"Easy Prey"

For those who have been following my blogs, you know that I have been reading John Sandford's Lucas Davenport series in order.  I just finished "Easy Prey" which is 407 pages in hardback!  My sister was here visiting from Arizona last week and I knew I didn't dare start this book while she was here or I wouldn't be spending any time with her.  That turned out to be a very wise decision because I started the book Saturday evening while I was watching my youngest grandchildren and continued it until I fell asleep in the early hours of Sunday morning.  I didn't sleep long because I woke up and started reading again -- skipped church so I could finish the book!

If you're a Lucas Davenport fan, you'll love this tale.When a model and another woman are murdered at a party, Lucas and his team are called to investigate.  Imagine his surprise when Lucas finds out one of his own men was at the party -- Will that complicate the investigation?

As the investigation continues, secrets are uncovered that keep the team guessing and shifting their focus.  In the meantime, Lucas is dealing with four women -- an old lover comes back into his life, a former lover and co-worker joins the investigation, a murder victim's sister shows an interest in him and his ex-fiance is making overtures that might mean she wants to be back in his life!  All this requires some juggling on Davenport's part in his personal life as well as the investigation.  I think this might be one of the most interesting cases yet!  pazt

"Half Of Paradise"

"Half Of Paradise" is by Edgar Award winner, James Lee Burke, and was copyrighted in 1965 - his very first novel and now he's a best selling author.

This book is not a mystery -- my preferred genre -- so I'm not sure why I decided to read it -- maybe because Burke has also written mysteries?  It's the story of three men:

1)  Avery Broussard comes from what was once a line of distinguished landowners but the family fortune has dwindled and his weakness for alcohol lands him in prison.

2)  J. P. Winfield comes from a poor background to become a famous singer but he is destroyed by addiction.

3)  Toussaint Boudreaux is a black longshoreman who is convicted of a crime he didn't commit and he ends up in prison with Broussard.

I was surprised that I was not able to put this book down once I started reading.  Burke has a way with language and story telling that kept me reading long after I should have turned out the light.  I became part of his character's lives and wanted to know more.  I'm definitely planning on reading more Burke!  pazt

"After I'm Gone"

"After I'm Gone" is a stand alone novel by Laura Lippman who authors the Tess Monaghan, P.I., mystery series.  This book was suggested to her by her husband, David Simon, who insisted she should write a novel inspired by Julius Salsbury.  Julius was the head of a large gambling operation in Baltimore in the 1970's until he disappeared while under house arrest after being convicted of mail fraud.  He was appealing his sentence when he left behind his wife, three daughters, and a girlfriend.
Although Lippman admits using this true story as a basis for her novel, that is where the similarity ends - everything else is pure fiction.

 "After I'm Gone" is a love story:  Bernadette "Bambi" Gotttschalk was 19 when she met Felix Brewer at a Valentine's Day dance in 1959 - which he and two friends "crashed."  They were smitten with each other and marriage followed soon after.  Felix assured Bambi that he would provide for her financially but his method of earning money wasn't strictly legal and would require him working late nights.  As an only child, Bambi wanted a larger family and Felix agreed.  What he forgot to tell her, though, was his need to have girlfriends on the side and that it didn't mean he loved her any less.  She knew about the girlfriends but understood it didn't lessen his love for her so she accepted it as part of his "other" life.

The story is told alternating between the past and the present and focusing on Bambi, each of her three daughters, and Julie -- the mistress Felix left behind.  As a result, we get to know each character really well.

When "After I'm Gone" starts, it is twenty-six years after Felix' disappearance and Roberto "Sandy" Sanchez, a retired Baltimore detective working cold cases freelance for the police department, decides to open an old case.  Julie, Felix' young mistress, disappeared ten years to the day after Felix and the assumption was that she'd gone to join Felix wherever he's hiding out -- until her remains are found in a secluded park.  Sandy starts re-interviewing family and a couple of friends of Felix -- his bail bondsman and his attorney.  Sandy is good at what he does and he gets results - fascinating how he gets to the truth in his methodical way.  I enjoyed this book so much that I'm going to start reading the Tess Monaghan series in order.  pazt                              

"Angel"

Barbara Taylor Bradford's "Angel" was the Good Housekeeping novel of the month in June of 1993 but I just read it last month while on vacation.  I'm not a big romance fan - as those of you know who have been reading my blog for a while, I'm really a mystery or science fiction fan.  However, this was a fun, light read -- just what the doctor ordered for a relaxing vacation.  pazt

"Olympus Has Fallen"

I picked up the DVD, "Olympus Has Fallen," at the library when I was looking for some movies to take on vacation recently.  However, when the first two didn't show well on the DVD player in our timeshare, I gave up.  Now it's time to take it back to the library and I had a couple of hours to myself tonight and decided to watch it.  Wow!

Gerard Butler plays a secret service agent and Aaron Eckhart is the current U.S. President while Morgan Freeman is Speaker of the House.  Ashley Judd has a bit part as the President's wife.

Butler is Mike Banning, a former Presidential Guard, who had a close relationship with the President and his wife and son, Connor.  When the White House (known by "Olympus" in the Secret Service Code) falls and the President and other bigwigs are secure underground (or so they think), they discover they are in the bunker with the head of the terrorist group.  Banning finds his way to the scene from the Treasury Department where he has been working a desk job that he hates.  He manages to find a way into the White House as well as a way to communicate with the acting President (Speaker of the House) and his team.  He becomes their sole hope to save the President and the United States.  If you're looking for nonstop thrills, this is the movie to watch!  pazt

Author, Jennifer Blake

Jennifer Blake is a pseudonym for romance novelist, Patricia Maxwell.  I had some old "Good Housekeeping"magazines around and took some on a recent vacation to read then recycle.  I always looked forward to the arrival of "Good Housekeeping" because they would have a novel of the month that I looked forward to reading.  When they stopped that practice, I was less interested in a subscription.

The novel of the month in the June 1991 issue was "Behind The Scenes" authored by Jennifer Blake and was from the book, "Joy and Anger," which was published in 1991.  Although I prefer mysteries over romances, this was a combination of both so I actually enjoyed the story.  The heroine is Julie Bullard who is directing a movie that is being shot in a Louisiana swamp.  When a stunt guy is killed in one of the scenes, her boss and fiance sends out her dad, Bull, to help her out -- a fact she resents.  When her stunt guy's best friend, Rey, offers to take his place doing the movie stunts, she agrees reluctantly.  She wonders what he's up to because he's a retired federal agent who has enough money of his own that he never has to work again so why would he opt to do the stunts in her movie?  Little does Julie know that there is more going on on her set than making a movie and that is putting her and others involved in making this movie in danger.  So.....there is romance in this story but also a mystery to solve - two of my favorite combinations!  pazt

"The Red Room"

"The Red Room" by Ridley Pearson is his third book in the "Risk Agent" series but, hopefully, it won't the be last.  Since it was released in 2014, I anticipate he's working on a sequel because he ended it with all the markings of more to come.

John Knox is a businessman importing trinkets to support himself and his brother but he's also a former government contractor trained in kidnapping extraction, surveillance, and delicate negotiations.  The latter means that he has a sometime employer - Rutherford Risk - who offer him high paying "jobs" to supplement his income which he needs to help pay for medications and care for his brother.  His travel world wide for the import business is also the perfect cover for wherever a job might take him.

When on assignment, Knox is often paired with Grace Chu who is brilliant with numbers and a computer geek but who also has a secret desire to be a field agent.  When the duo are offered their latest assignment (which is on a need to know basis) by David "Sarge" Dulwich, Chu's wish leads them into trouble uncovering more than they were to know about this particular mission.

I didn't get into this book as quickly as usual as I slogged through the background for what was to follow but once Chu is kidnapped (I'm not giving anything away because it's disclosed on the book jacket!), everything begins to move at a faster pace and I couldn't put the book down unless absolutely forced to (Eating and work are such distractions!).

As Chu and Knox work closely together and uncover other countries and other agents involved, they begin to doubt whether Dulwich is really working for Rutherford Risk or does he have them on a rogue assignment.  This mutual distrust brings them closer together and I see the nature of their relationship changing -- something to look forward to in future Pearson "Risk Agent" novels.  pazt

"Jack Reacher"

While on vacation last week, I watched Tom Cruise portraying "Jack Reacher" and I was hooked.  Now I need to read the series of Jack Reacher books by Lee Childs.

In the movie Tom Cruise is Jack Reacher, an ex-military investigator, who has gone underground somewhere in the USA.  When a crime is committed that involves someone he knew in the military, he surfaces to make sure justice will prevail but what Reacher thinks will be justice turns out to be something entirely different.  As he works with the attorney defending the man who has been arrested, Reacher puts himself and others in danger as he seeks the truth.  This is a thriller from start to finish!  pazt

"Miserere - An Autumn Tale"

"Miserere" is a dark fantasy novel by Teresa Frohock.   When I first started reading this book, I thought it was a sequel to something I'd read in the last two years because there were parts of it that sounded familiar.  However, when I read that it was the author's debut novel, I knew I was mistaken.

The first part of this novel sets the stage for the "story" and it was slower reading for me but, when I got to the "meat" of the tale, I found it hard to put the book down.  In fact, I was almost late for church because I didn't want to stop reading!

Lucian Negru is an exiled exorcist who deserted his lover, Rachael, in hell in order to save his twin sister Catarina's soul.  Unfortunately, Catarina didn't want to be saved and she made a covenant with the equivalent of the devil.  In the meantime, she cripples Lucian and keeps him as her prisoner to do her bidding as she rules.

Everything comes to a head when Lucian has to choose between his sister and Rachael and the choice he makes brings some startling revelations that affect them all.  The ending of the book sets it up perfectly for a sequel in my mind but in surfing the internet, it doesn't appear the author is working on that but she does have something different coming out later this year.

When I went on Facebook to ask to be a friend of the author because I want to know when her next novel is released, I had my own surprise.  My oldest daughter is already her friend and evidently they are in a writing group together and my daughter is one of the individuals she names in her acknowledgements!  pazt