Ann's Reading Log 2008

[Kate]

I'm just getting into her books. Nineteen Minutes caught my eye in the library and I'm really enjoying it. Will probably give her other books a try too

[aromaannie]

Me too! This is only the 3rd I have read. The first I wasn't overly impressed with (The Tenth Circle) but i've really enjoyed the last 2 - My Sisters's Keeper & Perfect Match

[Kate]

Cool. Are there any other authors you recommend? I've just got into Philippa Gregory books - yes I did read The Other Boyeln Girl before it was made into a film!

[aromaannie]

Most of the other books I read are thrillers, have a few of those I could recommend if you're interested in that genre?

[Kate]

Yeah def - although I might not read them before bed! I'm trying to widen my reading scope so more recommendations the better!

[aromaannie]

ok then

 

First

 

Harlan Coben (especially his books featuring Myron Bolitar)

 

then I also love books by these authors too

 

Karin Slaughter

PJ Tracy

Tess Gerritsen

Lisa Gardner

 

Ben Elton writes some good books too based on things like X Factor, Big Brother & Friends Reunited

 

That should be enough to get you started

[aromaannie]

Hush, Little Baby by Shane Dunphy NON FICTION

 

Clive, a thirteen-year-old victim of terrifying demonic visions, tells frightening stories of abuse and imprisonment. Could they be genuine? Patrick, twelve, bravely setting out to find the truth about his birth family - however painful it may be ...Six-year-old Johnny, tiny and undernourished, desperately tries to recover from a brain-injury inflicted by his drunken and violent father ...At fourteen, Katie is so aggressive that the authorities have put her in special care, away from other children. What could be the cause of such fury?

 

I picked up this book as the blurb on the back reminded me of Tory Hayden books. Shane Dunphy is not a special needs teacher like TH but a child protection worker who deals with children in very similar situations to those that TH works with.

 

The book was indeed very similar to TH's and I will be buying his other books seeing as I have practically read everything that TH has written!

8/10

 

 

Books read this year = 37

[aromaannie]

Die Trying - Lee Child

 

On a Chicago street in bright sunshine, Jack Reacher, is strolling nowhere and sees an attractive young woman, struggling on crutches. Naturally, he stops to offer her a steadying arm. And then he turns around to see a handgun aimed straight at his stomach. Locked in a dark, stifling van racing across America, chained to the woman, Reacher needs to know why he's there. The kidnappers are saying nothing. The woman claims to be an FBI agent. She's tough enough to be one. But at their remote destination, will raw courage and cunning be enough to overcome the hopeless odds? Full of non-stop action and gritty suspense, "Die Trying" is a tightly plotted thriller starring one of the most exciting action heroes in today's fiction, the redoubtable, romantic, footloose former army cop, Jack Reacher.

 

This is the 2nd book featuring Jack Reacher, I think there are 13 so far? I'm quite enjoying them, my only critisicm is that at 550+ pages they are slightly too long. The book doesn't drag at all but I do prefer my books slightly shorter.

 

8/10

 

Books read this year = 38

[aromaannie]

Diary of an On-call Girl: True Stories from the Front Line by WPC EE Bloggs

 

If crime is the sickness, WPC Ellie Bloggs is the cure... Well, she is when she's not inside the nick, flirting with male officers, buying doughnuts for the sergeant and hacking her way through a jungle of emails, forms and government targets. Of course, in amongst the tea-making, gossip and boyfriend trouble, real work sometimes intrudes. Luckily, as a woman, she can multi-task...switching effortlessly between gobby drunks, angry chavs and the merely bonkers. WPC Bloggs is a real-life policewoman, who occasionally arrests some very naughty people

 

This was an 'okay' read. On the back of the book it says

WARNING: Contains satire, irony and traces of sarcasm. In fact it is full of it and I was getting a bit bored of it by the end of the book - maybe it's just not my type of humour.

 

7/10

 

Books read this year = 39

[aromaannie]

Life Support - Tess Gerritsen

 

Control was the word Dr Toby Harper lived by. She strove to keep her life in order, her ER in order. But no one could have been prepared for the man she admits one quiet night to the Springer Hospital. Delirious and in critical condition from a possible viral infection of the brain, he barely responds to treatment. And then he disappears without trace. The subsequent search leads Toby to a second patient with the same infection. And it reveals an unsettling twist - the infection can only be spread through direct tissue exchange. Soon Toby's on a trail that winds from a pregnant sixteen-year-old prostitute to an unexpected tragedy in her own home. Only then does she discover the unthinkable: a terrifying and deadly epidemic is about to be unleashed...

 

TG is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. I have enjoyed every book of hers that I have read and seem to race through them pretty quickly, which is always a good sign for me.

 

9/10

 

Books read this year = 40

[madcow]

I have Life Support on MTR and of the others of hers I have read I have not been disappointed.

[aromaannie]

I love discovering new authors

[Guest]

I prefer discovering their books.

[aromaannie]

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

 

Sterling is a small, ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens -- until a student enters the local high school with an arsenal of guns and starts shooting, changing the lives of everyone inside and out. The daughter of the judge sitting on the case is the state's best witness -- but she can't remember what happened in front of her own eyes. Or can she?

 

Although this is a bit of a brick of a book at nearly 600 pages I finished it within 36 hours of buying it - I just couldn't put it down. In my opinion this is far more 'readable' & enjoyable than 'We Need To Talk About Kevin'. I did however guess the ending fairly early on but that didn't detract from the book in any way.

 

9/10

 

Books read this year = 41

[aromaannie]

The Glamorous (Double) Life of Isabel Bookbinder by Holly McQueen

 

For Isabel Bookbinder, there's no doubt about where she's headed. Reasons to become a bestselling author: Opportunities to swish new Super-hair and captivate the lovely Joe Madison; Prove to father that Really Am Not a Waster; Leave column inch-measuring days at the Saturday Mercury behind Potential setbacks; Don't yet have 'Yoko' bag, as carried by arch rival with book deal, Gina D ...or honed size eight figure (useful for interviews). Am also at the centre of a major political sex scandal - Paparazzi are doorstepping my parents and boring boyfriend Russell. Of course she hasn't yet quite got round to putting pen to paper yet, but Isabel's not one to let a little thing like that stand in her way.

 

I started off really enjoying this book as I fancied some easy 'fluffy' reading after Nineteen Minutes but the pleasure didn't last. Isabel Bookbinder is similar to Bridget Jones but unfortunately not as enjoyable to read. The humour started to wear thin after a while and she is positively stupid and not half as endearing as Bridget Jones. This could have been a great beach read and it did make me smile at times but ultimately I just got a bit bored by the repetitive style of humour and my frustration at the characters lack of intelligence.

 

7.5/10 ( I gave it an extra .5 for a promising start!)

 

Books read this year = 42

[Guest]

Uh-oh...sounds like the kind of book to make me rant, aromaannie. But 7.5 for a not-so-good book? You're far more generous than I would be!

[aromaannie]

You're right I think you would hate it and I was actually thinking that while I was reading it! I'm not very accurate with my scores as I tend to give a book I don't think is that great a 7 and a book I love a 9.5 (never given a 10 yet)and everything else somewhere in between. I think I must learn to be more brutal with my scoring .

[Guest]

...I was actually thinking that while I was reading it!...

 

My rantitudinousness (that's a real word, you know) has infected other people's reading pleasure. This makes me happy.

[aromaannie]

James Patterson - Step on a Crack

 

The scene is set for a huge funeral in St Patricks Cathedral inNew York. The rich and the famous from all over America and beyond have arrived to honour a former First Lady after her sudden, unexpected death. Then follows an attack that was three years in the planning. Hostages are taken the ex-President among them ransoms demanded, a couple of hostages shot to show the kidnappers mean business. Its all brilliantly and chillingly co-ordinated, and Michael Bennett, the detective in charge of the case, knows it will be his biggest ever challenge.

 

You know what you're going to get on the whole with a JP novel - short chapters with plenty of pace and generally a plot that maybe you shouldn't look to closely at ........ and that is why I love his books! This is a new co-author and a new character for him, both of them I am looking forward to seeing more of.

 

8/10

 

Books read this year = 43

 

 

Drop Dead Beautiful - Jackie Collins

 

From Miami to Beverly Hills, from Mexico City, Acapulco and Las Vegas, LUCKY SANTANGELO is back! And so is the illegitimate son ANTHONY BONAR, of her one time Godfather and lethal enemy, ENZIO BONNATI. Lucky is preparing for the opening of her new multi-billion dollar hotel complex in Las Vegas, The Keys. But Anthony Bonar - drug lord and vicious killer - is out to stop her in any way he can. Meanwhile, MAX, Lucky's wild 16-year-old daughter, has run off to hook up with a man she met on the Internet. Instead of the gorgeous guy she thought she'd be meeting, he turns out to be an obsessed rich psycho with a deep-seated grudge against Lucky. And so the lethal games begin...

 

I haven't read a JC's book for around 15 years and with all the reunions currently going on (Take That/Boyzone etc) I thought maybe it was time I reunited with an old favourite author of mine. It features a number of characters that have been introduced in previous novels and with a few reference's made to their past adventures I was soon caught up in thier latest scandals.

This is an ideal holiday/beach read and for a while I felt 20 again!!

 

8/10

 

Books read this year = 44

 

 

Martin Jol:The Inside Story by Harry Harris NON FICTION

 

A friend gave this to me along with 2 other sporting biographies and not being a huge sports fan I wasn't particularly excited. Having said that until 4 years ago I did have a season ticket for Spurs so this book did have some relevance. At times I really had to put my head down & plough my way though it. There were far too many match reports for my liking and not really much of interest from his early career as a player. The parts that were very interesting were with regard to his so called 'run ins' with players & the board and his eventual sacking.

 

As a side issue I don't think I have read a book with so many spelling and gramatical errors (please don't start looking for mine ). With on average at least one a page and very simple things such as and being spelt nad I was shocked that the book actually got published in that state.

 

6/10

 

Books read this year = 45

 

 

The Crime Trade - Simon Kernick

 

When Operation Surgical Strike, a police sting designed to catch Colombian drug traffickers in the act of selling a large consignment of cocaine to undercover police officers in a Heathrow hotel, goes horribly wrong, suspicion quickly falls on one of the officers involved: 'Stegs' Jenner. But Stegs is no ordinary undercover cop. Something of a maverick, with a chequered disciplinary record, he's always lived life on the edge. With his close friend dead in the shoot-out, he now determines to go it alone. Enter DI John Gallan and his partner DS Tina Boyd, part of the Serious Crime Squad investigating the murder of ex-gangster turned informer Slim Robbie O'Brien. Slim Robbie had helped Gallan and Boyd set up the operation and is now dead too, shot with his mother in his council flat in Islington while events at Heathrow were taking place. Meanwhile Stegs Jenner is working to his own agenda, developing a plan he's been thinking about for a long, long time. Revenge, he decides, is a dish best taken very, very cold. But is he the man the police are after?

As Gallan, Boyd and DI Asif Malik inch ever nearer to the man responsible for the Heathrow shooting, they uncover a murderous conspiracy that will take them to the heart of one of London's most notorious criminal gangs. What they cannot know is that they've also embarked on a collision path that will lead one of them straight into the rifle sights of the enemy.

 

This is another of my 'new' favourite authors that I am working my way through their older books. They are quite gritty & dark and at times I was losing track of who was who but still enjoyed the read.

 

8/10

 

Books read this year = 46

[aromaannie]

Lazy Bones - Mark Billingham

 

 

The body is found in the seediest of North London hotel rooms. Kneeling, naked on a bare mattress, his head is hooded and his hands tied tight with a brown leather belt. And then there's the sinister finishing touch - the call from the florist to check arrangements for the wreath.... It is only 10 days since convicted rapist Douglas Remfry had been released from prison. Someone knew he was coming out. Someone wanted to mete out some punishment of his own. When a second sex offender is discovered dead, the police believe they have a vicious, calculating viigilante on their hands. But how does the killer lure his victims to their deaths? Who do the victims think they are going to meet in these hotel rooms? Then the police find the letters...The body is found in the seediest of North London hotel rooms. Kneeling, naked on a bare mattress, his head is hooded and his hands tied tight with a brown leather belt. And then there's the sinister finishing touch - the call from the florist to check arrangements for the wreath.... It is only 10 days since convicted rapist Douglas Remfry had been released from prison. Someone knew he was coming out. Someone wanted to mete out some punishment of his own. When a second sex offender is discovered dead, the police believe they have a vicious, calculating viigilante on their hands. But how does the killer lure his victims to their deaths? Who do the victims think they are going to meet in these hotel rooms? Then the police find the letters...

 

I was pleasantly suprised with this book as it's been on my TBR pile for ages and I'd been avoiding it. I'd read a few of MB's book in the past and had decided that I wasn't really interested in reading any more of his which is why it's been on my book shelf for over a year.

 

This is definately the best book of his that I have read and really kept my interest which is the problem I'd had with his others. It has also made my go out and buy his latest release which I wasn't expecting to do.

 

A criticism I have of his books is that after reading 4 or 5of them now I still don't think I know the 2 main characters any better. I also get them both mixed up all the time which I think is because I haven't really identified with them.

 

8.5/10

 

Books read this year = 47

 

 

Twilight Children - Torey Hayden NON FICTION

 

A startling and poignant memoir of three people's victimisation and abuse - and their heartbreaking but ultimately successful steps to recovery, with the help of Torey Hayden, an extraordinary teacher. Two children trapped in a prison of silence and a woman suffering in the twilight of her years. While working in the children's psychiatric ward of a large hospital, Torey was introduced to seven-year-old Cassandra, a child who had been kidnapped by her father and was found dirty, starving and picking though rubbish bins to survive. She refused to speak, so Torey could only imagine what she'd been through. Drake, by contrast, was a charismatic four-year-old who managed to participate fully in his pre-school class without uttering a single word. Then, there was Gerda, eighty-two, who had suffered a massive stroke and was unwilling to engage in conversation with anyone.

 

I love all of TH's books and although I still really enjoyed this one I didn't think it was one of her best. Still definately worth a read though.

 

I have bought her latest book 'Overheard in a Dream' which I am intrigued by as it's the first time she has written a novel.

 

8/10

Books read this year = 48

 

Lucky's Lady - Tami Hoag

 

She is willing to risk everything - Lucky Lady, from a New York Times bestselling author. When Serena Sheridan's Grandfather vanishes into the vast and infamous swamps of Louisiana for no apparent reason, she feels compelled to abandon her successful career as a psychologist and go and find him. But Serena is deeply afraid of the hostile territory she is confronting and her only guide is the renegade Lucky Doucet, a dangerous Cajun who offers little hope of protection in the steamy Bayou swamps. However, determined to find her Grandfather at whatever cost, she sets off with lucky on a journey into the watery maze that will change both their lives irrevocably.

 

I really struggled with this book for the first two thirds of it. I had previously read a thriller by this author and enjoyed it which is why I picked this up when I saw it at my local market. It's is labelled as a thriller which is completely wrong as it is very much a romance novel. This was part of the reason I found it so hard going to start with as I kept waiting for the bodies to mount up! At times the romance lines were almost vomit inducing and I had to force myself to carry on reading it.

 

However in the last third of the book the story seemed to actually pick up a bit and I didn't find it so much of a struggle to read.

 

If you like romances then you'd probably enjoy this, if you're looking for a thriller then don't even pick it up.

 

6/10 - I'm being generous with this score and taking into account that romance just isn't my thing.

 

Books read this year = 49

[aromaannie]

Death Message - Mark Billingham

 

The first message sent to Tom Thorne's mobile phone was just a picture - the blurred image of a man's face, but Thorne had seen enough dead bodies in his time to know that the man was no longer alive. But who was he? Who sent the photograph? And why? While the technical experts attempt to trace the sender, Thorne searches the daily police bulletins for a reported death that matches the photograph. Then another picture arrives. Another dead man ...It is the identities of the murdered men which give Thorne his first clue, a link to a dangerous killer he'd put away years before and who is still in prison. With a chilling talent for manipulation, this man has led another inmate to plot revenge on everyone he blames for his current incarceration, and for the murder of his family while he was inside. Newly released, this convict has no fear of the police, no feelings for those he is compelled to murder. Now Tom Thorne must face one of the toughest challenges of his career, knowing that there is no killer more dangerous than one who has nothing left to lose.

 

I bought this as I enjoyed Lazy Bones so much and I'm not convinced that it was a good idea. It's not a bad book by any means just a bit average to be honest. I definatley don't feel I know either of the 2 main characters even though this must be the 5th book featuring them I have read. I think I tend to hope I enjoy his books more than I usually do.

 

7/10

 

Books read this year = 50

 

Overheard ina Dream - Torey Hayden

 

Bestselling author Torey Hayden's novel is a fascinating study of a fractured family, a troubled child, and a psychiatrist's attempts to rescue them. Conor, aged nine, arrives in the play therapy room of child psychiatrist James Innes with the diagnosis "autistic". His mother Laura, an aloof, enigmatic novelist, can't handle him. His rancher father, embroiled in divorcing Laura, does not feel there is anything wrong with Conor. His six year old sister Morgana insists he really does see ghosts. As James becomes convinced Conor is not autistic, he is drawn first into Conor's strange world of "things the cat knows" and then into Morgana's stories of her friend the "Lion King". James is pulled most deeply, however, into Laura's world; at first that of a lonely, rather difficult woman and then, eventually, into the world of her imagination, an enthralling world that seems almost real - and that hides a terrible secret.

 

I initally thought from the synopsis that this book would be like her other books except a work of fiction. Once I got over the fact that it's not then I really started to enjoy it. I never change the score I give a book and I gave this 8/10 but it has really left a good impression on me so maybe my original score should have been higher. Her next fiction book is out in December and after reading this I will definately be picking it up.

 

8/10

 

Books read this year = 51

[aromaannie]

The Dark Tide - Andrew Gross

 

They say bad luck comes in threes. But for Karen Friedman's family, bad luck is just the beginning. It starts with her husband Charlie's investments going wrong and the sudden death of a family pet. Then one morning Charlie takes the train to work -- straight into a lethal terrorist blast. For his widow Karen and their children, all that remains of Charlie is a shared past. Or is it? When the Friedmans begin to receive terrifying threats Karen turns to Detective Ty Hauck for help. Hauck's family fell apart too, after a tragic accident he still blames himself for. Now he's determined to keep Karen's safe. But Hauck doesn't know about how people who investigate Charlie have a way of ending up dead!

 

 

AG used to be a co-writer for James Patterson so no suprise that their styles are very similar. Expect fast paced chapters (though not quite as short as JP's!) and some twist and turns along the way. This appears to be the first of a series of books featuring Detective Ty Hauck and the character has good potential. If you like JP's books then you should enjoy this.

 

8/10

 

Books read this year = 52

 

 

A Small Part of History - Peggy Elliot

The unforgettable story of the women who travelled the Oregon Trail in 1845 - a tale of incredible bravery told through narrative, fictional diaries and recipes. At twenty-seven years old Rebecca has just become the third wife of John Springer. Moving into her new home has had its ups and downs - her four step-sons like and obey her, she's getting used to her new husband's ways but Sarah, her step-daughter, is proving to be more difficult. And now, her husband has decided that the country is becoming 'too da**ned crowded' and they're going to pack up everything they can carry and travel thousands of miles across the USA. As they travel across plains, mountains and rivers, through blistering heat and blizzards that lasted for days, Rebecca does her best to feed and care for her new family, despite appalling adversity. At first Rebecca and the fifteen-year-old Sarah find their fledgling relationship stretched almost to breaking point but, eventually, their bond deepens and becomes breakable only by death. Fascinating and heartbreaking, this remarkable novel vividly depicts the hardship and danger these brave women endured to create the America we know today.

 

 

This is not my normal book genre and I wouldn't have picked it up if it hadn't been for the giveaway on this forum. I'm so glad that I did it as I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It's a very light, easy going read which moves along fairly quickly. It doesn't go into too much detail and that is probably why I enjoyed it so much as it's not a subject that holds too much interest for me. A very pleasant suprise

 

8.5/10

 

Books read this year = 53

[aromaannie]

Sorry no reviews on these as I have some major upheavals going on in my personal life at the mo. Hopefully my next batch will have reviews for you.

 

Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult 8/10

 

Whatever Mother Says by Wensley Clarkson 7/10

 

Bloodstream by Tess Gerritsen 9/10

 

Murder Most Fab by Julian Cleary 9/10

 

A Good Day to Die by Simon Kernick 7.5/10

 

Morality For Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith 8/10

 

Books read this year = 59

[aromaannie]

Geri Halliwell - If Only NON FICTION

 

This book details Geri's life up until just after she left the Spice Girls. I was pleasantly suprised with this book and found it far more intersting than I thought I would. I particularly enjoyed reading about all the different auditions etc she went on before the Spice Girls were formed to try and find fame - boy was she desperate for it! I'm not sure that I believe everything in the book but an enjoyable read all the same.

 

8.5/10

 

Books read this year = 60

[aromaannie]

Deadline by Simon Kernick

 

'We've got your daughter.' It's evening, you're back late from work - and the house is in darkness. You step inside, and the phone rings. You answer it - and your world turns upside down. Your fourteen-year-old daughter's been taken, and her kidnappers demand half a million pounds in cash. They give you 48 hours to raise the money, and warn you that if you call the police, she'll die. Trying desperately to remain calm, you realise that your husband - the man you married only two years previously - is also missing. But he can't be involved in your daughter's abduction. Or can he? As your nightmare begins, you can be certain of only two things: that you will do anything to get your daughter back alive - and that time is running out ...

 

Another extremely fast paced gritty crime novel by SK and possibly his best so far. This again features the characater DI Bolt and personally I enjoy characters that reappear in books as you start to feel that you are getting to know them more & more. Since reading my first SK novel I have worked my way through all his previous releases andlook forward to any new bboks he writes.

 

8.5/10

 

Books read this year = 61

 

 

The Quickie - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Lauren Stillwell is not your average damsel in distress. When the NYPD cop discovers her husband leaving a hotel with another woman, she decides to beat him at his own game. But her revenge goes dangerously awry, and she finds her world spiralling into a hell that becomes more terrifying by the hour. In a further twist of fate, Lauren must take on a job that threatens everything she stands for. Now, she's paralyzed by a deadly secret that could tear her life apart. With her job and marriage on the line, Lauren's desire for retribution becomes a lethal inferno as she fights to save her livelihood - and her life

 

I tend to think that JP's novels are a bit like Marmite. Personally I am of the love them opinion. As always expect short fast paced chapters & twists & turns. Perhaps my only critiscism is that you don't always get a chance to really understand the main characters as the books don't go into a huge amount of detail.

 

7.5/10

 

Books read this year = 62