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Counter Parts by Gonzalo Lire. American thriller 9/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/31/2008 12:08 PM
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I hadn’t heard of this author before but Counter Parts by Gonzalo Lire [ISBN 0 575 60241 4] is a very good read indeed. A plot heavy with strange goings-on in the CIA and paid assassins is put together with maximum tension and features some interesting multi-dimensional characters (how many all-too human gun-toting nuns have you read about recently ?)
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Shadow of the Silk Road by Colin Thubron. Travel non-fiction 10/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/29/2008 2:50 PM
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Colin Thubron’s book Shadow of the Silk Road [ISBN 978 0 099 43722 2] is an account of his journey following the major towns and cities of the old silk route across Asia. It is most beautifully written – his prose is a joy to read, and it is a fascinating and humorous reflection of the different ways the people he meets think about the world.
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The Exception by Christian Jungerson. Danish Literary Murder Mystery 9/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/24/2008 9:07 AM
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Christian Jungerson’s novel The Exception [ISBN 978 0 7538 2166 4] is a seriously clever book, psychologically powerful and quite unnerving. On the surface its about relationships in a small office, but it develops and grows in sheer nastiness and underhand dangerous games. It is gripping and addictive.
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The Overlook by Michael Connelly. American Crime fiction 10/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/23/2008 4:05 PM
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Michael Connelly is a master of crime fiction writing of this kind – and The Overlook is one of his best [ISBN 978 0 7528 8273 4]. His detective, Harry Bosch is as edgy and difficult as ever, and the plot is excellent and very topical – he has to suffer working with the FBI and Homeland Security – and the book is over much too quickly. Brilliant.
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Nothing to Fear by Karen Rose. American thriller 9/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/22/2008 8:55 AM
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Karen Rose’s thriller Nothing to Fear [ISBN 978 0 7553 3703 3 ] an edge of the seat read. Not only does it have an excellent plot that’s a bit different from the run-of-the-mill abduction, but its split narrative is really well planned so it doesn’t stop moving the action forward whilst adding enough suspense. As well as this there is a pretty corny Mills and Boonish love interest (all flashing eyes and pounding hearts) threaded through the narrative that gets more and more steamy. This adds its own suspense.
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The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh. Indian Literary fiction 8/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/20/2008 1:16 PM
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Amitav Ghosh wrote the Glass Palace and his latest novel (or at least the latest I’ve read) The Hungry Tide [ISBN 0 00 714178-5] is a most thoughtful and moving story. Set in Bengal – that strange archipelago of islands always threatened by flood, the Sundarbans, it has a double narrative of past and present which is fascinating and quite haunting.
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The Venetian Betrayal by Steve Berry. Another Grail-search type thriller 7/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/19/2008 2:50 PM
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Steve Berry’s novel The Venetian Betrayal [ISBN 978 0 340 933442] is a heavy book and can be quite heavy-going at times. Like its predecessors (Da Vinci Code et al) it depends on how credulous the reader is able to be (and a great deal more credulous than The Da Vinci Code I can tell you). Its got quite a complex plot (albeit quite silly) but is quite an enjoyable read as the action moves pleasantly along for most of the time (and as book this size you can always skip the odd paragraph).
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Persuader by Lee Child. American thriller 8/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/17/2008 12:52 PM
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Lee Child’s novel Persuader [ISBN 0553 81344 7] is as OTT as his other Jack Reacher stories, but just as enjoyable. No messy narratives, no annoying botched red herrings, just a superbly written fast-flowing story with the flashbacks cleverly stitched into the story and not just inexpertly glued on. Reacher is, of course, quite an impossible character, but the reader is willing to suspend disbelief and follow the (rather brutal) action. –but it’s not real is it?
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Shatter by Michael Robotham. British thriller 7/10 |
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By bookworm on
7/16/2008 9:20 AM
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On the whole Michael Robotham’s Shatter [ISBN 978 1 84744 177 5] is a very well-written and powerful novel. Its psychological brainwashing-type theme is believable, with the perpetrator half-hidden from the reader, and the unlikely sleuth – vulnerable Parkinson-sufferer with marital problems- somewhat distracted and yet obsessed- which makes for all kinds of undercurrents and themes. It is quite creepy and is not ideal bedtime reading.
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