Private / Review

Author: James Patterson

Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company;

1 edition (June 28, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0316096156

Book Description:

Former CIA agent Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe. It is where you go when you need maximum force and maximum discretion. The secrets of the most influential men and women on the planet come to Jack daily--and his staff of investigators uses the world's most advanced forensic tools to make and break their cases.

Jack is already deep into the investigation of a multi-million dollar NFL gambling scandal and the unsolved slayings of 18 schoolgirls when he learns of a horrific murder close to home: his best friend's wife, Jack's former lover, has been killed. It nearly pushes him over the edge. Instead, Jack pushes back and devotes all of Private's resources to tracking down her killer.

Jack doesn't have to play by the rules. As he closes in on the killer and chooses between revenge and justice, Morgan has to navigate a workplace love affair that threatens to blow the roof off his plans. With a plot that moves at death-defying speeds, Private is James Patterson's sleekest, most exciting thriller ever.

My Review:

I have reviewed many James Patterson novels, but I would place this one among his best. If you love a good mystery, this is certain to please. 5 stars*****

(Thanks to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)

Cemetery Dance / Review

Authors: Preston & Child

Mass Market Paperback: 592 pages
Publisher: Vision; Reprint edition (April 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446618691

Book Description:

Pendergast-the world's most enigmatic FBI Special Agent-returns to New York City to investigate a murderous cult.

William Smithback, a New York Times reporter, and his wife Nora Kelly, a Museum of Natural History archaeologist, are brutally attacked in their apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Eyewitnesses claim, and the security camera confirms, that the assailant was their strange, sinister neighbor-a man who, by all reports, was already dead and buried weeks earlier. While Captain Laura Hayward leads the official investigation, Pendergast and Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta undertake their own private-and decidedly unorthodox-quest for the truth. Their serpentine journey takes them to an enclave of Manhattan they never imagined could exist: a secretive, reclusive cult of Obeah and vodou which no outsiders have ever survived.

My Review:

I couldn't stop reading; couldn't put this book down once I started to read! This one is a real thriller!

(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy!)

Built of Books: How Reading Defined The Life of Oscar Wilde / Review

Author: Thomas Wright
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; 1 edition (April 27, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0805092463


Book Description:

This intimate account of Oscar Wilde's life and writings is richer, livelier, and more personal than any book available about the brilliant writer, revealing a man who built himself out of books. His library was his reality, the source of so much that was vital to his life. A reader first, his readerly encounters, out of all of life's pursuits, are seen to be as significant as his most important relationships with friends, family, or lovers. Wilde's library, which Thomas Wright spent twenty years reading, provides the intellectual (and emotional) climate at the core of this deeply engaging portrait.
One of the book's happiest surprises is the story of the author's adventure reading Wilde's library. Reminiscent of Jorge Luis Borges's fictional hero who enters Cervantes's mind by saturating himself in the culture of sixteenth-century Spain, Wright employs Wilde as his own Virgilian guide to world literature. We come to understand how reading can be an extremely sensual experience, producing a physical as well as a spiritual delight.


My Review:
An excellent overview of the life of Oscar Wilde. 5 stars*****


(Thank you to Henry Holt and Company for my review copy!)

Hanging By The Thread

Author: Donald B. Anderson

Paperback: 382 pages
Publisher: Granite Publishing & Distribution (May 7, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 159936056X

Book Description:

For ten years, a secret society has risen to power. They have infiltrated every facet of the federal government. They are powerful. They have extraordinary access to public funds. They have incredible technologies. And freedom is their nemesis.They have sought to destroy economic freedom, amass power to the federal government, and create mass dependency. They call themselves THE THREAD. And now, they are poised to destroy the Constitution and rise to power.But, on the eve of their burst into power, a copy of their plan falls into the hands of a young man in the Utah State Capitol building. A small group forms and comes to understand the plan of The Thread. And now, the race is on. Time is short and the group must struggle to preserve their lives, their nation, and freedom itself.It also contains a fantastic lecture series that powerfully conveys the principles of freedom. Hanging By The Thread is a freedom thriller that educates.

(Thanks to the author for my review copy.)

Boneman's Daughters / Review

Author: Ted Dekker

Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Center Street; 1 Reprint edition (March 3, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446547204

Book Description:

They call him BoneMan, a serial killer who's abducted six young women. He's the perfect father looking for the perfect daughter, and when his victims fail to meet his lofty expectations, he kills them by breaking their bones and leaving them to die. Intelligence officer Ryan Evans, on the other hand, has lost all hope of ever being the perfect father. His daughter and wife have written him out of their lives.Everything changes when BoneMan takes Ryan's estranged daughter, Bethany, as his seventh victim. Ryan goes after BoneMan on his own.But the FBI sees it differently. New evidence points to the suspicion that Ryan is BoneMan. Now the hunter is the hunted, and in the end, only one father will stand.

(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)

The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story 1958-2009

Author: J. Randy Taraborrelli

Hardcover: 768 pages
Publisher: Hachette Book Group;

Updated edition (August 5, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446564745

Book Description:

So much has how been said and written about the life and career of Michael Jackson that it has become almost impossible to disentangle the man from the myth. This book is the fruit of over 30 years of research and hundreds of exclusive interviews with a remarkable level of access to the very closest circles of the Jackson family - including Michael himself. Cutting through tabloid rumours, J. Randy Taraborrelli traces the real story behind Michael Jackson, from his drilling as a child star through the blooming of his talent to his ever-changing personal appearance and bizarre publicity stunts. This major biography includes the behind-the-scenes story to many of the landmarks in Jackson's life: his legal and commercial battles, his marriages to Lisa Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe, his passions and addictions, his children. Objective and revealing, it carries the hallmarks of all of Taraborrelli's best-sellers: impeccable research, brilliant storytelling and definitive documentation.

My Review:

This massive book contains the life and times of the legendary Michael Jackson from 1958 through 2009. It documents his life in such intimate ways, the reader will be captivated.

Another solid work by J. Randy Tataborrelli.

(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)

Sleep No More / Review

Author: Susan Crandall

Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Forever; Original edition (January 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 044655684X

Book Description:

The night was always Abby Whitman's enemy. As a young girl she walked in her sleep, and one night, she started a fire that scarred her sister for life and left Abby with unbearable guilt . . . and a loneliness that echoes within her. Now Abby has begun blacking out again--with apparently fatal results. A car accident has killed the son of a prominent family. Even though the evidence seems to exonerate her, Abby is plagued by doubts--and soon by mysterious threats. Psychiatrist Dr. Jason Coble is intrigued by Abby and offers to help her explore the dark recesses of her mind. Through this terrifying journey, Jason's interest turns to passion, and he yearns to give her the love she craves. But first, Abby must trust him--and shed light on secrets that will rock this Southern town and reveal a danger that threatens them both.

My Review:

Intense, provocative, thrilling... a fast read. 5 stars!

(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)