Piece of My Heart: a novel by Peter Robinson
Two mysteries for the price of one**** February 10,2007
Piece of My Heart offers you two criminal investigations decades apart. Robinson's familiar Chief Inspector Alan Banks is investigating a murder which occurred in 2005, the stabbing of music journalist Nick Barber who is doing an investigative story on the fading rock band The Mad Hatters. Meanwhile interwoven throughout is a second mystery set in 1969 involving the stabbing of a young woman Linda Lofthouse on the evening of a Mad Hatters concert in the English countryside.Detective Inspector Stanley Chadwick is pursuing that case. He identifies a suspect, lacks conclusive evidence, but does not let that stand in the way of a conviction. Robinson hops back and forth betwen the two time periods as the novel unfolds. Ultimately Banks realizes that the two cases are closely linked and solves them both. An execellent novel by a first-rate writer!
Capital Crimes: two novellas by Jonathan annd Faye Kellerman
Interesting but not their best work*** February 10,2007
This book consists of two novellas by best-selling authors Jonathan and Faye Kellerman. The first,My Sister's Keeper,centers on the murder of an activist California state representative, Davida Grayson. Davida is a lesbian and a proponent of stem cell research. These two aspects underpin the plot and throw up a number of likely suspects.The second novella,Music City Breakdown,centers on the stabbing murder of faded recording artist Jack Jeffries who has returned to Nashville for a special event. Faye Kellerman's Detective Peter Decker plays a small role in My Sister's Keeper and Jonathan Kellerman's hero, Psychologist Alex Delaware,plays a very minor role in Music City Breakdown. Fans of these two authors will be disappointed by these two offerings. They make for light reading but are not on a par with these authors' normal work.
The Mission Song: a novel by John le Carre
Out of Africa**** February 4,2007
With the end of the Cold War 15 years ago , John le Carre had to find new plot lines. The Mission Song is a return to the African theme, although the plot and plotting takes place in London and an island in the English Channel. The narrator is Bruno "Salvo" Salvador, a 29-year-old interpeter of mixed parentage born in the Congo, but now married to a wealthy Britsh journalist, Penelope, and doing some interpretation work for a covert British agency on the side. Bruno's marriage is in rough shape and he has fallen for a Congolese nurse named Hannah. The main plot revolves around Bruno being asked to provide interpretation for a secret conference involving a shadowy Syndicate that is prepared to underwrite a revolution in the Congo to get their hands on its mineral and petroleum wealth.The other particpants include representatives of three factions the Syndicate wishes to use to put their puppet in power. At first, Bruno sees this as an opportunity to help the Congolese people but gradually he realizes the Syndicate's true purpose. He then sets out to thwart their plot. But he gets caught in a web of his own making. This is not on a par with le Carre's Cold war novels but it's enjoyable read nonetheless.
Skeleton Coast: a novel by Clive Cussler and Jack Du Brul
One of Cussler's Better Yarns**** February 4, 2007
Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the covert techno-ship Oregon are back in one of the better yarns by Cussler in recent years.The Oregon has just escaped a mission on the Congo River when they ride to the rescue of a defenseless boat under fire off the African coast. They save the beautiful Sloane Macintyre who has a fantastic tale of a long-submerged ship that may hold a fortune in diamonds. The story also involves a crazy multi-billionaire environmentalist who sets out to save the world by wreaking environmental diaster. Needless to say, Jaun Cabrillo and the Oregon save the day and the world is safe (at least for another week or so).
Cross: a novel by James Patterson
Who killed Cross's wife? *** February 4, 2007
The Patterson book factory continues to churn them out. This time it's a return to the Alex Cross series but dropping the nursery rhyme title because this time the book focuses on Cross, Alex Cross.
Alex Cross was a rising star in the Washington, DC, Police Department when an unknown shooter gunned down his wife, Maria, in front of him. The killer was never found, and the case turned cold, filed among the unsolved drive-bys in D.C.'s rough neighborhoods. Years later, still haunted by his wife's death, Cross is making a bold move in his life. Now a free agent from the police and the FBI, he's set up practice as a psychologist once again.
In this novel we are given details about Maria's killing that we never knew before. we are also introduced to Michael Sullivan, better known as the Butcher, who does contract killings for the mob.
Is The Butcher Maria's killer? The clues point in that direction but then the clues are sometimes misleading.
Who defeated Dirk Pitt?
Hollywood, says author Cussler in lawsuit
Clive Cussler has a lawsuit against the production company that made the action film Sahara. He claimsthe company reneged on a deal to give him creative control of the movie based on his book,At the start of a trial expected to provide an inside look at behind-the-scenes Hollywoods, Cussler's lawyer Bert Fields told jurors an agreement between Cussler and a company owned by billionaire Philip Anschutz was breached when vital story lines were eliminated.
"It was supposed to be Mr. Cussler who decided what would be cut out," Fields said. "They tore the heart out of the story ... lost all of this money because they gutted it."
The 2005 film, starring Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz, was envisioned as the springboard to make Cussler's character Dirk Pitt a lucrative franchise, like Indiana Jones or James Bond. But the movie flopped, costing $160 million (all figures U.S.) and taking in $68 million.
Lawyers for Anschutz's company have portrayed Cussler as unco-operative and meddlesome in the filmmaking process and claimed he misled the moviemakers about the popularity of his books. They charge he only sold one-third of the 100 million books he claims.
