[My new book] starts in 1960 with a woman named Lois Rabinowitz, who was evicted from Manhattan traffic court for attempting to pay a parking ticket while wearing slacks. This was...
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Rusty Nail is my first foray into the world of Lt. Jack (short for Jaqueline) Daniels, a forty-something police detective who cares about her job. She recently nabbed the uber-sadistic Gingerbread Man serial killer, but some recent developments are giving Jack a sense of deja-vu. Someone is delivering horrific snuff videos to her door, complete with personal taunts and death threats. Others who had been involved in the Gingerbread investigation feature prominently in these sick flicks.
What I liked:
Jack. She's a good, honest cop and a strong woman. Sure, she has her problems, but who doesn't?
The basic plot.
The attempt at humor and levity, although some of it fell rather flat.
The Chicago setting.
Mr. Whiskers, Jack's adopted cat.
The final battle.
What I disliked:
Some of the characters descended into the realm of caricature.
The sickening details of torture, which were heavily overdone to the point of becoming gratuitous.
Final rating: Just OK. Will have to check out another in the series before deciding one way or the other on this series.
As a very young child, John Ridd encounters the equally young Lorna while fishing in Doone territory. The Doones, born noble, were deprived of their birthright, and now live in a fortress above the Somerset moors, sometimes emerging to pillage the countryside for food, money, and comely women. It's love at first sight for John, who, in spite of the fact that the Doones murdered his own father, falls hard for the enchanting Lorna. Blackmore's romance/adventure takes the couple through trials and tribulations, and the lowborn John sadly doubts that he can ever be worthy of Lorna. Little does he know of her true origins.
Blackmore, naturally, wrote in the language of his times, a style that tends toward poetical effusion. The modern reader must summon up the patience to work through the verbosity to find the gem of a story beneath. It's well worth the effort, and flashes of gentle satire and humor help make the journey a satisfying one.
Reading Obedience is similar to walking through a fun house full of distorting mirrors and churning floors. The premise is a simple one. Professor Williams presents his logic class with a single assignment: to prevent a murder that will otherwise happen when the course ends. As the students begin to ponder the clues that Williams doles out piecemeal, they grow increasingly uncomfortable with the strangeness of the scenario, and little by little, their abilities to maintain a grasp on reality begin to shred. A few of the students become obsessed, and it is their experiences that form the nucleus of this complicated, sinuous mystery.
There are some contrivances in this plot, but basically, it holds together well, and the reader, if willing, can be easily drawn into the general aura of apprehension that permeates this tale. It’s difficult to perceive what logic has to do with the puzzle, but ethics – or lack thereof – do play a prominent role. Obedience is a strong first novel, and I look forward to Lavender’s next outing.
Simon Raikes is restoring an enigmatic stone Madonna that graces the front of a medieval church in Venice. As he prepares his work, he is overtaken by visions, and he soon becomes obsessed with discovering the history of the unusual, subtly erotic statue. Simon’s own fate becomes inextricably enmeshed with that of the original sculptor, and he finds himself making choices that would previously been abhorrent to him.
Stone Virgin is a complex, proficient morality tale that examines the dark underside of desire, whether it be carnality, pride, ambition, or cupidity. Within these pages, the age old adage that history repeats itself plays out in the lives of individuals, rather than on the world stage. How easy it is to succumb to temptation when one’s secret heart’s desire is within reach.
Jeff Shaara made an admirable attempt to complete his father's Civil War series, but his sequels, valuable though they are, could not hold a candle to The Killer Angel. Well, Jeff has done a lot of writing since then, and his WWII series, if The Rising Tide is a fair indication, matches the work of his father. What Michael Shaara did for the Civil War, his son is doing for the Second World War. One of the marks of good historical fiction, for me, is the way it prompts me to start researching stuff on the internet. And that's what I found myself doing in Tide. Another of telling sign happens when I find myself living what the characters are going through, and in Jeff's chapters on the tank battles between Rommel and the Allies, I felt the awe. To a lesser extent, only because this topic receives less coverage, is his portrayal of the training and daring of the paratroopers. There are many similar scenes in Tide - POW camps, stress disorders, command failures - that truly bring home the complexity of the topic to readers who have never experienced warfare at any level. The only other WWII series that does this so well is Herman Wouk's Winds of War, and War and Remembrance.
The Rising Tide is a valuable addition to WWII fiction.
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Customer Comments
katknit has commented on (45) products.
Rusty Nail (Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels) by J A Konrath
katknit, September 11, 2009
Rusty Nail is my first foray into the world of Lt. Jack (short for Jaqueline) Daniels, a forty-something police detective who cares about her job. She recently nabbed the uber-sadistic Gingerbread Man serial killer, but some recent developments are giving Jack a sense of deja-vu. Someone is delivering horrific snuff videos to her door, complete with personal taunts and death threats. Others who had been involved in the Gingerbread investigation feature prominently in these sick flicks.What I liked:
Jack. She's a good, honest cop and a strong woman. Sure, she has her problems, but who doesn't?
The basic plot.
The attempt at humor and levity, although some of it fell rather flat.
The Chicago setting.
Mr. Whiskers, Jack's adopted cat.
The final battle.
What I disliked:
Some of the characters descended into the realm of caricature.
The sickening details of torture, which were heavily overdone to the point of becoming gratuitous.
Final rating: Just OK. Will have to check out another in the series before deciding one way or the other on this series.
Lorna Doone
katknit, August 23, 2009
As a very young child, John Ridd encounters the equally young Lorna while fishing in Doone territory. The Doones, born noble, were deprived of their birthright, and now live in a fortress above the Somerset moors, sometimes emerging to pillage the countryside for food, money, and comely women. It's love at first sight for John, who, in spite of the fact that the Doones murdered his own father, falls hard for the enchanting Lorna. Blackmore's romance/adventure takes the couple through trials and tribulations, and the lowborn John sadly doubts that he can ever be worthy of Lorna. Little does he know of her true origins.Blackmore, naturally, wrote in the language of his times, a style that tends toward poetical effusion. The modern reader must summon up the patience to work through the verbosity to find the gem of a story beneath. It's well worth the effort, and flashes of gentle satire and humor help make the journey a satisfying one.
Obedience by Will Lavender
katknit, July 19, 2009
Reading Obedience is similar to walking through a fun house full of distorting mirrors and churning floors. The premise is a simple one. Professor Williams presents his logic class with a single assignment: to prevent a murder that will otherwise happen when the course ends. As the students begin to ponder the clues that Williams doles out piecemeal, they grow increasingly uncomfortable with the strangeness of the scenario, and little by little, their abilities to maintain a grasp on reality begin to shred. A few of the students become obsessed, and it is their experiences that form the nucleus of this complicated, sinuous mystery.There are some contrivances in this plot, but basically, it holds together well, and the reader, if willing, can be easily drawn into the general aura of apprehension that permeates this tale. It’s difficult to perceive what logic has to do with the puzzle, but ethics – or lack thereof – do play a prominent role. Obedience is a strong first novel, and I look forward to Lavender’s next outing.
Stone Virgin by Barry Unsworth
katknit, July 13, 2009
Simon Raikes is restoring an enigmatic stone Madonna that graces the front of a medieval church in Venice. As he prepares his work, he is overtaken by visions, and he soon becomes obsessed with discovering the history of the unusual, subtly erotic statue. Simon’s own fate becomes inextricably enmeshed with that of the original sculptor, and he finds himself making choices that would previously been abhorrent to him.Stone Virgin is a complex, proficient morality tale that examines the dark underside of desire, whether it be carnality, pride, ambition, or cupidity. Within these pages, the age old adage that history repeats itself plays out in the lives of individuals, rather than on the world stage. How easy it is to succumb to temptation when one’s secret heart’s desire is within reach.
The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War II by Jeff Shaara
katknit, July 9, 2009
Jeff Shaara made an admirable attempt to complete his father's Civil War series, but his sequels, valuable though they are, could not hold a candle to The Killer Angel. Well, Jeff has done a lot of writing since then, and his WWII series, if The Rising Tide is a fair indication, matches the work of his father. What Michael Shaara did for the Civil War, his son is doing for the Second World War. One of the marks of good historical fiction, for me, is the way it prompts me to start researching stuff on the internet. And that's what I found myself doing in Tide. Another of telling sign happens when I find myself living what the characters are going through, and in Jeff's chapters on the tank battles between Rommel and the Allies, I felt the awe. To a lesser extent, only because this topic receives less coverage, is his portrayal of the training and daring of the paratroopers. There are many similar scenes in Tide - POW camps, stress disorders, command failures - that truly bring home the complexity of the topic to readers who have never experienced warfare at any level. The only other WWII series that does this so well is Herman Wouk's Winds of War, and War and Remembrance.The Rising Tide is a valuable addition to WWII fiction.
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