“Sam’s Letters to Jennifer” 

by James Patterson

 

2011 Book Review #29

 Publishers Weekly Review

Though Patterson is best known for his Alex Cross thrillers, one of his biggest-selling titles has been Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas (2001), an affecting love story awash in tragedy and hope. This new, less powerful but compulsively readable novel is cut from the same sentimental cloth, with the narrative hook here being not diary entries but letters that an elderly woman writes to her beloved granddaughter.

When Jennifer, a grieving widow and columnist for the Chicago Tribune, hears that her grandmother Samantha has fallen and is in a coma, she races to Sam's town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. At Sam's home on the shores of the lake, she finds a packet of letters addressed to her; their text, recapping Sam's life with an abusive husband but, also, with a mysterious lover she calls "Doc," occupies half the novel.

In counterpart runs Jennifer's romance with a childhood friend, Brendan, she reunites with, only to learn that he is dying of brain cancer…a romance that allows her to heal her grief for her dead husband, Danny, who drowned the year before.

The novel's structure works brilliantly, with Patterson as usual using brief chapters and simple prose to propel the reader onward; more thrust comes from the plot questions: Will Sam survive? Who is Doc? What will become of Jennifer and dying Brendan? The answers will leave readers satisfied but not as stirred as they were with Suzanne. This is a slighter tale, but also one that few if any will put down as Patterson again shows how it is done. 

My Thoughts:  I was surprised that a man wrote a book like this!  I loved this book.  I have not read Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, but, I will!

"The Harbor"   by Carla Neggers

2011 Book Review #28

Publishers Weekly Review

Patrick West, chief of police in Goose Harbor, Maine, is murdered following a visit to his 101-year-old aunt, Olivia. Olivia passes away after hearing of her nephew's death but not before trying to say she knows who murdered him. 

The murder remains unsolved, and in the year following Patrick's death, his daughter Zoe virtually self-destructs, abandoning her police career and secluding herself in Connecticut.  Zoe returns to Goose Harbor after her sister Cristina calls to say that someone has broken into her house. 

Around the same time, burnt-out FBI agent, J.B. McGrath rolls into town claiming to be on vacation. Inevitably, Zoe and J.B. team up to solve a string of inexplicable crimes that are somehow related to her father's murder. The relationship between Zoe and J.B. is well paced and believable, and a secondary thread concerning J.B.'s connection to Olivia is a nice twist.

My Thoughts:   I liked this book better than ""Stonebrook Cottage".  The characters were believable. 

“The Vanished Man”   by Jeffery Deaver

            A Lincoln Rhyme Novel

2011 Book Review #27

 Booklist Review

Often, it's the details that help solve crimes, and no one does detail better than Deaver, particularly by way of the forensic expertise of Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs, most recently paired in The Stone Monkey.

When a student is found dead, the clues lead Amelia and Lincoln on a hunt for a magician--an escape artist, no less, who also happens to have the talents of sleight of hand and illusion on his side.

Amelia and Lincoln enlist the aid of Kara, who studies under the mysterious master magician, David Balzac. As more dead bodies pop up accompanied by the same calling card, the team homes in on the perp, dubbed the Conjurer. As Kara tells it, all magic comes in two parts: effect and method. The effect is what you want the audience to see, and the method is the technique used to elicit that effect.

This theme continues throughout the novel; wheelchair-bound, introspective Rhyme compares this duality to his crime-solving process, and the bulk of the book is divided into two like-named parts. Well-researched and exciting, this has all the elements of good crime fiction: likable leads, a colorful supporting cast, fascinating scientific analysis, and a look at the secrets of an otherwise unknown world.

My Thoughts:  I love Lincoln Rhyme and all the other characters in this series of books.

This one is complicated and has a surprise ending!  Even better!

"Stonebrook Cottage"   
          by Carla Neggers


2011 Book Review #26


From…Publishers Weekly Review

In the hopes of bringing some balance into her hectic life, high-powered defense attorney Kara Galway moves back to her childhood home in Texas after years of living in New England.

Then, Connecticut governor "Big Mike" Parisi, is murdered in his pool. Not long afterwards, Kara's best friend, new governor Allyson Stockwell, begins receiving sinister crank calls that she is concealing, and her two precocious preteens disappear from their Texas summer camp only to reappear, terrified, on Kara's doorstep with a stalker at their heels and a possibly forged note from mom begging Kara to bring them back to the town where they witnessed Mike's death.

To do so, Kara illegally, and somewhat illogically, "borrows" her lawman brother's gun and private plane, but readers needn't worry long. Strong, sensitive and seductive Texas Ranger Sam Temple is hot on her trail and ready to come to the rescue.

Although Neggers includes a few far-fetched plot turns, her skill at creating colorful characters and deliciously twisted story lines makes this an addictive read. 

My Thoughts:  Although I found the actions and reactions of some of the characters in this book slightly unbelievable, the plot kept my interest throughout.  

“Treachery in Death”   by  J.D. Robb

A Lieutenant Eve Dallas Novel  (Year 2060)

2011 Book Review #25

  

Publishers Weekly Review

Lt. Eve Dallas and her squad take on corrupt cops in Robb's 33rd full-length novel featuring the New York Police and Security Dept. homicide detective, a fast-paced, intricate, and deadly dance of well-matched opponents.

When Dallas's partner, Detective Delia Peabody, overhears an angry exchange between Lt. Rene Oberman and Detective. William Garnet that reveals an unlawful killing and ongoing skimming, Dallas's reaction to this news is decisive: "the blue line breaks for wrong cops."

The setting may be slightly futuristic, but the procedures are familiar: Dallas puts together a solid team that meets in her home to avoid leaks as they compile evidence. At the same time, she initiates confrontations with the dangerous Oberman, whom she begins pushing toward a trap.

From this pure good guys versus bad guys scenario, Robb (aka Nora Roberts) wrings plenty of exciting strokes and counterstrokes before reaching the satisfying climax.

My thoughts:  I love Lt. Eve Dallas and her Staff!  This series of books are based on cop work in the 2058-2060 years.  It is futuristic but, not unrealistic.  If you enjoy police suspense, you'll not only enjoy this book but, the entire series of  "in Death" stories! 

"Fatal Error"   by J.A. Jance

2011 Book Review #24

Booklist Review

After successfully completing training at the Arizona Police Academy, Ali Reynolds is furloughed by the Yavapai County Sheriff's Department because of budget cuts. So when Brenda Riley, a former TV journalist gone to seed, asks for help in finding her online fiancé, Ali is game.

A background check by Ali's boyfriend's computer-security company, High Noon Enterprises, reveals Brenda's fiancé to be Richard Lowensdale, an engineer laid off by failing defense contractor Rutherford International.

It turns out Richard has a history of cyber-stalking vulnerable women. Then Richard turns up murdered, and Brenda, after being labeled a suspect, disappears. Ali's search for Brenda puts her in pursuit of a cold blooded killer and in the midst of an FBI investigation involving Rutherford's unscrupulous dealings.

A pushy broad who's about to become a grandmother, Ali has the savvy and the resources (wealth from her late husband and technical assistance from High Noon) to go where an investigation leads.

My Thoughts:  I love Jance's  J.P. Beaumont and Joanne Brady characters.  Ali Reynolds is a new character for me, but I find I like her too!  This is the first book with the Reynolds character that I have read...the plot is a little complicated, but interesting.  I hope no one in real life would be as gullible as the victims in this one.  I just can’t imagine anyone getting engaged to someone they meet in a chat room online and have never even seen!

"Strategic Moves"   by Stuart Woods

A Stone Barrington Novel

2011 Book Review #23

Booklist  Review 

Stone's hapless client Herbie Fisher has married the daughter of a financier who might be guilty of embezzlement. Stone gets involved with Herbie's wife's aunt, but their relationship is cut short when she's shot execution-style in her apartment.

Before Stone can delve into the murder investigation, he's tapped by another client to oversee a joint mission with the CIA to retrieve arms dealer Pablo Estancia, who stages a dramatic escape and then turns up in Stone's office requesting his legal counsel.

 Meandering and slow moving, the story loses all its early steam when it switches gears from the embezzlement-and-murder story line to send Stone on the improbable mission to Iraq, followed by chapter upon chapter of dull negotiations with the CIA.

Woods even manages to make the usually appealing Stone unlikable when he advises his client to wait to share crucial information with the intelligence agency. Woods' recent novels have been fast paced and exciting; alas, this is a clunker.

My Thoughts:  I agree with this reviewer.  I have read all the Stone Barrington Novels and I am very disappointed with this one.  It's not Barrington's character at all!