DanielL's bookshelf: all en-US Sun, 13 Apr 2025 00:10:13 -0700 60 DanielL's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #3)]]> 221426488
Retired police detective Bill Hodges, the unlikely hero of Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers, now runs an investigation agency with his partner, Holly Gibney, who delivered the blow to Hartsfield's head that put him on the brain injury ward. Brady also remembers that. When Bill and Holly are called to a murder-suicide with ties to the Mercedes Massacre, they find themselves pulled into their most dangerous case yet, one that will put not only their lives at risk, but those of Hodges’s friend Jerome Robinson and his teenage sister, Barbara. Because Brady Hartsfield is back, and planning revenge not just on Bill Hodges and his friends, but on an entire city.

In End of Watch, Stephen King brings the Hodges trilogy to a sublimely terrifying conclusion, combining the detective fiction of Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers with the supernatural suspense that has been his trademark. The result is an unnerving look at human vulnerability and up-all-night entertainment]]>
511 Stephen King DanielL 0 currently-reading 4.33 2016 End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #3)
author: Stephen King
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves: currently-reading
review:

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<![CDATA[The Silent Sisters (Charles Jenkins, #3)]]> 57215646
After a harrowing escape from Russian agents on his last mission, Charles Jenkins thinks he’s finally done with the spy game. But then the final two of the seven sisters—American assets who have been deep undercover in Russia for decades—cut off all communication with their handlers. Are they in hiding after detecting surveillance? Or have they turned and become double agents? It’s Jenkins’s duty to find out, but he’s been added to a Russian kill list. It will require all of Jenkins’s knowledge of spycraft—and an array of disguises—to return to the country undetected.

But plans go awry his first night in Moscow when Jenkins gets involved in an altercation that ends in the death of the son of one of Russia’s most powerful organized crime leaders. Pursued by mafia henchmen, Russian agents, and a particularly dogged Moscow police detective, Jenkins is determined to track down the final two sisters and get them to America—or die trying. As various forces close in, Jenkins fears this time he might’ve pushed his luck too far.]]>
400 Robert Dugoni 1542008352 DanielL 4 4.54 2022 The Silent Sisters (Charles Jenkins, #3)
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/13
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[Close to Home (Tracy Crosswhite, #5)]]> 33845132
While investigating the hit-and-run death of a young boy, Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite makes a startling discovery: the suspect is an active-duty serviceman at a local naval base. After a key piece of case evidence goes missing, he is cleared of charges in a military court. But Tracy knows she can’t turn her back on this kind of injustice.

When she uncovers the driver’s ties to a rash of recent heroin overdoses in the city, she realizes that this isn’t just a case of the military protecting its own. It runs much deeper than that, and the accused wasn’t acting alone. For Tracy, it’s all hitting very close to home.

As Tracy moves closer to uncovering the truth behind this insidious conspiracy, she’s putting herself in harm’s way. And the only people she can rely on to make it out alive might be those she can no longer trust.]]>
414 Robert Dugoni 1542095018 DanielL 5 Robert Dugoni which I find close to the same level as those by Harlan Coben and Michael Connelly. Like Coben and Connelly, Dugoni uses the same characters in numerous novels. With some authors, using the same characters over-and-over again means that each subsequent novel becomes a retread of the last novel to the point that they are cranked out just like pulp fiction novels to be published without any concern for the storyline or plot. This is NOT the case with Dugoni and his Tracy Crosswhite series.

I was not disappointed by Close to Home. I stayed up late and woke up early to finish reading it. The ending was a surprise that I did not foresee so the surprise ending made me enjoy it even more.

The one very small thing that I found improbable is the US military demanding jurisdiction from a civilian court in a criminal case. In my experience, if a US military serviceman is involved in a crime off-base, off-duty, and the victim is a civilian, the US military stands back and let the civilian court go first. There is no double jeopardy so if the defendant is found not guilty or the punishment is not deemed to be adequate, the US military will intervene and conduct its own trial and punishment.

I am familiar with an arson case several years ago. There was strong circumstantial evidence that the arson was committed by a US Navy sailor. The sailor was tried by a civilian court and the jury found him NOT GUILTY. Shortly afterwards, the US military arrested and tried him for the same arson crime under the UCMJ and found him guilty. The civilian court case gave the military prosecutors a heads up on his defense plus the US military was able to use evidence that was excluded in the civilian court case.]]>
4.31 2017 Close to Home (Tracy Crosswhite, #5)
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/26
date added: 2025/03/27
shelves:
review:
I am fairly new to the novels of Robert Dugoni which I find close to the same level as those by Harlan Coben and Michael Connelly. Like Coben and Connelly, Dugoni uses the same characters in numerous novels. With some authors, using the same characters over-and-over again means that each subsequent novel becomes a retread of the last novel to the point that they are cranked out just like pulp fiction novels to be published without any concern for the storyline or plot. This is NOT the case with Dugoni and his Tracy Crosswhite series.

I was not disappointed by Close to Home. I stayed up late and woke up early to finish reading it. The ending was a surprise that I did not foresee so the surprise ending made me enjoy it even more.

The one very small thing that I found improbable is the US military demanding jurisdiction from a civilian court in a criminal case. In my experience, if a US military serviceman is involved in a crime off-base, off-duty, and the victim is a civilian, the US military stands back and let the civilian court go first. There is no double jeopardy so if the defendant is found not guilty or the punishment is not deemed to be adequate, the US military will intervene and conduct its own trial and punishment.

I am familiar with an arson case several years ago. There was strong circumstantial evidence that the arson was committed by a US Navy sailor. The sailor was tried by a civilian court and the jury found him NOT GUILTY. Shortly afterwards, the US military arrested and tried him for the same arson crime under the UCMJ and found him guilty. The civilian court case gave the military prosecutors a heads up on his defense plus the US military was able to use evidence that was excluded in the civilian court case.
]]>
<![CDATA[Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI]]> 201736852 An alternative cover edition for this ASIN B01CWZFBZ4 can be found here and here

A twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history
Ěý
In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.

Then, one by one, they began to be killed off. One Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, watched as her family was murdered. Her older sister was shot. Her mother was then slowly poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more Osage began to die under mysterious circumstances.

In this last remnant of the Wild West—where oilmen like J. P. Getty made their fortunes and where desperadoes such as Al Spencer, “the Phantom Terror,� roamed � virtually anyone who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll surpassed more than twenty-four Osage, the newly created F.B.I. took up the case, in what became one of the organization’s first major homicide investigations. But the bureau was then notoriously corrupt and initially bungled the case. Eventually the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including one of the only Native American agents in the bureau. They infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest modern techniques of detection. Together with the Osage they began to expose one of the most sinister conspiracies in American history.

In Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann revisits a shocking series of crimes in which dozens of people were murdered in cold blood. The book is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, as each step in the investigation reveals a series of sinister secrets and reversals. But more than that, it is a searing indictment of the callousness and prejudice toward Native Americans that allowed the murderers to operate with impunity for so long. Killers of the Flower Moon is utterly riveting, but also emotionally devastating.]]>
347 David Grann DanielL 4 Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI is different in a good way. The book is more about the criminal violence against the Osage tribe and how the FBI investigated and arrested some of those responsible and who were eventually found guilty by the courts.

The FBI’s role in the Osage investigation reminded me of the 1987 movie “The Untouchables�. There are similarities with how the FBI dealt with the Chicago mobsters and those responsible for killing the Osage. The lead FBI agent-in-charge of the Osage investigation, Tom White, reminded me of Eliot Ness (e.g., his professionalism and integrity).

The fact that the FBI, in the early 1920’s, interceded and succeeded in stopping the killing of the Osage is somewhat surprising to me. Hate, intolerance, jealousy, and racism were more the norm than the exception against the Osage during this time period.

The Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI is an excellent example of investigative journalism. The tremendous amount of archived research that the author undertook to write this book is astounding and impressive. I am in total awe of the author David Grann.

Unlike the movie, the book (author) does point out that the Osage killing was for a longer period of time, more Osage were killed, more Osage wealth was stolen, and more people were involved in the systematic killing of the Osage for their wealth (and more people escaped justice). It was like reading the 1970 book “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee� - which was a gut punch to me that so many native Americans were killed without remorse.]]>
4.24 2017 Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
author: David Grann
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/18
date added: 2025/03/19
shelves:
review:
I saw the movie, but the book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI is different in a good way. The book is more about the criminal violence against the Osage tribe and how the FBI investigated and arrested some of those responsible and who were eventually found guilty by the courts.

The FBI’s role in the Osage investigation reminded me of the 1987 movie “The Untouchables�. There are similarities with how the FBI dealt with the Chicago mobsters and those responsible for killing the Osage. The lead FBI agent-in-charge of the Osage investigation, Tom White, reminded me of Eliot Ness (e.g., his professionalism and integrity).

The fact that the FBI, in the early 1920’s, interceded and succeeded in stopping the killing of the Osage is somewhat surprising to me. Hate, intolerance, jealousy, and racism were more the norm than the exception against the Osage during this time period.

The Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI is an excellent example of investigative journalism. The tremendous amount of archived research that the author undertook to write this book is astounding and impressive. I am in total awe of the author David Grann.

Unlike the movie, the book (author) does point out that the Osage killing was for a longer period of time, more Osage were killed, more Osage wealth was stolen, and more people were involved in the systematic killing of the Osage for their wealth (and more people escaped justice). It was like reading the 1970 book “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee� - which was a gut punch to me that so many native Americans were killed without remorse.
]]>
<![CDATA[Beyond Reasonable Doubt (Keera Duggan, #2)]]> 205098968 A master manipulator accused of murder. An attorney sworn to defend her. Keera Duggan returns in a riveting novel of suspense by New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.

When Jenna Bernstein, disgraced wunderkind CEO of a controversial biotech company, is accused of murdering her former partner and lover, she turns to Seattle attorney Keera Duggan to defend her. Keera is more than a master chess player who brings her intuitive moves into court—she’s Jenna’s childhood friend. But considering their history, Keera knows that where Jenna goes, trouble follows.

Three years earlier, Keera’s father successfully defended Jenna when she was tried for the killing of her company’s chief medical scientist who threatened to go public with allegations of corporate fraud. Keera knows Jenna too well. When she was a kid, Keera saw Jenna for what she a manipulative and frighteningly controlling sociopath. Now, with only circumstantial evidence against Jenna, Keera is willing to bury any trepidation she might have to defend a woman she believes, this time, to be innocent.

As the investigation gets underway and disturbing questions arise, Keera puts her trust in a client who swears nothing but the truth. If this is all just another devious game, Keera might be working to set a murderer free.]]>
365 Robert Dugoni 1662500238 DanielL 5 Beyond Reasonable Doubt is a well-written legal crime thriller. Attorney Keera Duggan is hired to defend Jenna Bernstein who is charged with murdering her boyfriend who was a key investor in her fraudulent biotech company. Author Robert Dugoni claims he based Jenna Bernstein’s character off of cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried. I don’t know if the author was afraid of being sued for libel, but I found Jenna Bernstein to be more like Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos.

Except for the murder charges, this is as close to a true story of Elizabeth Holmes that you can get without naming her. If you’re familiar with Elizabeth Holmes� upbringing, her character, her psychopathic behavior, her love life, her biotech company, her solicitation of investors, the media hype that she generated, etc., the similarities are remarkable. If you’re familiar with Elizabeth Holmes and her downfall, you’ll enjoy this “fictionalized account� of someone very similar (Jenna Bernstein).

During the court room drama, I kept thinking about the old TV series Perry Mason. To my surprise, Keera Duggan mentioned Perry Mason so my comparison was spot on. ]]>
4.38 2024 Beyond Reasonable Doubt (Keera Duggan, #2)
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/23
date added: 2025/02/28
shelves:
review:
Beyond Reasonable Doubt is a well-written legal crime thriller. Attorney Keera Duggan is hired to defend Jenna Bernstein who is charged with murdering her boyfriend who was a key investor in her fraudulent biotech company. Author Robert Dugoni claims he based Jenna Bernstein’s character off of cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried. I don’t know if the author was afraid of being sued for libel, but I found Jenna Bernstein to be more like Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos.

Except for the murder charges, this is as close to a true story of Elizabeth Holmes that you can get without naming her. If you’re familiar with Elizabeth Holmes� upbringing, her character, her psychopathic behavior, her love life, her biotech company, her solicitation of investors, the media hype that she generated, etc., the similarities are remarkable. If you’re familiar with Elizabeth Holmes and her downfall, you’ll enjoy this “fictionalized account� of someone very similar (Jenna Bernstein).

During the court room drama, I kept thinking about the old TV series Perry Mason. To my surprise, Keera Duggan mentioned Perry Mason so my comparison was spot on.
]]>
<![CDATA[The Trapped Girl (Tracy Crosswhite, #4)]]> 37753695
After evidence surfaces that their Jane Doe may be a woman who suspiciously disappeared months earlier, Tracy is once again haunted by the memory of her sister’s unsolved murder. Dredging up details from the woman’s past leads to conflicting clues that only seem to muddy the investigation. As Tracy begins to uncover a twisted tale of brutal betrayal and desperate greed, she’ll find herself risking everything to confront a killer who won’t go down without a deadly fight. Once again, New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni delivers a taut, riveting thriller in the fourth installment of his acclaimed Tracy Crosswhite series.]]>
424 Robert Dugoni 1503995399 DanielL 5 Robert Dugoni, but the one thing that I’ve noticed is that his novels start slow (first 25%) then the story takes off like a ballistic missile. The Trapped Girl is no exception.

While reading The Trapped Girl, it reminded me of “Gone Girl� by Gillian Flynn so I had some predictions of how the storyline would play out. I was wrong. The storyline had twists and turns that I didn’t expect which made The Trapped Girl a riveting novel. Of the first five novels in the Crosswhite series, this is one of the best.

The one thing that I thoroughly enjoyed about the Tracy Crosswhite series are the characters. They are so true to life. I’ve met people exactly like them, especially the police detectives.

Another thing that I enjoyed about the Crosswhite series is that it includes mention of things, places, and events that can be appreciated by someone familiar with Seattle, its neighborhoods and its surrounding cities and towns, its politics, its culture, its traffic jam, its geography, etc. This familiarity with Seattle makes the Tracy Crosswhite series so unique.]]>
4.50 2017 The Trapped Girl (Tracy Crosswhite, #4)
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/05
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves:
review:
I am a fairly new reader of novels by Robert Dugoni, but the one thing that I’ve noticed is that his novels start slow (first 25%) then the story takes off like a ballistic missile. The Trapped Girl is no exception.

While reading The Trapped Girl, it reminded me of “Gone Girl� by Gillian Flynn so I had some predictions of how the storyline would play out. I was wrong. The storyline had twists and turns that I didn’t expect which made The Trapped Girl a riveting novel. Of the first five novels in the Crosswhite series, this is one of the best.

The one thing that I thoroughly enjoyed about the Tracy Crosswhite series are the characters. They are so true to life. I’ve met people exactly like them, especially the police detectives.

Another thing that I enjoyed about the Crosswhite series is that it includes mention of things, places, and events that can be appreciated by someone familiar with Seattle, its neighborhoods and its surrounding cities and towns, its politics, its culture, its traffic jam, its geography, etc. This familiarity with Seattle makes the Tracy Crosswhite series so unique.
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<![CDATA[The Last Line (Tracy Crosswhite, #8.5)]]> 58481394
His old life in the rearview, Del Castigliano has left Wisconsin to work homicide for the Seattle PD. Breaking him in is veteran detective Moss Gunderson, and he’s handing Del a big catch: the bodies of two unidentified men fished from Lake Union. It’s a major opportunity for the new detective, and Del runs with it, chasing every lead—to every dead end. Despite the help of another section rookie, Vic Fazzio, Del is going nowhere fast. Until one shotgun theory looks to be dead right: the victims are casualties of a drug smuggling operation. But critical information is missing—or purposely hidden. It’s forcing Del into a crisis of character and duty that not even the people he trusts can help him resolve.]]>
53 Robert Dugoni 1542036542 DanielL 4 3.85 2021 The Last Line (Tracy Crosswhite, #8.5)
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/27
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[The Girl and the Bombardier: A True Story of Resistance and Rescue in Nazi-Occupied France]]> 54507403
Susan Tate Ankeny was sorting through the belongings of her late father—a World War II veteran bombardier who had bailed from a burning B-17 over Nazi-occupied France in 1944—when she found two boxes. One contained her dad’s Air Force uniform, and the other an unfinished memoir, stacks of envelopes, black-and-white photographs, mission reports, dog tags, and the fake identity cards he used in his escape. Ankeny spent more than a decade from that moment tracking down letter writers, their loved ones, and anyone who had played a role in her father's story, culminating in a trip to France where she retraced his path with the same people who had guided him more than sixty years ago.

A remarkable hero emerged—Godelieve Van Laere—just a teenaged girl when she saved the fallen Lieutenant Dean Tate, risking her life and forging a friendship that would last into a new century.

The result is an amazing, multifaceted World War II tale—perhaps one of the last of its kind to be enriched by an author’s interviews with participants. It traces the transformation of a small-town American boy into a bombardier, the thrill and chaos of an air war, and the horror of bailing from a flaming aircraft over enemy territory. It distinguishes the actions of a little-known French resistance network for Allied airmen known as Shelburne. And it shines a light on the courage and cunning of a young woman who put her life on the line to save another’s.]]>
210 Susan Tate Ankeny 1635767148 DanielL 5 The Girl and the Bombardier: A True Story of Resistance and Rescue in Nazi-Occupied France, I didn’t really fully grasp or appreciate the details, the dangers and risk undertaken by the French Resistance to aid and extract downed Allied aircrew from occupied France. Combat aircrew members understood and accepted the risk of war so I am in awe of the French Resistance for doing what they did. If they were caught aiding Allied aircrew, they would be tortured and killed along with their family members.

The Girl and the Bombardier: A True Story of Resistance and Rescue in Nazi-Occupied France isn’t about the entire French Resistance’s evade and escape network. Instead, it focuses on the experience of Lt. Dean Tate, one French girl (Godelieve Van Laere) who was his initial rescuer, and others who helped him evade the Nazis and escape back to England. The story of one airman’s experience allows a fuller understanding of why, who, and how the French Resistance returned downed Allied airmen back to England.

I found it fascinating that the escape and evasion was in “plain sight� of the Nazis. The downed Allied aircrew used faked IDs, took public trains, and presented their fake IDs to the French Police and Nazis. This took incredible guts and courage to do this. I think I would have been paralyzed with fear if it was me.

The Girl and the Bombardier: A True Story of Resistance and Rescue in Nazi-Occupied France kind of reminded me of the movie “The Great Escape� when escaping Allied POWs tried to evade the Nazis using fake IDs and public trains. Most were unsuccessful, but they didn’t have the French Resistance to help them.

Lt. Dean Tate is an interesting person. He wasn’t the gung-ho Army Air Corp. officer. He was more of a pacifist who questioned the war and his involvement in it. He didn’t even take his military issued sidearm pistol when on an air mission.

If you’re a WW2 history buff, I highly recommend The Girl and the Bombardier: A True Story of Resistance and Rescue in Nazi-Occupied France.]]>
4.19 The Girl and the Bombardier: A True Story of Resistance and Rescue in Nazi-Occupied France
author: Susan Tate Ankeny
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.19
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/26
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves:
review:
Before reading The Girl and the Bombardier: A True Story of Resistance and Rescue in Nazi-Occupied France, I didn’t really fully grasp or appreciate the details, the dangers and risk undertaken by the French Resistance to aid and extract downed Allied aircrew from occupied France. Combat aircrew members understood and accepted the risk of war so I am in awe of the French Resistance for doing what they did. If they were caught aiding Allied aircrew, they would be tortured and killed along with their family members.

The Girl and the Bombardier: A True Story of Resistance and Rescue in Nazi-Occupied France isn’t about the entire French Resistance’s evade and escape network. Instead, it focuses on the experience of Lt. Dean Tate, one French girl (Godelieve Van Laere) who was his initial rescuer, and others who helped him evade the Nazis and escape back to England. The story of one airman’s experience allows a fuller understanding of why, who, and how the French Resistance returned downed Allied airmen back to England.

I found it fascinating that the escape and evasion was in “plain sight� of the Nazis. The downed Allied aircrew used faked IDs, took public trains, and presented their fake IDs to the French Police and Nazis. This took incredible guts and courage to do this. I think I would have been paralyzed with fear if it was me.

The Girl and the Bombardier: A True Story of Resistance and Rescue in Nazi-Occupied France kind of reminded me of the movie “The Great Escape� when escaping Allied POWs tried to evade the Nazis using fake IDs and public trains. Most were unsuccessful, but they didn’t have the French Resistance to help them.

Lt. Dean Tate is an interesting person. He wasn’t the gung-ho Army Air Corp. officer. He was more of a pacifist who questioned the war and his involvement in it. He didn’t even take his military issued sidearm pistol when on an air mission.

If you’re a WW2 history buff, I highly recommend The Girl and the Bombardier: A True Story of Resistance and Rescue in Nazi-Occupied France.
]]>
<![CDATA[In the Clearing (Tracy Crosswhite, #3)]]> 26214866 Detective Tracy Crosswhite has a skill, and a soft spot, for tackling unsolved crimes. Having lost her own sister to murder at a young age, Tracy has dedicated her career to bringing justice and closure to the families and friends of victims of crime.

So when Jenny, a former police academy classmate and protégé, asks Tracy to help solve a cold case that involves the suspicious suicide of a Native American high school girl forty years earlier, Tracy agrees. Following up on evidence Jenny’s detective father collected when he was the investigating deputy, Tracy probes one small town’s memory and finds dark, well-concealed secrets hidden within the community’s fabric. Can Tracy uphold the promise she’s made to the dead girl’s family and deliver the truth of what happened to their daughter? Or will she become the next victim?

]]>
392 Robert Dugoni 150398561X DanielL 5 In the Clearing. If you intend to read In the Clearing, read “The Academy� first. It’s not totally necessary, but it does give some context to the relationship between Tracy Crosswhite and Jenny Almond.

The primary story In the Clearing is the death of a Native American high school girl which was ruled a suicide. Almond’s father was the first responding officer who did not think it was a suicide. His doubts about the death being a suicide was overruled by his superiors so he did his own investigation and kept the file after it was closed. Years later, Almond dies and his daughter finds her dad’s investigation file. Jenny Almond ask Crosswhite if she could review the “cold file�. The circumstances reminds Crosswhite of her sister’s murder so she takes a personally interest in the case. With new technology and experts to review the file, Crosswhite determines that the suicide was a premeditated murder. She now has to prove it.

The other storyline is a domestic violence murder of an estranged husband committed by either the wife or their teenage son. Is it a case of self-defense? Is it a staged crime scene? Who did what, when and why becomes the unanswered questions that Crosswhite and her partner need to resolve.

I’ve read several novels by Robert Dugoni. I like the Crosswhite series and I found In the Clearing to be one of his best so far. The characters are so realistic especially the four high school football players. I knew guys like that in high school.


]]>
4.29 2016 In the Clearing (Tracy Crosswhite, #3)
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/19
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves:
review:
In “The Academy: A Short Story�, readers are first introduced to police academy recruit Jenny Almond (nicknamed “Costco� because of her previous employment). I thought she was a one and done character, but Jenny is reintroduced to readers In the Clearing. If you intend to read In the Clearing, read “The Academy� first. It’s not totally necessary, but it does give some context to the relationship between Tracy Crosswhite and Jenny Almond.

The primary story In the Clearing is the death of a Native American high school girl which was ruled a suicide. Almond’s father was the first responding officer who did not think it was a suicide. His doubts about the death being a suicide was overruled by his superiors so he did his own investigation and kept the file after it was closed. Years later, Almond dies and his daughter finds her dad’s investigation file. Jenny Almond ask Crosswhite if she could review the “cold file�. The circumstances reminds Crosswhite of her sister’s murder so she takes a personally interest in the case. With new technology and experts to review the file, Crosswhite determines that the suicide was a premeditated murder. She now has to prove it.

The other storyline is a domestic violence murder of an estranged husband committed by either the wife or their teenage son. Is it a case of self-defense? Is it a staged crime scene? Who did what, when and why becomes the unanswered questions that Crosswhite and her partner need to resolve.

I’ve read several novels by Robert Dugoni. I like the Crosswhite series and I found In the Clearing to be one of his best so far. The characters are so realistic especially the four high school football players. I knew guys like that in high school.



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<![CDATA[The Waiting (Renée Ballard, #6)]]> 206125098 LAPD Detective Renée Ballard tracks a terrifying serial rapist whose trail has gone cold with the help of the newest volunteer to the Open-Unsolved Patrol Officer Maddie Bosch, Harry's daughter.

Renée Ballard and the LAPD's Open-Unsolved Unit get a hot shot DNA connection between a recently arrested man and a serial rapist and murderer who went quiet twenty years ago. The arrested man is only twenty-three, so the genetic link must be familial. It is his father who was the Pillowcase Rapist, responsible for a five-year reign of terror in the city of angels. But when Ballard and her team move in on their suspect, they encounter a baffling web of secrets and legal hurdles.

Meanwhile, Ballard's badge, gun, and ID are stolen-a theft she can't report without giving her enemies in the department the ammunition they need to end her career as a detective. She works the burglary alone, but her solo mission leads her into greater danger than she anticipates. She has no choice but to go outside the department for help, and that leads her to the door of Harry Bosch.

Finally, Ballard takes on a new volunteer to the cold case unit. Bosch's daughter Maddie wants to supplement her work as a patrol officer on the night beat by investigating cases with Ballard. But Renée soon learns that Maddie has an ulterior motive for getting access to the city's library of lost souls.

***

CRIME DOESN'T COME BETTER THAN 'The pre-eminent detective novelist of his generation' IAN RANKIN 'The best mystery writer in the world' GQ 'A superb natural storyteller' LEE CHILD 'A master' STEPHEN KING 'America's greatest living crime writer' DAILY EXPRESS 'One of the great storytellers of crime fiction' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH]]>
Michael Connelly 0316563811 DanielL 5 Michael Connelly and I found The Waiting to be one his best. It had me so enthralled and engrossed that I read the entire novel in less than three days. When I wasn’t reading it, I kept thinking about what I had read.

For me, The Waiting is the most realistic and relatable novel written by Michael Connelly. The novel has several storylines (investigations + personal conflicts) which is what I found so relatable. I had a job (non-law enforcement) that required me to multi-task or juggle several balls in the air without dropping one. If I could successfully juggle three balls, I was asked to juggle four, then five . . . On top of juggling the balls, I had to write and submit reports every 30 days, train co-workers, serve on committees, etc. This multi-tasking is what Renee Ballard had to do in The Waiting. Sometimes you don’t think you can do it, but you simply do it because that’s your job.

I've never had to seek out psychological or psychiatric help like Ballard, but the stress of the job and one’s personal life can overwhelm you. I like the fact that this type of treatment was so thoughtfully addressed.

Then there is the “politics� of the job. Every job has “politics�. It is knowing how and when to deal with the “politics� so job security isn’t jeopardized. This is something that Ballard had to deal with constantly.]]>
4.55 2024 The Waiting (Renée Ballard, #6)
author: Michael Connelly
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/12
date added: 2025/01/13
shelves:
review:
I’ve read every novel by Michael Connelly and I found The Waiting to be one his best. It had me so enthralled and engrossed that I read the entire novel in less than three days. When I wasn’t reading it, I kept thinking about what I had read.

For me, The Waiting is the most realistic and relatable novel written by Michael Connelly. The novel has several storylines (investigations + personal conflicts) which is what I found so relatable. I had a job (non-law enforcement) that required me to multi-task or juggle several balls in the air without dropping one. If I could successfully juggle three balls, I was asked to juggle four, then five . . . On top of juggling the balls, I had to write and submit reports every 30 days, train co-workers, serve on committees, etc. This multi-tasking is what Renee Ballard had to do in The Waiting. Sometimes you don’t think you can do it, but you simply do it because that’s your job.

I've never had to seek out psychological or psychiatric help like Ballard, but the stress of the job and one’s personal life can overwhelm you. I like the fact that this type of treatment was so thoughtfully addressed.

Then there is the “politics� of the job. Every job has “politics�. It is knowing how and when to deal with the “politics� so job security isn’t jeopardized. This is something that Ballard had to deal with constantly.
]]>
<![CDATA[The Academy (Tracy Crosswhite, #0.25)]]> 22713330
The training sessions offer plenty of opportunities for humiliation, but Tracy’s not the type to give in. Fueled by a confrontation with her in the middle of a class, Nolasco is determined to see Tracy fail. Tracy, harboring memories of the loss of her sister and the disintegration of her family, has too much at stake to let one pigheaded detective stand in her way. With so much to lose, will she make the cut in this competitive world?]]>
43 Robert Dugoni 1477898115 DanielL 5 4.34 2014 The Academy (Tracy Crosswhite, #0.25)
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/12
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[The Last Agent (Charles Jenkins, #2)]]> 44434238
An Amazon Charts, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal bestselling series.

An American operative in Russia is on the run for his life in a thriller of heart-stopping betrayal and international intrigue by the New York Times bestselling author of The Eighth Sister.

Betrayed by his own country and tried for treason, former spy Charles Jenkins survived an undercover Russian operation gone wrong. Exonerated, bitter, and safe, the retired family man is through with duplicitous spy games. Then he learns of a woman isolated in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo Prison.

If it’s Paulina Ponomayova, the agent who sacrificed her life to save his, Jenkins can’t leave her behind. But there’s no guarantee it’s her. Or proof Paulina is still alive. To find out, Jenkins must return to Russia. Next move: blackmail Viktor Federov, a former Russian officer with his own ax to grind, into helping him infiltrate Lefortovo. The enemy who once pursued Jenkins across three continents is now the only man Jenkins can trust.

Every step of the way—from Moscow to Scandinavia to the open ocean—they’re hunted by a brutal Russian agent on a killer quest of his own. Out of loyalty to Paulina—dead or alive—Jenkins is putting everyone’s life on the line for a new mission that could be his last.]]>
405 Robert Dugoni 1542014255 DanielL 4 The Last Agent and the only reason that I stopped reading was because I needed to sleep and get up the next morning.

The Last Agent is a modern day Russia (KGB/FSB) vs. USA (CIA) thriller. I don’t know if people will find the novel as interesting 50 years from now, but if you’re familiar and interested in current Russia / USA relationship, you should find this novel fascinating.

Some of what happens in The Last Agent might seem implausible and ridiculous, but this is FICTION. It’s not so implausible and ridiculous to make it a total fantasy.

The Last Agent is novel #2 of #3. You do need to read them in order to follow the storyline.

I recently discovered the novels of Robert Dugoni in the past 6-8 months and I’ve become a big fan. His writing style is superb. The fact that he can write police thrillers, legal thrillers, political thrillers, espionage thriller is mind-boggling. You don’t find too many writers who will cover such a wide range of topics and do it so well. ]]>
4.44 2020 The Last Agent (Charles Jenkins, #2)
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/07
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves:
review:
The story started slow, but after reading 1/3 of the novel, the story took off like a rocket. I spent several long nights reading The Last Agent and the only reason that I stopped reading was because I needed to sleep and get up the next morning.

The Last Agent is a modern day Russia (KGB/FSB) vs. USA (CIA) thriller. I don’t know if people will find the novel as interesting 50 years from now, but if you’re familiar and interested in current Russia / USA relationship, you should find this novel fascinating.

Some of what happens in The Last Agent might seem implausible and ridiculous, but this is FICTION. It’s not so implausible and ridiculous to make it a total fantasy.

The Last Agent is novel #2 of #3. You do need to read them in order to follow the storyline.

I recently discovered the novels of Robert Dugoni in the past 6-8 months and I’ve become a big fan. His writing style is superb. The fact that he can write police thrillers, legal thrillers, political thrillers, espionage thriller is mind-boggling. You don’t find too many writers who will cover such a wide range of topics and do it so well.
]]>
A Killing on the Hill 181840722 The Great Depression. High-level corruption. And a murder that’s about to become Seattle’s hottest mystery. It’s the kind of story that can make a reporter’s career. If he lives to write about it.

Seattle, 1933. The city is in the grips of the Great Depression, Prohibition, and vice. Cutting his teeth on a small-time beat, hungry and ambitious young reporter William “Shoe� Shumacher gets a tip that could change his career. There’s been a murder at a social club on Profanity Hill—an underworld magnet for vice crimes only a privileged few can afford. The story is going to be front-page news, and Shoe is the first reporter on the scene.

The victim, Frankie Ray, is a former prizefighter. His accused killer? Club owner and mobster George Miller, who claims he pulled the trigger in self-defense. Soon the whole town’s talking, and Shoe’s first homicide is fast becoming the Trial of the Century. The more Shoe digs, the more he’s convinced nothing is as it seems. Not with a tangle of conflicting stories, an unlikely motive, and witnesses like Miller’s girlfriend, a glamour girl whose pretty lips are sealed. For now.

In a city steeped in old west debauchery, Shoe’s following every lead to a very dangerous place—one that could bring him glory and fame or end his life.]]>
352 Robert Dugoni 1662500246 DanielL 4 A Killing on the Hill is historical novel set in the 1930’s Seattle during prohibition and the depression. Prohibition meant that speakeasy joints thrived and were controlled by mobsters, i.e., organized crime. The depression meant that everyone was hustling for money including the police.

When a murder occurs in a speakeasy, the prime suspect is a mobster. A young journalist is tasked with covering the story. It quickly becomes a high profile court case with high public interest similar to the 1995 OJ Simpson murder trial.

Robert Dugoni does an excellent job of describing Seattle in the 1930’s. A lot of Seattle in the 1930’s still existed up to the early 1970’s so it brought back some memories for me.

Most people think of police corruption and organized crime as being a big city (New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, etc) problem; but Seattle had its own police corruption that was still rampant up to the mid-1970’s (it was really bad in Tacoma). The organized crime wasn’t the Mafia but more local, but still organized and deadly.

The criminal trial and procedures that were portrayed in the novel is excellent. It shows that the criminal justice system hasn’t really changed much.

A Killing on the Hill is a good companion read to “The Boys in the Boat� because both are set in Seattle around the same time.

In 10+ years, I think I could re-read this novel and enjoy it like it was a first read. ]]>
4.23 2024 A Killing on the Hill
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/16
date added: 2024/12/29
shelves:
review:
A Killing on the Hill is historical novel set in the 1930’s Seattle during prohibition and the depression. Prohibition meant that speakeasy joints thrived and were controlled by mobsters, i.e., organized crime. The depression meant that everyone was hustling for money including the police.

When a murder occurs in a speakeasy, the prime suspect is a mobster. A young journalist is tasked with covering the story. It quickly becomes a high profile court case with high public interest similar to the 1995 OJ Simpson murder trial.

Robert Dugoni does an excellent job of describing Seattle in the 1930’s. A lot of Seattle in the 1930’s still existed up to the early 1970’s so it brought back some memories for me.

Most people think of police corruption and organized crime as being a big city (New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, etc) problem; but Seattle had its own police corruption that was still rampant up to the mid-1970’s (it was really bad in Tacoma). The organized crime wasn’t the Mafia but more local, but still organized and deadly.

The criminal trial and procedures that were portrayed in the novel is excellent. It shows that the criminal justice system hasn’t really changed much.

A Killing on the Hill is a good companion read to “The Boys in the Boat� because both are set in Seattle around the same time.

In 10+ years, I think I could re-read this novel and enjoy it like it was a first read.
]]>
Damage Control 59119602
But bad things happen in threes, her mother has told her. When Dana discovers her husband cheating, she throws herself headlong into the investigation. Delaying cancer treatment, she teams with an intuitive detective to find the link between a one-of-a-kind earring found in her brother's bedroom and a mysterious girlfriend no one seems to be able to identify. But those connected to the murder are beginning to turn up dead, the evidence trail is growing cold and someone is masquerading as a police officer, cleaning up the details as they go along.]]>
401 Robert Dugoni DanielL 4 Damage Control did not really engage me as a reader. I was getting somewhat disappointed in the novel, but at around 1/4 way through the novel, it took off and I couldn’t put it down.

If you’re the type who believes in political conspiracies and win-at-all-cost especially involving the rich and powerful, Damage Control is the novel for you.

If you’re thinking of becoming a lawyer for fame and fortune, `Damage Control might change your career decision for one not so cut-throat and soulless.

If you’ve lived or familiar with Seattle and the surrounding area, you will enjoy reading Damage Control since the author uses and describes it extensively. As you read the novel, you can picture in your mind the actual scenes based upon your own experience in those areas.

Overall, I really enjoyed Damage Control. I’d re-read it again in 10+ years and I think I would still enjoy it. ]]>
4.56 2007 Damage Control
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/28
date added: 2024/12/29
shelves:
review:
The first few chapters of Damage Control did not really engage me as a reader. I was getting somewhat disappointed in the novel, but at around 1/4 way through the novel, it took off and I couldn’t put it down.

If you’re the type who believes in political conspiracies and win-at-all-cost especially involving the rich and powerful, Damage Control is the novel for you.

If you’re thinking of becoming a lawyer for fame and fortune, `Damage Control might change your career decision for one not so cut-throat and soulless.

If you’ve lived or familiar with Seattle and the surrounding area, you will enjoy reading Damage Control since the author uses and describes it extensively. As you read the novel, you can picture in your mind the actual scenes based upon your own experience in those areas.

Overall, I really enjoyed Damage Control. I’d re-read it again in 10+ years and I think I would still enjoy it.
]]>
<![CDATA[Third Watch (Tracy Crosswhite, #0.5)]]> 26120568 Tracy Crosswhite’s ordinary night patrolling her Seattle beat becomes front page news when she responds to a domestic disturbance call that turns into a hostage crisis.

In this prequel short story to Robert Dugoni’s #1 Kindle-bestselling novel, My Sister’s Grave, Tracy Crosswhite is a young patrol officer, paying her dues, keeping her head down, and hoping a solid record will get her promoted to detective. While years have passed since the disappearance of Tracy’s sister, the experience has made her one of the city’s most dedicated cops.

Reporter Tevia Kushman is shadowing Tracy on a ride-along seeking to follow-up on a recent (and nasty) exposé about the Seattle PD’s treatment of female cops. Young and ambitious, Tevia is hoping for a juicy scoop on the gender politics of the PD, but may get a much bigger story than she bargained for�

Neither woman expects a routine-sounding call to turn into something dangerous, until Tracy walks into a domestic dispute and finds herself looking down the barrel of a shot-gun. No stranger to high-pressure situations, Tracy must draw on more than just her academy training and lightning-fast shooting skills to find a way to talk down—or take out—the volatile man holding the gun.]]>
48 Robert Dugoni DanielL 4 4.23 2015 Third Watch (Tracy Crosswhite, #0.5)
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/28
date added: 2024/12/28
shelves:
review:

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The 7th Canon 30633500 A riveting legal thriller from Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of My Sister’s Grave.

In San Francisco’s seamy Tenderloin district, a teenage street hustler has been murdered in a shelter for boys. And the dedicated priest who runs the struggling home stands accused. But despite damning evidence that he’s a killer—and worse—Father Thomas Martin stands by his innocence. And attorney Peter Donley stands with him.

For three years Donley has cut his legal teeth in his uncle’s tiny, no-frills firm, where people come before profits. Just as Donley is poised to move on to a lucrative dream job, the shocking case lands in his lap, and he must put his future on hold while putting his courtroom skills to the test. But a ruthless DA seeking headlines and a brutal homicide cop bent on vengeance have their own agendas. Now, as he unearths the dirty secrets surrounding the case, Donley must risk his neck to save his client’s life…and expose the face of true evil.]]>
335 Robert Dugoni 1503994430 DanielL 5
For me, The 7th Canon was like taking a time machine back to San Francisco of the the mid-80’s, especially the Tenderloin neighborhood. I could visualize the sight, the sound, and the smell from my own personal experience.

I’m a new reader (fan) of Robert Dugoni. I think this is my fourth Dugoni novel that I’ve read and I’ve never been disappointed. If you’re a fan of well-written legal thrillers, The 7th Canon should be on your must read list. If you remember or experienced San Francisco of the 1980’s, this is going to bring back memories of those times.]]>
4.36 2016 The 7th Canon
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/22
date added: 2024/11/23
shelves:
review:
I often visited and explored San Francisco in the early 70’s through the 1980’s. The downtown area was seedy and gritty mixed with upscale hotels, stores, and restaurants. I found the area an exciting and interesting place to explore.

For me, The 7th Canon was like taking a time machine back to San Francisco of the the mid-80’s, especially the Tenderloin neighborhood. I could visualize the sight, the sound, and the smell from my own personal experience.

I’m a new reader (fan) of Robert Dugoni. I think this is my fourth Dugoni novel that I’ve read and I’ve never been disappointed. If you’re a fan of well-written legal thrillers, The 7th Canon should be on your must read list. If you remember or experienced San Francisco of the 1980’s, this is going to bring back memories of those times.
]]>
<![CDATA[Tin Can Titans: The Heroic Men and Ships of World War II's Most Decorated Navy Destroyer Squadron]]> 34516572 An epic narrative of World War II naval action that brings to life the sailors and exploits of the war's most decorated destroyer squadron

When Admiral William Halsey selected Destroyer Squadron 21 (Desron 21) to lead his victorious ships into Tokyo Bay to accept the Japanese surrender, it was the most battle-hardened US naval squadron of the war.

But it was not the squadron of ships that had accumulated such an inspiring resume; it was the people serving aboard them. Sailors, not metallic superstructures and hulls, had won the battles and become the stuff of legend. Men like Commander Donald MacDonald, skipper of the USS O'Bannon, who became the most decorated naval officer of the Pacific war; Lieutenant Hugh Barr Miller, who survived his ship's sinking and waged a one-man battle against the enemy while stranded on a Japanese-occupied island; and Doctor Dow "Doc" Ransom, the beloved physician of the USS La Vallette, who combined a mixture of humor and medical expertise to treat his patients at sea, epitomize the sacrifices made by all the men and women of World War II.

Through diaries, personal interviews with survivors, and letters written to and by the crews during the war, preeminent historian of the Pacific theater John Wukovits brings to life the human story of the squadron and its men who bested the Japanese in the Pacific and helped take the war to Tokyo.
]]>
517 John F. Wukovits DanielL 3
This is a well written book. I’ve read a number of WW2 Pacific naval books so I only gave it 3-stars because it really didn’t tell me anything that I already didn’t know. If you’re unfamiliar with this subject and/or you know or are related to someone who served on US destroyers (especially Destroyer Squadron 21) in the Pacific during WW 2, this book will make you proud of them.]]>
4.50 2017 Tin Can Titans: The Heroic Men and Ships of World War II's Most Decorated Navy Destroyer Squadron
author: John F. Wukovits
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/13
date added: 2024/11/13
shelves:
review:
I recall reading in another book about the US Navy in the Pacific during World War 2, the quote - “There are no foxholes in the ocean.� During those point blank battles between surface ships and Kamikaze attacks, there was no hiding, no retreating, no escape. You just had to stay at your duty station and hope that you’re lucky to live through it. “The Tin Can Titans� is a profile of the men of Destroyer Squadron 21 who were some of the first surface ships in the Pacific whose job was to stem the tide of Japanese military expansion.

This is a well written book. I’ve read a number of WW2 Pacific naval books so I only gave it 3-stars because it really didn’t tell me anything that I already didn’t know. If you’re unfamiliar with this subject and/or you know or are related to someone who served on US destroyers (especially Destroyer Squadron 21) in the Pacific during WW 2, this book will make you proud of them.
]]>
<![CDATA[The Eighth Sister (Charles Jenkins, #1)]]> 40207839
Former CIA case officer Charles Jenkins is a man at a crossroads: in his early sixties, he has a family, a new baby on the way, and a security consulting business on the brink of bankruptcy. Then his former bureau chief shows up at his house with a risky new assignment: travel undercover to Moscow and locate a Russian agent believed to be killing members of a clandestine US spy cell known as the seven sisters.

Desperate for money, Jenkins agrees to the mission and heads to the Russian capital. But when he finds the mastermind agent behind the assassinations—the so-called eighth sister—she is not who or what he was led to believe. Then again, neither is anyone else in this deadly game of cat and mouse.

Pursued by a dogged Russian intelligence officer, Jenkins executes a daring escape across the Black Sea, only to find himself abandoned by the agency he serves. With his family and freedom at risk, Jenkins is in the fight of his life—against his own country.]]>
479 Robert Dugoni 1503958302 DanielL 4 The Eighth Sister was a pleasant surprise to me because it was completely different from his other novels that I’ve read. Instead of a crime mystery thriller, The Eighth Sister is an international espionage, CIA vs. Russian FSB, US national security, legal mystery thriller. This genre isn’t my favorite, but I very much enjoyed this one. While reading it, I kept thinking that this would make a great screenplay for a Tom Clancy’s “Jack Ryan� TV series.

As a new reader to the literary works of Robert Dugoni, I have become very impressed with is story-telling skills. In The Eighth Sister, the scenes in and around Moscow were written so well that my imagination had me in Moscow.

Robert Dugoni is now one of my must read authors. He is such a prolific writer and I was concerned that he was cranking out predictable formula stories. I was wrong. From the novels that I’ve read, Dugoni is cranking out some of today’s best thriller mysteries.]]>
4.22 2019 The Eighth Sister (Charles Jenkins, #1)
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/22
date added: 2024/10/23
shelves:
review:
The Eighth Sister was a pleasant surprise to me because it was completely different from his other novels that I’ve read. Instead of a crime mystery thriller, The Eighth Sister is an international espionage, CIA vs. Russian FSB, US national security, legal mystery thriller. This genre isn’t my favorite, but I very much enjoyed this one. While reading it, I kept thinking that this would make a great screenplay for a Tom Clancy’s “Jack Ryan� TV series.

As a new reader to the literary works of Robert Dugoni, I have become very impressed with is story-telling skills. In The Eighth Sister, the scenes in and around Moscow were written so well that my imagination had me in Moscow.

Robert Dugoni is now one of my must read authors. He is such a prolific writer and I was concerned that he was cranking out predictable formula stories. I was wrong. From the novels that I’ve read, Dugoni is cranking out some of today’s best thriller mysteries.
]]>
The World Played Chess 56922052 400 Robert Dugoni 1542029384 DanielL 5 The World Played Chess is completely different than the other three novels that I’ver read by Robert Dugoni. Although I’ve only read a few of his novels, this is my very favorite since I am of similar age to the main character Vincent Bianco. I could relate to his experience in high school, earning money for college, the “immortality� of youth, and his relationship with his family and friends.

Most of the novel occurred in the immediate post-Vietnam War. Like the character Vincent Bianco, I knew many who had served in the Vietnam War since I enlisted in the military after the war ended.

The most gut wrenching part of the novel occurred during the Vietnam War as experienced and written in a journal by a USMC veteran.

If you’re of the same generation, i.e., a baby boomer, I think you will enjoy this exceptionally well-written novel as much as I did.

When I give out 4 or 5 stars, the book has to one that I think I would enjoy re-reading in 10+ years. I think I would enjoy re-reading this novel next week so I gave it 5 stars. ]]>
4.45 2021 The World Played Chess
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/13
date added: 2024/10/16
shelves:
review:
The World Played Chess is completely different than the other three novels that I’ver read by Robert Dugoni. Although I’ve only read a few of his novels, this is my very favorite since I am of similar age to the main character Vincent Bianco. I could relate to his experience in high school, earning money for college, the “immortality� of youth, and his relationship with his family and friends.

Most of the novel occurred in the immediate post-Vietnam War. Like the character Vincent Bianco, I knew many who had served in the Vietnam War since I enlisted in the military after the war ended.

The most gut wrenching part of the novel occurred during the Vietnam War as experienced and written in a journal by a USMC veteran.

If you’re of the same generation, i.e., a baby boomer, I think you will enjoy this exceptionally well-written novel as much as I did.

When I give out 4 or 5 stars, the book has to one that I think I would enjoy re-reading in 10+ years. I think I would enjoy re-reading this novel next week so I gave it 5 stars.
]]>
<![CDATA[Her Final Breath (Tracy Crosswhite, #2)]]> 24937499
A serial killer known as the Cowboy is killing young women in cheap motels in North Seattle. Even after a stalker leaves a menacing message for Crosswhite, suggesting the killer or a copycat could be targeting her personally, she is charged with bringing the murderer to justice. With clues scarce and more victims dying, Tracy realizes the key to solving the murders may lie in a decade-old homicide investigation that others, including her captain, Johnny Nolasco, would prefer to keep buried. With the Cowboy on the hunt, can Tracy find the evidence to stop him, or will she become his next victim?]]>
438 Robert Dugoni 150390024X DanielL 5 My Sister's Grave to fully appreciate Her Final Breath .

I enjoyed reading My Sister's Grave that I immediately purchased Her Final Breath for my 18+ hour airplane ride to Asia. I was not disappointed with my choice. I didn’t finish Her Final Breath on the airplane ride, but it was close.

As a long-time Seattle resident, Her Final Breath accurately describes certain places in and around Seattle during this time period. The bald eagle perch on the I-520 bridge light (Sadly, the bald eagle died when it flew into a tour bus front windshield after seeing its reflection in the windshield.); the strip clubs on Aurora Avenue and on First Ave in downtown Seattle; the traffic jam getting to and from West Seattle; etc.

Her Final Breath is about a serial killer. The power struggle within the Seattle Police Department and the news media “leaks� reminded me of the true life police investigation of Richard Jewell as documented in “The Suspect�. Instead of serial killer, they were pursuing a serial bomber.

This is only the third novel that I’ve read by Robert Dugoni. He has been elevated to one of my favorite crime mystery thriller authors in the same league as Harlan Coben and Michael Connelly. The fact that Dugoni has written so many novels that I have not read has me smiling in anticipation of reading them. ]]>
4.33 2015 Her Final Breath (Tracy Crosswhite, #2)
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/10
date added: 2024/10/16
shelves:
review:
This is the second novel in the Tracy Crosswhite series. You really need to first read My Sister's Grave to fully appreciate Her Final Breath .

I enjoyed reading My Sister's Grave that I immediately purchased Her Final Breath for my 18+ hour airplane ride to Asia. I was not disappointed with my choice. I didn’t finish Her Final Breath on the airplane ride, but it was close.

As a long-time Seattle resident, Her Final Breath accurately describes certain places in and around Seattle during this time period. The bald eagle perch on the I-520 bridge light (Sadly, the bald eagle died when it flew into a tour bus front windshield after seeing its reflection in the windshield.); the strip clubs on Aurora Avenue and on First Ave in downtown Seattle; the traffic jam getting to and from West Seattle; etc.

Her Final Breath is about a serial killer. The power struggle within the Seattle Police Department and the news media “leaks� reminded me of the true life police investigation of Richard Jewell as documented in “The Suspect�. Instead of serial killer, they were pursuing a serial bomber.

This is only the third novel that I’ve read by Robert Dugoni. He has been elevated to one of my favorite crime mystery thriller authors in the same league as Harlan Coben and Michael Connelly. The fact that Dugoni has written so many novels that I have not read has me smiling in anticipation of reading them.
]]>
Portnoy's Complaint 9459947 The groundbreaking novel from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Pastoral that originally propelled its author to literary told in a continuous monologue from patient to psychoanalyst, this masterpiece draws us into the turbulent mind of one lust-ridden young Jewish bachelor named Alexander Portnoy. "Deliciously funny...absurd and exuberant, wild and uproarious...a brilliantly vivid reading experience."Ěý—TheĚýNew York Times Book Review"Touching as well as hilariously lewd.... Roth is vibrantly talented." —New York Review of BooksPortnoy's Complaint n. [after Alexander Portnoy (1933- )] A disorder in which strongly-felt ethical and altruistic impulses are perpetually warring with extreme sexual longings, often of a perverse nature. Spielvogel 'Acts of exhibitionism, voyeurism, fetishism, auto-eroticism and oral coitus are plentiful; as a consequence of the patient's "morality," however, neither fantasy nor act issues in genuine sexual gratification, but rather in overriding feelings of shame and the dread of retribution, particularly in the form of castration.' (Spielvogel, O. "The Puzzled Penis," Internationale Zeitschrift fĂĽr Psychoanalyse, Vol. XXIV, p. 909.) It is believed by Spielvogel that many of the symptoms can be traced to the bonds obtaining in the mother-child relationship.]]> 289 Philip Roth DanielL 2 Portnoy’s Complaint as a teenage about 50+ years ago. I couldn’t recall anything about the novel so I purchased the Kindle version for a re-read.

I started reading Portnoy’s Complaint but I quit after reading 1/3 of the novel. I just couldn’t get engaged with the novel; and I had too many other unread books on my book shelf.

I can understand why the novel was popular back when it was first published because it covers subjects and topics that weren’t discussed openly in public. If you’re Jewish and/or familiar with Jewish-American culture (especially in New York City and the surrounding area), you might find Portnoy’s Complaint an enjoyable and relatable read. If you’re not familiar with Jewish-American culture, Portnoy’s Complaint might not be an easy or enjoyable read. ]]>
3.77 1969 Portnoy's Complaint
author: Philip Roth
name: DanielL
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1969
rating: 2
read at: 2024/10/02
date added: 2024/10/03
shelves:
review:
I first read Portnoy’s Complaint as a teenage about 50+ years ago. I couldn’t recall anything about the novel so I purchased the Kindle version for a re-read.

I started reading Portnoy’s Complaint but I quit after reading 1/3 of the novel. I just couldn’t get engaged with the novel; and I had too many other unread books on my book shelf.

I can understand why the novel was popular back when it was first published because it covers subjects and topics that weren’t discussed openly in public. If you’re Jewish and/or familiar with Jewish-American culture (especially in New York City and the surrounding area), you might find Portnoy’s Complaint an enjoyable and relatable read. If you’re not familiar with Jewish-American culture, Portnoy’s Complaint might not be an easy or enjoyable read.
]]>
<![CDATA[The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle]]> 44571963 The “intensively reported and fluidly writtenâ€� true-crimeĚýaccountĚýof the heroic security guard accused of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing (Wall Street Journal).On July 27, 1996, security guard Richard Jewell spotted a suspicious bag in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park, the town square of the 1996 Summer Games. Inside was a bomb, the largest of its kind in FBI and ATF history. The bomb detonated amid a crowd of fifty thousand people. But thanks to Jewell, it only wounded 111 and killed two, not the untold scores who would have otherwise died. Yet seventy-two hours later, the FBI turned Jewell from a national hero into their main suspect. The decision not only changed Jewell’s life, it let the true bomber roam free to strike again.ĚýToday, most of what we remember of this tragedy is wrong.In a triumph of investigative journalism, former U.S. Attorney Kent Alexander and reporter Kevin Salwen reconstruct events before, during, and after the bombing. Drawn from law enforcement evidence and the extensive personal records of key players—including Richard himself—The Suspect, is a gripping story of domestic terrorism and an innocent man’s fight to clear his name.]]> 499 Kent Alexander DanielL 5
The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle by Kent Alexander is my first in-depth understanding of what happened. Although this is non-fiction, it reads like a crime thriller novel. It is very well-written and researched. I did not know that the 2019 movie “RICHARD JEWELL� was based upon this book. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I hope to in the near future.

After reading the book, I can’t fault the FBI for suspecting Richard Jewell. They had to investigate him because of concerns raised by others and his history of “badge heavy� conduct / behavior / personality.

The faulty is with the news media, specifically the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who identified and pilloried him as the suspected bomber. Now days, most news media do NOT identify a suspect until he or she has been charged or publicly identified by the police as the suspect. I think the Richard Jewell incident forced the news media to now use restraint or face legal liability for defamation.

The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle gives a good background on the key players. For those familiar with the bombing, it might be redundant. The history of the Olympic Games, the awarding of the games to Atlanta, the history of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, AJC reporter Kathy Scruggs, FBI agent Don Johnson and many other individual law enforcement officers who wrongly believed Richard Jewell was the bomber. Interestingly, FBI agent Don Johnson never ruled out Jewell as the bomber during Johnson's lifetime

The rise to fame of Prosecutor Nancy Grace (who became a caustic legal TV personality), Attorney Lin Wood (now better known as a disgraced and disbarred Trump MAGA election denier) and others were an interesting side note in the Richard Jewell case.

Although the book is primarily about Richard Jewell, it does delve in to Eric Rudolph’s life and his bombing spree. As a white supremacist, anti-government, misogynistic lone wolf, he proved to be a hard man to catch since he was a loner. He was very much like the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski in that he was an elusive man to identify and catch because he was a lone wolf.]]>
4.53 2019 The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle
author: Kent Alexander
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/30
shelves:
review:
I remembered the day when the bomb exploded at Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park and the frenzied news media pointing the finger at Richard Jewell as the bomber. When Eric Rudolph was definitively identified as the bomber, I forgot about Richard Jewell.

The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle by Kent Alexander is my first in-depth understanding of what happened. Although this is non-fiction, it reads like a crime thriller novel. It is very well-written and researched. I did not know that the 2019 movie “RICHARD JEWELL� was based upon this book. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I hope to in the near future.

After reading the book, I can’t fault the FBI for suspecting Richard Jewell. They had to investigate him because of concerns raised by others and his history of “badge heavy� conduct / behavior / personality.

The faulty is with the news media, specifically the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who identified and pilloried him as the suspected bomber. Now days, most news media do NOT identify a suspect until he or she has been charged or publicly identified by the police as the suspect. I think the Richard Jewell incident forced the news media to now use restraint or face legal liability for defamation.

The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle gives a good background on the key players. For those familiar with the bombing, it might be redundant. The history of the Olympic Games, the awarding of the games to Atlanta, the history of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, AJC reporter Kathy Scruggs, FBI agent Don Johnson and many other individual law enforcement officers who wrongly believed Richard Jewell was the bomber. Interestingly, FBI agent Don Johnson never ruled out Jewell as the bomber during Johnson's lifetime

The rise to fame of Prosecutor Nancy Grace (who became a caustic legal TV personality), Attorney Lin Wood (now better known as a disgraced and disbarred Trump MAGA election denier) and others were an interesting side note in the Richard Jewell case.

Although the book is primarily about Richard Jewell, it does delve in to Eric Rudolph’s life and his bombing spree. As a white supremacist, anti-government, misogynistic lone wolf, he proved to be a hard man to catch since he was a loner. He was very much like the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski in that he was an elusive man to identify and catch because he was a lone wolf.
]]>
Pegasus Bridge 19181618 In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, a small detachment of British airborne troops stormed the German defense forces and paved the way for the Allied invasion of Europe. Pegasus Bridge was the first engagement of D-Day, the turning point of World War II.This gripping account of it by acclaimed author Stephen Ambrose brings to life a daring mission so crucial that, had it been unsuccessful, the entire Normandy invasion might have failed. Ambrose traces each step of the preparations over many months to the minute-by-minute excitement of the hand-to-hand confrontations on the bridge. This is a story of heroism and cowardice, kindness and brutality—the stuff of all great adventures.]]> 238 Stephen E. Ambrose 1439126674 DanielL 4 Stephen E. Ambrose. The current edition of Pegasus Bridge: June 6, 1944 is an updated version with corrections given after it was originally released.

The capture of the Pegasus Bridge is a small, but important part of the Allied invasion on D-Day. Success was based on luck, exceptional training, great leadership by its officers and NCOs, and most importantly, by the corporals who stepped up when the officers and NCOs went down. The German Army's failure to counterattack is an example why you don't have a rigid top-down command structure.

Pegasus Bridge: June 6, 1944 does point out that there were some who got scared and went AWOL before the mission. There were incidents of accidental gunshot wounds (self-inflicted?). These can be expected in any military combat unit.

Pegasus Bridge: June 6, 1944 raised a few questions that I had not considered. One was why did the British high command use D Company as ordinary infantrymen for defense (90+ days) after the bridge was captured and secured. It was a waste of an elite special forces unit which incurred more casualty as ordinary defensive infantrymen than during the capture of the Pegasus bridge.

Another question was about Operation Market Garden. The plan to capture Pegasus bridge was a successful blueprint to seizure the key bridges in the Netherlands; but all the lessons learned at the Pegasus bridge was ignored. Instead, Operation Market Garden was a dismal failure and a reminder a similar fate could have happened at the Pegasus bridge and doomed the Allied landing at Normandy.

There a number of YouTube videos about the Pegasus bridge. I watch a few of those videos before reading the book. For me, it helped keep the people, places, and the chronology in order. ]]>
4.40 1984 Pegasus Bridge
author: Stephen E. Ambrose
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.40
book published: 1984
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/19
date added: 2024/09/19
shelves:
review:
When it comes to World War 2 history books, no one does it better than Stephen E. Ambrose. The current edition of Pegasus Bridge: June 6, 1944 is an updated version with corrections given after it was originally released.

The capture of the Pegasus Bridge is a small, but important part of the Allied invasion on D-Day. Success was based on luck, exceptional training, great leadership by its officers and NCOs, and most importantly, by the corporals who stepped up when the officers and NCOs went down. The German Army's failure to counterattack is an example why you don't have a rigid top-down command structure.

Pegasus Bridge: June 6, 1944 does point out that there were some who got scared and went AWOL before the mission. There were incidents of accidental gunshot wounds (self-inflicted?). These can be expected in any military combat unit.

Pegasus Bridge: June 6, 1944 raised a few questions that I had not considered. One was why did the British high command use D Company as ordinary infantrymen for defense (90+ days) after the bridge was captured and secured. It was a waste of an elite special forces unit which incurred more casualty as ordinary defensive infantrymen than during the capture of the Pegasus bridge.

Another question was about Operation Market Garden. The plan to capture Pegasus bridge was a successful blueprint to seizure the key bridges in the Netherlands; but all the lessons learned at the Pegasus bridge was ignored. Instead, Operation Market Garden was a dismal failure and a reminder a similar fate could have happened at the Pegasus bridge and doomed the Allied landing at Normandy.

There a number of YouTube videos about the Pegasus bridge. I watch a few of those videos before reading the book. For me, it helped keep the people, places, and the chronology in order.
]]>
<![CDATA[Her Deadly Game (Keera Duggan, #1)]]> 60593682 A defense attorney is prepared to play. But is she a pawn in a master’s deadly match? A twisting novel of suspense by New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.

Keera Duggan was building a solid reputation as a Seattle prosecutor, until her romantic relationship with a senior colleague ended badly. For the competitive former chess prodigy, returning to her family’s failing criminal defense law firm to work for her father is the best shot she has. With the right moves, she hopes to restore the family’s reputation, her relationship with her father, and her career.

Keera’s chance to play in the big leagues comes when she’s retained by Vince LaRussa, an investment adviser accused of murdering his wealthy wife. There’s little hard evidence against him, but considering the couple’s impending and potentially nasty divorce, LaRussa faces life in prison. The prosecutor is equally challenging: Miller Ambrose, Keera’s former lover, who’s eager to destroy her in court on her first homicide defense.

As Keera and her team follow the evidence, they uncover a complicated and deadly game that’s more than Keera bargained for. When shocking information turns the case upside down, Keera must decide between her duty to her client, her family’s legacy, and her own future.]]>
396 Robert Dugoni 1662500173 DanielL 5 Robert Dugoni or his novels so I was unsure about buying and reading Her Deadly Game. I’m glad that I decided to read it. It was a fast read because it’s well written and fast moving.

I’ve lived in Seattle for over 50+ year and Her Deadly Game captured the city’s vibe, its people, its neighborhoods, the police, the court and courthouse, its news media, etc. As I was reading the novel, I vividly pictured the Seattle locations since it is exactly as I remembered.

Other than being a good backdrop on Seattle, Her Deadly Game is a good story on the criminal justice system and the toll that it takes on defense attorneys, prosecutors, their families, etc. It reminded me of a conversation I had with a prominent Seattle attorney. I told him that I was considering becoming an attorney and he said that if he had to do it all over again, he would NOT have gone to law school. He would have chosen an entirely different career. ]]>
4.43 2023 Her Deadly Game (Keera Duggan, #1)
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/16
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves:
review:
I knew nothing about Robert Dugoni or his novels so I was unsure about buying and reading Her Deadly Game. I’m glad that I decided to read it. It was a fast read because it’s well written and fast moving.

I’ve lived in Seattle for over 50+ year and Her Deadly Game captured the city’s vibe, its people, its neighborhoods, the police, the court and courthouse, its news media, etc. As I was reading the novel, I vividly pictured the Seattle locations since it is exactly as I remembered.

Other than being a good backdrop on Seattle, Her Deadly Game is a good story on the criminal justice system and the toll that it takes on defense attorneys, prosecutors, their families, etc. It reminded me of a conversation I had with a prominent Seattle attorney. I told him that I was considering becoming an attorney and he said that if he had to do it all over again, he would NOT have gone to law school. He would have chosen an entirely different career.
]]>
<![CDATA[My Sister's Grave (Tracy Crosswhite, #1)]]> 22744701 The first book in the series that has garnered millions of readers across the globe, from New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.

Tracy Crosswhite has spent twenty years questioning the facts surrounding her sister Sarah’s disappearance and the murder trial that followed. She doesn’t believe that Edmund House—a convicted rapist and the man condemned for Sarah’s murder—is the guilty party. Motivated by the opportunity to obtain real justice, Tracy became a homicide detective with the Seattle PD and dedicated her life to tracking down killers.

When Sarah’s remains are finally discovered near their hometown in the northern Cascade mountains of Washington State, Tracy is determined to get the answers she’s been seeking. As she searches for the real killer, she unearths dark, long-kept secrets that will forever change her relationship to her past—and open the door to deadly danger.]]>
412 Robert Dugoni 1477875565 DanielL 5 My Sister's Grave is the second novel that I’ve read by Robert Dugoni. After reading Her Deadly Game, I was so impressed that I immediately purchased and read My Sister's Grave. I was not disappointed. It is OUTSTANDING.

Although My Sister's Grave is fiction, it is about a crime that seems to be reported in the news media all too often - the abduction, the disappearance, the murder and/or the missing bodies of girls and women. The emotional and psychological impact on the family is something that I cannot comprehend and this is the underlying storyline of My Sister's Grave.

My two current favorite authors are Harlan Coben and Michael Connelly. I’ve read everything that they’ve written. Robert Dugoni might soon be added to my very short list of must-read authors. I’ll have to read a few more of his novels before I elevate him to my list. ]]>
4.25 2014 My Sister's Grave (Tracy Crosswhite, #1)
author: Robert Dugoni
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/11
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves:
review:
My Sister's Grave is the second novel that I’ve read by Robert Dugoni. After reading Her Deadly Game, I was so impressed that I immediately purchased and read My Sister's Grave. I was not disappointed. It is OUTSTANDING.

Although My Sister's Grave is fiction, it is about a crime that seems to be reported in the news media all too often - the abduction, the disappearance, the murder and/or the missing bodies of girls and women. The emotional and psychological impact on the family is something that I cannot comprehend and this is the underlying storyline of My Sister's Grave.

My two current favorite authors are Harlan Coben and Michael Connelly. I’ve read everything that they’ve written. Robert Dugoni might soon be added to my very short list of must-read authors. I’ll have to read a few more of his novels before I elevate him to my list.
]]>
The Ridge 11316720
For deputy sheriff Kevin Kimble, the lighthouse-keeper's death is disturbing and personal. Years ago, Kimble was shot while on duty. Somehow the death suggests a connection between the lighthouse and the most terrifying moment of his life.

Audrey Clark is in the midst of moving her large-cat sanctuary onto land adjacent to the lighthouse. Sixty-seven tigers, lions, leopards, and one legendary black panther are about to have a new home there. Her husband, the sanctuary's founder, died scouting the new property, and Audrey is determined to see his vision through.

As strange occurrences multiply at the Ridge, the animals grow ever more restless, and Kimble and Audrey try to understand what evil forces are moving through this ancient landscape, just past the divide between dark and light.]]>
388 Michael Koryta DanielL 5 Michael Koryta (Author) and The Ridge is the best so far. The story started a bit slow, but when the story got going, it was hard for me to stop reading. When I finished, and started reading another novel by a different author, I found myself still thinking about The Ridge. It’s like eating good food. After you finish, you can’t help but remember the delicious taste and you crave eating it again.

The Ridge is a supernatural novel like something Stephen King would write. If you’re a believer or fan of the supernatural, ghosts, spirits, etc., you will thoroughly enjoy this novel.

The one thing that got me hooked on this novel was that I couldn’t figure out how Michael Koryta (Author) was going to end the story. I figured that it would be an implausible or a dumb ending, but the ending turned out to be convincing and a perfect ending to a supernatural story.

When rating a novel, I give it a higher rating if it’s worthy of a re-read 10-20 years later. “The Ridge� is on my re-read list and I think it will be as enjoyable as the first time that I read it.]]>
3.98 2011 The Ridge
author: Michael Koryta
name: DanielL
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/02
date added: 2024/09/03
shelves:
review:
I’ve read about six novels by Michael Koryta (Author) and The Ridge is the best so far. The story started a bit slow, but when the story got going, it was hard for me to stop reading. When I finished, and started reading another novel by a different author, I found myself still thinking about The Ridge. It’s like eating good food. After you finish, you can’t help but remember the delicious taste and you crave eating it again.

The Ridge is a supernatural novel like something Stephen King would write. If you’re a believer or fan of the supernatural, ghosts, spirits, etc., you will thoroughly enjoy this novel.

The one thing that got me hooked on this novel was that I couldn’t figure out how Michael Koryta (Author) was going to end the story. I figured that it would be an implausible or a dumb ending, but the ending turned out to be convincing and a perfect ending to a supernatural story.

When rating a novel, I give it a higher rating if it’s worthy of a re-read 10-20 years later. “The Ridge� is on my re-read list and I think it will be as enjoyable as the first time that I read it.
]]>
<![CDATA[Hannibal (Hannibal Lecter, #3)]]> 6667654 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER •Ěý“Is it as good as Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs? No . . . this one is better.”—Stephen King, The New York Times Book ReviewYou remember Hannibal gentleman, genius, cannibal. Seven years have passed since Dr. Lecter escaped from custody. And for seven years he’s been at large, free to savor the scents, the essences, of an unguarded world. But intruders have entered Dr. Lecter’s world, piercing his new identity, sensing the evil that surrounds him. For the multimillionaire Hannibal left maimed, for a corrupt Italian policeman, and for FBI agent Clarice Starling, who once stood before Lecter and who has never been the same, the final hunt for Hannibal Lecter has begun. All of them, in their separate ways, want to find Dr. Lecter. And all three will get their wish. But only one will live long enough to savor the reward. . . .ĚýPraise for Hannibal“Interested in getting the hell scared out of you? Buy this book on a Friday . . . lock all doors and windows. And by Monday , you might just be able to sleep without a night-light.â€�—N±đ·É˛ő»ĺ˛ą˛â“Strap yourself in for one heck of a ride. . . . It’ll scare your socks off.â€�—Denver Post “A stunner . . . writing in language as bright and precise as a surgeon’s scalpel, Harris has created a world as mysterious as Hannibal’s memory palace and as disturbing as a Goya painting. This is one book you don’t want to read alone at night.â€�—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution“Relentless . . . endlessly terrifying . . . 486 fast-paced pages, in which every respite is but a prelude to further furious action . . . Hannibal begins with a murderous paroxysm that leaves the reader breathless. . . . Hannibal speaks to the imagination, to the feelings, to the passions, to exalted senses and to debased ones. Harris’s voice will be heard for a while.â€�—Los Angeles Times“A pleasurable sense of dread.â€�—The Wall Street Journal“Enormously satisfying . . . a smashing good time, turning the pages for thrills, chills, horror and finally, a bracing, deliciously wicked slap in the face . . . perhaps the very best the thriller/horror genre is capable of producing.â€�—San Diego Union-Tribune]]> 530 Thomas Harris DanielL 3 The Silence of the Lambs novel so I had high expectations for Hannibal. Instead, I was very disappointed. Hannibal needed a good editor to tighten up the storyline.

The first half of the novel was a slow moving mess. The second half was a little better. I considered not finishing Hannibal, but I decided to endure and finish reading it to the end. In hindsight, I should have stopped reading it half way through.

I had seen the movie years ago. This is one of those rare instances in which the movie is significantly better than the novel. Because of the movie, I was better able to follow the novel’s storyline. The endings of the movie and the novel are very different, but most everything else is similar.

I gave Hannibal THREE STARS. It should be 2 1/2 stars, but I gave it an upward grade for effort.]]>
4.12 1999 Hannibal (Hannibal Lecter, #3)
author: Thomas Harris
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/09
date added: 2024/08/12
shelves:
review:
I loved The Silence of the Lambs novel so I had high expectations for Hannibal. Instead, I was very disappointed. Hannibal needed a good editor to tighten up the storyline.

The first half of the novel was a slow moving mess. The second half was a little better. I considered not finishing Hannibal, but I decided to endure and finish reading it to the end. In hindsight, I should have stopped reading it half way through.

I had seen the movie years ago. This is one of those rare instances in which the movie is significantly better than the novel. Because of the movie, I was better able to follow the novel’s storyline. The endings of the movie and the novel are very different, but most everything else is similar.

I gave Hannibal THREE STARS. It should be 2 1/2 stars, but I gave it an upward grade for effort.
]]>
<![CDATA[Think Twice (Myron Bolitar, #12)]]> 199372842
Myron Bolitar and Windsor Horne Lockwood III� reunite to find a dead man come back to life in this gripping thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of I Will Find You.

Former basketball star Myron Bolitar has barely restarted his agency for sports stars and celebrities when two federal agents walk into his office, asking for answers. Assuming they want to talk about the highly publicized Callister murders—of which he and Win know nothing, other than what's been saturating the news lately—he's stunned when, instead, they demand to know where Greg Downing is.

Greg, a former NBA player-turned-beloved-coach, was an old client of Myron’s, one of his very first. The reason for Myron's surprise is simple: Greg Downing died three years ago.

But according to these federal agents, Greg is still alive—and somehow involved in the Callister case.

Before his death, Greg made some strange money moves, but nothing about his reappearance makes any sense. As Myron and Win investigate, they're also surprised to uncover a seemingly related case where someone was murdered. Then another. And another. Is Greg alive? And if he is, where is he? And ultimately, are they looking for Greg? Or are they looking for a dangerously clever serial killer?]]>
352 Harlan Coben DanielL 5 4.51 2024 Think Twice (Myron Bolitar, #12)
author: Harlan Coben
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/17
date added: 2024/07/17
shelves:
review:

]]>
Rich Man, Poor Man 38198061 629 Irwin Shaw DanielL 5 The Young Lions several years ago. It was one of the best WW2 novels that I’ve ever read. Although Rich Man, Poor Man is one of Shaw’s most popular novels, the storyline seemed more like a soap opera TV drama. I resisted reading it until Amazon offered the Kindle version at a deep discount so I bought it.

After reading Rich Man, Poor Man, I’ve got to admit that it was much, much better than I expected. It is easily one the top 100 novels that I’ve ever read. Shaw is of the same generation and writing talent as Upton Sinclair and W. Somerset Maugham whose novels I greatly enjoy. Rich Man, Poor Man sometimes reminded me of Maugham’s The Razor’s Edge.

After reading Rich Man, Poor Man, I’m glad that I waited until I was older and retired. I don’t think I would have fully appreciated the novel as a teenager or a young adult.

I am a late bloomer in recognizing the greatness of Irwin Shaw’s writing skills. I have made it my mission to read more of his novels. ]]>
4.45 1969 Rich Man, Poor Man
author: Irwin Shaw
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.45
book published: 1969
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/12
date added: 2024/07/12
shelves:
review:
I read Irwin Shaw’s The Young Lions several years ago. It was one of the best WW2 novels that I’ve ever read. Although Rich Man, Poor Man is one of Shaw’s most popular novels, the storyline seemed more like a soap opera TV drama. I resisted reading it until Amazon offered the Kindle version at a deep discount so I bought it.

After reading Rich Man, Poor Man, I’ve got to admit that it was much, much better than I expected. It is easily one the top 100 novels that I’ve ever read. Shaw is of the same generation and writing talent as Upton Sinclair and W. Somerset Maugham whose novels I greatly enjoy. Rich Man, Poor Man sometimes reminded me of Maugham’s The Razor’s Edge.

After reading Rich Man, Poor Man, I’m glad that I waited until I was older and retired. I don’t think I would have fully appreciated the novel as a teenager or a young adult.

I am a late bloomer in recognizing the greatness of Irwin Shaw’s writing skills. I have made it my mission to read more of his novels.
]]>
The Outsider 50271461
An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.

As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, King’s propulsive story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can.]]>
655 Stephen King DanielL 5 4.29 2018 The Outsider
author: Stephen King
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/20
date added: 2024/06/20
shelves:
review:

]]>
<![CDATA[Alone: Britain, Churchill, and Dunkirk: Defeat into Victory]]> 34971436 Combining epic history with rich family stories, Michael Korda chronicles the outbreak of World War II and the great events that led to Dunkirk.


In an absorbing work peopled with world leaders, generals, and ordinary citizens who fought on both sides of World War II, Alone brings to resounding life perhaps the most critical year of twentieth-century history. For, indeed, May 1940 was a month like no other, as the German war machine blazed into France while the supposedly impregnable Maginot Line crumbled, and Winston Churchill replaced Neville Chamberlain as prime minister in an astonishing political drama as Britain, isolated and alone, faced a triumphant Nazi Germany. Against this vast historical canvas, Michael Korda relates what happened and why, and also tells his own story, that of a six-year-old boy in a glamorous movie family who would himself be evacuated. Alone is a work that seamlessly weaves a family memoir into an unforgettable account of a political and military disaster redeemed by the evacuation of more than 300,000 men in four days—surely one of the most heroic episodes of the war.


“The incredible, almost miraculous story of what happened at Dunkirk in the year 1940—and why—is unfolded in Alone with great narrative skill and superb delineation of a highly interesting cast of characters, including, importantly, the author himself and his own remarkable family.� � David McCullough]]>
515 Michael Korda 1631491334 DanielL 3 4.23 2017 Alone: Britain, Churchill, and Dunkirk: Defeat into Victory
author: Michael Korda
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/12
date added: 2024/06/12
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[Dam Busters: The True Story of the Inventors and Airmen Who Led the Devastating Raid to Smash the German Dams in 1943]]> 18994181 The story of the British-made bombs, Upkeep and Highball, successfully dropped on Nazi dams â€�has never been told in such depth beforeâ€� (Daily Mail, UK). Ěý The night of May 16, 1943: Nineteen specially adapted Lancaster bombers take off from an RAF airfield in Lincolnshire, England, each with a huge nine-thousand-pound cylindrical bomb strapped underneath it. Their to destroy three hydroelectric dams that power the Third Reich’s war machine. Ěý It was a suicide mission from the outset. First the men had to fly extremely low, at night, and in tight formation over miles of enemy-occupied territory. Then they had to drop with pinpoint precision a complicated spinning cylindrical bomb that had never before been used operationally. More than that, the entire operation had to be put together in less than ten weeks in order to hit the dams when water levels were still high enough for the bombs to be effective. Ěý The visionary aviation engineer Barnes Wallis hadn’t even drawn up plans for his concept when the bouncing bomb was green-lighted. What followed was an incredible race against time that, despite numerous setbacks, became one of the most successful and significant bombing raids of all time. “Holland has delved into the new troveâ€� of declassified documents “to shed light on this weapons program, the politics of its development and the eventual missionâ€� (The Wall Street Journal). Ěý “An impeccably researched work in the style of a fast-paced techno-thriller.â€� —Publishers Weekly Ěý “Extremely detailed but never dullĚý.Ěý.Ěý.ĚýHolland offers a definitive, nuts-and-bolts history.â€� —Kirkus Reviews Ěý “A well-written study of engineering and invention operating under great pressure.Ěý.Ěý.Ěý.ĚýFor all World War II history buffs.â€� —Library Journal, starred review]]> 464 James Holland 0802193064 DanielL 3 4.37 2012 Dam Busters: The True Story of the Inventors and Airmen Who Led the Devastating Raid to Smash the German Dams in 1943
author: James Holland
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/20
date added: 2024/05/20
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[One False Move (Myron Bolitar, #5)]]> 59107537
Brenda Slaughter is no damsel in distress. Myron Bolitar is no bodyguard. But Myron has agreed to protect the bright, strong, beautiful basketball star. And he's about to find out if he's man enough to unravel the tragic riddle of her life.

Twenty years before, Brenda's mother deserted her. And just as Brenda is making it to the top of the women's pro basketball world, her father disappears too. A big-time New York sports agent with a foundering love life, Myron has a professional interest in Brenda. Then a personal one. But between them isn't just the difference in their backgrounds or the color of their skin. Between them is a chasm of corruption and lies, a vicious young mafioso on the make, and one secret that some people are dying to keep—and others are killing to protect....


From the Paperback edition.]]>
402 Harlan Coben DanielL 4 Harlan Coben. I’ve read every one of his novels so One False Move is a re-read for me. I first read it some 20 years ago. When Amazon offered the Kindle version of One False Move at a deep discount, I hesitated since I have so many other un-read Kindle books. After reading a snippet of the novel, it seemed familiar; but I had forgotten the storyline so I purchased it.

One False Move was a fairly quick read. I enjoyed reading it (again). The novel reminded me why Myron Bolitar abandoned his sports agent business.

I don't re-read novels, but I have no regret re-reading this one since it filled some holes that I had forgotten in the Myron Bolitar series. ]]>
4.46 1998 One False Move (Myron Bolitar, #5)
author: Harlan Coben
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.46
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/26
date added: 2024/04/27
shelves:
review:
I’m a big fan of Harlan Coben. I’ve read every one of his novels so One False Move is a re-read for me. I first read it some 20 years ago. When Amazon offered the Kindle version of One False Move at a deep discount, I hesitated since I have so many other un-read Kindle books. After reading a snippet of the novel, it seemed familiar; but I had forgotten the storyline so I purchased it.

One False Move was a fairly quick read. I enjoyed reading it (again). The novel reminded me why Myron Bolitar abandoned his sports agent business.

I don't re-read novels, but I have no regret re-reading this one since it filled some holes that I had forgotten in the Myron Bolitar series.
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Last Words (Mark Novak, #1) 25408953
Garrison is much like any place in America, proud and fortified against outsiders. For Mark to delve beneath the town's surface, he must match wits with the man who knows the caverns better than anyone. A man who seemed to have lost his mind. A man who seems to know Mark Novak all too well.]]>
448 Michael Koryta 031633796X DanielL 3
The “Last Words� enthralled me for the first half since it introduced something new to me, the world of cave exploring. I couldn’t put the book down. After reading the first half, the “Last Words� bogged down and the storyline went haywire. I struggled to finish the book, but I did.

This wasn’t one of Koyta’s best book, but there aren’t too many fiction novels about the thrill and risk of cave exploring so those interested in that activity might truly enjoy it.]]>
3.85 2015 Last Words (Mark Novak, #1)
author: Michael Koryta
name: DanielL
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2024/04/05
date added: 2024/04/06
shelves:
review:
I’ve read several novels by Michael Koryta. Some are good; some are so-so. I read “Rise The Dark� (book #2) several months ago. That novel wasn’t too bad so when Amazon offered “Last Words� at a low Kindle price, I bought it. I wouldn’t have bought the book at full retail.

The “Last Words� enthralled me for the first half since it introduced something new to me, the world of cave exploring. I couldn’t put the book down. After reading the first half, the “Last Words� bogged down and the storyline went haywire. I struggled to finish the book, but I did.

This wasn’t one of Koyta’s best book, but there aren’t too many fiction novels about the thrill and risk of cave exploring so those interested in that activity might truly enjoy it.
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<![CDATA[The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz]]> 51187948
On Winston Churchill's first day as prime minister, Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next twelve months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold the country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally-and willing to fight to the end.

In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows, in cinematic detail, how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless." It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it's also an intimate domestic drama set against the backdrop of Churchill's prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London.

Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports-some released only recently-Larson provides a new lens on London's darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his wife, Clementine; their youngest daughter, Mary, who chafes against her parents' wartime protectiveness; their son, Randolph, and his beautiful, unhappy wife, Pamela; Pamela's illicit lover, a dashing American emissary; and the cadre of close advisers who comprised Churchill's "Secret Circle," including his lovestruck private secretary, John Colville; newspaper baron Lord Beaverbrook; and the Rasputin-like Frederick Lindemann.

The Splendid and the Vile takes readers out of today's political dysfunction and back to a time of true leadership, when-in the face of unrelenting horror-Churchill's eloquence, courage, and perseverance bound a country, and a family, together."--]]>
546 Erik Larson 038534872X DanielL 3 The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson isn’t totally about Churchill. It covers the time period between the invasion and surrender of France, to the German bombing of England and the expected German invasion (Battle of Britain / The Blitz), Rudolf Hess’s solo flight to Britain, to the US declaration of war after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

There are numerous books about Churchill during this time period, but Erik Larson gives a more personal insight with revelations about personal conflicts, love, romances, infidelity, fears, etc. The author used contemporaneous notes or diaries from citizens and politicians who wrote down their feelings and experiences to convey their life-and-death struggle of this time. I was surprised that the British government asked its citizens to keep a diary of their wartime experiences. I guess this would be like today’s Internet “bloggers�. At times, I had the uncomfortable feeling that I was reading someone’s personal diary that should have never been made public.

Although most of the book is about Churchill, it does cover the perspectives of US, British, French, German politicians, their military leaders, the media, and their citizens.

I read THE SPLENDID near the end of the second year of the full-scale Russia invasion of Ukraine. The similarities between the two wars are remarkable.

For a book about Churchill and Great Britain, this is a well-written and fascinating historical book that revealed lots of things that I never knew before. If you're NOT a WW2 history buff, this book might not be interesting.





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4.30 2020 The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
author: Erik Larson
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/07
date added: 2024/03/08
shelves:
review:
�The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson isn’t totally about Churchill. It covers the time period between the invasion and surrender of France, to the German bombing of England and the expected German invasion (Battle of Britain / The Blitz), Rudolf Hess’s solo flight to Britain, to the US declaration of war after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

There are numerous books about Churchill during this time period, but Erik Larson gives a more personal insight with revelations about personal conflicts, love, romances, infidelity, fears, etc. The author used contemporaneous notes or diaries from citizens and politicians who wrote down their feelings and experiences to convey their life-and-death struggle of this time. I was surprised that the British government asked its citizens to keep a diary of their wartime experiences. I guess this would be like today’s Internet “bloggers�. At times, I had the uncomfortable feeling that I was reading someone’s personal diary that should have never been made public.

Although most of the book is about Churchill, it does cover the perspectives of US, British, French, German politicians, their military leaders, the media, and their citizens.

I read THE SPLENDID near the end of the second year of the full-scale Russia invasion of Ukraine. The similarities between the two wars are remarkable.

For a book about Churchill and Great Britain, this is a well-written and fascinating historical book that revealed lots of things that I never knew before. If you're NOT a WW2 history buff, this book might not be interesting.






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<![CDATA[The Boy from the Woods (Wilde, #1)]]> 49640130
No one seems to take Naomi Pine's disappearance seriously, not even her father-with one exception. Hester Crimstein, a television criminal attorney, knows through her grandson that Naomi was relentlessly bullied at school. Hester asks Wilde-with whom she shares a tragic connection-to use his unique skills to help find Naomi.

Wilde can't ignore an outcast in trouble, but in order to find Naomi he must venture back into the community where he has never fit in, a place where the powerful are protected even when they harbor secrets that could destroy the lives of millions . . . secrets that Wilde must uncover before it's too late.]]>
385 Harlan Coben DanielL 4
When I started reading “The Boys from the Woods,� it felt like I was reading a pulp fiction novel. It was an easy book to read. At first, I thought the storyline and the characters were predictable. As I kept reading, the many twists and turns of the story made it totally unpredictable; which made the novel even more enjoyable.

Coben does weave a storyline that reminded me of the hoopla and rumors about Trump’s raw video and audio tapes from the TV show “The Apprentice� that were suppose to be damaging and would derail his 2016 Presidential election bid. There was pressure on the producers to release those tapes with the same “Hitler� argument to release them. That never happened.

This isn’t the best Coben novel, but I still highly recommend it. It would be a quick and enjoyable read during a long plane ride or on vacation.]]>
4.17 2020 The Boy from the Woods (Wilde, #1)
author: Harlan Coben
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2021/03/03
date added: 2024/01/31
shelves:
review:
I’ve read every novel by Harlan Coben except for his young adult novels. I’ve enjoyed reading them all and Coben is one of my favorite authors.

When I started reading “The Boys from the Woods,� it felt like I was reading a pulp fiction novel. It was an easy book to read. At first, I thought the storyline and the characters were predictable. As I kept reading, the many twists and turns of the story made it totally unpredictable; which made the novel even more enjoyable.

Coben does weave a storyline that reminded me of the hoopla and rumors about Trump’s raw video and audio tapes from the TV show “The Apprentice� that were suppose to be damaging and would derail his 2016 Presidential election bid. There was pressure on the producers to release those tapes with the same “Hitler� argument to release them. That never happened.

This isn’t the best Coben novel, but I still highly recommend it. It would be a quick and enjoyable read during a long plane ride or on vacation.
]]>
<![CDATA[Resurrection Walk (The Lincoln Lawyer, #7; Harry Bosch Universe, #38)]]> 85766771
Bosch pulls a needle from the haystack: a woman in prison for killing her husband, a sheriff’s deputy, but who still maintains her innocence. Bosch reviews the case and sees elements that don’t add up, and a sheriff’s department intent on bringing quick justice in the killing of one of its own.

Now Haller has an uphill battle in court, a David fighting Goliaths to vindicate his client. The path for both lawyer and investigator is fraught with danger from those who don’t want the case reopened and will stop at nothing to keep the Haller-Bosch dream team from finding the truth. Packed with intrigue and courtroom drama, Resurrection Walk shows once again that Michael Connelly is “the most consistently superior living crime fiction author� (South Florida Sun Sentinel).]]>
407 Michael Connelly 0316563781 DanielL 5 Michael Connelly.

I’ve read every Bosch / Haller novel by Michael Connelly; and Resurrection Walk is one of his best. It is so well-written that I visualized the story as I read it. This is a novel that I could NOT put down until I finished it.

Resurrection Walk shines a spotlight on the criminal justice system - criminal defense, prosecution, judicial, law enforcement, evidence and investigative procedures, forensic science and technology, etc. It also shined a bright spotlight on police corruption like the well-known problem of LA Sheriffs Deputies with ties to organized criminal gangs. Resurrection Walk is a reminder that US police departments are some of the biggest, most well-armed, and well-financed criminal organizations in the world.

UPDATE:

After I wrote my review, I read a newspaper article (January 11, 2024) about a group of off-duty LA County sheriff’s deputies who were involved in a brawl with a group of teenagers in bowling alley parking lot. The LA County sheriff’s deputies had tattoos linking them to a deputy gang called the “Industry Indians� based out of the City of Industry sheriff’s station. There are 18 known sheriff's deputy gangs like the Grim Reapers, the Banditos, and the Executioners. The “Industry Indians� were an unknown sheriff deputy gang until now, but “there are many more (deputy gangs) that have not yet been discovered.� - - - THIS IS CRAZY. ]]>
4.55 2023 Resurrection Walk (The Lincoln Lawyer, #7; Harry Bosch Universe, #38)
author: Michael Connelly
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/11
date added: 2024/01/13
shelves:
review:
Defense attorney Haller has his own one-man legal team - “Innocence Project� - to exonerate those who were wrongly convicted. This was the only implausible thing about this novel. An “Innocence Project� is labor and legal intensive; time consuming, and expensive. A small legal firm like Haller’s would be hard pressed to undertake and succeed such a daunting legal task. Nevertheless, it still seems plausible as written by Michael Connelly.

I’ve read every Bosch / Haller novel by Michael Connelly; and Resurrection Walk is one of his best. It is so well-written that I visualized the story as I read it. This is a novel that I could NOT put down until I finished it.

Resurrection Walk shines a spotlight on the criminal justice system - criminal defense, prosecution, judicial, law enforcement, evidence and investigative procedures, forensic science and technology, etc. It also shined a bright spotlight on police corruption like the well-known problem of LA Sheriffs Deputies with ties to organized criminal gangs. Resurrection Walk is a reminder that US police departments are some of the biggest, most well-armed, and well-financed criminal organizations in the world.

UPDATE:

After I wrote my review, I read a newspaper article (January 11, 2024) about a group of off-duty LA County sheriff’s deputies who were involved in a brawl with a group of teenagers in bowling alley parking lot. The LA County sheriff’s deputies had tattoos linking them to a deputy gang called the “Industry Indians� based out of the City of Industry sheriff’s station. There are 18 known sheriff's deputy gangs like the Grim Reapers, the Banditos, and the Executioners. The “Industry Indians� were an unknown sheriff deputy gang until now, but “there are many more (deputy gangs) that have not yet been discovered.� - - - THIS IS CRAZY.
]]>
<![CDATA[A Cool Breeze on the Underground (The Neal Carey Mysteries Book 1)]]> 128619368 30th Anniversary Edition with a new introduction by the author

“One of America’s greatest storytellers.”―Stephen King

Neal Carey is not your usual private eye. A graduate student at Columbia University, he grew up on the streets of New York, usually on the wrong side of the law. Then he met a PI who introduced him to the Bank, an exclusive institution with a sideline in keeping its wealthy clients happy and out of trouble. They pay Neal’s college tuition, and Neal gets an education that can’t be found in any textbook, from learning how to trail a suspect to mastering the proper way to search a room.

Now it’s payback time. The Bank wants Neal to put his skills to work in finding Allie Chase, the rebellious teenage daughter of a prominent senator. The problem is that she’s gone underground in the London punk scene. To get her back, Neal has to follow her into a violent netherworld where drugs run rampant and rage is the name of the game.]]>
372 Don Winslow 1504763157 DanielL 4 4.36 1991 A Cool Breeze on the Underground (The Neal Carey Mysteries Book 1)
author: Don Winslow
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.36
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/05
date added: 2024/01/05
shelves:
review:

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The Cypress House 59054945
Arlen Wagner has seen it in men before--a trace of smoke in their eyes that promises imminent death. He is never wrong.

When Arlen awakens on a train one hot Florida night and sees death's telltale sign in the eyes of his fellow passengers, he tries to warn them. Only 19-year-old Paul Brickhill believes him, and the two abandon the train, hoping to escape certain death. They continue south, but soon are stranded at the Cypress House--an isolated Gulf Coast boarding house run by the beautiful Rebecca Cady--directly in the path of an approaching hurricane.]]>
426 Michael Koryta DanielL 3 4.23 2011 The Cypress House
author: Michael Koryta
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2023/12/25
date added: 2023/12/25
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[A Clean Kill in Tokyo (John Rain #1)]]> 22892551 Rain Fall

Name: John Rain.
Vocation: Assassin.
Specialty: Natural Causes.
Base of operations: Tokyo.
Availability: Worldwide.

Half American, half Japanese, expert in both worlds but at home in neither, John Rain is the best killer money can buy. You tell him who. You tell him where. He doesn’t care about why�

Until he gets involved with Midori Kawamura, a beautiful jazz pianist—and the daughter of his latest kill.

A Clean Kill in Tokyo was previously published as Rain Fall, the first in the bestselling John Rain

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276 Barry Eisler 1477870792 DanielL 3 4.18 2003 A Clean Kill in Tokyo (John Rain #1)
author: Barry Eisler
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 2023/11/23
date added: 2023/11/23
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[Rise the Dark (Mark Novak, #2)]]> 28406693 416 Michael Koryta 0316293822 DanielL 3
The storyline of RISE THE DARK is unusual - electricity, the electric power grid, and how to take it down in a domestic terrorist attack.

The antagonist is described in the novel as someone like Charles Manson (Tate / Labiance murders) and Nikola Tesla. I thought the antagonist reminded me more of Reverend Jim Jones (Peoples Temple / Jonestown Massacre) given his embrace of murder and the apocalypse.

Most of the novel takes place in Montana / Wyoming. The author described the geography, the weather, and the people so perceptively that i imagined being there. At times, I wondered if Sheriff Walt Longmire would show up.]]>
4.04 2016 Rise the Dark (Mark Novak, #2)
author: Michael Koryta
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2023/11/03
date added: 2023/11/05
shelves:
review:
I’ve read five novels by Michael Koryta and RISE THE DARK is one of my least favorite. It’s good, but it didn’t enthrall me like his other novels.

The storyline of RISE THE DARK is unusual - electricity, the electric power grid, and how to take it down in a domestic terrorist attack.

The antagonist is described in the novel as someone like Charles Manson (Tate / Labiance murders) and Nikola Tesla. I thought the antagonist reminded me more of Reverend Jim Jones (Peoples Temple / Jonestown Massacre) given his embrace of murder and the apocalypse.

Most of the novel takes place in Montana / Wyoming. The author described the geography, the weather, and the people so perceptively that i imagined being there. At times, I wondered if Sheriff Walt Longmire would show up.
]]>
How It Happened 36258935 "And that is how it happened. Can we stop now?"
Kimberly Crepeaux is no good, a notorious jailhouse snitch, teen mother, and heroin addict whose petty crimes are well-known to the rural Maine community where she lives. So when she confesses to her role in the brutal murders of Jackie Pelletier and Ian Kelly, the daughter of a well-known local family and her sweetheart, the locals have little reason to believe her story.
Not Rob Barrett, the FBI investigator and interrogator specializing in telling a true confession from a falsehood. He's been circling Kimberly and her conspirators for months, waiting for the right avenue to the truth, and has finally found it. He knows, as strongly as he's known anything, that Kimberly's story-a grisly, harrowing story of a hit and run fueled by dope and cheap beer that becomes a brutal stabbing in cold blood-is how it happened. But one thing remains elusive: where are Jackie and Ian's bodies?
After Barrett stakes his name and reputation on the truth of Kimberly's confession, only to have the bodies turn up 200 miles from where she said they'd be, shot in the back and covered in a different suspect's DNA, the case is quickly closed and Barrett forcibly reassigned. But for Howard Pelletier, the tragedy of his daughter's murder cannot be so tidily swept away. And for Barrett, whose career may already be over, the chance to help a grieving father may be the only one he has left.
HOW IT HAPPENED is a frightening, tension-filled ride into the dark heart of rural American from a writer Stephen King has called "a master" and the New York Times has deemed "impossible to resist."]]>
386 Michael Koryta 031629392X DanielL 5 Michael Koryta and How It Happened has been the best so far. I started reading this on a 2-hour airplane flight and never stopped reading until the plane landed. I was so engrossed in the novel that I stayed up late and woke up early to finish reading it. After finishing it, I kept thinking about it even while reading a new novel.

The novel is set in Maine. I can’t think of very many novels set in Maine, but How It Happened is so descriptive of Maine and its people that I felt I was there.

How It Happened is about a serious problem in rural America - STREET DRUGS. This novel could have been set in the economically depressed lumber and fishing communities of Washington State which have also been hit hard by illegal DRUGS.

In some of the other Koryta novels, the characters and storylines were improbable, but still enjoyable to read. In How It Happened, the characters and storyline were more realistic and believable. I think that’s one of the reason that I liked it so much. I could re-read this novel again in a few years and still enjoy it. ]]>
4.13 2018 How It Happened
author: Michael Koryta
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2023/10/23
date added: 2023/10/24
shelves:
review:
I’ve read 5-6 novels by Michael Koryta and How It Happened has been the best so far. I started reading this on a 2-hour airplane flight and never stopped reading until the plane landed. I was so engrossed in the novel that I stayed up late and woke up early to finish reading it. After finishing it, I kept thinking about it even while reading a new novel.

The novel is set in Maine. I can’t think of very many novels set in Maine, but How It Happened is so descriptive of Maine and its people that I felt I was there.

How It Happened is about a serious problem in rural America - STREET DRUGS. This novel could have been set in the economically depressed lumber and fishing communities of Washington State which have also been hit hard by illegal DRUGS.

In some of the other Koryta novels, the characters and storylines were improbable, but still enjoyable to read. In How It Happened, the characters and storyline were more realistic and believable. I think that’s one of the reason that I liked it so much. I could re-read this novel again in a few years and still enjoy it.
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<![CDATA[The Night Of (A Burke and Blade Mystery, #1)]]> 59452647 “No badge, no problem. Michael Lister’s first swing at the modern private eye novel is a home run. The Night Of is an instant classic with rich characters and storytelling that grips your heart from first page to last.� - #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly
Burke and Blade, private investigators in the sun-soaked streets of Panama City Beach, Florida, have always had a personal stake in their work—driven by the disappearance of their own sister ten years ago. Toughened by their years in foster care and children's homes, they're no strangers to danger or heartbreak. But their latest case tests their skills like never before.

Nora Henri and her infant daughter, Emma, have vanished without a trace while on vacation, leaving behind a baffling 911 call that’s as unsettling as it is cryptic. Despite the tireless efforts of local, state, and federal authorities, the case has gone cold, and the clock is ticking.

As Burke and Blade dive into the case, they uncover a tangled web of secrets and lies that threatens to unravel their world. With each clue, the stakes grow higher, and the line between right and wrong becomes increasingly blurred. Can they solve the mystery and bring Nora and Emma home safely, or will this case prove to be their undoing?

The Night Of is a gripping blend of mystery and thriller, infused with sharp wit and emotional depth. Michael Lister, acclaimed and bestselling novelist, delivers a high-stakes adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Join Burke and Blade in this thrilling new series that Michael Connelly hails as the work of a “master storyteller.�]]>
310 Michael Lister 1947606859 DanielL 3 4.07 The Night Of (A Burke and Blade Mystery, #1)
author: Michael Lister
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.07
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2023/10/18
date added: 2023/10/18
shelves:
review:

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Never Far Away 54330255 New York Times bestselling "master" of American thriller writing Michael Koryta returns with an electrifying new novel about a mother seeking to reconnect with her children after a terrible trial tears their family apart

Nina Morgan’s bloodstained car was found a decade ago on a lonely Florida road. Forensic evidence suggested she’d been murdered, although her body was never found. Her disappearance left her infant children to the care of their father.

Once a pilot, mother, wife, and witness to a gruesome crime, Nina had to flee her old life to save her family. She reinvented herself as Leah Trenton, a guide in the Allagash Wilderness in northern Maine. She never expected to see her children again, but now tragedy has returned them to her—only they have no idea that she’s their mother—and delivered all of them back into danger. “Aunt Leah� will need some help, and an old ally has a suggestion: an enigmatic young hitman named Dax Blackwell.

Never Far Away is a thrilling collision between old sins and new dreams, where the wills and ingenuity of a broken family will be tested against all odds.]]>
313 Michael Koryta 0316535915 DanielL 4 Never Far Away. The readers doesn’t know if they should cheer, fear or loath the psychotic hired killer Dax Blackwell who is like the movie characters “John Wick� and “Anton Chigurh� (from NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN) blended together.

The first few chapters of this novel are a bit slow, but then the storyline began to click with me. After that, I couldn’t put the novel down. This is a “violent� novel so it’s probably not everyone’s favorite genre.

Novels that I enjoyed reading and would re-read again get my FOUR and FIVE-STAR ratings. I gave Never Far Away a FOUR-STAR which is good since I hardly give out FIVE-STAR ratings. ]]>
4.41 2021 Never Far Away
author: Michael Koryta
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/08
date added: 2023/10/08
shelves:
review:
I’ve read several of Michael Koryta’s novels. The storyline of his novels are different, but psychotic killers and violence seem to be a common thread. It’s no different in Never Far Away. The readers doesn’t know if they should cheer, fear or loath the psychotic hired killer Dax Blackwell who is like the movie characters “John Wick� and “Anton Chigurh� (from NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN) blended together.

The first few chapters of this novel are a bit slow, but then the storyline began to click with me. After that, I couldn’t put the novel down. This is a “violent� novel so it’s probably not everyone’s favorite genre.

Novels that I enjoyed reading and would re-read again get my FOUR and FIVE-STAR ratings. I gave Never Far Away a FOUR-STAR which is good since I hardly give out FIVE-STAR ratings.
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<![CDATA[Operation: Snare Drum: A WWII Submarine Adventure Novel]]> 58133689
While the United States and the Navy reel from the devastation of Pearl Harbor, the Nazis begin a brutal campaign within sight of the shores of the nation. U-boats prowl the American coast from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico, sinking shipping seemingly unopposed!

Now, one young and untested captain is given an experimental new submarine and sent on a top-secret mission. The German operation "Drumbeat" is well under way and it's up to Lt. Commander Arthur Turner and the crew of the USS Bull Shark to draw a thin blue line.

Somewhere off our shores, a secret Nazi ship lurks. This disguised enemy vessel is directing the U-boat attacks and she must be stopped. Can Captain Turner and his untried boat and crew sink the Nazi plan before Germany cripples the American war effort in the Atlantic?

Exciting combat, deadly intrigue and a desperate struggle for power bring Turner and the Nazis together in an explosive and very personal contest that can have only one victor!

What readers are saying:
"I liked this tale very much. Wii was very much part of my early life..."

"I just finished all the books in one series and was looking for another series with the same fun and adventure. Well here it is..."

"Captivating story with interesting situations. The insight into the intracasies of the handling of a sub and going into combat were very mind boggling."]]>
360 Scott W. Cook DanielL 3 4.31 2021 Operation: Snare Drum: A WWII Submarine Adventure Novel
author: Scott W. Cook
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2023/10/01
date added: 2023/10/01
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In the Wild Light 56816778 NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York TimesĚýâ€� Buzzfeed â€� Kirkus Reviews â€� Publishers Weekly â€� Chicago Public Library“Redefines friendship as something that must be protected, sacrificed for, and tended to with wisdom, patience, and love.â€� —Ocean Vuong, New York Times bestselling author of On Earth We’re Briefly GorgeousA poignant coming-of-age novel about two best friends whose friendship is tested when they get the opportunity to leave their impoverished small town for an elite prep school. For fans of Looking for Alaska.Life in a small Appalachian town is not easy. Cash lost his mother to an opioid addiction and his Papaw is dying slowly from emphysema. Dodging drug dealers and watching out for his best friend, Delaney, is second nature. He's been spending his summer mowing lawns while she works at Dairy Queen. But when Delaney manages to secure both of them full rides to an elite prep school in Connecticut, Cash will have to grapple with his need to protect and love Delaney, and his love for the grandparents who saved him and the town he has to leave behind. Jeff Zentner's new novel is a beautiful examination of grief, found family, and young love.]]> 432 Jeff Zentner 1524720267 DanielL 5
When I started reading “In the Wild Light�, I was somewhat underwhelmed. It felt like I was listening to a Taylor Swift song, i.e., the love woes of a Southern teenage girl / boy. Although I’m NOT a big fan of Taylor Swift, she sometimes tells a good and meaningful story in her songs.

About 1/3 through the novel, I thought about quitting the novel, but something happened and it caught my imagination. The writing is outstanding. The storyline is outstanding. The character development is outstanding.

I only give FOUR and FIVE-STAR ratings to books that I would re-read again in 10 years. This would apply to “In the Wild Light�. ]]>
4.54 2021 In the Wild Light
author: Jeff Zentner
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2023/09/11
date added: 2023/09/12
shelves:
review:
As a senior citizen male, my reading preference is more adventure (police, crime, spy, war, etc.), so “In the Wild Light� is NOT my type of novel. Somehow the novel ended up in my Amazon recommendation feed, at a special KINDLE price; and the rating / reviews were impressive. Curiosity got the better of me so I bought it.

When I started reading “In the Wild Light�, I was somewhat underwhelmed. It felt like I was listening to a Taylor Swift song, i.e., the love woes of a Southern teenage girl / boy. Although I’m NOT a big fan of Taylor Swift, she sometimes tells a good and meaningful story in her songs.

About 1/3 through the novel, I thought about quitting the novel, but something happened and it caught my imagination. The writing is outstanding. The storyline is outstanding. The character development is outstanding.

I only give FOUR and FIVE-STAR ratings to books that I would re-read again in 10 years. This would apply to “In the Wild Light�.
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<![CDATA[Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy]]> 18879785 320 Eri Hotta 0385350511 DanielL 3 4.16 2013 Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy
author: Eri Hotta
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2023/08/27
date added: 2023/08/27
shelves:
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<![CDATA[Hieronymus Bosch: A Mysterious Profile (Mysterious Profiles)]]> 60502348 The #1 New York Times–bestselling author brings you into the world of the LAPD’s Harry Bosch, and the history that shaped him.

In this short work, Michael Connelly delves into the origins of his famed police detective,—how he faced down the horrors of his childhood (a background story that was based on the life of another renowned crime writer); his past as a tunnel rat in Vietnam; and why jazz is his soundtrack. Connelly also shares the story of how his character Hieronymus Bosch came to be named after a fifteenth-century Flemish painter, and how his own youthful experiences of fear led to his literary creation. Those who have followed the cases of this tough cop more interested in justice than ambition will find much to enjoy and to ponder in this behind-the-scenes account.

“Connelly truly is one of the finest mystery writers.� �South Florida Sun Sentinel

“No writer exploits Los Angeles—its geography, its historical power wars, its celebrity culture, its lore—as compellingly as Connelly.� ?Chicago Tribune]]>
31 Michael Connelly DanielL 5 4.24 2007 Hieronymus Bosch: A Mysterious Profile (Mysterious Profiles)
author: Michael Connelly
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2023/07/24
date added: 2023/07/24
shelves:
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<![CDATA[Finders Keepers (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #2)]]> 59015615 Mr. Mercedes.

“Wake up, genius.� So begins King’s instantly riveting story about a vengeful reader. The genius is John Rothstein, an iconic author who created a famous character, Jimmy Gold, but who hasn’t published a book for decades. Morris Bellamy is livid, not just because Rothstein has stopped providing books, but because the nonconformist Jimmy Gold has sold out for a career in advertising. Morris kills Rothstein and empties his safe of cash, yes, but the real treasure is a trove of notebooks containing at least one more Gold novel.

Morris hides the money and the notebooks, and then he is locked away for another crime. Decades later, a boy named Pete Saubers finds the treasure, and now it is Pete and his family that Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney, and Jerome Robinson must rescue from the ever-more deranged and vengeful Morris when he’s released from prison after thirty-five years.

Not since Misery has King played with the notion of a reader whose obsession with a writer gets dangerous. Finders Keepers is spectacular, heart-pounding suspense, but it is also King writing about how literature shapes a life—for good, for bad, forever.]]>
558 Stephen King DanielL 3 4.38 2015 Finders Keepers (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #2)
author: Stephen King
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2023/07/23
date added: 2023/07/23
shelves:
review:

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The Prophet 17906443
Adam Austin hasn't spoken to his brother in years. When they were teenagers, their sister was abducted and murdered, and their devastated family never recovered. Now Adam keeps to himself, scraping by as a bail bondsman, working so close to the town's criminal fringes that he sometimes seems a part of them.

Kent Austin is the beloved coach of the local high school football team, a religious man and hero in the community. After years of near misses, Kent's team has a shot at the state championship, a welcome point of pride in a town that has had its share of hardships.

Just before playoffs begin, the town and the team are thrown into shock when horrifically, impossibly, another teenage girl is found murdered. When details emerge that connect the crime to the Austin brothers, the two are forced to unite to stop a killer - and to confront their buried rage and grief before history repeats itself again.]]>
404 Michael Koryta DanielL 5 Michael Koryta. I’ve enjoyed reading them all, but I still wasn’t an ardent fan, i.e., his novels weren’t “must read� for me. After reading and thoroughly enjoying The Prophet, Michael Koryta’s other novels are moving toward the “must read� list.

The one thing that I enjoy about Michael Koryta’s novel is that they are all different. He isn’t using a ”dime novel formula� to crank out his novels. Every one of his novels has been uniquely different. “The Prophet� is no exception.

“The Prophet� is a sad, family tragedy novel. I’ve got to admit that I got a bit teary-eyed at the end. For me, “The Prophet� is one of Koryta’s best novel. ]]>
4.05 2012 The Prophet
author: Michael Koryta
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2023/07/02
date added: 2023/07/03
shelves:
review:
Over the past several years, I’ve read 4-5 novels by Michael Koryta. I’ve enjoyed reading them all, but I still wasn’t an ardent fan, i.e., his novels weren’t “must read� for me. After reading and thoroughly enjoying The Prophet, Michael Koryta’s other novels are moving toward the “must read� list.

The one thing that I enjoy about Michael Koryta’s novel is that they are all different. He isn’t using a ”dime novel formula� to crank out his novels. Every one of his novels has been uniquely different. “The Prophet� is no exception.

“The Prophet� is a sad, family tragedy novel. I’ve got to admit that I got a bit teary-eyed at the end. For me, “The Prophet� is one of Koryta’s best novel.
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<![CDATA[Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #1)]]> 165914668
Brady Hartsfield wants that rush again, but this time he’s going big, with an attack that would take down thousands—unless Hodges and two new unusual allies he picks up along the way can throw a wrench in Hartsfield’s diabolical plans.]]>
538 Stephen King DanielL 5 Stephen King hasn’t been on my must read list. When Mr. Mercedes showed up on my Kindle recommendation at a discounted price, I read the synopsis and the storyline is something that Harlan Coben or Michael Connelly would write. Those are two of my favorite authors so I purchased Mr. Mercedes with high expectations.

After reading Mr. Mercedes, my expectations were exceeded. After I finished reading the novel, I kept having flashbacks to the storyline days later. When you can’t forget about what you read, that’s the sign of an excellent novel.

Although Mr. Mercedes isn’t a horror novel, there are horrific things that some readers will find uncomfortable, e.g. Oedipus Complex, filicide (mother killing her disabled son), mass murder, racial and sexual bigotry.

Mr. Mercedes was a quick read for me since I had a hard time putting it down. There are two more novels in the Bill Hodges Trilogy Book series; but I will need to take a break and recover from Mr. Mercedes before I start �Finders Keepers.]]>
4.44 2014 Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #1)
author: Stephen King
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2023/06/18
date added: 2023/06/19
shelves:
review:
I am NOT a big fan of horror genre so Stephen King hasn’t been on my must read list. When Mr. Mercedes showed up on my Kindle recommendation at a discounted price, I read the synopsis and the storyline is something that Harlan Coben or Michael Connelly would write. Those are two of my favorite authors so I purchased Mr. Mercedes with high expectations.

After reading Mr. Mercedes, my expectations were exceeded. After I finished reading the novel, I kept having flashbacks to the storyline days later. When you can’t forget about what you read, that’s the sign of an excellent novel.

Although Mr. Mercedes isn’t a horror novel, there are horrific things that some readers will find uncomfortable, e.g. Oedipus Complex, filicide (mother killing her disabled son), mass murder, racial and sexual bigotry.

Mr. Mercedes was a quick read for me since I had a hard time putting it down. There are two more novels in the Bill Hodges Trilogy Book series; but I will need to take a break and recover from Mr. Mercedes before I start �Finders Keepers.
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I Will Find You 61392438 David and Cheryl Burroughs are living the dream - married, a beautiful house in the suburbs, a three year old son named Matthew - when tragedy strikes one night in the worst possible way.

David awakes to find himself covered in blood, but not his own - his son's. And while he knows he did not murder his son, the overwhelming evidence against him puts him behind bars indefinitely.

Five years into his imprisonment, Cheryl's sister arrives - and drops a bombshell.

She's come with a photograph that a friend took on vacation at a theme park. The boy in the background seems familiar - and even though David realizes it can't be, he knows it is. It's Matthew, and he's still alive.

David plans a harrowing escape from prison, determined to do what seems impossible - save his son, clear his own name, and discover the real story of what happened that devastating night.]]>
400 Harlan Coben DanielL 4 4.36 2023 I Will Find You
author: Harlan Coben
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/28
date added: 2023/05/28
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny]]> 31691701 “A book so gripping it can scarcely be put down. . . . Superb.”� New York Times Book Review


"WESTWARD HO! FOR OREGON AND CALIFORNIA!"


In the eerily warm spring of 1846, George Donner placed this advertisement in a local newspaper as he and a restless caravan prepared for what they hoped would be the most rewarding journey of a lifetime. But in eagerly pursuing what would a century later become known as the "American dream," this optimistic-yet-motley crew of emigrants was met with a chilling nightmare; in the following months, their jingoistic excitement would be replaced by desperate cries for help that would fall silent in the deadly snow-covered mountains of the Sierra Nevada.


We know these early pioneers as the Donner Party, a name that has elicited horror since the late 1840s. With The Best Land Under Heaven, Wallis has penned what critics agree is “destined to become the standard account� (Washington Post) of the notorious saga. Cutting through 160 years of myth-making, the “expert storyteller� (True West) compellingly recounts how the unlikely band of early pioneers met their fate. Interweaving information from hundreds of newly uncovered documents, Wallis illuminates how a combination of greed and recklessness led to one of America’s most calamitous and sensationalized catastrophes. The result is a “fascinating, horrifying, and inspiring� (Oklahoman) examination of the darkest side of Manifest Destiny.]]>
465 Michael Wallis DanielL 4 4.30 2017 The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny
author: Michael Wallis
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/13
date added: 2023/05/13
shelves:
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The Cuban Affair 49984050
Daniel Graham MacCormick—Mac for short—seems to have a pretty good life. At age thirty-five he’s living in Key West, owner of a forty-two-foot charter fishing boat, The Maine. Mac served five years in the Army as an infantry officer with two tours in Afghanistan. He returned with the Silver Star, two Purple Hearts, scars that don’t tan, and a boat with a big bank loan. Truth be told, Mac’s finances are more than a little shaky.

One day, Mac is sitting in the famous Green Parrot Bar in Key West, contemplating his life, and waiting for Carlos, a hotshot Miami lawyer heavily involved with anti-Castro groups. Carlos wants to hire Mac and The Maine for a ten-day fishing tournament to Cuba at the standard rate, but Mac suspects there is more to this and turns it down. The price then goes up to two million dollars, and Mac agrees to hear the deal, and meet Carlos’s clients—a beautiful Cuban-American woman named Sara Ortega, and a mysterious older Cuban exile, Eduardo Valazquez.

What Mac learns is that there is sixty million American dollars hidden in Cuba by Sara’s grandfather when he fled Castro’s revolution. With the “Cuban Thaw� underway between Havana and Washington, Carlos, Eduardo, and Sara know it’s only a matter of time before someone finds the stash—by accident or on purpose. And Mac knows if he accepts this job, he’ll walk away rich…or not at all.

Brilliantly written, with his signature humor, fascinating authenticity from his research trip to Cuba, and heart-pounding pace, Nelson DeMille is a true master of the genre.]]>
544 Nelson DeMille DanielL 3 Nelson DeMille. The Cuban Affair is well-written, but it reminded me of a travelogue / novel by Paul Theroux.

As the title hints, the novel is about Cuba - its history, its relationship with the USA (up to the Obama presidency), its people, its culture, its Miami-based expats / dissidents, current events, etc. If you’re NOT interested in Cuba, the novel might be of little interest to you.

The generational divide between the first generation who fled Cuba and their children who do not share the same rabid hatred of communist Cuba is interesting and the divide is only getting wider. Personally, I’m still amazed that communist Cuba has been able to resist regime-change for 64+ years despite all the best efforts of the USA to topple it.

Nelson DeMille described Cuba as being “an elaborate magic show, a grand illusion, a game of three-card monte, and a Hogwarts for con artists.� I don’t doubt that his description is accurate, but I think Cuba is more of a “survival of the fittest" story and reminded me of the novel Lord of the Flies.

Would I re-read this novel again in 10-15 years? I doubt it, but I have no regrets about reading it once.]]>
4.20 2017 The Cuban Affair
author: Nelson DeMille
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2023/04/06
date added: 2023/04/07
shelves:
review:
It’s been 10+ years since I’ve read a novel by Nelson DeMille. The Cuban Affair is well-written, but it reminded me of a travelogue / novel by Paul Theroux.

As the title hints, the novel is about Cuba - its history, its relationship with the USA (up to the Obama presidency), its people, its culture, its Miami-based expats / dissidents, current events, etc. If you’re NOT interested in Cuba, the novel might be of little interest to you.

The generational divide between the first generation who fled Cuba and their children who do not share the same rabid hatred of communist Cuba is interesting and the divide is only getting wider. Personally, I’m still amazed that communist Cuba has been able to resist regime-change for 64+ years despite all the best efforts of the USA to topple it.

Nelson DeMille described Cuba as being “an elaborate magic show, a grand illusion, a game of three-card monte, and a Hogwarts for con artists.� I don’t doubt that his description is accurate, but I think Cuba is more of a “survival of the fittest" story and reminded me of the novel Lord of the Flies.

Would I re-read this novel again in 10-15 years? I doubt it, but I have no regrets about reading it once.
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<![CDATA[Tonight I Said Goodbye (Lincoln Perry, #1)]]> 8572899 320 Michael Koryta DanielL 4
The only reason that I purchased “Tonight I Said Goodbye� was because the Kindle version was on-sale. I wasn’t expecting much given that this was Kortya’s first novel and written when the author was only in his early 20’s. I’d read Harlan Coben’s first novel and it was bad (even Coben admitted it was bad) so I wasn’t expecting it to be any good.

Instead, “Tonight I Said Goodbye� was a pleasant surprise for me. I found it better than some of his more recent novels. After I finished reading “Tonight I Said Goodbye�, the story kept lingering in my memory. For me, this lingering memory of a read novel is a sign that this was a better than average novel.

I look forward to reading the other novels in the 4-book Lincoln Perry series. ]]>
4.05 2004 Tonight I Said Goodbye (Lincoln Perry, #1)
author: Michael Koryta
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/22
date added: 2023/03/23
shelves:
review:
I’ve read several of Michael Koryta’s recent novels. They were good, but something was “missing� in Koryta’s novels that kept me from elevating them to the level of novels by Michael Connelly or Harlan Coben (my two favorite authors). I found Koryta’s novels to be more on a par with Lee Child’s novels if not a little better.

The only reason that I purchased “Tonight I Said Goodbye� was because the Kindle version was on-sale. I wasn’t expecting much given that this was Kortya’s first novel and written when the author was only in his early 20’s. I’d read Harlan Coben’s first novel and it was bad (even Coben admitted it was bad) so I wasn’t expecting it to be any good.

Instead, “Tonight I Said Goodbye� was a pleasant surprise for me. I found it better than some of his more recent novels. After I finished reading “Tonight I Said Goodbye�, the story kept lingering in my memory. For me, this lingering memory of a read novel is a sign that this was a better than average novel.

I look forward to reading the other novels in the 4-book Lincoln Perry series.
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No Country for Old Men 54789386 Border Trilogy. The time is our own, when rustlers have given way to drug-runners and small towns have become free-fire zones.

One day, a good old boy named Llewellyn Moss finds a pickup truck surrounded by a bodyguard of dead men. A load of heroin and two million dollars in cash are still in the back. When Moss takes the money, he sets off a chain reaction of catastrophic violence that not even the law–in the person of aging, disillusioned Sheriff Bell–can contain.

As Moss tries to evade his pursuers–in particular a mysterious mastermind who flips coins for human lives–McCarthy simultaneously strips down the American crime novel and broadens its concerns to encompass themes as ancient as the Bible and as bloodily contemporary as this morning’s headlines.
No Country for Old Men is a triumph.


From the Trade Paperback edition.]]>
322 Cormac McCarthy DanielL 3
Sometimes the only common link between a novel and its screenplay is the title. That’s not a problem with “No Country for Old Men.� The movie is a great adaptation of the novel and follows the novel fairly closely.

I’m glad I saw the movie before reading the novel because the novel was confusing at times. When the novel started becoming fragmented, my recollection of the movie allowed me to put the storyline together so that I could make sense of what was happening in the novel. ]]>
4.33 2005 No Country for Old Men
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/18
date added: 2023/03/18
shelves:
review:
Several years ago, I saw and enjoyed the movie “No Country for Old Men�. It’s a movie that’s hard to forget. Because I enjoyed the movie, when the novel “No Country for Old Men� became available on Kindle for a low price, I purchased it.

Sometimes the only common link between a novel and its screenplay is the title. That’s not a problem with “No Country for Old Men.� The movie is a great adaptation of the novel and follows the novel fairly closely.

I’m glad I saw the movie before reading the novel because the novel was confusing at times. When the novel started becoming fragmented, my recollection of the movie allowed me to put the storyline together so that I could make sense of what was happening in the novel.
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If She Wakes 42430037 Two women fight for their lives against an enigmatic killer in this electrifying novel from a New York Times bestselling author and "master" of thriller writing (Stephen King).Tara Beckley is a senior at idyllic Hammel College in Maine. As she drives to deliver a visiting professor to a conference, a horrific car accident kills the professor and leaves Tara in a vegetative state. At least, so her doctors think. In fact, she's a prisoner of locked-in fully alert but unable to move a muscle. Trapped in her body, she learns that someone powerful wants her dead -- but why? And what can she do, lying in a hospital bed, to stop them?Abby Kaplan, an insurance investigator, is hired by the college to look in to Tara's case. A former stunt driver, Abby returned home after a disaster in Hollywood left an actor dead and her own reputation -- and nerves -- shattered. Despite the fog of trauma, she can tell that Tara's car crash was no accident. When she starts asking questions, things quickly spin out of control, leaving Abby on the run and a mysterious young hit man named Dax Blackwell hard on her heels.Full of pulse-pounding tension, If She Wakes is a searing, breakneck thriller from the genre's "best of the best" (Michael Connelly).]]> 402 Michael Koryta DanielL 4 4.15 2019 If She Wakes
author: Michael Koryta
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/02
date added: 2023/03/02
shelves:
review:

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Heat 2 52215162 Michael Mann, four-time-Oscar-nominated writer-director of The Last of the Mohicans, The Insider, Ali, Miami Vice, Collateral, and Heat teams up with Edgar Award–winning author Meg Gardiner to deliver Mann’s first novel, an explosive return to the universe and characters of his classic crime film—with an all-new story unfolding in the years before and after the iconic movie.

One day after the end of Heat, Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer) is holed up in Koreatown, wounded, half delirious, and desperately trying to escape LA. Hunting him is LAPD detective Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino). Hours earlier, Hanna killed Shiherlis’s brother in arms Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) in a gunfight under the strobe lights at the foot of an LAX runway. Now Hanna’s determined to capture or kill Shiherlis, the last survivor of McCauley’s crew, before he ghosts out of the city.

In 1988, seven years earlier, McCauley, Shiherlis, and their highline crew are taking scores on the West Coast, the US-Mexican border, and now in Chicago. Driven, daring, they’re pulling in money and living vivid lives. And Chicago homicide detective Vincent Hanna—a man unreconciled with his history—is following his calling, the pursuit of armed and dangerous men into the dark and wild places, hunting an ultraviolent gang of home invaders.

Meanwhile, the fallout from McCauley’s scores and Hanna’s pursuit cause unexpected repercussions in a parallel narrative, driving through the years following Heat.

Heat 2 projects its dimensional and richly drawn men and women into whole new worlds—from the inner sanctums of rival crime syndicates in a South American free-trade zone to transnational criminal enterprises in Southeast Asia. The novel brings you intimately into these lives. In Michael Mann’s Heat universe, they will confront new adversaries in lethal circumstances beyond all boundaries.

Heat 2 is engrossing, moving, and tragic—a masterpiece of crime fiction with the same extraordinary ambitions, scope, and rich characterizations as the epic film.]]>
474 Michael Mann DanielL 4
I should have re-watched the movie before reading the novel to refresh my memory. I almost quit reading after the first 1/4 of the novel because it ping-ponged between two different time periods in different places with characters who were a mystery to me.

After struggling through the first 1/4 of the novel, I got a better grasp of the novel’s storyline and it took off. The novel was like the movie 
“Heat� and “Sicario� blended together. The inclusion of the Tri-Border Area (Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay) and Batam gave the novel an international crime flavor that was unique. ]]>
4.45 2022 Heat 2
author: Michael Mann
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/14
date added: 2023/02/14
shelves:
review:
This novel covers the time period BEFORE and AFTER the movie “Heat�. For this reason, familiarity with the movie’s storyline and its many characters are necessary to full appreciate the novel.

I should have re-watched the movie before reading the novel to refresh my memory. I almost quit reading after the first 1/4 of the novel because it ping-ponged between two different time periods in different places with characters who were a mystery to me.

After struggling through the first 1/4 of the novel, I got a better grasp of the novel’s storyline and it took off. The novel was like the movie 
“Heat� and “Sicario� blended together. The inclusion of the Tri-Border Area (Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay) and Batam gave the novel an international crime flavor that was unique.
]]>
<![CDATA[Desert Star (Renée Ballard, #5; Harry Bosch, #24; Harry Bosch Universe, #37)]]> 60219987 LAPD detective Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch work together to hunt the killer who is Bosch’s “white whale”—a man responsible for the murder of an entire family.

A year has passed since LAPD detective Renée Ballard quit the force in the face of misogyny, demoralization, and endless red tape. Yet, after the chief of police himself tells her she can write her ticket within the department, Ballard takes back her badge, leaving “the Late Show� to rebuild the cold case unit at the elite Robbery-Homicide Division.
Ěý
For years, Harry Bosch has been working a case that haunts him but that he hasn’t been able to crack—the murder of an entire family by a psychopath who still walks free. Ballard makes Bosch an offer: come work with her as a volunteer investigator in the new Open-Unsolved Unit, and he can pursue his “white whale� with the resources of the LAPD behind him.

The two must put aside old resentments to work together again and close in on a dangerous killer. Propulsive and unstoppable, this new novel demonstrates once again why “Connelly is the real deal� (Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review).]]>
400 Michael Connelly 0316421464 DanielL 5
I think, “Desert Star� is a farewell novel to Harry Bosch as the lead character. I hope it’s a farewell novel because Bosch exits on his own terms and with the satisfaction that he finally closed a “cold case� that has haunted him.

Michael Connelly developed three other characters (his daughter Maddy, his half brother Haller, and Detective Ballard) to carry on his legacy. I’m looking forward to reading those novels.]]>
4.49 2022 Desert Star (Renée Ballard, #5; Harry Bosch, #24; Harry Bosch Universe, #37)
author: Michael Connelly
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/01/31
date added: 2023/01/31
shelves:
review:
For the past 20+ years, I’ve been reading novels by Michael Connelly and I’ve never been disappointed. “The Desert Star� is one of his best. I was so enthralled by this novel that I had to force myself to stop reading it at night so that I could sleep, but I’d wake up very early to continue reading it.

I think, “Desert Star� is a farewell novel to Harry Bosch as the lead character. I hope it’s a farewell novel because Bosch exits on his own terms and with the satisfaction that he finally closed a “cold case� that has haunted him.

Michael Connelly developed three other characters (his daughter Maddy, his half brother Haller, and Detective Ballard) to carry on his legacy. I’m looking forward to reading those novels.
]]>
<![CDATA[The Eagle Has Landed (Liam Devlin, #1)]]> 11058674 In Jack Higgins’s classic international bestseller, an audacious Nazi plan to kidnap Winston Churchill threatens to tip the scales of World War II
Ěý
In November of 1943, an elite team of Nazi paratroopers descends on British soil with a diabolical to abduct Winston Churchill and cripple the Allied war effort. The mission, ordered by Hitler himself and planned by Heinrich Himmler, is led by ace agent Kurt Steiner and aided on the ground by IRA gunman Liam Devlin.
Ěý
As the deadly duo executes Hitler’s harrowing plot, only the quiet town of Studley Constable stands in their way. Its residents are the lone souls aware of the impending Nazi plan, and they must become the most unlikely of heroes as the fate of the war hangs in the balance.]]>
372 Jack Higgins 1453215107 DanielL 3
If you have NOT seen the movie, I recommend reading "The Eagle Has Landed". If you have seen the movie, the novel isn't going to be very interesting. ]]>
4.33 1975 The Eagle Has Landed (Liam Devlin, #1)
author: Jack Higgins
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1975
rating: 3
read at: 2023/01/27
date added: 2023/01/27
shelves:
review:
I've watched the 1976 movie "The Eagle Has Landed" several times before reading the novel. The screen adaptation of the novel was excellent; perhaps too excellent. While reading the novel, I kept thinking of the movie so there was very little surprise or suspense for me. I almost stopped reading the novel about half way through it.

If you have NOT seen the movie, I recommend reading "The Eagle Has Landed". If you have seen the movie, the novel isn't going to be very interesting.
]]>
<![CDATA[The Chaos Kind (John Rain, #11, Livia Lone, #5)]]> 52961074 The assassins of Barry Eisler’s #1 bestseller The Killer Collective are back—and this time, it’s chaos.

Assistant US Attorney Alondra Diaz hates traffickers. And she’s determined to put one of America’s most powerful financiers, Andrew Schrader, in prison forever for his crimes against children.

But Schrader has videos implicating some of the most powerful members of the US national security state. To eliminate Diaz, the powers that be bring in a Marvin Manus, an implacable assassin whose skills have been forged in intelligence, the military, and the hardest prisons.

Enter former Marine sniper Dox and black-ops veteran Daniel Larison with an unusual not to kill Diaz, but to keep her alive.

A lot of players are determined to acquire the videos and the blackmail power they represent. But with Seattle sex-crimes detective Livia Lone, “natural causes� killer John Rain, and ex-Mossad honey-trap specialist Delilah, the good guys might just have a chance.

They’re not going to play by anyone else’s rules. They’re not going to play by any rules at all. They want a different kind of fight. The chaos kind.]]>
439 Barry Eisler 1542005604 DanielL 3 4.32 2021 The Chaos Kind (John Rain, #11, Livia Lone, #5)
author: Barry Eisler
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2022/12/25
date added: 2022/12/25
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics]]> 17404747 For readers of Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit and Unbroken, the dramatic story of the American rowing team that stunned the world at Hitler's 1936 Berlin Olympics

Daniel James Brown’s robust book tells the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the boys defeated elite rivals first from eastern and British universities and finally the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic games in Berlin, 1936.

The emotional heart of the story lies with one rower, Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not for glory, but to regain his shattered self-regard and to find a place he can call home. The crew is assembled by an enigmatic coach and mentored by a visionary, eccentric British boat builder, but it is their trust in each other that makes them a victorious team. They remind the country of what can be done when everyone quite literally pulls together—a perfect melding of commitment, determination, and optimism.

Drawing on the boys� own diaries and journals, their photos and memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, The Boys in the Boat is an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate story of nine working-class boys from the American west who, in the depths of the Great Depression, showed the world what true grit really meant. It will appeal to readers of Erik Larson, Timothy Egan, James Bradley, and David Halberstam's The Amateurs.]]>
460 Daniel James Brown DanielL 5 4.55 2013 The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
author: Daniel James Brown
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2022/12/04
date added: 2022/12/04
shelves:
review:

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Eaters of the Dead 18892830 From the bestselling author ofĚýJurassic Park,ĚýTimeline, andĚýSphereĚýcomes an epic tale of unspeakable horror.
Ěý
It is 922 A.D. The refined Arab courtier Ibn Fadlan is accompanying a party of Viking warriors back to their home. He is appalled by their customs—the gratuitous sexuality of their women, their disregard for cleanliness, and their cold-blooded sacrifices. As they enter the frozen, forbidden landscape of the North—where the day’s length does not equal the night’s, where after sunset the sky burns in streaks of color—Fadlan soon discovers that he has been unwillingly enlisted to combat the terrors in the night that come to slaughter the Vikings, the monsters of the mist that devour human flesh. But just how he will do it, Fadlan has no idea.
Ěý

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292 Michael Crichton DanielL 3 3.99 1976 Eaters of the Dead
author: Michael Crichton
name: DanielL
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1976
rating: 3
read at: 2022/11/07
date added: 2022/11/07
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler's Atomic Bomb]]> 29390934 From the internationally acclaimed, best-selling author ofĚýHunting EichmannĚýandĚýThe Perfect Mile,Ěýan epic adventure and spy story about the greatest act of sabotage in all of World War II.
Ěý
It’s 1942 and the Nazis are racing to be the first to build a weapon unlike any known before. They have the physicists, they have the uranium, and now all their plans depend on amassing a single ingredient: heavy water, which is produced in Norway’s Vemork, the lone plant in all the world that makes this rare substance. Under threat of death, Vemork’s engineers push production into overdrive.
Ěý
For the Allies, the plant must be destroyed. But how would they reach the castle fortress set on a precipitous gorge in one of the coldest, most inhospitable places on Earth?
Ěý
Based on a trove of top secret documents and never-before-seen diaries and letters of the saboteurs, The Winter Fortress is an arresting chronicle of a brilliant scientist, a band of spies on skies, perilous survival in the wild, sacrifice for one’s country, Gestapo manhunts, soul-crushing setbacks, and a last-minute operation that would end any chance Hitler could obtain the atomic bomb—and alter the course of the war.
Ěý
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471 Neal Bascomb 0544368061 DanielL 4 4.31 2016 The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler's Atomic Bomb
author: Neal Bascomb
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2022/10/29
date added: 2022/10/29
shelves:
review:

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Here and Gone 31356192 Here and Gone is a gripping, wonderfully tense suspense thriller about a mother's desperate fight to recover her stolen children from corrupt authorities.

It begins with a woman fleeing through Arizona with her kids in tow, trying to escape an abusive marriage. When she's pulled over by an unsettling local sheriff, things soon go awry and she is taken into custody. Only when she gets to the station, her kids are gone. And then the cops start saying they never saw any kids with her, that if they're gone than she must have done something with them...

Meanwhile, halfway across the country a man hears the frenzied news reports about the missing kids, which are eerily similar to events in his own past. As the clock ticks down on the search for the lost children, he too is drawn into the desperate fight for their return.]]>
304 Haylen Beck 045149959X DanielL 4 4.10 2017 Here and Gone
author: Haylen Beck
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2022/10/13
date added: 2022/10/13
shelves:
review:

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Jaws 36324393
When Peter Benchley wrote Jaws in the early 1970s, he meticulously researched all available data about shark behavior. Over the ensuing decades, Benchley was actively engaged with scientists and filmmakers on expeditions around the world as they expanded their knowledge of sharks. Also during this time, there was an unprecedented upswing in the number of sharks killed to make shark-fin soup, and Benchley worked with governments and nonprofits to sound the alarm for shark conservation. He encouraged each new generation of Jaws fans to enjoy his riveting tale and to channel their excitement into support and protection of these magnificent, prehistoric apex predators.

This edition of Jaws contains bonus content from Peter Benchley’s archives, including the original typed title page, a brainstorming list of possible titles, a letter from Benchley to producer David Brown with honest feedback on the movie adaptation, and excerpts from Benchley’s book Shark Trouble highlighting his firsthand account of writing Jaws, selling it to Universal Studios, and working with Steven Spielberg.]]>
340 Peter Benchley DanielL 4 3.98 1974 Jaws
author: Peter Benchley
name: DanielL
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1974
rating: 4
read at: 2022/10/06
date added: 2022/10/06
shelves:
review:

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Winged Victory 26721890 â€The greatest novel of war in the air.â€� - The Daily Mail France, 1914. The war on the land is taking to the skies. Pilot Tom Cundall is ready to take on the enemy in his trusty Camel fighter plane. But as he sees more and more planes shot down in flames, he begins to question the war, and what, or who, he is fighting for. There is no bitter snarl nor self-pity in this classic novel about the air war of 1914-1918, based very largely on the author’s experiences. Combat, loneliness, fatigue, fear, comradeship, women, excitement â€� they all are part of a brilliantly told story of war and courage by one of the most valiant pilots of the then Royal Flying Corps. Praise for Winged Victory â€Beautifully written with a poet’s eye as well as a pilot’s eyeâ€� - Evening Echo. â€The only book about flying that isn’t flannelâ€� - Anonymous Fighter Pilot, 1941 â€Not only one of the best war books â€� but as a transcription of reality, faithful and sustained in its author’s purpose of re-creating the past life he knew, it is uniqueâ€� - Henry Williamson, author of Tarka the Otter. Victor Maslin Yeates (30 September 1897 â€� 15 December 1934), often abbreviated to V. M. Yeates, was a British fighter pilot in World War I, who wrote what is widely regarded as one of the most realistic and moving accounts of aerial combat and the futility of war.]]> 454 V.M. Yeates DanielL 2 4.07 1934 Winged Victory
author: V.M. Yeates
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1934
rating: 2
read at: 2022/09/21
date added: 2022/09/21
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy]]> 5986436
Before the ink was dry on the U.S. Constitution, the establishment of a permanent military became the most divisive issue facing the new government. The founders—particularly Jefferson, Madison, and Adams—debated fiercely. Would a standing army be the thin end of dictatorship? Would a navy protect from pirates or drain the treasury and provoke hostility? Britain alone had hundreds of powerful warships.From the decision to build six heavy frigates, through the cliff-hanger campaign against Tripoli, to the war that shook the world in 1812, Ian W. Toll tells this grand tale with the political insight of Founding Brothers and the narrative flair of Patrick O'Brian.]]>
461 Ian W. Toll DanielL 5 Ian W. Toll. They were all very well-written and revealed facts, incidents, events, personalities, etc. that I did not know or misunderstood. Given my admiration of his WW2 in the Pacific books, I purchased Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy, but I anticipated that it wouldn’t be as good or as interesting. I was wrong. It was almost better. Ian W. Toll’s books have set a high standard for all history books that I now read.

Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy is NOT a history book for everyone. It’s mostly about tall sailing ships. I don’t have a naval background so most of the naval, seamanship, sailing, rigging, and tall ship jargon simply flew over-my-head. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading it even though it was a struggle at times. I don’t fault the author since he couldn’t dumb-down the book to my level.

My knowledge of US history has a big void between the Revolutionary War through the outbreak of the Civil War. Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy helped plug up some of my knowledge gap by covering the final years of President George Washington and the terms of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. (He also covered Theodore Roosevelt who I did not know wrote a history book entitled “The Naval War of 1812� and, as POTUS, ordered the US Navy to sail around the world as The Great White Fleet to demonstrate US sea power.)

I thought Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy would only cover the building and the deployment of the original six frigates of the US Navy. I was wrong. The book covers much, much more (like dueling).

Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy covers the bitter political partisan fighting that reminds me of 2022. This surprised me. I thought there would be more harmony and unity given that the US had just won its independence.

I found the budgeting and debating on the purpose, the design, and the construction of the six frigates and the establishment of a standing US Navy more controversial than I expected. The start-up cost to construct, equip, maintain, and man US naval vessels was incredibly expensive. i can understand why some politicians would balk at the cost.

The reasons for the deployment of the US warships to fight in the Barbary Wars was a revelation to me. I never knew much about that war other than it being in the lyrics of the USMC hymn.

The stopping, searching, and impressment of sailors serving on US vessels by the British navy as being one of the catalyst to the War of 1812 is something that I did not know. The fact that the British navy did it with impunity and without regards to citizenship is amazing.

I read Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy during the first 200 days of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. As I read the book, I kept finding similarities between the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the War of 1812. I guess history does repeat itself when it comes to wars.

Like Russia and Ukraine, the US and Great Britain were once one nation. They shared a common language and heritage. Russia and Great Britain were considered the dominate military force in those relationships. When the War of 1812 began, Great Britain did not fully deploy its powerful military forces to overwhelm the US. When the US Navy had early success against the British navy, it generated vile derogatory attacks by the British tabloids, politicians, etc. against the Americans with calls for the British military to be more ruthless. The British recruited and deployed prisoners to serve in its military during the war. There were incidents of rape, murder, torture, looting, razing by British forces against American civilians which reminded me of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

When the War of 1812 ended, Great Britain would no longer be a threat to the US. The US would expand its fleet of warships; and become a dominate regional and world military and economic power. Hopefully, Ukraine will have the same outcome against Russia. ]]>
4.56 2006 Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy
author: Ian W. Toll
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2022/09/15
date added: 2022/09/16
shelves:
review:
I’ve read the 3-book series on WW2 in the Pacific by Ian W. Toll. They were all very well-written and revealed facts, incidents, events, personalities, etc. that I did not know or misunderstood. Given my admiration of his WW2 in the Pacific books, I purchased Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy, but I anticipated that it wouldn’t be as good or as interesting. I was wrong. It was almost better. Ian W. Toll’s books have set a high standard for all history books that I now read.

Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy is NOT a history book for everyone. It’s mostly about tall sailing ships. I don’t have a naval background so most of the naval, seamanship, sailing, rigging, and tall ship jargon simply flew over-my-head. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading it even though it was a struggle at times. I don’t fault the author since he couldn’t dumb-down the book to my level.

My knowledge of US history has a big void between the Revolutionary War through the outbreak of the Civil War. Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy helped plug up some of my knowledge gap by covering the final years of President George Washington and the terms of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. (He also covered Theodore Roosevelt who I did not know wrote a history book entitled “The Naval War of 1812� and, as POTUS, ordered the US Navy to sail around the world as The Great White Fleet to demonstrate US sea power.)

I thought Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy would only cover the building and the deployment of the original six frigates of the US Navy. I was wrong. The book covers much, much more (like dueling).

Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy covers the bitter political partisan fighting that reminds me of 2022. This surprised me. I thought there would be more harmony and unity given that the US had just won its independence.

I found the budgeting and debating on the purpose, the design, and the construction of the six frigates and the establishment of a standing US Navy more controversial than I expected. The start-up cost to construct, equip, maintain, and man US naval vessels was incredibly expensive. i can understand why some politicians would balk at the cost.

The reasons for the deployment of the US warships to fight in the Barbary Wars was a revelation to me. I never knew much about that war other than it being in the lyrics of the USMC hymn.

The stopping, searching, and impressment of sailors serving on US vessels by the British navy as being one of the catalyst to the War of 1812 is something that I did not know. The fact that the British navy did it with impunity and without regards to citizenship is amazing.

I read Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy during the first 200 days of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. As I read the book, I kept finding similarities between the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the War of 1812. I guess history does repeat itself when it comes to wars.

Like Russia and Ukraine, the US and Great Britain were once one nation. They shared a common language and heritage. Russia and Great Britain were considered the dominate military force in those relationships. When the War of 1812 began, Great Britain did not fully deploy its powerful military forces to overwhelm the US. When the US Navy had early success against the British navy, it generated vile derogatory attacks by the British tabloids, politicians, etc. against the Americans with calls for the British military to be more ruthless. The British recruited and deployed prisoners to serve in its military during the war. There were incidents of rape, murder, torture, looting, razing by British forces against American civilians which reminded me of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

When the War of 1812 ended, Great Britain would no longer be a threat to the US. The US would expand its fleet of warships; and become a dominate regional and world military and economic power. Hopefully, Ukraine will have the same outcome against Russia.
]]>
<![CDATA[Kindness Goes Unpunished (Walt Longmire, #3)]]> 44164083 Walt brings Western-style justice to Philadelphia in this action-packed thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Cold Dish and As the Crow Flies, the third in the Walt Longmire Mystery Series, the basis for LONGMIRE, the hit A&E original drama series
Ěý
Fans of Ace Atkins, Nevada Barr and Robert B. Parker will love New York Times bestselling author Craig Johnson's mystery series—starring Walt Longmire, the straight-shooting sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming, and the basis for LONGMIRE, the hit A&E original drama series�-is attracting more and more fans with its distinctive blend of humor and action. In Kindness Goes Unpunished, Walt's pleasure trip to Philadelphia to visit his daughter, Cady, turns into a nightmare when she is the victim of a vicious attack that leaves her near death. Walt is forced to unpack his saddlebag of tricks to mete out some Western-style justice, and the result is another action-packed thriller from this star of crime fiction.
Philadelphia gets a taste of Western justice in "a series that should become a 'must' read" (The Denver Post)



]]>
304 Craig Johnson DanielL 3 4.44 2007 Kindness Goes Unpunished (Walt Longmire, #3)
author: Craig Johnson
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2022/07/13
date added: 2022/07/13
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[The Plot to Seize the White House: The Shocking TRUE Story of the Conspiracy to Overthrow F.D.R.]]> 25313101 Many people might not know that in 1933, a group of wealthy industrialists—working closely with groups like the K.K.K. and the American Liberty League—planned to overthrow the U.S. government and run FDR out of office in a fascist coup. Readers will learn of their plan to turn unhappy war veterans into American “brown shirts,� depose F.D.R., and stop the New Deal. They asked Medal of Honor recipient and Marine Major General Smedley Darlington Butler to work with them and become the “first American Caesar.� Fortunately, Butler was a true patriot. Instead of working for the fascist coup, he revealed the plot to journalists and to Congress.
Archer writes a compelling account of a ploy that would have turned FDR into fascist puppet, threatened American democracy and changed the course of history. This book not only reveals the truth behind this shocking episode in history, but also tells the story of the man whose courage and bravery prevented it from happening.
]]>
290 Jules Archer DanielL 5
During active duty and in retirement, General Butler was the ultimate “enlisted man’s general�. He would never ask anyone to do anything that he wouldn’t do or hadn’t done. General Butler was not afraid of riling up his superiors to protect and service his men. In retirement, he worked tirelessly for veterans� benefits. He was beloved by members of all branches of the military.

The conspirators offered General Butler wealth, fame, and power (dictator of the USA) to overthrow FDR. Instead, General Butler rooted out and publicly identified the conspirators. US Congressional hearings were held to investigate the conspiracy.

In “The Plot to Seize the White House� by Jules Archer, the author extensively covered General Butler’s Quaker upbringing and his military career, e.g.. his heroism (two Medal of Honors), his integrity, his leadership. The author needed to establish General Butler’s credibility since he was accusing the very rich, famous, and powerful of treason. He did NOT do it for money since he died leaving an estate that total $2,000.

“The Plot to Seize the White House� by Jules Archer and the Trump insurrection on January 6, 2021, had me feeling “it's like deja-vu all over again�. To protect the conspirators, the plots were suppressed and ridiculed by the news media and those in power. Both US Congressional committees “allowed the big ones to escape� testifying under oath.

I think the plot to forcefully oust a democratically elected President was more probable in the 1930’s compared to what happened on January 6, 2021. For this, we should be forever grateful to General Butler. He almost single handedly saved American democracy and the rule of law.

USMC Major General Smedley Butler is now one of my all-time great American heroes.]]>
4.17 1973 The Plot to Seize the White House: The Shocking TRUE Story of the Conspiracy to Overthrow F.D.R.
author: Jules Archer
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1973
rating: 5
read at: 2022/07/03
date added: 2022/07/04
shelves:
review:
In the1930’s, the very rich, famous, and powerful (including most major news media outlets) considered FDR a radical socialist/communist with his massive spending on New Deal programs and his abolishment of the gold standard. No matter how much it would cost them financially, they wanted FDR out as POTUS; and they identified only one man who could rally 500,000+ veterans to take up arms, march and overthrow FDR. That man was retired USMC Major General Smedley Butler (who was also a Republican).

During active duty and in retirement, General Butler was the ultimate “enlisted man’s general�. He would never ask anyone to do anything that he wouldn’t do or hadn’t done. General Butler was not afraid of riling up his superiors to protect and service his men. In retirement, he worked tirelessly for veterans� benefits. He was beloved by members of all branches of the military.

The conspirators offered General Butler wealth, fame, and power (dictator of the USA) to overthrow FDR. Instead, General Butler rooted out and publicly identified the conspirators. US Congressional hearings were held to investigate the conspiracy.

In “The Plot to Seize the White House� by Jules Archer, the author extensively covered General Butler’s Quaker upbringing and his military career, e.g.. his heroism (two Medal of Honors), his integrity, his leadership. The author needed to establish General Butler’s credibility since he was accusing the very rich, famous, and powerful of treason. He did NOT do it for money since he died leaving an estate that total $2,000.

“The Plot to Seize the White House� by Jules Archer and the Trump insurrection on January 6, 2021, had me feeling “it's like deja-vu all over again�. To protect the conspirators, the plots were suppressed and ridiculed by the news media and those in power. Both US Congressional committees “allowed the big ones to escape� testifying under oath.

I think the plot to forcefully oust a democratically elected President was more probable in the 1930’s compared to what happened on January 6, 2021. For this, we should be forever grateful to General Butler. He almost single handedly saved American democracy and the rule of law.

USMC Major General Smedley Butler is now one of my all-time great American heroes.
]]>
The Match (Wilde, #2) 58506718 'At the age of somewhere between 35 and 45 - he didn't know exactly how old he was - Wilde found his father ...'

Wilde has grown up knowing nothing of his family, and even less about his own identity . All he knows is that, as a young child, he was found living a feral existence in the Ramapo mountains of New Jersey.

He became known simply as Wilde, the boy from the woods.

Now Wilde has had a hit on the DNA website he has been researching. A 100% match. His father. They meet up, and Wilde soon realises that his father doesn't even know he had a son and is as mystified as Wilde is by his existence.

Undaunted, Wilde continues his research for his family on DNA websites where he becomes caught up in a community of online doxxers, a secret group committed to exposing anonymous trolls.

Then one by one these doxxers start to die, and it soon becomes clear that a serial killer is targeting this secret community - and that his next victim might be Wilde himself ...]]>
400 Harlan Coben 1538748339 DanielL 5 4.38 2022 The Match (Wilde, #2)
author: Harlan Coben
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/06/24
date added: 2022/06/29
shelves:
review:
This is the perfect vacation or a long airline flight novel. I read this novel in just two days. “The Match� touches upon the current DNA ancestry craze. In this novel, DNA opened a can-of-worms for Wilde. Sometimes it best NOT to know who or where you came from because you (or your unknown family) might NOT want to know the sordid family history.
]]>
<![CDATA[Short Stories: Five Decades (Phoenix Fiction)]]> 19019108 770 Irwin Shaw DanielL 4
Several years ago, I read “The Young Lions: A Novel� by Irwin Shaw. It became one of my all-time-favorite novel. When Amazon offered the Kindle version of Irwin Shaw’s “Short Stories: Five Decades� at a discount, I did not hesitate to buy it.

When reading “Short Stories: Five Decades� by Irwin Shaw, I felt I was eavesdropping on strangers by silently watching and listening to their private conversations. Most of the short stories end leaving the readers dangling with no clear explanation of what happens next except for the readers� imagination.

The short stories were written in span of over 40 years. Shaw’s stories touched upon WW2 to the Vietnam War. I most enjoyed his short stories about American expatriates in post-WW2 Europe.

Irwin Shaw’s writing style is impressive. He also used lots of words whose meaning I did not know. I was constantly using the Kindle’s dictionary for the definition. For this reason, “Short Stories: Five Decades� might be a difficult book for someone who is less learned.

“Short Stories: Five Decades� is a book that I could re-read next year because some of the short stories are complicated. There are underlying storylines that I did not fully grasp or realize its significant. ]]>
4.31 1978 Short Stories: Five Decades (Phoenix Fiction)
author: Irwin Shaw
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1978
rating: 4
read at: 2022/06/22
date added: 2022/06/29
shelves:
review:
Back in my younger days (50+ years ago), I read short stories by O. Henry and Mark Twain. My favorite short stories were by W. Somerset Maugham. Except for works by those authors, I was never a true fan of short stories.

Several years ago, I read “The Young Lions: A Novel� by Irwin Shaw. It became one of my all-time-favorite novel. When Amazon offered the Kindle version of Irwin Shaw’s “Short Stories: Five Decades� at a discount, I did not hesitate to buy it.

When reading “Short Stories: Five Decades� by Irwin Shaw, I felt I was eavesdropping on strangers by silently watching and listening to their private conversations. Most of the short stories end leaving the readers dangling with no clear explanation of what happens next except for the readers� imagination.

The short stories were written in span of over 40 years. Shaw’s stories touched upon WW2 to the Vietnam War. I most enjoyed his short stories about American expatriates in post-WW2 Europe.

Irwin Shaw’s writing style is impressive. He also used lots of words whose meaning I did not know. I was constantly using the Kindle’s dictionary for the definition. For this reason, “Short Stories: Five Decades� might be a difficult book for someone who is less learned.

“Short Stories: Five Decades� is a book that I could re-read next year because some of the short stories are complicated. There are underlying storylines that I did not fully grasp or realize its significant.
]]>
<![CDATA[A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918]]> 37799924 708 G.J. Meyer DanielL 5 The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman. I never finished it.

The 2018 documentary film “They Shall Not Grow Old� by Peter Jackson had me thinking about World War 1, but the second Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 had me thinking of all the wars (e.g., Balkan Wars, Yugoslav Wars, Russo-Turkish Wars, etc.) that have occurred in that region and Russia's threat of a 3rd World War.

Since the World War 1 was the most notable and I still knew very little about how and why it started, I read A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918 by G.J. Meyer.

A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918 is a very readable book. Since there are so many countries and people (politicians and military men) involved, it was sometimes difficult to know who was who.

After reading A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918, I can honestly say that I still don’t understand how and why World War 1 started. Like the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the reasons for the wars are so murky and seemingly based solely on nationalism, ethnic pride, and perceived military superiority. ]]>
4.53 2006 A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918
author: G.J. Meyer
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2022/05/06
date added: 2022/05/06
shelves:
review:
Back in the 1970’s when I was in high school, I tried to read The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman. I never finished it.

The 2018 documentary film “They Shall Not Grow Old� by Peter Jackson had me thinking about World War 1, but the second Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 had me thinking of all the wars (e.g., Balkan Wars, Yugoslav Wars, Russo-Turkish Wars, etc.) that have occurred in that region and Russia's threat of a 3rd World War.

Since the World War 1 was the most notable and I still knew very little about how and why it started, I read A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918 by G.J. Meyer.

A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918 is a very readable book. Since there are so many countries and people (politicians and military men) involved, it was sometimes difficult to know who was who.

After reading A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918, I can honestly say that I still don’t understand how and why World War 1 started. Like the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the reasons for the wars are so murky and seemingly based solely on nationalism, ethnic pride, and perceived military superiority.
]]>
<![CDATA[Hell Is Empty (Walt Longmire, #7)]]> 11649287 Walt faces an icy hell in this New York Times bestseller from the author of The Cold Dish and As the Crow Flies, the seventh novel in the Walt Longmire Mystery Series, the basis for LONGMIRE, the hit A&E original drama series

Fans of Ace Atkins, Nevada Barr and Robert B. Parker will love this seventh novel from Craig Johnson, the New York Times bestselling author of The Cold Dish and As the Crow Flies. Well-read and world-weary, Sheriff Walt Longmire has been maintaining order in Wyoming's Absaroka County for more than thirty years, but in this riveting seventh outing, he is pushed to his limits.

Raynaud Shade, an adopted Crow Indian rumored to be one of the country's most dangerous sociopaths, has just confessed to murdering a boy ten years ago and burying him deep within the Bighorn Mountains. Walt is asked to transport Shade through a blizzard to the site, but what begins as a typical criminal transport turns personal when the veteran lawman learns that he knows the dead boy's family. Guided only by Indian mysticism and a battered paperback of Dante's Inferno, Walt braves the icy hell of the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area, cheating death to ensure that justice—both civil and spiritual—is served.

The Walt Longmire mystery series is the basis for Longmire, the hit original drama series from A&E.

]]>
324 Craig Johnson DanielL 3 Hell Is Empty has some similarities to one of the TV episodes, but the book is more detailed and complex.

After reading 4 or 5 of the Walt Longmire books, I've always found myself saying "meh" at the end. Would I read it again in 10-20 years? It's very doubtful. When I finished Hell Is Empty, I again said "meh". The Walt Longmire series has been somewhat entertaining, but NOT as engrossing as I had expected. I still have one unread Walt Longmire Kindle book. After I finish that one, that'll be the end. No more reading the Walt Longmire series or an other Craig Johnson book. ]]>
4.41 2011 Hell Is Empty (Walt Longmire, #7)
author: Craig Johnson
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2022/04/07
date added: 2022/04/09
shelves:
review:
I purchased a half dozen of the Walt Longmire Kindle books without first reading one. I had seen the TV series so I had some great expectations. Hell Is Empty has some similarities to one of the TV episodes, but the book is more detailed and complex.

After reading 4 or 5 of the Walt Longmire books, I've always found myself saying "meh" at the end. Would I read it again in 10-20 years? It's very doubtful. When I finished Hell Is Empty, I again said "meh". The Walt Longmire series has been somewhat entertaining, but NOT as engrossing as I had expected. I still have one unread Walt Longmire Kindle book. After I finish that one, that'll be the end. No more reading the Walt Longmire series or an other Craig Johnson book.
]]>
<![CDATA[Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, Volume I: July 1937-May 1942]]> 49289801

Tower of Skulls is the first work in any language to present a unified account of the course and titanic impact of this part of the global war, which began the torturous route to twenty-first-century Asia. Covering with extraordinary detail campaigns in China, Singapore, the Philippines, and Burma, as well as the attack on Pearl Harbor, it expands beyond military elements to highlight the critical political, economic, and social reverberations of the struggle. Finally, it provides a graphic depiction of the often forgotten but truly horrific death toll in the Asia-Pacific region—over 20 million—which continues to shape international relations today.]]>
836 Richard Frank 1324002115 DanielL 4 Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, Volume I: July 1937-May 1942 is NOT a book for new or casual readers of WW2 history. This is NOT a “Rah! Rah!� onwards to victory for the Allies book. Instead, the book highlights the many political and military bad decisions by the Allies that contributed to devastating military losses. By the end of the book (May 1942), the Allies were thoroughly beaten and battered by the Japanese on land, air and sea.

Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, Volume I: July 1937-May 1942 is well written. I was very impressed by the research and details of this book, but at times, I found myself overwhelmed by details. Nevertheless, I still read all the footnotes which included more details.

Author Richard B. Frank begins Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, Volume I: July 1937-May 1942 with a chronological timeline from the 1937 Sino-Japanese war to the 1942 Bataan Death March. For the Japanese, 1937-1942 is a time period of successive military victories and enormous conquest of lands and people that has been unrivaled in history; and it exposed the political and military ineptitude of the Allies (especially the British who vastly underestimated the Japanese military and overestimated their own military prowess).

I had an expectation that military deaths would be high, but the staggeringly high death toll among civilians during the Sino-Japanese war was something that I did not expect. The book’s title Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, Volume I: July 1937-May 1942 is a metaphor to the many who were killed; and I was reminded of the photos of human skulls from the Khmer Rouge genocide stacked high as if they were a trophy display. The fact that more people died of starvation and disease than by direct military action during the entire Asia-Pacific war is astounding and mind-boggling to me.

Prior to reading this book, the Sino-Japanese war was relatively unknown to me, but its importance as a catalyst to pushing the entire world to total war is obvious. Nazi Germany’s success was a motivation and encouragement for Japanese military expansion in China, the attack on Pearl Harbor and the rest of Asia and the Pacific. The brutality, ruthlessness, and execution by the Japanese military of civilians and military POWs were exposed and somewhat explained, but they were still war crimes.

I wasn’t too thrilled that the book covered the attack on Pearl Harbor because I thought I knew enough about it, but I was wrong. Author Richard B. Frank shined some new light on the attack and the events surrounding it from the US and the Japanese.

Throughout the book, author Richard B. Frank de-bunked some conspiracy theories and second-guessing of military tactics / strategies. One of the most widespread conspiracy theories is that the US and/or Great Britain (Winston Churchill) knew beforehand that the Japanese would attack Pearl Harbor, but kept silent to force the US to join the war.

For me, the explanation on how the British and US broke the Japanese code was a little dull because I still couldn’t figure out how it was done. Except for this topic, I enjoyed and learned a lot more about WW2.

The Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, Volume I: July 1937-May 1942 covered these key events and personalities from 1937-1942:

Sino-Japanese

Chiang Kai-shek vs. Mao Zedong

Russia vs. Nazi Germany

Pearl Harbor

Hong Kong

Wake Island

Guam

Malaya / Singapore

Dutch East Indies

The Philippines / General MacArthur

Burma / General Joseph Stilwell

Breaking of the Japanese code

Internment of Japanese-American citizens from the US West Coast, but not Hawaii

Rabaul

CNO Admiral Ernest King vs. Admiral Chester Nimitz

Salvage of US warships at Pearl Harbor

Inda / Ceylon (Sri Lanka) / Madagascar

Fall of the Philippine Islands and the Bataan Death March




]]>
4.58 2020 Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, Volume I: July 1937-May 1942
author: Richard Frank
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/29
date added: 2022/03/31
shelves:
review:
Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, Volume I: July 1937-May 1942 is NOT a book for new or casual readers of WW2 history. This is NOT a “Rah! Rah!� onwards to victory for the Allies book. Instead, the book highlights the many political and military bad decisions by the Allies that contributed to devastating military losses. By the end of the book (May 1942), the Allies were thoroughly beaten and battered by the Japanese on land, air and sea.

Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, Volume I: July 1937-May 1942 is well written. I was very impressed by the research and details of this book, but at times, I found myself overwhelmed by details. Nevertheless, I still read all the footnotes which included more details.

Author Richard B. Frank begins Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, Volume I: July 1937-May 1942 with a chronological timeline from the 1937 Sino-Japanese war to the 1942 Bataan Death March. For the Japanese, 1937-1942 is a time period of successive military victories and enormous conquest of lands and people that has been unrivaled in history; and it exposed the political and military ineptitude of the Allies (especially the British who vastly underestimated the Japanese military and overestimated their own military prowess).

I had an expectation that military deaths would be high, but the staggeringly high death toll among civilians during the Sino-Japanese war was something that I did not expect. The book’s title Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, Volume I: July 1937-May 1942 is a metaphor to the many who were killed; and I was reminded of the photos of human skulls from the Khmer Rouge genocide stacked high as if they were a trophy display. The fact that more people died of starvation and disease than by direct military action during the entire Asia-Pacific war is astounding and mind-boggling to me.

Prior to reading this book, the Sino-Japanese war was relatively unknown to me, but its importance as a catalyst to pushing the entire world to total war is obvious. Nazi Germany’s success was a motivation and encouragement for Japanese military expansion in China, the attack on Pearl Harbor and the rest of Asia and the Pacific. The brutality, ruthlessness, and execution by the Japanese military of civilians and military POWs were exposed and somewhat explained, but they were still war crimes.

I wasn’t too thrilled that the book covered the attack on Pearl Harbor because I thought I knew enough about it, but I was wrong. Author Richard B. Frank shined some new light on the attack and the events surrounding it from the US and the Japanese.

Throughout the book, author Richard B. Frank de-bunked some conspiracy theories and second-guessing of military tactics / strategies. One of the most widespread conspiracy theories is that the US and/or Great Britain (Winston Churchill) knew beforehand that the Japanese would attack Pearl Harbor, but kept silent to force the US to join the war.

For me, the explanation on how the British and US broke the Japanese code was a little dull because I still couldn’t figure out how it was done. Except for this topic, I enjoyed and learned a lot more about WW2.

The Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, Volume I: July 1937-May 1942 covered these key events and personalities from 1937-1942:

Sino-Japanese

Chiang Kai-shek vs. Mao Zedong

Russia vs. Nazi Germany

Pearl Harbor

Hong Kong

Wake Island

Guam

Malaya / Singapore

Dutch East Indies

The Philippines / General MacArthur

Burma / General Joseph Stilwell

Breaking of the Japanese code

Internment of Japanese-American citizens from the US West Coast, but not Hawaii

Rabaul

CNO Admiral Ernest King vs. Admiral Chester Nimitz

Salvage of US warships at Pearl Harbor

Inda / Ceylon (Sri Lanka) / Madagascar

Fall of the Philippine Islands and the Bataan Death March





]]>
<![CDATA[The Dark Hours (Renée Ballard, #4; Harry Bosch, #23; Harry Bosch Universe, #36)]]> 57070526
There's chaos in Hollywood on New Year's Eve. Working her graveyard shift, LAPD Detective Renée Ballard seeks shelter at the end of the countdown to wait out the traditional rain of lead as hundreds of revelers shoot their guns into the air. As reports start to roll in of shattered windshields and other damage, Ballard is called to a scene where a hardworking auto shop owner has been fatally hit by a bullet in the middle of a crowded street party.

It doesn't take long for Ballard to determine that the deadly bullet could not have fallen from the sky. Ballard’s investigation leads her to look into another unsolved murder—a case at one time worked by Detective Harry Bosch.

Ballard and Bosch team up once again to find out where the old and new cases intersect. All the while they must look over their shoulders. The killer who has stayed undetected for so long knows they are coming after him]]>
400 Michael Connelly 0316256560 DanielL 5 The Dark Hours is is another excellent police crime novel by Michael Connelly. It disrupted my sleep pattern because I would get so engrossed in reading it that when I looked at my bedside clock it was 1:00 AM.

Unlike Connelly’s other novels, this one dealt with more recent and current social, political, and health issues, i.e., the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol, COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, police defunding, the dark web.

Some reviewers thought Connelly was spreading “propaganda� by using Detective Ballard to advocate the COVID-19 vaccine and mask wearing. If you don’t think COVID-19 is real or dangerous, you might want to skip this novel.

The one thing that I enjoy about reading this novel and Connelly’s other recent novels is the workplace conflicts and tension between co-workers; and co-workers and superiors. These conflicts and tension are common in most workplaces. I was able to relate to the staff shortage and the burden of the workload; trying to juggle, prioritize, delegate, complete the task or assignment in a professional manner, and/or do a mediocre job that won’t impress anyone but keeps you from getting fired or demoted.]]>
4.39 2021 The Dark Hours (Renée Ballard, #4; Harry Bosch, #23; Harry Bosch Universe, #36)
author: Michael Connelly
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2022/01/25
date added: 2022/01/25
shelves:
review:
The Dark Hours is is another excellent police crime novel by Michael Connelly. It disrupted my sleep pattern because I would get so engrossed in reading it that when I looked at my bedside clock it was 1:00 AM.

Unlike Connelly’s other novels, this one dealt with more recent and current social, political, and health issues, i.e., the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol, COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, police defunding, the dark web.

Some reviewers thought Connelly was spreading “propaganda� by using Detective Ballard to advocate the COVID-19 vaccine and mask wearing. If you don’t think COVID-19 is real or dangerous, you might want to skip this novel.

The one thing that I enjoy about reading this novel and Connelly’s other recent novels is the workplace conflicts and tension between co-workers; and co-workers and superiors. These conflicts and tension are common in most workplaces. I was able to relate to the staff shortage and the burden of the workload; trying to juggle, prioritize, delegate, complete the task or assignment in a professional manner, and/or do a mediocre job that won’t impress anyone but keeps you from getting fired or demoted.
]]>
<![CDATA[D-Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II]]> 18887654 Stephen E. Ambrose’s D-Day is the definitive history of World War II’s most pivotal battle, a day that changed the course of history.

D-Day is the epic story of men at the most demanding moment of their lives, when the horrors, complexities, and triumphs of life are laid bare. Distinguished historian Stephen E. Ambrose portrays the faces of courage and heroism, fear and determination—what Eisenhower called “the fury of an aroused democracy”—that shaped the victory of the citizen soldiers whom Hitler had disparaged.

Drawing on more than 1,400 interviews with American, British, Canadian, French, and German veterans, Ambrose reveals how the original plans for the invasion had to be abandoned, and how enlisted men and junior officers acted on their own initiative when they realized that nothing was as they were told it would be.

The action begins at midnight, June 5/6, when the first British and American airborne troops jumped into France. It ends at midnight June 6/7. Focusing on those pivotal twenty-four hours, it moves from the level of Supreme Commander to that of a French child, from General Omar Bradley to an American paratrooper, from Field Marshal Montgomery to a German sergeant. Ambrose’s D-Day is the finest account of one of our history’s most important days.]]>
953 Stephen E. Ambrose DanielL 5 Stephen E. Ambrose is one of my favorite historian and author. I’ve read numerous books and articles, and watched countless movies, videos, and TV shows about D-Day so I wasn’t certain if reading Ambrose’s D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Battle for the Normandy Beaches would add anything new to my knowledge of the invasion. I was wrong. So far, this has been my favorite D-Day book. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I learned from reading this book. This is a book that I could read again since it is filled with details that I did not know.

I read the Kindle version. The maps on the Kindle version were illegible. I would highly recommend printing out or obtaining a map of the Normandy area to follow the troop movement and objectives. ]]>
4.53 1994 D-Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II
author: Stephen E. Ambrose
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.53
book published: 1994
rating: 5
read at: 2022/01/16
date added: 2022/01/16
shelves:
review:
Stephen E. Ambrose is one of my favorite historian and author. I’ve read numerous books and articles, and watched countless movies, videos, and TV shows about D-Day so I wasn’t certain if reading Ambrose’s D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Battle for the Normandy Beaches would add anything new to my knowledge of the invasion. I was wrong. So far, this has been my favorite D-Day book. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I learned from reading this book. This is a book that I could read again since it is filled with details that I did not know.

I read the Kindle version. The maps on the Kindle version were illegible. I would highly recommend printing out or obtaining a map of the Normandy area to follow the troop movement and objectives.
]]>
<![CDATA[Death Without Company (Walt Longmire, #2)]]> 50860947 Walt investigates a death by poison in this gripping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Depth of Winter--Death Without Company is the second in the Longmire series.

Fans of Ace Atkins, Nevada Barr and Robert B. Parker will love Craig Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of Hell Is Empty and As the Crow Flies, who garnered both praise and an enthusiastic readership with his acclaimed debut novel featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire, The Cold Dish, the first in the Longmire Mystery Series, the basis for LONGMIRE, the hit drama series. Now Johnson takes us back to the rugged landscape of Absaroka County, Wyoming, for Death Without Company. When Mari Baroja is found poisoned at the Durant Home for Assisted Living, Sheriff Longmire is drawn into an investigation that reaches fifty years into the mysterious woman’s dramatic Basque past. Aided by his friend Henry Standing Bear, Deputy Victoria Moretti, and newcomer Santiago Saizarbitoria, Sheriff Longmire must connect the specter of the past to the present to find the killer among them.]]>
271 Craig Johnson DanielL 3 Death Without Company: A Longmire Mystery is the second novel in the Walt Longmire series written by Craig Johnson. I started reading the novels out of order, but when it became obvious to me that the series should be read in order, I went back and started with book #1 The Cold Dish and now Death Without Company: A Longmire Mystery.

I found Death Without Company: A Longmire Mystery slightly better than The Cold Dish and much better than the later books in the series. After reading the first two books in the series, I’m more convinced that the later books in the series are written by a ghost writer; and not by Craig Johnson. If the later books were written by Craig Johnson, he's just cranking them out without regards to quality.
]]>
4.41 2006 Death Without Company (Walt Longmire, #2)
author: Craig Johnson
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2021/12/11
date added: 2021/12/13
shelves:
review:
Death Without Company: A Longmire Mystery is the second novel in the Walt Longmire series written by Craig Johnson. I started reading the novels out of order, but when it became obvious to me that the series should be read in order, I went back and started with book #1 The Cold Dish and now Death Without Company: A Longmire Mystery.

I found Death Without Company: A Longmire Mystery slightly better than The Cold Dish and much better than the later books in the series. After reading the first two books in the series, I’m more convinced that the later books in the series are written by a ghost writer; and not by Craig Johnson. If the later books were written by Craig Johnson, he's just cranking them out without regards to quality.

]]>
<![CDATA[Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 (The Pacific War Trilogy)]]> 48676313
In June 1944, the United States launched a crushing assault on the Japanese navy in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The capture of the Mariana Islands and the accompanying ruin of Japanese carrier airpower marked a pivotal moment in the Pacific War. No tactical masterstroke or blunder could reverse the increasingly lopsided balance of power between the two combatants. The War in the Pacific had entered its endgame.

Beginning with the Honolulu Conference, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt met with his Pacific theater commanders to plan the last phase of the campaign against Japan, Twilight of the Gods brings to life the harrowing last year of World War II in the Pacific, when the U.S. Navy won the largest naval battle in history; Douglas MacArthur made good his pledge to return to the Philippines; waves of kamikazes attacked the Allied fleets; the Japanese fought to the last man on one island after another; B-29 bombers burned down Japanese cities; and Hiroshima and Nagasaki were vaporized in atomic blasts.

Ian W. Toll’s narratives of combat in the air, at sea, and on the beaches are as gripping as ever, but he also reconstructs the Japanese and American home fronts and takes the reader into the halls of power in Washington and Tokyo, where the great questions of strategy and diplomacy were decided.

Drawing from a wealth of rich archival sources and new material, Twilight of the Gods casts a penetrating light on the battles, grand strategic decisions and naval logistics that enabled the Allied victory in the Pacific. An authoritative and riveting account of the final phase of the War in the Pacific, Twilight of the Gods brings Toll’s masterful trilogy to a thrilling conclusion. This prize-winning and best-selling trilogy will stand as the first complete history of the Pacific War in more than twenty-five years, and the first multivolume history of the Pacific naval war since Samuel Eliot Morison’s series was published in the 1950s.]]>
943 Ian W. Toll 0393651819 DanielL 5 Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 is the last book in the World War 2 Pacific trilogy by Ian W. Toll. The first two books are Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 and The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944.

I’ve read many books and articles, and viewed countless movies and documentaries on WW2. I thought I knew about WW2 so Toll’s books would be a rehash or a recycle of what I already knew. I almost fell into the “I know it all� trap until I read Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 and then The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944 and now, Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945.

If you’re a student or scholar of WW 2, Ian W. Toll’s trilogy is a must read. His trilogy demonstrates how history books should be researched and written so that it becomes alive and enjoyable to read. Instead of bits and pieces found in other WW2 books, Ian Toll’s trilogy gives an in-depth chronological account of WW2 in the Pacific which makes certain decisions and events more understandable.

Ian W. Toll took a deep dive into Japanese and US archives; recently declassified records; and the contemporaneous notes, letters, journals, and diaries from Japanese and US military and government leaders and from everyday civilians, soldiers, sailors, and airmen.

Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 begins with an explanation of the US military command and its control structure in the Asia-Pacific War theater; and the conflicts that arose between General MacArthur, Admiral Nimitz, Joint Chiefs of Staff, FDR, and their subordinates.

Toll gives an insight into the personalities of the many Generals and Admirals in the Pacific; and what others thought of them in private.

One thing that I did not know was that the US Navy rotated their naval task force commanders regularly from combat to desk duty (rest); then back to combat.

I had recently read the The Battle for Leyte Gulf by C. Vann Woodward, but I found Ian W. Toll’s recount of the same facts more readable and understandable. The maps were better displayed in the Kindle version.

The Japanese strategy for the defense of the Philippines and the areas between Indonesia and Japan were explained. The Japanese decision to use suicide planes (Kamikaze); and its effective and devastating impact on the US Navy are revealing . Toll also gives the Japanese civilian and military perspective on the Kamikaze pilots during and post-war.

The invasion and the battles to retake the Philippines; and the horrific atrocities committed by the Japanese troops against civilians were detailed. Ian W. Toll does point out that during the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese troops were considered the more civil and humane combatant. Toll was at a lost to explain how, within one generation, the Japanese troops could morally degrade to commit large scale war crimes of rape and murder of civilians.

Admiral “Bull� Halsey’s disastrous command of the fleet during a typhoon is well documented in other books and documentaries. As with the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Ian W. Toll gives an excellent recount of “Halsey’s Typhoon� and why Admiral Halsey, who was found at-fault, was not relieved on his command for the near destruction of his fleet.

The home-front is often overlooked in most WW2 books. Ian W. Toll shows the tension and resentment between civilians prospering in the war-boom economy and US servicemen enduring unimaginable hardship in combat.

Given all that is known about the battle of Iwo Jima, I was surprised at how Ian W. Toll was able to presented the same known facts to make it more readable and understandable. The incredible loss of lives, both Japanese and US, is still mind-boggling to me. Iwo Jima was the ultimate meat grinder in the most inhospitable place on earth to wage war.

The US submarine campaign is covered. I could feel the submarine crews� claustrophobia and the terror of depth charges.

The strategic bombing campaign against homeland Japan under the command of USAAF General Curtis LeMay is detailed including the devastating effects of fire bombing civilian targets.

The epic land, sea, and air war for Okinawa; and Admiral Halsey again putting his ships in harm’s way with another typhoon.

The death of FDR and the succession of Truman was more troubling than I knew because Truman was never kept in the loop about the progress of the war. Given FDR’s deteriorating heath, FDR’s aides and military advisors should have kept Truman full appraised of the war effort.

The behind-the-scene negotiation and rancorous conflicts between the Japanese civilian government, the Japanese military, and the emperor on how to negotiate a conditional surrender (versus unconditional surrender) was something that I did not know much about.

The development of the atomic bomb and the decision to use it against Japan have been extensively covered in other books, but the Toll presents the views of the scientists who developed the bomb and the airmen who dropped it.

Russia’s declaration of war against Japan and Japan’s decision to surrender were timely. If Japan had waited to surrender, parts of Japan might have fallen into Russian control.

The Japanese military fought to the last man in many battles; yet in post-war occupied Japan, its military and civilians were peaceful and docile to the allied occupation forces. How and why this happened is covered.

General MacArthur’s benevolent attitude toward a defeated Japan is remarkable given the horrors Japan inflicted throughout the Pacific; especially to the Philippine people, other civilians, and POWs.

Toll described the formal surrender on the USS Missouri. There were more Generals and Admirals present on that battleship than had ever existed before the war. If one or more Kamikaze pilot had decided to attack the USS Missouri, the death of so many top military commanders would have been devastating. I had never thought of the fears of that possibility until I read the Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945

Toll’s book also addressed issues that are rarely discussed in other WW2 books - the economical, social, and psychological impact of suddenly going from war to peace on civilians, to the thousands of US sailors, soldiers, and airmen stranded overseas with no war to fight. The PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) that many suffered after the war in silence with no help or treatment.]]>
4.80 2020 Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 (The Pacific War Trilogy)
author: Ian W. Toll
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.80
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/11/26
date added: 2021/11/27
shelves:
review:
Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 is the last book in the World War 2 Pacific trilogy by Ian W. Toll. The first two books are Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 and The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944.

I’ve read many books and articles, and viewed countless movies and documentaries on WW2. I thought I knew about WW2 so Toll’s books would be a rehash or a recycle of what I already knew. I almost fell into the “I know it all� trap until I read Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 and then The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944 and now, Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945.

If you’re a student or scholar of WW 2, Ian W. Toll’s trilogy is a must read. His trilogy demonstrates how history books should be researched and written so that it becomes alive and enjoyable to read. Instead of bits and pieces found in other WW2 books, Ian Toll’s trilogy gives an in-depth chronological account of WW2 in the Pacific which makes certain decisions and events more understandable.

Ian W. Toll took a deep dive into Japanese and US archives; recently declassified records; and the contemporaneous notes, letters, journals, and diaries from Japanese and US military and government leaders and from everyday civilians, soldiers, sailors, and airmen.

Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 begins with an explanation of the US military command and its control structure in the Asia-Pacific War theater; and the conflicts that arose between General MacArthur, Admiral Nimitz, Joint Chiefs of Staff, FDR, and their subordinates.

Toll gives an insight into the personalities of the many Generals and Admirals in the Pacific; and what others thought of them in private.

One thing that I did not know was that the US Navy rotated their naval task force commanders regularly from combat to desk duty (rest); then back to combat.

I had recently read the The Battle for Leyte Gulf by C. Vann Woodward, but I found Ian W. Toll’s recount of the same facts more readable and understandable. The maps were better displayed in the Kindle version.

The Japanese strategy for the defense of the Philippines and the areas between Indonesia and Japan were explained. The Japanese decision to use suicide planes (Kamikaze); and its effective and devastating impact on the US Navy are revealing . Toll also gives the Japanese civilian and military perspective on the Kamikaze pilots during and post-war.

The invasion and the battles to retake the Philippines; and the horrific atrocities committed by the Japanese troops against civilians were detailed. Ian W. Toll does point out that during the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese troops were considered the more civil and humane combatant. Toll was at a lost to explain how, within one generation, the Japanese troops could morally degrade to commit large scale war crimes of rape and murder of civilians.

Admiral “Bull� Halsey’s disastrous command of the fleet during a typhoon is well documented in other books and documentaries. As with the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Ian W. Toll gives an excellent recount of “Halsey’s Typhoon� and why Admiral Halsey, who was found at-fault, was not relieved on his command for the near destruction of his fleet.

The home-front is often overlooked in most WW2 books. Ian W. Toll shows the tension and resentment between civilians prospering in the war-boom economy and US servicemen enduring unimaginable hardship in combat.

Given all that is known about the battle of Iwo Jima, I was surprised at how Ian W. Toll was able to presented the same known facts to make it more readable and understandable. The incredible loss of lives, both Japanese and US, is still mind-boggling to me. Iwo Jima was the ultimate meat grinder in the most inhospitable place on earth to wage war.

The US submarine campaign is covered. I could feel the submarine crews� claustrophobia and the terror of depth charges.

The strategic bombing campaign against homeland Japan under the command of USAAF General Curtis LeMay is detailed including the devastating effects of fire bombing civilian targets.

The epic land, sea, and air war for Okinawa; and Admiral Halsey again putting his ships in harm’s way with another typhoon.

The death of FDR and the succession of Truman was more troubling than I knew because Truman was never kept in the loop about the progress of the war. Given FDR’s deteriorating heath, FDR’s aides and military advisors should have kept Truman full appraised of the war effort.

The behind-the-scene negotiation and rancorous conflicts between the Japanese civilian government, the Japanese military, and the emperor on how to negotiate a conditional surrender (versus unconditional surrender) was something that I did not know much about.

The development of the atomic bomb and the decision to use it against Japan have been extensively covered in other books, but the Toll presents the views of the scientists who developed the bomb and the airmen who dropped it.

Russia’s declaration of war against Japan and Japan’s decision to surrender were timely. If Japan had waited to surrender, parts of Japan might have fallen into Russian control.

The Japanese military fought to the last man in many battles; yet in post-war occupied Japan, its military and civilians were peaceful and docile to the allied occupation forces. How and why this happened is covered.

General MacArthur’s benevolent attitude toward a defeated Japan is remarkable given the horrors Japan inflicted throughout the Pacific; especially to the Philippine people, other civilians, and POWs.

Toll described the formal surrender on the USS Missouri. There were more Generals and Admirals present on that battleship than had ever existed before the war. If one or more Kamikaze pilot had decided to attack the USS Missouri, the death of so many top military commanders would have been devastating. I had never thought of the fears of that possibility until I read the Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945

Toll’s book also addressed issues that are rarely discussed in other WW2 books - the economical, social, and psychological impact of suddenly going from war to peace on civilians, to the thousands of US sailors, soldiers, and airmen stranded overseas with no war to fight. The PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) that many suffered after the war in silence with no help or treatment.
]]>
Marathon Man 36687493 338 William Goldman DanielL 4 William Goldman was one of my favorite authors. I read everything that he wrote and watched every movie that he screenplayed. After more than 40 years, I re-read Marathon Man and found myself understanding and appreciating Marathon Man more today than I did as a college student.

Marathon Man occurs during a time when Nazi war criminals were still being hunted down after they fled into hiding with the wealth looted from their victims; and their victims who survived were still haunted by the Nazi atrocities.

Thomas “Babe� Levy finds himself unwittingly entangled with a Nazi war criminal and his henchmen on the streets of New York City. A Nazi war criminal who specialized in extracting information by drilling into healthy tooth roots. “Babe� becomes one of his dental torture victims.

Marathon Man is a relatively short novel, but it is well written. William Goldman tells a good story with enough twists and turns to keep the reader entertained. ]]>
4.11 1974 Marathon Man
author: William Goldman
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1974
rating: 4
read at: 2021/10/06
date added: 2021/10/07
shelves:
review:
Back in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, William Goldman was one of my favorite authors. I read everything that he wrote and watched every movie that he screenplayed. After more than 40 years, I re-read Marathon Man and found myself understanding and appreciating Marathon Man more today than I did as a college student.

Marathon Man occurs during a time when Nazi war criminals were still being hunted down after they fled into hiding with the wealth looted from their victims; and their victims who survived were still haunted by the Nazi atrocities.

Thomas “Babe� Levy finds himself unwittingly entangled with a Nazi war criminal and his henchmen on the streets of New York City. A Nazi war criminal who specialized in extracting information by drilling into healthy tooth roots. “Babe� becomes one of his dental torture victims.

Marathon Man is a relatively short novel, but it is well written. William Goldman tells a good story with enough twists and turns to keep the reader entertained.
]]>
<![CDATA[The Last Stand of Fox Company: A True Story of U.S. Marines in Combat]]> 18946919 “The authors of the bestsellingĚýHalsey’s TyphoonĚýdo a fine job recounting one brutal, small-unit action during the Korean War’s darkest moment.â€� —Publishers Weekly Ěý November 1950, the Korean Peninsula. After General MacArthur ignores Mao’s warnings and pushes his UN forces deeper into North Korea, his 10,000 First Division Marines find themselves surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered by 100,000 Chinese soldiers near the Chosin Reservoir. Their only chance for survival is to fight their way south through the Toktong Pass, a narrow gorge that will need to be held open at all costs. The mission is handed to Captain William Barber and the 234 Marines of Fox Company, a courageous but undermanned unit of the First Marines. Barber and his men climb seven miles of frozen terrain to a rocky promontory overlooking the pass, where they will endure four days and five nights of nearly continuous Chinese attempts to take Fox Hill. Amid the relentless violence, three-quarters of Fox’s Marines are killed, wounded, or captured. Just when it looks like they will be overrun, Lt. Colonel Raymond Davis, a fearless Marine officer who is fighting south from Chosin, volunteers to lead a daring mission that will seek to cut a hole in the Chinese lines and relieve the men of Fox. This is a fast-paced and gripping account of heroism in the face of impossible odds.]]> 396 Bob Drury DanielL 4 The Last Stand of Fox Company: A True Story of U.S. Marines in Combat is a well-written account of how Fox Company (~250 Marines) were able to hold and defend against numerically superior Red Chinese forces in brutally harsh winter conditions with inadequate winter clothing; food and ammunition shortage; and heavy casualties. The book is mostly based upon the memories of the Marines and Navy Corpsman who survived. The fact that they did survive is amazing given that US Army General MacArthur and General Almond ignored intelligence reports, underestimated the enemy, and used the USMC as cannon fodder. The Red Chinese nearly succeeded in annihilating the USMC which is one of the reasons General MacArthur is still scorned by US Marines. ]]> 4.60 2008 The Last Stand of Fox Company: A True Story of U.S. Marines in Combat
author: Bob Drury
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2021/09/20
date added: 2021/09/22
shelves:
review:
The Last Stand of Fox Company: A True Story of U.S. Marines in Combat is a well-written account of how Fox Company (~250 Marines) were able to hold and defend against numerically superior Red Chinese forces in brutally harsh winter conditions with inadequate winter clothing; food and ammunition shortage; and heavy casualties. The book is mostly based upon the memories of the Marines and Navy Corpsman who survived. The fact that they did survive is amazing given that US Army General MacArthur and General Almond ignored intelligence reports, underestimated the enemy, and used the USMC as cannon fodder. The Red Chinese nearly succeeded in annihilating the USMC which is one of the reasons General MacArthur is still scorned by US Marines.
]]>
<![CDATA[The Cold Dish (Walt Longmire, #1)]]> 6640534 354 Craig Johnson DanielL 3 The Cold Dish.

The Cold Dish surprised me. Unlike the other “Longmire� novels, this one was good and reminded me more of the TV series than the others that I read. The ending was a surprise and different than I expected.

One minor grip about The Cold Dish is that Craig Johnson named two characters with very similar names - “Lonnie� and “Vonnie�. They are two vastly different characters, but I still had to slow down my reading to make sure who was who.

The other “Longmire� novels that I’ve read are just “meh� to me. It’s as if Craig Johnson’s later novels were “ghostwritten� because the writing style seemed different and the storylines are not as compelling.

I’ve got a couple more “Longmire� novels remaining on my unread bookshelf. Even though I like The Cold Dish, I probably won’t buy another one in the “Longmire� series. The series just doesn’t have the consistent “umpf� in the storylines that would keep me interested in reading more.

I give a 4 or 5 stars to books that I would like to re-read in 20 years. I doubt I will ever re-read The Cold Dish so I gave it 3-stars.]]>
4.29 2004 The Cold Dish (Walt Longmire, #1)
author: Craig Johnson
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2021/09/08
date added: 2021/09/09
shelves:
review:
I purchased several of “Longmire� novels (Kindle version) when Amazon offered them at a discount. As a fan of the “Longmire� TV series, I was very disappointed that the novels weren’t as good as the TV series because when novels are turned into screenplays, the novels are always better. Despite this disappointment, since I was reading them out of sequence, I decided to step-back and purchase the first novel in the series - The Cold Dish.

The Cold Dish surprised me. Unlike the other “Longmire� novels, this one was good and reminded me more of the TV series than the others that I read. The ending was a surprise and different than I expected.

One minor grip about The Cold Dish is that Craig Johnson named two characters with very similar names - “Lonnie� and “Vonnie�. They are two vastly different characters, but I still had to slow down my reading to make sure who was who.

The other “Longmire� novels that I’ve read are just “meh� to me. It’s as if Craig Johnson’s later novels were “ghostwritten� because the writing style seemed different and the storylines are not as compelling.

I’ve got a couple more “Longmire� novels remaining on my unread bookshelf. Even though I like The Cold Dish, I probably won’t buy another one in the “Longmire� series. The series just doesn’t have the consistent “umpf� in the storylines that would keep me interested in reading more.

I give a 4 or 5 stars to books that I would like to re-read in 20 years. I doubt I will ever re-read The Cold Dish so I gave it 3-stars.
]]>
Those Who Disappeared 53937997 It’s been thirty years since his father went missing. Now there’s a body, can he finally find out why?

When a man’s body is discovered in a Swiss glacier thirty years after he went missing, his son, Foster Treherne, hopes he’ll finally have closure on what happened to the father he never met. But then the autopsy reveals signs of a struggle, and what was assumed to be a tragic accident suddenly looks more sinister.

Foster tracks down his father’s old friends, but when he starts to ask questions it becomes clear that there’s something they don’t want to tell him. While some are evasive, others seem to wish the body had never been found. What exactly is their connection to each other, and why are they so reluctant to discuss the day his father disappeared? Who are they trying to protect?

If he wants to uncover what really happened, Foster must follow the trail of secrets and lies—no matter how devastating the consequences, and what they might reveal about his father. Because the truth can only stay buried for so long…]]>
232 Kevin Wignall 1542023467 DanielL 4
This is the seventh novel that I’ve read by Kevin Wignall. He has a very distinctive writing style that’s similar in all seven novels that I’ve read. Wingall does not, however, follow a formula when he writes; and all seven novels are different from each other. Every novel is unique in its characters, its setting, its storyline, and its twists and turns.

After reading seven of Wignall’s novels, I haven’t yet been disappointed. I look forward to reading his next one.]]>
4.04 2021 Those Who Disappeared
author: Kevin Wignall
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/08/28
date added: 2021/08/29
shelves:
review:
When melting glaciers give up the body of a man who went missing three decades ago, there is inconclusive physical evidence that he might might have been murdered. After 30 years, his death becomes a “cold� case investigation undertaken by the man’s only surviving relative - a son (Foster) who was born after the man’s death. When Foster contacts those who knew his father, they stonewall him or misdirect his inquires. This raises his suspicions that his father was murdered. As Foster unravels his father’s past, he exposes his father’s dark-side or evil that might have caused him to be murdered.

This is the seventh novel that I’ve read by Kevin Wignall. He has a very distinctive writing style that’s similar in all seven novels that I’ve read. Wingall does not, however, follow a formula when he writes; and all seven novels are different from each other. Every novel is unique in its characters, its setting, its storyline, and its twists and turns.

After reading seven of Wignall’s novels, I haven’t yet been disappointed. I look forward to reading his next one.
]]>
Winter Counts 50387703 An addictive and groundbreaking debut thriller set on a Native American reservation

Virgil Wounded Horse is the local enforcer on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota.Ěý When justice is denied by the American legal system or the tribal council, Virgil is hired to deliver his own punishment, the kind that’s hard to forget. But when heroin makes its way into the reservation and finds Virgil’s own nephew, his vigilantism suddenly becomes personal. He enlists the help of his ex-girlfriend and sets out to learn where the drugs are coming from, and how to make them stop.

They follow a lead to Denver and find that drug cartels are rapidly expanding and forming new and terrifying alliances. And back on the reservation, a new tribal council initiative raises uncomfortable questions about money and power. As Virgil starts to link the pieces together, he must face his own demons and reclaim his Native identity. He realizes that being a Native American in the twenty-first century comes at an incredible cost.

Winter CountsĚýis a tour-de-force of crime fiction, a bracingly honest look at a long-ignored part of American life, and a twisting, turning story that’s as deeply rendered as it is thrilling.

]]>
331 David Heska Wanbli Weiden 0062968963 DanielL 4 Winter Counts, the storyline, the characters, and the writing style reminded me of Craig Johnson’s “Longmire� series. Unlike the “Longmire� series, Winter Counts is almost exclusively about the Lakota people, their reservation, tribal politics and corruption, their food, their poverty, their culture, their drug and alcohol problems, their suicides, their everyday struggles to survive, etc. Somehow, author David Heska Wanbli Weiden was able to weave all this and more into an interesting story.

The first part of Winter Counts was a little slow, but the second half made up for it.

Winter Counts brought back some memories when I lived and attended college in Oklahoma some 45+ years.. My next door neighbor in the college dormitory was from the Choctaw tribe. His home was a reservation boarding school. When Weiden described this “rez accent� in Winter Counts, I remembered my Choctaw neighbor who had a very unique speech cadence and accent. The fact that there is a “rez accent� is something that I did not know.

Fry bread must be common with many tribes in North America. I remember being at a Pow Wow in Olympia, Washington and fry bread was being cooked and sold. It was delicious, but I kept thinking to myself, “This is NOT healthy.� After reading Winter Counts, I now know how it became a staple of Native American diet and weaning them off fry bread will be difficult.

My Choctaw neighbor was a BIG fan of the movie “Billy Jack� and actor Tom Laughlin. He would always be talking of “Billy Jack.� The movie is 45+ years old, but mentioning it in Winter Counts had me again remembering my Choctaw neighbor.

Winter Counts is a fictional novel, but it does give an insight into the lives of the Lakota people and other Native Americans. Sadly, the plight of Native Americans to this day is the worst of any ethnic / racial group and it doesn’t seem to get any better.]]>
4.00 2020 Winter Counts
author: David Heska Wanbli Weiden
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2021/08/22
date added: 2021/08/22
shelves:
review:
When I first started to read Winter Counts, the storyline, the characters, and the writing style reminded me of Craig Johnson’s “Longmire� series. Unlike the “Longmire� series, Winter Counts is almost exclusively about the Lakota people, their reservation, tribal politics and corruption, their food, their poverty, their culture, their drug and alcohol problems, their suicides, their everyday struggles to survive, etc. Somehow, author David Heska Wanbli Weiden was able to weave all this and more into an interesting story.

The first part of Winter Counts was a little slow, but the second half made up for it.

Winter Counts brought back some memories when I lived and attended college in Oklahoma some 45+ years.. My next door neighbor in the college dormitory was from the Choctaw tribe. His home was a reservation boarding school. When Weiden described this “rez accent� in Winter Counts, I remembered my Choctaw neighbor who had a very unique speech cadence and accent. The fact that there is a “rez accent� is something that I did not know.

Fry bread must be common with many tribes in North America. I remember being at a Pow Wow in Olympia, Washington and fry bread was being cooked and sold. It was delicious, but I kept thinking to myself, “This is NOT healthy.� After reading Winter Counts, I now know how it became a staple of Native American diet and weaning them off fry bread will be difficult.

My Choctaw neighbor was a BIG fan of the movie “Billy Jack� and actor Tom Laughlin. He would always be talking of “Billy Jack.� The movie is 45+ years old, but mentioning it in Winter Counts had me again remembering my Choctaw neighbor.

Winter Counts is a fictional novel, but it does give an insight into the lives of the Lakota people and other Native Americans. Sadly, the plight of Native Americans to this day is the worst of any ethnic / racial group and it doesn’t seem to get any better.
]]>
<![CDATA[The Good War: An Oral History of World War II]]> 18906263 Winner of the Pulitzer “The richest and most powerful single document of the American experience in World War IIâ€� (The Boston Globe). Ěý “The Good War”Ěýis a testament not only to the experience of war but to the extraordinary skill of Studs Terkel as an interviewer and oral historian. From a pipe fitter’s apprentice at Pearl Harbor to a crew member of the flight that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, his subjects are open and unrelenting in their analyses of themselves and their experiences, producing what People magazine has called “a splendid epic historyâ€� of WWII. With this volume Terkel expanded his scope to the global and the historical, and the result is a masterpiece of oral history. Ěý “Tremendously compelling, somehow dramatic and intimate at the same time, as if one has stumbled on private accounts in letters locked in attic trunksĚý.Ěý.Ěý. In terms of plain human interest, Mr. Terkel may well have put together the most vivid collection of World War II sketches ever gathered between covers.â€� —The New York Times Book Review Ěý “I promise you will remember your war years, if you were alive then, with extraordinary vividness as you go through Studs Terkel’s book. Or, if you are too young to remember, this is the best place to get a sense of what people were feeling.â€� —Chicago Tribune Ěý “A powerful book, repeatedly moving and profoundly disturbing.â€� —People]]> 766 Studs Terkel 1595587594 DanielL 4
“The Good War� is a collection of interviews of those who lived through World War 2 - non-combatant civilians including children, Nazi slave laborers, Holocaust survivors, merchant seamen, servicemen, black US servicemen, a conscientious objector, “Rosie the Riveter�, USO and Red Cross workers, men and women who worked The Manhattan Project, politicians including FDR’s advisors, etc.

While reading the book, I was constantly reminded of the times that I spent with my dad, a World War 2 veteran, at the local VFW and American Legion Club. I knew World War 2 was horrific, but my dad and his fellow veterans would only reminisce about their funny and joyful experiences. They wouldn’t talk of the horrors of war.

Of the many interviews, I thought the interviews with the conscientious objector and black servicemen were the most interesting and thought provoking. The least interesting were those of US politicians and FDR’s advisors who were still beating the same drum as they did 30 - 40 years ago with no regrets.]]>
4.36 1984 The Good War: An Oral History of World War II
author: Studs Terkel
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.36
book published: 1984
rating: 4
read at: 2021/08/14
date added: 2021/08/15
shelves:
review:
World War 2 is the most significant event in world history. It was total war that engulfed the entire world in a frenzy of death, unimaginable slaughter, destruction, carnage, chaos, mayhem, madness, weapons of mass destruction, etc. In “The Good War�, Studs Terkel interviews people who lived through this time period some 30 - 40 years afterwards for their recollection, remembrance, regrets, etc. During the past 30 - 40 years, many of them have developed a new and different prospective of World War 2 and its aftermath.

“The Good War� is a collection of interviews of those who lived through World War 2 - non-combatant civilians including children, Nazi slave laborers, Holocaust survivors, merchant seamen, servicemen, black US servicemen, a conscientious objector, “Rosie the Riveter�, USO and Red Cross workers, men and women who worked The Manhattan Project, politicians including FDR’s advisors, etc.

While reading the book, I was constantly reminded of the times that I spent with my dad, a World War 2 veteran, at the local VFW and American Legion Club. I knew World War 2 was horrific, but my dad and his fellow veterans would only reminisce about their funny and joyful experiences. They wouldn’t talk of the horrors of war.

Of the many interviews, I thought the interviews with the conscientious objector and black servicemen were the most interesting and thought provoking. The least interesting were those of US politicians and FDR’s advisors who were still beating the same drum as they did 30 - 40 years ago with no regrets.
]]>
<![CDATA[Land of Wolves (Walt Longmire, #15)]]> 43794719 The new novel in Craig Johnson's beloved New York Times bestselling Longmire series.

Attempting to recover from his harrowing experiences in Mexico, in Land of Wolves Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire is neck deep in the investigation of what could or could not be the suicidal hanging of a shepherd. With unsettling connections to a Basque family with a reputation for removing the legs of Absaroka County sheriffs, matters become even more complicated with the appearance of an oversize wolf in the Big Horn Mountains to which Walt finds himself feeling more and more empathetic.]]>
335 Craig Johnson 0525522514 DanielL 3 The Highwayman by Craig Johnson. Since I’m a fan of the Longmire TV series, I decided to read the Kindle version of Land of Wolves since it was offered by Amazon at a reduced price.

After reading a few pages, I realized that the Land of Wolves is part of a series and NOT a stand alone novel like The Highwayman: A Longmire Story. I was going to stop reading Land of Wolves and begin from Book #1 The Cold Dish, but I decided that since I started it, I might as well finish it. If it became obvious that I had to read the series in order to fully understand and appreciate Land of Wolves, I would do that.

Land of Wolves involves characters and events that have happened in the earlier mystery book series. Craig Johnson does NOT give readers a reminder or refresher on those characters and events so starting with Book #15 was a little bit confusing for me; nevertheless, I was still able to figure out what was happening or what had happened.

Land of Wolves is an interesting mystery novel with a myriad of conflicts and controversies that have beset the Western wilderness. The long history of Basque sheepherders, the range wars over grazing rights between sheep and cattle owners, the reintroduction of wolves to their natural habitat, etc. For me, the Longmire series is basically the story of an elected sheriff who is tasked with the responsibility of bringing “law and order� to a humongous rural county with limited resources for the sheriff's department

I only gave Land of Wolves a three-star rating because I don’t think I would re-read it again. The story and the characters just didn’t resonate with me. Since I’ve already purchased Book #1, Book #2, and Book #7, I will read those; but I doubt I’ll buy and read any other Longmire books by Craig Johnson. ]]>
4.38 2019 Land of Wolves (Walt Longmire, #15)
author: Craig Johnson
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2021/07/13
date added: 2021/07/13
shelves:
review:
Several months ago, I read The Highwayman by Craig Johnson. Since I’m a fan of the Longmire TV series, I decided to read the Kindle version of Land of Wolves since it was offered by Amazon at a reduced price.

After reading a few pages, I realized that the Land of Wolves is part of a series and NOT a stand alone novel like The Highwayman: A Longmire Story. I was going to stop reading Land of Wolves and begin from Book #1 The Cold Dish, but I decided that since I started it, I might as well finish it. If it became obvious that I had to read the series in order to fully understand and appreciate Land of Wolves, I would do that.

Land of Wolves involves characters and events that have happened in the earlier mystery book series. Craig Johnson does NOT give readers a reminder or refresher on those characters and events so starting with Book #15 was a little bit confusing for me; nevertheless, I was still able to figure out what was happening or what had happened.

Land of Wolves is an interesting mystery novel with a myriad of conflicts and controversies that have beset the Western wilderness. The long history of Basque sheepherders, the range wars over grazing rights between sheep and cattle owners, the reintroduction of wolves to their natural habitat, etc. For me, the Longmire series is basically the story of an elected sheriff who is tasked with the responsibility of bringing “law and order� to a humongous rural county with limited resources for the sheriff's department

I only gave Land of Wolves a three-star rating because I don’t think I would re-read it again. The story and the characters just didn’t resonate with me. Since I’ve already purchased Book #1, Book #2, and Book #7, I will read those; but I doubt I’ll buy and read any other Longmire books by Craig Johnson.
]]>
Fortunate Sons 11986642
In 1872, China—ravaged by poverty, population growth, and aggressive European armies—sent 120 boys to America to learn the secrets of Western innovation. They studied at New England’s finest schools and were driven by a desire for progress and reform. When anti-Chinese fervor forced them back home, the young men had to overcome a suspicious imperial court and a country deeply resistant to change in technology and culture. Fortunate Sons tells a remarkable story, weaving together the dramas of personal lives with the fascinating tale of a nation’s endeavor to become a world power.]]>
337 Liel Leibovitz DanielL 5 Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization has been sitting on my bookshelf for a long time. I don’t know why I bought it so I kept putting off reading it. During the pandemic quarantine, with basically nothing else to read, I started to read Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization and I couldn’t stop reading it. For a non-fiction book, it had me captivated. I was afraid that it would be a dry history textbook. Instead, I found it to be an interesting, well-researched, and well written book about a subject that I knew very little about so I learned something new.

Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization is about 120 Chinese boys who were sent to the US to study and attend high school and colleges / universities during the 1800’s. As a reader, you are taken along with them in their cultural shock and total immersion in the American way of life. You are also taken along with them when they go through a reverse cultural shock returning to China.

The Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization return to China is the most interesting part of the book as they navigate their way through a feudal system and the many internal and external conflicts that engulf China. Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization gave me an understanding of the Boxer Rebellion and the political-military conflicts between China-Korea-Japan that still resonates today. This book gave me an understanding of 19th Century China and China in the 21st Century. ]]>
3.85 2011 Fortunate Sons
author: Liel Leibovitz
name: DanielL
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2021/07/07
date added: 2021/07/08
shelves:
review:
�Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization has been sitting on my bookshelf for a long time. I don’t know why I bought it so I kept putting off reading it. During the pandemic quarantine, with basically nothing else to read, I started to read Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization and I couldn’t stop reading it. For a non-fiction book, it had me captivated. I was afraid that it would be a dry history textbook. Instead, I found it to be an interesting, well-researched, and well written book about a subject that I knew very little about so I learned something new.

Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization is about 120 Chinese boys who were sent to the US to study and attend high school and colleges / universities during the 1800’s. As a reader, you are taken along with them in their cultural shock and total immersion in the American way of life. You are also taken along with them when they go through a reverse cultural shock returning to China.

The Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization return to China is the most interesting part of the book as they navigate their way through a feudal system and the many internal and external conflicts that engulf China. Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization gave me an understanding of the Boxer Rebellion and the political-military conflicts between China-Korea-Japan that still resonates today. This book gave me an understanding of 19th Century China and China in the 21st Century.
]]>
Those Who Wish Me Dead 40037431
When fourteen-year-old Jace Wilson witnesses a brutal murder, he's plunged into a new life, issued a false identity and hidden in a wilderness skills program for troubled teens. The plan is to get Jace off the grid while police find the two killers. The result is the start of a nightmare.

The killers, known as the Blackwell Brothers, are slaughtering anyone who gets in their way in a methodical quest to reach him. Now all that remains between them and the boy are Ethan and Allison Serbin, who run the wilderness survival program; Hannah Faber, who occupies a lonely fire lookout tower; and endless miles of desolate Montana mountains.

The clock is ticking, the mountains are burning, and those who wish Jace Wilson dead are no longer far behind.]]>
401 Michael Koryta DanielL 4 Those Who Wish Me Dead is the first novel that I’ve read by Michael Koryta. After the first few pages, I was totally engrossed in the story.

From the first pages, I knew this would a very different story. Two cold-blooded professional hitmen in the wilderness of Montana and Wyoming pursuing a protected witness who’s enrolled a school similar to “Outward Bound�. In additional to the cold-blooded killers, there’s also an uncontrolled wildfire that’s trying to kill everyone.

There are few things that didn’t make sense, but this is fiction and sometimes creativity and implausibility are necessary to tell a good story.

I thought the Blackwell brothers were the most memorable characters in the novel. The Blackwell brothers reminded me of the Tom Cruise character “Vincent� in the movie “Collateral�. They were professional cold-blooded killers who doggedly pursued their target without mercy or qualm. ]]>
4.35 2014 Those Who Wish Me Dead
author: Michael Koryta
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2021/06/25
date added: 2021/06/25
shelves:
review:
�Those Who Wish Me Dead is the first novel that I’ve read by Michael Koryta. After the first few pages, I was totally engrossed in the story.

From the first pages, I knew this would a very different story. Two cold-blooded professional hitmen in the wilderness of Montana and Wyoming pursuing a protected witness who’s enrolled a school similar to “Outward Bound�. In additional to the cold-blooded killers, there’s also an uncontrolled wildfire that’s trying to kill everyone.

There are few things that didn’t make sense, but this is fiction and sometimes creativity and implausibility are necessary to tell a good story.

I thought the Blackwell brothers were the most memorable characters in the novel. The Blackwell brothers reminded me of the Tom Cruise character “Vincent� in the movie “Collateral�. They were professional cold-blooded killers who doggedly pursued their target without mercy or qualm.
]]>
The Battle for Leyte Gulf 11652989 A New York Times Best Seller!Pulitzer-Prize-winner and bestselling author C. Vann Woodward recreates the gripping account of the battle for Leyte Gulf-the greatest naval battle of World War II and the largest engagement ever fought on the high seas. For the Japanese, it represented their supreme effort; they committed to action virtually every operational fighting ship on the lists of the Imperial Navy, including two powerful new battleships of the Yamato class. It also ended in their greatest defeat-and a tremendous victory for the United States Navy. Features a new introduction by Evan Thomas, author of Sea of Thunder.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.]]> 250 C. Vann Woodward DanielL 3 The Battle for Leyte Gulf by C. Vann Woodward is a well-written account of an incredible WW2 naval battle, but it is NOT a book for everyone. For me, I was overwhelmed by the book and, at times, I found it hard to follow.

I have little knowledge of naval strategy and tactics, and terminologies and jargon, which made it difficult for me to follow and appreciate all the details of the book. I was able to get the basic gist of the naval battle for Leyte Gulf, but that’s about all I got out it.

I read Kindle version of The Battle for Leyte Gulf. The maps in the Kindle version are difficult, if not impossible, to read which made it difficult for me to clearly understand the movement and positioning of ships and planes. ]]>
4.06 1947 The Battle for Leyte Gulf
author: C. Vann Woodward
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1947
rating: 3
read at: 2021/06/19
date added: 2021/06/19
shelves:
review:
�The Battle for Leyte Gulf by C. Vann Woodward is a well-written account of an incredible WW2 naval battle, but it is NOT a book for everyone. For me, I was overwhelmed by the book and, at times, I found it hard to follow.

I have little knowledge of naval strategy and tactics, and terminologies and jargon, which made it difficult for me to follow and appreciate all the details of the book. I was able to get the basic gist of the naval battle for Leyte Gulf, but that’s about all I got out it.

I read Kindle version of The Battle for Leyte Gulf. The maps in the Kindle version are difficult, if not impossible, to read which made it difficult for me to clearly understand the movement and positioning of ships and planes.
]]>
<![CDATA[Win (Windsor Horne Lockwood III, #1)]]> 54013227 The new novel from Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author and creator of The Stranger on Netflix.

From a #1 New York Times bestselling author comes this thrilling story that shows what happens when a dead man's secrets fall into the hands of vigilante antihero—drawing him down a dangerous road.

Over twenty years ago, the heiress Patricia Lockwood was abducted during a robbery of her family's estate, then locked inside an isolated cabin for months. Patricia escaped, but so did her captors � and the items stolen from her family were never recovered.

Until now. On the Upper West Side, a recluse is found murdered in his penthouse apartment, alongside two objects of note: a stolen Vermeer painting and a leather suitcase bearing the initials WHL3. For the first time in years, the authorities have a lead � not only on Patricia's kidnapping, but also on another FBI cold case � with the suitcase and painting both pointing them toward one man.

Windsor Horne Lockwood III � or Win, as his few friends call him � doesn't know how his suitcase and his family's stolen painting ended up with a dead man. But his interest is piqued, especially when the FBI tells him that the man who kidnapped his cousin was also behind an act of domestic terrorism � and that the conspirators may still be at large. The two cases have baffled the FBI for decades, but Win has three things the FBI doesn't: a personal connection to the case; an ungodly fortune; and his own unique brand of justice.]]>
385 Harlan Coben 1538748266 DanielL 5 Harlan Coben; and I’ve never been disappointed (except for his very first one). What makes me a loyal reader of Harlan Coben is that every novel is different and Win is no exception. Coben has a conversational writing style that makes for good story telling with enough “twist-and-turns� to keep the reader engaged and surprised. It’s the perfect beach or vacation novel.

Windsor “Win� Lockwood is not a new character. He’s been a secondary character in the Myron Bolitar series, but this time, he’s the main character. There are other new or emerging characters like Win’s daughter Ema who I expect will become a major character in Coben’s future novels.

I highly recommend this novel. I would read it again in a few years. I don’t know if this novel will age very well since it’s steeped in current culture and lingo. In 15-20 years, readers might be confused and mystified by today’s culture. ]]>
4.30 2021 Win (Windsor Horne Lockwood III, #1)
author: Harlan Coben
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2021/06/12
date added: 2021/06/13
shelves:
review:
I’ve read every novel (except those written for young readers) by Harlan Coben; and I’ve never been disappointed (except for his very first one). What makes me a loyal reader of Harlan Coben is that every novel is different and Win is no exception. Coben has a conversational writing style that makes for good story telling with enough “twist-and-turns� to keep the reader engaged and surprised. It’s the perfect beach or vacation novel.

Windsor “Win� Lockwood is not a new character. He’s been a secondary character in the Myron Bolitar series, but this time, he’s the main character. There are other new or emerging characters like Win’s daughter Ema who I expect will become a major character in Coben’s future novels.

I highly recommend this novel. I would read it again in a few years. I don’t know if this novel will age very well since it’s steeped in current culture and lingo. In 15-20 years, readers might be confused and mystified by today’s culture.
]]>
<![CDATA[Normandy '44: D-Day and the Epic 77-Day Battle for France]]> 43839181 A history of World War II’s Operation Overlord, from the campaign’s planning to its execution, as Allied forces battled to take France back from Germany.D-Day, June 6, 1944, and the seventy-six days of bitter fighting in Normandy that followed the Allied landing, have become the defining episode of World War II in the west—the object of books, films, television series, and documentaries. Yet as familiar as it is, as James Holland makes clear in his definitive history, many parts of the Overlord campaign, as it was known, are still shrouded in myth and assumed knowledge.Drawing freshly on widespread archives and on the testimonies of eye-witnesses, Holland relates the extraordinary planning that made Allied victory in France possible; indeed, the story of how hundreds of thousands of men, and mountains of materiel, were transported across the English Channel, is as dramatic a human achievement as any battlefield exploit. The brutal landings on the five beaches and subsequent battles across the plains and through the lanes and hedgerows of Normandy—a campaign that, in terms of daily casualties, was worse than any in World War I—come vividly to life in conferences where the strategic decisions of Eisenhower, Rommel, Montgomery, and other commanders were made, and through the memories of paratrooper Lieutenant Dick Winters of Easy Company, British corporal and tanker Reg Spittles, Thunderbolt pilot Archie Maltbie, German ordnance officer Hans Heinze, French resistance leader Robert Leblanc, and many others.For both sides, the challenges were enormous. The Allies confronted a disciplined German army stretched to its limit, which nonetheless caused tactics to be adjusted on the fly. Ultimately ingenuity, determination, and immense materiel strength—delivered with operational brilliance—made the difference. A stirring narrative by a pre-eminent historian, Normandy â€�44 offers important new perspective on one of history’s most dramatic military engagements and is an invaluable addition to the literature of war.Praise for Normandy â€�44An Amazon Best Book of the Month (History)An Amazon Best History Book of the Year“Detail and scope are the twin strengths of Normandy â€�44.Ěý.Ěý.Ěý. Mr. Holland effectively balances human drama with the science of war as the Allies knew it.â€� —Jonathan W. Jordan, Wall Street Journal“A superb account of the invasions that deserves immense praise.Ěý.Ěý.Ěý. To convey the human drama of Normandy requires great knowledge and sensitivity. Holland has both in spades.â€� —Times (UK)]]> 805 James Holland 0802147097 DanielL 5 Normandy '44: D-Day and the Epic 77-Day Battle for France by James Holland stands out as the most detailed and comprehensive book about the days leading up to D-Day and the 77 days of brutal fighting afterwards. While reading the book, I had many “a-haâ€� movements when certain events, incidents, and personalities during D-Day that I had known about were put into context by James Holland.

What makes Normandy '44: D-Day and the Epic 77-Day Battle for France so unique is that James Holland includes the air, naval, and ground contributions of all allied forces (British, Canadians, Polish, USA, France, the French Resistance etc.). What is even more special about this book is that he also gives the view of the Germans.

The conflicts in leadership and command-and-control that plagued the Allies and the Germans are well presented in the book. The book also addressed the popular misconceptions that I had about the German military, e.g. better trained and motivated troops, superior tanks.

I knew the initial invasion was brutal, but I must admit that I never truly understood how brutal the fighting was even after the Allies gained a foothold at Normandy. It was simply a killing zone. Troops on both sides were used as cannon fodder.

Although the book is well written and edited, I would NOT recommend it for the casual WW2 history reader. At times, I found myself overwhelmed by the information. I tried to follow the troop movements, but the maps in the Kindle version were not very detailed which I found frustrating. ]]>
4.52 2019 Normandy '44: D-Day and the Epic 77-Day Battle for France
author: James Holland
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2021/06/03
date added: 2021/06/03
shelves:
review:
I’ve read numerous books about; and I’ve watched countless documentaries, TV and movie dramas about D-Day; but Normandy '44: D-Day and the Epic 77-Day Battle for France by James Holland stands out as the most detailed and comprehensive book about the days leading up to D-Day and the 77 days of brutal fighting afterwards. While reading the book, I had many “a-ha� movements when certain events, incidents, and personalities during D-Day that I had known about were put into context by James Holland.

What makes Normandy '44: D-Day and the Epic 77-Day Battle for France so unique is that James Holland includes the air, naval, and ground contributions of all allied forces (British, Canadians, Polish, USA, France, the French Resistance etc.). What is even more special about this book is that he also gives the view of the Germans.

The conflicts in leadership and command-and-control that plagued the Allies and the Germans are well presented in the book. The book also addressed the popular misconceptions that I had about the German military, e.g. better trained and motivated troops, superior tanks.

I knew the initial invasion was brutal, but I must admit that I never truly understood how brutal the fighting was even after the Allies gained a foothold at Normandy. It was simply a killing zone. Troops on both sides were used as cannon fodder.

Although the book is well written and edited, I would NOT recommend it for the casual WW2 history reader. At times, I found myself overwhelmed by the information. I tried to follow the troop movements, but the maps in the Kindle version were not very detailed which I found frustrating.
]]>
<![CDATA[The Highwayman: A Longmire Story (Walt Longmire Mysteries)]]> 28317015 Sheriff Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear embark on their latest adventure in this novella set in the world of Craig Johnson’s New York Times bestselling Longmire series—the basis for the hit dramaĚýLongmire,Ěýnow on NetflixCraig Johnson's new novel, The Western Star,Ěýwill be available from Viking in Fall 2017. Ěý When Wyoming highway patrolman Rosey Wayman is transferred to the beautiful and imposing landscape of the Wind River Canyon, an area the troopers refer to as no-man's-land because of the lack of radio communication, she starts receiving “officer needs assistanceâ€� calls. The problem? They're coming from Bobby Womack, a legendary Arapaho patrolman who met a fiery death in the canyon almost a half-century ago. With an investigation that spans this world and the next, Sheriff Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear take on a case that pits them against a The Highwayman.]]> 202 Craig Johnson 0735220913 DanielL 4
I’ve got to admit that I was pleasant surprised by “The Highwayman�. It is a short and entertaining novel with an unusual storyline involving Native American culture and mysticism in today’s modern world.

As a fan of the “Longmire� TV series, I found myself imagining the TV characters in the novel.

I will need to read a few more of Craig Johnson’s ”Longmire� novels before making any final judgment as to whether or not they are formulated pulp fiction or good storytelling novels. Hopefully, they are all good storytelling novels. ]]>
4.44 2016 The Highwayman: A Longmire Story (Walt Longmire Mysteries)
author: Craig Johnson
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2021/04/22
date added: 2021/04/24
shelves:
review:
Even though I enjoyed the “Longmire� TV series, I avoided reading any of Craig Johnson’s novel because I thought his “Longmire� novels would be similar to those written by Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour, i.e., formulated characters and storylines regurgitated over and over again. When Amazon recommended “The Highwayman� to me, I decided to buy it since it was on-sale and it was a short novel.

I’ve got to admit that I was pleasant surprised by “The Highwayman�. It is a short and entertaining novel with an unusual storyline involving Native American culture and mysticism in today’s modern world.

As a fan of the “Longmire� TV series, I found myself imagining the TV characters in the novel.

I will need to read a few more of Craig Johnson’s ”Longmire� novels before making any final judgment as to whether or not they are formulated pulp fiction or good storytelling novels. Hopefully, they are all good storytelling novels.
]]>
<![CDATA[The Thin Red Line (The World War II Trilogy)]]> 38212727 "When compared to the fact that he might very well be dead by this time tomorrow, whether he was courageous or not today was pointless, empty. When compared to the fact that he might be dead tomorrow, everything was pointless. Life was pointless. Whether he looked at a tree or not was pointless. It just didn't make any difference. It was pointless to the tree, it was pointless to every man in his outfit, pointless to everybody in the whole world. Who cared? It was not pointless only to him; and when he was dead, when he ceased to exist, it would be pointless to him too. More important: Not only would it be pointless, it would have been pointless, all along."

Such is the ultimate significance of war in The Thin Red Line (1962), James Jones's fictional account of the battle between American and Japanese troops on the island of Guadalcanal. The narrative shifts effortlessly among multiple viewpoints within C-for-Charlie Company, from commanding officer Capt. James Stein, his psychotic first sergeant Eddie Welsh, and the young privates they send into battle. The descriptions of combat conditions—and the mental states it induces—are unflinchingly realistic, including the dialog (in which a certain word Norman Mailer rendered as "fug" 15 years earlier in The Naked and the Dead appears properly spelled on numerous occasions). This is more than a classic of combat fiction; it is one of the most significant explorations of male identity in American literature, establishing Jones as a novelist of the caliber of Herman Melville and Stephen Crane.]]>
526 James Jones DanielL 2 The Thin Red Line since World War 2 historical fictions are one of my favorite genre. I ended up reading 90% of The Thin Red Line before waving the white flag and giving up.

A few years ago, I read a memoir of a frontline WW2 combat soldier who described his experience as hours, days, weeks of boredom interrupted by 20 seconds of sheer terror. This description came to my mind while reading The Thin Red Line.

The first 1/3 of the novel is a bit mundane and tedious as James Jones introduces the many characters and their personalities. The storyline is also slow because the unit is on a ship transport and when they arrive at Guadalcanal, they are the relief for the USMC who were in the initial invasion. The storyline gets even slower when the unit is designated as “reserves.� With no training or combat to keep them busy, some of the men get into boredom induced mischief like unauthorized sightseeing walks in the jungle, digging up bodies looking for souvenirs, and raiding supplies from other units. The homosexual acts, the masturbation, the sexual arousal and perversion were also the result of boredom.

When the “reserves� become the frontline assault troops, the novel becomes a little bit more interesting. I found the topography of the battle scene and the many characters a bit confusing and difficult to follow. It would of been helpful if there was a “map� to follow the storyline.

The Thin Red Line has NO likable or sympathetic characters. I didn’t care if the characters lived or died. Since I didn’t care about the characters, I found myself not caring about their story, i.e., The Thin Red Line.

I read the Kindle version. I found some typographical errors. Most of the errors were obvious, but I found them distracting as I sometimes had to re-read the errors to make sure that they were errors. ]]>
4.16 1962 The Thin Red Line (The World War II Trilogy)
author: James Jones
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1962
rating: 2
read at: 2021/04/19
date added: 2021/04/19
shelves:
review:
I had high expectation for The Thin Red Line since World War 2 historical fictions are one of my favorite genre. I ended up reading 90% of The Thin Red Line before waving the white flag and giving up.

A few years ago, I read a memoir of a frontline WW2 combat soldier who described his experience as hours, days, weeks of boredom interrupted by 20 seconds of sheer terror. This description came to my mind while reading The Thin Red Line.

The first 1/3 of the novel is a bit mundane and tedious as James Jones introduces the many characters and their personalities. The storyline is also slow because the unit is on a ship transport and when they arrive at Guadalcanal, they are the relief for the USMC who were in the initial invasion. The storyline gets even slower when the unit is designated as “reserves.� With no training or combat to keep them busy, some of the men get into boredom induced mischief like unauthorized sightseeing walks in the jungle, digging up bodies looking for souvenirs, and raiding supplies from other units. The homosexual acts, the masturbation, the sexual arousal and perversion were also the result of boredom.

When the “reserves� become the frontline assault troops, the novel becomes a little bit more interesting. I found the topography of the battle scene and the many characters a bit confusing and difficult to follow. It would of been helpful if there was a “map� to follow the storyline.

The Thin Red Line has NO likable or sympathetic characters. I didn’t care if the characters lived or died. Since I didn’t care about the characters, I found myself not caring about their story, i.e., The Thin Red Line.

I read the Kindle version. I found some typographical errors. Most of the errors were obvious, but I found them distracting as I sometimes had to re-read the errors to make sure that they were errors.
]]>
<![CDATA[The Law of Innocence (The Lincoln Lawyer, #6; Harry Bosch Universe #35)]]> 51810799
Mickey elects to defend himself and must strategize and build his defense from his jail cell in the Twin Towers Correctional Center in downtown Los Angeles, all the while looking over his shoulder--as an officer of the court he is an instant target.

Mickey knows he's been framed. Now, with the help of his trusted team, he has to figure out who has plotted to destroy his life and why. Then he has to go before a judge and jury and prove his innocence.]]>
432 Michael Connelly 0316498025 DanielL 5
Prolific novelist like Michael Connelly oftentimes become “pulp fiction� authors as they churn out novels with the same storylines to the point that all their novels become similar and predictable. So far, that hasn’t happened to Michael Connelly, and “The Law of Innocence� is the proof.

“The Law of Innocence� is a novel that kept me up late past my bedtime. It had me hooked by its storyline, its characters, and Connelly’s writing style.

When I finish a book and I review it, the one question that I ask myself is “Would I be able to re-read the book in 5-10-15 years and still enjoy it like it was the first time?� For “The Law of Innocence�, my answer was YES. This is one of my criteria for giving it a 5-STAR rating. ]]>
4.36 2008 The Law of Innocence (The Lincoln Lawyer, #6; Harry Bosch Universe #35)
author: Michael Connelly
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2021/03/13
date added: 2021/03/13
shelves:
review:
I’m an avid reader of Michael Connelly’s non-fiction books. I’ve read all of them. Some of his novels are OK, but most are very good. “The Law of Innocence� is one of his very good ones.

Prolific novelist like Michael Connelly oftentimes become “pulp fiction� authors as they churn out novels with the same storylines to the point that all their novels become similar and predictable. So far, that hasn’t happened to Michael Connelly, and “The Law of Innocence� is the proof.

“The Law of Innocence� is a novel that kept me up late past my bedtime. It had me hooked by its storyline, its characters, and Connelly’s writing style.

When I finish a book and I review it, the one question that I ask myself is “Would I be able to re-read the book in 5-10-15 years and still enjoy it like it was the first time?� For “The Law of Innocence�, my answer was YES. This is one of my criteria for giving it a 5-STAR rating.
]]>
A Promised Land 55361205
In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency—a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil.

Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the nation’s highest office.

Reflecting on the presidency, he offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential power, as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinet, wrestles with a global financial crisis, takes the measure of Vladimir Putin, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act, clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall Street reform, responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout, and authorizes Operation Neptune’s Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden.

A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and introspective—the story of one man’s bet with history, the faith of a community organizer tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a Black American, bearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of “hope and change,� and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the forces that opposed him at home and abroad, open about how living in the White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to reveal self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that inside the great, ongoing American experiment, progress is always possible.

This beautifully written and powerful book captures Barack Obama’s conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built together, day by day.]]>
768 Barack Obama 1524763187 DanielL 5
That being said, A PROMISED LAND did give me an understanding why Trump was elected. Trump used a similar marketing strategy and voter appeal as Obama. Sadly, Trump did not have the same character, leadership, management skills, empathy, intelligence, etc. as Obama.

If you’re interested in the backstory of the Obama era, domestic and world politics, and the humanity of Obama, A PROMISED LAND is a must-read, well-written book.]]>
4.32 2020 A Promised Land
author: Barack Obama
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/02/21
date added: 2021/02/22
shelves:
review:
I was reading A PROMISED LAND when the insurrection happened at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. I was sad and dismayed at what happened, but A PROMISED LAND gave me renewed hope that the last four years of Trump was just a glitch. A country that could elevate a man like Barack Obama to be POTUS is capable of doing it again.

That being said, A PROMISED LAND did give me an understanding why Trump was elected. Trump used a similar marketing strategy and voter appeal as Obama. Sadly, Trump did not have the same character, leadership, management skills, empathy, intelligence, etc. as Obama.

If you’re interested in the backstory of the Obama era, domestic and world politics, and the humanity of Obama, A PROMISED LAND is a must-read, well-written book.
]]>
<![CDATA[The Winds of War (The Henry Family, #1)]]> 8225077
Wouk's spellbinding narrative captures the tide of global events, as well as all the drama, romance, heroism, and tragedy of World War II, as it immerses us in the lives of a single American family drawn into the very center of the war's maelstrom.

The Winds of War and its sequel War and Remembrance stand as the crowning achievement of one of America's most celebrated storytellers.]]>
898 Herman Wouk DanielL 4 The Winds of War is one of few novels that I’ve re-read. l first read the novel when it was published in the early 70’s. I also watched the excellent TV mini-series when it was first broadcasted. Even though it’s been 40+ years, I still remembered some of the novel and TV mini-series.

I recently re-watched the TV mini-series which prompted me to re-read the novel. I should have first re-read the novel before watching the TV mini-series. The TV mini-series faithfully follows the novel so re-reading the novel was like re-reading yesterday’s newspaper. I sometimes got bored with the novel since the TV mini-series was so fresh in my memory.

WW2 historical fictions are one of my favorite genre and The Winds of War is the reason for it. There are better WW2 historical fictions, but The Winds of War and War and Remembrance are excellent stories about love, war, atrocities, politics, race, religion, faith, etc. during the time when the world came to brink of total destruction. It’s the individual stories of the Henry family that make them seem to be real and, as a reader, you become invested in them.

The Winds of War did have something that I did not recall when I first read the novel; nor was it part of the TV mini-series. Throughout the novel, author Herman Wouk included chapters from a post-war memoir by fictional German General Armin von Roon entitled “World Empire Lost�. The fictional German General Roon is a character from The Winds of War.

The fictional German General Roon defends Nazi Germany’s political and military conquest as part of a New World Order. He downplays the genocide committed against the Jews as similar to what the US committed against its Native Americans; Spain’s genocide against the Aztecs and Incas; and the British against the people of India. General Roon defends Hitler’s decision to attack Russia and to fight a two-front war. He blames the outbreak of WW2 on the British and faults the US (specifically FDR) for emboldening Britain and Russia to fight on as the US waits on the sideline; then the US swoops in and claims victory after everyone else is battered and beaten. Because Britain and the US were allies with Russia to defeat Nazi Germany, General Roon blames them for unleashing Bolshevism on post-war Europe and the rest of the world.

I read the Kindle version of The Winds of War. As with most early novels converted to digital, there are some typographical errors, e.g., Victor Henry’s first name is occasional spelled “Victory� Henry. The typographical errors are not that numerous or significant that it would drive the Kindle reader to become a crazed proofreading critic. ]]>
4.60 1971 The Winds of War (The Henry Family, #1)
author: Herman Wouk
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.60
book published: 1971
rating: 4
read at: 2020/12/28
date added: 2020/12/29
shelves:
review:
The Winds of War is one of few novels that I’ve re-read. l first read the novel when it was published in the early 70’s. I also watched the excellent TV mini-series when it was first broadcasted. Even though it’s been 40+ years, I still remembered some of the novel and TV mini-series.

I recently re-watched the TV mini-series which prompted me to re-read the novel. I should have first re-read the novel before watching the TV mini-series. The TV mini-series faithfully follows the novel so re-reading the novel was like re-reading yesterday’s newspaper. I sometimes got bored with the novel since the TV mini-series was so fresh in my memory.

WW2 historical fictions are one of my favorite genre and The Winds of War is the reason for it. There are better WW2 historical fictions, but The Winds of War and War and Remembrance are excellent stories about love, war, atrocities, politics, race, religion, faith, etc. during the time when the world came to brink of total destruction. It’s the individual stories of the Henry family that make them seem to be real and, as a reader, you become invested in them.

The Winds of War did have something that I did not recall when I first read the novel; nor was it part of the TV mini-series. Throughout the novel, author Herman Wouk included chapters from a post-war memoir by fictional German General Armin von Roon entitled “World Empire Lost�. The fictional German General Roon is a character from The Winds of War.

The fictional German General Roon defends Nazi Germany’s political and military conquest as part of a New World Order. He downplays the genocide committed against the Jews as similar to what the US committed against its Native Americans; Spain’s genocide against the Aztecs and Incas; and the British against the people of India. General Roon defends Hitler’s decision to attack Russia and to fight a two-front war. He blames the outbreak of WW2 on the British and faults the US (specifically FDR) for emboldening Britain and Russia to fight on as the US waits on the sideline; then the US swoops in and claims victory after everyone else is battered and beaten. Because Britain and the US were allies with Russia to defeat Nazi Germany, General Roon blames them for unleashing Bolshevism on post-war Europe and the rest of the world.

I read the Kindle version of The Winds of War. As with most early novels converted to digital, there are some typographical errors, e.g., Victor Henry’s first name is occasional spelled “Victory� Henry. The typographical errors are not that numerous or significant that it would drive the Kindle reader to become a crazed proofreading critic.
]]>
<![CDATA[Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway]]> 54849399 On the morning of June 4, 1942, doom sailed on Midway. Hoping to put itself within striking distance of Hawaii and California, the Japanese navy planned an ambush that would obliterate the remnants of the American Pacific fleet. On paper, the Americans had no chance of winning. They had fewer ships, slower fighters, and almost no battle experience. But because their codebreakers knew what was coming, the American navy was able to prepare an ambush of its own. Over two days of savage battle, American sailors and pilots broke the spine of the Japanese war machine. The United States prevailed against momentous odds; never again did Japan advance. In stunning detail, Walter Lord, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Day of Infamy and A Night to Remember, tells the story of one of the greatest upsets in naval history.

“Graphic and realistic . . . not an impersonalized account of moves on the chessboard of war, [but] a story of individual people facing crucial problems.� —The New York Times]]>
306 Walter Lord DanielL 5 Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway by Walter Lord, I realized that I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. Lord’s research and writing style are superb. Although I already knew many of the historical facts, the way that Lord writes about those facts, the individual stories, the perspectives of the American and the Japanese make this book more interesting, more scholarly, more revealing, and more in-depth. At times, I felt as if I was reading a War College textbook about the tactics and strategies of both navies in the battle of Midway. Sometimes, the tactics and strategies went beyond my understanding and comprehension.

I read the Kindle version of Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway. The only thing that I didn’t like was the lack of maps. Even if it did have maps, maps on the Kindle are never easy to read. About half way through the book, I became confused as to the position of all the ships and airplanes. I stopped and searched YouTube and found three animated battle map videos on THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY by Montemayor. Like the book Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway, the videos have the American and the Japanese perspectives of the battle. Those three videos really helped me better understand and visualize what I was reading. I highly recommend watching those three videos if you need maps showing the position of the two opposing sea and air forces. ]]>
4.57 1967 Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway
author: Walter Lord
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.57
book published: 1967
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/28
date added: 2020/10/28
shelves:
review:
I thought I knew about the battle of Midway. I’ve watched numerous documentaries, movies, and TV shows; and I’ve read numerous history books, memoirs, historical fictions about the battle of Midway. When I read Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway by Walter Lord, I realized that I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. Lord’s research and writing style are superb. Although I already knew many of the historical facts, the way that Lord writes about those facts, the individual stories, the perspectives of the American and the Japanese make this book more interesting, more scholarly, more revealing, and more in-depth. At times, I felt as if I was reading a War College textbook about the tactics and strategies of both navies in the battle of Midway. Sometimes, the tactics and strategies went beyond my understanding and comprehension.

I read the Kindle version of Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway. The only thing that I didn’t like was the lack of maps. Even if it did have maps, maps on the Kindle are never easy to read. About half way through the book, I became confused as to the position of all the ships and airplanes. I stopped and searched YouTube and found three animated battle map videos on THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY by Montemayor. Like the book Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway, the videos have the American and the Japanese perspectives of the battle. Those three videos really helped me better understand and visualize what I was reading. I highly recommend watching those three videos if you need maps showing the position of the two opposing sea and air forces.
]]>
<![CDATA[The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage]]> 39332599 This fascinating account of how two young Americans turned traitor during the Cold War is an “absolutely smashing real-life spy story� (The New York Times Book Review).

At the height of the Cold War, some of the nation’s most precious secrets passed through a CIA contractor in Southern California. Only a handful of employees were cleared to handle the intelligence that came through the Black Vault. One of them was Christopher John Boyce, a hard-partying genius with a sky-high IQ, a passion for falconry, and little love for his country. Security at the Vault was so lax, Boyce couldn’t help but be tempted. And when he gave in, the fate of the free world would hang in the balance.
Ěý
With the help of his best friend, Andrew Daulton Lee, a drug dealer with connections south of the border, Boyce began stealing classified documents and selling them to the Soviet embassy in Mexico City. It was an audacious act of treason, committed by two spoiled young men who were nearly always drunk, stoned, or both—and were about to find themselves caught in the middle of a fight between the CIA and the KGB.
Ěý
This Edgar Award–winning book was the inspiration for the critically acclaimed film starring Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn—a true story as thrilling as any dreamed up by Ian Fleming or John le Carré. Before Edward Snowden, there were Boyce and Lee, two of the most unlikely spies in the history of the Cold War.
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432 Robert Lindsey 1504038355 DanielL 3
Since I knew guys like Chris (Boyce) and Daulton (Lee), their upbringing and high school escapades were no revelation to me. It was the typical upbringing of white privilege youths who reveled in the 1970’s drug culture of southern California. As white privilege youths, someone like Daulton knew how to take advantage of the criminal justice system. He was given numerous breaks after another after committing drug offenses. Daulton’s numerous breaks really highlighted what it means to be “white privilege� within the criminal justice system.

I understood Chris’s conflict with the US government. I too had the same conflicts. We grew up with the Vietnam War, race riots, Watergate, etc. The social unrest is similar to what’s happening in 2020. I don’t think, however, that Chris was ever truly concerned about current events, politics or social justice

Although I have some understanding of Chris, Chris and Daulton reminded me of the duo from the movie DUMB AND DUMBER and the drug crazed comedy duo of Cheech & Chong. The fact that Chris could get access to Top Secret information is truly astounding. It also brings new meaning to “white privilege� and using family influence to secure a highly classified job regardless of qualification.

The first half of the book wasn’t very interesting to me. The second half when they got caught and convicted of spying was much more interesting. The way that Daulton got caught as a spy is comical and stupid.

After they got caught, Chris and Daulton tried to blame the other. Chris tried to spin his spying as being idealism and a protest against US involvement in Vietnam and other countries. He tried to portray himself as “whistleblower�. His claim of being a “whistleblower� was more of a criminal defense strategy and a psychological defense mechanism knowing that what he did was traitorous. Chris only embraced being a “whistleblower� and a “martyr� after he was caught.

Daulton tried to spin his spying by claiming he was recruited by the CIA to spread disinformation to the Russians.

Chris was never a “whistleblower� or idealist like Reality Winner, Edward Snowden, or Bradley (Chelsea) Manning. Instead, Chris and Daulton sold US secrets to the Russians for MONEY to finance their illicit drug habit and drug pushing business. They also enjoyed the fantasy of being spies. Chris knew that what he was doing was wrong and that he would eventually get caught. He was so caught up in the spy game that he did not know how to stop.

In a nutshell, Chris and Daulton were just two greedy and immature guys who were looking for quick and easy money. They didn’t care if they were traitors or the consequences to their country. It was all about the MONEY.

Would I re-read this book in 10-20 years? I highly doubt it. Chris and Daulton were just two morons who lived the life of white privilege youths looking for quick and easy money. I think the prison sentences that they both received were justified. ]]>
4.00 1979 The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage
author: Robert Lindsey
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1979
rating: 3
read at: 2020/10/09
date added: 2020/10/10
shelves:
review:
I am two years younger than Christopher John Boyce (The Falcon) and Andrew Daulton Lee (The Snowman). I knew guys like them in high school. When they got caught and convicted, I was a freshman in college so I didn’t pay much attention to their case. When the movie “The Falcon and the Snowman� was released, I never saw it and I still haven’t. When Amazon offered the Kindle version of the book at a deep discount, I decided to buy and read it.

Since I knew guys like Chris (Boyce) and Daulton (Lee), their upbringing and high school escapades were no revelation to me. It was the typical upbringing of white privilege youths who reveled in the 1970’s drug culture of southern California. As white privilege youths, someone like Daulton knew how to take advantage of the criminal justice system. He was given numerous breaks after another after committing drug offenses. Daulton’s numerous breaks really highlighted what it means to be “white privilege� within the criminal justice system.

I understood Chris’s conflict with the US government. I too had the same conflicts. We grew up with the Vietnam War, race riots, Watergate, etc. The social unrest is similar to what’s happening in 2020. I don’t think, however, that Chris was ever truly concerned about current events, politics or social justice

Although I have some understanding of Chris, Chris and Daulton reminded me of the duo from the movie DUMB AND DUMBER and the drug crazed comedy duo of Cheech & Chong. The fact that Chris could get access to Top Secret information is truly astounding. It also brings new meaning to “white privilege� and using family influence to secure a highly classified job regardless of qualification.

The first half of the book wasn’t very interesting to me. The second half when they got caught and convicted of spying was much more interesting. The way that Daulton got caught as a spy is comical and stupid.

After they got caught, Chris and Daulton tried to blame the other. Chris tried to spin his spying as being idealism and a protest against US involvement in Vietnam and other countries. He tried to portray himself as “whistleblower�. His claim of being a “whistleblower� was more of a criminal defense strategy and a psychological defense mechanism knowing that what he did was traitorous. Chris only embraced being a “whistleblower� and a “martyr� after he was caught.

Daulton tried to spin his spying by claiming he was recruited by the CIA to spread disinformation to the Russians.

Chris was never a “whistleblower� or idealist like Reality Winner, Edward Snowden, or Bradley (Chelsea) Manning. Instead, Chris and Daulton sold US secrets to the Russians for MONEY to finance their illicit drug habit and drug pushing business. They also enjoyed the fantasy of being spies. Chris knew that what he was doing was wrong and that he would eventually get caught. He was so caught up in the spy game that he did not know how to stop.

In a nutshell, Chris and Daulton were just two greedy and immature guys who were looking for quick and easy money. They didn’t care if they were traitors or the consequences to their country. It was all about the MONEY.

Would I re-read this book in 10-20 years? I highly doubt it. Chris and Daulton were just two morons who lived the life of white privilege youths looking for quick and easy money. I think the prison sentences that they both received were justified.
]]>
<![CDATA[To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor]]> 52956654 The New York Times bestselling master of military historical fiction tells the story of Pearl Harbor as only he can in the first novel of a gripping new series set in World War II’s Pacific theater.

In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt watches uneasily as the world heads rapidly down a dangerous path. The Japanese have waged an aggressive campaign against China, and they now begin to expand their ambitions to other parts of Asia. As their expansion efforts grow bolder, their enemies know that Japan’s ultimate goal is total conquest over the region, especially when the Japanese align themselves with Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy, who wage their own war of conquest across Europe.

Meanwhile, the British stand nearly alone against Hitler, and there is pressure in Washington to transfer America’s powerful fleet of warships from Hawaii to the Atlantic to join the fight against German U-boats that are devastating shipping. But despite deep concerns about weakening the Pacific fleet, no one believes that the main base at Pearl Harbor is under any real threat.

Told through the eyes of widely diverse characters, this story looks at all sides of the drama and puts the reader squarely in the middle. In Washington, Secretary of State Cordell Hull must balance his own concerns between President Roosevelt and the Japanese ambassador, Kichisaburo Nomura, who is little more than a puppet of his own government. In Japan, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto wins skeptical approval for his outrageous plans in the Pacific, yet he understands more than anyone that an attack on Pearl Harbor will start a war that Japan cannot win. In Hawaii, Commander Joseph Rochefort’s job as an accomplished intelligence officer is to decode radio signals and detect the location of the Japanese fleet, but when the airwaves suddenly go silent, no one has any idea why. And from a small Depression-ravaged town, nineteen-year-old Tommy Biggs sees the Navy as his chance to escape and happily accepts his assignment, every sailor’s dream: the battleship USS Arizona.

With you-are-there immediacy, Shaara opens up the mysteries of just how Japan—a small, deeply militarist nation—could launch one of history’s most devastating surprise attacks. In this story of innocence, heroism, sacrifice, and unfathomable blindness, Shaara’s gift for storytelling uses these familiar wartime themes to shine a light on the personal, the painful, the tragic, and the thrilling—and on a crucial part of history we must never forget.]]>
524 Jeff Shaara DanielL 3 To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor in my Amazon Kindle recommendation feed, I immediately purchased it. I then realized that I had previously read The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War II by Jeff Shaara, a novel which didn’t impress me. Since I had purchased To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor, I decided to read it thinking it might be better than The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War II. I was wrong. To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor left me with the same “meh� feeling while reading it.

To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor was like reading the movie screenplay for “Tora! Tora! Tora!�; “In Harm’s Way�; and several other Hollywood “Pearl Harbor� movies, i.e., if you’ve seen the movie, you get the gist of the novel. To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor simply takes actual people, events, and incidents and rehashes them with fictional dialogue. The novel doesn’t add anything new or significant about the days leading up to Pearl Harbor.

When Jeff Shaara writes about Tommy Biggs (E2) assigned to USS Arizona and other crew members, I found that storyline to be interesting. When he writes about Cordell Hull (US Secretary of State); Isoroku Yamamoto (Japanese Naval Admiral); and other well-known historical figures, my interest waned since he was re-telling well-known stories about them.

If you’re totally unfamiliar with what happened leading up to Pearl Harbor, you might find To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor to be interesting and educational. There are, however, numerous other non-fiction WW2 history books and historical fictions that are much better written, more interesting, more detailed, and more educational. If you are a fan of historical WW2 fiction novels like me, I suggest reading the novels of W.E.B. Griffin, Upton Sinclair, Herman Wouk, James Jones, Norman Mailer, Irwin Shaw, etc.]]>
4.53 2020 To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor
author: Jeff Shaara
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/09/10
date added: 2020/09/10
shelves:
review:
Historical fiction is my favorite genre of literature. I especially enjoy those set during WW2. When I saw To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor in my Amazon Kindle recommendation feed, I immediately purchased it. I then realized that I had previously read The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War II by Jeff Shaara, a novel which didn’t impress me. Since I had purchased To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor, I decided to read it thinking it might be better than The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War II. I was wrong. To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor left me with the same “meh� feeling while reading it.

To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor was like reading the movie screenplay for “Tora! Tora! Tora!�; “In Harm’s Way�; and several other Hollywood “Pearl Harbor� movies, i.e., if you’ve seen the movie, you get the gist of the novel. To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor simply takes actual people, events, and incidents and rehashes them with fictional dialogue. The novel doesn’t add anything new or significant about the days leading up to Pearl Harbor.

When Jeff Shaara writes about Tommy Biggs (E2) assigned to USS Arizona and other crew members, I found that storyline to be interesting. When he writes about Cordell Hull (US Secretary of State); Isoroku Yamamoto (Japanese Naval Admiral); and other well-known historical figures, my interest waned since he was re-telling well-known stories about them.

If you’re totally unfamiliar with what happened leading up to Pearl Harbor, you might find To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor to be interesting and educational. There are, however, numerous other non-fiction WW2 history books and historical fictions that are much better written, more interesting, more detailed, and more educational. If you are a fan of historical WW2 fiction novels like me, I suggest reading the novels of W.E.B. Griffin, Upton Sinclair, Herman Wouk, James Jones, Norman Mailer, Irwin Shaw, etc.
]]>
The Names of the Dead 52147471 They locked him up. Now he's out - for revenge.

Former CIA officer James 'Wes' Wesley paid the ultimate price for his patriotism when he was locked up in a French jail for an anti-terror operation gone wrong - abandoned by the Agency he served, shunned by his colleagues and friends, cut off from his family.

Now he is shattered by the news that his ex-wife, Rachel, a State Department analyst, has been killed in a terrorist attack in Spain. He also discovers that his young son, Ethan, is missing. But Wes didn't know he had a son - until now.

Why was Rachel in Spain? And why did she keep his son secret from him?

Granted early release, Wes takes flight across Europe to search for the truth and exact his revenge. But can he catch the spies who betrayed him before they track him down? In order to find the answers and save his son, Wes realises he must confront the dark secrets in his own past - before it's too late.]]>
251 Kevin Wignall 1542000017 DanielL 4 The Hunter's Prayer. It was the first Kevin Wignall novel that I read. had no prior knowledge of him or his novels. I saw that Kevin Wignall had written several other novels that looked similar in theme so I thought he was a pulp fiction writer who cranks out novels using the same storylines and plots over and over again. I didn’t expect to read more than two of his novels. Instead, I ended up reading six of his novels. My initial impression that Kevin Wignall was a pulp fiction writer was very wrong. Instead, I found him to be a very talented storyteller and writer. I’m surprised more of his novels haven’t been made into movie screenplays (I read The Hunter's Prayer was made into a movie, but I haven’t seen or heard about it.) I’m looking forward to reading his next novel THOSE WHO DISAPPEARED; which would be the seventh novel for me.

Kevin Wignall’s novels are not literary masterpieces, but they’ve all been very entertaining with enough twists-and-turns to keep you guessing on what’s going to happen next. Oftentimes, there are surprises that you don’t expect. If there is a “formula� in his novels, it’s that they take place in Europe and his main characters are strong, but very flawed men. It’s the flaws that these men have that drive the Kevin Wignall novels.]]>
4.09 2020 The Names of the Dead
author: Kevin Wignall
name: DanielL
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2020/08/28
date added: 2020/08/28
shelves:
review:
Several years ago, I read The Hunter's Prayer. It was the first Kevin Wignall novel that I read. had no prior knowledge of him or his novels. I saw that Kevin Wignall had written several other novels that looked similar in theme so I thought he was a pulp fiction writer who cranks out novels using the same storylines and plots over and over again. I didn’t expect to read more than two of his novels. Instead, I ended up reading six of his novels. My initial impression that Kevin Wignall was a pulp fiction writer was very wrong. Instead, I found him to be a very talented storyteller and writer. I’m surprised more of his novels haven’t been made into movie screenplays (I read The Hunter's Prayer was made into a movie, but I haven’t seen or heard about it.) I’m looking forward to reading his next novel THOSE WHO DISAPPEARED; which would be the seventh novel for me.

Kevin Wignall’s novels are not literary masterpieces, but they’ve all been very entertaining with enough twists-and-turns to keep you guessing on what’s going to happen next. Oftentimes, there are surprises that you don’t expect. If there is a “formula� in his novels, it’s that they take place in Europe and his main characters are strong, but very flawed men. It’s the flaws that these men have that drive the Kevin Wignall novels.
]]>