Mystery Crime Books

It's hard to explain as to why I didn't find this book as rewarding as the first two, but it may be that it lacked the 'smooth' transitions that made them so intriguing. Many of the 'eureka' moments of the book seem to come out of nowhere, while others seem way too long in coming to the fore. It just may be that I expect too much from the author, or that he rushed this one into publication. I have noticed that his books have gotten drastically shorter, and that might reflect a lack of attention to details. (The first book was over 400 pages, the second over 350, this one is 320.)

There was much less character development and explanation in this book than the previous two, though the poetry was as strong as ever and very appropriate to the story. His major additional character ('white cloud') is always referred to by her english translation, and she tends to be a very one-dimensional person. His does do a good job is rounding out his partner Detective Yu and his wife Peiqin.

But all in all (except for some of the comments on the 'Cultural Revolution') I found this novel lacking the interest of the first two.

In this detective novel, Qiu Xiaolong gives a detailed account of the tragic effects of the Cultural Revolution on ordinary -- and extraordinary -- people living in Shanghai in the 1990's. I could not solve the mystery, but I adored the poetry-spouting detective (who is probably quite a bit like the author) so much that I ordered Qiu's anthology of Tang and Song poetry.

Another engaging Inspector Chen mystery, but this time his sidekick Detective Yu is more involved, which adds breadth to the story. But this is not so much a mystery as a portrait of modern Shanghai, which in spite of its economic boom is still haunted by the horror of the Cultural Revolution. Although the denouement seems a bit dragged out, this is a finely written piece of work.

Qiu Xiaolong writes in a way that is so wonderful on several levels:
1. He is a superb writer.
2. These are very good mysteries/crime stories. No pat endings and detailed characters with complex motives and relationships.
3. This view into modern life in China and the effects on its people of that nations recent history are not to be missed. Nowhere will you find such a detailed and eye-opening look at "real life" in China unless you have friends from there!

This is the third novel in Qiu Xiaolong's Inspector Chen mysteries.

The murder of a dissident author comes at an inconvenient time for Inspector Chen. He has just taken a break from his "iron rice bowl" job to engage in some highly paid free-lance translating. At first he is content to leave the investigation of the murder to his deputy, Sergeant Yu, but pressed by Party Secretary Li and by his own growing curiosity, he becomes fully involved in the unravelling of the murder case.

His translating job, however, continues. He has been given the task by Dynasty karaoke club owner Mr Gu (introduced in the previous novel A Loyal Character Dancer). Mr Gu, who has Triad connections, has also supplied Chen with a xiaomi, or personal secretary, the young and attractive White Cloud.

By coincidence, the murder has taken place in a shikumen, one of the traditional styles of housing created during the era of the Foreign Concessions in Shanghai; the translation undertaken by Chen is of an investment proposal for a major commercial, retail and residential precinct in the heart of Shanghai designed in the shikumen style. The author creates an interesting tension between the reality of life in the shikumen that is the murder site (no privacy, too many families living in incredibly cramped conditions) and the proposed New World project, the success of which, according to Chen "would depend on a myth - on nostalgia for the glitter and glamour of the thirties, or to be exact, on the recreation of that myth - blending the past into a delicious brew, a cup of cappuccino, to delight customers in the nineties" (p. 23).

Having been to Shanghai's model renovation in the shikumen style, the area known as Xintiandi, I can relate to the author's bemused sense of contradiction: the little museum and founding site of the Chinese Communist Party (my destination) is hardly noticeable among the yuppified coffee shops and bars of the new New China!

As with his previous novels, Qiu Xiaolong intersperses his narrative with insightful sociological observations. Some of these relate to the Cultural Revolution, which forms a backdrop to the murder, whilst others clearly reflect the author's concern with the growing gap between rich and poor that emerged in the wake of Deng Xiaoping's reforms: "The New World could turn out to be like present-day China, full of contradictions. On the outside, the socialist system under the rule of the Communist Party, but on the inside, capitalist practice in whatever disguise. Could the combination of the two really work?" (p. 139).

Nor would it be a Chinese novel without reference to food. White Cloud turns out to be an accomplished cook: "She finally emerged, carrying a large tray with a broad smile. `From the Dynasty Club,' she announced, placing on the folding table an impressive dinner that included some delicacies he had never seen before. One was a small dish of fried sparrow gizzards, golden crisp. How many sparrows had gone into the making of that dish, he wondered. The other dish, of duck, was also original - it was duck heads with the skulls removed, so people could easily reach the tongues, or suck out the brains. It was the sauna shrimp, however, that really impressed him. River shrimp were brought to the table in a glass bowl, live, still jumping and wriggling. She also provided a small wooden pail whose bottom was covered with red hot stones. She poured some wine into the bowl of shrimp, then took the drunken shrimp from the bowl and put them into the pail. There was a shrill hiss, and in two or three minutes, a plate of sauna shrimp appeared." (p. 108).

Some western reviewers have found the narrative pace and unexpected thrills of the mystery genre lacking in this novel; however, it is an intriguing tale and a pleasure to be transported back to a familiar Chinese setting.

Michael Williss

I wasn't crazy about this book for two reasons. While I'm a big Robert B. Parker fan, I've been late to the party and I've found his newer material to focus on plot first and insight second. Clearly his earlier work, or at least "Promised Land" blurs this distinction. Long passages on issues that are now somewhat dated sidetrack the predictable story line. This is interesting from a historical perspective but is not a real page turner like so many other Spoenser novels.

My other reason for the low rating is the pletora of typos in the Kindle edition. As "the leading publisher dedicated exclusively to electronic editions..." I was surprised at how poor the Rosetta Books quality was. I am not speaking to the quality of the content, but rather their half-hearted effort at putting it together.

As an avid reader (and professional writer for technical publications), I rarely notice any typos in printed material, particularly books. While you do see an occasional mistake, they are few and far between and my impression is that the quality is pretty high. Truth be told, there are likely more typos than are noticed by a casual reader, but the story you are reading may distract you enough to miss them as it commands your attention.

Not so with "Promised Land". This edition was so full of errors that it was a major barrier to enjoying the book. Clearly the firm employs OCR to convert books; equally clearly a human being never reads the book to proof it. While I'm not setting out to document the errors - "you re" instead of "you're", "not" instead of "that" - a quick read with a notepad would have uncovered them all. This may have taken a little extra time, but your electronic edition is the only one I have seen with more than one or two errors - and my guess is that there are at least thirty.

I will likely steer clear of Rosetta Books in the future. It's not that I don't appreciate the added information they provide - it's just that I buy a book to enjoy the story, not the trivia. As for Robert B. Parker, I'll definately get everything he writes today but may hold off on pursuing his back catalog.

Robert B. Parker has written a series of detective novels featuring "Spenser". Parker finished Raymond Chandler's "Poodle Springs" and wrote a novel that continued Chandler's "The Big Sleep". In Chapter 1 Spenser is working on his new office when Harvey Shepard hires him to find his run-away wife. Spenser explains the philosophy of wives who run away (Chapter 2). The details describe the Boston locale. Chapter 3 describes the drive to Hyannis and this city. Spenser meets Hawk at Shepard's house; are there complications? Spenser meets Millie the daughter. The Chief of Police gives Spenser a lead to the Silver Seas Motel where he learns something (Chapter 5).

Does Chapter 6 remind you of Chandler? Telephone bills and credit card receipts tell of a person's habits. One address is watched, and Pam Shepard is seen. [Too easy?] Spenser learns about Pam's friends in New Bedford (Chapter 8). [Parker could use language that Chandler could not forty years earlier (Chapter 9)] When Spenser returns to Harvey he learns more about his problems. [Would Marlowe refuse to report to a client?] Chapter 12 has a new complication for Spenser. There is shocking news in Chapter 14, and just the right amount of satire. The conversations and details date this book (Chapter 15). Harvey Shepard explains his problems (Chapter 17). Spenser comes up with a scheme to save the Shepard's from their foolishness (Chapter 20).

There is subtle satire in the meetings (Chapter 21). Spenser psychoanalyzes his clients (Chapter 22). The deal is arranged (Chapter 23). Spenser meets with the police (Chapter 24). Spenser discusses things with Susan in a restaurant! [Who could be listening?] Everything goes according to the plan (Chapter 26). There is a happy ending to this story in Chapter 29. This story has a good plot but seems incredible in parts. Some of the characters seem like cartoon characters. Raymond Chandler's Marlowe was a trouble-shooter for the very wealthy. Spenser is a down-market version but perhaps more interesting for that.

PROMISED LAND is the fourth Spenser novel, and definitely one of the better ones. The plotline deals with Spenser trying to find a runaway wife, only to discover that the husband who hired him has some very serious problems of his own.

This novel is important for two reasons. First, it introduces the character of Hawk, who would later become a key figure in the series. Second, this is the first novel to fully define the parameters of Spenser's relationship with his girlfriend, Susan Silverman. This book is therefore a must read for fans of the Spenser series.

PROMISED LAND has a relatively strong plot with an exciting conclusion. But this is also the first Spenser novel with a big philosophical component. Many of the characters have long, thoughtful dialogues about the nature of love, commitment and marriage. While many of these exchanges are interesting, most of them are overlong and struck me as stilted and unrealistic. I knock off a star for this reason.

You can read the Spenser novels in any order, but I personally believe the earlier ones should be read first. So my advice is to read this novel, along with GOD SAVE THE CHILD as your first Spenser books.

Highly recommended.

The prose is well-written, the characterizations are vivid and the whole story fits together like a hand in a glove. That said, much of the book is filled with rhetorical politicalization - which, admittedly, was much the topic of the day - that became a bit thick at times. I don't know many people who actually hold conversations like those held in the book. Again, although I lived through those times, I was very young - so maybe people DID talk like that back then. Anyway, the constant rhetoric rubbed me the wrong way after awhile, reducing my enjoyment of the story after awhile.

However, I love the way Robert Parker describes characters and actions, and I love Spenser's internal dialog. Hawk was an awesome new character and I hope we run into him again. Despite its faults, this was a book that I enjoyed reading overall, and recommend to anyone who enjoys PI novels with a bit of intelligence behind them.

*disclaimer* written in the middle of the night under the influence of medications that make me stupid dumb*

Ya gotta have moaning melancholy ... and ... and ... thoughtful, teaching t'ings.

For me, this # 4 in Parker's Spenser series was a key novel, a turning point for honing purpose and direction for future offerings. With PROMISED LAND, the baseline ingredients were set. It almost seemed to me as if, in writing the early parts of this plot, Parker had scrambled to the top of a mountain and surveyed the territory he had acquired in his first three books. "I've clearly opened something successfully long-term here," he might have concluded. "What do I want to do with it. Where do I want to take it."

A third into the plot of PROMISED LAND, a short paragraph from Spenser's narrative soured a trumped-up deal, like flat beer worn down:

>> Living around Boston for a long time you tend to think of Cape Cod as promised land. Sea, sun, sky, health, ease, boisterous camaraderie, a kind of real-life beer commercial. Since I'd arrived no one had liked me, and several people had told me to go away. Two had assaulted me. You're sure to fall in love with old Cape Cod. <<

Of course Hawk's arrival to the series, as many reviews have eloquently heralded, was highly effective and welcome, though I had anticipated a "love at first sight" First Meeting between Spenser and Hawk. As I thought about it, though, I was impressed with the thematic effect of Hawk being introduced as someone not yet integrated, but long significant in Spenser's life. As Spenser explained more than once here:

"I've known him a long time."

Yet, it wasn't until "now" that the relationship between these two machismo (in the detoxified, good sense of the term) males seeded and began growing into ... a black-and-white-Knight ... chess set ... a pair of large oak trees ...

Well, okay, since these guys were self-mobile (and too cool) maybe I should get off the mangled-metaphor kick, and be trite-but-right in terming them Super Heroes. But, in fact, they were more like genetically pure, human males, evolved beyond ape without losing the pheromones.

One of my favorite paragraphs in the Spenser novels (those which I've read so far) was in PROMISED LAND, and has this line in it:

>> There ain't all that many of us left, guys like old Spenser and me. <<

The paragraph from which that line was lifted, and the way it played from the previous scene, brought a moan of acknowledgment up from the soul, tears to the eyelids. If that statement was spirit-level-true in 1976 when the book was copyrighted, how much truer (and more devastating) would it be today.

One of the ingredients noted above, which came through here as a commitment in the Spenser series, was that it was going to deal dramatically with various sociological and psychological issues (which definitely related to machismo, etc.). The seventies were the "Time" in which both those fields of study of human behavior had come into prime, in a growing acknowledgment from the masses. In the early seventies, I was fresh out of college (actually I was weathered, withered, and wilted, but still wide-eyed), breaking in the graduate psychology and philosophy seminars I had worked through, becoming acquainted for the first time, along with the rest of the world, with the differences among those idealized "-ologies"; becoming intimately acquainted with the unique definitions and uses of each.

Self-help books had just begun bulging commercial bookshelves, bombing and bumbling outward into the cultural scenes.

It might be interesting to note, though, that to recommend therapy to anyone in that era wasn't as "old hat" as it is today, when probably 70% of the US population has at least considered that option, if not been decades into such a Freudian deal of paying a professional "ear" (similar to a private "eye") into which to pour personal woes dredged up from the toes. And now we have Winfrey, Dr. Phil, and scuds of Prozac pills. Who woulda thunk? Burp. Overdosing has become a constant; not a constant threat, just a constant.

Sometimes it appears to me that, since the time of that primal-pivot-70's era, the human -ologies have become polluted by the very seas of social ills they were instigated to cure. Unfortunately, instead of a cure, maybe we've had a nurturing of the complicated foolishness we humans have imposed upon ourselves (pushed `n packed into our cases of emotional baskets).

But, in PROMISED LAND, Spenser's descriptions of how that "system" was supposed to work are "Right on!" from my perspective.

He quoted from Robert Frost as advising, in essence, that a man must get behind his Father's sayings, must evaluate them for himself, must begin drawing his own conclusions about who he is and what he wants his (personal) world to become. The implication there (in this novel's plot) was that when personal worlds were in working order, The Greater World, "The Causes," would become moot points (Thank God, or Whomever!); or, at least, would become functioning, well-oiled, strongly founded points of sanity and security.

Interestingly, Susan was using the Frost quote (I had flashed to the talk-show host instead of the poet) to explain one of the social issues brought out in this novel with such painful, yet cheer-inducing clarity, that of the budding of militant Feminism, its time of seeding, rooting, and blossoming ... barbs, thorns, and machine guns ... with roses and truth crushed, bruised, brutalized, omitted or deleted. Susan was using the Robert Frost (with bite) line to show how woman, especially housewives, needed to "come of age" or to begin evaluating what they were taught by parents, often through eons-concretized, self-perpetuating-auto-behaviors, more than through specific words, phrases, or beliefs.

What I liked about Susan in this one was that she could realize she was wrong; be hit upside-the-head (symbolically) by Spenser; then come up to speed, without wasting a split-second feeling foolish. Once she got that she was off base (maybe mildewed) in her thoughts; she slipped into a quick and total, "Oh, I see," and began skipping to the true tune without missing more than a few beats. She may have been entertainingly outspoken and opinionated, but she didn't allow herself to stay stuck or stale.

Moving on into the plot, I want to mention that the points were beautifully "telling" (and very well taken by me) which Parker made around the murder of the old guard at the bank (which I might type as "Old Guard" to pile on more meaning).

There was also a good amount of tension between Spenser and Susan here, a cool (and hot) dancing-around-issues on how to be "together," all of which played beautifully off the sociologically-wounded-married-couple in this plot, intriguingly named Pam and Harvey Shepard.

I've noticed in a few interesting comments in Spenser's blog on Amazon, comments from housewives (I'm proud to say I am one, by choice) wondering why Parker doesn't like their "breed." Actually, in this novel, I felt that The Housewife, Pam Shepard, was a heroic figure, used well fictionally to expose the type of growth possible through gutsy choices, when they continued to move onward instead of to solidify into militant ignorance (thanks to Spenser).

I also enjoyed the clarity here of what Spenser felt about anyone (man, woman, or in-between) suddenly dropping responsibilities to children, and skipping out on Walk About (to "find" oneself).

Parker exquisitely laid bare the various sides of sociological and psychological issues as they played into his individual characters and their ongoing lives. His brand of "analysis" (soul searching), expressed amazingly clearly in this novel, I could get behind. It allowed a person to responsibly go beyond whatever may have been blocking his/her life from "doing its (True & Intended) thing."

PROMISED LAND was the absolute perfect title for this novel. Parker's rhythm and stride had arrived (though the first 3 novels were perfect in their own right); he was committed to dance and stretch through what evolved into 3 decades with Spenser, Susan, and Hawk. (Possibly his publishers had begun realizing Parker's unique potential by then and were wisely clamoring for continuation.)

As I've said in previous reviews of this landmark series (see my two-part Listmania); it is one of the best treatises I've found on our US cultural evolution, from perspectives including and beyond the various -ologicals. To have that worked seamlessly into the high entertainment of a mood-rich detective series is a steal on steel.

What I dread more than "guys like us" (Spenser and Hawk) going extinct, is the day when no one will be able to comprehend, let alone remember, who they were, what they stood for.

Who ... was ... John Galt?

Learn this. Know it. Remember it.

Or else!

Or, our species will not be worth the Sacred Fertilizer (my term for Holy Sh...) we're churning out with too many "-isms" and not enough sense; with too much seeking of "safety in numbers" (though I believe in the necessity of our well-trained military, and am beyond thankful for their dedication, diligence, and expertise) and not enough singularity of sanity.

With Respect (and hope) for our species, a respect which sometimes flickers and dims, but my Rose Tints still work,

Linda Shelnutt

As a diehard mystery fan for many decades, I've found myself getting more particular about the structure and plot of the mysteries I read. Lately, I've wondered if I've become TOO critical. But then "The Fifth Woman" comes along and makes me realize there are some near perfect books out there. The novel is riveting, from beginning to end. What makes it especially noteworthy are the shifts in perspective, which are used to maximum effectiveness. The author gives the reader just a touch of information from the killer's perspective, then switches back to the detectives, who are baffled by a seemingly random set of clues. As a reader, you're shouting out "No, don't you see what's going on? Do a blood test!" But of course the characters don't hear you and have to work things out through the duration of the book. So much fun (if you like being on the edge of your seat).

I have read a number of these Kurt Wallander novels now. First introduced to me by a clerk at a book store in 700 Shops on Michigan Ave in Chicago. Since then I have read several. They are all terrific novels. Set in Sweden, translated to English, these detective stories offer a different feel than what we read from American authors of detective mysteries. Not necessarily better as a whole, but certainly different and refreshing. I believe these stories take a deeper look at the entire detective's life which adds tremendously to suspending the disbelief it takes to be engrossed in a story. The Fifth Woman is a great one.
Det. Wallander is human, makes human mistakes, suffers from human malladies, and struggles with some of the things he experiences. But, he also has a knack for solving crimes and mysteries, and understands, sometimes reluctantly his responsibility in doing so. He does not do this magically, rather he accomplishes this through solid police work by the entire team of the detectives working for and around him.
If you are looking for gratuitous steamy sex scenes, you will not find them in these novels. (Looking back, I don't think there are any sexual episodes in these stories.) What you will find is a great story that will keep you turning the pages and scratching your head. What more can you ask for from a mystery novel. Become a Kurt Wallander fan.

written in his typical excellent style it was a very nice change to have a female as the killer

Well, I love thrillers, so my opinion is far from unbiased ...
I liked this one, as many of Mankell's, because the mystery and suspense is blended with real life and totally human characters. Good, solid, interesting, clever.

yet there is method in 't."
Hamlet: Act II, Scene 2.

Four nuns have been found brutally murdered in a convent in an unnamed North African country. A fifth woman has also been murdered. Although news of the murders is suppressed and the fifth woman is never publicly identified a policewoman with a conscience forwards letters found in her possession to her daughter in Sweden. Soon thereafter a series of seemingly unconnected and brutal murders grip the small, Southern-Swedish city of Ystad. The murders are well planned and executed. They seem designed to inflict as much pain as possible. Detective Inspect Kurt Wallander is tasked with identifying the killer or killers and the motive behind the killing. If Wallander cannot discover a motive he must at least learn enough about the killer's method to stop him or her before more people lay dead in strange surrounding. That is the plot of Henning Mankell's "The Fifth Woman".

"The Fifth Woman" is the sixth book in Mankell's Kurt Wallander series. This series is often compared to the Martin Beck detective mysteries authored by the husband and wife team of Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall. Wallander, like Beck, is a police detective in Sweden. Unlike Beck, whose beat was Stockholm, Wallander works in the small southern-Swedish city of Ystad. The Wallander series takes place in the 1990s while the Beck series took place in the 1960s and 1970s. Although I tend to prefer the Beck series, the Wallander books are entertaining page-turners. Mankell stays well within the `police procedural' formula and has not tried to reinvent the genre. However, he has done a good job, through the first books in the series, of developing the character of Mankell and his supporting cast of characters. Wallander is no Sherlock Holmes and gets results more by perspiration than inspiration. He is also a fully drawn character. We see him dealing with the break-up of a marriage, an estranged daughter, and a father who is developing senile dementia. The supporting characters, particularly his fellow detectives, are also well drawn.

As the plot in "The Fifth Woman" plays itself out Mankell does a good job of showing the grunt work that goes into a murder investigation. Mankell also does a good job portraying the relationship of Wallander with his fellow police officers and with his family, especially his aged and failing father. Wallander is shown as a flawed man, a man with a temper and someone who can be more than a bit stubborn. However, I found myself drawn to the character as much for his flaws as for his detective skills.

The Fifth Woman is, in my opinion, one of the better books in the Wallander series and I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone interested in a good police story, especially one set in a location outside the United States. Recommended. L. Fleisig

If you love action, adventure, suspense and a quickly moving plot, Meg Gardiner will not disappoint you. Great read!

As most of the people who have written reviews for Meg Gardiner books, I also discoverd her via the artical Stephen King srote in Entertainment Weekly. Meg Gardiner has all the requirements of a writer that I am drawn to. She writes in first person, her heroine is smart and the most important the dialouge is "laugh out loud funny." I do hope that Ms. Gardiner does continue to write more Evan Delaney novels in the future and that they do become the "big hits" in the United States as they well deserve.

Sorry for the lack of content in this review (I'm still finishing Crosscut). I received my copy of Killchain today in the mail and it's almost twice the physical size of her other paperbacks (in size not # of pages). This confuses me, did I receive a copy for the vision-impaired or are all of the Killchain paperbacks this huge?

Gee this book was fun. I read it and I love female superhero types and this one is totally fun. Way better than most thrillers out there. Evan (our hero) is like a female James Bond or a Modesty Blaise type. If you're looking for some fun and a highly original thriller with a cliffhanger ending this is it. I love two of the villains named Bliss and Shiver. Meg had a great way of choosing names. I feel like this series could evolve into something very special and this book would make a great movie. I can't wait to read the next one in the series. Highly recommended. Fast blazing fun read. Would be perfect to take on summmer vacation.

Evan Delaney is called to an accident site on Highway 1, where her father's car has gone off the road. However, she quickly discovers that there is no body. The authorities think Phil was trying to fake a suicide because, well, the authorities are usually missing a brick or two: a car falling off a cliff into the Pacific Ocean, then you might expect not to find a body, but a car falling into a ravine? Then Evan gets a phone call and she is informed her father has been kidnapped. She has 72 hours to find something to exchange for his life and it will involve taking her far away from Southern California, fleeing from not only the feds but also some rather unusual assassins, and whatever this is about has something to do with Jax Rivera. Meanwhile, Jesse finally checks his answering machine and finds a desperate message from Phil, telling him to keep Evan out of this at all costs: if not, Phil's family will become part of the kill chain. Of course, it is way too late for Jesse to keep Evan clear of this mess and the chase is on.

Because this is basically a chase story, this one ends up having less of Gardiner's trademark humor because, frankly, there is not a lot of time for that kind of stuff this time around. I read most of "Kill Chain" thinking this was the least impressive of the Evan Delaney thrillers to date, in part because I really enjoyed the previous story, Crosscut, but also because by the time you get to the fifth novel the formula is really becoming obvious. With Evan Delaney it is always personal and she is starting to run out of people in her life (of course, the solution to that is to add more people to her life). I was wrestling with whether I would be rounding up or down on "Kill Chain," and then starting to think I was going to have to go with a straight 4 star rating. That was, until I got to the endgame. Gardiner has been getting more and more cinematic in terms of the stunts, but in these last two books she has been working on damaging Evan's psyche as well as her body. But as the opening lines of this novel warn us: "Don't ever pray for insight. You're liable to get it." The end of this book really represents one step forward, and two giant steps backwards for our heroine and I can only wonder where does Evan go from here?

Between the author's name and the title of the book appears the words: "Hookers, Guns and Money. Everybody Pays," and, yes, a certain Warren Zevon song was immediately lodged in my mind. I see you can get this paperback from Amazon, which is a vast improvement from when I first tried to track them down and had to get four of the give from Amazon.uk (I never thought to look north of the border). My paperback edition comes from across the pond with a faux sticker on the cover with Stephen King's quote delcaring "She is up there with Michael Connelly and Lee Child." King raving about Gardiner's books on his website and in "Entertainment Weekly" may well have increased her readership to the point that there are more of us who checked out China Lake and the rest of these books because of his recommendation than there are those who lucked out by being onboard from the very beginning. Now I feel bad because I have no idea who those writers are, but since I am now all caught up on Gardiner's novels and have yet to pick up any sort of hint to when the next book comes out (yes, I will upgrade to hardback, because I am not waiting for a paperback sometime in 2008), I might have to check out Connelly and Child. After all, they are up there with Meg Gardiner.

I like how this book completely surprised me! I thought I knew what was going to happen, but no! I really liked it. Very enthralling and captivating.

A lot of people have made the point that NASA after the Apollo moon
program let America down by just doing the Shuttle program
in terms of the manned space program.
Government politics and an exploration program don't go well together
long term. A "fake" in science is a hard thing: the Piltdown man,
the Mesoamerican crystal skulls and the Phaistos Disk are famous examples.
But this is a rock that is supposed to be from space.
The nickel concentration is high...the bugs fossils are from the very deep ocean not Mars. It is a conspiracy to save NASA by (NRO...really NSDA?).
The "hit team" sent to kill the scientists and the senator's daughter fails in the arctic and again off the east coast on the oceanographic platform ship/ Lab. Dan Brown novels seem to have the heroes surviving
against all odds in some very unique stories.
Of the three that I have reviewed I have to say that this is the best written and researched of all of them. The story telling reminds me of
Tom Clancy or Ken Follett or even Micheal Crichton.

I am may be one of the only people in the United States who was disappointed with DaVinci Code but Loved Angels and Demons, both books by Dan Brown. I just recently finished reading another book by the same author called "Deception Point". Like the first two books it follows a a twisty plot where you and never quite sure who are good guys and who are bad guys until the last few chapters. Political fortunes rise and fall. It all centers around an unusual discovery by NASA in the Arctic. I had some trouble putting this book down and read the whole thing in slightly more than 24 hours.

The repeated references to "Westbrooke Place Luxury Apartments" or a variation thereof. I lost track of how many times it was mentioned, and have to conclude there's some reason Dan kept doing so over and over and OVER, e.g., some kind of promotional placement kickback or free rent deal. Example: No *way* is anyone in DC giving a taxi driver "Westbrooke Place Luxury Apartments" as their destination vs. "23rd and N" or "2201 N Street" or refer to a fixture in their own apartment as a "Westbrooke Place mantel" (or something like that anyway). Come on, Dan. You don't have enough money??

Otherwise, I found the book pretty enjoyable. :)

All of Dan Browns books are great. I started with the most popular of course - the Da Vinci Code, but then back tracked to read his others. He is a great writer. I highly recommend all of his books.

The good Senhor Garcia-Roza's done it again -- in spades! Having been to Rio a few time, walking the very same streets and reliving the wonderful life in Ipanema, Leblon, Cocapabana and the Lagoa, this writer is an amazing master-of-the-understatement. Have read all his books, so far, and along with the great novelist Jorge Amado, Brasil's given the world muito entertainment! Theatre of the mind? You stop reading, smile, analyze, and go on; he's fun. Incidentally, it's great having some Tom Jobim on the stereo, along with Quarteto em Cy, Oscar Castro-Neves, Os Cariocas, Celia Vax, Joao Donato and even the transplanted musicians like Idriss Boudrioua (from Paris originally, featured quite often at the Allegro Bistro on Ribiero) supplying background music as you read. Good stuff!

"Blackout" is an excellent psychological thriller set in Rio de Janeiro that takes the reader on an extended and evocative ramble through one of the world's most interesting cities. The book's protagonist, Chief Inspector Espinosa of the Copacabana police district, is the star of the show and is interestingly presented as a sensitive/macho type, reluctantly moving into early middle age, but with all personal equipment--mind and body--functioning superbly.

The story begins with the unexplainable murder of a one-legged beggar on a rainy night in a part of town where the victim should not have logically been. No one knows who the man is, but early in the story it becomes clear that his death may have something to do with an upscale gathering of wealthy Cariocas in the same neighborhood. And thus begins an intriguing and zig-zagging investigation that features not only a satisfying procedure, but a terrific series of character profiles that include the protagonist, his police colleagues and an ample number of murder suspects. There is a second murder that is, if anything, considerably more shocking than the first (this is someone that the reader has come to know rather well by the middle of the book.) To say more would compromise the plot.

This is an altogether well done story with first rate characters. The bulk of the book is so good in fact, that I was left feeling that it deserved a somewhat better closing. For me, there weren't quite enough answers provided as to motivation for the killings. Other readers would probably disagree. If you enjoy international crime thrillers, you'll probably find this a very good read. A bonus here is that it is part of a series that seems destine to continue.

In Copacabana, Brazil, Detective Welber calls 12th Precinct Chief Inspector Espinosa to inform him an apparent homeless beggar with one leg was shot close up in the heart at the end of an affluent cul-de-sac. Espinosa goes to look at the corpse on Sao Joao Hill, but the murder makes no sense as there seems to be no motive to rob an indigent man incapable it appears to cause any harm with no witnesses since it occurred during a heavy downpour at night. Welber and Inspector Ramiro wonder why such an efficient professional hit on a helpless beggar timed to occur during THE SILENCE OF THE RAIN.

Still Espinosa refuses drop the case because three decades ago when he was thirteen he nicknamed this place Otto Street; the same spot where the murder of "Skinny" as they call the victim occurred. After talking to the night doorman of a nearby complex who found the body, Espinosa hones in on wealthy dinner guests who dined near the murder scene. He knows they are hiding something so he with his two associates exposes their cover-ups, but makes no progress on the homicide even as Espinosa knows the victim is not important to the brass to waste any more manpower on. When another more renowned homicide occurs, Espinoza believes there is a tie to Skinny, but even the Chief inspector concedes both murders seem to lack motives or witnesses.

BLACKOUT is a superb Brazilian police procedural, in which through Espinosa's dogged PURSUIT, readers obtain an insightful look through a WINDOW IN COPACABANA. The story line is terrific as the Chief Inspector uncovers clues that are either unrelated to his case or muddle the inquiry. Fans of the series will relish this strong entry as Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza continues to provide some the of the sub-genre's best whodunits.

Harriet Klausner

I guess although I enjoyed the overall plot of the murder mystery and was intrigued by the clever way that the author put it "by" me, I was not as engaged by the characters. They seemed too "stock" and two dimensional to be enjoyable; however, before giving up on the series altogether, I might read a second book to see if they grow on me.

Because I liked the first book in the Murphy series by the same author, I tried this series - didn't even make it through the first ook - too much swearing.

This is the first in a series of murder mysteries written by Rhys Bowen. Constable Evans is a policeman living and working in North Wales. The author knows this part of the world very well, and writes in the style of Agatha Christie. This book served me very well as light reading while travelling. Rhys Bowen has also written another series of murder mysteries with an Irish heroine by name of Molly Murphy. Both of these series are very well worth while.

Rhys Bowen is a new author for me and I am delighted to have discovered this series of mysteries. I enjoyed Evans Above for many reasons. The mystery is actually a good mystery. All the clues are given and discernible (if you read carefully) so all the action takes place in a very logical progression. The characters are very likeable and read like real people. The location descriptions are clear and recognizable even to those of us who live here in the "flatlands". I liked Evan Evans. He was not a bumbling, stumbling idiot but neither was he a self promoting intellectual who always knew what the clues meant but had to keep the meaning hidden until the last moment so that he got all the credit.

A pleasant, enjoyable read that captured my interest immediately and held me in suspense so that I really wanted to know what was going to happen. I enjoyed it so much I was not even tempted to flip to the end to solve the mystery, I wanted it to unfold just as this talented author wrote it.

This is the first in the series and my first by this author, but I was not disappointed. It took 25 pages or so to get into the book, but after that, I kept wanting to get back to it.

The Welsh setting (in a village by Mount Snowden) figures large in this book. Constable Evan Evans (how much more Welsh a name can you get?) is a Welshman (Welsh is his first language, English his second) who (even though he was on track to be an inspector) has taken a humble position as the village constable after his father's tragic death. It's a good thing, because two bodies appear, apparently the victims of climbing accidents -- but Evans doesn't think so. The powers that be have a very low opinion of village constables and dismiss him and his theories, but he keeps plugging away. In the meantime, there's this child-killer on the loose that everyone is looking for.

The mystery is full of the village types (including a Major who runs the Swiss chalet style inn and the two ministers' wives whose husbands pastor the two adjacent chapels in this village). Evans spends much of his time dodging single woman (or the grandmothers of single women) who regard him as a catch.

Evans is likeable and the plot of the mystery was flawless -- kept me guessing until the very end. I look forward to reading more in this series.

Spenser gets a note from love-of-his-life Susan, saying she's in trouble and Hawk's in jail. Seems her new lover, Russell, is possessive and part of a powerful family, and when she'd asked Hawk for help, Russell had him framed for murder.

So Spenser has to break Hawk out of jail, and rescue Susan... although Susan's not quite sure she wants to be rescued. And there are the corrupt cops and the FBI and CIA to deal with as well.

The action/mystery part of the book is exciting and just plain fun. I always love seeing Spenser and Hawk in action, and this is no exception. Just the scene of Spenser breaking Hawk out of jail was worth buying the whole book.

The personal/emotional part, though, is dark and both painful and joyous. Spenser loves Susan, and she loves him, but she also loves Russell. Something about their relationships, the way they're written, touches a chord deep inside (I know that sounds uncharacteristically fanciful, but it's the best I could come up with to describe it). Parker has a genius for conveying his characters' deeper feelings without resorting to flowery language--the essence of "show, don't tell."

I was a bit dissatisfied at first with Russell--it was understandable that Susan would pick someone very different from Spenser, but there didn't seem to be anything about him that would make Susan choose him. Then it clicked: it's in Spenser's POV. Duh. He's not going to see the same things in Russell that Susan does, nor does he want to. It's enough for him to know that Susan loves him. And when I realized that, I was awed all over again.

An entertaining enough outing for Spenser and Hawk, with the added bonus of Susan showing some flaws. She even seems to eat a whole meal at one point! The villian is extra-evil this time, and his wife is fat--therefore super-evil. One major flaw is a preposterous plot twist that has Spenser and Hawk hired by the all-knowing villian: what, he's too busy corrupting the planet to check references? Of course Susan goes back to perfection by the end, but a reader can hope that her penchant for Oedipal married men will crop up again in the future...

In this episode of the Spenser series, Spenser receives a cryptic note from Susan; she needs him to come to California. Hawk is in jail and she is afraid she might be in trouble. This is all the coaxing Spenser needs to drop everything and head to California, where he immediately sets out to break as many laws in as creative ways as possible ("It's not easy to mumble to yourself if you don't feel moved to mumble. I didn't know what to mumble and finally began to mumble the starting lineup for the impossible-dream Red Sox team of '67"). Along the way he gets hooked up with governmental agencies with whom, for a change, he has a goal in common - get rid of Jerry Costigan, the father of Russell Costigan, the other man in Susan's life. Then things get complicated . . .

A transitory chapter in Spenser's life - he and Susan begin to work out their differences, which is great. He and Hawk bond and Susan and Rachel Wallace (who makes a return appearance in this book) begin to catch a glimpse of the mystery that is Spenser and Hawk's friendship. Throw in some illegal immigrants basically being used as slave labor whose revolt Spenser and Hawk use to get to Susan, secret bases hidden in mines in Idaho and some typical Spenser kicking butt, and you have a great Spenser novel.

For those who are reading them randomly - please stop. Read them in order. Believe me, it makes all the difference in the world!

I read the hard cover version of this book and loved it so much. The best ever of all in the Spenser series in my opinion. I bought the audio version (read by, Michael Prichard),thinking it would be great fun to listen to it. I was very disappointed. The book was read, but with no character, (no emotion). I would love to listen to this one again, if read by Joe Mantegna

A CATSKILL EAGLE is the twelfth Spenser novel, and it's the first one with a really silly plot. The absurdity of the story makes this book difficult to thoroughly enjoy.

In this novel, Susan Silverman hooks up with a new boyfriend whose father just happens to be a evil arms dealer (and a white supremacist and anti-semitic to boot). Spenser and Hawk try to rescue her and somehow hook up with the CIA (!) who enlist them to covertly kill the arms dealer. The conclusion of this book involves Spenser breaking into the arms dealer's fortress and going through a secret tunnel to kill him.

Anyway, the whole plot of A CATSKILL EAGLE is absurd, and it's only Parker's snappy writing that makes this novel worthwhile. This is one of my least favorite Spenser novels, and I would definitely not recommend it to a newcomer to Parker's work. My advice would be to read PROMISED LAND, LOOKING FOR RACHEL WALLACE or EARLY AUTUMN first. Those novels have much more realistic, compelling plots that show Parker at his best.

This second in the Inspector Banks series does not disappoint. I enjoyed it as much as I did the first one. In this book, Banks is on the trail of a pretty cold and calculating killer who has killed a local man and buried him under rocks in the open area in the area of Yorkshire where Banks lives. Banks finds he has to start sifting through some past history in order to figure out who did the deed, and unfortuanelty he isn't quick enough to find out who it is before another murder occurs. People will go to great lengths to keep the past buried. This is a pretty good series and for anyone who likes British procedurals, it certainly fills the bill.

Peter Robinson grew up in Yorkshire, and is the author of a number of previous novels featuring Inspector Banks. He is the winner of numerous awards in the United States, Britain and Canada, and in 2002 he won the CWA Dagger in the Library. As I also come from Leeds the background to his stories is something that I have experienced first hand and because of this I have a special affection for his books. However they would be first class crime fiction wherever they were based.

The body of a well-liked and equally well respected local historian is found partially buried under of all things a drystone wall, close to the small village of Helmthorpe, Swaindale. Why would anyone want to murder a quiet unassuming man?

Funnily enough several people seem to be in the frame for the killing. Penney Cartwright, a folk singer with a somewhat murky past, a shady land developer and Harry's own editor, plus a local thriller writer. All of these characters play some part in Harry's past life. A life full of wonderful summers in the dale.

A young girl, Sally Lumb seems to know more than she is letting on and her knowledge could put her and others in danger. Inspector Banks is certainly going to have his work cut out with this case.

Peter Robinson is a winner. He quickly immerses you in his story, tantalizes you with suspects and plot twists, and accompanies it all with excellent description of the Yorkshire countryside. He makes you feel you live there. He makes you feel you know the people he writes about. And beyond that, he rarely indulges in cheap plot tricks and serendipitous gimmicks to move his plot along. He unfolds the story at a nice, slow (but not too slow) pace. All in all, he's a masterful writer who puts a lot of effort into delivering a top-notch novel. And this is one of his best.

A good follow up to Gallows View but it didn't grip me quite as much.
Again a believable crime and good character descriptions.
It's great to read a book and feel like you know the town and the characters...Robinson certainly has a knack for realism.

This is the second in the series set in Yorkshire and featuring DCI Alan Banks, a London refugee just beginning to adapt to Northern ways. The story this time is set in a small community up the valley from the market town of Eastvale, where the police station is located. A retired academic with a mania for industrial archaeology and the inheritance to indulge it has been killed and his body left in a farmer's field. His immediate circle includes a local entrepreneur, an ex-folk singer returned home in disillusion, the local doctor, and another "incomer," an author of mystery novels (which allows Robinson to get in a few tongue-in-cheek digs). But then a teenage girl whose precocity and theatrical ambitions lead her to poke into matters on her own becomes the second victim. Where the first book spent a lot of time on the Chief Inspector's wife and family (necessarily setting the scene and establishing the characters), this one is much more the traditional police procedural, focusing on the murder itself, the suspects, and Banks's tireless efforts to pin the former on one of the latter. The denouement isn't exactly a deus ex machina, but I didn't think the reader received sufficient clues to even begin to logically identify the culprit. Robinson's beautifully orchestrated background narrative about life in rural Yorkshire, however, is worth the price of admission all by itself.

This book made me put off reading for awhile...until I could come back to it and try and finish it later. The book was so horrible I had to skim through the remaining chapters to try and figure out what happened in the end. After reading this novel I am hesitate on trusting the author with any of her newer books. This book is nothing like Carol's mother's books. Yesterday I read "I Heard That Song Before" in one day, and not once did I get tired of reading. I am going to check the reviews of Carol's books before I read another one of them. All book stores should pull this one off the shelf.

Carol Higgins Clark writes like a child who hates writing, but loves the applause at the end. I imagine her writing for indulgent parents who have low expectations of her but who cheer after reading the book. The writing is shallow, the characters are cliche and the mystery is pretty much non existent. Don't bother with these books.

This was a mediocre book. It is not one that screams for a second reading.

Since I can't think of a polite way to express it, I'll just say that this book is terrible.

You pick the category - characters, writing style, word choices, plot, voice, etc. - it is bad, bad, bad.

Don't waste your time if you're over 8 years old. Even if you're 7 or younger, there are far, far better books to read.

This story is definitely intended to be a light-hearted mystery, and the author does a good job of protraying annoying characters.

However, the paperback edition I picked up was filled with typos, which constantly jangled my nerves. Also, Chappy's shouts were always IN CAPSLOCKS! It drove me nuts! Like others have stated, it didn't give a good feel of the music industry (and don't get me started on the extremely dull interview the radio personalities gave...ugh. No wonder their station was doing badly).