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Alex Kava – At the Stroke of Madness. Crime thriller 7/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/30/2006 9:10 AM
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At the Stroke of Madness by Alex Kava [ISBN 077832055 3] is a tightly plotted and well written tension-holding book, somewhat gruesome in the mould of forensic-detail psychological thrillers. The book begins with two strands of the story – a woman meeting a man late at night in scary circumstances – and disappearing
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Hard Landing by Lynne Heitman. Crime fiction 7/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/29/2006 2:37 PM
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Lynne Heitman’s Hard Landing [ISBN0708809529] is a very good read. Not only is the plot excellent with some subtle twists, but also the context (an airline at Boston’s Logan Airport) is quite fascinating (if horrifying – thinking such things are happening behind the scenes at an airport is scary). The narrative grips the reader and hooks one into the plot, and the characterisations are very well drawn through the narrative without scads of descriptive prose
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Due Diligence by Grant Sutherland. Crime fiction 8/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/28/2006 3:02 PM
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Grant Sutherland’s Due Diligence [ISBN 0 7472 5693 4] is a gripping and engrossing story. The plot is clever and sustains interest throughout the book –overtly, the main subject – financial shenanigans at high level in a bank – is not riveting, but, this author really makes it a page-turner.
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Bleedout by Joan Brady. Crime thriller 8/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/25/2006 2:57 PM
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Bleedout by Joan Brady [ISBN 0 7432 6841 5] is a nicely written, fast paced thriller, with an excellent plot, that keeps you guessing right up to the end. There are two narratives – a historical past record and a current happenings – and though this device can be bitty, it is planned very well for information to be dripped into the plot at the right time.
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The Traveller by John Twelve Hawks. Sci Fi thriller 4/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/23/2006 2:32 PM
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The Traveller by John Twelve Hawks [ISBN 0552 15269 2] is not a bad read – in fact is compelling, paranoiac and scary for most of the book –another reader might like the ending more than I did. It’s an updated view from Orwell’s Big Brother in 1984, with other worlds stuff welded on
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Vodka by Boris Starling. Crime Thriller 9/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/22/2006 1:48 PM
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Boris Starling’s Vodka [ISBN 0 00 717227 3] is a crime thriller set in Moscow in 1991 just at the time of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the departure of Gorbachov. The contextual feel is reminiscent of Gorky Park, though the several-string plot is particularly cleverly woven around the political manoeuvrings in the new power vacuums,
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The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova . Literary thriller 7/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/20/2006 1:12 PM
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Elizabeth Kostova’s literary thriller The Historian [ISBN0 7515 3728 4] is a long and quite intense book about the pursuit of vampires, with a exceptionally well detailed historical background about vampires and medieval Europe (whether this is real or imagined I don’t know) and context of the history and splendours of the Ottoman Empire and has an ingenious plot.
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Hard Rain by Janwillem Van de Wetering. Vintage Eurocrime 9/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/18/2006 10:54 AM
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Janwillem Van de Wetering’s Hard Rain [ISBN 0 345 33964 9] is yet another example of his brilliant mystery crime fiction that features the wonderful Sergeant de Gier and Detective-Adjutant Grijpstra of the Amsterdam murder Squad. The quirky characterisation of both the police and criminals together with seriously clever plots AS WELL AS authentic interesting and often exotic settings make these books a delight to read as examples of the peak of crime fiction writing.
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Devil’s Corner by Lisa Scottoline. Crime fiction 5/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/17/2006 11:07 AM
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Lisa Scottoline’s Devil’s Corner [ISBN-13: 978 0 06 074289 8] is yet another book from this prolific crime fiction write, though I found this book quite tedious. One of the crits says it has “plenty of twists and turns” and this is the core of the weakness, there are SO MANY plot twists and turns the book becomes beyond complex for bedtime pleasure reading and more an exercise for a memory marvel.
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