Lexink - Book Reviews

Books we have read.

Since leaving his position as President of Marketing for Tri-Star Pictures David ROSENFELT has written four previous novels featuring Andy Carpenter, a laid-back lawyer welathy enough to pick and choose his clients according to merit or interest. In this fifth mystery Andy Carpenter is at loose ends in NJ; his long -term serious girlfriend Laurie has left him to return home and become the second in command of the Findlay Wisconsin police office, and he has no case to focus on. Just as he decides to reenter the dating scene Laurie calls to ask for his help - there has been a double murder in Findlay and she has made an arrest but believes her main suspect is innocent. The case appears open-and shut but the victims were from an ultra-secretive religious community in a nearby town where investigating the facts is near impossible. Nonetheless Andy manages to find that things are not as they seem - where is the ex-boyfriend of one of the victims, why does his name seem to evoke fear, and what really happened that night?
Dead Center revolves around the rekindling of the Laurie-Andy relationship, the development of the other recurrent characters and, for once, Andy Carpenter playing detective. Lacking the wonderful Courtroom scenes ROSENFELT usually writes, the plot and dialogues are still as fast-paced and engaging making this an easy page-turner.

Set in an alternate reality, Jasper FFORDE continues the adventures of Detective Jack Spratt of the Reading Nursery Crimes Division and his sidekick Mary Mary. He invites us into the world behind the fairy tales and nursery rhymes. After all the characters do have lives of their own, don't they?
Previously, in The Big Over Easy they saved the Nursery Crimes Division from being dissolved after Spratt failed to get a conviction for the three pigs' killing of Mr. Wolff, a.k.a. Big Bad, by solving the murder of Humpty Dumpty. In this second novel of the trilogy Spratt has been put on sick leave after rescuing Red Riding Hood and Grandma from the bowels of Mr. Wolff. Punch and Judy, marriage counselors prone to violence in their own marriage, move into the house next to his, the Gingerbread man escapes from St. Cerebellum's mental hospital for the Criminally Insane and Goldilocks the reporter has disappeared. She was last seen at the SommeWorld Theme Park where she was investigating strange giant cucumber explosions. The last people to see her were the Three Bears who live in Andersen Woods and have complaints about their porridge... An intelligent twist on nursery rhymes and riddles FFORDE creates compelling characters who are sure to keep you snickering throughout their surreal adventures with puns, satire and word plays. Full of literary allusions as well as delightfully entertaining (and a little mind-twisting as well) this series is great intelligent fun - perfect for light-reading.

Eight years ago Wes Holloway was a Presidential Aide with everything to look forward to. In a split second, at a NASCAR race, his face is permanently disfigured by gunfire ricochet and the President's best friend, Boyle, is dead. Press coverage of the event casts the President as a Cowardly Lion and so he loses all chance of a second term. It all seems a sad simple tale of fate gone wrong and once out of the hospital Wes rejoins the President as his aide haunted by that afternoon at NASCAR, especially every time someone looks at his face. .
Fast forward to present-day, during a conference junket in Malaysia where Wes accompanies the former President he surprises someone in a dark room. He only catches a glimpse but that is enough for him to become persuaded that Boyle is alive and well. Not sure where to turn with the information Wes contacts a former colleague from the White House. Determined to uncover why Boyle would have pretended to be shot dead and needing to be able to apologize for his role that afternoon, Wes relentlessly pursues the truth regardless of where it will take him.

Brad MELTZER creates an engaging story with characters who stay with you. This latest political/financial thriller is not what it seems at first: another book latching onto the current passion for FreeMasons and conspiracy books. The situations are often times unlikely yet always coherent in the storyline. The FreeMasons, and the 200 year secret D.C. is hiding, are somewhat irrelevant to the overall story; more important are the corrupt public servants. A sad and bitter tale of politics, a well-constructed tale, The Book of Fate is about integrity, trust, betrayal, growing up and - of course- conspiracy.

Setting aside the controversy as to the author and what compelled her to write this book, the story itself is compelling and well-written with likable characters. Maureen Paschal is a historian researching a book about women in history and their true stories, seeking to reestablish them to their rightful role in history. In the course of her research for "HER-story" she focusses on Mary Magdalene and visits Jerusalem, even though her personal history has made her wary of the Church. While following the stations of the cross she comes across a strange antique shop whose owner gives her a ring claiming it is hers. From there strange events and dreams occur, haunting her even once the book is published and prompting her to accept a strange invitation to the Cathar region of France. There she discovers that her host considers her to be "The Expected One", the descendant of a child of Jesus and Mary Magadalene. A prophesy had foretold that when the time was right the Expected One would discover the Gospel as written by Mary Magadalene. This mystical thriller, rather in the vein of the Da Vinci Code, is filled with secret societies, ideas of destiny and a revisionist, feminist view of the Catholic Church. A sequel is planned.

Taking place in Washington D.C this thriller opens with the gruesome murder of a Post reporter, Elizabeth Creay. It appears to be a robbery gone wrong, everything is missing from the house even the computer. The two police officers assigned to the case find a clue that leads them to their prime suspect who claims his innocence. A second murder proves he is truly innocent but the police cannot prove it and political pressure is being brought to bear to close the case. The pressure is coming from Elizabeth's estranged mother, a power player in D.C. politics. It appears she is trying to protect her family, but from what?
Elizabeth's sister, Sydney, is frustrated with the lack of progress the police are making and her mother's strange behaviour. She has Elizabeth's computer and uses it to start her investigation into what Elizabeth was doing before her murder.
Both Sydney's and the police investigation lead them to a juvenile facility in Virginia where the director believed in eugenics. Strange correlations keep appearing. Elizabeth's ex-husband seems tied to the Institute as does Elizabeth's family and a Presidential hopeful.
With believable characters David HOSP tackles the provocative theme of who decides what is for the good of society and raises issues of accountability in government and politics.

In his latest medical thriller Robin COOK introduces us to Dr. Craig Bowman and brings back Dr. Jack Stapleton. Dr. Bowman has recently made the transition into "concierge medecine", a form of practice where a doctor is on retainer for a select group of rich patients. Coincidentally he is also in the midst of a mid-life crisis wihch he is indulging to the fullest. Then suddenly one of his patients, Patience Stanhope, a known hypocondriac, experiences chest pains and dies before Bowman gets her to the hospital and her husband sues for malpractice alleging that his wife died because Bowman made a house call instead of having an ambulance transport her immediately to the hospital.
The first day of the trial shows that this will not ba an easy case, and so bowman's wife calls her brother Dr. Jack Stapleton who is a medical examiner in New York City and about to get married. He immediately agrees to fly up for a few days and see what he can do help Bowman's case. After reviewing the files he makes a seemingly innocuous decision to exhume the body and run some tests to disprove the alleged malpractice. Unfortunately the results aren't anything expected and so the case takes an unforeseen twist and leads to a predictably surprising end.
From surprise to surprise COOK has written yet another topical expose of issues currently confronting the world of medicine. First and foremost, is the comparison of the benefits and draw-backs to concierge medical practices vs. fee-for-services practices. Then there are the issues of medical legal defenses, the insurance company lawyer vs. the the ambulance-chaser-type lawyer. COOK weaves medical science with suspense with legalities as he (again) explores the grey area that exists in modern-day medical and health-care ethics. CRISIS is not as entertaining as his previous books, and COOK has a definite biais against concierge medecine but all in all an interesting read.

The United Nations is rather like the British royal family - much beleaguered and constantly under attack for being outdated and ineffective. KENNEDY reminds us in this book what exactly the United Nations stands for - the dream of ending war, of fostering dialogue before violence seems to be the only solution.
Having previously written "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers", KENNEDY focuses specifically on its charter and structure. In thorough detail he traces the evolution of the various offices and branches. Some may complain that too little attention is paid to the cast of characters and personalities that have played an important role in the development and history of the U.N.. Nonetheless KENNEDY's exhaustive review of the branches, commissions, conferences and other off-shoots allows the readers to gain a better grasp on the complex body the U.N. has become. The organization's history is clearly laid out, the idealism and the acceptance of political reality, the fine balance that was struck in 1945. The U.N. was meant to be the voice of reason in a world full of dissonance, a neutral ground where issues can be resolved - and, claims KENNEDY, to a certain extent it has succeeded beyond expectations. After all the United Nations is only the mirror of its member states and yet it has managed to become much more than the simple sum of its parts. in a myriad of ways the U.N. is an integral part of everyday lives whether we realize it or not – it is not just Third world countries and world hunger; it is also education, womens rights, human rights, security issues, ... From the complexity shines the unfailing belief that civil discourse can make a difference - and that is a reassuring notion in today's world. The United Nations has adapted to new imperatives and navigated around member states sovereignty even as it was hampered by them. Those who wonder if the U.N. is still relevant in today's' world will point out that adapting too fast has caused lost of perspective or long-term focus and will argue that national sovereignty issues have long hampered any action the U.N. might want to take. KENNEDY argues that the U.N.s multiplicity is its greatest value even if the results are not always as expected - because if not the U.N. then who?

17th century Europe is torn apart by the 30 year war in the sequel to 1634: The Galileo Affair. Mike Stearns and the group of Virginians from Grantsville transported into medieval Europe with him continue to apply modern democratic principles in a time and place that isn't quite ready for them. The intrusion (and application) of contemporary political concepts and technology are changing the course of history. How does one explain the notion of individual rights to villagers under a feudal system? How does one explain democracy, education, etc? Knowledge of the history-that-was-to-be before their intrusion in the 17th century helps and hinders Granstville. They know that revolution is coming but should it be know, under the banner of a Ram? FLINT continues the series of alternate European history and continues to educate and tantalize us with historical facts and images of "what if?".
The seventh in the 1632 series the Ram Rebellion is as fascinating and complicated as the others. The series postulates that the town of Granstville WV is transported to mid 16th century Germany, right in the middle of what some historians refer to as the First World War. The ripple effect of their presence and the impact of their ideas is what fuels the series. What keeps this reader hooked is how it will end, and the intriguing paradigm of circumstance, time and place in the development of socio-political concepts. The juxta-position and the inevitable comparison of the two systems is highly educating and entertaining

When the President's Chief of Staff is found murdered with a note next to him promising more killings and indicating that the president is on the list rebel army lawyer Sean Drummond is put on the case. Assigned to the CIA Office of Special Projects because he just doen't fit in anywhere else, Drummond has 72hours to find out who is behind the 80 million dollar bounty and to save the President. A Supreme Court Justice dies as does the Chairman of the Republican National Committee leading HAIG and his partner on the hunt to believe that an insider has turned traitor. But things are not always as they seem and as a reader we are entertained by snapshots of the power games and behind the scenes detail that make HAIG's political thrillers fun to read. This is the latest in a series and one of the better ones.

In his latest espionage thriller Silva brings Gabriel Allon out of, retirement (not that he was really retired, a spy can never retire fully). Allon, an ongoing main character, is an art restorer and an Israeli spy, a, complex character who deserves better than this latest installment.
Reliable information points to the Saudis intending to bring down the Catholic Church - more specifically a terrorist cell is planning to assassinate the Pope. Soon thereafter the Dome of St Peter's is blackened rubble, 700 people are dead and Allon has saved the Pope's life. An attack upon Allon's mentor who is a celebrated Israeli spy-master and close member of the Israeli Prime Minster's inner circle follows in Jerusalem. Realizing this is not just another threat, but a long-standing plot Allon must find someone to infiltrate the heart of the terrorist cell, ie. where the money is originating. Here his art becomes a useful tool in his spy-craft and SILVA introduces the character of Sarah Bancroft whom I am sure we will see again soon. Allon works in tandem with the CIA (Alan Carter) to ascertain who is behind the threat and also to find the perfect mole to infiltrate the money source. Sarah is an art curator who suffered the death of her ex during 9/11 and had been refused by the CIA who now determines that she is perfect for the task.
Around her Allon organizes a team to locate the former Saudi intelligence agent responsible (Shafiq). Shafiq is well protected and secreted deep among the layers of al-Bakari's vast financial empire. Silva writes knowledgeably about the middle east, islam, catholicism, and art, most especially art. Reading as if torn from today's headlines, especially with the thwarted threat on BA, the plot is predictable and Allon a little tired. He can be- the war on terrorism is a difficult fight and Gabriel has been fighting it since he was a student in 1972 when he was recruited by Shamron to hunt the killers of the Israeli Olympic team. Fighting this war has cost him his wife, his son and also, to a certain degree, his art.
The Messenger is readable, not the best of the series, and probably too influenced by today's headlines. But then it is an espionage novel and today's bad guys are the Arabs and Saudis (at least from a US standpoint). The most intriguing part is the digestible presentation of the moral ambiguities of continuing to do business with your enemies, (oil, oil, oil). SILVA highlights the necessity to follow the money trail, wherever it may take you and not hide your head in the sand even if it threatens the status quo. SILVA seems to advocate that to truly fight terrorism as we know it today then it is necessary to recognize the inherent compromises and moral ambiguities of political and economical relationships for what they are - on both sides of the fence. As Gabriel recalls asking his mentor Shamron "Is this all justice, or vengeance? " Simpler said than answered as proven by the books' ending and also by the debates taking place on Capitol Hill and in the media.

The mysteries of this series are well written and full of useful and educational trivia - Reichs writes about what she knows since, as her heroine Tempe Brennan, she is a forensic anthropologist who splits her time between North Carolina and Quebec.
In this latest installment, Tempe is leading a summer archaeological field dig off the coast of South Carolina for graduate students when they discover a skeleton that shouldn't be a part of the prehistoric site. The local coroner, Emma, is a friend and asks Tempe to help out with the investigation. During her exam of the skeleton Tempe discovers a unilateral fracture of the sixth cervical vertebrae that she cannot explain. When another body is found hanging from a tree, Tempe fills in for Emma again and discovers a similar fracture.
In parallel Tempe's estranged husband arrives to stay at the same house as where she is staying for the summer. Pete is a lawyer looking into the accounts of a Church on behalf of a client who has also asked him to locate his missing daughter, Helen.
Helen disappeared after accusing the Church of mis-allocating funds to their free clinic. A local P.I. was looking for her but he too has disappeared without a trace, until Tempe identifies his as one of the three bodies found. All three skeletons bear the same strange unilateral fracture. When Tempe discovers that the missing P.I. was investigating unsolved missing persons reports she follows the Links and discovers that everything leads back to the free clinic. All of the missing persons visited the clinic, all were marginal to society and all have disappeared. Now she only has to figure out who and why while dealing with her feelings for her ex-husband and for Ryan, a colleague from Quebec who is more than a colleague and comes to visit. And also while trying to figure out who may or may not be trying to harm her.
With well-balanced dialogue and well-developed characters, Break no Bones is one of the better volumes of this series.

Proven Guilty is the latest installment in the DRESDEN FILES, a series about Harry Dresden, the "only wizard in the Chicago phone book". Reluctantly a member of the wizard white Council, Harry and his sidekick Bob-the talking-skull get involved in the vampire-wizard war. Normal, since Harry was the catalyst for it in a previous volume, but complicated as he learns to deal with the political ramifications of being a member of the White Council. Tied in somehow is the daughter of his close associate Michael who leads Harry into investigating a rash of phobopages (creatures thriving on fear) at a horror film festival. With a great sense of humor Butcher writes believably about being the lone-character out in a group and divided loyalties.

An alternate/fantasy science-fiction series which takes place in Modern day Chicago but magic is real. Harry Dresden is a wizard and a private investigator, the only publicly known wizard in the US. As such he is often caught up in strange cases, frequently requires the help of otherworldly creatures and is often at odds with the everyday world as well as the governing bodies of the magical one. Sarcastic and with a unique world outlook, Harry sees the world in shades of gray while fighting evil and dark forces, his faithful side-kick Bob-the-talking-skull (great character). This series is wonderful fun and soon to be launched as a series on Sci-Fi channel.
Books out so far: Storm Front; Fool Moon; Grave Peril; Summer Knight; Death Masks; Blood Rites; Dead Beat; Proven Guilty.

Scientific laboratories rely heavily on grants to pursue their cutting edge research. Scientific researchers are only human and as such prone to ambition, greed, jealousy, and errors of judgment… Goodman starts the novel with Marion and Sandy needing to find the focus for their next grant proposal. Sandy and Marion are the directors of the Philpott Institute, and polar opposites in their approach to science. Sandy appears as a media-hungry the end justifies the means administrator while Marion is focused on the painstaking process of constructing solid impugnable science. Both are married, Sandy to Anne, devoted mother of his daughters and Marion to Jacob a brilliant mind who "lacked the creative spark' and thus funnels all his brain power in being supportive of wife. Cliff is a researcher at the Philpott who is about to fired when, after several failures, he seemingly makes a break-through discovery in the cure for cancer. Or is he? Robin is his ex-girlfriend and co-worker. She has been a devoted researcher who peaked early and was shunted off onto a project that was going nowhere. Cliff's success seems to good to be true to her and so she questions, queries and ultimately officially launches an investigation into his methodology. The official inquiry will call the lab into question and will reveal much about each character. In fine strokes we grow attached to these seemingly clear-cut characters but then realize that, as with everything, nothing is ever clear-cut or black-and-white. Is Jacob really so self-sacrificing or is he a cynical manipulator of his wife's career? Science for science wins the day but it is a close call.
Intuition is an indictment of scientific research funded by grants which promotes the publish-or-perish mentality to the detriment of slow, careful and exacting science. It underlines that in Science it is not possible to cut corners and so labs should not be expected to do so. A detailed but precisely written novel.

An auction of rare books in Germany and a mysterious savage illness in Nepal all seemed linked to a scientific secret smuggled out of Nazi Poland at the end of the war. Grayson Pierce and Painter Crow are unwittingly drawn in to a mystery going back to Himmler, the Thune Society and the Nazi desire to renew the Aryan race. At times far-fetched, This fast-paced action thriller is filled with scientific facts about quantum evolution, Darwinism, intelligent design, and the meaning of life. It is a tall order but Rollins manages to fill it.

The Prince of Wales (Freddy) and his wife (Fredericka) are an embarrassment to the British Crown. In disgrace they are sent to the United States where, following an old and forgotten British law they must conquer the colonies. But they must survive incognito without any of the trappings of monarchy nor access to any of the benefits. Parachuted in New Jersey, stripped of the usual entourage and finances the couple makes their way across the United States. Their assumptions, their habits, their very way of thinking is put into question as is their taking for granted their hereditary "right"to rule. Freddy and Fredericka fondly mocks monarchy while proving its' value in today's world. Lyrical and funny, touching and sad, it is an allegory of redemption and of possibilities to explore.

Final volume of the trilogy centered on Agent Pendergast, the Book of the Dead explains the relationship between Pendergast and his terrible brother Dionysius. Special Agent Pendergast is in federal prisons for murders he did not commit, the diamond collection of the NY Museum of Natural History is returned ground to powder, the museum reopens an ancient Egyptian tomb and curse seems to come back to life. All of this has been carefully plotted and implemented by Pendergast's Machiavellian brother. Why and how Dionysius is so bent on destroying his brother are the core of the book. Carried along by fast-paced action and hints of the supernatural, the action is mainly centered in the New York Museum of Natural History. Filled with factoids about the museum, about ancient Egypt, about gemology and about psychology this is a satisfying end to the trilogy and opens the door to a whole other series.

Hershey's is synonymous with chocolate. But who was behind the chocolate bar? Having eaten a few too many Hershey bars and a few too many Hershey kisses I was curious to find out more about this empire of chocolate. This book was a wonderful find; a broad but detailed biography of a progressive business man with a social conscious. D'Antonio satisfies our curiosity about the company and unveils a hidden magnate who actually also did a lot for society in his day. Milton Hershey was brilliant, eccentric and a utopist - to the extent that when he announced to friends and family he was opening a chocolate factory, his family wanted to have him committed. Ten years later Hershey was a success and had created Hershey Park, a perfectly planned factory town. Milton Hershey was not only a force to be reckoned with in business (he was originator of many of today's theories of branding, marketing and public relations) but also a pioneer in areas of corporate accountability and social responsibility. When he died he left an $8 billion trust for a foundation dedicated to children. Corporate success and a social conscious, all too rare today.

Whirlpools, tsunamis and rogue waves are occurring suddenly and simultaneously world-wide. Kurt Austin and his NUMA team quickly discover that there is a consortium behind these unnatural events. Will they manage to save the world (yet again)? Far-fetched but persuasive as always, Polar Shift is a fun, fast ride.

The contrast and the shock of the opening scene immediately draws you into this compelling memoir. As Walls points our being raised by eccentric parents isn't easy, especially when as out of the norm as hers were. A little girl who grew up too fast, who learned too soon to compromise and to seek the silver lining in every and any situation. You laugh when you know you shouldn't, but there is no self-pity here just a poignant all too lucid look at a most unconventional childhood. Heart-breaking and heart-warming this book stays with you, haunting you.

A continuation of The Chairman, Gilette (the central character) is looking at life after the Everest Fund and so must choose who he will hand the reins to. His choice is a young up-and-coming prodige who has a secret life that may conflict. Circumstances bring things to a head and before you know it you've finished yet another high-finance intrigue from Stephen Frey. Fast paced and at times over the top this book was an enjoyable way to lose a few hours.