to do was set off some alarms around town to create confusion so his buddies could steal some art at an estate. All hell broke loose, his buddies were all killed and Tess was dead also. Ned was the suspect so he left Florida and headed to his folks place near Boston.

Ellie, a special agent for the FBI, held a degree in fine art and went to the estate where the art was stolen to talk to the owner, Dennis Stratton. Ellie was in charge of the case, but she did not feel right about the whole thing.

The authorities traced Ned to Brockton. Ellie flew up there to make the arrest, finding Ned at his mom's place. They tried to apprehend him but he got the upper hand and escaped with Ellie as a hostage. Ned let Ellie go after telling her what he did, only set off a few alarms. Ellie knew something was wrong with the investigation, something was not right

Ned makes his way back to Palm Beach and seeks help from a friend, Geoff. Geoff was an Australian motorcycle champ with a small shop at the beach. Geoff says "you are wanted for murder and grand theft" but he was there to help out a good friend. Geoffs motorcycle skill came in real handy when Ellie and Ned apprehended Statton's wife to find out more of the boggled robbery. They were leaving the area when Stattons men came after Ned and Geoff. They were on a Ducati and Strattons men were in a hummer. A wild chase takes place with the cycle in front, they get away. Ellie was sure Stratton was guilty and all she had to do was get some evidence to put him away. This leads to an exciting confrontation with Stratton and the FBI. Only Patterson can write a good ending that brings tears to your eyes and joy to the heart.

Long Time Gone, J.A. Jance

Jance has written a good book with two murder mysteries in one story, "Long Time Gone". J. P. Beaumont was a detective with the Seattle PD. He quit and became an investigator for Special Homicide Investigating Team, SHIT. This was under the Washington State Attorney General's office of Ross Connors. Beau was assigned to cases only by the Attorney General, no Seattle PD to bother with. Beau was assigned to a cold case murder that happened 50 years ago.

He was interviewing sister Mary Katherine of the St. Benedict convent on Whidbey Island. She would wake up screaming from a nightmare so she went to see a Hypnotherapist. The therapist discovered that the dreams were caused by a brutal murder that sister Katherine had seen when she was five years old. Beau did some research and found the case, still unsolved.

Beau gets a visit from his good friend Ron Peters, who was confined to a wheelchair from a PD accident, but was able to get a job inside the PD behind a desk. Ron tells Beau that his "x" was murdered and he is a suspect. Because of the friendship, Beau could not work on the case so it was given to Melisa Soames who also worked for the SHIT squad. Beau and Mel did a lot of research on both cases and found out much. They came up with the truth of the cold case murder and concentrated on the murder of Ron's "x".

The evidence pointed to Heather, Ron's 15 year old daughter. She left the area with her boyfriend, heading to Canada, when he hit her across the face. Heather knew she was in the wrong place and was able to escape, heading for Beau's. The ending is very well planned out and very exciting. Jance has done a very good job with this book!





Long Time Gone (Unabridged)

4TH of July, James Patterson

Lindsay Boxer is the main character in "4th of July". She is a lieutenant in the San Francisco police department. She was called to a homicide in a poor part of town. A teen was found dead in a bath with a toaster in the water, electrocuted. On the door were two words,"NOBODY CARES". A black late model Mercedes was seen leaving the scene, their only clue.

A week later Lindsay was off duty, meeting her friends for a drink and dinner at their favorite hang out. She gets a call from her partner, Jacobi that the Mercedes was spotted. They went out looking for the car and spotted it and started to pull it over when the Mercedes sped off at speeds over 70. The Mercedes crashed and Boxer and Jacobi approached the car with their guns drawn. The driver was about 15 and the passenger was 13. When the air bags went off, it pinned them in the car, they were bloody so Lindsay and Jacobi holstered their weapons to render aid. With the kids safely out of the car, the driver pulls a gun out and shoots Lindsay and the passenger shoots Jacobi. Lindsay fires back killing the girl and putting the other on the ground. This starts a civil suit of 50 million dollars for wrongful death that will ruin Lindsay's life.

While on leave from the department she goes south to Half Moon Bay to stay in her sisters house while her sister was away. With the trial heavy on her mind, she is confronted with several murders. To keep her mind off the trial, she starts to investigate the murders. The murderers scope out Lindsay, she was next. Patterson and Paetro write a very good story with surprises at the end that will baffle you. Great book!!!

Broken Prey, John Sandford

The main chacter is Lucas Davenport in "Broken Prey. He worked for the BCA, Bureau Criminal Apprehension for the state of Minnesota. Lucas received an I-Pod from his wife while she was away in England on a study program. Lucas was figuring the best 100 rock songs to put on it when he gets a call from Sloan, his long time friend. The call was about a lady who was scourged and raped with her throat slit, placed in a very sexual way in a public park. Another death of a man who was also scourged and raped and had his penis cut off, apparently by the same person, was found. There was a serial killer on the lose.

Charley Pope was a sexual offender who was let out of a state medical institution for rape. He had a bracelet on his ankle for keeping track of him . He ends up missing with his bracelet cut off and his parole officer contacted Lucas because of the sexual murder of the woman. Under the nails of the second murder victim was found some blood and skin and DNA said it was Charley Pope. They thought they had a suspect, but they had to find him first. Some fishermen at a river, snagged a hand and turned it over to the authorities. DNA proved that the hand belonged to Pope.

Lucas was beside himself, but by looking at the clues he determined that the killer had ties to the medical institute. With constant studying of files of employees, doctors and medical staff, Lucas comes up with a theory of his own. A fire storm ending with Lucas and other police authorities, is something only Sandford can write. The ending of this story keeps you on the edge of your chair. Very good book! At the end a list of 100 songs is found, very interesting..

Split Second, David Baldacci

In the book "Split Second" Sean King was a Secret Service agent to protect presidents and other political elected officials from harm. He was protecting a candidate for president, Cylde Ritter at the Fairmount Hotel, when for a split second he looked the other way and Ritter was killed. This was Seans down fall from the Secret Service.

Eight years later, Michelle Maxwell was an agent for the Service when her protectee was kidnapped in a funeral home right under her nose. There was a murder at Kings law office, making national attention. Michelle saw the newscast and wanted to know this man who was tainted, as she was, and compare facts. Sean did not know Michelle, but because of the similarities in their downfall, they became friends.

Another murder of one of Sean's clients makes Sean a suspect, so Michelle and Sean start piecing the facts together and find a common thread to the two incidents of the kidnapping and the assassination of Ritter.

Seans old lover, Joan Dillinger has a very successful investigating firm. She also worked for the Service, but went out on her own. She hired Sean to help with the kidnapping case of Bruno. The plot thickens and the ending is very dramatic. Baldacci makes a good story but it is kind of week in action

Patent to Kill, April Christofferson

Dr. Jake Scully and his wife Anna were doctor's in Nogales, Mexico. Jakes wife ends up dead under mysterious circumstances, it was supposed to be a suicide. Jake was asked to work in Seattle, Washington, with a pharmaceutical company that Anna was against. One of their sons became blind and Jake was doing research on this blindness, he held a patent on the beginning stages of this condition.
Asahel was a lawyer for Gen-Chrom, a pharmaceutical company that her father owned. Before her employment she was an activist against these corporate giants, because of their Biopiracy: the theft of healing secrets of native tribes to exploit them and make large profits on the patent to cure. Her father hired her to keep an eye on her.
Dr Jake Scully accepts the job with the pharmaceutical company and went to Brazil to go up the Amazon in search for the missing gene that was needed for this blindness. He begins his journey, only to find out things were not right. Asahel receives some very disturbing information and goes to the Amazon herself. She meets up with Jake by accident, Jake saves her life and they confide in each other to unravel the mystery. They proceed with the journey up the Amazon, that turns into a real adventure with death and mayhem. Christofferson puts together a real good story that ends up in Seattle with the truth of the matter, coming together with a good ending.

Hour Game, David Baldacci

Baldacci writes a very in depth account of a serial killer's motives. In the small town of Wrightsburg, Virginia, a serial killer strikes hard and fast. Sean King and Michelle Maxwell have a partnership in a Private Investigating team and they were asked to investigate a burglary at a millionaires estate of Bobby Battles. In defending Junior Deavers for the burglary, Michelle runs into a nude woman dead in the forest. This was the first killing of a serial maniac. It was replicated like the Zodiac killer of San Francisco. After a couple more deaths by this killer, the chief of police Williams makes Sean and Michelle deputies to help with the killings. The investigation of the burglary continues and so do the killings. Sean sees a connection with the burglary and the killings and starts coming up with answers to this bizarre situation. Remmy Battle, the wife of Bobby, was very adamant about the burglary and wanted Junior prosecuted. This caused Sean to think even more about the happenings and he comes up with the truth. It is very complicated but Baldacci puts it all together in a fine story. I would rate it as a four star book.......