This fast-paced tale of carelessness, corruption, and criminality ...
343732
This fast-paced tale of carelessness, corruption, and criminality on the part of players in the fossil fuel extraction industry - the second volume in the story of Jack Stafford and his team of investigative journalists - may seem far-fetched to some readers, but for those who have been engaged in countering the lies and sneaky practices of fracking advocates, even the wildest episodes will seem all-too-plausible.  A "can't put it down until I finish" thriller!
553664
As with all the Agatha Christie tales, this is fast moving and complex.  It takes place in another country and at another time, but haven taken that into consideration this story moves the reader into a tangled tale of a family and relations theft and murder.  Good read.
1297400
This fast-paced mystery has a tightly woven plot that hangs together all the way through the unfolding of the story of Tony Lauria and Asa Friedman. These two boys, who had become close friends in childhood, subsequently both rise above their humble beginnings to succeed in their chosen careers of accounting and tax law, respectively, each helping the other all along the way.  But the fact that their friendship is grounded in a disrespect for the law creates thought-provoking and sometimes disturbing tangles as the years go by, and the reader watches this disrespect grow from boyhood pranks to acts of a more serious nature.

The authors attention to details - especially about the workings of the good ole boy network and the legal profession, and a searing description of the country club set - informs the reader and adds depth and interest to the story.

This first novel is a compelling read and shows promise of a writer whose work we can continue to enjoy in future tales.
3002793
Corporate fraud has not involved an attractive female doctor turned CEO until now, with Robin Cook's "Critical." This is a great book...a fast, page-turning ride of intrigue involving the health care system, a development stage company going IPO (an Initial Public Offering), organized crime, and Washington lobbyists.

Angela Dawson, MD/MBA, a divorced single parent, doctor turned CEO is facing the challenge of a lifetime for any CEO. The company she founded, Angels Healthcare, LLC, is about to go public but is experiencing a mini-epidemic of nosocomial methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. A number of patients have died at three of their New York City based hospitals resulting in the shutdown of their surgical suites, a cash crunch and the potential delay of the IPO. This delay may mean insolvency and the loss of millions not only to the founders but also to key investors, one of NYC's crime bosses.

Key figures include Jack Stapleton, forensic pathologist in NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner who is scheduled for knee surgery at Angels Orthopedic Hospital; Stapleton's wife, Laurie Montgomery, who is also a forensic pathologist at OCME; Walter Osgood, MD, Department Head of Clinical Pathology for Angels Healthcare; Michael Calabrese, Dawson's ex-husband who helped raise the start-up capital for Angels from childhood friend and crime boss, Vinnie Dominick; Adam Williamson, a killing machine who worked for healthcare lobbyists in Washington, DC; and Angelo Facciolo, hitman for Dominick.

Montgomery who becomes increasingly concerned with her husband's scheduled surgery as a result of post-mortems on a stream of patients operated at Angels' facilities initiates an unofficial investigation of the cause. Dawson, Dominick, and the DC lobbyists, concerned with "overenthusiastic medical examiner" take matters into their own hands to silence Montgomery. Dominick had already murdered Paul Yang, Angels' Chief Accountant, and Amy Lucas, Yang's administrative assistant.

"Critical" bobs and weaves between stories of the key figures then lurches to an unexpected and satisfying outcome. The book also raises and details some issues of the day, including:

* The rise and shortcomings of specialty hospitals in the US - They "don't have the resources for serious problems and have to outsource them, are interested in the cream of patients (healthy, well insured), like quick procedures that require no overnight stay (in and out), and have no ER or ICU.  They are money making machines."

* Conflicts of doctors and the business of medicine - "Success from business as measured by wealth and its trappings had trumped altruism, charity, and the pleasures of interpersonal intimacy.

* Hospital infection rates - Hospital acquired infections affect about two million patients per year resulting in  90,000 deaths per year in the US alone.

* Nosocomial methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections - one of the greatest healthcare concerns we have today as bacteria mutate and become resistant to available antibiotics.

As one who is not a big reader of fiction, I found "Critical" to be an excellent book. It is a great story that also outlines some critical issues of the day, raising questions about today's morality. As someone who has worked in healthcare for more than thirty years, I agree with Cook's final assessment, "In politics, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In medicine, its money, not power." We - doctors, the delivery system, the regulatory system and  payors, which includes the federal government - have lost sight of the patient.
4450854
This book tells a fast-paced story that bobs and weaves as you get to know the key characters.  It's a quick and easy read that will keep you guessing until the end.
2050769
This story is full of twists and turns and "warnings" that Ty must moralize his way through to the end which I found oddly strange.  And this is actually what I believe goes on in politics - corruption over the top.  It is an enjoyable story, but not full of thrills or suspense.  It's more trying to guess who is behind all this corruption which is ongoing along the way.  It a way it's obvious, but then it's not.  So don't presume.  I found the ending just a bit odd.  So in reading Reckless next, the last of Ty's series, we'll see what happens.
3584137
Fast-paced tale skillfully interweaving the past with the present.  More than a true crime story.  More than a memoir.  Insightful -- a good read.
3494237
4 1/2 stars

A tale of theft, assassins, romance and skullduggery; a sweeping narrative that takes us from India to England, and then from the London to the English moors.
The story opens with Lord Hugo Duran being tortured in Alanabad, a small state in India.
A statue, The Star of Firmament, The Heart of Alanabad has been stolen by an Englishman.
Duran is English and a suspect. He manages to escape death, but at a price.
A deadly, locked bracelet is placed on Duran's wrist. If he doesn't succeed in finding and returning the sacred object within a year, he will die.
Duran and Lady Jessica Arville, a private antiques dealer, search for the Golden Leopard.
Escorted by assassins they race against time to find the leopard, a potent symbol of people of Alanabad's beliefs. Cultures, politics and greed clash.
Duran and Jessie have a history, a history that inexplicably reopens, drawn as they are to each other against their cooler selves.
Can they find the leopard?
Will the assassins kill Duran?
Can Duran's wrist be released from the fatal bracelet and its poison?
Will Jessica be able to solve the mystery and tame her own heart?
An intriguing read set at the time Regency England.

A NetGalley  ARC
207487
This story deals with lots of issues that plague many people.  It is fast paced and intriguing.  A worthwhile read.
1144018
Stateline is a tightly-written, fast-paced detective story that will satisfy any devotee of crime fiction.

When Private Investigator Dan Reno is hired for $100,000 to find and bring to justice the killer of a wealthy businessman's son, he gets way more than he bargained for. Prostitutes, drugs, hard drinking tough guys, despicable bad guys -- this novel has them all.

Reno and his sidekick Cody Gibbons must solve the murder without the help of corrupt police and sheriff's officers. In fact, the thoroughly despicable police officers and deputies do their darndest to stop them -- even resorting to torture and attempted murder. Through it all, Reno and his wise-cracking buddy Gibbons keep going, turning Lake Tahoe inside out, and following a twisted trail of clues that leads all the way to Utah.

Will the mystery be solved so Reno can get the rest of his $100,000 bounty? Will predatory prostitutes, harassing henchmen and enough close shaves to satisfy an old-time barber deter Reno -- or make him drop the case?

You'll just have to pay your $3.99 and find out for yourself.

Some good lines:

"She made love like a woman with an abundance of sexual instinct, and a lifetime of promiscuity to back it up."

"Ranesewich strikes me as so uptight, you couldn't pull a needle out of his ass with a tractor."

"If the detectives caught up with me before I was ready, I'd piss in their ear and tell them it was raining."

And when a really bad guy dies, the narrative takes on a paranormal tone: "I saw his spirit being sucked into the earth, like sand falling through an hourglass in fast motion."

This is not a book for someone with an aversion to strong language or semi-explicit sex scenes. But if you're interested in a good old-fashioned murder mystery with a satisfying ending, Stateline is your basic perfect read.

I give Stateline a solid five stars.
3687965
Mauro Capobianco has a timely hit in his first novel Some Call It Justice. A fast paced easy read, I found myself engrossed in the story that I didn't want to put it down until I finished it. The workings of our justice system from the point of view of police officers gives a unique perspective of our law enforcement system. It kept me wondering if our court system encourages finding out the truth about guilt or innocence, or have we become a state of procedural red tape that fosters verdicts of innocence or guilt based upon appearances.  I'm looking forward to the next case.
2587622
I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced story, which was a nice change of pace about all the current mystery/thrillers focused on terrorists. A quick and entertaining read for anyone who likes mystery/thrillers. It was better than I expected, and I'd recommend it.
1351013
If you like crime thrillers, you'll like this fast-paced story. It begins innocently with a friendship developing between four expectant mothers. Their secure world begins to unravel when one of them loses her grip on sanity.
1719811
A fast-paced story with a nice mix of action, suspense, surprises on a political, historic and intriguing mystery background... Embark for a great adventure!
4174500
Weaving together different historical and cultural threads, Chris Angus has written an imaginative and fast-paced tale of love, loyalty, betrayal, and sacrifice.  He has created a wonderfully elaborate story based on very human ingredients, such as greed, patriotism, and the common good. The pacing builds to a suspenseful and satisfying conclusion. An inventive adventure.
1851251
After a heinous terror attack planned by Al Qaeda, the Team heads to S. America posing as a church group to build a school for a jungle tribe. Two in-country women assist the search for the drug king and three Arab terrorists in the deep jungle hideout. The action is fast-paced, the plot twists and turns often, and the good guys prevail as expected. I enjoyed the rich details of the jungle and National Geographic-like descriptions of the native people. I despised the bad guys for their brutality. Oddly, after he is rescued, the seriously injured Smitty character is only an afterthought. The epilogue cleverly adds some romance and humor as the females join the team, so I am eager to read book 3!
4315795
Cole and Savannah are embroiled in machinations aplenty. Savi's father has done some despicable things as has her supposed best friend, Lynn. The American has bought her into servitude as planned all along. This is a fast-paced action story with murder, kidnapping, and human trafficking. It's also a story of the deepest love between two people and unconditional love and acceptance by a family-by-choice.