(5) = Best; (4) = Better; (3) = Good; (2) = Fair; (1) = OK
These abstracts serve as reminders to myself; they serve to "jog" my memory on what a book was all about. That's all. This is not a literary critique, not a social commentary, and certainly nothing profound to warrant further discussion.
(5) = means that I really enjoyed this book; (1) = means I finished reading it but wonder if my time could have been better spent elsewhere.
This crazy multi-billionaire hires a Perception Management fella to create news that leads to panic between the United States, Russia and China. Forces them to arm themselves, so that they will buy arms from his company. His intent is not to have an actual war, but the fear of it and the expenses needed to “preserve the peace.”
The hero, Shaw, is assigned to sort out the puzzles and mysteries associated with their shinnanigans. He has a love interest, and eventually they are engaged, but his boss sends his goons out to tell her parents & his financee what Shaw is really. The parents reject Shaw, but the fiancee loves him inspite of being in a dangerous profession. They’re willing to take a chance on the relationship. A female journalist gets to know the fiancee as well. Both women are now in danger. The fiancee and everyone in her organization is killed. Shaw and the Journalist get together to solve the murder mysteries. Eventually, the multi-billionaire is killed. A well told story. (5)
This is my second Richard North Patterson read. Loved it. He has been the #1 New York Times Bestselling Author. A well researched book. I learned a lot of the Arab Israeli Conflict…
“David Wolfe is a successful San Francisco lawyer who is about to get married and is being primed for a run for congress. But when Hana Arif – the Palestinian woman with whom he had a secret affair in law school - calls, he begins a completely unexpected journey. The next day, the prime minister of Israel is assassinated by a suicide bomber while visiting San Francisco; soon, Hana is accused of being the mastermind behind the murder. David faces an agonizing choice: will he, a Jew, represent Hana – who may well be guiltuy – or will he turn away from the one woman he can never forget?”
We learn Hana is innocent. Her jealous Islamic husband conspired to get Hana guilty. Their daughter’s DNA, we learn much later, matches David’s! Yep…he’s the real father. If you enjoy NCISl, you’ll enjoy this book. (4).
The Arab terrorists and a United States Senator had a lot in common. Both wanted specific information about themselves deleted from the Department of Defense files, but for different reasons. Our hero, Jack Reacher, found himself in the New York subway late at night when a woman who exhibited all the signs of a Suicide Bomber (12 characteristics of a suicide bomber), so he approaches the woman to see if he can calm her down. She pulls out a gun and kills herself. This gets the book started. What follows is his friendship with a couple of NY police detectives whom he met during the investigation, the FBI who does not believe Reachers story, the CIA who has something to hide, and Senator Sansome, his wife and body guard whose names were uncovered when Reacher began asking questions related to the decease who happens to be a low level clerk in the Department for Human Resources for the Department for Defense.
The Senator was a former Delta Force operative in Afghanistan. Reachers research eventually finds him meeting a beautiful young woman and her mother who have a fantastic story to tell. They, too, want information the deceased had. They turn out to be not what they claim to be; they are leaders in an assassination plot to secure the information. Somehow, they managed to smuggle 19 of their killing team into New York. Reacher finds himself and his three NYPD friends wanted by the FBI and CIA for this woman’s death, for knocking off 4 FBI men who were questioning him in an undisclosed site (Reacher said they never identified themselves as FBI men), eventually killing several would be assassins, and covering up a terrorist plot for which there was never any evidence. Eventually, when all the facts were put together, Reacher proposes to team up with the Senator and his body guard in order to get the secret information that the clerk was carrying around with her. By the end of the story Reacher figured out what that secret info was and why the Arab terrorists wanted it. An exciting story, especially the ending! (5)
I just finished read Glimpses of Paradise by James Scott Bell. I thought it was excellent. Well written. The author “sucks” you into the lives of his main characters, and before I knew it, I was hooked and had to read through to the end to see what happens to Zee, and Doyle and Molly and a host of other characters. .
There were sermons preached by Zee’s father who is a “hell, fire and brimstone” Baptist preacher. There were other sermons and admonishments by a Rev. R.A. Torrey. Doyle is brought to faith by Torrey. I am familiar with Torrey’s writings. He’s a conservative Christian theologian. I read his materials when I was at seminary. However, the use of real people in a work of fiction surprised me. At what point did the lives of our fictional characters intersect with real Hollywood characters? When did fiction begin and end in this novel? When does it cross the line between reality and fantasy? There were some unseedy characters who commit murder in the story. Is the District Attorney real or fake? Are the Movie Producers real or “made up” in the story? This can be confusing.
Life changing transformation occurs in our hero’s life - hallelujah. I can live with that message. That’s not unfamiliar territory. But, what is the author getting at? He’s not sold me on Torrey’s preaching and empathy in resolving Doyle’s trauma from a grenade explosion that killed his buddy’s life in WWI. I suspect he realizes this, so he appends an Epilog and an Author’s Note at the end to highlight the importance of Torrey’s contribution in the Christian world and closes with a “happy ending” in the Lawrence’s family. Molly and Doyle lives happily ever after.
The back cover says “James Scott Bell is (a) bestselling author …and is a winner of the Christy Award for excellence in Christian fiction and is currently fiction columnist for Writer’s Digest magazine…” I usually scan books on the library’s table with the Staff’s Recommendation. If I had read this line up front I probably would not have picked up this book. But now I am impressed. I liked James Scott Bell! (4)
Ty Buchanon is living on the peaceful grounds of St. Monica’s far away from the glamorous life he led as a rising trial lawyer for a big L.A. law firm. He found his previous ambitions unrewarding. Now he prefers offering legal services to the poor and under represented from his “office’ at a local coffee bar. His first client is a mysterious woman who arrives with her six-year old daughter…he’s going to fight for the woman’s rights. But then she ends up dead…and the mystery continues. This was interesting book. Well written. The author kept me on the edge of my lounge chair. (4)
This is a reminder: John Carr, aka Oliver Stone, disappears after the case is solved in this bok. He re-emerges in the next book. Divine Justice which I need to read yet. This doesn’t say anything about what happened in the preceding 386 pages of the book.
There are two main threads (1) Annabelle’s predicament for having conned casino owner Bagger who discovered she was hiding in Washington DC, and (2) the killing of former CIA assassins by Harry Finn who is getting even with them for having killed his father. Both threads converge with the assistance of Oliver Stone and Alex Ford who is an FBI Agent and close friend of Stone.
(1). Annabelle had stolen 40 million dollars from Bagger in a previous Baldacci book. In this book, Bagger figures out how Annabelle did it and is after her; he finds one of her partners, tortures him and learns about her scheme. She meets Oliver who agrees to help; Annabelle’s father, Paddy, who is dying of cancer, shows up; he also helps. Their plans are clever and with the help of Alex Ford their problem is solved in a horrific explosion where Paddy and Bagger is killed. (2) Harry Finn’s father was a diplomat who falls in love with a Soviet Spy who eventually becomes a Double Agent. The couple knew that CIA operatives had assassinated Russian Premiers Andropov and Chernenko; the assassins kill Harry’s father to hide their secret, and the mother goes into hiding. Son Harry eventually becomes a Navy SEAL, and he is now after the assassins. Carter Gray, CIA Director, and Senator Simpson were not authorized to kill the two Russian Premiers. They need to get rid of everyone who knew about their actions. John Carr blackmailed Carter Gray by threatening to leak Gray’s involvement and forcing him to resign. Carr decides to fake his death and disappear. He emerges as Oliver Stone.
Key in solving Finn’s dilemma is Lesya Solomon, Harry’s mother. This summary doesn’t do justice to the book. But I hoped it provides enough info so I can fill in the gaps and not have to re-read the book again.
I’ve been distracted lately. Have not had time to summarize books I’ve read. Am feeling a little guilty about it, so here’s the latest I’ve just finished.
I love historical novels. There is some truth here. Situated in modern day Turkmenistan, this area is more than 1500 miles from where the Legionaries were taken captive, and eventually used as border guards.
But, the story does not end there.
In 36 BC, the Chinese historian Ban Gu recorded that soldiers in the army of Jzh-jzh, a Hun Warlord and ruler of a city on the Silk Road, fought in a “fish scale formation.” The term used to describe their formation is unique in Chinese literature and many historians assert that it refers to a shield wall. At that time only the Macedonians and Romans fought in such a way….
Farther to the east, in China, lies the modern settlemen of Liqian. The Origin of its name is uncertain, but scholars consider it to have been founded between 79 BC and AD5 under the name of Li-jien, meaning “Rome” in ancient Chinese. An unusually large number of its present day inhabitants have Caucasian features - blond hair, hooked nose, and green eyes. DNA samples are currently being studiede by a local university to see if these people are the descendants of the ten thousand legionaries who marched east from Carrhae and into history: “The Forgotten Legion” is a nice title for this novel.
The characters help to make this history come alive. As a historical fact, Crassus led an enormous Roman army all the way from Italy to Parthia, only for it to be annihilated at Carrhae. Rome rarely suffered such a comprehensive defeat… Romulus and Fabiola are twins, born into slavery. At 13 yrs old they are sold: Romulus to a gladiatorial school and Fabiola into prostitution, where she will catch the eye of one of the most powerful men in Rome. Tarquinius is Eruscan, a warrior, and a soothsayer. Born an enemy of Rome and trained in the forgotten art of divination, he is first, a runaway slave, then an AWOL legionary. Brennus is a Gaul whose entire family was slaughtered in a battle against the Roman army. He survives only to be sold as a slave and trained as a gladiator. He rises to become one of the most famous and feared gladiatorsd of his day. He Mentors Romulus; they became great friends. The lives of these four characters are bound and interwoven in a great story. Crassus, Romulus, Brennus and Tarquinius all find themselves in the battle at Carrhae. (5)
David Baldacci never fails to entertain. The book continues on with the Camel Club team starring Oliver Stone, aka, John Carr. All the old characters return, viz., Annabel, Reuben, Caleb, AlexFord, and Harry Finn. Reference is made to Milton Farb, one of the club’s member who was killed in the last book. That story ended with Carter Gray shot as he rolled down the bullet proof window in his car to look at a grave marker and American flag by the side of the road. And there was a second murder as Senator Roger Simpson was shot. In this book, Joe Knox was hired by a three star general – Macklin Hayes – to find Oliver Stone. Joe’s only job was to find Oliver and report to Hayes - nothing else.
The book is all about Knoxes search and the adventures of Oliver in the town of Divine. Knox came to respect and admire Stone as he digs deeper and deeper into Stone’s life. He learns it was Hayes who denied the Medal of Honor to Stone; he realizes, finally, that Hayes’s intention ultimately was to kill Stone and rid the only man who can tie him to war crimes in the Vietnam war. Knox is in a dilemma; he decides to procrastinate and not reveal Oliver’s whereabouts to Hayes. Hayes decides to take matters into his own hands.
The subplot finds us in Divine, a coal mining town, in the middle of a Drug Trafficking operation run by the Chief Warden of the local prison; his guards ran the prison and the drug operation. Oliver befriends a couple of young men who eventually were killed; he discovers that several hunting accidents were shootings and not accidents, a young girl’s death was not a suicide, and he concludes they were all killed because they knew of the drug operation. Knox and the Camel Club gang eventually wind up in Divine. Knox and Oliver find themselves on the same team when the prison guards were caught loading drugs on to trucks and a gun battle ensued. I won’t say anymore. Suffice it to say, the subplot is as complicated as Oliver’s life. (5)
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