Friday, July 31, 2015

BOOK REVIEWS. Sort Of.



A note about BOOK REVIEWS. Sort Of.:

These are not, in any way, meant to be comprehensive reviews. They are intended to acknowledge that I have read the book, and give my honest core impressions.

If a real review is what you wish, there are many wonderful book blogs available, and I have provided some tools to find them under the tab marked "Useful Stuff."



~ AUDIOBOOKS ~

Night (audiobook) - Elie Wiesel

I first read this in high school after studying the Second Word War and the Holocaust. Time has not diminished the power of the Mr. Wiesel's story or his voice.

There are lessons. Will we ever learn them?






~ EBOOKS ~

At Risk (ebook) - Patricia Cornwell

This is the beginning of a new to me series from Ms Cornwell, published in 2006. And, well . . . The reviews of this series (there's one more as of this date) are overwhelmingly bad - for good reason.

Winston Garano is the protagonist, and he's about the only likeable character in the book.  His boss, a lady DA, is despicable in extreme. And everyone else is meh.

The most annoying feature of the undeveloped plot with its one dimensional characters, however, is that it is written in present tense. It seems ameturish and continually pulls the reader out of the story.

I hate giving bad reviews, especially when Ms Cornwell was once one of my favorite writers. 

The Front - (ebook) - Patricia Cornwell

"My father always said the secret to success is simply not giving up. Kind of a cool thing to tell a little girl."

The second book in the Winston Garano series and STILL written in present tense.

There is far more anger, hatred, and betrayal in this novel than in the first, if it is at all possible.

Cool quote, though.

Hornet's Nest (ebook) - Patricia Cornwell

This is yet a third Patricia Cornwell series, Andy Brazil.

Pettiness, backstabbing, anger, hatred, betrayal, . . . and this from the good guys. The actual murder mystery is almost an afterthought, tucked in amongst the rest of the misery.






I quit. I will not be reading any more of either of these Patricia Cornwell series, there are too many good books out there. Unfortunately, I feel compelled to continue with Dr. Kay Scarpetta. At this point I have so much invested to quit and my health insurance doesn't cover the therapy needed to.

~ REINCARNATED TREES ~

The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly

I think every adult has times of longing for childhood days.

But the fairytales . . . They're never quite the same . . .




Flesh and Blood - Patricia Cornwell

These days the whole world revolves around Kay and her band. Every crime is about them. They wallow in their separate pits. They don't communicate with one another.

And you know there's trouble brewing when you find yourself in the last chapter without nearly enough room for a satisfactory resolution.

That being said . . . this book, like the previous one, is definitely better than they have been for a while. Still, they remain far from the beginning of the series, when Kay actually practiced her trade, proving herself a top forensic specialist by solving crimes.

Death of an Angel - Sister Carol Anne O'Marie

Choices.

Results are sometimes far from what we intended.




Death Takes Up A Collection - Sister Carol Anne O'Marie

This one sent me to the internet with a few questions, and I learned some interesting things.





Requiem At the Refuge - Sister Carol Anne O'Marie

"But youth, like snow, is a problem that goes away if you ignore it long enough."

Life is full of new beginnings, if you're brave enough to take the first steps.


The Corporal Works of Murder - Sister Carol Anne O'Marie

To the chagrin of homicide inspectors Kate Murphy and Dennis Gallagher, Sister Mary Helen's career change has placed her closer to trouble.

With Sister Eileen away in Ireland, Sister Anne seems to be being pulled out of her comfort zone.




No comments:

Post a Comment