Cat O'Nine Tales: short stories by Jeffrey Archer

Quick but Satisfying*** July 21, 2007

This collection of short stories by Jeffrey Archer provided a good read to clean the mental palate after bogging down in The Lost Constitution. Most of the stories are anecdotes from Archer's time in Her Majestity's prisons, supposedly based on true tales told him by various convicts. True or not, they are for the most part amusing. Recommended for a quick summer read.

The Lost Constitution: a novel by William Martin

Long and Rambling** July 21,2007

This is the second Martin novel I have read. The other was Back Bay, a long time ago, of which I have no recollection.

This novel meanders through time and place, jumping back and forth from one century to another, sometimes for no apparent reason.The focus is on the hunt for a lost annotated draft of the US Constitution from the time when the Constitutional Convention was at the drafting stage. The missing draft is marked with the comments of various New England delegates. The modern search is carried out by historian Peter Fallon who is pursued by others in search of the document. Martin is a very long-winded writer who includes tons of unnecessary detail and his jumping back and forth in time and place is hard to follow. I made it to the end of this novel but barely. In the hands of a more skilled writer this could have been an intriguing read.

The 6th Target: a novel by James Patterson/Maxine Paetro

Middling*** July 19,2007

Patterson continues to churn out a seemingly never-ending series of novels. This is another in the Women's Murder Club series. There are three murder situations running sort of in parallel but really unconnected. This results in a bit of a mishmash. Lindsay Boxer is involved in all three situations rushing around like a headless horseman. Based on this effort it's time for Patterson to wrap up this Murder Club series. He's already dropped three of the four members to almost non-existent roles. Otherwise he'd better a different co-author for the next one.

The Blue Zone: a novel by Andrew Gross

Promising debut*** July 19,2007

Having coauthored five novels with James Patterson, Andrew Gross here strikes out on his own. Kate Raab, the heroine of this novel, is stunned by the arrest of her father Benjamin for engaging in money laundering for the Mercado drug lords of Columbia. Benjamin makes a deal to testify in return for witness protection for himself and his family. Kate opts to remain in New York with her medical student boyfriend. But Kate is drawn into the machinations as she sets out to find out her father's secrets. She encounters layer after layer of deceit culminating in the shocking revelation of her father''s true identity.

Requiem for an assassin: a novel by Barry Eisler

Amoral but engrossing**** July 19,2007

When I read my first John Rain novel, Eisler's previous The Last Assassin, at first I didn't quite know what to make of it. Many of the same characters are back in this, the fifth in the Rain series. John Rain is trying to leave his career as an assassin behind but he receives a phone call telling him one of his best friends Dox has been kidnapped. Dox will only be released if Rain performs three assassinations for the kidnapper. Rain undertakes the first two assassinations while working through his Japanese and Israeli contacts to track the whereabouts of the kidnapper and Dox and to puzzle the rationale behind the targetting of the first two men. Dox is rescued in a shootout in Singapore and Dox and Rain head to the Netherlands to thwart a terrorist plot.

John Rain is an interesting character. He seems to have no morals and yet the author takes us inside his head in such a manner that we feel empathy for him. And we are left wondering what awaits him next time. Will he succeed in his attempt to leave his career as a killer behind? Doubtful.

The Good Guy: a novel by Dean Koontz

First-rate Thriller**** June 19,2007

Dean Koontz is back in fine form. The Good Guy is comparable to The Husband and Velocity by the same author. The chief protagonist in this novel is a mason Tim Carrier. Tim is minding his own business in his favourite bar when a stranger passes him an envelope full of cash and leaves. Also in the envelope is the photo of a woman slated for murder. Shortly after another man comes in and sidles up to Tim. This is the hitman Tim was mistaken for. Tim gives him the $10k and tells him the job has been cancelled. The hitman finds this exceedingly strange.

Tim then heads off to find the targetted woman, Linda. She accepts Tim's warning and agrees to flee with him. The rest of the novel is a hunt by the hitman for Tim and Linda. Tim proves exceedingly adroit at avoiding the predator, narrowly escaping time and again. As the novel progresses we realize that Tim is not just a simple mason who is lucky. His skills were acquired in a previous career which is not revealed until near the end.

All in all, a throroughly enjoyable read! Highly recommended.

The Woods: a novel by Harlan Coben

Excellent**** July 7,2007

Another excellent stand-alone novel by Coben. This is first-rate crime/mystery writing. The novel goes back and forth between the present, a court trial where prosecutor Paul Copeland is trying two rich white rapists of a black stripper, to a summer twenty years before when Paul was a counsellor at a summer camp and four campers were murdered, including his sister. The characters of Paul and his former girfriend Lucy Gold are well developed and we follow them as they are dragged back to the night and the present-day site of the murders. The plot twists are numerous, the final twist a bit far-fetched. Coben could have ditched the Russian/KGB subplot and had an even stronger novel. I look forward eagerly to his next one.

Fresh Disasters: a novel by Stuart Woods

Don't waste your money!* July 7,2007

Formulaic fiction at its worst! Stuart Woods has pretty well hit rock bottom with this one. Cardboard characters, wooden plot and ridiculous sexual escapades, such are the characteristics of a Woods Stone Barrington novel. Enough said! Don't waste your time or money.