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Sunday, August 03, 2003
For the past few years I have been buying most of James Patterson's books as soon as they come out. However The Beach House has lain on my bookshelves for a while as I never found it particularly inspiring - especially as it does not feature Alex Cross and it is co-written by Peter de Jonge.
It's ultimately a disappointing read, which although it moves along at a very fast pace (as is common with all Patterson's books) it is very weak - and the denouement is unique in crime fiction, but poor, I think.
"Jack Mullen is a driven student of the law. His brother Peter is a servant of the rich, parking the cars of the Hamptons' elite-and perhaps satisfying their more intimate needs as well. Then Peter's body is found on the beach. Jack knows the drowning was no accident, but someone's unlimited power and money have bought the cops, the judges, the system. Now Jack is learning a lesson in justice he never got in law school…and his astonishing plan to beat the billionaires will have you reeling-and cheering-to the very last page."
Drew Buddie 2:21 PM
Darkest Fear by Harlan Coben is not the first of his books that I have read, but it is is the first featuring his recurring character, Myron Bolitar. I thought this was a rip-roaring read that beats any run-of-the-mill pot-boiler any day. The twists and turns are tremendous and the characters are believeable and likeable. The story is really unusual in that it really delves into the background of a recurring character, instead of merely being a incident that happens to them. I will certainly be seeking out his other Bolitar books.
"Myron faces the most emotionally shattering case of his career. And it all begins when Myron's ex-girlfriend tells him he is a father-of a dying 13-year-old boy. "
Drew Buddie 11:56 AM
Dead Air by Iain Banks was, as usual, a gripping, strange tale that was impossible to predict. I admire the way that Banks can tale a tale, that is essentially about nothing, yet you find it impossible to put the book down. His latest books are not as good as The Wasp Factory, but that was a truly exceptional book.
"After a wedding breakfast people start dropping fruits from a balcony on to a deserted carpark ten storeys below, then they start dropping other things; an old TV that doesn't work, a blown loudspeaker, beanbags, other unwanted furniture . . . Then they get carried away and start dropping things that are still working, while wrecking the rest of the apartment. But mobile phones start ringing and they're told to turn on a TV, because a plane has just crashed into the World Trade Centre . . ."
Drew Buddie 11:50 AM
Candlemoth by Roger Jon Ellory was a very interesting read. The reviews I read were critical of the fact that the ending can be seen coming 100 pages form the end. I'd say that although I guessed the ending, I really enjoyed it. I found it a really unusual and rivetting read.
"Daniel Ford has thirty days to live. Accused of the horrific murder of his best friend Nathan twelve years before, he has exhausted all appeals and now faces the long walk to the electric chair. All he can do is make peace with his God. Father John Rousseau is the man to whom the last month of Daniel's life has been entrusted. All the two men have left to do is rake over the last ashes of Ford's existence. So he begins to tell his story. Beginning with his first meeting with Nathan, aged six, on the shores of a lake in 1952, through first loves, Vietnam, the death of Kennedy and finally their flight from the draft which ends in Nathan's brutal murder... But meanwhile the clock is ticking and the days are running out..."
Drew Buddie 11:44 AM
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