Mystery Crime Books

The 15th in the Melanie Travis series, this outing finds new mom Melanie blissfully happy in her role as a stay-at-home Mom to new baby Kevin and son Davey, with the help of her husband Sam, who runs his software business out of their home.

Her friend Alice however, is going back to work as her children are both in school, and she needs to find a place to keep Berkley, her large, rambunctious dog, happy while she is gone during the day. She talks Melanie into checking out the Pine Ridge Canine Care Center, run by Steve and Candy Pine.

Melanie is impressed, the staff seems to really care about the dogs, the owners seem friendly and competent, and the setting is idyllic for a dog. When she goes back for a second visit, to check on details like on-call vets and food, she hears Candy scream from a back hallway, and they find Steve shot dead in his office.

Alice implores her to investigate, and Melanie does, simply because she feels sorry for Candy. Steve had been in charge of the books and business; Candy was in charge of the dogs. Melanie's cover is that she is hanging around asking questions because she is going to re-do the web site. She finds out about an angry neighbor who blames the Center for his neighborhood going commercial, some angry ex-girlfriends, a disgruntled former employee, and then she finds out about the silent partner, who seems on the surface to be happy with the set up.

Melanie's big question is: Why is handsome Cole Demarkian continually delivering supplies from Byram Pet Supply, if the memberships are down, and the storage closets are full? Melanie decides to search Steve's files after closing one night, but while she is alone in the office....

You will enjoy Melanie and her family and friends, and also the dogs. Melanie and Sam have five standard poodles. And you will enjoy the mystery-there are lot of suspects, an inventive setting, and a convincing bad guy. What more could you ask for?

Armchair Interviews says: Another fun cozy in the Melanie Travis series.

The newest, eagerly awaited, Melanie Travis mystery is as engrossing and enjoyable as expected. This book shows that a lot has changed in the Melanie's life lately....new house, new baby, new job status and a still-in-the-honeymoon-phase new husband. As I have said in a previous review, one of the best aspects of this series is that the characters are continually growing and developing. The changes in Melanie's life are realistic and interesting and the characters so likeable, that you will find yourself cheering them on. The setting of the doggie day care center is perfect for providing a diverse and often hilarious cast of characters/suspects. Melanie's interaction with the bratty receptionist is priceless. The mystery was unexpected with such a wide cast of suspects and I enjoyed the involvement of Alice Brickman, Melanie's best friend and the mother of Davey's best friend. It reminded me of Faith/Pix friendship in the Katherine Hall Page books and was a nice development in the series.

In general, this series avoids a number of pitfalls that drive me crazy in other series in this genre.....the angry, overprotective husband/boyfriend who doesn't want the heroine to investigate, the unrealistic, cheesy love life (usually a love triangle and/or the unlucky in love), the non-passage of time, etc. The tone and progression of this series is pitch perfect. The only thing I am kind of missing is the dog show backdrop, there is just so much atmosphere to enjoy at a dog show that the books that primarily take place at dog shows are my favorites. I do, however, understand that it would be pretty silly if someone dropped dead everytime Melanie went to a show. Also, I am ready for Aunt Peg to have another boyfriend :) All in all, another pick of the litter.

I haven't read a Jodi Piccoult book that I didn't love and this was no exception.

I think I found another one of my favorite authors. Fortunately she has lots of books out there. I love how Picoult can write and get into every characters mind set. Her book was thought provoking. I can't say I would not have done the same thing had it happened to my child. I read this book in a few days, I just could not wait to see what happened next. I am not reading My Sister's Keeper, another page turner. Will review that as soon as I am done with it.

I have read a number of Picoult's novels. This was not one of her better books. It drags in the beginning. I found the main character annoying. The parts of the book which were from the point of view of the child seemed unrealistic. The topic was interesting. A mother takes the law into her own hands after her 5 year old is raped repeatedly by a priest. But the way that Picoult handled the trial and the ending seemed forced.

Read the book if you have nothing better to read, it isn't that bad. But I recommend Nineteen Minutes and My Sister's Keeper instead. They are just better stories.

awesome book and in great condition. Jodi Piccoult is a great author.
Fast delivery!
Thanks!

This book was twice as long as need be. The story loses its hold with all the dribble in between.

A mom who shoots the person who molests her child is a hero to me. We all know how pathetic and unjust our judicial system is for the victims. Fiction or not, that part of the story intrigued me.

Overall the book is just a dud.

I am hooked on the J D Robb series "...in Death" Loyalty in Death did not let me down. I have only four more books in this series that I have not read and not one of the books has let me down. I have enjoyed reading them all and rate them as great who dunits and enjoy the futuristic differences from our present day who donits.

I love this series... you must read it to understand. It's all about a homicide detective named Lt. Eve Dallas and how she goes about solving a case which always seems imposibble to solve at first.

The 10th story (9 novels, 1 novella) in the In Death series gives readers a break after the emotional intensity of the preceding book, Conspiracy in Death.

Instead of a murderer or a serial killer, this time NYPSD homicide lieutenant Eve Dallas is up against terrorists who are bent on blowing up NYC landmarks.

The Good:
The characterization. As always, that's J.D. Robb's (Nora's) genius. Whatever the plot, she nails the characters.
The balance between seriousness and exaggeration. In this book, much is larger than life, but it's balanced with some serious and emotional scenes.
The continuing story. We get developments in Eve's past and in Peabody's life, and my personal favorite: Eve and Roarke's relationship continues to develop at a realistic pace.

The Bad:
I had a problem with the explanation for the first murder.
The motivation for the terrorist group was unclear.
The subject matter might hit a little too close to reality for some readers.

The Unusual:
It's a departure for the series, and I found I enjoyed it more if I viewed it as such. It's a bit over the top, moreso than other books in the series, as is particularly evident in the opening and closing scenes.

The Verdict:
It's an exciting, lively story, and the developments in the personal lives of several of the characters are well worth the read and a good addition to the series.

Even the future can't change the evil of of a terrorist organization's heart. Means, motives and methods all adapt to meet the changing techologies, but the one constant is the madness moving the characters involved.

Now, 50 years in the future, it falls on the shoulders of Eve Dallas to defeat terror's latest birth child....

A great story. I loved it more than most of the early Eve Dallas books. The characters become more lifelike with each story told and this one brings them out of the realm of fantasy, into a reality that is all their own....

A very exciting read!

Just when you think you know all the turns JD Robb can take you, she still takes you to the edge with these main characters, Eve & Roarke! She is lively, edgy, and never disappoints! Roarke adds just the edge she needs! It will make you laugh, pause & sigh, and keep turning the pages until you finish. Never gets old, as the character are always entertaining! Fast read.

Mr. Pelecanos has just found himself a new fan because from the very first page of The Night Gardener, he spins a heart-breaking, multi-faceted tale that is simply too hard to resist.

Ostensibly, this is a crime drama. A serial killer with an appreciation for constrained writing is tormenting the residents and law enforcement officials of Southeast DC. Dead teenagers are popping up in neighborhood gardens and their names are spelled the same forwards and backwards -- these are the Palindrome murders of the infamous "night gardner."

Okay, the whole palindrome thing gets threadbare fairly quickly but the story compensates by moving boldy beyond the constraints of hardboiled crime fiction and into a richer and more meaningful exploration of a city and people in conflict, and a dualism that seems to serve up equal helpings of salvation and damnation on the same plate.

Here is a tale set in the Capital of world power, Washington, DC. A city with a glorious veneer and a rotting urban center where people live lives of not so quiet desperation. And it is in his description of DC and its environs that this novel draws much of its power. It is simply drenched in authenticity, the mark of a caring local who has a soft spot for the people and places he writes about. Yes, this is fiction, but told with such bona fides that the reader may half expect to be able to walk into Leo's and have a drink with the notorious womanizer and ex-cop Doc Holiday.

And then there's the dialogue and the characters themselves. Mr. Pelacanos clearly has a way with the lingo of the streets and the police that survey them. He's obviously an adroit student of street culture and portrays them it with convincing force. Not once does he strike anything resembling a false note. All dialogue is sharp and well-crafted and often riotously funny.

It is in such fashion that we get to meet the detectives of the Violent Crime Branch of DC's Metropolitan Police Department. Mr. Pelecano produces an intimate look into the lives of inner-city youths, parents and their children, husbands and wives, criminals and, of course, law enforcement professionals coping with the often unbearable pressures of their work, some with more grace than others

In the end, The Night Gardener is less an exploration of crime than it is an exploration of the human soul told in cool and detached style that belies a soft and warm core.

It is an examination of time and place. A look at human beings doing the best they can with the circumstances they've been dealt. Sure, there are elements of mystery and good old fashioned whodunit, but this book is not about a serial killer at all, it's about making choices and living with the consequences of those choices. Happy and sad.

Reader beware, Mr. Pelecanos sucks you into his world, and forces you to think in ways that no other crime novel ever has.

Like I said, he's got an enthusiastic new fan.

Ken Bruen says in a blurb on the back of the book that nothing in mystery touches The Night Gardener, that this is what other writers try to achieve, and that this novel puts to rest the question of mystery as Literature.

Really? If so, it's no wonder crime fiction is mired in mediocrity. The bar is set too low.

The Night Gardener is an average book at best. There's no real conflict; nothing is at stake for the main characters. Ramone, the protagonist, is supposed to be a guy who goes by the book all the time, yet he NEVER goes by the book throughout the whole story. He even does something that would and should get him fired and put in jail if it were found out.

The commentary at racial and sexual prejudice is shallow. Pelecanos shows us what racial prejudice looks like, and that it exists, but he goes no farther. It's a very black and white view of an important issue in our society, yet Pelecanos never asks why or how such an issue persists, or what can be done about it.

If this book is an attempt at transcending genre, then it is a failed attempt. I'm sure there are many crime novels which do cross the barrier over into Literature, but The Night Gardener is not one of them.

The novel is not boring, but it's ultimately forgettable.

The most mature G. Pelecanos work up to now. Dark, lively and up to date.

Unfortunately, my high expectations for George Pelecanos' work - after reading his rave reviews - were sadly unconsummated after reading The Night Gardener.

Initially, the book seemed to have it all: Well drawn characters, gritty dialogue, authentic idiom, and just enough offensive people to make it all the more believable. Sadly though, the story's protagonist Gus Ramone almost fell into the latter category. Neither fish nor fowl in character, it was hard to accept him as a true crusader for justice, considering what was in actuality a serious transgression of his code of ethics (and the Police department's) in his relationships with ex cops Dan Holiday and TC Cook.

As for the plot... where was it? The storyline was so muddied with "bit" characters who added nothing at all of relevance to the plot, but whom Pelecanos seemed at pains to paint in great detail. We didn't really care. All too often, I was muttering: forget what he/she looks like and what they're wearing, and what they're thinking: just get on with the story.

Another minor but constant irritant was Pelecanos' inclusion of EVERY street name that EVERY character drove along. We didn't need a lesson in geography, and it's impossible to convey the "sense" of a city (unvisited by most readers) by simply quoting street names from the directory. None of the names have any relevance to a non-native... so why worry? Just leave 'em out.

So... a muddy plot; a forgettable hero; too many coincidences; cliched racial undertones; half a dozen extraneous characters; and 100 pages too long.

Out of fairness, I'll give Pelecanos another read - particularly as everybody else loves his stuff. Maybe it's me!

First, let me say that I'm a huge fan of Pelecanos. I think some of his earlier books are brilliant, and even his worst books are better than almost anything else coming out these days.

That being said, though, I was hugely disappointed with The Night Gardener. I get the feeling that Pelecanos wanted to tell a deep, thoughtful, detail-rich story about three interesting cops but just didn't have a plot to go with it so he hashed together something about a serial killer just to give the book some purpose. Well, this idea failed miserably. The "plot" of the book is this; years ago, someone was killing kids and leaving the bodies in city gardens. The victims all had several things in common. The crime was never solved. Now, 20 years later, another child is found dead in similar fashion. Has the killer returned after all these years? Two former cops and one guy who is still a cop want to find out.

It sounds interesting at first, but guess what? This plot is pushed so far to the back of the book that all we really get are long, detailed scenes of guys sitting around and thinking about other stuff, plus a strange sub-plot about two wanna-be gangsters which has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the book. When the "mystery" about the serial killings is finally "solved," it is done so in a cheap, throwaway fashion that makes the reader say "I plowed through 430 pages just for this?"

My advice? Skip this book and read an earlier Pelecanos book like Nick's Trip or Down by the River Where the Dead Men Go.

I have been a fan of Dean's since forever. This book is beyond a doubt one of the best ever. If your a fan of Koontz you won't put the book down till the end for that matter if you have never read Koontz start now. It will be the best thriller you ever read..................

Dean Koontz propels this suspenseful story with the drive of a young caring husband, Mitch Rafferty. At the onset, Mitch has a storybook life; the young and beautiful wife, a successful business of his own, a home. As each page turns demons emerge from his past. His parents are cold, unfeeling statues who repel the children in their adulthood. His brother's true identity is revealed to be a criminal, his three sisters have distanced themselves from the family.

Suddenly in the midst of a beautiful day at work, he is slammed with the news of his wife's kidnapping. The captors demand two million dollars for her release. A mere landscaper doesn't have that kind of cash.

The story that ensues feels like a hundred stories told before it. It is Die Hard, Fracture, Lethal Weapon, and uses the same old action and twisting adventure template that sells millions of copies. It stays true to the high body count, shocking revelations, betrayal, unmasking the bad guy at the end kind of structure that does it job keeping the pulse pounding, but does little for the imagination.

Not a bad read. I still recommend The Husband. However, prepare to be reminded.

What a dissapointment this book was! The storyline had so much potential and this could have been a great book. However, Koontz spends far too much time describing every flower and blade of grass (which add nothing but filler) than he does developing the characters. Out of a group of co-workers who share audio books, I was the only one who actually listened to it till the end. The endless descriptions of flora just turned everyone else off. But I thought the plot was good, so I held out for the ending, trying to ignore the fact that Koontz seemed to be trying to prove he could use a thesaurus and knows how to use adjectives. Then comes the ending-UNBELIEVABLY RUSHED and incomplete-faster than a NASCAR race and you feel robbed as he leaves too many unanswered questions. I have never felt before like a book was a waste of my time, but this one--oh yeah! It was like he got tired of writing the book and just rushed the ending to get it over with, dropping the characters and leaving too many loose ends.

I don't know how old this book is but it should be a movie. It's not one of his horror stories or some weird twilight zone kinda thing, it's just a good story and Koontz is a wonderful storyteller. Mitch is just a regular guy with a regular life until his wife is kidnapped and held for a 2 million dollar ransom. The twist and turns and chases in this book are great. I haven't read a lot of Koontz yet only like 4 or 5 books but this is right up there with Lightning. As usual with Koontz expect the unexpected, and even then you'll be surprised. Great story with great suspense, and as always he is the master of metaphors, you'll feel like your right there standing next to Mitch as he tracks down kidnappers. I usually only get to read for about an hour a day and I got thru this in about 4 days, I made time for this book, I had to know what was going to happen next.

I absolutely loved the first half of this book. It keeps you guessing, everything is up in the air, and you can cut the tension with a knife.

The second half muddles along like a drunk turtle. The entire plot is uncovered by the halfway point and then it's a slow parade of yawns to the final, predictable conclusion.

It was like Dean Koontz had a dream one night for a book that was fantastic, the only problem was that he woke up only remembering the first half and tried to just "wing it" during the second half.

I love his books. I love him enough to tell the truth, and the truth is tha this one is easily forgotten. It's right in the vein of Velocity and Nice Guy.

Take my advice, read the first half and then take a nap and dream up your own conclusion. I'm sure it'll be just as satisfying as this effort from Mr. Koontz.

This was an entertaining novel. Good twist at the end. Good plot an character development. Recommend this one!

This is the second book in the author's Ellie Hatcher series, and while I hadn't actually read the first one yet, I did not feel that the lack of context was a hindrance to my appreciation of this novel. On the contrary, the sole thing that could be considered a drawback was that I wish I had in fact read the previous book first, only because I would have known more of the background of these characters that I really grew to enjoy.

Alafair Burke's ANGEL'S TIP is a very solid thriller/mystery. The story has the typical elements of this kind of tale: a serial killer with an odd fetish, new insights into cold cases, a young eager detective, a gruff police chief. And while none of the disparate pieces may be wholly original, the way they are placed together works extremely well. The story is well-paced; were this not the case, the whirlwind of plot twists might have come across as gimmicky instead of exciting. But Burke keeps the storyline moving very quickly and the end result is neither too breakneck nor too shallow.

The characters are also a lot of fun. Many of the secondary characters are painted with fairly broad strokes, their purpose more to advance the plot than to exist as studies in humanity. However, even those characters have the air of believability about them. And the main character and her new police partner are a nice pairing. They may not be Holmes and Watson yet, but I sure wouldn't mind reading more stories about those two in the future.

One of the few things I did dislike about the story was the fact that the dialog seemed too focused on sounding hip and contemporary. So much so that I doubt you could actually find anyone who drops that many pop culture references into a real conversation. The problem with being absolutely up-to-the-minute is that sometimes that sort of thing can age very badly. We'll have to see how this style fares after it has been on the shelves a few years.

I had no expectations going into ANGEL'S TIP and when I left it I was happy to have discovered a new author that I enjoy. This is an exciting, fun book with its heart in the right place. This is a great example of the genre.

I don't normally read books in the mystery genre but I was glad when I selected this book. This is the first book of Alafair Burke's that I have read and it won't be my last! Just when I thought I knew who the killer might be, Burke introduced more clues to prove otherwise.

The book starts out with Chelsea Hart, a college student, on spring break celebrating in NYC. After partying all night long, Chelsea is found in a park, dead. NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher is determined to find Chelsea's killer. She thinks that the case is solved after arresting Jake Myers, young hedge fund manager. However, she has her doubts. Hatcher discovers that there are three previous cases that are similar to this case. In all cases, hair is taken as a souvenir.

Burke's criminal law background definitely enhances the book as well as add authenticity to the story. It helps to flush out the lawyers and cops in the book too.

I found it to be a fast paced book that I could not put down. I read it in one day since I needed to know who the murderer was in the story. I recommend this book to people who love to solve mysteries. This book has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing!

I should have liked the book, and the story was fast paced and engaging, but as a mystery it was a bit wanting. It had the haunting backdrop, sordid scenery, colorful characters, fast pacing, but...

...Spoiler Warning...

1. The main suspect was eliminated way too early. And everyone seemed to be convinced after he pased the lie-detector test. I expected there to be more tension between Ellie and her superiors on holding the main suspect until the real killer was caught, or at least leaving the reader in doubt that maybe the main suspect did do it after all. They had all of the physical evidences, means, opportunity, yet he was exonerated too quickly around the middle of the book.

2. There were not enough alternate suspects. The other minor male characters were quickly eliminated in the reader's mind. Brother puked when he saw the initial dead body, too emotional to have planned and executed the crime. Pestering boyfriend was always phoning her or instant messaging her, so there's an alibi by virtue of being either leaving her a message or texting her, or posting to the internet almost all hours during the time the second victim was killed. It would have been a LOT more creepy to have made her boyfriend a more sinister and likely candidate for the murderer.

3. Then there is the 2nd victim. I thought for sure, more would be investigated into the background of the 2nd victim. She was an aspiring writer, and would go out of her way to hear people's life stories. She would then weave them into her own story. The novel she was writing had a very interesting plot, which involved a crime committed under the nose of a police officer, and the tension of finding a clue that implicated a relative. I thought for sure that this 2nd victim might have had a previous encounter with the killer and had written him into her novel. Then the investigation would have been in part to comb through her manuscripts, with the chilling clues leading back to someone in Ellie's family, like her brother. In fact, they should have made her brother less like a dunce and more mysterious.

4. The red herrings were not very red, and didn't trick anyone. The janitor was so obviously setup. Former child molester, now a janitor at the nightclub where the first victim was killed. He confesses too eagerly and is disbelieved too eagerly by the investigative team. The lieutenant as the bullying boss that no one likes. The red herring clue was dropped so blatantly that all members of the investigative team immediately turned on one of their own and rounded up all the police to track him down based just on one phone call from Ellie's snoopy boyfriend who claimed to see him around Ellie's apartment.

5. Finally what gets me is that this Dream Team, as they say in the book, is anything but. In well written mysteries, everyone on the team is not immediately or shortly afterwards convinced to go a certain way. There is always one or the other whose theories are entirely at odds. Here we find that even though they initially don't buy Ellie's theory, they are easily convinced and then act on it. This includes her partner, the assistant DA and eventually the entire police station when putting out a APB on their boss, the Lieutenant. Ellie is the only one with a nagging thought she can't quite place. So after a wild night with the assistant DA to clear her head, she awakens the next morning, puts the pieces together and says, "Wait! it's ... whose taken the Lieutenant hostage." Then all units rush to the east end of Long Island, where the final scenes emerge.

The good parts of this novel were the dream sequences, as well as the tip from Robbie Harrington's dad. The writing about the parents and relatives of the victims and what they go through was done very well and makes you really feel how the rest of their lives is defined by this one horrific event, of losing their loved one to a murder, and their urge to see that justice be done.

Alafair Burke's Det. Ellie Hatcher returns after last year's disappointing "Dead Connection." Thankfully, "Angel's Tip" is much better, maybe even one of the best crime novels of the year, so far. On a morning jog, Hatcher discovers the body of murdered college student Chelsea Hart, and the investigation soon leads to the trendy New York City club scene, where Hart was last seen with investment banker Jake Meyers, who immediately becomes the prime suspect. But Hatcher quickly discovers striking similarities to several cold cases, leading her to believe a serial killer is on the loose. And she also wonders why police brass dismissed the serial killer theory a few years ago, when those old cases were first being investigated. Meanwhile, leaked details about the current murder keep appearing in the local newspaper, complicating Hatcher's relationship with her tabloid reporter boyfriend, as well as her professional life when he's accused of being the source. Things really get interesting when a new victim is found, her hair style eerily similar to one Hatcher wore in an old school picture, with Hatcher's initials cut into her forehead. In addition to the suspenseful plot (which has a doozy of a twist near the end), all of the characters are interesting and believable - qualities that are sometimes missing from a lot of crime fiction. Highly recommended.
Also recommended: A Stranger Lies There - winner of the Malice Domestic Award for best first mystery, its plot also leads to the New York City club scene.

You know, reading other reviews makes me realize that my problem is not a unique one; I have now read several of McCarthy's novels, and would not exactly say that I have enjoyed any of them. Yet I keep returning.

There are themes running through every one of his novels, that he returns to again and again. A young protagonist, often family-less, or about to be, wandering the desert looking for nothing in particular. McCarthy also seems to have a fascination with Mexico (or, in the case of The Road, whatever lies to the south) and of course violence. Pointless violence, meaningless violence, unresolved violence.

As others have pointed out, the first third of this novel has more of a plot than we have come to expect from McCarthy. It may comprise some of the best writing that McCarthy has done. But the middle section involving the wolf was a draining experience. I just couldn't read about the slow torture and death of an animal and find anything of meaning there.

I give this two stars because there is no denying that McCarthy can write, at least in the style that he's more or less invented. But I think this is it for me. At the end, I felt like the damn wolf.

This story has all the elements that draw a reader in and hold them fast: love, tragedy, revenge, hope. Try it, you'll like it!

Volume II of The Border Trilogy, The Crossing is McCarthy's follow-up to All the Pretty Horses. The United States-Mexican border is the only recurring character from the previous volume, but the settings and themes are quite similar.

However, The Crossing is unlike its predecessor in the fact that while All the Pretty Horses followed a fairly linear story, The Crossing resembles exact life in that one never knows what the next day will bring and sometimes today's conflict has no resolution tomorrow. Nonetheless, we grow and learn from one day to the next, whether we intend to or not.

The Crossing begins with Billy Parham, a teenager, inexplicably deciding to return a captured pregnant wolf to Mexico and neglecting to inform his parents of the trip. The plight continues for such a lengthy time that I found myself wondering if the entire book would be about the return of the wolf.

It isn't.

In true McCarthy style, the wolf's tale comes to an abrupt conclusion. However, Billy's story continues on.

He returns home, only to have a horrifying discovery. He now must return to Mexico with his younger brother on a new odyssey. They have a mission, but that mission soon gets derailed and practically forgotten.

After a great deal of conflict, Billy finds himself alone once more and returns to America. He wanders for several years and then resolves to return to Mexico a third time and find his brother. What he does when he finally locates his brother will both stun and touch you.

McCarthy writes The Crossing in elaborate detail that sometimes can lull your interaction with the book. However, just as things become almost dull, he jars you back to full alert. Because of this, I like to compare this book to real life because follow-through is so rare in our day-to-day affairs. We never know what to expect and predictions are so infrequently accurate we wonder why we bother in the first place. McCarthy understands such nuances of true life but manages to synthesize such reality with enough drama and conflict to keep the reader invested. We follow Billy on an epic journey that plays out over years and we watch him grow from a boy to a man, experiencing hardship that would annihilate most people.

I wouldn't say The Crossing is one of my favorite reads, but I learned a great deal from the author about pacing and description. I also learned more Spanish from this novel than three years in high school and understand the complexities of horses and camping on the open plain far more than I ever could have imagined, thanks to this book.

~Scott William Foley, author of Souls Triumphant

This is my third McCarthy novel. Cormac keeps astounding me with each page turned. This second installment of the Border trilogy is one of despair and sorrow. It is one of the most heart-wrenching tales I've ever seen upon a page. Once finished, I literally felt huge waves of melancholy all day. I sat and glared at the last page, mouth agape.

I'm really not sure how to describe this book, or that it is necessary to do so. It is an adventure story that has many different sections which, in ways, don't even seem to fit together. Certainly, it is mainly about two brothers and their journey into Mexico to retrieve horses stolen from their father's ranch. There is nothing predictable about what happens and some of it is even confusing. Yet it held me and I know I'll remember it for a long time.

I found it to be a very sad book too. Some of the sadness comes from the tragic action but some it is contained in the fatalistic restless of the main character Billy Parham. For most of the book the reason for his pain is unknown and then it comes into view briefly and boldly near the very end. Pay attention for it will give meaning to everything that came before.

After I finished the book I went to the beginning and reread the first few pages.

Reading this book was an experience. And I urge anyone who cares about good writing to take the experience. Read slowly. Let it sink in. You will carry it with you for a long time.

I'm so glad that Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar character is back. It's been six years since Mr. Coben has written a book in this series. You can tell Myron's voice isn't as strong as it used to be in his head but the book is still pretty good. I enjoyed the twists and turns of what has happened to Aimee Biel and does it or does it not play into the disappearance of another girl. I loved how Mr. Coben didn't try to pick up where the series left off. He just said that 7 years has passed and throughout the book catches the readers up on what has been going on their favorite characters' lives. I was happy that Myron has moved on from Jessica and that Win is still around. As always the character interactions are first rate. However it appeared to me that he sometimes tried to force humor into the situation. It's ok just to let it be serious. I can't wait to see what happens next in his life. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun mystery, but I'm not sure that it's a stand alone book. I would probably start with the first book of the series before reading this one so you can understand the backstory.

I read this book today, couldn't put it down. It was SO good!!! I loved the humorous parts as much as the serious parts. I couldn't wait to find out how it all turned out.

I would recommend this book without hesitation.

There might be two kinds of writers -- those that try to write dialogue that evokes reality and those that mimic what they hear from Hollywood. This is the latter. If that's okay with you, you might enjoy the story. By the time I hit Page 142 not much was really happening (some general fear about a missing daughter, but certainly not felt by the main character, Myron, who seemed not too worried about his role in her disappearance).

Then I hit a patch of dialogue that made me think this was just being prepped for a screenplay, not for what I would consider heartfelt, earnest fiction or somebody writing who had an ear for how real people speak (see Richard Price -- "Clockers," "Lush Life" as an example of what I mean).

"Hey, what are you looking for?" Big Jake snapped.
"Potential clues," Myron said.
"What?"
Myron turned back to him. "Never mind."
"So what do you want here?"
"My name is Myron Bolitar."
"So?"
"Good comeback."
"What?"
"Never mind."
"You some kind of comedian?"
"I prefer the term 'comic actor.' Comedians are always typecast."

This smart-aleck exchange of dialogue goes on and pops up from time to time throughout the parts I could make it through.

Fans of light, breezy fiction? It's all yours.

i love harlan coben books, pure and simple. Sure...they're all from the same formula (missing persons, mysterious phone calls etc) but i cant get enough of them. i read them in a few hours. I love his style of writing and i especially love the myron bolitar books. 'Promise me' is one of the best in the series; mainly because the characters have changed and grown a little but also because i've missed them so much!
I dont care about the plot holes. The characters make up for it.
& no one can call Harlan Coben boring...it's just a downright lie.

I've read all of Harlan Coben's novels, and think he is one of the best suspense writers working today. PROMISE ME is the long-awaited eighth entry in his "Myron Bolitar" series about a sports agent who solves crimes. Coben took a six year break from this series, and I think this novel is a worthy comeback vehicle.

I really enjoy the Myron Bolitar series a whole, which offers the reader a unique blend of humor and suspense. PROMISE ME is yet another strong entry, with Coben offering another first-rate plot with plenty of his patented twists and turns. As usual, Coben focuses heavily on suburban families and their secrets, but the formula works well in this case. The book's major flaw is the ending, which contains a final twist that is both sudden and implausable (I'm finding this a common problem with Coben's novels).

In-between all the plot points, Coben also updates us on Bolitar's love life, as well as the lives of supporting characters Win, Esperanza, Big Cyndi, and others. Six years have passed since the last book, and major chances have taken place in Bolitar's life, and it's fun to read about them. My only wish is that Esperanza played a larger role in the plot.

While this book was designed to introduce new readers to Bolitar, I personally think it's best to read the novels in order to maximize your enjoyment. PROMISE ME simply gives away too much of what happens in the earlier novels -- ONE FALSE MOVE AND DARKEST FEAR especially. Bolitar has quite a past, and Coben's constant references to Bolitar's backstory serve as a confusing distraction to the main storyline. If you've never read a Bolitar novel before, my advice is to read the series in order, starting with DEAL BREAKER.

Coben's next book is supposed to be another Bolitar book, and I'm looking forward to it. This is a rare example of a series that hasn't declined with age.

Reichs' heavy handed way of getting the scientific explanations in through dialogue frequently brings the novel to a standstill. The storyline is interesting enough but the writing style is uninteresting, perhaps even sophomoric.

Since I have found this author, she has replaced Patricia Cornwell as my favorite. More believable and great science!

Although the Tempe Brennan in the books shares only the name and the profession with the TV character, she is also an enjoyable heroine. The author obviously does great background research for her novels. A great fun read.

"Grave Secrets" is the fifth in Kathy Reich's Temperance Brennan series. It opens on Temperance at work in the heat of Guatemala, assisting in discovering and identifying the bodies of those unfortunates "disappeared" by the previous military junta. This is surely admirable work, by no means easy, and I understand Reichs has, in real life, actually done this. Surely, without this work,the guilty cannot be charged, and the families deprived of their loved ones cannot hope for closure.

At any rate, Tempe is in Chupan Ya,a remote village,investigating a well that has been used as a mass grave, finding and identifying the bodies of women and children. Doubtlessly, nasty work: soon, however, the discovery of a young woman's bones, in a septic tank in the capital, presents Tempe with even nastier work, and a mystery to be solved. The mystery deepens as three more young women from important, affluent families in the nation's capital disappear.

Reichs is always cutting-edge in her forensics, and Tempe's love life is always on the boil. Both author and fictional character undoubtedly have their hearts in the right places, but this book seemed to me one of the more weakly plotted in the series.

I am so happy to have discovered Kathy Reichs and her Temperance Brennan mystery series. Both Reichs and her fictional alter ego are forensic anthropologists, and provide a different angle on criminal investigations. I just finished Grave Secrets, which is not only an entertaining mystery, but also provides a bit of history about the horrible crimes that occurred in Guatemala during their civil war.

Dr. Tempe Brennan donates a month of her time to assist the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation. This group, FAFG, is trying to "locate and identify the remains of those who vanished during the 1962 to 1996 civil war, one of the bloodiest conflicts in Latin American history." No one is sure how many were murdered, but the estimates range from 100,000 to 200,000. While Brennan is working with 23 remains buried in a well in a small rural town, Sgt. Bat Galiano of the Special Crimes Investigative Unit of the National Civil Police seeks her out to help in the identification of a body found in a septic tank. Four young girls have gone missing, and it is believed that this body may be one of them. Brennan is an expert on septic tank burials. She reluctantly agrees, but there is someone high in government office that tries to keep her off the case. Also, the closer she comes to a solution, the more her life becomes endangered.

Because Reichs works in the same job as Brennan, her writing and descriptions of what she does are very believable and she speaks the appropriate jargon. She writes about a morgue "I proceeded to suite four, a room specifically outfitted for extra ventilation. The room for floaters and bloaters. The room for crispers. The room in which I usually worked." Some people may find what she does to be gruesome. I find it fascinating, and have already started another one of her mysteries, Fatal Voyage.

I really enjoyed this book. It is J.D. Robb at her best. I strongly recommend this to anyone who has become a fan of the J.D. Robb series. You won't be disappointed.

This was another great read by Nora Roberts. I love all of her books.
The only reason I rated 3 stars, is because the cover clearly states this book should be 2.99. When I recieved the product, I saw on the receipt I was charged 4.98 by Amazon, and that is supposed to be after the buy 3 discount! I'd say they made some money on that sale!

Along with many others, I am truly disappointed by the "mini book". With an item like this, you need to advertise the number of pages. The idea of paying $3.99 for postage, and receiving the package with only $1.14 on the package made me feel like a real idiot. It will be a VERY LONG TIME before I order anything from AMAZON again.

I ordered this book without looking at the number of pages. I assumed for $5 it was a full length book. It is not. It is 90 pages and it says boldly on the cover $2.99 great deal! I paid $4.98 so that isnt a great deal at all. Save your money and buy another book.

Bought this J. D. Robb book for wife. She was disappointed in it's length, it's not a novel but a novelette. Upon reading it, however, she found it enjoyable. For someone that doesn't like reading 400 page books, this is just fine.