Elegantly plotted, a riveting read. But don't turn ...
349751
Elegantly plotted, a riveting read. But don't turn the pages too fast, lest you miss the full impact of Posey's peerless, lyrical prose. Among American writers working today, whatever the genre, Carl Posey is in a class by himself.
3517874
Brilliant and riveting! I couldn't put it down.

There is some foul language, as some reviewers have mentioned.  I don't necessarily think its out-of-place in the story considering the circumstances they were in, Im sure even well-bred young men of the era would have been using foul language.

Keep writing, Mr. Bly.

And for those who are wondering, the Edsel did, in fact, have a child-safety lock feature.
2705969
The simple, straightforward, nevertheless riveting prose underscore a tremendously suspenseful and exhilarating novel. I think some of the true terror of the book is inspired by the unknown, in the truest sense of the word. The threat(s) to the human characters is/are so mysterious and indecipherable that the majority of the horror originates not from the visible world from the unseen. I won't say more because I think this novel should be experienced with as little background information as possible.
1502765
Plot, of course, is important in a murder mystery; however, there are other important facets to keep the reader iinvolved.  Peter Steiner uses lovely language to convey the landscape, the feeling of the various towns where the action occurs.  A treat to read!
1103840
Solid plot, intelligent execution understated elegant writing style.  Usually bored with mysteries but this book is subtle but gripping flows like a raft on a river with rapids, twists and turbulence texturing the journey.  Not usually my genre but I truly enjoyed the read all the way to the end.
4912275
We waited a bit to post our feelings about Wife  a very tough but superbly plotted novel, albeit one with intensely sexual themes (as opposed to explicit scenes). Author Goolrick, new to us, fooled us more than once as his characters continue to evolve and spill more of their interesting back stories.

Set in 1907-08, the plot centers around Ralph Truitt, a fabulously wealthy business owner in a small Wisconsin town, who was cheated upon by his first wife, who bore a bastard son. Ralph eventually nearly bludgeoned both to death before they escaped to go elsewhere. Decades later, and guilty over his former violence, he recruits a mail order wife, who seems to have something up her sleeve other than a desire for a man to take care of her. Meanwhile, it was Ralphs intent to have her find his long-lost son Antonio, and maybe entice him home. Little did he know what would happen when new wife Catherine finds the son, and we find out all about her former life  hardly as the missionary that was her cover to Ralph!

We think the author had some good ideas about the story, but his persistent preoccupation (to say the least) with sex and lust will deter and disappoint many an audience. Yet the book, relatively full of surprises, was suspenseful. It was also dreary, intense, depraved, and fundamentally despicable. Our three stars says: a different and interesting ride to horrible places. Do you want to go there?
4589651
This is a hard book to review. On the one hand, it's well-written, with interesting characters and a unique plot. Yes, it's post-apocalyptic fiction, but it manages to be different all the same.

On the other, my God, but did this book need someone to tell Joe Hill to cut back several chapters. Moreover, he needs to stop stepping on his own plot twists. There are only a few plot twists here that are not spelled out ahead of time what will happen. Before we even meet a particular character, we are told by The Fireman that the character is untrustworthy and might turn into a villain. So it is no surprise at all when that exactly comes to pass. Later, characters often speculate on what will occur, only for that exact thing to happen. For example, the cat. It's clearly a bad idea to bring the cat. Two characters spell it out. But do they bring the cat? Yes, they do. Does it turn out to be a bad idea? Yes it does.

And our characters, despite all they go through, are curiously accepting of one plot point, something I could not for the life of me understand. I won't say more for fear of revealing too much.

Overall, it's an extremely engaging read that slows down far too much in the middle and would have benefited from an editor slashing about a third of it. I wish the ending were different, but I respect it nonetheless (except for the fate of the cat).

P.S. There is a hidden ending to this book. Do yourself a favor and read the credits until the very end.
P.P.S. Kate Mulgrew's narration is amazing.
2787010
David Baldacci's Total Control careens on a collision course towards a firey conclusion. This fast-paced, modern mystery grips the reader from the first few pages, then refuses to release their attention until the last few. Baldacci keeps the tone taut with suspense and intrigue, allowing his audience to watch both sides of the story - both hero and villain - as they cat-and-mouse their way across the country.
The heroine is an attactive attorney whose husband seems to be mixed up in some less than savory activites at the office. This is complicated by the fact that as an attorney, she represents his company, which throws her into a maelstrom of conflicting interests and circumstantial evidence that makes her look guilty. When her husband goes missing, she single-handedly tries to clear his name, then is thrust against her will into trying to clear her own. With no one on her side, she must covertly attempt to crack this case without aid from her employer (who disowns her), her husband (who cannot be found), and the law (who's looking for her).
Baldacci balances the tense plot with break-neck action and a believable emotional side. The heroine makes believable mistakes and can act irrationally when her husband's safety is concerned, sometimes even seeming paralyzed with fear and grief, all while attempting to shield her young daughter from the chaos swirling around them. She also accomplishes herioc things without ever seeming man-ish. (There is a pseudo-sexual tension between her and a grizzly old cop that doesn't quite work, but thankfully Baldacci doesn't slum with so many popular authors who would force them to sleep together.)
Baldacci shows some flashes of story-telling brilliance here. Though some may argue this book is far from "high art", it effectively accomplishes its goal: capture Total Control of its audience.
1022433
Remarkable historical research, subtle characterisation, faultless and witty shades of classic  writers, especially Fielding, make this an excellent read. A fascinating plot, set in the early goldfiields of New Zealand, but a bit too long and involved for even a devoted reader.  Which raises the issue of whether 'readability' is a valid criterion to use for a seriously scholastic novel.
3139479
"The Tremor of Forgery" is a superb novel, but it may not be for everybody. If you are in the mood for suspense and clarity, then you probably won't enjoy this book. If you prefer something more subtle,  psychological, and mood-oriented then I recommend it.
"The Tremor of  Forgery" is sort of a mystery. It lacks the action and denouement of  typical mysteries but definitely contains its share of questions and  intrigue. In this case, though the mystery doesn't revolve around questions  of guilt (who done it) but around character, environment, and  identity.
Howard Ingram is an American writer who has been hired to go to  Tunisia and write a screenplay. A number of mysterious events destroy his  project but he decides to stay on and write a novel. His life in Tunisia  essentially revolves around two people of opposite mindsets. Ingram's  middle-aged neighbor, Adams is the quintessential naive, optimist and  ideologue. He constantly speaks of "our way of life" (which earns  him the nickname "OWL") and broadcasts pro-American propaganda to  the Soviet Union. Despite living in Tunisia with apparent ease, Adams  firmly retains his American identity. Jensen, on the other hand, is a  Danish Artist and a homosexual who dislikes Tunisia, but in many ways  appears to have gone native. He lives in an Arab section of town with  simple clothes and few possessions. Jensen occasionally hires boys for sex,  but his only real love appears to be his friendship with Ingram and his  affection for his dog.
In the course of preventing a burglary in his  bungalow, Ingram kills--or thinks he's killed--an Arab thief. The corpse  (if in fact it is a corpse) disappears and Ingram is left to cope with the  question of his crime. When Adams deduces what has occurred he pressures  Ingram to come to terms with his conscience. Jensen, by contrasts, suggests  that Ingram forget about the incident and points out that killing a thief  is probably a common occurrence in Tunisia.
Soon Ingram must ask himself  who he is and who he has become. Does Ingram retain an inherent set of  Western values regardless of where he is, or does he adopt the morality of  his environment? While questioning his identity, Ingram must also decide  whether or not to marry his girl friend. And in an odd twist, Ingram's  crisis parallels that of the hero in his novel.
For many readers the  frustrating part of this novel is that nothing is ever resolved. At the end  of the novel, Ingram does not comes to terms with his morality or identity,  he never passes judgement on Jensen or Adams, and he enters into a  relationship that promises trouble. We never learn the fate of the thief or  whether Ingram even killed him. In today's shallow television culture, we  often crave a definite ending in a story, but the beauty of this novel is  that it provides the opposite. The people, places, and morality in this  novel are defined to an extent but never completely. This creates a richer  and more realistic story.
Highsmith also captures the flavor of third  world travel perfectly. Anyone who has gone to a third world country and  decided to stay on for awhile will feel at home in this book. The food, the  people, the sickness, the ratty apartments, and then the odd and  exhilarating feeling of departure all ring true. Like a great painter,  Highsmith is more interested in the mood she evokes than in the technical  components of her composition. And in this regard, she is one of the great  masters of the last century.
2394511
"Might Booth have been among the thousands of citizens crowding the Albany depot or lining its streets that afternoon? There is no conclusive evidence that he was. There is likewise no conclusive proof that he wasn't. ... And both common sense and the known habits of Booth conspire to suggest that he was there when Lincoln arrived, waiting -- and watching." - pgs 139 - 141.

  This is a book with drama. It tells a riveting story that is entertaining and fast-paced, about Abraham Lincoln making his way towards the nation and both factions vying to help him, and to hinder him. The writing is lucid and engaging. However, something niggles at the back of the reader's mind while reading it. The excerpt above is one such example of dozens in the book.

  It is a book of maybe. It is a book of might. Dozens of paragraphs start with "Might they have..." or "if they decided to...." and then proceeds to weave increasingly elaborate suppositions off of conjectures that there is little evidence for. It is a style of writing that gets very irksome after the first one hundred pages.

  If you are reading it to be entertained, you will certainly be pleased and I recommend this book.

  If you are reading it to be informed, you will be disappointed and ought to avoid this book. While there is a tremendous amount of research, the author repeatedly starts from known facts and then spins elaborate webs of conjecture and maybe, begging the question often. It will wink and say "might it be so" and then provide a paragraph long elaboration full of specific details, only to conclude with a shrug and say "there is no evidence." Indeed, the clause "no evidence" seems to be a passport to play as openly and freely with the blank slate of events as possible, where every conjecture is presented with the tension of a thriller so long as it has the most circumstantial backing.

  The real story is exciting enough. The book, when it confines itself to those real events, is fascinating, but overall it all too often diverges into those annoying winks and nods that are staples of conspiracy theories.
4762947
I like plot, reading for the tension, suspense, and unexpected twists that the best authors can craft.  For me, characters are in books largely to move the plot forward.  But characters can also be captivating, as Since We Fell reminded me.  Unfortunately for this book, those fascinating and nuanced individuals populate a plot that was often unbelievable and always convenient.

Rachel Childs, the protagonist of Since We Fell, felt real to me and quite easy to like.  In the early chapters, Lehane paints her as a woman who is utterly alone  emotionally, psychologically, and physically.  By the middle of the book, she has suffered her on-air mental breakdown and is a virtual shut-in.  She is a well-developed, complex character through these sections.  Her final transformation seemed a bit over-the-top to me, but extreme situations might call for reaching into the depths of ones psyche and drawing on capacities rarely seen.

Although a bit slow paced initially, I generally enjoyed the authors writing style, particularly some of the visual similes.  This type of comparison is easy to overuse, but Lehane hits a good rhythm.  And the end is action packed.

The weakness of the book, however, was the plot.  It simply strained credibility too much for me to remain immersed in the story.  There are several, specific scenes that were questionable, e.g., an interaction between Rachel and a detective or several scenes involving the villains.  Those, however, could be written off as a necessary stretch of the imagination.  But it was the primary twist, the turning point in the story that came about two-thirds of the way through the book that pushed the story beyond believability.  While it forced me to re-characterize much of the action, which good twists will do, it also made everything that had and would happen convenient and generally trite.

Overall, I loved Rachels climb back out of self-doubt and despair.  If you're a reader who values character development and vivid prose even when not fully supported by plot, you should enjoy Since We Fell.
4761281
There is nothing scarier than a rogue terrorist with an armed nuke.  A massive world-wide network of cyber-espionage adds to the suspense, providing the plausible basis for a thrilling plot line.  Suspense abounds to the very end, meeting impossible obstacles with imaginative solutions.  It is a spellbinding read.

Unfortunately, sloppy or non-existent proof-reading mars an otherwise outstanding yarn.  Errors include awkward sentence structure, improper choice of words, typographical miscues, and just plain bad grammar.  It's a five-star story that loses a star for errors that would never have gotten past a competent editor.  Quality content deserves quality presentation.
935215
I really enjoyed the characters and the plot twists in this book, but there is one flaw in the plot that niggles at me. I can't disclose it because it would spoil the book.
1297
A gripping thriller, as all of the late Michael Crichton's novels are. Critics may feel that the characters in the story present a one-sided argument against global warming, but that is not the message Crichton intended to convey with this book. If you read the entire thing, and then read the Author's Message at the end as well as the appendices, you will understand that Crichton was as concerned about increasing atmospheric CO2 as anybody. All he was saying is that mixing politics with science is dangerous - that scientific research ought to be carried out without a political agenda in mind, or the consequences could be potentially disastrous (such as with eugenics or Lysenkoism). There are ideologues on both sides of the debate, both sides have been guilty of twisting facts, and we should not blindly accept everything we are told without careful study.

All in all, this is a truly thought-provoking book, and the kind that causes one to procrastinate just to read one more chapter, one more chapter!
3694050
I enjoyed this latest Novel By Mr. Rosenberg very much, up until the end. The writing was taut, the suspense palpable, and the premise frighteningly realistic. It was very entertaining and so I felt it was worthwhile reviewing. This novel is possibly best described as the literary equivalent of a Christian rock anthem with a sharp rebuke for non believers.  As in his other novels, although less obtrusive in this one, it is as much about prosthelstising as it is about suspense. The author takes a firm religio-political stand and sprinkles it throughout the novel. In some cases, I think he is correct. For instance, eliminating terrorists by drone strikes may make for good headlines (with the caveat that what is reported is almost entirely government-speak and likely to be tainted by propaganda), but capturing them and interrogating them may in fact lead to more intelligence and be a better strategy in the long run. One of the most compelling insights, for me, is when Mr. Rosenberg correctly pointed out that unlike any other nation, Israel has the advantage of having immigrants flooding in from all corners of the world, all cultures, and all languages. Consequently, they have an enormous supply of credible HUMINT resources. That struck me as credible and insightful. What bothered me about the novel was its religious overtones. (WARNING: possible spoiler ahead). J.B. Collins converts to Christianity during this novel. He believes he will be reunited with his deceased mother and nephew in heaven. In fact, he says upon multiple occasions that he will "see" them in heaven. My question to the author is what exactly does J.B. expect to see? His mother and nephew were burned to a crisp. Will they appear to him in heaven as burned forms of their former selves? Will they appear to him as the same age as when they perished, or do they grow older with each passing year? Turning to a another hypothetical scenario, if someone is obliterated in a car bomb, what form do they take in heaven? If someone's legs are blown off, but they survive and die later, are their legs restored in heaven? There must be quite a few people in heaven by now; how are new inductees reunited with their friends and family members? My younger sister perished in an accident when she was 9 years old. I am now 57. When I see her in heaven, will she still be 9 while I will be whatever age I am when I die? Is there some kind of Medicare in heaven? What happens if I suffer an injury in heaven? Can God fix it? How much does that cost? I have so many questions...
3800923
The novel is engrossing.  I became involved in the plot and the characters quite early in the narrative.  The chapters are short but dynamic, and the author's prose is vivid.  I found myself concerned for the main characters who, though not morally bankrupt, are certainly morally flawed.  As the story progressed toward its ending, I found myself confident that I had figured out the eventual end, but a series of plot twists and turns helped  provide an ending that I did not see coming.  The language is realistic and raw, some of the situations rather adult, and a few plot devices  are downright shocking, but this story about young adults who are forced by their own choices and circumstances beyond their control to make some very adult decisions that they are ill equipped to make may haunt you long after you finish the last page.